id,scraped_at,estimated_date,is_forecastable,url,text,token_count,file_path,language_score
139fe48c-baa4-42ba-bf64-9da51b863e4c,2018-08-19T13:53:16+00:00,2018-08-19,0,https://www.scarparossa.com/fernando-pensato/fernando-pensato-mokassin-positano-roccia,The luxurious moccasin is made of grey-white-beige snakeskin by Fernando Pensato and is a real eye-catcher! The logo appliqué on the toe cap and the leather bow complete the design of the shoe. The softly padded leather insole ensures excellent wearing comfort. The outsole is made of individual rubber elements which characterize the classic style of the high-quality moccasin. This ladies' moccasin was excellently processed in Italy by Fernando Pensato.,101,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215176.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819125734-20180819145734-00702.warc.gz,0.804294288158417
ce876dd8-64e4-4cd6-bcfa-a3168f82cd67,2013-05-24T15:39:34+00:00,2011-03-14,1,http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/mar/14/japan-nuclear-plant-hit-second-blast/,"Monday, March 14, 2011
A second explosion occurred Monday at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, and officials now say three reactors at the plant may have experienced a partial meltdown.
Attention is focused now on the situation at the Unit No. 2 reactor. Officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company say the fuel rods were exposed at some point Monday and a partial meltdown may have occurred. Workers are pumping in seawater into all three troubled reactors in an attempt to cool the nuclear cores.
Monday's blast blew the roof off a structure built around the No. 3 reactor but did not harm the reactor itself or its so-called containment vessel, government officials said.
The containment vessel is a heavily reinforced barrier that surrounds the reactor's core and provides a another layer of protection against the release of radioactive material.
Because the containment structure remains intact, ""we believe that the risk that large amounts of radioactive materials have been dispersed is low,"" said Yukio Edano, Japan's chief cabinet secretary.
The Unit No. 3 reactor is one of six reactors at the Fukushima Daichi plant about 150 miles north of Tokyo. A similar explosion occurred on Saturday at Unit No. 1, and apparently did release some radioactive material.
""We expect an increase in radiation levels similar to the one that followed the hydrogen explosion that occurred in the Unit 1 reactor,"" Edano said.
Officials say radiation has also been released by periodic venting of steam from the cores of reactors 1 and 3.
Some workers at the plant have apparently been exposed to worrisome levels of radiation. But Edamo said the radiation releases so far should not endanger the public.
Both blasts were blamed on explosive hydrogen gas coming from the reactor cores.
Hydrogen can be produced when a reactor's core overheats, damaging the zirconium tubes that hold the nuclear fuel. Officials say both explosions occurred after hydrogen from the core leaked into the space outside the containment vessels but inside the building that houses them.
Reactors at the Daichi plant have been plagued with cooling problems since the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Friday.",424,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961592674255371
8d9898bb-ac17-4729-ae6b-e1c20233aaf7,2015-03-28T00:37:26+00:00,2014-05-14,0,http://www.sibley.org/community/events/event.aspx?F_d=05%2F14%2F2014&F_c=11&F_m=05&F_y=2014&EventId=12365,"Concepts in Joint Replacement: Anterior Hip and Partial Knee
The Sibley Institute of Bone & Joint Health is pleased to present an informative, free seminar on anterior hip and partial knee replacement surgeries.
Gautam Siram, M.D., fellowship-trained adult reconstructive surgeon, specializing in minimally invasive orthopedic surgery, will speak about the latest innovations in anterior hip and partial knee replacement surgeries and discuss when they are beneficial. A brief question and answer session will follow.
Space is limited. Light refreshments will be served and parking is free in the visitor garage next to the Medical Building.
Registration is required. Please register online below or call 202-660-MOVE (6683)
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Sibley Medical Building, First Floor, Conference Room 2
5215 Loughboro Rd. NW",186,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297146.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00041-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.846032381057739
b65d2479-d395-4d66-a0c5-ac949fbfc075,2013-05-26T02:55:13+00:00,2013-05-22,0,http://www.kbmr.com/pages/localnews.html?feed=143825&article=10603537,"BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ A Minnesota company has been fined $2,000 for hitting an oil pipeline while workers were installing new sewer and water lines near Dickinson.
North Dakota's Public Service Commission voted Wednesday to impose the fine against Shores Companies of Evansville.
Commission Chairman Brian Kalk says Shores has declined to respond to agency questions about the incident in October 2011. He said the company didn't show up for a hearing to explain its version of events.
Shores Companies President Dennis Shores did not respond Wednesday to telephone messages left for comment. He said in an April letter to the commission that the pipeline's location hadn't been adequately marked.
Kalk says the accident spilled about 8,000 gallons of oil southeast of Dickinson. He said Shores didn't follow state digging notification rules.",171,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973672986030579
465adaf4-a019-4dab-b72a-d9673485fa3b,2019-08-17T22:38:15+00:00,2018-11-07,1,https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Gavin-Newsom-s-future-looks-a-lot-brighter-if-13369729.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social,"The election of Gavin Newsom as California governor has pole-vaulted the former San Francisco mayor into one of the oddest political positions in the country.
“As one of the nation’s leading Democrats, Newsom will be bashing Donald Trump by day but praying for Trump’s re-election in 2020 at night — because if Trump doesn’t get re-elected, Newsom’s presidential aspirations will go up in smoke,” said Bill Whalen, a Republican strategist and research fellow at the Hoover Institution.
That may be the cynical way of looking at it — given the challenges Newsom will face steering the state, having a Democratic ally in the White House after 2020 would do him far more good than harm. Newsom will be better off if he gets results on California issues such as water delivery, oil drilling off the coast and greenhouse gas regulation than if he has to complain about how all his efforts were blocked in Washington.
It’s just that if a Democrat wins in 2020, the next opening for other aspiring Democratic candidates probably won’t come until 2028.
Newsom knows that 2020 is too soon for him to run. “He will, however, definitely be part of the national conversation,” said longtime friend and former media adviser Peter Ragone.
“He’s bold and he pushes the envelope, and now he is going to have the biggest role on the national stage this side of the presidency,” Ragone said.
Add in his Hollywood looks, his gift of gab, and his eye for seizing on cutting-edge issues like same-sex marriage and legalizing pot, and Newsom will command his share of attention leading up to 2020.
“He gets to occupy the ‘outsider’ role, which he does very well,” Ragone said, citing in particular Newsom’s 2004 decision to let gay and lesbian couples marry at San Francisco City Hall.
It was a role that outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown played as well. Brown regularly crossed swords with Trump on global warming, immigration and a host of other issues. He mounted three campaigns for president over the years, but at age 80 ran out of time for a fourth.
The question now is, how will time play for the 51-year-old Newsom?
If Trump stays in office until 2024, Newsom will have one term as governor under his belt — and plenty of national exposure — and be ready to run.
“But if a Democrat wins in 2020, it all goes on hold until 2028,” Whalen said.
Gavin’s digs: If you think Gavin Newsom is already measuring the drapes at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento — think again.
Newsom has hesitated when asked if he plans to move into the restored 25-room mansion, making it clear that his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and four children — all younger than 10 — may be happy to stay put in Marin County.
“We haven’t decided,” Newsom said. “Jen hasn’t seen the house. And we have the kids and schools to think about. It’s all too much to get our arms around.”
Plus, now they live only a couple of blocks from Newsom’s sister, Hilary Newsom, and her husband, Geoff Callan.
Not to mention that the governor-elect’s filmmaker wife has an office a half mile from home, in Ross, and her parents also live nearby.
Gov. Jerry Brown, during his first stint as governor starting in 1975, famously eschewed the 17-room governor’s residence built (but never lived in) by Ronald and Nancy Reagan in the suburb of Carmichael. Instead, Brown rented a $250-per-month apartment near downtown Sacramento.
His successor, George Deukmejian, formed a foundation that purchased another suburban house where first he and then-Govs. Pete Wilson and Gray Davis lived — at least when they weren’t at their homes in Southern California. And Arnold Schwarzenegger kept a 2,000-square-foot hotel penthouse across from the state Capitol for a spell during his time as governor before opting to commute home nightly to L.A. on his private jet.
When Brown began his second stint as governor, he decidedly upgraded — splitting his time between a $3,000-a-month Sacramento loft leased by his friends and a home he purchased in the Oakland hills. But after the century-old, three-story governor’s mansion occupied by his late father, Gov. Pat Brown, back in the 1960s underwent a $4.1 million renovation, Jerry Brown — along with his wife, Anne Gust Brown, and their two dogs — moved in three years ago.
For Newsom, however, the old mansion apparently doesn’t have the same sentimental pull. While he hasn’t ruled out house-hunting in Sacramento, he may well continue the routine he developed as lieutenant governor, having a California Highway Patrol driver shuttle him from Kentfield to the capital and back.
Of course, now he’ll have additional companions — as governor, he’ll have a full security entourage wherever he goes.
San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email firstname.lastname@example.org. Twitter: @matierandross",1204,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313501.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817222907-20190818004907-00218.warc.gz,0.968658983707428
cd3ea919-54ee-48e0-aa42-e837f7624100,2020-10-24T10:09:06+00:00,1970-01-19,0,https://vault.si.com/vault/1970/01/19/contents,"10 Hank Stram's Superchiefs
At New Orleans, Kansas City's creative coach gave Len Dawson the tools to engineer an astonishing upset
16 Bonny Year for Buffalo Bob
St. Bonaventure's big Bob Lanier has big feet, big pro expectations and a big shot at the NCAA basketball title
18 Another Opening, Another Tour
In Los Angeles, Billy Casper launches golf into the 1970s by helping a nice guy finish second
24 Towering Babble and (Sob) Heidi
How the goat girl beat the Jets and other behind-the-tube revelations. Part 4 of a series on television and sports
32 Ode on a Grecian Urge
Maybe that's what indoor track was meant to be, but Artist Arnold Roth finds it mostly a salute to central heating
38 The Kahlahnah Koogahs
Frank Deford tells the story of ""my baby,"" the first regional franchise in history—and a success already
52 Squinting at the Stars
A report on what in heaven happens when astrologers examine athletes through a horoscope
44 College Basketball
65 For the Record
66 19th Hole
Credits on page 65
Cover photograph by Neil Leifer
Upheaval is the word for what Bob Cousy has started in Cincinnati as coach of the NBA's Royals. Trading stars, changing styles, he has brought a lethargic franchise to life.
The Kenyans are coming to Los Angeles for the season's first international indoor track meet. Pat Putnam reports on how Keino and Bon fare against the top competition.
Ted's first year as a big-league manager is analyzed by Williams himself while on an African safari. John Underwood writes it all down in what may be a hot-stove classic.",366,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882103.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024080855-20201024110855-00090.warc.gz,0.905240774154663
2c96297b-8ae0-4fe7-9bc6-63e99d71dc6f,2022-05-26T21:46:58+00:00,2022-05-23,1,https://www.thenationalherald.com/greece-albania-sign-agreement-for-new-border-security-facility/,"ATHENS — Greece and Albania signed a bilateral agreement on Monday that will see the creation of a customs and police collaboration facility at Kakavia, in the Greek-Albanian border.
The agreement is a significant step in the fight against organized crime, said Deputy Civil Protection Minister Lefteris Economou, who signed the cooperation agreement with Albania's Deputy Interior Minister for border management Julian Hodaj.
This agreement also shows ""most decisively"", added the Greek minister, ""the will to nurture mutual trust,"" and to also ""deal with considerable security threats faced by both countries.""
The new facility will be built on Greek grounds, the minister noted, in the broader area of the Kakavia border crossing, and will be staffed by both Greek and Albanian police officers and customs specialists, who will work there together, was underlined.
This security center will help the two countries exchange information on illegal migration, human trafficking, extremism, fake travel documents, drugs and weapons trafficking, and any illegal activity that violates customs laws and protocol.",208,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00017.warc.gz,0.9532909989357
e6134df2-daec-4266-abdd-1f6daf9336cc,2019-08-26T07:23:59+00:00,2019-08-23,1,https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/world/catalonia-leader-to-be-tried-over-separatist-propaganda-during-election-332061/,"MADRID (Reuters) - The leader of the Spanish region of Catalonia, Quim Torra, will be tried for disobedience after he failed to obey an order to remove separatist propaganda from public offices during election campaigning, the regional court said on Friday.
During campaigning for national and local elections in April and May regional leaders were required to remove partisan messages from public offices. But Torra continued to display yellow ribbons - a protest against the jailing of Catalan independence leaders - from government buildings.
He could be removed from office for up to two years for failing to comply with the order. The court announced its intention to try him in a tweet.
Torra has said he disobeyed because the order was at odds with a resolution adopted by the Catalan parliament and the character of the yellow ribbons was open to subjective interpretation.
Many of the politicians and civil leaders involved in a failed push for secession for the wealthy region two years ago were subsequently arrested, and are now awaiting the decision of the courts, or fled the country and live in self-imposed exile.
Spain was plunged into its worst political crisis in decades in 2017 when the then-government of Catalonia called a referendum on secession and then unilaterally declared independence, actions that were both ruled illegal by the constitutional court.
The central government invoked a constitutional law to take over the regional authority and called an election, however pro-secessionist parties won a majority and put Torra, a pro-independence activist, in as regional leader.
In a letter to the electoral body that made the order, Torra said in March he would not remove the ribbons as he had a duty to respect the right to freedom of expression of public employees.
Polls show around half of the electorate in Catalonia supports independence while the other half wishes to stay within Spain.
(Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Frances Kerry)",381,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027331228.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826064622-20190826090622-00125.warc.gz,0.97561639547348
44d203ee-4f34-43f1-89b8-e35e9c748ae7,2015-03-27T05:36:58+00:00,2015-03,0,http://www.cafemom.com/group/115189/forums/read/18324905/I_am_a_bit_of_everything_you_anons_love_to_hate,"I have seen so many anons come on here to bash certain groups of women. The sad part is I think they realize (or at least I hope they do) that the blanket generalizations are ridiculous since such a large site has women from many different places and backgrounds.
So let me tell you a bit about me and why the anons will love to hate on me :)
I grew up in a poor family. Dad left mom for another woman when I was about 6 years old, leaving her with no job, no vehicle, a pile of bills and 2 kids in a single wide trailer in the middle of the country. I was thankful I had my grandparents (who allowed us to live in the trailer that my grandpa bought) since they made sure that we always had food, clothes and a warm place to stay. This even while my mom worked nights at a nursing home so that she could provide for my sister and I. I remember that our favorite days were the first of the month. That meant it was time for food stamps and we would come home to find the cabinets filled with food. Mom would even buy extras so that she could put them aside in large blue bins which were stored in our closet just in case of an emergency.
I grew up knowing the worth of money. I remember waking up cold at night because we ran out of propane, I remember watching my step dad walk out of the house with a baseball bat and chase off people who were going to repossess our car. He later stepped up and started night classes to get his degree and a better job.
For me, growing up was hard. I knew what the stress of being poor and working hard to get no where did to my parents. My father was not a big part of my life. I am honestly happy for that. I worked hard throughout my school career since I knew I didn't want to be where my parents were. I graduated high school as a national honor society student and one of the top 10% of female graduates in my state. I knew we didn't have money so I joined the military. There I met my now ex husband who I married a month before graduating high school. My naive teenage self thought that to get anywhere I had to be married (that was the basic consensus in the culture I grew up in).
After a few years of marriage that was hell due to emotional and psychological abuse, I cheated on him and then filed for divorce. The affair gave me a reason and the courage to finally leave. I am glad I did since he started getting physical with me after that.
The rest of my life has been spent with my DH who just beat cancer in November, my DD and our dog. We are not currently working but instead are going to school with our sights set on med school. Yes we are on PA but not for much longer. I have a disability compensation rating through the VA, we both get paid through our GI bills for school and DH will be getting his VA disability compensation soon (and when he does we will not be using PA anymore). I was on the President' Honor Roll last semester and am a model student. Things are far from perfect here but we are happy since we are making progress from where we both started.
Some other specs: I am pro-choice, I breastfed for 3 months then formula fed, I am Pagan and I am a liberal. So much for the stereotypes that could have controlled my life early on.
So go ahead and bash away, ask me anything or do whatever.",723,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00263-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.990035176277161
a53a6010-e6fe-4a7e-b93c-be11b36478c2,2022-05-26T08:27:59+00:00,2022-05-25,1,https://community.vanguardngr.com/forum/topics/non-stop-rainfall-floods-some-parts-of-lagos?commentId=4565467%3AComment%3A1053959,"Some parts of Lagos state have been flooded following a continuous rainfall that started yesterday afternoon and fell throughout the night into this morning. Some people have been rendered homeless as the rain water found its way into their homes.
See more photos
▶ Reply to This
Welcome toVanguard Online Community
Sign Upor Sign In
© 2022 Created by Vanguard Media Ltd.
Report an Issue |
Terms of Service
Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator.",159,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604495.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526065603-20220526095603-00208.warc.gz,0.882258951663971
6d78d8fc-c6fa-4b32-b937-4761a562c7fe,2022-05-19T05:05:24+00:00,2020-04-22,1,https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classic-brands-responds-to-us-department-of-commerce-initiation-of-anti-dumping-and-countervailing-duty-investigations-301045360.html,"COLUMBIA, Md., April 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Classic Brands, (""Classic"" or the ""Company""), a leading designer, distributor, and manufacturer of sleep products, sleep accessories, and furniture, today issued the following statement in response to the decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce (""Department"") to initiate antidumping (""AD"") and countervailing duty (""CVD"") investigations related to the importation of mattresses from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam:
""We are disappointed that the Department has elected to initiate these investigations without first polling the domestic industry, as required by law. Because the Petitioners have failed to demonstrate that more than 50% of the domestic industry supports the petition, it is Classic's position that the Department should have determined whether the statutory thresholds for industry support were met by polling the industry, prior to initiating the investigations. As Classic argued before the Department prior to initiation, the Petitioners' methodology for calculating industry support, which relied on production figures for only 29 U.S. producers – significantly less than the 347 producers identified in the Petition – was flawed, and an inappropriate basis for gauging the level of support of the domestic industry.
While we strongly disagree with the initiation of these investigations, the Company will continue to avail itself of all legal options to vigorously defend its position as the Department and the U.S. International Trade Commission (""ITC"") move forward with their investigations.
Importantly, mounting a successful defense against the import duties sought by the Petitioners is critical at a time when raising costs for hospitals and healthcare providers could significantly hamper efforts to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We also believe that a vigorous defense is entirely consistent with the Administration's trade policy, which has promoted economic and national security cooperation with traditional U.S. allies in East Asia, several of which have been targeted by the Petitioners. The Administration has worked hard to encourage American companies to diversify their supply chains in the region, and these investigations undermine the growing commercial partnerships between companies like Classic and suppliers in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries in the region.""
Classic Brands is represented by Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
ABOUT CLASSIC BRANDS
Founded in 1971 with headquarters in Columbia, Maryland and distribution capabilities nationwide, Classic Brands is a leading designer, distributor and manufacturer of sleep products, sleep accessories and furniture, with a focus on the finest quality mattresses. The company has a long history of providing product development, sourcing, and logistics services to a diverse set of leading retail customers throughout the U.S. Classic Brands is constantly seeking to deliver quality and comfort at an affordable price. The company uses the finest materials from around the world including all-natural and high-performance covers, Talalay and Dunlop latex, memory foam, gel-infused memory foam, innerspring and wrapped coil hybrids. Classic Brands is committed to being on the cutting edge of designing and producing innovative products for people to sleep healthier. Its sleep systems are designed to help achieve the maximum benefit from each night of sleep. For more information, visit www.ClassicBrands.com.
SOURCE Classic Brands",672,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00405.warc.gz,0.945735037326813
602478ac-ecbe-451c-bef5-e1c0137fbfa0,2016-07-26T02:43:52+00:00,2012-08-20,1,http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2012-08-20/video-3056157/Births-1847,"Nalcor will make presentation to government within weeks: Martin
Flying high by helicopter along the Churchill River towards Muskrat Falls, you can spot lines cutting through otherwise untouched sections of forest.
Dropping closer to the land, the lines gradually grow wider, until heavy equipment becomes easy to spot within them — workers creating a treeless path through the Labrador wilds.
Should the Lower Churchill development be ultimately sanctioned by Nalcor Energy and approved by government, this access road will be a main artery for contractors moving people and equipment to and from Muskrat Falls.
A clearing just off the emerging roadway, a campsite for contract workers should the project proceed, is also in development.
Down river, a similar clearing was created decades ago, in anticipation of the development of a hydro dam at the Gull Island site — a project that was not given a final green light.
Back at Nalcor’s office in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Lower Churchill project leader Gilbert Bennett said contracts awarded to date on the present-day Lower Churchill plans cover the creation of the new road, as well as the building of communications infrastructure through Bell Aliant and a power line to supply dam site work.
- Read more special articles:
- Anti-Muskrat group irresponsible: minister
- Return to Nutak
- Town’s housing to stay tight for at least a year
- SPCA needs funds over fanfare
“Work is valued at the tens of millions of dollars and it’s important though for us to get this work underway right now so when we do sanction the project we’re in a position that we can actually start work immediately and that we’re not waiting several months in order to start work at the site,” he said, explaining the work as a calculated risk.
Waiting on the prep would risk pushing back the overall schedule and, as a result, cost overruns.
“I think the most important thing is there is a tremendous amount of work that has been done in preparation for a sanction decision,” said Nalcor’s president and CEO, Ed Martin.
Martin said updated cost estimates for the overall project are in, following detailed engineering work on the proposed hydro dam and Labrador-island power transmission system.
“The fact of the matter is when we come forward with a recommendation in the coming weeks to the provincial government that we will have our homework done, it’ll be very detailed and we’ll be in a position to offer a recommendation.”
Meanwhile, Manitoba Hydro International is continuing its review of the project, he said, adding that review process is “about half way through.”
Martin said the Crown corporation continues to be open to questions in regards to the project.
Debate on the project is scheduled for the House of Assembly this fall.",594,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00213-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946454644203186
fd3c50b6-6a26-4911-bf84-7857d43f298d,2017-08-22T14:08:31+00:00,2013-02-26,1,http://www.oneindia.com/2013/02/26/russia-17-amur-tigers-died-in-2012-due-to-human-action-1158727.html,"Another eight big cats were saved from death by environmental officials and activists, the Primorye region-based Phoenix Fund said. Most of the animals were cubs orphaned by hunters.
The statistics were based on media reports about tiger-related incidents.
A list of such incidents released by the fund indicated the toll could have been as high as 25, if unconfirmed deaths were factored in that were supported by circumstantial evidence, such as abandoned cubs.
""The losses may be irreversible, given how they deplete the (species') gene pool,"" wrote Sergei Bereznyuk, head of Phoenix, on the fund's website.
Phoenix was founded in 2006 and is running its own tiger and leopard conservation efforts.
Tiger hunting remains a profitable business because Russia still has not outlawed trafficking of tiger derivatives, which are highly prized in Chinese traditional medicine, Bereznyuk said.
A bill outlawing such trade has been pending review in the Russian parliament since last year.
The Amur tiger was on the brink of extinction in the 1940s due to over-hunting.
Conservation efforts - supported recently by Russian President Vladimir Putin - allowed the population to reach some 450, though growth has slowed since the 1990s.",255,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110774.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822123737-20170822143737-00009.warc.gz,0.986603796482086
d5c54531-8dfc-432b-a31a-b006b6b09ff9,2022-05-19T05:55:17+00:00,2022-05-19,1,https://www.electricityforum.com/news/ev-building-charging-benefits,"On top of that, you can now add $38,000.
That, according to a new report from Ontario electric vehicle education and advocacy nonprofit, Plug‘n Drive, is the potential lifetime return for an electric car driven as a commuter vehicle while also being used as an electricity storage option in Ontario’s electricity system.
“EVs contain large batteries that store electric energy,” says the report. “Besides driving the car, [those] batteries have two other potentially useful applications: mobile storage while they are installed in the vehicle, and second-life storage after the vehicle batteries are retired.”
Pricing and demand differentials
The study, prepared by the research firm Strategic Policy Economics, modeled a two-stage scenario calculating the total benefits from both mobile and second-life storage when taking advantage of differences in daytime and nighttime electricity pricing and demand.
If done systematically and at scale, the combined benefits to EV owners, building operators and the electricity system in Ontario could reach $129 million per year by 2035, according to the report. Along with the financial gains, the province would also cut GHG emissions by up to 67.2 kilotons annually.
The math might sound complicated, but the concepts are simple. All it requires is for drivers to charge their batteries with low-cost electricity overnight at home, then plug them into two-way chargers at work and discharge their stored electricity for use by the building by day when buying power from the grid is more expensive.
“Workplace buildings could avoid high daytime prices by purchasing electricity from EVs parked onsite and enjoy savings as a result,” says the report.
Based on average commuting distances, EVs in this scenario could make half their storage capacity available for discharge. Drivers would be paid out of the building’s savings, earning up to $8,400 over the life of their vehicle.
According to the report, Ontario could have as many as 18,555 vehicles participating in mobile storage by 2030. At this level, the daily electricity demand would be reduced by 565 MWh. This, in turn, would reduce demand for natural gas-fired electricity generation, avoiding the expense of gas purchases while reducing GHG emissions.
The second-life storage opportunity begins when the vehicle lifespan ends. “EV batteries will still have over 80% of their storage capacity after being driven for 13 years and providing mobile storage,” the report states. “Those-second life batteries could provide a low-cost energy storage solution for the electricity grid.”
Some of the savings could be shared with EV owners in the form of a rebate worth up to 20 per cent of the batteries’ initial cost.
Call to action
The report concludes with a call to action for EV advocates to press policy makers and other stakeholders to take actions on building codes, the federal Clean Fuel Standard and other business models in order to maximize the benefits of using EV batteries for the electricity system in this way.
“EVs are often approached as an environmental solution to climate change,” says Cara Clairman, Plug’n Drive president and CEO. “While this is true, there are significant economic opportunities that are often overlooked.”",667,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00420.warc.gz,0.960551142692566
0e43e8c5-5595-4190-ba34-3c528d714a8c,2020-10-19T15:06:56+00:00,2014-06-30,1,https://www.worldhindunews.com/conclusion-of-the-third-all-india-hindu-convention/,"Resolutions passed for the establishment of the Hindu Nation in Bharat and Nepal besides complete ban on Cow-slaughter, stopping insurgence from Bangladesh and protection of the Hindus world over !
From left Mr. Anil Dir, Shri. Ramesh Shinde,
H.H. Dr. Charudatta Pingale, Shri. Madhav Battaraya and adv. Shri. Virendra
Ichalkaranjikar in the press conference organised to inform outcome of the convention
Panaji – Bharat and Nepal are self-materialised Hindu Nations. Every sect has a Nation that it calls its own. However, Hindus do not have a single Nation which they can call as their own. And hence, the Third All India Hindu Convention passed resolutions for the establishment of the Hindu Nation in Bharat and Nepal besides resolutions for a complete ban on Cow-slaughter, stopping insurgence from Bangladesh and finalisation of the policy for the protection of the Hindus world over. This information was given by the National Guide of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti H.H. Dr Charudatta Pingale during the press conference held here today. The conference was also attended by Prof. Madhav Bhattarai, the ‘Rajguru’ of Nepal and President of the Rashtriya Dharmasabha. Four hundred representatives of over 125 Hindu organisations from 20 States in Bharat as well as representatives from Bangladesh and Nepal participated in the Convention.
As per the ‘Common action Programme’ finalised during the Convention, it has been decided to organise 80 regional Conventions across 20 States and ‘Public Hindu Dharmajagruti Sabhas’ at 100 venues. H.H. Dr Pingale also informed that a decision has been taken during the Convention to work unitedly for providing assistance during the natural and man-induced calamities, and to implement a programme of ‘Self-defence training classes’ for strengthening of the Hindus.
Mr Ramesh Shinde, National Spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti informed that the Convention also passed the resolutions as given ahead. The BJP Government, which assumed power in the Centre recently should legislate Acts –
1. Act banning cow-slaughter throughout the country,
2. Common Civil Code giving equal rights to all citizens in the country according to the judgement passed by the Supreme Court and
3. Act banning religious conversion in order to preserve Hindu race.
The demands raised in the Convention include
1. Act to be legislated for deporting 5 crore Bangladeshi intruders in Bharat
2. Enact the bill to grant citizenship to Hindus displaced from Bangladesh and Pakistan
3. Awarding stringent punishment to those sheltering and providing help to intruders from Bangladesh. Mr Anil Dhir, National Secretary-General of Bharat Raksha Manch said that Hindu organisations have decided on the programme to implement a crash campaign to deport Bangladeshi intruders on the basis of prevalent Acts. Mr Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, President of Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad informed that the Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad will be providing legal assistance and legal guidance for the programmes to be undertaken in the interest of the Nation and Dharma to devout Hindu organisations in 9 States.
All India Hindu Convention passes a resolution to declare Nepal as a Hindu Nation
Nepal has since time immemorial been identified as Vaidik Sanatan Hindu Nation in the form of a Devabhumi (Land of Deities), Shivbhumi (Land of Shiv), Tapobhumi (Land of penance), Dnyanbhumi (Land of knowledge) and Gorakshabumi (Land of protection of cows) under the rule of Deity Shri Pashupatinath; however, due to the anti-Hindu school of thought of the leftist, Nepal lost the status of the Hindu Nation and was declared a secular Nation. Presently, interim constitution 2063 is in force in Nepal, in which Secular republic status and Democracy have been made irreversible. Consequently, adversities on Dharma such as conversions, cow-slaughter have increased in Nepal. Besides, Nepal is on the verge of a religious-war. Eighty-two percent of the Hindus residing in Nepal are staunch followers of Sanatan Hindu Dharma. Most of them aspire that Nepal once again becomes a Hindu Nation. So that Nepal becomes Hindu Nation once again, this convention passes the resolution that,
1. This Convention supports morally, politically and at all the levels the local Hindus, who are making efforts so that Nepal be declared as a Hindu Nation.
2. Nepal’s Parliament should declare Nepal a Hindu Nation
3.The Secular Government of Bharat should not interfere directly or indirectly to crush the future movement to force the Nepal Government to declare Nepal as a Hindu Nation.
Resolutions passed in the third ‘All India Hindu Convention’ !
‘Uniform Civil Code’ should be enacted in the Nation.
The Convention demands that Common Civil Code according to the judgement passed by the Supreme Court should be enacted as soon as possible.
The Act to ban Cow-slaughter all over the country should be legislated
The third ‘All India Hindu Convention’ demands that ,
1. On immediate and strict implementation of the Act to ban cow-slaughter all over the country.
2. Strictly ban breeding, import and rearing of cows of foreign breed.
3. Cow should be declared as National animal.
‘Anti-conversion’ Act should be implemented in the Nation
The Convention proposes,
1. In view of the increase in the rate of religious conversion of Hindus all over Hindustan, Union Government should legislate effective law pertaining to religious conversion.
2. If anybody is converted by hatching a conspiracy, forcibly or through allurements, the individual responsible for the conversion should be given life term. If the converted individual happened to be minor, criminal responsible for the conversion should be awarded capital punishment.
3. Missionaries should not be allowed to perform social services, which may be conducive to religious conversion.
4. Christian missionaries should be banned from running orphanages or performing any other social service in tribal areas.
5. Other religious organisations should not distribute religious literature without the permission of the Government.
Above demands should be fulfilled immediately.
Bharat be declared a Hindu Nation !
Ever since the Creation of the Universe, Hindu Dharma is established for the welfare of the living beings. In order to preserve the line of thinking of Hindu Dharma, Hindu philosophy, Hindu Scriptures, Hindu culture, Hindu race and the Hindu Nation, the Hindus world over have to be awakened. Bharat should become motherland of the Hindus world over, so that the Hindus from every corner of the world can come to Bharat with full confidence, and no authority can deport them from this Holy land. Hence, we pass the resolution in this Convention that,
1. This Convention will take up whatever legal efforts that are required for declaring Bharat as Hindu Nation
2. This Convention is committed to giving all possible assistance to those, who will make efforts to make Bharat a Hindu Nation.",1494,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00013.warc.gz,0.925654172897339
640c8327-2057-4ee7-a886-b5ec7535c691,2016-07-24T20:53:54+00:00,2013-01-28,1,http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/christie_minimum_wage.html,"TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie rejected a bill today to raise the minimum wage and countered with a proposal of his own, virtually ensuring Democrats will ask voters in November whether they favor a $1-an-hour increase.
Christie said the Democrats’ bill, which would have raised the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 and tied future increases to the rate of inflation, would have hurt the state’s economy.
EDITORIAL: Christie veto on minimum wage another blow to the working poor
""The sudden, significant minimum-wage increase in this bill, coupled with automatic raises each year tied to the Unites States Consumer Price Index, will jeopardize the economic recovery we all seek,"" Christie said in his conditional veto message to the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
On the deadline to act today, the Republican governor vetoed the bill (A2162) and countered with a scaled-back proposal to phase in, over three years, an increase of $1. In addition, the governor’s plan would eliminate the automatic hikes. New Jersey’s $7.25 rate mirrors the minimum set by the federal government in July 2009.
Christie tried to sweeten the pot with a promise to increase the earned income tax credit if Democrats went along with his plan.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) denounced Christie’s counteroffer and vowed to ask voters to change the constitution to raise the minimum wage to $8.25 and tie future hikes to inflation.
Such a move, which requires a second vote in the Legislature, would bypass Christie because the governor has no role in the process of changing the Constitution.
""His action shows that he believes politics and politicians need to remain part of the process on minimum wage,"" Sweeney said. ""I think they need to be removed from it entirely.""
Oliver called Christie’s conditional veto ""callous"" action that leaves lawmakers no choice but to take it directly to voters.
""The optimal approach would have been for Gov. Christie to show some heart and approve this pro-worker measure as proposed,"" she said.
Republican lawmakers and the business community — from the Chamber of Commerce to the New Jersey Business and Industry Association — applauded what they called Christie’s measured approach.
But there was one notable exception.
The New Jersey chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business ""expressed regret"" over Christie’s plan to enact a minimum wage increase of any size in the current economic climate.
""This was a difficult decision for the governor and we appreciate his effort to soften the blow,"" said NFIB state director Laurie Ehlbeck. ""But the bottom line is that it’s still a blow to small businesses and that’s going to harm the economy.""
Ehlbeck called the Democrats’ proposal to tie future increases to inflation a ""political giveaway.""
Unions and advocacy groups said Christie’s offer wasn’t enough to help low-income residents.
AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said his membership will lobby for approval of the referendum. New Jersey Working Families Alliance called the governor’s counterproposal ""too little too late.""
""Today Governor Christie proved once again that his only real constituency is the state’s wealthiest,"" Executive Director Bill Holland said. ""And once again he holds the livelihoods of the working poor hostage by making an end to his tax hike on low-income workers conditional on the Legislature’s acceptance of a bad deal.""
Christie used the earned income tax credit, which he slashed in his first year in office, as a bargaining chip last year after Democrats refused to enact his tax cut plan.
Christie was traveling out of state Sunday and today, but spokesman Kevin Roberts said the governor signed the conditional veto before he left New Jersey.",806,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824146.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00123-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958222508430481
1f22a495-4644-4c9e-97ae-2c94fce6d8fa,2015-03-31T05:52:38+00:00,2013-07-29,1,http://chapelboro.com/tag/concealed-carry/,"Image courtesy of nathanmac87
CARRBORO – You may now bring your gun into your favorite bar or restaurant thanks to House Bill 937 which Governor Pat McCrory signed into law Monday, but it’s up to the business whether or not to allow the firearms.
The law allows those with a concealed carry permit to bring a concealed firearm into an establishment that serves alcohol. Jim Wald, one of the owners of GlassHalfFull in Carrboro, says he’s is opposed to the idea of having guns and alcohol in the same vicinity.
“It doesn’t seem like the two mix,” Wald says.
The law includes that those who bring a concealed firearm into the bar are prohibited from drinking alcohol while they have the gun.
Sean LaBelle, kitchen manager at Bailey’s Pub and Grille in Chapel Hill, says he feels more comfortable with restrictions like this in place.
“I think it would be a fine thing,” LaBelle says. “As long as they have all of the necessary permits to carry a concealed weapon.”
Fox & Hound Restaurant Group, the company that owns Bailey’s Pub and Grille, says it has no comment on the bill.
Restaurants and bars would be able to expressly ban concealed firearms in their business. David Roberson, beverage manager at Southern Rail in Carrboro, says his bar would enforce that ban.
“We would probably rather people not come up here with firearms,” Robertson says.
The state’s Board of Insurance says that restaurants and bars that have patrons with concealed firearms would likely not affect their insurance premiums.http://chapelboro.com/news/business/local-bars-respond-to-nc-gun-law/",375,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00030-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963588058948517
361906d5-537d-403a-8e43-e9430e74863d,2017-08-18T18:15:33+00:00,2013-07-10,0,https://beingfiftysomething.com/2013/07/10/when-seeing-someone-is-the-best-medicine/,"Being fifty-something, I’ve needed help from others many a time.
Today I clicked on a Twitter link and up popped an image that took me back almost eight years to a time when I needed help. Big time.
The photo was of a local psychologist, a counsellor whose practice is centred around supporting people and their families through the impact of trauma.
I zombie-walked into that very counsellor’s practice a few days after my sister Gay passed away. Her death had been unexpected. Totally. I was right beside her when she slipped away and, when I couldn’t revive her, eventually watched as a team of several amazing ambulance officers did their best to bring her back to life. I was disbelieving. Shocked. Distraught yet weirdly wide-eyed and pumped with an energy I couldn’t dispel.
Some time later that day, between police interviews, desperate phone calls and endless visitors to our house, my sister-in-law pressed a business card into my hand and whispered that I should think about “seeing someone”. I took that as professional advice; my sister-in-law is a psychiatric nurse. And I’m so grateful.
I was scared of a lot of things but a biggie for me was the fear of not coping with the grief that I was certain would envelope me once that adrenaline backed off. More than anything I wanted to be strong and be there for my family. I didn’t want Gay’s death to mean our family fell apart.
And I didn’t want to go crazy.
With the loving support of that lady who popped up unexpectedly on my Twitter feed today, I didn’t.
Our first session was just a few days after Gay died. T (let’s call her that) and I sat in the sun by a north-facing window with a small round table, a glass of water and a ginormous box of tissues between us. We needed them. Both of us.
Over the next few weeks we met regularly, and in that time T:
- Talked me down from my unsubstantiated notion that Gay had been murdered. I hadn’t shared that idea with my family, but I was convinced it was a real possibility. I even had a suspect in mind. T rationalised it with me, convinced me to wait for the Coroner’s Report and then promised, that if there was anything unusual in there that she would support me in going to the police. “It will be our duty,” she said, as if we would go together. Of course, the Coroner’s findings were conclusive. Nothing fishy. Gay had died of natural causes that had kicked in unnaturally early. Fuck Heart Disease. T had circumvented my need to blame someone for Gay’s death and saved me from inflicting even more angst on my family by sharing my suspicions.
- Convinced me not to reach out to the personal trainer who had been conducting our gym session when Gay died. I was compelled to let him know it wasn’t his fault and that I didn’t blame him (whacky when you consider I was so keen to blame someone, anyone). As T so diplomatically pointed out, the PT was a professional and he had his own support network to help him deal with what had happened. I had enough to do coping with my own stuff without getting into his. Right again.
- Taught me the difference between the “press release” spin I put on for the rest of world and the real feelings and self-talk I stuffed down deep inside. No matter how often I told everyone it had “been a privilege” to be with Gay when she died, it had not. It was terrifying and traumatic and damaging. And I still wish it hadn’t been me there with her. And I still feel guilty about wishing. And about surviving.
- Helped me deal with all those little things people say when you’re grieving, the things that get under your skin and grate on your bones and make your eyes roll so far back you see your brain pulsating. Things like “Gay wouldn’t want you to be sad”. And I’d reply (sweetly), “I know” while my inside voice was shouting (washer-woman-like) “how the fuck do you know what Gay wanted? I know what Gay wanted: to be here with us sharing a bottle of red on a Friday night.” T taught me not to blame or judge people for those little well-meaning comments.
- Cried with me. And laughed with me. Wondered about the afterlife and the existence of a greater being with me. Shared some of her own life with me. Accidentally wrote almost half my fee receipts out to “Sheryl Crow” because I reminded her of her, and because our christian names were spelt the same way.
Eventually the time between our sessions stretched out as step-by-step I regained traction in dealing with the day-to-day stuff without T’s support.
Eventually, I just didn’t go back.
I’m not healed. I’ll never be healed. But with T’s support I got through those stonkingly dark weeks and months of uncertainty. I learnt to get on with living and not let the horrendous stuff that happens suck the energy out of everything else.
Because if you let it, it will.
It’s true … Gay wouldn’t have wanted that for me.
She’d have wanted me to “see someone”.",1198,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105086.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818175604-20170818195604-00585.warc.gz,0.985361337661743
b87d4447-e3cb-4ce9-a5ef-f68ddf9b6d3d,2022-05-28T23:27:11+00:00,2022-05-28,1,https://techpresident.com/why-data-mesh-is-popular-among-enterprises/,"The pace of the creation of data has climbed at such an exceptional pace that it is expected to exceed 180 zettabytes by 2025. So, it’s all the more important that firms operating online possess a robust data aggregation and management system. One of the recent advancements in the world of data sciences is a data mesh. So, what exactly is a data mesh and why are more and more companies opting for it instead of traditional options?
What is a Data Mesh?
Data Mesh, in the simplest of terms, is a radical approach towards data aggregation that aims to create a unified data architecture for easier management of large amounts of data. It essentially provides its users to access data without having to go through the hassle of navigating through a data lake or a data warehouse. A data lake and a data warehouse are the two main pillars of the analytical data plane. A data lake is associated with data science proper, while the latter is concerned with analytical datasets and business intelligence.
The objective of a data mesh architecture is to obviate the logistical challenges involved with ensuring data availability. It accomplishes this by ensuring uninhibited access to data scientists and business professionals alike. Ultimately, data mesh provides tech firms with an opportunity to make their data more available, within reach of all sections of workers.
What are the issues inherent to the existing data management system?
Before one can understand the benefits of a data mesh architecture, it’s important to be aware of the challenges posed by the existing data management services. So, what are some of the issues that are attributed to an ineffective and outdated data management portal?
- A lot of the firms still continue to make use of a centralized system to manage large amounts of data. While this system makes it easier to procure data from different sources, they will need to be transported across from their locations to a central repository like a data lake. The requested data will need to be exported from here to the site where the query was raised. This extra step makes the process more laborious and time-consuming.
- Data being created at such an alarming pace necessitates the existing data pipelines to handle more data than they possibly can handle. After a point, they fail to respond to a said query as the number of source points starts to multiply. As a result, the response time takes a hit, adversely affecting business agility.
- Since the existing models require a fair bit of data transportation, they run into the risk of being subjected to stringent data migration guidelines while transferring data from across geographical borders. Data transport regulations might be a real headache to deal with, eating into valuable time and resources. This step again slows down firms and puts them at the risk of falling behind their rivals.
How does a data mesh tackle these issues?
Data mesh aims to confront these problems, head-on by the creation of a decentralized data management system. It aims to divide responsibilities to the different domains who would each be responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of their respective data sets. With unprecedented access to data, companies are hence in a better position to make critical decisions regarding their business.
What are the advantages of adopting a data mesh system?
Now that one has a basic understanding of what a data mesh is and what it aims to do, grasping its advantages should be much easier. Some of the benefits of signing up for a data mesh system include:
1) Increased business agility
Since a data mesh architecture is designed to decentralize the process of data processing, firms need not wait for data to be transferred to a central repository like a data lake. This accounts for improved business agility and allows owners to scale their business rather effectively. Moreover, a data mesh architecture reduces data latency, thus contributing to better performance, whether it be live streaming or intensive online gaming.
2) Better transparency
Yet another issue with a centralized form of data ownership is the lack of transparency among the various teams of individuals involved. There also isn’t a safety net in place in case data was to be breached in certain unfortunate circumstances. A data mesh architecture is built on the principles of a decentralized form of data ownership. This system delegates ownership across multiple domain teams, thus accounting for better transparency. A newer method of managing data, like this, also ensures accountability as well, with individual domains responsible for their own operations.
3) Faster access to data
With data mesh, companies need not have to deal with international data migration guidelines that differ from one part of the globe to another. It thus ensures a hassle-free experience for technological firms that have massive amounts of data spread across the world. Moreover, data mesh offers an airtight infrastructure that prides itself on accurate data delivery.
4) More flexibility
Companies adopting a data mesh architecture are starting to realize that they can make use of multiple data platforms to store and process data. This affords such firms some much-needed flexibility and independence.
5) Secure platform
Data security is one of the biggest concerns for a lot of up-and-coming companies. A data mesh system minimizes the risk of a data breach. It accomplishes this thanks to a secure decentralized framework that clocks in queries where the data is housed, as opposed to a public network where the threats of hackers loom large.
Data mesh is a recent advancement in the field of data sciences that aims to create a decentralized form of data ownership. This new and improved system of data aggregation and management cuts down on time wasted on the transfer of data to a central data lake before they can be accessed. A crucial step like this getting circumvented leads to reduced data latency and improved business agility for the business. Firms are also on the receiving end of a sophisticated framework that eliminates the possibility of a data breach while improving transparency among those involved. Therefore, it should as come as no surprise that more and more companies are shifting to a data mesh from a traditional centralized system.",1197,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663021405.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528220030-20220529010030-00225.warc.gz,0.934980928897858
c206a43d-3942-473b-85f6-c1f53d1768d9,2017-08-20T22:49:59+00:00,2014-12-13,0,https://sandratblog.com/2014/12/13/enjoy-summer-in-sydney/,"Sydney is one of the best places to be during the summer, with exciting outdoor events happening almost every day and many of these are free of charge.
Sydney Harbour is the star on Boxing Day, 26 December, when the yachts line up for the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Once the starting pistol has been fired, an exciting experience is to be on a pleasure craft following the yachts as they race under full sail, to see who is to be first trough the Heads.
The eyes of the world then turn once again to Sydney for the famous New Year’s Eve fireworks. Every inch of space around the harbour foreshores, especially those vantage points with a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, is claimed hours before the first fireworks are lit at 9 pm. Excitement and anticipation mounts for the countdown to the huge fireworks display at midnight, which welcomes 2015.
The Sydney Festival runs from 8 to 26 January 2015 with an array of cultural happenings and a variety of indoor and outdoor events, often featuring theatrical and circus performances. Two of the most popular annual outdoor events are Symphony in the Domain on 18 January, where the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Johannes Fritzsch will perform classical music under the stars and Opera in The Domain, presented by Opera Australia on 24 January, where famous arias are sung, backed by a full orchestra, also under the stars.
Movie buffs will be kept busy with several Outdoor Cinemas operating over the summer, such as the St George Open Air Cinema alongside Sydney Harbour in Farm Cove and the Moonlight Cinema playing in Centennial Park.
On view until early March are two, not to be missed, major art exhibitions, “Pop to popism” at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and “Chuck Close: Prints, Process and Collaboration” at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Two free concerts have been announced to celebrate Australia Day on 26 January, which will be performed on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. “The Wiggles Australia Day Concert” in the morning features Australia’s biggest children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles. Families can sing along to their favourite Wiggle, as well as Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog.
John Foreman, one of Australia’s leading creative and musical talents, has taken on the role of Australia Day 2015 Creative Director, bringing together a collection of Australia’s best performers, including Jessica Mauboy, Justice Crew, Sheppard and Russell Morris for “The Australia Day Concert at the Sydney Opera House” in the evening. Tickets free via ballot by 7 January www.australiaday.com.au.
Opera Australia’s Sydney Summer Season at the Opera House has a programme to delight opera lovers with La Bohème, The Magic Flute, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Faust.
Rounding off the summer is one of Sydney’s most spectacular annual events, now in its fourth year. “Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: Aida” runs from 27 March to 26 April 2015. Featuring the full Opera Australia Chorus on stage together with international singers and a live orchestra beneath, audiences will enjoy the entire opera themed experience of Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, with its comfortable harbourside seating, wide range of on site dining and drinking options, magnificent harbour views and lavish, fully staged opera featuring nightly fireworks.
Sandra Tiltman Photos: John Pond",724,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106996.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820223702-20170821003702-00411.warc.gz,0.940642416477203
68a25b0a-3de5-4358-b6cc-03f66603a52c,2020-10-21T05:56:03+00:00,2020-10-21,1,https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tag/national+broadband,"The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is set to operationalise a central dashboard for tracking progress of all states and union territories on meeting of national broadband growth targets across key metrics, including data speeds, optic fibre rollouts, tower installations and their fiberisation amid an upsurge in internet consumption in the times of Covid.
Denmark’s fixed broadband penetration of the population will reach 39% by 2024, supported by its National Broadband Strategy, GlobalData said in a report.
Vishant Vora, chief technology officer of Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) that has recently rebranded as VI, quit the company after a decade-long stint.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Monday raised Rs 8,500 crore via its maidan local bond sale that obtained bids double the actual size.
Tweets About ETTelecom
Subscribe to our Newsletters
250000+ Industry Leaders read it everyday
- 13m US antitrust case against Google mirrors Microsoft battle
- 29m Nokia to deploy 5G RAN for Sweden’s Telia Company in Finland
- 45m Netflix reports a summer slump in subscriber growth
- 2h South Africa's Cell C losses widen as it hunts for profitable customers
- 2h Saudi Arabia has fastest 5G download speed, S Korea second
- 3h Without us even realising it, Google has occupied every nook and cranny of our existence
- 3h Google calls Justice Department lawsuit 'deeply flawed'
- 3h U.S. says Google breakup may be needed to end violations of antitrust law
- 3h Dxomark to engage with Indian companies in 2021: CEO
- 3h Norway's Telenor sells headquarters building for NOK 5.45 bln",370,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107875980.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021035155-20201021065155-00668.warc.gz,0.882053136825562
c3d477e7-1e24-465a-901e-530c3b60ed54,2022-05-24T06:38:23+00:00,2022-01-21,0,https://nottsccg.nhs.uk/nhs/update-on-the-situation-in-the-nhs-21-january/,"The NHS is urging anyone who is eligible for a first, second or booster dose of the vaccine to walk into a site or book an appointment to make sure they have as much protection as possible.
The booster dramatically increases protection against Omicron and is vital for protecting yourself and your loved ones from covid and any dangers posed by long covid, even if you have recently had Covid.
Book your Covid-19 jab: You can book on the NHS website or call 119.
Walk-in for a Covid-19 jab: Find your nearest walk-in venue.
*Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Nottingham University Hospitals and Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust
The NHS is here for you and so if you are concerned about a new lump or mole or have any other health issues then please get in touch with your GP.
If it is not an emergency you can use a range of service, such as:
Pharmacies can offer over the counter advice and treat common illnesses such as colds, sore throats, stings and allergies.
Call 111 First
Once a patients calls 111 or visits 111 online they will be navigated to the most appropriate service, first time by a trained operator. The operator will even be able to book appointments and timeslots at the most appropriate health service for your needs.
Visit the NHS Urgent Care Centre",296,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662564830.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524045003-20220524075003-00001.warc.gz,0.93767374753952
a0caac0c-80b2-45d9-ac96-03d03c00642c,2022-05-16T13:04:37+00:00,2018-05-16,1,https://lite987.com/official-whitney-houston-documentary-release-this-summer/,"Official Whitney Houston Documentary Set to Release This Summer
The 2015 Lifetime film Whitney was met to mixed reviews but an upcoming authorized documentary of the same name hopes to give a deeper look into the life and career of legendary singer Whitney Houston.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald, the Whitney documentary is set to premiere on July 6 and will offer several new glimpses into the songstress' life, including previously unreleased music and never-before-seen footage, Variety reports. The movie will also feature live performances from the singer's career and has the support of Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law, as well as the Houston estate.
“I approached Whitney’s life like a mystery story; why did someone with so much raw talent and beauty self-destruct so publicly and painfully?” Macdonald said. “I was lucky enough to have the support of Pat Houston and the Whitney Houston estate in this quest. They entrusted me with the ‘keys to the vault’ while giving me complete freedom to follow the story wherever it went. At heart, Whitney is an intimate family story that reveals a new side to a woman that even her most die-hard fans never knew.”
The upcoming documentary will also feature original studio recordings from Houston, as well as a capella versions of some of her biggest hits. Whitney is executive produced Patricia Houston, Nicole David, Zanne Devine, Rosanne Korenberg, Joe Patrick, and Altitude Film Entertainment’s Will Clarke, Andy Mayson, and Mike Runagall.
Last month, fans paid tribute to Houston on the sixth anniversary of her death. On Feb. 11, 2012, the iconic singer was found underwater in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. The official coroner's report revealed Houston died of accidental drowning.",377,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510117.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516104933-20220516134933-00413.warc.gz,0.956655025482178
6c47bb3a-d69c-43dd-931f-fb48e486687e,2016-07-27T01:54:12+00:00,2013-11-10,0,http://weirtondailytimes.com/page/content.detail/id/606737/Church-honors-veterans.html?nav=5002,"WELLSBURG - The Wellsburg Church of the Nazarene held the eighth-annual Military Appreciation Sunday Nov. 10 at the church located at 835 Washington Pike.
The Tri-State Young Marines, led by Gabriel Arlia, presented the colors. Wellsburg Mayor Sue Simonetti and Brooke County Commissioners Tim Ennis and Norma Tarr were in attendance. Active and retired military personnel from all branches of the armed forces were honored with a personal gift.
An honor roll of deceased military personnel was read, followed by a moment of silence and the playing of ""Taps.""
Army Chaplain Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Spangler was the guest speaker.",140,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00309-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967228770256042
20e73a69-d89e-4b29-9b70-79ba586ad794,2013-05-19T18:34:43+00:00,2012-09-11,0,http://davidearnoldi.blox.pl/2012/09/Make-Your-Home-Business-More-Productive-With.html,"Blog > Komentarze do wpisu
Make Your Home Business More Productive With These Tips 850089
Home businesses are rapidly becoming a source of income for many people, as they exercise their entrepreneurial rights by creating miniatures companies. Home businesses give people the opportunity to set flexible work hours that please them. If you would like to create a home business, then follow these tips.
Do you have the drive and determination to make a home business work? If you are like many people and want to be your own boss and work from home, then find something you like to do. It may sound easy, but it isn't. While passion for something is a good thing, the passion to work with it and the willingness to see it done are even better. People choose home businesses over big companies because of the contact they get with the business owner. Make your customers feel special by going the extra mile. Pack samples and small gifts in your orders or send your customers coupons for Christmas or their birthdays. Get to know the people who buy from you.
Furthermore, people are rapidly using home businesses for income. They become local entrepreneurs with small companies. This gives them the chance to have flexible hours and pay. By using the home business tips provided in the article above, you can start your own home business and generate income.
wtorek, 11 września 2012, davidearnoldi",289,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944041728973389
44db8a4e-4cea-42af-b8ff-4cb5218200dc,2013-05-20T02:40:21+00:00,2013-03-13,1,http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=&type=&coi=ISR&rid=&docid=514326902&skip=0,"Israel: Detained Asylum Seekers Pressured to Leave
|Publisher||Human Rights Watch|
|Publication Date||13 March 2013|
|Cite as||Human Rights Watch, Israel: Detained Asylum Seekers Pressured to Leave, 13 March 2013, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/514326902.html [accessed 20 May 2013]|
|Disclaimer||This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.|
Israeli authorities are threatening detained Eritrean and Sudanese nationals, including asylum seekers, with prolonged detention to pressure them to leave Israel, Human Rights Watch and the Hotline for Migrant Workers said today. Since December 11, 2012, Israel's pressure has convinced several hundred detained Sudanese and one Eritrean to leave Israel, and in February 2013, some 50 detained Eritreans agreed under similar pressure to leave for Uganda. All 50 remain in Israeli detention.
Sudanese and Eritreans face a real risk of harm if they return to their home countries. Under Sudanese law, anyone who has visited Israel faces up to 10 years in prison in Sudanand Sudanese officials have said the courts will apply the law. Because of credible persecution fears relating to punishment for evading indefinite military service in Eritrea, 80 percent of Eritrean asylum seekers worldwide are granted some form of protection. For years, Israel has refused to process Eritrean and Sudanese asylum claims, although at the end of February it began to register at least some detainees' claims.
""Israel's prolonged detention of asylum seekers apparently aims to shatter all hope so they feel they have no real choice but to leave the country,"" said Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher at Human Rights Watch. ""Instead of browbeating some of the world's most abused and vulnerable people into giving up their rights and putting themselves at grave risk, Israel should release asylum seekers while their claims are examined and protect anyone found to risk serious harm if returned.""
Human Rights Watch and Hotline for Migrant Workers (HMW), an Israeli nongovernmental organization,said that if Israel returned anyone to a place where the person's life or freedom would be threatened, such return would violate international law's prohibition on refoulement – forced return to a serious risk of persecution.
The groups said Israel would also be violating the refoulement prohibition if a person ""chose"" return after Israeli authorities had threatened prolonged or indefinite detention as the only alternative. The 1951 Refugee Convention bars the return ""in any manner whatsoever"" to places where a person would face a serious risk of persecution.
Refoulement can also occur as a result of a chain deportation, in which refugees or asylum seekers are sent to third countries that predictably will not respect their rights as asylum seekers but instead send them back to places of persecution.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed that Sudanese agreeing to leave Israel in recent months were sent to third countries through which they only transited and traveled on to Sudan. Human Rights Watch and HMW said those countries had no obligation to allow Sudanese nationals to enter, which means they would have been forced to travel onward to Sudan.
In early March, HMW spoke with the only Eritrean to have ""agreed"" under pressure to go to Uganda who says he was refused entry there and deported to Cairo for onward deportation to Eritrea. The only alternative the Egyptian authorities gave him was to return to Israel to once again face indefinite detention, which he rejected. On March 6, he flew to Eritrea.
Pressuring Sudanese and Eritreans to leave Israel for third countries that have no obligation to allow them to leave airport transit zones risks indirectly forcing them back to their own countries, Human Rights Watch and HMW said.
Israel is holding more than 2,000 African nationals in two detention centers near the Egyptian border. This includes at least 1,100 Eritreans and 600 Sudanese, all of whom have little prospect of being released because of restrictive Israeli asylum laws and policies. Hundreds of the Eritreans only reached Israel after surviving kidnapping in Sudan and Egypt, and tortureby criminal gangs in Egypt's Sinai desert.
About 50,000 other Eritrean and Sudanese nationals live in Israel's cities. Israel has informally suspended their deportation, but senior officials have repeatedly threatened to deport them without officially clarifying whether they would first be allowed to claim asylum. In early March, the Israeli media reported that the Interior Minister said he planned to detain all ""infiltrators"" – which Israeli lawdefines as anyone who irregularly enters Israeland which includes the 50,000 – and to deport them to a still-to-be-identified third country.
On March 3, HMW spoke by phone with an Eritrean man in Cairo who said he agreed to fly on February 28 from Israel to Uganda after Israeli officials refused to register his asylum claim and threatened to detain him for three years. He said the Ugandan authorities refused him entry and deported him to Cairo, where the authorities also refused him entry but said he could fly back to Israel where he faced further prolonged detention. After two days without sleep, the man refused and flew to Eritrea on March 6.
On March 4, Israel's attorney general called on the Interior Ministry not to send any Eritrean citizen ""to any destination outside Israel's borders"" until a range of legal issues had been clarified. In early March, UNHCR also reported that in mid-February, the authorities had begun handing out larger numbers of asylum application forms to detainees.
Human Rights Watch and HMW said that the attorney general's statement was a positive move, but that the Interior Ministry should not remove any Sudanese nationals either, should allow all detainees wishing to claim asylum to do so, should release them while their claims are examined, and should end all threats of prolonged detention.
The majority of those currently in detention entered Israel in or after June 2012 and were detained on arrival under Israel's recently amended ""Prevention of Infiltration"" law, also known as the ""Anti-Infiltration"" law, which allows the authorities to detain anyone irregularly entering Israel. Israeli authorities have also used a September 2012 regulationto arrest and detain about 250 people, most of them Eritrean and Sudanese nationals who have been living in Israel for several years.
The 2012 regulation allows the authorities to detain and deport any ""infiltrator"" who is suspected of – but not necessarily charged with or convicted of – offenses ""endangering national security or the public peace."" UNHCR officials in Israel and Israeli groups working with refugees say that many people detained under the regulation were suspected of only modest offenses, such as minor assault charges or possession of stolen goods such as mobile phones.
HMW has interviewed almost 1,000 Eritrean and Sudanese detainees in recent months and has documented the departure of hundreds of detained Sudanese nationals since December 11 after the authorities refused to register their asylum claims and threatened to detain them for three years or indefinitely.
""When I asked for asylum, the Ministry of Interior staff said,'Israel doesn't want black people here,'""a detained Sudanese man told HMW staff on December 19.""He told me I should go back to my country and that anyone who did not agree to leave would stay in prison for three years. I know many people who were told the same and who went back to Sudan.""
In January and February, HMW interviewed dozens of Eritrean detainees, some of whom have been detained for almost a year, who also said Israeli officials refused to register their asylum claims and told them that they had to choose between years in detention or removal to Uganda or Eritrea. HMW said that in the first two weeks of February, around 50 Eritreans signed documents ""agreeing"" under this pressure to be removed to Uganda.
""It doesn't matter how you dress this up, Israel is pushing people into a corner and giving them the repugnant choice of years of hardship in detention or removal from Israel,"" said Sigal Rozen, public policy coordinator with HMW. ""Those agreeing to leave say it was no choice at all. All they want is to get out of detention.""
On February 25, UNHCR in Tel Aviv criticized Israel's pressure on detained Eritreans, saying that ""agreement to return to Eritrea under a jail ultimatum cannot be considered voluntary by any criterion.""
On February 18, Interior Minister Eli Yishai told the Knesset that Israel had no formal agreement with Uganda or any other country governing transfer of Eritreans, although he added that Israel would continue ""with the utmost decisiveness"" to ensure that Eritrean and Sudanese nationals would ""voluntarily or involuntarily"" leave Israel.
UNHCR says it has received reports that the Israeli authorities have filmed detainees threatened with prolonged or indefinite detention who were asking to sign a statement saying they came to Israel to work and that they wanted to return to Eritrea or go to another country.
A Sudanese detainee told HMW in December that he had seen Interior Ministry staff filming people, ""asking them to say they wanted to go back to Sudan"" and that when the person being filmed said the wrong thing, the staff members said: ""Don't say that! Just say that you are from this and that country and that you want to go back.""
UNHCR also said Israel's failure until late February to register any detainees' asylum claims, and the resulting prospect of prolonged or indefinite detention, meant detainees faced significant pressure to agree to leave Israel. In its February 25 statement, the refugee agency said detainees ""don't receive full access to the refugee apparatus, and when there's no access ... lead[ing] to release, then there is no voluntary return.""
UNHCR Detention Guidelines say asylum seekers should be detained only ""as a last resort"" as a strictly necessary and proportionate measure to achieve a legitimate legal purpose and that countries should not detain asylum seekers simply for the purpose of deportation. Detention is permitted only briefly to establish a person's identity or for longer periods if it is the only way to achieve broader aims such as protecting national security or public health.
Israel does not have formal transfer or readmission agreements with any African country. UNHCR's Executive Committee says that states should expeditiously return people not needing international protection to ""their countries of origin, other countries of nationality or countries with an obligation to receive them back,"" but does not list as an appropriate option returns or transfers to countries that have no connections or obligations whatsoever toward the person being returned.
Human Rights Watch and HMW said that sending Eritreans to Uganda and Sudanese nationals to other countries where they had never been before clearly did not meet UNHCR's criteria.
""Sudanese and Eritrean nationals returning to their home countries from Israel risk persecution,"" Simpson said. ""Without formal agreements monitored by UNHCR, the Israeli authorities should not be transferring them to other countries either, let alone pressuring them to forego claiming asylum and to leave Israel.""
For details about Israel's restrictive asylum policies toward Eritrean and Sudanese nationals and extracts of HMW's interviews with detainees, please see below.
For Human Rights Watch's October 2012 joint news release with Israeli organizations on Israel's pushbacks of asylum seekers at its border with Egypt, please visit:
For Human Rights Watch's June 2012 news release calling on Israel to amend the newly revised Anti-Infiltration law that punishes asylum seekers for irregularly crossing into Israel, please visit:
For Human Rights Watch's September 2012 reporting on torture of Eritreans in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, please visit:
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Israel, please visit:
Authorities Thwart Detainees' Attempts to Claim Asylum to Coerce Agreement to Leave Israel
Israel purposefully uses several measures to pressure detained Eritrean and Sudanese nationals to agree to leave Israel, Human Rights Watch and HWM said. These are the threat of long-term detention, limited or no access to Israel's nascent asylum system, and approval of refugee claims at such extremely low rates that there are only very slim chances of being released from detention as a recognized refugee.
Israel has detained most of the 2,000 people currently in detention centers for about six months, and in some cases for more than a year, UNHCR said. UNHCR's 2012 Detention Guidelines say that countries should only detain asylum seekers as a measure of last resort, ""with liberty being the default position.""
HMW and other Israeli refugee groups have reported many times on the Israeli authorities' failure to give detainees the opportunity to lodge asylum claims. Detainees told HMW that if Israel had allowed them to claim asylum when they were first detained and had released them while reviewing their claims, they would not have agreed to leave Israel.
UNHCR and Israeli refugee organizations say that over the past nine months, hundreds of detainees have struggled to lodge asylum claims because of insufficient information on how to submit claims, some officials' refusals to distribute asylum application forms or lengthy delays in receiving forms.
Between September and the end of January, HMW staff working with interpreters conducted 137 prison visits and 963 detailed interviews with detainees.
Hundreds of detainees told HMW that when they asked how to claim asylum, officials – including prison guards, detention tribunal judges, and Tigrinya interpreters – told them they would be detained for at least three years or indefinitely if they lodged asylum claims.
Dozens told HMW that the prospect of prolonged detention and a lack of access to asylum meant they had little choice but to sign forms agreeing to their removal.
Some said officials simply denied they had a right to claim asylum. A detained Sudanese man told HMW on February 12:
""In the first interview I told [the officials] that I want to ask for asylum. When I said that, the interrogator banged his fist on the table and said that in Israel there is no asylum and that we come just to work and should go back [to Sudan].""
Some said officials refused to respond to their asylum requests and simply threatened long-term detention.One of the Sudanese detainees HMW interviewed on February 12 said:
""After HMW helped me to ask for asylum, the Ministry of Interior staff asked me three times whether I was ready to return to Sudan. I said no. They put pressure on me, saying that if something happened to my wife and children in Sudan it would be my fault. They said if I stayed, I would spend many years in prison. Some said three years, others said five, and then they said eight or ten years.""
Other detainees said they had no access to asylum application forms. An Eritrean man who has been detained for 10 months at the Saharonim detention center told HMW on February 14:
I did not fill out an asylum request form because I didn't have access to a form, so HMW tried to claim asylum for me. The judge said I would stay here [in detention] for three years. The bullet wound [from being shot in Sinai] means I use crutches. I have been here for a long time. The conditions here are hard for me, physically and emotionally. Because of the pain and my emotional state I agreed to leave for Uganda. If you tell me you will release me from prison [in Israel], I won't go to Uganda and I will wait.
In another case, detainees told HMW that after repeated requests, guards put 12 asylum application forms in a room and that so many detainees tried to grab them, the forms were torn apart in the rush.
Many said the prospect of prolonged detention meant that they felt forced to agree to leave Israel.
An Eritrean man detained for eight months in the Saharonim detention center, who has also unsuccessfully tried to claim asylum in detention, also told HMW on February 14:
""It is very hard to live here. Many people are in bad emotional states, and this is very stressful for all of us. That is the reason that people are choosing to go to Uganda. It's hard to bear the thought that we'll be in here for three more years.""
Other detainees simply referred to the overall confusion about asylum procedures and how long they might be detained.
An Eritrean man detained for eight months in the Saharonim detention center told HMW on February 14:
""Everything we are told in prison is very confusing. One person says we can file an asylum request and that we will get a response in three months, another says we will be here for three years, another says we can only go to Uganda.""
Human Rights Watch and HMW said that on February 17 at least 34 Eritrean detainees in Saharonim detention center demonstrated against what they said was the authorities' refusal to allow them to claim asylum. They were transferred to the Ktisot detention center, where they were made to live in tents as punishment.
Based on interviews with hundreds of detainees, UNHCR and HMW said that as a result of Israeli authorities' obfuscation of procedures and prolonged detention threats, hundreds of would-be asylum seekers detained since June 2012 have been unable to claim asylum.
UNHCR says Israel only started distributing a significant number of asylum application forms to some detainees in mid-February and that before February, very few forms were distributed.
On February 26, the Israeli authorities informed UNHCR in writing that there were no plans to deport Eritreans to Uganda or Eritrea. Human Rights Watch and HMW said Israel had not been accused of deporting Eritreans to Uganda or Eritrea and that the authorities' statement did not address the fact that Eritrean detainees had been told to sign ""voluntary"" removal papers or remain in detention for years.
HMW and UN Refugee Agency Attempts to Help Detainees Claim Asylum
Between September 2012 and mid-February 2013, HMW attempted to file 320 asylum claims with the Interior Ministry on behalf of detainees who said they had repeatedly asked detention center staff to give them asylum application forms, but that staff told them they had no forms.
Israel's 2011 asylum regulations do not specify the format in which an asylum claim should be lodged. HMW said it has repeatedly written to the Interior Ministry and immigration authorities to ask for copies of official asylum registration forms. When replying, the ministry ignored the request and simply said detainees were told how to claim asylum.
Since early January, the ministry has informed HMW that all its submissions were invalid because asylum claims had to be completed on official forms.
HMW staff visiting detention centers said detention officials started distributing a new standard six-page asylum registration form in English on February 12, the day on which HMW issued a news releasecondemning Israel's pressure on Eritrean detainees to agree to removal to Uganda or Eritrea.
Human Rights Watch and HMW said Israel has ignored its own asylum regulations, which say that ""information sheets regarding the manner of submitting an [asylum] application … the procedure for handling … applications, the duties of the applicant, the right of the asylum seeker to contact a legal representative of his choosing and the scope of representation to which he is entitled during the process, will be available in places of custody...""
In October, immigration authorities told HMW they had posted notices in all parts of the detention centers explaining how to claim asylum. HMW said it had not seen any such notices during its 137 visits between September and January, and UNHCR said that the authorities had not provided that information in the detention centers.
In December, UNHCR submitted a draft document to the Interior Ministry that explained in simple terms how detainees can lodge asylum claims. UNHCR said that in late February, the authorities posted unclear notices in detention centers on how to lodge claims.
In early March, Israel's Interior Ministry told UNHCR it had registered 800 asylum claims at the Saharonim detention center, up from 50 in December and 400 in January.
UNHCR said it has no evidence that the Interior Ministry is conducting adequate asylum reviews in detention and has asked to observe asylum interviews with detainees. Since 2011, the Interior Ministry has refused these requests for all but two interviews.
Other Pressure on Eritreans
Detained Eritreans told HMW in February that 23 of them who agreed to be removed to Uganda were taken on February 11 to the Eritrean Embassy in Tel Aviv to help arrange travel documentation.
HMW and UNHCR, who between them interviewed all 23 of the group, say that only six met with an embassy official, possibly the ambassador, but that the rest refused to meet with anyone, either because they had not known they would be taken to the embassy or because the first six were told the embassy could only help them travel to Eritrea. All 23 remain in detention.
An Eritrean man detained in the Saharonim detention center for a year told HMW on February 14 that he had decided to go to Uganda rather than remain in detention any longer:
""The extended stay in prison has made me hopeless. So last Monday [February 11] they took us to meet the Eritrean ambassador in Tel Aviv, but he said he could only help us go to Eritrea, not Uganda. We told him we did not want to go to Eritrea and then he asked us why we were claiming asylum in Israel.""
Two men taken to the Eritrean embassy on February 11 told HMW that an Eritrean official had ""asked for and written down names and phone numbers of their relatives and family in Eritrea."" Human Rights Watch and HMW said that putting Eritrean nationals who had been denied access to Israel's asylum system in contact with Eritrean officials put their lives and the lives of their relatives in Eritrea at risk. The Eritrean government treats asylum claims by Eritreans as treasonous acts.
Ruled by an extremely repressive government, Eritrea requires all but a few of its citizens under 50 to serve in the military indefinitely. Anyone of draft age leaving the country without permission is branded a draft evader or deserter, risking years in prison, often in inhumane conditions, as well as forced labor and torture. UNHCR's 2011 guidelines on Eritrean asylum seekers consider that, in practice, the punishment for desertion or evasion is so severe and disproportionate that it constitutes persecution.
UNHCR says that over 80 percent of Eritrean asylum seekers worldwide are granted some form of protection.
Israel has granted about 37,000 Eritreans living in Israel's cities a minimal form of what UNHCR calls ""temporary protection,"" which amounts to a right not to be deported to their home countries but nothing else. They are given ""conditional release permits,"" referring to a release from what would otherwise be deportation.
Israel told UNHCR in November 2012 that all permit holders could apply for asylum, but UNHCR says the authorities have not published any statements or information on this policy and that very few permit holders are aware they can apply. UNHCR says that it has not seen any documentation proving Israeli authorities are reviewing any claims Eritrean and Sudanese permit holders may have lodged.
Israel's Lack of Transfer Agreements With Third Countries
Israel does not have formal transfer or readmission agreements with any African countries.
UNHCR's Executive Committee Conclusion 96 of 2003 calls for efficient and expeditious return of people found not to need international protection to ""their countries of origin, other countries of nationality or countries with an obligation to receive them back.""
It does not list as an appropriate option transferring a rejected asylum seeker – or a person blocked from claiming asylum – to countries that have no ties with, or obligations toward, the person and where there is not even a bilateral agreement governing such a transfer. Human Rights Watch and HMW said sending Eritreans to Uganda clearly did not meet UNHCR's criteria.
Formal agreements on readmission of third country nationals – which involve returning them to countries they have passed through en route to the country that is sending them back –normally include provisions committing the sending country not to return people at risk of persecution to their home countries.
Human Rights Watch and HMW said that transfer agreements – to countries where the person has never been before – should have identical provisions. Absent such an agreement, Israel's transfer of Eritrean and Sudanese nationals to countries like Uganda provides no guarantee of admission to the third country and no assurance that those countries would not immediately return them to home countries where they would risk persecution.
UNHCR said it has not been actively involved in any discussions about facilitating voluntary repatriation, or travel to third countries, of Sudanese or Eritrean detainees from Israel. That is because UNHCR does not consider return from detention to be voluntary unless detainees have had full access to a fair, efficient, and transparent asylum system.
Risk of Indefinite Detention of Sudanese and Need to Recognize Them Automatically as Refugees
Human Rights Watch and HMW also said that Israel's inability to deport 600 detained Sudanese to Sudan because of the extremely high risk of persecution there means they face indefinite detention in Israel, unlawful under international law.
As it does with Eritreans, Israel has granted about 14,000 Sudanese nationals living in various parts of Israel informal temporary protection and has not registered any of them as asylum seekers.
The two organizations said Israel's coercion of detained Sudanese to return to Sudan meant the temporary protection status for the 14,000 currently not in detention – but who risk detention at any moment – was not enough to protect them against the risk of refoulement.
The 600 detainees, and 14,000 other Sudanese nationals in Israel, should be automatically granted refugee status. Section 52 of Sudan's Penal Code says that Sudanese nationals who visit an enemy state will be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sudanese officials have repeatedly referred to Israel as an enemy state and have threatened to apply the law.
In 2007, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said that visiting Israel was a crime and the Sudanese Refugees Commissioner claimed that Sudanese refugees in Israel wanted to ""implement Zionism agendas against Sudan,"" and called on Egyptian authorities to ""firmly penalize any Sudanese refugees if they were found trying to infiltrate through Egypt into Israel.""
Sudanese nationals in Israel therefore have a sur place refugee claim, in which the well-founded fear of being persecuted arises as a consequence of events that happened after the person left his or her country of origin.
50,000 Eritreans, Sudanese Risk Detention, Pressure to Leave Israel
Since 2006, around 37,000 Eritrean and 14,000 Sudanese nationals entered Israel through Egypt's Sinai region. The numbers of new arrivals prompted Israel to build a recently completed fence that runs the full 240 kilometers of Israel's border with Egypt, which now makes it extremely difficult for anyone to enter Israel irregularly from Egypt.
According to the Israeli authorities, in December only 40 people entered the country from Egypt, down from 1,500 a month for most of 2012. UNHCR says fewer than 20 entered from Egypt across the land border in January. In October 2012, Human Rights Watch reportedon Israel's pushbacks at the border fence and called on Israel not to reject and push asylum seekers back or deport them without first reviewing their refugee claims.
UNHCR says most of the approximately 50,000 Eritrean and Sudanese nationals in Israel live in Tel Aviv. They are free to move within Israel and can work informally, thanks to a January 2011 Supreme Court ruling which says that the police and other authorities may not take legal action against employers who hire people holding the permits. If the authorities want to take such legal action, they must inform the court 30 days in advance.
UNHCR, HMW, and other Israeli refugee groups say that Israeli officials have repeatedly criticized ""work infiltrators"" and threatened to fine employers, and have not publicized information about the Eritrean and Sudanese national's work rights.
Israeli refugee groups say they are concerned Israel will soon use the Prevention of Infiltration Law and the September 2012 regulation to detain tens of thousands Eritrean and Sudanese nationals currently living in Israel in four newly expanded detention centers with a capacity of 16,000 people, and then to deport them.
Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Interior Minister Yishai, have repeatedly threatened to deport all Sudanese and Eritrean nationals in Israel either to their home countries or to third countries. In early March, Israeli media reported the Interior Minister's most recent threats.
HMW said that in late February, Israel's Population and Immigration Authority posted a noticein the Saharonim and Ktsiot detention centers saying, among other things, that the government could use the Anti-Infiltration law to detain anyone who ""infiltrated"" – irregularly entered – Israel at any time. This would apply to the vast majority, if not all, Eritrean and Sudanese nationals who entered Israel over the past seven years or so. The notice said that ""a warrant will be issued against these infiltrators and they will be transferred to a detention facility.""
Israel's ""Prevention of Infiltration Law"" and the September 2012 ""Regulation for the Treatment of InfiltratorsInvolved in Criminal Proceedings""
2012 Amendments to Israel's 1954 ""Prevention of Infiltration"" law
Human Rights Watch and HMW said all Eritrean and Sudanese detainees face prolonged or even indefinite detention because of changes to detention powers in Israel's 1954 ""Prevention of Infiltration"" law that came into effect in June 2012.
The amendments give border guards and judges the power to detain indefinitely anyone who has irregularly entered Israel – that is, without passing through an official border post – and who is not a ""resident,"" as defined by Israel's Population Authority Law. The law refers to all such people as ""infiltrators.""
These legal provisions violate international refugee law by not distinguishing asylum seekers from others who enter irregularly, in effect punishing asylum seekers for their irregular entry.
In addition, UNHCR's 2012 Detention Guidelines say that ""detention of asylum seekers should be a measure of last resort, with liberty being the default position.""
They also say that countries should not detain asylum seekers simply for the purpose of deportation: ""It is unlawful to detain asylum-seekers in on-going asylum proceedings on grounds of expulsion as they are not available for removal until a final decision on their claim has been made …[D]etention for the purposes of expulsion can only occur after the asylum claim has been finally determined and rejected.""
Yet the Explanatory Note accompanying the 2012 amendments to the Israeli law say the amendments aim ""primarily to allow for the detention of infiltrators for a much longer period of time … and to add … the necessary mechanisms … for holding infiltrators in detention until their deportation.""
UNHCR's guidelines also say that deterring others from seeking asylum, or dissuading those who have already lodged their claims from pursuing them, is not a legitimate purpose to justify detention.
But the Explanatory Note to the 2012 amendments says that ""the expectation is that the length of … detention will curb the infiltration phenomenon… a phenomenon which has to be prevented … in order to protect … the state's sovereignty.""
Israel's Anti-Infiltration law says that the head of the Border Control Authority and Detention Review Tribunals may – but are not obliged to – release an ""infiltrator"" with a guarantee if a person has requested a residency permit, which includes asylum claims, and the ""handling"" of the request has not begun three months after the request was made, or if there has been ""no decision"" on the request nine months after the request was submitted, or if the ""infiltrator"" has been detained for three years.
The new provisions replace parts of Israel's 1952 Law of Entry into Israel, under which people irregularly entering Israel should be deported within 60 days or released, although in practice detainees have been held for much longer because authorities say the law gives them discretion, not an obligation, to release after 60 days.
The law says that the head of the Border Control Authority and Detention Review Tribunals may refuse to release ""infiltrators"" after three or nine months, or after three years, if, among other things, they have delayed their deportation because of a lack of cooperation and if their release ""would endanger national security, public order or public health.""
The Anti-Infiltration law also says that the head of the Border Control Authority and Detention Review Tribunals may – but are not obliged – to release ""in exceptional circumstances"" an ""infiltrator"" if due to ""age or physical condition"" detention is ""likely to harm his or her health and there is no other way to prevent the harm,"" or if there are ""other special humanitarian grounds.""
September 2012 Regulation ""for the Treatment of Infiltrators Involved in Criminal Proceedings""
A September 24, 2012 regulation ""for the Treatment of Infiltrators Involved in Criminal Proceedings"" allows Israeli authorities to detain and deport any ""infiltrator"" who is suspected of – but not necessarily charged with – criminal offenses defined in the 1954 law as offenses ""endangering national security or the public peace,"" or who has been convicted of such offenses and who has served a prison sentence. The 1954 law does not give more details on what constitutes such offenses.
UNHCR and Israeli nongovernmental organizations say that some of the people detained under the September regulation were suspected or convicted of only minor offenses, such as minor assault charges, possession of stolen goods such as bicycles or mobile phones or falsification of documents such as work visas, making their detention illegal under Israeli law.
HMW says that in a few cases its lawyers have successfully challenged decisions to detain Eritrean and Sudanese nationals under the September regulation.
Human Rights Watch and HMW said that they were aware of only three cases in which the head of the Border Control Authority or Detention Review Tribunal judges have used their discretion to release a detainee under the amended 1954 law. Although all detainees have the right to appeal a Detention Tribunal's decision not to release them to the Administrative Affairs Court, very few detainees can afford to pay a lawyer to represent them, which means in effect they have no right toappealtribunal decisions.",7056,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966549515724182
4653fc93-4cda-4a10-bdb0-32c4781a8158,2018-08-20T08:37:03+00:00,2018-05-03,1,https://news.antiwar.com/2018/05/03/us-claims-chinese-lasers-injured-two-pilots-threatens-consequences/,"The United States has issued a formal complaint to China on Thursday, claiming two US pilots were injured in Djibouti by Chinese laser beams. The White House is also threatening ‘consequences‘ for China over the incidents.
The Pentagon says that in the past several weeks, there have been a series of incidents in which US warplanes operating out of an airbase in Djibouti had “military-grade” laser pointers shined on their cockpits as they landed.
This amounted, so far, to two “minor injuries” to US pilots’ eyes. The Pentagon says that the laser pointers pose “a true threat to our airmen” and that they take the matter very seriously. Officials added they were confident whoever shined the lasers was Chinese but offered literally no evidence of that.
The US airbase in Djibouti is the only permanent US military base in Africa. China opened a naval base in Djibouti just a few miles away. It’s not clear how the Pentagon decided the lasers were Chinese, beyond them having a base sort of nearby. They are, however, sticking to that story. China has not responded.
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
- Iran FM Says US 'Action Group' Will Fail to Overthrow Iran - August 19th, 2018
- North Korea Praises Trump, Bashes His Critics - August 19th, 2018
- As Afghan President Announces Ceasefire, Pompeo Says 'Time for Peace' - August 19th, 2018
- Iraq Supreme Court Ratifies Election Results, Sadr Still Leads - August 19th, 2018
- Pentagon Spokesman: US to Stay in Iraq as Long as Needed - August 19th, 2018",366,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216051.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820082010-20180820102010-00496.warc.gz,0.97451776266098
d6198f16-6a31-4208-a55f-7d4a5119f97f,2013-05-20T21:58:57+00:00,2013-03-12,1,http://beta.fool.com/leokornsun/2013/03/12/imax-maximum-growth-minimum-risk/26760/?source=TheMotleyFool,"IMAX: Maximum Growth, Minimum Risk
Leo is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
Over the past decade, IMAX (NYSE: IMAX) has become synonymous with the premium experience of watching Hollywood blockbusters - on a screen as high as 98 feet with over 40 speakers. It wasn’t always this way - for the first three decades after its debut in 1971, IMAX was restricted to special presentations at museums and educational venues, since technical limitations kept films short, at approximately 40-50 minutes.
In the early 2000s, however, its film-making and projection technologies were modified - later digitally - to accommodate feature-length films. This key advance, combined with rapidly improving computer-generated special effects in high-budget films, created a market for IMAX projectors and screens to gradually replace traditional movie projector systems.
Propelled by rising demand for its projection systems, increasingly technically impressive films, and evolving 3D technology, has IMAX become a perfect stock to own to capitalize on this revolution of modern film entertainment?
How does IMAX make money?
During the fourth quarter of 2012, IMAX earned an adjusted 23 cents per share, easily topping the analyst estimate of 16 cents. Net income grew 105.9% from the prior year quarter to $12.9 million.
Sales from revenue sharing agreements - in which IMAX takes a cut of the movie profits - rose 103.4% to $17 million. IMAX currently holds revenue sharing agreements with AMC Entertainment, Regal Entertainment (NYSE: RGC) and Cinemark Holdings (NYSE: CNK).
However, IMAX’s revenue from systems sales dropped 18.5% to $24.3 million, since it only installed 14 new systems in theaters during the fourth quarter, as opposed to 17 a year earlier.
Yet that slip shouldn't worry investors - looking ahead, the company has already signed contracts to install 38 new theater systems (28 in new locations) going into the new fiscal year. IMAX's wide-reaching revenue sharing arrangements show that theater companies are quickly realizing that IMAX has become the de facto industry standard.
The remainder of IMAX’s revenue is generated from periodic system maintenance fees, theater operations, and its own branded films.
Total revenue grew 16.6% to $77.8 million, also ahead of the $74 million that analysts had projected. Gross box office revenues for IMAX titles rose 55.7% to $152 million - a record for the company. The average box office per screen rose from $221,600 to $264,400.
CEO Richard Gelfond offered a clear explanation of IMAX’s primary goals:
“Our 2013 objectives are straightforward — continue to expand our footprint worldwide, maximize the scalability of our business and further leverage our differentiated end-to-end technology platform to enable more leading filmmakers and studios to create an entertainment experience that cannot be found anywhere else.”
Top and Bottom Line Growth
IMAX’s top and bottom line have grown 104.1% and 363.6%, respectively, over the past ten years.
Although earnings are slightly inconsistent, mainly due to the recession, it was still profitable for seven of the past ten years. Looking forward, analysts at Thomson Financial estimate that IMAX will earn $0.98 per share for fiscal 2013, and follow that up with $1.35 per share in 2014.
Revenue growth was also higher in 2009 and 2010, prior to sliding slightly in 2011. According to analyst projections, however, IMAX’s revenue is expected to rise 9.5% to $311 million in fiscal 2013, and 15.7% to $360 million in 2014.
In my opinion, these positive catalysts are just the beginning for IMAX, as demand for its large projection systems rises domestically as well as overseas.
China, the world’s second largest economy and a population of 1.3 billion, has a rapidly growing middle class. IMAX currently operates 92 theaters in China, and is planning to open 133 more in busy urban areas. China’s strong interest in movie theaters was reflected in Dalian Wanda Group’s $2.6 billion takeover of AMC Entertainment last year.
IMAX is also enjoying strong demand in Western Europe, Japan and Russia. The company currently operates 643 IMAX theaters in 52 countries.
Major Movie Releases & 3D
As long as IMAX is on fire, then it needs some good, effects-laden Hollywood offerings to act as kindling to keep it burning. Last year was a strong year for movie studios - blockbusters such as The Hunger Games, The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises all drew in record crowds. This year, films such as Skyfall, The Hobbit, Jack the Giant Slayer and Oz: The Great and Powerful are continuing the trend.
IMAX is an excellent play on apparent insatiability of movie watchers for one main reason: it doesn’t have take the multimillion dollar risks that studios such as Time Warner or Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) have to shoulder to create films. IMAX merely has to use its technology to show the films, and with each film shown, its technology is showcased to more users, helping its popularity spread further.
3D technology, which became immensely popular after the 2009 release of James Cameron’s Avatar, has also fueled demand for the 3D IMAX experience, which is considered the top-tier experience for viewing major film releases.
Considering Disney’s ambitious plans for its Marvel franchises and its upcoming Star Wars sequels, I believe that “3D IMAX” will remain the premium standard for a long time.
Thanks to its niche market and peerless brand recognition, IMAX does not have any direct competitors - rather, they can be considered partners that help spread its brand. However, IMAX’s growth can still be measured against other major movie theater operators, to see how it stands fundamentally.
|Forward P/E||5-year PEG||Price to Sales (ttm)||Return on Equity (ttm)||Debt to Equity||Profit Margin|
($2.01 billion debt)
Source: Yahoo Finance, March 9.
Based on these metrics, we can see that IMAX is trading at a premium, albeit a well-deserved one, considering its beefier margins and lower debt levels. While Cinemark has grown over the past five years, its growth has been slow in comparison to IMAX. The reason is simple: whereas Cinemark and Regal must increase their expenses to adopt IMAX technology in their aging theaters, IMAX simply profits from the shift.
Regal Entertainment has fared the worst over the past five years, despite fairly strong growth in earnings. However, dwindling top-line growth sank Regal’s shares, which have performed the worst.
The Foolish Bottom Line
Investing in IMAX depends on one central thesis - will movies get progressively bigger and more dazzling, requiring the largest screens enhanced with 3D technology to view in their fully intended glory?
If so, then IMAX - with its growing brand, insulated business model, coupled with strong top and bottom line growth - just might be one of the strongest investments of this decade.
Leo Sun owns shares of Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Imax and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of Imax and Walt Disney. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is this post wrong? Click here. Think you can do better? Join us and write your own!",1628,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.945804357528686
52add80d-b75a-47ac-8f6d-0b5c8accd033,2019-08-21T04:51:29+00:00,2012-02-01,0,http://entries.contest.metacpan.org/2012/02/ronald-neubert-3.html,"This is the blog of the MetaCPAN Logo contest. All submissions will be posted here. For more information on the contest and on how to participate, check out the Contest Page.
This comment has been removed by the author.
The students who avail professional writing help look for fast solutions. The fast assessment writing service introduced by Sample assignment by online assignment services. Simply send in the details of your assignment, and we’ll do the rest. Be it providing a mechanical Engineering assignment help, management assignment help, business plan assessments, business strategy assignments,cdr help and more we have you covered.
I've heard you would write an academic paper. Check this rules https://persuasivepapers.com/persuasive-essay-outline/ then!
I think this logo is awesome. Do you have something else to show here?
Thanks for sharing the valuable information. In continuation of your excellent web post, I want to tell about a website (My Assignment Services) that provides assignment help services to students at cost effective prices. Whatever be your assignment, essay, reports, dissertation, their experts are sources of every problem that comes your way. They are not just limited to a single domain, instead they will guide you in every assignment related to nursing assignment help, management, engineering, nursing, law, and much more.My Assignment Services has been consistently delivering and fulfilling the demand of assignment across the world with their assignment help melbourne, Australia, UK, Malaysia, USA, Russia, Canada, UAE, South Africa, Vietnam, Singapore, etc. Whenever it comes to quality assignment help services at affordable prices with satisfied customer satisfaction rating, My Assignment Services would be a good name to call.
This is the great contest for the motivation and encouragement of the designers. The people that have shared their logos are meaningful. I also wanted to make the logo for my website Captain America Leather costume Jacket. I didn’t get an idea for my website. There are many designers sharing their incredible and meaningful logos. Help me out and let me know the different ideas.
You are very good at that.คาสิโนออนไลน์ที่น่าเชื่อถือและมีความเป็นมืออาชีพที่สุดในตอนนี้โปรโมชั่นGclub ของทางทีมงานตอนนี้แจกฟรีโบนัส 50% เพียงแค่คุณสมัคร สล็อตออนไลน์ กับทางทีมงานของเราเพียงเท่านั้นร่วมมาเป็นส่วนหนึ่งกับเว็บไซต์คาสิโนออนไลน์ของเราได้เลยค่ะสมัครสล็อตออนไลน์ >>> Goldenslot สนใจร่วมสนุกกับ คาสิโนออนไลน์ คลิ๊กได้เลยมีทั้งคาสิโนออนไลน์ หวยออนไลน์ ฟุตบอลออนไลน์ สล็อตออนไลน์ และอื่นๆอีกมากมาย
Nice Post. Thanks for sharing this post. Apart from this, I am Johny Sins from Plumbers In Oregon to provide the plumbers in your area.
Trying to decide betweenbitdefender versus Kaspersky? Read our comparison and see which security software you need to keep your devices safe.
Great post! I didn’t knowral of these resources and I’m going to go check them out now! cloud backup
Commercial Important Person (CIP) Imam for people who are of great importance to them. Many people busy Managers, traders and applicants for this service. Special services, Imam Airport provides time management and optimization.cip ika",1277,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315809.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821043107-20190821065107-00487.warc.gz,0.693170607089996
436f7aa1-e9dd-4941-ac51-1fea82b81931,2018-08-16T12:36:50+00:00,2018-08-16,0,https://www.mhlnews.com/archive/key-successful-peak-season-hiring-lies-outsourcing,"Chicago, IL, – Denise Foy, president of PeopleScout, a leading provider of outsourced candidate screening and processing solutions, says there are several challenges and one key solution involved in successful employer recruitment during the busy holiday season.
""There are three main challenges employers face during the holiday season when warehouses and retail outlets are heavily stocked with new merchandise,"" said Foy. ""First, many companies have to increase the number of employees on staff in anticipation of serving more customers. This is further complicated by the fact that companies often lose a number of short-term employees, such as college students, during peak seasons as they return home, leaving positions that need to be refilled.
""A second challenge is presented by the fact that most companies can't afford the significant expense that comes with building the infrastructure for screening candidates, hiring large volumes of employees and training them in short time frames,"" continued Foy. ""Some large retailers have to double and triple staffs to meet customer needs during the peak season, which can involve adding thousands of employees within weeks. The degree of screening and processing of candidates that is required today presents a third challenge. Companies must know their new employees have been fully and carefully screened – not only for credentials, but also drug testing and background checks prior to being hired.""
While these are serious problems to deal with, the key to meeting the challenges of seasonal hiring for many companies increasingly lies in outsourcing human resources and candidate-processing requirements, maintains Foy. Firms that specialize in short-term and large volume staffing, can greatly alleviate employers of administrative burdens, high costs, overhead and corporate stress associated with hiring numerous seasonal employees in a short period of time.
""Comprehensive short-term candidate processing and staffing is the field in which PeopleScout excels,"" said Dave Coons, vice president of sales for PeopleScout. ""Internally, we ramp up to handle increased holiday recruiting as early as April of each year, and once our in-house preparation begins, we begin urging our clients to get ready for the upcoming peak season. We recommend that employers start preparing for seasonal staffing no later than the beginning of the fourth quarter of each year. By that time, companies can usually estimate how many employees they will need, what features of our customizable technology they would like to utilize, and most importantly, how we can work with them to support and guarantee the results they pay for.""
""The best results come from a mix of pioneered technology and hundreds of personal in-house interviewers,"" said Foy. ""The ideal process also includes tracking and reporting all aspects of the recruitment program to ensure optimal results and continuous process improvement. PeopleScout's proficiency is based largely on our ability to foresee the challenges and match candidates to positions, providing a smooth seasonal hiring process for our clients while recruiting and hiring the right number of people at a reduced cost. Many companies come onboard during a peak season, and after seeing the value that outsourced recruiting can provide, remain loyal clients with improved built-in hiring and business practices year-round.""
PeopleScout is a pioneer in the recruitment industry, with innovative solutions in high volume candidate processing services. For more information, please visit http://www.peoplescout.com or call 800-966-4803.",667,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210735.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816113217-20180816133217-00059.warc.gz,0.968120992183685
7005532d-bb49-410d-b725-72cd8400acfb,2020-10-28T08:57:54+00:00,2020-10-28,0,https://thebeautycrop.com/collections/best-sellers/products/palm-balm,"The Beauty Crop
Free and easy returns
Free shipping on orders over $30
What is It
Multi-use balm for lips, cheeks and eyelids
Formulated with 90% natural plant-based oils including coconut and apricot kernel oil to nourish, condition and hydrate the skin while bestowing the most gorgeous vacation glow.
Buttery cream blush or highlight blends seamlessly into cheeks and doubles up as a glowing lip tint
Travel friendly, multi tasking balm, perfect for on the go!
Great to reduce moisture loss via pores. This hero ingredient also helps to smooth the skin.
Keeps the skin smooth, retaining natural moisture.
Helps to hydrate the skin
Apricot Kernel Oil
Helps to moisturise dry, sensitive and chapped lips. Apricot Oil helps to protect and moisturise the lips without leaving a greasy residue.
Cocos NucIfera (Coconut) Oil, Carnauba Wax, Prunus Armeniaca( Apricot) Kernel Oil, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate)Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera(Grape Seed) Seed Oil, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- (may contain) (peut contenir) Mica, Red 27 Lake(CI 45410), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Titanium Dioxide(CI 77891), Red Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Yellow Iron Oxide (CI 77492), Black Iron Oxide (CI 77499)]
How to use it?
Apply to cheeks, lips or eyelids and blend using the warmth of fingertips for natural radiant color and highlight. Sweep on for a subtle sheen or build up for a more intense effect.",374,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107897022.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028073614-20201028103614-00347.warc.gz,0.728463292121887
9341b077-192e-448e-b005-c2181710fe3a,2022-05-18T07:44:36+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://scarletblue.com.au/escort/bianca-birkley?city=Auckland,"Note: You are currently viewing in discreet mode no images will be visible. Click here to turn discreet mode off
I am a striking beauty, a luxurious courtesan who knows how to carry herself with grace and finesse. I love taking special care with my appearance, scent, and hygiene. I am dressed beautifully for your arrival. I would be delighted to have you join me.
Please mention when booking: Name / Age / desired date / desired time / desired length / What service you would like (PSE or GFE), Open-minded so don't be afraid to ask questions.
I aim to reply promptly within the hours of 9am to late evening. I prioritise replying to respectful introductions over can I book, and I am rarely in a position to answer calls.
|1 Hour||650 NZD|
|1.5 Hours||900 NZD|
|2 Hours||1200 NZD|
|4 Hours||2250 NZD||dinner date and sexy fun|
|1 Hour||700 NZD|
|1.5 Hours||950 NZD|
|2 Hours||1250 NZD|
- Affectionate cuddling
- Affectionate kissing
- Anal play - On you
- BS - body slide
- CBJ – covered blow job
- COB – cum on body
- Erotic sensual massage
When can we meet?
|Monday||10:30 am||10:00 pm|
|Tuesday||10:00 am||4:00 pm|
|Wednesday||Please contact for time||Please contact for time|
|Thursday||Please contact for time||Please contact for time|
|Friday||Please contact for time||Please contact for time|
|Saturday||Please contact for time||Please contact for time|
|Sunday||Please contact for time||Please contact for time|
- Flexible hours by appointment
- Please contact me for my availability
- Pre bookings preferred, but can be available at short notice
- Available 7 days
- Available by appointment
Currently no tours planned. Subscribe to receive updates when Bianca Birkley plans a tour to your city
Preferred Contact Method
Please mention when booking: Name / Age / desired date / desired time / desired length / What service you would like (PSE or GFE), Open-minded so don't be afraid to ask questions
- There are no testimonials for this escort, yet.",558,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00014.warc.gz,0.804742038249969
aa41e3b5-3db6-4582-a828-b8d60e15fa7d,2022-05-26T08:15:56+00:00,2015-03-21,1,https://newrevenue.org/2015/03/21/sovereign-tribes/,"Native American Tribes in what the Department of Justice calls “Indian Country” are like sovereign nations, so they can set up systems to allow the sale of marijuana, says the Federal government. Over 100 Tribes are looking into selling it.
So can a state erect a roadblock and inspect everyone coming out, as a nation can at its international border? I imagine there is learning on that question, but I have no idea. Those are questions of federalism or Federal-Tribal law or something that are beyond a tax man. I know enough to conclude that warrantless federal searches are OK at our borders with the sovereign nations of Canada and Mexico. But can a state conduct them ever?
And can warrantless searches be effective? Tribal land reportedly is sometimes so remote as to make smuggling across international borders relatively easy.",169,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604495.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526065603-20220526095603-00203.warc.gz,0.952318429946899
16448a2d-2ff4-4f2e-84d3-3d026d2e12dc,2017-08-18T01:09:53+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://wordofthedayfreshfresh.blogspot.com/2011/01/moor.html,"1. a tract of open, peaty, wasteland, often overgrown with heath, common in high latitudes and altitudes where drainage is poor; heath.
2. a tract of land preserved for game.
–verb (used with object)
1. to secure (a ship, boat, dirigible, etc.) in a particular place, as by cables and anchors or by lines.
2. to fix firmly; secure.
–verb (used without object)
3. to moor a ship, small boat, etc.
4. to be made secure by cables or the like.
5. the act of mooring.
I often wonder about
Mooring meanings together
Securing them to one same word,
While I trace provenance
For a clue
For their gathering.
short forms 17th August 2017
16 hours ago",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104204.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818005345-20170818025345-00064.warc.gz,0.931500792503357
bd55eab9-9407-4c16-b700-1b45522f6c99,2015-03-27T05:27:55+00:00,2014-08-01,1,http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2014-08/combat-fleets,"This summer 49 surface ships, 6 submarines, more than 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel from more than 20 nations took part in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014. Hosted by the U.S. Navy every other year, RIMPAC is the world’s largest multinational maritime exercise. This year’s event turned out to be even more unique because it involved a powerful contingent of forces from the People’s Republic of China. This was the first time the People’s Liberation Army Navy was invited to attend. China sent its modern Luyang II–class (Project 052C) guided-missile destroyer Haikou , the Jiangkai II–class (Project 054A) guided-missile frigate Yeuyang , the Fuchi-class replenishment ship Qiandaohu , and the hospital ship Daishandao (also called the Peace Ark, pictured here pierside), as well as Z-8 and Z-9 maritime helicopters and a maritime dive unit. Rumor has it that China will be invited back for future RIMPACs, although previous attendees have included Russia and Thailand, both of which were noticeably absent this year in light of ongoing political and military issues.",256,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00259-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951796770095825
9012faa7-4bfc-4c80-bdd7-5695d5a27e64,2016-07-26T08:25:48+00:00,2003-11-01,0,http://www.fstdt.com/QuoteComment.aspx?QID=5388,"Us Christians know for a 100% certainty God existents based on the evidence all around us yet their are many misguided people that believe there is no way possible that you CAN know if God exists. Too bad so many people don’t have the 100% certainty God exists that we Evangelical Christians do.
Stevangelist, Rapture Ready 7 Comments
[11/1/2003 12:00:00 AM]
Fundie Index: 1",93,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824757.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00250-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.882874250411987
5189e0e5-fe79-49b1-a01a-68ca25b3a4f3,2015-03-30T23:34:34+00:00,2013-03-19,0,http://www.ydr.com/crime/ci_22823777/police-arrest-man-look-female-after-chase-and,"An officer tried to pull over Harold Weaver, 31, of Lancaster County who was driving with an expired registration, inspection and emissions, Hege said.
Weaver drove away from the officer on a chase that lasted about a minute, Hege said. When Weaver tried to make a hard right turn onto a dirt road, the car he was driving flipped into a waterway that leads to the Susquehanna River, Hege said.
Weaver ran from the car and his girlfriend, who is five months pregnant and was a passenger in the vehicle, ran into the woods, Hege said.
Weaver jumped into the Susquehanna River and was soon taken in to custody by a Lower Windsor Township Police officer who was able to get to him, Hege said.
As of Tuesday evening, police had not yet located Weaver's girlfriend, whose name was not released, Hege said.
""We're more concerned for her safety at this point,"" Hege said.
Weaver was taken to York Hospital Tuesday afternoon and treated for possible hypothermia, Hege said. He had been released by early evening and was being arraigned for charges involving traffic violations, fleeing and eluding police and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hege said Weaver was wanted on warrants involving shoplifting and fleeing and eluding police.
Hege said it was not confirmed if the girlfriend had warrants for her arrest.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Wrightsville Borough Police through 911.",309,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00202-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.990359604358673
078191ea-d2de-428b-bad5-4253b237288c,2018-08-20T06:47:51+00:00,2017-11-01,1,http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/kluane-lake-wind-project-funding-1.4380814,"Kluane Lake wind project to go ahead, with investment from Ottawa
Kluane First Nation plans to break ground next year on project to build 3 wind turbines
The Kluane First Nation has received the final $1 million it needs to fund a project to build three wind turbines near Kluane Lake.
The latest investment comes through the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs's Northern REACHE program, which funds renewable energy projects in off-grid northern communities.
The federal funds, combined with a separate $1 million from the Yukon Government, complete the budget needed to build the Kluane N'Tsi (Wind) Energy Project.
""We've been working on it for a long time so we're really happy to see it come to fruition,"" said Kate Ballegooyen, environmental officer for the First Nation.
""It's kind of a perfect storm right now, with new federal funding coming out, and I think an overall change in tone, and sense of urgency on the renewable energy front.""
The funding is contingent on the First Nation negotiating a power purchase agreement with ATCO Electric Yukon. The hope is to have that in place by February.
A heritage assessment for the Yukon Government should be completed by the spring, which will be followed by a land lease plan — the turbines will be built on Yukon government land, not First Nation settlement land.
""Those are the only regulatory hurdles we're looking at, and I think we're prepared to take those on,"" said Ballegooyen.
She says the wind energy generated by the towers is expected to offset more than a quarter of the diesel used annually by Destruction Bay and Burwash Landing — about 160,000 litres per year.
A stronger Canadian dollar and lower turbine prices have allowed the First Nation to look at different models from the original proposal.
The turbines it now intends to build will be freestanding, without guy wires. This is expected to mitigate concerns raised during the Yukon Socio-Economic Assessment Board's (YESAB) review of the project. In its recommendation, YESAB acknowledged the potential for ""significant"" loss of local birds.
""Guy wires can be a greater cause of bird mortality than the turbines themselves,"" the review board wrote, in its report.
The new model is also shorter than the one originally proposed — 37 metres instead of 50 metres. The three turbines will have a combined capacity of 300 kW.
A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for National Aboriginal Day — June 21, 2018.",515,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215858.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820062343-20180820082343-00225.warc.gz,0.949078381061554
4616aaa9-f8f9-4976-bad7-f3873b08c474,2013-06-19T14:26:04+00:00,2013-05-03,0,http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/crime/article/253963/82/Firefighter-charged-with-molesting-girl-for-6-years,"Winter Haven, Florida -- A lieutenant with the Winter Haven Fire Department was arrested for inappropriately touching a girl for 6 years from the time she was 9 years old.
During an interview with detectives on May 3, 44-year-old Bobby Creech admitted to touching the girl's breasts from 1997 to 2006 during what he called ""sweet hugs"" and ""tickle fights"".
In a statement, he apologized to the girl, now 24, for everything he had done to her and that he has hated himself for so long for what he did.
Creech, of Tampa, is being charged with Lewd Molestation.
Back in February 2012, Creech was charged with Kidnapping, Battery and Tampering with a Victim after he forced his former girlfriend into a vehicle after an argument. Police say the woman had abrasions and she told them he threatened her life.",178,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.988963305950165
90a02958-9786-443b-8469-cee25260935b,2018-08-20T20:57:36+00:00,2017-09-28,1,http://247latestnews.com/north-korean-companies-closed-china/,"China has told North Korean companies operating in its territory to close down as it implements United Nations sanctions against the reclusive state. The companies will be shut by early January. Joint Chinese and North Korean ventures will also be forced to close.
China, Pyongyang’s only major ally, has already banned textile trade and limited oil exports. The move is part of an international response to North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test. The UN Security Council, of which China is a member, voted unanimously for fresh sanctions on 11 September.
China’s commerce ministry said it had set a deadline of 120 days from the passing of the resolution for any North Korean companies within its borders to close.
Source : PTI",148,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217006.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820195652-20180820215652-00164.warc.gz,0.967519462108612
6105312f-6015-448c-8cf6-c5dc0e6d3d8f,2020-10-30T04:45:38+00:00,2018-12-31,0,https://scaletechconf.com/speaker/inmar-givoni/,"Inmar Givoni is an Autonomy Engineering Manager at Uber Advanced Technology Group, Toronto, where she leads a team whose mission is to bring from research and into production cutting-edge deep-learning models for self-driving vehicles. She received her PhD (Computer Science) in 2011 from the University of Toronto, specializing in machine learning, and was a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. She worked at Microsoft Research, Altera (now Intel), Kobo, and Kindred at roles ranging from research scientist to VP, Big Data, applying machine learning techniques to various problem domains and taking concepts from research to production systems.
She is an inventor of several patents and has authored numerous top-tier academic publications in the areas of machine learning, computer vision, and computational biology. She is a regular speaker at AI events, and is particularly interested in outreach activities for young women, encouraging them to choose technical career paths. For her volunteering efforts she has received the 2017 Arbor Award from UofT. In 2018 she was recognized as one of Canada’s 50 inspiring women in STEM.",219,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107907213.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030033658-20201030063658-00525.warc.gz,0.974929928779602
afe25c9d-c134-4433-b6d4-c21a1ae45c05,2015-04-01T10:51:38+00:00,2009-09-29,0,http://www.goblueridge.net/community/7689,"|UNEWZ SUBMISSION: Don't Throw that Bottle Away!|
|Written by Michelle Eldreth|
|Tuesday, 29 September 2009 06:39|
Did you know that come Oct. 1, that will be illegal to throw plastic bottles in the trash can?
Rigid plastic containers such as soda and water bottles, laundry detergent containers and milk jugs, will no longer be able to be discarded in regular trash bins beginning Oct. 1 after the state of North Carolina becomes one of the first in the nation to ban the practice.
|Share This Article:|",122,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00201-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.923807442188263
9f19aabd-4586-4c9d-9731-26cb7507bc6f,2019-08-21T22:16:42+00:00,2019-08-21,0,https://www.cakecraftworld.co.uk/shop/,"Welcome To Our World Of Cake Decorating
Cake Craft World is the UK's leading cake decorating and sugarcraft store with over 10,000 products. We offer a fabulous range of cake decorations, equipment, tools, books and packaging - with super fast delivery available. With so many cake decorating supplies we are sure you will find what you are looking for. Our friendly customers service team are here to help if you need any advice.
Run your own business ? We offer great discounts for businesses and in some product lines wholesale prices - just give us a call or use our contact form.
Love Cake Decorating? Check out Cake Decorating TV and discover thousands of hours of cake decorating tutorials. Whether you're a home baker starting out or a seasoned professional, our experts are on hand to guide you every step of the way.",173,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316549.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821220456-20190822002456-00005.warc.gz,0.92264848947525
2f4ae9b6-7023-4fcc-8c37-b8095ce22e64,2022-05-19T10:05:56+00:00,2021-12-19,1,https://www.bookingclinic.com/en/treatments/Reproductive%20medicine/Infertility/Conventional%20In%20Vitro%20Fertilization%20(IVF),"It is perfectly normal for a woman to want to improve her body, especially after a pregnancy and birth or a surgery. The way we feel about our body and appearance is of major importance, key to the boost of self-confidence and good mood. There are solutions with which you can correct any kind of imperfection questioning the femininity of a woman, and achieve the desired appearance.
More than 600,000 knee-replacement surgeries are done in the United States every year, and as Baby Boomers continue to age, some say that figure will grow to 1 million within the next decade. Patients are increasingly choosing an option that allows doctors to build their patient’s knees.
Less than a year ago, climbing a flight of stairs would have been impossible for Amanda Fair-Evans. “I couldn’t even get out of the car, and I was like, ‘What is this?’” Fair-Evans said. The pain in her left knee was unbearable. Fair-Evans tried medication and cortisone shots and finally begged her doctor for surgery. “I have no quality of life,” Fair-Evans recalled saying. “I have grandkids and I want to play with my grandkids. Please give me a new knee.”
Dr. Mathew Pombo, an orthopedic surgeon, felt Fair-Evans would be a great candidate for a personalized replacement knee. A standing CT scan of a patient’s leg captures the alignment, followed by a three-dimensional printing process. “We can input components into the computer and print off a specific femur and a specific tibia that fits the bone perfectly,” Pombo said. It takes about six weeks for a medical company to create the custom knee. During surgery, doctors remove the damaged joint. Then, using individually designed tools, surgeons insert the new joint and cement it in. “It’s basically like putting a train on perfectly aligned train tracks,” Pombo said. “It should wear better.”
Five months later, Fair-Evans had her other knee replaced. Now she’s back to the things she loves to do. “(I’m) taking long walks, playing with my grandkids and dancing,” Fair-Evans said. “I haven’t danced in a long time.” Pombo said there is a faster recovery, less blood loss and easier range of motion when patients have the personalized 3D knee surgery.",526,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662526009.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519074217-20220519104217-00625.warc.gz,0.956034183502197
1ec1f10c-5384-4a15-95ed-0df49109a3b1,2019-08-20T09:45:56+00:00,2016-12,1,http://www.v2g.co.uk/2016/12/nissan-unveil-solar-pv-integrated-static-xstorage-for-uk/,"In two separate press releases there have been two interesting announcements from Nissan on the ex EV battery storage front. In the first there’s a football connection!
Nissan, power management leader Eaton and The Mobility House today signed a ground-breaking 10-year deal with Amsterdam ArenA – home of Ajax Football Club and world-famous entertainment venue – to provide back-up power from second life Nissan LEAF batteries.
The xStorage Buildings system efficiently stores and distributes energy when it’s needed, ensuring that the lights never go out at the renowned 55,000-seater stadium, which has played host to numerous high profile concerts and sporting events over the years.
By repurposing batteries from previously used electric vehicles, the xStorage Buildings system can draw energy from the grid, providing businesses with more control, better value and a more sustainable choice for their energy consumption.
Using 280 Nissan LEAF batteries, the system designed for the Amsterdam ArenA will be the largest energy storage system powered by second-life batteries used by a commercial business in Europe and will have four Megawatts of power and four Megawatts (sic) of storage capacity.
As well as providing vital back-up power services to the ArenA, xStorage Buildings also enables the Amsterdam ArenA to power the surrounding neighbourhood when necessary and protect the grid.
We’ll excuse Nissan PR the misprint because they’ve provided this nice video accompaniment to their announcement, which doesn’t make the same mistake:
In the second announcement it is revealed that:
Nissan and power management leader Eaton are broadening their portfolio of xStorage Home residential energy storage solutions by introducing a range of six product configurations, giving consumers greater choice to meet their energy needs. This announcement comes as pre-orders of xStorage Home begin today in the United Kingdom, Norway and Germany with other European markets to follow in the coming months.
The xStorage Home system can draw energy from the sun or from the grid, making energy consumption more affordable and encouraging home-owners to make a more sustainable choice. The cutting-edge technology in the xStorage Home system is also fit for the future, and can enable customers to sell energy back to the grid – an opportunity that is expected to be offered by energy companies in the future.
The system gives consumers greater control over how and when they use energy in their own homes enabling them to avoid expensive tariff periods. The expanded range will offer consumers greater choice over power capacity and price as well as units. Consumers can opt to purchase units powered by either second life batteries or new batteries.
xStorage Home units – which provide a sustainable second life for Nissan’s electric vehicle (EV) batteries after their first life in cars is over – will be priced competitively starting at €3,500 (excluding VAT and installation costs) for a power capacity of 3.5kW rising to just €3,900 for 6kW. Units powered by new Nissan batteries will start from €5,000 rising to €5,580 for the highest capacity and will come with an extended warranty period of ten years.
Connected to a residential power supply and/or renewable energy sources such as solar panels, the unit has the potential to revolutionise the way people manage energy usage in their own home, providing added flexibility.
xStorage Home comes with solar panel inverters already integrated meaning that if a home is equipped with solar panels, the consumer can connect directly to xStorage Home, storing and then powering their homes using clean, renewable energy. It can also save customers money on their utility bills by charging up when renewable energy is available or cheaper, and releasing that stored energy when demand and costs are high.
The xStorage Home unit also has the capability to provide energy back to the grid in countries where the conditions enable customers to do so. This provides another potential revenue stream as customers will be able to sell stored energy back to the grid when demand and costs are high.
The system also provides the ultimate back-up energy solution to consumers, ideal at a time when energy grids are coming under significant strain. With smartphone connectivity, it allows consumers to switch between energy sources at the touch of a button.
I wonder if Eaton have solved all the Great British G83 issues yet, and whether they will incorporate V2H functionality into their xStorage offering? I also cannot help but wonder how many Great British Pounds that €3,500 will translate to by the time UK deliveries eventually commence?",916,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315321.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820092326-20190820114326-00538.warc.gz,0.93728905916214
d97fb9b3-9a03-449f-9c71-e134c1765e77,2022-05-21T15:53:56+00:00,2019-05-20,1,https://club937.com/flint-public-art-project-is-halfway-done-the-good-news/,"Flint Public Art Project is Halfway Done – The Good News
Got to see one of these beautiful murals yesterday and I can't wait to see more!
They say that you learn something new every day, and it's true - I had no idea that this has been in the works for seven years!
The Flint Public Art Project's goal is to have 100 murals painted by local, national and international artists throughout Flint by the fall of this year, and they're already over halfway to their goal.
They really are beautifying Flint and if you can't see the beauty in this art project, you're not looking hard enough.",132,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539131.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521143241-20220521173241-00024.warc.gz,0.984205722808838
7a9a605d-dfed-489b-821a-a3d9716dc806,2022-05-25T12:47:25+00:00,2015-10-31,1,https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/toyota-overtakes-vw-become-worlds-biggest-carmaker-again/article/1369935,"Toyota has overtaken Volkswagen to retake its crown as the world’s largest carmaker. But there’s cold comfort for the German: the full effects of the emissions scandal have yet to be felt, so its results aren’t actually that bad – yet.
The Japanese carmaker sold just under 7.5 million vehicles in the first nine months of 2015, taking poll position ahead of VW’s 7.43 million and General Motors’ 7.2 million.
In the first half of this year, VW overtook Toyota to become the world’s biggest carmaker for the first time (Toyota having taken the crown from GM in 2008, only losing it briefly in 2011 when the Japanese tsunami interrupted production). How far away that looks now, as it struggles to contain the fallout from the revelation it had been fiddling the emissions tests for its diesel cars in the US and Europe.",188,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00027.warc.gz,0.951791167259216
0fc4b8c8-9f4b-4098-99d6-7a0cd75c3664,2016-07-26T14:45:34+00:00,2013-05-16,0,http://www.pga.com/print/310607,"MOBILE, Ala. -- Lexi Thompson birdied four of her last five holes for a 7-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead Thursday with Eun-Hee Ji in the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic.
The 18-year-old Thompson, second last year behind Stacy Lewis, had eight birdies and a bogey on The Crossings course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Magnolia Grove complex.
''I definitely had it in mind, but it's a whole different year and a new day, so I was just trying to go out and make some birdies,'' Thompson said. ''I knew my game was good, so just going to try to keep that going.''
She hit to inches on the par-4 ninth to set up her closing birdie.
''That was a good shot to end on,'' Thompson said. ''I just had a three-quarter pitching wedge and just committed to it. ... I was hitting it pretty close and I drained a few putts. I was just taking one shot at a time, not trying to get ahead of myself because it's golf, anything can happen.''
She won the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic in Alabama for her lone LPGA Tour title.
''I'm glad to be back in Alabama,'' Thompson said.
Ji, the 2009 U.S. Women's Open champion, had five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the front nine in her bogey-free round.
''I just focus on my game and I just keep positive with my game,'' Ji said.
Jessica Korda was a stroke back at 66, and Nicole Castrale, Mina Harigae, Dewi Claire Schreefel, Thidapa Suwanapura, Hee Young Park, Jennifer Johnson and Chella Choi shot 67.
Korda also had a bogey-free round.
''I was hitting the ball pretty good,'' said Korda, the 2012 Women's Australian Open winner. ''I made two birdies my first two holes and I was like, 'OK, this might be a good day.'''
The second-ranked Lewis opened with a 70.
''I didn't really have anything go right today,'' said Lewis, the winner this year in Singapore and Phoenix. ''I had one ball hit the sprinkler and go in the trees and one hit the cart path and go in the trees.''
Michelle Wie shot a 74.",516,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00267-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971216261386871
f9e2a779-caae-483c-9274-8a080ec23339,2017-08-21T04:47:30+00:00,2013-03-23,0,http://www.nwherald.com/2013/03/23/re-imagined-with-renovations/a2xfgd2/?page=1,"BARRINGTON – Major renovations to the more than three-decades old Barrington Area Public Library building are expected to begin this spring.
The yearlong renovation project is being led by the architecture firm of Engberg Anderson, Inc. of Milwaukee and construction management company Shales McNutt Construction of Elgin. The project has been approved by the library’s Board of Trustees at a cost not to exceed $8.5 million.
Most of the project will be paid for using the district’s budget reserves.
“It gives us a chance to re-imagine the library and look at it as a library for the 21st century,” said Don Minner, president of the library board.
During the renovation, the library will replace its outdated mechanical systems, such as heating, air conditioning, electrical and lighting, plumbing and fire protection services.
Renovations also will take place outside the building. The parking lot will be resurfaced, new lighting will be added, and a drive-up materials drop box will be installed for the convenience of patrons.
Inside the library, renovations will focus on the areas where people congregate. More seating areas will be added near the windows, and areas of the library will receive new paint, carpet and furniture.
The building is not being expanded, just redesigned so the best use is made of the space, Minner said.
The library will provide more work and meeting space for patrons.
Individuals will be able to enjoy office-away-from-home work pods in a fully equipped business center, while small groups will be able to share technology and conversation in a variety of study and meeting rooms.
The business center area will be located next to an expanded technology center, including a media lab.
“Today, more and more people need work space out in the community,” Executive Director Detlev Pansch said. “They’re not going into the office every day.
“They need access to technology, printers, power outlets and a convenient place to meet and share technology with others. Now, we’ll be able to provide that level of service.”
The youth services department will move to the first floor and feature interactive learning and an imaginative play area, a creation lab, interactive exhibits and lots of technology.
Teens and young adults will find booth-style seating, a media lab and gaming room on the second floor.
Nearby will be the new reading commons, with a variety of seating options to accommodate individuals, groups and small library programs.
Books and reference services for adults will find a new home on the second floor as well.
Library officials view the renovation as an opportunity to look at all aspects of the library, from top to bottom.
“We’re going to take the opportunity to do everything that needs to be done all at once and not stretch it out over multiple years,” Minner said.
During the renovations, services will not stop but may move temporarily.
The library board is set to begin reviewing bids for the project in April.",640,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886107490.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821041654-20170821061654-00258.warc.gz,0.944571137428284
48a40c3b-d8b6-4a61-b5d5-ce3d72d58560,2022-05-16T15:39:00+00:00,2014-06-18,0,https://oak.go.kr/central/journallist/journaldetail.do?article_seq=11845,"For designing broadcast protocols in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), one of the important goals is to reduce the rebroadcast packets redundancy while reaching all the nodes in network. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic broadcasting mechanism based on selfishness and additional coverage in MANETs. Our approach dynamically adjusts the rebroadcast probability according to the extra covered area and number of neighbor nodes. By these two factors, mobile hosts can be classified into three groups: normal, low selfishness, and high selfishness groups. The nodes in the normal group forward packets for other nodes with high probability, whereas the nodes in the low selfishness group rebroadcast packets with low probability and the nodes in the high selfishness group do not rebroadcast packets. We compared our approach with simple flooding and the fixed probabilistic approach. The simulation results show that the proposed schemes can significantly reduce the number of retransmissions by up to 40% compared simple flooding and fixed probabilistic scheme without significant reduction in the network reachability and end-to-end packet delay.
A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a network formed without central administration that consists of mobile nodes that use a wireless interface to send packet data. MANET is a special type of wireless mobile network in which mobile hosts can move and communicate with no aid of any established infrastructure. With no fixed infrastructure, the efficient use of a MANET’s resources is highly crucial for the successful communication between mobile nodes .
Broadcasting is used to transmit a message from a source to all the other nodes in the network. It is widely used to resolve many network layer problems. DNS lookups, exchange of control packets for management purposes, and routing discovery requests are some examples of broadcasting across the network. In a MANET in particular, due to host mobility, broadcasting can be applied to many areas, such as paging a particular host, sending an alarm signal, and finding a route to a particular host, etc. Several ad hoc network protocols assume that the broadcasting service is available [1,2].
Many schemes have been proposed for broadcasting in MANETs. The most straightforward broadcast mechanism used in MANETs is simple flooding (SF) . In this approach, as in a wired network, each mobile host rebroadcasts received broadcast packets if they have not been received before. Packets that have already been received are discarded. Although SF is a very simplistic protocol, it has the virtue of being reliable, while requiring minimal state retention. Unfortunately, the large number of rebroadcast packets in SF often results in redundant messages, consuming valuable bandwidth and power as well as causing contention, collision, and packet loss. More sophisticated solutions such as probability-based, counter-based, distancebased, location-based, and neighbor knowledge-based approaches have been proposed to overcome the drawbacks of SF [4,5].
A probability-based approach depends upon a predefined fixed probability to determine whether the packets should be rebroadcast or not. One problem of the probabilistic approach is how to set the rebroadcast probability. It is demonstrated that the optimal rebroadcast probability is around 0.7. Intuitively, this value does not seem globally optimal regardless of the neighbors’ distance or density. For example, the mobile hosts close to the sender will have more neighbors whose coverage areas significantly overlap. Therefore, the rebroadcast probability of a node in a MANET should be set dynamically according to its circumstances .
Based on this observation, we propose a dynamic probabilistic broadcast approach, which is an improvement upon the blind fixed probabilistic broadcasting approach and can efficiently reduce broadcast redundancy in MANETs. The main idea of our approach is to reduce the number of unnecessary packets for broadcast in MANETs. The proposed algorithm in this paper dynamically calculates the rebroadcast probability according to the number of neighbor nodes and the extra coverage area of a mobile node. We use a scheme based on selfishness. Our approach dynamically adjusts the rebroadcast probability according to the extra covered area and number of neighbor nodes. Using these two factors, we categorize mobile hosts into three groups: normal nodes, low selfishness nodes, and high selfishness nodes. Normal nodes forward packets for other nodes with high probability, whereas low selfishness nodes rebroadcast packets with low probability, and high selfishness nodes do not rebroadcast packets. This is a hierarchical approach such that high selfishness nodes do not rebroadcast packets whereas most of the relaying node set is the set of normal nodes. We compared our approach with simple flooding and the fixed probabilistic approach. The simulation results show that these concepts significantly reduce the number of retransmissions without expansion of insignificant reduction in the network reachability and end-to-end packet delay.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows: in Section II, we introduce related works on broadcasting to provide a background on MANET. In Section III, we describe the probabilistic broadcasting mechanism based on selfishness and additional coverage in MANETs, highlighting the procedure of this approach. We evaluate and present the simulation results in Section IV. In Section V, conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future work are suggested.
One of the well-known solutions to routing in ad hoc networks is flooding, where every node in the network retransmits a message to its neighbors after receiving it. Although flooding is extremely simple and easy to implement, it can be very costly and can lead to serious problems, known as the broadcast storm problem. It is characterized by redundant packet retransmissions, network bandwidth contention, and collision. A simple solution to the broadcast storm problem is to send fewer redundant messages [1,2]. Ni et al.  studied the flooding protocol analytically and experimentally and showed that a rebroadcast can provide only 61% additional coverage and only 41% additional coverage on average over that already covered by the previous transmission. Therefore, rebroadcasts are very costly and should be used with caution [1,2,4].
Four deterministic schemes are described in : probability-based, area-based, counter-based, and distancebased schemes. These schemes differ with regard to the criteria used in the decision for forwarding a message to its neighbors after receiving it. A probability-based scheme is a very simple way of reducing rebroadcasts. Every node rebroadcasts with a predefined probability
Kim et al.  introduced a dynamic probabilistic broadcasting approach with a coverage area and neighbors confirmation for MANETs. Their scheme combines a probabilistic approach with the area-based approach. A mobile host can dynamically adjust its forwarding probability according to its additional coverage in its neighborhood. The additional coverage is estimated by the distance from the sender. The simulation results showed that this approach generates fewer rebroadcasts than the flooding approach. It also incurs lower broadcast collision without sacrificing high reachability .
Zhang and Agrawal  have also described a dynamic probabilistic scheme, which uses a combination of probabilistic and counter-based schemes. The value of a packet counter does not necessarily correspond to the exact number of neighbors from the current host, since some of its neighbors may have suppressed their rebroadcasts according to their local rebroadcast probability .
Bani-Yassein et al.  proposed a dynamic probabilistic algorithm to improve network reachability and saved rebroadcast. The forwarding probability is determined by considering the network density and node movement. This is done based on locally available information and without requiring any assistance in the distance measurements or exact location of determination devices. The algorithm controls the frequency of rebroadcasts and thus might save network resources without affecting delivery ratios .
Khan et al.  proposed a coverage-based dynamically adjusted probabilistic forwarding scheme and compared its performance with simple flooding and fixed probabilistic schemes. The proposed scheme maintains the reachability of pure flooding while maintaining the simplicity of the probability-based schemes .
Although the goal of all of the above works is to minimize the number of retransmissions, none of them guarantee the best suited bounds of retransmissions. In general, neighbor knowledge methods perform better than areabased methods, while area-based methods perform better than probability-based methods. This is due to the complexity and increased overhead of the complex schemes. Our approach combines the advantages of probability-based, counter-based, and area-based approaches. It has higher throughput, better reachability, and lower latency compared to general probabilistic or area-based approaches. Moreover, it is simple enough for easy implementation. We describe the details of our approach in Section III.
The rebroadcast probabilities
In MANET, the same probabilities
which topologies frequently change. These changes include how sparse or dense a MANET is, or how far or near the nodes that receive the packets are from the sender. If these circumstances are not taken into consideration, the value of P might be set too small or large, and in the end, the reach-ability will be poor and a large quantity of rebroadcast packets will be generated. This kind of problem arises from the fact that every node has the same probability of rebroad-casting a message, regardless of the extra area covered.
In a MANET, the areas that neighboring nodes of a mobile node cover typically overlap. Manipulating the overlapping area between a node’s own coverage and its neighbors’ coverage is very important in reducing the number of duplicate route requests. After a node receives a message from its neighborhood, the additional area covered by its rebroadcast is a small fraction of its whole coverage area, as depicted by Fig. 1. Let
Ni et al.  showed that the maximum additional coverage area, denoted as MAX(
In a MANET, the mobile nodes have no motivation to share their resources with other nodes. As mobile nodes want to minimize unnecessary resource consumption and to maximize throughput of their own messages, they refuse to forward packets for other nodes and non-cooperative behavior arises. This kind of behavior is called selfishness. In order to reduce the number of rebroadcasts in a MANET, we introduce the concept of selfishness.
Fig. 2 shows the selfishness that is part of our approach. In Fig. 2, intuitively, it is better those nodes far away from the sender among the neighbors retransmit broadcast packets instead of nodes close to the sender. The nodes n1, n2, n3, and n4 are geographically far away from sender node s, so it would be better that they act as relay nodes with a high retransmission probability. On the other hand, node n5 and n6 are geographically close to sender node s, and they may be shadowed from relay nodes with low retransmission probability. These nodes in the shadowed area, n5 and n6, can be selfish, so that they can be alleviated from the burden of rebroadcasting a packet.
All of the mobile nodes in a MANET can be classified as normal or selfish nodes. Normal nodes rebroadcast packets for other nodes, while selfish nodes do not rebroadcast. However, selfish nodes may generate data packets and request the normal nodes to forward data for them. We propose probability broadcasting based on selfishness in a MANET. In order to determine whether a node is selfish or not, a node needs to observe the routing behavior of other nodes. A node can attempt to learn the threshold value and the period and optimize its behavior so that it refuses to cooperate the amount that the threshold value allows exactly.
We allow each node to choose different probabilities according to its distance from the sender. The distance from the sender to a node can be calculated from the sender’s transmission power level or global positioning system (GPS). In short, with our approach, each node examines how far it is from sender and determines its retransmission probability. It is better for the node that is further from the sender to have a high retransmission probability than to have a low probability. This means that a node that is geographically further from the sender may potentially act as a relay node for a node that is closer to the sender. Note that a node close to the sender might be selfish and alleviated from the rebroadcast burden in the extreme case. The advantage of the concept of selfishness is that the total rebroadcast traffic may be reduced. The drawback of this concept is that the network reachability may be adversely affected if all of the nodes in any cut set of the MANET graph are assigned to be selfish.
In the fixed probabilistic approach, the rebroadcast probability
The value of rebroadcast probability
We choose a predefined number of mobile nodes as selfish during the network set-up period. Our goal is to assign selfishness so that the set size of normal nodes is minimized while the connectivity constraint of the resultant network is probabilistically satisfied. The proposed algorithm dynamically calculates the value of rebroadcast probability
We assume that a mobile node is set as selfish or nonselfish during the set up period. Let
When a mobile node
The main idea of this paper is to reduce the rebroadcasting number in the route discovery phase. Reduced rebroadcasting leads to a decrease in the network traffic and cuts down the probability of channel contention and packet collision. Since our algorithm is based on a probabilistic approach, it does not fit in every case of MANET. In this section, we evaluate the performance of our algorithm by comparing it with simple flooding and the fixed probabilistic broadcast algorithm.
There is a small chance that the broadcast packets cannot reach the destination in our probabilistic approach. The performance of broadcast protocols can be measured by a variety of metrics [6,10]. In this work, we used three measures: rebroadcast savings, average broadcast delay, and reachability and evaluated the performance by comparing it with simple flooding, fixed probability, and our approach. For simplicity, we assigned 0.7 as the probability of the fixed probability approach.
To evaluate our scheme, we modified the ad hoc network simulator GloMoSim . All the simulations were performed in a simulation area of 1,000 × 1,000 m, and the number of nodes was varied from 20 to 500. Our simulation parameters are shown in Table 1.
In this subsection, we evaluate the performance of our algorithm with regard to rebroadcast saving. We vary the traffic load by using different numbers of source-destination connections. In flooding, a mobile node rebroadcasts all routing request packets that are received for the first time. Therefore, there are
The rebroadcast probability
Fig. 4 shows rebroadcast saving of three approaches for route request when mobile nodes are not permitted to move in MANET. From Fig. 4, we can see that our approach can significantly reduce the number of rebroadcasts when the number of mobile nodes is large. The savings ranges from 30% to 40% compared with simple flooding.
As shown in Fig. 4, our improved algorithm can significantly reduce the number of rebroadcasts. As shown in the figure, the saving is higher when the traffic is heavier. This indicates that our algorithm is the most efficient among those tested.
The average end-to-end delay times taken for broadcast packets to reach destination node including transmission time and routing delay in the path are measured to compare the three algorithms for the delay of broadcast packet. The start time of broadcast packets and the time when they reach the last node are recorded. The difference between these two values is used as the delay of broadcast packets.
Fig. 5 shows the delay for different levels of traffic loads under the supposition of no node mobility. As expected, our proposed improved probabilistic algorithm displays lower delay than simple flooding or the fixed probabilistic approach. Since rebroadcasts can cause collision and possible contention for shared channels, our improved probabilistic approach incurs the lowest number of rebroadcasts, consequently generating the lowest delay.
The simple flooding approach guarantees that all mobile nodes can receive the broadcast packets at the expense of redundant rebroadcasting. However, in the probabilistic approach, some packets will be dropped according to their retransmission probability, which may cause some nodes to miss a broadcast packet.
The metric of reachability measures the proportion of nodes that can receive a broadcast packet.
Reachability is defined as
Fig. 6 shows the simulation results for reachability for a network of 20？500 nodes with the assumption of no host mobility. The flooding algorithm has the best performance with regard to reachability, reaching nearly 100% in the case of 500 node density. The performance of our improved probabilistic algorithm shows that the reachability is above 90% in the density of more than 100 nodes, so the reachability of our scheme performs better than the fixed probabilistic scheme. The figure shows that our improved probabilistic algorithm has higher reachability than the fixed probabilistic scheme and has nearly the same reachability as flooding in all network densities.
Broadcasting is an active research topic in MANETs. A significant problem is how to reduce the number of rebroadcast packets. Even though the large number of rebroadcasts guarantees high reachability, it causes high network bandwidth consumption and so many packet collisions occur. On the other hand, the lesser number of rebroadcasts results in low reachability, because it causes rebroadcast paths to be broken so that some mobile nodes may not receive the packets.
In this paper we introduced a probabilistic broadcasting approach based on selfishness and additional coverage for mobile hosts in MANETs. Our approach classifies mobile nodes into normal nodes and selfish nodes. Normal nodes relay packets with rebroadcast probability for others, while selfish nodes are divided into high or low selfishness. Low selfishness nodes relay packets with low rebroadcast probability and high selfishness nodes do not. The condition of these classifications is based on the number of neighbor nodes and additional coverage in MANETs.
The advantage of using selfish nodes is that the total rebroadcast traffic can be reduced. Using this method, we can reduce routing costs by minimizing the number of rebroadcasts in the route discovery phase, while achieving a higher delivery rate and lower end-to end delay. The disadvantage is that we may miss the optimal route and suffer from a low delivery rate. Simulation results show that our approach outperforms the AODV protocol in rebroadcast traffic. Compared with the simple flooding and fixed probabilistic approach, the simulation results showed that our probabilistic algorithm can improve the saved rebroadcast by up to 40% without sacrificing reachability.
We plan to build an analytic model for the dynamic probabilistic approach in order to facilitate the search for the optimal adaptation strategy. On the base of the analytic model, we should be able to obtain the proper value for using our scheme and predict the network performance with our approach in a MANET.",3909,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510138.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516140911-20220516170911-00607.warc.gz,0.936722457408905
6e07fb0c-cc12-4d5f-b2c9-81de24818ca2,2022-05-28T12:53:03+00:00,2018-05-28,1,https://www.constructionreporter.com/news/new-student-housing-project-set-for-navajo-technical-university,"Plans are in the works for the construction of a modern three-story student housing complex on the main Crownpoint campus of Navajo Technical University in northwestern New Mexico.
Money for the project is coming from several sources, including most prominently the Sihasin Fund, which is giving the school $14.3 million to put up the structure.
The Sihasin Fund money was approved unanimously as part of the Crownpoint Student Housing Expenditure Plan by members of the Navajo Nation Council.
Other funding includes the Navajo Housing Authority, which is providing some $9.3 million, and the university itself, with $4 million.
The new building will measure 95,338 square feet and will include 144 rooms. Of that total, 126 rooms will be designed for double occupancy, with the remaining 18 dedicated to single room space.
Work on the new building is expected to launch this fall, with a 2020 completion date.
Navajo Technical University already has two dormitories and just over 30 individual housing units, all of which are fully occupied.
The school, with an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students, was established in 1979 as the Navajo Skill Center and officially named the Navajo Technical University three years ago.
Last fall, the school announced that it was opening a new 38-acre campus in Chinle, Arizona, 130 miles to the west of the Crownpoint campus, building a 6,000 square foot general education building that is expected to be completed this summer.
By Garry Boulard
Get stories like these right to your inbox.",323,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016853.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528123744-20220528153744-00605.warc.gz,0.966362178325653
1dea0920-edf3-4a97-9eb8-986af0a77488,2016-07-29T17:57:13+00:00,2013-11-01,1,http://www.itv.com/news/wales/update/2013-11-01/pm-confirms-wales-will-get-more-devolved-powers/,"The Prime Minister has confirmed that the Welsh Government will be given powers to raise their own income tax - subject to a referendum. Stamp duty on the purchase of homes and other property will definitely be devolved.
There will also be more powers for the Government here to borrow money for major construction projects like the M4 relief road.
Our Political Editor Adrian Masters reports on how we could pay some of our taxes direct to the Welsh Government in the future.
More top news
Callum Williams of Wrexham pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to the woman police officer, assault and damaging property.
RSPCA says at first they thought the caller had confused the animal with a badger.
Welcome to the Newsweek Quiz - where we'll be testing your knowledge from the last seven days of news in Wales.",167,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00217-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.932502567768097
1b13eae9-8aee-4f6f-a1f1-1317f99b877d,2017-08-24T03:22:56+00:00,2016-09-01,0,https://www.valuewalk.com/2016/09/galaxy-note-7-battery-fire-vs-iphone-7-sale/,"Samsung has made an announcement, following the terrible news that the new Galaxy Note 7 can actually explode while charging. 35 incidents have been reported so far all over the world and this is not to take lightly.
So, the sales are off and the product is no longer available in the market. Before affecting more people, the company has advised everyone with this particular phone to return it. There will be compensation, of course, as well as a revised model for those who still want to have the specific model.
The statement of Samsung on the matter goes as follows: “To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.”
US carriers freeze the sales of Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Under the light of the recent event and as per the request of Samsung, US carriers have frozen the sales of Samsung Galaxy Note 7. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint are cooperating closely with Samsung, so that the process of recalling the phones is as easy as possible. The battery cell issue is not insignificant and it needs immediate attention, as more incidents might follow (and possibly more severe than those reported so far). It is a matter of time, however, for the battery risks to stop and for the model to go back on the market.
It is worth noting that over a million phones have already been sold worldwide, making Galaxy Note 7 one of the most popular smartphones of its generation. There are more than 2.5 million phones out there, which need to be returned to Samsung to identify the problem and repair it promptly.
For those of you who were going to buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, it would be a good idea to wait for a while till everything runs smoothly. On the other hand, you can always go for another phone of the same features like iPhone 7. There is a lot of hype in iOS, after all!
For those who are loyal to Samsung, though, their statement is somewhat reassuring at the end: “For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks. We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.”",526,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126027.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824024147-20170824044147-00602.warc.gz,0.967384994029999
9ba15802-ac30-4817-8cb7-8d72fe8b7cb2,2019-08-24T07:43:47+00:00,2019-08-24,1,https://www.wshu.org/post/police-officer-plans-sue-southampton-village-racial-discrimination,"A Southampton Village police officer says he was denied a promotion and discriminated against because he is black. He plans to sue the village to prompt an investigation and receive unspecified damages.
New York State requires anyone who serves as a detective or investigator for 18 months to receive the position permanently.
Southampton Village Officer Karrem Proctor served on the East End Drug Task Force between 2015 and 2017. He was removed from the task force one day before his 18 month anniversary.
Proctor says he was the only officer who was not promoted to the higher rank, while six other white officers received the promotion.
A Southampton Village spokesperson says they are not able to comment on pending litigation.",136,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319915.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824063359-20190824085359-00461.warc.gz,0.983261525630951
f0deb5e5-ae1d-4b1c-a37d-5708d2bf0cc6,2017-08-19T07:15:34+00:00,2017-06-01,1,http://en.mercopress.com/2017/06/01,"The long-growing crack in the Larsen C ice shelf, one of Antarctica’s largest floating platforms of ice, appears to be reaching its inevitable end. Scientists with Project MIDAS, working out of Swansea University and Aberystwyth University in Wales and studying the shelf by satellites and through other techniques, have released a new update showing that the crack grew a stunning 11 miles in the space of just one week between May 25 and May 31.
Shareholders in Exxon Mobil have backed a motion requiring the company to assess the risks from climate change. The plan, proposed by investors including the Church of England, was supported by over 62% of those eligible to vote.
The European Commission president has said that it was the duty of Europe to stand up to the US if President Donald Trump decides to pull his country out of the Paris climate change accord. Jean-Claude Juncker said that the Americans can't just get out of the agreement, adding that it takes three to four years to pull out.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, which will lead the task of identifying the unknown Argentine combatants buried at the Darwin cemetery in the Falkland Islands, and currently in Buenos Aires, will be arriving in the Islands next Saturday and work is expected to begin as had been anticipated on 19 June.
Prime Minister Theresa May could lose control of parliament in Britain's June 8 election, according to a projection by polling company YouGov, raising the prospect of political turmoil just as formal Brexit talks begin.
J&F Investimentos, controlling shareholder of the world's largest meatpacker JBS SA,, agreed to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion real (US$3.2 billion) fine for its role in corruption scandals that threaten to topple President Michel Temer. The settlement meant Brazil's sweeping graft investigations have now led to the world's two biggest leniency fines ever levied, Brazilian prosecutors said.",392,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105326.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819070335-20170819090335-00522.warc.gz,0.962211489677429
cb46b538-f34a-4969-b88f-c87df6d69069,2022-05-18T12:05:58+00:00,2022-05-14,1,https://www.outlookindia.com/business/delhi-secretariat-to-ban-single-use-plastic-items-from-june-1-news-196734,"Single-use plastic items will be banned in the Delhi Secretariat from June 1, a month before the nationwide ban on SUP comes into force, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday.
It will be ensured that only alternatives to SUP items such as paper plates, cups, straws are used in the Delhi Secretariat premises, he said.
Staff will be asked to avoid SUP water bottles and use kulhads, stainless steel glasses or paper cups to drink water, the minister said.
In August last year, the Union environment ministry had issued a notification prohibiting manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified SUP commodities, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene from July 1, 2022.
The identified SUP items include earbuds, plastic sticks for balloons, flags, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol), plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packaging films around sweets boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, and stirrers.
All manufacturers, retailers, general public, and shopkeepers in Delhi have already been asked not to keep any stock of single-use plastics by June 30, 2022.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has also asked all manufacturers of raw materials to stop supplying plastic items to those engaged in the use of banned SUP products.
It is also carrying out a survey to identify littering hotspots and quantify plastic waste generation in the city.
The Delhi government had last year constituted a state-level task force for the elimination of SUP and effective implementation of Plastic Waste Management Amended Rules, 2021.",346,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522270.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518115411-20220518145411-00404.warc.gz,0.930466175079346
5c87cf9e-005b-4b7f-9b4a-bae24cd603f5,2015-04-01T01:46:11+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.usa-people-search.com/names/p/Kim-Brewington-Willard-NC,"You can easily look up personal records data for Kim Brewington in Willard at USA-People-Search.com. Simply scan the list of everyone named Kim Brewington who live or once lived in Willard to begin your research. Our search results show contact details, email, and phone numbers.
Discover a wide array of trustworthy and dependable records on everyone with the same name as Kim Brewington in Willard filed under four headings that include name/aliases, age, location, and possible relatives. USA-People-Search.com believes that can this arrangement of personal data can help you hone in on the right Kim Brewington quickly. To access more information about any individual who looks familiar, click on the Details link.
Our search feature scours billions of public records and displays listings for relevant searches on Kim Brewington in Willard. If you'd want to whittle down the list further, simply add in any other details you may have about Kim like age, middle name, or address. Once you find the precise Kim Brewington, register with USA-People-Search.com to gain full access to information that may include email address, background checks, and more.",241,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00251-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.891856729984283
11144ad8-fafd-4d4e-b923-989632c8a9aa,2018-08-20T00:40:48+00:00,2017-07-06,0,https://www.whiteandwilliams.com/experience-Court-Denies-AlphaCap-Motion-for-Reconsideration-and-Lifts-Stay.html,"Court Denies AlphaCap’s Motion for Reconsideration and Lifts Stay Citing Concerning Statements from AlphaCap’s Attorneys in Gust Case
On July 6, 2017, Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York issued an Opinion denying AlphaCap’s Motion for Reconsideration of the Court’s Order for AlphaCap and its attorneys at Gutride Safier LLP to pay Gust, Inc. more than $550,000 in attorney’s fees resulting from AlphaCap’s unsuccessful patent litigation. In her opinion, Judge Cote found AlphaCap’s motion inappropriate because it “presents new arguments that could have been made but were not in opposition . . . or repeats arguments that were previously made and rejected.” (Op. at 9.)
In a contemporaneous Opinion, Judge Cote rejected AlphaCap’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees, finding several aspects of AlphaCap’s motion “concerning,” including AlphaCap’s counsel’s misstatement of crucial facts, and its assertion that it relied on the DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.com L.P. case to justify its belief that its patents were valid, despite never citing that case in its earlier filings. Based on these rulings, the Court lifted the stay of execution, which will allow Gust to collect attorney’s fees from AlphaCap and Gutride Safier.
Gust is represented by Frank Bruno.",311,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215487.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820003554-20180820023554-00378.warc.gz,0.951977968215942
dc7adece-8ad4-43a9-af3a-e8d1db09370c,2019-08-17T23:56:08+00:00,2019-06-07,1,https://ronaldo.com/football-news/mino-raiola-rubbishes-fake-matthijs-de-ligt-psg-rumours/,"Mino Raiola branded claims he arrived in France to seal a deal for Matthijs de Ligt to join Paris Saint-Germain as “fake news”.
19-year-old De Ligt’s future remains doubtful despite the options he has on the table for next season.
PSG, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United and Liverpool have all reportedly expressed an interest in signing the Ajax centre-back.
But Gianluca Di Marzio claimed on Wednesday that De Ligt’s agent, Raiola, was in Paris. The Italian journalist stated that the Dutchman met PSG sporting director Antero Henrique over a potential move.
A picture of Raiola in Paris with French journalist Lassana Camara also cropped up on social media on the same day.
The report added that Ajax and PSG had agreed on a €75m transfer fee. While the French champions apparently offered De Ligt a five-year deal, with a lucrative annual salary of €12m.
Although the teenager would still have some way short of matching Neymar’s wages as the Brazilian made €66m last season alone.
When asked about this report, however, Raiola told ANSA: “This is a classic example of fake news.
“The photograph of me and the French journalist in Paris? He asked me to take a picture together, but I did not know who this gentleman was.
“I have never spoken with him.”
So, the De Ligt transfer saga remains in full swing after all with no decision evidently having been made.
Meanwhile, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended Raiola’s worldwide transfer ban after he successfully lodged an appeal.
FIFA had handed Raiola a three-month suspension from all football activity for yet unknown reasons. However, the 51-year-old can now resume his work and will likely play a central figure in determining De Ligt’s destination.
Although the Italian Football Federation (FIGC)’s three-month ban on Raiola remains active. This might hinder his chances of arranging a possible summer move to Juventus for De Ligt.",464,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313501.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817222907-20190818004907-00221.warc.gz,0.951191246509552
7e00182c-b43f-43b4-9769-af5e7b098b4c,2019-08-25T19:08:06+00:00,2019-08-25,0,https://www.timesherald.com/news/norristown-police-investigating-stabbing-on-east-main-street/article_f3bf53fe-295b-58e5-952a-c044a70b5830.html,"NORRISTOWN >> A 38-year-old man is recovering after being stabbed in the 100 Block of East Main Street around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The victim was transported to Paoli Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released.
According to police, the stabbing occurred after a fight broke out at an event held at a banquet hall. No arrest has been made and an investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Norristown Police Department. An anonymous tip can be made at 610-278-TIPS.",121,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330786.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825173827-20190825195827-00503.warc.gz,0.98260360956192
f7b77ccf-1600-42c3-86d2-8894f323b5d0,2022-05-26T08:49:08+00:00,2021-09-30,1,https://california.statenews.net/news/272548993/delivery-robot-market-2021-to-2030-industry-insights-and-major-players-are-boxbot-cleveron-as-kiwibot-ninebot-nuro,"According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, ""Delivery Robot Market by Load Carrying Capacity, Number of Wheels, and End User: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030,"" the global delivery robot market was valued at $3.53 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $30.05 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 24.5%.
Get Sample Report with Industry Insights @
North America dominates the market, in terms of revenue, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The U.S. dominated the global delivery robot market share in North America in 2020, owing to increase in R&D activities, technological developments by big players, rapid adoption of innovative technologies in making reliable, precise, and efficient autonomous systems. North America is expected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period, owing to rise in adoption of delivery robot, along with the presence of robot and autonomous delivery vehicle manufacturers such as Starship Technologies, Robby Technologies, Cleveron AS, and others.
By load carrying capacity, the market is categorized into up to 10 kg, more than 10 kg to 50 kg, and more than 50 kg. The more than 10 kg to 50 kg segment accounted for the highest revenue in 2020, owing to high versatility and better price to performance ratio.
To Get Discount, Make Purchase Inquiry @
By number of wheel, the delivery robot market is categorized into 3 wheels, 4 wheels, and 6 wheels. The 4 wheels segment accounted for the highest revenue in 2020, owing to their stable operation. The 4 wheels-based delivery robots are made in all sizes, which can carry packages from small to big size. In addition, the 4-wheel based delivery offers more space compared to any other robot.
By end user, the delivery robot market is divided into food & beverages, retail, healthcare, and postal. The food & beverages segment accounted for the highest revenue in 2020.
Request for Customization of this Report @
The factors such as increase in demand for contactless and fast delivery of packages, developments in the e-commerce industry, and rise in technological advancements such as incorporation of AI and machine learning drive the growth of the delivery robot market. However, limited range of operation of ground delivery robots and stringent regulations pertaining to operations of delivery robots act as a key growth restraint for the market.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
The COVID-19 impact on the delivery robot market is unpredictable and is expected to remain in force till the fourth quarter of 2021.The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments across the globe to implement strict lockdowns and banned import-export of non-essential items for most of 2020. This led to sudden decline in the availability of important raw materials.Moreover, nationwide lockdowns forced manufacturing facilities to partially or completely shut their operations.
Buy now @
KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
By load carrying capacity, the more than 10 kg to 50 kg segment generated the highest revenue in 2020.By number of wheels, the 4 wheels segment was the highest revenue contributor in 2020.By end user, the food & beverages segment generated the highest revenue in 2020.By region, North America contributed the highest revenue in 2020, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.
Prominent players operating in the global delivery robot market include Boxbot, Cleveron AS, Kiwibot, Ninebot, Nuro, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Piaggio & C.SpA, Robby Technologies, ST Engineering, and Starship Technologies.
Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of ""Market Research Reports"" and ""Business Intelligence Solutions."" AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.
We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.
Tags: Delivery Robot Market
See Campaign: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/
5933 NE Win Sivers Drive
#205, Portland, OR 97220
USA/Canada (Toll Free):
Hong Kong: +852-301-84916
India (Pune): +91-20-66346060
Web: www.alliedmarketresearch.comTags:Reportedtimes, Financial Content, PR-Wirein, Research Newswire, English",1119,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604495.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526065603-20220526095603-00221.warc.gz,0.920227885246277
3be822be-e4ac-4dfe-99e0-0c879f69afe5,2017-08-21T19:29:07+00:00,2017-08-21,0,http://studyplus.co.nz/business-visa-new-zealand,"Fill in the form below and we will be in touch!
Business Visa for New Zealand
This is where the writing goes.
Experts in providing international services for people wanting to study and live in New Zealand.
New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean consisting of two main islands, both marked by volcanoes, glaciation and having a good time.
Information and resources for existing and prospective Study Plus students.",86,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00504.warc.gz,0.931819081306458
0f80e10d-506f-4400-a06d-3f6509cda098,2019-08-19T16:08:51+00:00,2018-12-19,1,http://washingtonglobe.com/2018/12/19/page/2/,"Police say the Anacostia High School student was killed in a neighborhood dispute.
For 10 years, “41” corresponded with a boy in the Philippines he had sponsored through Compassion International, a Christian charity.
The Trump administration will withdraw all of the approximately 2,000 American troops in Syria, according to a U.S. official, as the White House declared victory Wednesday in the mission to defeat Islamic State militants there.
The Senate approved the First Step Act late Tuesday. The criminal justice reform bill will now go to the House.
A rundown of the legislative highlights in an increasingly progressive city.
A jury found Nick Slatten guilty of murder for his role in a massacre that killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan delivers his final speech of the 115th Congress.
“It was a real estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it,” Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN on Sunday.",209,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00010.warc.gz,0.970028340816498
1d4b434f-3feb-419f-bb48-9aa3362bf2a1,2017-08-19T05:21:14+00:00,2017-08-19,0,http://www.hsinjurylaw.com/blog/pedestrian-killed-in-portsmouth-by-hit-and-run-driver.cfm,"Unfortunately this is exactly what happened today to a man walking down Victory Boulevard in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA). Tragically he died after he was struck by a vehicle, which then left the scene, police said. The accident on Victory Blvd. in Portsmouth happened near the intersection of Deep Creek Boulevard.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I hope the responsible party is held to the fullest extent of the law.
Luckily there were witnesses who saw the crash which occured at 3 p.m in broad daylight and gave police a license number and vehicle description. Portsmouth Police said they have located the vehicle and its owner and are continuing to investigate.
A study done several years ago by National Highway Traffic Safety Association shows that almost 175,000 pedestrians died in all motor vehicle crashes between 1975 and 2000. In 2001, pedestrian fatalities slightly increased to 4,882. However, in 2001, pedestrian fatalities accounted for about 12 percent of all fatalities and 85 percent of all non-occupant fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. Who are these careless drivers? These numbers point to the fact that they may be drivers in your community. Car vs. pedestrian crashes happen more than you might think, sometimes right in the middle of a cross walk!
Even more staggering is the statistic that pedestrian fatalities in single vehicle crashes accounted for over 90 percent of the pedestrian fatalities from all motor vehicle crashes. This means out of every 10 pedestrians hit by a car, 9 of them died. With statistics like these you may need to look twice before crossing the street in Virginia.",311,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105304.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819051034-20170819071034-00261.warc.gz,0.974564254283905
468ee354-d140-4d3e-bcf0-2ce7c8361bac,2017-08-23T15:06:46+00:00,2013-06-05,0,https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/shear-force-and-bending-moment-diagram.731113/,"1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data This is the question that I am struggling with. http://postimg.org/image/5kb0pur3z/ I need to plot shear force and bending moment diagram of it. 2. Relevant equations The beam is in static equilibrium so algebraic sum of forces in x and y direction equal zero. Also, moment is zero at any point. 3. The attempt at a solution I didn't understand how I am going to deal with 50 kN m.",110,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120573.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823132736-20170823152736-00657.warc.gz,0.909902453422546
e59da0c7-894e-4c6d-a806-8143f394ebfa,2019-08-22T04:31:16+00:00,2015-01-31,0,https://www.somersetwhisky.com/press-launch-review-glenmorangie-tusail/,"Recently Glenmorangie launched Tùsail, the 6th release in their yearly Private Edition series of malts… most of which form some part of experimentation by Glenmo’s main man, Dr Bill Lumsden. (See below for my review tasting notes.)
A rich winter variety of barley first introduced in 1965, Maris Otter was bred specifically to meet the demand for a high quality brewing malt and recognized for its ability to impart rich, rustic malty flavours. The variety at the time was much loved by brewers and created great ale’s, however the variety started to fall out of love and started being replaced with newer varieties that had greater alcohol yields until it was revived by a dedicated company and is now revered as one of the best malts for brewing once again.
I was lucky enough to be in London on the product launch evening, so I went along to Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair to join the many other industry folk who had been invited along.
We started off with a lovely cocktail or three made with Glenmorangie Original (10yo) and ginger ale, amongst other things… I was told by someone who knew better than me that it was basically an Old Fashioned but for younger folks. Either way, it was very enjoyable and refreshing… to the point where it nearly tempts me to try and recreate it, and I can’t usually be bothered with cocktails as you need to stock stuff, I don’t have room for stuff.
We then took a tour through various previous Private Edition releases… Brief notes taken from my tweets on the night:
Glenmorangie Finealta Private Edition… Thick, slightly smoky and fabulous. 🙂
Glenmorangie Companta Private Edition… Darker in colour, rich and thick, slightly spicy.
Glenmorangie 10yr; distilled in the 70’s and bottled in the 80’s. Soft and silky, yet complex alike; lemon & honey. This old Glenmo 10yo is blumming good, defo a touch different from what’s in the shops now.
Glenmorangie Tùsail, made from a very old variety of barley. Ex bourbon, 46%, NCF. Slightly earthy, spicy, barley. Yum. Banana cake, nut, toffee, cinnamon spices. Fairly rich, earthy. Fruits, pair, stuff. Puffs of smoke, slight sweetness.
Throughout all the tastings Dr Bill talked us through all the various aspects of them. Focussing in on Tùsail he didn’t hide away from the fact that the barley variety isn’t actually entirely rare, it’s used fairly widely by brewers for ale… however as a winter variety it doesn’t grow very well in Scotland, and because of it’s low alcohol yield rate it basically is never used to make whisky, they couldn’t find any records of it’s use before, although no doubt it has been used. Dr Bill mentioned that there was just enough malt to do three runs through the stills, so everything that was produced has now been bottled.
So, I’ve talked about it, and even given you my quick notes from the evening above, but let’s take a more considered look at the release… here follows my notes…
Colour: Rich straw to light gold.
Nose: Rich and sweet with fairly ripe fruit tones, ripe banana, brown sugar and a slight earthiness.
Palate: Fairly full and oily in the mouth, with a gentle introduction. There’s spices, but not the hot sort, cinnamon and maybe some ginger. The bananayness (is that a word?) that I found on the nose and at the launch evening is still there, and I like it – it’s not dominating, but just a nice addition. There’s a slight toffee nature, maybe more condensed milk.
Finish: Fairly long and sweet with the occasional gentle puff of smoke, earthiness & oak.
Thoughts: I enjoyed it on the night, and I’m still enjoying it now! It might not be for all – and I’ve seen some reviews of people who aren’t bothered by it, but I liked it and I’m kind of tempted to buy a bottle for my self.
Available: In The Whisky Shop and other outlets soon, around £78.
Thanks to Glenmorangie for the invite and the sample.",957,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316783.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822042502-20190822064502-00337.warc.gz,0.962700366973877
f61d4818-bbf9-4d0f-9908-897f1ba8b6ff,2016-07-25T15:24:09+00:00,2012-02-06,1,http://bangordailynews.com/2012/02/06/opinion/contributors/the-meat-of-the-matter-2/print/,"Four decades ago Norman Borlaug, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on raising crop yields worldwide (the “green revolution”), said: “I have only bought you a 40-year breathing space to stabilize your population.”
In 1970, when Borlaug got his prize for postponing the onset of famine for 40 years, the world’s population was 3.7 billion. Today, it is 7 billion. The U.S. Census Bureau expects only 2 billion more in the next 34 years, and we might actually stabilize the population by the end of the century — but we will have to feed almost three times as many people as there were in 1970. How on earth can we do that?
Actually, you don’t need to panic right away. The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization recently estimated that the extra people can be fed, at least until we hit 9 billion, if crop yields rise by 1 percent a year and the world’s farmland expands by 13 percent.
This takes no account of the ecological damage done by removing even more land from the natural cycles, and it omits details like the looming collapse of most of the world’s big fisheries. Given the frequent forecasts of doom by over-population, however, it is a surprisingly reassuring assessment.
But this is a forecast that ignores the probable effects of global warming on food production, and those will be dire. In some places a hotter climate will actually increase food production, but in far more places crop yields will fall.
The rule of thumb is that we will lose 10 percent of global food production with every rise in average global temperature of 1.8 degrees F. Since we are virtually bound to see an increase of twice that before global average temperature stops rising (if it does), that’s one-fifth of world food production gone.
It will be considerably worse in some places. And a crash in food production doesn’t just bring hunger. It brings chaos: collapsing governments, waves of starving climate refugees crossing borders, even wars between countries that depend on the same river for irrigation water.
Military planners in many countries think that this may be the dominant factor in world politics in 25 years. That will make it even harder to get global agreement on measures to stop further warming, so they are making contingency plans for really ugly outcomes. But what if you could make food production independent of climate?
Specifically, what if you could make meat production independent of climate? Don’t use 70 percent of the world’s agricultural land to grow grain that feeds the animals we then kill and eat. Just grow the meat itself, taking stem cells from a cow, a sheep or a chicken and encouraging them to grow in a nutrient solution.
It’s already being done in labs, but the quantities are small and the meat is still a long way from having the taste and texture that would make it a real candidate to replace meat from live animals. But those are details that can be sorted out with more research and more money. The point is that this could allow people to go on eating meat without trashing the climate in the process.
People are not going to stop eating meat: demand is going up, not down. But if “cultured” meat can be made identical in taste and texture to “real” meat from animals, and if it can be grown in large quantities at a competitive cost, the ecological benefits would be immense. The political benefits might be even greater.
If half of the meat people eat was “cultured,” greenhouse gas emissions would drop sharply (about one-fifth of global emissions from human sources come from meat production). About half the land that has been converted to grain-growing in the past century could be returned to natural forest cover.
“Cultured” food may be commercially available in only a few years if the research is pushed hard. Indeed, the animal welfare group PETA has offered a $1 million prize for anybody who can demonstrate lab-made meat in commercial quantities by June 30 this year, and they think that one of the research teams now working on the problem may claim the award.
But it isn’t being pushed fast enough. “There is very little funding,” Professor Julie Gold, a biological physicist at Chalmers Technological University in Gothenburg, Sweden, told the “Observer” newspaper recently. “What it needs is a crazy rich person.”
Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.",951,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00192-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957895457744598
b9bbc937-7438-495f-8efd-3e21aa7cafeb,2022-05-20T23:59:41+00:00,2020-08-23,0,https://vshenoy.com/2020/08/23/some-of-my-favourite-reads-from-2020/,"Atomic Habits – The most actionable book I’ve read in years; the go-to guide on how to build sustainable habits. I’ve been successfully able to implement concepts from this book (ex: Habit Stacking). Notes
Hell Yeah Or No – I’m a huge fan of Derek Sivers. He is one of the most thoughtful people I’ve come across, and his blog has a lot of insights that have helped me become a better person and professional. This book is a collection of his thoughts on life, work, and everything else. If you aren’t an avid reader of his blog, this book is worth it. If you are, this is still a good refresher.
How Innovation Works – I enjoyed reading How Innovation Works. Matt Ridley puts forward a comprehensive take on innovation across industries and through the course of history. He then lays out the essentials of innovation and why companies and governments struggle with innovation. I learned a lot from this book. There’s a lot of actionable advice for leaders and professionals across industries. This is a very compelling read.
Why Stocks Go Up or Down – A great introduction to stocks and bonds. The book does a great job of explaining the fundamentals of financials of a company – reading financial statements, cash flow, etc. It took me a long time to finish, but it wasn’t hard to follow. No financial background is needed to understand the concepts in this book.
Poor Charlie’s Almanack – Charlie is a genius, and there’s so much to learn from him. This book is a biography of Charlie and covers his approach of life, his beliefs, his contrarian ways of thinking, and much more. This is an incredible read.
The Most Important Thing – Howard Marks deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Warren Buffet and Charlier Munger. His essays are legendary, and this book doesn’t disappoint. This is an outstanding take on investing and is a must-read for amateur and professional investors.",425,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662534693.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520223029-20220521013029-00028.warc.gz,0.957786917686462
2d265d91-0217-480e-80d3-0915c7082505,2022-05-17T01:35:53+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://www.thshomes.co.uk/page_16.php?pgenme=art-deco-new-build-apartments-houses-rottingdean-sussex&location=141&area=southampton,"THS Homes Ltd Aquavista, Rottingdean, East Sussex for Southampton
Set high on the Rottingdean cliffs, AquaVista, a gated development, consists of 6 contemporary two bedroom apartments, 1 x penthouse apartment and 2 x houses designed and built in the Art Deco style to a very high specification and finish.
Living areas lead onto balconies to take full advantage of the sea views with the three central apartments benefitting from oversized balconies. Each apartment is over 900sq ft (penthouse 1500sqft) for easy, spacious living with all floors benefitting from lift access. The 2 x houses benefit from sea views to the West and off street parking.
6 x Apartments and 1 x house are still available to purchase, please email/call for more details.
Want to see more?
Visit our gallery page to see more photographs of this forthcoming development. Please contact Joey (07703 838287) at Move Revolution for further details, or click the brochure to dowlnoad.",213,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515466.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516235937-20220517025937-00201.warc.gz,0.925073146820068
eca399b2-5a4f-4663-afab-e5d8373e30d6,2015-03-31T05:25:27+00:00,2014-01-08,0,http://www.givemesport.com/425302-how-lebron-james-drake-sealed-defoes-50m-mls-switch,"MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke, who leads Toronto FC's off-the-field dealings, was the brains behind the operation to bring the England international to the team.
He first approached Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy over a possible move for Defoe, and once he got the go-ahead to speak to the player, he seemingly employed every method under the sun to convince Defoe to join the MLS franchise.
That reportedly included an ""accidental"" meeting between LeBron James and Defoe's mum, Sandra, in Toronto.
Sandra also works as Defoe's closest advisor and The Star reports that Leiweke arranged a meet-and-greet with LeBron at a Raptors-Heat game.
What's more, Drake left flowers at her hotel room as Leiweke really upped the stakes before the rap star made a detailed pitch to Defoe over the phone.
The charm offensive clearly worked as the former-West Ham youngster has agreed to join his ex-Spurs teammate Ryan Nelson in Canada.
In total, the report claims Toronto have committed up to $50m in the deal and had to sign nine different contracts to make it happen.
An interesting side note. Defoe was always the number one target for Leiweke, but he had a back-up plan should it all have fallen through.
His number two target - Italy international forward Alberto Gilardino.",285,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00023-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961743533611298
a7546157-ca30-4178-8699-b7212bf1b794,2018-08-17T01:54:00+00:00,2015-07-24,1,http://civileats.com/2015/07/24/all-the-news-thats-fit-to-eat-house-passes-dark-act-a-fast-food-worker-victory-farmers-tap-recycled-water/,"Busy week? We’ve rounded up the food news you might have missed:
U.S. House Passes Anti-GMO Labeling Law (Reuters)
After a heated debate on the House floor Thursday morning, the measure was approved 275-150. The bill, which would block the existing GMO labeling labeling law in Vermont and prevent others like it, has not yet been introduced in the Senate. Opponents of the bill said they see it stalling there, but supporters said they are finding growing support.
New York Fast-Food Workers Win Their Fight for $15 (The Nation)
New York will raise restaurant workers’ minimum wage to $15 an hour by the end of 2018 in New York City and 2021 statewide. The new law applies to fast food outlets belonging to “chains that have 30 or more locations nationally.”
Watch John Oliver’s Sobering Look at U.S. Food Waste (Rolling Stone)
Comedian John Oliver blasts America’s massive food waste problem in a seventeen minute segment on his show, Last Week Tonight.
Monsanto’s wooing of Syngenta doesn’t seem to be going too well. In the latest update, Syngenta’s CEO says he “sees no need for the deal.”
Report: Food Recalls Have Nearly Doubled Since 2002 (Food Safety News)
The report says the increase in recalls is due to a combination of regulatory changes and an increasingly globalized food system, which allows for both more pathogens in the system, and more oversight.
Campbell Soup Looks to Hummus and Cold-Pressed Juices to Stay Relevant (Washington Post)
Campbell Soup Co. is looking to freshen up their image. This week they announced plans to remove all artificial flavors and ingredients from their products by 2018. They’re also planning to focus on their new Campbell Fresh division, which includes items such as carrots, hummus, and refrigerated salsas.
New funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will increase internet access for rural Americans in seven states.
A new plan called the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program would build a 6-mile, $100 million pipeline to carry wastewater to a canal that goes to farms in California’s Central Valley.
USDA Secretary Not Ready to Declare Bird Flu Outbreak Over (The New York Times)
The USDA is worried about more bird flu outbreaks in the fall when temperatures cool down and birds migrate south. The flu has killed millions of hens this spring and caused an egg shortage, prompting companies to search for new high-tech egg substitutes.",555,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211403.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817010303-20180817030303-00025.warc.gz,0.930071532726288
b5d29147-5b89-4394-bff5-4bd1fe9b5a2b,2018-08-20T01:56:38+00:00,2016-09-26,1,https://blog.standardlife.co.uk/working-in-an-age-of-longevity/,"26th September 2016 at 3:00pm
We need to shake-up our thinking as reaching the age of 100 becomes the new normal, according to a new, best-selling book.
Children born today could live until they’re 105; and turning 100 is going to be the new normal for many.
That’s the premise behind ‘The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity’, by Andrew Scott and Lynda Gratton.
It’s a fascinating and thought-provoking book by leading academics on the changes and challenges people face as more of us live considerably longer.
Children born today could live until 105
But what will life look like as we move on from the typical three-stage life of education, career and retirement to one where people may work for many decades, even until their 80s, intertwined with periods of upskilling and study?
If that sounds hard to believe, the FT highlighted in its review of the book that working until your 80s “would be a return to the past: in 1880, nearly half of 80-year-old Americans did some kind of work”.
Age brings big changes and big challenges
Longevity, as the book explores, has far-reaching consequences for quality of life, economics, health, relationships and much more. It’s not just about the future, seismic changes are already well underway, some of them positive.
Young people are feeling the winds of change and adapting how they live. They’re settling into careers later after spending their 20s studying and experimenting with jobs.
Longevity has far-reaching consequences
Many older people are choosing to work longer (way past what was once the ‘normal’ retirement age), and living healthy and fulfilled lives in ways previous generations could only dream of. Athletes in their 70s and 80s may still make the news, but they are far from unique.
That’s all good news but there are downsides. Professor Sarah Harper, a journalist, government adviser and a leading academic on ageing issues, highlighted her concerns in an article she wrote for The Guardian three years ago. As we face rapidly increasing life expectancy in the UK, she explained, “many are not saving enough to pay for a decent standard of living over a much longer retirement”.
The challenges we all face are ground-breaking and we need to be fully aware of them so we can take responsibility for our later lives, she implored.
We asked two of our colleagues who’ve written regularly – and passionately – on this issue for some of their thoughts.
The big issue: Is living to 100 a good thing?
Living longer and having the right quality, not just quantity, of life is going to be a challenge for many of us, as Julie Hutchison, charities specialist at Standard Life Wealth, explains.
“I remember my great-grandmother’s 100th birthday. Looking in from the outside, I saw a woman who could no longer speak, or get out of bed.
“I don’t know if she was happy: she may have been. But I do know that I hope not to be around on my 100th birthday and I’m not even sure how I feel about living to the age of 90.
“I expect my views will change on this as I get older (I’m just in my 40s) but, right now, it’s quality of life that matters most for me, and not the quantity of my years. I remember my great-aunt saying to me with a smile, ‘I wasn’t meant to be around this long’. There are some long-living genes in my family, as well as dementia: I hope to avoid both.”
The economics: How we fund our lives will have to change
Quality of life comes down partly to good health, but having enough wealth and managing a longer life is front of mind for John Brewer. He agrees there’s still a lot to do at a holistic level, including pensions and property and how changing demographics will affect people and their families.
“There’s been a big push on education but there needs to be more. We all need to do something and building up savings is going to be even more important. I believe it will increasingly mean families need to pool their wealth and manage family assets to meet their needs.
Quality of life comes down partly to health…but also wealth
“Even today, most people aren’t considering they might have to find £30-40,000 a year or more for care costs for each person. Will they have the assets to fund them?
“There will be strains on social care and demand could well exceed supply. There’s already something of a postcode lottery when it comes to care.
There will be strains on social care
“Thinking I might not have enough left to pass onto my son keeps me awake at night. More than anything, I don’t want my later life needs to dominate his. I don’t wish for a lifestyle that means I end up leaving him nothing. I’m considering how I can plan my finances with that in mind if I live until I’m 80, never mind 100.”
Things look very different for the haves and the have-nots
While some of us can look forward to a healthier, wealthier and happier long life, “The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity” does highlight how the chasm in life expectancy between the rich and poor will become more marked. Living longer and living healthily isn’t going to be easy for everyone.
As authors Andrew Scott and Lynda Gratton explain, others could be left behind to cope as best they can with poor health and transient jobs, before dying 20 years earlier than their richer counterparts, without a pension. For them the future looks more bleak.
What can we do about our aging society?
Saving more and being aware of how we might live our lives until we’re 100 is a big challenge to solve but it is about much more than money, of course. The need to manage people’s affairs as they age is going to become commonplace, and more pressing, adds John Brewer.
Living longer and living healthily isn’t going to be easy for everyone
“Taking steps such as setting up a Power of Attorney as a matter of routine will make even more sense. People are going to have to face up to the need to plan for, and embrace responsibility for, their longer lives.
Given the breadth of the topic, perhaps the last word should go back to Professor Harper: “The government has a key responsibility to ensure that we all are better informed about healthy life expectancies, pension projections, the likelihood of needing social care and its cost, and how best to use our assets.”
Taking responsibility, saving and being better informed is a good start; that much we can do.
“The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity” by Bloomsbury.",1506,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215487.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820003554-20180820023554-00370.warc.gz,0.96445506811142
3af96b1f-c373-4b58-a2f3-863d44c9f906,2020-10-26T01:21:46+00:00,2020-10-26,0,https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/to-kill-a-mockingbird-by-harper-lee/teaching-guide,"Compare and contrast the photographs of kids and a new car and the sharecropper family in Macon County. How do these two pictures relate to the Finch children and the Cunninghams? How do they relate to the Great Depression? Use textual evidence to support your answer.
Listen to the interview with Rosa Jackson. Explain how Atticus Finch would have reacted to Rosa’s arrest. How is Atticus similar to Judge Abernathy? How is Tom Robinson similar to Rosa Jackson? Use textual evidence to support your answer.
Look at the photograph of the children on the playground. Find a quotation from the book that could caption this picture. How does this image show Scout’s feelings about Jem’s school experience? What emotion does the picture evoke?
Look over the review of Alabama schools, specifically in rural areas. Reread chapter two about Scout’s first day of school. What do we learn about rural schools in Alabama during the Great Depression from a historical document and a fictionalized account? Use textual evidence from the novel to support your answer.
Scout tells the reader in chapter one that “there was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with...But it was a time of vague optimism for some people: Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself."" This historical allusion is from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address. Read the first page of the address. How could this speech help revive a nation in the depths of a Great Depression?
At the conclusion of the novel, have students read the Scottsboro trial calendar. With a partner, have students create a Tom Robinson trial calendar. Next have students read The Crime at Scottsboro. Emulating the tone of the excerpt, have students write a one-paragraph editorial proclaiming Tom Robinson’s innocence. Finally, show the “Scottsboro Limited” pamphlet, the flyer, the photograph of mothers, and the photograph of the Communist parade. Allow students to discuss. Students should describe the items, explain what is happening in each, explain how each makes them feel, and identify how each is connected to To Kill a Mockingbird.
This teaching guide helps instructors use a specific primary source set,
, in the classroom. It offers discussion questions, classroom activities, and primary source analysis tools. It is intended to spark pedagogical creativity by giving a sample approach to the material. Please feel free to share, reuse, and adapt the resources in this guide for your teaching purposes.",529,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107890108.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026002022-20201026032022-00006.warc.gz,0.944304168224335
797795aa-d6fa-47c0-9bf2-c63385022e24,2020-10-27T13:20:14+00:00,1998-11-18,0,https://prod.wsws.org/en/articles/1998/11/carm-n18.html,"Stokely Carmichael dead at 57
From student rebel to apologist for the African bourgeoisie
18 November 1998
Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), the civil rights activist and student leader who embraced black nationalism and moved to Africa nearly three decades ago, died Sunday at the age of 57 near his home in Conakry, the capital city of Guinea. The cause of death was prostate cancer, first diagnosed in 1996.
In a political sense, Carmichael had been dead for many years. His appeals to black Americans to return to Africa won little response, and the bourgeois nationalist leaders he embraced in west Africa--including Kwame Nkrumah and Ahmed Sekou Toure, whose names he took to express his admiration--left a political legacy of poverty, corruption and inter-tribal warfare.
In the United States Carmichael's meteoric political career coincided with the greatest social movement of the last half-century, the civil rights struggles and ghetto upheavals of the 1960s. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he came to live in Harlem at the age of 12, in 1952, and by late adolescence had become politically active on the fringes of the labor and socialist movement in New York City.
In 1961, while a freshman at Howard University, he joined the Freedom Riders, students both black and white who rode in integrated groups on buses throughout the South, deliberately challenging segregation and frequently risking arrest and racist violence. Carmichael was arrested repeatedly, in one case serving a 49-day sentence at the notorious Parchman Prison in Mississippi, a facility whose inmates described it as ""worse than slavery.""
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) became an organizing center for those, particularly youth, who were dissatisfied with the tactics and leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Council and Martin Luther King Jr. They sought a more militant and aggressive struggle against racial segregation in the South and against manifestations of racism throughout American society. Carmichael became a SNCC organizer in 1964 and was elected chairman in 1966, succeeding John Lewis.
The new SNCC chairman quickly drew attention with a speech in Greenwood, Mississippi in which he declared his support for the goal of ""black power."" While initially only a vague assertion of racial pride and militant opposition to oppression, this slogan was developed by Carmichael and other black nationalists into a program of thoroughgoing separatism.
Rejecting the struggle for integration to which the bulk of SNCC remained committed, Carmichael left the group in 1967 and established links with the Black Panther Party of Huey P. Newton. But soon afterwards he broke with the Panthers, rejecting their policy of seeking links with white student radical groups such as Students for a Democratic Society.
In a letter to the Black Panther Party he declared, ""The alliances being formed by the party are alliances which I cannot politically agree with because the history of Africans living in the United States has shown that any premature alliance with white radicals has led to complete submission of the blacks by the whites.""
Carmichael's black separatism was so categorical that he rejected any united struggle of blacks and whites against oppression, including unity between poor whites and poor blacks.
In a speech February 17, 1968 at a Black Panther Party rally in Oakland, California, he declared that the exploitation of blacks by other blacks was not as oppressive as the exploitation of blacks by whites, because all blacks shared the same culture, institutions and values. An excerpt from this speech, broadcast by National Public Radio as part of its obituary notice for Carmichael, contains the following statement, revealing his ignorance, or willful disregard, of the history of struggle by the American working class:
""Poor white people are not fighting for their humanity, they're fighting for more money. There are a lot of poor white people in this country. You ain't seen none of them rebel yet, have you? Why is it that black people are rebelling? Don't think it's because of poor jobs. Don't believe that junk that honky is running down. It's not poor jobs. It's a question of a people fighting for their culture, for their nature, for their humanity.""
Carmichael's views were perhaps the most chemically pure version of black nationalism, but he spoke not just for himself, but rather for an entire social layer of black petty bourgeois. Like most of the representatives of black nationalism, his origins were not in the working class or in the rural South, but in a more privileged layer. He was a West Indian, like Marcus Garvey, whose ""back-to-Africa"" program he came to espouse. He grew up in a largely white neighborhood, moved in middle class circles and attended the elite Bronx High School of Science.
Though he called himself a socialist throughout his later life, this was only in the sense that radical bourgeois nationalists throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America use the word. He was as distant from genuine socialism, Marxist internationalism and a working class outlook as could be imagined.
This was demonstrated in his decades in Africa, where the regimes which he had saluted as the vanguard of humanity descended into corruption and squalor. Nkrumah was ousted in a military coup and fled to Guinea. He and Carmichael founded the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party, which retains a small following in the United States. A decade later, Sekou Toure was himself overthrown in Guinea, and Carmichael was briefly arrested, then released.
Today the countries of west Africa are mainly ruled by right-wing military cliques, in some cases installed after armed intervention by the Nigerian military dictatorship. The region has been bled dry by imperialism, and bled doubly by the bourgeois regimes that have ruled on behalf of the former colonial powers since nominal independence came in 1960. For the great masses of workers and peasants throughout the region, conditions of life are worse than 30 years ago.
Despite his socialist rhetoric, and his trips to Cuba and Vietnam, Carmichael/Ture remained a thoroughly bourgeois figure. His last days featured three visits to his deathbed by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was touring west Africa as the envoy of the Clinton administration. He received prominent and respectful obituaries in the American press.
Thirty years since the assassination of Martin Luther King
[4 April 1998]",1285,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894175.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027111346-20201027141346-00363.warc.gz,0.976646840572357
6653590c-7e05-41f9-9e08-d709a4e3c238,2017-08-16T21:49:32+00:00,2015-03-09,1,http://www.przoom.com/news/151061/Alstom-to-Build-the-First-Ultra-supercritical-Lignite-fired-Power-Plant-in-Asia/,"PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
Lampang, Thailand, 2015/03/09 - Alstom, in consortium with Marubeni Corporation, has signed an agreement with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to supply and build the new unit at Mae Moh power plant - Alstom.com. FR0010220475; ALO
The total amount of the contract is €950 million in total, with Alstom’s share of the contract worth approximately €520 million. The contract will be carried out on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. This new unit will replace existing units 4-7 and will make Mae Moh the first lignite-fired power plant in Asia operating with ultra-supercritical conditions. Upon its completion in 2018, the unit will produce 600 MW of electricity with the highest environmental performance and with atmospheric emissions reduced to meet the most stringent regulations.
Alstom will supply its state-of-the-art technologies, such as the ultra-supercritical boiler with integrated Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx (SCR), its ultra supercritical steam turbine and generator, as well as the air quality control systems composed of a Wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation (WFGD) system enabling reduction of sulphur oxides by more than 98%, and Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) designed to capture particulate and dust emissions, with an efficiency of more than 99.9%.
While existing units in the Mae Moh Power Plant were all originally equipped with Alstom boilers, the new unit will operate at ultra-supercritical conditions which leads to a higher overall plant efficiency, an improvement of close to 20% in the heat rate compared to the current specifications, increased power output as well as a reduction of more than 20% in CO2 emissions per unit of fuel burned compared to current installations.
Andreas Lusch, Senior Vice President Steam Business at Alstom, said,“as we return to Mae Moh, this contract further confirms our customer’s confidence in Alstom technology and execution capabilities to provide the most efficient and reliable power. We are proud to be able to work with EGAT to bring more sustainable and cleaner power to Thai customers and businesses. This success also reinforces our position as a leading power solutions provider in the industry. ”
Alstom (alstom.com) has been present in Thailand for 0ver 40 years, having supplied over 7GW of installed capacity in the country and is currently constructing the 850 MW North Bangkok combined cycle power plant, Block 2.
Christopher English (Alstom Thermal Power)
T: +33(0)1 41 49 26 85 - E: christopher.english[.]power.alstom.com.
Carolyn Chow (Alstom Singapore & East Asia)
Tél. : +65 6236 1575 - E: carolyn.chow[.]alstom.com.
T: +33(0)1 41 49 26 42 - E: delphine.brault[.]chq.alstom.com.
T: +33(0)1 41 49 25 13 - E: anouch.mkhitarian[.]chq.alstom.com.",691,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102663.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816212248-20170816232248-00124.warc.gz,0.897009611129761
aa2f1ab4-b105-400f-8ae6-5c5c0ae42906,2017-08-18T16:31:02+00:00,2014-03-31,0,http://samplacette.com/2014/03/,"I got a Chromebook a while back. I believe that for at least the mid-term future, the web browser is the de-facto common platform for software, and at $250, the Chromebook is a lightweight, reasonably performant, and affordable price of entry into the rich world of web applications.
Unfortunately I think there were some corners cut in terms of durability to reach the $250 price point. It worked great, fast enough for my needs and very portable, but the screen cracked one day seemingly at random while I was out of the room. There’s not much of a market for Chromebooks with cracked screens, and according to Internet forums the “tech support” is something of a racket designed to fleece customers. I looked into DIY repair options and it turns out the fix is pretty cheap / simple to do at home. It literally took me five minutes.
What you’ll need:
- A replacement screen. I bought mine for $44, shipped, from laptop-recyclers / Vivo Technology on Ebay
- A #1 Phillips screwdriver
This quick video on Youtube from Dennis Padiernos illustrates the procedure pretty well.
- Completely power off the computer.
- Use your fingernail to remove the screen cover, starting from the inside.
- Save the bottom of the cover for last – this part is held on by a sticky tape. You will have to be persistent and apply steady force. Start from the middle of the bottom and work your way out. The parts are all plastic so don’t use too much force.
- Remove the screws holding the screen in place. There are only four screws, two on each side of the screen.
- Lay the screen flat on the keyboard. Locate the cable running from the computer to the screen and disconnect by pulling on the little yellow plastic “handle” on the side closest to you. Be gentle because the metal on the connector is very soft and easy to bend.
- Place the old screen aside and maneuver the new screen in place, face-down on the keyboard. Align the cable with the screen connector socket, using the yellow plastic handle to maneuver it. It’s hard to see the tiny connector, but the cable side is male and the screen side is female. Pull the two sides together once they are aligned; it should snap it into place.
- Hold the new screen in place against the computer and reconnect using the four screws. You should be able to turn on the computer now and verify the screen functions.
- Press the screen cover in place.
That’s it! I wish you and your new screen a long and happy life.",557,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104704.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818160227-20170818180227-00286.warc.gz,0.939042627811432
0330982d-f3be-4f5f-a2a5-7df10ab686c9,2019-08-20T15:16:38+00:00,2019-08-20,0,http://hypnotherapyresults.co.uk/what-happens-if-i-find-it-difficult-to-relax-during-the-session/,"This is rare. But you do have to allow yourself to relax. The best way around this is to decide that you will relax and know that it is a proven fact that with each subsequent session of hypnosis you will relax more. It also helps if you can change your internal dialogue to one that makes you want to relax, rather than one that confirms that you are not relaxing. Making this suggestion to yourself will get your mind to cooperate. If your mind drifts away, don’t make a big thing of it. Just reign it back in again. At any rate, when you think your mind is wandering away from the hypnosis at hand, that’s your unconscious being stimulated to think of things that are more relevant than you realise.",153,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315544.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820133527-20190820155527-00423.warc.gz,0.972059071063995
71199d17-fcd3-4dbd-ba35-e4f80b25872b,2020-10-20T13:52:29+00:00,2020-07-31,1,https://www.haloscope.org/post/how-tiktok-has-become-a-political-tool,"“I think banning TikTok is taking away a huge platform for young people to organize through; however, knowing our generation, it won’t hold us back.""
Throughout quarantine, TikTok has been a diversion for young people to escape the realities of staying at home. Dancing, singing, and comedy Vine-esque videos created a community for young people to express themselves. However, in recent months, the political community on TikTok has been thrust into the spotlight, especially through the documentation of Black Lives Matter protests. Trump has now vowed to ban the app in America, leaving the estimated 100 million American TikTok users questioning, how exactly did we get here?
As protests have ripped through the nation in the wake of rampant police brutality, specifically the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, young people have used TikTok as a tool of education and a source for information mainstream news sources haven’t been covering. Sadhana Mandala, a young activist and organizer has only been using TikTok since March but recognizes the importance of the app in the current political landscape. “The TikTok political community consists of mainly teenagers and young adults on both sides of the isle posting 60-second videos advocating or raising awareness for political issues. Some popular trends include sexual assault awareness, voting, abortion rights, and most prominently documenting Black Lives Matter protests and the blatant violence and abuse of power by police on peaceful protestors,” she says. “[D]uring the Black Lives Matter protests in Boston, the train stations were shut down leaving protestors trapped with no way of getting home. The news channels did not cover this topic [but] many young students posted this information on TikTok alerting all the other protestors on [a] safe way to avoid police violence.”
The TikTok community is predominantly young people, with MarketingCharts TikTok data finding that over 50% of users are between 18-34 years old. Young people are an important voting block who, unfortunately, continue to fail in casting a ballot. According to the United States Elections Project, voter turnout for those aged 18-29 in 2016 was only 43%. In the coming election, establishment Democrats are looking to young people to show up and cast a vote. According to Mandala, “mobilizing young people is the way to win elections because we don’t follow the rules set forth for us, but instead we find new, creative ways to push for an ideal and organize for a better future.” An important tool for education among young people is social media like TikTok. But Trump’s recent attacks on the app have called into question whether young people will have access to TikTok in the coming weeks.
In late June, young people on TikTok, ironically prompted by a 51-year-old grandmother from Iowa named Mary Jo Laupp, were encouraged to register for Trump’s Tulsa rally and not show up. Teenagers all across America, specifically K-pop stans, ordered tickets for the event. Trump boasted about his presumed rally attendance, tweeting that “Almost One Million people requested tickets for the Saturday Night Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma!” 100,000 were expected to attend, overflowing outside of the arena, but only 19,000 showed, additionally bring up such rallies as controversial during COVID-19.
This debacle calls into question Trump’s motives for his war on TikTok. Over the past month, Trump has expressed interest in banning the app with an executive order. Many are wondering whether Trump is actually worried about Chinese surveillance or if he is only interested in a political win against China. Recently, during an interview, Trump praised the arrests of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, indicating that perhaps he’s not as worried about surveillance as he claims. We would be remiss to ignore the criticisms of TikTok as a tool of censorship and surveillance in China, but banning the app is not the only route for government action. In 2019, the US government acquired dating app Grindr from Beijing Kulun Tech after it was deemed a security risk, which suggests a possible option for TikTok.
The ownership of TikTok is still a fraught issue. Microsoft has expressed interest in buying the app, but if Bytedance doesn’t make a deal and TikTok is banned (as it was in India) young people will have to find another platform for their creative and political expression. Mandala isn’t worried. “I think banning TikTok is taking away a huge platform for young people to organize through; however, knowing our generation, it won’t hold us back. We will continue to organize for political change regardless of the power structures that try to silence our voice because the young people in this country are motivated and have a clear goal in mind: Removing Donald Trump from the White House and revolutionizing politics to advocate for social change. Banning TikTok is just another hurdle we will have to jump through in our fight for progressive change.” ✸
Jocelin Dell is a 17 year-old writer who lives in Connecticut. Some of her favorite things are sushi, Little Women, rollerskating, angry girl music of the indie rock persuasion, going for long walks in the woods, her two dogs (Brady and Evie), and The Beatles. You can follow Jocelin on Instagram at @jocelindell.",1105,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107872746.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020134010-20201020164010-00248.warc.gz,0.960666596889496
4bf12774-2ea1-46da-93d6-bdc06d48b498,2020-10-22T20:40:08+00:00,2020-10-22,0,https://www.digitalmarketing.ie/portfolio-item/powerscourt-golf-club/,"We created a new custom responsive redesign for Powerscourt Golf Club. We created a new visually rich website with large image and video on the homepage with clear call to actions for Book a Tee Time and Buy a Gift Card.
Visitors can also explore the course, quickly find out the opening times and how to get there. They can Book Golf Lessons with PGA Professional Paul Thompson, practice their golf swing at the golf clubs top facilities and choose from a number of places to stay near Powerscourt Golf Club.
As part of our Digital Marketing services we have provided Digital Supports, training, Google Ad Campaigns, etc.",125,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880038.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022195658-20201022225658-00571.warc.gz,0.931857705116272
ad89cf91-da57-4650-a698-0fa373f30df7,2013-06-20T02:09:33+00:00,2013-05-23,0,http://www.dzone.com/mz/dotnet,"Join Microsoft Technical Evangelists for upcoming app mashup webcasts designed to walk you through start to finish for your Windows 8 app in one hour.
Going to conferences is a great way to keep up with the industry and recharge the batteries. As of the writing of this post there are less than two weeks until the start of BUILD 2012.
Should be enough to get you started doing about any kind of app? If not, keep watching as looks like more are added all the time.
Now that the end of support for Windows XP and Office 2003 is approaching (April 2014), companies should accelerate their plans to migrate to a new version of Windows (7 or 8) and Office (2010 or 2013).
I was asked this the other day and I gave a pretty lame answer. Now I can actually sound like I know something! I know, imagine that!
Last week, we introduced WintellectNOW, a new on-demand learning service designed to make the same training content that we provide to Microsoft and other large customers available anywhere, any time.
If you've written a game for the Windows Store or for Windows Phone, you may have noticed that some markets require the use of game rating certificates
Developers who are writing Windows Store apps using C# and XAML might find some of the support for Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) lacking. Both WPF and Silverlight provided specific interfaces that enabled you to store validation context about fields on a context and even supported asynchronous validation.
Data templating is a powerful visualization mechanism used primarily for displaying a large number of objects. Controls such as LongListSelector or ListBox display each item from the bound collection using the appropriate DataTemplate.
In one of his previous articles, Simon talked about how MonoGame could be used with portable libraries, this was off the back of some work hs was doing with the MonoGame team to help with some of the more tedious clean up tasks that needed doing.
Traditionally, esoteric knowledge on how to tear down, troubleshoot and debug applications has been difficult to surface, discover and reuse among teams: MarraLAB solves this problem.
In the previous posts we explored data and authentication on the backend and client-side. This post explains how the Rent a Home application uses push notifications on all four platforms to let users know immediately when a new apartment listing is added.
John's first Pluralsight course, Introduction to Android Development, was released on April 12th, 2011. That is just over two years ago. Here are some insights.
Visual Studio database projects support database post-deployment scripts you can use to make additional modifications to database or to insert some test data.
Teams using Continuous Deployment know that the cost savings, safety and reliability that comes with deploying many times before going into production are priceless. Awesomeness aside those of us lucky enough to be putting it into action daily all found out quite early on that unless you’ve done it many times before, starting out with continuous integration can appear to add overhead to your timelines that you may simply not have time for.
The White House marked the one-year anniversary of its digital government strategy Thursday with a slate of new releases, including a catalog of government APIs, a toolkit for developing government mobile apps and a new framework for ensuring the security of government mobile devices.
Den Delimarsky describes a common pitfall that developers might encounter when sending large files from a Windows Phone 8 or Windows Store application, as well as how to solve it.
ASP.NET and Web Tools 2012.2 are officially out and although it brings a lot of new stuff to us, Gunnar wanted to stop on new Single Page Application templates available by community.
New or experienced with implementing Dynamics AX you will find this book to be a helpful resource.
Finding out reason of bug in code is not always easy thing to do. But it can be extremely hard if you have no idea what do with information that exceptions provide you
With ASP.NET MVC 4 release, one of the interesting features added was that of Web API. If you had to create a Web API – you had to select a ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application and then you could select Web API template.
This is a guest post by Johan Svärd. He is not only a gifted developer who gets things done, but also think of a development processes and projects as a whole.
If you’ve peeked at the StackOverflow answer linked, you might already know that using the attribute Flags doesn’t do anything at all. Except it’s handy if Reflection is used.
There are cases when you have to send a complex object to server side using GET requests. In order to achieve that you would use the URI binding by decorating the controller method parameter with [FromURI] attribute. So if you have an object called ""Criteria"" which is composed from ""CriteriaA"" and"" CriteriaB"" properties, your GET request would look like this:",1041,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94152444601059
c1dc97ac-bc09-4164-ab13-a2b417c0ccda,2022-05-18T08:57:20+00:00,2008-01-02,0,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/7171759.stm,"In the days following the murder of Garry Newlove, the Fearnhead area of Warrington found itself thrust into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
The Fearnhead area was thrust into the spotlight by the murder
Neighbours of Mr Newlove complained they had been plagued by anti-social behaviour for years.
The murder sparked a national debate about youth drinking culture and the police chief leading the inquiry called for the legal drinking age to be raised to 21.
Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Cheshire Police, called for a ban on drinking in public areas outdoors to help combat alcohol abuse and anti-social behaviour.
He later said underage drinking was a ""child protection issue"" and parents must take action to stop it or face ""sanctions"" from the care system.
But the warning signs in Fearnhead appear to have already been apparent before the attack on Mr Newlove in August 2007.
On the night the father of three was murdered, community support officers are believed to have stopped a gang, which included his killers, because they appeared drunk.
The youths are thought to have thrown their bottles of alcohol into bushes, before returning later to retrieve them.
It is also believed Mr Newlove made repeated calls to the police about unruly teenagers roaming the streets, but these were ignored.
Insp Derek Lockie, neighbourhood inspector for east Warrington, said Mr Newlove's death had come as a ""bitter blow"" to the Fearnhead community.
But, he said, lessons had been learned.
The Cheshire Chief Constable called on parents to take action
He said: ""There are a number of issues which have come out of this - what my officers have done is to locate hotspots where we know gangs congregate to drink, and have targeted them.
""We don't just simply move them on, because that doesn't work.
""If a child is found drinking we call their parents, take them down to the police station and explain what the dangers are.
""I think Mr Newlove's death has made that all the more real to a lot of people around here.
""I'm very positive about the future. Lessons have been learned and we are determined that what took place on 12 August should never happen in Warrington again.""
Residents themselves remain divided over the extent of the problem in the area.
A 40-year-old woman, of Cinnamon Lane, said she would never go out alone after dark because of her fear of gangs.
She said: ""I've never walked along the road after dark because children drink and become nasty and abusive.
""There are areas I wouldn't go to. I have never been to the shops alone. You see youngsters drunk - it's not worth taking a risk.""
But Leanne Dysart, head of the local residents' association, said Mr Newlove's murder had led to a false image of the area being created.
Mr Newlove had complained to police before about problems
Lynn Clarke, a neighbour of the Newlove family, said it was a ""nice"" area.
""What happened was very unfortunate but it has created a bad reputation"", she said.
""The residents who come to our meetings have issues about overgrown hedges, parking on pavements and everyday quarrels in neighbourhoods.
""Youths terrorising the streets is not one of the issues we deal with.
""There is a handful of bad eggs, but 99% of the youths around here are great kids.
""Justice should be done for Garry and his family but Fearnhead should not be demonised in the process.""",763,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00216.warc.gz,0.98429524898529
a8e88059-51b3-43dc-84b8-351164e9907d,2018-08-18T13:05:56+00:00,2004-09-18,1,https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2004-09-18-14-1-66361322/546284.html,"The United Nations World Food Program warns thousands of Liberians could face starvation, if international donors do not urgently provide $6.6 million for food relief. A WFP official says the organization has been forced to cut food rations for lack of funds.
The World Food Program says the situation for hundreds of thousands of people in Liberia is critical. WFP Spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume says the agency is feeding three quarters of a million of Liberia's most vulnerable people. They include women, children, displaced people, refugees and people suffering from HIV-AIDS. She says these people are totally dependent upon international food aid for their survival.
""The situation is so bad that, this month, we have to cut by 36 percent the food rations of the displaced people and returnees, because of lack of contributions from donor countries,"" she explained. ""And, if the situation does not improve, we will have to make more cuts in October and December. And, those are really heart breaking decisions.""
Ms. Berthiaume says, thanks to a contribution by the European Union, WFP has the money to feed its beneficiaries in the month of November, but the outlook for December is very bleak.
She says, ironically, aid agencies are suffering from a shortage of money, because the peace process is going well.
While war was raging in Liberia and the country was the focus of media attention, she says, donors contributed generously. However, the international community has lost interest in Liberia since that country's former president, Charles Taylor, went into exile in Nigeria, and Liberia disappeared from the TV screens.
To date, the United Nations has received less than half of the $520 million governments pledged in aid for Liberia in February. Ms. Berthiaume says WFP urgently needs more than $6.5 million to feed three quarters of a million people until the end of the year. She warns Liberia's fledgling peace process will be at risk if people do not get enough to eat.
""We know that, if we do not distribute enough food, there will be riots and instability and insecurity in the camps for displaced people,"" she said. ""Lack of food is always a factor of insecurity. People that do not have enough to eat and that do not have enough food for the family, are people that might resort to extremes to get what they need.""
The WFP spokeswoman says this is a particularly worrying time. She says the United Nations is going to start repatriating thousands of Liberian refugees from neighboring countries on October 1. Many of these people fled into exile over a decade ago and are eager to return. But, she notes they will quickly become disillusioned if there is nothing for them to eat. And, this, she warns could have a damaging impact on the peace process.",569,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213666.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818114957-20180818134957-00054.warc.gz,0.977351129055023
63290f5d-4f58-4acc-8680-f7f6918f2b5d,2022-05-17T03:29:15+00:00,2018-09-19,1,https://nuffoodsspectrum.in/2018/09/19/coca-cola-acquires-kombucha-drink-brand.html,"The Coca-Cola Company has entered the kombucha market with the acquisition of Organic & Raw Trading Co, which makes the Mojo brand of naturally fermented, live culture, organic kombucha drinks.
Australia-based Organic & Raw was co-founded by Anthony Crabb in 2010, who perfected his handmade, fermented drink in his home in 2010. Since then the firm has grown rapidly, with increased sales of its Mojo Crafted Kombucha beverage.
According to Coca-Cola, which is continuing to shift away from soft drinks to drive growth, kombucha is the fastest-growing beverage category in Australia.
Two key leaders who have been responsible for driving Mojo’s growth, Anthony Crabb, and sales and marketing director, Andrew Buttery, will remain in their current roles.",165,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515501.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517031843-20220517061843-00421.warc.gz,0.968837678432465
0a5cec37-7dd8-4564-ab4f-a61cceaf8926,2017-08-19T01:32:02+00:00,2017-02-25,1,https://irregularideation.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/the-last-mennonite-standing-is-a-population-collapse-inevitable/,"A few months ago friend of mine shared a link to a news story and asked my opinion.
The story, “UK Mennonites end Sunday services after numbers dwindle,” did not seem to apply to my own conservative branch of the Mennonite denomination.
My initial thoughts were that this was one of those wacky liberal churches and therefore not relevant.
However, upon further reflection, I realized that my own brand of Mennonite is not impervious to cultural trends and, despite all the babies crying on Sunday mornings now, we could face a similar population collapse down the road.
Headlines about record-low fertility rates in the US or an unprecedented population collapse in another nation might seem irrelevant to our own situation. But they can also give some indication of the patterns, telltale signs and changes in behavior that come before such events.
I’ve heard people say that we, as conservative Mennonites, are “50 years behind society” and there seems to be some truth to that. I know with the advance of technology (like that which makes this blog possible) the pace of change is now quicker than most would have imagined a generation ago.
The conditions that allowed the Mennonite tradition to continue for hundreds of years are disappearing, and quickly. It does not seem we are in an especially strong position to cope with the new social, economic and technological realities.
This generation could very well be the last.
Here are some factors that could determine where things go from here…
#1) We grow mostly because we have big families and convert our own children. Like it or not, “Mennonite” is an ethnic group—complete with unique genetic disorders and a game based on our common surnames. Yes, we do have some converts from the “community folks” and yet most of us came from Mennonite or other established Anabaptist stock. If our birth rates were to continue to drop (as they have been amongst Mennonites in North America), then there will likely be some problems down the road.
#2) Marriage is being postponed and even avoided altogether, thereby decreasing birth rates. Mennonites seem to be taking cues from society when it comes to committed relationship. But, unlike society, we do not have children outside of marriage and therefore our postponing of marriages means older mothers and fewer children, and that is assuming they will marry eventually. I just had a young woman (maybe mid-twenties) ask me to do a blog to advise her and her friends on how to tell pesky guys to get lost—not an unusual sentiment. It seems women from conservative backgrounds are becoming less interested in marriage and motherhood, and that is a death knell to a church that can’t bring in more than an occasional convert from outside our own existing gene pool.
#3) The feeder system from Old Order groups and elsewhere could dry up. It is not a big secret that Mennonites migrate from conservative to liberal. My own church has lost many born into it and the casualties have always been offset with those gained from other groups more conservative than our own, or those escaping expensive land prices in overdeveloped Lancaster County. But this means of growth via a continued supply from upstream (or downstream?) is not guaranteed. It could change as economic pressures increasingly encroach on the Old Order lifestyle. It is harder to support big families with higher land values, a tougher regulatory environment, rising healthcare costs, etc. We can’t count on migrants for growth.
#4) Urbanization and loss of an agricultural lifestyle results in cultural change. My grandparents moved up out of the Franconia Conference territory (near Philadelphia) in the 1960s to begin farming where the land was cheaper and roads less congested. My grandparents have remained relatively unchanged in the way they dress since that time. However, their friends “back home” have changed dramatically both in dress and perspective. There are still a small number of “breakaway” conservatives in that region, but the main body of Mennonite churches there are extremely progressive and their trends could give us some indication of our own future.
#5) The decline of meaningful brotherhood and rise of alternatives reduces interest. The Amish were right to identify transportation technology as a threat to community. We might pride ourselves for having stronger communities than the church down the road (a disputable claim) and yet would we compare favorably to prior generations? I know that even in my own three-decade life span there has been a dramatic change. We seem less closely knit and more quick to leave for the church up the road rather than come together as one community of diverse members. We do more world travel, have more activities for every specialized interest or age group, and are kept very busy. However, we are also fragmented with less vertical integration, more homeschooled children, and less everyday connection—resulting in weaker communities. Our communities could eventually disintegrate completely as they lose relevance.
#6) Lack of foresight and appropriate faithful preparation is endemic. Part of the reason I’m writing this blog is because nobody else is talking about this. We are chronically unprepared for change. It seems many conservative Mennonites have their heads buried in the sand (or simply buried in day-to-day business and family affairs) and do not see trends coming down the pike. There appears to be very little effort on the part of the ordained leadership to account for changes in culture (or technology) and even less effort to respond in a positive or productive manner. Few advocate for a faithful and deliberate approach to problems. We miss opportunities to increase our effectiveness because we do not utilize the greater means available to us. We perish for lack of vision.
#7) In the void of thoughtful preparation, what results is only fearful reaction and hasty retreat. Mennonites, like other Christian fundamentalist groups, began to withdraw from strategic high ground after being blindsided by the pushback against the state endorsement of religion in public schools and the rise of secularism. Many decry, “They took prayer out of school!” but the sad reality is they did not remove prayer and a faithful witness from schools—we did! We trembled like King Saul facing the Philistine giant and removed our children and influence. We did not read 1 John 4:4, “greater is he that is in you, than he is in the world,” and believe. It is little wonder why nobody believes us when we try to convince them of our great God.
#8) Our missions are often without purpose and out of touch. I know a young woman (a very sweet person and sincere Mennonite) who told me, “hearts don’t change,” in response to a circumstance outside her experience. I was astonished at the cognitive dissonance on display and it made me wonder why she was spending thousands of dollars to be at IGo
Adventures and Spouse Seeking Institute in Thailand. It reminds me of the time when we formed a committee at my church to discuss local missions where mailing out more tracts seemed to be the idea with most traction and nothing practical ever came of the committee. Needless to say, I am not very optimistic about our abilities to do effective outreach.
Is a Mennonite population collapse in North America inevitable?
I don’t know.
I’m not expecting our complete extinction.
I’m pretty sure the Mennonite name will continue on in one form or another.
For instance, we do have a list of genetic disorders that will carry on our legacy.
But, as a religious culture and tradition?
I believe that depends.
It depends on how we approach the issues listed in #1-8 above.
Will we address problems head-on and work through them deliberately or be blindsided?
Will we adjust our thinking and adapt our methods as needed?
Or will we (like the dying Shaker movement) use hope as a strategy?
Nothing is written in stone yet. But I do know that the conservative Mennonite culture is a frustrating place for innovative and forward-thinking people. Old habits, functional fixedness, inability to think outside the box and a “don’t rock the boat” mentality all stand in the way of a faithful and vibrant future.
We need to ask and answer the hard questions rather than avoid them. We should be taking note of trends, and be confronting them collectively as a group.
Notice a growing number of older singles?
Look into the Moravian option or at the very least reconsider the faithless courtship teachings that have created the current mess. There is no reason why we should pretend there’s nothing that can be done.
Wonder why our missions are ineffective?
It could be that we are isolating our children rather than trusting God and teaching them to live in fear rather than faith. They can’t empathize or understand anyone outside the Mennonite culture.
Where do we go from here?
It is up to you. But, if you don’t want to be the last Mennonite standing, I suggest it is time to remove the stale items from the shelves and introduce some fresh ideas.
Change is inevitable.",1930,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00696.warc.gz,0.96261340379715
3cee7a16-fc93-48c3-b168-b229b2acb51f,2013-05-24T22:51:03+00:00,2013-05-24,0,http://www.houserepairtalk.com/f33/sump-pump-problems-7049/,"You can try to repair it, however buying a new one ...that works...is a better idea. When you need it most, you want it to be at it's best.
Seen to many rigged up pumps that fail, then they get to call the fire dept to pump out the basement.
Repair basement, replace belongings, clean out....1000's.
sleep during rainstorm....comfy.",86,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961846590042114
e8a1b436-24b6-4de7-91fb-156a4365426c,2017-08-20T04:02:55+00:00,2012-05-01,1,http://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/48450/worlds-richest-woman/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=20ee2ea151,"Meet the world’s richest woman. She comes from the land down under…
Bill Gates lost the “world’s richest man” crown to Carlos Slim, the Mexican businessman. Now, according to Australia’s BRW magazine, Gina Rinehart – the Australian mining magnate – has become the world’s richest woman. She takes the crown from Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton, who held the title of world’s richest woman for seven years.
According to BRW’s 2012 Rich 200 List, Ms. Rinehart’s net worth is now $29.7 billion. That tops Ms. Walton’s $26 billion pile. Ms. Rinehart’s fortune has nearly tripled over the past year – at the rate of more than $1 million per hour – due to the mining boom in Australia and strong commodity prices.
Of course, guessing people’s wealth is usually a guess. And the Bloomberg Billionaire Index lists Ms. Rinehart’s current wealth at a mere $18 billion, putting her well below Christy. So there is room for disagreement.
BRW said Ms. Rinehart could become the richest person in the world if commodity prices and Ms. Rinehart’s mining projects continue to grow. E
Yet with her new crown comes anxiety. Ms. Rinehart has been engaged in a vicious battle with her own kids over control of the family business empire. Three of Rinehart’s four kids – John Hancock, Bianca Rinehart and Hope Welker – are suing her to oust her as trustee of the multibillion-dollar family trust established by her late father Lang Hancock.
Ms. Rinehart has said that her kids are unfit to run the business. “None of the plaintiffs (her children) has the requisite capacity or skill, nor the knowledge, experience, judgment or responsible work ethic to administer a trust in the nature of the trust in particular as part of the growing HPPL Group,” she claimed in court papers.
She is also facing new claims from Aboriginal landowners who say her company isn’t paying them enough for royalty payments.
Apparently, it’s not easy at the top – even with $28 billion.
Do you think Gina Rinehart will ever be the richest person in the world?
Robert Frank, CNBC",500,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105970.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820034343-20170820054343-00601.warc.gz,0.93671053647995
a407c143-beeb-4217-98f6-eff1cdcb3421,2018-08-15T18:57:44+00:00,2016-05-04,1,https://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/05/04/us-wins-pledge-more-resources-anti-is-allies.html,"A coalition of countries battling Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq pledged Wednesday to pour more resources into the fight, after coming under strong pressure from Washington for greater contributions.
The promise came after a meeting in Stuttgart of defence ministers from countries involved in the anti-IS coalition, during which US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter drove home the message that to deal IS a body blow, ""all must do more"".
Carter's call to step up the fight came a week after US President Barack Obama reiterated a long-standing demand for members of NATO to increase their defence spending to meet the alliance's target of two percent of output.
In a joint statement, the coalition stressed their ""strong support ... for the deployment of additional enabling capabilities in the near term, in order to hasten the collapse of ISIL's control"" over the city of Mosul in Iraq and Syria's Raqqa.
Speaking after the talks with counterparts from Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Spain, Carter said he was ""confident that today's meeting will produce additional military commitments"".
Besides military resources, defence ministers meeting at the US European Command's headquarters also examined their economic and political contributions to the campaign, he said.
""It's going to take more to win. We're going to win but we all need to do more,"" Carter told reporters.
""This fight is far from over and there are great risks,"" he said.
But ""allowing ISIL safe haven would carry even greater risk. To accelerate ISIL's lasting defeat, all must do more,"" he said, using another acronym for the Islamic State group.
Carter also said he hoped that NATO as an organisation could join the coalition, particularly in the area of logistics coordination.
The defence secretary also pointed to ""the NATO AWACS issue"", in reference to surveillance aircraft of the alliance's members.
As a first step, NATO had agreed to deploy such surveillance aircraft, in order to allow the US to free up its planes for operations in Iraq and Syria.
But a diplomatic source said Washington is hoping to go a step further in getting NATO on board to fly such AWACS surveillance aircraft over Syrian and Iraqi airspace.
Carter also paid tribute to a US Navy SEAL who was killed in Iraq on Tuesday during an IS attack on a position of Kurdish peshmerga forces north of Mosul.
""The whole country has to be grateful to this young man and his family for this sacrifice. But tragically losses will occur.
""This is necessary to protect our country and not to do something would entail even greater risks,"" he said.
Carter said he had proposed that the anti-IS coalition hold another meeting in Washington this summer.
Copyright (2016) AFP. All rights reserved.
This article was from Agence France Presse and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.",586,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210249.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815181003-20180815201003-00523.warc.gz,0.966207385063171
7b5137d9-96c1-431e-a543-44be7e4b3415,2017-08-20T13:45:50+00:00,2015-05-22,1,http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/This-Week-in-Energy-Oil-Glut-Easing-At-A-Snails-Pace.html,"The EIA released fresh weekly data this week that solidified a trend underway in the US. Oil inventories posted their fourth weekly decline, falling by another 2.8 million barrels. The US has now burned through 10 million barrels of oil from storage in a month, indicating that the supply glut continues to ease, although at a very slow rate. At the same time, however, the EIA also revealed a shocking jump in weekly production. Crude output across the country jumped by 300,000 barrels per day, an eye-grabbing number considering many other indicators point to an overall contraction. Still, that figure should be treated with a large grain of salt, as it is not the EIA’s most reliable metric. Weekly figures tend to be less accurate than forthcoming monthly data, which usually captures a clearer picture of the state of play.
The draw on inventories is largely attributable to the demand from downstream. Refineries are running at their highest levels in several months, providing a further boost to oil prices. Gasoline consumption is rocketing towards a ten-year high for the season. Related: Investors Turning Away From Green Energy
But there is a lot of hesitation in the oil markets. After two solid months of price gains between March and May, prices have hit a plateau and have even pulled back a bit. Global supplies are still elevated, and while demand is rising, it is not accelerating fast enough to significantly relieve the glut. It appears it will take some more time for things to balance out.
Meanwhile, the cost to use oil tankers is shooting through the roof as more are being called upon to ship and store oil. Chartering an oil tanker now costs 57 percent higher than it has in recent weeks. On May 20, tanker rates hit $83,412 per day, up from just $52,987 at the beginning of the month.
Part of the reason for the huge jump in daily tanker rates is because more oil is being exported from OPEC countries. Saudi Arabia is producing at its highest level in more than three decades. Iraq is poised to see a record high level for oil exports in the coming weeks, as it plans to boost oil exports to 3.75 million barrels per day in June. The massive increase in oil exports from Iraq, in particular, is a huge development for oil markets. As the world is dealing with a supply overhang, Iraq is pouring an additional three-quarters of a million barrels per day into the global pool of oil.
Another reason for high tanker rates is the ongoing use of ships to store oil. With oil prices expected to rise in the future, oil traders are parking their crude on ships, waiting for prices to bounce upwards. There are an estimated 20 million barrels floating somewhere out there in the oceans. Related: Terawatt Solar Farms By 2050?
Although oil trade is surging, the movement of LNG around the world is growing even faster. Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG) is nearing completion of its export terminal on the US Gulf Coast, with first shipment expected to depart in December. The FT reports that with the US and other nations entering the LNG business, LNG is on the brink of surpassing iron ore as the second most valuable commodity traded in the world (after oil). The surge in natural gas production in the US – and the corresponding crash in prices – is one major reason for the rising levels of trade. But the wave of liquefaction plants coming online now is another.
With LNG becoming a much more globally traded commodity, the method of pricing will have to change. Up until now, LNG has been traded on contracts linked to the price of oil rather than the gas itself. That was a quirk of history, dating back to a time when there was not enough supply of LNG to justify a spot market. With much more supply coming online, the market will have much more liquidity (excuse the pun), allowing LNG to gradually shift towards spot prices detached from the price of oil. That, in turn, will allow trade to further flourish, opening up lower cost LNG to countries in Asia where demand for the liquid fuel is high. Perhaps Royal Dutch Shell’s (NYSE: RDS.A) bet on BG Group (NYSE: BG) – whose portfolio is heavily weighted towards LNG – made some sense after all.
The US is gearing up to export LNG, but the fight over crude oil exports is still raging. With a glut of oil sloshing around the midsection of the country, US producers are pushing Congress to end the ban on exports. Facing low prices, lifting the ban would open up new markets for them, likely pushing up the price of a barrel of crude by a few dollars. Despite a lot of sympathy in Congress, the issue is highly controversial. Members of Congress are afraid of the blowback if gasoline prices happened to rise after lifting the ban. The outcome is uncertain. Bank of America recently predicted a 50 percent chance that the ban is scrapped within the next two years. Related: EU May Take Desperate Measures To Ensure Energy Security
Tensions heated up in the South China Sea this week with a war of words between the US and China. Top American officials including Secretary of Defense Ash Carter denounced China’s island-building in disputed territory. “There should be no mistake: The United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as we do all around the world,” Carter said as he embarked on a trip to the Pacific. Chinese commentary responded by arguing that the US was injecting itself into a regional issue that it was not party to. China also decried the hegemonic aspirations of US involvement in Asia. Tensions flared when a US aircraft flew over the islands and the Chinese military sent warnings, to which the US replied that it was flying in international airspace. No doubt the US would have a stronger legal leg to stand on if it actually passed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a treaty that Congress has thus far failed to approve.
By Evan Kelly Of Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
- Can Cigarettes Beat Tesla At The Energy Storage Game?
- Why Energy Costs Are So Important To The Global Economy
- Iraqi Oil Sector Shrugs Off ISIS Threat",1287,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106754.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820131332-20170820151332-00005.warc.gz,0.960693120956421
6c0d693b-0f94-4bb2-b7e5-bfcce96b71d1,2020-10-22T01:10:11+00:00,2019-02-02,1,https://www.bcg.com/en-kr/publications/2019/steel-turbulent-trade-climate,"Managing Director & Partner
Trade has been enormously important to the steel-producing and steel-consuming industries. Global steel exports have been growing in absolute terms for the past 70 years, virtually without interruption, and they have accounted for 30% to 40% of all steel produced during the past three decades. (See Exhibit 1.) The benefits of the steel trade, which amounts to more than 400 million metric tons shipped per year, have been incalculable: abundant supply, lower material costs for construction companies and manufacturers, more affordable products for consumers, and competitive pressures that have encouraged steel producers all over the world to specialize and innovate.
But just as trade has been a fixture of the steel business, so has trade conflict. Both producers and consumers of steel have grown accustomed to coping with legal battles over allegations of dumping and unfair subsidies that have led to sharp spikes in tariffs on traded steel products. Rarely, however, has the global business landscape been as challenging to navigate as it is today. The number of antidumping duty orders in force on specific countries’ steel exports has been rising by around 10% per year since 2012, according to World Trade Organization (WTO) data. The US added a complex new dimension to the steel trade in March 2018 by citing national security as a justification for imposing a 25% tariff on steel imports from virtually all countries. In response, the European Union and Canada have moved to safeguard their own producers from a surge in steel imports.
These antidumping actions and high US national-security tariffs have achieved their desired first-order effects. Our analysis reveals that the antidumping duties imposed by the US and Europe over the past two years on carbon flat steel have sharply reduced imported steel products from the targeted countries—by from 50% to 95%. The 25% tariffs that the US imposed in 2018 have boosted profit margins for domestic producers and increased capacity utilization in the domestic industry.
But these policy interventions have come at a cost. Higher steel prices have raised material costs for construction companies and domestic manufacturers of goods as diverse as screws, vehicles, and kitchen appliances, and not all of these companies are in a position to pass the added costs on to their customers. Because far more workers are employed in steel-consuming companies than in steel-producing ones, some economists warn that high tariffs will cause more economic harm than good in the US, by forcing steel users to shift production or procurement of assembled components offshore. The various trade actions have also created uncertainty. Because recently imposed tariffs could change again as a result of further trade negotiations, it is more difficult for companies to enter into long-term contracts with steel suppliers and for steel producers to make investment decisions regarding new capacity, technologies, and products that could define their competitiveness years into the future.
Historical context helps to explain why the current trade environment is so challenging. Steel has long been at the center of global trade policy. And though trade has been good for steel consumers, domestic steel makers and workers have generally opposed imports and more open trade. In general, there has been considerable political support for protecting domestic steel industries, which are seen as critical sources of high-paying jobs and are strategically important for other sectors.
Traditionally, nations have protected their steel industries with tariffs. The post–World War II movement to ease protectionism, which began with the 1948 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), resulted in the first rounds of international tariff cuts. All GATT member nations agreed to grant each other equal trade privileges. In 1952, six European nations began managing their steel production and markets through the European Coal and Steel Community—the precursor of the European Union. Intended to make wars between France and Germany materially impossible, the move also eliminated tariffs on coal and steel between member nations and resulted in an alignment of tariffs for nonmembers.
By the 1970s, however, claims of unfair steel exports began to appear. The US accused European steel makers of damaging its domestic steel industry by dumping their products at prices lower than they charged in their home markets. As more nations entered global steel markets, complaints proliferated that governments were unfairly subsidizing their steel industries in order to seize competitive advantage in export markets. In antidumping and countervailing duty (CVD) actions, which occur in response to subsidies, importing nations assess tariffs against the goods of targeted nations as a remedy for damage that the market presence of those goods inflicts on domestic producers. The EU and the US employ both instruments, but they follow significantly different approaches in doing so. (See the sidebar.) These policy tools are supposed to follow frameworks and rules set by WTO agreements concluded in 1994, which built on earlier GATT agreements and replaced the GATT organization with the WTO.
Actions against alleged unfair trading practices in steel and other industries generally fall into three categories:
The importing country takes action under its own domestic trade remedy laws, which must be consistent with baseline WTO rules. According to these rules, the complaining party must not only prove that imports were dumped or unfairly subsidized, but also that one or more domestic producers suffered material injury (in the case of antidumping and CVD actions) or serious injury or the threat thereof (in the case of safeguards). Injury is essentially the economic cost of lost revenue and profits. Normally, if companies cannot prove that they have suffered injury, national authorities are not legally permitted to apply tariffs.
Even though trade remedy laws must conform to WTO rules, countries’ policy and legal processes are marked in practice by considerable variation. This, in turn, gives countries significant latitude to manage their own trade policy levers.
The EU and the US, for example, use different methods to determine remedy tariffs in antidumping and CVD actions. The EU imposes a duty that compensates for the dumping margin or unfair subsidies, or it imposes a duty that compensates for the injury to domestic producers—whichever is lower. This is known as the lesser duty rule. Often, the difference between the dumping margin and the injury margin is significant but difficult to calculate. Furthermore, the EU considers the potential economic harm of a remedy duty on domestic companies that use steel as well as on EU consumers. This is known as the community interest test in EU trade policy.
The US, by contrast, imposes remedy tariffs equal to both the full dumping margin and the unfair subsidies. As a result, trade remedy tariffs on imported goods from targeted countries tend to be much higher in the US than in the EU. Moreover, when determining the duty, the US considers the economic impact on producers only, not on steel users and end consumers.
The high tariffs that the US imposed on all steel and aluminum imports in March 2018 represent a different kind of action. The government asserted that the action was necessary under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which seeks to ensure that the US is not beholden to hostile foreign powers for defense and security procurement. Prior to the 2018 action, Section 232 tariffs had been implemented only five times since 1962—and against petroleum imports in each instance, never against steel.
The use of national security provisions in domestic trade law has not yet been tested before a WTO dispute settlement panel. WTO members Canada, China, the EU, India, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey have filed WTO complaints alleging that the US’s Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum violate WTO rules. Some observers believe that a WTO panel would be reluctant to define what is or is not in the national security interest of a member state. However, a panel might rule on whether the trade policy implemented is necessary to achieve an asserted national security interest. In any event, WTO processes can take many years to reach a conclusion, so any near- to middle-term relief from the Section 232 tariffs would require a negotiated solution.
China’s arrival as a steel superpower has further altered the industry’s dynamics. Even though China exports only a small percentage of its output, the sheer scale of its production has generated annual steel exports that in some years have exceeded 100 million tons, leading to trade friction around the globe. Antidumping and CVD actions accelerated in 2015 and 2016 following a surge of Chinese steel exports. In 2018, 33% of the 696 steel antidumping and CVD trade actions that were then in force targeted China. (See Exhibit 2.)
The use of antidumping and CVD actions is a policy choice, however. In practice, many WTO member states do not use these trade defense instruments at all.
To assess the impact of trade remedies on steel markets, we analyzed antidumping cases brought by the US and the EU against countries that accounted for similar volume shares of imports during roughly the same time frame—from 2015 through 2017—in four categories of carbon flat steel: hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, cut-to-length plate, and hot-dipped galvanized steel. Coil refers to sheets and strips of steel that are shipped in rolls.
We analyzed import volumes, steel prices, and spreads between steel prices and the prices of the raw materials required to produce a ton of steel for each steel product category, as well as overall producer profit margins following the imposition of higher duties.1 Notes: 1 In analyzing the impact of duties on sales volumes of steel products, we used the EU eight-digit Combined Nomenclature and the US ten-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule code used to classify traded goods for customs purposes in the EU and the US. We used as a starting point the date when the importing country imposed the remedial duties, which is usually the time when that country has made a preliminary decision. Although a country typically takes 10 to 15 months to reach a final decision in a trade case, it applies tariffs as soon as it announces the preliminary decision—and the vast majority of preliminary decisions are ultimately confirmed. Consequently, in order to reduce risk, exporters usually change their practices soon after a case is initiated, rather than wait for the final outcome.
Our analysis found that antidumping actions are generally effective in achieving their stated goals. In each case we examined, the trade actions led to an immediate reduction, ranging from almost 50% to 95%, in imports from the targeted countries. Market prices for the steel products and producer profit margins were significantly higher one year later.2 Notes: 2 In a wider context, steel prices rose from the very low levels of the second half of 2015. The low prices were in large part due to the massive increase in steel exports from China. In fact, in real terms, prices during this period were as low as during the most recent global steel crisis, in 2001, which had led to the previous wave of US antidumping and CVD measures. Yet even though the US imposed much higher duties (up to 266%) than the EU (up to 74%), the impact of their duties on prices and spreads was comparable. Nearly every action we studied resulted in significantly higher spreads one year later in the EU and US for those specific flat-steel products. Spreads in the US increased by 16% to 32% per ton year on year, depending on the category, and in the EU by 8% to 36% per ton year on year. The only exception involved galvanized steel, for which spreads declined by 9% per ton year on year in the US.
Hot-Rolled Coil and Cut-to-Length Plate. Hot-rolled flat products constitute the largest internationally traded steel category. Trade actions by the EU and the US had similar effects on price spreads in hot-rolled coil and cut-to-length plate, although the effect on market shares of foreign versus domestic suppliers differed. From 2006 to 2016, the EU did not protect its industry for these products at all. In 2016, after a surge in imports, the EU targeted hot-rolled coil from China, Russia, Ukraine, and Brazil and cut-to-length steel plate from China and India. High duties helped EU countries dramatically slash imports of both types of products from the targeted nations. However, suppliers from other, nontargeted nations captured most of the resulting shift in market share. In the case of hot-rolled coil, while imports from targeted countries fell by 69% and spreads rose by 33%, imports from nontargeted countries increased by 79%. Ultimately, shipments by domestic EU producers rose by only 1%. (See Exhibit 3.)
In contrast, the US had for nearly two decades used high antidumping duties and CVDs to shut out major foreign suppliers such as China, Russia, and Ukraine from its domestic market for hot-rolled coil and cut-to-length plate. In 2015 and 2016, the US imposed high duties on additional countries, including South Korea, Brazil, and Australia. By the following year, imports from these targeted nations fell by more than 40%. But because few other nations could economically ship large quantities of hot-rolled coil and cut-to-length plate, US imports from third countries increased only slightly. Consequently, domestic US producers increased their shipments of hot-rolled coil by 5%, even as domestic demand declined slightly. Despite the significant reduction in steel imports, however, spreads in the US rose by 32%—a pace similar to that in the EU (33%)—even though steel imports in the EU remained steady.
Cold-Rolled Coil and Hot-Dipped Galvanized Steel. Both the EU and the US pursued antidumping cases involving these further processed products, and these efforts yielded similar results. EU markets were open to cold-rolled and galvanized steel imports until 2016. The US had also largely opened its market during the period from 2006 to 2016. Then, when imports into both markets surged, the EU and the US responded with trade actions.
The EU targeted China and Russia, its two biggest import sources. A year after the EU enacted high duties, imports of cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized steel from China and Russia plunged. But EU imports of these same products from Turkey, India, Egypt, and other sources skyrocketed, leaving overall import levels stable. The US targeted more countries than the EU and imposed much higher remedial duties. But as was the case in the EU, imports of cold-rolled and galvanized steel from other nations into the US replaced those from the target countries, and total US import volume remained about the same.
In early 2017, the US Department of Commerce concluded that imports of steel and aluminum constituted a threat to national security. Then, in March 2018, the US levied protective duties of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum under the rarely used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which authorizes the US president to restrict imports under certain circumstances.
This massive intervention against nearly all imported steel products from all foreign countries—regardless of the fairness of their trading practices—was unprecedented. The US’s stated goal was to increase its domestic steel industry’s capacity utilization to 80% by reducing imports by 13 million tons per year.
Article 21 of GATT permits a country to take “any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests.” But several nations are challenging the legality of the US actions in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, contending that its true aim in invoking Section 232 is protectionism, and that their steel exports to the US pose no threat to US national security. The US maintains that it is free to define what constitutes its national security and that, therefore, WTO rules do not prohibit its actions. A number of countries have responded with retaliatory tariffs on select US exports representing similar dollar volumes of steel, aluminum, and other, unrelated products.
Retaliatory tariffs are just one type of regulatory intervention that governments may adopt. Safeguards—temporary, emergency measures that countries enact to protect their industries from serious injury in the event of unforeseen, sharp, and sudden import surges—are another option. Such safeguards, which must meet tough preconditions, typically take the form of duties or quotas and apply to imports from all countries. Fearing that a diversion of steel exports from the US would lead to a surge in steel exports to their own markets, the EU, Canada, and other countries implemented their own safeguards soon after the US trade measure went into force.
The EU safeguards, which went into effect on February 2, 2019, and will remain in force until July 2021, impose tariff-rate quotas on 26 categories of steel products. Countries with more than a 5% market share in a steel product category are assigned country-specific import quotas; all other countries are assigned the residual global tariff-rate quota for those products. Quotas are based on the average steel import volume of each product for the previous three years plus 5%. Imports up to quota level will enter the EU according to its normal published tariff schedule. Once imports of specific products reach the specified level, the EU will impose a safeguard tariff of 25% on any additional volume. The free-from-safeguards quota level is set to rise by 5% in July 2019 and by another 5% in July 2020. Nations that were already subject to antidumping and CVD tariffs fall under the global quota. Because a large share of hot-rolled coil imports was already subject to antidumping duties, the EU did not set country-specific quotas in this important product category.
On the basis of data available so far, it appears that the US’s Section 232 intervention achieved some—but not all—of its desired effects. Initially, domestic US steel producers clearly benefited from the 25% tariffs. Domestic steel capacity utilization rose from 75% in the first quarter of 2018 to 81% in the fourth quarter, achieving the US target. As yet there is not enough data available to make clear the impact on US steel import levels, but data does indicate that sharply higher domestic prices have translated into higher profits for US steel producers. Profitability in the US increased by 5 percentage points, while it remained largely unchanged in other parts of the world. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization for major US steel producers rose from 9% in the first quarter of 2018 to 14% in the third quarter, surpassing the average for all steel producers in developed economies.
The big questions, however, are whether these gains are sustainable and whether they represent a net gain for the US economy. Global demand growth is slowing, and US steel prices have declined recently. There is some risk that they will fall further and that capacity utilization will drop as new production comes on line. Industry analysts estimate that if US steel makers follow through on all of their announcements, they will add more than 13 million metric tons of capacity during the period from early 2017 to 2023. Meanwhile, equity investors are concerned that the US government might roll back some of its tariff protections if it reaches new trade deals with major partners. After soaring initially, the shares of publicly listed US steel producers declined, on average, by 35% from March through December 2018, compared with a dip of only 3% in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
For the US economy, the gains of steel producers have been partially offset by the negative impact of the tariffs on US companies that use steel. One indicator of that impact—and of the importance of imported steel—is the number of applications (more than 44,000) for exemptions from the Section 232 tariffs filed as of December 20, 2018, by companies asserting that a lack of steel of the required quality or volume in the market is damaging their businesses. More than 14,000 of these applications were approved as of that date—more than three times as many as were denied. Also as of that date, more than 25,000 applications were still pending, underscoring the immense administrative challenge that the Section 232 tariffs pose for the US government. (See Exhibit 4.)
The recent trade actions taken by the US are creating winners and losers among the world’s steel producers and consumers.
Among national producers, the most immediate winners are US steel makers and their employees. The profitability of US integrated steel producers has increased. However, it has also improved for minimills, which are likely to continue taking market share from integrated steel producers regardless of tariff protection. Minimills use electric-arc furnace technology to make steel products, generally by melting and refining scrap and direct-reduced iron, rather than the blast furnaces that integrated mills use to produce steel from iron ore. In the past three decades, flat-steel minimills have increased their production while the output of integrated steel mills has declined—a trend that tariff protection will not change. Minimills have seized about half of the US market for flat steel, not including steel that is processed in rerolling mills. As the quality of their products improves, minimills are making inroads in the critical automotive sector. Most new investment in US steel capacity is flowing into facilities that deploy electric-arc furnace technology, which is less labor-intensive than blast-furnace technology. What’s more, companies are building a significant number of leading-edge minimills in the US South, rather than in the Midwest, where many of the older integrated mills are located.
Integrated steel mills that are interested in seizing the opportunity currently offered by high tariff protection can do two things. First, they can invest in improving their efficiency. Second, they can focus on core business segments in which they still hold the strongest position and aim to deliver domestic high-quality products that require higher levels of customer service, such as just-in-time delivery, technical support, and collaborative R&D.
High-grade steel for automobiles is one product that meets these criteria. But producers must use this window of opportunity. The current tariff protection gives US producers the breathing room they need to take domestic market share from foreign producers and to improve their operations so that they will be stronger competitors after the tariffs are removed.
Among producers of steel, the biggest losses will be felt by foreign suppliers, which have become less competitive in what was once a lucrative export market. In the immediate aftermath of the Section 232 action, the US agreed to exempt imports from a number of major partners, but it revoked those exemptions soon thereafter. Imports from Canada—the biggest foreign supplier—and Mexico continue to be charged a 25% tariff, even after those countries agreed to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is to replace NAFTA.
Many American companies for which steel is an indispensable raw material will also pay a steep price, as will their customers. In the fabricated metals and steel-processing industries, steel often represents 30% to 80% of the material cost. Among highly steel-intensive manufacturers that have the most to lose are makers of boilers, storage tanks, shelving, springs, screws, pipes, tubes, and wire. The higher steel prices resulting from the Section 232 tariffs may endanger their ability to compete in domestic and export markets.
In many sectors, steel is the first step in extensive value chains. Higher steel prices, therefore, create cost pressures that get pushed down the chain to steel-consuming industries. Construction, automotive, and machinery companies—the steel industry’s biggest customers—will be negatively affected. Manufacturers of kitchen appliances, farm machinery, and motorcycles have already reported that higher material costs are affecting their profitability.
Given the vast size of steel-consuming industries—the fabricated metals and steel-processing industries alone employ ten times as many workers as US iron and steel mills do—the negative impact on overall US employment and investment could outweigh employment gains in the steel sector.
American manufacturers that are not directly affected by the steel tariffs also face risks as US trade partners decide whether to retaliate against their industries. The EU has imposed retaliatory tariffs on such important US products as motorcycles, Kentucky bourbon, and Florida orange juice. Canada has targeted cranberries from Wisconsin. The aim in each case is to produce a comparable financial effect and maximum political impact.
The landscape of the global steel trade will continue to shift, sometimes radically. Tariff policy is just one element of this changing global environment, which is also being redefined by alterations in local-content requirements, nontariff barriers, and regulations. The impact of these changes on companies will depend on the companies’ position in the steel-processing value chain and on the locations of their production facilities or suppliers.
It is critical, therefore, that companies be proactive. They must develop an effective way to identify and mitigate the risks—and to capture the opportunities—created by changes in the global trade landscape. They must also ensure that their organizations are flexible enough to act quickly in response to different scenarios.
Managing these risks and opportunities should not be solely the responsibility of companies’ legal or government affairs departments, nor of operating units. Instead, companies should manage them as fundamental strategic issues, with direct involvement of the CEO. Hence we recommend that executives take the following actions.
As a first step, companies should dedicate resources to building their capacity to recognize, understand, and monitor shifts in geopolitics, macroeconomic trends, and the global trade order—and their impact on the company’s supply chain. One option might be to establish a trade impact unit, a dedicated cross-functional team that maintains connections with operations, procurement, legal affairs, communications, and marketing and sales.
Leaders along the steel supply chain should then allocate resources to several key initiatives. One such initiative would be to develop a trade strategy that defines clear guidelines for action under certain circumstances or in response to major changes in the business environment that affect the company’s strategic direction. The company should have a blueprint in place that identifies a specific response when a key component or raw material can no longer be sourced in the usual way.
Likewise, resources should be allocated to building internal and external networks that will help the company navigate challenges. It should acquire expertise in trade and compliance, for example, and build relationships with outside experts and associations that have relevant expertise and similar interests.
The company also needs to dedicate resources to creating visibility in its global supplier network. For instance, it can use digital tools that foster a clear, real-time understanding of activities and repercussions in its supply chain.
These initiatives will enable the trade impact team to carry out three key operational tasks, which we refer to as sense, prepare, and act. (See Exhibit 5.)
Sense. Companies should build an early-warning system for trade impact, on the basis of relevant data and close monitoring of political and economic developments. They should also understand how changes in the cost and flow of business inputs and outputs are likely to affect their competitive position, thereby enabling company leaders to make the necessary preparations to move boldly, regardless of the particular outcome.
For steel companies that export to nations that have their own domestic steel industries, the early-warning system should include a keen awareness of prices both at home and abroad to avoid incurring dumping sanctions. Leaders should ensure that sales agents are aware of the consequences of selling steel in such markets at prices below those in the domestic market.
Steel-consuming companies should conduct a bottom-up analysis of the entire value chain—from the upstream supplier base to operations and asset investments in each country in which they operate to downstream distribution channels and end customers. The trade impact team should assess the company’s vulnerability to changes in revenues, costs, and asset utilization under a number of plausible trade scenarios. Automotive OEMs, for example, should understand how higher steel costs in different countries will affect assembly operations and key components for each model line.
This analysis should include assessment of the risk exposure of competitors. CEOs should understand whether their competitors are less vulnerable or more vulnerable to trade actions. The results could reveal opportunities on the revenue side. If a company’s competitor has to increase prices in a certain market as a result of tariffs, for example, this situation could create an opportunity for the first company to raise its own prices without increasing its cost base—or to go on the offensive and seize market share by maintaining prices that are too low for the competitor to match.
Prepare. To help the company remain agile, the trade impact team should use information and analysis to prepare responses to changes in trade policies. Having a flexible playbook of actions will enable leaders to respond to potential trade policy scenarios, reduce exposure to high tariffs, and seize windows of opportunity to create an advantage.
Steel producers in nations that are targets of a trade remedy action and wish to fight the action should prepare evidence to demonstrate that their exports are not damaging domestic industries in the importing country. They should also plan initiatives for winning additional customers in markets with low trade barriers. Steel producers who stand to benefit from tariffs should have plans on hand for ramping up production so that they can move as quickly as possible to gain share from foreign competitors in their domestic market when the latter find themselves at a disadvantage.
Steel-consuming companies can prepare by taking preemptive moves in anticipation of a trade action. They can secure supply and price protection with current suppliers and line up potential alternative suppliers to reduce exposure and provide strategic flexibility. When feasible, construction companies or manufacturers could prequalify suppliers from a different country so that they can shift to them as quickly as possible if antidumping tariffs go into effect. In some situations, importing a finished component that contains tariff-impacted steel, rather than making the component, may be another viable option.
The playbook should include options for decisive moves when it becomes clear that a country’s trade policy will indeed change. Companies should be prepared to shift production or find new markets as soon as a country initiates trade action against them. Steel consumers should have plans to adjust manufacturing and supplier footprints under various scenarios. They should have strategies for negotiating prices and securing alternative production facilities, materials, and labor in new locations. Specific triggers for taking action—such as commencement of an antidumping investigation—can aid companies in reacting swiftly.
Leaders of steel-consuming companies should also pursue proactive strategies for influencing trade policy outcomes. Companies should communicate with government actors at all levels to impress upon decision makers how their businesses will be affected by new trade restrictions. They should seek allies among companies, community organizations, workers, and other stakeholders that benefit from their business. Companies must also clearly communicate to customers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders that they are prepared to survive and thrive in the face of altered trade agreements.
Act. Steel producers that are targets of an antidumping action must act as soon as the country’s investigation begins, because the risks involved in waiting until the government reaches its preliminary and final determinations are too high. In addition to examining the feasability of entering new markets, companies should consider significantly altering their products in ways that might allow them to be reclassified in a way that renders them no longer subject to tariffs. If an importing country decides to impose quotas on steel products from its country, the company needs to move quickly to secure quota allotments.
Steel-consuming companies that face little competitive pressure or that cannot shift production should determine how much of the added material costs of high tariffs they can pass on to customers in the form of higher prices—and how much they must absorb themselves. Manufacturers whose competitive position will be damaged by high steel tariffs should begin the process of shifting production and supply sources as soon as the country issues a preliminary determination. If a manufacturer relies on a particular steel material that is subject to import quotas, it must move as quickly as possible to secure supplies. Otherwise, the company will be at risk of not being able to procure a critical material once that quota is filled for the year.
If possible, steel consumers facing higher prices due to protective tariffs on their materials should seek tariff exemptions from their government. At the same time, they must shift their sources of supply and manufacturing operations as swiftly as possible. Agility is the key to minimizing the impact on costs—and seizing competitive advantage against competitors that are slower to respond.
Decades of relatively free world trade have been good for both producers and consumers of steel. While dealing with trade friction has always been part and parcel of the business, the global steel community must now adapt to a new era of prolonged, heightened volatility in an industry that has been accustomed to long-term planning. The companies that emerge as winners in this environment will be those that have the foresight to anticipate and mitigate risks and the agility to seize opportunity when it knocks.",6579,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878662.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021235030-20201022025030-00606.warc.gz,0.958371937274933
b655ad43-2efd-401e-8ea0-86a6de6728c4,2017-08-24T06:42:01+00:00,2017-08-19,0,http://www.sartinphoto.com/knoxville-wedding-photography-as-an-assistant/,"I love photographing weddings. Having the chance to share nearly every minute of a couple’s most important day of their lives is nothing short of an amazing experience. I don’t aggressively promote myself as a wedding photographer due to the fact that I normally can’t ever make my crazy schedule work, but my buddy Reed Carringer has been shooting quite a few lately and I normally come along as the “second shooter”.
Second shooting is awesome…I just sort of lay back, make sure Reed is not missing anything important, shoot whatever the heck I want to, carry some lights around, etc. And I still get to share this super important cool day with the couple.
Last Saturday was a bit different as Reed was working as a second shooter for Lindsey Kant (another awesome photographer) at Sarah and Nathan’s wedding at the Twin Cedar Farm in Rockford, TN. Sarah was a gorgeous bride, the groomsmen were crazy, and a venue that is just to die for…it all sounded cool enough for me to ask to tag along. As the fourth shooter. And it was a blast!!!",233,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133042.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824062820-20170824082820-00173.warc.gz,0.970835030078888
a4b9990e-a809-4714-9196-363b6ce30797,2019-08-19T13:48:54+00:00,2013-05-18,0,http://blogs.mercurynews.com/hssports/2013/05/18/ccs-softball-roundup-leland-edges-santa-teresa-carlmont-los-altos-also-move-on/,"SAN JOSE — Before his team’s Division I quarterfinal softball game Saturday against Santa Teresa, Leland coach Joe Gron told his players that they shouldn’t expect the score to be as lopsided as the previous meeting between the teams.
He was spot on.
A little more than two weeks after Leland routed the Saints by 12 runs, the Chargers won a nail-biter at PAL Stadium 1-0 to advance to the Central Coast Section semifinals.
Leland scored an unearned run in the fourth inning and got another solid pitching performance from Holly Geranen to edge its Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton Division rival.
“They beat us the first time in league, and we came back and beat them pretty good the second time through,” Gron said. “I kind of told (the players) don’t expect that to happen again. They’re going to be come out fired up and be ready to play us coming off that second game.”
Leland advances to play Carlmont in the semifinals at PAL Stadium on Thursday.
Santa Teresa got three hits from its leadoff batter, Bailey Coe, and a triple from Megan Heal. But every time the Saints threatened, Geranen made a big pitch or her defense made a big play.
“She’s been making big pitches all year long, and she’s got a fantastic defense behind her also making the plays,” Gron said. “She stepped up. She’s been one hell of a player all year long.”
Santa Teresa had some chances. After Heal’s triple in the top of the fourth, Jessica Liquori appeared to drive her in when her soft line drive got past second baseman Taylor Bojorquez. But right fielder Ally Kido scooped up the ball and threw out Liquori at first to prevent Santa Teresa from taking a 1-0 lead.
“I just think we needed to clutch up at some important parts, and we just couldn’t get our bat on the ball,” Santa Teresa catcher Ally Beaulieu said. “That was tough. We tried to come back, but at the end of the day we made a few more errors than they did.”
Asked about Coe’s three singles in three at-bats, Beaulieu said, “She clutched up multiple times, but unfortunately we couldn’t hit her in. She did great this game. I am really proud of her.”
Santa Teresa pitcher Jamie Billings allowed two hits — both in the first inning — and walked one.
Geranen retired the final five batters she faced to seal the win.
“I just counted on my defense and knew that if I pitched strikes that they would be there behind me,” she said. “Run support is definitely one of the biggest things, and having that one run definitely made me feel more comfortable.”
Leland has lost in the semifinals the past two years.
“It’s amazing,” Geranen said of reaching another semifinal, “but this time I want to go to a championship and win this one.”
Carlmont 6, Salinas 2: Rebecca Faulkner struck out seven, and Melissa Pekarek had two hits, stole a base and drove in a run to lead Carlmont into the Division I semifinals Thursday at PAL Stadium against Leland. Carlmont scored four in the third inning at Hawes Park in Redwood City to break open the game.
Los Altos 6, Saratoga 0: Tianna Vasquez had to hits to help Los Altos advance to the Division II semifinals.
Hillsdale 4, St. Ignatius 2: Meagan Wells had two doubles and scored a run as Hillsdale won the Division II quarterfinal at Hawes Park. Hillsdale scored all of its runs in the first inning.
Gilroy 6, Archbishop Mitty 3: For details about Gilroy’s upset of previously unbeaten Mitty, click here.
Half Moon Bay 4, Carmel 1: Chandra Anderson had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice to lead Half Moon Bay past Carmel in a Division III quarterfinal at Hawes Park.",899,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00125.warc.gz,0.965167105197906
f8928491-76db-4dac-8465-490552b2b04a,2016-07-23T21:11:45+00:00,2016-07-23,0,http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/need-formula-hour-glass-quilt-block-t147736.html,"I need to make hour glass quilt blocks, which will end up as 3.5"". The pattern I'm using is not very clear. I need to know what size the squares need to be to end up as 3.5"". I found instructions for the 6.5"" size; you start off with 7.5"" squares. any help will be appreciated.",75,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00066-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96331399679184
29d0a8d7-dcad-4e0c-8415-73cdf6d2675b,2013-05-19T18:50:33+00:00,2012-06-26,1,http://theamerican.ie/2012/06/26/ireland-considering-law-banning-smoking-in-car-with-a-child/,"Ireland’s Government has approved the drafting of new laws to ban smoking in cars when children are present.
Minister for Health James Reilly was given the go-ahead to draw up amendments to a Seanad Private Members Bill on the issue.
The Bill, introduced by Senator John Crown, advocated a ban on all smoking in cars, but it is understood this will be amended to impose the ban only where children are in the vehicle.
Senator John Crown moved a bill to ban smoking in cars when there is a child or children present with the Minister saying that he would not oppose it.
The proposed legislation is being advocated by Crowne, independent senator Jillian van Turnhout and Fianna Fáil’s Mark Daly.
The Minister did raise some concerns in relation to the drafting of the bill and cited concerns about notifying the European Commission but Van Turnhout said she did not think there were any “major concerns that can’t be worked out”.
“It’s more about drafting and ensuring it’s in order,” she told",227,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974035024642944
4a3f5b49-f442-4aec-92c6-2f4ba1e92b47,2022-05-25T07:52:01+00:00,2022-03-01,1,https://civilengineering365.com/microscopy-illuminates-charcoals-sketchy-origins/,"Nearly half of the barbecue charcoal bought in Europe contains wood from tropical and subtropical forests, with little of it certified sustainable, raising fears that some of it is illegally logged.
The finding comes from an analysis1 of thousands of charcoal samples, using a pioneering microscopy technique. Scientists also found that many bags of charcoal incorrectly labelled the type of wood inside or failed to mention it at all, lending weight to concerns about their true origin.
“This is just an overview but it’s absolutely enough to cause alarm, because we found so much tropical timber,” said Volker Haag, a wood anatomist at the Thünen Institute of Wood Research in Hamburg, Germany, who led the work.
The researchers harnessed developments in microscopy that are transforming attempts to probe the opaque, multimillion-dollar international charcoal business. Campaigners think that up to two million tonnes of illegally harvested tropical wood might enter Europe as charcoal each year.
The European Union imported some 750,000 tonnes of charcoal in 2019. Source countries include Nigeria (20%) and Paraguay (7%), which are known for widespread illegal deforestation. But once any wood charcoal enters Europe, it can be sold legally, because it is not covered by the European Timber Regulation (EUTR), legislation that prohibits firms from placing on the EU market timber that has been logged illegally.
Charcoal is tricky to analyse because the original wood has lost many of its signature features, such as colour and smell, and it crumbles easily. But Haag has developed a 3D-reflected-light microscopy technique that digitally reconstructs sections of charcoal from irregular lumps to create images from which the parent wood can be identified — often to genus level. This is enough to disprove many claims about a wood’s origin.
Haag’s team analysed 4,500 samples from 150 charcoal bags bought in 11 countries in 2019 and 2020. Some 46% included wood from subtropical and tropical forests, which have the highest deforestation rates in the world. In Spain, Italy, Poland and Belgium, this figure was more than 60% (see ‘Charred origins’). Of these, only one-quarter of bags bore the logos of sustainable-certification organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
In addition, only one-quarter of the bags specified the species or origin of the wood — and only half of these declarations were correct. The work was published in IAWA Journal, a publication of the International Association of Wood Anatomists.
“If you find a product with the wrong species inside, it’s a very strong indicator for illegality,” says co-author Johannes Zahnen, a forest-policy specialist with the Berlin-based wildlife charity WWF Germany. “Combining it with the knowledge that most tropical charcoal is coming from Nigeria and Paraguay, there’s a high likelihood of illegality.”
Zahnen calls for the EUTR to be extended to charcoal, and for authorities to compel suppliers to label their bags.
Phil Guillery, director of supply-chain integrity at the FSC, which is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, says the study shows that when sustainability certification is used, it is largely accurate. Since 2017, the FSC has been using another microscopy technique to verify origin claims on charcoal bags in an effort to stop wood ‘laundering’. “The ability to test charcoal has had a huge impact,” says Guillery.",732,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00606.warc.gz,0.949624359607696
9bb01e3b-9a3d-4415-8d1a-b8cb77c9ec26,2013-05-26T13:41:53+00:00,2013-05-26,0,http://www.top-alliance.com/gb/html/impress.html,"Telephone: +41 (0) 41 - 5 08 15 - 22
Telefax: +41 (0) 41 - 5 08 15 - 23
Legal information on links to third-party websites: The verdict passed by the LG Hamburg on May 12, 1998 rules that the inclusion of links to third-party websites may result in co-responsibility for the material offered via these links. The LG Hamburg has declared that it is only possible to disclaim responsibility by expressly dissociating oneself from the content of any such websites.
Therefore, we expressly dissociate ourselves from the content of any third-party websites to which we have placed a link on our website. This declaration shall apply to all links given on our website",146,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.86692601442337
18a163b3-3db8-4a98-b513-94de421be5c4,2018-08-18T01:10:25+00:00,2018-07-15,0,http://www.doggiebonez.com/about/debbie/,"Debbie has been involved with dog rescue for the last 5 years. She has rescued dogs from death’s doorstep at high kill shelters in Los Angeles County, Riverside County and South County and brought them to safety under Doggie Bonez’ watchful eye. Her heart is made of gold, as she has fostered over 14 dogs who have found their forever homes. She has an amazing ability to connect with her dogs and create a loving environment for them to decompress out of the shelter and learn to trust again. Currently Debbie is fostering Leo, a sweet Blue nose pitbull with terminal skin cancer.
She also rescued Izzy, a sweet 7 pound Chihuahua who rules the roost. Debbie plays a crucial role for the dog rescue. She transports all of the animals to vet appointments, adoption events, and meet n greets with potential adopters. She also creates content for social media to get the word out on new dogs up for adoption. She performs home evaluations and has the ability to find the right dog for the right family. She has parlayed her passion of dog rescue into a thriving pet sitting business, in the South County area.",235,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213247.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818001437-20180818021437-00363.warc.gz,0.969288527965546
64c1e30a-fbd7-4688-8017-40bb9b7a6cae,2017-08-17T21:27:35+00:00,2017-03-15,1,https://electmedia.com/seo-in/french-privacy-regulator-fines-google-for-not-removing-rtbf-links-outside-of-europe/,"The French privacy authority, the Commission Nationale de l’informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), has taken an extreme and potentially dangerous position that unwittingly supports internet censorship. CNIL, and others in Europe, have repeatedly demanded that links expunged from the search index under Europe’s “Right to Be Forgotten” law (RTBF) be removed from all of Google’s indexes globally.
The position is based on the notion that individual country domain removals can be circumvented by going to Google.com. Google has resisted removing RTBF content on a global basis on the grounds that it represents regulatory overreach and that citizens of other countries should not be subject to French or European law.
Previously Google said that it would limit RTBF to European users:
We’ve been working hard to strike the right balance in implementing the European Court’s ruling, co-operating closely with data protection authorities. The ruling focused on services directed to European users, and that’s the approach we are taking in complying with it.
This has not satisfied CNIL.
Google has recently tried to more aggressively police access to disputed RTBF content by making it inaccessible globally for all European users but not to users outside of the jurisdictions in which RTBF applies. In other words, no user within Europe would be able to access RTBF-removed links — period. The links would still be available to searchers Japan or Canada, for example. In this compromise way, Google has sought to comply with CNIL’s demand without imposing French or European law on the rest of the world.
Despite these efforts, French authorities fined Google $112,000 today for failing to remove RTBF links from the entire search index globally. The NY Times quotes French regulators who argued that European privacy rules could only be effectively implemented if they have global reach:
“For people residing in France to effectively exercise their right to be delisted, it must be applied to the entire processing operation, i.e. to all of the search engine’s extensions” . . . CNIL, said in a statement.
Google has said it will appeal.
Beyond the fact that European regulators and courts have no jurisdiction over non-Europeans outside Europe, CNIL’s unwillingness to compromise seems to ignore potentially larger issues and unintended consequences. Emboldened by European positions on global link/content removal, countries such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia or Pakistan could pass laws that ask for the same type of content removal — but of content that’s politically unpalatable or disagreeable in some way.
It’s not the substantive law that should be the focus of this debate but the attempt to expand jurisdiction and control to the entire globe. Indeed, it’s not that much of a leap from the seemingly legitimate French attempt to protect its citizens’ privacy to more obvious censorship in the form of China asking Google to globally remove content about the Tiananmen Square massacre (because it’s unfair to Chinese citizens somehow). Russia could ask Google to remove content critical of the Russian government, as subversive and destabilizing of the regime. Saudi Arabia or Pakistan might seek global removal of any content critical of Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
These examples in principle are not distinguishable legally from what the French are trying to do. And by refusing to compromise, CNIL and others in Europe are unwittingly paving the way for these types of demands, from self-interested or corrupt govenments that might attempt to more nakedly censor the internet.
The post French privacy regulator fines Google for not removing RTBF links outside of Europe appeared first on Search Engine Land.",760,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104160.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817210535-20170817230535-00507.warc.gz,0.929334759712219
27bb5c11-732b-40f2-acf1-7abef71a70cc,2015-04-01T11:31:41+00:00,2012-03-06,1,http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/06/great-barrier-reef-mining-boom,"A UN environmental team has arrived in Australia for a crunch 10-day assessment of the Great Barrier Reef, warning that the coral ecosystem is at a ""crossroads"" due to the soaring activity of the mining industry in the World Heritage Area.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) visit comes amid fears that the reef's world heritage listing, which it has held since 1981, could be placed in jeopardy after rapid escalation in coal exports and gas exploration.
""The Great Barrier Reef is definitely at a crossroad and decisions that will be taken over the next one, two, three years might potentially be crucial for the long-term conservation [of the reef],"" said Fanny Douvere, from Unesco's World Heritage marine programme.
Australia's coal boom is set to open up the previously undeveloped Galilee Basin in central Queensland, greatly increasing the number of developments along the state's coast, where the 1,800-mile reef stretches.
The proposed infrastructure includes Abbott Point, which would become the largest coal export port in the world.
At full capacity, the expansion would see more than 10,000 coal-laden ships a year cross the Great Barrier Reef by the end of the decade – a sizeable increase on the 1,722 vessels that entered the World Heritage Area in 2011.
Environmentalists are concerned that ships navigating reef passageways – many of which are narrower than the English Channel – will run aground, as a Chinese vessel did in 2010, tearing a two-mile gash into the coral and spilling several tonnes of oil.
There are also warnings that the reef's six species of turtle, including the endangered loggerhead and Olive Ridley turtles, and the snubfin dolphin, Australia's only endemic dolphin, would be affected by any mass industrialisation of the Queensland coast.
Any reduction in visitor numbers to a region that generates AUS$6bn a year from tourists would also be keenly felt by local businesses and the Australian economy at large.
Douvere and Tim Badman from the International Union for Conservation of Nature are set to meet with government ministers and NGOs, as well as visit the reef to assess the impact of new developments.
The specially arranged trip follows a minor diplomatic incident last year when Unesco's World Heritage Committee said it was ""extremely concerned"" that the Australian government had not informed it of the approval of a major liquefied natural gas hub on Curtis Island, off the Queensland coast.
The expansion of the hub at Gladstone has been blamed for a sharp drop in water quality and widespread disease of marine creatures.
More than 45m cubic metres of sea floor is to be dredged in the World Heritage Area to accommodate the boom in shipping, with the government warning that it will penalise mining companies that dump accumulated waste on the corals.
Douvere said: ""When it comes to dredging issues I think that a big part of our discussions need to focus on what the alternatives are.""
Speaking to the Guardian from Paris, prior to her departure to Australia, Douvere said that there were multiple threats to the reef's wellbeing.
""We won't just be looking at the increase in shipping, but also issues such as how climate change and the recent cyclone and extreme weather has affected the reef,"" she said.
""We will look at the overall impact of these things. We don't regularly make these kind of trips but it was asked for by the World Heritage Committee after issues were raised last year.""
Environmental groups have claimed that Unesco's visit is an embarrassment for the Australian government.
Greenpeace Australia spokesman James Lorenz said: ""We are looking at an enormous, unprecedented increase in coal, oil and gas exploitation here.""
""Unesco is clearly very worried about this and if they decide the reef is in danger, that places it at the same level as sites in places such as Afghanistan, which is deeply embarrassing for Australia.""
""The Great Barrier Reef is priceless but it is being treated like it's a worthless. It has been mismanaged for years and we are now at a tipping point.""
Both the federal Australian and state Queensland governments have launched their own 18-month assessments of the reef, although ministers have come under fire for considering several large developments, including Abbott Point, during the review.
Tony Burke, Australia's environment minister, has defended his handling of the issue, telling ABC Radio: ""Let's not forget, with Abbot Point, there is already a significant level of industry that occurs there.""
""One of the largest levels of concern here is shipping, as the vessels move through the reef area. So those shipping movement issues are issues that really have to be front of mind throughout all of this.""
The UN report will handed to the World Heritage Committee, which will decide on any response at a meeting in St Petersburg in July.",994,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00191-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96710604429245
6d6b54c7-2bed-475a-9dc9-eca9118fa902,2018-08-18T08:48:39+00:00,2018-08-14,1,https://www.executivegov.com/2018/08/james-mattis-dod-backs-formation-of-space-focused-combatant-command/,"James Mattis, secretary of the Defense Department, has said DoD is supportive of a plan to form a new combatant command focused on space, Defense News reported Tuesday.
“We need to address space as a developing warfighting domain and a combatant command is certainly one thing that we can we can establish,” he told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon.
Mattis, a two-time Wash100 recipient, said DoD is “in complete alignment” with President Donald Trump’s concern about the need to protect space assets and is now in the process of creating the new organization.
President Donald Trump announced plans in June for the establishment of a new “space force” in an effort to maintain the country’s dominance in space.
Mattis noted that DoD will support the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement authorities to safeguard the midterm elections against possible interference from Russia and other threat actors, according to a report by DoD News.",203,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213508.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818075745-20180818095745-00486.warc.gz,0.959568917751312
70998545-0541-4fdb-998e-28fb8a43e588,2018-08-18T14:17:08+00:00,2016-09-20,0,http://www.umaryland.edu/spa/collaborations-and-subrecipients/proposals-with-subrecipients/fdp-clearinghouse-pilot/,"- Academic Affairs
- Accountability and Compliance
- Administration and Finance
- Center for Health and Homeland Security
- Center for Information Technology Services
- Communications and Public Affairs
- Community Engagement
- Government Affairs
- Human Resource Services
- Office of Philanthropy
- Operations and Planning
- Police and Public Safety
- President's Office
- Research and Development
- University Counsel
FDP Clearinghouse Pilot
Date: Sept. 20, 2016
UMB is taking part in a national pilot program as part of the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP). The goal is to develop one single web-based repository for all FDP entities (154 institutions and potentially others) of all entity-related information about our organizations. The central repository will help to streamline the process for obtaining and reviewing all necessary subrecipient entity information and reduce subrecipient monitoring and risk assessment activities in a timely and streamlined fashion without requiring time and resources to send and collect various forms to obtain this information. We hope this one-stop shop will allow us to comply with the Uniform Guidance Subrecipient Monitoring requirements and reduce administrative burden.
What this pilot means to your departments:
1. If UMB is going to be a subawardee to one of the other FDP Clearinghouse Pilot participating institutions, this institution should ONLY be requesting specific information about the project that represents UMB’s scope of work. Any other general information about UMB should be obtained from the Clearinghouse site.
2. If UMB is proposing to issue a subaward to one of the Pilot institutions, the FDP Pilot Subrecipient Commitment Form should be used during the routing of UMB’s proposal.
Additional information regarding UMB’s participation, including sample “push back” language to use for any Pilot Institutions asking for organizational information unnecessarily, can be found in the Forms section of ORD/SPA’s website.
Please share this information with your schools and departmental business officers who assist in proposal preparation.
Please direct any questions you may have to your Sponsored Programs Administration team.",438,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213689.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818134554-20180818154554-00345.warc.gz,0.892342329025269
1c6b188c-33ed-475a-b3fa-6e255be45fd9,2019-08-26T07:32:26+00:00,2019-01-09,1,http://en.ce.cn/National/big-news/201901/09/t20190109_31215606.shtml,"The National Cultural Heritage Administration will work out a plan to better protect cultural relics and speed up the creation of a safety oversight platform in 2019.
Stressing the importance of such protection, Liu Yuzhu, head of the administration, said lax enforcement is a prominent problem that endangers cultural relics, at a meeting attended by cultural heritage administrators nationwide.
The administration noted that local authorities in some provinces failed to make clear the limits of protection areas for cultural relics and construction control zones.
""This has brought great difficulties to the rectification of illegal behavior. As a result, a number of illegal construction projects that destroy cultural relics and surrounding features have been carried out,"" Liu said.
Liu ordered continued remote sensing monitoring of unmovable cultural relics, cracking down on cultural relics-related crimes, actions to close security loopholes, and stronger technical support for cultural relic protection.",175,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027331228.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826064622-20190826090622-00123.warc.gz,0.925569117069244
761cca3a-7d58-4e86-9569-71b9bf9b9967,2017-08-24T08:46:49+00:00,2017-05-12,1,http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/05/12/cheniere-circles-china-after-trade-deal-portends-gas-export-boost-update.html,"A new U.S.-China trade plan could be a boon for companies looking to export U.S. natural gas, and is already lifting Cheniere Energy Inc., the early mover in the nascent industry.
Continue Reading Below
Shares of the Texas-based company, the only one to date to export liquefied natural gas from the lower 48 states, were up 3.2% in late trading Friday following overnight news of the trade plan. Cheniere's shares are up more than 40% over the past year.
Cheniere and others planning to export the natural gas that has become abundant in the U.S. because of shale drilling are hoping the trade plan represents a blessing from the Chinese government to open one of the world's fastest-growing import markets. China has thus far eschewed long-term supply deals with the U.S.
""The Chinese have had concerns about the U.S. honoring long-term contracts with a Chinese counterparty, so we're really pleased with the language that came out,"" Cheniere Chief Executive Jack Fusco said in an interview. ""My aim is to try to finance our next round of growth and I would love to do it with a Chinese counterparty.""
Cheniere has a first-mover advantage, owning the only operational export terminal on the U.S. Gulf Coast, and thus far has sent nine spot cargoes to China. But more than 30 others, including Exxon Mobil Co. and Tellurian Inc., are constructing or await regulatory approval for the billion-dollar export terminal facilities, which chill gas to a liquid state, making it more efficient to export.
U.S. exporters face competition from other gas-rich nations closer to China, and the preliminary 10-point bilateral trade plan, released by both governments Thursday, provided few concrete changes to boost gas trade. Still, Cheniere and its competitors believe a symbolic statement of support from Beijing will carry weight with the country's state-controlled energy companies, which handle most of China's gas imports.
Continue Reading Below
Cheniere has had talks with Chinese counterparties as part of its ongoing efforts to attract new customers in Asia, according to Cheniere spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder. Exporters prefer long-term deals, which are usually guaranteed, take-or-pay contracts for terms ranging from 10 to 20 years that help finance costly infrastructure projects.
China's gas imports have soared as the country attempts to wean itself off coal as part of an aggressive five-year plan to increase air quality. China imported more than 28 million tons of liquid gas in 2016, a 33% increase from the previous year, and is now the world's third-largest importer.
China has so far sourced relatively small amounts of liquid gas from the U.S., instead relying on countries such as Qatar, Australia and Malaysia for its supplies. According to a 2015 report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, China sourced 34% of its liquid gas imports from Qatar and 19% from Australia. State-owned China National Petroleum Corp. also signed a 30-year, $400 billion contract in 2014 with Russia's Gazprom to build a pipeline and supply gas from fields in Siberia.
But changing market dynamics could make U.S. gas more attractive. The Australian government has imposed export restrictions, effective in July, which would force producers to boost domestic supply there before exporting, following a sharp increase in domestic prices. Uncertainty also hangs over the Siberian pipeline as Russia has been unable to settle on a route, delaying the project.
Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices are at historic lows. Chinese imports have averaged around $8.25 per million British thermal unit, according to Chinese customs data. The explosion of U.S. fracking activity has driven American gas prices down to around $3 per mmBtu -- a situation that is widely expected to persist given enormous reserves. Cheniere has said it can supply liquid gas to Asia from $7.5 to $8.5 per mmBtu from proposed expansion facilities, after factoring transportation costs.
The recently expanded Panama Canal has also significantly shortened the trip from the U.S. Gulf to China. Eight of the nine cargoes shipped from Cheniere's Sabine Pass Terminal in Louisiana passed through the Panama Canal, shaving as much as two weeks off traditional routes around the Horn of Africa or through the Suez Canal.
Not everyone is convinced Chinese importers will rush to sign up for long- term contracts with U.S. suppliers following Thursday's announcement.
""I might even argue that Chinese likely prefer being able to receive U.S. LNG without having long-term supply commitments as Chinese importers have multiple supplier countries to choose from,"" said Jane Nakano, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.
Mr. Fusco concedes there are competitive challenges, particularly from China's neighbors who send gas via pipe, but believes an abundance of U.S. gas and Cheniere's business model make it competitive. He noted Cheniere allows customers to redirect unwanted cargoes and facilitates the transfer, unlike other liquid gas suppliers in Australia and other countries.
""I don't think you can ignore China and we're going to be extremely competitive there,"" Mr. Fusco said.
Write to Christopher M. Matthews at firstname.lastname@example.org
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 12, 2017 16:29 ET (20:29 GMT)",1133,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133447.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824082227-20170824102227-00460.warc.gz,0.955970644950867
b0d4dcd1-52cc-41fe-91c5-c70107d45ddb,2016-07-30T23:19:32+00:00,2014-04-01,1,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26830505,"Japan whaling ban welcomed in Australia and New Zealand
- 1 April 2014
- From the section Asia
A UN court ruling that the Japanese government must halt its whaling programme in the Antarctic has been welcomed in Australia and New Zealand.
The International Court of Justice ruled that the programme was not for scientific research as Japan claimed.
Supporters of the ban say they are ""delighted"". Japan said it would comply with the judgement, but was ""deeply disappointed"".
Australia brought the case to the court in 2010. Wellington supported its case.
Announcing the judgement on Monday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said that Japan had killed around 3,600 minke whales since 2005 under its Antarctic whaling programme, known as JARPA II.
While JARPA II could broadly be characterised as ""scientific research"", the scientific output from the programme was limited, and Japan had not sufficiently justified the whaling quotas it had set, the ICJ said.
During the court case, Australia argued that Japan's programme was commercial whaling in disguise, but Tokyo said the suit was an attempt to impose Australia's cultural norms on Japan.
Following the ruling, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was ""delighted by the result"", while former environment minister Peter Garrett said the ruling vindicated the then government's decision to take the case to court.
The 2010 court ruling was first brought by Mr Rudd's Labor government.
Australia's Attorney-General George Brandis welcomed the decision and said he thought relations between Australia and Japan would not suffer as a result.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is due in Japan later this month for trade talks.
The ruling was also welcomed in New Zealand, which supported Australia's case at the ICJ.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he expected Japan to abide by the ""decisive"" court ruling.
Japan had ""always acknowledged the international rule of law"", Mr Key told 3News on Tuesday.
Anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd said: ""We've been saying for 10 years that this is an illegal whale hunt and the court has proven that case.""
On Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that Tokyo would consider its response ""after carefully examining the contents of the ruling"".
""We want to accept this from a position that respects the international legal order,"" he said.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that whale meat was ""an important source of food, and the government's position to use it based on scientific facts has not changed"".
Japan can continue whaling if it revises its scientific programme, or withdraws from the International Whaling Commission.
Japan is a signatory to a 1986 moratorium on whaling, but had continued whaling under provisions that allowed for scientific research.
Norway and Iceland rejected the provision and continued commercial whaling.
The moratorium also excludes subsistence whaling among indigenous groups, although catch limits are set.",614,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258943369.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072903-00296-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973734974861145
5d16b724-a56e-454d-b24c-35f240ab80f6,2016-07-26T02:49:33+00:00,2012-07-23,1,http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20120723/53116-self-publishing-goes-big-time.html,"If it wasn’t clear before that self-publishing is transforming the book industry, Pearson’s $116 million acquisition of self-publishing vendor Author Solutions Inc. should wipe away any lingering uncertainty. The purchase of Author Solutions—which has 1,600 employees, has published 150,000 authors, nearly 200,000 titles and reported just under $100 million in revenues last year—and its integration into Penguin operations marks a new era for the self-publishing category going forward.
In the wake of Penguin’s launch last year of Book Country, a writer’s community and self-publishing startup, and now the acquisition of one of the largest self-publishing ventures in the world, Pearson has marked the self-publishing sector as a critical new corporate publishing service—even at a corporate bastion of old-school editorial selectivity. In a conference call from Author Solutions headquarters in Bloomington, Ind., Penguin CEO John Makinson and ASI CEO Kevin Weiss hailed the acquisition as the “mainstreaming” of self-publishing and outlined a plan to “ develop a global strategy and quickly identify new opportunities,” according to Makinson.
Pearson’s acquisition was particularly notable in a new era of free or mostly free e-book self-publishing services like Lulu.com, Amazon Kindle Direct, B&N’s PubIt, Smashwords, and others, and Weiss was quick to emphasize that “we compete with free options more than ever and we’re not seeing any cannibalization.” Weiss said, “Every writer has different needs,” and Makinson agreed, noting that self-publishing is “causing more people to think about writing as a career. There’s a new category of professional author that will be more attracted to the Author Solutions model rather than the free model.”
Makinson and Weiss outlined plans to integrate Author Solutions into Penguin’s publishing operations—while carefully delineating the editorial differences between it and the self-publishing units—combining ASI’s skills at data gathering, consumer analytics, online marketing, and user-generated content with Penguin’s proven expertise in editorial, distribution, sales, and global reach.
In a separate phone call with PW, Makinson emphasized that Book Country “will retain its identity and continue to develop as it had before the acquisition, but this is also an opportunity to take the advantages offered by Author Solutions and use them to strengthen it.” Makinson was quick to point to Author Solutions’ expertise in data analysis—processing digital feedback from hundreds of thousands of authors, books, and consumers to improve publisher decisions and services—noting that “it’s not just data but how the data is interpreted to add value.”
Asked if the acquisition marked the advent of a new trade book publishing business model that will now include highly scalable self-publishing services, Weiss laughed and said, “Selfishly, yes,” pointing to Authors Solutions’ “white label” services. Through contracts with six publishers, Author Solutions’ white label imprints allow client/publishers to offer their own branded self-publishing services. “We have advanced systems and can run multiple imprints for disparate publishers, keep them segregated from each other, and service publishers as though we were their employees,” Weiss said. The white label program has been one of Author Solutions’ fastest-growing businesses, and Weiss said he doesn’t expect other publishers to be turned off to the option just because Author Solutions is now part of Penguin. “We think more publishers will want to get into this business,” he said.",777,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00231-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952214598655701
54e44d13-8fdc-44b7-bc4a-07c5adebc52a,2020-10-23T21:24:27+00:00,2020-01-30,1,https://www.iot-nn.com/2020/01/30/gothenburg-boosts-sustainable-public-transport-push-with-e-bus-roll-out/,"More than 150 electric buses will be introduced in the region covering Gothenburg, Mölndal and Partille, where 180 million trips are made by bus each year.
A fleet of electric buses has begun operating in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, and its region covering Mölndal and Partille.
The 157 electric buses from Volvo represent the largest single order of its kind in Europe. Bus operator Transdev Sweden was awarded the contract to operate the service from public transport company Västtrafik, which expects to have electrified all city traffic in Västra Götaland by 2030.
Swiss power and automation group ABB is providing the charging infrastructure solutions with 19 new high-power electric chargers scheduled to be installed during the second half of 2020. Another two stations are planned for the future.
The new electrified lines will see a total of 220 electric buses in service by the end of the year. With room for 150 passengers and an 88 per cent reduction in CO2 when transitioning to electricity, the new buses combine high passenger capacity with low environmental footprint.
“We have created a common holistic transport solution that will make public transport in Gothenburg quieter and emission-free.”
According to Västtrafik, the landmark announcement marks an important step towards achieving a sustainable public transport solution for the 180 million trips made by bus in the region each year.
“Volvo Buses is a leader in electromobility and solutions for sustainable public transport. Together with ABB and our partners, we have created a common holistic transport solution that will make public transport in Gothenburg quieter and emission-free”, said Håkan Agnevall, president, Volvo Buses.
“The solution shows that electric buses are not only something for the future, but already today provide cities with public transport that is sustainable and financially viable.”
ABB will supply a complete solution that includes both the charging stations and all grid connection hardware via ABB’s cable distribution cabinets.
The buses in Gothenburg, Mölndal and Partille will be charged by ABB’s 450kW high power Panto Down chargers. The modular electric bus charging solution offers high-power charging via an automated rooftop connection. Buses will be recharged in three- to six minutes at charging stations along the routes
“The sustainable transformation of bus traffic in Gothenburg is an example of how ABB is pursuing its Mission to Zero, with the goal to develop innovations that will contribute to a zero-emission future,” added Frank Muehlon, head of ABB’s global business for e-mobility infrastructure solutions.
“We have the products and solutions to deliver electricity from generation to the point of consumption in a safe, smart and sustainable way.”
Gothenburg was named joint winner of the EU’s 2020 European Capital of Smart Tourism competition last year, alongside Málaga. They were recognised for their “exemplary achievements” across all four categories of the competition, including sustainability and digitalisation.",652,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107865665.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023204939-20201023234939-00286.warc.gz,0.93308699131012
4a9c32db-f234-4eec-8a17-865ef58d2742,2013-06-19T18:58:01+00:00,2010-05-18,1,http://ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100518.htm,"Scientists Release Biocontrol for Waterhyacinth
May 18, 2010
A new insect that will help control the
invasive weed waterhyacinth has been released by
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientists and cooperators.
Waterhyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a free-floating aquatic plant
native to South America that has infested freshwater ecosystems from North
Carolina to California but is especially problematic in the southeastern United
States. The plant is a real menace, affecting water traffic, water quality,
infrastructure for pumping and hydroelectric operations, water use and
biodiversity. Other problems include fish kills due to low oxygen levels and
increases in populations of vectors of human and animal diseases.
Center, both with the agency's
Plant Research Laboratory (IPRL) in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., worked closely
with scientists at the ARS
American Biological Control Laboratory (SABCL) in Hurlingham, Argentina, to
find and test Megamelus scutellaris, a new biocontrol for waterhyacinth.
M. scutellaris is a small planthopper native to South America whose
nymphs and adults feed on the sap of waterhyacinth. Nymphs are active and
readily hop, even off the surface of the water. The insect's population
increases rapidly, which will enable it to quickly impact the waterhyacinth
Herbicides are the primary method for reducing waterhyacinth, but their use
directly interferes with the biocontrol agents currently deployed against this
weed. The scientists believe M. scutellaris may integrate better with
existing herbicide programs because of its mobility, which should improve its
survival in such highly managed systems.
The researchers collected adults of M. scutellaris from Argentina in
April 2006 and brought them to the quarantine facility in Ft. Lauderdale where
extensive host-range studies were conducted. They found that the planthopper is
highly host-specific and does not pose a threat to native or economically
Tipping and Center will join representatives from the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission, which provided more than $300,000 in financial support for the
project, and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers at an event celebrating the insect's release today
at the Edgefield Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility owned by the
St. Johns River Water Management District
near Palatka, Fla.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of",552,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.900546371936798
c58a3cbb-974d-449c-be3e-3433b4e73029,2022-05-20T11:45:35+00:00,2022-04-15,0,http://www.soneba.de/2022/04/15/our-very-own-lord-summarized-the-complete/,"But more distressing than simply their lack of change is actually the brand new simple fact that no one is actually amazed from it . It actually was since if folks just questioned one to their heart carry out are withered and you will bad year after year, several years after several years. Not one person seemed bothered by the position. It wasn’t an enthusiastic anomaly you to definitely caused direct-scratches bewilderment. No chapel professionals were entitled for the. No disaster conferences happened in order to probe new strange matter-of this person just who implemented the brand new church’s general recommendations to possess religious existence but was nontransformed. dos
But really God abhors so it. “Love God and love anyone,” he states. The greater number of sins, the newest more substantial sins, was transgressions facing like. Grudges, gossip, slander – talking about done in lead defiance to help you Jesus’ important command. And they practices is tolerated throughout the day – even certainly Christians. We really do not find them weird; we would view it strange when they abruptly disappeared.
God confides in us to help you first visit the individual you to definitely-on-that. Second, look at the people rapidly. Jesus counseled that, if someone else is actually worshiping Goodness and you can remembers that she or he have upset a pal, the proper answer is to get rid of immediately and you can wade immediately to the upset individual. This will likely grate up against religious folks who declare that God must be all of our first consideration. It is a fact you to definitely Goodness should be the top interest. However, the connection with Jesus is the best gauged of the the people relationship than because of the spiritual routine. Although we usually do not guarantee that this new upset sister will accept us, the audience is compelled to build all of the effort “as far as it all depends to the” you (Romans ).
Amazingly, in both cases, Jesus’ pointers will be to do the effort. When you have complete something wrong, you decide to go and come up with they best. An individual more features wronged your, you continue to grab the 1st step. Larry Calvin says:
With people terms and conditions Goodness managed to get clear that correct interpersonal matchmaking are more important than just proper routine
Today wait only a moment. If your friend enjoys anything facing your, you go to him? If in case you really have some thing up against your buddy, visit your? Who’s got you gonna him in both cases, if or not you really have something facing him, or you discover he has got one thing facing your. When i first made one to advancement, I remember convinced: That isn’t reasonable! Then i noticed that God is not inquiring us to perform anything that he’s got not already over. You see, Goodness is the initiator in the Goodness-individual relationship. 3
Jesus is not asking me to do anything the guy has never modeled for us. The guy threw in the towel eden in the future down-to-earth http://hookupfornight.com/lesbian-hookup-apps, end up being a slave and pass away to repair the busted reference to the daddy. From inside the Jesus Christ, God requires new step. Whenever we reach observe extremely important everyone is to help you God, we’ll worth the community Christ’s death makes possible. We’re going to worth it adequate to make the step when you look at the resolving relational malfunctions.
Productive management do not forget about argument. They would they through an environment in which men and women are designed to sort out relational rubbing on the a-one-on-that foundation. Just immediately following eg perform have failed is others allowed to enter into the new conflict, after which only for the reason for causing reconciliation. Problems can not be averted, however they will be managed. And you can a wise commander tend to place in himself otherwise by herself to help you discovering how exactly to carry out that.
God’s Cosmic Argument
While the participants may be undetectable, i are now living in the fresh new framework out-of a beneficial titanic battle in which the opponent off white and you may dark participate with the souls of men and women. Scripture ensures united states you to definitely even though this hidden conflict try real, it is quite brief; Goodness himself will bring background to a point of which that it cosmic conflict might possibly be in the long run resolved. New Apostle John details a stunning emblematic description of final input of King out of leaders and you may Lord away from lords within the the new products of history:",978,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531779.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520093441-20220520123441-00226.warc.gz,0.958755135536194
4df9783e-f7dd-4f26-8ed9-e0cff25edb2e,2019-08-23T11:37:10+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://sourceanimation.wordpress.com/tag/2d-model-sheet-design/,"This is our show reel for the 2D animation. There are various types of animation styles can be used for the 2D animation productions. Depending upon the target audience we can choose the correct style for the project.
This 6 minute film was aimed to create awareness about ‘saving our planet and it’s natural habitat’. This 2D digital (FLASH) film was produced for a direct client in United Kingdom. We were given basic idea about the characters, script and voice over’s, rest of the assets like characters, expressions, background layouts, animation, direction, VFX and SFX was done at our studios (www.sourceofindia.com).",141,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318375.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823104239-20190823130239-00497.warc.gz,0.911903917789459
32085b0b-2a09-4bcf-aa89-71513ad3111c,2022-05-19T14:52:25+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://www.friendhood.net/signs-that-your-friend-is-addicted-to-drugs-alcohol/,"You never want to see your friends fall or have trouble, but it is wise to understand the warning signs of addiction. If you think your friend is having trouble handling his/her load in life, you’ll want to know if your friend needs help.
Take some time now to learn a little about eh warning signs of drug/alcohol addiction. If you can see the signs, maybe you can help your friend before it is too late.
Behavioral signs of addiction
If you are really concerned that your friend is having trouble with addiction, you may notice these behavioral signs.
- Your friend may be having trouble maintaining relationships with family, lovers, and even you.
- You may find that your friend is facing unusual legal trouble.
- If your friend begins to extend a much lower level of performance at their job.
- You find that your friend is grossly neglecting their adult responsibilities.
- Addiction often manifests in social withdrawal.
- Your friend may also start involving themselves in excessively risky behaviors.
- Drug addiction may cause your friend to exhibit unusual mood shifts.
Though these signs and symptoms don’t always mean that a person is on drugs or alcohol, they are often a good marker for an issue.
Physical signs of addiction
If you’re concerned that your friend is having addiction issues with drugs or alcohol, it’s helpful to understand some of the physical signs and symptoms of addiction.
- Your friend is either sleeping too little or too much.
- Your friend always has red or watery eyes with large or super small pupils.
- Poor coordination can be a red flag for alcohol use.
- Slurred or labored speech could be a sign of a few different addiction issues.
- A sudden drop in personal hygiene could mean something’s up.
- A drastic shift in weight is a tell-tale sign of addiction.
- You may also want to pay attention to the tone and complexion of your friend.
Ultimately, addiction will leave its physical marker on the user. If you educate yourself on the physical effects of the drug you suspect your friend is having trouble with, you may uncover a bit more.
Understand common effects
Knowing specifics regarding some of the common offenders of addiction will help you to more easily identify when (or if) your friend is having trouble.
- Opioids – Heroin, OxyContin, hydrocodone, Vicodin, Percocet, and more. Small pupils, loss of appetite, lots of sleep, puking, coughing, sweating. You may also find needle marks on their arms.
- Stimulants – Methamphetamine, cocaine, crack, and others. Stimulants will cause increased energy, weight loss, dry mouth, and increased talkativity.
- Depressants – Prescription drugs, alcohol, benzos, barbiturates, and tranquilizers. Depressants will cause excessive sleepiness, slurred speech, trouble concentrating, and other expressions similar to being drunk.
- Inhalants – Household chemicals, air duster, glues, and other aerosols. Inhalants can cause a person to have vision problems, mood swings, memory issues, nausea, bloody nose, and more.",670,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662529538.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519141152-20220519171152-00022.warc.gz,0.918907523155212
52464b3b-b89b-47d6-9575-f0e2c07caa41,2013-06-20T02:00:30+00:00,2013-06-19,0,http://weather.gc.ca/marine/iceConditions_e.html?mapID=15&siteID=14100&stationID=WSF,"Southwestern Shore: Ice Conditions
Ice ForecastsIssued 10:00 AM EDT 10 May 2013 Forecasts have ended for the season.
Iceberg BulletinIssued 11:00 AM EDT 19 June 2013
Iceberg LimitIceberg limit at 0000 UTC estimated from Newfoundland near 4715N
5250W to 4740N 5000W to 5015N 4800W to 5145N 4800W to 6000N 5930W.
Western iceberg limit at 0000 UTC estimated from Quebec near 5045N
5900W to Newfoundland near 5020N 5735W.
Iceberg CountNo confirmed icebergs.
- Date modified:",132,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.898409903049469
0e2594c3-0fc7-435e-b113-25626903cef5,2022-05-24T08:34:12+00:00,2021-08-31,1,https://www.sava-ad.com/post/opinion-why-the-critics-are-tuning-out-the-cognition-data,"Opinion: Why the Critics are Tuning Out the Cognition Data
Critics are Ignoring our Need for an Effective Alzheimer’s Drug
Humanity is currently being ravaged by a 100% fatal epidemic that kills 1 in 6 Americans and is likely a factor in 1 in 3. This disease slowly destroys the mind of those infected, turning patients from loving and caring relatives into something capable of only blank stares as death nears. Many argue that the inevitable fatality is ultimately a blessing for both the inflicted as well as their remaining loved ones and caregivers.
Finding a truly meaningful treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease (“AD”) has proven a daunting task. Historically, no clinical trial in the United States has been able to maintain (let alone improve) patient cognition after a year of treatment. As billions of dollars and decades of research into the failed “Amyloid Hypothesis” have failed to discover a treatment that meaningfully slows AD, academic institutions and agile small pharmaceutical companies have begun exploring new treatments under new hypotheses generally overlooked by the major pharmaceutical companies.
Market is Not Paying Attention to SAVA’s breakthrough Data
In a groundbreaking development, one such small company, Cassava Sciences (“SAVA”), has reported phase 2 clinical trial of a new drug Simufilam results where patient cognition scores were not only maintained, but in fact continuously improved in each interim data reported at 6, 9, and 12 months. Although ongoing trials (including a phase 3 trial now recruiting) will provide further data, the current results themselves are revolutionary to the treatment of AD. Simufilam is taken orally and has shown zero serious side effects across early and phase 2 trials. In contrast to the ease, safety, and effectiveness of Simufilam, treatments targeting the failed Amyloid Hypothesis generally require at least monthly infusions, have serious side effects including inter-cerebral hemorrhaging/edema, and simply don’t work to stop or meaningfully improve decline.
Simufilam’s mechanism of action (link 1, link 2, link 3) is fundamentally different than current approaches. Rather than simply seeking to remove as much amyloid as possible from the brain, Simufilam interacts with a scaffolding protein (filamin A or “FLNA”) to normalize the pathological misfolding of amyloid and tau. The identification and selection of this compound and mechanism of action was a natural progression for SAVA, as the company had previously been working with altering FLNA as a treatment for pain and inflammation before realizing it’s potential as a treatment for AD.
The natural rapid rise of the SAVA stock coupled with the prior history of almost total failure in clinical trials for AD has attracted investors who focus on betting against companies (“shorting” or “being short”). Some of these investors seek active roles in driving negative sentiment openly or anonymously to collapse a company’s stock price and increase the profit from their short bet. One technique used by short investors is to submit petitions to the FDA arguing to halt clinical trials through Citizens Petitions (“CPs”) generally due to alleged safety concerns. The infamous Martin Shkreli was a pioneer in using misleading CPs to both profit from a short bet against the company when the market reacts to the CP and to weaken a company for a hostile takeover.
The Latest Update on Short’s Antics
In August this year, a CP was filed anonymously seeking to halt the upcoming phase 3 trial of Simufilam in spite of the near perfect safety profile based on deeply dishonest allegations (later resulting in a review by the Journal of Neuroscience finding the allegations lacked merit). This CP initially was claimed to come from a whistleblower, but shortly after the inevitable collapse of the SAVA stock, the lawyers filing the CP acknowledged their client was an entity who held short positions on SAVA. In addition, many other consultants, analysts, or other personalities on social media have made misleading attacks on SAVA or Simufilam while either acknowledging short positions or refusing to demonstrate a lack of financial ties to those with short positions. After the Journal of Neuroscience found zero evidence of manipulation in the original, uncropped Western blots, some of these online personalities are once again making statements (like the ones below) about SAVA and the Journal of Neuroscience that are repugnant.
Public Support amongst AD Families and Investors
This website (www.sava-ad.com) is the collective work of a number specialists (including neurologists and other MDs, Neuroscientists and other PhD academics, and statisticians) to illustrate through objective data and information the groundbreaking nature of Simufilam’s clinical trial data as well as the severity of the dishonesty coming from those that who wish for Simufilam to fail for profit. It is our profound belief that by discussing the facts and data rationally and fully and considering the allegations on the merits, an objective reader will agree there is exciting potential for Simufilam that must be proven out through trials before the FDA.
While we are generally investors in SAVA ranging from large to small, we share a commonality in that we have come to the research in Simufilam because of the way AD and the lack of treatment for it has touched our lives and we have lost parents and spouses to this disease. Some of us have identified significant genetic likelihoods in ourselves or loved ones. For these reasons, our motivations in analyzing and providing context on the existing data and claim by short investors is not simply financial. We believe Simufilam is the first and only real hope, based on U.S. clinical trials, for a disease modifying treatment to AD. We are saddened that short investors would seek to stop further trials, simply for temporary financial gain, while a vulnerable patient population is experiencing such a devastating and widespread terminal disease. Shame on them for putting profits before people. Shame on them for making wild allegations casting doubt on the integrity on SAVA.
The Cognition Data – Judge for Yourself
ADAS-Cog is the cognitive test used for SAVA’s trial. It is considered the “gold standard” test for evaluating AD drugs and how all AD drugs are ultimately evaluated. One reason is that it's essentially an IQ/memory test, not an opinion survey, and therefore more objective. Compared to other cognitive tests such as MMSE, the ADAS-Cog is more sensitive and much longer (45 minutes to complete).
· 1. Word Recall Task
· 2. Naming Objects and Fingers
· 3. Following Commands
· 4. Constructional Praxis
· 5. Ideational Praxis
· 6. Orientation
· 7. Word Recognition Task
· 8. Remembering Test Directions
· 9. Spoken Language
· 10. Comprehension
· 11. Word-Finding Difficulty
It is based on 70 points, with a higher score implying more errors (worse cognition). 8 of the 11 parts are clearly objective. The other 3 appear to require some subjective judgment to score, but there are clear guidelines in how they are scored. Let’s get into some detail.
Dimensions 1-4, 6-7, and 11 (i.e., seven out of eleven of all dimensions in ADAS-Cog) offer very little room for random error, subjectivity, or rater bias (in favor of or against the patient's cognition). The reason is that the questions for these dimensions not only seek to essentially assess cognitive ability / IQ, but also come with clear right-or-wrong answers.
For example, consider dimension #1, Word Recall. For this, ""A list of 10 words is read by the subject, and then the subject is asked to verbally recall as many of the words as possible. Three trials of reading and recalling are performed...Mean number of words not recalled across the three trials; scoring range is 0 to 10."" So, the test administrator does not use his subjective judgment at all; instead, the patient either remembers each of the 10 words or not.
Another example, consider dimension #6, Orientation, where ""The subject is asked the date, month, year, day of the week, season, time of day, place, and person...The number of correct responses; scoring range is 0 to 8."" The patient either correctly knows where he's at or not; no subjective judgment involved here again.
Take a look at the other dimensions that have clear right-or-wrong answers (i.e., 2, 3, 4, 7, and 11).
Now, how much weight / importance is given to these seven dimensions with little or no room for any subjectivity? Remember that ADAS-Cog is scored by summing up all error points (e.g., 0 to 10 for dimension #1, Word Recall). So, across the seven dimensions, the total number of available errors a patient can show is 49 (about 70% of all errors available).
What about the other dimensions? #5 and 8-10 (which together constitute 30% of all errors available)? These may not have clear right-or-wrong answers, however ADAS-Cog test administrators receive training to mitigate inter-rater subjectivity. For dimension #5, Ideational Praxis, ""The subject is asked to pretend to send a letter to themselves: fold letter, put letter in envelope, seal envelope, address envelope, and put a stamp on the envelope...Scored from 0 to 5 based on difficulty of performing the five components."" So, if the patient adequately finishes all letter-sending tasks mentioned, then they'd get a 0 (no error). But if the patient struggles with one or more of the five steps, then per each step the test administrator would have to use some judgment for how much struggle / difficulty warrants an assignment of an error point. As the reader can see, this is straightforward to score.
For dimensions #8-10, the administrator has a 10 minute open-ended conversation with the patient, and at the end, the administrator rates the patient from 0-5 per quality of the patient's speech, how well the patient understands what the administrator is saying, and how much difficulty the patient has in finding desired words, respectively. So again, if the patient speaks like a normal person like you and me, they'd get a 0 for each of the three dimensions (#8-10). But if the patient shows some signs of struggle, then per dimension the test administrator would have to use some judgment for how many error points to assign.
How do these tests reduce subjectivity? In psychometrics, researchers very often deal with such performance or ability based questions that do not readily offer clear right or wrong response options--and instead rely on judgment of the rater. To mitigate this common issue, for decades researchers have developed rater training techniques to help get all the raters form a consensus on what type or degree of behavior corresponds to roughly what score. The more you can get them to see things on the same page (rather than each rater using their own unique/idiosyncratic standards), the greater the reliability and validity of the measurement tool.
As these clinical test sites specialize in research trials in AD drugs (also performing studies for SAVA’s competitors, it’s what they professionally do yet QCM only attacks SAVA's data), they would have a close familiarity for the ADAS-Cog. By definition these physician’s test-judging style would form the gold standard. SAVA does not have involvement with how the sites are run; SAVA requests that the sites use adas-cog per cognitive measurement and then the sites take it from there.
Of course, in the presence of such ambiguity and its two competing explanations (i.e., 30% of the available errors are largely subjective versus they are ultimately not subjective because of consensus-forming measures especially rater training), we can argue or speculate all day how the 30% of the errors are empirically implemented. But then we don't have to because there is empirical evidence available on this matter. Specifically, by performing a subset analysis, one can more precisely identify which dimensions in a measurement tool better captures the phenomenon at hand (in other words, which dimensions are more sensitive at detecting changes in the phenomenon).
So, for ADAS-Cog, which of the 11 dimensions are better at (sensitive enough at) picking up changes in cognition? If you look at the same article posted above, the authors describe a previous study (Ihl et al., 2012) where they sought to empirically identify ""the collection of ADAS-Cog-11 [dimensions] with the most potential for detecting a treatment response."" These dimensions were: Ideational Praxis, Remembering Test Instructions, Language, Comprehension of Spoken Language, and Word Finding Difficulty. As you can see, dimensions #5 and 8-10 (which constitute the 30% of total errors) are all included in this subset! So, based on actual empirical evidence, even dimensions #5 and 8-10 are *in practice* largely objective and valid, rather than a largely subjective subset.
Of note, Phase 3 will use ADAS-Cog12 which adds Delayed Recall section. This makes it more sensitive for mild cognitive impairment. Simufilam will target this larger group of people (15 million patients in US) to expand its market to the drug’s full potential.
It can be argued that due to the open label nature of the Phase 2b trial, physicians can still score certain sections favorably for SAVA. However, the math should this is unlikely to make up for the large 8.2-9.2 point difference between the 12 month data and placebo (from previous trials). In addition, open label trials of other AD drugs using the ADAS-Cog do not show these same results (discussed in future article). Unlike with Simufilam, those patients in trials of other AD medications all declined from 6 months onward in both open label and placebo-controlled trials.
The shorts have not done their due diligence (DD) on SAVA’s cognition data. Had they done so, they would not have shorted SAVA. But if they have done their DD on SAVA, I find it hard to believe they sleep well at night while holding a short position.
This is not medical advice. This is not investment advice. This is just my opinion.",3029,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662570051.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524075341-20220524105341-00202.warc.gz,0.940240383148193
d87c4661-2bab-4c47-ad9d-1793d060fcbe,2019-08-19T03:38:49+00:00,2015-04-30,0,http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140661-Yooka-Laylee-Banjo-Kazooie-Spiritual-Successors-Revealed,"Playtonic games have revealed the bat-and-chameleon duo of ""Yooka-Laylee"" for their Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor.
Earlier in the year, a bunch of ex-Rare devs announced that they had started up their own studio (Playtonic games) and would be running a Kickstarter for a spiritual successor to fan favorite Banjo-Kazooie. Now, as Microsoft owns the rights to Banjo and his feathered friend, Playtonic had to make up some new characters. Today, together with IGN, the developer is introducing ""Yooka-Laylee"", who will be the stars of the upcoming title.
Check out the reveal video to the right, which shows the bat-and-chameleon due in action.
Yooka the chameleon and Laylee the bat were dreamed up by Steve Mayles, the ex-Rare character designer who brought us Banjo-Kazooie, as well as all of the modern members of the Donkey Kong family. This kind of on-the-nose design is akin to what we saw with Mighty No. 9, and shows us how developers can... creatively, get around copyright issues.
The two characters will have to use their unique abilities in-tandem to get through the game's levels, much like the original Banjo-Kazooie. Yooka, for example, can use his sticky tongue like a grappling hook, while Laylee can pick up her partner and fly for a short period of time.
Playtonic is launching a Kickstarter for the project on May 1st, with all backers able to pick up a full copy for $15 USD. If successfully funded, the game will release on Windows, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.
Source: Playtonic Games",382,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314641.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819032136-20190819054136-00370.warc.gz,0.961575329303742
e2d79da1-32e5-4325-8156-990ef03df66a,2015-03-29T23:00:04+00:00,2009-11-17,0,https://nebraska.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1017624,"Latest Team Rankings
Free Rivals Alerts
|ShopMobileRadio RSSRivals.com Yahoo! Sports|
|College Teams||High Schools|
November 17, 2009
Notebook: Ingram may need big SEC title game to satisfy critics
TUSCALOOSA _ It goes without saying that a lot will be resting on next month's SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, where the University of Alabama will face Florida on Dec. 5 with a likely invitation to the Bowl Championship Series title game at stake.
However, that may only be the beginning.
Numerous individual honors could be on the line as well, including the Heisman Trophy and other national player of the year honors, and not just because of the potential showdown between sophomore running back Mark Ingram and Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow.
It'll be Ingram's make-or-break chance to win over his critics because of one important statistic he has almost no control over. Although Alabama has faced numerous that ranked high in rushing defense when they played, most of have dropped off since. Consequently the Tide hasn't faced a team currently ranked in the top 40 nationally.
Here's each opponent's current rank and average rushing yards allowed, followed by where they would be without having played Alabama.
Virginia Tech 65th, 147.5; 53rd, 134.1
Florida International 117th, 238.5; 117th, 234.11
North Texas 102nd, 190.3; 101st 182.6
Arkansas 47th, 132.7; 47th, 132.6
Kentucky 98th, 177.6; 94th, 174.7;
Ole Miss 47th, 1327; 40th, 125.2
South Carolina 62nd, 145.09; 50th, 133.2
Tennessee 60th, 143.1; 60th, 143.9
LSU 41st, 126.9; 38th, 121.4
Mississippi State 79th, 157.9; 65th 147.4
As for future opponents, Auburn ranks 91st at 169.73, but Florida is 10th at 94.30, statistically making the Gators the top rushing defense the Tide will face before balloting is completed.
However, those numbers may be a bit of an aberration because rushing numbers in the Southeastern Conference are up while Alabama's statistic have essentially stayed constant.
In other words, blame the dynamic offenses, especially the spread formation that Florida, Auburn and Mississippi State use to run more.
Last year, the average SEC team accumulated 147.09 rushing yards per game, with Alabama (No. 2), Ole Miss (4), Tennessee (12), Florida (15) and LSU (17) all in the top 20 in rushing defense, and Georgia 27th.
This year, the average rushing performance is up to 176.64 yards. As a result, only Alabama (again second) and Florida (10) are in the top 30, with Georgia next at 34th.
Yet in total defense six SEC teams are ranked nationally in the top 25 in total defense (2. Florida, No. 3 Alabama, No. 20 South Carolina, No. 21 LSU, No. 23 Ole Miss, and No. 25 Tennessee), and four teams are in the top 25 in scoring defense (No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Alabama, No. 10 LSU, and No. 12 Ole Miss), with South Carolina in 26th.
""You still have to earn your yards when you go out there,"" Ingram said. ""I guess it's more of how people are spreading the ball a little bit more, it's not just always just someone running the ball, pounding. There's a whole bunch of different types of offenses. There are people that use five wide, or four wide receivers.
""It's just different each week.""
The team practiced outside Tuesday, but those limited to exercise bikes remained inside.
Junior running back Terry Grant (muscle strain) did not practice, but senior linebacker Eryk Anders, who aggravated a sprained ankle originally sustained against South Carolina, was back in his usual crimson jersey.
""I'll be good for Saturday,"" he said.
Walter Camp semifinalists
A student the other day did the Heisman pose in front of Ingram (funny, but a little weird he said) only that's not the only major award he's up for.
Tuesday both he and junior linebacker Rolando McClain were named on the 15 ""Players to Watch"" for the Walter Camp Foundation's player of the year award.
Alabama and Texas were the only schools to have more than one player listed, and McClain was the lone linebacker.
The other semifinalists are Stanford running back Toby Gearhart, Cincinnati wide receiver Mardy Gilyard, TCU defensive lineman Jerry Hughes, Houston quarterback Case Keenum, Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers, Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley, Clemson receiver/kick returner C.J. Spiller, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate and Tebow.
""It's been an exciting college football season with many teams and players still in the hunt for national recognition,"" Walter Camp Foundation president Alphonse Paolillo, Jr. said in a release. ""We've identified some outstanding players and we know the final weeks of the regular season should be even more thrilling.""
The Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp are considered the three major national player of the year awards, and an Alabama player has never won any of them.
Although it used to be fairly common for someone to win all three awards the same season, it hasn't occurred since 1999 with Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne. That ended a 33-year span in which 19 times one player took home the hardware trifecta.
Last year, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma won the Heisman, Tebow the Maxwell and Colt McCoy of Texas the Walter Camp.
""I try and not pay attention to it,"" Ingram said of the Heisman hype. ""People keep bring it up all the time and I hear it all through my day.
""I let everyone else doing the talking and try and stay focuses on the task at hand.""
Finalists for the Bronko Nagusrki Award for defensive player of the year will be announced Wednesday or Thursday. McClain is expected to be named a Butkus Award (linebacker of the year) finalist Thursday.
Awards list rundown
Heisman Trophy: Finalists announced Dec. 9.
Maxwell Award (outstanding player): Mark Ingram, semifinalist. Finalists announced Nov. 23.
Walter Camp Award (Player of the year): Ingram, McClain semifinalists. Finalists announced Dec. 2.
Butkus Award (linebacker): McClain, semifinalist. Finalists announced Thursday.
Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Terrence Cody and Mike Johnson on watch list. Finalists announced Nov. 23.
Bednarik Award (defensive player): Cody and McClain, semifinalists. Finalists announced Nov. 23.
Doak Walker Award (running back): Ingram, semifinalist. Finalists named Nov. 23.
Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Javier Arenas, semifinalist. Finalists announced Nov. 23.
Lou Groza Award (kicker): Leigh Tiffin, semifinalist. Finalists announced Nov. 23.
Bronko Nagusrki Award (defensive player): Finalists announced Wednesday or Thursday. Arenas, Cody and McClain are all on the watch list.
Rotary Lombard Award (lineman): Cody finalist. Winner announced Dec. 9.
Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end): Midseason watch list announced in mid-November. No Alabama players were on the preseason watch list.
Lott Trophy (defensive impact player): McClain semifinalist. Finalists announced Nov. 24.
Rimington Trophy (center): Finalists announced Nov. 23.
Eddie Robinson Award (coach): Finalists announced Dec. 9.
George Munger Award (coach): Nick Saban, semifinalist. Finalists announced Nov. 23.
Broyles Award (assistant coach): Finalists announced Nov. 30.
Alabama players are no longer in the running for the Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback), Unitas Golden Arm (senior quarterback), Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver), John Mackey Award (tight end), Ray Guy Award (punter), or Walter Campbell Trophy (scholar-athlete, formerly known as the Draddy Trophy).",1802,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00166-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.941540896892548
a80f2d1a-85ea-45c1-966f-c93c495b5730,2015-03-29T22:37:19+00:00,2012-02-03,0,http://www.cartographersguild.com/archive/index.php/t-15522.html?s=5a4f790938e7abfdff12cbb127bef815,"View Full Version : A little sloop...
08-09-2011, 05:15 PM
So; I have been playing with GIMP a little more and here is a little sloop I drew over the Week-End... It gave me the opportunity to play with shadows and light elements...
11-22-2011, 07:16 PM
This looks great, but I have a question. It looks like you put stairs up to the helm, but shouldn't there then be a room for the captain under that area? Or did you intend for it to be a part of the storage area? I'd love this if it had the captain's quarters there.
12-02-2011, 11:24 PM
A sloop typically has no raised deck aft.
Remove the stair, move the helm forward a little and convert the aft 'deck' to a captain's cabin with a simple roof.
As a 17th Century ship type, cannon on the main deck would be appropriate.
02-03-2012, 06:51 AM
Thanks for the kind words and advices...
Yeah, initially, the idea came from a campaign. I was attending my players to travel between island and just give it ""they find a ship and island hop"" in my script.
Of course, as is typical with players, they spent the better part of two hours looking for exactly the right ship. Small, fast and nimble to escape troubles with a ""trustworthy yet discrete captain"". Then they went on to argue the price...
By the end, the ship and crew had taken a bit of a personality and I decided to re-use it later and make them a plan...
One of the reason I didn't put a proper captain's cabin is that I had originally improvised that the captain was sleeping in a tent raised at the aft, but yeah, it's probably a good idea to add a cabin now...
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.2 Copyright © 2015 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.",426,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00152-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970554232597351
1ae659df-ea5a-4a7d-aef8-78d809ffca60,2015-04-01T01:07:37+00:00,2013-06-30,1,http://www.bostonfed.org/WorkingCities/cities/somerville.htm,"Somerville received a $100,000 seed award for its Pocket Change: Creating a Somerville that Works for All Initiative, which aims to reduce high unemployment among low-income youth. The model will blend micro-jobs, soft skill training, internships, and hard skill training into a seamless system to build work experience and information about job candidates. These opportunities will be publicized and coordinated via a mobile or online application that will also track participant progress and feedback from participating employers. The initiative is being led by the City of Somerville, in partnership with
several cross-sector task forces.
The Pocket Change Initiative provides participating youth with an opportunity for job progression based on performance. The initiative aims to reduce unemployment for low-income youth in Somerville by 10 percent over 10 years, and is planned and implemented under the guidance of both employers and youth from Somerville’s community. The initiative is a pilot for the citywide “Jobs Trust” proposed by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, which will create a permanent system for funding job training through linkage funds from developers of large commercial spaces.
Bent Electrical Contractors, Cambridge Health Alliance, Century Bank, Greentown Labs, Massachusetts Workforce Alliance (MWA),
Somerville Center for Adult Learning Experiences,
Somerville Chamber of Commerce, Taza Chocolate,
The Career Place (TCP), The Holiday Inn – Somerville,
The Somerville Community Corporation (SCC), Tufts University,
and Wedgewood-Crane & Connolly
Learn about Somerville
At roughly the same time, two external factors boosted the efforts of city officials and residents to spur Somerville's resurgence: 1) the subway line extension from Harvard Square through Somerville to the Fresh Pond area, and 2) rapid increases in Harvard Square real estate prices. The city has also benefited from proximity to Harvard University and Tufts University. Although the city has faced challenges such as assimilating its high percentage of foreign-born residents and making aging infrastructure compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Somerville has tackled numerous obstacles with innovative initiatives.
Census data show that Somerville experienced rapid population growth during the 50-year period between 1880 and 1930 when it went from 24,933 to a peak of 103,908. The 2010 census put the population at 75,754. Somerville has the greatest density of any city in New England.
|Persons under 18 years||12.1%||21.7%|
|Persons 65 years and over||9.1%||13.8%|
|American Indian and Alaska Native||0.3%||0.3%|
|Black or African-American alone||6.8%||6.6%|
|Hispanic or Latino||10.6%||9.6%|
|Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander||<0.1%||0.0%|
|Two or more races||3.6%||2.6%|
|White alone (not Hispanic or Latino)||69.1%||76.1%|
More than one-half of Somerville adults have at least a bachelor's degree (52%), and nearly a quarter of households have incomes of $100,000 or more. Nevertheless, the city's median income ($59,000) is substantially lower than the 2011 state median household income ($62,859)—or the median income for Massachusetts smaller cities ($71,522). The city's over-65 population declined by more than 2,000 people (nearly 25%) over the past decade.
""Three-fourths of the meat-packing of the Commonwealth is carried on in the six packing-houses of the city. In the order of their importance, other leading industries are: slaughtering, bakery products, confectionary, foundry and machine-shop products, beverages, structural iron and steel, printing, automobile assembling, coffee-roasting, furniture making, and household and photographic equipment.
Because of its definitely residential character, self-rule is prized in Somerville. It is this love for self-government that gives the city its vigor and its virility.""
According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey five-year estimates for 2007-2011, 26.0% of Somerville residents are foreign born, compared with 14.7% statewide .
Although high compared with the state, the percentage of foreign-born residents is dropping. It went down 11.9% between 2000 and 2011. Also, the percentage of people who speak English less than “very well” dropped from 16.8% to 12.7%, a drop of 24.4% between 2000 and 2011. The American Community Survey also shows that:
According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, as of June 2013, Somerville’s unemployment rate was 5.4%, compared with 7.4% statewide. Nearly 30% of Somerville’s working residents commute to jobs in Boston, and just over 20% work in Cambridge. Clark University researchers found that Somerville’s five largest employers are:
There are a number of promising economic and community development initiatives that are either in the works or recently completed:",1087,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00243-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.925625920295715
f92e6613-2c28-418e-b3d8-46ee9883f8a4,2022-05-29T02:20:59+00:00,2020-10-01,1,https://apmma.net/ufc-leon-edwards-hits-back-at-jorge-masvidal-and-nate-diaz/,"UFC: Leon Edwards Hits Back At Jorge Masvidal And Nate Diaz
Leon Edwards is currently 10-2 in the UFC and riding an eight fight win streak. In his last fight, he defeated the former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in July of 2019, where he won via unanimous decision at UFC San Antonio. Since then, the 29-year-old can’t seem to catch a break in terms of getting any closer to a title shot, let alone a fight with a big name.
Although Edwards as been campaigning for a fight with Jorge Masvidal ever since the infamous ‘three piece and a soda’ altercation at UFC London, the British fighter has found himself in a state of MMA purgatory. After the backstage scuffle, ‘Gamebred’ has found himself in high profile fights. Including the BMF bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 244, and a failed attempt at the welterweight title against Kamaru Usman at UFC 251.
Masvidal vs Diaz 2?
After Masvidal failed to capture the gold, many labeled Edwards as a possible next opponent, considering the history between the two and their position in the UFC welterweight rankings. However, after reports came out that the promotion is pursuing a rematch for the BMF belt with Diaz, the Birmingham fighter voiced his frustrations while speaking with Submission Radio (transcribed by MMA Fighting).
“Yeah, I think that’s the annoying part,” Edwards admitted. “Cause the UFC wants the fight, like, especially the Jorge fight. I know he went to the UFC and he said he won’t fight me unless I got the title or whatever. But I believe he needs to fight someone in the top five to get to a title, which he’s not doing. So, it’s frustrating, cause the UFC wants it, I want it, but the other guys, they’re saying no cause I’m a hard fight and they don’t want to lose. So, I don’t know.”
Edwards went on to continue voicing his displeasure with Masvidal for pursuing a rematch with Diaz, stating that the first bout wasn’t even competitive.
“I think me and him is a big fight,” Edwards stated. “I don’t know. The first fight when he fought Diaz, he basically battered him for the three rounds that they were in the fight. So, I don’t understand where the selling point is. I just don’t understand it. He went out there, he battered Diaz and that’s it. Move on. It’s a weird situation. But let them do their thing and fair play to them.”
In response to Edwards’ comments, ‘The Stockton Slugger’ took to social media to hit back at the Brit. Which prompted ‘Rocky’ to fire back.
“He Doesn’t Want None Of The Smoke With Me”
Because Edwards has found himself no closer to a big fight with Masvidal, he has given up on campaigning for the bout inside the Octagon, stating instead that it is now “on site” when he next sees the BMF.
“He’s come out and said he doesn’t want none of the smoke with me, he’ll only fight me for that world title. So, I’m kind of over it now,” Edwards said. “He doesn’t want to fight. So, when I see him, we’ll be on site fighting, and he knows what it is when we see each other. It is what it is. You cannot force a man into a fight, right? If he says he don’t want to fight, you can’t. Nothing you can do to force him into it. I want it, the UFC want it. He keeps saying he doesn’t want it. So, what more can I do?”
“I Will Be The Champion”
‘Rocky’ still has yet to find himself a viable option for a next opponent, made even more difficult because of the global coronavirus pandemic, which has seen him unable to travel to the US. Edwards maintains however, that he deserves a big fight that will get him closer to capturing UFC gold.
“I feel I deserve one of these top five guys, if not a big name in the sport,” Edwards said. “So, yeah, I’ve been on the UFC now since March, trying to get a name in and trying to get a fight in, but it’s always, it was hard for me during lockdown. Everyone else in the top 15 are based in the US. I’m the only one in the top 15 that’s based in the UK. So, it’s way easier for the UFC to match them guys up, cause they’re based in the States, and I couldn’t travel cause of visa issues, and obviously you couldn’t get into America from the UK. So, it’s been frustrating and it’s been annoying. But my time will come and I will be the champion and I truly believe that, you know what I mean, so it’s all good.”
When do you think we will see Leon Edwards face in the Octagon next?",1158,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00412.warc.gz,0.970190286636352
2baeab95-607a-44ae-bff0-de18dd3ffb79,2022-05-25T20:41:36+00:00,2022-05-25,1,https://ppp.my.id/biden-admin-to-rescind-trump-conscience-rule-for-health-workers.html,"“As state politicians continue to strip people of their sexual and reproductive rights and freedoms, it’s imperative that the Biden-Harris administration revoke this discriminatory policy and help ensure people can access the health care and information they need when they need it,” said Jacqueline Ayers, the senior vice president of policy, organizing and campaigns for Planned Parenthood, which was part of a lawsuit against the Trump administration rule in 2019. “We look forward to seeing the details of the new rule and are excited about this step forward.”
The so-called conscience rule, unveiled in 2018 and finalized in 2019, was blocked by federal courts after dozens of states, cities and advocacy groups sued, and has never been implemented.
Had it gone forward, it would have allowed doctors, nurses, medical students, pharmacists and other health workers to refuse to provide abortions, contraception, gender affirming care, HIV and STD services, vasectomies or any procedure to which they object.
Rescinding the rule is seen by progressive advocates as a key part of dismantling the Trump administration’s legacy on reproductive rights, which Democrats promised to do once they took control of Washington. Last year, Biden moved to undo anti-abortion restrictions on the Title X family planning program and foreign aid, and many groups have pushed for the “conscience” rule to be next.
“There is so much to unravel,” said Leila Abolfazli, the director of federal reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center, which sued the Trump administration over the rule in 2019. “I’m encouraged that they have been working through all these pieces.”
The planned rescission is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget, which is often the final step before a proposed regulation goes public.
Many progressive groups that have called for the rule change say they’re reserving judgment until they see whether the Biden administration will completely undo the Trump administration rule or leave some aspects in place.
“We look forward to seeing the proposed rule’s text to ensure that the federal government safeguards patients’ need for high-quality health care,” said Audrey Sandusky, the spokesperson for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. Still, she added, “This action will go a long way toward strengthening patient access to high-quality health care and protecting the integrity of key HHS programs, including the Title X family planning program.”",515,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662593428.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525182604-20220525212604-00410.warc.gz,0.957400798797607
a8ef5bd5-9976-47b4-97dc-7a290f560d63,2018-08-15T09:31:01+00:00,2018-05-01,1,https://tamebay.com/2018/05/amazon-out-of-fashion-with-trendy-shoppers-but-voice-is-in.html,"Amazon out of fashion with trendy shoppers, but voice is in
Amazon is gaining ground in fashion retail, but only a quarter of fashion-conscious shoppers consider it trendy enough to buy clothes from. They do, however, like stores as a way to check things out before buying online and are poised to use voice too.
So finds a study of the preferences and purchase behaviours in store and online of 1000 US shoppers by Astound Commerce. In its study, “A Window into the Fashion Shopper’s World,” the majority of shoppers say that they do make fashion purchases at Amazon for convenience, but only one in four rank Amazon as highly fashionable. Over half of respondents make Amazon purchases for low price and delivery speed, but only 26% care to browse Amazon’s private label fashion products.
Instead, shoppers like to use online and in-store to research and make purchases, with 77% of millennials sying store quality made them consider a purchase,and digital retailers are expanding beyond URLs. 48 % of shoppers visit new storefronts that initially launched online, such as Warby Parker and Fabletics, while 49% frequent inventory showrooms like Bonobos, which does not offer the ability to take products home.
They are also showing an interest in voice as a way to shop, with the fledgling channel set to overtake desktop spending, says the report. 73% of shoppers use their smartphones to shop, but mobile isn’t the only platform getting bigger. In fact, 47% of consumers use voice technology to browse products, and 37% plan to use it to make fashion purchases.
“If we understand how consumers shop, we can adjust to their needs. Technology offers a massive opportunity for retailers to optimize the customer experience, but without a detailed understanding of their target market preferences, it can be difficult to decide where to invest time and resources. Providing a seamless shopping experience across every channel is an expectation among fashion shoppers, and is key to maintaining an edge over the competition, and more importantly, Amazon.”
– Igor Gorin, CEO of Astound Commerce",428,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210040.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815083101-20180815103101-00133.warc.gz,0.953441739082336
5a4c8f91-0bc0-4553-ac15-5b775e90e460,2022-05-28T03:13:40+00:00,2021-06-01,1,https://www.bruegel.org/2021/06/uk-banks-in-international-markets/,"UK banks in international markets
Implications of UK-euro area divergence in regulation and supervisory practice
The original paper is available on the European Parliament’s webpage, as part of in depth analysis requested by the ECON committee. Copyright remains with the European Parliament at all times.
The UK enters the post-Brexit period with a regulatory framework that is closely aligned with that of the UK, and stronger in some areas. This paper highlights that the changes in regulatory strategy and the institutional framework that have been announced by the UK will make its bank regulation more responsive, and greater use of proportionality the sector will become more competitive. Competition for EU banks in international markets will intensify, though not due to an erosion of regulatory standards.
This analysis was produced for the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON).",173,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663012542.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528031224-20220528061224-00027.warc.gz,0.941345274448395
7e973748-be0b-4ef2-ae20-ef1ebc4822da,2015-03-26T19:18:50+00:00,2014-12-31,0,http://forum.russellstreetreport.com/entry.php?141-Jets-vs-Patriots&goto=next,"The Air Coryell works and has worked for us up until this year when we no longer had the personnel to make sure it worked without a hitch. Joe is the perfect guy for that style of offense. He's not overly mobile, he has a huge arm and up until this season we had the RB horses to make the important play actions worth a damn. Every offensive coordinator is, 'married' to a system. What would you like to see us start running here? A system more tailored to a QB like Brady or Peyton where they throw quick three second passes and have their receivers go for 2304023432 yards a clip? How much better do you think that will fair? The receivers we have right now make their money being faster than the defenders opposite them; it's easy to outrun the DBs with longer developing routes and more difficult when it's a quick slant (see Torrey or Jacoby on the slants they do get; YAC rarely occur there). Joe has also shown that he has a tendency to lock onto a guy; that's not going to help that style of offense either.
Brady and Peyton have made their money spreading that rock like nobody's business and having the almost immeasurable football IQ to do so with precision timing and expediency. I'm not knocking Joe but merely pointing out that his skillset is much different than those two. I mean Hell, if someone smarter than I am (the rest of this board) says they think Joe could run something like that without resorting to the muddle huddle all game I'd be all for bringing in the oft mentioned, 'young, hotshot, hungry OC who's going to take our offensive game to the limits!,'.
The Steelers run the Erhardt-Perkins system just like the Patriots. Do they look anything alike? No. The reason is that the EP system is flexible in its design. Its the route concepts that get receivers open. You run a lot out of it and thus PAP is a very successful result.
The only team that runs the Air Coryell well is the Saints, and that's only b/c Drew Brees is the most accurate deep ball passer in the league. I'm a big Joe Homer, but facts are facts, Joe can't sniff Drew's jock when it comes to deep ball accuracy.
You're right every coordinator is likely married to either the Air Coryell, Erhardt-Perkins, or the West Coast (only NFL team not running one of these schemes is the Eagles which is a true spread). I like the EP scheme b/c of its flexible in its design where you can throw deep out of it. And you won't have DBs able to bracket Torrey deep like they do in the AC, b/c they will have to respect the shorter routes. Ok, we absolutely do need to get better route runners to run the EP, but I contend if we don't get better route runners, period, no scheme will work. Our fast but shitty route runners in the AC didn't work this year.
Do you want a new scheme and to start all over again with new terminology, and having to teach wrs to run option routes all day, or is it better to get Norv or someone else try THEIR version of the air coryell? The latter makes more sense to me.",686,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131292567.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172132-00003-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.976585388183594
b830a039-7154-4915-ba7d-a78d1b3d7697,2017-08-22T16:39:42+00:00,2016-12-15,1,https://www.jollofnews.com/2016/12/15/gambia-barrow-extends-olive-branch-to-jammeh/,"(JollofNews) – Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow has extended an olive branch to incumbent Yahya Jammeh, telling Newsweek that he will not prosecute the outgoing leader.
In an interview with Newsweek, Barrow says he is happy for Jammeh to remain in Gambia once he relinquishes power, despite allegations by members of the president-elect’s coalition that Jammeh could attempt a coup.
Barrow, 51, triumphed in the tiny West African country’s presidential election on December 1. Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia for 22 years, initially accepted the result, but on Friday performed a U-turn and called for a fresh election, citing “serious and unacceptable abnormalities” in the vote.
A delegation of four West African heads of state, led by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, visited the country on Tuesday but failed to convince Jammeh to concede. The former army officer’s party submitted an appeal against the election result to Gambia’s Supreme Court, which has not sat in over a year. Gambia’s military also seized control of the electoral commission’s offices on Tuesday.
Speaking via telephone from Banjul, Barrow says that Jammeh’s petition is an “act of desperation” motivated by “selfish interests.” But he maintained that the outgoing president—whose tenure has been littered with allegations of human rights abuses—could remain in his home country without fear of prosecution after handing over power.
“We conducted the election on principle, not on personal things. I’m sure if we can reconcile…I see no reason why Gambians cannot do the same,” says Barrow.
Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, a senior member of the seven-party coalition headed up by Barrow, told The Guardian on December 7 that Jammeh would be prosecuted for alleged abuses committed during his tenure within a year of Barrow’s government taking office. Jammeh’s mandate expires on January 18.
Jallow-Tambajang also said that Jammeh had “bunkers and treasure” at his farm in Kanilai near the Senegalese border, and was capable of launching an “insurgency” against the government-elect.
But Barrow says that the outgoing president is welcome to remain in Gambia. He points out that Gambia’s first post-independence president, Sir Dawda Jawara, has continued to live in the country after being overthrown in a military coup by Jammeh in 1994.
“I think he [Jammeh] can also stay in this country. He belongs here and he’s a citizen of this nation. He has been [leading] Gambia for 22 years and I think he has the spirit of Gambia,” says Barrow.
Jammeh’s petition to the Supreme Court means that the country’s immediate future remains unclear. The outgoing president would have to appoint several judges to the Supreme Court in order to hear the petition, an idea rejected by the government-elect and the Gambian Bar Association, which represents all lawyers in the country.
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are holding a meeting on Saturday, at which a resolution on the situation is expected. ECOWAS President Marcel de Souza told Radio France Internationale that a military intervention in Gambia was “conceivable” if Jammeh refused to step down, but Barrow says he does not think such action will be necessary.
“We are in a very strong position,” he says. “The statements from international bodies, the U.N. and America, make it very clear, and in Gambia, the institutions are giving us very strong support…that will convince him to step down peacefully.”
The U.S. State Department condemned Jammeh’s rejection of the election result as “an egregious attempt” to stay in power. The U.N. envoy for West Africa, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, told Reuters that Jammeh would be “strongly sanctioned” if he attempted to remain in power beyond the end of his mandate.
A property developer who studied
in the U.K., Barrow has little political experience and was relatively unknown before the election. Seven opposition parties chose him as a coalition presidential candidate in September after various leading opposition figures—including Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party to which Barrow belongs—were imprisoned earlier in 2016.
Barrow invigorated Gambians on the campaign trail, promising to overturn some of Jammeh’s key decisions—such as starting the withdrawal of Gambia from the International Criminal Court, and pledging to reform the country’s economy.
The lack of economic opportunities in the country has seen thousands of Gambians illegally attempting to migrate to Europe; despite its population of just 2 million, Gambia has been the fifth biggest contributor of migrants entering Italy in 2016, according to the International Organization of Migration.
While admitting that he fears for his security, Barrow says he has received messages of congratulations from across the world—including the U.S., European Union, Russia and China—and he is sure that this support will see Gambia through the current period of uncertainty.
“The international community has made itself very clear on this issue and that has put my coalition in a very strong position,” he says. “Believe me, I am the next president of Gambia.”",1191,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00565.warc.gz,0.968595147132874
7edc2124-b087-4821-bd74-172e3566a8c6,2013-05-24T15:59:20+00:00,2012-02-02,1,http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/glencore-and-xstrata-in-talks-for-80-billion-deal/,"6:11 a.m. | Updated
LONDON — Glencore International, the biggest commodities trading company in the world, has approached the mining company Xstrata about a takeover, a long-anticipated deal that would create a company with a market value of about $80 billion.
The move, announced by Xstrata on Thursday, has been on the radar of deal makers for a while. Glencore, which already holds a 34 percent stake in Xstrata, raised $10 billion last year through an initial public offering, saying it planned to use the cash in part to expand through acquisitions.
A deal may also jump-start a new round of consolidation in the mining sector as companies look to take advantage of continued demand for metals and minerals from growing economies like China and Brazil.
A combined $71 billion of takeover deals were announced in the mining sector during the first half of 2011, the latest figures available. That represents a 2 percent increase over the same period in 2010, according to the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“The combined business of Glencore and Xstrata would be greater than the sum of its parts,” said Charles Cooper, a mining analyst at Oriel Securities in London. “Any deal would put the new company in the same category as the major players like Rio Tinto or BHP Billiton.”
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Xstrata said it was holding talks with Glencore on an “all share merger of equals which may or may not lead to an offer being made by Glencore for Xstrata.”
Xstrata said its statement was “with the agreement of Glencore.” Simon Buerk, a spokesman for Glencore, declined to comment on the talks. In a statement, the company said it “notes” Xstrata’s announcement, and added that “there can be no certainty that any offer will be made.”
In morning trading in London on Thursday, Xstrata’s share price increased 9.1 percent, while stock in Glencore rose 4.8 percent.
Under new British takeover rules, Glencore has until the beginning of March to secure a deal, which would help to diversify its business from low-margin metals marketing and trading. The company, based in Baar, Switzerland, had a pretax profit margin of 4 percent last year, compared with Xstrata’s margin of 34 percent, according to Mr. Cooper of Oriel Securities.
Based on last year’s results, Oriel Securities estimates the combined company would make roughly 40 percent of its pretax earnings from its copper operations, and 30 percent from its coal business. That would give the company greater diversification than other large mining companies including Rio Tinto, which relies on its iron ore unit for 70 percent of pretax profit.
“Xstrata already sells its products through Glencore’s trading arm, so a combination of the two companies would offer significant benefits to both sides,” Mr. Cooper added.
Much will depend on whether Glencore is willing to pay a premium for control of Xstrata. Glencore’s stock price values it at roughly $45 billion, while Xstrata’s market capitalization values it at approximately $50 billion. As Glencore already owns a large stake in Xstrata, the combined company would have a market value of $80 billion.
The proposed takeover would bring together two businesses that were split about a decade ago. In 2002, Xstrata became a publicly listed company after it acquired the Australian and South African coal assets of Glencore. The deal laid the foundation for Xstrata’s current global coal business.
Xstrata ranks fourth among the world’s mining and metals companies, with operations in 20 countries and more than 70,000 employees. The company, which has headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and corporate offices in London, had net profit of $2.9 billion on revenue of $16.8 billion in the first half of 2011.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Linklaters declined to comment. Representatives from Nomura and Goldman Sachs were not immediately available for comment.
After years of relying on government spending to supercharge growth, China is planning to shift gears so that the private sector and market forces play a larger role in its economy.
The nominees, Kara Stein and Michael Piwowar, are familiar with the Wall Street regulatory agency’s business through their work.
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said the firm found a fraud risk in nine audits in 2009 but did not sufficiently follow up on the risk.
A proposal for cleaning up lead contamination from small car-battery recyclers in poor countries.
Refining Canada’s petroleum-soaked oil sands produces petroleum coke, and the question of what to do with it has found at least one answer in Detroit, where a large coke pile covers an entire city block.
A blistering heat wave in north and western India has caused widespread electricity cuts and led residents to protest and even attack power company officials and property.
A new product, Twitter Amplify, will help brands match advertisements with Twitter commentary by viewers.
And not caring what Elton John says about any of it.
President Obama asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to scrutinize Justice Department investigations and said he was “troubled” that such inquiries could hinder reporters.
A federal judge’s ruling could halt the resale of digital music as well as other digital good like e-books.
A world-renowned physicist meets a gorgeous model online. They plan their perfect life together. But first, she asks, would he be so kind as to deliver a special package to her?
The Winklevoss brothers have moved on from their battle with Mark Zuckerberg and are more active than ever.
Thirteen insurers had been chosen to sell policies through the insurance marketplace — or exchange — being created under the law.
A reader asks whether white-coat hypertension — the tendency to develop high blood pressure at the sight of a doctor’s garb — is common and dangerous.
Nearly 23 years after the Americans With Disabilities Act went into effect, patients with disabilities continue to receive inadequate medical care — and many cannot even get a doctor’s appointment.
Procter & Gamble said on Thursday that its chief executive, Robert A. McDonald, had resigned. | Four executives of SAC Capital Advisors have received subpoenas to testify before a grand jury. | In a push to soften financial regulations, bank lobbyists are helping lawmakers draft legislation. | Congressional concern over SoftBank’s bid for Sprint Nextel is growing.
Sign up for the DealBook Newsletter, delivered every morning and afternoon, and receive breaking news alerts throughout the day.",1427,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960233986377716
03da9eaf-e935-4873-b448-d402e3608a86,2015-04-01T06:32:11+00:00,2011-02-15,1,http://www.voanews.com/content/skyrocketing-food-prices-push-millions-into-extreme-poverty-116302039/157458.html,"A farmer reaps wheat in Pakistan, where prices for the crop have jumped 16 percent since June 2010.
The head of the World Bank says a sharp rise in food prices has pushed 44 million people into extreme poverty. World Bank President Robert Zoellick is calling on the Group of 20 leading and emerging economies to put food first on its agenda.
The World Bank's latest food price index is just three percent below its 2008 peak. Wheat and maize prices have gone up about 75 percent since last June. According to report, wheat increased 54 percent in Kyrgyzstan, 45 percent in Bangladesh, 37 percent in Tajikistan, 33 percent in Mongolia, 31 percent in Sri Lanka, 19 percent in Afghanistan and 16 percent in both Sudan and Pakistan.
According to Zoellick, high and volatile food prices are a key challenge in the developing world, where the most vulnerable people spend more than half their income on food.
""Even before these latest price hikes, there were already more than 900 million people going hungry each day,"" he says. ""Now, with an estimated 44 million more people living in extreme poverty, it shows this year is shaping up to be a very tough year for the chronically malnourished.""
This year is not as bad as 2008, when prices hit record highs. That's because grain stocks are somewhat larger, maize harvests in Africa were good, and rice prices have not risen as much as other grains. But Zoellick says the upcoming growing season will be especially important.
""We already are in stress points in a number of markets. If this trend continues, if we don't get a relief on the weather side, then I foresee conditions getting worse. And, mistaken policy actions such as export bans and other types of price controls will just exacerbate the problem.""
Drought in the Black Sea region cut Russia's wheat harvest by a third in 2010. A subsequent ban on wheat exports drove prices up.
Last summer, Russia banned wheat exports after a major drought. Rice export bans were blamed for worsening price spikes in 2007 and 2008 that led to some food riots.
Speaking ahead of this week's G-20 finance ministers meeting in Paris, Zoellick discourages export bans and called for a global code of conduct that would at least exempt humanitarian shipments from restrictions.
He believes high and unstable prices are likely to be a long-term trend, in part because of the rising demand for biofuels and the growing appetite for meat in developing countries.
""What we're now seeing is a trend punctuated by some great volatility,"" says Zoellick, ""and the poor and vulnerable have got no cushion when the prices spike.""
To help offset the problem, he's calling for global action to provide better safety nets for pregnant women and young children and to improve developing-world farmers' access to better seeds, fertilizer and markets.",586,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00063-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960874199867248
44576fe6-b440-4cf5-8067-45b339fccb11,2019-08-23T01:41:35+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://books.apple.com/us/book/abram-to-abraham/id1320361668,"Abram to Abraham explores the Abraham saga (11:27-22:24) through a literary lens, following the legendary figure of Abraham as he navigates the arduous odyssey to nationhood. Rather than overlook the textual discrepancies, repetitions and contradictions long noted by diachronic scholars, this study tackles them directly, demonstrating how many problems of the ancient text in fact hold the key to deeper understanding of the narrative and its objectives. Therefore, the book frequently notes the classic division of the text according to primary sources, but offers an alternative, more harmonious reading based on the assumption that the narrative forms a single, intentionally designed unit.
The narrative’s artistic design is especially evident in its arrangement of the two halves of the story around the protagonists’ change of name. The stories of Abram and Sarai in the first half of the cycle (11:27-16:16) are parallel to the stories of Abraham and Sarah in the second half (18:1-22:24). A close reading of this transformation in the biblical narrative illuminates the moral and theological values championed by the figure of Abraham as luminary, soldier, family man, and loyal subject of God.",244,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317688.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822235908-20190823021908-00295.warc.gz,0.925468325614929
9e58b568-c1a3-44bb-a993-bc82a96136ed,2013-05-24T16:04:10+00:00,2012-09-30,0,http://erratasec.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/there-was-no-georgia-cyber-war.html,"Georgia looms large in ""cyber-war"" rhetoric because people believe they have a smoking gun in the way that ""the cyberattackers appear to have had advance notice of the invasion and the benefit of some close cooperation from a state organ"". But that's not really what happened. The conflict didn't start with a surprise attack by Russia. Instead, the attack by Russia was the result of escalating tensions over weeks, and was in direct response to the Georgian invasion of the province a day prior. Both the cyber-attacks and military attacks happened at roughly the same time because both were in reaction to the same events.
Russian hacktivists are involved in all of Russia's conflicts, bot internal and external. This leads to an ""Occam's Razor"" situation. We know that Russian hackers would DDoS and deface Georgian websites anyway. We have the forum posts pointing to this. When the Russian people get upset, they launch DDoS from their personal machines, and from the botnets run by the criminal gangs. Russian hackitivism explains the attack, adding ""government direction"" is superfluous.
Moreover, the other evidence points to hacktivists rather than military strategists. The attacks had no military value. Hackers went after high profile sites. Sure, they impacted Georgia infrastructure, but that was only a side effect. When those sites were taken out of country, the DDoS attacks followed, instead of continuing to hit Georgia infrastructure.
The situation is a lot like the paranoid conspiracy theories in the Muslim world that America must've been behind the ""Innocence of Islam"" film. It's because they can't conceive of things like that happening without state sponsorship. This stupidity is exploited by those who want to cause riots. In much the same way, those who wish to fan the flames of cyberwar exploit the sentiment that DDoS/defacements must be directed by a nation state.
When I bring this up, people demand that I present evidence to the contrary, as if it's up to me to prove that the Russian government wasn't involved. That's like demanding evidence that there are no UFOs. I'm not trying to prove that the Russian government wasn't involved, I'm simply pointing out that there is no evidence to their involvement. We know such cyber attacks come with all major conflicts, but attribution of those attacks is still speculation. Indeed, I would be unsurprised to find out that Russian government was involved -- I'm just saying that no evidence of this has yet been published.
Cyberwar is a serious thing. Sadly, most people pounding the drums of cyberwar are the non-serious type. How they approach the Georgia DDoS attacks is a good litmus test for their seriousness.
Update: The Statfor article on the event is a good example of how this nonsense works. It starts with the text: Russia's offensive against Georgia began not with tanks or fighter jets, but in cyberspace. ...Georgian government and media Web sites began to crash the night of Aug. 7 -- well before Russian troops emerged ... in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia the following morning
What this article leaves out is how Georgia had invaded South Ossetia on August 7, and how the cyber attacks were in response to that invasion (as well as in retaliation to Georgian hackers attacking Russian sites), and not a prelude to surprise attack. Likewise, the Statfor article points out that the website of the Georgia President had been DDoSed on July 20. This ignores the fact that the conflict had already heated up, with South Ossetia separatists having shelled Georgian forces on June 14, and that Russian jets had been overflying South Ossetia on July 9. The point is: these cyberattacks didn't happen in a vacuum, but where most likely the normal hacktivist response to events in the news.
Update: Some wikipedia references:
Some ""analysis"" of the Georgia cyber attacks:",806,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962163388729096
7e86f859-cbd9-410e-a3e1-cc4e1b9e5bfe,2013-05-23T05:01:03+00:00,2012-07-30,1,http://www.downtoearthnw.com/blogs/down-earth/2012/jul/30/5-barriers-tiny-house-movement/,"For now, the tiny house movement is a tiny niche but in this economy, we've seen a growing number of Americans choosing to scale down. Ryan Mitchell from the Tiny Life lists the Top 5 Biggest Barriers To The Tiny House Movement. Here's an excerpt:
One of the largest hurdles for people wanting to live in a Tiny House is access to land. Land is expensive, in growing short supply and people want a balance of having land and being close to city or town centers where they can access services, entertainment and employment. These things are often in conflict with each other. The closer to the city center, the smaller and more expensive the lots. To have a Tiny House, you don’t need much land for the actual house, but you do need enough to be able to obscure the house from prying eyes in order to fly under the radar of code enforcement and curmudgeons.
Read more HERE.",189,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952396988868713
40fa008c-20fd-4a57-980c-b6c525390e73,2022-05-21T07:09:10+00:00,2021-07-01,0,https://chamberlaindentalhealth.com/dental-treatment/does-medi-cal-pay-for-dentures.html,"Adult Dental Benefit Full Restoration Effective January 1, 2018. … Restored benefits will include, for example: Laboratory processed crowns, posterior root canal therapy, periodontal services, and partial dentures, including denture adjustments, repairs, and relines.
Does Denti-Cal cover dentures?
Denti-Cal will only provide up to $1800 in covered services per year. Some services are not counted towards the cap, such as dentures, extractions, and emergency services. … Your Denti-Cal provider cannot charge you for services that are covered by Denti-Cal.
What does Medi-Cal cover?
Medi-Cal covers most medically necessary care. This includes doctor and dentist appointments, prescription drugs, vision care, family planning, mental health care, and drug or alcohol treatment. Medi-Cal also covers transportation to these services.
Does Medi-Cal cover dental implants 2021?
Excluded Services Veneers, implants, tooth whitening and adult orthodontics are excluded in all plans.
Does Medi-Cal cover implants?
Dental implants are usually considered to be cosmetic procedures that are not essential to the health and well-being of covered individuals. These elective procedures are usually denied for coverage by Medicaid.
How often can you get dentures on medical card?
If you have a medical card you are entitled to an upper and lower denture every five years.
What type of dentures are the best?
In terms of stability, snap-in dentures are the best. These dentures securely snap into place with the aid of anchors on existing teeth or dental implants. These dentures are suitable for a patient without any teeth, but who has enough bone tissue to support an implant.
What’s the difference between Covered California and Medi-Cal?
Medi-Cal offers low-cost or free health coverage to eligible Californian residents with limited income. Covered California is the state’s health insurance marketplace where Californians can shop for health plans and access financial assistance if they qualify for it.
What does Medi-Cal cover for seniors?
What does Medi-Cal cover?
|Adult day health services||Hospice care|
|Ambulance services||Hospital and nursing home care|
|Dental care||Medical equipment|
|Doctor visits||Prescription drugs (if you don’t have Medicare)|
|Eyeglasses||Prosthetic/ orthopedic devices|
How much money can you have in the bank and still qualify for Medi-Cal?
You may have up to $2,000 in assets as an individual or $3,000 in assets as a couple. Some of your personal assets are not considered when determining whether you qualify for Medi-Cal coverage.
Do I have Denti Cal if I have Medi-Cal?
Once you have met your SOC, Medi-Cal will pay the rest of your covered medical and dental bills for that month. For example, if your SOC is $50 and your medical bills for services covered by Medi-Cal for that month are $500, you must pay $50.
Does Delta Dental cover implants?
Delta Dental covers 100% of routine and preventive diagnostic procedures, 80% of basic procedures like fillings, root canals, and extractions, and 50% of major procedures like bridges and implants.
Does Medicaid cover dental for adults 2021?
We are excited to announce that starting July 1, 2021, adults receiving full Medicaid benefits are eligible for comprehensive dental care, giving them access to more services and provider choices through DentaQuest.
Does insurance cover dental implants?
Basic dental insurance policies don’t typically cover a dental implant procedure. You’ll need to look into cosmetic dental procedure coverage, which covers a portion of dental implants. Your dental implant insurance coverage could be 50% of the cost, meaning your insurance covers half of the procedure.
Does health insurance cover dental bone graft?
Bone grafts can be expensive for some people, but they can be covered by dental or medical insurance. … Although people usually do not receive dental coverage for implants, they may receive partial coverage for a bone graft “if it is deemed to be medically necessary” (“Dental Bone Graft Cost”).",902,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662538646.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521045616-20220521075616-00407.warc.gz,0.934938848018646
ac182881-d2e7-42e7-81d4-b246eed5f834,2017-08-21T13:48:12+00:00,2013-06-01,0,http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/kilkenny-news/52867/Concern-for-future-of-mayor-s.html,"The idea of the Mayor of Kilkenny City not living anywhere near Kilkenny City may become an entirely plausible one from next year onwards, but what implications will that have – and does it really matter at all?
With the reforms proposed by the boundary committee due to come into play for next year’s local elections, the goalposts have shifted significantly for both politicians and voters. The changes will see the end of the borough council, and two large new areas stretching from one side of the county to the other, termed the ‘municipal district’.
The new areas are called ‘Kilkenny City East’ and Kilkenny City West’, but extending as far as The Rower on one side, and Coolaghmore on the other, the term ‘city’ appears to be a somewhat loose one.
The mayor’s office was established in the 16th Century, and has been elected by the councillors directly representing the city district. With that area now substantially expanded, what does it mean for the future of the mayoralty?
“I would sincerely hope that the mayoralty would continue,” says current mayor, Sean O’ hArgain.
“I would hope the new municipal district will continue to elect a mayor, will continue to have the right, for instance, to grant the freedom of the city as we’ll do in two weeks time, and have the right to make by-laws that govern the city, and to meet monthly and discuss the business of the city. How that works with councillors that don’t live in the city is going to be very diffiult to figure out.”
This week’s meeting of Kilkenny Borough Council was the final one to be chaired by Cllr O’ hArgain. The 404th Mayor of Kilkenny, he will be succeeded next month by the final city mayor to be elected by our borough council.
But does it really matter if the city mayor is from Callan or living out in Graignamanagh? Both councillors Joe Reidy (FF) and Malcolm Noonan (Green Party) have contended that the office will be rendered largely redundant, superceded by the authority of the county council cathaoirleach under whose jurisdiction the ‘municipality’ will now fall.
“The mayoralty will become non-existent,” said Cllr Noonan, at Monday night’s meeting of the borough council.
“The incoming Mayor is now effectively going to be the last Mayor of Kilkenny.”
With the position becoming a largely ceremonial one in recent times, do we even need a city mayor?
“I think we certainly do need a mayor,” says Mayor O’ hArgain.
“I think there’s huge respect for the mayoralty, both within the city and with dignitaries and people visiting from other areas. The vast majority of towns and cities you go to in other countries have a mayor, and I think it’s a fundamental part of town and local government to have that.
“But I think that the mayor and the members should have far more power, and the unelected officials should have far less powers. I also think there should be a far greater role for ordinary citizens in how they interact with the council.”",708,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108709.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821133645-20170821153645-00666.warc.gz,0.966787397861481
c1fb87c0-848a-4c1c-9d3d-2c2a743fc44c,2016-07-25T08:04:47+00:00,2010-08-08,1,http://paulsnewsline.blogspot.com/2010/08/mirro-aluminum-company-manitowoc.html,"Link to August 8 Herald-Times-Reporter editorial, ""Take that first step"".
Looming over a working-class neighborhood
Excerpt: Everyone — except perhaps those who vandalize it — agrees the former Mirro building in Manitowoc needs to come down.
The behemoth has been sitting idle since Newell Rubbermaid left town in 2003, and it's turned into a 900,000-square-foot eyesore. Many of its windows are broken and it's a fire hazard.
A few half-hearted attempts have been made to revamp portions of the building into usable space, but they've all fallen by the wayside. The building needs to come down — period.
That's why it is encouraging that the Manitowoc City Council voted on Monday to expand an existing tax increment finance district to include the building. Such a move would make it possible to set aside tax money from the TIF to help pay the estimated $6 million cost of razing the building should the city be forced to acquire it, which seems likely.
""Displaced Manitowoc, Wis., Steelworkers Are Part of Manufacturing's Downturn"", by Joel Dresang. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, January 18, 2004.
The wood floor creaks in the empty union hall where Gary G. Miller sorts through the names of members of Steelworkers Local 6499, workers who were among the 900 whose jobs left here when Mirro closed its cookware plant last year.
Miller, the union's president, considers the fates of his co-workers. Many remain unemployed, he says. Some have taken retirement. Some, like him, are using government assistance to go to school. Some have found jobs, including a few, he says, at Wal-Mart.
""People frown on that,"" Miller says, because some people blame Wal-Mart for pushing Newell Rubbermaid, Mirro's parent, to move manufacturing to cheaper countries. ""But hey, you got to do what you got to do.""
Some of the steelworkers are unaccounted for. Miller hasn't heard what has become of them. Some have had their phones disconnected.
The displaced Mirro workers are unwitting players in a historic decline in manufacturing work. Federal estimates for December show the United States lost manufacturing jobs for 41 months in a row. U.S. factory employment has fallen each of the last five years, the first time that has happened since at least 1939 -- as far back as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks.
When state data are reported Thursday, they're likely to show that Wisconsin, which relies on manufacturing employment more than any other state but Indiana, will have lost factory jobs for the fourth year straight.
Nationwide, 2.9 million manufacturing jobs have disappeared in the past five years, exceeding the decline in the early 1980s. Wisconsin manufacturing is down nearly 80,000 jobs.
Ask where that work has gone and economists talk about improved productivity, diminished demand and increased output from lower-cost countries. Ask where the workers have gone and the response gets more involved. Among the answers:
State labor economists say that Wisconsin averaged about 174,000 unemployed people a month in 2003. That's up from a usual range of 90,000 to 100,000 a month. The difference is pretty close to the number of manufacturing jobs missing, says Terry Ludeman, chief labor economist with the Department of Workforce Development.
Between 40,000 and 45,000 Wisconsin workers retire each year. Manufacturing accounts for about one-fifth of all the jobs in the state, suggesting that 8,000 to 9,000 factory workers could be retiring a year. It's probably higher than that, though, thanks to early retirement packages and because factory workers tend to be older.
Older, more established workers are less likely to move for jobs. A survey of 504 dislocated Mirro workers by Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wis., found 73 percent unwilling to relocate for work. Only 15 percent said they'd be willing to commute more than 35 miles.
While goods-producing jobs have fallen, service-providing jobs have grown. Those who work with displaced workers say the ones who get jobs right away mostly take pay cuts and many times settle for work that tides them over until they can retire or that provides them health insurance. ""The biggest, biggest problem we've had to deal with is benefits, the loss of health insurance and how expensive it is,"" says Sandy Destree, who assists former Mirro workers for the state Job Service.
Last year, almost 120,000 Wisconsin workers from all industries qualified for dislocated worker services, ranging from job counseling to training benefits. Wisconsin spent $43.6 million in federal funds on such services. Of those eligible, 18 percent used the services, and 73 percent of them got new jobs at about 74 percent of their previous wages. State officials don't know how many former factory workers received dislocated worker benefits, but manufacturing accounts for about 60 percent of the mass layoff notices in Wisconsin.
Trouble finding work
At Manitowoc's Job Center, behind the new Wal-Mart, oldies music plays in the waiting room. A young man scowls. A woman sighs as she reads through some paperwork. A preschool girl pages through a magazine, cheerfully singing her ABCs.
Times have changed since Destree helped set up the dislocated worker program here 21 years ago. She remembers the rampant factory closings of the early 1980s. Then, Destree says, the emphasis was putting workers back in jobs as quickly as possible, which wasn't as hard to do.
""I think in the past, we were always able to absorb,"" she says. ""We had so much manufacturing in the northeast corner of the state. If one company went down, another picked those workers back up.""
Now, few manufacturers are hiring. The workers losing their jobs tend to be older. And the factories are more automated, requiring more technical know-how. A few years ago, even as local employers spoke of labor shortages, discharged factory workers had trouble finding work, Destree says. Many of those who landed employment have since been unemployed again.
Miller, the union president, has the meaty hands of a man raised on manual labor. He grew up dairy farming. After high school, he worked at a sauerkraut factory with his mother until he moved to Manitowoc to work at Mirro with his sisters' husbands.
He bounced around Mirro for more than three decades as production shifted and plants closed. He wound up as a hot mill operator in the rolling mill, preparing sheets of aluminum to be shaped into pots and pans.
Miller and his wife have set aside their severance pay and plan to live on their unemployment benefits as long as they can. They've warned their sons, ages 20 and 16, that they have to cut back on cable TV service, eating out and traveling to visit relatives up north.
After 34 years at Mirro, Judith Helke couldn't see going back to school. So when she heard about an opening at Kohler Co., she chased after it.
""When you get the rug pulled out from under you and you're 56 years old, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth,"" Helke says. Kohler has been training her on the job since November to run computerized machinery.
Her pay and benefits will be comparable to what she left at Mirro, she says, and her commute is only three miles more.
""I guess it sucks, but I consider myself extremely, extremely fortunate to get hired at Kohler,"" Helke says. ""Everywhere I turn, people are losing their jobs.""
A lime-colored sign in an unattended guardhouse at the vast, abandoned Mirro complex says, ""Koenig & Vits is now accepting applications for future employment.""
In an upstairs office at the site, partially closed off from the smell of cutting oil and the whir of exhaust fans, Bob Fuller recounts how it took him 10 months to find another job after Mirro eliminated his position as manager of engineering.
At 59, Fuller suspects employers scrutinized his age but not his qualifications. Eventually, he ended up with a decent job in Milwaukee -- but at a 30 percent pay cut and the added expenses of commuting.
Keith Hinz, a senior engineer who's 44 and had 20 years with Mirro, took a temporary assignment with a local manufacturer and then sold cars for five months.
""I have not taken one day of unemployment in my life,"" Hinz says.
Both men know professionals and managers who still aren't working two years after Mirro discharged them. Others have relocated for lower positions and less pay. Others have gone back to school to get out of manufacturing.
Fuller and Hinz now work at Koenig & Vits, a local start-up named for two entrepreneurs who founded the precursor to Mirro.
With a $1 million loan from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, local investors have bought the 160-acre Mirro campus, complete with equipment, and are negotiating for additional financing. The hope is to become a contract manufacturer with more than 300 employees by 2006.
Jim Ross, a former Mirro manager who's president of Koenig & Vits, says the new company is committed to employing Manitowoc County residents and building on the work ethic and experience of generations of Mirro workers.
Lacking cash so far, the company has been offering stock as compensation to its 40 workers, Ross says.
""We're all teammates,"" Ross says. ""We're all going to survive together.""
Back at the Job Center, Destree shares in the optimism.
""We may come back looking different, but I think we'll come back,"" says Destree, who has watched the coming and going of jobs here for two decades. ""We've recovered before. I'm sure we'll recover again.""
All photos by Retiring Guy. Taken Sunday, May 16, 2010.",2063,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00174-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.977372527122498
5311c782-1bfb-4578-8fd8-9ea98cf34b7c,2017-08-17T01:57:36+00:00,2015-09-04,1,http://www.australianmanufacturing.com.au/31642/toyota-to-invest-50m-in-intelligent-car-project-with-mit-and-stanford-video,"Toyota is investing $50 million with Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to create two new artificial intelligence research centres dedicated to robot-assisted driving and inventing new ways to help people and goods move around.
Gill Pratt, a prominent American roboticist, who left his position at the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Pentagon, has been hired by Toyota to direct the effort.
“We’re here today to mark the beginning of an unprecedented commitment. We will initially focus on the acceleration of intelligent vehicle technology, with the immediate goal of helping eliminate traffic casualties and the ultimate goal of helping improve quality of life through enhanced mobility and robotics. This partnership, led by Dr Pratt, is a great opportunity to work with two leading research teams from two top universities. I am very excited about what this new venture means for Toyota, and I look forward to more announcements in the future,” said Kiyotaka Ise, TMC Senior Managing Officer and Chief Officer, R&D Group.
“This bold collaboration will address extremely complex mobility challenges using ground breaking artificial intelligence research. I’m thrilled to be a part of the synergies and talent-sharing of Toyota, MIT, and Stanford. Key program areas will be addressed by the two university campuses and Toyota, with combined research targeted at improving the ability of intelligent vehicle technologies to recognise objects around the vehicle in diverse environments, provide elevated judgment of surrounding conditions, and safely collaborate with vehicle occupants, other vehicles, and pedestrians. The joint research will also look at applications of the same technology to human-interactive robotics and information service,” said Dr Pratt.
Electrical engineering and computer science Professor Daniela Rus will lead the research at MIT, while Fei-Fei Li, Director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, will be spearheading the effort there.
“Our team will collaborate with Stanford and Toyota to develop advanced architectures that allow cars to better perceive and navigate their surroundings in order to make safe driving decisions. These efforts will play a major role in helping reduce traffic casualties, and potentially even helping us develop a vehicle incapable of getting into a collision,” said Professor Rus.
“Building on Stanford’s expertise with computer vision, machine learning, large-scale data analysis and human-computer interaction, our team will work to help intelligent vehicles recognise objects in the road, predict behaviors of things and people, and make safe and smart driving decisions under diverse conditions,” said Professor Li.
The Japanese automaker said that the financial commitment will be made over the next five years.
Click here to check out the video of the official announcement.",543,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102819.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817013033-20170817033033-00685.warc.gz,0.933392107486725
e560a8cc-a2ae-4b31-bc58-2aa04e746062,2017-08-18T04:10:27+00:00,2017-06-13,1,http://in.reuters.com/article/us-senegal-saudi-iran-insight-idINKBN1880JY,"DAKAR (Reuters) - In an upmarket suburb of Senegal's seaside capital, a branch of Iran's Al-Mustafa University teaches Senegalese students Shi'ite Muslim theology, among other subjects. The branch director is Iranian and a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hangs on his office wall.
The teaching includes Iranian culture and history, Islamic science and Iran's mother tongue, Farsi; students receive free food and financial help. The university is a Shi'ite outpost in a country where Sufism, a more relaxed, mystical and apolitical form of Sunni Islam, is the norm.
Two miles away, the Islamic Preaching Association for Youth (APIJ) teaches the strand of Islam that predominates in Iran's great religious, political and military rival, Saudi Arabia.
The APIJ funnels cash from donors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and Kuwait to mosques run by Salafists - conservative Sunni Muslims who are sworn enemies of Iran. The APIJ's shelves are stacked with Salafist theology texts adorned with gold-leaf Arabic inscriptions - texts its imams use to preach in some 200 mosques across Senegal.
The two institutions embody a contest for influence in Senegal, and more widely in Africa, between Iran-backed Shi'ites and Saudi-funded Sunnis. It's one strand of a broad power struggle in which each side is spending millions of dollars to win converts. At stake is huge political influence, on a resource-rich continent that has often served as the theater for rivalries between world powers.
Interviews with teachers and converts on both sides shed light on the depth of the divide and the ways both sides try to gain an edge.
The Iranian director of Dakar's branch of Al-Mustafa makes no secret of his concerns over his Saudi rivals. ""The Salafists came to Africa to destroy ... Islam,"" said Chiekh Abbas Motaghedi in February.
Up the road, in the APIJ building, the Salafists show equal passion.
""We cannot accept the Iranian influence in Senegal, and we'll do everything to fight it,"" said Chiekh Ibrahima Niang, the imam, sitting legs crossed in a silky white robe. ""We need to show the world that Shi'ism is wrong.""
But for Senegal, either influence would be a disruption. It's a society that has always leaned towards political moderation, thanks largely to a tradition of tolerance espoused by its Sufi orders or ""brotherhoods.""
""Where the brotherhoods are weak, as in eastern Senegal, is where the threat of radicalisation is highest,"" said Bakary Sambe, director of the Dakar-based Timbuktu Institute and a coordinator for the Observatory on Religious Radicalism and Conflicts in Africa.
Iran has often been a destabilizing influence: In 2010, an Iranian arms shipment was intercepted in the Nigerian port of Lagos which Senegal suspected were destined for rebels in its southern Casamance region. Dakar briefly cut ties with Tehran over it.
Salafism is the more troubling strand, Sufis say: It is largely free of political interference, but has shared cause with violence that Senegal has so far escaped.
""Salafists in Senegal are cousins of those making jihad in Mali,"" Ahmed Khalifa Niasse, son of a deceased powerful Sufi Imam and vocal critic of Gulf Arab religious influence, told Reuters at his palace in Dakar.
""They see themselves as soldiers of God purifying Islam.""
Salafists vehemently deny that link. ""Salafism has nothing to do with terrorism,"" says Niang. ""Yes, there are people who want to use force to impose the Salafist way, but we are very much against them. We are against violence.""
Iran's supreme leader Khamenei supervises the activities of Al-Mustafa, which is based in the Iranian city of Qom and has branches in 50 countries. Thousands of students from across Africa receive enough Iranian money to enable them and their families to visit Qom while finishing their studies, said the son of a cleric based there who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Al-Mustafa in Dakar receives 150 students a year and gives them free tuition, a stipend and breakfast, its director of studies Chiekh Adrame Wane told Reuters. Graduates repay the generosity by promoting Iran online or in books, said a professor based in Qom. In countries like Somalia, Iran pays for weddings and home furniture, including a TV and a fridge, if both couples are Shi'ite or newly converted to Shi'ism.
Al-Mustafa is now Iran's main tool for promoting Shi'ism, said the professor, who also declined to be named. Its aim is ""to train people to be loyal to the Islamic Republic and the Supreme Leader.""
A top official at Al-Mustafa in Qom, also declining to be named, gave a different view. ""Our goal is purely cultural and educational. We want to promote higher education in Africa,"" he said.
""Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey and many other countries have built their religious schools in Africa. Alongside them, there are many American and British Christian schools, and even Hindu schools. So there is a rivalry in Africa and if we do not establish our presence there, we would fall behind.""
Two senior Al-Mustafa officials said students and teachers at Al-Mustafa are routinely vetted by the Ministry of Intelligence or the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Reuters was unable to independently verify this.
Motaghedi, the Al-Mustafa director in Dakar, said the university had no involvement with the intelligence services or Iranian politics. ""We're a private university ... Our only mission is to teach, nothing else,"" he said, adding that Khameni was merely a patron and adopting Shi'ism was not a requirement for study.
In the 2016 Iranian budget, Al-Mustafa received 2,390 billion rials ($74 million). But the university receives more funding from the office of the Supreme Leader and other conglomerates under his command, one official said. Neither Motaghedi nor Wane would comment on financial flows to the Dakar branch.
At the APIJ in Dakar, Imam Niang extolled the virtues of Sunni Islam. ""Salafism ... has a simple message,"" he said as he scanned an ornate Koran through reading glasses. ""To be a good Muslim, you must follow the practices of the Prophet Mohammed.""
Niang went to Koranic schools from age 6 until 27 and later studied in Saudi Arabia. Immediately after he returned in 1989, he and fellow conservatives set up the APIJ in Senegal. Since then, hundreds of modest mint-green and sky-blue mosques financed by the APIJ have sprung up in suburbs of Dakar and fishing villages across the country.
A success for the Salafists was when they gradually took over worship at the main mosque at Dakar's Anta Diop University in the 1990s.
Imam Ismaila Ndiaye, coodinator of Senegal's Salafist movements and preacher at the university, said his strand of Sunni Islam offered an alternative to Sufism, asserting that Senegal's secular state and liberal values were imposed on it by French colonizers. But he said Salafist mosques were not turning Senegalese youth towards jihad.
""If the Catholics can finance projects in Senegal aimed at evangelizing at people, then why shouldn't Saudi Arabia do the same thing?"" he said.
He said Gulf businessmen had committed only small sums to Sunni movements in Senegal – $20 million in total over several decades – but a steady stream of funds continues to what he identified as three main pillars of Salafism: the APIJ, al Falah, which was founded in 1975, and a movement on outskirts of Dakar led by firebrand cleric Ahmed Lo, who spent 17 years in Saudi Arabia.
Judging who is winning the contest for influence is tricky. Imam Sherif Mballo, secretary general of the League of AhlulBayt, a pan-African Shi'ite movement founded last August, says there are between 30,000 and 50,000 Shi'ites in Senegal, where the population is 15 million.
Mballo converted to Shi'ism after watching the Iranian revolution on TV, then worked with the Iranian embassy for 25 years, making several visits to Iran. But when it came to establishing his own pro-Iran Shi'ite group, after an initial injection from an Iranian businessman - he declined to say how much - he said he received nothing more.
There are no reliable figures on the numbers of Salafists in Senegal, said the Timbuktu Institute's Sambe. However, he said Salafists control several hugely popular mosques.
Peter Pham, Africa director of the Atlantic Council in Washington, said traditional Senegalese Sufi brotherhoods have more in common with the conservative Sunni strand prevalent in Saudi Arabia than they do with Shi'ites, because Sufism is already part of the Sunni religion.
Some Senegalese find the Sufi traditions of their ancestors old hat and stifling. The opportunity to adopt other versions of Islam is liberating.
Maths teacher Souleymane Sall, 38, converted to Salafism while at school. He liked the pure focus on the prophet's acts, and he was weary with what he saw as the lack of intellectual rigour in the Sufi faith he grew up with.
But after university, a friend lent him a book on Shi'ism and, after doing more research, he started to suspect a lot of bad things the Salafists were saying about it were false.
""Eventually, I concluded that Shi'ism was the right path for me,"" he told Reuters. ""At least for the moment.""
Cocks reported from Dakar, Sharafedin from Dubai; Edited by Sara Ledwith and Richard Woods
The views expressed in this article are not those of Reuters News.",2080,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104560.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818024629-20170818044629-00340.warc.gz,0.969561576843262
13480bf0-0594-4b7e-884f-f7da59aad9b8,2017-08-17T01:57:03+00:00,2016-09-30,1,http://douglasgroup.net/pet-food-company-ma-fueled-by-specialty-trends/,"Deb Douglas was recently asked to contribute her expert insights on pet food trends in today’s M&A market on petfoodindustry.com. Her article, below, will also be published in the November issue of Petfood Industry Magazine.
Pet food companies focusing on specialty trends continue to provide market growth opportunities.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is naturally a “hot topic” in pet food supply. The past five years have shown a flood of transactions—in some cases, for amazingly strong pricing. The fact is that M&A is still holding steady with aggressive activity today. In the US in particular, pet spending is at an all-time high. Total dollars spent and pricing “per unit” continue to rise. However, trade publications and rumors are starting to suggest that, sometime soon, that velocity may diminish.
Mid-size pet food companies and a ‘recession-proof’ industry
For middle-market US companies, we don’t believe that is true. The industry carries a powerful mystique as being one of the few spots in the marketplace that seems to have proven “recession-proof.” That makes it an attractive focus for investors. Additionally, US manufacturing for food products is easier for US access and delivery, and is considered superior and safer than distant deliveries from offshore.
Multiples for mid-size pet food companies historically were average to high, relative to other business segments. The average multiple for a US manufacturer in a middle-size range (US$10 million to US$200 million in sales) might provide sales pricing of around 5–7 x EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation allowances). At the same time, the growing and healthy pet food company might fetch more like a 5.5-6 multiple at the lower edge of the range, up to as much as an 8-9 multiple on the higher end of the range—and even more for the perfect company that gets the fiercest acquisition competition. (We have specific experience with two transactions in 2015, one of which brought 8x EBITDA in pricing and another more than 11x.) Markets continue to be excellent for the leading performers.
Pet food spending clearly remains “hot,” with 2015 pet food spending reaching US$29 billion in the US—a 22.5% increase over 2014. Early indicators are that 2016 trends are continuing the climb.
In spite of this recent history, however, there is word in various publications that the powerful pricing and voracious appetites of buyers must surely be due to subside. Admittedly, it is rare for any industry subset to continue to grow at double-digit paces for more than four or five years in succession. However, for a pet food company of today with a bit of focus in the trending areas going forward, we predict that you may not see any downturn in likely buyer appetites for several more years.
How to sustain industry growth via current and upcoming trends
Companies that focus on healthy and natural pet food trends are clear likely winners. US pet owners have the time and money to insist on higher-quality care. Most pet owners are not first-timers. They have seen and enjoyed dogs in lifelong friendships, often for three to five doggie lifetimes during one human history. They learn more about care and nutrition with each pet generation, and the slightly older owners (the baby boomer-aged consumers) have the means to insist on higher-level care.
High-protein, low-grain or grain-free products have increasing scientific support, also winning consumer loyalties. Pet owners regard their pets, more than ever before, as family members. They seek quality of life and extended life span for their animals today. Higher cost may often be perceived as “well worth it.” Additionally, healthy pet “supplements” have seen impressive growth in the past few years. Once again, this trend is consistent with the focus on supporting quality of life and longevity for our four-legged friends.
Products with new or emerging focus on potential health benefits may be perceived by consumers as worth chasing, even with more limited or difficult to access availability in the marketplace. Twenty years ago, pet owners had a greater tendency to seek the longer-established name brands as a sign of reliability in food for their pets. Today, specialty subsets in retail for focused (often health-oriented) pet products have grown tremendously. Although more difficult for consumers to access, total dollars spent in this venue continue to fare well.
The trends at recent SuperZoo shows alone tell some of the story. The number of exhibitors in the “natural” section increased in 2015 by 30.7% over the prior year. The exhibitor count in “meds/supplements” was up 16.7%. Focus on perceived health benefits for pets continues to climb.
M&A markets for pet products are superb today. Multiples are truly at a record high for growing pet food providers. Companies with a steady eye towards favoring the preferred healthy orientation in new product development have the potential to create greater value today than ever before in history.",1064,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102819.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817013033-20170817033033-00691.warc.gz,0.968427836894989
e30d3b98-f567-4f53-ad84-22b204665fa1,2017-08-23T09:52:04+00:00,2015-01-01,0,http://gerrie-thefriendlyghost.blogspot.com/2015_01_01_archive.html,"As an in between posting on a rainy day (it is) and somewhat outside the general interest of this Blog today I share my research on this delicate washed pen and ink drawing by Juliana Wilhelmina Bause (1768-1837) I've recently discovered.
She is mostly remembered by a series of highly regarded copper plate engravings and although described in textbooks and lexicons, I’ve not been able to find them in the Internet. My guess Juliana choose the island designed and constructed in the newly commissioned English gardens (no longer existing) of her husbands city-palace in Leipzig. Anyway, what follows is what I was able to find about the artist on a rainy day, her family, life and her circles in Leipzig.
Park, greenhouses and plan of Löhrs gardens.
Her father Johann Heinrich Bause (Halle 03-01-1738 – 05-01-1814 Leipzig) was an important and highly regarded German copper engraver and professor in the Leipzig Academy.
He was the son of Christian Gotlieb Bause (Halle 1696-1745) and Sophia Elisabeth Dryander (Halle 1705-1761). He is best known for his portraits of writers, poets, nobility and kings often after original paintings by painter to the Royal Court Anton Graff (1736-1813) (above, Bause by Graff) whom he’d met while working in Augsburg in 1759 with engraver Johann Jacob Haid (1704-1767) (below)
Bause always followed closely Graffs original paintings and although he was mainly self-taught and self-instructed took Johann Georg Wille (1715-1808), a royal to the king engraver working in Paris, as his example following his instructions transmitted through their correspondence (works by Wille below).
A printed catalogue of Bause's work appeared in Leipzig in 1786. He married in 1763 Henriette Charlotte Brünner (1742-1818) and they had two very beautiful and talented daughters. Friederike Charlotte (1766-1785), a pianist and musical talent, sadly died at the age of 21. Carl Philip Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) thought highly of her piano and glass harmonica playing skills and so did (Johann Wolfgang von) Goethe (1749-1832) who was a friend of the Bause family and wrote about her extremely good looks.
Sisters Friederike and Juliana Bause.
Her younger sister, the talented Juliana Wilhelmina Bause (1768-1837) married banker Karl Eberhard Löhr (1763-1813) and like her father she became an engraver and painter but only for her own amusement. Known and highly valued are the 8 landscape etchings by her hand after Kobell (prob. Franz 1749-1822), Johann Sebastian Bach Jr. 1748-1778, his father Carl Emanuel Bach and his grandfather Johann Sebastian Sr. ) and Both (prob. Andries Dirksz. 1608-1650) published in 1791.
|Johann Sebastian Bach Jr.|
Recently widowed and forced to leave her house in 1813, ordered by French General Jean Toussaint Arrighi Casanova (1778-1853), a relative of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). Casanova fought in the battle of Leipzig (16/19 october 1813, the “Völkerschlacht”) where the armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden clashed and Napoleon and the French (with Polish, Italian and German) armies were defeated.
Taking care of her father she moved with him to Weimar where he died a year later leaving her his vast collections of engravings. His last work was a s portrait of his son in law Karl Eberhard Löhr.
Karl Eberhard Löhr was the son of banker Eberhard Heinrich Löhr (1725-1798) in Leipzig who’d made a fortune during the 7 year war (1756-1763).
With this newly gained wealth in 1771 he had transformed a swampy marsh, inherited from his wife’s Rahel Charlotte Barthel’s (1739-1803) father, just outside the old city into lustrous English gardens, a pond, huge greenhouses and an island: “Löhrs Garten” later “Keils Garten”, a Promenade (“Tröndlring”) and a Palace as his house. Rich as a royal Karl Eberhard had build a huge collection of paintings.
Karl-Eberhard and Juliana's daughter Juliane Henriette Löhr married Johann Georg Keil (1781-1857) a poet, scolar and intellectual who managed the estate, bequest and immense collections of his wifes’ two grand-fathers. They returned to the house in 1830 but the family sold it in 1889 when it was transformed in Hotel Fürstenhaus, existing to this day.
All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.",1124,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886118195.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823094122-20170823114122-00101.warc.gz,0.954509019851685
18268d04-8836-4130-ac28-8ea5885c7f82,2020-10-26T02:02:39+00:00,2020-10-26,0,https://mindthegap.pubpub.org/pub/47c55bz4/release/2,"Across the 52 projects that we have catalogued here, there is great variation across a number of different axes. The following subsections provide some possibilities for subdividing the landscape along some of the more obvious lines.
Some projects we catalogued are straightforwardly oriented to journal publishing. Some (especially given the Mellon Foundation’s recent funding moves1 2) are oriented to monographs and books. But a substantial number occupy a space in between—agnostic with regard to journals or books, and sometimes reaching for new forms altogether.
Several projects we catalogued are designed around a central hosting model where there is considerable value in how the project host supports the software centrally; a prime example is Fulcrum, developed and hosted by the University of Michigan Library and Press. Other projects, like OJS, are designed around a distributed model where anyone can download and deploy the software. An increasing number of projects seem to anticipate a hybrid position in which any number of third-party hosting/integration partners will take care of deployment (and effectively become partners in the operational life of the software). None of these projects, by virtue of their open-source licenses, are strictly constrained to one or other deployment model; our observations here are about how the development is unfolding currently.
As might be expected, we were able to catalogue a wealth of new projects, and a smaller number of older, more established projects. OJS is the longest-running project we catalogued, established in 2002. Some other notable projects are the bibliography manager Zotero (est. 2006), the French journal platform Lodel (est. 2006), the conversion tool Pandoc (est. 2007), the authoring tool Omeka (est. 2008), the annotation platform Hypothes.is (est. 2011), and the Math typesetting system MathJax (est. 2011). By contrast, fully half of our catalogue has emerged since 2015, with more than a dozen of these projects having their first release since 2018.
This, again, makes comparison difficult. Brand new, bursting-with-promise projects simply aren’t directly comparable to those that have weathered time, competition, and the ongoing demands of users. Conversely, longevity tells a story of fitness, but is difficult to make generalizations. A ‘graveyard’ of old and abandoned projects does not really exist, as Github only emerged as a common platform for software development projects in around 2012 - 2013. Projects older than that, even if the source code is still available, are not easily findable.
Very few of the projects we catalogued even do the same things. Some are attempts to create end-to-end functionality for an entire publishing process; an example is the Libero suite from eLife. Others offer very specific functionality, but may be usable in concert with other components; the best example here is Hypothes.is, which does one thing—annotation—very well and can be integrated in a variety of contexts.
To help visualize the functional scope of various development agendas, we propose a hypothetical publishing workflow that covers a number of stages in order to show how various projects address different functional areas. But we must emphasize one serious caveat: even though different projects may address the same workflow stages in this diagram, they most likely do so differently, with different boundaries and different goals. Our focus here is with software development priorities, rather than “features” per se. We thus offer the following diagram for illustrative—but not comparative—purposes:
The projects we catalogued also differ in development features, languages and frameworks, and licenses. Some are well supported by external funding, some struggle to maintain financial support, some (including some important projects) are effectively unfunded. We offer the following summary data, again for illustrative purposes:
License: Seventeen projects are released under the MIT License; seven under the GPL v3, seven under the GPLv2, and seven using a BSD license. The remainder use AGPL, Apache, or ECL licenses. Comparing these numbers with a 2018 report by Ayala Goldstein 2018, the proportions here are close to the proportions for Github as a whole.3
Funding: About a dozen of the projects we catalogued claim multiple funding agencies; this unsurprisingly tends to correlate with the age of the project. Another dozen projects appear to have no funding at all—apart from the developers’ time on the project. At least fourteen of the projects have received funding from the Andrew W Mellon Foundation.
It would be easier to examine publishing software if we all weren’t simultaneously in the midst of reinventing publishing itself. If publishing functions and the scope definition of journal or monograph publishing were stable over time, it would be more straightforward to judge software offerings against a functional standard. But, at the same time that we are re-building publishing infrastructure (in both open-source and proprietary contexts), we are broadly at work redefining publishing itself, as well as the forms and genres that define scholarly communications.
Journal publishing, while the most transformed by a three-decade shift to online distribution, at least sees some stability in its essential forms. A great deal of the innovation in journal publishing is concerned with the drive to scale and production efficiency, leaving the basic form of the article alone (there are of course exceptions, as in eLife’s Reproducible Document Stack and similar data-rich, interactive formats).4
Book publishing is another story, where a key source of innovation comes from the desire to produce and publish interactive scholarly works that have comparable size and significance to a traditional book, but share little with them production-wise. The latter shift has been identified and encouraged by the Mellon Foundation in recent years.5
At the same time, the affordances of web publishing have spawned a host of publication formats and platforms that are web native—neither journal nor book—that proceed less from a sense of traditional forms than a sense of what can be done, quickly and elegantly, online.
These trends complicate our landscape analysis. Some of the projects we catalogued seek very straightforwardly to model existing publishing practices while extending their efficiency or flexibility through digital media. OJS is perhaps the original case, aiming to pave the way to a fluid, open-access ecosystem. Its original design principles sought to embody existing best practices in journal publishing. OJS was not designed to be disruptive; rather its goal was to allow journal publishers to move their existing operations into an online, indexed environment.
An example of modeling existing publishing practices in book production is Editoria, developed by the Coko Foundation, the University of California Press, and a community of other interested academic publishers. Editoria is an editorial and production system for scholarly monographs designed to provide a web-based, collaborative platform with much more output flexibility than traditional proprietary tools offer. Editoria’s aspiration to be a drop-in replacement for existing tools makes it an ambitious development effort, but perhaps a necessary one if uptake in traditional university press operations is the goal.
While tools like OJS and Editoria serve established publication models, many of the tools we catalogued seek to break new ground and open up new possibilities in scholarly communication. MIT’s PubPub provides a full-featured platform for research teams to communicate with colleagues and the wider world; PubPub could be used to publish traditional scholarly works (journals, books), but it opens up a faster, more reader-centric modality that isn’ neatly contained by current publication norms. The University of Minnesota Press and CUNY’s Manifold Scholarship can hold scholarly monographs within it, but the point of the tool is to facilitate and capture the ongoing discourse around a book, rather than just the book’s content. Well-established tools like Omeka and Scalar exist to break new ground with the integration of multiple media and non-linear content organization.
Special-purpose components—from web-based word processors (Wax, Texture, and FidusWriter) to typographic toolkits (Hyphenopoly, KaTeX) and annotation and reference systems (Hypothes.is, Zotero)—often are agnostic to the publishing formats or genres they can serve, with the exception of assuming the Web as a common platform. It is worth noting that we also include contemporary examples of print production tools (Paged.js, Vivliostyle).
The software projects surveyed here represent a variety of approaches to contemporary problems, and as such provide a rich snapshot of contemporary thinking about publishing and software strategies. While the vast majority of these projects are web-based in one way or another, they vary greatly in their priorities and the bids they make to exist in a much larger ecosystem. The following are some significant trends we noted:
Most of the software we surveyed involves representation of text: for authoring and editing purposes and for display and publication. XML is central, in one way or another, to almost all of the projects. But what does that mean, exactly? Two dominant approaches to XML are evident: the first, employing the JATS XML schema for rich semantic markup and robust in-document metadata, seems to be a popular choice with projects focused on journal publishing workflows. The Texture editor from the Substance Consortium (including eLife and PKP) provides an excellent open-source, JATS-based authoring and editing platform which can then be incorporated into other tools. ELife’s Libero Producer is designed around Texture, building a JATS-native6 editing interface right into the core of eLife’s platform. OJS, which for most of its history has eschewed dealing with the text directly (opting to move .doc and .pdf files through its review workflow), now allows Texture integration as an option, and PKP seems enthusiastic about Texture’s development and future. Janeway, designed for the Open Library of the Humanities platform, is also based on JATS and seems poised to adopt Texture as well. This is a potentially important moment for JATS XML. While a ‘standard,’ JATS has not enjoyed actual standardized practice, because JATS-based workflows are typically buried in proprietary toolchains owned by corporate publishers. The emergence of an open, common editing tool for JATS is a welcome development for XML-based publishing ambitions.
The second major current of XML development is the use of web-native HTML as the basis for content and workflow. Owing to the ubiquity of this format and the wealth of readily available tools and standard ways of working, many of the projects we surveyed have opted for an HTML-first approach. This is true of journal-friendly projects like PubPub and Vega, but is especially the case with the more book-oriented projects such as Fulcrum, Manifold, Editoria, Pressbooks, and Scalar. In an HTML-based workflow, rendering in the browser comes more or less for free, and the associated EPUB standard (which includes HTML as its core text representation) provides a handy distribution or import/export format. More interestingly, authoring and editing tools for HTML are by now in their third or fourth generation, and sophisticated software is not hard to come by. An emerging open-source toolkit, ProseMirror has already seen significant uptake on the web (major news sites like New YorkTimes and The Guardian have reportedly built editorial tools around ProseMirror) owing to features like collaborative editing. ProseMirros is found in PubPub, Coko’s Wax editor (part of Editoria), and the science-oriented FidusWriter. There seems to be increasing interest in ProseMirror as an adaptable foundation for building specialized HTML editing environments.7
A third alternative, which puts markdown before markup, is seen in some production systems such as ElectricBook and Getty’s Quire. The markdown approach relies on a simplest-possible authoring environment (in a text editor) and up-converting to HTML or other XML formats. Markdown is also a straightforward import format for tools like Manifold, PubPub, and Pandoc. ProseMirror seems able to work as easily with markdown as with HTML, so the apparent distinctiveness of a markdown-based workflow may fade over time.
LaTeX deserves a mention here. One of the original OSS publishing tools (LaTeX, and TeX especially, predate the term “open-source” by many years), LaTeX is still alive and well in scientific publishing. Its support for equations and formulae remains hard to beat, despite efforts to move LaTeX’s features into more modern environments. In our survey, LaTeX appears in only a few cases. We examined here one contemporary platform, Tectonic, which seems to be an easily adoptable typesetting tool. We considered including Overleaf, the leading commercial LaTeX-based production system, as their codebase is open-source and accessible on Github, but we ultimately decided to remove it as it seems to have no substantial interest beyond Overleaf’s own application. LaTeX also appears in a few web-typography tools aimed at math typesetting: KaTeX from the Khan Academy, and MathJax, both of which aim to provide a browser-native math typesetting system that does what LaTeX does, and indeed can speak LaTeX.
Despite the maturing contexts of XML in publishing, it appears to be a largely unchallenged fact that “authors will write in Word.” Word processor documents, despite the advent of XML file formats over the past decade, are just not structured documents, because the scope of possibilities that an author can express in a tool like Word is not constrained by any schema. Further, the vast legacy of online publishing has been the proliferation of PDF files—again, not a structured content format. So any publishing system that attempts to leverage structured content while allowing content to come from unstructured sources must have a strategy for ingesting these source documents and making sense of them.
This problem is as old as XML—indeed as old as SGML—and toolchains to solve the problem as numerous as the grasses; it appears that people continue to build these today. The emergence of XML-based word-processor file formats at least has made parsing a bit more straightforward, allowing XSLT to be used to at least take the original document apart. In our landscape survey, we have catalogued at least half a dozen projects dedicated to import and conversion, and at least as many larger projects have ingest tools built into them.
The traditional way to convert legacy documents is to parse them—either via XSLT or some other way of reading the native file format, and then attempting to make reasonable guesses about what the formatting means: the big, boldfaced line at the beginning of an article is likely the title, for instance. If the original document was formatted using named paragraph- or character styles, so much the better. Some of these parsing tools are mature and can handle a good many variations. Pandoc, for instance, is a robust conversion utility that has been in development for over a decade, with support for dozens of input and export formats. It is usable as a tool on its own, but it is also incorporated as a library or a component in several of the tools in our survey.
A traditional strategy for managing conversion from legacy formats is to constrain the scope of possibilities. Building a conversion tool around documents that consistently look like journal articles is easier than building a general-purpose converter. PKP’s Open Typesetting Stack8; has been designed using this approach, as is OpenEdition’s Lodel. Open Typesetting Stack is composed of a series of tools that are designed to take apart journal articles: front matter, body text, bibliographic references, and so on.
A newer approach altogether is to forgo parsing the internals of a file and instead pay attention to the visual and presentational characteristics of a PDF. Grobid, a machine-learning tool trained on a corpus of many thousands of journal articles, exemplifies this strategy. The latest versions of PKP’s Open Typesetting Stack include Grobid in its arsenal. Machine-learning tools improve over time and over larger datasets, so it seems likely that this approach will become common, if not dominant, in large-scale conversion and ingest of journal articles. Grobid —like several other tools (including le-tex Transpect, Lodel)—uses the Text Encoding Initiative’s (TEI) extremely rich and flexible descriptive XML tagset as an intermediate conversion target before normalizing to JATS XML for publication purposes.
Scholarly publishing is typically characterized by formal editorial review processes, including blind peer review. Modeling and capturing these formal review stages in software is a hallmark of scholarly publishing applications. OJS first established a formal model for peer review workflow nearly twenty years ago, designed around a hierarchy of editorial authority, explicit hand-offs from stage to stage, and a series of automated email reminders keeping every member of the process on task. OJS’s fine-grained, formal peer review has clearly stood the test of time (the model was made more modular in OJS 3), but developers and aspirants have been re-thinking and re-building editorial and review workflows ever since. The most recent generation of publishing software carries on this tradition, and re-designing workflow management is a feature in most of the projects we examined.
Some approaches aim to make submission and review simpler. PubPub, for instance, aims to make collaborative reviews easy and intuitive. Vega takes a similar approach, establishing a new conceptual vocabulary around the review model. Manifold brings robust commenting and annotation to its review process, perhaps more in the spirit of ‘open review.’ Ubiquity Press, while relying on OJS as the core of their journal-publishing platform, have made customizations for article review and have built an entirely different system, Rua, for managing book editorial processes.
The Coko Foundation and its partners have taken a somewhat different approach by building a layered and modular framework for workflows. Coko’s PubSweet framework exposes a set of components for integration. Specific applications—like eLife’s Libero Reviewer or Hindawi’s Phenom—configure these to the specific business/editorial needs of their publishers. EuropePMC and Wormbase’s micropublications framework also manage submissions this way. On the book-publishing side, Editoria is also built on top of the PubSweet framework, as is the BookSprints platform. As such there are at least six different workflow applications based on the PubSweet workflow system, and Coko’s promise is that many more are possible.
Whatever the specifics of workflow management in various contexts, it would appear that many people still see this as a problem that needs a solution—or indeed more solutions. It may be the case that workflow modeling is something that resists being solved once and for all. In an interview, one of the PKP team quipped that once some of the newer projects have been around for as long as OJS has—and if they are to serve a diverse user base—their simple workflows will need to evolve to serve those diverse needs. The many attempts to address workflow models in the current catalogue seems to support this view.
Many of the projects in this survey also seek to push the envelope, to expand the possibilities of digital scholarly publishing. These range from infrastructural innovation to blue-sky revolutionary thinking—like dokie.li’s decentralized, distributed authoring/publishing project, which is part of a rethink of the entire World-Wide Web from a linked-data perspective. Most projects we surveyed are a little more conventional, but many break new ground in thinking about how scholarly communications actually happens.
The University of Michigan’s Fulcrum project, for instance, makes a significant structural change in how we think about infrastructure. Fulcrum does not take great strides with user interface, but by building a robust, media-friendly ebook platform on top of the Samvera repository, developing robust metadata linkages between books and media objects, and integrating a set of modular tools for displaying and embedding these, Fulcrum has potentially emerged as a major new platform for digital book distribution, one that several other publishers seem to find attractive. Fulcrum potentially changes the ecosystem for scholarly ebooks, making media rich content workable and discoverable, at scale.
The University of Minnesota & CUNY Graduate Centre’s Manifold Scholarship also elegantly integrates a set of good ideas, while pushing out the post-production scope for book-length works. Manifold aspires to gather the discourse around a book—review, commentary, annotation, and even social media discourse—and collect it within the book itself. The result is that books expand over time as they gather their surrounding discourse. Manifold was initially designed as a monograph publication tool but has already found applications in open educational resources and in critical digital editions, owing to its reader-focused feature set.
MIT’s Knowledge Futures Group offers PubPub, a scholarly publishing tool that hosts journals, books, reports, and related content types, but seems poised to gain a devoted audience by making it incredibly easy for a research lab or team of like-minded scholars to collaboratively develop and publish media-rich content on an ongoing basis. It is early yet to tell if PubPub will evolve into a research-publishing platform or a turn-key publishing alternative. Vega, designed by Cheryl Ball after many years of publishing the Kairos journal, aims to bring multi-media authoring and collaboration into the centre of scholarly discourse. Vega has been long anticipated by those inspired by the promise of its model; it appeared in alpha release in early 2019.
Omeka has been in development for more than a decade already, but it, as well as ANVC’s Scalar, and Washington State University’s Mukurtu pushes on the boundaries of what a book might be in a natively digital mode. Omeka, Scalar, and Mukurtu have all been focused on scholars and researchers first, as opposed to presses, but the wealth of content and projects published on these systems already (including the Ravenspace project from the University of British Columbia and University of Washington Presses, which draws in ways on all three) means that these platforms are part of the discourse around the nature of the book in an online context. Stanford University Press’s embrace of Scalar-based projects is evidence that this platform is being taken seriously by traditional publishers.
An emerging genre of writing tools—exemplified by Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio’s Shiny, and the Stencila project (part of eLife’s Reproducible Document Stack initiative)—integrates written documentation with live code and data in a publishable interactive environment. A researcher can write an article, incorporate a dataset, and feature live code snippets and data visualizations in the body of the article. Shared or published online, a reader can then interact with the data or the code directly, effectively bringing into play a richer way of constructing and communicating a scholarly or scientific argument. Shared between two researchers, these tools are clever enough; all three projects are pushing towards much broader scale publication of interactive documents.
Two well-established projects—the Hypothes.is annotation system and the Zotero reference management software—plus one newer one, the Rebus Foundation’s Ink platform for research-based reading—deserve mention here too. These are not publishing tools per se, but they serve critical parts of the publishing and scholarly ecosystem. Hypothes.is, while not being the only approach to annotation represented here, has established a standard approach to web annotation that now appears to be essential. Zotero, which as a networked platform is much more than the personal reference manager most people use it for, is the primary open-source platform for large-scale bibliography handling. Both Hypothes.is and Zotero should, at this point in time, be judged in terms of their integration with other applications in the publishing and scholarship ecosystem; certainly no one should be developing in this space without considering the contributions already made by these tools. Which brings us to the Rebus Foundation’s Ink project: funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, Ink is an experiment in developing a better integrated environment for scholarly reading, reference and document management, and annotation. Ink’s development is made with tools like Hypothes.is and Zotero already established; if it comes to fruition, it should shift the thinking around what happens to scholarly publications when they reach readers, an aspect somewhat under-developed currently.
Waters, Donald., “The Monograph Is Dead! Long Live the Monograph!”‚ presented at the Jisc-CNI Leadership Conference, July 2, 2018. https://www.slideshare.net/JISC/the-monograph-is-dead-long-live-the-monograph
Maxwell, John W., Alessandra Bordini, and Katie Shamash. “Reassembling Scholarly Communications: An Evaluation of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation‚” Monograph Initiative (Final Report, May 2016).‚ Journal of Electronic Publishing 20, no. 1 (2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0020.101
Goldstein, Ayala., “Top 10 Open Source Licenses in 2018: Trends and Predictions.‚” Whitesource, December 13, 2018. https://resources.whitesourcesoftware.com/blog-whitesource/top-open-source-licenses-trends-and-predictions
See: Jupyter Notebooks; Shiny; Stencila.
Waters, ""Long Live the Monograph!""
Texture's XML file format is .dar, which is an encapsulated collection of XML content (compliant with a Texture-specific JATS subset) and its related assets, plus a manifest file listing the contents. See https://github.com/substance/dar
See, for commentary, Triglav, Jure., “Open Source Collaborative Text Editors.,” A Case for Spaceships (blog), May 7, 2019. https://juretriglav.si/open-source-collaborative-text-editors/
PKP's Open Typesetting Stack is based in part on Martin Eve's now-dormant meTypeset conversion tool. Both are unfortunately misnamed, as they aren't typesetting tools at all.",5517,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107890108.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026002022-20201026032022-00011.warc.gz,0.936491191387176
44201b9a-353d-4567-8b7f-e2213d0b8abf,2022-05-16T12:51:47+00:00,2020-01-01,0,https://docs.collab.net/teamforge200/security-faqs.html,"What are the implications of deprecating TLS protocol versions 1.0 and 1.1?
In addition to security vulnerabilities, TLS protocol versions 1.0 and 1.1 do not support modern cryptographic algorithms. The software industry (including popular browsers such as Chrome, FireFox and so on) is set to deprecate the TLS protocol versions 1.0 and 1.1 by March 2020 and so is TeamForge. Customers are therefore advised to upgrade your sites to be able to negotiate with TLS 1.2 connections. Upgrade your clients to the latest version in case you face any SSL handshake issues while connecting to TeamForge.
With this move to deprecate TLS protocol versions 1.0 and 1.1, we must fix the
SSLCipherSuite options in the
/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf file and restart the Apache server.
Do this where you have Apache running. For example, TeamForge application server and Subversion servers have Apache.
SSLProtocol all -SSLv2 -SSLv3 -TLSv1 -TLSv1.1 SSLCipherSuite ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
You can also have this fixed permanently by setting up the
site-options.conf tokens for TeamForge 18.1 and later.
SSL_PROTOCOL= all -SSLv3 -TLSv1 -TLSv1.1 SSL_CIPHER_SUITE=ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 teamforge provision
What are the security features available in TeamForge?
TeamForge is equipped with a number of security features, which include:
- SELinux Support
- SSL Support
- Site option tokens to enforce password control policies
- Automatic password creation and encryption
- Password obfuscation
- Prevention of cross-site scripting
- Role Based Access Control (RBAC) and Path Based Permissions (PBP)
- Size restriction for document uploads
- Document safe download mode
- Incorrect login attempts-account lock feature
- SCM_DEFAULT_SHARED_SECRET to allow SCM Integrations to securely communicate with TeamForge
- Support for OAuth/LDAP/SAML
- Restrict domains for CSRF, Prohibit harmful file uploads
After switching to ADS authentication, why did the Create button disappear from the user admin section?
When using external authentication such as LDAP, creating users from within the application is disabled. All users must be created via LDAP.
See login-config.xml for more information.
Can I block project data from public search engines?
Yes, edit the robots.txt file to specify the pages or directories that should not be indexed by search engines.
If your site has some content that you may not want to be publicly searched for, or if some search engine hits are causing the site to slow down, you can make this change.
Only one robots.txt file can be created for a site. This file can contain a list of url patterns that should not be indexed, against the web crawler name.
The default robots.txt is available in the SITE_DIR/var folder. The robots.txt file is accessible without logging into CollabNet TeamForge, via the
domain/robots.txt URL. You can update and commit the robots.txt file into the branding root directory, and the system then places the file in the
How can I enforce strong passwords?
You can configure the application to reject passwords that do not meet your security criteria.
To enforce password requirements, place the following lines in
system.password.min-length=5 password.requiresNumber=true password.requiresNonAlphaNum=true password.requiresMixedCase=true
Once these lines are in place, restart TeamForge for them to take effect. The above example would require a password of at least 5 characters that must include at least one (1) mixed case letter, at least one (1) number, and at least one non-alphabetic character, e.g. Us3r!
How do I configure Subversion to authenticate against multiple LDAP domains?
For some configurations, a Subversion server may need to be authenticated against multiple LDAP domains. This is possible by modifying the Apache configuration.
This is now possible due to the mod_authn_alias module for Apache. The external link for the module contains multiple usage scenarios. You will need to confirm that your Apache has been compiled with the module enabled. (This is the case for CollabNet Subversion binary packages since 1.5.4). If it is compiled as a module, make sure it is enabled via the LoadModule directive in your Apache configuration.
Example for configuration usage for authentication against three LDAP servers :
<AuthnProviderAlias ldap ldap-US> AuthLDAPBindDN cn=ldapuser,o=company AuthLDAPBindPassword password AuthLDAPURL ldap://ldap-us.company.local/ou=Developers,o=company?sub?(objectClass=*) </AuthnProviderAlias> <AuthnProviderAlias ldap ldap-EU> AuthLDAPBindDN cn=ldapuser,o=company AuthLDAPBindPassword password AuthLDAPURL ldap://ldap-EU.company.local/ou=Developers,o=company?sub?(objectClass=*) </AuthnProviderAlias> <AuthnProviderAlias ldap ldap-IN> AuthLDAPBindDN cn=ldapuser,o=company AuthLDAPBindPassword password AuthLDAPURL ldap://ldap-in.company.local/ou=Developers,o=company?sub?(objectClass=*) </AuthnProviderAlias> <Location /svn> DAV svn SVNParentPath /opt/subversion/repos AuthType Basic AuthName ""Subversion Repository"" AuthBasicProvider ldap-US ldap-EU ldap-IN AuthzLDAPAuthoritative off Require valid-user </Location>
How do I authenticate multiple LDAP via Apache?
If you need to add multiple OU= values in the LDAP url you must have separate LDAP urls and utilize AuthnProviderAlias to check both LDAP searches.
Use the following AuthnProviderAlias to check LDAP searches.
LoadModule authn_alias_module modules/mod_authn_alias.so <AuthnProviderAlias ldap ldap-alias1> AuthLDAPBindDN cn=youruser,o=ctx AuthLDAPBindPassword yourpassword AuthLDAPURL ldap://ldap.host/o=ctx </AuthnProviderAlias> <AuthnProviderAlias ldap ldap-other-alias> AuthLDAPBindDN cn=yourotheruser,o=dev AuthLDAPBindPassword yourotherpassword AuthLDAPURL ldap://other.ldap.host/o=dev?cn </AuthnProviderAlias> Alias /secure /webpages/secure <Directory /webpages/secure> Order deny,allow Allow from all AuthBasicProvider ldap-other-alias ldap-alias1 AuthType Basic AuthName LDAP_Protected_Place AuthzLDAPAuthoritative off Require valid-user </Directory>
How does TeamForge authenticate CVS users?
CVS is treated as a special case when managed by a TeamForge site. It is not authenticated in the same way as SOAP API clients.
CVS relies on the Linux operating system to provide access and security. This includes permissions on individual repositories and access to the server itself. To add users, change passwords, create repositories, etc., the TeamForge integration simply changes the appropriate settings in the Linux operating system.
Users access CVS via an encrypted SSH session. To support this, TeamForge creates accounts on the Linux server that hosts the CVS repository. A typical CVS repository is created in the /cvsroot directory and is owned by root, with a group assigned by TeamForge. To gain access to a repository, TeamForge will add a user to the appropriate system group.
When TeamForge detects that a user’s password has changed, it changes the password for that user on the Linux server too.
Users also have the option to use SSH keys or Kerberos tickets.
When a user is added to the Linux server, the login shell is cvssh, which limits their activities to CVS commands.
Password Changes under Internal Authentication
To set the password for the user at the operating system level, TeamForge needs to have the clear-text version of the users password. The only time TeamForge has this is when the user uses the Change Password form in the Web UI. This is because the database-stored version, as an MD5 Password Hash, is a one-way encryption and can’t be decrypted.
On a successful password update, TeamForge makes a SOAP call to the integration server that manages CVS. For this reason, the integration server must be SSL-enabled.
Password Changes under External Authentication
When a password change happens in an external authentication system, TeamForge does not immediately know that the password has changed. TeamForge needs a way to detect that the password has changed.
To accomplish this it keeps a copy of the last password the user successfully logged in with as an MD5 Password Hash in the same database table and field that it normally uses for Internal Authentication.
Now that TeamForge has a reference point, it still needs a clear-text copy of the password to make the change at the Linux operating system level. The only time this is available is when the user logs into TeamForge via the Web UI or SOAP API. So upon a successful login TeamForge compares the password to the encrypted one. If it is different it tells the Linux operating system to change the users password and then saves it in the database (as an MD5 Password hash).
Until the user logs into TeamForge, the CVS server will still have and accept the old password. There is no CVS server-side way to trigger a password update, unless an alternative method is used, such as LDAP or Kerberos.
Because users use SSH to access a TeamForge-managed CVS server, it is possible to configure SSH to accept other authentication features such as SSH keys and Kerberos tickets. It is even possible to disable the use of passwords and require the use of other alternative methods.
TeamForge supports SSH Keys natively. The user uploads their public key into their profile under “My Settings” in the TeamForge Web UI. The key will automatically be copied to each CVS server that TeamForge manages.
If TeamForge is using External Authentication and the method is Kerberos, then SSH can be configured to use the same Kerberos server. This allows users to use Kerberos tickets for CVS operations.
Linux supports LDAP as an authentication source. If TeamForge is using External Authentication and the source is LDAP, then SSH can also use that same source. When you do this, passwords and user account status are observed in real time instead of as a mirror of TeamForge.
Can the users be forced to change their passwords at first login?
Yes, as a site administrator you can configure the CollabNet TeamForge site options to force the users to change their passwords at first login.
REQUIRE_USER_PASSWORD_CHANGE attribute as
true in the
site-options.conf file enforces password change on first login into CollabNet TeamForge.
Does TeamForge work with LDAP?
Yes, you can have your TeamForge installation authenticate against an LDAP server.
This is handy when users want to use a variety of different resources without having to maintain credentials for each one separately.
CollabNet TeamForge is a JBoss2 based application and relies on the JBoss JAAS service for user authentication. This enables a TeamForge site to authenticate users internally or externally.
Internal User Authentication
Out of the box, TeamForge relies on its local database to manage user accounts. This includes username, password, full name, email address and a variety of other meta data values. Passwords are stored in the database using the standard MD5 Password hashing algorithm1. The database is only accessible by the application itself and a user with root access to the physical server. While running in this default configuration users are allowed to change their passwords in TeamForge, and any user with site administration privileges can create and approve new user accounts.
External User Authentication
The JAAS service comes with several standard providers that allow TeamForge to be integrated with services such as LDAP, Active Directory and Kerberos. The JAAS service allows more than one source to be configured in the event several sources are needed.
To ensure that you are not locked out of your site, the site administrator account is always validated by TeamForge, not by LDAP.
LDAP accounts must conform to the TeamForge rules for user names and passwords. For example:
If a password is used in LDAP that is shorter than the minimum allowable password length in TeamForge, you cannot create the user in TeamForge.
A user name that starts with a special character, such as an underscore, will not be accepted by TeamForge, even if it is valid in LDAP.
(For detailed TeamForge user name and password rules, see Create a New User Account).
How is life different for the user under external authentication?
When you turn external integration on, every user account (except the site administrator account) must have a matching LDAP entry to log in. This may require changing some existing accounts to match their corresponding LDAP records. (Accounts created after LDAP is in place are validated with the LDAP server when they are created, so you don’t have to worry about this.)
Every login attempt (Web UI and SOAP access) is passed to the external provider. This means that any changes to the user status in the external system take effect immediately. Users who have already logged in and have valid sessions are not affected.
When TeamForge is using internal authentication, a site administrator can change a user’s password. This is disabled for external authentication.
Under external authentication, passwords can’t be changed in the TeamForge web UI. Users have to use the interface provided by the third-party authentication source to change their password. Such password changes are available immediately to TeamForge for the next login attempt.
Site administrators can no longer create user accounts. The end user must create their own account by logging into TeamForge just like a user who already has an account. At that point TeamForge detects that a new account needs to be created and presents the new user with a registration form, which requests the user’s password n the external authentication system. On submit, TeamForge verifies the user account with the external system, and only if the username/password is verified does TeamForge create the new account.
Once a new user has created their account, TeamForge can optionally be configured to put every new account in a pending status so that a site administrator can approve the new account. By default, new users will have immediate access to the system.
LDAP for Source Control
LDAP is integrated into your TeamForge source control services.
For Subversion, the integration server queries TeamForge as needed.
CVS authentication is not managed directly by LDAP, but each TeamForge user’s SCM password is synchronized automatically with the user’s LDAP password upon logging into TeamForge.
What can go wrong?
When TeamForge is configured to authenticate against an LDAP server and the LDAP server is down, all TeamForge authentication is disabled until the LDAP server is restored.
If a user does not exist on the LDAP server, or is deleted from the server, that user cannot log into TeamForge.
Why do I get the “Invalid command ‘AuthLDAPAuthoritative’” error when I try to set LDAP for SVN users?
The invalid command
AuthLDAPAuthoritative error may occur if you need to upgrade Apache from version 2.0 to 2.2.
CollabNet Subversion 1.5 is bundled with the latest version of Apache (currently 2.2.x). It includes the module mod_authnz_ldap and does not include mod_auth_ldap. Hence compatibility issues arise due to missing directives. Upgrade your Apache version to 2.2 if you get the following error when trying to install CollabNet SVN:
bash-3.00# /etc/init.d/collabnet_subversion start Starting CollabNet Subversion: Syntax error on line 29 of /etc/opt/CollabNet_Subversion/conf/collabnet_subversion_httpd.conf: Invalid command 'AuthLDAPAuthoritative', perhaps misspelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration FAILED
How does TeamForge handle multiple redundant LDAP servers?
When configuring LDAP authentication for a TeamForge instance, there may be a business need for using multiple LDAP servers.
Follow the guidelines below for configuring.
The additional LDAP servers can be added to the
java.naming.provider.url option in
login-config.xml: <module-option name=""java.naming.provider.url""> ldap://primary/ ldap://secondary/</module-option>
Once the primary and secondary servers have been defined, they will be consulted in order of definition for every authentication request. First the primary, and if the primary fails, then the secondary. This prevents specifying multiple servers for round-robin handling of authentication, but it can still be used for redundancy needs.
What user activities are tracked?
In case of a data security compromise, a record of who is performing what activities will help resolve some of the security issues.
Typically web servers log every page (or URL) being accessed, including the IP address of the user, date and time of access, etc. These logs are very useful in tracking the source of any security violations that may occur.
CollabNet TeamForge auditing tools are a powerful way to track unwanted and/or unauthorized changes within the system.
J2EE Architecture and Security
CollabNet TeamForge is a J2EE application that employs three-tier architecture to provide a secure environment for mission-critical data.
In a multi-tier architecture, access to each tier is restricted to the tier above it, effectively securing the tiers behind the firewall. For example, while clients (users accessing the system through a web) access the web server, they neither have access to the application and backend servers nor are they aware of their existence.
Similarly, the web server itself does not have access to the backend servers (database, SCM, mail etc.)
Exceptions to this rule include:
Direct client access provided to the SCM servers. SCM servers are accessed across the firewall typically through SSH protocol (for CVS), or HTTP or HTTPS (for Subversion). SCM server data is also accessible in a view only mode through the web interface.
Clients must have access to the mail server for posting messages to mailing lists.
Mail server must have access to deliver messages across the firewall.
Clients can also access the SOAP APIs through the web server. The web server in turn forwards SOAP requests to the application server for processing.
With self signed certificates in place, what is the recommended protocol (SSH or HTTPS) to use while cloning a Git repository from a TeamForge Git server running on RHEL/CentOS?
When using a self-signed certificate on a Teamforge Git server, you cannot clone a repository using the standard git client on RHEL/CentOS.
In RHEL/CentOS, the Linux certificates used by git and other tools are stored in the
/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca- bundle.trust.crt file. This file is managed by the RPM package system. If a certificate is added to the ca-bundle.trust.crt file, Trusted Root Certification Authority updates are not installed automatically which in turn leaves the system vulnerable to potential attacks.
An alternative way for adding trusted certificates is available at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9072376/configure-git-to-accept-a-particular-self-signed-server-certificate-for-a-partic. However, it appears that some tools do not read files outside of the main bundle.
Therefore, it is recommended to use SSH protocol while cloning a git repository from a TeamForge Git server running on RHEL/CentOS.
Do I have to use the password provided by administrator always?
No, you don’t have to use the password provided by administrator beyond your first login into CollabNet TeamForge.
The site administrator may have provided you with a user name and password after creating your user account in CollabNet TeamForge. When you login using those credentials, you might be asked to change your password for security reasons. At this time, you can set a password of your choice.",4831,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510117.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516104933-20220516134933-00422.warc.gz,0.832646071910858
5a557ea2-83ab-49fa-be8b-f537ce7681e7,2016-07-31T09:38:35+00:00,2016-07-31,0,http://motortrendcertified.com/?tgt=cons,"All Motor Trend Certified Vehicles undergo a COMPREHENSIVE inspection by a Motor Trend Certified Technician.
Most Commonly Replaced Items
Anything that doesn’t meet Motor Trend Certified national standards is repaired or replaced to ensure confidence in your Motor Trend Certified Vehicle.
You don’t have to fear unexpected repair costs. These benefits make your vehicle a pleasure to own and drive.
Motor Trend certifies any make and model vehicle as long as it meets Motor Trend national standards.
Never experience the fear of buying a car again. Visit any of our Motor Trend Certified Dealerships and experience the highest quality of customer care. We know it's important to feel good about investing in a vehicle, so it's important to know what you're buying. Let our certified experts help you find a vehicle you'll love!
With Motor Trend® Certified Vehicles, two of the biggest automotive brands, Motor Trend and EasyCare, guarantee that you will drive away from the dealership confident - and stay confident - in your pre-owned vehicle. Motor Trend certifies any make and model vehicle as long as it meets Motor Trend national standards.
""It means I don’t have to worry about my car…"" -Jason, Atlanta, GA
Every Motor Trend Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle includes at least 6 months of mechanical repair coverage, so you can feel confident you won't be faced with unexpected repair costs.
Erase parking lot damage with EasyCare Dent Repair Paintless Dent Removal Coverage. Unsightly dings and dents are more than annoying, they reduce the appearance and value of your vehicle.
Never get locked out again! Now most keys have been engineered to protect against theft. This means that the cost of replacing a key could be literally hundreds of dollars. EasyCare™ KeyCare not only protects you against the expense of lost or stolen keys, but can eliminate the hassles of an already stressful situation.",391,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828314.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00102-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.934362947940826
8d610caa-3651-4ce7-af7d-e4f33a014488,2016-07-24T21:31:57+00:00,2012-11-10,0,https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2012/11/10/the-many-lives-anna-karenina/QRQVW5Pv57FhEpW5UUiHDO/story.html,"Glamour, adultery, and sex never get old. Neither do love triangles, the sturdiest of all plot devices. That helps to explain why the passionate heroine of Leo Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina” — published in Russia 134 years ago — has seduced so many film directors, composers, choreographers, dancers, actors, even fashion designers. Willful and wealthy, vivacious and aristocratic, Anna combines sex appeal with maternal devotion, against an exotically snowy backdrop of doomed czarist opulence.
Bearded seer Tolstoy could never have guessed that one day Banana Republic would launch an Anna Karenina clothing collection. Or that Oprah Winfrey would select the novel for her television book club.
Even the raging moralist Tolstoy (1828-1910) was won over by Anna’s charms. He considered her behavior — she abandons her son for her lover — sinful, but Tolstoy still made Anna increasingly sympathetic in five succeeding drafts. Tolstoy, of course, had plenty of issues around fidelity and suffered acute guilt over his own adulterous sexual urges. In the end, he made Anna vastly more appealing than the two men who destroy her: a cold bureaucrat husband and an opportunistic cavalry officer. Tolstoy does punish Anna, of course. Badly. But not before making us all fall in love with her, too.
“Anna Karenina” has inspired operas, ballets, musicals, radio plays, and nearly 30 films and television series. The first film adaptation appeared in Russia just four years after Tolstoy’s death. A year later, Fox Film Corporation shot the first American “Anna,” starring Danish actress Betty Nansen. It flopped, along with Nansen’s film career. But in 1927, the Swedish vamp Greta Garbo proved that Anna could make it on the silver screen. Surely it helped that Garbo’s real-life boyfriend John Gilbert took the role of Anna’s lover Vronsky. Together they generated enough “Heat” (that was the film’s original title, later changed to “Love”) to make the story work. Worried that Tolstoy’s ending (spoiler alert: she throws herself under a train) would be a bummer, cautious MGM executives supplied an alternative happy one reuniting the lovers after the hateful husband’s death. Theaters could choose which one to show; most went for happy ever after.
Garbo reprised the role of Anna for MGM in a 1935 sound film that returned to Tolstoy’s title. This time, Fredric March played Vronsky, although velvet-voiced Basil Rathbone acted him right off the screen as Karenin, Anna’s chilly and aloof spouse. By this time Garbo was already associated with Russian roles, such as the temperamental ballerina Grusinskaya (“I vant to be alone!”) in “Grand Hotel” (1932). For Hollywood casting directors, accents were fairly interchangeable, and Garbo’s Swedish accent sounded plenty Russian — in English, at least. Most of the cast members speak in upper-class British, since Hollywood producers believed that imitating hoity-toity British manners bestowed the aura of Russian aristocratic life.
In adapting Tolstoy’s novel, director Clarence Brown and his screenwriters struggled to overcome the new limitations imposed by the prudish censorship enforced by the Production Code Administration (PCA). Legendary producer David Selznick complained to the PCA, “I don’t know how love scenes can be played, particularly in a story of this kind, without physical contact.” Indeed. The battle with the censors cast a pall over the filming, and marred the underheated finished product. Onscreen together, Garbo and March seem like strangers.
But languid Garbo, her eyelashes fluttering under luxurious fur hats, her lovely hands swathed in muffs, rescues the film. Her impetuous Anna is mystical, fatalistic, moody, and flirtatious. A keening musical score compiled from Tchaikovsky’s greatest hits yanks at the heartstrings.
Nine years after starring as Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the Wind,” Vivien Leigh took a stab at Anna in a high-toned 1948 production adapted by a team of writers that included French playwright Jean Anouilh. Gloomy and talky, this black-and-white version feels confined and cerebral, without the biological and physical force that propels Tolstoy’s novel. Leigh misses the playfulness and sparkle in Anna’s character. And the crucial train scenes use a toy model belonging in a cartoon.
In 1967, USSR’s Mosfilm Studios released a lavishly expensive, epic “Anna Karenina” shot on location in Russia that finally supplied the dynamic authenticity lacking in earlier versions. Veteran Alexander Zarkhi directed, in lush color with close attention to period detail. Enchanting Tatiana Samoilova, famous for her starring role in the classic 1957 war film “The Cranes Are Flying,” glows as Anna, with exotic looks and trembling vulnerability. This version (currently unavailable) would be better known if the 1968 Cannes International Film Festival where it was to be screened had not been canceled due to student riots in France.
The first American “Anna Karenina” shot in Russia was directed by Bernard Rose in 1997, with Sophie Marceau and Sean Bean displaying plenty of white flesh in the seduction scene. Helen McCrory starred as Anna in a critically acclaimed drawing-room style series released for television by PBS and Channel Four in Britain in 2001. The less said about some other versions — like a 1985 TV movie featuring Jacqueline Bisset as Anna and Christopher Reeve as Vronsky — the better. Even Anna had better taste than to fall for Superman.Harlow Robinson can be
reached at harlo@",1282,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824146.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00136-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946219086647034
8624e253-3a45-4463-9cae-c9be2587161f,2022-05-18T22:21:05+00:00,2018-12-31,0,https://diyhorseownership.com/2018-goals-review/,"Because of our impending move, my 2018 goals were a bit sparse and honestly I’ve not done the best job of achieving them. However, looking back at the post did remind me about some things I need to work on again in 2019.
✔ Read More
I set my GoodReads goal at 75, but I hoped to read 125+ books in 2018. I made it to 130, which is generally a success, but the quantity wasn’t the whole point. I wrote in my goal post “the total number of books isn’t really my goal though; I just want to spend more time reading real books instead of wasting time online.” I was really good about that before the move, but after the move I was so busy that sitting down with a book seemed like too much and I would decide to just look at Instagram for a “few minutes.” I need to get back on this goal in 2019.
✘ Nilla Soundness
“It’d be cool if we could make it to 2019 without any more injuries.” Well, that was a big, fat fail. She re-injured herself in January of 2018, had until August off and was declared 100% healed and ready to return to work then. She did well with rehab work before the snow put a halt to all riding. She turned up with swelling in the suspensory area again a few weeks ago. My best guess is she slipped on the ice. We’ll see what she looks like in the spring.
✔ Figure out what to do with Levi
“Hopefully by the end of the year either I’ll have found a way to enjoy him or found someone else to enjoy him.”
I think this was mostly a success. We went through another period where I seriously contemplated selling him. He can be the biggest *sshole sometimes. But when he’s good, he’s so freaking good. We’ll see what 2019 brings.
✔ Stop buying shit
“I’m not going to set a budget because I’m not eliminating buying things I do need – like a dressage saddle so I can stop doing dressage in my 20 year old close contact that doesn’t fit me. However, I need to stop buying crap I don’t need, like more saddle pads or new breeches. If something breaks and I need a new thing, I’m free to go ahead, but no more buying stuff just for fun.”
I’d actually say I did a pretty good job of this. While I certainly bought stuff this year, I got a lot better about not buying random stuff just because I wanted to. I bought almost no saddle pads. I also made an effort to buy quality items that will last instead of endless replacements for cheap crap.",600,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00008.warc.gz,0.981109321117401
5208b6cb-18c8-4a5e-9260-67b46066bf5a,2020-10-26T01:09:50+00:00,2010-07-20,1,https://www.astrologycom.com/moonwobble.html,"Moon over Stonehenge
The Moon Wobble
destructive cosmic phenomenon affects us all
The regular triggers for terrestrial disasters, whether natural (earthquakes; tidal waves; eruptions etc) or manmade (wars; terrorism; crashes, etc) seem to be the eclipses and the Moon Wobble. Rob Tillett, one of the founders of Astrology on the Web, explores the meaning of this major cosmic phenomenon. If you thought Mercury retrograde was a problem, compare the Moon Wobble!
In addition to the planets, asteroids, comets and moons that revolve in our solar system, astrology considers the effects of two ""Shadow Planets"" called the Moon's Nodes, the Dragon's Head and Tail. These nodes are not real rocks, like the Moon, Mars or Venus, but sensitive points that mark the movement by declination of the Moon from the southern celestial hemisphere to the northern (the North Node) and vice versa (the South Node), where the path of the Moon around the Earth sweeps across the ecliptic, intersecting the apparent path of the Sun. The nodes form an axis, so the South Node is always directly opposite the North Node in a stately cosmic quadrille. Nevertheless, the Moon's Nodes are vitally important in terms of the destinies of all who dwell on Planet Earth. See The Moon's Nodes for more on this.
I was originally prompted to write the first edition of this article because of the devastation wrought by the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province of China which killed thousands, the horrors of Cyclone Nargis in Burma (Myanmar) which slaughtered tens of thousands and left millions homeless, deadly tornados in the USA, bombings in the Middle East and so on. There were a number of astrological pointers, including the stations of Saturn and Jupiter, the two Great Chronocrators, with Neptune and Mercury about to turn retrograde, but the significant trigger might well have been the stressful square aspect of the Sun to the Moon's Nodes on May 13, 2008. This phenomenon is known as a Moon Wobble.
Rescuers at work in 2010 Haiti Earthquake
There have been further major disasters associated with Moon Wobbles already this year, 2010, as there are every year, including the widespread earthquakes and flooding associated with the Wobble before the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Capricorn on January 15, 2010, and of Saturn turning retrograde opposing retrograde Mars on Jan 13.
The most striking so far in the current cycle have been the horror weather in the US, Europe and Australia, a series of minor earthquakes, then a catastrophic quake which has shattered Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, in the Caribbean, on Jan 12. This occurred just one day after the peak of the Moon Wobble. It's significant that a Lunar Eclipse occurred on New Year's Eve exactly conjunct Haiti's natal Sun in the 11th degree of Capricorn. The Moon Wobble (the exact conjunction of the Sun with the North Node) occurred on Jan 11 in the 22nd degree of Cap. The Earthquake occurred the next day, with the Sun and Venus tightly conjunct the North Node, transiting Pluto exactly conjunct Haiti's natal Mars, and transiting Mars retrograde exactly conjunct Haiti's natal South Node. Interestingly, the earthquake Moon is exactly conjunct the Galactic Core, a profoundly potent cosmic location, again first discovered in the 1930's. It's notable that Haiti is currently undergoing a Saturn Return, with earthquake Saturn stationary about to turn retrograde (Jan 13) in tight conjunction with Haiti's natal Saturn. And to top it off, a Solar Eclipse will occur on Jan 15.
So the moon-wobble and the eclipse cycle is not the only weakening factor, as other aspects have to be considered. But when these aspects coalesce—and there is a Moon Wobble—you can bet that the trigger will be the moon-wobble. Geo-scientists did warn months before that Haiti was on an unstable fault-line, but had they paid attention to the eclipse and moon-wobble cycle, the people could have taken precautions.
Since that time there have been a number of heavy disasters, notably flooding with loss of life and massive dislocation in spots across the world, not all related to this phenomenon. However, as the next one approaches on July 4, the pace is hotting up. You can see the list of moon-wobble associated disasters for yourself in the table at the end of this article.
Carl Payne Tobey
Moon Wobbles were discovered in the 1930's, when research by astrologer Carl Payne Tobey (1902-1980), the original editor of Astrology Magazine, revealed that disasters occur in cycles associated with the conjunction (0°), opposition (180°) and square (90°) from the Sun to the Moon's Node. These powerful contacts occur when the Sun and the Node are in the same sign, or the opposing sign, or when the Sun is in a square aspect to the nodal axis.
Carl Payne Tobey
They are especially potent when the New Moon or Full Moon are square to the Nodes. On October 18, 2009, we saw the New Moon in Libra forming a partile square to the Nodes, emphasising the potency of the aspect, for the Sun and Moon are both precisely square the nodal axis at the New Moon.
As he discovered after a painstaking examination of a large number of major disasters, many of the most serious and traumatic catastrophes involving fire, bad weather and loss of life occur in association with eclipses, when the Sun and Moon are conjunct the Moon's Nodes, especially when other unfortunate planetary aspects coincide. However, not all of these evils are exclusively linked with eclipses, for many are associated with the Sun forming a T-square to the nodal axis, i.e. when the Sun is in a 90° aspect to the nodes.
Storm over Volcano in Iceland 2010 (Marco Fulle)
This he called a ""Moon Wobble"", because in fact it is when the Moon is ""wobbling"" in its path by declination. So when the Sun forms an aspect to the nodes of 0°, 90°, or 180°, we experience a significant likelihood of massive environmental damage with much loss of life and property.
These Moon Wobbles occur every 86.5 days on average, with an orb of approximately 5 degrees (days) on either side of the precise date, when the Sun forms either the T-square with the nodal axis, or the conjunction with the North or South Nodes. Tobey notes that when the Sun squares the Nodes, judgement is notoriously poor and unstable, especially for people under stress or in leadership positions. Some astrologers hold that the two weeks before the partile aspect are problematic, with the week following the aspect also being notable in terms of disasters, but my view is that we can allow 10 or more days on either side of the peak aspect, as shown in the table.
Moon Wobble Patterns
The Sun takes a year to complete one revolution of the Zodiac, usually making four or five contacts with the Lunar Nodes in the process. For example,
during the current Capricorn/Cancer nodal transit, which commenced in July/August 2009, the Sun in Libra reaches the Square aspect with the Nodes on at the New Moon of October 18, 2009, and again on September 30, 2010.Sun/Node Alignments
When the Sun is in Libra on Oct 18, 2009, the New Moon makes a square (90°) aspect to the Nodes. This is a truly powerful aspect.
When the Sun is in Capricorn in January 2010, we will see the conjuction of Sun and North Node (an opposition to the South Node) on January 11, associated with a Solar Eclipse in Capricorn on Jan 15.
When the Sun is in Aries square to the Nodes on Apr 6, 2010, it precedes the New Moon on April 14, so will not be as strong as the Libra '09 alignment [or so I thought, but if we look at the effects, I was too optimistic!]
When the Sun is in Cancer, in July 2010, we will have a conjunction with the South Node (opposition to the North Node, as the nodes are always an axis) on July 4, associated with a Lunar Eclipse on June 26 and Solar Eclipse on July 11.
When the Sun is in Libra, in September 2010, it squares the nodes on September 30 associated with a New Moon on October 7.
When the Sun is in Capricorn, in December 2010 we see a conjunction with the North Node on December 24, associated with a Lunar Eclipse on Dec. 21.
The Lunar Nodes move through each sign of the Zodiac in a little over eighteen months, so for a Moon Wobble to occur in the same sign and configuration with the Nodes it takes around 19 years. Each Moon Wobble pattern is thus unique until repeated some 19 years later.
Man picks through debris of 2009 Samoa Tsunami
As Jim D'Amato points out, ancient astrologers associated the beginnings and ends of wars, major battles, mine explosions and animal stampedes with eclipses, both solar and lunar. These two types of eclipses generally happen about two weeks apart every six months and really make a notable splash once every two years. Tobey found that disasters happened about every three months; he correlated them as well to the geometric and mathematical square to the possible eclipse points, the Moon's Nodes. This is a clear indication of the stress and tension in the collective consciousness denoted by subliminal patterns marked by the interaction of the Sun and Moon when associated with the Moon's Nodes. Plato is reputed to have had the phrase ""Let no-one enter who is ignorant of geometry"" (ageômetrètos midèis eisitô) inscribed above the door to his Academy. This motto is more subtle than you might think!
During these Moon Wobble periods, time and space seem to be more unstable, almost as if the fabric of the heavens has somehow weakened. People die – sometimes in great numbers – through dramatic releases of energy, especially explosions, fires, mass murders, earthquakes, floods and transportation accidents. For this reason, it makes sense to keep track of the Moon Wobble phenomena and to note where they fall in your own chart.
Moon Wobble Periods
Even though Tobey gave it an orb of 5 degrees (days), the effects of the Moon Wobble tend to appear some 10 days before the partile (exact) configuration, the peak date, and cease pretty much around 10 days after the peak date, especially when associated with major planetary aspects involving the outer planets. That makes a sensitive period of up to 20 days, four or five times a year, regular as clockwork. I'd say this is due to the wide orb of the Sun (17°), which moves on average slightly over one degree per day through the zodiac.
Crushed Cars in 2008 Sichuan Earthquake
Needless to say, disasters are not the exclusive province of Moon Wobbles (the massive 8.8 Mg earthquake in Chile on Feb 28, 2010 was not associated with a moon-wobble, although it was with the potent Full Moon in Aquarius that has been the trigger for widespread major weather disasters during March 2010), but they are disaster-prone phases, especially when associated with problematic planetary aspects, or with major retrograde periods. These phases bring suppressed tensions to the surface, both in human beings and in natural scenarios, often with catastrophic results. The effects on individuals depends on where the aspect falls in their charts, but by and large these phases are warnings to be appropriately prepared and not to undertake major decisions, as reality is clouded during these periods. It's worth ordering a forecast from us that will explain the potential effects of the Moon Wobble phases for the year ahead on your own life.
Some notable example of disasters that occurred during the Moon Wobble phase will drive home the point. There is a very long list of them, far too many to list, although since October 2009 I have covered more, especially the manmade nasties, such as bombings and the like. Disasters occur not only in the lead up to malefic aspects around an eclipse or Moon wobble, but also as the affected degrees are subsequently activated. See Ian Thurnwald's detailed analysis of the aftermath of the massive Solar Eclipse in Aug 99 for examples of this.
The location of disasters indicated tends to follow the path of the preceding eclipse, as this has already been sensitised, the cosmic fabric having been weakened, so to speak (see, for example, the January 2009 eclipse and the July 2009 eclipse; more detail with links can be seen on our Eclipse pages). So given the vast sums involved in researching and predicting storms, earthquakes, tsunamis and the like, not to mention the horrendous costs of cleaning up, it might be worth the authorities investing in some astrological research and qualified staff. This would be worth much much more than the cost.
|Moon Wobbles 2008|
||Relevant Aspects & Associated Disasters
|• Solar Eclipse Feb 7
• Lunar Eclipse Feb 21
||• Mars opp Pluto:
• Feb. 3, Congo: 45 killed and about 450 injured after two strong earthquakes, of 6.0 and 5.0 Magnitude.
• Feb. 5-6, U.S.A..: 55 killed and hundreds injured after violent tornadoes rip through southern United States.
• Feb. 7, U.S.A.: explosion at sugar refinery near Savannah, Georgia kills 14 and injures many more.
• Feb. 21, Venezuela: Passenger plane crashes into mountain in Sierra La Culata National Park killing all 46 aboard.
|• Taurus Sun sq Nodes
||• May 2, Burma: Cyclone Nargis, when hundreds of thousands were killed or displaced
• May 12, China: Sichuan Earthquake killed nearly 100,000, leaving 4.5 million homeless.
• May 13, India: 80 people killed in serial bomb blasts in Jaipur.
|• Solar Eclipse Aug 1
||• Mars opp Uranus:
• July 24 Japan: 90 injured & thousands of homes lose power in a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake near Iwate.
• July 26 India: 57 killed in Ahmedabad after 18-odd synchronised bombs went off in less than 2 hours.
• July 27 S.E. Europe: major flooding in Ukraine and Romania kills 18 causing $300 million in damages.
• Aug 1 Pakistan: avalanche on K2, world's second-highest mountain, kills 11 climbers, injures others.
• Aug 4, India: 150 die as landslide rumours cause stampede in Hindu Goddess fest. at Naina Devi temple.
• Aug 5, N. California: 9 firefighters die in helicopter crash/burn in Shasta-Trinity Nat. Forest. Cause unknown.
• Lunar Eclipse Aug 16
• Mars sq Pluto:
• Aug 10, Canada: explosions at gas facility force thousands in Toronto to evacuate. Some injured, 1 dies.
• Aug 20, Spain: 153 die as passenger plane skids & bursts into flames during takeoff in Madrid.
• Aug 23, U.S.A.: 12 die & thousands of properties flooded as trop. storm Fay makes landfall 4 times in Fl. and Ga.
|• Scorpio Sun squ Nodes
• Mars sq Neptune; Saturn opp Uranus:
• Oct. 29, Pakistan: 6.4 Magnitude quake hits S.W. Pakistan, kills 170 & wrecks 15,000 homes.
• Oct. 30, India: explosions in Assam kill 55 and wound over 200.
• Nov 7, Haiti: 90 students die & over a hundred injured in school collapse in Port-au-Prince.
• Nov 9, Sea of Japan: 20 die and 21 injured in Russian submarine fault.
|Moon Wobbles 2009|
||Relevant Aspects & Associated Disasters
|• Solar Eclipse Jan 26
||• Venus opp Saturn:
• Jan. 24, France & Spain: 15 die & a million homes without power as 100 mph winds hit; worst storm since 1999.
• Jan. 26, Turkey: avalanche slams 17 Turkish hikers on Mt Zigana, dragging them 1,640 ft, killing 10.
• Jan. 27-28, S.W. U.S.A.: 23 die in severe storms. Schools close; a million homes left without electricity.
|• Lunar Eclipse Feb 9
||• Saturn opp Uranus; Mars sesquisq Saturn; Mars semisq Uranus :
• Feb. 9, Australia: over 160 die when arsonists start about 400 wildfires—some of the worst in Australia's history.
• Feb. 10, U.S.A.: cluster of tornadoes rip through Oklahoma, killing 8 and injuring over a dozen.
• Feb. 12, U.S.A.: 50 passengers and crew die as flight from Newark crashes near Buffalo, killing 1 on the ground.
|• Taurus Sun sq Nodes
• April 6, Italy: earthquake Magnitude 6.3 kills 200, injuring 1,000. Town of L'Aquila is the epicentre.
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for April 2009.
|• Lunar Eclipse, Jul 7
• Mars sq Neptune; Mars sq Jupiter:
• June 30, Italy: freight train derails and crashes into small town, killing 12, injuring 50. LNG container explodes.
• June 30, Indian Ocean: Yemeni Jet hits ocean trying to land at Comoros. 152 killed; 1 survivor, a 14-year-old girl.
• July 6, China: ethnic riots in Urumqi between Muslim Uighurs & Han Chinese & the police kill 156.
• July 15, Iran: Caspian Airlines plane crashes en route to Yerevan, Armenia, killing all 168 passengers.
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for July 2009.
|• Solar Eclipse, Jul 22
• Mars sq Neptune; Mars sq Jupiter:
• July, India: massive flooding in India kills scores and leaves hundreds of thousands homeless.
• July 24, Iran: 16 die as Aria Air flight skids off the runway, catching fire in Mashhad, Iran.
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for August 2009.
|• Lunar Eclipse, Aug 6
• Mars sq Pluto:
• August 7, Philippines: 22 tourists on Mount Pinatubo trapped and killed in heavy rain, flooding & landslides.
• August 8, New York: helicopter and plane collide over Hudson River, killing all 9 on the private plane.
• August 10, Taiwan: Typhoon Morakot causes mudslide burying schools, homes, killing 600.
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for August 2009.
|• Libra Sun sq Nodes
• Merc opp Uranus; Sun sq Pluto; Saturn contra Uranus; Merc sq Pluto; Mars conj SN:
• Sep 28, Philippines: 90 die in and around Manila in flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana
• Sep 29, Samoa: hundreds die, thousands left homeless in tsunami caused by Magnitude 8.0 undersea quake
• Sep 30, Indonesia: thousands die, buildings destroyed in Mg. 7.6 quake near Padang, Sumatra. Massive aftershocks.
• Oct 1, Indonesia: further death and destruction in Mg. 6.6 quake near Bengkulu, Sumatra.
• Oct 2, Tonga: further deadly quakes in the region, including Mg. 6.1 near Hihifo, as undersea volcano erupts.
• Oct 5, India: millions affected, hundreds dead in worst flood on record across Central India.
• Oct 7, Thailand: 40 injured, 4 killed in terrorist bomb attacks in South Thailand.
• Oct 8, Indonesia: asteroid explodes over Bone, Sulawesi, with 2 to 3 times the force of Hiroshima & Nagasaki atom bombs.
• Oct 9, Philippines: 160 killed as torrential rains cause mudslides. (Since Sep 26 over 450 killed due to storms.)
• Oct 9, Afghanistan: suicide bomber blows up Indian embassy in Kabul; kills 17 & injures many more
• Oct 10, Pakistan: climax of weeklong violence, attack on Pak GHQ Rawalpindi; 11 soldiers & 4 Taliban die, many wounded.
• Oct 10, Nigeria: over 70 killed as fuel tanker flips & explodes in Anambra.
• Oct 10, Haiti: UN plane crashes killing 11 on border of Dominican Republic, 45 km from Port-au-Prince
• Oct 11, Cambodia: 17 killed after river ferry capsizes on a tributary of the Mekong.
• Oct 12, Pakistan: car bomb in Shangla marketplace kills 41. Pakistani jets bomb Taliban camps kill 17.
• Oct 13, Nepal: 4,000 families displaced; 152,000 affected, 62 die; houses, crops destroyed in W. Nepal floods, landslides.
• Oct 15, Pakistan: coordinated series of terror attacks focusing mainly on Lahore kill 39. Pakistani jets bomb Taliban, kill 60.
• Oct 16, Iraq: 12 killed, 70 injured by suicide bomber in Sunni mosque at Tal Afar, near Mosul.
• Oct 18, India: At least 33 killed in Tamil Nadu as explosion sets fire to firecracker warehouse.
• Oct 18, Mexico: Hurricane Rick, massive cat. 5 storm produces 180mph winds & 50' waves; heading for Baja California.
• Oct 19, Austria: Hailstorms decimate wild animals; thousands killed; hunting banned;$100 million damage to crops, property.
• Oct 19, Thailand: Remotely detonated motorcycle bomb injures 24 in marketplace at Yala. Muslim separatists blamed.
• Oct 21, Pakistan: 4 die, 18 wounded in twin blasts at International Islamic University, Islamabad. Taliban claim responsibility.
• Oct 21, Yemen: Dozens killed as Saudi forces clash with Houthi rebels in North Yemen.
• Oct 21, India: At least 21 die & 20 injured when trains collide near Agra, en route to Delhi.
• Oct 22, Hindu Kush: Strong earthquake (mg 6.2) in towering Hindu Kush mountains shakes eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Oct 22, New Zealand: Windows 7 unleashed at midnight on fearful world...
• Oct 23, Pakistan: Terror blasts rock Peshawar, Islamabad, Mohmand (nr Ghalnai); at least 21 killed, many injured.
• Oct 25, Afghanistan: 2 chopper crashes in South & West of country kill 14 US soldiers, injure 26 (14 Afghan, 12 US).
• Oct 25, Iraq: Coordinated suicide bomb blasts in Baghdad kill 155, injure 500. Al-Qaeda blamed.
• Oct 28, Pakistan: Massive car bomb kills 91, injures 200 in Peshawar market. Taliban deny responsibility.
• Oct 28, Afghanistan: Suicide attack on UN quarters in Kabul kills 8. Taliban say this is the first of many to disrupt election.
• Oct 30, USA: San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge failure scares commuters as 5000 pounds of iron falls on traffic.
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for October 2009.
|• Lunar Eclipse Dec 31
• Saturn sq Pluto; Merc retro; Mars retro:
• Dec 17, UK; Europe: Blizzards in East UK and West Europe. Airports closed, vast traffic jams.
• Dec 18, UK; Europe: Eurostar trains stuck in Channel Tunnel for days due to bad weather.
• Dec 18, Malawi: Mg 6.4 quake kills 4, displaces 32,000; 3,000 children under 5 affected.
• Dec 21, USA: Powerful snowstorms bury East Coast
• Dec 21, Montserrat: Soufrière Hills volcano on Caribbean island Montserrat erupts spewing vast plumes of ash.
• Dec 18–23, W. Europe: 55,000 travellers trips cancelled or jammed in snowbound trains. Airports closed; flights out.
• Dec 22, Fiji: Cyclone Mick creates havoc across Fiji, costs millions, damages schools, kills 4.
• Dec 24–31, UK; Europe: Avalanches, traffic accidents kill several. Airports, ferries, trains cancelled; celebrations disrupted.
• Dec 26, West Africa: Widespread fires cause destruction
• Dec 28, Philippines: Mayon Volcano erupts 500 km SE of Manila causing 48,000 to flee homes.
• Dec 28, Montserrat: Soufrière Hills volcano on Caribbean island erupts again.
• Dec 28, Colombia: 60,000 affected; wide material losses after 48 hrs heavy rain NW Colombia.
• Dec 28, Argentina: 3,000 displaced by floods 100km north of Buenos Aires
• Dec 28, Peru: Floods and landslides affect thousands
• Dec 29, Mexico: Mg.5.8 quake in Baja California rocks U.S.-Mex border region, felt 100 miles west in San Diego.
• Dec 29, Australia: Floods destroy property, threaten lives in NSW and Qld (E. Coast), fires ravage WA (W. Coast).
• Dec 30, West Australia: Wildfires destroy 40 homes, scorch 33,000 acres of land north of Perth.
• Dec 31, USA: Disaster area declared in Kansas due to storms.
• Dec 31, Afghanistan: Suicide bomber kills 7 CIA operatives, wounds 4 at US Base near Pakistan border.
• Dec 31, Afghanistan: Roadside bomb kills 5 Canadians, injures 5 near Kandahar.
• Dec 31, Finland: Gunman kills 4, injures others in shopping mall at Espoo, near Helsinki. Gunman & girlfriend suicide
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for December 2009.
|Moon Wobbles 2010|
||Relevant Aspects & Associated Disasters
|• Solar Eclipse Jan 15
• retro Merc/Pluto squ retro Saturn; Chiron conj Neptune; retro Mars at avatar; Jupiter enters Pisces:
• Jan. 1, Brazil: 60 die, many injured as hillside collapses, destroying houses at resort near Rio.
• Jan. 2, Colombia: Galeras volcano erupts. Red Cross says 8,000 need to be evacuated.
• Jan. 2, Congo DR: Volcano Mt Nyamuragira erupts 25 km from Goma (pop. 600,000). Lava threatens people, chimps.
• Jan. 2, Pakistan: 75 killed, scores injured by Taliban suicide bomber at volleyball match in NW Frontier province.
• Jan. 3, Tajikistan: 20,000 left homeless as Mg.5.3 quake strikes Pamir Mountains near Afghan border.
• Jan. 3, Australia: Massive flooding in northern NSW hits hundreds of farms. 1,200 evacuated. Stock losses.
• Jan. 3, Philippines: Mg. 5.3 quake hits Mindanao Island 102km SE of Davao.
• Jan. 3, Mexico: 2 more earthquakes (Mg.3.1 & 4.0) strike Baja California; felt in San Diego.
• Jan. 3, Solomon Is.: Mg. 6.3 quake 100km SSE of Gizo, then aftershock Mg. 7.2 an hour later in same area.
• Jan. 4, USA: Mg. 4.1 quake shakes Cedar City Utah; Mg 4.1 quake shakes Redway, NW of Sacramento California.
• Jan. 5, USA: Bad weather freezes Eastern States from Florida up. Major crop damage. Has been serious since solstice.
• Jan. 5, Costa Rica: 11,000 ft Turrialba volcano (last active 19th C) erupts, spewing ash and steam. Families evacuate.
• Jan. 6, USA: Frigid weather hits mid-west. Blizzards, snowdrifts, chill factor of –52 reported Nebraska, N. Dakota.
• Jan. 6, UK: England freezes: traffic accidents, transport delays, animal deaths; sea freezes in Dorset; 10,000 schools shut.
• Jan. 6, Sthn Ocean: Sea Shepherd protest boat Ady Gil hit by Jap. whaler Shonan Maru 2. International incident feared.
• Jan. 7, Sudan: Ethnic clashes kill 140, wound 90 in S. Wunchuei region. 30,000 cattle stolen. Civil war threatens.
• Jan. 7, N. Europe: Big freeze kills; Eurostar stranded in Channel Tunnel. Flights disrupted UK, France, Ireland, Netherlands.
• Jan. 7, Germany: At least 9 homeless men have frozen to death.
• Jan. 7, Sweden: Temp. in central Sweden plunges to –40°C, coldest weather in 25 years.
• Jan. 8, Southern Ocean: Damaged protest boat Ady Gil lost at sea under tow. Furore hots up calls for govt action
• Jan. 8, Angola: 3 killed, 9 injured in rebel ambush of bus carrying Togo International football team in northern province.
• Jan. 9, USA: Mg 6.5 quake shakes N. California. Power out for 25,000 at Eureka, jumble of debris.
• Jan. 11, USA: Mg 4.3 quake rocks Banning Ca, 80 miles east of L.A. preceded by several smaller quakes, the largest Mg 3.2
• Jan. 12, Haiti: Mg 7.0 quake shatters Port-au-Price. Thousands die; tens of thousands of homes lost; worst quake ever in Haiti.
• Jan. 12, New Guinea: 40 die, 8 injured when 2 buses collide on the Highlands Hwy, 100km from provincial capital Lae.
• Jan. 13, Guatemala: Mg 6.0 quake 60 miles SE of Guatemala City on Pacific coast near El Salvador. No casualties reported.
• Jan. 14, Afghanistan: Suicide bomber kills 20 in busy marketplace town of Dihrawud, in central Uruzgan province.
• Jan. 15, Venezuela: Mg 5.6 quake near coastal town Carupano. No casualties reported.
• Jan. 16, Argentina: Mg 6.1 quake 220 miles SE of Ushuaia, between Argentina and Antarctica. No casualties reported.
• Jan. 17, China: Mg 3.4 quake & mudslides in SW Guizhou province kill 7, injure 9.
• Jan. 18, Cayman Islands: Mg 5.8 quake struck 40 miles from George Town. No casualties reported.
• Jan. 18, Egypt: Torrential storms, floods on Red Sea coast & Sinai kill 7, many missing. Hundreds of homes destroyed.
• Jan. 18, Ecuador: Tungurahua volcano erupts 180 km south of Quito, spewing ashes and lava. Evacuations, no casualties.
• Jan. 18, Afghanistan: Taliban attack Kabul in major assault. Suicide bombers & gunmen occupy buildings, battle security forces.
• Jan. 19, USA: Lone gunman kills 8, downs police helicopter, near Appomattox, Virginia.
• Jan. 19, Japan: JAL, Asia's largest airline, files for bankruptcy protection, owing $25bn. Will cut 15,700 jobs.
• Jan. 20, Haiti: Mg 6.1 aftershock shakes Port-au-Prince after 8 days of chaos, many smaller shocks.
• Jan. 20, USA: Hundreds in fire-ravaged areas ordered to evacuate across California as powerful storm batters region.
• Jan. 21, USA: Rain, snow, tornados pulverise S. California in 5th day of extreme weather. Power outages. Mudslides threaten.
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for January 2010.
|• Aries Sun sq Nodes
• Pluto turns reto; retro Merc trine retro Pluto; Saturn retrogrades into Virgo; Saturn opposes Uranus:
• Feb. 27–Mar. 25: Massive Earthquakes and bad weather have struck worldwide so far this month, notably the 8.8 Mg quake near Concepcion in Chile on Feb 27, which killed some 500 people and wrecked thousands of homes. However, these are not associated with the moon-wobble phenomenon, although the quake chart had Saturn conjunct MC, with nodes rising right on the ascendant/descendant axis almost to the minute. Chile's natal chart was heavily afflicted, with natal Moon in the nodal degree, as well as quake Moon in the nodal degree. Chile's chart has its own nodes rising conjunct the ascendant to within a degree. This was one of the worst quakes ever recorded. Too much info for this section, but I hope to do an article outlining the cosmic factors and protections that reduced the evils to a manageable situation, unlike in Haiti, where the gods took their toll in full.
• Mar. 26, Chile: Mg 6.2 quake strikes northern Chile near Copiapo, 380 miles north of the capital of Santiago. No casualties
• Mar. 26, USA: Mg 3.4 undersea quake strikes Channel Islands off Sth California near San Miguel Island. Largest of 4 quakes in Channel Islands & Santa Monica Bay in past week.
• Mar. 28, China: 153 miners trapped by flood & collapse in Wangjialing coalmine, Shanxi province. Number killed unknown.
• Mar. 29, USA: Strong low system over Ohio Valley continues violent storm activity into Mid-Atlantic. Injuries; houses damaged.
• Mar. 29, Bahamas: Tornado kills 3, injures 4 at Freeport, western Grand Bahama. Trees uprooted; hotel windows blasted.
• Mar. 29, Russia: 2 female suicide bombers hit Moscow subway, killing 40 people and injuring 90. Islamist rebels blamed
• Mar. 29, Korea: S. Korean 1,200-ton corvette Cheonan sunk by suspected N. Korean torpedo. 40 sailors killed.
• Mar. 30, USA: Record-breaking rainstorms flood Eastern Coast from Miami to New York. Storm surges warned.
• Mar. 31, USA: Flooding on scale rarely seen in New England forces hundreds from homes, washing out bridges & highways from Maine to Connecticut. Rhode Island hardest hit by worst floods in 200 years.
• Mar. 31, Iceland: Volcano under Eyjafjallajokull glacier in south Iceland forms new craters spewing lava; began erupting 10 days ago, forcing hundreds to evacuate; flights diverted.
• Mar. 31, Russia: 2 suicide bombers kill 12 near Dagestan/Chechnya border. Russian govt. battles Islamist insurgency in Nth Caucasus.
• Apr. 1, Mexico: Dozens of gunmen in coordinated attacks target 2 army garrisons in northern Mexico; firefights kill 18 attackers.
• Apr. 2, Iraq: Gunmen in Iraqi military uniforms raid homes in Sunni village south of Baghdad, kill 25, execution-style, including 5 women.
• Apr. 2, Pakistan: Govt planes bomb insurgents, kill 18 in Orakzai, in NW province.
• Apr. 3, Australia: Chinese coal-carrier Shen Neng 1 aground on pristine Douglas Shoals, Great Barrier Reef east of Great Keppel Is., Queensland. Breakup & oil-spill threatens.
• Apr. 3, Russia: Pres. Lech Kaczynski & many of Poland's highest military & civilian leaders die as presidential jet crashlands in thick fog in W. Russia, killing 96. Poland declares week of national mourning.
• Apr. 4, Mexico: Mg 7.2 quake 19 miles SE of Mexicali, on US/Mex border; biggest in region in 18 years. Major damage, 2 killed in Calexico 1000 aftershocks & ""triggered"" quakes on both sides of border.
• Apr. 5, Worldwide: Sharp gust of solar wind carrying charged particles hits Earth's magnetosphere at approx 0800 UT, sparking strongest geomagnetic storm in 4 years.
• Apr. 5, USA: Swarm of small quakes at a Mount Redoubt volcano 100 miles SW of Anchorage, Alaska, threatens eruption.
• Apr. 5, Pakistan: Taliban suicide bombers kill 8 at US Consulate in Peshawar; earlier suicide attack kills 41 in NW Province.
• Apr. 5, USA: Explosion rocks coalmine in Montcoal, W. Virginia; kills 12 & traps at least 10 thousands of feet underground in worst U.S. mine disaster since 2006.
• Apr. 5, Brazil: Worst rains in Rio's history bring floods, mudslides, kill over 100; 300,000 homeless.
• Apr. 6, Indonesia: Mg 7.8 quake at 5:15 AM 125 miles northwest of Sibolga in Sumatra. Tsunami warnings later withdrawn.
• Apr. 6, Iraq: Wave of terror bomb attacks kill 100, wound 160 in Baghdad & across country.
• Apr. 6, India: 73 police killed as 700 Maoist guerrillas in Chhattisgarh (East Central India) ambush 120 personnel with bombs & gunfire.
• Apr. 7, Kyrgyzstan: 100 killed, 400 wounded in as police open fire on thousands of protesters at Bishkek.
• Apr. 8, Brazil: Mudlsides bury 200 in worst rains in Brazil, destroying homes in Niteroi near Rio.
• Apr. 9, Pakistan: Pak troops kill 54 insurgents in airstrikes in Orakzai. Scores of militants slain in recent days in NW province nr Afghan border.
• Apr. 10, USA: Mg 4.5 quake rattles San Diego in swarm of seismic activity, after Mg 7.2 quake on Mexican border last week.
• Apr. 11, Solomon Is: Mg 7.1 quake hit south-west of Kira Kira island in the South Pacific, about 130 miles south-east of the capital Honiara.
• Apr. 11, Thailand: Tourists warned after worst political violence in two decades kills 21, injures 874 in Islamic uprising in South Thailand.
• Apr. 11, Ireland: IRA dissidents detonate bomb outside British spy HQ in Northern Ireland, protesting new local Justice dept. 50 evacuated.
• Apr. 11, Italy: Landslide derails train in Northern Italy, kills 9, injures 28. Cascade of rocks, debris slam into train near Austrian border.
• Apr. 12, USA: Mg 4.0 quake strikes off Humboldt County, northern California. No immediate reports of injuries or damage.
• Apr. 12, Spain: Mg 6.2 quake strikes near Granada 320 km south of Madrid, but is deep underground, so little damage expected.
• Apr. 13, Peru: Huge glacier breaks off, plunges into lake in Andes near Carhuaz, 200 miles north of Lima; 23-metre tsunami destroys town.
• Apr. 14, India: Cyclone in West Bengal and Bihar kills 68, destroys 60,000 homes in North Dinajpur district, about 600 km north of Kolkata.
• Apr. 14, China: Mg 7.1 quake kills 1100, injures 10,000, destroys villages in Qinghai province, near Tibet. Series of massive quakes in quick succession flatten buildings, bury thousands.
• Apr. 14, Iceland: Volcano under ice in South erupts again. 800 evacuated. Smoke disrupts UK air traffic. Thousands stranded as flights grounded.
• Apr. 15, Myanmar (Burma): Ethnic rebel bombs hit Yangon (former capital aka Rangoon) kill 9, injure many more at New Year celebration.
• Apr. 15, Europe: Deadly volcanic ash from Iceland grounds flights to & from UK & Europe. Travel delays across globe as flights cancelled.
• For a list of other disasters, fires, earthquakes etc: Natural Disasters News for April 2010
|• Lunar Eclipse Jun 26
• Merc sq Mars; Jupiter & Uranus to Aries; Merc opp Pluto; Merc sq Jupiter; Sun opp Pluto; Moon conj Pluto:
• Apr. 20–Jun. 16: Since the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, which remains an ongoing environmental and economic catastrophe, there have been a very large number of natural and manmade disasters, too many to list, with the worst being floods and landslides in China, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, US, Brazil, Australia, deadly cold in South America etc. These are not directly associated with the Moon Wobble, but with other infrequent problematic developments in the cosmos, such as the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus with the malefic fixed star Scheat at the Aries Point, combined with the impending Cardinal Grand Cross that also features Saturn in Libra, Pluto in Capricorn, Nodes in Cancer/Capricorn and other nasties leading up to the Cardinal Climax on July 31, 2010. This current eclipse cycle is associated with this Cardinal Cross and subsequent Climax.
• Jun. 21, China: Huge floods in South kill at least 175, displacing 800,000. Many injured & missing; vast crop & property destruction.
• Jun. 21, Congo: 60 killed, 450 injured in rail accident 60 km from Pointe-Noire, Congo's second city, main commercial centre & port.
• Jun. 22, Brazil: Severe flooding decimates towns in Northeast, killing at least 41 & leaving over 120,000 homeless.
• Jun. 22, Turkey: 5 killed, 12 wounded in Kurdish rebel bombing of bus in Istanbul.
• Jun. 23, Canada: Thousands flee offices as mg 5.5 quake hits capital Ottawa, shaking Toronto & Montreal. Felt in New York. No casualties.
• Jun. 23, USA: Obama dismisses Gen. McChrystal from role in Afghanistan due to insubordination. Gen. Petraeus takes command.
• Jun. 23, Spain: 12 killed, 14 injured in rail accident at Castelldefels, south of Barcelona.
• Jun. 24, Australia: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd overthrown in ""palace coup"" by his deputy, Julia Gillard and treasurer Wayne Swan.
• Jun. 25, China: Deathtoll from floods in South climbs to 377. Millions displaced, hundreds missing; $11 billion in damages so far.
• Jun. 25, Bangladesh: Lancet documents ""largest mass poisoning in history"" as 77 million in Bangladesh exposed to toxic levels of arsenic.
• Jun. 26, India: 23 killed, 25 injured as bus collides with truck in Bihar, east of country.
• Jun. 27, Mexico: 9 killed in attack by gunmen on rehab centre in Gomez Palacio, north of country. Drug cartel suspected.
• Jun. 28, China: 100 buried in landslide at Dazhai, Guizhou prov. Rains & floods kill hundreds, displace millions this month in S. China.
• Jun. 28, Senegal: 11 killed in terrace collapse in Matam in north of country, while watching Senegal-South Korea football match on TV. Many injured.
• Jun. 29, Iraq: 8 killed including Iraq Army general in series of bomb attacks by militants.
• Jun. 29, India: 26 police killed in Maoist Naxalite rebel attack in central Chhattisgarh. Follows death of hundreds from attacks in April, May.
|• Solar Eclipse Jul 11
• Mars conj Saturn; Mars/Saturn opp Uranus/Jupiter; Jupiter sq Pluto; Mars sext Sun/Moon:
• Jun. 30, Mexico: 6 killed, severe flooding as Hurricane Alex lashes Gulf Coast. Monterrey flooded, 12 tonne statue Virgin of Guadalupe topples. Alex also kills 2 in Guatemala & 2 in El Salvador.
• Jul. 1, Turkey: 17 killed in Kurdish rebel attack on military base in SE Turkey.
• Jul. 1, Pakistan: 41 killed, 174 wounded in suicide terrorist attack on Sufi shrine in Lahore.
• Jul. 1, Japan: Toyota recalls 270,000 vehicles over engine fault. Follows 8 million recalled earlier this year over accelerator fault.
• Jul. 1, Mexico: 21 killed in battle 12 miles south of Mex/US border between rival groups associated with drugs & people-trafficking. Police arrest 9.
• Jul. 3, Congo: At least 220 die in fuel tanker accident in Sange, near Rwandan border, east of country. Scores injured as village burns.
• Jul. 3, South Korea: 12 die, 12 injured as bus plunges from bridge near Incheon International Airport, 70km west of Seoul.
• Jul. 4, Philippines: 15 killed, 48 injured in runaway bus crash on central island Cebu. Driver smashes into wall to avoid bystanders.
• Jul. 4, Red Sea: Pirates hijack oil tanker MT Motivator with crew of 18 Filipinos, near strait between Red Sea & Gulf of Aden.
• Jul. 5, Afghanistan: 64 militants & drug traffickers killed in Helmand province. 16 tonnes drugs seized + weapons, explosives, suicide vests.
• Jul. 5, Thailand: Govt extends state of emergency in 19 provinces, including capital Bangkok, in fears of renewed violence.
• Jul. 5, Romania: 10 (possibly 11) killed, 3 injured, in military training bi-plane crash close to Tuzla airport, just after take-off.
• Jul. 6, Egypt: Disgruntled bus driver kills 6, wounds 16 near Cairo with automatic weapon. He was depressed, say reports.
• Jul. 7, Iraq: Bomb attacks kill 50, wound 100 Shia pilgrims converging on shrine in northern Baghdad, say police.
• Jul. 9, Pakistan: Suicide motorcycle bomber kills 102, wounds 115 in Yakaghund village in Mohmand tribal region, bordering Afghanistan.
• Jul. 9, Afghanistan: Gunmen kill 11 wound 3 in ambush of Pak bus carrying Shia tribesmen on detour to avoid danger.
• Jul. 10, Spain: 1.1 million demonstrators march in Barcelona to claim Catalan autonomy, as Spain is gripped with World Cup fever.
• Jul. 11, Colombia: 12 rebels killed in midnight commando raid on FARC guerilla base, remote Tolima Mountains. 10 soldiers die in other battles.
• Jul. 11, Uganda: 64 killed, 65 injured in twin blasts in capital Kampala. Rugby club & restaurant bombed as fans watch World Cup final.
• Jul. 12, Haiti: 1700 displaced, some injured as electrical storm hits Corail-Cesselesse refugee camp north of Port-au-Prince.
• Jul. 13, Russia: 233 drown, scores die from heat in past week. Many drown taking swim after too much vodka. Worst drought in 100 years; 19 regions declare state of emergency. Roads melting; crops shrivelling.
• Jul. 13, Philippines: 68 killed, 84 missing in Typhoon Conson, north of Manila. Manila blacked out; 3 vessels sink including LPG tanker.
• Jul. 13, Japan: 2 killed, 3 injured in severe storms & landslide near Hiroshima.
• Jul. 13, China: 41 die in rain-triggered landslides in Western China; over 100 killed by flooding this month so far.
• Jul. 13, Germany: 3 killed, 11 injured in tornados & extreme weather; heavy rain & winds unroof houses.
• Jul. 14, Iran: 30 killed, 100 wounded in twin suicide blasts at Grand Mosque in SE city, Zahedan. Wahabi extremists blamed.
• Jul. 15, Chile: 2 strong quakes, Mg 5.3 (Tirua) & Mg 6.5 (300 miles S. of Santiago). Thousands flee in pre-dawn hours.
• Jul. 17, Vietnam: 600 homes damaged, 43 boats destroyed, 17 missing as Typhoon Conson strikes.
• Jul. 17, Pakistan: 18 Shia die in convoy ambush in Kurran tribal region near Afghan border. Sunni militants blamed.
• Jul. 17, Puerto Rico: Mosquito-borne Dengue Fever epidemic kills dozens, sickens thousands across entire Caribbean. Hospitals overloaded. Authorities fear increase as rainy season advances. US secure so far.
• Jul. 18, China: At least 38 miners killed in 3 separate accidents in dangerous coal mines. Lax safety blamed.
• Jul. 18, Mexico: Pre-dawn gun attack on birthday party in Torreon kills 17, injures 10. Drug runners suspected.
• Jul. 18, Argentina: 9 die in cold snap; more die in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay & Uruguay. Patagonia temp: –14°C. Snow in Buenos Aires.
• Jul. 19, India: At least 40 killed, 100 injured as passenger train ploughs into another at Sainthia station, W. Bengal.
• Jul. 20, China: Flood update – 701 killed, 347 missing, 645,000 houses lost, 131 million people affected; 7 million hectares crops destroyed; $21 billion direct damage.
|• Libra Sun sq Nodes
• Full Moon in Aries; Saturn sq nodes; Jupiter conj Uranus; Mercury sq Pluto; Venus conj Mars:
I have not had time to update this sequence yet. In any case, I'll be scaling it back to truly major events, as I think the point has been made. However, I notice that the University of Nevada in Reno has just gained a $12.2 MILLION dollar grant to expand its earthquake lab. Perhaps they could incorporate the Moon's Nodes into their calculations? Or send a couple of mill in this direction and I'll do it for them. :)
|• Lunar Eclipse Dec 21
||• Mars sq Saturn; Mars conj Pluto:
What is the point of this table? Astrology is not all about prediction. It is also about research: honing our knowledge so we can make predictions about the future with more accuracy. That's how science works. Astrology is a spiritual science, but it also can be applied to mundane events in the world. This type of tabulation gives us a clue to the application of aspects and planetary alignments, in order to warn of future social and environmental problems before they happen. Astrology combined with relevant scientific observations can be a very valuable pointer and locator of natural and manmade disasters. The word ""disaster"" indeed means ""ill-starred"" in its original sense.
[This is the end of the article. Check back regularly for updates.]",10722,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107890108.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026002022-20201026032022-00015.warc.gz,0.866773784160614
f46ff388-fe7b-4063-b4d6-390e6b652d2d,2018-08-21T23:24:10+00:00,2018-08-14,1,http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/183891/inniss-stay-york,"Donville Inniss (FILE)
Former Minister of Industry and International Business Donville Inniss has to wear a GPS monitoring device (eletronic ankle bracelet) so authorities know his whereabouts at all times.
Furthermore, he has been ordered by a United States court to stay in New York until his next court date.
In addition, the former minister has surrendered his Barbados passport and must also report to pre-trial officials from the Eastern District of New York before his next court appearance, the NATION has been informed.
That date with destiny will be on August 23, at which time Inniss will be arraigned and allowed to enter an official plea.
Inniss, 52, who was arraigned on money laundering charges in Florida on Monday, will head to a courthouse in the Eastern District of New York later this month. The hearing will be before US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto at the Eastern District’s courthouse in the borough of Brooklyn. (BA)
Please read the full story in the Midweek Nation, or in the eNATION edition.",222,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219197.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821230258-20180822010258-00096.warc.gz,0.969502031803131
f027b750-f46c-4b84-b192-a9f21ef107d8,2016-07-24T20:25:07+00:00,2014-06-25,1,http://boston.edgemedianetwork.com/news/national/News/161380/utah_to_appeal_gay_marriage_case_to_supreme_court_,"Utah to Appeal Gay Marriage Case to Supreme Court
Utah's attorney general plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a ruling Wednesday that found states must allow gay couples to marry.
Republican Sean Reyes' office said in a statement Wednesday it will file a petition to have the country's highest court review the decision by a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
The office also left open the possibility of requesting a review from the full panel of judges at the 10th Circuit.
The attorney general's office says even though the 10th Circuit ruling went against Utah, the state is pleased that it moves the important issue one step closer to the Supreme Court.",146,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824146.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00137-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966395258903503
2fed330a-1c2b-4cd8-a1f3-ef57109f3f30,2013-05-18T07:13:27+00:00,2013-05-18,0,http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-universal-receiver-315mhz/p-00953757000P?prdNo=11,"Specifications & Dimensions
|Warranties & Coverage:|
|Warranty Detail Link:||craftsman warranty|
|Dimensions and Weight:|
|Item Weight (lbs.):||0.56 lbs.|
Ratings & Reviews
This Universal Receiver from Craftsman upgrades most brands - including Genie®, Stanley®, Chamberlain®, Sears Craftsman® and others - to work with new 315MHz products like the Craftsman EntryEase Fingerprint Keyless Entry. The receiver easily plugs into an electrical outlet inside the garage and accepts a special private-coded signal from the Craftsman EntryEase Fingerprint Keypad (#53555), Keyless Entry Pad (#53754) and all Craftsman black button remote controls.
- Upgrades most brands, including Genie®, Stanley®, Chamberlain®, Craftsman®, and others
- Receiver accepts a special, private-coded signal from the remote control (not included), and operates the garage door opener
- Receiver plugs into a standard outlet, and wires easily to the garage door opener powerhead
- Receiver is compatible with Craftsman garage door opener remote controls with black buttons, or if the remote control has a 315 logo
- Not for use with garage door operators manufactured prior to 1993
- Available for Gift Wrap
Added on February 16, 2009
Overall, others give this:
Colorado Springs, CO
fairly simply to install on existing opening. ours was an 80s or 90s craftsman opener. simply wire on with the others. it did make it a bit hard to fit on with the old button. the downside is that you have to use an outlet. since i didnt have one in a good place for the button, i had to keep the other one wired up. it is nice now - both doors are on the same remotes! should be easy to work with any opener, in spite of the fact that one of the ""highly qualified"" sears employess basically told me that they were lying about it being universal.
fairly simply to install on existing opening. ours was an 80s or 90s craftsman opener. simply wire on with the others. it did make it a bit hard to fit on with the old button. the downside is that you have to use an outlet. since i didnt have one in a good place for the button, i had to keep the other one wired up.
it is nice now - both doors are on the same remotes!
should be easy to work with any opener, in spite of the fact that one of the ""highly qualified"" sears employess basically told me that they were lying about it being universal.
Only recently the receiver of our rather elderly garage door opening system had died. We purchased this new 315 MHZ Craftsman Universal Receiver on 10/17/09. Since we had no electrical outlet near the garage door, my husband installed one. This job actually took the longest. Once we plugged the receiver into the newly installed outlet, we programmed it. Voila, it worked immediately. Each of the three black button remote controls we had also purchased needed to be programmed individually. They too functioned right away. Keep in mind that only the black button remote controls work with this receiver. The receiver packaging shows in front two paper stars: Blue and yellow. When purchasing the compatible remote control, make sure its packaging shows the same color stars. The instruction sheet seemed a bit confusing at first. It should be a bit more detailed with larger drawings. After reading the instructions several times, we got the ""drift."" - I only have three questions: Will the receiver and our three remotes have to be reprogrammed once the electricity goes out? Or does the receiver and remotes remember the original programming? Or what happens when sombody unplugs the receiver by mistake?
, Bay Area
I bought this reciever hoping to bring my new house's older craftman garage door opener into the 21st century. Unfortunatly the original remotes are long gone and are no longer avalible. I already had a spare Chamberlin 373LM three button opener from my previous house and was hoping they would be compatible as they are both on 315 MHz. As there is no outlet near the door to the house I decided to connect the new and old openers in parallel. Once the connections were made I followed the directions and had the reciever progremmed in a few seconds. The range is very good, I can reliably open the door several houses down the street. The only quibble I have with the reciever is that the wires and programming can only be performed by removing the front panel of the reciever. This is done by using a small screwdriver which can easily damage or break the plastic of the reciever is not done with great care. With the wires in place the panel also does not fit quite right. Still given the way it is installed up and out of the way in my system it is not a great problem for me.
- Qualifying Orders $59 + SHIP FREE Offer ends 10-Jul-2013 See details.
- Use your Sears Card and Save! Extra 5% off Tool items Sold By Sears when you use your Sears Card. Offer ends 31-Dec-2013 See details.
- Online Only! Extra 10% off select tools Sold by Sears. Valid thru 5/18/13. Offer ends 18-May-2013 See details.",1117,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957991659641266
ae0e9b38-6e8e-4f4d-a598-ed7c95f6170c,2016-07-26T03:15:57+00:00,2013-09-19,1,http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/09/19/Texas-appeals-court-overturns-conviction-of-former-House-leader-DeLay/UPI-71331379608362/,"AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Prosecutors say they will seek a review of an appeals court decision overturning the money-laundering conviction of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
The 3rd Texas Court of Appeals formally acquitted the Texas Republican of all charges, finding prosecutors used ""legally insufficient"" evidence to convict him in 2010 of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors accused DeLay of attempting to influence the 2002 election in Texas by funneling corporate money to candidates through his political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority.
He had been sentenced to three years in prison, but had been free pending the results of his appeal.
The appellate court rejected the state's contention the election law violations occurred when DeLay and others tried to swap ""soft money for hard money"" in transferring funds from an account used for general expenses to one used to contribute to candidates' campaigns, the Houston Chronicle reported.
""However, the state fails to explain how the funds already in the bank account resulted from the subsequent money-swap agreement,"" said Justice Melissa Goodwin, writing for the majority. ""Further, to support this argument, the state disregards the distinction between soft and hard money accounts as irrelevant.""
The court said ""maintaining separate, segregated bank accounts for soft and hard money is recognized and accepted as legitimate.""
Justice David Gaultney concurred in the ruling, writing, ""the fundamental problem with the state's case was its failure to prove proceeds of criminal activity.""
Chief Justice J. Woodfin Jones dissented.
The Travis County District Attorney's Office issued a statement saying prosecutors ""strongly disagree with the opinion of Judges (Melissa) Goodwin and (David) Gaultney that the evidence was insufficient.""
""We are concerned and disappointed that two judges substituted their assessment of the facts for that of 12 jurors who personally heard the testimony of over 40 witnesses over the course of several weeks and found that the evidence was sufficient and proved DeLay's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,"" the statement said. ""We are preparing a response to this opinion and will ask the full Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to review the ruling.""
DeLay was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1978 and to the U.S. Congress in 1984. He was elected majority leader in 2002.",479,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00228-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96710067987442
4536cb2a-95e0-4b49-8750-22944ed98f3b,2018-08-15T11:43:51+00:00,2018-08-15,0,https://affinitymedicalclinic.ca/,"Calgary is a multi-cultural city and to better serve our patients, we provide health care in multiple languages including English, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu & Arabic.
We provide you with the choice of either female or male doctors.
Life doesn't always go as planned. We always welcome Walk-ins for such unexpected events with short waiting times. However, appointments are the preferred method for follow-ups and many other non-urgent visits to the clinic.
""Amazing doctor. He always makes sure all concerns are addressed. There is never a rush to get you in and out. Very happy to have him as our family Doctor. He is the best doctor I had in last 23 years. Staff is very professional and friendly. I would highly recommend his clinic.""
""We loved meeting him today, very personable, with kids especially. He was very thorough, met and exceeded our expectation regarding diagnosis and recommendations for our 2.5y. Would love to have him as our family doctor. Recommend him!""
""She is such a fantastic doctor. Dr. Alhur was very kind, professional and knowledgeable. Since I had just moved to Calgary, I had been looking for a new family doctor and my children agree that Dr. Alhur is a great choice for us. I definitely recommend going to her.""
""A great doctor!"" My previous doctor recently retired so I was on the look out for a new one. A friend suggested Dr. Victor so I decided to try him. My experience has been great with him ""
“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”",332,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210058.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815102653-20180815122653-00404.warc.gz,0.989243626594544
85fee377-aefa-4aab-88ca-cd9b91ccc93e,2017-08-20T07:46:04+00:00,2016-01-29,0,http://boj.com/tags/Sharing%20Economy,"Published: January 29, 2016, 2:00 pm
There's no question; the sharing economy, where users are able to rent what they have, be it skills, a room, or a car through the Internet, has disrupted the traditional economy in the Western world.
So why should businesses embrace the sharing economy, rather than fight against it?
The Sharing Economy Has Always Been With Us
When I was growing up, I inherited a food mill from my grandmother. My first, informal, experience with the sharing economy was when a friend posted on Facebook asking if anyone had a food mill she could borrow; she wanted to try her (Read more...",133,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106358.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820073631-20170820093631-00161.warc.gz,0.973164856433868
807d7a5d-480f-4612-9e05-5cfbf65f946f,2016-07-27T21:09:11+00:00,2006-06-01,1,http://nextbigfuture.com/2006/06/thorium-reactors-for-earth-and-moon.html,"Thanks to Futurepundit for his article on this
The amount of energy per kg of thorium is huge: 11 million kW-hr per kg.
Besides having a lot of thorium on earth, a lot of thorium deposits have been detected on the moon Map of thorium lunar deposits Initially any lunar reactor would just bring thorium and other material from earth and get its mining and industrial production processes set up.
Wikipedia is less optimistic about thorium as a nuclear fuel
World nuclear associations view of Thorium reactors
Here is an article that calculates how much thorium it would take to power the world.
Here is an introduction to the thorium fuel cycle
A Thorium nuclear reactor will eliminate weapons grade plutonium and other radiative waste as part of the power-generation process. A uranium-fuelled reactor might generate a tonne of high-level waste that stays toxic for tens of thousands of years. A reactor fuelled only by thorium will generate a fraction of this amount. And it would stay radioactive for only 500 years - after which it would be as manageable as coal ash. The main drawback to thorium is that it's not vigorously fissile, and it needs a source of neutrons to kick off the reaction.
The main stumbling block until now has been how to provide thorium fuel with enough neutrons to keep the reaction going, and do so in an efficient and economical way.
In recent years two new technologies have been developed to do just this.
One company that has already begun developing thorium-fuelled nuclear power is Thorium Power, based just outside Washington DC. The way Thorium Power gets around the sub-criticality of thorium is to create mixed fuels using a combination of enriched uranium, plutonium and thorium.
At the centre of the fuel rod is the 'seed' for the reaction, which contains plutonium.
Wrapped around the core is the 'blanket', which is made from a mixture of uranium and thorium. The seed then provides the necessary neutrons to the blanket to kick-start the thorium fuel cycle. Meanwhile, the plutonium and uranium are also undergoing fission.
The primary benefit of Thorium Power's system is that it can be used in existing nuclear plants with slight modification, such as Russian VVER-1000 reactors. Seth Grae, president and chief executive of Thorium Power, and his team are actively working with the Russians to develop a commercial product by the end of this decade. They already have thorium fuel running in the IR-8 research reactor at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow.
""In the first quarter of 2008, we expect to have lead test assemblies in a full-size commercial nuclear power plant in Russia,"" said Grae.
AN ALTERNATIVE DESIGN does away with the requirements for uranium or plutonium altogether, and relies on thorium as its primary fuel source. This design, which was originally dubbed an Energy Amplifier but has more recently been named an Accelerator Driven System (ADS), was proposed by Italian Nobel physics laureate Carlos Rubbia, a former director of one of the world's leading nuclear physics labs, CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.
An ADS reactor is sub-critical, which means it needs help to get the thorium to react. To do this, a particle accelerator fires protons at a lead target. When struck by high-energy protons the lead, called a spallation target, releases neutrons that collide with nuclei in the thorium fuel, which begins the fuel cycle that ends in the fission of U-233.
A nuclear reactor that requires a particle beam to keep it running might seem a bit strange. But on the contrary, this is one of the ADS design's most attractive features. If the particle beam is switched off, it is impossible for the fuel to enter a chain reaction and cause a meltdown. Instead, the rate of fission will immediately begin to slow and the fuel will eventually cool down and die out. According to Sydney's Hashemi-Nezhad, a sub-critical reactor such as this has clear safety benefits over uranium reactors. ""It has zero chance of a Chernobyl-type accident,"" he said.
Another major advantage of this design is that it only requires thorium as fuel.
Hashemi-Nezhad also says thorium is a highly abundant resource ""550 times more abundant in nature than uranium-235"".
CERN recently released a detailed report covering the financial viability of the ADS design for power generation, and found it to be at least three times cheaper than coal and 4.8 times cheaper than natural gas. Any nuclear reactor will have a high establishment cost, but CERN stresses that a long-life reactor will be highly competitive compared to fossil and renewable energy fuels.
Another approach is a Liquid-Fluoride Thorium Reactor",1002,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00035-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948518693447113
52a794c5-873c-4922-8ad1-358c0a19cb87,2013-05-20T02:33:27+00:00,2012-10-15,1,http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/15/us-amazon-texasins-chips-idUSBRE89E09P20121015,"- Taxes on some wealthy French top 100 pct of income: paper
- North Korea fires short-range missiles for two days in a row |
- Shooting death of gay man rocks New York's cradle of gay rights
- Israel warns against Russian arms supply to Syria
- Female hostage died from police bullet in New York standoff: official
Amazon in talks to buy Texas Instruments' mobile chip arm: paper
TEL AVIV |
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc, the world's largest Internet retailer, is in advanced talks to buy the mobile chip business of Texas Instruments, Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist reported on Monday.
If negotiations lead to an agreement, Amazon, which makes tablets and is expected to enter the smartphone industry, would become a direct rival to Apple and Samsung Electronics, which also designs their own chips. The value of any deal will probably be billions of dollars, Calcalist said.
Texas Instruments said last month it will shift its wireless investment focus from products like smartphones to a broader market, including industrial clients such as carmakers, where it is hoping for a more profitable and stable business.
Officials at both firms were not immediately available for comment outside U.S. business hours.
Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told Reuters she doubted whether Amazon wants to ""become that intimately involved with hardware"".
TI's chips are used in Amazon.com's Kindle Fire tablet. TI told investors it would continue to support its customers but its mobile application chip business, which supports features like video, will not invest in supporting its customers future roadmap for tablets and smartphones to the same degree as before.
Calcalist quoted TI spokeswoman Whitney Jodry as saying that the company refrains from commenting on rumors.
(Reporting by Tova Cohen and Tarmo Virki; Editing by Louise Heavens)
- Tweet this
- Share this
- Digg this",393,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949917793273926
3ac7d2e2-8297-41e0-887b-0d8f2089bd76,2017-08-16T23:43:45+00:00,2012-04-21,1,https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-method-marker-alzheimer-disease-earlier.html,"Use of a new drug to detect the beta-amyloid plaques in the brain that are hallmark signs of Alzheimer's disease may help doctors diagnose the disease earlier, according to research that will be presented as part of the Emerging Science program (formerly known as Late-Breaking Science) at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.
Currently, Alzheimer's disease can only be definitively confirmed through the detection of amyloid plaques and/or tangles in the brain during autopsy after death or with a brain tissue biopsy. The new method uses the drug florbetaben as a tracer during a PET scan of the brain to visualize amyloid plaques during life.
In order to prove that the florbetaben PET scan detects beta-amyloid in the brain, the global phase III study directly compared brain regions in the PET scan to respective brain regions after death during autopsy.
For the study, more than 200 participants nearing death (including both participants with suspected Alzheimer's disease and those without known dementia) and who were willing to donate their brain underwent MRI and florbetaben PET scan. The amount of plaque found in the 31 participants who reached autopsy was then compared to the results of the scans. A total of 186 brain regions from these donors were analyzed along with 60 brain regions from healthy volunteers. Based on these 246 brain regions the study found florbetaben to detect beta-amyloid with a sensitivity of 77 percent and a specificity of 94 percent.
Comparison of the visual assessment method proposed for florbetaben for clinical practice with the post mortem diagnosis revealed a sensitivity of 100 percent and a specificity of 92 percent. Sensitivity is the percentage of actual positives that are correctly identified as positive, and specificity is the percentage of negatives that are correctly identified.
""These results confirm that florbetaben is able to detect beta-amyloid plaques in the brain during life with great accuracy and is a suitable biomarker,"" said study author Marwan Sabbagh, MD, director of Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, Ariz., and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. ""This is an easy, non-invasive way to assist an Alzheimer's diagnosis at an early stage. Also exciting is the possibility of using florbetaben as tool in future therapeutic clinical research studies where therapy goals focus on reducing levels of beta-amyloid in the brain.""
Explore further: Is it Alzheimer's disease or another dementia? Marker may give more accurate diagnosis",534,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102757.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816231829-20170817011829-00408.warc.gz,0.933019518852234
fe6f052a-c1b6-4b92-9cc2-503fc8e9b537,2019-08-18T21:22:35+00:00,2019-08-18,0,https://www.ebay.co.uk/c/527732604,"Jethro tull living in the past cd
Est. delivery Thu, 19 Sep - Thu, 03 Oct
Similar items to consider
""Nice condition %0a I will send the CD out in a strong jiffybag and mark fragile.Combined post available.%0a Any winning bids over £20 will be sent by signed for mail.%0a Any UK winning bids over £50 will be sent via special delivery. Please wait for the invoice.%0a Do not accept damaged items and send straight back to me.%0a If your item does not arrive in a timely manner or if you are unhappy with any part of yourctransaction please contact me.%0a I require payment within 4 days of the item being won.%0a You will not be disappointed when your item arrives.%0a Happy bidding.""
ukdav_urk4birFeedback score (2182)
100% positive Feedback",198,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314130.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818205919-20190818231919-00057.warc.gz,0.796723902225494
7846d069-f529-43e3-9eeb-55500b329557,2018-08-14T21:49:31+00:00,2015-02-09,0,https://www.jackbrutuspenny.com/blog/2015/2/9/riddle-me-colourful,"A painted picture in your mind? Click on the title guess and find!
I'm tough and built, one thing in mind,
To push and elevate behind.
Beware the sands of time, and luck,
And muster all your gumph and pluck,
So get a bird, at least a chick.
I'm not the building, but the stick.
'Is the picture clear?'
'Not in the slightest. You need more colours!'
'Well there certainly can't be more than one colour at a time. That would be far too confusing.'
Riddle Answer A Set of Traffic Lights
and though I'm blunt, work with me joint. Cross me and get a point - a driving point for running a red light.",157,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209585.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814205439-20180814225439-00459.warc.gz,0.932491540908814
246f6df5-6c67-481f-8506-41549f713fe3,2016-07-24T08:41:09+00:00,2016-07-24,0,https://ca.help.yahoo.com/kb/account?redirect=true,"Prevent sign-in problems by adding your mobile phone number to your account.
Add It Now
If you're unable to sign in to your account, try these troubleshooting steps to regain access.
Learn why you're seeing 'First time signing in from here?' and what steps to take next.
Think someone else is accessing your Yahoo account? Learn how to tell if your account has been compromised and how to secure it.
Learn how to protect yourself online by using our password security best practices.
Looking to use Yahoo Mail, Fantasy Sports, or Flickr? Find out how to start using all of these great products and more by signing up for a free Yahoo account
Find out why Yahoo Account prompts you to update your password.
Add an extra protection to your Yahoo account by activating the two-step verification feature and then connecting to 3rd party apps.
Yahoo won't ask you to pay for support. Find out what else we won't ask for, including credit card info and your Yahoo password.
Learn how to set your browser preferences to save cookies between sessions so you can stay signed in to Yahoo.
Use Sign-in Helper to get back in to your Yahoo Account.
Go to Sign-in Helper
You have been redirected to this page because the page you requested was not found.",270,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823989.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00092-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.933368980884552
acf472c0-832e-4c4f-81d1-9176d5d0e06c,2022-05-19T01:43:23+00:00,2022-04-06,1,https://newspatrolling.com/bangalore-international-airport-and-aws-announce-new-joint-innovation-center/,"Center will advance BIAL’s digital transformation vision, and enable startup-led innovation in aviation, smart infrastructure, utilities, and mobility
Bengaluru, April 06, 2022 – Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) – operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) – is working with Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, to establish a Joint Innovation Center (JIC) that will drive the development and adoption of digital solutions in aviation. The JIC will also enable startups to accelerate innovation in aviation, smart infrastructure, utilities, and mobility by providing comprehensive program offerings and a technical platform that helps customers innovate quickly utilizing AWS technology. This is the first JIC by AWS established outside of China and its first JIC dedicated to advancing the aviation industry.
The JIC is expected to open at BLR Airport in 2022, and will focus on driving digital innovation for the airport, enhancing passenger experience, and creating positive impact for the community where the airport operates. It will help strengthen BIAL’s digital roadmap and develop custom solutions for BLR Airport using a combination of technologies including: cloud computing, Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), analytics, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and augmented and virtual reality (AR/ VR). The JIC will support BIAL’s intent to be at the forefront of technology innovation in India’s commercial aviation, and create a digitised and intuitive airport for travellers. It will focus on developing technology solutions to enhance the passenger experience across retail, dining, and entertainment at the airport, and achieving operational efficiencies for BIAL. Once implemented, these efficiencies can be scaled to other airports in India and globally.
As part of the launch of the JIC, BIAL will also deploy Startup Valley, a startup accelerator program that will offer an open innovation opportunity for startups to build and accelerate digital solutions in the aviation industry, the Airport City* and related domains. The Startup Valley will provide a structured engagement approach for startups to design, develop, and build their solutions, and test their solutions at BIAL. AWS will provide programmatic support that will match identified startups with mentorship, AWS Credits, technical training, and access to an investor pool. These joint efforts between BIAL and AWS will allow Indian startups to further develop their solutions for adoption and scale.
“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with AWS to power two of our important focus areas – strengthen our digital roadmap towards making BLR Airport the best destination airport for travellers by leveraging the power of cloud computing and digital technologies, and create an environment for startups to innovate and advance in aviation and related domains,” said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL. “The new Joint Innovation Center between BIAL and AWS will enable us to develop modular, scalable, innovative digital solutions that can benefit all stakeholders in the aviation domain and help reimagine air travel in India.”
“Modern air travel has been disrupted by the pandemic and is ripe for innovation. We are excited to strengthen our engagement with BIAL to help them explore new possibilities with digital technologies, develop enhanced experiences for travelers, and realize the vision of a digitalized and smart airport,” said Rahul Sharma, President, Public Sector – AISPL#, AWS India and South Asia. “With Startup Valley, our combined vision is to enable startups to transition successfully and faster in their experimentation, development, and scaling phases, help them commercialize their solutions, and accelerate the adoption of innovative digital solutions in the country.”",738,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00218.warc.gz,0.911715507507324
a361b5ce-a2b6-4e9b-9eca-759a7e2cff43,2017-08-17T07:01:55+00:00,2013-05-21,1,http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Industry/2013/05/21/US-groundwater-running-dry/UPI-81191369134227/?spt=hs&or=er,"WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- The depletion of groundwater from one of the largest aquifers in the United States since 2001 was faster than during the entire 20th century, the USGS finds.
The U.S. Geological Survey reviewed groundwater data from 1900 to 2008 and said the annual rate of depletion was accelerating. The Ogallala Aquifer, which covers more than 170,000 square miles in the middle of the United States, declined rapidly because of the high rate of water use for agricultural, industrial and municipal water needs.
""The depletion during the last eight years of record [2001-2008] is about 32 percent of the cumulative depletion in this aquifer during the entire 20th century,"" the USGS said in a statement.
The USGS said groundwater depletion has increased steadily since the 1950s but has accelerated more quickly in the last eight years.
""Because groundwater systems typically respond slowly to human actions, a long-term perspective is vital to manage this valuable resource in sustainable ways,"" acting USGS Director Suzette Kimball said in a statement.
The World Meteorological Organization said there was a global level of sustained drought last year. Groundwater sources are replenished in part by rainfall and other forms of precipitation.",253,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00244.warc.gz,0.963083803653717
5cecc633-d5e3-4236-aea9-7cea33918397,2019-08-20T04:22:22+00:00,2019-08-20,1,https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=32076568,"|“Flying Over Traffic” – Short-hop Services Multiply|
Tired of bad traffic and have money to spare? A growing cadre of venture capital–backed startups are launching services to ferry people on short-distance trips by small planes and helicopters.
Companies including Blade, Skyryse and BlackBird believe there is a growing market for short hops by air in places like the Bay Area, Los Angeles and New York, so long as prices can be ratcheted down from the sky-high costs of traditional charter flights. Blade, backed by Airbus and valued at about $150 million, already runs helicopter flights in New York and Los Angeles, and plans to start flying in the Bay Area, it told a small group of customers this month.
The services are modeled after ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, with easy-to-use apps to book trips. The companies avoid owning aircraft outright, instead positioning themselves as service providers and ticket sellers to control costs. Uber itself is exploring ways to enter the market with self-flying, electric aircraft, though the technology is believed to be years off.
Read More $ The Information",235,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315222.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820024110-20190820050110-00206.warc.gz,0.948863387107849
e5e0e79e-7339-4bf1-a6a0-de0c98c23b6d,2015-03-29T10:37:08+00:00,2013-02-15,0,http://www.thefashionisto.com/highland-fallwinter-2013-new-york-fashion-week/,"The Stonemaster–California rock climbers of the 1970’s serve as the inspiration of Highland’s fall/winter 2013 collection as they deliver their first presentation for New York Fashion Week. Championing the Stonemasters and their movement propelled by the desire to live free of all restraint, dreaming of higher peaks and larger risks. With the clothes on their back inspiring Highland, varied colors and fabrics come together for a laid-back reinterpretation of the decade. While purple and quartz reference nylon climbing ropes, colors such as chalk and pine represent the rocky faces of the Yosemite. Embracing the call of nature, Indian ikat fabrics juxtaposed with Mexican Thunderbird blankets color the collection with items like the sherpa coat or motorcycle jacket tying back into Highland’s structured heritage.",163,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00221-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.890848100185394
d15e3d30-baca-4f5b-ac2c-e00789712690,2019-08-25T22:41:42+00:00,2019-08-13,1,https://freedom937.iheart.com/featured/koa-headlines/content/2019-08-13-air-quality-commission-to-vote-on-zero-emissions-vehicle-program-this-week/,"The Colorado Air Quality Commission could vote to adopt a zero-emission vehicle program, similar to a program already in place in California. The Zero Emission Vehicle program, or ZEV, would mandate car manufacturers to sell more electric cars in Colorado. The percentage will start at under five-percent, and then grow to eight-percent. The Colorado Auto Dealers Association says it is opposed to the plan, saying it will limit customer choices and increase the cost for new vehicles. The commission vote is scheduled for Thursday.
Content Goes Here",108,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00386.warc.gz,0.928833484649658
69eaab4c-776f-45d4-a746-28ccc08d4bb7,2018-08-20T15:45:38+00:00,2016-06-28,1,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36647132,"Brexit: Welsh Government urged to appoint Leave adviser
The Welsh Government should include politicians who campaigned for Brexit in its negotiations over withdrawal from the EU, according to the leader of the Welsh Conservatives.
Andrew RT Davies, a prominent Leave campaigner, said the Welsh Government had failed to reflect public opinion.
The Welsh Government said it saw ""no merit"" in appointing a Leave supporter to advise it in negotiations.
On Tuesday, AMs will debate the impact on Wales of the UK leaving the EU.
Prime Minister David Cameron said all the devolved governments would be involved in Brexit negotiations.
Conservative MP David Jones called for the first minister to appoint a Leave supporter to advise him on Wales' exit from the EU.
Mr Davies said, despite the expectations of many, ""Wales has proven itself to be a Eurosceptic nation"".
""As negotiations in relation to the UK's withdrawal from the EU continue, the Welsh Government must ensure public opinion is better reflected as part of this process.""
He said the country needed ""strong leadership that reflects the wishes of its people, and ensures the best deal for our country in this new era.
""That should include a role for those politicians of all parties who campaigned for a vote to leave.""
In response to Mr Jones's suggestion, a Welsh Government spokesman said: ""We don't see any merit in this idea.
""The Welsh Government will work through the consequences of the vote in good faith in the interests of the people of Wales.""
Meanwhile Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood told BBC Wales she wanted to hold a special conference of Plaid Cymru members to decide where the party would go next and where Wales should go.
She has already proposed a new union of independent nations for the UK.
She said: ""We want to keep the option open of remaining part of the European Union. We see our future as using pound sterling; we see the potential for pooling other functions, and that remains to be seen what they are.
""There's a discussion to be had between the different countries that make up the United Kingdom. We'll need to look at resources, the constitution.
""Everything has been thrown up in the air by last Thursday's vote.""",456,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216475.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820140847-20180820160847-00325.warc.gz,0.965729176998138
3dca4442-d9c6-4619-8d18-c90fdb50f864,2016-07-29T17:50:22+00:00,2013-03,0,http://thx4playing.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-home.html,"Spark Consulting, this past summer.
My new website has been live in a dev environment since November, but it recently moved to its permanent home.
With that, it's time to retire Thanks for Playing, at least in its current incarnation.
I still blog just about every week day, only now I'm doing it over at the Spark Blog. So please come join me in my new environment to keep the association awesomesauce flowing. (Oh - and hook me up with your RSS feed here.)",106,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00197-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971674501895904
ef66cae8-45b6-4da0-9c78-805899622e3c,2019-08-23T04:53:22+00:00,2019-05-27,1,https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2019/05/27/collaboration-with-china-on-brain-and-intelligence-science.html,"During this year’s Shanghai Forum, University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence and President of Fudan University Professor Xu Ningsheng signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form the Brain and Intelligence Science Alliance (BISA).
“We need to work across disciplines and across oceans if our research is going to improve lives. The challenges of brain disorders, computational neuroscience and the ethics of artificial intelligence can only be addressed if we get the sharpest minds working on solutions. That’s why we are working with Fudan University on this important research,” Dr Michael Spence said.
China has the world’s highest population of patients with brain disorders. More than 20 percent of the world’s patients with dementia live in China. Stroke is the leading cause of death in China, with the country accounting for roughly one third of worldwide stroke mortality.
""When it comes to brain disorders the challenges China faces over the next few decades as its population ages further are immense. Therefore research on the prevention, early diagnosis and early intervention for brain disorders is particularly urgent,"" said Professor Sharon Naismith, University of Sydney's lead academic on the partnership on Brain and Intelligence Science Alliance.
Fudan University hosts a global interdisciplinary research platform in brain intelligence science and technology which leverages the University’s strengths in applied mathematics, computer science, neurobiology, clinical medicine amongst others.
The establishment of BISA will facilitate deeper cooperation between the two universities in the fields of data science, neuroscience and artificial intelligence. It is part of a major partnership agreement signed by the two universities where they have also agreed to make funding available on a competitive basis for joint research and education projects, to be judged by academic panels from Sydney and Fudan.
“We have lots of strong engagement across the board with Fudan and we are keen to encourage collaboration across the basic sciences, medicine, and humanities and social sciences too,” Professor Kathy Belov, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) at the University of Sydney.",427,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317847.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823041746-20190823063746-00162.warc.gz,0.925812125205994
4d69e5b7-31a4-4235-87bd-530510ee2bdd,2016-07-23T15:15:24+00:00,2013-08-05,1,http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/tooth-sensor-watches-your-mouth-13-08-05/,"A person’s mouth says a lot about them. Sounds obvious, but I’m talking less about what vocalizes and more about the way it behaves when we eat, drink, speak or even cough.
Researchers at National Taiwan University believe that monitoring such oral behavior can provide doctors with a wealth of information about a patient’s dietary habits, dental hygiene and overall health.
To test their idea, they built an accelerometer-based oral sensory system to identify how a mouth is being used based on the movement of its teeth. Placed in the mouths of eight people, a prototype system correctly recognized each person’s oral behavior up to 94 percent of the time. [Cheng-Yuan Li et al., Sensor-Embedded Teeth for Oral Activity Recognition]
The researchers now want to build a wireless version that might someday fit inside a fake tooth or attach to a pair of braces. The sensor could send you or your doctor a message when you’re not sticking to your diet or not keeping your promise to quit smoking.
Let’s hope they also build in an alarm for bad breath. That would benefit the person wearing the sensor, and everyone around them as well.
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823072.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00032-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.932126522064209
6585e8c0-1c97-4af8-bab1-40e235e03325,2019-08-23T15:13:59+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://www.kfma.org.uk/stallholdersbyproduce.asp?id=79,"JR's Kitchen produces gourmet ready to eat food including our pork pies, which includes three cuts of pork, herbs and spices, our pasties including our meat version containing rump steak and our vegetarian pasty with a Bombay aloo filling. Our Scotch Eggs come in four different types and include a large free range egg with a soft yolk with the following flavours of pork with fresh thyme, pork and black pudding, pork and chorizo and a vegetarian Bombay aloo version. We also produce chutneys and piccalilli, which together with our other products are all handmade. None of our products contain additives, preservatives or colourings and with our commitment to the environment, all our packaging is bio-degradeable.produces gourmet ready to eat food including our pork pies andScotch Eggs We also produce chutneys and piccalilli, which together with our other products are all handmade.Market: Knockholt
Delightful French pastries, tarts, macaroons & cakes. These are all handmade using the best ingredients and traditional French methods by Le Cordon Bleu trained Pastry Chef Dulce. For enquiries, kindly get in touch and we look forward to hearing from you!",250,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318894.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823150804-20190823172804-00384.warc.gz,0.937479376792908
d856d16a-d178-4a28-8673-2a899475c08e,2020-10-21T09:53:33+00:00,2020-10-21,0,https://www.watchco.com/products/ea013,"Vestal Electra Women's Stainless Analog Watch - Brown Lizard Leather Strap - Gold-Tone Dial - EA013
Vestal makes watches and other accessories designed for the musically inspired individual marketing and branding through musicians artists athletes and others immersed within music culture. Vestal's watch line spans a wide range of fashions designed to fine-tune any current fashion.
Sometimes watch designs come easy. That's the case with the Electra: a simple but effective cuff watch designed for women that like to rock. The EA011 features a brown lizard leather strap and gold-tone dial case and accents.
CASE: stainless steel caseback 25 mm
BAND: leather 35 mm wide
BUCKLE: stainless steel
CRYSTAL: solid curved mineral
MOVEMENT: standard three hands
WATER RESISTANCE: 3 ATM/30 meters
Watchco.com is an authorized Vestal dealer
Free US shipping
1-year Vestal warranty
Vestal Model EA013",209,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876307.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021093214-20201021123214-00227.warc.gz,0.879628241062164
ee5229b5-c588-4564-b137-b1c6c0b36037,2020-10-27T23:18:37+00:00,2020-04-30,1,https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/918545/why-has-shell-chosen-to-put-its-business-before-its-shareholders-918545.html,"Describing Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s (LON:RDSB) first dividend cut for over 80 years as a show of strength is obviously a tough needle to thread, nonetheless, for anyone looking beyond this quarter’s payment there is perhaps something positive to take from the news.
There is little-to-no solace for those holding the oil supermajor as a utility-like dividend share.
That the payout wasn’t scrapped altogether is likely meagre relief for the portfolio-builders, retirees or pension funds that depend on Shell’s yield.
Shell is but the latest blue-chip to either cut or cancel dividends amid the current crisis, the running total for the shortfall is now close to US$35bn.
So, it is bad news for Shell in as much as it is bad news for its income-seeking shareholders.
Contra to this admittedly simple and obvious narrative, a case could be made that it was an important call for Shell’s business in the longer term.
As one of the world’s largest petroleum producing firms Shell already faced quite fundamental challenges to its status quo, even before COVID-19 decimated demand and crude prices.
For many months prior to coronavirus lockdown there was growing sense that public sentiments (and even sentiments of some capitalists) were moving away from fossil fuel and hydrocarbon businesses.
At the same time, before COVID provided the tipping point, the crude market was encumbered by structural challenges and geopolitical posturing.
By nature and by metaphor Shell is a slow turning oil tanker.
Like industry peer and London portfolio stalwart it also has had to carry a sacrosanct dividend policy.
Quite whether the COVID forced dividend-cut breaks the voodoo in the longer term, to potentially unshackle management to rebase future dividends remains uncertain.
One light dividend payment doesn’t turn Shell into a nimble and decisive small-cap overnight, but, it was clearly a choice to put the businesses before the dividend.
Whilst bad, Shell’s bottom line financials were mostly in better shape than BP’s.
A number of investor updates before Thursday’s results suggested Shell had the capacity to take on more debt and absorb the shareholder payouts for at least the remainder of this year.
Breaking an eight-decade long dividend policy sees Shell save US$2.4bn of cash immediately and potentially allows the Anglo-Dutch more ‘optionality’ going forward.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett, in a note, said: “While this is very unwelcome news for income investors, given that Shell is one of the largest dividend payers on the entire stock market, it may be better news for the long-term health of the business.
“The need to service a cash hungry dividend has seen future investment sacrificed and assets sold.
“Essentially both Shell and BP have been slowly digesting themselves to keep the dividend ticking over. Removing that pressure allows the group to focus on the future and also secures the future of recently announced renewable energy investments.”
European bank Berenberg, which currently retains a ‘buy’ rating for Shell, meanwhile, cautioned that the dividend decision may cap the share price.
“While it gives management breathing room and may allow a reset for a more sustainable dividend policy over time, we believe that yield was the main attraction for investors in the stock,” Berenberg analyst Henry Tarr said in a note.
“The dividend cut could, therefore, limit the recovery potential for the share price.”
As Shell is steered out of the current crisis and, some attentions again turn back to energy transition, it will be intriguing to see whether dividends remain lower for longer, or whether the oiler quickly returns to business as usual.",804,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894890.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027225224-20201028015224-00506.warc.gz,0.935514271259308
b1ea139d-f78f-4f30-a7e8-efcb6f618166,2019-08-24T00:35:20+00:00,2016-12-02,0,https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/sports/red-deer-rebels-second-period-woes-continue-in-loss-to-lethbridge-hurricanes/,"Hurricanes 5 Rebels 3
LETHBRIDGE — The sixth straight WHL win for the Lethbridge Hurricanes produced the same old problems for the Red Deer Rebels.
While the Rebels captured two points on Wednesday in an effort that left a lot to be desired, the Hurricanes did no such favours in a dominant 5-3 win at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge Friday night.
Rebels GM and head coach Brent Sutter said once again it was an inconsistent performance that caused problems for his squad.
“In the second period it was 26 minutes of not very good hockey and you can’t play that way if you are going to have success. When you play like that, you take bad penalties and it compounds things,” Sutter said. “We lose our focus, and it’s not something that you want to do as a player because when that happens, and you’re playing good teams, you get nailed for it. It was a good team we were playing and they played hard, if they’re prepared to do that for 60 minutes we’re in trouble.”
The Rebels got on the board early after a Colton Bobyk point shot was stopped before Akash Bains collected the rebound and potted his fifth goal of the season at 6:06 of the first period. The assist was Bobyk’s 100th career WHL point and extended his streak to 12 straight games with a helper. The streak is the longest in the WHL this season and the Rebels longest since Martin Erat had assists in 11, 16 years ago.
Defenceman Carson Sass scored his third of the year less than three minutes later. Rebels new addition Matthew Campese contributed his first point with an assist on the Rebels second goal.
The early lead didn’t last long, as the Hurricanes responded in a fury with four unanswered goals.
The collection of tallies marked the third straight game Rebels have given up three or more unanswered goals.
“I’ve seen it for a while now,” Sutter said. “We’re giving up way too many goals. We have to take a lot more pride in not wanting to get scored against. That’s something that this group has struggled with all year. That happens when you’re not playing hard enough, you aren’t blocking shots and you aren’t competing and you’re soft. In today’s game, there are so many good teams, you play that way you are going to get in trouble.”
Adam Musil redirected an Evan Polei shot at 13:13 of the third period for his ninth goal of the season to cut the Hurricanes lead to one. Lethbridge added an empty net goal to finish the scoring.
The Rebels have also been torched by two Hurricanes in particular, with Jordy Bellerive putting up six points in the two contests and Tyler Wong contributing seven.
The win for Lethbridge also means there is just one point separating the clubs in the Central Division standings.
The two teams will be back at it Saturday night when the Hurricanes travel to Red Deer. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Centrium and it will be the Rebels annual Tuque Toss Night and Books on the Bus.
Ice chips: Rebels added forward Matt Campese,19, to their roster on Thursday and also recalled defenceman Jacob Herauf from the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings.
Campese was playing with the West Kelowna Warriors of Junior A BCHL, after being released by the Kamloops Blazers in late September. The five-foot-10, 180-pound forward played one game as a 16-year-old with the Victoria Royals and 14 games the following season before being dealt to the Blazers. In 93 career games in the WHL, Campese had 10 goals and 16 points. In his short stint this season in West Kelowna, the forward had 17 points in 15 games.
Herauf, 16, was with the Rebels in training camp and to start the season before he was sent back to midget AAA. He has played nine games with Red Deer this season and has one assist.
Fifteen-year-old goalie Byron Fancy, a Lethbridge product dressed as the Rebels backup goalie on Friday night. He was the Rebels second round pick in the WHL Bantam Draft in 2016.",922,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319155.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823235136-20190824021136-00144.warc.gz,0.973468899726868
69bd32f7-d88c-4b2e-8473-3c1b7240ab73,2022-05-18T22:28:37+00:00,2021-05-05,1,https://nowliberty.com/just-in-facebook-make-the-final-announcement-on-trump/,"The Facebook oversight board has upheld the blacklisting of former President Donald Trump’s accounts for now, giving Facebook another six months to announce whether it will be removing the suspension or deleting Trump’s pages.
The Daily Mail reports that Facebook’s oversight board, also known as the “Supreme Court” of Facebook, has voted to temporarily uphold the ban on former President Trump’s accounts on the platform. The board has reportedly told Facebook that it needs additional six months to decide whether former President Trump is suspended temporarily or permanently.
The board stated in its announcement that it was upholding the suspension for now but also criticized Facebook for violating its own rules by not providing Trump with an end date for the suspension as it does for its other users.
The board stated that Facebook cannot “make up the rules as it goes along,” by banning some users for a limited amount of time and others indefinitely. The board stated:
The Board has upheld Facebook’s decision on January 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump’s access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account.
However, it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension.
Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account.
The Board insists that Facebook review this matter to determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform. Facebook must complete its review of this matter within six months of the date of this decision.
The Board also made policy recommendations for Facebook to implement in developing clear, necessary, and proportionate policies that promote public safety and respect freedom of expression.
This is the first time Facebook has ever blocked a world leader from using its platform. Trump was also banned from Twitter during the week of the Capitol riots.
Twitter CFO Ned Segal commented on the Facebook Oversight Board’s decision and whether it would affect Trump’s account on Twitter, stating: “Well, there has been no changes to anything we have shared in the past around the former president’s account. When you step back and think about our policies, we want to work hard to be consistent, to be transparent so people know exactly what to expect from us.”
“We don’t have an oversight board like that. Our team is accountable for the decisions that we make,” Segal added. “There is no changes to anything we have talked about in the past.”
The Facebook Oversight Board is an independent body that rules on Facebook’s decision’s and Facebook cannot overrule the board, but does pay the salaries of the board.",578,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00026.warc.gz,0.966383755207062
b7f859b3-1ba1-486c-8de2-f82a247e1470,2017-08-19T06:15:26+00:00,2015-09-07,1,http://www.thestar.co.uk/business/decision-due-on-doncaster-lidl-store-plan-1-7425096,"Plans to build a Lidl supermarket in Thorne look set to go ahead despite opposition from the nearby Sainsbury’s.
Doncaster Council’s planning committee meets tomorrow to consider plans
for a site near the now-demolished water tower on Field Road.
Documents due to go before councillors at the meeting reveal rival firm Sainsbury , who have a store on King Street, lodged an objection the scheme.
The rival chain objected because the site had previously been lined up in official planning maps as being used for housing.
But the report states time has moved on and the site has not come forward for development for housing since its allocation in 1998, despite two economic booms as well as a recession and despite having had a planning permission for housing.
It says: “It is not considered that the loss of this land for retail purposes will jeopardise the council’s housing strategy.
“Whilst the site will result in a loss of housing land within a low flood risk area, the proposal will create jobs, enhance the local economy and increase consumer choice within the town. Overall 15 full time and 25 part time jobs are to be created.”
The planned store would have 1,876 square metres of floor space and 97 car parking spaces are proposed.
In all there were four letters of objection send in, highlighting concerns including traffic congestion, which is already an issue in the area, and road safety. There were six letters in favour, with points made including that competition between stores was good for the consumer.
Recommending the scheme gets planning permission, the report states: “It would bring a vacant underused site back into use, offer linked trip opportunities due to its proximity to the Thorne town centre, create new jobs in a deprived area, improve the setting and appearance of the area at a key gateway into the town centre and assist in clawing back trade from out of centre locations.There is an identified need for a new food store in this location. Thorne currently lacks convenience food provision and this scheme would help meet the day to day needs of residents.”
Meanwhile, Lidl have now filed a full planning application to the council for a store in Bentley, which would take the site of the Rostholme Club, which would be demolished as part of the proposals. The application has been validated, so consultation can start.",492,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105304.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819051034-20170819071034-00250.warc.gz,0.9722620844841
c22fc0ab-64c6-433e-b446-bb0ecc815690,2013-06-20T08:50:58+00:00,2013-03-14,1,http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Iran+year+away+from+having+nuclear+weapon+Obama+says/8103672/story.html,"Iran is about a year away from developing a nuclear weapon and the United States remains committed to doing everything in its power to prevent that from happening, U.S. President Barack Obama said in an exclusive interview that aired Thursday on Israeli TV.
Just days before he is to arrive in Israel for his first presidential visit, Obama told Israel's Channel 2 TV that while he still prefers diplomacy over force, a nuclear Iran is a ""red line"" and all options remain on the table to stop it.
""Right now, we think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don't want to cut it too close,"" he said. ""So when I'm consulting with Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) as I have over the last several years on this issue, my message to him will be the same as before: 'If we can resolve it diplomatically, that is a more lasting solution. But if not I continue to keep all options on the table.""'
The timeline for action against Iran has been one of the most fraught disputes in an already tense relationship between Obama and Netanyahu. Israel has repeatedly threatened to act militarily should Iran appear to be on the verge of obtaining a bomb, while the U.S. has pushed for more time to allow diplomacy and economic sanctions to run their course.
Obama's forecast gives more time than that of Netanyahu, who has signalled that the coming months present a point of no return in dealing with Iran.
The American president nonetheless took a stern tone toward Iran in the half-hour-long interview.
""What I have also said is that there is a window, not an infinite period of time, but a window of time where we can resolve this diplomatically and it is in all of our interests"" to do this, he said. ""They (Iran) are not yet at the point, I think, where they have made a fundamental decision to get right with the international community ... I do think they are recognizing that there is a severe cost to continue on the path they are on and that there is another door open.""
Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat, citing Iranian denials of the Holocaust, its calls for Israel's destruction, its development of missiles capable of striking the Jewish state and its support for hostile Arab militant groups. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to produce energy and medical isotopes, a claim that Israel and many Western countries reject.
Obama said that a nuclear Iran would also be ""dangerous for the world. It would be dangerous for U.S. national security interests.""
In the interview, Obama also spoke about his relationship with Netanyahu - claiming it is not as tense as reported - and encouraged Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks.",572,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972749710083008
65c0e19c-aa47-4feb-80e4-5a45fd0b9c8d,2020-10-19T21:19:30+00:00,2019-10,1,https://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/293427-apprentice-winners-where-now-2019.html,"Ahead of The Apprentice 2019 this week we take a look back at the previous winners.
Like most reality shows, there's been quite the variation in the successes of winners from The Apprentice, from business flops to mutli-million pound companies.
During the show's first six series it was a job up for grabs and while few of the winners still work with Lord Sugar himself, he's very much in contact with most of them, as well as plenty of the other candidates from the previous ten-plus years worth of series.
Since 2011 the candidates have been competing for an investment from Lord Sugar in their business with over £2 million having been injected into new companies that Lord Sugar says are all doing very well.
But just who won The Apprentice last year and what are the past winners get up since leaving?
Who won The Apprentice last year?
After a tense final boardroom, Lord Sugar named Sian Gabbidon the winner of The Apprentice 2018.
Lord Sugar picked Sian to be his business partner. She received a £250,000 business investment and 50/50 partnership with the multi-millionaire business mogul.
Sian showcased her new premium swimwear business, Sian Marie, which has since expanded to add more clothing lines to its range.
But what about the rest? Here's what the other winners of The Apprentice got up in the years after their victories, starting right back at Series 1...
Having won the first ever series some nine years ago now, Tim went on to work with Lord Sugar for two years working in Health and Beauty. He's stayed in touch with the boss since, but Tim went it alone with his Bright Ideas Trust in 2007. The project earned him an MBE in 2012 for services to enterprise culture. In 2016, he started new marketing business Marketing Runners.
Michelle was the first female winner of the show back in 2006, however she was the first to get out early, not fulfilling her one year contract with Lord Sugar. Now Michelle works as a 'motivational speaker', as well as making regular appearances on the telly.
Simon has been by far the most successful of the apprentice winners when it comes to working with Lord Sugar. Hired in 2007, Simon worked alongside the boss for three years before leaving for his own company, which now owns a portfolio of proprieties including housing, restaurants and art galleries.
After controversially winning the 2008 series, Lee McQueen went on to found a recruitment company alongside Lord Sugar's son, Simon Sugar. In 2010 he set up the Raw Talent Academy to teach skills to Sales people .
Restaurateur Yasmina won the 2009 series but never spent more than a year working for Lord Sugar, taking maternity leave for her first baby shortly after being hired.
After returning to work, Yasmina quit her job and instead accepted an offer from Dragons Den star James Caan, working for his private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw.
She's since become the creative director at the Start-Up Loans Company, offering funding to thousands of new companies with £320 million of committed funding as of 2015.
Stella resigned from her job at Lord Sugar's firm after less than a year, claiming that she was simply an ""overpaid lackey"". The winner of the 2010 series went on to sue Lord Sugar for constructive dismissal, a case which proved unsuccessful when it went before an employment tribunal.
Stella has since launched CrowdBox TV, a Sky TV channel dedicating to promoting Crowdfunding projects.
Tom was the first winner of the show's new prize, a £250,000 investment. The inventor worked hard to get his work – which includes his curved nail style file – into shops. With Lord Sugar's help, the product is now stocked in a range of stores and has seen an array of spin-offs including nail clippers. Thomas has gone on to release further inventions including diagnostics equipment and ethical goods.
Ricky Martin launched his own recruitment services company Hyper Recruitment Solutions in 2012. With Lord Sugar's help, the new company posted a profit after the first financial year last April.
Dr Leah Totton
Leah's cosmetic surgery business plan proved quite controversial, but eventually won Lord Sugar over in 2013's closely fought finale with Luisa Zissman. Leah's central London cosmetic clinic Dr. Leah opened in 2014, offering non invasive treatments. In 2016, Leah opened a second clinic in Essex.
Mark launched his Climb Online SEO business in the Spring of last year after winning 2014's run. The company was already making a profit as of April 2015.
Lord Alan Sugar is no longer in business with The Apprentice 2015 winner Joseph Valente. Sugar 'hired' Valente during the eleventh series of the BBC contest, choosing him over rival finalist Vana Koutsomitis.
The tycoon invested the £250,000 prize in Valente's boiler company ImpraGas. However in 2017 it was revealed that he has split from the business, with Valente buying back his 50% stake. They remain on good terms, with Sugar promising he will continue to offer support to his former protégé.
It was Alana Spencer who won The Apprentice 2016, securing a £250,000 investment for her bakery business. Following the final she put her business plan into action with Lord Sugar's help. Her Ridiculously Rich brand sells its homemade cakes and chocolates online, at events and via sales reps.
In 2019, it was revealed that Alana had purchased Lord Sugar's shares of the business leaving her as the sole owner.
""I will follow Alana’s progress with much affection,"" Lord Sugar said.
Alana added: ""The knowledge and advice gained from Lord Sugar and his team in the early stages of the business has been invaluable.""
Sarah Lynn and James White
There was a surprise when it came to who won The Apprentice 2017. In a shock twist, when faced with the decision between the two candidates, Lord Sugar decided it was a dead heat, and picked both to be his business Sarah Lynn and James White partners.
Both winners received a £250,000 business investment and 50/50 partnership with the multi-millionaire business mogul.
Sarah launched her sweet confectionery company Sweets in the City, now stocked by the likes of Harrods and Selfridges, while James and Lord Sugar currently work on his Right Time Recruitment his IT recruitment service.
The Apprentice 2019 continues Wednesday nights on BBC One.",1332,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107866404.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019203523-20201019233523-00562.warc.gz,0.978055357933044
47bbdc03-793c-4eb9-bbca-90573fa8d641,2016-07-24T08:52:38+00:00,2014-03-16,1,http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/victoria/death-with-dignity-reform-20140315-34udp.html,"Victorians will be able to instruct their doctors to not give them life-prolonging treatment for possible future illnesses, under a state government push to allow people to die with dignity.
As a condition of hospital funding, patients will now be encouraged to create ''advance care plans'' setting out the kind of medical care they would want in the event of illnesses such as dementia, cancer or brain damage.
The directives would give people a greater say on how they want to die - before they lose their decision-making capacity - and provide clinicians with guidance to implement their patients' wishes.
''It's about providing the support for people to make decisions they believe are important,'' said Health Minister David Davis. ''This is about their own steps, and to make choices ahead of time, where they could say: well this is a point where I would want certain treatment refused, or I want them continued. Either is relevant.''
At present, about 7 per cent of Australians are believed to have an advance care plan, but in Victoria, any refusal of treatment can apply only to a current illness, not a possible future problem. The government's strategy, to be announced on Sunday, will take into account future conditions, and will also be tied to hospital funding to ensure such plans are embedded into clinical practice.
For instance, a patient would be able to give their doctor a written instruction that, in the event of rapidly deteriorating health, they would accept intravenous antibiotics but would not want resuscitation, or a transfer to intensive care.
They could also use the advance care plan to appoint a substitute decision-maker. Euthanasia or assisted suicide, however, will remain illegal.
While the move stops short of Victorian Law Reform Commission recommendations to make instructional directives enshrined in law, many have welcomed the strategy as an important shift in clinical practice.
‘‘We think it’s a very positive development, as it’s very important for people to be having conversations about end-of-life care,’’ said John Chesterman, policy manager for the Office of the Public Advocate.
Barwon Health intensive care specialist Charlie Corke said it was impossible for doctors and family members to make good treatment decisions for patients unless their concerns and wishes were clearly understood.
‘‘It is difficult to think rationally in a crisis. Serious disease may impair clear thinking, and quite often people who are very sick are unconscious, so cannot say anything at all. It is vital that we all plan before a medical crisis, when there is no pressure and plenty of time,’’ he said.
While some health services, such as the Austin Hospital, already provide advance care planning, the government has been under growing pressure to create greater clarity around their practical effects.
Associate Professor Bill Silvester, director of the Austin Hospital’s Respecting Patient Choices program, said there had been many cases of doctors giving patients treatment they may not have wanted because the patient had lost their ability to decide for themselves.
The new strategy would allow people to be better protected in future, he said, and train doctors and nurses to talk to patients while they still had the capacity to work out what they wanted.
He said advance care planning through the Respecting Patient Choices program had also reduced the number of patients who may have otherwise sought euthanasia.
‘‘The reason people look at [euthanasia] is because they don’t trust that their voice will be heard. This policy is going to be a great step forward for us to deliver a better quality of care to patients at their end of life,’’ Professor Silvester said.",756,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823989.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00082-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969761550426483
218c33d9-8f5c-4880-8f9e-fcc6c2b10eb7,2015-03-27T05:16:59+00:00,2014-01-14,1,http://www.witneygazette.co.uk/uk_national_news/10927176.Whole_life_terms__wholly_justified_/?ref=nt,"Whole-life jail terms are ""wholly justified in the most heinous cases"", the Government has said, as it furthers negotiations with European human rights judges over a controversial ruling against the so-called ""life means life"" sentences.
Whole-life tariffs were deemed a breach of human rights following a successful appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by murderers Jeremy Bamber, Douglas Vinter and Peter Moore.
Ministers have sent an initial response to the Council of Europe, which oversees the ECHR, to confirm it is considering what steps are necessary as a result of the judgment.
But the Ministry of Justice added the Government intends to argue whole-life tariffs should remain available to courts when a number of key cases are brought before the Court of Appeal later this month.
April Jones murderer Mark Bridger, Lee Newell, who murdered child killer Subhan Anwar in prison, and murderer and rapist Matthew Thomas have been listed to challenge their whole-life terms on January 24.
As part of the same hearing, the panel of five judges will also consider the case of triple killer Ian McLoughlin, whose life sentence with a determinate tariff of 40 years was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General for being too lenient.
In each case, the central legal issue is the nature of the sentencing scheme for whole life orders and the compatibility of such an order with the European Convention on Human Rights.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: ""The Government has today responded to the Council of Europe, noting the Court's judgment.
""We are clear that this raises important issues, on which Parliament and the public has strong views, and that our response should not be rushed.
""The Government remains firmly of the view that whole life tariffs are wholly justified in the most heinous cases, and that they should continue to be available to the courts.
""We will be strenuously arguing in the Court of Appeal that a judge can and must impose a whole life order in cases such as these.""
Some 52 criminals are serving whole-life sentences including Ian Brady, the Moors murderer and serial killer Rosemary West.
Last year's appeal by Bamber, Vinter and Moore ruled that their whole life sentences amounted to ''inhuman and degrading treatment''.
Whole-lifers should be entitled to a review of their sentence 25 years into their term at the very latest, the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg-based court said.
The ruling by 17 judges from across Europe sparked further outrage among critics of the court - despite reassurances that the decision did not amount to grounds for imminent release.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, will be on the panel of judges to consider the test cases at the Court of Appeal later this month.
Bridger kidnapped five-year-old April before sexually abusing her, murdering her and disposing of her body.
The former slaughterhouse worker was given a whole-life sentence by trial judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams after he was convicted by a jury at Mold Crown Court.
Newell, 44, is challenging a whole-life sentence imposed last September at Warwick Crown Court.
He was convicted alongside Gary Smith for the February 2013 murder of convicted child killer Anwar in his cell at Long Lartin Prison, Worcestershire.
Newell was already serving a life sentence for a previous murder committed in 1988.
Convicted rapist Thomas was told ""life means life"" after murdering a newlywed bride and then kidnapping and raping a second woman.
Thomas, then 43, from Luton, pleaded guilty to the murder of Colette Magee in Luton in November 2013.
He also admitted two counts of rape, one of indecent assault and one count of kidnap of the second woman.
Another one of the test cases concerns triple killer McLoughlin, 55, who was jailed for life at the Old Bailey last October for stabbing a man on his first day-release from prison after 21 years in custody.
When sentencing McLoughlin, the trial judge imposed a 40-year tariff, saying he could not pass a whole-life term because of the European court ruling.
McLoughlin - who had killed twice before - stabbed Graham Buck, 66, as he came to the aid of a neighbour in Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, last July.
Attorney General Dominic Grieve referred his case to the appeal court because he regards McLoughlin's sentence with the 40-year minimum term as ""unduly lenient"".",929,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00254-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966206610202789
14cd84da-eee0-433b-ba70-3d323a842afe,2020-10-25T16:11:50+00:00,2019-05-14,1,https://factualcast.com/2019/05/14/more-venezuelan-lawmakers-accused-of-treason/,"Venezuela’s Supreme Court has accused four opposition members of parliament of treason and conspiracy, days after making similar accusations against 10 other lawmakers.
They all supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó in a failed effort to spark a military rebellion against President Nicolás Maduro in April.
Last week, one lawmaker was arrested and several took refuge in embassies.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, security forces blocked off the parliament building.
Members of the Sebin intelligence service, national police and military prevented lawmakers from attending a session at the opposition-controlled National Assembly in the capital, Caracas.
Lawmakers were scheduled to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the parliamentary immunity of several of their colleagues and the arrest of Edgar Zambrano, the assembly’s vice-president.
The security forces said they were investigating a possible explosive device inside the building, according to lawmakers.
“This is all part of a show to prevent the National Assembly from functioning,” lawmaker Juan Pablo Guanipa told Reuters news agency. “This is a dictatorship that goes after dissidents, and we’re fighting for a political change.”
Mr Guaidó, who has previously accused Mr Maduro of tying to close the National Assembly, said on Twitter: “They’re trying to hold the legislative power hostage while the dictator entrenches himself alone in a palace where he shouldn’t be.”
President Maduro has intensified a crackdown on the opposition since their failed uprising on 30 April.
The four lawmakers accused were Carlos Paparoni, Miguel Pizarro, Franco Casella and Winston Flores. Mr Pizarro and Mr Flores called the accusations “illegitimate”.
The National Assembly has been stripped of its powers since Mr Maduro’s ruling Socialist Party lost control of it in 2016. He then set up the National Constituent Assembly, controlled by loyalists.
Last week, three opposition lawmakers took shelter in foreign embassies after losing their congressional immunity. Meanwhile, there has been no word from Mr Zambrano since his dramatic arrest last Wednesday.
Mr Guaidó, who is the head of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president in January and has been recognised by more than 50 nations, including the US and most in Latin America. President Maduro retains the support of the military’s top ranks and of allies including Russia, China and Turkey.
In a separate development, human rights group Amnesty International said it believed Venezuelan authorities committed crimes against humanity in their crackdown on anti-government protests in January.
The group urged the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the allegations.
“[T]here is a systematic policy of repression against opponents or those perceived to be opponents simply because they are protesting, for which Nicolás Maduro’s government must be held accountable before the international justice system,” Amnesty’s Americas director Erika Guevara-Rosas said in a statement.",612,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107889574.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025154704-20201025184704-00176.warc.gz,0.9566251039505
1ad8a979-030d-4489-a845-79a9089baee8,2015-03-30T11:09:46+00:00,2008-08-01,0,http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews-by-region/uk_and_ireland/lamborghini/murcielago/,"Lamborghini Murcielago Reviews from UK and Ireland
2004 Lamborghini Murcielago 6.2 V12
The bull is finally tamed
One heated cup holder fails to heat, hardly a problem and I don't really need it.
Passenger side air vent does not shut off fully. Again not really a problem, but can be annoying for the passenger.
This is the easiest Lamborghini to drive to date. The steering is light and precise, too light really the car feels almost twitchy. I sneezed on the motorway when bringing her home and I had changed lanes! Build quality is now very good. Nothing has fallen off, shaken off, split, cracked or teared yet. My diablo's mirror fell out bringing that home! Well done Audi for making a supercar into a usable car. Still not as practical as a Porsche 911 series, but then again I use a Mercedes as a daily car and the Murc is just a toy really. You will see me and the car at supercar sunday this year if I can make it. I will be doing ride outs in the car for charity so come and donate to the kids hospital and have the ride of your life too!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th January, 2005
11th Jan 2005, 08:29
Cor, is everyone as impressed by this bloke as I am?
12th Mar 2006, 16:31
As the old saying goes: smoke 'em if you got 'em. Hey, if I had a Lambo I might never find a reason to be unhappy again.
Though I probably would.
29th Nov 2006, 14:37
The best advice that I can give to a super-car driver is 'Drive it like it's stolen!'
1st Aug 2008, 19:18
+100000000000000000000000000000 to this bloke indeed.
Nice gentleman, super-car driver...
2003 Lamborghini Murcielago
Hardly a bargain, in fact a long way from it, but owners are aware of this at the point of purchase
Nothing major has gone wrong with this car - but to be honest I am probably not going to drive a high enough mileage in it for anything major to develop.
The rear spoiler remained in the up position in the first week, but this was very quickly fixed by the dealer.
As they say here in the UK - it does what it says on the tin!
There is no question that the Murcielago is quick and that it handles superbly. However, I am slightly worried that the clutch is fragile as it feels too light for nearly 600bhp. Therefore it becomes easy to stall as you tend to creep forward on engine revs only letting the clutch out without using any gas in an effort to save the clutch!
It would take a complete fool to lose control of this car as it sticks to the road like a barnacle!
The major drawback of ownership in Europe is the width of the car, you have to seriously think about where exactly you are going to drive it as it would be very easy to get it stuck in some medieval town or country road. Certainly meeting traffic coming towards you on narrow roads is heart-stopping.
It is essentially like owning a piece of art - it looks absolutely stunning from any angle and drives with passion. Many high performance cars separate the driver from the engine and you don't really feel you're driving something special unless you check the speedo - the Lamborghini is an event to drive at any speed.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 29th September, 2003
14th Oct 2003, 18:49
There are seven (7) reviews on Murcielago's already. The odds are that most if not ALL of these are fake. This review at least sounds semi plausible though it gives little detail which can confirm ownership.
How do we separate the wheat from the Chaff? At least if it sounds fake, you know that you can disregard it.
Please don't post fake reviews unless it is witty and obvious.",861,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00253-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962615966796875
ddb88470-a8c4-41dd-b613-4340f96e24fd,2022-05-24T23:54:48+00:00,2019-12-01,1,https://www.nmis.scot/whats-happening/news/planning-permission-submitted/,"A planning application has been submitted for the development of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) situated at the centre of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) in Renfrewshire.
NMIS is a £65 million, industry-led international centre of manufacturing expertise led by Scottish Government in partnership with its enterprise and skills agencies, University of Strathclyde and Renfrewshire Council. Operated by Strathclyde, as a national facility for Scotland,
it is where research, industry and the public sector work together to transform skills, productivity and innovation to attract investment and make Scotland a global leader in advanced manufacturing.
The new, energy carbon neutral, facility next to Glasgow Airport will include a skills academy, a fully digitalised factory of the future and collaboration hub for manufacturers of all sizes and from all sectors to work together with research partners and the public sector to innovate and grow their businesses.
NMIS also includes two specialist technology centres: Lightweight Manufacturing Centre which was opened earlier this year by the First Minister and Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre; the only High Value Manufacturing Catapult centre in Scotland.
The application will now be considered by Renfrewshire Council.
Economy Secretary Derek Mackay said:
Manufacturing is crucial to our economy and is a sector we want to see flourish in Scotland.This is a notable milestone for the NMIS facility and given the importance of responding to the global climate emergency, I am particularly pleased the facility will be energy carbon neutral and it is great that the facility will lead by example and demonstrate what is possible.
NMIS will deliver benefits for businesses across Scotland well before the building is complete including through the existing capability available at the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre which adds to the wider support available from our enterprise agencies to help companies improve their productivity.
Strathclyde’s Principal, Professor Sir Jim McDonald, said:
It is great news that the plans for NMIS are progressing so quickly. Scotland has a vibrant manufacturing sector which is well placed for further innovation and growth. To achieve its fullest potential, it needs advanced facilities, resources and equipment, for use by highly qualified and skilled staff; NMIS will offer all of this. At Strathclyde – and across Scotland’s world-class universities - we have the drive, expertise and track record to support this highly collaborative venture and, with the NMIS partners, support the transformation of Scottish manufacturing.”
NMIS and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, in which Strathclyde is lead research partner, will be the anchor institutions in the advanced manufacturing district. The district is benefitting from a £39 million investment to provide the enabling infrastructure, funded through the Glasgow City Region City Deal. It is also home to the NMIS specialist technology centres.
Glasgow-based HLM Architects is leading the NMIS design team, which also includes Waterman Civil & Structural Engineers, Davie + McCulloch Building Services Engineers and Robinson Low Francis LLP Cost Mangers. HLM will also be providing landscape architecture and interior design services, while Turner and Townsend have been appointed as Project Managers under Strathclyde’s Framework Agreement.
Ross Barrett, Associate HLM, said:
The new NMIS facility is a hugely exciting project and we are really pleased to be working with all partners to respond to the ambitions for this centre. Our thoughtful design creates an innovative, flexible and collaborative environment where knowledge and creativity can be shared. Inspired by the materiality and colours of the Scottish landscape, this bold sustainable building sets out to create a unique character and identity for NMIS which will inspire and attract industry partners and academics alike.",762,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577757.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524233716-20220525023716-00213.warc.gz,0.942595422267914
26c0646f-3861-4288-9b0d-d93ab7bf5fc9,2018-08-20T16:08:37+00:00,2018-08-20,0,https://www.freethesaurus.com/makes+the+acquaintance,"Trixie also makes the acquaintance
of Dex (Mulroney), a raffish ladies' man who quickly works his way into her heart.
After meeting a garrulous talking bug named Ted, Fone Bone makes the acquaintance
of two humans, the beautiful Thorn (our heroine) and her grandmother, Grandma Ben.
By apparent chance, he also makes the acquaintance
of a hairdresser who shows signs of the wounds of Christ - the Stigmata.
Photo: Tom Everett Scott plays a tourist who makes the acquaintance
of a scary young woman (Julie Delpy) in Disney's ``An American Werewolf in Paris.
Morgan makes the acquaintance
of Allen Porter, a former counselor to President Eisenhower, who met him through Seamas Concannon, an eccentric Irish fellow passenger who teaches at Beresford and can gulp down double martinis before breakfast.",184,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216718.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820160510-20180820180510-00600.warc.gz,0.924193620681763
75fed5ad-0386-4a80-8c58-8ee775ebf7b7,2015-03-29T17:20:50+00:00,2013-11-01,1,http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/11/is-geothermal-the-only-baseload-power-replacement-that-makes-sense?cmpid=rss,"WASHINGTON, D.C. -- There are no plans for new coal plants to be built in the United States. This opens doors for the geothermal industry possibly more than ever before in U.S. history. In an Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast to 2018, coal was one of the top-cost commissioning technology options; geothermal was one of the lowest.
The Geysers field in northern California has been producing reliable geothermal power for over 50 years. Photo courtesy of the Geothermal Education Office
As the nation carefully and in as timely a manner possible considers proposed and existing greenhouse gas emissions regulations, public awareness of health and environmental costs, and mindful economics, coal development is becoming a thing of the past, and the future balance of the power grid is at stake — but answers are available. Geothermal energy is a renewable source of electricity that has the same important baseload qualities coal now provides for over two thirds of the electric power generation in the U.S. at a fraction of the cost.
“Baseload is always better,” according to Domenic Falcone, President, Domenic J. Falcone Associates, Inc. Falcone is also a member of the Geothermal Energy Association’s Board of Directors. “[I]t assures a steady revenue stream which is much better for financing.”For a nation that’s thinking to the long term, geo plants are:
Falcone says of geothermal’s flow options: “By being able to load follow, geothermal can be reduced during low need time and increased without much effort. There is no need to store power that cannot be used. The price of power can be kept lower than other renewables since more of it is sold than the intermittent power sources like wind and solar.”
Falcone adds, “There are now efforts to marry solar with geothermal so that extra power can be produced during sunny peak hours.
“There is no need to invest in fossil fuel to create heat in order to generate power, so the environment is better off.”But today’s solicitations for renewable energy in Western states tend to ignore these unique benefits of geothermal power. Additional long-term analysis shows geothermal plants are:
Let’s look at that last point. Geothermal plants should last for hundreds of years, assuming they are managed properly. Coal plants have an estimated 40-year life span, and almost all of them in the U.S. were built over 30 years ago. Replacement of coal has already begun, and in the not-too-distant future, each of the existing facilities around the country will need to retire. Because of changing economic and regulatory environments, an estimated 59–77 GW of current coal consumption will be off line by 2016.
The graph “Capacity by Generating Unit Vintage” shows coal plants constructed in California in the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s that are all approaching retirement and will need renewable energy replacements since 33 percent of the state’s power must come from renewables by 2020.
These constitute California in-state coal generation of 1,580 GWh in 2012 that will need a flexible, renewable baseload power source replacement. Beyond that, nearly a third of the Imperial Irrigation District (IID)’s electricity comes from New Mexico coal plants; those facilities will also need to be phased out as they age.
IID recently announced it plans to support 1,700 MW of new geothermal energy as part of the Salton Sea Restoration & Renewable Energy Initiative.
SB 123 in Nevada, passed in June of 2013, mandates 300 MW of coal-fired electric generating capacity in the state be retired by December 31, 2014. The wealth of geothermal resources in this state and the favorable disposition toward these power plants make them a likely contender to provide the needed replacement power.
California and Nevada are taking steps in the right direction that other states may follow. Montana and Wyoming also have vast geothermal resources and will be ready for development if or when the need is recognized; at present the abundant supply of coal in these states makes this something to look at in the longer term. (Wyoming produced 40 percent of all coal mined in the U.S. in 2011).
Some of the best opportunities for expanding baseload geothermal energy in the U.S. are in “the Imperial Valley, New Mexico, and Utah, with further expansion in Nevada,” notes Falcone. In those same states, he adds, there are also many current wells ready for production-level stimulation.
The Geothermal Energy Association reaches out to the public and policy makers who haven't considered geo power as the U.S. looks to replace its aging coal plant infrastructure in the U.S. West and beyond. It is an economical, tried-and-true technology that is constantly improving and evolving, and it is the renewable substitute for coal-powered generation.
Outside the U.S., Falcone notes that Mexico is opening up its geothermal opportunities to non-Mexican investors and that Costa Rica is doing great geothermal work. Honduras, he says, is in high need of power, and he mentions countries on the African Rift: Kenya, Uganda, and Djibouti. “They all have tremendous demand,” he concludes.
Learn more about ""The Values of Geothermal Energy"" in a 2013 report by the Geothermal Energy Association.",1136,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298660.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00034-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952880561351776
d3c66333-d6aa-43fe-b1a1-befd2ebae941,2022-05-25T23:49:00+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://menuchaclassrooms.com/products/gears-gears-gears-%C2%AE-build-bloom,"Gears! Gears! Gears!® Build & Bloom
Mix, match and create your own beautiful, spinning flower garden! Set of 117 includes: colorful gears, flowers, butterflies, bees, ladybugs, wiggly stems, and more! Parts are all interchangeable, allowing for endless combinations and designs. Let your imagination blossom!
- Learning Styles: Visual, Tactile
- Skill Development: Counting, Sorting, Matching, Patterning, Problem solving, Cause & effect, Critical thinking, Sequential thought, Spatial relationships, Creativity, Fine motor skills, Eye-hand coordination, Visual processing, Color identification
Format: Default Title
Guided Reading Level:",187,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662594414.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525213545-20220526003545-00611.warc.gz,0.721207022666931
0862ed6d-23df-4029-a750-ce95bf23abc6,2022-05-24T23:52:04+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://artistryinglass.on.ca/yellow-brown-56r014-lead-free-by-reusche-paints.html?category_id=232,"Location & Currency
The order subtotal is less than the minimum allowed value (CA$25)
Reusche Yellow Brown #56R014, Semi Gloss Translucent to Opaque, Fusible, 87 - 96 coe.1 oz. bottle.Lead Free.Firing Temperature: 1150º - 1400º F.
© 2001 - 2022 Artistry In Glass. All rights reserved.
HOURS: Mondays - Fridays 10am - 2pm
Powered by X-Cart",119,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577757.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524233716-20220525023716-00227.warc.gz,0.693671762943268
400446b8-c90a-4740-a424-afb14de40d79,2016-07-23T15:14:19+00:00,2009-07-01,1,http://thebulletin.org/russias-new-arms-development,"We don't know at this point what the next U.S.-Russian arms control agreement will look like, but everyone in the international community expects it to be a step toward significantly reducing the world's two largest nuclear arsenals. The levels set in the Moscow Treaty, which Washington and Moscow signed in May 2002, commit them to reducing the number of operationally deployed nuclear warheads on each side to no more than 1,700-2,200 warheads by 2012. One would expect that a post-Moscow Treaty agreement will bring much lower numbers.
Optimists suggest that each country could go to as low as 500 operationally deployed warheads. I think this would be difficult--in part because it would require further bending of the already lax counting rules for ""operationally deployed warheads."" A number such as 1,500 warheads would be easier to reach. The main problem with a 1,500-warhead level is that it's too close to the Moscow Treaty limit for the reduction to count as a dramatic disarmament step. Most likely then we'll end up with something in between, with 1,000-1,200 warheads representing a good bet.
If all of Russia's currently scheduled defense programs materialize, Moscow will find itself in a situation where its strategic nuclear arsenal will start growing.""
While getting there will require skillful, difficult negotiations between the U.S. and Russian delegations, the hardest conversations will take place at home with the countries' respective military-industrial complexes. This is particularly so for Russia, where the political leadership already has given its defense industry and military a free hand in shaping Moscow's national security policy. Specifically, recent promises and commitments that Moscow has made regarding the future buildup of its strategic forces put Russia on a trajectory that's incompatible with substantial nuclear reductions. More directly, if all of the currently scheduled programs materialize, Russia will find itself in a situation where its strategic arsenal will start growing.
In fact, it already is growing--although that growth is masked by the dramatic reduction of old missiles with multiple warheads. But these missiles will be around for some time; it appears that the current plan is to keep old Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) around until about 2021, which is when the last SS-18 missile will turn 30 years old. I hope that if the United States and Russia agree on dramatic reductions in the near future, these missiles could be eliminated sooner--after all, they're old. But getting rid of the new Russian missiles, submarines, and bombers that are being built today will be much more difficult, presenting a potentially serious obstacle to cutting the number of nuclear warheads in Russia's arsenal much below 1,500.
In particular, two major new strategic systems are currently under development: (1) the Topol-M, or SS-27, ICBM; and (2) the Project 955 Borey submarine with Bulava missiles. In addition, Russia has resumed production of Tu-160 strategic bombers. None of these three programs have been large in terms of deployment, but even small numbers add up over time.
With Topol-M, the Strategic Rocket Forces have added about six new missiles a year for about a decade. In total, there are 65 missiles deployed today, each carrying a single warhead. The current plan is to continue deployment at about the same rate throughout the next few years, bringing the number of deployed missiles to 110-120 by 2015. The program, however, will undergo a major change in December when new Topol-M missiles will be equipped with multiple warheads. (This missile configuration is known as RS-24.) Assuming that the missiles will carry three warheads, Topol-Ms would then account for about 210 warheads, and the entire ICBM force would have about 800 warheads by 2015. As older missiles retire and the deployment of new Topol-Ms continue, the missile force would shrink to about 400 warheads, all deployed on new Topol-M missiles--although they won't be so new by that time.
Development of the sea-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), Bulava, has run into some serious problems, but Russia seems determined to continue the program, with the first Borey submarine scheduled to be deployed in either 2010 or 2011. Two more submarines are under construction, and the plan is to build eight of these ships in all. In the meantime, the Russian Navy will rely on six older Delta IV submarines. Assuming that the navy would maintain a fleet of eight submarines--both old and new--the total number of warheads on its SLBMs will stay at 600-700 over the next decade.
Finally, the number of Tu-160 bombers is expected to double in the next decade, with 30 aircraft expected to be in service by 2025-2030. It's reasonable to assume that older bombers will retire to keep the total number of bomber-carried nuclear weapons at the level of 400-500, which is slightly less than Russia has today.
Taken together, all of this means that Russia is planning to have about 1,400-1,600 nuclear warheads in its strategic force for some time. And this could be a conservative estimate. For example, there's a possibility that the multiple-warhead version of the Topol-M missile will carry more than three warheads. There's also persistent talk about developing a new multiple-warhead missile that would be deployed alongside Topol-Ms. If this were to occur, the number of warheads in the Russian arsenal would be pushed even higher. More importantly, most of these warheads would be deployed on relatively new systems that could stay in service for many years. And if history is any guide, liquidating them would be a contentious domestic issue.
Nothing, of course, is set in stone. Plans can be changed. After all, the point of having arms reductions is to cut back on weapon development programs. But it would be much harder to do this once these programs gain a momentum--making a new U.S.-Russian disarmament agreement much more urgent.",1229,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823072.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00047-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965222537517548
25b79e22-b686-43e9-bd9f-d1b788941e6a,2013-06-19T14:25:55+00:00,2011-09-15,1,http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/15/australian-passports-now-offer-gender-option-x-for-intersex-people/,"In a move the Australian government hopes will help remove discrimination against intersex or transgender people, the country's passports will now offer three options: male, female and indeterminate, the government said Thursday.
""This initiative is in line with the Australian Government’s commitment to remove discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or sex and gender identity,"" according to the Australian Passport Office. ""The policy removes unnecessary obstacles to recording a person’s preferred gender in their passport.""
Those who do not identify themselves as male or female will no longer be required to check off the ""M"" or ""F"" box under gender, but instead will have the option of checking ""X,"" according to the new passport rules.
“This amendment makes life easier and significantly reduces the administrative burden for sex and gender diverse people who want a passport that reflects their gender and physical appearance,"" Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said.
The office said birth certificates or citizen certificates won't need to be altered in order to have a new passport issued. And those who identify themselves as transgender will be able to choose their preferred gender so long as it is supported by a statement from a doctor.
""Sex reassignment surgery is not a prerequisite to issue a passport in a new gender,"" according to the Australian Passport Office. ""A letter from a medical practitioner certifying that the person has had, or is receiving, appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to a new gender, or that they are intersex and do not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth, is acceptable.""
In the past, Australian citizens had to choose either male or female, and were able to make changes to their gender on the documents only if they had sex reassignment surgery. The United States made a similar change in 2010 that dropped the surgery requisite for transgender people. The United Kingdom also allows people to check a gender other than their gender at birth. In Canada, you can make a change only if you have had sex reassignment surgery. In New Zealand the decision is made by a family court ruling.
Australia's Attorney General Robert McClelland said he hoped the change in policy will alleviate some of the frustrations for intersex and transgender people.
""Most people take for granted the ability to travel freely and without fear of discrimination,” McClelland said in a statement. ""This measure will extend the same freedoms to sex and gender diverse Australians. While it’s expected this change will only affect a handful of Australians, it’s an important step in removing discrimination for sex and gender diverse people.""",525,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958528399467468
7d298007-3379-4425-8be1-3c3e00a9751f,2015-03-27T05:13:41+00:00,2011-06-30,0,http://polymerclayetc.com/?m=201106,"Carole, Ellyn, Charlene, Sydney, Tyra, Marty, Terri, Vicky, Pat, Karen
It was a hot day in Central Florida, but we had enough fun to make up for it. This was a great group of woman who created some fabulous work. I’m always inspired by the diversity of the pieces. Even though we all start at the same place we end up with such different creations, it’s a joy to witness.
Most of these shape were created with Barbara McGuire’s Antique Door Plate stamps. You can purchase them from me, just leave a comment on this post if you’re interested.
Here are the works of art in the order of the stairs ….. pendants first.
Carole wanted a blue surround and made quick work of putting together blue canes for her soulful girl. Love her eyes.
Ellyn and I are on the same wave length, I love mermaids and this one is going to be such fun to wear.
Charlene freehanded this cool ribbon cat and step away from the rest of the group with a gold surround for her face. Charlene is President of the Orlando Area Polymer Clay Guild that sponsors the Fandango retreat. You should think about attending next year.
Okay, so Sydney just kept adding until hers is now too big to wear and is going to grace the front of a journal. A mixture of canes and ink and markers, can you tell which is which? Can’t wait to see the finished piece. Sydney is involved in the Florida Gulf coast Polymer Clay Guild, if you live in that area you should check it out.
Tyra created her own drawing of this interesting mythical character and we were all impressed. Lots of wonderful detail.
Marty kept saying she couldn’t draw and didn’t like her pendant at first, but by the end of the class she walked out with it around her neck. I think she was mistaken about the drawing part.
Marty is owner of Beads, F.O.B., Inc. in Sarasota. If you’re over that way stop in and tell her and Karen I said hi.
I don’t have a pendant picture for Terri. Terri, if you have a picture send it to me….. please.
Vicky created these fabulous faces on her own shapes. I just love the colors and her imagination. Vicky has a website with more of her beautiful work displayed.
Pat outlined her face in red, a great accent against the black. Fun! Love those lips.
Now Karen’s face is right up my alley too. It’s strange and funky, and yes very cool, I love that.
Terri created this sweet girl and used her imagination to cover a mistake in coloring. I know she’s going to love wearing this bracelet.
Carole combined the pen and ink with a hair cane to come up with this unique bracelet. There is three different faces, it’s really cool.
Ellyn has three faces on her bracelet as well. I love the softness of this face and the coloring of the hair. She emailed me the next day saying she wore it home and it made her smile. YES!!! that’s my goal, so mission accomplished.
Ellyn works at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, check out what they have to offer.
Not everyone finished their bracelets in class but will finished them at home I hope. Send me pictures everyone.
Thanks to Sydney for taking pictures of everyone work, I had to borrow some of hers. She also has an album she created. Take a look.",773,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00269-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966018199920654
ecf1c3b8-9408-49f6-8baf-5f95751269b3,2022-05-26T13:48:32+00:00,2022-02-28,1,https://www.instrategy.com/macro-matters/tag/employment/,"Non-Farm Payrolls remain on a positive run with a further 678k jobs (mkt 400k) added during February, from a revised 481k in Jan. Private sector jobs growth came in at 654k (mkt 378k). Manufacturing payrolls added 36k (mkt 23k) jobs while government gained 24k from an upwardly revised 33k last month. Average monthly revision over the past 12-months now stand at +79.6k. There was also good news on the participation rate too which moved up to 62.3% from 62.2%. Unemployment resumed its downward course at 3.8% from 4.0% although U-6 edged back to 7.2% from 7.1%. Full-time work continues to drive the recovery, with the household survey actually reporting a small decline in part-time employment.
Following the surprise contraction in January ADP on Wednesday (-301k), expectations for Non-Farm Payrolls had been pared back. So the strong is clearly a positive shock with headline NFP +467k (mkt 150k) from an upwardly revised 311k in December. Private sector jobs growth came in at 444k (mkt 150k). Manufacturing payrolls added 13k (mkt 25k) jobs while government gained 23k from an upwardly revised gain of 7k last month. The patterns of strong upward revisions continue and the average monthly revision over the past 12-months now stand at +111k, the highest we’ve seen so far in this recovery.
Another weaker than expected headline non-farm payrolls number, with the report stating 199k new jobs were created during the month versus the 400k median guess. Private sector jobs growth came in at 211k (mkt 365k). Manufacturing payrolls added 26k (mkt 35k) jobs while government lost another 12k, their fifth consecutive decline. The revisions however remain upward, with 156k added in October and November compared to the initial release and the average revision over the past year hitting 79.3k. There was better news on the participation rate, which was revised up to 61.9% and held steady in December. That underpinned the further decline in the unemployment rate, U3 falling to 3.9% from 4.2% and U6 to 7.3% from 7.7%. The average work week was stable at 34.7hrs, which is another positive, full-time employment growing while part-time dipped again.
October has delivered a more robust payrolls report, non-farm employment rising 531k (mkt 450k) while private sector jobs growth hit 604k (mkt 400k). Manufacturing payrolls were particularly strong, with a 60k gain while government jobs dropped for a third consecutive month, -73k. The revisions were also strong (September revised up from 194k to 312k and August was also revised higher. The average monthly revision is now running at 68k for the past 12-months.
We’ve seen a further deceleration in the pace of employment growth, the September non-farm payrolls report showing just 194k jobs were created in the month, down from an upwardly revised 366k in August and well below the consensus guess of 500k. Despite the glut of job openings there was a further decline in the participation rate too, down 0.1% pts to 61.6%, which is unchanged from a year ago. That contributed to another steep fall in the unemployment rate, U3 down to 4.8% from 5.2% and U6 to 8.5% from 8.8%.
Labour market growth slowed a little more than expected in August, amid some disruption to the services recovery from the Delta strain. But there were still +235k jobs added (mkt +750k) and we saw upward revisions to prior months, so the net impact was still positive, leading to a further decline in the unemployment rate to 5.2% from 5.4% and the U6 rate dropped down to 8.8% from 9.2%. The participation unchanged at 61.7%. Govt payrolls shrank a little after recent strong gains (-8k) but manufacturing continued to grow (+37k). Weekly hours were 34.7 from a downward pay revised 34.7, which by itself remains elevated from its pre-pandemic range.
Another month of strong payroll gain, the headline number showing a net gain of 943k jobs (mkt 870k) while revisions also shifted upward (a net 146k added for the past three months). 703k of the July gain came from private payrolls (mkt 700k). Manufacturing added 27k jobs and government 240k, accounting for all of the surprise. Labour participation edged up to 61.7% which left the unemployment rate at 5.7% (down from 5.9% but above the 5.4% median guess). Prime age participation (25-54) saw a further surge, for both male and female workers. This is a positive trend and reinforces our lack of concern for labour scarcity. It’s important to contrast this with the post-GFC period where prime participation continued to fall after the initial crisis.
Strong payroll gains with some additional impetus from upward revisions. Overall the economy added 850k jobs in June (mkt 700k) up from 583k in May (revised from 559k), of which 662k came from private payrolls (mkt 600k). Manufacturing added 28k jobs and government 188k. Labour participation unchanged at 61.6% and the unemployment rate actually ticked up to 5.9%, as job gains were netted off with an increase in the labour force. Note prime age participation (25-54) increased for both male and female workers. This is positive and should dampen worries about labour scarcity.
While the US added 559k jobs in May according to the non-farm payrolls report, this marked another downside surprise for the series where the median estimate was up at 650k. There was a modest upward revision to the April numbers (278k vs. 266k initially reported) but that doesn’t move the needle. Private payrolls growth came in at 492k while manufacturing payrolls added 23k job and government 67k. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.8% from 6.1% but this was aided by a decline in participation (61.6% from 61.7%).
The headline non-farm payrolls jobs figure surprised on the downside in April, with 266k jobs created versus the median forecast of 978k. And the March figure was also revised downward by 146k. Obviously, it was private payrolls that disappointed (+218k vs. 893k survey) while manufacturing jobs contracted slightly (-18k). Government couldn’t make up for that but did offer a +48k contribution. The unemployment rate actually ticked back to 6.1%, a result of the 0.2% pt improvement in participation and the work week ticked up again.
February Non-farm payrolls recorded a 379k gain, comfortably exceeding the +182k median forecast. This leaves the 3m average at +80k. Private sector payrolls were significantly better than the headline print at +465k, manufacturing added +21k jobs while government dropped -86k. The surprise might have been even higher were it not for the weather events in Texas, which was behind the 939k people not at work due to the weather (Feb average is 385k). The unemployment rate ticked down to 6.2% and participation was unchanged at 61.4% despite this. The workweek did drop though, to 34.6, although this is from a rather elevated 34.9.
December Non-farm payrolls recorded a -140k drop, quite a bit below the markets +71k guess. This takes the 3m average down to +283k. Private sector payrolls were a little better than the headline print at -95k, helped by manufacturing which added +38k jobs while the decline in government moderated to -45k. That was still the fourth consecutive decline but is largely census related. Despite the headline miss revisions were very positive, +91k in November alone
November Non-farm payrolls number came in at +245k (mkt +469k), bringing the 3m average down to +5227k. Private sector payrolls were a little better again at +344k but there is a sequential slowdown happening there too. Manufacturing payrolls grew by 27k while we saw another month of government job losses, -99k, the third consecutive drop. Revisions overall were down a bit, Oct NFP revised down to 610k vs. the 638k initially reported.
September non-farm payrolls number came in under expectations at +661k (mkt +850k). But the private payrolls number bettered at +877k vs. 850k mkt, while manufacturing payrolls also beat (+66k vs. +35k est) with a loss of 216k on the government side explaining the headline miss. There was a sizable upward revision to the jobs gained in August too.
ADP reporting a further strong month of job gains (or jobs recovery) with the749k increase and net 53k upward revision to August quite a bit ahead of expectations, although consensus estimates should be taken with more of a pinch of salt than usual given the variables in play. It was mid-sized firms that drove the increase, alongside small businesses. There was actually a deceleration in job creation at larger firms, although they still added workers.
The disruption from the Coronavirus continues to impact the data with the employment numbers for May showing a significant deviation from expectations and the near 2mn loss reported in the May ADP report. Indeed, based on the preliminary numbers the economy added 2.51mn jobs over the month, which compares to the 20.69mn jobs lost in April. Methodological problems are again in evidence ...
Bleak payrolls report. While the median survey was always going to be a short in the dark, the -701k decline in jobs was significantly more troubling than the mkts -100k guess. That’s the worst number since March 2009, a period of losses that saw five consecutive payrolls figures below the -700k mark starting from November 2008. Looking at the past fortnights jobless claims figures the April number and revisions to this release will paint an even bleaker picture of the labour market. In the household survey nearly 2.987mn jobs were recorded lost.
ADP reported fewer than expected job losses for March, with a modest -24k drop (mkt -150k), which compares to the 3.3mn jump in initial jobless claims last week. Partly this is due to the survey dates (it tallies responses up to the 12th of the month). So we will see catch up next month. Prior month was revised down to 179k from 183k.
The rapid and devastating effect of Covid-19 on the labour market is unprecedented based on this week’s jobless claims. Initial claims in week ending came in at 3,283k which looks like a data error rather than an actual real data point. But real it is, and further increases look likely in the coming weeks as the economic stop continues to push people out of employment.
Tracking the strong ADP release on Wednesday, the January non-farm payrolls report also comfortably beat expectations. Weather has helped a bit last couple of months, with seasonal disruptions lower than normal, but that doesn’t detract from the underlying strength of the labour market.",2428,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662606992.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526131456-20220526161456-00627.warc.gz,0.960426032543182
bd75e655-5609-41e4-93d3-7a9eb3065b04,2015-03-31T20:42:28+00:00,2012-11-25,0,http://www.bookbrat98.com/2012/11/a-wrinkle-in-time.html,"Sunday, November 25, 2012
A Wrinkle in Time
Age range: 12 & up
Content: No relationship content, no sexual content, no cursing, mild violence
Genre: Children's Science Fiction Fantasy
Publisher: Square Fish
Where to get it: Barnes & Noble or Amazon or Target
Summary: One stormy night, there's a strange visitor to the Murry house who persuades Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their friend, Calvin O'Keefe to accompany her on a dangerous adventure that threatens their lives and the fragility of our universe.
Opinions: This book was first published in 1962. I adore these books that were published a while ago, but are still selling today. It shows how strong someone's writing can be.
I'm going to give you a tip to reading this book. First, don't think. I know that sounds weird, but just don't think while you're reading. The more you think about it, the less it makes sense. I find it to be that way with most science fiction fantasy books.
Anyway, I really love this book. I especially like that this is a children's book, so there's no weird teenagery stuff messing with the story. It's about, you know, kids. I don't really know how old the main character, Meg is. Calvin is fourteen, I believe, and Charles Wallace is five.
The story plays with the laws of time and other universes. I would attempt to explain it to you, but I'm not good at explanations. But it was nice to kind of learn about science (even though it's magical and made-up) without a textbook. Especially since I despise textbook science.
I really like the character, Meg in this story. She's easy to relate to. She's not ""pretty."" She has braces, eyeglasses, and poofy hair. I have two of those three things (brace-face!). Considering how many hours I spend reading books and staring at my computer, I doubt I'm far from needing eyeglasses. Meg also has no friends until she meets Calvin and spends a lot of time with her family. And everyone knows, I'm terrible at making and managing friends. I prefer fictional characters, mostly.
In a nutshell, this is just a nice quick read with funny and relateable characters. I think my favorite part is the adorable appreciation letter on the first few pages. It's so cute. I love it. I don't know if this book is a movie or not. I'm sure it is though.
I'm really relieved that I finished all my posts for this month surprisingly earlier than I expected. I meant to finish this book a couple days ago, but didn't because I went Black Friday shopping. I didn't even buy anything though, I just walked around. Also, I think I'm the only person on this earth that doesn't like going into Bath & Body works. That place gives me a headache from all the smelly smells. Okay, enough rambling. I'll see you next month. Byesies.",639,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00117-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.976081907749176
03b93093-6cab-4d97-895d-24c00a21d546,2017-08-17T06:19:47+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://www.the-house.com/rd1co911bw10zz-ride-snowboard-bindings.html,"The Contraband combines Ride''s revolutionary V-Strap single ratchet technology and lightweight chassis to provide the performance you need with the quickness of a ""one-touch"" in and out. Now featuring the new Wedgie 2.5 fixed position footbed for advanced freestyle riders seeking that boost of ollie pop. With added comfort and prime flex, put this bomber binder to the test.
2017 The House. All Rights Reserved
Enjoy our secure cart",97,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00247.warc.gz,0.877534329891205
a3f25638-344d-454e-8df8-d88bbe36dd66,2017-08-19T07:56:30+00:00,2017-01-17,0,https://ca.reuters.com/article/lifestyleNews/idCAKBN1490AU,"BEIJING (Reuters) - A Beijing driver calls a radio station in a panic. The smog is so thick he's just shot through five red lights because he couldn't see properly and wants to know what to do.
""It's fine, the smog is so bad nobody could see your license plate,"" the host reassures him, in a joke circulating on Chinese social media sites.
As large parts of northern China suffer under thick air pollution, Chinese people are taking to the internet with gallows humor to cope with the thick blanket of smog.
Restrictions on daily life, like implementing an odd-even license plate system to halve the number of cars on the road, have been a particular focus.
In another joke, U.S. President Barack Obama angrily throws an intelligence report on the table, wanting to know what sort of advanced weapons system could cause Beijing to vanish from satellite surveillance.
He asks a collection of superheroes, including Iron Man, Batman and the Hulk, what to do and who can go there, but they all hang their heads in shame.
""Optimus Prime can do it! He doesn't need to breathe,"" pipes up Wolverine, recommending the robot who can turn into a truck in the Hollywood movie Transformers, which is wildly popular in China.
But Optimus Prime quietly answers: ""My license plate is restricted today"", referring to the odd-even system.
While most jokes could not be judged politically sensitive, a few offer indirect criticism of perceived government inaction.
One joke lists ways to deal with the pollution.
""Individual therapy: put a mask on. Family therapy: buy health insurance. If you have money and the time: go on holiday. If you've no class: emigrate. National therapy: wait for the wind.""
Reporting by Gao Liangping and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Paul Tait",384,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105326.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819070335-20170819090335-00548.warc.gz,0.947810649871826
3e21f5d3-df8a-4b51-9a75-b38b1a9e07b2,2022-05-27T06:51:18+00:00,2022-03-12,1,https://reviewtwist.com/9-bold-predictions-as-the-action-is-set-to-begin/,"The NFL year 2022 is just days away from beginning.
Monday marks the opening of the “legal manipulation window,” in which NFL teams and free-agent player representatives can negotiate new deals. Then on Wednesday afternoon those players can sign contracts.
If last week is any indication, free agency is shaping up to feature a lot of back-and-forth intrigue and record-setting contracts.
Here are nine predictions for how things will play out during this start of the league year and free agency.
FREE NFL AGENCY: Ranking of the top 22 players available as the market prepares to open
BUYER BEWARE: 10 NFL Free Agents That Might Be Way Overrated
more trades to come
Last week, Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz were given fresh starts via trade, and then Khalil Mack was shipped from Chicago to Los Angeles, followed by Amari Cooper from Dallas to Cleveland. Look for more changes and deals in the league next week. Obviously, a trade for Deshaun Watson should follow, and another quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, could also be traded shortly. But it’s not just passers-by who could be changing direction. The way teams operate is changing, and teams are finding more creative ways to manipulate the cap, so it’s not that hard to deal with dead money in some cases.
Brandon Scherff charges
After back-to-back seasons with the franchise tag in Washington, the former No. 5 overall pick (2015) is expected to draw a lot of attention on the open market and make a lot of money, likely at the level of five-year-olds. , $80 million deal the Kansas City Chiefs gave offensive guard Joe Thuney last year. The Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets are among the teams expected to go after Scherff.
Lots of money for Charvarius Ward
A year after signing a one-year, $3.38 million deal to return to the Kansas City Chiefs, Ward is expected to capitalize on a growth season in a big way. The 25-year-old cornerback is expected to have many suitors, including the Chicago Bears, whose general manager Ryan Poles previously served as the Chiefs’ director of player personnel. Ward could end up landing a deal that could pay him around $19 million per year, some league insiders predict.
Chargers aggressive approach
Los Angeles made a big splash last week by trading for Mack. Now, look for the Chargers to continue to charge into free agency as they try to close the gap between them and the Chiefs. Defense is expected to be among LA’s top priorities, with one of its top targets expected to be cornerback JC Jackson, who recorded 44 tackles, eight interceptions and 23 interrupted passes last season for the New England Patriots. They could also look at Bobby Wagner, whom the Seahawks just released to save money against the salary cap.
Outings for the Rams
The newly crowned Super Bowl champions have 19 players on expiring contracts, including linebacker Von Miller, cornerback Darious Williams, running back Sony Michel, guard Austin Corbett and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. However, the Rams They don’t seem to be big spenders. in free agency because they’re in poor shape against the salary cap. Finding money to give Aaron Donald another massive contract instead means controlling most of the Rams’ energies and resources. As a result, some within the league are predicting an exodus of some of the most recognizable faces, including Miller, who some believe is seeking a contract that will pay him approximately $16 million per year.
Joe Burrow had a breakout year in 2021 when he returned from season-ending knee surgery as a rookie to lead Cincinnati to the Super Bowl. However, he was still sacked a league-high 51 times during the regular season and an additional 19 times in the postseason. The Bengals know they have to do better to protect their franchise quarterback, and now they’re expected to invest in their offensive line this free agency. Scherff, Terron Armstead and Laken Tomlinson could draw interest from Cincinnati.
Busy shopping for the Jets
The pressure is on in New York as general manager Joe Douglas enters his fourth season. The Jets know they need to beef up Zach Wilson’s offensive line and give him more weapons as well. The Jets also need defensive playmakers.
Robust paydays are coming for recipients
With Mike Williams signing a three-year extension that will pay him $20 million per year, and Davante Adams and Chris Godwin set to earn roughly $20 million a year in franchise tags from Green Bay and Tampa, respectively, wide receivers are lining up to be handsomely compensated. Allen Robinson and JuJu Smith-Schuster could be among the next.
Another push from the Bucs
Tom Brady’s investment in retirement quickly turned things around for Tampa Bay. There were rumors that the Bucs could join Watson’s draft, but now they have their quarterback situation resolved and Super Bowl aspirations renewed. However, there is work to be done. Chris Godwin is set to return on the franchise tag, but veterans Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette and others are set to hit free agency. They will now likely spend the next two days maneuvering to create enough room to reload for one more push to a Super Bowl.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL Free Agency: 9 Bold Predictions as Teams Prepare to Spend",1148,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662636717.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527050925-20220527080925-00618.warc.gz,0.963515043258667
a7e749f4-d389-41f2-a19e-941c31f45c61,2016-07-23T21:14:16+00:00,2014-10-31,1,https://www.rt.com/news/201747-merkel-uk-exit-eu-immigration/,"‘Point of no return’: Merkel warns UK could exit EU over immigration policy – report
The UK is nearing a “point of no return,” as British Prime Minister David Cameron attempts to renegotiate the terms of the country’s EU membership targeting the freedom of movement, Merkel reportedly said.
This was Merkel’s first hint that the UK’s exit from the union is a possibility, according to German media.
Cameron earlier said he wants to renegotiate the country’s EU membership before going through with a referendum on the subject, with the European principle of freedom of movement “at the very heart of my renegotiation strategy for Europe.”
Merkel has stressed that her support for UK membership could be reversed, if Cameron pursues migration reform.
Cameron has extended the EU laws “to their limits,” trying to turn away unemployed migrants and seeking deportation of those unable to make ends meet after three months, according to the report.
However, the UK’s Minister for Finance was not worried about the German Chancellor’s comments.
""I think it's a little bit thin,"" George Osborne said of the report in Der Spiegel, saying conversations with the German government had shown Berlin understood British public disquiet about unemployed EU migrants claiming welfare benefits. ""The British public want this addressed. We are going to do this in a calm, rational way,"" he told the BBC.
A spokesman for Merkel, Steffen Seibert said that Germany isn't considering ""hypothetical"" scenarios and wants Britain to remain an ""active and committed"" European Union member but is insisting the principle of free movement of workers within the bloc isn't negotiable. He added that Berlin shares an interest in fighting ""possible abuse"" of free movement of labor but the overall principle mustn't be questioned, which was reported by AP.
Earlier in October, the former European Commission (EC) president Jose Manuel Barroso stated that freedom of movement is an essential principle of the EU, and any plan by Britain to cap the number of migrants through the limitation of national insurance numbers would be illegal under EU law.
UK’s anti-immigration policies
With next year’s general election on the horizon, British politicians are talking tougher on the issue of migrant workers. It will be the first election since the anti-immigration Independence Party (UKIP) emerged as a serious political player.
The latest opinion poll revealed that support for UKIP has reached a record high following Brussels’ recent effort to levy a mammoth £1.7 billion ($2.7 billion) extra charge on Britain. Cameron has been forced to adjust his policies to win back public support.
Cameron announced plans to reduce the number of low skilled migrant workers coming to the UK from other EU countries by limiting the number of national insurance numbers given to them.
In the recent policy shift, he said EU migrants could now only claim benefits for a maximum of three months, down from six.
These legislative changes, which apply to child tax credit, child benefits and job seeker’s allowance, will be implemented in November.
Cameron is likely to make a speech on immigration policies before Christmas, according to media reports.
Meanwhile, the EC says it endorses the principle of free movement within the EU, where citizens have the right to work and live in all member states.",700,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00040-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963054537773132
707d77dd-6aee-496d-8758-257758e9a4ee,2017-08-19T01:49:31+00:00,2013-11-20,1,https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/Japan-Inc-snubs-staff-in-spending-plans,"Japan Inc. snubs staff in spending plans
TOKYO (Nikkei) -- Flush with cash and reluctant to share it with employees, Japanese largest corporations are bullish about capital spending.
A large number of major listed Japanese companies are poised to increase their spending on capital investments, research and development, and mergers and acquisitions to achieve higher growth, a Nikkei survey found.
Many of these companies expect better earnings next year. It remains to be seen whether their spending plans will help drive the growth of Japanese economy amid higher expectations for an end to deflation. ""Abenomics,"" the name given to the set of government policies to resuscitate the economy, has proved a boon for Japan Inc.
The Nikkei asked chief financial officers from 300 major listed companies from late October to mid-November. It received answers from 241 companies. Finance companies and Japan's 10 regional utilities were not included in the survey.
Publicly traded companies that end the fiscal year in March have record cash reserves of about 70 trillion yen combined. Focus at these businesses has turned to how they can tap their reservoir of this capital.
Companies were asked to name their two spending priorities. Improving production facilities and increasing efficiency was the priority among 53% of respondents.
Toshiba, for example, plans to increase capital spending on semiconductor chips, mainly NAND flash memory, for the first time in three years. Demand for chips is rising because of the growing popularity of smartphones. The company in August began expanding its Yokkaichi plant in Japan's central Mie Prefecture. It has also invested in micro-fabrication technology. Toshiba will likely spend about 170 billion yen ($1.66 billion) on semiconductor-related facilities this fiscal year, up 80% from a year earlier. Tokyo Gas, meanwhile, is spending on pipelines and building a liquefied natural gas station in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
The second largest group of the respondents -- 34% -- said they would spend on R&D, while 26% said they would use cash reserves for M&As. Fuji Heavy Industries plans to spend 60 billion yen on R&D this fiscal year, a 20% increase from 2012. It plans to develop environmental and safety technologies. Housing facility and building material maker Lixil Group announced in September that it will acquire German sanitary and bathroom fittings maker Grohe.
Other companies will spend money on revenue growth. Respondents that said they would use capital for dividend payouts or share buybacks, stood at 25%.
Bad news for the government, which is urging companies to share their wealth with employees. Regarding pay increases, 7% of respondents said they would spend cash reserves to raise salaries. Some companies, including precision motor maker Nidec, have announced pay raises. On the whole, however, major companies remain cautious about upping wages.
Investments for growth have been spurred by improving market conditions. The survey showed that three quarters of the companies now find it easier to raise funds in the market. Of them, 63 companies said they want to raise more capital or have done so.
About half of respondents said they expected next April's increase in consumption tax hike from 5% to 8% to be detrimental to their earnings. Those who said it would have a negative impact cited reaction to a rush of demand among consumers before the sales tax hike as the biggest reason, followed by a drop in personal spending and a slowdown in the domestic economy.
The government plans to then raise tax to 10% in October 2015. Three-quarters of those surveyed said the government should go ahead with the hike as planned. Only seven companies said the government should not do so.
The survey also found that many companies have a positive outlook for fiscal 2014. Some 56% said their net profit forecast would improve, far surpassing the 6% that said it would deteriorate. And 53 companies -- more than 20% -- expect double-digit growth in profits next year. Eight forecast growth of more than 30%. The optimism, points to a continued corporate recovery in fiscal 2014.
About 50% of the respondents said they expect the earnings environment to improve or slightly improve in the next six months. They cited a boost to domestic revenue as the biggest reason, followed by cost cutting and growth in Asian markets. Only 10% of the companies surveyed cited the weak yen as the reason, showing corporate profits are expanding for reasons other than the Japanese currency's recent weakness.
Sanitary products and diaper maker Unicharm has seen brisk sales of low-priced paper diapers in Asian countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam. The company thinks that a slowdown in emerging economies will have little impact on its sales. ""We expect to achieve an increase in sales and profits next fiscal year and beyond,"" said Unicharm President Takahisa Takahara. ""We hope to reach 1 trillion yen in sales in three years.""
Leading construction company Shimizu has seen orders grow on the back of Japan's economic recovery. ""Construction for orders received this fiscal year will begin in earnest next fiscal year and beyond,"" said Seikichi Kurosawa, executive vice president of Shimizu. ""Then, we will see an improvement in profitability.""
The survey also found that 39% of the respondents believe their stocks are undervalued. This suggests a disparity between the views of the CFOs and the assessment of the market. Japanese stocks have soared in the past one year, and yet these large listed companies believe that their stocks still have room to go up on the back of their profitability.",1139,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00705.warc.gz,0.970182776451111
d32bf14c-200a-4f43-8406-c5746e49809f,2022-05-23T08:42:32+00:00,2022-05-23,1,https://www.notice.com.ng/buhari-should-remove-emefiele-if-he-fails-to-resign-8211-gov-akeredolu-2023,"Buhari should remove Emefiele if he fails to resign – Gov. Akeredolu - 2023
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has demanded that Godwin Emefiele should resign as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Akeredolu said this while describing the news of Emefiele's purchase of Declaration of Intent and Nomination Forms to contest for the office of the President as shocking.
He asked that President Muhammadu Buhari should remove Emefiele as the CBN Governor if he fails to resign, warning that such act, if unchecked, timeously, portends great danger to the fragile economy of Nigeria.
Part of the statement read: ""Rumors had been rife on the subterranean partisan activities linked to him through these shadowy characters in the recent weeks. Pictures of branded vehicles, ostensibly purchased for electioneering campaigns, were also posted on social media.
""The audacious moves by those who claimed to be supporting this interest have been unsettling.This latest news confirms that the Governor may indeed be interested in immersing himself in the murky waters of politics like any other Nigerian with partisan interests.
""Consequently, we admonish Mr Emefiele to leave the office, immediately, for him to pursue his interest. He cannot combine partisan politics with the very delicate assignment of his office.
""Should he refuse to quit, it becomes incumbent on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to remove him forthwith. This is a joke taken too far.""
Akeredolu stressed that although Emefiele enjoys a constitutionally protected right to belong to any group or association just as any Nigerian, ""The combined effect of the Public Service Rules, CBN Act and the 1999 Constitution, as amended, exposes not only the oddity inherent in this brash exercise of presumed right to associate. It also confirms the illegality of the act should he proceed to submit the forms while occupying the seat as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.""
LISTEN TO >>> Mixtape: DJ Dice - Boom Bang Mix Season 10
READ ALSO >>> Togbe Afede XIV Net Worth 2022
For All Nigeria Past Questions Visit www.QUESTION.NG
Kindly share this post on different Social Media below
NOTE: User comments in this section are, as the name implies, provided by users of this website. The question.ng team is not responsible for, nor do they endorse, any of the information provided here.",527,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662556725.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523071517-20220523101517-00617.warc.gz,0.946005523204804
fee7c318-0024-4324-ba1a-abaadacff319,2022-05-17T03:47:34+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://www.property-investors.co.uk/samuel-leeds-interviewed-by-talk-show-queen-trisha-goddard/,"Samuel Leeds interviewed by talk show queen Trisha Goddard!
The inspirational story of how Property Investors founder Samuel Leeds repaid his former teacher for always believing in him has been broadcast to audiences across the UK and USA.
The presenter, who made her name on the ITV morning talk show Trisha, said it was a story that needed to be told. A video of the star interviewing Samuel was also screened on social media platforms including talkRADIO’s YouTube channel.
During the show the multi-millionaire property entrepreneur said he never forgot the way Deborah Hey-Smith always had faith in him even though he was constantly in trouble at school.
When she was made redundant years later, he became her teacher, empowering her to become a successful property investor who now enjoys a healthy passive income.
And that certainly impressed the celebrity host who was also ‘wowed’ by Samuel’s alternative views on education.
Samuel described how he suffered from Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and even sat on a special needs desk at school.
He told the talk show queen that as a pupil he was bereft of hope and had low expectations.
“I was often getting detention and one time I got suspended from the school for a week. It wasn’t for anything really malicious or really bad. It was because I was so bored. I just did not like school at all.”
But Mrs Hey-Smith was one of the only teachers at the Emmanuel School in Walsall who he felt encouraged and understood him.
“She seemed to see something that the others didn’t. For a start she seemed to actually like me. You kind of know if someone doesn’t like you – kids aren’t stupid. If they just talk about you in the staff room and roll their eyes you almost live up to that. With Mrs Hey-Smith I used to always be really good in her class because I thought, well she likes me and I don’t want her to stop liking me.”
He also revealed that it was Mrs Hey-Smith who enabled him to believe he could have an exciting future.
“She used to tell me I was going to be so successful and that she was excited for me. I thought it was really weird, but I wanted to live up to the belief that she had in me, even though I didn’t have that belief in myself at the time.”
Asked if she had been right in predicting a bright future for him, Samuel replied:
“Well, success is subjective, but I’ve been very successful in business, and I’ve gone on to become a multi-millionaire. I’ve got a very large property portfolio. I restore buildings, I build houses from scratch and I’ve got a castle that I own – a Grade II listed building. I’m also happily married with three absolutely beautiful children, so I think she probably was right!”
Trisha was bowled over by his response.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, so how did you get from that kid who couldn’t sit still and had dyslexia and ADHD – because this is a powerful message for any other kid who’s been labelled with those things or been told they have conditions. How did you get from that to where you are now?”
Samuel replied that when he was at school, he believed there were just two options. You could either go down the academic route and go to university or do something practical with your hands such as being a builder. He said he even thought of becoming a dustbin man because he was hardworking, fit and enjoyed being outside.
“‘What I didn’t realise was there was a third route which was entrepreneurship. I think a lot of schools don’t teach kids about money, about finance, about being a business owner. When I left school at 16, I read a book by Robert Kiyosaki, who I actually know now. It was called Rich Dad, Poor Dad and that book was all about money, and it was about passive income and real estate.
“I just thought, you know what, I failed in school, but why don’t I just pursue this path?”
He started attending business events and learning about property and investments. Over time, he became a letting agent and an estate agent. He bought his first house as a teenager and from then on just started accumulating properties.
“When they went up in value, I refinanced them and bought more. I pulled investors in, and I just got really good at it.”
Samuel stressed that part of his mission today is to impress on youngsters that it is possible for them to become business owners and investors.
He told Trisha about his charity in Africa and how he is in the process of building schools in Uganda in liaison with education officials there.
“I’ve said I’ll pay for the buildings as long as you let me have an input in the school curriculum.”
Trisha was amazed that all this had started with the belief Mrs Hey-Smith had in him becoming a success.
They kept in touch after he left school, and he felt shocked to see how little income she had compared to him.
“I didn’t realise that teachers weren’t paid that well…I was buying nice houses, going on nice holidays and she couldn’t afford to do that a lot. I thought that it wasn’t really fair that she was struggling to keep up with a mortgage.”
When Mrs Hey-Smith, 64, lost her job, she called Samuel, explaining that she was disappointed with her pension and asked if he could help.
“I became Mrs Hey-Smith’s teacher in business, and I helped her get on the investment ladder. Now she owns a string of properties and gets paid as a full-time property investor. She’s come out to Africa with me to help with my charity work in Zambia and Uganda, and we’re really good friends. She is now financially independent.”
Trisha, who was recently interviewed herself by Piers Morgan as part of his Life Stories TV series, said she loved the way Samuel had repaid Mrs Hey-Smith.
“Oh Samuel, gosh did we need to hear that story today. I love that. I love how it comes full circle. I so passionately believe we funnel too many children into university, into higher education.
“I think there’s a lot of them who don’t need to be there, who buckle under the stress and have all sorts of mental health situations because basically that’s not where their heart lies.”
Trisha believes Samuel’s backstory could be extremely powerful for any young person who might feel they are at a crossroads in life. She asked what his advice would be to young people who do not want to go to university and do not know where they are going in life.
“Well, I think it’s important to know that there is another way and that is to be an entrepreneur, to be a business owner,” he said.
“You go to school to learn how to get good grades so that you can then get into university, so that then ultimately you can get a job. And the reason for a job is to make money. But you can skip the job part and you can go straight into just studying money and learn how to make money.
“There are certain kids that I see today, who stand out a mile because I can relate to them. They are doing things like paper rounds and washing cars. If you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit to make money, I would say maybe consider going down the business route because there is a third way.
“Just because you might not be good in school doesn’t mean that you won’t be successful in life!”
Share this video: https://youtu.be/2NKo7My15RA
🎥 How to build a property portfolio from scratch in 7 DAYS: https://youtu.be/RWEkj1y8XKs
📖 My favourite book: https://amzn.to/39VcYLa
❓ Have a question about property? Join my Property Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/77861…
🗣️FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/77861…
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSamu…",1888,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515501.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517031843-20220517061843-00412.warc.gz,0.986448764801025
26a99931-99b1-40ea-9b28-e314788b4489,2016-07-25T14:07:44+00:00,2014-01-16,1,http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/01/16/You-Can-No-Longer-Take-Your-Company-Court,"In 2006, the nationwide home-building company D. R. Horton, began requiring all new employees – and any existing employees who wanted to keep their jobs – to sign an agreement saying that they agreed to “voluntarily waive all rights to trial in court before a judge or jury on all claims” between the employee and the company. They would submit, instead, to binding arbitration.
Not only did employees who signed the agreement waive their right to participate in a class action lawsuit, they also waived their right to participate in class-based arbitration. The National Labor Relations Board in 2012 ruled that the agreement was illegal, but last month the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans overturned that ruling.
The ruling has some labor lawyers concerned that if the appeals court ruling is upheld, clauses barring class action lawsuits and class arbitrations could quickly become standard elements in most employment contracts, effectively barring many non-unionized workers from a tool that has historically been used to vindicate workers’ rights.
Catherine K. Ruckelshaus, general counsel and program director for the National Employment Law Project, said that because of under-funding of agencies that enforce labor laws, class action “has been pretty much the only game in town” for workers looking for relief from abusive employers. “If you can’t aggregate the claims, there is very little pressure on the employer,” said Ruckelshaus.
In recent years class actions have been used successfully to challenge the practice of making employees work “off the clock” at major retailers and to require that overtime pay be given to workers illegally classified as exempt from overtime requirements.
There are several arguments in favor of allowing contracts that mandate arbitration. It’s usually cheaper and faster than going through the court system, and to be sure, businesses are often subjected to frivolous lawsuits in the guise of class actions.
“Almost any worker or employee is not going to feel empowered to say ‘No, I’m not going to sign that’ if it’s presented as a condition to getting or keeping a job,” she said. “It’s an incredible assault on our right to our day in court.”
“That is why the case is so important,” said Craig Becker, who served as an NLRB board member under a recess appointment until the end of 2011, and voted in favor of the agency’s ruling in the Horton case.
Becker, now general counsel to the AFL-CIO, said the ability of workers to pool resources in order to act against perceived unfair practices is “a mechanism that most people take for granted.”
Mandatory arbitration clauses are not new, and are not unique to employment contracts. They are a common feature of credit card contracts and other financial agreements. (And are currently being examined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.) They have also, for example, historically been a part of employment contracts for executive-level and other high-ranking employees in the financial services industry.
But their increasing use in low-wage employees’ contracts, along with the bar to class action, are relatively recent developments, which have attracted the attention not just of the courts, but of lawmakers.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) have sponsored a bill, the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013, which would bar companies from requiring employees and consumers to consent to binding arbitration prior to a dispute arising. Consent to binding arbitration would still be allowed after a dispute has arisen.
In a statement provided to the Fiscal Times, Franken said, “Mandatory arbitration puts consumers and workers at a huge disadvantage, limiting their access to meaningful legal recourse and preventing them from banding together with others who experienced the same injustices. My Arbitration Fairness Act would restore critical rights to workers and consumers who have been wronged.”
The future of the arbitration clause in employment contracts in the wake of the Horton decision is unclear – a single ruling in a federal appeals court, said a former NLRB member, is unlikely to convince businesses that their use is now unchallengeable.
“The key take-away from this case is that the issue is not dead, said Ron Meisburg, former general counsel of the NLRB and, for a time, a board member under a recess appointment.
“The Board is very likely to continue to enforce the law and maintain that these kind of clauses are unlawful,” continued Meisburg, who is now a partner and co-head of the Labor-Management Relations Practice Group at the Proskauer law firm in Washington, DC. “So for the time being, maintaining these contract clauses puts companies at risk of NLRB prosecution and an adverse decision.”
A number of other cases, however, including two that are working their way through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, have many labor attorneys convinced that the Supreme Court is likely to weigh in on the issue in the near future.
Follow Rob Garver on Twitter @rrgarver
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:",1072,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00174-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970548689365387
1f3dcab6-0a31-4f29-9a92-a302485f7d77,2020-10-29T17:14:59+00:00,2010-02-08,0,https://www.cnbc.com/2010/02/08/is-it-time-for-the-fed-to-raise-rates.html,"The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of nearly 6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, and jobless claims are dropping. So is it time for the Fed to start raising rates? Share your opinion in our poll below.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2020 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Division of NBCUniversal
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.
Data also provided by",147,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107904834.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029154446-20201029184446-00419.warc.gz,0.928088068962097
1a329e86-abf5-4b39-afb5-156af33e3429,2018-08-17T06:14:15+00:00,2018-02-14,1,https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/israel-pm-netanyahu-may-be-charged-with-bribery-for-accepting-cigars-gifts-118021400046_1.html,"A decision to press formal charges against the veteran premier now rests with the attorney general's office, which is expected to take weeks or months to decide how to proceed.
Netanyahu, prime minister for nearly 12 years, addressed the nation as news of the recommendations broke, proclaiming his innocence and pledging to continue to lead the country.
""Over the years, I have been the subject of at least 15 enquiries and investigations,"" Netanyahu said in the televised address.
""Some have ended with thunderous police recommendations like those of tonight. All of those attempts resulted in nothing, and this time again they will come to nothing.""
A prime minister who is facing such police recommendations or who has been formally charged with offences is not obliged to resign.
Police said in a statement they were recommending his indictment on bribery, fraud and breach of public trust.
They have also been probing allegations that Netanyahu sought a secret deal for favourable coverage with the publisher of top-selling newspaper Yediot Aharonot.
The 68-year-old right-wing premier has been questioned seven times by police over the allegations and has called the investigation an attempt by political opponents to force him from office.
Last week, Netanyahu lashed out at police in a rare attack as indications grew that detectives were preparing to recommend his indictment, questioning their ability to act fairly.
While an indictment alone would not legally oblige Netanyahu to resign, he would likely face mounting pressure to do so. He would be legally forced to step down if convicted and with all appeals exhausted.
Parliament, however, could also enact a special procedure against him before his case is exhausted if he is found to be guilty of moral turpitude.",343,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211719.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817045508-20180817065508-00585.warc.gz,0.983482897281647
df782cb4-1aa2-4006-8798-b84e2af68310,2017-08-24T06:38:47+00:00,2017-08-24,0,http://gigharborfamilycounselors.com/contact-form.asp?CategoryViewed=Clinical~Services,"Contact Family Center For Behavioral Health
If you are a prospective client, please call us at 253-851-3808, or fill out this easy form. Your request will be
treated confidentially, promptly, and professionally by our staff
and providers. Providers at the Family Center for Behavioral Health
are affiliated with most local and national health care insurance
plans. Day, evening, and Saturday appointments are offered.
Physicians/Health Care Professionals
Click here to submit a",101,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133042.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824062820-20170824082820-00175.warc.gz,0.877429127693176
6d60d739-f938-4adf-b266-60ad39e169fb,2022-05-29T01:49:31+00:00,2022-05-29,0,https://press.cavotec.com/blog_posts/tag/recharge,"The information on this page is intended for journalists, press and media. Click YES to get to the newsroom. If you click NO you will come back to Mynewsdesk.com.
Cavotec is a leading cleantech company that designs and delivers connection and electrification solutions that enable the decarbonisation of ports and industrial applications. Backed by more than 40 years of experience, we provide systems that ensure safe, efficient and sustainable operations for a wide variety of customers and applications worldwide.",103,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00409.warc.gz,0.907520413398743
adb68824-4684-465b-9cef-82fd67818a73,2019-08-21T10:17:18+00:00,2019-04-21,1,https://www.nomoneydownmortgagepros.com/federal-interest-rate-over-time/,"Us Bank Fha Rates US Bank Home Mortgage Review | Ratings, Costs & More – U.S. Bank’s mortgage products come in many different forms, making it an excellent place to shop for a home loan. The bank offers fixed rate and adjustable rate options, as well as a full line of conventional and government loan products for a wide range of term lengths (10- and 20-year terms in addition to the typical 15- and 30-year options.)Interest Rate For A Loan Fixed Rate Mortgage Calculator 30 Fixed Mortgage rate chart average 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rates – Average 30 year fixed mortgage rates. report Date current interest rate change Prior Year. CHART TIPS: Tooltip Text: Mouse over any series or point. Zoom: Click and drag area to zoom.How to pay a lower rate without refinancing – You stay silent, grieving that you can’t take advantage of the low interest rates for mortgages.. You grumble when you read news stories like this one from the Associated Press on April 18: “Average U.Us Interest Rates History Chart effective federal funds rate (fred:fedfunds) – Historical Data. – I believe that interest rates will go and surpass 3.5% by 2019. At that point it'll.. FEDFUNDS: US Economic Growth: charting the GDP+GDI average. dime 103.APR is the interest rate on your loan plus all fees, calculated on an annual basis and expressed as a percentage. APR makes it easier to compare rates from multiple lenders.
The current federal funds rate remained at 2.5 percent when the Federal open market committee met on March 21, 2019. This benchmark rate is an indicator of the economy’s health. The Federal Reserve signaled it would keep rates at 2.5 percent through 2021.. The rate is critical in determining the U.S. economic outlook.
United States Fed Funds Rate | 2019 | Data | Chart | Calendar. – Interest Rate in the United States averaged 5.67 percent from 1971 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 20 percent in March of 1980 and a record low of 0.25 percent in December of 2008. In the United States, the authority to set interest rates is divided between the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (Board) and the Federal Open.
target range for the fed funds rate to 2.25% – 2.50%. Therefore, the United States Prime Rate is now 5.50%, effective tomorrow (December 20, 2018.) The next FOMC meeting and decision on short-term interest rates will be on June 19, 2019. –
Federal funds rate – Wikipedia – In the United States, the federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions (banks and credit unions) lend reserve balances to other depository institutions overnight, on an uncollateralized basis. Reserve balances are amounts held at the Federal Reserve to maintain depository institutions’ reserve requirements.
As you can see here, the Federal Funds rate and the Prime Rate track along with each other very closely.. Short- and mid-term ARMs, such as the 5/1 ARM shown above, are also affected by trends in short-term interest rates. As a lenders’ cost of obtaining funds to lend changes, some of those reductions or increases are passed to borrowers in the form of lower (or higher) starting rates.
The Fed – H.15 – Selected Interest Rates (Daily) – April. – The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC. Footnotes. 1. As of March 1, 2016, the daily effective federal funds rate (EFFR) is a volume-weighted median of transaction-level data collected from depository institutions in the Report of Selected Money Market Rates (FR 2420).
Fed interest rate announcement: Federal Reserve keeps rates. – Trump has been urging the Fed to lower rates in order to boost the economy. slowly than the Fed would like over the long term.. while at the same time keeping interest rates low. Our Federal.
Ratings methodology. What’s included? The federal funds rate is the primary tool that the Federal Open Market Committee uses to influence interest rates and the economy.
30 Year Fha Loan Rates These are a few of the substantial benefits of taking out a 15-year mortgage compared with a 30-year FHA loan. Lower interest rates. real offers from the LendingTree show that people shopping for the best loans can expect to save around 25 basis points (.25%) on their mortgage rate by taking out a 15-year FHA loan. Over the life of the loan.",938,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315865.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821085942-20190821111942-00387.warc.gz,0.93025803565979
bd6d598e-b3c9-4fd2-ba1e-27531c1f7ae2,2019-08-18T18:16:15+00:00,2013-02-16,1,https://www.rt.com/news/iceland-online-pornography-ban-201/,"Iceland weighing ban on Internet pornography
Proponents of the ban claim that pornography has damaging effects on children and women. Icelandic Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson, the author of the proposed ban, said he believes it will help stop youth from viewing Internet pornography.
""We have to be able to discuss a ban on violent pornography, which we all agree has a very harmful effects on young people and can have a clear link to incidences of violent crime,"" Interior Minister Jonasson said.
The ban would block access to pornographic websites in Iceland, and make it impossible to use Icelandic credit cards on X-rated sites. Iceland has already passed a law that forbids the printing and distribution of pornography; the law excludes the Internet, however.
Experts have argued that there is domestic support for such a ban: ""We have many experts from educationalists to the police and those who work with children behind this, that this has become much broader than party politics,"" political adviser Halla Gunnarsdottir told the Daily Mail.
“At the moment, we are looking at the best technical ways to achieve this,” Gunnarsdottir said. “But surely if we can send a man to the Moon, we must be able to tackle porn on the Internet.”
At such a scale and magnitude, Iceland’s online pornography censorship scheme would be the first of its kind for any European nation, Professor Gail Dines told the Telegraph: ""It is looking at pornography from a new position – from the perspective of the harm it does to the women who appear in it and as a violation of their civil rights.""
However, opponents of the ban have argued that such censorship is unfeasible.
""When you have a group of people who have the job of monitoring the network traffic and deciding what would be allowed and what won’t be increases the risk of non-pornography sites to be added to the list and blocked off,” explained Prostur Jonasson of Iceland’s Association of Digital Freedom.
The UK is the only other European country that has tried to implement a similar ban. It proposed blocking access to all pornography websites this past December, but UK ministers rejected the idea over a lack of public support.
Iceland is known for its pro-women policies, which may credit to country’s openly lesbian Prime Minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir.
In 2010, the country implemented a highly controversial ban on all strip clubs, arguing that they are harmful to women. The Scandinavian country also launched a consultation process in 2010 to investigate the effects of Internet pornography on women and children.
The study concluded that viewing violent online pornography increased the intensity of sex attacks, and that if children were exposed to such content at an early age, they displayed similar signs of trauma as those who had actually been abused, the Daily Mail reported.",594,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00162.warc.gz,0.962896347045898
2ea4bf9a-2ffe-415a-96cc-a9dda25217b7,2018-08-14T15:21:26+00:00,2018-08-14,0,https://www.pangolinplugins.com/support/return-hardware/,"Returning hardware to Pangolin
If you are returning your hardware (QM2000, Flashback, etc.) to Pangolin, please follow these important shipping recommendations. (If you don’t, then you or the shipper may have to pay for a replacement if the hardware is damaged or lost.)
If you are returning a board-level product, such as QM2000 or Flashback, always put the board in a pink, black or silvered anti-static bag or wrap. Do not use clear plastic bags or wraps; these will generate static which may damage the board. If you don’t have anti-static bags, wrap the board in a sheet of aluminum foil.
Ship the product in a box. Do not ship it in a padded bag; this does not provide enough protection.
Cushion the product inside the box. Shippers generally recommend at least two inches (five cm) cushioning on all sides, using foam “peanuts” or bubble wrap. We have seen a number of repairs/returns get damaged from improper packaging. When this happens, very often extra repair charges are levied.
We strongly recommend that you use a well-known shipping company such as FedEx, DHL or UPS, and use their “Large box”. FedEx, DHL and UPS have fast-track arrangements with customs agencies.
If the product is tied to a BEYOND or LD2000 system, insure the shipment for $1500 USD or the price you paid for the product. If the product is tied to QuickShow, insure the shipment for $500 USD or the price you paid for the product.
Put your address (business card) and a printout of the return form inside the box. If the outer documents are lost, the shipper can look inside to contact you.
If you are outside the EU, declare the product for “Temporary Export”. On the customs and shipping documents, note that the “product is being returned to the authorized service center for repair”. This helps avoid unnecessary charges after the repair, when the product re-enters your country.
Where to ship
Company: Pangolin Repair Center, Collimated
Contact person: Francesco van Loon
Country: The Netherlands
City: Bergen op Zoom
Post code: 4625CG
Street: Achillestraat 3A
NOTE: If you need to put a name on the shipping documents, address the package to “Francesco van Loon” at Pangolin. Before sending your hardware back to Pangolin for repair, please fill out the following form below. The data will be emailed to Pangolin. This lets us prepare for the product’s arrival. After you click the “Submit” button, you’ll go to a page that summarizes the information you are e-mailing. Please print two copies of the confirmation page. Keep one copy for your records, and include the other when shipping your product.
Specifying the shipping address
Note that the form does not ask for your shipping address. Please be sure that your return address is on or inside the package, so we know where to return the product!
Hardware Return Form
An asterisk (*) indicates data is required. If you are sending more than one piece of hardware, please fill out one form for each piece.",704,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209165.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814150733-20180814170733-00601.warc.gz,0.884894132614136
8a7a635f-f3e9-41fa-8879-c33f9747a878,2018-08-20T16:21:49+00:00,2018-08-20,0,https://eisit.uk/technical-design-and-managed-services/,"We can help you manage and develop a secure and resilient network infrastructure for your school.
Effective management of core components to deliver reliability & stability
Maintaining internal school data network
Systems Admin & Authentication
Evaluation & development of Microsoft Windows Active Directory
We offer a number of other support services, contact us for more information on how we can help your school. Contact Us",78,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216718.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820160510-20180820180510-00627.warc.gz,0.830427706241608
c5fbec34-f09f-476a-8706-a6f315492dc5,2022-05-25T00:32:37+00:00,2020-03-30,0,https://vintagetoyscars.us/nice-early-1910-s-20-s-bing-tin-litho-garage-with-two-wind-up-cars-set-2.htm,"NICE EARLY 1910's/20's BING TIN LITHO GARAGE with TWO WIND UP CARS SET. SHOWS SOME WEAR AND SOILING.MAYBE SOME DINGS OR DENTS. BOTH CARS DO NOT WORK WORK. GARAGE MEASURES ABOUT 6-1/2"" X 8"".
CARS ARE ABOUT 5-1/2 LONG. VERY COOL AND COLLECTIBLE SET. CHECK OUT OUR OTHER MODELS AND COOL STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The item ""NICE EARLY 1910's/20's BING TIN LITHO GARAGE with TWO WIND UP CARS SET #2"" is in sale since Monday, March 30, 2020.This item is in the category ""Toys & Hobbies\Vintage & Antique Toys\Tin\Vehicles"". The seller is ""baseballandchevys"" and is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. This item can be shipped worldwide.",205,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577757.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524233716-20220525023716-00213.warc.gz,0.831889927387238
a7c10fe4-415a-4d93-8478-593bf4214fb4,2019-08-26T08:05:30+00:00,2017-00-00,0,https://www.instantassignmenthelp.com/agricultural-economics,"1785 Downloads 5 Pages 1231 Words
Table 1Price of grape wines in past years
Figure 1Wine grape price in Australia
(Source: Riverina wine grapes marketing board, 2017)
Weak economic condition of USA and UK: Weak economic condition of the USA and UK market heavily affect the wine grape price in the Australia. It must be noted that USA and UK are the nations that are heavily affected by the economic crisis (Australian wine, 2017). Due to economic crisis business conditions become uncertain and business firms start curtailing their workforce and due to this reason unemployment rate get increased in the both nations. Due to elevation in the unemployment rate people spending power get reduced and this affects the demand of the grapevine in the UK and USA. Due to less demand and high supply price of the grape wine fall sharply in the both market and profitability of the business firms decline sharply. It must be noted that USA cover 27% market share of total exports of gape wine that happened from the Australia market. Apart from this, 35% market share of grape wine is covered by the UK market. Both markets declined and due to this reason and due to increase in supply price of grapevine declined.
Unstable agriculture condition: Unstable agriculture production is one of the other reason due to which price of grapevine keeps of fluctuating consistently in the market. It can be observed that due to change in climatic conditions production also get changed and due to variation in supply of grapes price of same also fluctuate in the market.
Oversupply of product: Oversupply of the product in the market is the one of the main reason due to which price of grapevine decline in the market consistently. It must be noted that there must be equality in the demand and supply of the product (Oog, D., 2017). If demand is less and supply is high then in that case price of the commodity decline and due to this reason reduction is observed in the price of grapevine.
Change in taste: Change in the taste is the one of the basic reason due to which price of grapevine declined in the Australia and traders earn less profit in their business. It must be noted that there are different variety of the grapevines in the market and with passage of time people preference also get changed. Due to this reason demand of grape wine also get affected in the market and this is the reason due to which less demand and elevation in supply price of grape wine reduced sharply in past few years. Thus, it can be said that change in taste, oversupply of product, unstable agriculture conditions and weak economic condition are the one of the main reason due to which grape wine price reduced in past decade.
Weather conditions- It has been seen that most of commodities are internationally traded that majorly include agriculture products. Therefore, the production of these goods are highly depends on the weather conditions of a country. It can be said that there is a sudden happen of changes in the climatic condition of a any country. It involves that there is rainfall are inadequate or draughts are might impact on the agriculture products availability all over the world market. Thus, there is an causes of scarcity and commodity of agriculture prices are to be pushed northwards.
Economic and political conditions- There is an on another international factor that may highly impact on the agriculture products is only due to economic and political condition of any country. It will impact where these agricultural commodities are produce as well as consumed (Lenzen and et, al., 2012). Therefore, there is an example of Iraq in which there is a Gulf war that are majorly producer of oil. Thus, the prices of oil are changes or fluctuating frequently. Moreover, the condition of economic of country is might weak for that major reason it will minimize the spending or purchasing of customers. Thus, it will leads into the fallen into demand of buyers and there will be fluctuation of prices.
Government policies- The another international factors is that changes in the government policy it is due to impact of import or export cost to the purchaser or seller which have a great impact on the prices of agriculture commodity. For instance, the government of UK increasing the price of import of edible oil that will proportionally impact on the price that is increase and vice versa.
The above factor may impact on the demand and supply if there is any changes in the price of agriculture commodities are describe below-
Guarantees Beyond Your ImaginationORDER NOW
There is shortage of commodity products due to scarcity of agriculture products raw material. In that particular situation, it will directly of equally impact on the demand and supply of the agriculture commodities (Johnson,2013). The producer of product are not willing to supply the agricultural products in these events. It will increase in the price of mention product so, the consumer will purchase at higher prices and it will also impact on the demand that will be reduce from the previous particular time period.
It can be explained from the above figure is that the price of change in the agriculture is that it will be increase that directly shift the supply. The price of increase will directly shift the demand of the particular agriculture products that will be inelastic.
Number of pages: 17
Writer's Qualifications: Graduation
14467 DownloadsView or Download
Number of pages: 9
Writer's Qualifications: Masters
14246 DownloadsView or Download
Number of pages: 15
Writer's Qualifications: Graduation
13770 DownloadsView or Download
Number of pages: 8
Writer's Qualifications: Post Graduation
8075 DownloadsView or Download
Get all these features for £54.12 FREEProceed to Order
It’s time to turn to our experts for assignment writing service.",1161,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027331228.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826064622-20190826090622-00148.warc.gz,0.952092826366425
cc733197-48b4-46be-8c5d-a41089bf9ce7,2016-07-25T08:27:57+00:00,2013-03-01,0,http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1550681-handicapping-all-30-nba-teams-playoff-chances-as-they-head-down-the-stretch,"In handicapping all 30 NBA teams' playoff chances as we head down the final stretch, the potential for major moves within the standings remains in each conference.
While there are certainly a collection of teams locked into playoff positions at this point—and those similarly locked out—a handful of playoff bubble teams will certainly make this last 30 percent of the 2012-13 regular season compelling.
From the Los Angeles Lakers to the Golden State Warriors, the fiercest battles for playoff berths reside in the Western Conference.
While there is less of chance in the Eastern Conference for a team to move past those currently occupying the final playoff spots, there is still plenty of room for maneuvering within the middle seeds.
Each team is listed according to its projected finish as the month of March begins and the chances it has at advancing to the postseason.",169,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00156-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.953718900680542
5bec26fe-68d4-423c-ac70-f577f5fddc47,2015-04-02T10:16:30+00:00,2015-04-02,0,http://www.ireland.com/en-gb/amazing-places/wild-atlantic-way-donegal-to-mayo/all/1-9937/,"Maddens Bridge Bar
- View as map
Main Street, Bundoran, Donegal, Republic of Ireland
Maddens Bridge Bar is a family run pub in the seaside resort of Bundoran. Throughout the day and night, tourists and locals mingle in the ambience of this lively pub. Excellent home cooked food is served daily.
Maddens Bridge Bar is a family run business in the beautiful seaside resort of Bundoran in South Donegal. Boasting a world envied birds eye view of the north west surfing mecca “The Peak”, acclaimed traditional music performers and a pint that “slides down the gullet like a penguin in a wetsuit”, the bridge has it all!!
In true Irish style this pub is full of character and designed with a mixture of church and country-style decor adorned with wood and bric-a-brac. Traditional Irish music is available every Thursday night with extra nights arranged during the summer season. Excellent home cooked food is served daily along with all the traditional trimmings, as well as great grills, vegetarian and mexican dishes.
Bundoran is also a gateway to the North-West, bordering Sligo, Leitrim and Fermanagh, making the Bridge Bar the ideal base for touring the north west of Ireland.
Bundoran runs for a mile along the coast road and has a fantastic beach along with some of the finest scenic coastal walks in Ireland. Surfers from around the world descend on Bundoran throughout the year to catch the epic swells rolling in from the Atlantic. Bundoran is known among the surfing community to have the best surfing coast in Europe.",347,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427132827069.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323174707-00115-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94339245557785
b62d3159-fd36-48bf-988c-8554da6a47d4,2017-08-19T11:21:04+00:00,2016-07-19,1,https://www.georgiapol.com/2016/07/19/fannin-co-journalist-arrest-draws-fbi-inquiry/,"The ongoing saga of the arrest and jailing of the editor of the Fannin Focus and his attorney has apparently drawn the interest of the FBI. The original case against both, Mark Thomason and his attorney, was dismissed late last week but various news sources are reporting the FBI is talking to many people involved in the original dust-up.
The focus of the FBI inquiry does not involve the editor or a potential violation of his civil rights but rather on the judicial spending accounts of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit. The inquiry is reviewing checks written on that account as far back as 2013.
Chief Judge of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit, Brenda Weaver, has attributed the inquiry to “small town politics”. Judge Weaver is also the chairperson of the Judicial Qualifications Commission charged with investigating judicial misconduct.",161,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00093.warc.gz,0.973484575748444
8c0deb56-087e-414f-9b67-325b29e70270,2022-05-20T12:59:07+00:00,2018-03-25,0,https://ashleighsbookshelf.co.uk/2018/03/25/review-plot-29-allan-jenkins/,"I am getting so close to finishing the longlist of the Wellcome prize now (as I write this it is the 15th of March and I have 5 days before the shortlist is announced and 2 books to finish!).
Plot 29 is a book which I found quite confusing. I think as a memoir around fostering, childhood neglect, and the struggle of finding a biological family it would be good, and as a book about keeping an allotment it would be good, however the combination of the two I found rather bizarre if I am entirely honest and something that as I reader I didn’t enjoy all that much. As with another memoir on the list I really struggled to find how this is relevant to bioscience or health – the link is just too tenuous for me (especially as I believe it was put on the list because of the mental health aspect of the piece, which I didn’t even pick up on!) So, for me this wasn’t really something I would have continued reading if it wasn’t for me wanting to read the entire longlist cover to cover!
The book essentially revolves around a year on an allotment in London – Plot 29 – which Jenkins is caring for. The book is based around this plot, and the year in a life of it. But that’s where the logic to the chronology ends. Within chapters there is so much jumping about, one moment we’re in 2016/17 and the next we’re in another decade – even the flashbacks and fragments of the past aren’t in any sort of order. This for me made even the major personal events in the book really anticlimactic and dull. And they shouldn’t have been, as I said initially if this book focused solely on his experience as a foster child, finding biological relatives, and also followed a logical chronology I think it could have been a really powerful piece of writing.
Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me – I feel a bit like it was mis-sold if I’m entirely honest. I appreciate this is someone’s life, and I am not in any way saying that it wasn’t moving but I found that as a book the way it was positioned felt a bit cramped. I find it interesting that it was originally to be a book about gardening and a year in an allotment with a little bit of personal stuff thrown in, but over time it grew in to what it became. I know a lot of people who have loved this book, and will love this book if they read it – but if we all liked the same things it’d be a dull old world!",549,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662532032.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520124557-20220520154557-00425.warc.gz,0.980098605155945
75aacffe-2043-4bb2-b69b-8a8a205492a4,2022-05-21T15:05:48+00:00,2020-05-21,1,https://events.timesunion.com/event/wanda-sykes-live-at-the-egg--dx3d59z9o1,"DOORS 6PM • SHOWTIME 7PM
The Hart Theatre @ The Egg • Albany, NY
Tickets are on sale now!
WANDA SYKES is an Emmy winning stand up comic, writer, actress and producer who has been entertaining audiences for over twenty years. She has ranked among Entertainment Weekly’s “25 Funniest People in America” and her peers have called her “one of the funniest stand-up comics” in the field.
In 2020, Wanda received Emmy nominations for both her role as real-life comic ‘Moms Mabley’ in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and for her voice work as ‘Gladys Murphy’ in Crank Yankers, a role she originated in 2004. Wanda’s guest-starring role on ABC’s Black-ish also brought her two back-to-back Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series” in 2017 and 2018. Her fifth and latest standup special, Wanda Sykes: Not Normal, is currently streaming on Netflix and was nominated for two 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards; “Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special” and “Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special.” The special also received a Broadcast Critic Award nomination.
Wanda can currently be seen in the Netflix’s comedy The Upshaws, which she is writing, producing and starring in. The Upshaws centers on a working-class African American family in Indiana struggling to make it work and make it right without any blueprints. She recently produced and was a part of the Apple TV+ 5-part documentary series Visible; Out on Television, about how the LGBTQ movement has shaped the history of the medium. Each hour-long episode explores themes of homophobia, the evolution of the LGBTQ character, and coming out in the television industry.
Wanda spent five years on the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine co-starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as well as HBO’s critically acclaimed The Chris Rock Show (the latter of which earned her two Emmy nominations and one win). She has appeared in Broad City, House of Lies, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and many more hit television shows. Other TV credits include Fox’s Wanda at Large which she wrote, produced and starred in, Wanda Does It on Comedy Central, and Crank Yankers. Wanda even starred on her own late-night talk show on Fox, The Wanda Sykes Show.
In 2017, Wanda was seen in the feature comedy Snatched, opposite Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn. She was also seen in Evan Almighty (sequel to Bruce Almighty), in which she co-starred with Steve Carell, the cult-hit Monster-In-Law with Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Pootie Tang, Nutty Professor 2; The Klumps, Down to Earth and many more.
Wanda has had four comedy specials prior to Not Normal; 2016’s What Happened…Ms. Sykes? which premiered on Epix, 2009’s Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me on HBO, nominated for two Emmys, HBO’s 2006 comedy special Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired, nominated for a 2007 Emmy for “Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special,” and her first, 2003’s Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied, which premiered on Comedy Central. Her stand up has tackled everything from politics and marriage to racial profiling and parenting.
This event will be a phone-free experience. Use of cellphones, smart watches, smart accessories, cameras or recording devices will not be permitted in the performance space.
Upon arrival at the venue, all phones and smart watches will be secured in Yondr cases that will be opened at the end of the event. Guests maintain possession of their phones at all times, and can access their phones throughout the show at designated Phone Use Areas in the venue. All phones will be re-secured in Yondr cases before returning to the performance space.
Anyone seen using a cellphone during the performance will be escorted out of the venue.
We appreciate your cooperation in creating a phone-free viewing experience.
Presented by AM Productions",916,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539131.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521143241-20220521173241-00017.warc.gz,0.95233803987503
df30c9b3-5c85-42dc-a8c0-89cafb62a48a,2022-05-20T09:43:48+00:00,2022-05-05,1,https://adviseeating.com/2022/05/05/bidens-new-chief-of-environmental-justice-faces-a-difficult-task-advice-eating/,"The role was created in 2020 as Biden made environmental justice a priority for every federal government agency, as part of an effort to correct historical mistakes that have disproportionately increased pollution and disease in disadvantaged communities.
Biden’s focus on environmental justice led to a year of progress — and burnout
“Jalonne is a strong and effective advocate for communities overburdened by pollution and exposed to decades of ecological injustice,” Brenda Mallory, chair of the council, said in a statement. Her “ability to listen carefully, bring people together and find creative solutions” is invaluable to the job, the statement said.
“We have a wonderful opportunity to institutionalize practices that not only transform lives, but save lives,” White-Newsome said in a statement. “I look forward to rolling up my sleeves to increase the number of environmental justice champions within the walls of our agencies as I continue to listen and collaborate with environmental justice leaders in communities across the country.”
White-Newsome, a Detroit native with a PhD in environmental health sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, will take on a daunting job at a small, understaffed agency. She will work with 25 members of the White House’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council, some of whom believe the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is lagging far behind in fulfilling its mission.
Mallory and CEQ have yet to explain how Biden will ship hundreds of millions of dollars to communities in states with Republican governors opposed to their mission. Activists on the ground in states including Louisiana, Alabama and Texas have said they doubt they will ever see such funding.
Recent studies have shown that federal policies of redlining — racial discrimination in housing policies for more than a quarter century — resulted in the placement of pollution sources in and around Black and Hispanic communities, degrading air quality in those locations.
A study by the Environmental Protection Agency showed that particulate air pollution disproportionately harms black Americans across all states and income brackets.
Other studies have shown that air pollution is disproportionately caused by the country’s white majority, but that its damage is felt primarily by African Americans and Latinos.
Redlining was banned 50 years ago. It still harms minorities today.
Biden’s vow to build environmental justice into every federal agency has met with limited success. Some agencies, such as the Departments of Transport and Health and Human Services, have warmly welcomed the effort, while others have lagged behind.
White-Newsome is expected to urge departments like agriculture to pay more attention to how their work can help advance environmental justice.
The Biden administration also pledged to measure its progress on environmental justice with an annual report. So far, she has not managed to create this list of achievements and shortcomings.
But Biden has made strides to lessen the burden of environmental injustice. At least $55 billion from the Infrastructure Act is earmarked for improving sewage facilities, including $15 billion to remove lead pipes that have contaminated drinking water in cities like Flint, Mich.
About $28 million has been spent on preventive coastal erosion on Native American lands at the Kenai River Bluffs in Alaska, $65 billion has been spent on improving the country’s power grid, and $1 billion is said to be for the dissected Communities, including many blacks, were reconnecting through massive freeway projects that began in the early 1960s.
The harder work lies ahead, but Mallory runs an agency of just six people dedicated to environmental justice. Council members say at least 50 staff are needed, along with more funding that the government’s climate leadership, including national climate adviser Gina McCarthy, has failed to muster.
Martinez was an acclaimed choice to lead CEQ’s first-ever environmental justice initiative. Like White-Newsome, she is an academic with extensive experience working with activists. But the lack of staff support and the long working days were killing her, she said.
“I felt like I wasn’t as high quality as I should be,” Martinez said of her final days at CEQ. “You know, like I can feel myself just getting tired. I just needed a break.”
Martinez told Mallory about her retirement plan long before she did. But it came as a shock to some members of the panel.
Biden officials launch screening tool to identify polluted communities
“Every person you lose like Cecilia Martinez is a step backwards,” said María Belén Power, an environmental justice panelist and associate executive director of GreenRoots, after Martinez resigned. “You can’t entrust all the work to one person, two people, or three people. … I see in this work … people who burn out year after year.”
Peggy Shepard, advisory board member and executive director of New York-based We Act for Environmental Justice, said White-Newsome has the credentials to make her new job stand out.
“She has a wide range of experience,” Shepard said. “She has worked in business, at the state government level and with environmental justice groups.”
White-Newsome is a former analyst for We Act. She was also a Senior Program Officer at the Kresge Foundation, where she created the Climate Resilience and Equitable Water Systems Initiative to address climate and water inequities.
In addition to her Michigan degree, White-Newsome holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
“She’s had the opportunity to get a really good grasp of politics and grassroots people. She knows how government works, which I think is pretty crucial for this role,” Shepard said. “Of course you have to know about environmental justice and environmental justice policy.”
Sign up for the latest climate change, energy and environment news delivered every Thursday",1236,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531779.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520093441-20220520123441-00209.warc.gz,0.966010987758636
81125af5-1f5c-4c2d-a84c-bfa46e422d40,2019-08-20T07:55:51+00:00,2019-07-15,1,http://www.mrcoolcars.com/gm-will-increase-the-manufacturing-of-its-chevrolet-silverado-and-gmc-sierra-hd-vehicles/,"Final month, GM introduced a $ 24 million funding in its meeting plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to extend the manufacturing of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC 1500 pickup vehicles. Automotive anticipates robust demand for its redesigned heavyweights, injecting $ 150 million into its Flint meeting plant in Michigan.
The Flint Manufacturing facility delivers the primary batch of Chevrolet Silverado autos and GMC Sierra redesigned obligation vehicles to sellers this week. Launched earlier this yr, these vehicles promise a most towing capability of 52% larger than earlier variations, for a complete of 35,500 kilos. The fashions additionally characteristic powertrain upgrades, together with a brand new Allison 10-speed automated transmission for the 6.6-liter diesel engine, in addition to extra superior cab applied sciences.
The automaker has invested greater than $ 1.6 billion in Flint's plant since 2013. This cash has allowed GM to extend the capability of its HD pickups by about 40 000 autos a yr.
A thousand new jobs have been created this yr on the Flint plant. At this time, the manufacturing unit employs greater than 5,000 staff. From right here the primary half of subsequent yr, GM may have modified the manufacturing unit conveyors and upgraded the tooling to assist elevated manufacturing capability for vehicles.
It stays to be seen how GM heavyweights behave on gross sales charts. GM had a significant disappointment: Ram surpassed Chevrolet to change into the second hottest heavyweight model within the first quarter of the yr. However in case you add Sierra gross sales to Silverado gross sales, GM nonetheless has a lead over Ram within the normal-size race.",331,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315258.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820070415-20190820092415-00105.warc.gz,0.91879141330719
e040eaaa-095f-41ac-bfd1-9f70c74e616e,2022-05-27T21:57:43+00:00,2019-12-31,1,https://cloud7.news/cloud/a-deeper-look-into-the-cloud-ecosystem-in-2019/,"Cloud computing keeps growing as expected in 2019 too. Let’s take a look at what the researches say about the cloud ecosystem in 2019.
With the tech giants investments, cloud computing is now a multi-billion dollar economy and probably the broadest and the most complex ecosystem of technologies, products, and services. With more and more enterprises are moving to the cloud environment every day it seems like it will keep growing in 2020 too. But for now, let’s take a look at the numbers of 2019 in the cloud environment.
Three types of cloud computing services
For a better understanding of the cloud ecosystem, it is crucial to know the main cloud computing services. Each type has its own specific range of services provided. So here are the three main types of cloud computing services:
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
In IaaS, the cloud service provider supplies on-demand access to customers, such as networking, storage, and servers. In other words, the customer can run the platform and applications within the provider’s infrastructure. Customers can also scale the hardware provided by the cloud service provider to fulfill the storage and processing needs.
Platform as a service (PaaS)
In this version, the customer can develop, manage, and host applications in a cloud environment provided by the cloud service provider. The provider also offers a platform to support testing and development for the applications. And providers are also responsible for the infrastructure, security, operating systems, and backups.
Software as a service (SaaS)
In SaaS, the provider gives the customer access to their cloud-based software. So the customer will not be installing the software on a local device, instead, the provider gives the customer access to the provider’s software via the web or an API. Storing and analyzing data, installing, managing and upgrading the software is taken care of by the provider. There are three options for SaaS, public, private, and hybrid:
A private cloud is a service that you can host your own data center or intranet. Management, update, and upgrades on your own cloud ecosystem of server, networking, software, or platform resources will be owned by you. Thus, you should protect it with your own firewall or other security solutions.
In a public cloud, the provider offers you access to the data center. But unlike private cloud, in public cloud solutions, the cloud service provider is responsible for all management, maintenance, security, and upgrade processes.
As the name implies, a hybrid cloud solution is a mix of both public and private cloud services. Customers are responsible for interactions between these services.
24% growth from the previous year
According to the data published by the Synergy Research Group, across seven key cloud service and infrastructure market segments, operator and vendor revenues for the first half of 2019 passed the $150 billion milestone, having grown by 24% from the first half of 2018. IaaS & PaaS had the highest growth rate at 44%, followed by enterprise SaaS at 27%, UCaaS at 23% and hosted private cloud infrastructure services at 20%.
Across the whole cloud ecosystem, companies that featured the most prominently among the first half market segment leaders were Microsoft, Amazon/AWS, Dell EMC, Cisco, HPE and Google. Other major players included Salesforce, Adobe, VMware, IBM, Digital Realty, Equinix and Rackspace. In aggregate, these companies accounted for well over half of all cloud-related revenues.
$427 billion in 2019
According to the projection made by Gartner in the spring of 2019, worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.79 trillion in 2019, an increase of 1.1 percent from 2018. The shift of enterprise IT spending from traditional (noncloud) offerings to new, cloud-based alternatives is continuing to drive growth in the enterprise software market. In 2019, the market is forecast to reach $427 billion, up 7.1% from $399 billion in 2018. The largest cloud shift has so far occurred in application software.
The data center systems segment will experience the largest decline in 2019 with a decrease of 2.8%. This is mainly due to the expected lower average selling prices in the server market driven by adjustments in the pattern of expected component costs.
Public cloud spending will double by 2023
According to the projections of IDC, worldwide spending on public cloud services and infrastructure will more than double over the 2019-2023 forecast period. With a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.3%, public cloud spending will grow from $229 billion in 2019 to nearly $500 billion in 2023.
Software as a Service (SaaS) will be the largest category of cloud computing, capturing more than half of all public cloud spending throughout the forecast. SaaS spending, which is comprised of applications and system infrastructure software (SIS), will be dominated by applications purchases. The leading SaaS applications will be customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource management (ERM). Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will be the second-largest category of public cloud spending throughout the forecast, followed by Platform as a Service (PaaS).
SaaS public cloud market share
Another research also made by Synergy in the summer of 2019 shows that the SaaS market is dominated by five vendors. In Q1 the enterprise SaaS market generated well over $23 billion of revenue for software vendors and will hit a $100 billion annual run rate in the current quarter. The market continues to grow at almost 30% per year. Microsoft has a worldwide market share of 17% and continues to enhance its overall market leadership, thanks primarily to its dominance in the high-growth collaboration segment.
Salesforce is the second-ranked vendor in the overall enterprise SaaS market thanks to being the dominant player in CRM, though this segment has relatively low growth compared to other SaaS segments. The two leaders are followed by Adobe, SAP, and Oracle, with SAP achieving the highest growth rate among these three. In aggregate these top five SaaS vendors now account for just over half of the total market. The next ten vendors account for another 26% of the market. Among these ten, the vendors with the highest growth rates are Google, ServiceNow, and Workday.
Public cloud infrastructure market share
The worldwide infrastructure as a service (IaaS) market grew 31.3% in 2018 to total $32.4 billion, up from $24.7 billion in 2017, according to Gartner. Amazon continued to lead the worldwide IaaS market with an estimated $15.5 billion of revenue in 2018, up 27% percent from 2017. The largest of the IaaS providers, Amazon accounts for nearly half of the total IaaS market.
Microsoft secured the #2 position in the IaaS market with revenue surpassing $5 billion in 2018, up from $3.1 billion in 2017. Alibaba Cloud, experienced the strongest growth among the leading vendors, growing 92.6% in 2018. The company has built an ecosystem consisting of managed service providers (MSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs). Google came in at the #4 spot, growing 60.2% in revenue from 2017.
Reasons to choose cloud
More and more businesses moving to the cloud each year. There are some common reasons to choose cloud for most businesses and there are also some specific needs that can be fulfilled with cloud solutions more effectively and faster. Here are some of those reasons to choose cloud solutions:
Contracts with private data centers, hardware and software providers must be renewed periodically. This gives the businesses the opportunity to reconsider the specific services they need and the solutions that can fulfill those needs. Thus, businesses can make the transition easier to a more cost-effective cloud solution.
Data compliance can be a significant resource challenge if you are operating an on-premise solution. Evolution and continuing management of compliance regulations can easily be avoided by switching to a cloud service that is already compliant.
Whether it’s lack of equipment or skills, many businesses can find it hard to deal with constantly evolving cyber-attacks. As we all know, cloud service providers are prepared against most of the attacks that can occur. Shortly, in most cases, most of the cloud service providers can protect your data better than you can.
One of the most important motivations for moving to the cloud environment for businesses is cost savings. Depending on your business’ needs, you can choose the best cloud service for your company and it will reduce the resources spent in many ways.
Businesses can scale up or down their computing and storage capabilities almost immediately. Thus, companies will not have to pay more than they are using and they can scale up in unexpected rapid growth situations.
In today’s market, even short downtimes can affect your productivity, revenue, and reputation in a negative way. For those kinds of problems, cloud providers offer rapid data recovery, even during the event of outages. Shortly, cloud services ensure your system remains operational.
Cloud computing allows remote working and keeps your employees connected safely and productive even when they are on the move. With mobile access, they can access the system via their mobile devices.
Most major cloud service providers renewable energy in data centers. If you can choose one of those providers, you can lower your carbon footprint significantly.",1980,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663006341.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527205437-20220527235437-00623.warc.gz,0.944029450416565
244f0a75-eabd-4e9d-80e0-26313c3d4383,2020-10-23T06:30:21+00:00,2019-11-08,0,https://www.techspot.com/community/topics/san-francisco-is-set-to-restrict-e-cigarette-sales-in-2020-devices-will-require-fda-approval.258223/,"San Francisco-based e-cigarette users will likely be disappointed to hear that the city's residents have voted to place heavier restrictions on the devices beginning next year. E-cigarette makers will be required to receive FDA approval before they can sell their products in the city, which could effectively ban the sale of many such devices -- no e-cigarette products sold in San Francisco have received that approval yet.
These sales restrictions will come amidst increased pressure from regulators against e-cig and vape makers like Juul. These companies have been accused of introducing more minors to the world of tobacco addiction, and states like San Francisco have taken it upon themselves to address the problem.
San Francisco's new rules have been a long time coming. The regulations came about back in June (when they were first approved by the city's mayor) but they'd been in the works for months prior.
Shortly after the mayor's approval, Proposition C was introduced; a ballot measure (once heavily supported by Juul) that could have overturned the sale and distribution restrictions (while bringing some alternate rules in their place).
However, San Franciscan voters have largely voted against Proposition C, which means the original rules will take effect as planned. The specific enforcement date for the rules is January 1, 2020, so if you're a San Francisco resident who buys e-cigarettes regularly, it might be in your best interest to stock up now.
Image credit: Shutterstock",289,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880656.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023043931-20201023073931-00427.warc.gz,0.971442699432373
fe05e078-5062-4909-8e4d-85cc4e68f07e,2022-05-25T23:44:01+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://www.lonokeschools.org/domain/173,"Welcome to Mrs. Nisbett's 8th Grade Page!Name: Shaundra Nisbett
Email Address: firstname.lastname@example.org number: 501-676-6670I hope my page is a valuable resource for my students. Please take time to navigate through my website to find links to relevant resources and to find pertinent information to increase your child's success in my classroom.Here is my Remind link https://www.remind.com/join/lms72086 to receive updates and reminders for my class. Please sign up to stay informed on projects, events, and homework.
- SCIENCE STANDARDS INFORMATION -http://www.arkansased.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-and-instruction/arkansas-k-12-science-standards/ngss-documents
- PRACTICING VARIABLES AND CONTROL GROUPS- https://www.quia.com/quiz/162310.html
- Science Friday Podcasts- https://www.sciencefriday.com/listen/",243,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662594414.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525213545-20220526003545-00609.warc.gz,0.799607157707214
5b0b985d-9e6b-4afe-af03-c83aea19faa5,2013-05-24T02:05:21+00:00,2012-05-14,1,http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/yoursay/communities/beddingtonlive/latestnews/9704337.Protestors_march_against_incinerator_plans/?action=complain&cid=10380555,"Protest march through Croydon against Beddington Lane incinerator
Campaigners marched through town in protest against an incinerator, planned for the border of Sutton and Croydon, which would burn more than 200,000 tonnes of waste a year.
Organised by group Stop the Incinerator, around 100 protestors marched from Croydon University Hospital on Sunday May 13 to Croydon Town Hall, Katharine Street to highlight anger over plans for an incinerator on Beddington Lane.
Marching along London Road and North End, the group laid a wreath outside the town hall before holding rallying speeches at Queens Gardens.
Shasha Khan, a member of Croydon Green Party and Stop the Incinerator, said: “We laid the wreathe as a symbol to the death of democracy. It seems our council would rather serve the interests of corporations than its public.”
A full planning application for the incinerator is expected from waste management company Viridor in June.
The company was chosen to handle waste from Croydon, Kingston, Sutton and Merton by the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP), made up of members from each area’s council, at the end of last year.
Mr Khan added: “There were people from Sutton Merton and Croydon there. This is not a political matter – the ruling party in each council has given this the go-ahead because they are thinking about costs and the increasing price of landfill.
""We would like to see Conservative counsellors from Croydon step forward and join us to protest this plan.”
Coun Phil Thomas, cabinet member for environment and highways at Croydon Council and chairman of the SLWP , said: “The organisers of the march must have been disappointed by the turnout, most people were either Labour of Green Party members and the remainder of the people are those who like to go on marches.""
He accused campaigners of spreading misinformation about the potential impact of an incinerator.
He said: “All they are interested in is scare-mongering.
“There are 400 plus facilities of this kind across Europe and the UK. Can they find anywhere in the world where they have cause any health problems?”",466,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964617848396301
4024ace1-0590-4273-8625-5a0713638fb8,2013-05-19T19:04:57+00:00,2012-07-03,1,http://www.mambaonline.com/article.asp?artid=7128,"ZIM COUPLE ARRESTED OVER GAY PHONE PICS
Tue, 3 July 2012Two men have been arrested in Harare after a shop assistant found pictures of them embracing on one of the men's cell phone.
New Zimbabwe.com reported that the phone had been left at the phone shop to recharge.
When a shop assistant went through the phone's pictures, he found an image of the two men kissing and in a naked embrace on a bed.
The men, identified only as Andrew and Esau, were arrested after a mob formed around the shop threatening to lynch them. Police are said to have struggled to control the crowd and protect the men.
A vendor who knows the men said that Andrew told the crowd that he and Esau had been out a few weeks ago and got drunk, with Esau staying over at his home.
“He claimed they were wasted and ended up behaving strangely. They both claimed they don’t know who took the pictures,” said the vendor.
Harare police spokesman Inspector James Sabau told the newspaper: “I can confirm that we have arrested two men who are assisting officers with their investigations following the discovery of a set of images of a sexual nature.""
While no charges have been brought at present, sources said that the men ""are likely to be charged with crimes against morality, specifically sodomy"".
Gay sex, along with members of the same sex holding hands, hugging or kissing, is illegal in Zimbabwe with penalties of up to three years in jail.
In May, Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay that ""any person who commits homosexual activities will be arrested” in the country.",360,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980222880840302
f6ec6c15-979d-4284-b941-297d606dcdce,2016-07-24T02:56:07+00:00,2012-02-03,0,https://www.amazon.com/Giga-Ball-Life-Size-Inflatable-Center/dp/B0006NDCLU,"Giga Ball: Life-Size Inflatable Fun Center
Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed
Top Customer Reviews
It was somewhat fun, although I was worried that the kids would roll over too hard and break an arm. It's hard for the younger kids to push around. My older daughter did have fun in it during a raging hurricane, sitting inside with a hose running.
Too labor intensive. Looked like a good idea, but in reality was a pain in the neck.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
i recently got a 51 inch giga ball.it WAS the best thing ever.so many things to do with it but most websites say it takes 20 minutes to inflate.biggest lie ever. Read morePublished on February 3, 2012
It takes time to fill it up but once completely filled my very athletic, 55 pound, 7 year old daughter enjoys the challenge of rolling throught the house. Read morePublished on July 28, 2011 by P1J1Wright
We found this to be a great ball ... for the first two hours. After that we noticed several of the seemingly almost 20 separately-inflatable bladders were leaking. Read morePublished on July 24, 2011 by George Miller
I was so worried about the durability of this item that I bought 2 of them. (Only paid a couple of bucks more because the shipping was free with 2) My granddaughter had a blast at... Read morePublished on June 27, 2011 by matterb
My kids were dying to get the Giga Ball. It takes forever to blow up as it is divided into multiple sections that need to be inflated individually. Read morePublished on March 12, 2011 by Allison Scrittorale
My boys and their friends loved it. We've had two because they do break down and are hard to store but... Read morePublished on January 29, 2011 by kathy
My son received this giga ball for Christmas and after we got it blown up he LOVED it. Unfortunately my (30 lb) son and his (35 lb) friend played in it indoors on a soft carpet... Read morePublished on February 13, 2010 by Jen T.
It is a pain to blow up even with the 3 diff pumps - very gently used and seams opened as though not really sealed, at least 4 chambers within 2 days. Read morePublished on March 9, 2009 by Duncan Sze-tu",495,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823935.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00076-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980130851268768
8a50a5a7-b32d-466a-8b14-aa90c648f465,2017-08-20T15:25:00+00:00,2014-01-02,0,https://btlhockeyandbaseball.wordpress.com/author/willsports/,"The 2014 Olympics begin on February 7th with the opening ceremonies in Sochi, Russia. The men’s tournament will begin the next day with two games. The deadline for countries to finalize their Olympic rosters is January 4th, 2014. In the mean time, we get to have some fun with predictions. Here are the participating countries. The U.S. have already finalized their roster and the rest are yet to be revealed. Stats are as of January 2nd, 2014.
Russia: Assuming the Russians go with three NHL goaltenders (which I doubt they will), the best three in my opinion would be:
- Semyon Varlamov (COL)
- Sergei Bobrovsky (CLB)
- Evgeni Nabokov (NYI)
Varlamov would be the ideal guy to get the starting role. With a respectable 2.33 GAA, Semyon will get the nod to start. As for spots two and three, these could go to guys like Vasily Koshechkin (21-9 1.92 GAA) or Alexander Yeremenko (21-4 1.84 GAA) both in the KHL. Nabokov beats out Ilya Bryzgalov in my books because of the uncertainty of Bryz and the fact that he’s only played a handful of games this year.
Slovakia: My predictions for the Slovaks are the exact same as the 2010 roster, only in a different order:
- Jaroslav Halak (STL)
- Peter Budaj (MTL)
- Rastislav Stana (KHL)
Budaj got the start for Slovakia in 2010, but since then Halak and Budaj have switched teams and Halak became a starting goalie in Montreal. Halak is (17-6) this year and despite having some injury issues this year, he will most likely get the start. Stana (10-10 2.33 GAA) in the KHL will battle Jaroslav Janus (12-11 2.95 GAA) also in the KHL for the final spot.
U.S.A: Goalies already announced:
- Jonathan Quick (LAK)
- Ryan Miller (BUF)
- Jimmy Howard (DET)
The only debate the rose with this announcement was whether it should be Howard or Cory Schneider who gets the third position. I would replace Miller with Schneider as Miller has proven this year, he has lost most of his touch.
Slovenia: There is not too much info surrounding the Slovenian team. The projected goalies in my eyes would likely be the goalies that were on the team when Slovenia qualified for the Olympics.
- Andrej Hočevar (Elite.A)
- Robert Kristen (KHL)
- Luka Gračnar (Austria)
No one is expecting much from the Slovenians. All the best to them in the tournament.
Finland: This year’s Finnish squad is looking at a whole new crop of goalies thanks to the retirement of Miikka Kiprusoff and Antero Nittymaki.
- Tuukka Rask (BOS)
- Antti Niemi (SJS)
- Kari Lehtonen (DAL)
The Hardest choice for Finland will be deciding to start either the statistically better Tuukka Rask (20-9 1.99 GAA) or the more experienced Antti Niemi (22-8 2.39 GAA). I would let them split the round robin games and make a decision for when the quarter finals come around. By then a true #1 will emerge, and hey, maybe it will be good ol’ Kari Lehtonen.
Canada: Canada has the most options in net this year. So if anyone goes down with an injury they will have 10+ goalies waiting in line. I’m guessing Martin Brodeur won’t be making another appearance although he continues to defy odds in the NHL.
- Roberto Luongo (VAN)
- Carey Price (MTL)
- Corey Crawford (CHI)
The 2nd and 3rd spots could easily be switched at any moment. With so many options, these guys will need to be on top of their game to get a look at. Mike Smith (15-9 2.86 GAA) may be swapped in for Corey Crawford (17-6 2.49 GAA). I still can’t understand why Marc-Andre Fleury (22-10 2.15 GAA) doesn’t get any attention. Just because he had a few slip-ups in recent playoffs, he is completely overlooked despite leading the league in wins.
Norway: There’s only one active Norwegian in the NHL and that is right-winger Mats Zuccarello. As for goaltending, Norway doesn’t have much to choose from.
- Lars Haugen (KHL)
- Ruben Smith (GET-ligaen)
- André Lysenstøen (Mestis League)
Not that I know much about these guys, but one of the 2010 Olympic goalies Pal Grotnes is aging and may be pushed aside thanks to the young guys like 26-year-old Lars Haugen (5-12 2.67 GAA) in the KHL.
Austria: These guys didn’t participate in the 2010 Olympics but this year they could play spoiler for some teams. There isn’t too many options for Austria in net but here is who I think should start thanks to some help from the web.
- Bernhrd Starkbaum (SHL)
- Mathias Lange (DEL )
- Rene Swette (EBHL)
All three of these guys could contend to be the starting goalie… as far as I’m concerned.
Czech Republic: A classic Czech roster containing Tomas Vokoun and Jaromir Jagr will most likely await us in February.
- Ondrej Pavelec (WPG)
- Michal Neuvirth (WSH)
- Tomas Vokoun (PIT)
Michal Neuvirth (2-3 2.83 GAA) makes a jump onto the roster this year. Although he backs up Braden Holtby currently in Washington, he has proven to us he can play well enough to earn a spot. I will be amazed if Czech republic decides to go with Alexander Salak in the KHL instead of giving Neuvirth the experience.
Sweden: The Swedes are always hungry for a gold medal and this year is no different. With a rise in young Swedish NHL goalies this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if all three tenders belong to an NHL club and not a KHL one.
- Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
- Jonas Gustavsson (DET)
- Viktor Fasth (ANA)
Lundqvist is a shoo-in to get a spot but Gustavsson (11-3 2.39 GAA) has definitely deserved his spot on the roster after appearing in 17 games so far thanks to Jimmy Howard’s injuries in Detroit. As for Viktor Fasth, the Ducks goalie could have some competition, among them being Eddie Lack, Anders Lindback and Jhonas Enroth.
Switzerland: No matter who they play, they always seem to play a strong sixty minutes. That wouldn’t be possible without goaltending and Jonas Hiller always delivers for the Swiss in tournaments.
- Jonas Hiller (ANA)
- Reto Berra (CGY)
- Tobias Stephan (Swiss League A)
If Hiller plays like he normally does, than there will be no need for the other two goalies. Reto Berra (5-11 2.92) doesn’t have outstanding stats thanks to playing for Calgary, but may get the nod to back up Hiller. Tobias Stephan was on the 2010 roster and has NHL experience in Dallas.
Latvia: There isn’t one NHL or KHL goalie born in Latvia, meaning they will have to look at the 2010 goalies. Too bad Edgars Masaļskis is a 33-year-old free agent and Sergejs Naumovs is 44-years-old and retired.
- Ervins Mustukovs (SHL)
- Edgars Masalkis (FA)
- Kristers Gudlevskis (AHL-Syracuse Crunch)
I’m placing my bets that Masalkis plays for Latvia despite being a free agent. Gudleyskis is currently with the Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.",1844,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00289.warc.gz,0.932344794273376
0a3bbd56-5c38-428d-b454-5316db8a1e59,2017-08-17T21:07:29+00:00,2017-08-17,1,http://www.stpaulsbarton.co.uk/,"Christian News, Updated daily
At least 12 dead in Barcelona terrorist van attack; Islamic State claims responsibility
A van mowed through crowds of tourists on Barcelona's most famous avenue on Thursday, killing about a dozen people in an attack that was claimed by Islamic State.
US Religious Freedom report: These top 5 American allies are criticised for persecution
So here are five countries Trump has looked to build relations with and what his administration has said about their religious freedom record:
Character counts: Trump failed the nation, but this forgiving family showed true leadership
Character counts. Leadership matters. In crisis, we need hope, faith and love – not hate. President Trump doesn't understand, but this week two grieving, everyday American parents showed how it's done.
Sierra Leone buries its dead: 'We've never seen anything like this,' says Tearfund worker
Hundreds of people died in what is being described as one of Africa's worst flood disasters when a mountainside collapsed the town of Regent.
Charlottesville puts Trump on the brink: US President increasingly isolated as Christians, generals and staffers condemn his response
Donald Trump's grip on the presidency appeared to be slipping today as some white evangelicals joined two senior military generals and a series of White House staffers in condemning him over his disastrous handling of the Charlottesville violence.
If not after Charlottesville, then when? Why evangelicals must denounce Trump
It isn't too late to pull the support for Trump, even now. But if his prevarication in the face of an actual Nazi march in the heart of the old South isn't enough to make them do it, when, oh when, will they?
How does the average American pray – and what for?
The vast majority of Americans pray. But how do they do it, and what do they pray for? New research has shed light on the intercessory habits of Americans.
Why are thousands of people who've never set foot in church before suddenly showing up for choral evensong?
Thousands of people are attending choral evensong services in churches and cathedrals around the country, many for the first time, thanks to a new website set up to promote Britain's unique choral Christian heritage
A-Level results: Religious Studies results lag behind the rest
Religious Studies bucked the trend in exam results this year with fewer pupils gaining top results than average.
Rewriting history: How statues to dead heroes become community flashpoints
All over the world there are memorials to people and causes, glorified at the time, that a few decades or hundreds of years render embarrassing.
Spanish evangelicals: New LGBT rights law 'threatens democratic liberties'
Spanish Evangelical Alliance is voicing its opposition to a proposed new LGBT rights law which would 'threaten the democratic liberties of all citizens'.
Why every church should build a kids' holiday club into its mission plan
Parents, standing at the back of the building at the end of the day with a look of quiet incredulity, are perhaps having their preconceptions about Christians radically challenged.
After A-levels, volunteering overseas gave me direction and purpose
Throughout my final year of A-levels I was questioning, what should I do next? Should I head to university? What should I study? Could I afford the rising fees?
Government cuts and benefits changes drive record number of food banks asking for emergency donations
Amid austerity and benefits changes, a record number of food banks have been forced to ask for donations this summer after running out of certain goods, according to the Trussell Trust, Britain's biggest food bank network.
The evil of modern slavery is now 'prevalent' in the UK. Here's how the Church of England is stepping up to the challenge
The Church of England this week announced a new, three year project aimed at helping people in dioceses across the country tackle modern slavery.
The 'Magnificat': Southwark Cathedral's favourite feline lands book deal
London's Southwark Cathedral's favourite feline, nicknamed 'Doorkins Magnificat', has obtained her first book deal.
Trump's evangelical supporters flock to his side: A 'bold truthful statement about Charlottesville'
Jerry Falwell Jnr, president of Liberty University and one of Trump's earliest and most fervent supporters, has come out in praise of how the president handled the situation.
Pope Francis calls clergy child abuse 'an absolute monstrosity' in foreword to victim's book
Pope Francis has branded the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests an 'absolute monstrosity' and pledged action against the perpetrators as well as bishops and Cardinals who have protected them.
Christian festival worshippers crushed to death by falling tree in Portugal
At least 12 people have been crushed to death and another 50 injured at a Christian festival in Portugal after a tree toppled into a crowd of worshippers.
'There's only one ""King"" – that's Jesus': the Christian faith of Elvis Presley
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of rock 'n ' roll icon Elvis Presley. The star defined his era, and continues to be adored by many today – but some forget that the colourful character was also a born-again Christian.",1065,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104160.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817210535-20170817230535-00483.warc.gz,0.952812552452087
223f64f5-463f-44c2-a7e7-177ee8b675ad,2016-07-27T07:42:26+00:00,2010-12-08,1,http://leavenworthstreet.blogspot.com/2010/12/thinking-about-it.html?showComment=1291848864917,"story in the OWH about whether or not Ben Nelson will run for reelection in 2012.
First various talkers predicted (as no doubt directed) that Ben will run again. Then again, Tony Raimondo also told us way back when that he would be a lifelong Republican, so take it for what it’s worth.
But then note the names Robynn Tysver listed as being interested in a Senate bid, along with Bruning, Flynn and Stenberg: State Auditor Mike Foley and Rep Jeff Fortenberry.
Now we are still of the belief that either Foley or Fortenberry may run, but not both.
So for one, the fact that either is listed means that there is still some serious consideration going on.
However, we and many other had pretty much marked Fort off the list. Well, that is unless Nelson decides not to run in 2012. In which case the floodgates may open, and someone like Fortenberry would be much more likely to run.
And again, the fact that the OWH printed that each of those two is interested means that there is some serious consideration by each.
Not to mention, who the OWH may back.
Then there was Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle on his media kvetching tour -- first there was Channel 6, then KFAB, and now his woe-is-me to the OWH.
And who is really taking the brunt of this Recall business? Well, the Mayor says, that would be his nine-year-old grandson. (Of course maybe the Mayor should direct Sonny towards Captain Underpants instead of the blogs.)
But here is an idea: Shouldn’t the Mayor resign now, instead of subjecting the boy to all this pain and anguish?
(Hey, he invoked his grandson, not us.)
And for Roget’s sake Aida, please hand the Mayor another cliché instead of “nose-to-the-grindstone”. He is giving worn-out phrases a bad name. Sounding like a broken-record. You get the picture.
And we are still hearing rumblings about the various candidates who may or may not get into the race, should the Mayor fall in January.
Of course many of the names are all based on whether or not the GOP Elephant in the room, Hal Daub, gets in or not.
If he is out, you will probably need a Rolodex to keep track of all the interested candidates.",522,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00304-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967272698879242
598f4bc1-c3eb-4ccc-bdfd-605c12f19086,2017-08-20T15:42:30+00:00,2013-08-20,1,https://creativetrampoline.wordpress.com/tag/movie-adaptation/,"In a parallel universe somewhere, I am probably responsible for casting things. Unfortunately, in this one, that doesn’t happen too frequently, and when it does, it certainly isn’t Hollywood. But one can dream, right? And dreaming’s what I do, so one of my fave pastimes is coming up with an imaginary cast for a hypothetical live-action movie adaptation of basically anything (usually books or musicals).
Anyhow, here’s my current imaginary cast for Wicked (the musical) if they make a movie adaptation:
Lea Michele as Elphaba
Come on, you guys, Lea Michele looks like she could be Idina Menzel’s daughter. (See: Glee.)
Kristin Bell as Glinda
It’s about time Kristen Bell got a live-action singing role. Also, she’s tiny (though not quite as tiny as Chenoweth) and probably could do our perky, pink-wearing popular witch justice.
Sam Claflin as Fiyero
Finnick as Fiyero! If you’re wondering about his ability to sing, Sam played Enjolras in a Norfolk Theatre production of Les Mis (check it out here), and his performance was well-received. But mostly it’s that innate cheekiness he has, that winning charm.
Daniel Radcliffe as Boq
Our Danny Boy has, er, the right height for a Munchkin boy. Plus he’s done the musical “How to Succeed in Business.” I just hope he’s not sick and tired of going to magical schools . . .
Anna Kendrick as Nessarose
Sure, Kendrick has been in every other movie musical these days, which could be a tad annoying, but Nessarose herself is supposed to be a tad annoying anyway.
James McAvoy as Doctor Dillamond
I briefly considered Johnny Depp, seeing as he loves costumey things and musicals, but due to McAvoy’s extensive goat-playing experience (see: Narnia), he wins this one.
Meryl Streep as Madame Morrible
The Hollywood Powers-That-Be have issued a decree saying Meryl Streep must be cast in every significant movie-musical from now on. Done.
Robert Downey Jr. as The Wizard of OzDon’t you think this is a more inspired choice than James Franco? RDJ is made of awesomeness.
Idina Menzel as Elphaba’s Mother
Customary Original Broadway Cast cameo. Also, hel-lo, Lea Michele’s mother? Obvious answer is obvious.
* * *
That about sums it up! Next up, probably The Night Circus, which I’ve just finished and absolutely love. I’m also willing to take on any requests. Cheers!",612,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00293.warc.gz,0.951447665691376
1fce10e4-15e2-49ae-95a7-540f6e1a224e,2019-08-21T03:32:17+00:00,2019-08-21,0,https://blog.securitycamerasdirect.com/business-security/easy-ways-to-secure-your-business/,"Easy Ways To Secure Your Business
Your business in , is one of the biggest investments in your life, and making sure that it succeeds is important. Of course, a huge part of that success comes in making sure that you take the steps needed to drive profits up while keeping overall costs as low as possible. You can plan for a lot of things, but one thing that you won’t be able to plan for is theft or other unaccounted loss.
The Big Problem of Business Loss in ,
Every business takes a loss to one degree or another, but did you know that as much as 75% of employees have stolen something from their employer at least once? Whether it’s hours on the time clock, money from the till, or products that they’re taking without you knowing about it, stopping theft is a must.
Stopping Loss in ,
And whether you’re stopping employee theft or theft and loss from outside sources, it’s incredibly important that you secure your business properly. Here are a few easy tips that can increase your company security and lower overall loss.
Buy A Safe
A safe is a must-have for any business. Place it in your office or an off-limits area and keep access to it limited to yourself and only a small number of people that you trust. You can even invest in safes that can’t be opened but that allow for deposits of money while the door is still locked.
Keep Inventory Counts
You should always schedule routine inventory counts to keep an eye on products. This includes inventory on your shelves for sale as well as stored items like cleaning supplies, office products, and more. Even small incidents of theft of these items can add up to significant costs over the year.
Monitor the Register
The register is obviously where much risk can be found. Monitoring registers is important, and the easiest way to do so is to invest in a security camera system. The investment into the system pays for itself quickly with the peace of mind and the loss prevention that it offers.
Lock Up Valuables
You likely have some items that are much higher in value than others. Investing in locking cabinets or display cases to lock these up is an easy way to make sure that they aren’t stolen by anyone.
Use Access Monitoring
Access control systems let you set up parameters for who can access different parts of the building and even different storage areas. They’re another easy investment that pays off big.
Check Vendor Orders
Finally, be sure that you review all vendor bills and delivery lists. Sometimes you may receive an excess number of products. Products you didn’t order can add up to big costs for your business that you weren’t planning on having.
A Wise Investment
Simply put, making small investments in your time, energy, and even money can have a huge impact on your business’ future. The steps above could save you thousands of dollars and help increase your company’s profits. Talking to your security professionals can help make it even easier to add extra security to your business.",635,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315750.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821022901-20190821044901-00058.warc.gz,0.956488609313965
a117a0d9-0c1b-4927-8f39-8a2601a15fdb,2017-08-18T02:02:32+00:00,2005-08-10,0,http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/08/prweb271163.htm,"(PRWEB) August 10, 2005
(PRWEB) August 10, 2005 Â A new research report by Mercator Advisory Group on prepaid market forecasts discusses the load volume card forecast for 33 markets (open and closed).
Using data derived from the 2004 and 2005 prepaid market benchmarks that investigated both the Open and Closed prepaid markets, Mercator has produced the prepaid industry's first four-year forecast predicting the total spend and the total number of cards issued for market segments identified by Mercator. This report also delivers the first comparison of Open spending versus Closed spending for all relevant prepaid market segments. This information is critical to anyone planning a prepaid strategy since it identifies markets where Open Cards are gaining market share over Closed Solutions, where Closed Solutions remain dominant, and where the markets are expanding to embrace both solutions.
""While the recently released prepaid benchmark reports for Open and Closed solutions document underlying market dynamics, this report converts that information into a four year forecast of Open and Closed spending for all three markets,"" noted Tim Sloane, Director of Mercator Advisory Group's Debit Advisory Practice. ""This forecast offers the industry its first consolidated view of the industry measuring Open cards, Closed Cards and other closed systems that include Transit, Telecommunications, Digital Media and even Utilities."" Also included in this report is a total spend for each category in one consolidated table. This enables readers to extract growth rates for each sector and for the total market from Open and Closed systems.
- Today, the Closed Market is almost 1,400 percent larger than the Open Market, but Open Solutions are growing so fast that the Closed Market is only 182 percent larger than Open in 2008.
- Despite several markets that are shrinking, the Closed Solutions market will grow 112 percent between 2004 and 2008.
- While there are several Open Segments that are also shrinking, the Open Solutions market will grow by 1,600% between 2004 and 2008, gaining significant ground on Closed Solutions.
- The scenario that drives this growth in Open Solutions is heavily dependent on three segments performing as expected. Should the assumptions behind the growth of the Money & Open Gifts, Payroll, and FSA segments prove incorrect Open Segment growth may be far less than projected.
- After four years of growth, In Store Gift Cards remain the largest Closed Segment at $97.6 Billion while Payroll becomes the largest market segment for Open Solutions at $109.1 Billion.
Members of Mercator Advisory Group have access to these reports as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits. Please visit us online at http://www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com.
For more information call Mercator Advisory Group's main line: 781-419-1700.",559,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104204.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818005345-20170818025345-00059.warc.gz,0.950868606567383
caa11066-eab2-430f-b6be-3a93233d3b8e,2019-08-24T11:51:04+00:00,2019-02-03,1,http://www.mangaloretoday.com/main/Gurupura-new-bridge-by-end-of-2020.html,"Mangaluru, Feb 3, 2019: Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel laid foundation stone for the construction of a new bridge across River Phalguni at Gurupura on February 2, Saturday.
The bridge, being built at a cost of Rs 39.42 crore, will be 175 metres long and will have seven piers of 25-metre each. The width of the bridge is 16 metres and the road will be 10-metre wide. The pedestrian path on either sides of the road will be 3-metre wide.
The connecting road will be 500 metres long on both the sides of the bridge. The bridge, which will be completed within 24 months, will be constructed by Mugrody Construction.
The old bridge in Gurupura is one of the oldest bridge in the district built in 1923, across the River Phalguni on Nanthoor-Moodbidri-Karkala National Highway 169, connecting Mangaluru.
The motorists fear that the bridge might collapse any time. The work on levelling the land beside the existing bridge has already commenced. According to authorities, a majority of the works will be completed this year itself.
The old bridge was 4.50-metre wide. Though the carrying capacity of the old bridge is good, the bottom portion of the bridge is rusted. The girders have weakened. The iron railings on the bridge have already disappeared.
Locals alleged that the bridge had not seen any maintenance for the past many years.
The edges of the old bridge are covered with a thick growth of shrubs during monsoon indicating lack of maintenance. The bridge is so narrow that only one bus or truck can travel on it at a given time and cannot bear the burden of heavy vehicles plying on it.
Speaking on the occasion, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said that the bridge was one of the most important bridges on Kulshekar-Moodbidri-Karkala highway.
Union Minister Nithin Gadkari immediately sanctioned the bridge after the technical experts opined that the old bridge can not be used for long, he added.
The MP said though the Centre had sanctioned four-laning of Kulshekar-Karkala National Highway in 2015, the work was delayed due to delay in land acquisition process. “Now, the notification has been issued and land acquisition process has commenced. By next year, the four-laning of the road will take a shape and will be ready.”
Kateel, further, said once the four-laning is complete, a bypass road will be built in Gurpura and the bridge will connect the bypass.
Under Bharathmala, four-laning of Mulki-Kateel-Kaikamba-B C Road stretch and Melkar-Konaje-K C Road will be taken up. The central government has released over Rs 2,000 crore for the development of national highways in Dakshina Kannada district. The work on four-laning of Addahole-B C Road was stopped for sometime. Now, the work has commenced, said Kateel.
The work on a new bridge on NH 66 at Kuloor across River Phalguni will be taken up shortly, he added.",686,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027320734.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824105853-20190824131853-00327.warc.gz,0.956580221652985
532fc85d-797a-41e0-bffc-a44b6cccd6ac,2017-08-20T08:00:39+00:00,2017-08-20,0,http://aleroy.com/board174.htm,"Simile NDEs.(There are so many claims that NDEs can be caused by drugs, or brain stimulation, that the issue has become confused. I am including these simile experiences to indicate like-NDEs happen without any drugs or brain stimulation. Real NDEs, where clinical death occurs, can not be reproduced by drugs or brain stimulation. Knowledgeable NDE researchers agree, drugs or brain stimulation can not cause NDEs.)
I had an NDE (with a difference?) a fortnight ago, and since then have been scouring the Internet for info on anyone who has had a similar experience. I'm still shaken by it, and can do without anyone deriding it. Until it's happened to you, you might be sceptical, and I do appreciate that to some extent, but believe me I wouldn't go to the trouble of typing all this in if it wasn't genuine! I'm just hoping that maybe someone can draw a parallel -- or even just offer their opinion on what the experience is meant to signify. I've seen a few message boards, but thought I would post here first, although I don't know how widespread the newsgroup is.
By the way, I've never taken any mind-influencing substances of any description!
I'll try to condense it. I was asleep and suddenly felt a flashback of key events that had happened in my life, right from a very young age.
I remember ""re-living"" certain experiences (eg: starting school), even things I'd long forgotten. I remember feeling the same happiness, sadness, excitement, shock that I felt first time around. None of the incidents centered on family or relatives, strangely, but on how the events affected me (sporting achievements, receiving shocking news about certain things, moving home, etc.), thru adolesence, thru adulthood.
Then I was walking off a road near to where I live (nothing special about it -- don't know why that road) down into a bright valley. I was walking with a ""faceless"" woman at my side, who's presence felt just.... ""right"" (for want of a better word!) I started to feel the most unbelievable euphoria, happiness and contentment you cannot imagine. Honestly, it was totally indescribable.
The scenery was pleasant countryside, with a small village in the valley bottom, made of dozens of tiny hump-backed bridges and little houses and shops that looked ""Dickensian"" almost. My ""guide"" was leading me, hearing all my questions (""what's happening here? who are those people?"" and so on) but always answering the same way -- that they had their business to do, I had mine, and I should not worry about them. They were pale, again, without faces I can picture, but bustling around and did not seem to be in distress or trouble. Yet nor did they seem to be as excited as me.
There was re-living of a couple of incidents which were intensely personal, and which I regret now, but I don't need to detail them here.
All of a sudden it was time to climb out of the valley with my guide, and though she was not touching me I nonethless felt many pairs of comforting arms around my back (though there was nobody there).
Comfort in addition to the supreme joy. I recall my saying over and over ""I don't want to go yet. I want to stay here"". Voices around me (not just from my guide) were saying ""You have to go. Just be patient. Later. Later. Patience. One day"".
I awoke suddenly, and for the next 30 seconds I could still feel the utter bliss and could hardly breathe, I was so happy. I was looking at my clock, evaluating what the time was and trying to work out if I should get up for work yet, but so happy that I didn't really care. Then the feeling faded in seconds and I caught my breath. The images were still right in my head though, (and the fact I can still picture certain aspects now, shows how strong they were).
No way did I think ""That was a fantastic dream"". Not for a second. It went far beyond a dream. The feeling had not been exciting in a sexual way or anything like that, just a feeling of ""This is the whole point of existing"", if that makes sense to anyone.
I had no-one at home to confide in, but after I'd managed to get dressed, I went around to my neighbour, still shaking. I could tell half of her thought ""great dream"", but later she started to open up and admit it must have been something out of the normal to get me in such a state. She is religious and wondered if I'd been given an insight into the afterlife -- and if so, I should be grateful, she said.
Re: my state of mind. I should mention that I had gone to bed as normal. I have not been recently thinking about life and death, or worrying about anything I assure you. I've never feared death (but just want it to be painless, when it comes!)
The voices saying it wasn't my time yet made me think ""NDE?"" hence my frantic research since. Nearly everyone else mentions being near death (medically). I wasn't. There was no ""looking down on my body"". There was no ""white light"", yet my guide had a glow around her. There was absolutely no ""tunnel"". There were no ""relatives waiting to meet me"". There was a flashback sequence though, and there was this joy unknown to everyone else, though, and that's why I am treating this as much more than a ""dream"".
My feelings now? More annoyance than trepidation. It hasn't ""proved"" anything for me about death. It's got me asking ""What am I supposed to deduce from this? God (or whatever) shouldn't give me a sign of anything unless it's obvious what it is!"" And anger that I want to feel that feeling again, too soon! --Anon
Makes perfect sense to me. You had a mystical experience, just like the ones you've probably read about in the Bible. I had one when I was 12- 14 and it changed my life. For a long time, NDE's were the only experience I could find that even approached what I'd experienced. As I got older, I eventually learned that I'd had a mystical experience, which can be a lot like a NDE, but not exactly the same. I also learned that they're a lot more common than you'd ever guess. Few people ever open up and talk about them, so it's like the question you hear kids ask when they hear the stories about God and angels, visions and voices, in the Bible -- which is why don't people today have those experiences?
Well, they do. They just don't talk about it. And because society doesn't accept that sort of thing, they have no way to assimilate them into their life. It confuses them more than inspires them.
In any case, when I was young and terribly unhappy (suicidal), I was lying on my bed asking God for the millionth time why my life was so painful. Suddenly the room disappeared, and while I knew I was still lying on my bed, my awareness was lifted up and expanded until I not only could experience all of existence, I became one with it. To say that it was breath taking would be a enormous understatement. Like you, I knew during the experience that ""This is the whole point of existing"".
The one thing that hit me so strongly afterwards that I kept repeating it for days was, ""Everything is made out of Love, because everything is made out of God, and God ""is"" Love. But, if that's true, then why is the world so devoid of Love?"" I've spent my life searching for the answer to that question, and as Robert Frost said in ""The Road Less Taken,"" it's made all the difference!
dg - ""Keep an open mind, not a blank one.""",1681,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106358.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820073631-20170820093631-00164.warc.gz,0.988825917243958
e5559a60-7bc9-4c44-85d3-35d981e031df,2022-05-28T04:32:01+00:00,2021-12-31,1,https://www.cmhp.org.uk/news/developing-new-national-guidance-on-substance-misuse-pharmacy-services/,"The College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP) has been appointed by the Department of Health and Social Care’s new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) to produce new national guidance on substance misuse pharmacy services.
The CMHP will build on the considerable expertise within its membership to bring together and work with a group of experts and key stakeholders to advise on development of the guidance.
Community pharmacies are commissioned to provide a range of substance misuse services, including:
- Supervised consumption of opioid substitution treatment medicines
- Needle and syringe provision
- Take home naloxone provision
As part of these services, pharmacies often provide a level of assessment and care of people who use substances above and beyond that expected than some other patient groups.
With expert and stakeholder input, the CMHP will develop written guidance on the provision of, and contracting for, substance misuse services provided by community pharmacies, building from guidance provided in 2006.
The guidance will reflect and build on the outcomes of discussions underway in 2021 between representatives of substance misuse treatment commissioners and providers, community pharmacies and others.
The new document should be drafted by the end of the current financial year. Interested parties may contact CMHP (email@example.com) for further information.
CMHP President Ciara Ni Dhubhlaing said: “We are looking forward to working with OHID and key stakeholders to create these new guidelines over the forthcoming months. In line with our charitable objectives, we anticipate that they will have a meaningful impact upon those who commission, provide and receive substance misuse services provided by community pharmacy colleagues.”",337,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663012542.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528031224-20220528061224-00022.warc.gz,0.934696435928345
b8e58cf4-8ef2-487e-a0f9-9cc63dfeeec4,2020-10-21T22:06:21+00:00,2020-09-13,0,https://izeksblog.com/2020/09/obasanjo-is-lowly-divider-in-chief-jealous-of-buharis-achievements-presidency/,"The Nigerian Government on Sunday came down hard on former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, over his latest comment on the state of the nation, describing him as the country’s ‘Divider-in-Chief.’
Obasanjo had on Thursday said Nigeria was slowly becoming a failed state and a basket case that urgently needs to be pulled from the brink of collapse.
Speaking while delivering a speech titled “Moving Nigeria away from tipping over” at a consultative dialogue in Abuja, the former President said he had never seen Nigeria so divided, adding that many of the problems plaguing the country today were due to the recent mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity.
But the Nigerian Government in a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Sunday said the former leader had become a divisive figure.
Shehu insisted that Obasanjo’s criticisms of President Buhari were devoid of good intentions, claiming that the former Nigerian leader wasn’t jealous of Buhari’s achievements.
He said, “In his most recent statement former President Olusegun Obasanjo attempts to divide the nation while President Muhammadu Buhari continues to promote nation-building and the unity of Nigeria. The difference is clear. From the lofty heights of Commander-in-Chief, General Obasanjo has descended to the lowly level of Divider-in-Chief (to adapt the coinage of Time).
“It’s a known fact that the withdrawal of subsidies had been on the wish list of the Obasanjo-led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. They failed in achieving these measures because there was shared greed. They plundered the treasury as much as anyone could in the name of either subsidy or waiver with reckless impunity.
“Two is to say it takes courage and rare statesmanship on the part of a leader to do as President Buhari to shun populism and seek the best interest of the people and the state, providing the kind of reform and development that Nigeria urgently needs.
“Nigeria, which other nations had mocked and ridiculed for so many things that were wrong is today progressing at a pace reflecting its size and potential.
“With so much to show and many more coming, it is little surprise that President Buhari would be the object of envy and harsh unfair challenges by politicians who failed to deliver, but continue to nurse ambitions of delighting the audience long after their curtain has been drawn.”",536,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878633.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021205955-20201021235955-00343.warc.gz,0.978928983211517
c47dac62-6205-48ff-9974-62327389d831,2013-05-24T01:31:39+00:00,2013-01-31,1,http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0086/cbs-says-dish-concealed-hopper-in-retrans-negotiations/217408,"Dish failed to
disclose its intention to launch a commercial-skipping option when it worked
out retransmission consent with CBS, the broadcast network said in documents
filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“This is an action for injunctive relief… against Dish for breaching the
retransmission consent agreement between it and CBS, dated Jan. 5, 2012; and
against Dish for fraudulently concealing material information in its
negotiation of the retransmission agreement with CBS, thereby fraudulently
inducing CBS to enter into that agreement,” the filing states.
Dish launched the Hopper set-top last March. It skips commercials in prime time
only on broadcast networks. CBS, as well as Fox and NBC, cried copyright
violation and all sued separately. A federal judge in California denied Fox’s
request to order Dish to stop skipping commercials while the copyright case was
being decided. The network immediately appealed.
While the cases remain pending in court, the strife escalates. Dish introduced
the SlingHopper at 2013 CES in Las Vegas earlier this month. The SlingHopper
adds the capability of a SlingBox, allowing users to watch their programming
remotely over a broadband connection. Online tech news site CNET
selected the SlingHopper for a
“Best of CES” award, but corporate parent company CBS reportedly nixed the
selection due to the ongoing litigation. CNET’s
Greg Sandoval resigned over the incident, according to several news sources,
including PC Mag
CBS claims its retransmission consent agreement with Dish was completed before
the network had any knowledge of the Hopper.
“At the time the retransmission agreement was negotiated,
Dish knew that CBS would not have been willing to enter into the retransmission
agreement if CBS had been aware that Dish would attempt to use
its limited access to the CBS Broadcast Signal as a vehicle for offering CBS’s
primetime programming to Dish subscribers on an on-demand, commercial-free
basis,” the court filing states.
CBS claims that Executive Vice President Marty Franks made it clear during
negotiations that the network did not intend to include new or future business
in the retrans deal. The filing says that in mid-December Franks met with Dish
executives, who showed him the stuffed kangaroo that represents the Hopper
logo, but that they failed to mention the “AutoHop function that enables
commercial-skipping. Four days after the retrans agreement was signed, Dish
launched the Hopper, the filing said. Then on May 10, 2012, Dish activated the
CBS is asking the court to “permanently enjoin” Dish from offering AutoHop, a
rescission of its retrans agreement with CBS, statutory damages and attorney
Nov. 12, 2012:
Appeals to Stop the Hop
legal team wasted no time in appealing a federal judge’s decision last week to
let Dish keep on skipping broadcast TV commercials.
Nov. 8, 2012:
Lets Dish Keep on Hopping
Dolly Gee of the United States District Court for the Central District of
California denied Fox’s request to order Dish to stop skipping network TV
commercials, published reports indicate.
May 29, 2012:
Dish Sue Each Other Over Hopper
expected, three out of the four major broadcast networks filed lawsuits against
Dish Network and its Hopper DVR that allows viewers to automatically skip TV",761,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.922610282897949
3f435864-a202-44e4-b1e0-064e1c9ebe6b,2022-05-17T13:33:40+00:00,2021-01-02,1,https://protectearth.news/maines-climate-action-plan-creates-jobs-over-32-states-have-laid-roadmap-for-climate-action/,"January 2, 2021 By Ramona du Houx Governor Janet Mills, on December 1, 2020 welcomed the release of Maine Won’t Wait, the new four-year climate action plan from the Maine Climate Council and announced actions her Administration will take to protect Maine people and communities and spur economic growth in the fight against climate change. Governor Mills and the Legislature […]
January 2, 2021
By Ramona du Houx
Governor Janet Mills, on December 1, 2020 welcomed the release of Maine Won’t Wait, the new four-year climate action plan from the Maine Climate Council and announced actions her Administration will take to protect Maine people and communities and spur economic growth in the fight against climate change.
Governor Mills and the Legislature last year enacted bipartisan legislation that created the Maine Climate Council – an assembly of scientists, industry leaders, bipartisan local and state elected officials, and engaged citizens – to develop a plan to reduce carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in Maine by 2045. Backed by the most comprehensive scientific and economic assessments about the effects of climate change in Maine in a decade, Maine Won’t Wait calls for decisive steps to achieve that goal, including bolstering the electric vehicle market in Maine, expanding the number of heat pumps installed in Maine homes, and transitioning to renewable energy to curb harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Maine Won’t Wait also details climate action steps to create economic opportunities for Maine, such as encouraging the growth of the clean energy economy; creating incentives for consumer, business and industry to invest in energy efficiency; and supporting innovative construction materials and agricultural systems that rely on Maine timber and farms to build and feed the state into the future. The plan also highlights strategies to ensure our economy and communities are better prepared for the increasing impacts of climate change.
“Over the past 14 months, the Maine Climate Council exemplified resiliency as it maintained its commitment through climate action despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Council co-chairs Hannah Pingree, Director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and Melanie Loyzim, Acting Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. “The Plan the Council is advancing today will bring consistent and bold action on climate, over the next four years and into the decades beyond, to create a better future for our state and the next generations. Every individual, business, organization, and leader in Maine can play a role in making this plan a reality. This collective effort will be key to our success against the crisis that climate change poses for our state, nation, and world.”
Informed by the findings of Maine Won’t Wait, Governor Mills announced a series of actions to further her administration’s response to the climate crisis to protect Maine people and the environment, while also creating new pathways for economic growth. Key initiatives announced by Governor Mills include an ambitious goal to more than double Maine’s clean energy and energy efficiency jobs to 30,000 by 2030; to further expand existing incentives for purchasing electric vehicles and build more EV charging stations across Maine; to double the pace of home weatherization; to purchase more renewable energy through the state procurement process; and to create energy efficiency incentive programs for commercial businesses.
Governor Mills also announced her intention to submit legislation to put Maine’s target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 into law; to further advance cost-effective clean energy development; to enact official sea level rise projections; to create incentives for small woodlot owners to support sustainable forestry management and sequester harmful carbon emissions, and to launch a pilot program for community-level climate resiliency planning to inform broader efforts in coming years. She also discussed her plans to work with lawmakers in bipartisan fashion on a back to work bond package that meets climate goals this upcoming session focused on establishing a fund for community infrastructure projects that stem the effects of climate change, funding to accelerate the pace of weatherization improvements to Maine homes, and investing in the critical extension of broadband Internet access across the state.
“From rising seas to warming temperatures to deadly natural disasters, humanity has been warned for generations that our climate is changing in profound and dangerous ways and yet not enough has been done to slow or stop it,” said Governor Janet Mills. “Climate change will have profound implications for our state, our economy, and our people – both present and future. This is why Maine won’t wait, and can’t wait, to take action to ensure the resiliency of our communities, to create clean energy jobs and build a clean energy economy, and to support Maine families’ transition away from expensive, harmful fossil fuels to homegrown, renewable energy. I look forward to working with community leaders across our state to advance these goals and preserve and protect this place we all call home.”
The Governor also pledged to work closely with Maine’s Congressional Delegation to advance the goals of the plan.
“The Maine Climate Action Plan is a comprehensive, thorough, and in-depth look at both the challenges climate change poses to our state, and the opportunities we must seize now,” said U.S. Senator Angus King, a founding member of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus. “This plan is the beginning of an important partnership, bringing together Maine people with industry leaders and local, state, and federal officials to face these threats head on. Climate change is having significant impacts on Maine’s environment and economy, which is why we can’t waste any more time. We need to get to work – now.”
By pairing climate action with economic recovery, a critical consideration stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine Won’t Wait puts Maine in a strong position to become a model for effective, inclusive and sustained climate action that aligns with the climate and energy priorities of the incoming administration of President-elect Biden.
“I applaud the Mills Administration’s effort to ensure a broad coalition of stakeholders throughout Maine not only contributed to this landmark climate mitigation plan, but are invested in its success. By inviting the perspectives of diverse groups such as logging and fishing industry members to environmental advocacy and stewardship organizations, the Maine Climate Action Plan outlines an economically viable path to significantly reduce our state’s carbon footprint while turning Maine into a leader in the clean energy economy,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. Maine’s Climate Action Plan underscores the objectives laid out in Congress’ first-ever comprehensive report on solving the climate crisis, which was released by the U.S. House’s Select Committee on the Climate Crisis this summer. In Congress, I will work to pass legislation which will help Maine meet our goal of being net-zero by 2045.”
The failure to act against the effects of climate change carries a great risk for Maine, as doing nothing more will cause costly damage to Maine’s buildings and infrastructure, vulnerable ecosystems, iconic species and public health. An assessment for Maine Won’t Wait on the “cost of doing nothing more” about climate change found cost of inaction included more than $17 billion in damages to coastal buildings and infrastructure through 2050 as well as billions more lost from tourism due to seasonal changes, lost beachfronts, employment and valuable ecosystems.
“Climate change is a serious challenge, globally and here in Maine. Our state’s heritage and our future economy — and thousands of fishing, forestry, agriculture, and conservation jobs — depend on our ability to protect our natural resources and achieve greater climate resiliency,” said Congressman Jared Golden. “I applaud the efforts of Governor Mills and the Maine Climate Council to provide clear, actionable steps for our state. From investing in forest bioproduct innovation and launching the Maine Seafood Business Council, to expanding our renewable energy sector and establishing the Maine Climate Corps, I look forward to working with them and our communities to ensure that Maine’s economy and environment are strong and healthy today and for future generations.”
Maine Won’t Wait also highlights the strong economic potential from climate action, particularly clean energy and energy efficiency fields. Renewable energy sectors, like wind and solar, are some of the fastest growing in the nation, and Maine is poised to support its businesses and grow its workforce in these high-demand areas as a result of forward-looking policy changes and investments in clean energy and energy efficiency.
“If we do these things that the Governor is proposing, that Maine is wanting to do, not only will you set an example to our country and to the world, but you will be helping to make the world more secure. When we depend on our own clean energy for our future, we don’t have to worry about sending people to the Middle East or elsewhere to fight and defend the source of our energy. The world will be more stable,” said Secretary John Kerry, President-elect Biden’s special envoy for climate.“Maine won’t wait. Maine is going to lead. Maine is going to be ahead of the curve and get the job done for us and help set an example for every other state. I congratulate you.”
As the Council continues its work following the release of the plan, it will also convene a special Equity subcommittee to ensure future climate actions are conducted in Maine with focus on protecting and supporting vulnerable communities who are most at-risk from climate disruption.
“The incentives that are increasing Maine’s renewable energy resources are also allowing BIW to trim its electrical costs, improving our ability to compete with other shipyards that have lower energy costs,” said Jon Fitzgerald, Vice President and General Counsel of Bath Iron Works, one of Maine’s largest employers. “Forward-looking energy policy, along with workforce training partnerships, are helping clean energy developers, BIW and the state as a whole grow the highly skilled jobs that are vital to building Maine’s economic future.”
All told, Maine Won’t Wait is the product of an unprecedented public process, featuring contributions from more than 200 people on the Council, its six expert working groups, and scientific and technical subcommittee, plus input from thousands of other Maine people and stakeholders to produce bold, actionable strategies to addressing one of Maine’s most pressing long-term problems.
“A society is only as strong as the most vulnerable populations and this holds true in climate work. As we make new and existing policy we need to work from a place of inclusivity and equity to make sure our work in lasting and meaningful,” said Ambassador Maulian Dana of the Penobscot Nation, co-chair of the subcommittee. “I am hoping to shed a light on the experiences of marginalized people in Maine and how the climate crisis affects us as well as solutions based in thoughtful consideration of these stories.”
The report builds on the significant steps the Mills Administration has taken to prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change on Maine.
Maine joined the United States Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 25 Governors and states that have committed to climate action, created the Maine Climate Council, and withdrew from a national offshore drilling coalition and removed a moratorium on clean wind power development
Maine has set some of the most aggressive renewable energy requirements in the country – 80 percent renewable energy by 2030, and a goal of 100 percent for 2050. Maine also enacted aggressive targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions into law – 45 percent by 2030, and 80 percent by 2050, as well as pledging to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
In November, Governor Mills announced the state’s intention to start the country’s first floating offshore wind research array in the country in the Gulf of Maine, in partnership with the University of Maine and two leading offshore wind companies, and to work closely with fishing and other maritime industries to ensure careful siting.
The state has partnered with Efficiency Maine to set an aggressive goal to install 100,000 new high-efficiency heat pumps by 2025, and with Maine Housing to ensure our seniors and others who are struggling against high heating bills can access to this cost-saving technology. Maine is on pace to install as many as 16,000 heat pumps – a record and more than double what was done last year.
State progress toward a 100 percent clean energy economy—
Trump’s administration opposed and aggressively attacked climate change progress with rollbacks on environmental regulation and favors to the oil industry, amongst other climate destroying efforts. However, during the same time, state climate action has accelerated as more states took increasingly ambitious actions.
As of September, 2020, 33 states have released a climate action plan or are in the process of revising or developing one. This includes 22 states that have released plans, 8 states that are updating their plans, and 1 state that is developing a plan. Since then that one state, Maine announced its plan, detailed in this report.
One state, Alaska, has rescinded its climate action plan. The individual characteristics of each state’s economy, resource base, and political structure provide different opportunities for addressing climate change. As of April, 2020, 15 states and territories have taken legislative or executive action to move toward a 100 percent clean energy future. This includes 10 states, along with Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, that have passed legislation to implement 100 percent clean electricity policies and economy-wide greenhouse gas pollution-reduction programs.
- California: Passed legislation for 100 percent zero carbon electricity by 2045 and executive order for economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045.1
- Colorado: Passed legislation requiring 90 percent emission reductions below 2005 levels economy-wide by 2050, setting a goal to eliminate emissions by 2050, and requiring large investor-owned utilities to reduce emissions by 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Gov. Jared Polis (D) has put forth a plan to move to 100 percent clean electricity by 2040.2
- Hawaii: Passed legislation for 100 percent renewable electricity by 2045 and economy-wide goal of being carbon-neutral by 2045.3 4
- Maine: Passed legislation for 100 percent renewable electricity by 2045 and economy-wide reductions of 80 percent by 2050.5
- Nevada: Passed legislation setting a goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045.6
- New Mexico: Passed legislation requiring 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045.7
- New Jersey: Passed legislation to reduce emissions 80 percent below 2006 levels by 2050 and rejoined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in June 2019.8
- New York: Passed legislation requiring 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040 and goal of net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050.9
- Washington: Passed legislation requiring 100 percent clean electricity by 2045.10
- District of Columbia: Passed legislation for 100 percent renewable electricity by 2032.11
- Puerto Rico: Passed legislation for 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.12
Virginia was the first state in the South to enact 100 percent clean energy legislation. The Virginia Clean Economy Act commits to slashing greenhouse gas pollution in the power sector, sets some of the most ambitious targets for energy storage and offshore wind energy deployment in the country, and codifies into law the governor’s 2019 executive order for 100 percent clean electricity.
Governors such as Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) created new climate offices and reorganized their agencies to take on the climate crisis, and Washington state enacted various sector-specific clean energy policies for power, transportation, buildings, and industrial sources. New York, Colorado, along with Maine all locked in groundbreaking policies that require state regulators to implement new rules guaranteeing economywide cuts in greenhouse gas pollution and to support front-line communities and workers in the energy transition.
A 2019 report from America’s Pledge, a coalition of nearly 4,000 states, cities, organizations, and institutions committed to fulfilling America’s climate pledge to the Paris agreement, found that “full achievement of already on-the-books policies from state and local actors—paired with rapidly shifting economics in the power sector—would reduce U.S. emissions 19 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.”23 That’s nearly four-fifths of the short-term reductions that the United States committed to achieve under the original Paris agreement.
In addition to state and local governments, tribal nations are taking the lead in their communities with more than 50 tribal climate action plans in effect across North America. The Swinomish Tribe in the Pacific Northwest was the first community in the entire United States to make climate adaptation a priority.
On June 1, 2017, when Donald Trump said that the United States would leave the Paris climate agreement within 48 hours former Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA), Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) announced the formation of the U.S. Climate Alliance: a bipartisan coalition now comprising 24 states and two territories that remain committed to the Paris agreement and are working together to advance climate solutions. These states represent 55 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas pollution. Many state, local, and tribal leaders are also members of We Are Still In another bipartisan coalition with more than 3,500 business representatives, university presidents, faith leaders, cultural institutions, and community leaders who are similarly committed to the Paris agreement.
On January 20, 2021, after our new President is inaugurated, Joe Biden has committed to rejoin the Paris agreement.",3611,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517485.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517130706-20220517160706-00013.warc.gz,0.939092695713043
8e086d7d-6570-4e86-ac01-c89ac2c6aa0d,2020-10-22T18:52:51+00:00,2020-01-01,0,https://www.alpharesellers.com/how-to-make-money-on-fiverr-2020/,"How To Make Money On Fiverr 2020. Fiverr has taken the internet by storm. There is really no other way to say it. This little freelancing platform that could have totally changed people’s expectations of getting and giving freelance services through an online exchange format.
It seems that Fiverr has answered the two most common problems freelance platforms have historically struggled with. Fiverr not only offers a ton of services from a wide range of eager providers from all over the world, but it also is able to pull in lots of buyers.
When you put these two factors commonly, it is no surprise that How To Make Money On Fiverr has become the “go-to” freelance service destination on the internet. Also, given its low-cost profile compared to other freeform or custom order freelance support, Fiverr stands to continue to attract a lot of buyer’s attention.
Let’s get one thing clear, you can have a platform filled to the brim with sellers. Sadly, your platform is probably not going to succeed unless you also get a lot of buyers. Buyers make the program successful. Fiverr has managed to do this.
How To Make Money On Fiverr – Fiverr’s Secret
The secret to Fiverr’s success is to enable people to post whatever services they may have, varying from graphics design to writing, to virtual assistant services, to video spokesperson services and others, for a flat fee.
Originally, this was set at $5. This explains the name Fiverr. But as consumer needs have changed and the market evolved, Fiverr now allows service providers to charge the price they’re most comfortable with. How To Make Money On Fiverr
Compared to traditional freelancing, Fiverr removes a lot of doubt and guesswork from the freelance process. When you go to places like Freelancer or Upwork, you basically see a listing of somebody who needs work done. As a possible freelance contractor, you send in your bid. It’s anybody’s guess whether your bid will get accepted or not.
Fiverr flips that model on its head. Rather of clients posting their requirements as well as their budget range, service providers provide a description of the service that they would do as well as samples of their work. How To Make Money On Fiverr
Most importantly, providers are required to put a fixed price on their service. Whether they are charging $5 or $500, it doesn’t really matter. They have to provide a fixed price. This has become much of the uncertainty and guesswork out of the method. It is no surprise that Fiverr continues to grow.
How To Make Money On Fiverr? Good News 2020
You can make money off Fiverr too. In fact, Fiverr has many testimonials of people claiming that their income on this platform has replaced their regular job’s benefits, and then some. In fact, a lot of people gladly announce that they’ve quit their day jobs and are doing voiceovers full time.
There’s even one person who travels all over the world and is sustained 100% by his income from Fiverr. That’s how profitable this micro-freelancing platform can be. But there’s a big warning sign. You have to be careful about using Fiverr the right way. How To Make Money On Fiverr
While it’s very easy to get excited about these success stories and believe me. They resonate on so many levels (Who wouldn’t want to own their time? Who wouldn’t want to work on their own terms? Who wouldn’t want to cherry-pick the projects that they get?), the big problem is, if you don’t
know what you’re doing or if you don’t have a plan, you end up spending time and, yes, money, in the form of opportunity costs.
Think about it, if you are spending your time doing work for people for $10. When it turns out that you could have been working for $50, you are actually losing money. Now, this is another from a situation where you have spare time. And you’re simply attempting to turn your spare time into spare cash. In that case, this would be okay.
This is especially true if you’re preparing yourself by taking on these jobs so you can level up in the future. But if you are looking
to earn a full-time income, you have to learn how to How To Make Money On Fiverr the right way.
We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!
Let us improve this post!
Tell us how we can improve this post?",1003,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880014.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022170349-20201022200349-00285.warc.gz,0.964299857616425
5440523b-9f30-45ca-a17f-2c492f105710,2015-03-29T06:33:42+00:00,2012-12-01,1,http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/the-eye-opener/tags/tag/transit,"Blog posts tagged in transit
The M.T.A. revealed its four fare hike proposals today. Two would increase the base fare to $2.50 from $2.25 while raising the cost of unlimited MetroCards. The others wouldn't alter the base fare but would increase unlimiteds substantially. Chairman Joseph Lhota said he prefers a hybrid of the proposals. He also ruled out eliminating the bonus for pay-per-ride cards, which makes two of the proposals unlikely to pass. Costs for commuter trains, as well as bridge and tunnel crossings, will also rise. The MTA is looking for another $450 million a year from users. Fares and tolls are expected to rise again in 2015. They vote on the proposals in December.
This report by the Citizens Budget Commission proposes a new way to fund the M.T.A. called ""25-50-25"". It recommends that auto user fees cover all drivers' facilities, plus 25 percent of mass transit services. Then mass transit user fees would cover another 50 percent of the operating costs of those services. And state and local tax subsidies would cover the final 25 percent of transit operating costs plus “catch-up” capital investments needed to bring the system to a state of good repair.
The 25-50-25 policy would mean that mass transit riders would pay higher – but still reasonable – fares. The cost of a single ride ticket would increase to at least $2.75 by 2016 but in constant dollars a subway ride would cost at most three cents more than it did in 1996. Motorists would face increased costs for the use of their vehicles, in the range of $167 to $293 more annually, but the charges would be consistent with those in other global metropolises and related to the benefits drivers derive from a well-functioning transportation system.",389,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298228.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00073-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969003856182098
7e28ffe3-8615-4d86-b009-5c1ea4535290,2019-08-23T01:01:08+00:00,2018-07-12,1,https://lyncdiscoverinternal.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/news/trust-urges-new-health-secretary-to-join-precision-medicine-fight,"Read the letter
Earlier this week, David Ramsden, Chief Executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, welcomed Matt Hancock MP to his new position as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and wished him the best in his role “at a time of profound challenge and opportunity” for the services he will be leading.
David Ramsden also drew the Secretary of State’s attention to the issue of access to precision medicines for people with cystic fibrosis (CF), introducing him to the CF community’s two-year fight to engage the NHS and Vertex in constructive talks. He finished by asking to meet with the Secretary of State and supportive MPs to discuss how negotiations can continue and a deal can be reached.
You can read the letter here.
The Trust has also written to Scotland’s new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman MSP calling for an urgent meeting. View the letter here.
Meanwhile, ahead of the Parliamentary recess, find out how you can ask your MP to attend an adjournment debate on Tuesday 17 July in the House of Commons.
Orkambi adjournment debate secured in Parliament
Next Tuesday, 17 July, an adjournment debate will be held in the House of Commons on the issue of access to Orkambi for people with cystic fibrosis. Please contact your MP to ask them to attend the debate and represent you. But first, what is an adjournment debate?
What is an adjournment debate?
Adjournment debates are half an hour long, and take place at the end of each day’s sitting in the House of Commons. They are an opportunity for a backbench MP to raise an issue and receive a response from the relevant Minister.
Why is this happening so quickly?
MPs apply for an adjournment debate on a Wednesday to take place between the following Tuesday and the Monday after that. The debates are chosen by ballot, except for the Thursday debate which is chosen by the Speaker.
What will happen at the debate?
At the end of the day’s main business the Speaker will call a Government whip to move the motion 'That this House do now adjourn'. The MP who has been allocated the debate will then be called to speak and the Minister will be given time to reply. The MP who initiated the debate will not have the opportunity to speak again after the Minister has concluded. Other MPs may attend and make interventions if they are accepted.
Find out more about adjournment debates, or use our template letter to contact your MP.",525,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317688.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822235908-20190823021908-00297.warc.gz,0.961211621761322
64f5ec36-441e-42b1-b208-f57dbdc9cbe0,2013-05-20T02:06:54+00:00,2009-08-17,0,http://www.motherjones.com/riff/2009/08/music-monday-15-minutes-bat-lashes,"Natasha Khan might be a warrior on stage, but she didn't look much like her musical persona, Bat For Lashes, when we met her on a dusty access road backstage at Outside Lands. Absent were the circles of glittery eye-shadow, pastiche '80s outfits and feathered headdresses. Khan is known almost as much for her style as for the haunting lyrics and etheral voice that distinguish her sophomore album, Two Suns. Adorned in a simple red dress and brown moccasins with just a hint of blue and gold around her eyes, the singer/songwriter sipped tea and chatted about touring with Radiohead, building buzz in the States, and life after the Big Apple—not to mention magic carpets, emerald cities and the Freudian psychology of Steven Spielberg.
Mother Jones: Is this what you'll be wearing on stage?
Natasha Khan: No, but I want to be comfortable because with festivals it gets quite sunny. It's not so hot which is good. When we played Lollapalooza, it was like 96 degrees and I was wearing full, like, a sparkly leotard and it was a bit much. So I might wear something a bit more comfortable but I'm not sure yet.
MJ: You went from New York City to Joshua Tree National Park on this album. Why?
NK: I wanted to be somewhere that was just really the opposite of New York. [In Joshua Tree] I set about creating my mythology, I suppose. The duality of the landscapes definitely influenced different sounds in the music. It's almost different fairytales. It felt like the desert and the earth and the nature were connnected to the esoteric, spiritual aspects of the record and the more tribal sounds. New York was very much to do with escapism and, like, disillusionment—being subterranian and dark and the sparkely escapist sort of elements which are more to do with numbing yourself. I started to think of this fable: The album is kind of like I go across to New York, to this City made of glass and emeralds. It's me going through that journey.
MJ: Did you read a lot of fairy tales growing up?
NK: Yeah. My dad was very much a storyteller. He grew up in Pakistan, and being religious I think he had a lot of that moral kind of children's stories, with moral endings. Stories about the jungle and about kings and about magic flying carpets like all that beautiful stuff. And also growing up in the English countryside, there’s like The Secret Garden, and Roald Dahl and The Witches. When I was little I would go around seeing if I saw ladies with gloves on and see if they look like they were wearing a wig. And then as I grew older, I got attracted to musicians and people who tell stories, like Nick Cave and PJ Harvey or Bjork, with her Icelandic follktale elements.
MJ: What are you working on now?
NK: I’m in a giving-out phase at the moment. When you’re making music it’s a very selfish, kind of an amazing thing to do. You spend 12 hours a day doing like, working on tiny minute details and collecting sounds. You get tears in your eyes when things sound beautiful and it’s such a nourishing thing to do. And then suddenly it flips completely the other way and you have to be generous and selfless. You almost feel that you’re not really alive in some sense except when you’re singing. You just feel like your body's telling you to hide under a duvet or somewhere and not come out, or just scream at people. It feels like you have to be a warrior to push through.
MJ: How are you enjoying the festival?
NK: This festival I’m really happy about, because I love Golden Gate park and I love the surrounding countryside. It makes me feel more rejuvenated than drained. But there's some big huge corporate festivals that are literally like my worst nightmare. Just zillions of people with, like, super loud techno and everyone’s fucked up on drugs and everything is concrete. I don’t quite enjoy that.
MJ: You said you get a lot of your inspiration from reading and research. What are you reading now?
NK: I’m reading about the science fiction films of Steven Spielberg. It’s basically like Freudean psychoanalysis of his films.
MJ: Why's that?
NK: Just because I love E.T. and them, and I looked on the Internet and just found something I’d like to read about that. Anyone can do that. I think we should do that more ofiten. If you see a subject, something you like, investigate it.",1011,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970887839794159
f0548a78-e6ba-419e-88b6-af717ce3c518,2019-08-23T19:47:02+00:00,2018-04-05,0,https://mmatorch.com/2018/04/05/17921/,"In this new specialist column to MMATorch, Rick Monsey and Dante Morgan compete for ultimate MMA bragging rights. For the inaugural MMA Nerd Fight, Rick and Dante pick the UFC lightweight title fight between Max Holloway and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
UFC 223 is in Brooklyn on April 7th and despite the main event changing this event still has a lot to get excited about. Fight night weekend is on the horizon and it’s time again to predict some outcomes.
Being an MMA fan I enjoy watching individuals compete. With that in mind, a guest will be participating in this column with me. We’re going to have a journalistic competition of our own.
The rules to this are simple:
- We predict a winner and a looser for each fight and give a quick explanation behind the picks.
- There’s obviously a chance we would pick the same winners on occasion. Well in this competition there are no split decisions. To avoid a tie, we will also forecast the way the fight will end, for example, “third round by decision”.
- The person who gets the most picks right wins bragging rights.
Well folks, let’s get on with the show!
This week competitors are:
- Rick “the Alaskan” Monsey: Regular com contributor and occasional co-host for the “MMA Talk for Pro Wrestling Fans” podcast.
- Dante Morgan. MMA fan since the days of T-Rex and Stegosaurus used to fight no hold barred in the steamy jungles of Patagonia.
UFC 223 Main Card
UFC lightweight championship
Tony Ferguson (ic) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
UFC lightweight championship
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Max Holloway
WHO: Khabib Nurmagomedov
WHEN: After the 5th Round
WHY: “PLEASE KEEP THIS FIGHT INTACT! I’ll pray to whoever or whatever I need to. I’m begging, keep this bout from being scrapped! With the idea that it’s happening it becomes the hardest fight to predict of the night. A true “pick ‘em.”
That is what I had written about the original main event between Tony Ferguson (ic) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov on the day before March ended. But then April Fools rolls around and the bad news breaks. Tony Ferguson is injured and forced out of the fight. Like many other fans I was hoping this was an April fools joke… very unfunny joke.
Instead what we got is another example of how cruel the MMA gods can be. It’s the fourth time this fight has been promoted jus to fall apart!
After the disappointment settles we need to move on and accept that there still is going to be a lightweight championship title fight.
You may ask for which belt are they competing for. Is it Conor McGregors’ official lightweight Championship belt or Tony Fergusons’ interim title belt? Dana white says it’s for the real belt, we’ll see. It’s starting to get confusing. (White has since clarified that the winner would be the sole lightweight champion.)
Time to talk about the actual fight. I foresee a scenario where Max Holloway is on his back having his head pressed against the cage and Khabib raining down ground and pound punches to Max’s face. There will also be some slicing elbows being rained down on the “blessed’ one while he tries to get back on his feet. “The Eagle” Khabib Nurmagomedov has proven himself to be a very fierce competitor. His dominant takedown and ground and pound combination has earned him an impressive undefeated streak. That streak will continue on April 7th.
However, credit to Max Holloway for stepping up. Taking a fight with six days notice is risky. Saving the main event Holloway has earned him many fans respect and most likely the praise of the UFC. But is Holloway completely healed up from the ankle injury that took him out of UFC 222? If Holloway is still feeling lingering effects in his ankle that won’t help with the takedown defense he’s going to need against Khabib.
Let’s just hope this is a good fight and it doesn’t’ muddy up the waters in both divisions for very long. Surely Brian Ortega is watching this fight with interest wondering if he’ll get a title shot against Holloway for the featherweight title in the near future.
Meanwhile, we know the infamous Conor McGregor will be watching this main event. It should be interesting to see what McGregor will be posting during and after this card. After the main event all the talk should be focused in the direction of McGregor. Will he be facing Holloway or Nurmagomedov later this year?
WHO: Khabib Nurmagomedov
WHEN: Round 2
WHY: Sooo incredibly disappointed we aren’t getting the fight we were looking forward to. However, this is a hell of a consolation prize for us MMA fans!
I don’t know what to think of this fight. I guess it never really dawned on me as a possibility. Khabib is such a steamroller of a fighter and I would still pick him to win if Holloway had a full camp.
This just doesn’t seem like a fight Holloway can win unless he stuns Khabib early in the fight. Very possible, but nonetheless, I’m going to pick Khabib. He will get the takedowns when he’s ready to shoot and look to mount or take a submission when he sees an opening.
I hope it’s more competitive, in fact I hope Holloway wins because that would be so much more exciting of a storyline. I just don’t lean towards that outcome as amazing as it would be.
NOW READ THIS: Nightly MMA News Tap 4/4/2018: White clarifies the lightweight title situation, Conor McGregor’s status and Brock Lesnar’s return. Dillashaw-Garbrandt targeted for UFC 227(W/video analysis)",1309,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318986.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823192831-20190823214831-00245.warc.gz,0.957107305526733
cbc73934-89a5-4a99-a07d-b17d4953876d,2013-06-19T14:20:05+00:00,2012-03-21,0,http://www.omega-level.net/2012/03/21/stars-put-up-safety-barriers-for-planets-cosmic-bumpers/,"As scientists have used their super-technos to discover more and more planets, they’ve come to notice a pattern between the distance of these planets from their stars. At first most thought it was because of an unfavorable smell the stars exuded, but it may turn out to be something more clever. The stars themselves put up barriers. Cosmic bumper bowling.
Hot radiation from young stars could explain why planets revolve at certain distances.
The search for planets outside our solar system has turned up more than 700 planets, with thousands more awaiting confirmation.
Exoplanet surveys have found that relatively few giant planets orbit their stars between 1 and 2 astronomical units (AU, the distance from the Earth to the sun), but a lot of planets orbit slightly further out.
What causes this planetary pile-up? These behemoths are thought to form further away from the star and migrate inwards through a surrounding disc of dust and gas, which drags them inwards. So why don’t they just keep going and plunge into the star?
Ilaria Pascucci of the University of Arizona in Tuscon has used space and ground-based telescopes to watch gas escape from seven infant solar systems. High-energy photons from each young, active star heat the disc’s dust and gas until it evaporates into space.
Not all of it, though: only the gas in a certain region around the star can escape, at a distance of between about 1 and 2 AU. Further away, the star’s radiation is too weak to heat the gas enough. Any closer, and the star’s gravity holds on too tightly.
“This can make a barrier for this migration,” says Pasucci, who presented the model on 19 March at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas. “If you remove the gas, the planet cannot pass beyond that gap. It gets stranded.”
Pretty amazing stuff. The dance of the cosmos, hidden strings! Tying us all together, keeping us all apart. Beautiful, man. Beautiful.",428,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939325511455536
e03fab6c-bdc7-43fa-9f2a-a0948da196d5,2019-08-22T14:32:04+00:00,2019-08-22,0,https://bikesforfish.com/tag/growth/,"I’ve been thinking about who comes and goes in our lives. What ‘sticking around’ looks and feels like. I suppose I’m exploring my own understanding of what draws me toward or away from things in life. I’m also interested in what generates movements and momentum in groups or how ideas gather support, take shape and gather energy and become dominant forces – not necessarily for any particular purpose but nevertheless have social and cultural effects. I was pondering this while riding to work and realised cycling was the perfect analogy (no surprises wheelie). So here’s a wee story/narrative, let’s go for a little spin.
I’ve never really been one for staying with the pack. Going it alone is fine and I generally prefer to ride on my own. It can at times feel a little vulnerable and lonely but I’ve found ways to feel the presence of others or to become part of the wider world while travelling or training. Riding in packs gives a sense of power and presence on the road. People in cars tend to notice a big group – even if they don’t like it – it’s hard to ignore. Being in the pack affords you space so long as you play by the rules. But you can also conserve energy and stay hidden, it’s easy and being swept along without a thought of where and why we are. But it can become a trap of comfortable unconsciousness. The question is then do I want to be here and how do I get out? Getting out of a pack depends a bit on where you are located and who is around you. Sometimes it’s as small gap, a change of pace, and a signalling to others around you. Going too quickly or with sudden moves isn’t always the best even if you desperately need out. Moving to the edges or finding a break through point becomes easier if others come with you. Once free it can be a bit of a shock as the wind hits and your awareness of how closed in it had been becomes obvious. But you can also see more, and have the ability to swerve and deviate from the line and not risk pissing someone off or taking others down.
Making a break on your own is tough, but sometimes necessary and others might chase and join. Then you could be caught but a big bunch. Riding with people that want to ride at a different pace or cover different territory could see you take different routes but meet up at a later point having arrived but having very contrasting experiences. Sometimes people drop off the back, you want them to stay with you and to keep up but they just aren’t able to. There could be a chance for them to catch up on the downhill but keeping up your own momentum is also important. Packs are not inherently bad in fact, it’s fun to join the back of one from time to time but I like to know that I am still travelling somewhere I want to go. But beware of large packs and mass movements. Just because they are moving fast doesn’t mean they are going in your preferred direction. They create lots of pull, and seem to move with purpose but they don’t necessarily care about sharing space with others. In fact some packs can blow right through other smaller ones fragmenting and disorienting those riders without stopping to look over their shoulder.
I like riding out of my comfort zone, with people willing to get a bit lost, but know how to read a map and navigate. Get off the beaten track and explore some back roads from time to time. Just so long as there is coffee somewhere along the way, otherwise I will pack a sad.",760,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317130.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822130553-20190822152553-00102.warc.gz,0.970231115818024
f15ecc07-9fe5-4da3-be98-6b3a9050b362,2016-07-27T01:54:21+00:00,2009-02-01,0,http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/02/starting-genealogy-and-family-hope.html,"Going through my mother's boxes from her apartment, and re-examing Doris' Genealogy Box has made me stop and think. Have I made sure that the genealogy and family treasures in my care are going to be passed on to others for safe-keeping?
I am sure that many of us have such treasured items. Even if we have no family heirlooms we have our genealogy research and papers. I've learned that when a loved one dies, it is not always easy, or possible, to preserve precious documents or heirlooms. Even if saved, how and when does one pass them on to others?
It should be easy. You save everything you think is worth saving, and immediately decide you are passing everything on. Done - not your problem anymore. But wait! Who says the folks you want to pass these treasures on to are prepared to accept them. I'm learning it's not as easy as you might think.
Will Others Treasure Your Treasures?
Another scenario - you have family treasures that you enjoy so you don't want to pass them on to others now, but you want to be sure they go to other family members when you are gone. That's even more difficult to guarantee.
There are logistics involved in passing on family heirlooms and genealogy papers. If you expect your journals to be kept for the next hundred years or more, you should be thinking ahead to the problems future generations might encounter. People move. Families split up. Your great-grandson might treasure your journals but his wife may think they are just taking up space and getting musty and dirty. You might have so many journals that they become scattered and lost.
What about Great grandma's wedding ring? How will you ensure that is passed on and its history known and shared?
Your great-uncle's Military Medals and papers - is it really logical to think that a jumbled mass of documents with some tarnished medals is still going to be kept all together by one descendant and its provenance still remembered?
Who Wants Your Masses of Genealogy Papers!
And your genealogy papers and records that take up 4 filing cabinet drawers or 10 binders. Who on earth is going to want to store those? Even if you have a son or daughter ready and willing, what are the chances that the next generation will accept those 4 filing cabinets of papers and store them safely?
Who Will Carry the Torch?
I've been giving this a lot of thought over the past year and even more so since my mother passed away. As the unofficial keeper of the family photos and treasures in my family, I need to make sure that everything I love and hold dear will go on to the people I think most apt to pick up the torch and continue to cherish them.
I thank my lucky stars that my grandmother passed on most of her cherished heirlooms to me when I was a teenager. She saw an interest from me and she leapt at the opportunity to tell me the stories of who owned each item and what it meant to her.
It must have been difficult for her to let them go in her lifetime but it was a very wise step on her part. Had she waited, it is unlikely many would have been saved when she died, as no one but me knew their significance. And I was many miles away with no say over who in the family was given any mementoes.
Develop a Plan
So I have developed a plan - a Genealogy & Family Hope Chest - for helping to ensure that treasured family items and genealogy papers do get passed on and cherished by others. I call it a Genealogy & Family Hope Chest because you cannot of course guarantee that what you consider important to pass on will be preserved and passed on by others. All you can do is hope. But along with that hope you can take steps to maximize the possibility that what you want will happen!
Let's start with Step 1 of the Genealogy & Family Hope Chest
First, make a list. Yes, sit down today and make a list of all the family treasures and heirlooms that you have in your possession.
Beside each item, write a brief description of its provenance - who owned it and how old it is, and how and when it came into your possession. Take a photograph of it or scan it. Do this for each cherished item you have.
Print the photos. You can print 4 to a page or 6 to a page, or print each separately. It's up to you. Make sure you clearly label each photo with the name and brief description of what it is. Yes, you're duplicating your list you just created, but in a visual format.
You now have a written or printed list of family heirlooms with a description of each. You also have a photo of each family heirloom clearly labelled and described.
Put one copy of the list and photos in your Safety Deposit Box (if you have one) This is just to safeguard against losing the other copy!
The other copy (list plus photos) should go in a manilla envelope marked ""FOR MY EXECUTORS"" and placed where your Executor(s) will remember to go to first. You have written a will and appointed executor(s) haven't you? Phone your executor(s) and tell them where you are putting this envelope and what is in it. (You should already have such an envelope which contains instructions on what you want done with your remains, where your safety deposit box is, a list of bank accounts, lawyer's name etc but that's a topic for another blog post)
This is the Family part of your Hope Chest, don't worry about your Genealogy papers just now. We'll get to those later. You can have a break now and relax. I'll talk about Step 2 of a Genealogy & Family Hope Chest in my next blog post. I think you will find Step 2 is a lot of fun!",1235,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00286-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974633693695068
580ef3df-84b9-486e-ae15-9920ec9716ba,2022-05-17T07:04:56+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://learn.pocketsmith.com/article/1280-reminders,"Scheduling Reminders in PocketSmith
Schedule email or mobile app reminders to prompt you to check-in and keep on top of your categorization and budgets in PocketSmith📱📧
In this article
PocketSmith's reminders feature allows you to schedule a day and a time to be reminded to do the following tasks within PocketSmith.
- Reminder to categorize transactions
- Reminder to check budgets
You can choose to be reminded by either receiving a notification on your mobile device or by receiving an email.
Setting up reminders in PocketSmith
User Preferences (
Profile menu > User preferences)
Reminders in the sidebar, then click
Select the type of reminder you want to be scheduled
Choose the date and time for the reminder
- Then, select whether you want to receive the reminder via email and/or via the mobile app
- Click Save to confirm
If you want to get reminder notifications on your mobile device, you will first need to enable notifications from within the PocketSmith mobile app. The following section shows how to do this: Enabling reminders in mobile apps
Timezone used for reminders
The timezone that you have chosen for your PocketSmith account will be used for the date and time of the reminders.
You can change the timezone of your PocketSmith account with the following guide: Changing the timezone of your PocketSmith account.
Enabling reminders in mobile apps
Before you can receive reminders on your mobile device, you will first need to enable reminders from within the PocketSmith mobile app.
- Open the PocketSmith mobile app
- On the Dashboard, tap the profile button on the top-right
- Tap on Reminders
- Tap the toggle to enable reminders",407,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517018.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517063528-20220517093528-00623.warc.gz,0.801861047744751
d7b49fb3-0fbf-43c3-a875-e5f6b966dc18,2013-05-18T05:49:07+00:00,2012-05-06,0,http://discovernewport.com/activities/biking.html,"Lincoln County is a developing region in promoting bicycle use for transportation and recreation. A bike plan was adopted in 1992 to improve road shoulders for transportation and recreational purposes.
For more information on cycling Newport and the Oregon coast, including Oregon coast bike trails and Oregon coast cycling maps, please visit the Lincoln Country Public Works Department’s Bicycle Information page, or check out the Yaquina Wheels Bike Club website for scheduled rides.
Bike rentals, service, parts and more can also be found at the Newport Bike Store.
Click To Play Video!
Coast Hills Classic Mountain Bike Race - 2012
The Coast Hills Classic Mountain Bike Race drew competitors from throughout the Northwest to the beach town of Newport, Oregon, May 6, 2012, for an exciting cycling event that was hailed as a ""muddy, smashing success."" The race was organized by the City of Newport, Bike Newport, the Newport News-Times, with the support of many other sponsors, and sanctioned by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA).",206,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.927944481372833
4b94b8f7-b6fd-49f4-b472-68d4f715e21b,2019-08-21T22:47:12+00:00,2015-08-06,1,https://makeasmartcity.com/2015/08/06/see-through-solar-could-turn-windows-phones-into-power-sources/,"1) Problem: Many buildings and other areas are hit with enormous amounts of energy that, instead of being captured, just increase heat and often require more energy to be used for cooling. Furthermore, where we need power the most is often where there is the least space for solar panels.
Article: National Geographic.
Company website: Ubiquitous Energy.
- Greatly increases the potential area that can capture solar energy.
- Silicon Valley startup Ubiquitous Energy, a company started by researchers at MIT and Michigan State, is leading the development of transparent photovoltaics. Its mission is to eliminate the battery life limitations of mobile devices and power smart glass for buildings.
- Its ClearView Power technology transmits up to 90% of visible light, absorbing only ultraviolet and infrared.
- The panels have 10% efficiency, are low-cost, non-toxic, less than 1/1000th of a millimeter think and can generate electricity on any surface or device without aesthetic impact.
- Ubiquitous Energy and investors
- Scientists/developers of technology/Universities
- Potential consumers of technology
- Cities that want to increase their renewable energy use
- State and federal institutes funding the research
- NGOs (sustainable development, energy, solar, green building, etc.)
- Increase funding for R&D of this technology
- Partner with other companies to develop engineering and product prototypes
- Conduct pilot for electronics and windows
- Incentivize commercial and personal use
- Expand deployment and use",315,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316549.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821220456-20190822002456-00016.warc.gz,0.91089653968811
5691a052-80ed-4658-be12-15645d17b1c2,2017-08-19T18:49:32+00:00,2017-08-19,0,http://ikariam.wikia.com/wiki/File:Rmedic.png,"•This image will be placed into the following: [[Category:Images]] and [[License:Category:Copyrighted images used with permission]].
This file is copyrighted. The copyright holder has given permission for its use.
Appears on these pages
I am no longer playing Ikariam. My templates Template:MapData Template:MapIsland...",73,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105712.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819182059-20170819202059-00214.warc.gz,0.802352428436279
0794b52c-7376-4bd5-b051-2d321a451d5d,2019-08-19T16:41:47+00:00,2019-08-19,0,https://fpdcc.com/event/autumn-voyagers/,"Date & Time:
Enjoy a seasonal outing discovering some of our autumn voyaging birds, mammals, insects and more! Please be prepared to be outdoors for up to 45 minutes to 1 hour, as we will be hiking around .5 miles. Sturdy, close-toed shoes are recommended for the walk. In the event of severe/inclement weather, program will take place indoors.",79,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00015.warc.gz,0.867164433002472
4f2f6614-1cc9-42b7-8667-196c1cea931e,2013-05-20T22:32:32+00:00,2013-02-19,1,http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-2279263/True-Fair-Calculator-true-size-investment-fees.html,"What are you forking out in investment fees? Designers of new 'True and Fair' calculator claim they can tell you
Do you want to know how much in fees is being creamed off your investments? A new calculator will be launched shortly which promises to tell you exactly that - not just as a percentage of your overall investment, but in pounds and pence too.
It is the creation of Gina and Alan Miller, founders of investment management firm SCM Private, who also spearhead the True and Fair Campaign calling for transparent fund charges.
Their calculator - due for launch in April - draws on methodology already being used by American regulators that gives investors clear information on the total charges they can expect to pay.
What are you paying to fund managers? True and Fair Campaign claims hidden fees and charges are eroding returns by far more than most investors realise
Much to the frustration of investors, this seemingly crucial information is currently not available. Asset managers must give details of their set management charges but dealing, admin and other charges can add significantly to the cost. Funds already publish a 'total expense ratio' (TER) but critics say even this disguises the actual amount being taken.
The Millers believe hidden fees and charges levied by fund managers are eroding returns by far more than most investors realise, and say their calculator will reveal the real impact of these costs on individual portfolios.
Gina Miller says they feel so strongly about this that they have plunged £100,000 of their own money into developing the calculator.
'I thought we have got to get it - just do it,' she says. 'I just want it to be out there.'
The True and Fair Calculator is being modelled on one launched a few years ago by US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission, which wanted American investors to see the fees they were paying on their investments.
HOW WILL THE TRUE AND FAIR CALCULATOR WORK?
You will be able to put in the name of a fund and get a figure showing the likely charge if you make an investment - for instance, on a £10,000 sum over 10 years.
The fee figure will appear as a percentage, or you will be able to see it in pounds and pence if you wish.
There will be the option to put in several funds at once - possibly three, although this has not been finalised.
The True and Fair campaign says the calculator will cover all the funds sold in the UK.
'Back in 2004, the SEC said it was unfair that investors in the US couldn't see the costs,' explains Miller. 'They said it was a basic right for the consumer to know these things.'
She says the officially-backed US calculator got a million hits in its first three years.
Check it out here to see how it works.
Miller thinks the True and Fair version will prove popular too, and is hoping it might even end up being adopted by UK financial watchdogs.
She is convinced investors want full transparency on investment fees and costs. Her campaign has carried out a survey that showed 92 per cent of UK adults were in favour of statutory reform to force disclosure of charges.
The research also showed that 74 per cent of investors wanted them displayed as a single, cash figure.
Miller admits the calculator will not be 100 per cent accurate, but thinks it will be close enough to become a valuable tool and certainly better than having nothing at all.
She claims it is necessary because fund managers currently understate their annual charges, which are commonly cited at around 0.75 per cent.
But 'hidden costs' come to around 1-2 per cent on top and amount to some £16.3billion a year, she estimates. Such costs can be hard to pin down, but administration, dealing, custody, and broker fees can all fall under this category.
Miller says a voluntary code on fees has been proposed by industry bodies the Association Of British Insurers, the National Association of Pension Funds and the Investment Management Association, but dismisses this saying it will not work unless it is compulsory.
Gina Miller: Convinced investors want full transparency on investment fees and costs",850,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96763426065445
acbdf89e-6954-4771-92e9-7436728d67f8,2016-07-31T03:32:48+00:00,2015-02-13,1,http://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/education-02132015175711.html,"The government of Myanmar warned student demonstrators Friday “action will be taken” to restore order in the country if they do not end a protest march to the commercial capital Yangon against education legislation they say will limit academic freedom.
The special announcement, issued through state media, came days after the government agreed in principle to student demands on the National Education Law and had requested an end to the protests. Students, however, pledged to continue marching until parliament approves the reforms.
“People are still marching toward Yangon, and in order to avoid undesirable problems and for the security of the country, the rule of law, and peace in the neighborhoods, actions will be taken in accordance with the law to deter the marchers from entering Yangon Region,” the statement said.
The government did not provide details of what action would be taken, though large numbers of security personnel had previously been deployed at points along the route from Myanmar’s second largest city Mandalay to Yangon and could be used to confront or arrest the students.
Hundreds of students from across the country have been marching to Yangon since Jan. 20, demanding that the government amend the National Education Law, passed last September, which they say is too restrictive.
The students are protesting the legislation’s centralized control of the curriculum, ban of student and teacher unions, and lack of education spending increases.
The main group of students, from Mandalay, has stopped for the night in Bago region’s Paungde township, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Yangon, after having completed nearly two-thirds of its journey.
The Associated Press quoted a protester named Win Tin as saying marchers were “surprised by the announcement.”
On Wednesday, the government and lawmakers agreed to include students and other education professionals in referendums and education law drafts during four-way talks that also included students and representatives of the Network for National Education Reform (NNER)—an organization consisting of educational, political and religious groups.
They also agreed to allow students to freely form unions, promised not to arrest students and their supporters who have participated in the reform movement, and abolished central control over the education system.
Lawmakers pledged to raise the national budget allocation for education to at least 20 percent in five years and also agreed to implement an education system that includes ethnic minority languages in accordance with student demands that minorities be allowed to freely learn their own language.
A member of NNER who took part in the talks told RFA Wednesday that the terms of the agreement would be submitted to parliament and students would continue with their march until they had been approved.
Students released a statement Friday saying the march would continue despite the government threat, according to the Irrawaddy online journal.
“If Parliament’s decision is not satisfactory, we will march in protest to Rangoon, and if it is satisfactory, we will walk to Rangoon in a show of victory,” the students’ statement read.
The Irrawaddy quoted Min Thwe Thit of the Action Committee for Democratic Education (ACDE), which is spearheading the march, expressing doubts about the government’s commitment to reforming the law.
“The public are worried and ask us why we don’t stop our protest, and I want to explain to them that we only have an agreement [in principle] and have not officially seen our demands met.”
The march has attracted growing numbers of students and Buddhist monks, and also counts many supporters from Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which is expected to make a strong showing in elections slated for later this year.
The threat of an expanded protest is sensitive in Myanmar, where in 1988 a student-led pro-democracy movement was crushed by the former junta.
A delegation of protesting students met with Aung San Suu Kyi Thursday at her home in the capital Naypyidaw to discuss their demands related to amending the National Education Law, local media reported.
The Nobel laureate and opposition lawmaker said she would relay the students’ concerns to parliament, but reminded them that it was unreasonable to expect all of their demands would be met in a country operating as a democracy.
Myanmar’s education system is still recovering from decades of neglect under military rule, when the government clamped down on academic independence and freedom because the ruling generals viewed the nation’s universities with suspicion.
A fourth round of four-way talks on the controversial education law is scheduled for Saturday.
Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Than Than Win. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.",972,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258948913.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072908-00315-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96778792142868
e3310895-b7c1-4313-8c60-ca443d1a603a,2017-08-18T18:34:53+00:00,2017-08-18,0,http://www.unsceb.org/content/facilitating-access-climate-finance-1,"To catalyze low-emissions, climate-resilient growth, countries need access to adequate climate finance that simultaneously reduces GHG emissions and promotes poverty reduction. The challenge is to mobilize a variety of resources at scale, while at the same time delivering at sufficient speed along national development priorities.
The UN system has the experience and presence to assist countries in scaling up finance to address climate change in a way that strengthens and advances national development priorities. UN system agencies can play an important role in advising governments on the mix of regulatory and financial incentives to generate and access finance for low-carbon, climate-resilient investments.
The UN system provides a global presence through country and regional offices with unmatched in-country networks of staff and experts, as well as expertise in the relevant sectors. The Climate Finance Options platform addresses information needs on the multitude of funds available for climate action in developing countries.
This platform is managed by UNDP/World Bank Group and is complemented by the Finance Portal being developed by the UNFCCC secretariat. Both platforms will ultimately help to catalyze financial and investment flows leading to more effective and efficient mitigation and adaptation measures.",233,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105086.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818175604-20170818195604-00576.warc.gz,0.932606637477875
75707fe7-087e-49be-8319-36a5783d57f3,2013-06-19T19:25:49+00:00,2001-08-01,0,http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/3007,"An hour conversation with cyclist Lance Armstrong about his third win at the Tour de France. He discusses his distinction as only the second American to win the race three times, his battle with testicular cancer and the focus required to compete at the top levels.
In order to download Charlie Rose podcasts to iTunes for transfer to an iPod, you must have iTunes installed. If you do, please click the following link to download the podcast for this interview:
Otherwise, close this window to continue viewing.Close",100,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949497520923614
f4484e6d-4a89-492f-a1b3-325419141120,2022-05-16T04:38:33+00:00,2016-01-31,1,https://www.pistonudos.com/en/ds-s-strategy-to-position-itself-as-a-luxury-brand-is-annoying-at-citro-n,"Now, a French brand is once again entering the premium segments. DS, born from Citroën, is now the luxury brand of the group and is betting on a totally different image to carve out a niche for itself. The brand's aim is to associate DS with French luxury, especially in Paris, while at the same time building on the DS heritage, which is raising internal concerns within Citroën.
""DS has its roots in Paris. The DS19 was created and manufactured Quai de Javel [Citroën's historic headquarters], in the 15th arrondissement,"" explained Yves Bonnefont (the brand's CEO) to a French business weekly. ""We have every legitimacy to say that we are from Paris (...) and when you leave Europe that image is very positive"".
That's why DS is now one of the patrons of the Louvre Museum. The brand thus organises exclusive DS events with private tours of the museum and occasional exhibitions. This leads the brand to strange situations such as the opening of a DS Store (in March 2016) in Tehran. The local importer even wants to organise an exhibition with works from the Louvre.
Moreover, in some markets, they are proposing limited series in partnership with high fashion brands, such as the ""DS3 Inés de la Fressange"" (600 units) or specific to certain markets. For the brand's launch in Japan, for example, the DS3 received a more luxurious treatment than the European version and was christened ""So parisienne"".
Culture, fashion and Paris are the main focus of DS communication.
The brand is also creating spaces dedicated to DS, such as DS Stores, with a look and feel reminiscent of French-style luxury. In Europe there are already new DS Stores, all in cities with a strong image of wealth, such as Geneva, Luxembourg, Milan and Copenhagen. In Spain, the DS Stores in Madrid and Barcelona are scheduled to open in 2016. And although they have opened a DS Store in Tunisia, the first in Africa, the DS offensive is focused on the East. In fact, most DS Stores are located in Asia (Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc).
This strategy may come as a surprise now that the brand has no relevant new products. Since 2011 when it presented the DS5 -exclusive for China- the brand has not presented a new model. For that we will have to wait until 2018, according to internal sources. This lack of novelty explains why DS sales are not as expected. In the first nine months of the year, in Western Europe, they fell by 17.7% (55,600 units sold). In China, a market on which the brand is betting big, DS estimates it will sell 19,000 cars, a figure similar to that of 2014.
While the big news arrives, the DS3 will have its restyling for the Geneva show in 2016 and the DS4 would soon have a long-wheelbase version, only for the Chinese market.
In this case, it is not that PSA has decided to do things by halves, but the arrival of Carlos Tavares at the head of the group has precipitated events. DS was already planned to be the luxury brand of the group, but not right now. And as it takes between 3 and 4 years to develop a new car, we will have to wait.
Within Citroën, the new strategy is raising hackles. It is not so much the speed with which it was done - and that Citroën stopped counting sales as its own, since they are now DS's - but because DS is taking over an important part, one of the pillars of the brand, in a blatant way. Obviously, he was talking about DS.
All of Citroën's technological and innovative past with the DS, and even the SM, has instantly become part of DS, as if the DS brand has been around for 60 years, when it hasn't even been around as a brand for two years.
In the brand's official press releases, when talking about the 1955 Citroën DS, there is no mention of ""Citroën"" at any point. On a formal and practical level, the Citroën DS and SM from Citroën's historic fleet are now in the hands of DS, and are no longer part of Citroën Heritage. On the one hand, it makes sense for DS to use the ""original DS"", as the brand now calls it, to have a certain historical legitimacy in the premium segment, as MINI does with the Mini created by Sir Alec Issigonis, for example. However, the discomfort of Citroën's people goes beyond wounded pride and a certain nostalgia. In fact, it is turning into unease.
Citroën Ds and SM are no longer Citroën for PSA, they have always been DS.
Many don't like the way PSA is leaving Citroën. The ""Créative Technologie"" brand is running out of technology and coherent range, at least they are leaving some creativity. Between a Picasso (undoubtedly the best MPV on the market) and an original C4 Cactus, Citroën is looking for its identity now that it has been deprived of an important part of its past (they even deny it the historic Parisian headquarters on Quai de Javel). Citroën is left with the 2CV and its derivatives, the Traction Avant (""duck"" in Spain), the Mehari and little else. For the people at Citroën, it's becoming increasingly clear that the chevron brand has to find its place on the market. And it has to do it fast. Between low-cost or rational brand and at the same time with some originality, two concepts a priori nothing compatible, it is not easy. In the end, at PSA, when they wanted to invent a brand, they were forced to launch two brands, DS and Citroën. A very hard and complicated task.",1279,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662509990.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516041337-20220516071337-00009.warc.gz,0.968123555183411
97aeda87-d2ec-4ed2-9d91-f2aad2895d9a,2013-05-26T02:56:47+00:00,2013-03-05,1,http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Starving_goats_to_hit_Indian_pashmina_production_999.html,"by Staff Writers
Srinagar, India (AFP) March 5, 2013
Heavy snow has killed nearly 25,000 pashmina goats that graze high in the Indian Himalayas, threatening supplies of top-end cashmere wool used to make luxury scarves, an official said on Tuesday.
Thousands of nomads rear the animals in the inhospitable terrain of India's northwestern region of Ladakh, a high-altitude desert bordering China that is renowned for its dramatic landscape of towering mountains and arid plains.
Around 50 tonnes of some of the best raw pashmina wool in the world are produced there each year with the fibres then sent to neighbouring Kashmir where they are woven into scarves and shawls which sell for up to 800 dollars apiece.
This year, an estimated 25,000 goats have starved to death in the Changthang region because their fodder is buried under unusually heavy snow, said Rigzin Spalbar, who heads the Ladakh Hill Development Council, the autonomous governing body of the region.
""All the land access routes are blocked with snow and a week earlier we requested the government to airdrop fodder and supplements for the surviving goats,"" Spalbar told AFP by phone.
""It took me seven days on foot to reach a fringe of the area and I saw dead pashmina goats lying all around,"" Spalbar said, explaining that the only contact with the nomads is through satellite phones.
Another 175,000 goats are at risk of perishing as their food is inaccessible beneath about 90 centimetres (three feet) of ice after one of the biggest snowfalls in nearly fifty years, he said.
At 17,000 feet (5,200 metres), Changthang receives almost no rain during summer and usually about five centimetres of snow in an average winter. Temperatures can drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit).
""We are totally helpless and are trying to organise fodder in compact form from the army in Leh,"" he said, referring to the biggest town in Buddhist-majority Ladakh.
In recent years, due to a lack of supplies from Ladakh, weavers in Kashmir have begun importing raw pashmina from China and Mongolia to meet ever-increasing demand for their products.
Demand for the highest-quality wool has risen worldwide and in India following tighter restrictions on the illegal trade in shahtoosh, the ""king of wools"", which comes from a rare species of Tibetan antelope.
Pashmina goats in Ladakh have been threatened in the past by a shortage of grass in summer months because of locusts, with the spraying of insecticides prevented in the environmentally sensitive area.
Scientists at the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Srinagar, the main city of Kashmir, announced a breakthrough last year when they succeeded in cloning a pashmina goat.
The goat, produced with the help of World Bank money, was named Noori, an Arabic word for light.
Scientists say they hope to produce another one this year.
Apart from the pashmina goats in Ladakh, Spalbar said another 100,000 sheep, cows and wild yaks were also at risk of perishing because of the snowfall.
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology
|The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement|",814,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.938176691532135
361186af-b133-43d9-8ced-b9d3316d18c4,2017-08-19T13:15:04+00:00,2011-01-31,0,http://www.247travelinsurance.co.uk/blog/what-to-pack-for-a-ski-holiday/,"Packing for a ski vacation can often seem like a headache. It’s difficult travelling light when you need to pack all of your bulky ski gear. Fitting your salopettes and skis into your suitcase can prove tricky and with limits on baggage allowance, packing for a ski holiday can be even harder. Fortunately a little pre-planning can make packing for your ski holiday a little easier.
Organise your Baggage
If you’re flying make sure you check with your airline what their policy on luggage allowance is. Some airlines, particularly the budget ones, have much lower checked baggage allowances and fines for over packing which can be expensive. Don’t just check the weight allowance, careful attention must be paid to the maximum dimensions allowed for each piece of luggage, especially if you’re taking your own skis. Some airlines may allow one additional piece of sporting equipment to travel free of charge like your skis. If this isn’t the case you may be able to get away with packing everything into one large ski bag. A trick to maximise room in your suitcase is to stuff smaller items into your boots and folding larger clothing around your gear. You could think about taking your ski boots on board as hand luggage, that way if your baggage is lost or delayed you’ll still have your own boots and can rent skis at your resort.
The best way to keep warm on the slopes is by building up layers of thermals and fleeces under your outerwear. Take several sets of base layers to give them time to dry out after skiing each day. Limit your après-ski wear to a casual pair of jeans and jumper and one pair of boots with a decent tread.
Spare Gloves and Socks
Make room in your bag for a second pair of gloves and socks so each pair has a full day to dry out. Damp clothing will make you colder faster; definitely something you want to avoid when on the slopes. You may also want to consider packing an extra hat and scarf for the same reason.
Protect Helmets and Goggles
Helmets and goggles should be packed carefully to avoid knocks and scratches. Place your goggles inside your helmet and then pack clothes around it to cushion it from heavy handed baggage handlers.
Sunscreen and lip balm are essential items for skiing and can be expensive to buy in a resort. On an especially bright and sunny day, you can get sunburn in as little as 20 minutes exposure. A good sunscreen can protect you from the sun’s UV radiation and from sunburn.
Don’t forget to pack your ski travel insurance
Travel Insurance with winter sports cover can be purchased for just £9.40* at www.247travelinsurance.co.uk – a small price to pay to be able to really enjoy your ski holiday!
* Premium £9.40 includes Insurance Premium Tax, personal possessions cover and winter sports cover. Based on a ‘standard’ single trip 24/7 travel insurance policy for one adult aged under 55 travelling to Europe for 3 days. Policy purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (January 2011) and are subject to change.",664,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105451.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819124333-20170819144333-00371.warc.gz,0.941429078578949
da4b753b-02d4-49fd-9c39-8fb5146a8e71,2019-08-20T09:24:54+00:00,2019-03-01,1,https://www.giiresearch.com/report/moi390617-global-cardiac-rhythm-management-devices-market.html,"Market Research Report
Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2019 - 2024)
|Published by||Mordor Intelligence LLP||Product code||390617|
|Published||Content info||114 Pages
Delivery time: 2-3 business days
|Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2019 - 2024)|
|Published: March 1, 2019||Content info: 114 Pages||
The cardiac rhythm management devices market is expected to witness a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. Certain factors that are driving the market growth include the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disorders, technological advancements, a rise in the use of ambulatory and home services for cardiac monitoring, and favorable reimbursement policies.
The increasing instance of cardiovascular disorders is one of the foremost factors driving the cardiac rhythm management devices market. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, cardiovascular diseases account for more than 30% of deaths. Also, nearly 33.5 million people, globally, are suffering from atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is the most common type of serious arrhythmia. With the rise in the aging population in America and Europe, a number of patients suffering from heart rhythm disorders are likely to witness an increase and this is a cause for concern.
However, the therapeutic radiation used in cancer treatment can influence the operation of a patient with implantable cardiac rhythm devices. The implantable device technology uses complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) which are vulnerable to damage by the therapeutic doses of radiation, but it can vary according to the type of device in use. This factor is one of the major factors that limits the scope of using cardiac rhythm management devices, as the implants are highly sensitive and their malfunctioning may have serious consequences. On the other hand, the high cost of these devices with limited insurance coverage is limiting the growth of the market.
Cardiac rhythm management is a part of electrophysiology, which is used to manage the functioning of the heart. The last decade has observed an ongoing evolution and the use of cardiac rhythm management devices, including cardiac resynchronization therapy, pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and loop recorders. General practitioners (GP) are increasingly involved in the follow-up and management of patients with these devices.
Defibrillator is Expected to Hold the Largest Market Share in the Product Type
As per the American Heart Association (AHA), survival from cardiac arrest got doubled when bystanders used a publicly-available automated external defibrillator (AED) rather than just wait until emergency responders arrived. Bystanders used an AED in 18.8% of such cases. Cardiac arrest victims who received a shock from a publicly-available AED had far more chances of survival and being discharged from the hospital than those who did not, accounting for 66.5% versus 43%. Therefore, it has been estimated that about 1,700 lives are saved in the United States every year by bystanders using a defibrillator. This indicates that the usage of defibrillators has experienced a significant rise, globally, over the recent years.
North America Dominates the Market and Expected to do Same in the Forecast Period
North America is expected to have the largest market share for cardiac rhythm management, due to the developed healthcare infrastructure, government initiatives, and rising incidence of arrhythmias demanding more cardiac implants. According to a report by the US CDC, more than 75,000 hospitalizations are attributed to atrial fibrillation. Also, it is highlighted that a large part of the American population suffers from atrial fibrillation. Therefore, it is expected to rise further in the forecast period.
Asia-Pacific is another region with high potential for this market, due to the rising healthcare expenditure by the government, the increasing the prevalence of cardiac disorders and the growing per capita income of the population in the South Asian countries.
The cardiac rhythm management devices market is highly competitive and consists of a few major players. Companies like Abbott, Abiomed, Biotronik SE & Co KG, Boston Scientific Corporation, Koninklijke Philips NV, LivaNova Plc, Medtronic PPLC, SchillerAG, Shenzhen Mindray Biomedical Electronics Co. Ltd, and Zoll Medical Corporation, among others, hold the substantial market share in the cardiac rhythm management devices market.",919,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315321.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820092326-20190820114326-00540.warc.gz,0.908162474632263
1b0ae9cf-9667-48f2-8e3a-169265ac36dd,2022-05-20T08:29:38+00:00,2017-11-01,1,https://www.photographytalk.com/photography-articles/7959-on-your-next-flight-you-could-be-forced-to-leave-your-camera-at-home,"If you're a frequent flier (and even if you're not...) you might want to think about the gadgetry you pack in your checked baggage.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the federal government is encouraging airlines to ban certain electronic devices in checked baggage due to the risk of fires.
The proposed ban includes both laptops and cameras, as well as other large personal electronic devices.
This all came about after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ran a series of tests in which they placed a laptop with a fully charged battery next to a heater.
Naturally, the added heat caused the laptop's lithium-ion battery to overheat.
The problem is that if the battery from a device overheated in flight, and if the overheated battery was near an aerosol can like hairspray in a checked bag, a fire and explosion could occur in less than a minute. You can see footage from the FAA's testing in the video above by ABC News.
In fact, in one test, the aerosol can that was used was an 8-ounce can of dry shampoo (which is a permitted item) which exploded in just 40 seconds. And because the fire and explosion occurred so quickly, an airliner's fire suppression system would be challenged to put out the flames before catastrophic damage might be done.
It might sound like a far-fetched scenario, but when we're talking about the safety of aircraft with potentially hundreds of people on board, you can understand why such a dire warning has been issued.
In fact, since 2006, three cargo jets have crashed resulting in four pilot deaths due to batteries interacting with things like nail polish remover, hand sanitizer, and rubbing alcohol, the result of which was in-flight fires.
To address the situation, the FAA has issued a recommendation that electronics larger than a smartphone be banned from checked baggage.
The proposal allows airlines room to determine specifically what items would be banned, however.
Before the ban is implemented, it must first be reviewed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which is tasked with creating worldwide airline standards for safety. The organization will consider the ban within just two weeks when they meet in Montreal.
The proposed ban already has the support of many key stakeholders in the industry, including the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Association, the European Safety Agency, Airbus, and the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Association.
Naturally, if this ban goes into effect, it might cause photographers a whole lot of headaches, particularly for professional photographers that need to check large amounts of camera gear.
Of course, leaving your cameras at home isn't an option, so a better alternative might be to remove any batteries from your gear and pack them in your carry on, that way there's no possibility of interaction with combustible materials in the cargo hold.
This is another layer of security that has come down the pike in recent years that has made air travel more difficult for photographers, albeit safer in the long run.
You might remember a temporary ban on cameras in the cabin of planes as well as a temporary ban on laptops on certain flights earlier this year.
Additionally, the TSA requires that cameras be screened separately from other items, so it's certainly more difficult to travel if you've got a camera in tow.
For more details on the testing that led to the ban proposal, you can check the International Civil Aviation Organization's official paper by clicking here.
This story originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune.",711,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00021.warc.gz,0.960535943508148
9370d64e-9aec-480e-baec-04ceb503a89d,2020-10-19T15:36:53+00:00,2020-07-01,1,https://ccnews24.net/iranian-power-plants-can-mine-cryptocurrencies/,"Iranian Power Plants can mine Cryptocurrencies
Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, spokesman for the electricity industry told IRNA that the power plants could be active in cryptocurrency mining.
As we informed you in a recent article, Iran is comes to the leading places in Bitcoin mining and according to its production capacity, it ranks third together with countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan. We also wrote about how Iran has licensed for the first time a BTC mining farm with 6,000 machines and the value of the equipment alone is stated as IRR 300,000 million (USD 7.2 million).
The Iranian authorities, led by Mashadi, emphasize that the necessary electricity will be obtained by those who have the licenses from the ministry and comply with the tariffs approved by the virtual currency mining centers. If the power plants concerned decide to mine, they will have to meet another of the conditions, namely that they will not be able to use subsidized fuel.
Iran is reacting in this context because it currently has one of the cheapest tariffs for electricity
In the interview, Mashadi also highlights:
Now we’re in a situation where the supply of electricity is of great importance to the public and we will not allow those who abuse the tariffs set for the agricultural and industrial sectors to produce bitcoins.
The Iranian authorities currently report 14 applications received for the establishment of cryptocurrency centers, and a spokesman said:
interested parties had requested more than 300 MW, equivalent to the consumption of the three provinces in the country to be provided.
Follow our social media and get news on time",317,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00007.warc.gz,0.955255508422852
f8bf8055-0036-4148-bfcd-6ffd169bc62a,2016-07-30T22:55:22+00:00,2012-10-03,1,http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20121003/NEWS/310039962/westlake-adding-pvc-capacity-switch-to-ethane-feedstock%26template=emailthis%26template=printthis%26template=emailthis&template=printthis,"By: Frank Esposito
October 3, 2012
HOUSTON (Oct. 3, 3:05 p.m. ET) — Westlake Chemical Corp. is increasing its investment in Calvert City, Ky., with plans to increase annual production capacities for PVC resin and ethylene feedstock.
Houston-based Westlake will spend between $210 million and $240 million to add almost 200 million pounds of PVC capacity and 180 million pounds of ethylene capacity at the site. The expansions are part of a switch from propane to ethane feedstock there to take advantage of newfound supplies of North American natural gas, which can be used to make ethane.
“These announced projects demonstrate our commitment to our overall integration strategy and to leveraging our access to low-cost feedstock,” President and CEO Albert Chao said in an Oct. 2 news release.
The ethylene expansion and feedstock conversion are expected to be complete in mid-2014, with the PVC expansion coming online by the end of that year, officials said in the release. When the expansions are complete, the Calvert City plant will have annual capacities of 1.3 billion pounds of PVC and 630 million pounds of ethylene.
Westlake earlier had announced plans to spend $40 million to upgrade infrastructure in Calvert City. The firm also is adding more than 200 million pounds of ethylene capacity at its plant in Lake Charles, La., early next year.
PVC has weathered the post-recession world better than most North American commodity resins, largely by focusing more attention on export sales as the domestic construction market struggled. U.S./Canadian PVC sales were up five percent through July, with exports accounting for 35 percent of total sales.
In Kentucky, Westlake has preliminary approval for $10 million in tax incentives. Another $7 million in incentives are pending. The expansion projects are expected to create 300 construction jobs.
News of the expansion continues an eventful year for Westlake. It began in January when the firm made a bid to acquire rival Georgia Gulf Corp. Westlake withdrew that bid in May. Two months later, Georgia Gulf agreed to merge with the commodity chemicals business of PPG Industries to create a new company.
Westlake’s lineup of plastics and chemicals includes PVC, low density polyethylene, ethylene, vinyl chloride monomer and caustic soda, as well as PVC pipe and related products through it North American Pipe unit.
The firm posted sales of almost $2 billion in the first half of 2012, up almost nine percent vs. the same period in 2011. Westlake’s first-half profit grew almost 24 percent to $203 million in the same comparison. Olefins – including LDPE – accounted for more than 70 percent of the firm’s first-half sales.
On Wall Street, Westlake’s per-share stock price has enjoyed a tremendous ride so far in 2012. The price began the year around $40 but was near $74.30 in late trading Oct. 3 – an increase of more than 80 percent.",633,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258943369.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072903-00314-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95453143119812
3aef53fd-4555-40ef-bb75-625cf78dbe57,2020-10-26T07:09:36+00:00,2019-12-31,0,https://www.littlesparta.org.uk/december-2019/,"A still quiet air.
The new brick pathways have been extended by the Evening will come… sundial and further sections filled in by the Fructidor stone baskets, also in front of the wooden bench A delightful spot under chosen trees by the woodland entrance, and on around the Top pond by See Poussin. Hear Lorrain. Hopefully all of this will settle in permanently and become much less evident and interventionist than it looks at present as it ages, and as much as possible, greens over.
Every renewal brings with it more waste – and a couple of mounds of excavated earth from the path construction were dumped by the top corner of the woodland and under the laurel by the gate piers opposite the Grotto as work in progress. Rather than just conceal or remove them, these have now been planted with ivy, ferns and foxgloves which will all quickly naturalise, forming accidental but welcome new areas of woodland planting.
The curving serpentine walkway of blackcurrants in the middle of the Parkland has been remade – 40 new bare root plants ‘Ben Hope’ have been put in place. These fresh juvenile plants should quickly fill out and improve this feature next season. The old bushes which were well past their prime have been relocated in different areas of the garden to give them a second lease of life – in the Little Wood by the old collapsed stile, and behind the curfew curlew stone to form a small blackcurrant wood – they immediately look well in these spaces, forming effective screening and blocking unintended passageways used by visitors.
A western hemlock tree has been planted near to the Flautist urn in the Parkland – positioned so that it will eventually fill out to filter the direct view through to the Pyramid in the Temple garden – its colour and form will also bring a contrasting flash of brightness to a dark gloomy spot.
In the Parkland the last leaves continue to be gathered – from around the alder by Virgil – a shaded path, and the last few stragglers elsewhere brought down by blustery winds. Around the more formal areas in the Front garden and by the Temple and store room, bulbs which are now pushing through have also been cleared of some of the more dense fallen leaves so they will flower readily in springtime.
Throughout the garden and woodland all of the more formal lawn and grassed areas have been aerated (simply by making a regular sequence of holes with a garden fork) and scarified – heavily mossed areas scrapped back so the grass has a chance to rejuvenate. Even at the moment where parts of these areas are just compacted earth it will improve the soil structure prior to reseeding in spring. Again, one of those repetitive tasks that will hopefully show benefit and reward when things start to grow again and all fills out newly fresh and green.
An old dead tree hanging over the pathway by the Top pond which had been creaking ominously and threatening to collapse has been cut down – but the remains of its gnarly trunk form have been left as home to mosses and mushrooms which thrive there.
Also one of the willows spanning down into water by the Golden head of Apollo has been given the same attention – three large limbs are cut off – as they shift back and forward in the wind they are damaging the bank and the suspicion is that they add to the perimeter pathway here being waterlogged.
Some roses which missed out on earlier pruning are given a cut back to keep them in shape – at the bottom of the front beds by Fabre d’Eglantine, and in the woodland by the Path of Language bench.
All is tidied away and the garden is finished for the year. It rests in a still quiet air.",775,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107890586.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026061044-20201026091044-00586.warc.gz,0.972181797027588
4a99c51b-65d9-4535-8b9a-3e79b11af58c,2015-03-28T23:54:39+00:00,2013-12-13,1,http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-13/aid-workers-say-legislation-failing-to-protect/5156456?pfm=sm,"DAVID MARK: The United Nations says violence against women in Afghanistan is on the rise, but authorities there have acted on only a small number of reported cases.
The UN's latest report shows only seven per cent of the 1,700 or so testimonies of beatings, forced marriages and other brutalities went through the judicial system.
The law was enacted only a few years ago. Aid workers say it's failing to protect Afghanistan's women, and as Sarah Sedghi reports, they fear things will only get worse when Western troops finally leave the country.
SARAH SEDGHI: It's been called the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman, and the United Nations Assistance Mission's latest report shows the situation isn't getting any better.
MARY AKRAMI (translated): Domestic violence, which is common, besides that there is forced marriages, child marriages. The other side is when we see that the poor woman, they know about their rights and they wanted to choose their partner by themselves and they wanted to have access to education, they wanted to have access to health - but due to the status of a woman when it comes to having access to all these things, it really makes life difficult for women.
SARAH SEDGHI: Mary Akrami is the founder and executive director of the Afghan Women's Skills Development Centre. She is working to implement Elimination of Violence Against Women laws that were passed by presidential decree four years ago.
But she says it's evident the laws are failing women.
MARY AKRAMI (translated): Even now we have seven per cent of women with access to this law, it is really disappointing because we will lose even this achievement.
SARAH SEDGHI: She's worried things will only get worse when Western troops leave Afghanistan next year.
The United Nations report looked at 16 of the 34 Afghan provinces. It found a 28 per cent increase in reported cases of violence against women.
Heather Barr from Human Rights Watch says the Afghan government is failing women.
HEATHER BARR: In some areas the effort has actually gone backwards and you have to hold the Afghan Government accountable for this failure and I think the reason this is happening is not that it's impossible to enforce these laws but because there isn't really any political will by the Afghan government.
SARAH SEDGHI: It's been more than a decade since the end of Taliban rule, which restricted Afghan women from public life, banned their education and used public stonings as a punishment for adultery.
President Hamid Karzai's term finishes in April next year, when the new presidential elections are held.
Heather Barr says this is only adding to the uncertainty for women.
HEATHER BARR: Karzai has not been nearly as strong on women's rights as we could have hoped for. Now the next president of Afghanistan will not owe his job to the international community, he will owe nothing to the international community so unfortunately as poor as Karzai has been I think we've got every reason to be concerned that the next president is likely to be worse.
SARAH SEDGHI: But the uncertainties don't end there. A Bilateral Security Agreement with the US remains unsigned. Its purpose is to determine the ongoing role of American troops in Afghanistan after most of the NATO troops leave.
Wazhma Abdulrahimzay from the human rights network Open Society fears that as the troops leave, there will be less media attention on human rights issues.
WAZHMA ABDULRAHIMZAY (voiceover): From the beginning there has been a concern mostly for women because it makes us think about other issues, other aspects of these issues because the transition process of the Afghan military, they should have that much capacity that the foreign troops have.
There is a lot of concern that the power of the opposition, power of the warlords, power of those who are misusing the weakness of the Afghan military, it will be directly affecting women.
DAVID MARK: Wazhma Abdulrahimzay ending that report.",845,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00252-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968612313270569
aed9f66e-0105-4c6a-823a-5e4b4c54463a,2017-08-23T00:44:18+00:00,2016-08-23,1,http://www.coolingpost.com/uk-news/heat-pipes-create-new-way-of-freezing/,"UK: Scientists claim to have engineered a new way of freezing as low as -180C using liquid nitrogen and heat pipe technology.
The new cryogenically-cooled heat pipe technology, engineered by scientists at Brunel University London, could have benefits in the medical sector and is said to avoid the dangers often associated with liquid nitrogen.
“At the heart of the new system is the concept that what we needed was to be able to efficiently transfer cold,” explained Dr Hussam Jouhara of Brunel’s Institute of Energy Futures.
“The cold in our design comes from liquid nitrogen. But unlike conventional cold storage using the liquefied gas we don’t need to physically transfer the nitrogen. The cryogenic heat pipe is literally just moving the cold.
“In safety terms this has major implications as in the US alone eight deaths a year are attributed to nitrogen asphyxiation. Our innovations mean the gas tanks can be situated safely outside in the open air.”
The system’s green and money-saving credentials are attributed to what the scientists’ describe as a highly efficient energy recovery process which promises a reduction of up to 50% reduction in liquid nitrogen use compared to conventional equipment.
“Liquid nitrogen is expensive in both cash terms and energy consumption to produce,” added Dr Jouhara. “And quite rightly there are strict health and safety rules because of the attendant dangers of asphyxiation. The Brunel system has no such special requirements.”
Once installed heat pipes are regarded by engineers as a “fit and forget” technology as they have no moving parts and require no routine maintenance.
Dr Jouhara is partnering with industrial gases company Air Products to commercialise the new freezer technology.
The company’s head of cryogenic technology development, Jon Trembley said: “After almost exactly 25 years, Air Products is back at Brunel University conducting leading cryogenic technology research in collaboration with Dr Jouhara.
“It’s great to be back at Brunel; 25 years ago Air Products European Technology Group was located on campus before out-growing the space and moving out in 1991 to new lab facilities in Basingstoke. Our new research programmes into cryogenically cooled heat pipes is an exciting new development and Brunel’s expertise and excellent capabilities are perfect for our research requirements.”
Initial real world uses are likely to be for medical storage and the team will be working with the NHS Blood and Transplant Service to develop prototype freezers to rapidly cool and store plasma made from donated blood.
“We also see strong demand from facilities which store cord blood or eggs or sperm or other biological materials at very low temperatures,” said Dr Jouhara.",576,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886116921.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823000718-20170823020718-00684.warc.gz,0.939559757709503
7eb9f14d-519a-4c69-87fc-1b2ab4f7feca,2020-10-29T14:43:27+00:00,2020-06-26,1,https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001376706/zimbabwe-suspends-stock-exchange-mobile-payments-over-economic-sabotage,"Zimbabwe on Friday suspended trade on the stock exchange and mobile phone-based payments to address what President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government called “criminality and economic sabotage”.
The decision to suspend mobile payments will hit the economy hard as more than 80 per cent of all transactions are conducted on phones due to a shortage of banknotes, according to central bank data.
In a statement on Friday, government spokesman Nick Mangwana said the move, which takes immediate effect, was part of efforts to arrest the slide of the Zimbabwe dollar, which has sharply devalued since its reintroduction last year after a decade of dollarisation.
“Government is in possession of impeccable intelligence which constitutes a prima facie case whereby the phone-based mobile money systems of Zimbabwe are conspiring, with the help of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, either deliberately or inadvertently, in illicit activities that are sabotaging the economy,” the statement said.
The suspension of all mobile payments and the stock market was meant to allow “intrusive investigations”.
- 1 Wakhu, Chinhoi in Safari Tour Series dream starts
- 2 Botswana says toxins in water killed hundreds of elephants
- 3 Zimbabwe says foreign white farmers can apply to get back seized land
- 4 Zimbabwe probes deaths of 12 elephants near Hwange park
The government says mobile payment platforms were major drivers of a roaring foreign currency trade outside formal banking channels, with multiple listed stocks such as Old Mutual providing proxy exchange rates implied by their prices on foreign bourses such as the London Stock Exchange.
On Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s central bank began weekly foreign currency auctions in a bid to draw scarce foreign currency into the formal market.",353,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107904287.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029124628-20201029154628-00131.warc.gz,0.949732422828674
f35e0ed8-a4e0-415b-8b6f-0124e4f0ec46,2015-03-30T23:00:29+00:00,2014-10-18,1,http://gaggio.blogspirit.com/telepresence_virtual_presence/,"Oct 18, 2014
Brain networks in two behaviourally-similar vegetative patients (left and middle), but one of whom imagined playing tennis (middle panel), alongside a healthy adult (right panel). Credit: Srivas Chennu
People locked into a vegetative state due to disease or injury are a major mystery for medical science. Some may be fully unconscious, while others remain aware of what’s going on around them but can’t speak or move to show it. Now scientists at Cambridge have reported in journal PLOS Computational Biology on a new technique that can help identify locked-in people that can still hear and retain their consciousness.
Some details from the study abstract:
We devised a novel topographical metric, termed modular span, which showed that the alpha network modules in patients were also spatially circumscribed, lacking the structured long-distance interactions commonly observed in the healthy controls. Importantly however, these differences between graph-theoretic metrics were partially reversed in delta and theta band networks, which were also significantly more similar to each other in patients than controls. Going further, we found that metrics of alpha network efficiency also correlated with the degree of behavioural awareness. Intriguingly, some patients in behaviourally unresponsive vegetative states who demonstrated evidence of covert awareness with functional neuroimaging stood out from this trend: they had alpha networks that were remarkably well preserved and similar to those observed in the controls. Taken together, our findings inform current understanding of disorders of consciousness by highlighting the distinctive brain networks that characterise them. In the significant minority of vegetative patients who follow commands in neuroimaging tests, they point to putative network mechanisms that could support cognitive function and consciousness despite profound behavioural impairment.
Study in PLOS Computational Biology: Spectral Signatures of Reorganised Brain Networks in Disorders of Consciousness
Oct 17, 2014
Oct 06, 2014
In the last decade, online virtual worlds such as Second Life and alike have become enormously popular. Since their appearance on the technology landscape, many analysts regarded shared 3D virtual spaces as a disruptive innovation, which would have rendered the Web itself obsolete.
This high expectation attracted significant investments from large corporations such as IBM, which started building their virtual spaces and offices in the metaverse. Then, when it became clear that these promises would not be kept, disillusionment set in and virtual worlds started losing their edge. However, this is not a new phenomenon in high-tech, happening over and over again.
The US consulting company Gartner has developed a very popular model to describe this effect, called the “Hype Cycle”. The Hype Cycle provides a graphic representation of the maturity and adoption of technologies and applications.
It consists of five phases, which show how emerging technologies will evolve.
In the first, “technology trigger” phase, a new technology is launched which attracts the interest of media. This is followed by the “peak of inflated expectations”, characterized by a proliferation of positive articles and comments, which generate overexpectations among users and stakeholders.
In the next, “trough of disillusionment” phase, these exaggerated expectations are not fulfilled, resulting in a growing number of negative comments generally followed by a progressive indifference.
In the “slope of enlightenment” the technology potential for further applications becomes more broadly understood and an increasing number of companies start using it.
In the final, “plateau of productivity” stage, the emerging technology established itself as an effective tool and mainstream adoption takes off.
So what stage in the hype cycle are virtual worlds now?
After the 2006-2007 peak, metaverses entered the downward phase of the hype cycle, progressively loosing media interest, investments and users. Many high-tech analysts still consider this decline an irreversible process.
However, the negative outlook that headed shared virtual worlds into the trough of disillusionment maybe soon reversed. This is thanks to the new interest in virtual reality raised by the Oculus Rift (recently acquired by Facebook for $2 billion), Sony’s Project Morpheus and alike immersive displays, which are still at the takeoff stage in the hype cycle.
Oculus Rift's chief scientist Michael Abrash makes no mystery of the fact that his main ambition has always been to build a metaverse such the one described in Neal Stephenson's (1992) cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. As he writes on the Oculus blog
""Sometime in 1993 or 1994, I read Snow Crash and for the first time thought something like the Metaverse might be possible in my lifetime.""
Furthermore, despite the negative comments and deluded expectations, the metaverse keeps attracting new users: in its 10th anniversary on June 23rd 2013, an infographic reported that Second Life had over 1 million users visit around the world monthly, more than 400,000 new accounts per month, and 36 million registered users.
So will Michael Abrash’s metaverse dream come true? Even if one looks into the crystal ball of the hype cycle, the answer is not easily found.
An international team of neuroscientists and robotics engineers have demonstrated the first direct remote brain-to-brain communication between two humans located 5,000 miles away from each other and communicating via the Internet, as reported in a paper recently published in PLOS ONE (open access).
Emitter and receiver subjects with non-invasive devices supporting, respectively, a brain-computer interface (BCI), based on EEG changes, driven by motor imagery (left) and a computer-brain interface (CBI) based on the reception of phosphenes elicited by neuro-navigated TMS (right) (credit: Carles Grau et al./PLoS ONE)
In India, researchers encoded two words (“hola” and “ciao”) as binary strings and presented them as a series of cues on a computer monitor. They recorded the subject’s EEG signals as the subject was instructed to think about moving his feet (binary 0) or hands (binary 1). They then sent the recorded series of binary values in an email message to researchers in France, 5,000 miles away.
There, the binary strings were converted into a series of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulses applied to a hotspot location in the right visual occipital cortex that either produced a phosphene (perceived flash of light) or not.
“We wanted to find out if one could communicate directly between two people by reading out the brain activity from one person and injecting brain activity into the second person, and do so across great physical distances by leveraging existing communication pathways,” explains coauthor Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.
A team of researchers from Starlab Barcelona, Spain and Axilum Robotics, Strasbourg, France conducted the experiment. A second similar experiment was conducted between individuals in Spain and France.
“We believe these experiments represent an important first step in exploring the feasibility of complementing or bypassing traditional language-based or other motor/PNS mediated means in interpersonal communication,” the researchers say in the paper.
“Although certainly limited in nature (e.g., the bit rates achieved in our experiments were modest even by current BCI (brain-computer interface) standards, mostly due to the dynamics of the precise CBI (computer-brain interface) implementation, these initial results suggest new research directions, including the non-invasive direct transmission of emotions and feelings or the possibility of sense synthesis in humans — that is, the direct interface of arbitrary sensors with the human brain using brain stimulation, as previously demonstrated in animals with invasive methods.
Brain-to-brain (B2B) communication system overview. On the left, the BCI subsystem is shown schematically, including electrodes over the motor cortex and the EEG amplifier/transmitter wireless box in the cap. Motor imagery of the feet codes the bit value 0, of the hands codes bit value 1. On the right, the CBI system is illustrated, highlighting the role of coil orientation for encoding the two bit values. Communication between the BCI and CBI components is mediated by the Internet. (Credit: Carles Grau et al./PLoS ONE)
“The proposed technology could be extended to support a bi-directional dialogue between two or more mind/brains (namely, by the integration of EEG and TMS systems in each subject). In addition, we speculate that future research could explore the use of closed mind-loops in which information associated to voluntary activity from a brain area or network is captured and, after adequate external processing, used to control other brain elements in the same subject. This approach could lead to conscious synthetically mediated modulation of phenomena best detected subjectively by the subject, including emotions, pain and psychotic, depressive or obsessive-compulsive thoughts.
“Finally, we anticipate that computers in the not-so-distant future will interact directly with the human brain in a fluent manner, supporting both computer- and brain-to-brain communication routinely. The widespread use of human brain-to-brain technologically mediated communication will create novel possibilities for human interrelation with broad social implications that will require new ethical and legislative responses.”
This work was partly supported by the EU FP7 FET Open HIVE project, the Starlab Kolmogorov project, and the Neurology Department of the Hospital de Bellvitge.
Sep 25, 2014
Sep 21, 2014
I still can't close my mouth.
The demo lasted about 10 min, during which several scenes were presented. The resolution and framerate are astounding, you can turn completely around. I can say this is the first time in my life I can really say I was there.
I believe this is really the begin of a new era for VR, and I am sure I won't sleep tonight thinking about the infinite possibilities and applications of this technology. and I don't think I am exaggerating - if anything, I am underestimating
Aug 03, 2014
Birdly is a full body, fully immersive, Virtual Reality flight simulator developed at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). With Birdly, you can embody an avian creature, the Red Kite, visualized through Oculus Rift, as it soars over the 3D virtual city of San Francisco, heightened by sonic, olfactory, and wind feedback.
Jul 09, 2014
Experiential Virtual Scenarios With Real-Time Monitoring (Interreality) for the Management of Psychological Stress: A Block Randomized Controlled Trial
The recent convergence between technology and medicine is offering innovative methods and tools for behavioral health care. Among these, an emerging approach is the use of virtual reality (VR) within exposure-based protocols for anxiety disorders, and in particular posttraumatic stress disorder. However, no systematically tested VR protocols are available for the management of psychological stress. Objective: Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a new technological paradigm, Interreality, for the management and prevention of psychological stress. The main feature of Interreality is a twofold link between the virtual and the real world achieved through experiential virtual scenarios (fully controlled by the therapist, used to learn coping skills and improve self-efficacy) with real-time monitoring and support (identifying critical situations and assessing clinical change) using advanced technologies (virtual worlds, wearable biosensors, and smartphones).
Full text paper available at: http://www.jmir.org/2014/7/e167/
Jun 30, 2014
Apr 15, 2014
Glyph looks like a normal headset and operates like one, too. That is, until you move the headband down over your eyes and it becomes a fully-functional visual visor that displays movies, television shows, video games or any other media connected via the attached HDMI cable.
Using Virtual Retinal Display (VRD), a technology that mimics the way we see light, the Glyph projects images directly onto your retina using one million micromirrors in each eye piece. These micromirrors reflect the images back to the retina, producing a reportedly crisp and vivid quality.
Apr 06, 2014
Measuring the effects through time of the influence of visuomotor and visuotactile synchronous stimulation on a virtual body ownership illusion
Measuring the effects through time of the influence of visuomotor and visuotactile synchronous stimulation on a virtual body ownership illusion.
Authors: Kokkinara E, Slater M
Abstract. Previous studies have examined the experience of owning a virtual surrogate body or body part through specific combinations of cross-modal multisensory stimulation. Both visuomotor (VM) and visuotactile (VT) synchronous stimulation have been shown to be important for inducing a body ownership illusion, each tested separately or both in combination. In this study we compared the relative importance of these two cross-modal correlations, when both are provided in the same immersive virtual reality setup and the same experiment. We systematically manipulated VT and VM contingencies in order to assess their relative role and mutual interaction. Moreover, we present a new method for measuring the induced body ownership illusion through time, by recording reports of breaks in the illusion of ownership ('breaks') throughout the experimental phase. The balance of the evidence, from both questionnaires and analysis of the breaks, suggests that while VM synchronous stimulation contributes the greatest to the attainment of the illusion, a disruption of either (through asynchronous stimulation) contributes equally to the probability of a break in the illusion.
Mar 02, 2014
Voluntary Out-of-Body Experience: An fMRI Study.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:70
Authors: Smith AM, Messier C
The present single-case study examined functional brain imaging patterns in a participant that reported being able, at will, to produce somatosensory sensations that are experienced as her body moving outside the boundaries of her physical body all the while remaining aware of her unmoving physical body. We found that the brain functional changes associated with the reported extra-corporeal experience (ECE) were different than those observed in motor imagery. Activations were mainly left-sided and involved the left supplementary motor area and supramarginal and posterior superior temporal gyri, the last two overlapping with the temporal parietal junction that has been associated with out-of-body experiences. The cerebellum also showed activation that is consistent with the participant's report of the impression of movement during the ECE. There was also left middle and superior orbital frontal gyri activity, regions often associated with action monitoring. The results suggest that the ECE reported here represents an unusual type of kinesthetic imagery.
Humanlike robot hands controlled by brain activity arouse illusion of ownership in operators.
Sci Rep. 2013;3:2396
Authors: Alimardani M, Nishio S, Ishiguro H
Operators of a pair of robotic hands report ownership for those hands when they hold image of a grasp motion and watch the robot perform it. We present a novel body ownership illusion that is induced by merely watching and controlling robot's motions through a brain machine interface. In past studies, body ownership illusions were induced by correlation of such sensory inputs as vision, touch and proprioception. However, in the presented illusion none of the mentioned sensations are integrated except vision. Our results show that during BMI-operation of robotic hands, the interaction between motor commands and visual feedback of the intended motions is adequate to incorporate the non-body limbs into one's own body. Our discussion focuses on the role of proprioceptive information in the mechanism of agency-driven illusions. We believe that our findings will contribute to improvement of tele-presence systems in which operators incorporate BMI-operated robots into their body representations.
Feb 09, 2014
The importance of synchrony and temporal order of visual and tactile input for illusory limb ownership experiences - an FMRI study applying virtual reality
The importance of synchrony and temporal order of visual and tactile input for illusory limb ownership experiences - an FMRI study applying virtual reality.
PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e87013
Authors: Bekrater-Bodmann R, Foell J, Diers M, Kamping S, Rance M, Kirsch P, Trojan J, Fuchs X, Bach F, Cakmak HK, Maaß H, Flor H
Abstract. In the so-called rubber hand illusion, synchronous visuotactile stimulation of a visible rubber hand together with one's own hidden hand elicits ownership experiences for the artificial limb. Recently, advanced virtual reality setups were developed to induce a virtual hand illusion (VHI). Here, we present functional imaging data from a sample of 25 healthy participants using a new device to induce the VHI in the environment of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. In order to evaluate the neuronal robustness of the illusion, we varied the degree of synchrony between visual and tactile events in five steps: in two conditions, the tactile stimulation was applied prior to visual stimulation (asynchrony of -300 ms or -600 ms), whereas in another two conditions, the tactile stimulation was applied after visual stimulation (asynchrony of +300 ms or +600 ms). In the fifth condition, tactile and visual stimulation was applied synchronously. On a subjective level, the VHI was successfully induced by synchronous visuotactile stimulation. Asynchronies between visual and tactile input of ±300 ms did not significantly diminish the vividness of illusion, whereas asynchronies of ±600 ms did. The temporal order of visual and tactile stimulation had no effect on VHI vividness. Conjunction analyses of functional MRI data across all conditions revealed significant activation in bilateral ventral premotor cortex (PMv). Further characteristic activation patterns included bilateral activity in the motion-sensitive medial superior temporal area as well as in the bilateral Rolandic operculum, suggesting their involvement in the processing of bodily awareness through the integration of visual and tactile events. A comparison of the VHI-inducing conditions with asynchronous control conditions of ±600 ms yielded significant PMv activity only contralateral to the stimulation site. These results underline the temporal limits of the induction of limb ownership related to multisensory body-related input.
Feb 02, 2014
Activation of the human mirror neuron system during the observation of the manipulation of virtual tools in the absence of a visible effector limb
Activation of the human mirror neuron system during the observation of the manipulation of virtual tools in the absence of a visible effector limb.
Neurosci Lett. 2013 Oct 25;555:220-4
Authors: Modroño C, Navarrete G, Rodríguez-Hernández AF, González-Mora JL
Abstract. This work explores the mirror neuron system activity produced by the observation of virtual tool manipulations in the absence of a visible effector limb. Functional MRI data was obtained from healthy right-handed participants who manipulated a virtual paddle in the context of a digital game and watched replays of their actions. The results show how action observation produced extended bilateral activations in the parietofrontal mirror neuron system. At the same time, three regions in the left hemisphere (in the primary motor and the primary somatosensory cortex, the supplementary motor area and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) showed a reduced BOLD, possibly related with the prevention of inappropriate motor execution. These results can be of interest for researchers and developers working in the field of action observation neurorehabilitation.
Jan 25, 2014
The Intel® Core™ i7-based MemoryMirror takes the clothes shopping experience to a whole different level, allowing shoppers to try on multiple outfits, then virtually view and compare previous choices on the mirror itself using intuitive hand gestures. Users control all their data and can remain anonymous to the retailer if they so choose. The Memory Mirror uses Intel integrated graphics technology to create avatars of the shopper wearing various clothing that can be shared with friends to solicit feedback or viewed instantly to make an immediate in-store purchase. Shoppers can also save their looks in mobile app should they decide to purchase at a later time online.
Jan 21, 2014
Dec 19, 2013
Nov 20, 2013
inFORM is a Dynamic Shape Display developed by MIT Tangible Media Group that can render 3D content physically, so users can interact with digital information in a tangible way.
inFORM can also interact with the physical world around it, for example moving objects on the table’s surface.
Remote participants in a video conference can be displayed physically, allowing for a strong sense of presence and the ability to interact physically at a distance.
Nov 16, 2013
Researchers at Duke University have reported in journal Science Translational Medicine that they were able to train monkeys to control two virtual limbs through a brain-computer interface (BCI). The rhesus monkeys initially used joysticks to become comfortable moving the avatar’s arms, but later the brain-computer interfaces implanted on their brains were activated to allow the monkeys to drive the avatar using only their minds. Two years ago the same team was able to train monkeys to control one arm, but the complexity of controlling two arms required the development of a new algorithm for reading and filtering the signals. Moreover, the monkey brains themselves showed great adaptation to the training with the BCI, building new neural pathways to help improve how the monkeys moved the virtual arms. As the authors of the study note in the abstract, “These findings should help in the design of more sophisticated BMIs capable of enabling bimanual motor control in human patients.”
Here’s a video of one of the avatars being controlled to tap on the white balls:",4542,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00194-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.927787601947784
fd568d8b-b57f-42de-8331-a249cbb618c9,2013-05-26T09:35:04+00:00,2010-05-26,1,"http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3894726,00.html","In a ceremony commemorating Jordan's independence day, Taher al-Masri, head of the country's senate, spoke of the ""state of two united banks,"" London-based al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Wednesday.
This is a rare and surprising statement, which may be interpreted as granting legitimization to the viewpoint that the Palestinian residents of the West Bank are part of the Hashemite Kingdom.
Speaking before an audience of some 1,000 people, including the royal family and Kind Abdullah II, al-Masri spoke of ""the two united banks, with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan emerging on both banks of the holy river.""
After the outbreak of the First Intifada
in 1987, Jordan's late King Hussein renounced all territorial claims over the West Bank. Jordan repeatedly emphasized that it is a separate entity from the West Bank, and that a solution to the Palestinian problem will not take place in its borders.
Since then, Jordanian officials have not only abstained from making such statements, but have also expressed fury any time Israeli elements make similar claims such as ""Jordan is the Palestinian state.""
The Jordanians were outraged last year when Knesset Member Arieh Eldad (National Union) submitted a bill calling for two states for two peoples on either side of the Jordan River. Amman protested to the Israeli ambassador in Jordan, and parliament members called on the government to cut ties with Israel.
There are also those that may interpret al-Masri's comments as more than a claim to responsibility over the Palestinians, but also as territorial ambitions in the West bank. Jordan's official stance rejects any such claims in light of its peace agreement with Israel.",347,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952616989612579
65338c54-5060-466e-8da2-0236d4a59cf3,2020-10-25T10:33:25+00:00,2020-10-22,0,https://www.livinginsider.com/livingdetail_en/434317/For-rent-Ideo-Sukhumvit-115.html,"Updated 2020-10-22 12:36
Ideo Sukhumvit 115 for rent. Studio room 1 bathroom, floor 18 , Size 27.5 sq.m. With TV, refrigerator, microwave, electric stove, water heater . ) Rent per month 8,000 baht Interested contact Anawin Mobile: 0885540725 Line: 0824881408 E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
There will be experts in the area contacting you soon.If you don't need help anymore Please click cancel in the email you received.",120,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888931.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025100059-20201025130059-00611.warc.gz,0.768912434577942
0f7a8dd7-61d4-4bd1-9a59-5cc2d989f09d,2018-08-20T13:03:19+00:00,2008-08-20,1,http://barrier-busting.com/tag/moores-law/,"I recently asked physicist Richard Muller whether he thought the price-performance of solar electricity generation would follow a Moore’s Law-type curve. He said that this would not occur due to improving the efficiency of solar collection, as the current levels of efficiency – 20-40% – are reasonably high. However, he added
“I do expect the price to drop by a factor of 10, so we will have lots of solar.”
Well, in the nature of things, there’s definitely a limit to how much energy a solar PV collector can get from a square meter of sunlight. (There’s about 1kw of energy in a square meter – as I learned in Physics For Future Presidents, by Professor Muller – so we can expect to get 400 watts or less.) The amount of this energy per square meter we can collect will go up, but asymptotically approach (at best) the physical limits.
On the other hand, I’d argue that the cost of collecting it can go down a nearly unlimited amount – certainly multiple orders of magnitude. So what will solar PV look like in 2018 – ten years from now?",239,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216453.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820121228-20180820141228-00045.warc.gz,0.944402456283569
42a290c1-1c48-458b-9b53-94333abdf812,2020-10-21T05:14:24+00:00,2020-08-06,1,https://ihodl.com/topnews/2020-08-06/russias-largest-tech-company-launch-its-own-financial-ecosystem/?topic=russia,"Russia's answer to Google, Yandex N.V., is planning to develop its own financial ecosystem, iHodl Russia has learned.
The tech giant has already registered 17 financial-related trademarks as a response to the recently completed reorganization of Joint Ventures with Russia's state-owned bank Sberbank.
Previously, Yandex exited the Yandex.Money Joint Venture. As a result, any financial services non-compete obligations between Yandex and Sberbank are now terminated.
Now the corporation wants to provide banking services, as well as enter the investment and insurance segments.
A Yandex representative did not tell about the timing of the launch of new projects.
""We often register trademarks or patents, but not all of them will find application in the future. This is a normal practice for large IT companies,"" the representative said.
As part of the financial ecosystem, Yandex may also enter into a partnership with a financial institution. According to experts, Russia's VTB Bank may become one.
iHodl earlier reported that Sberbank may issue its own stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Russian ruble.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.
According to Director of the Transaction Business Division of Sberbank Sergey Popov, the bank is considering issuing its own digital assets in accordance with the recently adopted law ""On Digital Financial Assets.""
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange.",330,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107875980.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021035155-20201021065155-00646.warc.gz,0.950440347194672
e52302e0-78de-4fc8-b8f8-5b5a94c0b6eb,2018-08-20T16:43:14+00:00,2017-08-20,0,http://taharn.net/post/xevbellringer-cam,"DooBeeDoo Naughty Blondie Cam at Live Cam Clips
DooBeeDoo Hot natural Russian teen with a natural blond hair and perfect D tits, playing around with her pussy and toying her ass on cam. An amazing ...
RoseDream BBW Cam Babe Cums at Live Cam Clips
Princess18, watch this wild and naughty busty cam babe as she fucked her pussy with a long dildo and later squirts and cums so hard.
HornyWhores.net | Free Sex, Free Porn, Free Direct Download
Wasted money on unreliable and slow multihosters? LinkSnappy is the only multihost that works. Download from ALL Filehosts as a premium user at incredibly ...
Vanessa Decker – MegaPack. Date of Birth: January 2, 1995 (22 years old) Place of Birth: Olomouc Country of Origin: Czech Republic Career Status: Active
Most extremely adult pornblog – Download most extreme porn ...
Psycho-Thrillers - Forever Mine - The Bride Categories: Strangle, Hanging, Rape, Death Fetish, Maniac, RolePlay Snuff Description: Starring: Tia Cyrus, Aaron",251,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216718.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820160510-20180820180510-00601.warc.gz,0.829752445220947
5b216b9d-fca7-4a16-b3f1-387616fb5ea5,2016-07-27T15:51:03+00:00,2012-06-14,1,http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2012/06/14/illinois-sides-gay-couples-marriage-equality-cases-and-says,"Illinois Sides With Gay Couples in Marriage Equality Cases, Says Ban Is Unconstitutional
The Illinois attorney general's office has announced that it will concede that the state's ban on marriages for same-sex couples is unconstitutional in conjunction with two lawsuits filed against the Cook County clerk.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan will file a brief in favor of the two lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and Lambda Legal challenging the county clerk's inability to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, the Chicago Tribune reports. The cases are Lazaro and Matos v. Orr, which represents nine same-sex couples, and Darby v. Orr, which represents 16 gay and lesbian couples.
In addition to Gov. Pat Quinn, Cook County clerk David Orr, who is named as the defendant in the lawsuits, says he agrees that same-sex couples should be allowed to legally wed.
Same-sex couples in Illinois are currently able to enter into civil unions.",199,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00013-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955516219139099
2b9ce73f-ab81-44b4-8b08-a653d7455b48,2013-05-20T02:31:46+00:00,2005-10-27,0,http://www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/depts/dev_serv/commissions/rd/minutes/2005/October_27_2005.asp,"MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
REDEVELOPMENT DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE
||FULLERTON CITY HALL
||October 27, 2005
CALL TO ORDER :
The meeting was called to order at 4:04 PM by Chairman Daybell
ROLL CALL :
|COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Chairman Daybell; Committee Members Cha, Duncan and Hoban
||COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Committee Member Hoffman
Judy Berg, Claudia Canfield, Fred Canfield, Mark Carnigan, Pat Cowan, Lynda Dykes, Rick Ellington, Jeff Goodfriend, Judith Kaluzny, Tom Lerdsunanrut, Tim Morgan, Jim Ranii, John Rapp, Xue Mei Ren, Jeff Reinhardt, Bob Root, Susannah Trejo, Pauline Wahler, Peter Whittingham
Chief Planner Rosen, Senior Planner Eastman, Associate Planner Sowers, Planning Technician Kathryn Ho, Clerical Staff Leopold, Redevelopment Project Manager Rob Ferrier
MOTION made by Committee Member Hoban to approve the minutes of October 13, 2005 as written SECONDED by Committee Member Cha. PASSED unanimously.
1. PRJ04-00004A - ZON04-00002A.
A request to modify the architecture approved under Major Site Plan ZON04-00002 located at 2200 N. Harbor Blvd. (generally located on the northeast corner of Harbor Blvd. and Bastanchury Road) (C-1) (Categorically exempt under Section: 15332 of the CEQA Guidelines). (HS)
Associate Planner Sowers provided a staff report on the project. For clarity staff noted that a condition has been recommended that an additional row of windows be added below the windows currently proposed. However, staff's recommendation would allow these new windows to be opaque and can be framed and covered with drywall on the interior of the building.
Chairman Daybell questioned if the existing trees (particularly the tree along Harbor Boulevard) are going to be removed. Peter Whittingham, Curt Pringle & Associates, applicant, answered that the tree is slated to be removed because of the bus turnout the City is requiring.
Senior Planner Eastman stated that as part of the approvals of the original project, a bus turnout was required. The specific tree discussed cannot be retained.
Chairman Daybell opened the meeting for public comment.
Peter Whittingham stated that he has worked on the CVS project for the past two years and has worked closely with staff, particularly on the re-submittal of the architecture. He stated the current plans better address the surrounding context than did the original plans, and they provide elements not typically included in the design of a CVS or any other pharmacy.
Mr. Whittingham introduced the CVS representatives including Lynda Dykes, CVS Realty Co., architect Tim Morgan, BSW International, and developers Pat Cowan and John Rapp, KZ Holdings.
Chairman Daybell asked Mr. Whittingham if he reviewed the recommended conditions for approval presented by staff in the report and if he agreed with them. Mr. Whittingham answered affirmatively.
Committee Member Duncan asked about the relationship between the round tower feature and the adjoining masonry walls, to determine if any relief or standoff existed. Mr. Morgan said the site and building pad is very tight with only 18 inches to work with, to pop out an architectural element. As currently designed, the sides of the building dive into the tower feature, offering no relief. However, the current dimensions do allow for shade and shadows to be created on the building exterior using the trellis structure.
There being no further comments from the public, Chairman Daybell turned the meeting over to Committee Member comments.
Committee Member Hoban said the St. Jude area is an opportunity for Fullerton to modernize. He liked the modern direction of the design but thought that even more modern elements (aluminum and glass) could be added.
Committee Member Cha had no comments.
Committee Member Duncan recommended the corner rotunda to be pushed back, if possible, to allow the side walls to project out, rather than dive into the tower. The walls should have more emphasis and strength. He felt that would just be a recommendation, but didn't think it needed to be a recommended condition of approval.
Mr. Morgan stated if the recommendation was done it would diminish the size of the tower. Staff had previously encouraged the architect to, because of the corner orientation of the building, create a strong entry statement.
Committee Member Duncan recommended the corner landscape not be a ""cookie cutter"" landscape. Because the parking surfaces come right up to the building, he said the front landscaping becomes crucial. He suggested that the designer take into consideration what the corner is doing to the building and allow a more forward thinking landscape design.
Chairman Daybell agreed with Committee Member Duncan's comments and also suggested the architect consider the building as viewed from Harbor Boulevard (the longer of the two street views) in its landscape design and include planting to soften the building. He reiterated that a quality landscape design is recommended and the applicant should work with staff on this design.
Committee Member Duncan made a MOTION to recommend approval of the project with staff recommendations. Committee Member Hoban SECONDED. PASSED 4 to 0.
For the benefit of the public attending, item was heard out of order.
5. Transportation Center Study Update
Redevelopment Project Manager Rob Ferrier gave a detailed review of the purpose and update of the 1995 study draft report and requested the committee provide input and comments on the project. The purpose of the 1995 study was to establish a vision and goals that could be used to guide development in and around the Transportation Center over a 10-year shelf life. The completion of the update would reinforce the City/Agency's commitment to public planning of Fullerton's historic core.
Mr. Ferrier gave an update on previous workshops arranged to discuss the study.
He stated the study would be presented at the upcoming meetings.
- Planning Commission, Wednesday, Nov. 9
- Agency Council will review and consider it for approval on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
Chief Planner Rosen announced to the committee that approximately 1,000 notices were mailed to the community regarding the meeting and several community members were in attendance to voice their opinions on the study.
Public hearing opened by Chairman Daybell.
Jim Ranii, 123 N. Cornell, was on the Pac 2 committee, which established the initial Downtown design review guidelines. Mr. Ranii expressed his concerns with the limited private and semi-public open space Downtown. He stated his ""nightmare"" vision of the Downtown, wherein development is limited to only two-story buildings, and as a result, every square inch of land was being taken up with buildings. He is pleased with the report and how it encourages higher buildings and higher density. Mr. Ranii said that is the only way we're going to get some valuable open space Downtown by allowing buildings to go up further in order to free up some square footage at the ground floor for public open space. He compared the city's population density with the largest cities, in 2000, including the number one city New York, 23,000 people per mile. He stated, in 2000, Fullerton had 5,600 people per square and is in one of the most densest areas in the United States, which is Orange County. He stated that we need to treat Fullerton more of an urban area than a suburban bedroom community. This plan identifies that and changes the tone of the Downtown, which is long overdue.
Bob Root, 56-year resident, gave the background on a study, paid for by the City of Fullerton, and done by the Arroyo group for the 1995 Transportation Center Study stating that the group talked about the benefits of adding a railroad activity or museum by the railroad station. Several community members came up with the idea of building a railroad museum built on the history of the City of Fullerton. In 1988/89 they incorporated the Fullerton Railway Association (FRA) and for 11 years have been working on a concept for a historical railroad museum. He stated that a railroad museum/attraction would truly be a great addition to the City of Fullerton and the developers should place more emphasis on this project. He said if a 48,000 square foot shell of a building could be acquired by the developers that the FRA could work with the state and federal government to develop it into the full size museum being contemplated.
Judith Kaluzny, 41-year resident who lives and works in downtown, said she participated in all four exercises, but the consultant did a great job in putting this together. She said there is a rumor that the bus station located across the railroad station is intended to move to the other side of Lemon. The city should get some farsighted transportation ideas to bring people Downtown. If the bus station was moved, it would discourage people to take public transportation.
Mark Carnigan, 2538 Wallace, had a concern with the overemphasis presented in narrowing the streets and broadening the sidewalks for pedestrian access. He supports pedestrian access and says it would be great for the Downtown, but doesn't think it would work on the major boulevard, because of the high traffic demand, which will continue. Expanded traffic studies should be conducted to find out the traffic demand in Fullerton. Perhaps if the city loses on-street parking, it can convert it to additional traffic lanes or adding/eliminating longer left turn traffic pockets. Mr. Carnigan agrees with modifying the FAR's stating it is restrictive in making Fullerton look like a two-story surburban shopping center. Fullerton is far more urban and will continue to get more urban. He questioned if someone could look into a system where FAR could be increased without requiring a CUP.
Public hearing closed by Chairman Daybell and turned over to the committee for comments.
Committee Member Duncan said the consultant did an excellent job and the community has demonstrated an excellent knowledge and caring attitude about what happens in the city. This project is a great planning tool with wonderful intentions of what will occur in the future. The process including staff involvement, developers, consultants, committee and community involved should result in and excellent outcome for future projects.
Committee Member Duncan stated he is in support of the train museum. In regard to the comments made on pedestrian circulation and green space into the Downtown area, a good opportunity would be to add green space along the existing Flood Control District channels. This would reduce the number of vehicular and pedestrian conflicts with crossings by creating pedestrian/bike paths. He would like to see a lot of things implemented from the document.
Committee Member Cha said he thinks the traffic and parking should be enhanced in this project area, since it is a core part of Fullerton and the future of Fullerton. And the city should keep in mind how much additional parking we'll need 10 years from now. He stated the height should not be limited in this project area.
Committee Member Hoban stated he supports the rail station and had questions regarding the train usership. He favors the historic element of a museum and fully supports the document and recommends to uplift the rail station usage in the report. Committee Member Hoban supports the importance of outdoor zones for pedestrians and green space. He stated the buildings should go up rather than out, as you move away from the Harbor Blvd. frontage.
Chairman Daybell said if we overcrowd the traffic coming through the area via Harbor, we will choke Harbor and create a traffic jam and should create a better traffic flow. He thinks it's favorable to tighten Harbor rather than Lemon and Highland, but doesn't think it is feasible without creating a traffic jam. He stated he could see a lot of merit if the sidewalks on Harbor would be widened to 12 ft. The success of the Downtown is not only the people who reside here, but those who work, live and visit here. Chairman Daybell stated if we choke the incoming streets, we'll regret it.
Chairman Daybell recommended that the City work with the College District regarding the green space issue on Lemon and Chapman and work with the Orange County Flood Control District on the water channels.
With no further comments from the committee, Chairman Daybell closed this item.
The meeting was moved to the City Council Conference Room.
2. PRJ04-01164 - ZON05-00024.
A request for the development of a 14-unit (per unit: 429 sq. ft. garage; 185 sq. ft. first floor; 462 sq. ft. second floor, 500 sq. ft. third floor) attached condominium project in Community Improvement District (CID) located at 918 S. Highland. (generally on the east side of Highland Avenue between 150 and 275 feet south of Knepp Avenue, west to Tamarack Drive) (R-3) (Categorically exempt under Section: 15332 of the CEQA Guidelines). (HS)
Associate Planner Sowers presented the staff report for this project. She stated the project complies with a code from the site plan perspective.
Staff looked at two main elements in the design of the site including:
- The project did not look like a though street to Tamarack
- Maximize open space
Both things have been accomplished.
Staff concerns included:
Architecture incorporates some craftsman elements but isn't a fully craftsman building in style. Staff recommendation is to essentially decide what architecture the buildings want to be and go in that direction either to continue with craftsman elements and staff would recommend certain details to be added; or simplify the building. Either approach would work as long as it's consistent.
Staff recommendation is to revise the architecture and have that come back to the RDRC for review and ultimate recommendation to the Planning Commission. Associate Planner Sowers stated staff would like the RDRC to comment on the specifics of the architecture and staff recommendations, or make a recommendation on the project.
Chairman Daybell opened the meeting for public comment.
Property owner Xue Mei Ren and architect Chris Lo were present. Senior planner Eastman asked Mr. Lo if he read the staff report. Mr. Lo answered yes.
Committee Member Cha asked why the street was blocked going to Tamarack Dr.
Associate Planner Sowers answered it was created for emergency vehicle access only. The residents would only enter and exit from Highland; a through street condition would not be created. Staff does not want the driveway of this project to become a shortcut for residents on Tamarack.
Committee Member Cha also questioned the wrought iron fencing. Associate Planner Sowers said the fence would have a gate that could be accessed by emergency personnel.
Committee Member Hoban asked about the jog in the south property line. Associate Planner Sowers stated that one of the other applications was to abandon a portion of an alley terminus, which has never been developed. While the alley terminus was never constructed, the proposal does not worsen the existing conditions, and will not create a situation where someone comes down in the alley and is unable to turn around. Staff is requiring the applicant to jog the fence location, so the project can leave a turnaround in the alley to accommodate the abandonment.
Committee Member Hoban asked if the split-face block is on both sides or is going to be only for the new development?
Senior Planner Eastman answered that typically staff's recommendation would be for the block to be split-faced on both sides. Committee Member Hoban stated that often it is one side only to save cost.
There being no further comments from the public, Chairman Daybell turned the meeting over to the Committee for comments.
Committee Member Hoban said he wasn't excited about the project because of the box buildings in a box format. If it's going to be a craftsman-style building, it should have those elements. The air conditioning units need to be rearranged and relocated from the entrance. He said he was not completely opposed to a three-story building, but would not make every level of the building three story and in box format. They should vary in number of stories and in their roof lines. The units should be arranged differently. Committee Member Hoban stated he would not support this project at this time.
Committee Member Cha said if it would be costly to change the design and create a better looking building which he believed could not be justified economically. In comparing this project to the surrounding areas, this development is better than what currently exists. Committee Member Cha stated he would like to approve this project with the conditions recommended by staff.
Committee Member Duncan gave his opinion that craftsman-style should not be included in this project. The design can go in that direction, but the building form does not typify the craftsman style. The garage elevation works, but it is the other elevations (front elevations and east and west ends) where there is a lack of correct proportion. Some of the forms can be worked with. A thin three story treatment which runs from the ground all the way to the top makes it look like a thin tower next to the smaller one. He encouraged different heights of the buildings and the architectural details and felt that the buildings appeared too narrow.
Committee Member Duncan liked the site plan, central open space area, landscape. However, he was concerned with the front entries where the washer and dryer would be located and stated they could be reworked into a nicer entry. He agrees with staff recommendations to add a wall. Committee Member Duncan recommends the project come back before the RDRC for review.
Chairman Daybell agreed with Committee Member Hoban's comments. He can't agree with a third story development that would be in a surrounding area of two story buildings. He stated the building is too boxy and should be no more than two story, or develop the split-level idea instead of being all three-story buildings. Chairman Daybell did not support this project.
Committee Member Duncan asked if Chairman Daybell would be open two story elements with three stories and gaining a floor variety in certain areas of the design.
Chairman Daybell answered saying perhaps on a limited basis, but that particular part of town is primarily two story buildings and is not ready to go up vertically yet. He said he would probably support something with a limited amount of third story, but not the entire project.
Chief Planner Rosen stated that area is predominantly two stories.
Committee Member Hoban agreed with Chairman Daybell and said he would like a variation of stories. He stated the committee needs to focus on the architecture of the project and make sure the fundamental design's best they can make it, and not be driven by the economics of the applicant or surrounding area.
Committee Member Hoban made a MOTION to DENY project. SECONDED by Committee Member Duncan.
Prior to a vote, Senior Planner Eastman asked if the committee wanted to entertain a continuance should the applicant be willing to revise the plan.
Chairman Daybell recommended to continue the project rather than deny.
Committee Member Hoban asked the applicant if she would be willing to take back the plan and revise it, taking into consideration the committee/staff comments.
The applicant's realtor Joy commented that the applicant was frustrated because of the lengthy process this project was going through.
The applicant, Xue Mei Ren, stated she has owned the property for two years and it has not been approved.
Chief Planner Rosen stated the abandonment would be taken as a separate item and taken with a recommendation of the Planning Commission. The Commission would approve the site plan subject to the condition of the abandonment approval of the alley to the Council.
Chief Planner Rosen said the RDRC can recommend denial without prejudice which allows the applicant to reapply at any time, or continue the matter to a future hearing date and allow the applicant to work with staff between now and the next meeting. Or they can accept the denial at this time and go forward to the Planning Commission with the denial recommendation from the RDRC.
Senior Planner Eastman explained to the applicant the process the RDRC takes when making a recommendation to the Planning Commission and when denying a project. He asked the applicant if she understood the situation.
Senior Planner Eastman said she had three options:
- Move forward to the Planning Commission with the project proposed and recommendation of denial.
- Ask for a continuance to revise the design per the RDRC and comments, and bring it back to the RDRC for a second review before going to the Planning Commission.
- To ask for a continuance to have two weeks to consider her options and bring back to the RDRC at a further meeting, and present a project with just minor revisions. At that time, the RDRC can make a recommendation.
Associate Planner Sowers reiterated the options available to the applicant.
The realtor inquired about allowing a two-story building with subterranean parking. Chairman Daybell said subterranean parking would not be a problem. He stated his recommendation would be a maximum of two stories and that a three-story building would be too high for the area as it is currently designed.
The realtor told the committee on behalf of the applicant that she would accept the two weeks to make her decision.
MOTION made by Committee Member Hoban to AMEND first motion and CONTINUE project rather than recommended denial.
3. PRJ05-00665 - ZON05-00089. Minor Development Project for a 710 square foot room addition to the main residence on a two-unit property at 415 Jacaranda (generally located on the north side of Jacaranda, approximately 150 west of Ford Avenue) (R-1-7.2) (Categorically exempt under Section: 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines). (HS)
Senior Planner Eastman stated the people in attendance were substitutes for the applicant. The actual property owner was out of the country and could not attend.
Associate Planner Sowers gave the staff report on this project. The conditions recommended by staff are to make sure architectural details of the existing house are carried over into construction drawings for the addition.
Chairman Daybell questioned if the rear detached structures were permitted. Associate Planner Sowers said they were. The dwelling is legal nonconforming and built with the benefit of permits. It's nonconforming because the lot is zoned R-1 and this is a second dwelling. That nonconforming unit could not be expanded.
Committee Member Hoban questioned the setback was measured from the building wall or the eave line. Associate Planner Sowers answered that the setback is measured from the property line to the building face. Eave can encroach into the setback up to 18 inches.
Chairman Daybell opened the meeting for public comment. He asked if those in attendance were able to act on behalf of the property owner. Susana Trejo, resident and daughter of the applicant, said she would be able to respond on behalf of the applicant. At this time she had no comments.
Associate Planner Sowers said Katie and Tom Dalton with Fullerton Heritage were in attendance earlier and had some questions about the project. They wanted to know if the project met the floor area limitations of the preservation zone; and if the applicant was maintaining the exterior details of the house and carried them over to the addition. Associate Planner Sowers answered yes to all their questions.
Chairman Daybell turned the meeting over to the Committee for comments.
Committee Member Duncan said he was in approval of the project, along with the recommendations.
Chief Planner Rosen asked the applicant if the owner had read the conditions. Ms. Trejo said she was unaware whether or not her mother had seen the conditions and said she would return on Saturday.
Committee Member Hoban said it was a cute bungalow, but was concerned that the contractor should be told not put a seam where the new siding meets the old, or use trim to cover the seam. He stated that the new siding should be ""feathered"" into the existing siding. Committee Member Hoban was in support of the project.
Chairman Daybell is in support of the project and recommended the applicant obtain some comments from building contractors on the feasibility of expanding as they are proposing.
He said it may be difficult to get the space they're after because of the way the house is supported and built - a lot of the structural support members will be removed as proposed.
Committee Member Duncan added the condition of the feathering or replacement of the front faade siding and that there be no vertical seam.
Senior Planner Eastman recommended a second condition stating that, if the property owner should have concerns with the conditions of approval, that she have the ability to return the project to the RDRC within the 10 day appeal period without a fee. If she would like to appeal it to the Planning Commission, then a fee would be charged.
Committee Member Hoban made a MOTION to APPROVE the project with the staff recommendations included in the report and the additional stated conditions. Passed
4 - 0.
This following item was not heard at this time.
4 PRJ05-00677 - ZON05-00094. A request to demolish existing buildings and construct a three unit condominium project on property in a Community Improvement District (CID) zone, located at 115 and 117 Southgate Ave. (R-3) (Categorically exempt under Section: 15303 of the CEQA Guidelines). (JE)
Senior Planner Eastman identified that this project will be heard at a later date as the proposal submitted did not comply with the code, and there are a number of outstanding design concerns.
Senior Planner Eastman gave an update on the Planning Commission meeting from Oct. 26, 2005 regarding the Transportation Center Study Update, OC Transit Authority presentation and the Providence project, in addition to an update on the Olson project.
MOTION made by Committee Member Hoban and SECONDED by Chariman Daybell to adjourn meeting at 6:15 P.M.",5442,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96472179889679
a44bdfd4-ebf5-475d-8f27-f806ddf81e6c,2019-08-17T14:56:32+00:00,2019-03-23,0,https://www.sdzsafaripark.org/butterflyjungle/,"Butterfly Jungle 2019
March 23–May 12
In this much-anticipated annual celebration, you can walk through a greenhouse filled with thousands of butterflies of all colors and sizes. Wear bright colors, and you may find the winged wonders perching on you! Enjoy taking amazing photos and “putting a face to a name” using the butterfly identification guides provided. Don’t let this magical moment flutter by without you!
Priority Viewing TicketsLocation: Nairobi Village
Priority butterfly viewing is available for an additional fee. Inquire at the Priority Viewing ticket booth.
Treats for ButterfliesLocation: Nairobi Village
Stay very still as you hold a special, approved treat, and get an up-close and personal view of the butterfly eating out of your hand! Butterfly food may be purchased at the Priority Viewing ticket booth. Feeding times vary as butterfly appetites dictate. Sorry, no outside food items allowed.",200,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00348.warc.gz,0.8787761926651
5205bba4-7e68-4716-9692-44255d497ecb,2013-05-24T08:43:40+00:00,2012-09-08,0,http://favstar.fm/users/JesswithaJ,"Favstar gets even better if you sign in.
In case no one my age was feeling withered and old this morning, just thought I'd let you know Jonathan Taylor Thomas turned 30 today.
When talking about food, never say 'I like ___ , but ___ doesn't like me'. It just makes people picture you violently shitting.
My favorite part of visiting grandparents is the liberal and casual use of words like queers, negros and chinks.
Going out with a friend's new GF tonight. It's only right that I get drunk & vomit all over her to assert my dominance as alpha female.
God help me, but I just really love alcohol a whole lot.
If you refer to coffee as 'java' you're probably just awful.
If I've learned anything from #FindingBigfoot it's that absolutely everything you see & hear in the bush is, in fact, a bigfoot.
Those mini bar bottles of Scope are great for when you need that little 3 pm pick me up but also require customer-ready breath.
I don't care how annoying your grandparents are, be nice to them. Some of us would kill to be annoyed by ours.
I'm tired. And my hair hurts.
Had three babies this morning, like a boss.
2000th Tweet!!!!! Wow, I really wasted that, didn't I?
That's enough, Christmas.
If you invest in real cranberry juice you can mix it with an ungodly amount of vodka. #TheMoreYouKnow
Does anyone know who makes that eau de dentist office cologne that middle aged gentlemen seem to fancy?
""You smell like the inside of mama's purse."" #CreepyCompliments
How do you get a job as the model on the abortion helpline billboards? Does experience count? #MyPolishTweet
Enough with the 'first world problems' bullshit every time someone complains about something. That's. Where. We. Live.
The only people who call me 'Jessica' are ones who don't know me, don't like me, or my in laws. Oh.
I feel as though I'm funnier than I get credit for.",456,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961154043674469
3acc8405-0d65-4da5-9ca2-70aa45046a52,2015-03-29T11:21:36+00:00,2013-07-02,0,http://www.hcpl.net/print/13929,"Need to consult the U.S. Census?
Come and learn how to use HeritageQuest and Ancestory.com at our Genealogy Database Demo on Friday, August 2nd from 11:00 to 12:00.
The demo is held in the Barbara Bush Library Friends Computer Lab.
These classes are popular so registration is required. You can register by going online to www.hcpl.net  or by calling the library at 281-376-4610
We are now offering Genealogical Research Database Demos one Friday a month at 11:00 AM. The date varies. Registration for each class opens 30 days prior to the class. Please call for the schedule.
Classes presented by librarian, Margaret Davis
|genTree.jpg ||31.68 KB|",162,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00223-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.849389255046844
4ae5bd08-54e1-433c-a2c6-0a2664fbb4f8,2019-08-24T20:14:27+00:00,2019-06-18,0,https://www.polaroid-digital.com/the-fed-can-fall-back-as-a-driver-of-currency-effects/,"The nominal interest rate is the rate of interest before adjusting for inflation. This is how money supply and money demand come together to determine nominal interest rates in an economy. These explanations are also accompanied by relevant graphs that will help illustrate these economic transactions.
Century Communities, Inc. announces new model grand opening at Canyon Springs in Springville June 15 Processed World #33 – Not willing to stoop to such levels of shameless brown-nosing, I begin to peruse the dictionary for new words to use in scrabble. Again, I must slam the book shut as the President of the company walks.
macroeconomics – How interest rate affects currency – Economics. – Also note that there's no reason to expect the central bank to change supply. But note that inflation can have different drivers – demand or cost.. demand shifts left (falls) -> prices fall (prices falling means inflation is reduced;. want to put your money into the one with the higher returns, meaning you have.
The impact won’t be all bad as the Fed raises rates. As the fed funds rate goes up, so, too, will the yields on short-term bonds funds. But keep in mind that this process doesn’t happen overnight. It occurs gradually over time as funds’ holdings mature and portfolio managers replace them with newer, higher-yielding securities.
Builders don’t have skills’ to cut energy use in homes Ways to reduce costs when building a new home – Latest News. – Similarly, building your own home can save you the cost of a builder, but if you don’t have experience with home construction you may end up paying more in the long run for any faults in the building. Overall, it’s best to keep a cool head and use it to call the shots rather than listening to your heart.
Federal Reserve, the Economy and CD Rate Forecast – June 18, 2019 – Money Market. Even though the Fed will probably not cut rates, there are. The 1-month Treasury yield had the largest decline, falling 8 bps from two weeks ago.. Trade tensions appear to be the primary driver of this decline.. see the Federal Reserve cut U.S. interest rates back to zero within a year.
PDF Econ 20B- Additional Problem Set I. multiple choices. choose. – Econ 20B- Additional Problem Set I. MULTIPLE CHOICES. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement to answer the question. 1According to the theory of liquidity preference, the money supply a. and money demand are positively related to the interest rate. b. and money demand are negatively related to the interest rate.
3 Reasons Why Countries Devalue Their Currency. They create uncertainty in global markets that can cause asset markets to fall or spur. devaluing their own currency back and forth in a race.
3 Things to Know in the Housing Market Today! 3 Things to Know in the Housing Market Today! | Kasner. – Some we just don’t know yet. The following three areas of the housing market are critical to understand: interest rates, building materials, and the outlook for an economic slowdown. 1. Interest Rates. One of the most important things to consider when buying a home is the interest rate you will be charged to borrow the money.
How the Fed's big balance sheet unwind may affect markets. – How the Fed’s big balance sheet unwind may affect markets. strategist predict that Treasury prices will fall, banks across the globe to unfurl easy-money policies to buoy domestic.
Federalism [ushistory.org] – Or why you can use the same currency in all states, but not be subject to the same. In a federal system, power is shared by the national and state governments.
Currency Devaluation and Revaluation – FEDERAL RESERVE BANK. – Effects of Devaluation A significant danger is that by increasing the price of imports and stimulating greater demand for domestic products, devaluation can aggravate inflation. If this happens, the government may have to raise interest rates to control inflation, but at the cost of slower economic growth.",858,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321696.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824194521-20190824220521-00100.warc.gz,0.918133556842804
c6efa869-023a-4598-8bc7-6b161c8b0c24,2022-05-22T08:29:33+00:00,2020-10-12,0,https://foterrajewelry.com/blogs/news/best-gifts-for-the-woman-who-loves-to-travel,"October 12, 2020
If you're a traveler, you get it. Every time you go on a trek around the world you see so many wonderful things that you wish you could scoop up and carry with you. You treasure your memories and you take lots of photos, but how do you keep those wonderful memories present with you?
Photos can end up in photo albums on your coffee table, which is lots of fun. However, they’re not exactly portable. Digital photos, which are a bit more portable, can easily get lost among all the other photos on your phone.
So, how do you keep those memories alive and display them in a place where you’ll get to see and enjoy them?
Why not wear them as jewelry?
The gorgeous places you’ve visited (or want to visit) are perfect accessories for the avid traveler. And, with things as they are right now with travel restrictions, who knows how long it will be before we can all get out and explore the world once more? Visual reminders of favorite destinations make the perfect gifts for those whose wanderlust is kicking in hard. Check out these amazing photo jewelry ideas that make the best gifts for her!
There are so many gorgeous destinations on planet Earth. It only makes sense that they can be turned into stunning and fashionable jewelry. At Foterra Jewelry, we have a list of incredibly talented photographers who provide us with stunning images that we can turn into unusual and eye-catching jewelry.
Photo earrings come in a variety of shapes and styles including dangling earrings and posts. Hoops are gorgeous with a half-circle section filling the bottom with a beautiful image of something in nature.
Wave shapes a perfect for showing off the ocean, and teardrops are great for showcasing flowers. Circular posts are fantastic for spotlighting a single subject, such as the silhouette of a tree or lighthouse. Many more stunning designs give you an array of options to choose the perfect gift.
Pendants are a fantastic way for your gift recipient to wear her favorite destination (or dream destination) close to her heart. Ocean, sunset, floral, and mountain scenes give you the chance to choose a unique gift that is sure to delight the recipient. There's something for every traveler!
Bracelets allow the wearer herself to fully enjoy the beauty and brilliance of her photo jewelry gift. Choose from three basic styles, the elegant chain bracelet, the more casual slide bracelet, and the fun and flirty bangle bracelet.
Chain bracelets with a long bar great for showing off the gorgeous line where the sky meets the sea. The more casual look of the SLIDE collection is perfect for everyday wear. Choose from 7 colors for the nylon cord to personalize the look of the bracelet even more.
Is there anything on Earth more brilliant and more colorful than a sunset in all it’s incredible glory? We’ll let you be the judge of that, but we certainly do think sunsets images make lovely jewelry!
Browse our sunsets collection and decide for yourself. Would the brilliant oranges and yellows of “Sunset Is My Favorite Color” make the perfect gift? Or would the more muted blues of our “From This Day, Diamond Head” more suit your giftee?
Take a look here and see what jumps out at you.
The mountains always provide a plethora of stunning vistas to photograph striking images. And our varied mountain jewelry collection showcases the range of beauty these locations boast.
From bamboo forests to mountain mists to the colorful display of the Northern Lights, this collection offers a wide variety of breathtaking images to choose from.
Check them out here as a gift for your intrepid traveler!
Perhaps the most unique gifts for travelers are those created from their own photos. Professional travel photos are glorious and most likely more “better” photos technically speaking. However, photos that your traveler friends have taken themselves hold a special meaning.
With a customized piece of jewelry made from her own travel photos, the recipient of your gift will be taken back to the moment when she took the photo. It will remind her of what she saw and how she felt on that trip. It is the priceless gift of keeping her travel memories alive and close to her heart.
Start by browsing our extensive selection of shapes that you can use to create a custom piece of jewelry. We offer a variety of pendant shapes that can be used as earrings, necklaces, and even dangle bracelets. Choose from circles, hearts, long crescents, ocean waves, teardrops, fan-shapes, bars, and more.
Next, you’ve got to choose the photo you want to use in the jewelry. Be very careful about your selection. Choosing a photo for a small piece of jewelry isn’t the same as choosing a photo for larger photo gifts like mugs or pillows.
Photos of people often don’t work well, although something like a silhouette against a sunset sky can work because of the strong contrast. In general, choose something colorful that will stand out or an image that has plenty of contrast. Learn more here about choosing the perfect photo for your custom photo jewelry HERE!
COVID-19 restrictions have affected us all in different ways. The avid traveler, however, is especially affected. Travelers are an adventurous group of people who love to get out and experience the world. They like to explore new locations, meet new people, learn about different cultures. COVID-19 restrictions have put virtually all of that on hold.
A thoughtful piece of jewelry showcasing a destination your special traveler loved exploring or would love to visit one day, is the perfect way to show you care.
Then, one day when things get back to normal, she can go visit that spot and send you a meaningful picture of her showing off her special piece of jewelry.
Browse our jewelry collections or order your personalized photo gifts for women travelers today!
Comments will be approved before showing up.
November 10, 2021
November 09, 2021",1249,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545090.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522063657-20220522093657-00008.warc.gz,0.934189200401306
a4d0144a-1049-4b9f-b91d-f53622abecdf,2015-04-01T18:00:45+00:00,2010-10-25,1,http://www.thestreet.com/story/10803464/1/novelos-therapeutics-announces-positive-phase-2-results-in-nov-002-neoadjuvant-breast-cancer-trial-at-sylvester-comprehensive-cancer-center-at-the-university-of-miami.html,"Novelos Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: NVLT), a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to treat cancer and hepatitis, today announced positive results in a Phase 2 trial of NOV-002 in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy treatment in patients with stage IIB-IIIC HER-2/neu negative invasive breast cancer, conducted by the Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Alberto Montero, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Miller School and medical oncologist at Sylvester, is the Principal Investigator.
This Phase 2 open-label, single-arm, Simon 2-Stage trial was designed to determine if preoperative administration of NOV-002 in combination with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel (AC-T) results in at least a doubling in the rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) compared to a historical control. For NOV-002 to be declared active at the end of the trial, a minimum of 12 patients must achieve a pCR. This criterion of 12 pCRs has been met prior to all patients completing the trial. Patient enrollment continues and some patients are still in the NOV-002 treatment stage. Trial results have been submitted for presentation to the AACR Breast Cancer Symposium taking place in San Antonio, TX, in December 2010. The Phase 2 trial design can be found on www.clinicaltrials.gov – ID: NCT00499122, or via a link at www.novelos.com ‘Clinical Trials’ section.
“In this trial where now 39 breast cancer patients have been enrolled from three different hospitals we have 12 confirmed pathologic complete responses out of 31 patients (39%) who have undergone surgery, which is higher than what has been previously reported with preoperative chemotherapy, consisting of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel, in HER-2 negative breast cancer patients,” said Dr. Montero. “By comparison the published pCR rate in several trials with an anthracycline followed by a taxane chemotherapy in patients with HER-2 negative breast cancer is in the range of 10-20%. We also continue to observe very high pCR rates in the breast cancer subtype least sensitive to chemotherapy, hormone receptor positive breast cancer, also known as luminal subtype, thus far we have confirmed pCR in approximately 11/26 (42%) of all ER+ pts. These results I believe provide preliminary data that further trials of NOV-002 plus chemotherapy in breast cancer are warranted.”",559,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00035-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.929615318775177
a8880be9-6605-4ba9-8852-7a4275ce78af,2022-05-27T18:45:26+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://guide.hrintervals-intervallesrh.ca/hc/en-ca/articles/5970756111891-Sample-employee-expense-policy,"Employee expense policies vary from organization to organization, but they typically include eligible expenses, how expenses are approved, reimbursement amounts, and the guidelines for claiming expenses. Having an employee expense policy helps approvers and claimants determine reasonable and appropriate expenses and promotes consistency and transparency across the organization.
The following issues should be considered when drafting an expense policy:
- What expenses are eligible and ineligible — and which require supporting documentation?
- Will managers have discretion to approve expenses?
- Do employees need pre-approval before incurring expenses?
- Are employees expected to use the most economical means of transportation? Train, plane, or car?
- Are employees expected to use economy or business class when traveling?
- Are employees expected to use their own vehicle?
- Are employees expected to rent cars or use taxicabs, ride sharing options, or public transit when traveling?
- Who approves travel?
- Who approves expenses?
- How are per diem rates set? How often are they reviewed? How are they benchmarked? For example, sometimes provincial directives inform travel and per diem rates.
In your policy/procedure, consider how you expect employees to make travel arrangements. Do they book on their own and submit expenses or will you have a designated travel coordinator?
Sample Employee Expense Policy
Note: This sample policy has been provided by an anonymous organization.
This policy sets out the principles, accountability framework, and rules for reimbursing all travel, meal and hospitality expenses while undertaking business on behalf of the Organization.
This policy applies to:
- Claimants: Board members, appointees, committee and subcommittee members, advisory committee members, employees, and contract staff or external persons retained by the Organization that request the reimbursement of travel, meal and hospitality expenses that are eligible for and incurred on behalf of the Organization; and
- Approvers: Those with responsibility for approval of travel and expense reimbursement including the Board as a whole, the Board Chair, Board members, and the Chief Executive Officer, and those personnel with delegated approval authority.
- Legitimate authorized expenses incurred during the course of the Organization’s business shall be reimbursed.
- The Organization is accountable for the funds used to reimburse travel, meal and hospitality expenses. These expenses support the Organization’s business objectives, and must be prudent and responsible.
- The requirements for incurring and reimbursing travel, meal and hospitality expenses must be clear, easily understood, and available to the public. Plans for travel, meals, accommodation and hospitality are necessary and must be economical, with due regard for health and safety.
- Appropriate approvals must be obtained in writing before incurring expenses. If approval was not obtained, then a satisfactory written explanation must be provided.
- Written approval is required before travelling.
- Written approval of the Chief Executive Officer is required for hospitality events where alcohol will be served. If the event is being hosted by the Chief Executive Officer, the Board Chair must provide written approval.
- Expenses incurred by the Chair will be approved by the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board.
- Expenses cannot be self-approved.
- Original, itemized receipts must be submitted with all claims — credit card slips are not sufficient. If an itemized receipt is not available, a satisfactory written explanation must be submitted. Approval of expenses missing a receipt is at the discretion of the approver.
- Receipt is defined as an original document identifying the vendor with the date and amount of each expense item paid by the claimant.
- Other options for meetings should be considered before travel is approved, including audio or video conferences.
- Alcohol may not be claimed by an individual and will not be reimbursed as part of a travel or meal expense.
- Hospitality may be extended by the Organization to people who are not engaged in work for the Organization if it can facilitate the Organization’s core business and when it is considered desirable as a matter of courtesy or protocol. Food must always be served at hospitality events where alcohol is available, and the cost of any alcohol should not exceed the cost of the food.
- Social events for the Organization’s employees, such as luncheons, picnics, farewell functions and celebrations are not reimbursable. Food and beverages served at these events must be contributed by staff.
- Consultants and other contractors will not be reimbursed for any hospitality, incidental or food expenses. However, where the contract between the Organization and a consultant provides for reimbursement of reasonable expenses for travel by air, rail or car or for hotel accommodation, the Organization shall reimburse these expenses in accordance with this policy, provided that they are approved in advance.
- Claims must be submitted within 60 (sixty) days of the end of the month in which the expense was incurred. Failure to do so could result in disqualification for reimbursement.
- Overpayments are to be considered a debt owing to the Organization which must be reimbursed.
- Good record-keeping practices must be maintained for verification and audit purposes.
Eligible reimbursable expenses
The Organization will reimburse direct out-of-pocket expenses for business purposes. Expenses of a personal nature are not eligible for reimbursement.
Eligible expenses include but are not limited to:
- Use of privately owned vehicle for business purposes;
- Meals when travelling for business or business lunches/dinners;
- Food and/or refreshments for business meetings hosted by the Organization;
- Transportation and accommodation when travelling for business purposes; and
- Parking, taxi fare or public transportation when away from the workplace.
Non-eligible expenses include but are not limited to:
- Personal items, personal entertainment, personal care;
- Recreational items related to accommodation costs (mini-bar, video rental);
- Traffic, towing and parking violations;
- Travel costs for a regular commute between home and the Organization;
- Vehicle insurance on a privately-owned vehicle while on the Organization’s business;
- Expenses incurred on behalf of family or friends; and
- Expenses not directly tied to conducting business of the Organization.
Records must be maintained for verification and audit purposes. Expense claims must include original or scanned itemized receipts (credit card slips are not sufficient). In the absence of an itemized receipt, a written explanation of why the receipt is unavailable must be submitted and a description itemizing and confirming the expense must be provided.
Expenses for business meals require receipts and must adhere to the amounts allowed. The expense form is completed on a monthly basis and submitted to the approver for processing.
Identify the person or position employees can approach if they have questions.
Reference any other policies, documents, or legislation that support the interpretation of this policy.
Indicate the date the policy came into effect and the date of any revisions.
Indicate the date the policy is due to be reviewed. This will vary based upon the policy.
Indicate who approved the policy and the date of approval (for example, the board, the human resources policy committee, the executive director).
Visit our article on Drafting an HR Policy to learn more about developing HR policies.
Important: This document is an example of a policy for a small to medium-size nonprofit organization operating in Canada. While certain assumptions have been made in the creation of this policy, it is your responsibility to adapt, modify, and customize the document to suit the particular needs of your organization.
The content of this sample policy is provided for information purposes only. No legal liability or other responsibility is accepted by or on behalf of HR Intervals, Imagine Canada, or its partners for any errors, omissions, or statements made within this document. HR Intervals, Imagine Canada, and its partners accept no responsibility for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of reliance on such information.",1661,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00426.warc.gz,0.930345118045807
2221b1e6-ab70-4f5c-838d-dc3c8351a3b5,2017-08-17T06:06:45+00:00,2006-02-27,0,http://www.jta.org/2006/02/28/archive/ad-campaign-by-israel-group-aims-to-boost-ethiopian-israeli-image,"TEL AVIV (Feb. 27)
The sound of lilting music grows louder as the camera zooms in on a face in shadow. In the corner of the television screen the person’s statistics are flashed: age 25, lawyer, represents Israel abroad. A light is then cast onto the face, revealing a young Ethiopian Israeli woman wearing a business suit. In accentless Hebrew she says with a hint of defiance: “You did not expect to see me, did you? There are many others like me.”
The same format is used to highlight other Ethiopian Israelis, including a soccer star, a deputy battalion commander in the army and one who recently earned a doctorate.
The ad is part of a campaign launched by the Israeli Ministry of Immigration Absorption and the Jewish Agency for Israel to boost the image of the country’s 100,000 Ethiopians. In the eyes of many Israelis, Ethiopian immigration to Israel has been a failure. Most encounter Ethiopians through the media, where they are depicted as unemployed, poor and plagued by family violence. The younger generation is seen as adrift and drawn increasingly to a life of crime.
The campaign aims to show the Israeli public young Ethiopians who have found success such as Maj. Shlomi Vicha, 27, a company commander in the Israeli army. In charge of three combat platoons, Vicha said he feels it is now his time to give back to the country that took him in as a young child who immigrated without his parents — and housed and educated him and his siblings.
“I have no doubt that the army is the best place for having an equal chance for success just like everyone else,” Vicha added. “Everyone is equal here and whoever wants to succeed will succeed.”
He has spent time speaking to Ethiopian youth. “I do what I can to contribute and explain to them about the army and how they can contribute,” he said. “It’s important that there are success stories so the public at large will see the other side and also so there can be models for the schoolchildren so they know that they too can succeed and go forward.”
The statistics, however, are discouraging. Research conducted by the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews has found that among those who are employed, the majority work in blue-collar jobs and live below the poverty line, Ethiopian students drop out of high school at twice the rate of the general population and juvenile crime is rampant.
The aggressive advertising campaign, being promoted on television, radio, the Internet and in newspapers, is aimed at casting a positive light on the community by focusing on its success stories. It also marks the arrival of the first major arrival of Ethiopian Jews to Israel 30 years ago.
“We’ve decided we need to make an overture to the public, to include the public in their absorption,” said Jewish Agency spokesman Yarden Vatikay. He said that he hopes the campaign, entitled, “Thirty Years Since the Aliyah from Ethiopia — Success Depends on Us” will boost awareness about the community and draft Israeli volunteers to help integrate Ethiopians more completely into Israeli society.
Integration has been the major stumbling block for the community. The majority arrived penniless, unable to speak Hebrew — and complete foreigners not only to Israeli culture but to the modern, Western world. Most had been raised in an agricultural, subsistence economy and were not all prepared for life in Israel.
Unlike their highly educated Russian immigrant counterparts, the Ethiopians have struggled to integrate into competitive and aggressive spirit of Israeli culture and many are now dependent on government assistance.
A phone number is provided in the ads for a hotline that gives information on how Israelis can either “adopt” an Ethiopian family — sharing meals and holidays with them — tutor students or give an internship to a young Ethiopian.
Daniel Yosef, a 35-year-old architect, is among those in his generation of young Ethiopians who have found professional success. His siblings have as well: among them is a musician, a graphic artist and a fashion designer.
Yosef said he hopes the campaign accomplishes its goal of showing “the other side, the side of success within the community.” But he added that it what is most important to him is not to boost awareness among today’s Ethiopian youth that success is within reach.
“The campaign is one that has to be within our own society so we can raise our own self-image,” he said. “we need to provide a good example to the youth.”
Employment remains a problem. Only some 76 percent of the community is employed, compared with almost 90 percent of the general workforce. Meanwhile, thousands of Ethiopian Israelis who have graduated from college often cannot find work in their fields. Many Ethiopians with law degrees, for example, can be found working in communal organizations or even as security guards instead of in law firms. Only some 15 percent of those with law degrees actually work in law firms, according to Jewish Agency statistics.
An estimated 60 percent of Ethiopian Israelis who have academic degrees end up taking working class jobs when they cannot find work in their professions, research has found.
“The campaign is not the solution to the problem, but part of the process. We want people to ask themselves whether they display racism, and whether they give equal opportunity to people at job interviews, or are they influenced by stereotypes,” said Immigration Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni told the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot.
Despite the initial jubilation in the country during the airlifts of Operation Moses in 1984-85 and Operation Solomon in 1991, racism and discrimination persist. In September, an Israeli mayor tried to bar Ethiopian students from attending an elementary school in his town.
Avraham Neguise, an Ethiopian rights activist running for Knesset in a new party aimed at Ethiopian voters, said the ad campaign should show not only the success stories, but also the challenges that face the community.
“It seems like this is taking a few individuals who really did good work and succeeded which is good. However it looks like it is hiding the real problems,” he said.
Vicha, the army major, thinks the situation for Ethiopians will improve when the younger Ethiopians feel less stuck between cultures and embrace what is good in both Israeli society and their heritage.
“We need to take from both,” Vicha said.",1353,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00240.warc.gz,0.973356783390045
0aedb257-9c84-4d4d-ad25-5e6fe8fc7632,2015-03-29T22:23:55+00:00,2014-01-16,1,https://mexicoinstitute.wordpress.com/tag/junk-food/,"January 16, 2014
The Guardian, 01/16/2014
A groundbreaking tax on sugar-sweetened beverages recently passed in Mexico could provide the evidence needed to justify similar laws across low- and middle-income countries and cities in the US, experts believe.
Campaigners and public health experts are watching closely to see what impact Mexico’s tax has on consumption. Mexico, where 32.8% of the population is obese, is now the country with the biggest weight problem in the world, according to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, overtaking the United States. The impact on health has been serious – 14% of the population has diabetes. Rates of high blood pressure, which can lead to stroke and heart attacks, are also high.
November 1, 2013
The New York Times, 11/1/2013
Aiming to curb unhealthy consumption habits, Mexico’s Congress on Thursday approved new taxes on sugary drinks and junk food. Lawmakers approved a tax of one peso per liter, or about 8 cents, on soft drinks and an 8 percent sales tax on high-calorie foods, including potato chips, sweets and cereal. President Enrique Peña Nieto is expected to sign the taxes into law in January.
April 26, 2013
Al Jazeera, 4/26/13
Mexicans have always loved to eat and drink, but rapidly changing dietary habits have created a nation in danger of eating themselves to death. Mexican schoolchildren are now some of the fattest in the world, with one in three classified as overweight or obese – a 27 percent rise in 12 years, according to the latest National Survey of Health and Nutrition. Their parents also score high on global ranking tables – weighing in second behind only the United States.
Among adults, a staggering 73 percent of women are overweight or obese; men are only marginally thinner, with 69 percent “abnormally” sized. The National Survey reveals what is obvious to even an untrained eye: people of a “normal” or healthy weight are becoming a rare breed in this food-obsessed country. Mexico’s biggest killers are now cardiovascular diseases – including heart failure, myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) and strokes – and diabetes. Together these accounted for 150,000 deaths in 2012, according to World Health Organisation figures.
February 19, 2013
Diabetes is the number one killer in Mexico, the chronic health condition a direct result of the obesity issue the country also struggles with. In fact, approximately two-thirds of the total nation’s population are classified as overweight or obese, reports Mexican news syndicate Aljazeera, with most of the issue stemming from lifestyle and eating habits.
The obesity epidemic in Mexico has been ongoing for almost a decade; in 2007, the nation’s health secretary, Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos, estimated the incidence of diabetes would rise by approximately 40 percent by 2012, killing as many as 100,000 Mexicans annually. His numbers were not far off, with diabetes claiming the lives of approximately 70,000 Mexicans a year, according to a 2012 report from McClatchy.",644,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00174-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.947304964065552
2c16ee88-d067-433c-a160-0623a93056eb,2020-10-20T02:50:56+00:00,2020-06-18,1,https://www.journaltranscript.com/2020/06/simon-property-group-nysespg-sues-gap-inc-nysegps-over-unpaid-rent-for-shuttered-stores/,"Mall owner Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) is suing its Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), whose largest non-anchor tenant is failing to pay rent for its stores that it temporarily shutters of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simon Property seeks $66 million in unpaid rent
In a lawsuit filed early this week, Simon Property indicated that Gap has withheld rent of three months, amounting to around $66 million for the temporarily closed stores. The mall operator temporarily shuttered its properties in March following the operations’ closure by retail anchors such as Gap, Nordstrom, and Macy’s.
The landlord now seeks rent for April, May, and June, which Gap has withheld. According to the lawsuit, Simon Property also wants Gap to pay attorney fees and other charges. Part of the suit indicates that Gap is required to pay rent due under leases on time, as that has not been excused.
Gap has not commented on the suit but indicated that it is committed to working with landlords to arrive at agreeable terms regarding paying of rent. The company’s communications manager Mark Daniel Synder acknowledged the profound effect that the coronavirus pandemic has had on the retailer and its customers. The clothing retailer operates over 390 retail locations at Simon Property’s malls, which include namesake brands Banana Republic and Old Navy.
Gap anticipated issues with landlords
In a Q1 earnings call last, the company spoke about landlords indicating that it was knee-deep with them. However, there was no mention of Simon Property. Gap CFO Katrina O’Connell indicated that they were not sure how long it could take, but they are committed to taking the opportunity to partner with landlords to enhance the company’s profitability.
In April, the company said that it stopped paying rent for the closed stores due to inadequate cash flow. At the time, the retailer indicated that it was seeking to renegotiate its leases over the same. However, Gap is not alone as other retailers such as Foot Locker have also indicated that they will not pay rent for shuttered stores due to COVID-19.",436,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107869785.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020021700-20201020051700-00131.warc.gz,0.979994475841522
68f6abf3-a196-4cb8-8b86-81b053462ebb,2018-08-14T09:16:18+00:00,2017-02-15,1,https://baumgartnerlawyers.com/blog/will-dot-regulate-self-driving-trucks/,"How Will The DOT Regulate Self Driving Trucks?
Written by greg on February 15, 2017
Technology is impacting almost every industry and is certain to make a big impact if not disrupt the trucking industry. Trucking companies and professional truck drivers are subject to regulations under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to protect both the drivers and the motoring public.
Some of the regulations that truck drivers and trucking companies must follow include such things as:
* Hours of service – or the number of hours a truck driver can safely work.
* Adverse weather operation – when a big truck must be slowed down or pulled off the road due to adverse conditions.
* Truck driver qualifications – or rules to become a professional driver.
Each of these areas are likely to be impacted with the coming of a self-driving 18 wheelers.
There are several companies that are helping the US Department of Transportation research appropriate regulations for autonomous trucking. One of those organizations is the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
The main cause of an 18 wheeler wreck is driver error. Using technology to limit driver error whether it is digital safety compliance, automatic braking or sensors for blind spots, there is no doubt that technology can help prevent accidents from occurring.
Additionally, the concept of caravanning multiple big rigs with one driver in the lead vehicle would serve to reduce substantially overhead costs to the trucking company as it is estimated that the driver’s wages are one third of the overhead of an operation of a big truck.
Many companies from Google, Amazon, Intel and others are testing ways to use technology to efficiently deliver people and goods. Uber has been very disruptive to the taxicab industry by building a better mousetrap which is easily utilized by the public. The concept for Lift and Uber could easily be applied to the trucking industry to further reduce costs of booking freight.
Companies have already tested driverless semi-trucks in the United States and with the ongoing public and private testing of autonomous vehicles, the technology will be utilized sooner rather than later.
How the DOT chooses to regulate self-driving trucks to protect the motoring public remains to be seen. It is encouraging that testing has already been undertaken by the DOT and they have recently created an advisory committee on automation in transportation.",469,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221208750.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814081835-20180814101835-00451.warc.gz,0.961265027523041
855a8a27-732e-4fce-8b03-63d62be81413,2017-08-24T08:47:29+00:00,2016-02-03,0,https://emmalee1.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/over-land-over-sea-poems-for-those-seeking-refuge-an-update/,"I recently joked that “Over Land Over Sea poems for those seeking refuge” was taking over my life (in a good way). Since the publication day launch on 1 December 2015, there’s been:
- A second launch event in Leicester during the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival (7 December 2015)
- A Nottingham launch at Five Leaves Bookshop in January 2016 where it was confirmed the anthology is on target to raise at least £3000.
- Radio interview with Dulcie Dixon of BBC Radio Leicester
- Invitation to Shindig on 18 January where Jane Commane of Nine Arches Press kindly donated three bundles of Nine Arches’ books to raffle on the night. The proceeds of the raffle were donated to “Over Land Over Sea”.
- Along with raising funds, “Over Land Over Sea” is doing a crucial job in raising awareness, with recent articles in the Morning Star and a feature at the Platforma website.
- 25 February 2016 8pm Attenborough Arts (Leicester University, Lancaster Road, Leicester) organised by the Leicester Migration Network which will feature readings from the anthology.
- 12 March 2016 States of Independence, book fair organised by Five Leaves held at De Montfort University. The book fair takes place from 10 am to 4 pm and entry is free.
- 1 August 2016 Poetry Cafe (22 Betterton Street London WC2H 9BX) from 7.30pm joint event with Exiled Writers Ink.
- There are also plans for events during the summer in Leicester.
It has been amazing seeing this idea grow from a crowdfunding project to reading through all the submitted poems and having several opportunities to hear some of the contributors read their poems. “Over Land Over Sea poems for those seeking refuge” is available from Five Leaves and proceeds will go to the registered charities Medecins Sans Frontieres, Leicester City of Sanctuary and Nottingham Refugee Forum.",402,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133447.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824082227-20170824102227-00456.warc.gz,0.949418902397156
154edd4d-dad5-4991-94bc-7df58a3b749c,2017-08-17T21:31:28+00:00,2013-04-30,0,http://www.brewtastic.com/events/founders-inspired-artist-black-ipa-benefits-worlds-biggest-art-competition,"I’ll be honest. While this is a very worthy cause, I mostly wanted to blog about this totally awesome label. It’s one of the most interesting labels I’ve seen in some time. The Full Pint has The Full Story.
In April 2013 the two organizations inked a deal that made Founders the official brewery of ArtPrize for the next five years. The premier leadership sponsorship deal included offering Founders beer at all official ArtPrize events, signage, promotion, merchandise, specialized glassware and other items. It also included permission for Founders to use the ArtPrize identity marks (logo and graphics) on any co-packaged items, including beer. Founders expects to release a new beer for each year of its five-year partnership with ArtPrize.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s a black IPA. Even if it’s last year’s trend, I can’t get enough of this style and hope it lands a permanent fixture in a few brand lineups.",216,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104160.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817210535-20170817230535-00491.warc.gz,0.951558530330658
d1e62569-8c01-46a8-90dc-ee46d94f4e22,2015-03-28T05:10:37+00:00,2012-02-16,0,http://www.investortoday.co.uk/news_features/financial-pinch-sees-record-number-of-homeowners-taking-in-lodgers,"Financial pinch sees record number of homeowners taking in lodgers
Thursday 16th February 2012
January 2012 saw the highest ever number of homeowners renting out rooms, swelling the UK’s lodger population to record levels, according to figures compiled by flat and house share website, Spareroom.co.uk.
The website saw a massive spike in lodger numbers in early January, with almost 6,000 new homeowners renting out spare rooms by the end of the month. New lodger numbers in January were also up 83% on December 2011 and 22% higher than January 2010.
Consequently, January was a record month for new lodger numbers, up 15% on the previous record month, which was August 2011.
With households struggling to keep on top of their mortgage payments, utility bills and accumulating personal debts, renting out a spare room on a short or longer term basis has proved an easy way for homeowners to earn some extra tax-free income.
Thanks to the government’s Rent a Room scheme, homeowners can receive up to £4,250 a year tax-free (£2,125 if letting jointly) by letting furnished rooms in their home.
The UK’s lodger population has exploded in the past five years, and 2011 saw a record number of new homeowners taking in lodgers, up 14% on 2010, and more than double (120%) new lodger numbers in 2007.
“It’s not surprising that the lodger population is expanding so rapidly, as homeowners look for ways to boost their incomes,” said Matt Hutchinson, director, Spareroom.co.uk.
“For some people the monthly income from a lodger will be the difference between losing their home and keeping it.”
Have your say on this story using the comment section below
blog comments powered by Disqus
Editorial Contact Details - Conor Shilling",390,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00189-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96625143289566
d2363841-0c35-4d5f-81f4-4865c6f28745,2018-08-19T22:47:05+00:00,2018-08-19,0,http://metroeve.com/stretch-pregnancy-safely/,"Stretch During Pregnancy and How to Do It Safely
Why you ought to Stretch Throughout Pregnancy and just how to get it done Securely
Whenever you think about an average pregnancy workout program, stretching and starting to warm up are often forgotten. But they’re essential for just about any effective and safe workout.
Apart fromjust feel good, stretching keeps your pregnant body healthy in many ways:
1. Prevents injuries by tugging the body lightly back to balance.
2. Increases circulation – more bloodstream flow towards the muscles means a more healthy muscle.
3. Provides you with more energy! Together with greater bloodstream flow comes more oxygen which will keep us from feeling sleepy throughout your day.
4. Helps reduce the pains and aches of being pregnant by helping to loosen the tight muscles that create mid back discomfort, head aches along with other common complaints.
5. Improves your exercise routine by growing your flexibility.
6. Enhances your posture which will help you feel and look better as the body is constantly on the change.
Bear in mind that being gumby isn’t the goal – being too flexible could be just like harmful as not flexible enough. So, you need to stretch only individuals muscles which are tight and also to mix your stretching with a decent pregnancy weight training program.
Top Strategies for Stretching Success
Stretching is important to the pregnancy workout program. But, many people don’t understand How you can stretch.
Just going through the motions could be more harmful these days than doing the work in any way. Follow these ten ideas to complete your exercise routine.
1. Warm-up with 5-8 minutes of cardio exercise – that’s, a task like jogging, biking or walking which get your heartbeat up as well as your bloodstream moving. Then start your stretching routine.
2. Stretch only individuals muscles which are tight.
3. Don’t stretch muscles which are already loose – if you do not ” the stretch”, you might not have to do it.
4. Avoid over-stretching. Throughout pregnancy your joints are specifically loose and vulnerable to injuries.
5. Stretching shouldn’t hurt. Stretching a good muscle should feel great, back away if there’s any discomfort.
6. Hold stretches for 25-thirty seconds each.
7. Never bounce when you stretch.
8. Stay relaxed and relax breath to assist lengthen parts of your muscles.
9. Don’t lock your joints, keep joints slightly bent to reduce anxiety in it.
10. Stretch after your training session too, to assist the body awesome lower and stop injuries.
That’s it, the fundamentals of stretching! Follow these simple recommendations and make use of stretching throughout pregnancy.",584,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215404.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819224020-20180820004020-00093.warc.gz,0.927969992160797
4231f789-c428-4174-8574-5803944f5b41,2013-05-23T04:29:30+00:00,2013-01-16,1,http://www.wtop.com/139/3195853/Local-Lawmakers-Introduce-Gun-Control-Bills?nid=1229,"Two state lawmakers who represent parts of Arlington have proposed a gun safety legislation package in the Virginia General Assembly.
State Sen. Adam Ebbin and Del. Patrick Hope, both Democrats, introduced bills that would close the so-called “gun show loophole,” require universal background checks on gun purchases, require gun owners to report stolen firearms, and restrict weapon sales to the mentally ill. To drive home the point, the lawmakers recorded two videos (above and below, after the jump) showing them buying a handgun without a background check and buying a high-capacity magazine at a recent gun show in Chantilly, Va.
The legislation was introduced Wednesday, a day before President Obama proposed legislation to require universal background checks, ban high capacity magazines, and ban assault-style weapons.
The gun control bills face an uphill battle in the Republican-controled state legislature; Hope and Ebbin called on Virginia residents to contact their legislators in support of the legislation.
From a press release:
Virginia State Senator Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Delegate Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) have introduced a package of gun safety legislation to require universal background checks on prospective firearms purchasers (SB 1232 / HB 2025), close the gun show loophole, and tighten restrictions on the sale of weapons to the mentally ill (SB 1109 / HB 2221).
SB 1109 and HB 2221 would make it a Class 6 felony to sell firearms to persons found mentally incapacitated or who have been involuntarily admitted.
Ebbin also introduced legislation to require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms (SB 965) and to outlaw firearms in legislative buildings (SB 1012).
“We easily purchased a handgun at a Virginia gun show, without undergoing a background check. Sadly, nearly 40% of all gun sales are conducted without a background check. In the interest of community safety, it’s not too much to ask for responsible gun purchasers to undergo a background check to screen for criminal history or history of serious mental illness,” the two wrote in a joint statement.
The lawmakers discussed their visit to a gun show in a January 15th news conference at the Virginia Capitol. Hope showed the High Standard Sentinel Revolver he bought for $175; because he purchased the gun from a private dealer, he did not have to undergo a background check to screen for a criminal record. “Today, a felon with a violent past can walk into a gun show or go on the Internet and buy any gun with no questions asked,” Hope said. “A law we could pass today, requiring universal background checks for all gun sales, would have an almost immediate impact on gun safety. No responsible gun owner is afraid of a background check.”
Displaying a 30-round ammunition magazine he purchased for $20, Ebbin said, “Buying a 30-round magazine should not be as easy as buying a candy bar.” He noted that a 30-round magazine was used in the recent Newtown, Connecticut tragedy that left 26 dead.
Citing the need to pass SB 965, Ebbin said, “When a gun is stolen, a deadly weapon is in criminal hands—a combination we all want to avoid. Reporting lost or stolen guns can help police avert a tragedy.”
Hope and Ebbin called on Virginians to contact their legislators in support of the gun safety legislation.
Clothes have a starring role at the Cannes Film Festival. (Photos)
This cutie needs a new home. She's WTOP's Pet of the Week.
French universities could say goodbye to this language in class.
WTOP takes an all-electric motorcycle for a test drive. (Video)",772,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939156830310822
9954b9ac-413a-4ae3-8c7b-6523c17b3d31,2016-07-27T16:08:50+00:00,2016-07-27,0,http://www.bananacorner.co.uk/dvds/black-sails-series-3.asp,"Complete third series of the Channel 4 sitcom based on the testing times of bohemian heavy-drinking misanthrope and second-hand bookshop owner Bernard Black (Dylan Moran) - who loves books but hates customers. Help is at...
Enjoy a connection you can count on with the 3 metre Sandstrom Black Series Scart Cable . Classic cabling The Scart Cable features a gold-plated connector at each end that slots comfortably into your TV and DVD player. Its three metres long, giving you plenty of room to manoeuvre as you send it behind your display cabinet, along a section of skirting or between devices on a TV stand. Strong,
The three-metre Sandstrom Black Series Digital Optical Cable gives you a high performance link between your home cinema sound system or audio component to games console, media streamer, set-top box, laptop and more. Using optical fibres that provide the best possible Toslink to Toslink audio connection for TVs, satellite and cable systems, the Sandstrom Digital Optical Cable will deliver high
Smart stylish and spacious the Neff U15E52S3GB Series 3 Built In Electric Double Oven has a total of 102 litre cooking capacity. The main oven has 67 litres whilst the top oven has 35 litres of cooking. In addition to this the U15E52S3GB has also been A/A rated for its energy efficiency making it really beneficial to your energy usage and running costs.The main oven features Fan Heat and has
Whether you play professionally or just for fun, this Performance Series badminton racquet bag from Yonex is a must-have accessory. This particular bag can hold up to 3 racquets and focuses on both functionality and design in order to give you more confidence on the court.
The T.S.A. (Transport Security Administration) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which is responsible for the safety and security of the public travelling to the United States. The Abus TSA Luggage locks allow the agency to ...
Product Description3 Series 2 Wheel Cart The 3 Series Aluminium Pull Cart is a golf cart weighing in at only 2. 6kg. This strong light-weight frame is easy to move around on the course and when folded down. Features;- Lightweight aluminium frame- 2 Easy glide wheels- Multifunction scorecard holder- Folded dimensions - 89 x 31 x 29cm- Weight: 2. 75kg- Fits Fairway Hoppa 10 Wheels- Spare parts
Work out in style with these mens 3/4 Tights from Skins, coming as part of the 400 series. In a black colourway these 3/4 length tights feature Memory MX fabrics to provide controlled, consistent elasticity and perfectly focused support, complementing the body`s natural movement and reducing the risk of injury. The fabric in skins is warp knitted using multiple fine quality yarns to giver
3 3/4-inch Hasbro Star Wars action figures return with The Black Series bringing you characters from the entire Star Wars saga! Each Action Figure comes with awesome accessories. Exciting black series Star Wars packaging showcases the figure! The Star Wars The Black Series Dutch Vander 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure comes packaged with accessories from the saga. Save the galaxy - or destroy it - with
The Walrus crew is stranded with an army of Spanish soldiers standing between them and the precious Urca gold. And with their crimes against their brethren no longer a secret Flint and Silver must join forces in a desperate bid for survival. Meanwhile Eleanor Guthrie struggles to maintain her grip on Nassau as a new breed of pirate arrives in the form of Ned Low a man for whom violence
Primary materials: Polypropylene Pile height: 0.5 inches Style: Traditional Primary color: Black Secondary color: Red Pattern: Oriental Tip: We recommend the use of a non-skid pad to keep the rug in place on smooth surfaces. All rug sizes are approximate. Due to the difference of monitor colors, some rug colors may vary slightly. Overstock.com tries to represent all rug colors
Boost up your look with a chic twist in the Sports Clog from adidas Y-3 by Yohji Yamamoto!Canvas with matte neoprene upper.Easy slip-on wear.Round-toe silhouette.Elastic gore panels.Leather lining.Lightly padded footbed.Synthetic midsole.Suede-wrapped clog heel and platform.Synthetic outsole.Imported. Measurements:Heel Height: 3 3 4 inWeight: 15 ozPlatform Height: 1 1 2 inProduct measurements were
The SportHunter 1225 is a dog training system that offers users a wide range of features for communication and correction. The transmitter hosts 16 stimulus levels and a choice of continuous or momentary stimulation. It also has the ability to control a second or third collar. Users can additionally send tone or vibration signals to the collar receiver. The collar receiver has a slim-profile and
Ajax 3 Stripe Cap - BlackEmbrace the legacy of Total Football with the Ajax 3 Stripe Cap - Black; authentic Ajax merchandise pledging allegiance to the iconic Dutch club.From the Amsterdam ArenA to your local field, this Ajax 3 Stripe Cap - Black will let you wear the crest of the multi-time champions of Europe with passion and pride, as Frank de Boers men attempt to re-capture the Eredivisie
The cozy and comfortable Omega Paw Black Ripple Board Scratchn Massage (3 x 1ct) cat bed covers all of a cats everyday needs, sleeping, scratching, massaging and chin scratcher. The Ripple Board Scratchn Massage Bed is made with cardboard and Omega Paws patented Ripple Board massage surface that is treated with organic catnip oil. A decorative pattern covering the surface adds a designers flair
\Mini Dog Stairs are great for very small dogs or cats especially toy breeds. They are proportioned for dogs with shorter leg dogs. Mini Pet Stairs help your dog or cat reach your bed or couch & are narrow to fit in smaller areas. Mini Pet Stairs allow your dog to get to his or her favorite piece of furniture without stressing their back, hips or knees - possibly avoiding future joint problems",1295,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00015-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.891465544700623
e02ff732-bfa1-4c6c-9db7-114ab118364a,2015-03-31T09:43:43+00:00,2012-04-15,1,http://fjponline.com/article.php?id=745,"The success of Islamist parties in countries in transition is causing a lot of angst, both among secularists in the region and observers in the West. The questions raised tend to be stark, demanding absolute answers. Is there such a thing as a moderate Islamist party, or do they all aim at eventually setting up a full-fledged Islamic state? Do they accept the values of democracy, rather than simply the electoral process, as a means of gaining power? Would they surrender power if they ever gained control of the government? Would they uphold personal rights or attempt to mold society after their own values?
There are no absolute answers, as ongoing research on the transitions and a recent encounter in Washington between Carnegie scholars and representatives of Islamist parties from Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco suggest. (Parties from Libya and Jordan were also represented in the meeting, but their stances will not be discussed here—they are not in a position of power, and the problems they confront are still quite different).
These largely moderate Islamist parties seem to be evolving rapidly as they learn to navigate through the difficult politics and the uncertain democratic processes of their countries. They are truly works in progress, and their evolution will likely be affected the way secular parties and to a lesser extent the international community react to them.
Islamist parties appear to be truly national. There does not seem to be an overarching “Islamist International” to which they all belong, and they do not even seem to be in limited contact with each other. At the conference in particular, we felt that we knew more about them than they know about each other.
The Islamist parties that participated in the encounter—the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in Egypt, Ennahda in Tunisia, and the Party for Justice and Development (PJD) in Morocco—have common ideological roots in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928. The ideas propagated by the Muslim Brotherhood spread quickly to other countries in the Middle East, and organizations inspired by it arose throughout North Africa and the Levant. Despite the spread of the ideology, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood remained a national organization, deeply involved in domestic proselytizing and charitable activities, and in periodic clashes with successive regimes.
Muslim Brotherhood–inspired organizations in other countries always had a similar domestic focus. It is only among the more radical, violent groups that international networks developed, for example to recruit volunteers for jihad in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Conference discussions showed that this domestic focus is still very evident today. Though Islamist parties in Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco—which are now in the government or at least in parliament—face similar policy issues, there is no indication that they are consulting with each other on how to address them, or that they are particularly interested in finding out what other parties are doing. Each party is wrapped up in the domestic problems and the specific political dynamics of its own country.
The issue of sharia illustrates the point. Whether or how the constitution should mention sharia is the hottest ideological issue that Arab countries in transition face. It looms large in the relationship between Islamists and secular parties and is a major cause of anxiety among the secularists. Each of the three parties has different solutions, very much rooted in the politics of its country.
In Morocco, where the new constitution was written by a commission appointed by the king, the PJD did not lobby for the inclusion of sharia in the text. Instead it accepted the definition of Morocco as a Muslim state and Islam as the religion of the state as good enough—though some PJD officials claim that they would have preferred language defining Morocco as a “civil state with an Islamic reference.” They supported freedom for other religions as well. Ennahda also decided to forego any mention of sharia, settling instead for the neutral language of the 1956 constitution that simply states that “Islam is [Tunisia’s] religion.”
In Egypt, however, where the constitution has not yet been written, sharia will certainly be prominently mentioned as a source of legislation. The simple reason is that all major parties and all presidential candidates support the idea explicitly in their platforms.
Islamist parties, with the partial exception of the Moroccan PJD, still show signs of their previous isolation, both within their own countries and internationally. Government repression and the policies of the United States and European countries forced them to stay in their own bubbles. Not all Islamist leaders at this point are familiar and comfortable with the world outside the bubble.
Domestically, Islamist movements and political parties have experienced long periods of repression, with many of their leaders exiled or imprisoned repeatedly or for long periods. For example, in Egypt, Khairat al-Shater, deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood, was imprisoned for a total of more than twelve years between 1992 and 2011, while FJP vice chairman Essam el-Erian spent the equivalent of eight years in jail between 1981 and 2010. In Tunisia, the current prime minister, Hamadi Jebali, spent a total of sixteen years in jail after 1990, ten of them in solitary confinement. Ennahda Chairman Rached Ghannouchi was imprisoned in 1981 and again in 1987 for a total of four years, spending another twenty-two years in exile.
The exception to this history of repression and isolation is the PJD in Morocco, which was allowed by the king to become an officially registered political party in 1992 and has operated legally and openly since then, gaining exposure to the rest of Moroccan society and the world. But the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood was never granted official recognition nor was it allowed to form a political party until after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. While it found ways to participate in elections through deals with other political parties or through independent candidates, it could not function as a normal political organization. In Tunisia, Ennahda, then called the Islamic Tendency Movement, sought recognition as a political party in 1981 but was rejected, and in response to its growing popularity, many of its leaders were exiled or imprisoned. The organization only started functioning normally after the overthrow of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, becoming a legally registered party in March 2011.
The forced isolation imposed on Islamist parties in the past makes it difficult to interpret whether some of the positions that most upset secularists in these countries and outsiders are truly radical statements, to be taken literally, or the result of naïveté about how certain statements resonate outside the confines of the Islamist community. Examples abound: Prime Minister Jebali, apparently in an attempt to reassure his audience that Tunisia would move toward a bright future, talked about the coming of the sixth caliphate, leading many to question Ennahda’s moderation and its commitment to the Tunisian state. And some officials in both the Muslim Brotherhood and in Ennahda suggested at one point that tourists would have to abide by stricter rules about attire and alcohol consumption, only to beat a hasty retreat after tourist operators set them straight about the realities of the industry.
It is in the interest of the international community as well as of secularists in Arab countries to do everything possible to pierce the bubble that still surrounds part of the Islamist leadership. Islamists need to be integrated as much as possible in all domestic and international fora to understand what is acceptable or not acceptable elsewhere. The point is not to teach Islamists to hide their true opinions, but to help them to confront the choices they face and the reality of functioning as political parties in the real world. They may well choose to challenge dominant ideas deliberately and as a matter of principle, but this process of engagement will at least provide greater clarity about their choices.
Islamist parties are different from each other, but doctrinal differences are not the most important factors setting them apart from each other. Rather, what shapes these parties are the conditions in which they operate: the support they have, the reaction of secular political parties to them, and whether they have government responsibilities.
Ideologically, the three parties are similar. They have rejected explicitly the idea of using force to gain power and are now committed to political participation. A corollary of political participation is the acceptance of pluralism and of the democratic process—though critics contend that such acceptance is purely opportunistic and that Islamists will renege on pluralism and democracy once in power. Another corollary, as pointed out earlier, is that they have accepted the reality of the division of the Muslim world into nation-states and that they have become national parties.
Politically, however, there are differences, particularly concerning the relationship between a given political party and the religious organization that spawned it. In Morocco, the PJD is quite separate from the religious organization Harakat al-Tawhid wal Islah and has been for many years. Indeed, the party is doing its best to be a normal political organization.
Ennahda has distant roots in a religious and cultural movement, Jama’a al-Islamiyya, but by 1981 it was trying to form, unsuccessfully, a political party, the Islamic Tendency Movement, which was later renamed Ennahda. The organization suffered a serious blow after it tried to field candidates as independents in the 1989 election and government repression intensified. Ennahda revived very quickly after Ben Ali’s deposition, still as a political force.
The situation in Egypt is the opposite. The Muslim Brotherhood as a religious movement long predates the Freedom and Justice Party, which was only formed in March 2011 and has not yet acquired an identity separate from the religious organization.
There are even starker differences among Islamist parties concerning their focus on policy issues. Both the PJD and Ennahda are governing their countries, although in coalition with other parties. The PJD is focused on how to translate the principles contained in the new constitution into policies—and how to maintain its political support in doing so. Ennahda is focused on getting the constitution approved and devising an economic policy to address pressing problems of poverty and unemployment. Their concerns are immediate and practical.
By contrast, the Muslim Brotherhood and the FJP have not really begun to focus on policy issues, reflecting the political situation in Egypt, where the fundamental issue of the allocation of power among the military, an Islamist-dominated parliament, and a soon-to-be-elected president is still unresolved.
Islamist parties face mobilized populations in their own countries and need to take the views of the public into consideration. The possibility that Islamist parties will simply cancel elections in the future to perpetuate their position appears unfounded, the result of fear rather than a realistic possibility.
Read The Rest of Article on carnegie-mec",2165,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00159-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969758868217468
9ece20fc-6e29-41fb-a7dc-5e11a0862055,2019-08-20T19:56:02+00:00,2019-01-14,1,https://www.kpopmap.com/jyp-new-girl-group-revealed-to-have-completed-filming-debut-mv/,"JYP New Girl Group Revealed To Have Completed Filming Debut MV
On Jan. 14, it was reported by Korean Media, OSEN, that JYP Entertainment is currently in the midst of launching their new girl group.
It was revealed that the new girl group has completed filming their debut music video but the exact date of their debut has yet to be decided.
With the news of a new girl group debuting, fans of JYP Entertainment are getting hyped up as it is known that the company is famous for producing legendary girl groups such as Wonder Girls, miss A, TWICE and so on.
This will be the new girl group to debut 4 years after TWICE, raising the expectations of many fans.
Some fans also speculate that trainee Shin RyuJin who had formerly appeared on JTBC “Mixnine”, trainee Hwang YeJi who had also appeared on SBS “The Fan” as well as Lee ChaeRyeong from Mnet “Sixteen” will be part of the new girl group lineup.",224,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315558.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820180442-20190820202442-00301.warc.gz,0.975240051746368
6c7e2321-e927-4f97-9cc0-c4507a22e7b3,2013-05-25T05:29:31+00:00,2013-05-25,0,http://www.bellwetherfarms.com/cpop.php?page=recipes&comp=list&list_id=1175,"Makes one 9-inch pie, serves 8-10
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons, unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1 ½ cups Bellwether Farms Carmody, grated
- 8-12 tablespoons ice water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
For the crust:
- 6 large or 8 small/medium tart apples; we like the Pink Lady variety for pies
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾-1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Ccombine the flour, salt and butter in a large bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter intact. Break the shortening into pieces and rub it into the flour mixture until it is incorporated. Add the Carmody and toss it until the mixture is uniform. Drizzle 8 tablespoons of water the water around the flour mixture and mix lightly with your hands until the dough will hold together when pressed. If the dough remains crumbly, add more water a tablespoon at a time until it holds together. Divide the dough into two pieces and press each piece into a ball. Wrap the dough balls in plastic and press them into disks, smoothing any cracks with your fingers. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes, or until it is firm enough to roll.
For the filling:
Peel, core and cut the apples into ¼-inch thick slices. Place the apples in a large bowl and add the lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar to taste, cornstarch and kosher salt. Stir until the apples are uniformly coated with starch, lemon juice and seasonings and allow the apple mixture to sit until the apples have given off their juices, about 10-15 minutes. Strain the juices into a small saucepan and cook on medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk, until the mixture has thickened. With a rubber spatula, scrape the thickened apple juice back into the bowl with the apple mixture and stir to combine thoroughly.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water and set aside. On a floured surface, roll one of the dough disks out to a circle about 1 inch larger than the 9-inch pie pan. To check the size, place the pie pan upside down in the center of the dough circle; the dough should extend about an inch past the edge of the upturned pan. Place the dough circle into the pie pan and brush the edge with the egg mixture. Reserve the egg mixture for the top of the pie. Place the apple mixture into the pan and even it out. Roll the second dough disk to the same size and place it atop the apple filling. Press the top crust onto the bottom where it was brushed with egg to seal it. Trim the edges of the dough if necessary with a kitchen scissors so the dough extends no more than an inch past the edge of the pan. Roll the dough ends under to form a smooth edge, then flute the edge with your fingers, making sure the edge of the dough is supported by the pan and doesn’t go past the pan’s edge. Cut 3 or 4 vent holes in the top crust with the scissors or a sharp paring knife. Bake the pie for 35 minutes on the lowest oven shelf (if you have an electric oven you might want to go up a shelf to avoid burning the bottom). Remove the pie from the oven and brush the top crust all over with the egg mixture and sprinkle the crust with sugar as desired. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for 15 minutes more, until the apple filling is bubbly and crust is deep golden brown. Allow the pie to cool at least one hour before serving.",811,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.898763656616211
aed108ad-ffe4-4e9c-b3d8-73ecf91746ce,2019-08-22T21:02:10+00:00,2016-05-26,0,https://ourtravelpassport.com/blog/2016/5/26/how-to-take-two-trips-for-the-price-of-one,"How to Take Two Trips for the Price of One.
In the last six months, we've been to four more countries than we were originally planning on, because we discovered this incredible travel hack--stopovers! Technically stopovers are a stop on the way to your final destination or long layovers. So, instead of sitting in those awful airport seats being tempted by $10 McDonald's fries, you can turn that four hour layover into a day or two stopover. Then just hop off the plane and run out of the airport and into the city.
We are always searching for the cheapest deal when we are looking at flights, so not only does this normally mean we'll have a longer flight time, but it also means there's always a layover. By taking advantage of these layovers, not only have we doubled the number of places we have visited, but we have also gotten to explore new cities and countries without having to pay for another flight there. Sure, it would have been nice to spend more than a day in Copenhagen, but it wasn't on our list of ""must-see"" places and we probably wouldn't have made it there anytime soon if it hadn't been for our layover. And oh my, we are so glad we went, because it is now one of our absolute favorite European cities.
Use the ""Multi-city"" Feature
It takes a little more time and a lot of flight digging, but our number one rule for finding stopovers is to never limit yourself to searching for round trip flights. Use the ""multi-city"" search option on Google Flights, or Kayak to create your own stopover. And the best part is, more often than not it will even end up giving you a cheaper fare.
For example, on our way to Tanzania, we noticed that most all of our options had a layover in Amsterdam or Paris both on the way there and on the way back. So, instead of searching for a round trip flight to Tanzania leaving on say the 16th and coming back on say the 27th, we used the multi-city flight option to leave on the 16th to Amsterdam, then leave Amsterdam on the 18th, and then on our way back, leave Tanzania on the 27th to Paris and then leave Paris on the 29th back home. Using this search option, the price was almost $500 cheaper than if we'd tried to book direct flights that included layovers anyway.
By using this strategy, we were able to explore both Amsterdam and Paris without having to a pay a single penny for individual flights to either of those cities.
Give the airlines a call
Put on your nice voice and call the airlines directly. If you tell them what you're looking for or say that you want to add a stopover into your flight plan, they will likely be able to help you. And if they can't do it for free, they can usually find a way to make the stopover cost minimal, like $100 or less.
Also, check directly with the airline's website, because some airlines are actually using this stopover strategy as a selling point. For example, WOW Air includes stopovers in Reykjavik, Iceland for travelers going between the US and Europe. This way, you get to spend your a day at the Blue Lagoon or chasing Iceland's insanely beautiful waterfalls on your way to exploring Europe. And Emirates encourages stopovers in Dubai. They offer hotel stays, transfers to and from the airport, excursions, and a handful of other amenities to make your stopover a breeze.
Take Advantage of Airlines' Hub Cities
A good rule of thumb for figuring out where you can stop for cheap is to find out where the hubs of each airline are. For example, we flew Norwegian Air to Portugal, and one of their hub cities is Copenhagen--hence, our day trip in Copenhagen. If you want to take a pit stop in Amsterdam, fly KLM, or if you want to go to Paris, search for flights on Air France. If you're interested in going to Zurich then fly Swiss Air, and if Cappadocia and Istanbul are on your list (and they definitely should be), make a stop on your way to another destination by flying Turkish Air. Even Air Tahiti Nui schedules stopovers in Tahiti, so if you can find any reason to fly them and spend a day or two in Tahiti, then do we even really need to tell you to do it?
Even if you only have a 5-6 hour layover, it can still be worth it to get out of the airport and explore a bit. A lot of airports have straightforward public transportation options into the city. And taking 3 or 4 hours to explore and eat an authentic meal is a million times better than sitting around and staring at your phone in the airport.
So, every time you book a flight, make sure to schedule a stopover, because basically, you will get two vacations for the price of one (which saves a lot of $$$). And more often than not, these cities are places you can explore in about a day or two anyways.
The best part is, when you're sad because it's time to leave your stopover city, you get to hop on another plane and go to your original destination! So you're literally never disappointed. It's like a dream come true!
If you're planning your trip now, please use these links to look for cheap flights, great hotel deals, and other things to do. By using these links you will help us keep the lights on at no extra cost to you!",1154,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317359.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822194105-20190822220105-00419.warc.gz,0.952851414680481
8de594ab-5d9c-4484-97e3-a6045c0f7553,2016-07-30T06:44:10+00:00,2015-06-23,0,http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1484978,"|06-23-2015 03:30 PM|
|Camaro Z_man||check this out.... https://ncptt.nps.gov/blog/comparati...comment-page-1|
|04-23-2014 05:03 PM|
I'm sorry you feel that way Shine, you have some good paint advice to give and it would be a loss if you leave the site.
At the same time, I think that we all need to be ready for a challenge, so that our information will be the best that we can give. With the price of products today, I for one do not want to be responsible for someone making a mistake.
JFTR, I have been using phosphoric for 25 years, but I wasn't familiar with the data sheets on these two, so the links that I posted were the MSDS sheets, its just to show where the info came from , and make it easy for anyone who wants it. Because if you are going to play with fire, then you need to know how to control it. Its not rocket science but it is chemistry, and not being a chemist, I need to be able to find accurate information.
If it turns out that we don't see you anymore, then thank you for the info on Chemical Guys, I may to try it. Be well, Shine.
|04-23-2014 07:48 AM|
this is the last time i'm going to post on this site. but here is my "" opinion ""
new guys come here for advice. it's the paint and body section. their hope is to get some help from experienced paint and body tradesmen .
but what they get is confused by all the google experts and wannabe's trying to make rocket science out of cleaning metal . or my favorite , use battery acid on it . the best advice i could give them is to see how far away from this place they could get. i've seen more bad advice than good here lately. i did not come here 10 years ago to win a popularity contest i came here to interact with tradesmen . but i have watched them leave one by one . there is a point where it is just a waste of time . i'll argue with a tradesman all day long because at the end of the day one of us is going to learn something . but arguing with paint salesmen or google experts gets me nothing .
i truly hope these new guys ignore this entire thread .
|04-23-2014 07:31 AM|
OK, here is my opinion, and it is just that----an ""opinion""
The label does say 75%.
But it goes back to what I was talking about before, you can not trust labels.
If you look at the data sheet (MSDS), it says that information is not available.
""CHEMICAL IN PRODUCT:N/A; CAS#: N/A; WEIGHT % OF CHEM: N/A""
As I have said before, I'm not a chemist, so correct me if I'm wrong.
When I look at the MSDS for Ospho it's a different story.
In bold letters, it says PHOSPHORIC ACID SOLUTION (75%)
It makes me wonder if that is the reason for the low cost of Milkstone. They don't have the expense of the rust inhibitors, or have to worry about paint adhesion, so maybe they can get away with a weaker phosphoric solution to start their formula with.
The only other ingredients they list are cleaners for the milkstone, and liquid (containing phosphoric acid), so its possible that they could end up with a 42.25% phosphoric even though the original phosphoric solution is less than 75%. I think they probably just get a solution to suit their needs, whatever makes it come out to final solution percentages they want.
You can't really call this a ""snake oil product"" because they don't make any claims about rust removal, its all about cleaning milkstone as the name implies. So I would suggest a product formulated for rust removal.
Here is another reason for reading the data sheet
AVOID CONTACT WITH STRONG ALKALIES. (WILL PRODUCE VIOLENT ACID/BASE NEUTRALIZATION REACTION)
So don't try to neutralize phosphoric acid. All the data sheets seem to say the same thing about taking the acid off, JUST RINSE IT OFF WHILE IT IS STILL WET. I rewet it with acid before rinsing, to make sure some of it hasn't started to dry. In that state is still looks wet, but will be a little sticky, and thats not good for a complete rinse. Actually, I use a scotch brite pad wet with acid to scrub it just before rinsing, and that does a pretty good job of getting rid of it.
|04-22-2014 06:40 PM|
Yep I saw that when I went back and looked again. A bunch ado about nothing.
[color=gray]Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App[/color]
|04-22-2014 06:35 PM|
They do state a 75% solution on the label:
|04-22-2014 11:19 AM|
The milkstone is obviously working for Shine, or he wouldn't be using it. Milkstone active ingredient= phosphoric acid.
Ospho active ingredient=phosphoric acid.
Phosphoric acid is phosphoric acid.
The ensuing chemical reaction doesn't care what color bottle it comes in, or what the label says.
|04-22-2014 07:18 AM|
Shine, please don't take this as a personal attack, I'm just expressing my opinion on the product, and I probably could have thought more about my approach. I guess its just not as easy to be polite and respectful with the pen as it is in person. Life is too short to be making other people miserable, and that was not my intention.
But this is a discussion forum where a lot of people come to get information. I don't think anyone knows it all, and I sure have my fair share of failed attempts at doing this or that, so if you guys disagree with any of my posts, I hope you point it out so others can be spared. And I will not take it to be an attack on me personally, and that is certainly not what I intended to do to you either Shine.
|04-22-2014 06:38 AM|
|04-22-2014 02:47 AM|
Shine it's not so much the percentage of phosphoric that bothers me about milkstone, its the lack of directions for use on carbon steel. The milk containers are stainless steel, so the mixture of milkstone (as the name implies) is targeted for cleaning the milk residue on stainless steel.
I even had to look up the meaning of milkstone in the encylopedia,
""milk‐stone Deposit of calcium and magnesium phosphates, protein, etc., produced when milk is heated to temperatures above 60 °C.""
So that is the only thing the milkstone product mixture is designed to clean as far as I can tell, because they don't mention anything else. Ospho and some other rust removal products are designed for automotive work in removing rust, paint adhesion, and inhibiting the return of rust. And another thing that I mentioned earlier is the different versions of milkstone cleaners.
|04-21-2014 06:27 PM|
Don't keep it to yourself Shine, just PM me and we can share the info. I don't know enough about chemistry to care what the label says, as long as it works and does what I need it too do. If not for you and a few other people sharing information, I would still be using PPG products and 3M compound.......
|04-21-2014 05:51 PM|
|shine||i can promise you this much , the next time i find something that works well and saves some labor or money i will damn sure keep it to myself.|
|04-21-2014 03:50 PM|
But Pies are round, corn bread is square
|04-21-2014 03:49 PM|
|Lizer||Kelly--when in doubt, the answer is always 3.1415|
|04-21-2014 03:39 PM|
That is exactly what I thought Lizer Chemistry to me is like asking an algebra question, I done well in school with it, but have not used it in several years since and therefore, chemistry and algebra both appear to me as:
""You have 4 apples, 3 oranges, and 1 banana, there is a train leaving New York City traveling 62 MPH and a plane flying out of LA traveling 578.235 MPH, based on the given information, how many shingles are on your neighbors house?""
|This thread has more than 15 replies. Click here to review the whole thread.|",1894,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832939.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00247-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952904760837555
d10a1f92-347d-47d7-b161-e5e0843fd8c4,2022-05-26T20:55:16+00:00,2018-12-31,1,https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/julia-collins-zume-pizza-profile/,"Julia Collins was just a little girl when she discovered her passion for food. Her grandparent’s home in San Francisco became a communal haven where she was able to witness how cooking brought people together. After attending Harvard University as a biomedical engineering major one thing remained: her love of food. This in turn inspired her to seek a career in the business. After developing two successful restaurants in NYC, Collins saw the opportunity to return to her roots in Silicon Valley and combine her love of food and technology with the development of Zume Pizza. Since co-founding the pizza company which is known for its robotic technology that makes pizzas, she is a unicorn in Silicon Valley with a company valued at $2.25 billion after raising an additional $375 million this year. With so much success in just three years with Zume, Collins is stepping down as President and preparing for the next phase of her journey in food tech and her goal of wanting her 11-month-old son to inherit a planet that’s healthier than the one that we’re living on right now. Ahead, Collins shared with ESSENCE her humble beginnings in the food industry, the challenges Black women face in Silicon Valley and what her plans are for her new company:How did you get your start in the food industry? There was nothing that would please my family more than for me to get this incredible degree in [biomedical engineering]. The problem is I wasn’t living my authentic truth. You know, even at 18 years old, I knew that it just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t until I came to Stanford Business School and I permitted myself to live in my authentic truth and to say to myself, ‘Julia, it’s food, this is what is meant for you. This is what the universe is calling you to do.’ I was fortunate that [restaurateur] Danny Meyer gave me my first job in the business. He took a chance on me, and that was the turning point in my career when I got to be a summer intern at Union Square Hospitality Group where the early Shake Shack was being formed. I can’t claim any success for that enterprise, but I had the good fortune of working for Randy Garutti who is now the CEO of Shake Shack and working for Danny Meyer, who’s been a most well-loved person in the world of restaurant development. I was working for Richard Coraine, who’s probably the smartest person in the world of restaurant development on earth. After that I knew that I couldn’t do anything else with my life. I had to be in the food business, and so when I graduated from Stanford Business School, I went back to work for Danny before going on to start my other food businesses. After building your résumé working with companies like Shake Shack and Murray’s Cheese and founding and owning two popular New York City restaurants Mexicue and The Cecil, why did you return to San Francisco?I knew that the timing was right. I knew that I’d be able to get traction for the idea [of Zume]. I knew that the investment community was beginning to think about food, and all the conditions were right for me to move here and build this business from the ground up, but it didn’t exist before I got here. Tell me about Zume.I’m so incredibly proud of Zume Pizza because it’s the first time in my career when I’ve had the opportunity to build a company that innovated across so many elements of the food industry. Not just the nature of work in the food industry, not only the quality of the supply chain in the food industry but also the health of the food and the taste of the food. That’s what was so exciting about Zume Pizza, and that’s why I knew that 2015 was the right time for me to move to Silicon Valley and work on this, because I could see that the market conditions were completely optimal. I was going to be able to get customers to love what I was doing; I was going to be able to get employees to want to come and work for us and I was going to be able to get investment from the investment community. Where do you see the food industry headed towards in the next few years and how is your company Zume leading the way?What has to happen is we have to make a significant correction regarding the way that we are eating, the way that we are growing, the way that we’re delivering food. By the year 2050, there’ll be 9.7 billion people living on planet earth. We have already reached the limit of arable land, and water in certain parts of the world over-consumption of beef in North America, combined with the rise of the middle class elsewhere in the world is creating a massive surge in global warming. Nitrogen runoff from agriculture and livestock is creating dead zones in our states, and we’re on the verge of a global ecological disaster. Companies like Zume are incredibly important because they’re using technology to create a better future for food. We’re using innovation in growing and distribution to shorten the supply chain. We’re using menu development to create an appetite for fresh produce so that customers lessen their dependence on red meat and replaced that with a joy and a love for vegetables and fresh produce. We do that by sourcing from local purveyors. We also have to think about the jobs that are involved in the food industry, and we were always very proud that through automation we were able to create better safer jobs. Eliminating tasks that are dangerous, like sticking your hand in and out of an 800-degree pizza oven and letting a robot do that task so that you preserve the occupation of being a cook. You preserve the job, but you remove the tasks that are dirty, dangerous and dull — all of those things that human beings shouldn’t be doing.
Last year, your company raised $48 million. You’ve raised $375 million with Softbank Capital this year. What does it take to reach such milestones in two years? I want to preface this by saying I don’t value myself as an entrepreneur based on the valuation of my company. I don’t value myself as a leader based on the size of my last fundraising round. The point is the impact that we’re having with our company. If we think about a different milestone, how many jobs were created in a year, that’s a significant milestone and what it takes for me is a commitment as a leader to living your values. It’s a commitment to doing the right thing to being with your team and to putting your energy and putting your money where your mouth is. To go from just myself and the cofounders sitting on a card table, to having 270 people gainfully employed by our company in such a short time. That’s a huge milestone, but it takes a lot of hard work. I think it takes a commitment to live your values because ultimately your customers, your employees, and the investment community are going to measure you based on that. What were some of the challenges that you faced as a woman trying to raise money in food tech, and how did you overcome them? I was surprised when I got to Silicon Valley; the situation was as dire as it was regarding the utter lack of representation in the room. I rarely ever met a female investor, let alone a Black female investor. That has changed a little bit now that I’ve broadened my network in the Valley. When I did find a woman present in the room, it changed the dynamic. It felt like that team was listening to me in a way that I didn’t feel when I was in a room of all male investors…Many of these investors simply do not have friends of color. They do not have powerful friends that are women, and so the context that they’re always using is, ‘Well, maybe I’ll ask my wife if that’s a good idea.’ I think what happened is many of these investors move in circles that are homogenous and so when they enter the boardroom; they don’t have the experience of understanding how to see a Black woman, how to empathize with her. That’s one of the issues that I see; it’s just a culture of homogeneity that’s pervasive in both social and professional circles. One of the problems that we have is when people talk about diversity in the Valley, they’re not talking about intersectionality. They’re not talking about the unique experience of being Black and a woman or being differently abled and a woman or being queer and a woman. They’re just sometimes looking at increasing participation by women and if we’re only making a change regarding increasing the number of white and Asian women, if that’s what we’re doing, then we’re not solving the problem. You’ve helped to build this company you’ve created, you have 270 people who are gainfully employed. You’re making way with trying to create opportunities for other Black girls in Silicon Valley, so what’s next for you? I am so excited that I have the opportunity to use all of the learning and all of the momentum that I gained while I was at Zume to build my next company. The company is going to be the first food company built on a 100 percent regenerative supply chain. This means that we’re moving beyond just organic food or moving beyond just sustainable food. We’re moving into food and food products that actually regenerate, replenish, and heal the earth. For example, if Americans ate 10 percent less red meat and replaced that red meat with beans, lentils, lagoons, we could reduce global warming in America to the tune of something like taking 25 million cars off the road. I’m building a food company that relies on a regenerative supply chain so that we can begin to turn back the hands of time. With regenerative agriculture, we can do that. The other thing I care a lot about is social justice, and so I’m doubling down on the work that I’m doing with Black Girls Code and I’m also going to be doing some angel investing, really focusing on female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color and I’m going to be launching both of those initiatives in 2019. Why did you decide to leave Zume at this moment, a company you’ve worked so hard and long to build, what does it feel like to step away? I can only tell you that it’s bittersweet. The hardest thing to leave behind is the team. This is the first time in my life when I truly have the freedom to do absolutely whatever I want, and although I’d been an entrepreneur in the past, I’ve never had the level of knowledge, momentum, and access, that I do now. I feel like to whom much is given, much is expected, and because of all the incredible fortune that I’ve had to this point, I think that it is my absolute duty to create something to create a business that has the maximum amount of impact.",2346,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00011.warc.gz,0.973895728588104
00575aa5-3356-4efc-bcff-08b68c1e64c2,2022-05-16T23:17:06+00:00,2020-02-15,1,https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/02/disney-is-pitching-developers-to-make-more-licensed-games/,"After everything that happened with Disney Infinity and The House of Mouse’s relationship with games in the past, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Disney were happy to remain a step removed from the video game industry. As it turns out, Mickey Mouse wants to get back into gaming.
Sean Shoptaw, vice president of gaming and interactive experiences at Disney, reportedly made the pitch to game developers during this year’s DICE summit in Las Vegas. “I’m here for one specific reason: to empower you to do really unique things with our [catalog] … we want to tap into the power of creatives across the industry,” Hollywood Reporter quoted Hoptaw as saying.
Disney’s previous experience in managing game development hasn’t always worked out – there’s plenty of great Disney games that ended up on the cutting room floor – but recent experiences have clearly caught their eye when it comes to licensing out their back catalog. Jedi Fallen Order is on track to sell more than 10 million units, according to EA, and the game hasn’t released a single piece of DLC yet. There’s also the success of Kingdom Hearts 3, and the influence of the success other publishers are having with reinterpretations or reimaginations of classic IP (like Insomniac’s Spider-Man).
Imagine Captain Woody and his fearless crew of toys journeying from planet to planet, looking for signs of life and new lands to explore. Tasked by Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, the rinky dink cast of Toy Story were going to explore the edges of space, helping colonies of toys from all over the galaxy.Read more
Disney’s bank of IP is a lot bigger these days after the 20th Century Fox acquisition too, meaning that Disney can get developers to pitch them video game adaptations of things like Avatar, Alien vs Predator, M*A*S*H*, X-Men, Deadpool, Die Hard. (Ubisoft has already been working on a video game adaptation of Avatar, and hopefully with the new consoles we might see something about it this year.)
With the rise of live services and games like Sea of Thieves – not to mention how good the recreation in Kingdom Hearts 3 was – I’m still hopeful that Pirates of the Carribean will get the right video game treatment one day. But we’ve been down that road before and failed.
What Disney/20th Century Fox IPs would you like to see remade into a video game?",526,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662512249.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516204516-20220516234516-00012.warc.gz,0.950468838214874
098faed7-5069-4536-a86e-c5dd7720b162,2018-08-20T20:46:09+00:00,2018-08-20,0,http://www.trinityquiltdesigns.com/about-us/,"The staff members of Trinity Designs are all quilters and we are committed to providing the highest level of customer service. We strive to make quilting patterns to help in your everyday quilting projects.
The everyday purpose of our company is to glorify God through our business transactions, our work and our relationships.
Our shipping facilities are located in Wellington, Nevada. We sit at the foothills of the Sierras just a few miles from the beautiful Lake Tahoe.
We are delighted to have you shopping with us!
-Marianne Christensen and staff
DBA Trinity Quilt Designs
Phone: (775) 265-2824",134,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217006.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820195652-20180820215652-00160.warc.gz,0.922439336776733
48092db1-2d1b-4b11-9802-8c3ec2af3498,2015-04-01T22:37:14+00:00,2009-11-02,0,http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=3589,"November 2, 2009 9:49:00 AM
Area residents were in health departments early this morning to get vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu.
Dosages of the vaccine for swine flu became available this morning at health departments throughout the state.
Lowndes County Health Department Spokeswoman Brenda Martin said this morning they have 600 doses available, and residents -- she did not specify how many -- already had arrived to get the vaccine.
The vaccine is available for pregnant women, children ages 6 months to 4 years and those sharing a home with or providing care for infants.
""That is what we are telling people who come to the clinic because that is our instructions from the State Department of Health,"" Martin said.
Gay Willcutt, a nurse with the Oktibbeha County Health Department, said they have 300 doses of the vaccine.
Those who getting the vaccine need to have their Social Security number with them, said Martin.
""If they are on Medicare or Medicaid, or the CHIP (Child Health Insurance Plan), they need to bring their card,"" she said.
Officials with health departments in Clay, Monroe and Noxubee counties did not have specific numbers of the amount of the H1N1 vaccine distributed to them, but the Mississippi State Department of Health said the vaccine is being distributed according to the county''s population needs, and the amounts change as it becomes more available.
For those getting the vaccine in Lowndes County, Martin said the health department is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
""We stop seeing patients at 4 p.m.,"" she said.
The Oktibbeha County Health Department is open Monday-Friday from 8-5 p.m.
""They need to come before 3,"" Willcutt said.
Diane Clark, a coordinating nurse with the Monroe County Health Department in Amory, said the Amory clinic is open Monday-Thursday from 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. The Aberdeen clinic is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at the same times.
""If people need the vaccine on Wednesdays, they can come to Amory, If they need it on Friday, they need to come to Aberdeen,"" she said.
The Clay County Health Department is open Monday-Friday from 8-11 a.m., and 1-4 p.m. The Noxubee County Health Department is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Allen Baswell is a former staff reporter for The Dispatch
lee commented at 11/2/2009 11:15:00 AM:
The Vaccine could cause long term dangerous effects.
matt commented at 11/2/2009 12:44:00 PM:
So could the polio vaccine as a matter of fact so can all vaccines but the things they prevent are much more dangerous then the vaccines. My son has received this vaccine today and so should all children in the danger groups. I would not let a few misinformed people put my childs life in danger. My girlfriend today had an uneducated girl tell her that she wouldn't have her child take the vaccine if she were her but at the same time was smoking cigarettes while pregnant.
ruby commented at 11/10/2009 4:32:00 PM:
I am neither uninformed or uneducated and my children will not be getting it. It is up to the parents to make that decision we have done that looking at pros and cons, so not everyone who is against the H1N1 vaccine is uneducated or misinformed, and not all Physicians believe it is right for everyone to be vaccinated with this vaccine!!.............
3. New Hope statutory rape case to go to grand jury COLUMBUS & LOWNDES COUNTY
4. Woman charged with child exploitation COLUMBUS & LOWNDES COUNTY",808,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00158-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968768954277039
48b060e9-cd6d-4f28-b8d4-a6c031886e93,2016-07-29T17:59:09+00:00,2012-11-28,0,http://www.nzherald.co.nz/pike-river-mine-blast/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503000&objectid=10853852,"Prime Minister John Key today fronted an at times angry group of Pike River Mine families in Greymouth to apologise - and pledge funding of about $10 million to recover the main tunnel.
Mr Key said afterwards it was important to apologise face to face on behalf of the Government, but he stuck to his view that recovering the 29 bodies from the main workings of the mine remained unlikely.
Most families stayed until the end but some left early, with Anna Osborne saying she did not even want an apology: ""It's far too late, two years down the track.''
She attended the meeting to stress the need to bring home the men, and said Mr Key told them money would not be an issue when it came to recovering the main tunnel (drift).
Lawrie Drew, who also left early, said everyone was at a stalemate, with the Government advisers saying one thing and the families' advisers another.
""It's the same merry-go-round.''
Mr Key acknowledged the families had been frustrated by his message that a body recovery remained unlikely. He stressed to journalists that the Royal Commission itself cautioned against such a bid.
He did not want to leave the families with false hope, he said.
However, he said the Government would fund the drift recovery, and noting that the figure of $10m had been suggested.
In his letter to families, delivered last week, Mr Key said he regretted ""deeply'' the lives lost and the suffering caused.
He said the Royal Commission's report painted a disturbing picture of corporate and regulatory failure.
""On behalf of the Government, I want to reiterate my apology to the families, friends and loved ones of the deceased men for the role this lack of regulatory effectiveness played in the tragedy.''
But he also said the mine's new owner, Solid Energy, remained of the view that re-entry further into the mine was too risky.
Mr Key said Bruce Parkes, a senior manager at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was the new liaison between the families and Government.",418,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00212-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97995525598526
102b0f52-1110-46fe-99ab-a86a83dcd489,2013-05-18T17:38:10+00:00,2013-05-14,0,http://k2radio.com/car-per-man-proposed-for-casper-police-department/,"Car-Per-Man Proposed For Casper Police Department
Casper City Council will consider investment in a Car-Per-Man program for the city’s police force when it carries out budget hearings at the end of the month.
At its work session Tuesday, Chief of Police Chris Walsh, outlined proven benefits that include lowered maintenance, operation and replacement costs, man hours saved, faster call out times, plus acting as a morale boost and likely officer retention tool.
“And you would see this improvement and presence of police officers, marked police cars, that definitely serve as a deterrent for criminal issues, for traffic issues. It helps stabilize all those things that everybody gets frustrated with. Ya know, Where’s a cop when you need em.”
Walsh points out that most major cities in Wyoming already operate on a one-to-one basis, that is, one car per officer. All report positive results.
The upfront investment has council wavering as to how quick it could be implemented. Anticipated start up would be just under $2.4 million for purchase of an additional 42 vehicles.",231,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949432790279388
54f736e7-f00a-42f5-a660-f7265951d40f,2022-05-27T06:57:16+00:00,1988-12-31,0,https://www.cs.nmsu.edu/ALP/the-association-for-logic-programming/policies-2/alp-by-laws/,"ASSOCIATION FOR LOGIC PROGRAMMING CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1. MEMBERS 1.1 Classes of Members The Association shall have five classes of members: - Regular Members, - Affiliated Members, who shall have all the rights and privileges of Regular Members except the right to vote, - Student Members, who shall have all the rights and privileges of Regular Members except the right to vote, - Honorary Members, who shall have all the rights and privileges of Regular Members except that the annual subscription shall be waived, - Honorary Student Members, who shall have all the rights and privileges of Student Members except that the annual subscription shall be waived, - Institutional Members, who shall have all the rights and privileges of Regular Members except the right to vote. 1.2 Membership 1.2.1 Membership shall be open to persons interested in the study of Logic Programming and the design of Logic Programming systems. Corporate bodies, departments in educational establishments and libraries with interests in this field of activity may be admitted as Institutional Members. 1.2.2 Any person may become a Member upon acceptance of an application for membership by the Executive Council and payment of the subscription. 1.2.3 By decision of the Executive Council any other Society or Association with interests in Logic Programming may be accorded Affiliated Status. All members of an affiliated society shall become Affiliated Members of the Association. 1.2.4 Annual subscriptions shall be determined by the Executive Council. 1.3 Voting Rights Each Regular Member shall be entitled to one vote of any vote of the membership. 1.4 Right to inspect documents Any Member shall be entitled to inspect the books and records of the Association at the Head Office from time to time of the Association during normal working hours on reasonable prior notice for any proper purpose. 1.5 Termination of Membership 1.5.1 If a Member shall fail to pay the current subscription within the renewal period set by the Secretary, then that Member's membership shall terminate automatically. 1.5.2 The Executive Council shall have the right to suspend or expel any Member by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the Members of the Executive Council. 1.5.3 Any Member may resign by sending a written resignation to the Secretary. 1.6 Reinstatement The Executive Council may reinstate a former Member who has applied to the Secretary-Treasurer in writing for reinstatement. 1.7 Transfer of membership Membership of the Association is not transferable. ARTICLE 2 MEETINGS OF MEMBERS 2.1 A meeting of Members shall normally be held annually at the meeting of the International Conference on Logic Programming. If there shall be no meeting of this Conference in any year then a meeting of Members may be held at a time and place specified by the Executive Council to be announced in the Newsletter. 2.2 Voting at the annual meeting shall be by show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by any Member. The result of any vote shall be announced before the termination or adjournment of the meeting. ARTICLE 3 MANNER OF VOTING 3.1 Except at an annual meeting all voting by the membership shall be conducted by post. 3.2 No Member shall be entitled to appoint a proxy. 3.3 Unless otherwise stated in these Articles any vote shall be decided by a simple majority. ARTICLE 4 ELECTIONS 4.1 An Election Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Council and shall be responsible for the conduct of elections. 4.2 Unless otherwise determined by the Executive Council not later than 1st July in any Election Year, the Election Date shall be 30th November. 4.3 The Election Committee shall nominate one or more persons for the position of President and for any positions falling vacant on the Executive Council. 4.4 The Election Committee shall circulate such nominations to the membership not less than thirty days before the Election Date. The Election Committee shall include in the list of nominations any name submitted to it before such circulation and supported by ten Members. 4.5 All terms of office shall run from 1st January in the year following the election. 4.6 Any vacancy which occurs on the Executive Council after 1st August in any year may be filled by the Executive Council until the next scheduled election. ARTICLE 5 OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION 5.1 The Association shall have the following Officers who shall be elected by a vote of the Membership: (a) President (who shall be elected for a two-year term). Unless re-elected, at the end of his term of office he/she shall automatically become Past-President and serve in that capacity until the newly elected President becomes the Past-President. (b) Seven Executive Committee members (who shall normally be elected for a term of four years: of those elected in the first election in 1988, however, four shall serve for the four-year term but the other three shall serve for two years only - unless re-elected). (c) No such Officer may serve more than two consecutive terms in the same capacity. 5.2 In addition the Association shall have a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Conference Coordinator, a Conference Budget Auditor and an Editor of the Newsletter who shall be appointed as Officers by the Executive Council and who shall serve for such term as the Executive Council shall determine. 5.3 All Officers must be Members of the Association. 5.4 The Officers of the Association shall fulfil the following functions: 5.4.1 The President shall be the principal executive officer of the Association. He/she shall: (a) supervise the affairs of the Association, (b) normally chair all meetings of Members and of the Executive Council: if for any reason he/she is absent he/she may nominate any other Officer of the Association to chair any such meeting, (c) have charge and custody of, and be responsible for, all funds and securities of the Association. 5.4.2 The Secretary shall: (a) keep or cause to be kept correct and complete: (i) minutes of meetings of Members, the Executive Council and committees of the Association, (ii) a register of Members entitled to vote together with their addresses. 5.4.3 The Treasurer shall (a) keep correct and complete books and records of accounts, (b) receive and give receipts for monies due and payable to the Association and make deposits in banks, trust companies or other depositories selected by him/her or by the Executive Council, (c) be custodian of records of the Association and of any company formed by the Association for the management of its affairs, (d) prepare annual account summaries that are published in the Newsletter once every year, (e) monitor on a regular basis the finances of the Association, and, particularly, its cash flow situation for the forthcoming period (typically 12 to 24 months) 5.4.4 The Conference Co-ordinator shall have overall responsibility for co-ordinating meetings of adopted Conferences and Workshops of the Association and for liaising with the organisers of co-sponsored Conferences. 5.4.5 The role of the Conference Budget Auditor is to liaise with the Conference Chairman of each adopted/sponsored Conference and to agree with the Conference Chair the proposed budget for the Conference. 5.4.6 The Newsletter Editor shall have responsibility for editing and publishing the Association Newsletter under the overall direction of the Publications Committee. ARTICLE 6 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 6.1.1 The Executive Council shall consist of the President, the Past President of the Association and the seven Executive Committee members. Other Officers of the Association and Chairmen of Appointed Committees shall be entitled to attend all meetings of the Executive Council but shall not be entitled to vote in decisions taken by the Executive Council. They are not members of the Executive Council. 6.1.2 The Executive Council shall be entitled to admit to any meeting of the Executive Council any other Member of the Association, but such Members shall not be entitled to vote. 6.1.3 A quorum for the purposes of the Executive Council shall consist of five members of the Executive Council. 6.2 The Executive Council shall meet once a year during the International Conference on Logic Programming and at such other times as it shall determine. 6.3 The Executive Council shall manage the affairs of the Association including (but not by way of limitation) setting the amount of the annual subscription rates for each class of Member (which shall be reviewed annually) and the qualification for membership. 6.4 No elected member of the Executive Council shall receive any salary for his/her services as a member of the Executive Council but this shall not prevent such an elected member from serving the Association in some other capacity which carries a salary. 6.5 The Executive Council may authorise: (a) any Officer or agent of the Association to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Association, (b) the Secretary, the President and/or any other Officer or agent of the Association to sign any cheque, draft or order of payment. Any cheque above the value of One Thousand Pounds (or such other sum as the Executive Council may from time to time substitute there for) must be signed by the President or such other two persons as the Executive Council may from time to time authorise. 6.6 Decisions of the Executive Council may be made by votes sent to the President or Secretary by ordinary or electronic mail. A quorum for such votes shall consist of five members of the Executive Council. ARTICLE 7 COMMITTEES 7.1 The Executive Council may appoint the following committees and such other committee(s) as it may deem appropriate: (a) The Election Committee, which shall be responsible for the conduct of elections. (b) The Program Committee for each meeting of an adopted conference. The membership of the Program Committee is determined by the Executive Council taking into account the recommendations of the Chairman of the Program Committee. The Chairman of the Program Committee shall be the Editor of the Proceedings of the meeting of the Conference and, together with the President, shall be responsible for arranging the publication of the Proceedings. (c) The Conference Organisation Committee for each meeting of an adopted Conference, which will be responsible for the planning and execution of that meeting of the Conference. The Conference Co-ordinator shall be a member of every Conference Organisation Committee formed during his term of office. The Chairman of the Conference Organisation Committee shall be the General Chairman of the meeting of the Conference. (d) The Publications Committee, which shall be responsible for the Newsletter of the Association and/or any other publication specified by the Executive Council, which shall appoint the members and Chairperson of the Committee. The Editor of the Newsletter shall also be a member of the Publications Committee. ARTICLE 8 CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS 8.1 An Association Conference is a conference/workshop (which may include a co-sponsored conference/workshop) which has been formally adopted by the Association by means of a two-thirds vote of the Executive Council. 8.2 The Executive Council will appoint the General Chairman and the Chairman of the Program Committee and decide the date and location of each meeting of an adopted Conference. 8.3 Unless otherwise decided by the Executive Council, the Association shall be entitled to all net profits engendered by a meeting of an adopted Conference and to all royalties arising from the sale of any publication of the Proceedings of such meeting. 8.4 The International Logic Programming Conference and the International Logic Programming Symposium are Conferences which have been formally adopted by the Association. 8.5.1 The Association may also co-sponsor a conference/workshop in an area related to Logic Programming as determined by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Council. 8.5.2 In return for such co-sponsorship, the Association shall be entitled to such a share of the profits engendered by the co-sponsored conference/workshop and of the royalties arising from the sale of any publication of proceedings of such conference/workshop as determined by the Executive Council. ARTICLE 9 PUBLICATION OF A NEWSLETTER 9.1 The Association shall publish at least once per year a Newsletter which shall be distributed to all Members free of charge. ARTICLE 10 ADMINISTRATION 10.1 The Association has procured the incorporation of the Association for Logic Programming Limited, a private limited company resident in England and Wales to administer the functions of the Association. The President, and such other Officers of the Association as the Executive Council may nominate, shall be directors of the Company and the Secretary shall be its secretary. All funds received by the Association shall be paid into the Company and its audited accounts shall be published annually in the Newsletter. ARTICLE 11 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 11.1 The Constitution of the Association may be altered: (a) by a majority vote of the Association provided that at least one-third of the total membership shall vote in favour, or (b) by resolution of the Executive Council with not less than six Members of the Executive Council voting in favour of the resolution.",2648,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662636717.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527050925-20220527080925-00608.warc.gz,0.950513660907745
ece35e25-b624-4aa1-a871-0eef207cd19b,2015-03-30T23:17:21+00:00,2012-10-10,1,http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-10-10/abu-qatada-asks-london-judges-to-block-extradition-to-jordan-1-.html,"Abu Qatada Asks London Judges to Block Extradition to Jordan
Abu Qatada, an Islamic cleric accused of having links to the al-Qaeda terrorist group, asked a U.K. judge to block his extradition to Jordan.
The 51-year-old terror suspect, whose real name is Omar Othman, began an eight-day case at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in London today to avoid facing trial for terror-related offenses in Jordan.
The latest hearing follows a series of attempts to avoid deportation by Abu Qatada, whose lawyers say he has been subject to the longest period of administrative detention in recent English history. Two U.K. judges last week refused to block the extradition of another cleric, 54-year-old Abu Hamza, to the U.S. after eight years of legal wrangling, part of which included a U.K. prison sentence for encouraging followers to kill Jews and other non-Muslims.
Abu Qatada, who denies links to al-Qaeda, was briefly released from U.K. custody in February after the Strasbourg, France-based European Court of Human Rights ruled his right to a fair trial may be violated by his deportation. The U.K. subsequently said it received assurances from Jordan he would receive a fair, civilian trial and British police re-arrested him April 17.
The human rights court refused in May to hear an appeal by Abu Qatada against the U.K. deportation order on separate grounds that he may face torture in Jordan.
He was also denied bail by a London court in May. The judge in that case ruled security resources would be in high demand during the Olympic Games and releasing Abu Qatada would place an unnecessary burden on police. His lawyers then failed in July to convince a London court to review the decision.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy Hodges in London at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at email@example.com",429,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00200-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971678853034973
f229427b-8d8e-442b-a8c0-999ff4fbfe95,2022-05-23T07:38:56+00:00,2021-11-01,0,https://krfofm.com/the-only-place-to-see-the-canadian-pacific-holiday-train-in-2021/,"The Only Place To See The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in 2021
The Candian Pacific Holiday Train started chugging around Canada and the United States back in 1999 with the goal of spreading holiday cheer and raising funds for local food banks. Keith Creel, the President and Cheif Executive Officer for Canadian Pacific, said, ""The spirit of the Holiday Train is about giving generously and inspiring those around us to give as well.""
The train has certainly inspired donations at each of its stops. Since 1999 Canadian Pacific has raised close to $20-million dollars and collected nearly 5-million pounds of food.
Last year the train didn't travel from city to city because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, organizers hosted a virtual event that featured several musical acts.
I was hoping things would return to normal this year because I really wanted to take my kids. I have a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy who have never seen the train. They love everything about Christmas so I know they're going to freak out when they finally get to see it in person.
Unfortunately, that won't be this year. The only place to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in 2021 is going to be online. Earlier this month organizers made the decision to keep the train off the tracks and hold another virtual event this year. Additional details on how and when to watch the virtual program will be posted here in the coming weeks.
While we are disappointed we again cannot bring the Holiday Train to communities, we are honored to run a virtual program and continue to support communities and food banks across our network as they work to address food insecurity in North America."" - Keith Creel, President and Cheif Executive Officer for Canadian Pacific.",354,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662556725.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523071517-20220523101517-00608.warc.gz,0.966691553592682
52c8e21e-32e4-4657-b9ba-5a3bfc02cdda,2018-08-20T17:16:46+00:00,2018-04-26,1,http://az732437.vo.msecnd.net/advanced-engineering/news/foresight-williams-technology-eis-fund-invests-into-geospatial-insight,"Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund invests £1.68m into Geospatial Insight
• Geospatial Insight is a leading provider of satellite imagery analysis for insurance, investment and corporate sectors
• Established team with +20-year track record in the sector
• The Fund supports disruptive technologies with high performance engineering capability and proven investment management
LONDON, 26 April 2018: Foresight Group (“Foresight”) announces the £1.68 million investment from the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund (“the Fund”) into Geospatial Insight (the “Company”).
Geospatial Insight is a leading provider of satellite imagery analysis for the insurance, investment and corporate sectors. Their product combines satellite imagery with video, positioning and commercial data and provides qualitative and quantitative analysis to produce actionable business intelligence tailored specifically to their clients. The Company also provides loss estimation and claims analysis services to the insurance sector.
Established in 2012 by industry experts Dave Fox (CEO), Dan Schnurr (CIO), Adrian Watson (CFO) and Paul Fearn (CTO), a team that has worked together for more than 20 years in the sector, Geospatial Insight currently has 28 employees and plans to hire additional developers to expand its machine learning capabilities as well as specialist business development staff.
Alongside the Fund’s investment, Geospatial Insight will benefit from the investment management and growth experience from Foresight’s team of investment professionals. In addition, the Company will benefit from the link to Williams Advanced Engineering (“Williams”) who are well-equipped to help accelerate the development of Geospatial Insight’s machine learning capabilities. The Company’s focus will continue to be on the creation of scalable information products, delivered by proprietary machine learning software, enabling significant reductions in labour costs and greater overall capacity.
John Holden, Principal, Foresight said: “We are delighted to be backing this experienced and capable team. Since the company’s foundation in 2012, they have established a strong market position and our investment will support further product development and a growing customer base. The Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund has had a busy and successful start to 2018 and we look forward to the rest of the year with more deals in the pipeline.”
Craig Wilson, Managing Director, Williams Advanced Engineering, said: “Williams is pleased to be entering into this new partnership agreement with Geospatial Insight and to have the opportunity to be involved in enhancing its valuable business intelligence service offerings within a growing market.”
Dave Fox, CEO, Geospatial Insight said: “We are delighted to receive investment from the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund. During the next 12 months we will be strengthening our machine learning expertise and developing new customer propositions that better inform enterprise decision making. By doing so we will also further extend our unique expertise and solidify our position as market leaders in intelligence derived from satellite, aerial and drone imagery.”
This is the Fund’s fourth investment, following investments into following a £500,000 investment into Southampton-based Utonomy, a ground-breaking intelligent gas grid solutions provider last September; Codeplay, an Edinburgh-based software developer and software consultancy business involved in Heterogeneous Systems and The Salford Valve Company (“Salvalco”), a company providing ecologically sustainable aerosol valves.",711,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216718.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820160510-20180820180510-00602.warc.gz,0.9308180809021
a83f5a6d-90b0-47ac-ae59-e724bb3cb878,2015-03-30T05:54:37+00:00,2013-04-04,1,http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/3186342/Rotating-Equipment-Drivers/Shell-looks-to-sell-Geelong-refinery-in-Australia.html,"By ROSS KELLY
SYDNEY -- Royal Dutch Shell said it plans to sell its only
oil refinery in Australia, as the local industry struggles to
compete with low-cost operators in Asia.
The number of refineries in Australia has dwindled in recent
years as vast new processing facilities have sprung up in India, Singapore and elsewhere in
the region, producing products such as gasoline, jet fuel and
motor oil more cheaply.
The Anglo-Dutch oil company said Thursday it may convert its
refinery in Geelong to a fuel import
terminal if it can't find a buyer. The plant, near the
country's second-most populous city, Melbourne, currently
supplies about half of Victoria state's fuel. It employs about
450 staff, plus between 100 and 150 contractors.
Shell has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to assist with
the sale process, which it expects to complete by the end of
Last year, the company converted a refinery in the commercial capital,
Sydney, to an import terminal. Caltex Australia, half-owned by
Chevron, plans to make a similar conversion to its Sydney
refinery next year.
The Geelong plant is larger than Shell's former Sydney
operation, producing up to 120,000 bpd of crude oil. It can
process cheaper types of crude and also makes a larger range of
products including solvents, high-octane gasoline and bitumen,
potentially making it a more attractive sale target.
""Every refinery in Australia is different,"" said Andrew
Smith, the head of Shell Australia's refining unit. He declined to
comment on whether the refinery is profitable, or if it has
attracted any early buyer interest.
Among the handful of remaining refineries in Australia,
Caltex has another plant in Brisbane, BP owns refineries in
Perth and Brisbane, and ExxonMobil has a refinery in Melbourne.
Dow Jones Newswires",411,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00114-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.930278599262238
5c28dcaf-3107-4788-9469-3ef20a185eab,2020-10-27T23:00:43+00:00,2020-10-27,1,https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/saab-to-reshore-defence-health-system-business,"SAAB Australia is to relocate its global Deployable Health System Design and Development Centre from Europe to Australia following the win of a $370 million defence contract to deliver cutting-edge deployable health equipment.
The first five-years of the contract will see Saab Australia enhance the ADF’s clinical health care response capability by delivering more than 500 deployable health modules.
The modules will provide a different health function, such as pathology, intensive care, treatment and holding, resuscitation, surgery, primary dental care, imaging, and environmental health.
Around $240 million of the contract value to be spent in Australia.
Minister for defence Linda Reynolds said the new health modules would align with cutting-edge international military health capabilities.
She said: “The performance-based support contract with Saab Australia will increase efficiency, reduce overheads, and most importantly, provide the ADF with flexibility to refresh health technology to meet evolving operational requirements, including domestic and regional humanitarian deployments.”
As part of the contract Saab Australia will establish a Deployable Health Capability Support Centre in south-east Queensland, creating 50 new full-time positions.
The site of the centre has not yet been selected.
Subscribe to our free @AuManufacturing newsletter here.",262,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894890.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027225224-20201028015224-00484.warc.gz,0.92818295955658
bb67397d-1e88-4852-a784-18c877768198,2017-08-24T08:29:34+00:00,2013-10-01,0,https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/your-14-year-old-personality-nothing-you-77,"Think back to what you were like as a young teen. Were you shy or outgoing, happy or moody, responsible or not so much? Now look at yourself as an adult. Despite changes in your fashion sense and music taste, has your personality stayed pretty much the same?
Past research has found that personality typically remains relatively stable from adolescence into early adulthood, but until recently few studies have looked at the long term. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh believe they've completed the longest-ever personality study, measuring personality in the same group of people in early adolescence, then again in their much later years. The results, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, found that there may not be much of a correlation between people's personalities at 14 and their personalities at 77.
“Personality in older age may be quite different from personality in childhood,” the researchers concluded.
For the first part of the study, researchers used data from a 1950 study in Scotland where teachers rated their 14-year-old students on six personality characteristics: self-confidence, perseverance, stability of moods, conscientiousness, originality and desire to excel.
In 2012, the researchers tracked down 635 of those teens who had been assessed more than six decades earlier. Of that group, 174 agreed to take part in a new survey a year later. Now 77 years old, they rated themselves on the same personality traits teachers had rated them on so many years earlier. In addition, they nominated a close friend or family member to rate them on the same characteristics, too.
Personality changes through life
The researchers found there was no significant correlation between the ratings teachers had offered when the participants were 14 and the personality ratings participants gave themselves or the ones their friends gave them at age 77.
""We hypothesized that we would find evidence of personality stability over an even longer period of 63 years, but our correlations did not support this hypothesis, appearing inconsistent with previous results,"" the researchers wrote.
So the teenage you may not even remotely resemble the more senior version of yourself, it turns out.
""Personality changes only gradually throughout life, but by older age it may be quite different from personality in childhood,"" the researchers conclude. ""Future studies should focus on developing better understanding of how and why personality changes throughout the life course.""",470,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133447.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824082227-20170824102227-00442.warc.gz,0.972920894622803
588311da-3ea6-4a3a-86fb-b6c7e857a89a,2019-08-22T13:48:57+00:00,2019-08-22,0,https://mbousoksh4.ru/index.php?n=25&id=152841,"The Point was a large park that jutted into Lake Michigan. xxxnagenvideo Indian gal full First Night rep sex videos free download videos
Like a whipped dog she slinked over to Mike and gingerly started to extract his dick from his pants. WWW.XXX SLEPEN VIDEOS.COM hard on pills
Raj wap.in screensize very small very LQ mom and son She lay beside me once she was done. Axxx.Maudhri.dixi.hot
She knew right there and then that she had to have it in her mouth, to feel that velvet skin against her tongue, running along her lips. Baqvo tube
Donlodwww.hdredtube.co/japanese/ Bending to pick it up, a frisbee whizzed where his head 3gp xxx lezby vidio legate Www.40sal.gairl.xxx
I called and arranged a day trip up to a mountain park, just me and her. 3gp xxx lezby vidio legate
His mom smiled from her chair at the table, That would be an understatement. Www.40sal.gairl.xxx sildenafil citrate 100mg lowest price
Baqvo tube You are supposed to be courting Miss Forthampton! his mother chided.
Doctor suggested loose light shirts for the next week.
WWW.XXX SLEPEN VIDEOS.COM Thank you, Master! she squealed, running toward the front door. xxxnagenvideo
I made friends. Raat seaxy
Candice gave her gag to Jeff and made a note to soak it in bleach tomorrow. buy generic viagra online usa
Sexy download 3gp 3gp indian two mallu anti same ling sex I could feel her own moan of pleasure as she fingered herself to completion.
HD xxx porn girl nach dehati hindi His thoughts led him again to his current dilemma, his situation with Lilith.
SISTARBRO XXX HD 69.COM She moved my softening prick around as she checked her work for cleanliness. Jackie Cruz xxx 3gb download
You have a really nice little mouth. buy generic viagra online usa
deep throat cocksuckers It felt like she was milking the come out of him as he buried himself full length inside her, and spurted off while balls deep in the college sophomore. Donlodwww.hdredtube.co/japanese/
london keyes video Sonya thought that the donkey was looking them over like he was sizing them up, admiring their statuesque figures as though he was wondering which one of them he was going to get to make his next sexual conquest. brunette teen first dildo anal mobile
Our first stop was the gas station to get fuel for the generator, but it took a while to find one that actually had power. solowife porn free video
I hate losing Kelly, but you earned her! sex betite teen f ball rulincauknab
He then turned back to his daughters. viagra patent expiration
alexandra stan nude This was amazing!
Petite innocent looking teen brunette Mika Sparx with braids and legjobb xnxx Jenny before leaving home was a healthy, active, fun loving young woman; pretty as a picture. www. lawak humor batak xxx you tube video mesum pelajar.3gp
She nodded, If it were just girls we might have an idea what was happening. video mesum pelajar.3gp www. lawak humor batak xxx you tube",773,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317130.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822130553-20190822152553-00081.warc.gz,0.966945946216583
b8df8e15-cf39-46fb-979b-091ca5f5fc94,2020-10-22T20:23:25+00:00,2015-08-22,1,http://tabooya.com/blog/2015/08/22/lost-nazi-train-filled-with-treasure-found-poland-officials-say/,"According to Polish officials, two men, one German and one Polish, are claiming to have found a long-forgotten Nazi train filled with treasure near the city of Walbrzych, Vice reported today.
The train’s existence was long thought to be a myth. But Polish officials believe the men’s claim is authentic and are taking the lead seriously, due to the fact that the men hired lawyers and “are demanding 10 percent of the train’s value in exchange for telling authorities its location,” the report said.
“One of the lawyers for the men compared the discovery of the train to the ‘wreck of the Titanic’ on a Polish radio station,” reported AP.
According to WWII historians, “the Nazis had constructed a system of underground tunnels in the region, when it was under German control, to transport materials during the war. The 490-foot train was believed to have left Wroclaw – then Breslau – in 1945 and disappeared somewhere in the mountains. The Nazis later closed the underground tunnels and stations when the war ended, possibly sealing off stolen treasure.”
“The district governor has called a meeting with firefighters, police, military and others to explore how they can safely handle the train if it is finally discovered. Not only could it be armed with explosives, but methane gas underground could add to the risk of an explosion,” the AP report says.",298,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880038.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022195658-20201022225658-00574.warc.gz,0.974873840808868
0f455861-02a0-4d9f-b804-83d2ff3d1829,2015-03-28T14:22:23+00:00,2013-11-06,1,http://nsvrc.org/print/news/news-field/21039,"By Jennifer Steinhauer
WASHINGTON — Reports of sexual assault in the military increased sharply during the last fiscal year, new Pentagon figures showed Wednesday, just weeks before a defense bill with provisions to tackle the problem is expected to reach the Senate floor.
There were 3,553 sexual assault complaints reported to the Defense Department in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, from October 2012 through June, a nearly 50 percent increase over the same period a year earlier. Defense Department officials said the numbers had continued to rise.
The numbers included sexual assaults by civilians on service members and by service members on civilians. Sexual assault was defined in the report as rape, sodomy and other unwanted sexual contact, including touching of private body parts. It did not include sexual harassment, which is handled by another office in the military.
Military officials cast the increase of reported complaints in positive terms and said it showed an increased willingness among victims of assault to come forward. But the numbers are also the latest in a series of developments underscoring the problem of sexual assault in the military, which has vexed Pentagon officials and drawn fire from Congress and the White House.
“More reports mean more victims are getting the necessary health care,” said Maj. Gen. Gary S. Patton, the director of the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. “More reports means a bridge to more cases being investigated by law enforcement and more offenders being held accountable.”
Each year the department reports the number of assault claims, which lag behind a separate survey on sexual assault taken every other year among 1.4 million active-duty service members. Last summer that survey found that about 26,000 men and women in the military were sexually assaulted in 2011, up from 19,000 in 2010.
The release of the new data comes at a time when Congress is considering changes to the military justice system that would give sexual assault victims more resources and possibly reduce the power of military commanders to reverse the convictions of offenders.
On Thursday and Friday a congressional panel will hold public hearings designed to assess the progress of the military in reducing the problem of sexual assault. So far the Pentagon is offering military commanders more education on preventing such assaults, expanding an Air Force program designed to provide legal counsel directly to victims and increasing the accountability for leaders across the chain of command.
In a twist, the Pentagon found that a substantial number of the reported cases of sexual assault — something less than 10 percent — occurred before the victim entered the military.
“Folks have heard about the services and programs that we have for victims, and they are walking in the door to get those services,” General Patton said. “This is a strong indicator that people have heard our message and believe we are going to take care of them.”
The number of cases of sexual assault that occurred before a victim joined the military were included in the 3,553 complaints.
The defense bill that is set to come to the Senate floor this month includes various changes to the military justice system. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, is to offer an amendment that would take sexual assault cases outside the military chain of command and give military prosecutors, rather than accusers’ commanders, the power to decide which cases to try. Pentagon leaders are strongly opposed to Ms. Gillibrand’s amendment.
Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, is pushing legislation that does not go as far. Supported by the Pentagon and Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee, the measure would strip commanders of their ability to overturn jury verdicts and mandate dishonorable discharge or dismissal for anyone convicted of sexual assault. But it would keep control of court-martial proceedings within the chain of command.
Another measure offered this week by Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, would exempt victims of sexual assault from having to testify at what the military calls Article 32 pretrial hearings, which can include cross-examinations of victim that are so intense they frighten many victims from coming forward.
On Wednesday, Ms. Gillibrand made a broad push in an effort to drum up 60 votes in support of her measure.
“There is no accountability,” she said during a news conference on Capitol Hill. “Because the trust that any justice will be served has been irreparably broken under the current system, where commanders hold all the cards over whether a case moves forward for prosecution.”
Ben Klay, a former Marine, choked up as he described the ordeal of his wife, Ariana Klay, a former Marine officer who was sexually assaulted.
“I’m lucky I married someone so strong,” he said, as Ms. Gillibrand and Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, appeared to cry. “Even though she still suffers.”
There remains little support for Ms. Gillibrand’s bill within the Pentagon.
“We want commanders more involved in solving this problem of sexual assault in the military, not less involved,” General Patton said.
(To read original article, visit this New York Times link )",1063,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297587.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00018-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964401185512543
bbfe2d88-850f-43c3-b840-75125c70c111,2019-08-17T15:46:23+00:00,2015-06-30,1,https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-we-could-put-a-million-people-on-mars-within-a-century-2015-6?utm_source=msn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=msn-story&utm_campaign=bodyurl,"If a human colony of just five or six people on Mars still sounds like a distant future dream, just wait till you hear about billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's Mars colony plan.
Musk is thinking much bigger, like closer to one million people bigger.
Sending a handful of people to Mars every few years will never make a thriving colony.
If we want anything close to the industry and infrastructure that's on Earth, we're going to need a huge labor force, Musk said in an interview with Ross Anderson for Aeon Magazine:
Even at a million, you're really assuming an incredible amount of productivity per person, because you would need to recreate the entire industrial base on Mars. You would need to mine and refine all of these different materials, in a much more difficult environment than Earth. There would be no trees growing. There would be no oxygen or nitrogen that are just there. No oil.
A million people sounds crazy right? Just wait, it gets better.
Even assuming you could carry 100 people at a time (and that's assuming a lot since most of the manned spacecraft currently under development are designed to seat about six people), you'd need to find the money for 10,000 launches. All those people will need a lot of supplies too, Musk said. He estimates about 10 cargo trips for every human trip. So that's 100,000 supply launches.
Here's the real kicker though: Musk says all this could happen within a century.
Rumor has it that Musk already has a design for a giant spaceship carrier that could seat 100 people. It's part of what's called the Mars Colonial Transporter plan — a fleet of spaceships and rockets designed for Mars travel. Musk has said he hopes to reveal some of these plans by the end of the year.
Even if Musk can produce these giant ships, the cost of 100,000 launches will be astronomical — if we are doing it in the traditional way. Musk has a plan for that too — he's not the traditional type.
His company SpaceX is working on developing 100% reusable rockets, and after only a few test landings he's getting incredibly close to success: ""Rockets are the only form of transportation on Earth where the vehicle is built anew for each journey,"" Musk said. ""What if you had to build a new plane for every flight?""
Reusable rockets would drive the cost down to just tens of thousands of dollars per pound of weight, Musk has estimated. That's about two orders of magnitude cheaper than the current cost. It would make it possible to launch people and supplies much faster. Instead of one launch every few months, reusable rockets mean we could be launching multiple times in a day.
Making all this happen within a century is... optimistic, to say the least.
But dreaming big has made Musk a billionaire and one of the most successful tech entrepreneurs in the world.
If someone can pull it off, it's probably him.",601,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00329.warc.gz,0.973209917545319
cc1097b9-342b-4972-af22-79103796892e,2015-04-01T18:30:33+00:00,2012-07-16,1,http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/minimum-drinks-price-welcome-1.537279?via=rel,"Minimum drinks price welcome
A MINISTER of State rarely gets the chance to make a lasting impact and improve public health. Mary Harney succeeded by banning bituminous coal from Dublin. Róisín Shorthall could follow that example by setting a minimum price for a unit of alcohol, thereby reducing binge drinking. Powerful commercial interests have campaigned against her, warning of job losses and a nanny state. Later this week, however, she will bring proposals to Cabinet that could change Irish life.
All political parties accept there is a serious problem with alcohol abuse. But, apart from commissioning reports and hand-wringing when public events deteriorate into outbreaks of violent and destructive behaviour – as happened at a recent Phoenix Park concert – little has been done. Now, Coalition and Opposition parties have an opportunity to put public health and welfare before corporate and business profits.
Eight years ago, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was in a similar position when, against ferocious opposition from tobacco and pub interests, he introduced a ban on smoking in public places. On that occasion, opinion polls found there was strong support for the smoking ban and that most tobacco-users would like to escape their addiction. A recent survey found a sizable majority of the electorate now favours a minimum unit price for alcohol, as proposed by Government. However, a small majority do not favour the ending of sports sponsorship by drink companies. Those findings will provide limited reassurance for senior Ministers faced with unpopular, but necessary, decisions.
Setting a minimum price for a unit of alcohol will impact most heavily on supermarkets and on outlets that promote wine, spirits and beer as “lost leaders” in efforts to attract customers for other products. Similar legislation has been enacted by the Scottish parliament. To avoid a cross-Border stampede, agreement has been reached between Ms Shorthall and Northern Ireland Health Minister Edwin Poots to establish a minimum price per unit of alcohol by the end of this year.
An Oireachtas committee suggested some months ago that online purchases of alcohol should be banned and supermarket and garage sales phased out. The main proposals from the Government’s advisory group on addiction involves: minimum alcohol pricing; the introduction of a social responsibility levy on the drinks industry; a ban on outdoor advertising and the phasing out of sports sponsorship by 2016. Ms Shorthall and the Government may not legislate for all of these issues. That should become clearer later in the week. After years of half-baked measures, however, the most important thing is to set a minimum price; to properly police existing licensing laws and to engage in a vigorous public health campaign that de-glamorises drink. In addition, many adults and parents will have to change their ways and set a more acceptable example for impressionable children. That insulting and demeaning put-down – “the drunken Irish” – has undeniable roots in reality. We have a responsibility to change it.",602,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00017-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958840131759644
08bef850-c4f6-4916-946c-c3f46c9b6549,2016-07-26T19:57:28+00:00,2014-02-13,1,https://www.manufacturing.net/print/news/2014/02/marchionne-optimistic-hell-get-canadian-aid,"TORONTO (AP) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive Sergio Marchionne said Thursday he's more than halfway to getting what he's seeking from the Canadian and Ontario governments for a proposed multibillion upgrade to its Canadian plants.
Marchionne said proposed upgrades at Chrysler's Windsor and Brampton, Ontario plants would be the single largest investment made by the auto maker since it emerged from bankruptcy five years ago.
He declined to disclose financial details at the Canadian International Auto Show. The Globe and Mail reported he's seeking $700 million in government aid as part of a $3.6 billion investment.
Marchionne said Canada must decide if it wants the plants. The United States and Mexico are desperate for the investment, he said.
""I think we've got all the makings of a potentially successful transaction,"" Marchionne said. ""It would be the single largest investment made by any automaker in this country in a number of years.""
Marchionne noted auto makers have invested $42 billion in North American plants in the last five years, but only five percent of that amount has been invested in Canada. He also noted that Brazil is willing to invest 85 percent of the cost of a Chrysler investment in that country, but said he doesn't expect that same kind of support in Canada.
Chrysler has 10,000 employees in Canada. It makes minivans in Windsor and the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and the Dodge Challenger in Brampton.
""We've got to decide if you want this. If you do I am more than willing to stay,"" he said.
Marchionne, a dual Canadian and Italian citizen, made of point of saying how glad he was to be ""home"" and noted his 88-yearold mother still lives in Toronto.
""I am Canadian,"" he said. I will do a variety of things for this place that twist me into a pretzel, but you can't put me over a barrel. You just can't. You can't do it to any business. It's unfair.""
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced in the federal budget this week $500 million in financial aid over two years for Ontario's auto sector. Flaherty said Chrysler is making a big request but said he's an adamant supporter of the auto sector. The federal Canadian and Ontario province governments worked in tandem with the U.S. government on auto bailouts in 2009 to maintain Canada's 17 percent share of North American auto production. Canada contributed $2.9 billion to the bailout of Chrysler in 2009.
The auto companies have said in recent years that Canada was the most expensive place in the world to make cars and trucks, and warned they could move production south if the Canadian Auto Workers union didn't cut costs. Canada's advantages in the past — a weak Canadian dollar and government health care — are not as strong as they once were compared to U.S. factories.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive Sergio Marchionne says the automaker is more than halfway to getting what it is seeking from the Canadian and Ontario governments for a proposed multibillion upgrade to its Canadian plants.",642,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825124.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00289-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972260415554047
6466e81a-d1db-4744-a925-0cd679a3d789,2022-05-25T03:59:10+00:00,2020-09-25,0,https://smellysocksandgardenpeas.com/2020/09/25/homework-dilemma/?like_comment=1927&_wpnonce=17c94cd8f2,"I know homework for primary school children can be a contentious topic. In 2017 an OFSTED report stated that more than 30% of parents don’t think its helpful. Indeed, its recently caused lots of chat in large boy’s class parent’s Facebook group.
I certainly found in year 1 that there was a lot to deal with. At that time, large boy had spellings and reading daily (ideally) plus weekly maths. Trying to squeeze two sets of learning into a day where we’re out of the door at 7.30am and often not back until 5.30pm, when they also needed tea and it was bedtime at 7pm, was almost impossible – add in remembering school lunch choices, snacks and a drink every day, Beavers, and all the non-uniform and fundraising date and I just had a huge meltdown after the first half term. I ended up delegating spellings and reading to himself to have a chance of keeping everything under control. Now small boy is in year 1 and I’m bracing myself for the return to that level of homework needing parental support, at least this time we know its coming and how to deal with it before I end up sitting crying in the corner of the kitchen because its all too much.
Now large boy is in year 4, they seem to have slightly more homework than last year but really not much difference from year 1 – its just that it seems less because he’s able to do it all independently. However, starting to do homework again is a big adjustment for the children who have just spent 6 months with no work in the evenings or weekends at all. For the parents too, I’m sure.
How much is too much
Some of the year 4 parents are concerned that the children have too much homework, along with getting used to being back in school and a different teacher from last year with a different style of working. Amongst the class of 30, of course there are children who struggled with home learning and aren’t at the same stage as their classmates and there’s the usual mix of abilities too. So some children and families are finding it harder than others.
Each week large boy has:
- spellings, also practiced at school so we don’t pay much attention
- reading, as much as possible (not a problem for our child)
- maths website on a Friday
- maths worksheet on a Friday (well, last week anyway)
- literacy on a Friday (this week will be the first one)
That doesn’t seem too much to me. It really suits us because the bulk is on a Friday so we have the weekend to get it out of the way immediately. I don’t work on a Friday, so he often does it on Friday afternoon and then its done. All in all it probably takes less than 30 minutes, which seems very much in line with the recommendation for year 4 from a Leeds University report (20 years old, and right at the end of the report).
A more recent (2018) report by researchers at the universities of Nottingham and Warwick raises more substantial questions about the risk of increased inequality of opportunity when more responsibility for learning is placed on the home – where already-advantaged children are likely to benefit further from parental attention to their homework and already-disadvantaged children may receive less support. The same study, however, also reports that many teachers and schools set homework to satisfy the expectations of parents.
The other parents to children in large boy’s class seemed so up in arms about the amount of homework this morning that I quizzed large boy, afraid that there was something he’d been leaving in his drawer or forgotten about. But he says not. The amount of work they’re asked to do doesn’t seem excessive to me; really its only one bit of literacy and some maths. They’re learning their times tables too, so maybe some people are practicing those as well. I had a quick chat with another mum (to double check large boy wasn’t pulling a fast one) and she sees things as I do, that its the right amount, and confirmed that there isn’t extra work we don’t know about.
I wondered whether the parents worrying about the homework have children who are doing some extra work to catch up too. Maybe some children have additional things because they and their families found learning in lockdown really tricky. I know the school are doing lots to support those children.
Last year’s year 3 teacher is having small groups from each class to support and give extra attention to – but these same parents are also complaining about that because their children have been singled out. I know the class teacher has also taken time to give extra help to individuals who have had trouble in a particular lesson – she’s taken time out of her lunch hour to do that, but the parents’ reaction is that their child is being punished and deprived of lunch time play. I think its very hard for school to do the right thing here; extra in-school support is embarrassing, extra homework is too much, staying in with the teacher for 1-to-1 is punishment, apparently anyway.
If none of those things is acceptable to these parents, how are their children supposed to get back to where they should be according to their abilities? The teachers can’t wave a magic wand and instantly impart knowledge and know how by osmosis.
I know some people think that primary school children shouldn’t have homework at all. I think daily homework would be too much – partly too hard for the children to plan and organize, but also too much for me to keep track of! Absolutely primary school, and particularly KS1, is about adapting to school, getting off to a good start with reading and writing and paths, building friendships and discovering an enthusiasm for knowledge and learning. But for the later years of primary school, the children need to start very gradually preparing for secondary school. If the homework isn’t built up bit by bit, they’ll be in for a hell of a shock when the go to high school and have 10 subjects a week to do homework for!
Trust the experts
My approach, as with so many things, is to trust the experts. If someone’s sick, trust the doctor or nurse. If the car’s acting up, trust the mechanics. If the boiler goes, trust the plumber or heating engineer. If the software doesn’t work, trust the developer, the technical writer and the support team. If there’s a pandemic, trust the epidemiologists.
When my children are being educated, trust the teachers and TAs. They have many years of experience and have seen children of pretty much every ability, every personality, all additional needs and home backgrounds. New teachers might not have that experience but they have a whole school full of colleagues to advise and support them.
They know best and if they are setting a certain amount of work in school and then some extra to do at home, I trust that they are right and that they will make allowances for the children who find it harder (for whatever reason) and stretch those who can cope with more.",1511,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662578939.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525023952-20220525053952-00425.warc.gz,0.981741845607758
c0924294-079f-463e-8a08-2b87c1576127,2015-04-01T01:11:03+00:00,2012-03-20,1,http://www.rferl.org/content/russian_court_upholds_scientology_ban/24522528.html,"A Moscow regional court has upheld a lower court decision declaring books on Scientology to be extremist literature and banning publication or distribution of books from Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Court spokeswoman Anna Tyurina said that during the course of the hearing it was proven to the court's satisfaction that Scientology was aimed at forming isolated groups, prepared to engage in extremist activities in a battle with the rest of the world.
In June, Moscow's Shchelkovsky Court recognized several of Hubbard's books as extremist.
Members of the group appealed the decision.
The March 20 ruling by the regional court means Hubbard's literature and material on Scientology is officially on the list of banned extremist material in Russia.
With ITAR-TASS and Interfax reporting",150,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00230-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.954351305961609
2de6ef28-6aae-4cb0-8c6f-dda373e3c679,2019-08-20T22:58:34+00:00,2019-08-20,1,https://www.dw.com/en/germany-facing-risk-of-increased-water-shortages/a-49937042?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf,"Germans have never had to worry much about water scarcity. But with rising global temperatures driving record heatwaves and prolonged droughts, demand for the precious resource is increasing.
In late June, an emergency warning app developed by Germany's Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance indicated that drinking water reserves had reached an ""alarmingly"" low level in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. And it wasn't just there. Locals in Lohne in the state of Lower Saxony found themselves in a similarly dire situation. The only time they could get fresh water from the tap was in the evenings.
These examples make clear that water is a finite resource — something most Germans so far have not devoted much thought to.
After all, there is still an abundance of water in Germany. According to the German Environment Agency (UBA), Germans used 25 billion cubic meters of fresh water in 2013 — the equivalent of just 13% of the available fresh water reserves. But last year's scorching hot summer, a winter with very little precipitation and the limited rainfall this summer have caused groundwater levels to drop.
Demand for water growing
Lutz Neubauer, of Germany's Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union in Lower Saxony, estimates that the ""the ground water level is sinking by between 1.5 and 2 centimeters annually"" in the northwestern state. This means that the amount of fresh water available is gradually declining, while insufficient rain is causing it to drop even further.
Hot spells, in turn, drive demand for fresh water. When temperatures rise, lawns require extra watering and many people yearn for a refreshing swim. This summer, authorities in northeastern North Rhine-Westphalia even fined locals for filling their pools with precious drinking water or using it to wash their cars.
Farmers need additional water for crops
In recent years it has become clear that farmers, too, desperately depend on fresh water for their crops. ""There is competition for water, and we should start thinking about how to efficiently distribute this resource,"" says Jörg Rechenberg, a water expert with the UBA. Until recently, farmers relied on rain alone to water their crops. But as summers have grown hotter and drier, farmers have had to tap into the groundwater, too. Neubauer says that in Lower Saxony, the ""number of applications submitted by farmers to be granted access to the groundwater has risen considerably.""
People such as Tobias Gerdesmeyer, the mayor of Lohne, were among the first to notice that something was going awry when locals could no longer get fresh water from their taps in June. Fortunately, a drop in groundwater levels was not to blame, but rather old pipes. They are slated to be replaced in September.
Plans to collect rain water
Still, Gerdesmeyer says water has become a hot topic in town. ""We have observed water becoming a highly sought after resource, so we are aware of this issue,"" he explained. He, too, has observed that farmers have an increased demand for water. And it's not just crops — a regional slaughterhouse requires considerable amounts of water as well. This he why, he says, ""we need innovative ideas for how we can use it more efficiently.""
Gerdesmeyer stresses that it is also important not to waste fresh water. Currently most waste just seeps into the ground when there is heavy rainfall. But Gerdesmeyer wants to change this. ""We are currently thinking about installing basins under sports grounds to collect rain water for later use,"" he says.
Climate change affecting water consumption
At the end of the day it is organizations like the Oldenburg-East Friesian Water Association (OOWV) who manage the distribution of ground water. The OOWV, which handles water for the northwestern portion of Lower Saxony, has roughly 1 million customers, half of which are commercial parties such as farms and industrial enterprises.
OOWV Deputy Manager Axel Frerichs says the 15 water works belonging to his association are experiencing very high demand for ground water. In mid-July, water consumption was the highest ever in the OOWV's 71 years of existence. The organization has asked customers to reduce their consumption and has also reduced water pressure. But Frerichs believes further measures will have to be taken. ""In 50 years time, clients in this region might find themselves in a climate similar to that in Toulouse today,"" he says. ""We need to upgrade our water works so we can recover more water.""
Read more: After the drought is before the drought
Water scarcity is not yet an issue in Germany. Pretty much all experts, including the UBA's Rechenberg, agree on this. This means there currently is no heightened risk of environmental and economic problems, according to the UBA. Thus, there is ""no reason to panic or take radical steps,"" Rechenberg says. Even so, he adds: ""It is about time we start implementing new ideas so that we will continue to have good drinking water flowing from our taps in the future.""
Ten months ago, Germany's Environment Ministry initiated a series of national water round tables, bringing together representatives from the farming and industrial sector, among others. The plan is to devise a much needed long-term water strategy by the fall of 2020. The initiative has been dubbed: ""The future of water.""",1101,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315681.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820221802-20190821003802-00179.warc.gz,0.973266184329987
fc6a9767-210a-41cf-8150-bc5940300d77,2019-08-18T04:34:21+00:00,2019-07-19,1,https://www.tuko.co.ke/310811-lawyer-donald-kipkorir-a-referendum-fronted-by-uhuru-raila-succeed.html,"City lawyer Donald Kipkorir has ruled out any referendum in the country without the blessing of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Through his Twitter handle on Friday, July 19, the lawyer said apart from the two top leaders, no other Kenyan had the capacity and political strength to successfully push for such reforms.
""The Only Referendum that will go to national vote is the ONE that will be fronted by the President and Baba (Raila).Others will suffer infant mortality,"" read part of his tweet
With reference to the excitement that came with the approval of Aukot's 1 million signatures which rekindled referendum debate, Kipkorir noted the initiative will head nowhere without the help of the two leaders.
According to the advocate, Uhuru and Raila were masters of the country's political art and matters of great national concern like constitution amendment cannot go through without their input.
""We may get excited with other sideshows, but national political chessboard is in the hands of the two. Truth sets us free,""
Apart from Aukot's referendum push, the president and former prime minister are also pushing a similar course under the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
It is not clear whether the two forces will harmonise their issues and push for a single referendum or they will lock horns and run parallel campaigns.
It is on this premise that Kipkorir argues Uhuru and Raila's political influence and power will see their course triumph over Aukot's.
Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through email@example.com or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.
The man who was called a monkey I Tuko TV",374,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313617.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818042813-20190818064813-00520.warc.gz,0.95882660150528
8fd12b2c-08e2-4660-9eed-6af7e45d8ebe,2019-08-19T04:19:22+00:00,2019-04-16,1,http://www.coincalendar.info/events/bitcoin-sv-bchsv-to-be-delisted-from-binance/,"Fellow Binancians, At Binance, we periodically review each digital asset we list to ensure that it continues to meet the high level of standard we expect. When a coin or token
At Binance, we periodically review each digital asset we list to ensure that it continues to meet the high level of standard we expect. When a coin or token no longer meets this standard, or the industry changes, we conduct a more in-depth review and potentially delist it. We believe this best protects all of our users.
When we conduct these reviews, we consider a variety of factors. Here are some that drive whether we decide to delist a digital asset:
- Commitment of team to project
- Level and quality of development activity
- Network / smart contract stability
- Level of public communication
- Responsiveness to our periodic due diligence requests
- Evidence of unethical / fraudulent conduct
- Contribution to a healthy and sustainable crypto ecosystem
Based on our most recent reviews, we have decided to delist and cease trading on all trading pairs for the following coin on 2019/04/22 at 10:00 AM UTC:
- All trade orders will be automatically removed after trading ceases in each respective trading pair.
- To view your assets after trading ceases, please ensure you have not selected “Hide small assets” in your Funds page.
- Withdrawals of these coins and tokens from Binance will continue to be supported until 2019/07/22 at 10:00 AM UTC.
We thank you for your support as we continue to build the crypto ecosystem in a way that promotes transparency and long-term, sustainable growth.
All Day (Monday)",344,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314641.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819032136-20190819054136-00375.warc.gz,0.870550572872162
2c7796ca-f499-4736-9ac3-8d7fe30cecf4,2017-08-23T19:36:36+00:00,2017-08-23,0,http://blog.onlinesearches.com/tag/therapeutic-courts/,"Special court programs to deal with specific types of cases exist in every state. “Accountability Courts” or “Problem-Solving Courts” or “Therapeutic Courts” are special court programs that use treatment and social services in lieu of incarceration. We’ve covered specific types over the years: Drug Courts here and here, Mental Health Courts, Family Dependency Treatment Courts, and Veterans Courts.
These programs include intensive supervision by a team that includes the judge, and have proven to reduce recidivism and save their jurisdictions money, because treatment is less expensive than jail. Offenders with substance abuse and/or mental health problems … Read More",137,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123359.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823190745-20170823210745-00507.warc.gz,0.925848364830017
4c0f6be6-8aa6-4533-a047-8b82b5ec78cb,2018-08-20T23:00:14+00:00,2017-03-08,0,http://thescreenprintingmagazine.com/blue_max_8_color_manual_press_bm8_1.php,"Blue Max 8 Color Manual Press BM8-1. M R Blue Max 8 Color Press Single Pallet Operation Serial # 069319012B.
Our goal is to conduct an honest, customer oriented business. We deal in new, surplus, NOS (new old stock), liquidations, discontinued and used items, but we are not an authorized dealer for most of the items offered. Therefore, we sell everything as is.
Therefore, please ask all the questions you want, get extra pictures from us, etc. To avoid any costly complications.
Upon you initiating the sale, we will customize a sales agreement and forward it to you to sign and date. The item ""Blue Max 8 Color Manual Press BM8-1"" is in sale since Wednesday, March 8, 2017.
This item is in the category ""Business & Industrial\Printing & Graphic Arts\Screen & Specialty Printing\Screen Printing"". The seller is ""ccr4478"" and is located in Tullahoma, Tennessee. This item can be shipped to United States.",215,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217354.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820215248-20180820235248-00464.warc.gz,0.898232519626617
b3ccb1ee-3c53-43ba-a813-811a33d36898,2016-07-25T14:42:27+00:00,2016-07-25,0,http://www.glocktalk.com/threads/casting.1375791/,Is casting your own ammo worth the trouble? I have a Dillon 550 & have loaded for 9mm & 357 for about 5 years now. I am now considering bullet casting to save even more on ammo. But Im not sure just how much savings I'd be getting. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Wanna kill these ads? We can help!,75,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00171-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9609734416008
362bdfef-f2c7-470a-bb11-7a955e15d895,2013-05-21T10:15:15+00:00,2012-10-16,1,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19953241,"Google is to be told by the EU to change the way it gathers personal information if it is to avoid ""high risks to the privacy of users"".
Twelve recommendations were outlined in a letter signed by 24 of the EU's 27 data regulators, Reuters reported.
It follows a nine-month investigation into the company's data collection practices.
Since March, Google has combined data from sites like YouTube and Gmail to better target its advertising.
It meant 60 individual privacy policies for individual Google-owned sites were merged into a single policy for all of its services.
Reuters quoted the letter ahead of the EU's official announcement, which will take place on Tuesday.
Google has maintained the policy complies with EU law.
But regulators immediately raised concerns about the changes when they were implemented earlier this year.
The French data regulator, CNIL, was tasked by the EU to investigate the policy on behalf of the other countries in the EU.Location data
The investigations were overseen by the Article 29 Working Party, a group of representatives from each member state tasked with promoting the application of the EU's Data Protection Directive.
It stopped short of declaring Google's data gathering practices illegal, but made clear 12 measures the company must put in place to satisfy the concerns.
""Combining personal data on such a large scale creates high risks to the privacy of users,"" the letter is understood to say.
""Therefore, Google should modify its practices when combining data across services for these purposes.""
Those recommendations are said to include a focus on personal information and browsing records, as well as the collection of location-based data and credit card details.
On Monday, a source at Google told the BBC that the company would look closely at the recommendations, but noted that the findings were not as serious as some industry watchers had predicted.'Unprecedented'
Auke Haagsma, a director for the Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (Icomp), told the BBC that Google should have anticipated the EU's stance.
""The EU was very clear, even before Google introduced its changes, it almost certainly violated EU law.""
Mr Haagsma said the agreement, which involved representatives from all of the EU member states, represented an ""unprecedented"" level of concern, and posed a threat to Google's future operations.
""In Google's business model there is an inherent conflict of interest,"" he said.
""On the one hand Google wants to offer good services to users, but on the other it's being paid for by advertising.
""Google is collecting so much data. If people realise that, they are afraid people will say no.""",537,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971340358257294
03884739-61c6-4149-a226-95a023337e66,2022-05-22T16:58:31+00:00,2022-05-22,0,https://toddrogerssigns.com.au/products/cothing,"Notify me when this product is available:
Todd Rogers Signs aim is to give you, the customer, good advice to select the most effective promotional item for your advertising campaigns, marketing or...
Todd Rogers Signs provide high quality stickers & decals for all occasions. We can provide temporary and longlasting stickers for anything you require including indoor...
Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …
© 2022 Todd Rogers Signs.
Powered by Shopify",133,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545875.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522160113-20220522190113-00614.warc.gz,0.881973922252655
8dc1adec-7d8c-457b-a648-255c5d22662d,2017-08-22T10:28:14+00:00,2008-09-25,1,https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2008-09-25-voa56/335852.html,"Armenia's president told the United Nations General Assembly Thursday that ""the time has come"" to solve Armenian-Turkish problems.
Serzh Sargsyan praised the outcome of a recent meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, saying Mr. Gul shares his determination to move quickly and resolutely in that direction.
Turning to another regional conflict, Mr. Sargsyan criticized what he called Azerbaijan's ""belligerent"" stance on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, he vowed to continue negotiations with Azerbaijan to seek recognition of the largely Armenian-inhabited region, which he characterized as effectively independent.
The Armenian president also denounced the recent bloodshed in the South Caucasus, which he said threatened the entire region and beyond. He said the General Assembly must work to modernize its institutions and prevent a return to Cold War-era divisions.
Ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh area declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1988, triggering a six-year conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A cease-fire was declared in 1994, but sporadic exchanges of gunfire continue. The conflict has claimed 35,000 lives.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev recently met with his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, and called on Russia to continue what he called its ""active role"" in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.",288,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110573.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822085147-20170822105147-00447.warc.gz,0.962694704532623
bece1aa7-f501-41fc-93ba-125829b54e74,2020-10-28T17:44:01+00:00,2017-01-09,0,https://triciagatesbrown.net/2017/01/09/witness-to-the-holy-mysteries/?replytocom=422,"For six years, I left church. And until the day I wandered back in 2010—mainly to accompany a friend, I didn’t expect to return. I needed time to learn what religion actually does when done well. Not only did I find a great church in the end, but I made peace with religion. I came to value its importance.
Recently I wonder what role religion can play in resistance over the next several years, though I can already hear the detractors, “Religion got us into this mess!” On the surface, they have a point. A moderate majority of Protestants, white Catholics, and Mormons, and a huge majority of white Evangelicals (81%) voted for Trump. But looking at non-white voters, the story shifts. A much smaller number of Hispanic Catholics (26%), Jews (24%), and people of other faiths (29%) voted for him (PEW Research exit polls). Pre-election polling of African-American Christian voters leaned decidedly in favor of Clinton. If these statistics say anything, it is this: there is not something wrong with religion, there is something wrong with the worldview of many white people. As a white person healing from my own racism and implicit bias, I am convinced religion is not the problem. Unhealthy white people who “have religion,” will co-opt and contort religion to justify their worldviews, just as those who are non-religious will find other justifications.
So what is the value of religion? My faith tradition, Christianity, teaches God is within us as well as outside of us, and that each person has direct access to God. Why, then, shouldn’t everyone eschew religion and seek God individually in his or her own way? I have heard this question from those who support spirituality but not religion.
Religions are much like languages. Both religion and language are systems of symbols and meanings that create the capacity for deep sharing and communication. We need language of some kind to convey meaning. When a group of different-language speakers is thrown together for a long period of time, they begin to share words and gestures, and in time, to create a kind of language. In the same way, a group of friends who are purportedly “spiritual but not religious” begin to develop their own shared religion, combining words, symbols, rituals, and various moral practices that lend cohesion to their spirituality, allowing them to share it in a deeper way. In language, people develop uniqueness—different vocabularies, favorite phrases, and other ways to riff on words; and in religions, people have unique understandings and perspectives within the larger meaning system of the religion. Because the “great religions” are ancient, the institutions are cumbersome and slow to change; thus, when strident disagreement arises, it can lead to splits and a multiplicity of denominations or sects.
Now let’s circle back to the spiritual-not-religious friends. If they want to incorporate more people into their circle, or they want to pass on their spiritual words/beliefs/symbols/rituals/values to their children, they will begin to establish a set “meaning system” that will start to look like a small institution, a small religion. This tendency is not a bad thing, it is how humans share and communicate.
But what if spiritual-not-religious people do not share and talk about their spiritual experiences with others? I believe this is where many modern people find themselves. At moments of openness—when gazing over a forested valley laden with fog, or during a birth or death—they apprehend something more than the material, something spiritual. But for the most part, they keep the experience to themselves. The moment passes and they go back to living largely materialistic lives because they have no system by which to be formed into deeply spiritual people. They do not invest time in learning from examples of wise spiritual elders. Of course, there are individuals who independently and voraciously seek spiritual nurturance and example outside of religion, cobbling together a strong spiritual foundation out of several traditions. But these people are exceptional. By and large, our culture militates against this; it draws us increasingly into the material, the ephemeral.
Most people are not the lone, tireless seeker. Rather most need support, common language, examples, meaning stories, and structure—in other words, a symbol system or religion. Most people nourish their spiritual lives in the context of religion, whether the great religions of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Indigenous spirituality (in its many forms), and the host of slightly smaller religions like Taoism or Sikhism, or the tiny religions people form among their own inner circles—among the people who share their fairly proscribed constellation of spiritual words and symbols. These meaning systems are called “mythologies.” Our mythologies are the sacred stories that give our lives meaning. We all have them. A popular definition of “myth” is “something that is not true,” but this is not what I intend by the word “mythology.” In fact, mythologies or sacred stories are profoundly true. They are true on a level that transcends facticity. They often convey truth metaphorically, teaching us how to live. People can construct their mythologies out of almost anything, not just religion—literature, political affiliations, science, sports, economic models or business, entertainment, family dramas, country-western songs.
My new truism is this: The best antidote to an unhealthy mythology is a healthy one. Without a doubt, religion can be co-opted to help create toxic mythologies (jihadist terrorism is an example of this). And in the 2016 election of Trump, we saw toxic mythology run amok in the United States (and certainly a white, misguided Christianity was co-opted to lend it religious sanction). But again: the best antidote to an unhealthy mythology is a healthy one.
I contend that many people in developed countries are hungry for shared meaning stories. In some cases, these longings and passions animate their adherence to unhealthy figures, whether authoritarian fundamentalist pastors whose teachings are antithetical to Christianity, or to narcissistic leaders who tweet their school-boy rants and shamelessly mock the disabled or overweight before fawning crowds. These figures provide a sense of meaning in a world that seems out of their control. The rise in popularity of right-wing groups in Europe and the rise in fundamentalisms globally evidence this hunger for shared meaning.
I think one way religions can form and inform the resistance to this trend is by unflinchingly providing the antidote—healthy mythologies or counter narratives. All of the great faith traditions share common values at their core: love of others, care for the weak and the stranger, connection with a higher power that guides one’s life, generosity, and compassion. They all witness to the holy mysteries. They provide a common language for people to discuss these concepts and to symbolize them ritually and otherwise. When done faithfully and well, religions grow in us these values. We become reflections of our communities, so we should choose our communities well. Individually, we may not agree with every creedal statement or practice of our religion. That is okay; conformity should not be required. Religion can still do what it does, which is allow us to share deeply with others our spiritual journey and to learn from those who accompany us. It allows us to delve deeply into learning, calling into question the worldviews and biases we otherwise hold unconsciously. We can still riff on our religion in ways that are unique to us, developing our own vocabulary.
I hope that in the days ahead, as our country collectively reaps the consequences of empowering a man-child and a cabinet who see violence and Earth-plundering as the way forward, we begin to re-assess our meaning stories. In the midst of the fray, I pray we find religious communities who live out a meaning story that contradicts the politics of domination, offering a beautiful alternative. I pray we dialogue more about our unique experiences of Spirit.",1678,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107900200.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028162226-20201028192226-00176.warc.gz,0.951762139797211
c1079ff6-df4d-4336-a53c-a4c839632960,2022-05-23T05:54:57+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://zight.us/collections/tubular-gauge-glass-washers/products/zightflon-gaskets-for-tube-washers-set-of-2-units,"Pair of Zyton Washers
Outperforming Viton, made in North America
This type of material was designed by ZIGHT, and is designed to outperform the VITON manufactured by the brand CHEMOURS.
It is also made of synthetic rubber and polymers with fluorine, but with a mix which gives it an added mechanical resistance, which prevents product wear due to mechanical tightening.
Its working temperatures range from -30 ° C to 260 ° C.
It is one of the products which suffers the least wear compared to other materials used for tubular gaskets.
Among its main uses are packaging for steam and boiler items.
Temperature range: -30 ° C to 260 ° C
Max Pressure: 260 PSI
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00428.warc.gz,0.957142055034638
05caa694-686d-42d1-b426-bc4b2ab2bbbb,2018-08-17T13:05:50+00:00,2016-06-20,1,http://fortune.com/2016/06/20/facebook-investors-approve-mark-zuckerbergs-three-class-share-structure/,"Zuckerberg proposed Facebook’s unusual share structure earlier this year to accommodate Zuckerberg’s plan to give away 99% of his wealth in his lifetime. Normally, it would be impossible for him to retain control.
As a solution, Facebook proposed creating a third class of shares that comes with no voting power for its owners, further tipping the balance of control to Zuckerberg even as he sells his shares. Facebook’s shareholders approved the strategy at the company’s annual meeting on Monday.
The approval came as no surprise: Zuckerberg already controls his board and the majority of voting shares in Facebook’s dual-class share structure.
Facebook investors haven’t pushed back on the power play because Facebook’s performance has thus far been stellar. As my colleague Geoff Colvin wrote at the time, “The argument for Facebook’s governance setup is the same one in favor of benevolent dictators.”
The investors present at the company meeting also did not push back against the reelection of board director Peter Thiel, who secretly sponsored at least one lawsuit against gossip site Gawker in a self-proclaimed effort to destroy the media company. Many commentators–from the media, of course—have expressed concern that Thiel has set a precedent for billionaires to secretly silence journalism they don’t like (Gawker had reported on Thiel’s personal life years ago).
Defenders of Thiel, particularly those in Silicon Valley, argue that they support press freedom, but not for the kinds of things published by Gawker. Colvin’s commentary on benevolent dictators applies here, too.
An investor at the shareholder meeting asked Zuckerberg whether his success has made him a target. “One of the downsides of being successful and risk is you create resentment from people trying to pull you down,” the investor said. “I see Lamborghinis in the parking lot and everyone is doing great. How do you keep yourself motivated in the game and how do you make yourself warm and fuzzy and loved by everyone?” he asked.
Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg noted that Zuckerberg “is warm and fuzzy.”
Zuckerberg said his team stays motived by Facebook’s clear mission of making the world more open and connected. “I have no doubt that that has made some people decide this isn’t for them and they want to be a part of a different company, but I think we have gotten the best people as a result of that,” he said.
“The same thing goes for jealous politicians?” the investor asked, likely referencing the “Trendghazi” scandal over Facebook’s alleged suppression of conservative news. A report quoting anonymous former employees said that the humans hired to curate Facebook’s “Trending” news tab routinely suppressed conservative news topics. The company investigated the claims and said it found the claims to be false.
Zuckerberg paused. “Um. I assume so.”
The meeting contained plenty of warm fuzzies. When an investor asked if Zuckerberg’s philanthropic efforts put him at risk of leaving the company and becoming like “a Bill Gates,” he answered that he plans “on being involved and running Facebook for a very long time.” The audience of shareholders, many of which have earned a 197% return on their investment since the company’s IPO four years ago, responded with applause. “That’s very nice,” Zuckerberg said.",728,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212323.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817123838-20180817143838-00687.warc.gz,0.96453869342804
e84047ea-ddc9-4b44-bf12-463a1f96db6d,2022-05-23T07:46:26+00:00,2015-04-22,0,https://joyboxx.com/pt/blogs/news/playboy-playmates-compete-for-joyboxx-with-sir-mix-a-lot,"Playboy Playmates Compete for Joyboxx with Sir-Mix-A-Lot
April 22, 2015
Playboy Playmates Compete to Win a Joyboxx with Hip-Hop Legend Sir Mix-a-Lot on Playboy TV & Radio - ""Baby Got Boxx!""
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2015 – Seattle, WA – Passionate Playground LLC is thrilled to announce its product, Joyboxx, the world’s only antimicrobial adult toy storage system, made its debut on the Playboy TV and Radio morning show on April 21 with hosts, Andrea Lowell and Dan Cummins and special guest Seattle, Hip-Hop legend, Sir Mix-a-Lot.
Host Dan Cummins said he was also originally from Seattle and they had an in-depth discussion of Mix-a-Lot’s do-it-yourself controversial career, impact on hip-hop, future recording plans, and the ground-breaking song “Baby Got Back,” celebrating the curvy woman.
The Seattle connection came together further during the next show segment. Sir Mix-A-Lot judged a “Battle of the Babes” trivia game where Playboy Playmates competed to win a purple Joyboxx. When host Andrea Lowell introduced Joyboxx and its many features, Sir Mix a-lot said, “Oh I love this, I call it the cock box. I know the inventor!”
Watch the PG version:
Or the Rated R version:
In the end, the Butts team won, to the surprise of no one, and “Baby got a Boxx” to take home.
The Playboy Morning Show airs Mon-Fri 9aPT/12pET on: http://www.PlayboyRadio.com
ABOUT PASSIONATE PLAYGROUND
Passionate Playground is a Seattle, WA based company founded by Deborah Semer who is proving that sometimes thinking “inside the box” can be revolutionary. Passionate Playground is dedicated to shaping the future of sexual health and wellness by innovating body safe products for passionate people. Passionate Playground’s first two products Joyboxx® and Playtray™ – are the only hygienic adult toy storage system on the market today that protect sex toys, people and furniture before, during and after sexual play.",490,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662556725.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523071517-20220523101517-00600.warc.gz,0.912243485450745
e7a15c00-1de3-4c7e-9027-75927603e527,2020-10-27T20:25:16+00:00,2020-10-27,0,https://www.kinolorber.com/product/deceptive-practice-the-mysteries-and-mentors-of-ricky-jay-dvd,"Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (DVD)
Directed by Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein
Also Available On:HD Edition from Ricky Jay Website HD Edition from Ricky Jay Website HD Edition from Ricky Jay Website HD Edition from Ricky Jay Website HD Edition from Ricky Jay Website Booking Inquiry
Sensei Fred Neumann
Narrator Dick Cavett
Directed by Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein
Ricky Jay is a world-renowned magician, author, historian and actor (often a mischievous presence in the films of David Mamet and Paul Thomas Anderson) -- and a performer who regularly provokes astonishment from even the most jaded audiences. DECEPTIVE PRACTICE traces Jay's achievements and influences, from his apprenticeship at age 4 with his grandfather, to such now-forgotten legends as Al Flosso, Slydini, Cardini and his primary mentors, Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller. Featuring rare footage from his 1970s TV appearances (doing 3-card Monte with Steve Martin on The Dinah Shore Show) and told in Jay's inimitable voice, this is a remarkable journey inside the secretive world of magic and the small circle of eccentrics who are its perpetual devotees.
DVD Extras Include:
Jay's Colleagues on Camera: Paul Thomas Anderson, Steve Martin, David Mamet, etc.
Mentors and Magic: Ricky Jay and Michael Weber
Bob Dylan Video featuring Ricky Jay
Never-Before-Seen Performance Footage, Crazy Anecdotes and Animation
The New Yorker Festival with Mark Singer
The New Yorker Profile of Ricky Jay by Mark Singer (DVD-ROM)
""Wonderfully engaging!"" - New York Magazine
""Full of happy surprises. Card tricks that leave his audience speechless."" - David Edelstein, New York Magazine
""He puts on a smashing show, whether on or off the stage... Mr. Jay proves a hugely entertaining guide..."" - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
""(A) great enchanter! A reminder that deception, in the best of cases, is a pathway to transcendence."" - Keith Uhlich, Time Out NY
""A riveting look at Mr. Jay's arduous, arcane pursuits through the prism of those who taught and inspired him to be one of the world's great magicians. Some of his illusions are so stunning that they leave spectators teary-eyed - out of amazement, or perhaps fear."" - Robert P. Walzer, Wall Street Journal
""Grade: A- Intriguing. A true master magician. Shows practical magic can be just as thrilling as anything you see on Game of Thrones."" - Drew Taylor, Indiewire.com
""There is a great deal of sheer fun of watching him grow up from little Ricky Potash, a 7-year-old performer of surprising poise... to a shoulder-length-haired hippie in a three-piece suit working the daytime talk shows with gusto, to the wry elder statesman of today. Jay's memories are... warm, charming and instructive."" - George Robinson, Jewish Week
""This introduction to Jay's world and his most secretive fraternity...dazzle(s) you with its clips of Jay pulling astonishments minor and major with the decks of cards he is forever just unwrapping from their plastic... We see mad and gorgeous excerpts from his library of magic guides. Here's a movie with magic."" - Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice
""So entertaining... Just watching this magician's hands at work with a deck of cards is positively mesmerizing."" - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
""You will be wowed."" - Scott A. Rosenberg, AM New York
""Grade: A. You'll feel like you're witnessing miracles."" - Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly
""Well structured and dynamically edited...""
- Ronnie Scheib, Variety
""One of the most compelling characters in magic gets his due..."" - John Defore, Hollywood Reporter
""This thoroughly engrossing, highly entertaining docu should delight fans and newcomers alike..."" - Ronnie Scheib, Variety
""Wonderfully engaging..."" - David Edelstein, New York Magazine
""...An entertaining introduction to the nimble-fingered card specialist.""
""...Offers an intriguing peek into an exclusive but collegial world..."" - Joe Bendel, Epoch Times
""...Visual magic experience...""
""Inexplicable and entertaining"" - Kurt Brokaw, Independent-Magazine.org
""Like any good magician, this documentary left me wanting to see more."" - Chris McKittick, Moviebuzzers.com
""...An incredible tale of illusionist's skill..."" - Mark Young, SoundonSight.org
""[Ricky Jay's] love and infinite knowledge of these worlds and lore gives the film a framework beyond mere biography"" - Jason Bailey, DVDTalk.com
- Official Selection New York Film Festival
""Kino Lorber’s release of Sidney J. Furie’s seminal British spy film boasts a strong A/V presentation and an abunda…' https://t.co/rdByWVBB5I'
RT' @DVDBeaver': OUT TODAY: High Plains Drifter [Blu-ray] (Clint Eastwood, 1973)' @KinoLorber' US:' https://t.co/b3GeVf9HPQ' CAN:' https://t.co/X…'
RT' @DVDBeaver': OUT TODAY: The Ipcress File [Blu-ray] (Sidney J. Furie, 1965)' @KinoLorber' US:' https://t.co/HeIhOFiZ8M' CAN:' https://t.co/Y2…'
""Captures... one of the most powerful, Black-and-proud gatherings of all time."" – Craig Lindsey,' @HoustonChron' Wi…' https://t.co/SeIcGu8xEB'
RT' @phillipstribune': How to save America from itself? Here's my feature on the ongoing argument we call home, as amplified by ""City So Real…
RT' @BMo2xl': After decades of circulating only in edited form, William Greaves’s Nationtime can now be seen as intended for the first time.…
RT' @BrattleTheatre': New Restoration! Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte narrate William Greaves' NATIONTIME, documenting the historic Natio…
RT' @IUcinema': Great article on NATIONTIME, which is now in our Virtual Screening Room. “In restoring NATIONTIME, a record of Black resilie…
RT' @photogsofcolor': BAM | Nationtime Nationtime Virtual Now Playing Dir. William Greaves | 80min, 1972 A brand new 4K restoration of Willi…
Inquiries & Press
333 W. 39th St., Ste. 503
New York, NY 10018
Tel. (800) 562-3330
Fax. (212) 714-0871
Press & Media
For publicity assistance and press inquiries please contact us by emailing email@example.com or calling 212-629-6880.",1536,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894759.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027195832-20201027225832-00219.warc.gz,0.82091623544693
b182cb32-c3e6-460e-bac0-25b7eb77088a,2022-05-16T12:09:50+00:00,2021-08-06,1,https://www.newsheadlines.com.ng/vanguard-newspaper/2021/08/06/commuters-traders-groan-as-two-fg-highways-to-benue-collapse/,"By Peter Duru
IT has been tales of woes for commuters and motorists coming into Benue State from the southern parts of the country as the two major roads leading into the state have since become death traps due to their lingering poor state. The two major link roads – Makurdi-Aliade Otukpo and Makurdi-Naka-Otukpo – collapsed some months ago and have been left to fester like a big sore leading to unimaginable problem for users on a daily basis.
As the two roads remain in a deplorable shape, farmers, traders and visitors to the state have become the major losers economically and socially. While many avoid the roads as a result of their deplorable condition, those who dare to brave them, lose their goods and trucks to the gallops and big ditches along the roads. Mostly affected are trucks laden with fresh and perishable food crops which often get stuck in the bad portions or overturned while trying to meander through the deep gullies which now litter the roads.
Source: Vanguard Newspaper",217,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510117.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516104933-20220516134933-00428.warc.gz,0.965612828731537
de34f55d-2091-43ac-b6c8-e9c82f9ce7b9,2016-07-27T01:51:17+00:00,2016-06-12,0,http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/city-tense-as-protests-continue-117-held/,"Tension prevailed in various parts of the city from Saturday night to Sunday evening as workers of some political parties, particularly the Shiv Sena, and local groups resorted to stone pelting and forced shops to down shutters.
This was in reaction to an allegedly objectionable photograph posted on social networking website Facebook about the warrior king Shivaji, his son Sambhaji and late Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray. The link of the post was further circulated through messengers apps on phones, triggering the violent reaction on Saturday night, according to the police.
“The objectionable post has been removed from the Facebook page after we asked them to do so and an offence has been registered at the Kothrud police station. We urge the people not to forward such posts or links and not to believe in any kind of rumour. Peace has been restored in the city and police bandobast is in place as a precautionary measure,” said Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar.
The police said incidents of stone-pelting were reported from the jurisdiction of 24 police stations. In most cases, it was PMPML buses that were pelted with stones. Assistant Police Inspector Dhananjay Jagdale of Hinewadi police station sustained a serious head injury in the stone-pelting, while a nine-year-old girl sustained minor injuries in Pimpri. The worst affected area was Bhosari where over 30 vehicles in a locality were damaged and protesters tried to set ablaze four two-wheelers.
The police have registered 34 offences in connection to all these incidents and 117 people were arrested. Nearly 100 people were detained but released later.
Shiv Sena city unit head Shyam Deshpande said: “The reaction of the Shiv Sainiks was a spontaneous one. But as this is a cyber attack on our leader and idols we have decided to fight this in a legal manner. We have registered an offence and the page has been removed from the website.”
Traffic on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and the old highway was also blocked for a couple of hours during afternoon as some local groups staged road blockade. Long queues of vehicles were seen in the afternoon and the traffic movement remained very slow till evening.",462,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00313-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.982548236846924
af75c2ca-a778-4c4d-8aae-89792cebac3d,2019-08-24T20:48:27+00:00,2019-08-19,1,http://sunshinestatenews.com/story/ted-yoho-continues-push-more-trade-mongolia,"A Florida Republican congressman is continuing his efforts to build economic ties with Mongolia. Why Mongolia? Because it's a friend and it's strategically located nation between two major powers, China and Russia.
Now in his fourth term in Congress, earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., the top Republican on the U.S. House Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, introduced the “Mongolia Third-Neighbor Trade Act” in the House along with U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. On the other side of Capitol Hill, U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Ben Cardin, D-Mary.., are championing the proposal.
Yoho, who was the chairman of the Asia and Pacific Subcommittee when the GOP controlled the chamber and who served a stint as the vice chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, offered some of the rationale behind the bill when he introduced it.
“The Mongolia Third-Neighbor Trade Act is not just about imports of cashmere; it is smart policy that supports a strong, independent Mongolia that continues to be a beacon of freedom in the region and a strategic partner of the United States,” Yoho said. “It is estimated that this simple act will create upwards of 40,000 jobs primarily for women who make up ninety percent of the garment industry in Mongolia. We look forward to this strong bipartisan, bicameral legislation being passed under Speaker Pelosi’s leadership and signed into law by President Trump.”
Yoho’s bill was sent to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee back in April which sent it to its Trade Subcommittee. Since then, Yoho has reeled in more than 40 cosponsors in the House including U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla.
In recent weeks, Yoho has doubled down on his efforts to push his proposal. Last week, he included his ally President Donald Trump in a tweet promoting the bill.
“The Mongolia Third-Neighbor Trade Act will facilitate job and economic growth, which benefits both our countries. Strengthening an ally, a stable democracy in a sea of authoritarianism, is smart policy,” Yoho insisted.
At the start of the month, Yoho met with Mongolian President Battulga Khaltmaa about increased trade.
“We discussed the important ‘third neighbor’ relationship that our countries share and how we can advance our mutual priorities by promoting U.S.-Mongolia trade,” Yoho noted.
First elected to Congress in 2012 after upsetting longtime U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., in the Republican primary, Yoho promised to retire in 2020 but has not yet officially announced his plans for the next election cycle.",623,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321696.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824194521-20190824220521-00099.warc.gz,0.960353255271912
aa4141ae-9160-49d7-a627-e48bb02e5793,2013-06-20T08:50:53+00:00,2013-05-16,0,http://realtime.rediff.com/news/kabzaa,"Sanjay Dutt and his wife Manyata moments before the film star left his Mumbai home to surrender to a TADA court May 16. () MUMBAI, India Sanjay Dutt has finally gone to jail, and the Indian media is suddenly silent on the issue, having found the ... India-West, 4 weeks ago
Sanjay Dutt: Munnabhai goes to jail - NDTV, 1 month ago
Sanjay Dutt aka 'Munnabhai' goes to jail - NDTV, 1 month ago
Related Top Stories Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is the son of late film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt. He made his Bollywood debut in 1981 with superhit Rocky. His mother Nargis Dutt died three days before the film's premiere in May 1981. Sanjay Dutt ...Indian Express, 1 month ago Related: Who is Sanjay Dutt? Indian Express, 1 month ago Who is Sanjay Dutt? Indian Express, 1 month ago
on your WebpageAdd Widget >Get your members hooked!",221,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.926465213298798
a5875489-87e5-48d4-815e-f85262506862,2020-10-31T01:14:46+00:00,2013-12-31,1,https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20131231/vitaminadeficiency_10_3928_1081_597x_20131001_01_1326285,"Do you think golden rice or genetically engineered crops in general could represent a solution for vitamin A deficiency?
Golden Rice can effectively address vitamin A deficiency
Golden rice is a new type of rice that contains beta carotene, a source of vitamin A, and could help to reduce vitamin A deficiency. The International Rice Research Institute is working with leading nutrition and agricultural research organizations to develop and evaluate golden rice as a potential new way to reduce vitamin A deficiency. Get whole story",94,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107912593.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031002758-20201031032758-00486.warc.gz,0.917955577373505
9ddc9dc7-d31f-44f8-8eca-c7bfd0cefd26,2022-05-26T14:46:28+00:00,2021-12-15,1,https://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-former/press-release/2021/12/15/proposed-human-rights-act-reforms-would-fundamentally-undermine-the-rights-of-humanists/page/10/,"Proposed Human Rights Act reforms would fundamentally undermine the rights of humanists
Yesterday, the Government published its long-awaited proposals on reforming the Human Rights Act. If passed into law, these reforms will have a devastating impact on the fundamental rights of humanists.
The Government has announced it wants to reform section 3 of the Act to severely curtail the ability of public authorities and the courts to ‘read in’ human rights-compliant interpretations to legislation, where it is possible to do so. This will stop them from being able to address human rights abuses themselves, instead meaning that a change in the law would be required. An example of such a reading in that has been made regularly by the courts and public authorities before is reading references to ‘religion’ in old laws as being inclusive of non-religious worldviews such as humanism. This crucial power of interpretation is what has underpinned almost all positive developments in the freedom of belief and equal treatment of humanists and the non-religious in the last twenty years.
Without the courts and public authorities having this power, humanists would not have been able to successfully campaign for many important changes. In 2005, humanist marriages became legally recognised in Scotland after the registrar general decided he had to make just such a reading in. In 2018, legally recognised humanist marriages in Northern Ireland were brought about after a judge read into existing marriage law an interpretation that humanist marriage should be understood to be included. Similarly, in 2018 the Welsh Government concluded that humanism had to be equally included in RE for this reason. The same law also applies in England, and dozens of local authorities have made exactly the same reading in in their RE provision. There have also been countless instances where individual humanists have won equality for the non-religious without having to go to court, including challenging the exclusion of humanists from the advisory bodies that set RE syllabuses and securing the provision of humanist and nonreligious pastoral care for the nonreligious in prisons and hospitals.
The Government proposals run directly counter to the recommendation of the Independent Human Rights Act Review Panel’s report into reform of the Act which was also published yesterday. The Panel specifically cautioned against reform of section 3 stating,
‘there is no substantive case for its repeal or amendment other than by way of clarification or for altering either the balance between sections 3 and 4 achieved by the [Act]… any damaging perceptions as to the operation of section 3 are best dispelled by increased data as to its usage.’
Humanist UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented,
‘We are extremely concerned by proposals to remove this aspect of the Human Rights Act. Much UK law that today should apply to non-religious citizens as much as to religious ones is wording in an archaic way. Without the existing power of interpretation, freedom of belief for the non-religious will be severely undermined to the detriment of millions of people in the UK.’
Humanists UK leads a coalition of over 230 charities, trades unions, and human rights organisations calling for protection of the Human Rights Act and judicial review. It is believed to be the largest ever UK coalition of groups to campaign on human rights.",648,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662606992.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526131456-20220526161456-00604.warc.gz,0.969739377498627
8b335223-7cae-4475-b04e-8d08583bbf99,2013-05-26T03:09:30+00:00,2012-03-13,1,http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/03/13/10668075-at-this-rate-we-might-never-retire?lite,"The Great Recession of 2007-09 has turned expectations about retirement upside-down.
Just five years ago, only 16 percent of Americans said they would delay retirement until age 70 or older. Now a record 26 percent of those surveyed say they expect to be septuagenarians before they retire, according to annual survey on retirement from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
The shift is consistent with a decades-long trend of a rising retirement age. In 1991, 84 percent of workers surveyed said they expected to retire by age 65, including 19 percent who expected to quit before age 60.
Now only 50 percent expect to retire by age 65 and only 8 percent are so optimistic as to think they can begin living a life of leisure before 60.
The actual retirement age also has been rising, especially for women, according to research by Alicia Munnell of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
The average age of expected retirement has been rising ever since the recession ended, according to the EBRI, which has been doing the annual survey for 22 years. The most commonly cited reasons for delaying retirement are the poor economy, a lack of faith in Social Security and a ""change in employment situation.""
Experts caution that even though many of us think we will continue working past age 65, life often has other plans. About half of retirees surveyed said they left the work force earlier than they planned, mainly for health reasons. Others were forced out of their jobs because of layoffs, plant closures or family reasons, such as having to care for a loved one.
The EBRI, a research group funded largely by financial service companies, says only 52 percent of workers are ""very"" or ""somewhat"" confident they have enough money to live comfortably through their retirement years. That is up a bit from last year but down from 70 percent in 2007.
The survey of more than 1,200 adults was conducted in January and has an expected margin of error of 3 percentage points.",400,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.979227006435394
795e1a24-421d-49a3-bbb2-6d3c188b1b2b,2013-05-23T18:31:14+00:00,2012-01-25,1,http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120125/GENEVA/120129897,"The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV will have a $27,495 price tag when it goes on sale in...
BMW M Performance diesel range revealed
BMW is pinning its hopes of increased performance-car sales success on a tri-turbo 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine set to make its public debut in a range of potent all-wheel-drive, M division-developed models at the Geneva motor show in March.
The M550d xDrive sedan, the M550d xDrive touring, the X5 M50d and the X6 M50d all were conceived to provide performance approaching that of their celebrated gasoline-engine M division siblings--but with vastly better fuel economy, significantly lower carbon-dioxide emissions and--in European markets at least--more affordable pricing.
Sadly for prospective North American buyers, they will not be sold here thanks to BMW's decision not to homologate the diesel engine to meet 50-state emission standards, something that BMW North America officials say would require it to adopt expensive and hard-to-package selective catalytic-reduction technology to lower its nitrous-oxide emissions.
But, Autoweek can confirm that moves are afoot to bring other M Performance models to North America before the end of 2012.
The quartet of performance diesels forms the basis of what BMW has dubbed its M Performance range. They are planned to slot into their respective lineups between the top-performing standard model and the full-blown M model in terms of outright performance, dynamic ability and equipment levels. In the case of the headlining M550d sedan, this would be between the 550i and the recently introduced sixth-generation M5.
""We're close to finalizing other additions to our new M Performance portfolio, including gasoline-engine models, which we're planning to show before the end of the year,"" BMW M division spokesperson Stefan Behr said.
The six-cylinder common-rail engine adopts a patented induction system boasting three turbochargers that BMW sources suggest are set to revolutionize the efficiency and performance credentials of traditional combustion engines, both in diesel and gasoline formats.
The new M division-developed diesel engine comprehensively outguns BMW's widely used twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six, developing 376 hp between 4,000 rpm and 4,400 rpm along with a sturdy 545 lb-ft of torque between 2,000 rpm and 3,000 rpm.
In each of the new M Performance models, the new engine is mated to a beefed-up version of BMW's existing eight-speed automatic supplied by German gearbox specialist ZF and a specially tuned version of the German carmaker's all-wheel drive system.
Together, the engine's heady reserves and the traction-enhancing qualities of its driveline are sufficient to provide the 4,178-pound M550d xDrive sedan with 0-to-62-mph acceleration in 4.7 seconds--just 0.3 second slower than the new M5. Top speed, as in all of BMW's new M Performance models, is limited to 155 mph.
BMW's EfficientDynamics fuel-saving features include automatic stop/start, brake-energy recuperation and on-demand function for engine ancillaries.
Together with the all-wheel-drive M550d xDrive sedan and the M550d xDrive touring, Autoweek can confirm that BMW is also planning to introduce rear-wheel-drive M550d sedan and M550d touring models to selected markets later in 2012. Also under development are M650d xDrive and M650d coupe and Gran Coupe models.
In keeping with its reputation of delivering cars with outstanding handling, BMW's M division gave all of the vehicles unique steering ratios, chassis settings and, in some instances, chassis components including track widths, body-structure mountings, engine mountings and gearbox mountings consummate with their M-car siblings.
Each M Performance car will get subtle styling changes differentiating them from their standard and M-car siblings. The interior of each car gets the M division treatment with unique stainless-steel sill plates, leather-bound dashboards, M-specific steering wheels and seats, among other changes.
Get more car news, reviews and opinion every day: Sign up to have the Autoweek Daily Drive delivered right to your inbox.",913,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.924818813800812
0c8a728b-6af7-4c27-8546-7d02c5cdf0dd,2020-10-27T09:31:09+00:00,2020-02-29,1,http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/traditionally-u-s-soldiers-have-owned-the-night-but-now-the-taliban-has-night-vision-too/,"In February, a video was released on the website Voice of Jihad – a piece of propaganda created by the Taliban that displays an overnight raid against Afghan security forces in Kandahar.
On the surface, it was nothing too out of the ordinary for Taliban videos, but there is one unusual aspect of this video that has the U.S. military gravely concerned. The images from the video are in the green tint of night vision and that points to a serious problem.
Kyle Rempfer, an editor for Military Times, says, “This video shows that there’s an increasing proliferation of night vision equipment and the optical devices that kind of are associated with it, that use the infrared light spectrum.”
Historically speaking, U.S. forces have owned the night. Night vision technology has given them a strategic advantage that their adversaries haven’t had. But now, Taliban forces have gotten ahold of night vision goggles.
“The big tactical advantage is even if only one member of the Taliban has it, they can see a U.S. team or even a partner force team moving from a long distance away, so the advantage of surprise is taken away right there,” he says. “As far as where they’re getting them, there’s three big possibilities. The main one and the kind of traditional one is that the Taliban are taking them as battlefield trophies off enemy combatants.”
The other two possibilities, he says, are that they’re purchasing them on the black market or that other nations – like Russia, Iran, or North Korea, for instance – are supplying them through secondary channels.
Rempfer says the immediate tactical change is that U.S. forces will now have to be more careful about how they move.
Written by Jen Rice.",375,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893845.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027082056-20201027112056-00093.warc.gz,0.958144783973694
f706a5f9-ef18-4d97-a29b-c995c8881505,2020-10-21T04:00:51+00:00,2020-10-21,0,https://www.familygolf.org/1460-women-s-chunky-glitter-lace-up-boots-gold-chunky-glitter-jyyu32013.html,"There have been countless Docs boots on and in front of stages over the years. But how many have stood out this much? Our vibrant Chunky Glitter turns the 1460 into a show stopping festival essential. Eyelets have been enlarged to accompany the full-volume finish and the laces are wide with glitter flecks. Our iconic welt stitch and signature heel loop deliver DM's attitude.
- Born on 1st April 1960 and named as such. Over six decades our 8-eye 1460 has become iconic
- Chunky Glitter is a synthetic material coated with super sparkly glitter. Gently clean it with a damp cloth
- Our Goodyear-welted lines are heat-sealed at 700°C and reinforced with our signature welt stitch",157,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107875980.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021035155-20201021065155-00665.warc.gz,0.948025822639465
b60c273c-5fb1-42fa-bf56-6a99a7f56985,2019-08-19T11:55:11+00:00,2019-05-29,0,http://www.wethepeopleconvention.org/mueller-statement-intended-to-spur-impeachment/,"|Today, wasn’t it a coincidence, that out of nowhere, Robert Mueller pops up on my TV at 11:00 AM to make a statement about his infamous “Mueller Report”. Just happens to be the same day that Jim Comey has an op-ed in the Washington Post attacking the Barr investigation. Just happens that Attorney General Bill Barr is in Alaska and not part of this event. Yea, coincidence.
You could see in Mueller’s face and hear in his voice that he was doing something he knew was wrong. So, he begins by saying their was not enough evidence to charge anyone, meaning the Trump campaign or the President himself, with working with the Russians to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Making it clear that if he did find evidence, he would have charged the President – but he admits he didn’t have the evidence! THEN he says that on the issue of obstruction, he could not find enough evidence to CLEARPresident Trump of obstruction – which is NOT his job and NOT the law – BUT since DOJ Policy states that you cannot charge a sitting President with a crime – that he simply could not charge the President! A complete reversal of American law where you are INNOCENT until proven guilty – but Mueller is suggesting that he couldn’t CLEAR Trump.
What? So, in the first instance of Russian collusion he says he could charge the President with a crime regardless of the DOJ rules, but in the second instance of obstruction he was “prevented” from charging the President because of those DOJ rules! He then openly suggests that it is not the job of a special prosecutor or the DOJ to hold a President accountable for his actions but it is the job of Congress! In other words Congress should move to impeach because Mueller falsely claims that he “couldn’t charge Trump” do to DOJ rules! What a bunch of B.S.!
The entire purpose of his statement was to give impetus to the “Impeach Trump” hard left agenda and crush Nancy Pelosi’s resistance to committing political suicide by moving to impeach by suggesting that Trump did obstruct justice – which he could not prove! The Deep State NEED’s an Impeachment circus so that they will not be investigated and they will not be on trial. (Read/Listen to this interview with Joe DeGenova to find out just how bad this Really is!) This event today was part of a coordinated campaign to undermine the Presidency of Donald Trump, derail the Barr investigation, and save their own behinds. Everyone involved in setting up this Mueller statement should be investigated.
I am OUTRAGED, YOU should be OUTRAGED, All Americans should be outraged! Make sure that you share this email with everyone you know so that they understand what is really going on here and do not buy the lies that will be spewing from the fake news. The fate of our nation is in the hands of Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr. These criminals must be investigated and charged and punished for their crimes or we will lose our nation.",639,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00120.warc.gz,0.975960373878479
1d370fdc-90ed-4c26-a1ee-58c4fd0df1c2,2022-05-26T21:08:58+00:00,2022-05-26,1,https://www.wired.com/story/kernel-anti-cheat-online-gaming-vulnerabilities/,"In the past decade, big competitive online games, especially first-person shooters like Activision-Blizzard’s Call of Duty and Bungie’s Destiny 2, have had to massively scale up their operations to combat the booming business of cheat sellers. But an increasingly vocal subset of gamers is concerned that the software meant to detect and ban cheaters has become overly broad and invasive, posing a considerable threat to their privacy and system integrity.
At issue are kernel-level drivers, a relatively new escalation against cheat makers. The kernel itself—sometimes called “ring 0”—is a sequestered portion of a computer, where the core functionality of the machine runs. Software in this region includes the operating system, the drivers that talk to hardware—like keyboards, mice, and the video card—as well as software that requires high-level permissions, like antivirus suites. While faulty code executed in user mode—“ring 3,” where web browsers, word processors, and the rest of the software we use lives—results in that specific software crashing, an error in the kernel brings down the whole system, usually in the ubiquitous Blue Screen of Death. And because of that sequestration, user-mode software has very limited visibility into what’s happening in the kernel.
It’s not surprising, then, that some people have reservations. But the reality is that security engineers, especially those working to establish fairness in the hyper-competitive FPS genre, haven’t been given a lot of choice. Anti-cheat systems are heading to the kernel in part because that’s where the cheaters are.
“Back in the 2008 era, effectively no one was using kernel drivers, like maybe 5 percent of sophisticated cheat developers,” says Paul Chamberlain, a security engineer who has worked on anti-cheat systems for games like Valorant, Fortnite, and League of Legends. Chamberlain recalls seeing his first kernel-based game exploit—the infamous World of Warcraft Glider—at the Defcon security conference in 2007. “But by 2015 or so, pretty much all the sophisticated, organized cheat-selling organizations were using kernel drivers.” With the tools available, there wasn’t much anti-cheat software could do against aimbots and wallhacks that lived in the kernel. Around this same time, at a Steam developer conference, Aarni Rautava, an engineer with Easy Anti-Cheat—which would eventually be purchased by Epic Games—claimed the overall marketplace for cheats had grown to somewhere north of $100 million.
Still, games studies were, and often remain, cautious about implementing their own driver solutions. Working in the kernel is difficult—it’s more specialized and requires loads of quality assurance testing because the potential impact of bad code is so much more drastic—which leads to increased expense. “Even at Riot, nobody wanted us to make a driver. Internally, they were like, ‘Look, this is too risky,’” says Clint Sereday, another security engineer who worked on Vanguard, Valorant’s kernel-level anti-cheat system. “At the end of the day, they don't want to have to put out a driver to protect their game if they don't need to.” But in the hyper-competitive FPS space, especially a tactical shooter where a single headshot can mean instant death, cheats have an outsized impact that can quickly erode players’ trust. In the end, Riot seemingly calculated that any backlash a kernel solution produced (and there was plenty) was still preferable to being hamstrung from fighting cheaters on even ground.
But to many gamers, who pushed into the kernel first isn’t important. They worry that an anti-cheat kernel driver could secretly spy on them or create exploitable vulnerabilities in their PCs. As one Redditor put it: “I'll live with cheaters. My privacy is more important than a freaking game.”
A kernel driver could certainly introduce some sort of vulnerability. But the chances that a hacker would target it are slim, at least for the vast majority of people. “You're talking easily hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps millions, for an exploit like that if it's going to be remotely executable,” says Adriel Desautels, founder of penetration testing company Netragard. “What attackers would rather spend their time and money on are things where they can hit one thing and get a lot of loot,” like other criminal hacks or malware attacks where huge troves of valuable data were stolen or held for ransom.",957,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00012.warc.gz,0.962586402893066
1948e221-9d15-4750-b8bf-602727ab5ea0,2015-03-31T05:40:39+00:00,2013-07-17,1,http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10185581/Army-of-patients-to-be-recruited-to-inspect-NHS.html,"The Care Quality Commission is today launching sweeping changes to its inspection regime, and introducuing Ofsted-style ratings which it says will better protect patients, and ensure hospitals are scrutinised “from top to bottom”.
Prof Sir Mike Richards, newly appointed chief inspector of hospitals, said he was now attempting to recruit at least hundreds of inspectors, including hospital patients and their carers, so that future inspections have a wider range of perspectives, and give a voice to those who are treated by the NHS.
He said patients from all across England could apply to be recruited to a lay role, but that they would be unlikely to be allowed to inspect their own local hospital, in order to ensure the process was not biased.
The first inspections using the new approach will begin in about a month, with 18 hospital trusts selected to pilot the new approach.
The trusts have been assessed under 150 measures - including the number of avoidable infections, the number of safety incidents so serious that they are called “never events” and levels of complaints - and been ranked as high or low risk, or somewhere between the two.
Sir Mike said Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals trust, Barts Health trust, Croydon Health Services trust, Nottingham University Hospitals trust, South London Healthcare Trust and The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation trust had now all been assessed to be “high risk” based on such findings - though no trust will receive a rating until it has been inspected.
The 14 trusts with recent high mortality rates, which were yesterday identified as failing thousands of patients will not be inspected, because they have just undergone a similar process.
However officials said death rates would form part of the risk rating of each trust, so that in future those with high mortality rates and other patient concerns would be inspected more urgently.
Sir Mike said: “Today am issuing a call for inspecctors - I want assistance. I want to start building a small army of insepctors and they need to come from all walks of life. Some will be practicising doctors .. or retired health professionals but we are also seeking patients and carers.”
He said patients would be paid a day rate - not yet agreed - for their time, plus expenses, because a “50 mile rule” was likely to be introduced so that nobody inspected a hospital at which they worked or were likely to be a patient.
“My job is to the put the patient at the heart of this,” Sir Mike said.
Officials said the new approach would replace a widely discredited model, which relied heavily on self-assessment by trusts, and meant that inspection visits would only focus on small parts of a hospital at a time.
Until now, the inspection regime meant that a hospital could get a good report based on a visit to its maternity unit, when its Accident & Emergency department was putting lives at risk.
Sir Mike said those leading the CQC “recognised that it was flawed”.
He said: “It tended to focus on individual specifics of care what we wil be doing is looking at how well care is being delivered across a hosptial from top to bottom.
Core services - including A&E, care of the frail elderly, maternity, and paediatrics would always be inspected on every visit, which would involve at least 15 inspectors and take at least two days, and longer for larger sites.
He said that while hospitals would be given notice of some visits, others would not be “unannounced”. Trusts would be likely to know that they were being inspected, but not what day or week inspectors would arrive, in order to detect staff shortages at times when hospitals were likely to have fewer people on duty.
Sir Mike said: “In the end, [the question is] would I be happy if my mother, my brother, my niece or my great nephew went to this hospital - it covers the whole age spectrum.”
Asked about the CQC’s history, with a report last month accusing its former leadership of presiding over a “cover-up” and political rows about Labour’s handling of the NHS, Sir Mike said he hoped his track record, working as National Cancer Director under the past and current Government, showed his independence. He said: “ I have worked for two administrations and seven secretaries of state - my job is to the put the patient at the heart of this.”",933,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00038-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.979332983493805
f413b00a-6f7c-465b-bc95-89a98a843558,2013-05-25T12:33:45+00:00,1895-01-01,0,http://www.telelib.com/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/verse/p1/galleyslave.html,"OH GALLANT was our galley from her carven steering-wheel
To her figurehead of silver and her beak of hammered steel;
The leg-bar chafed the ankle and we gasped for cooler air,
But no galley on the waters with our galley could compare!
Our bulkheads bulged with cotton and our masts were stepped in gold—
We ran a mighty merchandise of niggers in the hold;
The white foam spun behind us, and the black shark swam below,
As we gripped the kicking sweep-head and we made the galley go.
It was merry in the galley, for we revelled now and then—
If they wore us down like cattle, faith, we fought and loved like men!
As we snatched her through the water, so we snatched a minute’s bliss,
And the mutter of the dying never spoiled the lover’s kiss.
Our women and our children toiled beside us in the dark—
They died, we filed their fetters, and we heaved them to the shark—
We heaved them to the fishes, but so fast the galley sped
We had only time to envy, for we could not mourn our dead.
Bear witness, once my comrades, what a hard-bit gang were we—
The servants of the sweep-head, but the masters of the sea!
By the hands that drove her forward as she plunged and yawed and sheered,
Woman, Man, or God or Devil, was there anything we feared?
Was it storm? Our fathers faced it and a wilder never blew;
Earth that waited for the wreckage watched the galley struggle through.
Burning noon or choking midnight, Sickness, Sorrow, Parting, Death?
Nay, our very babes would mock you had they time for idle breath.
But to-day I leave the galley and another takes my place;
There’s my name upon the deck-beam—let it stand a little space.
I am free—to watch my messmates beating out to open main,
Free of all that Life can offer—save to handle sweep again.
By the brand upon my shoulder, by the gall of clinging steel,
By the welt the whips have left me, by the scars that never heal;
By eyes grown old with staring through the sunwash on the brine,
I am paid in full for service. Would that service still were mine!
Yet they talk of times and seasons and of woe the years bring forth,
Of our galley swamped and shattered in the rollers of the North.
When the niggers break the hatches and the decks are gay with gore,
And a craven-hearted pilot crams her crashing on the shore,
She will need no half-mast signal, minute-gun, or rocketflare,
When the cry for help goes seaward, she will find her servants there.
Battered chain-gangs of the orlop, grizzled drafts of years gone by,
To the bench that broke their manhood, they shall lash themselves and die.
Bale and crippled, young and aged, paid, deserted, shipped away—
Palace, cot, and lazaretto shall make up the tale that day,
When the skies are black above them, and the decks ablaze beneath,
And the top-men clear the raffle with their clasp-knives in their teeth.
It may be that Fate will give me life and leave to row once more—
Set some strong man free for fighting as I take awhile his oar.
But to-day I leave the galley. Shall I curse her service then?
God be thanked! Whate’er comes after, I have lived and toiled with Men!",814,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950829327106476
23d08ff9-f1b6-48f4-8170-239f75f57264,2015-03-29T00:21:36+00:00,2011-12-27,1,http://jezebel.com/5870051/girls-only-vaccine-could-be-best-weapon-against-hpv?tag=HPV,"A new study argues that vaccinating boys against HPV isn't the best use of resources, since vaccinating more girls will actually lead to a greater reduction in overall infections. However, there are also political implications to consider.
Back in October, I wrote that the rise of HPV-related throat cancer in men was an excellent argument for vaccinating boys against the virus. And later that month, the CDC extended its vaccine recommendation to include boys as well as girls. But now, researchers say that focusing on vaccinating more members of one sex may be more effective than trying to vaccinate both. In a study published in PLoS Medicine, Johannes A. Bogaards used mathematical modeling to determine which vaccination strategy would lead to the greatest reduction in HPV prevalence. They found that increasing the percentage of girls vaccinated would actually have the biggest effect. Bogaards et al write,
We show that, once routine vaccination of one sex is in place, increasing the coverage in that sex is much more effective in bolstering herd immunity than switching to a policy that includes both sexes. Universal vaccination against HPV should therefore only become an option when vaccine uptake among girls cannot be further increased. Adding boys to current vaccination programs seems premature, because female coverage rates still leave ample room for improvement in most countries that have introduced HPV vaccination. So far, only three countries have achieved a three-dose coverage of 70% or more in females.
The authors do note that while vaccinating girls and women does offer some protection to men who have sex with men (because some of these men also have sex with women), a supplementary program to vaccinate these men could be a good idea. This might be less than effective in practice — since the vaccine is most effective when given before any HPV exposure, many vaccination programs have targeted children, who may not yet identify with a particular sexual orientation or practice. However, the study authors write that ""vaccination of [men who have sex with men] remains cost-effective up to 26 y of age, an age range that might render targeted HPV vaccination acceptable.""
Bogaards et al make a persuasive case that, at least if their models are correct, vaccinating all girls would lead to a greater reduction in HPV than vaccinating some girls and some boys. However, they don't address the political obstacles to this plan. As long as HPV is perceived as a women's problem and HPV vaccination as a girls' issue, it will be subject to the hysteria and moralizing that surrounds women's and girls sexuality in the United States. This may prevent the US from ever reaching the level of girls' vaccination that would confer herd immunity. A move to vaccinate boys, however, could increase public support for the project of vaccination in general. Further research needs to look not just at what would reduce HPV prevalence in an ideal world, but at what will work in the sometimes shitty world we actually live in.
Image via Svetlana Lukienko/Shutterstock.com",600,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00254-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968821227550507
21139e82-9ee1-4be2-9811-6f37ca8b25fe,2017-08-16T13:29:12+00:00,2012-08-16,0,http://www.kltv.com/story/19249564/grilled-chicken-and-jamaican-salad-with-blackberry-vinaigrette-from-jakes-tyler,"This summery, flavorful salad comes to us via Chef David Wallace, who now prepares lunch daily at Jake's Tyler, on the square downtown.
Grill Chicken and Jamaican salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette
""This is, like de eaziestt dish to make monn, from Jamacia!""
Make Salad- fresh Mixed greens or Spring Mix
Add Dried apricots, dried mango, dried cranberries, dried pineapple, coconut, and spicy whole almonds.
Top with grill chicken fajitas (buy fully cooked to save time)
Finish with blackberry dressing:
Method: one jar (any brand) blackberry jam or preserves and one regular size bottle (any brand) of Italian dressing.- Blend jam or preserves in a food processor with the blade attachment for a few minutes first, then add the dressing and continue until emulsified.",179,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886101966.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816125013-20170816145013-00013.warc.gz,0.821176290512085
94bcdb45-de27-4e32-9ded-5ed112312167,2017-08-19T15:25:57+00:00,2015-07-15,1,https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/11261/blockchain---the-saviour-of-global-finance,"At a recent event I was asked to pick three technologies that could really upset the capital markets applecart. Blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underpins Bitcoin, was one of those that I selected. The best way to think about Blockchain
is that it solves for the trust problem when two parties wish to transact with each other. It achieves this by distributing the transaction record across multiple servers that are open to all. This was essential for Bitcoin as with no one 'owning' the cryptocurrency
some mechanism was required to provide a record of who was spending what. The really big idea, however, is that Blockchain has the potential to remove the need for all the third parties - CSDs, custodians, clearing houses, etc - currently involved in the financial
markets food chain.
So could it work?
Technically, yes. Up to now Blockchain technology has appeared tamper-proof against even the most ardent hackers and, if it were to become ubiquitous and used by everyone, then its potential truly is vast. There are some big snags, however. The first is
regulation as it is unlikely that different regulators will view it the same way or opine on it at the same time. We might even get into a regulatory tug of war as regulators in different jurisdictions try to use it as a way of expanding their own territorial
horizons (ESMA has already published a call for evidence paper on virtual currencies and distributed ledgers). The second challenge is that if Blockchain use is only partial then we will still need all those pesky counterparties and intermediaries so it’s
a bit of an all or nothing play. Finally, there are already a number of technology firms competing with their interpretation of Blockchain technology so, again, we may find that Blockchain’s early allure crumbles to nothing through competing standards.
Nevertheless, there is plenty of talk about it at the minute and several firms are making significant bets on its outcome. I suspect, however, that in developed, westernised countries there is simply too much vested interest against anything so radical.
On the other hand maybe Blockchain gives developing countries and their markets a chance to leapfrog the global competition…",441,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105455.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819143637-20170819163637-00656.warc.gz,0.974237859249115
a73f1d14-dc26-4d65-b3fd-2160b3eea4de,2020-10-29T08:10:13+00:00,2020-10-29,1,https://lawtrend.in/mathura-district-court-admits-appeal-of-sri-krishna-janmabhoomi-case/,"The District Judge’s court admitted the petition to remove the mosque from Mathura’s Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi. The next hearing, in this case, will be held on 18 November. Earlier the Suit filed before Civil Judge, was dismissed. Read Here
The appeal was filed in the court of District Judge Mathura Sadhni Rani Thakur on October 12.
Shri Krishna Virajaman is demanding ownership of 13.37 acres of land of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi. Along with this, the petition has also demanded the removal of Idgah Mosque.
The court has also sent notices to Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, Idgah Trust, Sunni Central Waqf Board, Shahi Masjid Idgah in this context.
This is the whole case
Eight people, including Sri Krishna’s, Advocate Ranjana Agnihotri, had filed a claim in the court of Civil Judge Senior Division Chhaya Sharma to remove the Shahi Mosque Idgah from Sri Krishna’s birthplace.
It is claimed that today where there is a mosque, there was a prison of Kansa and a temple of Krishna. The Mughals broke it down and built the royal Idgah Mosque there.
A suit was filed in the Civil Judge Court of Mathura regarding the case, but the petition was dismissed from there, after which an appeal has been filed in the District Judge’s Court.
In 1968 there was an agreement for a two and a half rupee stamp
After running the case for nearly 136 years, in 1968, Sri Krishna Janmasthana Seva Sansthan itself signed an agreement with the Muslim side on a stamp paper of two and a half rupees.
Under the agreement, the two sides handed over some of their land to each other. Now the place where the mosque is, is being named after the birthplace trust.
Many devotees, including Raji Rajaraman, a litigant, demanded that the agreement reached on October 12, 1968 and the decree on July 20, 1973 be quashed. The petition sought ownership of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi on 13.37 acres of land, including Idgah.
It has also been said that Shri Krishna Janmasthana Seva Sansthan does not have the right to make this agreement. The petition, filed by advocate Vishnu Jain and Harishankar Jain in the court of senior civil judge Chhaya Sharma, is 57 pages.",535,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107903419.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029065424-20201029095424-00587.warc.gz,0.969333171844482
a3eea4fc-1909-424a-9163-f0e983c48755,2022-05-28T13:06:38+00:00,2022-01-25,0,https://dailyuqab.in/dont-want-peoples-livelihood-to-be-affected-covid-curbs-to-be-eased-asap-delhi-cm/,"New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that his government does not want livelihood of people to be affected and Covid restrictions will be eased as soon as possible
Restrictions were put in place in view of people’s health, Kejriwal said after hoisting the national flag at the Delhi government’s Republic Day function
“Delhiites have suffered the most due to Covid. We don’t want that your livelihood is affected but your health is important, so we had to put restrictions,” he said
Recently, the Delhi government’s proposal to lift weekend curfew and odd-even scheme of opening shops in view of the improving Covid situation here was turned down by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G)
“Last week some traders had come and they said they are facing lots of problems due to the odd-even scheme and weekend curfew. The L-G agreed to some proposals and on some, he differed. We will remove these restrictions as soon as possible,” Kejriwal said
During his speech at the function, the chief minister said he is most inspired by Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh who charted different courses for the same dreams and goals
Kejriwal pledged to fulfil Ambedkar’s dream of quality education for all children, rich or poor.
He also announced that in every office of the Delhi government pictures of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh will be put up. (Agencies)",310,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016853.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528123744-20220528153744-00624.warc.gz,0.974356293678284
ddef77c4-bfa6-423e-8f34-977966a6c068,2020-10-22T17:31:34+00:00,2020-07-13,0,https://www.devonclimateemergency.org.uk/net-zero-task-force-meeting-minutes-13th-july/,"Net Zero Task Force Draft Minutes 13th July 2020. Download a PDF copy of the minutes here.
Patrick Devine-Wright (Chair)
1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
It was AGREED that the minutes are a true record of the discussion.
Outstanding actions carried over from the May Task Force meeting:
ACTION: Tim Jones to clarify his thoughts on developing an asset register and let Emily know.
ACTION: Nik to arrange to meet with James and Lyndis to discuss the spatial framework further.
ACTION: Tim to share information about his exploration of the barriers and opportunities relating to the ownership of assets in the National Parks, in relation to natural capital restoration and preservation, and financial mechanisms to support this.
ACTION: Tim to put the Task Force in contact with GWR & Stagecoach project to trial using hydrogen to fuel public transport in the South West.
ACTION: Emily to report back on the data sets available to aid characterizing Devon.
2. Questions and comments on the Net Zero Task Force Progress Report
ACTION: Emily to update links on the final page of the Progress Report
Patrick asked about context of the Exmouth peaking-plant decision. James advised that it highlights some of the current weakness of the planning systems that require revision. A conversation with the Devon Planning Officers’ Group is scheduled with James for 15th July to get their input on how the Devon Carbon Plan can encourage the shift to net-zero.
Ian Hutchcroft asked for the draft actions in the Plan about encouraging net-zero new build to be shared with the Planners at the meeting too.
Tim noted that recent announcements of government on the national insulation programme, the anticipated White Paper on revisions to the planning system and the publication of the Greater Exeter housing strategy are all relevant here. Tim offered to synthesise with Ian and James.
Patrick asked for consideration to be given to how the citizens’ assembly might be used to work through some of these issues
3. Sharing draft actions with partners
The meetings with partners are continuing until the end of July which is an extended time period due to demands of the COVID response period. This is linked to item 4a below.
There has been a range of perspectives on many of the actions.
ACTION: Feedback to Team Devon that agroforestry could be an opportunity for inclusion in the COVID recovery plan.
4. Preparing the draft Carbon Plan
A) Timetable for drafting the Plan
Emily introduced the proposal for a three-month extension to the drafting of the Interim Devon Carbon Plan.
Patrick said that he thought the timetable looked reasonable but noted that this revision asks a lot more time of Task Force members.
Nik asked if there were particular concerns about certain actions. Emily confirmed there are, and that feedback will be gathered from all partners before amending actions and then those will be shared with the Task Force sub-groups. Nik confirmed that he thought the timetable was reasonable.
Patrick asked for a document showing when the Task Force when will be needed to be around.
ACTION: Doug to draft a document showing when the Task Force will be around.
Harry asked what format the consultation will take. Emily confirmed that this has yet to be designed in detail but will largely be online. Harry offered Devon Communities Together assistance in the consultation.
B) How to decide on a final date to achieve a net-zero Devon
The Task Force discussed the evidence available to inform the earliest credible date for Devon to decarbonise. This discussion will continue over the coming months.
C) Critical Path Diagrams
The Task Force supports the work that Andrew Rowson is doing.
Patrick cautioned that the actions need to be refined before Andrew spends too long on these. Doug agreed and advised that time has been scheduled within the revised timetable for Andrew to produce final drafts after the conversations have occurred with the sub-theme leads to refine the final actions.
Patrick asked how cross-cutting actions will be captured? Emily advised that Andrew will draft the critical pathway diagrams initially by sector, but will then integrate them to capture inter-relations and cross cutting actions. Patrick agreed with this.
5. Communications update
Ellie advised the Task Force that work on the new website is continuing that will be used to communicate the Interim Carbon Plan. The contractor’s illustration team are helping put together visuals on what a net-zero Devon might look like. In tandem with this, we are running a photo competition for images of what a net-zero Devon could look like, and these will be used on the website.
Social media engagement continues to increase. The newsletter is now being distributed to 1300 people each month and engagement is strong.
At the last meeting we spoke about the process of communicating the Interim Plan, such as webinars and videos with Task Force members. These will now be pushed back a couple of months due to the timetable delay. In the meantime, we need to make sure communities are aware of the projects that are ongoing across Devon by the partners to reduce carbon emissions, which the Tactical Group are helping collate.
Patrick asked for critical weeks to be planned in people’s diaries.
ACTION: Secretariat team to advise Task Force members on dates for communications activity for which they’ll need to be involved.
Tim asked if we’re sure that the existing engagement plan for the Interim Plan is sufficient – we can always do more. There’s a difference between communicating and getting ownership.
Patrick suggested a webinar between the Response Group and the Task Force could be helpful in October/November time.
ACTION: Ellie to incorporate a webinar between the Response Group and the Task Force into the communications plan.
ACTION: Ellie to confirm a list of stakeholder groups to engage in the consultation and begin to connect with the relevant networks.
Tim suggested we develop a local champion/ ambassador network to promote, support and organise activity around the Devon Carbon Plan at community level. Patrick supported this and said that we could approach the people who submitted evidence and in other relevant networks, such as the Devon Community Energy Network.
Harry suggested that Careers South West’s STEM programme that engages in schools could be helpful ambassadors. Harry has contacts available.
Sue advised that Devon Wildlife Trust have about 35,000 members and will be valuable. Ellie confirmed that the Trust’s communication’s team is involved.
ACTION: Ellie to consider what a Devon Carbon Plan ambassador network would involve and its feasibility.
- A) James indicated an approach to engaging with Planning:
- What’s possible now
- What’s possible with further local action
- What’s possible working with national government
- The Task Force agreed with this approach.
- B) Tim reminded the Task Force that we need to consider funding. Emily noted that we’ll be tagging each action in the Plan with its funding status. Doug suggested a ‘funding opportunities’ section in the Plan, which Tim agreed with and offered assistance to compile this.
- ACTION: Secretariat to add a funding opportunities section to the Plan.
- ACTION: Secretariat to add a funding opportunities section to the Plan.
- Lyndis offered further advice on landscape character – it has never been designed to be a constraint on change. Emily agreed that this has been an issue of considerable feedback from the Partners.
- ACTION: Emily to catch up with Lyndis about landscape considerations.
- Gill updated the Task Force on her concerns about carbon offsetting and double counting, which need further discussion, particularly in which sectors the Devon Carbon Plan will encourage offsetting. Sue also raised the issue of who owns the carbon reduction. Laura said that her understanding of the IPCC rules means that double-counting shouldn’t happen.
- ACTION: Secretariat to commission a short discussion paper about carbon offsetting before the next Task Force meeting to inform debate. Gill would like to be involved with this.",1636,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880014.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022170349-20201022200349-00287.warc.gz,0.929227232933044
37728563-426f-42e3-89d1-fbd027554f67,2013-05-22T07:48:43+00:00,2006-01-01,0,http://malawinetwork.org/meeting.htm,"2003 Face-to-Face Meeting
While many objectives of the Network can be achieved with the WEB site and mailing list, nothing can really replace a Face-to-Face meeting to help generate understanding, camaradarie, and encourage sharing. The Malawi Mission Network was first formed at a Face-to-Face meeting in August, 2003 near Louisville, KY. We had approximately 30 people at the meeting and we shared what we were all doing and were gladened to see how much we all had in common but also how much we could learn from each other. Everyone felt this was an extremely valuable opportunity and they wanted to do it again in a year.
2004 Face-to-Face Meeting
The2004 meeting of the Malawi Mission Network was held on August 26th to 28th, 2004 in Louisville, KY. We had 27 people attending from 14 states in addition to the featured presenters and PCUSA staff from Louisville.
Highlights for the meeting included:
Perhaps just as important as the wonderful speakers was the opportunity to share experiences with other Christians with similar interests in Malawi but possibly very different experiences.
2005 Face-to-Face Meeting
The 2005 Meeting of the Malawi Mission Network was held August 18th to 20th, 2005 in Chicago, IL. We had over 60 people attending from 17 states plus Malawi.
Highlights of the meeting included:
For more details including pictures of the meeting - click here.
We decided to meet again in 2006 and see the details here.",310,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.979085385799408
a4e216d4-e10f-4159-a5d5-0dc38db2bcfa,2015-03-30T23:03:48+00:00,2013-02-12,1,https://storify.com/northkoreatech/north-korea-conducts-nuclear-test/elements/65f7288f2ef985ce64f6864a,"- The first sign of a possible test was the detection of seismic waves. The epicenter of the apparent earthquake was close to North Korea's nuclear testing site. Here's data from the U.S. Geological Survey and China.
- The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization also took to Twitter to confirm that it too detected shaking in the region.
- As Reuters noted, North Korea isn't known for its seismic activity so the chances of it being a real earthquake were low.
- The South Koreans were quick to determine the quake was caused by a man-made device, ie: a nuclear weapon.
- As the seismic waves were breaking across international newswires, the governments in Japan and South Korea began scrambling to pull together ""urgent"" meetings. It was the same surprise that greeted North Korea's rocket launch late last year. The U.S. and China might not have been so surprised. According to an unsourced official quoted by Yonhap News, they received advance notice of the test.
- And then word that the U.S. passed this information on to at least Japan.
- Here's what it looked like:
- The shaking from the blast was apparently felt along the North Korean / China border:
- And here's the latest official word from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization:
“Today our monitoring stations picked up evidence of an unusual seismic event in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The event shows explosion-like characteristics and its location is roughly congruent with the 2006 and 2009 DPRK nuclear tests. For now, further data and analysis are necessary to establish what kind of event this is. If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act would constitute a clear threat to international peace and security, and challenges efforts made to strengthen global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, in particular by ending nuclear testing.”
- It wasn't for about three hours after the test that the North Korean media confirmed the news. The state-run Korea Central News Agency said:The scientific field for national defence of the DPRK succeeded in the third underground nuclear test at the site for underground nuclear test in the northern part of the DPRK on Tuesday.
The test was carried out as part of practical measures of counteraction to defend the country's security and sovereignty in the face of the ferocious hostile act of the U.S. which wantonly violated the DPRK's legitimate right to launch satellite for peaceful purposes.
The test was conducted in a safe and perfect way on a high level with the use of a smaller and light A-bomb unlike the previous ones, yet with great explosive power. It was confirmed that the test did not give any adverse effect to the surrounding ecological environment.
The specific features of the function and explosive power of the A-bomb and all other measurements fully tallied with the values of the design, physically demonstrating the good performance of the DPRK's nuclear deterrence that has become diversified.
The nuclear test will greatly encourage the army and people of the DPRK in their efforts to build a thriving nation with the same spirit and mettle as displayed in conquering space, and offer an important occasion in ensuring peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the region.
- It was, of course, immediately condemned:",672,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00215-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.954823434352875
28696eae-d70c-4013-80a8-ce96f99d7ef6,2013-06-19T19:12:56+00:00,2013-06-19,0,http://historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=10272&pid=0,"Former St. Joseph's Hospital
St. Joseph's Hospital
St. Joseph's Apartments
Links and documents
Listed on the Canadian Register:
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
St. Joseph's Hospital is a four-and-one-half storey plus basement stone Neoclassical Edwardian structure located across the street from St. Ann's Academy. The designation also includes interior features.
St. Joseph's Hospital, built in 1876 with additions in 1888, 1897, and 1908, is valued for its association with the Sisters of St. Ann, its connection with the health care of Victoria's citizens, its architecture and architect, and its grounds.
St. Joseph's Hospital has value for its association with one of British Columbia's major pioneering religious orders, and for its role in the provision of health care in the region. It is a prominent reminder of the importance of the Sisters of St. Ann to the physical well-being of Victoria's citizens.
Founded in Quebec in 1848, the Sisters of St. Ann represent the strong presence of French-Canadian missionaries in British Columbia's formative history. From the Pacific Northwest headquarters of the order at St. Ann's Academy, directly across Humboldt Street from this building, they gradually expanded their missionary work in Victoria to include a school, a convent, a novitiate program, and nursing services to better serve the educational, medical, and spiritual needs of the population for over a century.
Architecturally, the historic place was designed and built in stages, but it is the 1908 addition by Thomas Hooper and C. Elwood Watkins that is most prominent in today's configuration. The first phase of St. Joseph's Hospital was built on Collinson Street (now renamed Fairfield Road) in 1876 under the leadership of Sister Mary Providence and Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken. In 1888, an additional 48 beds were added, and in 1897, another 67, bringing the total to 150. The 1908 addition was designed to face Humboldt Street. With its Edwardian solidity and strong Neoclassical features, it serves as a foil to the Hooper wing at St. Ann's Academy and further reinforces the significance of the Order in Victoria's development. A historic chapel on the northeast of the structure has been preserved and provides a visual link to the religious past. Several interior features have been retained, further enhancing the historic importance of this building. It has been rehabilitated for use as seniors' housing with units for transient accommodation.
In addition, the grounds contribute to Victoria's natural environment. The building is surrounded by a manicured lawn with mature plantings that create a park-like setting. The presence of this greenspace so close to downtown Victoria, coupled with the St. Ann's Academy grounds and Beacon Hill Park just to the south, provides a counterpoint to the hard urban landscape of the city core.
Source: City of Victoria Planning Department
Key elements that define the heritage character of St. Joseph's Hospital include:
- its monumental scale
- characteristics of the Neoclassical Edwardian style, such as the front entrance porch with paired Ionic columns, balcony above with stone and cement balustrade, multi-hipped roof with gabled front extension, stone corbelling under eaves, circular light in gable peak, slender turret with Christian cross at peak, front extension over porch
- semi-recessed second storey bays arcaded by pilasters
- form and pattern of fenestration
- design and detailing of the 1908 addition, attributable to Thomas Hooper and C. Elwood Watkins
- spatial configuration, form and interior finishes of the chapel
- main entrance and foyer located on the south side of the main floor
- entrance with oak doors
- mosaic tile floors located on the east and west sides of the main floor
- wooden doors and sidelights located at the entrances to the porches on the south side of the third and fourth floors
- its proximity to St. Ann's Academy across Humboldt Street
- its proximity to Beacon Hill Park
- stone wall on Humboldt Street frontage
- well-established landscaping including lawns, mature trees and other plants
- evidence of historical religious uses of the building as seen in the chapel
Local Governments (BC)
Local Government Act, s.967
Theme - Category and Type
- Building Social and Community Life
- Religious Institutions
Function - Category and Type
- Multiple Dwelling
- Health and Research
- Hospital or Other Health Care Institution
Architect / Designer
Location of Supporting Documentation
City of Victoria Planning Department
Cross-Reference to Collection",969,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.933412909507752
5f35fa38-379c-47b5-8876-38053508f082,2016-07-27T08:10:29+00:00,2009-09-12,0,http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/puddles-39195/,"Use a lot of approach and retreat. Ask him forward and the second he hesitates stop and let him settle. It's not about the puddle. It's about his confidence in you. So, after he settles ask him forward again, and if he doesn't go simply ask him to back up, settle again, wait until he's relaxed then re-approach the puddle. The worst thing you can do is push him toward it, that will destroy his confidence. What I would do first, though, is find a puddle (or make one!) and work on this from the ground before working on it under saddle.",129,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00310-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.992449641227722
cf15c493-ed6c-4212-b569-f4a634b2fac1,2013-05-18T17:36:55+00:00,2013-05-18,0,http://www.carpeylaw.com/civil-rights-violations-law-questions/,"Do I have a personal injury case against the police department if I am injured during an arrest?
Sometimes. These types of cases are governed by a Federal law that lawyers who handle these cases call a “1983” action, named after a particular section of the Federal statutes pertaining to Civil Rights violations upon individual citizens by municpalities, police departments, and individual police officers. A “1983” action can occur from a vast array of circumstances involving Civil Rights cases, including prisoner rights.
What are “damages” in a Pennsylvania personal injury case?
To sue for ‘damages’ is to attempt to recover compensation for a loss and/or injury. The injury can take many different forms such as physical injuries that are immediately noticeable (scarring, broken bones), as well as those that cannot be seen. These types of damages are typically “past” damages by the time your case goes to trial since they are damages that have already occurred. These non-visible injuries include:
• pain and suffering
• the inability to perform your usual work, social, and recreational activities
• physical pain and anguish
You are also entitled to be compensated for your medical expenses, and lost wages.
There is also a claim for “future” damages. If future expenses are foreseeable as a result of the incident, those ‘damages’ can also be recovered. For example, if it has been reasonably stated by your medical doctor that further treatment will be needed in the future, or that due to your injury you will no longer be able to work, those expected expenses/losses would be included in the ‘damages’ in your case.",349,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971305727958679
87c12b98-6936-4ceb-84cc-e5c3a4ef61fb,2018-08-17T10:47:27+00:00,2018-07-31,1,https://hubtokyo.com/events/20180731-2/,"We welcome Gen Uehara, Vice President of Sales Engineering Asia of Symphony Communication Services, for this event.
Collaboration platform for finance startup Symphony looks to make Asia the next front in its war on industry leader Bloomberg, sensing strong opportunities in Japan and in growth markets such as China and India as well as outside the financial sector.
Symphony Communication Services launched in 2014, backed by a consortium including some of the biggest names in American finance such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Google and others joined later, handing the company a hefty $230 million in capital. Venture capital research firm CB Insights estimates Symphony’s worth at $1 billion.
The Symphony platform, combining cloud-based messaging and communications with financial news and data from providers such as Dow Jones and Thomson Reuters, is used by over 310 companies and 320,000 people, many of them in the U.S. financial sector.",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212040.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817104238-20180817124238-00421.warc.gz,0.870506525039673
2e330e57-89d4-404c-97fb-72398fcb0400,2022-05-24T21:04:27+00:00,2019-12-19,0,https://lindsayanndavis.com/2019/12/19/grieving-an-identity/,"After three years at the University of California Merced, I returned to Merced College in August, though to the main campus in Merced instead of Los Baños. It has not been an easy transition. My work / life balance is much better (I get winter, spring, and summer break again), but the problem is that I don’t what to do with myself. When folks ask me what I’m up to, I, frankly, don’t have much to say because, for so long, work has been my identity. In trying to make peace between the life I thought I wanted and this new trajectory, I haven’t been the easiest person to be around. Managing my anxiety and depression has been difficult. I am grieving.
I had imagined a life where I would be working on research and writing articles and book chapters, maybe even co-editing a book or two. Even though research wasn’t necessarily required at UC, I knew I would be part of a network of librarians engaged in this kind of work. When I was a solo community college librarian, I got involved in ACRL committee work, and it exposed me to folks doing great things in the profession. I felt less isolated. Slow but sure, my confidence grew. I continued this work at UC Merced. I finally got the courage to submit lightning talk proposals, and I actually presented at a few conferences, even though I didn’t feel like what I was sharing was groundbreaking. I even wrote a couple of short trade pieces.
In early 2018, as I was preparing for a two year review (for 18-months of work), I felt, strangely, unaccomplished. I was doing things but not THE THINGS. I was constantly busying myself and worrying about my review. Honestly, coming across Abby Flanigan’s blog post, “Vocational Awe and Professional Identity,” which was about Fobazi Ettarh’s article, “Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves,” made me realize that I had turned my job into a lifestyle. I had pushed myself, and I got the standard merit increase, which is the norm at UC, but when I learned that a colleague who wrote a book also got a standard review, I knew I couldn’t continue this pace. Ultimately, I had to ask myself whether this professional activity was actually that important.
But I am sad. I was able to grow as a teacher at UC Merced, and I learned a lot from my colleagues and from various professional development opportunities. I enjoyed our instructional brown bag sessions and various projects. I’m a better librarian because of my time there.
I know this change doesn’t mean that I can’t do some of those things I had previously imagined, but I also know that I want a life that isn’t consumed by the next best thing in academic librarianship. Though I will probably always be a bit of a workaholic, I want to lead a healthier life.
I’m currently on winter break, so I’ll be taking time to figure some things out.",673,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577259.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524203438-20220524233438-00027.warc.gz,0.982018172740936
83027fae-6c92-46fd-9c85-7e9c2e1cb987,2016-07-23T15:05:54+00:00,2013-02-26,0,http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/sen-patrick-brazeau-pushed-alleged-victim-down-stairs-spat-at-her-and-touched-her-in-a-aggressively-sexual-way-court-documents,"GATINEAU, Que. — Sen. Patrick Brazeau formally entered a not guilty plea to charges of assault and sexual assault Tuesday as court documents revealed the alleged victim accused the senator of violently pushing her and touching her in a sexually aggressive way.
Brazeau, 38, was charged earlier this month after a 911 call brought police to his home in Gatineau, Que., just across the Ottawa river from the national capital.
According to documents, Brazeau and his accuser had an argument over aboriginal issues that started on the night of Feb. 6 and continued the next morning.
The alleged victim said the dispute turned violent after the senator ordered her to leave her house. The victim said she was pushed by Brazeau hard enough to break the handrail of the staircase she was holding.
When the alleged victim called 911, she said she had suffered bruises and Brazeau was holed up in a room upstairs, the documents say.
Later, after police arrived, the alleged victim told them Brazeau grabbed one of her breasts in an aggressive way and brought down her pants, breaking the button and zipper, according to the documents. She also alleged he put his hand around her neck and hit her in the arm with his fists. The complainant also told police that Brazeau swore at her in French and English, the records say.
A police search warrant was issued to find a bra, a shirt and a trouser button in Brazeau’s home torn off in the alleged altercation.
A publication ban has been placed to protect the identity of the alleged victim. None of the accusations have been proven in court.
His arrest came a day after a Senate committee announced it had hired independent auditors to examine Brazeau’s housing expense claims and those of two other senators.
Brazeau was immediately kicked out of the Conservative caucus by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had appointed the former national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples to the Senate in 2008.
Brazeau was forced by his Senate colleagues to take a leave of absence from his duties, but continues to collect his $132,000-a-year salary.
The now Independent senator returned to Twitter last Thursday with a cryptic poem.
Before his two-week Twitter hiatus Brazeau was quite active on social media, particularly in the hours before his arrests when he sent more than 60 Tweets, many of them attacks on a CTV story on his financial dealings.
Brazeau is next due to appear in court on March 22.
He had previously been placed on $1,000 bail under orders not to have a firearm or be within 150 metres of the alleged victim.",551,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823072.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00021-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.986754417419434
963a0df8-3369-403e-a979-8856eba918ff,2018-08-20T09:29:50+00:00,2015-04-21,1,https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas-Senate-OKs-Cutting-Tuition-Benefits-for-Veterans-302647771.html,"The Texas Senate has approved slashing higher education benefits for veterans who are given free tuition for military service.
Republican state Sen. Brian Birdwell said Tuesday that the Hazlewood Act had become financially unsustainable without reforms. Costs for the program climbed nearly six-fold over the past four years and topped $169 million in 2014.
More dependents have begun receiving free tuition under Hazlewood than veterans.
The new guidelines would exclude veterans who haven't been Texas residents for eight years.
Veterans or their children would also now be required to use the benefit within 15 years of leaving military service.
The Senate passed the bill 24-7. Critics say the cuts send a signal that lawmakers are reneging on promises made to veterans.
The changes have yet to clear the House.",160,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216051.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820082010-20180820102010-00502.warc.gz,0.952679872512817
127392cd-84ad-47c9-af92-2616e9bb1566,2022-05-18T17:16:27+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://www.devj.org/program-coordinator-political-affairs/,"With world attention on both the environment and the economy, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is where policymakers and business leaders turn for win-win solutions. By focusing on strong science, uncommon partnerships and market-based approaches, we tackle urgent threats with practical solutions. We are one of the world’s largest environmental organizations, with more than two million members and a staff of approximately 700 scientists, economists, policy experts, and other professionals around the world. We operate in 22 geographies with unique projects running across four programs. You will be part of a vibrant workplace where innovation and results are a way of life.
EDF envisions a world in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected to the environmental challenges we face and are engaged in creating durable, equitable solutions. We seek talented candidates who share our Core Values of Respect, Results, Innovation, Optimism, and Integrity, and support our Commitment to Diversity.
Washington, DC, New York, Boston or Remote – US
The Program Coordinator is a key member of the Political Affairs team that can be based in our Washington, D.C. office or remote locations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other east coast locations will be considered. The position plays a critical supporting role in the development and execution of campaigns to advance priority goals of EDF’s strategies in Pennsylvania and Virginia, including to advance climate policy, clean energy, and equity. Independent judgement is important and required to plan, prioritize and organize workload within this busy program. Ideal candidates are driven self-starters with the ability to learn and implement workflow processes quickly and work well within a multi-disciplinary team. The Program Coordinator will report to the State Director for Pennsylvania and Virginia.
- Attend, participate, and represent EDF in meetings with policymakers, advocacy coalition partners, with responsibility for documenting, identifying and tracking key takeaways and next steps, including research needs.
- Support and assist with managing EDF’s Pennsylvania and Virginia partnerships with nonprofit, corporate, and other allies.
- Synthesize issue research and policy analysis and draft/edit documents and other materials to support EDF’s advocacy agenda, strategic communications efforts, internal and external reporting requirements, and other purposes.
- Create tracking databases, including for tracking legislative meetings, donor engagements, and program’s progress toward goals.
- Respond to requests for information and prepare correspondence as needed.
- Help to coordinate activities, events, and projects.
- Coordinate administrative processes for the Pennsylvania and Virginia programs, including expense reporting and invoice processing.
- Administer contracts for consultants, including assistance in writing/processing contracts and working with program staff/consultants to ensure the obligations of contracts are fulfilled and invoices are submitted and paid in a timely fashion.
- Participates in advancing EDF DEI goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF Values.
- Helps drive and implement progress on DEIJ and environmental justice in Virginia and Pennsylvania.
- A minimum 3 years of experience work in community organizing, environmental policy and/or advocacy campaigns.
- Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree could substitute for up to 2 years of experience.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate with a variety of individuals and organizations, build effective coalitions, and work within diverse communities.
- Creativity, energy, and the ability to multi-task and get work done under pressure.
- Excellent organizational, planning, and administration skills and strong attention to detail.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Superior skills in MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint.
- Presence, confidence and integrity.
- Ability and willingness to work as a strong team player, together with a demonstrated capacity to work independently and as a self-starter.
- Strong commitment to enhance the team’s and EDF’s DEIJ and environmental justice efforts, including experience working in diverse partnerships.
- Demonstrates self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.
- Ability to travel regionally, on occasion.
- An understanding of and commitment to Environmental Defense Fund’s mission of protecting the natural environment and limiting humankind’s impact on the planet.
PLEASE SUBMIT A COVER LETTER WITH YOUR APPLICATION.
Environmental Defense Fund is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant’s qualifications are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by law.",979,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522284.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518151003-20220518181003-00600.warc.gz,0.916442036628723
9c6aedf6-3198-4049-8e8b-8d2faa29c74f,2013-05-24T08:45:42+00:00,2013-05-24,0,http://www.thedailycat.com/rob_bee/cutecat/10775/index.html,"Obesity can lead to many feline health problems. If your cat no longer has a proportional figure (it loses its ""waist""), check with your veterinarian whether your tabby is too tubby.read more
Name: Duke and Liam
Age: 7 Years
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Likes: Snuggling, Iams, Watching Squirrels, Being Brushed
Dislikes: Loud noises, Nail Trimming, Dogs
These are the sweetest, gentlest boys that ever lived. They are totally devoted to me and to each other. I took in their mother, who was pregnant. I watched these little guys being born and have had them ever since. It's been seven years and I have loved them every single day. Their mother is still with me as well as a little sister born at the same time as the boys. We are one happy family and I can't imagine life without them.
It's estimated that there are this many pet cats in the world:",206,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.985363245010376
49c36a5c-a3f6-4492-adae-58784288fcc0,2022-05-22T14:46:05+00:00,2022-05-22,0,https://aerate.me/japanese-garden-prison-master-designer-and-everyone-feels-better/,"“They have plenty of boulders,” Hoichi Kurisu says with a laugh. The award-winning garden master is talking about a project he’s designing on a dry part of Moloka’i, Hawaii, that’s surrounded by big rocks and aggressive plants. With this job, he says, “we are not going to a regular landscape.” Still, after more than 50 years as a designer, it’s far from the most irregular landscape he’s dealt with. Perhaps nothing else he’s done compares to the Oregon State Penitentiary.
Why A Garden Matters
In 2014, a group of inmates told Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) officials that they wanted to create a garden inside the prison yard; a koi pond, specifically. Naturally, the first question officials asked was how they were going to pay for it. The inmates applied for grants and made presentations to donors, and by happenstance, a friend of Kurisu’s son heard about the inmates’ wish and put an OSP liaison in touch with Kurisu.
It had never occurred to Kurisu to create a garden inside prison walls, but hearing the men speak from their hearts instantly convinced him to become involved. “We met, and after listening to a few words, I said ‘I’ll do it!’ Their desire was so pure and good.” Kurisu saw that the inmates wanted to do something positive—to create a space that could break down the barriers between each other, resolve conflicts, generate peace. Their wish for healing resonated with Kurisu. “They demonstrate the ultimate goal of our company.”
That goal is not unique to Kurisu International, but rather an element of all Japanese gardens. “The garden isn’t a science,” Kurisu says. “The garden is an experience. [Garden design] is a sensory field—it’s not mathematic, or geometric. … The goal of a Japanese garden is to build an experience and a sensory space.”
The combination of individual elements — rock, bamboo, birdsong, wind—creates a sense of balance and synergy, where no single element is more important than another. The sound of gravel, the vibrations of it crunching underfoot, these stimuli change visitors from the moment they enter the garden. The screeching of bamboo branches blowing against each other in the wind is an example of what Kurisu calls “nature’s song,” and taking the time to listen has the capacity to alter us. “Tuning your heart toward that — it means you’re forgetting your agony. That moment [creates] a pure sense in the heart.”
When done right and approached with an open mind, the garden creates what the Japanese call Mu—a state of pure human awareness, free from the baggage of the ego. Such gardens invite visitors to be more deliberate in their movements, and to humble themselves to nature. If a low branch drapes across a path, the Japanese garden expects a passerby to simply bow under it. Visitors submit to the experience of nature instead of trying to conquer it.
Achieving those effects is a challenge anywhere, but particularly difficult inside the walls of a prison.
Carving Out Space In The Yard
After he spoke with the inmates, Kurisu began calling in favors. He got some trees and plants donated, and almost $500,000 in grants won by the prisoners secured funding for other material costs. The inmates agreed to do the labor themselves. The largest remaining hurdle was the Japanese garden concept of shikkei, or borrowed scenery, in which the surroundings become another “material” in the designer’s toolbox. But incorporating the natural elements from the garden’s setting is difficult when the garden sits amidst guard towers, cell blocks and razor-wire-topped fences. For Kurisu, as much as anything, it was a problem of scale.
The principles and proportions of a Japanese garden remain in place regardless of where the garden is located, so how could he create something that worked with the looming impediments of the prison yard but still met strict regulations? “The prison walls were not the challenge; the challenge was the federal regulations,” he explains. He couldn’t use boulders or trees taller than three feet, and the pond could only be 18 inches deep.
As is often the case though, nature—or in this case, those longing for nature—finds a way. “Humans create human rules,” Kirusu chuckles. The inmates, who’d become skilled presenters and advocates, continued to press their case, and eventually, “the administration gradually opened their minds, and the top administrator finally said, ‘Okay, you guys — do it.’”
Finally, in November 2019, five years after the idea first arose, a nearly 16,000-square-foot space, with pines, maples, rocks, waterfalls and koi opened. Some of the men, locked up for decades, were so starved for nature that they hugged the new trees and curled up beneath them. Department of Corrections staff noted that the atmosphere and mood of the entire prison has been elevated.
Kurisu hopes that this could be the seed for changing the American prison system. “Nature’s power to carry away human agony is tremendous.”
Portions of this interview have been edited for clarity.",1153,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00403.warc.gz,0.954990744590759
310671d6-01ee-4d9f-8cda-89b3988b5532,2013-05-20T22:13:46+00:00,2009-12-20,1,http://www.rightsidenews.com/2009122028198/world/geopolitical/egypt-warns-about-irans-growing-interference-in-arab-world.html,"Written by Memri.org
Egypt has lately intensified its criticism of Iran, as reflected in statements by Egyptian officials and articles in the government press warning about Iran's expanding influence and growing interference in the Arab world. In his speech at the opening of the parliament's winter session, President Hosni Mubarak said: ""We warn against Iran's interference in Arab affairs. We will not hesitate to take a stance that opposes the attempts to destabilize [Egypt] and protects its national security, which is linked to that of the Gulf and the Red Sea region and to the security of the Middle East at large.""
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit called on Iran not to act in the Arab domain, because this is one of the reasons for the instability in the region. He said that Iran's expanding influence is apparent not only in Iraq, Lebano,n and Yemen, but also in the Arab countries of North Africa and the Horn of Africa.
Following are excerpts from articles in the Egyptian press regarding this issue:
Roz Al-Yousef Editor: Iran Is Concentrating Efforts on the Red Sea Region
Roz Al-Yousef editor 'Abdallah Kamal wrote: ""All eyes are turned towards Iran's ongoing support of the Houthi rebellion in Yemen, and towards the Iranian ships that unload weapons meant for the Houthis in international waters opposite the port of Assab in Eritrea... Iran wants to maintain a constant [state of] tension in the sea routes of our region, so as to impede trade and the transport of oil and place the Arab countries under a kind of siege. To that end, it instigates unrest and maybe even causes explosions in the Arab countries that oppose it...
""Iran is waging... [several] proxy wars simultaneously, all of them targeting the Arab national security... For many years now, it has been [expanding its sphere of influence] towards the Mediterranean by means of Hizbullah, trying to create what the media and many speakers have called a 'Shi'ite crescent.' It has done this not only through its ties with Hamas in Gaza, but by focusing ever-increasing efforts on the [region's] most volatile [shipping] route, the Red Sea...""
Kamal then listed several armed groups that operate under Iranian sponsorship, including not only the Houthis, Hizbullah, and Hamas but also Jaysh Al-Mahdi in Iraq and Al-Qaeda in Yemen. He adds that Iran also sponsors unarmed organizations like the Shi'ite movements in Bahrain, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and pilgrims in Mecca in order to ""stab various Arab countries in the back, especially those whose policy is at odds with Iran's and forms an obstacle to its expanding influence in the region and its [attempts to] impose its agenda. [Iran's other goals are:] to weaken the Arab states so that they are forced [to deal with] internal tensions instead of fighting the Persian expansion...; to promote the comprehensive Shi'ite plan in the region - especially its political dimension - so that the Shi'ite crescent stretching from the Gulf to Lebanon becomes a ring encircling the Arabian Peninsula...; and to export its Iranian revolution to the region, thereby shattering the stability of the countries while causing the movements supporting Iran to prosper...""
Al-Ahram Editor: Iran Is Striving to Sabotage the Iraq Elections
Osama Saraya, editor of the government daily Al-Ahram, wrote: ""Iran has violated the Sunni-Shi'ite agreement to avoid proselytizing in each others' [countries] and to refrain from exploiting hidden sectarian hostility. It has come to the point where Iran is inciting unrest throughout the region, instigating wars, and exhausting the region's countries and harming their residents by exploiting [the tensions] between various Arab sects and groups. Whoever disagrees should take a long look at the arena of operations that has recently emerged in Yemen... and at the [war of] attrition in Iraq, where there is actual fighting, and where Iranian militias are operating in various cities. Iran has the greatest role in the trouble that has beset the Iraqis since the [beginning of] the American occupation...
""Iran is not opposing Israel... It has no qualms about pushing the region to the verge of a limited or total war, because it knows that it is far away [from the danger]. Iran is [also] goading Israel into aggression against the Arabs. It is not interested in diplomatic or peaceful solutions in the region. [In fact], it is even helping Israel sabotage Obama's initiative for peace and for a Palestinian state, because it perceives [this initiative] as a threat to its interests and its future in the region, which it sees as [achievable] only via the death of Arabs and the collapse of their countries... [Its influence] has reached all the Arab states, not only the Gulf and the Red Sea [region], but even the Arab Maghreb...
""We must not forget that the war currently raging in Yemen and parts of Saudi Arabia against the Houthis is being waged with Iranian money and weapons, and that the Lebanese government was only formed with Syria's and Iran's consent, under the constant threat of an Iranian veto [enforced] by means of Hizbullah...
""We must redraw the relations between Iran and the Arabs, and the relations of the Arab and Iranian Shi'ites with the Arab and Iranian Sunnis, for there is need for sincere dialogue between the sides. We cannot possibly pin our hopes on the dialogue conducted by America and Europe with Iran... It is time the Arabs worked together to stop the Iranian interference in their countries and form joint plans to solve their problems...""
In another article, Saraya implied that Iran was behind the recent bombings in Baghdad, which, he said, were aimed at stopping the political process taking place there: ""...It is specifically Iran that has an interest in sabotaging the political process in Iraq, in torpedoing America's plans for withdrawal from that country, and in keeping America [from implementing] its more extreme options [for dealing with] the Iranian nuclear crisis. Iran believes that delaying the elections in Iraq is a guaranteed way to delay the American withdrawal and cause the American forces to stay there longer - which would delay any American military move [against Iran].""
Al-Ahram also published this cartoon, which shows Iran lighting the fuse of the bombs in Iraq.
Al-Akhbar Editor: Iran Is the Source of the Palestinians' Problems
The editor of the government daily Al-Akhbar, Muhammad Barakat, pointed to Iranian involvement in all the problems of the Middle East, saying: ""[Iran] does not hide its intentions and goals of [gaining] hegemony and control [over the region], now that the Persian state has grown in power, and its ambitions and greed have grown too...
""There has been a clear increase in the Iranian presence in Lebanon and Syria. Wedging its fingers firmly into Lebanon, Iran was able to [pull strings] overtly and in secret... causing civil wars and instigating unrest [in the country]... at the expense of the Lebanese and the other Arab peoples...
""The presence of Iran's fingers is also felt in the Palestinian territories. It is they who are behind the hostility and division that prevail there. These black fingers... are the main cause of all the catastrophes that have befallen the Palestinian people in the recent period. [Iran] was behind the blood-soaked coup in Gaza, in which Hamas overthrew the legitimate Palestinian Authority there, and behind the resulting loss of the Palestinians' rights and the harm to their cause... [Iran] is also the main reason for the delay and the failure of the Palestinians' attempts to reconcile and smooth over their differences...""
Al-Ahram: Iran's Extremism - An Attempt to Escape Its Internal Crisis
An Al-Ahram editorial pointed out that the conflict between Iran and the West could exacerbate the already volatile situation in the Middle East. In addition, it stated: ""The countries of the region warn against a possible [military] conflict between Iran and the [Western] powers, and believe that continuing the negotiations is the way to distance the region from the dangers of [such] a conflict...
""The Iranian regime is stubbornly clinging to its extremism in an effort to be seen as a strong regime rather than a regime in the throes of a severe political crisis. Therefore, it is fair to assume that it will persist in its extremism and continue to refuse cooperating with the IAEA. This extremism is its way of prolonging its existence.""
 Al-Gumhouriyya (Egypt), November 22, 2009.
 Al-Siyassa (Kuwait), November 2, 2009.
 Roz Al-Yousef (Egypt), November 14, 2009.
 Al-Ahram (Egypt), November 27, 2009.
 Al-Ahram (Egypt), December 11, 2009.
 Al-Ahram (Egypt), December 11, 2009.
 Al-Akhbar (Egypt), November 27, 2009.
 Al-Ahram (Egypt), December 1, 2009.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the Middle East through the region's media. MEMRI bridges the language gap which exists between the West and the Middle East, providing timely translations of Arabic, Persian, Urdu-Pashtu, and Turkish media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East. Donate to Memri",1973,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958724915981293
705d5033-242a-45f6-b344-31fd6ab5bd53,2017-08-18T09:01:32+00:00,2008-03-03,0,http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/42549-the-boat-that-rocked-starts-principal-photography,"Universal Pictures and Working Title Films announced today that principal photography began March 3, 2008, on The Boat That Rocked, the new comedy about rock and roll, boys and a boat from filmmaker Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral). Inspired by the British pirate radio revolution in the ’60s, the majority of the film’s shoot will take place in a large rusty metal fishing trawler moored off the coast of England in the very waters that kept the rock of the ’60s booming into the U.K.
In 1966 — arguably British pop music’s finest era — the BBC played only two hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio blasted rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day. And 25 million people — more than half the population of Britain — listened to these pirates every single day.
The Boat That Rocked is an ensemble comedy in which the romance takes place between the young people of the ’60s and pop music. It’s about a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, preferred jazz.
The Boat That Rocked is written by Richard Curtis, the Emmy-, BAFTA- and WGA Award-winning filmmaker whose projects have included films from Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Love Actually to Mr. Bean and Blackadder. It will also be directed by Curtis– his second directorial outing, but first non-rom-com.
Leading the cast are Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War, The Savages) as The Count, a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End) as Quentin, the boss of Radio Rock — a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea that’s populated by an eclectic crew of rock and roll DJs; Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Elizabeth: The Golden Age) as Gavin, the greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position; Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) as Dave, an ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny co-broadcaster; and Kenneth Branagh (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hamlet) as British Minister Dormandy, a fearsome government official out for blood against the drug takers and lawbreakers of a once-great nation. The film also stars Tom Sturridge, Jack Davenport, Ralph Brown, Chris O’Dowd and January Jones.
Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner produce the film with Hilary Bevan Jones. Danny Cohen is the film’s cinematographer; Mark Tildesley serves as the production designer. The editor is Emma Hickox. The costume designer is Joanna Johnston. The comedy is executive-produced by Working Title’s Debra Hayward and Liza Chasin.",644,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104631.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818082911-20170818102911-00185.warc.gz,0.935923755168915
eeb70fcf-1fa8-47d2-9053-ccd506b58bb3,2013-05-18T17:36:35+00:00,2013-05-18,0,http://www.kayokokoswimwear.com/brands/maaji-swimwear-collections/,"Since 2002, Maaji Swimwear has been dedicated to the design and production of whimsical, luxury swimwear. The Colombian based company offers swimwear and accessories of excellent quality, design and high technology. For Maaji, every single detail of the garment is important. Its eclectic and unconventional collections are designed for the modern, creative woman who dares to experiment with fashion. All Maaji swimsuits balance a unique mixture of colors, shapes, silhouettes and textures which defines the brand’s philosophy. The best part? The Maaji Swimwear Collection suits are completely reversible – so you’re getting two looks for the price of one.",131,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.932357847690582
b5064749-e04c-44da-8848-9100a29f428c,2019-08-21T10:54:23+00:00,2015-03-22,0,https://avoidtheclap.com/tag/ray-shero/,"The following is transcribed from a series of Tweets I made on Sunday afternoon.
Guys, it’s time for some
Maybe this is a shock to you, but…*psssst* The Penguins are not going to win the Stanley Cup this year. They never were going to. This season was lost years ago when the at-that-time management and coaching group continually drafted poorly (or not at all courtesy of trading away picks for rental players). Can’t continue to draft only one positional depth and waste those talents year after year and be a legitimate team year in, year out. They gambled and went all in on 2013 and Dan Bylsma and his “system” lost the gamble.
In one off-season and 2/3 of a played season, Jim Rutherford and his company have done A TON to wash out the stink of the Shero/DB years but it will take at least one more to get this to be Mike Johnston’s and Jim Rutherford’s team. Too many bad personnel on continuing contracts coming into this year. Just enjoy what we have – which is a Pens team that is, for the first time in years, fun to watch.
If by some miracle the Pens make it out of the 1st round, consider it a rousing victory. Anything beyond round 1 is gravy. GMJR has done a lot of great things – trading away Neal for a more reliable, less problematic goal scorer, bringing in Perron, getting Ehrhoff on the cheap for a year, giving Mike Johnston an opportunity in the NHL, etc. He addressed immediate needs at the draft AND addressed depth. Jim Rutherford did more FOR the Penguins in less than 1 calendar year than Ray Shero did in the last 5.
And, imagine that, not being a xenophobic assclown opens up the possibilities in terms of personnel. Amazing who you can find when you open yourself to the possibility that people with European sounding names might actually, you know, be capable players.
So, Ottawa, you have fun with Ray Shero when you inevitably hire him to replace Bryan Murray. Enjoy when he hires Dan Bylsma, too.
Is Mike Johnston perfect? No. No coach is. Babcock has his faults. Quennville makes boneheaded decisions. No coach is -perfect-. Because HCMJ has made some weird choices and mistakes does not magically make him a failure. He’s a rookie coach. He needs to learn, too. Hell, you bunch of goat pokers gave Dan Bylsma 5+ years to learn and defended him to the ends of the earth. Many of you still defend him.
Dan Bylsma was the exact perfect guy to come in AFTER the Therrien regime. He more-or-less allowed the players to play up to their abilities. 2010 was excusable – two deep Cup runs and Montreal caught lightning in a bottle. 2011 can be thrown out because of devastating injuries. 2012? That was probably the best Pens team headed into playoffs and that series vs Philly was lost ENTIRELY on the back of Dan Bylsma.
I know, the players need to play, but that was entirely a failure of leadership from the coaching staff to keep that team glued together. And, of course, we know what happened in 2013. The loss to Boston was truly, truly embarrassing. And we’re not even going to talk about how Iginla was used, the picks for Douglas Murray, and the absolute refusal to try anything at all different against the Bruins.
Last year was, to the surprise of nobody who had been paying attention, another laughable failure. Shero’s abject REFUSAL to fire DB was his undoing. He had to prove, above all else, that Ray Shero was right. Just as Dan Bylsma was more concerned with proving that Dan Bylsma was right. It was no longer about what’s right for the team. It became what was right for Ray and Dan. The team paid the price.
So, the poor drafting continues and the trading away of valuable picks continues and the young players who did get drafted languish in the AHL or get shipped out for nothing or get lost to waivers. And Shero refused to fire Bylsma until there were no other options.
Mario and Burkle had to step in and fire Shero. And “allow” the new GM to fire Bylsma. And I am PERFECTLY OK with how he was handled. His stubborn fuckery cost that team years of the prime of so many star players. Let him twist in the wind and miss out on a job or two.
So, here we are. The Pens are going through what should have happened last season if DB/RS had been fired after the BOS series. So, instead, because of Shero’s hubris, we wast, effectively, two more years of these players primes. There is no guarantee they would have won any more Cups, but you would at least be trying something different in the primes of the career arcs for these players.
So, enjoy what we’re seeing now, especially the play of the “new” Marc-Andre Fleury, and try to keep the jam levels low. They’re not winning a Cup this year. But there is a LOT to be excited about and, frankly, it’s mostly thanks to the miracle Rutherford has been able to create since June. over and out.",1152,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315865.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821085942-20190821111942-00386.warc.gz,0.978471577167511
b440f084-64dc-4259-84c4-d1d9531565f3,2022-05-23T23:53:24+00:00,2022-01-08,0,https://abulletproofidea.com/harry-reid-memorial-honors-biden-and-obama/,"Harry Reid Memorial Honors Biden and Obama
WASHINGTON – President Biden and former President Barack Obama honored Harry M. Reid on Saturday as a staunch son of Nevada who has become an outspoken but vital leader in the Senate, where he has spearheaded landmark Democratic legislation while tolerating little vanity or praise.
“Harry cared so much about his fellow Americans and so little about what people thought of him,” Mr Biden said at a memorial service for Mr Reid, who died late last month at the age of 82, at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas.
“He was just a spotlight, not a spotlight,” the president added, referring to the Nevada mining outpost where Mr. Reid grew up.
Along with the current and former president, the memorial service also included testimonials from other prominent Democrats, including President Nancy Pelosi and New York Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer, a sign of Mr. Reid on his party. Vice President Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, as well as Jill Biden, the first lady, were also seated in the audience.
Each speaker, including Mr. Reid’s daughter and three sons, spoke of their passion for the Senate and their love for their home state. His son Leif Reid noted that his father was such a fan of Las Vegas-based band The Killers that he requested that their lead singer, Brandon Flowers, perform at his memorial service.
Prior to performing the Nevada state song, “Home Means Nevada,” Mr. Flowers told the audience a story of visiting the Capitol and being directed by Mr. Reid to perform the song for Mr. Schumer.
Other speakers have told stories of the tenacity of former boxer Mr Reid as he guided monumental Democratic victories through Congress, including a sweeping economic stimulus package in response to the Great Recession, a new set of rules for taming Wall Street and the biggest expansion in health care coverage since the Great Society of the 1960s.
“Let there be no doubt: Harry Reid will be considered one of the greatest Senate majority leaders in history,” Biden said.
Mr. Reid became the face of Senate Democrats after being elected by his colleagues as Minority Leader in 2005, then became Majority Leader in 2007 when Democrats took control of the chamber. He faced all comers, Republicans or Democrats, and was known for his straightforward approach which sometimes got him in trouble.
Ms Pelosi recalled Mr Reid as a man of few words.
âAnd he wanted everyone to be a person of few words,â she said.
Ms. Pelosi joined others in describing Mr. Reid’s penchant for hanging up the phone on his colleagues. He couldn’t tolerate dragging out a conversation with a farewell. She described her modesty: He once stopped her attempt to celebrate her accomplishments by throwing her a retirement dinner.
âI don’t want to do it,â Ms. Pelosi recalls, telling her Mr. Reid told her. “Save money. Feed the poor.”
Ms Pelosi said she had never heard Mr Reid say “a mean word to any of his Senate colleagues,” prompting Mr Obama to check the facts.
âI don’t know about that, Nancy,â Mr. Obama later said as the audience burst out laughing. “But he would work with them.”
After a notoriously difficult upbringing in Searchlight and a start in state politics, Mr. Reid was elected to the House in 1982 and to the Senate in 1986. He was the second Democrat in the Senate when Senator Tom Daschle of Dakota of the South was the party leader. , and when Mr. Daschle lost his bid for re-election in 2004, Mr. Reid quickly outsmarted potential rivals for the top spot.
As Democratic leader, Mr. Reid jostled with President George W. Bush, whom he once called a “loser,” on the Iraq war and various domestic issues. Democrats pushed voters’ dissatisfaction with Mr. Bush to control of the Senate in the 2006 election.
In late 2008, as Mr. Bush’s second term drew to a close, Mr. Reid was instrumental in working with the White House to avert a nation-wide economic collapse by leading the Ailing Assets Relief Program. $ 700 billion in Congress and stabilizing the economy.
Mr. Reid took staunchly conservative positions early in his career, including opposing abortion and looser immigration laws. But his positions changed as the demographics of his state changed, and he eventually became a champion of undocumented immigrants and a proponent of access to abortion. Mr Obama said that after Mr Reid introduced legislation to repeal the birthright, Mr Reid’s wife Landra influenced him on immigration by reminding him that his father had been a Russian immigrant.
Mr Obama added: âLater Harry will say: ‘I realized that I was far from the base. I’m so glad she righted the ship.
Mr. Reid encouraged Mr. Obama to run for president ahead of the 2008 election, even though Mr. Obama was a junior member of the Senate at the time. And after Mr. Obama won the White House, Mr. Reid was one of his most trusted and important allies, using every legislative weapon at his disposal to secure the approval of the stimulus bill. and, most importantly, the Affordable Care Act, which passed the Senate in 2009 during a snowstorm on Christmas Eve.
“Harry’s deals to pass this law didn’t always look pretty,” Obama said, adding: “Whenever I objected to a change he wanted to make, let it be due to political concerns or worries about optics Harry would tell me with some exasperation in his voice, “Mr. President, you know a lot more about health care policy than I do, okay? But I know the Senate.
Mr Biden, a former senator who is now struggling to pass his own domestic policy bill, livened up as he described Mr Reid’s negotiating tactics and victories in Congress. âIf Harry said he was going to do something, he did,â he said, adding, âYou can count on that. This is how he did so many things for the good of the country for so many decades.
Democrats suffered significant losses in 2010 but retained the Senate, while Mr Reid himself survived a heavy challenge from an opponent aligned with the far right. Mr Reid, who suffered serious injuries in a home exercise accident in 2015, elected not to run for re-election in 2016 and returned to Nevada, where he remained a major power broker. Politics.
Mr. Obama closed his remarks with the word Mr. Reid shunned in his phone calls, the farewell he did not consider necessary.
âBut it’s for us,â Mr. Obama said. âBye, Harry. “",1417,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00603.warc.gz,0.982020914554596
239464b1-6765-4e48-9659-23e6eda75662,2015-03-28T05:23:22+00:00,2013-03-10,1,http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20130310/AIK0101/130319996/0/submitnews,"North Augusta City Council will hold a special executive session Monday to consider restructuring the riverfront development deal known as Project Jackson, according to City Councilman-elect David McGhee.
The meeting, which will not be open to the public, will allow the council to discuss the project’s future ahead of Aiken County Board of Education’s consideration of the project on Tuesday.
Under state law, City Council is allowed to discuss economic development deals behind closed doors as long as a specific reason is given for entering the executive session and no votes are taken without the public’s knowledge.
On Tuesday, the School Board will be considering North Augusta’s proposal to extend the life of an existing tax incremental financing district so that property tax revenue could fund the development of, among other items, a baseball stadium, four-star hotel, conference center and retail shops.
McGhee said Monday’s executive session will help Council “figure out what the game plan is” before the School Board’s decision on Tuesday.
He added that City officials and representatives from Greenstone Properties, the development group behind the proposed project, have been discussing the best option as far as moving forward with the deal.
Last Tuesday, Aiken County Council narrowly shot down North Augusta’s tax increment financing proposal following nearly one hour of debate.
Council members Kathy Rawls, LaWana McKenzie, Willar Hightower and Scott Singer voted to oppose the City’s proposal. Councilmen Chuck Smith and Sandy Haskell voted in favor. Councilman Andrew Siders and Chairman Ronnie Young abstained, both citing lack of information.
Despite rejecting the plan, some Council members seemed to express support for holding a special meeting to reconsider the proposal if North Augusta were to alter it.
In particular, Singer promised that if North Augusta presented a proposal adjusting the property tax values to be used in the TIF, he would call for a special meeting to reconsider it.
The property values in the existing financing district were frozen at 1996 values, but Singer would like to see those values reset to 2012 levels.
After County Council’s vote, North Augusta Mayor Lark Jones described the proposal as being on “life support.” However, he said the City will continue to talk with the developers to see if they have any interest in adjusting the proposal.
He also reiterated the value of the project, saying he felt it would generate a wide ranging, positive impact for not only North Augusta, but also Aiken County and the city of Augusta.
North Augusta resident Steve Donohue, a vocal opponent of the project, said he hopes the School Board rejects North Augusta’s proposal, adding the City should introduce a bond referendum in order to have the deal approved at the ballot box.
“Go sell it to the voters,” Donohue said.
Notice about comments:",595,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00183-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939122140407562
979247d3-f736-4c5d-90cc-a0fb69a5654b,2015-04-01T10:36:41+00:00,2012-11-30,1,http://www.icj.org/russia-human-rights-groups-hail-historic-decision-on-homosexual-propaganda-ban/,"News: Press releases
Russia: human rights groups hail historic decision on homosexual propaganda ban
“We are very pleased with the Committee’s Views in this case and in particular with the recognition that expressing opinions and information about same-sex sexual orientation cannot be limited in the name of public morality,” said Alli Jernow, ICJ Senior Legal Advisor.
In March 2009, Fedotova had displayed posters declaring “Homosexuality is normal” and “I am proud of my homosexuality” near a secondary school building in Ryazan.
The Ryazan Law on Administrative Offences prohibited “public actions aimed at propaganda of homosexuality among minors.” She was arrested, convicted, and ordered to pay a fine of 1,500 roubles.
Fedotova lost her appeal to the district court and the Constitutional Court ruled that the prohibition of information that was “capable of harming health, morals and spiritual development, as well as forming perverted conceptions about equal social value of traditional and non-traditional family relations” could not be considered a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
But the Human Rights Committee held that Russia had violated Fedotova’s rights to freedom of expression and to be free from discrimination.
These rights are guaranteed by articles 19 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“The decision is especially important because it effectively reverses the position taken by the Committee in the 1982 case of Hertzberg v. Finland, which upheld a ban similar to the one in the Fedotova case,” Jernow added.
The Human Rights Committee ordered the Russian Federation to reimburse the fine paid by Fedotova as well as her legal costs and to ensure that the relevant provisions of domestic law are made compatible with articles 19 and 26 of the Covenant.
Since the Ryazan law was adopted, a number of other regions in Russia have adopted legislation banning “homosexual propaganda.” Activists across the country, including in St. Petersburg, have been arrested and convicted under such laws.
In its decision, the Human Rights Committee emphasized that limitations for the purpose of public morals, which are derived “from many social, philosophical and religious traditions,” could not be based exclusively on a single tradition.
Furthermore, any such limitations “must be understood in light of universality of human rights and the principle of non-discrimination.” The Committee recalled that the “prohibition against discrimination under article 26 comprises also discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
The Committee stated that Russia “has not shown that a restriction on the right to freedom of expression in relation to ‘propaganda of homosexuality’ – as opposed to propaganda of heterosexuality or sexuality generally – among minors is based on reasonable and objective criteria.”
Fedotova’s actions were not aimed at involving minors in any particular sexual activity. Rather, “she was giving expression to her sexual identity and seeking understanding for it.”
“We hope this landmark decision will send a strong signal to Russia to reconsider such discriminatory steps and to abandon any legislative proposals criminalising ‘homosexual propaganda’,” said Evelyne Paradis, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe.
The ICJ had submitted a legal opinion, which the Committee excerpted in detail, arguing that the law was discriminatory and that limitations on rights could not discriminate. Earlier this year, the ICJ and ILGA-Europe published a briefing paper titled “Homosexual Propaganda Bans: Analysis and Recommendations.”
Alli Jernow, ICJ Senior Legal Advisor, t + 41 22 979 3823
Juris Lavrikovs, ILGA-Europe, t + 32 2 609 54 16 and + 32 496 708 375",794,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00198-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946864247322082
de323c5d-6a9c-443c-9937-f6041c49e8f6,2018-08-20T04:15:35+00:00,2017-12-01,1,https://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-fc-make-enquiries-arsenals-14003814,"The January transfer window is approaching fast so therefore the rumour mill is already beginning to turn it’s wheels.
Everton will almost certainly be in the market for a number of players - and there will also be some star names who will be looking to make a move away from their current clubs.
So, there are bound to be a quite a few players who will be linked with a move to Goodison Park throughout the next two months - you have been warned!
Anyway, the latest of those today is Theo Walcott, with the Daily Mail claiming that Everton have made enquiries about the forward ahead of a potential swoop in January.
However, last season was one of his most productive ever for the club - scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances across all competitions.
The report claims that Sam Allardyce sees Walcott as a solution to the lack of pace that Everton are struggling with up front at the minute - whilst also being a versatile option capable of playing both on the wing and up front.",206,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215523.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820023141-20180820043141-00664.warc.gz,0.97773140668869
9ffd8103-e7b0-455d-9b55-2508061b1ad4,2018-08-19T19:28:11+00:00,2018-01-24,1,https://www.reuters.com/article/nigeria-bourse/nigerian-lawmakers-pass-bill-for-exchange-to-become-publicly-listed-idUSL8N1PJ6E5,"ABUJA, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s lower house of parliament passed a bill on Wednesday that will allow the stock exchange to become a publicly listed company that can issue shares to investors.
Oscar Onyema, chief executive of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said last week he expected the bill to be signed into law this year.
The upper house of parliament passed the bill in December. The bill will now be sent to the president to sign into law.
The second-biggest exchange in sub-Saharan Africa after Johannesburg and a main entry point for investors in Africa, the Nigerian bourse last year got approval from its members, mostly stockbrokers and some institutional investors, to become a publicly listed company.
The exchange has around 200 listed companies and plans to launch exchange-traded derivatives securities this year. It has not said whether it would list via an initial public offering or raise new monies.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the continent’s most developed stock market, has been a listed company since 2006.
The equities market in Nigeria was the third best-performing market in the world in 2017 after the central bank liberalised the naira for foreign investors, a move which lured back funds that been pulled out at the peak of a currency crisis.
Stocks gained 42 percent last year and have continued to rally this year, rising 16 percent so far in January. They shed 0.96 percent on Wednesday, spooked by uncertainty over the central bank’s ability to form a quorum to set interest rates. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha)",344,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819184710-20180819204710-00536.warc.gz,0.953900992870331
9eeb0332-abf5-497d-89ef-abfed9cc08af,2013-05-19T10:18:12+00:00,2013-05-19,1,http://scoopthemagazine.com/news-state-of-florida-sued-for-ticketing-motorists-who-tip-other-motorists-of-speed-traps/,"News: State Of Florida Sued For Ticketing Motorists Who Tip Other Motorists Of Speed Traps
Man, it’s tough in the streets these days for the people of Florida. Cops have apparently been giving out tickets to drivers who try to warn other drivers of hidden speed traps. One Florida man has decided to take this motion to court in a class-action lawsuit, as he was a victim of receiving a ticket for trying to communicate with another driver via flashing his high beams to warn about an upcoming speed trap. The man is seeking a refund of his $100 ticket & $15,000 in damages.
It looks like from 2005 til now, over 10,000 drivers were given citations for trying give their fellow drivers a heads up on watching out for cops staging speed traps. And if this man involved in the lawsuit against the State of Florida, the state will have to dish out over $156 million to the drivers who received citations. Here’s some footage from Florida’s WTSP 10 News…",209,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970686554908752
662d54ac-e006-4768-a987-a5dfea53f56b,2022-05-23T15:40:22+00:00,2020-05-25,1,https://www.vcstar.com/story/opinion/columnists/2020/05/25/calmatters-commentary-tax-hikes-midst-recession/5248455002/,"CalMatters Commentary: Tax hikes in the midst of recession?
It’s the multi-billion-dollar question of the moment:
In the midst of a sudden recession that has erased, at least temporarily, millions of jobs, would Californians support a batch of new taxes to prop up state and local government services?
Gov. Gavin Newsom implicitly posed the question in his much-revised 2020-21 budget. It assumes a $41.2 billion drop in revenues from the initial budget he unveiled in January, pegs the total deficit at $54.3 billion and makes wholesale reductions in K-12 schools, higher education and other popular services to close the gap.
Newsom may be maximizing the state’s projected fiscal problem to bolster his plea, and that of other governors, for federal pandemic relief. But there’s no doubt that he and the Legislature have a big hole of some size to fill and with relief in Washington stalemated and a June 15 budget deadline looming, an option would be to boost state taxes.
Last week, the Education Coalition — a collection of unions, school boards and other school groups — pleaded with Newsom and lawmakers to ease the revised budget’s $6.9 billion reduction in state aid to K-12 school districts.
“Schools and colleges cannot physically reopen safely with the funding level proposed in the May revision,” the coalition said in an open letter.
Noting that Newsom proposes to raise $4.4 billion by suspending some business tax breaks, the coalition added, “We look to the administration and the legislature to identify and agree on alternate revenue sources, in addition to supporting the suspension of tax credits, to ensure K-12 schools can provide quality and safe educational environments for California’s six million students.”
“Alternate revenue sources” is obviously a euphemism for new taxes of some kind, most likely additional income taxes on those at the top of the economic ladder. Tax-the-rich has been a deficit-closing maneuver in past recessions and earlier, before the pandemic struck, some members of the coalition had proposed such an increase to raise school spending.
That proposal, which was to have appeared on the November ballot, was set aside to avoid competition with another measure, backed mostly by public employee unions, to raise property taxes on commercial buildings such as warehouses, hotels and office buildings.
The Education Coalition’s plea for “alternate revenue sources,” the commercial property tax increase already on the ballot and dozens of pending local government tax proposals frame the question: Do concerns about cuts in schools and other services outweigh the personal economic stress that millions of voters feel as their incomes shrink?
Newsom and legislators would not have to seek voter approval of new taxes, which could be passed with two-thirds votes in both legislative houses. But enacting a package of new state taxes could make it more difficult to gain voter approval of the commercial property tax, which would raise $10-plus billion a year for schools and local governments, and the pending local government tax measures.
Moreover, with Californians already bearing one of the nation’s highest tax burdens, adding more levies could slow economic recovery. Opponents of the commercial property tax are already arguing that it would force property owners to raise rents and would thus hammer small businesses, such as restaurants, that are foundering due to forced pandemic closures.
Were Congress and President Donald Trump to suddenly cough up the additional trillion dollars in state and local government aid that Newsom et al, seek, the tax question might fade, at least until November. But the chances of that happening anytime soon, if ever, are slim.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary",808,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662558030.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523132100-20220523162100-00028.warc.gz,0.958319365978241
69d9b442-5720-4030-a79c-6ab3108a9260,2016-07-31T09:47:06+00:00,2013-01-31,0,http://starcasm.net/archives/182403,"Pretty much all the ladies of all the Real Housewives franchises act like Queens (or Countesses), but one new addition to The Real Housewives of Atlanta has the crown to back it up! Kenya Summer Moore took home the title of Miss USA in 1993 while representing her home state of Michigan.
We thought it might be fun to track down video of Kenya Moore competing in the 1993 Miss USA pageant and thanks to the magic of Youtube and the diligent work of our researchers, we have been able to compile clips of pretty much every element of Kenya’s pageant performance including swimwear, evening gown, interviews, and the crowning! We’ve even gone the extra step and cued up just Kenya’s portion of each clip. (If you’d like to watch the videos in their entirety, just hit play and then click at the beginning of the clip or wherever else you would like to start.)
PARADE OF STATES
“From Detroit, I’m Kenya Summer Moore. A psychology student at New York University, I’m financing my education as a model.”
“Besides a family member, I would have to say Maya Angelou has influenced me the most. After reading her writings I was inspired to write poetry of my own, and to date I have over 50 poems that I’ve written. I admire her the most because she’s come from a difficult past and she’s able to turn her life around.”
(Final swimsuit competition score: 9.604)
EVENING GOWN COMPETITION
(Final score: 9.650)
Dick Clark: We continue now with our semifinal interview competition and our last six contestants. We’ll begin with Miss Michigan. This is Kenya Summer Moore, who’s 22, a professional model and student at New York University, and going to be a child psychiatrist. I read in your bio, Kenya, that your grandmothers have been really powerful influences on you. How so?
Kenya Moore: Most definitely my grandmother had a hand in raising me. She raised me since I was three days old, and also along with five other children. And now she’s raising her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. So she’s been a great influence in my life. She’s such a positive woman, and full of strength and energy, and she’s just really special.
Are both your grandmothers here tonight?
Yes, they are.
Undoubtedly the folks at home will catch a glimpse of them and you and I will never know. One of your grandmothers owns a boutique?
Yes, my grandmother Moore does.
Did she clothe you when you went to school?
[laughs] She actually did. I think I was the best dressed person in school. Everyday I had a different outfit and that was really nice.
She spoiled you rotten?
I think so.
Alright, and that’s what grandmoms are for. Now that you have matured, do you really think that it makes a lot of difference what you look like in life?
No, I don’t think so. My grandmother instilled the value that the inner beauty comes from what your souls says, and how you display yourself, and how you treat other people. You have to be very kind, and everything comes from within, so beauty is within to me.
Thank you very much.
(Final score: 9.578)
FINAL INTERVIEW QUESTION
Dick Clark: What do you think the judges see in you that brought you to the final three tonight?
Kenya Moore: I think the judges can look into my eyes and see my heart and know that I am a sincere person, that I am here because of — not because of me, because I want to help as many people as I can. I want to reach out to children across America and let them know that there’s someone that cares about them and that if they try, and they believe in themselves, and they believe in God, especially in America anything is possible.
Kenya Moore Miss USA 1993 final crowning photos:
Continuing her passion for pageants, Kenya Moore created the Miss More Pageant 2012 last year. “I wanted to create a positive platform for women of color that exemplifies who we are in this day and age, in this century and to make a positive contribution to society as a whole,” Kenya said in a press release. “Women rule the world, and Black women own it.”
The web site doesn’t appear to exist any longer, so perhaps the Miss More Pageant was just a one year thing.
Although we couldn’t find any video of Kenya Moore’s talent portion of the 1993 Miss USA pageant, you can see her true talent (being sassy and otherwise damn fine!) on The Real Housewives of Atlanta each and every Sunday night on Bravo at 9/8c.",1043,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828314.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00093-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96362441778183
6c225c2e-5141-4d4e-89f7-f88c19b135e9,2018-08-21T05:50:55+00:00,2017-08-21,1,http://apdf-magazine.com/china-pushing-for-cooperation-on-graft-terrorism/,"China pushing for cooperation on graft, terrorism
China will push for greater international cooperation in the fight against corruption and terrorism when it hosts Interpol’s general assembly in late September 2017, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the matter. The move comes against a backdrop of concerns that China is using the body for its own goals.
In 2016, the global police cooperation agency elected a senior Chinese public security official, Vice Public Security Minister Meng Hongwei, pictured, as its president. That prompted rights groups to ask whether Beijing could use the position to target dissidents abroad.
Beijing has tried for many years to enlist the help of foreign countries to arrest and deport back to China citizens it accuses of crimes, including corruption and terrorism. The three Beijing-based sources, who are familiar with the planning for the Interpol meeting, said China is likely to make these two areas its focus for the general assembly.
Beijing has faced reluctance, in Western countries in particular, when asking for repatriation of those wanted for alleged crimes in China. Governments and judiciary in these countries have been concerned the Chinese don’t produce evidence acceptable for Western courts, and that defendants might be mistreated and won’t get a fair trial in China amid concerns that allegations can be politically motivated.
Western diplomats familiar with Chinese requests say China sometimes misunderstands that in Western countries it needs to process its demands through the courts.
“They’re often quite surprised to hear that we can’t simply hand them over,” said one diplomat, declining to be named.
China’s security officials have been working to understand the legal requirements of developed countries and international bodies, however, so their requests for expedition become more palatable.
Beijing has also been attempting to build intelligence-sharing relationships with Western countries in the fight against Islamist militants, diplomats say. China is battling what it says are Uighur extremists operating in its far western region of Xinjiang.
Li Shulei, who leads China’s efforts to return those suspected of corruption who live abroad, called for a strengthened international anti-graft cooperation framework.
“We must build a new order to fight international corruption … [and] cut off escape routes for corrupt elements,” he said.
In 2014, China issued Interpol “red notices” for its 100 most-wanted corruption suspects who have fled overseas as part of President Xi Jinping’s sweeping campaign against corruption. Almost half have come back to China, some voluntarily, according to the government.
Interpol says red notices are requests to provisionally arrest suspects pending extradition and are not international arrest warrants. It is up to a member state to act upon an Interpol red notice. They can be ignored if a government decides there is insufficient evidence to act upon them, diplomats say.",579,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217970.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821053629-20180821073629-00569.warc.gz,0.94884580373764
f447043b-e4ff-406b-82d4-279b9abf8f89,2020-10-24T00:13:55+00:00,2016-01-31,0,https://treasurevalley.score.org/blog/got-you-covered-specialty-insurances-your-business,"Sometimes it seems like there is no end to what needs to be insured for your business. General liability, workers' compensation, health insurance, product liability…. Most business owners are well aware of general insurance coverages.
Below are additional specialty policies that address unique industries, concerns and eventualities.
While each coverage may not apply to every business, many are applicable to a host of small businesses.
A bailee is an individual or business that takes temporary possession of a customer's property, such as a dry cleaner or valet.
From the moment you issue a receipt acknowledging that you have taken custody of the customer's property until that property is returned, bailee insurance covers all losses and damages to the property.
Business interruption insurance covers loss of income when you are required to close your business as a result of a disaster or malfunction. According to an Allianz Global Claims Review for 2010 to 2014, the average value of a BI claim was $2 million.
Allianz Top 10 Causes of Business Interruption:
- Fire and explosion
- Machinery breakdown
- Faulty design/material/manufacturing
- Cast loss (entertainment)
- Human error/operating error
- Power interruption
While property insurance may cover the cost of damages to your building, it will not cover the sudden halt of your income stream. BI provides coverage until your business is operational again.
For companies that collect and store client information, Data Breach Insurance offers protection for when your computer network is hacked and customer information stolen.
Loss of Personal Identifiable Information is a serious concern. In 2014, over one billion records were stolen through data breaches, with an average cost per breach of $3.79 million, according to the 2015 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis.
Most DB policies cover expenses from informing customers of the breach and public relations to identity protection solutions and legal expenses.
Directors and Officers
Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance covers your corporation against claims made due to the wrongful actions of your directors and officers. In a recent survey conducted by Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, one in eight businesses had experienced a D&O lawsuit within the past five years, costing an average of $225,682 to litigate and settle.
D&O is usually purchased in packages with varying levels of coverage to pay defense costs, settlement fees and judgments for when the corporation cannot indemnify its directors or officers. Coverage can be extended to cover the company itself.
Fidelity bonds protect your company from employee misconduct and cover anything from theft and property damage to embezzlement of pension funds.
You can purchase blanket coverage, which protects against all employees, or scheduled coverage, which protects against only certain individuals.
The Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires that companies offering pension plans purchase an ERISA fidelity bond equal to 10% of the total pension plan assets to protect against illegal mishandling of accounts.
Inland Marine policies cover goods in transit over land, whether by truck, train or airplane, and extends to goods stored at docks or warehouses.
There are two types of IMI: Peril and All-Risk. Peril policies allow you to specify individual risks to the assets you want covered. All-Risk policies insure against damage and loss regardless of the cause.
While shipping companies offer insurance on the assets they move, these companies have limits. FedEx and UPS set specific limitations on the maximum value that can be insured on any package. For businesses shipping high-end items, such as artwork, jewels or precious stones, these values may not provide enough coverage.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 71% of firms surveyed said their success was very dependent upon the production of one or two key employees. Key Employee insurance protects against the death or sudden disability of those employees.
A Key Employee is an individual whose loss would cause severe negative financial consequences to your business.
Key Employee policies vary depending upon the industry and the expected loss of income that would follow in the wake of the employee's demise.
Patent Infringement insurance protects your business from claims that you have—knowingly or not—violated a patent-holder's rights. The policy covers the legal costs associated with this accusation.
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of not properly protecting their company from patent infringement lawsuits. It is worth considering that 629,647 patents were applied for in 2015 alone. Even if you are not aware that your company's “new” product is already under patent by someone else, you can still be sued for infringement.
The American Intellectual Property Association found that the average patent lawsuit (with $1 million to $25 million at risk) will cost $2.8 million through final disposition. Few businesses can shoulder these legal fees.
Trade Credit insurance protects businesses that deliver goods or services on credit from financial losses which a client does not or cannot pay. For instance, if a client goes bankrupt and cannot pay the debt owed, TCI covers the loss of income.
TCI extends to losses due to political upheaval and war. Policies can even be structured to insure single high-risk transactions, or transactions with certain individual risky customers.
TCI is most common in facilitating international trade by allowing businesses to import and export goods and services on credit (accounts receivable). This is essential in a globalized economy. In 2013, the credit insurance company Euler Hermes provided coverage for global business transactions worth $789 billion.
That's a lot of business.",1129,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00241.warc.gz,0.93946498632431
48dab9a7-af41-40af-b162-09edd1c841e2,2016-07-31T05:29:03+00:00,2000-12-31,0,http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Resources/essays/legal-drugs-No.html,"Finally, note this essays strays from the strict patterns I offer for science writing. A gifted writer can always play with the rules to achieve a greater effect. In this essay, I suspect the author himself could tighten his prose to produce a more effective essay. Fortunately, the author is so well known that most people will make the effort to understand his points. In the early stage of your career, you can't make that assumption. Note: the title aptly summarizes the take-home message.
When I mentioned in my last column that our federal (and many state) drug laws were irrational, I was immediately greeted with the demand that we solve the problem by legalizing drugs.
If only things were so simple. The central problem with legalizing drugs is that it will increase drug consumption under almost any reasonable guess as to what the legalization (or more modestly, the decriminalization) regime would look like. The debate, I think, must be between those who admit this increase and then explain why they would find it tolerable and those who admit the increase and find it intolerable.
Illegal drugs--and here I refer chiefly to cocaine, heroin, PCP, and methamphetamine--have three prices that are much higher than what they would be if the sale were legal.
First, under legalization the cash price would be lower. No one knows by how much, but the most cautious scholar says by a factor of three, the boldest one says by a factor of 20. Now take a powerfully addictive substance, one that not only operates on but modifies the human brain by producing compelling effects that often can only be achieved again by increasing the dosage, and ask how many more people would buy it if its cash price were only 30 percent or even 5 percent of its current price. Unless you think that everybody who wants the drug is already using it, a most unlikely possibility, then the answer must be--a lot.
Second, under legalization the quality price would be lower. Drugs are now purchased in most cases from people who offer no meaningful promise of quality. You can buy cocaine or heroin that has been cut five times or 20 times, and cut with sugar or rat poison. The Food and Drug Administration does not require accurate labeling, and unless you are a repeat customer, you probably have no idea what you are getting. Feel like taking a chance? Buy a drug from the furtive fellow on the street corner.
Third, under legalization the search price would be zero. You would not have to search or run risks of being mugged or arrested. Maybe you would be able to buy it in the local pharmacy, but you would get it from some dealer operating in the open with no risk to you.
Now what happens? Here is where the only meaningful debate can exist. Do you think that there will be a decrease in drug crime? Maybe--if the crime committed by users seeking money to buy drugs and the dealers protecting their right to sell drugs falls by an amount greater than the increase in crime committed by addicted users who are no longer capable of holding a job. Not all coke or heroin addicts are incapacitated, but a significant fraction--perhaps one-fifth, perhaps more--are. Say we have 1 million users now, with 200,000 of them so dependent on the drug that they are useless for any activity, including holding a job. Now suppose after legalization we have 5 million users, with 1 million totally zonked.
We can support the 1 million on welfare, though I think the political chance of that is utterly remote. Or we can let them fend for themselves by stealing. They may well steal more than the 200,000 steal when the price of drugs is much higher. Take a guess. But remember that after we create the 1 million, we can't turn the clock back. We shall have them forever.
Or to take another example. Suppose we have 15,000 people killed by drunken drivers. How many will be killed by coke- or heroin-addicted drivers if access to those products becomes as easy as access to alcohol is now? There is no way to tell, but it would be foolish to assume that the number would be trivial.
Or ask how many marriages, now afflicted by alcoholism, will be afflicted by drug abuse when drugs become legal. Or how many pregnancies that now are harmed by fetal alcohol syndrome will be harmed by fetal drug syndrome.
Recall also that most people in drug treatment are there because of some form of coercion. Very few walk in on their own. Take away coercion, and you take away treatment for all but a few burned-out addicts.
John Stuart Mill, the father of modern libertarians, argued that people can only restrict the freedom of another for their self-protection, and society can only exert power over its members against their will in order to prevent harm to others. I think that the harm to others from drug legalization will be greater than the harm--and it is a great harm--that now exists from keeping these drugs illegal.
Copyright © 2000 Microsoft and/or its suppliers. All rights reserved.",1033,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258950570.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072910-00001-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.978465139865875
e1fb3fc8-87f9-4b2b-98f6-13015a0524e6,2015-03-28T18:45:37+00:00,2012-12-31,0,http://community.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3418,"The DQC Advisory Board consists of a group of volunteers representing large, small, rural, urban, public, and private schools in Kansas. Advisory Board members are asked to serve as consultants and offer guidance in the maintenance of the tracks offered in the DQC Program. Profiles of each of the DQC Advisory Board members are provided below.
Kimberly Wright (KSDE)
Kimberly Wright is a Senior Staff Development Specialist II at the Kansas State Department of Education. She earned a Business Education degree from Washburn University and was a teacher at Jefferson West High School for many years. Kimberly worked as an independent contractor with the State of Kansas before joining KSDE. Kim’s responsibilities at KSDE include training and support for the KIDS, Early Childhood, USMRS, REALWORLD and Enterprise Data System (EDS) projects. She can be reached at email@example.com
Kathi Grossenbacher (KSDE)
Kathi Grossenbacher is a Senior Trainer at the Kansas State Department of Education. She earned a Business Administration – B.S. Computer and Management Information Systems degree, as well as, a master’s degree in Organizational Management from Peru State College. Kathi worked in the USD113 Prairie Hills District Office as a Data Coordinator and PowerSchool Administrator prior to joining KSDE. Kathi’s responsibilities include training and support for KIDS projects. Kathi can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Michelle Forney (USD 305)
Michelle is the Systems Analyst for USD 305 (Salina). She graduated with an Associate's Degree in Computer Science from Kansas State University at Salina. She is one of the two KIDS Coordinators responsible for submitting KIDS data for the district's twelve schools. In addition to her KIDS duties, Michelle is also responsible for supporting and training district staff, troubleshooting software issues, and SIS maintenance.
Jan Frenzl (USD 428)
Jan is the Applications Specialist and KIDS Data Coordinator for USD 428 (Great Bend, KS). She provides KIDS support for each of the seven schools in her district. Jan is also responsible for supporting and training district staff, troubleshooting software issues, and SIS maintenance. Jan is a member of the Kansas Skyward Steering Committee.
Kathleen Webb (USD 231)
Kathleen is the IT Application Support Specialist and KIDS Data Coordinator for USD 231 Gardner-Edgerton. Coordinating with district key players, she is responsible for submitting KIDS records for Gardner-Edgerton’s 11schools. As the Skyward Administrator, she provides district support and training for Skyward users.
Dayna Lloyd (USD 340)
Dayna is the Student Data Coordinator for Jefferson West. She is responsible for the collection and submission of student data for the district's three schools. She provides support to staff for the district's SIS, email and other programs. Dayna also manages the deployment and support of the district's iPads.
Michael Maurer (USD 261)
Michael is the Principal of Haysville Middle School and holds a Doctor of Education degree from Wichita State University. Michael has been in this position for the past 10 years, also serving as an Assistant Principal the seven years prior. Michael has been certified in the Administrator track since the 2009-10 school year, and in the Assessments & Accountability track since the 2011-12 school year. An intentional focus for Michael at the building level has been to improve the accuracy of data submitted to the central office, especially during the assessment window.
Tammy Shirley (USD 373)
Tammy is the Registrar at Newton High School and has been employed by the Newton School District since 1998. Among many responsibilities, maintaining accurate student records is a high priority. Tammy has been certified in the data entry track since the 2008-2009 school year and in Enrollment & Transportation Data since 2012.",811,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297689.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00123-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944166779518127
ee7038bb-0894-490f-9b02-8d18af5b47a0,2017-08-18T16:41:19+00:00,2017-08-18,1,http://www.manilatimes.net/cotabato-governor-faces-graft-raps/258596/,"THE anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s First Division has found probable cause to proceed to trial in the graft charges filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza for the allegedly illegal procurement of diesel fuel in 2010.
The charges were for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The ruling was signed by Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz, who leads the court’s First Division, and Associate Justices Maria Cristina Cornejo and Reynaldo Cruz.
The court has also issued a hold departure order (HDO) directing the Bureau of Immigration to hold Mendoza’s departure from the country.
An HDO means she would have to seek the court’s permission first whenever she will go on a trip abroad.
In filing the cases against Mendoza, the Ombudsman alleged that the fuel was bought from a gasoline station owned by her mother without calling for a public bidding.
Mendoza allegedly approved the release of P2.4 million from provincial funds to pay for 49,526.72 liters of fuel used for one road grader and four dump trucks which were utilized in the two-day road rehabilitation projects.
Mendoza, who allegedly directly contracted with the gasoline station, said that “it was only the Taliño Shell Station which was willing to accommodate the credit term requested by the provincial government.”
But the Ombudsman held that “there was no compelling justification for dispensing with the requirement of public bidding.”
Section 3(e) of the anti-graft law prohibits public officials from causing undue injury to any party including the government, or giving a private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of their official functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.",407,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104704.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818160227-20170818180227-00296.warc.gz,0.95947390794754
f82ad7c3-2818-4250-91c0-1eb740963f00,2016-07-24T14:55:09+00:00,2013-02-23,0,http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20130223/NEWS01/130229811/0/News01/Press-groups-honor-Herald-with-awards,"DENVER – The Durango Herald won top honors among small daily newspapers in Colorado at two newspaper contests this weekend.
The paper won the general excellence award in the Colorado Associated Press Editors and Reporters contest and the Colorado Press Association contest, both announced during a weekend conference at the Westin hotel in Denver.
Four Corners newspapers cleaned up at the CPA contest. The Pagosa Springs Sun and Cortez Journal both won general excellence awards in their circulation categories. The Journal also won general excellence at the CAPER contest.
“While the Herald has excellent writers, photographers and editors who do very good work every day, it takes the interest and support of readers and advertisers to make all of this possible,” said Richard Ballantine, publisher of the Herald.
Both contests covered work done from September 2011 to August 2012, a period that included the Aurora movie theater shooting, a historic wildfire season and part of the 2012 presidential campaign.
“The awards reflect many superlative efforts, by a great group of journalists who embrace hard work, collaboration and the highest ideals of community journalism,” said Don Lindley, Herald managing editor. “Winning The Associated Press award for overall excellence and, for the third straight year, the CPA sweepstakes award for overall editorial excellence, is really special.”
The Herald won general excellence as the top paper with a daily circulation less than 15,000. The group included papers like the Steamboat Pilot & Today, Vail Daily and Aurora Sentinel.
Judges cited the “creative, witty headlines. Nice, clean layout. Eye-catching photographs. Nice focus and highlight of local stories.”
The awards are:
Public service: Second place, Emery Cowan, Jim Haug and Heather Scofield for “Behind closed doors: Questions raised about transparency of some local government entities; Meeting places stir debate.” The public service award is judged against all other Colorado newspapers, regardless of size.
Beat reporting: Second place, Shane Benjamin for coverage of a house explosion. Honorable mention, Jordyn Dahl, Megan Graham, Paige Blankenbuehler and Benjamin for coverage of the Sydney Spies yearbook photo controversy.
Business story: First place, Chase Olivarius-McAllister for “The afterlife: Options abound – People are increasingly moving away from traditional casket and funeral.” The judge called it “a witty take on a topic that generally doesn’t get too much attention in the press.”
Editorials: Second place, Bill Roberts.
Environmental story: Second place, Pamela Hasterok for “Shares of love: Small-scale farms supply healthy, organic produce.”
Feature photo: First place, Shaun Stanley for “Tele.” Second place, Jerry McBride for “Crow Canyon.”
Feature story: Honorable mention, Benjamin for “Equally incarcerated: Number of women jailed in county has tripled in 10 years.”
General news photo: First place, Stanley for “Water training.” Second place, McBride for “A new flower.”
Informational graphic: Second place, Cliff Vancura for “Navigating the streets of Durango.”
Investigative reporting: First place, Joe Hanel for “Colorado’s most dangerous mountain pass.” The judge called it “a data-driven story that’s still a good read. Combination of clever writing and deft number-crunching made this the winner.” Honorable mention, Kelcie Pegher for “When safe is unsafe,” a look at a young woman’s death when taking a contraceptive drug.
Online general excellence: First place, Herald staff. The judge said the website “serves its community well with a strong mix of content and multimedia. Navigation is easy. Good use of thumbnails. Offers opportunities for reader interaction.”
Online breaking news: First place, Durango Herald staff.
Online special package: The Herald staff swept the category. First place for coverage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. The judge cited the website’s use of photo galleries, videos and maps. “An excellent example of how an event should be previewed and covered online,” the judge wrote. Second place for the Politics page. Honorable mention for Snowdown coverage.
Photo coverage of a continuing story: First place, McBride, Stanley, and Isaiah Branch-Boyle for photos of the 2012 fire season.
Photo illustration: First place, McBride for “Visual space invaders.” Second place, Stanley for “Canine cuisine.” Honorable mention, McBride for “Benefit dinners 2012.”
Photo Portfolio: First place, McBride for a selection of his best photos of the year.
Portrait/personality: Second place, David Bergeland for “Silver.” Honorable mention, McBride for “Michelle.”
Series: First place, Dale Rodebaugh and Dahl for “Missionary Ridge 10 years later.” The judge wrote, “solid writing, compelling photos and great infographics offer the reader a glimpse back in time, but also give some sense of what has happened in the intervening years.” Second place, Scofield for “Culture reclaimed.” Honorable mention, Katie Burford for “Back from war: The things they carry.”
Sports column: Second place, Dale Strode for a selection of columns including “Bicycle cowboy gets back in the saddle”; “Fort Lewis cyclist balances bikes with academics”; and “Durango’s sporting area code expands.”
Sports photo: First place, McBride for “Snow tackle.” Honorable mention, Steve Lewis for “Letdown.”
Spot news photo: First place, McBride for “Fireray.” Second place, Stanley for “Lightner Creek Fire.”
Colorado Press Association contest
The Herald won general excellence, as well as the sweepstakes award in the editorial division, in the Colorado Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.
Advertising layout & design: Third place, Michelle Uhl.
Automotive ad: First place, Janelle Farnam.
Use of color in an ad: Second and third place, Tracy Willbanks.
Real estate ad: Second place, Mitchell Carter.
Advertising special section: First place, Karla Sluis for Durango Living magazine.
Classified page(s) or section(s): First and second places, Brady Sutherlin, Janelle Farnam, Karolann Latimer.
Restaurant or dining ad: Second place, Mitchell Carter.
Newspaper/house ad promotion: First place, Hanah Noland.
Public Service: First place, Emery Cowan, for “A historic promise: Native American tuition waiver at Fort Lewis College.” Third place, Cowan, Jim Haug and Heather Scofield for “Behind closed doors” Questions raised about transparency of some local government entities.”
Editorial Writing: Second place, Megan Graham for a selection of editorials including “Lake Nighthorse recreation: Take action to open facility to public”; “County rejects its climate plan: Commissioners shirk call to set crucial direction”; and “Police and zombies: Halloween event brought out bad from all sides.”
Serious Column Writing: First place, John Peel, for a selection of columns including “13-year-old rebounds from tragedy” and “HIV-positive Durango man speaks up.”
Humorous Column Writing: First place, Mike Smedley for “Figures don’t add up in numbers game; Unknown R’s, ‘UFO drone thing’ perplex.”
Deadline News Reporting: First place, Shane Benjamin, for a story about a home explosion headlined “‘There was no house:’ Family of 3 survives ‘devastating’ explosion; Dog found alive after search.” Third place, Ann Butler for “Fire erupts near Mancos: Evacuations ordered; blaze grows to 500 acres.”
Sports Event Story: First place, Ryan Owens for “Goooooo-ooaaaaaaal! An unlikely hero makes a dream come true: FLC again is national champion.”
Feature Story: Second place, Chase Olivarius-McAllister for “KKK: Membership ‘booming’: Grand Wizard says Colorado among places that has growing presence, activity.”
Series: First place, Dale Rodebaugh and Jordyn Dahl for “Missionary Ridge 10 Years later.” Second place, Scofield for “Culture reclaimed.”
Sustained Coverage: Third place, Benjamin and Rodebaugh for coverage of a house explosion.
Agriculture Story: First place, Pamela Hasterok, for “Shares of love: Small-scale farms supply healthy, organic produce.” Second place, Cowan for “Parched and praying for rain: Outlook dire for farmers without adequate water.” Third place, Rodebaugh for “It’s organic, and then some: Heartwood farm’s vision of old-time agriculture energizes young workers.”
Education Story: First place, Olivarius-McAllister for “DHS aims to work some magic: School forges ahead with new principal.” Third place, Cowan for “‘We need our culture’: Native American FLC students fight the odds to graduate.”
Business News Story: Second place, Haug for “Commercial creep? Proposed bed-and-breakfast on East Third Avenue divides neighbors on wisdom of adding businesses.”
Business Feature Story: First place, Cowan, for “Suds and crafts: As appreciation for microbrews grows, makers rewarded for exploring and pushing boundaries.” Third place, Cowan for “Local distillers quench big thirsts: Sustainability movement helps boost small spirit-makers.”
Environmental Story: Third place, Hanel for “Recipe for disaster: Feds, state clash on permitting prescribed fire.”
Health Enterprise Story: Second place, Scofield for “On the edge without a net: High number of uninsured Hispanics strains economy, families.” Third place, Luke Groskopf for “Naturopaths – license or no? Though other states require it, all efforts in Colo. have failed.”
Investigative Story Package: First place, Hanel for a rating of the worst mountain passes. Second place, Kelcie Pegher for “When being safe is unsafe.”
Daily Website Content: First place for the Herald’s Politics page, www.durangoherald.com/Politics/.
Daily Website-Multimedia: Second place for the Herald staff’s Snowdown coverage, www.durangoherald.com/snowdown.
Daily Website-Interactivity: Second place for the staff’s Animas River package, www.durangoherald.com/rivers/animas.
Daily Website-Design: Second place for the Herald’s home page, www.durangoherald.com.
Daily Website-Community: Third place, Herald staff coverage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge bicycle race.
Editorial Layout and Design: Second place to the Herald’s editing and design staff for issues on Jan. 11, 2012 and May 15, 2012.
News Page Design: Second place, Cliff Vancura for “Navigating the streets of Durango.”
Feature Page Design: Third place, Vancura for “Taste of Japan.”
News Photograph: Third place, Jerry McBride for “Search on for shooter.”
Photo Essay: First place, McBride, for “New life is sign of spring.” Second place, Shaun Stanley for “Boys of summer.” Third place, McBride, for “Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.”",2593,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824109.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00098-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.89167594909668
cfb2c2a8-bc71-4734-bbc8-d0fde066a8ea,2017-08-17T12:00:33+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://www.fcgov.com/recreation/vidasana.php,"Vida Sana is a call for collaboration to unite for the health equity and well-being of the people of Fort Collins. Vida Sana is a health movement desiring to bring communities together to assert their voices for the changes the community needs and wants in order to improve their own health.
Vida Sana Passes are discount recreation passes available for participants ages 12 years and older. The Vida Sana Pass can be used for group-based classes, such as Zumba. Passes cannot be used to drop into a City Recreation facility for access to the gym, walking track, cardio, and weight equipment.
Other programs and services are coordinated through the Vida Sana Program and are available with price reduction to active Vida Sana pass holders. These programs include free educational events and opportunities related to health, exercise, and nutrition.
Active Vida Sana Pass holders are also eligible to receive a discount of $1 per person per visit to the Northside Aztlan Community Center. This $1 drop-in rate is available for recreational use only.
Please note: The Vida Sana Pass & reduced drop-in rate may be revoked if being misused according to its Terms & Conditions.
In order to be accepted into the Vida Sana program, a complete application and fitness assessment are required. Applications are approved based on an income review. Only applicants that have an income at 250% of the poverty line or below may be considered for the Vida Sana Pass.
Applications may be submitted at the Customer Service Desk at Northside Aztlan Community Center. You may register for a fitness assessment when you submit your application. Upon submission of your application and successful completion of the fitness assessment, your application will be reviewed. Upon approval, you will be notified via email (if provided) with instructions to pick up your pass as the Northside Aztlan Community Center.
For questions or comments, call 970.221.6652.",393,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103270.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817111816-20170817131816-00101.warc.gz,0.939392030239105
66d612ec-1ac6-4f4e-80f0-cfc0a3bb61db,2019-08-24T17:04:58+00:00,2019-07-24,1,https://media.sportbusiness.com/news/womens-world-cup-paralympics-poised-for-addition-to-uk-crown-jewels-list/,"Football’s Fifa Women’s World Cup and the Paralympic Games are reportedly set to be added to the ‘crown jewels’ legislation governing sporting events reserved for broadcast on free-to-air television in the UK.
The Times newspaper said the Paralympics will be added to the list immediately, with the government set to announce a consultation process that is likely to lead to the Women’s World Cup and the women’s equivalent of men’s events ringfenced for free-to-air exposure included on the list.
The subject of free-to-air coverage of sports events has returned to the table in recent months and debate has intensified following strong audience figures for this year’s Women’s World Cup, Cricket World Cup final and Wimbledon grand slam tennis tournament.
Earlier this week, it was reported that UK parliamentarians will review the possibility of making the Cricket World Cup free-to-air in the country following the England team’s victory in the 2019 edition.
The opposition Labour party last month said it will look to revise the current ‘crown jewels’ legislation governing sporting events reserved for broadcast on free-to-air television by adding more women’s sport and the Paralympic Games.
Jeremy Wright, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who has been working on the changes, said: “Sport has a unique power to unite the nation. But to maximise its ability to inspire, our sporting crown jewels must reflect the diversity of sporting talent across the country. Adding the Paralympic Games to the list rightly puts it on the same footing as the Olympics.
“I also want to see greater equality in the coverage of women and men’s sport on TV. Later this year, I will consult on adding the equivalent women’s events to the men’s events already on the list.”
Current legislation stipulates events such as the Olympic Games, men’s Fifa World Cup, Wimbledon and football’s men’s FA Cup final must be broadcast on linear channels that are available to 95 per cent of the population.
The so-called ‘crown jewels’ events are also underpinned by a voluntary code established in 2009. Two separate lists (Category A and B), reserved for events with “special national resonance”, were last updated in 2000 and the current Conservative government last summer confirmed it had no plans to look at them again.
Category A events are those to which live rights must be offered to free-to-air broadcasters at a fair and reasonable cost. They include: the Olympic Games; men’s Fifa World Cup; Uefa European Championships; FA Cup final; Scottish Cup final (in Scotland); Grand National; Derby; Wimbledon finals; Challenge Cup final; and Rugby World Cup final.
Category B, for which only highlights are protected for free-to-air coverage, includes: cricket Test matches played in England; non-finals matches at Wimbledon; all other matches at the Rugby World Cup; Six Nations games involving home countries; Commonwealth Games; World Athletics Championships; the final, semi-final and matches involving ‘home nations’ at the Cricket World Cup; Ryder Cup; and Open Championship.
The Times said the new consultation will not lead to any bid to return Test cricket to Category A, despite the interest around the Cricket World Cup final. It added that some women’s cricket matches could be included in Category B.",734,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00227.warc.gz,0.947831273078918
407d56bb-6ed7-42d6-a372-fbfde526f88d,2013-05-25T05:58:43+00:00,2006-07-02,1,http://www.spacewar.com/2006/060702202525.vbmn4jqp.html,"US military doubts bombing of Iran would succeed: report
NEW YORK, July 2 (AFP) Jul 02, 2006
Senior military officers have warned the US administration that bombing raids against Iran would likely fail to destroy the country's nuclear program due to a lack of reliable intelligence, the New Yorker magazine reported Sunday.
Pentagon officers ""have told the administration that the bombing campaign will probably not succeed in destroying Iran's nuclear program,"" Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh wrote in the magazine's latest edition.
The military officers are concerned about contingency plans to launch air strikes against Iran because of the absence of actionable intelligence or concrete evidence of bomb making, the magazine said, citing unnamed active duty and retired officers and officials.
The article also alleges that the White House had advocated the possible use of a nuclear device to attack Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz but that the military leadership ultimately succeeded in having the option dropped in late April.
The military's experience in Iraq, in which US intelligence on weapons of mass destruction proved ""deeply flawed,"" has made senior officers wary in the case of a possible air campaign against Iran, the New Yorker said.
""The target array in Iran is huge, but it's amorphous.... We built this big monster with Iraq, and there was nothing there. This is son of Iraq,"" one high-ranking general told the magazine.
A former senior intelligence official is quoted as saying that Pentagon officers are asking: ""What's the evidence? We've got a million tentacles out there, overt and covert, and these guys (the Iranians) have been working on this for eighteen years, and we have nothing?""
Entitled ""Last Stand: The military's problem with the President's Iran policy"", the article written by journalist Seymour Hersh portrays military officers as anxious about history's judgement and increasingly willing to air their objections to policies set out by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
""The system is starting to sense the end of the road, and they don't want to be condemned by history,"" a retired four-star general told the magazine.
""They want to be able to say, We stood up.'""
The Bush administration has refused to rule out possible military action if diplomatic efforts fail to persuade Iran to halt sensitive uranium enrichment work.
The US and other world powers on Thursday gave Tehran one more week to provide a ""clear and substantive response"" to an international proposal designed to defuse the long-running crisis over Iran's nuclear programme.All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.",596,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961701452732086
a200ca7b-400d-4a2d-aab5-1616469eb052,2016-07-27T02:10:32+00:00,2010-02-09,1,http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/7189810/Ukraine-election-Yulia-Tymoshenko-under-pressure-after-defeat.html,"With nearly all the votes counted, Mr Yanukovych, 59, was leading Mrs Tymoshenko, 49, by almost three per cent or 600,000 votes in a contest praised by international poll observers as ""an impressive display of democratic elections"".
Mrs Tymoshenko appeared reluctant to concede defeat, however, stoking speculation that she will make good on pre-election threats to contest the vote's fairness and mount a legal challenge or even call for her supporters to take to the streets. But her options appear to be limited given how close the voting was and the positive assessment by observers.
On Monday she postponed a planned public appearance for 24 hours.
A wealthy businesswoman, Mrs Tymoshenko was the heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution, a series of mass street protests that set the strategically vital gas-transit country on a pro-Western course, cleaving it from Russia's sphere of influence.
But she and Viktor Yushchenko, her one-time ally and the outgoing president, squandered what appeared to be a historic opportunity to reform one of the former Soviet Union's most corrupt countries. They have been criticised for failing to deliver better living standards and for the past five years spent much of their time bickering among themselves, a process that mired Ukraine in a series of debilitating political crises.
Going well beyond their traditional role as mere observers, European monitors practically urged her to concede defeat and bow out gracefully for the sake of stability. ""It is now time for the country's political leaders to listen to the people and make sure the transition of power is peaceful,"" said Joao Soares, the most senior European observer.
The Russian media could not conceal its glee. The pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia likened her defeat to an ""orange sunset"".",363,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00294-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969193994998932
7cca1fb8-179b-49ef-a2cb-8c3c54da77b3,2017-08-17T08:02:00+00:00,2017-04-10,1,http://en.president.az/articles/23317,"10 april 2017, 11:30
Ilham Aliyev chaired Cabinet meeting on results of first quarter of 2017 and future tasks
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has chaired a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of the first quarter of 2017 and future tasks.
The head of state made an opening speech at the event.
Opening speech of President Ilham Aliyev
- Today we will discuss the results of the first quarter and talk about the work forthcoming in the next months.
In the first quarter, our country has developed successfully and all our forecasts are coming true. Back at the end of last year, I noted with full confidence that the rapid development of our country would be ensured in 2017. The results of the first quarter show that Azerbaijan has been developing rapidly in all areas, our international positions have strengthened, domestic processes are proceeding in a positive direction, economic development is being provided, and all social issues are being resolved. Very serious social initiatives have been put forward, army construction is successfully under way. I am confident that we will achieve the desired results and all the goals this year, and 2017 will be successful for our country.
Unfortunately, the current international situation in the world and the region remains tense. Conflicts and bloody confrontations continue. New risks and threats are emerging. In general, unfortunately, serious steps aimed at stability in the region were not taken in 2017. On the contrary, I want to note once again that the risks are increasing. Of course, as a country located in this region, we are concerned about this and take measures to ensure that the Azerbaijani state and the Azerbaijani people develop and live normally, that there is security in our country and we can protect ourselves from potential risks.
Since the beginning of the year, our international activity has been very successful. In the first quarter, I made seven foreign visits. They are all very important. First of all, my participation in international conferences is of great importance for securing the interests of our country. As you know, there are two prestigious international events in the world. The first is the Davos World Economic Forum, which focuses on political and economic issues and is joined by the political and economic elite of the world. The second is the Munich Conference on Security, which is more focused on security and political issues. By participating in both of these prestigious events, I once again informed the world public about the position of our country, including one related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Armenia's aggressive policy. At the same time, my numerous meetings at the Davos Economic Forum with heads of state and leading international companies, of course, also serve our interests.
For more than 10 years, I have been participating in the Davos World Economic Forum. As a result of these meetings, many projects important for our country are being implemented. Of course, our participation and active role in these events contribute to the growth of respect for our country, and today Azerbaijan is known in the international arena as a very reliable partner.
My successful visit to the European Commission took place in the first quarter. We attach great importance to this, as European countries are our main trading partners and main investors, and we have been fruitfully cooperating with the European Union for many years. All meetings with the leaders of European organizations were held in a very sincere atmosphere, in the conditions of mutual understanding this time too. All negotiations and talks were held on the basis of mutual respect. Both the leaders of the European Commission and I noted this in official speeches. Also, immediately after the visit, we began negotiations on a new agreement with the European Commission. I am confident that these negotiations will soon lead to good results.
I have also paid official visits. I had a very successful visit to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is a very close, friendly and brotherly country for us. As you know, because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Pakistan has not established any ties with Armenia and has no diplomatic relations with it. We highly appreciate this position. The agenda of our bilateral relations is expanding. The topics of discussion include economic, political, as well as military-technical cooperation. There are good results. Over the past five years, we have successfully chaired the Economic Cooperation Organization, and at the summit of this organization in Pakistan gave a high assessment to our work during the chairmanship.
My visit to the State of Qatar was also successful. We have established very close ties with the Gulf countries. Qatar is a very close and friendly country. The Emir of Qatar has paid a visit to Azerbaijan. I also held successful talks within the framework of the reciprocal visit. We discussed in great detail the further cooperation in the political and economic spheres, in the field of investment, joint economic activity.
My successful visits to the Islamic Republic of Iran have also become a tradition. Over the past few years, I have paid three official visits to Iran. The President of Iran also regularly pays official visits to Azerbaijan. Over the past three years, I have met with the President of Iran eight times. Iran is a friendly and fraternal country for us, a close neighbor. The strengthening of ties with Iran serves the interests of our country. At the same time, it is very important for the region. This strengthens stability in the region. Very important issues were discussed in the bilateral format. Many agreements were signed again, and the agreements signed in previous years are already being implemented. All the agreements reached are being realized. There is very successful cooperation both in increasing the trade turnover – our turnover with Iran has increased by about 70 per cent – and in the fields of transport, energy, logistics and other spheres.
The seventh visit was my official visit to France. This visit is also of great importance. France is one of the leading states of the world, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a co-chair country of the Minsk Group. This visit was also very successful. The French-Azerbaijani friendly ties were confirmed again. I was shown great respect in France. The discussion of political, economic and humanitarian issues showed that French-Azerbaijani relations already have very strong foundations. This country has a great interest in Azerbaijan. The meeting I had with leading business structures of France, which lasted about two hours, demonstrated that there is indeed a great deal of interest. The work we are doing is very much appreciated, and French companies work in Azerbaijan with great enthusiasm.
Only the seven visits I have mentioned are evidence that our diplomacy is very successful and our international positions are being strengthened. Azerbaijan is a country that enjoys great respect on a global scale. Even the countries that do not maintain particularly kind relations with each other clearly show an interest in deepening cooperation when it comes to Azerbaijan. We are expanding relations with all countries, in particular, those located in the region. This is in our political and economic interest. It also strengthens the spirit of cooperation and stability in the region.
At the same time, seven heads of state visited Azerbaijan in the first quarter of this year. This is also very important, because these visits are a sign of respect for our country. Also, very serious discussions are held within the framework of visits. Look how multifaceted our international contacts are.
In the first quarter, the Fifth Global Forum was held in Azerbaijan. It is already regarded on a global scale as a major international event. More than 40 current and former heads of state and government took part in the forum. I want to mention one more event. It is also very significant. In fact, this event reflects our role in the world. I am talking about the first meeting of the chiefs of the general staffs of the US and Russian armies in Baku. The choice by both countries of Azerbaijan as the venue of the first meeting once again demonstrates their respect for us. At the same time, this clearly confirms our role. Today, Azerbaijan has proved to be a reliable partner, an independent and dignified country not only in the region, but also on a global scale. Of course, there were many other important events in the first quarter, but these are the main ones.
Of course, as always, the focus was on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Despite the fact that Armenia is trying hard to block the negotiations, to boycott it, it cannot and will not be able to achieve that. The Minsk Group co-chair countries have repeatedly stated that the status quo is unacceptable and should be changed. In essence, this means an end to the occupation. I believe that the Minsk Group should increase pressure on Armenia and its aggressive policy, so that it observes international norms and puts an end to the occupation.
There are no and can’t be any changes in our position in the negotiations. The principle of territorial integrity is not a subject of negotiations. Azerbaijan must restore its territorial integrity. In all of international contacts, I note that no country or organization should display double standards in this matter. In some cases we are faced with double standards. Sometimes more attention is paid to other conflicts in post-Soviet republics or more precise expressions are used in connection with the settlement of these conflicts.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved within the territorial integrity of our country. Unlike other conflicts in post-Soviet republics, the UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions in connection with this conflict. These resolutions are known. The whole world knows this. Armenian occupying forces should immediately and unconditionally withdraw from the occupied lands. This is the main principle beyond which no other issue can be discussed.
I should also note that despite all attempts by Armenia, its non-constructive and insincere policy has already become the object of censure. The sooner they return to the negotiating table, the better for them, as Azerbaijan becomes stronger every day. Our political, military and economic potential is growing, and sooner or later we will achieve a fair resolution of this issue the way we want.
I want to note several events related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that took place in the first quarter. First, I should mention the contrived ""referendum"" held in Nagorno-Karabakh. By conducting this ""referendum"", Armenia has once again disgraced and exposed itself. I have already said this and want to say once again: the more such illegal ""referendums"" they conduct there, the more this works for our benefit. All the neighboring countries, the Minsk Group co-chair states, the European Union and many other countries immediately condemned this ""referendum"". They said they did not recognize this ""referendum"", that Nagorno-Karabakh is an inalienable part of Azerbaijan.
By conducting this ""referendum"", they, in fact, prompted all countries to repeat this truth once again. Of course, by rejecting this ""referendum"" the entire international community demonstrated support for our territorial integrity and settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of this principle.
There is another significant event. For the first time, someone who has repeatedly violated our laws, made illegal trips to Nagorno-Karabakh, insulted the Azerbaijani state and people, has been detained, transferred to Azerbaijan and brought to our country before the eyes of the whole world. Such an event occurs for the first time. This is a restoration of justice. This is a triumph of international law. All issues related to extradition were resolved on the basis of international laws and conventions. I am sure that this has become and will become a lesson both to the man who has grossly violated our laws and boasted of this, and to people like him.
There has been another important event. We have started to rebuild the village of Jojug Marjanli. I believe that this is also a historic event. A new settlement is under construction there now. First of all, 50 houses, a school, a kindergarten, a mosque and a new road are being built. In the future, another 150 houses and a medical center will be built as well. I must also note that this mosque repeats the architecture of the Shusha mosque. This was my instruction. The time will come when all our monuments and mosques destroyed by Armenian vandals will be restored. The restoration of Jujug Marjanli is a historic event, which shows that the Azerbaijani people will never put up with this occupation. At the same time, it shows that after the return of our territories, Azerbaijan will rebuild all the villages and cities. This once again demonstrates that the people of Jojug Marjanli, who have been resettled in other places for more than 20 years, will now live with the dream of returning to their native village as soon as possible, although all the houses have been destroyed and the village is not far from the line of contact. This is the love for our native land, for the Motherland. Therefore, the state, our policies, and the people are united in this. This unity encourages us even more and shows that we are on the right path. We will restore our territorial integrity.
I must also note that new buildings are built for IDPs this year too. Settlements are being built elsewhere. One of them is a large settlement being built in Tartar District. It will be commissioned in the coming months. At the same time, I am sure that the problems of IDPs residing in emergency buildings in Baku and Sumgayit will also be resolved in the near future. First of all, 4,000 IDP families living in the most difficult conditions will be resettled to new homes. This process will be implemented step by step. New buildings are built. At the same time, apartments will be purchased in the buildings constructed earlier and the displaced people will be accommodated there. I believe that the first group of IDPs will be resettled to new homes in the next few months.
Of course, to solve all these issues, we must have strong economic potential. We have created this potential. The results of the first quarter of 2017 indicate that the Azerbaijani economy is developing very dynamically. I want to bring to the attention of the public some figures. They best reflect our economic situation.
The main indicator of our economy is the development of the non-oil sector, non-oil industry and agriculture. Good results have been achieved in all these areas. The non-oil sector of the economy has increased by 2.4 per cent. Growth in the non-oil industry has been at the level of 2 per cent, agriculture has increased by 3.5 per cent. In particular, I want to note that in crop production the growth was more than 20 per cent. This shows that the work we are doing, the serious reforms and investment are already yielding results.
In the first quarter, our foreign exchange reserves increased by $1 billion. Today, our foreign exchange reserves are $38.5 billion. This is a large figure. Last year, we managed to maintain our foreign exchange reserves. Despite the fact that oil prices have plummeted, we managed not only to save them this year, but also to earn an additional $1 billion in the first three months. I am sure that within a year we will further increase our foreign exchange reserves. This is a very important issue, as it is clear to all that 2015-2016 were the years of crisis. The three- to fourfold drop in the oil price and the stagnation in the construction sector last year inevitably had a negative impact on our economic development. Perhaps some other government could find the way out only in using foreign exchange reserves. It was the easiest way. But a responsible approach and our long-term development plans, of course, dictate a different choice. It was a responsible choice where the interests of the people are above all. We quickly planned serious reforms and took prompt measures. Serious steps have been taken to restructure the economy, relevant resolutions and laws have been adopted to stimulate business, investment and exports.
Thus, we have managed to maintain economic stability and increase foreign exchange reserves. It is safe to say that most oil-rich countries have lost and are losing their currency reserves last and this year. We are increasing them.
In three months of this year, the turnover has increased by 15 per cent. This is also a very good indicator. Exports have increased by about 50 per cent. It is gratifying that our non-oil exports have grown by almost 10 per cent, while imports have dropped by 17 per cent. This is a manifestation of our policy. In order to reduce dependence on imports, we stimulated local production, created excellent conditions for businesses. In particular, the state purchased equipment for the agricultural sector, etc. We have talked a lot about that and I do not want to repeat that. The reduction of imports and the sharp increase in exports ensure our economic stability. In the first quarter alone the positive balance of our turnover was at the level of $1 billion.
These figures reflect our economic situation. If we add to this the fact that the Davos World Economic Forum awarded Azerbaijan 37th place in terms of economic competitiveness this year, the picture becomes complete. In the crisis years, we managed to raise our rating by three steps. According to the rating among developing countries, Azerbaijan shares the first and second places. Here is a real and reliable assessment of our work. We will follow this path and strengthen our economic potential.
In the first quarter, 85,000 new jobs were created, including 70,000 permanent ones. 9,000 jobs were closed. And we see a beautiful picture again. It is gratifying that the creation of jobs continues not only in the public but also in the private sector. At the previous meeting, I noted that we would create more than 40,000 jobs in the public sector this year. They have already been created. At the same time, more than 40,000 jobs were created in the private sector. This is also a manifestation of economic development.
An important event took place in connection with the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor this year. The Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor held a third meeting in Baku. High-ranking representatives of all participating countries of this project, the European Commission, America and the United Kingdom once again demonstrated their support for this project. As a result of the Advisory Council meeting, a resolution was adopted where the leading role of our country was highlighted again. The implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor is already a reality. True, there are still those who want to prevent us. It is natural. We experienced this 10 years ago. I remember that when the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline was under construction, the forces that tried to deal a blow to our policy, the Armenian lobby and some circles negative about this project cited various pretexts, mostly environmental, to stop us. To a certain extent, they succeeded. I remember that some international financial institutions even delayed funding at the time. But despite this, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was opened in 2006. Today, some circles and outside forces are trying again, using environmental pretexts, to delay work on some segments of the Southern Gas Corridor. All this is completely groundless. It is just a pretext. All environmental standards are observed and all issues are coordinated. The early commissioning of the Southern Gas Corridor is important both for us and for all parties involved in this project which will benefit from it in the future. I am confident that 2017 will be a decisive year for this respect. We should mark the opening of the TANAP project next year.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been good results in the transport sector. In particular, I should note that in March of this year the first train from Azerbaijan already passed through the bridge built over the Astarachay River to Iran. We have already completed all work related to the North-South corridor on our territory. I am sure that this year joint effort will be made in the implementation of the North-South project. As for the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the Turkish side has already officially announced several times that this project will be delivered this year. As you know, Azerbaijan has already fulfilled all its obligations under this project.
I want to bring another figure to your attention. It relates to tourism. The number of foreign visitors to our country increased by 11 per cent last year. In the first quarter of this year, growth was already 25 per cent. This is also an excellent indicator. Of course, this has many reasons. First, we have created a modern infrastructure in Azerbaijan in recent years. We have six international airports. We have the latest aircraft. There are great roads in all our districts. There are fine hotels in Baku and the regions. All leading hotel networks operate hotels in Baku. In all our regions there is modern hotel infrastructure. Health tourism is developing. We have restored traditional tourist regions. At one time, in the Soviet period, 70,000 tourists came to Naftalan. According to the latest data, approximately 30,000-35,000 people come here for treatment every year. We have restored the resort of Galaalti, and we have done that at a high level. Those who were here in the Soviet era can see that the difference is beyond comparison. We have created other health tourist zones. New tourist sites have been commissioned. Ski resorts of ""Shahdag"" in Gusar and ""Tufandag"" in Gabala are equipped with the most modern tourist infrastructure. Who would come to our country without this? Secondly, there is stability in our country. Tourists are looking for places to go. Nobody wants to travel to risky places. They know that their security will be ensured in Azerbaijan. They know that Azerbaijan is a stable country. This is also an important factor.
Another factor is the creation of the ASAN Visa system on my instructions. I was recently informed that 40,000 visas were issued through ""ASAN Visa in just three months. This system applies to those entering Azerbaijan on a visa. Citizens from more than 80 countries can receive an electronic visa now. Could tourism develop without that? Of course, our history, historical monuments, wonderful climate, hospitality of the people and diverse cuisine play a role in this, but all this was available even before. Why didn’t tourism develop then? Why didn’t we see development in this area? After I took this issue under personal control, there was a turning point. I remember repeatedly telling various state bodies to solve visa issues, because violations related to visas were harming our image. To obtain a visa at the embassy, foreigners had to overcome enormous difficulties, faced red tape and illegal demands. This issue has now been resolved once and for all. Who would come to Azerbaijan if it wasn’t for this? During meetings in some foreign countries I was told: we want to come to Azerbaijan, our people want to come but it is very difficult. People had to plan one or two weeks ahead, and it was still unclear whether they would get a visa. People had to go to another city where there is our consul. Foreign citizens had to deal with many difficulties to come to Azerbaijan. I took this issue under full control and revolutionary changes followed immediately. Therefore, the main reasons for the influx of tourists include our policies, the instructions I have given, their execution, visa and security issues, modern infrastructure, hotels, recreation areas and, of course, the beauty of Baku.
Baku is one of the most beautiful cities in the world today. But what was it like before? This is already being forgotten. There were dark streets. Remember the boulevard? People were afraid to walk on the boulevard. Nobody went for a walk along the boulevard with their family. Rundown buildings, ramshackle structures and narrow streets – this was the old Baku. Today the historical buildings of Baku have been renovated with due attention paid to our historical heritage. Icherisheher has turned into one of the most attractive historical places in the world. The length of Baku Boulevard has been increased from 3 to 16 kilometers. Major demolition work has been completed, new roads opened and parks set up. Baku is a city of parks and lakes now. We have cleared the lakes. We have cleaned the Bibiheybat Bay, which was a source of environmental disaster. We have cleaned Lake Boyukshor, which was also a source of environmental threats. Work there continues. Who would come to Azerbaijan if we hadn’t done all this? We have hosted international competitions and attracted the attention of the world. We have held the Eurovision, the European Games and Formula 1, which has an audience of 500 million people. We will hold the Games of Islamic Solidarity soon. Who would come here if all this were not there? These are the main factors, let everyone know and correctly assess this.
Next month we will host the Games of Islamic Solidarity. All preparatory work is already over. It will be a great sporting holiday. I said at the ceremony that this is not only a sporting event, but also the games of unity. By our efforts in this direction, we will strengthen the unity between Muslim countries.
Now let's move on to discussions.
X X X
Other speakers at the meeting included Minister of Defense Industry Yavar Jamalov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Javid Gurbanov, and Chairman of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company Rauf Valiyev.
The head of state made a closing speech at the meeting.
Closing speech of President Ilham Aliyev
- Thus, 2017 starts quite well for us. There are good results. We must try to maintain this dynamic during the year and successfully complete 2017.
One of the important issues, of course, is macroeconomic stability. We must strengthen macroeconomic stability. We should not allow artificial price hikes. Consumer prices should always be in the spotlight. They should be under control. In general, I think that from the point of view of macroeconomic stability, 2017 will be more successful in comparison to previous years. There are grounds to say this. A prudent and very flexible policy should be conducted in this direction.
The execution of the state budget is going well. Both customs and tax authorities have exceeded the quarterly plan. This is good. At the same time, budget expenditure must be fulfilled by 100 per cent. In previous years, the funds envisaged as investment were not utilized in full in some cases. This year, both the adopted monetary program and the balance between expenses and incomes should be fully provided. The investment program for this year should be quite effective. Sufficient funds are allocated for the country’s most important projects, and things are going well in the first quarter. The investment program must be fully implemented.
I have already mentioned that we have a good financial situation. This year, we have increased our foreign exchange reserves by $1 billion dollars in three months. Our foreign reserves are more than five times higher than the external debt. I think that such a picture is quite rare in the world. In this respect, Azerbaijan, of course, is different. In many developed countries, the foreign debt exceeds the gross domestic product. Their foreign exchange reserves cannot repay even 20 per cent of the external debt. Our external debt makes up 20 per cent of the gross domestic product, which is a very low indicator. Our foreign exchange reserves are more than five times higher than the external debt. I believe that various rating agencies should take these factors into account. At the same time, as I noted in the opening speech, the economic performance in the first quarter of the year is also one of the most beautiful results.
This year there is a revival in the construction sector. This is natural because the work done last year and the decisions made are already manifesting themselves. I was informed that more than 300 new multi-storey buildings are under construction in Baku now. This in itself is an excellent indicator. Thousands of jobs are created here. Last year, we lost most of the jobs in the construction sector. This year they are being restored. The decisions made, the public investment and, of course, the revival of the private sector have brought about to a new situation. Last year, the foundation of a large town was laid through the State Agency for Housing Construction, and construction work is under way. The second project is to be implemented now. The first stage of the phase of the ""White City"" project has been completed. Dozens of buildings will be built in the next five years. Entrepreneurs demolish buildings in various places in Baku that are no longer usable. People living there are either paid compensation or funds to rent alternative housing space. Multi-storey houses with beautiful architecture are already being built instead of these obsolete buildings that were in a poor condition.
The first such pilot project was implemented in the Sabunchu district. I personally took part in the opening of a new building. I saw that people are very happy about this because they moved into new apartments and got rid of the buildings in an emergency condition. At the same time, I issued an order that the apartments in the new buildings should be larger. People are provided with renovated apartments which are 10 and in some cases 20 or 30 per cent bigger than before. Of course, people are very happy about this. This is also beneficial to entrepreneurs, because instead of a three- or four-storey buildings they build multi-storey blocks. They receive income, the construction sector develops, the production of building materials increases and jobs are created. This process has already become widespread. According to the latest information I have, the number of projects implemented in this way in the city of Baku has already reached 75. This process continues. I urge local executive bodies and entrepreneurs again to organize this work properly. Entrepreneurs should take the initiative, while local executive bodies, in turn, should create conditions and help them. We will thus achieve several goals here. I have already mentioned that jobs will be created, the construction sector will develop, the security and well-being of our people will be provided and our city will improve.
Another important project is connected with micro-districts. A project associated with the first micro-district has already been prepared. I am sure that it will be realized soon. New modern houses will be built in a beautiful architectural style on the site of obsolete buildings. I have given a special instruction to set up public places and kindergartens on the first floor of new buildings, in particular, the buildings erected on the site of demolished ones. Thus, the first floors of each of the 75 buildings constructed in this way will house a kindergarten. This will have a positive effect on the solution of the problem of kindergartens in Baku. Thus, we will resolve the problem of kindergartens in the next three to four years. There is a great need for this now. The population and the number of children are growing. At the same time, jobs are being created. Many families today have both parents working. Therefore, we will experience a great need for kindergartens. It is also necessary to allocate special places for the construction of kindergartens. But the best option is to have kindergartens in new buildings. Persons issuing building permits and local executive bodies should recommend that to entrepreneurs.
The main priority areas are industrial production and agriculture. There are good results in both directions. As I have already noted, the non-oil industry grew by 2 per cent and agriculture by 3.5 per cent. Currently, industrial zones are being created in the regions. At the end of this year, first plants will be commissioned in the Mingachevir industrial park. Things are going well in the Sumgayit Technological Park, the Chemical Industry Park, the Pirallahi and Balakhani industrial parks, the Neftchala industrial district. So this process is already under way. A few years ago, I ordered that an industrial zone should be built in each district. We are already seeing this. All districts should take an active part in this work.
I want to draw the attention of entrepreneurs to a major project. It is the SOCAR Polymer plant, which is being established at the Sumgayit chemical industry park. It is a huge industrial enterprise where hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested. It will produce fine products, which, of course, will be used in the country and also exported. But I should note that a very serious industrial site can be created on the basis of these raw materials. We are currently importing all the finished plastic products from abroad. But after the commissioning of SOCAR Polymer, there are good opportunities for the production of finished products in Azerbaijan. It will be a very profitable sphere for business. Therefore, I am urging our state agencies to better explain this to business people – factories can be established on the basis of many types of finished products of SOCAR Polymer. This means new jobs. At the same time, it will bring additional income to entrepreneurs, while our export products will be delivered to foreign markets at higher prices. Otherwise, SOCAR Polymer products will be sold abroad only as raw materials. Of course, this is also good, but I am sure that my advice will be taken into consideration.
During the discussion of the results of the third year in the implementation of the State Program on the Socioeconomic Development of the Districts in January this year, I spoke in great detail about the forthcoming work in the field of agriculture. All orders and instructions were given. I do not want to repeat them. I just want to note a few points. This year, in order to facilitate the development of agriculture, irrigation of new land plots of 150,000 hectares is envisaged. Funds have been allocated and these projects should be under control so that we reach this figure within a year. I believe that this will be a revolutionary transformation. This, of course, is one of the factors, perhaps even the first factor that will increase agricultural production. The volume of agricultural production must grow. We must fully meet the domestic demand. We need to increase the volume of exports, increase the yields and apply the latest technologies. It is necessary to keep accurate records of land. Work in this direction is ongoing and instructions are given. It is necessary to conduct an accurate analysis of lands using modern methods. We must have detailed information on the quality of land. We need to borrow the practice of countries that have accumulated extensive experience in this field and apply it in order to know what crops should be grown areas in what region. In other words, we should continue to approach this not spontaneously, but on an individual basis. Depending on this, subsidies should also be assessed. I have already given the appropriate instructions and we must consider this. At present, the procedure for granting subsidies is being improved. However, I believe that in the future we should adopt a more serious approach to the policy of regionalization. We need to know how much should be allocated in subsidies for the regions to cultivate produce, so that we could make more efficient use of our natural resources.
This year there are plans to put into operation two plants – the factories for pivot irrigation systems and pesticides. We must do that this year. A nitrogen fertilizer plant should be put into operation next year. We expect that in about a year. Thus, not only will we provide ourselves with nitrogen fertilizer, but we will also have opportunities for export.
In general, work aimed at self-sufficiency in food products is progressing well. I announce these figures at conferences on socioeconomic development of the regions every year. I can say that our only weakness is grain-growing. Taking this into account, I instructed the Presidential Administration to hold an extended meeting, which has been held. All instructions have been given. After that, I signed a relevant order on the development of grain production and, first of all, analysis. Extensive information should be collected, statistics analyzed correctly and answers to many questions provided. How can it be possible that we allocate a million hectares of land for grain production and cannot provide ourselves with food wheat? The question sounds simple, but there are many things to consider. Therefore, an accurate analysis should be made: how much land we need for food wheat and grain-growing in general in order to provide ourselves with quality grain and, of course, reduce dependence on imports. According to my information, we allocate about 300 million manats for imports every year. Of course, it is necessary to conduct accounting, analysis, electronic and satellite control. We have a satellite. An accurate analysis of the fertility and productivity of the land should be carried out in a short time.
Another important issue relates to the export of goods produced in the non-oil sector. This is also a successfully developing direction now. Reforms have been carried out and institutional measures taken. We have set up the Azexport domain. The Azerbaijani brand is being promoted in the world today. We have been taking part in many exhibitions. Trade houses are being created in various countries. Trade and export missions are carried out. Appropriate orders have been issued and funds allocated. It is necessary to conduct advertising campaigns in foreign media to promote the ""Made in Azerbaijan"" brand.
In my opening speech, I noted that exports in the non-oil sector have increased by almost 10 per cent, but the potential is even greater. Therefore, we must gain access to new export markets. We need to access traditional export markets with a wider range of products. At the same time, new export markets should be sought. We need to create logistical centers. At present, an Azerbaijani logistical center has been established in Aktau, Kazakhstan. We see that this is of great benefit. In short, this sphere is of great importance for raising both domestic production and our foreign exchange earnings.
Naturally, during the year, as always, attention will be paid to infrastructure projects and their implementation. The focus is on electricity supply. New substations are under construction, especially in regions where this is necessary. These projects should be carried out in parallel with the development of agriculture, so that they serve the population, as well as the development of agriculture.
The level of gasification in Azerbaijan is 92 per cent. This year it will increase even more. Drinking water projects must be fully implemented in the amount of envisaged investments. At the same time, we are implementing 270 small projects this year to provide the rural population with clean drinking water. The construction of these treatment plants in 170 villages will be provided through the “Azersu” OJSC and in other 100 villages through the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. A relevant order has been signed. It lists the names of all villages. I have issued a special instruction both the residents of these villages and the persons performing these works to know that this issue is under control. If the order simply stated that it was very necessary to resolve the water problem in 100 or 200 villages and allocate so much money for that, it would be very difficult to control it: whether water is supplied to 100 or 50 villages? The order states the names of all districts and villages, and I am asking the residents of these villages also to monitor. Let them become acquainted with this order. If their village is on this list but the work is not carried out, then they should immediately inform local executive bodies and the Presidential Administration. Of course, if there are shortcomings in this, the persons who committed them will be punished accordingly. I am saying this in order to strengthen public control. I have repeatedly said that in order to strengthen public control, the public must be informed. We provide this information. This year the provision of 270 villages with modular wastewater treatment plants should be completed. The funds have been allocated and there should also be control.
Projects of rural roads are being implemented. In the current year, projects will be implemented connecting hundreds of villages. New roads are being built in the city of Baku, on the territory called Sovetskaya. A large road infrastructure is being created. There are plans to put it into operation in the near future. In general, this part of our city will turn into a beautiful area. Currently, the work is ongoing. First of all, roads are laid. They will differ from the old roads for their beauty. Whereas the width of the old roads was 3-5 meters, the width of the new ones is 15-20 meters. So this project designed for the future will greatly improve traffic in Baku. In parallel with the construction of roads, the entire area will be landscaped. Parks and a new beautiful recreation area will be created. It has been impossible to implement the project in this area for decades, but we have achieved this. I am sure that people would be satisfied. I have issued instructions to pay the compensation in full. Of course, those who rest in these parks and using these roads will also be pleased.
Other roads are also built in Baku. I have issued instructions as to where to build new arteries, as they say. One of them is a street that is currently being built parallel to Yusif Safarov Street. This street will also attract a part of the city transport. It is of great importance. Work is under way on the construction and expansion of the road Bilgah-Sumgayit road. It will allow an alternative road to connect Sumgayit with Baku, in particular the Baku villages and the international airport. The road, laid at the level of the highest standards, should be put into operation this year.
Social infrastructure projects are being implemented. I am told that three modular-type schools have already been built instead of those in an emergency condition. Twelve more modular schools are to be built in the future. This and next year, there should not be a single school left in an emergency condition in Azerbaijan. The vast majority of schools in Baku have already been renovated, new schools have been built and if there is a need for repairs somewhere, these issues are also being addressed.
In the first quarter, 13 medical institutions were built or overhauled. This year we plan to commission two Olympic centers – the Absheron and Agjabadi Olympic centers. One of the social programs is a project on medical checkups of the population. This year's project will be completed next month. Five million people will undergo free medical examination. In previous years the focus was on advocacy work for people to undergo examination, but now we see that there is no need for this. The people see and know today that this is necessary for their own health. In recent years, we have set up modern medical facilities in all our districts. There are the most modern laboratories. The latest equipment is available, and it is possible to conduct any examination even in small areas now.
The focus is always on increasing employment in the regions. I have repeatedly said that we should always pay attention to this issue, because the population is growing and will continue to increase this year and beyond. A growing population will need new jobs in the future. The demographic situation in Azerbaijan is very good. The population is growing. This should encourage us to work even harder. Therefore, increasing the employment rate will always be on the agenda. We are addressing this issue. I have already mentioned that 70,000 permanent jobs have been created both in the public and private sectors. Together with seasonal work, it is 85,000 jobs. This is a large figure for three months, and we must continue this work. At the same time, the program of self-employment should be expanded. First steps have already been taken. These projects should be implemented by state bodies, local executive bodies and private businesses. Every family, i.e. a family still living in poverty, should be able to provide for itself, and we must create these opportunities. Of course, the government always shows attention and care for citizens living in a difficult situation. A program on targeted social assistance is being implemented. But we must gradually move on to the system of self-employment. It is more profitable and better for the citizens themselves.
They will have their own family budget. We simply need to help them. In rural areas, it is necessary to create conditions for them and provide with cattle and poultry. An important role here can be played by beekeeping and livestock farming, so that they could provide their own budget themselves. At the initial stage, of course, the government will help them. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers should pay special attention to the program of self-employment. I repeat that it is necessary for all relevant departments and agencies to pursue a unified policy. This work, of course, is carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, but I believe that other ministries, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture, local executive bodies and entrepreneurs, should also get involved in this. It is necessary to regularly tell me what work has been done in this direction.
This year, the process of granting soft loans related to the development of entrepreneurship will be continued. Soft loans worth 150 million manats will be provided. At the same time, I should note that, in accordance with our policy, a process has been taking place in recent years whereby 32 large-scale farms have been created in Azerbaijan. The area under cultivation in these farms is 44,000 hectares. A total of 33 agro-parks are being established on 142,000 hectares in 24 districts. The funds spent on the establishment of agro-park data are 1 billion manats. These 33 agro-parks and the 32 large farms created before this will have a very big impact on increasing the yields, meeting the domestic demand and increasing the export potential, especially if we consider that these agricultural parks and farms are built on the basis of modern technology.
We, both state bodies and local executive authorities, should work harder to attract foreign investments. Local executive authorities should also attract investment. They should attract both local and foreign entrepreneurs. There should be greater initiative from the ground.
I would like to note another issue: our budget organizations should fully pay for the cost of the electricity used.
This year, two “ASAN xidmət” centers should be opened in Guba and Mingachevir. This should happen before the end of the year. The funds are envisaged, and the construction of two centers is under way in the cities of Imishli and Shaki. Thus, these two centers should also be commissioned next year.
These are the main tasks we are facing. Let me repeat that the first quarter of the year is encouraging. It shows once again that our forecasts are being fulfilled and the policies are quite successful. We must do everything possible to maintain this positive momentum by the end of this year in order to further strengthen our country. Thank you.
09 april 2017, 18:40His Excellency Mr Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt more...
10 april 2017, 14:10From Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation more...
09 august 2017, 10:45Ilham Aliyev received chairman of State Border Committee of Belarus
09 august 2017, 10:40Ilham Aliyev attended opening of new roads in Sovetski area
08 august 2017, 21:30Ilham Aliyev hosted official reception in honor of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
08 august 2017, 13:30Azerbaijani, Turkmen presidents made press statements
08 august 2017, 13:20Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan signed documents
08 august 2017, 11:50Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan held expanded meeting
© 2010-2015 Official website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. All rights reserved.
This website is managed by Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Political Analysis and Information Support Department of the Administration of the President.",9886,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102993.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817073135-20170817093135-00538.warc.gz,0.970828235149384
a5fc730b-bd67-4a97-928d-49bdb59dc01a,2022-05-28T05:13:15+00:00,2020-12-11,1,https://european-pirateparty.eu/pirates-support-new-freedom-to-share-european-citizens-initiative-launched-today/,"Brussels, 11/12/2020 – Today, the European citizens’ initiative (ECI) “Freedom to Share” (freesharing.eu) launched the collection of signatures in favour of decriminalising the sharing of books, music, films and other online content for personal use and non-profit purposes. Pirates in the European Parliament support this initiative because the availability of information, knowledge and culture is a prerequisite for the social, technological and economic development of our society. Creators are to be compensated. You can sign the petition on www.freesharing.eu.
“Freedom of sharing is a key principle of the Pirate movement. This initiative calls for citizens to be allowed to share files directly via peer-to-peer networks for them to have access to science and culture. We have been pushing for change since the bad and censoring copyright directive was adopted by EU institutions,” says the chairperson of European Pirate Party and Member of the European Parliament Mikuláš Peksa.
He believes that due to increasingly frequent authoritarian tendencies around the world as well as in Europe, the Internet should be the safe space to share thoughts and culture without fear of fines and ban. “Sharing is important for both technological progress as well as the economic development of our countries,“ explains Peksa.
Patrick Breyer, Member of the European Parliament for the Pirate Party, agrees: “From my perspective, the freedom of information is a fundamental right. The limitation of fair use rights to the borrowing of physical copies of books, DVDs etc. does not live up to our needs in the digital age. Every Internet user should seize this chance to make a change and sign.”
Initiative wants to legalise file sharing
The “Freedom to Share” initiative calls for the adoption of a legislative act legalising file sharing by waiving copyright and other related rights. This would only be limited to personal or non-profit purposes. The initiative also asks for changing legislation to set up a mechanism which will reimburse the authors in a fair way.
“The question is: is it fair for copyright, related rights, and sui generis database rights to prevent the sharing of works and other material?” so Marco Ciurcina, Italian attorney from Turin and ECI‘s spokesperson – “The current regulations, that bans the sharing of files containing works subjected to copyright seriously curtails the freedom of access to science and culture enshrined in the Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The initiative was launched by citizens from eight different EU countries. The initiative is now working on collecting one million signatures. Only after that, the European Commission will have to take a position on the initiative.
“The EU needs a fair balance between the interests of the users and creators – and not implementing technical measures that will lead to censorship in the long run,“ Gregory Engels, ECI organizer from Germany, concludes.
Sign the initiative here: https://freesharing.eu/",641,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663012542.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528031224-20220528061224-00007.warc.gz,0.922824680805206
7e8e1480-63af-42a1-baae-51a273cf83bc,2013-06-19T12:41:36+00:00,2010-02-06,1,http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/feb/06/state-casino-fears-tribal-competition-sumner-count/,"Topeka Concerns about a proposed tribal casino in Park City may scuttle plans for a Sumner County casino.
After two months of contract negotiations with the Kansas Lottery, developers of the Chisholm Creek Casino Resort near Mulvane remain concerned about possible competition from the tribal casino, the lottery’s executive director, Ed Van Petten, said Thursday.
“We have agreed to a few safeguards in that regard, but I don’t know we’re going to get to the point where they’re completely comfortable going ahead or not,” he said.
Negotiations could be done by the middle or end of next week. If developers don’t reach a contract agreement with the state, they can’t build the casino. The lottery then would reopen bidding in the south-central gaming zone, Van Petten said. That could mean a delay of at least 18 months.
Chisholm Creek partners include Och-Ziff Real Estate of New York, which would own 50 percent of the project; Lakes Entertainment of Minnesota, with 17 percent ownership; and Clairvest Group of Canada with 33 percent.
Negotiations have been under way since early December, when developers asked for more time just as the state’s gaming board was to vote on a contract.
Chisholm Creek has planned a $225 million casino at the Mulvane exit off the Kansas Turnpike. It has said it would open a $125 million first phase by September 2011.
That phase would feature 1,300 slot machines and 30 gaming tables, a buffet, restaurant, multi-function entertainment venue and an EMS facility. A third party was to open a hotel within six months of the casino opening.
The original contract had come for a vote by the Lottery Gaming Facilities Review Board on Dec. 1. Before the vote, Chisholm Creek asked that the board send it back to the lottery, which would own the casino, for more negotiations. It cited plans by the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma to build a casino in Park City as the main reason.
Financial consultants hired by the state had said a tribal casino in Park City would seriously affect Sumner County’s casino. One consultant estimated it would lower the revenue at Chisholm Creek by 21.5 percent.
A tribal casino wouldn’t pay money to the state. A Sumner County casino would be required by state law to pay 22 percent of its gambling revenue to the state, and 5 percent to local governments and a problem gambling fund.
The Wyandotte Tribe’s plans are no closer to reality than they were in December. The tribe, which has owned 10.5 acres near Park City since 1992, has applied to the Department of the Interior to have the land put in trust for gaming purposes. The application was filed in 1996 and updated in 2006.
A representative of the Wyandotte said the tribe is still waiting to hear from the Interior Department about its application.",625,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967723608016968
3df035d9-d947-4b82-b228-033f06651447,2019-08-22T01:27:20+00:00,2013-05-31,0,https://www.tapellalaw.com/blog/this-grim-report-shocked-cyclists-7-fast-facts.cfm,"A disturbing report from the Governors Highway Safety Association paints a grim portrait of bicycle safety. If you know any cyclists who commute to work or ride regularly, then you might want to share these statistics with them. They’re the reason so many bicyclists will require personal injury protection this year.
>By the numbers, this has been a rough decade for U.S. cyclists:
- According to the most recent data, 722 cyclists died in car crashes in 2012.
- That’s a 16% increase since 2010, when 620 cyclists died. In 2011, 682 cyclists died in motor vehicle accidents.
- The most dangerous states for cyclists? Most fatalities occurred in California, Florida, Texas, New York, Illinois, and Michigan. Those states all have dense urban areas where cyclists and drivers are more likely to share the road.
- In 2012, 69% of bicycle fatalities occurred in urban areas.
- One in three fatal bicycle accidents happen at intersections.
- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, men have made up about 70% of fatal car crashes for decades, and the numbers are similar for bicyclists as well. Three out of four cyclists deaths involved adult men, with men under the age of 20 accounted for 14%.
- The new GHSA report concluded that 65% of fatal bicycle accidents were a result of riders not wearing helmets.
The conclusion? Wear a helmet! The GHSA reports that the lack of universal helmet requirements for cyclists is a major contributing factor to the rise in deaths. Additionally, the report advises cyclists to take extra care whenever passing through an intersection. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers running red lights kill 900 people and injure 2,000 more every year.
Unfortunately, distracted drivers have never been more dangerous, with smartphones causing accidents all over the country. In fact, 13% of drivers between the ages of 18 and 20 admitted to texting when they caused an accident. The GHSA report also suggests avoiding riding in urban areas; unfortunately, that’s hardly an option for people who rely on their bike to get to work and may need personal injury protection after a crash.
If you’re a cyclist who’s been injured on the road, then don’t hesitate to contact personal injury attorneys about your accident. Drivers have steel and airbags to protect them, but cyclists often have to rely on personal injury settlements to be made whole after an accident.
Personal injury protection might be the only thing to make drivers finally take notice of the dangers they pose to cyclists. Remember: always wear a helmet.",530,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316555.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822000659-20190822022659-00450.warc.gz,0.957570612430572
c5e76568-a605-45cc-9bca-7374b6ecfedd,2019-08-19T17:07:06+00:00,2019-03-15,1,https://www.leominsterchamp.com/articles/veterans-center-hosts-party-for-rocky-pond-day/,"It might have been Friday the 13th, but in Leominster the day was all about ""Rocky.""
For the first time, a party was held Friday afternoon at the Leominster Veterans Center to mark Private Rockwell ""Rocky"" Pond Day. Fitting into the theme were the treats offered: A Rocky Day cake made by Andrew Theriault, Rocky Road ice cream and Rocky Road cookies.
Not far away was ""Rocky,"" sitting in his lifeguard stand on the frozen surface of the pond that bears his name. For the last few weeks, people have been buying chances for $5 each, or three for $10, to guess when he will fall through the ice.
At the same time, they are raising money for the five veterans’ organizations that make up the Veterans Center: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1807, American Legion Post 151, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 24, Vietnam Veterans of America Firebase 116 and American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 38. Those funds will be given back to the community in various ways.
The legend of Private Rockwell ""Rocky"" Pond, as posted on the Veterans Center website, goes that he hails from the third floor of 98 West St., now the parking lot for the Leominster Senior Center. He attended Saxon Trade School, specializing in metal works. He left in the middle of his senior year to volunteer to serve in the Korean War.
""While in Korea he fought in many battles to include the Chosen Reservoir,"" the legend goes. ""Private ‘Rocky’ once spent three long winter months on the ice at Chosen Reservoir fighting the enemy and fighting the bitter cold. During his third month, as spring neared, the ice began to thaw and Private Rockwell Pond fell [through] the ice but was saved by his fellow soldiers.
""After the war Rocky returned home to Leominster and found employment at Leominster Ice Company, where he worked for many years,"" the website stated. ""Rocky’s favorite past time has always been fishing including ice fishing. It was the middle of March 1954 while he was ice fishing on the pond off of West Street and a group of kids were skating near by, when one of them fell [through] the ice. Without any hesitation Rocky raced over to where the youngster went down, searched under the ice till he found him and pulled him to safety. As a result of his heroic action the City of Leominster renamed the pond off of West Street to ‘Rockwell Pond’ in his honor.""
Tickets are available at the Mayor’s Office at City Hall, the Veterans Center on West Street, the Leominster Senior Center next door or online at www.leovets.org. Payment can be made at the Veterans Center, by mail to Rocky Ice Out Contest, 100 West St., Leominster, MA 01453, or through PayPal or a credit card at www.leovets.org.
The deadline for entries is March 28. If Rocky goes through the ice before then, the closest guess received no later than 24 hours beforehand will be the winner.",648,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00018.warc.gz,0.975725173950195
4a768fcf-88bb-4487-810f-2455b5f4c7dd,2019-08-24T15:35:56+00:00,2019-02-26,1,https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=10326,"The first Australian single pilot hovercraft is being developed by aerospace engineers at RMIT University for recreational purposes.
This week, the engineers will display their entry at Australia’s mega air show in Avalon, representing Australia in Boeing’s global GoFly competition that is pegged at 1 million US dollars.
According to Dr Graham Dorrington, a RMIT Senior Lecturer who is supervising the development of the prototype, by creating Australia’s largest personal electric vehicle, the group was blazing a trail.
A growing number of global ventures are vying to introduce electric-powered air vehicles capable of vertical take-off and landing so it’s vital that Australia keeps pace with the emerging technologies driving this nascent market.
Dr Graham Dorrington, Senior Lecturer, RMIT University.
RMIT students as well as new graduates of aerospace engineering, who are managing the project, are being advised by Dorrington and other senior scientists.
According to Stephen Hardiman, project lead and final year aerospace engineering student at RMIT University, the team’s commitment, expertise, and enthusiasm were the factors that were driving the project.
We’ve all been here every day and sometimes into the night, working through our summer holidays to get this off the ground. Despite all the hard work and some setbacks along the way, it’s been one of the best years of my life working on this.
Stephen Hardiman, Project Lead and Aerospace Engineering Student, RMIT University.
The new model accommodates a four-rotor drone design upgraded to a craft measuring 8’ long and which is capable of carrying a person in a canopy akin to that of an F1 racing car pod. In addition, the model is constructed from an aluminum frame with walls made of carbon fibers and foam. Wings will be incorporated in the next stage of the design.
According to Stephanie McCulloch, an aerospace engineering student at RMIT University, the craft is designed to take off in a vertical direction, which means it will not need a large space or an airstrip for take-off and landing operations, and it also includes easy controls so that formal training is not required.
The concept is a personal and affordable recreational vehicle that you can race other people in, without the need for hours of flight training or the massive amounts of money associated. It’s taking aerospace into the next generation of personal use vehicles and shows what university students, academics and industry can produce together. These competitions are great for bringing to life the next wave of ideas and innovations. I see all of this work proving useful one day and helping concepts like Uber Air become reality sooner rather than later.
Stephanie McCulloch, Aerospace Engineering Student, RMIT University.
Assisted by RMIT Activator, the researchers launched a start-up called X-Aero, with the goal to commercialize designs for futuristic personal flying vehicles.
“Start-ups are really driving tech innovation, so it’s such an exciting time to be involved - we’re learning skills we will soon require for pursuing a career in aviation,” stated McCulloch.
“Also, having something so wonderful to show for all your learning, at the end of the degree is a massive bonus.”
According to some team members, it had been their childhood dream to fly their very own personal craft—a dream that may soon become a reality.
(Video credit: RMIT University)",709,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00225.warc.gz,0.953122973442078
653ce37c-32d8-4f18-a065-ee30d0c98d27,2018-08-16T06:09:25+00:00,2014-06-01,0,https://js.somethingawful.com/author/111/,"All that expression says to me is ""I am not an actor.""
There's another new Spider-Man movie. Another one, seriously.
We check out some of the more obscure movies on offer.
Another one. Seriously, they just keep making these.
This is all your fault.
We are tending to all your speed needs.
Did anybody even want this sequel?
Watch out, terrorists. There's an old man who used to be really respected here to shoot you.
Dead or alive, you're getting a remake.
The activity is no less paranormal the fifth time around.
Christian Bale is a yo-yo dieter.
Yeah, desolate that Smaug. Or something.
It's still okay to like Ben Stiller, guys.
The taglines claim that it isn't a game, but the title begs to differ.
Old men get their human rights violated for your entertainment.
Tom Hanks finds himself in a compromising position one more time.
Insert poker analogy here.
Oh no, it's a baby in a horror movie. Cue demons.
Variety in quality is the spice of life.
Cinema exploded this week. We're just picking up the pieces.
Spoilers: It's about boners.
Don't get me started on this one.
Keep digging, we're about to hit cinema gold!
Have you ever Star Trekked Into Darkness? Thought not.
This week, Current Releases takes a look back at basically everything.
They're evil... they're dead... and therefore no threat to you.
Spring Break, bitches!
Like we'd believe any magic trick from someone with such terrible hair plugs.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
He's a slayer of giants, not a slayer who is giant.
Ah, what a lovely day to die hard.
Can Walter Hill rekindle the flame of his old successes?
It happened. They finally made the worst movie.",416,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210463.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816054453-20180816074453-00216.warc.gz,0.935131907463074
ad60ba7d-9756-4902-aade-1bdb2105e943,2020-10-25T05:11:18+00:00,2005-03-17,0,https://www.kone.com/en/news-and-insights/releases/development-and-restructuring-program-for-kone-elevators-escalators.aspx,"KONE initiated preparations for a development and restructuring program in October 2004. The program, which is presented below, is aimed at securing long-term competitiveness and improving the profitability of KONE Elevators & Escalators, particularly in the new equipment business.
In order to improve the productivity of its production lines and the cost-competitiveness of its products, KONE is planning to relocate certain supply functions and concentrate production volumes in cost-effective locations. In addition, KONE will continue concentrating certain competencies globally in order to achieve benefits of scale.
The initiatives presented in this plan will be implemented in the new equipment business during 2005-2006 and are aimed at returning KONE to double-digit EBIT margin by 2007. In total, the plans affect almost 450 jobs globally in KONE’s elevator and escalator business. Some 300 of these positions - located in Hattingen, Germany - are affected by the plan to discontinue escalator manufacturing in Germany. The plan to concentrate production of electrification components in two locations would affect about 95 jobs in Bristol in the UK. The rest of the positions are located in production units in the U.S.A. and Finland, and in global KONE functions that are indirectly affected by the initiatives to be taken in the manufacturing functions.
The measures presented in this program target an annual positive impact on operating income of almost EUR 30 million with much of this effect being felt already in 2006.
The total one-time operating income impact of the program, including lay-offs, canceling of long term commitments, impairment losses, and write-offs of fixed assets will be nearly EUR 90 million.
Action Plan for the Escalator Business
To ensure long-term competitiveness globally and strengthen its position in the rapidly growing Chinese market, KONE intends to develop its escalator production as follows:
- The production of commercial standard escalators for Asian and European markets will be concentrated in Kunshan, China. The Kunshan Escalator Factory’s extension will begin production during the first half of 2005, more than doubling capacity and making it one of the largest escalator factories in the world. The expanded Kunshan Factory will also supply heavy-duty transit escalators to China and the rest of Asia.
- The production of escalators designed for public access or special applications as well as customer service support for European markets will be handled by KONE’s production unit in Keighley, United Kingdom. The escalator production unit in Coal Valley, Illinois will continue to supply the North American market. Efforts to reduce costs and improve productivity at both facilities will continue.
- Escalator manufacturing at the Hattingen, Germany plant is planned to be discontinued in 2005. The closing will affect the employment of approximately 300 people. KONE has informed the employee representatives of the Hattingen workforce today and has initiated negotiations pursuant to implementing the restructuring plan.
- After the proposed discontinuation of manufacturing at Hattingen, the facility will carry on as KONE’s Global Escalator Technology and Service Business Center, contributing to the technology leadership and quality of KONE products. The Center’s functions will include research and development for escalators, autowalks and ramps; escalator modernization business development; spare parts business support; and quality, sourcing and sales support.
Action Plan for the Elevator Business
The following changes in KONE’s global elevator manufacturing are designed to streamline the production and concentrate production competencies of electrification components in cost-efficient facilities. Additionally, certain engineering competencies will be concentrated to achieve scale advantages. KONE has informed the local employee representatives and initiated negotiations pursuant to implementing the plan:
- The production of electrification components for standard elevators is planned to be concentrated at the Slimpa Factory in Italy; electrification for elevators requiring customized, extensive engineering is planned to be concentrated at the Hyvinkää Factory in Finland. Manufacturing operations of the Bristol electrification production facility in the U.K. will be transferred to these units. Bristol facility will carry on as KONE’s Global Modernization Electrification Competence Center. Implementation of this plan, involving about 95 jobs in Bristol, is planned for 2005.
- Elevator door production from the Hyvinkää Factory in Finland, with the exception of special heavy-duty doors, will be transferred to the component factory in Ústí nad Labem, the Czech Republic by the end of 2005. The Ústí plant opened in December, 2004. Negotiations underway in Hyvinkää are estimated to lead to a reduction of 13 jobs.
- Production of hoisting machines based on EcoDisc® technology will be moved within Finland from Hämeenlinna to Hyvinkää in order to reduce the number of plants and cut fixed costs. This move will not involve personnel changes as plans call for the Hämeenlinna work force to be transferred to Hyvinkää.
- Plans are being made to start production of elevator doors for North America in a new purpose-built facility to be opened in Mexico in the beginning of 2006. The plan would affect about 10 jobs in KONE’s U.S. operations.
- To ensure the maintenance of a leading market position in India, the capacity of the KONE India Elevator Factory in Chennai will be doubled during 2005 and 2006 in order to meet growing domestic demand.
- Some of the engineering tasks involved in producing customized elevators will be transferred from KONE elevator production units in Hyvinkää, Finland and McKinney, Texas, U.S.A. to KONE India during 2005-2006, and the plan would affect about 20 jobs in KONE’s U.S. operations.
In addition to these initiatives presented in the plan, primarily concerned with elevator and escalator production-line restructuring, several development projects have been initiated to improve the long-term competitiveness of KONE products and services: product portfolio development to enhance competitiveness in Asia and in the U.S. market, intensified alignment of local and global activities, and concentration of certain key activities.
A press conference will be held Thursday, 17 March, 2005 at 4.00 p.m. Finnish time at the KONE Building, Keilasatama 3, Espoo. The presentation material will be available on the company website at www.konecorp.com at the same time.
Executive Vice President, Finance and Information Services
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & IR
For further information, please contact:
Aimo Rajahalme, Executive Vice President, Finance and Information Services,
tel. +358 (0)204 75 4484
Minna Mars, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & IR,
tel. +358 (0)204 75 4501",1410,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107887810.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025041701-20201025071701-00057.warc.gz,0.918727517127991
5467ac4b-a79e-463c-9595-6317fbf3436f,2017-08-24T08:39:55+00:00,2006-04-18,0,http://www.gadsdentimes.com/opinion/20060418/legislature-approves-sales-tax-holiday,"MONTGOMERY - Back-to-school shoppers in Alabama can avoid paying the state sales tax on their purchases if they do their shopping the first Friday, Saturday or Sunday in August.
The Alabama Senate passed a sales tax holiday bill 33-0 Monday, on the final day of the Legislature's regular session, and the House went along with Senate changes in the bill 103-0. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mac Gipson, R-Prattville, now goes to Gov. Bob Riley, who said he would sign it into law.
Twelve states, including Georgia and Florida, already have sales tax holidays for back-to-school purchases, and the Tennessee Legislature recently voted to create one the first weekend in August.
""We have people in Alabama waiting to go across a state line to buy their school supplies. We don't need to disadvantage our retailers,"" Riley said Monday.
The three-day break from the state's 4 percent sales tax covers:
Clothing costing up to $100 per item.
Computers, software or computer supplies costing up to $750 per item.
School supplies and textbooks up to $50 per item.
Other books up to $30 each.
Gipson, who worked for three years to pass the bill, said, ""This is a win-win situation."" He said it will not only help families, it will turn the first weekend in August into a major retail period, similar to after-Thanksgiving promotions.
Merchants' expectations for Aug. 4-6 are high, based on what they've seen in other states.
""The Alabama back-to-school sales tax holiday will be good for Alabama parents, good for Alabama
teachers, good for Alabama retailers and good for Alabama's economy,"" said Rick Brown, president of the Alabama Retail Association.
The legislation allows cities and counties to waive their local sales taxes the same weekend, if they would like.
To make up part of the lost taxes, the Senate gave final approval to a bill requiring companies that have contracts with the state for any type of supplies to start charging state and local taxes on their sales to Alabama consumers.
Elsewhere on the final day of the session:
Stalling tactics threatened to kill a proposed constitutional amendment restricting government's use of eminent domain to obtain private property.
Several House members used delaying tactics throughout the day and into the evening, mostly to prevent the eminent domain legislation from being sent to a conference committee to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The House finally cut off their stalling tactics at 9:30 p.m. and sent the legislation to a conference committee, with 2 1/2 hours to reach a compromise before the midnight adjournment.
The legislation's sponsor, Sen. Jim Preuitt, D-Talladegea, said he hoped a last-minute compromise could be reached.
Leading the filibuster was Rep. James Buskey, D-Mobile, who said he was worried that a conference committee would take out a provision in the House version that exempts the State Docks in Mobile from some provisions of the legislation.
A bill approved by the Legislature will make Alabama voters among the first in the nation to go to the polls to choose Republican and Democratic candidates for president in 2008.
The Senate voted 28-1 to approve the presidential preference primary bill sponsored by Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill. The bill, which passed the House 54-20 earlier this month, now goes to Riley, who has said he will sign it into law.
The legislation - endorsed by the state chairmen of Alabama's Democratic and Republican parties - will move Alabama's primary from the first Tuesday in June to the first Tuesday in February. Alabama will go from having one of the nation's latest primaries to one of the first, coming shortly after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
The Senate voted 33-0 to give final approval to a bill by Rep. Oliver Robinson, D-Birmingham, that would repeal the statewide ban on K-12 students having cell phones, pagers and other electronic communications equipment at school. Under Robinson's legislation, each city and county school board could set the policy for its students.
The bill, which passed the House 93-0 in February, now goes to Riley. If he signs it into law, it will take effect July 1, which will allow school local boards to get their policies in place by the time students return to class in August.
The Legislature enacted the ban on pagers and cell phones when the technology was new, and lawmakers were concerned about the equipment disrupting classes or being used for cheating or illegal activity.
A state senator motivated by the death of his 2-year-old niece in a wreck in 2003 got the Legislature to agree to expand the use of car safety seats by children.
The Senate voted 29-2 Monday to go along with changes the House made in a safety seat bill sponsored by Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery. The bill goes to the governor, who has not said whether he will sign it into law.
State law currently requires children 3 and under to use safety seats. Those 4 and 5 must be restrained, but it can be with adult seat belts. Ross said these children aren't tall enough for seat belts to restrain them properly during a wreck.
His bill requires children to be in rear-facing car seats until they are 1 year old or weigh 20 pounds. Then they must be in forward-facing car seats until they are 5 or weigh 40 pounds, in booster seats until they turn 6, and in regular seat belts until they turn 15.",1163,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133447.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824082227-20170824102227-00459.warc.gz,0.964257657527924
f7c7de5d-4f72-45f9-bb3b-d048a58dcb2a,2013-05-19T02:09:18+00:00,2012-05-24,0,http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/may/24/they-ate-their-sleep/,"The Hunger Angel
by Herta Müller, translated from the German by Philip Boehm
Metropolitan, 290 pp., $26.00
On their way back to the labor camp, the women would scour the heaps of rubble for edible weeds. Their favorite was orach, a spiky-leaved plant sometimes called mountain spinach. Picked in spring when the leaves were still tender, it could be boiled into soup or eaten as a soft vegetable if the prisoners could season it with rare and precious salt—“gray and coarse like gravel.”
While they stood hour after hour in ranks for the evening torment of “Appell,” the counting-off parade, little cooking fires lit by the shift workers glimmered around the edge of the parade ground. When Appell was over, prisoners with something to barter could buy small pots of boiled orach, even on a good day cooked beet or millet. The rest had to make do with the watery cabbage soup in the mess hall.
After a few months, orach takes on a russet color, produces handsome red flowers, and grows woody and inedible. Leopold Aubach, the young narrator of The Hunger Angel, remarks that “the time for eating orach is over. But not the hunger, which is always greater than we are.” He tells us how
there’s a hunger that can make you sick with hunger…. Which is always new, which grows insatiably, which pounces on the never-ending old hunger that already took such effort to tame…. Your mouth begins to expand, its roof rises to the top of your skull, all senses alert for food. When you can no longer bear the hunger, your whole head is racked with pain, as though the pelt from a freshly skinned hare were being stretched out to dry inside. Your cheeks wither and get covered with pale fur…. The red flower clusters were jeweled ornaments around the neck of the hunger angel.
Leopold will spend five years in the domain of the hunger angel, and of the hunger angels settled in the bodies and souls of each fellow inmate in this corner of Stalin’s Gulag. Sixty years later, as an old man looking back on his past before, during, and after the camp, he recognizes that his angel did not desert him when he was eventually released and returned to his Romanian home. Instead, it changed functions to become a “disabler,” a bleak possessing spirit that for the rest of his life has denied him the capacity to show his feelings.
Herta Müller, Nobel laureate, is a writer who releases great emotional power through a highly sophisticated, image-studded, and often expressionist prose. It must have been a combination of her own technical self-confidence and the urge to break silence about the fate of her parents’ generation that led her to attack a project as difficult as this. Celebrated survivors from Primo Levi to Varlam Shalamov have written unforgettable books about life and death in the camp empires of Hitler and Stalin, sometimes as memoir …",651,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973543226718903
315e8e5a-bfa7-412e-a58e-374f064f0103,2022-05-19T21:12:26+00:00,2016-05-10,1,https://www.indonesia-investments.com/id/news/todays-headlines/world-bank-cuts-forecast-for-indonesia-s-2016-gdp-growth-to-5.1/item6602,"10 May 2022 (closed)
Jakarta Composite Index (6,819.79) -89.96 -1.30%
USD/IDR (14,146) -6.00 -0.04%
EUR/IDR (17,335) +57.05 +0.33%
In its March 2016 Indonesia Economic Quarterly, titled ""Private Investment is Essential"", the World Bank cut its forecast for Indonesia's economic growth in 2016 to 5.1 percent year-on-year (y/y) from an earlier estimate of 5.3 percent (y/y). This downward revision was made due to weaker-than-expected global economic conditions, further weakening commodity prices, and limitations to Indonesian government spending brought about by a looming shortfall in tax revenue.
The 'good' news is that the 5.1 percent (y/y) GDP growth in 2016 would mean that Indonesia's period of economic slowdown has ended. Since 2011 Southeast Asia's largest economy has been experiencing a period of economic slowdown due to falling commodity prices, the sluggish global economy, and tight monetary policy (high benchmark interest rate). Last year, Indonesia's economy expanded by 4.8 percent (y/y), a six-year low. However, the World Bank expects growth to pick up this year primarily on improved government spending on infrastructure. Last year, a major improvement in public spending had already been detected. The World Bank stated that central government spending rose 42 percent (y/y) in 2015 on the back of the reduction of fuel subsidies in the preceding year. However, private investment in Indonesia remained subdued.
Although Indonesia's GDP growth is higher than that of most other economies that rely heavily on commodity exports, World Bank Country Director for Indonesia Rodrigo Chaves says the 5.1 percent (y/y) GDP growth would be insufficient to create enough jobs for the three million Indonesians who enter the nation's work force each year. As public spending is limited, the Indonesian government needs to rely heavily on private investment to boost the nation's economic growth. However, in order to attract more private investment, the government needs to commit to sustained and comprehensive regulatory reforms in order to enhance Indonesia's investment and business climate (including reducing the costs of doing business). The World Bank further advises Indonesia to lower capital requirements for logistics companies, implement a centralized review system of trade regulations, and improve institutional coordination and public education to increase access to finance.
The Indonesian government is expected to fail to achieve its tax revenue target in 2016, particularly now there has been a delay in deliberation about the tax amnesty bill. This bill, which would make it attractive for tax evaders to report and transfer their wealth into the country, was estimated to add IDR 100 trillion (approx. USD $7.6 billion) to Indonesia's tax revenue.
Other matters that curtail higher economic growth of Indonesia are moderate growth in consumer spending due to high food price inflation and continuously declining import and export figures. Export revenue of Indonesia declined by 14.4 percent (y/y) in 2015. Meanwhile, oil & gas export revenue fell 42 percent (y/y), coal revenues by 26.5 percent (y/y), and crude palm oil revenues by 19.3 percent (y/y).
As there a no signs that commodity prices will rebound sharply in the foreseeable future, the World Bank advises Indonesia to remain committed to the government's plan to develop the manufacturing and services sectors (especially tourism). The Washington-based institution adds, however, that Indonesia's manufacturing sector has been plagued by a 13.4 percent (y/y) fall in manufacturing exports, while it remains tough to develop Indonesia's tourism industry due to the lack of sufficient infrastructure development. However, by keeping eyes focused on the long-term fruits of having a well-developed manufacturing sector and being a major tourist destination, the government should remain committed to develop these industries.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced today - after releasing its annual Indonesia policy review - that it cut its forecast for Indonesia's 2016 economic growth to 4.9 percent (y/y).",844,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662530066.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519204127-20220519234127-00416.warc.gz,0.949249148368835
b8211dd2-5c0b-4147-af4a-aca95f293822,2022-05-21T14:50:19+00:00,2022-03-02,1,https://therealdeal.com/la/2022/03/02/tcw-group-to-vacate-namesake-skyscraper-in-dtla/,"Asset management firm TCW Group appears ready to move its headquarters out of the 52-story TCW Tower to smaller quarters at City National Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles.
TCW will pull up stakes in 2024, when its lease ends at its namesake home at 865 S. Figueroa St., a 37-story skyscraper built in 1990, the Commercial Observer reported.
The company, with $264 billion assets under management .will relocate operations into about 140,000 square feet in one of the two towers of City National Plaza at 515 S. Flower St..
That’s about 40,000 square feet – or 22 percent – smaller than its current digs, one source told the Observer.
City National Plaza is owned by a joint venture between the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and CommonWealth Pacific Capital (CWP Capital). The joint venture paid $858 million, or roughly $330 per square foot, to acquire the property in the fall of 2013. It’s backed by $550 million from Morgan Stanley.
TCW declined to comment, the Observer said. The owners of City National Plaza did not return requests for comment.
City National Plaza was built in 1972 as the headquarters for Atlantic Richfield Corporation. It has two 52-story, 700-foot-tall office towers containing 2.3 million square feet of office space, and 244,432 square feet of retail space.
[Commercial Observer] – Dana Bartholomew",306,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539131.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521143241-20220521173241-00021.warc.gz,0.919530510902405
56525127-ec22-4aaf-85b5-3011dbac0325,2022-05-24T00:05:34+00:00,2022-04-24,0,https://www.feeder-fishing.co.uk/copy-of-home-5,"feeder fishing with Steve Ringer
video and FREE e-mag
60 MINUTE HD VIDEO - In Steve's second issue we visit Southfield Reservoir to see how he approaches a practise session for an upcoming big match
60 minute HD video
FREE 30 page e-mag
A warm welcome to Issue 2 of Feeder Fishing with Steve Ringer. Steve now presents Feeder Fishing every month and his aim is to bring you the very best information to help take your feeder fishing to the next level.
Visiting a variety of venues, this month it's Southfield Reservoir in South Yorkshire, he will try and work out the best approach on film for you to enjoy.
Steve is the best feeder angler in the world and to have the unique opportunity to share his practice sessions is incredible and we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy filming them and putting them together.",197,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00603.warc.gz,0.943330824375153
a3e6b466-4b82-414a-91a8-8ee174ec8462,2022-05-24T15:27:36+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://www.toolstation.com/lighting/led/c703?shape=Mini+Globe,"Small, powerful, and energy efficient, the humble LED has become the staple source of lighting in and around every UK home. With LED bulbs in all shapes and sizes, and from leading manufacturers like Meridian Lighting, Integral LED and Philips, we’re confident we have exactly the bulb you’re looking for here at Toolstation – many of which are available in packs of 5 or 10 and at friendly low prices.
Warm LED bulbs have long since overtaken classic incandescent bulbs as our primary source of lighting. And with good reason. They’re far more energy efficient and also last much longer – for as much as 30,000 hours – helping you save on your energy bills as well as on the cost of replacing bulbs all the time. Across our range you’ll find everything from GU10 bulbs that fit standard downlights to GX53 circular LED light panels, as well as white LED lights that are ideal for utility spaces and dimmable LED bulbs for added effect in your living areas.
Lamp lighting is the number one way to add some ambience around your home. Across our product selection you’ll find everything from frosted E27 globe bulbs which give off a warm hue, right through to vintage LED filament bulbs that really make an impact.
LED light bulbs
Whatever classification of bulb you need, you’ll have plenty of options when it comes to wattage, temperate and energy efficiency, thanks to Toolstation’s comprehensive selection of LED light bulbs.
Adding this item means your trolley will exceed the 2 Hour Delivery size limitations. This item has not been added to your trolley.",344,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662573053.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524142617-20220524172617-00605.warc.gz,0.9489626288414
c99ce731-a748-4d85-9053-b5664c01800a,2022-05-25T12:49:47+00:00,2018-01-09,0,https://aramajapan.com/news/babymetal-guitarist-mikio-fujioka-passed-away-age-36/84077/,"Mikio Fujioka, also known as Go-Kami (“Little God”) has passed away on January 5th. He was 36 years old. The reports say he fell from an observation tower on December 30, and died in the hospital from the subsequent injuries on January 5th. His wife and Babymetal’s official Twitter account confirmed the news on January 9th.
Fujioka had been touring with the girls since 2013. He was also a member of a band Trick Box. According to Kerrang, in addition to his wife, he was survived by two children.",123,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00014.warc.gz,0.997496366500854
d4315781-b49f-4db3-9cb0-ad8c2e06cd03,2019-08-24T16:34:30+00:00,2019-07-29,0,https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CSGS/profile?p=CSGS,"|Mr. Bret C. Griess||Pres, CEO & Director||1.84M||N/A||1968|
|Mr. Rolland B. Johns||Exec. VP & CFO||668.24k||N/A||1969|
|Mr. Kenneth M. Kennedy||Exec. VP and Pres of Technology & Products||863.1k||N/A||1970|
|Mr. Brian A. Shepherd||Exec. VP & Group Pres of CSG||918.85k||N/A||1968|
|Mr. David N. Schaaf||Chief Accounting Officer||N/A||N/A||1970|
CSG Systems International, Inc. provides business support solutions primarily to the communications industry in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers revenue management and digital monetization solutions, including Advanced Convergent Platform, a pre-integrated hybrid cloud-based platform; and Ascendon, Singleview, Total Service Mediation, and Wholesale Business Management Solution platforms. It also provides customer communications management solutions, such as field force automation, analytics, electronic bill presentment, ACH, etc. for processing voice, SMS/text, print, and email messages; and payment solutions, such as cloud-based integrated suite of products and solutions. In addition, the company offers managed services; and professional services to implement, configure, and maintain its products, as well as licenses products, such as mediation, partner management, rating, and charging. It serves the media, entertainment, government, insurance, and health care industries. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
CSG Systems International, Inc.’s ISS Governance QualityScore as of July 29, 2019 is 2. The pillar scores are Audit: 1; Board: 1; Shareholder Rights: 4; Compensation: 2.",397,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00207.warc.gz,0.908319175243378
96ae5d0d-c6b7-40cd-8951-cd7f0adce534,2020-10-24T23:04:29+00:00,2013-07-01,0,https://myhalalmeatstore.com/,"My halal meat store
During the summer of 2007, two friends Ayaz and Hanif were having a chat in a coffee bar about quality meat products and how it was difficult to get finest halal meat in this part of the town.
As the conversation went along an idea sparked in their mind about opening a meat shop in Schaumburg, IL.
The name My halal meat was decided on the spot and both friends did a detailed research in planning and obtaining the infra structure and quality meat products for the people of Schaumburg and the surrounding communities.
They decided not to compromise on quality yet sell them at a reasonable price.
Thus My Halal meat was born.
My halal meat recently celebrated its sixth anniversary and continues to serve the community with finest quality meat products and a great customer service.
Both Ayaz and Hanif have been in the food industry for over 15 years and plans to expand more in the near future .",195,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107885059.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024223210-20201025013210-00488.warc.gz,0.980496287345886
1b59e341-fc47-4325-888e-6b347341bcde,2017-08-24T01:35:38+00:00,2017-08-24,0,http://www.splashfashions.com/ae/en/Men/Regular/Bottoms/Jeans/SPLASH-Lee-Cooper-Distressed-Jeans-in-Skinny-Fit/p/3012153GREYMEDIUM,"For a comfy every day wear get your hands on these chic pants and make a statement. With belt loops, distressed patterns and a fine appeal, these pants are a wardrobe essential.
- Type : Casual
- Design : Plain
- Care Information : Machine Wash
- Model Stats : Chest 99 cms, Waist 81 cms, Hips 94 cms, Height 183 cms
- Fit : Skinny
- Material : 98% Cotton, 2% Elastane
- Model Wears : 30",106,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126017.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824004740-20170824024740-00340.warc.gz,0.71931529045105
ec1b0a8a-2e1b-4658-8721-7d3b99b021bd,2013-06-19T19:13:24+00:00,2013-06-19,0,http://www.snuffstore.co.uk/wilsons-whisky-snuff-p-715.html,"Wilsons Whisky Snuff
Wilsons Whisky snuff is a fine dry-ish snuff, brown in colour and with the unmistakeable scent of whiskey.
Although whisky snuff has a little tickle when first used, it will be suitable for both beginners and expert snuff takers alike. As with all snuffs, take a small pinch to begin with until you find the correct level for you.
Whisky and spirit flavoured snuffs are a firm favourite with many snuff takers and we're pleased that Wilsons have added a whisky flavoured snuff to their range.
Try Wilsons Whisky snuff today.
Wilsons Whiskey Snuff",146,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.916891872882843
a8b6cc70-b0b7-4525-b50a-4b0daf0e1aad,2020-10-20T17:29:15+00:00,2020-05-13,1,https://www.iom3.org/iom3-content-cafe/feature/2020/may/13/we-need-a-science-first-factbased-approach-fire-safety-bill,"We need a ‘science first’, ‘fact-based’ approach to Fire Safety Bill
Unfortunately, no current conversation about timber is complete without comment on the government’s catch-all ban on combustible materials. At the end of 2018, as part of fire safety improvement measures intended to prevent another blaze like that seen at Grenfell Tower, the then Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire, introduced new legislation banning combustible materials on new high-rise homes above 18m.
In late 2019, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick called for the height threshold for combustible materials to be lowered to ‘at least 11m’ (or typically anything less than three storeys in height). The second reading for the Fire Safety Bill – with the lowered threshold included – took place on 29 April. A date for the committee stage is yet to be announced and the consultation deadline has been pushed back to 25 May 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Architects, builders, suppliers of structural timber and many others passionate about the good that wood can do for this country, are now rightly concerned about what the future holds for multi-storey timber buildings. All while many other countries are passing legislation to promote the use of more timber products in construction.
While there is no question that the Fire Safety Bill is intended to enhance occupant safety, we must not lose sight of timber’s inherent qualities as a building material – benefits that have made it an increasingly popular choice for structural components. It is easy to transport and modify, it minimises noise pollution on site and it’s highly cost-efficient to produce and use.
We as an industry are calling for an objective investigation - one led by facts and science rather than emotion. To quash the use of wood in structures over 11m would be to fly in the face of the sustainable evolution that the construction industry and, more importantly, the nation so desperately needs. Indeed, in its November 2019 report, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the timber industries said: ‘Without using safe structural timber we cannot meet these targets [the government’s net zero carbon commitment] and we will fail to address the construction industry’s contribution to climate change.’
A more sustainable, decarbonised economy can allow the planet to repair itself. The building materials we choose can be a key contributor to this. To choose timber is to choose a building material that would not adversely impact or inconvenience the way we live our lives – a material that can help build a more sustainable future. Responsibly managed forests have always been the earth’s air cleaners and will continue to be so forever. And a by-product of responsibly managed forests? High-quality, sustainable timber – timber that has already taken from the air and locked away decades’ worth of harmful CO2.
Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects – one of the UK’s leading proponents of timber construction – summed it up earlier this year, ‘The reality is the evidence says we’ve got 12 years left to sort out climate change – we’ve got to start changing the way we do things. And we’ve got to keep pushing the message about the safety of CLT. It’s not only quicker to put up – it’s safer, healthier, lighter and locks away carbon.’",695,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874026.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020162922-20201020192922-00532.warc.gz,0.933338522911072
caccc098-b169-49e4-9edc-8ce2a408a718,2013-05-18T07:20:36+00:00,2013-03-15,1,http://www.manchesterjournal.com/headlines/ci_22840116/train-study-chugs-along,"The Vermont Agency of Transportation and the New York State Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Federal Railroad Administration, have been conducting a New York - Vermont Bi-state intercity passenger rail study to identify opportunities to provide access to passenger rail service to parts of southwestern Vermont, including Manchester.
Costa Pappis, from the Vermont Agency of Transportation, said that they are still working on the process of preparing cost estimates of the project.
""We are currently in the process of preparing cost estimates based on preliminary engineering,"" he said during a recent telephone interview. ""Both the remaining alternatives have the same capital costs.""
The two alternatives to bring rail service to southern Vermont both include bringing train service into and through Manchester.
Alternative one would expand service to southwest Vermont by adding a train to run between Albany and Rutland. It would include stops in Bennington, Manchester and Rutland and would operate one round trip per day.
Alternative two proposes rerouting the existing Ethan Allen service through southwest Vermont. It would operate between Rutland and Albany with stops that include Bennington and Manchester. In this alternative the existing Adirondack service
""Our consultant has submitted the preliminary engineering documents,"" said Pappis. ""After they make a few technical revisions, we will forward these to the railroads for their review. This process should be completed towards the end of spring.""
The capital cost of the project is estimated at $118 million. However, after the revisions to the preliminary engineering documents have been made there will be much more refined cost estimates, said Pappis.
The purpose of this screening process is to identify the preferred alternative. The initial set of proposed alternative was narrowed down from six to the two that are left, plus a no-build alternative.
The analysis of these alternatives include ridership, capital costs, and operations costs among others.
Restoring passenger rail service to Manchester, which ended more than a half-century ago, would be an asset for the community, said Manchester Select Board Chairman Ivan Beattie.
""One thing that this area has been missing compared to other towns in the State is some form of public transportation,"" Beattie said. ""We don't have buses here anymore. We don't have an interstate that runs through and train service is something that people tend to enjoy traveling on.""
Pappis said that the ridership number was estimated at 8,800 riders yearly by a consultant of the project who takes in factors such as the area and population of a town, as well as comparing other towns that are similar the Manchester with the area in order to find estimated riders numbers. He also said that the price per tickets are currently unknown at this time and are hard to figure out with so many factors such as travel time and distance.
The project study area covers Rutland and Bennington Counties in southwestern Vermont and adjacent areas in eastern central New York, including Schenectady, Saratoga, Washington, Rensselaer, and Albany Counties. In order to minimize environmental impacts, the study will focus on opportunities for providing intercity passenger rail service along existing established rail corridors.
According to the website, the purpose of this project is to identify and establish an efficient, intercity passenger rail-based transportation link that will benefit unserved and under-served communities in southwestern Vermont and eastern central New York. The project would also provide a key link along Vermont's ""Western Corridor,"" with improved connections to passenger rail services in New York and beyond via Albany and Schenectady, N.Y.
For more information on the study, visit www.ny-vt-passengerrail.org.",744,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966005980968475
7306b687-9104-4010-87d0-756921e665d3,2019-08-20T13:37:28+00:00,2019-06-20,1,http://smarthighways.net/autonomous-does-not-equal-driverless-jaguar-land-rover/,"The group strategy director of Jaguar Land Rover believes the popular view of autonomous cars as ‘driverless’ is wrong, and that the driver will remain in ultimate control of his company’s products.
Adrian Hallmark told the website Fleet News that “autonomous technologies will instead work in the background to assist and enhance them.”
Speaking at a new technology showcase, he said cars will become safer not because they are driving themselves, but because the driver is supported by a plethora of unobtrusive new features.
“Technology will help improve traffic flow and air quality, reduce congestion and reduce the potential for accidents,” Hallmark added.
He pointed at new technologies such as Roadwork Assist – which were demonstrated to Fleet News in a Jaguar XE – that uses a forward-facing stereo camera to gently and accurately guide the car through narrow roadworks, detecting cones and barriers, centralising the vehicle between them.
The system is the first step in fully autonomous driving through roadworks, says JLR.
The website adds that the next stage of car-to-car autonomous technology will be co-operative adaptive cruise control, increases the level of autonomous driving by enhancing current radar technology with a direct connection to the car in front; when they brake, the car behind immediately does the same, reducing following distance.
JLR director of connected technologies and apps Peter Virk believes it could be possible to connect cars to traffic lights and other infrastructure, so inner-city drives can be timed so they don’t stop at red lights.
“In less than three years, I predict that every car sold in the world will be a connected car,” he said.",349,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315544.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820133527-20190820155527-00420.warc.gz,0.955871403217316
c2a41598-2e7e-475d-ae01-0439157df3af,2019-08-17T14:33:31+00:00,2018-11-01,1,https://gizmodo.com/ai-can-now-fake-fingerprints-that-fool-biometric-id-sca-1830464777,"Artificial Intelligence researchers used a neural network to create fake fingerprints that could be a hacker’s dream tool.
Five researchers, led by Philip Bontrager of the New York University engineering school, developed what they have called “DeepMasterPrints.” The Guardian reported that the research was presented at a biometrics conference in Los Angeles in October. As the Guardian points out, their report, published last month, explains how the fake prints they generated could replicate more than one in five real fingerprints in a biometric identification system.
The paper suggests this technique could be used to create replicated fingerprints that could be used in something akin to a “dictionary attack,” but instead of software that runs millions of popular passwords through a system, a DeepMasterPrints-inspired tool could run several fake fingerprints through a system to see if any prints match any accounts.
The key to their research is that many fingerprint scanners only read a portion of a print, and some different fingertip portions have more in common than others.
So when researchers created new prints by feeding a set of real fingerprints into a generative adversarial network, they only needed to create prints that matched certain portions of other fingerprints—the portions that tend to have commonalities.
It’s unlikely someone could use such a technique to break into your phone (as one report suggests). “A similar setup to ours could be used for nefarious purposes, but it would likely not have the success rate we reported unless they optimized it for a smartphone system,” Bontrager told Gizmodo. “This would take a lot of work to try and reverse engineer a system like that.”
But if a hacker accessed a system with many fingerprint-accessible accounts, they’d have a good shot at cracking into a few of them.
Bontrager and his team want their research to inspire companies to step up fingerprint-security efforts. “Without verifying that a biometric comes from a real person, a lot of these adversarial attacks become possible,” Bontrager said. “The real hope of work like this is to push toward liveness detection in biometric sensor.”",456,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00329.warc.gz,0.951211333274841
1afb22f6-ea91-4253-8896-2c0b2f97ac3f,2017-08-21T20:10:56+00:00,2007-03-17,0,http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-03-17/entertainment/0703160449_1_dear-abby-jane-odd-jobs,"Dear Abby: My sister, ""Jane,"" and I are both in our mid-50s. Jane has had numerous affairs over after her third divorce, and she was involved in an ""intimate relationship"" with a terrific man, ""Will."" Jane broke up with Will, and she's presently engaged to be married to a very nice man.
I dated Will several times before he and Jane became involved. We weren't intimate at that time, and we started seeing each other again over the last month. This time we have fallen in love.
Jane is upset that Will and I are together, and she says I have ""betrayed"" her. She is worried about having her former and current lovers present at family gatherings, and our parents are also concerned.
Abby, I have always been the ""good girl"" in the family and bowed under their pressure, but my relationship with Will is more than I could have ever imagined. I don't want to give up my future happiness just to make my sister and my parents more comfortable. My adult children have all met and approve of Will and our relationship, but Jane and my parents won't budge. Any suggestions?
-- Wants Will in Walla Walla, Wash.
Dear Wants Will: Perhaps it's time to stop being the ""good girl,"" begin acting like a woman who knows what she wants, and confront the double standard in your family. If your sister was ""sophisticated"" enough to have serial affairs, and your parents have been so worldly that they have turned a blind eye to it, then they should all be adult enough to realize that you are entitled to your happiness too.
Although this might make for some awkward first few family gatherings, as grown-ups, everyone should be able to get past it. But if they can't, you are going to have to decide whether you want this man, or to be a people-pleaser for the rest of your life.
Dear Abby: I am a 48-year-old woman who lives with her fiance. My mother doesn't like him because she thinks he is not taking care of me in the manner to which she feels I should be taken care of.
My fiance is a former felon with nine convictions. He is attending college full time. He has not found a job, but he does odd jobs to help around the house. This is causing a rift between my mom and me. What can I do?
-- Caught in the Middle in Michigan
Dear Caught in the Middle: Because you did not mention what your fiance has been convicted of, nine times over, it is hard to determine whether he will ever manage to get a job and do more than help you around the house. If that is still all right with you a few years down the road, then who am I to say you should live differently? But please don't blame your mother for wanting you to have, at the very least, an equal partner.
Confidential to My Irish Readers:
""May the most you wish for be the least you get.
""May the best times you've ever had be the worst you will ever see.""
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.",714,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00481.warc.gz,0.988329768180847
3f99754e-58b2-40a0-8b5e-5d0f770a120d,2013-05-18T17:18:10+00:00,2012-05-17,1,http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/gold-price-051720124,"Gold Price Jumps, Cancels This Week's Loss as Eurozone Stocks Slump Again, Chinese Demand Moves to Outstrip India - 17 May 2012
UPDATED 17:00 GMT: The Gold Price jumped Thursday lunchtime and again in afternoon trade in London, erasing this week's 3.3% drop to 5-month lows against the Dollar as the Euro slumped to new 2012 lows and stock markets tumbled yet again.
For Eurozone investors – where the European Central Bank confirmed it has ceased working with some Greek banks because it believes them to be insolvent – the Gold Price jumped above last week's closing level to trade 3.3% higher from Wednesday's low.
Portugal's Diario Economico newspaper claimed that a delegation from the ECB, IMF and European Union will visit Lisbon to assess its €78 billion bail-out and discuss contigency plans should Greece quit the single currency.
Greece today swore in an interim cabinet of academics, lawyers and diplomats, pending fresh elections on June 17th.
France's new finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, today said the socialist government of Françoise Hollande will not ratify the European Union's fiscal pact agreed by 25 out of 27 member states last December.
New US jobless data for last week came in worse than expected. The Philadelphia Fed's Manufacturing Survey gave a reading of minus 5.8 vs. analyst forecasts of +10.
""Relative strength [in the Gold Price ] is approaching extreme oversold territory,"" said the latest technical note from bullion bank Scotia Mocatta after Wednesday's close, ""but there are no warning signs yet of a change in trend.""
""Gold is definitely in oversold territory, and there should be some good buying interest around the low in December,"" Bloomberg quoted Dong Zhuying at Haitong Futures Co. early Thursday.
""Paring its losses near key support at $1525,"" says Ed Meir at Intl FC Stone, the Gold Price likely saw ""a decent amount of short-covering"" by bearish traders after the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting minutes showed fresh quantitative easing was discussed.
European stock markets fell again Thursday, losing value for the 8th session out of 11 in May so far and taking Madrid's Ibex 35 index down to a fresh 9-year low.
US Treasury bonds and German Bunds reversed an early dip, nudging 10-year borrowing costs for both governments back towards record lows.
Crude oil held near a 6-month low after new data Wednesday showed US energy stockpiles more glutted than any time since 1990.
""I believe gold will become a haven again, especially if you see fragmentation in the Eurozone,"" said the World Gold Council's Marcus Grubb to Bloomberg TV this morning, launching market-development group's latest Gold Demand Trends report.
""Because then you're going to get currency depreciation, you may get inflation in some countries, deflation in others...and you'll see gold's attributes as a hedge come to the fore.""
In the first quarter of 2012, global Gold Investment demand rose 13% by weight and 38% by Dollar value from the Jan-March period last year, says the report. In the jewelry sector, ""Gold is underpined now by two large markets and China is playing catch up to India,"" says Grubb, also interviewed by Reuters on Thursday morning.
""Per capita gramme consumption rates are rising in China.""
Acknowledged as the leading authority on global demand and supply analysis, the World Gold Council says that China's gold demand again beat India in the first quarter of 2012.
""You're going to see China become the largest gold market overall by the end of this year for the first time,"" Grubb believes. ""It's worth remembering that growth rates are still in the 7-8% range. So people are getting wealthier, and they will continue to Buy Gold strongly we believe.""
Beijing last month halved the rate of import rates on gold jewelry. So far in 2012, India has quadrupled its Gold Bullion import tax.
After last weekend's cut by China's central bank to the reserve ratio requirement – easing credit by enabling commercial banks to lend out more of the cash deposits they take – the State Council of China said Wednesday it will spend CNY36.3 billion ($5.7bn) over the next 12 months subsidizing household purchases of large electrical items, fuel-efficient cars and energy-saving lightbulbs.
Despite the cut in the reserve ratio requirement, however, lending by China's four largest banks has ""been flat so far this month"" says the Shanghai Securities Journal.
Both the central and commercial banks were net sellers of foreign currency in April, the People's Bank of China said this week, indicating an outflow of capital.
China's 12-month trade surplus has halved from its peak above $300 billion of early 2009, according to data cited by the Financial Times.
Buy Gold at the lowest prices, store it in the safest Swiss vaults for $4 per month, and sell your property for maximum value when you choose using live online market BullionVault...
The London Gold Market Report is the daily market review from BullionVault, the world's largest physical gold and silver market for private investors. A full member of professional trade body the London Bullion Market Association, BullionVault publishes the LGMR every day that the market is open, bringing you insider comment and analysis from the very center of the world's $240 billion-a-day physical gold trade, and putting the latest gold price action into its wider financial and economic context",1158,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.942991316318512
14a6bf04-3eb2-4064-a44a-ba87f5b83b39,2015-04-02T09:49:41+00:00,2013-01-11,1,http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boeing-statement-on-faa-joint-review-on-787-186467521.html,"Boeing Statement on FAA Joint Review on 787
EVERETT, Wash., Jan. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] is confident in the design and performance of the 787. It is a safe and efficient airplane that brings tremendous value to our customers and an improved flying experience to their passengers.
The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily. Its in-service performance is on par with the industry's best-ever introduction into service – the Boeing 777. Like the 777, at 15 months of service, we are seeing the 787's fleet wide dispatch reliability well above 90 percent.
More than a year ago, the 787 completed the most robust and rigorous certification process in the history of the FAA. We remain fully confident in the airplane's design and production system.
Regular reviews of program and technical progress are an important part of the validation and oversight process that has created today's safe and efficient air transportation system. While the 787's reliability is on par with the best in class, we have experienced in-service issues in recent months and we are never satisfied while there is room for improvement. For that reason, today we jointly announced with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the start of a review of the 787's recent issues and critical systems.
We welcome the opportunity to conduct this joint review. Our standard practice calls on us to apply rigorous and ongoing validation of our tools, processes and systems so that we can always be ensured that our products bring the highest levels of safety and reliability to our customers.
Just as we are confident in the airplane, we are equally confident in the regulatory process that has been applied to the 787 since its design inception. With this airplane, the FAA conducted its most robust certification process ever. We expect that this review will complement that effort.",391,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427132827069.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323174707-00109-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.923108398914337
c07102d8-bc19-4633-a662-519737702636,2019-08-19T00:25:39+00:00,2018-03-19,1,https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-19/nsw-government-unveils-new-metro-line-driverless-trains/9562722?smid=Page%3A%20ABC%20News-Facebook_Organic&WT.tsrc=Facebook_Organic&sf184895158=1,"NSW Government unveils new driverless metro trains as testing begins in Sydney
From the outside they look a lot like any other train, but if you peer in the window there is a big difference — fewer seats and no driver.
- Sydney's new Metro trains are being tested at Rouse Hill
- They have less seats, but much more standing room than their double-decker counterparts
- The driverless trains will run every four minutes during peak periods
By next year, Sydney's new driverless trains will be ferrying tens of thousands of passengers on the Northwest Metro line between Rouse Hill and Chatswood.
The first three trains are being tested on tracks at Rouse Hill, and were today unveiled by the New South Wales Government.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian inspected the new trains this morning and said it was a thrill to see how the project was progressing.
""To actually have the opportunity to walk on this future train, to see what customers will be experiencing on the new rail line is actually really uplifting, because we've never had a service like this before in Australia,"" Ms Berejiklian said.
The new metro trains will run every four minutes in peak periods, before the line is eventually extended under the Harbour to the CBD and, eventually, to Bankstown by 2024.
Less seats but more room
The carbon steel and stainless steel trains are 132 metres long and weigh 240 tonnes.
Inside the single-deck trains there are fewer seats and much more standing room than a traditional Sydney double-deck train.
It means some passengers may need to stand for up to 40 minutes for the journey from Rouse Hill to Chatswood.
The Premier defended the decision to have fewer seats, arguing it increased capacity and would cut travel times by making it faster for people to get on and off at each station.
""There are sufficient seats for everyone who needs one,"" Ms Berejiklian said.
""Some people will be going all the way to the final destination but others will be hopping on and off during the journey.""
Meanwhile, thousands of commuters who catch the existing double-decker trains from Macquarie Park to Chatswood are preparing for the line to be shut down for up to seven months later this year to allow conversion of the tracks to handle the new metro.
Ms Berejiklian said the inconvenience would be worth it.",492,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314353.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818231019-20190819013019-00494.warc.gz,0.968198299407959
7df5b9ff-8b03-40f6-9e26-dd4cffcc6c48,2016-07-30T11:14:26+00:00,2013-09-30,1,http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2013/09/korea-national-oil-to-shop-newfoundland-refinery,"Korea National Oil to shop Newfoundland refinery
By BEN LEFEBVRE and RYAN DEZEMBER
The Come By Chance oil refinery in Newfoundland, which has attracted a series of owners over the years, is once again for sale.
Korea National Oil Corp., which inherited the 115,000-bpd refinery when it bought Harvest Energy in 2009, has hired Deutsche Bank to sell the facility, according to people familiar with the matter. It is unclear how much, if anything, the refinery could fetch should the company succeed in finding a buyer.
Harvest spokeswoman Kari Sawatzky declined to talk specifically about the refinery, which has changed hands four times since 1986, but said the company has been evaluating the different parts of its business since late 2012 to see what might go up for sale.
""We're looking at all of our opportunities right now,"" Ms. Sawatzky said.
Harvest lately has reported deepening losses at the facility. The company's refining operations, which are centered on Come By Chance, lost $106.6 million in the first half of 2013, compared to a $92 million loss during the same period the year before.
Another factor that could give would-be buyers pause: Come By Chance's design makes for difficult operations. Built four decades ago, the facility is only accessible by barge, a more expensive mode of transport than pipelines -- and one that also isn't foolproof in eastern Canada's choppy weather. As the refiner's own website says, ""It's not the most hospitable place for an oil refinery.""
If the logistical impediments are bad, the market outlook is possibly even bleaker. North American gasoline demand is stagnating as more fuel-efficient cars hit the road. Analysts consider flat fuel sales in the US as the best-case-scenario for the next several years, with the US Energy Information Administration predicting fuel consumption actually will fall slightly next year.
The North Atlantic basin, Come By Chance's home, needs to shed refining capacity in excess of 1 million bpd to get the market back in balance, Bill Klesse, CEO of Valero, said during a recent meeting with investors.
The best hope may be for a potential buyer to emerge with a plan to deliver relatively cheap US crude to the facility instead of the more expensive oil from the Middle East and Europe that it traditionally has processed. Others have done that. Valero, the largest independent refiner in the US, is providing its Quebec facility with south Texas oil via barges. Carlyle Group, which last year took control of Sunoco's Philadelphia refinery, is attempting to connect that facility with supplies of cheap US crude, too.
The higher prices of imported oil prompted Sunoco to plan the closure of the Philadelphia refinery before Carlyle, prodded by White House officials, decided to invest in the facility's reconfiguration.
The owners of a 650,000-bpd refinery in the US Virgin Islands weren't so fortunate. After failing to find a buyer for the money-losing refinery, co-owners Hess and Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA) shut it down last year. It is now used to store oil.
""If the company can get (Come By Chance) sold at any price, it would be a positive,"" said Brian Youngberg, a senior analyst at Edward Jones.
Dow Jones Newswires
From the Archive",703,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00256-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961561739444733
3e8c999a-a317-4a08-894e-48144f361765,2019-08-25T17:41:11+00:00,2013-08-25,0,https://www.thebodyserve.com/home/cnn-says-serena-needed-to-be-rescued-by-a-man,"CNN credits Serena Williams' phenomenal success since her shock loss in the first round of the 2012 French Open to finding a man who ""rescued"" her from a career low. In ""Down and out in Paris: The man who rescued Serena Williams"", author Chris Murphy pinpoints the hiring of coach Patrick Mouratoglou as the key ingredient to her career resurgence and dominance over the past 18 months. Although Serena had won 13 Grand Slam titles and was, bar none, the best player of her generation, she was at a crossroads - though she had the desire and the talent, she couldn't do it on her own.
But she needed help and, while still in Paris, she found it in the shape of coach Patrick Mouratoglou, with whom she has been linked romantically.
Not only did she find a new coach to help her on court, but she scored a man to help her off it too! What more could a girl want?
Tennis is an individual sport, unique in that players must figure out strategies on their own and adjust on the fly. Though many are heavily reliant on coaching time-outs and look to their boxes for help, Serena has always bucked that trend and done it by herself. While many crumble on court, Serena steels herself to victory more often than not. Thus, it's curious that Murphy conjures the sexist Disney formula of the damsel in distress - needing to be rescued by the knight in shining armour - as her missing ingredient. Who should get the credit for her prior 13 Slam titles? Richard Williams?
In defence of her coach, all the quotes attributed to him in the article spoke to Serena's personal strength and determination as the main reason for her ""comeback."" It's clear that this was CNN's doing and not Mouratoglou angling for his place in the spotlight. Chris Murphy succeeded in perpetuating archaic gender stereotypes while demeaning the accomplishments of one of the greatest athletes we've ever seen. The article is also symptomatic of the current media climate where sensational headlines are used to grab attention at the expense of adhering to basic journalistic standards. Murphy should be ashamed and embarrassed.
As is often the case when “the media” discusses the Williams sisters, there is a coded and seedy element of racism. We cannot overlook that Serena is black and Mouratoglou is white. This fact adds another dimension that complicates CNN’s article. How is it that the most successful black, female athlete in history needs a white man to rescue her? It’s a stale narrative that has been commonly used to stifle the agency of black women, to discredit their achievements. Yes, you have done well, but only because you have had the benefit of the white man’s help.
What makes this all so absurd and problematic is that this depiction of Serena is laughably false, and used only to concoct a convenient narrative in support of lazy storytelling.
Sisters are doing it for themselves!
Serena fought back today via her Twitter account crediting her success to God and not anything having to do with the help of a man. She has the man on her side!",660,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330786.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825173827-20190825195827-00499.warc.gz,0.972835063934326
3ef5afd1-44c8-45fa-ad8d-2e5960a03fb3,2017-08-16T23:44:26+00:00,2010-08-19,1,https://civsourceonline.com/2010/08/19/illinois-to-build-largest-solar-field-in-the-midwest/,"Illinois has received funding to build the largest solar field in the Midwest. Wanxiang America Corporation will get more than $4 million in a federal stimulus grant to develop the field. Wanxiang will manage the project through Rockford Solar Partners a joint venture with Chicago-based renewable energy developer, New Generation Power.
The field will support 28 megawatts of power initially and will support 62 megawatts when everything is complete. The new facility, known as The Rockford Project, will save more than 40 million gallons of water annually and will reduce carbon dioxide emissions at a rate of more than 10,000 tons annually, or about 28 tons each day. Solar panels will be sourced locally from the Wanxiang’s Rockford Plant.
Along with funding for this project, Governor Quinn also signed two bills into law that promote the use of solar power. House Bill 6202, will amend the Renewable Energy Portfolio standard to include a requirement for utilities to purchase 0.5 percent of its power from solar sources by June 1, 2012 and increase that amount each year. House Bill 5429, will allow individual homeowners to construct solar energy panels on their homes starting in 2011.
“Solar energy is the wave of the future, and it is important that our public utilities and homeowners are able to more easily increase their use of solar energy,” said Governor Quinn. “We must do everything we can to increase our use of solar energy, which will help us protect natural resources and reduce our reliance on traditional energy sources, such as foreign oil.”",318,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102757.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816231829-20170817011829-00409.warc.gz,0.954133749008179
4fdb450d-dfbc-465f-8760-ee2d0ff48d28,2013-05-18T17:49:27+00:00,2013-05-18,0,http://toybook.com/tag/cj-products-llc/,"Barney is back with new licensees for products that will attract both young and old fans of the popular television show. Braha has obtained the license to create Barney plush puzzle mats while a Barney-inspired pillow will join the line of Pillow Pets from Ontel Products Corporation and CJ Products, LLC. Rasta Imposta is designing an adult Barney costume to complement the child’s costume they already produce. Yoostar is adding Barney & Friends to its library of content, allowing users to insert themselves into video footage from the show. Other apparel and accessories licensees include At Full Speed, Bio World, Classic Imports, Concept One and Planet Sox.",134,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.920777559280396
d503b28a-243b-4a37-bfce-665bef6c87b2,2016-07-27T21:09:41+00:00,2008-10-05,1,http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2008/10/crdoba-argentina-temple.html,"Announced yesterday in General Conference, the Córdoba Argentina Temple becomes the second temple to be built in the country. Currently there are 70 stakes and 39 districts in the country. The new temple will likely serve around 20 stakes and 10 districts in northern Argentina. This makes Argentina the first Spanish speaking country in South America to have more than one temple. It may come as a surprise considering other Spanish speaking countries in South America have more members than Argentina, like Peru and Chile which have over 440,000 and 540,000 members each but only have one temple. At the end of the year for 2007, there were 363,000 members but the Church reported yesterday that now there are over 375,000.
One of the major differences between Argentina and other Spanish speaking countries in South America is that Argentina has systematically seen growth in new congregations being created (an increase of 50 congregations in the past seven years). Other countries have seen a decline in the number of congregations during this time or a little increase in Church units. The only other countries that are Spanish speaking in South America which have seen a substantial increase in congregations since 2000 is Venezuela and Paraguay.
Returned missionaries have reported that Mendoza, Argentina is a likely city to receive a temple in the near future as well. Currently members travel across the Andes to Santiago, Chile to participate in temple ordinances. The new temple in Cordoba also might be a likely temple for members in this city to worship before a closer temple is built. A small temple is also possible in the southern part of the country considering it could serve over 10 stakes and a few districts.
On the above map, yellow squares represent stakes and green squares represent districts.",346,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00024-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974184513092041
9000d32a-8aa1-4e71-a6c2-52d4f1d359fd,2022-05-22T22:46:27+00:00,2020-09-15,1,https://prod.musicweek.com/digital/read/tiktok-s-paul-hourican-on-the-future-of-going-viral/081119,"It looks like the long-running saga of TikTok’s US ownership is coming to an end. Yesterday, Music Week reported that TikTok had rejected Microsoft’s bid to purchase the app’s US operations from ByteDance, and a partnership with US software firm Oracle now seems to be the most likely outcome.
""We can confirm that we've submitted a proposal to the Treasury Department which we believe would resolve the administration's security concerns,"" said a TikTok statement. ""This proposal would enable us to continue supporting our community of 100 million people in the US who love TikTok for connection and entertainment, as well as the hundreds of thousands of small business owners and creators who rely upon TikTok to grow their livelihoods and build meaningful careers.""
It remains to be seen whether that will placate President Donald Trump’s concerns over the security of TikTok users’ data. The US government is expected to review the proposed deal later this week. But, with the deal unlikely to cover TikTok UK, here on this side of the Atlantic it’s business as usual…
And business is good. Very good, in fact, with the video-sharing app passing 100 million monthly active users, as reported by Music Week yesterday. And global head of music Ole Obermann gave Music Week an exclusive update on how the company’s licensing deals are progressing, while TikTok Music is shortlisted in the Music Consumer Innovation category at the 2020 Music Week Awards.
Meanwhile, those 100m users are helping to break records more effectively than anything else right now. Last week’s Music Week TikTok cover story enjoyed unparalleled access to the way the app works for music – and the man right at the heart of that is head of UK music operations, Paul Hourican.
So, just prior to the latest developments in the US, Music Week sat down with Hourican to discuss where TikTok goes next…
Why has TikTok blown up this year?
“Well, it’s a brilliant product, genuinely best in class and revolutionary in terms of how it serves content and learns what people like. But, first and foremost, it’s about the users, the artists and the music. They wanted a way to communicate and express themselves creatively that they weren’t finding anywhere else. Like all platforms, lockdown has obviously helped, more people have more time on their hands. But it was happening way before that, because it genuinely sparked a revolution in how people want to communicate.”
Has the success and the subsequent influx of big names to the platform changed the dynamic?
“I don’t think it has. What makes TikTok is that it’s about the authenticity of the platform and the content that really inspires songs to fit. When you look at someone like Drake, what he did really well [with Toosie Slide] – and that’s why he is where he is and is such an amazing artist – is that he really understood the culture of TikTok, in order to create something that fans and users on the platform really gravitate to and lean into. It’s the same with lots of artists on the platform. Dua Lipa makes brilliant TikToks. She’s really leaned in to creating videos for the community as well as being one of the world’s biggest artists. There’s room for everyone and what TikTok is all about is engagement, so if you’re authentically communicating your brand as an artist on TikTok, you’ll have a brilliant chance of success.”
What do you want from the industry?
“We want to be the best partners we can be. We’re in a really good place in terms of the relationships we have and it’s testament to the team we have across Europe and the UK who do a great job. So [tell us] how we can get in on creative concepts and really create interesting moments so music is on the platform, available to our users. Tell us how can we grow our business together.”
If you’re authentically communicating your brand as an artist on TikTok, you’ll have a brilliant chance of success
Paul Hourican, TikTok
What do you think of the competition from Instagram Reels, Triller etc?
“Honestly, we don’t look at them. Competition is always going to occur and we welcome competition. But we’re really just focused on our users and the music community that’s on TikTok. It’s all about, ‘Are the users having a brilliant experience on TikTok and are they creating amazing content for our users?’”
Do the constant rumours about a sale/ban have any impact on what you do?
“No. We’ve got a job to do with music. Every day you wake up and it’s a delight to open up your inbox, see what’s popping, what’s happening on the platform, who’s exciting, who’s happening. There’s always stuff happening in the music space so we’re just focused on that.”
Where do you want TikTok to be in five years’ time?
“TikTok is perfectly set up. It is an amazing offering to the user and growing TikTok into [a long-term] business has got to be one of the aims in next five years. A crucial part of that is, we need to innovate around music and continue to support artists and rights-holders to create the best experience for our users and, crucially, connect the artists and the fans together. So, in five years, I want TikTok to be where it is now – at the epicentre of music culture and discovery.”",1215,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662550298.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522220714-20220523010714-00012.warc.gz,0.953443050384522
f50525e6-ce72-4f4c-a0b4-31cbbf2afde1,2022-05-28T19:04:42+00:00,2022-01-31,1,https://novascotiabusiness.com/,"5 Industry trends shaping business in 2022 - and how Nova Scotia companies can capitalize
We asked our NSBI sector strategists to share their insights and help identify the potential key industry trends we see for 2022 and beyond.
Parlee Manufacturing: How a Liverpool company entered the business of life-saving
Glenn Parlee, owner of Parlee Manufacturing, wanted to create quality, Canadian-made products suited to Atlantic Canada's environment. Now he's established his company as a preferred supplier of medical equipment packs and bags for several organizations across the country.
Atlantic Canada certification program connects international companies to local landowners
For landowners, becoming part of the Atlantic Canada Certified Site network is an official acknowledgement your site is suitable and development-ready for investors.
Virtual Nova Scotia
Our skilled labour force balances work life with an easy outdoor lifestyle; people love living here. Find out how setting up in Nova Scotia can benefit your business.
Population, workforce, and economic growth are converging
Growth is necessary to ensure businesses in Nova Scotia can find the right candidates and the economy can continue to strengthen.
We need sustainability at the core of business to safeguard future generations
As the world comes together to fundamentally shift its approach to issues including our environment and inclusivity, organizations like NSBI are connecting businesses with innovative and sustainable solutions.
Jonas Software Solutions is ‘Building the Future’ in Nova Scotia
Opening an office in a new city and hiring a team is a tall order under regular circumstances, never mind during a global pandemic.
EnPoint: Aiming to change 1 million lives through mentorship
Chantal and Julia Brine want to bring the value of mentorship to the world through EnPoint, whose mission is to change one million people’s lives.
13 Stories to Celebrate
Whether it’s launching Braille product labels or receiving a Clean Label Project certification, Nova Scotia businesses continue to make an impact within our communities and around the world.
Global tech leader Virtusa looks to drive digital transformation in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is gaining global recognition for a highly educated workforce, tech-friendly environment, and neighbourly business style. Add in an envious ocean lifestyle, and it’s no wonder global tech leaders like digital engineering company, Virtusa, are choosing Nova Scotia.
Shivani’s Kitchen: Exporting spices and sauces to appreciative customers
When the pandemic closed Shivani Dhamija’s restaurant, she launched a food production plant in West Hants.
Outcast Foods: Making beautiful food out of ugly produce
The founders of Outcast Foods know that beauty is more than skin deep.
Talkatoo, Don't Type: A tech startup uses Voice AI to help veterinarians
Shawn Wilkie, CEO of Talkatoo, has spent the past several years working to create solutions that help veterinarians in their day-to-day operations.
Electrifying tomorrow: Nova Scotia emerges as a global hub for disruptive clean technologies
NOVONIX Battery Technology Solutions is a prime example of what’s possible when you combine academic innovation with a connected and invested local business environment.
Opus Fund Services finds itself at home in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s particular business culture is in sync with Opus Fund Services’ foundational pillars.
A digital peacock feather in her cap
Anita Kirkbride’s mission is to empower small business owners to take charge of their social media marketing.
QRA Corp: An ‘accidental entrepreneur’ changes the game
QRA Corp has carved out a unique space in the market for natural-language processing software that uses machine reasoning.
Passive Design, Active Results: An architecture firm helps fight climate change
Passive Design Solutions offers stock home building plans and custom architectural home design services to create energy efficient, low-maintenance homes.
Trust the Label: a truly organic approach
“Trust the Label” is now the driving force behind our Nova Scotia food and beverage campaigns.
Watch: Laurel Broten discusses leadership and innovation
NSBI President and CEO Laurel Broten discusses with Atlantic Business how her career experience has shaped her leadership and her advice for developing an innovation culture.
LeeWay for Change: A marine company scales up during COVID
The Halifax-based marine services company successfully entered a new market, and, as a result, had its biggest year yet.
Agri-food With Andy: #ThinkExport with Cape Breton Oatcakes
We're celebrating agri-food in Nova Scotia with Andy Hay, The East Coast Kitchen, and he's making Cape Breton Oatcakes!
Video marketing is critical for your business, and NSBI can help
Video marketing plays a critical role in today’s business environment - develop the right video and get it in front of the right audiences.
10 Women Entrepreneurs Doing Business in Boston
Meet 10 incredible women who are doing business in Boston.
Taking the Fuss out of Fizz: A story of innovation
Guy Tipton and Cyril Meagher, founders of BrewWizz, develop innovative products that are improving the craft brewing process all over the world.
12 Reasons to Celebrate
From teaching literacy to helping fight the pandemic, Nova Scotia businesses have been making a difference.
2020: A Year of Pivots
As we kick off 2021, we’re reflecting on 2020: the highs and lows, the lessons learned, and the uplifting business community stories we shared throughout the tumultuous year.
From passion to product: Sohma Naturals brings natural skincare to the world
A manufacturer based out of Digby, Nova Scotia, Sohma Naturals has been producing organic skincare products since 2018.
REDspace in Nova Scotia: Looking back on two decades of business
Looking back on two decades of business. 20 years later, REDspace is a company of 200+ people and is trusted by some of the biggest brands in the world.
We the East: How a Halifax company has infiltrated sports media
Tidal League is making waves in the sports media podcasting industry.
EUCCAN: One Week, One Province: Nova Scotia
NSBI participated in the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Canada (EUCCAN) 'One Week, One Province' virtual event, featuring Nova Scotia.
Innovating the next generation of maritime artificial intelligence in Nova Scotia
A Canadian innovation is a global success story — GSTS provides air traffic control for ships around the world using powerful artificial intelligence.
The technologies for farming under glass (and growing 3 million pounds of tomatoes)
Den Haan Greenhouses is a high-technology greenhouse business producing more than 3 million pounds of tomatoes and a million cucumbers sold throughout Atlantic Canada every year.
Through 8 engaging video modules, you will create an E-commerce roadmap that lays out a clear plan for immediate action and long-term success.
Supporting supplier diversity is just good business
Supplier diversity allows companies to pitch their business to some of the largest organizations in North America and Europe.
Report: How to Spur Innovation in Nova Scotia Post-COVID-19
Innovation is critical to Nova Scotia’s recovery from COVID-19. Click to read the report (PDF).
Safe Harbour: Why investment in Nova Scotia is continuing during COVID-19
Since the beginning of the COVID-19, many businesses have chosen to invest and create jobs in Nova Scotia. These investments are the first signs of a change in the way businesses manage their workforces and investment decisions and also the first signs that Nova Scotia is well-positioned to attract investment despite the chaos.
Top 10 tips for getting the most from your first virtual trade show (plus a key takeaway!)
Thinking about participating in a virtual trade show? We've put together our top 10 tips to help you prepare.
The Jeff Dahn effect: superstar alumni and a growing regional battery cluster
Lithium-ion batteries are critical to the future of green energy and Nova Scotia is going all in to support and grow its cleantech economy.
Hope Blooms: Planting a seed, harvesting a dream
The Hope Blooms journey has gone from a small plot of land to the Dragon’s Den television show to one of the largest grocery retailers in Canada.
Bringing Hill’s Jamaican Jerk Sauce to the world one bottle at a time
Many companies new to exporting get overwhelmed when they first start looking to sell their products and services outside the province. It can be especially challenging when that product is food.
Scotians Global Advisors Program
Scotians is a global network of individuals passionate about Nova Scotia. Passionate about our economic success and the entrepreneurs that drive it.
Ecommerce in COVID-19: Local businesses rise to meet these new challenges
We sat down with Aaron Whitman, the President and Chief Strategist of Able Sense, a small Halifax ecommerce agency with big talent.
Larch Wood: Exporting boards beyond borders
Today, that company— Larch Wood— sells wooden end-grain cutting boards around the world, counting Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table as clients.
Alpha Dog Games: the acquisition of a successful indie studio in Nova Scotia
In October, video game giant Bethesda Softworks acquired Halifax indie studio Alpha Dog Games. By any measure, this is a great success story for a Nova Scotian business.
Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster: an FAQ for Nova Scotia companies
The Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster funding is available for Nova Scotia companies. Here's what you need to know.
Igniting entrepreneurship across Nova Scotia
Let’s say you need help growing your business, or you have an idea for starting one. Where do you start? You know there are support organizations that can help – but which one? With so many options, it can seem overwhelming at first – especially if you live in a rural area where offices might be geographically spread out. This is where Ignite Labs comes in.
Nova Scotia filmmaker on mission to strengthen diversity
Behind the scenes of the Aboriginal Shadow Program with Hank White, Nova Scotia film industry veteran.
Live and Work in Nova Scotia
Short commutes, affordable homes, endless coastal beauty, and career opportunity — Nova Scotia has it all.
A booming business, on their terms: How Side Door digitally disrupted the music industry
When one sets out to digitally transform the way entertainers and hosts find each other (think Uber for music shows), you’d assume a strong technology background would be a big part of the equation.
8 reasons why Nova Scotia chocolates are as unique as they are yummy
There are some very interesting things that contribute to the uniqueness of Nova Scotia chocolate.
Leveling the FinTech playing field
No longer the exclusive playing field of traditional institutions, Financial Technologies – or FinTech – is an exponentially growing market driven by rapidly changing technologies and customer expectations.
What's Happening in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Industry Sectors
Businesses of Diversity
Nova Scotia Businesses of Diversity are growing their revenues and forging new partnerships through participation in Supplier Diversity procurement programs.
Nova Scotia’s oceans industries are diverse and produce innovative products and services in Marine Defence & Security, Marine Transportation, Fisheries & Aquaculture, Energy, and Ocean Science.
Nova Scotia’s thriving seafood companies, fish harvesters and processors export the highest quality fish and shellfish from the North Atlantic worldwide.
Information Communications Technology
Nova Scotia is a leading data analytics hub in Canada, supported by globally competitive companies and world-renowned academic institutions.
Nova Scotia has everything you need to produce a wide range of crops, including forages, fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Nova Scotia benefits from the largest tides in the world, a wealth of minerals and resources, and researchers that are attracting global attention.
Nova Scotia attracts globally recognized companies working in naval defence, aerospace, shipbuilding, sonar and sensing, cyber security, and training and simulation.
Take notice of the financial services industry in Nova Scotia - a strategic nearshore location for middle & back office operations.
Nova Scotia boasts one of the most cost-competitive jurisdictions for video game development in North America and Europe.
Film & Television Production
Make your next film in Nova Scotia. Located on Canada's Atlantic coast, Nova Scotia offers diverse and spectacular locations.
Nova Scotia's clean technology industry attracts considerable international attention, with its expertise in energy monitoring related technologies and access to natural resources.",2636,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663019783.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528185151-20220528215151-00019.warc.gz,0.911588847637176
61d0adf0-6c1a-4af3-8e20-b6c4a91f997f,2015-03-31T20:46:09+00:00,2013-01-27,1,http://polizeros.com/2013/01/27/compressed-air-hybrid-coming-from-peugeot/,"This is certainly thinking outside the box, a compressed air hybrid! Let’s hope it becomes feasible and popular. It would make a great city car.
PSA Peugeot Citroen is working on a drivetrain that would hybridize a conventional engine with compressed air in one of the automaker’s B-segment compact hatchbacks. The vehicle, which could go into production as soon as 2016, would include a hydraulic pump that allows the car to run in all-gasoline, all-air or combined (aka “hybrid air”) modes.",121,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00110-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967881321907044
77b905cc-39b2-4f34-8481-f0ccd9da475f,2013-05-25T05:54:46+00:00,2013-05-25,0,http://www.kchistory.org/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOBOX1=Lewis+and+Clark+Expedition&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP2=all&CISOBOX2=explorers&CISOFIELD2=subjec&CISOROOT=all&t=s,"Local History Index
Culture & Society
Local History Index
add to favorites
Search results for:
""Lewis and Clark Expedition"" explorers
Search current collection(s) again
Refine your search
Thomas C Danisi
William Rufus Jackson
1807 Patrick Gass Journal
Sargeant Patrick Gass, a sargeant with the Lewis and Clark expedition, published the first journal after the return of the expedition. The Library acquired the 1807 edition in 1953 with the $35,000 purchase...
A Map of Lewis and Clark's Track, Across the Western Portion of North America
Facsimile of map showing Lewis and Clark's journey ""from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean by Order of the Executive of the United States in 1804, 5 & 6."" Indian tribal areas are labeled, streams, rivers,...
A Rare Old Book Reveals an Unsung Hero in Earliest Kansas City History
Illustration, and biographical article about Sacajawea (ca. 1785-1812 ca.), a Shoshone Indian guide on the Lewis and Clark expedition and wife of French fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau (1759-1840 ca.)...
Because of Them
Editorial praising the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and recounting the triumphs and struggles of their journey.
Before Lewis and Clark: Documents Illustrating the History of the Missouri, 1785-1804
Excerpts from letters of French, English, and Spanish emissaries, with edited commentary, concerning the exploration of the Missouri River area before the Lewis and Clark expedition, starting with 1785....
Beyond Lewis and Clark
Article describes a number of explorers who travelled the West in the employ of the U.S. Army after the Lewis and Clark Expedition. These include Zebulon Pike, Stephen H. Long, John Charles Fremont, and...
Title continues, ""David Thompson, Thomas Jefferson and the Corps of Discovery traveled similar paths throughout their careers.""
In 1797-1798, David Thompson, a fur trader and cartographer for the...
Exploration and Diplomacy: George Champlin Sibley's Report to William Clark, 1811
Illustrations, photos, map, and biographical article about George Champlin Sibley, or George Sibley (1782-1863), factor of Fort Osage in Jackson County, and his report to William Clark (of the Lewis and...
Gass's Journal of the Travels of a Corps of Discovery, from the Mouth of the Missouri through the Interior Parts of North America
Book review of ""A Journal of the Voyages and Travels of a Corps of Discovery"" by Patrick Gass, ""one of the Persons employed in the Expedition."" Description of their voyage from Saint Louis along the Missouri...
Give Or Take A Lie Or Two
An article about the conflicting stories of both filmmakers and historians when it comes to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Blomquist gives examples of several Hollywood films that attempt to portray the...
Historic Spots or Mile-Stones in the Progress of Wyandotte County, Kansas
Excerpts from the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition about their encampments at the present site of Wyandotte County, Kansas, at the mouth of the Kansas River.
In the Footsteps of the Third Spanish Expedition: James Mackay and John T. Evans's Impact on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Author discusses how the Third Expedition of the Missouri Company, conducted in 1795 on behalf of the Spanish by James Mackay and John T. Evans, influenced Lewis and Clark in their preparations for the...
James MacKay: International Explorer
The authors of this article state that the discovery of manuscript collections in both the New York Historical Society and the Illinois State Depository help to give evidence of MacKay's role in the country's...
John Newman: ""A Man of Uncommon Activity and Bodily Strength""
A member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition or Corps of Discovery, John Newman is primarily remembered for ""his court martial and subsequent expulsion from the Corps of Discovery."" The article relates the...
Journal of a Voyage Up the River Missouri; Performed in 1811
Book review of ""Journal of a Voyage Up the River Missouri; Performed in 1811"" by Henry Marie Brackenridge, or Henry Brackenridge (a lawyer turned writer) about the book author's trip up the Missouri River...
Lewis & Clark's Neglected Stretch of Discovery
Article about the neglect in historical writings of the Missouri discoveries found in the Lewis and Clark expedition, with photos and illustrations.
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
File contains newspaper clippings, magazine and newsletter articles concerning the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial celebration 2004-06.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Entire issue of the magazine devoted to aspects of the Lewis and Clark expedition, with numerous illustrations, articles, and maps.
Lewis and Clark Print
Framed (26 in. x 32 in.) and matted print entitled ""The Departure From the Wood River Encampment, May 14, 1804"" by Gary R. Lucy. Alternate title: ""Lewis & Clark; the Journey Begins.""
Lewis and Clark Resources
A bibliography of materials related to Lewis and Clark held by the Kansas City Public Library.
add to favorites
14 West Tenth St. | Kansas City, MO 64105 |",1114,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.826341867446899
7f56ecd9-58dd-4a47-a7bb-fdb556b30365,2020-10-22T02:03:11+00:00,2018-02-17,1,https://sputniknews.com/world/201802171061760194-us-china-world-order-kurz/,"""The power centers are shifting, the US is still a strong state, but they are moving away from international politics. China is filling this political vacuum,"" Kurz said.
The EU, according to Sebastian Kurz, plays an increasingly smaller role, as after a few wrong decisions, the European community has been involved in internal conflicts ""between the North and the South, the East and the West.""
For small states the chancellor had a comforting message in store. He stated that these trends mark the beginning of changes in the geopolitical situation in the world, in which ""large states no longer absorb the small ones. Now fast states swallow those too slow to act,"" he added.
Nord Stream 2
Austria views the Nord Stream 2 in a very positive way, though it does not mean that it is not necessary to take into account the objections of other EU partners, said Kurz, adding that ""the EU needs a more close level of cooperation.""
In November 2017, the European Commission proposed to amend the EU gas directive in order to ensure that rules of the EU energy legislation, including third-party access, tariffs, partial ownership and transparency, extend to offshore portions of import pipelines, which would concern the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The Nord Stream 2 project involves the construction of two strings of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.",289,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878662.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021235030-20201022025030-00615.warc.gz,0.952380478382111
d8f93f44-96c2-4db7-ba56-284175162b80,2016-07-30T11:06:30+00:00,2013-10-19,0,http://dailyranger.com/story.php?story_id=9672&headline=Rams-whip-Pokes,"Oct 19, 2013 - The Associated PressLARAMIE -- Colorado State coach Jim McElwain may have been the only person who expected his 2-4 team to come to Wyoming's home field and absolutely dominate in a 52-22 win Saturday.
""I did. I did,"" McElwain said, explaining that instilling a winning mentality in a team is important. ""...That's what you should be striving for.""
Kapri Bibbs rushed for career-high 201 yards and three touchdowns, and Garrett Grayson passed for 219 yards and three scores as the Rams dominated the Cowboys in a rivalry that has spanned more than 100 games.
CSU (3-4, 1-1 Mountain West) ended a four-game losing streak to Wyoming (4-3, 2-1) and prevented the Cowboys from going 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1998.
The Rams defense held the nation's No. 10 offense in totals yards per game average in check and forced three turnovers.
McElwain said keeping the ball away from Wyoming's spread, up-tempo offense and getting early stops against it was key.
""If you can limit the amount of opportunities they have to get going and get the NASCAR race car going ... we did that with our offense,"" he said.
Bibbs, whose previous career-high in rushing yardage was 147, had TD runs of 7, 59 and 9 yards on 29 carries. He averaged 6.9 yards per rush.
Grayson completed 18 of 23 passes and had one interception. He was 15 of 18 in the first half when CSU gained a 24-7 lead. He completed TD passes of 24 yards to Kivon Cartwright, 22 yards to Austin Gray and 34 yards to Donnell Alexander.
Brett Smith led Wyoming, completing 21 of 36 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown.
Dominic Rufran caught seven of Smith's passes for 135 yards, including a 71-yard score.
CSU dominated the game from the outset, gaining a 21-0 lead as the Rams offense shredded the Cowboys defense for 289 total yards and averaged 6.4 yards per play in the first half.
Grayson said it was important for CSU to set the tone early on in the game and give the Rams defense time to rest.
""We knew their offense was explosive, we knew their quarterback is one of the best in the country, so we didn't want to give them any chances,"" he said.
By contrast, Wyoming's offense, which entered the game averaging 518.8 total yards a game, struggled. At one point early in the second quarter, CSU had outgained the Cowboys in total yardage 220-34.
""Play after play the defense was just swarming the ball,"" CSU defensive lineman Curtis Wilson, who had five tackles and two sacks, said.
The last time Wyoming gave up 50 points against the Rams was on Oct. 14, 1922, in a 60-0 defeat.
""That was ugly,"" Cowboys coach Dave Christensen, who had never lost a game to CSU since taking over at Wyoming. ""...We made just a boatload of mistakes, both sides of the football.""
Smith, who entered the game ranked third in the nation with an average of 379 total yards a contest, had just 78 passing and rushing yards in the half.
The Cowboys ended the game with 416 total yards, and Smith with 258 total yards.
""We went out there and basically, all around, we got beat up,"" Smith said. ""We couldn't execute on either side of the ball and they did. It's the worst feeling in the world, the worst I've ever felt in my entire career of sports.""
Get your copy of The Ranger online, every day! If you are a current print subscriber and want to also access dailyranger.com online (there is nothing more to purchase) including being able to download The Mining and Energy Edition, click here. Looking to start a new online subscription to dailyranger.com (even if it is for just one day)? Access our secure SSL encrypted server and start your subscription now by clicking here.",865,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00263-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980684459209442
bc76a4bb-d3cd-48db-b5d8-5e96c55f22e1,2017-08-17T21:19:01+00:00,2012-05-18,1,https://verdict.justia.com/2012/05/18/denying-clemency-for-draconian-sentencing-based-on-bad-information,"On May 14, 2012, The Washington Post’s headline reported “Inmate still in prison after facts kept from Bush team.” The story, which was based on material developed by the public-interest investigative journalism of ProPublica, is devastating. The online edition’s headline was more specific: “Clarence Aaron was denied commutation, but Bush team wasn’t told all the facts.”
Because presidential clemency is completely discretionary, it cannot exactly be called an injustice when a president fails to act to free an inmate or save his life. But here, we have a situation where bad information was given to the White House, at a time when that White House was interested in possibly commuting an individual’s over-the-top sentence. This is a case that calls out, at a minimum, for fairness and honesty, neither of which we have seen a glimmer of, as of yet, in this case.
To be more specific, President George W. Bush’s staff was given bad information by the Pardon Attorney, the official in the Department of Justice who advises the Attorney General and the White House about clemency. In the wake of the reporting about this situation, the silence by both the Attorney General and the Pardon Attorney is striking, and deeply troubling.
Here are the facts, in brief, based on reporting by The Washington Post and ProPublica:
Three Life Sentences for One Defendant, With No Hard Evidence Supporting Them
Clarence Aaron, at the time of his arrest, was a 23-year-old college senior and first-time offender. Yet Aaron was convicted and given an extraordinary three life sentences without a chance for parole for his role in abetting a non-violent drug deal, although Aaron himself was neither a seller, nor a buyer, nor a supplier. All of the other people who were involved in the crime—people who had made careers in the drug business—pled guilty, pointed their fingers at Aaron, and received comparatively light sentences, all of which have now been served. Meanwhile, Aaron, the person with the least involvement in the transaction, is serving his three life sentences, as a model prisoner.
The true facts from this 1993 drug transaction are difficult to ascertain. The U.S. Attorney’s Office that prosecuted Aaron relied on co-conspirators who turned on Aaron to gain their freedom. These co-conspirators, however, proved to have testified falsely. Yet when discussing this case, it seems that the office at issue is incapable of disavowing its own witnesses, despite the fact that those witnesses today admit that they lied about Aaron in order to get lesser sentences for themselves.
Aaron and his case first came to public attention in 1999, when PBS’s “Frontline” did a story entitled “Snitch.” Its report addressed the manipulation of defendants who face harsh mandatory minimum sentences when caught violating federal drug laws. Aaron claims that it all began when he foolishly and unwittingly became involved in two drug transactions, through a cousin. But when everyone was caught, the others knew how to play the game, whereas Aaron did not. Thus, the others gave the government the testimony it wanted, and made deals at the expense of Aaron, who refused to testify for the government. The government claims, apparently also based on the testimony of the cooperating witnesses—that is, Aaron’s partners in crime—that Aaron perjured himself as well. (Aaron’s situation is explained in these powerful video summaries, in which his attorneys report how he was given three life sentences despite the complete lack of any hard evidence of the amount of cocaine involved—a grave omission, given the fact that it was the amount of cocaine at issue that triggered Aaron’s life sentences. The only other evidence against him was the testimony of discredited and untruthful witnesses.)
Other aspects of the case against Clarence Aaron would be striking even if that case had been based on unimpeachable evidence (which it surely was not). Granted, crack cocaine can be a horrible blight; it is an evil drug. Still, to send any young person to prison for a lifetime based on a non-violent drug transaction is inhumane and malicious, less than civilized, and absurdly heavy-handed. To do this based on conspicuously dubious testimony, as occurred here, only makes the punishment all the more troubling. Meanwhile, such Draconian drug sentencing has done no more to lessen drug trafficking than capital punishment has done to end murder. Indeed, many experts believe that such absurd sentences have created more problems than they have resolved.
Aaron’s Pursuit of Clemency
Clarence Aaron has been in prison almost two decades. Because of the “Frontline” story, others noticed his case, and in 2001, he was encouraged to file a petition for presidential clemency. The man who prosecuted him, U.S. Attorney David York, the top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Alabama, opposed reducing his sentence. And the U.S. Pardon Attorney, Roger Adams, recommended that the Bush II White House turn down the request.
But Aaron’s clemency request was not turned down. Rather, it languished at the Bush White House, along with hundreds of other such applications, until White House Counsel Fred Fielding arrived at the end of Bush’s presidency and began looking, in 2008, for clemency cases worthy of presidential consideration. The White House then requested updated information on the Aaron application.
Fortunately, Deborah J. Rhodes, a new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, did not follow her predecessor’s lead. Rather, she supported Aaron’s petition. In a letter to a new U.S. Pardon Attorney, Ronald Rodgers, Rhodes wrote in November 2008, “I have reviewed various documents submitted by Clarence Aaron in support of his petition for commutation of sentence and agree that Aaron should receive a commutation of his life sentence.” Ms. Rhodes, who does not question the government’s case against Aaron, suggested that his triple life sentence be commuted to the equivalent of a 25-year sentence, which with credit for good behavior, ProPublica reports, would lead to his being released in 2014.
Most strikingly, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Butler Jr., who had sentenced Aaron, had changed his mind. While Judge Butler had earlier taken no position regarding clemency for Aaron, he responded to a motion by Aaron’s attorney with a very different perspective. Judge Butler wrote, “Looking through the prism of hindsight, and considering the many factors argued by the defendant that were not present at the time of his initial sentencing, one can argue that a less harsh sentence might have been more equitable.” Then, in a subsequent telephone conversation with a staff lawyer in the Office of the Pardon Attorney, on December 2, 2008, Judge Butler flatly declared that Aaron “should be granted relief” by the president immediately. Contemporaneous notes of the conversation with Judge Butler were sent by email to Pardon Attorney Ronald Rogers.
What did the Pardon Attorney do with this rather important new information? Nothing. Rather, he resubmitted his 2004 recommendation for a denial of clemency for Clarence Aaron, without even mentioning the changed position of the U.S. Attorney’s Office that prosecuted Aaron, the recommendation of the sentencing judge, or additional new information regarding Aaron’s exemplary record in prison and his acknowledgement of his misconduct. In fact, the record shows that the Pardon Attorney provided the White House with false and misleading information in an email, claiming (among other misrepresentations) that the U.S. Attorney thought clemency was “about 10 years premature” for Aaron, when in fact Ms. Rhodes thought very much otherwise, taking a position that, as noted above, would have led to a 2014 release.
How can these actions by Pardon Attorney Ronald Rodgers be explained? It appears that they cannot, for he has refused to discuss his actions publicly.
Reactions to Rodgers’ Actions
In digging out this information, ProPublica spoke with the former Associate White House Counsel who handled the Aaron case in 2008, Kenneth Lee. When Lee was given the information developed by ProPublica that the Office of Pardon Attorney had received, and was able to contrast that information with what the White House had been told at the time, Lee was “aghast.” Indeed, Lee noted that the Pardon Attorney “had presented the views of [U.S. Attorney] Rhodes and [Judge] Butler ‘in the least favorable light to the applicant.’”
Lee further noted—due to the racial bias in the work of the Office of Pardon Attorney that ProPublica has uncovered, such that “whites were nearly four times as likely to be pardoned than minorities”—relying on the Pardon Attorney in the case of Aaron, who is African-American, had been a mistake. “Had we known before about a potential subconscious bias in the [Office of the Pardon Attorney],” Lee said, “we would have liked to look at the actual letters in the Aaron case rather than rely on the Pardon Attorney’s summary.”
While Lee could not speak to what President Bush would have done had a fair assessment of Aaron’s case for a pardon been sent to him, I can tell you, from my personal experience of sending a president such recommendations, that the president accepts without question the recommendation of his White House Counsel. Associate White House Counsel Kenneth Lee says that had he known the true facts, he would have recommended Aaron’s commutation to President Bush.
Debra Saunders at the San Francisco Chronicle, whose only interest in the case is journalistic, has been recommending that Aaron’s sentence be commuted for over a decade. She explains what should happen in this case, given these latest revelations: “The president has the power to pardon when the criminal justice system overreaches. The court put away a first-time nonviolent offender for life with no chance of parole, but because the feds do not want to admit they made a mistake, [Pardon Attorney] Rodgers and his ilk have been willing to let a young man rot in prison for the rest of his life. The only question is: Will [President Obama] let him get away with it?”
We’ll see. The pardon issue is not likely to be addressed by President Obama before the November 2012 election. (Mitt Romney was one of those rare governors who never granted any pardons, not one.) But if this issue not cleaned up after the election, it will make a travesty into a tragedy for Aaron. His case has supporters, including both conservatives and liberals, all over the world. Hopefully, the Pardon Attorney will one day explain why he refused to provide the full information regarding Aaron’s case in 2008, and why he has insisted on acting without mercy in the case of Clarence Aaron.",2299,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104160.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817210535-20170817230535-00504.warc.gz,0.977806448936462
4465162d-ba21-4491-9d4f-7478029afcaf,2017-08-17T01:39:35+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://jeffnolan.com/wp/tag/tablet/,"Along with the Microsoft Surface, this is the closest to a laptop replacement that I have experienced. My decision to go with the iPad Pro is based on form factor and app selection on each platform. Admittedly, I am already attached to Apple, relying on my Macbook Pro as the center of my professional existence, but I have not had a similar affection for iOS devices and this iPad is the first one I have owned. I use an Android Nexus device and lean heavily on Google Apps.
The Surface is bulkier and at some point, it just becomes a laptop derivative rather than a tablet that you can use as a laptop. Subtle but different. Microsoft does have pretty good coverage for must-have apps but as the #3 platform in a duopoly market, Windows isn’t getting the best apps first and some, e.g. Airbnb, are still missing.
One of the compelling aspects of the iPad Pro is the Pencil and that has been a completely altering experience for me. I’ve had a stylus before, with a Samsung Galaxy tablet and I know the Surface also gets good marks for their stylus, but the Apple device is just operating at a different level and Apple does deserve credit for packing so much in it. However, it’s not perfect and the Lightning connector sticking out of the end along with the cap that is just begging to get lost is a departure from the usual Apple approach to tight usability.
While not a true pencil-on-paper experience, it lacks the tactile friction that you experience while writing, it is remarkably better than one would expect for dragging a stylus on glass. I now use the iPad and Pencil for notetaking, very rarely going back to my paper notebook. This is a big deal for me because I have to write things down to remember them and that is why I don’t use my laptop for notetaking, but now I can have the best of both. Effective handwriting recognition would be the bow on the box, giving users good search technology on handwritten notes.
Not all note taking apps are the same when it comes to the Pencil experience, and in my evaluations, I settled on Notability. This app offers a good tool palette and organizational features, and I noticed a distinctive improvement in the Pencil experience with this app versus others. Notes Plus, Notepad+, and Paper are also good apps but I prefer the feel of writing with Notability, and the eraser tool is just better on Notability. Shapes and graphics, as well as annotating graphics, is a pleasure on the iPad with Pencil, and I wouldn’t overlook Microsoft Office for Pencil capabilities.
Outside of drawing apps, there isn’t a lot of interesting apps for the pencil, and I hope that more developers take up this challenge to use the input device for something other than the obvoious things.
The Apple Smart Connector is a true killer feature and most people won’t realize how much better this is than a Bluetooth connector until they use it. The primary problem with Bluetooth is that it is always connected, even when you don’t want it to be. A keyboard needs to be connected while using it but when I flip it down to use it purely as a tablet I want the keyboard disconnected so I can use the on-screen keyboard. Also noteworthy is that Bluetooth devices need power while Smart Connector devices draw power from the connection.
I tried the Logitech keyboard and the Apple, preferring the Apple for a couple of reasons. The first is that the connector is more reliable than the Logitech, which I noticed would act strangely if the iPad was not firmly seated in the connector dock. The Logitech keyboard also doubles as a case, and a very good one, but it adds significant weight and mass and is actually heavier than a Macbook Air. The Apple keyboard and cover is lightweight while the keyboard itself is actually quite nice to type on, my only complaint is that the keys are not backlit.
The large screen on the iPad Pro is welcome and unwieldy at the same time. Reading a book on the Kindle app results in a presentation that is so absurdly large that it is comical, while streaming video content never looked better. The split screen feature in iOS is actually useful with a large screen and I now have a handy second screen for my laptop thanks to an app called Duet. Not all is perfect with the large screen, I have two specific downsides from experience and the first is that it is so large that you almost always have to manage it with both hands. I’ve noticed that people tend to stare at me when I am using it at a tablet while on the keyboard it just looks like another laptop. I would also highlight that Apple makes terrible use of the large screen with the standard 5×4 and 4×5 icon layout.
There are two major #fails with the iPad Pro and iOS, and one of these is easily fixed today. The included 12w power supply included with the 12″ iPad Pro is capable of charging the iPad, eventually, but not if you are also using the iPad Pro. With all of the juice consumed by the device and that large screen, none is left for charging the battery.
Apple sells a 29w charger that is capable of fast charging the battery, even if you are using the iPad. $49 is what that charger will set you back, arguably the charger that should have been included with the iPad Pro to begin with. You will notice that this charger has a USB-C port on it and I will note that it does not include a cable. After buying a USB-C to Lightning (because we need yet more cable standards) cable that was not MFI-certified and being told by the iPad that is was no bueno, I had to fork over $25 for the Apple cable. $25 for a cable. It makes you wonder if someone at Apple is deliberately trying to piss off their cusotmers with the price of their necessary accessories. The combined cost of the charger and cable that should have been included with the iPad Pro to begin with adds almost 10% in cost to what is already the most expensive iOS device that Apple offers. This is really unacceptable.
My second complaint is that iOS is not organized around a universal file system and when you have devices with 128-256gb of storage being used for business apps and purpose-specific functions, well you need a file system. Connecting cloud storage is fine but I rely on files that are local as well as stored in the cloud, and not all apps treat cloud storage as first class citizens. You also need to separately authenticate cloud services to apps, and in the final equation, it all becomes a bit of a challenge for business users.
On balance, this is a great device and I find myself using an increasing amount of time. I still carry my laptop with me when traveling but it’s not inconceivable that I will soon go to iPad Pro all the time as a laptop replacement for mainstream use cases and go to the Macbook Pro when I need something specific. Apple continues to ignore the Macbook laptops, which are woefully lacking in features like a touchscreen, fingerprint sensor, and detachable screen, therefore it is not inconceivable that with improvements in multitasking that iOS could become the de facto OS for consumer Apple hardware. The iPad Pro is close to hitting the mark.",1523,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102819.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817013033-20170817033033-00702.warc.gz,0.968374788761139
e8ae97e9-92e8-45ad-b11f-6d16e87a9849,2015-03-29T22:28:09+00:00,2014-03-02,1,http://www.navytimes.com/article/20140302/NEWS08/303020002,"NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen delivers a statement to the media March 2 at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Rasmussen urged Russia to stop its military activity and threats against Ukraine, saying Moscow's action threatened 'peace and security in Europe.' (Georges Gobet / Getty Images)
- NATO, Russia to have talks over Ukraine Wednesday
- U.S., Europeans try to rally Western front vs Russia
- Retired U.S. general touts Ukrainian troops' toughness
- U.S. prepares tough response for Russia over Ukraine
- Ukraine 'on brink of national disaster,' PM says
- Obama calls for Russia to end Ukraine incursion
- Russia executes de facto takeover of Crimea region
BRUSSELS — NATO’s top official says Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine is in violation of the U.N. charter and threatens peace and security in Europe.
NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke Sunday before going into a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s political decision-making body.
“What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations charter. It threatens peace and security in Europe. Russia must stop its military activities and threats,” he said.
The NATO secretary general said he called the meeting “because of Russia’s military action in Ukraine and because of President (Vladimir) Putin’s threats against this sovereign nation.”
Rasmussen said officials will discuss Russia’s activities in the Crimean Peninsula and “their implications for European peace and security and for NATO’s relationship with Russia.”
Rasmussen tweeted on Saturday that the North Atlantic Council will hold a meeting Sunday about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday, Russian lawmakers approved Russian President Vladimir Putin’s request to move troops to Ukraine, while the Ukrainian acting president Oleksandr Turchynov put his country’s military on higher alert, according to media reports. Russian troops began occupying the Crimea region of Ukraine on Friday and pro-Russian protests were held Saturday in the Russian-speaking eastern parts of the country.
“The stakes are significant for both the U.S. and Russia, as well as for Europe and NATO,” retired Adm. James Stavridis, former NATO supreme allied commander, said in an email Saturday to Military Times.
In a commentary published Saturday in Foreign Policy, Stavridis argued that NATO should take a number of steps in response to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, including putting NATO’s 25,000-troop Response Force on a higher state of alert.
“Many will consider any level of NATO involvement provocative and potentially inflammatory,” Stavridis wrote. “Unfortunately, the stakes are high and the Russians are moving. Sitting idle, without at least looking at options, is a mistake for NATO and would itself constitute a signal to Putin — one that he would welcome.”
Speaking from the White House on Friday, President Obama said the U.S. government is “deeply concerned” about reports of Russian military movement inside Ukraine.
“The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine,” Obama said.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called on Obama to spell out exactly what those costs will be.
“Every moment that the United States and our allies fail to respond sends the signal to President Putin that he can be even more ambitious and aggressive in his military intervention in Ukraine,” McCain said in a statement issued on Saturday “There is a range of serious options at our disposal at this time without the use of military force. I call on President Obama to rally our European and NATO allies to make clear what costs Russia will face for its aggression and to impose those consequences without further delay.”
Staff writer Jeff Schogol and the Associated Press contributed to this report.",833,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00166-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93218058347702
d7c882de-0233-4de7-8a6f-cba0e8889ab3,2017-08-23T04:17:51+00:00,2017-08-23,0,https://www.tomlinsonsales.com/products/carhartt-b160-relaxed-fit-straight-leg-jeans,"Carhartt B160 Relaxed Fit Straight Leg Jeans
Our relaxed fit jean is made of 15-ounce, 100% cotton denim, with two reinforced back pockets and offers a relaxed-fitting seat and thigh. It sits slightly below the natural waist, and its 17.5-inch leg opening fits easily over boots.
- 15-ounce, 100% cotton denim
- Sits above the waist
- Relaxed seat and thigh
- Stronger sewn-on-seam belt loops
- Straight leg opening",109,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886117519.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823035753-20170823055753-00254.warc.gz,0.892244935035706
1143b38b-3c3f-4149-a86b-9a6832a8990d,2015-03-30T23:09:37+00:00,2001-01-01,0,http://www.nma.gov.au/collections-search/atsiaa/display.php?irn=147063,"A colour painting on canvas featuring water birds, water lilies and lily pads on a black background with blue dots. The painting is signed in the bottom right corner ""G.B.KUMBI.2001."". On the reverse is hand written text that reads ""GRACIE KUMBI . MERRI 5265 / Merrepen Arts - Daly River"", there is also a tag attached. The canvas is stapled to a wooden strainer.
Canvas, Wood, Paint - non specific
Many of these artworks and objects came to the Museum with very little information about them. If you know something more about this work - the date it was made, the name of its maker, or a relevant story, please tell us.
Use the form below to send us an email with any information you have.",169,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00210-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.884224355220795
e96d0e7f-8d88-49ae-be67-f1fe7cbe5b88,2020-10-25T07:38:07+00:00,2020-05-17,0,https://zeiglerchiro.com/community-reflections-during-quarantine/,"Dr. Miaken Zeiger | Sunday May 17, 2020
If anything, the quarantine gave me the opportunity to rest, connect with family, and reflect on life. Life in practice, my choice to live a chiropractic lifestyle, slowing down to a new rhythm, the lens in which I view the world, and the people around me … my community. Family, friends, team, practice; the beautiful circle of people that surround me, uplift me, support me. I’m so grateful, for all of you.
What we know of community … it’s essential. And, when you are part of a small team to deliver high-quality, education-rich, vitalistic chiropractic care, it’s absolutely essential to share trust, respect, love, accountability, passion, and connection with that team. At Zeigler Chiropractic, I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by individuals who support my mission to change the health and lives of our community. Amanda and Jess are rockstars.
Amanda. This April, we celebrated Amanda’s 6th anniversary at Zeigler Chiropractic. Since (nearly) inception, she’s been an integral part of all things ZC, and where she shines is connecting and being in community. She loves (& hugs,) unabashedly, has the ability to instantly (and authentically) connect, and desires to serve and uplift, selflessly, those around her. I hold so much gratitude and love for what Amanda has brought to my life and that of the practice. And, over the next few months, you may not be seeing her in the office. It’s not good-bye, but a personal choice to rest and reflect.
Jess. Although Jess has only been with us for a short time, she has fit seamlessly into the team and practice. I love, when first meeting Jess, you instantly connect with her bright smile and easy laugh. She exudes warmth in every interaction; and has an authentic desire to make a positive impact within her surroundings. She serves from her heart, and is purpose driven in how she chooses to live life. She and I will be the dynamic duo the next few months as we navigate the transition of this new rhythm of your chiropractic care.
You. Our community. The families, couples, individuals that make up our ZC community who choose chiropractic as a lifestyle. I am grateful for your consistency, commitment, and discipline to do what is not necessarily easy, but what is right; investing in your health, in this sometimes crazy, messy thing we call life. Yes, you feel better … AND as you commit to the principles of time, frequency, and intensity over a lifetime of making the most right decision; the cumulative impact to you, those around you, and life, is immeasurable. It’s resilience. It’s vitality. It’s longevity.
Thank you, for being on this journey with me. For honoring me with the opportunity to partner with you and yours, as we all strive to move toward health and well-being, from the inside out.
Let your light shine! You are powerful beyond measure! I am grateful to share community with you.
In Health, Dr. Miaken",683,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888402.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025070924-20201025100924-00329.warc.gz,0.960527241230011
e9d290f4-28c9-41a2-911d-452d685d84ba,2020-10-24T22:55:15+00:00,2020-10-06,1,https://www.wivb.com/news/world/unrest-in-kyrgyzstan-govt-buildings-seized-ex-leader-freed/,"MOSCOW (AP) — Officials in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday nullified the results of a weekend parliamentary election after mass protests erupted in the capital of Bishkek and other cities, with opposition supporters seizing government buildings overnight and demanding a new vote.
Hundreds of people were injured, one fatally. Members of several opposition parties announced plans to oust the president and form a new government in the Central Asian country.
The decision to cancel the results of Sunday’s vote was made to “prevent tension,” Central Election Commission head Nurzhan Shaildabekova told the Interfax news agency.
Protests broke out in Bishkek and elsewhere after authorities announced early returns in favor of two parties, one of which is said be closely aligned with President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and another linked to a former top customs official, amid reports of vote-buying and other election fraud.
The country of 6.5 million, one of the poorest to emerge from the former Soviet Union, is strategically located on the border with China and once was home to a U.S. air base that was used for refueling and logistics for the war in Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan also hosts a Russian air base and maintains close ties with Moscow.
Supporters of a dozen opposition parties took to the streets Monday, demanding a new election. Police dispersed crowds with water cannons, tear gas and flash grenades. About 590 people were injured and one person was killed, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Kyrgyzstan’s Health Ministry.
The violent crackdown failed to halt the unrest, however, and protesters broke into the government complex that houses both parliament and the president’s office. A fire broke out in the parliament building but was quickly extinguished, and local media reported some offices were looted.
Other protesters went to Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee of National Security, demanding to free former President Almazbek Atambayev, who was convicted on corruption charges earlier this year and sentenced to over 11 years in prison. Security officers freed Atambayev after negotiations with the protesters.
Members of several opposition parties announced plans to oust Jeenbekov and form a new government.
“We intend to seek the dismissal of Sooronbai Jeenbekov from his post,” Maksat Mamytkanov, a member of the Chon Kazat party, told Interfax, adding that opposition parties also insist on adopting a new constitution.
Zhanar Akayev of the Ata Meken opposition party was quoted by the Kyrgyz service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as saying that “a new prime minister and the people’s government need to be appointed,” and then “a popular election” needs to be held.
Lawmakers later announced a candidate for prime minister and parliament speaker, although it was unclear whether the moves were legal under the constitution.
Jeenbekov urged opposition leaders to “calm their supporters down and take them away” from the streets.
“I call on all (political) forces to put the fate of the country above their political ambitions and return to (acting) within the law,” he said.
Several opposition parties formed what they called a coordination council to facilitate a transition of power, while several others refused to recognize the council as a legitimate body representing the opposition.
The mayors of Bishkek and Jalal-Abad, the country’s third-largest city, resigned. The country’s Finance Ministry issued a statement on its website, saying that it “recognized the power of the people” and halted all of its financial operations “until further notice from the legitimate authorities.”
Parliament announced an emergency session to discuss the crisis. Local media reported that lawmakers failed to get a quorum, but a few dozen of them gathered anyway and, with proxy votes from other lawmakers, approved new appointments to some top government posts.
They announced the resignation of Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov and gave preliminary approval to Sadyr Zhaparov, a former lawmaker released from prison overnight, as his replacement.
They also named Myktybek Abdyldayev as the new speaker of parliament. Abdyldayev later said Zhaparov’s candidacy is to be approved by parliament after he presents his proposals for a new cabinet as well as his policies.
Boronov himself hasn’t made any statements about resigning yet, and it wasn’t immediately clear if the changes by the lawmakers were legal. Jeenbekov also hasn’t commented on the moves, saying in an interview released Tuesday evening only that he was “ready” for talks with the opposition “as a legitimate president.”",1007,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107885059.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024223210-20201025013210-00488.warc.gz,0.973929226398468
162397dd-570d-454e-9587-0b2528a441af,2013-05-24T15:44:43+00:00,2013-05-24,1,http://www.voanews.com/content/aquarius-mission-to-look-at-connection-between-earths-climate-and-oceans-123634994/169669.html,"The U.S. space agency NASA launched a new satellite observatory Friday that will measure the saltiness of the world’s oceans. Scientists hope to learn what impact changes in ocean circulation and the salinity of the seawater are having on the globe’s changing climate.
Most of the Earth’s water cycle of rainfall and evaporation occurs over the oceans. At the same time that global temperatures are rising, scientists for more than a century have noted from shipboard and buoy measurements a change in global water cycle and ocean circulation patterns.
These changes in rainfall and evaporation have led to a gradual cooling of sea surface temperatures in some places and warmer waters in others.
To get a global view of how changes in the water cycle might be affecting climate, NASA scientists will be measuring the salinity, or the amount of salt dissolved in seawater with the Aquarius satellite.
Experts say the $287 million orbiting observatory will be able to measure ocean salinity within an eighth of a teaspoon, or a pinch of salt, per gallon of water.
Gary Lagerloef of the non-profit Earth and Science Research Institute in Seattle, Washington is Aquarius’ principal investigator.
Lagerloef says the Aquarius mission will focus on studying the interaction between global water cycle, the ocean circulation and how these interactions influence climate and climate variability.
“One of the big overarching questions in climate is, is the global water cycle changing? Many climate forecasting models suggest that it will change over time as the climate warms up,"" he said. ""But measuring these changes in rainfall over the ocean is very, very difficult to do. But salinity is actually a very important parameter of what might be going on.”
The Aquarius will generate monthly maps of saltwater circulation around the globe. Ocean water is saltiest in regions where evaporation is greater than rainfall and there’s less ocean salinity in places where rainfall exceeds evaporation.
The Aquarius satellite is equiped with a suite of onboard instruments contributed by Canada, France and Italy to measure ocean salinity, including radiometers that will detect microwaves from the surface of the world’s oceans as the observatory orbits every seven days.
Yi Chao, project scientist with the Aquarius mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena California, says the radiometers are like very precise, sensitive radio receivers.
""They collect the emissions from the ocean’s surface and different salt concentrations of the ocean emit different energy,"" Chao said. ""So once you have this emission measure from the radiometer, scientists go through the series of mathematic equations and formulas or you can think about a number of look-up tables to derive the salinity and to deliver the data required to answer those science questions.”
The Aquarius satellite, a collaboration between NASA and the Argentine space agency will join 13 other U.S. satellites devoted to studying the Earth, including rainfall levels, evaporation, sea levels and winds.",624,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.91071879863739
93588fd7-6cb5-4fe3-8466-76af2b994245,2017-08-20T03:49:26+00:00,2014-01-27,0,https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/how-should-i-bill.394153/,"Fellow LawnSite fellers, I was with my father this morning and we were talking about my venture into the green industry. I started talking about how I am going to bill my clients. I think the best way to bill my clients would be to send them an invoice either monthly or bi-weekly. My father on the other hand told me that point of sale would be the best way. My father is an excellent business man. I respect him greatly. I just can't wrap my mind around how just getting money after I'm done mowing will work. I mean there is so many variables such as; client not being there, me being in a rush, weather, and many other scenarios. I need an organized system that will work well, but cater to my valued clients. I will not be legit this year either being that I will only be 17 come mowing season. So that will come into play also. As soon as my signature becomes credible as an adult I will have all licenses etc. Thank you all!",208,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105961.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820015021-20170820035021-00320.warc.gz,0.984321713447571
037ac03f-524b-4b6c-b9cf-97dbade9d234,2022-05-24T08:30:45+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://www.ammonitum.com/catalogue/shelves%20of%20semi-precious%20stones,"Shelves of semi-precious stones
Decor in the modern bathroom
The bathroom is becoming an increasingly important room in the home - it's much more than just a place to wash. It is a place that can also be invigorating, calming and relaxing for the body and mind. It's one of the most intimate spaces in the home, where décor and design can add to the pleasurable experience, and gemstone niche shelving can help.
Advantages of niche shelving
Ammonitum's backlit gemstone niche shelves can decorate your bathroom in a unique and magical way. Created deep within the earth by nature, with unique sparkling crystal patterns and in a variety of natural colours: Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Black, Green-violet - they will always be eye-catching with their beauty and perfection.
There are niche shelves for the shower, or for the bathtub, where you can comfortably put shampoos, lotions and other things. There are also niche shelves for the toilet wall, which can be used to which you can use to place decorative objects. Most shelves are designed for flush mounting, but there are also models for wall mounting.",250,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662570051.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524075341-20220524105341-00217.warc.gz,0.953141570091248
99e02ba5-0625-42f0-a29a-0caedd3b37fd,2022-05-17T20:42:47+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://homeofmine.org/follow-up-services/,"These are the simplest services we offer. We’ll come back to your home at the intervals of your choosing (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual) for:
- Home Safety Re-Assessments- We’ll recheck your home in our usual, comprehensive way, to ensure any modifications are in good repair as well as to determine if anything has changed regarding your home environment and how you function within it.
- Equipment Checks- If we provided you with equipment we will make sure it is in good repair and is being utilized appropriately. (*equipment manufacturer warranty applies)",125,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520817.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517194243-20220517224243-00411.warc.gz,0.95896703004837
d78370e7-1266-45ef-84e5-506392554d19,2017-08-19T00:02:22+00:00,2017-08-19,0,http://ebooksreleases.com/3-starlight-sleepover-secret-princesses-ebook-06/,"Author: Rosie Banks
Title: 3 Starlight Sleepover (Secret Princesses)
Print Length: 128
Language: English, Francais, Italiano, Espanol, Deutsch
Format: PDF, ePub, mobi, azw, kf8, txt, ibook, Kindle
A gorgeous new series about best friends and magical princesses! Charlotte and Mia have a special secret – they’re training to be Secret Princesses, magical princesses who grant wishes! But horrid Princess Poison is determined to steal their wishing power for herself!Can the girls grant Laura’s wish and help her to enjoy her camping trip? Or will horrid Princess Poison ruin the sleepover fun?Plus…* Special campaign with Monsoon Children’s – win the same princess outfits as Charlotte and Mia for you and your best friend!* Collect the tokens for a exclusive Best Friends necklace designed by Monsoon!",193,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105195.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818233221-20170819013221-00418.warc.gz,0.829923093318939
47224e73-cefd-43be-8e71-5595992e5b8c,2017-08-19T02:08:41+00:00,2013-01-29,0,http://nationalinterest.org/blog/jacob-heilbrunn/did-stalin-murder-lenin-6892,"Did Stalin Murder Lenin?
Did he do it? He would not be the first subordinate to seek to polish off his superior in an authoritarian system. History is replete with examples of a seemingly dutiful understudy scheming to remove his mentor.
I'm talking, of course, about Stalin and Lenin. The theory that Stalin sped along the demise of the old boy—who wasn't actually that old when he died, a mere fifty-four—has been around for decades. Now it is being revived. Last Friday, at the annual University of Maryland School of Medicine conference about the deaths of famous historical figures, the Russian historian Lev Lurie suggested that while Lenin was undoubtedly in poor health in the 1920s, Stalin hastened his death by having the Soviet leader poisoned. The convulsions Lenin suffered shortly before his death, Lurie says, are not consistent with the symptoms of the stroke he had experienced. If Lurie is right, it might turn Lenin into more of a martyr, at least in Russia. His specter continues to loom over the country. Almost instantly, the Bolsheviks transformed Lenin, whose corpse was embalmed and remains displayed in Moscow, into a cult figure, one that has outlived the regime itself. He serves as an important vestige of a neo-imperial past that postcommunist Russia apparently cannot afford to dispense with. What the historian Nina Tumarkin declared years ago in her scintillating book Lenin Lives! remains true today.
Certainly, Stalin had good reasons to hope Lenin would perish. It did not entirely escape Lenin's notice that the ambitious and young general secretary was taking control of the party machinery. Besides, as he complained in what has become known as his ""testament,"" Lenin thought Stalin was ""rude."" Whether this would have translated into his demoting Stalin is another question. Lenin, after all, seemed to be complaining about bad manners. And Lenin himself was no shrinking violet when it came to taking out his enemies: he presided over the deaths of millions during the Russian Civil War and laid the foundations for the Gulag. Lenin's ""Who Whom"" question was no joking matter. It led to mass murder and totalitarian systems from Eastern Europe to China to Vietnam.
But unlike Stalin, Lenin does not seem to provide particular evidence of enjoying killing for its own sake. To Lenin applies the old line about loving humanity but despising individual humans. Stalin, by contrast, was a Georgian who relished feuds for their own sake. He seemed to take a lascivious pleasure in pitting his subordinates against one another, whether it was accusing them of plotting to subvert his leadership or simply forcing them to engage in endless drinking bouts while he mocked them. Stalin had no shortage of ways of rubbing out his real or perceived opponents, ranging from mass executions to more indirect methods—in his memoirs, Anton-Antonov Ovseyenko recounts, among other things, Stalin's proclivity for ordering medical operations that somehow ended fatally. But under Stalin's stewardship, the Soviet Union—the NKVD—became the supreme practicioner in the diabolical black arts of injecting victims with harmful potions. The NKVD has its own laboratory, which was revealed at the last major purge trial when its former director, Genrikh Yagoda, was accused in 1938 of having sought to use it to poison Stalin and other Bolshevik worthies. Today, Russia continues to enjoy a particular proficiency in this singular line of work, which is presumably why Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident and former FSB officer, had the misfortune to find himself ingesting polonium-210 in a fatal cup of tea in London in 2006.
Might the Soviet experiment, as it was known, have turned out differently in the event of Lenin's ruling the Soviet Union for several more decades? Could he have made a go of the enterprise? Would Trotsky and Bukharin have been promoted rather than Stalin, and would a kinder, gentler Soviet Union have emerged?",824,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00687.warc.gz,0.982240676879883
e74e2fca-0925-4cb5-8b65-1c802352504b,2020-10-26T12:39:06+00:00,2017-04-17,0,https://complianceassociatesinc.com/uncategorized/dea-drug-take-back-day-april-29th/,"The DEA just sent out their press release, detailing its prescription take back day. The numbers are astounding from the last take back day. 730,000 pounds of prescription drugs turned in! Read their press release here.
America is in an epidemic of drug abuse, following is a quote from the US Drug Enforcement Administration:
America is experiencing an epidemic of addiction, overdose, and death due to abuse of prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers. 6.4 million Americans age 12 and over—2.4 percent of the population—abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health released last fall, more than abuse cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine combined. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States, eclipsing deaths from motor vehicle crashes or firearms. The majority of prescription drug abusers report that they obtain their drugs from friends and family, including from the home medicine cabinet.
To find a location in your area, here is the link to their location finder.",212,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891228.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026115814-20201026145814-00135.warc.gz,0.938956677913666
3d4bd726-bf44-4fa0-b97f-93bc28e40dc9,2019-08-24T00:37:59+00:00,2016-03-25,0,https://www.pghlesbian.com/2016/03/fish-fry-friday-the-elks-lodge-on-pittsburghs-northside/?shared=email&msg=fail,"Name: Elks Lodge 339
Date: March 25, 2016
Time We Ate: 6:30 PM
Random review of #fishburgh adventures during Lent. Find a fish fry on this Google maps collection. You can also follow them on Facebook and find tons of reviews and suggestions. Here is our general criteria:
In review, the factors we assess or review include:
- Atmosphere/Volunteer Friendliness/Engagement
- Menu: variety, portions, taste and price
- LGBTQ cultural competency
- Ecofactors such as reusable/disposable items, recycling bins, takeout containers
We opted to wrap up the 2016 Fish Fry Friday tour close to home – the Elks Lodge on the Northside. Frankly, I’m tired of fried fish and the side dishes. I’m also not feeling the love for the local Catholic Diocese this week, in part due to Bishop Zubik challenging the Affordable Care Act and the hideous sex abuse scandal covered up by the Diocese of Altoona.
So heading over to the Elks was good. We had been there many year earlier when it was still permitting smoking and I didn’t like it. Times have changed.
The lodge is smokefree which is wonderful.
We walked in and found ourselves in a rather long queue with no real sense of what was happening on the other end. Was this for to go orders? Why were some people just going to the bar to sit? Who are these people? The couple in front of us sipped their draft beers after ‘cheating’ by securing seats with some friends already in the dining area. I glared at the back of their heads with all the righteous fury I could muster. They remained unphased.
Just when I began to freak out because of all of the unanswered questions, we made it to the front of the line and realized we might have to find out own seats. I poked Ledcat, whispering to her that we weren’t paying anyone a damn cent if they didn’t have two seats for us. To humor me, she asked and we were directed to a nice gentleman nattily attired in a sports coat and button down shirt. He seated me while Ledcat sorted out the ordering and the paying.
The menu was limited – fried or baked fish, some sides and that’s it. Ledcat opted for a small fried fish sandwich, mac and cheese and some coleslaw. I went for the grilled cheese and the same sides. We bought two cans of pop from the bar. Dinner was $14 and the beverages were $2, so even with tips – very affordable.
We waited about 15 minutes for our food, but it was pleasant enough to talk about what we each knew of the space and reflect on our fish fry adventures. The order was delivered to our table which had previously been set with a paper placemat and stainless silverware rolled in a napkin.
The fish was excellent. It had a unique batter, perhaps beer? It was crunchy while the fish was moist. Laura devoured her entire sandwich. The grilled cheese was perfectly cooked and just what I needed – an old standard. The coleslaw was a bit bland. It needed some mayo, I think. And the mac and cheese? Here we disagree. Ledcat thought it was terrific and I thought it was just okay, a little too paste-like for my taste.
The food was served on sturdy paperplates, not styrofoam. Hallelujah. Takeout orders were packed in styrofoam, unfortunately. Condiments were a combo of big bottles and individual packets.
We didn’t overtly notice any other LGBTQ folks in the room, but we know a lot of allies who belong to this particular lodge. No one blinked an eye that we were in the same party, paying together and sharing our food.
The line was still in place when we finished our food so we didn’t linger. The older gentleman hustled over to clean up and wish us a good evening.
Pros: great fish sandwich, low prices, solid to good mac and cheese, bar with lots of beverage choices, use of paper plates and reusable silverware, polite servers
Cons: front is not accessible, use of styrofoam, lackluster coleslaw, better signage for people – should create a separate line for takeout and dine-in to keep the line moving, more options would be nice including something a little sweet
And that bring us to the conclusion of Fish Fry Fridays for 2016. Ledcat and I conclude that the overall best fish fry goes to the Assumption Church in Bellevue. We are divided on the rest of the rankings. Best fish sandwich goes to the Elks. Best coleslaw also goes to Assumption. Best mac and cheese goes to St. James.
The biggest improvement this year was the introduction of credit card/debit payments at several of the venues. The biggest disappointment has been the lack of attention to environmental/recycling issues. The most consistent factor has been the lack of engagement – almost none of these venues (including the Elks) used this opportunity to raise awareness about their venues, programs, services, etc. Lots of missed opportunities.
We hope to be back next year with more fish fry reports. Until then, keep reading the other content!",1112,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319155.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823235136-20190824021136-00143.warc.gz,0.972017586231232
08acd334-2088-46ff-8eec-a15f108d489e,2017-08-21T19:32:06+00:00,2017-05-11,1,https://geoenergist.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/ca-senate-leader-introduces-100-clean-energy-measure-congressional-stop-gap-budget-ignores-trumps-requested-cuts-to-science-energy-programs-and-more/,"Leading Stories, Releases, Solicitations
- California Senate Leader Introduces 100 Percent Clean Energy Measure – GEA Endorses Measure
- Wyden Unveils Clean Energy for America Act
- Congressional Stop-Gap Budget Ignores Trump’s Requested Cuts to Science and Energy Programs
- Congressional Action on Geothermal Funding for FY17
- President Trump Names Daniel Simmons to Run DOE Efficiency and Renewable Programs
- ORIX to Acquire 22% Ownership Stake in Ormat from FIMI and Bronicki Investments and Simultaneously Enter into Strategic Partnership with Ormat
- Ormat Technologies Reports 25% Increase in Revenues for the First Quarter of 2017
· Enel Green Power Awards Two Stars Of Merit For Labour In Geothermal
- Polaris Infrastructure Announces 2017 First Quarter Results
- NREL Releases Mexico Market Geothermal Assessment Report
- EU Commission clears the creation of a joint venture by STRABAG and EVN for Development of Deep Geothermal
- Milestone reached in geothermal deep drilling project
- Daldrup & Söhne AG receives major order for four geothermal drillings from Stadtwerke München
- BLM completes Environmental Assessment for Dixie Meadows Geothermal Development Project
Leading Stories, Releases, Solicitations
California Senate Leader Introduces 100 Percent Clean Energy Measure – GEA Endorses Measure
SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) on Tuesday May 2introduced Senate Bill 100, The California Clean Energy Act of 2017, which puts the state on the path to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2045. GEA endorsed the proposed legislation.
VIDEO: Press Conference: California Senate Leader Introduces 100 Percent Clean Energy Measure
“California’s experience over the last decade offers hard evidence that we can dramatically expand clean energy while also growing our economy and putting people to work,” Senator de León said. “This measure will ensure that California remains the world’s clean energy superpower and that we lead the nation in addressing the threat of climate change.”
VIDEO: 100% Clean Energy Equals Jobs https://youtu.be/7Zeu3yXuGCg
VIDEO: 100% Clean Energy: We Can Get There https://youtu.be/9AYRADZkkqs
SB 100, the California Clean Energy Act of 2017 does all of the following:
- Establishes an overall state target of 100% clean energy for California by 2045 by directing the CA Public Utilities Commission, CA Energy Commission, and Air Resources Board to adopt policies and requirements to achieve total reliance on renewable energy and zero carbon resources by that date.
- Accelerates SB 350’s 50% mandate for clean renewable energy from 2030 to 2026 and establishes a new RPS benchmark of 60% by 2030 to ensure more clean energy in the California grid sooner.
- Establishes new policies for energy companies to capture uncontrolled methane emissions from dairies, landfills and waste water treatment plants and use these clean renewable fuels to replace natural gas.
- Authorizes investor owned utilities to invest in cleaner transportation fuels such as hydrogen or waste methane gas from dairies for heavy duty trucks to replace dirty diesel fuels, provided there are no other cleaner options such as zero emission vehicles available.
California has one of the cleanest economies in the world. Since we passed AB 32 in 2006, we’ve grown our economy faster than the national average while reducing carbon intensity by nearly 40% compared to 1990. We’ve also lowered energy bills, improved air quality and created thousands of new, high wage jobs in the clean energy sector.
California already has the most ambitious climate targets in the world and the most aggressive renewable energy targets of any economy of its size. We lead the nation in renewable energy generation, clean tech venture capital investment, patent creation and clean car technology.
In 2015, The Legislature passed SB 350, The Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act (De Leon et al), which set a 50% clean energy standard by 2030.That bill also set new requirements for doubling energy efficiency and for wide scale transportation electrification deployment. Senate Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2016 (Pavley), requires the state to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.
Wyden Unveils Clean Energy for America Act
Bill streamlines tax credits to encourage production of clean energy, cut carbon pollution
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced legislation to measurably reduce carbon pollution over the next decade through a series of incentives for clean energy and the promotion of new technologies in the private sector. Wyden’s Clean Energy for America Act includes technology-neutral tax credits for domestic production of clean electricity and clean transportation fuel, as well as performance-based tax incentives for energy-efficient homes and office buildings. These credits are open to all resources, including fossil fuels that capture carbon or make efficiency improvements.
Wyden is the senior Democratic member on the Senate Finance Committee and member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, making him uniquely positioned to find new incentives to cut carbon pollution while creating millions of jobs in the clean energy sector.
“This bill is built around the proposition that the law ought to reward innovative energy technologies with incentives that spark investment in the private economy,” Wyden said. “These investments will shrink electric bills for American families and create new clean energy jobs in Oregon and across the country.”
The current system of energy incentives in the tax code is overly complex and far less effective than it should be. Today, there are 44 different energy tax incentives. More than half are too short-term to effectively stimulate investments, while also providing different subsidies to different technologies with no clear policy direction. By contrast, Wyden’s bill proposes a dramatically simpler set of long-term, performance-based energy tax incentives that are technology-neutral and promote clean energy production and storage in the United States.
Cosponsors of the Clean Energy for America Act include Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with Senate Finance Committee members Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Tom Carper, D-Del., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Chris Coons, D-Del., Brian Schatz, D-HI, Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Angus King, I-Maine, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev..
GEA’s Executive Director called the proposal “a significant step in the right direction.” “We support establishing a long-term, technology neutral tax incentive for clean energy production,” he added.
Congressional Stop-Gap Budget Ignores Trump’s Requested Cuts to Science and Energy Programs
On May 4, Congress finalized a bipartisan deal to fund the federal government through September and avoid a government shutdown. The bill cleared both chambers and now awaits the President’s signature. The stop-gap bill differs greatly from the budget outline issued by the Trump administration in March, particularly on funding for energy and environmental programs. The Trump administration’s “skinny budget” proposal called for a 30 percent reduction to EPA, but Congress’s budget would result in a one percent reduction for EPA, with some additional usage restrictions installed. The Department of Energy’s research offices were also targeted for steep reductions, yet these programs will see slight increases in funding under the Congressional proposal. However, the Trump administration is still proceeding with steps to diminish the capacity of regulatory agencies, including the removal of 3,200 of EPA’s 15,000 employees. In addition to ongoing executive actions to roll back U.S. climate policies, the Congressional budget contains zero funding for the Green Climate Fund and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
For more information see:
Source: EESI News
Congressional Action on Geothermal Funding for FY17
Congress has passed, and the President has signed an FY17 Omnibus bill that allows DOE and other programs to have clear financial direction for the rest of the Fiscal Year.
The final report for the measure stipulates for geothermal total spending for FY17 of $69.5 million. Further, it notes “Geothermal Technologies.-The agreement provides $35,000,000 for ongoing activities for the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy project.”
For reference, in FY16 the geothermal programs was funded at $71 million, and the Obama Administration request for FY 17 was $99.5 million.
President Trump Names Daniel Simmons to Run DOE Efficiency and Renewable Programs
The President has named a leading critic of Obama era renewable policies to oversee DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs – Daniel Simmons previously VP at the Institute for Energy Research. According to IER’s website:
“Daniel Simmons is IER’s Vice President for Policy. Simmons previously served as IER’s Director of Regulatory and State Affairs. He oversees IER’s work on energy and climate policy at the state and federal level.
“Prior to joining IER, Simmons served as director of the Natural Resources Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), was a research fellow at the Mercatus Center, and worked as professional staff on the Committee on Resources of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Simmons is a graduate of Utah State University and George Mason University School of Law. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar.”
The Washington Post called Simmons “a conservative scholar who sharply questioned the value of promoting renewable energy sources and curbs on greenhouse gas emissions.”
DOE’s website said: In his role as Acting Assistant Secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Daniel Simmons leads EERE to achieve its vision of a strong and prosperous America powered by clean, affordable, and secure energy. He oversees technology development in the energy efficiency, renewable power and sustainable transportation sectors.”
ORIX to Acquire 22% Ownership Stake in Ormat from FIMI and Bronicki Investments and Simultaneously Enter into Strategic Partnership with Ormat
Reno, Nevada and Tokyo, Japan, May 4, 2017 – Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) and ORIX Corporation (TSE: 8591; NYSE: IX) announced today that ORIX will acquire an approximately $627 million ownership stake in Ormat by purchasing approximately 11.0 million shares of Ormat common stock from FIMI ENRG Limited Partnership, FIMI ENRG, L.P. (collectively, “FIMI”), Bronicki Investments, Ltd. (“Bronicki”), and senior members of management, representing in the aggregate an approximately 22.1% ownership position in Ormat. The per share sale price to be paid by ORIX at closing (subject to satisfaction of customary conditions, including regulatory approvals) is $57, which was the prevailing market price at the time that ORIX, FIMI and Bronicki reached agreement on the commercial terms of their transaction. The parties expect closing (including with respect to the agreements described below) to occur in the third quarter of 2017.
Under terms of a new Commercial Cooperation Agreement between the two companies, Ormat will have exclusive rights to develop, own, operate and provide equipment for ORIX geothermal energy projects in all markets outside of Japan. In addition, Ormat will have certain rights to serve as technical partner and co-invest in ORIX geothermal energy projects in Japan. Also, ORIX will assist Ormat in obtaining project financing for its geothermal energy projects from a variety of leading providers of renewable energy debt financing with which ORIX has relationships in Asia and around the world.
Under related agreements, ORIX will have the right to designate three persons to be appointed to an expanded nine-person Ormat board of directors and also propose a fourth person to be mutually agreed by Ormat and ORIX to serve as a new independent director on the Ormat board. In addition, for so long as ORIX is entitled to board representation, ORIX will be subject to certain customary standstill restrictions, including an effective 25% cap on its voting rights. ORIX will also have certain customary registration rights with respect to the shares of Ormat common stock that it will own.
A Special Committee of the Ormat board of directors was formed to evaluate and negotiate the shareholder arrangements proposed by ORIX. The Special Committee received independent legal counsel from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. The agreements between ORIX and Ormat were executed by Ormat following the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee and the unanimous approval by the Ormat board of directors.
“We are excited to partner with ORIX, one of the world’s leading diversified companies with operations in 36 countries, to advance the interests of both companies,” commented Gillon Beck, Ormat’s Chairman. “With ORIX’s significant presence around the world, access to capital and strong positioning throughout Asia, we believe Ormat can enhance and accelerate its strategic growth plans in the renewable energy market. We expect this collaboration will expand the number and quality of growth opportunities that Ormat enjoys around the world, particularly in Asia.” Mr. Beck added “These past years have been exciting ones characterized by continued growth and strategy execution. I would like to thank the devoted management and employees of Ormat for their relentless efforts. ORIX is joining an amazing company and I am confident that Ormat will continue to excel and reach new highs.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Ormat to support the company’s expansion in the global geothermal energy market” said Mr. Yuichi Nishigori, Head of Energy and Eco Services Business Headquarters of ORIX. “As one of Asia’s leading investors in the renewable energy sector, and with a growing portfolio of renewable energy investments around the world, we recognize the importance of having clean, reliable, baseload power such as that which geothermal provides, and we believe that the geothermal sector has the potential to become an increasingly large component of the world’s overall energy mix. Given Ormat’s technological leadership and increasingly global portfolio of operations, we believe the company is well positioned to help lead this expansion, and we look forward to working with the Ormat board and existing management team to facilitate the company’s future growth and value creation.”
“Following the meetings and discussions I had with ORIX’s management in the last several weeks, I am confident that this significant cooperation agreement will support our strategic plan to expand our geographical footprint as well as technological and customer base” said Isaac Angel, Ormat’s CEO. “We expect that the comprehensive capabilities and track record of Ormat together with ORIX’s commitment to expanding the scope of its geothermal and other renewable energy activities will accelerate our growth. I look forward to leading our cooperation with ORIX on future opportunities.”
Ormat Technologies Reports 25% Increase in Revenues for the First Quarter of 2017
Electricity Segment Expands 7.3% to Record Revenues of $115.8 million; Products Segment Up 69.5% Management Reiterates Full-Year Guidance
RENO, Nev. May 8, 2017 – Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017.
First Quarter 2017 Highlights and Recent Developments:
• Total revenues of $189.9 million, up 25.3% compared to the first quarter of 2016;
‒ Electricity segment revenues increased 7.3% to record revenues of $115.8 million, up from $107.9 million in the first quarter of 2016;
‒ Product segment revenues increased 69.5% to $74.1 million, up from $43.7 million in the first quarter of 2016;
• Electricity generation increased 2.2%, compared to the first quarter of 2016, from 1.397 million MWh to 1.428 million MWh;
• Gross margin decreased to 39.2% compared to 42.1% in the first quarter of 2016, due to a lower margin in the Product segment;
• Operating income increased 17.7% to $59.5 million, compared to $50.5 million in the first quarter of 2016;
• Net income attributable to the company’s shareholders of $35.3 million or $0.70 per diluted share, compared to $29.3 million or $0.59 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2017;
• Adjusted EBITDA grew 14.4% to a record of $91.8 million in the first quarter of 2017;
• Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share for the first quarter of 2017;
• Product segment backlog remains strong at $207.0 million1; added approximately $30 million of new orders2;
• Closed acquisition of substantially all of the business and assets of Viridity Energy, Inc.;
• Commenced commercial operation of the first unit of the Sarulla geothermal power plant, one of the world’s largest geothermal power plants, located in Indonesia’s North Sumatra; and
• ORIX will acquire 22% ownership stake in Ormat from FIMI and Bronicki Investments and simultaneously enter into strategic partnership with Ormat. Closing is expected in the third quarter of 2017.
“This was another good quarter, benefitting from outstanding execution in both our electricity and products segment,” commented Isaac Angel, Chief Executive Officer. “As we have noted, our goal in the electricity segment has been to adjust output at our facilities to maximize efficiency, and the progress we are making in this area is evidenced by the improvement in gross margin to 43.0%. The addition of the Bouillante facility, coupled with full output again at Puna, has helped us increase revenue in the segment by more than 7%. I am encouraged with our progress in this segment.”
Mr. Angel continued, “Our products segment delivered a nearly 70% increase in quarterly sales, due to our progress in projects in New Zealand, China and Turkey. As previously indicated, several of these projects, most notably in Turkey, as well as timing issues related to product deliveries, contributed to lower gross margin which is expected to remain at similar level during 2017. As a result of the improvements we are constantly making to increase efficiencies across our operations, we delivered a record adjusted EBITDA of nearly $92 million.”
Mr. Angel continued, “We recently announced that ORIX will acquire 22% ownership stake in Ormat mainly from FIMI and Bronicki Investments. Simultaneous, we signed a commercial cooperation agreement with ORIX. We see this commercial cooperation agreement as a significant development that will enhance our strategic position, expand our geographic footprint as well as our technological and customer base. ORIX’s global reach and reputation in the energy market serves as a further validation of Ormat’s comprehensive capabilities and track record to a broader market and provides a platform to accelerate our growth.”
Enel Green Power Awards Two Stars Of Merit For Labour In Geothermal
Geothermal energy confirms itself a major resource for Tuscany. With a ceremony at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence on 1st of May, Labour Day, two Enel Green Power employees, Roberta Bianchi and Fausto Tanzini, were awarded the Star of Merit for Labour, a recognition in the field of innovation and environmental sustainability.
Roberta Bianchi, who was born in 1965 in Montecatini Val di Cecina (Pisa) and lives in Pontasserchio (Pisa), works at Enel Green Power Geothermal, Pisa as Head of support to operation and performance improvement. She is responsible for coordinating all management support activities. She joined Enel in 1986, and in over thirty years of work she has made an important contribution to the financial, management and administrative sectors applied to Geothermal. During her career she dealt with various aspects of the industrial process, from authorisation and verification of investments of new production plants, new geothermal wells and fluid transport networks, to management and control of production and maintenance programmes at plants.
Fausto Tanzini, who was born in 1957 in Castelnuovo Val di Cecina and lives in Sasso Pisano, is Head of Enel Green Power’s Geothermal Maintenance Services Electro-Regulation Team. He has worked at Enel since 1977, making an important contribution in the field of electrical and electronic maintenance, applied to geothermal energy and more generally to power generation plants, dealing in his career with various issues regarding the maintenance, upgrading and repair of electrical machinery and related equipment.
The Head of Enel Green Powers Geothermal, Massimo Montemaggi, complimented his colleagues for an important and well-deserved acknowledgment that honours the commitment and professionalism of both colleagues, the company and the geothermal areas of Pisa and Tuscany, where their professionalism was born and grew.
Polaris Infrastructure Announces 2017 First Quarter Results
TORONTO, ON–(Marketwired – May 09, 2017) – Polaris Infrastructure Inc. (PIF.TO) (“Polaris Infrastructure” or the “Company”), a Toronto-based company engaged in the operation, acquisition and development of renewable energy projects in Latin America, is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. This earnings release should be read in conjunction with Polaris Infrastructure’s financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”), which are available on the Company’s website at www.polarisinfrastructure.com and have been posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The dollar figures below are denominated in US Dollars unless noted otherwise.
San Jacinto-Tizate Project Highlights
- Strong power generation: The San Jacinto-Tizate Power Plant (the “San Jacinto project”) generated 108,894 MWh (net) (an average of 50.4 MW (net)), resulting in revenue of $13.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, versus revenue of $12.6 million on generation of 105,599 MWh (net) (an average of 48.4 MW (net)) in the prior year period. The 6% revenue increase was due to higher average production in 2017 as well as the impact of the 3% annual tariff increase. Absent the impact of downtime associated with turbine maintenance, we estimate average generation and revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2017 would have been 57.4 MW (net) and $15.2 million, respectively.
- Strong cash flow generation: Cash flow from operations of $8.9 million resulted in a net cash increase of $2.6 million in the quarter ended March 31 2017, despite the revenue impact from turbine maintenance and after deducting debt service, dividend payment and capital investments. The Company generated Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure) of $10.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2017, a 5% increase from the prior year period, despite the impact of planned downtime in 2017. See Use of Non-GAAP Measures section below for reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Total income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss).
- Successful conclusion of annual turbine maintenance: Comprehensive preventative maintenance was completed on the Unit 4 turbine at the San Jacinto project over the course of three weeks in February 2017. This exercise was completed on schedule and on budget, and leaves the Company well positioned for consistent turbine performance throughout 2017 and 2018, given that the Unit 3 turbine was recently serviced as well, in July 2016. We estimate that downtime associated with turbine maintenance resulted in foregone average power generation of approximately 7 MW (net) in the first quarter of 2017.
- Commencement of 2017 Drilling Program: The Company’s wholly-owned operating subsidiary, Polaris Energy Nicaragua S.A. (“PENSA”), which owns and operates the San Jacinto project, commenced drilling of SJ 11-2 on April 29, 2017. SJ 11-2 will be an injection well, providing important additional injection capacity as well flexibility to integrate a binary unit into the San Jacinto project, which is planned for 2018 installation. PENSA plans to commence drilling of a new projection well in July 2017, after findings from various geotechnical surface studies presently underway, have been incorporated.
NREL Releases Mexico Market Geothermal Assessment Report
According to NREL, “This report is intended to help U.S. companies in the geothermal sector understand potential business opportunities created by recent changes in the Mexican energy market and regulatory environment.”
A copy can be downloaded at: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/63722.pdf
EU Commission clears the creation of a joint venture by STRABAG and EVN for Development of Deep Geothermal
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of joint control by STRABAG SE (“STRABAG”) and EVN AG (“EVN”), both of Austria, over the joint venture Projektgesellschaft Geoenergie Bayern Projekt Garching a.d. Alz GmbH & Co. KG, of Germany. The joint venture holds the rights for the development of the deep geothermal energy project “Bruck” in Garching a.d. Alz in Bavaria, which will further develop and generate and supply electricity and district heating to third parties. Moreover, it is expected to develop other deep geothermal projects. STRABAG is active worldwide in all segments of the construction business, especially in structural, construction and civil engineering, as well as road construction. EVN is mainly active in the exploration and production of oil and gas, gas storage and distribution of electricity, gas and district heating. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns given that the joint venture has no, or negligible, actual or foreseen activities within the European Economic Area. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.8455.
Milestone reached in geothermal deep drilling project
The EU-funded DEEPEGS project has managed to drill 4 659 meters into a geothermal field in what is being described as a ‘significant milestone’ for the geothermal industry.
The results and lessons learned from the drilling process, which took 168 days, have just been published by the EU-funded DEEPEGS (Deployment of Deep Enhanced Geothermal Systems for Sustainable Energy Business) project whose well now has the deepest casing of any in Iceland. The work was done in two phases, the first to deepen an existing, 2 500 metre well to 3 000 metres and then to drill still further to an ultimate depth of 4 659 metres.
The project’s long-term goal is to use deep wells for highly efficient energy production, opening up new dimensions in the use of geothermal as a source. DEEPEGS needed to find supercritical fluid at the bottom of their well as this has a much higher energy content than conventional high-temperature geothermal stream resulting in a more efficient energy source – the project was able to report that it had done so.
Surmounting obstacles and gaining valuable experience
DEEPEGS explains that drilling a well this deep and hot presents challenges that are hard to overcome. As they drilled further down the complexities developed, and since this well went deeper than any that preceded it, DEEPEGS gained new insights into the type of problems that arise.
Extracting drill cores proved particularly difficult, it took 13 attempts to extract 27.3 metres and the last core to remove was at the bottom of a shaft of about 4 500 metres. Conventional drilling methods were not an option, so the project had to develop new means of tacking the challenges. All obstacles apart from the last, circulation loss, were overcome.
The project found the complete loss of circulation below 3 060 metres could not be dealt with through lost circulation materials, or by sealing the loss zone with cement. As a result, drill cores were the only deep rock samples recovered. However, as DEEPEGS set out to drill deep and extract cores, measure temperatures, search for permeability and find fluids at supercritical condition, the main objectives were reached.
So how viable is the source?
DEEPEGS believes the scope for potential utilisation will not be known until the end of 2018 when all research, including substantial well simulation and flow testing, has been conducted. But, says the project, initial indications are positive. The temperature at the bottom of the well has already been measured at 427°C, with fluid pressure of 340 bars, drill cores were retrieved, and the rocks appear to be permeable at depth. If deep, supercritical wells can produce more energy than conventional geothermal wells, fewer will be needed, resulting in the same amount of energy capture for less environmental impact.
For more information, please see: http://cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/128148_en.html
Daldrup & Söhne AG receives major order for four geothermal drillings from Stadtwerke München
– Drillings are part of Stadtwerke München’s plan to provide 100% of district heating from renewable energies
Grünwald / Ascheberg, Germany, May 3, 2017 – The drilling technology and geothermics specialist Daldrup & Söhne AG (ISIN DE0007830572) has received a major order from Munich-based energy provider Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM) to drill two geothermal doublers (four deep drillings) for the production of geothermal energy. With a value in the double-digit million range, the order is one of the largest in the company’s history. The drillings will go into a depth of more than 4,000 meters with work to start later this year. The drillings are part of SWM’s vision for district heating, which calls for Munich to be Germany’s first major city whose district heating will be generated entirely through renewable energies by 2040. Geothermal energy from hot thermal water is key to the production of this heating: Munich is located on top of vast supplies of this environmentally friendly energy, which is contained in easily permeable layers of limestone that are part of the geological layers underneath the city.
“SWM has opted for one of Europe’s most experienced geothermics specialists,” says Josef Daldrup, CEO of Daldrup & Söhne AG. “We are excited to support SWM in implementing their 100 percent renewable energies strategy, and to establish geothermal energy as a climate-friendly local heat supplier on an industrial scale for Munich with its more than one million inhabitants.”
BLM completes Environmental Assessment for Dixie Meadows Geothermal Development Project
CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Carson City District, has completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Dixie Meadows Geothermal Development Project. The BLM is also seeking public input under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the Project. This includes seeking information and identifying historic properties in or near the Project area. Public comments will be accepted through June 8, 2017.
This EA analyzes the potential impacts from the proposed development of this project including the construction of up to two 30 Megawatt net rated geothermal power plants; drilling, testing, and operating up to 15 geothermal production and injection well sites and eight core hole sites; constructing and operating pipelines to carry geothermal fluid between well fields and the power plant(s)s; and constructing either a 120-kilovolt (kV) or a 230-kV gen-tie and associated structures. The geothermal portions of the Project are located within the Combined Dixie Meadows Geothermal Unit Area. It also contains mineral rights to 760 acres of US Navy land known as the Lamb Mineral interests. This project is located on public lands in Churchill and Pershing Counties, Nevada.
A copy of the EA is available in the Carson City District BLM Office and on the project webpage at https://bit.ly/2qWH2MK Please send written comments to: Dave Schroeder, Dixie Meadows EA Project Lead, Stillwater Field Office, 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, NV 89701. Comments may also be submitted electronically via the EA webpage (under the “Contact Information” section), via email to firstname.lastname@example.org or via fax at (775) 885-6147 with the subject heading “Dixie Meadows Geothermal Development EA”.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment-including your personal information- may be publicly available at any time. While you ask us in your comment to withhold personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. After the public review period has ended, comments will be analyzed and considered part of the decision-making process. If you have any questions, please contact Jason Wright at (775) 885-6000 or at the above address.
Interest in geothermal energy grows, additional well added [in Boise]
Rwanda to Release New Results on Geothermal Energy Potential
Potential and approach to geothermal energy development in the Arctic
EDC plans $60 million retrofit of Tongonan geothermal plan
Directional drilling to kick off Geretsried geothermal project in Germany again
World Bank – Global Geothermal Development Plan – an update
College of Southern Idaho OKs Purchase of Geothermal Aquifer
5 common geothermal energy myths debunked (US DOE)",7288,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00507.warc.gz,0.932103455066681
78c3c884-96ee-40da-9743-ab3db593666c,2020-10-21T02:24:56+00:00,2020-10-20,1,https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PBHWYCONS,"Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Release: Construction Spending
Definitions related to the construction data can be found at https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/definitions.html
Methodology details can be found at https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/methodology.html
U.S. Census Bureau, Total Public Construction Spending: Highway and street [PBHWYCONS], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PBHWYCONS, October 20, 2020.",134,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874637.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021010156-20201021040156-00365.warc.gz,0.828144609928131
06b705fb-e1a8-4e71-a9e9-3309ab8534a8,2022-05-23T05:43:27+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://baptist.org.uk/Groups/305040/New_Housing_Hub.aspx,"National New Housing Hub
In these times of housing crisis in which building new homes has been defined as a government priority, many cities, towns and villages are experiencing growth through new housing. Our challenge as Christians is how we respond to these new communities with welcome and blessing. The New Housing Hub is a network that has been established to inspire, resource and connect pioneers, churches and individual Christians across the country and from all church traditions to respond to this challenge and engage with these new communities.
The National New Housing Hub has set up in partnership with Fresh Expressions, Churches Together in England and Baptists Together for those engaging or wanting to engage in new housing developments. The best way to make contact is through the Facebook group.",145,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00428.warc.gz,0.967132866382599
0c0aff70-758c-4a32-b169-79143f08986a,2022-05-23T07:36:45+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://www.loadmasterscale.com/product/11000-x-2-lb-5x5-low-profile-floor-scale/,"Low profile industrial platform scale.
- The LOADMASTER SE-7510 digital weight indicator is included in the price.
See all Digital Weight Indicators
- Stainless steel junction box with high quality rubber gasket seal and corner trim
- 3-3/4″ tall with 1/4″ checkered plate
- Product weight: 550 lbs
- Powder coat baked on finish is standard.",86,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662556725.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523071517-20220523101517-00615.warc.gz,0.833795368671417
232ca19f-ae3f-4b34-9871-0eef34ca87d0,2016-07-29T18:26:47+00:00,2013-09-01,1,http://seekingalpha.com/article/1708512-audiocodes-we-started-from-the-bottom-now-were-here?source=reuters,"I'm celebrating the 1 year anniversary of our initiation of AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC), ""AudioCodes - A Call Option On Microsoft's Lync/Skype Intentions"" (a must read), when the shares were trading at $1.45 and it had a market cap of $56 million. We've come so far, not only on price per share, but also as the company and the sector look poised to hit their stride and be in sync for the next 3 - 5 years as enterprises flock to the cloud and revitalize their communication networks for the now recognized necessity - voice via VoIP. Last year, AudioCodes reshaped its business model to be a complete end to end solution in the VoIP market as its core strength lies in Digital Signal Processing (DSP) which is at the heart of how voice packets travel across IP networks. As a result, it positioned itself as what I call, the voice authority in the Unified Communications (UC) space, a position that doesn't come easily or without a premium on its shares. In parallel, the industry experienced a blockbuster acquisition when tech titan Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) bought Acme Packet paying 60 times EPS or 6.5 times revenues and making myself, my Seeking Alpha followers, and a handful of others realize that we were going a lot higher.
At The Bottom
AudioCodes' CEO and his management team spent the last 12 months executing a strategy that is Israeliesque to say the least. At the bottom, it borrowed $15 million to complete a 10% buyback of the company at $2.75 per share and cut 10% of its operating expenses, focusing in on its core strengths and new initiatives. It built a service business taking advantage of its 23 years experience of working on multiple UC platforms both active and rested (it was this division which returned the company to profitability ahead of schedule). Even though it was backed by brokerage coverage, it was never with conviction on either the buy side or the sell side, leaving my perpetual articles on Seeking Alpha as the only guiding light.
Now We're Here
As AudioCodes hits its stride, it seems ripe for major upside surprises in both the near and long term. It just completed its third consecutive quarter of profits and of positive cash flow, allowing it to basically retire the $15 million in debt it took on to buy back 10% of its stock. In addition, it stealthily built a mobile VoIP platform, and introduced new software related and higher capacity products that moved it up the food chain and into the carrier space all of which could bring momentum to the shares in early 2014. The industry seems to be embracing VoIP via hosting as 8x8 Inc (NASDAQ:EGHT), Interactive Intelligence Group (NASDAQ:ININ), and BroadSoft (NASDAQ:BSFT) continue impressive moves, which Wall Street has taken notice of. We applaud the CEO for his brave call and his strong passion to make AudioCodes a pure play end to end voice authority in the delicate VoIP market. As a result, I'm here to make an aggressive call on the back of AudioCodes' well strategized plan over the past 12 months. I believe AudioCodes is in the best position internally (product offering, diverse business platforms, services and an operating leverage business model) and externally (Microsoft Lync, hosting, and a strong enterprise upgrade cycle) in its 23 years of existence. I believe it will command a new 6 month price target of $14 per share and if one of a few key catalysts hits, then I see a $1 billion valuation over the next 12 months or $20 - $25 per share.
Here's my case for AudioCodes reaching $14 in the next 6 months with the potential to hit $1 billion in the next 12-14 months:
Migration to the Cloud
Global enterprises are becoming increasingly comfortable putting their networks on the cloud. In fact, the rate at which enterprises are flocking to the cloud is astonishing - the compound annual growth rate (OTCPK:CAGR) is placed at 85% while the overall Unified Communication market ($12 Billion) CAGR is 12% . The common oversight made in evaluating AudioCodes is to focus solely on the UC CAGR, which while it would still show value in the shares, does not create overall excitement in the sector. However, when enterprises' move to the cloud they still need equipment and software on premise along with consulting and maintenance services. As mentioned previously, VoIP networks are very delicate and it takes a company with strong IP and years of experience to master. When these enterprises take on Lync voice or other hosting platforms then AudioCodes is a prime beneficiary of the on premise purchases and I believe the CAGR for AUDC will comfortably be 20-30% at some point in Q1-Q2 2014, backing up the CEO claims on the Q1 2013 quarterly conference call of ""hockey stick growth in 9-12 months"". This is proof that AudioCodes has a strong secular tailwind behind it.
Microsoft's Acquisition of Nokia's Handset Business
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) after years of side stepping around the handset arena has finally stepped in with a $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's (NYSE:NOK) handset business. But is it what meets the eye? I think the heart of this move is based solely on Microsoft's Lync/Skype intentions and adding the missing link to the enterprise food chain. Simply put, this gives Microsoft the mobile element. As one savvy telecom investor put it; ""Microsoft didn't lay out $7 billion to fight for pennies in the consumer handset market. I think it is doing what is necessary to secure its market share in UC - Enterprise, and that requires a mobile element.""
Voice subscriptions for Lync have been growing rapidly this year as Scott Gode, a senior director at Avanade Inc, (a large Microsoft partner) said in a recent interview;
""The technical implementations of enterprise voice were challenging early on. Now, though, those technical challenges are getting easier to overcome, the user support issues are diminishing and customers are demanding enterprise voice as part of their Lync implementations. A year ago only 10 percent [of our customers] used enterprise voice, now, over 50 percent of the new Lync business that's coming our way is enterprise-voice-related.""
I believe that, Microsoft wants to offer enterprises a complete solution within its own Microsoft controlled environment: hardware, desk phone, tablets, and mobile.
This will eventually include AudioCodes Lync solutions, VMAS and more specifically its Voice Experts @ Your Service program which has not yet received much attention. I expect to hear more about this in the months ahead as this offering will be key to helping Microsoft win enterprise confidence in IP voice.
Microsoft Backs Dell Going Private
Microsoft invested $2 billion in Dell taking itself private. In commenting on its investment, Microsoft said; ""We're in an industry that is constantly evolving. As always, we continue to look for opportunities to support partners who are committed to innovating and driving business for their devices and services built on the Microsoft platform."" With Microsoft and Dell, one hand washes the other and I believe that Microsoft could give Dell the go ahead to buy AudioCodes. Dell purchasing AudioCodes would keep it out of Microsoft's competitors hands while allowing Microsoft and AudioCodes to maintain close ties. Dell recently added AudioCodes' products to its website and it would be a perfect fit for Dell as it would enable Dell to build out its product offering while enhancing it services.
Michael Dell on a recent CNBC interview made some comments that suggest acquisitions like AudioCodes could be forthcoming;
""We're really focused on our customers and building out end-to-end solutions by enhancing the enterprise solutions and services capability, investing in research and development and continuing the acquisitions that Dell's been doing for the last several years.""
If Dell purchased AudioCodes today, we could get a buyout price of $11 - $12. If it waits until next year it could be $15 - $20.
AudioCodes' Mobile Platform Has Been Spotted
I have been pounding the table on the potential for AudioCodes to have a sexy over the top (OTT) mobile VoIP platform that should attract large cable and fixed line carriers looking to curb churn in their subscriber base. Unfortunately, the company has not provided anything to back up my enthusiasm, but I believe that I have found a carrier that recently launched the AudioCodes OTT mobile VMAS solution. That carrier is Bezeq, an Israeli fixed line carrier that launched the Bphone this past June/July and allows Bezeq subscribers to make calls on their smartphones at WiFi spots across the globe at discounted pricing. Here's a look at the service:
I believe this is AudioCodes platform from the MailVision acquisition and since the service just commenced in June/July we could start to see incremental licensing fees of $4 - $5 per download. I would like to remind investors that it doesn't take many downloads at 85-90% margins to add $0.01 of earnings to AudioCodes' bottom line.
What truly excites me about the Bphone is that it's a proof of concept to the larger carriers across the globe that are looking for a mobile strategy or another feature for current subscribers to reduce churn. In addition to large carriers, I believe that we could also see an enterprise version of the phone that will have more features such as enhanced encryption, security, and other enterprise specific applications. I see enterprises that are already using Lync Voice or another VoIP hosting system being very attracted to this kind of OTT mobile offering instead of Viber, or other third party OTT apps.
As the Oppenheimer analyst highlighted in his recent research report ""Raising Price Target: Expect Momentum to Build"", AudioCodes is winning larger Lync deals with longer durations; this brings more visibility and stability to its business model. I believe it's important to note that both medium and large enterprises allocate for IT budgets, but they don't allocate for IT personnel. Therefore, AudioCodes' One Voice with Microsoft Lync should in theory be the piece that solves that puzzle both today and in the future as Lync shows proof of market share. AudioCodes showed the importance it is placing on its Services business with its recent hire of Ofer Nimtsovitch as Vice President of Global Services last quarter. We await a more fortified backlog and an opportunity to see higher cash flows off it on the next conference call.
I believe cash is king! At the end of the day, institutions love to see a return of cash to the balance sheet. AudioCodes has not disappointed as over the past three quarters it has generated approximately $15 million in cash or $0.40 per share. In addition, I'm going to be the first to call for explosive cash flows from AudioCodes in the future, but especially in the 2nd half of each calendar year as its service business gains traction and we see contracts get closed aggressively in late Q3 and all of Q4 as enterprises are forced to spend to satisfy their IT budgets. Analysts are not factoring in the new service revenue model and how it equates to cash. As a result, I'm increasing my Cash Flows for 2013 and setting a new 2014 and 2015 cash flow estimate.
|Cash Flow (Estimates)|
|2013:||$20MM||$0.52 per share|
|2014:||$26MM||$0.67 per share|
|2015:||$35MM||$0.88 per share|
|Net Cash Position (Estimates)|
|Q1:||$37MM||$37MM||$0.97 per share|
|Q2:||$39.6MM||$39.6 MM||$1.02 per share|
|Q3:||$42MM (est.)||$44.5MM||$1.14 per share|
|Q4:||$45MM (est.)||$55MM||$1.41 per share|
A Pullback to Remember
On three previous occasions, I have made the call to buy AudioCodes on a pullback. The dates match the Buy Points highlighted on the chart above; 11/02/12 ""AudioCodes - A November to Remember"", 04/08/13 ""AudioCodes -A Pullback to Remember"" and most recently on 07/30/13 ""AudioCodes - Let Institutional Accumulation Begin"". The pullback we are currently witnessing in AudioCodes, is in my opinion, the best buying opportunity in the past two years. In my last piece I told you that institutions were accumulating the stock and for this reason I would be aggressively accumulating here. It is trading at a deep discount to its peers in the space and this pullback looks to be the best chance to pick it up while it's still discounted.
In looking at the above chart we can see that AudioCodes has made its move off the bottom with a double bottom that was confirmed with the breaking of its long term downtrend resistance line. We now look at where it is heading on the upside. There is some short term resistance at $10, but I believe that we will see AudioCodes continue its momentum move to $16, especially if we see institutions come into the stock.
On the weekly chart we can see that the 50 day moving average recently crossed above the 200 day moving average. This is called a Golden Cross and indicates higher prices ahead. The last time we saw a Golden Cross was in December, 2011 when the stock quickly traded up to $8. There is a strong case to make that AudioCodes is in a better position today than it was back then.
- Today there are 4 million less shares outstanding.
- Microsoft Lync is seeing voice subscriptions running at 50% as opposed to 10%.
- Microsoft Lync now has a much larger installed base.
- AudioCodes has the cheapest valuation amongst its peers.
- AudioCodes has a stronger backlog and business model.
I see AudioCodes trading up to $10 very quickly.
Competitors: Partners & Valuation
AudioCodes is finally getting the attention it rightly deserves, but when compared to its inner circle of peers it still appears to be undervalued. As such, this could be the start of something very exciting in both the short and long term. Here's a list of companies that closely resemble AudioCodes along with their valuations:
Sonus Networks (NASDAQ:SONS) - A complete pure play SBC player with a market cap of approximately $1 billion (post 11 million share buyback). The company trades at 3 times my $300 million 2014 estimate and would trade at 3.6 times if it hits Oppenheimer's $4 price target. Last quarter, it generated approximately 50% of its revenues from legacy products as opposed to AudioCodes which generated only 14% of revenues from legacy last quarter. I applaud Sonus' efforts and its institutional backing, but on an apples to apples comparison AUDC seems to be a cheaper and less riskier investment. Direct competitor to AUDC.
BroadSoft - another complete pure play UC (hosting & VoIP) services company that sells directly to the carriers. It has been an AudioCodes partner for the past 2 years. With a $1 billion market cap it trades at 4.50 times my 2014 revenues of $220 million (Pacific Crest just released a note that 2014 looks extremely bullish and its shares could reach $50 - $70 per share in the next 12 months). Over the past 18 months, it had a market cap as high as $1.4 billion or 6 times revenues. BroadSoft has a killler product and has executed extremely well for the most part over the past 2 years. In addition, the company is very profitable ($1.50 in EPS estimate) and has a highly competitive solution. Strong correlation to AUDC.
Interactive Intelligence - another complete pure play UC (VoIP) services company that sells directly to enterprises. It too is a partner of AudioCodes, with AudioCodes winning its partner of the year award last quarter. With a $1.2 billion market cap it trades at 3.3 times my $360 million 2014 estimate. The company is trading at 100 times its 2014 estimate of $0.60 in EPS. The market has embraced its execution and has confidence in the secular growth trend it participates in. Strong correlation to AUDC.
8X8 - A pure play UC (hosting) services company in the VoIP market place with a $716 million market cap. It trades at 4.50 times 2014 revenue estimates of $155 million. It is not a partner or a direct competitor of AudioCodes, but it could one day be a partner so the comparison is relevant. A couple of analysts have an $11 price target which would put the valuation at 5 times sales. The company is estimated to earn $0.34 next year valuing it at 27 times EPS. A good correlation to AUDC.
AudioCodes: Fundamentals and Valuation
I have tried to give you a snapshot of the valuations of the VoIP food chain in a handful of small to mid cap names that work with or compete with AudioCodes. As you can see the market has strong confidence in the growth rates of VoIP players going thru Hosting and SIP based channels. It's obvious that these valuations are justified as the broadness and the trading volumes prove institutional interest is alive and well. I believe as per my most recent note, ""Audiocodes: Let the Instituional Accumulation Begin"", that the time has come for the large momentum players to recognize AudioCodes as a key cog in this larger growth trend. I take strong conviction that this has already started as volume over the past 4 weeks post my article has exploded. Furthermore, it's reported that Louis Navellier, an influential and well-known momentum investor who manages $2.5 billion in assets, placed a buy recommendation on AudioCodes last week to his extended subscriber base pushing volume thru 1.4 million shares, making it the highest trading volume day in 6 years. I would say that this puts AUDC on the map.
|Market Cap: $250MM|
|Revenue Estimate||Revenue Multiple||Price Target (3 x Revs)|
|2013: $138MM||2013: 1.72||2013: $10.70|
|2014: $158MM||2014: 1.51||2014: $12.00|
|2015: $180MM||2015: 1.32||2015: $14.00|
|Cash Flow Estimate||Multiple to Cash Flow||Price Target:
(20 Multiple to Cash Flow)
|2013: $20MM||2013: 11.9||2013: $10.25|
|2014: $26MM||2014: 9.15||2014: $13.25|
|2015: $35MM||2015: 6.8||2015: $18.00|
|Shares Outstanding: 38.7 million|
|Insiders Own: ~25%|
|Float:18-20MM (My estimate)|
I have stayed steadfast on valuing AUDC based on 2014 estimates as 2013 was more of a transitional year for the company. AUDC has used 2013 as both a transitional (Legacy is only 14% of revenues) and a growth (One Voice for Lync is bringing larger deals to its pipeline) year and still has the ability to outperform expectations this year. Based on all the companies I highlighted in this sector, AudioCodes should trade at 3 x 2015 revenues or $14 per share.
As mentioned earlier, Oppenheimer upgraded its price target to $7 per share on the premise that momentum is building. I believe that with the valuations in the comps I supplied, with Microsoft's relationship with AudioCodes' One Voice, with Microsoft combining Lync and Skype into one, with Microsoft picking up Nokia's patents and handsets business and with the overall secular tailwinds in enterprises bringing voice to IP it should do two things:
1. Keep AudioCodes as a prime takeover candidate of Microsoft, Dell, HP or others as it would tie in its Lync/Skype/Nokia assets from end to end which would automatically make Microsoft own the new desktop; the IP phone system. It should maintain a takeover premium for the next 3-6 months as its best quarters are in front of it.
2. The Shabtai effect: A man who grabbed the bull by the horns when everyone wrote him, his company and the sector off. He created a business model with operating leverage, now that its focus is on software, services and mobile licensing as opposed to its legacy hardware only model. This is a big wake up call to those who do not know that AUDC is now a potential earnings machine. Do not rule out positive accretive cash deals now that cash flow is alive and well.
That said, there's no reason to maintain a $7 price tag on AudioCodes as I now believe that it is a cash printing machine with a services business, software uprising, a mobile revenue sharing model and a unique last man standing operation that would throw off $50 million dollars in 2014 if Microsoft, Dell, IBM (NYSE:IBM), AT&T (NYSE:T) or another key player wanted to solidify its Voice offering. The $7 target is based on someone not seeing the forest for the trees. Therefore, I believe the new target should be $10 as a floor which would give it a $390 million market cap or 2 times 2014 estimated revenues less its cash. Still a discount to Sonus' valuation by a third.
Catalysts to a $1 Billion Market Capitalization
Microsoft or an industry research firm (Gartner, Infonetics) delivers proof that Microsoft Lync has taken market share from Cisco Systems' UC platform and/or Lync migration to voice is way ahead of expectations. This would undoubtedly place AudioCodes revenues over $200 million for 2015 which would equate to $0.80 - $1.00 in EPS. A 20-30 EPS multiple wouldn't be too far fetched for momentum investors as AudioCodes successes bring its voice authority to light. From 1 to 10: I place it at 7
The mobile VoIP VMAS platform it has been working on wins one or two top carriers in the world supporting a fixed line carrier to offer mobile VoIP to its enterprise/retail subscribers. At my estimate of $4 - $5 per download, maybe more on the enterprise side could drive massive EPS leverage if a Comcast, Time Warner, Liberty Media or collectively a handful of the 100s of carriers in the world adopt VMAS as a mobile VoIP platform. 8
A bidding war in the next 6 months starts between 3 or 4 players as AudioCodes proves to have a strong business model in the VoIP market. I also see a cable carrier or fixed line carrier being a bidder if my mobile thesis plays out. IBM, MSFT, DELL, & AT&T could be potential bidders. 9.5
AudioCodes uses its potential strong cash flows to acquire niche software players that can be significantly and swiftly leveraged into the distribution channels AudioCodes has built over the last 23 years, bringing strong EPS momentum. 10
I'm very fortunate that my research has taken us from the bottom, up to the point where the stage is now set for what looks to be a number of solid quarters ahead as the industry brings voice to Lync. AudioCodes' CEO has done great work, and we must recognize how much work, effort and momentum the AudioCodes team now has behind them as it enters its strongest quarters (Q3 & Q4). Internal momentum is a highly energizing X-factor and with most employees significantly to the good on their options, I look to see positive unexpected deals, partnerships, contracts and/or execution in the months ahead. This is a huge positive intangible to factor in when buying AudioCodes here. That in the end will bring an industry powerhouse to the table to acquire AudioCodes at a price that's undetermined but if that industry tailwind continues to gain momentum along with the personnel momentum at AudioCodes then $1 billion can eventually be here.
Disclosure: I am long AUDC. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.",5127,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00208-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955426156520844
f8d4d192-0783-473d-ae39-d335d1458e0f,2022-05-28T10:20:35+00:00,2020-05-11,0,https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/covid-19-clinical-trials-report-card-remdesivir/,"COVID-19 Clinical Trials Report Card: Remdesivir
May 11, 2020
Nicholas J DeVito, Henry M Drysdale, Jeffrey K Aronson
On behalf of the Oxford COVID-19 Evidence Service Team
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
University of Oxford
Correspondence to firstname.lastname@example.org
Remdesivir is an antiviral drug, currently in development by the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. It is thought that remdesivir may have a beneficial effect in treating patients with COVID-19, and the US FDA recently authorized emergency use of remdesivir during the pandemic.
We have described the current research programme for remdesivir across all registered COVID-19 clinical trials.
What we did
We downloaded the ICTRP COVID-19 database on 29 April 2020 and applied our data cleaning and extraction code for covid19.trialstracker.net. Known cross-registrations are removed to avoid double-counting and fields are normalized to common terms (e.g. Phase II becomes Phase 2). For all current, planned, or completed studies in the final dataset (n=1760) we extracted all interventions explicitly mentioned in the relevant registry fields. For this report card, we included every trial that mentioned remdesivir as an intervention, and extracted key trial characteristics (blinding, randomization, study type, control type, dosage regimen, patient population, and sponsor).
We further examined the registry entry for each study to determine if remdesivir was the focus of the study, or if it was being used as a control, in combination with the active therapy of interest, or for other purposes.
We located 11 unique planned, current, or completed/suspended studies mentioning remdesivir as a treatment. Two are expanded access programs. Below we present a short description of the other nine studies and their designs, followed by a table with summary characteristics. Known cross-registrations for these trials are included in Table 1. We shall refer to the ClinicalTrials.gov registration for a given trial throughout the rest of the piece
Table 1: Cross-Registration and Location Details of Remdesivir Trials
||USA, Japan, South Korea, UK, Denmark, Greece, Germany, Singapore, Mexico, Spain
||No Country Given
||USA, Japan, South Korea, UK, China, Iran, Switzerland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden, Netherlands, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Taiwan
||USA, Japan, South Korea, UK, China, Switzerland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden, Netherlands, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Taiwan
||USA, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Spain
||EUCTR2020-001366-11; NCT04330690; PER-010-20; IRCT20200405046953N1; NCT04321616; EUCTR2020-000982-18
||South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Israel, Canada, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Kenya, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Lebanon, Italy, Honduras, Philippines, Indonesia, Qatar, Iran, Spain
Trials Sponsored by Gilead Sciences
Gilead currently sponsors two interventional clinical trials (NCT04292730, NCT04292899) and one expanded access (i.e. compassionate use) program (NCT04323761) for remdesivir in COVID-19.
The two randomized open-label trials are examining remdesivir, along with standard care, given as a loading dose followed by either 5 or 10 days of daily 100 mg infusions. This can then be followed by an additional “extension” treatment for 5-10 days. Both trials examine primary outcomes for efficacy (a 7-point scale for improvement) and a secondary outcome for “safety” (proportion of patients with adverse events).
The most notable difference between the two trials is that NCT04292730 has a “standard of care” control group that does not receive treatment with remdesivir, while NCT04292899 is uncontrolled, even though it has a substantially higher enrolment target (6000 vs. 1600).
Government Sponsored Trials
The US Government has registered one interventional trial for remdesivir in COVID-19 (NCT04280705, The AACT trial) through the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and an expanded access program (NCT04302766) administered by the US Army.
NCT04280705 is a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial planned for 800 patients. Participants are given a 200 mg intravenous loading dose of remdesivir followed by up to 10 days of daily 100 mg intravenous maintenance doses. The original primary outcome was nearly equivalent to the outcome specified in the Gilead-sponsored trials (a 7-point scale for improvement assessed at 15 days).
Subsequently, an eighth category was added to the improvement scale. This outcome was then notably changed to a three-point scale, measuring time to recovery at 29 days. There are an additional 28 secondary endpoints in this study, including measurement of various biomarkers, tracking of adverse and serious adverse events, and other clinically relevant endpoints. While no complete results for this trial have been released to date, positive findings for the new primary endpoint were announced in a press release after the product had been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA.
The French Government, via their national institute of health research (INSERM), has registered an interventional clinical trial (NCT04315948, The DisCoVeRy Trial) that includes remdesivir alongside a number of other candidate treatments for COVID-19. Dosing is equivalent to the previously described studies (a 200 mg intravenous loading dose then up to 10 days of 100 mg daily intravenous maintenance doses). The primary outcome is a 7-point ordinal scale of intensity of disease, as measured at 15 days, with 28 secondary or “other” outcomes measuring a range of clinical endpoints and biomarkers. Participants in this study receive either remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir with interferon beta-1a, lopinavir/ritonavir without interferon beta-1a, or hydroxychloroquine, in addition to standard care, or standard care alone. The trial is open-label and plans to enrol 3100 participants.
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is sponsoring The SOLIDARITY Trial, a global trial of various proposed treatments for COVID-19. The overall trial is registered as ISRCTN83971151 with a number of additional country-specific registrations (see Table 1).
Participants are randomized to receive either remdesivir, chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, or lopinavir/ritonavir with or without interferon beta. There is no masking. The ISRCTN entry does not specify dosing; however, the additional registrations suggest that the standard regimen of 10 days (200 mg intravenous loading + 100 mg/day maintenance) is being used. No enrolment target is specified for this trial; however, it is expected to be “several thousand” across all global trial sites. The ICTRP record estimates 10,000. All-cause mortality, stratified by disease severity is the primary outcome and duration of hospital stay and time to ventilation are the secondary outcomes.
Two similar protocols examining remdesivir for COVID have been registered by Capital Medical University (NCT04252664, NCT04257656). Neither trial is currently recruiting. Both trials were planned to be randomized, masked, and placebo controlled, using the standard dosing regimen over 10 days or until discharge. The main difference between the two trials was the study population (mild to moderate COVID in NCT04252664 and severe COVID in NCT04257656) and slightly different outcomes. In NCT04252664, the primary outcome was time to recovery, while NCT04257656 examined time to clinical improvement. Both studies had 10 secondary outcomes with some differences between the two.
NCT04257656 was officially terminated early, after enrolling 237 participants, owing to a lack of patients as China’s outbreak came under control. The results of NCT04257656 trial were published in The Lancet and showed that “remdesivir was not associated with statistically significant clinical benefits.”
NCT04252664, however, is currently listed as “Suspended,” also owing to lack of patients. It is unclear why this trial was “suspended” instead of terminated, and why it was not reported like NCT04257656. It was expected to enroll 308 participants.
The Tehran University of Medical Sciences has registered a single-arm, uncontrolled, open-label trial of remdesivir for COVID-19 (IRCT20171122037571N2). The trial measures both time to clinical improvement and recovery as primary endpoints and five secondary outcomes, including mortality and safety measures. The target sample size is 120 participants.
We located one additional unique trial registration that included remdesivir as a treatment (NCT04349410). The trial is sponsored by The Camelot Foundation and uses a proprietary method for measuring “change in tissue resulting from inter alia a disease process. This includes inter alia coronary artery disease (CAD), cancer and infectious/inflammatory processes including CoVid-19 pneumonia (CVP) resulting from the metabolic and regional blood flow differences (RBFDs) caused by these diseases.” Currently the treatment has 11 arms using a variety of potential treatments for COVID-19, including remdesivir. It is planning to randomize 500 participants to the 11 arms, with no control. Only the investigator is blinded to the study condition. Improvement on the proprietary scale at 3 days is the primary outcome of the study. Ventilation status and survival are secondary outcomes.
Table 2 includes the overall characteristics of all interventional remdesivir trials (excluding the two “Expanded Access” registrations).
Table 2: Overall Characteristics of Registered Remdesivir Trials
|“Standard of Care”
Assessment of the research landscape of remdesivir for COVID-19 shows some strengths and some weaknesses.
The trials are universally aligned on the dosing of remdesivir and many are using similar primary outcome scales. However, the recent changes to the NIAID trial outcomes, moving away from the 7-point scale, which includes outcomes such as death and ventilation, and moving towards time to recovery, with a smaller 3-point scale assessed over a longer time frame, compromises this comparability. Given that investigators claim this outcome definition and duration was changed based on additional information about the disease, this may infer existing outcome sets are not well suited to what we now know about the disease course and confuse outcome selection and synthesis of common outcomes moving forward. Less than half of the trials are blinded and a third are uncontrolled. Gilead is currently running the largest trial focused solely on remdesivir (n=6000), but without a control group. Of the three trials that meet the highest design standard (randomized, masked, and placebo controlled) none has successfully reached completion.
The Chinese studies from Capital Medical University have both halted, one permanently and one apparently temporarily, owing to lack of COVID-19 patients. The third, the NIAID study, will begin offering patients on placebo the chance to switch to remdesivir based on the interim findings, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Given the results to date, additional well-designed studies will be necessary to bolster the evidence for using remdesivir in patients with COVID-19. Trials lacking a control are unlikely to add substantially to evidence for the efficacy of remdesivir in this context.
Note: This work has not been peer-reviewed and the data is preliminary. We hope to continue to improve, expand, and update the data on trials of these and other drugs in the near future.
Nicholas J. DeVito is a doctoral student in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. He studies transparency in biomedical research and runs covid19.trialstracker.net as part of the DataLab and Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine.
COI: NJD receives a doctoral studentship from the Naji Foundation, grant support from the Fetzer Franklin Fund, and has been employed on grants from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the Good Thinking Society.
Henry Drysdale is a clinical researcher with the DataLab, University of Oxford, and a medical doctor in the NHS. His academic work focuses on integrity in academic and NHS research. Henry co-founded the COMPare project, which monitored outcome switching in 5 major medical journals.
COI: HMD has been employed on grants from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
Jeffrey Aronson is a physician and clinical pharmacologist working in the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. He is an Associate Editor of BMJ EBM and a President Emeritus of the British Pharmacological Society.
COI: JKA has written papers on the subject of clinical trials and has written papers and edited textbooks on clinical pharmacology, pharmacovigilance, and adverse drug reactions.",3160,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016373.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528093113-20220528123113-00413.warc.gz,0.919318377971649
ce5adc8a-1f87-40db-9271-f85089d8cad2,2022-05-26T08:23:40+00:00,2022-05-26,1,https://www.humbertobruni.com/inventions,"After more than two decades of observations at several factors implied in Classical Guitar Technique, Humberto Bruni developed several devices that help develop finger independence.
Finger independence is a success key factor for playing the uttermost difficult works written for the instrument. Some of those pieces are simply unreachable for thousands of Classical Guitar players around the World.
Right now, those inventions are in the process of Research, Development and Testing.
The most conspicuous of those inventions is the ""CG-Pal"", which according with the scientific data acquisition during strictly controlled experiments, have proven great efficiency with satisfactory statistical significance.
In a near future, (end of year 2022), the results as well as the first working prototypes will be shown in this section.",152,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604495.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526065603-20220526095603-00210.warc.gz,0.954942941665649
953ee873-6890-4cba-8faf-f34a2bbaf533,2017-08-18T18:17:02+00:00,2011-09-30,1,http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pe/2011/10/ferc-conditionally-approves-duke-progress-merger.html,"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has conditionally authorized the proposed merger of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN), subject to FERC's approval of mitigation measures to address its finding that the combined company could have an adverse effect on competition in Carolinas power markets.
In an order issued Sept. 30, the FERC said the companies have up to 60 days to propose measures to address the market power concerns.
The FERC's order did not identify any concerns about market power in the combined company's other service areas (Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky), or other significant issues that need to be addressed by the companies.
If completed, the merger will create the nation's largest electric utility, as measured by enterprise value, market capitalization, generation assets, customers and numerous other criteria. The combined company is expected to have more than 7.1 million electric customers in six states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky) and the largest regulated nuclear fleet in the country.
Both utilities received shareholder approval at separate meetings Aug. 23.
Read more mergers and acquisitions news",236,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105086.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818175604-20170818195604-00563.warc.gz,0.951111018657684
a7c31f45-e020-400d-bafc-bf886d8e0fe6,2020-10-28T12:48:35+00:00,2018-02-07,1,https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/valiant-midstream-to-build-natural-gas-gathering-system-and-processing-plant-in-oklahomas-arkoma-stack-play-300595212.html,"OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Valiant Midstream LLC announced today it has commenced construction on a natural gas gathering system and cryogenic gas processing plant in the heart of the Arkoma Stack play in southeast Oklahoma. The system is expected to come online in multiple phases starting in the second quarter of 2018. It will benefit from long-term dedications of two prominent acreage holders in the region.
Valiant will provide midstream services to multiple oil and gas producers targeting liquids-rich stacked pay zones, including the highly prolific Woodford formation. The initial system infrastructure will span Hughes, Coal and Atoka counties and portions of Pittsburg, Pontotoc and Seminole counties.
The initial phase of the project will include the installation of a 200 MMCFD cryogenic processing plant and a high-pressure trunk line spanning through the basin's liquids-rich fairway with a gathering system consisting of 12-inch to 24-inch steel pipeline, five gas compression facilities and condensate stabilization. The processing plant will provide access to multiple residue gas pipelines and will offer Valiant's customers market flexibility, enhanced netbacks and assurance of flow. Valiant expects an initial investment of $200 million to the Arkoma Stack and to increase its investment as producers' needs develop across the basin.
""Providing best-in-class gas gathering and processing assets for producers in the Arkoma Stack was a day-one priority for Valiant,"" said Valiant President and CEO Brandon Webster. ""We stand ready to meet the infrastructure requirements of this stacked source rock basin and look forward to providing rapid response and flexible solutions to drive further investment in the area.""
Valiant will provide gathering and processing services for anchor customers Corterra Energy LLC and Canyon Creek Energy – Arkoma LLC under long-term contracts. Combined, these companies have committed over 1.8 million gross acres within an area of mutual interest to the midstream project. Corterra and Canyon Creek currently control close to 500,000 gross acres across the re-emerging Arkoma Stack play.
""Canyon Creek and Corterra's positions blanket a large portion of the liquids-rich window of the Arkoma Stack,"" Webster said. ""Both producers are clear basin leaders which hold premier acreage positions and have the right management teams and capital partners to execute their development strategies.""
ABOUT VALIANT MIDSTREAM, LLC
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Valiant Midstream is a private midstream energy company focused on providing innovation, energy and results to midstream customers in the Mid-Continent and across North America. Valiant's full suite of midstream services include natural gas gathering, processing, treating and compression; crude oil gathering, storage and transportation; condensate stabilization/splitting; produced water gathering; and marketing services. Valiant Midstream is backed by an initial $150 million funding commitment from Tailwater Capital and Valiant management. Tailwater expects to increase its commitment as Valiant executes its growth strategy. For more information, please visit www.valiantmidstream.com.
ABOUT CANYON CREEK ENERGY – ARKOMA, LLC
Canyon Creek Energy – Arkoma (CCEA) is a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based oil and natural gas company primarily focused on exploiting natural resources in Oklahoma. CCEA is managed as an affiliate of Canyon Creek Energy Operating LLC, which is led by President and CEO R. Luke Essman. CCEA is a joint venture partnership between CCEA management, private investors and Vortus Investment Advisors, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, please visit www.canyoncreekenergy.com.
ABOUT CORTERRA ENERGY, LLC
Founded in 2016 and led by industry veterans, Corterra Energy is an independent exploration and energy production company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with operations in the Mid-Continent region of Oklahoma. Corterra Energy is partnered with private equity firm White Deer Energy, headquartered in New York, New York. Learn more by visiting www.corterraenergy.com.
Canyon Creek Energy – Arkoma
SOURCE Valiant Midstream LLC",851,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107898499.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028103215-20201028133215-00610.warc.gz,0.914861738681793
68d799ae-7009-4dc7-8254-86e4f028abf1,2022-05-16T16:10:50+00:00,2017-04-05,1,http://blogs.ubc.ca/mongolia/2017/guest-post-erdenet-now-fully-state-owned-but-contested/,"At the close of the fall session of the Ikh Khural, Mongolia’s Parliament, the body voted to invalidate the sale of the 49% shares of Erdenet carried out in summer 2016, which transferred the ownership of the 49% from the Russian state enterprise Rostec to the recently created Mongolian Copper Corporation. As of March 29th, the Erdenet enterprise has now been registered as 100% government-owned. The Spring Session of the Ikh Khural opened on April 5th. Though, as reported, no direct references in session have yet been made to the matter of the Erdenet 49%’s “taking by the government” at the close of the fall session, the month of March and beginning of April have seen several relevant events.
The legality of the Parliament decision to revoke the sale 49% of Erdenet shares is being reviewed by the Tsets, Mongolia’s constitutional court, an event that has been lightly covered and may stretch out for a long period of time .The event that I see as most important to discuss at this point in time and which I will focus on in this post, however, is the removal of MCC board members and their replacement with members of government ministries, and the re-entry into discourse of the Erdenet “100%,” which has previously been associated with former Prime Minister Saikhanbileg’s much contested assertion that the sale of the 49% to MCC constituted Erdenet’s transformation into a “100% Mongolian” enterprise.
Increased Government Control, to What Ends?
The three directors of the board associated with the Mongolian Copper Corporation (MCC), the CEO of the Trade and Development Bank (O. Orkhon), long-time politician and proponent of market liberalization and reform (D. Ganbold) [See Morris Rossabi, Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.], and M. Munkhbaatar (http://www.news.mn/r/314463), have been replaced with members of the government from the energy ministry (Z. Mendsaikhan), mining and mid-sized industry (D. Davaadorj), and Committee on State Property (A. Dagvadorj). It appears that the central government in Ulaanbaatar may be moving to wrest at least more control of Erdenet from the largely separate group who have been involved with the enterprise since the Tsedenbal period.
The ousted board members – with the exception of former TDB CEO Orkhon — are speaking out and calling the events “highway robbery” (deerem), and Ts. Purevtuvshin, the twenty-something director of the MCC has emerged and been giving interviews and press conferences.
The new members of the board are obscure, so it is hard to say now how the central government may or may not be seeking to further change the relationship with Erdenet, and there would be other forces of resistance to its actions than free-market logics and those espousing them, domestically and internationally. The silence of O. Orkhon about his removal suggests that these forces may be moving, however.
In terms of the other forces, the position of Russian actors in relation to these three groups of Mongolian actors continues to be important. Through intermediaries who must also be taken into account, the Erdenet enterprise requires continued access to Russian electric power and gasoline, as well as replacement parts for equipment. With Mongolia’s railway continuing to be a Mongolian-Russian joint enterprise, the feasible transport of copper and molybdenum concentrates also requires Russian cooperation. In March Erdenet’s general director, reportedly visited Russian mining equipment manufacturer Rudgormash.
Director, A Long-time Mining (but not Erdenet) Insider, Under Threat
But most lately, Badamsuren is at the center of a storm of controversy about his salary and other benefits (a story also just appearing in Russian-language news outlet asiarussia.ru). Though he was appointed director after the sale of the 49% to MCC, Badamsuren is associated more with the late socialist-era engineering technocracy that also characterizes the administration of Erdenet, rather than Western-oriented business and finance circles (though like members of the Erdenet establishment, Badamsuren studied at the Colorado School of Mines in the 1990s). Is he (along with the MCC management) being particularly targeted for replacement, possibly for seeking contracts with new or, the wrong, new suppliers? Badamsuren was previously associated with Mongolrossvetmet (the very little discussed Mongolian-Russian mining enterprise, which produces Mongolia’s world-leading levels of fluorspar among other nonferrous metals and minerals, whose shares were also sold last summer) and appears to be an outsider to Erdenet and its networks.
In any case, public discourse is continuing in much the same form as Mongolian news outlets have released many, many stories about the salaries, consulting fees, and somewhat luxurious possessions of Erdenet’s directors (on Wednesday, April 5, a half-hour long press conference on this topic was held and webcast by the State Property Committee). Concern over taxes is also populating the Mongolian press and social media, and conversations (and protests) about offshore accounts are back with a vengeance.
Unfortunately, these stories and conversations miss and lead us away from examining the structural conditions underlying the difficult situations and justified outrage that generate and make attractive simplified narratives of corruption. Similarly, and we may expect the discourse to be increasingly structured along these lines with presidential elections drawing closer, the matter of the 49% is not one involving and to be decided only by two sets of actors facing off, as in alignments between those seeking privatization, the MCC board members, and Democratic Party on the one hand and those supporting government ownership and management and the Mongolian People’s Party on the other, or alliances between government members across party lines (“MANAN”) and other “oligarchs” versus the rest of the Mongolian people.
In particular, in this and my other writing about Erdenet I have sought to highlight the character of Erdenet as involving a largely separate group of actors or “establishment,” with their own sets of networks not only in Mongolia, but also abroad. Though much focus has been placed upon the “taking” of the 49% from the MCC, attempts to take Erdenet from the people who have been operating the enterprise and the networks that keep it running for forty years has been little discussed, and would in many ways prove much more difficult, as has been evident with similar cases involving many large post-Soviet enterprises across Eurasia over the past two and a half decades.
About Marissa Smith
Marissa Smith obtained her PhD from Princeton University’s department of anthropology in 2015, after defending a dissertation about Erdenet and its position in local, national, regional, and international contexts. She currently teaches at De Anza College in Cupertino, California.",1493,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510138.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516140911-20220516170911-00613.warc.gz,0.96433037519455
e1524e17-3a30-479b-a0f7-6a3084b58488,2015-04-02T03:19:36+00:00,2012-08-04,0,http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/caregivers/in-depth/alzheimers/art-20046222?p=1,"Alzheimer's causes disorientation, which can lead to wandering. Here's how to curb or prevent wandering, as well as ensure a safe return if your loved one is lost.
By Mayo Clinic Staff
Alzheimer's disease can erase a person's memory of once-familiar surroundings, as well as make it difficult to adapt to new surroundings. As a result, people who have Alzheimer's might wander away from their homes or care centers and turn up lost, frightened and disoriented — sometimes far from where they started.
Sometimes wandering is triggered by a particular medication. Often, though, someone who's wandering is:
- Searching for something. Wanderers are often looking for something or someone familiar, especially if they recently moved to a new environment. In other cases, wanderers are trying to satisfy a basic need, such as hunger or thirst — but they've forgotten what to do or where to go. Many wanderers are looking for a bathroom.
- Escaping from something. Sometimes wandering is a result of stress, anxiety or too much stimulation, such as multiple conversations in the background or even the noise of pots and pans in the kitchen.
- Reliving the past. If wandering occurs at the same time every day, it might be linked to a lifelong routine. For example, a woman who tries to leave the nursing home every day at 5 p.m. might believe she's going home from work.
If you're caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer's, use simple strategies to curb wandering:
- Address potential triggers. Offer your loved one a snack, a glass of water or use of the bathroom. Encourage physical activity to curb restlessness and promote better sleep.
- Provide visual cues. People who have Alzheimer's often forget where they are, even inside their own homes. It might help to post descriptive photos on the doors to various rooms, such as the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. Encourage your loved one to explore his or her immediate environment as often as necessary.
- Plan activities and other distractions. If your loved one tends to wander at the same time every day, a planned activity at that hour could stem the wandering. It might be as simple as asking the person to fold a basket of towels or put place mats on the table for dinner. If wandering outdoors is an issue, you might want to store coats, boots and keys out of sight.
Despite your best efforts, it might be impossible to completely prevent wandering. Consider these techniques to accommodate wandering and keep your loved one safe:
- Reduce hazards. Remove tripping hazards, such as throw rugs and extension cords. Install night lights to aid nighttime wanderers. Put gates at stairwells to prevent falls.
- Provide a place to wander safely. If wandering isn't associated with distress or a physical need, you might want to focus simply on providing a safe place for walking or exploration — such as a path through the rooms of your house or a circular trail through a fenced backyard.
- Install alarms and locks. Various devices can alert you that your loved one is on the move. You might place pressure-sensitive alarm mats at the door or at your loved one's bedside, put warning bells on doors and use childproof covers on doorknobs. If your loved one tends to unlock doors, you might install sliding bolt locks out of your loved one's line of sight.
- Camouflage doors. To short-circuit a compulsion to wander into off-limits rooms, you might place curtains over doors or camouflage doors with paint or wallpaper that matches the surrounding walls. A mirror or a stop sign on the door might help, too.
- Use a GPS device. Consider having your loved one wear a GPS or other tracking device that can send electronic alerts about his or her location. If your loved one wanders, the GPS device can help you find him or her quickly.
Wanderers who get lost can be difficult to find because they often behave unpredictably. For example, they might not call for help or respond to searchers' calls. Once found, wanderers might not remember their names or where they live.
If you're concerned about your loved one's wandering, inform your neighbors and other close contacts about your loved one's condition. Keep a list of emergency phone numbers handy in case you can't find your loved one. Keep a recent photo of your loved one on hand, too.
Also consider enrolling in the Alzheimer's Association safe-return program. For a small fee, participants receive an identification bracelet and access to 24-hour support in case of emergency.
If your loved one is lost, contact local authorities and the safe-return program — if you've enrolled — right away. The sooner you ask for help, the sooner your loved one is likely to be found.
Aug. 04, 2012
- Wandering. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_wandering_behaviors.asp. Accessed May 7, 2012.
- Wandering behavior: Preparing for and preventing it. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_wandering_behaviors.asp. Accessed May 7, 2012.
- Six out of 10 people with Alzheimer's will wander. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/safetycenter/we_can_help_safety_medic_enroll.asp. Accessed May 7, 2012.
- Press D, et al. Safety and societal issues related to dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed May 7, 2012.",1173,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00277-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.933445692062378
a1079dbd-2e14-4163-8abc-a19f4b8022ab,2017-08-24T02:45:55+00:00,2017-06-15,0,http://www.penguincomputing.com/company/press-releases/penguin-computing-frostbyte-thinkparq-beegfs-storage/,"Penguin Computing Announces FrostByte with ThinkParQ BeeGFS Storage
FREMONT, Ca.; June 15, 2017 – Penguin Computing®, provider of high performance computing, enterprise data center and cloud solutions, today announced FrostByte™ with ThinkParQ® BeeGFS®, the latest member of the family of software-defined storage solutions. FrostByte is Penguin Computing’s scalable storage solution for HPC clusters, high-performance enterprise applications and data intensive analytics.
“We are pleased to announce our Gold Partner relationship with ThinkParQ,” said Tom Coull, President and CEO, Penguin Computing. “Together, Penguin Computing and ThinkParQ can deliver a fully supported, scalable storage solution based on BeeGFS, engineered for optimal performance and reliability with best-in-class hardware and expert services.”
BeeGFS, developed at the Fraunhofer Center for High Performance Computing in Germany and delivered by ThinkParQ GmbH, is a parallel file system that was designed specifically to deal with I/O intensive workloads in performance-critical environments and with a strong focus on easy installation and high flexibility, including converged environments where storage servers are also used for computing. BeeGFS transparently spreads user data across multiple servers, increasing the number of servers and disks in the overall storage system. Users can seamlessly scale performance and capacity from small clusters up to enterprise-class systems with thousands of nodes. BeeGFS is powering the storage of hundreds of scientific and industry customer sites worldwide.
Sven Breuner, CEO of ThinkParQ, stated, “Before officially teaming up with Penguin Computing, we learned from our customers about how much they value Penguin Computing as an HPC solution provider. Now that we are working very closely together, we are even more impressed by the level of professionalism and customer dedication, which absolutely convinced us that Penguin Computing is the ideal partner for highest quality customer solutions.”
BeeGFS offers a number of compelling features making it ideal for demanding, high-performance, high-throughput workloads found in HPC, life sciences, deep learning, big data analytics, media & entertainment, financial services, and much more. BeeGFS is natively supported in the Linux kernel and runs on x86_64, OpenPOWER, ARM64, and other architectures. It supports multiple networks with dynamic failover and provides fault-tolerance with built-in replication and filesystem sanity checks. BeeGFS includes both command-line and graphical tools, simplifying administration and monitoring. A unique feature is BeeGFS On Demand (BeeOND), which allows users to create temporary parallel filesystems on a per-job basis, even within cluster batch job scripts.
Penguin Computing FrostByte storage solutions lift the limitations of traditional storage appliances by delivering engineered designs to meet customer data protection and performance requirements in a highly scalable, supported platform. Penguin Computing offers FrostByte in both on-premise and hosted deployments with tunable support options, including Sysadmin-as-a-Service.
Penguin Computing’s FrostByte with ThinkParQ BeeGFS Storage will be featured at ISC 2017, Europe’s largest, annual, high-performance computing event, June 18-21. Visit booth #J-610 for details and enter the raffle for a chance to win a ThinkParQ BeeCopter.
ThinkParQ was founded as a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Center for High Performance Computing by the key people behind BeeGFS to bring fast, robust, scalable storage to market. ThinkParQ is responsible for support, provides consulting, organizes and attends events, and works together with system integrators to create turn-key solutions. ThinkParQ and Fraunhofer internally cooperate closely to deliver high quality support services and to drive further development and optimization of BeeGFS for tomorrow’s performance-critical systems. Visit thinkparq.com to learn more about the company.",820,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126027.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824024147-20170824044147-00606.warc.gz,0.920788288116455
e692d749-a8a4-470d-a9ce-1dee8b3d3f5b,2020-10-24T14:49:45+00:00,2019-10,0,https://cyberjalakam.com/jeff-bezos/,"Jeff Bezos is a contemporary celebrity, Popularly known as a likable Entrepreneur. Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, NM
Scroll down to learn more about Jeff Bezos’s Net Worth, Age, Height, Weight, Biography, Career, Nationality, Family and Wiki.
|AGE||55 years old|
|DATE OF BIRTH||January 12, 1964|
|PLACE OF BIRTH||Albuquerque, NM|
|POPULARLY KNOWN AS A||Entrepreneur|
|How many children||N/A|
|Marital status ?
(single, married, in relation or divorce)
|Marriage Date ?||N/A|
|Dating Someone Or in a Relationship?||N/A|
|Is Jeff Bezos gay ?||N/A|
Other Popular Entrepreneur Profiles:
- Hugh Hefner
- Elon Musk
- Satoru Iwata
- Betsy Ross
- Otto Frank
- Steve Jobs
- John D. Rockefeller
- Jamie Salvatori
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Milton S. Hershey
Let’s check, How Rich is Jeff Bezos in 2020?
Our assumption is based on the estimation of Jeff Bezos’s salary or Annual income as a distinguished Entrepreneur.
See below, our estimation of Jeff Bezos‘s net worth from 2019 to 2025.
|Jeff Bezos Net Worth (2019)||N/A|
|Net Worth (2020)||Under Review|
|Primary Income source||Entrepreneur|
|Estimated Net Worth in 2025||Under Review|
|Estimated Net Worth in 2024||Under Review|
|Estimated Net Worth in 2023||Under Review|
|Estimated Net Worth in 2022||Under Review|
|Estimated Net Worth in 2021||Under Review|
We will continue to update this page with Jeff Bezos salary, Net worth, and career earnings for upcoming years till 2025. The figures will be updated as soon as they are ready.
- Jeff Bezos is not DEAD. To the best of our knowledge, this celebrity is alive and kicking… However note that this info was updated in October, 2019.
- Jeff Bezos was born on in Albuquerque, NM
- Jeff Bezos is 55 years old
If you observe an error in this piece, please kindly inform us. We’ll amend it immediately.",507,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107883636.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024135444-20201024165444-00652.warc.gz,0.786245465278625
1b9792f5-e4aa-4032-ac79-fd11587a5b56,2017-08-20T17:07:14+00:00,2017-06-09,0,http://fjcatlanta.org/events?EventViewMode=1&EventListViewMode=2&SelectedDate=8/13/2017&CalendarViewType=0,"FJC Members are invited to join us at one, some or all of our events!
MONTHLY HAPPY HOURS | We host a Happy Hour in a new Atlanta neighborhood each month! Be sure to check the calendar for upcoming happy hours and come have a drink for a great cause.
CHEERS FOR CHILDREN | Each Spring, guests enjoy complimentary featured cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live music and a fabulous silent auction - all to benefit the patients at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. This is FJC's largest fundraiser of the year and is also one of the most anticipated events. Tickets sell out every single year! Cheers for Children will be on June 9, 2017.
PARTY ATLANTA | FJC's second signature event is an annual bar crawl that takes place in the Fall. FJC donates all the proceeds from ticket and drink sales back to CHOA. Every year, Party Atlanta reinvents itself by moving to a different neighborhood in the city. Registration gets you admission into all bars and six drinks tickets, plus an entry to win amazing prizes.
Cheers for Children and Party Atlanta are not only FJC's highest impact and hardest working fundraisers, but they are also one of the best ways to network and meet young professionals in Atlanta. Be sure to 'Save the Date' so you don't miss these spectacular one-of-a-kind events!",290,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106865.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820170023-20170820190023-00573.warc.gz,0.93951290845871
bc3a5775-4f96-4882-851b-bc507dd742e9,2015-03-30T02:16:11+00:00,2007-12-05,0,https://floortwo.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/i-really-cant-wait-till-i-get-to-see-al-franken-on-c-span/,"i really can’t wait till i get to see al franken on c-span December 5, 2007Posted by KG in 2008 Elections, comedy, news, politics.
Tags: al franken, minnesota, ron carey
according to ron carey, the chairman of minnesota’s republican party, franken is just so “non-Minnesotan.”
if that is indeed true then i will hastily add “non-Minnesotan” to the list of adjectives that could describe me.
“To think of him as a United States senator almost boggles anyone’s imagination,” said Ron Carey, the chairman of the state’s Republican Party. “So much of what he has said is vile and offensive — you can’t even quote it. I look at his words and that’s not how Minnesotans talk, not even in private conversation. His vile bomb throwing is so non-Minnesotan; he must have left his Minnesota roots in Hollywood and New York.”
al franken on donations from “big comedy” (0:28):",249,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298889.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00012-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944770812988281
9d990e32-2e7a-4fb1-9db9-a8f94a3443e8,2013-05-19T10:34:31+00:00,2013-05-10,1,http://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/category/business/,"May 10 – The residents of Phan Thiet City in Vietnam’s central Binh Thuan province can soon expect an influx of tourists as a new airport is built in the area, scheduled for opening in 2017. Plans for the airport have already been submitted to the central government for approval.
The airport, which reportedly will cost over VND5.6 trillion (US$265 million) to build, and which will span around 500 hectares (1235 acres), will be located in Thien Nghiep – a coastal area near Mui Ne Beach.
Initially, its facilities and landing areas will only be able to accommodate smaller planes and helicopters, providing services to over 500,000 passengers annually. Also, it is expected to offer 12 air routes of distances under 800 kilometers (500 miles) on top of 12 services of distances below 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles). Continue reading
May 10 – The new issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, titled An Introduction to Development Zones Across Asia, is out now and will be temporarily available as a complimentary PDF download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore throughout the months of May and June.
The use of development zones in their different guises has been an effective model essentially brought to prominence by China over the past 25 years to help both foreign investors and domestic companies meet in a relationship that provides tax advantages to both. Development zones typically permit the foreign investor to bring component parts into a country for assembly without having to pay import duties. Investors may then add in locally-sourced components, assemble the final product, and warehouse it all duty free before then having the option of exporting the finished product (collecting some VAT rebates on the locally sourced portion) or entering the domestic market with a product assembled at local labor costs. Continue reading
May 9 – After a 15-month hiatus, Vietnamese produce exporters are now allowed to resume shipments of fruits and vegetables to the European Union (EU) after Vietnam’s plant protection department agreed to re-issue quarantine certificates.
Exports will resume as normal starting June 30.
Vietnam’s plant protection department stopped issuing certificates in March 2012 in an effort to prevent certain exported fruit (such as blue dragon or grapefruit) from being added to the EU’s blacklist after Vietnamese basil, sweet pepper, celery, bitter gourd and coriander failed to meet the EU’s food hygiene and safety regulations. The EU threatened to ban all Vietnamese produce if they found five more batches that were in violation of their regulations. Continue reading
May 7 – The Red River Delta constitutes the industrial heart of Vietnam and is one of the richest and most developed regions in the country.
Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city, dominates in terms of foreign investment and gross industrial output. It is also home to many manufacturing plants for big international names like GM, Nokia and Yamaha. The industrial parks and economic zones in the region are strengthened by their “corridor to the sea” via the Hai Phong Port, one of Vietnam’s largest ports. Continue reading
Posted in Business, Hanoi
Apr. 30 – Vietnam’s online national business registration platform, which will allow enterprises to register online and be able to verify the legitimacy of potential business partners and companies, will be fully completed by the end of this year. This new system is designed to reduce the risk of doing business in Vietnam. Le Quang Manh, the head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Business Registration Agency, stated that in cooperation with the provincial offices, all information will be updated and placed onto the national business registration system this year. Continue reading
Apr. 26 – During the first four months of 2013, Vietnam attracted newly registered and additional foreign direct investment (FDI) capital worth over US$8 billion. The capital was injected into projects throughout 18 different sectors, with the processing and manufacturing industries topping the list, followed by the property, wholesale and retail sectors.
Of this, US$4.9 billion of new capital was added thanks to the licensing of 341 new FDI projects. Another 121 projects expanded its capital by a total of US$3.34 billion. These capital injections represent a 14.6 percent and 20.7 percent year-on-year increase, respectively. Continue reading
Apr. 22 – In a move to enhance Vietnam’s competitive capacity and to create additional jobs, the Vietnamese government will create a fund to assist with the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The fund will officially function as a State financial organization under the management of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and it will be responsible for not just financial support but also the management of SMEs.
The fund’s management activities will include receiving and organizing financial resources for SMEs and managing domestic and foreign trust capital to generate funds for SME development. Continue reading
Apr. 17 – In an effort to boost investment in Vietnamese businesses and to support struggling enterprises, Vietnamese lawmakers have approved the Government’s proposal to reduce the current general corporate income tax (CIT) rate from 25 percent to 23 percent. In addition, CIT rates were set at a rate of 20 percent for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while businesses that operate in the social housing sector will only be taxed at a rate of 10 percent. SMEs are defined as enterprises that employ fewer than 200 full-time employees with annual revenues of less than VND 20 billion (approximately US$1 million). Continue reading
Apr. 17 – Vietnam’s Northwest and Central Highlands have recently gained prominence as increasingly important developmental regions. Only last month the Bank of Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) pledged to provide VND 15 trillion (US$718 million) and VND 7.5 trillion (US$359 million) to the respective regions between 2013 and 2015. This presents itself as a further incentive for investors to investigate the opportunities these localities can provide.
Large urban centers are missing from the Northwestern region, with Hoa Binh being the largest town. However, the region produces about one third of the total hydro-electric power of Vietnam, with the Son La Plant being the largest single producer. Continue reading
Apr. 10 – In Ho Chi Minh City this week there has been an influx of businesspeople from over 600 Vietnamese and French companies, in areas ranging from technology and food processing to construction, cosmetics and consumer goods, due to the “Vietnam-France Business Forum.” The forum, which started on April 8th, aimed to foster the development of international partnerships between Vietnamese and French companies.
In a bid to further cultivate business ties, seminars on Vietnam’s business environment, consumer taste and demand were held during the forum. In addition, French businesses had the opportunity to consult with specialists in the Vietnamese banking, taxation, human resources and intellectual property sectors. Continue reading",1421,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9407599568367
527ac7c9-6adc-47e3-ae7b-d603acb78274,2013-05-24T08:42:50+00:00,2012-04-20,0,http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/newf.php?url=moving-film-on-cristero-war-debuts-in-mexico/,".- The much anticipated movie “Cristiada,” which recounts the story of the Cristero war in Mexico during the religious persecution of the 1920s, was released in Mexico on April 20.
“This movie is not only going to be entertaining, it also has great potential,” said actor Eduardo Verastegui said. “It is a film that is very balanced, commercial and moving.”
The Mexican actor praised the film’s cinematography and artistic quality, under director Dean Wright and lauded “great acting by a big cast including great actors.”
The movie also stars Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O’Toole and the Panamanian singer Ruben Blades in the role of anti-Catholic Mexican president Plutarco Elias Calles.
Verastegui, who stars as Blessed Anacleto Gonzalez Flores in the movie, told reporters his character “was a consistent and coherent layman who always acted in accord with his beliefs and was polite and educated. He used all these resources to defend freedom and the faith, which was the center of his life.”
“This touched my heart, it inspired and challenged me,” he said.
“Morally speaking, the film underscores what is good, beautiful and true in history,” Verastegui added. “This will set a precedent.”",296,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973147571086884
dd4252f8-7529-44ca-9cf0-af2d538b1d8f,2015-03-30T11:28:58+00:00,2014-01-31,1,http://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/comment/1682,"Migrant workers sent $6.77 billion home to Bangladesh in July-December, down 8.41% from the same time a year ago. For the first time in recent memory, Bangladesh has experienced a decline in remittances in the first half of the fiscal year.
There are four factors that can potentially account for the decline in remittances: the stock of Bangladeshi migrants abroad, earnings per migrant worker, their average propensity to save, and their average propensity to remit money home out of those savings.
The standard refrain appears to be that the flow of remittance has declined because the stock of Bangladeshi migrants abroad is not growing like it used to. This is because of two reasons. First, Bangladesh is failing to send more workers abroad to traditional markets and exploring new markets. Only 450,000 migrants managed oversees jobs in 2013, down by more than 33% from 680,000 in 2012. Second, the number of migrant workers returning to Bangladesh has also increased because the government could not resolve problems related to the legal status of Bangladeshi migrant labors in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait through diplomatic channels. Unfortunately, there is no reliable time series on the annual number of migrant returnees from abroad.
Is that the full story? I doubt it although it is generally assumed that the current migrant workers are sending money home as per their maximum capacities and have little capacity to increase the flow.
There may have been a decline in their capacity to remit because of decline in earnings per migrant worker or decline in the propensity to save or decline in the propensity to remit out of their saving or a combination of all these factors.
Average earnings may have declined because of increased unemployment and/or decreased wages of illegal migrants in GCC countries in particular as the authorities tightened enforcement of regulation against illegal migrants.
With increased unemployment and/or lower wages, the propensity to save may have decreased because of ratchet effects on consumption. Conventionally, if income falls, then consumption should fall proportionally, but this does not necessarily happen because once consumption habits are acquired, it is hard to get rid of them. Certain consumption habits are formed at high income levels which are not completely abandoned when income falls. This effect is particularly strong when the income decline is perceived to be temporary.
The propensity to remit may also have declined because of the appreciation of taka against US dollar in 2013 and increase in transaction costs due to incessant political turmoil. Taka appreciation has stronger effects on remittances motivated by the desire to invest. By reducing the taka paid per unit of dollar, appreciation raises the taka prices of the assets the migrant workers wish to buy in Bangladesh, thus reducing the asset demand and hence the amount that would have been remitted to buy those assets. Political turmoil affects remittance transaction costs as well as the ability to remit by disrupting the smooth functioning of the banking system.
Detailed data to quantify the contribution of each of the factors noted above is unfortunately not available. Anecdotally, it appears their contribution to the decline may be nontrivial.
Focusing economic diplomacy to resolve the legal problems Bangladeshi migrant workers are facing abroad so as to prevent their premature return home, helping unemployed migrant workers abroad find decent jobs, improving the skill composition of new migrants, ensuring the competitiveness of the exchange rate, and ring fencing remittance transactions from the impact of political turmoil will help stem the decline in remittances experienced in the first half of FY14.",711,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00247-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955650150775909
620ea1a9-82f9-4b95-b89e-508882346e7a,2019-08-22T08:48:25+00:00,2016-07-24,1,https://raisetheminimumwage.com/myths-facts/,"The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which translates to only $15,080 for a full-time, year-round worker.
The federal minimum wage was signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, at the height of the Great Depression.
Its stated purpose was to keep America’s workers out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power in order to stimulate the economy.
Raising the minimum wage at the federal level requires an act of Congress. Raising the minimum wage in states or localities typically requires state or local legislation or a ballot initiative.
Some jurisdictions, however, may have alternative mechanisms written into their laws, such as New York State’s wage board.
An estimated 35 million workers—more than 1 in 4 working men and women in the U.S.—would get a badly needed raise.
That’s 19.6 million women (30 percent of wage-earning women) and 15.5 million men, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s analysis of a recent proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020.
Around 35 percent of African-American workers and 38 percent of Hispanic workers would benefit. Nearly 9 in 10 affected workers are 20 years old or older, and more than 1 in 4 are parents.
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have raised their minimum wages above the federal rate of $7.25 per hour.
Our Wages by State map tells you the minimum wage for every state.
Five states—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee—have no state minimum wage laws at all, so employers there are still required to pay the federal minimum wage. In all states, employers are required to pay the state minimum wage or the federal minimum wage—whichever is higher.
The federal minimum wage was last raised on July 24, 2009, when it rose from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour, the last step of a three-step increase approved by Congress in 2007. Before 2007, the minimum wage had been stuck at $5.15 per hour for 10 years.
Frustrated by inaction at the federal level, the states and, increasingly, many cities and counties have moved to raise the wage floor. Twenty-five states have raised their minimum wage since the last federal increase—some through legislation or ballot initiatives, and others through having adopted “indexing” provisions that authorize small automatic increases most years to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
The strongest momentum in recent years, however, has been at the local level. Altogether, more than 40 cities and counties have raised the minimum wage locally since 2012, and at least 34 since 2014. See our Wages by State map for details.
The value of the minimum wage has fallen sharply over the past 40 years. In 1968, for example, the federal minimum wage was $1.60 per hour, which translates to approximately $11.06 in 2016 dollars.
Indexing the minimum wage to inflation means adjusting it automatically to keep pace with the rising cost of living so that minimum wage workers do not lose purchasing power each year.
Sixteen states plus the District of Columbia have adopted laws to index their minimum wages to rise automatically with the cost of living.
Ten states currently index minimum wage increases each year: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington.
Six more states, plus the District of Columbia, will index minimum wage increases annually beginning in future years: Alaska (2017), Minnesota (2018), Michigan (2019), Vermont (2019), D.C. (2021), Oregon (2023), and California (2024).
The remaining states and the federal government, however, have not yet indexed their minimum wages.
Minimum wage increases stimulate the economy by increasing consumer spending without adding to state and federal budget deficits.
Consumer spending drives 70 percent of the economy, and increasing demand is key for jumpstarting and maintaining production and hiring. A raise in the minimum wage puts money into the pockets of low-income consumers, who immediately spend it at local businesses.
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020, would result in wage increases totaling more than $79 billion for roughly 35 million workers in communities across the country. Raising the minimum wage helps strengthen the economy without increasing taxpayer costs.
Six of the top 10 growth occupations projected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the next decade are low-wage jobs, including home health aides, customer service representatives, food preparation and service workers, personal and home care aides, retail salespersons, and office clerks. Raising the minimum wage would boost pay scales in these types of jobs, where millions of working men and women now spend their careers.
Raising wages reduces costly employee turnover and increases productivity. When the minimum wage goes up, employers can reap such benefits without being placed at a competitive disadvantage, because all companies in their field are required to do the same.
Research has documented how, especially in low-wage industries, raising wages reduces turnover, because workers who are paid more stay with their current employer longer.
A study of the effect of a wage increase for workers at the San Francisco Airport, for example, found that annual turnover among security screeners plunged from 95 percent to 19 percent after their hourly wage rose from $6.45 to $10 per hour.
This reduced labor market churn yields significant savings for employers by reducing recruitment, re-training, and re-staffing costs, which studies and trade association analyses have found to be significant, even in low-wage sectors.
Federal law and most states’ laws allow employers to pay a lower minimum wage to workers who typically receive tips from customers. These lower minimum wage rates are variously known as the tipped wage, subminimum wage, or base wage.
The term “tip credit” refers to the wage credit that employers are allowed to take under these laws, which is equal to the full minimum wage minus the base wage. (Under current federal law, for example, employers are allowed to take maximum tip credit of $5.12—the difference between the full $7.25 minimum wage and the $2.13 tipped wage.)
Although subminimum tipped credit laws allow employers to pay a reduced minimum wage, they also require them to “top off” those workers if their base wage plus tips fall short of the applicable minimum wage.
Originally, the federal tipped-worker minimum wage was 60 percent of the full minimum wage. Since 1991, however, it’s been stuck at just $2.13 per hour. Because it hasn’t been increased at all in the decades since then, its relative value has plummeted to less than 30 percent of the minimum wage.
Twenty-six states plus the District of Columbia provide stronger protections for tipped workers by requiring that tipped workers be paid above the federal rate. Illinois, for example, guarantees tipped workers 60 percent of the minimum wage, and New York and Connecticut guarantee approximately 70 percent. In seven states—Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington—tipped workers are guaranteed the full minimum wage—a best practice that has reduced poverty among tipped workers in those states. The remaining 17 states, however, provide far less protection, as they follow the shamefully low $2.13 federal rate.
Tipped workers make up a significant part of our low-wage workforce. The largest numbers are employed in food service, such as waitresses, waiters, bussers, bartenders, and food delivery workers. Others work as parking attendants, car wash workers, nail salon workers, baggage porters, and bellhops, for example.
Although technically, employers must make up the difference if a worker does not receive enough tips to bring him or her up to the full minimum wage, that requirement seldom kicks in because most tipped workers make slightly more than the minimum wage after tips are included. As a practical matter, the tipped-worker minimum wage is what employers pay their tipped workers, and at the federal level it has not increased since 1991.
Tracking tips is complex because tips fluctuate widely, are often paid in cash, and are frequently “pooled” or shared among staff. Under such conditions, even law-abiding employers can have trouble keeping track, and less ethical employers can take advantage to illegally keep a portion of the tips for themselves.
Although business lobbyists sometimes suggest that tipped workers don’t need a minimum wage because they earn decent incomes after tips are included, this simply isn’t the case for the vast majority of tipped workers. While a relatively small number of waiters, waitresses, and bartenders at high-end restaurants in major cities earn high incomes, the restaurant industry overall is one of the nation’s lowest-wage sectors. And the overwhelming majority of waiters, waitresses, and tipped workers in other industries (like car wash attendants and nail salon workers) earn very low wages. As a result, the family poverty rate for waitresses and waiters is nearly three times the average for all workers.
The bulk of rigorous research examining hundreds of case studies of minimum wage increases at the state and local levels finds that raising the minimum wage boosts incomes for low-paid workers without reducing overall employment or job growth to any significant degree.
The minority of researchers reaching different conclusions rely on flawed or less precise methodologies that fail to take advantage of the most recent advancements in economic research.
This is supported by two leading meta-studies, which survey and pool the data from more than four decades of research. Meta-studies represent the most reliable and sophisticated approach to studying the employment impact of raising the minimum wage, as they aggregate data from dozens of studies containing thousands of different estimates of the employment impacts of minimum wage increases.
The first meta-study, by Hristos Doucouliagos and T.D. Stanley (2009), reviews 1,492 different findings from 64 different studies and shows that there is “little or no significant impact of minimum wage increases on employment,” as noted in a widely cited 2013 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
The second meta-study, by Dale Belman and Paul Wolfson (2014), reviews more than 70 studies and 439 distinct estimates to come to a very similar conclusion: “[I]t appears that if negative effects on employment are present, they are too small to be statistically detectable. Such effects would be too modest to have meaningful consequences in the dynamically changing labor markets of the United States,” and too small to merit policy or political controversy.
In addition to these meta-studies, two individual studies have developed state-of-the-art research methods to enable economists to better isolate and analyze the actual impact of minimum wage increases; they confirm that raising the minimum wage does not reduce employment.
The first, published by economists at the University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina, and University of California (2010), compared employment data among every pair of neighboring U.S. counties that straddle a state border and had differing minimum wage levels at any time between 1990 and 2006. It found that minimum wage increases did not cost jobs. The second companion study (2011), found that these results hold true even during periods of recession and high unemployment.
Contrary to stereotypes, workers whose pay scales are affected by the minimum wage are overwhelmingly adults, including many who are supporting families.
Adults age 20 or older make up 9 in 10 workers who would receive a raise if the federal minimum wage were raised to $12 per hour by 2020, according to an analysis of Census data by the Economic Policy Institute.
Since the Great Recession, more and more Americans are spending their careers in low-wage jobs, where the minimum wage helps set pay scales. The median age of home health care workers, for example, who are mostly female and who constitute one of the nation’s fastest-growing low-wage occupations, is 45.
No. A University of California study found that even minimum wage increases implemented during times of high unemployment—such as the recessions of 1990-1991, 2001 and 2007-2009—did not result in job losses for teens or slow employment growth.
Check out that study here.
Critics like to suggest that the last increase in the federal minimum wage in 2009 caused a spike in teen unemployment. But as a 2011 NELP report demonstrated, teen unemployment rises faster than adult joblessness during every recession—whether or not the minimum wage goes up. This is because, with less experience and fewer skills than adults, teens are more likely to be unemployed, in general. They also exit and enter jobs more frequently than adults, and so are more likely to be unemployed at any given point in time. In addition, over the past decade and a half, teens have been facing greater competition for jobs from adult workers, especially older low-income workers, whose lack of economic security requires them to keep working beyond retirement age.
No. Most minimum wage employers are service-sector businesses that are tied to a state because that is where their customers are—businesses like fast food, retail stores, and home health care services, for example.
Indeed, a New York Times profile of businesses on either side of the Washington/Idaho border (at a time when Washington’s minimum wage was nearly $3 higher than Idaho’s) found that businesses in Washington were flourishing, despite predictions that the higher minimum wage would send jobs and businesses fleeing across the state line. A similar recounting can be found in a report on Bloomberg.
In addition, a 2010 study by economists at the University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina, and University of California provides further evidence. The study compared employment data among every pair of neighboring U.S. counties that straddle a state border and had differing minimum wage levels at any time between 1990 and 2006, and found that minimum wage increases did not cost jobs.
No. While opponents frequently make this claim, research and experience demonstrate otherwise. In fact, many of the loudest minimum wage opponents are the country’s largest and most profitable companies.
A 2012 NELP report found that two-thirds of all low-wage workers are employed by large companies rather than small businesses, and that the vast majority of the largest low-wage employers in the country are earning strong profits and can afford higher wages.
It’s also important to remember that because the minimum wage has lost so much value over the last several decades, employers today are actually being allowed to pay less—in real dollars—than they were paying in the late 1960s.",3052,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317037.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822084513-20190822110513-00221.warc.gz,0.955121994018555
a7b3828e-2563-440e-8a67-2b9b7546e68e,2019-08-24T05:12:39+00:00,2018-07-15,1,https://anilnetto.com/society/public-transport/german-transport-engineer-penang-making-serious-mistake-with-elevated-lrt/,"German urban planner Alex Koenig warns that Penang is about to make “two serious professional mistakes” as it plunges headlong into SRS Consortium’s proposal for an RM8bn elevated LRT system from Penang airport in southern Penang Island to Komtar in the George Town city centre.
“I can’t remember any other city in the world doing such nonsense,” he says, of the plan to abruptly end the line in the city centre.
Alex, who was employed by Lahmeyer international, the biggest engineering consultancy firm in Germany, in the 1980s as a transport engineer, believes such mistakes will prove costly in the long-run.
Let’s hear what he has to say:
Previously I commented on the Penang transport masterplan’s elevated LRT and was not taken seriously.
I repeat two serious professional mistakes (are being made):
1. To get electricity supply by a third rail instead of overhead wires would mean that either this line can never be integrated into an LRT/tram system operating on ground level – or any future extensions to the LRT have to be all elevated (or tunnelled).
2. To terminate an LRT line in the city centre instead of building it through to the other side of the city is a serious planning mistake. I can’t remember any other city in the world doing such nonsense. Please help to get these things right before another costly mistake happens.
For Alex, who spent many years in Penang, this is not the first costly mistake the state has made:
When looking into mega projects the source of some difficulties should also not be forgotten. Penang Port Commission had commissioned a German port expert about the relocation of Penang Port to the mainland. I had read his report in the 1970s. The report proposed to locate the new container terminal to be built north of Butterworth in order to allow a short 4km causeway bridge to the island…
Such a causeway bridge could have accommodated a railway link and got expanded for additional traffic lanes similar to Singapore – and all the tunnels and world record bridges would not have been necessary. Who is responsible for that matter?
With the previous BN government having already made a colossal blunder with the location of the container terminal in the past, does the present state government really want to make another expensive mistake for future generations? It will make all those handbags look like petty cash purchases.
Meanwhile, an experienced transport consultant Rosli Khan has called for a review of the Penang transport masterplan:
In the case of Penang, the master plan for the state has not been fully endorsed nor approved by the federal authority. But at a cost of RM46 billion, it is rather expensive and there are calls to review it.
Perhaps, the time is right to undertake such a review while appreciating the fact that for long-term sustainability, Penang Island cannot and should not take in anymore vehicular traffic.
Therefore, the undersea tunnel is a bad strategy, unless it is purely meant as a form of public transport, a rail-based (LRT, tram) system only, but not road traffic.
Instead, some form of congestion charge should be formulated for Penang, the income of which should be used for public transport projects and improvement. Abolishing of tolls for the two bridges is out of the question for now, as it is too regressive.
Footnote: Gamuda, which has a 60% stake in SRS Consortium, is involved in both the KL-High Speed Rail project and the KL MRT3 project, both of which have been scrapped or put on the back-burner. Gamuda’s share price has taken a hit – and it will be even more reliant on the Penang transport proposals.",788,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319724.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824041053-20190824063053-00013.warc.gz,0.960909605026245
da476b49-6977-4001-9c23-4015513d9f15,2016-07-30T05:30:53+00:00,2013-08-19,1,http://ktla.com/2013/08/19/pistorius-indicted-for-murder-in-shooting-death-of-girlfriend/,"Oscar Pistorius will go on trial on March 3, accused of premeditated murder in the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
At a hearing Monday, prosecutors indicted Pistorius in the Valentine’s Day shooting death. Pistorius has been charged with planned and premeditated murder, which comes with a mandatory sentence of life behind bars.
The indictment says “the accused did unlawfully and intentionally kill a person.”
Pistorius also was indicted for allegedly violating South Africa’s firearms control act.
Click here to read the full story at CNN.com.",125,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832939.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00240-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957359313964844
f35611a1-ba34-4514-8d3e-3f689c905a34,2022-05-23T23:23:31+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://nerdtests.com/mq/uttake.php?id=147614,"[ report this test ]
Does He Love You? 12 & 13 Year Olds
Does your crush or friend (male) really like you? For girls only
Does he talk to you alot?
No, he never talks to me
He only talks to me when he has to, like when we work together
He and all his friends talk to me.
He always talks to me
Do you notice him looking at you?
No he's never looking in my direction
I dont know, I never look at him
All the time! He never stops
Why would he? im too ugly
Do you like him?
Yes but just as a friend
No he's horrible
I love him!
I DON'T KNOW!!! GGGRRR
Does he try to make you laugh?
Yes, but it doesn't work
Yes, and I put on a girly fake giggle
All the time. And I let him hear my horrible laugh, idc
Does he try to act cool when he's near you?
No, he just acts normal
Yes, all the time
Once or twice
He doesn't come near me
Does he fidgit in his seat when he's near you?
No, that's just weird!
Sometimes, but he probably just needs the loo
All the time! its like he has ants in his pants
Do you think he likes you?
No, he hates me
I dont know
Yes he's all over me!
I'm not sure, but I'll ask him next time see him
If he does like you, and asked you out, what would you say?
I'd say yes, duh!
I dont know, I'd probably blush and slowly walk away
I'D SAY NO!!!! EEEEWWWW
Do you smile when you think about him, or do you gag?
I gag, he's horrible
I never think about him
I have a smile right across my face
I give a little grin
Why did you take this test?
Because I'm bored
Because I wanted to prove he loves me
Because I honestly want to know if this guy likes me
Because my friend is sitting with me and we're messing around
[ edit test ]",476,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00623.warc.gz,0.978991448879242
904d9fe7-ce9d-42a8-97ce-419afe95cff5,2013-05-20T22:24:41+00:00,2013-01-02,1,http://bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130102/NEWS0107/301020325/1017&nav_category=,"Idaho moose hunting permits have always been a coveted draw with the longest of odds.
But it’s getting even more difficult to land one of the desirable tags. In response to declining moose numbers, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is proposing to reduce the number of moose tags in many of the Clearwater Region’s hunting units.
If approved by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, it will be a continuation of a trend that has seen the number of Clearwater Region moose permits plummet over the last decade.
In 2004, the department offered 262 moose permits in the region. If the agency’s proposal for the 2013-14 seasons is approved, only 98 hunters will draw tags.
“It’s been a fairly precipitous drop and it’s been fairly steady over the last 10 years or so,"" said Dave Koehler, a wildlife biologist with the department at Lewiston.
The agency doesn’t have hard data on moose numbers. Instead it relies on the success of hunters and anecdotal field sightings to gauge the health of the moose herd. By those measures, moose are struggling, particularly in units south of the Lochsa River.
Koehler said the department prefers to have moose hunt success rates at or above 75 percent. After falling short of that goal, the department started cutting the number of tags offered in many of its hunt areas.
“You would expect — if things worked the way you want them to when you cut permits — you would see a jump in hunter success,"" he said. “Hunter success has pretty much been stable over time and there have just been fewer permits.""
The decline isn’t confined to Idaho. Moose numbers have been falling across the West and in the upper Midwest. Wolves are an obvious culprit. But Koehler said while predators are part of the problem, they may not be the most important factor. Scientists say habitat changes, parasites and warmer temperatures related to climate changes are believed to be major drivers of the decline.
It’s not all bad news for moose and moose hunters in the region. The department is proposing to increase permits in Units 8 and 8A. Hunter success rates in the two units have been at or near 100 percent for more than a decade.
The department will hold an open house meeting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 3 at the Clearwater regional office to take comments on its moose proposal. Those who attend will be able to visit with department personnel about the proposed changes and provide their written comments.
Those unable to attend the open house can comment at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/, or by calling the Clearwater regional office at 208-799-5010. Comments can also be submitted via email to email@example.com, or by mail to Moose, Goat, Sheep Comments, c/o Idaho Fish and Game, P.O. Box 25, Boise ID 83707. Comments are due by Jan. 14.
The proposed changes will be submitted to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission for consideration and action during its annual meeting Jan. 16-18 in Boise.",664,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94060868024826
e8df9b22-d27f-458b-9ff9-222f128d8276,2020-10-27T23:16:56+00:00,2020-10-27,0,https://www.helplavoro.it/offerta-di-lavoro-a-milano-cercasi-sales-water-treatment-filtration-north-italy/2909987.html,"For an International Group leader in water treatment and filtration needs, we are hiring;
Sales Water Treatment & Filtration – North Italy
with experience in selling water systems to end users.
The Group brings expertise and knowledge through specialist business divisions across the globe, which are specialised in water treatment and filtration. With offices and manufacturing facilities in the UK, Holland and USA, and European based team of Sales Engineers, the Group responds to the needs of customers.
The Group capabilities include:
· Incoming and process water treatment
· Process filtration (equipment and consumables)
· Design, installation and service of filtration and water processing equipment
· Active in: F&B, Industrial, Chemical, Health Care.
The successful candidate would look to sell to the Group's existing customer base and develop the water treatment market in Italy with the following products:
· Ion exchange
· Reverse Osmosis
Sales tools and literature will be available for the range of technologies that the candidate will offer on the market with leading efficiencies technologies that delivering high quality outlet water.
The candidate should have the experience to understand the customer needs, size and quote the water treatment equipment and follow the sales process.
Experience with the following technologies would be a benefit:
· Filtration / membrane filtration (UF & MF)
· Chlorine dioxide
· Ultraviolet sterilization
Tasks and responsibilities
· Develop the Company water treatment portfolio in Italian market.
· Support the Italian seals team with strong technical knowledge on water treatment
· Maintain and support the existing filtration customer base
· Bring a strong market connection for water treatment equipment
· Quote creation on standard WT products
· Team player in a international team
Region: north Italy
· Mobile phone
· Fully-paid travels
Data inizio prevista: 01/01/2021
Categoria Professionale: Commerciale / Vendita
Settore: COMMERCIO ALL'INGROSSO
Città: Milano (Milano)
I candidati ambosessi (L.903/77) sono invitati a leggere l’informativa sulla privacy.
Facsimile di domanda disponibile al seguente link Facsimile domanda candidatura.
ATTENZIONE: Abbiamo rilevato la presenza in rete di molti annunci falsi; prendi visione dei nostri consigli per riconoscere i tentativi di truffa al seguente link .
Adecco Italia S.p.A. (Aut. Min. Prot. N.1100-SG del 26.11.2004).",580,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894890.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027225224-20201028015224-00503.warc.gz,0.782362997531891
37e28214-e7ad-436e-a504-c84a1f38e3cd,2018-08-20T14:10:19+00:00,2014-11-07,1,https://www.hindustantimes.com/health-and-fitness/ayurveda-gets-a-new-lease-of-life-india-creates-exclusive-drug-control-department/story-ALh90YYbBQxMk1cVTWM1YK.html,"Ayurveda gets a new lease of life, India creates exclusive drug control department
Union health and family welfare minister Dr Harsh Vardhan recently announced that the government will set up an exclusive drug control department to facilitate R&D and standardise the manufacturing of medicinal products of Ayurveda.health and fitness Updated: Nov 07, 2014 14:12 IST
Union health and family welfare minister Dr Harsh Vardhan recently announced that the government will set up an exclusive drug control department to facilitate research and development to monitor quality control and standardise the manufacturing of medicinal products of Ayurveda and other traditional Indian treatment systems.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Arogya Expo organised alongside the sixth World Ayurveda Congress at Pragati Maidan, Vardhan said, ""Under the newly created AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) Mission the Centre would provide funding support to states wanting to set up manufacturing facilities and create manpower for the traditional medicine industry.""
""The chief objective of the mission is to encourage integration of Ayush with modern medicine and create a holistic healthcare system that can be emulated globally and which will achieve the universal goal of Health for All,"" he said.
""Ayurveda is not just a matter of sentiment for us. We work with scientific minds and this government is aggressively focused on research,"" he added.
The Arogya Expo, which will continue until November 9, features 400 stalls set up by leading traditional medicine manufacturers from around the country. It also has 20 specialty clinics offering free consultation and medicines to visitors.
The sixth edition of the World Ayurveda Congress, which will be inaugurated tomorrow by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, has 'Ayurveda and Health Challenges' as its focal theme. It is being organised by the Department of AYUSH, in collaboration with the World Ayurveda Foundation and the Delhi Government.
Vardhan said the government, which has allocated Rs 5,000 crore to the Ayush Mission in 12th five-year plan, is keen to partner with states in creating state-of-the-art research and development facilities, drug testing laboratories and herbal gardens that will help meet growing industry and market demand for quality raw material and products.
More than five dozen classical Yoga postures found eminent choreographic expression in a brief but breezy dance-and-music item on the inaugural day of the Arogya Expo, bringing to focus the wonders that a fit body can bring to the mind as well. Clad in maroon T-shirts and black trousers, the slim and trim participants virtually danced to recorded music that featured health-related ancient shlokas rendered by a chorus led by a male voice.
First Published: Nov 07, 2014 12:53 IST",591,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216475.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820140847-20180820160847-00324.warc.gz,0.948684513568878
aba09f63-6a72-4655-8fff-0d7de25ea77e,2022-05-27T19:45:23+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://www.workevolution.co/,"Work Evolution is Downtown Long Beach's first coworking community: an inspiring environment designed for innovators and influencers. We are home base for a variety of start-ups, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. Members enjoy scalable work spaces and amenities such as high-speed internet, coffee, and a live social network of dynamic professionals. Members can bounce ideas off of each other, share resources, gain feedback, and learn from the experience of others. WE serve as a place for people to explore their creativity and create better ideas that are transformed into viable products and services. Work Evolution is more than just a tech workspace; it is a dynamic community of influencers, social innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, artists, and thinkers. We are the new evolution of how work gets done.
Our Late Founder, Markus D. Manley
Our mission at Work Evolution is to create an environment for individual professionals and startups to thrive within the city of Long Beach. WE encourage and support members in their work and the development of new ideas - ideas that are solving the social, technological, environmental, economic, and urban challenges we face today.
- To create a healthy and creative workspace, free of distractions, allowing for the increased productivity of our members.
- To foster the growth of our members’ businesses and creative pursuits by creating connections through networks of like-minded individuals.
- To develop opportunities for collaboration between members who can share individual experiences and opportunities to overcome challenges
- To provide immediate access to a wide range of individuals who posses an array of talents and areas of expertise that can be utilized by all members.
- To establish Work Evolution as the driving force behind the growth of entrepreneurship in both the creative and technology industries of Long Beach.
- To become an incredible and dynamic asset to the urban community of Long Beach.
A strong coworking community is one that has a variety of qualified experts who share a common goal of being the best at what they do. Working alongside other like-minded professionals helps to increase self-confidence, income, and productivity levels. Our members have immediate access to a credible and trustworthy workforce that can be tapped whenever the need arises, as well as the support of others that face the same trials of being an independent professional. A project’s opportunity for success is only as strong as the network of knowledgeable participants that are involved in it. Therefore, when a member acquires a job that calls for an area of expertise that they do not posses, having instant access to a dynamic group of experts is priceless.
Humans are social creatures. We want to belong, to participate, and to come together for a higher purpose. The coworking community is one that is dedicated to the values of innovation, collaboration, education, sustainability, and camaraderie within the workplace. From video game developers to mobile app programmers, social mediastrategists to film producers, Work Evolution has a dynamic mix of professionals. In Work Evolution you will find a welcoming group of professionals who are supportive of your success through their willingness to share knowledge and services.
Work Evolution has a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. Members are always excited and open to meeting new people. Visitors into our space often comment on how comfortable they feel in Work Evolution compared to other workspaces. WE believe it’s not only the energy of the people but the way we’ve designed the space as well. WE display a variety of art by local artists as well as an eclectic mix of workspace and open areas. WE even boast a ping-pong and poker table for non-work social interaction. Members are respectful of each others’ personal space and recognize that headphones on often means ‘do not disturb’. Social interaction is welcome and serendipitous. Our members like to work hard and have fun while doing it.
WE believe that collaboration breeds innovation. And true innovation is achieved through collaboration. Our members value community and participation over agendas and observation. In order to create superior products and services, the sharing of knowledge is important. They understand that collaboration can often transcend competition.
Work • Learn • Grow
Our motto at Work Evolution is Work • Learn • Grow. We offer members a professional workspace with meeting rooms, a wide variety of business technology, and collaborative tools to get their work done. We offer members workshops, networking events, and access to knowledge-sharing communities of experts. We help members increase their productivity, lead healthier work lives, and gain sustainability through shared resources and a scalable workspace to grow their business.
Work Evolution has a variety of spaces to host both public and private events. WE believe that events are an important part of connecting a community. It is our mission to host dynamic and engaging events within our space. WE believe that the best events help grow and connect our community as well as increase its strength. From workshops to professional speakers, we offer our members the opportunity to grow their skills and knowledge.
WE plan and select our events on the following principles
- Events that are directly in line with our mission are given higher priority and encouraged
- Events that are organized by Work Evolution and our members are given higher priority over outside event producers
- We keep our space rental costs to outside producers low and often ask that event producers give in a meaningful way in the form of free or discounted admission for members who would benefit from attending
By its very nature, coworking is eco-friendly. Resources such as power, phone, internet, and even space are shared more efficiently than having business owners lease a private office or even a home office. But sustainability extends further than just being eco-friendly. Sustainability in a coworking space is also about supporting and nourishing fellow members. The action of giving and contributing helps the community sustain itself. Much of this happens organically and serendipitously, as members of the coworking community work in close proximity to each other. Collaboration and innovation are often products of a simple conversation between members. One member overhears a topic of conversation that he or she may have relevant knowledge of and joins in to offer tips and perspective. Another may need a skilled app developer and finds one looking for work just a table away. A member with a well-established business may find promise in a new member and become his or her mentor. Before you know it, the new member has accelerated his or her business to success and is now hiring fellow members having witnessed their proven ability.
Startups, Entrepreneurs, and Freelancers
Work Evolution offers an inspiring and productive atmosphere not likely to be found in a home or private office. The resources, events, and networks increase the opportunities of success for startups, entrepreneurs, and freelancers. Access to such networks are especially vital in the early stages of every endeavor. Despite all of today’s technological advances, the best relationships are built face to face. Startups have access to a pool of skilled professionals who are available for limited employment on their projects. Entrepreneurs gain knowledge as well as partners in collaboration. Freelancers find a diverse choice of jobs to select from depending on their interest.
At Work Evolution, we are working to become a bigger asset to our member community while extending our network to the greater public community as well. WE are constantly creating new ideas and ways to reach out to our city and the world. With this mission, WE have plans to do a great many things. Currently, WE are planning to open a fabrication lab that offers everything from laser cutting to 3D printing. WE are already working with members to start mentorship programs for the local youth and college students. And WE are becoming a designated source of skilled professionals for both existing and new businesses to fulfill their service needs.",1590,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00408.warc.gz,0.964975416660309
33a8f99f-61f9-4003-9fd4-09903ff28b3f,2017-08-18T10:53:36+00:00,2017-08-18,0,https://www.mtcc.org.au/auditorium/,"The central point for the MTCC Precinct is the Auditorium. This is the venue for larger meetings, conventions, etc
The Auditorium is the hub of the MTCC property and is the gathering point for all major events held on the Beacon Precinct.
It is available for hire throughout the year for large conferences and special events, and it can accommodate up to 750 guests using a variety of seating configurations.
Rental of this facility includes 750 stackable chairs, 2 projector screens, 10 folding tables, a stage, podium, room dividers, and piano.
Additionally data projectors and a splitter are available for hire.
Please note the following booking conditions:
- Groups are responsible for setting up this facility, and for cleaning and returning it to its original state at the end of their stay
- NO animals are allowed on the property
- NO alcohol is allowed on the property
- Noise curfew is between 10pm and 7am",194,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104634.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818102246-20170818122246-00443.warc.gz,0.936369001865387
157daec9-e4bb-433a-8045-f85e962606d7,2013-06-20T08:52:37+00:00,2013-06-20,0,http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/54349-mind-minds.html,"MAKE UP YOUR MIND
“This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best” Philippians 1:9-10
When I was young, my mother tried to prepare me for life by urging me to make up two things: my bed and my mind. When I got up each day she would remind me, “Joe, make up your bed.” And when I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do, she would prod me, “Joe, make up your mind.”
By far, making up our minds is the more important of the two skills. The real issue is not whether we can make up our mind; it’s whether we can make up our minds correctly. Correct thinking leads to correct decisions—the kind of decisions that guarantee productive and satisfying outcomes. But in our culture correct thinking is a challenge. Every day we are bombarded with secular input that is not only incorrect from God’s point of view, but also counterproductive in our relationships, aspirations, and spiritual growth.
This tug of war in our minds is really about values. Our values define us. They are the guiding principles that form our thoughts, our conclusions, and ultimately our behavior. They are instilled in us by our families, teachers, experiences, entertainment choices, our heroes, our community, and sometimes even by our fallen instincts. When we listen to all the voices around us and ignore the input of God’s Word, making up our mind always get us into trouble.
But when we accept the truth of God’s Word as the guiding principle for decision-making, we will be equipped with the discernment to make up our minds in good ways. And, there is no shortage of good advice in Scripture! God has given us the correct information on how to handle money, relationships, children, spouses, offenses, employers, employees, and politicians. You name it—God has the correct information to guide your mind to correct conclusions.",430,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93361759185791
631a8803-f618-4b85-9a25-6074882dfb24,2020-10-27T02:57:07+00:00,2019-09-18,1,https://thechinacollection.org/remarkable-results-hong-kong-poll/,"Mingpao and the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Journalism have released the results of their latest opinion poll, conducted between Sept. 5 and Sept. 11 on a random sample of 623 people). Among its findings are the following:
- 75.7% of the respondents think the government has not done enough to defuse the crisis by withdrawing the extradition bill
- 71.7% of the respondents think police have used excessive force
- 39.4% of the respondents think the protesters have used excessive force
- 48.3% of the respondents give the police a trust score of 0 (compared with only 6.5% giving a 0 score last May)
- As for who is responsible for the escalation of violence (multiple answers permitted):
- 50.5% said HK government
- 18.5% said HK police
- 17.8% said central government
- 12.7% said the protesters
- 55.7% agree and 26.9% disagree with the statement that “when peaceful protest cannot make the government respond, protesters’ radical action is understandable”
The drop in trust in the police since May is really stunning and shows the degree to which Hong Kong citizens are alienated from the government.
Here are links to two Mingpao reports:
H/T: Ho-Fung Hung.",282,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893011.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027023251-20201027053251-00520.warc.gz,0.960536420345306
d61a0438-2dc6-499d-9de6-fd4a93a7905b,2018-08-20T01:59:02+00:00,2018-06-15,1,https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/you-cant-just-gloss-over-this-history-the-movement-to-honor-ida-b-wells-gains-momentum/2018/06/15/50445bbc-700d-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f99ce1fe81ee,"CHICAGO — Across the top, the grave marker at Oak Woods Cemetery reads BARNETT. Along the bottom, “Crusaders for Justice.” On the left, there is her name: Ida B. Wells, beside her husband’s.
This stone is the rare marker in Chicago that honors Wells, a hero in an unending battle against racial injustice who died in 1931. Born into slavery in Holly Springs, Miss., Wells became a crusading African American journalist who exposed the crime and shame of lynching and fought for women’s suffrage.
After a white mob reacted to one of her anti-lynching editorials by destroying the presses of her Memphis newspaper, the Free Speech, she carried the struggle to Chicago in the early 1890s and lived half of her life here.
Yet her pioneering work is all but unrecognized in the city, which has no shortage of statues and monuments to leading white men.
Michelle Duster, her great-granddaughter, aims to change that. For the past decade, Duster and a few friends have labored, dollar by dollar, to raise $300,000 to build a monument to Wells. They’re still barely halfway there, but the word is getting out.
“You can’t just gloss over this history,” said Duster, a writer and lecturer who sees a need for Wells’s example these days. “She not only believed in certain principles and values but she sacrificed herself over and over and over again. She was called fearless. I don’t believe that she had no fear. I believe she had fear and she decided to keep going forward.”
The push to honor Wells — the Chicago City Council is considering renaming Balbo Drive for her — has an echo in other cities as monuments to Confederate soldiers and leaders such as Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis come down.
Pittsburgh is holding a contest to select an African American woman to honor after removing a monument to songwriter Stephen Foster that featured a barefoot black banjo player at his knee.
Charlottesville’s city council is conducting a poll to rename two parks for a second time. Last year, the council renamed Jackson Park as Justice Park and Lee Park as Emancipation Park but decided to choose again. One finalist is Swanson Legacy Park, in honor of Gregory H. Swanson, the first African American admitted to the University of Virginia.
“It is in some ways just as hard to put up new monuments as it is to take down old monuments,” said Tim Huebner, a history professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, where he helped install a more complete historical marker about Nathan Bedford Forrest, a notorious slave trader remembered with a 1955 plaque that said only that “his business enterprises made him wealthy.”
A new plaque, unveiled in April and sponsored by the Calvary Episcopal Church, Rhodes College and the National Park Service, is 462 words long. It reports that Forrest “operated a profitable slave trading business at this site” in violation of Tennessee law, and quotes Horatio Eden, who recalled being sold there as a child: “The buyers would stand nearby and inspect us. Stop us. And examine us.”
While the construction of monuments once was typically the province of elites — almost by definition white elites — grass-roots efforts are now more prominent, said Kirk Savage, an art historian at the University of Pittsburgh who studies public memorials.
“Municipalities are trying to engage much more with these publics, particularly African Americans and other publics that haven’t had a voice in the public sphere,” said Savage, author of “Monument Wars,” which focuses on Washington, D.C. “How that’s going to shake out is a little bit hard to know.”
The effort to honor Wells fits the moment, Savage said. “That’s one thing positive that these new monuments can do: People who may know nothing about Ida B. Wells will find things about this extraordinary woman they didn’t know anything about.”
Wells was born in 1862, a few months before the Emancipation Proclamation. She passed a teacher’s exam at age 16 and taught school. In 1884, after she moved to Memphis, three railroad workers forcibly removed her from a train for refusing to leave a car reserved for white women, even though she had purchased a ticket. She sued and won, only to see the verdict overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Wells began writing newspaper columns and purchased a share of the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight. When three of her black friends were lynched after opening a grocery store in competition with a white-owned business, she started investigating and challenged the assertion that large numbers of black men were raping white women.
The city of Memphis, she wrote, does not protect an African American “who dares to protect himself against the white man or become his rival.” After a mob destroyed the printing presses, she moved for good to Chicago, where she married lawyer Ferdinand Barnett, had four children, worked as a probation officer and supported migrants from the South, all the while traveling widely to oppose racial terror.
The only major Chicago effort to recognize Wells came in 1941 with the opening of a housing project for African Americans that would grow to 1,662 units. But it did not end well. The project succumbed to neglect and dysfunction before the last building was torn down in 2011, doing no honor to her name.
“Unfortunately, I associate her with the negativity of the housing development,” said Tony Rogers, co-chair of the committee to build the memorial. “We have to turn that around.”
Wells is enjoying fresh attention, with the New York Times publishing her obituary for the first time this year, 87 years after she died, and the newly opened National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala., honoring her with a selection of quotes, an area for quiet reflection and a stone inscribed with her name.
A progressive group in Chicago, led by Delmarie Cobb, formed the Ida B. Wells Legacy Committee, a political fund to advance the candidacies of African American women. Hillary Clinton spoke at a fundraiser for the organization in April.
Then there is the nascent monument.
“Since my mid-20s, I’ve been obsessed with her,” said New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones, who flew to Chicago last month to help raise money for the Wells monument. Hannah-Jones, whose 75,000 Twitter followers see her handle as Ida Bae Wells, also worked to create the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Journalism, designed to increase and elevate investigative work by people of color.
Wells “challenged every type of convention,” including sexism in the civil rights community and racism in the women’s suffrage movement, Hannah-Jones said. “She refused to stay in her place at a time when doing something could be debilitating, could be dangerous.”
And yet the effort to build a monument in Chicago has not gone quickly.
“There are so many bigger projects that have been funded over a shorter period of time. It’s not that much money,” lamented Duster, who is editor of an anthology to be released this year titled “Michelle Obama’s Impact on African American Women and Girls.” She recently tweeted, “It’s #Idastime, but it should not be this hard.”
The Democratic-led Illinois legislature has not stepped in, despite a letter-writing campaign, nor has the city, although three city council members announced an effort last month to rename Balbo Drive in Wells’s honor. Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) “very much supports honoring Ida B. Wells’s legacy,” his spokesman, Adam Collins, said in an email, “and we will work collaboratively to find the best way to do so.”
Chicago has very few monuments to women, said Theodore Karamanski, a specialist in public history at Loyola University of Chicago. “That’s why the movement to have her represented is long overdue. ”
The Wells committee has chosen a prominent sculptor, Richard Hunt, and a location in Bronzeville, the heart of Chicago’s black community during the Great Migration. If the permitting goes as planned, Duster said, the impressionistic bronze-and-granite monument will be erected next year in the median strip on South Langley Avenue at 37th Street. The spot is a half-mile from her spacious, Romanesque Revival home at 3624 S. Martin Luther King Dr., which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Wells’s choices and her example are relevant today, Duster said, when “our stories, our realities are very skewed toward the negative. Living my life as a black woman in this country, the perceptions people have are not based on reality. They’re based on propaganda. . . .
“In my own way, I’m trying to add to the positive stories.”",1941,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215487.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820003554-20180820023554-00372.warc.gz,0.966366231441498
d314ff4a-5865-4623-bf76-b406a3f7e1ed,2022-05-20T07:20:07+00:00,2022-01-31,0,https://www.ci.porterville.ca.us/departments/fire/safe_and_sane_fireworks.php,"Print this page
The City of Porterville's Safe and Sane Fireworks program ensures that fireworks sold within the city limits are done so with a great level of care and mindfulness of the possible dangers involved. Safe and Sane Fireworks are sold by select non-profit groups who are chosen by lottery during the period of February 16-28th. Find out if you qualify as an eligible organization here.
Applications for Non-Profit Groups
Eligible organizations who wish to sell Safe and Sane Fireworks within the city must first submit a Pre-Application to the Fire Department by the last business day of January. The application can be obtained from the Fire Department or downloaded below.
Changes to Fireworks Ordinance
Various changes have been made to the City of Porterville's firework ordinance which can be found here.
It is the requirement of each organization to understand its rights and responsibilities when selling Safe and Sane Fireworks within the City of Porterville.
There are various Safety Regulations that are required to be met while organizations are participating in the sale of Safe and Sane Fireworks. These regulations ensure that both the general public and those participating in the sale of Safe and Sane Fireworks are as protected as possible.
Distance requirements for the stand and surrounding areas
Various policies are in place regarding distancing requirements for the stand itself and the immediate area up to 100 feet. The diagram and Distance Regulations below detail all of the requirements for a Safe and Sane Fireworks stand.
Office of the State Fire Marshal
Additional information from the Office State Fire Marshal.",332,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00023.warc.gz,0.933882713317871
effdc5a3-62bf-43c3-a77b-5ee3a5347c9f,2019-08-22T14:39:14+00:00,2006-12-30,0,https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/road-woes-continue-for-lubbock--lose-5-2-at-bossier-shreveport/n-3410395,"Road Woes Continue for Lubbock... Lose 5-2 at Bossier-Shreveport
Bossier City, LA - Cam Abbott notched a pair of goals to lead the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs to their fifth consecutive win, as the Mudbugs defeated the Lubbock Cotton Kings 5-2 at the CenturyTel Center Saturday night in front of 5,569 fans. The loss puts the Kings under 500 for the first time this season with a 12-13-2 mark and extends their road winless streak to five games.
Bossier-Shreveport jumped out to an early lead with a pair of first period goals. The Mudbugs intercepted a neutral zone pass and turned it into a three-on-one rush with Abbott cashing in with a goal 8:33 into the period. Daniel Pegoraro extended the lead to 2-0 with a power play goal 2:15 later by slamming a rebound past Kings goaltender Kyle Stanton. Lubbock grabbed their first goal of the game with 4:32 remaining with a power play tally by Philippe Lacasse. The Kings rookie dangled the puck at the point, and as he attracted defenders, he penetrated down into the slots and roofed a shot over goaltender Adam Hanna to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Mudbugs were able to regain a two-goal lead 4:48 into the second period with their second power play conversion of the game. Karlis Zirnis was able to fire the puck from the side of the net into Stanton and the puck deflected off the inside of Stanton's and went into the back of the net for the power play goal. Lubbock answered back with their second power play goal of the game 2:59 later with Craig Minard scoring to cut the 'Bugs lead to 3-2.
Jason Williamson extended the Mudbugs lead back to a two-goal cushion with 9:53 remaining with a goal to push the lead to 4-2. Lubbock couldn't get a late rally going and Cam Abbott bookended the game's scoring with an empty net goal as the horn sounded.
Lubbock was out-shot 36-30 in the game and Stanton made 31 saves off 35 shots faced. The loss pushes his winless streak to six consecutive games (0-5-1). Adam Hanna earned the win in net stopping 28 of 30 shots in his CenturyTel Center debut. Both squads converted on two of their power play opportunities, with Lubbock 2 for 8 and Bossier-Shreveport 2 for 6.
Lubbock returns home Sunday (New Year's Eve) for a 5:05 PM faceoff with the Odessa Jackalopes at City Bank Coliseum.
• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...
Central Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2006
- Special Trophy Brings Special Victory to Sundogs - Arizona Sundogs
- Sundogs grab second consecutive win over Scorpions - New Mexico Scorpions
- Eagles Outlast Austin in OT 3-2 - Colorado Eagles
- Cotton Kings Road Preview - Lubbock Cotton Kings
- Oilers Blazers Preview - Tulsa Oilers
- Bucks Hammer Bees 6-2, Laredo Wins Fourth Straight - Laredo Bucks
- Hounds Play Tough but Lose at Home to Riverkings - Youngstown SteelHounds
- Rayz fall to Jackalopes 3-1 - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Road Woes Continue for Lubbock... Lose 5-2 at Bossier-Shreveport - Lubbock Cotton Kings
- Ryan Campbell's hat-trick sparks RiverKing's win - Mississippi RiverKings
- Oilers All-Stars - Tulsa Oilers
- SteelHounds Sign Enforcer Dallas Anderson - Youngstown SteelHounds
- Over 7,000 students to attend Face Off Field Trip game January 23 - Mississippi RiverKings
- RiverKings at Youngstown Preview - Mississippi RiverKings
- Oilers drop 7-5 decision - Tulsa Oilers
- Sundogs Unload for Four First Period Goals in 5-3 Win - Arizona Sundogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.",871,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317130.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822130553-20190822152553-00103.warc.gz,0.917851269245148
8011eeae-b797-484f-bcfd-013bd35938e3,2020-10-30T16:30:27+00:00,2020-02-27,0,https://nowtoronto.com/events/st-bruno-cs-family-movie-night-feb-27,"This publication features lifestyle stories around cannabis use and experiences, including emerging trends in wellness, travel, food and drink, pop culture, and cannabis-related brands.
ECentralSports targets the emerging premium
on-trend esports and egaming market.
Unparalleled esports and egaming content that speaks to key consumers about trends, news, lifestyle and happenings in the $150 billion market.
Established as the news, lifestyle, and entertainment weekly in Vancouver for 50 years, the Georgia Straight is an integral part of the active urban West Coast lifestyle with over 1.081 million readers per week.
All-ages movie night. Pop corn, hot dogs, baked goods and 50/50 draw. All proceeds to help fund the snack program. $3, or adv $2.
Phone: 416 393-5376
Location - St Bruno -St Raymond Catholic School
St Bruno -St Raymond Catholic School
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Enter your comment here
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.",227,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107911027.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030153002-20201030183002-00651.warc.gz,0.889943480491638
84986299-8c3c-435e-a431-c5e1f56a8bbb,2019-08-25T15:48:02+00:00,2019-08-25,0,https://www.reverberations.net/air-mobility-command-museum-dover-delaware/,"Anyone who thinks museums are full of dusty, static exhibits has not yet been to the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware. The museum‘s collection of nearly three dozen aircraft is impressive enough for gearheads, but it’s the true stories of these planes that really move you emotionally. A visit to the Air Mobility Command Museum should be at the top of your list of things to do in Dover, Delaware.
During my recent day trip to Historic Dover, I made a visit to the Air Mobility Command Museum with my husband. The museum’s Operations Manager, Mike, gave us an incredible tour, rich with facts and history. While I thought the visit to the museum was more for him, I came away just as affected by the planes on display. These aren’t merely exhibits, these are true pieces of history.
A Brief History of the Air Mobility Command Museum
Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a subset of the US Air Force. It’s a team within the greater USAF community whose responsibilities include tasks such as airlift, aerial refueling, medical transport, and providing humanitarian support. As such, the majority of exhibits at the AMC Museum focus on cargo and tanker aircraft.
Located on the edge of the Dover Air Force Base, the Air Mobility Command Museum opened in 1986. The museum is largely volunteer-run and maintained, with only three staff members.
The museum has essentially two parts, an inside and an outside. The “inside” refers to Building 1301, a historic hangar that housed an Army Air Force Base Unit from 1944 until 1946 and served as a rocket test center. At over 20,000 square feet, the hangar is more than large enough for a number of aircraft and exhibits. In addition to the aircraft that are on display, there are two flight simulators. If seeing these planes has you feeling inspired, you can try your hand at piloting a plane or two.
The “outside” of the AMC Museum is a whopping 100,000 square foot tarmac that is dotted with more planes than you’ll know what to do with. A blue bench sits in front of each outdoor aircraft and is custom-made to display the name of that aircraft. It’s a clever detail.
Highlights of the AMC Museum
Throughout my visit to the AMC Museum, there were stories of real servicemen and women who have been to the museum, who have shared their experiences working on or with these aircraft. Those personal experiences make it clear that the “highlights” at the AMC Museum are different for everyone. But here are a few aircraft that left a lasting impression on me.
Without a doubt, the C-47A Skytrain was the most memorable plane for me. The olive drab plane seems to be of the thinnest corrugated metal. But it doesn’t take long to notice the bullet holes in the side of the plane just above the simple benches that line the length of the plane on both sides. This very plane flew soldiers into France on D-Day. The plane is fully restored and a remarkable part of history.
If bigger is better, the C-5A Galaxy must be one of the best. Inch for inch, this aircraft could go toe to toe with a cruise ship. Because this is a cargo plane, the inside is a massive cave-like warehouse. So large is the inside, in fact, that it’s longer than the Wright Brothers first flight. The museum pays tribute to the brothers with a miniature version of the Wright Flyer hanging at the entrance to the plane. There are all kinds of metrics to break down just how large the interior of the plane is. It’s larger than you can fathom, I promise.
But it’s more than the mere size that makes this C-5A Galaxy noteworthy. This C-5A Galaxy conducted a successful Air Mobile Feasibility Test in 1974. So what does that mean exactly? While in flight, this plane dropped an 86,000-lb Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (or ICBM). The missile descended on a parachute before its engine fired. It rose in altitude before eventually dropping. The test proved that an ICBM can be launched from the air.
Sure, sure, the planes can carry heavy things. But what about important people? The museum’s VC-9C served largely as an Air Force Two, carrying Vice Presidents from Walter Mondale to Dick Cheney. It also carried First Ladies from Rosalynn Carter to Michelle Obama.
Because the plane is smaller than the actual Air Force One, it pulled double-duty. It served as a temporary (so to speak) Air Force One for presidents from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush. Even Queen Elizabeth II has gone for a ride on this plane.
Today, the AMC Museum has the interior of the plane done up to be an Air Force Two. China place settings, playing cards, and even matchbooks are emblazoned with the logo of the vice president. Visitors get a glimpse of just what working as a VP is like.
Dover AFB Control Tower
The planes don’t take off and land on their own. There are important teams of people who help make it happen. When the Dover Air Force Base retired a control tower a decade ago after 50 years of service, it moved across the field to the museum. Although the tower is now shorter than it originally was, it still has its original equipment. The museum even has a live feed playing so you can hear the nearby controllers conversing with nearby aircraft, giving you a real feel for what an active control tower is like.
Tips for Visiting the AMC Museum
- Take a guided tour. I can’t stress this enough. Some of the exhibits are only accessible with a guide. Not to mention, many of the tour guides are retired service members with incredible insight into these aircraft.
- The AMC Museum is open every day of the week except for Monday (and certain holidays). Entrance is free!
- The third Saturday of the month, from April to October, the AMC Museum hosts Open Cockpit Days. The event, as the name implies, gives visitors full access inside of many of the aircraft that are otherwise not accessible.
Getting to the Air Mobility Command Museum
The Air Mobility Command Museum is easy to get to. The entrance is on Route 9, just off of DE-1.
There is plenty of free parking at the museum.
Save this post for later with Pinterest!
Thank you to Delaware’s Quaint Villages for hosting me. All opinions, as well as all photos, are my own.",1377,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00049.warc.gz,0.951939523220062
75c677d6-f2c7-44c6-9743-bda0108057b7,2022-05-25T20:26:33+00:00,2022-05-25,1,http://atlantistrouwringen.com/atlantis-paradise-island-is-renovating-rooms-in-the-royal-towers-travel-weekly/,"Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas is about to embark on a multi-million dollar renovation, which will include a top-to-bottom overhaul of its rooms and suites in the Royal Towers and a reimagined Atlantis Casino.
The refurbishment of the property’s Royal East Tower is due to be completed this summer, with a housing refresh in the Royal West Tower to follow shortly thereafter. Both towers will feature new “soothing” design elements that draw inspiration from the natural environment, including aqua-hued waters, white sand beaches and coral reefs, Atlantis said.
The renovation will include the Royal’s 4,740 square foot Bridge Suite, which is due for completion next year.
The Atlantis Casino, meanwhile, will benefit from various upgrades, including more modern finishes and an expansion of its two on-site lounges, which include a high-limit slots lounge and a gaming lounge.
The resort is also updating its dining offerings, adding celebrity chef Michael White to its list of Michelin-starred culinary partners. (Atlantis Paradise Island features fine dining concepts from Michelin-starred chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Jose Andres.)
White will lead the opening of Italian restaurant Paranza at The Cove, which is set to debut later this year.
On the casual side, a new Mediterranean-style beachside concession stand, Pita, will join the mix. Located near Atlantis’ Aquaventure water park, Pita will serve shawarma and falafel among other dishes.
The latest upgrades come as Atlantis also prepares to open Somewhere Else, a new property that will replace the resort’s Beach Tower. Scheduled to open in 2024, the 400-room project is being developed in partnership with David Grutman of Groot Hospitality and musician Pharrell Williams.",377,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662593428.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525182604-20220525212604-00420.warc.gz,0.931458175182342
6e233f27-6921-40c2-a22f-45b9a1f2f14b,2017-08-23T04:26:09+00:00,2008-12-01,1,http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/is-russian-billionaire-in-market-for-uk-press-asset/,"Reports that a Russian billionaire has made overtures to buy the Evening Standard raises an interesting option for the future ownership of the UK’s largely loss-making national press.
The Guardian reports that Lord Rothermere has rejected a bid from Alexander Lebedev to buy the Standard – which has been loss making for some years and was under extreme pressure from the daily free newspaper war in London before the current downturn compounded matters.
The story, which does not contain any named or quoted sources, has not been denied by Standard owner Daily Mail and General Trust.
According to the FT, Lebedev made the approach last month – but he was rejected without any detailed discussions opening up.
If Lebedev is in the market for a trophy press asset – he may also look at the Independent, which has had to take the drastic measure of sharing offices with the Daily Mail to stem its losses.
It will certainly be interesting to see if he makes enquiries elsewhere.
With the current drastically curtailed profitability of national newspaper publishing – it is possible that any national title, outside News International and Guardian Media Group, could be up for sale at the right price.",236,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886117519.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823035753-20170823055753-00245.warc.gz,0.969356179237366
4921eba7-35e4-4a3d-bad8-4b8440b3ecaf,2019-08-17T21:10:49+00:00,2019-02-05,1,https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/labor-will-implement-banking-royal-commission-recommendations/10780066,"Labor will implement banking royal commission recommendations, Bowen says
The banking royal commission has set the scene for a ferocious political battle over who will take a tougher line on the banks.
While the government has vowed to take ""action"" on all 76 recommendations made by Kenneth Hayne, Labor is warning the Coalition's response will either be ""delayed or inadequate"" as it continues to ""stand up for the top end of town"".
The brawl over cleaning up the banks is set to run to the next election and well beyond.
- Chris Bowen
- Shadow Federal Treasurer
- Alison Carabine",121,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00013.warc.gz,0.931275904178619
b8cabfb4-4160-4b62-ae2d-7e5e2a4f18b5,2019-08-22T10:03:40+00:00,2019-07-06,1,https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/south-carolina/article232229462.html,"Burning at Brookgreen provides woodpecker habitat
President Donald Trump’s administration, which has pushed to roll back an array of environmental laws, is moving to reduce endangered species protection for a tiny bird that once faced extinction in South Carolina and neighboring states.
The red-cockaded woodpecker would no longer be protected under the Endangered Species Act if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proceeds with a plan that asks landowners to voluntarily take care of birds on their property for the next 30 years. The agency is trying to decide whether to limit some protections for red-cockaded woodpeckers or drop protections altogether, according to an agency work plan and a recent letter to property owners.
While red-cockaded woodpeckers have rebounded from the brink of extinction in the past three decades, some experts and environmentalists say populations haven’t grown enough to warrant dropping Endangered Species Act protections. Lawsuits are expected if the Trump Administration seeks to eliminate red-cockaded woodpeckers from all protections under the law.
The endangered species law, approved by Congress in 1973 to help protect animals and plants at risk of extinction, often prohibits landowners from using their property in a way that might hurt populations of vulnerable species. Depending on the circumstances, that can include prohibitions on cutting timber or developing land.
“The red-cockaded woodpecker is going to be one that requires careful evaluation,’’ said Jacob Malcolm, a conservation center director with the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife. “If the species is no longer listed, we have to critically evaluate whether entirely voluntary efforts will be sufficient to maintain the great progress that has been made.’’
Defenders of Wildlife says the red-cockaded woodpecker is among 25 threatened or endangered species being examined for lesser protections by the federal government. Some species would be dropped from endangered to threatened status, a lesser designation under the law.
Changing the red-cockaded woodpecker’s status from endangered to threatened is significant because the Trump administration is working on a proposal to loosen protections for newly designated threatened species, said Sierra Weaver, an attorney tracking the issue for the Southern Environmental Law Center. Threatened species would no longer automatically be afforded many of the protections they get today, she said. The proposed rule is expected to be released soon, she said.
But another plan discussed this spring by the Fish and Wildlife Service says the agency may go further with red-cockaded woodpeckers, removing them completely from the list of endangered species.
Consultant Ralph Costa, a biologist who is one of the South’s leading experts on red-cockaded woodpeckers, said a species restoration plan shows the birds aren’t expected to fully recover for at least 50 years.
“It’s going to be a real big deal,’’ said Costa, a former Fish and Wildlife Service official. “Proposing a delisting, at this point, would be in disagreement with the recovery plan.’’
Efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act are among more than 80 laws and regulations the Trump administration has sought to drop or loosen since the president took office in 2017, The New York Times reported recently. Trump has said regulations are hurting business and he has hired agency directors to lift what he says are unneeded restrictions. Environmentalists have said the changes in many cases threaten to hurt human health and wildlife.
Brian Hires, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, had little to say about his agency’s woodpecker plan, which is expected out this year.
“Since the rule for the red-cockaded woodpecker (Endangered Species Act) action is still being written, it is premature to discuss details of that action, including protections it will have,’’ Hires said in a recent email to The State.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are 7-inch-long birds that feast on bugs people typically dislike, including roaches, spiders and ants. The cavities they drill in pine trees often are used by other animals after red-cockaded woodpeckers leave.
The little birds once were abundant from New Jersey through the Southeast to Texas and Oklahoma. In the Carolinas and Georgia, they thrived in native long-leaf pine forests. But the loss of long leafs in the South depleted their habitat and caused populations to plummet. Red-cockaded woodpeckers are mostly black and white, but the males have streaks of red on the sides of their heads, which gives them their name.
The dwindling populations caused the federal government to declare them endangered in the early 1970s, leading to conflicts between landowners and wildlife agencies. Endangered species status for the woodpeckers limited people’s ability to do what they wanted with their land, enraging property owners and causing them to take measures to keep the birds off the land.
Some landowners cleared forests before they were ready to harvest timber to avoid the possibility that woodpeckers would start nesting and restrict what could be done with the land. That hurt species populations that already had plummeted dramatically from the lack of habitat — namely the loss of long leaf pine forests since Colonial times.
In the 1990s, the government and landowners worked out an agreement that required people to maintain existing populations of woodpeckers, but did not hold them responsible for protecting land where new populations began to nest. When a landowner wanted to use property with the newly nested birds, federal authorities would relocate those woodpeckers to public lands.
Federal and state biologists drilled cavities in trees to make it easier for the birds to establish nests. In addition, managers of land with red-cockaded woodpeckers began burning pine forests intentionally to keep hardwood and undergrowth from popping up.
All of those efforts have helped the species grow in population in the South and in South Carolina. They are now being found in places the birds haven’t been documented in for decades.
In an April 10 letter to landowners, Fish and Wildlife Service southern regional director Leopoldo Miranda said the agency wants landowners to say how they would manage and monitor red-cockaded woodpeckers if the species is dropped from listing under the Endangered Species Act. Relocating birds to safe areas, digging artificial cavities in trees and using prescribed fire are among ways landowners can protect the birds, referred to by biologists as “RCWs,’’ the letter said.
“If we are able to determine that the current level of management commitments for RCWs are reasonably certain to occur for the next 30 or so years, it may be possible that the RCW be considered recovered and suitable for delisting,’’ the letter said, asking property owners to “note how you anticipate managing RCWs for the foreseeable future.’’
Cam Crawford, who heads the S.C. Forestry Association, said agreements with landowners have defused problems and helped woodpeckers. He says voluntary efforts to protect species can work. The Forestry Association represents the state’s $21 billion wood and paper products industry, including private landowners whose property is affected by Endangered Species Act requirements.
“It seems to have worked well,’’ Crawford said. “We can bring back these types of birds or animals that are facing a threat, and it doesn’t always have to be a hostile regulatory type approach.’’
One thing is for certain: the birds are growing in population in the South.
In South Carolina, for instance, the state in 1993 had 681 clusters of red-cockaded woodpeckers, or spots occupied by the birds. Today, the state has more than 1,450 clusters of the birds, according to federal data provided by Costa.
As an example of the improvement in woodpecker populations, the U.S. Forest Service reported last month that the woodpeckers were breeding in a recreation area of the Sumter National Forest in Edgefield County for the first time in four decades.
“The current population of South Carolina is expanding into parts of the historic range where they have been absent for many years,’’ according to a Forest Service news release quoting Caroline Causey, a state Department of Natural Resources biologist.. “Management activities in the Lick Fork Lake Recreation Area have created the perfect habitat for turkey and quail and have culminated in suitable habitat for highly selective’’ woodpeckers.
Still, Causey and Costa told The State they have concerns about plans to lessen protections for red-cockaded woodpeckers. The woodpecker has not reached targeted goals for recovery in all parts of its range, which extends in South Carolina across the coast west to Columbia, Aiken and Edgefield.
The species will be recovered once it has reached those numbers in every area of states listed in the federal recovery plan. And challenges remain. Since 1986, the species has lost 32 percent of its potential habitat, according to federal data examined by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Much of the loss has been on private land, the center said in a letter last year to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The science does not back up trying to down-list them,’’ Causey said in an interview.
Defenders of Wildlife president and chief executive officer Jamie Rappaport Clark, a one-time director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, urged her former agency to move carefully.
“At this critical time, we should be doing everything that we can to save imperiled species and their habitat, and fully funding and implementing the Endangered Species Act to defend against extinction,’’ she said in a recent statement. “We call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to make delisting and down-listing decisions based on sound science. The Endangered Species Act is our strongest conservation law, and one of our nation’s most successful laws ever enacted.”",2080,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317037.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822084513-20190822110513-00220.warc.gz,0.95689868927002
06b30f24-9eac-4932-82a8-3cb001720c8a,2017-08-18T14:27:19+00:00,2017-08-18,1,https://morningconsult.com/opinions/unrealized-threat-weaponized-drones/,"The drone threat is expanding. Warnings from industry and the intelligence community regarding the adoption of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or do-it-yourself (DIY) drones have gone unheeded and it is not for a lack of information. Numerous public reports have revealed the use of drones by narco-terrorists to target border agents, drones used to sneak weapons into prisons and drones being used for artillery spotting by ISIS militants.
Further research in specific localized conflicts shows the reality of militants, insurgents and terrorists using drones armed with explosives as basic precision guided munitions. In Syria, a video showing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has been weaponized with an improvised explosive device (IED) makes this growing threat clear and should quell the myth that COTSs hobby-grade drones are not suitable to deliver explosive payloads.
Further evidence of drone weaponization can be found by examining open source intelligence of recently captured weaponized drones used by hostile actors. Something as simple as drone design choices offers insight into the tactics, training, and procedures (TTP’s). These drones are modeled after a child’s toy airplane and created by commonly available, relatively inexpensive commodity hardware.
While the drones themselves may not be sophisticated, we cannot make the same conclusion about the modifications. To enable a COTS or DIY drone to deliver an explosive, one must possess a general understanding of aerodynamics coupled with extensive testing in order to accomplish modifications like this. For these reasons, it is important to not jump to conclusions about the sophistication of the owners of these weaponized drone.
Further information on the drone users’ sophistication can be gained by understanding how it is directed. We are seeing drones that do not require a camera or associated First Person View (FPV) setup. Without a camera, the drone pilot would need above average flying skills. The reason for this is a pilot needs to be relatively close by and within ‘Line of Sight’ of the aircraft or accompanied by a spotter with binoculars or other optics. Traditionally speaking, an airframe is easier to fly via first-person view versus line-of-sight. This alone can help a novice pilot accomplish a more advanced flight then they could with assistance from the camera system. FPV feels more like a video game and has a more natural skill progression.
All of this suggests that not only is the weaponization of the drone a setup up from typical militant tactics, but it also suggests a deeper set of experience, ability and training on the part of the terrorists deploying these platforms.
Past evidence of weaponized commercial drones is suggesting militants like ISIS are choosing their receiver/transmitter technologies based on operational needs. For example, numerous drones recovered from terrorists show that groups like ISIS are increasingly focusing on systems that deliver better range, data rates and resistance to interference from military jammers. This suggests strategic thinking about operational experience as well as the drone’s capabilities, their flying characteristics and the art of the possible.
We are witnessing evolutionary innovation from militant groups. Hezbollah recently began deploying drones that have been rigged to drop salvaged munitions, in this case Chinese MZD-2 sub munitions from a missile, to bomb Syrian rebel positions (see video here). Most concerning is that the techniques and tactics developed are quickly disseminated and adopted among other terror groups and criminal networks. These techniques become highly portable and accessible, allowing anyone, anywhere, with the right information and guidance, to rapidly weaponize a drone.
Unfortunately, we seem to be at the start of a new terror and asymmetric warfare trend analogous to the rapid adoption, use and sophistication of IED’s.
While weaponized commercial drones have not made much of a public appearance in the developed world, their existing use and rapid development is undisputable. Worse, they represent a threat that we are poorly prepared for. As such, security organizations, law enforcement and public interest groups need to seriously consider the threat of weaponized drones and start putting in place reasonable systems and plans to counter them.
Kevin Finisterre is a senior software engineer at Department 13. Finisterre has spent his career assessing web applications and network vulnerabilities relating to the identification and exploitation of software.
Robi Sen is the chief technical officer of Department 13. He is a communications industry professional with a 25-year career in IT, engineering, and research on cutting edge projects for NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Morning Consult welcomes op-ed submissions on policy, politics and business strategy in our coverage areas. Submission guidelines can be found here.",947,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104681.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818140908-20170818160908-00026.warc.gz,0.941647589206696
2ea7d3e5-21ed-49c8-9970-884625c75dc0,2022-05-26T12:15:11+00:00,2022-05-26,1,https://blindsblackout.com/trial-to-review-smoking-cessation-therapy-tailored-to-a-smokers-dna/,"Trial TO REVIEW Smoking-cessation Therapy Tailored To A Smoker’s DNA
The research team is recruiting 720 smokers from the St. Louis area who wish to break the addiction. Study individuals shall be interviewed about their smoking behaviors and general health. They’ll provide DNA samples also, from saliva, that’ll be analyzed to identify genetic variations that influence smoking behavior, lung cancer risk, and the potency of smoking-cessation treatments. Li-Shiun Chen, MD, an associate teacher of psychiatry. Ultimately, the research workers want to learn how a smoker’s genetic makeup affects how much one smokes and how he or she will respond to drugs designed to help smokers stop.
The team’s previous research signifies that DNA variants can influence the effectiveness of various smoking-cessation medications. To meet the requirements, volunteers must be at least 21 and smoke cigarettes five or even more cigarettes daily. They need to smoke traditional smoking, not e-cigarettes. Study participants will be placed randomly in one of three groups.
Smokers in a single group will receive seven weeks of guidance to help them stop, as well as nicotine-replacement areas and lozenges, varenicline (Chantix) or an inactive placebo. All individuals shall obtain counseling to help them stop smoking. Laura Jean Bierut, MD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Psychiatry. Those that be a part of the one-year research will be asked to take part in telephone interviews, counseling periods and follow-up phone calls. All office visits, guidance classes, and medications will be providing cost-free. Those that volunteer for the analysis can learn about their genetic roots also. The researchers will send DNA samples from study volunteers to a private company that performs genetic testing, which can trace the origins of participants’ early ancestors.
- Billy Joel, “The Longest Time”
- The post-natal maternity band is very comfortable
- “Always love your mom because you won’t ever get another.” – Unknown
- Cut bouquets
- How often do you wear make-up
- Add your other elements
It is super easy to use, resilient, no flaking and no coming off until I clean them off with a makeup remover. The wand brush is not too big or too small just the perfect size for my eyebrows so I do not need to worry about going out of the lines.
It created a lift, I brushed the gel upward and to the side so it actually made my eyebrows look more arched. I believe this definitely gives that perfect finishing touch to my face after I’m finished with all my makeup. I can’t see myself without this in my makeup collection, especially in times when my eyebrows look crazy.
It will come in a beautiful silver/metallic pot and like all the LASHEM products it looks very luxurious. One lucky champion will get a Brow Tint & Lift with Lash Enhancing Serum in the color of their choice. What LASHEM product are you more interested in trying out? I received these products for a review purpose. Nor was I under any obligation to create an optimistic review. I give all my opinions and thoughts sincerely.
It has many good reviews and responses saying it is absolutely effective. It is paraben-free so that it is safer in comparison to other neck creams. It includes a money-back guarantee. What exactly are the Disadvantages of Strivectin Neck Cream? There isn’t much information on the product’s substances and exactly how they work.
Some people who have tried it say it is not effective. It can cause skin discomfort since it includes a wide range of ingredients that many people may be sensitive to. Strivectin Neck Cream is an excellent product that is around for years. However, there is absolutely no medical evidence demonstrating it works really. Some people also experienced skin irritation from using the merchandise.
The product my work out. It does have a lot of well-known and reliable elements which are said to bring a lot of the benefits that are promised. However, we do recommend talking with a professional in advance. That is heading to ensure that everything is managed and that you receive the best solution properly. Take into account that there are a lot of other products on the marketplace that might be able to help you out in a rather conventional manner as well. A few of these are Gold Bond Ultimate Chest And Neck Firming Cream, and Estee Lauder Resilience Lift.
It also had taken quite a while to dry. It had been also quite sticky when “dry” and just like the original version, there was no way in hell it was going to work as a makeup base. But my skin seemed to like it far more. It could be worn by me on my face for approximately 8 hours, and while I possibly could feel it was there, there is no desperate screaming for oxygen, or clawing within my face.",1032,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604794.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526100301-20220526130301-00400.warc.gz,0.960457384586334
89e2c127-283b-4012-93e7-6a61803d3338,2013-05-24T08:31:52+00:00,2007-09-05,1,http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977128919,"A top judge called for every citizen and all visitors to the UK to be put onto a DNA database.
Lord Justice Sedley claimed that everybody who lives in the UK or even visits for a weekend should be put on a DNA database for reasons of “crime detection and preventionâ€. From the BBC article:
""Lord Justice Sedley, who is one of England's most experienced appeal court judges, said: ""We have a situation where if you happen to have been in the hands of the police then your DNA is on permanent record. If you haven't, it isn't.
""It means where there is ethnic profiling going on disproportionate numbers of ethnic minorities get onto the database.
""It also means that a great many people who are walking the streets and whose DNA would show them guilty of crimes, go free.""
He said the only option was to expand the database to cover the whole population and all those who visited the UK, even for a weekend.
""Going forwards has very serious but manageable implications,"" he insisted. It means that everybody, guilty or innocent, should expect their DNA to be on file for the absolutely rigorously restricted purpose of crime detection and prevention.""
The fact that everybody should be included on the DNA database because of some misguided notion of “political correctness†is absolutely absurd. Regardless of skin colour, nobody should have to give their DNA if they are innocent. We have previously reported on the fact that children are already being placed on the DNA database and from next year, all children in the UK will have their details placed on a national database. The only children that will be exempted from this national database will be children of politicians and celebrities.
Currently, the UK DNA database is the largest of any country in the world. From The Independent article:
“The UK's 12-year-old DNA database is the largest of any country, growing by 30,000 samples a month, which are taken from suspects or crime scenes.
According to the Home Office website, 5.2% of the UK population is on the database, compared with 0.5% in the US.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, said: ""The DNA debate reveals just how casual some people have become about the value of personal privacy.
""A database of those convicted of sexual and violent crime is a perfectly sensible crimefighting measure.
""A database of every man, woman and child in the country is a chilling proposal, ripe for indignity, error and abuse.â€
Personal freedoms in the UK are being eroded on a regular basis and this latest call for a national DNA database is simply another step away from freedom and towards a surveillance state.
For details of the number of people on the UK’s DNA database visit this House of Commons page.Â
If you enjoyed this article - sign-up to the CouncilofTruth.com RSS feed and keep up-to-date with all the latest news.
 Article originally appeared on www.counciloftruth.com",638,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.953232228755951
f5f642b9-8e92-4a5f-bedd-9c43d00a1be3,2013-05-26T09:42:57+00:00,2013-05-26,0,http://www.360cities.net/fr/image/tasting-room-knob-hall-winery-clear-spring-maryland,"Tasting Room, Knob Hall Winery, Clear Spring Maryland
Wine tastings and tours are only a part of the experience at Knob Hall. Come be a part of the history of this estate: Enjoy a picnic under a 300 year-old white oak while listening to local musicians Enjoy music by popular groups during our summer concerts Party at our “Winestock” festival while raising money for breast cancer awareness and research “Adopt” grape vines and/or barrels Learn to prune grape vines Pour wines at our festivals and events Enjoy a massage while relaxing with great wines Stomp grapes at harvest From http://www.knobhallwinery.com/about: Have fun participating in our many wine clubs Pick grapes during harvest Relax and connect with nature while enjoying wine Have your wedding, family reunions and other events on the property Knob Hall is a winery for generations: past, present and future. -- Come be a part of the experience!
From http://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm : Preserving America’s colorful Canal era and transportation h...
The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.
The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from ""up north"" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.
The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.
The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seatle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer.
Text by Steve Smith.",478,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.938422679901123
794df754-960a-42c2-991b-cb438c47ca36,2018-08-18T06:21:02+00:00,2018-08-18,0,http://howbraveisthewren.com/product/books/?add-to-cart=780,"“A book is like another room, or another town, or another world, where someone is waiting to speak to you”
Books! is a book about books, of course. Murray McCain explains what a book is and why it is, what books can be used for, why they are useful, why they are fun. He lists words that are hard like “antidisestablishmentarianism” and words that are happy like “Greensleeves” and he helpfully informs us that goats are not allowed in libraries, because they can’t read and think that books are for eating.
John Alcorn’s fluorescent colour palette and inventive typography are a perfect match for engaging children with the wonder of language, making this homage to books one to truly be treasured.
Originally published in 1962 this has been re published by AMMO for the first time in a large format. We applaud the inner sleeve note “Get Books! – Keep Books! – Give Books!”.
Out of stock",214,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213405.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818060150-20180818080150-00224.warc.gz,0.964717268943787
a25416f9-14de-49eb-9ef6-b6a1f6d6055b,2020-10-19T16:02:50+00:00,2014-07,1,http://www.epicjourney2008.com/2014/07/omalley.html,"Fellow Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton says she hasn't decided whether to run, and neither, O'Malley says, has he. In the meantime, he is running one of the most vigorous noncampaign campaigns of any 2016 possibility in either party — raising money, stumping in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, traveling abroad to boost his foreign policy credentials and honing a message that might be characterized, for brevity's sake, as compassionate competence.
""People want problem-solvers,"" O'Malley, a former Baltimore mayor, said in a late-night interview after the first of two well-received speeches to Democratic activists in Des Moines. ""They want leaders that will bring people together to solve problems, not people that will take their ideology and try to beat round pegs into square holes.""
Noted for his data-driven approach to policy, starting when he used computer analysis to chart citizen complaints and fuel millions of dollars of new efficiencies in city government, O'Malley is a devout Roman Catholic grounded in the Jesuit emphasis on social justice. His religious faith, he suggests, informs his secular beliefs.",231,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00015.warc.gz,0.960535049438477
a3e578dc-a9b4-42fc-8814-570fd285d9b3,2017-08-20T23:22:54+00:00,2017-08-20,0,http://www.personalizationmall.com/Personalized-Key-Rack-Dont-Forget-p12047.prod?sdest=ProductPhotoReview&sdestid=2501956,"End the search for those missing house and car keys! Keep them within reach with our unique personalized key plaque - A handy hangout for home and car keys!
Custom personalized with a subtle ""Don't forget your keys"" reminder, along with your family name, as shown. Choose from 4 colors combinations, sure to match any home decor.
Hang in your entry way, foyer, laundry room or near the back door -- wherever you come and go!
Makes a fun, personalized housewarming gift.",105,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106996.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820223702-20170821003702-00413.warc.gz,0.93057107925415
538cf9fd-10be-4774-82f7-c9eeb936ab7b,2022-05-20T00:08:20+00:00,2022-05-20,0,https://gigasoftdatabackup.com/solutions/totaldr/,"Installation by qualified engineer
Bulk data seed
Bulk data restore
All plug-ins for databases included
24/7 support line
Free Local onsite backups
A Premium Disaster Recovery Solution
This is the Gigasoft premium product offering the client the highest level of data protection and services; it comes with all the rock solid reliability of the GigaBackup account along with Gigasoft Gold support giving you complete peace of mind in the knowledge that your disaster recovery is all taken care of and releasing you to get on with what you do best.
Gold support includes..
* Support is available 24/7 either by phone or email
* Bulk data transfer either seeding or restoring
* Remote assistance with our skilled qualified technicians
* Remote access to your systems to monitor and fix any errors no client involvement necessary
* Onsite assistance with data recovery in the event of a disaster
* Gigasoft support team monitors your email reports
Cost effective Data Backup and complete Disaster Recovery
We can put your mind at rest with our top class service at an entry level price. UK Data Centre and our ISO27001 data protection accreditation means that we are serious about keeping you in business.",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662530553.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519235259-20220520025259-00620.warc.gz,0.903536081314087
b2444670-3c82-482c-a652-13e94b4c857b,2015-04-01T23:22:12+00:00,2013-12-25,1,http://www.gazettextra.com/article/20131225/ARTICLES/131229880/1150,"Talk of cutting taxes increasing in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — Talk of cutting taxes in Wisconsin is starting to grow heading into a major election year.
The ideas vary widely — everything from a narrow sales tax holiday to outright eliminating the state income tax. Whether anything can be done next year, and to what degree, will likely be dictated by how rosy updated tax collection estimates are when released in mid-January.
Gov. Scott Walker has not proposed any tax cuts for the coming legislative session, but he's pulled surprises before. In October he cited higher-than-anticipated tax collections when he hastily announced a $100 million property tax cut.
Walker unveiled that plan just three days after Democrat Mary Burke got in the governor's race. In November, 17 of 33 state senators and all 99 Assembly members are on the ballot, along with Walker.
Walker, in an interview with The Associated Press, said during the campaign next year he plans to ""lay out a whole bunch of promises"" including tax reform. He's already dispatched Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Revenue Department Secretary Rick Chandler to businesses around the state to gather ideas.
Burke, a former state Commerce secretary and executive at Trek Bicycle Corp., has yet to detail her own tax reduction plans but will do so during the campaign, her spokesman said.
One idea Walker has already floated, but not officially proposed, is eliminating the state income tax. That's been met with harsh opposition from Democrats and others and a lukewarm reception from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican.
Eliminating the income tax would be ""a little tough to do"" because of how much sales taxes would have to go up, Vos said.
""I don't want Wisconsin to have the highest sales tax in the country,"" Vos said. Although Vos said he was interested in the concept, he said it wasn't anything the Legislature would look at seriously until 2015 at the earliest.
Democrats and others point out that eliminating the income tax and increasing sales taxes will hurt the poor, who have little or no income but still purchase goods and services that will be subject to higher taxes.
The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families released one analysis that showed only the top 20 percent of earners — those who make an average of $113,000 a year or more — would see taxes drop if individual and corporate income taxes were repealed. That study assumed that the state sales tax rate would increase from 5 percent to 13.5 percent to make up the difference. All but 10 of Wisconsin's counties also charge a half-cent sales tax.
""We won't create prosperity and jobs for Wisconsin by raising taxes on most families just to pay for tax cuts for the rich,"" said Jon Peacock, research director for the council that advocates for children and family issues.
Talk of eliminating the income tax comes after the Legislature this year passed Walker's $650 million income tax cut. The average tax filer will get $158 more refunded in 2014 as a result of that.
Instead of eliminating the income tax, if tax collections are strong enough, Vos said he could support a limited sales tax holiday.
Rep. Chad Weininger, R-Green Bay, and Sen. Rick Gudex, R-Fond du Lac, in February proposed waiving the state sales tax for one weekend in August on a variety of back-to-school items, including computers and instructional materials. It would also create a similar weekend sales tax holiday in November for purchases of appliances and other products with the Energy Star designation.
The bill has not gotten a public hearing in either the Senate or Assembly. But Vos said it's an idea he would be open to exploring ""only if the revenues show we're there.""
Vos said he's also open to other ideas, including more property tax cuts. On average, this year's tax cut will reduce taxes on the typical home $13 this year and $20 next year.
It's unclear what direction the Senate may take. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald hasn't said what his priorities will be, and his spokesman has said that lawmakers are waiting to see the updated tax collection numbers next month.",858,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00137-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974889755249023
55c47d53-eb7a-4950-a67d-8f17d788e82c,2013-06-19T19:00:14+00:00,2013-01-02,1,http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/419682/20130102/toymakers-threatened-growing-popularity-tablets.htm,"(Photo: Industry Leaders Magazine)
While the world is becoming more computer-dependent, children are not anymore interested in traditional toys. Little ones are just drawn to tablet computers.
While the world is becoming more computer-dependent, children are not anymore interested in traditional toys. Little ones are just drawn to tablet computers. And this holiday season most children's Christmas gifts letters are controlled by mobile devices such as iPads and Kindles. The growing popularity of tablets is expected to be the final nail in the toymakers' coffin.
Toymakers in trouble
As parents pass their tablet computers to kids, little ones lose their interest in traditional toys. This trend has been seen by toymakers, yet companies are struggling to adapt to the new conditions which have dominated the market. Analysts believe that this might be the kiss of death for many toymakers including key players, Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. Even though management teams of the two companies have denied being threatened by the dominant position of iPads and Kindles, the downgraded forecasts for the Christmas period show that toymakers should be gearing up for the final battle if they want to stay in the game. Analysts have cut their forecasts for the final quarter of the year. According to estimates, Hasbro Inc. will see toy sales of over 1.4 billion, while Mattel Inc. will see toy sales of nearly $2.3 billion. In addition, sales in the first nine months of the year dropped significantly compared to the same period a year ago. Just in April, Mattel Inc. posted its first-quarter results with first quarter-profit declined over 50 percent.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the best-selling product of Mattel Inc., which is the world's biggest toymaker by revenue, was a mobile phone case. Yet, its sales of common toys were affected by electronic devices.
But also Hasbro Inc., which produces Action Man and Play-Doh, has seen alarming signs as children just spend more and more time playing their electronic devices instead of playing with traditional toys. Therefore toymakers have decided to make their products more high-tech, so children would love to play with them.
Electronic gadgets - toys of future
Certainly toymakers have to come up with an answer for their gripes as more and more children, even three-year-old kids are more interested in new electronic gadgets than in traditional toys, thereby spending less time playing with Barbie dolls and Action Men. This trend is also driven by the fact that kids inherit old models of iPads and Kindles as their parents buy newer versions of these electronic devices.
- FOLLOW IBTIMES
Everything indicates that electronic gadgets are likely to be toys of the future as even the first place of the top ten on eBay's hot list was taken by the iPad which got as many as 1.7 million searches. Yet traditional toys are not yet dead as the analysis showed that Lego was second with 1.5 million searches and Barbie doll was also on podium with approximately 300,000 searches.
However sales of computer tablets show that those gadgets are going to supplant traditional toys; it is just a matter of time. Figures show that Apple Inc. as many as 14 million iPads in the three month ended in September, while Google Inc. has seen sales of its Nexus 7 to be close to one million units per month.
So if toymakers want to be back on track they have to adapt to new conditions by adjusting its toys to new trends.
Industry Leaders Magazine
The article was first published by Industry Leaders Magazine",736,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.975586712360382
c885a29d-6e51-4da9-aa71-cd7510391017,2019-08-17T21:05:39+00:00,2002-09-18,0,https://dylan.tweney.com/2002/09/18/posthoc-is-back/,"posthoc, Susan MacTavish Best’s outstanding San Francisco guide, is back — and now it’s a weblog. SMB and friends have been posting restaurant reviews and other SF related goodies for a few months now. Down to earth, opinionated, entertaining reviews of where to eat, drink, relax, have fun: All great stuff. If I still had a night life, I’d be following all of her recommendations. Check it out.",99,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00005.warc.gz,0.930525004863739
c9c21cac-116b-44de-be32-8f7a99f0c334,2022-05-28T07:34:25+00:00,2019-03-15,1,https://intellexconsulting.com/%EF%BB%BFfrom-1st-april-100-tax-returns-will-be-scrutinise-and-tax-evasion-will-be-history-in-india/,"From 1st April 100% tax returns will be scrutinise and tax evasion will be history in India.
Imagine a Tax tracker software which cost government more than Rs 1000 Crore and several years of building it, just to track expenses of all assesssee based on big data and then suggest department to pick up cases for scrutiny. That’s what India tax department is going to implement from 1 April 2019
Big data Software which can be use to track tax evader is reality for Income Tax department. As per our sources the Income Tax Department has given access to the software on 15 March 2019.
Now if you are travelling foreign county and posting pictures on social media, buying an luxury car and its beyond your income as per your returns filed, then Income Tax Department can use big data to analyse it and check the mismatch between your earning and spending. The process can easily use complete trail for even new tax filer. Also Department can prepare a master file having all details and key information about individuals and corporates.
The basic idea is to catch the tax evaders and also increase number of people to file returns and pay tax, who are not filing returns. The Insight project will feature an integrated information management system, which will harness machine learning to help take the right step and the right time. It will entail collecting relevant web pages and documents that could be probed
India now joins a select league of countries like Belgium, Canada and Australia that are already using big data to keep a check on evasion. It is estimated that in case of Britain launched similar software at estimated cost of 100 million pounds. Since its inception in 2010, the system has prevented the loss of 4.1 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) in revenue. These cases would have mostly remained undetected without cutting-edge analytics.
The software will ensure 100% Scrutiny of all the returns filed and selection based on thousands of small parameters from which the probability of tax evasion will be Zero",398,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663013003.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528062047-20220528092047-00223.warc.gz,0.946430206298828
31b8f181-5ab0-43a8-979b-37bbdb05b36f,2016-07-23T09:11:53+00:00,2016-07-23,0,http://sr.urbandictionary.com/author.php?author=Chuck+Young,"An adjective used to describe something weird or overly sketchy yet not necessarily serious
""Man, that prank that Frank played today was so eli. I don't think he meant it but it still creeped me out""
Slobodna Dnevna e-pošta
Email-ovi se šalju sa email@example.com. Nikada vas nećemo spam-ovati.",88,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00013-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.839720845222473
e94599a1-b959-4d6c-87e1-22691fb75ff8,2020-10-28T06:05:39+00:00,2020-10-28,0,https://deals.india.com/single-view-store/?single_store_id=1331,"Talk of the Town
Talk Of The Town is a cornerstone in the Iselin community and has been recognized for its outstanding Indian cuisine, excellent service and friendly staff.
Our Indian restaurant is known for its modern interpretation of classic dishes and its insistence on only using high quality fresh ingredients.
Address: 14 Macroni Ave Iselin NJ 08830
Contact No: 7328551500
Email Id: email@example.com",94,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107896778.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028044037-20201028074037-00047.warc.gz,0.901387751102448
8447b9ce-a671-453c-8d55-aadbeae14b96,2022-05-17T08:22:47+00:00,2019-11-28,0,https://ipanz.org.nz/DataFilter?Action=View&DataFilter_id=100003&DataFilter_SortBy=WhenPosted&DFF_100021=15%2F01%2F2012&DFF_100022=15%2F01%2F2032&DataFilter_Page=1,"The Public Service Legislation Bill was presented to Parliament last week, and submissions are now open.
The timeframe is very challenging for thoughtful debate, with submissions closing on 31 January, but this is a very important piece of legislation and it is vital that the views of public service professionals are heard.
IPANZ will be putting in a submission, so please email us with any views that you would like us to consider and incorporate into our submission - firstname.lastname@example.org
- 28 Nov 2019
An enduring focus for IPANZ has always been the principles and values of the New Zealand public sector.
The current state sector legislation does not include a consolidated statement of principles. Five principles of public service departments can be found in legislation, but these principles are currently scattered through the SSA (s1A, s32, s33, s60), and other Acts (Official Information Act 1982, Privacy Act 1993, and Public Records Act 2005). The new bill proposes a statement that can act as a point of identification and unity for the New Zealand Public Service.
- 12 Nov 2019
This year’s IPANZ Public Administration Prize for top marks in a Public Management paper has been awarded to Miranda Smith. Miranda is in her fifth year of a conjoint Bachelor of Commerce and LLB (Hons) majoring in Public Policy at Victoria University of Wellington. She received top marks in the VUW School of Government’s Emerging Perspectives in Public Management paper.
- 12 Nov 2019
As stories about whistleblowing and its consequences dominate international headlines, work is underway to review New Zealand’s whistleblowing legislation. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier sets out the nuts and bolts of the Protected Disclosures Act 2000, and why we need to lift our game in both awareness and practice.
You can read what Peter has to say about the Act, the need for reform and for greater awareness, and the protections that are available to us, in the attached article.
- 06 Nov 2019
It’s an important time for all of us to be thinking about how we are engaging with Māori, and what meaningful and effective engagement looks like. The establishment of Te Arawhiti – The Office for Māori Crown Relations, reinforces the government’s commitment to building strong, ongoing and effective relationships with Māori across all of government.
IPANZ is helping public sector professionals to build their confidence and skills with a refreshed workshop on Engaging Effectively with Māori, and our October workshop proved so popular that it sold out in record time.
- 01 Nov 2019
The IPANZ board wishes to co-opt up to two new board members.
The Institute of Public Administration New Zealand's (IPANZ) vision is 'a high performing public sector respected and valued by New Zealanders'.
We are delighted to invite you, our members, to apply for the Board of IPANZ. You will see from the attached advertisement that we are intent on refreshing our Board, extending our reach, building the diversity of our thinking, and increasing our impact.
We hope you will consider applying.
- 09 Oct 2019
Auckland Council’s social and economic change programme for southern Auckland, The Southern Initiative, has been taking ground-breaking approaches in co-design – with lessons emerging for how Government can deal with some of the most complex issues facing our communities.
- 01 Oct 2019
We have probably all been watching the Brexit discussions unfold with a range of emotions including incredulity and confusion. Phil Smith from Radio New Zealand’s The House calls it “The Westminster crisis”. You may have been wondering what it all means - there seems to be so many complex rules, and the breaking of them, and words we have not often seen before! Above all, could any of this happen in New Zealand?
- 26 Sep 2019
New Zealand’s public service has been on a mission to move out of monocultural mode for decades, and there’s still a long way to go. But a partnership between Ngāti Kuri and Auckland Museum is providing a possible model for government agencies.
In the latest issue of IPANZ’s Public Sector Journal, we have spoken with Ngāti Kuri board member Sheridan Waitai about the relatively new partnership between the iwi of approximately 6,500 people in the Far North, and the Auckland Museum.
- 24 Sep 2019
The public service professional of the future will need more of a focus on entrepreneurial and relationship skills, leading to a greater emphasis on collaborative engagement and innovative design.
Research from University of Birmingham researchers Catherine Needham and Catherine Mangan has identified 10 traits of the 21st Century public service professional.
- 24 Sep 2019
ANZSOG has alerted us to 3 upcoming events with visiting academic Professor Wolfgana Dreschler. Read more for further information.
- 17 Sep 2019
How good is the quality of your policy advice? The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Policy Project has launched its refreshed Policy Quality Framework to help you answer that question. The refreshed framework provides the policy community with a common set of standards that specify what good quality advice looks like.
- 14 Aug 2019
Did you know that you can add the IPANZ Events you have registered for into your outlook calendar?
- 23 Jul 2019
IPANZ President Dr Jo Cribb today announced that Shenagh Gleisner will become IPANZ’s new Executive Director, effective from 4 June 2019.
- 28 May 2019
The State Services Commission are delighted to announce that entries for the Spirit of Service Awards 2019 are now open.
- 08 Apr 2019
Are you passionate about a high quality public sector? Are you a respected thought leader on public services and policy? Can you develop new and innovative business lines? If so, IPANZ can offer you a newly created rewarding part-time, flexible leadership role.
- 04 Apr 2019
The Policy Project’s Development Pathways Tool is now live. The Policy Project encourages you to look at the online Tool, and think about how it can assist you, your team, and agency to build policy skills.
- 01 Mar 2019
In this e-newsletter, we report on the Hon Grant Robertson's annual address to IPANZ in which he outlines his wellbeing approach; we announce the one-day Public Sector conference; and list events for Feb/ March.
- 22 Feb 2019
State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes acknowledges the excellent job IPANZ has done in leading the Public Sector Excellence Awards during the last 10 years. From 2019, the State Services Commission will be leading the awards, which will be renamed the Spirit of Service Awards.
- 29 Jan 2019
IPANZ supports the current review. The State Sector Act 1988 changed substantially how the Public/State Service operated. Now, 30 years on, citizens’ expectations, technology, and the nature of the problems and issues with which public servants have to deal have again changed significantly. As such, it is appropriate to take another look at the way in which the public service operates to ensure that it remains fit for purpose.
- 15 Oct 2018
The New Zealand Police won the Excellence in Improving Diversity and Inclusiveness within the Public Sector at this year’s Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards.In the first of the IPANZ Awards series on 3 October, Kaye Ryan, Deputy Chief Executive People and Capability, shared how the New Zealand Police created a recruitment campaign that reflected NZ Police as a great place to work, where diversity is valued.
- 04 Oct 2018
7 September 2018: The proposed reform of the Public Sector Act is welcome but the time allowed for consultation needs to be extended, says the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ).
- 07 Sep 2018
Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins today launched a public consultation process ahead of the most significant reform of New Zealand’s Public Service in 30 years.
- 04 Sep 2018
Delivering fees-free tertiary education project wins Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2018
A multi-agency project to deliver fees-free tertiary education won the Prime Minister’s Award at the Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2018, held in Wellington last night.
- 26 Jul 2018
After twenty years of running a Public Sector Excellence Awards programme, the IPANZ Board has decided that it is time to pass the leadership of the Awards to the State Services Commission (SSC). As the public sector’s lead agency, it is appropriate and desirable that SSC should take the lead in running an Awards programme. IPANZ will therefore step down from running the Awards in 2019.
- 10 Apr 2018
The IPANZ Board has approved the Business Plan 2018-19: A New Direction. IPANZ will focus on three priority areas for 2018-19: Identify and champion new ideas about the future of the public service; celebrate and promote excellence in the public service to New Zealanders; and uphold key public service values and principles.
- 06 Apr 2018
Hon Grant Robertson, Finance Minister, gave the IPANZ Annual Address to an audience of 350 at the Beehive banquet hall yesterday, 15 February. Read his speech.
- 16 Feb 2018
Nominations for New Zealand’s longest-running and most prestigious public sector awards are now open, including an award to recognise growing diversity within the public sector.
- 07 Dec 2017
Kirsti Luke, Tuhoe Te Uru Taumatua Chief Executive and DOC Deputy Director General Mervyn English, spoke to IPANZ about their collaboration over Te Urewera. DOC and Tuhoe implemented ground-breaking new Treaty Settlement legislation, which granted the former national park Te Urewera legal personhood. This project won the 2018 Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Award.
- 23 Nov 2017
Digital disruption in the media sector prompted Radio New Zealand (RNZ) to transform itself into a modern, innovative and successful multi-media organisation. Key players spoke to IPANZ on 15 November about how it redefined radio, in our series from the 2017 Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards winners.
- 20 Nov 2017
To increase the diversity of its workforce, Treasury reformed its graduate and intern recruitment process. Clodagh Jolly, Principal Advisor, Organisational Development at the Treasury provided an insight into its Blind Recruitment programme at an IPANZ seminar on 1 November.
- 03 Nov 2017
Diane Maxwell, the Retirement Commissioner, kicked off the series of Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Award winners' stories on 11 October.
- 19 Oct 2017
Taking a community-led approach to addressing our country's social, economic and environmental issues offers new possibilities, as outlined in an IPANZ seminar by Inspiring Communities and The Todd Foundation.
- 19 Sep 2017
Gain first-hand knowledge and build contacts in your field that will be highly relevant to the New Zealand context and future New Zealand and United States links. Apply now for a Harkness Fellowship.
- 28 Aug 2017
As of the end of March 2017, 170 organisations were members of IPANZ, up from 143 for the same time last year.
- 24 Jul 2017
Te Urewera - DOC Tūhoe Partnership won the Prime Minister’s Award at the Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2017, held in Wellington last night (5 July).The judges said that this programme was, “An excellence initiative, demonstrating a transformation in the relationship. Most notably there were no direct examples to draw on anywhere in the world - that is true innovation.”
- 06 Jul 2017
A new digital marketplace is now live, which connects professionals keen to donate their skills and not for profits needing their expertise.
- 15 Jun 2017
Prime Minister Bill English has outlined a new set of 10 targets which set the Government’s expectations for the public service, building on the success of the initial targets set in 2012. See: http://ssc.govt.nz/better-public-services-next-steps
- 01 May 2017
A key initiative by the Department of Internal Affairs, SmartStart, has won a prestigious international award.
- 20 Apr 2017
A joint response to complex planning and technical challenges following the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 in parts of the Waimakariri District north of Christchurch has achieved the supreme accolade at this year’s New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) awards.
- 01 Apr 2017",2619,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517018.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517063528-20220517093528-00612.warc.gz,0.927881717681885
393bd61e-c5e1-4991-858b-c3b751a09f09,2022-05-22T15:00:13+00:00,2022-04-22,1,https://www.onlygoodnewsdaily.com/post/peat-bogs-could-help-uk-hit-net-zero-target,"In north east Scotland, a vast expanse of almost uninterrupted blanket bog stretches over about 4,000 sq km of Caithness and Sutherland.
Following OGN's article last month - What's Brown and Soggy and Fights Climate Change? - where we noted that protecting intact peatlands and restoring degraded ones are crucial steps if the world is to succeed in its efforts to hold back climate change, describing it as the 'low hanging fruit', it's wonderful news to learn that hopes are rising that this area in Scotland, known as Flow Country - and the world’s largest carbon store - could become the first peatland to win World Heritage status.
The UK government is shortly expected to confirm that it will ask UNESCO to add the Flow Country to an exclusive list that includes the Great Barrier Reef and the Taj Mahal. Experts say that the Flow Country’s candidacy could have a profound impact on the global fight to combat climate change.
Senior conservation scientists argue it would make the region a showcase for peatland management, including repairing areas damaged by human intervention worldwide, and confirm peat bogs as essential components in future efforts to arrest climate change - as peatlands are among the planet's greatest carbon stores. Today, sadly, they are under sustained threat from climate change and release carbon as they dry out. The problem is exacerbated by by agriculture, commercial forestry and industrial expansion. Clearly, this all needs reversing in favour of peatlands everywhere.
Amazingly, ecologists estimate that while peatlands cover only 3% of the Earth’s land surface, they hold 30% of the carbon stored on land. They calculate the Flow Country’s peatlands, which are up to 15 metres deep after more than 10,000 years of plant deposition and expansion, alone hold 400m tonnes of carbon. That's roughly twice the total carbon content of all the woodlands and forest in the UK.
Professor Thompson, NatureScot’s principal science adviser and an architect of the world heritage site bid, said the Flow Country is ""the single largest peat deposit in the world and therefore it’s the single largest carbon repository in the world; it’s the world’s largest in terms of one block, one expanse of blanket bog.”
“If they are intact and functioning well, they are absolute life savers. But where they are degraded and pouring out carbon, an absolute liability,” Thompson said. “It’s so vital to restore them, to preserve our carbon balance.”
If you're enjoying OGN Daily, please don't hesitate to share the good news by telling friends and family...",553,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00413.warc.gz,0.934741914272308
2a69384e-49cd-4439-8a70-d5a417c89fbb,2022-05-19T06:32:41+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://redbarnmercantile.com/products/marvel-alpha-block-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-from-a-to-z-board-book,"Marvel Alpha Block: The Marvel Cinematic Universe from A to Z Board Book
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is rich with content, from its highly original characters to its stunning locations. This new title in the Abrams Block Book series features thrilling scenes and fascinating characters from A to Z, perfect for the youngest fan as well as seasoned collectors. As in previous Block Book titles, Marvel Alphablock includes die-cut pages and the stylish art of British design team Peskimo. Each spread highlights important characters every fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should know—from Black Panther to Iron Man to Scarlet Witch.
- Board book : 104 pages",128,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00410.warc.gz,0.897836565971375
0825da59-e639-4ae2-bd91-81b505f93fde,2016-07-30T16:54:35+00:00,2007-06,1,http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/06/taliban-taking-.html,"Well, that's probably hyperbole. But it does seem like things in Pakistan are getting pretty dire. So says a Pakistani report put together by its Interior Ministry, providing ominous warnings about the increasing power of the Taliban in the country.
The Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was warned this month that Islamic militants and Taliban fighters were rapidly spreading beyond the country’s lawless tribal areas and that without “swift and decisive action,” the growing militancy could engulf the rest of the country. [my emphasis]
The report provides details--including some that pose significant risk to American troops in Afghanistan.
The mention of lesser-known but potent Taliban figures by name shows that the Pakistani government is aware of the far-reaching tentacles of the Taliban and other extremists but cannot do anything about them or chooses not to do anything, the Western diplomat said.
Among the particulars, the document says the Taliban have recently begun bombing oil tank trucks that pass through the Khyber area near the border on their way to Afghanistan for United States and NATO forces.
I'm particularly curious about the politics behind the report. The Interior Ministry, after all, is led by a guy who almost got killed by militants several months ago.
Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, the prime mover behind the document, narrowly escaped a suicide bomb attack in April by extremists in his home area of Charsadda, 18 miles northeast of Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province.
The attack on Mr. Sherpao shook his confidence in General Musharraf’s policy toward the militants, which has included a series of peace deals.
And this is happening at a time when there is increasing debate--within and outside of the US--over whether the US should continue to blindly back Musharraf. Of course, we're almost bound to fuck this up--because Dick Cheney has hijacked our Pakistan policy, placing hacks in charge, and recommitting to Musharraf in spite of his failures. That makes me confident--how about you?",426,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258936356.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072856-00273-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.954581558704376
69e8e99f-0e17-4520-9640-631b21acd020,2022-05-25T18:41:18+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://photo.artisticconspiracy.com/events/,"Do you have a show or band to publicize? I specialize in shooting live events with a focus on capturing the essence of your show or the brand of your group.
Every event has different shooting parameters and end goals, so I price each one individually. If you’re interested in getting a quote for your event, fill out my Publicity & Events Quote Form.
Check out the gallery below for examples of my previous work! You’ll see everything from bands to theatre, adult and youth performers alike. Just to show the versatility of my work, I’ve even thrown in a couple shots from a MotoGP World Championship. Whatever your event, I can capture its magic today!
To see larger versions, click any image to make the gallery full screen.",159,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662593428.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525182604-20220525212604-00406.warc.gz,0.91028881072998
7d093ecd-cb95-4ef9-926e-6b1ade7b4c53,2022-05-17T01:34:02+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://www.dailydoss.com/infosys-techie-son-die-us-crowd-funding-send-bodies-home/,"A software application engineer from Andhra Pradesh, who was working for Infosys, and his three-year-old boy have actually drowned in a swimming pool in the United States, according to news reports. His body was discovered along with his boy’s on Tuesday in the swimming pool at the apartment or condo structure where the household lived.
” A couple who strolled into the clubhouse saw the dead bodies drifting on the swimming pool and notified authorities,” reported regional media.
” The father had actually taken the kid to the swimming pool. They were not planning to swim, they were simply going to sit by the swimming pool, which was evidenced by exactly what we discovered at the scene, and definitely exactly what they were using. They were not worn swim clothing,” stated regional cops chief David Malloy,
He stated the little kid, Ananth, fell under the swimming pool while riding his tricycle. The daddy delved into to save his child and drowned. There was no lifeguard, and the set were not knowledgeable swimmers.
The household’s good friend and Infosys staff members in Michigan are aiming to assist by crowd-funding so that the bodies can be sent out house.
The effort is to gather 150,000 dollars and it’s already gathered.
Buddies explained Mr Surepalli in the crowd-funding appeal as “the most jolly, truthful, friendly individual you would ever fulfill and constantly smiling.”
“In the middle of this disaster, we’ve established this fund to assist them with the funeral service expenditures and other continuous grief/recovery assistance expenses. This consists of the extremely costly procedure of bring their mortal stays back to India,” organisers composed.",364,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515466.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516235937-20220517025937-00223.warc.gz,0.990875422954559
63a83705-8e85-4274-bf0a-d3905c64b40d,2016-07-25T02:21:23+00:00,2014-01-27,0,https://melbourneartcritic.com/2014/01/27/piano-piano/,"There are pianos everywhere in Melbourne from the City Square to the Palm Plaza in Dandenong. There are 24 pianos on Melbourne’s streets this January, most of them are in the CBD especially around the Arts Centre. All the pianos have been donated and then decorated by various artists and arts groups. They are part of Play Me, I’m Yours by British artist Luke Jerram. You can play on them any time that the small boys have stopped making big noises on them.
I stop to look at the painted piano in the City Square and Yarn Corner’s yarn-bombing. The now annual yarn-bombing of the City Square looks great this year. A great deal of thought, knitting and crocheting has gone into it with the patterns and the co-ordinated colours are a real step up from last year.
Luke Jerram has an very impressive CV with many diverse projects from his glass microbiology models to his interactive waterfall in Bristol. His Play Me, I’m Yours project has been installed in many cities around the world. (Have a look at his website.)
Play Me, I’m Yours, was made possible by the Betty Amsden Participation Program, a four year program of large scale “art for all” participation events. Betty Amsdem OAM is a major sponsor of the arts in Melbourne (as well as, 3MBS, the RSPCA and Guide Dogs Victoria) and a vocal advocate for philanthropy.
Ultimately both the pianos and the yarn-bombing are radical gestures that empower the community to create for themselves rather than simply being spectators in this event and festival driven city. It is something that the Revolutionary Dadaist Council of Berlin would have approved.
There has always been a piano for people to play on the mezzanine floor of the City Library where their exhibition space is located. I was looking at “A Celebration of Co-Mix: an exhibition of past entrants from the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Award Graphic Short Stories. (Comics have come along way in my life from the subject of moral panic to the Lord Mayor’s award.) As I was looking and reading the exhibition an old woman slowly moved her walker towards the piano. At first I thought that she was just looking for a place to sit down but then she started to play. I could hear why she had made the effort; for a woman who was barely able to walk she played with a smooth ageless grace.
I had less grace when I played some 8 bar blues on the piano in the Victoria Mall in Coburg. The upright piano sounds soft when played outdoors.",555,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824201.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00152-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.979138553142548
0af2c92c-bf08-4395-8024-a9570cce8611,2020-10-25T08:03:06+00:00,2020-10-25,0,https://www.kailashtourtrek.com/inquiry.php?trip=Tibet%20cultural%20tour,"Please fill up the form given below as complete as possible and hit submit button.
www.kailashtourtrek.com contains as much information as possible about Mount Kailash & Tibet Tours and Treks. However, if you have any questions regarding trip, please feel free to contact us. We answer all enquiries within 24 hours. If you want to book a trip, you can send us an email or contact us directly by phone: 0977 98510 36844 (Ram Kumar Adhikari).",107,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888402.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025070924-20201025100924-00322.warc.gz,0.900234580039978
7d64a183-23a0-4c5b-a11a-a83941c09e18,2017-08-20T02:16:08+00:00,2017-01,0,http://esportsjunkie.com/2017/01/lgd-announce-their-lineup-for-2017/,"LGD Gaming is a Chinese multigaming team sponsored by Guizhou Laogandie Food. It has a Dota 2 division and one League of Legends division.
Their team house is based in Hangzhou, China.
They have been a powerhouse in Dota2 ever since they placed third in 2012 International. Their performance has had troubles in the years in between but the potential of the new lineup announced is definitely high.",86,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105961.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820015021-20170820035021-00340.warc.gz,0.978057265281677
20267cbb-bfe7-4b81-a28f-29202a08964e,2018-08-14T06:29:57+00:00,2018-08-14,0,https://renci.org/research/nara-tpap/,"The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Transcontinental Persistent Archive Prototype (TPAP) is a data preservation environment using the Storage Resource Broker (SRB) and “/i/ Rule Oriented Data Systems” (iRODS) data grid technology to develop, implement, and test a seamless, nationwide data management infrastructure. The University of North Carolina serves as one of the nodes in the NARA data grid. RENCI provides data management infrastructure for the NARA data grid. Each data grid node manages its own preservation environment, with separate metadata catalog and storage systems. The UNC NARA node enables the university to federate with other NARA nodes on the grid in Washington D.C., West Virginia, California, and Maryland, and with the SRB/iRODS zone of the Odum Institute for Research and Social Science at UNC-Chapel Hill, in order to test distributed data preservation technology. The data grid environment and the federation of SRB/iRODS zones allows synchronization of collections (data and metadata) across grid nodes and offers replication services that support reliable distributed data preservation. The iRODS rule engine, in development and testing as the successor to SRB, offers the original SRB services along with rule-based support for implementation of administrative data management policy, even for data distributed across disparate administrative domains.
RENCI collaborates with the Data Intensive Cyber Environments (DICE) Research group, in the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at UNC and in the Institute for Neural Computation (INC) at UCSD, and with NARA’s office of Electronic Records Archives (ERA) on the testing of the persistent archive prototype and the tools and policies which support it. Researchers are examining the construction of advanced data management systems used to support long-term, cross-platform, multi-site preservation of distributed data. RENCI also collaborates on the NARA TPAP project with the other partners at SILS and in theOdum Institute for Research and Social Science, testing their integration of social science data in VDC/DataVerse with the TPAP/iRODS data grid.
The RENCI system which serves as the UNC NARA node enjoys 7TB of disk space. The prototype RENCI NARA zone is a replication mirror for NARA ERA collections. RENCI experts contribute to the testing and rule and microservice development of the new iRODS technology to support the transcontinental prototype for replication and maintenance of NARA collections.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Odum Institute for Research and Social Science, UNC
- Jon Crabtree
- Mason Chua
UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS)
- Reagan Moore
- Richard Marciano
- Antoine de Torcy
- Jewel Ward
Institute for Neural Computation, UCSD
- Arcot Rajasekar
- Michael Wan
- Wayne Schroeder
- Sheau-Yen Chen",626,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221208676.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814062251-20180814082251-00005.warc.gz,0.857210457324982
5ce7f6b7-9a04-48e3-8e7c-19eefb57d164,2016-07-27T15:27:55+00:00,2014-05-01,1,http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2014/05/specials/city-of-tomorrow/index.html,"City of Tomorrow
About this project
The city of tomorrow might already be here.
Right now, 21st century challenges like greenhouse gases, crime and high energy costs — are being met worldwide with real innovation.
In the coming years communities will grow at an amazing pace. The United Nations predicts by 2030, 60% of the world will live in cities. Demand for clean air, water, energy — and convenience — will skyrocket.
Along with emerging innovations, increased connectivity via the Internet and smart devices promises to help solve many of these threats.
Imagine turning the ocean into drinking water, ending traffic jams, making policing smarter and creating buildings with zero carbon footprints.
Some buildings — even though they may be old — have very futuristic-looking designs. CNN iReporters photographed a few of them, including an amazing building designed to resemble a human eyeball, an American airport icon and a bizarre circular structure that defies the imagination.",190,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00018-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.910689234733582
a867aaa5-7061-4112-9ba9-55378d0e82ec,2019-08-18T16:56:44+00:00,2019-04-12,0,https://www.blackkattheatre.com/black-kat-theatres-california-report-an-original-sketch-comedy/,"“Black Kat Theatre’s California Report: A Living Newspaper”
April 12, 13, 25, 26 & 27 2019 *7:30PM
Performing at the Women’s Museum of California (inside Liberty Station)
2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, San Diego, California 92106
Join Black Kat as we take a humorous look at the people, places and politics that make up the Golden State. From Hollywood to Housing, Wildfires to Walls and more. A unique and hilarious sketch comedy all about life in California!
Directed by: Tisha Tumangan
Written by: Marian Blair Hollingsworth, Michael Demoret, Justin Hoskins, Kathryn Schellinger & Tisha Tumangan
Featuring: Ryan Cannan, Amy Dell, Rick Hall, Anthony Hamm, Jamillah Jackson, Ma’Riece Johnson, Eric Peterson, Lisa Riggatelli & Kathryn Schellinger
Artwork by: Morgan Miller 3
About Black Kat:
Black Kat is an independent theatre company based in San Diego, CA. With a focus on political and current event sketch comedy, Black Kat hopes to use humor to engage audiences and promote a dialogue. The goal at Black Kat is to entertain, enlighten and inspire audiences to learn more about the community we share, the issues we face, and to hopefully have a good laugh about it all. To learn more & get involved please visit blackkattheatre.com. Black Kat Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.",317,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00174.warc.gz,0.875204086303711
7d2277cb-8ab4-45a2-9fca-8806ac0cd03f,2020-10-22T15:14:07+00:00,2011-07-31,1,https://icangles.com/tag/debt-crisis/,"While market watchers fixated on the debt ceiling in the United States, as the clock for raising the ceiling was again reset by Congress, debt issues in China likely pose a more significant threat to the global economy. It’s a risk not lost on Chinese policymakers, who are adopting new practices in order to wean their economy off dept dependence before the worst happens. But with the current levels of debt, economic imbalances and perhaps most importantly high debt inefficiency that clock is ticking. And unlike the U.S. Congress’ debt clock, this Chinese one is not going to be reset by a simple vote of politicians to borrow more. It is imbalances such as these not so easily addressed that pose the real threat to the stock market.
The Three Bears Economy has seen us move through the doctom bubble of corporate debt, the real estate bubble of consumer debt and now we are deep into the government bubble of debt. Previously people got rich oftentimes only on paper from dotcom stocks before they fell and then many saw their wealth on paper rise and fall with their home values. Now we are well into the era of people making money from government, including paper millionaires—retirees with million plus dollar government retirement plans. Pension millionaires include the ex-police chief of Stockton California, who after two years as chief, retired with an annual pension of over $200,000. Add in benefits and on paper you get to over a million dollars in payouts pretty quickly. But the government largesse the ex-chief and many Americans to a lesser extent are growing accustomed to will turn out to be as solid as pets.com stock or sky high real estate values, because it is built on unsustainable debt. In the case of Stockton the city is already in bankruptcy, and in the case of the global economy the clock is ticking on how much longer government spending will prop up living standards.
The balance sheets of the major central banks of the world are in a dangerous state. In the United States, the European Union and Japan they have basically printed money to buy debt, counting the debt securities purchased as an asset and the money paid for them in the liability column. Despite many mistakenly believing China’s central bank must be in good shape with all the U.S. government debt held in its asset column, this overlooks its liability column. Reviewing the magnitude of central bank liabilities, the implications on future policy and potential economic challenges, arguments can be made that central bankers are either wisely learning from history or the equivalent of fools playing with matches in pools of gasoline of their own pouring. Unfortunately their lackluster track record argues more for the latter than the former.
With the media focused on the political circus around the debt ceiling, not much attention was paid outside of financial circles to the newest GDP data announced late in July. But it is likely of more concern than the government’s self imposed borrowing limit. The first six months of 2011 were estimated to be the weakest in terms of economic growth since the recovery began. The first quarter is now estimated to have posted annualized growth of just 0.4 percent with the second delivering an uptick of only 1.3 percent. As a result economic forecasts are being lowered for future growth.
There has been a lot of worrying in financial markets over the past few months. In fact quite a long list of looming disasters has been assembled. Will destabilization in the Middle East, especially if unrest reaches Saudi Arabia, send oil prices skyrocketing and the global economy spiraling? Could this wave of unrest spread to China? Will the earthquake in Japan trigger a financial crisis in that country, as more debt is added to an already formidable mountain of debt? Is Bill Gross signaling a debt crisis in the U.S. is eminent, as he pilots the world’s largest bond fund out of U.S. Treasuries? Irrespective of the U.S. Treasury market is a wave of defaults on its way in the municipal bond market? And what about real estate—are we now on our way to a second bottom with prices headed for a 20 percent or greater decline?",841,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107879673.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022141106-20201022171106-00025.warc.gz,0.961111843585968
2806ab39-129c-43e8-8820-de88059a53f2,2020-10-26T17:33:40+00:00,2020-10-16,1,https://bangordailynews.com/2020/10/16/business/lobstermen-say-documents-show-catastrophic-impact-right-whale-protections-could-have-on-industry/,"Newly released documents by Maine’s Department of Marine Resources are providing a glimpse of what federal action to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales could look like — including the closure of extensive areas of offshore ocean to lobstering.
In an August letter to the head of the agency that reviews proposed federal regulations, DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher sought a meeting to go over options for reducing the risk of right whales becoming dangerously entangled in lobster trap gear and rope.
That was after conversations with the federal Northeast Fisheries Science Center that brought to light a proposal that could put big swaths of ocean off-limits to lobstering — in federal waters known as Lobster Conservation Management Areas, or LCMAs.
LCMA 1, in particular, is heavily fished by Maine lobster boats.
“The concern was those areas in Area 3 could come across to Area 1 if, in fact, we don’t meet our risk reduction target,” Keliher said.
He said the potential closure described by federal officials could reduce access to fishing grounds 12 miles or more offshore for lobster boats based from Penobscot Bay to Schoodic Point Down East.
Keliher could not give an estimate of the acreage of the area involved. But using lobster landings data from last year, he and his staff calculated that had such closures been in place then, they would have blocked more than 3,000 boat trips and reduced the value of offshore landings by $14 million.
That’s more than half the offshore fleet’s annual take and about three percent of last year’s total Maine lobster landings of $485 million.
Keliher said the effects would reach well beyond that.
“It is going to create losses because of competition within other areas. It’s going to create gear conflict, it is going to create all sorts of other issues associated with the shifting of a large amount of gear into areas that are already fished,” he said.
“I’m a little bit staggered by this, I have to say,” said Genevieve McDonald, a Stonington lobsterman who sits on the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee. She represents many who fish the offshore waters that could be affected.
“$14 million may sound relatively small in comparison to the statewide value. But it would have a catastrophic impact on not just the economy but also the character of the islands in Penobscot Bay,” she said.
McDonald said the industry has been well warned that closures could be part of the new rules the feds are working on now. But she said this first public indicator of what the specifics might look like in Maine opens a sobering window on what the future could hold.
McDonald and Keliher both argue that closures do not make sense for deep waters off the state’s coast, because fishermen would likely respond by relocating their traps just outside the closed zones, creating a fence or curtain of rope that could be more dangerous for any whales swimming through.
“Even if it didn’t create a curtain effect, and it did move all of that gear inshore, that’s still problematic,” McDonald said. “You still have a tremendous amount of crowding inshore, you have a limited resource inshore, we’re seeing landings move offshore. So you’re looking at trying to sustain an offshore fleet on inshore landings, and I don’t think that’s possible either.”
Conservationists who’ve sued the federal government to force quicker action to protect the roughly 400 whales left on the planet, said removing rope from the water is the only sure way to meaningfully reduce entanglement risk.
And some argue that closures can speed up innovation.
“For a large whale to go extinct in the U.S., which has some of the brightest minds and greatest technological experts and a can-do-spirit, is just appalling to think about,” said Sharon Young, marine issues field director for the Humane Society of the United States.
Young said that in response to a seasonal closure of whale feeding grounds off Cape Cod, some Massachusetts fishermen are experimenting with “ropeless” or “buoy-less” lobster trap technology, which uses GPS and radio signals to set and retrieve traps on the ocean floor.
Maine’s lobstermen remain deeply skeptical of the technology. And for months, Keliher has been working up and down the coast to devise responses specific to the diverse conditions in different parts of the Maine fishery. Those include the use of breakaway ropes that whales can swim through and tying more traps to each line to reduce the overall amount of rope in the water — a practice called “trawling up.”
But the risk-reduction solutions do not include area closures large or small, Keliher said.
“Our goal is to balance the needs of the industry with the conservation of right whales,” he said. “And I don’t want to do this with just a handful of individuals. We can do this with weak line, we can do this with trawling up. And we can do it in a way that is safe for the whales and sustainable for the harvester, for the individual fisherman.”
DMR staff did ultimately get a new meeting with federal officials, where they outlined their concerns. But there has been no communication since, and federal officials did not respond to requests for comment.
A proposed new rule has been delayed multiple times, and Keliher said until one is released there is no way to be sure of just where or even whether any closures would be proposed. But a U.S. judge recently ruled that the government must take action by May. And a draft rule is expected to be published in the federal register by early next month.",1237,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891428.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026145305-20201026175305-00413.warc.gz,0.960376739501953
932a4a62-6833-466e-97f3-bbdecc30e0fc,2022-05-19T04:46:28+00:00,2022-05-19,1,https://novascotiatoday.com/our-kind-of-people-season-2-release-date-cast-and-plot/17058/,"Wendy Calhoun and Karin Gist wrote the series Our Kind of People. Lawrence Otis Graham wrote Our Kind of People as well as Karin Gist and Lawrence Otis Graham. Bryan M. Holdman wrote Our Kind of People as well as Bryan M.
Holdman and Chris Masi Benny Boom and Keesha Sharp were among the directors alongside Tasha Smith and Benny Boom as well as Jeff Byrd and Jeffrey W. Byrd. Wendy Calhoun and Karin Gist produced Our Kind of People.
Nadine Ellis and Yaya DaCosta co-star. “Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class” by Lawrence Otis Graham served as the basis for the television series Our Kind of People. Gregg Berg, Tasha Smith Ben Silverman, Rodney Ferrell Montrel McKay Lee Daniels Marc Velez Karin Gist Claire Brown were the executive producers of Our Kind of People.
Our Kind of People Season 2 Release Date-
Season 2 of Our Kind of People has not yet been scheduled for release. After the confirmation of the second season of the show Our Kind of People, perhaps it will be announced shortly.
Our Kind of People Season 2 Trailer-
This season’s official trailer has yet to be released. After the announcement of the second season of the show Our Kind of People, it appears that it will be published very soon.
Read more: Elevator Shoes: Lifting us to New Levels .
Our Kind of People Season 2 Cast-
Find the expected cast of Our Kind of People Season 2 below.
- Yaya DaCosta as Angela Vaughn
- Nadine Ellis as Leah Franklin Dupont
- Raven Goodwin as Josephine
- Nicole Chanel Williams as Taylor
- L. Scott Caldwell as Olivia Sturgess Dupont
- Kyle Bary as Quincy Dupont
- Joe Morton as Teddy Franklin
- Morris Chestnut as Raymond Dupont
- Lance Gross as Tyrique Chapman
- Rhyon Nicole Brown as Lauren Dupont
- Alana Kay Bright as Nikki Vaughn
- Debbi Morgan as Patricia – Aunt Piggy – Williams
- Melissa De Sousa as Alex Rivera
- McKinley Freeman as Nate Robinson
The audience’s reaction to Our Kind of People has been a mixed one. Series Our Kind of People has a fascinating narrative to tell.
We’re crossing our fingers for a positive reception for the upcoming third season of Our Kind of People. We’ll have to wait and see.
Keep an eye on this website for changes and new content, and don’t forget to save it as a favourite for future reference. We’ll let you know when there’s a new post.",565,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00412.warc.gz,0.940063178539276
852aa6aa-424c-4b1d-a515-a38df4ceb225,2019-08-21T19:08:46+00:00,2019-08-21,0,https://www.step2wo.com/style/440106/2553/Android%20Trainer,"These girls Android trainers from Geox feature a fun and fresh silver and lilac design with silver glitter details. The trainer has twinkling lights built into the sole which can be controlled by the on and off button. As well as looking good these trainers sport Geox-patented technology which provides both breathability and waterproofness. It fastens with two hook and loop straps for ease.
The Italian brand Geox is renowned for its use of patented technology by designing small holes in the sole that let air out and that also protect from water; hence their strong band slogan ""Geox, the shoes that breathe"". The brand provides a large range of high quality trainers and shoes for children.",140,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316150.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821174152-20190821200152-00136.warc.gz,0.963245451450348
f18dcfc0-e319-432a-94d1-f3dad73e0c96,2019-08-22T15:47:51+00:00,2016-06-14,0,http://www.ebusiness-articles.com/2016/06/applying-personalized-newspaper-shredders.html,"June 14, 2016
Applying Personalized Newspaper Shredders
Time period is now as soon as most people contemplated just since shredders office environment devices. Today most people discover several purpose some sort of newspaper shredder ought to be truth be told there on your property. Lately, absolutely everyone mindful id fraud since the device has become more and more well-known. With just about every property, there are a great deal docs that’s personalized and private info you don’t require some others to learn as a result of associated risk with id fraud. Like for example , loan company arguments, credit-based card arguments, professional medical notes, legal agreements together with office environment paperwork in your house, and will work from a home office, to mention several. A lot of people toss a lot of these paperwork in the waste without the need of beginning to see that poor have an impact on it could actually get on the activities in the future. People who wish to get together with demolish these in advance of removing these this is the location where the newspaper shredders get that imagine to produce your daily routine better.
As soon as you get hold of newspaper shredder for any property but not just to remain available and precisely what is the cheaper with selling prices available. There are plenty of many other variables additionally assist you figure out that’s the acceptable position for a property. A substantial amount of info is in addition available using the web lately. Accordingly, login and to analyze different kinds of shredders are obtainable!
Truth be told there they provide for several newspaper shredders with regard to personalized employ available. The 2 main fundamental designs will be in deal along with the finalized end result with regard to paperwork for example, reel and frustrated slice newspaper shredders. Reel slice shredders, like the identity has revealed, are generally people shred that newspaper inside tape. This manner is usually cost effective together with quite simply looked after. That frustrated slice newspaper shredders slice width wise together with vertically with very little sections. He, and often discover, increases results for any issue with safety measures together with should make it problematic with regard to id robbers to become listed on these ever again.
Property shredders should end up lightweight together with lightweight. One more thing that will is important to take into consideration as soon as picking out some sort of newspaper shredder for any property is a safety measures to your wrists and hands. Really, it ought to be altogether protected for a little ones and unfortunately your house animals. In earlier times, several episodes came about the location where the customer’s give and that head on the pet is usually in pain. That is why you must set off in hand using safety measures shredders. There does exist quite possibly several these insurance coverage shredders. In that case can come the case with newspaper jellies that will show up which includes a fragmentation with regard to it can be 100% Protected jellies. Additionally, constantly pick the main with the instant lubrication and avoid the effort once and for all. Additionally evaluate the proportions considering within a newspaper shredder. Ought to be that will coordinate your distinct must have so that you are successful.
If your primary require isn’t just tied to newspaper, then you definately is going for any optimum safety measures solutions that will quite possibly that shred Dvds together with Dvd. Offered most of the poor effects that will take unshredded paperwork, having to pay some sort of newspaper shredder has been viewed as a great expense that will constantly worthy down the road.",735,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317274.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822151657-20190822173657-00527.warc.gz,0.970849573612213
089b512b-bef4-40d9-af29-2a249df9ddd1,2013-05-25T05:44:31+00:00,2011-12,1,http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/12/green-energy-groups-to-dc-keep-cash-coming/,"This is not the time to be going to Washington, D.C., with hat in hand, yet that is exactly the position renewable energy developers find themselves in as the clock ticks down on a federal tax provision that has been crucial to boosting green-power installations.
In the latest push to save the Section 1603 Treasury program, which expires on Dec. 31, 2011, a chief beneficiary – the solar industry – has broadened its lobbying effort, forming the “Section 1603 Coalition” and releasing a letter [PDF] to Congressional leaders that urges an extension of the program. Under 1603, renewable energy developers can opt to receive a grant for up to 30 percent of the cost of a qualifying project in lieu of claiming an energy tax credit.
The 1603 Coalition, brought together by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), boasts representatives from a dozen different clean energy technologies, including things the public tends not to hear much about, like geothermal heat pumps, landfill gas and fuel cells. For instance, one of the groups quoted in the press release announcing the new coalition was the American Biogas Council, which said “an extension of the 1603 program is vitally important to the approximately 300 biogas projects under development across the country.”
Important though the program might be to such industries, by one measure at least solar has far and away been its biggest user. According to an Oct. 31 update from the U.S. Department of Energy [PDF], solar projects made up 22,060 of the 22,747 projects that took the 1603 grant option. Of course, that includes thousands of projects for relatively small dollar figures. Strictly in terms of cash outlays, Section 1603 has benefited the wind industry most, with more than $7.6 billion of the $9.6 billion paid out under the provision going to wind projects. Despite that, the American Wind Energy Association wasn’t listed as a signatory to the 1603 Coalition – perhaps because its current lobbying focus is on extending a different tax provision, the Production Tax Credit.
The grant option was instituted for two years in 2009, as the financial crisis froze up tax equity markets. After heavy lobbying late last year it was extended through the end of this year. In the letter to Congress, the coalition argues that without another extension, financing available for energy projects would shrink by 52 percent in 2012. “This would stifle job creation and severely restrict the market’s ability to leverage private sector capital to finance new domestic energy projects,” the group said.",526,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955035209655762
0f5b6423-8cfd-4b9f-acc6-b57426e43efd,2018-08-15T03:08:49+00:00,2018-02-15,1,http://gralllawgroup.com/mandatory-bodily-injury-legislation-filed/,"Sen. Tom Lee of Tampa and Rep. Erin Grall of Vero Beach have filed legislation to have Florida join 48 other states that require motorists to carry bodily injury insurance. The bodily injury requirement would replace the mandate that forces drivers to carry $10,000 in PIP coverage, whether they need it or not.
Florida’s auto insurance laws – with coverage set at 1970s rates – have inadequate financial responsibility requirements. As a result, residents and businesses needlessly pay millions of dollars a year in higher taxes and higher insurance premiums. Drivers and taxpayers are forced to pick up the tab for the treatment and care of victims of negligent drivers who are either uninsured or, more commonly, underinsured.
The Florida Justice Association supports this legislation and we need your help to pass the bills. If you have clients, or have had to turn down potential clients, who have been negatively impacted by the state’s auto insurance laws, we need them to share their stories. If you would like to play a role, or have clients who would like to get involved, please contact Ryan Banfill at email@example.com.",237,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209856.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815024253-20180815044253-00297.warc.gz,0.960400283336639
9d7f64fa-8726-4df5-bccc-68984be8b07c,2016-07-27T15:24:19+00:00,2008-06-01,0,https://blog.iso50.com/date/2008/06/page/4/,"As i sit in front of my computer today i was separating business cards that i’ve recently received from the Detroit Electronic Music Festival and new people i’ve met in New York. Maybe it’s just me and my fascination with plexiglass being used for almost anything but i thought these business cards by Head Inc. might be abit too much on the carrying them around side. I’d probably feel abit odd giving someone one of these too but they’re pretty beautiful in my opinion especially if you stack them on top of each other but i don’t see myself ever getting 2 of them anytime soon from anyone.
I’ll be playing a set tonight at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco. The event is part of the Apple WWDC conference so it’s mostly going to be people who are here for the conference, but I asked the organizers and they said it’s technically a public party so I thought I would do a last minute mention here. All the info can be found at the Upcoming Page for the event.
One of the most influential electronic labels since i started working in the industry has been Kompakt out of Cologne, Germany. Its owned by a favorite musician of mine Wolfgang Voigt aka Gas, who has some of the most unbelievable ambient records on Mille Plateaux in the mid 90’s. 1,2,3, No Gravity was always a great vinyl to throw on during the beginning of a dj set just because it had this feel to it that everybody might actually know it or wanna know it once the distant vocal came in. Also, The cover art is part of a compilation series that comes out every year, i think Kompakt is on Total 8 now, definitely worth looking into especially their other compilation series “Pop Ambient” which is also yearly. For the non techno fans, i promise to keep the techno to a minimum, if i post techno its mostly because of the melodies usually.
Closer Musik – 1,2,3, No Gravity
The 1976 print on grey American Apparel Tri-blend is now back in stock. I know a lot of people had been waiting for the mediums to come back so now’s your chance, get them while they last at The ISO50 Shop.
The Obama print sold out over the weekend, 4300 of a limited edition of 5000 (the final 700 were previously reserved). Thanks to everyone who picked one up, I am sure the Obama campaign is very thankful for your support. Sorry to anyone who missed out, I will definitely be doing what I can to make these available in a different form soon.
This was one of the largest format prints I’ve ever done and it got me excited to start converting some of the old designs to larger formats. Be on the lookout for the big stuff soon. For those of you waiting on the case study I was going to write for this piece, I’m sorry for the delay. This past month has been nothing short of insane so I’ve been playing catch-up on a lot of front. I am shooting for having that out this week.
Some random beauty from Graphis 71/72 via The Nonist. These are from the same issue as that Dietmar Winkler piece I posted a while back (one of my all time faves). The Bedside Nurse stuff sort of reminds me of Air’s Virgin Suicides OST cover.
1. Charles Goslin / David Barnett. Covers for the magazinebedside Nurse. (Look very modern don’t they? But the bigger question “Bedside Nurse magazine?!"")
2. By: Kohei Sugiura. Front and back covers of Marketingram, the Shiseido house organ, here dealing with the morphology of the human head.
3. By: Ron Hughes. Cover for a record about ecology. (Gore could have used this for An Inconvenient Truth 35 years later.)
I found Milosh thru the pretty reliable iTunes electronic front page banners. First i thought it was the singer of Sigur Ros Jón Þór Birgisson because he does kinda look the same. Finally I clicked and found out it was a Plug Research release which is home to some of my favorite artists like Daedelus, Dntel, Thomas Fehlmann, and John Tejada. I think Milosh would be a great addition to a Tycho track, don’t you agree?
Milosh – Couldn’t Sleep
If you like “Couldn’t Sleep” then this live version of “You Make Me Feel” might be perfect for you, i remember when i saw this video and heard the voice layering i pretty much just decided to throw away my Reason 3.0 and Ableton Live.
This is either absolutely brilliant, or absolutely insane. Either way it’s great. It’s a video and remix of Radiohead’s Nude featuring some nice shots of vintage machines and seemingly composed mostly of sounds from those machines. Update: here’s a Vimeo link to the video.",1077,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00024-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.953954577445984
cb70c309-28dc-411e-aa03-4f1ff7716b97,2022-05-26T10:15:21+00:00,2022-05-26,0,https://ferebe.com/products/bakers-wave-loaf-pan-durable,"The Bakers Select Medium Loaf Pan is a baking tray needed in everyone's home. Made from high gauge metal, so it will hold its shape for years! This pan is very versatile and can be used to bake a wide variety of bread.
The high-quality non-slip finish makes transferring from the dish simple. It is also easy to clean after use, just simply pop it in the dishwasher or by hand. Raised sides ensure no spillages and little mess!
All Orders are shipped by :
Delivery within 3-4 days in most states!
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.",150,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604794.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526100301-20220526130301-00411.warc.gz,0.94118469953537
7cbd989d-e715-4186-b3cb-f83a0df428c4,2015-03-28T05:42:31+00:00,2007-05-23,1,http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/8700837.html,"WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate panel is nearing a vote on a proposal to put tobacco under Food and Drug Administration regulation despite objections that such a move would only entrench the market position of the nation's No. 1 tobacco company.
The bill, which was expected to be approved Wednesday by the Senate health committee and is identical to House legislation, would give the FDA the same authority over cigarettes and other tobacco products that the regulatory agency now has over drugs, food, medical devices and other consumer products.
Specifically, it would let the FDA regulate the levels of tar, nicotine and other harmful components of tobacco products. Cigarette smoke alone contains some 4,000 chemicals, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer. It also would restrict advertising.
The bill has broad bipartisan support though some Republican lawmakers believe it will do nothing to stop people from smoking. President Bush, FDA commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt oppose the legislation.
Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro, the nation's top-selling cigarette brand, supports the bill. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and others oppose the legislation, saying it would help cement Philip Morris as the market leader.
Smoking now kills more than 400,000 people a year. It accounts for nearly one in five deaths in the United States.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)",291,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00171-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950090110301971
a943bf0d-b84c-4cd7-b9db-7141035fbd87,2019-08-25T18:53:24+00:00,2018-01-12,0,https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/conversation-friday-january-12th-2018,"Firefighter Stories from Marco Polo; UH Sexual Assault Survey; FISA Renewal; HTY Production of Red Balloon
Firefighter Stories from Marco Polo
Into Music: Storm by Godspeedyou! Black Emperor
Outro Music: Kiwi Maddog 20/20
UH Releases State-Wide Sexual Assault Survey
The University of Hawaii conducted a first of its kind survey asking students at all UH campuses about their experience with sexual assault, harassment, and domestic violence on and off campus.
Into Music: Kalena Kai by Keola Beamer
Outro Music: Slug Song by The Clean
Renewal of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
The U.S. House of Representatives voted across party lines to renew federal intelligence agencies’ authorization to collect certain communications without a warrant.
Into Music: Jacking the Ball by The Sea and Cake
Outro Music: Morse by Nightmares on Wax
HTY Production of Red Balloon
In the 1956 French short film the Red Balloon, a balloon that often seems to have a mind of its own accompanies Pascal, a little boy, on a series of mostly wordless adventures through the streets of Paris.
Into Music: Fly Away by That Shady Cypress Tree
Outro Music: The Red Balloon by Maurice Le Roux",265,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330786.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825173827-20190825195827-00504.warc.gz,0.904904842376709
39b6edee-25d3-4130-aa2b-a6bcc9a64629,2018-08-14T16:17:25+00:00,2018-08-14,0,http://hudsonriverseo.com/locations/ok-spencerville-oklahoma-seo,"Everybody wants to be rated on top of the first page of Google search. Nevertheless a business or a brand needs to earn that right, and requires a committed strategy and attempt towards making sure this occurs. Acquiring the proper SEO Spencerville, Oklahoma services can be the initial step in ensuring you get the rankings you deserve. The gauntlet has been thrown along with the sites have answered.
What is search engine optimization in Spencerville, Oklahoma?
This really is the procedure for improved the visibility of a website on organic, i.e. unpaid and natural search engine result pages. This includes the utilization of search engine friendly components in the web site. A successful search engine optimization campaign and SEO service would have carefully incorporate unique and applicable key words which the on-page optimization would help emphasize for the algorithms that search engines use.
There are essentially two specific areas of search engine optimization.
This consists of components like the web page, the HTML code, the written content and images. All these elements should be geared towards making the web site as user friendly as possible.
Off-page optimization - This mainly refers to backlinks, i.e. the links pointing back towards the website which wants visibility from other related sites.
What's search engine optimization, is a question that may best be answered so - It is your best tool to get the maximum grip online and also to keep your search engine ranks high.
HudsonRiverSEO Services supplies the most in-depth array of Search Engine Optimization optimization services in the business. Below are a few of the services we supply under SEO optimization services:
We provide comprehensive and effective link building while ensuring that there are not any bad links or contextually incorrect links.
We offer entire organic Search Engine Optimization services aimed to build a sustainable and natural growth pattern in the brand's on-line visibility.
We keep a keen eye on the analytics and create detailed reports regarding the same identifying trends and helping formulate future strategies.
We provide all important bookmarking services together with post, directory and classifieds submission to ensure that your brand is being promoted across the electronic board.
We supplied high quality content marketing and article writing services to make sure your brand has the one of the very applicable and attention-catching content online.
Using Google Adwords, marketing forums like Bing ads, Yahoo advertisements and facebook advertisements we also ensure your brand is being promoted among the right demographic.
Hudson River SEO Services provide you the most in-depth Search Engine Optimization optimization services, and organic SEO services inSpencerville, Oklahoma. To know more about our Search Engine Optimization services contact us now.",539,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209165.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814150733-20180814170733-00624.warc.gz,0.923384428024292
1d1d1361-8956-4dcf-a4b5-6fbf9b138098,2016-07-30T16:50:51+00:00,2016-02-17,1,http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/vevo-subscription-service-1201708820/,"Vevo is looking to introduce a paid subscription service as early as this year, CEO Erik Huggers revealed during his appearance at Code Media in Southern California on Wednesday. “Just having a ad-supported model is not sustainable in the long run,” Huggers said.
That’s why the service is now looking to launch a paid tier, which could be available as early as this year, according to Huggers. He assured his audience that Vevo’s free content isn’t going away, saying: “We believe in a dual revenue stream.”
Huggers declined to comment on specifics of the subscription tier, but told Vafriety in an interview at the sidelines of the conference that he wasn’t looking to offer a Spotify-like streaming service with 35 million tracks. “If you want to listen to an entire album, you should subscribe to Spotify,” he said.
Vevo appointed Huggers as its CEO in April of 2015, and the former BBC and Intel executive since worked on building up a San Francisco-based product team that has launched new apps for iOS, Android and most recently Apple TV.
Huggers said Wednesday that these efforts are part of a bigger strategy that also includes producing more original content. Vevo has already been producing some original content around indie musicians and others, but Huggers said that he is also looking to produce a handful of high-profile documentaries — something he called “a couple of silver bullets” when talking to Variety.
Vevo streamed more than 17 billion videos to users in January, according to Huggers; 80% of that content streamed to viewers outside the U.S., and most of it is still consumed on YouTube.
“YouTube is a very large part of our distribution,” Huggers admitted, but he went on to liken the Google-owned video service to a supermarket that has a little bit of everything, as opposed to a specialty store that targets fans for specific genres. Vevo could be the specialty store targeting fan audiences, he suggested, adding: “This is about building an independent, long-term business.“",450,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258936356.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072856-00294-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97564309835434
d2279c7f-0f83-4aeb-8ac3-4ab95c248699,2015-04-01T01:04:08+00:00,2000-03-09,1,http://www.whole-systems.org/extinctions.html,"Species Extinction and
Species are currently going extinct at a faster rate than at any time in the past with the exception of cataclysmic encoders with extraterrestrial objects. A good proxy for the rate of extinction is the rate of growth in energy used by the human population. In other words, extinction rates are increasing in step with the product of population growth times the growth in affluence.
- Graph is based on a mathematical model linking species to
habitat loss developed by Edward O. Wilson and others.
- Assumptions: Total number of species = 10 million
Background extinction rate from fossil records is one extinction
per million species per year; estimated total number of species
10 million - background rate = 10 species per year.
- Extinction Rates:
- 1. Edward Wilson estimates 27,000 species are currently lost
per year. By 2022, 22% of all species will be extinct if no action
- 2. Niles Eldridge estimates 30,000 per year currently.
- 3. Georgina M. Mace using a different methodology based on
extrapolations from the current lists of endangered species arrives
at a figure of 14-22% loss of species and subspecies over the
next 100 years.
- 4. Paul Ehrlich, using another approach based on total energy
use estimates extinction rates at 7,000 to 13,000 times the background
rate, (70,000 to 130,000 species per year) which he says is higher
than figures based on data for higher orders of animal indicates,
but we have little data on insects and micro flora and fauna.
Species extinctions are very difficult to quantify. In the past the man caused extinctions have been primarily due to hunting. As man crossed over from Asia and entered the North American Continent, a series of extinctions occurred caused in part by man's predation of slow moving species like the mammoth and other mega-herbivores and perhaps, according to a new hypothesis, by the introduction of new diseases by man or his domesticated animals. The loss of these species caused other dependent species to go extinct like the giant vultures and the long nosed bear. A similar wave of extinctions happened as the Polynesians colonized the pacific islands. This time it was the flightless birds that were defenseless against the new predators. The Moa was the largest, but on many islands there is evidence that up to 50% of all species of birds were hunted to extinction including such remarkable species as the Hawaiian Eagle.
- The cascade of current extinctions, however, is related mostly
to destruction of habitat, and displacement by introduced species.
Chemical pollutants, over harvesting and hybridization have played
smaller but still significant role. While the actual extinction
rate is difficult to pin down, there is no doubt that the planet
is in the midst of a mass extinction of major proportions. The
most conservative estimates place the extinction rate at 1000
times the background rate. These numbers are more easily accepted
when placed in the context of habitat destruction.
- Habitat Loss:
- African Nations: average 68% with Gambia suffering the most
at 91% loss.
- Asian Nations: 69% average with a range of 34% to 96% (excluding
- Mexico 66%
- US 26% (data WRI 1990)
- Habitat destruction can also be estimated in terms of the
product of population times affluence times a factor for technology,
all of which can be summed up by total energy use. Pre-agricultural
revolution energy use is estimated at .001 to .002 terawatts
for a population of 5-10 million. World consumption in 1990 was
13 terawatts or 7,000 to 13,000 times higher.
- In the future, the rapid increase in temperature will become an increasing threat to species. A tree species, for instance, can only migrate at a rate much slower than the rate at which its climactic zone will shift toward the poles.
- ""Biodiversity is our most valuable but least appreciated resource. We need to reclassify environmental problems in a way that more accurately reflects reality. There are two major environmental problems, and only two. One is the alteration of the physical environment to a state uncongnial to life, the now familiar syndrome of toxic pollution, loss of the ozone layer, climactic warming... all accelerated by the continued growth of human populations.
- The second category is the loss of biological diversity. ...Merely the attempt to solve the biodiversity crisis offers great benefits never before enjoyed, for to save species is to study them closely, and to learn them is to exploit their characteristics in novel ways.*
The benefits of species diversity can be approached from two
angles, one is the Cost Benefit approach of our monetary based
value system, and the other is the Safe Minimum Standard which
holds each species as irreplaceable and worthy of preservation
for its own sake. The cost benefit analysis would be quite adequate
if all the costs and benefits were included, but many benefits
are not known and the potential benefits cannot be known. For
example, in 1970 Grassy Stunt devastated rice crops in India and
Indonesia. Severe famine was averted by the development of a resistant
strain. After testing 6,273 varieties, the resistant gene was
found in only one variety discovered in 1966.
- The full valuation of species diversity must include but
is not limited to:
- 1. The value of the products obtained from the species. In
addition to potential medicinal values, many species have great
potential as agricultural and livestock that offer benefits of
greater efficiency and less destruction of the environment. 7000
species are grown and collected for food, but 50% of our food
comes from 3 plants, wheat, maze, and rice. The same is true
of commercially raised animals, especially cattle which are ill
suited and destructive to many of the environments they are raised
in. For example a study shows that the green iguana, a delicacy
of the rainforest could produce up to 10 times the yield per
acre of cattle, and the forest would be left in tact to provide
- 2. The present and future value of the genetic material held
in the species. The potential for utilizing genetic material
in beneficial ways is expanding so rapidly that to put a value
on the material from any species would be impossible. There are
many examples like the rice disease mentioned above where the
benefits of a single gene only recently discovered has had incalculable
- 3. Stability of the ecosystem. ""In a world created by
natural selection, homogeneity means vulnerability.""* Diversity
gives the natural system the ability to resist and adapt to disease,
severe weather, and climactic change. Disease striking a society
dependent on monoculture has been a major factor in many famines,
the Irish Potato Famine being the most infamous, mostly because
of the ability of plant geneticists to invent new resistant variety
as fast as the diseases arise.
- 4. Maximizing the efficiency of the ecosystem. Many studies
have shown that a diversity of species is better able to utilize
the inputs of water, sun and nutrients than a single or small
number of species which leads to greater biomass and less soil
erosion and nutrient loss. This is especially true of rainforests,
but also applies to temperate forests and grasslands.
Recovery time: Berkeley environmental scientist James
W. Kirchner and paleontologist Anne Weil released a report on
3/9/2000 that the recovery time for mass extinction is around
10 million years. This is significantly longer than previously
thought, and seems to hold true for any level of extinctions from
major extinctions of 75% of to minor ones of 25%. http://www.urel.berkeley.edu/urel_1/CampusNews/PressReleases/releases/03-09-2000.html
- Resources: Listed in order of usefulness and readability
- Web Sites
- 1) Wilson, Edward O. The diversity of Life, The Belknap Press
of Harvard university press, Cambridge, Mass.1992. A classic
- 2) Baskin, Yvonne, The Work of Nature, Island Press, 1998.
A very fascinating account of the interrelationships that make
an ecosystem work.
- 3) Eldredge, Niles, Life in the Ballance humanity and the
Biodiversity Crisis Princeton university Press, princeton 1998
- 4) Lawton, John H. & May, Robert M., Editors, Extinction Rates, Oxford University Press, 1995. An academic treatment of the techniques of population estimating.
- There are far too many to list here, but any of these works
will list 100 more references.",1856,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00242-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.912746489048004
c335e7a9-a4f8-47c3-af85-5a0568cb9f2a,2016-07-27T10:01:41+00:00,2012-05-14,1,http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Abbas-Fayyad-agree-on-new-PA-cabinet,"A new Palestinian Authority cabinet is expected to be announced within the next
48 hours, sources in Ramallah said Monday evening.
They said that the new
cabinet will be headed by current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
sources said that Nabil Qassis, the former president of Bir Zeit University in
the West Bank, will replace Fayyad as finance minister.
The new cabinet
will be formed in accordance with an agreement recently reached between Fayyad
and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
The agreement ended weeks of tension
between the two men over the formation of a new cabinet as well as other issues,
including Fayyad’s refusal to deliver a letter from Abbas to Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu last month.
Four new ministers will join the new
Anwar Doudin, former head of the Faculty of Medicine at An-Najah
University, is slated to replace Fathi Abu Mughli as health minister in the new
Ali Muhana, former head of the Palestinian Bar Association, will
replace Ali Khashan as justice minister, the sources said.
Walid Assaf, a
member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, will be appointed agriculture
minister, while Safa Nasser Eddin will replace Mashour Abu Daka as
Ziad Bandak is scheduled to replace Khloud
Daibes as tourism minister, the sources added.
The remaining ministries
will remain under the control of the current ministers, including Foreign
Minister Riad al-Maliki and Interior Minister Said Abu Ali.
of a new PA cabinet in the West Bank is seen as an admission of the failure of
efforts to establish a unity government with Hamas.
Earlier this year,
Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal signed an agreement in Qatar to form a
However, the agreement, like previous accords between
the two parties, was never implemented due to the wide gap between the two",409,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826759.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00005-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.940302193164825
3446ed0d-a0dc-4cec-9de0-e8318638c969,2022-05-17T00:39:30+00:00,2022-04-01,0,https://www.rismedia.com/2022/04/01/expertise-ethics-excellence-showcasing-what-sets-realtors-apart/,"Editor’s Note: The following is the RE: Real Estate column from the April issue of RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine.
In the 2022 release of the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) highly impactful “That’s Who We R” advertising campaign, REALTORS® are featured going above and beyond to serve their clients through several real-life scenarios. Launched in February, the campaign includes a far-ranging series of TV commercials, radio spots, social ads and branded content partnerships that show REALTORS® in action as they handle unexpected obstacles, employ their expertise, put ethics first and literally go the extra mile.
The difference is real
While any licensed agent can help buy or sell a property, the campaign focuses on the many ways, large and small, that consumers benefit from the professionalism and trusted partnership that a REALTOR®, a member of NAR, brings to the transaction in both residential and commercial scenarios. The creative focuses on REALTORS®‘ deep industry expertise, extraordinary caring and community involvement, and unparalleled commitment to ethics. These human stories demonstrate the tangibly different consumer experiences as compared to that with a non-member agent or tech platform. As you’ll hear in the ads, “There’s a difference between an agent and a REALTOR®, and the difference is real.”
Exceptional value and benefit
Karen Bebart, director of Consumer Strategy and Brand Advertising, has spearheaded the campaign strategy and its deliverables since the inception of That’s Who We R nearly four years ago. “Keeping our brand top of mind, driving home the distinction REALTORS® have and demonstrating the value of a REALTOR® to consumers throughout an increasingly competitive and complex transaction is essential,” says Bebart. “If we don’t tell our brand story in a way that matters to consumers, using effective messaging in media that reaches our target audience, the essence of who REALTORS® are could become diluted.
“This ad campaign serves as a unifier for all members,” adds Bebart. “Every REALTOR® contributes to and benefits from this national initiative, resulting in a scale and scope that is rare among associations, and a major advantage for members.”
Since the That’s Who We R campaign began in 2019, the ads have enjoyed strong reach—with 2.85 billion impressions in 2021 alone. Created with agency partner Havas Chicago, the spots’ realistic and relevant approach, sincere storytelling and high production value have earned the campaign a multitude of prestigious national awards and accolades. As part of a fully integrated media strategy, the ads are seen on a diverse array of platforms, and sophisticated analytics show that the campaign is moving the needle for the REALTOR® brand by being in the right channels to reach the right audience with the right message.
Keeping it real
As in past years, the Consumer Communications Committee proved to be key in ensuring authenticity. Led by 2022 Chair Justin Knoll and Vice Chair Shane Cook, the committee helped elevate the ads and fine-tune the story by consulting on elements like wardrobe, casting and scripts. “I can see my past clients and fellow members in these spots, so while these may be acted out commercials, they are as true to life as they can be,” says Knoll.
Valuable assets for members
You and your agents can showcase your expertise and put the power of That’s Who We R to work for your business by taking advantage of the 2022 campaign assets, including digital banners, print ads, social images, billboards, Zoom backgrounds and infographics—all available to download and use locally.
Also, REALTORS® can leverage social assets and images using NAR’s Photofy app, which allows you to personalize the library of campaign assets with your photo or logo and contact information. Access the app at Photofy.com/nar.
Visit ThatsWhoWeR.realtor for more information about your advertising campaign.",850,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515466.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516235937-20220517025937-00219.warc.gz,0.936935067176819
56a3ff75-6a97-4707-9242-1b5aa60db912,2022-05-22T23:45:40+00:00,2022-04-14,1,https://originsmediaethiopia.com/2022/04/14/arifpay-launches-new-approach-for-smes-to-get-loan-from-banks/,"ArifPay, a fintech company, has introduced new scheme, which enables Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) to get a loan from banks.
Those SMEs have been using ArifPay, a digital transaction system — an electronic platform for small shops to manage their sales and modernize their manual inventory system.
Accordingly, the SMEs can get an access to loan by submitting either their financial transactions or collaterals through ArifPay.
Huria Ali, State Minister of Innovation and Technology said while the new scheme has officially been launched on Thursday that the country crafted a Digital 2025 Strategy and she pledged that the government will provide support to digital service providers such as ArifPay.
Habtamu Tadesse, Founder and CEO of ArifPay for his part said, “So far, ArifPay financial system has already been integrated with 8 banks, and operations launched with two of these banks.”
Rural communities, who are not included in the modern financial system, will too be beneficiaries of the fresh loan scheme, according to Habtamu.
ArifPay also has two different features. The first is to facilitate payments in restaurants, purchase basic goods, purchasing and getting gas for vehicles, and shopping at the closest store.
The second can be used by anyone to pay electric, water bills and making other payments while the client is at home through the ArifPay app.
ArifPay, an online digital payment system was established five years ago by the initiative taken by the young entrepreneur Habtamu Tadesse. He lived in the United States of America for long time. When he first established ZayRide, a taxi-hailing company, he faced difficulties due to the absence of online/digital payment system in Ethiopia.",370,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662550298.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522220714-20220523010714-00011.warc.gz,0.963811576366425
f0bbb65b-94c7-4861-99c6-4cf32b7695fa,2022-05-23T01:38:57+00:00,2014-11,0,https://www.caliberco.com/hampton-inn-suites-scottsdale/,"Hampton Inn & Suites Talking Stick
SCOTTSDALE | ARIZONA
ABOUT THE ASSET
Caliber’s second hospitality acquisition, the Hampton Inn & Suites Scottsdale Riverwalk, is a 101-guest room hotel acquired in November of 2014 for $10 Million. The Hampton Inn & Suites has been a consistent income producing asset since acquisition. Part of the hotel's success is a result of it’s unbeatable location in the Scottsdale Entertainment District. The hotel sits adjacent to Talking Stick Resort Casino, TopGolf, OdySea Aquarium, Butterfly Wonderland, and Salt River Fields – the Spring training home of both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies.",154,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662552994.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523011006-20220523041006-00208.warc.gz,0.853944361209869
af393a7d-a0e4-45a6-a008-c17f53f3ae46,2016-07-24T03:00:15+00:00,2011-01-01,0,http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/research-effort-allocation-and-the-conservation-of-restrictedrange-island-bird-species(771d6e97-a854-464a-8973-d89eb3796c8b).html,"Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article
|<mark>Journal publication date</mark>||01/2011|
|Number of pages||6|
Knowledge gap analyses can be useful to highlight imbalances in research and to improve the distribution of conservation research efforts. We used ISI's Web of Knowledge (WoK) and BirdLife International's library catalogue (BLI) to examine the allocation of research effort amongst the extinction-prone island restricted-range birds (RRSs, n = 1321) and the island endemic bird areas and secondary areas (EBAs, n = 108; SAs, n = 58) previously identified by BirdLife International. We found that the distribution of research effort was very uneven across both species and areas. Half of the number of outputs obtained from WoK referred to 3.1% of the island restricted-range bird species and to 4.8% of the endemic bird areas and secondary areas, whereas 52.2% of the species and 34.3% of the areas had no output. The global distribution of research had a strong spatial component, with a limited number of places receiving most of the research efforts (Hawaii, New Zealand, Central America), while many species rich areas were very poorly studied (South East Asia, South Pacific, most Atlantic islands). Research amongst the most threatened RRSs tended to be less biased, with these species having a higher probability of having at least one output from WoK than less threatened species. Given that threats to the conservation of biodiversity are often highly context-dependent, we advocate prioriting the study of poorly known species and regions. Finally, we integrate the knowledge gaps we identify with previously established conservation priorities, in order to prioritize for future conservation research on RRS. EBAs and SAs.",365,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823935.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00076-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.89693295955658
a9fead4d-54ad-4ed9-b0a6-5a13bb4a9d90,2013-05-24T16:03:09+00:00,2011-08-02,1,http://www.sfbg.com/2011/08/02/future-burning-man,"THE GUARDIAN GUIDE TO BURNING MAN: In setting up its new nonprofit, the Black Rock City LLC board is looking beyond the event
PLAYA PREP Burners everywhere were frantically preparing for the playa, or scrambling to find scarce tickets to Burning Man, which had just sold out for the first time in its 25-year history. But when the board members who stage Burning Man gathered in the 15th-floor conference room in their new Mid-Market headquarters to talk to the Guardian on July 28, they didn't even want to talk about the event that begins Aug. 29.
Instead, they wanted to talk about the future of the dynamic culture that this unique countercultural event has spawned, a future that has as much to do with San Francisco as it does Black Rock City, the temporal Nevada desert town of about 50,000 people that most people know simply as Burning Man.
Event founder Larry Harvey, who chairs the Black Rock City LLC Board of Directors; Harley DuBois, who acts as the city manager; and Marian Goodell, who runs the business and oversees communications, have served on the board that stages Burning Man since the LLC was created in 1996, along with Crimson Rose, Will Roger, and Michael Mikel, a.k.a. Danger Ranger.
But their focus right now is on the new nonprofit, The Burning Man Project, that is being launched this week to manage the event and its culture well into the future. ""We're planning for 100 years,"" Harvey said. Or as DuBois put it, ""It's really not about Black Rock City at all, but how we look out to the world.""
Since taking over five of the top floors in the David Hewes Building at the corner of Market and Sixth streets — with The Burning Man Project office placed on the very top floor, over the many burner offices now busily dealing with more immediate tasks — their outlook on the world is downright panoramic.
They envision a high-profile Burning Man Urban Center in San Francisco and other year-round facilities for furthering the burner culture, made possible by new funding streams they want to develop beyond the revenue from ticket sales, such as grants and perhaps even corporate sponsorships.
Oh yeah, and as Harvey made clear in his April speech announcing the conversion to the new nonprofit (see ""Man on the move,"" 4/5/11), the six board members also want to cash out with significant financial payouts as they begin to relinquish control of the event in phases over the next six years or so.
Who will run the new nonprofit, or even how the leaders will be selected and the governance structures under which they will operate, is still a work in progress. Initially, the LLC has selected 11 new board members (to be announced on Aug. 5) to serve with the current six on the new nonprofit board, but the newbies will serve a term of just one year.
Goodell said they selected ""people who have a unique or visionary way of looking at things,"" while DuBois said they sought a board that was ""geographically and culturally diverse, and people who have skill sets we need,"" such as legal, fundraising, and organizational expertise.
The initial board will create the infrastructure and plan for what comes next, and the board insists that the larger Burning Man community will also have input into the process, starting this year on the playa. The Burning Man Project will have a high-profile presence on Everylane Lane near Center Camp, and they say board members will be available for discussions everyday between 1-2:30 p.m.
""We're going to have a conversation with the community,"" Goodell said.
BRC took some heat from its community for prescribing what's next without much public process or input, but Dubois said, ""There's still time for all of that. We are in the nascent stage...There's so much time for community input.""
Most Commented On
- Wouldn't this map look very similar to a map showing - May 24, 2013
- Yes, why oh why don't thse folks just move to Oakland? - May 24, 2013
- Yeah, and in both cases it is the same people who do not trust. - May 24, 2013
- My view is the exact opposite. - May 24, 2013
- Eddie, have you returned here after saying you're quitting? - May 24, 2013
- One more question. - May 24, 2013
- Two questions. - May 24, 2013
- Personal attacks, hah! - May 24, 2013
- David Chiu is basically on - May 24, 2013
- They've driven out Marcos and Eddie from here. - May 24, 2013",969,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97606348991394
2fac2d74-69ae-428d-85f7-1164065d581c,2022-05-18T00:46:37+00:00,2022-04-22,1,https://www.glamsham.com/world/sports/stalin-heads-chess-olympiad-coordination-committee,"Chennai, April 22 (IANS) In the order issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu, a coordinating committee headed by Chief Minister M.K Stalin has been set up to host the 44th Chess Olympiad, scheduled to be held from July 28 to August 10 in Mahabalipuram.
As per the Tamil Nadu government’s order chief minister’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin is also included in the 23 members coordination committee.
On Thursday, Stalin informed the Tamil Nadu assembly that a committee will be formed for the successful holding of the Chess Olympiad.
The other members of the coordination committee are E.V Velu, Minister for Public Works and Highways, Siva. V. Meyyanathan, Minister for Environment and Sports, M. Mathiventhan, Minister for Tourism, A. Raja, Member of Parliament, All India Chess Federation (AICF) President Sanjay Kapoor, AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan and Treasurer Naresh Sharma, M. Manickam, President, Tamil Nadu state chess association and senior state government officials.
The government on April 7 had sanctioned Rs.92.13 crore for the Chess Olympiad.",262,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520936.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517225809-20220518015809-00600.warc.gz,0.936974942684174
ecc5d4d8-fe33-4a18-9284-645afc0e15d8,2017-08-16T17:10:40+00:00,2014-12-01,1,http://comeandmakeit.blogspot.com/2014/12/decentralised-bitcoin-marketplace-with.html,"Voluntary - BitmarketsToday's centralized marketplaces and money services extract high fees, impose and abuse excessive control and remove any hope of privacy from users.
This is why we've created Bitmarkets. Using Bitmessage's decentralized messaging to post sales, Bitcoin to transfer value without credit cards or banks, and two party escrow transactions (which lock the payment and mutual security deposits so they can only be released with the consent of both parties) safe exchanges can be conducted without middle men.
For more information, see the white paper, protocol specification, FAQ, subreddit, irc channel, press resources, and bugs & feature requests.
The Bitmarkets.0.8.7.16.zip SHA256 digest is c332591f60a47e7e45b17e49dedc55a941f5b094901e7ca04a16a800411f602d",186,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102309.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816170516-20170816190516-00573.warc.gz,0.838511109352112
70e350fc-257f-4c6b-bbf5-1f53bb40c95a,2022-05-23T17:46:54+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://www.denelli.co.uk/monaco-rectangular-coffee-table.html,"You have no items in your
Designed to always take centre stage, this Monaco Rectangular Coffee Table is sophisticated, elegant and wonderfully practical.
Adding warmth and depth to any space, this coffee table is finished with a high gloss velvet birch and boasts clean simple lines that work effortlessly with the style of the table. Providing plenty of storage space on its upper and lower level, this coffee table will blend effortlessly into any modern setting.
Width: 120cm Depth: 60cm Height: 34cm",112,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662560022.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523163515-20220523193515-00204.warc.gz,0.871241271495819
c83c104d-10a5-4a4b-88a5-b37daff14a96,2015-03-30T10:42:46+00:00,2014-03-30,1,http://yourstory.com/2014/03/african-markets-strategies/,"10 strategies for Indian startups to make in-roads into African markets
Bilateral trade between India and Africa in 2000 was around $3 billion. Later, the trade shot up from $25 billion in 2006-07 to $70 billion in 2012-13. However, the Indian government aspires to touch $200 billion mark before 2020.
According to the McKinsey report: “Joining hands to unlock Africa’s potential a new Indian industry-led approach to Africa“, released at CII Conclave today, India can aspire to quadruple its revenues from Africa to USD 160 billion by 2025 by developing its presence in sectors where India has a unique value proposition and African nations have high needs such as IT services, agriculture, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.
“The African continent is one of the most important partners for the country, and 11 fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. We are looking at infrastructure development in Africa, the big project exports. We are encouraging the entire private sector in India to get into these sectors,” said Barnik Chitran Maitra, partner at McKinsey.
India and Africa are poised to grow together. Indian companies investing in Africa will now gain access to a larger regional market in Africa. Mr Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said, “The 21st century will be the century of India, Asia and Africa. India and Africa are taking their rightful places in the emerging world order.”
Mr Sharma urged the present generation to revisit the pages of history to remind itself of the greater goals that drive the India-Africa partnership. India has committed over $10 billion to Africa for infrastructural and development projects since the holding of the first and second India Africa Forum Summit meetings in 2008 and 2011, and is partnering in establishing 70 pan-African and regional institutions across Africa.
According to the report, India can aspire to capture almost seven per cent of the African IT services market, five per cent of its FMCG space, 10 per cent of the power sector and two to five per cent of the agri-allied services. “Returns to FDI in Africa in the last five years have been the highest in the world,” Director at McKinsey & Company Rajat Gupta said.
Overall, the EXIM Bank has lent 187 Lines of Credit totaling about $12 billion across the world. And 50% of the amount went for financing exports from India to cover around 48 countries in Africa. The bank has placed 136 Lines of Credit (LOCs) with credit commitments of around $6.5 billion in Africa. These LOCs are earmarked for developmental projects like railway rehabilitation, setting up of textile, cement, tractor assembly, agro and food processing, rural electrification and transmission and irrigation.
Like any other emerging regions of the world, Africa offers diverse opportunities alongside a few bottlenecks, for trade and investments. Here is the slide of 10 strategies Indian companies will need to adopt to make inroads into African markets.
- Prioritise early — Identify priority sectors and countries quickly and set up strong business organisations there.
- Go granular — Understand local nuances and adapt business models accordingly. Africa is one continent with 55 different countries, each with its own culture, customs and behaviours.
- Expect to iterate — Customise approach based on continuous learning. There are no fixed answers to succeed in Africa; hence, companies should be ready for initial disappointments and tune their business model accordingly.
- Choose distribution channels carefully — Understand and control the route to market for success in such a fragmented geography. This is a challenge which Indian companies have mastered on the home turf, and must now face in a geographically larger context.
- Build brands aggressively — In Africa, brands are considered to be the clinchers in making purchase decisions. Hence, brand building, especially in the consumer goods sector, is critical.
- Deliver value across price segments — Innovate to meet the entire range of needs as the landscape is still open for brands and whole categories. In the consumer goods sector, Indian companies can meet this challenge with their wide product ranges.
- Think long term — Business in Africa cannot be built quarter-to-quarter–companies must be willing to invest for the long term, spend effort on setting up the business’ roots in the country, and only then achieve success.
- Involve locals and insiders as partners — This is necessary to get local insights, benefit from regulatory know-how and develop relationships. The ultimate aim must be to become the insider.
- Partner with local governments — Governments in most African nations play an important role in business development, and partnering with them is crucial to creating opportunities.
- Invest in building local talent — Given the relative lack of local talent, developing talent will play a critical part in scaling up any business, and must be invested in proactively",1012,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00250-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.935227036476135
889f7a9b-9ade-4cd1-86c4-f6bbba12f7b1,2020-10-31T11:28:44+00:00,2020-05-07,1,https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/asia/shanghai-disneyland-reopen-amid-drop-new-covid-19-cases-china.html,"Shanghai Disneyland to Reopen Amid Drop in New COVID-19 Cases in China
By Kyodo News 7 May 2020
BEIJING—Shanghai Disneyland will resume operations next week for the first time since Jan. 25, the theme park’s operator said Wednesday.
With the number of new coronavirus infections decreasing in China, Shanghai Disneyland will, according to CNN, on Monday become the first Disney park in the world to reopen.
You may also like these stories:",102,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00341.warc.gz,0.890899896621704
eeee7dbc-ab22-42c5-98bd-8b3ed257150f,2013-06-18T22:34:24+00:00,2013-06-18,0,http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/photos/7-surprising-global-warming-deniers/architects,"7 surprising global warming deniers: Architects
In 50 years, long after we have realized that global warming was a hoax, we will still be spending money on warfare, subsidies to polluting corporations, oil, consumerism, etc etc, along with money on cleaning up rivers & oceans, cleaning up air pollution, saving forests, saving species, protecting the earth for future generations, preserving precious natural resources, reducing our addiction to oil and the dangers of oil-laden countries. Nothing will have changed.
I've seen this Republican trick to tease environmentalist because the winters are so much colder, therefore it cannot be global WARMING. I'm fine with it if we call it climate change however it is applicable to the particular season. One thing is certain: We get extremes on either end: hot Summers, chilly Winters!
Check der Bilderberger website. After so many years and still no warming the are now warning of global cooling. Seriously.
Besides that: I been to Europe long time, and live in Australia, Neither warming nor rising sea levels neither there nor here.
It's not at all surprising that mouth-breathing morons like Trump, Nugent and Inhofe deny global warming. Are they ever right about anything?
Last summer it was ""global warming"", then when harsh winter came, the name changed to ""climate change/shift"", now summer is back, we're again calling it ""global warming"".... if we get a rainy summer, will it become ""global rain climate change"" ???
We have global warming every year. You can really see it's effects around May (in the northern hemisphere, November south of the equator). Then, about 4 months later... we go into an equally-dangerous cycle or global cooling... That too lasts for about 3-4 months. It must be stopped! Who wants hot weather in the summer and cold weather in the winter?! Enough is enough!
So...according to this same 2009 survey roughly 87% of architects DO believe that climate change is real yet they have still been included on this list?
Grasping at straws much...
13% of architects don't believe in global warming? you know what that means? 87% DO! I think that holds a bit weight.",465,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.936078727245331
3d49cd1e-c334-4d27-8207-c086eee1953c,2016-07-28T08:34:42+00:00,2011-08-25,1,http://hawaiitechnology.blogspot.com/2011/08/china-is-now-3-in-world-in-patent.html,"[The following is excerpted from an article by Rachel Armstrong posted by Reuters, Thursday August 25 2011]
Patent filings are soaring across most sectors in China -- last year there were 313,854 patents registered in the country according to the Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index, a 12 percent rise from 2009. China was the third highest filer of patents in 2010, just behind the U.S., which registered 326,945 and Japan with 337,497. Japan has been the leading patent filer in the world for the past decade but its lead is narrowing, with its filings volume down 12 percent since 2006. China is up 83 percent.
""A lot of know-how flows through the contract manufacturer. The next logical step for these contract manufacturers is to climb up the value chain,"" said Elliot Papageorgiou a partner at intellectual property law firm Rouse in Shanghai. And as they move up the value chain, they use patents to protect some of the knowledge and ideas they've picked up as contract manufacturers in order to give them room to manoeuvre in the increasingly competitive market.
""In the last year and especially this year, demand for IP work is growing very fast,"" said Anthony Chen, a patent lawyer for Jones Day in Shanghai. Douglas Clark, a barrister specialising in intellectual property cases who has worked in China since 1993 says the size of the industry has surged in recent years.
The surge in the size of patent portfolios is causing a corresponding rise in litigation. ... These lawsuits are hardly surprising given that their foreign counterparts such as Apple, Google and Samsung are all trying to use an armory of patents to [control] competition in the global smartphone industry. Google Inc's biggest deal ever, the agreement to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc this month for $12.5 billion, is an attempt to buy insurance against increasingly aggressive legal attacks from rivals such as Apple Inc.
The influx of patents not only underscores China's growing strength in the telecom sector, it also reveals a change afoot in the country's attitude toward intellectual property. While the change is hardly air-tight, China is moving more toward recognising ideas and their origins, rather than copying and proliferating. Intellectual property civil litigation cases filed in China rose by 37 percent to 41,718 last year according to the country's Supreme People's Court.
This is driven in part by China's plan to become a high-tech power house, with a target for 2.5 percent of its gross domestic product to come from research and development by 2020. It's trying to reach this goal by subsidising the cost of patents for Chinese companies and stricter enforcement of intellectual property rights.
""While traditionally in China you are supposed to share knowledge, the government is also aware that if you don't protect IP rights you don't attract investors and the nation can't develop the high-tech industries it wants,"" said Isabella Liu, a partner at Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong.
The above underscores the unmistakable trend in China to recognize and manage intellectual property rights in the landscape of business competition, both domestically in China and abroad in export markets. As I have noted in my previous blog articles, Hawaii technology companies and innovation businesses should protect their intellectual property rights in the U.S. through patent filings, and also consider whether to acquire foreign patent rights through timely international filings in countries with booming markets such as China for possible value in tech transfer transactions.",696,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828010.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00054-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959383606910706
5d655411-1860-46e6-8eb0-4d8bd66395a5,2019-08-21T09:21:49+00:00,2014-10-02,1,https://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/news/local/new-jersey/2014/10/02/nj-lawmakers-advance-sports-betting-bill/16588465/,"NJ lawmakers advance sports betting bill
TRENTON – Legislation that would allow sports betting in casinos and racetracks has been advanced by a New Jersey Assembly panel.
Proponents hope the measure will bolster administrative action that would do the same thing.
The Assembly’s Tourism and Gaming committee approved the bill unanimously Thursday, sending it to the full Assembly. State senators said they plan to introduce a similar bill in their chamber next week.
The legislation comes as legal action heats up over sports gambling.
Gov. Chris Christie’s administration last month said it would allow sports betting, but also asked a judge for permission to carry it out. Proponents of sports betting see it as a way to help struggling Atlantic City casinos.
The four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA are fighting against the plan.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.",189,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315865.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821085942-20190821111942-00371.warc.gz,0.94662070274353
348e7a7c-c406-45fd-bccb-48c9a57d3472,2018-08-18T22:44:45+00:00,2018-06-15,1,http://pandaradio.co.uk/att-completes-85bn-time-warner-takeover/,"The $85bn (£63.5bn) deal, first announced in October 2016, was opposed by US president Donald Trump and the Justice Department over competition fears.
But Judge Richard Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said the government had “failed to meet its burden to establish that the proposed transaction is likely to lessen competition substantially“.
The Justice Department had argued that AT&T’s ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner, especially its Turner subsidiary, would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival pay TV providers that relied on content like CNN and Game Of Thrones.
As part of the deal approved by the judge, AT&T agreed to temporarily manage Time Warner’s Turner networks separately from DirecTV, including price setting.
Time Warner owns HBO, Turner and Warner Bros, and AT&T confirmed the acquisition overnight.
AT&T said it needed Time Warner to compete with the likes of Amazon, Netflix and Google, and that the deal would improve technology and give consumers more choices.
There is still the possibility of an appeal by the Justice Department, but experts have said overturning the judge’s decision could be an uphill battle.
Michael Carrier, who teaches law at Rutgers University, said: “I don’t think this would be overturned.
“It is so rooted in the facts that I would be surprised if an appellate court overturned such a fact-laden opinion.”
The merger, including debt, is the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment sector, according to Thomson Reuters data.
It is also the 12th largest deal in any sector and has been watched closely by other companies pursuing similar tie-ups.
Among these is Comcast Corp, which made a $65bn bid on Wednesday for the entertainment assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc on Thursday.
Comcast, the largest US cable supplier, had been waiting for the AT&T decision before making any large moves, according to sources.
That agreement also covers the intended purchase of the 39.1% stake in Sky, the owner of Sky News, that Fox currently owns.",445,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213794.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818213032-20180818233032-00456.warc.gz,0.970262706279755
2aafac5a-dfa2-4606-8110-cb56bbfdd836,2013-05-19T18:27:33+00:00,2012-06-28,1,http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2012-06-28/jpmorgan-trading-loss-may-reach-9-billion-nyt,"Already a Bloomberg.com user?
Sign in with the same account.
Don't have an account?
Help! I can't access my account.
JPMorgan's trading losses from credit derivatives may reach $9 billion far in excess of the $2 billion it announced initially, the New York Times reports.
On Air Now
Money Moves with Deirdre Bolton
Max 250 characters
©2013 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved. Made in NYC",96,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.851276040077209
215b0e2d-5906-4422-af9b-6e8731a514b7,2013-05-23T04:54:40+00:00,2013-05-23,0,http://www.architonic.com/de/pmsht/decompression-space-felicerossi/1005327,"Decompression Space von Felicerossi
Sectional chair with structure in polyethylene, realizaed with the rotomoulding system, elastic bands on metal frame. Upholstery in moulded polyurethane foam. The final cover, realized with all the fabrics of our collection, can be slipped off. The hollow spaces in the seat and back are available in white or grey fabric thermoformed in a polyethylene shell.",94,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.821168601512909
4ad4ae0e-d10e-4bfd-afc7-62dd5d49e798,2017-08-23T13:47:48+00:00,2016-02-25,1,http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/threaten-02252016152156.html,"Recent moves by China to place anti-aircraft batteries and radar systems on disputed islands in the South China Sea violate Vietnam’s sovereignty and pose a threat to regional stability and peace, a Vietnamese government spokesman said on Thursday.
“The status quo is being destroyed,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Le Hai Binh told reporters at a ministry press briefing, according to a Feb. 25 report by VietnamNet.
China’s moves have “militarized” the South China Sea and threaten the security of air and ship traffic through the strategically important region, Binh added.
By introducing radar, surface-to-air missiles, and jet fighters into the contested Paracel and Spratly Island chains, China has also violated Vietnam’s “undisputable” sovereignty over the two island groups, Binh said, quoted by the Associated Press on Thursday.
Accusations last week that China has placed anti-aircraft batteries on Woody Island in the Paracels have raised tensions in a region already grappling with Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea.
Woody Island, which the Chinese call Yongxing, is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. The island contains an artificial harbor, an airport, roads, army posts, a helicopter base and other buildings, AP reports.
Some of the world’s busiest sea lanes traverse the South China Sea, which is also a rich fishing ground and may contain petroleum reserves under the sea bed.
Taiwan and China both claim nearly the entire sea. Vietnam and the Philippines also have large claims, while Brunei and Malaysia have smaller stakes to waters and features that lie much closer to those nations than they do to faraway China.",361,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120573.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823132736-20170823152736-00643.warc.gz,0.934257626533508
08c3a3a6-6012-4ff0-97ec-8648fbf0284c,2018-08-19T02:13:33+00:00,2018-08-19,0,https://www.atlantaintown.com/atlanta-condominiums/viewpoint,"855 Peachtree St NE
Viewpoint was constructed in 2008 by Jim Borders and Novare Development. The 36 story tower is comprised of 378 residences with the majority being studio and one bedroom units. Approximately 30% of the building is two bedroom plans. The stunning amenity deck has a pool, outdoor seating with fireplaces and a rooftop garden area. There is a two level fitness center, club house and theater room. Viewpoint has a 24/7 concierge and onsite property management. Located in the heart of Midtown Viewpoint is a just steps from multiple dining and entertainment options. The Fox Theater, Woodruff Art’s Center and Piedmont Park are all in close proximity. Viewpoint is a full service building with secured parking and is in close proximity to Marta.",162,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214538.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819012213-20180819032213-00006.warc.gz,0.952627122402191
53177565-3af9-420f-bf8c-cbe51aee739f,2015-03-31T15:32:24+00:00,2013-01-02,1,http://wireless.sys-con.com/node/2498645,"|By PR Newswire||
|January 2, 2013 04:51 PM EST||
GREENVILLE, S.C., Jan. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Avanade, Inc., a joint venture between Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), has been sued by ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC) for what ScanSource calls a ""bait-and-switch,"" after ScanSource saw Avanade's initial estimate for the installation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system Microsoft Dynamics AX balloon from $17 million to nearly $66 million and from 11 months to three years, with the ERP system still not live. ScanSource's project is believed to be one of the largest global enterprise level Microsoft Dynamics AX implementations to date.
ScanSource contracted with Avanade in 2009 to replace its aging information technology infrastructure with a new core system that would support ScanSource's continued global expansion. Avanade's implementation was originally scheduled to be completed within 11 months.
The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, alleges - among other things - fraud, tortious misrepresentation and breach of contract, and seeks tens of millions of dollars in damages that ScanSource has incurred and will continue to incur, as a result of Avanade's misconduct.
The lawsuit alleges that Avanade knew it was not capable of performing the Microsoft AX implementation for ScanSource, and misrepresented its skills and abilities to land the lucrative engagement. The suit also states that Avanade engaged in ""bait-and-switch"" sales tactics that defrauded ScanSource into believing that Avanade had, and would assign, highly-skilled consultants to perform the implementation. Instead, as the lawsuit alleges, Avanade provided ScanSource with a revolving door of consultants who knew little or nothing about implementing Microsoft Dynamics AX software or managing large-scale global ERP projects. The result was an incomplete and defectively designed system that suffered from numerous flaws and required extensive remedial work. Avanade's incompetence was reflected in, among other things, the staggering 500,000 lines of software code it wrote in an attempt to have the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform meet ScanSource's business requirements.
According to the lawsuit, ""As a result of Avanade's fraud and breaches, an implementation that was initially budgeted for $17 million has now cost ScanSource approximately $37 million - and is estimated by Accenture, Avanade's parent entity, to require an additional $29 million to complete. This ballooning of the Project cost estimate from $17 million to approximately $66 million represents an almost 300% price increase for delivery of the global ERP implementation that is years behind the originally scheduled initial go live...""
The suit also states, ""Avanade's inability to accurately estimate the effort required for the implementation caused ScanSource to de-scope some of its Minimum Business Requirements in an attempt to reduce the Project's escalating cost and keep the scheduled go-live dates intact. As a result of this de-scoping exercise, ScanSource had to retain some of its legacy applications to perform certain processes that the new Microsoft AX system was supposed to handle. For other de-scoped functionality, ScanSource was required to write its own applications to fill the gaps.""
""By forcing ScanSource to de-scope functionality, Avanade performed a classic bait-and-switch on ScanSource. Specifically, after being engaged on the Project for only a few months, Avanade drastically increased its fees estimate, thereby forcing ScanSource to make the following choice: either pay substantially more for functionality that Avanade was supposed to deliver as part of the initial quote, or forego that functionality to reduce a ballooning budget far in excess of what Avanade had represented and agreed to.""
The lawsuit continues, ""At regular intervals throughout the Project, Microsoft and Accenture performed quality assessments of the Project (the 'QA Reports'). Both Microsoft and Accenture concluded that the Project was being mismanaged and made recommendations, including the preparation of an integrated project plan, to stabilize the Project and get it back on a track toward go-live.""
""The Microsoft quality assessment, which focused primarily on software development, documented hundreds of 'Issues' with the Avanade-developed code. Many of these problems were characterized as 'Must Fix Issues.' Microsoft further criticized the manner by which Avanade altered the core Microsoft AX code, noting that 'even single methods have multiple developers' and that '[v]ery commonly, base classes, forms and tables have been modified,' increasing the costs of future upgrades"" and maintainability of the system.
""Among other criticisms of the Project, the Accenture quality assessment noted that the Project could not be completed without additional fees of $22.5 to $29 million, and resource commitments totaling 11,504 workdays.""
""Following receipt of the QA Reports, ScanSource delivered a Notice of Default to Avanade on May 17, 2012. Despite providing an extended cure period, Avanade has failed to correct its breaches of the Implementation Agreement. When it became evident to ScanSource that Avanade had no intention of curing its defaults, on September 28, 2012, ScanSource provided Avanade with a Notice of Termination removing Avanade from the Project.""
""The Notice of Termination followed repeated failures by Avanade to meet multiple scheduled and rescheduled go-live dates, and the realization that the Project -- still without a projected go-live date, and now estimated to cost at least three times Avanade's original estimate -- could not continue with Avanade as integrator.""
ScanSource has contracted with a new global implementation partner to mitigate the damages and harm caused from Avanade's misconduct. ScanSource plans on completing its new Microsoft Dynamics global ERP project. Excluding any potential recovery from this lawsuit, ScanSource believes that the total spend for the ERP project could range from $58 million to $72 million and extend past fiscal year 2013, as stated in its prior 10-Q filing for the period ending September 30, 2012.
ScanSource is being represented by Mark P. Ressler of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.
About ScanSource, Inc.
ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC) is the leading international distributor of specialty technology products, operating from dedicated business units in North America, Latin America and Europe. ScanSource POS & Barcoding delivers AIDC (automatic identification and data capture) and POS (point-of-sale) solutions; Catalyst Telecom and ScanSource Communications provide voice, video, data and converged communications equipment; ScanSource Security offers physical security solutions; and ScanSource Services Group delivers value-added support programs and services. Founded in 1992, the company ranks #760 on the Fortune 1000. For more information, call the toll-free sales telephone number at 800.944.2432 or visit www.scansourceinc.com.
SOURCE ScanSource, Inc.
SYS-CON Events announced today the IoT Bootcamp – Jumpstart Your IoT Strategy, being held June 9–10, 2015, in conjunction with 16th Cloud Expo and Internet of @ThingsExpo at the Javits Center in New York City. This is your chance to jumpstart your IoT strategy. Combined with real-world scenarios and use cases, the IoT Bootcamp is not just based on presentations but includes hands-on demos and walkthroughs. We will introduce you to a variety of Do-It-Yourself IoT platforms including Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, Spark and Intel Edison. You will also get an overview of cloud technologies s...
Mar. 31, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,170
SYS-CON Events announced today that Litmus Automation will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Litmus Automation’s vision is to provide a solution for companies that are in a rush to embrace the disruptive Internet of Things technology and leverage it for real business challenges. Litmus Automation simplifies the complexity of connected devices applications with Loop, a secure and scalable cloud platform.
Mar. 31, 2015 10:32 AM EDT Reads: 304
Containers and microservices have become topics of intense interest throughout the cloud developer and enterprise IT communities. Accordingly, attendees at the upcoming 16th Cloud Expo at the Javits Center in New York June 9-11 will find fresh new content in a new track called PaaS | Containers & Microservices Containers are not being considered for the first time by the cloud community, but a current era of re-consideration has pushed them to the top of the cloud agenda. With the launch of Docker's initial release in March of 2013, interest was revved up several notches. Then late last...
Mar. 31, 2015 09:15 AM EDT Reads: 2,276
The WebRTC Summit 2014 New York, to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY, announces that its Call for Papers is open. Topics include all aspects of improving IT delivery by eliminating waste through automated business models leveraging cloud technologies. WebRTC Summit is co-located with 16th International Cloud Expo, @ThingsExpo, Big Data Expo, and DevOps Summit.
Mar. 31, 2015 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,676
SOA Software has changed its name to Akana. With roots in Web Services and SOA Governance, Akana has established itself as a leader in API Management and is expanding into cloud integration as an alternative to the traditional heavyweight enterprise service bus (ESB). The company recently announced that it achieved more than 90% year-over-year growth. As Akana, the company now addresses the evolution and diversification of SOA, unifying security, management, and DevOps across SOA, APIs, microservices, and more.
Mar. 31, 2015 08:30 AM EDT Reads: 2,097
Wearable technology was dominant at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) , and MWC was no exception to this trend. New versions of favorites, such as the Samsung Gear (three new products were released: the Gear 2, the Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit), shared the limelight with new wearables like Pebble Time Steel (the new premium version of the company’s previously released smartwatch) and the LG Watch Urbane. The most dramatic difference at MWC was an emphasis on presenting wearables as fashion accessories and moving away from the original clunky technology associated with t...
Mar. 31, 2015 03:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,530
SYS-CON Events announced today that robomq.io will exhibit at SYS-CON's @ThingsExpo, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. robomq.io is an interoperable and composable platform that connects any device to any application. It helps systems integrators and the solution providers build new and innovative products and service for industries requiring monitoring or intelligence from devices and sensors.
Mar. 30, 2015 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,550
The list of ‘new paradigm’ technologies that now surrounds us appears to be at an all time high. From cloud computing and Big Data analytics to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and the Internet of Things (IoT), today we have to deal with what the industry likes to call ‘paradigm shifts’ at every level of IT. This is disruption; of course, we understand that – change is almost always disruptive.
Mar. 30, 2015 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,178
SYS-CON Events announced today that Solgenia will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Solgenia is the global market leader in Cloud Collaboration and Cloud Infrastructure software solutions. Designed to “Bridge the Gap” between Personal and Professional Social, Mobile and Cloud user experiences, our solutions help large and medium-sized organizations dr...
Mar. 30, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,960
The world's leading Cloud event, Cloud Expo has launched Microservices Journal on the SYS-CON.com portal, featuring over 19,000 original articles, news stories, features, and blog entries. DevOps Journal is focused on this critical enterprise IT topic in the world of cloud computing. Microservices Journal offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. Follow new article posts on Twitter at @MicroservicesE
Mar. 30, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,527
SYS-CON Events announced today that SafeLogic has been named “Bag Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo® New York, which will take place June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. SafeLogic provides security products for applications in mobile and server/appliance environments. SafeLogic’s flagship product CryptoComply is a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic engine designed to secure data on servers, workstations, appliances, mobile devices, and in the Cloud.
Mar. 30, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,536
After making a doctor’s appointment via your mobile device, you receive a calendar invite. The day of your appointment, you get a reminder with the doctor’s location and contact information. As you enter the doctor’s exam room, the medical team is equipped with the latest tablet containing your medical history – he or she makes real time updates to your medical file. At the end of your visit, you receive an electronic prescription to your preferred pharmacy and can schedule your next appointment.
Mar. 30, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 924
GENBAND has announced that SageNet is leveraging the Nuvia platform to deliver Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) to its large base of retail and enterprise customers. Nuvia’s cloud-based solution provides SageNet’s customers with a full suite of business communications and collaboration tools. Two large national SageNet retail customers have recently signed up to deploy the Nuvia platform and the company will continue to sell the service to new and existing customers. Nuvia’s capabilities include HD voice, video, multimedia messaging, mobility, conferencing, Web collaboration, deskt...
Mar. 30, 2015 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,509
SYS-CON Media announced today that @WebRTCSummit Blog, the largest WebRTC resource in the world, has been launched. @WebRTCSummit Blog offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. @WebRTCSummit Blog can be bookmarked ▸ Here @WebRTCSummit conference site can be bookmarked ▸ Here
Mar. 29, 2015 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,861
SYS-CON Events announced today that Cisco, the worldwide leader in IT that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, has been named “Gold Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Cisco makes amazing things happen by connecting the unconnected. Cisco has shaped the future of the Internet by becoming the worldwide leader in transforming how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco and our partners are building the platform for the Internet of Everything by connecting the...
Mar. 29, 2015 07:00 PM EDT Reads: 5,279
Temasys has announced senior management additions to its team. Joining are David Holloway as Vice President of Commercial and Nadine Yap as Vice President of Product. Over the past 12 months Temasys has doubled in size as it adds new customers and expands the development of its Skylink platform. Skylink leads the charge to move WebRTC, traditionally seen as a desktop, browser based technology, to become a ubiquitous web communications technology on web and mobile, as well as Internet of Things compatible devices.
Mar. 29, 2015 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,885
Docker is an excellent platform for organizations interested in running microservices. It offers portability and consistency between development and production environments, quick provisioning times, and a simple way to isolate services. In his session at DevOps Summit at 16th Cloud Expo, Shannon Williams, co-founder of Rancher Labs, will walk through these and other benefits of using Docker to run microservices, and provide an overview of RancherOS, a minimalist distribution of Linux designed expressly to run Docker. He will also discuss Rancher, an orchestration and service discovery platf...
Mar. 29, 2015 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,464
SYS-CON Events announced today that Vitria Technology, Inc. will exhibit at SYS-CON’s @ThingsExpo, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Vitria will showcase the company’s new IoT Analytics Platform through live demonstrations at booth #330. Vitria’s IoT Analytics Platform, fully integrated and powered by an operational intelligence engine, enables customers to rapidly build and operationalize advanced analytics to deliver timely business outcomes for use cases across the industrial, enterprise, and consumer segments.
Mar. 29, 2015 03:30 PM EDT Reads: 2,217
SYS-CON Events announced today that Liaison Technologies, a leading provider of data management and integration cloud services and solutions, has been named ""Silver Sponsor"" of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY. Liaison Technologies is a recognized market leader in providing cloud-enabled data integration and data management solutions to break down complex information barriers, enabling enterprises to make smarter decisions, faster.
Mar. 29, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 3,509
@ThingsExpo has been named the Top 5 Most Influential M2M Brand by Onalytica in the ‘Machine to Machine: Top 100 Influencers and Brands.' Onalytica analyzed the online debate on M2M by looking at over 85,000 tweets to provide the most influential individuals and brands that drive the discussion. According to Onalytica the ""analysis showed a very engaged community with a lot of interactive tweets. The M2M discussion seems to be more fragmented and driven by some of the major brands present in the M2M space. This really allows some room for influential individuals to create more high value inter...
Mar. 29, 2015 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 4,711",4063,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300735.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00286-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.937920272350311
604760e2-e4e1-4842-99b5-69b40986b9ce,2013-05-20T11:30:16+00:00,2013-03-10,1,http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=205169,"Transportation Security Administration, AP file photo
NEW YORK CITY, NY - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to reverse its decision to allow airline passengers to carry small knives, baseball bats, golf clubs and other ""potentially weaponizable"" equipment onto airplanes.
In a statement released to the media Sunday, Schumer said the TSA should continue to ban knives and other items from airplanes that he says could potentially put passengers, flight crews and aircraft at risk.
""While it's true that pilots are safe, locked behind cockpit doors, these dangerous items still pose a significant hazard to the flight crew, other passengers, and even the integrity of the plane,"" said Schumer. ""These items are dangerous, and have not become less so in the years since they were banned from planes.""
Earlier this week the TSA announced that it would be relaxing its ban on some items that had been prohibited in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.
""And with the major security breach at Newark this weekend,"" said Schumer, ""now is not the time for reduced vigilance, or to place additional burdens on TSA agents who should be looking for dangerous items, not wasting time measuring the length of a knife blade.""
Undercover TSA Agents were able to smuggle a mock bomb onto a plane at Newark Airport, it was reported earlier this week.",290,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967094957828522
bf9dfdfa-8083-4d9a-8b6d-8e9089405e2b,2016-07-23T09:19:03+00:00,2012-12-12,1,http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2012/12/12/dave-grohl-%E2%80%98foo-fighters-will-never-split%E2%80%99/,"Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl has assured fans the group has no plans to split up, insisting he already has an idea for a new album.
Devotees of the “My Hero” hit makers were left panicking earlier this year when Grohl ended the group’s extensive world tour by announcing he wasn’t sure when the Foo Fighters were going to play again.
The former Nirvana star quickly made it clear that he was talking about a break, not a split.
And now he tells Rolling Stone magazine, “People should never be afraid that Foo Fighters are ever going to break up. It’s like your grandparents getting divorced – it’s not gonna happen.”
Grohl is already thinking about the band’s next release and admits it might coincide with a movie, now that he’s a bona-fide documentary maker on the back of his upcoming debut Sound City: Real to Reel.
He adds, “(I have) a concept for the next album we’ve never done before. And who knows? There might be a [bleep] movie to go with it.”",244,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00007-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962537407875061
ce24ffe4-ca34-48b3-9ac3-7526dea76247,2016-07-29T12:10:17+00:00,2013-11-14,1,http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2013/11/14/gold-seen-flowing-east-refiners-recasting-bars-asia,"Gold (COMEX:GCZ13) demand in China, India and the Middle East surged in the 12 months to September while European sales contracted, underscoring a shift in the global bullion market from west to east, according to the World Gold Council.
China’s demand for jewelry, bars and coins rose 30% to 996.3 metric tons, while usage in India gained 24% to 977.6 tons, WGC data showed. European demand fell 11%, with drops in France, Switzerland and the U.K. Asia and the Middle East’s share of global sales grew to 68% in the 12 months from 65%, while Europe’s fell to 8.3% from 11%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Gold’s slump into a bear market in April boosted demand across Asia and the Middle East, outweighing redemptions from bullion-backed exchange-traded products, the London-based group said in a quarterly report today. Bullion is heading for the first annual loss since 2000 as the Federal Reserve weighs tapering stimulus amid prospects for a U.S. recovery. Bullion is flowing eastward, according to the producer-funded council.
“The vast bulk of the year-to-date growth in consumer demand for gold came from eastern markets,” the council said. “The recent dynamics of the gold market have worked to ensure that lower prices boosted Asian demand to an extent sufficient to absorb the gold flowing from western markets.”
In Europe, gold is being refined from larger bars suitable for local users into smaller sizes preferred in Asia, the council said. Exports of bullion from the U.K. to Switzerland -- where refineries are sited -- rose more than 10-fold to 1,016.3 tons in the first eight months, it said, citing data from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency.
Asian bullion demand will keep expanding as elevated inflation spurs purchases, HSBC Holdings Plc economists including Frederic Neumann wrote last month in a report that said the region is “going for gold.” A vault that can hold 2,000 tons was opened in Shanghai by Malca-Amit Global Ltd. this month to target increased demand for storage space.
Gold for immediate delivery traded at $1,286.52 an ounce at 4:55 p.m. in Singapore, 23% lower this year and 33% below the all-time high reached in September 2011. Holdings in bullion-backed ETPs stood at 1,873.3 tons yesterday, taking this year’s decline to 29% after assets gained every year since the first products were listed in 2003.
In the first three quarters of 2013, demand in China was 797.8 tons, ahead of India’s 715.7 tons, according to Marcus Grubb, managing director of investment at the WGC. That puts the second-largest economy on pace to overtake India as the biggest user as the Indian government imposes import restrictions on gold. Global consumer demand rose 605 tons to 2,896.5 tons in the nine months, the council said, with Asia and the Middle East accounting for 90% of the increase.
“Tactical investors in western markets exited their positions as they began to speculate on the early tapering of U.S. quantitative easing,” the council said. “Conversely, at the consumer level, demand for gold jewelry, bars and coins for the first nine months of the year was at a historical record.”
European demand for jewelry, bars and coins fell 11% to 310 tons in the 12 months to September, according to council data, as French consumption dropped 48%, Swiss use lost 22% and U.K. demand shrank 6%. In the Middle East, usage expanded 25% to 225.8 tons over the 12 months.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.",830,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257830066.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071030-00199-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946567595005035
eca1d246-6a2a-419b-8b15-991012281eed,2019-08-24T15:31:28+00:00,2016-06,1,https://www.carscoops.com/2016/06/red-bulls-daniel-ricciardo-knows-hes-on/,"In case Ferrari decides against renewing Kimi Raikkonen’s contract for a fourth season, a Vettel-Ricciardo reunion could eventually be in play.
Unfortunately for the Scuderia, Ricciardo is under contract with Red Bull for 2017, though by no means does that exclude him from the conversation of possible replacements for Raikkonen.
“It’s like last year, I understand if they were to make a change I’m a driver on their list,” said the Aussie F1 star in an interview with Autosport. “Am I the only driver on that list? Probably not. Am I their top pick? I don’t know. They haven’t made anything clear to me.”
Ricciardo even goes on to say that he doesn’t blame Ferrari for being interested and judging by his performance on the track these past few years, we can’t really blame them either. The Red Bull driver is currently 5th in the Drivers standings, 3 points shy of Kimi Raikkonen and 18 points shy of Sebastian Vettel, which can still be considered striking distance in today’s Formula 1.
Speaking of Vettel, the German driver admitted to being OK with partnering up again, if the situation should arise. “I don’t mind him, I like him, he’s a strong guy.”
Ricciardo however, though himself not minding partnering up with Vettel again, stated that “the only reason I would jump ship and go up against him again would be to fight for a world title. Otherwise, if it’s just to have a [different] team-mate, I would rather try against a Lewis or Fernando or something different.”
The Red Bull man also brought up how cautious he was before first accepting a seat next to Vettel.
“With his relationship with Mark before I got there, I was…cautious, with my approach with him as a team-mate. But he was solid and we actually got on well and obviously the season went better for me than it did for him.”
Ricciardo is obviously referring to the 2014 F1 season when he finished the year third with 238 points to Vettel’s 167 points.
“He never really made excuses and if I beat him he shook my hand like a man and said “good race”, so he was a good team-mate. He is quick and I would expect if we were to be team-mates again one day I’m sure he would put up a fight and it would be a good rivalry.”
While Vettel and Ricciardo rekindling their intra-squad rivalry would be a great story, it’s also interesting to know that the latter would actually prefer racing alongside Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, if only for the sake of mixing it up a bit.",623,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00217.warc.gz,0.97822117805481
edfb0055-efec-4dd0-a3b7-fb94cc641911,2015-03-30T17:30:38+00:00,2015-03-30,0,http://www.leasemls.com/cgi-bin/jobs/classifieds-city_proptype-on-city-NATRONA_HEIGHTS-typetl--db-pennsylvania.htm,"Properties, Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania
Natrona Heights commercial real estate for lease, rent, and leased investments.
Find Natrona Heights industrial buildings for lease, retail rentals, & Natrona Heights shops. Locate a Natrona Heights warehouse lease and any real estate for lease / investment, including industrial properties to rent and sale.
Negotiating a Natrona Heights commercial lease can be a complicated procedure and its best to retain an experienced broker to work with early in the process. The brokers fee is typically paid for by the owner and you probably would not be able to negotiate a better position than the broker would be able to. There should be no reason why a broker should not be used to secure the transaction whilst there are numerous reasons as to why a broker should be used. Engage an attorney to review the terms of the lease contract.
Search Natrona Heights property and space for lease and rent
commercial space listings
Trafford (Westmoreland), New Kensington, South Heights (Beaver), West Newton, Rural Ridge (Allegheny), Pitcairn, West Mifflin, Washington (Washington), East Pittsburgh, Mckeesport, Sewickley, Glenshaw, Duquesne
in Natrona Heights Pennsylvania (PA) (Allegheny)
Natrona Heights shopping Centers / Malls:
Plaza Medical Center, Union Ave : Plaza 1, Union Ave
Natrona Heights Medical Cntrs / Hospitals:
Plaza Medical Center, Union Ave : Highlands Veterinary Hosp, Freeport Rd : Allegheny Univ Hosp Allegheny Valley, Carlisle St",336,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00067-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.871837854385376
084bcda6-7620-4825-85fb-726d3c07a8fc,2015-03-30T23:14:14+00:00,2012-08-31,1,http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/politics/9925026.Public_vote_on_biomass_plan_scrapped/,"Labour council leader Richard Williams admitted while it was a good idea it was too expensive for the cash strapped authority which faces a £42m budget deficit over the next two years.
He blamed the Government for refusing to remove the legal hurdles so it could be held side-by-side with the police commissioner elections instead of in separate polling stations, pushing up costs.
Campaigners fighting the proposed plant at the city's western docks argued the estimated £75,000 cost of holding a so-called “preferendum” later this year would be better spent fighting a planning application.
No Southampton Biomass said its members wanted the council to spend the money more “wisely” on getting expert legal advice on the planning process.
Opposition Tories said the referendum had become a vanity project for the Labour administration.
Councillors this afternoon debated whether or not to continue with the planned vote on the question: “Do you support the current proposals by Helius Energy for a 100-megawatt biomass power plant on the Western Docks?”It would not be legally binding.”
Helius said its proposed biomasss power plant, which could generate enough electricity to power 200,000 homes, is needed to help cut the country's carbon emissions.
It would burn up to 800,000 tonnes of wood fuel each year, mostly shipped in through the docks from abroad.
Helius said it intends to submit a planning application by the end of the year.",306,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00205-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960674822330475
e20e9c97-339d-402d-b64c-cf75cbfbd8bf,2019-08-19T12:02:07+00:00,2019-08-19,0,http://www.robertsheard.com/reviews/the-brief-wondrous-life-of-oscar-wao,"It’s the story of Oscar, his extended family both in the United States and the Dominican Republic, and of fukú–the curse that haunts them all.
It’s also a story about the dictator Trujillo, DR culture, the world of the nerd (including video game culture and the realms of science fiction and fantasy writing), love, and loss.
The narrator is Yunior, Oscar’s sister Lola’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, as well as Oscar’s college roommate and ultimately, his best friend. And it is Yunior’s voice that makes the novel so special. He’s funny, self-deprecating, honest, and becomes a window into his culture and the family’s tragic history.
That brings me to the one quibble I have with the novel, and it’s partly my own failing. But there’s a ton of Spanish in the book. Yes, it absolutely makes the narrative voice more authentic and natural given the Dominican background for the story and the characters. But for a non-Spanish-speaking reader, it disrupts the narrative flow by its sheer volume. Sure, I could look up every third line in the novel, but narrative flow… Given that Díaz already made the choice to have the narrator use extensive footnotes to give the reader quite a bit of historical context, why not use the same apparatus to gloss the Spanish? Again, purists are going to slam me because it’s a great book and how dare I suggest a flaw. But I say, why not take care of all your readers, a great many of whom don’t speak Spanish?
For me, that makes it a 4.5-star instead of a 5-star novel. But I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys literary fiction. It’s a great read and I will definitely seek out Díaz’s other works.",411,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00129.warc.gz,0.961175322532654
c233dadb-aaa7-4dca-bfcd-7d144e8fba6c,2019-08-18T17:02:57+00:00,2019-08-18,1,https://rustywebb.com/in-the-news/news-town-glenville-files-suit-against-drug-distributors/,"In The News: Town of Glenville files suit against drug distributors
Charles “Rusty” Webb will be representing the Town of Glenville in a lawsuit against three distributors of opioid drugs, similar to the case recently settled by the State of West Virginia for 47 million dollars.
The lawsuit, will be filed against AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc., and McKesson Corporation, alleges that the defendants have caused and contributed to the opioid epidemic and will continue to cause the Town of Glenville to disburse substantial sums of public funds to deal with the consequences of the opioid epidemic that was fueled by Defendants' illegal, reckless, and malicious actions in flooding the state with highly addictive prescription medications without regard for the adverse consequences to the Town of Glenville or its residents.
Dennis Fitzpatrick, the Mayor of Glenville, stated that “the cost to the town has been substantial both financially and spiritually. The Town of Glenville is pleased to attain the services of Charles Webb in recovering damages to our community as a result of ""drug dumping.""
The suit is seeking damages for reimbursement for Glenville including, but not limited to, increased expenses of drug abuse treatment program, prevention and training costs (for law enforcement, hospitals and schools), costs of the drug Naloxone as well as education, training and use, medical care and hospitalizations, increased costs of law enforcement, increased costs of prosecutions and increased costs of incarcerations.
Rusty Webb is a personal injury and class action lawyer with 30 years of experience helping clients throughout West Virginia. He handles personal injury cases on a contingency basis, so clients can get legal representation with no obligation to pay legal fees unless they receive a recovery.
The Hur Herald
By: Hur Herald Staff",356,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00177.warc.gz,0.949209570884705
e0876527-5fcf-4f06-8b6d-487b755069fb,2017-08-23T17:34:51+00:00,2017-07-11,1,http://live105.cbslocal.com/2017/07/11/quentin-tarantino-set-to-make-film-about-the-manson-murders/,"Director Quentin Tarantino is expected to only make a few more films before hanging things up on his illustrious career. One of those films appears to be his first that’s based on a true story.
The film is reportedly about the Manson family murders and Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, and Margot Robbie are already attached to the project.
The film is expected to focus on the 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate and four others carried out by Charles Manson and his followers.
The currently untitled project is expected to begin filming in 2018. For more head to The Hollywood Reporter.",118,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123312.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823171414-20170823191414-00227.warc.gz,0.977432608604431
813550e5-c31e-4bce-b19f-c2cf1b57e789,2015-03-30T17:32:04+00:00,2014-03-07,0,http://bycommonconsent.com/2014/03/07/event-milton-and-the-anonymous-authority-of-de-doctrina-christiana-3pm-on-11-march-at-byu/,"In addition to our blogging, BCC permas do occasionally write other, non-internet type things. If you’re interested in witnessing this strange phenomenon, I will be giving a talk, “Milton and the Anonymous Authority of De doctrina Christiana,” next Tuesday, March 11, at BYU. It will take place at 3pm in B042 JFSB. Here is an abstract:
The recently renewed controversy over the authorship of De doctrina Christiana, the Latin theological treatise generally ascribed to John Milton since its discovery in 1823, is bound up in questions of authority. The treatise’s connection to the author of Paradise Lost gives it an authority that it would otherwise not enjoy, and to challenge the authorship is, in these terms, to challenge the treatise’s authority. The treatise, however, contains its own meditations on authority, and I will contend that these complicate the terms in which the authorship debate has been carried out. Specifically, the author uses scripture to authorize himself, but then uses this authority to authorize scripture. These complex authority relations come sharply into focus in places where the treatise deviates from its standard Latin Bible, Junius-Tremellius-Beza—especially in those rare cases where the deviation moves the Latin farther away from the original languages. Such deviations become especially problematic in light of the fact that the treatise invites readers to scrutinize it carefully, to be persuaded in the end only by the clarity of scripture. I will argue that De doctrina Christiana aims for an ideal reader who claims the same authority as its author. The effect of this is to render its authority anonymous, by fully subverting the possibility of treating John Milton as a religious idol. Therefore, although I remain convinced that Miltonic authorship of the treatise is the historical probability, I submit that on its own terms the treatise demands to be read as though he had nothing to do with it.
I’d love to see you there. (Meanwhile, I’ve promised the PTB a post relating some of this stuff to the Joseph Smith Translation. I guess one never really does escape from blogging.)",450,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00067-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94978278875351
435b3854-4399-48ea-a060-bf0406e36c0a,2017-08-22T16:58:25+00:00,2013-07-22,0,http://www.riderprophet.com/2013/07/monday-morning-sentimonies-shut-out.html,"Riders 37 – Ti-Cats 0
I’m well aware that it’s not morning but given my track record did you really expect a morning post after a Sunday evening game? I sometimes struggle when it’s a Friday evening game.
In a league that awards a point for missing a FG and punting too far, the Ti-Cats somehow managed to put up a goose egg on Sunday night. I know lots of people will downplay this pummeling by saying that it was against a weak opponent but so what? That’s what’s supposed to happen when really good teams play bad teams. We are a really good team. Hamilton is a bad team with a bad defense, no run game and missing pretty much anything resembling a top flight receiver. We were supposed to beat them and we did… quite handily… the system works.
Before I get to the game… by far the highlight of the game was Andre Proulx. In his finest moment he screwed up the penalty call (mixing up offense and defense), paused to shake his head and collect his thoughts… and then top it off by pointing the wrong way while trying to correct himself. Worth the price of admission right there. Bonus points for calling a benalty on number turty tree (even though the actual penalty was on 24).
By now you may be sick of borderline crush on George Cortez but you’ll just have to deal with it. I love him and I love our offense! It is firing on all cylinders. Durant seems so comfortable and in tune with it and it is designed to remorselessly pick on any weakness the opposing team is show us. It was clear that Hamilton was dead set on stuffing Sheets so what do we do? Start heaving it up to Rob Bagg (who is back as an impact player) and Dressler, and keep doing it until the defense backs off enough to let Sheets do his thing. We also made really good use of that McHenry leak out. For once our offense is dictating the play to the defense rather than the other way around. I really noticed this game just how in tune Durant and the receivers are with the timing and execution of this offense. One play in particular I saw Durant throw a short pass to what looked like an empty space only to have Bagg swoop in at the perfect time and make the reception. If they keep playing like this we will be formidable to even the best defense… and as Sunday proved, deadly to the one who are defenses in name only.
Of course no talk of the offense would be complete without mentioning the Dan Clark TD. For the record, last Monday I wrote the following in my sentimonies… “At this rate I’m convinced that our Banjo Bowl offense will revolve primarily around Dan Clark somehow. . The only appropriate thing to say in a situation like a Clark TD is what John Madden said in the Replacements “I love to see a fat guy score, Because first you get a fat guy spike, then you get the fat guy dance”. Memo to Clark: if you plan on scoring again, work on the spike and dance.
Defensively I think it would have been a slightly different story if Hamilton had had Fantuz in… but not much. Defense came to play. Its hard to imagine them doing much better than they did on Sunday but I’m trying to imagine what would have happened if Harris, Maze and Thomas (i.e. the majority of our starting secondary) had played. Ti-Cats may have found a way to get negative points. When the defense held them without a point with the wind I just knew the Ti-Cats would not be scoring about as much as a math major in college. We brought big time pressure (5 sacks) and limited the big plays. I'm pretty sure we would have help them in check even if we allowed them to field 2 extra offensive players.
Another solid effort in all 3 phases in what is becoming a pleasant trend. Not used to being in the position of being the team to beat but I could certainly get used to this… and the way we are playing, likely will.
Other random thoughts:
- Willy not starting really hurt “I Heart Willy” T-Shirt sales… only ones I sold were to a guy who asked if it also came in pink with glittered print… and I don’t think he even watched football. It did give me a great idea for a new slogan for the shirts “I Heart Willy shirts: Show your pride, Rider or otherwise.”
- When was the last time that 130 yard performance by an RB seemed like no big deal?
- Not sure if you noticed but when Sanders subbed in for Sheets at the very end of the game, after only 1 play (a first down), Sheets tried to sub himself back in by walking onto the field only to have the coaches quickly direct him back to the sidelines.
- I see Geroy Simon has taken over the “Mandatory Standing Ovation No Matter How Insignificant The Play Was” role… should have at least saved the cheers for his second reception that was actually worth cheering.
- I really hope McHenry and Fulton are OK after the game. Obviously McHenry was shook up and I noticed near the end of the game Fulton was very, very slowly getting up after plays and clearly in some pain. Both guys are big parts of our O. (Honestly who ever expected that to be written about McHenry?)
- I was hoping that one Bartel punt would float backwards through the endzone… I wonder what the rule is on that?",1181,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00560.warc.gz,0.978411018848419
cfe9e8ef-f1fe-4a32-bbf3-016a61ee4d77,2019-08-22T00:21:21+00:00,2019-08-22,0,https://maids2match.com/service-area/addison-tx/recurring-cleaning/,"Recurring cleaning services are exactly that: a service scheduled for a specific frequency without the need to book it every time. You can schedule visits from our team every week, every two weeks, or monthly. One deep clean service may solve your problem at the moment, but having someone in your home constantly during a certain amount of time can help you keep it like that, more if you’re busy all the time. Your appliances will stay sparkling, and your bathroom? Impeccable.
Addison Recurring Cleaning Services
With a recurring cleaning service, you don’t have to be afraid of the guest. One of the main concerns these days is having guests over, no matter if they told you before about their visits. A surprise visit and a planned one may bring the same amount of stress, every week may be a busy work week for you, and finding the time for cleaning might be impossible. This is why Maids 2 Match in the area of Addison gives you the opportunity to not be afraid of any guest you might have over. Our maids will take care of everything! Be free and call that special person you haven’t seen in years and invite them to dinner.
Why Choose Maids 2 Match to Clean Your Home?
At Maids 2 Match we understand the struggle the routine can cause in your life, which is why we’re the best team for cleaning services in the Addison area, and you bet we will show it from the moment we pick up the phone to answer your call. We are here to make your life easier. Every year, we have a large number of customers that trust us with their valuables, their pets, and home’s security in general.
Always equipped with the best
We have the latest in cleaning equipment. Our way of working can be molded to your needs and requests. You can get rid of pet dander and hair in a matter of minutes thanks to the skills of our team. We wouldn’t bother with offering a recurring cleaning service that might damage your home or not leave it in the best possible shape.
If you have a pet in your home, don’t worry about bacteria, dust, or allergies, as we are equipped with special products that can capture 99% of these and more tiny obstacles that can affect your health and one of your furry friends.
We tackle every area of your home
As mentioned before, we are fully equipped to tackle all areas of your home, apartment, vacation rental, and more. Want us to vacuum your mattress, or need your bedroom to be fresher than usual? We got it! We will make sure all spaces are spotless.
Our services include:
- Wood Floor Cleaning
- Tile Cleaning
- Laundry Room Cleaning
- Oven cleaning
- Cabinet scrubbing
Custom Recurring Cleaning in Addison, TX Area
Don’t think you can fit in our recurring cleaning services plan? We are open to new suggestions and are flexible according to your schedule and life. Give us a call, and we’ll make it work for both parties; nothing’s impossible for our company. Call us today and get rid of all your doubts; also, get a free quote without any compromise.
Our professional and friendly house cleaners offer quality residential cleaning services for homeowners in all of Addison 75001 zip code including housekeeping, vacation rental cleaning, Airbnb cleaning, apartment cleaning, deep cleaning, move out cleaning, and more.",724,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316555.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822000659-20190822022659-00451.warc.gz,0.953258156776428
ac7afbd9-b0eb-448f-922a-5e858c9a186d,2015-03-28T23:54:09+00:00,2013-01-04,0,http://altoonamirror.com/page/blogs.detail/display/5721/In-Case-You-Aren-t-Hibernating---.html,"| || |
In Case You Aren't Hibernating...
January 4, 2013 - Jim Price
It’s generally acknowledged in the live music and bar venue business that the busiest night of the year is usually Thanksgiving Eve, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. That is when more people tend to be out and about frequenting venues, and more venues stage live music performances.
I have no facts or figures to back this up, but based on my own observations over a quarter-century of covering the area live music scene, it seems that among the slowest nights of the year tend to be the first weekend in January immediately following the New Year’s holiday. People are generally burned out after the holidays, and venues are catching their collective breaths after the holiday season, which is often a busier time of the year for business. Thus there's usually not much going on.
And so it goes that this weekend’s live music happenings are a little thin, with only a few performances taking place around the area. But it is activity nonetheless, so if you haven’t done so already, put that New Year’s resolution to support live music into action and get out to catch a show!
Among this weekend's options...For connoisseurs of the heavier-rocking arts, Aldo’s hosts a pounding metal/punk/hardcore triple-bill on Saturday night, featuring the tenacious and volatile NailDriver, the driving punk of Up Your Arsenal and the brutal-edged sounds of Williamsburg quintet Assault Method.
If pounding the dance floor is your thing, those veteran northeastern PA party stalwarts the Giants Of Science return to the 4D’s Lounge this Saturday night. Frequent flyers on the 4D’s stage, the Giants reliably generate the party with their upbeat mixture of pop and rock song favorites, with an emphasis on ‘80s-era pop/rock. Through various incarnations, the Giants Of Science have consistently been doing their thing since 1995. And you just never know when the urge will again strike this group, and they decide to break out their legendary facepaints and white labcoats!
Altoona party trio 7th Gear also will provide ample reasons to dance at the Belmar Hotel this Saturday night. The seasoned trio of singer/guitarist Brendon Burns, bassist Kelly Montgomery and drummer Randy Servello keeps the beat and mood up with their wide-ranging mixture of current and classic rock and party song favorites.
If you wish to chase your daytime skiing or snowtubing fun at Blue Knob Ski Resort with some post-skiing live music, the Blue Knob Clubhouse has you covered throughout ski season. This weekend, The Backyard Rockers provide acoustic fun Friday evening, while R2B2 brings the full band party excitement on Saturday night.
If colder temperatures and the slight prospects of mountaintop snow showers won’t dissuade you from exploring live music activity in the nearby higher elevations this Saturday night, Cambria County rocking party favorites Locked and Loaded bring raucous good times to Clair’s Ashville Inn in Ashville, Williamsburg hard-hitters Saving Jake provide the dance floor fun at Magoo’s in Cresson, and Altoona guitar legend John McKelvey and A.X.E. light up the stage of Ebensburg’s Castle Pub. John’s bow-on-strings display on Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” has to be seen to be believed!
And for fans of acoustic sounds, Born & the Beanstalk is in action this Friday night at Bellwood’s Celtic Knot (formerly RJ’s Tavern). And Disorganized Crime – featuring singer/guitarist Rick Ramsey and hand percussionist Ed Hofer – entertain in Ebensburg this weekend at Jay’s Place on Saturday night and the Castle Pub on Sunday night.
So while a limited slate this weekend, live music is still there for the enjoyment…Support it, and if you plan on partying hardy, designate a driver!
Here is a full listing for live music on area stages this weekend and the coming week:
AnEmergencyScene presents Post Season, The Tried and True, Crash City, Forbearance, SPRRWS and Brittany Morganrose at Archway Center, Altoona (all ages, starts 5 p.m.)
Stephen Johnopolos at Raphael’s Steakhouse, Altoona (starts 6:30 p.m.)
Born & the Beanstalk at the Celtic Knot, Bellwood (starts 7 p.m.)
Felix & the Hurricanes at the Heidelberg Club, Altoona - CANCELLED
The Backyard Rockers at Blue Knob Clubhouse, Blue Knob Ski Resort (starts 8:30 p.m.)
Doug Whitfield at Raphael’s Steakhouse, Altoona (starts 6:30 p.m.)
NailDriver, Up Your Arsenal and Assault Method at Aldo’s, Altoona
7th Gear at Belmar Hotel, Altoona
Giants Of Science at 4D’s Lounge, Altoona
R2B2 at Blue Knob Clubhouse, Blue Knob Ski Resort
Locked and Loaded at Clair’s Ashville Inn, Ashville
Saving Jake at Magoo’s, Cresson
A.X.E. at Castle Pub, Ebensburg
Disorganized Crime at Jay’s Place, Ebensburg
Felix & the Hurricanes at Shaw’s Bar, Altoona
Disorganized Crime at Castle Pub, Ebensburg
Ty Ayers (acoustic) at 4D’s Lounge, Altoona
7th Gear at 4D’s Lounge (upstairs), Altoona
Open Mic/Jam Night at Pellegrine’s, Altoona (starts 9 p.m.)
Open Mic/Jam Night at Mug Shots, Gallitzin (starts 8 p.m.)
Steve Summerhill at Jethro’s, Altoona (starts 7 p.m.)
Born & the Beanstalk at Belmar Hotel, Altoona
(More shows may be added to this list as information becomes available. Feel free to check back.)
To report additional shows or corrections to this listing, email information to email@example.com.
NailDriver, performing during the Jeff Wallack Memorial Show at Pellegrine's last April. NailDriver headlines a hard-hitting triple-bill at Aldo's this Saturday night.",1388,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00240-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.869575977325439
b48468a5-6b95-4c85-b152-dfaaa84acb68,2013-05-26T13:40:47+00:00,2013-05-26,0,http://forbeslofts.com/,"FORBES PARK is a new mixed-use, waterfront loft community, setting a higher standard for sustainable and environmentally responsible urban lifestyles.
The restoration of Forbes Park will breathe new life into what was until recently, a historic 19th Century printing factory, symbolic of the fading industrial age.
In many ways this site is ideally suited to meet our goal; to reclaim neglected industrial space with environmentally sensitive design methods to create a new, visible model of “smart growth” urban development.
Forbes Park will not only to reduce its footprint on the natural surroundings, but restore and preserve the coastal wetlands and grasslands for native plant and wildlife populations.
This innovative integration of renewable energy generation and energy conservation systems combined with a variety of resource management systems, make these unique hybrid homes the smart choice for urban living.",165,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.905716359615326
e082914f-cce6-47a6-9926-6110bdd5a209,2020-10-21T04:45:11+00:00,2020-10-21,0,https://www.risingstars-uk.com/subjects/pe/champions-pe/impact-in-schools,"Impact in Schools
As a result of using 'Champions' I have noticed a significant difference in the children's physical ability, fitness and attitude to health. 'Champions' encourages children to take ownership over their own health and fitness and gives them the tools to support this.
I would certainly recommend the Champions programme to other schools. It’s much more than just a PE programme that’s there to bolt
on as an extra. It’s about teaching children about themselves and
how to keep themselves fit and healthy with a healthy body and a
healthy mind. They take those lessons beyond school into the rest of their lives.
We are seeing children active for longer periods of time; eating healthier food; engaging in discussions about how they can keep themselves healthy; and developing a love for sports and games.",170,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107875980.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021035155-20201021065155-00662.warc.gz,0.968270778656006
82877f9e-7dc3-4d14-bc61-c558c332f495,2017-08-19T11:58:30+00:00,2017-07-16,1,http://ronaldo.com/blog/2017/07/16/leicester-reject-20m-roma-offer/,"Leicester are reported to demand £30m for their player.
Leicester City have rejected a £20m offer from Roma for Riyad Mahrez, according to Sky in Italy.
The offer was made during a meeting between officials from both clubs. However, no agreement has been reached as the two sides see a different price when it comes to Mahrez’s worth.
The Algerian player made 51 appearances for Leicester City last season, scoring 12 goals and making 5 assists. He was expected to leave last summer but he remained at the club, hoping he would achieve something in Champions League with Leicester, as the English club reached the quarter-final stage where they were knocked out by Atletico Madrid.",145,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00086.warc.gz,0.991002261638641
53d29e97-2206-40fc-aab7-a14af616b3f5,2017-08-21T10:08:30+00:00,2016-08-22,1,http://www.nationalswa.com/the_nationals_wa_unanimously_support_right_to_veto_for_landowners,"For more information, contact Shane Love (Member for Moore ).
The Nationals WA have unanimously supported landowner’s rights to veto onshore oil and gas exploration and production on private land at the Party’s 2016 State Conference at the weekend.
The Moore branch of The Nationals WA introduced the motion supporting amendments to the Western Australian Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967.
State Member for Moore Shane Love said the outcome was a major win for landholders, and if implemented would afford them the same right to veto over the petroleum industry afforded under the Mining Act 1978.
“This is a significant outcome and will help form the Party’s position in the lead up to the 2017 State election,” Mr Love said.
“Ensuring greater landholder rights has been one of my major priorities since being elected to parliament four years ago.
“The Nationals WA strongly support the landholders having the right to choose whether to allow gas exploration and production on their property.”
Mr Love said he would continue to champion the reform if elected at the March 2017 State election.
“I understand community concerns about the potential development of the onshore gas industry in WA,” Mr Love said.
“Giving landholder’s the right to veto exploration and production is an effective and clear cut way to maintain their property rights.
“If elected in March 2017, The Nationals WA will vigorously pursue this important reform on behalf of WA landholders.”",308,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108264.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821095257-20170821115257-00084.warc.gz,0.939571261405945
755830a9-b96e-4887-a0df-2f246323a0f7,2018-08-15T22:18:35+00:00,2018-08-15,0,http://www.jhfaskejewelers.com/products/womens-diamond-fashion-rings/001-130-00583/005425,"In Stock | STYLE: 001-130-00583
Lady's Tutone 14 Karat Fashion Ring With 0.48Tw Round G Si1 Diamonds*Prices are subject to change based on fluctuations in metal prices and currencies
FACET, headquartered in Barcelona, was founded in 1987. Our mission is to contribute to improve our client’s satisfaction. For this reason we offer jewels at the best prices with continuously updated collections. We look for this kind of satisfaction through a constant process of innovation and improvement.",109,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210362.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815220136-20180816000136-00080.warc.gz,0.889043271541595
3b8d8e7d-cbbc-4821-af69-10fc8f9978f5,2018-08-18T08:38:39+00:00,2018-06-11,1,https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-06-bacteriophages-overlooked-driver-parkinson-disease.html,"In the first study of its kind, researchers from the New York-based Human Microbiology Institute have discovered the role certain bacteriophages may play in the onset of Parkinson's disease (PD). The research is presented at ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, held from June 7th to June 11th in Atlanta, Georgia.
The researchers, led by George, Tetz, M.D., Ph.D., Human Microbiology Institute, showed that the abundance of lytic Lactococcus phages was higher in PD patients when compared to healthy individuals. This abundance led to a 10-fold reduction in neurotransmitter-producing Lactococcus, suggesting the possible role of phages in neurodegeneration. Comparative analysis of the bacterial component also revealed significant decreases in Streptococcus spp. and Lactobacillus spp. in PD.
Lactococcus are regulators of gut permeability and are enteric dopamine producers, which plays a primary role in PD. ""The depletion of lactococcus due to high numbers of strictly lytic phages in PD patients might be associated with PD development and directly linked to dopamine decrease as well as the development of gastrointestinal symptoms of PD,"" said Dr. Tetz.
To explore bacterial and bacteriophage community compositions associated with PD, the researchers used shotgun metagenomics sequencing data of fecal microbiome from 32 patients with PD and 28 controls.
The results indicate that the decrease in Lactococci in the PD patients was due to the appearance of strictly lytic, virulent lactococcal phages belonging to the c2-like and 936 groups that are frequently isolated from dairy products. These results open a discussion on the role of environmental phages and phagobiota composition in health and disease.
""Bacteriophages have previously been overlooked as pathogenic factors, and the study points out their pivotal role in pathogenesis,"" said Dr. Tetz. Future research is needed to explore bacterial viruses as a diagnostic and treatment target for therapeutic intervention.
Explore further: Viruses that infect bacteria abound in bladder",437,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213508.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818075745-20180818095745-00484.warc.gz,0.941522657871246
5a2024b3-cba1-43c8-8c9d-27c276da2603,2015-03-31T15:44:50+00:00,2007-01-23,1,https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hr632/text/ih,"H. R. 632
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 23, 2007
Mr. Lipinski (for himself, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Dent, Mr. Ehlers, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Terry, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Camp of Michigan, Mr. Barrett of South Carolina, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Mr. Souder, Mr. Kuhl of New York, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Lincoln Davis of Tennessee, Mr. Arcuri, and Mr. Wamp) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary prizes for achievements in overcoming scientific and technical barriers associated with hydrogen energy.
This Act may be cited as the
H-Prize Act of
In this Act:
administering entity means the entity with which the Secretary
enters into an agreement under section 3(c).
Department means the Department of Energy.
Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
The Secretary shall carry out a program to competitively award cash prizes only in conformity with this Act to advance the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of hydrogen energy technologies.
Advertising and Solicitation of Competitors
The Secretary shall widely advertise prize competitions to encourage broad participation, including by individuals, universities (including historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions), and large and small businesses (including businesses owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged persons).
Announcement through federal register notice
The Secretary shall announce each prize competition by publishing a notice in the Federal Register. This notice shall include the subject of the competition, the duration of the competition, the eligibility requirements for participation in the competition, the process for participants to register for the competition, the amount of the prize, and the criteria for awarding the prize.
Administering the Competitions
The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to administer the prize competitions, subject to the provisions of this Act. The duties of the administering entity under the agreement shall include—
advertising prize competitions and their results;
raising funds from private entities and individuals to pay for administrative costs and to contribute to cash prizes;
working with the Secretary to develop the criteria for selecting winners in prize competitions, based on goals provided by the Secretary;
determining, in consultation with the Secretary, the appropriate amount for each prize to be awarded;
selecting judges in accordance with section 4(d), using criteria developed in consultation with the Secretary; and
preventing the unauthorized use or disclosure of a registered participant’s intellectual property, trade secrets, and confidential business information.
Prizes under this Act shall consist of Federal appropriated funds and any funds provided by the administering entity (including funds raised pursuant to subsection (c)(2)) for such cash prizes. The Secretary may accept funds from other Federal agencies for such cash prizes. The Secretary may not give any special consideration to any private sector entity or individual in return for a donation to the administering entity.
Announcement of Prizes
The Secretary may not issue a notice required by subsection (b)(2) until all the funds needed to pay out the announced amount of the prize have been appropriated or committed in writing by the administering entity. The Secretary may increase the amount of a prize after an initial announcement is made under subsection (b)(2) if—
notice of the increase is provided in the same manner as the initial notice of the prize; and
the funds needed to pay out the announced amount of the increase have been appropriated or committed in writing by the administering entity.
The authority to announce prize competitions under this Act shall terminate on September 30, 2018.
The Secretary shall establish prizes for—
advancements in components or systems related to—
hydrogen distribution; and
prototypes of hydrogen-powered vehicles or other hydrogen-based products that best meet or exceed objective performance criteria, such as completion of a race over a certain distance or terrain or generation of energy at certain levels of efficiency; and
transformational changes in technologies for the distribution or production of hydrogen that meet or exceed far-reaching objective criteria, which shall include minimal carbon emissions and which may include cost criteria designed to facilitate the eventual market success of a winning technology.
To the extent permitted under section 3(e), the prizes authorized under subsection (a)(1) shall be awarded biennially to the most significant advance made in each of the four subcategories described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection (a)(1) since the submission deadline of the previous prize competition in the same category under subsection (a)(1) or the date of enactment of this Act, whichever is later, unless no such advance is significant enough to merit an award. No one such prize may exceed $1,000,000. If less than $4,000,000 is available for a prize competition under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may omit one or more subcategories, reduce the amount of the prizes, or not hold a prize competition.
To the extent permitted under section 3(e), prizes authorized under subsection (a)(2) shall be awarded biennially in alternate years from the prizes authorized under subsection (a)(1). The Secretary is authorized to award up to one prize in this category in each 2-year period. No such prize may exceed $4,000,000. If no registered participants meet the objective performance criteria established pursuant to subsection (c) for a competition under this paragraph, the Secretary shall not award a prize.
To the extent permitted under section 3(e), the Secretary shall announce one prize competition authorized under subsection (a)(3) as soon after the date of enactment of this Act as is practicable. A prize offered under this paragraph shall be not less than $10,000,000, paid to the winner in a lump sum, and an additional amount paid to the winner as a match for each dollar of private funding raised by the winner for the hydrogen technology beginning on the date the winner was named. The match shall be provided for 3 years after the date the prize winner is named or until the full amount of the prize has been paid out, whichever occurs first. A prize winner may elect to have the match amount paid to another entity that is continuing the development of the winning technology. The Secretary shall announce the rules for receiving the match in the notice required by section 3(b)(2). The Secretary shall award a prize under this paragraph only when a registered participant has met the objective criteria established for the prize pursuant to subsection (c) and announced pursuant to section 3(b)(2). Not more than $10,000,000 in Federal funds may be used for the prize award under this paragraph. The administering entity shall seek to raise $40,000,000 toward the matching award under this paragraph.
In establishing the criteria required by this Act, the Secretary shall consult with—
the Department’s Hydrogen Technical and Fuel Cell Advisory Committee;
other Federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation; and
private organizations, including professional societies, industry associations, and the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
For each prize competition, the Secretary shall assemble a panel of qualified judges to select the winner or winners on the basis of the criteria established under subsection (c). Judges for each prize competition shall include individuals from outside the Department, including from the private sector. A judge may not—
have personal or financial interests in, or be an employee, officer, director, or agent of, any entity that is a registered participant in the prize competition for which he or she will serve as a judge; or
have a familial or financial relationship with an individual who is a registered participant in the prize competition for which he or she will serve as a judge.
To be eligible to win a prize under this Act, an individual or entity—
shall have complied with all the requirements in accordance with the Federal Register notice required under section 3(b)(2);
in the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, shall be a citizen of, or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in, the United States; and
shall not be a Federal entity, a Federal employee acting within the scope of his employment, or an employee of a national laboratory acting within the scope of his employment.
The Federal Government shall not, by virtue of offering or awarding a prize under this Act, be entitled to any intellectual property rights derived as a consequence of, or direct relation to, the participation by a registered participant in a competition authorized by this Act. This section shall not be construed to prevent the Federal Government from negotiating a license for the use of intellectual property developed for a prize competition under this Act.
Waiver of Liability
The Secretary may require registered participants to waive claims against the Federal Government and the administering entity (except claims for willful misconduct) for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits arising from the registered participants’ participation in a competition under this Act. The Secretary shall give notice of any waiver required under this subsection in the notice required by section 3(b)(2). The Secretary may not require a registered participant to waive claims against the administering entity arising out of the unauthorized use or disclosure by the administering entity of the registered participant’s intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential business information.
Registered participants shall be required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility, in amounts determined by the Secretary, for claims by—
a third party for death, bodily injury, or property damage or loss resulting from an activity carried out in connection with participation in a competition under this Act; and
the Federal Government for damage or loss to Government property resulting from such an activity.
Federal Government insured
The Federal Government shall be named as an additional insured under a registered participant’s insurance policy required under paragraph (1)(A), and registered participants shall be required to agree to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to competition activities.
Authorization of appropriations
Authorization of Appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the period encompassing fiscal years 2008 through 2017 for carrying out this Act—
$20,000,000 for awards described in section (4)(a)(1);
$20,000,000 for awards described in section 4(a)(2); and
$10,000,000 for the award described in section 4(a)(3).
In addition to the amounts authorized in paragraph (1), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017 $2,000,000 for the administrative costs of carrying out this Act.
Carryover of Funds
Funds appropriated for prize awards under this Act shall remain available until expended, and may be transferred, reprogrammed, or expended for other purposes only after the expiration of 10 fiscal years after the fiscal year for which the funds were originally appropriated. No provision in this Act permits obligation or payment of funds in violation of section 1341 of title 31 of the United States Code (commonly referred to as the Anti-Deficiency Act).
The programs created under this Act shall not be considered a substitute for Federal research and development programs.",2417,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300735.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00291-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.925978064537048
a2e2af04-d99a-421e-b6ef-f5feaed5dcfd,2022-05-21T00:13:45+00:00,2022-03-29,1,https://spacewatch.global/2022/03/terran-orbital-begins-trading-on-the-new-york-stock-exchange/,"Edinburgh / Boca Raton, 29 March 2022. – Small satellite manufacturer company Terran Orbital, primarily serving the aerospace and defense industry in the U.S., announced it will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbols “LLAP” and “LLAP WS”.
The firm has made progress recently including an employee growth of 300% and a facility expansion from 5600 sqm to over 23,000 sqm. Terran was also selected to build 42 satellites for the U.S. Space Development Agency.
2022 is packed with several critical satellite missions for the company, like NASA’s LunIR, launching on the Artemis I to support observations of the Moon. Terran is also to deploy Capstone, an optical Earth observation satellite, and a 6U cubesat mission, both for NASA.
The firm is about to build the “Industry 4.0” space vehicle manufacturing facility, a $300 million, 61,000 sqm facility in Florida.",208,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662534693.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520223029-20220521013029-00020.warc.gz,0.935756027698517
c3ebba6c-0cea-4f5d-a80d-116e5ca7c780,2016-07-27T02:43:09+00:00,2011-08-10,1,http://www.businessinsider.com/kansas-city-privately-owned-nuclear-weapons-plant-2011-8,"Activists and politicians are squaring off in Kansas City as the deadline for getting a nuclear weapons measure on the local ballot looms.
According to Mother Jones the ballot will determine whether the city becomes home to the first privately owned nuclear weapons plant.
The new Honeywell plant would replace its aging predecessor where 85 percent of U.S. nuclear arms components are produced. Dedicated in 1942 by President Harry Truman, there's no doubt the facility is past its prime -- and the new plant isn't just what activists are opposed to -- it's also the land deal on which the plant will sit.
The federal government is planning to sublease the land from Centerpoint Zimmer (CPZ) a private developer in a 20-year lease with the city -- when that lease runs out -- the developer will own the property outright.
The city's agreed to exempt CPZ from property taxes on the plant and its 1000-acre office park across the street for the next 25-years, and agreed to $815 million in bond subsidies to help with construction.
Despite being desperate for jobs, activists are wondering if the best economic stimulus is making nuclear bombs, and if the city isn't giving too much away.",243,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00313-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962142467498779
ca96ed72-173d-49a3-a4b9-68bbb0f669cf,2017-08-17T15:20:22+00:00,2012-03-07,0,http://www.stargazersworld.com/2012/03/07/do-we-need-those-what-is-a-roleplaying-game-sections/,"I don’t remember ever seeing a boardgame, videogame, book, movie DVD or any other entertainment product to first explain me what it is. But in the case of roleplaying games there almost always a small section that explains what the author thinks pen & paper RPGs are.
Recently I started thinking whether this was actually needed. There are actually only two kinds of people out there who might pick up a roleplaying game: the ones who have played RPGs before and the ones who haven’t. Explaining the first group what a roleplaying game is, that’s just silly. And what about the second group? How likely is it that someone picks up a game that he knows nothing about?
In my WR&M game I told people to ask their geek friends or look it up on Wikipedia if they don’t know what a roleplaying game is. But again, is this really needed? Of course there are people out there who buy a PC game and are surprised it doesn’t run on their DVD player. Or there are parents and grandparents who buy stuff for their kids and grandkids without doing any research before they shell out the bucks. But is this really the majority? And do you really believe these people actually read the book?
Things are actually made worse by the fact that everyone tries to come up with his or her own definition of what a roleplaying game is. A lot of effort is wasted on these definitions (and more often than not even gamers argue about what RPGs actually are) instead of really informing the public about our hobby.
I think instead of sticking to these “What is a roleplaying game” sections we really should make an effort to share our hobby with a larger audience. And with the high popularity of MMORPGs it shouldn’t be so hard to explain today’s youth what the roots of their hobby are, don’t you think?",396,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103579.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817151157-20170817171157-00649.warc.gz,0.968113601207733
b9103e1b-1e50-48dc-8740-42a9e6034f65,2013-05-19T18:26:19+00:00,2008-11-05,0,http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2008/11/05/sic-we-can/,"John makes an excellent point about the conclusion of Obama’s acceptance speech, in which our next president repeated the phrase “Yes, we can” after a series of hope-filled sentences (in what was an example of the rhetorical device of epistrophe). As John notes, Obama called these three words America’s “timeless creed,” despite the fact that slogans are not creeds. Nonetheless, expect to see “VERO POSSUMUS” on coins soon. In fact, as you might recall, back in June Obama received flak for giving a speech behind his own personalized presidential seal.
While it was nice to see his bald eagle gripping arrows in one claw (instead of, say, a bundle of less-threatening Twizzlers), if one looked closely one found that approximate Latin translation of “Yes, we can” in small Roman type. Unsurprisingly, the seal was immediately clubbed to death by the press. And come to think of it, isn’t “sic” the medieval Latin for “yes”? Should Obama organize a United States of Latin America, presumably the motto will be “Si, se puede,” the rallying cry of Chavez (Cesar, not Hugo), which Obama has repeatedly made recourse to.
Someday, if there ever is a President Palin, we could at least look forward to her adopting the motto of the Madison Avenue Rod, Gun, Bloody Mary & Labrador Retriever Benevolent Association, which Jaroslav Pelikan translated as:
Semper siccandae sunt: potio
Pulvis, et pelliculatio.
That is, “Keep your powder, trout flies, and martinis dry.” Alas, MARGBMLRBA is, for now, a purely mythical society.",384,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951106488704681
200a4b51-f9c5-43b0-b35c-ff7b71cc3ec4,2018-08-15T01:40:26+00:00,2017-02-16,0,http://tattooatoz.com/the-brilliant-pumpkin-tattoo-regarding-body-tattoo/25-evil-pumpkin-tattoos-scary-enough-within-pumpkin-tattoo/,"From the thousands of pictures on the web regarding Pumpkin Tattoo, we all picks the top choices along with ideal image resolution simply for you all, and this pictures is considered one of photographs choices within our very best photographs gallery regarding The Brilliant Pumpkin Tattoo regarding Body Tattoo. I really hope you will think it’s great.
This kind of picture (25 Evil Pumpkin Tattoos Scary Enough within Pumpkin Tattoo) over will be labelled along with:cinderella pumpkin tattoo, evil pumpkin tattoo, pumpkin tattoo bangkok price, pumpkin tattoo pictures, tattoo on pumpkin, posted by simply tattoos with January, 4 2017. To determine just about all photographs throughout The Brilliant Pumpkin Tattoo regarding Body Tattoo photographs gallery you should comply with this particular web page link.
25 Evil Pumpkin Tattoos Scary Enough Within Pumpkin Tattoo Uploaded by tattoos on Thursday, February 16th, 2017 in category Tattoo Design.
Here we have another image The 17 Spookiest Pumpkin Tattoos Mtv Inside Pumpkin Tattoo featured under 25 Evil Pumpkin Tattoos Scary Enough Within Pumpkin Tattoo. We hope you enjoyed it and if you want to download the pictures in high quality, simply right click the image and choose ""Save As"". Thanks for reading 25 Evil Pumpkin Tattoos Scary Enough Within Pumpkin Tattoo.",265,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209755.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815004637-20180815024637-00014.warc.gz,0.849296569824219
6abc7f15-d5a9-4c7d-b19e-33382abdd3c5,2022-05-26T08:33:54+00:00,2021-10-01,1,https://nigerdeltaconnect.com/e-naira-nine-things-you-should-know/,"Since the ban on cryptocurrency, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced e-Naira. It is a type of digital currency that allows people to exchange money online.
The CBN prohibited the use of cryptocurrency for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it is not issued by a sovereign authority.
On October 1, 2021, E-Naira will be introduced. Here are some facts about it that you should be aware of:
- This digital currency will facilitate transactions, but it differs from other digital currencies in that it will be issued by a sovereign authority, the CBN.
- A government-issued digital currency functions differently than a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.
The CBN believes that the e-Naira will promote financial inclusion and a cashless policy.
- The e-Naira, which was created to facilitate digital transactions, is not backed by physical currency.
- As with the Naira, the value of the coin will not appreciate as quickly as that of Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies.
- In much the same way as stable coins pegged to dollars, the e-Naira will have a fixed value.
- The e-Naira will be created independently of bank accounts; the wallet will be created by financial institutions through an application product interface.
- This currency is legal tender throughout the country, does not bear interest, and has a transaction limit for customers as well as a rate-based transaction limit.
- As a critical national infrastructure, the e-Naira system will be subjected to extensive security checks, and all data and personally identifiable information (PII) will be kept off the ledger.",345,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604495.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526065603-20220526095603-00214.warc.gz,0.946984231472015
04987549-f513-4fd5-87e8-aa381a7c6e60,2015-04-01T06:07:21+00:00,2006-09-15,0,http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2006/d2006-0730.html,"WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION
Lexicon Marketing Operating Luxembourg, S.A.R.L v. Facundo de Giorgio
Case No. D2006-0730
1. The Parties
The Complainant is Lexicon Marketing Operating Luxembourg, S.A.R.L, California, United States of America, represented by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, United States of America.
The Respondent is Facundo de Giorgio, Puerto Rico, United States of America, represented by Dennis B. Parces, Esq., United States of America.
2. The Domain Name and Registrar
The disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com> is registered with InnerWise, Inc. d/b/a ItsYourDomain.com.
3. Procedural History
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on June 9, 2006. On June 12, 2006, the Center transmitted by email to InnerWise, Inc. d/b/a ItsYourDomain.com a request for registrar verification in connection with the domain name at issue. On July 6, 2006, InnerWise, Inc. d/b/a ItsYourDomain.com transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details for the administrative, billing, and technical contact. The Center verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”), the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Rules”), and the WIPO Supplemental Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Supplemental Rules”).
In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on July 13, 2006. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was August 2, 2006. The Response was initially filed with the Center in Spanish on July 13, 2006, with English translation filed on August 4, 2006.1
The Center appointed Frederick M. Abbott as the sole panelist in this matter on August 8, 2006. The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. The Panel has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as required by the Center to ensure compliance with the Rules, paragraph 7.
On August 17, 2006, at the request of the Panel, the Center transmitted Administrative Order No. 1 to the parties. That Order requested additional evidence from each party, to be furnished within 10 calendar days of the date of transmission of the Order. On August 28, 2006, the Center transmitted to the Panel the respective responses of Complainant and Respondent received in a timely manner.
The language of this administrative proceeding is English. Original evidentiary documents are, in a number of instances, in the Spanish language. Translations have been provided by the parties in some cases. Pursuant to its authority under Paragraph 11(a) of the Rules, the Panel has considered both English and Spanish versions of documents.
4. Factual Background
Complainant is recorded assignee of registration of the word trademark INGLES SIN BARRERAS on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Reg. No. 1,627,082, dated December 11, 1990, in International Class (IC) 16, covering “printed publications, namely books, manuals, brochures, and magazines in the field of English language instruction”. Said registration claims date first use and first use in commerce of May 13, 1988 and states that “The English translation of the word in the mark is English without barriers”. Complainant also is recorded assignee of registration of the word trademark and service mark INGLES SIN BARRERAS on the Principal Register of the USPTO, Reg. Nos. 1,657,270 and 2,205,186, dated September 17, 1991 and November 24, 1998, in ICs 9 and 41, respectively, covering pre-recorded media in the field of English-language instruction and educational services with respect to English-language instruction. Said registrations include substantially identical statements of translation. The trademark assignment from the president of Complainant, Jose Luis Nazar, to Complainant is dated January 17, 2003. (Complaint, Exhibit C-E)
Complainant is registrant of the word trademark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS on the Principal Register of the USPTO, Reg. No. 3,080,598, dated April 11, 2006, in IC 16, covering “educational instructional materials, namely, books, workbooks, guides, dictionaries, reference materials, phrase books, pre-recorded audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, compact discs, and CD-ROMs, in the field of computers, computer instruction, computer repair and computer software and hardware, sold as a unit” (id., Exhibit F). Such Registration claims data of first use and first use in commerce of November 2005. This registration disclaims exclusive right to use “computacion” apart from the mark as shown, and translates the Spanish wording as “computation without barriers”. Registration of the aforesaid mark followed the grant by the USPTO of Complainant’s petition for cancellation (filed June 19, 2004) of the same mark held by Jose de Giorgio (Cancellation No. 92043412, granted December 8, 2004) (id., Exhibit J).
Complainant has not submitted evidence of trademark registrations outside the United States.
Complainant advertises and sells instructional materials and services under the INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark in the United States and in other countries. Complainant invests heavily in television direct response advertisement. According to one source, in 2004 Complainant spent $80 million and was the leading advertiser on Spanish-language television.2 (Complaint, Exhibit H). Complainant asserts that it advertises and sells outside the United States, but has provided only indirect evidence of advertising and sales outside the United States. A description of Complainant by one of its investors describes Complainant as “the leading direct marketing company serving the Hispanic community in the United States and abroad”. Complainant has provided a Declaration of its Associate Counsel stating that in 2002, Complainant commissioned a study by Bain and Company which “concluded that over 95% of Hispanic households in America recognized the INGLES SIN BARRERAS® brand. The Bain Study also concluded that consumers recognize third-party brands outside of the INGLES SIN BARRERAS® brand which sell educational materials under names that include the descriptive term ‘Inglés’“ (Declaration of Nicolas Ospina, Complaint, Exhibit I). Complainant did not submit any portion of the Bain and Company study to the Panel.
Complainant operates a commercial Internet web site at ”www.inglessinbarreras.com” (Complaint, Exhibit M).
Complainant states that it currently markets products under the identifiers “Carreras Sin Barreras”, in connection with educational workforce materials, “Créditos Sin Barreras”, in connection with educational materials in the field of personal finances, “Salud Sin Barreras” in connection with educational materials in the field of health and nutrition, and “Viva Sin Barreras” in connection with mail order catalog services (Complaint, paragraph 19). Complainant has not submitted direct evidence of such marketing. Complainant has not asserted registration of trademarks or service marks in connection with such products.
According to the Registrar’s Verification, Respondent is the registrant of the disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com>. According to an IYD WHOIS report furnished by Complainant, the record of registration of the disputed domain name was created on November 6, 2003 (Complaint, Exhibit A). Respondent asserts that the disputed domain name was initially registered by Jose de Giorgio, his father, prior to the end of 1998 (Response), and that registration was subsequently renewed by Respondent. In response to a specific request from the Panel in Administrative Order No. 1, Respondent failed to furnish evidence of the asserted 1998 registration.
Respondent asserts that he has acted with respect to the disputed domain name on behalf of his father, Jose de Giorgio, a resident and national of Argentina with computer expertise. During the period from 1998 through 2001, Jose de Giorgio resided in the United States. Respondent’s counsel has submitted evidence in the name of Jose de Giorgio in response to a request from the Panel directed to Respondent. In light of the evidence submitted in this proceeding, including e-mail correspondence in which Respondent and Jose de Giorgio negotiate with third parties with respect to the same subject matter, the Panel will treat Respondent and Jose de Giorgio as part of a family enterprise. In consequence, acts of Jose de Giorgio with respect to the disputed domain name will be treated as acts of Respondent.
Respondent registered “Computacion Sin Barreras” as a fictitious business name with the State of Florida Department of State on August 14, 1998, Reg. No. G9822600085 (Reply to Administrative Order No. 1 (hereinafter “Respondent’s Reply”), Exhibit A.3
Respondent registered the trademark and design COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Reg. No. 55946, dated September 10, 2001, claiming date of use (“Fecha de Uso”) of January 5, 2000. In that registration, Respondent disclaimed protection for “computacion” except for use in the mark as shown. (Respondent’s Reply, Exhibit F).
Respondent registered the trademark and design COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS on the Register of Trademarks in Argentina, Act No. 2348356, granted February 23, 2006, in International Class 16. The application for such registration was transmitted by Respondent’s Argentine trademark counsel on May 20, 2004 (Respondent’s Reply, Exhibits B-D).
Respondent asserts that an educational course on use of computers was first developed by Jose de Giogio in Argentina in mid-2001, and sold there by Telefonica de Argentina (under the name “Manual Educativo de Telefonica”). Later in 2001, Respondent entered into an agreement with On Line Soft, Inc. of Miami, Florida (and its principal, Mr. Javier Merello) to market a software package in the United States under the name “Computacion sin Barreras”, which included several additional interactive instructional CDs relating to Microsoft application programs, and which were approved and certified by the Microsoft Corporation. This enterprise was unsuccessful. There is evidence that some copies of the software package under the name “Computacion sin Barreras” were sold by “Software Store” of Puerto Rico to one customer (“PC@Home”) from April 2002 through March 2003, but the evidence is not clear as to whether these were sales to third parties or sales between Respondent-controlled entities. (Response and Respondent’s Reply, Exhibit G)
According to Respondent, in early 2004, Mr. Merello of On Line Soft approached Complainant with a proposal for marketing a software package under the name “Computacion Sin Barreras” because Complainant did not yet offer a computer course. These negotiations were unsuccessful. In April 2004, Complainant directly approached Respondent with an offer to purchase the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark already registered by Respondent at the USPTO, as well as the disputed domain name. Complainant ultimately offered to purchase all of Respondent’s rights in the “Computacion sin Barreras” identifier for $20,000, which offer Respondent rejected. Respondent sought either a $100,000 lump-sum payment, or a $25,000 upfront payment plus a royalty on Complainant’s sales of the software package.
According to Respondent, Mr. Merello was displeased by the direct contact between Complainant and Respondent. As a consequence, when Complainant initiated its trademark cancellation proceeding against Respondent at the USPTO in June 2004, Mr. Merello (whose address was used on the trademark registration) did not forward notice to Respondent. Respondent consequently failed to respond in the USPTO proceeding. (Response)
In its Complaint, Complainant did not refer to any contact with Respondent prior to Complainant’s transmission (through outside counsel) of a cease and desist demand to Respondent dated September 27, 2005 (Complaint, Exhibit L). In response to Administrative Order No. 1, Complainant submitted a Declaration of its Associate Counsel, which included information based on his review of files and discussion with his predecessor in-house counsel. According to that Declaration, Complainant first became aware of Respondent’s use of “Computacion sin Barreras” in connection with a line of computer courses in 2003. Complainant states that it first attempted negotiations with Mr. Merello of On Line Soft in September 2003. It does not indicate which party initiated the negotiations. It states “[Complainant] first considered a joint venture as an alternative to litigation. However, after a year of negotiations, On Line Soft refused to surrender its use of the term “computacion sin barreras”. As a result, [Complainant] severed negotiations with On Line Soft.”
The Declaration goes on to state that Complainant decided to commence direct negotiations with Respondent, resulting in Respondent’s demand for $100,000 and Complainant’s counteroffer of $20,000. The negotiations failed.
During the course of negotiations via e-mail, Respondent stated:
“Mi proyecto comenzó alláa por el año 1998, cuando registre en los EE.UU. como nombre de fantasía, Computación sin Barreras. Luego registre también la pagina Web, www.computacionsinbarreras.com y finalmente cuando decidí que mi proyecto lo llevaría adelante considerándolo de largo plazo, seguí todos los pasos necesarios y correspondientes para patentarlo como marca registrada en EE.UU. Puerto Rico y Argentina, lugares éstos, donde tengo relaciones comerciales. En los últimos 6 meses, sin proponérmelo, he recibibo propuestas similares a la vuestra y todas se frustraron, porque nadie quiso reconocerme participación por curso vendido. Resumiendo, lo que quizás ninguno pueda entender, es que luego de esperar por mas de seis años y estando a 90 ó 120 dias de poder comercializar un producto totalmente propio y siendo la marca que he registrado, lo único que me asegurará mis primeras ventas, que la propuesta para ceder todos estos derechos en forma definitiva, sin ningún tipo de participación y así desistir de mis proyectos en estos tres países, debe ser mucho mas tentadora que las hasta ahora recibidas.” [underlines not shown]
Complainant has translated this passage as follows: “My project started in 1998 when I registered in the US, as a fantasy name ‘Computacion sin Barreras’. After that I registered the webpage www.computacionsinbarreras.com and finally when I finally decided to push my project forward I did all the steps necessary to register the marc [sic] in the US, Argentina and Puerto Rico, in these places I have commercial relations. In the last 6 months, without even having the intention, I have received similar offers to yours, but they have all been frustrated because nobody wanted to recognize any royalties. In summary, what nobody understands is that after waiting for more than six years and being 90 to 120 days from promoting a product that is totally mine, and because the mark I have registered is the only factor that will make my first sales possible, is that the prospect of giving up these rights definitively, without any royalties, and giving up my projects in three countries needs an offer more tempting than the ones I have received.”
Respondent has used a web page design which is headed with the banner “Bienvenidos al mundo de www.computacionsinbarreras.com, ‘La manera más fácil de aprender computacion’“, which may be translated as “Welcome to the world of www.computacionsinbarreras.com, ‘The easiest way to learn computing”. Complaint, Exhibit K. (Translation by Panel)
Complainant’s home page is headed “Ingles sin Barreras, Video-Maestro de Ingles Conversacional”, which may be translated as “English without Barriers, Video Instructor for Conversational English”. Id., Exhibit M. (Translation by Panel)
The background for each Complainant’s and Respondent’s home page is blue and white, and each include black and yellow lettering and design.
The Registration Agreement in effect between Respondent and InnerWise, Inc. d/b/a ItsYourDomain.com subjects Respondent to dispute settlement under the Policy. The Policy requires that domain name registrants submit to a mandatory Administrative Proceeding conducted by an approved dispute resolution service provider, of which the Center is one, regarding allegations of abusive domain name registration and use (Policy, paragraph 4(a)).
5. Parties’ Contentions
Complainant asserts rights in the trademark and service mark INGLES SIN BARRERAS based on use in commerce and evidenced by registration at the USPTO. Such rights are based on use commencing as early as May 13, 1988. Complainant asserts common law trademark and service mark rights in CARRERAS SIN BARRERAS, CREDITO SIN BARRERAS, SALUD SIN BARRERAS and VIVA SIN BARRERAS. Complainant refers to these collectively as its SIN BARRERAS family of marks. Complainant asserts rights in the trademark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS as evidenced by registration in 2006.
Complainant alleges that the disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com> is confusingly similar to INGLES SIN BARRERAS, to its SIN BARRERAS family of marks, and is identical and confusingly similar to its COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark. Complainant argues that SIN BARRERAS is the distinctive part of its family of trademarks. It asserts that Respondent registered the disputed domain name more than 13 years after Complainant’s application for federal registration of INGLES SIN BARRERAS, and more than 15 years after its first use of that mark, to take advantage of the distinctive SIN BARRERAS part of the mark.
Complainant asserts that INGLES SIN BARRERAS is a famous mark, well-known throughout the United States and other countries among the relevant public. Complainant alleges that by adding the descriptive prefix “Computacion” to its distinctive SIN BARRERAS suffix, Respondent has sought to take unfair advantage of its mark(s).
Complainant argues that “Based upon the strength of the INGLES SIN BARRERAS Famous Mark” and superior rights it was successful at the USPTO in obtaining cancellation of Respondent’s registration of COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS as a mark.
Complainant argues that Respondent’s web site is nearly identical to Complainant’s primary web site, supporting its contention that Respondent registered the disputed domain name to deliberately take advantage of consumer confusion with Complainant’s family of marks.
Complainant indicates that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. It states that it has not authorized Respondent to use its famous mark(s), and that Respondent was not commonly known as Computacion sin Barreras. Complainant asserts that Respondent’s loss of its US trademark registration is “a further example of its lack of legitimate rights” in the disputed domain name. Complainant alleges that Respondent has not engaged in legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the disputed domain name. Finally, Complainant argues that Respondent has not made a bona fide offer of goods or services “because Respondent is not selling authorized goods or services, but rather is using Complainant’s trademark to create a false impression of affiliation between itself and Complainant …”
Complainant alleges that Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith. Complainant argues that Respondent intentionally copied the overall look and feel of Complainant’s web site to trade off Complainant’s goodwill. Complainant further argues that Respondent intentionally registered and used the disputed domain name to attract Internet users to Respondent’s web site by creating the false impression that users had reached and were purchasing courses related to Complainant’s courses. Complainant states that the famous character of its mark indicates that Respondent sought an increased likelihood of consumer confusion.
Complainant requests the Panel to direct the Registrar to transfer the disputed domain name to it.
Respondent argues that it has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.
Respondent asserts that it began using the identifier “Computacion Sin Barreras” when it registered this as a fantasy name in Florida in 1998. Respondent indicates that it has registered the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark in Puerto Rico and Argentina, and has used that mark in Puerto Rico and Argentina. It argues that it consequently has rights in the trademark and the disputed domain name.
Respondent contends that it did not have notice of the USPTO proceeding to cancel its registration of the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark.
Respondent states that it developed an educational package of interactive software which it proposed in mid-2001 to offer for sale in the United States under the computacion sin barreras name, although its initial project was not successful. It argues that through On Line Soft it entered into negotiations in early 2004 with Complainant with a view towards cooperative marketing of its computer course under the Computacion Sin Barreras name.
Respondent alleges that a degree of similarity of between its web site and Complainant’s web site derives from the fact that it was negotiating with and expected to be a business partner of Complainant. It suggests that it initially designed its web site in light of this prospect, and not to take advantage of potential consumer confusion.
Respondent indicates that its offer to sell its rights in the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark and the disputed domain name were good faith business proposals, and do not reflect bad faith.
Respondent asks the Panel to reject Complainant’s request for transfer of the disputed domain name.
6. Discussion and Findings
The Policy is addressed to resolving disputes concerning allegations of abusive domain name registration and use. The Panel will confine itself to making determinations necessary to resolve this Administrative Proceeding.
It is essential to dispute resolution proceedings that fundamental due process requirements be met. Such requirements include that a respondent have notice of proceedings that may substantially affect its rights. The Policy and the Rules establish procedures intended to ensure that respondents are given adequate notice of proceedings commenced against them, and a reasonable opportunity to respond (see, e.g., Rules, paragraph 2(a)).
Complainant and Respondent have each filed initial and supplemental submissions. The Panel is satisfied that Respondent was given adequate notice of these proceedings.
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy sets forth three elements that must be established by a complainant to merit a finding that a respondent has engaged in abusive domain name registration and use, and to obtain relief. These elements are that:
(i) respondent’s domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights; and
(ii) respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(iii) respondent’s domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
Each of the aforesaid three elements must be proved by a complainant to warrant relief.
A. Identical or Confusingly Similar
Complainant has rights in the trademark and service mark INGLES SIN BARRERAS based on evidence of use in commerce and registration at the USPTO. The INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark was registered in 1990, claiming first use in commerce in 1988. Complainant’s rights in the INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark date from at least as early as 1990.4
Complainant has submitted evidence that INGLES SIN BARRERAS is a well-known or famous mark in the United States and other countries. The evidence presented by Complainant includes a reference to its advertising budget and market-leading status in a news report, a reference to its market-leading status as a direct marketer by one of its investors, and a Declaration by its Associate Counsel with regard to the contents of a market survey commissioned by Complainant. Although the indirect nature of this evidence is less than ideal, Complainant’s assertion that Ingles Sin Barreras is a well-known or famous mark among the Hispanic community in the United States has not been challenged by Respondent. For purposes of this proceeding, the Panel accepts that the INGLES SIN BARRERAS trademark and service mark is well known among the Hispanic community in the United States, including Puerto Rico.
Complainant has not indicated the date at which it claims its INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark first became well-known. The news report regarding its high-volume of advertising refers to spending in 2004. The “Bain Study” which is referred to in a declaration is said to have been commissioned in 2002, although it does not state when the study was completed. The study is said to show that 95% of Hispanic households in the United States recognize the INGLES SIN BARRERAS brand. From this, it is reasonably conceivable that the INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark was well-known in the United States by 2002.
Complainant has not submitted evidence from which the Panel may conclude that the INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark is well-known in Argentina. There is no evidence of trademark registration by Complainant in Argentina or any other country in Latin America. There is no evidence of advertising or promotion by Complainant in Argentina. There is no evidence of consumer recognition of Complainant’s mark in Argentina. The Panel concludes that Complainant has failed to establish that the INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark is well-known outside the United States, and particularly in Argentina.5
Complainant has rights in the trademark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS based on evidence of registration at the USPTO. That registration was granted on April 11, 2006.6 Registration at the USPTO establishes a presumption of rights in a trademark. That presumption arises upon registration. For purposes of this proceeding the Panel assumes that from April 11, 2006, Complainant has rights in the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark.
Respondent asserts that Complainant was able to obtain cancellation of Respondent’s previous registration of COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS at the USPTO because Respondent did not receive notice of the proceeding against it. It is not, however, for this Panel to remedy an alleged defect in notification of the cancellation proceeding (which by Respondent’s own evidence occurred because of its falling out with a business partner). Respondent has not presented clear and convincing evidence in this proceeding that it has rights in the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark in the United States (for example, based on prior use in commerce) that might lead the Panel to consider the presumption of Complainant’s rights in that mark rebutted.
Complainant further asserts common law trademark rights in CARRERAS SIN BARRERAS, CREDITO SIN BARRERAS, SALUD SIN BARRERAS and VIVA SIN BARRERAS. It has done so apparently in order to support its claim of rights in a “SIN BARRERAS family” of marks. However, Complainant has submitted no evidence of actual use in commerce of these alleged common law marks, or even third party references to use of these marks in commerce. The Panel does not have an adequate evidentiary basis for determining that Complainant has common law rights in CARRERAS SIN BARRERAS, CREDITO SIN BARRERAS, SALUD SIN BARRERAS and VIVA SIN BARRARAS. It rejects Complainant’s assertion of rights in those marks in the present proceedings.7
Complainant has established that it has rights in one well-known trademark and service mark, INGLES SIN BARRERAS, and that this mark was well-known in the United States at least by 2002. Complainant has established that it has rights in the trademark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS, and that these rights arose as of April 11, 2006.
Complainant’s COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark
The disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com> is identical for purposes of the Policy to Complainant’s COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark registered in the United States. Therefore, Complainant has satisfied the first element of the Policy with respect to the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark. That is, the disputed domain name is identical to a trademark in which Complainant has rights. However, the conflict between the disputed domain name and Complainant’s COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark in the United States arose only as of April 11, 2006. ’’
Complainant’s INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark
Complainant asserts that the disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com> is confusingly similar to its famous INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark.
“Ingles” is a generic term referring in Spanish to the English language.8 “Sin barreras” in Spanish means “without barriers” in English. The phrase “ingles sin barreras” appears descriptive of a Spanish-language based instruction course teaching the English language.
The United States
Complainant has demonstrated that the phrase INGLES SIN BARRERAS has acquired secondary meaning and is associated by a large segment of the Hispanic community in the United States with Complainant’s products and services. Complainant’s INGLES SIN BARRERAS is well known among the relevant market in the United States.
Complainant asserts that the suffix “sin barreras” is the distinctive element of its trademark, and that the relevant consumer community will associate other product identifiers in combination with this suffix as originating with Complainant. Thus, consumers will assume that “Computacion Sin Barreras” is a product that originates with Complainant because the common descriptive term “Computacion” is combined with Complainant’s distinctive suffix, “sin barreras”.
Confusing similarity between two identifiers is principally assessed based on visual impression, sound and meaning. Other factors, such as the degree of similarity between the goods or services on which the identifiers are used, are taken into account. With respect to the INGLES SIN BARRERAS trademark and the <computacionsinbarreras.com> domain name, two of three terms are identical. There is a substantial degree of similarity between the terms taken in their entirety. The sound of the two identical terms is the same, and the meaning of the two identical terms taken in context is the same. In the descriptive sense, “Ingles Sin Barreras” and “Computacion Sin Barreras” share a substantial common meaning of an instructional experience that can be undertaken without difficulty.
In light of the fact that Complainant has widely advertised its product Ingles Sin Barreras as a course of instruction in the United States, it would be reasonable for consumers in the United States to assume that “Computacion Sin Barreras” is a course of instruction on another subject matter, also originating with Complainant.
The well-known character of Complainant’s INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark is important to this determination. Hispanic consumers in the United States are familiar with television advertisement for Complainant’s product. They are likely to assume that another course of instruction product using the suffix “sin barreras” originates with the holder of the INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark.
Analysis of confusing similarity between the trademark INGLES SIN BARRERAS and the disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com> is different with respect to Argentina.
From a descriptive and semantic standpoint, use of the term “Sin Barreras” or “Without Barriers” in connection with a course of instruction is not distinctive until the suffix acquires secondary meaning. There is no evidence on the record of this proceeding that Complainant has advertised its INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark on television in Argentina, as it has in the United States. There is no evidence regarding consumer recognition of the mark in Argentina. As a consequence, there is no evidence that Internet users in Argentina would assume that a product using the “sin barreras” suffix originates or is associated with Complainant.
Based on the evidence submitted in this proceeding, from the standpoint of Internet users in Argentina, the disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com> would not be associated with Complainant and its products.
Conclusion regarding Complainant’s INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark
The Panel determines that the disputed domain name <computacionsinbarreras.com> is confusingly similar to Complainant’s INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark in so far as the United States is concerned. From the standpoint of the Policy, Complainant satisfies the first element of the Policy with respect to the INGLES SIN BARRERAS mark since there is no requirement that confusing similarity between a complainant’s trademark and a disputed domain name transcend national borders. The Panel observes that Complainant has not demonstrated that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to a mark in which it hold rights in Argentina, and this is relevant to the issue of Respondent’s rights or legitimate interests.
B. Rights or Legitimate Interests
The second element of a claim of abusive domain name registration and use is that the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name (Policy, paragraph 4(a)(ii)). The Policy enumerates several ways in which a respondent may demonstrate rights or legitimate interests:
“Any of the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented, shall demonstrate your rights or legitimate interests to the domain name for purposes of paragraph 4(a)(ii):
(i) before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or
(ii) you (as an individual, business, or other organization) have been commonly known by the domain name, even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or
(iii) you are making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.” (Policy, paragraph 4(c)).
Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy does not expressly limit a respondent with respect to the national jurisdiction in which it may establish rights or legitimate interests in a disputed domain name. Two independent parties may hold trademark rights in different national jurisdictions and each may, on that basis, be able to demonstrate rights or legitimate interests under the Policy in the same domain name. Nonetheless, in some administrative proceedings, panels have ignored registrations of trademarks that were determined to have been undertaken solely or predominantly for purposes of avoiding an adverse finding under the Policy (See, e.g., Madonna Ciccone, p/k/a Madonna v. Dan Parisi and “Madonna.com”, WIPO Case No. D2000-0847). Whether acquisition of trademark rights was undertaken in good faith, or as a bad faith artifice to unfairly take advantage of a trademark holder in another jurisdiction, will depend upon the specific context of the proceeding.
In this proceeding, Respondent’s activities with respect to Complainant’s trademark in the United States do not establish rights or legitimate interests. However, Respondent has made a prima facie case that its activities in Argentina establish rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and Complainant has not rebutted that presumption.
Commonly Known by the Name
The United States
With respect to the United States, Respondent’s first argument, in effect, is that it was commonly known by the domain name when it registered and began to use it.
Respondent’s first claims use of the term “Computacion Sin Barreras” in connection with registration in 1998 of that term as a fictitious business name in the State of Florida. However, while such registration may support Respondent’s claim that it intended to use the term “Computacion Sin Barreras” in business, it is not evidence of actual use in business of that name. This registration does not establish that Respondent was commonly known as “Computacion Sin Barreras” (or <computacionsinbarreras.com>) in 1998.9
Respondent registered COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS as a trademark in Puerto Rico in 2001, claiming first use of January 5, 2000. Neither Respondent nor Complainant has submitted detailed legal argument concerning the significance for this proceeding of Respondent’s trademark registration in Puerto Rico. 10 However, it appears that trademark registration in Puerto Rico has essentially the same significance as registration of trademarks in states of the United States.11 Federal registration of Complainant’s COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark establishes a presumption of exclusive rights throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico. A third party may establish that it is a senior user and rebut the presumption of exclusive rights at least as to some geographic locations. Respondent has submitted some evidence of sales of a computer program under the name “Computacion Sin Barreras” in Puerto Rico from April 2002 to March 2003. The Panel does not consider evidence of the few sales for which invoices were provided is sufficient to establish that Respondent was in fact the senior user of the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark, particularly since Complainant was able to cancel Respondent’s US federal registration of that trademark. Nor does that limited evidence of sales demonstrate that Respondent was “commonly known” by the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark or the disputed domain name in early 2003.
The evidence in this proceeding establishes that the disputed domain name was registered by Respondent on November 6, 2003.
According to Respondent’s statements, it developed the web site on which it has offered to sell a software program under the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark while it was negotiating with Complainant in 2004. It was not known by the disputed domain name on the basis of Internet sales in the United States prior to that time.
From the standpoint of the United States, Respondent was not commonly known by the disputed domain name when it registered and began to use it in a manner which conflicted with Complainant’s rights in its US trademark.
Respondent has registered the trademark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS in Argentina. Registration was granted in February 2006, based on Respondent’s application in May 2004.12 There is no evidence in this proceeding that Complainant has challenged Respondent’s trademark registration in Argentina, if it was aware of it, and Complainant has not submitted any legal arguments to the Panel regarding that registration.
Respondent registered the disputed domain name in November 2003. It has operated a commercial web site identified by that domain name, using the term “Computacion Sin Barreras” in connection with the offering of products. There is no evidence on the record of this proceeding of actual sales of Respondent’s course of computer instruction in Argentina.13 However, Respondent’s web site may be viewed in Argentina under the domain name, and the trademark is being used there in connection with an offering of goods. Countries maintain different standards with respect to what constitutes use of a trademark for purposes of securing and maintaining valid registration. While the matter has not been addressed by either party, Argentina may allow use of a mark as a trade name to satisfy its use requirement.14 Without expressing an opinion on that specific question, absent some definitive evidence that Argentina would treat Respondent’s trademark as invalid notwithstanding its recent registration, the Panel determines that Respondent holds trademark rights in Argentina with respect to the mark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS.
Respondent is the holder of the trademark registration for the mark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS in Argentina, and; Respondent is using the disputed domain name to offer products for sale under that trademark in Argentina. Unless some exceptional factors are present, this should establish that Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name in so far as Argentina is concerned.
The Panel must consider whether Respondent’s activities with respect to Argentina are a “sham” undertaken as a pretext to take advantage of Complainant’s trademark rights in the United States.
On one hand, Respondent’s family enterprise includes at least one national of Argentina, Jose de Giorgio, who resides in that country. He has registered the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark in the country of his nationality and residence. The evidence indicates that he is the (or an) author of the computer course of instruction offered under the disputed domain name. Through April 2004, correspondence between Complainant and Respondent was friendly, by all appearances, and would not seem to imply that Respondent should be worried about the validity of its US-registered trademark. Respondent was the holder of trademark registration at the USPTO for the mark COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS. Complainant did not initiate its USPTO cancellation proceeding until June 2004, while Respondent applied to register its trademark in Argentina in May 2004.
On the other hand, Respondent negotiated with Complainant in the United States regarding its US trademark registration and the disputed domain name through April 2004. Those negotiations appear to have finally terminated in mid-May 2004, when Complainant rejected Respondent’s counteroffer. Thus, Respondent was preparing its application for registration of the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark in Argentina at precisely the same time it was attempting to obtain a substantial payment from Complainant for its domain name and trademark in the United States. Respondent might have had some concern about whether it would be able to maintain its rights in the domain name based on the US trademark registration.
The evidence does not permit a conclusive determination regarding Respondent’s motives for registering the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark in Argentina. There is some indication that Respondent was seeking a mechanism to protect its US-related interests in the disputed domain name. Yet, in the absence of more conclusive evidence, the Panel is unwilling to determine that Respondent’s activities in Argentina were exclusively or predominantly designed to take unfair advantage of Complainant with respect to the disputed domain name by establishing “sham” trademark rights in Argentina.15 Complainant has not carried its burden of proving that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name with respect to Argentina.
It is essential to point out that Respondent may not have rights to sell its computer program under the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark in the United States. Complainant may be able to sue Respondent for infringement of Complainant’s trademark in the United States, and it might be able to recover monetary damages. Without prejudice to any options the Complainant may have in Argentina in relation to the Respondent’s mark, that does not mean that Respondent’s activities in Argentina are infringing Complainant’s rights for the purpose of a determination under the Policy.
The Panel determines that Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name because it has a trademark rights in that name in Argentina and it is doing business in Argentina under that name.
Use in Bona Fide Offering Prior to Notice
Respondent has also argued that it made preparations to use and use of the disputed domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods prior to notice of a dispute with Complainant.
The United States
The question when a dispute arose in this proceeding is difficult to answer. On one hand, the Panel has determined that Complainant’s INGLES SIN BARRERAS trademark was well-known in the United States at the time Respondent registered the disputed domain name in November 2003. When a party registers a domain name which is confusingly similar to a well-known trademark it is effectively on notice that this registration will be disputed by the trademark holder.
In this case, in late 2003 or early 2004, Complainant commenced negotiations with Respondent regarding first, a potential joint venture, and second, acquisition of the disputed domain name and trademark rights. The e-mail record of correspondence between the parties gives no indication of a “dispute” concerning Respondent’s entitlement to the disputed domain name. Only when negotiations had failed at the end of April 2004 did Complainant initiate a “dispute”. Specifically, Complainant on June 19, 2004, filed with the USPTO a petition for cancellation of Respondent’s registration of the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark.16
As a practical matter, from the standpoint of the United States, the precise point at which the dispute arose is not material. Because the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s well-known mark in the United States, Respondent’s preparations and offers to sell a computer program in the United States under that trademark are not bona fide.
Respondent registered the disputed domain name in November 2003. Complainant provided notice of a dispute with respect to trademark rights in the United States in June 2004. It did not expressly provide notice of a dispute with respect to trademark rights in Argentina prior to initiation of this dispute. However, trademark registration was not granted to Respondent in Argentina until March 2006.
Complainant sent a cease and desist demand to Respondent with respect to the disputed domain name in September 2005. This constitutes notice of a dispute for purposes of Argentina as well as the United States.
Respondent created a computer program, established a website and offered the computer program for sale in Argentina (over the Internet) prior to September 2005. Complainant has not established that it has trademark rights in the mark INGLES SIN BARRERAS in Argentina or that its product is well-known in Argentina. The analysis regarding the bona fide nature of Respondent’s offer for sale of products for Argentina is different than analysis for the United States. In respect to Argentina, Respondent appears not to have been seeking to take advantage of Complainant’s mark. There is no evidence that Complainant has trademark rights in Argentina. From this standpoint, Respondent made a bona fide offering of goods under the disputed domain name in Argentina prior to notice of the dispute with Complainant. This also establishes rights or legitimate interests in favor of Respondent, absent some exceptional circumstance.
There is no conclusive evidence that Respondent’s activities with respect to the offering of products for sale in Argentina is undertaken merely to take advantage of Complainant’s trademark in the United States. Again, Respondent may gain from sales in the United States based on the strength of Complainant’s trademark, but if Respondent’s Argentinean trademark rights are valid, such gains alone do not make Respondent’s offers or sales in Argentina illegitimate. Complainant may have a cause of action in the United States against Respondent for trademark infringement, but this is another matter.
Conclusion regarding Rights or Legitimate Interest
On the record of this case, the Panel determines that Respondent has rights or legitimate interest in the disputed domain name based on its registered trademark in Argentina and its offering for sale of products under that trademark (and the disputed domain name) in Argentina.
C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith
As the Panel has found that the Respondent has rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, it is not strictly necessary to consider the third element of the Policy. However in view of the jurisdictional elements involved, the Panel notes the following:
The Policy indicates that certain circumstances may, “in particular but without limitation”, be evidence of bad faith (Policy, paragraph 4(b)). Among these circumstances are that the domain name has been registered or acquired by a respondent “primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of [respondent’s] documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name” (Id., paragraph 4(b)(i)), and that a respondent “by using the domain name, … [has] intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to [its] web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of [respondent’s] web site or location of a product or service on [its] web site or location” (id., paragraph 4(b)(iv)).
Although both Complainant and Respondent describe negotiations with respect to the potential purchase by Complainant of the disputed domain name, and Respondent initially provided e-mail correspondence regarding those negotiations, Complainant does not in its Complaint invoke those negotiations as evidence of bad faith on the part of Respondent. The Panel therefore will not pursue this potential ground of bad faith.
The United States
Respondent offers a course of computer instruction on a commercial web site at the Internet address identified by the disputed domain name. The Panel has found the disputed domain name to be confusingly similar to Complainant’s well-known trademark and service mark in the United States. The disputed domain name is also used as the principal identifier of Respondent’s business on its home page. The color schemes of Respondent’s and Complainant’s home pages are substantially similar. Both have blue and white backgrounds with yellow and black lettering. There is no disclaimer of affiliation with Complainant on Respondent’s home page.
Respondent has explained that the similarity between its web site and Complainant’s derives from the fact that Respondent (in connection with its On Line Soft venture) was negotiating with Complainant toward a joint business venture. While this may provide the basis for the original design, it would not explain why Respondent had not modified its web site two years following those negotiations.
The use by Respondent of the disputed domain name, which is confusingly similar to Complainant’s well-known trademark, in connection with a substantially similar web site design indicates that Respondent registered and used the disputed domain name to intentionally attract Internet users for commercial gain to its web site by creating confusion regarding Complainant as a source, sponsor or affiliate of Respondent’s web site.
Because Complainant has not demonstrated trademark rights in Argentina, and has not demonstrated that its product is well-known in Argentina, the Panel would not conclude that Respondent has acted in bad faith with respect to Internet users in Argentina. Respondent has not attempted to intentionally confuse Internet users in Argentina by suggesting an association with Complainant and its products.
Conclusion with regard to Bad Faith
Respondent has acted in bad faith with respect to Complainant’s trademark rights in the United States, but it has not acted in bad faith in respect to Argentina.
The Panel has determined that Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Complainant did not succeed in establishing the second element of proof necessary under the Policy. The Panel need not determine the legal consequences of its findings under third element.
For all the foregoing reasons, the Complaint is denied.
Frederick M. Abbott
Date: September 15, 2006
1 In light of the early filing of the Spanish-language Response, the Panel accepts the English-language translation filed with minor delay.
2 Luis Clemens, Marketers Tap Infomercials in Search of Immediate ROI, Marketing y Medios, June 1, 2005, ”www.marketingymedios.com”. The excerpt from this article provided by Complainant does not specify the precise geographic location where the advertising is directed. That is, it is not clear whether the advertising is directed solely to the US Hispanic market, or whether it is also directed to the Hispanic market in other countries.
3 Respondent has referred to this registration as a “fantasy name” and “nombre de fantasia”. However, the certificate of registration it provided in response to Administrative Order No. 1 indicates this was a fictitious business name registration.
4 For purposes of this proceeding, a determination regarding Complainant’s asserted date of first use prior to registration is not necessary.
5 The Panel makes determinations based on evidence submitted to it. The Panel does not suggest or determine that Complainant in another legal proceeding may not be able to prove that its mark is well known outside the United States, including in Argentina. The Panel only determines that Complainant has not demonstrated that here.
6 Complainant’s trademark application claimed data first use of November 2005. Complainant has not submitted any evidence in this proceeding of use of the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS mark in commerce.
7 Once again, the Panel is not making a determination that Complainant could not possibly establish common law trademark rights in these terms, but only that it is not done so here.
8 Apparently, at least as of 1998 (see USPTO reg. no. 2,205,186), the USPTO did not require disclaimer of exclusive use of a generic Spanish-language term. Note, however, that in 2006 the USPTO required disclaimer of “COMPUTACION” (see USPTO reg. no. 3,080,598).
9 See Florida Fictitious Name Act. Florida Statutes § 865.09. Such registration is required for individuals who conduct business under a name other than their own to establish a record of their true identity. This, inter alia, protects creditors and consumers.
10 Trademark registration in Puerto Rico may be undertaken prior to use of the mark in commerce. According to the web site of the Puerto Rico Department of State of the Secretary of State:
“¿Se puede registrar una marca que no ha sido utilizada en el comercio? Sí. La Ley 63 Núm del 14 de agosto de 1991, Ley de Marcas de Puerto Rico permite el solicitar la inscripción de una marca que no haya sido utilizada en el comercio. En estos casos el titular tendrá cinco (5) años desde su registro para comenzar el uso y enviar evidencia demostrativa de dicho uso al Registro.’
“Can a trademark be registered if it is not been used in commerce? Yes, Law no. 63 of 14 August 1991, Trademark Law of Puerto Rico, permits application for the registration of a mark that has not been utilized in commerce. In these cases the applicant has five years from its registration to begin using and to provide evidence of that use to the registrar.” (Translation by the Panel) http://estado.gobierno.pr/Marcas.htm.
However, Respondent's trademark application in Puerto Rico claims actual use in 2000.
11 See Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition, CD-ROM Version, July 2006, at §22:11.
12 According to the documentary evidence submitted, Respondent took steps to register the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark in Argentina before the November 2003 date of registration of the disputed domain name. According to Respondent’s pleading, the disputed domain name was registered in 1998, so that steps to register the trademark in Argentina were undertaken later than the registration.
13 The Panel in its Administrative Order No. 1, specifically requested from Respondent any evidence that it had sold products in Argentina under the COMPUTACION SIN BARRERAS trademark. Respondent did not provide any evidence of such sales.
14 See Martin A. Etcheverry, Argentine Trademark Law, Etcheverry & Etcheverry, “www.etcheverry.com/trademark.html”, excerpted from M. A. Etcheverry, Recent Developments of Industrial Property Rights in Argentina, 17 Cal. West’n Int’l L. J., 310 (1987).
15 It may be that Respondent is seeking some advantage in the United States based on confusing similarity between the disputed domain name and Complainant’s trademark registered in the United States. This alone does not make Respondent’s activities in Argentina illegitimate.
16 Although Respondent asserts that it did not receive actual notice of that action, because notice was sent to the address provided by Complainant to the USPTO, the Panel considers that Respondent had constructive notice of the dispute on that date. (Complainant sent a formal cease and desist demand to Respondent regarding the disputed domain name on September 27, 2005).",12792,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00084-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.905811667442322
1f6f4be4-94cd-46bc-b10a-ef0a5c646e0a,2018-08-20T08:49:56+00:00,2018-08-20,1,http://mg.ucanr.edu/Social/?blogpost=26934&blogasset=68102,"UC study seeks street trees that can cope with climate change
The changing climate predicted for California – including less rain and higher day and nighttime temperatures – is expected to cause chronic stress on many street tree species that have shaded and beautified urban areas for decades.
Realizing that popular trees may not thrive under the changing conditions, UC Cooperative Extension scientists are partnering with the U.S. Forest Service in an unprecedented 20-year research study to expand the palette of drought-adapted, climate-ready trees for several of the state's climate zones.
“The idea is to look at available but under-planted, drought-tolerant, structurally sound, pest resistant trees for Southern California that do well in even warmer climates,” said Janet Hartin, UCCE horticulture advisor in San Bernardino County.
Hartin, a 34-year veteran advisor, said the project is her first to stretch to 20 years; it will likely extend past her tenure with UCCE.
“I'd like to retire in five or six years,” she said. “But I'm very excited about being a pioneer in a study that will continue with my successors. I think it's important for our children and our children's children, as well as for the environment.”
At the end of 2019, with three years of data on tree health and growth rates, the scientists expect to be able to publish the first results and make them available to arborists, urban foresters and residents throughout the regions of the study.
Twelve tree species were selected for each climate zone in the comparative study, with several area parks used as control sites. Hartin and her Southern California research collaborators – UCCE advisors Darren Haver of Orange County and Jim Downer of Ventura County – worked closely with UC Davis plant biologist Alison Berry, UC Davis research associate Greg McPherson and USFS research urban ecologist Natalie van Doorn to select promising species.
They looked for trees that are already available at local nurseries, but are underutilized. The trees in the project exhibit drought tolerance and disease resistance, plus produce minimal litter. The researchers also sought trees that would provide ample cooling shade for a long time – ideally 50 years or longer.
The varieties come from areas around the world with climates similar to California. Two trees planted in replicated plots at the UC Riverside Citrus Field Station are native to Australia, two are native to Oklahoma and Texas, one is native to Asia and two are non-native crosses of other trees. Three of the trees are native to California: the netleaf hackberry, Catalina cherry and island oak.
“Trees are a long-term investment,” Hartin said. “A tree will live 50, 70, 90 years. The proper selection is very important to help ensure longevity.”
Making the long-term investment with the proper selection yields considerable returns. In a warming world, trees are natural air conditioners.
“Urban areas create heat islands, with dark asphalt surfaces reradiating heat. Cities can be 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the surrounding environment,” Hartin said.
Other tree benefits include soil health and stability, wildlife habitat and aesthetic beauty.
Following are a sampling of trees that are part of the comparative study:
Acacia – A 20-foot-tall, 20-foot wide evergreen that is drought resistant, and withstands moderate irrigation. Native of Australia.
Brazilian cedarwood – A native of Brazil and Paraguay, the deciduous tree grows to 50 to 65 feet. The tree produces pale yellow tubular flowers in the spring.
Catalina cherry – Native to the chaparral areas of coastal California, the Catalina cherry grows to 30 feet high. The evergreen tree tolerates drought when mature. It produces sweet purple-to-black edible fruit.
Chinese pistache – A deciduous tree with beautiful fall color. Grows to 35 feet tall, 30 feet wide. Drought resistant, but tolerates moist soil. Native to central and western China.
Desert willow – Growing to 30 feet tall and living 40 to 150 years, the desert willow tolerates highly alkaline soil and some salinity. A deciduous tree, it boasts large pink flowers all summer that attract hummingbirds and other wildlife. Native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.
Escarpment live oak – Native to west Texas, this tree is cold hardy and drought tolerant. Typically evergreen, it can be deciduous in colder climates.
Ghost gum – Very tall at maturity and drought tolerant. An Australia native.
Indian laurel – Commonly called a ficus, this is a 35-foot-tall, 35-foot-wide tree at maturity that is drought resistant and tolerates highly alkaline and saline soils. Shade potential is high. Native of Asia and Hawaii.
Ironwood – A southwestern and northern Mexico native, Ironwood is semi-drought resistant once mature and tolerates alkaline soil. Ironwood, which grows to about 33 feet tall, can live 50 to 150 years.
Island oak – This tree is native to five of six California off-shore islands. Drought tolerant, it grows to nearly 70 feet tall when mature.
Maverick mesquite – Native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, this tree does well in full sun and is drought resistant once established. The tree grows to 35 feet tall. The Maverick mesquite is a thornless variety.
Mulga – A versatile and hardy tree that grows 15 to 20 feet in height, the mulga – a Western Australia native – tolerates hot and dry conditions. The leaves are evergreen and the tree has yellow elongated fluffy flowers in spring.
Netleaf hackberry – A California native, the netleaf hackberry grows to 30 feet. Its deep root systems and heat resistance makes the tree idea for urban conditions.
Rosewood – Native to southern Iran, Indian rosewood grows to 65 feet tall, and 40 feet wide. Evergreen. Semi drought resistant and intolerant of alkaline soil.
Shoestring Acacia – Evergreen and 30 feet tall when mature, shoestring acacia is drought resistant and thrives in slightly acidic to highly alkaline soils. Native to Australia.
Tecate cypress – A native of Southern California and Mexico, the Tecate cypress is very drought tolerant. Its foliage is bright green. Young trees are pyramidal in shape, becoming more rounded or contorted with age.
Partners in the tree study are Los Angeles Beautification Team volunteers, LA Parks and Recreation team, Chino Basin Water Conservation District, and Mountain States Wholesale Nursery.
Funding and other support is provided by LA Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability, ISA Western Chapter, Britton Fund, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station, and the UC system.",1440,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216051.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820082010-20180820102010-00487.warc.gz,0.924498081207275
dc55e4d3-8ebb-4585-9c91-cdb1deff293f,2017-08-20T15:27:43+00:00,2007-06-01,0,http://cityinvincible.org/2007/06/first-zero-emission-home-unveiled-in-uk/,"Zero-emission Home | From BBC
The BBC reports, “The UK has unveiled the first zero-emission house that will set the environmental standard for all new homes in future.”
The “Lighthouse” features solar panels, a biomass boiler, and water efficiency devices such as rainwater harvesting. Also, its owners will be able to tell if they are wasting any energy through a “smart metering” system.
There’s no details about when the house will be built, how much it’ll cost, or what materials will be used for construction. So, really, it’s not the first zero-emission house until it’s built.",148,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00305.warc.gz,0.918153345584869
c062fca1-d6f4-42b5-8894-b8a49c7661f0,2022-05-22T11:41:51+00:00,2021-12-26,0,https://wikiproblem.com/index.php?title=How_To_Make_Money_While_You_Sleep&oldid=1525,"How To Make Money While You Sleep
Revision as of 18:01, 26 December 2021 by Wikiproblem
Invest in Real Estate
- Invest one time in real estate and earn regular money.
- You can earn from rental income and price appreciation income of your property.
- Buy stocks for better (low) price and sell at high price.
- You can generate regular money from stock dividends also you don't have do anything. Just buy stocks and hold it.
Create and Sell Digital Products
- Create one time Digital product and list it on e-commerce websites or wherever there is automatically sales will generate and you will get money from that.
- You can make money from these products and your own brand also built with these products.
- Create your own video channel and upload your created videos once.
- Apply for monetization and as soon as it gets approved your revenue will start for lifetime on those uploaded videos.
- You will sell products or services of others and from that you will get commission out of that.
- Generate something automate process so that sales can happen and you will get regular commission. For example: list affiliate products on your own blog, in your videos or online e-commerce websites etc.",266,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545326.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522094818-20220522124818-00223.warc.gz,0.940732598304748
ac59b353-e3bc-464a-a10b-b47397bba9d9,2018-08-21T13:27:40+00:00,2018-08-21,0,https://friends.mountpleasantgroup.com/en-CA/Locations/Cemeteries/Pine-Hills.aspx,"Pine Hills Cemetery
Back to Gallery
Pine Hills Cemetery
Serving Scarborough’s diverse community since 1928, Pine Hills is lush and serene, with more than 17,500 trees and shrubs such as white ash, maple, black cherry and elm. Massey Creek meanders through the property, complementing the numerous flowerbeds, birds and other wildlife.
Ground Burial Options
- Single graves that can accommodate up to two burial containers - caskets or cremation urns - and which permit a flat marker
- Single graves adjacent to a wall, on which an inscription can be placed
- Single graves adjacent to a Memorial Rail to which a bronze marker may be attached
- Single graves which permit an upright monument
- Larger lots of two or more graves that permits an upright monument
- A landscaped columbarium with bronze-fronted niches
- Cremation burial options, including curb urn spaces and arbor niches
- Urn spaces within several featured areas
- Scattering ashes in one of the memorial scattering areas, along the nature walk or within the herb and wildflower garden, where Canadian artist Gordon Becker’s three Douglas-fir “totems” hold small memorial plaques
- Placing ashes in a cremation ossuary
Crypt Entombment Options
Our elegant Mausoleum of the Risen Chris is a state-of-the-art facility located just inside the Kennedy Road gates. It offers single, companion and tandem crypts.
Pine Hills is also home to a stunning veterans’ section, the largest in Canada dedicated to Canadian and Allied veterans and their spouses. In recognition of veterans’ service to their country, the costs of interment rights in this section are reduced.
8:00-5:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday
We are closed on Sundays and public holidays.
|Daylight Saving to September 30th||8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.|
|October 1st to Eastern Standard Time||8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.|
|Eastern Standard Time to February 28th||8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.|
625 Birchmount Road
Scarborough, ON M1K 1R1",491,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218189.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821132121-20180821152121-00699.warc.gz,0.915796458721161
d28ad5de-c1e1-41d4-adc9-53ea9d6e55d0,2016-07-25T02:25:15+00:00,2013-03-31,1,http://delmarvapublicradio.net/term/arson?page=1,"Virginia State Police say those arson fires on the Eastern Shore are the work of several people not just one person.
They believe they are from Accomack County and are familiar with the lay of the land.
Police also say they have several leads but are keeping the information from the public
There have been 44 such blazes since last November.
WBOC reports that state police have stepped up patrols called in extra investigators and are working closely with local law enforcement.
All the structures that have been hit have not been occupied.",107,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824201.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00149-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.981726884841919
de2a58cb-3140-461b-b053-dbcf98b805a6,2013-05-24T08:45:09+00:00,2013-02-23,1,http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/rorted-457-visa-scheme-to-be-tightened-20130223-2ext2.html?skin=text-only,"Date: February 23 2013
The 457 visa scheme for temporary overseas workers will be overhauled to stop rorting of the system, with the federal government accusing some employers of discriminating against Australians.
Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor says the 457 visas will be tightened to ensure they are only used to address genuine skills shortages, and local workers are getting a ""fair go"".
Under the crackdown, employers will be required to demonstrate they are nominating a position where there is a genuine shortage of workers.
Mr O'Connor said compliance and enforcement powers would also be boosted to stop employers rorting the program, which he said had witnessed an increase in applications.
""We have seen too many examples of abuse across the nation,"" he told reporters in Melbourne.
""There are situations where Australian workers are being discriminated against because of the abuse of the program.
""We have seen situations where people's jobs have been `dressed up' to be so-called skilled jobs but in fact when they come here they are working in unskilled or semi-skilled areas.""
ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said there had been a explosion in using temporary foreign workers, despite the local job market being in decline.
He said the construction sector had declined by 68,000 jobs in the past 12 months while there had been a 38 per cent increase in 457 visas.
""It doesn't make sense. Local jobs are disappearing and yet there is a significant increase nationwide of the amount of 457 visas that are being granted,"" he told reporters in Melbourne.
""We've seen this for too long as a lazy option for employers.
""It's just a matter of a tick-and-flick form where they can bring workers from overseas, as opposed to investing in their own workforce by employing apprentices and providing training for their workers.""
The 457 visa changes also have the support of the Migration Council Australia, which says they ""strike the right balance"".
This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.
[ SMH | Text-only index]",423,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970416009426117
24ca3ef5-ff7a-4eb0-b1ff-415e8a25efe9,2018-08-18T08:19:35+00:00,2018-08-18,0,http://wmhookupwucg.boardingschooltrauma.info/angora-women.html,"Angora hats showing 20 of 20 results that match your query search product result product - women's san diego hat company knit bucket hat knh3436 product image price $ 29 95 product title women's san diego hat company knit bucket hat knh3436 product - angora knit newsboy hat with beaded flower product image price $ 16 49 product title angora. Angora's best 100% free online dating site meet loads of available single women in angora with mingle2's angora dating services find a girlfriend or lover in angora, or just have fun flirting online with angora single girls mingle2 is full of hot angora girls waiting to hear from you sign up now. Looking for the perfect women angora sweater you can stop your search and come to etsy, the marketplace where sellers around the world express their creativity through handmade and vintage goods with etsy, buyers like you can find hundreds or thousands of unique, affordable women angora sweater let’s get started.
2018 online shopping for popular & hot angora hats women from women's clothing & accessories, skullies & beanies, berets, men's clothing & accessories and more related angora hats women like woollen hats women, knited hats women, knited women hat, women knited hat discover over 84 of the best selection angora hats women on aliexpresscom. 200 matches ($800 - $18000) find great deals on the latest styles of sweater angora rabbit compare prices & save money on women's sweaters. Angora sweater - 204 results from brands zen, rebecca taylor, philipp plein, products like women's new balance wt73526 essentials pullover hoodie - angora long sleeve shirts, billabong women's blush liv forever sweater, intarsia-knit angora-blend sweater - white - roberto cavalli knitwear.
Angora womens clothing with free shipping & exchanges, and a 100% price guarantee choose from a huge selection of angora womens clothing styles. 200 matches ($2346 - $22750) find great deals on the latest styles of angora mohair sweater compare prices & save money on women's sweaters.
Hundreds of new and preowned sweaters for sale, with thousands of pictures of soft and fuzzy angora, mohair, alpaca, icelandic wool men's and women's sweaters including vintage and retro find this pin and more on angora by thalydiande. 39 colors angora crop sweater, wool sweater, angora sweater women, exclusive knitwear, winter sweater, gray sweater, pink angora sweater. Find angora and merino from a vast selection of women's clothing and sweaters get great deals on ebay.
Angora wool is commonly used in apparel such as sweaters and suitings, knitting yarn, and felting see also ed wood, a filmmaker known for his love of angora wool, to the extent of wearing it and featuring it prominently in his own films. Product features spun yarn angora you can wear it as a high neck sweater or fold it. Find angora sweaters women at shopstyle shop the latest collection of angora sweaters women from the most popular stores - all in one place. Shop for angora sweater at nordstromcom free shipping free returns all the time.
Although the heyday of angora sweaters has long since passed, women who love soft and fuzzy clothing can still find new items in this plush material, as. Women korean style autumn and winter thicken loose long hair fluffy angora rabbit fur long-sleeeves pullover sweater cashmere sweater tc-006. Find angora womens sweater at shopstyle shop the latest collection of angora womens sweater from the most popular stores - all in one place.
Find fluffy angora from a vast selection of women's clothing get great deals on ebay. Angora women sweater, wholesale various high quality angora women sweater products from global angora women sweater suppliers and angora women sweater factory,importer,exporter at alibabacom.
Shop from the world's largest selection and best deals for women's angora sweaters shop with confidence on ebay. 2018 online shopping for popular & hot angora sweaters women from women's clothing & accessories, pullovers, cardigans, vests and more related angora sweaters women like cashmer sweaters women, cashmer women sweaters, ladies angora sweaters, women woollen sweaters discover over 180 of the best selection angora sweaters women on aliexpresscom. Shop for womens angora sweater at nordstromcom free shipping free returns all the time.",970,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213508.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818075745-20180818095745-00484.warc.gz,0.879800081253052
6a70ee54-ed7c-4e11-9e44-c9eed3c36955,2019-08-25T16:56:53+00:00,2017-01-12,1,https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cyprus-talks-best-chance-to-end-split-5kkjjbx6c,"A historic deal to reunify Cyprus is “difficult but not impossible”, the United Nations said as leaders from both sides of the island set about trying to reach an agreement that has eluded peacemakers for four decades.
Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot president, and Mustafa Akinci, the Turkish Cypriot leader, met yesterday in Geneva after 18 months of preparations for what has been called “the best and last chance” for a settlement.
Cyprus, which gained independence from Britain in 1960, has been divided since 1974 when Turkey sent in troops after a coup that had aimed to unite the island with Greece. It has remained divided along ethnic lines ever since with a UN peacekeeping force in a buffer zone.
After initial talks have been…",165,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00044.warc.gz,0.971542656421661
0d28881c-e7cb-41e6-a8fa-7539fe086a4e,2018-08-15T22:26:05+00:00,2018-08-15,0,https://wellbeing-support.com/one-drink-of-alcohol-day/,"There’s a lot of information out there regarding whether alcohol is good for you or not. A lot of this information seems to leave you sitting on the fence wondering if there really is a health benefit. Today, there’s enough credible sources of information where we can say that there are real benefits on the consumption of alcohol. However, the key is strict and disciplined moderation. Moderation, moderation, moderation.
The problem with alcohol is it’s a super slippery slope into excess consumption and addiction. Alcohol limits our inhibitions and decision making skills, which makes it a lot easier to get used to “Ah, what the heck, I’ll have another!” Before you know it, you’re addicted and doing more harm than good.
With this article, I wanted to write about how exactly alcohol can help you if you are disciplined and drink it in moderation.
It Can Protect Your Heart
The clearest benefit that researchers have found is the fact that it can contribute to your hearts health. Reducing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart disease while increasing the possibility of surviving a stroke or heart attack have all been identified as key benefits. Why? Well, alcohol raises levels of HDL, which is your good cholesterol that fights to remove bad cholesterol from your blood stream. Bad cholesterol in your blood stream can contribute to plaque and build up on the walls of your arteries, making it difficult for your heart to do its job. This also prevents your arteries from hardening and will make them a lot stronger. Having these important passageways clear are absolutely vital to your hearts health.
Does it matter if it’s beer or wine? Well, not really. Alcohol will do its job no matter what form it comes in. However, the extra calories from whatever drink you choose can do its own damage. So, choose wisely.
Increase Your Memory, Prevent Alzheimer’s & Dementia
This benefit hasn’t absolutely been clear or explained. However, there are some strong indications that it can help improve your memory. Why? Well, alcohol also helps to reduce inflammation in your body. Inflammation in the brain is one of the key components of dementia or forming Alzheimer’s. If alcohol enters your blood stream and works its way to your brain (again, at a low moderate level), it can help to bring down some of that inflammation and help keep you sharp. This works well in the benefit of older folks, not so much younger people.
Relieve Some Stress
There are also the obvious benefits that a drink can help you let some steam off. One drink can help you feel a little bit more relaxed and often help you fall asleep, if you’re having trouble in that area. Anything more than that will cause issues.
The Upsides Are OK, The Downsides Are Disastrous
It’s very clear that abusing alcohol can work quickly to bring down your health and your life. Over use of alcohol can contribute to many illnesses like liver and pancreatic cancer, a significantly higher risk of stroke, higher blood pressure levels, and uncomfortable levels of stress.
While one a day can certainly present itself some health benefits, its health benefits can be magnified when you include a healthy exercise routine.
Be smart and be disciplined!
Dan Thomas is an avid health and wellness enthusiast who enjoys sharing his knowledge. He encourages people to stay off the road after having a drink. Be sure to follow him on Twitter (@HealthCrazyDan) for more health and wellness tips!",728,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210362.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815220136-20180816000136-00083.warc.gz,0.952115833759308
3050da7e-81c2-4575-b9b6-dd2267094816,2013-06-18T22:39:40+00:00,2012-06-18,1,http://www.lionsrugby.com/news/5147.php,"Graham surprisingly resigned from his post with the Force earlier today despite still having two years left on his contract.
The former Queensland full back will see out the rest of the Super 15 season with his current club before taking over at the Reds at the start of the 2013 campaign.
Reds boss Ewen McKenzie, who was heavily linked with the Wallabies' job before Robbie Deans signed a new deal, will become director of coaching, with Graham becoming head coach of a side that includes the likes of Australia skipper James Horwill and star halfback duo Will Genia and Quade Cooper.
""The opportunity to return to Queensland with my family and coach my former team is something I couldn't pass up,"" said Graham, who represented the province between 1998 and 2002.
""I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate my time in Perth with the Western Force, and the experience I have gained over the past two years will make me a better coach for the next stage in my career.
""Purely from a personal standing as a career coach I felt it was something I needed to do but I wish to make it clear that it is in no way a reflection on Rugby Western Australia or the Force.""
Graham previously worked with English Premiership sides Bath and Saracens and also enjoyed a stint as skills coach with the Wallabies between 2009 and 2010.
The 39-year-old, who took over from John Mitchell at the Force two seasons ago, will now look to register a famous double when the Lions head Down Under next year. Graham was part of the Australia A side that beat the 2001 Lions in Gosford, although he was forced out of that match after just 25 minutes when he was concussed by a tackle from Ben Cohen.
His decision to leave the Force earlier than expected has already prompted speculation as to who will replace him in the Garden City, with assistant coach Phil Blake thought to be an early front runner.
The Force intend to select an Australian coach if possible, with the likes of ex-Bath boss Steve Meehan and former Edinburgh coach Nick Scrivener expected to be among those who could also interest the Force.
""It is our preference to find an outstanding Australian coach either currently working overseas or in Australia to be Richard's replacement. However we will look at every possibility to recruit the best credentialed coach that is available in world rugby,"" said Rugby Western Australia's CEO Vern Reid.
""We are firmly of the view that the Head Coaching position at the Emirates Western Force is a prestigious role, not only in the Super Rugby competition but globally.
""From our initial discussions there has been strong interest from coaches with a world class pedigree and expect that now that the opening will be widely known we'll get plenty of enquiries.""",560,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.982862412929535
e93f0393-0e3e-4d41-8ef2-240c2fd07310,2017-08-24T01:30:58+00:00,2015-10-29,1,https://m.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/1029/Executives-face-new-threat-when-corporations-do-wrong-jail,"Executives face new threat when corporations do wrong: jail
In recent years, few executives have been held to account legally for corporate crime. But the Justice Department is leading a charge to change that.
This week, what many skeptics have come to consider the unthinkable happened: A Wall Street banker faced certain legal consequences for unscrupulous trading practices.
On Tuesday, former Goldman Sachs banker Rohit Bansa agreed to plead guilty to charges of taking confidential documents from a source at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he worked as a regulator for several years prior to his stint with the investment giant. Along with his source, a former New York Fed worker, Mr. Bansa could face up to a year in prison and a permanent ban from the banking industry for using the leaked documents to gain an unfair advantage when facing clients. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, could face up to $50 million in related fines.
Bansa’s case is remarkable, in part, because criminal prosecutions are still rare on Wall Street. But it comes as the federal government has put a new emphasis on holding individual executives accountable for their companies' actions, and as white-collar workers and executives in other corners of the corporate world are even now being held accountable for corporate wrongdoing.
The trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship marks “the first time in 150 years of Appalachian mining that the top boss of a coal firm has ever had to answer for how he ran his company,” according to Slate. That trial is set to conclude in November. And last month, the former CEO of the Peanut Corporation of America was sentenced to 28 years in prison for his role in a deadly salmonella outbreak in peanut butter – the largest ever in a food safety case in the US.
Meanwhile, a United States Department of Justice investigation into FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, is focused mainly on high-ranking officials and top aides to former president Sepp Blatter (and possibly Blatter himself) on multiple charges of corruption.
Those cases, along with upcoming legal action surrounding Volkswagen admitting falsifying emissions tests on millions of its diesel fueled vehicles, will serve as a test of the recent Justice Department mandate. For organizations like VW, Goldman Sachs, and FIFA, that could mean the end of a legal landscape, in the US at least, where cases can be settled with a few multibillion dollar checks.
Far cry from Teddy Roosevelt
In the years since the 2008 credit collapse, when not a single banking executive went to jail for unscrupulous practices that contributed significantly to the recession, the idea of holding people – not just companies – accountable for corporate wrongdoing has become a point of contention, both in the public eye and the justice community.
In September, the Justice Department responded with a memo encouraging judges and prosecutors in corporate criminal cases to shift their case-building focus onto individuals, rather than the company as a whole.
“Such accountability is important for several reasons: it deters future illegal activity, it incentivizes changes in corporate behavior … and it promotes the public's confidence in our justice system,” read the guidelines, collectively known as the Yates memo (for its author, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates).
This isn’t a new impulse. President Theodore Roosevelt was trust-busting back in the early 1900s, limiting the industry dominance of tycoons including J.P. Morgan. Hundreds of Wall Street executives went to prison during the fallout of the Savings and Loan crisis in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Jeffrey Skilling, the head of now-defunct Enron, is serving a (reduced) 14-year sentence for his role in widespread accounting fraud that damaged that company and sent several people to jail.
But more recent, high-profile cases under former Attorney General Eric Holder’s administration have been settled by the company admitting wrongdoing and paying fines. These include banks involved in creating the housing bubble to General Motors’s years-long failure to repair a deadly ignition switch defect in millions of cars.
Many critics see this as an ineffectual corrective for companies that make billions in annual profits.
“We have descended too fully into the cesspool of crony capitalism when our most elite banks can commit what [Securities and Exchange Commission] investigations find to be fraud and still claim in filings … that they have ‘a strong record of compliance with securities laws,’ ” said attorney Bill Black, a former bank regulator and a leading critic of how the Justice Department has pursued major banks, in a 2012 interview with billmoyers.com
Why it's so hard to convict execs
But there is a rationale behind allowing companies to settle.
One is cost. “It can be very expensive and difficult to fight the DoJ on these matters,” says Solomon Wisenberg, a partner who heads up the white collar practice at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, a Washington law firm. In a lot of cases, it's cheaper to settle because of the potential impact of a case on a company’s stock value and profits. For example, Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm at the center of the Enron debacle, never recovered from the prolonged court battle – even though the Supreme Court ultimately overturned the firm’s conviction.
Second, holding executives culpable is simply harder to do. “These are fairly complicated sophisticated crimes, and it can be difficult to find a person that has all the requisite knowledge [for an individual conviction],” says Lucian Dervan, a professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law. It’s much easier to implicate an entire company, he says, because prosecutors can use bits and pieces of information from separate employees to build their case.
“It’s a matter of the corporate structure insulating them,” Professor Dervan says. “Those at the top may have set the tone, but they don’t have the day-to-day knowledge.”
The Yates memo doesn’t offer anything revolutionary in the way of new tactics for prosecutors, Dervan says. But it does encourage them to “be thinking about the individual from Day 1” and warning corporations that they need to be prepared to cooperate. It instructs Justice Department lawyers not to resolve cases against entire corporations without having a “clear plan” to resolve those against individuals. It also warns strongly against making immunity for particular individuals a condition of settling a case with a corporation as a whole.
While it's not yet clear how those mandates will be followed, the Justice Department's FIFA investigation, for one, has been all about targeting officials. There is little indication so far of how the organization may be held culpable.
And VW could face jail time for some workers, as well as the possibility of record-breaking government fines. “Every case is different, but I think there’s a very high likelihood of criminal charges,” Dervan says.",1445,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126017.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824004740-20170824024740-00336.warc.gz,0.960542142391205
4afc1885-c0b4-48d8-add9-1eb01dc901d1,2018-08-19T13:42:05+00:00,2017-08-19,1,https://www.eetindia.co.in/news/article/toshiba_memory_fab,"Even as the future of Toshiba Memory remains unclear, firms chooses Kitakami City in Japan's Iwate prefecture as site of Toshiba's next memory chip fab.
SAN FRANCISCO — Even as the semiconductor world tries to follow the twists and turns in the ongoing saga over the fate of its chip unit, Toshiba Corp. is planning to break ground on a new NAND flash memory fab in Japan next year.
Toshiba said this week that Toshiba Memory Corp. (TMC), its wholly owned subsidiary, has selected Kitakami City in Japan's Iwate prefecture as the site of its next NAND fab. Though the exact construction schedule has not been determined, Toshiba said it plans to break ground on the facility in 2018.
Toshiba has for months been trying to hammer out a deal to sell TMC in order to help offset massive losses from its U.S. nuclear power business. Most recently, Toshiba appeared close to a deal with a consortium involving its partner in NAND development and manufacturing, Western Digital Corp., but the two sides were unable to finalize a deal in time to meet Toshiba's self-imposed deadline last week.
The most recent news service reports indicate that Western Digital has offered to scrap its business in exchange for more favorable terms in its joint venture with TMC. However, other reports indicate that Western Digital has approached Apple about contributing about $460 million to strengthen its bid. Apple is also said to be involved in another would-be buyer for TMC, a consortium led by contract manufacturer Foxconn.
Toshiba said this week that it is holding discussions with Western Digital's memory subsidiary, SanDisk, about its involvement with the Kitakami site. Toshiba snarkily announced last month that it would go it alone in the financing of new equipment for its Fab 6 currently under construction at its Yokkaichi Operations site in Mie prefecture over the firms' clash over Toshiba's right to sell its memory chip unit.
Toshiba said it would build the new fab to help meet rising demand for flash amid a current capacity shortfall. The NAND market is expected to increase by more than 30 percent this year, primarily due to tight supply.
—Dylan McGrath is the editor-in-chief of EE Times.",475,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215176.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819125734-20180819145734-00697.warc.gz,0.964464724063873
cffccbca-ae73-49ca-ba52-4cac2eb5539c,2022-05-23T05:10:29+00:00,2019-02-20,0,https://www.pilotonline.com/business/consumer/article_39ec05de-345e-11e9-a2cf-7b4e65c60454.html,"Harris Teeter closed its store at Harbour View Marketplace in Suffolk on Monday but is re-opening less than three miles away at the former Farm Fresh space it bought at 3675 Bridge Rd.
The new location at Bennett's Creek Crossing will host a grand opening Wednesday.
Jeremy Hamilton, a leasing director for Arciterra which owns the Harbour View shopping center, said he has received phone calls from more than a dozen tenant groups interested in leasing the 48,756 square-foot space.
""We're considering all options,"" he said, including non-grocery tenants.
He said the lease agreement with Harris Teeter doesn't allow Arciterra to immediately backfill it with a new tenant, but Hamilton has said he expected it to be occupied in the ""near term.""
Kimberly Pierceall, 757-446-2588, email@example.com",189,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00420.warc.gz,0.964356064796448
392ceecd-f283-4804-ab68-96ea8347aab9,2020-10-27T15:20:34+00:00,2020-03-16,0,https://www.dpg-verhandlungen.de/year/2020/conference/dresden/part/prv/session/1/contribution/1,"Dresden 2020 – wissenschaftliches Programm
Die DPG-Frühjahrstagung in Dresden musste abgesagt werden! Lesen Sie mehr ...
PRV I: Preisträgervortrag
Montag, 16. März 2020, 13:15–13:45, HSZ 01
Quantum Dots for Quantum Technologies — •Dieter Bimberg — TU Berlin and CIOMP of CAS Changchun — Laureate of the Stern Gerlach Medal 2020
Universal self-organization at surfaces of semiconductors lead to the formation of coherent quantum dots (QDs). Their electronic and optical properties are close to those of atoms in a dielectric cage. Their delta-function density of states is only twofold degenerate . All few particle states are strongly Coulomb-correlated due to the strong carrier localisation. Their energies depend on shape and size of the dots, such that positive, zero or negative biexciton binding energies and fine-structure splitting appear .
Applications of single, few and millions of QDs for novel Quantum Technologies will be demonstrated.
a. Single QDs can be emitters of Q-bits on demand or entangled photons for future quantum security systems. In electrically pumped RCLED structures, emission of q-bits at rates beyond 1 Gbit/s were shown [3, 4].
b. Hybridization of Flash and DRAMs, bringing together the advantages of both types of memories, is the “Holy Grail” of memories and ensures future memory development after the end of Moore’s law. The goal of non-volatility (i.e. storage time > 10 years) can be achieved for the storage of holes in type II (InGa)Sb QDs embedded in a (AlGa)P matrix .
c. The demand for higher data rates in optical networks, requires novel ultra-high bit rate energy efficient sources. QD Lasers based on GaAs emit up to the O-band at 1.3 µm, showing record low jth and complete temperature stability up to 80∘C. Passive mode-locking generates pulses in the sub-ps range at repetition rates up to 90 GHz. The hat spectrum of one single laser of several tens of closely spaced narrow lines is thus a potential pulse source for bit rates up to ≈ 6 TBit/s using DQPSK .
 M. Grundmann, O. Stier, D. Bimberg, Pyramidal Quantum Dots – Strain Distribution, Optical Phonons, and Electronic Structure, Phys. Rev. B 52, 11969 (1995); O. Stier, M. Grundmann, D. Bimberg, Electronic and optical properties of strained quantum dots modelled by 8-band k.p theory, Phys. Rev. B 59, 5688 (1999)
 S. Rodt, A. Schliwa, K. Pötschke, F. Guffarth, D. Bimberg, Correlation of structural and few particle properties of self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots, Phys. Rev. B 71, 155325 (2005)
 A. Schliwa, M. Winkelnkemper, A. Lochmann, E. Stock, D. Bimberg, (InGa)As/GaAs quantum dots grown on a (111) surface as ideal sources of entangled photon pairs, Phys. Rev. B 80, 601307(R) (2009)
 W. Unrau, D. Bimberg, Flying q-bits and entangled photons, Laser Photonics Review 8, 276 (Wiley, 2014)
 L. Bonato, F. I. Arikan, L. Desplanque, C. Coignon, X. Wallart, Yi Wang, P. Ruterana, D. Bimberg, Hole Localization Energy of 1.18 eV in GaSb quantum dots embedded in GaP, Phys. Stat. Sol (b) 10, 1877 (2016)
 G. Eisenstein, D. Bimberg (eds.), Green Photonics and Electronics (Springer, 2017)",890,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894203.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027140911-20201027170911-00660.warc.gz,0.732430577278137
4578db40-5325-4dcb-b0cc-0b6dc4a1fe81,2020-10-29T07:17:48+00:00,2020-10-29,0,https://www.notino.co.uk/mr-mrs-fragrance/mr-mrs-fragrance-blanc-malaysian-black-tea-fragrance-oil-15-ml/,"- Fragrance description
Fragrance description Mr & Mrs Fragrance Blanc Malaysian Black TeaIngredients
The Mr & Mrs Fragrance Blanc Malaysian Black Tea scented oil will give your home a pleasant fragrance and create a harmonious, cosy space.
- a floral fragrance
- a fresh fragrance
- a spicy aroma
How to use:
Follow the instructions included. Keep out of the reach of children and pets.
- Top notesTop notes - They develop straight after you put the fragrance on. They create the first impression and tend to be quite intense, but not long-lasting.
- Thyme, Cardamom, Lavender
- Middle notesMiddle notes - The heart of the fragrance comes out after a couple of minutes when the head of the scent fades away. These notes usually last around 2 to 3 hours.
- Black Tea, Artemisia, Cinnamon
- Base notesBase notes - The last and often longest part of the fragrance's evolution on your skin. Takes anywhere from 4 hours to over a day.
- Coumarin, Vanilla, Musk, Sandalwood
- Character of home fragrance
- floral, spicy",234,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107903419.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029065424-20201029095424-00571.warc.gz,0.83169287443161
4a67fca8-ccdd-40f4-b677-ae020a043fce,2022-05-28T05:30:13+00:00,2022-05-28,1,https://marinecadastre.gov/news/load.php?url=posts/hawaii-considering-a-proposal-for-offshore-wind.html,"Hawaii Considering a Proposal for Offshore Wind
Hawaii is considering a $1.6 billion plan by Denmark’s Alpha Wind Energy for 100 turbines totaling 408 megawatts in federal waters offshore of Oahu. The floating turbines would be placed off the northwest and southern coasts making it the U.S.’s first floating offshore wind farm. Hawaii recently hosted a meeting with all interested stakeholders in order to identify concerns and hear suggestions prior to considering the proposal.
Image Credit: Tomasz Wyszoamirski",108,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663012542.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528031224-20220528061224-00018.warc.gz,0.891857624053955
1550f5a6-dfd2-4874-9104-28349d89a59b,2017-08-22T13:05:31+00:00,2014-08-14,0,http://lightstone123-games.wikia.com/wiki/File:Nymph.png,"No higher resolution available.
There is no description yet. Add a description.
Appears on these pages
The 325th Annual Hunger Games were the fourth Hunger Games in LightStone123's games series. The...
District 4 is one of the wealthiest districts in Panem. In this district the citizens normally...
Nymph Mere was one of the District 4 females from LightStone123's 325th Annual Hunger Games. She...
Appears on these wikis
Media Here's a video which goes into detail on Ellies Background, along with her purpose and...
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
|current||02:51, August 14, 2014||130 × 160 (6 KB)||Aerialchinook (wall | contribs)|
Ad blocker interference detected!
Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers
Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected.",232,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110774.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822123737-20170822143737-00003.warc.gz,0.922632098197937
3ce44ef5-2cfe-4d4f-9717-cd8b9988ca3a,2017-08-17T19:34:42+00:00,2009-08-23,1,https://science.slashdot.org/story/09/08/23/180257/NASA-May-Outsource/interesting-comments,"The Wall Street Journal is running a piece about the growing momentum behind the idea of NASA outsourcing to private companies everything from transporting astronauts to ferrying cargo into orbit. Quoting: ""Proposals gaining momentum in Washington call for contractors to build and run competing systems under commercial contracts, according to federal officials, aerospace-industry officials and others familiar with the discussions. While the Obama administration is still mulling options and hasn't made any final decisions, such a move would represent a major policy shift away from decades of government-run rocket and astronaut-transportation programs such as the current space-shuttle fleet. ... In the face of severe federal budget constraints and a burgeoning commercial-space industry eager to play a larger role in exploring the solar system and perhaps beyond, ...a consensus for the new approach seems to be building inside the White House as well as [NASA]. ... Under this scenario, a new breed of contractors would take over many of NASA's current responsibilities, freeing the agency to pursue longer-term, more ambitious goals such as new rocket-propulsion technology and manned missions to Mars. ...[T]hese contractors would take the lead in servicing the International Space Station from the shuttle's planned retirement around 2011 through at least the end of that decade.""
DEAL: For $25 - Add A Second Phone Number To Your Smartphone for life! Use promo code SLASHDOT25. Also, Slashdot's now on IFTTT. Check it out! Check out the new SourceForge HTML5 Internet speed test! ×",312,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103910.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817185948-20170817205948-00223.warc.gz,0.92180860042572
3481b922-2284-42c5-be6c-3c88029c8da9,2020-10-24T00:21:37+00:00,2020-10-24,0,https://dotluvs2write.com/tag/recipe/,"In the midst of a terrible cold virus/sinusitis, forcing me to take a break from packing and getting ready for an upcoming yard sale, weather permitting, I thought I’d present to you a delicious Greek recipe. It’s one of my favorite Greek meals.
So, I’m going with another favorite that I make quite regularly.
It’s spicy Greek meatballs (soutzoukakia in Greek). It has a savory flavor and a nice spicy kick to it that isn’t too spicy and not too dull. It’s just right. The recipe is my mother’s, who is 100% Greek, so you know you can’t go wrong. 🙂
1 package of hot Italian sausage
2 pieces of bread toasted
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup water
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, smashed (I just mince mine)
1/4 teaspoon pepper and cumin (each)
1/2 cup butter and oil (each)
Soak toast in mixed wine and water. Squeeze lightly to drain excess wine. Mix meat, toast, egg, garlic, pepper, and cumin. You can use a mixer or do it by hand (I use my hands). They should feel smooth and fluffy. Shape them into short, oval balls. Brown into the mixture of butter and oil. Then put them into a baking dish.
Make tomato sauce:
In same butter and oil, sauté 1 can 14-1/4 oz. tomatoes cut up (I get the petite tomatoes already cut) , 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Boil the sauce for 15 minutes. Pour over the meatballs. Bake at 350° for 20 mins.
It doesn’t say in the recipe how many meatballs that makes. I would say around eight.
You can serve over rice or noodles or whatever starch you want. I like it with rice. I have three men in my family (hubby, adult son, and teenage son), so I double the recipe.",441,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00268.warc.gz,0.919986963272095
9b09d756-7db7-4e56-b1b9-b4f302d20b46,2019-08-19T17:01:12+00:00,2018-10-01,0,https://www.omanubeach.co.nz/lifeguarding/becoming-a-lifeguard/,"Lifeguard Award and Patrol Support
To register or for more information contact email@example.com
At Omanu Beach SLSC we run our Surf Lifeguard and Patrol Support courses over three weekends which includes your First Aid Level One qualification and exam. You must be 14 years old by the day of the exam to sit the Surf Lifeguard Award or Patrol Support qualification.
You can find the course dates for the current season below:
October / November 2018Weekend One – Lifeguard Skills Training27-28 OctoberWeekend Two – First Aid Level One03-04 NovemberWeekend Three – Exam Weekend10 November
November / December 2018Weekend One – Lifeguard Skills Training17–18 NovemberWeekend Two – First Aid Level One24-25 NovemberWeekend Three – Exam Weekend01-02 December
February 2019Weekend One – Lifeguard Skills Training09-10 FebruaryWeekend Two – First Aid Level One16-17 FebruaryWeekend Three – Exam Weekend23-24 February
Our team of instructors will teach you everything you need to know to pass your lifeguard exam, and be ready to patrol the beach as a Junior Lifeguard or Patrol Support member.
In order to pass your Surf Lifeguard Award, you will need to be able to swim (pool swim) 400 meters in under 8 minutes and 45secs. If you would like support with swim training, Omanu Beach SLSC has it’s own swim club. Please contact the Omanu Swim Club for more information.
If you are unable to make the pool swim in the required time, you have the option of becoming a Patrol Support member. The Patrol Support qualification allows you to do everything a lifeguard would do (First aid, scanning the beach, communications) except the water components including rescues. Patrol Support members can be a vital asset to our patrols, and often specialise in areas such as first aid and search and rescue operations.
Once you have achieved your Surf Lifeguard Award you will join one of Omanu’s patrol teams and a whole world of opportunities will be available to you.
Becoming a lifeguard is just the first step on the lifeguard pathway. There are many different options for you to upskill and work your way to becoming a senior or advanced lifeguard. There is also the option of becoming a professional lifeguard which can be a great summer job especially for high school and university students. Check out the Lifeguard Development page for more information.",506,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00004.warc.gz,0.924675703048706
7d2d0b86-5fea-42ae-b2ef-39f271ae7ea0,2013-05-18T17:48:28+00:00,2012-09-25,1,http://allafrica.com/stories/201209250197.html,"The Archive Group is now set to be Nigeria's leading player in the garment sector, with its plan to diversify across the value chain in the industry; owners of the company have said.
The clothing firm, which is already a big player in the East African region and owners of the Shirt Company, Industrial Tailoring Co. and BodyLove Cosmetics, has recently acquired a 49 per cent stake in local Suitmakers, Okunoren Twins for an undisclosed sum.
A consultant privy to the deal, Mr. Tomiwa Idowu, said this in a statement in Abuja. ""Through this acquisition, Archive aims to create long term value for the Nigerian market by re-investing its profit over the next 5 years in a bid to achieve full backward integration and reduce the price burden on the Nigerian consumer,"" he noted.
The Archive group will boost growth in the industry by creating jobs for the people and providing easy access to consumer credit. It will expand by building a multi-purpose production facility in the Lekki Free Trade Zone and has awarded a contract for its construction.
Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous nation, offers unparalleled opportunity for growth to international and local investors in the textile industry. It recently appointed the following individuals to its board of directors; Sir Remi Omotoso, Mrs. Foluke Abdul-Razaq and Dr. Konyin Ajayi (SAN).
Omotoso, who is a member of various professional bodies joined Lever brothers in 1971 as a management trainee and then rose to Executive Director in 1987 before resigning in 1998.
He has since held other top management positions as Group Managing Director of O'dua Investment Group and Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce. He sits on various boards including Juli PLC and Standard Chartered Bank. Omotoso will serve as Chairman of the Archive Group Board of Directors.
Abdul-Razaq, an accountant by profession has over 15years banking experience with Afribank Plc. and Credite Bank Ltd where she rose to the position of acting CEO. She was appointed by the CBN as Executive Chairman of the Interim Management board and also Chairman of the Lagos State Tenders Board.
A two-time Commissioner in Lagos State, firstly as Commissioner of Finance and then as Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Abdul-Razaq is an experienced manager of men and resources and currently sits on the board of United Bank for Africa Plc. She is also Founder of BridgeHouse School.
Ajayi (SAN) is Managing Partner of Olaniwun Ajayi & Co., an international law firm based in Nigeria. Ajayi was trained at various institutions such as the University of Ife, Cambridge University and Harvard University.
A seasoned advocate and theoretician who specialises in areas such as project finance, corporate and commercial law, he has written over 120 legal papers on commercial law and is the Vice Chairman of the worldwide alumni association of the Harvard Law School.
Archive Group's policy direction will be determined by its Board of Directors with their varying skills and experience in diverse sectors of the Nigerian economy. The company is gearing towards a Private Placement where it hopes to raise an additional N3billion to enable it embark on an aggressive growth strategy. This will position the group for success in its commitments to all stakeholders.",694,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966489195823669
89eecad7-3afe-44ac-aa29-0d6b4a33c5ff,2017-08-23T14:29:03+00:00,2012-06-01,0,http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pattisonave/Sixers-fans-split-on-Iguodalas-future.html?i=3&jCount=2,"The 2011-12 Sixers season, abbreviated because of the lockout, can probably be best divided into three parts.
There was the opening surge, where the young team rushed out to a 20-9 start. Fans were excited. There was even talk of this team being a legitimate contender, especially after they thrashed the Bulls by 16 points at the Wells Fargo Center on February 1.
But the two months that followed saw the Sixers go just 11-21, and left them fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot. Fans were calling for ownership to blow up the team. Everyone was to blame.
The third and final segment of the season was perhaps where Sixers fans saw the best example of what this team was truly made of. They went 4-1 over their last five games, finishing the regular season at 35-31 and securing a playoff spot and a matchup with the Chicago Bulls. Shockingly enough, the Sixers knocked off the top-seeded Bulls (thanks in part to Derrick Rose's torn ACL), and took the Celtics to the brink before being eliminated in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Now, with the season in the rear-view, we asked Sixers fans to tell us who they want to see back next season and who the want to send packing. The results, as always, were surprising.
What to do with Iguodala?
Some love him. Some hate him. Either way, there is definitely a role on this team for Andre Iguodala. He is one of the best defenders in the league, and the constant knock against Iguodala is that he isn't a ""number-one guy."" People complain that he can't put the team on his back in the last five minutes of a game and carry them to victory. Those people, for the most part, are right. That's not who he is as a player. Sure, he gets paid like it, but Iguodala is not a superstar. Is that his fault? Can you blame him for a bad Ed Stefanski contract?
Once fans get over the fact that he is making over $13 million per year, there isn't much to dislike about the guy. He's unselfish, plays defense, runs the floor, has a solid mid-range game, can hit the three and has a great relationship with Doug Collins. He also was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Ok, he needs to work on free throws. I'll concede that.*
Because the Sixers' season ended in a loss, I figured fans would be down on Iguodala. He is usually one of the first to catch blame. Much to my surprise, fans are nearly split on the veteran small forward. 49.5 percent of voters want to see him back next season, compared to just 30.1 percent of fans after last season.
So will the Sixers trade Iguodala? Bob Cooney of the Daily News weighed in, and he puts the chances that he'll be back next season at 60-40.
Amnesty for Brand?
That brings us to Elton Brand, the savvy veteran who signed a max deal but has not been able to reach his full potential because of injuries. I like Brand, and what he brings to the locker room, but he simply can't get it done anymore.
I expected him to land on the ""Go"" side of things, but I did not expect it to be this lopsided. Just over 17 percent of fans want him back next season. What I took away from this is that a lot of people want the team to amnesty Brand, and use that money to bring in a free agent.
It's hard to disagree with that...as long as the right free agent is out there. If not, the Sixers can always bring him back for the final season of his contract. He can mentor young players like Lavoy Allen. Then, after the 2012-13 season, his contract will be up, and they can then target a free agent.
Backcourt on the rise
For all the flack that Evan Turner took this season, fans certainly gave him a ringing endorsement in this poll. Nearly 89 percent of voters want to see the second-year guard back next season. Jrue Holiday's popularity dipped slightly (98.5 percent to 94.3 percent), but he was by far the most popular player last season, so there was really nowhere else for him to go but down.
These two are beginning to look like they could be in the backcourt together for years to come, and judging by the way fans voted, they would welcome that.
As I mentioned, Holiday was the most-popular player after last season. This year, however, the honor goes to Philly's own Lavoy Allen (96.7 percent). I'm sure he was helped by the fact that he's a Temple grad and Philadelphia native. But the way he played in the Celtics series, guarding one of the best power forwards in the game, Kevin Garnett, opened a lot of fans' eyes. Expect good things from Allen in the future.
|2012 SIXERS STAY OR GO|
**Results as of 9 a.m. on 6/1/12
*I am not an Andre Iguodala apologist. I am a realist. Before you kill me over this issue, consider this: If he was making $8 million/year instead of $13 million, would you still feel the same way about him?",1135,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120573.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823132736-20170823152736-00659.warc.gz,0.975700616836548
c0846bdb-81ec-4db8-8976-7a20bfe661c2,2016-07-26T20:40:05+00:00,2016-01,1,http://www.businessinsider.com/bot-fraud-is-predicted-to-cost-the-advertising-industry-7-billion-this-year-2016-1,"Online ad fraud will cost advertisers $7.2 billion globally this year, according to ad security company White Ops.
Botnets — also know as a ""zombie army"" — are computers that have been infected with malware that generates tons of fake clicks on advertisements. The controllers of theses Botnets sell the fake traffic to unethical web publishers who want to inflate the number of people clicking on the ads they run on their sites. Advertisers are then fooled into buying ad spots from publishers, even though very few humans actually click on the ads on their pages.
White Ops conducted a study using 49 advertisers that were given detection tags to measure the amount of non-human traffic on their advertising. The average cost to the advertisers in the study was $10 million. It ranged between $250,000 and $42 million. We first spotted the study on The Register.
The brands used in the study included McDonald's, PlayStation, Ford, HP, Walmart, and MasterCard. A quarter of these advertisers found that at least 9% of their traffic was fake. The study did not specify how much each individual company lost to the ad fraud.
White Ops came up with the $7.2 billion figure for the total cost to advertisers from a calculation that assumed the rate of fraud will remain the same this year and estimated that global digital advertising will go up by 15%.
The study also found that most of the media bought by a typical advertiser is clean, but ""when fraud does affect an advertiser, it tends to hit hard and in very concentrated areas.""
Dan Kaminsky, co-founder of White Ops, said in the report: ""Advertising fraud has the curious status of almost seeming legitimate — you couldn’t expect to get away with raiding a bank account or accessing someone else’s Gmail account, but defrauding advertisers, even by using the host user’s identifying cookies, doesn’t seem nearly as criminal.""",400,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825124.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00270-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965816140174866
c09cfa78-cc1d-438c-84b3-e1bcae79089c,2022-05-23T05:55:36+00:00,2022-05-23,1,https://myotakuworld.com/boruto-dubbed/,"Boruto is one of the most loved animes. This is a sequel to the best-loved anime series of all time, which is why so many people enjoyed it.
The popularity of the anime series meant that some fans were disappointed by the dubbed episodes. They were far less accurate than the original Japanese voiceover.
When will English voiceovers be available? And where can we watch them?
The English-dubbed version of the series should be out soon. This is despite the fact that the only thing holding it back was the current pandemic. It will also be available on many platforms like Hulu, Vudu, and Funimation.
This article will explain why so many anime have remained unvoiced in English for so long. It also provides a summary of the events and offers several options for those who want to retranslate the episodes.
What is Boruto?
Fans are naturally eager to see the English-dubbed Boruto series because of its immense popularity.
Children love Naruto, and for many years Sasuke and Naruto fought it out in the anime series.
The first episode of Boruto aired on the 1st of December 2017. Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Funimation offered to stream the anime series for free.
The sequel is an anime masterpiece, but it is difficult to find the English dubbed version. Fans were upset and wanted to know if the English dubbed version was available.
Why is Boruto so far behind?
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime series is based on the same manga series. It is the sequel to the Naruto manga and anime series. The series will reveal what happens to Naruto and his beloved characters, as well as their futures.
Since Naruto and Sasuke faced Kaguya in anime, it has been years. All is calm now, and there are no other terrible villains. Boruto has only one goal, even though it is a great benefit for him and his friends. It’s not to become Hokage, but to defeat his father.
The series’ first episode aired on April 5, 2017, As of writing, the manga and anime are both still being produced. Crunchyroll and Hulu offer free streaming of anime series on Funimation, Hulu, or Crunchyroll.
The sequel is just as popular as the original series, but you won’t be able to find the English-dubbed version as easily. Many anime fans prefer to watch dubbed anime so it was a surprise that not all of the series had been dubbed.
This question is not as interesting as you might think. Due to a lack of management and involvement by Cartoon Network, as well as licensing issues, the dubbed version is far behind.
Boruto was initially dubbed by Cartoon Network, as it also dubbed Naruto Shippuden and Naruto Shippuden. The dubbed versions were released fairly consistently, so it seemed that everything was going well.
The episodes were released in smaller parts after the first part was complete. Many fans were understanding and patient as the process of dubbing anime can be tedious and time-consuming, especially if you need higher-quality results.
However, CN began dubbing the show and then dropped it in favor of Naruto Shippuden. This was also quite far back.
Although the decision was not officially released, it was clear that Naruto Shippuden was released years before Boruto. It chronologically takes place many years before Boruto.
Many were unhappy with this decision and the direction CN was going with the series. While Naruto Shippuden was popular at the time, Boruto was more popular and was released far later than Naruto Shippuden.
Boruto already began releasing dubbed episodes, making matters worse. This made the series more popular, which led to more people being disappointed by the slow dubbed episodes.
Many viewers were frustrated by this and were pleased to hear that Adult Swim would be taking over the dubbing process. The process should be a little faster now than it was in the hands of an independent Cartoon Network program.
When will Boruto’s new episodes be dubbed in English?
Despite the delay in the release, it appears that this will change soon. AnimeLab has been uploading dubbed episodes very quickly and a few studios have stated that they will release dubbed episodes once working conditions improve after the current pandemic.
AnimeLab published Episodes 106 to 119 of Boruto. Naruto Next Generations English dubbed. Just in time for your weekend anime binge. These episodes now have both the original Japanese voiceover as well as the English voiceover, but the premium membership is required for the latter. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations can be accessed in both audio languages.
AnimeLab now offers Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 196 episodes. New dubbed episodes are added regularly. You can also catch up on the episodes by buying Madman Entertainment’s home videos, which include the latest (Part 8 Episodes 93-105) released this month.
Kakashi and Might Guy go on vacation to the thermal springs for the latest batch of dubbed episodes. Asuma’s daughter Mirai joins them to discover that the spring has been covered in a huge boulder.
It’s then time to take on Extreme Ninja Cards! Boruto discovers that there are some notable absences in this game. These are worth fighting over, as it features famous shinobi from the past. Konohamaru then comes to the rescue of a mysterious woman from a hamlet that has a dark secret.
Madman Entertainment operates AnimeLab online, which is an anime streaming service. It is only available to New Zealand and Australian residents.
Premium subscriptions cost $7.95AUD/month, or $79.50AUD/year. They provide access to full back-catalog access and no simulcast delays.
Boruto Dubbed: Where can you watch it?
Boruto: Naruto Next Generation contains 196 episodes. The Animelab episodes are updated on a regular basis. Madman Entertainment’s home video releases are available for those who want to keep up-to-date. Part 8: Episodes 93-205 are now available on the site.
Boruto-dubbed episodes can be viewed free on Hulu during the first seven days. After that, they will need to pay $5.99 per month or $59.99 per annum to continue their subscription.
Vudu offers an alternative to those looking for English-dubbed episodes on different platforms. Boruto 13 episodes are $19.99 when you can see other series and films for free.
Boruto can also be viewed on Funimation. You can stream the series in subtitled or dubbed formats. The streaming service offers a 14-day trial that is free to anyone who wants to watch the series. Boruto is available to all members for $5.99 per month. They have access to the Funimation library.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generation is a popular anime series with 196 episodes. They are available on AnimeLab in English dubbed versions. Mad Man Entertainment also offers the home video release.",1474,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00401.warc.gz,0.976502776145935
7ef8e55e-3e66-41aa-b5f7-88fbeb5f1c87,2015-04-01T11:08:02+00:00,2013-02-15,1,http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/sport/national/8267469/Messam-keen-to-play-sevens-in-Rio,"Liam Messam keen to play sevens in Rio
Other top players could followAARON GOILE
Chiefs co-captain Liam Messam is seriously contemplating the switch to sevens in 2016 to make an Olympic gold medal dream a reality.
In line with the New Zealand Rugby Union's Olympic plan for Rio de Janeiro, all players who want to play at the Olympics will have to spend the whole of that year playing sevens.
Messam, who made a name for himself in sevens and has captained New Zealand and won Commonwealth Games gold medals in 2006 and 2010, is eager to compete on sport's biggest stage.
""Yeah, it definitely has [gone through my mind],"" he said.
""It's something I've talked to my family and my manager [about].
""It's something that's definitely on my bucket list, it'll be pretty cool to try and compete for an Olympic gold medal, and sevens is close to my heart and it always will be.""
Messam turns 29 next month but doesn't believe age will be a factor counting against him when 2016 rolls round.
""I'll be a little bit older when it comes to the next Olympics, but I guess Rushy [Eric Rush] played till he was about 50 so I've got no excuse,"" Messam said.
""It's just making sure I can keep my body in check and see what happens.""
Messam feels he has the experience to swiftly adapt between the two versions of the game.
""I guess for other players it might be a bit hard if they just came straight from 15s into sevens.
""I'm lucky enough I've done it twice now with the Commonwealth Games and I still watch the sevens quite closely and I try and learn as much as I can when I'm watching still.
""If I was to go to the Olympics then I'd definitely have a full year of sevens, try and do the circuit or something like that and try and get back to sevens fitness because it is totally different fitness.
""In saying that, the Super 15 is getting a lot quicker and you do have to be real fit to play this game.""
So what does Messam place higher - a Rugby World Cup win, or an Olympic gold medal?
""I don't know. I'd just be blessed to have the opportunity to play in both. I didn't play in the Rugby World Cup [in 2011] so I'd be pretty keen to get to the next World Cup and pretty keen to compete for a gold medal [at the Olympics].
""And also the Commonwealth Games: I'll be itching to get three [Commonwealth Games] gold medals if Titch gives me the opportunity to get out there [in 2014].""
- Waikato Times",576,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00197-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.975715696811676
0a0e98f7-affd-4b22-a5d9-912e28ad485b,2022-05-20T08:31:52+00:00,2015-01-05,0,https://www.netgear.com/sg/about/press-releases/2015/extenders_ces_pr_01-05-15/,"NETGEAR BOOSTS YOUR HOME WIFI WITH NEW AWARD-WINNING, HIGH-PERFORMANCE WIFI RANGE EXTENDERS
Eliminate WiFi dead zones and go farther with 3 new WiFi Range Extenders for whole-home connectivity, including powerful Nighthawk AC1900 Extender
LAS VEGAS — January 5, 2015 — Today at the 2015 International CES® trade show, NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR) (www.netgear.com), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, announced three additions to its WiFi Range Extenders product family. The next-generation, CES Innovations Award honoree Nighthawk® AC1900 WiFi Range Extender (EX7000), the AC1200 WiFi Range Extender (EX6150), and the AC750 WiFi Range Extender - Essentials Edition (EX3700), give you an easy and effective way to fight WiFi dead zones. You’ll enjoy whole-home connectivity for HD video streaming and online gaming on any device in any location of your home. NETGEAR will demonstrate the new WiFi extenders to press, customers, and channel partners this week during CES, alongside other exciting new products in their suite in the Marriott Las Vegas.
All three extenders work with any router and leverage NETGEAR FastLane™ technology, which uses two WiFi bands simultaneously to establish one super-fast wireless connection that is ideal for HD video streaming and gaming. In addition to extending the range of your wireless home network, you can also use the new Extenders to create WiFi access points.
“WiFi dead zones can create unnecessary restrictions on your connected lifestyle, but our broad product portfolio enables you to match the right extender to your home network,” said Damir Skripic, senior product line manager at NETGEAR. “With the new Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi Range Extender, we have pushed the performance capabilities, resulting in the fastest and most powerful WiFi Range Extender on the market.”
A Gigabit Ethernet port enables you to connect wired devices like game consoles, smart TVs or streaming players to your existing WiFi network. Or when the extender is set to Access Point Mode, you can plug in a wired Internet connection into the Gigabit Ethernet port to create a new WiFi access point or hotspot.
All of the new extenders will launch with a redesigned NETGEAR genie® experience that offers a new look and feel, an easier installation, and improved features such as access point mode, WiFi coverage controls, and access scheduling for parental controls. Additionally, the new genie user interface will automatically adapt to the screen size of your device to provide an optimal viewing experience on smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.
Additionally, NETGEAR extenders can be used with the free NETGEAR WiFi Analytics app for Android™ tablets and smartphones, which helps you to get more information and optimize your home network with information about network status, signal strength, and channel interference.
(1) Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi Range Extender (EX7000)
Designed for maximum WiFi range extension, the high powered NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi Range Extender (EX7000) delivers 802.11ac performance with up to 1900 Mbps* of dual-band WiFi speed. This first WiFi extender in the Nighthawk product family — NETGEAR’s premium line of 802.11ac wireless networking products — uses a dual-core processor and is outfitted with advanced high power amplifiers offering a staggering 700mW of wireless power to easily penetrate walls for WiFi coverage up to 10,000 square feet. Coupled with three high-gain omni-directional external antennas, Nighthawk WiFi Range Extender transmits the extended signal in a 360-degree radius to blanket your entire home with strong WiFi coverage. Nighthawk Extender supports NETGEAR Beamforming+ technology, which focuses the WiFi signal on the location of your device, minimizing data loss and delivering optimal WiFi speed.
Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi Range Extender offers five Gigabit Ethernet ports that act as a WiFi bridge, ideal for connecting up to five devices — game consoles, smart TVs, streaming players, etc. — to the WiFi network, eliminating the need to buy proprietary WiFi adapters. Additionally, you can access and share all your stored media with the USB 3.0 port.
(2) AC1200 WiFi Range Extender (EX6150)
Designed to fit into a standard wall outlet, the NETGEAR AC1200 WiFi Range Extender (EX6150) is the first WiFi extender in a wall-plug form factor to offer 802.11ac performance with up to 1200 Mbps* WiFi speed. The extender is effortless to install, with Smart LED indicator lights that guide you to an optimal location for the most effective WiFi coverage.
Like the Nighthawk WiFi Range Extender, the AC1200 WiFi Range Extender improves the range of a home network and eliminates frustrating WiFi dead zones while enabling lag-free gaming and uninterrupted video streaming with 802.11ac speed and performance. It offers a Gigabit Ethernet port to connect wired devices to WiFi.
(3) AC750 WiFi Range Extender – Essentials Edition (EX3700)
The AC750 WiFi Range Extender has a convenient wall-plug design for easy placement. It offers dual-band WiFi up to 750 Mbps*, external antennas for better performance, and one Ethernet port for connecting wired devices to your wireless network. It boosts any existing WiFi network, giving you a greatly improved wireless experience throughout your home for WiFi connected devices including tablets, laptops, smart TVs, smartphones, and more.
Pricing and Availability
The new extenders are available now from major retailers in stores and online, at the following prices:
- Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi Range Extender (EX7000), MSRP in the U.S. of $169.99
- AC1200 WiFi Range Extender (EX1650), MSRP in the U.S. of $119.99
- AC750 WiFi Range Extender – Essentials Edition (EX3700), MSRP in the U.S. of $79.99
- Watch the video of Nighthawk AC 1900 WiFi Range Extender (EX7000): http://youtu.be/Dp7PBFtkyz0
- Learn more about NETGEAR WiFi extenders: http://netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders
- NETGEAR WiFi Analytics app for tablets and smartphones available on Google Play™: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netgear.WiFiAnalytics&hl=en
- NETGEAR is hosting press, analysts and channel partners in an invitation-only suite at the Marriott Las Vegas from January 6-9.
- See all CES-related news from NETGEAR: www.netgear.com/ces
About NETGEAR, Inc.
NETGEAR (NASDAQ: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. For consumers, the company makes high performance, dependable and easy to use home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, NETGEAR provides networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of big IT. The company also supplies top service providers with retail-proven, mobile broadband solutions for their customers on the go. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and Powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 45,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 36,000 value-added resellers. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in over 25 countries. More information is available at www.NETGEAR.com or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR at twitter.com/NETGEAR and www.facebook.com/NETGEAR.
©2015 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, FastLane, NETGEAR genie, and Nighthawk are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holder(s). Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.
* Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE standard 802.11 specifications. AC750 equals 300 Mbps at 2.4GHz 802.11n + 433 Mbps at 5GHz 802.11ac. AC1200 equals 300 Mbps at 2.4GHz 802.11n + 900 Mbps at 5GHz 802.11ac. AC1900 equals 600 Mbps at 2.4GHz 802.11n + 1300 Mbps at 5GHz 802.11ac. Up to 1300 Mbps wireless speeds achievable when connecting to other 802.11ac devices. Actual data throughput and wireless coverage will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate and wireless coverage. NETGEAR makes no express or implied representations or warranties about this product’s compatibility with any future standards.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning NETGEAR's business and the expected performance characteristics, specifications, reliability, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR's products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR's products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR's products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
U.S. Media Contact:
Jocelyn Shaw, Weber Shandwick for NETGEAR, (415) 262-5904, email@example.com
U.S. Sales Inquiries: (408) 907-8000, firstname.lastname@example.org. Customer Inquiries: (888) NETGEAR",2354,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00013.warc.gz,0.873988747596741
9489bd73-26c2-4eaf-a450-090de5c9c51a,2018-08-18T14:26:36+00:00,2018-08-18,0,https://thetravelexpert.ie/news-and-reviews/why-every-home-should-have-a-canon-selphy-photo-printer/,"Check out my review of the Canon Selphy photo printer and find out why every home should have one!
I bought a new phone about a year ago, and I already have 18,488 photos on it 🙈. Ok I know I probably take more photos than the average person, but I’m guessing if you look at your phone now, you will be amazed at how many photos you have stored. I think when most of us get a new phone, we download our old photos on to a laptop or desktop somewhere and tell ourselves we will go through them some day. And then the inevitable happens, we never look at them again….
I know ‘time’ is the new poverty but why is it that I can’t find five minutes to print my photos? There are apps where we can create photo books and they will be delivered to us. Harvey Norman is constantly bombarding the airwaves with yet another special offer for photo printing in store. Yet I do neither. I leave them all on my phone, which is killing my storage, glance at the most recent ones and forget the rest. Even when I see my Facebook memories pop up a year later, I tell myself I must print those photos, but alas, it never happens. In fact, until a week ago I am ashamed to say that there were no framed pictures from the last two years, anywhere in my house! I have been fortunate to visit some amazing places in the last two years, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and California, yet I had not one picture showing any of these!
I happened to mention on one of my Instagram posts how I need to start printing photos again. Lo and behold a courier arrived at my door with a Canon Selphy photo printer! I couldn’t believe it, what an amazing gift to receive! I was thrilled but also amazed how compact it was.
It is SO easy to use, honestly I had printed my first picture in minutes. You just need to download the Canon Print / Selphy App from the App store and connect to the WiFi. Once you open the app you select ‘Photo Print’, ‘CameraRoll’, select a picture and press print. It is that easy! It only takes about one minute to print a picture, just watch my short video below. You can also print from cameras or other smart devices and it is portable. You can even bring it with you to parties and print up to 54 photos from its high capacity battery!
Luckily I had most of my favourite pics saved as favourites in my phone, so it actually didn’t take as long as I thought to find some nice ones to print. I asked the kids to tell me some of their favourite memories from the past few years and I also printed out some photos for them. Luke was thrilled to replace the photos from when he was in Thomas Land (7 years ago!) and Alex from her days playing dress up in the creche! In no time at all I had loads of my favourite photos printed, framed and hanging on the wall for us all to admire! I also bought a photo box for Luke and Alex and will continue to print photos from all our trips and life experiences. Now when they are older they will have their own box of photos to look back on, and hopefully share with their own kids. This is something I said I would do when they were born. Sadly I never did, but better late than never right?
I can’t recommend this Canon Selphy photo printer enough, it is so easy to use, takes up very little space and only costs £109.99! Thank You Canon, from now on we really will have memories that will last a life time…
I was given this camera as a gift from Canon but was not asked to write any review or post. All views, as always, are my own.
The shop here link contains an affiliate link which will cost you no more, but I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase.",825,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213689.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818134554-20180818154554-00340.warc.gz,0.973385035991669
8d6dca27-8b47-4903-86fc-58f84959746a,2017-08-20T00:12:04+00:00,2017-03-15,0,https://kokerebooted.wordpress.com/category/creative/,"Like most families around, I also come from one with a lots of branches.
My mom has 5 siblings, and loads of cousins, while my father has 2 brothers and a bunch of cousins as well. Funnily enough, out of these branches of the extended tree, I was closest to mostly my 2nd and 3rd cousins, that too just a few of them. And while I knew them, sure, I can’t say I stayed in touch with them all my life growing up.
Different cities, schools, colleges, residential schools, no internet and mobile, age differences, all played its part in keeping all us brothers and sisters a little distant from each other.
But when we were lucky, and we were lucky once in a while, we would meet up. And when we would meet, it would be crazy. CRAZY in caps.
And that makes me try to do this more, and more and MORE.
And if that doesn’t add up to my total in life, what does?
3 idiots – Circa 1995(?)
Global Meet 2017
via Daily Prompt: Total
Put into action due to this.
Find more of my work on 500px & Insta.
Looking Dangerous, Feeling Dangerous.
Right on the edge!!
The calm before the storm?
Let’s jump and see?
Crashing into each other!
Missing Sign!!! “Kids not allowed near the pool”
What is that?
The horrors of war
Crime & Punishment
Before the jump
Crossing the indian road….
The horrors of nothingness…
Tomorrow I turn 30.
When you turn 30, sometimes it feels like you are crossing a threshold.
At other times, it feels like a destination that’s just another on the way to a richer, fuller life.
30, some people will tell you, is the turn in your life when you finally realize what lies ahead.
Others will graciously disagree and say it’s just another number in a series of many unusual and meaningless ones that drive our lives.
Some will tell you that by now you ought to find your place in the world.
Sometimes 30 also feels like the time to sit down and take a proper inventory of your life, or also probably the time to do a very deep assessment of your own self.
Well, what is 30 really about?
Ask me next year.
Come back, and ask me next year.
Prompted by Cake.
And this one, from Diwali a few years ago. Inspired to post from –>
Illuminating the world together
This time, a presentation prompted by Partners.
Another one from the trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India.
Prompted by this.
From a few years ago, when we friends finally had a chance to explore the amazing location called Hampi, in the state of Karnataka, India. Driving our moped along the Tungabhadra, up and down rocky slopes we never thought these vehicles would be able to manage, trekking up the hillocks and lazing around after the subset. A fantastic weekend spent at Hampi.",664,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105955.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819235943-20170820015943-00062.warc.gz,0.952350556850433
d013873a-9b3a-479e-aa84-de305609bacf,2020-10-22T17:41:10+00:00,2020-10-22,0,https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a75?pg=2,"A welcoming group for those with an infertility diagnosis, such as endometriosis,...
A welcoming group for those with an infertility diagnosis, such as endometriosis, PCOS, male factor issues, tubal blockages, etc. Check out the Featured Post for more info!
Hello and welcome to the support for diagnosed infertility issues group. This is a group for individuals who have been trying to conceive for at least one year unsuccessfully, or for less time but with a known fertility-related condition. All members must follow babycenter.com guidelines, as well as rules specific to this group. If you are new here, you may want to lurk for a while to get a feel for the group and to see if you can find some answers to basic questions that have already been answered.
Here is a quick rundown of our rules, which are explained in detail in the Featured Post (highlighted in yellow):
*No drive-by BFPs announcing your pregnancy.
*No ""Am I pregnant?"" or ""Is this a line?"" posts.
*Don't post here if you've only been ttc for a few months and have no known fertility issues.
*Don't type in all CAPS or in text speak.
*Don't pop in to post your ""miracle story"".
*Look through recent posts before posting. Your question may have just recently been answered.
*If your topic hasn't been discussed in a long time, start a new thread and include some background info about you.
*Keep the title of your post relevant.
*Rudeness, disruptions, and insensitivity are not tolerated here.
*No soliciting adoptions, surrogates, embryos, or donations. Don't advertise books or products. Do NOT try to sell, donate, or buy prescription medications to/from others.",380,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880014.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022170349-20201022200349-00299.warc.gz,0.945028424263
17d6c731-135b-4ebc-9c42-e49997b8e7a1,2015-03-30T23:18:19+00:00,2013-06-30,0,http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.comment/id/576608/Music-in-the-air--Integrity-Jazz-Festival-comes-back-to-town.html?nav=5010&sortTypeOrder=2,"Music in the air: Integrity Jazz Festival comes back to town
June 30, 2013
The annual Integrity Jazz Festival returned to Minot Saturday at Scandinavian Heritage Park to fill the air with music from small combos to big band swing....
No comments posted for this article.
Post a Comment
News, Blogs & Events Web",66,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00191-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.860854268074036
5cb7676f-1106-40bd-820d-47e02d1f0f9b,2022-05-19T19:38:25+00:00,2022-05-19,1,https://adahzionblog.com/fg-to-open-five-more-marriage-registries-promise-to-make-them-accessible-to-grassroots/,"The Ministry of Interior has said five marriage registries will be opened for use before the end of the year.
The ministry currently has seven marriage registries across the country and has received approval to open an additional 21 to reduce the large crowds at the various marriage registries.
The existing Federal Government marriage registries are located in Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Kano, Jos, Owerri, and Port Harcourt.
The Director of Press, Ministry of Interior, Blessing Lere-Adams, explained in a statement that the establishment of the 21 marriage registries would be in batches.
“The ministry is working hard to conclude the establishment of new Federal Marriage Registries by the end of the year in the first phase. This is in a bid to bring marriage registries closer to the grassroots.
“We have ministerial approval to open 21 more registries by the end of 2022 but we are working on increasing that number to at least 25 before December 2022. In the long term, the ministry is striving to provide federal marriage services via its registries in all states of the federation but it has to be done in stages due to budgetary and human resources constraints.
“In the first phase, five would be opened before the end of the year. They are almost completed and their locations have been identified. I can tell you two would be in Lagos, one in Ibadan, one in Osun while the location of the last one is yet to be clarified.”she said.",314,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662529658.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519172853-20220519202853-00222.warc.gz,0.970755040645599
2bf65133-0aa6-4124-94d8-9fd209f679cc,2019-08-17T21:21:17+00:00,2019-06-11,0,http://plattsburghrecreation.com/586/Downtown-Parking,"Information about Downtown Parking
On January 3rd Plattsburgh began the reinforcement of the current parking time limit signage and laws Downtown. The map above should serve as a guide of the time limits in the Downtown, however, this map does not supersede the actual physical signs which take precedence.
Please follow the existing signage. Moving a car up or down a spot will not restart the time limit. If a person chooses to move their car to avoid the possibility of a ticket, it would have to be moved to another block.
6/11/2019 PPAC Draft Parking Plan Presentation
This draft parking plan was presented by Committee Member McFarlin with assistance from Committee Member Vinson. The draft parking plan consists of ideas on topics that have not been recommended by the PPAC or approved by the Common Council.
The purpose of this plan is to get the PPAC to begin discussing topics and to gather feedback on concepts relating to the creation of a managed parking system.
6/11/2019 PPAC Parking Replacement Options For Recommendations
This presentation was provided to the PPAC for feedback. As an advisory committee to the Common Council, the PPAC reviewed various parking replacement options and made recommendations to pass forward to the Common Council based on the options provided.
The PPAC voted to pass forward to the recommendations below with the condition that a traffic study is done to determine whether it is advisable for the City to pursue changing Durkee Street into a one-way street. The Common Council will now consider the recommendations and feedback from the PPAC as part of their decision making progress. The options still require final engineering and design work.
|Parking Replacement Options|
|Rank||Option||Net New Spaces (Public)|
|1||Arnie Pavone Memorial Parking Plaza||115|
|3||County Main Lot Expansion||60|
|5||Broad Street Lot Expansion||15|
|6a|| Durkee Street - One Way |
*This recommendation was made conditional upon further analysis of the effects of changing Durkee Street to a one-way Street*
|6b||Durkee Street -Two Way||27|
6/11/2019 PPAC Parking Count Update Presentation
An update of more parking count information since the 5/14/2019 presentation. Parking counts are on-going and data will be updated in future presentations.
5/14/2019 PPAC Parking Count Presentation
A presentation breaking down recent City efforts to better understand the utilization of city parking lot usage. Parking counts are on-going and data will be updated in future presentations.
RFP for Multi-Space Parking Paystations & Remote Payment Systems
The City released the RFP on Wednesday, May 8th, 2019. RFP Multi-Space Parking Paystations & Remote Payment Systems
4/9/2019 PPAC Parking Replacement Update
WARNING: WORKING DRAFT DESIGNS
It is important to note all of the following images and parking plans will need final approvals and final design/engineering work.
Other Parking Resources:
- - This link goes to the Parking Plan Development Timeline, from the issuance of an RFP for a parking study in June 2017 to the present.
- Downtown Parking Permit Trial - This link goes to the Downtown Parking Permit Trial webpage. The page contains information regarding the City of Plattsburgh's trial parking permits.
- - This link goes to the PPAC webpage. The page contains information regarding committee membership, meeting dates, and a link to agendas and minutes.
- 2018 Carl Walker Parking Study - This link opens the completed parking study, which was accepted by the Common Council in March 2018. The parking study contains a series of final recommendations for the City to pursue.
- - This link goes to a parking study update from Carl Walker. This was presented to the Common Council in December 2017 and contains information regarding recommendations for the City of Plattsburgh's parking system.
- - This link goes to a parking study update from Carl Walker. This was presented to the Common Council in October 2017 and contains information from the site visits and research Carl Walker has been conducting regarding the City of Plattsburgh's parking system.
Parking Frequently Asked Questions
Parking Replacement Plans if the Durkee Street lot plans are to move forward?
The City of Plattsburgh has been exploring a wide variety of parking replacement options. These efforts include building new lots, working with Clinton County to increase their parking capacity, the reconfiguration of city streets to allow more parking, discussions with various private lot owners for shared use agreements, and other options. A presentation of the most current parking replacement options at the April PPAC meeting can be found at http://www.cityofplattsburgh.com/586/Downtown-Parking. It is important to note that all options are currently only in working draft designs and conceptual, there still needs to be formal approvals by elected officials and final engineering work to be done.
Would the City implement one-way streets and roads if the plans were to move forward?
Based off of the most current parking replacement options discussed above there is only one street that is proposed to become one-way, and that is the section of Brinkerhoff Street between Oak Street and Margaret Street. The rest of Brinkerhoff Street is one-way. So the current parking replacement proposal would keep the traffic flowing in the same direction as the rest of Brinkerhoff Street. Once again, this is just an option for replacement parking. It is possible that after further discussions elected officials and the PPAC determine that they do not want to pursue this parking replacement option.
Would the City implement angled parking?
The City of Plattsburgh would consider angled parking as part of the parking replacement options. However, based on discussions the PPAC has had on angled parking, the City will make efforts to explore other parking replacement options before the introduction of angled parking. Based off of the most current parking replacement options, angled parking was only considered on Brinkerhoff Street and Durkee Street.
Where would funds and revenue generated from parking meters go to?
The City of Plattsburgh’s goal for the managed parking system is to efficiently manage the parking supply downtown, not generate revenue. Ideally, all revenue would be used to cover the costs of administering the managed system, maintenance, and other parking enforcement related issues. However, as is the case in other municipalities there is the potential for excess revenue. To prepare for that possibility, the PPAC has had some preliminary discussions that the City should create a separate fund for any parking meter revenue. This fund would only be spent on improvements within the footprint of the managed parking system. In other words, any money collected downtown would only be spent on improvements downtown on various things such as streetscape improvements and downtown beautification.",1394,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00020.warc.gz,0.943717122077942
0576adbd-f4e7-4db7-8ffc-a58e1baef3be,2013-05-24T16:05:55+00:00,2012-02-13,0,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/12/greece-austerity-cuts-euro-bailout,"Greece enacted billions of euros in spending cuts and fresh austerity measures last night in a volatile parliamentary vote aimed at avoiding default on its national debt and keeping the eurozone intact, despite some of the worst rioting and political violence witnessed in the country in years.
More than 40 buildings were set ablaze in an orgy of looting that left scores injured as protesters vented their anger at the caretaker government and parliament's ordering of a further €3.3bn of savings by slashing wages and pensions and laying off public sector workers.
In return, Greece is to receive a second eurozone bailout in two years worth €130bn in addition to a €100bn writedown of debt by the bankrupt country's private creditors.
There was turmoil inside the parliament, too. MPs voted 199-74 in favour of the cutbacks, despite strong dissent among the two main coalition members.
A total of 37 politicians from the majority Socialists and conservative New Democracy party either voted against the party line or abstained. A further six voted against sections of the legislation. After the vote, the government announced that those 43 MPs had been expelled.
But the scenes of mayhem on the streets of Athens and all across the country leave big questions unresolved regarding Greece's capacity to stick with the savage austerity. The country is in its fifth year of recession and has little prospect of halting a steep decline in living standards.
With eurozone leaders declaring it was time for Greece to put up or shut up and that Athens' promises could no longer be believed, Greece's two main parties and the caretaker prime minister invoked apocalyptic scenarios for the country if the cuts were not supported.
Meanwhile street battles between police firing rounds of teargas and demonstrators hurling firebombs and marble slabs left Syntagma square, the plaza in front of the parliament building, resembling a war zone.
Rubbish bins burned and plumes of smoke and asphyxiating clouds of toxic chemicals filled the air.
The explosions were so loud, they could be heard inside parliament and the teargas drifting across square reached the debating chamber. The buildings that were set on fire included cinemas, banks and a number of shops, and Greek television reported that dozens of citizens and at least 40 police officers had been injured.
Under a sea of banners denouncing further wage, pension and job cuts, tens of thousands of protesters chanted against ""the occupation"" of the country by foreign lenders keeping Greece afloat.
""The rebellion has begun,"" the veteran leftwinger Manolis Glezos told TV reporters. ""These measures will never pass. They are a breach of our democracy,"" he said, holding a mask to his face against the fumes.
The prime minister, Lukas Papademos, warned before the vote that wages and pensions would go unpaid, hospitals and schools would be devoid of funding, banks would collapse and people's savings would be lost if the 300 MPs rejected the terms set for receipt of a €130bn bailout.
Without the bailout – the second in two years – Greece would have been insolvent and would be forced to default on its debt next month when it needs to redeem €14.5bn of loans.
The punishment for those who failed to back the bill was swift and decisive. The conservative New Democracy party said it had expelled 21 out of its total 83 deputies. The Socialist PASOK party expelled about 20 of its 153 MPs.
But the finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, had warned: ""If the law is not passed, the country will go bankrupt.""
George Papandreou, the former socialist prime minister felled by the crisis last year, declared that Greece was embroiled in war it had to win. Antonis Samaras, the centre-right leader tipped to be prime minister after elections expected in April, also rallied his MPs behind the deal despite having resisted key details for weeks.
With trust between Athens and its eurozone creditors, led by Germany, at an all-time low, the Greek government was told the time for pledges had run out. ""Greece's promises are no longer enough for us,"" said Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany's finance minister, who also spoke of the possibility of Greece leaving the euro.
Following a day of high drama inside and outside parliament in Athens, the Greek coalition leaders now have to deliver some signed undertakings to Brussels that the measures decided last night are irreversible and will be implemented no matter who wins an election that is expected in April.
Eurozone finance ministers are then to agree to the bailout on Wednesday provided Greece meets its end of the bargain. Berlin is insisting most of the money is held in a separate account and is used purely to service Greece's debt. EU ministerial sources said that account could hold up to 70% of the bailout funds. By guaranteeing Greece's creditors are repaid, there would be no default.
• This article was amended on 13 February 2012 because the original said that after the Greek parliamentary vote, 43 ministers had been expelled. The figure referred to parliamentarians.",1021,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973818302154541
61d1e0c1-765e-42a2-b252-371bdbed591a,2015-03-29T22:23:43+00:00,2011-03-24,0,http://sandrajuto.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_24.html,"I don't have an iPhone, but your pouch makes me want one. :)Also, your hair looks very nice. Did you curl it?
Hej curly girl!Looking good...you and the phone pouch!
When I entered in this blog for the firs time, I thought that you was an spanish girl (with this name ! ). Do you know another way to do this effect with the pictures? Them look very well!
Instagram är fint, dina foton är fina, du är fin :)
Can I just say how much I LOVE your glasses?? I love it when you post pictures of yourself, you are so pretty!
Ohhh, I hope you're feeling better!Your iPhone pouch is lovely! ;D
I hope you feel better. I am loving these photos
min bebi. min söta lilla bebi.
har en svärmorskollektion av iphonefodral, det hade hon aaaaldrig stickat förut! :))) dessa va fina! O lockarna! Krull-app? god helg!!
You are so pretty and I'm truly jealous of those glasses of yours! Get well soon & give Berlin a hug from me!
Sandra! you look so different -and beautiful too- with the 'new' hair! nice to have you on instagram!
you have the best glasses ever! :D
that widow view looks really beautiful.and those pouch things are super. (pouch is a nice word too..)
schiibe.. i meant wiNdow..
Hi, welcome! If you have a question, please have a look at my FAQ-page. Anonymous comments are not being published, thank you!",375,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00172-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.829180002212524
7c893660-1e81-43d1-ada7-1a49d6a2002b,2019-08-23T11:21:24+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://www.packagingproducts.co.nz/products/paper-products/newsprint/newsprint-jumbo-paper-roll-400x400m/,"I've lost my password
Don't have an account? click here to create an account.
You are here:
Newsprint Jumbo Paper Roll 400x400m
*A hygienic wrapping for Fish and Chips - The great Kiwi Feast. *Cost effective industrial packaging. *Packing dishes and fine china when moving home. *Void fill.
All prices are GST exclusive.",84,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318375.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823104239-20190823130239-00503.warc.gz,0.799087047576904
d80177a9-d166-4fdf-9e18-fd65b034bfae,2022-05-17T04:18:04+00:00,2014-05-09,1,https://chinanews.net.au/2014/05/09/five-chinese-weapons-of-war-america-should-fear/,"American bimonthly The National Interest asks in its recent article titled “Five Chinese Weapons of War America Should Fear” – “China’s economy is on the rise – and so is its military. Should Washington be concerned?” and says:
In the last twenty years, China has quickly ascended from a regional to global military power. A generation ago, the People’s Liberation Army was armed with antiquated weapons and oriented towards a manpower-intensive “People’s War”. In the intervening period China has gone from a green to blue water navy, the air force is actively developing so-called fifth-generation fighters, and the army has been extensively modernized.
A vast array of new Chinese weapons are under development, some alarming in their potential.
China’s neighbors and the United States are observing China’s buildup with interest and concern. China is showing itself to be particularly interested in projecting military power in support of territorial claims in the East and South China Seas. Weapons that empower China to take decisive military action in support of such claims could escalate a regional crisis into a larger one involving Washington.
China recognizes the potential for conflict with the United States, however small, and is planning accordingly. China is pouring resources into weapons specifically designed to target American forces and limit their ability to operate near the Chinese mainland. These “anti-access, area-denial” (A2/AD) weapons have the potential to exclude American forces from China’s innermost defense zone: the so-called “First Island Chain” consisting of the Kuril Islands, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo.
The chances of a shooting war between China and the United States are remote, and neither is set on war with the other. However, the extent to which the interests contradict or compete with each another means war cannot be entirely ruled out. With that in mind, here are the five Chinese weapons the United States fears most.
DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile
The most dangerous weapon to U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region is the Dong Feng-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). Somewhat prematurely dubbed “the Carrier Killer”, the DF-21D is a medium-range ballistic missile specifically designed to attack American aircraft carriers, skirting the defenses of a U.S. naval task force to attack ships from above at hypersonic speeds.
DF-21D is a land-based system, with an estimated range of up to 1,500+km. Once launched, the missile would release a reentry vehicle traveling at speeds of up to Mach 10-12. The resulting velocity and kinetic energy—to say nothing of the reentry vehicle’s payload—would cause serious damage to even the largest naval vessels. Nobody knows for sure, but it is believed direct hits from a DF-21D could be enough to put an aircraft carrier out of action, or even sink it.
Mounted on a wheeled transporter and launcher, the DF-21D would be road-mobile and thus extremely hard to locate before launch. The reentry vehicle’s hypersonic speed would make it difficult—but not impossible—to shoot down.
The DF-21D has an Achilles’ heel, the so-called “kill chain” of sensors, relay stations, and command and control centers required to detect, identify, track, and hit a ship with a ballistic missile. There are many links in the chain leading to a successful DF-21D launch, and breaking just one would interrupt the entire process.
China would have to devote considerable reconnaissance assets to killing a carrier and maritime surveillance is not China’s strong suit. Land-based, over-the-horizon radars are imprecise, and maritime patrol aircraft, UAVs and submarines will be vulnerable to the carrier’s air wing. Only China’s satellites have the ability to provide tracking data, and those can be jammed or otherwise disabled.
The DF-21D was allegedly tested in early 2013, when two craters were observed in an outline of an aircraft carrier in the Gobi Desert.
The DF-21D weapon may be operational, but the kill chain is likely not, and it may be years before the entire system is fully operational. Still, the prospect of a weapon that can kill 5,600 Americans, destroy seventy aircraft, and destroy a pillar of American power projection worldwide is a sobering one to contemplate.
Note: In a test in 2012, DF-21D successfully hit and sank a simulated model of aircraft carrier and it is now in service (see my post “Suspected Test of DF-21D Anti-ship Missile that Has Already Been in Service” on January 18)
Chengdu J-20 Fighter
China’s first fifth-generation fighter, the J-20 is a large, twin-engine aircraft currently in the demonstrator phase. The J-20’s mission set is unknown, but the aircraft’s robust design seems to support it going in a number of different directions. The aircraft promises to be long-range, fast- and low-observable—if not outright stealthy. China has built three prototypes, the latest flew in early March 2014. The aircraft is projected to enter service some time around 2020.
A striking, delta-winged design complemented by large forward canards and a twin tail, the J-20 is China’s most ambitious aircraft project ever. The aircraft is speculated to mount a modern AESA phased array radar, an electro-optical targeting system. The two large internal weapons bays could conceivably carry a payload of air-to-air, land attack or anti-ship missiles.
The most obvious role for the J-20 is as an air superiority fighter. The J-20’s long range means the fighter can operate farther off China’s coast, intercepting attack and bomber aircraft including F/A-18 fighter bombers and B-1 and B-2 bombers. As a long-range fighter, the J-20 could also patrol disputed territories, particularly in support of China’s recently declared Air Defense Identification Zone.
China could also use the J-20 to target American support aircraft. Airborne early warning aircraft such as the E-3 Sentry and E-2C Hawkeye and aerial refueling aircraft such as the KC-135 and KC-130 are key assets that allow American forces to operate at long ranges. J-20 fighters equipped with long-range air-to-air missiles could attempt to shoot these aircraft down, crippling American and allied air forces.
Another possible role for the J-20 would be to attack American ships and bases in the Asia-Pacific. Groups of radar-evading J-20 fighters carrying land-attack missiles could precede a Chinese conventional ballistic missile strike, taking out American surface-to-air missile batteries, air bases, radar stations, and command and control targets across the Pacific. The strike would suppress American defenses and pave the way for conventional ballistic missiles strikes.
Time will tell what direction—or directions—the J-20 will take. Not knowing what the J-20 is designed to do, however, is an unwelcome unknown in a world with a twenty-year lead time on fighter jets.
For decades, American space-based military assets have given U.S. forces a considerable advantage on the battlefield. Satellites are essential to the American way of war. This is especially true in the Asia-Pacific, where distances from the continental United States are measured in thousands of miles.
China has at least an operational weapon, the SC-19. A derivative of the DF-21, the SC-19 ballistic missile is equipped with the KT-2 (a kinetic kill vehicle). Launched into space, the KT-2 is guided to target by infrared sensors. The KT-2 does not have an explosive warhead but destroys enemy satellites by colliding with them.
In 2007, a KT-2 struck and destroyed an aging Chinese satellite. In May 2013 China launched what it described as a “sounding rocket” carrying high-altitude experiments. U.S. intelligence believes that this was actually an SC-19/KT-2 test. The SC-19 is believed to be capable of reaching medium earth orbit, which would put American GPS navigation satellites at risk.
Chinese ASAT weapons could target a variety of American satellites, including intelligence collection, communications, and navigation satellites. The loss of such satellites would make it difficult to perform reconnaissance missions over China. It would also interfere with air, land and sea navigation, slow communications, and prevent the use of GPS-guided weapons.
Evidence suggests that China intends to put the SC-19 missile on wheeled transporters and launchers. With more than 1.86 million miles of paved roads in China, locating and destroying mobile Chinese ASAT weapons would be extremely difficult.
The use of anti-satellite weaponry by China in any future conflict would be roundly denounced. Still, as dependent as U.S. forces are on satellites the temptation to take the first shot in space would be difficult to resist.
Type 071 Landing Platform Dock
Power projection is becoming increasingly important to China, particularly to enforce territorial claims in the East and South China Seas. China’s ability to land amphibious troops on some island chains such as the Senkaku, Paracel and Spratly islands could embolden the leadership to do exactly that.
China has three amphibious assault ships of the Type 071 class, Kunlunshan, Jinggangshan and Changbaishan. The three ships are what western naval observers would call China’s “Gator Navy”: ships designed to transport and land marines on hostile shores. Three more Type 071s are expected, as well as six amphibious ships with full-length flight decks like the American Wasp-class.
The three Type 071 ships were built by the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyards of Shanghai. Each ship displaces 20,000 tons and is nearly 700 feet long. The 071 class can transport up to a battalion of marines—roughly 400 to 800 troops—and up to eighteen armored vehicles.
The ships have a flight deck capable of simultaneously operating two W-9 troop-carrying helicopters, and can store another four in a large hangar. The ships also have a very long well deck that can store and launch amphibious vehicles, rigid-hulled inflatable boats, and four Chinese troop-carrying hovercraft similar to the American LCAC.
China’s 071 amphibious transports are based with China’s South Seas Fleet, where they can be used to intimidate—or invade—Taiwan. However, like Western navies, China has been quick to embrace their use in other roles. In addition to assaulting coastlines and islands, Gators can also serve in the command and control, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance roles. One transport, Jinggangshan, is currently in the Indian Ocean as part of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 recovery effort.
A lone amphibious ship such as Jinggangshan is not worrisome. However, it represents the kind of expeditionary capability that an adventurous China could use to escalate a territorial dispute into a very dangerous situation.
Offensive Cyber Operations
The People’s Liberation Army believes establishing “electronic dominance” early on is critical to their success in a future conflict. Of the five Chinese weapons that America fears the most, the most enigmatic is China’s ability to mount offensive cyber operations.
Offensive cyber operations are defined by a wide spectrum of activity, from psychological operations to destroying enemy equipment and infrastructure. China’s electronic army might achieve that dominance by include seizing control of communications networks, planting harmful software, and even conducting online disinformation campaigns. Offensive cyber is best used in conjunction with traditional military operations, to present another front. For example, Chinese cyber operations could disrupt enemy computer networks or jam enemy communications prior to an aircraft and missile attack.
Detached from traditional military ideas of operational range, Chinese offensive cyber operations could be used against military or civilian targets without regard to geographic location. Offensive cyber operations are also the only weapon on this list that can strike the American homeland.
China’s main cyber unit appears to be the General Staff Department, Third Department. Roughly analogous to the U.S. National Security Agency, the Third Department may have as many as 130,000 personnel, attached to Chinese military units, twelve operational bureaus, and three research institutes. Within the Third Department is the Second Bureau, also known as 61398 Unit, tasked for operations involving the United States.
According to the Project 2049 Institute the General Staff Department, Fourth Department, traditionally tasked with electronic warfare and signals collection, may be involved in offensive cyber operations. The People’s Liberation Army’s concept of “integrated network and electronic warfare” makes it clear that China considers jamming enemy computer networks and jamming battlefield electronics related activities. The Chinese military links cyber operations to traditional forms of electronic warfare in ways the United States often does not.
Despite the amount of manpower devoted to China’s cyber capabilities, capabilities remain relatively unsophisticated. There is no sign, for example, that China is capable of such offensive cyber weapons as Stuxnet. Desmond Ball, a professor at Australian National University, argues that China’s leadership is well aware of their shortcomings in cyber warfare and this has “led to the adoption of a pre-emptive strategy…in which China’s very destructive but relatively unsophisticated cyber-warfare capabilities are unleashed at the very outset of prospective conflicts.”
The United States may be a leader in Internet and networking technologies, but the rapid development pace of both means that potential exploits will be constant and ever-changing. As both technologies continue to penetrate American society and the U.S. Military, there will be more opportunities for an adversary to exploit the cyber realm in a future conflict.
War between the United States and China is not inevitable any more than war with the Soviet Union was inevitable. There are quite a few good reasons that a great power war is even less likely than it was during the Cold War, particularly the state of mutually beneficial economic interdependence between the United States and China. That China should develop weapons such as these shouldn’t be any great surprise; it is logical from their perspective to prepare to engage the United States even without the intention of war.
These five weapons do not make war more likely—rather, they may give self-conscious China the confidence to cooperate with its neighbors and the United States. Alternately, they may tempt China to decisively settle longstanding claims—or create new ones. One thing is for certain: they put the ball in China’s court.
Kyle Mizokami is a writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. This is his debut article for The National Interest.Source: The National Interest – “Five Chinese Weapons of War America Should Fear”
- China claims H-18 stealth bomber is able to reach Guam with nuclear weapons (chinadailymail.com)
- Call made to US Congress for China war plan (chinadailymail.com)
- China: DF-21C aircraft carrier killer missiles show their strengh in Gobi Desert (chinadailymail.com)
- The mystery of China’s carrier-based aircraft (chinadailymail.com)
- China’s evolving core security needs: Active defence or subtle offence? (chinadailymail.com)
- China’s Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb Can Destroy US, Taiwan Military in Seconds (tiananmenstremendousachievements.wordpress.com)
- China Fields DF-26C New Intermediate-Range Nuclear Missile to Reach Guam (tiananmenstremendousachievements.wordpress.com)
- Aircraft carriers not PLA’s only strength against US: Voice of Russia (wantchinatimes.com)
- The Next Act for Aegis (news.usni.org)
- STRATEGIC WEAPONS: Chinese Carrier Killer Works (strategypage.com)
Categories: Defence & Aerospace",3445,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515501.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517031843-20220517061843-00418.warc.gz,0.939434051513672
87d806d2-669e-4599-9c00-403232cfd778,2020-10-22T17:10:08+00:00,2019-10-22,1,https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/orthopedic-implants-market,"The global orthopedic implants market size was estimated to be at USD 4,747.8 million in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2019 to 2026. Orthopedic Implants is a medical device that is used to stand-in for missing joints or bones. They sign up for the missing joints or bones by supplying medications, lend support to damaged bones or tissues and optimize body functioning. These are primarily used in minimally invasive surgeries that are used for treating spinal injuries and lumbar spinal stenosis.
This market is anticipated to grow at a faster pace because risk of osteoporosis and oerstoarthitis becomes more common as one nears old-age. These are the devices that replace or provide bone fixation or replace articulating surface joints. Such implants are made of iron, cobalt, chromium, titanium and plastic-coated alloys that behave as cartilages.
Know more about this report: request for sample pages
They can be used life-long or even replaced once they have fulfilled their purpose. Risks associated with the devices occur during replacement or removal of these implants. The drivers to growth of the orthopedic implants market are the increasing geriatric population present globally. The center for health designs states that the number of elderly population is going to double in coming years. Furthermore, increasing number of joint replacements and sport accidents across the globe would also enjoy reassuring growth during forecast period. Most importantly, trauma cases and fractures boost this market infinitely during forecast period. Accompanying trauma cases and fractures, hip implants also push market growth higher during forecast period.
Restraints to market growth is the exorbitant costs, negligent reimbursable policies and strict confirmatory policies followed by Government in adopting various implants hinder the market growth. Product recalls at many a times also hinders market growth during forecast period.
According to available figures, around two million patients visit United States of America for head trauma related cases every year. The spinal implants segment is slated to gain momentum in developing regions form 2019-2026. Rise in demand for spinal surgery and increase in incidence of spinal fractures among the geriatric population are prime factors fueling growth of the segment. Based on end-user, Hospital segment led the market in terms of revenue growth in 2018. But spinal orthopedic segment market will lose some of its sheen owing to preferences by patients for orthopedic clinics to undergo treatment. Most orthopedic implants fall under CLASS III category which is the most rigorous classification present in medical devices.
A lot of outsourcing by OEM’s and supplier alliances continue to benefit outsourced manufacturers, thus affecting this industry. New areas of entrant are likely to pose a lot of market opportunity to various manufacturers in this field.
Furthermore favorable reimbursements for different musculoskeletal disorders under Medicare policy boost the market growth in the region. For instance, Medicare paid for more than 400,000 hip and knee replacements at a cost of USD 7 Billion to taxpayers for hospitalization alone. The focus of leading players will also pave the way for growth of this market. In the US, more than 1.35 million children suffered a sports related injury which was complicated enough to send them to hospital emergency. Such volume of sport related injuries will drive the market growth. It has come to notice that total joint arthroplasty has been grabbing lot of eye balls due to increasing demand and more so its cost. In the U.S. cost of implants is grossly high and some health care providers have tried their best in reducing costs which certainly have showed positive signs in market growth. Australians over 50 have osteoporosis or poor bone health with data showing that 1 in every 3.6 minutes is recorded and these patients who suffer from bone related injuries will in all likelihood improve market growth in Asia Pacific market.
Know more about this report: request for sample pages
On the basis of application type, the overall market is segmented as spinal, hip, knee, dental, craniomaxillofacial and S.E.T (Sports Medicine, Extremities, Trauma) orthopedic implants. The knee segment beats market figures with joint replacement surgeries for geriatric population increasing in physical numbers across the globe.
Furthermore developing regions are getting more educated of joint replacement surgeries that will drive market extremities during forecast period. In the same vein, spinal segment will have a good run during forecast period.
By Geography, Orthopedic implant market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, MEA and Latin America. North America keeps strong grip on the entire orthopedic implants market. The growth in the market is driven by increasing healthcare spending by local government and well-established healthcare infrastructure in US and Canada. More importantly, the rising aged population in North America will drive growth in forecast period. Asia Pacific also improves upon growth rankings in the foreseeable future owing to knowledge with use of various orthopedic implants, nascent market needs and developing healthcare infrastructure. As always, joint replacements and its increased knowledge with accessible market for treatment in Asia pacific will boost market future in forecast period.
Some of the major key players in orthopedic implants market include Medtronic, Zimmer Bionet Holdings, Inc., Aesculap Implants Systems, DePuy Synthes, Biotek Instruments, Inc., Conmed Corporation., The Orthopedic Implant Company, Smith and Nephew plc., Stryker Corporation, Wright Medical Group, N.V., Nuvasive INc., and Arthrocare Corporation.",1138,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880014.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022170349-20201022200349-00297.warc.gz,0.939435422420502
53e75956-b71d-463d-a46d-5e5fc339e996,2013-05-23T11:42:11+00:00,2012-10-17,1,http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-17/egypt-to-fight-sexual-harassment-by-broadcasting-attackers,"Already a Bloomberg.com user?
Sign in with the same account.
Egypt launched a campaign to protect women from sexual harassment by videotaping attackers and broadcasting the images, state-run Middle East News Agency said.
Cameras will be sited in major squares and streets to capture images of men harassing women, MENA reported today, citing the Interior Ministry.
Sexual harassment is one the most common problems facing girls and women in Egypt’s streets and public places.
The National Council for Women is preparing a full anti- harassment campaign with help from the Interior Ministry, and had suggested harsher penalties for such offenses, MENA said, citing the council. The project would be finalized before the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. The festival often witnesses the highest rates and worst cases of sexual harassment, said Mervat El-Talawy, the council chairwoman.
To contact the reporter on this story: Salma El Wardany in Cairo at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at firstname.lastname@example.org",232,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.906429469585419
a45c2897-f3a2-48c3-84c2-506bd5315276,2018-08-19T17:56:03+00:00,2017-01-28,0,https://fox17online.com/2017/01/28/university-of-michigan-aims-to-assure-international-students/,"University of Michigan defies Trump, aims to assure international students
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — University of Michigan officials have told international students the school won’t share their immigration status unless required by law in the wake of an immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump.
The Detroit Free Press reports that University President Mark Schlissel issued a statement Saturday morning seeking to express support, but it doesn’t propose or announce new policies.
Schlissel says the Ann Arbor school doesn’t “share sensitive information” and campus police officers don’t seek the immigration status of people when performing their duties.
Trump’s order, which faces legal challenges, bars all refugees from entering the U.S. for four months, and indefinitely halts any from Syria. He says the ban was needed to keep out “radical Islamic terrorists.”",183,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215261.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819165038-20180819185038-00253.warc.gz,0.922375202178955
5121bf9b-0394-4fa5-bf45-2b7378552b9d,2018-08-18T15:44:54+00:00,2016-11-22,1,http://lumbertonenews.com/2016/11/22/malware-is-making-atms-spit-cash/,"A Russian cybersecurity firm has issued a warning about a spate of remotely coordinated attacks on cash machines.
Hacks of banks’ centralised systems had made groups of machines issue cash simultaneously, a process known as “touchless jackpotting”, said Group IB.
The machines had not been physically tampered with, it said, but “money mules” had waited to grab the cash.
Affected countries are said to include Armenia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain and the UK.
But the company declined to name any specific banks.
Dmitriy Volkov from Group IB told the BBC a successful attack could net its perpetrators up to $400,000 (£320,000) at a time.
“We have seen such attacks in Russia since 2013,” he said.
“The threat is critical. Attackers get access to an internal bank’s network and critical information systems. That allows them to rob the bank.”
Two cash machine manufacturers, Diebold Nixdorf and NCR Corp, told Reuters they were aware of the threat.
“They are taking this to the next level in being able to attack a large number of machines at once,” said senior director Nicholas Billett, from Diebold Nixdorf.
“They know they will be caught fairly quickly, so they stage it in such a way that they can get cash from as many ATMs as they can before they get shut down.”
‘Follow the money’
A recent report by Europol warned of the rise of cash-machine-related malware, although it said “skimming” – using hardware to steal card information at the machine itself – was still more common.
“The new method is being done by somehow gaining access to the banks’ central systems and infecting whole communities of ATMs simultaneously, hence multiplying the amount of money that can be stolen in a short time,” said Surrey University’s cybersecurity expert Prof Alan Woodward.
Because criminals were collecting the cash in person, it made the crime more difficult to trace, he added.
“The classic way of solving online financial crime is to ‘follow the money’ – but when you can no longer do this, it is very hard to find out who is behind it, even though the evidence suggests it is a very limited number of groups that have started perpetrating this type of crime.”",519,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213691.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818154147-20180818174147-00627.warc.gz,0.970691025257111
253013d3-a0f3-494e-a7a4-e8e2ad190b5d,2016-07-25T20:04:36+00:00,2014-04-28,1,http://www.newsfactor.com/news/New-Filesharing-Apps-Ready-To-Roll/story.xhtml?story_id=111001U97Y0U,"Facing increased competition for very-high-speed Internet access, AT&T is expanding the rollout for its service. As many as 100 cities and towns are in the new plan, including Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
AT&T's fiber service can offer speeds up to 1 gigabit a second. Many of the targeted areas are also covered by competitors Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Their $45 billion pending merger is a big incentive for AT&T to get its areas wired, and customers settled, before the new giant fully gears up.
A senior executive vice president at AT&T Home Solutions, Lori Lee, told The Wall Street Journal that the competition from Comcast/Time Warner would make a tougher competitor out of AT&T.
Additionally, Google is conducting a smaller rollout of gigabit-speed fiber-based Internet service in Austin, Texas and Kansas City, Kansas, among others. Google has said it is also looking at dramatically expanding its rollout.
The Google-AT&T competition for very-high-speed fiber may just be heating up. Reports indicate that AT&T is considering bringing its high-speed fiber network to Nashville, one of the areas that Google is considering for expansion, and AT&T has now targeted Kansas City.
AT&T's plans are to begin deploying the high-speed service in at least some of the expanded rollout areas by the end of this year. Most of the added cities already have AT&T U-verse service for Net and TV, which uses fiber to the curb and then copper for the final leg into homes and businesses. The expanded rollout, in addition to laying new fiber to the curb, is also intended to replace the existing copper lines.
Charter, Hotspot 2.0
The Comcast/Time Warner competition is still very much a moving target. According to a report in Monday's Financial Times, the two companies could sell between 3 million and 5 million customers to Charter Communications. That move would be intended to help ease the way for federal regulatory approval, by lessening Comcast/Time Warner's share of the market.
According to Comcast, those subscribers are worth at least $17 billion. Charter is the fourth-largest cable company in the U.S., and it had previously made its own offer for Time Warner Cable, but Time Warner management was not interested.
In addition to wired services, the soon-to-be-one companies are also pushing Wi-Fi hotspots. Time Warner has switched on its Hotspot 2.0 service throughout its public Wi-Fi network, which offers the ability for customers to connect without re-entering log-ons.
The idea is that, like cellular technology, public Wi-Fi should automatically recognize and log-on to devices that have already established access. Hotspot 2.0 has not yet caught on among providers, although the Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying devices for the spec about two years ago. Time Warner would be the first large implementation.",608,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824345.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00214-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967745840549469
88dd9820-e7e0-42c0-b2e7-1568421ac7a2,2016-07-25T13:57:54+00:00,2013-12-31,0,http://www.insuranceforums.info/will-fined-for-not-having-health-insurance-t25863.html,"The new law creates penalties in the tax code as an incentive. So if you file an income tax return you will be required to show that you have health insurance.
Those without coverage pay a tax penalty of the greater of $695 per year up to a maximum of three times that amount ($2,085) per family or 2.5% of household income. The penalty will be phased-in according to the following schedule: $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, and $695 in 2016 for the flat fee or 1.0% of taxable income in 2014, 2.0% of taxable income in 2015, and 2.5% of taxable income in 2016. Beginning after 2016, the penalty will be increased annually by the cost-of-living adjustment.
Exemptions will be granted for financial hardship, religious objections, American Indians, those without coverage for less than three months, undocumented immigrants, incarcerated individuals, those for whom the lowest cost plan option exceeds 8% of an individual’s income, and those with incomes below the tax filing threshold.
You will report your insurance on your tax returns and if you are employed and on a group policy your employer will report your insurance.
The regulation is written to allow you three months grace period without insurance but it is also left up to the Secretary of Health to make a final determination. She can extend or restrict that grace period at will.",288,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00193-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950275361537933
5b7c9326-d767-42b4-b3cd-9400a35bcc11,2013-05-25T05:58:30+00:00,2012-10-17,1,http://beta.fool.com/liorc/2012/10/17/where-price-oil-headed/14474/,"Where is the Price of Oil Headed?
Lior is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
The price of oil has experienced high volatility in the past couple of weeks. But despite this high volatility the price of oil remained close to its starting point from the beginning of month. Will this high volatility in the oil market continue? Further, will oil prices resume their downward trend?
During October, the price of oil fell by 0.4%; United States Oil (NYSEMKT: USO) mirrored this decline with a 0.4% drop of its own. The tensions in the Middle East may have contributed to the high volatility in the oil market, but the stable OPEC oil production, the decline in the IEA projection for global demand in 2012, and the rise in U.S oil production and refineries input curbed the rally of the price of oil. Let’s further explore these issues and determine what is next for oil prices.
The high volatility of oil prices has affected several oil producers, including Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM). During October, the linear correlation between Chevron and oil (daily percent changes) is 0.4, and between Exxon and oil it is 0.43. Thus, nearly 16% of Chevron’s volatility and 18% of Exxon Mobil’s volatility (under the assumptions of linearly of relation and normality of data) could be attributed to the shifts in the price of oil. The moderate fall in oil prices may have also pulled down these oil producers’ stocks. These energy companies are also strongly correlated with the S&P500 index (during October the linear correlations reached 0.56 and 0.46, respectively). Thus, the ongoing fall of the S&P500 may have also pulled down, to a certain extent, the stocks of these energy companies. Nonetheless, if the price oil will continue to dwindle it could affect the valuation of Chevron and Exxon. So let’s see what has changed in the oil market.
Last week, the U.S. Petroleum and oil stockpiles decreased by 4.3 million barrels, reaching 1,792 million barrels. The current oil stockpiles are 22.9 million barrels above the levels during the same week in 2011. The linear correlation between the changes in stockpiles and oil prices is mid-strong and negative, which mean that if oil stockpiles fall further, it could suggest that oil prices are likely to rally.
From the supply side, according the previous EIA report, the U.S oil production continues to rally, as the average production rose last week by 4.3% (week over week). Refinery inputs also rose by 0.7%. Based on these data, the U.S supply expanded last week, and might be among the factors to curb the rally of oil prices. This explanation seems reasonable, but the data don’t support this claim.
The chart below shows the development of the four week average oil production and the weekly average price of oil between the years 2011 and 2012. The trend between the two data sets seems to coincide, but the linear correlation between the two is roughly -0.015, which isn’t significant. Therefore, the weekly shifts in oil production aren’t enough to explain the movement of oil prices on a weekly scale. Nonetheless, if oil production rises further, it will help pull down the price of oil in the long run.
As for OPEC’s oil production, there wasn’t any sharp changes during last month. According the recent OPEC report, the total oil production only slightly declined to 31,078 thousand bbl/d in September. All eyes continue to be on Iran as its oil production remains low: its oil production reached 2,723 thousand, which is still a relatively low amount compared to previous months. This might suggest that if oil production remains low, it could eventually affect the oil market. The ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the sanctions by Europe and the U.S. against Iran raise the chances of an escalation in the Middle East that could adversely affect Iran’s oil production.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t require a sharp drop in production for the price of oil to rise precipitately. The oil production of Libya, which before the civil war was around 1,600 thousand bbl/d – nearly half of Iran’s production – caused the price of oil to jump by more than $20 per bbl within a matter of weeks. Thus, even a 50% drop in Iran’s production could cause a sharp rise in oil prices. This raises the question--is there something to worry over?
The big question is whether the U.S., along with Israel, will commence a full blown attack on Iran. Since there is still time until the Presidential election, this question won’t be answered until then. Further, the recent decision in the Israeli parliament to have elections at the end of January also pushes the debate over an attack back untial at least after the Israeli elections. Therefore, I don’t think the oil market will be affected by the tensions in the Middle East. There could be additional speculations about the future steps of these three nations that could affect the oil price, but again I don’t think these speculations will amount to a fundamental change.
This leaves the demand side and the fluctuations in the currencies as the only factors that could have a substantial effect on the oil prices. In regards to the demand, the recent IEA report projects a decline in the growth in demand for oil in 2012. This could loosen the oil market and thus lower the price of oil.
Therefore, I think that the price of oil will continue to fall in the weeks to follow; there might be additional spurts in the price of oil as the tensions in the Middle East will remain high, but unless there is some unexpected development that is related to the oil market (e.g. an escalation in the Middle East, another Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, etc.), I still guess the price of oil will come down.
This analysis on oil prices was first published on Trading NRG
For further reading:
Disclaimer: The author holds no positions in stocks mentioned and does not plan to initiate positions within 120 hours of the posting of this article. This article is to be used for educational, research and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. There are no guarantees, expressed or implied, of future positive returns in regards to the subject matter contained herein. Understand the risks inherent in investing before making the decision to invest or consult an investment professional for more information. Reasonable due diligence has been performed in regards to the information in this article. However, the author expressly disclaims any liability for accidental omissions of information or errors in fact.
liorc has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of ExxonMobil. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Chevron. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.If you have questions about this post or the Fool’s blog network, click here for information.",1522,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957615971565247
956d1ecb-6c7c-4039-a1d5-20a4cd76df9e,2022-05-27T22:53:34+00:00,2022-05-03,1,https://thewordpressarticledirectory.com/weekly-poll-results-oneplus-ace-10r-success-hinges-on-the-right-pricing,"Money, money, money – it always comes down to the price of a phone these days. The OnePlus Ace, which launched as the OnePlus 10R in India a few days ago, has potential, but the company has to hit the right price point.
Many in the comments were wishing that this will be a sub-€400 phone in Europe, however, while we don’t know the exact price yet, the €450 price tag of the Realme GT Neo2 makes it unlikely. We do know the price for India: ₹39,000 for the base model (80W charging, 5,000 mAh battery) and ₹44,000 for the Endurance Edition (150W charging, 4,500 mAh battery).
We mentioned the GT Neo2 because the Ace (the 10R especially) is basically a rebranded Realme GT Neo3. Speaking of the Neo3, that one went global on Friday, starting with a launch in India with a promotional price tag ₹30,000 (regular price is ₹36,000 for the 80W variant and ₹43,000 for the 150W variant).
OnePlus 10R aka OnePlus Ace
Anyway, back to the OnePlus Ace/10R. It’s not the most popular phone in the world, but about 1 in 3 voters are just waiting for local stores to stock up and are prepared to hit the ‘buy’ button.
A smaller fraction prefers the Realme model. While the hardware is all but identical, several commenters wrote that they prefer the styling of the GT Neo3. That’s not great news, since the 10R model looks the same. There is no Sandstone option, no Alert slider either, come to think of it (those two have been long-time fan favorites).
Speaking of hardware, people wish there was a smaller option than the 6.7” display. The Nord 2 is smaller, but is also a mid-ranger that misses out on things like the 10-bit 120 Hz display.
Going back to the OnePlus vs. Realme debate, while Realme UI has come a long way, the company still doesn’t offer the long term software support that OnePlus fans are used to, which is a good way to maintain brand loyalty for OnePlus. The 10R runs OxygenOS 12.1 out of the box (based on Android 12), OnePlus has committed to 3 major OS updates and 4 years of security updates.",515,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663006341.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527205437-20220527235437-00623.warc.gz,0.929348170757294
36cfbdba-0cec-4dd6-bbb2-094ced02bdc3,2022-05-20T10:54:20+00:00,2022-05-20,1,https://3news.com/ghana-to-play-japan-chile-and-tunisia-in-june/,"Ghana will compete in a four-nation tournament with Japan, Chile, and Tunisia in June as part of their preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in June.
Japan will host the Kirin Super Cup from Friday, June 10 to Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
The tournament will be held at the Noevir Stadium in Misaki Park, Hyogo-Ku, Kobe, and the Panasonic Stadium in Kobe.
The Black Stars will begin the tournament against Japan on Friday, June 10 while Tunisia face Chile in the other game.
On Match Day 2 – Ghana will play against Tunisia or Chile on Tuesday, June 14 regardless of the result of the match against hosts Japan.
Ghana, Japan, and Tunisia have all qualified for the World Cup, but Chile shockingly missed out.
The Black Stars are paired in Group H with Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.",177,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531779.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520093441-20220520123441-00215.warc.gz,0.947244942188263
9c5bab28-19c9-42d1-8867-0c1963360cc4,2019-08-25T03:00:41+00:00,2018-12-19,1,https://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article223255820.html,"Spirit AeroSystems to add 1,400 more jobs in Wichita
In a move Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer called “the biggest news for this state in a long time,” Spirit AeroSystems announced Wednesday that it plans to add 1,400 more jobs in Wichita next year. That’s in addition to the 1,000 jobs — and $1 billion in infrastructure — it promised the city at this time last year.
“We have completed hiring that first 1,000, and in fact we have exceeded it,” Spirit President and CEO Tom Gentile said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Spirit is already Wichita’s largest employer. The latest announcement signals the company’s commitment to the city’s future and could pump tens of millions of dollars into the local economy each year, officials said.
With a growing presence in the defense sector and general aviation expected to continue expanding, Spirit expects to be able to compete globally by hiring “the best aviation workers in the world” in Wichita, Gentile said.
The announcement to add 1,400 jobs came a little over a year after the company announced it would add 1,000 new jobs — 800 in 2018 and 200 in 2019. The company reached that goal within a few months this year, Gentile said.
“Spirit is the kind of company that under promises and over delivers,” Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell said.
Longwell said the new jobs are important to all Wichitans, whether they work in aviation or not.
“It truly adds extra dimensions to our community,” Longwell said.
“Those 1,400 jobs are going to introduce almost $75 million annually to this community,” Longwell said. “It’s more housing, it’s retail workers, it’s hospitality industry workers — it’s supply chain.”
As part of the company’s expansion, it also announced last December that it would invest $1 billion in capital improvements at its Wichita plant by 2023.
Last month, the company said it would add 320 new jobs as part of an $18 million bond request approved by the Wichita City Council. Those jobs would be in addition to the 1,000 jobs announced last December.
The new jobs will bring the number of Spirit employees in Wichita from 11,000 on the day of the announcement last December to 13,400 at the end of 2019, Gentile said.
The aircraft supplier and city’s largest employer revealed plans in May for a 150,000-square-foot building — part of the $1 billion expansion that includes 1,000 new jobs.
The majority of the added jobs will be hourly positions, Gentile said, including mechanics, machine operators, sheet metal workers and people working with composites and metallics. Most jobs will be “assembly-line” work with market-rate salaries, he said.
The average salary for the new jobs will be $56,000 a year, said Keturah Austin, senior spokesperson for Spirit.
Colyer said these added jobs will keep Kansas competitive in a growing global industry.
“This isn’t just about this generation. This is about people’s children and grandchildren. It’s about keeping kids here, in Kansas,” Colyer said.
“We recognize that the strength of Spirit is the strength of Wichita and vital to the ongoing economic health of our state,” Gov.-elect Laura Kelly said, while pledging to work with the business community to improve economic development in the state when she takes office next month.
A growing demand
“In many respects, this is the golden age of aviation,” Gentile said to a crowd of Spirit employees, local media and government officials packed into the IPB-4 Building, where the company manufactures thrust reversers for the Boeing 737.
“We’re growing in terms of air traffic. There’s an incredible demand for new aircraft, and we are building more aircraft than ever before, so we need more people as we go up in production rate,” Gentile said.
Gentile said only about 20 percent of people in the world have ever boarded an airplane, but 100 million people in Asia are taking their first flight each year.
“So there’s this incredible demand,” Gentile said.
In fact, there’s such a demand for commercial aircraft that Boeing and Airbus, the two major aircraft companies Spirit contracts with, have eight years worth of work that’s waiting to be completed.
“The current backlog is 13,000 aircraft between Boeing and Airbus, worth $2 trillion. Spirit’s fortunate to have work packages on all of those,” Gentile said.
Boeing and Airbus are looking to increase their production rates, Gentile said, and he wants to grow Spirit’s workforce to a size that can handle the new work.
Who will fill the jobs?
The “fast-track” to a job at Spirit is WSU Tech, Gentile said. The technical school, formerly known as Wichita Area Technical College, re-branded through an affiliation with Wichita State. It offers certification and training that qualify them for jobs at Spirit.
Gentile said Spirit has been able to surpass new jobs expectations because of the partnership the company has with government, including support for WSU Tech and the “intellectual horsepower” offered by the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State.
Both of those programs received substantial support from the state and county to boost certifications for aviation workers and research and development, including an additional $5 million for NIAR and $1.7 million for NCAT, Gentile said. He said more than 200 WSU students have been involved in the research and development initiatives.
Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle said the partnership between state government, through funding to WSU and NIAR, has created a “pipeline” for young Kansans to careers in the aviation industry.
“We now have a pipeline of young people who are excited about our growth in aviation and they’re looking forward to working here,” Wagle said.",1308,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027322170.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825021120-20190825043120-00405.warc.gz,0.951446354389191
0891c5e3-c12d-404f-af63-b74bc63b2601,2018-08-22T02:27:37+00:00,2018-08-22,0,http://www.vacuumstate.com/index.dna?rubrik=1&kat=6&sku=7&lay=art2&lang=2&a=%2519%25D9hxmn%25DC%252500&b=737099.8637841182,"Allen says: ""I believe cables are as important as any other system component, and bring you 15 years of my research on the subject.""
- 188 Pages 130 Pics
- 35 Projects
- Speaker Cables
- AC Cords
Sonically superior to many hi-priced commercials, but at a fraction of the cost. And all with regular tools and readily available materials! There is also 23 pages of supporting theory, and we offer kits...",92,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219242.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20180822010128-20180822030128-00370.warc.gz,0.92534613609314
8eec33ee-76c1-4e6b-8453-55e470730f3d,2022-05-21T08:34:17+00:00,2021-03-11,1,https://r4isdhcx.com/canceled-nintendo-game-boy-color-scheme-could-finally-be-released/,"Canceled Nintendo Game Boy color scheme could finally be released
A canceled Nintendo Game Boy Color game could have another chance to live thanks to an upcoming Kickstarter campaign. The game is called Infinite, and it was in development from 1999 to 2001. Unfortunately, 2001 saw the release of the Game Boy Advance system, and publishers began to be wary of spending more time and resources on games for the older platform. . Developer Affinix Software was disbanded in 2002, and the game was officially canceled as a result. However, developer Incube8 Games is now planning to complete the title in time for its 20th anniversary, and even make it available on Game Boy Color cartridges!
The Incube8 Tweet announcing the project can be found below.
We’re proud to announce that after 20 years of development in limbo, Infinity will finally get its long-awaited release on Game Boy Color! Upcoming Kickstarter campaign. Sign up for the newsletter for updates! https://t.co/eAfexkhc2T @retromoddingcom @InfinityGBC
– Incube8 Games (@ Incube8Games) March 11, 2021
Incube8 Games contains a mix of developers from the original team, as well as new members. If the Kickstarter is successful when it launches this summer, Game Boy Color cartridges will be produced by Retro Modding. Incube8 Games has a newsletter that will provide subscribers with information about the Kickstarter campaign, and subscribers will also receive “an exclusive blend of Infinitesoundtrack.”
Infinite is an 8-bit RPG with over 50 areas to explore, six heroes to control, and over 100 obtainable items. The graphics of the game seem to recall titles like The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of the Seasons. Fans of the Game Boy Color handheld console will definitely want to keep an eye out for this one; from the trailer it looks like it would have been a loud swan song for the hardware!
The end of the Game Boy Color has proved troublesome for many developers and their games. Games like Shantae those released late in the life of the system received smaller prints, making them extremely difficult to find. It is not surprising to hear Infinite was a victim of that time, but that could finally be fixed when the Kickstarter goes live later this year.
Do you hope to see Infinite finally finished? Do you plan to check out the game’s Kickstarter? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about everything related to games!",526,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539049.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521080921-20220521110921-00619.warc.gz,0.94819039106369
24a0ce9d-50f7-434e-9639-09fa629ec3ce,2013-05-25T19:47:42+00:00,2007-12-26,0,http://nickrenton.com/908.htm,"The essay set out below has been on this site since 2001.
As announced in the 2005-05-10 Federal Budget, data from the ABS has been available online free of charge since 2005-07-01.
Official wheels grind slowly, but it is pleasing that the Government has at long last implemented Nick Renton's recommendations.
THE ABS ATTITUDE TO THE INTERNET IS UNFAIR
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is best known by the general public for its quarterly Consumer Price Index announcements and for conducting a census every five years. People also know that the bureau measures wage rates and unemployment.
However, its work for the community goes well beyond those highly visible aspects. The ABS plays an important role in the national economy.
Its information is used by both the public and the private sectors for planning purposes. Many businesses rely on ABS data for marketing strategies and for many other tasks.
It is probably not widely recognised, but the Australian community actually pays for this service three times:
It would seem reasonable that most of the statistics produced by this government agency at taxpayer expense should then be made freely available to the general public. Intelligent use of such figures would lead to a better economy.
With some exceptions the ABS employs a ""user pay"" policy. In particular, clients wanting information specially tailored to their individual needs can obtain it in return for an appropriate payment, a fee for service. This is probably reasonable enough in a commercial context - although less so in relation to the academic world.
It is also understandable that the normal printed publications issued by the ABS on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis should involve some minor charge - at least to cover the actual costs at the margin of paper, printing, handling and postage. But it is not appropriate that such fees should generate significant profits - even if these are then used somewhere else by way of cross-subsidisation.
However, as businesses would realise if they thought about it, the contents of these papers should be made available free of charge to all users. After all, the collection and tabulation of the data have in the main already been financed by the normal annual appropriations in the Federal budget.
Furthermore, the basic information needs to be put together in any case for the purposes of government administration, irrespective of whether or not anyone in the private sector later on buys the detailed figures.
This suggests that all the data in the possession of the ABS could very easily be put on the Internet and thus be readily made available to all and sundry for very little outlay.
The ABS already puts the latest key indicator figures on the World Wide Web at http://www.abs.gov.au - so that the marginal cost of in addition providing access to historical data would be negligible.
Many private sector organisations with web sites which set out current information voluntarily also include archival material. They then make its location and retrieval easy through the use of appropriate search facilities.
If such an approach is good enough for these organisations then why cannot the taxpayer-funded ABS provide an equivalent or superior service?
And why should, for example, the Consumer Price Index figures for the latest calendar quarter (6401.0) be on public display in great detail without charge but not those for earlier periods (although these were originally available thus)? Is there any point of principle involved in this distinction?
And why is the useful ""search"" facility buried away deep in the ABS site instead of being on the home page, where lay readers would naturally expect to find it?
In contrast, the American counterparts of the ABS, the United States Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, maintain two very extensive sites at http://www.census.gov and http://stats.bls.gov respectively. Data can readily be downloaded in a large variety of formats selected by the user.
In addition, the Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy in the United States offers what it describes as ""one stop shopping for Federal statistics"" at http://www.fedstats.gov
All these sites are naturally open to inquirers throughout the world. It seems strange indeed that Australian businesses can thus get American statistical data more readily and more cheaply than they can get their own.
It also raises the question of what potential business entrepreneurs from overseas who are contemplating investing in Australia must think of our level of sophistication.
Interestingly, there are many precedents in the Australian public sector for making information available free of charge on the Internet. For example, taxation statistics are available on the Australian Taxation Office site http://www.ato.gov.au
In a different area, members of the public can now readily read online or download legislation and the decisions of the superior courts from http://scaleplus.law.gov.au
Governments are always paying lip service to making Australia the clever country and to expanding the information super highway. It is high time for the ABS to be pushed into the 21st century.
© 2001 N E Renton. All rights reserved.
Back to the top of this Page
Compendium of Good Writing
Home Page of Nick Renton AM
This page http://nickrenton.com/908.htm was last updated on 2007-12-26",1060,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93719220161438
a6eadbd3-ff23-4c1e-9f71-71cd515dc8a4,2020-10-27T14:35:16+00:00,2020-10-27,0,https://www.boozebangles.com.au/product/1kg-epsom-salts/,"Epsom salt is different from traditional salt in that it’s actually a mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate, and is technically known as magnesium sulfate. Did you know Magnesium sulfate is a mineral that many of us are lacking in, as levels have been decreasing over the last three to four decades around the world?
The lack of this important nutrient in our bodies is due to a combination of issues, including over development of agricultural land that leaches essential minerals like magnesium and other trace elements from the soil, the overuse of prescription medications, the consumption of processed and fast foods, and more. All of these things take a toll, depleting our body of magnesium, which is one of the reasons Epsom salt can be an important part of improving one’s health. It’s also a natural anti-inflammatory and exfoliant that can be used for treating muscle aches and dry skin. Soak in a warm bath with a cupful of Epsom salt, to enjoy.
For teeth: Combine one part Epsom salt with one part water. Make sure you mix well and fully integrate salt into the water. Dip toothbrush into mixture and brush well. Gargle with salty mixture and then spit. Rinse mouth with clean, cool water.
For sore feet: Fill a small bucket or personal pedicure system with warm water. Consider filling it with boiling water and then allowing it to cool until you can comfortably place feet in water. Add one to two cups of Epsom salt to the water and swish with your feet. Rub your feet along the salt grains to break it down and get it into sore or painful areas. Sit with feet in the salt bath until water cools. If you want to continue your soak, consider adding a few cups of hot water and mix.
For exfoliating skin: Combine two parts olive oil to one part Epsom salt in a small dish. If possible, heat the oil slightly so it is warm during application. Using clean hands, apply the oil scrub to your face and rub using a circular motion. Perform this step over the sink as the oil will drip off your face. Rinse with warm water and mild face soap. Pat skin dry with a clean towel.
For removing blackheads: Combine ½ cup of boiling water with 3 drops of iodine and 1 tsp. Epsom salt. Stir and allow mixture to cool to touch. You want the mixture to be warm enough to loosen stubborn blackheads without scalding or harming the skin. Dip a cotton ball into the mixture and apply to the blackhead. Gently dab on blackhead and leave overnight.
For bathing: Add a cup of Epsom salt to a warm bath and soak for up to 30 minutes or until water cools. Consider using the natural olive oil/Epsom salt scrub while you are soaking in the tub for added effect.
Some benefits of using Epsom Salts
Relax Your Body: Epsom salts dissolved in warm water – like those in an Epsom salt bath – are easily absorbed through the skin where they immediately go to work inside our bodies, relieving stress and helping to feel invigorated without causing feelings of restlessness and anxiety.
Relieve Pain and Cramping: Epsom salts absorbed through the skin also work to relieve muscle tension, pain, and inflammation in joints. Submerge yourself in a warm Epsom salt bath to alleviate tension headaches or soothe abdominal cramps. Tired and sore feet will also benefit from the therapeutic warmth of an Epsom salt soak.
Muscle and Nerve Function: Aside from relieving tension, pain, and cramping, Magnesium sulfate has several other positive effects on the human body. It aids in many enzymatic functions, helps to regulate fluid retention in cells, and facilitates the body’s use of calcium to transmit chemical signals throughout the nervous system.
For Arterial Health: Epsom salts may help to improve circulation and prevent serious cardiovascular illness by decreasing inflammation and protecting the elasticity of arteries. Healthier arteries means less risk of blood clots, plaque build-up, and damage to arterial walls. Try soaking in an Epsom salt bath three to four times per week to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve your cardiovascular health.
Helps to Remove Splinters: To dislodge a stubborn splinter, simply soak the affected body part in warm water and Epsom salts for a few minutes. Magnesium sulfate will reduce the inflammation around the wound and soften up the splinter, making it much easier to remove.
Soothe Sprains and Bruises: Anti-inflammatory Epsom salts can be used to alleviate the soreness from sprains and bruises. Just add two cups of salts to your warm bath water and soak away the ache.
Keep Feet Healthy: It’s pretty common knowledge that soaking your feet in Epsom salts is good for soothing away aches and pains. But did you know that it can also help to treat athlete’s foot and toenail fungal infections? Simply add a half cup of Epsom salts to warm water and soak your feet for as long as you want (or until the water gets cold) to alleviate the itching and burning and help heal feet faster.
Exfoliate Your Skin: By rubbing a handful of Epsom salts over damp skin, you can easily remove dead cells, helping your skin to look healthier and feel softer. Use this treatment on hands, feet, and everything in between.
Natural Face Cleanser: At night before bed, mix a teaspoon of Epsom salts with your regular cleanser for an easy daily treatment or use this recipe for an exfoliating face mask.
Dislodge Blackheads: Use Epsom salts to remove dead skin and oil from your pores.
Remove Styling Product Build-up: To remove build-up of hairspray or other styling product from your hair, mix one cup each of Epsom salts and lemon juice into a gallon of water. Cover and let the concoction sit for 24 hours before using. Then simply pour over hair and leave it on for about 15 – 20 minutes. Follow up with a wash and condition as usual.
Add Volume to Hair: To add body to your hair, try mixing equal parts to your deep conditioner and Epsom salts. Warm the mixture to slightly above body temperature then work through hair. Leave in for 15 – 20 minutes then rinse.
Wash Pots and Pans: Pour a small amount of Epsom salts into those really-dirty dishes before you scrub them. The abrasive texture of the salt crystals will help to remove stuck-on food more easily without hurting your cookware.
Clean Tile and Grout: Mix equal parts Epsom salts and liquid dish detergent to create a super effective tile and grout cleaner.
As a Hand Wash: Mix equal parts Epsom salts and baby oil to create a moisturizing hand cleanser.
Removes Detergent Build-up: Over time, laundry detergent and other contaminants may build up inside machines. Use Epsom salts to remove this unwanted gunk and keep your washer running more efficiently.
In The Garden: Magnesium sulfate may be used to fertilise your plants, green up your lawn, remove unwanted insect pests, and prevent slugs among other things.",1510,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894203.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027140911-20201027170911-00645.warc.gz,0.916873097419739
743f5c45-430f-4080-95fa-0e595ce019df,2013-05-19T18:52:23+00:00,2004-10-10,0,http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E1DA133BF933A25753C1A9629C8B63,"COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Trojans Avenge Last Year's Loss, Despite Play of Cal's Quarterback
By VITTORIO TAFUR
Published: October 10, 2004
The California players left the locker room Saturday afternoon, saying they had dominated No. 1-ranked U.S.C. and showed a national-television audience and 90,008 fans at the Coliseum that they were one of the best teams in the country. Some of their claims were hard to understand, because the Southern Cal marching band was nearby blaring its trumpets and pounding its drums.
The Trojans had reason to celebrate, because they had turned back a furious Cal comeback with two minutes remaining.
Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who tied an N.C.A.A. record by completing 23 consecutive passes, led the Bears to the U.S.C. 9-yard line. But his aim was not true on the final three attempts, and the Trojans escaped with a 23-17 victory.
The crowd erupted after a diving Jonathan Makonnen could not reach Rodgers's pass on fourth down from the 14-yard line with 1 minute 16 seconds left as U.S.C. (5-0, 2-0 Pac-10) avenged its only loss in the past 26 games -- a 34-31 triple-overtime defeat to Cal last season.
''We were running on empty, but we knew they wouldn't score,'' defensive tackle Shaun Cody said. ''This game is the mark of a champion. We pull the close ones out. We know the target is on our back as the No. 1 team, but we have to take care of business.''
Cody had four tackles and a sack, and his fellow all-American defensive tackle, Mike Patterson, added 10 tackles, a sack and 2 fumble recoveries. Although U.S.C.'s defense allowed the highest-scoring offense in the country (48.7 points a game) 424 yards, it recorded six sacks.
''I'm pretty frustrated,'' said Rodgers, who finished 29 of 34 for 267 yards. ''We dominated the game. We drove up and down the field all game, and our defense was awesome. We just came up short.''
No. 7-ranked Cal (3-1, 1-1) moved the ball, but its two possessions early in the fourth quarter ended with a Rodgers fumble and a missed field goal. The wide-right 36-yard kick by Tom Schneider was huge, forcing Cal to try to score a touchdown instead of kicking a chip-shot, game-tying field goal.
After being rushed into an incompletion on first down, Rodgers was sacked by defensive end Manuel Wright for a 5-yard loss. On third down, a hurried Rodgers missed Geoff McArthur in the end zone. On fourth down, Makonnen stumbled on his cut and could not reach Rodgers's pass.
''It looked like he was bumped or held or something,'' Rodgers said. ''I threw it to a spot.''
Rodgers tied the completion mark set by Tennessee's Tee Martin in 1998. He tossed a touchdown pass, but he also fumbled twice. J.J. Arrington had 116 yards on 21 carries.
U.S.C.'s Matt Leinart (15 of 25, 164 yards) completed passes of 31 and 45 yards to Steve Smith to set up a pair of touchdown passes. But Smith also broke his left leg in the game.
The Trojans marched 66 yards in 2:49 to open the third quarter and take a 23-10 lead. Leinart completed the drive by firing a bullet to Dwayne Jarrett for a 16-yard touchdown.
Cal answered by driving 80 yards. The freshman running back Marshawn Lynch's 2-yard touchdown run made the score 23-17 with 5:30 left in the third quarter.
The U.S.C. sophomore Reggie Bush picked up the crowd with an 84-yard kickoff return, in which he fumbled the ball at his own goal line, picked it up in the right corner and shook Cal defenders across the middle of the field. But the effort was wasted minutes later, when Cal cornerback Harrison Smith intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone.
Rodgers dinked and dunked, his longest completion of the day a 14-yarder until late in the first half, when Cal finally scored a touchdown off a missed tackle. Rodgers hit McArthur with a 9-yard pass at the U.S.C. 11-yard line, but Trojans cornerback Kevin Arbet looked like he was trying to hug a seal and watched McArthur spin around and jog into the end zone. That made the score 13-10, but the Trojans were able to drive 37 yards in 1:34 for a Ryan Killeen 42-yard field goal.
''It was a challenging day,'' said U.S.C. Coach Pete Carroll, whose team was held to two possessions in the fourth quarter and 205 yards of offense. ''Regardless of the sacks and pressure that we put on, they kept throwing short and kept us off balance.''
U.S.C. scored early thanks to two miscues by Cal's special teams. On Cal's first possession, a bad snap forced punter David Lonie to run for his life and the sideline, giving the Trojans the ball at the their 31-yard line. Nine plays later, Leinart threw a 5-yard pass to LenDale White to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.
With his team trailing 10-3 midway through the second quarter, the Cal freshman Josh Pinkard fumbled a punt return at the U.S.C. 32-yard line. The Trojans settled for a 33-yard field goal and 13-3 lead four plays later.
''The special teams let us down a little bit,'' Rodgers said, ''but we're not going to point any fingers.''
Photo: Southern Cal's Dwayne Jarrett, grabbing a touchdown pass over Daymeion Hughes of California. U.S.C. defeated Cal, the only team to beat the Trojans last season. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)(pg. 7)",1296,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.977061748504639
adcd1e24-c666-4a28-b8e1-09a137aba830,2015-03-27T18:15:12+00:00,2014-01-15,0,http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/intelligence-ep-steep-ratings-drop-671234,"'Intelligence' EP on Steep Ratings Drop: 'That Sucked'
Ratings for the CBS spy drama Monday plummeted without a strong ""NCIS"" lead-in, and Nina Tassler addressed its ratings performance.
Should Intelligence be worried?
The rookie spy drama, starring Josh Holloway and Marg Helgenberger, premiered to a big 16.5 million viewers and a 2.4 rating on Jan. 7 following NCIS. But days later, when Intelligence launched in its regular Monday time slot Jan. 13, the series nabbed just 6.2 million viewers and sank 50 percent to a 1.2 rating.
Executive producer Michael Seitzman was candid about the steep ratings drop-off Wednesday morning during CBS' Television Critics Association. ""That sucked -- there's no other way to put it,"" Seitzman admitted, though he did cite happiness with CBS touting -- if briefly -- Intelligence's top freshman scripted debut.
From Seitzman's perspective, he doesn't see airing opposite NBC's The Blacklist and ABC's Castle in the Monday 10 p.m. period as competition. Instead, he diplomatically stated that they're ""friends.""
During the session, Seitzman was asked whether filming in a bubble (production on the 13-episode order has finished) was a detriment or a saving grace. ""It's good news,"" he said. ""You don't have to show up and face 200 members of the crew when the ratings go down,"" Seitzman added.
From CBS' perspective, Intelligence's future is still a question mark.
""We're going to watch very closely. We think the show -- looking ahead creatively -- is great. Certainly, that time period is a tougher time period right now, but we want to see what the lift is,"" CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said after the executive panel. ""We want to see what the delayed viewing numbers are. We want to see what the L7 numbers are. We're waiting a moment to see how many other people watch the show. We're going to wait and see.""
Lesley Goldberg contributed to this report.",436,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00212-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946269452571869
3e46629f-e0b1-41e3-a63d-ff0ace1a091d,2019-08-25T02:54:12+00:00,2012-04-24,0,https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governorates_of_Yemen,"Republic of Yemen
Anthem: ""United Republic""
|Government||Unitary parliamentary republic|
|Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr|
|Legislature||Assembly of Representatives|
|1 November 1918|
|30 November 1967|
|22 May 1990|
|27 January 2011|
|527,970 km2 (203,850 sq mi) (50th)|
• Water (%)
• 2011 estimate
• April 2011 census
|44.7/km2 (115.8/sq mi) (160th)|
|GDP (PPP)||2011 estimate|
• Per capita
|GDP (nominal)||2011 estimate|
• Per capita
|HDI (2011)|| 0.462|
low · 154th
|Currency||Yemeni rial (YER)|
|ISO 3166 code||YE|
The Republic of Yemen or Yemen is a nation in the Middle East. It is the old North Yemen and South Yemen, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia and Oman on the north and the east. To the south is the Guardafui Channel and Gulf of Aden, and to the west is the Red Sea. Yemen owns the island of Socotra (217 miles) to the south off the coast of East Africa. A person or thing from Yemen is called Yemeni. Yemen's capital city is Sana'a.
Yemen is the origin land of all Arabs in the Middle East. In ancient times, Yemen was an important center of trade and power. Many powerful kingdoms were in Yemen, including the Sabaeans. Yemen was important in the trade of spices as well. It was known to the ancient Romans as Arabia Felix (""Happy Arabia"" in Latin). They called it Happy Arabia because the area was so beautiful and powerful.
In the 700s, Yemenis were among the first to join the new religion Islam. Since then, Yemenis have been staunch Muslims who were in the forefront of all Islam conquests. Men whose ancestors came from Yemen ruled Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) for centuries. The Ottoman Empire took control of North Yemen, and the British Empire took South Yemen, in the early 20th century. The two parts were united in 1990 and later fought civil wars. The latest one started in 2015. Some famous people including former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed, and thousands died of hunger.
Today, Yemen has over 20 million people. Most of them speak Arabic.
Geography[change | change source]
Yemen is in Western Asia. It is on the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula. A number of Red Sea islands, including the Hanish Islands, Kamaran, and Perim, as well as Socotra in the Arabian Sea, belong to Yemen. Many of the islands are volcanic. For example, Jabal al-Tair had a volcanic eruption in 2007 and before that in 1883. The highest point in Yemen is Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb.
Economy[change | change source]
Government[change | change source]
As a result of the 2011–2012 Yemeni uprising, the constitution of Yemen was rewritten. New elections were to be held in 2014. Some areas are controlled by armed militant groups. On 23 January 2015, the President, Prime Minister and Cabinet resigned. War continued, with Saudi Arabia and Iran supporting different sides.
Governorates[change | change source]
2004 Census 
|Al Bayda'||Al Bayda'||577,369||605,303||5|
The governorates are divided into 333 districts. The districts are divided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages (as of 2001).
Demographics[change | change source]
According to 2009 estimates, life expectancy in Yemen is 63.27 years.
Sport[change | change source]
Football is the most popular sport in Yemen. The Yemen national football team competes in the FIFA and the AFC leagues. The country also hosts many football clubs that compete in the national or international leagues.
Yemen's mountains have many opportunities for outdoor sports, such as rock climbing, hill climbing, skiing, and hiking. The coast of Yemen and Socotra island have opportunities for water sports, such as surfing, sailing, swimming, and scuba diving. Socotra island is one of the best surfing places in the world.
Yemen's biggest sports event was hosting the 2010 Gulf Cup of Nations.
References[change | change source]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yemen.|
|Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Yemen|
- ""Yemen"". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ""Human Development Report 2011"" (PDF). The United Nations. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ""Yemen"". International News Safety Institute. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
- Governorates of Yemen.
- Central Statistical Organisation of Yemen. General Population Housing and Establishment Census 2004 Final Results , Statistic Yearbook 2005 of Yemen 
- ""Statistic Yearbook 2006 of Yemen"". Retrieved 17 October 2010.
- ""CIA World Factbook"". CIA. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- UNHRC – Yemen: The conflict in Saada Governorate – analysis
- Merrick, Jane; Sengupta, Kim (20 September 2009). ""Yemen: The land with more guns than people"". London: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2010.",1146,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027322170.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825021120-20190825043120-00425.warc.gz,0.857170164585114
3d0dd073-1556-4eb2-9400-bf30fb4bbffb,2022-05-18T15:59:56+00:00,2021-06-24,1,https://speechdat.org/2021/06/24/data-protection-software-market-expected-to-reach-17-75-billion/,"Pune, India, June 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – The global Data protection software market Size is expected to reach $ 17.75 billion until 2028 with an excellent CAGR of 41.5% in the forecast period. Growing concerns about personal and sensitive data will have a tremendous impact on market growth in the coming years, according to a Fortune Business Insights report entitled “Data Protection Software Market 2021-2028”. The market size in 2020 was $ 1.12 billion.
Effects of COVID-19:
Working remotely to accelerate data management software demand amid COVID-19
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, various companies and institutions experienced acute and permanent standstills. Organizations have difficulty handling sensitive data due to the widespread adoption of remote location and home working strategies. Massive data leaks and security attacks occurred around the world during the pandemic. Various nations have adopted health standards to manage the publicly identifying information (PII) of COVID positive workers. Organizations can validate their shared content after implementing the program. Hence, these factors together will have an excellent impact on data protection software market share.
Click here to see the short and long term impact of COVID-19 on this market https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/data-privacy-software-market-105420
Based on the provision, the market is divided into the cloud and local. It is expected that on-premises will have the largest share in the forecast period due to their internal performance and reliability.
Based on the application, the market is categorized into Compliance Management, Risk Management, Reporting & Analytics and others. It is expected that compliance management will experience a rapid rate of growth.
The market is divided into large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) depending on the size of the company. Large companies are expected to hold the lion’s share over the forecast period.
Based on the industry, the market is segmented into BFSI, IT & Telecom, Government, Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, and Others (Education, etc.).
Geographically, the market is divided into North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East and Africa.
Request a sample copy of the report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/data-privacy-software-market-105420
The report on Data protection software market includes?
The market report offers excellent insights into the market, systematic data with detailed analysis, market dynamics and aspects showing the development and growth, thorough information on key market players, as well as procured statistics on dominant regions.
High acceptance of IoT devices for strengthening Data protection software market growth
With the proliferation of IoT device manufacturing, BFSI, healthcare and other industries, the demand for privacy management applications is increasing. According to McKinsey & Company, 43 billion IoT-connected systems will be reached by 2023. Similarly, the widespread use of 5G technologies is expected to provide opportunities for key industry leaders to expand their offerings. The wireless network enables data and transactions to be exchanged in real time. As a result, the market for apps is expected to grow with the number of IoT devices and applications. This would enable the data protection management industry to expand rapidly in the years to come.
Quick Buy: Data Protection Software Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/105420
Implement strict laws to increase growth in Asia Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to expand rapidly over the forecast period. Japan, China, India, Singapore and other countries are focused on creating strict privacy regulations for consumers, which in turn will help the market expand. To cope with the number of data breaches, China and India have passed national data protection laws. Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency announced the “Singapore’s Safer Cyberspace Masterplan 2020” in October 2020 with the aim of enforcing strict data protection regulations. Europe is expected to increase with a significant CAGR in the forecast period due to the introduction of the GDPR in numerous European countries.
Invest heavily in advanced data protection software to fuel competition
In order to meet the increasing demand for data security and management, the big players are investing in the development and publication of advanced data protection applications. These companies provide tools to process consumer data in accordance with the rules and regulations of each country. Also, many companies such as IBM Corporation, Protiviti, Inc, RSA Security LLC, SureCloud (London), and OvalEdge (Georgia, USA) are focused on introducing breakthrough data protection management software to gain a competitive advantage.
April 2020: TrustArc, Inc. announced the launch of its privacy platform to help organizations automate, simplify, and mitigate privacy risks.
The report lists the key companies in the Data Protection Software Market:
- OneTrust, LLC (Georgia, USA)
- AvePoint, Inc. (New Jersey, USA)
- TrustArc, Inc. (California, USA)
- Securiti.AI. (California, United States)
- BigID, Inc. (New York, USA)
- IBM Corporation (New York, USA)
- Protiviti, Inc. (California, USA)
- RSA Security LLC (Massachusetts, USA)
- SureCloud (London)
Main table of contents:
- Definition by segment
- Research methodology / approach
- Data sources
- The central theses
- Market dynamics
- Macro and microeconomic indicators
- Drivers, restrictions, opportunities and trends
- Effects of COVID-19
- Short term effects
- Long-term effect
- Competitive landscape
- Business strategies adopted by key players
- Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players
- Global insights and analysis of the major players in the Data Protection market share, 2020
- Key market insights and strategic recommendations
- Distinguished companies (Covered for Key 10 players only)
- Key management
- Headquarters etc.
- Offers / business segments
- Important details (Key details are subject to data availability in the public area and / or in chargeable databases)
- Employee size
- Financial metrics
- Past and current earnings
- Geographical share
- Business segment share
- Recent developments
Check out related research insights:
Natural Language Processing (NLP) Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, by provision (on-premises, cloud, hybrid), by company size (SMEs and large companies), by technology (Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), text analytics, speech analysis , Classification and categorization), by industry (healthcare, retail, high-tech and telecommunications, BFSI) and regional forecast, 2021-2028
Cloud gaming market size, Share & COVID-19 impact analysis, by device (smartphone, laptop / tablets, PC, smart TV and consoles), by streaming type (video streaming and file streaming), by end user (casual gamers, avid gamers, and hardcore gamers) and Regional forecast 2021-2028
Augmented Reality market size, Share & COVID-19 impact analysis, by component (hardware and software), by device type (head-mounted display, heads-up display, handheld devices, stationary AR systems, smart glasses, others), by industry (gaming, Media & Entertainment, Automotive, Retail, Healthcare, Education, Manufacturing and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028
IoT in Smart Cities Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Solution and Services), By Application (Smart Building, Smart Health, Smart Energy, Smart Transport, Public Safety, Smart Infrastructure, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028
5G infrastructure market size, Share & COVID-19 impact analysis, according to communication infrastructure (RAN, transport technologies and core technologies), according to spectrum band (low band (
Fortune Business Insights ™ provides expert business analysis and accurate data to help organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our customers and help them master the challenges of their company. Our goal is to offer our customers holistic market information that gives a granular overview of the market in which they operate.
Our reports contain a unique blend of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies grow sustainably. Our team of seasoned analysts and consultants use industry leading research tools and techniques to produce comprehensive market studies that are interspersed with relevant data.
At Fortune Business Insights ™, we aim to identify the most lucrative growth opportunities for our customers. We therefore offer recommendations that will make it easier for you to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help companies identify hidden opportunities and understand the prevailing competitive challenges.
Fortune Business Insights ™ Pvt. GmbH.
308, Supreme Headquarters,
Poll No. 36, Baner,
Pune – 411045, Maharashtra, India.
USA: +1 424 253 0390
UK: +44 2071 939123
APAC: +91 744 740 1245
Email: [email protected]",2027,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522284.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518151003-20220518181003-00619.warc.gz,0.890507340431213
fcf27f86-1fe4-43c0-a599-3fdda99a3388,2017-08-19T11:10:28+00:00,2017-02-15,1,http://stylemagazine.com/news/2017/feb/15/tillerson-dunford-meet-russian-counterpart/,"Tillerson, Dunford to Meet with Russian Counterpart
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 2/15/2017, 10:19 a.m.
Tillerson, Dunford to meet with Russian counterpart
By Laura Koran and Ryan Browne
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford meet face to face with their Russian counterparts Thursday, as the Trump administration evaluates the future direction of US-Russian relations.
Tillerson, a former oil executive who was confirmed as Secretary of State two weeks ago, departed Wednesday for a G-20 ministerial meeting in Bonn, Germany -- his inaugural international trip as the United States' top diplomat. He'll be joined in Bonn by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and representatives from the world's other major economies.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that Tillerson and Lavrov will meet on the sidelines of the conference on Thursday. It will be their first such meeting since Tillerson took office.
Tillerson's trip comes as the Trump administration is seeking to reassure skittish allies in Europe the US has their backs, all while exploring new areas for cooperation with Russia as advocated by President Donald Trump over opposition from some members of his own party.
The White House is in turmoil after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's resignation over questions of the nature of conversations with Russia on sanctions before taking up his administration role. Congress is now investigating various aspects of Russia's alleged interference in the US election while members question Trump's own relationship to the country.
US allies in Europe are looking for indications from the Trump administration that the US will take a stand when it comes to countering Russian aggression in parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in Ukraine, where violence has flared in recent weeks between government forces and Russian-backed separatist groups.
European diplomats are watching the new US officials all the more closely after Trump's disparagement of NATO and questions about the utility of sanctions. Similarly, Western military officials are closely following Defense Secretary James Mattis' participation in the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels and Munich Security Conference this week as well.
It remains to be seen whether the Cabinet secretaries will outline any specific shifts in US positions -- despite Trump's rhetoric before and after the election -- both on European issues as well as the Middle East.
The ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen are expected to be a major focus of discussion on the sidelines of official meetings. Trump has long criticized the Obama administration for its approach to the Syrian crisis, suggesting he would reconsider providing aid to moderate groups taking on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and take more aggressive measures against ISIS.
It's still unclear exactly how the new administration will go about changing course in Syria, and whether doing so will involve additional cooperation with Russia -- which provides military support to the Assad regime.
But even as Tillerson's plane was taking off in Washington, the Pentagon announced the meeting between Dunford and his Russian counterpart Valeriy Gerasimov, which will take place Thursday in Baku, Azerbaijan.",624,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00102.warc.gz,0.95771586894989
3d0438b9-2fde-486a-9996-2c1c5ca4a383,2019-08-24T01:30:34+00:00,2019-08-24,0,http://klangchurchofchrist.org/some-false-ideas-about-christian-living,"Through the Christ, Christians enjoy the most abundant life (John 10:10). While the Bible is clear in setting forth what the Lord expect of His followers, sometimes people develop or accept various false concepts about Christian living. Let us point out a few false notions which we encounter from time to time.
Some seem to think that as a Christian, all one has to do is to refrain from taking part in evil activities. It is true that there are certain things in which God forbids us to participate, things like those noted as “the works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Yet, to avoid doing “bad things” does not guarantee that one will be in the right relationship with the Lord. God calls on Christians to be doers of His word (James 1:22). God calls on Christians to imitate Jesus (1 Peter 2:21,22) and to possess certain spiritual qualities (2 Peter 1:5-11). Our Lord calls us to action: to serve, love, study, pray, and teach others the gospel are some of the responsibilities which all children of God have. One might pat himself on the back because he does no harm to others. In fact, being a Christian is a higher calling than just sitting and doing nothing.
A second false concept is that God’s standard for Christians’ conduct is set so high that it is impossible to be faithful. Some who strive to be faithful get frustrated and wonder, “What is the point of even trying if I can never be faithful?” Because the Lord is gracious, righteous, and fair, He never would demand something of humans which they are not capable of doing. Remember: there is a difference between being sinless and being faithful. No member of the Lord’s body has ever been sinless, but many have been faithful. Paul wrote epistles to “faithful brethren” in multiple locations (Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:2). It is not easy, but it is possible to be faithful in serving Jesus. He has promised a “crown of life” to those who love Him and serve Him faithfully despite the challenges they face (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).
Others propose a monastery or mountain-top approach to being a Christian. They understand that the Lord does not want us to imitate the world or be contaminated by it (Romans 12:1,2; James 1:27). They conclude that the best thing to do is totally isolate yourself from the world. That way, the ways of the world will not creep into your life. The reality is, for a person to live alone or only around good people does not guarantee that he will not sin. Folks can have evil thoughts (Genesis 6:5) or blaspheme God, regardless of their surroundings. A second downfall of the total-isolation approach is that Jesus wants His disciples to act like the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). They cannot set forth a good example and be a positive influence on others if they have no contact with them. A third consideration is the need for Christians to teach the gospel to lost people (Mark 16:15,16). If we were to totally barricade ourselves in a place far away from everyone else on the planet, we would be failing in our mission to help others learn the way of salvation.
There also are those who seem to think that being a Christian means one thing: you go to church on special days. Their reasoning is, as long as you do that, then you should be in good shape with the Lord. Many circle two days per year on their calendar as times when one “must” “go to church.” How interesting that the so-called “two biggest days” of the year (Easter and Christmas) are not even mentioned in the Bible! People sooth their conscience by making an appearance in a religious facility on those humanly-devised occasions and give no thought to the Savior the rest of the year. Such is not New Testament Christianity! Neither is attending the services of God’s church every first day of the week, then going out and living like a child of the devil the rest of the week. Jesus calls His disciples to take up their cross each day (Luke 9:23), pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and constantly exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13). Faithful attendance of the church’s assembling is part of what a child of God does (Hebrews 10:24,25), but that is not all there is to it.
Here is a final false idea to analyze: “It is so convenient to be a Christian. You do not need to worry about sinning. If you sin, you just say a little prayer and ask God to forgive you, and He will.” We sometimes hear such a concept from those who criticize the Bible and Christianity. We also observe that some members of the church apparently take such an approach to sin and confession of it.
The Bible plainly portrays Christians as people who commit sin, despite their efforts to avoid it (1 John 1:8,10). God’s promise is that He will forgive His children who walk in the light and confess their sins (1 John 1:7,9). We take comfort in these words: “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Is it possible for a person to abuse this privilege? It sure is. The Bible teaches us that God wants us to abhor and abstain from evil (Romans 12:9). When Christians confess their sins, it needs to come from a heart of repentance and a commitment to do their best to avoid such transgressions in the future (Acts 8:21,22).
Our closing appeal is simple: our concept of Christian living must be based solely on the Bible.
— Roger D. Campbell",1259,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319155.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823235136-20190824021136-00139.warc.gz,0.958614468574524
029c80ed-2930-4160-aa3c-f8da094a7ad5,2020-10-31T18:19:50+00:00,2020-04-30,0,https://www.walchandpeoplefirst.com/how-to-be-resilient-in-times-like-covid-19/,"In the past month, there have been more than a few around me who have expressed that they wouldn’t in their wildest imagination have expected to live in extraordinary times like these. But the truth is, while the nature of the events might change, history has taught us that disaster and crises occur far more frequently now than ever.
Few of us are in a position to change the environment in which we operate; we can only control how we prepare for it and respond to it. Resilience has moved from being highly desirable to extremely crucial for organizations. In fact, resilience and agility are the only two factors that will make it easier for businesses to survive the inevitable downturn that is staring us in our faces.
Resilient organizations begin with resilient teams that are made of resilient individuals. While it is easier to judge resilience as a characteristic in individuals, it becomes a daunting task to make groups of people resilient, especially when motivations are down and people are working remotely.
Business plans and strategies go out of the window in extraordinary times. Domain-specific knowledge and well-defined job roles don’t matter in uncertain times. What matters is people who are determined to power through, skillsets that are fluid and determination that is unshaken in the face of adversity.
According to the Dale Carnegie Whitepaper on Resilience, people generally react in four ways in response to adversity.
1. Low distress with minimal impact on functionality (Resilient)
2. Initially, high distress followed by reduced levels of distress, or distress that initially increases and then decreases over time (Recovered)
3. Moderate initial distress that increases over time (Delayed)
4. Initial distress that does not decrease significantly over time (Chronic)
It’s clear that the fate of an organization facing adversity can be profoundly affected by the trajectories its employees follow. How then can organizations minimize the impact of delayed and chronic responses to adversity and emerge unscathed through devastating times? The easy and hard answer to that is by building resilience.
Resiliency is a deep-rooted attribute that trickles down to employees through the senior leaders and culture of the organization.
In uncertain, unforeseen events like the COVID-19 outbreak, how does resilience in an organization look like?
Similarly, individuals with High Resilience demonstrate a unique combination of attitudes and behaviours:
The Dale Carnegie study confirmed a number of those positive outcomes of resilience at work. Highly resilient employees are:
• More than twice as willing to consistently give their best efforts at work
• Significantly more likely to feel relatively free of serious stress at work, reporting that they rarely or never felt stress
Interestingly, the Dale Carnegie survey found that age or type of employment had little effect on the resilience of individuals. This means that irrespective of an employee’s age or status (freelance/full time), they can display the much-needed attributes required to be resilient. Which begs the question, what is it that influences resilience in individuals and more importantly, organizations?
Researchers suggest that, rather than being an innate trait that people have or don’t have, resilience is the result of a process that combines individual traits, attitudes and behaviors together with work-related environmental factors, many of which can be developed or modified to strengthen resilience in individuals, teams and the entire organization.
In turbulent times that are unprecedented and disruptive, there are a few sure ways that leaders can use to build resilience in the workforce.
The path to resilience is never a straightforward one. There are contrasting elements and tough decisions that have to be made by leaders that might hamper the short-term efforts of building a resilient workforce. But in order for organizations to survive stormy times like these, the foundation has to be strong and worked upon relentlessly. Because someone said it rightly, you are nothing if not resilient.",790,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922411.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031181658-20201031211658-00169.warc.gz,0.959713041782379
678743c5-373c-4d7f-a169-eaddc6d75dc1,2017-08-17T08:03:25+00:00,2017-07-31,0,https://www.dal.ca/faculty/arts/experiential-learning-stories/carli-lapierre.html,"This past winter my Dad came to visit. As we drove around Halifax, he pointed to the Nova Scotia Archives and asked if he’d have to visit me at work there one day. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I do recall laughing at how absurd and far off that seemed. But this past summer I received an email about a possible internship at the archives. After a phone interview and multiple emails, I was packing my car to head back to Halifax and suddenly my Dad’s simple question from months before wasn’t as silly as it had once seemed.
Located at the corner of University and Robie, the Nova Scotia Archives has been a fixture in my life at Dalhousie. I was initially introduced to the archives in a first year seminar course called Raiders of the Lost Archives. As part of the course the class took a tour of the archives and we were required to work with archival materials in our final papers. It was at this point that I fell in love with using archival materials. As I had spent time on the research floor for class, I went into the internship with a general understanding of how the public side of the archives worked. This internship let me expand my knowledge to include other parts of the archives, and specifically gave me a greater appreciation for the library collection.
I began work in July as the Archival Library Services Intern under a Young Canada Works grant. The project, which had begun several months earlier, was to create a unified electronic listing of all materials in the Nova Scotia Archives Special Library. This particular library began in the 1930s to support the Nova Scotia Archives' archival holdings and has continued to grow annually since that time. My project was the foundation for the next phase of library rationalization set to start in the fall. So achieving the goal of a complete listing of the approximately 50,000-item library by the end of my project was very important. While most of my time was spent on the library project, I was also trained to work at the research floor’s retrieval desk. In this position I developed practical skills and a greater appreciation for all of the work done to assist researchers. Between over-the-phone and in-person interactions, I was astounded by how helpful and knowledgeable everyone is. These aspects extended to the work I was doing because everyone at the archives was willing to take the time to answer any questions. This helped me to better understand the archives as a whole and to see what archivists do on a daily basis.
Although it seemed like a distant possibility this past winter, my internship allowed me to see what it would be like to work at the Nova Scotia Archives. It was a fantastic experience that let me extend my classroom studies into the real world and develop valuable skills. Most importantly, I was given the opportunity to really think about the possibilities for my future.",587,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102993.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817073135-20170817093135-00528.warc.gz,0.979131758213043
ef0558e2-478d-48ac-8e2a-a0a74b85873a,2020-10-22T09:45:15+00:00,2020-04-23,1,https://www.utilitydive.com/news/new-york-expedites-energy-efficiency-vendor-payments-to-bolster-industry-ra/576788/,"- The New York Department of Public Service (DPS) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on April 23 announced additional flexibility for energy efficiency administrators and workers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Program modifications include expedited payments to vendors and contractors for all completed work, and a range of other changes and training opportunities aimed at maintaining the state's clean energy workforce.
- NYSERDA also announced it would begin working on energy efficiency ""protocols to ensure the health and safety"" of providers and customers, once on-premise work is allowed to resume. The state's economy has been in limbo since Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, signed the ""New York State on PAUSE"" executive order on March 22, limiting all non-essential work.
Industry advocates say almost 130,000 New Yorkers are employed by the energy efficiency sector, and now the state is rolling out initiatives to preserve those jobs and others in the clean energy industry.
Along with the expedited payments, DPS also implemented streamlined procedures for accepting electronic signatures for project applications and other necessary paperwork, and is extending program deadlines or modifying project milestones impacted by the PAUSE executive order.
In lieu of post-installation site visits, DPS said it will identify alternative ways to verify projects and ensure vendors and contractors are paid. And the changes call for NYSERDA to identify projects that have ""minimal risk of non-completion"" and therefore could qualify for interim milestones and partial payment.
The modifications ""represent the first phase of support for energy efficiency and clean energy businesses,"" DPS said. ""Unfortunately, the clean energy industry in New York has already been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.""
The Alliance for Clean Energy-New York (ACE-NY) on March 27 petitioned the state for assistance in keeping the energy efficiency sector healthy during the global pandemic.
""To support New York now and in the future, the [energy efficiency] industry must first survive this crisis and retain the skilled workforce needed to grow the clean energy economy,"" ACE-NY wrote. ""At the moment, the situation is dire.""
The group says job losses and furloughs are ""accelerating"" to 40% or more of efficiency workforces, critical work is stalled, and the state is ""at risk of losing the skilled workforce that we have all employed and trained for many years.""
DPS has announced training efforts, along with program flexibility, to support the workforce.
""We heard from participants increased interest in a range of initiatives that take advantage of the window for training and outreach presented by the suspension of field and on-premises work,"" DPS said. ""During this period of PAUSE, we would like to reinforce training and contractor outreach opportunities, including advancing skills.""
NYSERDA plans to provide contractors with information on free or subsidized online training resources, and will modify the agency's on-the-job and internship training initiatives to extend timelines, enhance subsidies and increase flexibility.
NYSERDA also committed to ensure regular outreach and communication with the vendor/contractor community ""to solicit input on program operations"" as well as communicate program modifications in real time.
DPS is also considering how it can support the state's demand response industry.
The Advanced Energy Management Alliance on April 15 asked regulators to give them flexibility in enrolling participants in demand response programs and how their load reduction commitments are set, as the industry heads into the summer demand season facing uncertainty due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.",727,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107879362.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022082653-20201022112653-00451.warc.gz,0.950680553913116
ecfc77ba-fa5e-42cc-938d-40571e17d08e,2017-08-20T02:11:50+00:00,2017-08-20,1,http://strategy2050.kz/en/news/19,"|2017 Expo-2017 International Exhibition will take place in Astana|
|2020 2020 SMEs will produce at least 50% of GDP Labor productivity will be increased up to 126 thousand dollars Children aged 3-6 will be 100 per cent covered by pre-school education|
|2025 2025 Kazakhstan will completely provide own market with petroleum products according to new standards of environmental friendliness Share of non-oil export in the total amount of export has to increase twice and three times by 2040 Translation of Kazakh alphabet to Latin will begin 95% of Kazakhstan citizens have to know the Kazakh language|
|2030 2030 Water-saving technologies will be applied on 15% of acreage|
|2040 2040 Problem of the population providing with water for irrigation will be solved|
|2050 2050 GDP volume per capita will reach 60 thousand dollars Share of the city citizens will be up to 70 per cent of the total population|
""At present, the program"" Business Road Map-2020 "", initiated by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, is one of the most important mechanisms for the implementation of the state program of New Industrialization. Thanks to the program on improvement of the business climate in Kazakhstan, we have seen a steady increase in the number of private entrepreneurs over the past three years,"" the statement said.
The new program assumed intensive support to small and medium business – as to the backbone of any developing or developed economy. Among help measures - subsidizing of an interest rate for the credits of banks for implementation of projects, partial state guaranteeing on the credits of banks, development of production (industrial) infrastructure, service support of business, training, youth practice and the organizations of social workplaces. In other words, the government created conditions under which the initiative, conscientious and qualified businessmen have an opportunity to keep and increase the business.
""We would like to see a powerful entrepreneurial class emerge, ready to undertake risks, master new markets and introduce innovations. It is entrepreneurs that constitute the driving force of economic modernization,"" President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said in his Address to the nation in January 2010, the. In this regard, he instructed the government in 2010 to ensure the introduction of a unified budget program “Business Road Map-2020” for the development of entrepreneurship in the regions.
The volume of paid subsidies amounted to 35.063 billion tenge, guarantees amounting to 8.077 billion tenge were issued. In general, various measures of the state support captured more than 37,000 businessmen. More than 34 thousand new jobs have been created.",526,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105961.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820015021-20170820035021-00333.warc.gz,0.901856243610382
90e1e18e-aa5f-4a6b-bc17-5d78e59b3280,2017-08-23T17:31:57+00:00,2017-08-23,0,http://www.realitykings.com/tour/video/watch/11188/wax-that-ass/,"We Live Together
The house of wax is not the best place to try to hook up with someone. You never know who is real or made of wax. Lucky for us Jane was the real deal. We took her sexy ass home and licked every inch of her hot body until pussy juice dripped out of her pussy.",66,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123312.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823171414-20170823191414-00228.warc.gz,0.980798006057739
3b86ed82-329d-4b56-85bf-4b6b37faf2da,2019-08-24T17:20:21+00:00,2019-08-24,1,https://aircargoworld.com/allposts/cross-border-b2b-e-commerce-will-need-to-act-more-like-b2c-says-dhl-white-paper/,"In a white paper on how e-commerce is changing business-to-business sales, DHL Express noted that the value of cross-border B2B transactions is expected to reach US$1.2 trillion within the next five years – and companies wishing to grab their share of that value must offer flexible online shopping experiences to do so.
Some features B2B companies will need to adopt those services already expected in the business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce experience, including scalable business models and mobile shopping options. However, as noted in the white paper, the B2B side also requires taking different approaches in certain areas, including adapting some web features like product catalogs and live customer support to better serve B2B customers, as well as better integration of front- and back-end systems and logistics processes for B2B needs.
Ken Allen, DHL Express’ CEO, noted that B2C e-commerce has grown rapidly during recent years, with premium cross-border shipments increasing from about 10 percent to more than 20 percent of DHL Express’s volumes. He added, “there is the same potential for cross-border B2B e-commerce to grow at a dynamic pace, and the DHL Express network will be an enabler of that for businesses around the world.”
In the white paper, DHL Express and its co-publisher, the Cranfield School of Management, recommended important investment areas for B2B business leaders growing their cross-border e-commerce business. Areas to target for improvement include: adapting an omni-channel sales approach, building up the digital infrastructure of front- and back-office operations; adopting customization options to accommodate individual clients’ needs; growing customer service offerings; using data analysis for increase business intelligence; and synchronizing logistics operations through technology.
Some businesses, like fashion and apparel companies, are already well-suited to quickly make these changes, the white paper noted. Some business segments, including the pharmaceutical industry, will take longer to adapt to the new cross-border e-commerce environment.
Transport networks will also need to improve to face the special challenges presented by B2B e-commerce. According to the white paper, “Business customers want speed, reliability, traceability and convenience in delivery, supported by an effective returns and exchange policy for damaged items/products.” To achieve those goals, B2B e-commerce companies should adopt the successful models created by online retailers, providing multiple transport and delivery options that allow customers to select the shipping option that meets their needs, while providing full visibility of the costs.5 - Readers Like This Post",549,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00228.warc.gz,0.952657580375671
4f5f101a-407c-4fde-8661-45aa8a808211,2022-05-20T08:25:06+00:00,2022-05-20,1,https://journal.medizzy.com/gynecologist-invents-worlds-first-unisex-condom/,"A Malaysian Gynecologist has created the world’s first unisex condom with the hopes to revolutionize sexual health for all genders.
Effective contraceptives not only help prevent unwanted pregnancies but also reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, current contraceptive methods are often faulty (e.g., condoms) or come with a bunch of side effects (e.g., birth control pills). Therefore, there is a growing need for safer, effective, and flexible contraceptive options. Now, a Malaysian gynecologist has invented a unisex condom called the Wondalead Unisex Condom. Both males and females can use the invention. Thus, becoming the world’s first such barrier method.
Dr. John Tang Ing Ching, the inventor of Wondaleaf, used medical-grade material for the condom. It has a transparent film that can cover the penis or vagina and then an adhesive film that fixes it in place. Thus, creating a fluid-proof barrier and preventing any skin contact. Since the adhesive film is on only one side, it can easily be reversed depending on the gender of the user. Moreover, the contraceptive is wide enough to cover adjacent areas, providing better protection.
Clinical Trials Show Promising Results
Researchers have conducted multiple small clinical trials to assess how the invention fares among users. Both genders reported better performance for the unisex condoms as compared to traditional condoms. According to one such study, 69.8% of women and 58.4% of men preferred Wondaleaf over a female condom.
Since the condom is made from polyurethane, it’s safe for people with latex allergies. Furthermore, scientists made it really thin, around 0.03 millimetre, so as to avoid the loss of sensation. And the fact that it comes in free size, is an added plus point.
Currently, these condoms are only available in Malaysia. Dr. John believes it will serve as a meaningful addition to the current contraceptive methods.",414,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00002.warc.gz,0.932828843593597
ef160509-a5be-4e96-9650-005e33981735,2017-08-16T13:09:12+00:00,2005-11-16,1,http://pudsandlosers.blogspot.com/2005/11/constitution-vote-violence-in-kenya.html,"Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Constitution Vote - Violence in Kenya?
Just heard from Julia who is working at an orphanage in Kisumu. She and two other students will be flown back to Nairobi today due to expected violence over the Constitution vote next Tuesday Nov 21. So what is this all about?
Well, Kenya received it's independence from Great Britain in 1963. And, for the first time since then they are voting on a referendum on a new constitution. The current constitution has been revised several times resulting in a state in which the President has sweeping powers. The new constitution supposedly cuts the powers of the President partly by creating a Prime Minister position.
One of the problems in Kenya is that one third of the adults can't read. So referendum campaigns are organized around symbols, bananas for 'yes' and oranges for 'no'. As usual for Africa, the political situation has resulted in polarization around tribal loyalties. The government is leading a 'yes' campaign while the opposition party wants 'no'. Currently the 'no's' seem to be ahead by about 10%.
There has already been violence in Kenya with fires set and about 8 people killed. However, now there is a rumor that 'yes' party people are being trained by ex-servicemen 'to cause chaos' at the vote.
St. Lawrence is taking no chances and is flying the students in Kisumu back to the compound in Karen.",295,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886101966.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816125013-20170816145013-00009.warc.gz,0.973229706287384
860e6ee3-9dc5-4e13-b813-56ea7a8a83f5,2019-08-23T04:53:15+00:00,2006-01-25,0,http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/beastie-boys-year-and-a-day.html,"Beastie Boys: Year and a Day
e goes by the name of Disco Dave,” MCA concludes—the name then echoes between the stereo speakers with each scratch on the Dust Brothers’ turntable. It’s a peculiar end for one of the fine surreal moments on the Beastie Boys’ classic Paul’s Boutique. It was difficult to narrow down such moments: the horns that mimic crosstown traffic noises that reverberate between Manhattan skyscrapers in “3-Minute Rule,” King Adrock announcing the new Beastie sound over Sgt. Pepper orchestral din in “Sounds Of Science,” or the snippet of a Stereotypically Clueless and Uncultured White Man telling everyone “It’s a trip, and it’s got a funky beat that I can bug out to!” The “Year and a Day” portion of “B-Boy Bouillabaisse”—the Beasties’ 12-minute set of studio vignettes of tomfoolery afforded by so much Capitol Records money—impacts me the most.
“Year and a Day” is essentially about Adam “MCA” Yauch’s redemption from his unclean past that gave him a public name and a cartoon-drawn body as the leather-jacketed Frat Asshole he originally parodied on Licensed to Ill. It was a blessing that the Beasties confused and disappointed millions when they released Paul’s Boutique by the end of the 1980s. The record was too ahead of its time. Many fans could not comprehend the nostalgic affection for the ‘70s—a decade of American disgrace and bad taste to many teenage eyes in 1989, along with lyrics saturated with enough cultural references to warrant analysis on websites to this day and samples used more for psychedelic atmosphere than hooks or WTF punch lines to tease clubgoers. The Beasties had earlier moved to LA and shed their skin, well almost; the womanizing is still rabid enough to leave their artistic personas with a lifetime of STDs and child-support payments.
On “Year and a Day,” MCA presents himself as a New Man with the Good Life in a world that hasn’t changed. He’s out there skiing, smoking, and fishing with his Black and Tan, singing “Amazing Grace.” As he puts it: “Fishing for a line inside my brain and looking out at the world through my window pane/Everyday has many colors cuz the glass is stained/Everything has changed but remains the same/So once again the mirror raised and I see myself as clear as day.”
Fair enough, but I just can’t imagine Yauch out there on the boat as I’m listening to this song. According to the Dust Bros’ music, he is entertaining mooks and ladies at a Brooklyn roller disco. The song soberly begins with a bare beat on the snare as sampled from Tower of Power’s “Ebony Jam.” And then the noise kicks in. The Isley Brothers’ cosmic guitar riff and bassline that left trails of colors everywhere across the street bustle on “Who’s That Lady?” erupts. When MCA raps and floods out his lyrics, his distorted vocals are swallowed by the commotion as if speaking into a club’s shoddy PA with the music kept too loud to keep the crowd from fleeing to get another drink. The thick textures are nearly shoegazer-caliber. Driving everything forward is John Bonham’s lurching march from Led Zep’s “When the Levee Breaks,” sped up to roll downhill like a trashcan. A lyric sheet is required reading as most of MCA’s lyrics are unintelligible, save for lines like his intro, “M.C. for what I am and do/The A is for Adam and the lyrics,” and “You can bet your ass.” He ultimately leaves the strongest image on what is arguably the Beasties’ most artistically profound album: MCA standing up there by the roller disco’s DJ booth to deliver the message to the kids that they can have the Good Life away from the streets, if they realize the path to their destinies that “Somebody” planned for them. “I am going to the limits of my ultimate destiny/Feeling as though Somebody were testing me/He who sees the end from the beginning of time/Looking forward through all the ages is, was and always shall be/Check the prophetic sections of the pages.”
And who is that “Somebody”? MCA says, “He goes by the name of Disco Dave.”
By: Cameron Macdonald
Published on: 2006-01-25",1038,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317847.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823041746-20190823063746-00168.warc.gz,0.956801235675812
b71cd126-7c5d-4cb7-9c9d-a04ac48962db,2013-05-19T10:24:55+00:00,2013-02-07,1,http://www.ocala.com/article/20130207/ARTICLES/130209748/0/local,"Will county give low-income seniors the tax break OK'd by voters?
Published: Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 5:17 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 5:17 p.m.
Like many local residents Irvin Curtin was looking for a break — a tax break, to be specific.
Curtin recently approached the County Commission to request implementation of Amendment 11, a newly passed provision to the state Constitution that grants certain low-income senior citizens a reduction in their property tax rates.
""I've lived a long time. I've seen so many property tax increases, and other kinds of tax increases, that it just boggles the mind. And I think this is a worthwhile thing,"" the Belleview-area retiree told the board.
One commissioner agreed, and one didn't, clearly indicating his opposition.
Which means any hope of relief for Curtin and other senior citizens in his situation are pinned on all three remaining commissioners being convinced to open another loophole in an already well ventilated property tax system.
Amendment 11 authorizes cities and counties to enact a homestead exemption for people 65 and older who meet the following criteria: They must have a household income of less than $27,030; own a home whose market value is less than $250,000; and have lived in that home for at least 25 years.
Proponents say its passage would effectively eliminate property taxes for qualified homeowners.
In Marion County the reduction in revenue from enacting Amendment 11 would be miniscule. A county report estimates that qualified taxpayers collectively would save $162,234.
Critics of Amendment 11 maintain that local governments just could not afford another tax break as revenues keep declining.
According to an annual report Property Appraiser Villie Smith compiles about local land values, the state has authorized 38 tax breaks for property owners.
That includes exemptions for both land and for personal — or tangible — property.
The homestead exemption, which slashes up to $50,000 off the taxable value of residences, is the best known and most popular. It is claimed by about 93,000 homeowners in Marion County.
Other tax breaks contained in Smith's report cover nearly 5,000 parcels of publicly owned land, including schools; 1,008 parcels owned by churches and charitable organizations, including health care providers; 11,146 parcels owned by widows and widowers; 6,816 parcels owned by the partially or totally disabled and the blind, including military veterans; 42 parcels set aside for environmental conservation; and 10 parcels owned by deployed military personnel.
Across the county, those exemptions reduced the overall taxable value of property by $6.4 billion in 2012.
Those property tax breaks saved taxpayers across Marion County about $45.3 million last year. That's about $800,000 more than the $44.5 million the county budgeted for property tax revenues for 2013.
In his pro-Amendment 11 pitch to the County Commission, Curtin pointed out that he collects about $1,100 a month in Social Security, while his property taxes ran about $1,400 per year.
He added that he once used his federal income tax rebate to pay his property taxes, but could no longer do so after retiring.
Curtin had an advocate on the board, Commissioner Earl Arnett, who dropped Amendment 11 on his colleagues on Tuesday as his first big policy issue.
Arnett argued that the public had clearly voiced its preference by overwhelmingly supporting Amendment 11.
The amendment was one of just three proposed changes to the Florida Constitution to pass last November. The other two also were property tax-related, providing breaks for families of military veterans or first responders.
Amendment 11 received 61 percent of the vote statewide and 61 percent within Marion County.
""The voting public has told us, as commissioners, that they would like to see this exemption for our seniors,"" Arnett said.
""Most of our seniors that have owned a home for 25 years are responsible. They pay their taxes. They pay their mortgage. They just don't have the funds left for the nutrition that they need and for the prescriptions,"" Arnett said.
Yet Commissioner Stan McClain announced he would oppose Amendment 11 — as, he said, he has opposed other property tax exemptions.
Every new tax break, McClain said, requires other taxpayers ""to pick up the slack"" and creates a demand from other groups for even more tax exemptions.
""Pretty soon, there's going to be a small amount of people paying property tax,"" McClain said. ""We end up in a circular firing squad when we do this.""
""It's not fair to everyone else. We have to think of the greater good of the community.""
It's unclear when the board might reconsider Arnett's proposal.
The Marion County Commission also has taken a pass on a previous property tax exemption for senior citizens: an additional $25,000 claim for homesteaded property that was passed in 1998.
The cities of Belleview and McIntosh are the only local governments in Marion to adopt that tax break.
Irvin, a 71-year-old retired life insurance salesman, said in an interview Thursday that he will be back at the next commission meeting to promote it again.
He said he could use the savings to help his wife purchase health insurance, which they cannot afford right now.
""I've been a taxpayer for 40 years, and I could use just a little help in my retirement,"" Irvin said. ""One day they might need a little help themselves.""
Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or email@example.com.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.",1194,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972913086414337
e0abdf52-dc72-4725-9533-ec1088cd6f56,2016-07-24T08:52:11+00:00,2015-06-01,1,http://www.wired.com/2015/06/brightly-incontinence-wearable/,"The chronic loss of bladder control is a complicated problem, not least because of the social stigma attached. It’s more common among older people—according to the CDC, over half of American adults at the age of 65 and over are affected by incontinence—but it can happen to anyone, male or female, young or old. And there are few options for managing the condition. Usually, people wear adult diapers or opt to get surgery done.
Jean Rintoul wants to provide people with another way. She’s the CEO of Lir Scientific, maker of a new wearable device called Brightly, which aims to turn the $17 billion adult diaper industry on its head. The belt-like device carries biosensors that non-invasively “see” the bladder expanding. Using Bluetooth, it can then send a discreet alert to a person’s smartphone to preemptively let them know it’s time for them to take care of their business.
“The idea is to give people back some dignity and independence,” says Rintoul, who has worked at several wearable companies, including Intel’s Basis and Emotiv, an Australian startup that develops brain-computer interfaces based on EEG technology.
Along with its unique use case, Brightly also stands out for what it’s not trying to be. At a time when Silicon Valley startup culture is widely criticized for targeting its products to a narrow population of well-off 20- to 30-year-olds, Rintoul is looking to serve a different and decidedly less glamorous market. What’s more, in setting her sights on a chronic medical problem rather than a consumer inconvenience, Rintoul may be her way to cracking a problem that few tech companies have solved: making a wearable that’s truly useful.
A Useable Wearable
A little more than a year ago, Rintoul started going to medical hackathons and reading peer-reviewed studies in search of a combination of good tech and a good concept for a medical wearable device that people hadn’t seen before. The idea for Brightly came up after she’d studied up on bioimpedance spectroscopy, a technique by which tiny electrical signals are sent through the body to non-invasively measure subtle changes in body tissue.
“I realized the bladder is one of the easiest things to see with the technology because it’s this large balloon of conductive material which is expanding and contracting,” Rintoul says.
Rintoul was also thinking about incontinence because her father had prostate cancer. Those who undergo surgery for the illness can be at higher risk for the condition. When she settled on the problem she wanted to solve, she and two of her colleagues that she had met through the hacker community signed up for HAX, an accelerator program based jointly in San Francisco and the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, China, that aims to help new companies build and pitch new hardware products. After creating a working prototype while still in China, Rintoul and her team signed on a group of volunteers to test it out.
Brightly is tentatively priced about $400, which might seem expensive at first glance but looks like a bargain compared to ultrasound devices currently used in hospitals, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. These devices are also much bulkier compared to Brightly.
A Broader Perspective
Rintoul acknowledges that her startup is still in its very early stages. Right now, the company has the data from the small trial and just went public with the idea a few weeks ago. The next step, Rintoul says, are conducting pilot studies with urologists. She’d also like to test the device in hospitals, where it could help nurses by signaling when patients need to the bathroom, and she points to the soaring numbers of patients who die because of bedsores from bed-wetting.
Anne Suskind, an assistant professor of urology at UCSF, is a little skeptical of Rintoul’s idea. She says the device seems to be a fancier way to do a timed bathroom trip for patients dealing with incontinence—manually setting an alarm as a reminder to use the bathroom. “If you’ve figured out how quickly you fill up your bladder, you’re always going to be emptying it at the same interval, more or less,” she says.
But Rintoul sees applications of the technology beyond incontinence. The ability to measure tissue changes in the body could be used for applications from basic medical imaging to exercise (imagine tech that measures lung expansion).
And whether or not the devices get broad adoption among consumers, Rintoul says at least she’s doing work she believes in. “For some types of startups, it does seem like their goal is a race to the bottom of tiny innovations,” she says. “We’re trying to take a broader perspective with our technology, especially by targeting an older population. After all, we all are getting older.”Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.",1069,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823989.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00103-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964993417263031
9cbbcd8d-53e6-4291-ba6c-52639b4a4fa4,2018-08-21T14:20:07+00:00,2010-08-21,1,http://www.darkhorizons.com/hughes-planning-red-hill-sequels/,"Filmmaker Patrick Hughes, the writer/director of upcoming modern western/revenge piece “Red Hill”, says he’s got plans for two similar films as part of a series that could well be nicknamed ‘The Colors Trilogy’.
Speaking with Film School Rejects, Hughes says each film will be a modern western with a revenge theme and each will be set in a different geographical location. The first one, “Red Hill”, follows a young cop (Ryan Kwanten) who must survive his first day’s duty in a small rural town in outback Australia. That film opens November 5th in the U.S. and December 2nd in Australia.
The planned follow-ups would be the Mexican border-town set “Black Valley”, and the wintry Rockies-set “White Mountain”. Kwanten’s character won’t be returning for said projects.
If the trilogy is successful, might I suggest a Scandinavian-set “Blue Fjord” soon after?",225,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218189.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821132121-20180821152121-00708.warc.gz,0.947856068611145
85fcc645-27d1-45dc-9f92-de2b49278e5c,2015-03-29T22:50:32+00:00,2013-03-21,1,http://www.woonsocketcall.com/node/8388,"Sen. Roger Picard
WOONSOCKET â Could four-day school weeks be coming to Woonsocket?
Itâs possible, if a bill that passed the Senate last week manages to find its way to becoming law.
Introduced by State Senator Roger Picard (D-Dist. 20, Woonsocket, Cumberland), the bill doesnât mandate four-day school weeks. But with the stateâs consent, school districts could adopt any sort of calendar they deem fit, so long as the school year provides no less than 1,080 hours of instructional time, the equivalent of the existing 180-day minimum.
Though the bill faces an uncertain future, itâs getting generally positive reviews from educators, including Woonsocket School Committeewoman Anita McGuire Forcier. She says the bill would allow the school district to consider a wide range of scheduling options to save money, including a four-day school week.
âThe benefit is going to give us more options as we face a fiscal crisis,â says McGuire Forcier. âA four-day school week with longer school days is something that I would be open to.â
Kristine Donabedian of the Lincoln School Committee agrees.
âItâs a wonderful idea,â she says. âDistricts will be able to design the school year according to their own needs and constraints, whether it be student based, financial or otherwise. At the same time, it provides safeguards against undesirable conditions, like exceedingly long days, by requiring the approval of the commissioner of education.â
The flexibility allowed by the proposed legislation would afford Lincoln the opportunity to improve class scheduling, provide more professional development and offer additional classroom time for students seeking extra help, subject to collective bargaining, according to Donabedian.
The measure has also won the support from the Rhode Island Association of School Committees. Tim Duffy, the executive director, says RIASC sees no downside in allowing school districts to experiment with alternative scheduling scenarios. Arguably, he said, there could be instructional benefit in tweaking the time-tested 180-day template in addition to cost savings.
The bill safeguards the interests of children by giving the Rhode Island Department of Education the power to veto district scheduling plans.
âWeâre not opposed to it,â said Duffy. âItâs hard to imaging that RIDE would approve of anything that is not instructionally sound.â
The four-day school week is hardly a new idea. Some 300 school districts across the country are believed to have adopted four-day school weeks in 2012 because of budget constraints, according to U.S. News & World Report. Still, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has opposes the slimmed-down school week, and other critics say a shorter school week ill prepares students for the real-life rigors of a five-day-a-week, full-time job.
One Valley educator who hasnât been won over by Senate Bill 1006A is Cumberland High School Principal Alan Tenreiro, who is also chairman of the Pawtucket School Committee. He says tweaking the 180-day calendar even a little is bound to have some unintended consequences that could be distracting and disruptive for school districts.
âYou change one thing and it certainly has a ripple effect on so many things,â he says. âYouâre talking about ripple effects on collective bargaining, transportation, policy, and parent involvement. Ultimately, the question you have to ask is does it make educationally; is it in the best interests of students?â
âIt certainly allows for more flexibility,â adds Tenreiro, âbut Iâd be reluctant to implement it without a great deal of research.â
The bill doesnât change the total amount of time students would have to spend in school during the course of the year, which the law currently defines as 180 days, assuming a school day lasts six hours. Picardâs bill redefines the instructional minimum as 1080 hours but it leaves it up to individual school districts to set the number of days in their school calendars or when those days fall.
When the bill passed the Senate last week, Picard issued a statement emphasizing the potential money-saving impact the measure could have on cash-strapped school districts like Woonsocket. The Woonsocket Education Department ended fiscal 2012 with a deficit of some $10 million. Although the WED was heavily criticized by municipal officials for mishandling its budget last year, there is a stronger consensus that the deficit was the result of
insufficient state reimbursements for education. Woonsocket and Pawtucket have filed a lawsuit against the state challenges the prevailing funding formula.
âWe all know the budget difficulties that school districts face today,â said Picard. âMy bill gives schools more flexibility, as long as they maintain studentsâ total learning time. If they find a creative way to save money while providing excellent education, such as longer but fewer school days, or scheduling breaks at times that let them save on heat, under this bill, they would be able to pursue that idea.â
Woonsocket Schools Supt. Giovanna Donoyan supports the bill, and not just because it could open up money-saving ways of structuring the calendar.
Sometimes, Donoyan says, smart teaching and saving money go hand in hand.
For example, she says, students returning from summer break typically need to be reacquainted with material they were already exposed to the prior year before they can advance. The school calendar could be used to cut back on this phenomenon, which educators like to call âsummer learning loss.â
Instead of having as long a summer vacation, students might take a longer winter break, says Donoyan. A shorter summer would reduce seasonal learning deficits and educators would waste less time re-teaching material theyâve already covered the prior year.
âThere is a significant cost involved in that that pushes us back,â says Donoyan. âAm I in favor of it? Iâm in favor of anything that helps students learn.â
If a four-day school week ever comes to fruition in Woonsocket â or any other departure from the traditional schedule, for that matter â it wonât happen at the behest of an elected school committee. Thanks to a 2012 referendum, the sitting members of the existing Woonsocket School Committee are the last who will serve as a result of running for elective office for the foreseeable future.
After their terms end in 2013, their successors will be appointed by whoever is serving as mayor, with the ratification of the City Council.
It all depends of course, on whether Picardâs bill, which he submitted at the request of the existing School Committee, ever becomes law. For that to happen, the House would have to pass the same version of the bill, and the governor would have to sign it.
Larry Berman, the director of communications for House Speaker Gordon Fox, says no member of the House has introduced a companion measure to Picardâs bill.
âWeâve had no discussion about a modified school calendar,â he says. âThereâs does not appear to be any interest in passing such a bill on the House side.â
But Berman said that doesnât mean the proposal is dead. Picard could personally petition members of the House to consider passing a version of the bill to help the cityâs school department through its financial crisis.
âIt would be up to Senator Picard,â he said. âHe could make his case for the bill to the House.â",1574,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00176-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961343228816986
ca10c7c2-81eb-401e-a462-e7b27eb89ecd,2017-08-20T15:43:02+00:00,2014-11-28,1,http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/release-565378.htm,"The global hydrogen generation market is estimated to reach $138.2 billion by 2019, with a projected CAGR of 5.9%, signifying an increase in demand for a clean and emission free power source that is hydrogen.
Dallas, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/28/2014 -- The report ""Hydrogen Generation Market by Geography, by mode of Generation & Delivery, by applications and by Technology - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2019"" defines and segments the global hydrogen generation market with an analysis and forecast of the revenue. The hydrogen generation market will grow from an estimated $103.5 billion in 2014 to $138.2 billion by 2019, with a CAGR of 5.9%.
Browse 88 market tables and 43 figures spread through 150 pages on Hydrogen Generation Market - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2019""
Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.
Asia-Pacific: Largest market for hydrogen generation
Asia & Oceania is estimated to be the largest market in hydrogen generation followed by Europe & Eurasia and North America. Asia & Oceania is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% till 2019, followed by Europe & Eurasia along with, North America with the growth rate of 4.3% and 5.8% respectively from 2014 to 2019.
You can speak to our research expert to know more about this report@ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalyst.asp?id=494
Refinery hydrogen production: Biggest market by applications
Refining industry is the biggest hydrogen consumer with 48% of total consumption share in 2014. Ammonia industry is second with 43% share. These top two industries have consumed 91% of total on-purpose hydrogen in 2014. The main regions driving for the growth of refinery hydrogen production are Asia & Oceania. Hydrogen has a variety of applications ranging from petroleum recovery and refining to chemical and fertilizer production, metal production and fabrication, food processing, electronics, fuel cells, pharmaceutical, aerospace, glass production, welding, and R&D labs, among others. Global on-purpose hydrogen production market is estimated to grow with CAGR of 5.4% in 2019, during the same period. Refinery application is expected to be the highest growth contributor with a CAGR of 5.8%, followed by Methanol with 4.9%, during 2014-2019. Refinery hydrogen production is projected to grow due to the increasing demand for petroleum products from developing countries like India and China, and tightening norms to reduce sulfur content in those regions.
Captive hydrogen production: By mode of delivery & generation
When hydrogen is generated at the point of consumption, it is known as on-site generation. If hydrogen is not generated on-site, it is produced using a centralized plant and then delivered with the help of various delivery methods such as pipeline, cylinders, and trailers. Usually, merchant producers cater to customers with small scale hydrogen requirements. However, a small number of customers in the same segment prefer to buy hydrogen generation plants instead of buying from a third party. It is very difficult to segregate these customers and hence, all small on-site production is clubbed under merchant section. The merchant production market is growing at a CAGR of 9.6% whereas, the captive production market is growing at a CAGR of 5.4% from 2014 to 2019.
MarketsandMarkets is world's No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the ""Growth Engagement Model – GEM"". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write ""Attack, avoid and defend"" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.
M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, ""RT"" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.
We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.
North - Dominion Plaza
17304 Preston Road
Suite 800, Dallas, TX 75252
Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/energy-and-power
Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets",1031,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00290.warc.gz,0.923915505409241
e060dfe0-ea91-4712-a918-6e585d64194a,2015-03-30T11:39:14+00:00,2013-12-12,1,http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/dec/12/hensley-expects-brownback-make-supplemental-budget/?kansas_legislature,"Topeka Gov. Sam Brownback on Thursday declined to say whether he would make a supplemental budget request to fill a nearly $38 million shortfall in public school funding.
""We'll be announcing budgets in a timely fashion,"" Brownback said. The 2014 legislative session starts in January.
But Brownback did say that school funding, Medicaid and pensions will be parts of his proposed budget that will ""stick out as the growth area.""
In the 2013 legislative session, Republicans passed a budget that set the school finance formula at $3,838 in base state aid per pupil in the current fiscal year and at $3,852 per pupil in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2014.
But a new estimate by the state shows funding will fall $17.8 million short in the current fiscal year and $19.9 million short in the next.
If the additional funding isn't provided, the base state aid will fall to $3,812 per student in the current year and to $3,823 in the next.
That size of a reduction in the Lawrence school district would mean the loss of $456,645, or the equivalent of the cost of eight teachers, although officials cited no specific plan to bridge such a shortfall if it were to occur.
""All I can say is that at this point I don't think its productive to speculate,"" said Lawrence School Board President Rick Ingram.
""It is too early and there is too little information to make any kind of decisions or even think about how we would handle this. If it looks likely that we will get a cut, then the board will sit down and figure this out,"" Ingram said.
Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka met with the Republican governor on Wednesday to discuss school finance issues.
""The governor told me yesterday he is going to recommend an increase in the base state aid per pupil. I'm assuming that the ball is in his court and that he will address this issue with a supplemental, plus an increase in the base state aid,"" Hensley said.
But Hensley said that ""hanging over this whole process"" are the income tax cuts signed into law by Brownback and the pending school finance lawsuit before the Kansas Supreme Court.
The state has appealed a lower court panel ruling that said legislators unconstitutionally cut school funding while passing mammoth tax cuts. The decision could force the state to increase school funding $500 million per year.
— Reporter Peter Hancock contributed to this story.",515,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00252-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968093574047089
a2c960af-a57f-451a-ac38-e32273b2b3c4,2020-10-20T03:31:24+00:00,2020-04-25,0,http://newzeelottery.pk/2020/04/25/so-why-do-people-choose-to-particular-date-online/,"Dating online is a trend before couple of years which includes taken off like wildfire, and it is not expecting to slow down in the near future. In fact , with millions of people on-line at the same time, you must ask yourself as to why anyone wouldn’t be interested in dating online. In fact, there is no physical contact that develops, and the results are usually fast and almost mail order brides always much better than any type of matchmaking method. So what is the charm to internet dating?
One good reason to date online would be that the entire procedure of meeting people has been basic. You don’t have to travel from one person to the next; you don’t have to meet in person whatsoever. You can find to start a date and meet the face in the privacy of your own residence or even on the net. In addition , you will find no pressure points for individuals like you when you meet an individual online and it could just you and that person, so you can get to know one another better and form a deeper relationship over the Internet.",223,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107869785.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020021700-20201020051700-00135.warc.gz,0.967833697795868
c5aa42ac-38a0-483e-9722-396832135e05,2013-06-20T08:50:58+00:00,2011-06-20,0,http://kaythesewinglawyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/unruffled.html,"The Sewing Lawyer is not really sure what drew her to the ruffled blouse in the April 2010 edition of Burda Magazine in the first place. Probably it was not the ruffles. Nor could it possibly be the side zipper opening, or the deeply plunging front neck. All of these features have been eliminated or significantly altered in the Sewing Lawyer's version. She did give the ruffle a try, despite knowing that it would not be satisfactory. Forty or so years of sewing experience does sometimes enable one to predict when some feature of a garment will not be satisfactory. The Sewing Lawyer fatalistically reacquainted herself with her trusty seam ripper.
the attack of the ruffles, take 1? Well, take 2, while marginally better, was not enough of an improvement. Off they came ... again.
Here's a view of the back.
I'm happy with the print matching. There is a yoke seam at the upper back...
I turned the original cut-on-the-fold front into a button-up by virtue of adding a seam allowance at CF instead. Instead of an overlapping front, I added a little shield to sit behind the loops. It is barely visible, as you can see to the right, which means it was necessary.
Second, like several other bloggers of late, I clean-finished the facings using fusible interfacing. I do not know who to credit with this technique. It's fantastic - both easy and producing an obviously superior result. There is a tutorial over at Sigrid's site (from Lori V's blog, Girls in the Garden) but, thinking a few more details would help, I took some pictures while this was in progress.
First, cut your fusible as usual using the facing pattern piece. Lay the unfused interfacing on the facing, right sides together (that means with the glue side NOT against your fashion fabric). Sew the 2 together along the edge(s) of the facing which will not be sewn to the garment edge.
I think my seam was about .25"" which ended up being about right, because this made the fusing a little bit easier than it might have been, I think.
I started the fusing by opening the seamed unit, and fusing in the seam allowance only while gently holding the fusible interfacing taut and away from the facing. In the photo to the right, the seam allowance is fused to the right, unfused at the left side. Obviously you have to do this carefully and just with the tip of the iron, to avoid sticking your interfacing to the ironing board cover.
My next project? I'm planning to take Vogue 8718 out of its envelop and contemplate its mysteries.
12 hours ago",579,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9696826338768
51faeab8-e96e-497c-80c0-afbf7d0d70bd,2022-05-22T13:09:38+00:00,2019-01-15,1,https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/december-2018-the-best-selling-vehicles-in-canada-every-vehicle-ranked/,"The Best Selling Vehicles in Canada – December 2018 YTD
Here you will find the YTD Vehicle sales leaders in Canada for December 2018 YTD. Each month we compile passenger car sales data and reports for North American markets and analyze it to create the best selling list below.
In Canada from a model standpoint, the Ford F-Series pickup leads the way. However, both for the month and for the year its sales were down compared to last year. It saw a drop of 8.73 percent and 6.18 percent respectively.
The Ram pickup followed suit in terms of volume, but it, too, saw decreases compared to the previous year. For the month it was down 4.48 percent and for the year 6.18 percent.
The Honda Civic came in third in terms of volume with a 24.73 percent increase for the month compared to last year. It suffered a .04 percent drop when you look at the full year.
When you look at the market as a whole, crossovers and SUVs seemed to do the best in terms of momentum. The Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V both saw increases over last year from a monthly sales standpoint and YTD standpoint.
The Jeep Wrangler also saw large increases of 38.01 percent for the month of December over last year and a 42.32 percent increase for the year as a whole.
Other crossovers and SUVs fared a similar fate. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in 2019.
Best Selling Vehicle Rankings
All Vehicle Sales Figures – This Month
This sales table of shows the top vehicle sales performers in Canada, including their year on year growth rates both for the most recent month and year to date figures. Note that this table is sortable and that it fees the chart below. You can easily change the chart by filtering and sorting the below table.
For reference CA = Canada Sales for the month, CA LY = Last Year’s Canada Sales for the month, CA vs LY = The Year on Year Growth Rate, YTD = Canada Sales Year to Date, YTD LY = Last Year’s Canada Year to Date Sales, YTD vs LY = The Year on Year Growth Rate.",458,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00413.warc.gz,0.933021903038025
2f286f90-f67c-4e65-a3a1-b6d529d86c61,2013-05-22T14:40:44+00:00,2012-07-19,1,http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/19066905/cdc-whooping-cough-cases-may-be-most-in-5-decades,"By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA (AP) - Health officials say the nation is on track to have the worst year for whooping cough in more than five decades.
Nearly 18,000 cases have been reported so far - more than twice the number seen at this point last year. At this pace, the number of whooping cough cases will surpass every year since 1959.
""There is a lot of this out there, and there may be more coming to a place near you,"" Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Wisconsin and Washington state each have reported more than 3,000 cases, and high numbers have been seen in a number of other states, including New York, Minnesota, Kansas and Arizona.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. It leads to severe coughing that causes children to make a distinctive whooping sound as they gasp for breath. In rare cases it can be fatal, and nine children have died so far this year.
Children get vaccinated against whooping cough in five doses, with the first shot at age 2 months and the final one between 4 and 6 years. Then a booster is recommended around age 11. The vaccine's protection does wane and health officials have debated moving up the booster shot.
The CDC is urging adults and especially pregnant women to get vaccinated so they don't spread it to infants who are too young to get the vaccine.
Whooping cough used to cause hundreds of thousands of illnesses a year but cases fell after a vaccine was introduced in the 1940s. Starting in the late 1960s, fewer than 5,000 cases were reported annually in the United States, for a stretch of about 25 years. But the numbers started to rise in the 1990s.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.",395,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964948177337646
9424da0a-8a6f-43dd-865c-9b26d66d0b26,2015-03-29T06:12:42+00:00,2015-03-29,0,http://www.smartfurniture.com/products/BDI-Sequel-Desk.html?att=40,"At A Glance:Ideally, a sequel takes the familiar parts of the original and re-imagines them, puts them into a new context, and fashions an equally original work. This desk does just that. The look of the desk is that of an overturned table; the plane of the desk rests on two extended legs and the other two serve as the base of the desk. Nifty. Within the desk is a hidden keyboard, and lots of other organizational goodies.
See the entire BDI Sequel Office collection.
What's To Like:
This is a clever little number. The hidden keyboard is cool, but perhaps even cooler is a hidden cord organizer, between the two panels of the ""privacy screen"" you can attach to the front of the desk. No more messy, disorganized cables for your phone, your iPod and your laptop! The design is pretty neat too, with the overturned table theme making the product younger, cooler, and more interesting.
What's Not to Like:
The plane of the desk isn't very deep. If you like keeping your computer screen in the center of the desk, it's going to be hard to find enough space to keep papers and other desktop objects. BDI does offer a return to offer more space. For some, a hidden keyboard isn't a plus (I'm looking at you laptop folks).
The Bottom Line:
Sequel is a cool looking desk with lots of unique functionality and a fresh aesthetic. And it's from BDI, a company with a well-deserved reputation for quality.
The modern, sleek profile of the Sequel Desk is engineered for ergonomic comfort and conducive to productivity. This BDI desk features a black neoprene lining on its hidden keyboard which acts as a keyboard stabilizer and mouse pad. The rear section of this keyboard drawer is a perfect cubby for charging electrical gadgets like cell phones and MP3 players. The user's side of the desk's modesty panel acts as a cable and cord-stowing mechanism - it easily detaches from the desk when you need to plug or unplug something.
Materials & Measurements
Natural wood veneer with satin stainless steel base. Cabinet fronts contain IR friendly tempered glass.
Overall: 29"" h x 60"" w x 24"" d
Desk surface weight capacity: 75 pounds
Weight: 146 pounds
Your FurnitureGenius Recommendations
Viewing assembly instructions requires Adobe Reader. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader.
About The Manufacturer
Thoughtful design; sleek lines; material quality that is without peer. Becker Designed Inc. was founded in 1984 by Bill Becker with the goal of making top-notch modern furniture design accessible to the public. They've succeeded. With the most functional, well-engineered, and attractively designed TV stands on the market, BDI has raised the bar to an impressive height. Features like flow-through ventilation, IR-friendly glass, integrated wheels, and removable back panels are just a few of the innovative ways BDI has discovered to make the TV stand that much better. Today, BDI is best know for its home entertainment systems, but it has also applied its vision and craftsmanship in its lines of tables, shelving, and mirrors. BDI is located in Chantilly, Virginia.
Your Recently Viewed Products
Heavily influenced by Danish modern style, Matthew studied Scandinavian design, architecture, and woodworking at Denmark's Design School and holds a degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute. Inspired by his love of Nature, Matthew's designs have become known for merging maximum functionality with minimal materials, always striving to do more with less.
DesignThe BDI Sequel Desk 6001 is the perfect combination of fashion and function. Designer Matthew Weatherly created this contemporary styled desk to provide a sleek upgrade to traditional office furniture. It features an easy open/close-system drawer that allows your keyboard, mouse and rechargeable items to appear when you need them or hide when you don't The desk comes with magnetically-attached front and back panels that can be easily removed. This feature lets you hide unsightly wires and allows for easy access when your system set up needs to be adjusted. The back panel of the desk can remain unattached when a room layout calls for a desk to be positioned against a wall.
The BDI Sequel Desk 6001 fits perfectly into any designed space. When used as part of the layout in an office environment, the desk helps to send a message of sophistication and style to visitors. When customers and clients arrive at your office for meetings, they'll be instantly impressed. When your company is recruiting new staff and giving potential new hires a tour of your space, the desk will show them your company is a place that recognizes quality and tries to provide the best working situations for their employees.
Not to be seen as a desk fit solely for the corporate office life, the BDI Sequel Desk 6001 can match up seamlessly with your vision for your home office. Create the perfect office environment with the perfect desk that lets you hide all of the unsightly cords and wires from your guests. Or incorporate the desk to become a part of a bedroom layout. Make it a contributing part of the success of the student living at your home. The quality construction and always in fashion style make this a desk that will be the silent partner for years of research papers and late nights studying for big exams.
The BDI Sequel 6001 is available in a natural stained cherry, rich walnut and engaging espresso stained oak colors. With an easily movable weight of 146 lbs. and the capacity to hold up to 75 lbs., this desk can be easily moved as spaces are redesigned throughout the years. With an enduring design that will never go out of style, this desk is not so much a purchase, as it is an investment. Invest in your future and order this desk today.
Size: 29 inches in height, 60 inches in width and 24 inches deep
Shipping & Delivery
Shipping is free!
Ships within 2 business days from the date of purchase unless otherwise noted.
Standard Ship Method: Free In Home Delivery - $0.00!
In home delivery is a great way to have large and fragile items delivered to your room of choice - and we offer it as a complementary service on select items like this! When your order reaches the local station in your area, you will be contacted to schedule a day and time specific appointment (so no surprises!). A two person team will carefully deliver the item inside your home (or office) and place it in the room you desire. Please note that this service does not include debris removal or assembly. Should you desire either one of these options, please give us a call at 888-467-6278 so that we can provide you with a customized quote.
Dimensions: 65"" x 31"" x 11""
Weight: 146 lb",1419,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298228.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00077-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.940281629562378
b00ecde7-de21-4ff7-a3c8-f345ba2d1440,2020-10-30T02:57:13+00:00,2016-10-02,0,https://akernelofnonsense.wordpress.com/2016/10/02/october-fright-mini-arc-review-one-was-lost-by-natalie-d-richards-giveaway/?like_comment=12904&_wpnonce=f8b13ead7e,"Title: One Was Lost
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: October 4th 2016
*I received a copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by Armchair BEA, which does not influence my review.*
In Natalie D. Richards’ One Was Lost, an innocent school camping trip turns deadly and four teens must find a way to survive when they discover someone may be out to harm them. If you’re looking for a novel this month to get you in the mood for Halloween, but isn’t too intense when it comes to horror, One Was Lost might be for you. One of the most interesting things about this book is that although it was told in first person, we still get a chance to get to know the secondary characters beside the protagonist Sera. Lucas, Emily, and Jude had their own stories and brought their own issues to the story. I personally really liked Lucas and felt that we got to know him compared to the other two. One of the reason for this is Sera’s flashbacks, which added depth to their relationship and helped in the development of Lucas’ character. I do think that both Emily and Jude had more to offer and in terms of character development, the book might have worked better with multiple points of view. The story felt very limited and isolating at times and while this echoed what was happening to the characters in the story, there were moments when Sera would mention her relationship with her mother or father and it really made me want to read more about these different relationships. One Was Lost isn’t particularly groundbreaking when it comes to the thriller genre and its scares aren’t necessarily the most unique, but it’s a good book to pick up for October when you want to spend time with reads that will have you checking your locks before bed. Cover is linked to Goodreads.
Giveaway time! I currently have an ARC of Natalie D. Richard’s One Was Lost that I’d love the opportunity to share with another reader, so I am hosting a little giveaway. A few rules:
- Giveaway will run from October 2-14th.
- This giveaway is limited to the US due to shipping costs.
- You must be 18 or older to enter (or have your parents’ permission).
- The winner of the giveaway will be selected randomly and emailed on the 15th (you will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen).
- Prize will be mailed to you within a week of your response.
- To enter, click on the Rafflecopter link below.",543,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107906872.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030003928-20201030033928-00244.warc.gz,0.96995222568512
1344a138-3a7d-4deb-963c-05c6e7247b8b,2018-08-17T14:01:14+00:00,2003-03-01,0,https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ667861,"ERIC Number: EJ667861
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2003
Reference Count: N/A
What School Administrators Should Know about Inclusion and Its Costs.
Pruslow, John T.
Leadership and Policy in Schools, v2 n1 p65-78 Mar 2003
Examines cost-effectiveness of school inclusion for special-needs students. Includes cost analysis of instructional personnel, impact on general education spending, transportation, and school space. Draws policy implications. (Contains 34 references.) (PKP)
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A",143,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212323.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817123838-20180817143838-00685.warc.gz,0.781208992004395
e838851d-30b6-4a23-9a8a-0ec3fd0abc4d,2016-07-23T15:04:05+00:00,2008-10-17,0,http://philliesinsider.mlblogs.com/2008/10/17/520721/?like=1&_wpnonce=027e8cf74a,"Players were back in uniform and worked out at Citizens Bank Park for nearly a couple of hours this afternoon.
Kyle Kendrick, Greg Golson, Mike Cervenak and Andy Tracy, all of whom went to the Florida Instructional League in Clearwater, FL, to keep their skills fresh, have rejoined the team.
The Phillies have until 10 a.m. on Tuesday to file their World Series roster with MLB.
The team will work out again on Saturday afternoon and then have a day off on Sunday.
Charlie Manuel’s mother, June, was laid to rest this morning in Buena Vista, Va. Among those attending the services were David Montgomery, Pat Gillick, Ruben Amaro Jr., Mike Arbuckle and Greg Casterioto.
The Phillies will leave for Boston or Tampa Bay mid-day on Monday.
Should the Rays win that series, Charlie hopes to have the team work out on the artificial turf at Tropicana Field twice, after arriving on Monday and again on Tuesday.
If the team is going to Boston, a workout will be held at Fenway Park on Tuesday. MLB requires that both teams work out prior to Games 1 and 3.
World Series tickets and Phillies merchandise are the hot items right now. People are coming out of hibernation seeking tickets. Unfortunately, the cupboard is bare. One fan offered to trade 1964 World Series tickets for 2008 tickets. No, we didn’t win it in 1964 but we did print tickets because we thought we were going to be the NL champs.
National League Champion Phillies t-shirts and caps are available at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Citizens Bank Park; Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Official merchandise can also be purchased online at phillies.com or by calling 1-877-GO PHILS if you live in Pocatello, ID, and can’t drive to Philly.
How’s that for a friendly commercial?
Which pitcher holds the Phillies record for most World Series appearances?
Winner will receive an autographed baseball from the record-holder. First person to post the correct answer will be declared the winner.",473,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823072.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00020-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949433386325836
ea2ea435-d9e0-4384-9a9d-ebc164b03deb,2017-08-23T17:52:15+00:00,2015-01-01,0,http://www.fontspace.com/ap-project/basical,"With a display that looks like a serif style made by hand. Which I call the Basical
Basical font— Created in by
Buy license: email@example.com
© AP Project. 2015. All Rights Reserved
This font is for PERSONAL USE ONLY and requires a license for commercial use.",68,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123312.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823171414-20170823191414-00226.warc.gz,0.732283651828766
39b293fb-8153-443e-9f4a-1bcc8cc4d0d8,2019-08-25T15:52:54+00:00,2019-07-18,1,https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/producer-responsibility-bottle-deposits-part-proposed-federal-measure,"Proposed sweeping national legislation could fundamentally change the plastics industry and how the material is handled after use.
Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., are seeking input on a new effort that would hit on many of the hot-button issues plastics are facing.
Extended producer responsibility, nationwide container deposits, product bans, labeling requirements and ""awareness-raising levels"" are all part of an initial outline the legislators released July 18.
The proposal also specifically mentions a ban on expanded polystyrene in foodservice ware, disposable coolers and shipping packaging.
""We have passed a tipping point in the plastic pollution crisis,"" Udall said in a statement. ""We are in dire need of action to tackle this enormous problem. The ripple effects of plastic waste are everywhere.""
The proposal also would set state goals to collect ""a high percentage"" of single-use plastic drink bottles and to standardize recycling collection across communities and states, according to a statement announcing the idea.
Another requirement calls for 100 percent recyclability for plastic bottles, packaging and some other products. Those items also would need to include ""a significant percentage"" of post-consumer resin.
Another aspect of the proposal calls for a federal fund to pay for pollution reduction, remediation and research. Funding would come in part from bag fees and unclaimed container deposits.
Extended producer responsibility is an approach where manufacturers pay for the end-of-life management of the products they create. The concept has taken hold in Europe, but to a lesser extent in the United States, where there are a limited number of state EPR programs to handle tough-to-recycle products.
Mercury-containing products, such as thermostats and automotive lighting switches, are one popular EPR example. Some states also have EPR laws for electronics.
Product producers would be ""required to design, manage and finance programs for end-of-life management of their products and packaging as a condition of sale. These programs may or may not use existing collection and processing infrastructure,"" a statement from the legislators said.
""Producers will help cover the costs of waste management and cleanup, as well as awareness-raising measures for food containers, packets and wrappers, drink containers, cups and lids, tobacco products with filters (such as cigarette butts), wet wipes, balloons and lightweight plastic bags,"" the proposal states.
Opponents of EPR often counter that these added costs will increase the price of the products they sell to consumers.
Plastics industry trade groups had a mixed reaction to the proposal.
""America's plastic makers are fully committed to doing our part to help end plastic waste, and we welcome the opportunity to work with Congress in shaping legislation that will help cleanup and protect our environment,"" the American Chemistry Council said in a statement.
But ACC did raise concerns about the idea of prohibiting the use of certain plastics.
""Unfortunately, the outline of new legislation ... suggests banning certain plastics, which, studies show, would have the unintended consequences of increasing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts,"" the group said in statement.
Steve Alexander, president of the Association of Plastic Recyclers, welcomed the idea of addressing the issues.
""I try not to look at the specifics per se because this is such a broad shot across the bow that tries to cover everything that's out there in terms of potential problems relative to recyclability,"" he said.
""They are talking about everything. We're just happy that there's a dialogue and discussion going on. Because, historically, this is not the type of activity that happens on the federal level. So there are going to be some good things and there are going to be some things that those of us in the business every day know are really not going to work,"" he said.
Alexander likes the idea of creating a uniform collection and recycling standards, a move that would go a long way to solving other problems.
""We're happy to have this conversation going on. But, again, it's such a catchall you have to wonder if there is a result, you have to wonder what it's going to look like at the end of the day,"" he said.
Over at the Plastics Industry Association, the trade group indicated it supports the proposed Save Our Seas Act 2.0, a comprehensive bill designed to address marine debris.
""Senator Udall's outline contains a collection of several policy options that have been tried in cities and states around the country that do not address the root causes of marine debris,"" Scott DeFife, vice president of government affairs at PIA, said in a statement.
""Domestic U.S. bans of otherwise completely recyclable materials do not address global litter or waste management issues, which is why we are also working to support investments in recovery and recycling infrastructure so that no plastic material ends up in the environment,"" DeFife said.",1014,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00047.warc.gz,0.961225271224976
5e558796-e8b4-495f-830b-c1df531db589,2015-04-01T17:47:25+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.creativewriting-prompts.com/journaling.html,"Your family folklore can provide rich and often humorous content for journaling. We have collected a few family favourites to help inspire you. Pick a prompt from the list below and start writing you might just be bowled over by the unique and original tales you have to tell.
- Describe losing your first tooth. (Did you receive any visits from the tooth fairy? Was it a tooth mouse?)
- Discuss some of your family remedies. (What cures do you have for warts? Hiccups? Sneezing? Staying Healthy?)
- Are you superstitious? What superstitions did you grow up believing? Do you still believe them?
- Have you ever wished upon a star? Has this wish come true? (How old were you at the time? Where were you when you made the wish?)
- Describe your favourite family foods. How often did you enjoy them? (Why were they family favourites? Where did the recipe originate from? Who cooked them?)
- What role has music played in your family life? (Can you play an instrument? What instruments do other family members play? Can you sing? Do you have any traditional family songs?
- What Christmas traditions do you share as a family? (When does Santa Claus make an appearance? Do you exchange gifts? What family feasts grace the table?)
See the links below for more prompts, topics and ideas to get you started.
Some Ideas and Topics to get you started.
More Prompts: All About Me
More Prompts: The Clock is Ticking
Return from journaling to the homepage.",328,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00037-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970601141452789
3d4d3989-4cad-4104-b262-ee540791b7b7,2017-08-22T14:36:57+00:00,2009-11-17,0,https://sunflowerman.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/its-the-greatest-love-story-ever-written/,"I’m sure you’ve heard that one before. That’s fine with me, I needed to say it again. I was just taking a shower-which I do on occasion- and was thinking about ‘the Law’ and the Pharisees in comparison with the church.
As I was preaching to myself in my head-which is another thing I do on occasion =]-it occurred to me that every ‘law’ I follow means nothing; it’s a very biblical principle.
Also, it occurred to me that the only thing that matters is my relationship with Jesus Christ. Obedience that comes from knowing the love of Jesus is the only obedience that really matters.
When the love of Jesus surrounds you, and you are filled with His Spirit, then trusting and obeying become who you are, not what you strive to be.",181,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110792.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822143101-20170822163101-00291.warc.gz,0.980514883995056
f32c82e7-3263-4972-a82a-98181f08bca3,2020-10-28T06:12:46+00:00,2013-05-14,0,http://www.totomai.net/2013/05/shibazakura.html?showComment=1368497047468,"One of the popular destinations in Japan this springtime is shibazakura (cherry lawn in English). Shibazakura is all over Japan but one of the most visited places is at Motosuko, near Mt. Fuji. I always see posters about it and when my friends planned to go on a trip, I confirmed my attendance without really knowing the details.
shaking off the rust
unmasked once again, alive
I was thinking whether to still go with them on this particular trip since I just recover with my bout against influenza. I was feeling okay so I decided to join. Glad I did. It was a visual treat and Mt. Fuji showed up that day, though a little bit shy.
The place was packed with people and it was very difficult to take a photo without including them. I didn't take a lot of photos, I just enjoyed the view. The trip was great.
However, though maybe unrelated, I got knocked-out again after with an inflammation of tonsils. Yes, I was absent from work.",215,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107896778.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028044037-20201028074037-00049.warc.gz,0.979460716247559
dfef303f-2a4a-479f-85a7-c9422e158663,2022-05-19T05:52:55+00:00,2022-01-31,0,https://au.zipleaf.com/Companies/Termite-Inspection-Sydney,"130 Elizabeth St, NSW , Sydney , 2000, Australia
Phone: 02 4018 7435
Established January 2022
SES Pest Control Sydney provided the best and most effective Termite Control Service in Sydney. We have been working in this industry for many years and have provided affordable Termite Control Services to both commercial and domestic areas. Our specialist teams are using the best solutions, and also our methods are environmentally friendly. We have a bunch of pest control services:- Termite Control Treatment, General Pest Control Service, Rat Control Treatment, and Cockroach Control Treatment, etc.
No photos have been uploaded yet.
No news or articles are available right now.
Is this your business? Click Here [Listing #490398]",151,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00419.warc.gz,0.925262808799744
08214a6a-c2bd-42a5-9aa9-6176b4d41f39,2018-08-18T21:49:06+00:00,2018-07-19,1,https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/2018/07/19/trucking-woes-plague-fed-districts-as-drivers-prove-hard-to-find,"Trucking Woes Plague Fed Districts With Drivers Hard to Find
(Bloomberg) -- American businesses want to keep trucking along, but they’re running into a persistent roadblock: A driver shortage amid high demand for freight services.
The Federal Reserve’s July Beige Book, a collection of anecdotes from across the Fed’s regional bank districts, showed 25 mentions of “truck” or “trucking,” up from just 10 a year earlier. For months, businesses have been expressing anxiety on earnings calls about rising shipping costs and capacity constraints in the trucking industry as a hot economy stokes demand.
“Six Districts specifically mentioned trucking capacity as an issue and attributed it to a shortage of commercial drivers,” according to the Fed report, released Wednesday in Washington.
In some districts, like the Richmond Fed’s, the shortage means demand is going “partially unmet.” In the Boston region, it’s driving up freight costs, while businesses in the Cleveland area are turning to railroads as a transportation method. And in the St. Louis region, it’s pushing up wages: “One trucking company offered the largest one-time pay increase in its history.”
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.",274,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213794.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818213032-20180818233032-00460.warc.gz,0.930556833744049
b6500a12-6d47-4743-9d31-3859cf47c28a,2017-08-17T08:08:08+00:00,2016-10-17,1,http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-pfizer-to-launch-cheaper-version-of-jj-immune-drug-remicade-2016-10,"Drugmaker Pfizer says next month it will launch a less-expensive version of rival Johnson & Johnson's blockbuster immune disorder drug, Remicade.
Pfizer Inc.'s version, called Inflectra, will hit pharmacies in late November. It will be only the second so-called biosimilar drug available in the U.S.
Remicade, long J&J's top-selling drug, is approved for treating rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, colitis and other immune system disorders.
Biosimilars are near-copies of biologic drugs, which are very expensive injected medicines that are ""manufactured"" inside living cells, rather than by mixing chemicals together.
More than 20 biosimilar medicines are on the market in Europe. Bu in the U.S., they've been delayed by a still-ongoing process setting up rules for their approval and by litigation between drugmakers creating biosimilars and the companies that created the original drugs.",202,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102993.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817073135-20170817093135-00523.warc.gz,0.936327815055847
d10aaf0a-9479-4803-9974-0316a807836a,2019-08-17T22:39:08+00:00,2016-02-01,1,http://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2016/02/american-lands-council-supports-federal-lands-transfer-to-states/,"In a statement written by the American Lands Council it appears there is support from eastern states like Tennessee for the Federal Transfer of Lands to states. What do you think of this? Read this and comment!
Why would an eastern state like The Tennessee pass a resolution supporting the Transfer of Public Lands to the Western States? On January 26th, Tennessee Governor Hallam signed a resolution passed by their Legislature calling “on other states to pass a similar resolution in support of the transfer of the federal public lands to the western states.”
Some who are unfamiliar with the devastating affects caused by the failed federal policies waged on western public lands may wonder why the Eastern States would be interested in their transfer to all willing western states. But states such as Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas realize that while states east of the continental divide fund education, public safety and other essential government services largely through property taxes, western states struggle to provide these most basic needs because Congress lords the PILT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) over western communities “like some two-bit protection racket,” in the words of U.S. Senator Mike Lee. Just as importantly, they also know that those payments come at the expense of Eastern states who are forced to fund these payments to western states in order to keep them from using their own resources.
These Eastern States also understand that we all want healthy air, water and wildlife; Abundant outdoor recreation opportunities; and safe, vibrant communities. But one-size-fails-all federal management of our public lands is giving us unhealthy air, water, and decimated wildlife; blocked off and destroyed recreation access, and unsafe, economically depressed communities. We need to free the lands from federal bureaucracy so we can tend them more like a healthy, productive garden and less like a stuffy old “hands off, don’t touch” museum. With more effective local care, we can restore the balance we need to produce healthy air, water and wildlife; abundant recreation opportunities; & safe, vibrant communities. Who knows western lands the best? Who better to tend the environment in our state than the people who live here and care about our air and water and wildlife the most?
These Eastern States also understand that a threat upon any state’s sovereignty is a threat to every state’s sovereignty. As the U.S. Supreme Court recently admonished, “the constitutional equality of the States is essential to the harmonious operation of the scheme upon which the Republic was organized.” In other words, our constitutional system itself doesn’t work where the States are treated unequally. The basic rights of liberty, property and self-governance are essential to the proper balance in our unique system of government. As Thomas Jefferson warned, “it must be the states themselves erecting barriers at the constitutional line that cannot be surmounted…”
Since the founding of the American Lands Council in 2012, States around the West and across the nation have passed a variety of legislation towards bringing about the Transfer of Public Lands to all willing western states, and, with your support, the legislative efforts continue. Please be aware of the bills moving forward in your state and contact your elected officials to urge their relentless support for the only solution big enough to secure more effective local care and management of our unique western lands.
The American Lands Council urges all states, both those in the East and the West, to stand together and pursue the legal and constitutional means afforded to us under the U.S. Constitution to compel Congress to honor the very same statehood terms and the very same constitutional obligations to relinquish control over the public lands following statehood.
American Lands Council
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FEDERAL TRANSFER OF LANDS TO STATE CONTROL?",775,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313501.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817222907-20190818004907-00200.warc.gz,0.949593603610992
8edcdf9d-bd8e-4df9-b35e-27a11034266a,2020-10-27T04:06:02+00:00,2020-10-27,0,https://floodcomm.com/job-postings/part-time-on-air/,"Who Are We?
We are one of the largest news operations in Nebraska, Flood Communications delivers hyper-local news and high-quality programming to radio, TV and digital audiences across the state, reaching more than 500,000 homes and 200,000 social media followers. Its stations include: News Channel Nebraska, Telemundo Nebraska and ten radio stations. News Channel Nebraska is the only in-state, independent television network of its kind in America. Telemundo Nebraska is the state’s first network affiliate to deliver live, local Spanish news to Nebraska’s nearly 250,000 Hispanic residents. Flood Communications connects communities across the state by covering important events, supporting worthy causes and continuing to look ahead, envisioning the future of communications and the media.
The Role: Part Time On Air/Programming
Salary: TBD Based on Experience
Location: Norfolk NE
Flood Communications is hiring a Part Time On-Air Talent in our Norfolk NE Location.
Are you ready to be involved in the community and assist with appearances, promotions, and general station events on multiple platforms? Are you a programmer who can work with sales teams to identify ideas, sponsorships, and events to promote the stations and add revenue while bringing a spirit of creativity and mutual respect to a team where values matter?
On-Air Talent responsibilities include:
- Performing live broadcasts that are quick-paced, entertaining and informative while remaining music-intensive
- Appearing at station events and remote broadcasts
- Maintaining strong social media connections
- Engaging listeners in a digital setting
- Conducting promotions and contests that support the brand and engage listeners.
- Ability to produce on-air commercial, or be willing to be trained in that area
- Radio experience, an understanding of social media, a sense of humor, and are highly creative and spontaneous, send us your information.
- The ideal candidates will be able to develop, produce, and execute on-air radio programming that is both entertaining and informative to the listening audience. Successful candidates must follow and enforce FCC regulations, station and company policies.
Qualified Candidates please email Cover letter and resume to firstname.lastname@example.org
Additional Information: Flood Digital Networks (Flood Communications LLC) along with all its subsidiaries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities and women encouraged to apply.",480,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893011.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027023251-20201027053251-00529.warc.gz,0.906257629394531
2733a8bd-a0e5-4496-90a7-85a4363c38cc,2020-10-31T22:51:27+00:00,2020-10-31,0,https://www.banjohangout.org/reviews/search.asp?m=p&v=56125&redir=true,"The banjo reviews database is here to help educate people before they purchase an instrument. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for playing the instrument yourself!
6991 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: Mike's web site
Excellent product!! I played in the basement while my wife was upstairs, directly overhead. She did not hear a thing!
The sound is like a harpsichord, but the feel is exactly right. I highly recommend this product if you have to live with folks who get tired of hearing you practice...
Overall Rating: 10
'Bear's Den - Mother' 11 min
'Blue Moon In Kentucky' 28 min
'A tale of two hygrometers' 31 min
'Old Piss (TOTW)' 43 min
'Hangman's Reel' 1 hr
'Need some help' 2 hrs",182,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922463.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031211812-20201101001812-00458.warc.gz,0.919129073619842
56cd325d-6834-4c1a-afb5-e1b6ca9c6565,2015-03-28T12:37:42+00:00,2014-09-07,0,http://miami.cbslocal.com/tag/rev-al-sharpton/,"Rev. Al Sharpton
Atlanta Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson said Sunday he is selling his controlling interest in the team, in part due to an inflammatory email he said he wrote in an attempt “to bridge Atlanta’s racial sports divide.”
Gun owners and defenders of the second amendment saw success during the 2014 Florida legislative session, but one battle is still being waged.
A weeks and a half after a jury found his son’s shooter not guilty of second degree murder or manslaughter, Tracy Martin thanked the crowd assembled at the National Action Network’s Southeast Regional Civil Rights Revival and Conference for its continued support.
Rallies took place from coast to coast, Saturday, as people pressed for civil rights charges against George Zimmerman and for changes in the country’s self-defense laws.
The Rev. Al Sharpton will lead a national “Justice for Trayvon” day in 100 cities this weekend including Miami to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.
The Reverend Al Sharpton is in South Florida again Tuesday urging African American voters to get out and cast their ballots in the Primary Election. He says he’s worried they won’t turn out because of crackdowns implemented this year by the state.
Another protest over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin is scheduled to take place Monday in Fort Lauderdale. Organizers say the march will begin at 5:00 p.m. at Fort Lauderdale City Hall and will end at the BSO Public Safety Building.",310,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297505.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00286-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961768567562103
5e0d8773-c6c1-4637-94ea-bc4a1ab07c56,2015-03-31T05:27:42+00:00,2015-03-31,0,http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/craft-activities/dream-catcher,"This easy Native American craft is a piece of history your child can use today.
Hover over each Learning Benefit below for a detailed explanation.
Fine Motor Skills
What you need:
- paper plate
- hole punch
- colored feathers
- string or yarn
What to do:
- With your child, cut out the center of a paper plate, leaving a wide rim. Ask her to mark dots spaced about two inches apart on the rim and to help you punch a hole at each dot.
- Tie one end of the yarn to one of the holes and show your child how to sew back and forth across the center of the plate, forming a web. She can then weave small feathers into the center of the web.
- As she works, tell her the story of the dream catcher: Native American legend has it that when you hang a dream catcher over your bed, it catches the good dreams in the web and lets the bad ones move through. The good dreams then float through the web and down the feather to the sleeper below. Ask your child how she thinks ""dream-catching"" works.
- Leave about eight inches of yarn hanging. Ask your child to thread a few beads onto it, then tie a thick triple knot in the yarn's end and ask your child to slide the end of a feather quill into the bead closest to the knot. Hang the dream catcher in her room. Sweet dreams!
Recommended Products for Your Child Ages 3-5",302,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00035-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.894022524356842
fb04a069-0326-4cb5-abbc-1787097d0659,2016-07-31T09:50:41+00:00,2014-04-16,0,http://brickfilms.com/topic/how-to-do-a-moving-scene/,"March 26, 2014 at 4:17 pm #440371
I am doing a scene where gandalf and frodo is going by cart through some woods while dialoge is happening.
So the main amount of motion is going to be the bacground.
I only need to see frodo gandalf and the top part of the cart after all.
I have two ideas.
Have the bacground on “rails” they move by and it looks lie the cart is going forward.
Problem : I dont have tracks and the bases of the tree models are Quite different in style.
Have the bacground build around a fixed axle, specificly a turntable.
Problem. keeping track of movent to prevent jerky speed.
Any comments or other ideas on how to achive this. I dont have much space.March 28, 2014 at 6:40 am #440402
Hi Morten, will you do the background in Lego? I think Chroma Keying would be a good place to start. Combine a video of the background you want and Gandalf and Frodo moving with a green screen background 🙂March 28, 2014 at 7:02 am #440405
Its an idea, but I want to do it on set.in eallice and grommit, the aardman animators buildt a rig that moved the buildings in the backgrund in a driving scene. I dont have the pices to build souch a technical rig. Still id like to try something like that. You know?March 28, 2014 at 1:33 pm #440410
Or you could just build a rig for your camera. Here is a link to a video about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWACQUVGBss&list=UUvUbp89Huv8h8ai-iiy_42AMarch 29, 2014 at 4:25 pm #440429
I have Decided to Change/drop the scene. After testing I found The trees would become talmoust to out of focus to make out. Most probably because I have my cameara so close to the characters.
However I will try to tell you how I ended up doing it. Maybe it can be to use later?
Those Black 3X4 flat you get with the colectable minifigs, I have a “ton” of those. I placed them across the scene and along the line of studs on the top, I added 1X8 flat across them them until I had a long track with slides on each side of the middle rail. I made two of these tracks.
I added normal studs under the baces of the various treemodels as needed, I had from black trees myrkwood, big ones from Endor, x mas calendars pines and some bushes from my daugthers legos. 😉 They were easy to slide and keep the motion ever going. Moving them one stud per frame. As the trees slid along the track and “fell off” at the end, Then I just placed the back at the begining. Could have done so for ever.
But like I mentioned, it worked but the result was unwanting.March 29, 2014 at 4:36 pm #440430
Okay.March 31, 2014 at 4:13 pm #440456
I think you did great. What made you think it was lacking Morten?April 5, 2014 at 3:47 pm #440475
Have you tried changing the settings of your camera like for example, set it to macro to make faraway things blurry? I think using a photo editor would help at this phase 🙂April 10, 2014 at 12:57 pm #440517
How is it going?April 16, 2014 at 11:26 pm #440567
Supid mail filther… Spam this reply notification was not. No i havent juped this project yet. It neets to “mature.”
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.",855,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828314.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00108-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9483922123909
817a75d2-00da-4bc4-b24a-00ef43ecb0e1,2020-10-24T04:12:23+00:00,2020-10-24,0,https://sancal.com/en/bench-konoha/,"From the algorithm of the double helix arises a unique form of Nature. Toyo Ito has been inspired by this particular shape to design furniture that facilitates connection among people and that allows free use of spaces. The result is a bench with a unique silhouette, similar to the fragments of a plant, with which we can compose a full leaf.
By combining the pieces of the series in different ways, we alter the rhythms. By changing the position or orientation of the benches, we can modify the context and adapt to the dimensions of any space. Toyo Ito uses natural materials: wool, wood and steel to enhance the organic component of the design. Konoha is a Japanese word that means “tree leaves”.",147,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881640.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024022853-20201024052853-00524.warc.gz,0.928419888019562
adb07bd6-45d2-46b9-8d1e-d48787eaaf92,2019-08-18T14:07:36+00:00,2019-04-29,1,https://wreg.com/2019/04/29/two-more-cases-of-measles-confirmed-in-east-tennessee/,"Two more cases of measles confirmed in East Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Health Department has confirmed two additional cases of measles in the Volunteer State.
According to the agency, two East Tennessee residents were found to be sick with the measles, bringing the total number of cases for the state to three. They are connected to the first case that was reported on April 19.
The department tweeted at that time that the investigation is currently just focusing on that portion of the state, but encouraged all Tennesseans to know the symptoms and to take action if an up to date MMR vaccine if needed.
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable respiratory illness characterized by a rash of flat red spots. Symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes. If you develop these symptoms, you are encouraged to call your doctor first before visiting a health care facility, where others could be exposed to the illness.
Officials said only 15 other cases have been diagnosed in the state in the last decade. The largest and most recent outbreak consisted of seven cases in Shelby County in 2016.
Nationwide, the United States has surpassed the highest number on record since the disease was declared eliminated nationwide in 2000.
There have been 681 measles cases across 22 states this year, according to CNN’s analysis of data from state and local health departments posted last Thursday. That number may have gone up since then.
Previously, the highest number of reported cases since elimination was 667 in 2014.
The states reporting measles cases are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.",364,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313889.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818124516-20190818150516-00282.warc.gz,0.957679450511932
5b568fae-bcf4-4686-8b85-ea23e9a0d70f,2018-08-21T02:08:20+00:00,2015-11-27,1,http://paktribune.com/news/Govt-to-impose-regulatory-duties-on-luxury-and-non-essential-items-275121.html,"Govt to impose regulatory duties on luxury and non-essential items
27 November, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to impose regulatory duties on luxury and non-essential items and announce an incentive package to bring evaders under the tax net to bridge shortfalls in revenue collection. Imports of luxury items have gone up over the past few months and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is not happy with the trend.
Mr Dar briefed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and said the substantial increase in imports of luxury items was a worrisome factor for the government and he was working on various proposals to curtail them.
The Federal Board of Revenue has come up with a detailed package to generate revenue and the prime minister has approved it. The IMF has proposed Rs40bn revenue measures for bridging the revenue shortfalls.
The FBR proposal will have to be approved by the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet. The ECC meeting was scheduled for Friday, but it had now been postponed, an official in the finance ministry told Media men.
A source told reporters that as per the FBR proposal the government had decided to increase regulatory duty on 287 items, mostly processed eatables, from 10pc to 15pc; from 5pc to 10pc on 14 items; from 15pc to 20pc on around 15 items and from 20pc to 25pc on other products.
It has also decided to withdraw income tax exemptions and increase federal excise duty on a few products including cigarettes. The income tax measures are expected to be promulgated through a presidential ordinance.
Mr Dar justified the decisions by saying that Pakistan could not get benefits of the low oil prices because there was a considerable increase in imports of luxury items. He said the State Bank of Pakistan has also expressed concern over the rising import bill despite low oil and commodity prices in the international market.
The finance minister said the government was willing to offer fixed scheme for income tax non-filer traders to bring them under the tax net. He said he was also willing to create a special block for dealing with the new taxpayers to be brought under the new scheme.
The deadline for deduction of withholding tax on banking transactions at reduced rate of 0.3pc will expire on Nov 30. “We expect to reach an agreement with traders on the scheme to make it effective from next month,” Mr Dar said.
He said non-filer traders would be divided into three to four categories for payment of fixed amount of tax starting from Rs10,000 per annum with a subsequent increase in coming years. The audit department would not bother them for the next couple of years.
The business community has claimed that the imposition of withholding tax had affected around 12 million people, but the minister said he would be happy if 4m to 5m of them came under the tax net.
Mr Dar said the tax amount would be fixed on the basis of categories of traders. ‘A’ category would cover big cities like Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, ‘B’ comparatively medium size cities and ‘C’ and ‘D’ small cities.
The minister expressed the hope to reach an understanding with traders because they were more concerned with the whitening of capital.
“We are ready to facilitate businessmen and resolve their issues based on sectors as well.”
He said the government would create a separate block for around 4m new taxpayers. The filling of returns and payment of tax in December would be higher because of the proposed package, he added.",728,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217909.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821014427-20180821034427-00000.warc.gz,0.97420471906662
aea69220-9b5a-4bed-878a-af38bc3bbdfe,2015-04-01T10:38:59+00:00,2005-05-25,0,http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/5252005_NAR_DOJ_Website_Listings.asp,"If officials of the National
Association of Realtors are looking a little beleaguered these days one
can hardly blame them. Not only are state real estate licensing authorities
being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice in several states for various rules
and regulations that may be protecting agent commissions, not only is the House
Banking Committee asking a lot of questions about anti-trust and anti-competition,
not only is the Justice Department threatening to sue the National Organization
over its rules relating to Multiple Listing Services, but suddenly
long time political allies are beginning to look a bit adversarial.
NAR has long been a major political player. NAR, with over a million members,
is the largest trade association
in the country. According
to the Federal Election Commission, it is Number One on the FEC list of the
Top 50 Trade/Member/Health Political Action Committees in terms of contributions
made to candidates the last several years, contributing nearly $6 million between
January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004. And the organization has not been bashful
about supporting its members when they seek public office. Congressman and Realtor
Johnny Isakson, R-GA, was beneficiary of many NAR paid ads before the Republican
primary when he ran for and won a Senate seat last fall. In my town the local
Board of Realtors Office sited a huge Isakson for Senate sign on its front lawn.
The current NAR President, a Utah State Senator, is one of many NAR members
holding elective offices throughout the country.
But, for all its political savvy and clout, NAR has found its motives and practices
increasingly questioned by a lot of other political players.
With the exception of an announced Department of Justice lawsuit, the current
spate of news stories and events are not necessarily big problems. But they
must be causing, shall we say, some instances of disquiet for a trade organization
that has exercised strong control over its members and protected their interests
on many levels. Think, for example, about NAR's phenomenal accomplishment
in branding its membership. Can you think of another organization that has been
able to so strongly differentiate its associates from others practicing the
same profession? The word 'Realtor'' has become
so synonymous with real estate agent that NAR has had to run adds pointing out
that the two are not necessarily the same
We will talk about these 'instances of disquiet' later, but NAR
is facing a somewhat more immediate problem with the announcement on May 10
that the Department of Justice planned to sue the organization over policies
that DOJ claims illegally restrict and harm online competition.
Specifically, DOJ is concerned with an NAR rule, adopted in May, 2003 and scheduled
to take effect this July that will determine how real estate agents can utilize
each other's listings on virtual office Web sites or
THE WAY IT WORKS
For six or seven years home buyers have been able to log onto sites such as
Realtor.com, and real estate website listings operated by AOL, IWon, Yahoo,
and other web portals and check out every listed property by zip code, price,
size, and style. While these sites are now pretty glitzy with multiple pictures,
full descriptions and even virtual tours, originally they were frustratingly
limited. Property addresses were usually not provided and descriptive information
lacked depth and any degree of pizzazz. Still, customers flocked to them and
by the early 90's individual agents and offices were beginning to realize
that the Internet was an ideal spot to display their own internet property
listings online. It took only another few minutes before they realized
that it would be even better to display their competitors' listings in order
to snare new customers.
It was not technically difficult to download MLS listings onto an agent or
office VOW and give customers a full menu of pictures, descriptions, even addresses
of every MLS property in the area almost as soon as they were listed. VOW's
typically require customer registration to view the listings, giving agents
access to a whole new data base (and not coincidentally opening the 'previous
relationship' loophole in 'Do Not Call' rules.) Homebuyers,
already spoiled by one-stop shopping for used cars, antiques, and Beanie Babies
loved the ease with which they could stay abreast of the market.
So everybody lived happily ever after.
Not so fast. Listings, after all, are the property of the listing agent. When
that agent joins MLS he agrees to cooperate with other agents in the marketing
of his listings, but he is not necessarily agreeing to allow other agents the
right to use his listings to build their web sites or to otherwise expand their
advertising capabilities. Not every agent or every office wanted their property
displayed on competitor's websites. Recognizing this, the NAR policy gave
agents the right to 'opt out' that is to refuse
to allow their listings to be carried on any or all competitors' Web sites.
A quick look at a major company's VOW in the Northeast was instructive.
The company (lets call it ABC Realty) probably has the lion's share of
listings in the particular town I searched, and each of those internet listings
was identified on the search results page with the company's name in boldface.
There was no listing office identification for the other properties. Click and
pull up a full listing sheet and ABC's listings sport a banner with the
name and picture of the listing broker and all contact information. Other listings
carry, at the very bottom of the listing sheet, the competing office name in
pale blue 10 point print. If one is not looking, it would be very easy to miss.
Maybe it is understandable if an agent does not want furnish ABC's web
site with his hard-won listing.
Enter the Department of Justice which has alleged that the NAR 'opt out'
policy is anti-competitive; that NAR has illegally adopted policies that aim
to restrict Internet competition and specifically discount brokers. DOJ
has also objected to another part of the NAR policy that tries to restrict the
use of contact information obtained by a VOW in connection with referrals of
business to non-real estate brokerages.
Persons speaking out in defense of the VOW policy claim that DOJ is confusing MLS listings with advertising and does not understand the cooperative aspect of MLS memberships and the proprietary nature of shared listings.
NAR met with Department of Justice officials the day after DOJ stated its intention
to sue and has announced that it will authorize its leadership to develop a
single, uniform rule governing the display of Multiple Listing Servcie data
on Websites. It will also postpone the implementation of its existing VOW policy
until the beginning of 2006 to allow time to implement the new policy.
NAR may have, by the above actions, put out the VOW fire for the time being,
but DOJ seems to have other things on its mind, as does the House Banking Committee.
We will take a look at the issue of banks in real estate later this week.
This article titled ""National Association of Realtors Fighting Fires on Several Fronts"" published earlier this week contained the following statement:
Persons speaking out in defense of the VOW policy such as Peter Miller and Blanche Evans, both regular contributors to NAR publications, claim that DOJ is confusing MLS listings with advertising and does not understand the cooperative aspect of MLS memberships and the proprietary nature of shared listings.
In fact both Mr. Miller and Ms. Evans are regular columnists for Realty Times which has no connection with the National Association of Realtors. Mr. Miller also states that ""my concern with VOWs involves the ability of consumers to get a fair deal. I do not believe that online listing and buyer brokerage agreements can be universally completed with informed consent given their length, complexity and need to negotiate terms.""
Online listing and brokerage agreements were not an aspect of the VOWs that we addressed in our original article.
We do apologize for any errors or misrepresentations.",1708,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00209-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957375526428223
12609e66-2a1e-4878-86a9-2790fdbc5ebf,2019-08-23T19:54:49+00:00,2019-08-11,1,https://www.inquirer.com/business/hong-kong-protests-tear-gas-made-in-pennsylvania-20190811.html,"After Hong Kong police fired 800 tear gas canisters at umbrella-wielding demonstrators on a single day this week, hundreds of empty aluminum shells littered the streets in the wake of the protests. Many of those shells were made in the Keystone State.
Pennsylvania is a leading manufacturer of tear gas, exported all over the globe. Combined Systems Inc. of Jamestown, south of Erie, and Nonlethal Technologies of Homer City, east of Pittsburgh, are among the top five companies in the world producing “riot control systems,” according to Visiongain, a market research firm based in London. Activists call the products “chemical weapons.”
From June 1 through July 31, Hong Kong security forces fired about 1,000 tear gas canisters as a form of “riot control,” police told local journalists. On Monday alone, police shot off at least 800 shells.
Tear gas is so prevalent in Hong Kong that dark-humored protesters call themselves “teargas sommeliers,” claiming they can tell when a gas was manufactured, said Thomas Yau, a Shanghai-based videographer working in Hong Kong. “Those made in 2017 have an ‘earthy aftertaste,’” Yau tweeted.
Three American lawmakers were shocked by the toxic fog blanketing the Asian economic powerhouse and reports of tear gas being fired directly at unarmed protesters and journalists.
On Aug. 2, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.) wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Commerce Wilber Ross, asking them to suspend the future sales of riot control equipment — including tear gas — to Chinese police and to publicly announce that the United States would not contribute to the repression of peaceful protests in Hong Kong.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) had taken to Twitter on July 29 to stop tear gas exports.
“USA banned exporting tear gas crime control equipment to China after the Communist Party massacred dissidents in Tiananmen Square,” wrote Cruz. “If [Chinese President] Xi Jinping doesn’t stop eroding Hong Kong’s sovereignty & halt attacks on protesters, the US must consider applying the same policy to Hong Kong.”
A Massachusetts congressman echoed the demand.
“Escalating & unnecessary violence by #HongKong police worsens the situation,” tweeted Rep. Jim McGovern. “The U.S. should immediately suspend any transfers of police products including tear gas to #HongKong until adequate safeguards are in place.”
The legislators’ letters and tweets followed a petition that garnered a little over 110,000 signatures, calling for the suspension of so-called nonlethal exports to Hong Kong to prevent human rights abuses and a July 24 appeal by Amnesty International “to suspend all transfers of less lethal ‘crowd control’ equipment,” including tear gas and rubber bullets, to Hong Kong.
Britain suspended sales of tear gas and other munitions to Hong Kong police last week.
A spokesperson for Combined Systems, which also makes high-capacity Venom brand grenade launchers, did not return calls for comment. Combined Systems is owned by the Carlyle Group, which manages $13 billion in global assets. Michael Scott Oberdick and James A. Oberdick, the owners of Nonlethal Technologies, also declined to comment.
The Department of Commerce, which regulates exports of tear gas, did not reply to multiple requests for comment. On Wednesday, the Department of State issued a warning to travelers planning to visit Hong Kong to “exercise increased caution due to civil unrest.”
Since it was first deployed in a 1921 experiment on volunteers from the Philadelphia Police Department, tear gas has been increasingly used to disperse crowds. That’s despite a ban for use in warfare by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Though the U.S. military has not officially used tear gas since 1975, local law enforcement is exempt from restrictions, said Stephen Semler, a Beirut, Lebanon-based researcher who has worked with Armament Research Services, a specialist intelligence consultancy.
Tear gas recently was deployed in the U.S. in mid-July by police in Puerto Rico, who were facing thousands of demonstrators demanding the resignation of then-Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. U.S. customs agents at the Mexican border fired tear gas Jan. 1 on migrants near a fence in Tijuana and in November on migrants near San Diego. Arizona police fired it last August during protests directed at President Donald Trump.
It often has been used by forces in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, and Israel.
The market for tear gas and other crowd-control munitions is expected to grow by about 6% each year in the coming decade, according to analysts at Visiongain.
“Considering that it causes asphyxiation and vomiting, ‘tear gas’ strikes me as a euphemism,” said Semler. “You hear it categorized as ‘nonlethal,’ but people die from it all the time — usually when it’s fired indoors or when a canister fired from a launcher hits someone in the head. Referring to it as a ‘riot control agent’ implies there’s a riot, and not a demonstration or just a bunch of refugees fleeing a horrible consequence.”
What police and protesters call tear gas is not a gas at all, said Anna Feigenbaum, a professor at Bournemouth University in England who wrote Tear Gas: From the Battlefields of World War I to the Streets of Today. Rather, the chemical compounds are toxic powders that are aerosolized as a fog or spray.
“They are designed to attack the senses simultaneously, intentionally producing both physical and psychological trauma,” said Feigenbaum. “It acts as an irritant on multiple sites of the body at once, primarily affecting mucous membranes and respiratory system.”
There is no legal obligation in any country to record the number of deaths and injuries from tear gas, Feigenbaum said. Unlike other dangerous and toxic products, tear gas is not well regulated. There are no organizations that effectively monitor sales, exports, or stockpiles.",1287,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318986.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823192831-20190823214831-00250.warc.gz,0.944668114185333
6951d1a0-ccc3-4288-973f-b97e72408396,2019-08-25T16:38:35+00:00,2015-10,1,https://jichanglulu.wordpress.com/2015/10/,"Yakutsk, capital of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in the Russian Far East, could at last be joined by land to the rest of the country if an agreement is reached with Chinese state investors to build a bridge over the Lena river. Although the project, and a degree of Chinese involvement in it, have existed for quite some time, the likelihood that it will actually be built is increasing as Chinese investors take a more central role and get more favourable conditions from the Russian side.
The bridge project was talked about last week at the event formerly known as the Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair (哈洽会), which Li Keqiang and Medvedev agreed last year to rename the China-Russia Expo (中俄博览会). The name change, fitting to the climate of cooperation between China’s Northeast and Russia’s Far East, implies a change of venue as well. Next year‘s edition will be held in Russia, and the city of Khabarovsk has already come up as a candidate to host it.
Yakutsk was founded in the 17th century on what, from the point of view of today’s existing transport infrastructure, looks like the wrong side of the Lena river. The river can be crossed by ferry in summer, on ice in winter, and not at all the rest of the year. Once on the other bank, things aren’t necessarily easy, but they used to be worse. One option is to drive east through the world’s coldest inhabited area on the road (called the ‘Kolyma road‘ (Колымская трасса)) to Magadan 2000km away. The road in the other direction was once known as one of the world’s scariest, but it has recently been paved. The railway is also about to reach Yakutsk: a line that took nine years to construct now links Nizhny Bestyakh, just opposite Yakutsk across the Lena, to the national network.
The missing link is thus the Lena bridge. It has been planned for years. Funds were earmarked for it, and a tender to build it was won by a Russian consortium (which I understand already included the Chinese contractor as a partner), but then the federal government’s priorities changed, allegedly as a result of Crimea’s accession to the Federation. (One of Crimea’s infrastructure needs is also a bridge, the one over the Kerch Керчь strait, that will link the peninsula to the rest of the country.) The fund reallocation meant the Yakutians would have to wait until 2020.
Yakutian officials haven’t given up though. Yakutia has been quite active in the last couple of years looking for Chinese (as well and Korean and Japanese) investment to develop the region, something I’ve written about on a few occasions. In the Chinese case, most of the exchanges I know about have been facilitated by a few businesspeople with heavyweight SOE contacts (the most visible names can be found in my earlier post on the Yakutsk bridge), and the main state interlocutors have been the Heilongjiang provincial government and a few municipalities.
Chinese interest seemed to have been successfully aroused last July, when representatives from China Railway 24th Bureau (中铁二十四局集团), a subsidiary of the state-owned CRCC (中铁), showed up in Yakutsk to go into the technical nitty-gritty of the project. Even more auspiciously, Russian media quoted Chinese (private) interlocutors as explicitly referring to the possibility of Chinese financing for the project. Although I haven’t read it in so many words in Yakutian sources, Chinese financing is what the promotion activities Yakutian officials have been so busy at recently regarding the bridge project (first at the East Russia Economic Forum (Восточный экономический форум) in Vladivostok, now at the Harbin Expo) are conceivably about, given that a contractor for the actual construction has already been found in the 24th Bureau.
The 24th Bureau (ultimately owned by the central government) is likely going to be involved in the Yakutian project in partnership with the Heilongjiang provincial government, through a jointly owned company such as Zhongtie Longxing (中铁龙兴), that is already active in projects in Siberia. (More details on companies called Longxing, sometimes mistransliterated ‘Lunsin’ from its Palladius Cyrillisation Лунсин, in my previous post on the subject.) It was indeed with the Heilongjiang gov’t that Yakutian officials agreed to form a “work group” on the bridge project, and the same group of Heilongjiang companies is also getting ready to make other investments in Yakutia (notably the Tirekhtyakh Тирехтях lead mine in Ulst-Yansky Усть-Янский district, at around 69°N and just 200km from the Laptev sea).
There’s also talk of favourable conditions being advertised to convince Chinese investors to come over and get the thing built. Aleksey Zagorenko Алексей Загоренко, director of Yakutia’s investment development agency, has said the concession agreement will guarantee the investors “an acceptable level of profitability”. What’s more, unlike in the previous attempt to build the bridge, the contractor will be chosen (or has been all but chosen already) under new fast-track rules that don’t require public tender procedure before awarding them the project.
Certain details about the project remain unclear, such as how much it will cost, who will pay for it, and, crucially, whether it will be a road and railway bridge from the start, or first a road bridge to be later made railway-and-road somehow.
If all goes well and everyone agrees on everything by next year, construction could start in 2017 and finish in 2022 on time to celebrate the centenary of the end of the Yakut Revolt and the establishment of the Yakutian ASSR.
It wouldn’t be the first time Chinese intervention gets such a project done after Russian funding fails to materialise. The rail bridge that will link Tongjiang 同江 in Heilongjiang to Nizhneleninskoye Нижнеленинское in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast across the Amur river, could be finished by early 2017 now that the Chinese companies building the Chinese half (with which they say they’ll be done before the end of the year) have agreed to do the Russian half as well (the Russians hadn’t even started). Auspiciously for the Yakutians, some of the companies involved in the Yakutsk project also have interests in the Amur bridge. Perhaps a bit less auspiciously, the international bridge over the Amur is considerably more important for Chinese economic interests (including, serendipitously enough, for General Nice through IRC) than the Yakutsk bridge, well inside Russia.
Nor would it be the first Chinese-built bridge in the (near-)Arctic. The steelwork for the Hålogaland bridge, near Narvik in northern Norway, is being built by Sichuan Road and Bridge Group (SRBG, 四川路桥). That deal was technically won through a tender, but SRBG’s bid was found to have been prepared in, shall we say, involuntary symbiosis with a better known German company. The case earned the engineer who led SRBG’s winning bid four years in a German jail, but the project went on anyway. (I wrote about the German court case last December. The story has recently reached (paywall) Norwegian local media.)
There’s an old argument over whether Lenin chose his alias after the Lena river. From what I’ve read, he didn’t, since he was already signing ‘Lenin’ years before the Lena Massacre alleged to have motivated the choice of the moniker, and when his earlier Siberian exile was spent near the Yenisei, not the Lena. Whoever came up the modern Chinese name for the river (勒拿) seems to agree with that view: the modern name has nothing Leninist about it (instead it rhymes with the Chinese for ‘Saint Helena’). A more Leninny name (列拿) can be found here and there though. The earliest Chinese name for the river is the one that appears in (at least some) Qing documents, namely 里雅那江 Liyana jiang. That’s a word of some historical significance. The negotiations between the Qing and Russian empires that led to the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 started off with Qing official Langtan 郎坦 announcing his side wanted the border to be as far as the Lena. The Chinese name itself looks like a transcription from a Manchu intermediate form, and it indeed makes sense for the name of the Lena to have entered the Chinese language through a Manchu rendition of the Russian name. Nerchinsk negotiations were carried out in Latin through Jesuit interpreters, and documents were translated into Russian and Manchu. (Manchu was possibly the primary language of several of the Qing representatives, including Songgotu, the leader of the Qing delegation, and indeed Langtan.) The ‘Map of the Nine Rivers of Jilin’ (吉林九河图) used by the Qing side at Nerchinsk has place and river names in Manchu only (as reproduced here on the website of Taiwan’s National Palace Museum, unreadable at this resolution though; look for the Lena near the top left corner).
Now you’re waiting for me to say that perhaps Langtan would rejoice at the sight of a Chinese-built bridge over the Liyana, three centuries after he angered the Russians by throwing that name in. But I won’t.",2235,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00060.warc.gz,0.964077770709992
49408758-30b8-4584-9ab4-bba067a46f35,2019-08-20T10:50:31+00:00,2018-10-30,1,https://www.rt.com/usa/442685-utah-insurance-mexico-prescriptions-trip/,"'It's still cheaper': Utah insurance provider will pay for trips to Mexico for its 'Pharma-Tourists’
The unusual offer is being presented by PEHP, which insures 160,000 state employees and their family members. It includes a flight to San Diego, transportation to a ""top notch"" clinic in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, and an extra $500 per trip taken (up to $3,900 a year).
Although that seems like a lot of money coming out of PEHP's pocket, it's still apparently less than what it would pay for certain drugs in the US, shining a not-so-pleasant light on America's much scrutinized healthcare system.
“That money is pretty small in comparison to the difference between US prices and Mexico prices,” PEHP clinical operations director Travis Tolley told The Salt Lake Tribune.
The insurance provider came up with its ""pharmacy tourism"" plan after Utah legislation made it a requirement that state employees' insurance plans offer ""savings rewards"" or cash incentives to patients who choose cheaper medication providers.
The plan only applies to about 13 drugs, all of which show a huge price discrepancy when their cost in the US is compared with their cost in Mexico. A quick side-by-side glance at Avonex, used to treat Multiple Sclerosis, makes that clear. The drug is about $6,700 for a 28-day supply in the US, but $2,200 through PEHP's contracted clinic in Tijuana.
Other drugs in the program include ones used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, psoriasis, and prostate cancer.
The plan has been hailed by Utah Rep. Norm Thurston, a Republican who sponsored the legislation calling for incentives. “Why wouldn’t we pay $300 to go to San Diego, drive across to Mexico and save the system tens of thousands of dollars? If it can be done safely, we should be all over that,"" he said.
The incentive comes as Donald Trump's administration highlights the disparity between drugs in the US and other parts of the world. It has proposed a plan which would focus on the price of drugs under Medicare Part B, which covers cancer drugs and other medications given to patients in hospitals.
Although federal law currently forbids Medicare from negotiating lower rates from pharmaceutical companies – a rule that Congress has resisted changing – Trump's proposed trial would limit payments for certain Part B drugs to be more in line with what other countries pay for the same medications.
The cost of drugs in America has long been a cause of frustration and debate in the US, particularly after prices rose 10 percent in New Year hikes at the beginning of 2018. Shortly before that, it was revealed that a cancer medication had skyrocketed 1,500 percent over four years.
And who could forget Martin Shkreli, the man dubbed the ""most hated man in America"" after he raised the price of the lifesaving EpiPen device by 500 percent. Still, he called the new price a ""bargain."" He was also behind a 5,000 percent hike in Daraprim, a medicine used to treat HIV sufferers and others with compromised immune systems.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has long promised that he will work to make the price of drugs ""substantially"" lower, calling on Big Pharma earlier this year to bring production back to the US in exchange for a corporate tax cut and reduction of regulations. However, many have questioned his ability to actually break down the current system, including the monopolies that manufacturers have on patented medicines.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!",748,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315321.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820092326-20190820114326-00523.warc.gz,0.96757709980011
ef09e63d-2d7e-45a4-993e-2e04c2635c9c,2022-05-26T21:01:26+00:00,2019-08-14,1,https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/2019/08/14/stem-cell-research-glacier-clinical-trials-progress/,"Advancing Potential ALS Treatments Is Like Accelerating a Glacier
Glaciers are known for their slow movement and the transformative change that they leave in their wake. Most move only a few centimeters a day. Yet they produce lakes, cliffs, moraines, valleys, mountain arêtes and horns, and pronounced landscape striations. Perhaps stem cell research will prove analogous.
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is enrolling a Phase 3 study that uses bone-marrow-derived cells extracted from the patient. These cells can differentiate into bone, muscle, fat, and cartilage. Prior to reintroduction, the cells are cultured to produce higher levels of neurotrophic factors — chemicals that protect neurons. The trial is attempting to gather 200 participants who are declining at least one point per month as measured by the ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS).
Preclinical research into the use of stem cells in ALS was first done in mice in 2006. Based on these mice studies and evidence that stem cell injection was safe, BrainStorm began a clinical program called NurOwn. A Phase 1 safety and tolerability trial demonstrated both. The company then sponsored a Phase 2 trial, and no serious adverse events were observed. It was reported that the treatment slowed disease progression as measured by ALSFRS. Increases in muscle strength and bulk, and also arm and leg circumference, were observed.
BrainStorm then conducted a larger Phase 2 trial. The primary goal was to confirm safety and tolerability, and a secondary objective was disease modification. Again, there were no serious adverse events. More importantly, once the study participants were divided into fast and slow progressors, the fast-progressing subgroup was shown to have an improved rate of decline.
Topline data from the Phase 3 trial is expected in 2020. That means, pending positive results, a stem cell treatment for ALS could be approved in 2021. And there may be more coming. Q Therapeutics has plans to launch a clinical trial this year. Neuralstem has developed a spinal-cord-derived neural stem cell line, currently in clinical-stage testing, for the treatment of ALS and other nervous system diseases and injuries. The Mayo Clinic and Cedars-Sinai also have undertaken research initiatives into the efficacy of stem cell treatment relative to ALS.
That is all exciting and promising. But if an ALS stem cell treatment is commercially available in 2021, it will mark 15 years since it showed potential in the lab. To anyone with ALS, the pace of progress feels glacier-like. However, if the impact on the patient population is equally glacial, the time to market will be quickly forgotten.
It is impossible to predict the gains to be had in modifying disease progression via stem cell therapy. The median benefit as reported in both of BrainStorm’s Phase 2 trials were modest. The optimum amount and frequency of dosing has yet to be established and may vary from person to person. Once this is better understood, the expected benefit will only increase. Still, the stem cell saga had left me mostly nonplussed.
That is, until I saw footage from ABC News. It shares the experience of two patients whose improvements since receiving BrainStorm’s NurOwn have been striking. Both have regained function. One can stand on his own and even walk a bit, after more than two years of being unable to do either. If their progress is maintained and replicated in others, we may be on the cusp of a glacier-led retreat of ALS.
Continuing the metaphor, there is a rare phenomenon called a galloping glacier. About 1 percent of the world’s glaciers exhibit significant bursts of relative speed. One in northern Pakistan “gallops” every 20 years, moving nearly 1,500 times its normal crawl. Scientists are left to speculate why, but most theories include a reduction in friction.
We can be a virtual frictional agent of change. First by rushing to participate in any open stem cell trials. Second, by being vocal. After a Phase 3 trial is complete, the FDA must approve the therapy, insurance must deem it inclusively coverable, and manufacturing and delivery must be scaled up. We must collectively scream that all tasks necessary to afford treatment access be attended to with life-or-death urgency.
A glacier is like a moving mountain. In this case, it just needs to move faster than normal. Jesus said that faith can move mountains. My pastor describes faith as belief plus trust. I believe that WE can. I trust that WE will.
Keep the faith!
Note: ALS News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of ALS News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to ALS.",1055,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00025.warc.gz,0.95952433347702
1f299041-ac3c-4b18-982d-2b29e2b07640,2013-05-23T05:02:29+00:00,2005-09-15,0,http://alibi.com/art/12728/editorial/includes/quick_forms.php?form_switch=rss,"Down the Line
The Unexpected Man at the Cell Theatre
At the top of my Christmas wish list is a piece of imaginary technology I like to call the Thought Machine. It basically consists of a set of headphones connected to a kind of ray gun. When you aim the gun at people and press the trigger, it shoots out an invisible ray that allows you to listen to their thoughts. I'm hoping that 20 years from now I'll be able to pick up one of these babies at Target for $39.95. In The Unexpected Man, a play currently running at the Cell Theatre, playwright Yasmina Reza uses a similar sort of theatrical technology to crack open the silent thoughts of her two characters.
On a train traveling between Paris and Frankfurt, a novelist (Gary Houston) somehow ends up in the same cramped compartment with a woman (Laurie Thomas) who deeply admires his books. The play is only 70 minutes long. During most of this brief run-time, these two characters don't speak a word to each other, but Reza allows the audience to hear every word they're thinking.
The novelist spends a lot of time kvetching about his family, friends and health, and his fears that he's turning into a bitter man. He eventually notices the woman seated across from him. When he does, his first thought is how pathetic it is that she isn't reading a book.
Ironically, the woman has been aware of the identity of her traveling companion from the first moment she stepped into the compartment. That irony is quadrupled by the fact that she's carrying his latest novel, The Unexpected Man, in her handbag. Throughout most of the play she dissects the novelist's profound impact on her life while at the same time nervously toying with various methods for engaging him in conversation.
The beauty of Reza's play is that although these two characters don't know each other, they can't accurately be described as strangers. The first half of the play is extremely frustrating, largely because it's difficult to have respect for a woman who feels so deeply about a writer, yet when she finds herself in the same compartment with him can't muster the courage to reveal her admiration.
As the play progresses, though, you begin to understand that this woman isn't just some starry-eyed literary groupie. As Reza switches back and forth between the inner worlds of her two characters, you begin to understand that this woman might very well have a deeper understanding of the books in question than the author himself. Gradually, the awkward conventional relationship between artist and fan shifts toward a rarer, almost utopian bond that transforms the creator and his admirer into absolute equals.
In this Fusion Theatre Company production, designer Richard Hogle has created a highly stylized set that places the audience on both sides of the train compartment. This creates the illusion that we're voyeurs peering through the windows of the moving train.
The way the playwright exposes her characters' thoughts and personalities creates a surprising amount of dramatic tension, especially considering the limited interaction between the pair. Waiting to see if she'll speak, if he'll speak, if she'll pull the book out of her bag, if they'll somehow develop the bond you want them to have—all this makes you squirm in your seat.
Thomas is one of our better local thespians, and Houston, who back in 2003 performed brilliantly in the Cell's production of Enda Walsh's Bedbound, is a veteran Chicago stage and screen actor. Under the direction of Jacqueline Reid, their chemistry makes this simple production boil over with an appealing sort of awkward energy.
It's worth noting, too, that this is the perfect play for the Cell. I'm sure part of the reason Fusion selected it is because the Cell's location on First Street next to the train tracks fits the play to a tee. Trains roll by outside the theater, and the racket of their passing melds seamlessly into the drama of the story.
Seating is limited for this one, so buy your tickets now. You should also know that a Sunday, Sept. 18, performance is a benefit for New Mexico P.E.R.F.ORMS, a new coalition of New Mexican performing arts organizations who have banded together to raise money for the victims of Katrina. Tickets for that show are $50.
The Unexpected Man, a play by Yasmina Reza, directed by Jacqueline Reid, runs through Sept. 25 at the Cell Theatre (700 First Street NW). Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m. $22 general, $17 students/seniors. Thursday performances feature a $10 student rush (with valid ID) and a $15 actor rush (with professional résumé). 766-9412.",992,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970992147922516
5a2e3850-386f-4361-a999-daa346bda7aa,2020-10-29T05:39:54+00:00,2020-10-29,0,https://www.skinit.com/device-skins/phone-skins/samsung/galaxy-grand-prime/mint-marbling-galaxy-grand-prime-skin,"Mint Marbling Galaxy Grand Prime Skin
Get premium protection without the bulk of a case with the Mint Marbling Galaxy Grand Prime Skin. The Mint Marbling Phone Skin, carried exclusively by Skinit, is carefully cut and crafted to fit your Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime perfectly so you can be assured it won't interfere with any buttons. The Mint Marbling Skin is a premium Galaxy Grand Prime decal printed in stunning, vibrant color that delivers easy on, easy off personalization and won't leave behind any residue. Personalize your Galaxy Grand Prime with the Mint Marbling Skin brought to you by Skinit!",122,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107902745.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029040021-20201029070021-00307.warc.gz,0.863111078739166
7f358d8a-3d5d-42fb-9b27-e306f0415e62,2018-08-19T11:04:14+00:00,2005-01-31,0,http://powers43bush.blogdigy.com/where-can-i-find-youtube-mp3-converter-obtain-for-3-8-5715978,"Where can i find YouTube mp3 converter obtain for 3.8?The MP3 motion is one of the most superb phenomena that the music industry has ever seen. unlike different actions -- for example, the introduction of thecassette tapeor theCD-- the MP3 motion began not with the business itself however with an enormous audience of music lovers on theInternet . The MP3 format for digital music has had, and will proceed to munch, a huge effect on how individuals acquire, hearken to and distribute music.
MP3 Louder is a single internet repair that means that you can improve the amount degree of MP3 audio files on-line, alter the volume degree to make the MP3 louder. boost the MP3 quantity on-line, instantly from your internet browser. You just need to select the MP3 audio pillar from the form below and then click on the button ""add now"". After few seconds it is possible for you to to obtain the brand new, optimized MP3 music. it is vitally essential that you do not close this internet web page throughout the adding and encoding course of.
January 2zero05AACGain : Dave Lasker has added AAC help to mp3gain .exe. He wrote aacgain.exe specifically appropriately it will work the existing MP3GainGUI without an excessive amount of bother.To acquire all of it to occupation, godownload the newest MP3Gain(either ""1.2.5 stable"" or ""1.3.four Beta""). audacity . Un-zip aacgain.exe, re-identify it to ""mp3gain.exe"", and transfer it popular the MP3Gain , copying over the present mp3gain.exe.that's both it's important to do. MP3Gain ought to deal with AAC files (.m4a or .mp4).
https://www.ffmpeg.org/ is overly easy at primitive look however when you start looking for music the empty areas instill with images and soundtrack particulars. studying the way to the MP3 Downloader is straightforward as a result of it's only a shell of looking through the classes or using the scour bar. Most tech-savvy people leave be capable to constructiveness it without having a tutorial or ceremonial handbook.
SoundCloud Downloader Download MP3 for any SoundCloud monitor.correspond with the monitor/track URL.Download An example URL : https://soundcloud.com/newpartyarmy/inform-me-the-truth SoundCloud Downloaderis a easy online device for downloading any music tracks from SoundCloud. it is free and very straightforward to make use of and you attain top quality mp3 for any monitor. just paste the track page hyperlink in URL field above and hit the download button. It extracts the observe uri(hosted on SoundCloud's server) from which you can straight download or resurrect the mp3 monitor in a single click. ensure you paste just one url at a time, within the above input field.allowance onTwitter fb Google PlusPlaylist DownloaderIf you want to download multiple tracks from a consumer's playlist, then use ourSoundCloud Playlist Downloader . you may easily download multiple musics together and save some time. Add this to Chrome",679,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215077.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819110157-20180819130157-00415.warc.gz,0.876113176345825
57655332-1154-4bd8-bb84-3218092e44f1,2017-08-24T03:09:00+00:00,2013-02-14,0,http://www.jaynestamps.com/2013/02/saturday-sale-bration-open-house.html,"Thursday, February 14, 2013
Sale-a-bration Open House Rescheduled due to illness
As much as I hate to do this, I am going to have to reschedule the Sale-a-bration Open House originally scheduled for this Saturday. My hubby has the flu and has been running a fever for the past couple of days. He is not any better today, and in fact seems a little worse. Poor guy. (And I'm washing my hands and doing everything I can to try to not get it myself.)
I am so sorry to do this at such a late notice, but I think it would be in everyone's best interest health-wise. I am going to reschedule it for next THURSDAY, February 21st from 3:00 to 8:00 PM. If you can make this new date and time, would you please RSVP and let me know. You know, cutting the cardstock and prepping everything is so much easier if I have an idea how many will be coming.
Just a reminder for everyone - all of my Open Houses are free of charge and you are welcome to come at any time during my open hours. Attendees for classes and open houses need to be at least 12 years of age or older.
If you have any questions, please give me a call. Thank you for your understanding.
Visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stamping-with-Jayne/305361602711
Posted by Jayne Stenstrom at 6:47 PM",326,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126027.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824024147-20170824044147-00617.warc.gz,0.961775779724121
356ba46e-d4ec-4fb3-9da5-6992563b4a6d,2022-05-24T12:42:40+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://www.smeclabs.com/oil-and-gas-course-ernakulam-kerala-city/,"Oil and Gas Course Ernakulam
Oil and Gas Course Ernakulam the Oil and Gas Courses the need in the field of Engineers and technicians in the Oil and Gas, Petroleum Industries has risen to an unprecedented level like never before. Businesses have realized that the aging workforce of Piping, Pipeline, Instrumentation, and Automation is now the main factor in bringing into the next generation of highly skilled technicians and engineers within the Oil and Gas industry.
SMEC has been an ISO 9001:2015-certified multinational company that was established in 2001. Oil and Gas Course Ernakulam, Kerala SMEC has evolved into an industry leader with more than twenty years experience within the maritime and oil and Gas industries. Candidates can all avail certifications recognized from National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), India International Skill Centre (IISC), TUV Rheinland Germany, etc. upon successful completion of the training. SMEC is approved by on the successful completion of training by American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), American Welding Society (AWS), American Petroleum Institute (API). Oil and Gas Course Ernakulam, Kerala",240,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662572800.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524110236-20220524140236-00426.warc.gz,0.935813009738922
76646250-bfe5-4d59-be09-f104dcc42090,2017-08-20T10:01:29+00:00,2009-11-10,1,http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Energy-agency-warns-of-falling-investment-857940.php,"Energy agency warns of falling investment
The global financial crisis has led to a dangerous drop in energy investment around the world which could choke off the nascent economic recovery, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.
Published 8:48 pm, Tuesday, November 10, 2009
PARIS - The global financial crisis has led to a dangerous drop in energy investment around the world which could choke off the nascent economic recovery, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.
The warning from the Paris-based agency comes just a month ahead of the major UN climate conference in Copenhagen, where world leaders hope to agree on so-called climate finance to help developing countries cut emissions by switching from fossil fuels to cleaner energy such as wind and solar.
The EU has said that there should be a euro100 billion ($150 billion) annual package of public and private finance by 2020 to help poorer nations develop green industries and adapt to climate change.
The IEA, a policy adviser to 28 mostly industrialized oil-consuming nations, estimates that the financial and economic crisis is responsible for a $90 billion drop in global oil and gas investment this year, a 19 percent cut from 2008.
""Falling energy investment will have far-reaching and, depending on how governments respond, potentially serious consequences for energy security, climate change and energy poverty,"" the IEA said in its annual World Energy Outlook report.
The resulting drop in oil and electricity supplies could ""undermine the sustainability of the economic recovery,"" the IEA warned.
Meanwhile, oil demand is set to continue rising over the next two decades, with a drop in developed countries oil use more than offset by increases in the developing world, mainly China and India, the IEA said.
The IEA forecast global oil demand would rise to 105 million barrels a day by 2030, up from 85 million barrels a day last year.
The new forecast is slightly lower than the 106 million barrels a day that the IEA forecast last year, before the global economic downturn spurred a steep drop in energy use in the developed world.
Investment in renewable energy sources has been particularly hard hit by the downturn, falling by about one-fifth in 2009 compared to a year earlier. Without the stimulus plans enacted by governments in response to the crisis, renewable energy investments would have fallen 30 percent this year, the IEA said.
""The financial crisis has cast a shadow over whether all the energy investment needed to meet growing energy needs can be mobilized,"" the IEA warned.
The agency estimates that $1.1 trillion needs to be invested annually from now until 2030, for a total of $26 trillion, just to meet energy demand on current growth trends.
Should governments adopt plans to limit greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to 450 parts per million of CO2 equivalent, an additional $10.5 trillion needs to be invested over that time period, the IEA said.",582,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106367.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820092918-20170820112918-00466.warc.gz,0.941785156726837
a434fbeb-f675-4621-9969-b1b8ec393a4f,2022-05-18T09:54:52+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://videntis.eu/en/services/veneers/,"Veneers, also known as ‘facetes’, are thin tiles to conceal minor imperfections in the front teeth, the ones most noticeable in a smile. Veneers are often used to beautify smile in the cosmetic dentistry field. Therefore, we often associate them with the concept of a perfect “hollywood smile”.
Advantages of ceramic veneers compared to composites
Ceramic veneers are made of durable ceramic materials. We, at Videntis, give 7-year warranty on all prosthetic works, including ceramic veneers. With regular dental hygiene, ceramic veneers can last up to 15 years.
Composite veneers last for 3 to 5 years.
The reason why composite ceramic veneers are used at all is a large difference in prices. Composite veneers far more favorable and usually cost as much as a cosmetic filling.
Material for making ceramic veneers
Ceramic veneers mean precise and high-quality dental work. Made through complex procedures and from valuable materials, they are designed to last and always look perfect. Therefore they are justifiably more expensive.
At Videntis Dental Center, we use only the veneers made of best dental ceramics.
Types of veneers
There are ceramic and composite veneers. Apart from the material and esthetics, they differ in the way of placement and durability. At Videntis Dental Center, we exclusively install ceramic veneers due to their long-term quality and many advantages over composites.
Veneers may be the ideal solution:
- to close the gap between the front teeth
- to close the gap between the front teeth
- if the enamel of the front teeth is worn out
- if the front teeth are damaged by cavity
- in the case of pigmentation which cannot be removed by whitening
- for minor orthodontic defects, e.g rotated or oblique, etc
- if we want to extend the teeth or give them more volume.
How are ceramic veneers placed?
The laying of ceramic dental veneers requires preparation of the surface. Among other things, this includes removing part of the surface of each tooth to be covered with a veneer.
It’s an invasive procedure. However, it is far less invasive than grinding the tooth for dental crown base, which is often an alternative to veneers. It is therefore important that the procedure is performed well and aligned with the patient regarding the desired result. This ensures the durability of dental veneers and long-term patient satisfaction.
1. Arrangement and preparation for veneers
The first thing we do when you come is listen to what final result you want to achieve and examine your teeth condition. If the veneers are the right solution for what you want to achieve, we will agree on the desired shade and shape of the smile you want and start with preparations.
If the existing condition of the tooth allows, at your first visit we will grind 0.3 to 0.7 mm of the tooth enamel on which we will put the veneers. With local anesthesia, the procedure is painless.
Then we will take an impression which the dental technician will use to make the veneers. It will take about a week to make the veneers. Meanwhile, we need to protect the grinded teeth. So we’ll put on a temporary composite veneers with which you can eat, but only soft and liquid food.
Special preparation for ceramic veneers
- Teeth and dental flesh health
Depending on the condition of dental flesh, teeth health and your expectations, preparation may include anti-inflammation therapy, caries repair and whitening of the surrounding teeth. It should be noted that ceramic veneers cannot be placed over the filling. Tooth repair should be done so as not to prevent veneer placement.
If you suffer from bruxism, i.e. teeth grinding and jaw clenching that mostly occurs during sleep, you will have to carry a night splint over the veneers. The splint will prevent the veneers from being broken or to displaced from the teeth. i.
- Gingival surgical correction
Sometimes, for the desired result, it will be necessary to perform a correction of dental flesh, gingivactomy. For example, dental flesh can cover part of the tooth that we want to esthetically form with a veneer. In such case or in a similar case, we will remove some gingiva. These are common procedures in esthetic dentistry, and are carried out by agreement with patients and in line with their expectations.
2. Permanent cementing the veneers
Once the ceramic veneers have been completed, it is time for your second visit and permanent cementing of the veneers. In this case we use a special bonding material to ensure that the veneers are stable. Before cementing, we will make a test with the finished veneers and confirm if the desired final result is okay.
Maintenance of ceramic veneers
In the first few days after the permanent setting of the veneers, it is necessary to chew more carefully. Avoid hard and tough food. Short-term sensitivity to warm and cold is also possible, since teeth have been severely grinded. Pay attention to regular dental hygiene: for the first few days, use only a soft toothbrush and dental floss.
In the long term, your ceramic veneers require high-quality and regular oral hygiene. Besides that, they require a more careful and thoughtful chewing. As a precaution, be careful not to grind hard foods (e.g. ice), nails, objects (e.g. pens), and not to chew off hard and tough foods, slice them first with a knife, etc.
Do you have a problem or just want to gather more information?
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Our friendly staff will answer all your questions.",1269,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00223.warc.gz,0.940515100955963
3521a65a-f076-402a-a121-9cf1d29b96bc,2020-10-21T22:52:34+00:00,2020-08-01,1,https://m.peacefmonline.com/pages/business/economy/202008/422199.php,"The COVID-19 pandemic, one of the world’s most significant events in recent memory, has resulted in the cessation of economic activities for many African countries. Many economic analysts have predicted that the pandemic will lead to a significant decline in GDP, unparalleled social disruption, and the loss of millions of jobs. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed Africa more than any other human or natural disruption.
The IMF in its June 2020 edition of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) projected that the global overall fiscal balance will worsen from a deficit of 3.9 percent of GDP in 2019 to a deficit of 13.9 percent in 2020; while global debt-to-GDP ratio will worsen from 82.8 percent of GDP in 2019 to 101.5 percent of GDP in 2020. The World Bank has also estimated that economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to decline from its 2019 value of 2.4% to between -2.1% and -5.1 % in 2020; making 2020 the worst year since records began in 1970 for the continent’s economic growth (April 2020).
Significantly, global trade is expected to contract by 11.9 percent in 2020, with that of Emerging Market and Developing Economies declining by 9.4 percent. In Africa, the African Development Bank has estimated that contraction of the region’s economies will cost sub-Saharan Africa between US$35billion and US$100billion due to an output decline and a steep fall in commodity prices, especially the crash of oil prices.
Ghana is one country that has been hard-hit by the pandemic, which has reversed virtually all economic projects for 2020. Mr. Ofori-Atta told Parliament last week that provisional fiscal data for the first half of the year indicated a revenue shortfall of 26.0 percent. According to him, the negative trend resulted mainly from shortfalls in oil revenue, Customs receipts and non-oil and Non-Tax revenues.
In Ghana, sectors heavily affected by COVID-19 include the hotel and hospitality industry, foreign direct investment, trade and industry, agriculture, health, transportation, manufacturing and education. “Households and businesses have equally been hard-hit, with significant job losses and reduced incomes,” says Mr. Ofori-Atta. As a result, he disclosed, the updated fiscal estimates point to a shortfall of the 2020 Budget target by GH¢13,632million (3.5% of revised GDP) – arising from shortfalls in Petroleum Receipts of GH¢5,257million; Non-Oil Tax revenue of GH¢5,089million; and Non-Tax Revenues of GH¢3,286million. Thus, the GDP growth for 2020 has been revised downward from 6.8 percent to 0.9 percent. Indications are that 2020 and beyond will be very challenging for Ghana. But as Mr. Ofori-Atta noted, “we must not and will not be daunted by this extraordinary crisis”.
In an analysis of COVID-19’s impact on Africa, Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka of the African Development Bank attributed the root of Africa’s underdeveloped industrial and health sectors to three factors: First, some African policymakers simply think that poor countries do not need to industrialise. To them, Africa has no comparative and/or competitive advantage and should remain, prominent consumers of foreign goods, while at the same time being the primary exporters of raw materials. This, in other words, is called ‘mental slavery.’ According to Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, the history of Western societies and contemporary lessons from East Asia indicate that they embarked on massive industrialisation to reach their current economic status. Development does not come on a silver platter.
He argued that governments have an important role to play in the nature and direction of industrialisation. “Progressive governments throughout history understood that the faster the rate of growth in manufacturing, the faster the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).” This raises the need for African leaders to look in the mirror and ask where this continent will be in 2030 and 2063. Africa must adopt progressive industrial policies that create inclusive, prosperous and sustainable societies. Moving forward, Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka suggested a three-pronged approach.
First, Africa needs a strong regional coordination mechanism to consolidate small uncompetitive firms operating in small atomistic market structures. With a consumer base of 1.3 billion and a US$3.3trillion market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the continent has no choice but to bring together its fragmented markets. Second, Africa needs to build better institutions, strengthen weak ones and introduce those that are missing. No better wake-up call is required than the present pandemic.
Third, one important institution, for example, that has been abruptly disrupted is the supply chain for medicines and food. Logistics for transporting capital and consumer goods across the region need predictable structures. The building or strengthening supply chains involves fostering and providing regulations for long-term agreements and competencies that leverage both private and public institutional challenges, such as Customs regulations.
Finally, development finance institutions (DFIs) such as the African Development Bank are mandated and are currently trying, to fill the gaps left by private financial institutions. There is an opportunity for Africa to rethink and re-engineer its future. The Africa of tomorrow must look inward for its solutions – whether in feeding its own people or building industrial powerhouses led by African champions.
Ghana’s industrialisation drive
Mr. Ofori-Atta told Parliament that the government’s agenda of industrial development for job creation and economic transformation rests on the partnership with the private sector to operationalise the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative. According to him, the government’s efforts so far have resulted in 76 operational factories with 232 projects at various stages of implementation. “Not only have we leveraged private sector support through tax exemptions valued at GH¢34miilion, but the government has also directly spent GH¢210.03million to support existing factories and for the construction of new factories. “Our industrial agenda has certainly enhanced the prospect of more jobs for Ghanaians,” he emphasised.
He announced that as a result of government’s new comprehensive Automotive Manufacturing Development Policy, some of the leading global automobile companies (referred to as Original Equipment Manufacturers) have already established commercial interests in Ghana to assemble their brand of vehicles. In March 2020, the Volkswagen Group rolled out the first VW locally assembled vehicle. VW Ghana is currently producing six different brands of vehicles: namely Tiguan, Teramont, Amarok, Passat, Polo and Caddy.
Both the Toyota and Nissan Groups are also planning to establish assembly operations before the end of the year. Sinotruk, a leading global manufacturer of Heavy-Duty Trucks, is also assembling a variety of trucks in Ghana through Zonda Tec Ghana Limited. Most importantly, an indigenous Ghanaian company, the Kantanka Group, has also been formally granted a licence to continue its auto-assembly operations in Ghana and to benefit from incentives under the Ghana Automotive Manufacturing Development Policy.
According to the Finance Minister, in order to support these new developments, the government will establish an Automobile Industry Development Centre to coordinate the technical processes for licencing vehicle assemblers and manufacturers. The Centre will also be empowered to monitor their compliance with industry regulations and standards. Further, the Centre will coordinate the implementation of a Vehicle Financing Scheme that will link financial institutions to individuals and groups interested in purchasing newly-assembled vehicles in Ghana. Lastly, it will manage an Automotive Skills and Technology Upgrading Programme to provide requisite skills for the industry.
The Finance Minister noted that the development of the automobile industry in Ghana will constitute a significant step toward import substitution and enhancing exports, particularly within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Ghana is well-positioned to become the new automobile manufacturing hub of Africa. One of the factors Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka suggested was for Africa to build a strong regional coordination mechanism to consolidate small uncompetitive firms operating in small atomistic market structures.
Improving the business climate
The government appears to be on course with its economic revitalisation and transformation agenda through the Ghana CARES initiative. The Ghana CARES Obatanpa programme is an investment of GHȼ100billion to reengineer Ghana’s industrialisation. The minister says the Initiative is in two phases: a Stabilisation Phase, which runs from July to end of the year (2020); and a medium-term Revitalisation Phase, which will accelerate Ghana Beyond Aid transformation agenda.
“The stabilisation phase will target food security, protect businesses and worker incomes, strengthen the health system, attract private investments and support Ghanaian businesses. ‘We must have courage and be audacious in repositioning Ghana and Ghanaians – not only to mitigate this pandemic but also to implement programmes that will transform our country. We should change our approach to our development and dare to do the impossible,” says Mr. Ofori-Atta
Both Mr. Ofori-Atta and Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka are thinking ahead. As Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka notes, what Africa needs now is to execute structurally transformative projects which generate positive externalities and social returns. Judging from government’s industrialisation drive, it appears Ghana has responded to the call for transformation and industrialisation aimed at actualising the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ development paradigm. But I wonder if the African Development Bank can and will support Ghana’s push for deeper economic transformation.
My word to those Africans advocating that Africans should remain, primary consumers of foreign goods, is that they need to come out of their ‘stone-age’ mentality. The future belongs to Africa; so, we must position ourselves to grab the future – by force where necessary. Enough of leaving our destiny in the hands of others. Of course, good leadership is an essential element in economic transformation. Africa needs good leaders at this critical moment in the quest for transformation.",2135,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878633.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021205955-20201021235955-00338.warc.gz,0.933870732784271
ed4ed8c8-43a2-4ffd-aca0-5b41bd987065,2018-08-15T13:34:59+00:00,2004-02-16,0,https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/02/16/untouchable-2,"Last month, I visited the Barnes Foundation for the first time. This is an embarrassing admission for a veteran art critic, but it relieves my sour conscience at having sometimes let people assume that, of course, I knew the Barnes—I just had remarkably little to say about it. The place’s awkward location out on Philadelphia’s Main Line, in Lower Merion Township; its admission-by-application-only policy; and, not least, its crabby, cultish aura, generated by the strange Dr. Albert Barnes and maintained since his death, in 1951—these factors enfeebled my resolution to go there. Now they give me compassionate pause in what I feel obliged to say apropos of current proposals that aim to resolve the foundation’s chronic financial and administrative woes by moving the collection to a new home downtown: Altering so much as a molecule of one of the greatest art installations I have ever seen would be an aesthetic crime. It would also give hosts of my fellow art lovers access to treasures that they might otherwise never see. And it’s not as if aesthetic crimes don’t happen all the time. Life goes on. But something extraordinary would be lost in the event.
Thousands of wonderful objects fill a graceful château that was finished in 1925. Among them, hundreds of School of Paris modern paintings and a smattering of Old Masters and American moderns are massed on walls covered in warm tan burlap, labelled only with the artists’ names. The pictures are interspersed with items of skilled metalwork (hinges, lock plates, utensils). Antique furniture, African sculpture, Pennsylvania folk art, Egyptian and Greek antiquities, and Southwest Indian rugs and ceramics and jewelry cluster throughout. There are enough andirons to outfit an andiron museum. The over-all level of connoisseurship is sublime, though riddled with idiosyncrasies, such as a gluttonous avidity for Renoirs—a hundred and eighty-one, many of them small, perfunctory daubs. If Rembrandtesque chiaroscuro suggests brown soup, Renoiresque chroma is orange juice. Its fruity effulgence suffuses the Barnes.
Barnes was a poor boy who became a patent-medicine millionaire. He was introduced to art by a school friend, the Ashcan realist painter William Glackens. Barnes’s taste was sensual, with a special tilt toward randy nudes. (There’s a startling one by van Gogh, of a swarthy prostitute nestled in what looks like an explosion of swan feathers.) He thought well of himself and ill of others, notably those in Philadelphia high society whose ideas—or aversion to ideas—opposed his own. He took a paternalistic interest in “plain people,” as he called them. He left control of the foundation’s board to Lincoln University, a local, historically African-American institution, and the collection’s fate now rests with a county judge, who will decide on the board’s petition to facilitate a move. Legal approval would release a flood of money: a hundred and fifty million dollars toward costs and an endowment for the Barnes, to be raised by the Lenfest and Annenberg foundations and the Pew Charitable Trusts. It would also break Barnes’s original stipulation, which forbids moving any of the foundation’s pieces and asserts that the foundation is not a museum but a school, dedicated to furthering his philosophy of art appreciation. That philosophy, derived from pragmatism, emphasizes close study of artists’ decisions and their intellectual and emotional import, in line with the book “Art as Experience,” by Barnes’s friend and supporter John Dewey. Barnes’s own prose, in books on Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse, is, like Dewey’s, clearly written, firmly reasoned, and numbingly dull.
The weirdness and the glory of the Barnes come down to the same thing: a relentlessly pedagogical intention behind the placement of everything. The lessons are rarely obvious. Most have to do with contrasts and comparisons of composition, line, color, texture, and other formal qualities. Some seem trivial (the rhyming of a teapot spout with the angle of a piece of driftwood in a Gauguin), if not crudely jokey (two unusually wide wooden chairs beneath two massive Renoir nudes). The particulars of Barnes’s thinking count for far less, in any case, than their subliminal effect: a pressure of fierce attentiveness, which gives mysterious order to arrangements that appear chaotic at first glance. Paintings complement or provoke one another. Inferior works defer to superior ones, which respond with noblesse oblige. Each work contributes according to its means and is indulged according to its needs. At times, one feels presented with an overwhelming theorem. I think of the lineup on one wall of a Redon, a Veronese, a van Gogh, a Tintoretto, a Rousseau, a Courbet, another Tintoretto, a Soutine, and a Renoir. Scanning this array as if it were a rune, I felt momentarily possessed of a secret that might save the world, on the impossible condition that I could understand it.
The Barnes is immersive. An aesthetic rapture descends when you walk through the front door and reigns uninterrupted until you leave. This is exhausting, of course, but far less so than the tenor of a normal museum, which groups works by adventitious categories of period and style. Continually stopping and re-starting our contemplation in museums, from work to work and department to department, we wear out pretty swiftly. Not so at the Barnes, where the pre-considered, pre-loved character of the exhibits—a sort of spiritual cruise control—enables steady enjoyment. If the installation has a weakness, it is, ironically, in regard to education. The plodding but conceptually structured organization of regular museum collections serves learning. Using the Barnes for introductory teaching is like starting a basic arithmetic course with calculus; it’s more apt to daunt naïve minds than to develop them.
Matisse’s “Le Bonheur de Vivre” (1906), the single most consequential modern painting before “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” (which is often considered to be Picasso’s competitive response to it), hangs in a staircase landing, as if it were nothing much. In truth, it’s a thunderclap of audacities, each shattering some conventional expectation. If you haven’t seen it in person, you have no idea. (Until last month, I had no idea.) You may arrive on the second floor a somewhat different person than you were on the first. At that point, you confront from a balcony another Matisse—the great mural “La Danse” (1932-33), which Barnes commissioned—and understand the odd liveliness of its schematic, cavorting nudes as you saw them from the floor of the great hall below. Matisse painted shadows that pop the figures forward from their abstractly patterned ground. Turning to your left, on the balcony, you behold African tribal sculptures and Navajo blankets that seem to absorb the mural’s iconographic and formal energies and to bounce them back, enhanced.
Such epiphanies occur around many a corner of the Barnes. (A few sad rooms suggest a jumbled open storage of things that didn’t fit elsewhere, but they afford a pleasure of their own, inviting treasure hunts.) The most striking leitmotif of the collection is its numerous juxtapositions of Cézanne and Renoir: the chiselled bone and melting flesh of modern painting. I hardly share Barnes’s lust for Renoir, but I will now never forget that artist’s exacerbating effect on Cézanne, whose cobbled form and pensive color tense against Renoir’s work as if leaning into a hot, fragrant wind. The Barnes similarly dramatizes the distinctive qualities of all its artists, relative to one another. I came away with a new thought about almost every one.
The Barnes is a work of art in itself, more than the sum of its fabulous parts. The same may be said for other institutionalized private collections—New York’s Frick, Boston’s Gardner—but without equal justice. None so engages visitors in an adventure of sensibility. As you test the virtues of the collection, they test you, probing the depths and exposing the limits of your perceptive powers. You don’t view the installation so much as live it, undergoing an experience that will persist in your memory like a love affair that taught you some thrilling, and some dismaying, things about your character. If there were other places like the Barnes, dispensing with it would not be tragic. But one minus one is zero. ♦",1889,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210105.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815122304-20180815142304-00687.warc.gz,0.946517705917358
7ad5e0ff-d9c4-463c-82d6-674c48c98320,2017-08-17T05:48:55+00:00,2016-08-28,0,https://andrewskindred.wordpress.com/2016/08/28/the-leicestershire-poacher-2/,"In The Leicestershire Poacher (1) on 18 October 1836 at Derby Quarter Sessions John Dennis (estimated at 26 years old) of Measham, Derbyshire, England was convicted of stealing two geese and sentenced to fourteen years’ transportation.
John was sent to the prison hulk Justitia on the Thames at Woolwich, London, where he was received on 1 November 1836. He was later transferred to the Sarah in which he sailed from Spithead (Portsmouth) on 29 November 1836. The voyage took 79 days. 255 prisoners boarded Sarah, one was returned to land and nine died during the voyage. John was one of 245 men disembarked in Van Diemen’s Land on 29 Mar 1837. This was a much shorter timescale than many experienced.
Remarkably, there is an online account of conditions on the Justitia by a convict. Here are a few extracts:
Before going on board we were stripped to the skin and scrubbed with a hard scrubbing brush, something like a stiff birch broom, and plenty of soft soap, while the hair was clipped from our heads as close as scissors could go. This scrubbing we endured until we looked like boiled lobsters, and the blood was drawn in many places.
We were then supplied with new ‘magpie’ suits — one side black or blue and the other side yellow. Our next experience was being marched off to the blacksmith, who riveted on our ankles rings of iron connected by eight links to a ring in the centre, to which was fastened an up and down strap or cord reaching to the waist-belt. This last supported the links, and kept them from dragging on the ground. Then we had what were called knee garters. A strap passing from them to the basils and buckled in front and behind caused the weight of the irons to traverse on the calf of the leg.
In this rig-out we were transferred to the hulk, where we received our numbers, for no names were used. My number was 5418 — called ‘five four eighteen’.
Our first business was repairing the butts, a large mound of earth against which the guns were practised. After completing this we were employed some days at emptying barges, and then at a rocket-shed in the arsenal cleaning shot, and knocking rust scales from shells, filling them with scrap iron, etc., as great preparations were going on for the China war. At other times we would be moving gun carriages or weeding the long lanes between mounted guns. One particular job I had was cleaning ‘Long Tom,’ a 21-foot gun at the gate.
On board the Justitia Hulk there were about 400 of us, and occasionally the ‘Bay ships’, or transports, would come up the river to take off drafts from the different hulks. We always knew the transports by the number of soldiers on their decks. The drafts were, of course, for transportation to the various penal colonies.
Shortly before my turn came to be removed to the transport ship, our kind captain of the Justitia … with the greatest kindness he told me he would manage to let me have the choice between Bermuda, Botany Bay, and Hobart Town, in Van Dieman’s Land. He said [he] thought, if I chose Bermuda, I might get a remission of half sentence, the climate was deadly, and he would advise me to go to Van Dieman’s Land, and he would endeavour to make arrangements for me to be kept in Hobart’s Town. I thanked him, and assured him I would be ever grateful for his kindness, of which I was soon to have another proof in the treatment accorded me on the voyage.
I have now arrived in my story at the year 1839, when I was about to say good-bye to the old country, with no knowledge when or how I might again set foot in it. On the arrival of our ship, the Asia ‘5th’ — so called from the voyage on which she was starting being her fifth one to the colonies — we were ranged on the quarter-deck of the hulk, and two smiths freed us from our irons, now endured for nine months. Our irons being off we were taken by boats in batches to the Asia, there to be guarded by a detachment of the 96th Regiment.
Previous to our removal the doctor of the Asia came on board the hulk, when the captain, following up on his former acts of kindness, pointed me out to him, said that my conduct had been very good, and that he believed there was in me the making of a good man. this was the means of making my life on the long, weary voyage somewhat more comfortable than it otherwise might have been. On being put on board the Asia there were served to each man his cooking, eating, and drinking utensils, with a small keg for water. We were then told off to the bunks, which held four each. Besides these bunks there were some hammocks, and, through the captain of the Justitia having spoken of me to the doctor, I was given a hammock at the bottom of the hatchway, and soon appointed to a billet. A sailor was sent to show me where the water and pumps stood, and my duty was to fill the men’s kegs. Some time after, having made friends with the steward’s assistant, he managed to put a bag of biscuits close to a partition, so that, by putting my arm through a chain hole, I could just reach it. My friend filled up the bag again when it got low, so that I was provided with extra bread throughout the voyage.
After arriving at Portsmouth, and just before starting again, the bumboats came alongside, and those who were lucky enough to have any money were allowed to buy. Very few had anything to spend, but I had been careful to save up the little that I had received while at Woolwich. I had in all eight shillings [they were given a penny per week]. Part I spent at Portsmouth, and the rest at Teneriffe.
This is [from] Chapter VIII of the book “Old Convict Days” by William Derricourt (a.k.a. Day) edited by Louis Belke, The New Amsterdam Book Company, New York, 1900. More here.
It would have been convenient if William had been aboard Justitia at the same time as John, but he was convicted on 17 June 1839 (though he maintained his innocence throughout his long life), and sailed on the Asia on 25 April 1840, arriving at Hobart on 6 August.
Poacher Turned Gamekeeper to come.",1413,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00268.warc.gz,0.990421652793884
250fb78c-66c9-4429-b21c-00e160691b3e,2013-05-20T02:13:43+00:00,2010-07-15,1,http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/white-nose-syndrome-07-15-2010.html,"For Immediate Release, July 15, 2010
Contact: Mollie Matteson, Center for Biological Diversity, (802) 434-2388 (office); (802) 318-1487 (cell)
Forest Service Will Close Caves in Rocky Mountain Region to Protect Bats From Lethal Disease
Group Advocates for Closures Across West
RICHMOND, Vt.— More than six months after the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition to close all federally managed bat caves in the lower 48 states, the U.S. Forest Service has indicated it intends to close caves on federal forests and grasslands in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and most of Wyoming and South Dakota. A devastating bat-killing disease known as white-nose syndrome has spread rapidly from its original epicenter in upstate New York four years ago. The Center has demanded that more proactive steps be taken to protect bats, which are dying by the millions in the eastern half of the country.
The closures would limit human access to the caves in hopes of stemming the spread of the disease, which scientists believe can be transported from cave to cave on clothing, boots, caving gear and other equipment.
“The regional office is to be commended for taking action to protect bats now, before this devastating epidemic shows up there,” said Mollie Matteson, conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. “Already, the white-nose syndrome fungus has leapfrogged into western Oklahoma from the Midwest. It is a hair’s breadth from Colorado. The other federal land agencies of the West need to act now, as well.”
The closure order, expected within the next couple of weeks, will be in effect for 12 months, and could last longer. Caves on national forests in the South and East have been closed under similar orders since the spring of 2009. Some states have also closed state-owned caves to protect bats, and a few other federal land units, such as Great Smoky Mountains National Park, have made caves off-limits to recreational access in an attempt to stem the spread of the illness.
White-nose syndrome was first documented in a cave in upstate New York in early 2006, and started killing bats in large numbers in the winter of 2007-2008. The disease radiated out from New York to Vermont, Massachusetts and other Northeast states. The fungus associated with the disease has since been found on bats in 14 states and two Canadian provinces, and bats throughout much of the affected area are now dying at extremely high rates — up to 100 percent in some infected caves. Scientists fear that several species could be completely wiped out within a few years’ time. A total of nine bat species are now affected, and surveys in the Northeast, where white-nose syndrome has been ravaging bats the longest, reveal that several species are close to being regionally extinct.
Researchers believe the white-nose fungus spreads primarily via bat-to-bat transmission, and that bats can also pick it up from infected caves. Humans do not appear to be susceptible to the disease themselves but scientists believe people can spread it.
“Bats are essential members of North America’s ecosystems, eating immense quantities of insects every night, and helping to keep bug populations in check,” said Matteson. “If we ignore the need to take precautionary measures to protect bats, we do so not only at their peril but also at our own.”
In January the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition to close bat caves on all federal lands in the lower 48 states due to the threat of white-nose syndrome. The Center also filed a petition to designate two white-nose-affected bat species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. In June, the group notified the government that it intended to sue for failure to respond in time to protect the two bats, which are the eastern small-footed bat and the northern long-eared bat.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 255,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.",850,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95509523153305
04bf3bbf-070e-4fc6-9897-5076cd75e0df,2018-08-15T03:51:24+00:00,2013-01-01,0,http://slideplayer.com/slide/2408217/,"6 WEATHER VS. CLIMATEWEATHER – is defined as day to day characteristics of the atmospheric conditions – for example, a rainstorm, a snowstorm, a hot sunny day, a windy day and so on…CLIMATE – is defined as a long-term pattern of weather. Climates influence many elements of our lives – for example, where we live, what clothes we wear, and so on…Canada’s climate has a great deal of variety because of four basic facts:1) Canada extends for a great distance from north to south, ) Different elevations produce different climate conditions, ) Coastal regions have different climates from inland regions, ) Wind and pressure systems move weather conditions from one part of the country to another
7 Climate influences, and sometimes dictates, our daily activities and travels. In the summer, it can be hot or stormy, or it can be the perfect day for golf, baseball or going to the beach. In the winter, it can be extremely cold with heavy snowfalls and storms, which brings up travel concerns, heating concerns, and of course, whether or not it will be a snow day from school. When the weather is at extremes, we are very aware of it and schedule our activities accordingly.We can easily identify the climate and weather patterns that affects our daily routines. BUT, what are the factors that affect the type of climate that we experience?
8 FACTORS THAT AFFECT CLIMATE L atitudeO cean CurrentsW indE levationR eliefN ear Water
9 LATITUDEDistance from the equator is a key factor in whether a region is hot or cold.The southernmost territory of Canada, is comprised of a number of islands which form an archipelago in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. Pelee Island and Middle Island are situated just above the Canadian-American border at 41 degrees north latitude. The annual average temperature is 9.1oCAlert is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world. It is located at 83 degrees north latitude, on the north eastern tip of Ellesmere Island on the shore of the Lincoln Sea, in the territory of Nunavut in Canada The annual average temperature is –18.1oC
10 LATITUDEThe energy from the sun that hits the earth closer to the equator covers a small area.The more northerly location is spread over a larger area because of the curvature of the earth.Places closer to the North and South Poles experience colder temperatures than those near the equator because the same amount of energy is spread over a larger area due to the curvature of the earth.* See figure 12-3 on page 129 in your text.
12 OCEAN CURRENTSClimate is affected by ocean currents – Figure 12-7 page The temperature of an ocean current affects the temperature of the air that passes over it, making the air warmer or colder.
13 OCEAN CURRENTS A Few Examples: West Coast: The warm North Pacific Current heats the cool moist air which passes over it. This gives a mild climate to the coastal regions of British Columbia.East Coast: The cold Labrador Current, which flows southward from the Arctic, cools the air of coastal locations in Labrador and northern Newfoundland.
14 OCEAN CURRENTSWhat do you notice about the location of cold and warm ocean currents in relation to the equator?
16 It is the wind that moves air masses and therefore causes weather. Air moves along the surface of the earth from high-pressure areas toward low-pressure areas. It is the moving air that causes wind.It is the wind that moves air masses and therefore causes weather.In Canada, the prevailing winds are ‘westerlies’ beacuse they originate and blow towards the east.
17 Teperature decreases with an increase in elevation. Temperature drops at a rate of 1oC for every 100 meters of elevation (on average).When the Dew Point (when water vapor begins to condense) is reached, the rate of cooling slows to 0.6oC per meters because as water cools it realeases heat.
18 RELIEFRelief refers to the differences in elevation of the earth’s surface.Mountain ranges act as barriers to the movement of air masses – therefore, for example, Vancouver often has warm, rainy weather in the winter and Calgary, on the other side of the Cordillera, has very cold dry weather.
19 Water has a moderating effect on land temperatures. NEAR WATERWater has a moderating effect on land temperatures.Oceans and large lakes take a longer time to heat up then the surrounding land mass and a longer time to cool down.
20 NEAR WATERIn summer, winds blowing over a body of water will keep the surrounding land cooler than it would be if the water body was not presentIn winter, the water reatins heat and is warmer than the surrounding land. Winds blowing off a body of water warm the surrounding land as a result.
22 More from the Weather Network Website Cold Front Symbol Warm Front Symbol
23 COMMON WEATHER TERMSFront:A front can best be described as the border between two different air masses.Cold Front:A cold front is the leading edge of cooler or colder air. It cuts into the space that is occupied by warmer air and eventually replaces it with a cooler/colder Air Mass. This happens as the cold air causes the warm air to rise up and over it. As the warm air travels upwards, it begins to mix with the cold air aloft and condenses to form clouds. You can usually expect scattered showers and thunderstorms along the front as it approaches.Warm Front:A warm front is the leading edge of a milder or warmer air mass. A warm front travels in such a way that it results in warm air replacing colder air. This happens as the warm air rises up and over the cold air below. As the warm air travels upwards, it begins to mix with the cold air aloft and condenses to form clouds. You can usually expect periods of rain or drizzle for many hours as the front approaches.
24 COMMON WEATHER TERMSAir Pressure:(also known as atmospheric pressure)Is the amount of force wielded on a surface by the weight of the air above it. The unit for measuring air pressure worldwide is the kilopascal.Low Pressure Centre:Indicates an area of low atmospheric pressure. In a low, air is flowing counter clockwise into the centre of the Low. The air will rise and cool often resulting in clouds and precipitation.High Pressure Centre:Indicates an area of high pressure. In a high, air will slowly descend and flow out in a clockwise direction at the ground. Normally a high will bring mainly sunny skies to an area.
25 COMMON WEATHER TERMS Jet Stream: Moderately strong winds grouped in a narrow stream in the atmosphere, usually in reference to horizontal, high altitude winds. The location and orientation of jet streams change from one day to the next. Weather patterns (hot/cold, wet/dry) are influenced by the position, strength and orientation of the jet stream (or jet streams).Dewpoint:The dewpoint is a measure of atmospheric moisture. It is the temperature at which air must be cooled in order to reach saturation (assuming that air pressure and moisture content are constant). As the surface of the earth cools at night, warm moist air near the ground is chilled and water vapour in the air condenses into droplets on the grass and other objects. Dew is particularly heavy on clear nights, when the earth cools rapidly. When a blanket of cloud insulates the earth, the cooling rate is slower. The greater the difference between the temperature and the dew point, the drier the air.Frost Point:The highest temperature at which atmospheric moisture will sublimate and form a deposit of interlocking ice crystals on a cooled surface.
26 HOMEWORKUsing the Map of North America provided for you, draw, label and identify the air masses and ocean currents that affect Canada’s weather – use figure 12-7 on page 131 in your text book as a guide.* Don’t forget to make a legend and to add colour.
27 but wait, there's more... Complete questions: # 1, 2, 3, and 4 a) – Page 139 in your text.* Write this down in your agenda if you have not done so already.",1747,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209856.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815024253-20180815044253-00298.warc.gz,0.91764360666275
9ae5bd16-5c9a-4abf-aa53-64ea2565a81b,2022-05-28T06:43:52+00:00,2021-05-28,1,https://americanfitnessindex.org/active-people-healthy-nation-creating-active-america-together/,"Regular physical activity is one of the most important things that people can do to support their health. Being active can immediately help people feel better after each session of activity, and regular physical activity can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases and premature death.
Although the benefits of physical activity are well known, many people do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity. Populations with low income compared with higher incomes, people who are Black or Hispanic compared to non-Hispanic White people and residents of rural areas compared to urban areas have lower rates of physical activity. We know that systematic inequities exist in opportunities to be physically active which contribute to these disparities.
In response to the low levels of physical activity in the United States and the numerous benefits of being physically active, in January 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched Active People, Healthy Nation, a nationwide effort that aims to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027. The initiative supports equitable and inclusive access to opportunities for physical activity for all people regardless of age, race, education, socioeconomic status, disability status, sexual orientation or geographic location.
How do we increase levels of physical activity in the United States?
Active People, Healthy Nation provides a comprehensive evidence-based approach to improving physical activity by promoting at the local, tribal, state and national level s even strategies that work in partnership with other federal agencies and national organizations (see figure). Every Active People, Healthy Nation strategy can be designed to support equitable and inclusive access to opportunities for physical activity. Communities can select strategies to increase physical activity that fit with their local context, including the needs and preferences of community members and community assets.
How do I get involved?
Everyone has a role to play to increase physical activity—individuals, organizations and community champions. By joining Active People, Healthy Nation, you and/or your organization become part of a nationwide initiative and can help increase physical activity in the United States, reduce healthcare costs, build walkable neighborhoods, support local economies, address health equity and improve health for individuals, families and your communities.
Joining is easy! Visit the Active People, Healthy Nation join webpage and click on the appropriate category: Individual Influencers, Organizations, or Community Champions. Enter your email address to become a supporter. There are a number of benefits including:
- Receiving access to resources and information through a monthly Active People, Healthy Nation newsletter.
- Receiving website badges, social media messages and other resources to help spread the word about your work and your support for the initiative.
- Connecting to a network of individuals, organizations and champions supporting Active People, Healthy Nation at national, tribal, state, and local levels.
What can I do?
Supporters have been taking action to support Active People, Healthy Nation and you can too! Here are a few examples of what other supporters have done and ways you can get involved:
- Individual influencers, organizations and champions have been posting on social media using #ActivePepole. Learn more about ways you can spread the word.
- The Maricopa Association of Governments passed the first Active People, Healthy Nation Proclamation, showing commitment to active transportation and increasing physical activity in their community. You can download the proclamation template and work with an elected official to pass one in your community!
- The Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity within CDC currently funds 61 recipients in states and communities across the country to create activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations, based on an evidence-based strategy to increase physical activity recommended by the U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force. Projects vary across communities and can include connecting routes like sidewalks, paths, bicycle routes and public transit with destinations, such as homes, early care and education, schools, worksites, parks or recreation centers. See if there is a funded community where you live and get involved!
- The Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (PAPREN) is a CDC-funded Network that brings diverse partners together to create environments that maximize physical activity. PAPREN is a key research partner of CDC’s Active People, Healthy Nation initiative, facilitating collaboration across sectors and providing evidence and tools that states and communities can use to implement policy approaches to promote physical activity. Learn more about PAPREN at-a-glance or visit the PAPREN website to join this network of researchers, planners, engineers, policy makers, green space managers, health professionals, physical activity and fitness professionals and others.
How can the American Fitness Index be used in conjunction with Active People, Healthy Nation?
Tools such as the American Fitness Index provide data that decision makers and partners can use when creating plans to improve physical activity in their communities. Communities can examine and share the data and go through a process of equitable community engagement to determine where to focus their efforts. Once they understand and identify where they want to work, communities can use the Active People, Healthy Nation strategies that work to narrow their focus on actions they want to take to increase active lifestyles.
- Fulton JE, Buchner DM, Carlson SA, et al. CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM: Creating an Active America, Together. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2018;15(7):469-473. doi:10.1123/jpah.2018-0249
- Schmid TL, Fulton JE, McMahon JM, Devlin HM, Rose KM, Petersen R. Delivering Physical Activity Strategies That Work: Active People, Healthy NationSM. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2021;18(4):352-356. doi:10.1123/jpah.2020-0656
Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ken Rose, MPA, Branch Chief, Physical Activity and Health Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Emily Ussery, PhD, Epidemiologist, Physical Activity and Health Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; LCDR, US Public Health Service
Kaitlin Graff, MSW, MPH, Program Coordinator, McKing Consulting/Physical Activity and Health Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention",1331,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663013003.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528062047-20220528092047-00227.warc.gz,0.917193949222565
82d912a3-b7b7-4d75-bf0c-703fac73eb98,2020-10-20T05:53:05+00:00,2020-10-20,0,https://theshopatstlaurence.co.uk/products/bee-leaf-ring-gold,"Bee & Leaf Ring Gold
A sterling silver adjustable ring featuring our lovely bee charm in gold vermeil and our leaf charm in sterling silver.
This easy to wear ring can be worn on any finger as it is adjustable. Its also makes a lovely present as you don't need to know the recipients ring size. Why not team it with our bee or leaf studs earrings or one of our bee necklaces?
Ring comes in one size and presented in our gift box.",99,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107869933.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020050920-20201020080920-00407.warc.gz,0.942539632320404
dc003d40-6f0e-4e81-afe0-7df2069f6a28,2018-08-20T13:20:28+00:00,2017-04-05,0,http://dogpatch.press/2017/04/05/word-of-mouse/,"Word of Mouse, by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein – book review by Fred Patten.
by Patch O'Furr
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
Word of Mouse, by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein. Illustrated by Joe Sutphin.
NYC, Little, Brown and Co./Jimmy Patterson Books, December 2016, hardcover $13.99 (284 [+ 6] pages), Kindle $9.99.
This children’s fantasy, recommended for 8- to 12-year-old readers (middle grade/grades 3-7), will be too young for most DP readers. But it’s a quick and enjoyable read for those who liked Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H. – the novel by Robert C. O’Brien, rather than the Don Bluth animated movie that turned it into a fairy tale.
James Patterson is a writing machine. He holds the Guinness World Records for the most #1 New York Times best sellers and the first author to sell over 1,000,000 e-books. He has topped Forbes’ list of the highest-paid authors for the last three years. Wikipedia lists 164 books by him, alone and with a co-author. He has written adult mysteries, thrillers, and romance novels, and young adult and juvenile light school-life novels and science-fiction. His adult thrillers featuring Alex Cross, police psychologist, are by himself alone, and most of his others are in collaboration. Chris Grabenstein is a frequent co-author on his children’s novels. Word of Mouse is their first fantasy featuring talking animals.
The narrator is Isaiah, a mouse:
“My story starts on the day I lost my entire family. I’m running as fast as I can behind my big brothers and sisters. Down the hall. Past the mop bucket. Toward the open door.
We’re escaping from a place that’s foul and creepy and 100 percent HORRIBLE!” (p. 1)
Isaiah is the only mouse who escapes without being recaptured. What makes Word of Mouse of interest to furry fans is that it’s quickly apparent that Isaiah and his siblings are experimental lab mice. Isaiah is bright blue, Abe is crimson, Winnie is chartreuse, and all 97 of them are different colors. But this is just Lamina Research Laboratory’s color-coding. What’s inherent in Isaiah and his siblings are that they’re unusually intelligent, can see in color instead of just black and white, and probably have human life spans instead of a mouse’s usual one to two years.
Isaiah, having been raised around scientists (Lamina is a leader in genetic engineering), knows big words that apply to mice like crepuscular and tenebrous, and can read.
“Did you know that the word mouse supposedly came from the Sanskrit word mus, which means thief? Now, I don’t typically think of myself as a thief. I’ve never taken anything that wasn’t freely given to me. I never had to.
But scurrying through Suburbia, a stranger in a strange land, I realize I might not have much of a choice. No Long Coat is going to come along and toss me my daily scoop of crunchy kibble.” (p. 19)
Isaiah has to learn to avoid suburban predators like cats, dogs, and hawks, and to scrounge like normal mice. His adventures turn from juvenile science-fiction into fantasy as he meets a big family of mice (a mouse family is a mischief) and they can all talk together, although Isaiah knows a lot more than they do. Isaiah develops a romance with a pert girl mouse, Mikayla, and finds that her mischief living in the Brophys’ house is much larger than usual because the Brophys are all slobs who leave half-eaten sandwiches and dropped snacks in all the rooms. He saves them from mousetraps.
“Gwindell twitches her snout. ‘Mmmm. This box smells delicious, too!’
‘No!’ I shout. ‘Don’t go in there!’
‘Why not? It smells so peanut buttery.’ She lunges for the brown box, and I dive to block her.
‘It’s a mousetrap!’ I holler, reading what is written on the side of the cardboard mouse coffin. ‘The floor is covered with glue, and they’ve baited it with peanut butter. If you go in, you’ll never come out!’ Gwindell and her brothers examine the box carefully.” (pgs. 72-73)
He also makes friends with the human girl across the street, twelve-year-old Hailey. She can’t hear him when he talks because his voice is both too soft and in the ultrasonic range, but he jumps around on her computer keyboard like thefictional archy the cockroach did on a typewriter.
But while Isaiah has it made, for a mouse, he wants to rescue his own brothers and sisters who have been locked up back in Lamina Lab’s cages. Which he does, with the help of Mikayla and her mischief, and Hailey.
For those who like Disney-style art, there are attractive full-page or half-page illustrations by Joe Sutphin throughout the book.
My only complaint is with the prejudicial depiction of the lab’s research staff (and by implication, all scientists) as cold and unfeeling at best, and as sadists at worst; constantly sneering, sniggering, and smirking. When Dr. Ledbetter finds out that his lab mice have human-level intelligence, his reaction is to threaten to immediately dissect them instead of studying their intelligence:
“‘It’s good to see you again, B-97. My colleagues tell me that you recently demonstrated some rather unusual talents. Ones I did not know I had given you. I can’t wait to open you up and see what’s going on inside that tiny little blue brain of yours.’” (p. 260)
Word of Mouse (jacket design by Tracy Shaw, featuring one of Joe Sutphin’s illustrations) is good fun for furry fans; and, it goes without saying, as gifts for any young nieces or nephews, and for their own children when they have families. There are paperback, Audible, and audio CD versions, too.
Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon, where you can access exclusive stuff for just $1. Thank you – Patch",1460,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216453.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820121228-20180820141228-00058.warc.gz,0.960070550441742
6300deb4-4c92-4347-8d61-a7aacc8459b0,2020-10-29T20:28:18+00:00,2019-06-22,1,https://www.aljazeerakiswahili.com/news/2019/6/22/eu-leaders-fail-to-show-united-front-on-climate-change,"London, United Kingdom – European Union leaders have failed to strike a deal to commit the bloc to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at a European Council summit this week.
While only eight countries had committed to the target at the previous summit in March, large-scale environmental protests and the huge gains made by green parties at the European elections in May had raised expectations of a breakthrough.
Several European leaders had backed the target, but four countries – Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Hungary – blocked the proposal on Thursday amid concerns it would hurt their economies, which are dependent on nuclear power and coal.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters in Brussels: “Poland … must first have very detailed compensation packages. We must know how much we can get for modernization.”
As unanimity is required among member states to pass the deal, the 2050 goal was not included in the EU’s strategic agenda for 2019-2024.
The target would commit the EU to a net zero carbon footprint by 2050 by reducing emissions from transport, homes, and industrial or other economic activity, or offsetting them with projects aimed at soaking up CO2 or avoiding future emissions.
The European Commission presented the plan in late November, writing that it should include “investing into realistic technological solutions, empowering citizens, and aligning action in key areas such as industrial policy, finance, or research – while ensuring social fairness for a just transition.”
The plan would make the EU the world’s first major economy to commit to going climate neutral ahead of a key UN conference in New York on September 25.
“It is incumbent on the EU ahead of the summit in September to make an agreement on the 2050 target to ensure the EU is showing leadership and the world is on a path to achieving net zero given the scale of the challenges we face on the climate emergency,” Luke Murphy, who heads the Environmental Justice Commission at the Institute for Public Policy Research, told Al Jazeera.
“Of course it’s right that there needs to be a focus on the economic and social justice policies that need to be implemented, but that is essentially what should have been agreed at this summit,” Murphy added.
Environmental campaigning group Greenpeace EU has called on European leaders to hold an emergency climate summit before the UN meeting in New York and to recognise the need to step up current targets.
The European Council’s conclusions dropped the 2050 deadline, instead reiterating a commitment to the 2016 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit the rise to 1.5 degrees.
It pledged to issue its guidance by the end of the year for a strategy to be adopted in early 2020 “that will preserve European competitiveness, be just and socially balanced, take account of Member States’ national circumstances and respect their right to decide on their own energy mix.” This will likely coincide with the EU’s long-term budget negotiations.
Martin Nesbit, head of the Climate and Environmental Governance Programme at the Institute for European Environmental Policy, argues that there has to be greater conditionality between budget decisions and the willingness of member states to sign up to the 2050 target.
“Member states need to move to a slightly firmer position in the negotiations and say that significant elements of cohesion spending in the states that are blocking the 2050 target will be withheld unless they agree to it,” Nesbit told Al Jazeera, arguing that developed economies like the EU would need to make the commitment for developing countries to follow suit.
“I’d say China has a more developed policy on greenhouse gas emissions than Poland does. There’s often an exaggeration of the unwillingness of countries like China and India to take action,” he added.
A group of European researchers warned this week that global emissions would need to be halved by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), most governments are not taking enough action with only The Gambia and Morocco being on track to meet that goal.
“Emissions keep rising and impacts are being felt all around the world, with developing countries experiencing the brunt of these impacts,” said Bill Hare of Climate Analytics. “Recent examples include devastating floods and loss of life in East Africa caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai and record 50 degree C temperatures in India.”
While the leaders of the EU’s 28 member states fell short of agreeing on the proposed target in Brussels, thousands of youth took to the streets for the fifth global climate strike on Friday. Schoolchildren and teenagers have been walking out of school to demand government action to tackle climate change.
The first global climate strike on March 15 drew an estimated 1.5 million students to the streets in more than 100 countries. It helped propel the Extinction Rebellion protests, which brought parts of London to a halt and led to the British government declaring a climate emergency. The UK has committed to going climate neutral by 2050.
After Europe-wide elections in May, the Greens became the fourth-largest group in the 751-seat European Parliament, due to hold its first plenary session on July 2. Green parties emerged as a leading political force in Germany and nearly doubled their share of the vote in France, the United Kingdom, Finland and Denmark.
“The benefits of committing to the target are greater the sooner the decision is made, in economic as well as environmental terms,” Nesbit said.
“It is challenging but feasible. The sooner the investor and the private sector have clarity on what the target is, the easier it is to meet that target,” he added, explaining that businesses need to know how carbon restrictions will change in order to invest in the appropriate technology.
“There are huge opportunities from the green transition. In terms of green jobs, green manufacturing, being able to export goods in this low-carbon economy,” Murphy said. “Whatever pace we are moving, we are moving towards that.”
“It’s not just government and green groups. Businesses were disappointed by the decision as well. Actually, there is huge support in the UK for the net zero target from the business community as there is across the EU because they welcome stability.”",1320,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107905777.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029184716-20201029214716-00703.warc.gz,0.955284297466278
eb82d3c9-5c71-4718-882b-a8cba4a33f1f,2013-05-25T12:54:28+00:00,2013-05-08,0,http://capegirardeau.kfvs12.com/news/community-spirit/61750-cec-lineman-help-mo-power-restoration-effort,"CEC lineman help in Mo. power-restoration effort | Community Spirit
(KFVS) - Citizens Electric linemen were dispatched this week to three fellow electric cooperatives in mid-Missouri that were coping with widespread outages after being socked with heavy, wet snow and ice recently.
On Tuesday, four linemen and two trucks were sent to Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, which serves more than 21,000 members living in parts of seven counties to the south and east of Jefferson City. CEC crews helped with the restoration effort for two days.
Early Wednesday morning, four more linemen and two trucks set out for Fayette to help Howard Electric Cooperative crews restore power in HEC’s service territory to the north and west of Columbia. CEC officials anticipated a two- or three-day stay there.
CEC said they received a request for additional assistance Thursday morning and sent the crews, who had been helping Three Rivers Electric, to Co-Mo Electric Cooperative, which provides power to members living north of the Lake of the Ozarks in parts of Cooper, Moniteau and Morgan counties. As of Wednesday evening, about 9,000 of Co-Mo’s 31,000 members were without electricity, and CEC crews were expecting to stay two or three days.
At the peak of the outages, CEC said about 55,000 homes were without power in Missouri, with Co-Mo being the hardest hit area, according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. Central Missouri Rural Electric in Sedalia, Osage Valley Electric in Butler, West Central Electric in Higginsville, Callaway Electric in Fulton, Farmers Electric in Chillicothe, Macon Electric in Macon and Southwest Electric in Bolivar were also affected.
Citizens Electric’s territory in Ste. Genevieve, Perry and Cape Girardeau counties were spared from any significant outages during the winter storms. AMEC, of which CEC is a member, coordinates the relief effort for the co-ops that were not as fortunate.
“We’re always happy to send a few guys to help a fellow cooperative that is in crisis. Actually, one of the principles we operate by is ‘cooperation among cooperatives.’ So we know when we’re in trouble, they’ll be here to help us, too. That’s part of being in the cooperative family,” said Citizens CEO Van Robinson.
According to CEC, they are reimbursed for any costs incurred during the cooperative-relief effort. Citizens Electric serves nearly 27,000 members and has the largest power load of any co-op in the state.
Copyright 2013 KFVS. All rights reserved.",560,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970971345901489
066e160c-d574-431d-9ddc-631ce084a0d5,2015-03-29T17:39:02+00:00,2013-04-11,1,http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20130411/NEWS/130419976/,"HOUSTON — Kuraray America Inc. broke ground April 11 on a new polyvinyl alcohol plant in La Porte, Texas.
The plant is expected to create 107 new jobs over the next two years and will have annual production capacity of almost 90 million pounds. Production is set to launch in 2015.
In an April 9 news release, officials with Houston-based Kuraray said that the firm's strategy for growth within the Houston area is because of developments in natural gas exploration technology, specifically shale gas and ""the excellence of area infrastructure and [the area's] ideal workforce.""
""Kuraray felt this was an ideal place to establish a beachhead for further expansions,"" Kuraray Americas president and CEO George Avdey said in the release.
The Texas Enterprise Fund is supplying some funding for the new plant. Kuraray also is receiving a tax abatement from Harris County for the project.
Kuraray America is a unit of Tokyo-based industrial conglomerate Kuraray Group. The parent firm's Septon Co. of America unit also makes styrenic block copolymers at a plant in Pasadena, Texas.",237,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298660.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00049-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94826203584671
add80a59-430d-4615-a4dc-ee7770b4e695,2017-08-18T18:23:45+00:00,2010-03-26,0,http://nypost.com/2010/03/26/lopez-keeping-nets-afloat/,"There are the draft picks that, barring trade, will bring three of the top 34 college players. There is the money to entice free agents. There are a lot of elements providing reasons to like the Nets’ future. But there is one that eventually may stand above all.
“I don’t think there is a limit for him,” said teammate Jarvis Hayes. “You can’t see a ceiling right now.”
Lopez scores, defends, rebounds, blocks shots, can name every comic book superhero known to man. And Wednesday in only the Nets’ eighth victory of the season, he ran the floor efficiently — not always a pretty sight with his 7-0, 265-pound build, but an effective one.
“I was cherry picking the whole night. I wasn’t playing defense or rebounding,” deadpanned Lopez, the second leading scoring center with the 18.9 scoring average he’ll bring into the game against the Pistons tonight (8:00; YES, WFAN 660 AM) when the Nets again try for their initial two-game winning streak.
“Brook is an extremely talented big man. He runs the floor well. He’s unique in that aspect in that he can go in the low post. He’s a centerpiece we can build around,” said GM/interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe.
One that may entice free agents.
Nets’ incoming owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, will be featured on CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday at 7 p.m. Prokhorov discusses his wealth, how he made his fortune and the Nets. “I am real excited to take the worst team of the league and turn it to be the best,” he said.",388,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105086.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818175604-20170818195604-00569.warc.gz,0.955356359481812
8ce86cc7-aa47-4abc-a3ba-ccf39cb2a58f,2016-07-26T09:58:16+00:00,2014-07-30,1,http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/fracking-public-meetings-wrap-in-nova-scotia-1.2722342,"Public hearings discussing hydraulic fracturing in Nova Scotia have come to an end after making stops in 10 communities across the province.
The final meeting took place in Whycocomagh on Tuesday night.
David Wheeler is president of Cape Breton University and head of an expert panel tasked with looking at the controversial method of oil and gas extraction,
Wheeler says the provincial government should conduct more studies and do more research.
""Step No. 1 is a debate and a dialogue in our province about what the report says, what it means — what it means at a community level, what it means at a provincial level,"" he said.
""f the province wishes to proceed with exploring the potential for this particular technology, then we think there's research to be done again at the community level looking at environmental impacts and community attitudes.""
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves blasting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into a well bore to fracture the surrounding rock and release the trapped hydrocarbons, usually natural gas, coalbed methane or crude oil.
Wheeler expects to file his panel's report with the provincial government by late August.
Many people have voiced concerns about the controversial gas extraction technique and its impact on the economy.",250,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824757.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00254-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95019543170929
718fb8c6-89b8-4762-85d7-2134649defd0,2017-08-20T16:10:07+00:00,2014-03-01,0,http://www.adweek.com/digital/cloak-anti-social-app-uses-your-location-to-help-you-avoid-others/,"The nature of social networking often tries to enhance our social lives, but most of the time, that falls short of bringing about desirable social gatherings. Conversely, there are some users who are actually anti-social, and would like nothing better than avoiding the right kind of people some of the time, or possibly, all of the time at all costs. Now, that option is finally emerging in this Cloak app, and it’s also free.
Cloak is like incognito mode for the digitally connected, but it goes one step further – it helps you to avoid people, especially yoru ex or just arch nemesis. Now, you can find their location on Cloak’s anti-social mapping. For now, the app only includes Instagram and Foursquare. If you have enemies, you might want to encourage them to use those apps, otherwise, you can always wait until Facebook is added.
Cloak scrapes Instagram and Foursquare to let you know where all your friends, “friends,” and nonfriends are at all times so you never have to run into that special someone. Think of it as the antisocial network.
We’ll be adding more social networks and features in the future, so hold tight and remain on red alert.
*Why isn’t Twitter included as a service?!?! Well, the location data just isn’t there. Most users have it turned off and even when it’s on, it’s quite vague.",312,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00287.warc.gz,0.953368425369263
df1a06a4-2de4-4886-97e3-ad985d03ab07,2019-08-24T11:12:16+00:00,2019-03-25,1,https://punchng.com/protests-rock-birnin-gwari-over-kaduna-killings/,"Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna
Residents of Birnin-Gwari in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Monday protested the persistent killings of their people by persons suspected to be bandits.
The protest, led by the Coalition of Birnin-Gwari Association, coincided with the visit of Governor Nasir el-Rufai and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to Birnin-Gwari on Monday.
While the governor was at Katangi, where the bandits attacked villagers on Saturday, Adamu stopped at Birnin-Gwari where he addressed stakeholders.
The protesters laid siege on the Emir’s palace at about 3:00pm and demanded for the deployment of more troops to the town, which had, over the years been ravaged by the activities of kidnappers and armed robbers.
Auwa Yunus, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, said: “We call on our people to peacefully join hands in the struggle to send a clear and unambiguous message to government concerning our plight.
“We urge the governments to, as a matter of urgency, provide the Internally Displaced Persons with better clothing, food, water as well as health facilities.”
Meanwhile, El-Rufai during his visit to Kakangi community, condemned the attacks.
The governor, who was accompanied by top government officials and security chiefs, described the attack as “inhuman and ungodly.”
El-Rufai assured the residents of the government’s commitment to restoring peace and security to the area as well as other troubled parts of the state.
The governor also visited the injured in the hospital.
It may be recalled that five people, including two policemen, were, on Saturday, killed by bandits in an attack on the community.
The bandits who invaded the village on motorbikes also razed houses and the community’s market.
It may also be recalled that residents of Kajuru, Southern Kaduna, also protested killings by bandits in March.",434,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027320734.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824105853-20190824131853-00336.warc.gz,0.969239771366119
188c0072-d4bd-40a6-b70d-e6c9de7c2fdb,2013-05-22T21:32:45+00:00,2012-11-15,1,http://www.truckload.org/National-Fleet-Safety-Awards,"TRUCKLOAD CARRIERS ASSOCIATIONOperational efficiency, industry awareness, public policy, recruitment and retention - common issues for an uncommon industry. The challenges faced by truckload demand solutions developed from a unique perspective...yours. TCA makes that happen.
National Fleet Safety Awards
Each fall, TCA members submit online applications for trucking's most important competition—the National Fleet Safety Awards. Carriers placing first, second, and third in each of six mileage-based divisions are honored. The winners are selected based on their accident ratios from October 1 to September 30 in any given year. Division winners are subject to an audit for ratio accuracy and invited to compete for one of two grand prizes. Carriers with annual mileage of 25 million or fewer miles vie for one, while companies with more than 25 million miles compete for the other. The grand prize winners are announced each March at TCA’s Annual Convention.
Meet our sponsor: Great West Casualty Company.
The application for the 2012 competition is now closed.",212,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961383759975433
568ebd1c-14e4-4e33-9227-baa9b244b5b4,2022-05-23T01:58:56+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://www.affordabletours.com/cruises/o/port/cunard/yokohoma-japan/,"Cunard Cruises from Yokohoma, Japan 2022/2023
Save up to 75% on Cunard cruises
The 3 ships of Cunard regularly receive accolades for their stylish furnishings and elegant interiors, keeping up with the cruise line's tradition of onboard opulence. The ocean cruise brand is unique, as it offers secluded dining for select passengers. Therefore, guests staying in staterooms dine at a different venue than passengers who occupy suites. Outside your luxurious lodging, you can relax and savor dining options, such as the Golden Lion, known for its steaks and pub drinks on all 3 ships of the Cunard fleet. The cruise line, as of 2020, also features one-way and round-trip transatlantic crossings to major cities across the U.S. Europe, Canada, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, and Australia. The shore excursions you have access to depend on a cruise's schedule and length. As of 2020, cruise voyages on Cunard last from 2 to 113 nights. Examples of excursions include a scenic drive along the Amalfi Coast of Italy or a desert safari in Durban, South Africa. Cunard's ships feature casino gambling, art galleries, enrichment programs, ballroom dance instruction, lectures, and computer classes for guests. Cruise guests like the fact they can choose from various cabin classes and several specialty restaurants. With cruise line volume buys plus our low everyday prices you can save up to 80% versus the brochure price! Book your Cunard cruise today with AffordableTours.com, your discounted cruise headquarters.Cunard Travel Guide
|Sail Date||Cruise Line||Ship||Destination||Departs||Length||Price||You Save||Discounts|
|Apr 19, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Yokohoma||9 Nights||Akita, Japan | Hakodate, Japan | Kanazawa, Japan | Pusan, South Korea | Sakaiminato, Japan | Yokohoma, Japan||$2,094|
Up To $250 Onboard Credit
|Apr 28, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Yokohoma||8 Nights||Fukuoka, Japan | Kagoshima, Japan | Nagasaki, Japan | Pusan, South Korea | Yokohoma, Japan||$1,680|
Up To $250 Onboard Credit
|May 06, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Yokohoma||18 Nights||Beppu, Japan | Hualien, Taiwan | Ishigaki, Japan | Kagoshima, Japan | Keelung, Taiwan | Kochi, Japan | Nagasaki, Japan | Okinawa, Japan | Pusan, South Korea | Yokohoma, Japan||$3,134|
Up To $500 Onboard Credit
|May 06, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Yokohoma||9 Nights||Aomori, Japan | Hakodate, Japan | Kushiro, Japan | Otaru, Japan | Yokohoma, Japan||$1,662|
Up To $250 Onboard Credit
|May 15, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Yokohoma||9 Nights||Aburatsu (Miyazaki), Japan | Hiroshima, Japan | Kochi, Japan | Nagasaki, Japan | Yokohoma, Japan||$1,538|
Up To $250 Onboard Credit
|May 15, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Vancouver||25 Nights||Aburatsu, Miyazaki, Japan | Aomori, Japan | Hiroshima, Japan | Hubbard Glacier | International Dateline | Ketchikan, Alaska | Kochi, Japan | Nagasaki, Japan | Otaru Sapporo, Japan | Pusan, South Korea | Seward, Alaska | Sitka, Alaska | Vancouver, Canada | Yokohoma, Japan||$3,950|
Up To $750 Onboard Credit
|May 15, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Vancouver||37 Nights||Aburatsu, Miyazaki, Japan | Aomori, Japan | Glacier Bay, Alaska | Haines, Alaska | Hiroshima, Japan | Hubbard Glacier | International Dateline | Juneau, Alaska | Ketchikan, Alaska | Kochi, Japan | Nagasaki, Japan | Otaru Sapporo, Japan | Pusan, South Korea | Seward, Alaska | Sitka, Alaska | Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska | Vancouver, Canada | Victoria, British Columbia | Yokohoma, Japan||$6,578|
Up To $1000 Onboard Credit
|May 24, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Vancouver||16 Nights||Aomori, Japan | Hubbard Glacier | International Dateline | Ketchikan, Alaska | Otaru Sapporo, Japan | Seward, Alaska | Sitka, Alaska | Vancouver, Canada | Yokohoma, Japan||$2,325|
Up To $300 Onboard Credit
|May 24, 2023||Cunard||Queen Elizabeth||Asia||Yokohoma||Vancouver||28 Nights||Aomori, Japan | Glacier Bay, Alaska | Haines, Alaska | Hubbard Glacier | International Dateline | Juneau, Alaska | Ketchikan, Alaska | Otaru Sapporo, Japan | Seward, Alaska | Sitka, Alaska | Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska | Vancouver, Canada | Victoria, British Columbia | Yokohoma, Japan||$4,838|
Up To $750 Onboard Credit
Cunard Travel Guide
Cunard Cruises Highlights
- Cunard Line is a British cruise brand whose hub is Carnival House, Southampton England. The cruise company is overseen by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc.
- The cruise line and its 3 ships are registered in Hamilton, Bermuda, and have been registered there since 2011.
- Between 1909 and 1929, the Mauretania, owned by Cunard, held the record for the fastest eastern crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
- When the Mauretania was built in 1907, the shipbuilders conveyed testing results secretly by using carrier pigeons, just in case the vessel had a problem.
- Cunard's Britannia made her first sea voyage in 1840. The ship, which sailed from Liverpool to Boston, had 63 passengers on board along with 93 crew members. A cow was also on the ship to provide the passengers and crew with fresh milk.
- Sails were used on early Cunard liners to stabilize the ships during stormy and rough weather.
- Author, Charles Dickens, shared his 1842 voyage to the U.S. on Cunard's Britannia in Chapter 2 of his book, American Notes.
- During the Crimean War, Cunard ships were used for hospitals.
- Cunard's Lucania was the first sea vessel to feature suites. The onboard accommodations featured two cabins that were connected, in-between, by a sitting room.
- It is believed that Cunard's ship, the Queen Mary, was originally meant to be named Queen Victoria. When a Cunard proposed the ship's name to King George V, it requested that the ship be named for the greatest queen in England, which it understood was the king's grandmother, Queen Victoria. However, King George misinterpreted Cunard's meaning and agreed that his wife, Queen Mary, would be pleased to know that the ship would be named after her.
- Cunard's historic ship, the Queen Mary, is now a floating hotel in Long Beach, California.
- Cunard has always figured prominently in the history of England. As of 2010, the cruise lines' three main vessels include the RMS Queen Mary, the MS Queen Victoria, and the MS Queen Elizabeth.
- The RMS Queen Mary entered service in 2004.
- Cunard features cruises from the US and Canada, event cruises, world voyages, grand voyages, transatlantic crossings, and Christmas cruises.
Cunard Cruises Travel Tips
- Cunard offers two types of cabins - suites or staterooms, either of which will determine where you will eat your evening meal.
- Britannia's standard staterooms provide inside ocean view and balcony accommodations for single or double occupancy. Amenities include a refrigerator, satellite TV, and minibar along with 24-hour room service and evening turndown service. Dining is provided in the main dining room, or the Britannia Restaurant, on all 3 of Cunard's ships. Dinner seating is available at 6:00 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. each night.
- The allure of voyaging on Queen Elizabeth is related to the ship's graceful appeal for cruise travelers. The ship provides guests with one-of-a-kind sailing experiences to Japan, Alaska, Australia, and East Asia.
- Cunard's World Voyage takes place over 108 nights, and begins and ends in Southampton, England. Travel is aboard Queen Victoria, which takes cruise travelers to over 30 iconic ports all across the world, including the city of Sydney. Cruise travelers can also visit the Far East and explore the sights on an adventure in Africa.
- While you won't find the same family-friendly amenities you see on Carnival or Disney ships, you will still participate in interesting and more traditional activities. Cruise-goers can get their heart pumping with games, such as paddle tennis or shuffleboard. You can also practice your golf game using a golf simulator. Relaxing poolside is always on Cunard's list of must-do activities.
- Although the cruise line offers plenty of entertainment for older adults, it does not leave out the kids. The cruise line features programs for the younger cruise passengers, 2 to 17 years old. Some of the activities include movies and arts and crafts in designated kid-friendly areas called the Kid Zone and Teen Zone.
- The ships feature complimentary child care in their night nursery, open from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. each day. The nursery provides care for children 6 months to 23 months of age.
- Cunard Insights represents a lecture program that features speakers from various fields, ranging from science to literature.
- Wine dinners, sommelier-led wine tastings, and wine-themed events are part of the offerings for onboard entertainment.
- Regular nighttime entertainment includes a mix of theater, dance, and live musicals.
- Formal themed galas are part of the nighttime offerings.
- Cunard's dining options range from casual buffets, which are featured during the day, to formal restaurant fare, offered in relation to a guest's chosen accommodation.
- Light snacks are provided in a casual atmosphere in the Lido Restaurant on Queen Victoria and Queen Mary.
- King's Court Eatery provides quick repasts for anyone sailing on the Queen Mary 2.
- The Queen's Room features afternoon teas. White-gloved waiters serve tea and scones supported by orchestral music.
Cunard Cruises Things To Do
- People who wish to experience an Old World cruise experience like to book journeys on Cunard. You will find many cruise-goers are 50 or older, and enjoy the traditional trappings and decor of each of Cunard's historic ships. However, that does not mean that Cunard does not appeal to families, as many young families sail during the summer months. People who are older or who are retired like the longer trips featured by the ocean cruise company. Because the ships lack the modern activities offered by mainstream competitors, ocean travelers, who book on Cunard, prefer a quiet and traditional type of voyage. Therefore, people sailing on Cunard are seeking a relaxing sailing experience and enriching intellectual programs and activities. Anyone who wishes to participate in a more active journey may be disappointed. In fact, gratuities are not included in the cruise fare, so tipping the service personnel and crew is a regular traditional activity. You tend to escape to an earlier time and place when you choose a cruise on a Cunard's vessel. Most programs onboard are directed to an older sailing clientele, made up of well-seasoned cruise travelers from the U.S., U.K., and various international locales. Cunard reminds travelers of its cruise history - of its famous guests, champagne toasts, and elegant dining, all of which make Cunard a special choice when embarking on any type of cruise journey.
Cunard Cruises Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the specialty dining options?
All 3 of Cunard's ships feature a steakhouse specialty restaurant that is not included in the price of your fare. Buffets are also featured on the 3 Cunard ships. The establishment is known as the Lido Restaurant on Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, and the King's Court on Queen Mary 2. Reservations for specialty dining can be made 3 months prior to your sail date through Cunard's Voyage Personalizer or by calling the Customer Contact Center and paying a cover charge.
- What is the cruise line’s dress code?
While shirts, shorts, and beachwear are suitable for daywear, anyone wearing the clothing after 6:00 p.m. will be asked to go to the King's Court or Lido Restaurant for dinner. When women dine in the more formal restaurants on board ship, they are expected to wear longer maxi skirts, tailored pantsuits, or cocktail dresses. Men should wear crew neck sweaters, shirts with a tie or an open collar, and sports blazers. For gala nights, men are typically expected to wear tuxedos and women should wear formal evening gowns. Some exceptions may prevail, especially, for instance, if the theme of the night is the ""Roaring Twenties.""
- What are some of the alternative dining venues featured onboard?
For an additional cost, you can choose alternative dining in one of a variety of themed restaurants. For example, the Steakhouse at the Verandah showcases tender prime ribs and seafood. You can also sample Mexican and Aztec cuisine at the King's Court or Lido Restaurant. Bamboo features Asian delicacies while La Piazza provides Italian specialties. The Smokehouse Restaurant offers menu selections that are inspired by the traditional American grill. Your taste buds will never get bored when you take a cruise trip on Cunard.
- How do you book or cancel an offshore excursion?
To book a Cunard offshore excursion, you can, about 12 weeks before sailing, reserve an excursion through Cunard's Voyage Personaliser. You can also make reservations to join an offshore excursion 3 days before your cruise's embarkation date. You will need to remit a payment upon booking the excursion. If you decide to cancel an offshore trip, cancel the reservation 7 days before the planned activity via Cunard's Voyage Personaliser.
- What is the Voyage Personaliser?
The Voyage Personaliser is made available through the portal, My Cunard, which assists you in preparing for your cruise holiday. Manage your travel details, book offshore excursions in advance, and add amenities to your journey on the platform. The ""My Cunard"" account portal can be accessed until you set sail. You need to log in with your cruise's booking number.
How It Works
Vacationing has never been easier or cheaper with the help of a dedicated travel consultant from AffordableTours.com
1. Free Quote
Find your perfect trip on our website and simply request a free quote. Need to speak to a live person? Call us 7 days a week at 1-800-627-3753. No robots here!
2. Dedicated Travel Consultant
Your personal travel consultant will reach out and be your point of contact for your entire travel experience from start to finish. Did we mention you'll be working with an award winning team? Sweet!
3. Lowest Price Guaranteed
Because we're one of the largest sellers of travel, we're able to give you a discount on your vacation package. No one beats our prices!
4. Stress Free Travel
Knowing you got the best deal, all that's left is for you to pack your bags and enjoy your vacation!",3540,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662552994.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523011006-20220523041006-00228.warc.gz,0.904381275177002
e17fded3-0dc4-428d-80ba-775ea6416563,2016-07-29T12:12:58+00:00,2014-01-16,1,http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-01/16/c_133050466.htm,"By Nguyen Thi Hang Ngan, Zhang Jianhua
HANOI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's investment in Vietnam has dramatically increased in both capital value and project numbers in 2013 thanks to the stability in the Vietnam-China bilateral relations, according to a respected expert here.
In an interview with Xinhua, Do Tien Sam, editor in chief of the China Research Journal published by the Institute for Chinese Studies in Vietnam Academy of Social Science, said that the political determination of the two countries' leaders to maintain stable and healthy bilateral relations has helped increase the confidence of Chinese private investors to boost their investment in Vietnam in 2013.
Quoting statistics from Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment, Sam said that China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam increased sharply in 2013, with 89 newly-licensed projects and putting more capital into existing 11 projects, bringing the total investment in 2013 to over 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, a remarkable increase from 371 million U.S. dollars in 2012.
Sam said that in 1991, China invested in only one project in Vietnam but at the end of 2013, China has 977 viable projects in Vietnam, accounting for almost 7 percent of total foreign investment in Vietnam.
""This is a remarkable achievement,"" said Sam, noting the huge increase in Chinese investment in Vietnam in 2013 was attributed to the signing of a project for the construction of a thermal power plant between China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd (CSG), China Power International Holding Limited (CPIH) and the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) in southern Vietnamese province of Binh Thuan.
Sam said he is optimistic that more Chinese investment would flow into the country despite challenges of global financial crisis, and slow economic recovery in the U.S., the European Union and Japan.
""I am confident that China's investment in Vietnam will remain high and stable in 2014,"" Sam said.
""The positive sign in bilateral economic relations resulted from right direction of carrying out reforms amid challenges in both Vietnam and China,"" said Sam, adding that while Vietnam focuses on restructuring public investments, state-owned enterprises and credit institution system, China stresses the importance of in-depth and comprehensive reforms.
Sam said that brighter opportunities are seen ahead for both countries particularly now that Vietnam is about to conclude its negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Vietnam expects more investment from Chinese companies in Vietnam to build support industries that would maximize benefits for the country when it joins the TPP, the expert said.
Sam said that Vietnam is eager to take advantage of advanced technologies and management expertise that Chinese companies bring to the country.
In an interview with Xinhua late last year, Vietnamese economic and financial expert Bui Kien Thanh said that Vietnam has still much to learn from China's state-of-the-art technologies along with its highly qualified human resources ""which Vietnam really needs in its economic development process.""
In the joint statement released after the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Vietnam in October 2013, the Vietnamese side agreed to support Chinese enterprises to invest in Vietnam and to facilitate the construction of Chinese-invested Long Giang industrial zone in southern Tien Giang province and the 800- hectare Shenzhen-Hai Phong economic and trade cooperation zone in northeastern Hai Phong port city. These two big projects are expected to further boost Vietnam-China trade relations.",697,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257830066.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071030-00185-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.945088267326355
1808732e-9f19-454c-a7e9-2eaea7473937,2013-05-21T10:27:38+00:00,2011-10-22,1,http://m.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1022/Saudi-crown-prince-dies-leaving-succession-uncertain,"The younger brother of King Abdullah was in his 80s, and there is no formal method to name a replacement from the sprawling royal family.
The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, died undergoing treatment for illness in New York. The death of the prince, who was in his 80s, opens questions about the succession in the critical, oil-rich U.S. ally.
Sultan was the younger half-brother of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who is has also been ailing and underwent back surgery last week.
The most likely candidate to replace Sultan as Abdullah's successor is Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces, who is said to be closer to Islamic conservatives than the king. The king gave Nayef — also his half-brother — the implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the second in line to the throne.
State TV announced that Sultan died abroad, without specifying where. Saudi official circles in Riyadh said he passed away at a hospital in New York. According to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from January 2010, Sultan had been receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2009.
Sultan, who was also deputy prime minister and defense minister, struggled with health issues for years, though officials never confirmed he had cancer. He underwent surgery in New York in 2009 and spent nearly a year abroad recuperating in the United States and at a palace in Agadir, Morocco, before returning to the kingdom.
Page 1 of 5",321,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.981482923030853
07c2d165-ee4e-4022-8ffa-859911ab251a,2022-05-20T07:51:50+00:00,2020-05-01,0,http://sites.nd.edu/entrepreneurlaw/author/pjenka/,"Link to recording of the presentation and my own discussion of my blog post: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19JzmE9A0UAt9cfTdzmuki58ZnR9_Rlhy/view?usp=sharing
Two facets of my background influenced my choice of topic. First, I come from a fairly entrepreneurial family. My dad built and ran two fairly successful companies in the healthcare sector. Second, when I was younger, we would often go on business trips abroad and would bring us with him on a pseudo-vacation – we would do our own thing while he worked and he would then join us for a week or so after his meetings had concluded. One of my favorite things to do was to observe differences between countries, especially in terms of businesses. Massive cultural differences were readily apparent. For example, generally, customer service in restaurants and grocery stores is much worse in Europe than in the United States and it is worst in large cities in France (not just Paris). With regard to our class, these experiences got me thinking: I wonder what the impact of different cultures is on overall levels of entrepreneurship. So, I started looking into measures of aggregate entrepreneurial activity around the world to see what patterns emerge across cultures and regions. This post summarizes those findings. Do higher aggregate levels of wealth resort in more or less entrepreneurial activity? What about the size of the government? Overall, there are 582 million entrepreneurs in the world, which means that about 1 in 15 people worldwide is an entrepreneur. Most of the data in this post comes from the most recent Global Entrepreneurship Management (GEM) report.
On a country to country basis, one interesting thing to look at is Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA). This is defined as “the proportion of adults who are actively engaged in starting or running new businesses in each economy.” In the Europe and North America region, the United States and Canada are clear leaders. Interestingly, while few countries around the world boast higher early entrepreneurial activity than the United States in Canada, a standout region is South and Latin America where seven countries, Colombia, Panama, Brazil, Guatemala, and especially Chile and Ecuador, and one US territory, Puerto Rico, easily surpass Canada and the United States in this measure. Outside of the South and Latin America region, only Madagascar and Armenia have higher rates of early entrepreneurial activity. These countries can also be grouped by income levels. Interestingly, the full spectrum of early-stage business activity emerges in each income group – low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Among high-income countries, Italy and Japan have among the lowest rates of early entrepreneurial activity while Chile, Colombia, and Panama have the highest. Among middle-income countries, Belarus and China are on the low end while Ecuador is at the high end. And among low-income countries, Pakistan and Egypt are on the low end while Madagascar is at the high end. Therefore, nationwide GDP levels don’t appear to be an absolute determinant of early business activity. GPD per capita is not significantly more helpful and also doesn’t evidence a clear trend. There is a cluster of countries with low GDP per capita levels and extremely high early entrepreneurship levels – these are the aforementioned South American nations plus Armenia and Madagascar. It would be interesting to know if, especially for the South American nations, this is a result of cultural norms.
Another interesting way to look at this is through established business ownership rates. These reveal a massive disparity between early entrepreneurial activity and established ownership rates in most of the countries analyzed in the GEM survey. These disparities are less pronounced in the European and North American (less Mexico) regions. By contrast, they are stunning in many of the South and Latin American countries we’ve been discussing. For example, while early business activity measures in at 13% in Mexico, but established business owners make up only 2% of the adult population. In Chile, 35% of the adult population is counted in the early stage entrepreneurial activity metric, but only 10% are counted in the established metric. By contrast, in the United States, which has one of the highest disparities between the two metrics in the Europe and North America regions (except for Mexico), early activity is at about 17% while established activity is at about 11%. As the GEM report points out, established ownership rates are a good indicator of the health of entrepreneurship in each nation. The large disparities in nations like Mexico may indicate that, while it is easy to start a business, it is difficult to make that business into an established one. At the same time, it is likely that a fairly substantial failure rate for new businesses is healthy from a macro perspective because it shows a healthy level of competition that, in turn, results in poor businesses failing at an appropriate rate. However, the large disparities between the two metrics in some countries may indicate that their economies are poorly suited to enable new businesses to fully mature.
Another interesting metric to look at is the Global Entrepreneurship Index, which, per its creator organization, The Global Entrepreneurship Development Institute, “collects data on the entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities, and aspirations of the local population and then weights these against the prevailing social and economic ‘infrastructure’ – this includes aspects such as broadband connectivity and the transport links to external markets.” The United States tops this metric, indicating that it is the most entrepreneurship-friendly nation. This comports with the “Nation of Opportunity” image of the United States that people around the world have. The other nations in the top 10 include Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, and France. Interestingly, the difference between the United States, with an index of 83.6, and number 10 France, with an index of 68.5, is already fairly substantial. By contrast, the last ten nations in the top 100 include two of the South American countries previously discussed, Brazil and Ecuador, both with an index of about 20. Therefore, this index may explain, in part, the disparity between early and established entrepreneurial activity discussed above – it’s possible that the environment in the countries with high disparities between the two metrics is simply not conducive to mature entrepreneurial activity.
The implications of these metrics can be substantial on a country-specific basis. Small businesses account for large amounts of GDP, economic growth, and employment in many countries. In the United States, in 2015, small business employment made up a staggering 45% of total private employment. They were also responsible for 32.9% of the US export income and accounted for 63.3% of new jobs from 1992 to 2013. Therefore, entrepreneurship can be incredibly important for the economy of a nation insofar as it results in the creation of small businesses. Moreover, entrepreneurship can have incredible benefits for the entrepreneurs themselves. The statistics are stunning: 54% of entrepreneurs say they make more money now, 68% say they have better work-life balance, and a staggering 97% of people who make the switch to being self-employed and starting their own businesses say they would never go back to traditional employment. So the implications of a nation’s ability to promote new and lasting entrepreneurial activity can result in tremendous benefits to individuals as well as the nation as a whole.
Some questions to consider:
- To what extent do cultural differences result in differences in levels of entrepreneurial activity?
- To what extent do income levels influence levels of entrepreneurial activity?
- What effect can the size and involvement of the government or overall tax burden have on levels of entrepreneurial activity?
- What explains the very high levels of entrepreneurial activity in several South American countries? Is the infrastructure and relative lack of society-wide support responsible for the massive disparities in these countries between early entrepreneurial activity and established entrepreneurial activity?
GEM Global Report – https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/gem-2019-2020-global-report",1628,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00022.warc.gz,0.950701355934143
c034f19a-870b-4a7c-b081-a870ecba827f,2022-05-16T08:25:50+00:00,2022-08-31,0,https://community.goodgamestudios.com/empire/en/discussion/339189/september-update-feature-teasers,"We need new Moderators!
We are always on the lookout for talented people to join the team. That means you! If you think you could help us organise and inform the community while entertaining everyone then apply. We need people to help out on the forum, behind the scenes with announcements, on Discord and on our other Social Media channels.
If this is something you think might be of interest to you, HERE
September Update - Feature teasers
It is almost September which means, another month and another update with a lot of cool stuff to come! But hold your horses, let us start slowly. As you know, we will publish parts of the new content one by one over the next couple of weeks until the release of the update. So, without further ado...
Increase equipment storage! (yes, again)We previously mentioned to you that we were aiming to increase equipment storage with our next update. We know it’s something you have all been asking for a lot and you would like to see more space in equipment storage as soon as possible. Well, and now the part we didn’t just copy & paste from our previous patchnotes: We are happy to announce, that we will increase the equipment storage from 160 to 320 with the upcoming update! We think this is a good value to start with and gives you plenty of room for your old and new equipment.
Battle Report Improvements
If you want to prevail in an alliance war you need to be at least one step ahead of your enemies. This can only be done with proper organisation. Co-ordination can be really tricky since not every piece of info is shown at the first glimpse in the battle report. Gathering all that info can be a pain in the emperor’s royal rump. But there is a way…
With this update we have made the organisation way easier for you.
The handling will be improved and the frustration decreased! YES! Go away you silly frustration!
You can now easily see where and when a battle took place!
Date, time and coordinates have been added to the upper left corner of your battle report!
Your alliance will stand tall after each war, if you use these changes wisely!
More content for this update will be revealed throughout this month, stay tuned!
You can discuss the update HERE
Your Empire Family Team",478,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510097.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516073101-20220516103101-00225.warc.gz,0.94720458984375
d192dffc-99ae-4217-b288-632cc8bf13da,2020-10-24T01:04:07+00:00,2017-12-31,1,https://www.esticastresearch.com/media-release/industrial-protective-footwear-market/,"Industrial Protective Footwear Market Revenue Will Reach 7.01 Billion By 2024, Says Esticast Research and Consulting
ABOUT THIS REPORT
new report guarantee
The market report will provide latest insights, estimates, and market development. Moreover, we guarantee a latest report refreshed with latest progresses. The report will an all-inclusive evaluation of the market across all segments, regions, and counties.
As per the report “Industrial Protective \ Safety Footwear Market By Type (Waterproof, Leather, Rubber, Rubber, Plastic Footwear and Others), By Application (Manufacturing, Construction, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Chemicals, Food, Pharmaceuticals, Mining, Transportation ), Industry trends, estimation & forecast, 2015 – 2024“, Industrial Protective Footwear Market was valued at $3.93 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $7.01 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2017 to 2024.
In 2016, the leather type protective footwear market generated the highest revenue share in the global industrial protective footwear. Among major regions, the North American market was the highest revenue generating market which was valued at $1.206 billion in 2016.
“Increasing population, businesses and power requirements have led to the rapid growth of construction, automobile and manufacturing industries. For the sake of health and safety concerns of workers, stringent safety standards have been set by the authorities, giving a hike to the growth of industrial protective footwear market. Highly populated and emerging countries like China and India will witness a tremendous growth in terms of protective footwear market.”
Files are delivered directly into your account within a few minutes of purchase.
Although the global industrial protective footwear market was led by the leather type footwear segment generating a revenue of $3.45 billion, the highest growth is witnessed by the Plastic based protective footwear with a CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period. This is because of the high resistance against low temperature, crack, UV radiation, and waterproof nature of plastic composites. Leather is less heat resistant and wears & tear resistant as compared to plastic based materials, which are much durable and flexible.
To know more about the report, visit at https://www.esticastresearch.com/report/industrial-protective-footwear-market
By application, Construction industry protective footwear market, hold more than 35% market of the global industrial protective footwear market and growing with a CAGR of 6.4% throughout the forecast period
The global construction industry is rapidly growing with the increasing requirement of buildings and structures. For the smooth running, construction industry requires equipment to prevent possible hazards associated with workplaces such as falling objects and moving machines. Usage of protective shoes reduces serious impact from falling objects and cut by sharp objects.
The construction industry footwear market garnered $1.426 billion in 2016. However, the Oil and Gas industry footwear market is supposed to witness the highest CAGR of 8.7% throughout the forecast period as a result of the steep growth of E&P industries, influenced by the increasing energy demand.
why buy this report?
The report will provide deep analysis of historic data, qualitative insights, product benchmarking, and premium market forecast.
Industrial Protective Footwear Market Key Insights
• North America leads the protective footwear market in 2016, generating a revenue of $1.13 in 2016
• Construction industry protective footwear segment leads the market, generating a revenue of $1.426 billion in 2016 having a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period.
• Leather based industrial protective footwear segment lead the market, generating a revenue of $3.45 billion in 2016 and growing with a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period.
• Plastic based protective footwear market will witness the highest CAGR of 9.6% throughout the forecast period.
• Europe is supposed to witness the highest CAGR of 9% during the forecast period.
The report features a competitive scenario of the global industrial protective footwear market and provides a comprehensive analysis of key growth strategies adopted by major players. Some of the key market players operating in the industry are Honeywell Safety Products, Oftenrich Holdings Co. Ltd., COFRA Holding AG, Saina Corporation Co. Ltd., Jal Group, ELTEN GmbH ,UVEX Safety Group, VF Corporation, Rock Fall Ltd.",901,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00268.warc.gz,0.929341197013855
66d35c3b-6c91-4342-b1e8-d915d5e3dbb3,2022-05-21T18:48:42+00:00,2018-03-27,1,https://www.techcentury.com/2018/03/27/esperion-gets-positive-results-in-another-study-of-cholesterol-buster/,"ANN ARBOR — Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ESPR), the Ann Arbor company developing new treatments for high cholesterol, announced positive rsults from a Phase 2 clinical study of its drug candidate, bempedoic acid, in reducing the amount of LDL-C, the so-called bad cholesterol, in the blood of test subjects.
Investors cheered the news, sending Esperion stock up $6.45 a share, up 9 percent, to $78.24 a share in early trading Tuesday.
The test evaluated bempedoic acid added on to another drug called a BPSK9 inhibitor. The test group included 58 patients with high cholesterol.
The eight-week study met its primary endpoint with additional LDL-C lowering totaling 30 percent. The LDL-C lowering for the bempedoic acid group was 27 percent from baseline, as compared to an increase of three percent for the placebo group. Patients treated with bempedoic acid also achieved a significantly greater reduction of 34 percent in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), an important marker of the underlying inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease, compared to the placebo group which had a reduction of 2 percent.
“Bempedoic acid has previously demonstrated the ability to complement currently available standard-of-care oral LDL-C lowering therapies, and the results of this Phase 2 study show that bempedoic acid can also be safely and effectively used in patients who require additional LDL-C lowering despite taking an injectable PCSK9 inhibitor,” said Tim M. Mayleben, president and chief executive officer of Esperion. “These Phase 2 results provide consistent evidence and further support that bempedoic acid is poised to become the broadly accessible, complementary, once-daily, oral LDL-C lowering therapy that is appealing to patients, physicians and payers.”
In this study, bempedoic acid was observed to be safe and well-tolerated. There were essentially no differences in the occurrence of adverse events between the bempedoic acid and placebo groups, serious adverse events or muscle-related adverse events. There were no discontinuations due to adverse events. No patients in either group had elevations in liver function tests (ALT/AST) of greater than three times the upper limit of normal, repeated and confirmed.
The total number of patients now treated with bempedoic acid in completed Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials is 947. Of these, six patients (0.63 percent) had elevations in liver function tests. This rate of elevations in liver function tests is consistent with the rate observed in previous clinical trials and with all other previously approved oral LDL-C-lowering therapies, including statins and ezetimibe.
To listen to a replay of a conference call discussing these results, visit http://investor.esperion.com.
Esperion initiated its global, pivotal, Phase 3 clinical development program in January 2016 to evaluate the safety, tolerability and consistent, complementary LDL-C-lowering efficacy of bempedoic acid and the bempedoic acid / ezetimibe combination pill in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), or who are at a high risk for ASCVD, with hypercholesterolemia who continue to have elevated levels of LDL-C despite the use of maximally-tolerated statins and ezetimibe, leaving them at high risk for cardiovascular events. The program includes five studies in approximately 4,000 patients, four for bempedoic acid and one for the bempedoic acid / ezetimibe combination pill.
Esperion plans to submit New Drug Applications (NDAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bempedoic acid and the bempedoic acid / ezetimibe combination pill for LDL-C-lowering indications by the first quarter of 2019. Additionally, Esperion plans to submit Marketing Authorization Applications (MAAs) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) by the second quarter of 2019.
High levels of LDL-C can lead to a build-up of fat and cholesterol in and on artery walls (known as atherosclerosis), potentially leading to cardiovascular events, including heart attack or stroke. In the U.S., 78 million people, or more than 20 percent of the population, have elevated LDL-C; an additional 73 million people in Europe and 30 million people in Japan also live with elevated LDL-C. There are approximately 13 million people in the U.S. with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) who live with elevated levels of LDL-C despite taking maximally-tolerated lipid-modifying therapy — including individuals considered statin intolerant — leaving them at high risk for cardiovascular events. The vast majority of these patients, 9.5 million, require less than 30 percent additional LDL-C lowering to achieve treatment goals.
Esperion’s mission is to deliver once-daily, oral therapies that complement existing oral drugs to provide the additional LDL-C lowering that these patients need.",1073,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662540268.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521174536-20220521204536-00227.warc.gz,0.933459043502808
84aefa5c-6f73-4c45-ac35-d4346a239540,2019-08-19T03:27:07+00:00,2019-08-19,0,https://www.dynoptic.com/download-brochure/?product=tsl-ambient,"Please select which product you are interested in and complete your details below to download your digital product brochure.
Request a quote…
If you would like a quote for any of our products or services please click below and leave your details.
DSL-340 MkIII – unique double pass DDP dust monitor for measuring large diameter particulate density (mg/m³) in cement, steel and wood processes.
DSL-230M - Lloyds Type Approved smoke density monitor for measuring smoke and particulate emissions (mg/m³) in marine boiler and diesel engine exhaust gases.
DSL-220 MkIII – traditional single pass opacity monitor for measuring visible opacity (0 – 100 %) in combustion and air filtration processes.",156,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314641.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819032136-20190819054136-00370.warc.gz,0.8831427693367
8a838ef3-61e5-4659-ae8d-e0d3d9220bae,2018-08-20T07:29:51+00:00,2018-08-20,0,https://capturehighered.com/,"Does your enrollment prediction method stand up to the challenge? Take the FREE Envision Challenge and see how Capture’s predictive engine compares.
Higher ed's premier tool for marketing automation, bringing B2C tech to graduate & professional studies enrollment.
Measuring Clicks, Emotions, and Brain Waves: Student Recruitment Keeps Evolving
Wonder what we think about every day? From enrollment management and predictions to marketing, check out the latest insights from the Capture blog.",98,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215858.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820062343-20180820082343-00216.warc.gz,0.85799515247345
b922cb67-717a-4239-91dc-688c9d7eb2e5,2016-07-29T17:53:48+00:00,2007-08-28,0,http://www.absolutcheats.com/xbox360/tiger-woods-pga-tour-08-cheats,"Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 Cheats - Xbox 360
Primary Collection of Cheats
Go to ""EA Sports Extras"" > ""Passwords"" screen and enter one of the following CASE-SENSITIVE codes for the desired result:
greensfees - Unlock all courses
CLEVELAND - Cleveland Golf-related items unlocked
ALLSTARS - Unlock all golfers
GUYSAREGOOD - Precept-related items unlocked
INTHEGAME - EA-related items unlocked
JANNARD - Oakley-related items unlocked
JLINDBERG - J. Lindberg-related items unlocked
JUSTDOIT - Nike-related items unlocked
JUSTSHAFTS - Grafalloy-related items unlocked
LIGHTNING - PGA Tour-related items unlocked
MACTEC - MacGergor-related items unlocked
MRADAMS - Taylormade-related items unlocked
NOTJUSTTIRES - Bridgestone-related items unlocked
RIHACHINRIZO - Mizuno-related items unlocked
SHOJIRO - Bridgestone-related items unlocked
SNAKEKING - Cobra-related items unlocked
SOLHEIM - Ping-related items unlocked
TENGALLONHAT - Members of crowd have big heads
THREESTRIPES - Buick-related items unlocked
CREAM - Unlimited Money
PLAYFIFA08 - Unlock Wayne Rooney
Complete each achievement to get the allotted gamerscore:
Ace Seeker (30) - Make a Hole in One.
Afraid of the Dark (20) - Land the ball inches from the hole.
All in the Family (35) - Complete a full 18 Hole round of each Traditional game mode using the same Original Golfer.
Anchor Man (10) - Create and Play a 4-player Online Match.
Big Spender (15) - Spend $5000 at the Pro Shop.
Bomb Away! (30) - Drive your tee shot more than 350 yards.
Buick Clubhouse Ambassador (25) - Beat Erika Von Severin in Tiger Challenge.
Buick Clubhouse Member (10) - Beat Danny Wheeler in Tiger Challenge.
Collector (20) - Buy 25 items at the Pro Shop.
EA SPORTS™ GamerNet 1000 (35) - Obtain 1000 Producer Points on EA SPORTS™ GamerNet.
EA SPORTS™ GamerNet 5000 (75) - Obtain 5000 Producer Points on EA SPORTS™ GamerNet.
Egg on the Dance Floor (20) - Successfully putt 75ft or more without using the putt preview line.
FedEx Delivery (75) - Win the FedExCup.
Gold Card Membership (75) - Complete 100% Tiger Challenge Gold.
In the Hunt (30) - Rank in the top 5 of any offline tournament.
In The Zone (50) - Win any offline tournament.
King of the Jungle (75) - Beat Tiger in Tiger Challenge.
Major General (75) - Win all 4 Majors.
Mini-Golf (20) - Complete each Mini game using the same Original Golfer.
Old School (20) - Play an entire round offline using the 3-Click feature.
On Fire (30) - Finish a round with a score of -10 on TOUR PRO using an Original Golfer.
Pole Dancer (20) - Hit the flag pole.
Reality Star (35) - Play and beat a challenge in each of the Free Style, Long Drive, 9 and 18 Hole Showdown channels.
Scrambler (20) - Rank in the top 10 of any offline tournament.
Tiger Coin-Op (20) - Complete a full 18 Hole round of each Arcade game mode using the same Original Golfer.
Viva Las Villegas! (20) - Beat Villegas in Tiger Challenge.
Weekend Warrior (30) - Complete 100% Tiger Challenge Bronze.
XX (10) - Create a female golfer using Photo Game Face.
XY (10) - Create a male golfer using Photo Game Face.
You Da Man! (50) - Complete 100% Tiger Challenge Silver.
Zapper (10) - Post in each of the Free Style, Long Drive, 9 Hole Showdown, and 18 Hole Showdown channels.",897,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00194-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.684103429317474
b82f7562-5b8c-4715-97e1-d527308aa5ef,2019-08-19T00:33:29+00:00,2018-03-19,1,https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mississippi-governor-phil-bryant-signs-bill-imposing-nations-toughest-15-week-abortion-ban/,"JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi's governor has signed theinto law Monday -- and was slapped with a lawsuit less than an hour later. The law and responding challenge set up a confrontation sought by abortion opponents, who are hoping federal courts will ultimately prohibit abortions before a fetus is viable. Current federal law does not.
Some legal experts have said a change in the law is unlikely unless the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court changes in a way that favors abortion opponents.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill 1510, which bans most abortions after 15 weeks of gestation, on Monday in a closed ceremony attended by legislative supporters and abortion opponents.
""We are saving more of the unborn than any state in America and what better thing can we do?"" Bryant said in a video his office posted on social media.
The law's only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it ""incompatible with life"" outside of the womb at full term, or if a pregnant woman's life or a ""major bodily function"" is threatened by pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape and incest aren't exempted.
Mississippi previously tied with North Carolina for the nation's strictest abortion limits at 20 weeks. Both states count pregnancy as beginning on the first day of a woman's previous menstrual period. That means the restrictions kick in about two weeks before those of states whose 20-week bans begin at conception.
""We'll probably be sued in about half an hour,"" Bryant said to laughter from supporters as he signed the bill. ""That'll be fine with me. It'll be worth fighting over.""
Bryant's prediction was accurate. The state's only abortion clinic and one of the physicians who practices there sued in federal court within an hour, arguing the law violates other federal court rulings saying a state can't restrict abortion before a child can survive on its own outside the womb.
The Jackson Women's Health Organization, in a lawsuit handled by the Center of Reproductive Rights, argued the measure is unconstitutional and should immediately be struck down.
""Under decades of United States Supreme Court precedent, the state of Mississippi cannot ban abortion prior to viability, regardless of what exceptions are provided to the ban,"" the suit states.
The suit says the clinic performed 78 abortions in 2017 when the fetus was identified as being 15 weeks or older. That's out of about 2,500 abortions performed statewide, mostly at the clinic.
""Politicians are not above the rule of law, and we are confident this dangerous bill will be struck down like every similar attempt before it,"" said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights.
""We certainly think this bill is unconstitutional,"" said Katherine Klein, equality advocacy coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi. ""The 15-week marker has no bearing in science. It's just completely unfounded and a court has never upheld anything under the 20-week viability marker.""
House Speaker Philip Gunn, who was present for Bryant's private signing ceremony, told The Associated Press he is proud Mississippi is taking steps to protect ""the most vulnerable of human life:"" the unborn.
""The winners (today) are those babies that are in the womb, first and foremost,"" Gunn said. ""Those are the ones we're trying to protect.""
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said in an email to the AP that HB 1510 is a major step toward accomplishing the state's goal to protect the lives of the unborn, adding that he is committed to making the state ""the safest place in America for an unborn child.""
When asked if the state is prepared to bear the cost of a lawsuit, Gunn said, ""Absolutely.""
""I don't know if you can put any value on human life,"" Gunn said. ""We are all about fighting to protect the unborn. Whatever challenges we have to take on to do that, is something we're willing to do.""
The bill was drafted with the assistance of conservative groups including the Mississippi Center for Public Policy and the Alliance Defending Freedom.
""We're thrilled that Mississippi lawmakers are taking a step to protect the basic right to life, as well as protecting maternal health,"" said Jameson Taylor, acting president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
Both Republican-controlled chambers passed the bill overwhelmingly in early March, by a vote of 35-14 in the Senate and 76-34 in the House.
The U.S. Senate failed to pass a 20-week abortion ban bill in January. With 60 ""yes"" votes required to advance, the bill failed on a 51-46 vote.",943,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314353.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818231019-20190819013019-00484.warc.gz,0.9684037566185
c05f878a-c234-42b2-acad-df4a058279d7,2015-04-01T05:53:35+00:00,2013-07-13,1,http://www.vancouversun.com/news/100years/Pete+McMartin+return+Interurban+rail+system+with+video/8673870/story.html,"On Feb. 28, 1958, rail car #1225 of the B.C. Electric Rail left Steveston and pulled into the Marpole station at 1:30 a.m.
An era, and a piece of the Fraser Valley’s history, ended with that trip. The Interurban — the beloved web of track and tram cars that connected Vancouver to Chilliwack and points in between — had made its last run. The reign of rail had ended: The Age of the Car had begun.
But a group of volunteers, backed by a consortium that includes the City of Surrey, BC Hydro and Southern Rail of B.C., have brought a working portion of the old Interurban back, complete with rail car #1225, now 100 years old.
The result is, in a word, spectacular.
The 7.4-kilometre track is on an original portion of the Interurban line, from 176A Street near Highway 10 in Cloverdale to the intersection of 64th Avenue and 152nd Street, in the old Surrey neighbourhood of Sullivan. It runs through some of Surrey’s busiest areas to some of its most bucolic. And at each terminus are working copies of the Cloverdale and Sullivan rail stations, built from historical records to be exact replicas of the originals (with some modern touches added, like wheelchair accessibility).
And rail car #1255, rescued from the Orange Empire Railway Museum, in Perris, Calif., where it had languished for years, has been restored to pristine condition, with its original bright red and buttermilk colour scheme. The restoration took four years and 20,000 man-hours, all of them volunteer.
The line, dedicated in late June, opened for business two weekends ago, and in four working days has already carried more than 1,000 passengers. It operates only on Saturdays and Sundays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and the round trip — $10 for adults and $5 for children — takes just under an hour. It travels at a stately 25 km/h.
“The old rail cars,” said Henry Ewert, a local historian who’s written four books on the Interurban, “could go 80 km/h easily, and often did.
“The first Interurbans began in 1891, between Vancouver and New Westminster, and the line out to Chilliwack began in 1910. That line was the first, real transit option open to people then, and the building of the line in 1910 absolutely opened up the Fraser Valley. For the first time, people could take day trips, visit between city and country, buy property. It was an integral part of the development of the valley. It was phenomenal.”
Ewert himself remembers riding the Interurban in the 1940s with his parents, going from Mount Pleasant to Chilliwack to visit his Mennonite relatives. The 120-kilometre trip would take just over three hours, with the windows of the tram car wide open and the countryside rolling by. They’d stop at stations with names like Warwhoop, Bradner, Dennison, Evans Thomas, Sardis.
“You’d cross the bridge at New Westminster — which was a big deal even then — and you’d climb up Scott Road, and after Newton, you were gone, you were out in the valley. Oh, it was wonderful. Suddenly, you’d see Mount Baker, and for a boy living in Mount Pleasant, it was like climbing a stairway to heaven.”
At its height, the BCER operated 500 streetcars and 73 Interurban cars on almost 500 kilometres of track. During the war years, when rationing made driving difficult, the BCER carried over 140 million passengers annually. (In 1945, its peak year, the BCER carried 144.4 million passengers, and carried 833,000 tonnes of freight to boot. As comparison, the entire SkyTrain system in 2010, the Olympic year, carried 117.4 million passengers.)
With the war’s end, the long decline of electric rail began. But the fondness for the BCER survived, and in 1996, the Surrey Heritage Advisory Commission came up with the idea of the possible restoration of part of the line.
Following a four-year feasibility study, the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society was formed. The society acquired two Interurban cars — the aforementioned BCER #1225, and BCER #1304, an original Chilliwack rail car the society found in the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Glenwood, Ore. (The society has since acquired a third tram, a BCER streetcar which was last doing active duty in Lisbon, Portugal.) When BCER #1304 is restored, there are plans to incrementally expand the rail line west to Newton, Kennedy and Scott Road, where it will link up to the SkyTrain station there. The society hopes to be at Scott Road in five to six years, with both cars and three more stations operating on the line.
“The value of this project,” said Allen Aubert, secretary of the society and chair of the original feasibility study, “is about $7.5 million in cash donations, volunteer work and in kind services. I would say there’s probably in excess of 250 corporate and individual donors, a core group of about 50 to 60 volunteers and a membership of 380.”
Riding the existing line is, simply, a delight. The interior of BCER #1225 is pristine, with the leaf green painted interior contrasting with the bright yellow replicas of the original BCER rattan benches (with imported Indonesian rattan woven in a “railway” weave). There is dark wood and bright brass fixtures throughout, and the wood windows open to let in the breeze. The car even has a “smoking area” — with wood benches and inlaid match strikes — and original advertisements overhead. (“Burnett’s Vanilla,” “Rest-Arch Shoes For Women,” “HomeKraft Bread.”)
And when it moves down the track, you can hear not only the sound of the rails but the creak and groan of wood. It is sweetly pleasant, with something organic about it, if that’s the right word. It’s moving, this moving bit of history, a remembrance of a slower time.
Aubert was asked if people ever ask him why we readily gave up something so pleasant.
“Oh,” he said, “we get that. We get that all the time.”
The biggest sale of the year, on now! Find almost $4 million worth of items such as cars, trips, furniture, gift cards and more at discounts of up to 50% off. Don't miss out as savvy shoppers will move fast to take advantage of these deep discounts. Sale ends Wednesday, April 1, at 9 p.m. Like it? Buy it before its gone. Brought to you by The Vancouver Sun and The Province.",1479,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00084-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959865272045136
a1bba199-0432-444d-8861-474eb1f6cd61,2022-05-27T18:58:06+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://www.bobcatarmament.com/components/rifle-caliber-bullets/375-cal-375/,"- Reloading Equipment
- Pistol Caliber Bullets
- Rifle Caliber Bullets
- Smokeless Powder
- Black Powder Substitute & Pellets
While these products are not currently listed on our website, we do stock them. Please contact us for current availability. You can start a text conversation with us by using the icon at the lower right hand corner of the screen....",107,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00413.warc.gz,0.846373975276947
494e9808-d1dd-4652-ac53-b7f3d98ac02a,2022-05-25T03:06:00+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://www.potterybarnkids.ca/shop/baby-all/baby-bedding/?cm_re=hpbanner6_kid-_-default-_-baby-bedding,"Order Nursery Bedding Online at Pottery Barn Kids
Designing a nursery is about creating a comfortable space for your child to play and rest. As all parents know, ensuring that your child gets a good night of sleep is also vital. New nursery bedding from Pottery Barn Kids can help. Use this guide to learn more about the bedding we've got available online and in our retail stores today.
What Nursery Bedding Can I Buy Online?
Your nursery should be a fun, kid-friendly place that you and your young children love spending time in. Better bedding can make your nursery a little more appealing. It may even help your kids fall asleep faster and rest comfortably through the night. Here are some of the new nursery bedding pieces available online right now:
- Crib and bassinet sheets. Outfit your child's crib or bassinet with neutral, colourful or patterned sheets from Pottery Barn Kids. Bright white, neutral taupe and cream and special styles from Disney and Harry Potter™ look great in every child's room.
- Wearable blankets. Wrap your child up in a ready-to-go swaddle that's perfect for bedtime or naptime. Wearable blankets are safe and machine washable, so you'll end using yours every night. Top brands like Halo® are ready to be shipped out today.
- Baby quilts. Your child may not be able to sleep with a blanket through the night safely, but they can still cozy up or nap in your arms with one. Give your child that extra comfort with one of our adorable designs. We've got warm fleece designs, classic cotton blankets and personalized styles in stock now.
Shop Pottery Barn Kids online today to see the nursery bedding we've got in our current lineup. From simple styles to bold, colourful prints and patterns, we've got nursery bedding for every single space. We've also got lots of nursery furniture including convertible cribs, dressers, nightstands and changing tables if you need to update some of the bigger pieces in your child's nursery.",431,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662578939.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525023952-20220525053952-00414.warc.gz,0.921887397766113
2457671e-8367-4898-80f4-06724a7739df,2022-05-23T20:29:13+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://preview.reviewjournal.com/contact-us/,"ReviewJournal.com is the website for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Review-Journal is Nevada’s largest newspaper, which serves all of Southern Nevada and publishes daily.
Customer Service: Home Delivery
Customer Service Hours: Monday – Friday 6:00am – 5pm, Saturday – Sunday & Holidays 7:00am – 10:30am
Las Vegas Review-Journal
1111 W. Bonanza Road
Las Vegas, NV 89106
P.O. Box 70
Las Vegas, NV 89125
• Visit the Review-Journal Advertising website for all advertising information and contact information
Can I get a tour?
You can tour the Las Vegas Review-Journal by filling out the form here.",181,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00401.warc.gz,0.756375253200531
9333c9c9-a723-4814-a234-796ba0b4f559,2022-05-17T18:24:20+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://beautybysian.co.uk/looking-best-wedding-day,"*This is a contributed post*
There are many circumstances in which one desires to look their best. The very top level of this is likely your wedding, where you hope to be the most beautiful version of yourself by far. What makes you beautiful is personal to you. It could be you have a symmetrical face, beautiful, glowing eyes, beautiful long hair or you simply have confidence in yourself (arguably the most important thing we’ve listed.) A guide to wedding beauty is always in the nature of a massively subjective offering of advice, as what works for you might not work for another.
However, there are many tips that can span universally for anyone hoping to get married. The wedding preparation requires to take a mindful approach to everything on your task list, so why not include your wedding beauty along with this?
If you hope to feel your best and look your best, the following methods might help you:
Remember, it’s not just yourself, your groom or bride, and the guests you hope to look beautiful for. You will likely be referring to these photos for some time in the future. It’s best that you feel confident when posing for them. How better to achieve this than to pull a radiant smile? A genuine smile is the most attractive feature of anyone’s face, so it pays to let it work for you.
Now, there’s no need to practice your smile in the mirror a thousand times beforehand, as genuine feelings mean the most when these pictures are taken. However, using a teeth whitening kit or even having some work done (if only you deem necessary) can ensure you beam ear to ear without self-consciousness and insecurity. After all, why spend so much effort looking your best and not cater to the little things? Sometimes, simply using strong whitening toothpaste and flossing can help you resolve issues, providing they are taken care of weeks before the big day.
With this taken care of, you can be sure that the pictures from your pocketfold wedding invitations, your centrepiece, your edible photograph on the wedding cake, and the pictures you leaf through for the next decades are all contributing to the same result – you feeling wonderful about yourself and your spouse.
Everyone’s hair is different. It might be fun to experiment to a degree! While you’ve likely already an idea of who you’d enjoy doing your hair on the big day, it doesn’t pay to have a completely new style attempted in the morning. A fresh color might look wonderful, but it’s best to have this done at least a few days prior.
Also, practice the hairstyle, and try to figure out how long it will take in the morning. It might be difficult to learn in the morning that your top braided knot doesn’t look as good as you thought it would, or that your hair isn’t thick enough to pull it off. Knowing this in advance can help you make more appropriate decisions. If using extensions, purchase at least one spare just in case you lose out or miss out on the product. If getting married on a Sunday, finding a specialist replacement could be difficult. Also, try to ‘play it safe’ to an extent. Experimenting with a new dye, or too many dyes this close to the event could potentially ruin your hair, and leave you in need of reparative work.
The goal of looking beautiful at a wedding isn’t to look like someone perfect or someone you’d like to, but the most gorgeous and radiant version of you. With the right people at your side, and the right wisdom, you’ll be blown away when you look in the mirror – and quite rightly!",780,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662519037.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517162558-20220517192558-00227.warc.gz,0.950613021850586
18407658-74b4-4b85-9ff9-b2ebcdc36972,2013-05-18T17:17:45+00:00,2012-06-06,0,http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/announcements/deaths/deaths/9744459.Vera_Francklin/,"When It Happens Panel Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting 'OXFORD NEWS' to 80360 or email
- Search notices
Published in the Herald Series on 6 June 12
FRANCKLIN Vera Our dear friend Vera Francklin passed away this week. During her long life she made many friends here in Grove and in Verden, Germany. She will be sadly missed by her close friends, Margaret Denton, Don and Joan Titmuss, and Dennis and Irene Pullinger. May she now rest in peace.
There are no messages for this notice.
Leave a message
Log in with
There are no candles for this notice.
Light a candle
Fields marked with * are mandatory.
Remember you are personally responsible for what you post on this site and must abide by our site terms. Do not post anything that is false, abusive or malicious. If you wish to complain about a particular message, please use the 'report this post' link.",209,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.885024547576904
8d681a67-63b7-4325-ab4e-acf5b15b7c27,2017-08-20T04:13:07+00:00,2011-02-14,0,http://canilivebmx.blogspot.com/2011/02/wait-is-over-marvel-vs-capcom-3-on-ps3.html,"MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3 PARTY @ Gramercy Theatre NYC
Stream URL: http://justin.tv/rawgameplay
Time:Stream Starts @ 8:00PM
They are also at Radio Star @ 3 west 35th street, between 5th and 6th ave in Manhattan. Hopefully, my inside man can hook us up with some pix ;-) Nah Meansky
Meow!!! Check out this trailer and pick a copy up ma!",96,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105970.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820034343-20170820054343-00626.warc.gz,0.87378317117691
6b7e50b3-7b97-4c0a-8bb5-73a62ed5c36b,2016-07-23T09:11:52+00:00,2016-07-16,1,http://www.etf.com/sections/features/9490-calif-firm-wealthfront-files-to-offer-etfs.html,"Yet another firm, California-based Wealthfront, seeks to join the ETF juggernaut.
Wealthfront, a collection of Palo Alto, Calif.-based firms in the money management business, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to gain regulatory permission to market actively managed ETFs focused on equity and fixed income.
The company said it hopes to one day launch equity and fixed-income funds, or funds that combine the two asset classes and that focus on U.S. as well as international securities. It said the first of its funds is likely to be a foreign equity fund that seeks long-term capital growth.
The company’s so-called exemptive relief filing is the latest to be filed at the SEC, and the second one in a week. Last week, Maine-based Forum Investment Advisors filed to gain permission to offer actively managed ETFs, the first one a fund focused largely on fixed-income securities.
Exemptive relief filings grant ETF firms exception to sections of the Investment Act of 1940 and are just the first step in the path to launching ETFs. It often takes at least six to 12 months from the date of the initial filing for a company’s first ETF to hit the market.
The applicants listed on the Wealthfront filing include Wealthfront Inc., the advisor; Wealthfront Brokerage Corp; and Wealthfront ETF Trust.",282,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00027-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.938128709793091
a982f7e8-761b-4a75-8feb-645c11012ab6,2022-05-24T21:07:18+00:00,2022-05-24,1,https://www.childmothers.org/issues/forced-marriage/index.html,"Child, early & forced marriage
Child, early & forced marriage
Child, early and forced marriages are closely associated with young adolescent pregnancy and early motherhood. Once married, young girls are often faced with an expectation to prove their fertility and get pregnant. 9 out of 10 births to young girls happen within marriage.
Despite being prohibited by international law and national laws in many countries, 1 in 9 girls in developing countries (except China) is married before they turn 15 years old. 1 in every 3 girls is married before they turn 18 and in the least developed countries the prevalence of child marriage is even higher – nearly 1 in 2.
Marrying off daughters at an early age can be part of the local culture, caused by poverty, or can even be seen as a protective measure; for instance to protect the girl against pre-marital sexual advances, or to get her out of a refugee camp. Parents will do what they think is the best for their daughters and what they find necessary in a given cultural, economic or humanitarian context.
Child, early and forced marriages are considered harmful practices – alongside female genital mutilation (FGM), for instance – and human rights violations. As girls are often married to much older men, child marriage underpins gender inequality. It often forces girls out of school and inhibits their chance to break out of poverty. Rather, it increases their risk of passing poverty on to the next generation in an intergenerational cycle of deprivation. Early marriage most often means that girls are expected to fulfil the role of a housewife and soon after that of a mother; denying them of their youth and life choices.
While boys are also married as children, child, early and forced marriages affect girls in much greater numbers.
This is the story of Nargis & Nayeem
Nargis is 16 years old & Nayeem is 1.5 year old
Nargis, 16, lives with her son, her husband and her in-laws in a rural village in Bangladesh. Nargis parents did not want her to get married, but said they had no choice since they could not afford to support her anymore. Nargis works in a garment factory to save money for her son's future education.
I studied until the eighth grade. I really liked school; my favorite subject was science. I had a dream to study law, but my parents couldn’t afford it.
Although I knew of the consequences of an early marriage, I still ended up getting married at 14 because my parents are extremely poor. At the time of the wedding, I was very nervous. I didn’t know my husband – even now I don’t know his age. I think he’s around 25 and he works in sales. I didn't want to move into his house. I remember crying a lot. Everyone around me somehow convinced me though.
I didn’t know anything about the human body. I started having my periods only two or three months before my marriage. I got pregnant and I was fine, I didn't feel sick. At first I didn't want to be a mother but after I got married, people change their mind. You don’t think like before.
I had some complications during my labour so I was supposed to have a C-section. Because of my very low blood count, they couldn’t do it. I had a normal delivery instead and it was very painful. I wasn’t afraid, but it was so hard.
I felt happy seeing my son for the first time. I didn't recognise this feeling before but now I understand how it feels to be a mother. My husband was also very happy. He always wanted a son. Now I take contraceptive pills. It was my husband who suggested this idea. I don’t want any more children right now.
I'm working in a garment factory to save enough money for the future so that my son can get an education and move forward in life. I stitch sleeves. It's not so hard; the machine does all the work. I get up at 5.30 in the morning and then I cook. I have my breakfast, take a shower and feed my son. At seven o’clock I take the staff bus. I come back home after work around eight o’clock in the evening. If my son is sleeping, I don’t wake him up. If he’s awake I feed him, finish dinner and get ready for bed. I do feel bad that I’m away from him all day. But when he starts school I won’t work anymore. Then I'll be there to help him with his studies.
All my future plans now are for my son. When Nayeem turns three, he’ll start school. I do have dreams of my own and that's to pass my exams and finish school. My husband has said that he will let me study later. For now I'm happy with my life. I’m married and I have a son. Do people ever stay the same after this?
“I knew about the consequences of early marriage, but still, I had to get married at 14.”",1073,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577259.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524203438-20220524233438-00015.warc.gz,0.984900653362274
50eefa98-beb6-48f9-a6dd-c93baa4815ed,2017-08-16T13:48:09+00:00,2002-06-15,0,https://www.radiofarda.com/a/1134546.html,"Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceSaturday, June 15, 2002
- Iran invites US trade and investment
- Risk of economic collapse
- EU to sign economic cooperation treaty with Iran
- US envoy in Afghanistan accuses Iran of helping al-Qaeda.
Economy Ministry Official Invites US Trade and Investment
* At a conference in Tehran yesterday, deputy minister of economy and finance Mohammd Khazai said Iran's laws welcome investments from the US, because Iran has no enmity with the American people and American businessmen. He said before the US economic sanctions against Iran, US-Iran trade was over $1 billion. According to official figures, in the past quarter the US imported $40 million from Iran and exported $8 million worth of goods to Iran.
Risk of Economic Collapse
* Esfahan and Shiraz universities economics professor Mohammad Adib predicts economic collapse in four years as a result of the confluence of four factors: high unemployment, zero oil income, cutbacks in food and energy subsidies and drought. But Washington-based economist Mohammad Eghtedari says Iran's economy faces long term challenges but no short-term collapse. He tells RFE/RL that Adib's model is based on hypothetical factors and unpredictable conditions such as drought, which has already been reversed. (Homayoun Majd, Washington)
EU To Sign Economic Treaty with Iran
* In their Monday meeting in Luxemburg EU foreign ministers are set to approve signing an economic cooperation treaty with Iran, in spite of US disapproval, according to unnamed EU officials. The EU hopes that increasing foreign investment in Iran would ease the widespread joblessness and stem the flow of immigrants from Iran to Europe. (Siavash Ardalan)
US Envoy in Afghanistan Accuses Iran of Aiding Taliban and al Qaeda
* Zalmay Khalilzad, US special envoy to Afghanistan, said yesterday in Kabul that two special units of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) continue to provide aid to al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants in Afghanistan. Khalilzad said Iran's ""elected"" government supports Afghanistan's political process, whereas the conservative ""unelected"" faction sees it a threat to its own power. He said the US and Iran cooperated over Afghanistan even after President Bush's ""Axis of Evil"" speech. (Alireza Taheri)
New York Review of Books: Who Rules Iran?
* In an article for the June 27 issue of the New York Review of books titled ""Who Rules Iran?"" author Christopher de Bellaigue discusses the post-Khomeini era and Khomeini's conflict with his designated successor Ayatollah Montazeri . (Nazi Azima)
* US expels first secretary of Iraq's mission to the UN. (Homayoun Majd, Washington)
* Iraq calls its diplomat's expulsion from the US a new diplomatic war. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo)
* Morocco tries five Saudi nationals suspected of membership in al-Qaeda. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo)
* French-Moroccan Zakaria Moussaoui said in his trial in an Alexandria, VA, Federal court that he can prove his innocence in ten minutes. (Homayoun Majd, Washington)
* Former US Defense Department officials told the Washington Post that Israel's submarines armed with nuclear weapons are not a threat to US security. (Siavash Ardalan)
* Lebanon's Hezbollah, supported by Syria and Iran, has deployed armed units to Israel's borders. (Fariba Mavedat)
* In his speech at the opening session of the conference to review security in Central Asia, Uzbekistan's president called for disarming Afghanistan and a broader regional cooperation against drug trafficking. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow)
* Hamed Karzai calls for unity in his acceptance speech at the loya jirga. (Shireen Famili)
* On the sidelines of the FAO anti-hunger summit, Afghan activists Marzieh Kopel and Esmatollah Heydari tell RFE/RL that reconstruction projects have been put off pending the arrival of the promised foreign aid. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome)
* A French-Belgian oil company joined the companies involved in the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow)
* Soccer returns to Afghanistan. (Alireza Taheri)
* Germany tries a 93-year-old Nazi officer for ordering 59 Italian prisoners killed in revenge for an explosion in Genoa, Italy. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne)
ARTS AND IDEAS
RFE/RL's Daily Coverage of Soccer World Cup
* RFE/RL's soccer commentator, Mehrdad Masudi, reports from Seoul on today's World Cup games.
Americans Anti-Radiation Tablets: Dirty Bomb Scare
* The ""dirty bomb"" scare has caused many Americans to buy potassium iodide tablets, which protect the thyroid gland from radioactive fallout. But potassium iodide would be helpful only if a dirty bomb used radioactive iodine instead of other radioactive substances, and then only for people close to the explosion. (Fatemeh Aman, Washington)
New York Magazine
US Denies Visas to Lincoln Center Taziyeh Players
* Of 28 prominent singers of Iran's religious music theater Taziyeh, only 18 received US visas. The mandatory 30-day background check would cut their rehearsal time to just a few days. Brown University professor William Beeman, an authority on Persian theater and Taziyeh, believes no intervention from the US government can change the independent decision of a US consul. He tells RFE/RL that the singers were carefully chosen to make the staging of three large-scale plays possible by a relatively small cast. (Behnam Nateghi, New York)
Three Islamic Thinkers' Views on Modernity
* In his latest book ""God and Juggernaut: Iran's Intellectual Encounter with Modernity,"" published last week by the Syracuse University Press, Farzin Vahdat, professor of comparative religion at Tufts University, analyzes Iran's intellectual encounter with the West. He tells RFE/RL that his book compares the views of three contemporary Islamic thinkers - Ayatollahs Khomeini and Motahari and Ali Shariati - on modernity, as a means to explain the ideological basis of Iran's 1979 revolution.
Biomusicology Looks for Roots of Music on Earth
* Biomusicology researchers show that music existed on the Earth millions of years before the first man appeared. (Behnam Nateghi, New York)
Weekly medical advice show (Mansur Moslehi, Los Angeles)
Iranian Student Wins Youth Dicoverers' Award in Germany
* Siamak Ahmadi, 19, the first prize winner of Germany's annual award for young scientists, tells RFE/RL that his original study proves that overuse of anti-bacterial detergents not only does not kill all the germs but increases resistance in the survivors. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne)
Classic Persian Love Stories: Leyli va Majnun
* Sardredin Elahi begins recitation of the story of Leyli and Majnun based on Nezami Ganjavi.
From Kabul to Mazar-i-Sharif
* Filmmaker and RFE/RL reporter Ali Attar surveys the new Afghanistan for RFE/RL in a journey from Kabul to Mazar-i-Sharif.
محمد خزاعي معاون وزير اقتصاد جمهوري اسلامي گفت قوانين ايران هيچ كشوري، از جمله آمريكا، را از سرمايه گذاري در ايران منع نمي كند. در سه ماه اول سال جاري ايران معادل 40 ميليون دلار كالا به آمريكا صادر كرد و 9 ميليون دلار جنس از آمريكا وارد كرده است.از سوي ديگر، قوه قضائيه جمهوري اسلامي اعلام كرد كه بيانيه منع بحث جانبدارانه در باره مذاکره با آمريکا بر اساس يك شايعه صادر شده بود.",1962,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886101966.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816125013-20170816145013-00013.warc.gz,0.865787208080292
48fac8b3-0972-4600-8d4a-d3cc113c835a,2016-07-23T21:31:37+00:00,2013-03-01,1,http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/mar/01/tories-ukip-harm-sdp-labour,"Ukip's surge to 28% in Eastleigh, its best ever result in a byelection, leaves the Conservatives scrambling to assess the root causes of Ukip's popularity and whether its cheerful amateur leader Nigel Farage truly has the potential to deprive the oldest political machine in British politics of as many as 40 seats in a general election.
Cameron's nightmare is that Ukip now owns the potent cocktail of EU-related issues, including migration and wage squeeze, and so can split the Eurosceptic right in 2015 – just as the SDP crippled Labour in the mid-80s. For the first time in a century the Conservative party has lost monopoly control of the right.
Farage is already promising to put up 2,000 candidates in the May county council elections. Ukip could well come first next year in the European parliament elections, which are run on a proportional system. He also suggested he would take personal control of candidate selection and is demanding equal airtime on any politics platform he can imagine.
Some Tories such as the former whip Michael Fabricant, in his leaked November discussion paper, urged Cameron to recognise that the real Ukip threat rests in ""stealing votes at general election rather than posing an actual threat to take any one seat"". He argued that Ukip started to split the right at the 2010 election. ""On a realistic estimate Ukip by standing and taking a mere 3-4% of the vote, the Conservatives could lose 20 to 30 seats,"" Fabricant argued.
He pointed out: ""In the European elections in 2009 they became the second party, overtaking Labour and gaining 13 seats and 16.5% of the vote. Fast forward a year to the 2010 general election, and Ukip stood in 572 seats and took 3.1% of the popular vote.""
On Friday Fabricant emphasised that the Conservative party now had to respond. In a series of tweets he said: ""Everyone from the PM downwards must focus on the economy, immigration, crime, Europe and not allow other side policies to distract.
""Of course, liberal (small 'l') policies do not distract government from the core issues, but they are seen to do so by the electorate. With Ukip clearly announcing policies the public want to hear, we must do the same.""
Ukip, as Eastleigh showed, has pretty well broken through. A longer campaign, and Ukip could have gatecrashed Westminster. Fabricant in his November paper said Cameron needed to respond to the Ukip threat by promising an EU referendum, and seeking an electoral pact with Farage. Cameron did promise the referendum, and put up a highly Eurosceptic candidate in Maria Hutchings – yet it gave him absolutely no protection from a Ukip surge.
Moreover, the idea of a Ukip-Con pact was on Friday ruled out, not only by Farage but also by education secretary Michael Gove. Personal relations between Farage and Cameron are poisonous.
Some say, ""Ukip is for people who would like to vote BNP, but shop at M&S."" But the polling work done by Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative vice-chairman, suggests something more inchoate than racism, or even anti-Europeanism. In his influential study of Ukip voters titled They Are Thinking What We Are Thinking, he said his research showed ""discussion amongst Ukip voters and considerers was dominated by what they saw as the twin themes of immigration and welfare, much more than Europe.
""But many complained that migrants from within the EU and outside had changed the character of their local area beyond recognition. Recession and austerity brought their complaints into sharper focus and heightened their resentment that they themselves worked long hours for stagnant incomes as the cost of living rose. Immigrants, meanwhile, seemed to them to be entitled to extra financial help, and priority access to public services and to be depressing wages, and importing an alien culture."" He went on: ""They do not think mainstream politicians are willing or able to keep their promises or change things for the better. Ukip, with its single unifying theory of what is wrong and how to put it right, has obvious attractions for them.""Many, he concluded, had ""effectively disengaged from the hard choices inherent in the democratic process. Now that the Liberal Democrats have been exposed and have exposed their supporters to the realities of government, Ukip is the only party by which nobody can feel let down.""
Ashcroft tends to be better on providing analysis than prescription. In the introduction to a poll on Eastleigh published on Thursday, Ashcroft writes: ""The Ukip attraction … reflects a frustration with the political class and with the way they think things are going in Britain. Our task is not to become more like Ukip, the party of easy answers, but to be the party of government that people want to vote for."" But one greater danger for Farage is that he will now come under less benign media scrutiny, and that can be dangerous, as the Liberal Democrats have discovered.
Ukip make the Lib Dems look like an oasis of normality. Blogs abound describing the obscure factional fighting and legal challenges that disfigure Ukip's internal politics. Some of its MEPs have ended up in jail for expenses fiddles, been expelled or, like their South East England MEP Marta Andreasen, defected to the Tories. She described Farage as a ""Stalinist dictator with a problem about women"", adding that he surrounded himself with ""an old-boys' club of like-minded sycophants"".
Another defector, David Campbell-Bannerman, said Ukip had ""become very much a one-man band and a bit of a cult"". ""There is a followership and even the constitution has been changed to favour pro-leader candidates. I don't think that's healthy,"" he added.
Farage's own views, if more widely known, might repel some voters. He writes in his autobiography that ""20% of the UK's teachers should be sacked because they are useless functionaries. Parents, teachers and politicians have cowered away from their responsibilities.""
He also claims ""religion has all gone. The extended family has gone. The nuclear family unsatisfactory throughout its brief existance is all but gone"".
He also wants to support ""direct democracy on the Swiss model where the signature of a given number of people on any issue may generate a plebiscite at national or local level"".
He variously claims ""I see nothing wrong with a notion of a postcode lottery in all sorts of things where one region enjoys privileges or disadvantages that others do not"" and ""local councils should be allowed to introduce smoking or restore hunting bans"". He supports ""an end to teacher training and a return to selectivity in education"".
Farage loves the limelight, and generally receives sympathetic interviews because he is quotable and engaging, but whether he will love it all as much in six months' time is unlikely. For after Eastleigh he is now playing in the big league.",1417,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00066-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97461873292923
feb49e7b-8ae7-42a8-a194-f7d20db73bcf,2016-07-24T03:21:47+00:00,2013-07-01,1,http://will.illinois.edu/news/story/illinois-ends-fiscal-year-6.1-billion-in-red,"Illinois Ends Fiscal Year $6.1 Billion In Red
Illinois finished the fiscal year on Sunday $6.1 billion in the red.
But Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said Monday that the backlog of unpaid bills to schools, agencies, hospitals and businesses is expected to grow another $1.4 billion by next month.
The state collected $1.3 billion in unexpected tax revenue this spring from residents selling assets before new tax laws took effect.
Topinka says putting that money towards unpaid bills allowed the state to end the fiscal year in a better position than it otherwise would have.
However, she is warning that the windfall is a one-time occurrence and it does nothing to address the state's budget problems.
The comptroller's office estimates unpaid bills will rise to $7.5 billion in August and to nearly $9 billion by December.",179,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823935.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00082-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950973808765411
8b14c2fe-3145-481a-b103-936e9564ff2c,2022-05-21T09:22:59+00:00,2020-05-21,1,https://www.cannacareuniversity.com/cannabis-education-arrives-virtually-at-more-american-universities/,"At first glance, they don’t seem to have much in common: college administrators seeking new revenue sources because their students have all gone home, and displaced workers looking into the legal cannabis industry because it’s still hiring during the pandemic. But the groups are converging. Five universities (with more in the pipeline) are working with Green Flower Media to provide coursework on growing, testing and selling legal cannabis.
Max Simon, Green Flower Media’s founder wasn’t getting much traction pitching cannabis-related online course content to American universities in 2019. Then the Coronavirus hit, and colleges started pivoting as fast as they could to online education, including not-for-credit “continuing education” offerings that could help re-train workers and add revenues to college coffers.
At the same time, cannabis production and sales were deemed “essential” businesses during the pandemic and allowed to remain open by the states where it was legal for medical or recreational purposes.
By March, interest in Green Flower Mediacertificates focusing on cannabis business practices, medical applications, laws/compliance, and horticulture/agriculture, “jumped into high gear,” said Simon. In the next few months, Florida Atlantic University, Northern Michigan University, a California university (to be made public later,) Mount Aloysius College and the University of San Diego will begin offering the education certificates.MORE FOR YOUMedMen’s Failure Is Everything Wrong With Legal Cannabis (And Is Only The First Company To Implode)Coming Soon To A Higher-Ed Institution Near You: ‘Cannabis U’Vaping Market Could See A Boom This Summer Post-COVID, Say Experts
Each of the four cannabis certificate types include three courses that are delivered over two months and cost $3000. The 405 hours of assignments and “class” time include one third videos and readings, with the rest is divided between research, homework, and internships when possible. For each cohort of 25 students, a facilitator helps with online forums and review projects.
There is demand for well-trained workers in the cannabis industry according to Dr. Steve VandenAvond, Northern Michigan University’ vice president for extended learning and community, because it requires highly specialized knowledge and skills in a number of areas.
Master growers who understand how to raise high quality plants on a large scale are very much in demand he said. Store managers need to understand and comply with an extra set of financial and security regulations related to cannabis sales. Even retail staff have to learn what they can and can not say when they are selling. “Companies have told us they don’t always have the capacity to train their employees to the level required,” said Green Flower’s Simon.
Northern Michigan University, one of Green Flower’s new partners, has been offering a for-credit course, Medicinal Plant Chemistry, including information on THC extraction and testing of cannabis plants, since 2017. Hundreds applied for the first class, surprising the university, and the course has remained popular.
Soon after the class launched, the university started receiving student queries about cannabis coursework beyond the hard sciences. Medical marijuana has been legal in the state since 2008 through the Michigan Compassionate Care Initiative, and sales of adult recreational use cannabis products began in December 2019.
Steve VandenAvond chose Green Flower to supply a set of not-for-credit online courses to offer this summer. “We have a long history of engaging with the community and offering what the work force wants,” VandenAvond said. These classes were “a natural next step,” at school in a fairly rural part of Michigan’s upper peninsula. Cannabis jobs there have been deemed essential in the pandemic.
“There’s a need for trained workers and these courses do a good job mixing lectures, quizzes and other interactive media elements,” said VandenAvond.
Green Flower has connections with local employers to help find internships and full-time work for its students.
Simon believes this year will be a turning point in education when colleges “will see cannabis as a legitimate industry and cannabis education as a legitimate student education area.”
Looking to the future, Simon plans to expand the curriculum, and is already working on a Cannabis Criminal Justice certificate. He also hopes to sign more schools on – he said is in conversations with thirty other institutions.Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website. Julie Weed
Author of the best-selling All I Really Need to Know in Business I Learned at Microsoft. I now write about the marijuana industry for Forbes and, yes, Weed is my real… Read More",977,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539049.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521080921-20220521110921-00610.warc.gz,0.94784015417099
37ac2a0e-b0c2-4c18-bb67-e62e3ecdb259,2013-05-20T12:09:50+00:00,2013-05-17,1,http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=35192,"DHANKUTA, May 17: Thousands of locals on Thursday took part in a mass rally in Khandbari, the headquarters of Sankhuwasabha district, demanding that the district be kept undivided in the new state restructuring. Khandbari Bazaar remained shut Thursday due to the protest.
The rally was taken out against the agreement reached among three major parties - UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML - to split the district into two parts in the 11-province federal model.
Altogether 32 organizations including Sankhuwasabha Chamber of Commerce and Industries, ethnic organizations and sister organizations of various political parties had joined the protest program.
The rally organized with a slogan ´Save Sankhuwasabha from splitting´ encircled Khandbari Bazaar before converging into a corner meeting. The corner meeting was addressed by the Chairman of Sankhuwasabha Chamber of Commerce and Industries Ananta Gauli.
The agitating locals have sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai asking him to keep Sankhuwasabha district undivided in the new state restructuring.",247,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96132504940033
15b14853-ece3-4192-885b-e3f1d2edf80c,2019-08-18T17:32:16+00:00,2019-03-14,0,https://blog.bothouniversity.com/2019/03/14/why-online-learning-is-more-beneficial/,"Many individuals find it hard to enroll for online learning. They think the quality of education online students get is much lower. This is because they believe in physical presence in class for them to acquire the best education. That is never true. Most online students attest to the fact that distant learning is far much better. Get to know why online learning is beneficial.
The students taking distance learning courses in Botho University are not limited by location. They do not have to go to a particular place to attend their classes. This is because they learn via the internet. It is possible for them to learn from any part of the world. This system is more beneficial for people located far from the institution.
Online students have a great advantage over those using the traditional learning system. This is because they have an e-library. The library contains all the books they would need to complete their training. Easy access to reading materials makes it easy for them to research. Getting learning resources is a hard task. This is beneficial to these students.
Those taking online graduate programs in Botho University enjoy better concentration. While the class sessions are ongoing, they will be alone. There is nothing that will be able to distract them from their studies. It will be impossible for them to fail to understand what is being taught by their lecturers. This will improve the quality of education they will acquire.
For more information you can visit here: Distance Learning Courses in Botho University",293,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00165.warc.gz,0.969941675662994
5c6d3d52-6964-48b8-9dd6-bd66b0354461,2016-07-30T17:17:48+00:00,2012-12-14,1,http://www.dailycamera.com/nation-world-news/ci_22196948/entertainment/classicalmusic,"entertained ways to revive a religious liberty lawsuit that North Carolina's Belmont Abbey College filed against the Obama administration's signature health care law.
In a closely watched and
occasionally electrifying oral argument, members of a powerful three-judge appellate panel suggested they might restore Belmont Abbey's legal challenge but keep it dormant until the administration issues final new health care rules.
A compromise of sorts, this would keep the lawsuit alive before a trial judge who'd
previously dismissed it as premature.
""It doesn't decide the case,"" Judge Merrick Garland suggested, ""but it holds on to the case.""
A Roman Catholic college founded by Benedictine monks about 15 miles west of Charlotte, N.C., Belmont Abbey has filed one of 41 lawsuits nationwide challenging a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that sets insurance coverage standards.
The provision requires employers' health insurance plans to cover certain medical procedures, including immunizations, mammograms and -- most controversially -- contraceptive services such as sterilization and emergency oral contraception.
Combined for now with a similar challenge filed by Illinois' Wheaton College, the Belmont Abbey lawsuit is the first of the legal challenges to the law to reach the appellate level.
""It's a violation of their religious liberty,"" attorney Kyle Duncan told the panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Because of its sway over many federal agency decisions, the Washington-based appellate court sometimes is called the nation's second-highest court. In the Belmont Abbey case, argued for 65 minutes Friday before a crowded courtroom, the panel won't decide the underlying First Amendment dispute.
Instead, the judges most likely will decide whether the colleges' lawsuit will be dismissed as premature, permitted to proceed full-steam ahead or, as Garland suggested, be held ""in abeyance"" while final health care rules are revised and set.
The Obama administration argues, and the trial judge agreed in September, that it's too early for legal challenges since the rule implementing the contraception mandate remains under revision.
Still, underscoring the higher stakes involved, Judge A. Raymond Randolph sounded distinctly sympathetic to the religious schools. A Republican appointee, Randolph spoke of religious colleges and employers ""bending to the government's will"" under the health care law, as well as a ""chilling effect"" that even temporary rules might impose on people's First Amendment rights.
""Do you concede that the rule in its present form is unconstitutional?"" Randolph pointedly asked Justice Department attorney Adam C. Jed.
Jed disputed the point, and said the Obama administration intended to publish revised rules before next April.
""The government has said from the very beginning that it's going to take seriously the concerns,"" Jed said.
The issue first arose earlier this year, when Catholic leaders and the White House quarreled over the contraception mandate. The government subsequently offered a compromise that granted women free coverage of contraceptives but put the cost onus on insurance companies. Nonetheless, skeptics argue that the exemptions provide inadequate protection for non-churches.
""The government is simply saying they are going to change something in the future,"" Duncan said. ""It is not binding.""",655,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258936356.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072856-00286-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958794236183166
f2022509-bf3a-45c6-adf2-f8308f0a9278,2022-05-23T14:48:51+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://gamma.astroempires.com/profile.aspx?player=44628,"Guild: Steel Alliance
Level: 127.51 (Rank 50)
Account Age: 4,706 Days
|If you want peace,prepare for war!|
Attacker conquered the base
Attacker got 1339393 credits for pillaging defender's base.
Highest commander kill.
Commander Wen Astra (Research 18) was killed.
Cost of next base 104,857,600 Credits",118,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662558030.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523132100-20220523162100-00027.warc.gz,0.66929018497467
8e014cc6-db48-4c73-ac58-045fa059ab1d,2017-08-18T08:52:02+00:00,2013-09-19,1,http://www.hazarapeople.com/2013/09/19/afghanistan-the-evolving-election-scenario/,"By Dr. Hussain Yasa
Nominations for the Afghani presidency opened on the 16th September and with this milestone the country formally entered the pre-election period. Over the next seven months Afghanistan will be turned into one great reality TV show, watched by the world, while the candidates practice our unique brand of politics. In the run up to nominations, the alternating announcements of electoral coalitions and rumors that the election will not happen, have given a taste of the intricate tactics involved in Afghan politics. However the 2014 poll is different from the elections in 2004 and 2009. In both of those elections the incumbent was widely expected to win. That is the one outcome which is ruled out in the 2014 election because of the bar on the President standing for a third time. This time the election scenario involves three contests rolled into one.
The first contest is between those prepared to participate in the Kabul-based political system and those trying to overthrow it by force, which boils down to the Taliban versus the rest. If any candidate is elected legitimately in April 2014 it will mark a victory for those who support democratic politics. The second contest is over the nature of the elections, between those who try to ensure that there is a popular mandate and those trying to grab control of the electoral machinery to rig the elections. The third contest is the one which has been shaping up between the emerging coalitions. It boils down to the contest between palace and opposition over how different the new team in the presidency should be from that which has struggled to rule Afghanistan over the past decade. This analysis of the evolving scenario takes a look at the current state of the three contests.
The first contest – violent extremism versus Kabul-based politics
The latest generation of jihadists is fighting to overthrow the Kabul-based political system and reject the idea of trusting elections to choose Afghanistan’s leader. The most famous group in the armed opposition is the Taliban. However, as the war has continued, various Afghan factions have come to operate under the Taliban flag, with backing from jihadist circles in Pakistan and what remains of Al Qaeda’s international militant alliance. Although apparently marginalized less influential than before, Hizb-e Islami leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar still operates alongside those who have preferred fighting over peaceful politics. The Taliban have a clear vision of eliminating their opponents by force. The Taliban have unambiguous faith in their ideology, life style and peculiar interpretation of religion. They do not believe in democracy and still follow their distant dream to implement a “Khilafat” headed by their Amir-ul-Mominin (The leader of faithful), the notorious Mullah Omar. They are committed to toppling the fragile system and hope to dominate Afghanistan as the victorious force after the withdrawal of the US-led ISAF.
The second contest – palace politics and popular mandate versus rigging
Karzai led regime (L’ETAT C’EST MOI)
THE RUSE OF CONSENSUS CANDIDATE – ZULMAY MEDVEDEV – MOST PLAUSIBLE MAIN STRATEGY – BUT HE HAS FALL BACK STRATEGIES ALSO
President Hamed has been ruling over Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban in late 2001. With the wholehearted support of US and its international partners, he managed to lead Afghanistan over the last decade with many positive and undesirable developments.
Following the same line of his predecessors, Karzai is deeply reluctant to step down. He is busy conceiving plans about how to remain in power indirectly through his loyalists in the palace. His body language suggests that he has not really accepted that he was elected president twice for a specific time period. Instead he seems to believe that ruling over this war torn country is his God given right.
His last two elections were flawed and in 2009 his bid to win in one round was declared fraudulent. Interestingly the world never really punished their Afghan client for his ballot stuffing and engineering of electoral results. Apparently they thought that Afghan democracy needs more time to mature. But on the contrary, in our dealing with election-rigging the whole democratization process and achievements of the twelve year international mission in Afghanistan are at stake.
The palace team of experienced election riggers has a lot of opportunities, including the flawed electoral system, the absence of an authentic census and voter list, millions of fake voter cards, unlimited resources with the partial administration and local governments, insecurity, a weak election commission. These are all aspects of the election they may seek to exploit so as to obtain the result they desire. There are hopes that the palace will be less willing or able to conduct as large scale centralized rigging as in 2009. Wisely, the donor community has already warned that any effort to alter the poll results will jeopardize Afghanistan’s future aid prospects. The government would do well to take note. We now have a new election law and election stakeholders are working their way through a list of anti-fraud measures.
The second, tactic of Karzai is to divide and rule the opposition. Most of them have gathered in the “Electoral Alliance”. He is trying to pick them off by offering them political bribes.
At the same time Karzai has held off clearly endorsing any serious candidate to become his successor. He has multiple standby candidates who engage the various opposition strongmen in fake negotiation but are not serious about pursuing any real power sharing formula. Some see the lack of an anointed palace candidate as evidence of Karzai’s clever game. It is just as plausible that Karzai and the palace have simply failed to get their inner team to agree on the so-called consensus figure.
Ultimately, if he could get away with it, Karzai would be open to alternatives to an election, like a Loya Jirga (Grand National Assembly with delegates hand-picked by the palace) or an announcement of a state of emergency by magnifying the security issues and declaring that the overall situation doesn’t support elections. He could try to buy the support of parliament for such a move through mass horse trading.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has already issued press release warning that that some circles are pushing for postponement of the polls.
The third contest – coalitions versus the palace
Electoral Coalition (EC)
The newly formed Electoral Coalition is mainly composed of two previous strong opposition alliances, the Afghanistan National Front (ANF) led by Ahmad Zia Massoud and the National Coalition of Afghanistan (NCA) led by Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. The Electoral Alliance also includes other power brokers such as Atta Mohammad Noor, the strongman of the Northern Balkh Province.
The leaders around EC are mostly old members of the Northern Alliance who resisted Taliban occupation and helped the US led coalition oust the Taliban from power. The alliance includes a few Pashtuns. But the king-makers of the EC all belong to the non Pashtun communities, the Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks.
The Electoral Coalition draws its popular support through parties with significant mass base. These include Jamiat-e Islami led by Salahuddin Rabbani, the son of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, the founder of the Party killed by the Taliban in September 2011. The other mass-based parties include the People’s Unity Party of Afghanistan led by Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the strongman of Hazaras and the Junbesh Party led by Gen, Abdur Rashid Dostum the leading strongman from the Northern Uzbek community.
Even though Dr. Abdullah Abdullah had announced his candidacy for the upcoming Presidential Elections much before the formation of the EC, now he says that he will follow the decision of the alliance on the issue of his candidacy. No one else from this alliance has yet stepped forward as the candidate to challenge the palace.
Many believe that the EC still lacks the faith, courage and enthusiasm to win the upcoming Presidential Elections. But the members of the EC have had their minds focused by the prospect of the post election situation, with the withdrawal of ISAF, the threat of takeover of Taliban by force, the growing sense of insecurity among the communities involved in the resistance against the Taliban and economic challenges. The contest is a survival issue.
The king-makers of the EC have conflicting interests on various issues. But their common minimum approach is the same. None of them trusts Karzai and all of them are afraid of Taliban.
Another fact cannot be ignored. Two important figures in today’s EC were the main vote-getters for Karzai in the 2009 elections. And still he could not manage to get 51%. A palace endorsed candidate this time cannot draw on the same vote bank which Karzai used to scrape home last time.
Some critics suspect that the coalition may not survive the upcoming hectic days of the nomination process where the power-brokers face the all important question of who should be their joint candidate. This means that the electoral process is working towards a contest between Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and whoever the palace finally endorses as their preferred candidate.
Doctors without Borders
This is the name given to the team led by Dr. Zulmai Khalilzad, the former US ambassador to Kabul and Iraq, Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai former Cabinet Minister. Ali Ahmad Jalali, the former Interior Minister (also an American citizen) and Qayoum Karzai, the elder brother of President Karzai. All of them wished to become the next president but none of them has any mass support to pose a reasonable challenge to the EC.
They have been busy in trying to win the support of strongmen from non Pashtun communities. But at the end of the day it seems that they are not successful to do so.
Right and Justice Party
The Party is led by Hanif Atmar, the former Cabinet Minister. At its formation two years back the party which mainly consisted of the defectors from other parties. It has grown up to the level where it should be taken seriously. But still many believe that it lacks the mass support to have a chance in the presidential elections. Although, Atmar has been in the opposition, he has refrained from joining any non-Pashtun led opposition alliance – neither the ANF nor the NCA.
His reluctance to join those main opposition alliances could be due to his ambition to lead the opposition or a probable fear of provocation Pashtuns by shaking hands with the anti Taliban figures or parties. Nevertheless he was an active member of the Consultative Council of 23 opposition Political parties, most of them now in the EC. Atmar is a resilient politician and a talented technocrat who has tried desperately to gain the support of the same king-makers of the non Pashtun communities but has so far been unsuccessful. He has another problem which is not usually discussed on the open forums. He belongs to the Eastern province of Laghman. The elders of Southern Pashtun tribes seem to be reluctant to shift power from South to East although both are Pashtuns.
Afghanistan Social Democratic Party (Afghan Millat)
It is led by Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady, the current Minister of Commerce. Afghan Millat has a long history in Afghan Politics. The Party is famous for its ultra Pashtun ethnocentrism but it denies the perception and claims that the party has a comprehensive national agenda.
Afghan Millat has good support among the Pashtun liberals and educated class. But Dr. Ahady’s misfortune is that the class does not have any decisive role for the time being in shaping Pashtun politics. He has also announced he is a candidate. On the other hand president Karzai is blamed for the fragmentation of the party into various factions. In brief the Party is not in a position to emerge as a significant player of this process
There are few more alliances and parties wish to play role in the process but for the time being most of the analysts don’t believe any significant role from smaller groups.
We can draw six main conclusions from this review of the election scenario.
Firstly, the political system operating in Kabul is a hybrid one in which both political parties and regional power-brokers play a key role in mobilizing electoral support. Despite ten years of effort by the Afghan government to restrict the growth of political parties and to malign them as responsible for the conflict, Afghan parties have survived. The government’s attempt to establish a non-party system has failed.
Secondly, President Karzai seems set to become Afghanistan’s Musharraf. The presidential palace has failed to come up with a credible succession strategy. Neither have they found a way of keeping Karzai in power nor have they found a viable candidate who can keep together the hotchpotch of interests which have gathered in the palace in recent years. Like Musharraf, Karzai has a strong sense of self-importance and seems determined to scheme until the end. But the President and the world are on course to discover that, just like Musharraf, Karzai is dispensable.
Thirdly, the main focus for Karzai’s political scheming has now become his effort to break up the Electoral Alliance. So far all efforts to seduce its members have failed and this is starting to look like Karzai’s toughest political challenge.
Fourthly postponing the election, long favored by some palace players as a way of staying on in power a bit longer, seems no longer a serious option. Courtiers periodically raise alarms about security in the Pashtun south, argue that elections are impossible or float ideas of a transitional government. But the momentum in the country towards elections has built up and Afghanistan’s international donors have signaled that they will not tolerate messing with the timetable. Elections are never pretty, but they are better than any available alternative.
Fifthly, the electoral arithmetic is such that Afghanistan now has a real prospect of electing a non-Pashtun president. This of course would go directly against the oft-stated assumption that only a Pashtun is fit to run the country. Karzai’s legacy may well end up be a mixture of blame and credit as the Pashtun who handed power to someone from the north. If a non-Pashtun is elected, it will be as a result of the palace’s botched attempts at divide and rule.
Sixthly, precisely because palace scheming has not yet delivered a convincing political strategy to assure continuity there is still a risk of Karzai reverting to his spoiling behaviour with gross interference in the electoral process. Friends of Afghanistan would be well-advised to be ready to deal with this eventuality. Afghanistan’s lawful opposition faces the same dilemma – their political strategy must include contingency planning for dealing with presidential sabotage of the process. Naivety does not pay in Afghanistan.
Dr. Hussain Yasa is the Chief Editor of the daily Outlook Afghanistan and the Coordinator of the Munich Process",3075,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104631.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818082911-20170818102911-00175.warc.gz,0.968012154102325
ee154e5e-f26a-47c0-80b6-a7b1d3a98b8f,2017-08-16T15:08:34+00:00,2017-06-27,0,https://www.paleyrothman.com/legal-blog,"The Paley Rothman Blog
Paley Rothman shares this library of resources with clients and friends of the firm to help them stay ahead of legal and business developments and trends. Here, you will find helpful tips and tools written by our attorneys.
The outlook for new overtime rules that were scheduled to go into effect last December looks bleak as a nationwide injunction remains in effect and the Department of Labor appears to be going back to the drawing board.Read More
The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, has issued an important decision clarifying the rights of an animal owner to regain custody of the owner’s animals after they have been removed by the Humane Society due to prior mistreatment. Daniel Rohrer v. Humane Society of Washington County (June 27, 2017).Read More
Recent case suggests employers may be required to make exceptions to drug testing policies to accommodate employees who have been prescribed medicinal marijuana.Read More
The concept of a “mental health day” is often overlooked when employers craft their vacation and leave policies. However, a recent tweet by a San Francisco-based web developer has sparked a national discussion about mental health and the appropriate way for employers to handle these situations.Read More",248,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102307.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816144701-20170816164701-00289.warc.gz,0.962661862373352
38ecad3b-c09c-4c1b-9759-af3aaf3dd057,2019-08-22T06:00:53+00:00,2019-08-22,0,https://aviweisfogel.co/author/secure_admin-2-2/,"Sleep apnea can be managed using various treatment approach and two of the commonly used methods are positive airway pressure devices and oral appliances. Let us discuss each one of them to find out which is one is better for sleep apnea.
Positive Airway Pressure Devices
A positive airway pressure machine is used together with a breathing mask. It is one of the commonly used treatment methods for moderate to severe sleep apnea. The mask is worn over the nose and sometimes over the mouth during sleep and it will deliver pressurized air to prevent the patient’s airway from collapsing during sleep.
Dentists are now involved in the treatment of sleep apnea. There are now dentists who are specially trained to treat and manage sleep apnea. They are called dental sleep professionals. What they do is they create a custom-fitted dental appliance which the patient needs to wear during sleep to keep the airway open and prevent the tongue and muscles from blocking the airway. The use of the oral appliance for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea has been approved by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In fact, they also recommend oral appliance for patients with severe sleep apnea, especially those who cannot tolerate positive airway pressure devices.
The air comes from the machine and delivered to the system via a flexible tube. There are different types of machines used such as:
- CPAP – Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
- BiPAP – Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure
- VPAP – Variable Positive Airway Pressure
Is CPAP Effective
The efficacy of a positive airway pressure device primarily depends on the patient’s adherence. Those who consistently use the machine feel better. They noticed a significant reduction of hypopnea and apnea episodes during sleep. There is also a significant reduction in snoring. However, some sleep apnea patients don’t like using positive airway pressure devices as they are not that comfortable to wear. They also produce annoying sounds. Those who started using it stop in the middle while others don’t even start using it.
Many sleep apnea patients prefer oral appliance over a positive airway pressure device because it is comfortable and easy to wear, portable, and does not produce annoying sounds. There are oral devices that can be readily purchased over the counter. They are cheaper than custom made oral devices, but they do not guarantee a proper fit. Fitting is important as a poorly fit oral device can cause the tooth to move as well as the possibility of developing jaw-related problems. If you wish to use an oral appliance for sleep apnea treatment, then you should see a dentist specializing in sleep medicine. The dentist will thoroughly assess your condition, create a custom-fitted oral appliance, and will do the necessary adjustments.
For people with severe sleep apnea, a combination of oral appliance and positive airway pressure is helpful. Just make sure you see a sleep specialist to thoroughly assess the severity of your condition and come up with the best treatment and management plan.",617,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316783.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822042502-20190822064502-00344.warc.gz,0.946698784828186
da610d87-9ec7-44dc-bc34-7208a4abed59,2018-08-21T17:55:06+00:00,2016-03-01,1,http://www.resourceinvestor.com/topic/commodities?page=8,"What if I told you that there was a period in history where oil demand declined by 5 million barrels per day and non-OPEC supply increased by 5 million barrels per day, yet oil price rallied more than 50%? Would you believe me?
Russian oil companies have agreed not to increase oil production this year following preliminary deal between Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela reached last month, President Vladimir Putin told a meeting with the country's top oil firms.
Prices for mansions in Houston's swankiest neighborhood have tumbled in lock step with crude prices. The Houston Opera has offered free season tickets to patrons who lost their jobs in the oil bust. A fancy restaurant offers cut-price dinners.",144,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218391.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821171406-20180821191406-00268.warc.gz,0.964064002037048
278ce42a-8a36-4437-9449-9f5646fd3aad,2015-03-27T05:18:21+00:00,2015-03-27,0,http://www.orientaltrading.com/easter-inspirational-charm-pin-craft-kit-a2-48_3939.fltr?prodCatId=550182&tabId=4,"Easter Inspirational Charm Pin Craft Kit. Transform ordinary safety pins into religious jewelry with this simple yet fun kit! The perfect Sunday School activity, each set includes 1/8"" - 1/4"" plastic beads and a 1"" enamel cross charm on a 2 1/2"" metal pin. All craft kit pieces are pre-packaged for individual use. Kits include instructions and extra pieces. © OTC
Age Recommendation:Ages 8 & Up:
Containing many pieces of all shapes and sizes and made from a variety of different sturdy materials, some of which include sharp edges or points, including glass beads, ceramics or metals. Activity may require weaving, beadwork, knotting or special glue.",149,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00257-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.91735303401947
d1c94556-1093-4e96-9f71-2bb1d9fa7434,2015-03-29T06:07:29+00:00,2013-02-28,1,http://www.thisischile.cl/energy-company-enel-to-build-huge-130-mw-wind-farm-in-chile/?lang=en,"Chile’s efforts to diversify its energy matrix recieved a huge boost last month, as renewable energy company Enel Green Power (EGP) won a public tender to develop a giant wind farm in the Antofagasta region.
EGP has been granted the exclusive right to build and operate a wind project, named Sierra Gorda Este, of up to 130 MW. The company already has 182 MW of installed energy capacity in Chile, split evenly across wind and hydropower operations.
Wind power has grown rapidly in Chile over the last decade. In 2002, the country was generating just 1 MW of energy from the renewable energy source. Rapid development in the sector saw an increase to 20 MW in 2007, and further growth has seen the country’s wind energy generation rocket to today’s figure of 190 MW.
“We are extremely pleased about such an accomplishment, as Chile represents for us a very important market with a solid group footprint and excellent growth opportunities,” Francesco Starace, CEO of EGP, said in a statement. “The successful participation in this tender is a major step forward in the implementation of our strategy for Latin America. With this project, we have covered close to 90 percent of our planned wind development in the country during the 2013-2017 period.”
Due to a strong economy and growth in the mining sector, analysts believe that Chile will need to add 8,000 MW to today’s energy matrix of 17,000 MW by 2020. Recognizing Chile’s massive potential in renewable energy resources, the government has made steps to diversify the energy matrix that is currently reliant on dam generated power.
Chile’s theoretical capacity for wind generated power has been placed at 40,000 MW. If current plans for wind farm development receive environmental clearance, and projects gain financial backing, Chile could potentially be generating 2,000 MW of energy from wind power in the next decade.
In addition to its great potential for wind power, Chile has a higher capacity for tide power and solar energy than any country on earth.",429,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298228.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00079-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948495090007782
ce9e282e-b2ad-4edd-b88b-d5731bb81646,2013-05-18T06:43:21+00:00,2011-04-15,1,http://elitechoice.org/2011/04/15/space-expedition-curacao-and-elysiants-team-up-for-luxury-space-travel/,"Virgin Galactic will soon have competition on the space travel circuit. With space tourism gaining more and more fans as the days go by, a company that works in commercial space line and space port at Curacao is joining hands with a luxury lifestyle network to provide a more luxurious space travel option. Space Expedition Curacao is teaming up with luxury brand Elysiants to ensure that space travel and luxury soon become synonymous.
Space Expedition Curacao operates out of the Curacao International Airport within the Caribbean. The company is hoping to build a commercial space line and a space port within the Curacao airport. Under the new tie-up between Space Expedition Curacao and Elysiants, it appears that members of the luxury lifestyle network could soon have the opportunity to go up in space much like Russia’s Uri Gagarin did half a century ago.
Also in the offing is a new section, the Future Astronauts Club or F.Ast Club. This club will be launched on the Elysiants website allowing its wealthy members to aspire to fulfill their dreams of someday living the astronaut life. Of course, membership to this premiere club will not be easy. And members will get pure VIP treatment, gifts and more, even before the rocket actually launches them into space. At $90,000, this is not going to come cheap, however.
So far, only about 521 people have reached outer space. But companies like Space Expedition Curacao will be looking to change that. Space tourism is set to transform our vacation plans, and the space hotel is no longer such a distant dream.",328,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.942816317081451
e7c10572-ed76-4fdf-a76a-1462211426c6,2019-08-20T08:21:53+00:00,2019-06-05,1,https://trumptrainnews.com/articles/report-gop-considering-voting-to-stop-trump-s-tarrifs,"Many GOP senators have suggested that they are not happy with President Trump's threat. Rand Paul has even suggested that there would be a veto-proof majority fo senators who would vote against the president.
Republicans uncomfortable with the idea of a tariff war are reportedly mulling whether to vote against the president’s proposed tariff hikes against Mexico.
A number of congressional Republicans could join their Democratic counterparts in a vote to block President Donald Trump if he moves forward with threats to slap tariffs on all Mexican goods, according to a report from the Washington Post.
Such a move would serve as a sharper GOP rebuke to the president than the failed attempt earlier this year to revoke his emergency border declaration.
Similar to the resolution condemning the emergency declaration, a vote to block Trump’s tariffs would likely begin in the Democratic-controlled House and then move to the Senate, where enough Republicans could defect.",179,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315258.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820070415-20190820092415-00104.warc.gz,0.968208491802216
e592f6cf-3918-4b04-b8dd-13ec1640117f,2017-08-20T23:08:48+00:00,2017-04-25,1,https://www.cabinsusa.com/smoky-mountains-blog/post/208/synchronous-fireflies-smoky-moutains.php,"Only a short drive from Pigeon Forge, visitors can witness a rare and spectacular natural wonder in Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
It's known as the synchronous firefly event and it draws thousands of spectators every year.
To help you witness this one-of-a-kind event, we've made this handy guide with everything you need to know about seeing the synchronous fireflies in Elkmont!
What is the Synchronous Firefly Event?
For a couple weeks during the year, fireflies in Elkmont blink on and off at the same time, creating a dazzling and mystifying effect.
Elkmont campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to the biggest population of synchronous fireflies in the Western Hemisphere.
Though there are at least 19 species of fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, only one kind is known to flash synchronously: Photinus Carolinus.
This rare phenomenon has only been documented in the Smoky Mountains and on river systems in Southeast Asia.
Bioluminescence, (the ability for a living creature to produce light), is a truly a wonder and you can see it on display in Elkmont like never before!
When Can You See Fireflies in Elkmont?
This rare firefly mating display typically only takes place for a couple weeks in early summer. Depending on factors like weather and temperature, the timing and scale of the display can vary from year to year.
Typically, park biologists are able to estimate the dates of the synchronous firefly display by late April. They generally predict the display will occur in late May or early June.
How To See The Fireflies in the Smoky Mountains
In 2016, the park service announced a new system for distributing parking passes for the synchronous firefly viewing event.
In past years, the park service had sold vehicle passes online on a ""first-come, first-serve"" basis. Though the parking pass is only $2.75, it's notoriously difficult to get one.
Because demand is incredibly high and space is limited, the reservation system often crashed and parking passes were sold out in a matter of minutes.
To preserve this natural wonder for future generations, the park service limits the number of spectators. For good reason, park rangers are concerned that allowing too many spectators may disrupt the fireflies during this critical 2-week mating period.
During the dates of the firefly event, the park service closes the road to Elkmont and only allows shuttles from Sugarlands Visitor Center to enter this area of the park. The only visitors who can board shuttles are those who purchase a parking pass for the firefly event.
To keep thing fair and equally accessible to everyone, the park introduced a new lottery system for distributing passes.
Here's how the synchronous firefly viewing event lottery will work:
- April 25, 2017 – Dates of the Firefly Event and Shuttle Schedule Will be announced.
- April 28, 2017 – Lottery for parking passes opens at 12:00 pm EST. Visitors can enter the lottery on this website.
- May 1, 2017 – Lottery for parking passes closes at 8:00 PM EST.
- May 10, 2017 – All lottery applicants will be notified whether they receive a vehicle pass or not.
- May 30 to June 6, 2017 – The synchronous firefly viewing in Elkmont is scheduled for the first week of June. Ticket holders will be notified of when to arrive at Sugarlands on the evening of their viewing.
Visitors who receive a parking pass will go to Sugarlands Visitor Center at a specified date and time to park their vehicles. They will then take the firefly shuttle to Elkmont Campground to view the event.
Alternative Ways To See Synchronous Fireflies in the Smokies
Since it has become so difficult to view the synchronous fireflies in Elkmont, visitors may be wondering if there are other ways to view this stunning natural event.
Though Elkmont is home to the largest population of synchronous fireflies in the Smokies, some hikers have reported seeing this spectacle in other parts of the park.
This includes areas like:
- Cades Cove
These fireflies seem to flock to low elevation areas near the park that are relatively level that also have streams and rivers. It could be worth visiting these parts of the park during twilight to see if you can witness this fabulous display of twinkling lightning bugs.
Though we don't recommend hiking through the park at night, there have been reports of some brave hikers taking trails into Elkmont to view the fireflies. However, to return to their car after the event, so this would require around 10 miles of hiking, half of which would be after dark.
Over all the best way to view the fireflies in the national park is to enter the lottery for a parking pass. Even if you aren't lucky enough to win a pass this year, you can always enjoy this video of the synchronous firefly event in the Smokies!
If you're lucky enough to win a lottery pass, here are some rules for responsibly enjoying the firefly show in Elkmont.
- Cover Lights with red or blue cellophane
- Limit Flashlight Use
- Point Your Flashlight at the ground
- Don't Catch Fireflies
- Stay on the Trail
- Don't Leave Trash or Garbage
These rules are in place to help preserve this natural wonder for many years to come! We'd love to hear your stories, have you ever been to see the fireflies in Elkmont? Have you seen synchronous fireflies in other parts of the park? We'd love to hear your stories in our comments section!
Written by Mark Frazier",1190,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106996.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820223702-20170821003702-00426.warc.gz,0.939304232597351
3d004967-8428-4e99-9cb9-10a486a74cf3,2022-05-19T09:23:21+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://www.thehoardersplantcare.com/product-page/sunshine-trellis-30cm-10-pack,"These products are made to order and as such may take up 10 business days to produce prior to shipping. If you are in need of a rush order please contact us as we may be able to faciliate this.
Sunshine Trellis (10 PACK)
Trellis measure approx. 30cm in height and are made in Australia from quality resin.
These funky trellises are perfect for the indoor plant collector and are a great eco-friendly alternative to plastic.
Useful and aesthetically pleasing, these handy little pieces are sure to fast become one of your best sellers.
Available for purchase in lots of 10 in one colour/design.
NB: Colour availability may vary depend on demand and our suppliers.
- Baby Pink
- Baby Blue
- Pastel Orange
Mirror & Glitter avaialble upon request. Materials for such are much more expensive to purchase, so surchages will apply. Please Contact Us for a quote if you are looking to purchase trellises made from these materials.
All trellises come naked without packaging so you can add you own labels/branding.
WS: $79.99 per 10 Pack + GST ( $7.99 + GST Each)
RRP: $13.99 each",307,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662526009.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519074217-20220519104217-00621.warc.gz,0.911159694194794
4ba0e9e0-9e5a-435a-a4a2-9416f19d6a3c,2015-03-28T05:19:05+00:00,2011-08-30,0,https://missouri.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?script=%2Fcontent%2Easp&cid=1257931,"August 30, 2011
Warren Central off to a strong start
With several Division I prospects and a top five national ranking Indianapolis (IN) Warren Central H.S. is expected to have a special season, and after two weeks they are well on their way to doing just that. After a blow-out win in week one, the Warriors held on to defeat a solid Cathedral team this past Saturday on a game televised by ESPNU. After the win over the Fighting Irish Peegs.com spoke with Warren Central standouts and Hoosier commits Kevin Davis and Jordan Wallace about their season to this point, as well as to Coach John Hart about what he thinks of the IU program under Kevin Wilson.
...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now!",161,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00179-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968222498893738
d90cd54d-2d38-4dbb-abeb-71a10dae1bb4,2017-08-19T13:00:02+00:00,2016-02-13,0,http://www.golutes.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/releases/201602133b6n95,"By Christian Bond, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Late-game heroics, tough defense, and a solid night at the free throw line allowed the Pacific Lutheran men's basketball team to edge past the Pacific Boxers for a tight 54-51 Northwest Conference road win Friday night at the Stoller Center.
A Jared Christy free throw tied the game at 51-51 with 32 seconds remaining. With Pacific planning for the final shot and the clock down to single digits Dylan Foreman intercepted a pass, leading to an open court with no one in front of him. Foreman made a layup and was fouled on the play. He converted the and-one, putting the Lutes up three with four seconds left in the game. Tough Lute defense prevented the Boxers from getting a shot off, sealing the deal for the Lutes.
""It was a gut check game,"" PLU head coach Steve Dickerson said. ""We made big plays down the stretch when we had to. Dylan had a big play on a steal.""
The PLU defense stood firm, as the Lutes held Pacific to low shooting percentages from every spot on the floor. Pacific shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) overall from the field and only 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from beyond the arc. The Boxers did not help themselves out, shooting 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from the free throw line. While the Lutes similarly struggled shooting from the field at 34.4 percent overall (21-of-61) and 15.4 percent on 3-pointers (2-of-13), the Lutes gained the advantage at the free throw line. PLU made 10 of 12 shots at the charity stripe (83.3 percent).
""Both teams played good defense,"" Dickerson said. ""We told them before the game it was going to be a street fight, and that's what it was.""
Foreman and Brandon Lester each had 12 points in the win. Erik Swartout and Bryce Miller each added eight points, with Miller also grabbing seven rebounds. Christy snagged a game-high 11 rebounds on the night.
Ten different Lutes saw court time in the win. Kyle Sawtell played 15 minutes and Tyson Birrer played 14, while Seth Anderson and Shane Jacob each played 11 minutes and Markus Mitchell Glenn played five minutes. The group provided great effort on defense, as they combined for seven of the team's 40 rebounds. Their play proved crucial in a game that featured eight tie scores and eight lead changes.
""Our bench gave us good minutes,"" Dickerson said. ""Kyle, Tyson, Seth, Markus and Shane all contributed. All five of those guys gave us good minutes off the bench at critical times.""
The Lutes improved to 15-7 overall and 8-5 in conference play with the win, and they'll have an opportunity to clinch a Northwest Conference Tournament appearance with a win Saturday night at Lewis & Clark. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Portland.
""We are going at it one game at a time,"" Dickerson said. ""We demonstrated that we can win that close game. Tomorrow I hope we shoot a little better and keep defending the way we have been.""",681,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105451.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819124333-20170819144333-00376.warc.gz,0.966128647327423
f48c4f5b-9b3e-4590-b023-bfff557bdb92,2017-08-18T04:58:35+00:00,2017-08-18,1,https://www.tiawalbridgefordelegate.com/,"for Virginia's 33rd District Delegate
Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.
Learn about how Tia came to call the 33rd district home and what she hopes to achieve with the help of this amazing community.
Read about Tia's platform and this issues that are important in the 33rd.
Join the team! Come knock on doors, make phone calls, or host a meet and greet. Together, we can flip this seat in November.",104,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104565.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818043915-20170818063915-00628.warc.gz,0.93228018283844
12ebf78e-485c-4ad4-ae03-6a912f3223cc,2022-05-29T01:21:29+00:00,2021-03-25,1,https://globalnews.ca/news/7718982/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-trial-kids/,"Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE began testing their COVID-19 vaccine in children under 12, with hopes of expanding vaccination to that age range by early 2022, the U.S. drugmaker said on Thursday.
The first volunteers in the early-stage trial were given their first injections on Wednesday, Pfizer spokesperson Sharon Castillo said.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was authorized by U.S. regulators in late December for people age 16 and older. Nearly 66 million doses of the vaccine had been administered in the United States as of Wednesday morning, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The pediatric trial, which will include children as young as 6 months, follows a similar one launched by Moderna Inc last week.
Only the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is being used in 16- and 17-year-olds in the United States. Moderna’s shot was cleared for those age 18 and older, and no COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized in younger kids yet.
Pfizer and BioNTech plan to initially test the safety of their two-shot vaccine at three different dosages – 10, 20 and 30 micrograms – in a 144-participant Phase I/II trial.
They plan to later expand to a 4,500-participant late-stage trial in which they will test the safety, tolerability and immune response generated by the vaccine, likely by measuring antibody levels in the young subjects.
Castillo said the companies hope to have data from the trial in the second half of 2021.
Meanwhile, Pfizer has been testing the vaccine in children from age 12 to 15. The company expects to have data from that trial in the coming weeks, Castillo said.
(Additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago)",383,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00409.warc.gz,0.97054934501648
28f1df5b-3486-4a60-a8a7-4d0826396cbe,2017-08-17T15:43:02+00:00,2006-10-31,0,http://4201mass.blogspot.com/2006/10/,"In prehistoric times men did the hunting, supplied the food, fought off invaders, weathered the elements and generally provided for their families. Women were revered for their fertility. This had been the natural progression; there was no conscious aversion to placing either gender in a different role, it just happened that way. The way it worked was not very different from Homo Sapiens’s ancestors: natural selection.
This continued throughout the ages. Men defended their houses, villages and communities. Wars were fought, nations were defended and ice ages were overcome thanks to efforts put forth by men. Slowly but surely, advances were made: new weapons, new armor and new equipment. In hindsight the pattern could have been discerned from this point on.
Armies followed strategies, crossbows and catapults were invented, wheels and boats were used, fortifications were built. Strength, however, was still the chief attribute of the survival of any society. The longbow was ingenious, but it needed a strong arm, shoulder and footing. Through time, however, this tended to occur less and less.
Muskets and pistols did not need strong muscles. Cars and tanks neither, not to mention planes. After a number of centuries computers were used more and more to operate machinery for warfare and defense. It was clear by this point that brains were much more important than brawn. Activities from farming to conquest were progressively automatic.
Around the same time men started acting differently. Having brute strength was no longer an advantage. It did not accomplish much in life and it did not attract the opposite sex. Men started exercising their brain and started realizing that women were capable of everything they were, for the first time in human history.
Well, that’s not exactly true; it had been happening throughout history, mostly in spurts of realizations. Plato talked about how women differed from men in physical attributes, but had the same intellectual abilities as the best of men, and should therefore be assigned the same vital functions in society. Thomas More’s Utopia, though not as progressive, had women involved in government, labor and battle. Voltaire was attracted to Émilie du Châtelet because of her intellectual genius (most probably far greater than his). Despite all this, however, women received the vote in most countries only when all counter arguments had been exhausted, and even then with great reluctance.
Women could run a country, conduct a war, explore new frontiers, till the land, provide food, defend a society, weather the elements and perform any other activity needed for human survival. Men started acting less like men had acted traditionally, and more like women. Men did not concentrate on their physical prowess; they eschewed violence and prided themselves in their domesticity and care for their environment.
It was shortly after this that the change happened. At the time it was called the Misconception, among many other names: parthenogenesis was the proper term. What was clear, however, was that this was one of the most drastic evolutionary jumps, if not the most drastic, in the history of humans and all mammals. Some women were worshipped as new Madonna’s, while others were reviled as whores. Some had followings, while others were executed. Their children were treated in the same manner. Nevertheless, the trend became evident and undeniable: women were conceiving by themselves.
What started out as tragedy and fear slowly became increasingly controlled. From the great Misconception women soon learned how to have more and more power over their pregnancies, while medicines perfected this mechanism. This was going hand in hand with another concurrent phenomenon: almost all the newborns were females.
At this point it did not take much intellect to decipher what was occurring. Rape, Sexual assaults, molestations, Syphilis, AIDS, prostitution, spousal abuse would all be things of the past. No more bikinis, no more Burkas. And an entire gender would be erased from existence.
To recount the number of scientific studies and experiments which occurred in an attempt to reverse this trend would be useless. Heads of state talked of promoting the male gender. Couples were encouraged and enticed to produce male children. The change, however, was inevitable.
And now here I lie. The last male specimen. I have spent my life in seclusion because of the danger I am to myself for being what I am. The women I had contact with would stare at me intently, stroke my cheek to measure its coarseness, listen to my voice with curiosity. They would ask me about my sports skills and my male organs.
After my death, which is rapidly approaching, males will be consigned to history books, at which point we will be akin to fictional characters, such as fairies and ogres, or a sub-species: Cro-Magnons or Australopithecus.
I do not know if there is a God. I do not know what life means. I have stopped hoping that the male gender will recreate itself. Parthenogenesis has occurred in insect and plant species in the past, although a gender in itself has never become extinct by itself.
Nothing endures but change.",1062,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103579.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817151157-20170817171157-00643.warc.gz,0.986858367919922
1b4ab4a4-f265-4290-8fdc-ce14cb07b733,2019-08-21T13:57:53+00:00,2019-08-21,1,https://www.national.org.nz/alastair_scott_to_stand_down_in_2020,"MP for Wairarapa Alastair Scott has today announced that he won’t contest the 2020 election.
“It has been a privilege to serve the electorate of Wairarapa for two terms. I have decided that I will not nominate as a National Candidate in the forthcoming selection for Wairarapa.
“I’m confident that I leave my seat in good shape for the 2020 election. I am announcing today because it is very important to me that we have sufficient time to find and support our new National Wairarapa candidate for the 2020 election.
“I am grateful to the National Party for the opportunities and support it has shown me over the past six years. The party is full of dedicated individuals who are committed to working hard for New Zealand. I will extend my full support to the newly selected candidate.
“It will be business as usual in my office until the election. As always, people should not hesitate to get in touch with myself or my staff.
“I have every confidence that National will claim victory at the next election.”",227,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316021.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821131745-20190821153745-00254.warc.gz,0.966538071632385
05ee08be-7c24-4725-b002-2d06f1593fdf,2022-05-22T15:08:02+00:00,2013-10-31,1,https://www.lifesciencesipreview.com/news/genedx-claims-11-myriad-patents-are-invalid-612,"xrender / Shutterstock.com
The molecular diagnostic testing company GeneDx has petitioned the US Patent and Trademark Office to invalidate 11 patents asserted by Myriad in a lawsuit filed against GeneDx in October 2013.
To continue reading this article and to access our full archive, digital magazines and special reports you will need a subscription.
If you have already subscribed please login.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription we can add you into, please email Atif at email@example.com
If you have any technical issues please email tech support.
For access to the complete website and archive choose '12 MONTH SUBSCRIPTION'. For a free, two-week trial select ‘TWO WEEK FREE TRIAL’.
GeneDx; Myriad; BRCA1; BRCA2; USPTO; patent",194,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00425.warc.gz,0.880860388278961
7cd9b064-48e8-4782-86d8-a7c5bbcfacdf,2022-05-28T12:49:57+00:00,2020-12-29,1,https://m.riigikogu.ee/en/press-releases/european-union-affairs-committee-en/agreements-on-further-relations-between-the-eu-and-the-uk-approved-by-the-european-union-affairs-committee/,"The European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) approved Estonia’s positions regarding the agreements regulating the future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom at its today’s sitting.
Chair of the Committee Mailis Reps said that the UK’s decision to leave the European Union was regrettable and it would complicate the lives of many Estonians. “However, our Committee will also try to do everything to see that the changes would go as smoothly as possible. An agreement is in any case better than Britain leaving without a deal,” Reps pointed out.
The Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee added that unfortunately the agreements made in the busy moments at the end of the year showed signs of haste. “In connection with the end of free movement in January, travelling to the United Kingdom will be more complicated for those who wish to stay longer than for six months. We know that many young people are interested in studying in the UK and they are waiting for news about that. Unfortunately, there are no decisions that resolve the future of the Erasmus programmes, and in order to study in the UK, the students will have to apply for a student visa from 1 January 2021. But we are working to find good solutions to this as fast as possible, maybe as an alternative system,” Reps said.
Travelling between the EU and the UK continues to be visa-free also from the beginning of the next year, for 90 days in a 180-day period.
Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee Riina Sikkut underlined that having close relations and cooperation with the United Kingdom was important for Estonia. “Estonia values free, open and smooth trade with the UK, and regarding the recent agreement, I would like to highlight zero tariffs on mutual trade as an important decision,” she said.
According to the explanatory memorandum of the decision, the main interests of Estonia are also ensuring mutual access to the markets and equal competition conditions, as well as cooperation in digital trade and between small and medium-size enterprises, movement of capital and investments, and continuation of data exchange, transport connections, social protection and internal and legal cooperation.
The European Commission held negotiations with the United Kingdom on behalf of the Member States to conclude a new partnership agreement. Last Thursday these negotiations ended in agreeing on Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the agreement on protecting classified information and the cooperation agreement on safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy at the chief negotiators level.
In order for these agreements to take effect from the beginning of the next year, draft decisions have been submitted to Member States for urgent approval by the end of today. Signing of the agreements is planned for tomorrow. In order to give the parties of the agreement the possibility to acquaint themselves with the contents of the agreement, the draft decision provides for applying the agreement provisionally from January next year.
Your feedback is important. Please share it with us!",610,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016853.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528123744-20220528153744-00611.warc.gz,0.965350329875946
ae734317-deb7-431f-a964-fa00054cc1af,2022-05-18T06:13:48+00:00,2021-11-30,0,https://techstoriesindia.in/2021/02/hp-14-dv0054tu-laptop-price-specs-and-features-india/,"HP has launched 14-dv0054TU laptop variant in India powered by the 11th Gen Intel processor. The current lowest price for this model is Rs 66,999. ( June 2021 Price ) The MRP price is Rs 76,379. This laptop is now in stock online on Amazon.in ( check here for the lowest price ).
Nov 2021 Update: HP 14-dv0054TU now ships with Windows 11 Home, and is currently the best selling laptop on Amazon.in. The current lowest price is ₹66,990.
Check out Verified Purchase Buyer reviews here to know more about this laptop’s performance, Pros and Cons, defects if any.
HP 14-dv0054TU is a mid-range laptop powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 quad-core processor. It has a base clock speed of 2.4Ghz and a max turbo boost of 4.20Ghz. For graphics, this laptop uses integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPU. It ships with Windows 10 Home and has MS Office Home & Student 2019 pre-installed.
It comes with 16GB of ram and has 512GB SSD storage. The display on this model is a 14 inch Full HD IPS screen with an anti-glare panel. HP has equipped this model with True Vision 720p HD camera and has support for WiFi 6 networks. Check out the full specs below.
HP 14-dv0054TU Laptop Full Specs
- Intel Core i5-1135G7 ( 10nm SuperFin / 4 cores / 8 threads / 2.4Ghz base clock speed – 4.20Ghz Turbo Boost / 8MB cache )
- Intel Iris Xe graphics ( integrated )
- 14 inch Full HD screen ( anti-glare / 1920×1080 pixels resolution / 250nits / 45% NTSC color gamut / IPS / micro-edge )
- 16GB ram ( DDR4-3200 SDRAM / 2x 8 GB / Dual-channel )
- 512GB SSD storage ( PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD )
- HP TrueVision 720P HD Camera
- Integrated Dual Array Digital Microphone
- Backlit keyboard
- Dual Speakers
- Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5 combo
- 1x SuperSpeed USB Type-C 10Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge)
- 2x SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps signaling rate
- HDMI 1.4b port
- Multi-format SD media card reader
- 3.5mm Combo Audio jack
- Weight: 1.41kg
- 3-cell 43Whr battery
- Windows 10 Home
- MS Office Home & Student 2019 pre-installed
- McAfee LiveSafe (30 day free trial)
- Fingerprint reader",612,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00027.warc.gz,0.790075063705444
1d4d263a-484e-438f-9c31-9218f0fda406,2022-05-28T19:17:47+00:00,2022-01-01,1,https://sdgresources.relx.com/reports/fiduciary-duty-21st-century,"Through a series of events, interviews, case studies and a legal review, this report aims to end the debate about whether fiduciary duty is a legitimate barrier to investors integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into their investment processes.
In the decade that followed, many asset owners have made commitments to responsible investment. Many countries have introduced regulations and codes requiring institutional investors to take account of ESG issues in their investment decision-making. These changes – in investment practice and in public policy – demonstrate that, far from being a barrier, there are positive duties on investors to integrate ESG issues.
When evaluating whether or not an institutional investor has delivered on its fiduciary duties, both the outcomes achieved and the process followed are of critical importance. For example, a decision not to invest in a high-carbon asset because of financial concerns about stranded assets is likely to be seen as consistent with fiduciary duties, providing that the decision is based on credible assumptions and robust processes.
Despite significant progress, many investors have yet to fully integrate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment decision-making processes.",227,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663019783.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528185151-20220528215151-00001.warc.gz,0.953000783920288
c08c8705-1fbc-4dfd-b777-a7ea64b5faa9,2016-07-30T17:35:17+00:00,2013-05-21,1,http://www.nbcdfw.com/blogs/blue-star/Cowboys-Moving-From-Valley-Ranch-207718211.html,"The Dallas Cowboys have called Valley Ranch home since 1985, but this could soon change.
According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys are considering packing up for greener pastures. Frisco is in the running for the headquarters, as is Arlington. The latter of these would have the bonus feature of being stadium adjacent, but according to Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, the team’s still pretty thrilled with the idea of being home to JerryWorld alone.
“I’m still thrilled that we have the stadium,” Cluck said in the report. “That’s the most important asset.”
A potential move would be a bit of salt in the wound for the City of Irving, which, it was already reported this week, will lose the HP Byron Nelson Classic golf tournament to Dallas in 2019.
“We would not have a comment other than to say it’s very premature to discuss anything along the lines of potential options for our training headquarters,” said Cowboys executive vice president of public relations Rich Dalrymple.
Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Follow NBC DFW on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text ""bluestar"" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe, text HELP for more info, and text STOP to end the subscription. Message and data rates may apply.Read more about it here.",309,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258936356.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072856-00290-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95158052444458
017d3e72-0e89-4b07-8a93-d3a2d461fbf1,2015-04-01T01:10:54+00:00,2007-11-30,0,http://linuxappfinder.com/blog/single_click_installs,"I'm pleased to annouce that apturl support has been added to Linux App Finder. apturl is a program enabling single-click installs from within a browser. It is currently in the Ubuntu Gutsy repositories, but versions for Debian and Ubuntu Feisty are also available.
The current version of apturl only works with Firefox, but I expect that future versions will lift this restriction. Instructions are in the comments below describing how to enable apturl support in Opera and Konqueror.
How Does It Work?
apturl works by telling Firefox how-to handle URL's using the apt: format. When such a link is clicked it checks to see if the program is available through secured repositories. If it is, a dialog appears asking if you would like to install the app. If not, nothing happens. Hopefully a dialog will be added for this latter case to explain what happened.
What Does the ""Install Now"" Link Do?
Clicking the ""Install Now"" link will check your system's repositories for the application you are viewing and, if it is available, install it.
What are the Requirements to Use It?
The ""Install Now"" link will only appear on Linux App Finder when one of the deb repositories that we track has the application being viewed. In order for the link to work you need:
1. A GNU/Linux operating system using the Debian packaging system
2. apturl installed on your local system
3. Synaptic install on your local system
4. You must be viewing the page using the Firefox Web Browser
Examples of distributions using the Debian packaging system include: Debian, (K)Ubuntu, Mepis, Linspire, Linux Mint, and, Xandros.
apturl is the main program needed for the installs to work. Synaptic and Firefox are required because apturl can only function through them, although that may change in the future as support for other browsers is added.",400,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00237-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.891059219837189
55277982-0a72-47ed-b28e-05ad5060e79c,2013-06-19T19:27:49+00:00,2005-03-11,0,http://news.techworld.com/mobile-wireless/3303/skype-brings-the-worlds-phones-to-your-desk/,"Skype brings the world's phones to your desk
Buy a US number in the UK, a UK number in the US, and so on.
By Guy Kewney | Techworld | Published: 10:46, 11 March 2005
Fancy a phone number in America? You can have one, for 30 euros, if you are a user of the free Internet phone system, Skype. It went live with its beta-test version of the ""Skype-in"" service today, including free voice-mail.
The new version - version 1.2 - is due out inside six weeks, according to Niklas Zennstrom, who revealed some of his plans at a recent interview at Paddington Station, London.
""One of the most important parts of the new version will be a much improved connection to ordinary phone services,"" Zennstrom promised.
Normally, Skype users talk from computer to computer, often wearing headsets. The call is free, over broadband links. Recently, Skype added a pioneering service which allowed users to make free broadband calls over Wi-Fi hotspots in certain British sites, including many main railway stations and some trains, where hotspots are operated by Broadreach Networks - and this includes calls to real phone numbers.
Until now, however, calls could only be made outgoing, using SkypeOut service. Today's beta-test code launch reverses this: you can now have a call coming in from an ordinary phone subscriber.
And you can make it easy for them; you can buy a phone number from Skype in a country where you don't live. This means that if your important contacts are in America and you live in the UK or Europe, you buy a 12-month subscription to a US phone number and area code, and your US contacts can call for much less.
And if they work for corporations which routinely block overseas calls for security or other reasons, they can call you as if you were a genuine local number.",402,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.943860530853272
e61d0e30-66cc-4f94-8d48-311e24fd7a49,2015-03-30T10:43:28+00:00,2013-10-31,1,http://www.techhive.com/article/2059203/careful-nerds-wearing-google-glass-while-driving-may-get-you-a-ticket.html,"Careful, nerds: Wearing Google Glass while driving may get you a ticket
While Google Glassers will soon have a further dorkening of their beloved accessory to contend with, there may be a bigger problem to worry about: Driving with the Internet on your face may be considered a ticketable offense.
Self-described Transhumanist and prolific #GoogleGlass poster, Cecilia Abadie took to Google+ (of course) to claim the title for what appears to be the first person to receive a ticket for wearing Google Glass while driving.
In her initial post on the incident, Ms. Abadie said:
A cop just stopped me and gave me a ticket for wearing Google Glass while driving! The exact line says: Driving with Monitor visible to Driver (Google Glass). Is #GoogleGlass ilegal while driving or is this cop wrong??? Any legal advice is appreciated!! This happened in California. Do you know any other #GlassExplorers that got a similar ticket anywhere in the US?
Abadie later posted a clear scan of the ticket, which we have provided below:
The ticket actually makes note of two violations, the first being speeding; Abadie confessed in the G+ comments to the legitimacy of the speeding infraction, saying ""The speeding was justified as I was in a 65 mph zone and thought I was on a 75mph zone."" However a second infraction clearly refers to ""Driving with monitor visible to driver (Google Glass)"".
The Glass infraction references California Vehicular Code 27602, which prohibits drivers from watching television. Specifically, VC 27602 states:
A person shall not drive a motor vehicle if a television receiver, a video monitor, or a television or video screen, or any other similar means of visually displaying a television broadcast or video signal that produces entertainment or business applications, is operating and is located in the motor vehicle at a point forward of the back of the driver’s seat, or is operating and the monitor, screen, or display is visible to the driver while driving the motor vehicle.
We should also note that the vehicular code in question explicitly exempts using GPS from the code. So, there appears to be some room to accommodate new technologies into the law. For now, Abadie appears intent on fighting the Google Glass violation. As mobile technology continues its evolution into wearables, the law will be forced to accomodate strange new form factors.
We'll see more of this.
UPDATE: A Google spokesperson replied to our requests for comment with the following non-response response: ""As we make clear in our help center, Explorers should always use Glass responsibly and put their safety and the safety of others first. More broadly, Glass is built to connect you more with the world around you, not distract you from it. It’s early days for Glass and we look forward to hearing feedback from Explorers and others in advance of a wider consumer launch next year.""",607,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00258-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949423730373383
18007c55-0d42-4a05-ac2b-d081dda7976f,2019-08-21T02:56:09+00:00,2008-08-30,0,http://www.stspod.club/2008_08_24_archive.html,"Saturday, August 30, 2008
There are many times that names come up in conversation from the “old days”. One of the names is JYD. The man named Sylvester Ritter later became The Junkyard Dog. I met JYD through my association with The Wild Samoans. It was Afa who tracked down JYD for him to come to NY. I remember sitting there with Afa when the call came from Vince for Afa to track down JYD. I can remember Afa telling me that he never heard an ovation like when The Junkyard Dog walked into the Louisiana Superdome. The Samoans had been involved in a program in the territory against JYD and Mr. Olympia (Jerry Stubbs).
I got to be friends with JYD and when he left WWF I used him on shows. I also took him over to Hamilton, Bermuda for a show. I actually got to work in Bermuda several times for a guy named Eddy DeMello. He had a lot of power on the island and did a lot of promoting of various events. On this particular trip I took JYD, Ivan Koloff, Carolina’s Own David Isley and Thunderfoot #2 Gene Ligon. There were others on the trip that I cannot recall at this time.
I had Ivan in a single with JYD that eventually turned into a tag match. I remember JYD saying to Isley over the house microphone ""I don’t know much about you kid but let’s get these guys"". It was sometime later in the trip that JYD recommended Isley talk to Stan Hansen about going to Japan. It wasn’t long after that Isley was on his way to work for the Giant Baba. It was a huge thrill for him to go to Japan and work with legends. I remember him coming back and telling me that he was in a six man tag match with Abdullah the Butcher and somebody against Baba and two guys. He told me that when Baba went to shoot him into the ropes that Abdullah walked the apron and said “Please go off your feet kid”. You see Abdullah knew that Baba’s chop would probably not look very good and he wanted to be sure the Japan new comer would go off his feet for a move that couldn’t break an egg.
You might ask yourself ""why would Abdullah need to do that?"" But I spoke to Gorgeous Gary Royal who had the chance to work in Charlotte against The Giant Baba. He barely sold anything and Gary Royal was for sure one of the better workers of his era. I have wrestled Gary numerous times and I can tell you wrestling Gary Royal is like taking a night off every day. When he got back to the dressing room JJ Dillon gave him a hard time for not selling for someone as legendary as The Giant Baba. It wasn’t only his stature as a legend but also the head of All Japan Pro Wrestling. All Gary told JJ was that he didn’t think he would want him to sell that stuff it all looked so horrible. You see Gary didn’t even know who Baba was except some big Japanese guy. I can personally tell you that Gary can and would sell for anyone. He has no ego but he just didn’t know. So that type of thinking is why Abby had to be sure of the result in Isley’s case. It’s one thing to not sell for Baba in Charlotte. It would be a whole other issue in Osaka.
I am not trying to speak poorly of Baba. I have had many conversations about Baba with Bruno Sammartino and in his youth he was a great competitor. This stuff all happened at the end of his career a career that he managed very well. In Isley’s case, he will always be grateful to JYD and I will always think of how electric it was to hear Another One Bites The Dust as JYD made his way to the ring whether it was in Madison Square Garden or some show I booked him on.
There has been a lot of talk this week about Raven’s lawsuit with WWE. I have seen quotes from WWE’s long time attorney Jerry McDevitt. He seems to believe this case is a non-issue. I am well aware of McDevitt’s reputation and I would certainly feel comfortable if he was representing me based on everything I have heard about him. He has kept WWE out of a lot of hot water over the years. I have run businesses for many years and if WWE wrestlers qualify for Independent Contractor status then many businesses should have employee status reevaluated. The other solution is the IRS has no clue about what wrestling really is. I wonder if previous inquiries have really been done correctly. The IRS should go on the road for a week and see how “independent” these wrestlers really are.
All in all many times wrestlers and wrestling have flown under the radar because for so many years it was such a secret fraternity. As time has gone by we have clearly seen that things are opening up and as time goes by more truths are uncovered. The more exposed and available the business is to the public the more things truly need to be in order. In the world of WWE the more they get away with the more they attempt to get away with. I have to say if you can beat the IRS that’s really accomplishing something. I think I’d like to see the outcome of this case as the main event at Wrestlemania. I know that wouldn’t work out but the finish will have more to do with the future of the wrestling business than any match they could put together.
It seems you can’t go anywhere without hearing someone talk about the Ric Flair situation and there is good reason for that. It doesn’t add up or make any sense to anyone who has thought about it for more than five minutes. The way Flair left WWE for other opportunities I would have thought he going to be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars this year. I think he would have made a great choice. I wasn’t over thrilled with this year’s lineup he would have added some real “flair” to it. In this situation the numbers don’t add up and the big opportunities have yet to show themselves. In this business most stuff leaks out so whatever reasons are out there over time we may here about them. In Ric Flair’s case he has always performed on the biggest stage in our business and now he walks away for better money opportunities? How about the worldwide TV recognition that the WWE brings with it?
It was just recently that Flair appeared at Greg Price’s Mid Atlantic Legends event. It has been long coming that Flair appear at this event. He should have been there years ago when the other Horsemen were there. This event is held in Charlotte and it didn’t seem right that Flair never appeared there before. I hope that Greg and the Charlotte wrestling fans are happy two legends appeared at the convention which I understand was a huge success. In all that I have just said one thing is still a fact Ric Flair did not leave WWE to attend these types of events. It doesn’t matter how much he can make at these events. I have heard numbers between $350,000.00 and $500,000.00 being his WWE salary so before he can say this experiment made him one penny he has to beat whatever his WWE salary was. I say look for the real story and look for Ric Flair to be back in the WWE after he rakes in all the big money he has been missing on the autograph and Indy circuit.
This picture is me with Erin Murphy who playes Tabitha on the tv show Bewitched. You may wonder why this is relevant well because she is one of the celebrity participants in Hulk Hogans Celebrity Wrestling starting soon on CMT. I can tell you Erin is a great girl and I was very happy when she was selected.
----Maclin tells about the lineup for Delta Fair. Glen Jones [who??] will sing the National Anthem. Wrestling is free. Lawler vs Bagwell, Brian Christopher vs Chris Masters , Eugene, “Too Kool 2” [Tim Grind/Flex], Koko Ware, Mr. Hughes, Derrick King/Johnny Dotson vs “Los Locos”, Kid Kash and “Nature Boy” Kevin White. Maclin also announces the debut of Mucho Dinero?? Not sure, but that is probably a local guy doing a lucha gimmick.
----Match clip airs of Brian Christopher/Scotty Too Hotty vs Doug Gilbert/Spellbinder from one of the Legends shows. Brian C interview talking about Chris Masters. Brian says he is going to put horse manure in Masters’ face from the rodeo at the fair. Masters interview about tonight.
----“Wrestling Professor” comes out. 11.17.90 is the date today. “New Kids” [Brian Christopher/Tony Williams] vs Joey Mags/Sarge O’Reilly. Brian was soooo small. A little sloppy all around. Brian C does interview after the match saying that people say they are too small and too young.
----Interview with Eugene via phone with a match playing in the background with OVW match of Eugene vs Armando Estrada.
----“Gauntlet Match” [from Northeast Wrestling DVD “Wrestlefest XII” 4.19.08] starts with Awesome Kong vs Roxie. She beats her. Followed by Amber. Kong beats her. “Velvet Sky” Talia Madison. Madison wins by DQ, when Kong powerbombs the ref.
----Derrick King/Johnny Dotson at Taco Bell talking about “Los Locos”. “Los Locos” squash from OVW airs.
----Same Maclin promo airs about the show tonight!!
----“Buff” Bagwell interview with Corey Maclin. This was bad.
----Romeo Roselli with Talia Madison vs Jerry Lawler [I think from Northeast Wrestling DVD “New Spring Slam” 6.01.06] Madison trips Lawler to start the heat. Lawler ends up using the “Stunner”, kisses Madison and then piledrives Roselii for the win. Why does Lawler use the “Stunner”??
----Funny that the new opening features Bill Dundee a few times…Nice touch to see the guys doing interviews targeted for “tonight”…They did a real good job promoting the show for the Fair. This show seems to be the format for new Memphis Wrestling. It will be interesting to see what kind of ratings they will do…Maclin did say they were filming the Delta Fair stuff, so maybe we will get original material aired next week.
...Make sure to vote in the poll today if you watched the show. I will be posting the complete show on Tuesday for those that don't get it.
Friday Aug. 29
Lee County Fair - Pennington Gap ,VA
*Fantastic Bobby Fulton beat Beau James
*Frat Boy beat Justice
*Rolling Thunder beat Eclipso
*Misty James beat Rebecca Lynn
*Ricky Morton beat Bobby Eaton (name dropper) -Jimmy Valiant Special Ref
*Buff Bagwell beat The Sheik of Arraby
800 - free with admission to the fair
credit: CW Crippler
I wanted to chime in on Kevin Lawler for a minute. I've been around Kevin numerous times, as has most of the boys. You know the drill, though. If you're at a
I read Dustin's blog, and I will say that editing can make anybody Attila the Hun, or
Good people have bad luck, and make mistakes. All I will say for Kevin is, he's always treated me like a person. There's never been any sign of an ego, or like he looked at me as a mark, or anything. All our conversations have been as normal as any I'd have with a friend. I called him once about a spot as our Champ, and he politely declined, as he wasn't working as much, and offered to let me call Brian. Again, I was looking to bring back Kevin/Derrick, so, I wanted Kevin. I declined Brian's number, and thanked him for his time. Kevin just sticks out in my mind, because, I can memorably list the people that rank ""high"" in the business that have been genuinely nice to me. Kevin, The King, Jimmy Hart, C4P, Dr. Tom. Dr. Death, Baldo, Terry Taylor, Billy Travis,
I'm not saying Kevin's innocent, or that I think he's guilty. I'm saying Kevin Lawler is a genuinely nice guy. Stuff like this isn't supposed tohappen to them. Life isn't fair.....
-Duggan vs Executioner 2
0.5 ( 8103 viewers )
-DK/Dotson – interview
-Los Locos – interview
-Kash interview with match
-Wrestling Professor segment [start]
0.5 ( 8103 )
-Professor segment [finish]
-Lawler vs Landell [start]
0.4 ( 6482 )
-Lawler vs Landell [finish]
-Masters – interview
-Brian C - interview
0.1 ( 1621 )
Viewers from Start to Finish: [-6482 viewers]
Final Rating: 0.4 ( 6482 viewers ) 1 share
----There is nothing good about this rating. It is the lowest I have seen since starting the site and as Ron Guidry said earlier this week, it was probably the lowest ever for a Memphis Wrestling show. What does all this mean?? Well, for starters the show has lacked anything that viewers want to see. They watched the first two shows and said, “Screw it!” The drop from start to finish was 80% of total viewership!! Traditionally when there is a low rating, then the show bounces back with a real good rating next week, so we will just have wait and see.
Memphis Wrestling Weekly TV Poll
Thumbs Up 57%
Thumbs Down 42%
----This was the highest winning margin so far with the show getting a “Thumbs Up” for the third week in a row. The participation in the poll was down about 25% and I am assuming it was because we did not post the show online this week.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Shawn Streets pinned Jim Miller with a schoolboy roll-up following a missed charge into the corner by Miller.
Jason Maxx defeated Chase Ownes by disqualification after the Power TRIP ran in and attacked Maxx going after his already aggravated knee from the match and trying to put him out like they did Willie B Badd.
Shane Willians defeated the SoCal Kid after a piledriver. Afterwards the King got on the mic and asked where his scheduled opponent, Johnathan McMurray, was. Shane started to run down Johnathan until Shawn Streets came out to defend his partner's honor and challenged Shane to a match.
Shane Williams defeated Shawn Streets by pinfall. Streets had the go-behind position on the King but Shane ran into the ropes to stun Streets and pinned him with his feet on the ropes. Then the King started to talk about Jeff Anderson which he was informed that the Wildman is reinstated to the Fleatorium and came in through the front as Shane ran back to the locker room. Jeff said those 4 famous words and said that he'll get a hold of Shane Williams when, where and how he wants to so make sure you're there or you might miss it.
The Power TRIP retained the EWP tag Team Titles against Trooper T & Menace after a Hart Attack on Trooper. After the match they gave Trooper the Killswitch and attacked Menace as he was getting back in the ring.
Edward Idol defeated Robbie Race in a Lumberjack match. Edward went up top as Robbie was down but Robbie got up and caught Idol and shoved him off onto the lumberjacks (SoCal Kid, Shawn Streets, Chase Owens & Suito Maximo) While the Spur was checking on them Shane Williams came out and punched Robbie with a foreign object.
Wayne Adkins & Keith Knox defeated Beau James & Sigmon in the Double Jeapordy Pole Match by Wayne getting the contract for a title match. All 4 men were bloodied by the end of this match. After the match was over Knox got the strap down and laid into Sigmon and the incoming Chase Owens & Kole Layton King until Dr. X ran out with the ""Good Mood"" spray to Beau James with a towel as Beau soaked it up and got it around the mouth of both men to put them unconscious and was about a use his Indiana Jones whip on Keith nox's back until Jeff Anderson came in with a weapon to clear the ring.
Notes: The ether was real deal and James threw the towel in the crowd for evreyone to smell
Thursday, August 28, 2008
In American culture, pro wrestling is usually regarded as one of the lowest forms of low-brow entertainment — slightly above Jerry Springer, but solidly below NASCAR. Critics treat it as a comedic expression of the tastelessness of the American working class, a sort of redneck theater, scripted and choreographed, with poor acting and a poorer clientele.
But in its heyday, the sport nestled comfortably within the traditional, communal atmosphere of small town USA. The larger-than-life characters would often play off of regional stereotypes and real world conflicts, allowing for the sort of morality plays that appealed to the ethos of main street America. The decline of the wrestling business and its emergence as an entertainment industry was masterminded by one of the most ruthless corporate tyrants in recent memory, and in the process became a stark example of the dangers of modern ""sports entertainment,"" both for the performers and those who applaud them.
Pro-wrestling has always been a strange business, straddling uneasily between sport and entertainment, and the tension is not always easy on its stars.
Its best performers make good money, but even then, neither their salaries nor their living conditions match those of your typical ""pampered athlete."" The typical salary is far less than a million dollars, and unlike most major-league sports, wrestlers are expected to perform year round. Their tours are world-wide, and most pay their own traveling and living expenses while on the road. Health care and pension plans are nonexistent, but the physical intensity leads to frequent injuries, leading many wrestlers to work while hurt.
It is not surprising, then, that injuries often become a gateway to painkiller and steroid abuse — addictions that have long plagued the industry. The list of wrestlers who have died because of drug abuse — much of it with prescriptions from doctors with questionable credentials — is unbelievably long. Some of the worst abusers, men like Jake ""The Snake"" Roberts and Scott Hall, have managed to eke out a tormented existence, estranged from their families and working years past their physical primes in order to finance their expanding ""recreational"" habits.
Wrestlers that seek employment outside their industry often find themselves stumbling back into the waiting arms of the squared circle. Many cannot cope in normal middle class settings after years of groupies, drugs, and artificially inflated egos. Paranoia is rampant. The wrestling business is notorious for its backstabbing and politicking, as grown men argue intensely over the method in which they will ""win"" staged battles and keep their ""spot on the card."" Sabotage is common.
Despite these misgivings, I am indeed a long time fan. I grew up on the old National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), a loose band of regional territories. The organization's shows were no less ""fake"" than the modern product, but the organizational structure was drastically different. These territories were governed through a sort of federalist system. Each ""territory"" had its own booking office, TV show, tour dates and regional champion. Becoming a world champion meant becoming the shared property of the NWA, responsible for promoting the organization by performing all over the world. This arrangement worked until cable television and other forms of mass media made both the globe and the lifespan of the average wrestler much, much smaller.
It's true that many of the problems that plague the wrestling industry today existed back then as well. For understandable reasons, the profession has always been prone to alcoholism, brawling, and backstabbing, and family life has never been easy. But there was also something much more humane about the locally-oriented, territorial roots of the wrestling industry in the United States. In his book Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry, author Matthew Randazzo writes:
""Unlike the NWA territories which kept a wrestler within driving distance of his family at most times, these international brands sent their wrestlers from one end of the continent to the other...This in effect put an end to the camaraderie that had existed in the territories. No longer were wrestlers members of a freewheeling carnie brotherhood, a traveling biker gang; now they were interchangeable cogs within a heavily bureaucratic corporate behemoth, cowering in their cubicles in fear of the next downsizing.""
While a ""biker gang"" may sound unseemly, it really was an ideal arrangement for many of the wrestlers, or ""boys,"" as they often referred to themselves. Jobs were plentiful, and performers had options in a diversified market; work could be found almost anywhere in the country. Though the pay wasn't always great, many promoters had local connections that enabled their employees to eat and travel for cheap. Because the weekly and monthly schedules were concrete, with little deviation, even very active regions had schedules that gave wrestlers uniformity and a structured work environment. The relative smallness of the business also allowed more opportunities for spending time with his family, if he had one.
In this era, pro wrestling was often one of the few weekly sources for small town family entertainment. Back then, wrestling was strictly a morality play in which the good guys -- ""faces,"" in wrestling jargon -- were pitted against the bad guys, or ""heels."" In places like Tennessee and Texas, pro wrestling became an established part of life, with arenas regularly packed to capacity with fathers and sons cheering for decency to triumph over decadence, which it always did. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the industry as a whole.
When Vince McMahon and Ted Turner seized the industry in the 80's, it was a legal move, but not a moral one. Using slick financial techniques, the two moguls moved into the markets of the smaller companies, bought up their syndicated television time slots, signed away many of their stars and then purchased the hollow shells that were left, often at fire-sale prices. Along with these buyouts and takeovers came a switch from the standard good vs. evil plot lines for a model based on grandiosity and largesse. ""Bigger is better"" applied to the business model, the scope of the enterprise, and the actors themselves.
""Superstar"" Billy Graham failed to live up to his namesake when he helped introduce steroids into wrestling in the 70's, and the body-altering drug went from a fancy to a full blown necessity after McMahon and Turner's takeover. Combined with the rise of Hulk Hogan's ""Hulkamania,"" it was nearly impossible to get a well paying job in the business unless one was on the ""juice."" Where once, the business had been filled with tough looking, dock worker types like Harley Race and legit amateur legends like Danny Hodge, it was now filled with pro football washouts and body builders, nearly all of whom were ""roided"" to the gills.
As steroids exploded so did recreational drug use. Cocaine was prevalent and even used as payment in emergency situations. As modern fans became accustomed to even harder-hitting, daredevil wrestling styles in the late 80's, painkiller abuse spiked. The corporate wrestling bosses largely viewed their talent pools as expendable and ran worker after worker into the ground.
Since wrestlers were independent contractors, they had virtually no power in disputes with their employers. Tag Teams — two wrestlers who worked in conjunction against other tandems — were broken up at random, even though their success often depended on remaining a team. Releases were given for the most minor infractions and via the most insulting methods. The future ""Stone Cold"" Steve Austin was released from WCW by fax while out with an injury. The then soon-to-be Governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, met a similar fate.
By early 2001, the layers of bureaucratic chaos created by Turner's outfit — which had been extremely profitable just a few years before — collapsed under the weight of its own excesses and the company was purchased by the last remaining lion in the jungle, Vince McMahon. With no serious competition in the market place, the centralization of the sport was complete.
The business had become an industry, and the end result of this downturn has been entirely predictable: dozens of wrestlers have died, whatever semblance of family life wrestlers may have once enjoyed is gone, and the old pro wrestling so many grew up on has morphed into one of the most monstrous arrangements of corporate criminals and drug addicts imaginable.
In retrospect, bigger was not better for the wrestlers or their fans. It was just plain bad.
In the wake of the Benoit tragedy, many wrestling fans wanted some sort of action, but what could be done? The calls for industry regulation would drive the independents out of business altogether and further strengthen McMahon's monopoly-like power over the industry. Breaking up the WWE would certainly embarrass McMahon, but it would likely lead to a drastic reduction in pay for the workers. Organic change is even more complex. Cosmopolitan elites and their yuppie hanger-ons are quick to disassociate themselves from a ""faked"" sport on which the supposedly tasteless American working class feeds, but ironically, showing contempt for the ""phoniness"" of wrestling actively contributes to devaluing the lives of its participants.
The sad reality is that pro wrestling cannot easily be changed back to what it once was. Perhaps wrestlers themselves could arrive at the realization that they are not cogs in a machine, but men with responsibilities and duties. Alternately, a fan boycott could be organized. But the the excesses of pro wrestling are so ingrained in our culture of hyper-urbanization and its accompanying pathologies that such efforts would be terribly difficult, if not impossible. For now, spectacle trumps sport in the squared circle, and its only a matter of time before the next Chris Benoit ducks under the rope.
TNA Impact’s rating was up a lil’ bit this week. Nice to see them bounce back from a few weeks of low numbers. Friday Night Smackdown went into that night with some stiff competition in the closing ceremonies of the Olympics and they held their own. Only dropping 1 point from last week Smackdown did a very respectable 5.1 and maintained that consistency that SD has shown from week to week. With the way Memphis Wrestling’s numbers have looked since they moved to Ch. 50, it will be very, very interesting to see how Smackdown’s numbers will be affected when they make the move to MyNetwork Ch.50 in a month or so.
I have no ratings for RAW this week since it ran on Sci-Fi. The ratings I get from the station do not have Sci-Fi on the list but check out the Impact replay and WWE A.M. numbers. I guess a lot of wrestling fans stayed home Saturday night.
If you have any questions or comments just email me at: email@example.com.
Thanks and enjoy!!!
TNA Impact (Thursday) 8-21-08
Final Rating: 2.1 (34,031 viewers) 3 share
1st hour: 2.2 ( 35,651 viewers )
1.7 ( 27,549 )
1.8 ( 29,169 )
2.0 ( 32,410 )
2nd hour: 2.1 ( 34,031 viewers )
2.5 ( 40,512 )
2.1 ( 34,031 )
2.1 ( 34,031 )
WWE Friday Night Smackdown 8-22-08
Final Rating: 5.1 (82.646 viewers) 8 share
1st hour: 4.5 ( 72,923 viewers )
5.3 ( 85,887 )
4.5 ( 72,923 )
4.4 ( 71,302 )
2nd hour: 5.0 ( 81,025 viewers )
5.7 ( 92,369 )
6.0 ( 97,230 )
5.5 ( 89,128 )
Memphis Wrestling 8-23-08
Final Rating: 0.4 ( 6482 viewers ) 1 share
Quarter hours: 0.5 ( 8103 viewers )
0.5 ( 8103 )
0.4 ( 6482 )
0.1 ( 1621 )
TNA Impact Replay 8-23-08
Final Rating: 1.2 ( 19,446 viewers ) 2 share
1st hour: 1.6 ( 25,928 viewers )
1.4 ( 22,687 )
0.8 ( 12,964 )
0.8 ( 12,964 )
2nd hour: 0.8 ( 12,964 viewers )
1.0 ( 16,205 )
1.5 ( 24,308 )
1.4 ( 22,687 )
WWE A.M. 8-17-08
Final Rating: 2.5 ( 40,512 viewers ) 5 share
Quarter hours: 2.9 ( 46,995 viewers )
2.3 ( 37,272 )
2.3 ( 37,272 )
2.3 ( 37,272 )
----Ron Guidry works for a Memphis TV station and provides the rating analysis every week. He was formerly known as “The Penguin” with the old Kick Ass Wrestling promotion.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Asylum Straight Jacket Match. One of each members of the teams will have a straight jacket placed on them and locked. The keys will be hung from the ceiling. The only way to get the key is to climb the ladder and at that point the match gets really bad for one team and really good for the other. The team that gets the key can unlock their tag partner and they 3 get a 3 on 2 advantage. The other member in the straight jacket also can be put in the match as anything goes, weapons, no DQ, the team that cannot answer the 10 count is the loser of the match. This match could end the career of one member of these two teams.
----Kevin was always considered the “black sheep” of the Lawler family, even though his brother is Brian. There was an infamous story in the sheets during the time WCW would run shows in Memphis. Kevin wanted to go see Great Muta and Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat. Jerry told him that if he went, then he was not invited to Christmas dinner. Kevin went to the show and wrote all of this in a letter to Dave Meltzer. Not sure if he went to Christmas dinner or not, but that let’s you know how much Jerry hated the big promotions in the day.
Twenty-nine years ago, Jerry Lawler was a month into a big heel run. Bill Dundee was the area’s top babyface. Also new to the area and the business was a youngster, Terry Boulder, the Hulk. In a few short years he would be the WWF World champion and known as Hulk Hogan.
Aug 20, 1979
Jimmy Valiant had returned to the area and along with Steve Regal lost to the Southern Tag Team Champions, Wayne Farris and Larry Latham, (along with their manager, Sgt. Danny Davis.) For most of the summer, Farris and Latham had feuded with Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee. When Lawler-Dundee renewed their feud against each other, the tag champs were put against various teams and dominated the tag team scene for many months.
Future Hall-of-Fame tag team, the Fabulous Freebirds, (Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes), were stuck in the middle of the card (as usual in Memphis.) On this card, they got the win over Tommy and Eddie Gilbert.
In recent weeks, the Hulk (Hogan) had been trying to win the Southern Heavyweight Title from Ron Bass. When the Hulk was about to win, the champ’s manager, Sonny King, would interfere and save his belt. On this card the Hulk got his revenge with a win over Sonny King in a one-on-one match-up.
Speaking of the Southern champ; Ron Bass lost by DQ to a young Ricky Morton.
Aug 27, 1979
Lawler finally got his AWA World title match against Nick Bockwinkle. The King took the champ to a 60 minute draw in a great match.
Bill Dundee got some gold of his own, as he defeated the current Southern Heavyweight champion, Ron Bass.
The Southern tag team champions, Wayne Farris and Larry Latham lost by DQ to the new team of Tommy Gilbert and the Hulk (Hogan). Hulk’s popularity was really big during this time in Memphis. His “larger-than-like” muscles were something the Memphis fans weren’t used to and they liked it.
Earlier in the night, the Fabulous Freebirds, (Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy) were broke the rules to defeat the new team of Steve Regal and Rick Morton. The father and son team of Buddy and Ken Wayne went to a draw with Dallas Montgomery and Eddie Gilbert.
The fans got a payoff with Dundee getting the Southern belt from Bass… One thing I hadn’t remembered about the Lawler-Bockwinkle match was this was only Lawler’s second AWA World title match in Memphis, (the first match happened a year earlier on Aug 21, 1978)… The promotion continued to tease the fans with putting Hulk in another title match. He had been in singles title matches all summer, but never held a title in Memphis… Farris and Latham reign as tag champs was safe, as they snuck away with the belts yet again… The Freebirds continued to go nowhere fast in the territory.
----Mark James is the author of “Memphis Wrestling History – Cards, Matches, Results, Newspaper Clippings” Vol 1 and ""Vol 2: The Programs 1972 - 1976"" James also is the webmaster to the BEST Memphis Wrestling site in the area – www.memphiswrestlinghistory.com - Click on his site and order his books!!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
----You have heard the saying, “If you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything.” Or something like that; right?? If you were naming the four best workers in the area, would they include Psycho, Arnez, Justin Smart and “Indian” Quixote? Psycho is too fat, Arnez does not take enough heat, Justin is green and well…Quixote is the drizzlin shiznitz; right? Oh yea, Joey McNew is an idiot that has no business being a wrestling promoter and all three of his shows have been disasters. Well, all the of that may be true, but let me tell you – that one night in Kennett, MO those four guys along with booker Motley Cruz and promoter McNew put on a show that the fans enjoyed. It doesn’t matter that none of the bouts were “match of the year”. The fans went home happy and I look for a lot of them to return for the next show. All the people “hating” on this promotion and crew – all I can say is – give them a chance. Even though I personally would have probably marked out more for the four guys would have been Stan Lee, Derrick King, Flash Flanagan and Greg Anthony – I would add those four guys from Kennett that worked their asses off on my roster any day of the week. They got something some of your guys are lacking – heart.
----When I first heard that XOW was “invading” ASWF, I laughed and said, “Do those guys still run shows?” I then took a minute to think. These guys have continued to keep their names out there, even though they are not running regular shows [up until this weekend]. I think that is very smart marketing in doing a feud in NBW earlier this year and then keeping the name alive with ASWF invasion. Did I really think I still would be writing about the Tony Watts/Bill Russ promotion this late in 2008?? Nah, the promotion was formed out of more controversy than probably any group in this area. They have kept their name in the mix and more people probably know about them in this area than most promotions. And look at the talent they had on their show this past weekend!! Some of the best in the area, so how can you go wrong? Ok…so they are still using that stupid “Deadman”..but other than that you guys are over with me.
----Are there really that many good things to talk about in this area?? Another promotion that I felt would not make by this time in 2008, is RWA. They run their weekly shows in an arena that was built for Bert Prentice. So I am thinking from the start that these guys are cursed. LOL Frank Martin has jumped in and got the community working with them. There is a church group that comes to the show – what other group can say that?? I am told the payoffs are not that big right now, but that is the understanding when being hired. This is considered a “start up” company and when it does flourish, the Martin says the workers will benefit. His rosters have also changed back and forth, which keeps it fresh. He also has been able to take guys most considered “not that talented” along with guys like Ali Stevens and Rodney Mack to make the fans want to come in. The workers also talk about how it might be one of the best dressing rooms in the area – no backstabbing and no bitching. Keep up the good work guys.
----I remember a few years back when talking about RAW in the dressing room, one of the workers in the dressing rooms said, “I don’t watch that crap.” And, I really wondered how could a worker not follow the main show of the business?? Well, I have to admit that it has been a long time since I watched any of the major promotions’ shows. You got nothing on TNA – Sting is in a bad mood again?? Wow!! ECW looks so bad with a roster that has NO ONE that I get excited about watching. RAW is going to be the top show; right? Well, at least there seems to be some things I want to go out of my way to see – like Jericho/Michaels, JBL/Punk and even the Lawler/Duggan stuff with Dibiase/Runnels. I think there has to be SOMETHING right with the universe, when CM Punk is world champion. Smackdown?? Well, I am so sick of watching Eddy’s ex-wife that I want to puke. Every time I see her – I think she is just exploiting Eddy. I may be total off base on that, but it is just the way I see her. And what the hell happened with MVP?? Talk about being forgotten in the shuffle?? Here is a guy that was being pushed as being the next big thing having good matches with Chris Benoit and now he is just “lost” on Smackdown.
THOUGHTS ON COACH'S CORNER - VOICE YOUR OPINION ON KAYFABE BOARD
----A RRO visitor sent along a message via e-mail yesterday that he drove past Jerry Lawler’s house on Walnut Grove in Memphis. It is no secret that Lawler lives on Walnut Grove and has lived there as long as I can remember. His house is now for sale or rent, because Lawler has bought a new house in Germantown. So the RRO visitor called to just see how much the cost of rent was?? “King” is renting the place for $3,500 a month!! So, wanna live like a King?? Rent the home of former “King” Jerry Lawler. Is that as high I think it is for even Memphis??
1st Match: Lucky VS J.D. Kerry VS P.P.3 Winner, PP3
This was a good match and very quick match with all three workers going full speed from the beginning. To start the match PP3 was searching Lucky and found 2 gold balls. Crowd found this really funny. PP3 won the match after Kerry missed on a cross body off the top rope.
2nd Match: Chris Steel with Classy Meltin Massy VS Mike Titan. Winner Steel.
Mike Titan is the second student to graduate from Rodney Mack and Jazz Wrestling school here in the RWA. This young man is 6' 6"" and 375 lbs. He had an impressive second match. This kid is so strong not even he knows how strong he is. He threw Steel around like a stuffed animal. He also threw Massy around and Massy is not small by any stretch of the imagination. Titan throws hammers to the top of the head instead of punches. However Massy distracted the ref and Steel pulled out a chain and knocked Titan out to get the three count.
3rd Match: Big Indian Quixote VS The 7 foot monster Silas. The Big Indian gave Silas all he wanted. Quixote does not back down from anyone and did not look to be intimidated by Silas. Silas was knocked off his feet again in this match, Silas is not used to being off his feet and the Indian is the only one to do it so far in the RWA. Silas caught the Indian on the second rope and slammed him to the mat. Silas showing his strength then picked him up and choked slammed him to get the three count.
4th Match: The Fabulous Luke Graham Jr. VS Soul Train Jones. This was a classic old school vs new school match. Soul Train match Luke pretty much move for move. The crowd saw a wrestling match and not a brawl and seemed to really like it. The ref was knocked out for a brief period when Soul Train caught him with an elbow as he was winding up to throw a punch. The second ref Biscuit came in and made the count. The first ref got up and DQ'd Soul Train for hitting him so Graham got the win by DQ. But this is far from over.
5th Match: The Asylum, (Arnez, Psycho, Pappy) VS The Natural Born Playa'z (Southside, Mr. Pimptacular, Mike Anthony) This was a Hale County Street Fight. This fight was a brutal match with street signs, kendo sticks, wet floor signs, chairs a bat with barbwire wrapped around it all used in this match. Psycho hit a side slam on Mike Anthony on top of a chair and then hit the Dream Catcher on the chair. Mike Anthony was out as Mr. Pimptacular came in from behind and caught Psycho with a sign to the head and rolled Mike over on Psycho for the 3 count.
Psycho grabbed Frank Martin the owner of the RWA who was watching the match ring side placing Kayte to his ear. This is where it gets real strange as the doll seems to speak for the Asylum. The Asylum has demanded a match that has never been preformed. This is the most dangerous match in wrestling. The Asylum Straight Jacket Match. One of each members of the teams will have a straight jacket placed on them and locked. The keys will be hung from the ceiling. The only way to get the key is to climb the ladder and at that point the match gets really bad for one team and really good for the other. The team that gets the key can unlock their tag partner and they 3 get a 3 on 2 advantage. The other member in the straight jacket also can be put in the match as anything goes, weapons, no DQ, the team that cannot answer the 10 count is the loser of the match. This match could end the career of one member of these two teams.
The Main Event.
Rik Burton and Zane Richards VS Rodney Mack the RWA Champ and Ron Rage of P.O.B. This tag match was one of the best matches this reporter has seen in quite sometime. One could tell that all of these guy's are veterans. Every move was well executed, each team tagged with great timing. As Rik Burton was about to get the advantage for the pin fall. The Big Indian came out and came off the second rope hitting Burton in the back of the head and rolled Ron Rage on to Burton for the three count. The after math of this match, Zane Richards challenged Rodney Mack to a match, Burton is tied into a match with the Big Indian. Now where that leaves Ron Rage only time will tell.
Note: The Midnight Cowboy was not at the show. The Cowboy had a stint put in his heart. No one knows at this time if the Cowboy will ever wrestle again. The RWA family would like the Cowboy to know that we are all behind him and he is in our prayers. Get Well Soon Cowboy.
There were 150 in the building and the announcement was made that the RWA has a Web site being built. All the information is being gathered by the company building the web site keep an eye out for the New RWA Web site. This Saturday the 30th. Shawn Sultz will be in action in Jonesboro. This reporter has talked to Shawn and yes he is going to wrestle. Also the Hale County Straight Jacket match. Plus one lucky fan will win a $50.00 Gas Card and an Oil change.
Credit: RWA Reporter
EPW Champion ""Dangerous"" David Cox vs. ""Prime Time"" Nick Grimes ended in a time limit draw. Rematch this Saturday night, no time limit. If Grimes defeats Cox, Cox gets a return match the following week. If Cox wins, Grimes get a rematch the following week with same stipulations.
Cassanova Kid over Slammer, Damion Rage, & LSD in a 4-way match.
""Monkey Boy"" Danny Morris over Dalton Storm & BJ Fuller in a 3-way.
Tysin Starr defeated Izzy Rotten.
The Ghost Riders (Buzz Harley & Blade) defeated PHAT Foundation (Justin Rhodes & Chris Fontaine) to become #1 contenders for the Tag Team Championship. Good match.
The main event was supposed to be Bonecrusher & his wife, Michelle, taking on 24/7 (Kross & JR Mauler). Michelle came out with Bonecrusher and it was revealed that she had been attacked earlier in the week by 24/7 and was injured and would not be able to compete. Bonecrusher had, however, been given permission by EPW Promoter, Edith Poole, to choose someone to be his partner, and he had called an old friend. Michelle was given permission to stay at ring side in Bonecrusher's corner. Bonecrusher actually started the match by himself, but his partner came out a few minuted later and it was none other than Cody Hawk. This match quickly deteriorated into a brawl, much of it fought outside the ring. At one point Kross grabbed Michelle, but Bonecrusher grabbed Kross before he could do any damage. Michelle got in several pretty good shots with her good arm, however. The referee finally threw the match out when it was obvious that he was never going to regain control. The locker room emptied and everyone tried to pull the four men apart, but it took about 15 minutes to finally get them separated and to the back. Great match, wild action in & out of the ring. I am sure these two teams will go at each other again this Saturday night. It is not over by a long shot.
The crowd was standing room only. I counted 132 in the building. I know for a FACT that paid attendance was 101. Additional chairs had to be brought from the back to accommodate the fans who were standing. Congratulations to Edith and everyone at EPW on EPW's largest crowd ever and on a great show.
Credit: ""Axeman"" Randall Lewis @ www.wrestlingnewscenter.com
Meanwhile check out this week's featured match:
""Superstar"" Bill Dundee vs. ""Sweet & Sour"" Larry Sweeney from XCW Midwest's Xtreme Heat in New Albany, Indiana on Aug. 7, 2007
Monday, August 25, 2008
First I would like to thank Coach BT for letting me come on here and write or BITCH some may say before it's all said and done. Well lets get on with it shall we.
Saturday night in Booneville MS at EPW some ""workers"" were there that wasn't booked on the card. Well I'm a firm believer of if you are not booked and you want to get on the card bring your stuff and talk to the booker. Hell any true ""worker"" will tell you if your going to a show take your gear. Well I figured that’s what these guys (Ac Styles,Cage, and BJ Fuller) were doing. BJ was the only one that worked the show last night. After my match I was getting undressed and someone told Bonecrusher that Cage and AC were outside talking crap about the show to ""MARKS"".... We just had a meeting that night about everyone need to tighten up because we had standing room only in the building and the best draw the company has had since starting up. So this blew Bonecrusher up, this is not no normal size man I mean his hands are like Rocks. (Bonecrusher in Mississippi, Not the ugly no working ass that works in TN area) Bonecrusher says... “Where is Cage?” and flies out the door. Me being one that loves to see someone get there face kicked in I follow him out, there stands Cage by AC Styles truck (which says on the back glass in big white letter's TNA's Wrestling Superstar AC Styles!!!!! I'm not joking either.) Bonecrusher 6'4 267 lbs confronts Cage 5' 7 210 lbs. and says if your going to run your mouth about this company say something to me about it. Cage didn't have anything to say then. Cage put his hand up like he was going to push Bonecrusher back and Bonecrusher grabbed that asshole up and told him if he heard him say anything about EPW again he'd hunt him down and kick his ass.... LOL
Great Moment in EPW by far. Why you ask? Because Bonecrusher takes pride in this business and doesn't hide behind a keyboard like everyone does on the Bathroom Wall. I think if everyone would stand up for there company and keep the shit out of it they just might draw a damn crowd.... EPW has been drawing on average 40 to 40 people paid, Saturday night - 101 total paid and for having just about 10 guys that can ""work"", that’s a 110% turn around for a town that was killed by JWS and Sammy Magee( owner of JWS) and the Fair in town with the Fair Grounds unless then 500 feet away. Yep I would have confronted that asshole also and he'd be still laying in the parking lot
Lets hear what you guys think... Go to the kayfabe board and post your throughts.
*Fire beat Rocker Johnny Maness
*Ty Hamilton beat The Grappler
*Albino Rhino won over Agent Cahill
*Doug Gilbert and Michael Gilbert beat Kevin White and Cody Melton with Su Yung and Garry White.
Credit: MWS Studd
----I was told attendance was around 130, which is way down from the two previous shows...They plan to run around the first of every month from this point on with 10.04.08 being their next event...A lot going on in September with this group...""The Agents"" from Memphis Wrestling returned for this show!! They had been working as ""Blitz"" and ""Gladiator"".
Hardknox Hooligan/Chico Mendoza def PK Ripper and Outlaw
Byron Wilcott w/ravishing randy defeated Waycool, after Ravishing Randy threw his croquette mallet in the ring. Byron used it on Waycool to get the win.(Match of the NIGHT)
Bobby ""Butcherman"" Smith and Tank Turner fought to a double countout, after the match Butcherman was suspended for 2 weeks.
Dre Black retained the TV Title after using the ropes for leverage over Oz the XTEME
Lawman Williams and Simon Reed won by Disqualification over ""Big and Nasty"" [Big Boy Bob/Dazzlin Dixie] after a Masked man entered the ring and laid a beat down on Simon with a chain and the championship belt.
-- Where’s Wildside? He has been gone for 3 weeks now, is The Franchise coming back?
--Rumors are Sarge O'rReilly is coming in a few weeks.
--Georgia Promotion has contacted TIWF about a talent swap.
-- TIWF joins the AIWF as the Midsouth affiliate.
Catch us live every Saturday night at the Showplex Arena in Trenton, Tn.
Tennessee Independent Wrestling Federation TV can be seen on E+TV6 each
Every Sat. at noon and Primetime at 6 p.m.
website at http://www.tiwf.org
Credit: Steve Hunter
Chris Fontaine defeated DC.
Josh Matthews defeated Chris Kilgore in a match with no DQ, no time limit, & no outside interference. Chris had said that if he could not defeat Josh, he would shake his hand and apologize for all the bad things he had said previously. Dirty Rell Mo came to the ring with Kilgore, but Chris sent him to the back prior to the match starting. Dirty came out again during the match and tried to interfere several times, but Chris threw him out of the ring. After the match Chris Kilgore did shake Josh's hand and apologize for all the things he had said. Great match. The members of Mo Foundation then attacked Kilgore, but made the save.
Little Guys, Inc. (Lil' Devil & Kid J) defeated Parental Advisory (""The Studd"" Scott Porteau & ""Bad Attitude"" Tony Dabbs). PA basically gave the match away so Little Guys, Inc. would be the new #1 contenders for the tag team belts. PA did not want to have to defend the belts against The Asylum at the next show.
In a ""Loser Leaves Wrestling"" match, Neil ""The Real Deal"" Taylor defeated Fusion. Fusion is now out of wrestling for good. After the match all of the wrestlers came out of the back and everyone gave Fusion a standing ovation. This was an outstanding match, by the way.
Athletic Commissioner Sammy Hall came out of the back and called out Chris Kilgore & Josh Matthews. Sammy congratulated them on their match, and said he did not like what he saw when Mo Foundation attacked Kilgore earlier in the show. Sammy said he wanted to come out of retirement and team with Josh & Chris to take on Mo Foundation at the next show. Bad Boy Burns said he had to be in on it also, so it will be Sammy Hall, Josh Matthews, & Chris Kilgore w/Bad Boy Burns vs. Mo Foundation this Friday night at TFW.
TFW Champion Chop Top the Clown defeated Izzy Rotten to retain the belt.
The main event was a 3-way elimination match for the TNA X-Division Championship, Ryan SoFine vs. Chris Styles vs. TNA X-Division Champion Petey Williams. Ryan SoFine was eliminated first, leaving Chris Styles & Petey Williams to battle it out. This was an outstanding match, eventually won by Petey Williams.
I did not have time to do a head count like I usually do, but I would say crowd approx. 170. Overall it was a very good show.
Credit: ""Axeman"" Randall Lewis @ www.wrestlingnewscenter.com
New Blood & The Bounty Hunter vs. The Texas Connection & Brawler Rex
Rex pinned the Bounty Hunter
Semi-Main Event: SPWA TV Title Match
Travis Locke vs. Brawler Rex (Champion)
Rex pinned Travis
Second Match: SPWA Title Match
Jay Kraft vs. Don Bass (Champion)
Jay Kraft wins by DQ due to outside interference by Hoss Williams & Brawler Rex
Opening Match: Singles Match
Just Bob vs. Hoss Williams
Hoss pinned Just Bob
Credit: Hoss Williams @ www.wrestlingnewscenter.com
The Baron Malkavain over Lil' Tim Alfonso and Stan Lee in Triple Threat Match
'Girlcandy' Christian Jacobs over Dell Tucker
'The Golden Boy' Greg Anthony over Rockin' Randy by DQ
Derrick King & Idol Bane wrestled to a No Contest when Greg Anthony and Dell Tucker interfered
Idol Bane and Greg Anthony over Derrick King and Dell Tucker
Stan Lee gave Lil' Tim a sit down tombstone piledriver, The Baron then through Stan out of the ring and gave Lil' Tim The Demon's Wings for the 3 count.
Dell Tucker said he was battered and bruised but he wants tgb in the ring. 'Girlcandy' Christian Jacobs comes to the ring and tells Tucker that he needs to worry more about him making his return to LAW than anything else and challenges Tucker to a match right then. Tucker hit a vaulted cross body to CJ on the outside and then through him back into the ring. tgb came from the back and high kneed Tucker into the steel pole and put him back into the ring so CJ could hit The Spear for the victory.
Randy went for a superkick but tgb ducked and tossed him outside the ring. Dell Tucker hit the ring and tackled tgb and beat him down with right hands. Tucker then clotheslined him over the top as the crowd cheered.
Derrick came to the ring for 'Karoke with King'. This week Derrick treated the crowd to 'Walking in Memphis' by Marc Cohn. The crowd was singing along and clapping when all of sudden the music stopped and The LAW Champion Idol Bane's music hit. Idol came to the ring with Jeff and Dell and said that DK was making a fool of himself. He's a former 5 time LAW champion and he's out here singing? Derrick said that he's always liked to have a good time and have fun and singing is fun. He said Idol you came out here to.. what's that song? oh, yeah.. Mamma said knock you out.. and DK gave Idol a vicous right hand and an impromtu LAW title match was underway. Ref was knocked out during this contest and Idol went and got a chair. But DK superkicked him before he could use it. tgb came and attacked DK, tgb was going to hit DK with the chair but Tucker came and took the chair away from DK and a 4 man brawl broke out. DK & Tucker challenged tgb & Idol to a tag match.
In the main event, DK hit Idol with The Superkick. Idol fell to the floor and has the ref was checking on him.... 'Girlcandy' Christian Jacobs slid in and cut Derrick in half with a Spear. tgb then crawled and got the 3 count. tgb said he couldn't believe his eyes could, can we now add 'Girlcandy' Christian Jacobs to the mix, he asked. tgb said that individually that they are unbeatable, individually they are unbelievable but together they are 'Untouchable'!!!
----40 to 50 in the crowd...Christian Jacobs was scheduled to work Kennett, MO, but no showed and worked this one...Wasn't Chris Rocker and Jeremy Blaze called the ""Untouchables""?? I like the name though for a heel group.
Our first match was one that was more unbelievable than anything. Athena Eclipse was to take on Big Al. The match didn't even last three minutes before Morgan Lane stuck his nose in the match with a Muscle Cutter to Big Al, giving Athena the 123.
Winner: Athena Eclipse
Our second match of the night was one of high flying and technical wrestling. Johnny Hawk vs Suicide. A match that tested not only the agility of the wrestlers but their minds as well. Unfortunately for Suicide, Johnny Hawk would take home the victory.
Winner: Johnny Hawk
This match was for the ASWF Tag Team Titles. The defending champions Wild Bill and Demon X (CCR) took on the challengers Dre and Silent Mark. Although Dre and Silent Mark put on a heck of a match, it just wasn't enough to beat the champs. Not only did CCR have to deal with Dre and Silent Mark, Regulator and Syn came out after the match and tried to attack CCR, but didn't succeed.
This match would be a qualification match for the European Championship. Scott Fury, the current champion, would take on Mr. Muscle Morgan Lane. There was interference by Athena Eclipse, but Nikki Lane would come out to make it even and be in Scott's corner. Morgan won the match securing him a title shot for next week.
Winner: Morgan Lane
The match before intermission would set the bar for the rest of the night. The ASWF X-Division Title would be on the line. XOW's Niel Taylor, the current champion, vs Ray Ray vs X-Kaliber vs Hot Rod John Ellison. It was a long and brutal match for all four superstars. And to make things worse for ASWF, Tony ""The Weasel"" Watts brung out an XOW Referee to officiate the match. But that would make no difference, because at the end of the match it was X-Kaliber who got the 123.
This next match would be owner vs owner. Ricky Rowland and David Walls with their Manager T-Bone Terrence Ward would take on XOW's Tony Watts and Billy with Hollywood Jimmy Blaylock in their corner. Unfortunatly for the ASWF, XOW would win by DQ.
The feature match of the night would be for the XOW Tag Team Titles. The current champions, Josh Matthews and Chris Styles would take on two of the ASWF top superstars, Tommy Wayne and the returning Chuck Fears. It was a long and brutal match for the two teams, but coming down to the end ASWF would take the gold getting the 123.
Winner: Tommy Wayne and Chuck Fears
The Semi-Main event of the evening would be a highlight for sure. TNA's X-Division Champion Petey Williams would take on ASWF's Austin Lane in a singles match. Both wrestlers put on a great match almost guessing each others move. At the end of the match Petey Williams would get the pin, but a surprise was about to happen. Just as XOW entered the ring, Petey Williams turns on XOW knocking out Hollywood Jimmy Blaylock and supporting the ASWF!
Winner: Petey Williams
Our main event match was not only for the ASWF Title but for the company as well. Casino Kid vs Cameron Valentine for the gold. Sarge who originally held the title last week was injured over the weekend and XOW turned the belt over to Valentine. This switch would be good for the XOW as Casino Kid would get the victory winning the belt and the company back!
Winner: Casino Kid.
Credit: ASWF Ace
----I am being told 300+ in the building and Austin Lane got a great loud reaction in his match vs Petey.
The show started with Sarge O'Riley and Tony Watts introducing Hollywood Jimmy Blaylock and the TNA X-Division Champion, ""Maple Leaf Muscle"" Petey Williams. Sarge had a bad mic. Bad Mic-Bad Call. Petey will be locking up with ""The Human Highlight Reel"" Austin Lane, later, in the main event.
Opening Match-Special XOW Hardcore Championship-Uncle Felton(Champion), Jason Sydal, Syn, D.J. Stunner, and The Baron Malkavain competed in a wild and crazy match to kick off the show. There was pandemonium both inside and outside of the ring at Huey White Chevrolet during this one, which included battles in a trailer, pizza pans, and a leg drop in the back of a truck. Uncle Felton took a nasty spill on the outside, later in the match, but in the end, it was D.J. Stunner getting the win and being crowned NEW XOW Hardcore Champion.
2nd Match-""Bad Attitude"" Tony Dabbs with Hollywood Jimmy defeated Cameron Valentine after Jimmy hit Cameron with his cane. Fun match with Tony cutting up. During the end of a test of strength with the powerhouse Valentine, Tony got his fingers stomped. I always get a kick out of that and the crowd loves it.
3rd Match-Su Yung defeated Tasha Simone in a Special Ladies Match with a roll up. They gave these ladies a good bit of time. It had a few rocky moments during it, but, hey, it's the adorable Su Yung and Tasha will simply kick your ass. So, it's all good!
4th Match-Chris Rocker & Derrick King defeated ""SARGE-OLICIOUS"" Sarge O'Riley and Neil ""The Real Deal"" Taylor with Hollywood Jimmy and Tony Watts in their corner. The Hollywood Clique got lots of heat, here. Prior to the match, I gave Neil Taylor a Good Call, but he told me to stick my sign up my a#@! Ouch! That's no way to be. It was different seeing Derrick work as a face. This match saw many moments of miscommunication and tension between the Clique. At the end of the match, both Chris and Derrick were sent into the ropes, by Sarge and Neil, but Derrick fell through the ropes and took a very nasty bump on the concrete. Rocker ended up getting the win with a superkick. After the match, Derrick was helped to the back while the trouble continued for the Hollywood Clique, but all was well, in the end, because everyone hugged. What a Kodak moment. As Sarge was leaving ringside, he got into a confrontation with Uncle Felton, who was sitting in the crowd. Sarge asked Felton, ""Why are you talking to me? It's not February!"" That did it. It was on, then! Uncle Felton chased Sarge in the ring and got him some, by shortly clearing the ring. I thought that was a nice touch. Totally unpredictable.
During the intermission, the TNA X-Division Champion and ""The Definition of Definition"" Petey Williams came out to sign autographs and take pictures. The crew began to assemble the cage while Al Hall took a moment to roast everyone at Huey White. Kimble, Oscar, and Al also plugged the Wrestling News Center. Tony Watts said he heard that The Deadman was suppose to be here, but he wasn't. The Deadman appeared and walked slowly after Tony Watts all around Huey White.
5th Match-Special Steel Cage Match for the XOW Tag Team Titles-The Sons of the South, ""The Future"" Chris Styles and Josh Matthews with Diamond in their corner became the NEW XOW Tag Champs after defeating Ray Ray and Tommy Wayne in the steel cage. Amazing match. Josh Matthews attempted a frog splash from the top of the cage and Ray Ray attempted a swanton, during the match. Neither connected. The finish came, as referee Crispy Fries was knocked out with the door open, Diamond grabbed the belts and gave them to Styles and Matthews. They hit Ray Ray and Tommy Wayne with the belts and escaped the cage to become the new champs. These two teams worked great together. I look forward to seeing them hook up, again, real soon. Speaking of hit, Al Hall was trying to hit on Diamond, throughout the whole match, but to no avail.
As the crew was taking down the cage, they brought out Derrick King to let everyone know how he's doing after his bad bump, earlier. He let everyone know that he's ok and that he'll probley have a few beverages, later. ""The Mayor"" Oscar Barlow informed Derrick that he was currently in a dry county. Chris Rocker said that if someone would tighten up the ropes maybe these kind of things wouldn't happen. Al Hall said that Uncle Felton was Derrick's Daddy.
Main Event-""Maple Leaf Muscle"" Petey Williams with Hollywood Jimmy defeated ""The Human Highlight Reel"" Austin Lane with his signature move, The Canadian Destroyer, to retain the TNA X-Division title. It's always cool to see The Canadian Destroyer live and in person. These two had great chemistry. At one point, they both were countering each other's move and even attempting the same move. This was very well done. There was also the ole' abdominal stretch spot with Jimmy lending a hand to Petey a couple times to add some extra added pressure and pain on Austin. On the third attempt, Austin reversed the move, so Jimmy ended up hurting his boy, Petey. Good stuff. Petey also beat the hell out of a traffic cone that was at ringside. It was kinda weird seeing Jimmy managing against Austin Lane.
There was a nice crowd considering that it was cloudy all day. Luckily, the rain held off until the show ended. Great show and a great time was had by everyone. Plus it was a FREE show. Can't beat that with a stick. The referee for all of today's matches was a gentleman by the name of Crispy Fries. Yeah, that's right. Crispy Fries. Now that's funny. Al Hall said that today was the first time he had seen me wearing men's clothing. That Al has got jokes. Gotta go with Oscar on that big game next weekend. Hotty Toddy!
Special Good Calls
On behalf of all of us here at wrestlingnewscenter.com, we would like to thank Kimble Winstead, ""The Mayor"" Oscar Barlow, and Al Hall for their excellent job of advertising our website. You guys are always a Good Call! I really appreciate all of the kind words, also. Jimmy McClure for District 17 Circuit County Judge in Northwest Mississippi is another Good Call. The final Good Call goes out to XOW and all of its great workers, staff, and the fine people of Huey White Chevrolet for giving us an AWESOME day of wrestling.
Credit: D-Rock @ www.wrestlingnewscenter.com
***Due to injury, the Blassie Twins surrendered the Tag Titles at the top of the show to TXW staff b/c they could not defend the belts 2nite. What will happen with the TXW Tag Team Titles is still undecided.
1) Demetria defeated Violet Adams after hitting her with something pulled from her bra.
Earlier on TV this week, Bobby Rayne of the The Forsaken Angels Guild demanded that their three way tag team match be turned into a #1 Contenders match for the TXW Tag Team Championships... His wish was granted.
2) The new Forsaken Angels Guild with ""Ravishing"" Ryan Luther pinned the Reaper as they defeated Urban Militia and disfigured Juggalo Drake and Bob O Mac. Bob O Mac abandoned Drake as he chased Funkmaster V when Funk put his hands on the Lovely Beth at ringside. The Guild are now the #1 contenders to the vacated Tag Belts
3) THE KAPOW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP was captured by Ryan Dookie by pinfall over the defending champ Shane ""The Prodigy"" Andrews! Dookie's manager pushed Andrews off of the top rope and Dookie rolled him up for the 1...2...3!
4) THE EWP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP was successfully defended as Sigmon took out ""Sensational"" Wayne Adkins with a pinfall in a great match. Sigmon should be greatful for his EWP pals Beau James and Kole Layton King for their help in the match.
***An Elvis impersonator shooks his hips for the ladies at intermission. The divorce rate in Knoxville jumped 3%
5) Donovan Daniels needed help from his EWP Tag Team Partner ""the Rip"" to take out Shawn Streets. Streets dominated the match, but when the ref was knocked out, Daniels was able to get some revenge on Shawn Streets for his invlovement with last show's ""Fans Bring the Weapons"" Title fight.
***On the Mothership, Funkmaster V raised an envelope to the crowd and claimed that inside were pictures of he and the Lovely Beth that would prove to everyone that they were an item during Bob O Mac's engagment to her. He claimed that he would post the pics online Monday unless Bob O Mac could defeat him in a rematch.
6) Funkmaster V defeated Bob O Mac via DQ as Jon Diamond, Monroe Fayte and TXW color commentator ""The Reverend"" Jay Perkey appealed to the ref that Bob O Mac used a chain to defeat Funkmaster, when in actuality Bob O Mac dominated the match and pinned him clean without the use of foreign objects. Details about the pics will be announced on the TXW hotline Monday.
7) In what was suppossed to be a Tag Team Championship match, TXW management was able to sign this match last minute. Former Tag Champion Bobbie Blassie and his new partner Allen Sheppard took on Justin O'day and Nick Taylor. When Blassie's team got the pin, Justin O'Day and manager Tony Lucassio turned on Nick Taylor and beat him down for being the partner that was pinned. Allen Sheppard arrived to the crowd's delight to make the save, but then shocked them all by teaming up with Oday and Lucassio to further punish Taylor.
8) The TXW Heavyweight Championship was defended successfully yet again by Jerry Lee as he defeated Travis Sawyer by pinfall after the Powerslam. Jerry Lee would then endure something much worse than someone stealing his title. Justin O'day and Allen Sheppard arrived, and along with Travis Sawyer and Tony Lucassio then beat the holy poop out of the TXW Champion. After they were done with Lee, they then announced that are forming an outlaw alliance called ""THE BLACK LIST."" This show featured wrestlers from almost every promotion in Knoxville area. txwwrestling.com
Sigmon retained the EWP Championship over Menace by a schoolboy roll-up after Menace missed a moonsault.
The Power TRIP defeated Wayne Adkins & Shane Andrews to keep the EWP Tag Team Championship by pinfall. Wayne had Donovan pinned following a crossbody off the second rope but RIP broke it up with a big shot to Wayne's head and rolled Donovan over to get the victory.
Jeff Anderson defeated Beau James with a schoolboy roll-up. Beau brought a whip with him along with Kole Layton King & Sigmon and kept Jeff out of the ring for a few minutes beofre the match could begin until Jeff grabbed a chair. Jeff got the pin after Sigmon had ahold of Jeff from behind for Beau to hit with his whip but Jeff dodged and got Sigmon instead and Anderson took advantage.
Ericules gave Jason Maxx the fight of his life. (not really) Ericules avoided Mazz at first until he offered him a free shot which Eric took advantage of but Jason just reversed and took control. Ericules got a crossbody off but got caught and slammed for the 3 count.
Edward Idol pinned Trooper T with a roll-up with some help from the ropes.
Keith Knox beat Shane Williams by pinfall. Shane had something in his tights he used during the match several times to lay out Keith. At the end Williams stayed in the corner for a bit to rest and went to pin Keith after his last assisted punch but Keith flipped him over for the victory. http://ericuleswrestlingpromotions.webs.com/
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Tommy was out sick for this show, and he has yet to post his ratings. Come on Tommy, get on the stick dude!
Larry joined me for the SAW review, and he gave it a mild thumbs up. He didn't see NWA main event.
NWA Main Event: Upper thumbs in the middle
SAW: Mild thumbs up
I gave the nod to SAW, but can't declare a winner for the week until Tommy gets his ratings posted. Come on Tommy, get on the stick dude! Cya Monday night. Trent Van Drisse
----WWCW promoter Joey McNew’s debut this year was considered a flop. His second show was ended in controversy. [Read the Kayfabe Board] So, how did the third show go with the return of wrestling to Kennett, MO?? The following is the report that I typed as the show happened on Friday night.
----I am trying again for a Wi-Fi show, but it looks like in rural America doe not know what Wi-Fi is..LOL
----The Missouri Commissioner is here and he is being a real prick. At 7:45 PM [15 minutes after the show was suppose to start], WWCW has 4 wrestlers cleared to wrestle. Blame is being thrown both ways as the workers are saying that the commish web site does not say that you need certain tests and such. Apparently all the workers were told what paperwork they were suppose to get, but they were going by the web site. All said and done – all of this should have been clear before the day of the show. Shit like this just totally amazes me. Ring, building…oh yeah…make sure talent is licensed?? LOL
CCW RELATED PEOPLE AT SHOW
----Paul Justice, Emilo Lazardo, Rod Dent III [his mom & dad], Brandy [went to a lot of the old shows], Dara [another long time fan], my girls and mom, Psycho, Arnez, Seth Knight, Zane, Kilo, Auburn Thunder, Rob Justice aka OzWick and Mark Justice [and family],.
----The show starts with Tasha Simone and Richard Marx going over the stips, [basically was a standard double elimination tournament with first match being a battle royal…I guess…LOL] putting over the fact there is only 4 guys on the show. The crowd was 150 – 170 and pretty hot for at least Tasha announcing “Asylum” – Tasha did a real good job getting all this over. Truthfully this can only be a major fustercluck, but at least RRO is here to cover it. LOL
----“Big Indian” Quixote is out. Psycho comes out to a huge pop. Kennett has always been his town. Psycho gives his doll Kayte to..the real Kayte [my daughter]. I got chills guys – sorry but this building, Psycho and wrestling means “something” to me. Psycho chops as he puts him in the corner. Huge “Psycho” chant. Justin “The Juice” Smart enters the ring. Smart jumped in, but stopped – should have continued on them. Smart and Quixote then start on Psycho taking heat. Quixote slams Psycho. They try pinning Psycho. And…4th person entering is “Asylum’s” Arnez. Psycho making comeback gets huge pop. Arnez got a big pop too. Crowd was so hot for “Asylum”!!! Tasha announces the tournament is for the WWCW Title. Tasha put over “Coach BT” and with messages on the laptop. LOL… Quixote and Smart playing total heel here getting heat – crowd was hot. Arnez eliminated by Smart. Psycho eliminates Smart with fall down closeline. Psycho pins Quixote. [**]
----“Loser” Bracket: Quixote vs Arnez – Winner has to wrestle Smart. Announcers putting over the fact that it could be Psycho vs Arnez in the finals. This match is bad – nothing yet. Arnez taking all match. Quixote gets heat. Arnez’s making comeback. No psychology, but crowd stayed into it most of the match. [*1/2]
----“Loser” Bracket: Smart vs Arnez is next. Started real quick with Arnez trying to get pins. Crowd wanted this. Sweet standing suplex from Arnez. Arnez runs into the ringpost for Smart to start heat. Smart working real hard here. Smart uses Karly [Arnez’ doll] on him. Crowd is hot for this. Two good hope spots. Perfect psychology so far. Smart went to the top and Arnez caught him for a black hole slam – looked good!! Goes for the pin and Quixote comes out. Quixote slides chair in – Smart takes it with him to top turnbuckle. He throws it to Arnez and Arnez catches and Smart hits him with a dropkick hitting the chair hard for the pin & win. Good match. [***]
----Psycho vs Smart next. Psycho missed Smart running into the turnbuckle. Smart goes after the leg with hard kick. Heat begins. Did I say how over Psycho is here?? Psycho makes a small comeback. Smart right back on him. Smart doing just basic heel stuff here. Fans are eating it up. Crowd is hot. Psycho making comeback. Psycho jumps from the bottom rope!! [BT Express move – I did that in my first ever match] LOL Smart goes to the top. Blockbuster from Smart. Double down. Smart goes for him, but Psycho blocks it for the “dreamcatcher” for the win and WWCW Title. Solid match. [**1/2]
----Quixote/Smart vs Arnez/Psycho next. Arnez/Psycho out with straight jackets and Psycho has a snake around his next. Arnez/Psycho getting shine. Psycho puts Smart down in a submission. Smart is still tired from other matches – blown up. Smart hits Arnez with dropkick to knee. Quixote comes in and the heat starts. Smart/Quixote work the knee. Arnez goes dead. Quixote misses legdrop, but gets the quick tag to Smart. Smart puts half crab in then to Quixote for half crab. Hot tag to Psycho was flat. Quixote shitcanned – “Straight to Hale” for finish. [**1/2]
-----Sarge O’Reilly, Chris Rocker, Rob Justice and Pappy were backstage without licenses including the ones mentioned above from CCW...""Classy"" Meltin Massy [Loose Cannon] was backstage for the full event...Got to give the guys that worked a big hand for going out to do this. They all four went out and gave 110% and the fans were into the show right up to the end. Motley Cruz, who booked the show, did a good job also...Quixote has the worse music ever….Announces next show for October 11, 2008 for “Fan’s Appreciation Night” - $5!!...Simone did some real smart thing over the mic – putting over everything – every move – every part of the match…Smart superkick Quixote after main event. At times she was even calling spots to the workers very subtle. I usually not a fan of mic over crowd, but Tasha helped getting this show over…Even with all the license bs, you got to give McNew a “high five” for giving the fans a show. He announced before the show started there was only 4 wrestlers, so everyone knew what they were getting beforehand. I also was told to kayfabe, but the amount these four guys got for a payoff was probably one of the best of their careers. They deserved it also.
----Photos by Kayte Tramel. Psycho with strap to the left. Top right: Rod Dent II/BT/Emilo Lazardo. Lower Right: Arnez/Kilo/Psycho/Auburn Thunder/Zane Justice/Seth Knight/BT/Paul Justice/Mark Justice.",17808,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315750.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821022901-20190821044901-00064.warc.gz,0.972845375537872
51e2aad8-2180-45ec-928d-b9692237d080,2017-08-22T14:47:45+00:00,2009-09-20,0,http://bashhh.blogspot.com/2009/09/mayweather-vs-marquez-results.html,"It was a grueling 12 round fight for former pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mexican number one pugilist Juan Manuel Marquez. Juan Manuel Marquez nearly got knocked out on Round 2 but decided to pursue the fight till the end. Yet, the Mexican fighter still failed to have Mayweather his first taste of defeat. After a judges' unanimous decision, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still undefeated with now 40 wins under his belt.
It is said that whoever wins in this ""Number One vs Numero Uno"" fight held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will be the one facing Manny Pacquiao. Rest assured, the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight will be the next big boxing event that fans will be rooting for. As for Marquez, this might spell the end of his career unless he comes up with another exciting fight in line.",179,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110792.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822143101-20170822163101-00296.warc.gz,0.96491152048111
97126e87-eff0-4787-9222-307b14394221,2019-08-19T18:29:42+00:00,2014-01-28,0,https://www.attheraces.com/blogs/eyecatchers/28-January-2014,"WELCOME to our Eyecatchers column. Every week Alan Thomson pinpoints horses primed to strike in the next few weeks, if not days. Remember, you can add Alan's weekly updates to your ATR Tracker.
BLUE WAVE ATR Tracker
(Southwell, 21st January)
Late-maturing middle-distance gelding is getting his act together and made mincemeat of some moderate rivals, easily supplementing an equally facile victory at Lingfield eight days earlier. Mark Johnston does so well with these types.
SIR ABBOT ATR Tracker
(Leopardstown, 26th January)
No match for impressive Quickpick Vic in this 16-runner maiden hurdle, but was making significant late inroads on the first two under a sympathetic ride from Tony McCoy. The five-year-old had a couple of fair yardsticks in arrears, so this was promising.
POINT GUARD ATR Tracker
(Warwick, 23rd January)
Looked a big, scopey sort in the paddock in an interesting bumper and wasn't knocked about in fourth behind quite a useful sort in Battle Born. Don Cantillon's raw recruit is probably capable of much better as his career progresses.
FOX APPEAL ATR Tracker
(Doncaster, 25th January)
Emma Lavelle's gamble of dropping her progressive gelding back to two miles back-fired as he was taken off his feet behind top novice Valdez. Fox Appeal made several untidy jumps as he was taken out of his comfort zone but will be a different proposition when returned to a more appropriate distance.
LE ROCHER ATR Tracker
(Cheltenham, 25th January)
Out of all the horses under the microscope on Cheltenham Trials day, Le Rocher created the biggest impression as a horse worth ante-post support. Not always fluent over his hurdles, Le Rocher fairly powered up the hill and must take high rank among the Triumph Hurdle principals.
ARAMADYH ATR Tracker
(Wolverhampton, 27th January)
Ran into an improving sort in Sir Charlie Khan but gave the odds-on favourite a stern test on her first start since October. A mark of 68 here seems workable.
Alan Thomson's Eyecatchers column is sponsored by SIS - visit www.sis.tv for more information on a range of services for bookmaker and punter.",512,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314904.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819180710-20190819202710-00441.warc.gz,0.958804070949554
6a54076c-7230-440b-b99c-055e958f9848,2017-08-18T05:40:35+00:00,2017-08-18,0,http://www.datpiff.com/Mike-O-The-First-Year-mixtape.420695.html,"The First Year
My first full length Mixtape check it out! feat. Wonka and Realyst!
Embed Wide Player:
Embed Tall Player:
I Ain't Goin Out(Beat by LTZ Beatz)
Fly With Me Feat. Realyst(Remix)
Summer House(Beat by Marty Perkins)
Nothin Gonna Stop Me(Beat by Frequence Beatz)
Let It All Out(Beat by ZVfull1)
Feeling Closer(Beat by Frequency Beatz)
All On The Line(Beat by Nine Diamond Productions)
Waiting For The Show(Beat by InspectaMorze)
Logic(Beat by Marty Perkins)
Spark It Feat. Wonka(Beat by ProLee93)
One Step Ahead(Beat by MrBlubbEMS)
Keep The Flow Going(Beat by Mike O)
Somewhere In South Tucson(Beat by Scovery D)
Thanks(Beatt by PeonBeats)
comments powered by Disqus.
comments powered by
project baby 2
connect with facebook
Hot This Week
view full list
Latest News Stories
Gucci Mane Announces “Mr. Davis” Album; Drops “I Get The Bag” Ft Migos
One of the most consistent (t)rappers in the game, Gucci Mane, is gearing up to get right back to it. After giving the fans the “Droptopwop...
Meek Mill In Police Custody In NYC
Meek Mill is in police custody tonight after allegedly driving a dirt bike recklessly through the streets of NYC. TMZ has been told Meek is being h...
Kodak Black Drops “Project Baby Two”
Kodak was released from jail in June and is currently on house arrest. With his in-house studio, he’s been working on a new project. This is ...
SZA Postpones CTRL Tour
SZA was supposed to begin her CTRL Tour last night in Richmond. But it was canceled at the last moment: This why niggas dont like coming to Richmon...
Hooters Are Shutting Down Because The Kids Don’t Like Boobs Anymore
Everybody likes titties, right? Well, apparently those pesky millennial don’t like them as much the chest gawkers that came before them. Acco...
Tyler, The Creator Explains His ‘I Had A Boyfriend At 15’ Comment
Yesterday, we shared an interview with Tyler, The Creator in which he claimed to have been romantically involved with another guy as a teenager. Th...
see all news
advertise with datpiff
DatPiff® is a registered trademark of
Idle Media Inc",581,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104565.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818043915-20170818063915-00611.warc.gz,0.856309056282043
21078a5f-d8cc-4221-aa51-168d58c2714d,2020-10-24T23:56:50+00:00,2014-11-21,1,https://www.mcknights.com/news/house-bill-would-offer-lump-sum-medicare-payments-to-hospitals-post-acute-providers/,"Skilled nursing facilities and other post-acute providers would be eligible to participate in a Medicare bundled payment system proposed in a House of Representatives bill unveiled Thursday.
The “Comprehensive Care Payment Innovation Act” would provide a lump sum to cover a Medicare beneficiary’s complete episode of care for certain procedures. The bill specifies six procedures, including hip/knee joint replacement, and gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the ability to expand the list.
The bundled payment would cover the period from three days prior to a hospital inpatient admission to 90 days after hospital discharge.
The premise of a bundled payment is that it incentives providers to better coordinate care to keep costs down and share in savings. The new bill stipulates that participating providers would have to meet certain quality measures to receive these payments.
Reps. Diane Black (R-TN) and Richard E. Neal (D-MA) introduced the bill. Click here to access the full text of the legislation.",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107885059.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024223210-20201025013210-00488.warc.gz,0.950090885162354
58d23d0e-4056-4911-8937-f2e1ad51bbfb,2020-10-30T05:30:17+00:00,2015-12-31,1,https://www.sciencealert.com/two-dad-babies-could-soon-be-a-reality,"For the first time, scientists have shown that it’s possible for two people of the same sex to create a baby, without the need for outside egg or sperm donation. The most obvious benefits would be for homosexual couples who want to have a child together, but the method could also help couples who have been affected by infertility.
The team, from Cambridge University in the UK and Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, built on previous work where baby mice were successfully raised from mouse skin cells that had been converted into what’s known as primordial germ cells - the precursors of egg and sperm cells. It was a real struggle to replicate the process using human biological matter, but now they’ve finally managed to create new human primordial germ cells using skin cells from five human donors and stem cell lines from five human embryos.
“We have succeeded in the first and most important step of this process, which is to show we can make these very early human stem cells in a dish,” lead researcher and professor of physiology and reproduction at Cambridge, Azim Surani, told Lois Rogers at The Sunday Times.
“We have also discovered that one of the things that happens in these germ cells is that epigenetic mutations, the cell mistakes that occur with age, are wiped out. That means the cell is regenerated and reset, so while the rest of the cells in the body have aged and contain genetic mistakes, these ones don’t. We can’t say no mutations are passed on, but mostly it doesn’t happen.”
A pioneer in the field of non-traditional reproduction technology, Surani was also involved in the birth of the first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, in 1978.
The key to their research ended up being a gene called SOX17, which didn’t seem to have any effect on the mouse research, so was largely ignored. But the team finally realised that SOX17 was actually crucial to process of ‘reprogramming’ that the human skin cells had to undergo to become primordial germ cells, and they reported their discovery on Christmas day last year.
Now, they’re confident that the process, which has been described in the journal Cell, could be used to make healthy babies in as little as two years’ time. Although Robin Lovell-Badge, head of stem-cell biology and developmental genetics at the National Institute for Medical Research, who was not involved in the work, thinks it’s too soon to be putting a due date on it. “[The stem cell breakthrough] will be important for understanding the causes of infertility and for the treatment of it,” he told Rogers at The Sunday Times. “It is probably a long way off, but it would be a way for people who have had treatment for conditions such as childhood leukaemia, which has left them infertile, to have children of their own.”
Of course, something like this is bound to get caught up in ethical concerns, as did the research that resulted in the birth of a girl using the DNA of three parents. But Surani’s team point out that reproduction is not the only potential use for this technique. He told Ian Sample at The Guardian that because the cells are wiped clean of the genetic mutations they had accumulated as skin cells, they could be used to better understand the changes our cells undergo as we age. “This could tell us how to erase these epigenetic mutations,” he said. ""Epigenetics is used to regulate gene expression, but in age-related diseases, these changes can be aberrant and misregulate genes.”
As Lovell-Badge said, it’s much too early to know if this is the medical breakthrough that will change the way we reproduce, but it sure does feel like the not-so-distant future will offer a whole lot more options to the kinds of people who are struggling to have a baby today. And ethical arguments aside, that's a pretty wonderful thing.",844,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107907213.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030033658-20201030063658-00539.warc.gz,0.972596883773804
8a05b689-2b3d-431f-8993-432f3aa9a626,2015-03-28T00:32:27+00:00,2013-07-13,1,http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/07/russia-says-no-asylum-request-yet-received-from-edward-snowden/,"NSA leaker Edward Snowden has not yet requested temporary asylum from Russia, after his appeal for assistance from human rights groups Friday.
From the NY Times:
Senior Kremlin officials said Saturday that Russia’s Federal Migration Service had not yet received a formal appeal for asylum from Edward J. Snowden. And the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, insisted that the government had had no contact with him — a curious statement given the government’s clear role in arranging a meeting at Sheremetyevo airport here in Moscow on Friday between Mr. Snowden and lawyers and human rights advocates.
Mr. Snowden on Friday appealed to the human rights advocates to intervene on his behalf with the Russian government, though it is unclear how influential they can be, given that at least two of the groups represented — Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — have had their Moscow offices raided by the authorities in recent months, and some of their local representatives have faced personal threats apparently aimed at curtailing their work.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that Snowden could not stay in the country unless he “stopped his work aimed at harming our American partners.”
Meanwhile, Reuters reported Saturday that Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald told an Argentinean news outlet Snowden has information that could prove to be the US’ “worst nightmare.” Greenwald said that the NSA leaker is also in possession of information that details some of the specific inner-workings of US surveillance activities on Latin American countries, including claims that a US telecommunications company that has contracts with telecommunications companies in most Latin American countries is helping to facilitate some of those activities.",328,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297146.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00062-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972248375415802
4224beae-58de-4db2-99ed-ceec4f43d909,2018-08-16T06:54:58+00:00,2018-08-16,0,https://www.rethinkgreen.ca/shared_platforms,"Not every project needs to be its own organization. A shared platform occurs when one organization provides a legal home for an unincorporated project or organization.
reThink Green is using its networks and infrastructure to support community led endeavours, which build a sustainable Sudbury.
Typical services for a shared platform project include accounting, insurance, and office space. It may also include staff time, access to equipment, and mentorship. Each partnership is different depending on the needs of the project.
The initiative being supported contributes to the operating costs of reThink Green, which is less costly to the project than operating independently. By working with reThink Green, the project may be able to access funding that would not otherwise be available.The shared platform is an excellent way for reThink Green to leverage its existing assets to support community projects.
reThink Green is currently hosting three shared platform projects: Clean Air Sudbury, the Sudbury Community Food Forest, and the Sustainable New Agri-Food Products & Productivity (SNAPP) Program. If you are planning or leading a community project, please get in touch with reThink Green if you think Shared Platform would be a good fit for your initiative.
Clean Air Sudbury helps educate people and promote action to improve air quality in Greater Sudbury. It is led by a committee is made up of air quality experts and stakeholders who consider air quality to be an important aspect of our environment and community. Since joining reThink Green, Clean Air Sudbury has secured funding from major corporate sponsors, produced the 2016 Clean Air Report, and delivers educational programs for schools about air quality and climate change.
Sudbury Shared Harvest works to connect food grown in private or community gardens with people who need it. Their first program, Fruit for All, focused on connecting Sudburians who have a surplus of fruit in their yards with people that can use it.
reThink Green is providing the legal home and a shared administrative platform for the Community Food Forest: a pilot initiative developed by Sudbury Shared Harvest. A food forest mimics a woodland ecosystem using edible trees, shrubs, and other perennials. Fruit and nut trees make up the upper level, while berry shrubs and (mainly) edible perennials make up the lower levels. Produce from the food forest will be available to the community, with any excess donated to community food initiatives through the Fruit for All program.
A 9000 square-foot site was selected at Delki Dozzi Park. The Sudbury Food Forest is currently in Phase I of production.
Funding for this project was generously provided by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. This funding will pay for the planning and planting the pilot Community Food Forest and the administrative infrastructure to support it.
In partnership with reThink Green, the Northeast Community Network and Cloverbelt Local Food Co-operative, the Rural Agri-Innovation Network (RAIN) will be coordinating a multi-year funding program for farm and food businesses in northern Ontario.
The Sustainable New Agri-Food Products & Productivity Program (SNAPP) will provide a grants to stimulating the development and expansion of the agriculture and food sector in northern Ontario, addressing challenges specific to northern Ontario agri-food production and promoting value-added processing and innovative production and processing practices that increase scalability, profitability, and competitiveness.
Applications and more information about the program can be found at rainalgoma.ca/snapp.
Please contact Allison Muckle, SNAPP Outreach Assistant for Sudbury, Muskoka & Parry Sound for details.",725,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210463.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816054453-20180816074453-00228.warc.gz,0.937644779682159
ff56aa8f-aabb-495f-8507-04e811c748a5,2018-08-21T19:41:01+00:00,2016-02-28,1,http://anton-shekhovtsov.blogspot.com/2016/02/slovak-far-right-allies-of-putins.html,"Zem a Vek is a typical conspiracy theory magazine with a focus, as Matúš Ritomský argues, on three particular themes: politics, a search for social alternatives, and a return to the nature. The magazine is openly anti-Western and pro-Russian, as well as being particularly obsessed with “exposing” the “power of Jews and Americans”, the LGBT “conspiracy”, and Slovak mainstream media slammed as “mouthpieces of Zionism, Americanism, globalism, defamation of national values, primacy of the minority rights over the majority rights, [and] multiculturalism”. While not being directly linked to Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico or his SMER party, he definitely benefits from the anti-Western and/or pro-Russian “alternative” new media, including Zem a Vek, that have mushroomed in the Slovak information space in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as they help him legitimise his non-reformist policies.
|Selected covers of Zem & Vek: ""Homosexualisation or a traditional family?"", ""Israel, Holocaust and anti-Semitism: On the Altar of Zionism"".|
|The meeting at the Russian Embassy in Slovakia: (left to right) Pavel Kuznetsov, Tibor Eliot Rostás, and Dušan Budzák, Bratislava, 26 May 2014|
First, while talking about Russia allegedly abandoning the practice of “interfering in the internal affairs of other states”, Kuznetsov expressed his regret and voiced his hope that Russia would return to this practice. When asked by the editors whether Russia would potentially support a political force yet outside the Slovak political establishment that would proclaim Russian-Slovak “Slavonic brotherhood” its official political platform, Kuznetsov said:
I am convinced that in Slovakia there is a good basis, and support among people for this kind of ideas, organisations, movements, which would contribute to the building of stronger relations between Russia and Slovakia. Naturally, we support and will support these movements [and] organisations that favour strengthening of cooperation and relationships with Russia. [...] This might have been our mistake that, in Russian foreign policy, we have abandoned what we used to call “interference” – interference in the internal affairs of other states; [we have abandoned] support – not political, but financial support – of parties in other countries. [...] But I think that, one way or another, we will eventually return to the necessity of, indeed, a more active support – not simply on the political level – of those political forces in certain countries which favour cooperation with Russia. [...] I think that, in the coming years, there will be an increasing support from the Russian side for the political forces in other countries, including Slovakia, which are loyal to Russia. And also support for the media.The editors of Zem a Vek also mentioned that they were thinking of expanding their media business and asked Kuznetsov whether they could receive any support of their endeavours from Russia. In reply, Kuznetsov said that we would be glad “to write to Moscow”, “to people who deal with these questions”, and recommend establishing contacts between Zem a Vek and “the relevant Russian structures”.
|The meeting at the Russian Embassy in Slovakia: (left to right) Pavel Kuznetsov and Tibor Eliot Rostás, Bratislava, 26 May 2014|
Nevertheless, the attempts of Zem a Vek, which changed its subtitle from “Information without censorship” to “Geopolitical and cultural monthly” in February 2015, to establish relations with the Russian structures continued. Russian Ambassador Fedotov introduced, in Bratislava, Rostás and Budzák to Armen Oganesyan, the editor of the journal Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn’ that is officially associated with Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov heads the board of the journal, and Oganesyan is an unsalaried adviser to the foreign minister. This meeting resulted in Rostás’s and Budzák’s visit to Moscow in June 2015 where, upon the initiative of the Russian Embassy in Slovakia, the editors of Zem a Vek presented their idea of creating a media holding at the round-table held at the editorial office of Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn’. Other participants included “representatives of non-governmental organisations and foundations, as well as representatives of the governmental structures”, while the round-table was held “in partnership with the Union of Oil & Gas Producers of Russia”.
|(left to right) Vasiliy Likhachev, Armen Oganesyan, Tibor Eliot Rostás, and Dušan Budzák, Moscow, 4 June 2015|
I think your project will be carried out. I see one source that will work to the success of your project – the creation of the holding – but I will formulate it as a question: When do you think your product will gain trans-regional and Europe-wide significance? I have no doubt that – if the editorial board [of Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn’] and you are determined – Russian specialists are ready to take the most active part in processing and creating this kind of production, which [...] are much needed especially against the background of the reports that are being produced in Europe on the Brussels’ orders. One needs to compete for the public opinion and the state of minds in Europe. And here we are pragmatic allies with you. Thank you for this.A report on the round-table published by the Russian International Affairs Council, affiliated with Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education and Science, noted that the participants also discussed prospects of “constructing” “a Russia-friendly area in Central and Eastern Europe”.
So far, the idea of Zem a Vek to build a media holding has not been implemented (yet), but the meetings and talks that Rostás and Budzák held with Russian representatives of different levels testify to the presence of mutual interest in developing structural relations between Zem a Vek and particular Russian groups.
If you liked this post, you may wish to consider donating to this blog via PayPal.",1358,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218899.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821191026-20180821211026-00542.warc.gz,0.951181888580322
700aeeb8-f9e5-4cd4-8a10-70ad72390323,2022-05-28T04:51:50+00:00,2022-05-24,1,https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/electric-cars-petroleum-giant-shell-123407531.html,"The local unit of European oil and gas giant Shell aims to open Hong Kong’s first service station with both electric vehicle (EV) charging and conventional fuel facilities, as it seeks to steal a march on competitors and capitalise on the rising use of EVs in the city.
The new facility at Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo terminal, which was unveiled on Tuesday, will be Shell Hong Kong’s biggest service station in the city. Spanning over 5,000 square metres, it will feature four EV charging points and 16 refuelling positions, and will be pressed into service by June 30.
“This sees Shell become the first mobility solution provider in Hong Kong to offer an inclusive EV charging network, with charging facilities in both car parks and gas and oil stations, to meet a wide range of customer demands,” the company said in a statement.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
The new facility launches amid expectations of widening use of EVs in the city. As of January this year, Hong Kong had 28,742 registered private EVs, or 4.4 per cent of its total registered private cars, according to Transport Department data. However, all new cars in Hong Kong could be electric by as early as 2030 – five years ahead of the government’s target – given their accelerated use globally, Owin Fung Ho-yin, deputy director of the Environment Protection Department, said in December last year.
Shell said in December that it had become the first petroleum firm to offer EV charging facilities in the city with the opening of a charging site in Fanling. The company currently operates 41 service stations in Hong Kong.
The city has a total of 183 petrol stations, according to the Consumer Council. Rival Sinopec has a network of 50 stations, followed by Esso’s 43, Caltex’s 32 and PetroChina’s 17.
Shell, which is the world’s largest fuel retailer with about 46,000 service stations in almost 80 countries, said it has a “short-term” goal of providing more than 300 EV charging points in Hong Kong. It also aims to grow its global EV charging network to more than 500,000 charging points by 2025, including those on its own sites and those at third-party locations.
The new station at Hong Kong’s airport showed Shell’s commitment to the city’s decarbonisation journey, said Emily Leung, general manager of mobility at Shell Hong Kong. “We will continue to work with the government and other stakeholders to realise the city’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by continuing to grow our EV charging network,” she said in the statement.
The Hong Kong government is stepping up policy support to boost the take-up of emissions-free vehicles, including subsidies for EV purchases and private charging infrastructure.
This policy support forms part of the city’s efforts to become carbon-neutral by 2050 and fight climate change. The city also wants to eliminate coal-fired power generation and for renewable energy to contribute up to 10 per cent of its total electricity output by 2035.
The government last year set a target for the city to have more than 150,000 private charging facilities and more than 5,000 public ones by 2025. Hong Kong currently has about 4,500 charging points.
In October 2020, it launched a HK$2 billion (US$803 million) scheme to subsidise charging infrastructure installation for more than 60,000 parking spaces in existing private residential buildings. An additional HK$1.5 billion of support was announced in this year’s budget.
More from South China Morning Post:",802,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663012542.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528031224-20220528061224-00006.warc.gz,0.959133565425873
2d65962c-11c0-4b46-8a81-ddbf6478b6c4,2017-08-22T07:13:50+00:00,2016-03-28,1,http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2016/03/us-expanding-military-role-in-iraq.html,"The Americans are sending in more troops to Iraq and expanding their area of operation within the country. That was recently highlighted when a U.S. marine was killed in Ninewa, which led to the revelation of a firebase being set up in the province. This larger involvement is meant to help the Iraqi forces expand their offensive capabilities to clear out Anbar and Ninewa governorates.
The idea of sending U.S. forces to more bases in Iraq has been talked about for months. Back in June 2015 when 450 soldiers were being sent to the Taqadum base near Ramadi in Anbar, Reuters reported that the Obama administration were thinking about more such arrangements in the country so that it could expand its advise and assist mission to the Iraqi forces. In October Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the White House wanted to start ground actions against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The talk was of carrying out more raids against IS commanders and leaders, but it was quickly revealed that meant troops in bases taking on a larger role. In November and December it was revealed that American soldiers in Anbar were firing artillery and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) starting in the summer to support the Ramadi offensive. That provided another platform for the U.S. to use along with its air strikes, which proved crucial to breaking down IS’s defenses in the city, and its eventual liberation. These forces are now going to support the Iraqi forces operations to clear out the rest of the province.
After that success the U.S. began focusing upon Mosul. In January 2016 it was announced that the American military was thinking of putting its forces in bases in Ninewa. That was exactly what happened but secretly at first. Marines from the 26th Expeditionary Unit built Firebase Bell in Makhmour, Ninewa at the start of March. They brought artillery with them to support the new offensive in that district. It’s been speculated that if HIMARS were deployed there they could reach Mosul and provide close support to advancing Iraqi forces all the way up to the city. Their presence was revealed when a Marine was killed in an IS rocket attack upon the base in the middle of the month. There may be further forward placements in the future as hinted at by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Defense Secretary Carter. Already the number of troops has passed the 3,870 that are officially there to around 5,000 using “temporary” deployments to mask their presence.
The United States was very slow in joining the fight against the Islamic State. That brought a huge amount of criticism and mistrust by Iraqis. Washington and its western Coalition is now the main military backer of Baghdad, especially since Iran is more involved in Syria and the Russian operations there. The U.S. is quickly expanding its role in Iraq, and taking part in combat even though it will not admit it publicly. Its role is still constrained by Iraqi politics with anti-American factions like the Sadrists and pro-Iranian parties like Badr and parts of State of Law being opposed to more U.S. involvement. Still, it appears the President Obama and Prime Minister Haidar Abadi have been able to expand the American role on the ground, which will help in the coming effort to take back territory form the Islamic State.
Cooper, Helene, “U.S. May Put Forces at Iraqi Bases in Effort to Retake Mosul,” New York Times, 1/22/16
Gibbons-Neff, Thomas, “Behind the scenes in the Marine Corps mission against the Islamic State,” Washington Post, 12/22/15
Miklaszewski, Jim and Kube, Courtney, “Ashton Carter: U.S. to Begin ‘Direct Action on the Ground’ in Iraq, Syria,” NBC News, 10/27/15
Morgan, Wesley, “How the U.S. campaign in Iraq has escalated with a new weapon: rocket artillery,” Washington Post, 11/24/15
Rogoway, Tyler, “Shadowy Marine Artillery Base In Iraq Attacked Again After Deadly ISIS Rocket Strike,” Foxtrot Alpha, 3/24/16
Al-Salhy, Suadad, “US ‘builds combat base in Iraq’s Anbar province to fight IS,’” Middle East Eye, 3/24/16
- “US combat troops in anti-IS Mosul offensive,” Middle East Eye, 3/24/16
Schogol, Jeff, “Marines in Iraq technically not in combat but still getting some,” Marine Corps Times, 3/25/16
Starr, Barbara, “U.S. sets up firebase in Northern Iraq,” CNN, 3/20/16
Stewart, Phil, “U.S. military considering more Anbar-style hubs in Iraq: officer,” Reuters, 6/11/15
Tilghman, Andrew, “The Pentagon is planning to send more combat troops into Iraq,” Military Times, 3/25/16",1082,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110485.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822065702-20170822085702-00166.warc.gz,0.969811141490936
dfae4d98-cf23-4193-992e-4d61acb2aa01,2022-05-21T21:13:55+00:00,2022-04-19,0,https://larellehouse.com/neymar-calls-out-ex-liverpool-defender-fabio-aurelio-for-talking-shit-after-ballon-dor-claim/,"The 30-year-old former Barcelona and Santos striker who is the most nominated Brazilian player in Ballon d’Or history spoke about the prestigious individual award in a candid interview last year.
“The Ballon d’Or is something that has always followed me throughout my career,” Neymar told One Football. “Not for me, but because of the pressure I’ve been under since I started playing professionally.
“People always try to put on my CV the fact that I have to win the Ballon d’Or. So far that hasn’t happened, and it’s not something that worries me.”
He added: “I know my football, which I have done for many years on the pitch, which is the most important thing. I don’t know what it takes to be on the podium, but that doesn’t matter to me.
“I want to be champion with Paris Saint-Germain, with the Brazil team, that’s what’s important to me. The individual awards, it’s nice, it’s cool, of course, they are engraved on my shelf, but for me that’s not a goal.”
Despite being nominated for the individual award on several occasions, Neymar has missed out on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – a fact which former Liverpool defender Fabio Aurelio recently analysed.
“I always say that I would be very disappointed if I was him,” the Brazilian told GOAL. “The ambitions he has, and for the quality and talent he has, the fact that he has never won a Ballon d’Or feels bad,
“He has all the conditions to do it, but I don’t know what happened. Maybe some things are more important to him than the game, I don’t know? You see [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi, they have been there at the highest level for 10 or 15 years.
“You’ve never heard of any problems off the pitch, but Neymar is always involved in things like that. He has to stay away from those things because he’s capable of amazing things.
“Maybe now, the age he is, if you don’t take care of yourself, it can come back and haunt you. He’s still Neymar, and able to do things you wouldn’t expect, but you see now that he is not as fit as before.
“He’s a top player, but he could do more.”
Neymar has since hit back at Aurelio’s comments in a number of Instagram posts, including a Wikipedia screenshot of his honors during spells at Santos, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team.
“I’m sick of these ex-players who are there and only open their mouths to talk shit,” he said. “A five-minute interview and all he did was talk about other people’s lives.
“If you want to criticize, criticize. But talking shit like that is not possible.”
Neymar hits back at Fábio Aurélio, after he said in an interview that if he were Neymar he would be disappointed with his ‘underperforming’ career: “I’m sick of these former players talking shit. They have 5 minutes for an interview and don’t care about their own business” https://t.co/nB2cIMk9jh
— SportzGlobal01 (@SportzGlobal01) April 19, 2022
Any thoughts on Aurelio’s comments?
Let us know in the comments.",808,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662541747.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521205757-20220521235757-00427.warc.gz,0.974752128124237
6ff7e7e2-521f-4f51-9e42-6c70cef81cbd,2015-04-01T17:52:40+00:00,2012-01-13,1,http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/01/13/watch-james-franco-and-kevin-nealon-pledge-to-help-chimps/,"James Franco may have been a chimp researcher in The Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but in real life he has joined the fight to end testing on chimps. The actor has teamed up with Kevin Nealon in a pledge to help pass new legislation.
The two stars appear in a new video from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) about chimp experimentation and how we can end it. The organization is working to get The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act passed. PCRM says the law would “phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research in both federally funded and private laboratories, release the more than 500 federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries, and prohibit future breeding of chimpanzees for purposes of conducting invasive research.”
The organization states that many of these chimps were captured in the wild as infants and have spent as many as “50 to 60 years trapped inside a 5-by-7-by-7 cage” and “been subject to repeated invasive procedures and breeding.” PCRM says that those horrors can be ended with the passing of the new legislation, and Franco and Nealon have pledged to join the campaign.
The two join celebs who have previously called for support of the Act, including Alicia Silverstone. Nealon says “I’m going to help protect chimpanzees from experimentation by getting all my friends to write to their members of Congress.” Franco adds, “My New Year’s resolution is to help pass The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act.” Watch the PCRM video below!",329,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00038-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965470731258392
d8d879e9-5ef4-4c41-8be9-d97cd07c9275,2017-08-16T21:53:39+00:00,2016-01,1,http://phibetaiota.net/2016/01/graphic-the-isis-map-of-the-caliphate/,"The ISIS map of the world: Militants outline chilling five-year plan for global domination as they declare formation of caliphate – and change their name to the Islamic State
- Sunni militants have announced formation of Islamic state in Middle East
- They demand Muslims around the world swear allegiance to the caliphate
- Claim leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi now has authority over all Muslims
- Group has also now changed its name from ISIS to just the Islamic State
- Announcement described as ‘most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11’.",115,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102663.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816212248-20170816232248-00136.warc.gz,0.953880786895752
f301ae53-3f49-4695-8bae-662169eb3126,2019-08-25T02:15:29+00:00,2012-12-16,0,http://tonytalesfromtherock.blogspot.com/2012/12/im-still-standing.html,"Sunday, 16 December 2012
The jobs list got a hammering today as it was reasonably dry (unless talking about the inside of my wellingtons which were definitely the wet side of damp thanks to holes) and everybody got new beds, the runway was cleared, the stables emptied of pooh, a new gate carried up the bonsai mountain and much more. I was told to check the goats due to a strange smell. Then when all was in order there (as in one refusing to stand being normal) I was asked to check the upstairs toilet, then the drains, then check to see if the puppy had left a message under the computer desk. All these things I did as my beautiful and oh so patient wife could smell something funny. Funny as in bad. As in smelly drain bad. Once the obvious had been eliminated and my trainers we thrown outside, the dogs banished to the workshop and little t's bum changed, for MBAOSPW the smell persisted. It was then traced to the horsey lineament she had been liberally applying to various equine limbs. A main component being sulphur. Next time shes going to wear gloves and not blame the dog for the pong.
Posted by Tony at 23:09",253,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027322170.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825021120-20190825043120-00413.warc.gz,0.983907699584961
9f20bb94-dc6a-4ae4-bd06-f913dc4d9ce6,2017-08-16T15:22:13+00:00,2014-01-14,0,https://www.informationweek.com/cloud/platform-as-a-service/paas-is-dead-long-live-paas/d/d-id/1113444?piddl_msgid=198248,"Platform-as-a-service is not dead -- Red Hat exec Krishnan Subramanian says it has evolved to a higher state.
Recently a new meme has started among the cloud chatterati: the death of PaaS, or PaaS morphing into functionality for IaaS or PaaS. This discussion peaked when an analyst from 451 Research wrote a report titled ""Is PaaS becoming just a feature of IaaS?"" (subscription required). An example of how others have picked up the theme appeared Jan. 14 in Network World.
In today's fast-evolving technology world, it's natural for pundits to write premature obituaries, but it's also important to look deeper and understand the reason for their confusion. One explanation is that PaaS has gone beyond hype and reached a new level of maturity. Last year, many enterprises adopted PaaS for their production workloads, but 2013 was also the year when the demarcation between two flavors of PaaS became clear.
Another reason is the strategy adopted by cloud vendors like Microsoft and Google. Both started off with PaaS but eventually started offering IaaS to compete with Amazon Web Services. Microsoft in particular has blended its offering with both PaaS- and IaaS-like features.
Two flavors of PaaS In the beginning, PaaS was constructed as the middle layer in the cloud stack between IaaS and SaaS to describe the evolution of application deployment platforms in the cloud. PaaS was dominated by services like Google App Engine, Heroku, and Engine Yard in those early years. As the space matured, we saw the evolution of PaaS meeting the needs of modern enterprises.
Innovations by Red Hat in OpenShift, VMware (now Pivotal) in Cloud Foundry, Docker in its dotCloud platform, and others led to a new generation of PaaS offerings that are architecturally different from the first generation. In this article, I will discuss the two flavors of PaaS.
PaaS by service orchestration This flavor of PaaS, offered by early providers like Google App Engine, built the platform by composing different services needed for application deployment. It started with a compute fabric, on which services for data storage, monitoring, logging, etc. were added. In this flavor, PaaS is nothing but a composition of services needed for the applications to run. These were purely hosted offerings, and building and managing a platform using service orchestration was easy for providers.
PaaS by container orchestration As PaaS matured and enterprises started to demand a private version, another flavor developed. This was mainly due to the maturity of Linux Container technology and the feasibility of building a platform based on containers that could also be implemented and managed on the premises.
Docker is a perfect example of fast, lightweight Linux containers that make it easy for users to port their applications across different cloud providers. Unlike virtual machines that abstract only raw compute, containers can encapsulate entire applications and application environments. Vendors like Red Hat, dotCloud (now Docker), VMware (now Pivotal), and others saw value in the container-based approach: An orchestration and management layer on top of containers can offer the same seamless developer experience as the first-generation PaaS. For a growing number of vendors, container orchestration is fast becoming the norm. This is further proven by the growing interest in OpenStack's standalone Project Solum to build an abstraction layer for application deployment using container technology.
When you step back and consider the two flavors of PaaS, it's easy to understand why some industry watchers are confused. The service orchestration-based approach of PaaS is similar to SaaS architecturally, and the container orchestration approach of PaaS is similar to the VM-based approach of IaaS. Though SaaS and IaaS can be extended to resemble one of these two flavors, there is a clear value proposition for PaaS as it is defined as a separate layer in the cloud stack. This is especially true with the container orchestration flavor.
PaaS removes the complexity and costs associated with IaaS, whereas companies like Netflix use additional tools to build a platform atop Amazon. Though Netflix approach might fit its needs at web scale, PaaS can greatly simplify enterprise IT departments' efforts as they transition to a more modern system.
It's natural for similarities between platforms to cause confusion, but a premature obituary for PaaS will end up hurting an industry that could otherwise derive great value from ongoing development.
Krishnan Subramanian is director of OpenShift strategy at Red Hat and a frequent cloud commentator. He was formerly an analyst with Rishidot Research and a physicist.
Can the trendy tech strategy of DevOps really bring peace between developers and IT operations -- and deliver faster, more reliable app creation and delivery? Also in the DevOps Challenge issue of InformationWeek: Execs charting digital business strategies can't afford to take Internet connectivity for granted.
How Enterprises Are Attacking the IT Security EnterpriseTo learn more about what organizations are doing to tackle attacks and threats we surveyed a group of 300 IT and infosec professionals to find out what their biggest IT security challenges are and what they're doing to defend against today's threats. Download the report to see what they're saying.
IT Strategies to Conquer the CloudChances are your organization is adopting cloud computing in one way or another -- or in multiple ways. Understanding the skills you need and how cloud affects IT operations and networking will help you adapt.",1154,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102307.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816144701-20170816164701-00304.warc.gz,0.954874217510223
1910d076-6d3b-424c-a4f4-a7c79b878ad2,2019-08-25T07:10:52+00:00,2019-07-21,1,https://titans247.org/2019/07/21/tennessee-titans-tough-schedule-could-be-a-blessing-in-disguise/,"The Tennessee Titans will enter the 2019 season with the league’s ninth-toughest schedule. Their opponent’s combined record in 2018 was 131-124-1, good for a .514 winning percentage.
Nearly half of Tennessee’s games this year will come against teams that made the playoffs last year. Houston Texans (twice), Indianapolis Colts (twice), Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and New Orleans Saints.
And that’s not counting Tennessee’s season opener, a road contest against the Cleveland Browns, who most consider to be this year’s breakout playoff contender.
While the task seems daunting to say the least, this year’s schedule could be a blessing in disguise.
Because, for some reason, the Titans play their best against the best teams in the league. And it has been that way for years.
Last season the Titans had four victories over playoff teams. They defeated the AFC South champion Texans in their home opener, and the Philadelphia Eagles in an overtime thriller a few weeks later.
They defeated the division champion Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, in a high-profile Monday Night match up, then returned home the following week to knock off the world champion New England Patriots…who suffered their worst loss of the season.
It should have been five wins, but a failed two point conversion on the final offensive play in London proved costly. The Titans had out-played the Los Angeles Chargers the entire second half, and seemed poised to secure the victory in overtime with a simple extra point kick.
But I digress.
Tennessee swept a Jacksonville Jaguars team that won the AFC South and advanced to the AFC championship game in 2017.
As an encore, Tennessee upset a heavily favored Kansas City team, on the road, by erasing a 21-3 halftime deficit in that year’s AFC wildcard round.
2016 was eerily similar to 2018. The Titans defeated five playoff teams that season (Detroit, Miami, Green Bay, Kansas City, Houston). They also eliminated Denver from playoff contention late in that season, who also finished with a winning record.
So fear not, Titans fans, when looking at this year’s schedule on paper. This team has consistently shown over the years to play up to the level of their opponents.
It’s the “gimme games” that have proven to be Tennessee’s Achilles Heel recently, but if they fix that dubious trend then a deep run in January is a real possibility in the Music City.
And that would be music to Titans fans’ ears if they do.",544,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323221.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825062944-20190825084944-00305.warc.gz,0.955629408359528
a51e71cf-0e73-470b-bb46-a6b285da3488,2018-08-21T11:42:46+00:00,2017-12-31,0,https://www.britishcouncil.org/arts/hull-city-culture-tour/middle-child-theatre,"Middle Child Theatre is a Hull-based company creating gig theatre which fuses live music with new writing “for audiences who think they don’t like theatre”.
The company invited us to sit in on the rehearsals for their new work I Hate Alone, and we chatted to founder and Artistic Director Paul Smith about how Middle Child was born and the company’s big ambitions for the future.
Watch highlights from the interview in the short film above, and read a fuller version below.
Where does the company’s name come from?
""Middle Child"" refers to a quote from Fight Club. We felt like it really summed up how we felt as a generation at the time. We were in our early 20s when we first set up, and the quote talks about being the middle child generation. We felt at the time that that was what we were becoming as a generation: this forgotten, ignored middle child who had to shout loudly to be heard. The company formed in 2010, when the coalition government had just come in, and the whole country just felt a bit strange. It felt like we didn't really have a place, or a “thing”, or a role yet. We are middle children in every way; in reality, none of us are actually middle children in our family, but certainly, politically and socially, we do feel like we are middle children.
“We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.” - Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
How did the company form?
The company formed out of Hull University – everybody who is a company member went to Hull University and studied drama. After university, I went to study directing at LAMDA where we had a visit from Mike Bradwell, who used to run the Bush Theatre in London, and who set up the original Hull Truck Theatre. I remember him talking about how new companies should steal a van, squat in a building, and just make some theatre, and that was something that really chimed with me, because I've always felt that theatre can make a real difference to communities.
I wanted to try and build a company that could actually make a difference and make the world a better place by existing. So I went to the pub, and put together this big document of ideas, chatted to a few of the other guys who are now company members, and came up with a manifesto for how we could make something happen that we care about at a young age. We spent ages working for free.
We spent ages making work that wasn't good enough and that didn't quite find its style. But certainly, in the last few years, I think we've really found what that is: we've managed to combine our political aims with our personal ambitions.
You’ve all lived and worked in other places. What drew you back to Hull?
We love Hull. When we were at university, we fell in love with the city. When we went away, we went to London or we went to various other cities, and we just didn't quite find that “thing” that Hull has that's really hard to quantify. It’s personable, people are supportive and kind and honest and straight with you. So you can't fake it in Hull. People smell it a mile off. That reflects in its theatre scene and in its music scene. It felt like there was lots to be discussed here, lots of untold stories to be discovered and to be shared. Basically, it's as far away from London as we could get – not just geographically.
I think the question for us was ""Why not Hull?"" Because we love the place. We feel like there was a genuine need and desire for this kind of art to be made here.
How would you describe ‘gig theatre’, and Middle Child’s take on the form?
What we're trying to do with gig theatre is to make a good night out with big ideas in it. So it's not necessarily about just throwing a guitar into the story. It's a holistic approach to the making of the work. It's live and it's loud, but it's also a social event that is there in that moment – you don't know what's going to happen, you might meet the love of your life at this event, or you might go out with a group of mates and have a dance but also hear a really great story that makes you think about the world that you're about to go back out into.
The question we always want to answer with our work is: how do we make people feel as comfortable in theatre as they do at a gig? We want audiences to take ownership of the experience and act like they would if they were going to see their favourite musician or stand-up comedian. Theatre shouldn't be any different to that – it shouldn't put up any more barriers.
Tell us about your rehearsal space.
The space that we're in now used to be an old pub called Darleys. When it closed down, The Goodwin Development Trust bought it and turned it into a youth club downstairs, then brilliantly gave us the room upstairs to rehearse in. So, it's been our rehearsal space for six years now and there's also a community radio station next door.
The rehearsal space is over the road from a housing estate, and we’re really keen to connect with the community and invite them into what we're doing. It just feels like the perfect place to do what we do. We've been incredibly fortunate because one of the hardest things for new companies is finding space to make what you want to do, and the cost of rehearsal space in places like London is an absolute killer.
Can you tell us about the work you’re rehearsing at the moment?
It’s called I Hate Alone and it’s about two women who take revenge on the world that's wronged them. They make a list of all the people who they believe are responsible for their dissatisfaction with their own lives, and they reclaim power, take back from them and try to feel better about it. It’s about the stories that we tell ourselves, and the pressures we put on our lives.
It’s about how we should improve our situation if we're not happy with it, and how we should move forward with our lives. Alongside that, it's also a love story between friends; two people who need each other, and who have this sometimes toxic, sometimes beautiful, friendship.
It’s by Ellen Brammar, who is a Middle Child company member, and it's her first play. I'm really excited that we're able to do it because Ellen only started writing a year ago, and she's fantastic. This play is now getting published and going on tour, and it's just really nice that Ellen turned to writing as a result of being a member of Middle Child.
It’s the first work in your new Plug-and-Play programme. Can you tell us about Plug-and-Play?
We’re trying to reinvent how theatre tours and travels. We're so aware that lots of theatre is too expensive to travel, and the methodology of how stuff is transported is either too expensive or just a bit outdated. With our Plug-and-Play strand, we’re borrowing from travelling musicians to make festival-sized work that can pop up at Latitude, or at Glastonbury, or at the Edinburgh French Festival, as well as local music venues. It can be put in within 20 minutes, it can happen, it can disappear, and there can be DJ on while people are still clapping.
It’s about reaching audiences that maybe want a more casual experience, and who don't enjoy the risk that often comes with going to the theatre. It also, hopefully, means that we can say to venues, ""All right, you want the show, but you don't have much money. Okay, well it doesn't cost us much to bring it. It can just happen."" We want to make a more negotiable relationship. We had some great touring offers for the last show we made, but it has a cast of seven and a complex set. Making that viable becomes really difficult, so we're just trying to answer that problem with a creative solution. \
Your last show, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything enjoyed massive success here in Hull, and at the Edinburgh Fringe earlier this year. What was the play about?
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything was our major 2017 City of Culture commission. The starting point for the piece was to truly merge a good night out with a big complex story.
We decided to do the show originally at Welly, which is the most popular nightclub in the city. We told the story in three acts which we split into half-hour chunks so that people could watch for half an hour, go and get a beer, go to the toilet, come back for half an hour – again, trying to make it a bit closer to the experience of watching a couple of bands at a festival.
We also then added some local bands, who would play in between each act, with a different band each night, creating a sort of mini music festival around the show.
So, people were choosing which night they would come to depending on which band they wanted to see; so you come for the band, but you stay for the theatre, and you go home surprised that you liked it.
We also wanted to answer the question, ""How did we get here, and where are we going?"" And the ""we"" in that is our generation, essentially, people aged 18 to 35 at the moment. We wanted to ask, “How did we become the way we are? What did the ‘80s and ‘90s do to us, and what sort of world are we going to leave behind for our children?”
It was a big question, and the work is really about trying to just make sense of how it feels to be this age, and to be human, and to be alive today. It also offered a really nice creative opportunity to bring in the music from each of those eras: so in the '90s, it was Cool Britannia, Oasis, Suede, Blur; in the 2000s it was Indie bands like the Arctic Monkeys, the Libertines; and by the end, it was this much more electronic sound. As we moved through each era with the characters, we also had a certain element of nostalgia from each of those eras, thinking about how they felt and how they sounded.
Next year you’re becoming a National Portfolio organisation. What does that mean for Middle Child, and what’s next for the company?
Yes, from next year, we're going to be a National Portfolio Organisation, which is brilliant because it gives us four years of guaranteed funding from the Arts Council, and just means that we can make longer-term plans.
We're going to make a big show here in Hull every year that is for the people in Hull, that will aim to set fire to their expectations of what theatre can be. There's also our Pathways plan, which involves low-risk work. We do a pub quiz that has a performative element, we do a Christmas pantomime that people can come to and feel comfortable that they know the “rules”. The plan is that each of those low-risk events will lead people to have more faith and not be afraid of the word ""theatre"", and eventually want to come along and see our full-scale productions.
We're also launching the More Than programme, which is our artist development and audience development programme. We're going to be spending time investing in creative people and ideas, which I hope will be a really good follow-up to the success of City of Culture this year. So many people have become inspired by everything that’s happened in Hull over the last 12 months, and many now want to make their own creative work. I'm hoping that we can be here to help with that next stage of the City's life.",2609,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218122.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821112537-20180821132537-00409.warc.gz,0.983079373836517
602d9b60-953c-4893-89ed-ffe2a2600c4a,2019-08-19T17:10:18+00:00,2019-08-05,1,https://pipelinereview.com/index.php/2019080671960/DNA-RNA-and-Cells/FDA-Clears-IND-for-Mustang-Bios-MB-102-CD123-CAR-T.html,"FDA Clears IND for Mustang Bio’s MB-102 (CD123 CAR T)
- Category: DNA RNA and Cells
- Published on Tuesday, 06 August 2019 09:26
- Hits: 620
NEW YORK, NY, USA I August 05, 2019 I Mustang Bio, Inc. (“Mustang”) (NASDAQ: MBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on translating today’s medical breakthroughs in cell and gene therapies into potential cures for hematologic cancers, solid tumors and rare genetic diseases, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate a multi-center Phase 1/2 clinical trial of MB-102 (CD123 CAR T) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
MB-102 is a CAR T cell therapy that is produced by engineering patient T cells to recognize and eliminate CD123-expressing tumors. CD123 is widely expressed on bone marrow cells of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and hematologic malignancies, including in 75-89% of AML patients and over 90% in BPDCN patients. MB-102 has shown promising response rates in early small populations of these patients in an investigator-sponsored Phase 1 clinical trial being conducted by City of Hope, where the CAR T cell therapy was also developed.
According to the American Cancer Society, there were an estimated 19,520 new U.S. cases of AML in 2018 and the disease has an estimated five-year survival rate of 25%. In 2016, an American Society of Hematology Education Program article reported that there are about 700 new BPDCN cases in the U.S. and 1,000 in Europe per year, with a median survival of 12 to 14 months.
On July 24, 2019, Mustang announced that the FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to MB-102 for the treatment of AML. The FDA also previously granted Orphan Drug Designation to MB-102 for the treatment of BPDCN.
Manuel Litchman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mustang, said, “The FDA’s approval of our IND application for MB-102 marks a significant milestone for Mustang, as this is our first IND. We are excited to initiate our multi-center Phase 1/2 clinical trial later in 2019 and process patient cells in our manufacturing facility, which opened in June 2018. We are passionate about meeting the needs of patients living with AML, BPDCN and MDS and look forward to further developing MB-102 to help address these devastating diseases.”
About MB-102 (CD123 CAR T)
MB-102 (CD123 CAR T) is a CAR T cell therapy that is produced by engineering patient T cells to recognize and eliminate CD123-expressing tumors. CD123 is widely expressed on bone marrow cells of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, as well as in hematologic malignancies, including AML, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hairy cell leukemia, BPDCN, chronic myeloid leukemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
In the first-in-human clinical trial at City of Hope (NCT02159495), MB-102 has demonstrated complete responses at low doses in AML and BPDCN without dose-limiting toxicities, as reported at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in December 2017 and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy in November 2018. Dose escalation continues at City of Hope in both indications. MB-102 has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for AML and BPDCN.
About Mustang Bio
Mustang Bio, Inc. (“Mustang”) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on translating today’s medical breakthroughs in cell and gene therapies into potential cures for hematologic cancers, solid tumors and rare genetic diseases. Mustang aims to acquire rights to these technologies by licensing or otherwise acquiring an ownership interest, to fund research and development, and to outlicense or bring the technologies to market. Mustang has partnered with top medical institutions to advance the development of CAR T and CRISPR/Cas9-enhanced CAR T therapies across multiple cancers, as well as a lentiviral gene therapy for XSCID. Mustang is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and files periodic reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mustang was founded by Fortress Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ: FBIO). For more information, visit www.mustangbio.com.
SOURCE: Mustang Bio",1044,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00020.warc.gz,0.931418478488922
0eeef722-0e4b-4dcc-a0bb-58501427076c,2022-05-22T00:59:37+00:00,2021-07-15,0,https://mindfultravelexperiences.com/piz-boe-hiking/,"The Dolomites offer world-class hiking and climbing suitable for all skill levels, attracting thousands of visitors each year from all around the globe. And, if you have your sights set on summiting one of the region’s most accessible 3,000-meter peaks, there’s no better choice than Piz Boè.
In this guide, we’ll fill you in on all the details for soaking up this mountain’s stunning natural beauty on your way to the top, including how to get there and what not to miss along the route. Keep reading for all the details, and start planning your trip today!
Getting to Piz Boè
The best jumping-off point for this adventure is Canazei, easily reached by bus, train, or private car. From there, you’ll be perfectly positioned for a day hike. This town is also an excellent base of operations for other Dolomites day hikes, so you might want to stick around for a while!
While there are several trailheads to choose from, the start at Passo Pordoi is easily your best option for summiting this peak. This is where the Sass Pordoi Cable Car departs, offering a short and scenic ride to the top of Sass Pordoi, followed by an easy walk to the base of the Boè pyramid.
This entryway offers free parking and one of the most scenic approaches. But, you’ll need to arrive early if your Italian vacation falls during peak season when lots are famously full. You can also hike up to Sas de Pordoi rather than taking the cable car, adding a steep 90-minute hike to your day.
This is the starting place towards Piz Boè top (see it as a little dot at the far end, above my head).
Alternately, you can start at Corvara, using a lift system or travelling on foot. This route is more challenging and ever so slightly less scenic. However, it is also less crowded.
In case you are in Venice, read how to get to the Dolomites from Venice.
Hiking Your First Leg
Once you’ve departed the cable car at the Sass Pordoi station, you’ll hike along Pordoi Pass – easily one of the most scenic Italian mountain landscapes you’ll ever see. Follow the clearly marked alpine path number 627, as it drops down a hundred meters in elevation en route to the Rifugio Boé. This same mountain pass also hosts the Rifugio Forcella del Pordoi, built right on the ridge’s saddle.
This rugged pass boasts a moonlike landscape of rock, typical of the region and well worth a few photos.
Be sure to snap some on your way up and down, as the morning and afternoon light showcases different colors and textures in the stone.
You might notice a large number of hikers here, especially if you’re visiting during peak season.
But, they aren’t all planning to summit Piz Boè. This pathway is also a part of the Alta Vie Route no 2, one of the best multiday hiking routes in the Dolomites.
Once you reach the rifugio, take a break and snap a few photos.
This is also the perfect place to use the toilet, have a snack, and stock up on water.
This will be your last opportunity to fill your bottles until you reach the summit, where the next rifugio is found.
Moving on Toward the Summit
Once you’ve departed the Rifugio Boé, you’ll need to double back a short distance to pick up trail number 638. This obvious pathway branches off to the right, heading towards the peak of Mount Piz Boé.
From here, the trail begins to rise steeply upwards, rapidly gaining in elevation. The most difficult sections are secured by ropes, and basic Via Ferrata equipment is recommended for the route.
Check out our Mountaineering Basics guide for more tips on what to pack for this type of mountain hiking.
After a hard push toward the summit lasting a few hours, you will finally arrive at the peak of Piz Boé. There you will find a peak cross and the tiny wooden Rifugio Capanna Fassa.
This cozy mountain hut offers stunning 360° views of the surrounding Dolomite peaks: Fanes, Marmolata, Sassolungo, and Odle. And, it has room for 22 overnight guests, making it the perfect place to enjoy some of Europe’s most breathtaking sunrises and sunsets and a warm meal or two.
A shorter, steeper trail can also be followed from the Pordoi mountain pass, clearly marked “Capanna Fassa / Piz Boe”.
Leaving Piz Boe Through Capanna Fassa
You have two main options to return. One of them is to follow your way back to the cable car, in the same way, you got there.
The other one is to follow the alternative Capanna Fassa hiking route that gets you through an entirely different steep terrain, that is amazingly beautiful.
That path starts from the right side of Rifugio Forcella Pordoi.
You will meet small alpine valleys.
During its end, you will also meet waterfalls and small rivers (we were there in July).
It’s a long way down, so plan to get to Piz Boe early enough, if you want to use that alternative route to go back.
You definitely need sturdy hiking boots due to the terrain.
Here is a surround video from the top with the whole experience from getting to the top, to getting down.
Know Before You Go
Both hiking and mountain climbing in the Dolomites follow a strict season, running from June 15 through September 15, depending on snow. But, even during the warm summer months, you should plan for harsh conditions in these Italian mountains.
During your hike, you’ll cover four kilometers or about 2.5 miles each way, with an average walking time of two hours. You’ll gain 370 meters in elevation along the route, before summiting at 3,152 meters.
You should pack for multiple climates, with easy to add and remove layers. This includes insulation for warmth, wind-breaking fabrics, and of course, moisture-wicking materials to help keep your skin dry.
You will need a warm fleece or other base layer and maybe a light waterproof jacket for any sudden rainfalls. Mountain tops are a bit chilly, even in the summertime. There are locations along the route where you will encounter cool wind bursts and if you sweat you will feel cold.
Definitely have a hiking hat and suncream. In high altitudes, the sun gets you hard.
Sun protection, water, and plenty of snacks are also absolutely essential, as are working lights or headlamps – just in case you get caught out after dark.
Remember, you should always inform an emergency contact and the owner or manager of your planned lodging before embarking on any mountain hike or climb. And, you can carry a GPS beacon with you for an added layer of protection.
The Summit Awaits
Armed with this handy guide to Piz Boè, you’re ready to start planning an incredible mountain adventure in the Dolomites. Remember to pack a camera – you won’t want to miss out on the incredible Italian vistas and photo ops along the way! And, once you’re back home, be sure to comment on this blog post and let us know how much you enjoyed the journey.
While you’re here, don’t miss out on the rest of our helpful blog posts all about Italy. We’ve got all the essential info you’ll need to plan and prepare, plus hot tips to get you off the beaten path.",1662,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662543264.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522001016-20220522031016-00622.warc.gz,0.930010616779327
345ee7a3-ad31-41de-b05f-f9b3aff71279,2022-05-27T19:39:29+00:00,2017-12-10,1,https://www.oled-info.com/everdisplay-officially-launches-its-6-gen-flexible-amoled-fab-shanghai,"A few months ago we reported that China-based AMOLED producer Everdisplay is planning to invest $4.1 billion USD to build a 6-Gen AMOLED factory. Today the company launched this new AMOLED fab officially in a ceremony in Shanghai, China.
On December 9th Everdisplay started constructing the new fab in the Jinshan Industrial Zone in Shanghai. Investment in the new fab, according to EverDisplay, will actually be 27.2 billion yuan - or almost $4 billion USD. The fab will be able to produce 30,000 monthly substrates (1500 x 1850 mm) and will be used to produce small and medium sized flexible AMOLEDs (1 to 15 inch).
The fab's construction will take 24 months and EDO will begin installing production equipment in August 2018. Trial production will begin in January 2019 and mass production will only be achieved in 2021. EDO expects to achieve ten billion yuan (almost $1.5 billion USD) in annual sales from this fab.
Everdisplay started mass producing 5"" 720p AMOLED displays towards the end of 2014 in a 4.5-Gen line with a monthly capacity of 20,000 substrates. Since then the company added more displays - wearable panels and larger 5.5"" ones. Everdisplay is also developing flexible panels, transparent panels and high-density AMOLEDs for VR applications. According to reports, Xiaomi's Redmi Pro smartphone uses EDO's (and BOE's) 5.5"" FHD AMOLED panels.",316,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00401.warc.gz,0.897269785404205
e21a66ec-23fb-4a93-af1b-416c4401f250,2022-05-20T22:48:05+00:00,2021-03-09,1,https://tekincogroup.com/en/galatasaray-solar-energy-plant/,"Galatasaray signed a deal with Enerjisa, Turkish energy company on March 9 that will install a solar energy power plant on the roof of its football stadium to produce electricity for the venue.
Galatasaray focuses on ecology and invests in renewable energy sources. A solar power plant will be built on the roof of the Türk Telekom Stadium, which will be one of the largest installations of this type in the world.
Galatasaray’s deputy chair Yusuf Gunay emphasized the importance of local and renewable energy. The project will make an important contribution.He added that Enerjisa will produce and install the plant on a 40,000-square-meter area on the roof and will operate it for 10 years.
Galatasaray has decided to take a step towards generating its own electricity. The club’s authorities have signed a contract with Enerjisa to build the world’s largest solar power plant on the roof of the stadium. The company will operate the power plant for the first 10 years after its inception.
The project will contribute to Galatasaray and the Turkish economy. The power plant will have an at least 100-Million-Turkish lira contribution to Galatasaray during its 25-year-life.
The company is saving 200,000 trees as part of the project and the energy that will be produced at Galatasaray’s home will be able to supply 2,000 houses. It is an investment for nature, Turkey’s future and the country’s future generations. Enerjisa is planning to complete the project in 12 months.
Benefits for environment and club’s finances
The rooftop power plant is to have 10,000 solar panels with a total area of 40,000 square metres. Its transmission capacity will be able to supply electricity to 2,000 households. The installation itself is to be built 12 months after signing the contract, which took place on March 9, 2021. The construction of the power plant will be financed by Enerjisa Enerji, and the cost of its creation is estimated at TRY 20 million (€ 2, 1 million).
The solar power plant at the Türk Telekom stadium will have a capacity of 4.1 MW. In doing so, it will beat the Estádio Nacional de Brasília Mané Garrincha power plant, which produces 2.5 MW per year. The investment will reduce annual CO2 consumption by approximately 3,250 tonnes, which experts believe would save 200,000 trees over 25 years of its lifetime.",544,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662534693.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520223029-20220521013029-00002.warc.gz,0.94508159160614
97d8fe39-efdb-4c38-b498-9fac5353b002,2013-05-25T12:56:33+00:00,2012-10-20,1,http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/lets-make-friends-with-another-billion-people/?from=puff&pos=4,"Let’s make friends with another billion people
Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox looks at India’s booming economy and population of 1.2 billion people and sees great potential to create jobs and prosperity for Australia.
“That’s a hell of a lot of tomatoes, bananas, cows, sheep or anything that we can produce in Australia,” he says enthusiastically. Yet apart from Fox and a handful of other business leaders, India has not seemed a top priority for Australia.
The focus has been on the other giant economy in the region - China - and a national obsession to strike deals and sell iron ore. And despite historical links and a shared passion for sport, particularly cricket, India has been in the too hard basket.
Political relations have been strained by two big issues - Labor’s refusal to sell uranium to India because the nuclear-armed nation has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a belief across the sub-continent that Indian students here were under siege from racist attacks.
This week Fox has been leading a trade delegation to coincide with a state visit by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. And the message from India’s political and business elite is those problems have been fixed and now deals can be made.
As India drags itself out of poverty, the rise of middle class and new disposable spending power will unleash opportunities in goods and services, particularly where the average age is a youthful 26 years.
As Fox puts it, there will be 100 million new people every year with money ready to buy things - five times Australia’s population. “We’re in the right spot at the right time and we’ve all got to be smart enough to capitalise on it,” he says.
Gillard will soon unveil a White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century - a blueprint for the nation’s strategic and economic engagement with the region.
While there will rightly be a focus on relations with our biggest customer and superpower China, our vital neighbour Indonesia, tradional trading partners Japan and South Korea and closest ally the United States, India will be added to this group which Gillard says are the the six countries that “matter most to Australia”.
The bonds of history are no longer enough to keep Britain at the top any more. The future is the Asian Century.
While the PM’s stumble and fall when her shoe heel became stuck in wet grass might have grabbed the biggest headlines at home, her visit has been vital for Australia.
It’s a clear message that the relationship is not just about cricket, or as one Indian leader said, it has to move beyond “the 3Cs of commerce, curry and coal”.
Gillard gives Kevin Rudd credit for laying the groundwork in a visit to India in 2009 but his decision to maintain Labor’s ban on uranium sales was a roadblock.
Labor’s emotional national conference decision last year to remove the ban in a debate where Right-wing hardman Stephen Conroy cried and voted against the PM, has been the turning point.
Fox says there was “no question” the ban hurt relations. Gillard said it was an “obstacle” and that was why she forced the change.
Not a single ounce of yellow cake has been sold but ANZ boss Mike Smith, who is also part of the delegation, says there is already a “can do” spirit of goodwill.
Gillard insists Australia will negotiate nuclear safeguards and wants the International Atomic Energy Agency to have a watchdog role. But anti-nuclear groups accuse Gillard of trying to buy prosperity by putting the world at risk and say India has shot dead two protestors and safety standards are poor.
GILLARD’S trip has been a charm offensive that has included awarding Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar an Order of Australia medal.
Yet the PM was keen to show there’s more to Australia than the spin of Shane Warne or the singing and Bollywood acting of Brett Lee and she launched a four-month festival of Australian culture with 100 events in 18 Indian cities.
Gillard herself has become a celebrity of sorts in India. Her fall on her face was praised in sections of the Indian media for her ability to bounce back immediately while her speech in Parliament attacking Tony Abbott as sexist has be frequently raised with her.
As one Indian women told a youth forum: “Women like me are getting inspired by you…the way you spoke in the Parliament.”
But while Indians are the fastest growing group of new migrants settling in Australia, with the most number of skilled immigrants and second highest number of foreign students and Hindi Australia’s fastest growing language, formal links have been too weak until now.
And it shows how poor relations were that when the Indian media exaggerated the racist attacks on students, the Indian public were so willing to believe the worst of Australia. That’s in part our fault.
While Australia’s focus has been on communist China, it has seemed strange there has not been the same passion and determination until now about India, who like Australia is a democracy with similar institutions. Gillard also wants to beef up military ties and she was the one who pointed out that Australia currently has stronger defence ties with China than India.
Gillard’s trip has been successful but an Indian PM hasn’t visited Australia for 26 years. Gillard’s counterpart Manmohan Singh says he would love to come, but no dates are set. The 80-year-old pulled out of CHOGM in Perth 12 months ago.
A visit really would show a significant shift in relations.
A decade ago two-way trade was a rather limp $3 billion. It’s now $20 billion and the Government has the ambitious target of reaching $40 billion by 2015. That’s a hell of a lot of tomatoes and bananas.
Comments on this post will close at 8pm AEST.
Read all about it
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Australia. Where you die for your country and get a rest area named after you http://t.co/hO6LpfwDvI
The latest and greatest
Good morning Punchers. After four years of excellent fun and great conversation, this is the final post…
I have had some close calls, one that involved what looked to me like an AK47 pointed my way, followed…
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…",1360,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957680761814117
469ab498-bbe5-4c1c-81a3-f1960391141a,2022-05-19T18:40:26+00:00,2022-05-19,1,https://www.todaygh.com/macron-hopes-for-better-ties-with-algeria-amid-row/,"French President Emmanuel Macron has said he hopes the diplomatic tension with Algeria will ease soon.
“My wish is that we can calm things down because I think it is better to talk to one another, and to make progress,” Macron told France Inter radio in an interview.
President Macron said he had “cordial” relations with his Algerian counterpart.
President Macron was quoted as saying the former French colony was ruled by a “political-military system” with an official history that was based not on truth, but on hatred of France.
The diplomatic spat came days after France cut the number of visas it issues for citizens of Algeria and other North African countries.",141,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662529658.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519172853-20220519202853-00217.warc.gz,0.984959721565247
5a616c62-e4e9-4cff-8999-4925609fe03e,2013-05-18T17:38:33+00:00,2013-05-01,0,http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/62225-how-big-data-is-changing-outdoor-media,"Seeing an ad outdoors has a greater impact on us than one served to our laptop or phone. We come across it, 'discover it' if you want to be properly cheesy, we trust it more, and the creative is tied to a more unique and memorable set of circumstances.
This is of course debatable; there are lots of caveats, but I believe it to be true.
Bear with me on this post, there is going to be some pontificating on a Brian Cox-esque scale (for non UK readers, he's a TV broadcaster who gets very reflective about the universe).
As weird as fiction?
There are many tantalising aspects to the evolution of digital technology outside of home. Google glasses, 4G; each year it gets less and less fanciful to discuss the 'internet of things'.
Extrapolate to an age of complete connectivity of objects and one can imagine a comprehensive dataset for people and stuff, and many weird-as-fiction scenarios for the future of outdoors.
Strangers could become a thing of the past, as could getting lost, or evading the police. In the more boring world of marketing, attribution could become much less of a headache, as we know where people are, and even precisely what they are looking at, if not what they are thinking.
In the future of audience analytics, there may no longer be a sample or a survey, but real-time, absolute data. Eventually a model of cost-per-'impression' (set of eyeballs) outdoors is no longer fanciful either.
Of course, this is a long way off, and until then, increased range, depth and accuracy of data in the grubby world away from the internet is very useful indeed.
Route's latest outdoor measurement survey
Here enters the latest measurement survey by Route. It's huge, and seeks to define who interacts with media outdoors. Route provides this data so that sellers of ad space can trade on it and ad buyers can inform their purchases.
360,000 frames (bits of ad space) are analysed, both their visibility, with eye tracking studies, and the audience size and demographic that come into contact with the ads.
28,000 people were interviewed and then tracked across the UK by GPS. Part of this involves traffic studies, too. For those that get a kick out of numbers, see the bottom of this post.
It's a large amount of useful data, and lets brands get a lot more selective with, effectively, poster space. The brochure is sort of funny, as it contains lots of photos of the audience, the survey being audience-focused of course, and leaves you wondering where exactly the ads are, waiting scarily out of shot, a bit like the direction of a horror movie.
Anyway, this is no place to get into pop culture studies.
Jokes aside, here's a variety of uses for the data that at least point towards a vision of the future.
- Digital posters, at the roadside, underground and in malls, can allow for day parting. An obvious one being targeting the rush hour for the business marketer.
- More accurate numbers allow advertisers to compare outdoors to TV, press and web.
- An advertiser can attempt to plan by audience more accurately, with audience data tied to geographical areas and even specific ad spaces.
- Avoid wasting money purchasing ad space that, for example, is estimated to be barely seen on weekends.
The data throws up more interesting snippets, such as singles being more likely to visit malls than those married.
It's still essentially a survey, an estimate, however large and passive (GPS) a study. The demographic information still comes from actively questioning the participants, and there will always be heuristics at play, in the statistics and in the minds of the audience.
One of the speakers at the launch of this dataset referred to grasping the nettle, moving towards a comprehensive view of out-of-home advertising, with greater transparency about audience interaction, irrespective of what the results threw up.
This is a little disingenuous, as the study showed 14% more travel by the population since the last results. Grasping the nettle is easy when it turns out to be a tulip. The population continues to increase and in particular in important markets such as central London, even if consumer spending is hit by the recession.
Advertising might become our biggest export, sort of like the reverse of protectionism.
The inexorable link between research and its uses in the market means that the data in studies such as this will always be sliced nicely. There might be some frames (ad space) that appear undesirable when in the light of a new study, but of course these can then be priced accordingly.
Furthermore, the real sweet spots - enormous ads, visible from every angle in heavily trafficked areas - are never going to come down in price (braces for backlash).
So the network of frames is still going to bring in lots of revenue, but it's going to be divvied up in ever more accurate and representative ways. So in the end, the media buyer out-of-home will be surer that they are getting what they pay for.
And we'll move ever closer to the idea of a cost per impression out of doors, whatever that cost may be.
Smartphones and tablets are the elephant in the room for this kind of study. Until Google glasses are widespread, we can't be sure someone has looked at an ad, and so staring down at one's phone, albeit a phone that vastly enables the user and could potentially enhance the advert in question, ultimately takes out larges swathes of eyeballs (a strange image).
Some of us (granted, a specific demographic) are more 'locked in', despite travelling further.
Route estimates smartphone penetration in Q1 of 2013 to be 65%. Eye-tracking studies can probably ascertain that the ad at the top of an escalator gets viewed (as we look up to alight) but are much less accurate at determining how often the ads up the sides of escalators are viewed.
These studies obviously also take into account everything but the creative i.e. they account for the position, the lighting, the size, the type of display etc, but not how funky the words and pictures are.
Outdoor ads as art
Intuitively (and the word heuristics was used a few times at launch) I think we all know of the effectiveness of adverts out-of-home. You only have to think of the sides of buses, roadside adverts, adverts on the underground, to recall creative for upcoming films, for new tech and for fashion brands.
I think recall is a lot slower when trying to think of the same experiences online.
The allure of out-of-home ads is precisely that of their unaccountability. The creative must be great, and oftentimes is. Even then, the reaction, if brilliant, is large parts qualitative, and can help inform our approach to great creative online.
In short, out-of-home ads are the industry's original and purest art form.
As we move toward the point where ad buyers can pay for audience, the industry will inevitably change. Prepare for more and more analysts and statisticians, paid better wages, and working towards this goal of transparency.
As for creatives - if you're good, you'll be ok, but likewise prepare for less of the Nathan Barley types (archetypal watery creatives), as they no longer manage to crouch down, with a bag on their heads, behind the unknowns of the outdoor ad market.
Some stats from Route
- 28,000 people were included in the GPS study.
- 3.5m pathways were mapped.
- 160m records in the dataset.
- 241km travelled in a week by the average person (14% more than previous estimates).
- 1,600 towns included in the survey.
- We are fastest at 5-6am on a Sunday (32.8 kmph).
- And slowest at 10-11am on a Tuesday (16.48 kmph).
- 45-54 yr olds move fastest.
- Men travel faster overall, and go further than women - 288km vs. 197km.
- We spend an average of 12.2 hrs travelling every week.
- Three quarters of travel is during the week.",1742,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952804803848267
7eb60ca4-e24c-49ad-ab97-a70e9f78a0aa,2013-05-22T07:20:39+00:00,2013-04-12,0,http://www.fanfiction.net/r/8860923/,"|Reviews for Rise of all of the Guardians|
| words infinity 4/12/13 . chapter 12
You seriously need to spell check this. Please. You're hurting me with the way this is so terribly spelled. But the scary thing is you looked like you put alot of thought and work into this. Its very nice and i like how its put together. I give it a B-
| majestic.beauty.sealed.in.ice 1/21/13 . chapter 12
Nice! Good job! :)
| Guest 1/19/13 . chapter 2
YOU EVIL LYING PERSON! DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEE In THE MOST PAINFULLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OF ALLLLLLLLLLLL WAYSSSSSSS TO DIEEEEEEEEEEEE
| Cookie05 1/19/13 . chapter 12
I love this
The back stories are really good
| OtakuAme 1/19/13 . chapter 12
oh this Is so sweet! beautiful story 3
| WyldClaw 1/19/13 . chapter 12
This chapter was simply brilliant and amazing
| thunder angel13 1/19/13 . chapter 12
Liked your chapter really great
| kyiomi 1/19/13 . chapter 12
I loved this chappie so much! And i hope you hurry with any more story ideas for it!
| GatherTheDragonballs 1/14/13 . chapter 11
| thunder angel13 1/14/13 . chapter 11
Super interested wanna know where it goes
| jakevoronkov1 1/13/13 . chapter 11
| Jokermask18 1/13/13 . chapter 11
Whoah harsh! Have you considered including a chapter about how they first teamed up to fight Pitch?
| WyldClaw 1/13/13 . chapter 11
| kyiomi 1/13/13 . chapter 11
0.0 she really does hate kids, huh? Amazing chappie! Oh, and where is the next chappie/part? I really wanna read it!
| monkeymaiden14 1/13/13 . chapter 11
wow...tooth is kind of a bitch...love the stories!",485,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.762621581554413
b4385017-b4ec-49ac-addc-4cce3f30e6bf,2019-08-24T06:02:13+00:00,2019-08-24,0,https://www.smiletravelvietnam.com/poland-embassy-in-anchorage,"How to apply Poland visa in Anchorage, United States:
Most of people are obliged to obtain a Visa before visiting Poland. They can apply directly from embassy of Poland in Anchorage or apply online to get Visa.
Poland embassy in Anchorage, United States Contact
|Country Located in:||United States|
|Address:||7550 Old Seward Hwy, Suite 101, Anchorage, Ak 99518|
|Office hours:||Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m|
Check all requirements of poland visa:
Polish tourist visa requirements for United States (American):
Poland tourist visa is not required for citizens of United States for a stay up to 90 days.
Polish business visa requirements for United States (American):
Poland business visa is not required for citizens of United States for a stay up to 90 days.
Requirement for Poland visa application:
a) Passport (3 months from the date of intended departure from Poland, with at least two blank visa pages ).
(b) Completed and signed application form.
(c) Two passport-size photo.
(d) Evidence of immigration status in country of residence, endorsed in current or previous passport (if applicable).
e) Fee, payable by cash/postal order.
Cost of Poland visa:
Airport visa (A) $ 74
Uniform short stay visa for the purpose of transit $ 74
Uniform short-stay visa (C) $ 74
National long-stay visa (D) $ 74
How to visit anchorage, United States from poland ?
How long to make Poland visa :
15 days to 30 days
Require time valid of Poland visa:
Airport transit visa (A) – valid only for airport transit, does not entitle the holder to leave the transit zone of the airport
Short-stay visa (C) – valid for stays of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days.
Work visas are valid for a maximum of 1 year.
How to fly directly from poland to anchorage, United States?
There is not any direct flight from anchorage to poland
Map of embassy of poland in anchorage, United States (where is poland embassy in anchorage, United States located?)
Maybe This is no exact imformation for embassy of poland in anchorage, If you know about information, Please contact us for this update. Thank for your help.",514,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319724.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824041053-20190824063053-00017.warc.gz,0.851540207862854
09332127-44cc-4e4c-a7cc-24c5b4b057b7,2020-10-22T18:40:06+00:00,2020-10-19,1,https://ca.news.yahoo.com/mysterious-vancouver-mercury-spill-4th-232655804.html,"Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services' hazardous material team was called to a mercury spill in Vancouver Monday morning. It was the fourth known mercury spill in the city since mid-September, in a string of mysterious incidents.
""It's all very strange,"" said Jonathan Gormick, VFRS spokesperson.
Gormick said crews were called to the spill on West Hastings Street between Howe and Hornby streets around 9:30 a.m.
They arrived to find between 300 and 500 millilitres of mercury spread out over a few metres of sidewalk in front of a business.
""That's certainly too much to come from a single consumer product like an old thermometer or a thermostat,"" he said, adding the Vancouver police would investigate the cause fo the spill. ""My estimation is that it either came from an industrial source, or someone has been collecting mercury from smaller sources.""
Gormick said a contractor was called in to collect the mercury, due to the large quantity.
He said the spill was unlike the previous three that recently occurred — each of those cases happened in the southwest part of Stanley Park, in or near public washrooms. They all involved small amounts of the metal and were tied to broken thermostats or thermometers.
A spokesperson with the Vancouver Police Department said investigators were reviewing all of the recent mercury spill incidents to determine if they are linked.
Gormick said, beyond the toxic substance in question, there was nothing obvious to tie Monday's spill to the other three.
In 2016, there was another mysterious mercury spill at English Bay in Vancouver. In that case, about half a cup of the metal was recovered.
He said if anyone finds mercury anywhere, they should avoid touching it and call 911 to let first responders know.
Do you have more to add to this story? Email email@example.com
Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker",401,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880014.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022170349-20201022200349-00298.warc.gz,0.975258231163025
dc61a7a2-d3cf-4f7c-9ce4-7515c55cf9fa,2016-07-26T09:02:54+00:00,2001-11-15,0,http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2001/nov/15/experts-predict-2001s-leonid-meteor-shower-will-ro/,"Will the annual Leonid meteor shower deliver a last hurrah this year and next or fade toward insignificance sooner rather than later? By analyzing new data provided by the observed performance of the shower in the last several years, experts are favoring the former.
Here are the facts: The Leonid shower rises to a crescendo on or near November 17 every year, delivering a modest display of about 10-15 visible ""shooting stars"" per hour for a string of about 30 years. Then, on a cycle of roughly 33 years, the Leonids roar to life with meteors appearing at the rate of hundreds to thousands per hour in a single year or in several consecutive years.
The meteor streaks appearing all over the sky during the shower are generated by swarms of small dust and ice particles shed from a comet called Tempel-Tuttle. The chance of the Earth bumping into a particularly dense strand of Comet Tempel-Tuttle debris improves whenever that comet passes near Earth -- once every 33 years. The particles of debris collide with Earth's upper atmosphere in parallel streams. Each particle disintegrates in a blaze of light as it plows through the air at more than 100,000 miles per hour, appearing and disappearing from view in a fraction of a second. By perspective, the parallel paths of these fiery pinpoints create the illusion that the meteors are originating from a single ""vanishing point"" in the sky, called the shower's radiant. All Leonids radiate from Leo, a constellation that at this time of year lies above the horizon from about 11 p.m. onward.
According to a detailed article appearing in the November 2001 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine, the favored night for West Coast observers this year will be November 17-18 (Saturday night-Sunday morning), with a distinct peak in activity occurring near 2 a.m. After that, rates will likely decline somewhat. Observers several time zones to the west of us have a shot at observing a second, probably larger peak in activity during the predawn hours at that longitude. For us, the second peak will occur during daylight on Sunday morning and therefore will be unobservable.
The same calculations that are predicting this year's Leonid activity also prognosticate high rates for the Leonids in 2002. However, next year the bright light of the full moon will largely spoil the view. This year's shower will be unaffected by moonlight.
Some meteors during this year's shower can be observed from San Diego's brightly lit urban area, but any serious meteor-watching must take place well away from the city at dark mountain or desert locales. No telescope is required; simply lie back in a warm sleeping bag at any site with an unobstructed view of the whole sky. If there's not much activity going on (due to obscuring clouds or a failure of the predictions) and you'd rather get some sleep, try setting an alarm every hour or so to monitor the shower's progress.",613,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824757.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00235-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939450681209564
73092e76-8f30-416f-b051-546cf4a80350,2018-08-15T06:08:33+00:00,2018-02-26,1,http://www.climatesignals.org/headlines/biggest-flood-20-years-hits-ohio-river,"Biggest Flood in 20 Years Hits Ohio River
The worst flood event in 20 years is underway along the Ohio River in Ohio and Kentucky, and damaging moderate to major flooding continues from Texas to Michigan in the wake of heavy rains that fell last week in the center portion of the country. According to weather.com, a number of cities in the Ohio River drainage basin have received their heaviest February rains on record, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (7.04 inches), Evansville, Indiana (9.03 inches) and Louisville, Kentucky (10.47 inches). As of Monday morning, over 200 river gauges reported levels above flood stage, primarily from the Great Lakes to eastern Texas; seven locations in northern Indiana and southern Michigan set record river levels last week. Six deaths have been blamed on the floods thus far—2 in Michigan, 2 in Kentucky, 1 in Illinois, and 1 in Oklahoma.
The region gets a break from heavy rains Monday through Tuesday afternoon, but another potent rain storm is headed for the Tennessee and Lower Mississippi River Valleys Tuesday night through Thursday, which will add to flooding woes there. Of greatest concern is a swath from central and southern Arkansas into Tennessee, southern Kentucky, northern Mississippi, northern Alabama and northwest Georgia Wednesday into early Thursday, according to an excessive rainfall outlook from NOAA's Weather Prediction Center.
On Sunday, the Ohio River at Cincinnati crested 8.53’ above flood stage, its highest level since it crested 12.7’ above flood stage on March 5, 1997. On Monday morning, the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky was cresting about 13’ above flood stage, the highest water level there since March 7, 1997, when a flood 3' higher than the 2018 flood arrived. During the 1997 Ohio River flood, major flooding impacted a total of six states, killing 33 people: 21 in Kentucky, 5 in Ohio, 4 in Tennessee, and 3 in West Virginia. Hundreds of injuries were also reported. The most severe flooding occurred in Ohio and Kentucky, with dozens of counties in each state declared natural disaster areas. Close to 14,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and over 20,000 home and business owners applied for disaster relief. Damage estimates totaled more than $500 million (1997 dollars).",456,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209884.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815043905-20180815063905-00573.warc.gz,0.950775325298309
bc25ea67-84c0-4663-b00f-7ab81a773f82,2013-05-25T12:41:07+00:00,2012-10-01,0,http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=107432,"I have been on 28 cruises, dating back to the 1980s. This is the first time I ever got married on a cruise though, so that's where we will start this review.
My fiance and I decided to get married (after getting engaged on another cruise back in 2009) back in May of this year. We quickly settled on getting married on the Explorer (it was the ship we first sailed on as a couple in 2007) and contacted Royal Caribbean. The big reason for deciding on this ship was that it is within driving distance for any of our family or friends who would want to make the drive and witness our happy day. The Royal Romance department at RCCL handled all the details and delivered everything that was promised. It's hard to compare pricing compared to a shore wedding but the 2-hour luncheon buffet and open bar was about $70 a head. The ceremony and luncheon was in a lounge on Deck 14 with a great view of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. Our wedding coordinators, who are outside contractors, as is the person who performed the ceremony, couldn't have been better. All of our non-sailing guests had a good time and got to see some of the ship before getting off about 2:45 p.m. So, my grade for this unique event was an A.
Now, for the cruise itself. We have sailed out of Cape Liberty 3 times (2 on RCCL and 1 on Celebrity) over the past 5 years. The convenience of not having to deal with the stress of flying in our post-9/11 world is hard to measure. Drive to ""beautiful"" Bayonne, unload your bags, park the car and get on board. Just beware of directions in you use MapQuest. They have a wrong turn listed that a few people talked about taking. It's not Miami or Fort Lauderdale, but Cape Liberty gets the job done.
The crew on this ship is right up there with some of the best I have encountered on cruise ships. In 9 days, I didn't run into one who wasn't friendly and helpful. This goes for our room attendant, Carolyn who took care of a couple of newlyweds who suffered the first few days from colds.
My new wife went to the ship's doctor and she was great. The entertainment staff, headed by Richard and Leigh, made every event we attended a great time. Even though we did My Time Dining, we always found the waiters and assistant waiters were very professional. And this was our first time using anything but a regular 8:30 seating for dinner. We found we usually never had to wait more than 10 minutes to be seated.
Now, for the food itself. We ate breakfast each day in the Windjammer. Despite a few clunkers (pancakes sometimes left too long that resembled Frisbees, runny eggs) the food here was average. I guess we just don't expect too much from a buffet that serves a couple of thousand people. I left each time satisfied and full.
Afternoons usually meant getting something at the Promenade Cafe. Not a big selection but the pizza was usually hot and fresh and the small sandwiches kept us satisfied until dinner.
We ate most nights in the Main Dining Room. I would give the food there a grade of B. I don't eat beef or pork and it seemed the seafood selections were not what they have been in the past. But what I did order I found was usually cooked well and I never left the MDR with food still on my plate.
We did room service one night for dinner. The selection was so-so. It arrived at our room about 15 minutes after we ordered and we found the quality of the order was good.
We also ate one night in Portofinos. I found the service a little slow. I guess that is what they shoot for and I am used to the more frenzy-paced MDR. Food quality was good but the menu seemed skimpy.
The ports-of-call? There are probably thousands of reviews of Bermuda, St. Maarten and San Juan (which was more like a 6-hour pit stop) so I won't add one more on here of those 3 places. We did rent a cabana at Barefoot Beach on Labadee. It was $200 and it was worth every cent. I would do that again in a heartbeat. Our ""private"" lunch was not that private. We waited in line for about 20 minutes before we finally got our food. They should either add some extra staff to move things along or a second line. Food was excellent. Not many places to sit though. And some chairs that are good for relaxing but not well-suited for sitting at a table to eat lunch.
The headliner shows we attended on the ship were okay. The standard ""Love and Marriage Game"" and ""The Quest"" were fun to watch.
The one thing that bothered me the most was the amount of rust I noticed. I know this ship is a workhorse for RCCL and sails primarily in the North Atlantic, but she needs a good scraping and painting. It pained me to see this beautiful ship with so many rusty blotches.
So would I do this cruise again? I can answer that by saying we have already booked cruise on Explorer in August 2013.",1104,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.985929906368256
6d5fd14d-7cfe-4635-9c50-865f4eae1902,2016-07-29T00:18:05+00:00,2016-02-19,1,http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/alpine/94423/a-whole-family-of-lightweight-alpine-models-on-the-way,"Speaking from the unveil of Alpine’s Vision concept, company bosses revealed plans to roll out a range of models – all of which will utilise the brand’s core values of being lightweight, agile and elegant.
Managing director Michael van der Sande began by telling Auto Express: “A bright future would be impossible without a bright past."" “To build a brand you can’t have one car. To build a brand you need many cars”.
Other Alpine cars are expected over the next few years but CEO Carlos Ghosn also refused to elaborate on what these might be. He would only insist that lightweight “would not be an exception”.
Alpine design chief Anthony Villain also reiterated they’d need to make the production version of the Alpine Vision concept work before revealing exact details on upcoming models, but that further cars were in the pipeline.
“Whatever the range is after, we have to stick to our DNA. So it’s lightweight, agile, a pleasure to drive and elegant. Whatever it is, we have to feel that."" “This car has to be successful - then we can play”, he said.
More information on the upcoming models will become clear after the sports car’s launch later this year. Sales of that Alpine sports car will begin in Europe in 2017, before being rolled out across the globe shortly after that.
What would you like to see from Alpine in the future? Let us know in the comments section...",314,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829320.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00164-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96106618642807
8a94f687-077c-451b-828c-b6f192e45269,2022-05-24T00:25:46+00:00,2022-05-08,1,https://northfaces.us/2022/05/08/1502-afghanistan-supreme-guide-orders-women-to-wear-full-veils-in-public/,"The Taliban have severely tightened restrictions on women’s freedom in Afghanistan, requiring them to wear full veils in public on Saturday, preferably the burqa, an announcement heavily criticized by feminist activists.
In a decree issued during a ceremony in Kabul, the supreme leader of the Taliban and Afghanistan, Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordered women to completely cover their bodies and faces in public, stating that the burqa, the blue veil at the eye height is the best option for that.
Women should wear “a tchadri (another name for the burqa), because it is traditional and respectful,” indicates this decree.
“Women who are neither too young nor too old should veil their faces, except their eyes, according to Sharia recommendations, to avoid any provocation when they meet a man” who is not a close member of their family, she adds.
And if they have no reason to go out, they better “stay home”.
This decree also lists the penalties to which heads of families who do not impose the use of the full veil are exposed. The first two offenses will be sanctioned with a simple warning. The third will be sentenced to three days in prison and the fourth will be brought to justice.
Additionally, any government employee who does not wear the full veil will be fired immediately.
“Islam has never recommended chadri,” a women’s rights activist who remained in Afghanistan, on condition of anonymity, reacted to the AFP.
“The Taliban, instead of being progressive, are going backwards. They are behaving as in their first regime, they are the same as 20 years ago,” he added.
– Denied promises –
“We are a broken nation, forced to endure assaults we cannot understand. As a people we are crushed,” tweeted Muska Dastageer, a former professor at the American University of Afghanistan, now based in Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban returned to power in mid-August, the feared ministry for the promotion of virtues and the prevention of vice had issued several recommendations on how women should dress. But this is the first edict on the matter promulgated at the national level.
The Taliban previously asked women to wear at least the hijab, a scarf that covered the head but revealed the face. But they strongly recommended wearing the burqa, which they made mandatory when they first came to power between 1996 and 2001.
Under their first regime, they had deprived women of nearly all rights, according to their ultra-strict interpretation of Sharia law, Islamic law.
Agents of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice whipped anyone caught without a burqa.
After their return to power, after 20 years of occupation by the United States and its allies, which had ousted them in 2001, the Taliban had promised to be more flexible this time around.
But they soon reneged on their promises, constantly eroding rights again and wiping out 20 years of women’s freedom.
Women are now largely barred from government jobs and prohibited from traveling overseas or long distances within the country unless accompanied by a male family member.
– Complicated international recognition –
In March, the Taliban brought high schools and colleges closer to girls, hours after their long-announced reopening. This unexpected turnaround, which was not justified except to say that the education of girls must be done according to sharia law, has scandalized the international community.
The Taliban also imposed the separation of women and men in Kabul’s public parks, with designated visiting days for each gender.
The decree issued on Saturday could further complicate the Taliban’s request for international recognition, which the international community has directly linked to respect for women’s rights.
“This is an unexpected step back, which will not help the Taliban gain international recognition. Such moves will only intensify the opposition,” Pakistani analyst Imtiaz Gul told AFP.
Over the past two decades, Afghan women have gained new freedoms, either by returning to school or applying for jobs in all sectors of activity, even as the country has remained socially conservative.
Women tried to assert their rights by demonstrating for the first time in Kabul and major cities after the Taliban returned to power.
But they fiercely repressed the movement, arresting many activists and holding some, sometimes for several weeks.
The burqa is a traditional Afghan piece of clothing, widely worn in the more remote and conservative parts of the country. Even before the Taliban returned to power, the vast majority of Afghan women were veiled, if only with a loose veil.
© 2022 AFP. All reproduction and representation rights reserved. All information reproduced in this section (dispatches, photos, logos) are protected by the intellectual property rights held by AFP. Consequently, none of this information may be reproduced, modified, redistributed, translated, commercially exploited or reused in any way without AFP’s prior written consent.",1021,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00608.warc.gz,0.96406227350235
7139c38f-77c9-4fae-a9b3-12e358546bf2,2022-05-16T04:58:23+00:00,2022-05-16,0,https://softsensbaby.com/blogs/baby-skincare/all-about-diaper-rash-causes-prevention-care,"It can be worrisome when your sweet little baby develops the dreaded “diaper rash” but it doesn’t have to be a major cause for concern, parents. Diaper rash is much more common than you think and most babies will get it at some point between the ages of 0 to 3 years. In fact, with correct care and treatment, diaper rash should clear up within 3-4 days.
How do you spot diaper rash?
Diaper rash can be either mild or severe. In cases of mild diaper rash, your baby’s skin is usually pinkish with slight bumps and dryness. In moderate to severe cases, the skin in and around the diaper region, including the legs and abdomen, becomes red, scaly and dry accompanied by raised bumps. It may also peel or bleed a little.
If your baby’s diaper rash continues for more than 3 days and you notice other signs such as pus-filled blisters, yellow crusty skin or lots of red spots that are further away from the diaper region, it could be a possible bacterial or yeast infection. If you notice signs of such an infection, consult your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor might prescribe a topical treatment that should help clear it up as soon as possible.
Why does diaper rash occur?
Diaper rash typically occurs due to one or more of the following reasons.
Your baby’s skin is extremely delicate and wearing a diaper all day and night long can irritate this already delicate skin. The constant rubbing of the diaper against the skin causes irritation which can show up as diaper rash.
Allergies & Skin Sensitivity
Skin of the baby is thinner and far more sensitive than an adult’s skin. Some babies are also more prone to allergies than others. That’s why their skin can get easily irritated by certain products, especially those with alcohol, dyes or added fragrances. Certain soaps, creams, baby wipes or diapers may not suit your baby’s skin. Even the use of certain detergents to wash your baby’s clothes or cloth diapers (if you’re using those) can lead to skin flare ups.
Once you start feeding your baby solids, you might notice that your baby is allergic to certain foods. This could also cause diaper rash. A rash can also develop if a breastfeeding mother or her baby has taken a round of antibiotics.
It is natural for moisture to accumulate in your baby’s diaper region. The constant wetness not only irritates skin but is a breeding ground for bacteria, causing your baby’s skin to flare up.
Your baby’s skin can also get irritated due to constant contact with his own urine and stool. Changing pH levels in your baby’s urine can irritate skin. Contact with stools within the moist environment of your baby’s diaper can also cause an infection. That’s why babies with diarrhea are more susceptible to diaper rashes.
How can you prevent diaper rash in babies?
Here are some tips you can follow to help prevent diaper rash.
Making sure that your baby’s skin is always dry and clean is the way to prevent diaper rash. At every diaper change, clean your baby’s skin with a clean, damp cloth or baby wipes and dry thoroughly before putting the diaper back on. If you use baby wipes, make sure they are free of alcohol and colour. Clean and dry properly between the folds as well. Always clean from the top to bottom to prevent spreading any infection from stools. Don’t rub your baby’s skin while drying. Instead, pat it dry gently. If possible, let it air-dry a bit before you put the diaper back on. Apply a gentle baby diaper cream to protect your baby’s skin before putting the diaper back on.
Change your baby’s diaper regularly. You should change the diaper either every two hours or every time your baby soils the diaper.
- Try and leave the diaper a little loose when putting it on to prevent chafing
LOTS of diaper-free time. This is the not-so-secret tip that most parents swear by to prevent diaper rash. Your baby’s skin needs time to breathe. So, take off that diaper and lay your baby on a towel or something that can be cleaned easily if your baby soils himself.
Choose the right diaper. Sometimes, the diaper itself can further irritate your baby’s skin. Choose one that is the correct size (smaller diapers can cause excessive friction) and that does not have added dyes or fragrances.
Avoid products that can potentially irritate your baby’s skin. Certain soaps, detergents, wipes, lotions can lead to skin reactions. If you’re using cloth diapers, ensure that you rinse off the soap/detergent thoroughly before making your baby wear them.
Avoid giving your baby any antibiotic medicines. Although antibiotics kill bad bacteria in the body, they also kill the good bacteria that can prevent and fight infections. If you’re breastfeeding, you should ideally stay away from antibiotics too.
How to treat diaper rash?
When treated properly, diaper rash should clear up within 3-4 days. If this doesn’t happen and the rash worsens, you should consult your doctor. Here are some essential pointers on how to treat diaper rash.
Change the diaper as often as possible You want to prevent any kind of wetness when this happens, so it helps to change the diaper more often, even if you have to wake your baby up at night to do this.
- When cleaning your baby’s bottom between diaper changes, skip the wipes and use a damp cloth. Pat dry and DON’T rub the skin.
Soak your baby’s bottom in warm water a few times through the day, especially if you notice a lot of raw skin.
Be extremely generous with the diaper rash cream.Apply a nice thick layer every time you clean your baby and change his diaper.
Let your baby go diaper-free.Exposure to the air can help baby’s skin heal faster. So, if it’s possible, simply leave the diaper off and let your baby’s skin breathe. If you can, cover your baby’s crib with a plastic cover and let them go diaper-free even while sleeping.
- Some home remedies for diaper rash include soothing the area lightly with coconut oil, petroleum jelly, breast milk or apple cider vinegar.
For more tips on how to properly maintain your newborn baby’s hygiene, click here. Have a question for us? Leave a comment below.",1430,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662509990.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516041337-20220516071337-00017.warc.gz,0.922374844551086
b3615058-2149-472a-8b9d-034c2fe6e75b,2018-08-19T13:09:03+00:00,2018-08-19,1,https://digitalswitzerland.com/project-pillars/,"With our projects, we aim to foster best practices, knowledge and understanding around digitalisation. Also of particular importance to us is that we can connect and bring together the brightest minds, visionaries and pioneers to think about opportunities and challenges of digitalisation. We not only want to talk the talk, but walk the walk! Thus, we try to see further and implement concrete projects, while at the same time being in a dialogue and intense exchange with the Swiss public.
Commitment to political framework conditions that support a thriving innovation ecosystem
To promote both innovation in Switzerland and digital transformation in all areas of society, it takes not only business and academia, but also the support and willpower of the government to move ahead. Ideal framework conditions are necessary to make use of the potential of digitalisation. Therefore, an intensive exchange between business, academia and governmental stakeholders is essential and stimulating at the same time.
Digital Action Plan
To move Switzerland forward, a Digital Action Plan was established in 2017. It encompasses Within this Digital Action Plan, six action fields filled with concrete implementation projects, out of which specific recommendations were created. The action fields include the following:
- Society | Digital Transformation
- Business | Ecosystem | Innovation
- Education | Research
- Infrastructure | Data Policy
- Cyber Security
Within the Digital Action Plan, digitalswitzerland organises workshops for its members to push the projects forward, together with relevant partners from the network. Deepdive issues include blockchain technology, cybersecurity and health. Ideas such as the E-ID, mobility initiative as well as push for 5G have their origins within this project.
100 Digital Shapers of Switzerland
In cooperation with Bilanz and a jury of experts, digitalswitzerland nominates each year the top 100 digital shapers of Switzerland. Together with the digital shapers, digitalswitzerland launched the digital manifesto, which found its way into the Digital Action Plan. For 2018, digitalswitzerland and Bilanz are looking for the next generation of digital shapers. Check out the digital shapers of 2017 here.
Education & Talent
Improving digital skills, for current employees and for the next generation
A truly innovative economy is based on both a solid education that builds on the past and looks to the future as well as talent development. As digitalswitzerland’s mission is to make Switzerland a leading digital innovation hub – worldwide, our Education & Talent initiative promotes digitalisation in both those areas. From compulsory and tertiary education to apprenticeship and lifelong learning, we aim to encourage and promote digital skills and competencies throughout the country for all ages and interests.
Visit www.educationdigital.ch to see current offerings
Our initiative «nextgeneration» supports digital education offerings for children and adolescents to start early to create curiosity and build fundamental skills. Our job is to connect these existing platforms and provide reach and publicity via our channels and network.
Learn more about our initiative «nextgeneration»
Helping entrepreneurs to grow and scale – providing members with high-speed access to innovation
Young entrepreneurs are the source of new and brilliant ideas, moving with great agility. At the same time, they benefit from a strong community to overcome obstacles during the set-up of their business and when seeking to scale.
Our initiatives provide startups with vital business knowledge and coaching, offer rich networking opportunities and provide access to funding.
In a world in flux, companies need to unlock new ideas and business models to stay on top and compete with new global players. Our corporate members and sponsors benefit from high-speed access to leading startups and top talents that can help them accelerate their own ideas and digital transformation processes.
Market entry Bootcamps – For International Startups
The Market Entry Bootcamps present international startups with a deep-dive into the Swiss entrepreneurship ecosystem via access to leading Swiss corporations, Swiss accelerator and incubator programs as well as public institutions.
Scale up Bootcamps – For National Startups
The Scale up Bootcamp offers Swiss Scale up startups rich business development opportunities with industry leaders to accelerate their businesses.
More information on our Startup Bootcamps
Venture Kick and its programs and events aim to close the gaps within the Swiss innovation chain. Venture Kick focuses on supporting the development of both Swiss and international founders, from the first idea to the successful scaling for international markets.
Learn more: www.venturekick.com
Startup Invest is Switzerland’s leading financing platform for Swiss High-Tech Startups. Next to being a matchmaking platform between investors and startups for all range of investments from Seed to later stage investments, it is also the main force for the professionalization of the Business Angel and Venture Capital ecosystem in Switzerland.
Learn more: www.startupinvest.ch
Bundling forces and fostering cross-sector collaboration to enable innovation
One country, one company or one individual alone cannot overcome the challenges of digitalisation. Creative solutions and collaborative know-how is needed to guide our businesses into the digital future. An interdisciplinary approach is key. For this reason, digitalswitzerland launched the digitalswitzerland challenge.
With the challenge, digitalswitzerland enables interdisciplinary and cross-sector teams to implement their innovative ambitions within a competitive framework. We call these ambitions bets, because for Switzerland’s future we want to go all in. As Switzerland has always excelled in collaboration and innovation to overcome challenges, we are confident that we will also win these bets. The ambitious program puts Switzerland, its companies, the local academia and politics at the heart of digitalization.
See challenge.digitalswitzerland for more information.
Leading a meaningful dialogue with the public
At the heart of digitalswitzerland’s activities are the question marks, fears and curiosity hopes of the Swiss public. What does digitalization mean in concrete terms for all of us?
For this reason, digitalswitzerland has launched Switzerland’s first Digital Day, which took place on 21 November 2017. Together with more than 40 partner companies and institutions under the patronage of Swiss President Doris Leuthard and Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann, digitalswitzerland started the dialogue with the Swiss public and made digitalization a unique experience.
The next Digital Day is already in the making: On 25 October 2018, we aim to include even more people, partners and regions into this big day dedicated to all things digital!",1307,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215176.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819125734-20180819145734-00683.warc.gz,0.909495532512665
2251300c-06d9-49a4-a86d-9d18edb1778a,2016-07-31T09:41:24+00:00,2013-02-25,0,http://technology.canoe.com/2013/02/25/20606511.html,"SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - One by one, the entrepreneurs, clad in crisp blue jeans and armed with PowerPoint presentations, stood before a roomful of investors and tech bloggers to explain their dreams of changing the world.
For these exuberant times in Silicon Valley, the scene was familiar; the setting, less so.
With the young and ambitious flocking again to northern California to launch Internet companies, there were signs one recent morning that startup mania has taken hold even behind the faded granite walls of California’s most notorious prison.
“Live stream has gone mainstream. Mobile video usage went up and is expected to increase by 28% over the next five years,” said Eddie Griffin, who was pitching a music streaming concept called “At the Club” and happens to be finishing a third stint for drug possession at San Quentin State Prison, near San Francisco, after spending the last 15 years behind bars.
Griffin was one of seven San Quentin inmates who presented startup proposals on “Demo Day” as part of the Last Mile program, an entrepreneurship course modeled on startup incubators that take in batches of young companies and provide them courses, informal advice and the seed investments to grow.
According to business news website Xconomy, incubator programs - which it tracks - have tripled in number for each of the past three years, proliferating from Sao Paulo to Stockholm at a pace that has fueled talk in tech circles of an “incubator bubble”.
Last Mile founder Chris Redlitz, a local venture capitalist, says his goal was never to seek out a genuine investment opportunity inside a prison but to educate inmates about tech entrepreneurship and bridge the knowledge gap between Silicon Valley’s wired elite and the rest of the region’s population.
Inmates, after all, are not allowed to run businesses. They do not have access to cellphones - much less Apple Inc’s latest iPhone developer toolkits - and they use computers only under close supervision.
A LOT TO LEARN
After his presentation in San Quentin’s chapel, which received a rousing reception from an audience that included prison warden Kevin R. Chappell, Griffin told a reporter it was unlikely he would launch his startup idea immediately after being released this summer.
“I still have a lot to learn,” said the soft-spoken Detroit native. “I’ve never used a cellphone. Technology is kind of foreign in this environment.”
But to hear the inmates use jargon such as “lean startup“ and “minimum viable product” speaks to an unmistakable truth about the Bay Area zeitgeist, where startups, for better or worse, have come to embody upward mobility, ambition, and hustle.
“If they were doing this in the ‘80s there may have been a different theme or model,” said Wade Roush, Xconomy’s chief correspondent. “But in this day and age, becoming an entrepreneur or starting a business is a form of self-actuation.”
Situated on prime waterfront land, San Quentin is perhaps California’s most storied prison and home to the state’s only death row. But it has also kept a longstanding progressive reputation, boasting a rare college degree-granting program and vibrant arts courses.
The Last Mile accepted 10 inmates out of 50 applicants for its latest batch. The program, which graduated its first class of inmates last year, meets twice a week to discuss startups and lasts six months, although the most recent class took seven months due to a prison lockdown last year.
Some Last Mile participants, under official supervision, have also joined the online question-and-answer site Quora to respond to questions about prison life or describe what it felt like to commit murder.
The latest batch of startup ideas included a fitness app that would motivate drug addicts to exercise, a cardiovascular health organization, a social network for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder, a food waste recycling program, and an e-commerce site for artists in prison.
Because the likelihood is not great that these companies will become funded and succeed, Redlitz said he was also working to place the inmates in jobs at tech companies after their release.
Rocketspace, a startup co-working space in downtown San Francisco, has agreed to host an internship. Rally.org, a crowd-funding site that counts Redlitz among its investors, said it hoped to begin a program to seek micro-investments from the public for the inmates’ ideas.
Sitting in the Demo Day audience was John Collison, the 22-year-old co-founder of online payments startup Stripe, who noted some stark differences between the inmates’ proposals and the fashionable startups du jour in Silicon Valley.
“What’s frustrating is that all these companies in the Valley, they’re ideas for the 1 or 10%,” Collison said. “You have startups like Uber or Taskrabbit, that’s like, ‘Oh, here’s something to help you find a driver or find someone to clean your house.’ Are they solving real problems?”
The San Quentin inmates “were talking about urban obesity, or PTSD”, Collison said. “It’s a completely different perspective. We actually really need that.”",1128,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828314.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00095-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955723583698273
49eeb73f-234b-4946-a32a-644146bdbed8,2022-05-27T07:22:44+00:00,2022-01-19,1,https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/nation/story/2022-01-19/unilever-wont-top-68b-bid-for-gsk-consumer-healthcare-unit,"Unilever won’t top $68B bid for GSK consumer healthcare unit
Unilever, the maker of Vaseline skin care products and Dove soap, says it won’t increase a 50 billion-pound ($68.2 billion) offer for GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare unit that was rejected last week.
London-based GSK said Saturday that the bid “fundamentally undervalued” the unit. The offer, which included 41.7 billion pounds in cash and Unilever shares valued at 8.3 billion pounds, was the latest of three unsolicited approaches from Unilever, GSK said in a statement.
Unilever responded late Wednesday, saying it wouldn’t increase the bid.
“We note the recently shared financial assumptions from the current owners of GSK Consumer Healthcare and have determined that it does not change our view on fundamental value,” London-based Unilever said in a statement.
After rejecting the Unilever offer, GSK said it remains focused on plans to spin off the consumer unit into a new independent company by the middle of this year. GSK Consumer Healthcare, which makes Sensodyne toothpaste, Advil pain relievers and Centrum vitamins, was formed by the merger of GSK’s consumer business with those of Novartis and Pfizer, which still holds a stake in the unit.
GSK Consumer Healthcare accounts for less than 30% of the parent company’s total revenue, with the rest generated by pharmaceuticals and vaccines.
Shares of GSK rose as much as 5% on Monday after reports of the Unilever bid. The stock has declined over the past two days, dropping 2% to 1,666.4 pence on Wednesday in London trading.
Get U-T Business in your inbox on Mondays
Get ready for your week with the week’s top business stories from San Diego and California, in your inbox Monday mornings.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune.",429,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662636717.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527050925-20220527080925-00608.warc.gz,0.941333293914795
e9cfc02e-3819-4eb7-a713-9390df9fa4a4,2017-08-24T08:55:26+00:00,2016-04-25,0,http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/news/canoncity-local-news/ci_29797924/annies-mailbox-parents-are-unsure-what-do-about,"Dear Annie: Our only child is 30. ""Delia"" was diagnosed with serious mental issues as a teen, but with the help of a sensitive child psychologist and an excellent child psychiatrist, she did very well. But as soon as Delia turned 18, she aged out of the child psychiatrist's care. She only sees her new doctor when she needs to refill her prescriptions. He rarely adjusts dosages, and I suspect it's because she tells him everything is ""fine.""
But everything is not fine. Delia has held a couple of decent jobs, but after a few months, claims that she's bored and either quits or is fired. She now has a minimum wage job and is just getting by. She opens credit card accounts, but ignores the bills when they come. She has no employer-provided health insurance and won't sign up for the government version, so we cover her medical expenses.
We also help pay her rent, but her apartment is a wreck and she spends her time couch surfing until her friends toss her out. Her car is banged up from numerous fender benders and is full of trash. Her relationships start out OK, but she gets clingy and demanding, and pretty soon she is crying to my wife that her boyfriend dumped her. She never takes responsibility for the breakups, so the pattern is repeated. She has had two abortions, claiming that she cannot tolerate birth control.
Intellectually, Delia is a smart woman, but just doesn't seem able to manage the basic functions of living. Without our help, we honestly believe she'd end up on the street. The strain is causing physical stress symptoms for my wife and me, and we worry what will happen when we are not around to pick up the pieces. There don't seem to be any support groups for parents in our situation. What can we do? — Distraught Parents
Dear Parents: You sound like loving and responsible parents, and this situation is heartbreaking. But there is support for you. Please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness at nami.org or their HelpLine at 1-800-950-6264. NAMI has a Family Support Group, as well as their Family-to-Family educational program that will help you develop coping skills. They also can make referrals and possibly find a doctor who will be a better match for Delia if she is willing to try.
Dear Annie: This is for ""Older and Wiser, Now,"" who said that she was so terrified when a close friend was diagnosed with cancer that she avoided her.
I developed breast cancer at the age of 50. My sons and ex-husband were of no help, and two of my sisters did very little. My middle sister helped, along with my best friend, who was more of a sister than the others combined. They took care of me every day. I wouldn't be here if not for them. I want to tell everyone who is terrified: Don't be afraid to offer a hand. You'd be surprised how much it will be appreciated. — Been There, Done That
Dear Been There: Thank you for saying so. No matter how afraid, we hope each person can work up the courage to pick up the phone and ask, ""How can I help?"" or even, ""I don't know what to say, but I want you to know I care about you.""
Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to email@example.com, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.",762,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133447.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824082227-20170824102227-00442.warc.gz,0.983015835285187
8ec0c620-9e5c-4d82-b71f-07c846281d7a,2019-08-21T02:55:25+00:00,2018-10-09,1,http://www.emmakealy.com/kealy_announces_brighter_future_for_warracknabeal_students,"Education | October 09, 2018
Kealy announces brighter future for Warracknabeal students
Students in Warracknabeal can look forward to a brighter future, with an elected Liberal Nationals Government to get the Warracknabeal Education Precinct project back on track.
Member for Lowan Emma Kealy was at Warracknabeal Primary School to announce $6.6 million to bring together the Special Development School and Secondary College on the same campus.
“The Warracknabeal community has made it clear this project must be completed to deliver a better deal for local kids,” Ms Kealy said.
“Labor has left school buildings half-finished and empty, only the Liberal Nationals will do the work to make sure this critical project keeps moving forward.
“It’s vital we get facilities up to scratch for these students as soon as possible and provide local people with the education facilities they deserve, which is what The Nationals in government will deliver.”
Labor have failed the Warracknabeal school community by only funding a third of the Warracknabeal Special Development School and half the Secondary College build, leaving the schools with the impossible decision of working over split campuses or just staying put and leaving new school buildings empty.
“The school community and Warracknabeal district have not accepted Labor’s unrealistic staging of this vital project and shown their overwhelming support for a local petition to fix Labor’s mess of half built schools,” Ms Kealy said.
“Victorians will have a clear choice in November – more of Daniel Andrews’ all talk and no action approach or a Liberal Nationals Government that will deliver a better deal for all Victorians, not just those living in metropolitan Melbourne.
“Only a Liberal Nationals Government are committed to first-class educational facilities in country areas and will deliver a brighter future for Warracknabeal kids.”
Together we can make a difference
Help build a better LowanVolunteer",423,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315750.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821022901-20190821044901-00061.warc.gz,0.934651494026184
6460b7b2-4ca7-47ef-9b46-940ba453c430,2020-10-19T16:25:59+00:00,2016-03-28,1,https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/03/28/divide-muslim-neighborhood-patrols(popup:explore),"Americans narrowly support Ted Cruz's plan to patrol Muslim neighborhoods, but nearly two-thirds say cooperation with Muslims is a better idea than strict surveillance
The recent terror attacks in Brussels have drawn renewed attention to the disaffection of young Muslims in Western Europe, prompting differing calls for action from the 2016 presidential candidates. While Ted Cruz called upon police forces across the country to 'patrol and secure' Muslim neighborhoods, Hillary Clinton slammed his plans and called for increased counterterror efforts to prevent similar attacks from taking place in the United States.
Research from YouGov/HuffPost indicates that the public is divided on whether or not law enforcement should 'patrol and secure' Muslim neighborhoods in the United States. 45% support it while 40% oppose it, with most Democrats (57%) opposed and a large majority of Republicans (74%) in favor of the policy.
Despite the narrow support for proactive patrolling of Muslim areas, a significant majority of Americans (63% to 24%) say that it is better to work with Muslim communities to identify potential terrorists than it is to rely on putting these communities under intense surveillance. Even most Republicans (52%) prefer cooperation to surveillance.
Today most Americans (51%) now support banning Muslims entering the United States. This is slightly up from the 45% support when the question was first asked after Donald Trump proposed the ban in December 2015. This is largely a result of a big jump in support for a ban among independents (42% to 62%), as Democratic opposition and Republican support is largely unchanged over the last four months.",312,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00004.warc.gz,0.954959511756897
76fb480e-9b87-481e-ac96-eb344cb66d0d,2016-07-23T21:30:33+00:00,2014-10-07,1,http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/where-is-kim-jong-un/381204/,"One of the perils of doing things differently than your predecessor is that people quickly forget how things used to be. North Korea’s late leader, Kim Jong Il, was a fairly reclusive man, one who seemed more drawn to the tunnels under Pyongyang than the bright lights above. His son and successor Kim Jong Un, by contrast, has been omnipresent in North Korean media since his first ebullient on-site inspection in January 2012. He assesses the output of women’s hosiery and shoes, urges faster mushroom production, gesticulates at goat farms, measures the length of offshore artillery fire, embraces the troops, hugs small children, and welcomes tall, pierced men from abroad. He directs painters and architects, launches missiles, watches lubricant ooze, and enjoys North Korean girl bands with his wife. Clearly, his goal is not just to look at things, but to be looked at.
That’s why it’s so remarkable that the 31-year-old marshal hasn’t been seen in public since cameras captured him smoking cigarettes at a performance of the Moranbong Band on September 3. Speculation about his whereabouts only increased in late September after Reuters’ James Pearson reported that a North Korean propaganda film had shown a hefty Kim Jong Un limping and indicated that he was suffering from “discomfort.” The narrator of the film relayed the news with fulsome gratitude and even seemed to guilt-trip viewers for forcing such an obviously busy man to work so hard. South Korean news outlets have raised the possibility that Kim is recovering from ankle surgery.
Kim’s prolonged absence, along with reports of what appear to be rather standard restrictions on entering and exiting the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, have fueled rumors of a coup. (One of the most-quoted sources for a variant of this theory, the North Korean poet and defector Jang Jin Sung, argues that the coup actually took place back in December.) But there is no evidence so far of an attack on the Kim family, which has done an extremely thorough job over the past seven decades of eliminating even the hint of internal opposition.
Kim Jong Un hasn’t been wholly incommunicado over the past month. He’s been credited in North Korean media with several pieces of writing: A missive to Bashar al-Assad and a long letter to Youth League workers in Pyongyang emerged in early September, and letters to various communist leaders abroad (including the Chinese) followed. Over the weekend, three top North Korean envoys visited Incheon, South Korea for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games, in the highest-level meeting with South Korean officials in several years. The delegation members refuted rumors that Kim was sick, as has North Korea’s representative in Geneva.
That Hwang Pyong So, a senior military official, led Saturday’s delegation to Incheon has been interpreted by some as confirmation of his great clout in North Korean high politics. Only a year ago, Hwang was but one lonely face in a sea of black-clothed officials when Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, was brutally purged from the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. But he has since risen meteorically. Jang Jin Sung, the North Korean poet-defector, prominently maintains that Hwang is running the show in North Korea via his Organization and Guidance Department (OGD). Jang’s assertions, amplified by news outlets such as CNN and Vice, are extremely dramatic and certainly deserve further investigation. The OGD appears to be a rather mundane apparatus that many communist parties share, though Jang and others with extensive experience inside the regime maintain that in North Korea it is particularly malevolent. But his role with the OGD should not blind us to the fact that Hwang’s other job titles are also quite powerful: vice chair of the National Defense Commission (ostensibly the most powerful institution in the government) and director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army. Moreover, holding various positions within the North Korean government is far from unprecedented, and chair-swapping among elites is common, much like in the Chinese Communist Party. At least thus far, North Korean media has not personally lauded Hwang for his role in the Incheon trip; nary a single image of the journey has been shown on North Korean television or in the Party newspaper.
Kim Jong Un’s main public function, as the object of a totalitarian cult of personality, has been to serve as the face of the regime. He is now unable to fulfill that role, for whatever reason, and the system is insufficiently evolved for an appearance by his wife, or his sister, to do anything except further stoke speculation. All the rumors over the last month may ultimately reveal very little about the North Korean system, which is already known for its secretive and unpredictable modes of operation. But it shows that we share with the North Korean people a tendency to excessively focus on the Kims to the detriment of knowing more about their immediate subordinates, let alone the roles they play in running the country. If North Korea’s young leader doesn’t make a public appearance for the October 10 “Party Foundation Day,” it would send a message: We may soon learn much more about the old officials we rarely notice as we pore over images of Kim Jong Un looking at things, and look right back at him.",1127,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00053-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969693422317505
1b808f18-5277-43fa-9c7d-b0e602c4f43f,2022-05-19T21:24:15+00:00,2017-04-30,1,https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4081348.html,"Shanghai – Dusit International is pleased to announce that Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts has signed a management consultancy agreement with Nanjing Shangqinhuai Construction Development Company Limited to manage The Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort Nanjing, Jiangsu, a luxury international resort in the capital of Jiangsu Province.
Anticipated to open late 2017, the resort is located within Nanjing Shangqinhuai Eco Wetland Park, approximately 30 minutes by car from the commercial centre, and 20 minutes by car from the high-speed train station and Nanjing International Airport. Nanjing city is located one hour from Shanghai by high-speed train.
Strategically situated in the centre of east China and the Yangtze River Delta, Nanjing is one of the world's largest inland ports and transportation hubs and is easily accessible to most domestic and overseas cities. With a long history dating back 2,500 years, the city has served as the capital of ten Chinese Dynasties, and is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals amid Chinese cities. Nanjing is also famous for its beautiful landscapes, mountains and rivers, and the city boasts many important heritage sites.
Alongside 110 villas and rooms, the Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort Nanjing, Jiangsu, will feature a 300 sq m meeting room with the latest audio-visual facilities, suitable for private events and business meetings. A Thai-inspired spa will provide a full range of wellness programs, while dining options will include an all-day dining restaurant, a Chinese restaurant and a rooftop garden restaurant. For recreation, there will be a gymnasium, swimming pool and kids' club.
""We are delighted to introduce the Dusit Thani brand and our distinctive, Thai-inspired hospitality to this historic and vibrant city,"" said Mr Lim Boon Kwee, Chief Operating Officer of Dusit International. ""Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort Nanjing, Jiangsu, signifies an important milestone in Dusit's long-term expansion plans, positioning us perfectly for further expansion within China and the region. We very much look forward to opening the doors and welcoming guests later this year.""
Mr Mu Min, Representative of Nanjing Shangqinhuai Construction Development Co. Ltd. said, ""The Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort Nanjing, Jiangsu, will leverage the brand's renowned hospitality and certified quality operations to deliver an inspiring and rejuvenating getaway for guests from all over the world. It's an exciting project that will only help to raise the area's profile as a must-visit destination.""
About Dusit International
Established in 1948, Dusit International or Dusit Thani Public Company Limited (DUSIT) is a leading hospitality group listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Its operations comprise five distinct yet complementary business units: hotels and resorts, hospitality education, food, property development, and hospitality-related services.
The group's portfolio of hotels, resorts and luxury villas includes more than 300 properties operating under a total of six brands (Dusit Thani, Dusit Devarana, dusitD2, Dusit Princess, ASAI Hotels, and Elite Havens) across 16 countries worldwide. The group also operates culinary schools and hospitality colleges in Thailand, plus catering companies for the education sector in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Dusit International's diversified investments in real estate development, hospitality-related services, and the food sector are part of its long-term strategy for sustainable growth, which focuses on three key areas: balance, expansion and diversification.
For more information, please visit dusit-international.com.",770,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662530066.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519204127-20220519234127-00426.warc.gz,0.924279570579529
b1616de2-7d06-4cce-b1a7-6ffe74ba22f7,2016-07-23T09:52:53+00:00,2010-02-15,1,http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/shark-attacks-rise-worldwide-drop-us/story?id=9979153,"The not-so-good news for swimmers: shark attacks worldwide rose marginally in 2009. But the brighter news for those splashing into American waters is that attacks off U.S. shores plummeted more than 30 percent.
In 2009, there were 61 total shark attacks worldwide, five of them fatal. That's up slightly from 60 attacks and four deaths in 2008.
""The big story is that the number of attacks in the United States dropped dramatically from 41 in 2008 to 28 in 2009,"" he said George Burgess Director of the University of Florida Program for Shark Research and the annual report's author.
More than half the attacks involved surfers, though the majority are relatively minor and the overall chances of being killed by a shark attack are ""infinitesimal,"" according to Burgess. In fact, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a person is nearly 20 times more likely to be killed by lightning.
More easily quantifiable, is the most dangerous place to swim. Florida's Volusia county, with eight shark attacks in 2009. Volusia's strip of coastline was the site of 13 percent of all the shark attacks last year, reinforcing its dubious title of shark-bite capital of the world.
But the deadliest place to surf or swim was South Africa's coast, where white sharks congregate in cooler waters and surfers go to hunt big waves. According to the Shark Attack Report, the six attacks off the roughly 1,500 miles of South African coastline last year included four of the five fatalities worldwide.
Volusia County, by contrast, saw no fatalities resulting from its eight attacks.
While shark attacks have risen steadily over the past century -- in lockstep with world's population growth, Burgess noted -- the fatality rate has steadily declined, from about 60 percent at the turn of the 20th century to about 7 percent today.
Burgess credits vastly improved trauma care, the increasing professionalism of lifeguards and greater public awareness, for the change.
Leave the Water or Fight
Burgess' first piece of advice to fend off a shark attack sounds pretty sensible: ""leave the water."" If flight fails, he said the alternative is to fight.
""Give [the shark] a pop on its nose, more times than not sharks will react and be startled and move away."" The animal's snout is relatively sensitive.
He wryly cautions, however, that a shark's ""nose"" is located just north of its mouth. If the shark manages ""to grab you, I suggest that you use your fingers to go into the eyes or gills slits, which are right behind the eyes on the head.""
The rate of shark attacks is dictated by the number of sharks and humans sharing the same waters, Burgess said. With such small numbers of attacks compared to visitors to U.S. coastal waters, it's nearly impossible to judge the reason for the reduction of attacks last year. But because the number of sharks prowling U.S. coasts has remained relatively static over the past year, Burgess speculated the number of bathers at U.S. beaches may have declined.
""The drop-offs in the United States may perhaps have been a reflection of a down economy which reduced the number of tourists, the amount of gas one was willing to spend to go to the beach and so forth,"" he told ABC News.
He acknowledged that his is just a theory, based on little scientific evidence.",708,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00001-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967459261417389
48d821f5-64cb-467a-a942-b1b2edc2cf15,2018-08-16T22:28:48+00:00,2018-06-09,0,https://pharmacyinpractice.scot/2018/06/09/oral-steroids-for-asthma-the-devils-tic-tacs/,"Everyone has heard of steroids and the majority of people will think there is only one type of steroid. The ‘bad steroid’ is the anabolic one that the bodybuilders abuse and that you hear about when athletes have failed drug tests. But these steroids are not the steroids which most people with asthma will depend on.
Unless you are newly diagnosed and on the first step of asthma ladder, where you would only require a short-acting bronchodilator (SABA), then every asthmatic will be on some sort of corticosteroid. It will most likely be an inhaled. The inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) is inhaled into the lung and will act locally in your airways rather than effect you systemically. This is why inhaled therapy for asthma works so well because you can get the medication to work directly where you want it.
However, there is the odd occasion when you are climbing the steps on the asthma management guide and have the SABA, ICS at varying doses, long-acting beta agonist (LABA), leukotriene antagonist(LRA), theophylline, nebulisers, antibiotics, antihistamines and you are still not getting any control. Your consultant may then be forced into using long-term oral steroids.
A short burst is great. A chest infection or asthma exacerbation 40mg of prednisilone is no bother and really won’t cause you much harm. It will do more good than harm. Your breathing will feel better and 5 days later you’re off them feeling great. But what happens when a short course turns into lots of short courses which turns into permanent long-term steroids and then you find you have a maintenance dose and finding the lowest dose you can get to which can then become your maintenance.
You may have gathered already that I am not a fan of steroids.
Others who have severe asthma or uncontrolled asthma will have lots of different names for steroids. The medication name for the oral steroid used most commonly in asthma in the UK is prednisolone, however, it has a lot of nicknames and nicknames surrounding some of its side effects.
Nicknames for prednisolone included:
- Dreaded pred.
- Devils tic-tacs.
- Asthma’s happy pills.
The main reasons prednisolone gets such a bad reputation when you have to take it long term is that as great as it is at helping you to breathe it is a killer on the rest of your body. The fact you can breathe better is worth the extensive list of side effects which have also earned themselves some great little nicknames like:
- Predsomnia: insomnia induced from being on long-term prednisolone.
- Predmunchies: the extreme hunger associated with long-term prednisolone and the craving for carbohydrate or chocolate. Fruit and veg just won’t satisfy the predmunchies.
- Moon face: the stereotypical shape your face goes when you are on long-term steroids. How does everyone face end up the same shape pre-pred you could all have totally different face shapes but predface you all look the same.
Over the years I have had a huge love-hate relationship with prednisolone and prednisolone was responsible for my somewhat dubious medication compliance when I was younger. I did stand up and talk about this in a room full of Asthma UK employees. Among the group were some early pioneers in asthma management. It was a little nerve-wracking confessing my poor compliance. As I told the room I saw why prednisolone is needed to treat asthma and get on top of it but what happens when you have constant bad spells. It makes you better and almost lulls you into a false sense of security because rightly the Drs don’t want you on it long term but when they take you off it you’re back to square one. What’s the point in taking it in the first place to feel better for the time your on it for it to be taken away and you feel awful again? So, I really didn’t see the point of taking it at all.
I then got a new consultant who actually treated me as a person and understood me and my feeling towards steroids etc. We achieved a good balance and the compliance was no longer an issue (to note the dubious compliance was only with the prednisolone I always took my inhalers, anti-histamines and other meds).
I still feel conflicted taking prednisilone even now. My consultant and I disagree somewhat on it but I am of the opinion my work is important to me and I am all too aware I won’t be working for long unless there is a miracle so if pred means I can work then pred wins. It won’t be forever but doing FeNo testing, which measures inflammation in my lungs, I can see the good effect it has.
But with all the good and the easy breathing with it there is the fear that I think all consultants, asthma nurse specialists will have. For all the good pred does there are some devastating side effects which go with it. For me long term prednisolone has caused:
- Adrenal insufficiency.
- Optic nerve neuritis.
- Thin skin.
- Altered healing.
- Reflux, myopathy.
- Fluid retention.
- Mild depression.
The list is fairly large and requires medication to counteract some of the side-effects but I guess being able to take medication for the side effects of the prednisolone beats not taking the prednisolone and not being here.
Olivia Tate is a patient who has brittle asthma. She runs a successful blog called Anonymous Asthma.
Follow her on twitter @just_TUX",1215,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211185.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816211126-20180816231126-00461.warc.gz,0.947365164756775
fb737716-5edc-4bb0-a69b-87ade657061b,2022-05-25T14:15:17+00:00,2015-06-15,1,https://chinafoodingredients.com/2015/06/15/chinese-desserts/,"Experts estimate that the value of the Chinese chicken dessert market will rise to RMB 109.1 billion in 2024
Dessert is not served at Chinese meals in the same way as in Western countries. Generally there is no separate part of a meal that is reserved for eating sweet dishes. Banquets typically end with a plate of assorted fruits. However, China is home to many dessert-like foods, either as part of a meal or as a snack.
Bing refers to a large and varied group of baked wheat flour based pastries. They are either similar to the short-pastry crust of western cuisine or flaky like puff pastry, the latter of which is often known as su. The preferred fat used for bing is lard. One of the more commonly known are the moon cake (yuebing), and wife cake (laopobing (second picture); sometimes translated as sweetheart cake), pastry with a thin crust of flaky pastry, and a filling of winter melon, almond paste, and sesame, spiced with five spice powder. An interesting combination of Chinese and Western ingredients is the deep fried mantou, served with sweetened condensed milk (first picture).
Chinese candies and sweets, called tang, Chinese for ‘sugar’, are usually made with cane sugar, malt sugar, and honey. These sweets often consists of nuts or fruits that are mixed into syrup. Dragon’s beard candy (longxutang) is a traditional example (first picture), and White Rabbit Milk Candy a modern variety.
Sugar coating of various fruits can also be regarded as part of this category of Chinese sweets or desserts. The traditional favourite fruit here is the hawthorn. Hawthorns are a member of the rose family and the red berries are the size of a large, round, rosehip. Eaten raw they are incredibly sour and quite astringent, but rolled in oil then confectioner’s sugar and left to dry gives the crunchy, sour hawthorns a crisp sweet white crust (bingtang shanzha; second picture). In northern China, street vendors sell glazed hawthorns (tanghulu, literally: ‘sugar calabash’; third picture), made by dipping skewered hawthorns in melted sugar.
McDonalds China has picked up the tanghulu and combined it with its McFlurry concept making a Tanghulu McFlurry.
Gao or guo are soft glutinous snacks that are typically steamed and may be made from glutinous or normal rice. Some are made from sweet potato or yam; see e.g. the separate post on Sweet Potato & Yam Pastry These rice based snacks have a wide variety of textures and can be chewy, jelly-like, fluffy or rather firm. Various types of gao include Niangao, a popular type of rice cake, which can be served as a sticky treat or a pudding, flavored with red bean paste or rosewater (first picture), baitanggao, and tangyuan.
Guihuagao, or sweet osmanthus cake (second picture), is a more delicate variety in this category. Made in a very traditional way, the two layers of steamed white unsweetened ‘cake’ sandwich a sweet red bean paste and black sesame seed filling, with the osmanthus flowers adding a gentle honey scent.
Shaved ice desserts with sweet condiments and syrup is common eaten as a dessert in China. Ice cream is also commonly available throughout China, and Chinese are getting more and more inventive in creating
Chinese jellies are known as dong. Many jelly desserts are traditionally set with agar and are flavored with fruits, though gelatin based jellies are also common in contemporary desserts. Some Chinese jellies, such as the grass jelly (liangfen) set by themselves. Grass jelly is a jelly that is made by boiling the stalks of a mint-like plant in potassium carbonate and letting it cool to room temperature. It has a slightly bitter taste and is often mixed with soy milk. Jellies sometimes have medicinal properties. Another famous variety is Almond Beancurd (xingren doufu) Almond tofu is a common and popular Chinese dessert in hot summer. It can be considered as the Chinese version of panna cotta. It is also referred to almond jelly. The recipe differs slightly from places in China, but the common ingredients are all similar: almond, sugar, and agar.
Traditional jelly has become a big money maker as a treat, in the form of fruit jelly (guodong) packed in small plastic cups. The value of this market was RMB 25 billion in 2018. The picture shows tangerine flavoured jelly with the following ingredients.
Sugar, tangerine pulp, konjac, additives (carrageenan, calcium lactate, citric acid, sodium citrate, potassium chlorate, food flavour, sodium cyclamate, potassium sorbate, b-carotene, tartrazine, sunset yellow)
Chinese dessert soups (tang ‘soup’ or hu ‘broth’) typically consist of sweet and usually hot soups and custards. Some of these soups are made with restorative properties in mind, in concordance with traditional Chinese medicine. A very common example is red bean soup (hongdoutang).
Modern desserts, in particular dairy based desserts like yoghurt or pudding, are widely available in China in a broad range of flavours and textures. See, e.g., my post on ‘old yoghurt‘ earlier in this blog. Babao porridge is sometimes served as a dessert as well.
Eurasia Consult Consulting can help you embed your business in Chinese society.",1231,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00018.warc.gz,0.950288116931915
a9723add-2388-4be1-bc78-326f1253b93c,2017-08-22T01:38:50+00:00,2016-12-31,0,http://sheriffs.org/Surviving-Verbal-Conflict,"Surviving Verbal Conflict
National Sheriffs' Association in partnership with the Dolan Consulting Group and the Institute for Credible Leadership Development will be launching a nationally certified new e-Learning course on “Surviving Verbal Conflict” January 1, 2017. The course is taught by Chief (ret.) Harry Dolan, who served with the Raleigh (N.C.) Police Department, an agency comprised of nearly 900 employees in America's 42nd largest city.
Course overview: Today’s increased service demands and the scrutiny placed upon public safety professionals have resulted in a growing need to master verbal conflict management skills. When negative verbal encounters escalate to the point where physical intervention is used, criticism often results when it is later discovered that there is little evidence of verbal de-escalation techniques employed by officers. This is particularly true when incident video and audio reviews are utilized. In some cases, it has become clear that the verbal actions of the public safety responders served to escalate the situation. Administrators are now asking, “Is this an area in which the training tape has run out? Have we adequately trained our personnel to successfully manage and respond to verbal confrontations in a professional manner?” Verbal De-escalation training provides public safety professionals with time-tested communication skills proven to help de-escalate volatile situations, safeguard fellow officers’ emotional and professional well-being, and significantly enhance the agency’s professional image. The course also provides opportunities for the participants to participate in practical skill building so that when they complete the two-day training they are well on their way to becoming more effective professionals in communication.
- Improve public safety professionals’ verbal communication skills
- How to apply Rhetoric- Aristotle’s Art of Persuasion (The art of using speech to persuade) when deflecting & redirecting verbal abuse
- Develop an understanding of Chief Dolan’s “Guardians of the Peace” concept “Language of the Street Fallacy”, “TUI Pattern” (texting, typing or talking under the influence)
- Diffuse potentially volatile verbal encounters
- Avoid the “Rope-A-Dope Syndrome”
- Understand the importance of managing “Hyper vigilance”
- Raise organizational morale and grasp the concept of “Police Legitimacy”
- Manage your verbal triggers & sidestep the “Niagara Falls Walk”
- Significantly enhance the agency’s image throughout the community
- Practice “Verbal Contact & Cover” principles
- Apply the FAA’s “Sterile Cockpit Rule” on duty
- Understand the importance of “Chief Dolan’s 24 Hour Rule” as a key component of communication success
For more information and to register for this course, click here.",591,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109803.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822011838-20170822031838-00347.warc.gz,0.90568083524704
54894322-8f07-4703-a22f-8fe95e702992,2015-04-01T18:47:50+00:00,2013-01-03,0,http://www.nmu.edu/sports/node/3?articleID=171648&team=10&display=all,"Skiers Race in Classic Sprints at US Ski Championships
SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah – The Northern Michigan University Nordic ski teams began competition at the 2013 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships on Wednesday (Jan. 2) with the classic sprint races on the Olympic trails at Soldier Hollow. Soldier Hollow was the cross country and biathlon venue for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
“We had a pretty good day,” NMU coach Sten Fjeldheim said. “It’s always a fun event here at U.S. Nationals and we hope to have a great week.”
The men sprinted 1.3 kilometers as senior Chris Bowler was the top finisher in 23rd place overall in 2:58.11, 9.09 second behind the first place skier. He was fifth in the men’s under 23 age group (MU23). Junior George Cartwright was just over 3:00 in 37th overall and 11th in MU23.
Junior Ben Hugus finished 64th (24th; MU23) while junior Erik Soderman was 73rd (30th; MU23). Sophomore Kyle Bratrud was 81st overall and 16th in the men’s under 19 age group (MOJ) and freshman Sam Elfstrom finished 103rd and 26th in MOJ.
The women sprinted the same course with junior Jordyn Ross finished 51st overall and 19th in the female’s under 23 age group (FU23). She finished in 3:43.81, 23.35 seconds behind first place. Sophomore Elizabeth Simak was 79th overall and 30th in FU23.
Freshman Hannah Boyer placed 84th overall and 19th in the female under 19 age group (FOJ). Freshman Mary Kate Cirelli placed 87th and 32nd in FU23. Junior Rosie Frankowski was 96th and 35th in FU23.
Felicia Gesior, a sophomore on the NMU women’s team who is redshirting, finished eighth overall and first in FOJ.
Action continues Friday at Soldier Hollow with individual start freestyle distance racing.
# # # NMU # # #",464,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00034-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946272373199463
8edbb526-c661-49dc-ae8e-9eb723304bb0,2015-03-30T23:50:37+00:00,2010-05-22,0,http://minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/566707/Yellow-Ribbon-license-plates-available.html?nav=5009,"BISMARCK Yellow Ribbon vehicle license plates to show support of veterans now are available to the public.
Lonnie Wangen, North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs commissioner, presented Paul and Madeline Leuthold, of Lakota, with the first Yellow Ribbon Support Our Veterans vehicle license plates on May 22. Paul Leuthold is a retired Army veteran. The Leutholds provided a generous donation to get the Yellow Ribbon license plate project going.
Wangen worked with the Impact Foundation's Support Our Veterans Fund and the N.D. Department of Transportation to develop and have approved the Yellow Ribbon plates.
N.D. National Guard members and Iraqi war veterans Charles Votava, of Grand Forks, Kelly Johnson, of West Fargo, and Chuck Todd, of Northwood (now deployed in Kuwait), volunteered to help with the project. The N.D. Association of County Veteran's Service officers, during its spring 2010 association meeting, donated the remaining funding needed to complete the project.
""This is a great way to show support for your family members and friends in the service, Veterans in your community and across the state,"" said Wangen.
The Yellow Ribbon license plates can be ordered at local Motor Vehicle Departments when registering or paying vehicle registration fees. People can also find the plates online at the N.D. Department of Veterans Affairs' website at (www.nd.gov/veterans) or the N.D. Department of transportation's website at (www.dot.nd.gov/public/licensing.htm).
Cost of the Yellow Ribbon license plate is $25 per year.
Of the $25, $15 goes to the Impact Foundation's Support our Veterans Fund, a nonprofit fund which provides assistance to veterans and their qualified dependents with unique emergency needs for assistance when other means of assistance are not available or would not be able to assist in time sensitive matters.",391,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00188-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.920241236686706
0c6c4afa-1fd5-4d07-bca9-e49716861140,2019-08-19T08:27:41+00:00,2014-07-30,1,https://www.columbusceo.com/content/stories/apexchange/2014/07/30/as--india-flipkart.html,"MUMBAI, India (AP) - India's largest online e-commerce company, Flipkart, raised $1 billion in new capital this week as the company gears up for competition with Amazon's push into the Indian market.
MUMBAI, India (AP) — India's largest online e-commerce company, Flipkart, raised $1 billion in new capital this week as the company gears up for competition with Amazon's push into the Indian market.
The company said the funds will be used to invest in expansion, especially in mobile technology.
Flipkart is sometimes called the Amazon of India. It was founded by two Indian brothers, Sachin and Binny Bansal, who left Amazon and came home to found their own online retailer.
Among the investors in the recent fundraising round are Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, along with existing investors Accel Partners, DST Blobal and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the company said.
The funding will help the business develop into a ""technology powerhouse,"" the Bansals said in a statement Tuesday.
Flipkart says it has 22 million registered users and handles 5 million shipments per month.
Amazon's India division has been making a big push into the country's small but fast-growing online retail market. It has been running front-page advertisements in newspapers and touting one-day delivery.
Flipkart itself recently acquired Indian online fashion retailer Myntra to strengthen market share.
India's Finance Minister recently announced plans to allow 49 percent foreign investment in e-commerce, paving the way for Indian companies to gain more support from abroad.",335,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314696.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819073232-20190819095232-00257.warc.gz,0.945159494876862
7c81841d-5525-4677-adab-cc240637ad70,2022-05-24T16:06:24+00:00,2021-03-18,1,https://business.parkopedia.com/press-releases/parkopedia-announces-production-version-of-indoor-mapping-services-for-automotive-navigation-use,"Parkopedia launches production version of indoor mapping technology for use within vehicle navigation systems
Parkopedia aims to solve key driver pain points by easily locating and navigating to available spaces, parked vehicles or EV chargers
Use cases include in-vehicle indoor navigation, precise indoor positioning and Automated Valet Parking (AVP)
The launch follows successful projects with leading car manufacturers in addition to multiple years of testing and developing AVP solutions
Parkopedia has already mapped key parking facilities across Europe and plans to expand into new regions shortly to meet growing demands
18 March 2021 - London, UK
Parkopedia has announced the launch of the production version of its indoor mapping technology for in-vehicle navigation use. Indoor maps are based on high-definition 3D models of indoor parking facilities, where GPS signal is typically restricted.
Indoor parking facilities currently present many challenges for drivers. These include navigation system blackouts, finding a vehicle within large parking facilities, and locating vital services such as EV charging stations, a key area of focus for car manufacturers in their pursuit of delivering premium driver experiences for new EV owners.
Parkopedia’s indoor mapping technology can be used to deliver the following key use cases:
In-vehicle indoor navigation - no GPS dead zones
Precise indoor positioning - locate your vehicle
Automated Valet Parking - self-parking cars require indoor maps
As the automotive industry embraces a connected future, indoor mapping technology will deliver further key benefits to users. For drivers, this would mean never being lost again within parking facilities and enabling end-to-end, uninterrupted navigation to available parking spaces, independent of GPS availability. In addition, vehicle indoor positioning without GPS is a fundamental step in enabling autonomous parking.
Finding EV chargers is still a significant pain point in the automotive industry as drivers transition to electric vehicles. Ensuring fast and easy access to public charging points is essential for automakers looking to persuade drivers to switch to electric vehicles. The largest concern with drivers is around range anxiety and where to find available charge points. Many chargers are hidden away in remote areas of parking facilities, with unclear signage and no navigation option to access these locations, only amplifying the issue. To address this, Parkopedia has developed ‘as built’ indoor maps based on current layouts, as opposed to ‘as designed’ when EV chargers and other services were not featured in the original plans. This gives drivers the most accurate and fresh view of parking spaces and EV chargers, enabling seamless navigation regardless of GPS availability or on-site signage.
Parkopedia’s indoor mapping solution supports common industry mapping formats required to deliver a superior end-to-end navigation user experience. For self-driving cars that will go on sale in the near future, indoor maps will enable Automated Valet Parking, which will be one of the first use cases due to high driver demand, slower driving speeds and controlled environments inside parking facilities.
Parkopedia is a proven leader within automotive indoor mapping technology, delivering successful projects with leading European, American and Asian car manufacturers. The announcement follows the completion of the Autonomous Valet Parking project, which successfully demonstrated the use of indoor mapping technology to autonomously park a vehicle within a multi-story parking facility without GPS signal.
Parkopedia has already mapped key parking facilities across Europe, with coverage increasing daily. In the coming months, Parkopedia will expand this coverage into new regions to cater to growing OEM and driver demands.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Brian Holt, Head of HD Maps at Parkopedia, said: “Parkopedia had a clear vision from the start and we have worked tirelessly to deliver an unparalleled level of accuracy to our indoor maps. We have closely monitored the direction the industry is heading and the associated benefits with connectivity and autonomous driving, so starting to deliver an indoor mapping solution with OEMs is essential in meeting driver demands. Parkopedia, as a market leader within parking services and the associated infrastructure, has an unparalleled depth of knowledge which puts us in a unique position to deliver an optimal solution for both industries and drivers alike. I look forward to seeing our product in production vehicles, helping drivers to effortlessly navigate, park and charge, and to the day when navigation systems going blank inside parking facilities becomes a distant memory for us all.”",894,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662573053.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524142617-20220524172617-00622.warc.gz,0.935777723789215
58718215-c384-428f-a810-8dbe70ee1ca7,2016-07-26T14:17:40+00:00,2012-10-00,0,http://riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com/2012/10/40281/live-riverhead-football-faces-newfield-on-homecoming/,"Riverhead (3-2) vs. Newfield (3-2)
Coach Mike McKillop Memorial Field
It’s homecoming in Riverhead and the Blue Waves find themselves facing the team that ended their season a year ago in Newfield. The Blue Waves come into the game off a tough loss on the road at East Islip, which dropped their Division II record to 3-2. It leaves the Blue Waves little room for error down the stretch if they hope to secure a top-four seed in the playoffs and host a playoff game.
Newfield was known for its toughness last year en route to winning the Class II Long Island Championship. The good news for the Blue Waves is they won’t have to contend with runners Julian Santiago and Mike Silva, who torched Riverhead on the ground last year in the playoffs. Both players graduated, but the Wolverines still feature a strong running game behind Terrel Perryman and Joe Feliciano.
The Wolverines come into the game off a 14-7 loss at home against Smithtown East. Newfield gave up all 14 points in the second half after taking a 7-0 lead into halftime.
To follow all of today’s action, click on the live blog below as former Riverhead Blue Wave Mike Hejmej provides all the updates:",274,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00247-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944205224514008
f4528b51-a155-4502-a987-d1aec10b13fd,2013-05-19T02:03:11+00:00,2012-11-27,1,http://www.indystar.com/viewart/20121127/NEWS05/121127029/Indiana-State-Police-leader-says-he-would-legalize-marijuana-and-tax-it?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CSPORTS03,"This large bag of marijuana seized by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Interdiction Unit during a 2010 gun investigation.
When it comes to legalizing marijuana, the politics can be tricky.
Paul Whitesell, superintendent of the Indiana State Police, learned that Tuesday after he told the State Budget Committee: ""If it were up to me, I do believe I would legalize it and tax it.""
Later in the day, after news of his comments spread, the Indiana State Police issued a written statement clarifying the words of the agency's leader. The statement described Whitesell's comments as a ""philosophical"" opinion, not an official one. ...",133,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964081645011902
11ef2e03-d708-48ab-8423-dd9e19e9b989,2020-10-23T09:19:22+00:00,2008-01-01,0,https://www.cbronline.com/uncategorised/verizon_selects_lte_as_4g_wireless_broadband_direction/,"Verizon Wireless has announced plans to develop and deploy its fourth-generation mobile broadband network using Long Term Evolution technology.
The selection of Long Term Evolution (LTE) provides Verizon with an opportunity to adopt a common access platform with scale and compatibility with existing technologies. Trial plan for LTE begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens and Nortel. The technology is designed to deliver mobile data networks with higher speed and throughput performance, lower latency, global roaming, and improved efficiencies.
Richard Lynch, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon Communications, said: While this next generation technology will be exciting to develop and deploy, it comes at a time when we are adding record numbers of customers to our existing CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO networks. We relish the challenge of preparing for the time when our customers start demanding such 4G capabilities, while continuing the expansion and operation of our existing technologies for many years to come.",204,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880878.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023073305-20201023103305-00707.warc.gz,0.909028232097626
6c42b419-27e6-486b-bacb-6ab30c88cf34,2019-08-24T20:31:41+00:00,2019-08-24,0,https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/trench-coat,"We envy those Brit babes for many reasons: jolie-laide, rockstar hair; a close proximity to Harry Styles; and of course, a penchant for trench coats. See, it's as if those gals from across the pond were born with an innate sense of easily throwing on said outerwear and heading out for tea.
Come to think of it, trench coats are every bit a necessity here in S.F. as they are in London (hello, Karl!). From the classic number that Audrey Hepburn famously donned as she kissed in the rain, to the new-wave trench that brings a pop of brightness to a foggy Friday, we've got you, well, covered.",145,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321696.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824194521-20190824220521-00089.warc.gz,0.975500047206879
27e3be16-9eeb-4b38-869e-4e299ca66e1f,2017-08-23T10:16:05+00:00,2016-05-10,1,http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3581389/Chilcot-report-published-July-6-without-redactions.html,"Chilcot report to be published on July 6 and without redactions
The long-awaited report into the Iraq war will be published on Wednesday, July 6, an inquiry spokesman has said.
Security checks on the 2.6 million word report have been completed without the need for any redactions.
The date of publication was agreed by the Inquiry's head, Sir John Chilcot and David Cameron.
Sir John Chilcot's Iraq Inquiry report will be published on July 6
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir John said: "" National security checking of the Inquiry's report has now been completed, without the need for any redactions to appear in the text. I am grateful for the speed with which it was accomplished.""
He added: "" This will allow suitable time for the Inquiry to prepare the 2.6 million word report for publication, including final proof reading, formatting, printing and the steps required for electronic publication.""
Mr Cameron told the Inquiry head last November that he was "" disappointed'' about the length of time it was taking to release the findings and urged him to ''expedite'' the final stages. Its publication will come 1,981 days after the inquiry ended.
Conservative former frontbencher David Davis last month claimed that lives had ""probably'' been lost as a result of the delays because Britain had made recent interventions in Libya, Syria and Iraq without proper knowledge of the controversial 2003 choice to go to war.
Publication was delayed by a process known as Maxwellisation, under which those who may face criticism are given the opportunity to respond before publication.
Tony Blair denied last year that he was responsible for the hold-ups.
Critics have long suspected the former prime minister of wanting to spin out the investigation in which he is expected to be criticised and he has faced accusations that he sought to block publication of his communications with US President George Bush.
In May 2014, Sir John disclosed that he had finally reached agreement with the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood on the disclosure of Mr Blair's discussions with Mr Bush, three years after Sir Jeremy's predecessor, Sir Gus (now Lord) O'Donnell, ruled that they could not be released in their entirety.
The lengthy dispute - which Sir John acknowledged had raised ''difficult issues of long-standing principle'' - meant the inquiry was unable to begin the Maxwellisation process.
More than 150 witnesses gave evidence to the Inquiry and more than 130 sessions of oral evidence were held.
It has analysed more than 150,000 government documents as well as other material related to the invasion.
The Inquiry was set up in 2009 by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown to examine the lead up to the invasion from summer 2001 to the withdrawal of the main body of British troops earlier that year.
Mr Blair gave evidence the following year and told its panel that he did not go to war on the basis of a ''lie''. The former PM said he had no regrets over removing Saddam Hussein and would do the same again.
Last summer, f amilies of soldiers killed in the Iraq War threatened legal action over the delays.
Arrangements are being put in place so that the families of those who died in the conflict can have early access to the report on the day it is published.
Rose Gentle, whose Royal Highland Fusilier son Gordon, 19, was killed in a bomb attack in Basra in 2004, said she was ""glad"" the date had now been announced.
She said: ""We are glad we have finally got the date. We just hope that everything we want to be in it is actually in it.""
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.",749,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886118195.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823094122-20170823114122-00106.warc.gz,0.981712818145752
15f4e429-d96c-45a7-bcfa-39370bf1cb28,2020-10-24T02:47:58+00:00,2019-05-13,1,https://www.symsite.sk/single-post/2019/05/13/national-football-stadium-will-cost-115m-instead-of-the-planned-75m,"National Football Stadium will cost €115m instead of the planned €75m
The national football stadium’s price tag could come to €115m instead of the planned €75m. Strabag, which supplied the construction work, is demanding €30m over the initial budget of €50m to cover extra work. The stadium’s security and other equipment is €10m over budget. The stadium was built by Ivan Kmotrík and the state promised to either provide a €27m subsidy or purchase it for €75m. The extra money would have to be approved by the government, which seems unlikely ahead of the March 2020 general election.",137,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881640.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024022853-20201024052853-00520.warc.gz,0.964458405971527
cc5bfc57-3a25-48a4-938e-67e43ee19a9d,2013-05-22T07:42:42+00:00,2007-06-01,1,http://www.economist.com/node/9304369?zid=295&ah=0bca374e65f2354d553956ea65f756e0,"United Arab Emirates
How to be Islamic in business
Ensuring that financiers comply with sharia is becoming big business
THERE are many ways to get rich in a boom town like Dubai—investing in property is the most obvious—but nowadays one of the most lucrative jobs in the Gulf's financial hub is that of sharia scholar. This Muslim legal expert gives fatwas, the final Islamic seal of approval, to financial instruments he deems “sharia-compliant” at a time when investment by Muslims (especially from the oil-rich Arabian peninsular) in global financial markets is soaring. Pious Muslims equate the charging of interest to usury, which is forbidden; they also shun investment in such areas as gambling, tobacco, drink and the arms trade.
Step forward Hussein Hamid Hassan, a 75-year-old Dubai resident, now probably the world's biggest figure in fatwas for Islamic finance. After an impoverished boyhood in an Egyptian village to degrees at New York University and al-Azhar in Cairo, he has gone on to advise the governments of Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya and Pakistan on Islamic law. He chairs the sharia boards of at least 15 Islamic banks and financial institutions. His knowledge of common law and economics, as well as English and French, has helped. Above all, Mr Hassan is a pioneer and an innovator, working out new financial structures and helping to convert conventional banks to sharia-compliance. “I submit that in a few years all the Gulf states will move to an Islamic financial system,” he says.
Mr Hassan's star has risen because Islamic financial institutions and the growing number of conventional banks getting into the game all now need a reputable sharia board to attract Muslim investors who, since September 11th, have moved away from conventional banking just when the oil boom has left them awash in cash. New financial instruments are proliferating, from fee-based Islamic credit cards to Islamic mortgages, whereby the bank buys the property, then sells it at a mark-up to the client through an instalment plan. (The Saudi banking system, it may be noted, is largely interest-based; some contest the whole notion of “Islamic finance” as a mere sleight of hand, with interest payments called “profit sharing” and interest charges “handling fees”.)
The most significant of the new instruments is the Islamic bond, known in Arabic as a sukuk. In 2006 Dubai Ports World issued one to pay for its controversial purchase of P&O, a British-owned ports operator. Another sukuk was issued to help finance Nakheel, the Dubai-owned development company behind the man-made island projects off the shore of its home town. Both surpassed the $3 billion mark, breaking world records; and both shocked global markets by attracting a majority of investors from outside the Middle East. Both were approved by Mr Hassan.
Not just Muslims are taking notice. A Texas oil-and-gas firm issued the first American sukuk last year. “Islamic finance is becoming international,” says Mr Hassan.",645,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959919273853302
41939022-1945-4e7c-9956-580e1c0e4b21,2019-08-24T23:13:23+00:00,2019-08-24,0,https://www.peoplelooker.com/people-search/herman-mcqueen/,"We found 1 social media account, including a public Twitter profile associated with Herman A McQueen who is 64 years of age and resides in San Bernardino, CA. Uncover details on Herman's Social Media Profiles, Public Records, Criminal Records & much more.See more...
1 Other Social Network
Previous Home, Property, Business or House Address Locations: Pomona, CA
Current and Previous Email Addresses: firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com
Home and Cell Phone Numbers: 909-887-5236, 909-234-3228
Possible Relatives and Associated People: Velda McQueen, Velda L McQueen, Velda L McQueen",170,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321786.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824214845-20190825000845-00528.warc.gz,0.768287479877472
c0c2d054-9de3-47bd-9d2b-d5d21b8d5a54,2017-08-17T19:17:13+00:00,2017-08-16,1,http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/south-south-regional/231476-why-rivers-is-shutting-down-1866-schools-commissioner.html,"The Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Kaniye Ebeku, has said that government’s decision to close down 1,866 schools was guided by its passion for qualitative education.
The effective date for the closure is September 1, but the action has attracted criticisms with some analysts arguing that the “sudden” closure would shoot up the cost of primary education.
The analysts have also expressed fear that some children may have to go to school outside their communities as many areas would be left without any.
But the commissioner, who reacted to the criticisms in an interview with journalists on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, said that the schools were shut down because they were not approved.
“The schools were shut down because they were illegal and offered poor quality education to the populace.
“Government will not allow schools to operate without approval. The schools have proved to be irresponsible entities because they do not pay taxes to the state.
“Aside poor quality, the schools operate underground and have no respect for the rules guiding the establishment and running of private schools in River State,” he said.",227,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103910.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817185948-20170817205948-00205.warc.gz,0.987872242927551
9ea61b37-6826-4436-80f8-26dd2c689502,2015-03-28T05:58:43+00:00,2013-02-28,1,http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2013/02/hey-gsk-what-weekend-boondoggle.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FDlJuM+%28PharmaGossip%29,"Louisiana attorney general files second suit against GlaxoSmithKline over off-label drug use
GlaxoSmithKline allegedly marketed nine drugs illegally for uses that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and provided doctors with ""consulting fees,"" expensive meals and ""weekend boondoggles"" to convince them to prescribe those brands, according to a lawsuit filed this week by Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. These practices cost the state's Medicaid and medical assistance programs millions of dollars and subjected patients to ""non-approved, ineffective and unsafe uses"" of the drugs, according to the suit.
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell
""GSK's egregious conduct and greed caused fraudulent claims to be submitted to the Louisiana Medicaid Program,"" Caldwell said in an emailed statement. ""As Attorney General, I will aggressively pursue and expose pharmaceutical companies who defraud our state and its citizens.""
The suit lists nine drugs that GlaxoSmithKline allegedly promoted improperly between 1997 and 2010: Paxil, Wellbutrin SR, Advair, Lamictal, Zofran, Imitrex, Lotronex, Flovent and Valtrex. GlaxoSmithKline allegedly promoted each of those drugs as treatments for symptoms and diseases that had not been approved by the FDA, according to the suit.
The suit also alleges that medical professionals were treated to perks, rewards and ""kickbacks"" for prescribing the drugs. The state is seeking a range of fines and penalties, as well as restitution to the state for off-label prescriptions paid for through Louisiana's Medicaid program.
GlaxoSmithKline agreed to plead guilty to claims of fraud and failing to report safety data in a July 2012 settlement with the Department of Justice. The $3 billion settlement with the federal government and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units covered allegations that two of the drugs included in the Attorney General's suit, Paxil and Wellbutrin, were promoted for uses not approved by the FDA.
That settlement was reached while the Attorney General's Office was in the midst of a lawsuit against the British pharmaceutical company over the improper marketing, pricing and promotion of the diabetes drug Avandia. Louisiana was one of several states that did not sign off on the settlement because of the pending lawsuit.
The suit has been assigned to District Judge Janice Clark of the 19th Judicial District Court. Clark is also the judge in the attorney general's previous case against the GlaxoSmithKline, which is set to go to trial in June.",514,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00178-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966129124164581
6cbd1a3e-af4d-4c50-8612-0017382b0780,2013-06-18T22:58:24+00:00,2012-11-13,1,http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/some-question-administrations-ability-to-set-up-state-insurance-exchanges/2012/11/13/565db830-2d11-11e2-9ac2-1c61452669c3_story.html?wprss=rss_national,"Joel Ario, who until a year ago was the federal official overseeing development of the exchanges, said that while he is optimistic, he isn’t certain that the federal government will be ready by October.
“Anybody who tells you for sure . . . is ill-informed, because this is still a work in progress,” said Ario, who is now a health-care consultant.
But Michael Hash, director of the office of health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, said, “We have the contractors in place, and we’re on track to meet the deadlines that are necessary to make the exchanges operational.”
Under the law, states have three options: They can set up the exchanges themselves, create them in partnership with the federal government or cede control to federal authorities.
The exchanges are fundamental to the law’s goal of expanding insurance coverage. Millions of people who aren’t covered by employer-sponsored health plans will get federal subsidies to buy insurance through their state’s exchange. Those whose incomes aren’t low enough for subsidies could still benefit from the competition among insurers that the exchanges are designed to foster.
States that decide to set up their own exchanges must inform the federal government by Friday. So far, about 14 have indicated definite interest, and six more are likely to do so.
States that decline to set up their own exchanges have until Feb. 15 to decide whether to pursue a federal partnership or have Washington take over the entire chore.
At least 13 states have announced their intention to leave the job to the federal government. They include Alabama, where Gov. Robert Bentley (R) became the latest to join those ranks Tuesday.
Experts say the federal government has an interest in persuading as many states as possible to agree, at minimum, to a partnership. That’s because the aspects that the states would handle are labor intensive and customized to each state — making them more difficult for federal authorities to deal with. These tasks include deciding which health plans can be sold on the exchanges and monitoring plans’ compliance, as well as providing outreach and assistance to consumers.
The latter will require setting up large call centers and walk-in offices, with staff members trained in the minutiae of insurance regulation.
Bruce Caswell, who runs the health-services segment of Maximus — a Reston-based firm that works on large government data systems and is bidding on a federal contract to assist the exchanges — suggested that the government may have to rely heavily on private contractors.",527,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972593784332275
4d757c87-096b-481c-aa6f-a47bffd7bc60,2015-04-01T17:58:46+00:00,2012-07-16,1,http://forward.com/articles/159822/obama-would-visit-israel-in-a-second-term/,"President Obama would visit Israel in a second term, a top campaign surrogate said.
“We can expect him to visit Israel in a second term, should he be reelected,” Colin Kahl, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, who is now a campaign spokesman on the region, said Monday in a conference call with reporters.
The call was timed ahead of a trip later this month to London, Poland and Israel by Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.
The Obama campaign officials on the call said Romney needed to outline substantive foreign policy differences with Obama on the trip, describing Romney’s statements until now as little more than criticism of Obama.
Reporters pressed the Obama officials on perceived differences with Israel, noting for instance that Obama failed to visit Israel in his first term, although he visited Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Kahl and others noted Obama’s visit to Israel as a candidate in 2008 and that a number of other presidents did not visit Israel in their first terms.
“Being a friend of Israel shouldn’t be judged by a travel itinerary,” Kahl said. “I don’t think this is a serious policy difference; it’s basically a distraction.”",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00016-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968451619148254
2325493d-4b9d-4a0b-af2c-37a476dbca80,2019-08-19T00:43:29+00:00,2018-03-07,1,https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/barry-zekelman-steel-tariff-trump-1.4563140,"Canadian CEO supports Trump's steel tariffs, wishes they were even higher
Barry Zekelman of Windsor, Ont., offers all employees a $1,000 bonus while the tariffs are in place
The Windsor, Ont.-area owner of a North American steel tube and pipe empire is backing U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and offering all employees a $1,000 annual bonus while the policy is in effect.
Barry Zekelman said Trump's talk about a 25 per cent tariff for steel and 10 per cent for aluminum provides an example the Canadian government should follow, with one addition.
""Is that 25 per cent duty enough? I don't think it is and I actually think those duties should be much higher,"" he said.
- U.S. won't exclude Canada from steel, aluminum tariffs, White House says
- Canada must be proactive to curb fallout from U.S. steel tariffs, stakeholders say
Canada has been seeking an exemption to the threat of taxes Trump announced last week. On Monday, the president said he would only exempt Canada if a new ""fair"" North American Free Trade Agreement is signed.
Zekelman has 15 manufacturing locations on both sides of the border, with the bulk in the U.S. and one in Harrow, Ont.
Following Trump's tariffs announcement, Zekelman issued a news release, including a letter sent to the company's 2,300 employees, celebrating the president's move and vowing ""WE WILL WIN IN A FAIR FIGHT.""
""I am pleased to announce a one thousand-dollar ($1,000) bonus for each of you as a direct result of policy changes announced by President Trump,"" he wrote. ""This bonus will be paid as soon as the announced changes go into effect and will be paid annually so long as the policies remain in effect.""
'Dirty Dozen' are depressing steel prices
Zekelman said illegal steel dumping from 12 countries he refers to as the Dirty Dozen has ""artificially depressed"" steel prices in North America for decades.
The metal enters the continent in a variety of ways, but the CEO said China has been especially successful at circumventing existing tariffs by shipping their steel in as mailboxes, lockers and other products for which suppliers don't have to pay duties.
""They have extensive ways to cheat our system and we need to stop being so nice about it and we need to hold them accountable.""
Zekelman said he believes Trump's tariff threat includes Canada because it's easier to make a ""blanket move"" and deal with exceptions after the fact.
""President Trump doesn't view Canada as an enemy.""
Zekelman also believes Trump is using the tariffs as a strategy in the ongoing NAFTA talks.
""I do firmly believe that eventually this will get worked out with Canada. I believe President Trump is a businessman, he's not used to being a politician, he wants things to move much quicker,"" Zekelman said. ""In doing that he will use leverage in any way possible to get a proper deal done. Even if that means dragging [in] Canada.""
'There will be job losses'
Not everyone in Windsor-Essex views the tariff talk in such a positive way.
RJ Steel Company president Ryan Jordan said his costs have already gone up.
""I've been warned to start preparing quotes to absorb the rising costs of steel,"" he said. ""It hasn't stopped. It seems every month I call the prices go up.""
I think [Trump's] whole trade war thing is stupid. He's just going to hurt his own country, let alone others.- David Harrison, Chrysler Assembly Plant
Jordan said if prices continue to rise, he would have no choice but to raise his prices too, and he hopes all the trade talk will turn out to be just that — talk. But if Trump makes good on his 25 per cent tariff threat, the impact at RJ Steel would be serious, he said.
""We will be in trouble. We'll have to find some other product to manufacture, something that can incorporate other materials, other metals. From a smaller manufacturer like myself, to Chrysler, if the tariffs are that severe, I believe there will be job losses.""
Employees stopped outside the Chrysler Assembly Plant in Windsor said they were worried about the tariffs.
Daniel Campbell said if costs rise, he fears Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could move production to another country.
David Harrison said he can't understand how creating duties will benefit either country.
""It's going to increase prices on a lot of thing,"" he added. ""I think [Trump's] whole trade war thing is stupid. He's just going to hurt his own country, let alone others.""
Canada 'not the guilty party'
Zekelman said he was invited to the White House last week when the president was set to announce the tariffs.
The CEO was out of the country at the time, but said if he's invited again this week, he would gladly sit with Trump at the table.
""I'm trying to balance this and walk a fine line. I will tell you that absolutely in no way is Canada a contributing factor to any hardships in the U.S. steel industry,"" he explained. ""I'm using every tool I have to hopefully get Canada excluded or exempted from this action because really we're not the guilty party.""
With files from Katie Simpson, Meg Roberts, Melissa Nakhavoly",1121,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314353.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818231019-20190819013019-00505.warc.gz,0.974973380565643
b8ff9d8f-0ce1-4d11-8cf8-beaf4f550603,2020-10-31T11:45:16+00:00,2019-03-03,1,https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-trade-idUSKCN1QK0SW,"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China appear close to a deal that would roll back U.S. tariffs on at least $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, as Beijing makes pledges on structural economic changes and eliminates retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, a source briefed on negotiations said on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could seal a formal trade deal at a summit around March 27 given progress in talks between the two countries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
In an eight-month trade war, the United States has imposed punitive tariffs on $250 billion worth of imports from China, while Beijing has hit back with tariffs on $110 billion worth of U.S. goods, including soybeans and other commodities. The actions have roiled financial markets, disrupted manufacturing supply chains and reduced U.S. farm exports.
Trump administration officials have said they expect the two presidents to “close” a deal at a summit in coming weeks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The source briefed on the talks said that no dates for a summit had been determined, but that Beijing had reserved a 10-day window from around March 20 for a possible summit.
Many details still needed to be worked out, including the terms of an enforcement mechanism to ensure that Beijing follows through on pledges to make changes to policies to better protect U.S. intellectual property, end forced technology transfers and curb industrial subsidies.
Another source familiar with the talks said that Washington and Beijing were close to agreement on non-enforcement issues, including China’s pledges to increase purchases of farm, energy and manufactured products, as well as six agreements on structural policy changes.
The Wall Street Journal said that in the pending agreement, China would lower tariffs on U.S.-made goods including agricultural products, chemicals and cars in exchange for sanctions relief from Washington, citing people briefed on the matter on both sides.
The newspaper’s sources cautioned that hurdles remain, and each side faces possible resistance at home that the terms are too favorable to the other side.
As a part of the deal there would be a $18 billion purchase of natural-gas from Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc, the report said.
Cheniere declined to comment on the potential for a new LNG supply deal with China, a spokesman said. It last year signed a 20-year deal to supply state-run Chinese National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) with natural gas from its Louisiana export terminal through 2043.
The United States is working to hammer out a detailed trade agreement with China that will include specific structural commitments, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday.
Last week, Trump said the U.S. could walk away from a trade deal with China if it were not good enough, even as his economic advisers touted “fantastic” progress towards an agreement to end the dispute with Beijing.
Trump a week ago delayed a tariff increase on $200 billion in Chinese goods that was previously scheduled to take place on Saturday, citing progress in the talks.
Reporting by David Lawder and Mike Stone in Washington and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Daniel Wallis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.",674,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00342.warc.gz,0.963032841682434
e11da684-9b16-44a6-96d4-de0b3c6988f8,2016-07-24T02:52:16+00:00,2011-10-26,0,http://www.tusculumpioneers.com/article.asp?articleID=3105,"Tusculum jumps to seventh in NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankingsOctober 26, 2011
Move up one spot from last week's surveyINDIANAPOLIS ---
The Tusculum College women's soccer team moved up one spot to seventh in the latest NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, through games of Oct. 23, the NCAA released Wednesday.
The Pioneers are 8-6-0 against regional opponents, including a 2-1 victory over Catawba in the squad's most-recent contest on Saturday. Five of the top 10 teams in this week's rankings appear on the Tusculum schedule, including three of the top four schools.
North Georgia (13-1-0) climbed into the top spot in this week's rankings, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne (14-1-0), former number one Armstrong Atlantic State (12-2-2), Columbus State (12-3-1) and Lander (12-3-1) to close out the top five. Sixth place belongs to Wingate (11-3-0), with Tusculum, Lees-McRae (12-2-1), UNC Pembroke (7-4-3) and Mount Olive (9-3-2) comprising the remainder of the top 10.
A total of six teams from the Southeast Region will be selected to the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament -- conference champions from the Peach Belt Conference, Conference Carolinas and the SAC, along with three at-large berths. The field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 7.
The Pioneers play at Carson-Newman Wednesday night at 6 p.m. before closing the regular season Saturday at Lenoir-Rhyne at 5 p.m.
- NCAA -NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Regional Rankings
Southeast Region (through Oct. 23)
Rk. School Region Overall
1 North Georgia 13-1-0 13-1-0
2 Lenoir-Rhyne 14-1-0 14-1-0
3 Armstrong Atlantic State 12-2-2 12-2-2
4 Columbus State 12-3-1 12-3-2
5 Lander 12-3-1 12-3-1
6 Wingate 11-3-0 11-3-0
7 TUSCULUM 8-6-0 9-6-0
8 Lees-McRae 12-2-1 12-2-1
9 UNC Pembroke 7-4-3 7-4-3
10 Mount Olive 9-3-2 9-3-2
Tusculum opponents in italics
Overall record against NCAA opponents only",569,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823935.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00076-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.891558289527893
1f2e05d8-844e-4fc3-94eb-101eebf32f5a,2013-05-22T00:34:53+00:00,2013-05-22,0,http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?72633-HID-burnout&p=958864&mode=threaded,"I installed my HID's from DDM about a week ago, and they have been working great. Tonight, started the car and turned on the lights and the passenger is not on. I at first thought it might be my connections had come loose. Checked everything and it's all good but the light isn't coming on. . .any thoughts? Ballast, bulb?",77,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.986643970012665
3fb539fc-1c75-442f-a96a-753decb37915,2016-07-26T10:12:25+00:00,2014-01-14,0,http://www.njbiz.com/article/20140114/NJBIZ01/140119896/1017/NorthMarq-Capital's-NJ-office-arranges-two-financings-totaling-$625M,"Philadelphia-based commercial real-estate company NorthMarq Capital announced Tuesday it has arranged financing of two transactions, including properties in Cherry Hill, Burlington and Hoboken, totaling $6.25 million.
According to the announcement, Gary Cohen, senior vice president and senior director of NorthMarq's New Jersey regional office, financed the sales of the Hampshire Self Storage Portfolio and two Hoboken-based multifamily properties.
The Hampshire property contains two facilities located in Cherry Hill and Burlington with a combined total of 109,995 square-feet. The $3.5 million financing was structured with a 5-year term and 25-year amortization schedule with 4.00 percent interest. The multifamily properties located at 929 Willow Ave., and 208 Bloomfield Ave., sold for $2.75 million and were structured with a 12-year term and 30-year amortization schedule, the company said in a statement.
Stay informed: Subscribe to free NJBIZ newsletters",200,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824757.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00229-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957750797271728
1be1bf69-7836-47c1-a9f7-15e1852a354f,2015-04-01T10:43:11+00:00,1999-03-21,0,http://www.theautochannel.com/news/date/19990321/news020735.html,"The Callahan Report: Teamwork, Strategy, and Luck Earn Moore Victory at Homestead
21 March 1999
By Terry Callahan
HOMESTEAD, FL: Greg Moore used all the proper racing
ingredients to propel himself to victory lane at the Marlboro Grand Prix
of Miami Sunday. Moore used teamwork, racing strategy, and luck to earn
the win in the CART FedEx Championship season opener.
The Auto Channel
After being denied victory a year ago because of a malfunctioning air jack, Moore came to Homestead with a big chip on his shoulder. Moore qualified on the pole and led the most laps during the race. He had to rely on a well calculated strategy from his team to do the rest. His team didn't let him down. They calculated his fuel mileage correctly ... to the last drop.
""I saw Dario (Franchitti) pit and I thought, 'Oh God, we're going to have to pit again,'"" said Moore. ""But my crew said, 'Stay out, stay out.' The Mercedes is really good on fuel mileage. I knew we could gamble and make it."" Moore continued, ""On the back straightaway the (fuel) light came on. I knew I had a half-gallon left, and that was enough.''
Moore worked with his team to get the car ready for the end of the race. The five time winner on the CART circuit is becoming a master at communicating problems with the car to his crew.
""I expected my car to be perfect from beginning to end and it definitely wasn't. At the beginning, we were very, very poor,"" Moore said. ""At the end, when you need to be fastest, we were. That's the sign of a very good team.""
Moore's rear view mirrors were filled by Michael Andretti during the final 37 laps of the 150 lap race. Andretti blames himself for being behind Moore instead of driving his way to the 38th win of his open wheel career. Andretti stalled his car in the pits during his final stop.
""I think we had the best car and I made a mistake on that pit stop when I killed the engine,'' Andretti said. ""I don't know what happened. It was just a stupid mistake."" He continued, ""It cost us four points. Hopefully, those four points won't haunt us.""
Moore realized he had used all the things required in racing. He said, ""The difference today was we got a couple of lucky breaks.""
Andretti made a charge at Moore on the final restart but was unable to get past the eventual winner. ""I tried to get underneath Greg and he forced me to go down on the apron,"" said Andretti. ""It ended up that (pass attempt) was for the win, so it was all right, but that was a pretty hairy moment for me.""
Dario Franchitti finished third. Franchitti was critical of his team's fuel strategy, stating, ""We could have won this race. We were ninth here last year, so I'm pretty happy ... however, we may have played it too conservatively trying to make sure everything would be okay.""
Moore collected $100,000 for the victory in the Player's Mercedes. He beat Andretti's Ford powered Swift chassis to the finish line by 1.1 seconds. Moore averaged 136.671 mph over the race distance.",704,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00200-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.989576518535614
aa872294-5ae1-4a38-89e5-1dfa4f0be2b6,2022-05-23T17:34:19+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://www.thefryecompany.com/products/felix-sling-sandal-pre-loved,"The modern sandal with Western sensibility. Made from vegetable-tanned leather and antiqued by hand, this style stands out with its t-strap design, distinctive square toe and studded detailing. Set on a textured leather outsole, the sandal features ultra-comfortable suede lining and padded leather footbeds for all-day support. Finished off with an antiqued metal buckle and hidden gore for ease of fit.
- Leather lined
- Leather outsole
- Matte silver metal hardware
- 1/2"" heel height
The Frye Exchange is a peer-to-peer resale program.
Sell your pre-loved Fryes directly to new owners and receive credit towards your next purchase. Pre-loved items on the Frye Exchange are fulfilled by the community.",170,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662560022.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523163515-20220523193515-00201.warc.gz,0.90811276435852
1ca3dc38-b961-4935-ab90-586bc01c71f7,2013-05-18T07:26:24+00:00,2011-02-15,1,http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/15/takedown_law_change/,"European child abuse image law a step closer
The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee has passed a draft law to remove all child sex abuse images hosted in EU countries.
The law says that if images are hosted outwith the EU they should be blocked by individual member states.
The Committee made some changes - the law previously made removal of images mandatory.
Now the law says that, if the material is hosted outside the community, countries ""may take the necessary measures in accordance with national legislation to prevent access to such content in their territory"". Members of the European Parliament also said such blocks must use transparent procedures, inform users of the reason for the block and allow an appeals process.
The law also sets minimum sentences for those found guilty of 22 child abuse offences. New offences such as ""grooming"" have also been created. Employers get the right to obtain information on employees' previous sex offences.
Internet Service Providers, or at least those represented by EuroISPA, were objecting to parts of the law which made removal of images compulsory.
But we guess their lobbying paid off. President of EuroISPA Martin Hutty said today: “Removal of the content at source is the real solution to the problem.
""The European Union should use its diplomatic relationships with third countries hosting such material to enhance international procedures to delete the illegal content and successfully prosecute criminals.”
The Parliament and Council now have to agree the details of the law, which they hope to do in the first half of the year. Nation states then have two years to bring their own laws into line with those of the European Union.
The Parliament believes the problem is getting worse and that around 200 abusive images are uploaded every day.",350,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969259440898895
7edd035a-f8f3-46c6-9d30-5e0f01263c53,2020-10-27T03:02:18+00:00,2020-10-27,0,http://syndicator.embedempire.com/garage-door-opener-repair/,"Garage Door Motors are a “working horses” of your whole overhead door assembly, and for apparent factors, they typically do break. Many property owners normally call overhead door professional, and the entire thing gets switched out for a brand-new one. Nevertheless, some DIYers choose to fix it rather of getting rid of an opener which may be simple to repair. In this post, we’ll reveal you how to dig dipper into the concern and how to fix a garage door opener.
As a security preventative measure, prior to you begin doing anything to your motor, ensure the door is completely closed, and your garage door opener is unplugged. As soon as you confirm it’s not linked to any source of power, you can begin loosening the back panel. In this specific example, we deal with Chamberlain Opener which has 2 bigger size screws on top and a single smaller sized screw at the bottom.
When you’re done getting rid of the back cover, you’ll imminently get access to your motor’s internal parts. At this phase, there are a couple of things you may wish to search for.
- Have a look at the primary circuit board, see if there are any indications that it’s fried. If you had a lightning strike in your location, that may be the cause. Typically, you’ll have the ability to feel an unique odor, and you’ll see a burnt location of the board. Because case, you can search for the entire back assembly on eBay and change the whole thing.
- Attempt to find the antenna wire that is connected to the circuit board. Often it’s getting loose and falls off entirely, so your opener does not get the signal from the remote. If that holds true, you’re fortunate, and it’s an uncomplicated repair, reattach it back to the board, and the concern is resolved.
- Discover your capacitor and try to find any indications of damage or leakage. This one can be difficult. The capacitor may disappoint any indications of external damage however can be the main reason for the issue. Think about them as an advanced battery that offers the opener a burst of energy to run your garage door. Capacitor itself isn’t pricey and can be quickly altered, ensure you purchase the ideal one. It may be an excellent Concept to detach and bring it to your regional electronic devices save so they can offer you the one that’ll deal with your opener.
- Examine the equipments. Generally, those constructed of plastic, and they wear. If you see great deals of ground plastic residue all over the equipments, that may be an indication that your opener’s equipments need to be changed. You can likewise purchase a total equipment replacement package online. However there may be another concern you’re not familiar with. Often the reality that your equipments are harmed can be an outcome of another prospective issue, with your garage door spring. You see, the main function of the spring is to remove the weight of the door, so your opener does not need to work as difficult while opening or closing your garage door. If the spring isn’t doing its main task properly, your opener needs to work harder, which can lead to harmed equipments.
You can carry out an easy test to see if your garage door spring isn’t carrying out well. There is a security cable connected to the leading rail, make certain your door is entirely closed and after that pull that cable to detach the door from the opener. Now, if your spring is OKAY, you must have the ability to raise your whole door quickly with your hand, when you launch it, it needs to not return down. Rather, your door ought to remain in half closed position. If your garage door returns down all the method, it’s time to change your springs.
- Inspect the shaft and the equipment that decreases from your chain or belt. In some cases if the chain is too tight, it may bring excessive pressure on the shaft and trigger extra damage, those parts can be changed in addition to internal equipments as they typically can be found in one set.
- Finally, examine your garage door sensing units connection, in some cases those can come out, and your sensing units will not work. Normally, you can continue these little pins and place the wires dipper into the openings, that must work.
We hope this fast Do It Yourself guide had the ability to offer you with some beneficial ideas for fixing and getting rid of most typical garage door opener problems. We make sure that calling a specialist is not constantly the most budget-friendly service, that’s why we’ll be offering you with more Do It Yourself pointers regularly. Please make certain to comment listed below with any concerns you may have and constantly keep in mind, despite the fact that a typical DIYer can carry out some repair work, security ought to still be a top priority, so if you have any doubts, call “Calgary Garage Door Fix” your local garage door repair specialists! Or Visit Their Website.",1060,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893011.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027023251-20201027053251-00533.warc.gz,0.940754354000092
4f122965-ac2b-48c8-888c-df3cc3a1584e,2015-03-30T17:51:33+00:00,2014-06-30,1,http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/06/prweb11981353.htm,"HARTFORD, CT (PRWEB) June 30, 2014
For years, CCAR Executive Director Phil Valentine has devoted himself to sharing about his addiction recovery in an effort to help others. Over the last few years, Phil has been going on long walks, buying hiking equipment, and reading books about the Appalachian Trail. On March 19, 2015, exactly five years after Phil was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the tongue, he will embark on a half-year long journey down the Appalachian Trail to spread the powerful message of recovery throughout the nation.
Now 27 years in recovery, Phil is living proof that with daily recovery and a positive outlook, you can overcome any obstacle. After receiving his diagnosis in 2010, friends were confused as to why Phil didn’t seem upset. He readily replied, “Well, why not me? If I truly am a man of faith and integrity, then why not?” Phil did get through it; his treatment consisted of 2 inpatient chemo stays, 39 radiation treatments, additional chemotherapy and a feeding tube. He knows how fortunate he is to be able to say that his cancer is now in remission.
But the battle didn’t end with the treatment. He experienced severe withdrawal symptoms when tapering off the pain medication he’d been prescribed. One day, while fighting through these symptoms, Phil perceived an inner call suggesting that he hike the Appalachian Trail, the entire 2,185 miles. At the time, this seemed strange to Phil, who had never even seen the trail. He explains, “At first, I just wrote it off. But it kind of grew into a fire.”
On the five-year anniversary of his diagnosis, Phil will begin his Appalachian walk. He plans to travel 11 to 12 miles each day, while speaking to local community leaders about recovery along the route. CCAR will sponsor the walk, and during the trip, Phil will document his experience in real time via social media, and plans to write a book about the journey upon completion. His thoughts and words will offer strong support for all those in recovery and seeking recovery throughout the United States.
Phil is confident and excited about beginning this unique chapter in his life and many people have faith in his journey. As he puts it, “This is the biggest adventure I have taken in my life. I have no idea whether I can do the whole thing; I have no idea what it’s going to be like, but I have a lot of people rooting for me and a lot of support, so I like my chances.”
You can keep track of Phil as he prepares for his adventures on the Appalachian Trail by following him on a website dedicated to the journey (http://www.AT4Recovery.org), or at hookedonrecovery.com/blog or following him on Instagram @PValentine59 and Twitter @PValentine59.
Since 1998 the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) has organized the recovery community (people in recovery, family members, friends and allies) to put a face on recovery and to provide recovery support services to help sustain recovery. By promoting recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction through advocacy, education and service, CCAR strives to end discrimination surrounding addiction and recovery, open new doors and remove barriers to recovery, maintain and sustain recovery regardless of the pathway, all the while ensuring that all people in recovery, and people seeking recovery, are treated with dignity and respect. CCAR envisions a world where the power, hope and healing of recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction is thoroughly understood and embraced. For more information, visit http://www.ccar.us.
# # #",759,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00092-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969432711601257
f64420d2-44ac-4315-87fe-2d4285866fc9,2017-08-22T13:01:07+00:00,2004-06-18,0,http://seattlebird.blogspot.com/2004/06/contacts-connections-control.html,"exercising my right to be opinionated
Friday, June 18, 2004
contacts -> connections -> control??
Reuters.com: 9/11 Report Cited No Iraqi 'Control' of Qaeda - Rice.
People have always suspected the NSC of mind experiments. But we always thought they were about
, not mind reading!
Share to Twitter
Share to Facebook
Share to Pinterest",82,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110774.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822123737-20170822143737-00024.warc.gz,0.825983822345734
de5dcaa2-8bec-4b7a-a7f6-61328d1d545e,2017-08-22T07:02:11+00:00,2013-11-15,0,http://buturooj.skyrock.com/3199012691-Lenovo-Yoga-Tablet-Review.html,"When Lenovo introduced its first Yoga tablet last month, it recruited the support of its newest product engineer, Ashton Kutcher, the latest in a long list of celebrity's technology partnership that includes Alicia Keys and Shakira.
Lenovo Yoga tablet is not really a risk, but it may have the next necessary step Chinese manufacturer has to do it if it wants to break into the market and become more recognizable brand.
Company is currently the largest manufacturer of PC sales in the world and figured out how to expand your business in the market downturn, but it sells more smartphones and tablets than desktops and laptops. The problem is that most of them are located in China.
If you are interested in modestly priced Android tablet that can stand on its own without the addition of the separately priced cover; rollover itself towards you on the table, for easier use and viewing, and can offer varieties of pen that makes it easy to hold while reading and even allow one-handed use, the Lenovo Yoga tablet is an excellent choice.
It is now available in two sizes, 8 - inch model for $ 249 exclusively at Best Buy in the U.S. and 10 - inch version for $ 299 is more widespread.
Yoga bends to accommodate the lifestyle Here is the part where I tell the truth about something: I do not own a tablet. I feel I have no need for one. I work from home and I'm in front of a laptop all day. When I examined the other tablets, they tend to sit on the printer in my home office until I pressed myself spending time with them.
I just had no reason to grab for them that my laptop, phone or TV does not satisfy (I understand that other people do). Form Factor Tablet Yoga changed that, though, mainly because the standby mode so convenient. During the cooking process, I used yoga in tilt mode consult the recipe and then switched his stand when the counter was too crowded, and I wanted to listen to a podcast (two front side speakers Dolby really good - strong and clear).
E- Reading prowess I understand that these things can be done with other tablets and properly disposed cover, but I found it compelling, Yoga tablet can do it yourself. It's driving me a little crazy that Apple, running for a year , to shave millimeters tirelessly and create a refined , advanced piece of technology that people will pay $ 850 , and then cover with almost 5 cents a piece of rubber . But covers also offer the book as a spine that yoga as a tablet on hold. Lenovo sent me his two 10-inch and 8 - inch models. 10 - Inch model gets heavy in your hand pretty quickly no8 inch has an appropriate weight of 0.88 pounds, and when my hand got tired, I just turned the sign again and used his other hand.
Display woes: One of my few complaints about Yoga tablets was their manifestations - I wish they were sharper. 9.7- inch display has a resolution IPad Air 2048 and 1536. 10.1 - inch display Yoga Tablet is 1280 800. The difference is like wearing fuzzy points.
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2Another complaint is their weight. Lenovo should shave it. In iPad Airmasses 1 pound, 10.1-inch Yoga Tablet weighs 1.33 kg. Last is the weight at which the Hold mode is attractive to do business, such as the chart shows a colleague or photo to relatives, but do not read long. I pulled Yoga tablets in their boxes with some doubts - their “spirals “as I came to think of the cylinders along screens, tablets do seem heavy instantly, instead of wow - the light factor. But it is very good, practical and convincing form factor. Now, Lenovo just need to improve it.",765,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110485.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822065702-20170822085702-00168.warc.gz,0.965835869312286
d4d86204-f6ec-44dc-ad5f-40075b461d10,2022-05-23T05:34:26+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-war-of-the-worlds-panic-is-a-myth,"The cover of Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News features a woman’s face frozen in terror. Author A. Brad Schwartz opens the book with the dramatic account of a Manhattan couple who, hearing Welles’s October 30, 1938, radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s science fiction novel and believing that Martians had indeed invaded New Jersey, spent their last six dollars on train tickets to flee the advancing alien army. Glimpsing the cover and perusing the opening pages, readers would be forgiven for assuming that Broadcast Hysteria was written to bolster the long-held belief that Welles’s infamous Halloween prank had created nationwide mass panic. Schwartz, however, intends to do the opposite—albeit, it seems, reluctantly.
Welles was just 23 in October 1938, a ridiculously precocious actor, writer, producer, and director working in theater and radio who had already graced the cover of Time. He and his creative partner, John Houseman, were tapped to create a weekly show for CBS Radio, Mercury Theatre on the Air, adapting classic works of literature for broadcast. Welles had the idea of updating War of the Worlds by presenting the material as a series of fake news bulletins; his writer, Howard Koch, closed his eyes and picked a random spot on a map of New Jersey to decide on the tiny town of Grover’s Mill as the site of the alien landing.
At this point, Americans were increasingly turning to the young technology of radio for their news. One of Welles’s innovations in War of the Worlds was to cut off the actor portraying a reporter at the scene and then hold the silence for seconds, the unprecedented dead air suggesting that the reporter—and everyone nearby—had perished in the Martian attack.
This is one of several examples Schwartz cites to explain why listeners would have found Welles’s broadcast credible. Others include the use of real place names and highways in describing evacuation procedures, and even the fact that many of the decade’s biggest breaking-news radio stories, from the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby to the crash of the Hindenburg, had also taken place in New Jersey.
It’s curious that Schwartz works so hard to establish the broadcast’s believability since he knows that very few listeners were taken in by War of the Worlds. For one thing, the audience was small: Mercury Theatre—up against NBC’s popular Chase & Sanborn Hour featuring ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy—was heard by less than 4 percent of the audience. Of those who did tune in, the vast majority were aware that they were listening to a radio drama. Stories of panic—including unsubstantiated rumors of heart attacks and suicides—were exaggerated by newspaper coverage in the days after the broadcast. (Historians have argued that the papers went after Welles to cast doubt on the integrity of their new rival, radio; Schwartz questions that theory, noting that newspaper circulations rose with radio’s popularity, suggesting that “if anything, broadcast journalism increased the American appetite for the printed variety.”) The panic narrative was later cemented by a 1940 academic analysis, Hadley Cantril’s The Invasion from Mars: A Study in the Psychology of Panic, which estimated that at least 1 million listeners were convinced that America was under attack. Schwartz determines that Cantril, himself taken in by sensationalized media reports, “deliberately oversampled people frightened by the broadcast” and “ignored survey data from listeners who knew it was fiction.”
First-time author Schwartz wrote his undergraduate thesis on Welles’s War of the Worlds at the University of Michigan, which had recently acquired large collections of the director’s papers, including 1,400 letters written in response to the notorious broadcast. Schwartz was the first scholar to read those letters, and he parlayed that windfall into a gig co-writing PBS’s 2013 American Experience episode on War of the Worlds, which stuck stubbornly to the panic narrative despite recent scholarship challenging it.
In his book, he often appears ambivalent, acknowledging that there was no mass panic (most of the letters he examined were written “in praise and defense of Welles”) but straining to find significance in the fact that some listeners were frightened and in the broadcast itself. Those frightened “may have been relatively few in number, and they may have held the historical spotlight for too long,” Schwartz writes, “but their stories are worthy of examination and explanation.” Later, in somewhat overblown language, he declares that the episode “decided the fate of Orson Welles and of American broadcasting itself.”
It is true that after War of the Worlds, Hollywood came courting. Welles cut an extraordinary deal with RKO that gave him total artistic control, and his first film, Citizen Kane, released just as he turned 26, is widely considered the greatest movie of all time. Broadcast Hysteria is entertaining despite its flaws largely because Welles, born a century ago, continues to fascinate. Another new book, Josh Karp’s Orson Welles’s Last Movie: The Making of ‘The Other Side of the Wind’, examines the auteur at the twilight of his career, a much messier figure than the boy wonder of Schwartz’s book and one who, by then, wasn’t above milking the panic myth when it helped him raise money to finance his flailing projects. Perhaps the War of the Worlds controversy would have faded from memory if Welles hadn’t been the man behind it.
Despite that the story of mass panic is inaccurate, it will probably live on. As Schwartz observes, the broadcast “has become shorthand for the dangerous power and influence of the media,” and it reflects anxieties that we still experience, whether the scary new technology is radio, television, or the Internet. I vividly recall learning about War of the Worlds from the same junior high social studies teacher who told us that dozens of people in Queens had witnessed the brutal 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese without intervening, another bit of history recently shown to be a fable. Somehow the lessons of these stories—that the masses are overly susceptible to media influence, that bystanders might not intervene to help a stranger in distress—continue to feel true even after we know that the stories themselves are not.",1353,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00402.warc.gz,0.972265422344208
72c398ad-7878-4844-8858-5272b5a2da35,2015-03-29T06:07:17+00:00,2014-05-15,1,http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/white-tailed-eagle-chicks-hatch-in-cork-clare-631151.html,"White-tailed eagle chicks hatch in Cork, Clare
The first White-Tailed Eagle chicks of 2014 hatched at nests in Glengarriff, Co Cork and Mountshannon, Co. Clare, it has been announced.
Unfortunately, while the chick at Mountshannon is thriving, the Cork one didn’t make it.
“Unfortunately the breeding efforts of this pair and a pair nesting in Killarney National Park failed, probably due to a combination of poor weather and inexperience,” said a statement from the [url=http://www.goldeneagletrust.org/]Golden Eagle Trust, which oversees multiple raptor reintroduction projects in the country.
“Hopes are high that the Mountshannon pair and others around the country will successfully raise chicks that will go on to form the basis of a viable population in Ireland.”
These are the latest chicks of the high profile reintroduction programme which began in 2007 with the release of 100 young Norwegian eagles in Killarney National Park as part of the White-tailed Eagle reintroduction programme. Fourteen pairs of eagles are holding territories across four counties with at least seven pairs nesting and laying eggs. The Mountshannon pair created history in 2013 when they reared the first chicks to fly from a nest in Ireland in over 100 years.
“We are delighted that White-tailed Eagles are now nesting across four counties, from Cork, Kerry and Clare to Connemara, Co. Galway ” , said Dr. Allan Mee, project manager for the Golden Eagle Trust.
“In 2013 we had our first chicks reared in the wild in Clare but this year we are excited to see that pairs are nesting as far away as Connemara, although Kerry remains the stronghold for the species. The increase in the number of pairs nesting is really encouraging and bodes well for the future of the species.”
The White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, and Red Kite Reintroduction Projects in the Republic of Ireland are managed by the Golden Eagle Trust in partnership with the National Parks & Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in the Republic of Ireland.
White-tailed Eagle chicks were collected under licence in Norway and transported to Ireland for release..
One hundred young White-tailed Eagles were released between 2007 and 2011 in Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry. To date 29 birds have been recovered dead, mainly due to illegal poisoning.
The news of nesting White-tailed Eagles has generated alot of excitement locally in East Clare, West Cork, as well as Galway and Kerry and is likely to attract the attention of people keen to see the birds. However disturbance, particularly during the early stages of nesting when the birds are on eggs or have small chicks, would be detrimental to the pair’s success.
“We are very conscious of the risk of disturbing the birds especially at this stage of nesting” Dr. Mee added.
“Please note that it is an offence under the Wildlife Act (1976) to willfully disturb White-tailed Eagles at the nest.”
“We would caution people not to approach the nest area but instead avail of the unique opportunity to watch from a nesting pair of sea eagles from nearby Mountshannon pier.”
- Sign up here to receive news by email. Once per day, no spam.",703,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298228.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00087-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.945363819599152
b9ebca90-9db3-426d-b967-ea115498407e,2015-03-28T19:49:50+00:00,2012-10-07,0,http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/10/07/video_jon_stewart_bill_o_reilly_rumble_in_mock_debate_in_air_conditioned_auditorium.html,"The much-hyped mock debate between Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly billed as the Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium saw the two longtime frenemies face off before a packed auditorium at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Saturday night. The main audience for the event was supposed to be online but those who forked up $4.95 to stream the debate online, were often met with frustration as servers seemingly crashed from the demand. Many fans took to Twitter and Facebook to air their rage, many saying they had planned their Saturday night around the rumble. Even Roger Ebert was none too happy.
The Washington Post treats the gabfest between two TV personalities almost like a real debate, publishing three separate stories on the matchup, including “five takeaways” and “best one-liners.” And it makes sense considering that it really wasn’t as funny as many were expecting if you consider that the exchanges most critics pinpoint as the funniest (“perhaps most humorous,” writes Daniel Steinberger at ABC News) involved Stewart repeatedly making a joke of how at 5’7” he was much shorter than the 6’4” O’Reilly. Stewart even had a handy mechanical pedestal that he used to elevate himself, often making him taller than O’Reilly. Those who were expecting more humor were likely disappointed. Besides the gags involving the forklift “most of the jokes, particularly those of O’Reilly, didn’t land,” writes the Wrap’s Brent Lang.
Instead of jokes there was a “frequently substantive debate,” as the New York Times’ Emmarie Huetteman writes, on everything from the national debt, health care, the war on Christmas, and the Middle East. There was some confusion showing how even those who talk about news for a living can get events mixed up. At one point, as the Guardian points out, Stewart asked about the deadly consulate attack in Libya and O’Reilly talked about the Egyptian embassy. At another point the two “got bogged down sorting out the difference between the debt and the deficit,” writes the Washington Post’s Dan Zak.
The first hour of the debate was divided into five, 12-minute segments. Moderator E.D. Hill from CNN largely stood out of the way, with O’Reilly asking at one point, “Are you still there?” After the first hour at the podium the two took pre-selected questions from the audience. At the end of the night, Hill asked what each learned from the other person.
“I have learned that bullshit mountain is tall, bullshit mountain is wide, and it's deep,” Stewart said. For his part, O’Reilly said: “That I know I’m right.” They both received a “championship belt” from Hill at the end of the night.
In a press conference after the debate, O’Reilly apologized to those who couldn’t watch the debate live online. ""Hundreds of thousands of people tried to get on, so the server crashed,” O’Reilly said, before sarcastically adding that if ""anybody wants the $4.95 back, we'll send it to you,"" according to ABC News. But it wasn’t a joke. Organizers said those who had problems with the live stream will be eligible for a refund, reports the Associated Press.",735,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297689.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00128-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.977320611476898
327fa8fc-3396-46b2-a1eb-f590a610b009,2019-08-17T21:30:14+00:00,2019-08-17,0,https://wealthforlife.com.au/property-management/,"Reasons To Choose Our Team To Manage Your Properties
Poor Property Management Severely Damages Your Investment.
Find out about Wealth for Life Institute’s unique property management service. John and Claire Walters had already started their investment journey when they contacted Wealth for Life. But they had a major problem. They had a vacant four-bedroom property in Clyde North. But their property managers just couldn’t find them any tenants. The end result? Thousands of dollars out of their pocket because they had no rent coming in. The Walters came to us to solve the problem.
The Bark is Bigger Than the Bite
The challenge here wasn’t the property itself. The Walters had already refurbished it and it looked the part. It was also in a hot area, which means there was plenty of demand. There must have been something else going on. It all came down to a neighbourhood dog. Every time a potential tenant visited the property, this dog barked constantly. The noise drove potential tenants away. We needed to find a way to overcome that barrier and help tenants to see the property for what it had to offer.
The Wealth for Life Solution
This was a unique challenge, which means it needed a clever solution. In the end, it was quite simple. We arranged viewings for tenants so that they took place outside of work hours. By this time, the dog’s owners had returned home, which seemed to calm the pooch down. With no barking to distract potential tenants from the viewing, we could talk more about the benefits of the property. Through it all, we kept talking with the Walters. We told them about the strategy and informed them about every viewing that we held. They received daily updates so that they knew what was happening.
The End Result
It took us only nine days to find a tenant for a property that had been vacant for four weeks. Today, the property generates a monthly yield of $1,680. Plus, the Walters have us to help them to improve that yield in accordance with the market. A property that had actively cost the couple money is now a no-hassle money earner thanks to Wealth for Life.
Property Management Done Well
Do you feel as though you’re doing more to manage your property than the property manager that you’re paying? Are your tenants seeing more of a benefit than you do from your investment property? Do you know if you’ve maximised your property’s potential? That’s how the Walters felt. You may be in the same boat.
In fact, many investors fail to ask themselves these important questions. This leaves them working with property managers who don’t have their best interests at heart. A bad property manager makes investing more of a hassle than it needs to be. Wealth for Life will help you to solve that problem with our comprehensive property management service. Our team has a combined 20+ years of experience, which means you get more from your property.
The Wealth for Life Difference
You may ask yourself what sets us apart from the many other property management services out there. After all, they promise similar things. Why should you choose Wealth for Life? We can offer 9 great reasons why you should choose us for your property management needs.
Reason #1: Working with Investors
The Wealth for Life family isn’t just a team of advisors. We’re all investors and landlords ourselves. This means that we know exactly what landlords want from a property management service. After all, we’re in the same boat as you. We want to get the most from our investments too. We use the same techniques for you that work so well for us.
Reason #2: On Time and In Full
What’s the biggest problem you face with your current property manager? We’re willing to bet that you’re receiving your rent payments late. That affects cash flow, which causes issues elsewhere. That’s not because you have bad tenants. It’s because you have a bad property manager. We have a stellar record when it comes to ensuring your tenants make their rent payments. 95% of our tenants pay on time and in full every time.
Reason #3: Smart Timing
You need to make a mortgage repayment in the middle of the month. But your property manager doesn’t collect your tenant’s rent until the end of the month. Do you see the problem here? You have an unbalanced cash flow. This means you’re always struggling to align your mortgage repayments with your rental yield. We arrange your tenant’s rent payments so you receive them before you have to make your monthly repayment.
Reason #4: Direct Debits
As your portfolio grows, you’ll also develop a long list of tenants with whom you work. Can you imagine the work that comes with chasing all of those tenants for rent payments? Wealth for Life has the solution. We set up direct debits for all of your tenants. This means they pay their rent automatically on a date that suits you. That’s convenient for both you and your tenants.
Reason #5: Clever Lease Structures
Did you know that a vacant property experiences more views during the summer than the winter? Not many property managers do. This leads to them structuring leases that leave your property vacant during the winter months. It takes longer to fill your vacant properties, which means your property doesn’t generate an income. We know the secrets to creating great tenant leases. We structure your tenants’ lease agreements so that they end in the summer. If the tenant chooses not to stay in the property, you benefit from the extra demand that the summer brings.
Reason #6: Insurance Benefits
Let’s say that you have a portfolio of five properties. Have you aligned your landlord insurance policies for each one? If you haven’t, you may miss out on some unique policy features. We help you to group your landlord policies so that they start and end at the same time. This gives you access to group policy discounts from insurance companies.
Reason #7: A No-Hassle Service
No investor wants to hire a property manager, only to end up doing all of the work themselves. You want to reap the rewards of your investment without dealing with the little details. That’s what we’re there for. We handle the management of your property so that you don’t have to. This means you only hear from us when you need to hear from us.
Reason #8: Annual Reports
An unwatched property falls behind the market. You must adapt or else you’ll fail. Many of our clients find that their properties underperform because their property managers don’t adapt to the market. That never happens when you work with Wealth for Life. We produce annual reports that cover the performance of your property and the market. Each year, we analyse your strategy to ensure you get the most out of your investment.
Reason #9: Access to Specialist Software
Why pay an accountant to do something that you can do yourself? Our property management service includes access to special software packages. These can help you handle your tax bills so you can reduce your monthly outgoings. How does that sound? Do you think you could use Wealth for Life’s property management services? All it takes is a phone call. We’ll take you through the rest.",1543,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00028.warc.gz,0.954825937747955
d6c06a8e-4132-4cd2-b693-6f595f835333,2019-08-18T21:22:28+00:00,2019-05-02,1,https://www.newhope.com/news/revenue-net-income-fall-again-gnc-company-announces?parent=108098&infscr=1,"Revenue and net income at GNC Holdings Inc. again dropped compared to first-quarter results a year ago—and those results were lower than the previous year’s.
The global supplements company released its Q1 financials Thursday morning:
- Total revenue was $564.8 million, down 7% from 2018’s $607.5 million. Revenue in the first quarter of 2017 was $654.9 million, 13.7% higher than the current amount.
- A net loss of $15.3 million, compared with net income of $6.2 million—a drop of 346.8%. The company saw net income of $24.7 million in Q1 of 2017.
- Adjusted net income was $19 million for this quarter, compared with $20.1 million a year ago and $26 million in 2017.
- Gross profit was 36% of sales, compared with 34.1% a year ago.
- Domestic same-store sales decreased 1.6% from a year ago. First-quarter 2018 same-store sales were 0.5% higher than in 2017.
During the quarter, which ended March 31, GNC closed 87 corporate-owned stores. Those closings triggered about $14 million of the quarter’s revenue loss and a drop of 1.6% in same-store sales that translates to a $6.2 million loss of revenue, the company reported.
The company was pleased with its EBITDA margin of 11%, CEO Ken Martindale said during the morning earnings call. He pointed out that comparable sales at domestic franchise stores rose for the first time in years.
Martindale said the company expected same-store sales to drop, but the 1% growth in ecommerce sales was disappointing.
“Our ecommerce business has been softer in recent quarters due to headwinds with the Amazon.com marketplace,” Chief Financial Officer Tricia Tolivar said. GNC is searching for a chief digital officer, Martindale said.
On the positive side, GNC-branded products accounted for 52% of domestic sales, up from 50% a year ago.
Earlier this week, the company announced it will introduce a line of topical CBD products in the District of Columbia and 23 states. “We are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing consumer demand for CBD-related products,” Martindale said during Thursday’s call. “And we are taking great care to find strong partners and identify products that are right for the GNC brand and for our customers.”
Internationally, the company is seeing growth with its franchise partners, Martindale said. Two weeks ago, an existing store in Shanghai, China, re-opened as the company’s first “global showroom,” where customers can talk to a nutritionist, see a wide range of GNC products and order electronically to be shipped to their homes.
Later this year, GNC plans to release its first shipments to the company’s partners in Japan and Australia.
Tolivar said she expects gross profit of 32% to 35% during the rest of 2019. The company ended the first quarter with $154.3 million in free cash flow, she said.",680,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314130.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818205919-20190818231919-00041.warc.gz,0.967535197734833
541b3adc-3388-4960-89f8-73cd374f001f,2017-08-22T20:44:27+00:00,2016-01-01,1,http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a17714/spice-girls-reunion/,"The Spice Girls once asked the world to ""tell me what you want, what you really really want,"" and the answer is clearly a Spice Girls reunion.
After years of hoping and praying that Baby, Sporty, Scary, Ginger and Posh (or as she likes to be called these days ""Victoria Beckham"") would once again grace the stage, Mel B confirmed that a reunion could be in the girl group's future.
""I think I'm the one putting all the rumors out there,"" she said during an appearance on Alan Carr's New Year Spectacular, ""To be serious, it is our twentieth anniversary this year and it would be rude not to celebrate, so hopefully something will be happening pretty soon…I can't tell you what it is yet.""
It clearly would be so rude not to celebrate, so let's slam are bodies down and wind them all around ASAP, okay guys?
Follow Marie Claire on Instagram for the latest celeb news, pretty pics, funny stuff, and an insider POV.",207,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112682.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822201124-20170822221124-00122.warc.gz,0.964925706386566
2952d53c-2e53-49db-8ca9-2cdbcbbd3e00,2015-04-01T17:47:16+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.rys2sense.com/anti-neocons/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=31298,"Good video, Mr. Ryan Dawson.
I particularly liked the observation that ""Pirates/Mercenaries"" are expendable.
i.e. if they get caught, their sponsor/handlers can plead ""plausible deniability"" and wash their
hands of the matter while the pirate/mercenary hangs for the crimes.
I was reminded of my ""Initiation"" into the 3rd Degree of Freemasonry long ago and far away. . .
During the ""Master Mason"" degree, the initiate plays the part of Hiram Abiff, the Widow's Son, who along with King Hiram of Tyre, comes to Jerusalem to help build the mythical Temple of King Solomon. Hiram Abiff is the Master Builder that designed and supervised the construction and has all the ""secrets"".
Three ruffians, Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum attack and kill Hiram Abiff after they try to force him to give up his secrets . . . then flee the temple site.
King Solomon immediately calls a ""roll-call"" of all the 12 tribes of Israel to prove to King Hiram of Tyre that it was none of his people that committed the murder. . .
. . . and when Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum are captured . . . King Solomon orders that they be killed immediately . .. before they can ""talk"" . . .
Once you get a little further along in the Freemason Degrees (I was 32nd Degree York Rite and Knight's Templar) . . . you discover the lineage of the ""Sons and Daughters"" of Cain and Lamech from Genesis . . . who dwell in the Land Of Nod, East of Eden . . .
. . in other words, in the ""shadows"".
In Hebrew mythology, Cain is the ""bastard"" son of Eve and the Serpent while Able and Seth are the sons of Eve and Adam. It should be noted that there are two blood lines in Genesis up until the ""New World Order"" story of Noah and his three sons; Shem, Japheth and Ham.
In the myth of Solomon's Temple, there are two great pillars ""Jachin""and ""Boaz"" where groups would meet. Boaz is mentioned time and time again in The Bible . . but ""Jachin"" is conspicuous from its absence and lack of any further mention.
After the failed attempt by the Knight's Templars and the Priory of Zion to retake ""Jerusalem"" during the misleading ""Christian Crusades"" (1095-1291 A.D.) to reclaim the ""Holy Land"" and set up ""Greater Israel"" . . .
. . . and facing criminal charges for their usury, murders, blackmail, prostitution, slave running, and various other ""shenanigans"" in Europe, the Knights Templars were forced to flee with their fleet of ships in 1314 A.D. . . . while those ""useful idiots"" left behind faced prison and execution . . .
In the ""Knights Templar"" initiation, Freemasonry alludes to the Templars using the information and maps they gathered when they dug beneath the Temple mound in 1118 AD to go to the ""New World"" . . .
. . . and became the ""Pirates of The Caribbean"" . . .
It is interesting that these ""Pirates"" allied themselves with England against Spain during the ""Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)"" as Spain had expelled its Jews in 1492 A.D. . .
. . . and England allowed the Jews back in 1655 A.D. Perhaps as ""payment of debt for services rendered""?
Today we have the modern ""Pirates"" of the Mossad, the CIA, MI6, Shin Bet, etc . . . and all their ""useful idiots"" carrying out covert actions . . .
. . . and working in ""the shadows"" . . .
What is that old saying, ""The more things change, the more they remain the same""? . . .",849,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00023-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952534854412079
a79336a3-ad65-4cda-a572-e8dfb8387825,2015-03-30T11:18:39+00:00,2015-03-30,0,http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/edinburgh-festival-2013/,"View mobile site
Pics & Giggles
30 March 2015
Labour's Lucy Powell Nearly Lost It During 'Sunday Politics'
Ex-Ukipper Rozanne Duncan Just Can't Stop Being Racist
Here's Proof That Ukip Basically Want To Destroy The World
Cameron Calls Labour 'A Bunch Of Hypocritical, Holier-Than-Thou, Hopeless, Sneering Socialists'
The Loser in the Debates Was the Public - And Not for the Reasons You Think
Go to Politics
More in Politics
Mehdi's Morning Memo
Everything Is Terrifying In 'The Lego Horror Movie' Parody
5 Tech Stories You Should Have Read This Week
Need To Put out A Fire? Use Some Bass
This Isn't A 'UFO', It's NASA's New Toy
UK Internet Speeds Are Dismal Compared To The Rest Of The World
Go to Tech
More in Tech
You might also like
Is Louis Walsh Next For The 'X Factor' Chop?
James Corden Got Mariah Carey To Sing Along To Her Own Songs In The Car
Could Clarkson Still Host 'Top Gear Live' Shows?
EXCLUSIVE: This Man Is 50 Years Old. Fact.
12 LGBT Films Anyone Will Enjoy
Go to Entertainment
More in Entertainment
Box Set Club
Culture Of Kindness
Dolce & Gabbana Boycott Edinburgh Zoo Over 'Synthetic' Panda Insemination
Go to Comedy
More in Comedy
Pics & Giggles
Women Bare Breasts Online In Support Of Trolled Student
Do You Notice Homeless Women On The Streets? Here Are Their Stories...
What's It Really Like To Be A Woman In The British Armed Forces?
London's Best Fish And Chips
Parents Think Crisps Count As One Of Their Kid's Five-A-Day
Go to Lifestyle
More in Lifestyle
Dating & Relationships
Diet & Fitness
Swearing Isn't Ladylike... F*&K That
Putting the Sanctuary Back Into the Quiet Carriage
View all featured blog posts
Pics & Giggles
rss of this page
Roll Up, Roll Up! First Ever Edinburgh Restaurant Festival and Last Chance to See Ming Exhibit
Independence? Nah, Won't Happen, Says Yes Scotland Supporter Frankie Boyle
Ed Fringe: Six Days, 21 Shows
It's easy to find ways to occupy your time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - the world's largest arts festival. There are performances...
Tips for Attending The Edinburgh Festival
Sup. I am back from the Edinburgh Comedy Festival. (I am aware they do more than comedy, but frankly I have never seen a show there not...
And The Funniest Joke At This Year's Edinburgh Festival Is....
Comedian Tim Vine has won this year's Funniest Joke of the Edinburgh Fringe Award. His one-liner ""I’ve decided to sell my hoover......
Government Inspector at the Fringe
Incognito Theatre's production of Nikolai Gogol's Government Inspector at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a spectacular piece of theatre....
Have You Heard the One About Free Speech...?
On Wednesday 13 August 2014, I'll be giving a talk at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe about these and other related issues on the connection...
Brian Cox and Me
I'm placed next to Brain Cox and something inside me wilts because I know I am sitting next to a superior being and he will soon find out...
The Restless Quest for Satisfaction: Why the Edinburgh Festival Is Like Life
The other way to go is simply to live on your instincts. An overheard recommendation between friends in a bar or coffee shop, a chance...
The memories and the attachments from the last 2 years at Edinburgh festival are still ripe in my mind. To not be part of this for 2014...
Edinburgh, You Tart
God knows I've spent enough of my own money on presenting my show here this month. I daren't count how much. No doubt all comedians here...
Protesters Shut Down Israeli Hip-Hopera at the Edinburgh Fringe. I'm Not Sure How I feel About This.
Axis of Awesome
My thoughts on this have been very mixed. I too have very strong views on Israel's aggression towards Palestine. But I find myself questioning...
Red-Eyed Delights: Solo Flight of a Showgirl
Flying solo, in a commercial airplane of course, means one thing to me: handling a single point of failure... Tired, strung out on sleep...
It's fair to say I've never slept well. Decades of insomnia, night terrors, sleep walking, sleep talking, sleep apnoea, sleep paralysis...
Why Don't Journalists Ask Comedians Really Cool Questions?
Axis of Awesome
The worlds largest arts festival, The Edinburgh Fringe, is kicking off tomorrow and Benny, Lee and I are back for our sixth year with a...
Forgiving a Paedophile
The 2014 Edinburgh Festival is imminent. I am excited. My latest play, Fragile is being staged on the fringe. It is an autobiographical...
Watch James Corden And Tom Hanks Reenact All Hanks's Movies In 8 Minutes On 'The Late Late Show'
We're Loving Facebook's New Options For Hiding News Feed Posts You Don't Want To See
Warning: This Mash-Up Of 'Goodfellas' And 'Rainbow' May Ruin Your Childhood
These One-Star Amazon Reviews Of Nigel Farage's Book Are Priceless
Jeremy Clarkson Controversy: Now The Waiter Speaks Out
Meet Albert, The Cat Who Looks Permanently Angry
Please check the checkbox to indicate your consent
HuffPost Daily Brief
Get top stories and blog posts emailed to me each day..
View all RSS feeds
Make HuffPost your Home Page
About Our Ads
""The Huffington Post UK"" is provided by AOL (UK) Limited. © 2015 AOL (UK) Limited its affiliates and licensors",1258,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00252-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.722782790660858
61cb2473-618c-4387-b5ec-39f7e28e1920,2022-05-19T02:18:16+00:00,2021-12-22,1,https://global.foreignaffairs.co.nz/2021/12/22/mil-osi-russia-alexander-novak-took-part-in-the-jubilee-conference-on-the-occasion-of-the-75th-anniversary-of-the-launch-of-the-f-1-reactor/,"MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Today, Russia remains the recognized leader in the world nuclear energy, while by 2040 the share of nuclear generation in the Russian energy sector will increase to 25%, the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak took part in the jubilee conference at the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the launch of the first Soviet nuclear reactor F-1.
1946 was a landmark year for all Soviet and Russian science, the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
“75 years ago, the first nuclear reactor F-1 in Eurasia was launched under the leadership of the great Soviet scientist, one of the founders of atomic nuclear physics in the USSR, Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov. Today, the Russian nuclear industry reliably and successfully serves not only the energy sector and the introduction of new technologies, but also the country’s security, ”stressed Alexander Novak.
As the Deputy Prime Minister said, the work on the creation of the reactor was carried out in the most difficult military and post-war conditions. In an accelerated mode, it was necessary to ensure geological exploration and production of uranium, create a new metallurgy from scratch, and introduce many new unique technologies. “The launch of the reactor made it possible to solve several problems at once – to ensure the national security of the country, as well as create the basis for scientific progress in energy, medicine, technology and many other areas. In the future, on the basis of F-1, numerous scientific studies were carried out, new modern nuclear technologies were created for various directions, “he noted.
Today Russia remains the recognized leader in the world nuclear power industry. “Russia ranks first in the world in terms of the portfolio of orders for the construction of nuclear power plants: 35 power units in 12 countries are at different stages of implementation. This is 67% of the world market for overseas NPP construction. By 2040, the share of nuclear generation in the Russian energy sector will increase to 25%, ”added Alexander Novak.
He also noted that the development of nuclear energy is acquiring particular importance in the context of decarbonization. At the same time, Russia considers nuclear energy as an important factor in the formation of clean energy.
Alexander Novak recalled that in 2020 the comprehensive program “Development of equipment, technologies and research in the field of atomic energy use in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024” was approved. The project received additional budgetary funding in the amount of about 24 billion rubles, and it is also planned to allocate funds from the NWF. President Vladimir Putin decided to extend the program until 2030, the Deputy Prime Minister added.
Alexander Novak noted the main directions of the program, which provide, in particular, the creation of a modern experimental bench base for the development of technologies for two-component nuclear power with a closed nuclear fuel cycle, the development of technologies for controlled thermonuclear fusion, innovative plasma technologies, as well as new materials and technologies for promising energy systems. , design and construction of reference power units of nuclear power plants. “The introduction of closed fuel cycle technologies will make the resource base for the development of nuclear energy practically unlimited and will solve the problem of expensive storage of spent nuclear fuel. A separate important and new area is the program for the construction of small nuclear power plants, designed to radically increase the availability of nuclear energy, including in remote settlements. We expect that by 2030 the share of Russia in the world market for low-power NPPs will be 20%, ”the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the development of all these areas would be impossible without the education and support of new specialists in the nuclear industry. “Colleagues from the Kurchatov Institute are the best specialists in the industry. I am sure that when professionals of this scale get down to business, any projects are doomed to success, “added Alexander Novak.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.",861,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00205.warc.gz,0.943456530570984
1baf06f3-65c5-413d-adb0-2daa9cfd2cb3,2016-07-29T05:48:21+00:00,2016-07-29,0,http://www.battleofthevalley.com/login.php?request=/,"Transition is Complete. Game Open.
Battle of the Valley is an online RPG (Role Playing Game) unlike any other on the internet. BOTV is the FIRST adult themed, adult ONLY, text based RPG on the internet, opened in December 2006. The Game is now owned by SS Gaming.
Here you can meet new friends, chat in our in-game chat room, work out at the gym, get stronger, join a gang, compete in a war, beat the hell out of players, take their money, and generally cause hate and discontent. You know, all the things you cannot really do in real life but always wanted to!
So come on in, check it out, and interact with many Players from around the world.
Battle of the Valley is FREE to play and open to those over 18 years old ONLY.
Top 10 Players
Last 10 Online
Cuntly Glitter Bitch
Beautiful Nightmare *L5*
|© 2016 www.battleofthevalley.com under SS Gaming, LLC|",215,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00170-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.885591208934784
f0d7cabc-4e1d-403e-a113-7953dd8f2ba4,2015-04-01T17:56:59+00:00,2013-02-05,1,http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2013/0205/366295-ryanair-and-flybe-in-possible-route-transfer-deal/,"Ryanair and Flybe in possible route transfer dealTuesday 05 February 2013 15.51
Ryanair has agreed the possibility of transferring some of its routes and aircraft to UK based Flybe as it seeks to get approval from the European Commission for its bid for Aer Lingus.
In response to press speculation, Flybe issued a statement today.
It said that Ryanair had agreed ''in principle'' to create a new company, into which business assets, including cash of €100m, would be transferred and which Flybe would then acquire.
Media outlets yesterday said that Ryanair had offered Flybe €100m to take some Aer Lingus routes off its hands as the European Commission prepares to decide on its €694m offer for Aer Lingus.
In a statement this morning, Flybe said the agreement has not been approved by its board and it would also be subject to Flybe shareholder approval.
''The implementation of any agreement would be dependent, inter alia, on the status of Ryanair's offer for Aer Lingus; the outcome of the Commission's deliberations on the competition aspects of Ryanair's bid; and the agreement of a timetable for the implementation of the proposed remedies,'' the statement added.
Ryanair is making its third takeover attempt of Aer Lingus and needs to make concessions that would retain competition in air transport to and from Ireland.
Flybe is a UK based low cost regional airline group operating over 180 routes to 65 European airports.
Ryanair's January traffic shows decline
Meanwhile, Ryanair has said that monthly traffic fell by 50,000 last month when compared to figures from January 2012.
The airline said it had grounded up to 80 aircraft following a busy Christmas period, but still enjoyed record 12-month period to the end of January 2013.
It said almost 80 million passengers had flown on one of its routes during that time.",381,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00031-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.981143414974213
28e4ccde-a7ae-439d-9f14-5b72d5ab62e8,2017-08-21T13:41:50+00:00,2016-12-31,0,https://theupbeatsoul.wordpress.com/tag/celebration/,"celebrating life with this bundle of sweetness and joy // homemade jalebis
Jalebi is an Arabian sweet that is famous for its distinct spiral shape. • Jalebi is typically served as a ‘celebration sweet’ in India. • The oldest reference of jalebi was cited in 13th century in a cookbook written by Muhammad Bin Hasan from Iran.
What’s your favorite sweet? 🙂
© AвнιAятѕ 2016",101,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108709.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821133645-20170821153645-00662.warc.gz,0.950035035610199
6983306a-c0b5-48e5-bbe7-2674c52824a5,2013-05-20T21:59:49+00:00,2012-12-31,1,http://catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=48735,"Should Congress do away with $1 bills and replace them with $1 coins?
Some say measure would save taxpayers $4.4 billion over next 30 years
They're often referred to as ""wallet fillers"" - pesky $1 bills that take up space in wallets and purses that in the end, don't amount to that much. A heavy wallet is nothing to brag about if it's merely 30 $1 bills crammed together. To this end, Congress is considering doing away with the one dollar bill altogether and replacing them with dollar coins. Some say it could save taxpayers $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.
Philip Diehl, former director of the Mint, said there was a huge demand for the Sacagawea dollar coin when production began in 2001, but as time wore on, people stayed with what they knew best.
Lawmakers have since begun exploring new ways for the government to save money by changing the money itself. The Mint is preparing a report for Congress showing how changes in the metal content of coins could save money.
Fifty years ago, the U.S. made the last major metallurgical changes in coins when Congress directed the Mint to remove silver from dimes and quarters and to reduce its content in half dollar coins. Congress is currently looking at new changes in response to rising prices for copper and nickel.
At a House subcommittee hearing this week, officials examined two items: Moving to less expensive combinations of metals like steel, aluminum and zinc and gradually taking dollar bills out the economy and replacing them with coins.
The GAO's Lorelei St. James told the House Financial Services panel noted that it would take several years for the benefits of switching from paper bills to dollar coins to catch up with the cost of making the change. Equipment would have to be bought or overhauled and more coins would have to be produced upfront to replace bills as they are taken out of circulation.
The savings over the long run would begin to accrue, she said, largely because a $1 coin could stay in circulation for 30 years while paper bills have to be replaced every four or five years on average.
""We continue to believe that replacing the note with a coin is likely to provide a financial benefit to the government,"" St. James says. She adds that such a change would work only if the note was completely eliminated and the public educated about the benefits of the switch.
One dollar coins have traditionally proved to be unpopular. Philip Diehl, former director of the Mint, said there was a huge demand for the Sacagawea dollar coin when production began in 2001, but as time wore on, people stayed with what they knew best.
""We've never bitten the bullet to remove the $1 bill as every other Western economy has done,"" Diehl said. ""If you did, it would have the same success the Canadians have had.""
© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: One dollar bills, the Mint, one dollar coins, study
Rate This Article
Leave a Comment
More U.S. News
- Two Oklahoma men killed in tornadoes; Kansas, Iowa batten down for severe weather
- Supreme Court to decide if prayer before town meeting is permissible
- All survive terrifying plane 'belly landing' in Newark
- Nebraska Bishop: Gosnell clinic was 'reminiscent of Auschwitz'
- Why even if you lose, playing Powerball isn't such a bad bet after all
- Cheap cigarette outlets in U.S. may be funding terrorists
- Shocking report reveals 38 men, 33 women are raped each day in the military
- Father Frank Pavone: Houston Abortionist Killing Babies Born Alive
- Bill Donohue, Catholic League, Disclose Fight with the IRS, Demonstrate Courage
- Fr. Paul Schenck: Finding Living Faith on Catechetical Sunday
- The Movie Yellow: Incest as 'Normal' and Cassavates's Slides Into the World of Woes
- The Chicago School Teachers Strike Reveals the Need For School Choice
- The Sexual Barbarians and the Dissolution of Culture
- The Happy Priest Challenges Us to Ask: Who is Jesus to Me?
- Michael Coren on Canadian Public Schools: Teachers, leave those kids alone
- We Cannot Ignore Our Consciences: Cardinal Dolan On Religious Liberty
- In the Face of Danger, Successor of Peter Travels to Lebanon as a Messenger of Peace
- Reflections on the Dignity and Vocation of Women: Who or What?",1028,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948854029178619
1b81c294-d65f-4a03-88a6-227aacb215b0,2013-06-20T09:04:17+00:00,2011-05-11,0,http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=21315.php,"Behind the buzz and beyond the hype:
Our Nanowerk-exclusive feature articles
Posted: May 11, 2011
SPIONs enable effective delivery of Malaria DNA vaccine
(Nanowerk Spotlight) Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are emerging as promising candidates for various biomedical applications such as enhanced resolution imaging or targeted drug or gene delivery due to their biocompatibility, low cost of production, ability to immobilize biological materials on their surfaces, and potential for direct targeting using external magnets. Over the past few years, researchers demonstrated that magnetofection is an appropriate tool for rapid and specific gene transfection with low dose in vitro and site-specific in vivo applications.
In new work, scientists in Australia have now successfully demonstrated the use of magnetofection for the delivery of malaria DNA vaccine. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells. In 2008, there were a reported 247 million cases of malaria, which caused nearly one million deaths, mostly among African children (see WHO Fact Sheet on Malaria).
The team, led by Ross Coppel at Monash University, used magnetofection to enhance the delivery of a malaria DNA vaccine. The vectors the team used were composed of SPIONs and PEI polymer complexed under different pH conditions of 4.0 and 7.0.
""The procedure resulted in stable particles with a narrow size range in aqueous media, rendering them suitable for gene delivery systems,"" reports Coppel. ""SPIONs/PEI complexes produced at acidic conditions showed the best DNA binding and gene transfection efficiency compared to those generated under neutral pH, possibly due to the protonated structure of the branched polymer that entrapped and protected the DNA. The cellular uptake of SPIONs/PEI/DNA also increased dramatically with application of external magnetic field during the gene transfection process.""
TEM images of (A,B) as-synthesized SPIONs and (C,D) SPIONs/PEI (ratio = 10) at pH 4 displaying better dispersion (arrows indicating
layer of adsorbed PEI). (Reprinted with permission from American Chemical Society)
One target for growth-inhibitory antibody used in Malaria vaccine strategies is the membrane-associated 19 kDa COOH terminal fragment of merozoite surface protein (MSP119) that plays a crucial role in Plasmodium immunity, and is now a leading malaria vaccine candidate.
""The main concern for insufficient gene concentration on the target tissue for nonviral gene transfection is the insufficient accumulation of gene at the cell surface in vitro and targeting gene at the specific site in vivo,"" explains Coppel. ""Magnetofection can be used to accumulate the magnetic gene vector on the target tissue by applying an external magnetic field.""
In their experiments, under the influence of magnetic field on cells, SPIONs/PEI/DNA polyplexes showed noticeably higher transfection efficiency compared to the transfection without magnetic field",666,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.911893784999847
59ad60d5-fc3b-4256-868c-bd155072f8a2,2020-10-21T20:17:02+00:00,2019-11-25,1,https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20191125/news/191129373/,"Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has primary opposition
Under fire for her office's handling of the Jussie Smollett case, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx will have competition on the spring Democratic primary ballot as she seeks to return for her second four-year term.
Foxx and challenger Bill Conway, a former prosecutor, filed paperwork at the first opportunity Monday to get in the March 17 primary in Cook County. A third potential Democratic candidate for state's attorney, ex-prosecutor Donna More, did not file nominating petitions on the first day.
Former Cook County Circuit Judge Pat O'Brien and Christopher Pfannkuche, who have said they are Republican Cook County state's attorney candidates, also did not file Monday. Foxx beat Pfannkuche in the 2016 general election to become the county's top prosecutor. Candidates have until 5 p.m. next Monday to file petitions to run for office.
Candidates also are lining up to run for Cook County circuit court clerk. With Dorothy Brown having announced in August that she wouldn't seek reelection, four Democratic candidates submitted their paperwork Monday: lawyer Jacob Meister, state Sen. Iris Martinez, former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin and Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi.
In the state's attorney's race, Foxx addressed the Smollett case in a statement conceding that she ""didn't handle it well"" and is making changes in her office. The actor was accused of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself earlier this year in Chicago while shooting the television show ""Empire.""
""There are voices who oppose change,"" Foxx said. ""Those voices won't tell you that on my watch, we're prosecuting more violent crimes, not just low-level offenses. That gun prosecutions are up. That we're a national model for reform.""
Conway is a former Cook County assistant state's attorney now working as an adjunct professor in finance at DePaul University and running a family-driven investment fund focused on growth equity, venture capital and public market investments. He was deployed to Afghanistan and Qatar as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer.
He targeted Foxx with a statement in October after a Cook County judge declined to replace a special prosecutor looking into why her office abruptly dismissed charges against Smollett, rejecting concerns that campaign money could taint the findings.
Conway said Foxx cannot be counted on to prosecute politically connected individuals. He said that would not happen if he's elected state's attorney.
""For far too long, politics has ruled the Cook County state's attorney's office,"" Conway said.
The North Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police, representing about 30 departments, announced in April it has ""no confidence"" in Foxx's abilities as state's attorney.
However, Foxx campaign spokesman Peter Giangreco pointed to Illinois Democratic leaders who support her public safety and criminal justice initiatives, including U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Other filings Monday found keen Democratic primary interest in three seats for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The 10 candidates were incumbents Frank Avila, M. Cameron ""Cam"" Davis and Kimberly Neely Du Buclet, and challengers Patricia Theresa Flynn, Heather Boyle, Eira L. Corral Sepulveda, Michael G. Grace, Kim L. Dulaney, Mike Cashman and Eddie Ngozi Nwosu.
Democrats Tammy Wendt and Abdelnasser Rashid filed to get on the primary ballot for Cook County Board of Review, 1st District. Republican incumbent Dan Patlak of Wheeling also filed.",768,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107877420.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021180646-20201021210646-00068.warc.gz,0.963357329368591
761e2a4f-6b84-4ab4-bdab-0e9fa6d280b9,2018-08-20T15:26:20+00:00,2017-05-15,1,https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/costa-rica-officials-warn-growing-maritime-drug-trade-cocaine-surge/,"Security officials in Costa Rica say they are incapable of stopping transnational drug traffickers from using the country’s pristine beaches as stopover points for cocaine shipments headed to the United States, a development that’s likely linked to the surge in Colombia’s cocaine production.
Citing recent US and Costa Rican intelligence reports, La Nación reported on May 15 that no Costa Rican beach is totally free of drug trafficking. Costa Rica’s National Coast Guard Service identified 254 suspected drug boats last year, more than double the 125 reported in 2015.
The findings coincide with testimony given by Security Minister Gustavo Mata Vega before the Legislative Assembly in February.
“There does not exist a beach in Costa Rica where narcos haven’t penetrated a boat with cocaine, coming from Colombia,” Mata said.
The minister showed a satellite map of drug boats and planes that left from Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela in 2016 for different parts of Central America, including Costa Rica. The red lines in the map below represent maritime smuggling while the yellow lines signifiy aerial trafficking. Mata said Colombian intelligence officers provided his office with the map.
Source: La Nación
“The coast has 1,200 kilometers. We would have to have a boat for each kilometer in order to avoid [drug trafficking],” Coast Guard Director Martín Arias said recently.
But in reality the Coast Guard has far fewer resources at its disposal. The agency has just 300 officers and 70 boats, according to La Nación.
InSight Crime Analysis
The remarks by high-ranking security officials indicate Costa Rica is ill-equipped to contain the flow of cocaine reaching its shores. While this is likely due in part to the Coast Guard’s limited resources, it could also be a byproduct of the recent boom in Colombian cocaine production.
It’s possible that 200,000 hectares of coca were sown in Colombia last year, a potentially unprecedented figure that would mean the country may be producing as much as 1,360 metric tons of cocaine each year. Much of that cocaine passes through the Central American isthmus either by land or by boat before reaching the United States. Costa Rican anti-drug officials say the influx has inundated the country with cocaine.
SEE ALSO: Coverage of Costa Rica
“In one night we can receive information of up to 10 boats that leave with drugs,” said Cinthya Alvarado, head of the Coast Guard’s intelligence division. “They can belong to distinct [criminal] organizations. It’s like dropping a plague.”
The growth in drug trafficking activities in Costa Rica has been linked to rising violence, and there are indications that foreign criminal organizations are deepening their presence in the country. At the same time, there are serious questions about the government’s proposals to deal with these evolving dynamics.
The apparent effects of Colombia’s cocaine surge are already being felt in other parts of Central America, such as Guatemala and El Salvador, where seizure figures rose considerably last year, as well as in the United States, where usage is up after many years on the decline. The increase in seizures in Guatemala and Costa Rica were concentrated along the Pacific coast, a natural landing spot for drug boats leaving from Colombia.",678,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216475.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820140847-20180820160847-00339.warc.gz,0.939997971057892
30e3adaf-b5c9-48af-8b1c-56dbcd6b3416,2016-07-27T15:18:42+00:00,2016-06-01,1,http://www.socal-skylights.org/skylights.html,"SoCal Sky Lights!
Last updated on
June 1, 2016
If you want to know about rocket launches from
Vandenberg Air Force Base
they become just pretty contrails in the evening
sky, this is the place to be. before This page is continually being updated.
Your best bet is to
subscribe to the SkyLights
SpaceX has 2 different Falcon 9R launches scheduled in July 2016
(Subscribe to Vandenberg launch alerts via RSS)
Upcoming Launches Want to learn what rocket launches are impending?
Perseids Meteor Shower
The legacy of comet Swift-Tuttle gives us a natural fireworks viewing opportunity on mid-summer nights...
Iridium Flares A nifty communications satellite shows off its flash. Great for winning bar bets!
International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Information on viewing the International Space Station, and the Space Shuttle (when it is in orbit).
Delta Launch Info about Delta II missions.
On October 2, 1999, a test of a prospective National Missile Defense interceptor provided much of the U.S. West Coast with some spectacular views of a Minuteman II launch. Check here for photos, films, and viewing reports.
Vandenberg AFB Some background information on our closest launch facility...
Tour of Vandenberg AFB A report of my June, 1998 tour (with photos)
Subscribe! Get email alerts on impending events over SoCal skies
To join our mailing list, click
here and follow the instructions for ""Subscribing to Skylights"".",318,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00010-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.86110931634903
17ed27a7-0bd2-41e4-b078-b7e843a2e277,2022-05-25T18:49:51+00:00,2016-01-01,0,https://www.boardworld.com.au/articles/sam-reddog-neumann-full-part-2015-16,"Aussie rail slayer Sam “Reddog” Neumann just got back from a stint in Canada, having based himself at Whistler Blackcomb for the season. Sam is currently back in his hometown of Byron Bay, surfing daily before making the move back to Jindabyne for the Australian winter season. Sam recently added Modest to his growing list of sponsors, joining the likes of ThirtyTwo, YES. Snowboards, Celtek, and Afends. Sam is primed to be in dominating form at the rail contests again this season, with an endless supply of technical tricks and style to match. Keep your eyes peeled — 2016 is set to be the year of the Reddog.
Film: Marcus Aralius, Maurice Arevalo, Kyler Lang
Edit: Sam Neumann
Track: Dune Rats — Bullshit
Ads Served by the Boardworld Ad Network
It looks like you might be visiting BOARDWORLD from outside of Australia. Please note: we are an Australian store, and all orders will be charged in Australian Dollars (AUD). However, you can change the displayed prices to another international currency more relevant to you. Any displayed prices other than AUD are estimates only, based on current exchange rates. You will be charged in Australian Dollars at checkout.",263,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662593428.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525182604-20220525212604-00420.warc.gz,0.949934363365173
b33754ad-c0ce-4218-86ef-ce5100194770,2015-03-29T11:30:15+00:00,2007-08-31,0,http://www.imagekind.com/art/Bridge-Post_art_art?IMID=25ecfa95-d747-437d-8790-98b257d3ef01,"Style1½ inches thick (3.75 cm) Product Details Artist grade canvas, archival inks, wooden stretcher bars, and UVB protective coating
AvailablityUsually ships within five business days. ArtistAnn Yin CollectionGallery
Description Macro shot of a hand-built wooden bridge. The rugged ropes that tie the sun worn timber together exudes strength and yet leave you with the feeling of constraint, the need to break free. Photo taken in the Grapevine Gardens in Grapevine, TX on 01/2007.
Ann Yin, Texas Member Since August 2007 Artist Statement Ann Yin (me!) is a self taught artist, specializing in fun and bright folk & pop art. She loves working with acrylics and fabrics (check out my store!). She also loves long walks on the beach and short trips to outer space. Her love of all things cute and/or funny fuels her work, both on and off canvas. Her current motto? ""Smile. Giggle. Hug. Repeat."" You can kinda find out more about Ann on her MySpace page (myspace.com/ann_in_the_box) and website (karmabox.com). Yes, kinda. Despite all her incessant blabbing, she's still a mystery wrapped in an enigma, rolled up in a seaweed and sticky rice concoction. =^_^=",281,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00196-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.889798879623413
db4095e8-2005-4a46-8666-97fe750a513f,2015-03-28T05:27:45+00:00,2014-07-05,1,http://ncronline.org/news/peace-justice/editorial-why-wont-us-sign-land-mine-treaty,"Supporters of the first global arms treaty to emerge from civil society gathered last month in Maputo, Mozambique, to assess its progress. Their work should hearten peacemakers everywhere. It sends chills down the spines of military planners. Generals, it seems, don't like civilians telling them how to do their jobs.
Land mines are one of the most indiscriminate military devices. These inexpensive and mobile battle weapons came into their own in the industrialized 20th century. Soldiers buried tens of millions in fields across Cambodia, Laos, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Somalia and Angola, to name some countries. Wars end and soldiers return home, but mines stay, buried inches below the soil, awaiting victims. Recklessness, arrogance and a void of human compassion characterize the strategies that have laid these mines and left them behind.
Beyond the immediate human toll -- some 25,000 fatalities annually in the early 1990s -- land mines have thwarted development, burdened health care providers, and rendered vast tracts of land uninhabitable.
Outraged peace advocates decided they had had enough, and came together in 1993 in Ottawa, Ontario, to do something about it. Representatives from 1,400 nonprofit organizations gathered under the umbrella of a group called the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, drawing up the Ottawa Treaty, also known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention or the Mine Ban Treaty. The treaty called for the end to the development, stockpiling, transfer and use of land mines. It also required nations that signed on to clear land mines and assist victims.
The Ottawa Treaty would go into effect once it secured the ratification of 40 nation states. The movement caught fire, especially among the poorer nations, usually the ones whose citizens were taking the heaviest toll. The treaty became international law on March 1, 1999.
Never before had a group of ordinary people, working within nonprofit organizations, forced a treaty upon the nations of the world.
American Jody Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines were recognized for their efforts as co-recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.
From the outset, the largest manufacturers of land mines, including China, Russia and the United States, refused to sign. They have resisted even as 161 nations have added their support, more than double the number of early signers, which stood at 71. (The Vatican, for its part, was an early treaty supporter.)
Treaty representatives met in Maputo for its third international review. The mood was upbeat. Reports cited historic gains. Consider that in just 15 years, the treaty has led to a virtual halt in the global production of these weapons and a drastic reduction in their deployment. When the treaty was first imagined, land mines spotted fields in almost every corner of the earth. Since the treaty, some 47 million mines have been destroyed and mine clearance programs have spread. Reported mine fatalities, meanwhile, have fallen to fewer than 4,000 per year, a fraction of pre-treaty levels.
Major challenges remain, as more than 10 million land mines are stockpiled, massive areas of land are still polluted with the devices, and tens of thousands of victims and their families have not yet received adequate support. Nevertheless, the historic treaty represents a major advance for the human family.
It's shameful and a bit bewildering that the United States refuses to sign. The U.S. was an early leading advocate. President Bill Clinton called the land mine problem ""a global tragedy,"" saying, ""In all probability, land mines kill more children than soldiers, and they keep killing after wars are over.""
But he decided not to sign the treaty, reportedly under heavy pressure from the Pentagon, which did not want to give up that option. The Bush administration did nothing to advance the treaty.
In a sad and ironic twist, President Barack Obama announced the U.S. would not sign the land mine treaty just weeks after he joined the ranks of Nobel Peace Prize laureates in 2009. It apparently did not take long for Obama to buckle under the pressures of his military planners.
It also needs to be said, however, that while Washington has not signed, it has followed the treaty's key requirements, including its no-use, no-production and no-trade provisions. The last time the U.S. used land mines was in the first Gulf War in January 1991. The U.S. has also provided more funds than any other nation in efforts to clear land mine fields.
Speaking in Maputo in June, U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique Douglas Griffiths said the U.S. is pursuing solutions that would allow it to accede to the treaty, though it continues to reserve the right to use its current stockpile anywhere it feels it must until the mines expire. This was encouraging -- but far short of enough.
The question that needs to be asked is this: Are we, as a nation, incapable of renouncing weapons that kill mostly children and other innocent civilians?
The Pentagon cites the need to use land mines as a deterrent along the North and South Korea border. But does a nation that spends tens of billions annually on military procurements really have to depend on these weapons of war? Land-mine opponents say that the U.S. signing the treaty would substantially strengthen it. Why the resistance?
It seems plausible, as some treaty advocates have stated, that the treaty's unique evolution is viewed as a reason -- possibly the major reason -- that our military resists being part of it. The top brass fears that giving up land mines could encourage similar treaty efforts by human rights groups to seek bans on other controversial weapons. Land mines today, drones tomorrow?
Meanwhile, the treaty has already spawned at least one child. It's called the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty that prohibits the use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs, another indiscriminate explosive weapon that scatters bomblets over a wide area. The convention was adopted in May 2008, opened for signatures in December 2008, and entered into force in August 2010. As of September 2013, 108 states have signed.
And, oh, yes, Washington has refused to sign.",1258,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00183-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969437062740326
0dbdd418-d6d1-4cbc-8a6b-33df947289e8,2018-08-18T12:58:02+00:00,2015-07-28,1,https://calmatters.org/articles/california-climate-change-policy-overview/,"Nearly a decade ago, California policymakers, facing a frightening future of shriveling snow packs and rising seas, created the nation’s most aggressive program to combat global warming.
The 2006 law mandated broad reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Now, as the deadline approaches, Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers are intensifying their efforts. They are crafting emissions-reduction targets for 2030 and 2050 that will be far more difficult to meet. One bill seeks to slash petroleum use in vehicles to levels not seen since Lyndon Johnson’s presidency.
Yet as the debate continues, a number of questions remain unanswered. Among them: Will other states or nations follow California in pursuing deep emissions cuts? Will California be able to meet the new targets, and if so, how? What are the total costs and benefits of the programs? How much will the price of gasoline and electricity increase?
Here’s some of what we do know:
- The state has emerged as a global leader in fighting climate change, despite producing only about one percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. It has created a dizzying array of programs to cut pollution, from reducing the carbon content of motor fuels to capping emissions at large factories.
- The 2006 law, Assembly Bill 32, established a goal of cutting the state’s greenhouse gas emission to 1990 levels by 2020. To meet that goal, emissions need to fall by six percent between 2013 (the latest year for which figures are available) and 2020. Brown and other political leaders expect that to happen. However, emissions have fallen only slightly since 2009, when the recession ended.
- An executive order issued by Brown this spring would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. That will be much harder to achieve. Over the 10 years leading up to Brown’s deadline, emissions must fall up to seven times as fast as during the preceding decade. And emissions would have to fall another 40 percentage points by 2050 if a bill currently before the Assembly passes.
- Cutting emissions brings costs. To date, consumers in the state have seen an estimated three to five percent rise in electricity rates, and are paying about an extra dime per gallon of gasoline, due to specific climate-related programs. Going forward, a study by a San Francisco consulting group found that deep emissions cuts by 2030 could carry costs of up to $23 billion yearly. That figure could go higher by 2050, according to the group, which did not tally the health benefits of cleaner air or the climate benefits of lower emissions.
- Despite the pioneering policies, emissions have fallen more slowly in the state than in the rest of the nation. Greenhouse gas emissions in California dropped by 7 percent from their peak in 2004 to 2013, compared to 9 percent nationwide over the same period. Reducing emissions is harder here because the state’s economy is already relatively energy-frugal.
When AB 32 passed, establishing the nation’s first broad plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, environmentalists hoped the action would touch off a revolution. The target established by the law was ambitious, especially considering the continuing population and economic growth. It built on an earlier groundbreaking bill to reduce the greenhouse gases in car exhaust.
“We realized under AB 32 and the car bill, we’re not just talking about polar bears and arctic ice caps but this was real impacts to California,” said Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, an author of both bills. Melting mountain snows, rising seas, and poor health resulting from warmer temperatures — all resonated with Californians, she said.
At a signing ceremony for AB 32 on San Francisco’s Treasure Island, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger predicted that major nations like Mexico, Brazil, China and India would join the fight against climate change. So would the federal government.
“Trust me,” Schwarzenegger said to applause, as international flags fluttered behind him in the breeze. “I am convinced of that, that this will happen, because nothing is more important than protecting our planet.”
Change did not come as swiftly as Pavley and Schwarzenegger had hoped. Democrats and some Republicans in Congress tried to pass a bill that would cap greenhouse gas emissions nationally, but it failed. Pavley’s effort to clean up cars’ tailpipes did eventually become the basis of a national policy. But federal rules on climate change still lack the breadth of California’s. Nations like China and Brazil have also moved slowly, at least until recently.
But the state has forged ahead, still hoping to sow inspiration beyond its borders. To stop climate change, the whole world — not just California — must participate. As Brown travels to the Vatican this week and to a major United Nations climate change summit in Paris in December, he will surely argue that if one of the world’s largest economies can slash emissions, others can too.
A kaleidoscope of programs has arisen to accelerate California’s shift to a clean economy. The broadest and perhaps most controversial of these is a cap-and-trade policy, which subjects the state’s most-polluting companies to a cap on their greenhouse gas emissions and allows them to trade credits to pollute. The California Chamber of Commerce has challenged the legality of a key feature of the program. The state has prevailed so far, but the lawsuit is working its way through an appeal.
Other policies for cutting greenhouse gas emissions include a requirement for most electricity providers to get 33 percent of their energy from renewable source, such as wind farms and solar arrays by 2020, and a low-carbon fuel standard that requires producers of fuels like gasoline and diesel to make their products 10 percent less carbon-intensive by 2020.
Many other programs also exist, including goals making buildings more energy efficient, increasing the number of electric vehicles and maximizing the use of public transportation.
These rules, arcane and complex, remain largely invisible to Californians. But they result in slightly increased prices, notably at the gas pump, where economists say the cap-and-trade program has added roughly a dime to each gallon since the beginning of this year. Electric bills are also rising. The state’s Public Utilities Commission estimates that electric power rates have increased by three to five percent due to the renewable energy requirements.
“I wish we could mark on a nice spreadsheet the incremental cost for every regulation,” said Tupper Hull, vice-president of the Western States Petroleum Association.
It is difficult to find companies that have left the state specifically because of climate policies, as opposed to California’s broad basket of regulations. But industry groups and their advocates predict this will happen in the future, as policies grow stricter.
“Energy cost in the state will necessarily rise, and that will create challenges for retaining employment,” said Robert Wyman, Jr., a Los Angeles-based partner at the firm Latham & Watkins, who represents many business clients. He argues that California’s system of interlocking policies has made compliance more expensive than it would be under a single, market-oriented system, like cap-and-trade.
California officials do not know how much their climate rules have cost or saved. The Air Resources Board, the state regulatory body that oversees the greenhouse gas reductions, stated in a key document last year that the law’s impact on economic growth remains unknown. Some years earlier, a knot of studies estimated that California’s gross state product could see anywhere from a 1 percent gain to a 2.2 percent decline as a result of AB 32. The models differed in their assumptions, such as how they forecast the pace of technological change.
Proponents of AB 32 say that in addition to cleaning the air, the law has contributed to a vibrant clean-energy industry that is innovating with startling speed. A survey released in December by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute, an environmental organization co-founded by the billionaire and clean-energy activist Tom Steyer, found that employment in the state’s clean-energy sectors like solar and wind, along with nuclear and natural gas electricity generation, rose by five percent over the prior year. Another recent study, funded by the environmental innovation nonprofit Next 10, argues that using less gasoline (as electric and hybrid cars make possible) should free up spending and create jobs.
Mary Nichols, chair of the Air Resources Board, noted in an interview that jobs and investment are increasing in California. “We look at that happening at the same time that the cap and trade program has been in effect and we say, “‘What’s the problem?’” she said.
The long-term future of California’s greenhouse gas programs lies in two bills that have passed the state Senate and are being evaluated this summer by the Assembly.
Senate Bill 350 aims at three pieces of the energy puzzle — petroleum, electricity and buildings. It seeks to cut petroleum use in motor vehicles by 50 percent (a very difficult target, analysts agree), boost electric utilities’ reliance on renewable energy to 50 percent, and double the energy efficiency in buildings – all by the year 2030.
Senate Bill 32 would require the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by mid-century. It would codify into law an executive order issued by Schwarzenegger, a step that helps ensure that the goal is binding. The long-term targets are drawn from international climate science: If large nations cut their emissions that sharply, scientists believe it can limit the world’s warming.
What programs California will use to meet these tougher targets remains uncertain, though Democratic political leaders stress that they will bring more green jobs to the state and reduce unhealthy air pollution.
“Unless we do something, our economy will be severely damaged,” said state Senate leader Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, who co-authored SB 350. “The public health of our children will be severely impaired.”
An illuminating view came from a study this spring by Energy and Environmental Economics (E3), a San Francisco-based consulting group hired by the state to evaluate future greenhouse gas reductions. To reduce emissions by 26 to 38 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 — a level not quite as ambitious as the 40 percent reduction recently ordered by Brown — the group forecast a range of results, from savings of $8 billion to costs of $23 billion per year. (E3’s projections are in 2012 dollars.) A cut of 33 percent by 2030 could cost about $50 per Californian per year, the study found.
To meet those future goals, the model incorporated some technologies only minimally in use today, such as increased reliance on renewable diesel, according to Amber Mahone, director of climate policy analysis at E3. It also assumed that new or expanded regulations would be needed. For example, the analysis factored in more capture of the potent greenhouse gas methane from manure at California’s dairy farms, a sector that, for now, largely falls outside mandatory regulations.
The impact of reaching the tougher targets of slashing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels, the E3 study found, could range from a savings of around $15 billion to costs of almost $100 billion yearly, under a scenario in which emissions fall at a steady rate. This projection is highly uncertain, Mahone emphasized.
On the human level, modeling by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, an analysis firm, found that the cap-and-trade program could raise gasoline prices by 22 cents a gallon by 2025, though there is an outside chance of prices increasing by as much as 50 cents a gallon, according to Colleen Regan, a senior analyst with the firm for North American power and environmental markets. However, Californians should need less gas as cars become more fuel-efficient or electric.
Many of these numbers are hazy predictions. What is clear is that meeting long-term targets will be difficult.
In the words of a state plan on climate change released last year, “Progressing toward California’s long-term climate goals will require that greenhouse gas reduction rates be significantly accelerated.”
Not only must the emissions reductions come faster in the future, but the reductions may also be harder. That is evident already. California has not been able to bring down its greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as the nation in recent years, as a comparison between state and federal inventories shows. Indeed, the data hint at difficulties ahead. Gasoline sales are ticking up. Emissions have been largely flat since falling steeply in 2008-9 as the recession hit, though state officials and outside analysts expect that future reductions, brought about by programs just starting to have an impact, will be sufficient to meet or exceed the 2020 goals.
“On greenhouse gas emissions, California has always been an A student,” said Ashley Lawson, a senior carbon analyst at Thomson Reuters. “So to perform any better, you have to work really, really hard to go from an A to an A plus.” The rest of the country, which is replacing coal-fired power plants with less-polluting natural gas plants, “was able to go from a C to a B, with almost no effort at all,” she said.
Critics like the Chamber of Commerce say that the drastic emissions measures planned for the future could harm the economy and take away jobs. Supporters counter that past sky-is-falling projections have not come to pass, and that technological innovation is speeding up.
When Schwarzenegger signed AB 32, above the howls of industry groups, electric cars had barely begun to hit the roadways, and a rooftop’s worth of solar panels cost more than a year at a private college. Prices have fallen rapidly since then, and California is getting cleaner.
The question for the future is whether it can get clean enough.",2853,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213666.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818114957-20180818134957-00040.warc.gz,0.953589498996735
27f62b7a-05d6-43b5-a956-d58652efa6ce,2017-08-18T22:03:44+00:00,2013-06-07,0,https://simplelifeadventure.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/oaks-bottom/,"A little down south and up river, is a patch of wilderness in the city. A marsh fills the middle, with all varieties of birds congregating along the edges among the rushes. A paved bike trail skirts along the river side while a gravel and dirt path meanders through the narrow band of forest between marsh and residential yards.
Here’s some pictures we took while walking through the park.
At the south end of the park is a ball field with picnic tables and such. It was a good place to let the dog run around, and obviously it turned out to be a good place for Seth to catch a nap.",128,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105187.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818213959-20170818233959-00144.warc.gz,0.968136787414551
5c2370de-91b8-48c1-b86c-517e4f36beba,2015-03-30T02:18:59+00:00,2013-07-01,0,http://www.myfwc.com/news/news-releases/2013/july/01/outta-july/,"Join the FWC’s Dove Club program
Outta' the Woods
Monday, July 01, 2013
Media contact: Tony Young, 850-488-7867
To me, the best part about hunting is not harvesting game – but spending quality time outdoors with friends and family. One of the best ways to do that is through dove hunting, which is part of the reason why great dove hunts are in such high demand but often difficult to find.
To help people find one of these hunts and for other reasons, the FWC created its Special-Opportunity Dove Club Program. It offers hunters the chance of experiencing exceptional dove hunting on the state’s best public dove fields.
Dove Club permits enable one adult and one youth (under age 16) to hunt all scheduled dates for the dove field of their choice. Permits cost $150 and enable both hunters to take a daily bag limit of birds. There are eight hunts on all these fields except Caravelle Ranch; it has six. All hunts are from noon until sunset and take place on Saturdays, starting Oct. 5 and ending Jan. 11.
Last year, 2,841 birds were harvested from six fields. This coming season, there will be six special-opportunity dove fields again scattered throughout the state.
Frog Pond North Public Small-Game Hunting Area (PSGHA) in Miami-Dade County was the top producer last year with 930 birds taken! Fifteen Dove Club permits are available to hunt its 50 acres.
Koon Farm dove field in Lafayette County came in second last year with 561 birds harvested off its 40 acres. There will be 13 Dove Club permits available to hunt there next season.
The dove field on Hilochee Wildlife Management Area, in Lake County, has 15 Dove Club permits available to hunt its 58 acres. Hunters there last season took 424 doves.
Hunters harvested 384 birds from Allapattah Flats PSGHA in Martin County, east of Lake Okeechobee. Thirteen Dove Club permits are available for the 40-acre field.
North Newberry PSGHA, in Alachua County, has 15 Dove Club permits on its 40 acres. That field produced 317 birds last year.
The remaining field, Caravelle Ranch in Putnam County, has a 140-acre dove field with 30 Dove Club permits available. Last season, 225 doves were harvested there from just the six-day hunt.
Dove Club permits will be issued by random drawing during Phase I. That application period runs through July 17.
After obtaining the correct application worksheet by going to MyFWC.com/License and clicking on “Limited Entry/Quota Hunts,” you can apply for these season passes by filling out a single worksheet (with up to five dove field choices) and turning it in at any county tax collector’s office, license agent or by going online to License.MyFWC.com. During Phase I, hunters may be awarded a permit for only one dove field.
If you are successful in getting drawn, you must pick up and pay for your Dove Club permit at any of the same places mentioned above by Aug. 7. Check for drawing results the fourth week of July by logging in to your customer account at License.MyFWC.com. Any applicant who provides an email address will be notified by the FWC if drawn as well.
Brochures on each of these areas are available online at MyFWC.com/Dove. Also at that Web address, beginning in late September, hunters will be able to find the most up-to-date information on these six special-opportunity dove fields, as well as Florida’s other public dove fields. The website is updated every Thursday throughout dove season. Information includes dove densities, previous weeks’ harvests and field conditions.
So if you’d like to join the FWC’s Dove Club, you need to try to do so in July. Remember to introduce someone new to hunting when you can. As always, have fun, hunt safely and ethically, and we’ll see you in the woods!",871,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298889.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00002-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952766597270966
60bb82a7-ff8b-44f2-b65d-67f442862b03,2017-08-19T06:14:54+00:00,2017-08-19,1,http://www.medindia.net/news/researchers-hope-to-develop-artificial-teeth-with-the-help-of-a-new-shrinking-gel-132989-1.htm,"Researchers at SEAS led by Ingber and Basma Hashmi are hoping to develop artificial teeth by making use of a tissue friendly material which can allow a porous sponge-like gel to be impregnated with mesenchymal cells that shrinks in 3D to physically compact the cells inside it.
To develop such a material, Ingber and Hashmi teamed up with researchers led by Joanna Aizenberg, Ph.D., a Wyss Institute Core Faculty member who leads the Institute's Adaptive Materials Technologies platform. Aizenberg is the Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at SEAS and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University.
They chemically modified a special gel-forming polymer called PNIPAAm that scientists have used to deliver drugs to the body's tissues. PNIPAAm gels have an unusual property: they contract abruptly when they warm.
But they do this at a lukewarm temperature, whereas the researchers wanted them to shrink specifically at 37°C — body temperature — so that they'd squeeze their contents as soon as they were injected into the body. Hashmi worked with Lauren Zarzar, Ph.D., a former SEAS graduate student who's now a postdoctoral associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for more than a year, modifying PNIPAAm and testing the resulting materials. Ultimately, they developed a polymer that forms a tissue-friendly gel with two key properties: cells stick to it, and it compresses abruptly when warmed to body temperature.
As an initial test, Hashmi implanted mesenchymal cells in the gel and warmed it in the lab. Sure enough, when the temperature reached 37°C, the gel shrank within 15 minutes, causing the cells inside the gel to round up, shrink, and pack tightly together.
""The reason that's cool is that the cells are alive,"" Hashmi said. ""Usually when this happens, cells are dead or dying.""
Not only were they alive -- they activated three genes that drive tooth formation.
To see if the shrinking gel also worked its magic in the body, Hashmi worked with Mammoto to load mesenchymal cells into the gel, then implant the gel beneath the mouse kidney capsule — a tissue that is well supplied with blood and often used for transplantation experiments.
The implanted cells not only expressed tooth-development genes — they laid down calcium and minerals, just as mesenchymal cells do in the body as they begin to form teeth.
""They were in full-throttle tooth-development mode,"" Hashmi said.
In the embryo, mesenchymal cells can't build teeth alone — they need to be combined with cells that form the epithelium. In the future, the scientists plan to test whether the shrinking gel can stimulate both tissues to generate an entire functional tooth.",584,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105304.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819051034-20170819071034-00260.warc.gz,0.949219346046448
0586aaba-fe4d-4d04-851e-85b29bda7884,2019-08-25T22:23:22+00:00,2017-12-31,1,https://austincoppock.com/astrology-of-2018-lay-land/,"2018 is a year of beginnings, although many of them may look like endings. We are introduced to dynamics which will take us well into the next decade, yet also reek of the past. It is our first of several years in a place where the past and future overlap to an unsettling degree, the historical version of the lands which souls journey between death and life again. It is lost Lemuria, sunken Atlantis, the Egyptian Duat, the Tibetan Bardo. Like all of these spaces, it floats between, somewhere across the waters.
We thus enter 2018 as we would a vast, unknown continent. There is much to explore, much to remember and much to learn. Yet one thing can be certain at the outset — this land is haunted. It swarms with the ghosts of the past. Some are eager to help us, desperate to pass on knowledge that would otherwise be forgotten. Others followed us here the way parasites follow hosts.
Phantom cities dot the landscape. Some are afterimages of golden ages fondly remembered, while others are the nightmare dystopias we carry in our hearts like shrapnel. We see not only the dead in this land, but also images of our past selves, their activities haloed with both nostalgia and regret. Yet some of those selves are unfamiliar. These are the shades of future-selves, echoing backward into our time. They whisper to us of the worlds they inhabit, eager to tell their stories. Each of these tales is a pathway through this land, and to the many and clashing futures which lie beyond it. Some are stories of dull ruin and tyranny, of failures personal and collective, but there are also heroic sagas which tell proudly of how we set aside childish things, banded together, and made good.
These happy endings and tragedies play out before us, blending into the visions of golden and leaden ages past and to come. These visions and ghosts come and go like the weather across our new land. Like storms or particularly beautiful days, they distract us from the labor at hand. And there is much to do. The place we’ve found ourselves is stony and sometimes forbidding. It is not cruel, but neither is it kind. Its yields are almost perfectly proportional to the effort and intelligence invested. In some ways it is a fair place, but the notable lack of mercy can make it seem harsh. We will be here for a while. For years. For now, it is best we try to work to make ite liveable, to direct our efforts toward stone and soil. Yet before we build and plant, we must walk the land, and take its measure.
A Three-Part Exploration
We will begin our exploration of 2018 by looking at it as a whole, beginning with where it fits into the historical sequence. Part I will thus be an exploration of larger themes. In Part II, we will pace the quarters of the year, locating and discussing 2018’s most important configurations. Finally, Part III is comprised of some reflection on the nature of the year, a bit of advice and a substantial rant.
PART I: The Triplicity Cycle
The largest context for 2018 is its position in the 200+ year Jupiter-Saturn cycle, which comes to a definite conclusion at the end of 2020. As I wrote of this previously:
The Jupiter-Saturn cycle is one of astrology’s longest used and most reliable yardsticks for measuring history. The two planets conjoin every 20 years, providing a tool for examining history in two decade increments. But these 20 year cycles themselves form a larger pattern. For approximately 200 years at a time, the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions occur in signs of the same element. This gives us 200 years of Fire, Earth, Air, and then Water. The Jupiter-Saturn cycle thus offers us not only the ability to study history in 20 year arcs, but also to look at the larger spans of history enclosed by the 200 year periods.
The two planets have been making conjunctions in Earth signs since the early 19th century, enclosing and timing the waves of industrial revolution and overseeing the transformation of our relationship to the material world that’s taken place since then. The next Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, which occurs during the last days of 2020, will be in Aquarius, an Air sign. This conjunction will begin another 200 year cycle of conjunctions in Air signs, thus bringing an end to over two centuries of meeting under the auspices of Earth.
It is worth noting that there are two methods of calculating when the Jupiter-Saturn cycle shifts from one element to another, the apparent and the mean conjunctions. By the mean cycle, which is a mathematical idealization, we entered the Air cycle in the year 2000. It is the apparent conjunction, actually visible in the sky, which shifts us unequivocally into the Air cycle in 2020. Since 2000, we have been in an unusual period where the mean and apparent cycles clash, a fact which nicely illustrates the dissonant nature of our current times.
It thus plays a complicated requiem for a pair of centuries which brought us both miraculous physical technologies and the most devastating, traumatic wars ever fought.
The countdown to the end of this cycle began in earnest with the movement of Saturn into Capricorn on December 19th, 2017. 2018 is thus, in a sense, quite literally “the beginning of the end.”
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto
The next bit of longer term thinking we need to do about 2018 concerns the movement of Uranus into Taurus. Uranus spends approximately 7 years in each sign, and so speaks to underlying trends of that duration. We will deal what those will look like in a later section. For now, it is Uranus’ relationship with the other slower-moving bodies, Neptune and Pluto, which concerns us.
With Uranus’ movement into Taurus this year, we get our first taste of an outer-planet arrangement which we’ll live within until the middle of the next decade. Uranus will be in Taurus, Neptune in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn until 2025, when all three change signs. There is a rare synchronization between their cycles in 2025 — they all change in the same year, a most unusual thing. Not only will Uranus, Neptune and Pluto remain in the same signs until 2025, they will all be in signs of a yin or passive quality, and then enter signs of a yang or active quality. As the slow-moving outers all speak to longer-wave historical currents, that set of 3 ingresses in one year signals a massive shift, effectively and deeply dividing the 2020’s into two very different sections.
It will thus be Uranus in Taurus, Neptune in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn which will accompany us across the threshold of 2020, effectively bridging the end-times of the two-century Earth cycle and the early days of the Air one. As always, the longer the trend, the smarter it is to understand and adapt early.
Saturn in Capricorn
The most important single factor in understanding 2018 is, without a doubt, Saturn’s presence in Capricorn. The ingress into Capricorn called an end to the frantic dumpster-fire of Saturn in Sagittarius (2015-2017), and initiated a new trio of years with a significantly colder and more thoughtful quality. In Capricorn, Saturn builds mighty fortifications, comes down hard on the unrepentant, and teaches of secrets thought lost to dusty tombs. Patience, hard work and thoughtful planning are all rewarded by the leaden planet in the Goat’s sign. See my lengthy article, “Saturn in Capricorn” for an in-depth exploration of these themes.
Jupiter in Scorpio
Jupiter will be in tropical Scorpio for the overwhelming majority of 2018. Although the big planet abandons the scorpion for the archer in mid-November, Jupiter in Scorpio will contribute generously to 2018’s themes. In Scorpio, Jupiter blesses bold journeys into the underworld, gives us the bravery to examine ugly truths, and teaches the methods by which the shadow-self might be claimed and integrated. For more detail, please refer to “Jupiter in Scorpio.”
The Eclipse Cycle
2018 continues the same cycle of Eclipses in Leo and Aquarius which dominated last year. While 2017’s big Eclipse moment was the Great American Eclipse in August, 2018’s is late July’s total Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius, which will be tightly conjoined a retrograde Mars. That total Lunar Eclipse will be visible over much of Eurasia, loosely centered over the region of the Persian Gulf.
Mercury retrograde: Fire Cycle
2018’s Mercury retrogrades occur primarily in Fire signs. The first occurs between March 23rd and April 10th in Aries, the second occurs August 1st through the 21st in Leo, and the third, which takes place November 34th through December 10th, begins in Sagittarius, but backs into Scorpio, where it will station direct.
This is not much of a shift from 2017’s Mercury retrogrades, which also occurred primarily in Fire signs. We can therefore expect the same, brief firestoms of hype and outrage to accompany 2018’s Mercury retrograde periods.
Another method we can use to understand the year as a whole is its elemental proportions. While 2017 was overwhelmingly fiery, the omens surrounding 2018 are of a more mixed quality, though tending towards the earthy.
Saturn, along with Pluto, will be in Capricorn, an Earth sign, for the entirety of the year. Having entered the Goat’s sign less than two weeks before 2018 began, Saturn will no doubt be eager to introduce itself. Additionally, slow-moving Uranus makes its first ingress into earthy Taurus in May 2018, although this initial 6-month foray is followed by a November retrogression back into fiery Aries.
The traditional Chinese calendar sees most of 2018 as being earthy in quality, as well. Specifically, it is the year of the Earth Dog, also called the “Yellow Dog” or “Mountain Dog.” Although not as overwhelmingly terrestrial as 2017 was fiery, we would be foolish to ignore the presence of three outer planets (Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto) in Earth signs, as well as the elemental opinion of the traditional Chinese calendar.
The fire dominated years of 2016 and 2017 brought spectacles of outrage and bonfires of inspiration, and set a restless, athletic pace. Earth, on the other hand, is decidedly less manic than fire. It is also considerably heavier. While the fiery years saw a non-stop conflagration of rhetoric and reaction, the earthier years yet to come are less prone to catastrophizing. Yet as earth is weighty, so too will likely be the events which occur. 2018 and 2019 will challenge us with actualized facts and events, rather than fantasies and visions imagined in flame. Its pacing will be slower, though punctuated with a few fast and furious moments, and its developments more concrete.
Part II: Walking The Quarters
The first quarter of 2018, comprised of January, February and March, is the least dramatic. Although things ramp up significantly during the second half of March, the first portion of the year is comparatively sedate, giving us enough time to get a good head start on 2018.
A Serving of Shadow
The first event of note during Q1 is pair of Eclipses. A total Lunar Eclipse in Leo arrives on January 31st, followed by a partial Solar Eclipse on February 15th. This pair churns up the surrounding weeks, giving them unusual depth. Eclipses make space for latent changes to rise to the surface, sometimes with surprising speed. Although this first set of Eclipses will inevitably be dramatic for some individuals, there is nothing particularly daunting or malefic about this particular set of shadows.
Angry and Confused
After the Eclipse, things hum along rather nicely until the second half of March. On March 17th, Mars joins Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, making for a rather intimidating gang. As this period of copresence occurs primarily during Q2, we will deal with it in the next section. Shortly thereafter, on March 22nd, Mercury stations retrograde in Aries. Mercury’s retrograde ties in very neatly with the rough Mars-Saturn copresence, and will make for harsh words, unpleasant moments, and rough struggles.
Both Mars’ time with Saturn and Pluto, as well as Mercury’s retrograde carry us from the relative ease of the Q1 into a significantly more challenging Q2.
The second quarter of 2018 is divided, rather neatly, into two. The first half is dominated by Mars’ copresence with Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, while the second focuses on the ingress of Uranus into Taurus. Though Uranus’ ingress may bring with it some unwelcome surprises, there will also be some happy reversals, making it much more generally favorable than the first half, dominated by the Mars-Saturn-Pluto configuration.
A Gang of Toughs
From March 17th and until May 15th, Mars will be in Capricorn. This is important in and of itself, as Capricorn is the only sign in which Mars is exalted, but there is quite a bit more to it. This year, Mars will find both Saturn and Pluto waiting in Capricorn.
In traditional astrology, Mars and Saturn are the two “malefics,” meaning that they preside over various forms of difficulty, impediment and adversity. Mars is the hot malefic, and rules over adrenalized crisis moments, and Saturn is the cold malefic, and speaks to the challenges of deprivation and ordeals of endurance. The two planets are not considered to be terribly friendly with one another, though they can both agree on giving the human a hard time.
The periods where they share the same sign (“copresence”) sees them join their power, often generating extremely difficult or unpleasant situations and states. The last time they were together was in Sagittarius from March-May and August-September of 2016. The time before that, in August 2014, when they were copresent in Scorpio, the largest-ever Ebola outbreak took place while ISIL made massive territorial gains, the virus serving as an apt metaphor for the grotesque organization.
Although unpleasant, these periods of copresence are not at all common, comprising on average, a month and a half out of every 27 months, or a little less than every two years. The Mars-Saturn copresence this year is unusual for a number of reasons. First, it occurs in the sign of Capricorn. Capricorn is the only sign in which both Mars and Saturn are both considered to be extremely potent. Capricorn is Mars’s exaltation, and the sign which Saturn rules. Mars and Saturn only share Capricorn either once or twice every 30 years. The second factor which makes this March-May copresence rare is that Pluto will also be Capricorn. While Pluto was discovered too recently for traditional astrology to have any opinions about it, it falls quite comfortably within the confines of the “malefic” category. Thus we have 3 very potent malefics all cohabitating in the same sign for a substantial amount of time this year.
Some notable difficulties will certainly befall individuals and peoples during this period. Yet it is not wholly negative, nor without value. Mars and Saturn together support fierce, powerful action, and there are projects which require this sort of merciless intensity. This period of co-presence, if approached correctly, presents us with an opportunity to dedicate ourselves to the accomplishment of outrageously difficult tasks. Mars-Saturn-Pluto together generate a destructive power, but if that potency is pointed in the right direction, it can accomplish great things. The net result of negating a negative is positive. An obstacle destroyed leaves behind a clear pathway. Instead of waiting for the challenge to pick you during 2018’s second qaurter, you may want to decide upon an alchemical ordeal of your own design.
Although this period of copresence ends on May 15th, when Mars enters Aquarius, Mars’ third quarter retrograde will bring the red planet back into Capricorn in mid-August. There will thus be another period of copresence between August 12th and September 10th, meaning there will be something about the events and experiences of this period, especially the May portion, which we will return to later in the year.
Uranus Enters Taurus
On May 15th, the same day that Mars exits Capricorn, Uranus enters Taurus. This ingress is one 2018’s most important changes. Just as slow-moving Saturn’s December entrance into Capricorn signaled a lasting change, so too does Uranus’ ingress into the Bull’s sign.
Uranus is approximately three times slower than Saturn, and spends roughly 7 years in a sign. Uranus has been in fiery Aries since 2011. Shortly after the ingress that year, Uranus touched off a spate of revolutions and protest movements. In Mars-ruled Aries, Uranus not only brought belligerent resistance and revolution, but also the next wave of military technology. The era of the drone war is now well underway, and the chaos which followed revolution has become the norm.
In Taurus, Uranus’s interests turns toward physical things, intent on both disrupting and supercharging them. This will no doubt include the ongoing cryptocurrency drama, 3-D printing technology, artificial intelligence, and the integration of digital systems with physical objects. New technology is a relatively safe place for Uranus’ disruptive and experimental impact. Unfortunately, Uranus’ time in Taurus also points the planet’s lightning bolts at things less happy to be interfered with. This is, in fact, one of the chief incongruences between Uranus and Taurus. Whether Uranus disrupts or upgrades, it always seeks to change. Taurus, on the other hand, is the Fixed Earth sign, meaning it thrives on stability and regularity, moreso than any other. Thus the Bull’s pasture is unlikely to receive change-mad Uranus with open arms. Some of the inevitable changes will be repressed, as denizens of the pasture try to contain or minimize disruptions. This strategy is unlikely to work, as not only does it delay the inevitable, it often worsens it. When the tension between tectonic plates is dispersed regularly through small quakes, there is a minimum of destruction. It is when that tension cannot be released that a big quake builds up. There is a lesson there for handling Uranus in Taurus, especially for those born to the Bull.
Uranus’ time in Taurus targets commodities and materials, and will likely oversee much more volatile markets for both. One of Venus-ruled Taurus’ crucial but less concrete significations is value. Although “values” are often spoke of in a psychological context, they are also the very real prices assigned to goods and services. During Uranus’ time in Taurus, we can expect a volatization of values on both a cultural and economic level.
Uranus enters Taurus on May 2018, but it is due to retrograde back into Aries in November. This type of tentative ingress is not unusual for the slower planets. The 6-months of Uranus’ time in Taurus this year will thus serve as a “teaser” for the themes and events which will comprise the planet’s 7-year residence in the sign.
Just as this is the first year of Saturn’s time in Capricorn, this is the first year of Uranus’ time in Taurus. Sometimes the planets are shy to re-introduce themselves after having entered a new sign, but not this year. Uranus’ time in Taurus during 2018 is configured strongly to both the Mars and Venus retrogrades which dominate Q3 and Q4. This puts Uranus in Taurus at the center of two of the year’s biggest configurations, and suggests that our introduction to this next chapter will not be subtle. This is, in its own way, quite helpful, as the earlier we become acquainted with the new patterns, the more readily we can adapt to them.
The third quarter of 2018 is easily the most challenging. Mars goes retrograde just before the quarter begins, and will remain so until the end of August. Meanwhile, difficult New and Full Moons lead up to a dramatic total Lunar Eclipse at the end of July. Mercury’s retrograde, which occurs from July 25th-August 18th, encloses both Eclipses, contributing a bit of chaos to an already difficult period. All of this does not an easy quarter make.
Mars Retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn
Mars’ retrograde, which runs from June 26th until August 27th, dominates the 3rd quarter of 2018. Mars’ retrograde periods are not unlike “Full Moons” for Mars which occur every 2 years. Mars is both close to the earth and maximally bright during the 9-ish weeks that the planet is retrograde. The planet is powerful during this period, but with a tendency to get out of control. Latent conflicts heat up and energy levels oscillate between excessive and deficient.
Mars retrogrades also tend to set a tone for how conflicts will be carried out for the ensuing year. Big players often change their strategies during Mars’ retrograde periods, so watch for a shift in the way the great game is being played during the third quarter.
This Mars retrograde begins in Aquarius, but concludes in Capricorn. The Aquarius portion of Mars’ retrograde highlights the rage of the alienated, the plight of exiles, and the power of the unorthodox and independent. The Capricorn portion, where Mars stations direct, will tend to confirm orthodox, structural power, and favor those already ensconced in fortresses. We may see some big power moves during this period, especially in the Middle East.
This particular Mars retrograde intersects strongly with two of the year’s other big themes, the first of which is Uranus’ May ingress into Taurus. Mars makes an extremely tense square with Uranus at 3 different points in its cycle this year, lacing the retrograde cycle with even more disruptive potency than usual. Mars’ trio of intersections with Uranus in Taurus should serve to make the themes native to newly-ingressed Uranus obvious without much delay.
Mars’ retrograde also intersects quite tightly with the Eclipse cycle. The total Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius on July 27th Is tightly conjoined with retrograde Mars at its brightest and closest, effectively combining the two crimson portents.
You Want It Darker
2018 serves up its second set of Eclipses during the third quarter. An extremely weak partial Solar Eclipse in Cancer is followed by total Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius, and then flanked by another partial Solar Eclipse in Leo. Mercury’s retrograde, which begins on July 25th and ends on August 18th, overlaps with the Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius and the Solar one in Leo.
As a whole, this set of Eclipses moves the story forward, echoing as they do the Solar and Lunar Eclipses of August 2017. Unlike the previous year, it is not the Solar Eclipse which steals the show, but the dramatic total Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius, which will be visible over vast swathes of the earth, and occurs right next to a very retrograde Mars. It is probably the most potent single configuration of 2018, and not a particularly mellow one. Although Eclipses can be expected to demarcate periods of unusually rapid change, their effects are more deeply personal than most other configurations, and thus make them difficult to speak of generally. Individuals should look to their experience of August 2017’s pair of Eclipses for meaningful precedents.
The Gang of Three Returns
Immediately following the partial Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 11th, Mars retrogrades back into Capricorn. This regression puts Mars back in the same sign as Saturn and Pluto, resuming the intense dynamics which accompanied their copresence from mid-March to mid-May. It is there, in the late degrees of Capricorn, where Mars will station direct, ending his retrograde in the sign of his exaltation, right next to the very degree where he is most potent. Mars will station direct in Capricorn on August 27th, but it will take until September 10th to vacate the Goat’s sign.
As the Mars retrograde dominated the third quarter of the year, Venus’ backward dance defines the fourth. Stocked with storms of emotion as well as moments of heartfelt clarity, Venus’ retrograde is certainly challenging, but significantly less so than Mars’ war-dance. Furthermore, Venus’ retrograde is followed by Jupiter’s auspicious shift into Sagittarius and an unusually benevolent Mercury retrograde.
The Ugly, the Pretty, and the Beautiful
Venus stations retrograde on October 5th and will remain so until November 15th. While Mars’ retrograde dominated the 3rd quarter of the year, it is Venus’ which defines much of the 4th. While Mars’ retrogrades re-arrange battlefields, Venus’ reconfigure relationships. Unlike Mars, Venus will not be bright during her retrograde, but completely invisible to the naked eye, gone away to visit her dark sister in the underworld.
Venus retrogrades open up the heart, sometimes with a corkscrew, drilling deep in order to get back to its precious, golden core. They are periods of emotional and relational reconfiguration. This particular installment, which begins in Scorpio and ends in Libra, is a repetition of Venus’ retro from 2010, 2002, 1996, 1988, etc.. Venus does us the favor of having an extremely orderly and beautifully mapped cycle, and thus meaningful personal and collective precedents can be drawn by counting backward to the same season in 8 year increments. Some will find that their life runs on this 8-year clock, while others need pay it no more attention than the weather.
This particular Venus retrograde begins in Scorpio and then crosses back into Libra. The Scorpio portion, in a sense, concerns what is distinctly un-Venusian — our relationship with the grotesque and the fearful. Yet a true concept of beauty makes a place for such things, as does love. The second part of Venus’ retrograde in Libra dwells upon classic themes of relational balance and fairness. No doubt the integration of the dark and unlovely bits of the Scorpio portion will be an important theme. The ugly and mean exist, certainly, but in relationship to the pretty, upright and light parts. True beauty is not a simply an exaggerated form of ‘pretty’, but a product of the relationship between it and ugliness.
This Venus cycle also happens to oppose Uranus three times, lending it a more shocking, disruptive, and experimental quality than most. October 24th’s Full Moon in Taurus strongly emphasizes the Venus-Uranus dynamic. The lunation will see the Sun conjunct Venus in Scorpio opposite the Moon conjunct Uranus in Taurus. The normally sedate Taurus Full Moon thus holds a potent charge this year.
A Dash of Fire
Just before Venus’ retrograde concludes, on November 6th, Uranus slips back into Aries, ending the 6-month preview of its time in Taurus. Uranus will spend the rest of the year and the first two months of 2019 finishing up in the Ram’s pen.
A few days later, on November 8th, Jupiter enters Sagittarius. Though the year has a number of unlovely portents, this is not one of them. Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Sagittarius, and quite potent in the Archer’s sign. Having Jupiter in such a powerful position will help offset a number of difficulties, and provide otherwise unexpected opportunities.
The year’s final Mercury retrograde begins the day after Venus’ direct station on the 15th. Mercury stations retrograde in mid Sagittarius, with plans to conjoin newly-ingressed Jupiter. As Mercury takes on the qualities of the planets he conjoins, this is likely to be a surprisingly positive retrograde.
Though the celestial gears continue to turn throughout December, their configurations are not particularly dramatic. The year thus rolls to a close on this relatively benign note.
PART III: Rant and Reflection
2018 certainly has surprises in store. The retrogradation of both Mars and Venus in configuration with newly-ingressed Uranus promises moments of shock, sudden reversal and rapid change. These certainly must be considered, but if we over-focus on the volatile, we lose sight of the fixed, and there is little more fixed in the skies of 2018 than Saturn in Capricorn.
Saturn is the lord of fixation, of concretization, and the protector of causal links which bind action to result. Although it is easy to resent the planet of long labor, ordeal and consequences, such a rejection ignores one of the year’s central opportunities.
This is the first of three years that Saturn will spend in Capricorn. It is thus the beginning of a three year arc, just as 2015 began that of Saturn in Sagittarius. If you look back at 2015, and see how themes which began that year climaxed in 2016 and 2017, you would probably go back and adjust both your expectations and your strategies. During this, the first year of Saturn’s time in Capricorn, you have the opportunity to adapt early. One of the advantages astrology offers us is the ability to see patterns in their nascent stage, rather than having to wait until they are blindingly obvious.
Start by thinking about the three year Saturn in Capricorn arc as a whole. Instead of making a cluster of short term resolutions, think about who and where you want to be in 2020, and how you’re going to get there. Break that down into three year long chapters, and see what portion of the work falls in 2018. From there, cut the 2018 portion of the plan into 4 seasonal chunks, with expectations for progress modified by a generally easier first quarter and a tough Q3.
Sure, unexpected things will happen before Saturn’s time in Capricorn ends, and you’ll have to make adjustments as you go. The success of master-plans, though, does not result from the absence of disruptions. It is the result of successfully dealing with disruptions, either by altering the tactics you’re using, or adjusting some of the goals. Many times, though, surprises do not even require that. People are too quick to abandon long-term goals. During a perceived crisis, our bodies flood with adrenaline and our minds zoom into the present. It’s a useful reaction if you’re being attacked by a bear. The problem is that we can get stuck there for days, weeks, or months at a time, and during that time completely neglect our long-term strategies.
This issue is, unfortunately, deeply exacerbated by the current state of our culture and media. The news does not seek first to inform. Its primary goal is to make money, and it does that by activating us emotionally, which puts us in either pleasure-seeking or safety-seeking mode. The online world is even worse, if such a thing is possible. It seems to consist primarily of millions of air-raid sirens, disguised as humans, going off 24/7. If we’re going to maintain the clarity required to effectively pursue long-term goals, we have to control your exposure to the things designed to pull us into the amnesia of crisis.
If this sounds like a cranky grandpa lecture, then good. Saturn is cranky grandpa, and his advice to get off your phone, think things through, work hard, keep your promises and complain less, is solid.
If you can commit yourself to building something, whether it is a family, a community, a career or a barn, not only will you eventually succeed, you will also be less affected by the collective panics which blow through this period of history. With a strong anchor, those howling, anxious winds might whip your hair a bit, but they won’t knock you off your feet. That anchor, that commitment, is your dedication to reshape one little piece of the world.
The governmental layer of the world is in a deeply dysfunctional state. If we wait for the powers-that-be to put things back on track, we’re going to be waiting a very long time indeed. In a world where sane adult leadership is conspicuously missing, it falls to us, the citizens of history, to take responsibility for our world in the ways we can, and accept the work of shaping it. “Things” may or may not get better any time soon, but we can get better — better at taking care of ourselves, and better at taking care of each other. If even half of us succeed in doing a half-ass job, the result will look more like paradise than anything we’ve seen in a long time.",7012,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00373.warc.gz,0.949343204498291
21ff0e3d-804e-47e5-ad48-02fade6093d9,2022-05-28T14:44:57+00:00,2022-01-18,1,https://headtopics.com/my/sri-lanka-on-edge-as-debt-burden-mounts-23496795,"Sri Lanka on edge as debt burden mounts
China has lent billions of dollars under its Belt and Road Initiative.
Cops rescue two children, mother and grandaunt arrested for suspected abuse
GEORGE TOWN: Two children with bruises and injuries on their body and face were rescued by police from a unit in Rifle Range flats here. Read more >>
Malaysia would have been on the same fate had Najib wasn't defeated. We were almost on the the same path with Sri Lanka: heavily borrowing and dealt with the Communists we so hated at home. Never will. Malaysia better learn from this
Close shave for Sri Pahang manager Dollah Salleh, family as MPV crashes in Seremban | Malay MailSEREMBAN, Jan 18 — Sri Pahang FC team manager Dollah Salleh and seven of his family members were involved in a road crash after the vehicle they were traveling in skidded at Kilometre 8 of Jalan Kuala Pilah-Batu Kikir, near here, last night. Kuala Pilah police chief Supt Amran Mohd Ghani...
Samassa sertai Sri Pahang | Harian Metrobolatime pahang Penjaga gol kebangsaan Mali, Mamadou Samassa sah menyarung jersi Sri Pahang FC bagi menghadapi saingan Liga Malaysia (Liga M) musim ini.
Rais: I've given Azam Baki my advice | New Straits TimesKUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Rais Yatim said he has advised Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki following the controversy surrounding the latter’s share ownership issue. And Azam said ...... 'let me check your files' .....
Bosses: Help ease our burdenPETALING JAYA: Employers want the government to negotiate with the source countries of foreign labour to cap the recruitment fees charged by their agents there as the online application for the hiring of some 32,000 workers begin this month.
Tzu Chi Foundation extends cash aid to 16,000 flood-hit familiesTzu Chi Foundation extends cash aid to 16,000 flood-hit families thesun thesundaily TamanSriMuda ShahAlam TaiwanBuddhistTzuChiFoundation Flood FloodVictims
Early rate hikers hit jackpot as local bonds trounce dollar debt(Jan 17): Emerging-market central banks were the first in the world to raise interest rates from their pandemic lows last year. That proactive tightening is starting to pay off big time in boosting returns from their local bonds.An index of debt issued by developing nations denominated in their own currencies has returned about 1% over the past three months, while a similar gauge of hard currency bonds has tumbled 2.8%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.The outperformance for local",609,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016853.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528123744-20220528153744-00628.warc.gz,0.944144546985626
1962ac33-3de8-430d-bd7d-5ab57aac87b2,2017-08-18T15:48:08+00:00,2015-03-01,1,http://www.businessinsider.com/eric-schmidt-google-isnt-giving-up-on-glass-2015-3,"Google's executive chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt wants everyone to stop saying that Google Glass is dead.
In January, the company halted sales of the device and moved Glass out of its research lab, Google X, and into a standalone unit. The company put Nest CEO Tony Fadell in charge and said it plans to release a new, improved version of Glass before the end of the year.
Schmidt believes that people are blowing those changes out of proportion, though.
""We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn’t true,"" he told The Wall Street Journal's Alistair Barr. ""Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it.""
When Google released the first version of Glass, it sold a limited number to a group of early-adopters, called ""Explorers,"" for $1,500. Users slammed the device for its poor battery life, bugs, privacy issues and lack of practical uses — ""Glassholes"" became the choice nomenclature to describe anyone wearing the device.
Google X head Astro Teller recently admitted that Google didn't make it clear enough that Glass was a prototype and not a finished product. Schmidt tells Barr that Google still sees the technology as a ""big and very fundamental"" platform for its future. It's just a long-term project.
""[It's] like saying the self-driving car is a disappointment because it’s not driving me around now,"" he said of people who call Glass a failure. ""These things take time.""
Get the latest Google stock price here.",344,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104681.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818140908-20170818160908-00026.warc.gz,0.965445935726166
eeb2a5bf-6afd-4c04-b35a-5931e4d14a3e,2015-04-01T01:08:33+00:00,2012-09-27,1,https://sahelblog.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/malis-islamist-coalition-responds-to-external-intervention-discussions/?like=1&_wpnonce=2984bf4a5d,"Plans for an external military intervention in war-torn Mali are gathering momentum. Mali’s interim government has agreed to allow the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to base a 3,000-strong force in Bamako. The European Union is “considering requests to support West African-led military intervention in Mali and to restructure the country’s beleaguered army.” France and the United States have urged the United Nations Security Council to approve ECOWAS’ plans, and France and the African Union have said they will support ECOWAS logistically. Even Algeria “may have to accept the deployment of West African troops in its crisis-hit neighbour Mali contrary to its traditional stance against foreign intervention and focus on internal security, analysts say.”
As Reuters points out, uncertainty about who really rules in Bamako – coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo, civilian President Dioncounda Traore, or Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra – could efforts to retake Mali’s Islamist-held north. But many powerful actors are pushing for a military campaign of some kind.
These developments have not gone unnoticed in the north. The Malian press has transcribed a phone interview with Oumar Ould Hamaha, a commander within the Islamist coalition that rules northern Mali. I have not been able to find an in-depth profile on Hamaha, but this comment on him from AFP is notable:
Malian national Omar Hamaha, one of the main Islamist commanders in the north, is a case study in the bridges between [Ansar al Din, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, the main players in the Islamist coalition].
He is known as the second-in-command to the AQIM boss in charge of Gao. But during the seizure of Timbuktu in April, he referred to himself as the chief-of-staff of Ansar Dine, and now says he holds the same position in MUJAO.
“Remember, we are all mujahedeen. Whether a fighter is from MUJAO, Ansar Dine or AQIM, it’s the same thing,” he told AFP.
“We have the same ambition, the application of sharia. Whenever there’s an attack on one of us, it’s an attack on everyone.”
Hamaha is frequently quoted as a spokesman for the coalition in local and international media (see here, for example), where his rhetoric often emphasizes the coalition’s embrace of violence in the service of its determination to impose shari’a across Mali. In the aftermath of the Malian army’s killing of sixteen Muslim preachers earlier this month, Hamaha expressed the Islamist coalition’s rejection of mediation efforts and its objective of capturing Bamako:
He warned that the Islamists would one day attack the south. ‘‘We will plant the black flag of the Islamists at Koulouba,’’ he said, naming the hill on which Mali’s presidential palace sits.
Hamaha reiterated these messages in his recent phone interview (French), in which he expresses defiance regarding the possibility of an external intervention. My translation:
I was contacted last Saturday by the Minister of Defense for discussions. I told him that we are open to dialogue if the government is ready to submit itself to the shari’a. Plainly speaking, if the authorities are ready to apply the sharia. I was surprised that the Minister of Defense spoke to me of secularism (laicite). That impedes all dialogue with them. We are jihadists…We are ready to take the lead and to defeat all armies by the sword, whether they be from ECOWAS or even NATO…Nothing will be able to stop our advance on Bamako and the rest of Mali because we have chosen to die for the religion.
More remarks from Hamaha here (French).
The statement leaves me wondering how seriously to take the threat of the Islamist coalition’s southern advance. The Islamists’ capture of the town of Douentza (map) on September 1 certainly raised some eyebrows, and their repeated references to a southern advance indicates that the threat is not just an offhand comment. On the other hand, advancing into southern areas could stretch the Islamists thin, exacerbate the political backlash they sometimes face, and hand them military defeats. Whatever happens, ECOWAS and other external forces can expect stiff resistance from the Islamist coalition, and external forces may even find themselves initially working not just to retake territory, but to repel new attacks.",968,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00227-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95176762342453
9e0996df-15b4-4c1a-a0f4-15fe9f23d8a1,2022-05-21T18:10:14+00:00,2022-05-21,0,https://lalukka.com/product/penye-mood-overalls/,"Comfortable, Stylish And Original
Pajama sets?that are worn by everyone during sleep?both provide great comfort and it is inevitable to have a nice look even during sleep with beautiful patterns.?This outfit is usually sold in two parts, the top and bottom.?These pieces are compatible in terms of color, pattern and size.?Especially depending on the fabric used, every woman can make a suitable choice.
Satin, combed, fleece-style fabrics?provide great convenience in?pajamas?selection.?In addition, there?are?not?only?pajama sets?, but also?robe?models.?All these models vary according to the category that the person will choose.?More flashy or simpler models are available.?In addition, there are?pajama?models?used for different purposes such as summer and winter?.
Thanks to the use of different colors and patterns, there is no problem in choosing.?Because there are models that appeal to all ages and styles.?A wide range is offered thanks to many different criteria such as thin, thick, shabby, narrow, long and short.?That’s why every woman can easily find the pajamas that suits her needs.?Also, mother-daughter combinations are among the models that attract attention.
Since both teams have the same colors and patterns, the mother and daughter will be in harmony.?The models in dress style are mostly suitable for summer use.",302,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662540268.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521174536-20220521204536-00228.warc.gz,0.930594086647034
f466b030-d0dd-463e-93ce-945d1af06a43,2019-08-19T00:15:49+00:00,2016-11-09,1,https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/charterschoice/2016/11/nevada_school_vouchers_funding_sandoval_budget.html,"Nevada School Vouchers: Gov. Sandoval Says He'll Help Revive the ESA Program
There may be some life left in the movement to bring education savings accounts to Nevada after the state's supreme court ruled the school voucher-like program unconstitutional. Gov. Brian Sandoval says he'll help lawmakers get a new program up and running, according to the Nevada Appeal.
Education savings accounts, or ESAs, allow parents to pull their children out of public schools and use most of the state's per-pupil funding for their children on other forms of schooling, such as private school tuition or home-schooling materials.
But the Nevada high court ruled in October that the way the ESA program was funded was unconstitutional. (There's more to the ruling, which dealt with two separate lawsuits, and you can read the details on that here.)
ESA supporters have claimed that the ruling is not an outright ban, and still leaves them a pathway to revive the program by changing the funding source through legislation.
Gov. Sandoval says he will include funding for the ESA program in his next budget, reports the Nevada Appeal:
""He said under the Nevada Supreme Court's ruling, the so-called Educational Savings Accounts program will have to have a separate line item in the budget.
""He said he is working with Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, who authored the ESA bill that was struck down by the high court to develop a plan that may be acceptable to a majority of the now Democrat controlled Legislature.""
Thousands of students have applied to the program so far. Nevada State Treasurer Dan Schwartz, who has been in charge of implementing the program, told me previously that he will continue to accept new applicants for the program.
What Makes Nevada's Voucher Program Unique: It's Universal
Only a handful of states have education savings accounts, which are labeled that way because the money is deposited in accounts that parents draw from to pay for approved education-related expenses.
Of the states that do have an ESA—Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee—their programs are limited to a small number of students, such as those with disabilities or from low-income families.
Nevada's program is open to all public school students, so long as they have been enrolled in a public school for at least 100 days. It's because of its scope that the Nevada program draws so much national attention.
- For New School Choice Laws, 2016 Has Been a Slow Year
- Support for Charter Schools Stays Steady, But Drops for Vouchers, Poll Finds
- What's the Difference Between Vouchers and Education Savings Accounts?
Don't miss another Charters & Choice post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox.",565,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314353.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818231019-20190819013019-00502.warc.gz,0.960142493247986
a8c57b82-5937-4b86-922f-136b0830ac9b,2022-05-25T04:59:31+00:00,2022-02-04,1,https://contentnigeria.net/tag/queen-varsity-afrika/,"A reality show focusing on female students in Nigeria is set to hit screens next week.
Queen Varsity Afrika will debut on February 11 and is aimed at African female undergraduates and recent graduates. It will follow a group of students as they compete to be crowned the titular queen.
The producers have described the series as a “non-bikini reality show” that “provides the right platform for beautiful and intelligent young ladies, who are delegates from various higher institutions of learning in Africa, to unlock their innate potential and talent as they compete for the internationally recognised Queen Varsity Afrika crown.”
Sixteen women from various Nigerian universities, plus one student from Benin, are taking part in the ongoing boot camp being held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. This group will be voted down to 10 women, who will move to the final stage.
They are being mentored by notable Nigerians including former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, with the show set to run for 13 episodes.
Queen Varsity Afrika will run on NTA 2 Lagos and Jive TV on StarTimes, as well as various online portals. The show is a Pillar & Pride of Afrika production in partnership with the Federal University of Agriculture.
Jasmine Ofoegbu, MD and CEO of Pillar & Pride of Afrika and an exec producer on the show, said: “It is an empowerment programme that will avail the contestants the opportunity for self-realisation and self-actualisation, as well as boost their self-esteem.
“We are also ready to partner with agencies, brands and organisations that are ready to join in empowering the African girl child using the platform of our educative and entertaining Queen Varsity Afrika reality TV project, in this edition and in subsequent ones.”
tagged in: Jasmine Ofoegbu, Pillar & Pride of Afrika, Queen Varsity Afrika",404,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662578939.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525023952-20220525053952-00418.warc.gz,0.948789119720459
24679d37-77a4-4bf9-9e07-b7286b0e5612,2018-08-21T01:46:21+00:00,2018-02-05,1,http://www.douglasbence.org.uk/journalism-remembered/,"Express shelters under Mirror umbrella
The takeover of the Daily Express by Trinity Mirror is unlikely to produce more than one winner, the shrewd vendor Richard Desmond pictured above being the most likely.
To some observers The Daily Express under Desmond’s management has effectively become the UKIP Daily News. While that may not be entirely accurate, the paper is certainly more right wing now than it was when controlled by its founder, Lord Beaverbrook.
Bringing both titles together under the same holding company was unthinkable all through the 20th century. But as news is increasingly disseminated by the Internet, the sales and advertising revenue of the once all-powerful printed titles have been in free fall and the impossible has become reality.
While Express readers fear their beloved title will be hauled left by the Mirror, as red as it ever was in the halcyon days of Hugh Cudlipp and Cecil King, a bigger threat is the jobs that will be lost as Trinity Mirror cuts the costs that the takeover makes possible.
All publishers are trying to save money, so stories are frequently recycled without fact checking. As rewriting is not journalism, many relatively new entrants are turning to PR. For Press Gazette’s take on the situation follow this link: http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/source-ripping-culture-at-national-newspaper-website-prompts-most-graduate-trainees-to-leave-journalism-for-pr/
As Britain’s national newspapers are being pushed towards extinction by information technology, the fine reputation British journalism once had could not be earned today. So it seems a good time to share some of my favourite pieces from the past. Please scroll down:
The Austerity Olympics, Ben Macintyre in The Times, March 31 2012
The photographs of the 1948 Olympics evoke an earlier, simpler sporting world: unglamorous, unsophisticated, threadbare and yet, in its post-war, chin-up, make-do spirit, profoundly moving. The athletes had knobbly knees and bad teeth. They ran in homemade shorts on a converted dog-racing track lined with cinders collected from the domestic hearths of Leicester. They brought their own towels, ate cheese sandwiches and slept in wooden huts; they competed ferociously to win medals, and to celebrate peace.
The London Olympics of 1948, staged just three years after the end of the Second World War, was an avowedly political event. The conflict had threatened to kill off the competition, and war coloured every aspect of the occasion. Captured German POWs laboured to build the facilities. Many athletes had seen wartime service and some bore the physical scars. This was the DIY Olympics, scraped together from whatever could be found, adapted or borrowed.
At Richmond Park, 2,000 athletes slept on iron bedsteads in wooden army huts. Many competitors sewed their own kit. Basketballs, footballs and boxing gloves were sold off afterwards to recoup some of the cost. Milk, eggs and cheese were still rationed, although Olympians were permitted twice the normal calorific ration. The first chill of Cold War was in the air, but the focus was firmly on healing wounds of the last war. On entering Wembley, spectators were greeted with the words: ‘The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.’
The message was clear: had the Allies not fought well, there would have been no Olympics. The long-distance runner Emile Zátopek caught the emotive significance of these cheap, cheerful, history-changing Games: ‘After all those dark days – the bombing, the killing, the starvation – the revival of the Olympics was as if the sun had come out.’
The very frugality of the ‘Austerity Olympics’ was a repudiation of Hitler’s Olympic propaganda extravaganza in 1936. Britain put together an Olympics with what was left after Hitler had done his worst.
Assembled from shreds and patches in a spirit of optimism and friendly international rivalry, the 1948 Olympics mended the soul of sport.
Stick it up you punt-er, Kelvin Mackenzie in The Times, 17 November 2009
One day while editing The Sun I came to a momentous conclusion about my colleagues: they weren’t academic enough. Glancing round the newsroom I simply couldn’t see University Challenge material. There wasn’t much evidence of Blue Peter material either.
A revolution was needed. A new hiring policy would be adopted to raise the IQ in the newsroom. Out would go the traditional employment pool of Britain’s No 1 selling newspaper, ie, the devious, the deceitful and those with alcohol-dependency issues. Instead, from now on, all the new reporters would come from Oxbridge. It would be brains, brains and more brains.
The Sun, as you may have already concluded, is not the natural dropping off point for academia, but slowly, as word spread, the firsts and PhDs began making their way to my office. I hired them in a matter of seconds. Balliol College, Oxford, you’re in. Trinity, Cambridge sign here, Magdalen, Oxford, welcome aboard. Satisfied that my bold move would take The Sun to a higher plain I waited for the results. They were not forthcoming. In fact, very little emerged from my new hirelings. Most disappointing.
I had to get to the bottom of this. It became clear that with their keen and analytical minds they had made a fatal mistake — they had continued investigating every story to the point where they had satisfied themselves that there was no story at all. This would not do.
I called in one of the super-brains and explained a philosophy that had served me and the paper reasonably well over the years. The reporter leant forward with an earnest look as I told him the secret: if a story sounded true it probably was true and therefore should appear in the paper or there would be lots of white, unexplained spaces.
Whether it was my pep talk or the sense that The Sun was not for them I will never know, but over the months ahead they slowly headed for the door never to return.
I had only one O level and it was a massive disappointment that I was not to be surrounded by clever clogs, but we were now short of reporters and therefore a fresh approach was needed — one that I could not pass by the HR department.
From this day forth, we would employ only women with large breasts. You may not be all that surprised that this initiative was a major success. It became clear that a grisly and overworked chief superintendent at a murder scene responds more warmly to questions from a lady with a hint of cleavage than a balding newshound with four pints of Boddingtons on his breath. And, frankly, who can blame him.
Even to me it came as something of a shock that breasts beats brains, but you have to embrace change, don’t you?
So it was with some sense of trepidation that I arrived in Cambridge the other day to see a new tabloid that was entirely run by the brains department. It’s called The Tab, an online newspaper, aimed at the 15,000 students in the city.
The speed with which The Tab brings university news to the students gives it the edge over its print rivals Varsity and the student union newspaper. Competition has reached the kind of open warfare witnessed only between Lidl and Tesco.
One Tab writer told me: “I used to be quite friendly with the editor of Varsity, but once we started Tab she cut me dead in the street . . . In fact she turned her head into the wall the other day.”
(I used to hate the Editor of the Daily Mirror in the same way when he sold four million a day and we were the underdog. Now that The Sun is top dog by many millions while the Mirror manages only just over a million a day, I feel vaguely sorry for him for having such a bloody awful job and also being forced to support Brown every day. Life doesn’t get much worse than that.)
The fascinating thing is that I didn’t have to lecture the team on the joys of tabloid — it was already in their genes. They knew what their audience wanted — the secret of The Sun’s 40-year success.
So as I said farewell to Cambridge I realised that I made a mistake all those years ago — I should have persevered with the brains. They are the tabloid titans of today — and tomorrow.
And yet . . . By the time I got home, I found myself wondering how these youngsters would deal with the rough and tumble of real politics — “the dark actors playing games”, as the late weapons expert Dr David Kelly so graphically put it.
John Major once asked me, just before the paper was to be printed, how we were going to report Britain’s exit from the ERM, which was going to cost our country around £5 billion, thanks to his ineptitude.
I told him we were going to pour a bucket of shit over him. My sense is that the Cambridge mob are too middle class, too well-mannered, too educated to pour anything but a bucket of Puligny-Montrachet over anyone’s head. That’s their one drawback to a life in the tabloid arena. They were simply too nice. How awful.
Their Worships were not amused, Western Morning News, 16 April 1994
Barnsley: A Monty Python fan came up with something completely different when he appeared before Barnsley magistrates. When the clerk to the magistrates asked the man for his name, he replied: ‘Mr Two Sheds Luxury Yacht Patang Patang Biscuit Barrel Community Care Over The Top Jackson.’ Magistrates were not impressed and remanded him in custody for four weeks.
Sticky end for Pooh, Steve Absalom in the Daily Mail, 15 May 1987
Winnie the Pooh has been branded fat, unfit, and self-indulgent – by a honey firm. Gales, who dropped Pooh from their product advertising, have now rejected an offer to back a musical based on A.A. Milne’s classic character because he is giving honey a bad name. The bear of little brain and bulging waistline, who for six decades has gorged on the sticky delicacy, is considered out of step with our health-conscious times. The snub – likely to shock residents of 100 Acre Wood – came when theatre producer Vanessa Ford approached Gales parent company Rowntree Mackintosh. She asked them to sponsor the music, which is set to come to the West End later this year.
‘They wrote back saying they felt the market for their product had changed, and they did not feel they could promote Winnie the Pooh when he looks as if he is self-indulgent and fat because of honey,’ said a bewildered Vanessa.
Vanessa, whose touring company is one of Britain’s most successful, said she considered her request to Gales perfectly reasonable. But the firm is adamant that these days honey should be portrayed as a natural, fitness-inspiring health food, and not the sort of delicious indulgence whose pursuit leads to rotund bears becoming wedged in rabbit holes.
‘We were astonished when they told us what they though of Pooh,’ said Vanessa. ‘It’s quite ludicrous.’
And in Pooh Corner, Fleming, Devon – the house where A.A. Milne’s 67-year-old son Christopher Robin lives – there was also regret that Pooh has become a victim of nouvelle cuisine and healthy living.
Mr Milne’s wife, Lesley, said: ‘He’ll be sad that Pooh is now thought too plump to be a West End star.’
Last night a Gales spokesman said: ‘We don’t really want to comment on this.’
But Miss Myra Ibbotson, of The British Dietetic Association said: ‘There’s no particular nutritional benefit in honey. It is high in calories.’
They eat horses, don’t they?, Daily Mirror Comment*, 10 September 1980
A world survey by a French magazine says that the best friends of France are the English, which will surprise a great many Englishmen who think we hate each other.
Noel Coward summarised the Anglo attitude to the French when he said: ‘There is always something fishy about them.’
The fact is that we don’t know them very well and what we don’t know we don’t trust. It is true we have often fought in the same wears. But the only time we came close to losing was when they were our side.
Maybe they do have the best wine, the most glamorous women, the cleverest cuisine and the most elegant style. But do they deserve any of them?
It is said that they cook while the British only open tins. But what do they cook? Snails (disgusting). Frogs legs (distasteful). And horses (barbaric).
They grow an apple to Golden Delicious which is green, not gold, and about as delicious as a ball of wool marinated in castor oil. What’s more, it’s putting our growers out of business.
And now we are told we are their best friends. It’s ridiculous. The only thing we’ve got in common is the English Channel. The English Channel.
* Written by Joe Haines
Remembering Uncle Leib, Donald B. Williams in the Jewish Chronicle, 25 March 1975
Uncle Leib was what I called him. But he was known officially as Louis, referred to by his mother as ‘Lentchie’, by Livaks as ‘Label’ and Pollaks as ‘Libel’. If he had ever had his IQ tested, a record low score might well have been achieved.
He was nevertheless a compulsive reader in the same as others are compulsive eaters, drinkers or smokers. When I was a child, he read my comics. During my adolescence he read my Rover and Hotspur. While I was a student, he once went as far as to read part of Kant’s work on Categorical Imperative when there was nothing else to read after he had read Sporting Life.
He could never have been handsome, children often teased him about his features, although they loved him as he clearly loved them. They treated him as one of them. One of his other nephews had to be packed off to bed for calling him ‘Frankenstein’ to his face. To compensate for all this and as an extra bonus, Uncle Leib had been given a warm, golden heart as big as his enormous height.
I was just beginning my National Service and in the middle of square-bashing when he died. There is little of significance for me to remember of my two years in the RAF apart from the vaccination I was given on the day of my 21st birthday, the time I fell asleep while on sentry duty (punishable by death in time of war!) and the rather enjoyable week out of uniform on a model Leadership Course organised by the Rev I. Levy. But Uncle Leib’s death had repercussions he could never have envisaged.
The sad news was conveyed to me during one of my numerous phone calls home. The corporal in charge told me it might be a good opportunity to apply for compassionate leave. He understood that ‘your people’ go in for funerals in a big way and intimated that I would be missing something really special if I remained in camp. He offered me a form of application to put in to the CO.
My excitement was without bounds. The continual marching and drilling in frosty weather, the endless polishing of brasses and blanco-ing of webbing, being bullied by all above the rank of AC Plonk and looming above all, the assault course (some, we were told, had broken legs, arms or had died) on the following day contrasted in my mind with the prospect of a few days at home.
The words to put on the application form were not easy to find. It was all right as far as ‘I humbly apply to me Commanding Officer for compassionate leave to attend….’ But how to describe it? I could not tell anyone that, under Jewish Law, we tend to bury our dead quickly and that kaddish had already probably been recited at Uncle Leib’s graveside.
And what word in the English language (or any other language for that matter) can convey all that is implied by the shiva with its procession of well-wishing visitors, the expression reserved for such occasions, the faces of instant members of the family never to be seen at weddings and barmitzvahs, the shmaltz herrings, the baigels, to day nothing of the boxes of chocolates and cigarettes left half-guiltily in the hall for the benefit of the mourners?
There was only one word that came to my mind – after ‘…compassionate leave to attend;’, I honestly scribbled the words ‘the funeral celebrations of my late Uncle Louis.’ The corporal obviously thought it was the right word. He had visions of the bottles of whisky at an Irish wake.
He initialled the form which was then passed on to the sergeant, who uttered a vile string of obscenities about religion before adding his reluctant approval. Not long after, during drill instruction on the icy parade ground, the message came through. I was ordered to ‘fall out’ amid the groans of envy from the others. My application had been granted.
After a short, tearful but not unpleasant few days’ reunion with my family, I returned to camp. Not only had I missed the assault course, but somehow an entry had been made in the official record that I had passed as a ‘first class shot’ on the rifle range, without a shot being fired by me.
Uncle Leib would have been proud of me!
Prince of petomane, Peter Lennon in The Guardian, July 1967
For 14 July, the time when the Parisians give voice with pêtard and brass-band to whatever dry store of joy is still left in them, a publisher, M. Jean-Jacques Pauvert, has very appropriately produced a handsome tribute to one of the most celebrated noise-makers the European stage has ever known: M. Joseph Pujol. At the height of his career as a star of the Moulin Rouge Marcel Pagnol in his book ‘Notes of Laughter’ tells us that Joseph Pujol could draw matinee gates worth 20,000 francs, while Sarah Bernhardt the same week only manager 8,000. Eyewitnesses claim that he was one of the greatest amusers of all time. His career spanned more than 20 years.
Why then does the name Pujol mean nothing to us today? Because to perpetuate his name it is necessary to describe what he did, and for a couple of generations this simply could not be done in print. (Perhaps it still can’t.) Dear me, how styles of entertainment have changed! Pujol described himself as ‘Le Pêtomane.’ Not to beat about the bush Pujol’s talent was that he could fart like nobody else in the world, before, then or since.
He could fart tenderly (le petit pet timide de la jeune fille) or aggressively (le pet rond du macon) rapidly like a machine gun – or he could produced a deep, slow cannon-roar lasting up to ten seconds. He could give a very good account of a do ra me fa derriêre-wise, imitate a violin, a bass, or the timbre of a trombone.
Pujol was no scurvy, back-street, perverted farter. He only farted in the very best places, and for considerable sums of money. Eyewitnesses insist on the gravity and impassibility of his performance, and the essential seriousness of this father of ten buxom children.
In 1887, the year Mallarmê published ‘L’Apres midi d’une Faune’, Pujol, aged 30, appeared for the first time on a public stage in Marseilles. His talent had already been the envy of his schoolmates, the admiration of his regiment, and evoked the solicitous respect of his family. Within a week Marseilles, Paris, Brussels, North Africa, all over Europe Pujol presented an unchanging ritual. Dressed in a red coat and black satin knickerbockers, he would approach the ramp and announced gravely:
‘Mesdames, Mesdemoiselles, Messieurs, I have the honour to present to you a performance of petomania….’
He would then stoop and begin his finely graded escalating performance. In his history of the ‘Caf’conc’, Jacques-Charles describes the scene at the Moulin Rouge. ‘At first the audience would remain astounded. Then someone would be stricken with a crazy laugh. In a moment people would be howling and staggering with laughter. Some would stand paralysed, tears pouring down their cheeks, while others beat their heads and fell on the floor. Ladies would begin to suffocate in their tight corsets, and for this reason there were always a number of white-coated nurses in attendance.’
Mlle Yvette Guilbert wrote: ‘It was at the Moulin Rouge that I heard the longest spasms of laughter, the most hysterical cries of hilarity that I have ever heard in my life.’
The King of the Belgians travelled incognito to Paris for as private demonstration by M. Pujol.
But it was not only an audience in search of a belly laugh who flocked to see Pujol; the Academy of Medicine in Paris was, so to speak, hot on his tail. Pujol, partly to prove the authenticity of his performance (which he could hardly do on the stage of the Moulin Rouge) submitted to a number of elaborate medical examinations which are described in ‘La Semaine Medical’ of 1882 by a Dr Marcel Baudouin with a zest for enthusiasm for detail which unfortunately cannot be reproduced here.
Pujol finally broke with the Moulin Rouge and opened his own theatre, the Pompadour. Then, in 1898, the year Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium, Pujol discovered that the Moulin Rouge were going to present a rival female pêtomanie. He brought an action for unauthorised imitation. Lawyers had to attend the theatre and note the range, quality and form of the lady’s performance. But before the cased actually came to court the lady was exposed as a fraud (she had whistles hidden in her skirts).
Pujol, who lived to be 88, was an outstanding example of man’s ingenuity in making the best of whatever gifts nature bestows – be they every so curious. With extraordinary courage, and by the sheer quality of his performance, he imposed the fart on a stupefied but defenceless Europe.
He was a star until 1914 when the countries of Europe decided to get together on a roaring orgy of petomania of their own which was no doubt distasteful to this gentle and scrupulous performer. (By the way, he claims never to have suffered from stagefright.)
How has his name come to light again? Simply because his family of honest bakers and masons in Marseilles were pained that their famous ancestor had become so neglected. Around 14 July (last year) they had the idea of appealing to a pair of well-known journalists on the ORTF pointing out the injustice that: ‘France has done nothing for the memory of its petomane!’
Now justice has been done. But, alas, given the standards of our time the tribute could neither be aural nor visual.",5144,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217909.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821014427-20180821034427-00023.warc.gz,0.976976871490478
e0f7a7f5-d0ca-45e0-9fd3-b99471ea19a0,2016-07-29T00:20:43+00:00,2013-03-05,1,http://uk.reuters.com/article/korea-north-un-usa-idUKL1N0BX7IE20130305?feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DrbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews,"UNITED NATIONS, March 5 A draft U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution Washington has agreed on with Beijing targets illicit activities by North Korean diplomats and Pyongyang's banking relationships, U.S. envoy to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Tuesday.
""For the first time ever, this resolution targets the illicit activities of North Korean diplomatic personnel, North Korean banking relationships, (and) illicit transfers of bulk cash,"" Rice told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the 15-nation council.
Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong told Reuters the council was aiming to vote on the resolution on Thursday. The draft sanctions resolution is a response to North Korea's third nuclear test last month. (Reporting By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Doina Chiacu)",158,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829320.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00164-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.935355007648468
75a2cf20-9d44-4ec0-b04b-11025a0dcdf9,2020-10-27T09:14:01+00:00,2020-10-27,0,https://www.bookshout.com/ebooks/making-arguments-reason-in-context/bulk,"Making Arguments: Reason in Context
Making Arguments: Reason in Context offers a new approach to the teaching of argumentation and debate.Nearly all argumentation courses and textbooks tilt toward one of two extremes:* Critical thinking/informal logic, in which the ""laws"" of reasoning are universal and not affected by audience or context* Public speaking, in which adaptation to the audience and winning assent trumps logic and reasoningAt the first extreme are texts that stress flaws in arguments and how to discern them. Their focus tends to be on the logic (making deductive inferences and avoiding deductive mistakes or other errors of inference) and/or the recognition of fallacies (deficient or fake arguments). They also deal with the messy ambiguities of language. Generally, this approach omits the concept of an audience. And it does not explain how spotting the flaws in reasoning, or improving one's reasoning, translates into the ability to make an effective argument. Further, it is not clear how to address audiences whose grasp of logic is shaky.At the other extreme are books (especially public speaking textbooks) that err in the opposite direction. They are fixated on audience. As a result, their advice about how to argue is grounded in audience adaptation. In fact, the process of reasoning is nearly subordinated to such secondary considerations as style, delivery, and organization. And again, the connection between critical thinking/logic and audience is rarely examined.In Making Arguments, we propose to consider argument at the nexus of invention and judgment, the two endpoints from which logic and public speaking examine argumentation, respectively. By looking at the ""stuff"" that comes between an argument's design and its delivery, we hope to enrich the understanding and the study of argument, as both a theoretical and applied discipline.In particular, we want to answer some questions that are seldom addressed in print:* What is the starting point for augmentation? When do we even need to argue?* When should one embrace, and when should one avoid, arguing?* Why does the same argument work in one place and fail in another?* Are most audiences capable of understanding a complex argument?* With what authority can one make an argument—absent expertise in the field in which the argument takes place?* Are there substantive differences between oral and written argument?* What does it mean to ""present"" an argument?* Can someone control the argumentative situation/context to the benefit of his/her position?* How can argument educate and improve the arguer?* Can we learn the ""truth"" by arguing?This book addresses the whole advocacy process as a series of concatenated intellectual decisions affecting how arguments are created, ordered, rendered, and produced—with judgment as the over-arching concern.
List Price: $9.99 (Final bulk discount pricing is based on quantity)
Uh oh. It looks like this title is out of stock.
Did you know eBooks never run out? It's true. We have millions of titles available right now. You can download an eBook in seconds.
Why eBooks are the Smart Way to Go
Deep bulk discounts and $0 in shipping costs means you save big with bulk eBooks. Plus, eBooks are typically cheaper than print books.
Distribute your eBooks via text message, email, social media, and more using redeemable eBook codes. Users can get their eBook instantly.
Receive Readership Analytics & Redemption Reports for proven engagement and user data, including name and email address.
Want to make the smart switch to eBooks? CLICK HERE
Not convinced yet? No problem. We can still get you the print books you need. Fill out the request form below and a member of our sales team will be in touch quickly.
Request Bulk Purchase:",777,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893845.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027082056-20201027112056-00099.warc.gz,0.929303228855133
4874a9d7-7faa-459b-a617-639c2ef0fa57,2019-08-24T01:10:12+00:00,2019-08-24,0,https://fascinaction.hettich.com/en-de/misc-navigation/imprint.jsp,"These websites are published by
Hettich Holding GmbH & Co. oHG
Tel.: +49 5223 / 77-0
Fax: +49 5223 / 77-1414
Amtsgericht Bad Oeynhausen HR A 4728
Tax identification number
Responsible shareholder Hettich Holding Verwaltungs GmbH, Domicile Kirchlengern, Registration Court Bad Oeynhausen HR B 7552, Managing director: Dr. Andreas Hettich, Jana Schönfeld
Hettich Holding GmbH & Co. oHG is not liable for the content of those websites which can be accessed from this website via hyperlinks. For those websites, including websites of our affiliated companies, also different regulations could apply.
Copyright, brands, product and company logos
Hettich reserves all rights in respect of the contents (such as text, pictures, charts, data, graphical presentations, lists and the like) of its Internet pages. The protection existing in respect of these contents through copyright and other such laws applies particularly vis-à-vis databases and similar facilities. The contents are only freely available for calling down from the Internet for the purpose intended and may not be copied, passed on, re-used, transferred, stored, altered, disseminated or otherwise used without our prior written approval. Our Internet pages may also have contents subject to the copyright of the parties providing the contents. Brand names, company logos, product descriptions or pictures of products appearing on our Internet pages are protected on behalf of Hettich and may therefore not be used by others for their own purposes or in any other way. The only Hettich logos that are released for use on your Internet page for advertising purposes are those shown on the page below:
All the contents of our Internet pages are carefully checked. We cannot, however, accept any liability for the correctness, completeness, current validity or suitability for certain uses. Hettich supplies any information or contents without any kind of guarantee, either express or implicit. Hettich herewith excludes any liability for damages arising directly or indirectly as a result of using our Internet pages, unless these result wilfully or through the gross negligence of Hettich itself.
Links (to third-party Internet pages)
Applicable Law; Jurisdiction
In visiting our Internet pages, you declare that you agree to the exclusive applicability of German law and renounce the UN's convention on the sale of goods (CISG) in respect of disputes of whatsoever kind between you and Hettich. The place of jurisdiction for all disputes is Bünde, Germany.",549,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319155.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823235136-20190824021136-00123.warc.gz,0.863139092922211
4f3d08d4-9024-45b7-82d4-42dceba2b285,2016-07-28T14:34:52+00:00,2000-08-13,1,http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/new_freeway/grand_parkway_13_Aug_00.shtml,"The Houston Chronicle, August 13, 2000
Grand Parkway spurs development, which some fear
The exit sign on U.S. 59 at the Brazos River bridge says Grand Parkway,
but that's only if you turn north. South of the traffic din, the route is still
Crabb River Road, a two-lane blacktop through pasture and woods, with little hint
of grandeur to come. The first several miles are adorned with bright little flags that
dance in the breeze and call attention to a forest of real estate signs: Meridian Homes,
Perry Homes, Pioneer Homes, Hammond Homes, Weekley Homes; Canyon Gate, Greatwood, Bridlewood.
City dwellers in search of a spacious house at a bargain price and a comfortable imitation
of country living may find their dream here at the cost of a 15- to 25-mile commute.
Someday during the coming decade, if supporters have their way,
the journey will be eased by a four-lane, divided, limited-access highway.
But if environmentalists have their way, getting the road built will not be so easy.
Officially designated Texas 99, but better known as Segment C of the Grand Parkway,
the proposed route would run 23 miles from U.S. 59 South in Fort Bend County to Texas 288
in Brazoria County. At present, it is the most controversial leg of the entire Grand Parkway
project, an envisioned 170-mile ""outer outer loop"" around Houston. Also at issue,
but less pressing, is Segment E through the Katy Prairie north of Interstate 10 West.
The prairie is one of the nation's most important wintering areas for waterfowl.
For several years, the environmental group Friends of the Earth has given the
Grand Parkway project star billing in its annual Road to Ruin list of dubious U.S.
highway projects. But to those who say it is misguided public policy to encourage further sprawl,
parkway supporters can point out the real estate signs.
""Growth occurs beyond anybody's control,"" says Diane Schenke,
director of the Grand Parkway Association. ""We're trying to minimize its impact""
by cutting down on the unsightly commercial development that often clutters
frontage roads. ""The choice,"" Schenke says, ""is between a limited-access parkway
and something that looks like Highway 6."" Houston Sierra Club chairman Frank
Blake does not buy the argument that sprawl is inevitable.
""It's a chicken-and-egg situation,"" Blake says.
""A lot of those housing developments located there with the expectation that
the Grand Parkway was coming through.""
The Grand Parkway Association is a nonprofit group spearheading efforts to decide the
route and obtain right-of-way. Unless a dispute ends up in court, the Texas Department of
Transportation and Federal Highway Administration have final say on whether to build.
Supporters include U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, the House majority whip,
along with most county officials in the affected areas, influential landowners and developers.
The cost of the eventual loop, roughly $ 2 billion, would be 90 percent federally funded.
To date, only 19 miles of the parkway is built. This is Segment D, from U.S. 59 at
the Brazos River to I-10 in Katy. For most of its length, the segment consists of
frontage roads divided by a broad esplanade where main lanes can be built later if needed.
(www.freeway.com observation: that statement is wrong. Most of the roadway is not
designed to have frontage roads and consists of main freeway lanes.)
But Schenke says future segments will be four-lane limited-access highways without
frontage roads. Selecting the best route for a new segment of the parkway involves a
great deal more than drawing a line on a map.
In Segment C, the association's maps and wall-sized aerial photos are a maze of
dashed and dotted corridors showing the numerous routes that have been considered and
rejected for one reason or another. One candidate, several miles north of the present choice,
was abandoned because it would have destroyed extensive bottomland hardwood forest.
Another was shifted because of a bald eagle nest, although the eaglets have since fledged
and moved away. One recently considered route would have passed just
1,000 feet north of Brazos Bend State Park. When that plan was presented
at a public meeting June 13 in Dickinson, a parade of speakers voiced opposition.
Many were users of the park and its George Observatory, operated by the
Houston Museum of Natural Science. They noted the observatory site was chosen largely because,
although near to Houston, it is isolated and the night sky there is dark enough for viewing
stars and planets. Several speakers said development would bring ""light pollution""
from future homes, businesses and cars, rendering the telescopes useless for research
or public enjoyment. In response to criticism - and a ""no build"" recommendation from
the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - the Grand Parkway Association chose another
route as its ""preferred alternative."" The new route lies more than a mile north of the
earlier one, and would give the park more breathing space. However, land between this
route and the park is owned by the George Foundation and could be developed at some future
The charitable foundation, highly influential in Fort Bend County,
operates the George Ranch and Historical Park about a mile north of Brazos
Bend and funded the observatory that bears its name.
Schenke says the foundation wants some of its extensive holdings
near the ranch developed into residential neighborhoods but has no plans for the parcel
nearest the park. Schenke discussed the new route for Segment C in a private meeting Aug. 2
with officials of the affected agencies and counties.
It may have a strong chance of winning approval.
""The (route) change lessens some concerns - the impact of noise on the park
and the the concern about the hydrology of the wetlands in the park,""
said parks and wildlife biologist Andy Sipocz.
""But it does not address other concerns - bottomland hardwood forest,
bald eagles, habitat fragmentation."" Of special importance,
he said, is how road builders span the eight-mile floodplain from
Big Creek to the Brazos River. There are three major reasons for this concern.
The wrong kind of bridge would impede wildlife migration, the department says.
It could also reduce the flow of water into the park's spectacular lakes,
which teem with vegetation, fish, birds and other animals,
including numerous alligators.
And because the entire flood plain is inundated periodically,
any development in it would require levees that would aggravate downstream flooding,
says Blake of the Sierra Club.
Philip Inderwiesen, a geophysicist and observatory volunteer who lives on Sawmill
Road just north of the park, has photos of floodwaters that cut off the
road in the winter of 1992. The water stayed high for about two months, he says.
Because of the flooding, say Sipocz and Blake, it would be best to have the
Grand Parkway elevated on pilings across the entire floodplain,
so that water and wildlife could pass downstream. That is not in the parkway association's
current plans, said assistant director David Gornet.
These call for a two-mile bridge over the Brazos River and smaller bridges over Big Creek,
Oyster Creek and Rabb's Bayou, but for most of the remaining six miles,
there would be a raised earthen embankment with relief gaps for water.
Gornet said this should satisfy environmental concerns.
He also notes that the new route, unlike the one near the park,
also meets environmentalists' request that the route stay north of a diversion channel
carrying floodwaters from Big Creek to the Brazos River.
Biologist Fred Werner of the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife
said that with these changes, the segment is likely to be approved.
Werner said he doubts his agency will object to the route.
Instead, he is drawing up suggestions to minimize and compensate for any environmental damage.
He said he hopes some arrangement can be worked out to protect bald eagle
nesting areas near Smithers Lake and Lake Worthington, north of the proposed route.
But ultimately, Werner and Sipocz agreed, their agencies can only offer advice.
""We are a commenting agency,"" Sipocz said.
""The decision is made by the Federal Highway Administration.""
""You can't control what people do with their land,"" Werner said.
The timetable for Segment C calls for public workshops in October.
Then after various agencies submit comments, a final Environmental
Impact Statement will be done in February and construction might start in late 2002.
The wrangling is sure to continue over other segments of the parkway.
In the eyes of many environmentalists and ""smart-growth"" advocates,
the entire project is an anachronism. It has no place, they argue,
in an area with the nation's worst ozone pollution, and at a time when such
draconian measures as a ban on power lawnmowers and morning construction
are being seriously considered to address the problem. ""At the very furthest
distance from smart growth is the concept of new rings around cities to create new,
far suburbs,"" said David Crossley, former president of the Citizens Environmental
Coalition here. The Grand Parkway Association strongly disagrees,
saying the project would reduce congestion, speed travel times and
provide a hurricane evacuation route for coastal residents.
Critics of the project also view the influence of developers and
landowners in the choice of route as in serious conflict with the
It was developers who sought the legislation, enacted in 1984,
that allowed the Grand Parkway Association and other such entities to be formed.
Politically powerful developer Walter Mischer Jr. was on the original Grand Parkway
Association board. Another strong supporter was former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier,
a developer and past director of what was then called the Texas Highway Commission.
The Chronicle reported in 1991 that Lanier had voted six times as a commission member
to approve and fund the Grand Parkway project,
while owning property along the route near Texas 249.
Lanier profited from sale of the land, but abstained from voting on the segment that passed
directly through his property.
The Grand Parkway Association today is chaired by Billy Burge,
a developer and Lanier associate who, like Lanier,
is a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Burge now chairs the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority.
Other developers on the current board are Roger Galatas, former
CEO of The Woodlands Co., and apartment developer John Chiang of Sueba USA.
The association's statutory role is to determine a route, seek donations of land,
clear any legal and environmental hurdles, pay for preliminary engineering studies
and finally turn the project over to the state highway department to build,
using state and federal tax dollars.
The prominent role of developers in the parkway's genesis
and route selection has never been a secret. As one highway
department source explained the idea, everyone was supposed to benefit:
Developers and landowners would make a profit, homebuyers would get a
good deal and taxpayers would find their burden eased.
This is because, in theory at least, highway projects are
prioritized by comparing their cost and benefits.
A project, such as the Grand Parkway, whose cost is not yet justified by
current mobility needs might become competitive if landowners reduce cost
to the public by donating right-of-way. In return, donors would reap a
deserved profit from the subdivisions and malls that follow.
On Segment D, which opened in 1994, an astonishing 85 percent
of right-of-way was donated. Schenke acknowledges that other segments are not
likely to match that mark. If a decision is made to build, any land not donated must be
acquired through eminent domain at taxpayer expense,
since the association does not buy right-of-way.
In segments F and G to the north, Schenke said,
there is already so much development that few landowners are willing to donate property.
By contrast, segments H andI-1, in the piney woods of eastern Montgomery and Harris counties,
are little more than lines on paper, although the Sierra Club is worried that the proposed
Segment H corridor cuts through Lake Houston State Park. The association
has no current active plans for developing these segments, Schenke says.
However, Segment I-2, which would run along existing state routes from the East
Freeway to Texas 146 near Baytown, has been assigned the highest priority for
construction by state highway planners.
Blake said the Sierra Club is concerned that the route will encourage industrial
development in coastal areas on Galveston and Trinity bays.
STATUS OF GRAND PARKWAY SEGMENTS
Segment A Miles: 6.4 Cost: $ 22.5 million Priority: Long-range planning
Segment B Miles: 20.5 Cost: $ 47.9 million Priority: 2
Segment C Miles: 22.9 Cost: $ 90.4 million Priority: 2
Segment D Miles: 19.0 Cost: $ 70 million Opened for traffic Aug. 31, 1994.
Long-range plans call for upgrade to freeway status with ramps, additional lanes.
Segment E Miles: 13.8 Cost: $ 60.1 million Priority: 2
Segment F-1 Miles: 13.2 Cost: $ 42.0 million Priority: 2
Segment F-2 Miles: 11.5 Cost: $ 61.3 million Priority: 2
Segment G Miles: 13.6 miles Cost: $ 71.5 million Priority: 2
Segment H Miles: 22.9 Cost: $ 109.2 million Priority: None assigned
Segment I-1 Miles: 6.5 Cost: $ 57.8 million Priority: None assigned
Segment I-2 Miles: 8.8 Cost: $ 35.9 million Priority: 1.
Construction to begin early 2002 or sooner
Cost estimates are for construction only.
Costs of acquiring right-of-way depend on the selected route, the share of land donated,
the cost of acquiring land by eminent domain and other factors.
The Texas Department of Transportation classifies projects by priority level.
Of the 11 Grand Parkway segments, six are classified as Priority 2.
This means right-of-way may be purchased and engineering work done,
but construction has not been authorized. Contracts to build these projects
are expected to be let during 2004-2010. Of the five other segments,
A is classified in the long-range planning stage, H and I-1 have no priority assigned,
and I-2 is Priority 1. This means construction is authorized.
Segment D is the only part of the parkway built to date.",3195,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828283.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00090-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.947435259819031
13452d1c-a2c4-44f4-bd7a-efebb4c82b58,2016-07-25T02:42:32+00:00,2013-03-17,1,http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/afghanistans-freedom-fighters-20130317-2g8ro.html,"She is as articulate as she is cautious with her life. Raihana Azad, 28, had the courage to break the Afghan mould. When the foreigners came, she worked for the United Nations; and when parliament came, she ran for public office.
But now she hunkers in Kabul, the target of too many death threats to ever return to her home province - except when she can fly into a foreign-controlled military base and is accompanied to meetings by an Australian military escort, bristling with weapons.
Uruzgan MP Raihana Azad
A day in the life of a vegan family
Getting their children back
HGH in the underworld
Meerkat pups at Taronga.
Royal Easter Show showbag preview
Laid off and forgotton
Toys that spy
Uruzgan MP Raihana Azad
Raihana Azad, a member of parliament for Uruzgan talks about what will happen to Afghanistan once the troops withdraw.
But it seems that danger lurks in the capital too, so she treads her political path carefully.
She argues that in some ways an MP has more power in Kabul than does a provincial powerbroker back in Tarin Kowt. ''I keep myself in a way that is not too close to them and not too far from them,'' she says. ''They tell other MPs who and what to vote for, but I ignore them.'' She refuses to stay overnight in her home province.
The menacing phone calls are so frequent that she is constantly changing her mobile phone number - ''They're a daily occurrence.'' By Western standards, Azad is a well-adjusted young woman getting on with her life, her work and studies. But in her homeland, she is an outlier. Which tribe she is from? Her answer makes a curt political point. ''I'm an Afghan. I don't like that question.'' Married?
Her nonchalance becomes quite shocking. ''Divorced. We split before I was elected to parliament.'' Kids? Don't go there.
When she was first elected the calls for her resignation and her death were troubling. ''They wanted to kill me and my family, for allowing me to stand for parliament. I stayed in Oruzgan on the day the results were released. Just as well I took the precaution of staying with friends; they searched four different houses looking for me, and they would have killed me.
''I spent two days hiding in a basement. Then I changed into old clothes and a burqa and travelled to Kabul, under a false name. It's too dangerous to tell my family when I'm going home because the callers always tell me what my movements have been to let me know they are watching.'' Recently, she said, three ministers of the Karzai government were required to travel to Oruzgan to check progress on several public works projects, but they refused to travel unless she accompanied them. ''We got to Tarin Kowt but we were unable to leave the governor's compound to go to the project sites because of the security situation,'' she says.
Her hope is for Afghanistan to be a democracy in which an individual's humanity is of more value that their tribal connections.
But she turns on the country's president, accusing him of tampering with the election laws - again. ''[Hamid] Karzai will bury democracy as we're coming to know it,'' she says, revealing far more hair than most Afghan women would dare and flashing pale-pink fingernails as she perches on the edge of an over-stuffed armchair. ''Women will suffer, but it will be good for warlords and the drug barons.''
Outside, it's snowing. Inside, Hilla Achekzai takes no chances - bundled up in a scarf and a heavy coat, she bathes in the eerie orange glow of a fan heater that sits on her desk in Kabul's Parliament House.
She's a senator. And her name is confusing; she is actually of the Ahmadzai tribe, but she has taken the name Achekzai to honour her late husband who was of that tribe.
She stabs at her mobile phone, diverting a stream of calls. And before she dares to discuss the brutal depths of politics and policy in Oruzgan, she pauses to eject all the men from her crowded office.
She berates the provincial leadership for failing women, saying that in the lead-up to the last elections she focused electoral awareness among women in Oruzgan, for which she was threatened with death, specifically by beheading.
''Our presence as women MPs in Kabul is kind of symbolic, but the truth is we get no support and we're not liked,'' she says. ''Of the tribes, the Barakzai are totally against any advancement for women, but at least the Popalzai flatter us; we get lip service from them.'' She had ventured to Oruzgan a few weeks before we met late in January, but it became a fraught business.
''I flew to Kandahar and drove north to TK by road, wearing a burqa for the whole journey. And I had to keep it on in my village and in Taren Kowt town. The governor says that if I don't wear it, I might get shot.''
Are we to read from this that little has changed for women after coalition forces have been on the ground for more than a decade? She mentioned earlier that many homes now had a sewing machine, as though the acquisition was a measure of progress in women's rights. But now she replies, ''The reality is that virtually nothing has changed.''",1174,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824201.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00150-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980425119400024
0e56a2c7-3599-4d65-ba3a-e61a7868defa,2019-08-18T18:13:57+00:00,2019-08-18,0,https://www.maaofallblogs.com/a-small-healthy-change-goes-a-mile-with-kent-cold-pressed-juicer.html/,"For My Kids:
Why ATC juice?
A lot of people use beetroot instead of tomato but beetroot color is easily distinguishable and then my kids won’t have the juice at all. As far as tomatoes go, in the cold press juicer, they were not able to distinguish the taste. My kids are super finicky and I was still able to pull it off. This juice had a slight hint of tomato, so slight that the kids couldn’t figure it out. Apple and carrot added so much taste to it and the consistency was without any roughage, perfect for them.
Some Interesting facts about the #KentColdPressJuicer
- In conventional juicers, the nutrients and fibers get oxidized due to the heat generated as a result of high-speed spinning. On the other hand, #KENTColdPressedJuicer does not produce as much heat thus keeping the nutrients and fibers intact.
- The fruits and vegetable juice tastes way sweeter than if produced by any conventional juicer. I can totally vouch for this and vegetables and fruits that you didn’t think you can have tasted better.
- You don’t need to chop the vegetables or fruits finely. The best part is the roughage gets separated very easily and comes out from a different section.
- It works best with fibrous fruits like sweet lime, orange, pineapples, and pomegranate. But we tried tomatoes, gourd, aamla etc too.
- Two filters – the #KentColdPressedJuicer comes with two different wire mesh filters. The mesh itself is metal or steel, making it durable. And the two filters with different sized pores give you a choice. The finer mesh works best if you do not want any pulp or fiber( especially for kiddos) and the slightly larger one if you like a little pulp and even some fiber in your juice. I did not use the larger mesh for these two but I did try a few more combinations with the larger mesh.
- There is a reverse action knob allows you to reverse the motor for a few seconds, thus releasing anything which may have caught in the blades. Honestly, I did not find it very effective.
We tried a lot of different combinations and basically experimented with whatever we could get our hands on. One other successful combination was aamla, mint and gourd. I can’t imagine gulping it down in any other way, but the cold press technique made it taste great. We would love to hear about your experiments with juices if you get inspired and make your own.",540,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00181.warc.gz,0.944705963134766
a033854c-c957-4c5b-98eb-de97d2a85173,2019-08-25T06:53:36+00:00,2019-08-25,0,http://www.beatlelinks.net/forums/showpost.php?s=88294d1d2bc1bb99e446fb62dbb9a840&p=1106397&postcount=12,"Originally Posted by beatlebangs1964
Now ""I'm Happy Just to Dance With You"" has been one of my favorites since I was fender high to a Ford Falcon. When I say I love that song, I am not kidding! It's my favorite song in the whole darn movie and title album. John wrote it and George, as we know ROCKED THE HECK OUT OF THAT SONG! Damn! He really tore it up GOOD on that one!
Although the Fabs expressed displeasure, I still think it is a wonderful song. I just love it!
I've always liked this song; I love the melody and George's voice; a truly underrated song I think.",142,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323221.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825062944-20190825084944-00289.warc.gz,0.964137494564056
a34a336a-f719-4a51-a52d-214741a31794,2017-08-22T07:12:10+00:00,2017-08-22,0,http://atlasprofilax.net/6.html,"Today, following the passing away of René-C. Schümperli, AtlasPROfilax® is
moving into the next phase of strategic development. To accomplish the
scientific research and its practical implementation is our main goal and
vision, helping hundreds of thousands of people around the world giving
them the chance to live a life of higher quality.
What Does ATLASPROFILAX® Mean?
The word AtlasPROfilax® means from the atlas - a first cervical vertebra,
the AtlasProf® - Professional of the AtlasPROfilax® intervention and
Professionalism - is one of our main concepts.
The correction of the atlas vertebra is one of the conditions for our perfect life.",155,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110485.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822065702-20170822085702-00182.warc.gz,0.820679426193237
46f610c4-5828-4d0c-a170-40e3127b8b96,2019-08-24T22:21:42+00:00,2006-10-15,0,http://mobroad.com/generic.html,"Recently, the US Federal government banned online casinos from operating in America by making it illegal to transfer money to them through any US bank or payment system. As a result of this law, most of the popular online casino networks such as Party Gaming and PlayTech left the United States. Overnight, online casino players found themselves being chased by the Federal government. But, after a fortnight, the online casino industry came up with a solution and new online casinos started taking root. These began to operate under a different business umbrella, and by doing that, rendered the transfer of money to and from them legal. A major part of this was enlisting electronic banking systems that would accept this new clarification and start doing business with me. Listed in this article are the electronic banking systems that accept players from the United States that wish to play in online casinos.",169,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321786.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824214845-20190825000845-00543.warc.gz,0.969635009765625
8edaf8cd-6ad6-4ffc-a923-ed2ec3003f84,2017-08-22T22:52:54+00:00,2017-08-22,1,https://www.pakwheels.com/blog/honda-cars-will-warn-you-if-your-driving-behavior-is-likely-to-cause-a-traffic-jam/,"Self-driving cars and self-parking cars are in the works in R&D labortries of various auto makers, until than, Honda is working on a unique technology which identifies patterns of a driver’s behavior that is likely to cause a traffic jam.
In conjunction with the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, Honda conducted experimental testing of a system utilizing the technology to detect the potential for traffic congestion. The test results demonstrated that the system helped increase the average speed by approximately 23% and improved fuel efficiency by approximately 8% of trailing vehicles.
To identify whether or not the driver’s driving style/behavior is to cause traffic jam or congestion, Honda developed this technology while recognizing that the acceleration and deceleration behavior of one vehicle influences the traffic pattern of trailing vehicles and can trigger the traffic congestion. Based on this, a color-coded on-board computer encourages the driver to correct their behaviors for smoother driving with the goal of alleviating congestion behind them.
This system will help in reducing traffic congestion and improving the fuel economy by advising the driver on maintaining speeds and ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) taking over to maintain the correct distance.",242,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886116921.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822221214-20170823001214-00413.warc.gz,0.936277687549591
4e5ef433-4758-459e-a373-946baa2ed9b3,2017-08-19T01:35:18+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://experiencetollgate.com/survival-camp-week-2-day-4/,"Thursday was a very fun day at survival camp!
Meet the yellow peppers!
They helped in the garden by picking weeds between the rows of corn.
In the animal barn, campers fed the animals and provided fresh water.
The blue peppers helped move the chicken coup. Why do we move the chicken coup every day? What do the pasture chickens eat?
The yellow peppers cleaned feeding bowls for the lactating goats. These bowls are used to feed the goats while campers do the milking chores.
The green peppers swept the floor. Many hands make light work! Thanks for caring for our animals peppers!
Safety is important when shooting archery. Staff taught campers about bow and arrow safety out in the hay field.
The peppers entered the range to practice shooting without a bow and arrow to encourage them to remember safety rules.
A survival maze was set up in the barn. The campers worked together to get through the maze from corner to corner. What did your camper do to communicate with their teammates? How did communication change when they were no longer allowed to talk?
The tie-dye t-shirts dried on the line this afternoon. Campers are encouraged to wear their shirts tomorrow to show off their creation.
In morning garden kitchen, the campers made orange, banana, and carrot smoothies.
In the afternoon, the campers made rice pudding. It was delicious.
Here are the recipes from today:
Morning: Orange Smoothie
1 frozen banana
2-3 peeled oranges
1-2 large carrots
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until thoroughly combined.
Afternoon: Rice Pudding
3 cups rice milk or milk of choice
1 cup white or brown rice, uncooked
Pure maple syrup or banana to taste
1 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon to taste
1 orange peel (optional)
Combine 2 cups of rice milk, rice, orange peel, and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add maple syrup and remaining cup of milk. Continue to simmer on medium-low heat and stir until thick, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the orange peel, and remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve (can also refrigerate and eat cold).
Welcome to the shooting range! Arm guards were used to protect the arm holding the bow from the strings.
Campers pointed to the goats/sheep and then to the target to make their “T” stance.
Then campers knocked an arrow on the bow.
Last, they shot the arrow at the target. How well did your camper aim at the target? What could they do in the future to increase their accuracy?
Campers continued building their shelters today.
The orange peppers created a welcome sign.
The blue and green peppers added a deer skull they found in the woods to their shelter.
The blue peppers went on an edible food hike. They found plants around the farm to try.
These campers tried eating the cat tail stalk.
How did the wild plants taste? Would your camper eat them in a survival situation?
The teen volunteers participated in an activity after camp. They listened to a presentation about epinephrine pens in a survival situation.
They ejected an epi-pen into a box to observe what is inside the plastic case.
Then they took apart the epi-pen case and learned their are additional doses of epinephrine in the case.
Here are additional photos from today:",753,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00696.warc.gz,0.943128407001495
5489e6a5-aa9f-4421-8edf-649b0b571c86,2013-05-20T02:31:13+00:00,2013-05-20,1,http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/24761/washington-pitt-go-to-the-candy-store,"Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington are in very early talks to star in ""Syriana"" filmmaker Stephen Gaghan's new crime thriller ""Candy Store"" at Lionsgate says The Hollywood Reporter.
The story follows a highly trained deep-cover operative who starts his life over in Brooklyn as a beat cop. He soon discovers the global organization he was dedicated to fighting is also operating in his new backyard.
Described as a 'two-hander', there's meaty roles for the two main characters. Jamie Foxx was reportedly said to be interested in one of the roles as well.",120,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.983907461166382
453577a4-a6a8-4012-ab50-90f58974bbe3,2022-05-23T05:18:43+00:00,2022-05-23,0,http://en.ownic.com.cn/product/AUTOMATIC-EMERGENCY-BREAK-OUT-DOOR-(JSDM)-255.html,"AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BREAK OUT DOOR (JSDM)
1.The door is designed for emergency escape passage where a large number of pedestrian pass by. Such as airport, hospital, bus station, mall, hotel and other public buildings.
2.Under normal circumstances, the middle leaves move by slide way, and two fixed side panel hold on. When emergency happens, no matter where the position and statue of panels are, all the four panels could be pushed rapidly as swing door to maximize utilization of exit space.
3.Running quietly and smoothly. Whenever obstruction happens during its operation cycle, the door will rebound automatically to ensure the safety of passengers.
|Max weight:||single 150kg*2, double 100kg*4|
|Open speed:||250~500mm/s (Adjustable)|
|Close speed:||250~500mm/s (Adjustable)|
|Hold open delay:||2~20s (Adjustable)|
|Manual open force:||<100N|
AUTOMATIC HERMETIC ICU DOOR (EKDM)
AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR (ETDM)
Automatic sliding door, double open. (Can be hermetic also)
AUTOMATIC HERMETIC DOOR (QTDM, Built in)
Automatic hermetic sliding door for hospital operating room. In-wall.
AUTOMATIC HERMETIC DOOR (QTDM, On wall)
Automatic hermetic sliding door for hospital operating room.
AUTOMATIC HERMETIC DOOR (DMH01)
New type! Automatic hermetic sliding door with German Dunker motor!",429,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00422.warc.gz,0.726017951965332
a6d335db-3814-4833-9951-d90fa1c05fed,2019-08-17T15:06:33+00:00,2018-11-26,0,https://1037wllr.iheart.com/content/2018-11-26-bacon-beer-festival/,"The Bacon & Beer Festival is back...Saturday, February 2, 2019, in the Great Hall at the RiverCenter in Davenport. Tickets are on sale now! The Bacon & Beer Festival is Davenport’s annual event and celebration of all things brews and bacon. Falling on the same weekend as Super Bowl 53, the 2019 Davenport Bacon & Beer Festival “Pigskin Classic” will again bring the region’s top eateries, pork purveyors, and specialty craft brewers together for a one-day salute to the ultimate culinary match made in hog heaven.
Content Goes Here",127,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00323.warc.gz,0.881601274013519
bcdaf538-0bc1-4a22-8540-e9bde13627ca,2020-10-21T10:49:36+00:00,2020-10-21,1,https://www.mfw4a.org/news/ethiopia-european-investment-bank-sign-loan-agreement-support-female-businesses,"Ethiopia, European Investment Bank Sign Loan Agreement to Support Female Businesses
Ethiopia has signed a 30-million-Euros agreement concessional loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) today.
The loan will be used to support the Women Entrepreneurship Development Program to benefit women engaged in business activities. The agreement was inked by Finance Minister, Ahmed Shide and EIB President, Werner Hoyer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
During the signing ceremony, EIB President Hoyer said the loan will raise the incomes of female-run micro and small enterprises by providing more women entrepreneurs access to loans. Appreciating the move taken by the government of Ethiopia to ensure gender equality, he noted that empowering women is instrumental in improving women's productivity, economic growth and social cohesion and justice.
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide on his part acknowledged the importance of the loan to enhance access to female-owned small and micro enterprises. The grant will support women entrepreneurs by providing training in manufacture sector and providing training in professional life skills, he added.
Ahmed revealed that public infrastructures, access to finance to small and micro enterprises, and mobile banking are among the areas of engagement between Ethiopia and EIB.
Source: All Africa",257,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876307.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021093214-20201021123214-00217.warc.gz,0.95002156496048
9dd35703-62c1-43ff-a13c-4f26f0f3fb10,2013-05-25T05:52:29+00:00,2012-03-06,1,http://www.nwpr.org/post/michigan-man-sues-movie-theater-because-high-price-concessions,"People of Northwest Public Radio
Tue March 6, 2012
Michigan Man Sues Movie Theater Because Of High Price Of Concessions
Originally published on Tue March 6, 2012 8:59 am
Few would argue that the prices at movie theater concessions are a bit high: $11 for a Coke and popcorn, $6 for a box of gummy worms. Few would argue that it seems excessive.
As the Hollywood Reporter puts it, it may seem ""like highway robbery, but is it actually unlawful?""
Joshua Thompson, a Michigan man in his 20s, is putting that question to the test by filing a class action lawsuit against his local AMC theater alleging the theater is price gouging.
""'He got tired of being taken advantage of,' said Thompson's lawyer, Kerry Morgan of Wyandotte. 'It's hard to justify prices that are three- and four-times higher than anywhere else.'
American Multi Cinema, which operates the AMC theater in Livonia, wouldn't comment on the suit. A staffer at the National Association of Theatre Owners in Washington, D.C., angrily hung up the phone when asked about industry snack pricing practices.
Now, a legal experts consulted by the Free Press seem to think the lawsuit is dead on arrival.
The paper reports that ""state Supreme Court decisions in 1999 and 2007 exempted most regulated businesses from the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.""
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Morgan disagreed saying they were testing ""the legal boundaries of that state law.""
All that aside, the Free Press had no problem finding movie-goers who supported the lawsuit.
Now, the Hollywood Reporter goes a bit deeper into movie theater finances and comes to a rather counterintuitive conclusion. Theaters make most of their money from concessions; the price of tickets goes mostly to the Hollywood studios.
The Reporter concludes:
""If this lawsuit ever did get to trial, AMC would certainly bring their own experts that could testify that charging high prices is actually in the consumers' best interest.
""As hard as that is to believe, researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of California, Santa Cruz, concluded in 2009 that 'by charging high prices on concessions, exhibition houses are able to keep ticket prices lower, which allows more people to enjoy the silver-screen experience.'""
AMC told the Times it could not comment on pending legislation.",483,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966482937335968
ff7762f4-6603-4943-a8db-9e0136ab4065,2018-08-17T11:31:07+00:00,2018-08-17,0,https://www.battsavl.com/products/dsp-30,"Computer Configurable Digital Signal Processor
Featuring intuitive PC system configuration combined with ""set-and-forget"" convenience, the DSP-30 unites easy-to-use, customizable, two-channel digital signal processing (DSP) with a simple preset selection interface that requires only two buttons. It can be used with all amplifiers and is housed in a 1RU, 19-inch rack-mount steel chassis. Sampling frequency is 48 kHz with 24-bit resolution. Dynamic range is greater than 95 dB. Rugged and dependable in the spirit of all QSC professional audio products, the DSP-30 is well suited to a variety of applications including mobile DJ, club PA, and pro touring.
The DSP-30's powerful processor enables a wide range of signal processing functions. Whether you need speaker crossovers, EQ, time delay, or subsonic filters, the DSP-30 is as flexible as your system's needs.
Each channel includes:
- Crossover filtering
- Multiple parametric EQs
- Shelf filtering
- Tone and noise generation
- Precision attenuation
- Multiple delays (up to 910 ms)
- Compression and limiting
The DSP-30's processing horsepower is dynamically assignable, so you are not limited by a fixed signal chain. Simply use QSC's powerful PC-based Signal Manager software to easily configure multiple processing functions and signal flow with ""drag-and-drop"" tools. The DSP-30 provides eight fully configurable user presets, selectable from front-panel switches.
The power and flexibility of the DSP-30 eliminates the need for individual outboard signal processors—reducing cost, space, and installation time for almost any application. Housed in a 1RU, 19-inch rack-mount steel chassis, it can be used with all audio systems.
| DSP-30 FEATURES
- 48kHz, 24-bit converters
- No turn on pops or ""zipper"" noise
- If the memory or hardware fails, unit turns on muted to prevent driver damage
- Easy PC connection with front panel RS-232
- Balanced Neutrik® Combo (XLR and 1/4"") inputs and XLR outputs
- Power and signal present LEDs with signal level
- Numeric display indicates current preset
- Eight fully configurable user presets
- Preset Browse and Accept buttons with lock-out feature
- Selectable input sensitivity: 1.5, 4, 9, 18 Vrms; 6, 14.5, 21.5, 27.5 dBu; 3.5, 12, 19, 25 dBV
- ""Drag-and-drop"" configuration software
- Hard copy printout of configuration layout or parameter settings
- DSP processing power and memory dynamically assignable to signal processing functions— eliminating the limitations imposed by fixed signal chain designs
- Graphical representation of DSP resources
- Firmware upgrades via RS-232",619,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212040.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817104238-20180817124238-00402.warc.gz,0.823288381099701
015d3ad4-e324-46a9-a6b9-05da1d4d60cf,2020-10-23T05:40:54+00:00,2020-09-17,1,https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-09-17/disruptive-new-telco-moves-closer-to-prime-time-101606566.html,"Disruptive New Telco Moves Closer to Prime Time
A major new company that could ultimately challenge China’s wireless carriers and digital entertainment providers by pooling many of the nation’s local cable TV operators came one step closer to commercial operation this week with the signing of an agreement by its 46 new stakeholders.
The number of signatories was one less than previously disclosed by the group in a series of filings last month, as Citic Guoan Information Industry Co. Ltd. dropped out for unspecified reasons. As a holder of stakes in 17 city cable networks in seven provinces around China, Citic Guoan was expected to be an important partner in the new venture, whose name translates to Unified National Network (UNN).
It was not immediately clear why Citic Guoan dropped out, though one observer speculated the surprise move could be related to an ongoing reorganization at the company’s parent Citic Group, one of China’s top financial conglomerates. Citic Guoan’s previously intended stake in UNN will now go to China Broadcasting Network Corp. Ltd. (CBN), a company that was set up to consolidate China’s fragmented cable TV industry nearly a decade ago. CBN had originally been slated to hold a majority 51% of the company under the agreement announced last month.
Plans to consolidation of China’s various regional cable networks date back to 2012 when the country’s State Council green-lighted the formation of CBN with that specific mission. The company was officially set up in 2014, but has been confronted by continual issues since then due to the complexity of its mission. The drive to complete the consolidation has gained extra urgency recently as cable TV companies lose market share to more nimble private sector rivals like iQiyi and Youku that deliver TV over the internet and have national reach.
CBN made headlines last year when it unexpectedly received a fourth license to offer cutting-edge 5G telecom services alongside the nation’s three major wireless carriers. Last month one of those carriers, China Mobile, announced it would jointly build its 5G network with CBN, providing the latter with a way to quickly get into the capital-intensive business.
As the majority stakeholder in CBN, observers expect the company to be the driving force behind the new Unified National Network, which should be able to offer a wide range of services like home-based broadband, pay TV and 5G wireless phone and internet service. That could give the company an edge over more established rivals despite its late arrival to the telecom-based services arena.
Other stakeholders in UNN will remain unchanged from last month’s announcement. Those include stakes of nearly 10% for units of e-commerce giant Alibaba and electric grid operator State Grid Corp. of China, which will each contribute 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to help capitalize the new company.
The new company’s other major stakeholders will be regional cable TV operators, which will supply their cable TV assets in exchange for shares. Among those Guangdong’s network operator will receive 6.15% of UNN, and Beijing’s will get 3.85%. UNN will have registered capital of 101.2 billion yuan and its board will have 11 members, according to last month’s announcement.
Several sources told Caixin in February that multiple broadcast-related government agencies were giving an extra push to create the new company that would finally consolidate the nation’s fragmented cable TV producers into a single company that would also offer 5G services. One of the trickiest issues had been determining what stake of the new company to give each provider of regional network assets. As part of the arrangement with the new company, the regional network operators will be able to offer local 5G services using CBN’s 5G license.
Contact reporter Yang Ge (email@example.com)
Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.
- MOST POPULAR",829,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880656.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023043931-20201023073931-00415.warc.gz,0.955256402492523
e5981e6e-653c-4826-b032-9a6d5e8bc44b,2022-05-17T20:30:46+00:00,2017-08-01,1,https://www.articleshore.com/anti-epilepsy-drugs-market-2022-global-opportunities-and-forecast-to-2027/,"Anti Epilepsy Drugs Market 2022
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that causes unprovoked and recurrent seizures. Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder and affects people of all ages. The patients are reported to loss or disturbance of consciousness and movements along with sensory or psychiatric disturbances. Increasing prevalence of the epilepsy, rising per capita healthcare expenditure and increasing R&D for the therapeutic procedures of the disease drives the market growth during the forecast period, 2017-2022. According to the World Health Organization in 2017, approximately 50 million people across the globe have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally. Moreover, it was estimated that nearly 80% of the people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, approval of several late-stage pipeline molecules, advancements in drugs modification and favourable government initiative fuels the market growth. However, side effects related to the therapeutic drugs, increasing generic competition and patent expirations are some of the restrains that for the growth during the forecast period.
The global Anti Epilepsy Drugs Market is growing with the sound pace. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global Anti Epilepsy Drugs Market is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period growing rapidly .The market is forecasted to demonstrate a sound growth by 2022, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the anticipated period (2017 – 2022).
Access Full Report Details and Order this Premium Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/anti-epilepsy-drugs-market-2345
Major Key Players:
Pfizer, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, UCB Pharma Ltd., Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis AG, Sanofi, Shire Pharmaceuticals Limited and Cephalon Inc., are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Anti Epilepsy Drugs Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis.
Characterized by the presence of several well-established and small players, the global Antiepileptic Drugs Market appears to be highly competitive and fragmented. International players who are increasingly expanding their footprint in the developing economy, making it difficult for regional vendors to compete with them, especially in terms of features such as product differentiation, product portfolios, quality, and pricing. The market is witnessing intensified competition which is expected to get more intensified further during the forecast period. The intense competition prevalent in the market dictates the consolidation among marketers.
Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and product launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position.
Pfizer Inc. is one of the major players of the global Anti Epilepsy Drugs Market and is headquartered in the U.S. In 2015, the company’s total revenue was about USD 48,851 million and it reached USD 52,824 million in 2016. Such a significant increase in the global sales, enabled the company to invest a huge percentage of their sales into the research and development. In 2016, the company spent 14.9% of its total revenue into the R&D enabling it to improve its product portfolio and launch new product, strengthening its position in the market.
In October 2016, Abbott has collaborated with Celgene and Agios for diagnostic identification of IDH mutations. Celgene has done an agreement with Abbott to develop and commercialize the diagnostic tests.
In November 2016, Novartis acquired Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a company specializing in development of therapeutics in certain hematologic and inflammatory disorders.
In August 2017, Sanofi completed the acquisition of Protein Sciences, a vaccines biotechnology company based in Meriden, Connecticut in the United States. This acquisition was followed by the Federal Trade Commission approval, having met all the conditions required for the closing of the transaction.
On the regional backgrounds the Americas leads the global market for anti-epilepsy drugs owing to a well-developed healthcare sector, increasing prevalence of epilepsy and presence of the developed technologies within the region. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015, 1.2% of the total U.S. population had active epilepsy. Moreover, it was estimated that the yearly total direct and indirect cost of epilepsy in the U.S. was about USD 15.5 billion. Europe is second in the market due to rising healthcare expenditures, huge patient population and growing healthcare R&D expenses by the government. The Asia Pacific region is the fastest growing region due to the developing economies like India and China which are increasing their healthcare expenditures and have huge patient population. Moreover, favourable government policies within the region fuels the market growth. Middle East and Africa have the least market share, especially due to the presence of poor economies and stringent government policies within the African region.
NOTE: Our Team of Researchers are Studying Covid19 and its Impact on Various Industry Verticals and wherever required we will be considering Covid19 Footprints for Better Analysis of Market and Industries. Cordially get in Touch for More Details.
About Market Research Future
At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.
MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.
In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.
Market Research Future
Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers
Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar,
Pune – 411028
+1 646 845 9312",1667,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520817.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517194243-20220517224243-00425.warc.gz,0.931275486946106
13553f97-69a5-4eba-9d85-790c94eb5443,2015-04-01T22:41:24+00:00,2001-11-02,0,http://www.retrojunk.com/content/child/quote/page/36123/monsters-inc/1,"(in the credits)Am I scary? Did I get the part?
You're the boss! You're the boss! You're the big, hairy boss!
Shh shh shh shh! You hear that? It's the winds of change.
(imitates mockingly about what Randall says about the winds of change) Oh what a creep! One of these days I am really... going to let you teach that guy a lesson.
C'mon, fight that plaque! Fight that plaque! Scary monsters don't have plaque!
Welcome to the Himalayas! Snow cone?
23-19! We have a 23-19!
Hey Ted, good morning!
See that Mikey? Even Ted's walking to work.
Big deal. Guy takes five steps and he's there!
This office is now closed! (slams window shut on Mike's fingers)
We're banished, genius! We're in the human world!
Ha ha ha!
Oh, so that's puce.
I'm watching you! Always watching!
What can I say, the camera loves me!
Oh schmutzi poo!
We're just rehearsing a scene from our company's latest play. It's called ""Put That Thing Back Where It Came From or So Help Me"". It's a musical.",282,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00138-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.846696376800537
bb3165b6-03d2-4bbd-b49f-08f3b38057bc,2015-03-31T05:31:10+00:00,2015-03-31,0,https://www.funagain.com/control/product/~product_id=007852,"Notify me if/when this item becomes available:
(you will be asked to log in first)
from 32 customer reviews
Please Login to use shopping lists.
Racing through the Deck of Fame, your team competes in 3 hilarious rounds to collect the most celebrities. Time is ticking... and you're scrambling to get your partner to identify the name on your card. They had at least 15 minutes of fame.... You have 30 seconds.... Do whatever it takes to get the most celebrities on your side before... TIME'S UP!
In his series The Dice Tower Audio Reviews, noted reviewer Tom Vasel provides short audio (mp3) reviews of both new and old games. Tom knows games, and these audio reviews are a great way to find out more!
Average Rating: 4.5 in 32 reviews
I bought Time's Up at least 5 years ago because I saw it listed as an award-winner on the Internet. I loved it immediately but seldom had opportunities to play it. Then I took it to a ""game night"" with a group of mostly retired teachers and it was the hit of the party. At the next gathering, it was the first game requested, and at the party after that, I disappointed everyone by not bringing it.
This is by far the best party game I have ever played. My friends like Apples to Apples, Balderdash, Wise and Otherwise... you get the idea... but I think this game has the most laughs of them all. The fast pacing adds to the fun and keeps everyone involved. One of the best things about the game is that it can be played with a large number of people - I think 6 to 12 is ideal, but even more can play if need be, and no one gets bored waiting for a turn.
In my experience, no game has gotten as many laughs as Time's Up. I guess that its biggest praise is that it is easily the most requested game in my collection as well as the fact that playing the game with us has caused several other people to go out and buy the game themselves. Time's Up is also my wife's favorite game.
Time's Up is a party game and, as such, will not cater to everyone. We play a large variety of games, including many of the more popular party games like Apples To Apples, Balderdash, Guesstures, Taboo, Cranium, , Headbandz, 25 Words Or Less, and more. We also play strategy games like Puerto Rico and El Grande (and like them a lot), but for some crowds, only a party game will do. Time's Up is the choice number one.
When I first heard about this game, I was a little skeptical whether I would actually enjoy it at all. I'm glad that I was convinced to try it out. I picked up my own copy shorty afterwards. Inside the box, I found the standard party game fare: One 30-second timer, score pad, rules sheet and several cards.
Each card contains 2 names of people -- either real or fictional. Only one of these names will be used in any single play. There are easily enough cards in the box to last several plays since you will only need 40 cards for each play. Even after exhausting the deck, memorizing the names of the cards will only help you if you find yourself playing with someone that has also previously played with that same card. If you do end up playing enough that this becomes an issue, there are two expansion packs jam packed with new names. There are also blank cards available so that you can create your own set of names.
The rules sheet doubles as a reference sheet that contains a list of every name used in the game, plus a description of who each person is. These pages are not actually referenced until the game is well underway, as I'll explain below.
The game starts by selecting which set of names will be used -- there is a yellow side and a blue side to every card -- and distributing 40 cards evenly amongst all the players. The rules state that everyone then gets an additional card and then they pick any one of their cards to be thrown out for the rest of the game. We like to play without using this particular rule because it's those names that get thrown out that are often the most fun to play with since nobody seems to know who the person is.
Once everyone has taken a good look at their cards, all the cards are collected into a single pile and shuffled together. Each team then takes a turn trying to get as many points as possible. In the first round, one of the team members give out clues to her teammates. Any clue is valid, as long as any word that is spoken does not contain a significant portion of the answer. Clues may include talking, miming, singing, humming, or anything else that you can think of. You can even use ""rhymes with"" clues, as long as you don't say the word that the answer actually sounds like. For example, if the name you are trying to get is 'Cable', then you cannot say ""it rhymes with table"". You can, however, say ""it rhymes with the wooden furniture that you use to eat off of."".
In this first round, the giver has 30 seconds to get as many of the cards as they can. However, the team cannot pass, making things a lot more challenging. The most hilarious moments come when two partners just can't click. Everyone else in the room may know the answer based on the giver's clues, except the partner! Even funnier is when the giver thinks of the perfect clue and the partner guesses the correct person for the clue, but the person on the card is somebody entirely different!
Admittedly, this first round can be intimidating for people who are not used to party games. I have had more than a handful of players throw up their hands and exclaim ""I can't do this"". In every instance, those players quickly got the hang of the game and had as much fun as the rest of us.
When a receiver correctly guesses the name on the card, that team gets to keep the card. Any card that they did not get goes back into the pile. The pile is shuffled and moved on to the next team. That means that, eventually, the same names will pop up again. Sometimes, over and over again. Fortunately, by the time the name has appeared a few times, somebody has memorized it and some associated clue and will guess correctly, even if they have no idea who the person actually is!
After all 40 cards are guessed, everyone pauses to slow down the laughter. Each team scores one point for each card in their possession. Of course, the fun is just beginning. First of all, we need to find out who exactly Henry Wadsworth Longfellow happens to be. The rules/reference sheet tells us who everyone is and, armed with the new knowledge, everyone is ready for the second round. All the cards are collected into one common pile and shuffled together once again.
In the second round, the team with the lowest score starts. This time, the giver may only use one single word as a clue. She is still allowed to perform any charades or hum a tune, but a second word defaults the current card. The giver still only has 30 seconds to get as many cards as possible. However, this time, she is allowed to pass. Not only that, but the guesser can only make one guess per card. This leads to a mad flurry of cards flying out of the way in search of some name with an obvious clue. That is, until all the 'easy' cards have been guessed and we are left frantically miming Placido Domingo, Fats Domino and Minnesota Fats. This round plays surprisingly fast, thanks to the one word clue, and the fact that everyone has already seen the names on the cards at least once.
At the end of the round, everyone counts their points again and we collect the cards to start the third round. This time, referencing the names sheet is not allowed but laughing at all the ridiculous miming and humming is encouraged.
For the third round, you are allowed to pass but you are not allowed to say a single word. This plays much like charades -- plus humming -- but with cards that you already know! This means that you can fly through 8 or 9 cards if you get on a roll, but you can get stuck with your partner consistently yelling the wrong name if Barney The Dinosaur, Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone are all in there! Since only one guess is allowed per card, you are forced to pass and move on to the next card.
After three rounds, everyone counts up their last batch of cards. The winning team is the one with the most cumulative cards collected in all three rounds. Of course, by this point, hardly anybody cares about the score. Everyone is usually laughing and rearing to play again.
We have played the game with as few as 4 and as many as 16 people. I find that 6 is probably the best number. With more than 8, you'll want to start grouping people in more than two per team. We like to partner people up who are the least familiar with each other. Generally, the game seems more fun when partners have completely different interests.
Time's Up is the most fun that I have ever had with a party game.
To the one-star review - pleeeeeease give Time's Up another try, if you did indeed misunderstand the rules the first time. Here's the beauty of the game: It's less about charades or knowing famous names, and more about remembering the clues your fellow players invent. It doesn't matter if those clues were right or wrong. In fact, a failed, ""messed-up,"" or convoluted clue in the first round will, quite often, become the memorable key to winning in the third.This also applies to those names that need to be ""sounded out."" They make take two or three trips around the table, but part of the fun is when you've seen a card go by, and you suddenly ""get"" what another player is trying to do with it, and how you can build on their idea if it comes back around to you. This dynamic keeps everyone in the game and paying attention. Though the game might sound daunting to some, it's easier than you think, and scales well to the various skill levels in a group. It's also packed with laughs and surprise; a definite hit with our group!
Show all 32 reviews >
Quick! Pass a deck of 40 randomly chosen celebrity name cards from team to team. The clue-giver has a mere 30 seconds to communicate the identities of as many cards as possible, using words, pantomime, and sound effects. The round continues until all names have been guessed. Give each team a point for each card they've won, then take all the cards back--you'll need them for the next two rounds. In the second round, you're only allowed to say one word per name card, and in the third and final round you must make do with no words at all. The team with the highest total of all three rounds wins. A good memory and rudimentary acting ability will bring you success, and the 864 name cards assure you many merry moments.",2346,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00044-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.978451490402222
4f7b7394-cf24-4714-bd46-b93f216b358a,2018-08-14T16:20:16+00:00,2016-11-30,0,https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/30/apple-apologizes-for-icloud-calendar-invite-spam-actively-identifying-and-blocking-senders/,"Some Apple users have been plagued with iCloud calendar invite spam in recent weeks, with calendar periods being blocked up with unsolicited events from anonymous senders (usually with Chinese names). It is thought that the spammers are mass targeting any iCloud email account it can find on the web, rather than targeting specific users.
Apple has now acknowledged the issue in a statement to iMore, starting with an apology to anyone who has received iCloud calendar spam. The company says it is actively “identifying and blocking suspicious senders” to try and stem the arrival of the junk messages.
Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
iCloud calendar spam has been a long-running issue but peaked in recent weeks with a fresh wave of spammers exploiting the holiday shopping season.
As any person can send an invite to an arbitrary email address, these unscrupulous senders are simply trying any email address they can find, hoping a real person is on the other end of it.
Here’s Apple’s full statement, as provided to iMore.
We are sorry that some of our users are receiving spam calendar invitations. We are actively working to address this issue by identifying and blocking suspicious senders and spam in the invites being sent.
Recipients of the spam invites are left in a confusing situation as there isn’t a clear-cut solution for the problem. Users can Decline the invites, which will remove the event from their calendar, but will not prevent the spammers from sending more invites in future and alerts the sender that the email address is active and has a real person on the other end of it. Therefore, pressing Decline can do more harm than good.
Calendar on iOS and Mac currently lacks any way to block these invites. In the absence of an official feature, there is a convoluted workaround to use in the meantime … but isn’t simple or convenient. A definitive comprehensive answer to the question ‘how to fix iCloud calendar spam?’ doesn’t really exist.
Perhaps in a future software release, Apple will add a feature to limit the scope of people that can invite an account. Until something like this arrives, the simplest option is to just ignore the spam events. It’s basically harmless as long as you don’t click on the links in the messages.
As mentioned in the statement, the company is currently attacking the issue from the server-side. It is employing spam-detection techniques to prevent the invites from going out in the first place. Time will tell if this strategy is effective and/or sufficient.",531,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209165.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814150733-20180814170733-00602.warc.gz,0.94520092010498
b7a36c53-8862-4479-b6e0-14a39e0e27df,2013-05-21T10:06:33+00:00,2005-06-05,0,http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/suzuki/swift/2000/page-3/,"Very reliable, fuel economy
At 40,000km Transmission needed to be fixed because it would not stay in 5th gear it cost 700 dollars.
Besides the transmission needing to be fixed this car has been great to own. It has been very fuel efficient and reliable. I take it lots of places in cold or rain. the only thing that could be better is having air conditioning in the summer, but is not a necessity for me. this is a great first car for any one.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 5th June, 2005",121,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966504573822022
baf8aa4c-e337-4cbb-841f-a4195f04d5a3,2017-08-18T01:18:39+00:00,2017-05-01,1,http://www.watcheast.com/zenith-chronomaster-el-primero-sport-land-rover-bar-team-edition-official-timekeeper-of-the-land-rover-bar-team-zenith-unveils-a-new-limited-edition-dedicated-to-the-british-challenger-battling-fo/,"Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Sport Land Rover BAR Team Edition Official timekeeper of the Land Rover BAR team, Zenith unveils a new limited edition dedicated to the British Challenger battling for the 35th America’s Cup.
The Chronomaster El Primero Sport Land Rover BAR Team Edition has inherited the DNA of the famous 1969 El Primero, which remains one of the world’s most precise series-made chronographs – developed and produced by the Manufacture founded in Le Locle in 1865 and that has won 2,333 chronometry prizes in its century and a half of existence. The 45 mm-diameter steel case houses the famous El Primero 400 B automatic chronograph movement, featuring an integrated column-wheel construction and beating at a cadence of 36,000 vibrations/hour. The new model is water-resistant to 200 metres and equipped with a new black rubber strap coated with carbon fibre, the same material as certain parts of the team boat. The case-back also bears Sir Ben Ainslie’s lucky number, three, which has featured on all his winning boats.
Land Rover BAR Team et R1
Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) was launched on June 10th 2014 in the presence of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge. The British team was put together by four times Olympic gold medallist and 34th America’s Cup winner, Sir Ben Ainslie, with the long-term aim of challenging for Britain and bringing the America’s Cup back home to where it all began in 1851. The team is made up of some of the best British and international sailors, designers, builders and racing support.
Over the next month in Bermuda, the 21st British Challenger for the America’s Cup will race their America’s Cup Class boat, R1, on a tightly defined course on Bermuda’s Great Sound, sailing at speeds of up to 60mph. There will only be six crew onboard and with Ben Ainslie at the helm the boat will fly over the surface supported by high-tech hydrofoils. While there will be just 67m of rope on board, there will be 130m of hydraulic pipes, and over 1200m of electronic and electrical cabling connecting 190 sensors and four video cameras – all in a 15m boat!",481,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104204.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818005345-20170818025345-00065.warc.gz,0.917238116264343
8ec1e159-23d5-4f9e-a220-4f2fc754b93e,2013-05-20T12:22:42+00:00,2013-01-21,0,http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20130121/Columnists22/130129985/0/Sports01,"He's Lance Armstrong - the man of steal
I couldn't watch. I couldn't listen to a man so arrogant and self-entitled, dispense his tale of woe.
Woe is him.
A cancer survivor, a hero, a bullet-proof athlete and supreme being. A man who was so indestructible and unbeatable that his dominance was almost laughable.
Lance Armstrong the cyclist was superman. Then he looked Oprah in the face and said he was a fraud.
Now, we all know that superman is really the man of steal. He stole seven Tour de France titles, stole an Olympic medal, stole the hopes and dreams of his competitors, but mostly he stole his image and the pedestal he stood upon.
He stole our hearts because we believed in him. Cancer survivor and amazing athlete. A man we found nearly impossible not to root for.
From high atop his pedestal, Armstrong flung arrows at his detractors and accusers.
He chastised people, filed lawsuits, and ruined lives and careers.
Then he said he was sorry. Sorry doesn't cut it.
For me, I never fully believed that Lance Armstrong was Mr. Clean. But I wanted to believe it. As a cyclist, chills hit me when I saw him taunt opponents with the cold eyes of an assassin, then with super-human strength bolt away leaving them gasping for air.
We were amazed.
Lance Armstrong was arguably the greatest sports story ever told. Cancer ravaged his body so badly that death was at his door. He would never push a pedal again. Diagnosed with cancer in October 1996, his cycling career was thought to be done. But in February 1997, he beat cancer and the comeback was on.
On the bike he was a legend. Off the bike he was an icon. But he was a con man. All along, he conned us.
He made an amazing, super-human return. He beat cancer. No, he destroyed it. He beat it with unmerciful determination. He left cancer mangled and beaten. Then he did the same to all his competitors from 1999 to 2005.
He owned the sport of cycling. He owned us.
He was the greatest athlete and humanitarian that we could imagine.
When he left the bike, he encouraged cancer patients to fight. Fight like him, beat cancer like he did. He was a beacon of hope off the bike and a lightning bolt of power on the bike. He was the definition of determination both on and off the bike.
Now the truth has come spurting out like a plunged syringe.
He's a doper and has always been a doper.
In 2000, after his phenomenal first Tour de France victory, Armstrong's book ""It's not about the bike"" was published. It wasn't about the bike. It's never been about the bike. It's always been about Lance Armstrong and his insatiable ego.
I feel a little hypocritical because I didn't want to believe all those accusations. He passed more than 500 drug tests. How is it possible that he could pass every single drug test if he was doping?
But in a sport where world-class cyclists are getting booted for doping after nearly every race, how could Armstrong be so good, so strong, so unbeatable without using performance enhancing drugs?
He's Lance Armstrong - that's what I told myself. I didn't want to believe that he doped. It ruined the story.
The fact that he lied, cheated and pumped more drugs into his body than a heroin addict angers me. But even more, it's the man's super-human arrogance and ego that bothers me.
The ferocity in which he attacked his accusers over the years truly shows his absolute lack of integrity.
I read a book 10 years ago from an author that followed Armstrong and his team throughout the Tour de France. That book opened my eyes to what kind of a ""flawed character"" Armstrong was and is.
In those chapters, you could see that he was a bully and a jerk.
Not even I could simply chalk it up to supreme competitiveness.
But when the Tour de France rolled around, I was in his corner. He was an American dominating a sport universally adored and previously dominated by Europeans. I root for the USA whenever I can.
I rooted for Lance and marveled at his dominance.
I rooted for his Livestrong Foundation and proudly wore the yellow bracelet for years.
Armstrong remains the most famous cancer survivor the world has ever seen. His work in bringing money and awareness to fighting the disease has been an unquestionable asset.
But Lance Armstrong is a liar and a cheat. It's one thing to lie, it's another thing to ruin lives, stab friends in the back and bully anyone who ever questioned him.
He would flash his trademark anger whenever an accusation would rise. And he would be believable. He never failed a drug test. He must be telling the truth. He would always have the how-dare-you-question-me attitude and response. The great and powerful Lance Armstrong can't be questioned.
But now the curtain is gone and we see the real Lance Armstrong.
His admission that he used drugs throughout his cycling career didn't shock me. I was actually waiting for this day.
Every cyclist who has gotten busted for using drugs has lied, denied and eventually got fried for that decision.
Poetic justice? Way more. There's nothing poetic about Armstrong's fall from grace.
Lance Armstrong is getting what he deserves.
After more than a decade of being a bully, a jerk, a liar and mostly a gutless, arrogant punk fueled by ego and chemical concoctions, Armstrong needs to drift to the back of the pack.
There's a term used in cycling when a cyclist falls far behind. It's called getting dropped. Armstrong has been dropped by all his sponsors, all his fans and all his supporters.
He needs to be dropped.
He lied to everyone. I don't think he even believes he lied to itself. After all, he's Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor and superman.
I feel no sorrow for him. I feel sorry for the men and women he targeted, he bullied, he ruined and he sued.
Mostly, I feel sorry for the millions of cancer survivors who believed that Lance Armstrong was indeed superman.
My hope is that the Livestrong Foundation continues to be strong in the wake of its founder's flaws.
Cancer survivors have long looked to Armstrong for strength, inspiration and hope.
Today, Armstrong stands before us a broken man with extreme flaws.
He needs to be dropped. But for all those facing the daunting future of a cancer diagnosis and those who have survived the disease - live happy, live well and live strong.
You are not Lance Armstrong's legacy. You are your own legacy.
Lance has been dropped. The man of steal is gone. Good riddance.
Dale Shrull is the editor of the Cortez Journal.",1466,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.981746137142181
d295fd91-084c-4ce7-89df-cc66174ad470,2019-08-20T14:06:11+00:00,2012-03-01,1,https://arstechnica.com/science/2012/03/bezos-reports-finding-apollo-11s-f-1-engines-deep-in-the-atlantic/?comments=1&post=22710598,"Jeff Bezos reported on his Bezos Expeditions website that one of his teams has located the engines from Apollo 11 at a depth of 14,000 feet, where they fell into the Atlantic on July 16, 1969.
The F-1 engines are some of the largest rocket engines ever built. Weighing 18,500 pounds, they're 19 feet tall. There's no doubt they're valuable should they be recovered intact; they're a priceless piece of the spacecraft that first took humankind to the Moon.
According to the NASA website, the Saturn S-1C first stage fell about 38 miles before hitting water roughly 55 miles downrange from Cape Kennedy. The majority of the stage is composed of aluminum and Inconel, and would not have corroded appreciably in saltwater. Likewise, the F-1 engines are composed of Inconel, aluminum, stainless steel and copper. All of those materials are relatively immune to seawater and might very well survive many years of immersion.
It's not clear just how much of the stage survived the impact itself. The tank would have fallen into the ocean at an angle, with the engines at the lower end. Bezos plans to find out, and will attempt to recover at least one, which he imagines NASA will donate to the Smithsonian.",262,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315544.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820133527-20190820155527-00409.warc.gz,0.980271935462952
4e987ffe-bf16-4147-a5b7-67f1c9d23cd8,2017-08-21T00:46:36+00:00,2014-04-06,1,https://syrienblogg.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/6-april-3/,"nsnbc.me – Lavrov: Linking a Geneva III Conference on Syria to “Assad Must Go Demands” Unacceptable
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, denounced western countries for their failure to condemn terrorism in Syria, the shelling of Lattakia to obstruct chemical weapons transports, and the ethnic cleansing of Armenian Syrians in the city of Kessab. Lavrov stressed that linking a Geneva III Conference to demands that Assad must go is unacceptable.
voltairenet.org – UN Security Council refuses to condemn Turkey-backed attack on Kassab
The Russian delegation to the United Nations said the Security Council refused to take a stand on the attack perpetrated against Kassab, thereby unveiling the support of several of its members for the actions of Al-Qaeda.
Ghaleb Kandil – An American plan for a long war against Syria
The objective of the efforts deployed by the United States, with NATO, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, is to bleed Syria and prevent its recovery, since that alliance has realized that the fall of the regime and the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad are impossible.
Sara Elizabeth Williams – Learning to Fight Like an American at the FSA Training Camp in Jordan",245,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886107065.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821003037-20170821023037-00692.warc.gz,0.920162796974182
1de03305-4cdf-4d11-be38-46c42e639240,2013-05-23T11:48:19+00:00,2012-12-05,1,http://www.arcticgas.gov/2012/more-us-coal-going-europe-power-generation,"More U.S. coal going to Europe for power generation
() - Low U.S. natural gas prices and weak prices for carbon permits in Europe are pushing more polluting coal into Europe where it is being burned to make electricity, Shell's Upstream International Director Andy Brown said Dec. 5. The shift in energy flows comes as Europe is trying to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to meet targets and highlights how North America's shale gas boom has rewritten the global energy map, sometimes to the detriment of regional energy policy.
Before the shale gas boom, the U.S. power sector predominantly burned coal, which produces roughly twice as much emission as gas, to generate electricity. But a surge in unconventional oil and gas production has forced down U.S. gas prices, stimulating demand for gas across many sectors. Ironically, as natural gas demand in the U.S. power sector has increased due to the low prices, demand for coal has strengthened in Europe, where it is cheaper than gas, which is mostly priced against oil.
Since the start of this decade, U.S. coal exports to Europe have increased five-fold. This has resulted in a reduction of about 800 billion cubic feet of gas burned in the European power sector this year, Brown said at Shell's natural gas strategy briefing. Weak prices for European carbon permits is another factor making coal a more attractive fuel to burn than the higher priced, but less polluting, gas in Europe, Brown said.",297,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961175560951233
b43e0140-e086-4ca0-992c-baf8cd23b63f,2016-07-25T14:44:41+00:00,2013-02-18,1,http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/18/world/asia/thailand-explainer/index.html?npt=NP1,"- Thailand's southern insurgency has dragged on for almost a decade
- About 5,300 people have been killed and more than 9,000 injured
- Muslim separatists are calling for an independent state
- Human rights groups say radical militants now dominate the insurgency
Thailand's festering southern insurgency has come a long way since the early 2000s when ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra dismissed the insurgents as mere ""sparrow bandits.""
Initially unwilling to take seriously what could emerge as a threat to Thai national integrity, Bangkok has over the past decade attempted to paint its restive southern Muslim states as suffering from little more than a small-scale insurgency led by shadowy groups with nebulous demands.
In the light of the last week's brazen attack in southern Thailand in which 16 militants were killed in an hour-long firefight at a naval base, analysts say that argument is looking increasingly threadbare.
Well-armed, motivated and increasingly audacious, the Muslim insurgency in the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Satun and Songkhla has emerged with a clear goal: the creation of a separate Muslim state for the region's 1.8 million Muslim ethnic Malays.
The insurgency has so far claimed more than 5,300 lives and left more than 9,000 injured in nine years of escalating attacks that have included drive-by shootings, bomb blasts and beheadings, according to Deep South Watch, an non-government that monitors the conflict in the southern provinces.
""We are seeing a greater radicalization of the insurgency,"" said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher on Thailand at Human Rights Watch (HRW). ""They don't want the presence of anyone in the region apart from ethnic Malays and this they've made clear with public announcements.""
The Pattani Independence Fighters (Pejuang Kemerdekaan Pattani) come under the umbrella of the BRN-Coordinate (National Revolution Front-Coordinate) -- a group that combines ethnic Malay nationalism and Islamist ideologies in equal measure. Their aim is to create an independent state called Pattani Darulsalam (Islamic Land of Pattani) using violence and terror to oppose what they claim is a Thai Buddhist occupation.
The Thai government has sent more than 150,000 soldiers to the region to protect it from an estimated 3,000 to 9,000 rebel (or juwae as they are called locally) fighters, according to estimates from human rights groups.
While government statistics put Thai Buddhists at just 6% of the region's population, Muslims complain they dominate the region. Education, in particular, has been one of the fault lines in the conflict, with hard line Muslims viewing the school system as a tool of Thai colonialism.
Human Rights Watch say 157 teachers have been killed since 2004.
The southern provinces were once part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate until they were annexed by Thailand -- then called Siam -- in 1909.
While calls for secession have simmered since then, an insurgent raid to steal weapons from an army camp in January, 2004, led to a crackdown by the Thai military, which sparked the modern insurgency.
Later that year, the Thai military opened fire on protesters at Tak Bai in Pattani, killing seven people. Almost 1,300 protesters were detained at the scene, stripped and some of them tortured, while others were transported to Inkayut Military Camp in the province -- a journey of five hours. Detainees were stacked into military vans so tightly that 78 people died of suffocation en route.
The government has since tried to reverse its heavy handed policy in the region, using instead a heart-and-minds campaign to pacify the provinces.
According to Lt. General Ditthaporn Sasasmit of the Internal Security Operations Command, the operation has been a success.
""If we compare it to nine years ago, the situation was very bad,"" he told CNN. ""Every time officers tried to round up or search suspect targets, we received strong resistance from locals.
""Now we have prevented many attacks thanks to information given out by local residents - a good example is the latest military base attack; insurgents lost a lot of lives.""
Despite this, non-government agencies say there is unlikely to be peace in the region in the near-term. According to Phasuk, the 2004 Tak Bai incident marked a turning point in the insurgency, radicalizing a younger generation.
""The commander in this latest attack was a survivor of the Tak Bai incident,"" Phasuk said, referring to the failed attack on a Thai military camp in Narathiwat province on February 13 that left insurgent commander Maroso Chantrawadee and 15 other militants dead.
""What we are seeing is a transfer of power within the insurgency from an older generation, which favors negotiation, to a younger radicalized generation who see negotiation as an act of betrayal to the ideology of separatism,"" he said. ""There is now a split in the leadership.""
The Tak Bai incident, viewed by many as a strategic blunder on the part of the Thai military, has been instrumental in turning ""unarmed sympathizers into brutal insurgents,"" Phasuk said.
""This man (Chantrawadee) survived torture at Tak Bai and many of the new generation of commanders also survived Tak Bai.""
Certainly if leaflets found in Narathiwat's Bacho district on February 14, the day following last week's attack, are anything to go by, the insurgency is showing no signs of easing.
""We will retaliate in every way for our losses. ... From now on, we will attack and kill Buddhist Thai teachers and Buddhist Thai people. We will attack Buddhist Thai community...One Muslim life must be repaid with 10 Buddhist Thai lives,"" reads the leaflets according to HRW.
One of the features of the campaign, which has had a marked escalation since last March, is that insurgents have shown little regard for Muslims that they see as collaborating with Thai authorities.
Everyone from imams to Muslim rubber farmers has been targeted by death squads and bombs detonated in Thai ethnic areas have indiscriminately claimed Muslim lives.
""The new radical leadership has no problems with collateral victims in its campaign. Their attitude is that Muslims should not be living next to ethnic Thais anyway,"" Phasuk said.
Amnesty International's latest report on the armed conflict called on insurgents to halt the campaign of targeting civilians.
""The insurgents seem to be attacking many of the very people on whose behalf they are ostensibly fighting, destroying their lives and livelihoods,"" said Donna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific deputy director, at the 2011 release of the report.
""Whatever their grievances, they do not justify this serious and systematic violation of international law.""
Human Rights Watch said that while insurgents use human rights abuses by the Thai military as an excuse for its reprisals, Bangkok -- where the government has a long tradition of drawing its legitimacy through the army -- needed the political courage to hold the military accountable.
""If this had happened, it may have slowed down radicalization,"" Phasuk said.",1460,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00186-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96559327840805
3389cc6f-0e57-46eb-9331-f81f8ef8b9ab,2019-08-22T19:58:29+00:00,2019-03-20,1,https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/nhs-calls-more-developers-get-involved-apps-library,"NHS calls for more developers to get involved in apps library
More external assessors likely to be appointed as health service looks to become foremost provider of digital health tools
The NHS wants more developers to submit tools for inclusion in its library of apps, which it hopes will become the “go-to place for patients to access safe and effective digital tools”.
The call for more ideas and products to be submitted to the NHS Apps Library comes after digital healthcare specialist firm Our Mobile Health was handed a contract to assist NHS Digital in assessing bids for inclusion. As the platform grows, more external experts are likely to brought in to help run the rule over potential additions, according to NHS Digital programme director Hazel Jones.
""In the future, we hope to invite more third-party assessors to work with us on the assessment procedure and develop and speed up the system so that we can improve the array of apps featured on the library,” she said. ""This is an exciting opportunity for the many developers out there that come from all sections of the market to put forward their apps for assessment. Being featured on the library is not only a great bonus for developers, but it also helps CCGs (clinical commissioning groups) and patients, who will have the reassurance that the apps featured are evidence-based and result in positive patient outcomes.""
- Interview: NHS Digital director on ‘the power of technology to transform patient care’
- NHS England launches platform to create marketplace and testbed for healthcare app developers
- NHS to trial depression app
A total of 46 apps are currently featured in the library. Only one of these – the myCOPD app to help sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease manage their condition – has been approved for use in the NHS. This means it has been ruled as safe and clinically effective.
Two more are currently being tested by healthcare professionals and their patients: Chill Panda, a tool for managing anxiety; and Cypher, an anonymous social network allowing people to share thoughts and feelings in confidence, as well as offer support to others.
The other 43 have all passed a technical assessment and been deemed to be safe and compliant with data-protection regulations.
Juliet Bauer, chief digital officer at NHS England, said: ""Digital technology is now a part of all our lives and, in the NHS, we want to harness the advantages of digital to improve services and empower patients to take control of their own health. Through this partnership with Our Mobile Health, the NHS Apps Library will grow, providing the public with even more NHS and recommended apps they can use to manage their health and wellbeing.
She added: ""Apps can provide a real insight into patients' conditions, enabling clinicians to deliver better, more relevant treatment and give patients more control over their care.""
Developers can visit this website to apply for inclusion in the NHS Apps Library. Once the app has been submitted and relevant technical information has been provided, the assessment process takes about four weeks.
West London-based Our Mobile Health was awarded the deal to help assess healthcare apps via the G Cloud 9 framework.
‘Future Application of Advanced Data Analytics Across Health and Care’ is a roundtable discussion taking place in Westminster on Wednesday 21 March. This roundtable will bring together leading health and care experts to explore the latest developments in advanced data analytics and visualisation in a variety of scenarios, including nationally and within devolved governments, accountable care organisations, and local/regional health economies. Please email Sophie at email@example.com to register your interest in attending.
Council that will encompass five existing entities sets aside £700k for website construction
Patients in Scotland given option of virtual appointments via PC or mobile device
Council looks to buy commercially available technology
Health secretary to review checks for over 40s
BT reviews an event looking at how man and machine are working together to drive digital transformation
Migrating to the cloud or moving to a future network can be a risky business. BT explains how managing applications is important for end user experience, productivity and for understanding and...
BT presents a new eGuide, looking at how to build infrastructure able to support growth both now and into the future
BT spoke with Ovum's Brian Washburn about the network trends taking place in 2019, covering SD-WAN, NFV, hybrid networking and cloud connectivity services",891,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317359.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822194105-20190822220105-00425.warc.gz,0.94987291097641
439938a7-56e8-4edf-81f5-262914924235,2017-08-23T19:43:01+00:00,2009-10-19,1,http://juneauempire.com/stories/101909/reg_506453787.shtml,"PALMER - The Matanuska Electric Association is soliciting bids for a gas-fired power plant at Eklutna.
The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reported the bid has two options. A company can either build the plant for the association or it can build a plant and sell power exclusively to the association.
The plant is to produce 180 megawatts of power. The land consists of 70 acres rezoned for power plant usage earlier this year.
The MEA won't award the bid until next spring.
© 2017. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us",120,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123359.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823190745-20170823210745-00482.warc.gz,0.898752570152283
6686ed3e-332c-4aa4-bb9d-2b45d8f52a07,2013-05-25T12:34:47+00:00,2012-05-23,1,http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-05-23/news/31826346_1_iron-ore-beneficiation-tonne-steel,"HYDERABAD: National Mineral Development Corporation, India's largest miner has earmarked Rs 2,575 crore for a pellet beneficiation plant at Karnataka and a slurry and pellet beneficiation plant at Chattisgarh, said NK Nanda chairman and managing director.
Construction on the plant has already commenced and will be completed in less than two years' time. The plant is expected to start generating revenues by end of 2014. The 1.2 million tonne pelletisation plant will help the company help the company generate additional revenue as stock pile of pellets can be used by steel plants for making steel.
Pellets are formed out of low grade iron ore fines to be used in blast furnaces directly. Nanda said, ""The plant would also reduce the operating cost per tonne and improve cost competitiveness of the company. In addition, an iron ore beneficiation plant would be set up by the company to facilitate usage of low-grade iron ore fines abundantly available in the country.""
The pellet beneficiation plant at Karnataka will be the first of sorts by the company and has procured all the required clearances. NMDC has already received a nod from its board for the project. Through the plant, the company will be able to re-process 7-8% of slime that goes waste every year while mining ore.
From the iron ore and pellets, the company will be able to sell about 1.2 million tonnes of beneficiated ore to third parties that will fetch it Rs 120 crore annually. Nanda said, ""Apart from iron ore production, we also want to focus on value added businesses such as pellet and slurry beneficiation plants and steel plants.""
The Navratna company had signed an MoU with Severstal for setting up a 3 million tonne steel, expandable to 5 mtpa, plant in Karnataka entailing an investment of about Rs 25,000 crore. It has submitted an investment proposal to its board and is awaiting its final clearance.",409,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965466678142548
0aac6e63-ac62-4668-845c-60edafc39012,2013-05-19T02:24:52+00:00,2013-05-19,0,http://www.sepco-solarlighting.com/products/sepa10/,"- The SEPA10 solar electric power assembly features a 10 Watt solar panel that is mechanically riveted to the battery box lid for mounting.
The 36 Amp hour battery is contained within a vented aluminum battery box and includes a wiring harness and control electronics.
There are 14 different controllers to chose for different types of applications such as dusk to dawn dusk activated, motion detector, etc.
The systems are built for easy installation with quick connect terminals and can be mounted to a wall, roof, or pole.
Every system is available to produce DC or AC power depending on the needs of the device.
Meets AASHTO 150 mph wind force ratings.
Powder coating and custom design available.
5 year maintenance free and system warranty.
A 10 Watt single array consists of one 10 Watt module which is integrally mounted upon and power riveted to a vented aluminum battery box cover and terminated in pre-wired 3 prong Molex type connector. Solar array produces .63 amps charge current and measures 17.4”L x 11.4”W x 2.1”D. The array has a 10 year warranty for 10% power loss and 25 year warranty for 20% power loss. Solar array has a life cycle testing and actual field proven life of over 30 years.
A vented aluminum box containing a 36 amp hour sealed GEL battery which is integrally mounted and pre-wired to include a standard wire harness with simple plug in connections for the SEPCO LCU1 Lighting Computer/Control Unit and the solar panel assembly. The low profile design contains a preformed and welded back mounting plate for easy slide on attachment to the power bracket. Battery assembly contains SEPCO unique “Through the Pole” rear wire routing output for no exposed wiring to provide a neat clean appearance for the finished installation. Battery assembly is complete with all stainless steel mounting hardware. All metal crafting has been performed by high speed robotic presses using computer programmed instructions.
Aluminum power bracket consists of a substantial aluminum channel for mounting to any pole or wall and providing a low profile, only 20” on the pole, to provide maximum strength for wind loading in excess of 150 MPH. The power bracket contains predrilled and tapped battery slide mount bolts of stainless steel and two 11/16” mounting holes for utility standard 5/8” mounting bolts. The bracket contains the unique “Through the Pole” battery wire hole for no exposed system wiring.
The SEPCO solar electric power assemblies have proven themselves as the most rugged and robust design in thousands of installations worldwide since their introduction in 1994. SEPCO systems surpass all codes, compliances, and quality controls.",554,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.902338147163391
54f79c89-77d3-4cff-9fac-f235558d5331,2017-08-23T11:58:03+00:00,2017-08-23,0,http://rockthetrend.com/,"Don't miss the conceptual exhibition by the cult skincare brand.
The pop darling and millennial favourite is coming to Singapore as part of the headline acts for the 2017 Formula 1 Singapore ...
COMO Cuisine is making its mark in the Dempsey Hill dining cluster.
Don't forget to stop and... Instagram
This will be the tech powerhouse's first retail store in Singapore and Southeast Asia.",80,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120194.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823113414-20170823133414-00362.warc.gz,0.896291255950928
bb9e7403-e61b-4fa5-9a73-385534f34b21,2022-05-18T10:35:35+00:00,2022-01-15,0,https://www.kitplus.com/news/Dalet_Champions_New_Technology_Partner_Alliance_and_Sales_Channel_Programs/25085.html,"Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced two partner-focused programs that scale Dalet distribution channels and expand the breadth and depth of innovative third-party technology options available for Dalet workflows. The new Dalet Channel Sales Partner and Technology Alliance Partner programs, which are slated to roll out in Q1 2022, rapidly expand local touchpoints for customers around the world and lean into key technology partnerships with providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Alibaba Cloud and OVH Cloud, amongst others, to ensure customers can use Dalet’s agile cloud-native and SaaS solutions on the provider of their choice. Leading the partner strategy and programs is industry expert, Ewan Johnston, who joined Dalet recently.
“Ewan is well versed in both channel development and transformation of business models from perpetual to recurring and will ensure Dalet customers have convenient access to expert guidance and a well-balanced ecosystem to expand their workflow, especially when it comes to cloud infrastructure providers,” states Stephane Schlayen, Chief Operating Officer. “Having worked closely with a number of Dalet partners previously, Ewan is well suited to help Dalet rapidly expand its sales channels and support our new markets and business segments with a diverse range of outstanding technologies.”
Strategic Alliances, Open Ecosystems, Increased Customer Satisfaction
Dalet’s partner programs meet the ever-expanding user community's requirements for a wider range of technology options with easy access to a top-tier sales and support network.
The Dalet Technology Alliance Program, which boasts more than 300 integrations within the Dalet media ecosystem today, recognizes key technology applications and prioritizes the collaboration to expand customer workflow options. Ewan Johnston, Strategic Alliances and Channel Partner Director adds, “More and more companies outside the traditional media and entertainment space need enterprise video management capabilities whether to improve the efficiency of their video production, enhance brand awareness or engage audiences at a deeper level over digital channels. Dalet’s cloud-native media workflow solutions, which are used by media companies globally, have been packaged under SaaS and subscription options, making our first-rate video management accessible to a wider range of customers. Thus, we are deepening our relationships with our current partners while simultaneously creating new ones to have a wider partner network that can support these expanded opportunities.”
The Dalet Channel Sales Partner program delivers a high-quality customer sales and service experience via the local presence of a highly knowledgeable global partner network. The multi-tiered program enables existing and new sales-centric partners to build a long-term sustainable business working with Dalet. Ewan adds, “Beyond the normal opportunity generation, product training, and certification process you would expect in any partner program, the Dalet Channel Sales Partner program will deliver tools and best practices on the full benefits and opportunities presented by the switch to an OpEx-based model and Cloud-centric solutions. With this advanced level of support and guidance, our partners can leverage their understanding of video production management and distribution, and help users in new markets navigate the nuances and achieve maximum success.”
To learn more about Dalet’s partner ecosystem or to become a partner, visit: https://www.dalet.com/partners/
Dalet is a fast-growing company, with innovation at its core. To learn more about its culture and career opportunities, visit its recently rebranded website: https://www.dalet.com/about-us
Dalet empowers media-rich organizations to transform their production and distribution workflows – accelerating media operations, maximizing collaboration and creating higher value from content. As a leading media technology and service provider with over three decades of innovation, our software solutions enable greater control, enhanced visibility and increased productivity for content professionals and storytellers around the globe. Leading organizations such as Fox Networks Group, Arsenal Football Club, MediaCorp, Audi, and the BBC trust Dalet to support their daily content operations. Our team is driven by a passion for media and committed to empowering a world where compelling stories are beautifully made, effortlessly told and thoughtfully delivered. Learn more at www.dalet.com",872,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00220.warc.gz,0.916046500205994
f3162617-b186-41eb-afa7-fc07a4598726,2022-05-28T13:50:25+00:00,2022-05-28,0,https://www.almanac.com/calendar/date/2022-05-30,"The custom of honoring ancestors by cleaning cemeteries and decorating graves is an ancient and worldwide tradition, but the specific origin of Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was first known, are unclear. In early rural America, this duty was usually performed in late summer and was an occasion for family reunions and picnics. After the Civil War, America’s need for a secular, patriotic ceremony to honor its military dead became prominent, as monuments to fallen soldiers were erected and dedicated, and ceremonies centering on the decoration of soldiers’ graves were held in towns and cities throughout the nation.
No less than 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, and for many years, states observed the holiday on different dates. By federal law, however, Memorial Day is now celebrated on the last Monday in May. Since it all started with the Civil War, you might want to brush up on your knowledge of this event by visiting the Library of Congress Civil War collection, which includes more than a thousand photographs.
My understanding is that there are a couple of words that were derived from sailing, one being “posh” and the other being “news.” What are the true origins of these words, and is it true that they are derived from sail of old?
The origin of posh” is obscure.The most seen explanation for the origin ascribes it to the days of the British Empire in the 19th (and early 20th) century when there was constant steamship travel between England and India. In those pre-air conditioning days, it was unbearably hot crossing the Indian Ocean, and the coolest cabins were the most sought after. That meant, when traveling east, those on the port side; sailing west, those on the starboard. Consequently, those passengers who could afford the luxury booked “Port Outward/Starboard Homeward” or “P.O.S.H.” The acronym thus became a synonym for whatever is first-class or luxurious. A more likely definition is that it is a word from Romany, the language of Gypsies, meaning half. The word originally entered England’s underworld in the 17th century in such compounds as posh-houri, meaning half-pence, and soon became a slang term for money in general. And then the meaning changed to expensive or fancy.”News” has no nautical origin that we know of. It’s the plural of “new” and is from the old French word for new — noveles. Its original meaning was “new things, novelties,” and eventually came to encompass “tidings, or an account of recent events and occurrences brought as new information.” Now we use it in the singular form, but until this century the plural form was used.”
Advice of the Day
To clean pine pitch from your hands, rub them well with a glob of mayonnaise, then wash.
Home Hint of the Day
The deeper the soil, the deeper the roots will go, allowing plants to take in more water and nutrients on their own. So, when using a tiller or plow, turn over a good 10 to 12 inches of soil.
Word of the Day
The state of Iowa may have received its name from a Native American word meaning “beautiful land.”
Puzzle of the Day
My first is a verb; add to me one letter, and I become an insect; add another, and I become a kind of vegetable; add two more letters, and I become the name of another insect.
Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau(first premier of Quebec after Confederation)–
Norman Cota(U.S. brigadier general)–
Howard Hawks(director of film)–
Mel Blanc(voice of Bugs Bunny and other characters)–
Benny Goodman(musician & bandleader)–
Wynonna Judd(country music singer)–
Manny Ramirez(baseball player)–
Perry Ellis(fashion designer)–
Gus Wickstrom(retired farmer who used pig spleens to forecast the weather [claimed 90% accuracy])–
U.S. and Mexico ratifications of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo exchanged at Queretaro. (Treaty was originally signed on Feb. 2, 1848.)–
First U.S. national celebration of Memorial (Decoration) Day took place in the Arlington National Cemetery of Virginia–
First 500 mile automobile race at Indianapolis Speedway was held–
Lincoln Memorial dedicated in Washington, D.C.–
From Cape Kennedy, Florida, the U.S. launched Mariner 9, first spacecraft to orbit another planet–
Thirteen-year-old Arvind Mahankali, of Bayside Hills, New York, correctly spelled knaidel to become the champion of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Oxon Hill, Maryland–
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury stole five bases during his team’s 9-2 win against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a club record.–
May 30-31: 8 co-champions were declared for the Scripps Spelling Bee–
Massive flooding of Columbia River caused dike break that destroyed Vanport, Oregon–
Hanford, Washington, had a temperature of 104 degrees F–",1189,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016853.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528123744-20220528153744-00600.warc.gz,0.966685116291046
7c3f41c1-9081-4f33-a008-f9f55b9bda25,2018-08-16T13:41:27+00:00,2015-03-01,0,https://wowembossingpowder.blogspot.com/2015/03/march-2015-challenge-and-february-winner.html,"Thank you for joining us in our challenges, we really like seeing all of your creations. What a talented bunch you are! Keep all that inspiration coming, we love it!
For our challenge this month, we'd like you to create projects inspired by the theme: Spring! It can be a card, scrapbook, mini album, an altered item, or anything that you can think of. You must use our products or heat embossing on your project, and please mention what you've used on your project if it's not clear from the photos.
By entering the challenge each month, you'll get a chance to win a set of 6 embossing powders in a handy carry case. The winner will be randomly selected from eligible entries.
Remember, all projects must have either heat embossing or use our products to qualify!
You must also be a follower of our blog to enter*.",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211000.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816132758-20180816152758-00336.warc.gz,0.923273682594299
32abede5-9d39-4816-8179-34bfd77d1f8a,2022-05-26T21:43:44+00:00,2017-10-27,0,https://www.thestatesman.com/entertainment/anna-faris-1502519189.html,"Actress Anna Faris was spotted cosying up to her new rumoured boyfriend and cinematographer Michael Barrett here on a lunch date.
In some photographs, the couple can be seen sipping wine and holding hands at a restaurant in Seattle on Friday, reports tmz.com.
Faris and Barrett, who she met on the set of her upcoming film “Overboard”, were kissing each other.
The actress, who announced her separation from former husband and actor Chris Pratt in August after eight years of marriage, is yet to confirm her relationship with Barrett.
Earlier, Faris and Barrett were seen spending time together in Malibu.",135,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00026.warc.gz,0.978956520557404
b39041f2-91c6-4d96-b310-dbc8bfefc134,2018-08-14T21:11:08+00:00,2014-06,0,http://donegal-wildlife.blogspot.com/2014/06/cottage-farm-pre-survey-survey.html,"My camera is always with me, so I got some shots on the fly.
The first new species for me was a leaf gall on Wych Elm made by the aphid Tetraneura ulmi:
|Gall of the aphid Tetraneura ulmi on Wych Elm|
|Leaf of Wych Elm|
I also spotted feeding signs of what I think is another Aphid on the same tree:
|Feeding signs on Wych Elm.|
Then I was delighted to spot a single specimen of a male Banded Demoiselle - Calopteryx splendens:
New to my Species List.
This male Azure Damselfly was much more photogenic, allowing me a decent number of shots before it levitated away.",157,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209585.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814205439-20180814225439-00458.warc.gz,0.913125574588776
dce2205c-ebb0-4994-b44f-2e090f360b74,2022-05-18T00:44:22+00:00,2019-12-01,1,https://rmx.news/article/merkel-still-wants-migrant-quotas-kurz-does-not/,"German Chancellor Angela Merkel is still intent on establishing a quota system to distribute immigrants among European Union member states, according to a recent report of the EU’s foreign affairs body.
With increased migration on the Balkans route and an average 450 migrants arriving to Germany every day, Merkel is pushing for the European Union to approve a distribution system, according to the latest report of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defense ministry of the EU.
Recent reports from Germany also indicate that the majority of these migrants cross from Turkey into Bulgaria, attempting to make their way to Western Europe, primarily Germany.
Germany previously said that it would drop demands for migrant quotas and instead push for a voluntary system of distribution, but the influx of migrants entering the country is one reason why the topic featured heavily on the agenda of Monday’s meeting between Merkel and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Pressure grows on Europe’s borders
Dieter Romann, President of the German Federal Police steering board (Bundespolizeipräsidium), said that most of the migrants come from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa’s arid northern Sahel belt, exerting severe pressure on the European Union’s external borders.
“Migration data, the number of asylum applications, and the number of illegal entries into the European Union clearly indicate that proper protection of the Schengen borders is not ensured,” Romann said.
Merkel continues to see the solution in a “fair and just distribution” of the migrants among EU member states.
While Merkel and Kurz agreed that the protection of the EU’s external borders remains a key factor, they disagreed regarding the EU’s Operation Sophia, established in 2015 to patrol the Mediterranean Sea.
While Merkel wants Sophia to resume after it was suspended last March, Kurz said that so far, the operation, which is designed to rescue people from overcrowded or sinking boats, only managed to encourage people to venture across the Mediterranean Sea.
But they did agree on experts’ predictions that in the coming decades Libya will be the key to halting migration from the Sahel belt.
A clash with V4 countries on the horizon
Germany’s attempts to enforce migrant quotas in Europe is sure to be a point of contention with the Visegrád Four countries for Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been adamant that Hungary will not accept migrants, saying in a speech in Italy last year, “We reject migrant quotas but accept deportation quotas with pleasure.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has been equally opposed to migrant quotas, saying, “Here in Poland, it’s we who decide who will come to Poland and who will not.
“Proposals by the European Union that impose quotas on us hit the very foundations of national sovereignty.”
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in November 2019, “We’re not alone in this. The Czech Republic will never agree to mandatory migration quotas, at least as long as I am the prime minister. I promised that to my voters and I intend to keep my promise.”
Title image: African migrants rescued at sea await their fate on the Canary Islands (MTI/EPA/Angel Medina)",703,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520936.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517225809-20220518015809-00618.warc.gz,0.933340549468994
11353462-a204-4a34-be1a-6f730acff5b5,2022-05-21T19:17:26+00:00,2022-05-21,0,https://www.amostore.com.au/collections/all-shoes-women/products/jeffrey-campbell-gazer,"PAY OVER TIME
4 payments of $62.25 and receive your order now
JEFFREY CAMPBELL Gazer Star Western Boot Black / Red / White.
Shine like a star in the Jeffrey Campbell Gazer Western Boot in black calf leather, and bold white / red star, all on a sharp pointed toe and stacked Cuban block heel. Rock these statement booties on a night out.",85,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662540268.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521174536-20220521204536-00208.warc.gz,0.813254594802856
a83c46f3-3ea2-4a51-b794-5afd48d37177,2017-08-17T06:03:10+00:00,2015-06-27,1,http://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/5_things_the_economist,"British-based news magazine The Economist has taken a powerful stance in favour of the right to assisted dying.
In a feature editorial for its June 27 issue, the venerable, 172-year-old publication argues in commanding fashion why patients facing terrible suffering should be allowed to end their own lives with the help of a physician.
“Competent adults are allowed to make other momentous, irrevocable choices: to undergo a sex change or to have an abortion,” the editorial reads. “People deserve the same control over their own death. Instead of dying in intensive care under bright lights and among strangers, people should be able to end their lives when they are ready, surrounded by those they love.”
The magazine has devoted impressive space, including the cover, to the legalization of assisted dying, which is being considered in the U.K. The issue boasts a 4,400-word feature article documenting the recent rise in support for physician assisted dying in Western countries.
The reporting here is phenomenal, full of interesting tidbits about the movement for compassion and choice at end of life. Here are five points worth noting:
1) The Economist polled residents in 14 OECD countries, plus Russia, to compare support for assisted dying among advanced nations. End-of-life choice, the magazine found, had majority support in every country except for Poland and Russia (each of which polled just under 50 per cent.)
2) In Oregon, only about 1,300 terminally ill people have received legal prescriptions for life-ending mediation since the state passed a Dying with Dignity bill in 1997. Of those individuals, only about two-thirds actually used the treatment.
3) In the Netherlands, where assisted dying has been legal since 2002, nine out of every 10 patients who ended their lives with the help of a doctor had terminal cancer. (Every year, about three per cent of all of the deaths in that country are doctor-assisted.)
4) Terminally ill individuals who have high-quality palliative care may be more open to the idea of assisted dying than those who do not. “Some, in America and elsewhere, think that the demand for assisted dying would shrink if other options for dying patients, such as hospice care, were more widely available,” The Economist writes. “But research by Clive Seale, a sociologist at Brunel University in London, suggests otherwise. He found that terminal-cancer patients in British hospices were more likely, not less, to consider doctor-assisted dying than those in hospitals. To enter a hospice, patients must accept that they are close to death, he points out. They are planning their deaths, and such people often consider all their alternatives.”
5) Some of the most prominent champions of the right to assisted death are people with disabilities. Amidst the current debate in the U.K. surrounding end-of-life choice, famed physicist Stephen Hawking, who has a motor neuron disease, said he would consider the option of assisted death if it were legal. Canadian MP Steven Fletcher, who became a quadriplegic in 1996 after his car collided with a moose, has made it a personal mission to see assisted dying legislation passed in Parliament. (He wrote an op-ed for The Economist, which is available on the magazine's website.)",685,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00267.warc.gz,0.968968510627747
4400afea-30e7-4958-a0d6-c51aec649ed7,2019-08-20T08:30:32+00:00,2016-08-01,0,https://www.steventaftdds.com/blog/date/2016-08-01.html,"Posts for: August, 2016
A woman as gorgeous and funny as Sofia Vergara surely planned to be a model and actress from the get-go, right? Wrong! Sofia’s first career choice actually was to be… a dentist! That’s right, the sexy star of TV’s Modern Family actually was only two semesters shy of finishing a dental degree in her native Columbia when she traded dental school for the small screen. Still, dental health remains a top priority for the actress and her son, Manolo.
“I’m obsessed,” she recently told People magazine. “My son thinks I’m crazy because I make him do a cleaning every three months. I try to bribe the dentist to make him to do it sooner!”
That’s what we call a healthy obsession (teeth-cleaning, not bribery). And while coming in for a professional cleaning every three months may not be necessary for everyone, some people — especially those who are particularly susceptible to gum disease — may benefit from professional cleanings on a three-month schedule. In fact, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to having professional teeth cleanings — but everyone needs this beneficial procedure on a regular basis.
Even if you are meticulous about your daily oral hygiene routine at home, there are plenty of reasons for regular checkups. They include:
- Dental exam. Oral health problems such as tooth decay and gum disease are much easier — and less expensive — to treat in the earliest stages. You may not have symptoms of either disease early on, but we can spot the warning signs and take appropriate preventive or restorative measures.
- Oral cancer screening. Oral cancer is not just a concern of the middle aged and elderly — young adults can be affected as well (even those who do not smoke). The survival rate for this deadly disease goes up tremendously if it is detected quickly, and an oral cancer screening is part of every routine dental visit.
- Professional teeth cleaning. Calcified (hardened) dental plaque (tartar or calculus) can build up near the gum line over time — even if you brush and floss every day. These deposits can irritate your gums and create favorable conditions for tooth decay. You can’t remove tartar by flossing or brushing, but we can clear it away — and leave you with a bright, fresh-feeling smile!
So take a tip from Sofia Vergara, and don’t skimp on professional cleanings and checkups. If you want to know how often you should come in for routine dental checkups, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more in the Dear Doctor articles “Dental Hygiene Visit” and “Dental Cleanings Using Ultrasonic Scalers.”
There is much to contend with as we grow older, including a higher risk for dental disease. One possible contributing factor: dry mouth from a lack of saliva.
Also known as xerostomia, dry mouth occurs when the salivary glands secrete less than the normal two to four pints a day. Saliva performs a number of functions, but perhaps the most important for dental health is as an acid neutralizer. Within a half hour to hour after eating, saliva can restore the mouth's normal pH level to prevent acid from softening tooth enamel. When there isn't enough saliva, acid levels stay high leading to erosion of the enamel. This vastly increases the chances for tooth decay.
Although there are several causes for dry mouth, one of the more common is as a side effect from certain medications. It's estimated over 500 drugs — many taken by seniors — can cause dry mouth, including diuretics for high blood pressure and heart failure, antidepressants, and antihistamines. Some diseases like diabetes or Parkinson's may also reduce saliva flow, as well as radiation and chemotherapy.
If you've developed chronic dry mouth, there are some things that may help restore adequate saliva flow. If medication is the cause you can talk to your doctor about an alternative medication or add a few sips of water before swallowing the pills and a full glass afterwards. You should also drink plenty of non-caffeinated beverages (water is the best) during the day and cut back on sugary or acidic foods. And a cool-air humidifier running while you sleep may also help keep your mouth moist.
We may further recommend an over-the-counter or prescription stimulant for saliva. For example, xylitol, a natural alcohol sugar that's found in many gums and mints, has been found to stimulate saliva and reduce the risk of tooth decay as an added benefit.
Last but not least, be sure to brush and floss daily to remove disease-causing plaque and see us at least twice a year for cleanings and checkups (if your mouth is very dry, three to four times a year is a better prevention program). Managing chronic dry mouth along with proper oral hygiene will help ensure your mouth continues to stay healthy as you grow older.
If you would like more information on the causes and treatment for dry mouth, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Dry Mouth.”
If we could go back in time, we all probably have a few things we wish we could change. Recently, Dr. Travis Stork, emergency room physician and host of the syndicated TV show The Doctors, shared one of his do-over dreams with Dear Doctor magazine: “If I [could have] gone back and told myself as a teenager what to do, I would have worn a mouthguard, not only to protect my teeth but also to help potentially reduce risk of concussion.”
What prompted this wish? The fact that as a teenage basketball player, Stork received an elbow to the mouth that caused his two front teeth to be knocked out of place. The teeth were put back in position, but they soon became darker and began to hurt. Eventually, both were successfully restored with dental crowns. Still, it was a painful (and costly) injury — and one that could have been avoided.
You might not realize it, but when it comes to dental injuries, basketball ranks among the riskier sports. Yet it’s far from the only one. In fact, according to the American Dental Association (ADA), there are some two dozen others — including baseball, hockey, surfing and bicycling — that carry a heightened risk of dental injury. Whenever you’re playing those sports, the ADA recommends you wear a high-quality mouth guard.
Mouthguards have come a long way since they were introduced as protective equipment for boxers in the early 1900’s. Today, three different types are widely available: stock “off-the-shelf” types that come in just a few sizes; mouth-formed “boil-and-bite” types that you adapt to the general contours of your mouth; and custom-made high-quality mouthguards that are made just for you at the dental office.
Of all three types, the dentist-made mouthguards are consistently found to be the most comfortable and best-fitting, and the ones that offer your teeth the greatest protection. What’s more, recent studies suggest that custom-fabricated mouthguards can provide an additional defense against concussion — in fact, they are twice as effective as the other types. That’s why you’ll see more and more professional athletes (and plenty of amateurs as well) sporting custom-made mouthguards at games and practices.
“I would have saved myself a lot of dental heartache if I had worn a mouthguard,” noted Dr. Stork. So take his advice: Wear a mouthguard whenever you play sports — unless you’d like to meet him (or one of his medical colleagues) in a professional capacity…",1669,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315258.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820070415-20190820092415-00083.warc.gz,0.963714778423309
86de29d0-109f-4a2f-94c0-60cb288394c1,2019-08-25T16:30:54+00:00,2019-07-01,1,https://realinvestmentadvice.com/technically-speaking-cot-positioning-volatility-oil-dollar-rates/,"Over the last three weeks, we have discussed the “sellable rally” in the markets. However, one of the more stunning movements in the market was in interest rates which have fallen sharply in recent months as “deflation” and “economic weakness” have become points of concern for the Federal Reserve.
Just last year, the Federal Reserve was hiking rates with the expectations of stronger economic growth and rising inflationary pressures from a tight labor market. Almost a year later, the markets, and the White House, are begging for the Fed to cut rates, and stop reducing their balance sheet, as the economic data has weakened substantially.
Despite these concerns, the markets remain within reach of all-time highs as the market continues to ignore the risks under the assumption “this time is different” and the Fed will indeed “come to the rescue.”
Will that be the case? No one knows for sure.
What we do know is that markets move based on sentiment and positioning. This makes sense considering that prices are affected by the actions of both buyers and sellers at any given time. Most importantly, when prices, or positioning, becomes too “one-sided,” a reversion always occurs. As Bob Farrell’s Rule #9 states:
“When all experts agree, something else is bound to happen.”
So, how are traders positioning themselves currently?
The COT (Commitment Of Traders) data, which is exceptionally important, is the sole source of the actual holdings of the three key commodity-trading groups, namely:
- Commercial Traders: this group consists of traders that use futures contracts for hedging purposes and whose positions exceed the reporting levels of the CFTC. These traders are usually involved with the production and/or processing of the underlying commodity.
- Non-Commercial Traders: this group consists of traders that don’t use futures contracts for hedging and whose positions exceed the CFTC reporting levels. They are typically large traders such as clearinghouses, futures commission merchants, foreign brokers, etc.
- Small Traders: the positions of these traders do not exceed the CFTC reporting levels, and as the name implies, these are usually small traders.
The data we are interested in is the second group of Non-Commercial Traders.
This is the group that speculates on where they believe the market is headed. While you would expect these individuals to be “smarter” than retail investors, we find they are just as subject to “human fallacy” and “herd mentality” as everyone else.
Therefore, as shown in the series of charts below, we can take a look at their current net positioning (long contracts minus short contracts) to gauge excessive bullishness or bearishness. With the exception of the 10-Year Treasury which I have compared to interest rates, the others have been compared to the S&P 500.
Volatility Not Marking A Bottom
The extreme net-short positioning on the volatility index in early May suggested a peak to the advance from the December lows was likely. However, while the short-positioning has been reduced over the last several weeks as the market has corrected, there is still a sizable short-position which exists.
Given that most “bottoms” occur when short-VIX positioning has been fully reversed, the complacency of the recent decline suggests that a disappointment by the Federal Reserve, a failure of any progress on trade, or some other economy shock, could lead to a deeper decline.
While the market did bounce following the sell-off in May, as we have been discussing in our series on a “Sellable Rally,” that rally is occurring within the confines of a longer-term “sell signal,” (upper panel) and falling volume. Historically, when both the “sell signal” turns lower, and the “volume signal” turns higher, such has marked important tops for the market.
It is likely the continuation of the correction will occur as we head into July and August.
Crude Oil Extreme
The recent attempt by crude oil to get back above $60/bbl coincided with a “mad rush” by traders to be long the commodity. However, they failed to take into account the building supply of crude oil in the face of a drop in demand amidst a slowing economic backdrop. Crude traders currently remain very “long” the commodity, despite the recent drop back to $50/bbl, as we warned our RIA PRO subscribers (Try 30-Days FREE)
- A month ago, we noted the rally in oil had gotten way ahead of itself in the face of building supplies and that the risk was clearly to the downside. We also noted that if support at $60 failed, along with the 200-dma, the risk was to the mid- to low-$50’s.
- Despite the Iran issue last week, supply builds continue to weigh on oil prices. Support is at $50/bbl. A break below that is a whole other issue and will likely indicate the onset of recession.
- Oil remains deeply oversold, so a counter-trend bounce in oil prices will not be surprising. Such would be in conjunction with a market rally on positive news from the Fed and the G-20 meeting.
It is worth noting that crude oil positioning is also highly correlated to overall movements of the S&P 500 index. Therefore, a deeper reversal in oil prices will likely coincide with a further correction in the S&P 500.
While oil prices could certainly fall below $40/bbl for a variety of reasons, the recent bottoming of oil prices around $45/bbl should provide some reasonable support (barring an economic recession.)
US Dollar Extreme
Recent weakness in the dollar has been used as a rallying call for the bulls. However, a reversal of US Dollar positioning has not been extremely sharp and there remains a fairly large long-bias to dollar positioning. Importantly, as shown in the chart below, the reversal of dollar-long positioning is usually reflective of short- to intermediate-term market peaks.
As shown above, and below, such net-long positions have generally marked both a short to intermediate-term weakness in the dollar. The good news is that a weak dollar should bode well for both oil and gold prices which trade globally in U.S. dollars.
It is also worth watching the net-short positioning the Euro-dollar as well. Historically, when positioning in the Eurodollar becomes NET-LONG, as it is currently, such has been associated with short- to intermediate corrections in the markets, including outright bear markets. The reversal is still early but worth watching closely.
Interest Rate Extreme
One of the biggest conundrums for the financial market “experts” is why interest rates fail to rise. Earlier this year, I wrote “The Bond Bull Market” which was a follow up to our earlier call for a sharp drop in rates as the economy slowed. That call was based on the extreme “net-short positioning” in bonds which suggested a counter-trend rally was likely.
The last time I wrote this report I stated:
“The reversal of the net-long positioning in Treasury bonds will likely push bond yields lower over the next few months. This will accelerate if there is a“risk-off” rotation in the financial markets in the weeks ahead.”
Both things occurred.
However, as shown in the updated chart below, despite the sharp drop in rates, traders are still betting on a surge in rates and the net-short positioning on the 10-year Treasury is at the second highest level on record. Combined with the recent spike in Eurodollar positioning, as noted above, it suggests that there is a high probability that rates will fall further in the months ahead; most likely in concert with the onset of a recession.
The chart below looks at net-short positioning ONLY when net-short contracts exceed 100,000. Since peaks in net-short contracts generally coincide with peaks in interest rates, it suggests there is more room for rates to fall currently.
Amazingly, investors seem to be residing in a world without any perceived risks and a strong belief that the financial markets are NOT at risk. The arguments supporting those beliefs are based on comparisons to previous peak market cycles and current positioning suggests traders believe the “bulls” will prevail.
Unfortunately, they tend to be wrong at the extremes.
The inherent problem with much of the mainstream analysis is that it assumes everything remains status quo. But data, markets, economies, and liquidity are never the same. The question is simply what can go wrong for the market?
In a word, “much.”
With retail positioning very long-biased, as shown in the chart below, the recent correction has not imposed a level of “fear” that would denote a more lasting market bottom has been put into place.
The other famous Bob Farrell Rule to remember:
“#5 – The public buys the most at the top and the least at the bottom.”
Just because a warning doesn’t immediately translate into a negative consequence, doesn’t mean you should not pat attention to it. It is akin to constantly running red lights and never getting into an accident. We begin to think we are skilled at running red lights, rather than just being lucky. Eventually, your luck will run out.
Pay attention, have a plan, and act accordingly.
Lance Roberts is a Chief Portfolio Strategist/Economist for RIA Advisors. He is also the host of “The Lance Roberts Podcast” and Chief Editor of the “Real Investment Advice” website and author of “Real Investment Daily” blog and “Real Investment Report“. Follow Lance on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and YouTube",2074,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00058.warc.gz,0.963658452033997
e225b4a0-9536-4c80-86f1-2d00e20f4bd9,2015-03-29T00:44:23+00:00,2014-04-03,1,http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-policy/2014/04/03/us-trade-gap-widens-as-exports-slump/,"The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened in February as exports fell to their lowest level in five months, further signs economic growth slowed in the first quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday the trade gap increased 7.7 percent to $42.3 billion, the largest since September last year. January's shortfall was revised to $39.3 billion from a previously reported $39.1 billion.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade deficit falling to $38.5 billion. In addition to weak exports, February's rise in the deficit likely reflected an increase in the price of crude oil.
Declining petroleum imports as a domestic energy production boom reduces the nation's dependency on foreign oil have helped to shrink the trade deficit. That saw the current account deficit hitting a 14-year low in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Trade was one of the key drivers of economic growth during the last three months of last year, a trend that is unlikely to be repeated in the first quarter.
Growth in the first three months of 2014 is expected to have slowed to an annualized pace below 2 percent. The economy grew at a 2.6 percent rate in the fourth quarter.
When adjusted for inflation, the trade gap widened to $50.1 billion in February from $48.5 billion the prior month.
Exports slipped 1.1 percent to $190.4 billion in February. That was the lowest level since September. Imports edged up 0.4 percent to $232.7 billion.
Exports to China fell 4.6 percent in February. Imports from that country tumbled 19.5 percent, narrowing the politically sensitive U.S. trade deficit with the world's second-largest economy to its smallest since March 2013.
The drop in imports was probably due to the Chinese New Year holiday. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)",389,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00249-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971014440059662
ec242c3c-53d4-4856-95f3-73c99fe669db,2020-10-19T15:53:24+00:00,2019-05-01,1,https://scienceandtechnologynews.net/2019/05/01/nasa-selects-experiments-for-possible-lunar-flights-in-2019/328/,"NASA has selected 12 science and technology demonstration payloads to fly to the Moon as early as the end of this year, dependent upon the availability of commercial landers.
These selections represent an early step toward the agency’s long-term scientific study and human exploration of the Moon and, later, Mars.
“The Moon has unique scientific value and the potential to yield resources, such as water and oxygen,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “Its proximity to Earth makes it especially valuable as a proving ground for deeper space exploration.”
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) initiated the request for proposals leading to these selections as the first step in achieving a variety of science and technology objectives that could be met by regularly sending instruments, experiments and other small payloads to the Moon.
“This payload selection announcement is the exciting next step on our path to return to the surface of the Moon,” said Steve Clarke, SMD’s deputy associate administrator for Exploration at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“The selected payloads, along with those that will be awarded through the Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads call, will begin to build a healthy pipeline of scientific investigations and technology development payloads that we can fly to the lunar surface using U.S. commercial landing delivery services. Future calls for payloads are planned to be released each year for additional opportunities,” he said.
The selected payloads include a variety of scientific instruments.
- The Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer will measure the lunar surface radiation environment.
- Three resource prospecting instruments have been selected to fly:
The Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System is an imaging spectrometer that will measure surface composition.
The Neutron Spectrometer System and Advanced Neutron Measurements at the Lunar Surface are neutron spectrometers that will measure hydrogen abundance.
- The Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer for Lunar Surface Volatiles instrument is an ion-trap mass spectrometer that will measure volatile contents in the surface and lunar exosphere.
- A magnetometer will measure the surface magnetic field.
- The Low-frequency Radio Observations from the Near Side Lunar Surface instrument, a radio science instrument, will measure the photoelectron sheath density near the surface.
- Three instruments will acquire critical information during entry, descent and landing on the lunar surface, which will inform the design of future landers including the next human lunar lander.
- The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies will image the interaction between the lander engine plume as it hits the lunar surface.
- The Surface and Exosphere Alterations by Landers payload will monitor how the landing affects the lunar exosphere.
- The Navigation Doppler Lidar for Precise Velocity and Range Sensing payload will make precise velocity and ranging measurements during the descent that will help develop precision landing capabilities for future landers.
There also are two technology demonstrations selected to fly.
- The Solar Cell Demonstration Platform for Enabling Long-Term Lunar Surface Power will demonstrate advanced solar arrays for longer mission duration.
- The Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator will demonstrate a navigational beacon to assist with geolocation for lunar orbiting spacecraft and landers.
NASA facilities across the nation are developing the payloads, including Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Johnson Space Center in Houston; Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Nine U.S. companies, selected through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) in November 2018, currently are developing landers to deliver NASA payloads to the Moon’s surface. As CLPS providers, they are pre-authorized to compete on individual delivery orders.
NASA also released the Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payload (LSITP) call in October 2018 soliciting proposals for science instrument and technology investigations. The final LSITP proposals are due Feb. 27 and awards are expected to be made this spring.
“Once we have awarded the first CLPS mission task order later this spring, we will then select the specific payloads from the internal-NASA and LSITP calls to fly on that mission. Subsequent missions will fly other NASA instrument and technology development packages in addition to commercial payloads,” said Clarke.
Commercial lunar payload delivery services for small payloads, and developing lunar landers for large payloads, to conduct more research on the Moon’s surface is a vital step ahead of a human return.
As the next major step to return astronauts to the Moon under Space Policy Directive-1, NASA has announced plans to work with American companies to design and develop new reusable systems for astronauts to land on the lunar surface. The agency is planning to test new human-class landers on the Moon beginning in 2024, with the goal of sending crew to the surface by 2028.
- 34NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will give a keynote address at the virtual fall Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium meeting at 11:45 am EDT Wednesday, October 14. The event, co-hosted by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and Arizona State University, will stream live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.…",1119,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00022.warc.gz,0.88722437620163
e3af804e-5e41-47d2-accc-94a0095bf290,2015-03-30T23:26:51+00:00,2015-03-30,0,https://www.noisebridge.net/index.php?title=SCADA&oldid=7166,"The purpose of the SCADA system at 2169 Mission is to provide intelligent monitoring and control of devices in our space. The system has two halves: critical and non-critical.
- Critical: this system is for monitoring and controlling things which could result in a loss of money and/or property if the system fails. Example: fire and flood alarms.
- Non-critical: this system is for everything else. Example: lights, room reservations, intercoms.
|Power||No||Outlet and light control, power metering, smart breakers.|
|Safety||Yes||Fire and flood alarms.|
|Communications||No||Message routing from IRC, opt-in bluetooth presence detectors.|
|Security||Yes||Theft alarms for tagged items.|
|HVAC||No||Heating and cooling controls, zone controls.|
I/O Linc - INSTEON Leak / Flood Sensor Kit: $65 PIR sensors: $40ish each
1x: INSTEON PLM: $70
3x dimmers: $40ish
10x HMI panels: custom manufactured, $50 each
Industrial controller: donated
The human interface to the SCADA services will 17"" touch panels with audio output. 10 panels were sourced from Andover CG on 3rd street, which is selling their inventory of ~300 for about $60 each.
The panels will be driven by repurposed PCs we have lying around running a custom daemon to drive the framebuffer. The OS will be embedded Linux.
City of SF Requirements
Anything involving the elevator panel needs to go through the city. To find out who can answer your question, talk to the TSD:
The elevator conveyance ID is #
026140. Although Henry Ho has agreed in writing to our intent to modify the elevator, the city and state both need to approve the changes. If we pay anyone to fix the elevator it's generally quite expensive and requires specially certified labor, so that's plan B. Plan A is to do it ourselves.
To do this, the changes have to comply with a web of regulations which are not passed by the state legislative branch but rather by a regulatory approval process and the governor. At the heart of the regulation web is the California Code of Regulations Title 24 (CCR 24), which is NOT a public work because it contains copyrighted code sections from model code companies. However, the relevant subparts of Title 24 (11b) are available here:
Several subparts reference ASME A.17, the elevator standard published by the American Society for Mechanical Engineering. This standard is also copyrighted and not available online. The California Labor Code and the California Business and Proefssions
ASME A.17 itself references several other standards such as IEEE and Bell System standards.
Once the work is done, this triggers a modernization inspection because the elevator has been significantly changed as part of work done to the building. This will probably be done by either Jennifer Stafford, the acting senior engineer at California [DOSH ERT]'s Oakland office, or Deborah Tudor, the principal engineer in the San Jose district office.
A modernization inspection will require that we file a document called a ""letter of intent"" with DOSH ERT:
The panels will have unique numeric identifiers. The current assignments are in flux until the walls get figured out.
All slides related to critical services shall be in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.
- Evacuation mode: in this mode, the panels will display the evacuation map and both audio and visual indicators showing which direction to go.",746,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00209-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.903948307037354
c2bd05e2-4784-4206-a74c-a831ecf378cf,2020-10-24T00:56:22+00:00,2007-10-24,0,https://www.brandonsanderson.com/annotation-mistborn-chapter-three/,"STATE OF THE
readers on the state
of each of his projects.
Annotation Mistborn Chapter Three
The following is an author’s annotation that relates to a specific chapter of the book MISTBORN: THE FINAL EMPIRE. Note that the following is NOT the text of the actual chapter, but a companion to the chapter, revealing “behind the scenes” information. If you have not read the book up to–and including–this chapter, you risk serious spoilers! Please, if you haven’t read MISTBORN, go visit the sample chapters, or perhaps purchase the book via Amazon.
You can navigate between annotations by using the list of links on the left. The very first annotation has a more detailed explanation of what is going on. If you want to start there, go to this link. Note–thoughts in the following annotation that might spoil later chapters have been hidden. You can reveal them via the button on the left, and they will appear in red. Not all chapters have hidden text–in fact, relatively few of them do. Thanks!
So, Kelsier is very interesting to me as a character. Mostly because of what we see in this chapter. He is a man of dichotomy, which is one of the themes of this novel. On one hand, he’s the joking, lighthearted man you see in the second half of the chapter. On the other hand, however, he’s a very dangerous, even ruthless, man. He laughs at himself in this chapter, but he wasn’t faking when he acted the way he did. There is an edge to Kelsier I’ve never built into a hero before. Sometimes, he makes me uncomfortable.
An item of note his in this chapter bump. I mention ‘Terris’ for the first time here, which I was glad that I was able to do. Remember that name, because you’ll soon get a lot more about that country.
I do worry that the bumps will make the book feel a little too much like a standard fantasy. Mention of prophesies and the like has become such a cliché in fantasy that I avoid them whenever I can. The story in MISTBORN doesn’t really deal much with that aspect of the history, but the story that is happening in the bumps has quite a bit to do with it.
In MISTBORN PRIME, there were no such thing as Mistings. Allomancy’s practitioners were called Mistborn, and they could use all of the various abilities, depending on which metal they ingested.
When I started work on this incarnation of the book, however, I felt that I wanted to involve a specialized team of Allomancers. That meant including people who were really good at one specific thing, but who couldn’t do other things. It’s a staple of the heist genre–you want specialists. So, I split up Allomancy, allowing lesser Allomancers to exist. These people, who only could do one of the many Allomantic powers, would be very good at the one thing they do. And, since Mistborn were so rare, you couldn’t really make an entire team of them. You’d be lucky to even get one. (Though Kelsier’s team just got a second one.)
Soon, you’ll get to meet the rest of the crew, and will be able to see how I split up Allomancy. One thing of interest, however, is that there was no emotional Allomancy in MISTBORN PRIME. I added Soothing and Rioting–the ability to make people less or more emotional–into this book because I felt I needed something that would be more. . .sneaky. These are skills that don’t relate to fighting, and I think they’d be very helpful for the sort of political intrigue I want to do in this book.",837,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00260.warc.gz,0.972162008285522
f50cc5fe-dc4a-4520-bc43-886ba9eab10b,2022-05-22T10:17:34+00:00,2022-05-20,1,https://wfpl.org/eastbound-sherman-minton-bridge-lanes-to-close-this-weekend/,"The I-64 eastbound lanes of the Sherman Minton Bridge will be closed starting Friday at 10 p.m. through Monday at 5 a.m.
Drivers in Indiana will not be able to access the I-64 eastbound lanes at the West Spring Street entrance. The closure will also include I-64 eastbound lanes to the I-264 eastbound ramp.
People not using I-265 will be forced to exit the highway at West Fifth Street in Indiana. From there, drivers will take a surface street route to I-64 west.
The I-64 westbound lanes will give drivers access to a detour on I-265 and I-65.
During the closure, crews will pour concrete on the lower deck of the bridge as a part of the Sherman Minton Renewal Project. Crews will also be touching striping on the bridge Friday evening.
According to project officials, most construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545326.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522094818-20220522124818-00205.warc.gz,0.936154723167419
7e8ad2f8-8b20-4885-bf3d-c862f3b906af,2015-04-02T03:05:12+00:00,2008-08-15,1,http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/news.aspx?id=bfaa3379-b4ae-49e1-a957-d7b2121f5929,"The time has come to draw a line in the sand on extreme poverty. We have the resources and the will. What we no longer have is any excuse for inaction. On August 15, I signed into law House Bill 4369, which establishes the Commission on the Elimination of Poverty in the state of Illinois. The stated goal of the new body is to create a plan to cut extreme poverty in Illinois in half by the year 2015. By combining achievable goals with a comprehensive approach to poverty, I believe this Commission can move Illinois even further into the forefront in the national movement against poverty, and establish Illinois as the model state for others to emulate.
The Commission will focus on those who live in extreme poverty, defined as 50 percent of the federal poverty line, or an income of merely $11,000 per year for a family of four. According to the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, 700,000 Illinoisans live in extreme poverty, 150,000 of whom are aged 12-24. Confronting extreme poverty demands more than making up for an unacceptable shortfall in the means required to achieve a reasonable standard of living. It also means we need to stand with those children and young adults whose fragile futures we have the power to shape. To provide opportunities for these families to work themselves out of poverty is both to help provide them what they need stay alive today as well as to provide them with the tools and opportunities to thrive tomorrow.
Every person has a right to a safe place to live, adequate healthcare, food, and decent educational and employment opportunities. Because a quality life has so many dimensions, we have structured our new Commission to focus on eight key areas:
- Affordable housing
- Food and nutrition
- Affordable and quality health care
- Equal access to quality education
- Dependable and affordable transportation
- Quality and affordable child care
- Opportunities to engage in sustainable work that pays a living wage
- Availability of adequate income supports
We already know that you can’t just give people a hand-out and expect them to succeed. These eight areas acknowledge that we need to cover people’s basic needs and, at the same time, that we can never make serious inroads into poverty until we open up to everyone the tried and tested pathways to success.
A deeper look at rising poverty levels in Illinois shows why we need to take a broader approach: in the last 10 years, low-income students have risen from 36.3 percent to 40.9 percent of the total enrollment and this year alone has witnessed a 4 percent increase in the number of households that receive Food Stamps.
These are problems we can conquer, but only if take into account – and address – the many factors of poverty. One reason we are creating this Commission is to ensure that the Illinois has a long-term plan.
The political will exists to do something about poverty and so it is equally important to develop an approach that can garner support from both sides of the aisle. When everyone can agree that we must act to reduce poverty, there is no time to let politics overwhelm initiative. This bill, which passed unanimously in both the Illinois House and Senate, mandates that the Commission represent all points of view. I will appoint five members, the Lieutenant Governor will appoint one, and then the House Majority and Minority Leaders and the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders will appoint five each for a total of 26. This gives us confidence that when the Commission does develop a plan, it will be one that all of Illinois can get behind.
We have allowed extreme poverty to persist for far too long. I am proud to say that the creation of this Commission is an important first step in remedying that inaction. We have now made a firm commitment to identifying and implementing policies that will greatly reduce the number of Illinoisans living in poverty. I hope that we can inspire other states and communities to follow suit, and pledge to dramatically reduce poverty in the coming years. These goals are not always easy, but they are within reach. It will require hard work and determination to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. Yet it is a deadline that all Illinoisans can now await with optimism and hope.
Viewpoints in this section solely represent the authors’ opinions and not the opinions of ""Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity.""",879,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00260-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952880263328552
05d1c3ae-aee3-44db-b43c-dce18e356136,2022-05-17T21:36:48+00:00,2011-07,0,https://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/07/apple-buys-iphone4-com/,"Apple has at long last purchased the domain name iPhone4.com on an official basis – and this has been a long time in coming, considering the 4th generation iPhone was rolled out to the masses last year. It seemed as though the Whois record for iPhone4.com actually was transferred from Whois Privacy Services to Apple Inc just a couple of days ago, where the domain name would expire in 19 years’ time. Which is a really, really long time down the road when you think about it, and who knows what the iPhone would look like in two decades’ time?
It is interesting to note that Apple does not own iPhone5.com, iPhone6.com, or even iPhone7.com and so on and so forth. Does this mean an enterprising person might opt to beat Apple out on their own game by squatting on future domains? Perhaps – what do you think?",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520817.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517194243-20220517224243-00415.warc.gz,0.971301257610321
fa6bf34d-1568-42b9-b8c2-8d9e6a8cb4cf,2019-08-19T16:29:05+00:00,2017-07-27,1,http://www.thehawk.in/world/asia/panamagate-sharifs-fate-hangs-in-balance-94071,"Islamabad : Pakistan's Supreme Court is set to announce today its much-awaited verdict in the Panamagate case that could see Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigning over corruption allegations.
The scandal is about alleged money laundering by 67- year-old Sharif in 1990s, when he twice served as prime minister, to purchase assets in London. The assets surfaced when Panama Papers leak last year revealed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by Sharif's children.
The assets include four expensive flats in London. Sharif, who has been the prime minister of Pakistan for a record three time, faces the risk of being disqualified if the court finds him guilty of corruption and money laundering.
He leads Pakistan's most powerful political family and the ruling PML-N party. The verdict is keenly awaited as both of Sharif's first two stints have ended in the third year of his tenure.
A steel tycoon-cum-politician, Sharif had served as the Pakistan's prime minister for the first time from 1990 to 1993. His second term from 1997 was ended in 1999 by Army chief Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup.
In May, the Supreme Court set up a six-member joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the charges against Sharif and his family. The JIT submitted its report to the court on July 10.
It said the lifestyle of Sharif and his children were beyond their known sources of income, and recommended filing of a new corruption case against them. Sharif dismissed the report as a ""bundle of baseless allegations"" and refused to quit, despite demands to do so from several quarters, including opposition political parties.
On July 21, the court reserved its verdict after concluding the hearing. In the wake of the verdict, Islamabad police have announced special security arrangements and closed the capital's central ""Red Zone"" area, which has important buildings including the Supreme Court, for the general public.
The entry to the court will be restricted to only those having special passes. The six-member JIT was set up with a mandate to probe the Sharif family for allegedly failing to provide the trail of money used to buy properties in London in the 1990s.
The top court took up the case in October last year on petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Awami Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami and reserved the verdict in February after conducting hearings on a daily basis.",496,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00018.warc.gz,0.982775628566742
d6a7dbed-f502-4ebc-af82-43c0bbc05e95,2022-05-17T02:10:18+00:00,2022-04-27,1,https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/sumner/2022/04/27/sumner-county-hopeful-s-r-386-widening-project-can-move-ahead/9509039002/,"Sumner County hopeful S.R. 386 widening project can move ahead
Officials hope improvements to Vietnam Veterans Boulevard in Sumner County is on a faster track based on Gov. Bill Lee’s 2022-23 budget proposal.
Vietnam Veterans Boulevard (State Route 386) is one of the projects under the state’s IMPROVE Act, which Lee wants to accelerate because of Tennessee’s growth.
The governor dedicated $266 million for state highway projects within the IMPROVE Act. That money is on top of what’s already been dedicated. The appropriation for widening Vietnam Veterans Boulevard from State Route 174 to State Route 109 is $76 million.
The planning study for the project was recently completed, TDOT spokesperson Rebekah Hammonds said.
The study recommends development in phases due to the estimated cost.
TDOT’s Programming Office is working to get this project programmed in the Greater Nashville Regional Council’s Transportation Improvement Plan. It’s still undetermined when engineering would begin.
The project involves:
- Adding one lane in both directions for all vehicles. The work will make the roadway three lanes in each direction.
- Extending entrance and exit lanes to allow vehicles more time to merge into traffic and more time to exit traffic.
“This project has two general benefits to Hendersonville and Sumner County,” Hendersonville Mayor Jamie Clary said. “First, it will help our commuters reach their workplaces and return home in less time.
“Second, the project will invite more professional employers to locate in Hendersonville, taking advantage of the professional workforce we have here. Already, we have experienced several professional employers — healthcare companies, law firms, marketing consultants and others — taking advantage of the workforce in Hendersonville. Better transportation will encourage even more of that.”
A construction timeline is still uncertain. Phases would include engineering, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation and construction.
The State Route 386 widening project will also prepare the roadway’s shoulders for buses to use when needed to bypass congested traffic for limited periods.
WeGo now offers three bus routes from Sumner County to Nashville on weekdays. WeGo had planned to increase the number of trips to five on April. The additional trips have been delayed, but WeGo still hopes to add the service in the future, spokesperson Renuka Christoph said.
More available times to ride the bus to align with work schedules is a frequent request, Christoph said.
The IMPROVE (Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads, and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy) Act was signed into law in 2017 by then Gov. Bill Haslam and designed to address a backlog of Tennessee road and infrastructure projects.
Reach Andy Humbles at firstname.lastname@example.org or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.",601,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515466.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516235937-20220517025937-00216.warc.gz,0.929476678371429
f01ccd23-8ce6-4674-bd91-3b0026ff53ed,2017-08-19T11:22:54+00:00,2015-06-26,1,http://techstory.in/indiaonline-06262015/,"New Delhi, June 26 (ANI): IndiaOnline.in, a network of 475 inter-linked city-based websites, is planning to raise USD 10 million (about 60 crore) through VC / Private Equity Funding.
The New Delhi-based company intends to use the funds for its expansion plans, including setting up regional offices, growing the Franchise Network and increasing the headcounts.
“We are looking to raise about USD 10 million in the next few months to fuel our expansion plans, and depending on its success we will look at the next tranche. We are not an e-commerce company, and our business model is such where there is very little cash burn. We hope to turn profitable within the next 12 months,” IndiaOnline.in Director, Rahul Jalan said.
Further, the company would also look at bringing in strategic tie-ups, he added.
The funding would be used to increase its headcount to about 120 people (from the 45 right now), rope in 5,000 business associates and 500 Franchises (15 right now) and set up four regional offices in the next 12-18 months.
IndiaOnline.in, which has 475+ dedicated portals for every city of India, is already getting an average of 2 million page views per month without any marketing efforts. Its services include local search engine, free business listings and website creation facility for small businesses, city guide, classified ads, daily news and updates",296,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00086.warc.gz,0.942193031311035
ae4a72f5-c592-4ff6-9993-8e10e6bf4559,2022-05-20T18:02:37+00:00,2006-10-16,1,https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/16/8390259/index.htm?postversion=2006101916,"The axis of diesel
Mercedes, GM, even Honda, is betting on a new breed of green diesels. The goal? To leave hybrids in the dust.
(Fortune Magazine) -- As night fell over the 24 Hours of LeMans this summer, spectators at France's prestigious endurance race detected a pattern. While competitors entered the pits to refuel, a sleek pair of Audi R10s kept stealing laps around the 13.7-kilometer track. Already the fastest cars on the course, and eerily quiet thanks to a unique emissions filter, the Audis were also proving the most fuel-efficient. When the checkered flag flew, the Audi had made history as the first diesel car to win a major international race.
Diesel isn't just changing LeMans. Thanks to technological breakthroughs, at least six automakers - starting with Mercedes on Oct. 16, Jeep in early 2007, and eventually even hybrid pioneer Honda - will be launching a fleet of New Age diesels. They promise to boost fuel economy by 25% to 40%, with huge torque and turbochargers to deliver the power American drivers crave.
Though initial models won't pass air-quality standards in five states (California and New York among them), Mercedes has announced three 2008 SUVs that will achieve 50-state standards. Honda (Charts), VW, and GM (Charts) are close behind. How big is the market? J.D. Power estimates that diesel sales will triple to 9% of the U.S. market by 2013, compared with a projected hybrid share of 5%.
While a diesel may have won LeMans, winning over American consumers won't be easy. ""[Toyota's] success has been to put the idea in consumers' minds that hybrids are the only solution, but that's wrong,"" says clean-diesel proponent Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Renault (Charts) and Nissan (Charts). Though half the new cars in Europe have diesel engines (credit $6-a-gallon gas and tax subsidies), most Americans still associate the word with soot-spewing, bone-rattling specimens from the '70s. ""People ask why we don't just bring them over, but it's a challenge,"" says Frank Klegon, chief of Chrysler Group's global product development. While hybrids are seen as cutting-edge, ""with diesels, it's 'Well, those have been around for 100 years.' ""
More than 100, actually. Bavarian Rudolf Diesel patented his groundbreaking engine in 1892. While a gasoline engine squeezes gas and air together, a diesel compresses only air, at high pressures, creating so much heat that added fuel ignites without a spark. (Diesel contains more energy than gasoline, and engines burn it more efficiently.)
Shifting America's gears
Though diesels produce fewer greenhouse gases, they make more smog-forming pollutants. Mercedes debuted the first mass-produced car model in 1936, and popularity peaked here during the early '80s, when four of five Benzes sold featured a so-called oil burner. But the era of cheap gas left most buyers oblivious to fuel economy. As emissions standards got stricter, the EPA even discussed banning diesel a decade ago, notes Margo Oge, director of the EPA's office for transportation and air quality. Except for pickups and a fringe of Volkswagen fanatics, the technology largely fell by the wayside.
Until now. The first breakthrough is that ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel will roll out to the nation's pumps this month. The move was mandated by the EPA, whose 2009 emissions rules will hold diesels to the same standards - the world's toughest - as gasoline cars. (Environmentalists were thrilled, oil companies less so: The rollout will cost them $6 billion to $9 billion.) The new fuel eliminates 97% of sulfur, and it's also the catalyst for automakers to devise strategies to reduce the remaining pollutants.
Mercedes is furthest along. In the E 320 Blutec, a trap stores and purges smog-forming nitrogen oxides. A second filter captures particulate matter - diesel's black calling card, long linked to cancer, asthma, and other health risks. Then ammonia compounds are used to convert nitrogen oxides to water and nitrogen. What will consumers notice? It goes fast, it delivers a knockout 38 highway miles per gallon, there's no smell, and it costs just $1,000 more than the gas model, vs. Lexus's $8,000 premium for its GS hybrid sedan.
To pass the strictest air-quality rules, part two of Mercedes' plan involves adding a small tank of urea, an ammonia-like fluid that further neutralizes pollution. The EPA's Oge says that while the agency has been leery of emissions systems that require maintenance, it will back Mercedes' approach.
By the time Mercedes' 50-state diesels launch, the competition will be heated. In September, Honda - a company long associated with hybrids - announced a catalytic-converter breakthrough that requires no fluid additives, saying it will deliver 50-state models by 2009. And GM recently showed off a burly, ultra-clean V-8 diesel that should arrive around the same time. VW, Audi, Nissan, BMW, and Chrysler Group also have versions in the works.
The question is, Are Americans ready for diesel's second coming? ""We've always been a proponent,"" says Mercedes' E-Class chief, Bart Herring. ""But changing the perspective of the rest of the market will take time and effort."" Honda's research showed that older Americans are more skeptical of diesel. ""Younger people are more open to it,"" says John Watts, Honda's manager for product planning. ""They're more our target of who diesel would appeal to - cars with lots of power yet low fuel consumption.""
In other words, for eco-conscious buyers, the race is on.",1236,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662533972.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520160139-20220520190139-00607.warc.gz,0.944924354553223
34d5af44-7c08-4dbc-9bc0-8a28b2b0293d,2022-05-25T17:01:19+00:00,2022-05-10,1,https://satyobchod.cz/2022/05/10/sri-lankan-forces-ordered-to-shoot-on-sight-after-pm-ousted/,"Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry ordered security forces to shoot protesters on sight Tuesday after the country’s prime minister was ousted amid a national uprising that has left at least eight dead and hundreds injured.
Clashes started Monday after mobs supporting the government began beating peaceful protesters who camped out near Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s home demanding his ouster during the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka’s history.
Rajapaksa finally resigned Monday after the violence spread across the country, with at least eight dead — including a ruling-party lawmaker and two police officers — and 219 people injured and more than 100 buildings and 60 cars burned, according to the official tally.
But the violence only escalated at Rajapaksa’s home after his resignation, with at least 10 Molotov cocktails lobbed at it and protesters breaking through a security gate, the Telegraph said.
Hundreds of troops fired tear gas, water cannons and warning shots to finally get the recently resigned political leader and his family out to an unknown safehouse, the UK paper said.
Within hours, the rest of his cabinet had also stepped down.
But the violence only continued Tuesday in defiance of strict curfews as anti-government mobs also called for the removal of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former prime minister’s younger brother.
The defense ministry said Tuesday that thousands of troops “have been ordered to shoot on sight anyone looting public property or causing harm to life.”
Among those attacked was Colombo’s most senior policeman, Senior Deputy Inspector-General Deshabandu Tennakoon, after a crowd surrounded and set fire to the car he was in, Agence France-Presse said.
After Tennakoon was rescued by officers who fired into the air to scare off the mob, he was rushed to the hospital and soon discharged after treatment, the outlet said.
The violence followed months of rising anger over economic turmoil in Sri Lanka that has spawned dire food shortages and rolling power cuts.
People have been forced to stand in lines for hours to buy essentials, and doctors have warned of crippling shortages of life-saving drugs in hospitals.
The prime minister’s ouster and calls for the deposing of the president mark a dramatic fall from favor of the Rajapaksas, Sri Lanka’s most powerful political dynasty for decades.
President Rajapaksa initially blamed Sri Lanka’s economic woes on global factors such as the pandemic battering of its tourism industry and the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushing up global oil prices.
But both he and his brother have since admitted to mistakes that exacerbated the crisis, including conceding they should have sought an International Monetary Fund bailout sooner.
With Post wires",571,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00223.warc.gz,0.967889428138733
82c0bed9-344b-4e9c-bb75-a4bfe74e134a,2022-05-27T03:49:53+00:00,2022-03-31,1,https://mm24mm.com/the-padres-turn-to-pitching-after-fernando-tatis-jr-s-surgery/,"At this point a year ago, the Padres were as hyped as any other team in baseball. Now they seem like an afterthought in the National League West.
That’s what happens when you end a season on a 12-34 run, have a quiet offseason, and lose one of the game’s biggest superstars, Fernando Tatis Jr., to a slew of months to a broken wrist.
But don’t count the brothers out just yet. Tatis’ absence hurts, but the club could remain behind a pitching baton in the NL post-season race that should be better than expected – and will certainly be better than the one that ended in 2021.
Not surprisingly, their relief pitching also formed craters. The San Diego bullpen had the best ERA (2.89) in the majors through Aug. 10, but they also pitched the most innings at 480 1/3, and the club’s early pitching problems only put more strain on its auxiliary corps . The result? A 5.32 Bullpen ERA in the Padres’ last 46 games.
However, things are looking up for the Padres’ gun collection due out in 2022. Here are five reasons to believe in San Diego’s pitching this season.
Yu wanted to recover; cold too?
While neither lived up to expectations in 2021, with Darvish recording a 4.22 ERA over 166 1/3 innings and Snell recording a 4.20 ERA in 128 2/3 innings, both showed a look at the aces that the Padres thought they were getting.
Darvish struggled with a hip problem in the second half and his attempts to resolve the problem resulted in strained back and groin. Before the injuries hit, Darvish was one of the most effective hurlers in MLB, posting a 2.44 ERA and a 5.0 K/BB ratio in his first 16 starts in 96 innings, which followed a second-place finish in Finals voting to the NL Cy Young Awards 2020.
Despite his struggles after the All-Star break, Darvish finished the season with an expected ERA of 3.32 – based on quality of contact, strikeouts, and walks – making him one of the most likely rebound candidates this season.
Snell is more of a mystery. The 2018 AL Cy Young winner struggled with his first 19 starts last year (5.44 ERA, 1.91 K/BB), but after the All-Star break he found his groove and posted a 1.85 ERA and a 4.64 K/BB ratio over a six-start range from Aug. 3-Sept. 7. Unfortunately for San Diego, Snell ended his start on September 12 with a groin strain in his left adductor area and didn’t throw another pitch for the brothers in 2021.
Snell’s xERA was 4.86 as he struggled to limit hard contact and walks. But the lefty hasn’t lost his ability to miss shots — his 31.6% breath rate was the 12th-highest mark in MLB (min. 750 swings), while his 30.9% strikeout rate was the 8th-highest (min .500 thugs faced). ).
If Darvish and Snell are both healthy and serving well in 2022, watch out.
Less than a month after trading for Darvish and Snell, the Padres struck another deal for a starting pitcher, acquiring Joe Musgrove from the Pirates. Although that trade didn’t get as much attention as the other two, Musgrove became the Padres’ most reliable starter in 2021.
Musgrove threw the franchise’s first no-hitter in his second start of the season and led the brothers in innings (181 1/3) and strikeouts (203) while posting a 3.18 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Unlike Darvish and Snell, whose performances fluctuated wildly, Musgrove was stable, posting a sub-4.00 ERA in five of the six months last season and avoiding the injury list.
It was an outbreak predicted during the truncated 2020 season, when Musgrove was one of two starting pitchers to record 50% or greater breath rates on multiple pitch types. The other was Shane Bieber from Cleveland, who won the AL Cy Young Award that year.
Musgrove’s slider and curveball remained dominant in his first season with the Padres. He capped batters to a .146 average and .234 slugging percentage at breaking balls last season, and he amassed a total of 154 strikeouts on sliders and corners. The right-hander threw a breaking ball more than half the time while reducing his four-seam fastball consumption to a career-low 19.6% and meddling a cutter more often.
Considering he’s had a career slugging percentage of .538 on four sailers – the highest number compared to any of his offerings – it’s not hard to see why he decided to recall it.
Given the uncertainty surrounding Snell, the Padres are counting on the 29-year-old to be the same pitcher he was last year.
Musgrove, meanwhile, is scrambling for a lucrative deal – he’s eligible for free agency after 2022. Another strong showing could land him a similar deal to 30-year-old left-hander Robbie Ray (five years, $115 million) and 31-year-old right-hander Kevin Gausman (five years, $110 million) last offseason .
Clevinger was supposed to be the Padres’ No. 1 starter, and he looked the part in his first few appearances with the Padres. However, he ended his start on September 23, 2020 with a right bicep strain and walked away from his start in that fall’s NLDS against the Dodgers after just 24 pitches after attempting to return in the postseason. The following month he underwent Tommy John surgery.
After missing all of 2021, Clevinger is back and set to rejoin a rotation that looks very different from his last pitch.
If Clevinger had emerged healthy from this season, the Padres might not have felt the need to trade for all three Darvish, Snell and Musgrove. But they did, and Clevinger is now the team’s No. 4 starter.
While it remains to be seen how he will look on his return, the 31-year-old has the potential to start at the front line. From 2018-2020, Clevinger’s 153 ERA+ was the seventh best among big league pitchers to pitch at least 300 innings, and his 3.24 FIP was the eleventh best.
Gore is waiting in the wings
As the Padres’ season came to an end and they were looking for someone who could put them in a couple of decent innings, it would have been nice to be able to turn to the guy who was the No. 1 in baseball in 2021. But MacKenzie Gore didn’t get the call.
The left-hander worked his way back up the minor league after encountering command issues early in the MiLB season in Triple-A. Gore threw 50 1/3 innings over four minor league levels and gave up 28 walks in 2021.
When MLB Pipeline unveiled its new list of Top 100 Prospects last month, Gore fell 80 spots, from 6th overall to 86th.
But Gore’s spring success has put the 2017 No. 3 draft pick back in contention for a major opportunity in the league. In his first three Cactus League games, Gore allowed two runs with four hits with 11 strikeouts and just one nine-inning walk.
That’s what Gore had in mind as he worked extensively with Ruben Niebla, the Padres’ new pitching coach, to sharpen his mechanics before the lockout.
Pitching depth has clearly been an issue for the Padres in 2021 but the club are now better equipped to handle the rigors of a 162-game season.
Gore, Chris Paddack, Ryan Weathers and Nick Martinez, who joined the Padres on a one-year, three-option contract after earning a 1.62 ERA over 149 2/3 innings in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball last season, are in the mix for fifth in the rotation, and former Top 100 contender Adrian Morejon will eventually be back from the Tommy John operation.
The added depth of rotation should have a trickle down effect on the bullpen, which has been outstanding for much of last season.
Dinelson Lamet, the team’s former ace, will take on a flexible bullpen role while San Diego try to keep him healthy. The Padres could also choose to field one or more of their fifth-starter candidates as relief to add length to the pin.
It may be a year later than they hoped, but the pieces are in place for the Padres to have the elite-pitching team they dreamed of last season, one capable of growing the team carry while waiting for Tatis to return.",1877,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662631064.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527015812-20220527045812-00419.warc.gz,0.974573850631714
f783c442-809b-454d-9d03-1dd4309d04ac,2020-10-26T18:36:22+00:00,2020-10-26,0,https://aboriginalhealthcentre.com/,"Vibrant, healthy Indigenous communities.
Improving the health and well-being of Indigenous individuals, families and communities through wholistic Indigenous, Traditional and Western health care.
“De dwa da dehs nye>s” embodies the concept of “we’re taking care of each other amongst ourselves.”
Water Does Wonders App
Do you need a Doctor?
Due to overwhelming demand, De dwa da dehs nye>s is not currently accepting new patients. Dependent on supply and demand, this status is reviewed monthly, and does change from time to time. Should you desire to become a patient, please visit reception at either of site to complete an intake form. New patients must be of Aboriginal descent, First Nations, Métis, or Inuit.
Our Centre provides a number of programs and services under the provision of the following Departments:
- Advocacy and Outreach Services;
- Health Promotion Programs;
- Mental Health and Addictions Services;
- Primary Health Care (Doctors, nurse practitioners, and other allied health care professionals);
- Traditional Healing.
AHC Accessible Customer Service Policy
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (the AODA) is a provincial act with the purpose of developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for persons with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises. Please read more here.
Advocacy and Outreach Services
The goal of our Centre’s advocacy program is to help members of our community ensure that they have access to culturally appropriate health-care services and programs, and to promote the empowerment of Aboriginal people in determining their own health care needs.
Health Promotions & Education Services
The Health Promotions Department provides health education to the community and seeks to collaborate with outside community agencies to enhance existing services. The program increases public knowledge and awareness of De dwa da dehs nye>s’ culturally appropriate organizational Health Promotion activities.
Primary Health Care
The Primary Health Care team at De dwa da dehs nye>s consists of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and other allied healthcare professionals. Working together in a culturally appropriate manner, the primary care health care team provides our community with 1 on 1 appointments and group education classes.
Mental Health and Addictions Services
Culturally Appropriate Mental Health and Addictions services that support the empowerment and self-determination of Aboriginal People.
De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre values research that we own, and which helps to establish the data we need to best support the Indigenous community.
To that end, we have been and continue to be involved in very select research projects such as the benefits of the 13 Moon Ceremonies, Muskuloskeletal Health Needs, Cardiovascular Health Literacy, and Health and Social realities of our Indigenous Peoples.
An example of the excellent Indigenous research that we have completed, is the “Our Health Counts study”, available at: www.ourhealthcounts.ca .
The aim of Traditional Healing is to create awareness of the blocks we carry which prevent us from experiencing our true nature, which is love. By acknowledging that these blocks are ever present in us, we can begin to heal them by providing tools which help to heal the mind & spirit.
Healthy Kids Community Challenge
The Healthy Kids Community Challenge (HKCC) is Ontario’s new program to support the health of our children and De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre (DAHC) has been selected to be a part of it.",761,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891624.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026175019-20201026205019-00691.warc.gz,0.917913377285004
a1848543-522b-4930-a8ec-972e85a6b693,2019-08-17T11:40:35+00:00,2015-05-04,1,http://immigrationimpact.com/2015/05/04/after-earthquake-in-nepal-bill-introduced-to-grant-temporary-protected-status-to-nepalese-nationals/,"One form of humanitarian assistance the United States can offer to Nepal, a country now recovering from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings and killed more than 7,000 people, is temporary protected status (TPS) for Nepalese nationals who currently are in the United States. Last week, several members of Congress introduced a bill, H.R. 2033, that would designate Nepal as a country whose nationals are eligible for TPS.
Although there is precedent for Congress authorizing TPS for nationals of a particular country, the current immigration statute already authorizes TPS for nationals of any country designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Such a designation is appropriate where there is ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster or epidemic, or for other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” within that country. Haiti, Syria, and Somalia are some of the countries currently designated for temporary protected status.
TPS gives foreign nationals in the United States protection from deportation, travel authorization, and the ability to work legally while in the United States. As the name states, their status is temporary and does not lead to a green card. Only individuals who can demonstrate continuous physical presence during a period specified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are eligible, as this program is designed for foreign nationals who were already in the United States. The United States has granted over 300,000 foreign nationals this status.
Because TPS would allow many Nepalese nationals to legally work and reside in the United States, it would increase the flow of remittances to Nepal during the recovery from the earthquake. According to the World Bank, “remittances sent home by migrants to developing countries are equivalent to more than three times the size of official development assistance.” The remittances could go even further than the $10 million of US humanitarian aid already sent. Not only would TPS ease the financial burden of rebuilding, but it would enable Nepal to more adequately handle the return of Nepalese down the road.
Support for TPS designation extends beyond the House and the bill’s 13 co-signers – as of writing, nearly 100,000 people had signed a Whitehouse.gov petition asking President Obama to direct DHS to designate Nepal as a country for TPS. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting TPS for Nepalese nationals. As one of the co-sponsors of the House bill Rep. Al Green (D-TX) said, “A great nation does not force people to return to conditions that are unsafe and detrimental to their well-being. A great nation extends the hand of friendship to all during times of challenge and crisis.”
Photo by ReSurge International.
FILED UNDER: Al Green, Ben Cardin, Department of Homeland Security, Earthquake in Nepal, featured, H.R. 2033",599,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312128.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817102624-20190817124624-00456.warc.gz,0.958697736263275
c25ef3e7-12b5-457b-8e95-8f8dde061be4,2022-05-25T15:38:06+00:00,2018-05-01,1,https://securitygladiators.com/5-best-search-engines-for-privacy/,"More and more people are using search engines that provide the maximum amount of privacy.
Two of those search engines are StartPage and DuckDuckGo.
Their popularity has shot up exponentially in the last couple of years.
Although it is true that search engines for privacy regularly leverage other “normal” search engines for the purposes of returning search results.
So does proxy search work?
Proxy search requests prevent the likes of Microsoft, Yahoo and/or Google from knowing who actually requested the search.
To put it in another way, the mainstream search engines can only see the search query.
They can’t see who sent the search query using the search engines for privacy.
Search engines for privacy promise their users lots of things.
Most of them boil down to a single promise.
That promise is that they won’t log the user’s IP address.
Search engines for privacy also give their word that they won’t log the user’s searches at any given point.
Some may find that a bit too good to sound true.
So is it?
Let’s take a look at some of the other questions that one needs to answer in order to truly understand how search engines for privacy really work.
After that, we will list the best search engines for privacy that you can use right now.
Why Would Anyone Want To Use Privacy Search Engines?
There are so many reasons for doing so that listing them here will take an hour for readers to go through.
So let’s just state the biggest problem that most mainstream search engines have:
They spy on their users.
They don’t spy because they are evil though.
All major search engines have to spy because that is the business model that they work with.
If they can’t learn the maximum amount of what is to learn about any given user, they can’t sustain their business.
Major search engines survive by delivering highly personalized and targeted advertisements to the users directly via the user’s web browser window.
The reason why we say that search engines aren’t evil though is that some of them have realized that they can’t just go around playing with their user’s private data without any restrictions.
Take, for example, Google.
Google gives users plenty of options via the Dashboard menu to tweak their privacy settings.
That’s their “good” side.
But Google has to survive as well and that’s why it can’t stop tracking users.
It is either “tracking user” or death as far as Google is concerned.
Back in 2016, the company finally managed to drop its self-imposed moratorium on tracking users no only via their search queries but also their email messages.
In other words, now Google not only tracks what you search on the internet but it also scans your email messages in order to deliver to you even more targeted advertisements.
Some would say this is too much spying.
Google would say that they are just “improving” their services.
Now, Google collects and stores a lot of information every single time a user goes to its search engine services and searches for something.
Some of the information that Google stores include,
- The user’s IP address
- The search terms in the query
- Time and date of the search query
- Cookie ID.
What is that?
This is just a cookie that Google deposited directly into the user’s web browser cookie folder.
It helps the company to uniquely identify the user’s computer machine.
Google, and all other search engines, takes the help of the Cookie ID in order to trace any given search query back right to the source.
That is, the computer of the user who made the query.
After collecting such information, Google allows the transmission of all that information to the web page that the user has requested.
It also delivers that information to other owners.
Specifically, the ones who own third-party advertising companies who display banners on the web page that the user visits.
As the user gets busy while surfing the world of the internet, advertising companies collect as much information as they can in order to build up a very detailed profile of the user.
And since they have so much information on any given user, sometimes the profile as enough details to embarrass someone to a great extent.
Consider another possibility.
Yahoo! along with Microsoft and Google do know a ton of things on any given user.
So what is stopping them from sharing that information with the likes of the NSA and the police department?
No one can guarantee if Google doesn’t do that already and that too on a regular basis.
Google also releases these Transparency Reports from time to time detailing the number of various user data requests that it has received.
A couple of years ago, many media outlets reported that they had found evidence which showed Yahoo working hand in glove with organizations such as the NSA in order to betray the company’s users data to the top US intelligence service.
That’s isn’t very nice or is it?
However, that’s only one of the problems with mainstream search engines.
Let’s take a look at another one.
The Infamous Filter Bubble
Search engines that don’t track users are a blessing.
The greatest benefit that these no-tracking search engines offer to users is that it prevents the user from having to experience the filter bubble effect.
Mainstream search engines profile users by studying the user’s past search terms.
They also keep a track of the things that the user has LIKED on various social media platforms.
Why do they do this?
Again, in order to return search results which are more likely to peak the user’s interest.
The problem with such an arrangement is that these search results tend to always agree with the user’s specific point of view.
In other words, such techniques lock the user into, what most call, a filter bubble.
When under the influence of a filter bubble the user doesn’t get to come across alternative and/or different point of views.
The user, for the most part, only sees opinions that tend to agree with him/her.
Search engines like Google downgrade results which they think would not match the user’s worldview.
The other downside of filter bubble is that it denies the user of any kind of access to much richer content and multiplicity of natural human input.
Filter bubble can also present other dangerous problems.
Problems such as its inclination to confirm prejudices.
Some have also blamed filter bubbles for keeping users away from thinking about the “bigger picture”.
With that said, let’s take a look at the top search engines for privacy at the moment.
- Looks stunning
- Does not track
- Does not log user information
- Contextual filters
- Non-targeted and discrete advertisements
- A lot of times it uses Yahoo results
- Operates on Amazon servers
- Is registered as a US company
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that sounds just about interesting enough to stick in your head.
According to the company, this is the only search engine that vows to not track the user.
The founder and the CEO of DuckDuckGo, Gabriel Weinberg, stated about two years ago that even if law enforcement agencies such as the FBI came to DuckDuckGo to ask for data, they would have nothing in their storage facilities which would allow their agents to tie something back to the user.
As mentioned at the top as well, the one apparent problem with DuckDuckGo is that it is a company that is based in the United States of America.
Among the search engines for privacy, DuckDuckGo is miles ahead in terms of its popularity.
There isn’t another search engine for privacy out there with as high a profile as DuckDuckGo.
DuckDuckGo, for the most part, sources its searches through Yahoo.
Perhaps this is also a good time to mention that DuckDuckGo had had a really strong relationship with the likes of Yahoo in the past as well.
Why would this cause worry to anyone?
For one reason, various media reports have revealed Yahoo’s ties with the likes of the NSA.
Of course, DuckDuckGo has always maintained that the company promises to not share or collect any type of personal information.
If we’re talking about clean user interfaces then DuckDuckGo is it.
The overall theme is white, grey and red.
DuckDuckGo has a cute looking logo which is attractive and kind of fun to just look at.
With that said, aesthetics of any given website is more or less a subjective matter and hence no one opinion can rule over all others.
But generally speaking, DuckDuckGo’s styling is good.
As the user types in any query, DuckDuckGo, just like Google, starts to offer the user search suggestions.
This is great as it usually leads the user to the term the user wanted to search much more quickly.
DuckDuckGo is very fast when it comes to search returns.
And this holds true for video as well as image search results.
As far as the presentation of the whole service is concerned, it is top notch and more importantly, clear.
DuckDuckGo offers the following content filter categories,
Almost all the filters that DuckDuckGo displays are adaptive.
Most of the time DuckDuckGo will take the pain of showing the user his/her results under a specific filter category that DuckDuckGo feels appropriately covers the user’s search terms.
Users have the choice of selecting different filters.
DuckDuckGo will have a look at the selected filter and will then continue to display Wikipedia, video and/or image previews in a small box that is located right next to the search results or at the top of the webpage.
DuckDuckGo isn’t without ads though.
It sometimes does show ads.
But they appear, mostly, to the right of the user’s search results.
Moreover, DuckDuckGo differentiates itself from the likes of Google by clearly marking advertisement as discreetly as possible.
DuckDuckGo also makes sure to never mix the ad search results with organic or pure search results.
This search engine for privacy can also filter image results.
But those filters are fairly limited in nature.
For example, the only filters available for the image search are,
For a general search term, there are many more filters.
DuckDuckGo displays video search results with the help of video thumbnail preview.
Users have the option of playing YouTube videos directly from the DuckDuckGo search engine website.
When users do try to play the video, DuckDuckGo does give them a warning.
The warning alerts the user to a simple fact that if they view the video, Google along with YouTube will track them.
Users also have the option of filtering results by country as well as date.
The date filter comes with further options such as,
- Past Month
- Past Week
- Past Day
Our experience tells us that while DuckDuckGo can’t match the accuracy of the search results that Google shows the user, but it does return good quality results.
In fact, in many cases, we have found that DuckDuckGo results are much more natural because SEO experts don’t put much work into optimizing their content for DuckDuckGo.
As mentioned just now, there are many people who think that Google returns better results than DuckDuckGo.
This is where we would like to mention another DuckDuckGo feature which is “bangs”.
We’ll talk more about that later.
For now, we would like to reiterate that DuckDuckGo can sometimes show both discrete ads as well as contextual filter suggestions where the search engine provides links to different products on Amazon that the user might have an interest in.
How Does DuckDuckGo Make Money?
Very important question.
As we have alluded to previously, DuckDuckGo does show some ads.
These usually take up a bit of space on the right-hand side of the pure search results.
DuckDuckGo sources its ads from Yahoo.
Yahoo itself has formed a search alliance with Microsoft.
Whenever an advertising company signs up for an account with Bing Ads, the default settings ensure that the company’s ads enter the rotation schedule of all of Microsoft Bing’s distribution channels automatically.
One of those distribution channels is DuckDuckGo.
That’s not the important part though.
The important part here is that DuckDuckGo shows users untargeted ads.
In other words, DuckDuckGo bases these advertisements on the user’s search terms.
We have already noted the fact that DuckDuckGo clearly marks these results as ads.
Moreover, it displays them in a separate space, away from the natural search results.
DuckDuckGo also happens to be a part of eBay and Amazon affiliate programs.
In simpler terms, if the user visits eBay and/or Amazon via DuckDuckGo and then subsequently purchases a product, then DuckDuckGo would receive a commission, albeit a small one.
DuckDuckGo makes sure that it does not give out information that is personally identifiable.
Does this affiliate program affect search rankings?
DuckDuckGo says it does not influence them at all.
DuckDuckGo has stated many times that it does not share or collect any personal information.
It does add an affiliate code to various eCommerce sites such as eBay and Amazon.
But this affiliate code doesn’t really include any information that can personally identify an individual.
We have already mentioned the fact that DuckDuckGo is based in the United States of America.
And hence it does come under US law.
The government can pressurize DuckDuckGo to do things it may not want to do otherwise.
What do these laws mean for DuckDuckGo operations?
These laws mean that the United States government has the legal authority to mandate that search engines such as DuckDuckGo must start to log their users’ online activities.
Moreover, the US government can also prevent search engines for privacy such as DuckDuckGo from even alerting their users about such an arrangement via various Gag orders.
The other thing users need to know about DuckDuckGo is that it makes use of Amazon servers to do its business.
Amazon, as we all know, is also a United States company and comes under the authority of the US government.
As far as the security report from Qualys SSL labs is concerned, DuckDuckGo manages to score an A+.
We’ll talk more about recent updates to DuckDuckGo as a search engine service at the end of this guide.
We have already mentioned a couple of features.
But DuckDuckGo is more than just smart contextual filters and discrete non-targeted ads.
Perhaps the best feature that DuckDuckGo offers to its users is Bangs.
Bangs are just “!” characters which users may put at the end of their search query followed by a website address in order to search the other website easily and quickly.
Let’s take a look at an example.
If the user types a search string and then after that types !guk then DuckDuckgo will return search results from Google UK.
In another instance, if the user types !a after one of his/her search terms then DuckDuckGo will search the entire Amazon store for the user.
Readers need to note here that bangs only take the user to the website that the bang in question is related to.
What about the search terms themselves?
Well, they are proxied.
However, if the user has already signed into Amazon or Google, to take an example, then it is safe to assume that Google/Amazon would know who the user is.
After knowing that, they would continue to do what they do best.
Track and record.
Final Thoughts On DuckDuckGo As A Search Engine For Privacy
Our number one recommendation is DuckDuckGo as far as search engines for privacy go.
It has the best looks.
And is the most user-friendly of all search engines for privacy.
Both these qualities make sure that users have a good time using DuckDuckGo for all their online needs.
There will always be people who will continue to prefer Google over a Yahoo-DuckDuckGo partnership.
And that’s okay.
Readers need to remember that DuckDuckGo still uses Yahoo’s search results, so Google indeed has the lead over DuckDuckGo when it comes to the depth of its search engine and search engine results.
DuckDuckGo really kills the competition with its Bangs feature.
We know of some users who only use DuckDuckGo because of its Bangs feature even if they primarily use Google as their preferred search engine.
Just keep in mind that while you are using the Bangs feature, always sign out from your official Google account.
Only after that should you go ahead and use the Bangs feature to search via Google.
By now, no one should find it shocking why DuckDuckGo is the number one search engine for privacy.
Its popularity alone shows that this is a serious search engine with a serious focus on user privacy.
The fact that DuckDuckGo is based in the United States of America is the only negative of using DuckDuckGo as of now.
So readers should exercise some caution when searching for sensitive topics via DuckDuckGo.
- Uses Google results
- Is a Netherlands based company
- No targeted advertisements
- Has features such as proxy web pages
- No tracking
- No logging
- Has some servers that it operates from the United States.
Users have the choice of making use of non-US servers.
Lxquick and Startpage both belong to the same company in the sense that a single company runs both of these services.
A while back, lxquick used to return search results from multiple other search engines apart from Google.
On the other hand, Startpage only returned Google search results.
Two years ago that changed.
The company behind lxquick and StartPage combined the two services to form a single search engine.
Now, both services return search results identical to Google.
There was a time when the company behind lxquick continued to offer the lxquick service even though it did not actively support it.
But after a while, it suspended its lxquick metasearch engine in its entirety
In other words, the company behind Startpage no longer supports the older version of the online search service.
About two years ago, StartPage also removed all Yahoo results from its older (or legacy) online search engine.
This also happened about two years ago when news broke that Yahoo had actually assisted NSA to spy on all its users.
Fast forward to 2018 and now we have Startpage.com and lxquick.eu pointing towards the same page.
This search engine for privacy sports a cloudy blue sky.
That is the default theme.
And we are aware of the fact that many users may not like this theme.
Luckily, Startpage.com offers users the ability to change the theme colors from the settings menu.
From an overall perspective, there isn’t a whole lot wrong with the homepage of Startpage.
But for some reason, there are users who prefer the red-themed DuckDuckGo rather than the blue-themed StartPage.
What About Search Results?
StartPage offers much simpler search results than DuckDuckGo.
It doesn’t offer any suggestions as the user is typing.
On the flip side, this allows StartPage to return research results much faster than some of the other search engines around.
Of course, DuckDuckGo is still faster than StartPage in terms of page load speed.
Users have to remember that sometimes the answer to the question “which is the fastest” is very much a subjective debate.
Startpage.com does a good job of presenting its results in a clear manner.
Users have the facility of filtering their search results via categories such as,
The only downside here is that these are the only three categories available.
There is also an advanced online search option for users.
This option enables users to specify multiple search parameters.
The advanced search option also enables users to filter search results by time.
StartPage.com displays advertisements right above its search results.
Unlike Google, StartPage.com does mark its advertisements as advertisements pretty clearly.
And just like DuckDuckGo, it doesn’t just mix its advertisements search results with the natural search results.
As far as the Images category goes, StartPage.com doesn’t offer any additional filters.
Its video results page only shows the preview of the video in the form of an image.
StartPage allows users to play content from streaming sites such as YouTube.
However, users should remain vigilant about the fact that once they connect to YouTube to watch a video their connection is no longer private.
StartPage.com is a bit different from DuckDuckGo as it pulls its search results directly from the world’s most popular search engine Google.
Hence, its search results are almost as good as Google’s.
However, this also means another thing.
Any information which Google has decided to censor also gets censored in StartPage.com’s search results.
The other thing we would like to mention about StartPage.com is that its advertisement space is much more prominent than DuckDuckGo’s advertising space.
Just like DuckDuckGo, StartPage.com also has the capability to proxy web pages.
And that is great.
How Does StartPage.com Make Its Money?
Just like DuckDuckGo and probably every other search engine on the planet including Google.com, StartPage.com generates the majority of its revenue from affiliate links and advertisements.
But unlike Google, it doesn’t deliver targeted advertisements.
It marks them clearly.
And does not mix advertisement results with the organic search results.
As mentioned at the top as well, StartPage.com marks its advertisements results much more prominently than DuckDuckGo.
- StartPage is a company that is based in the Netherlands.
And the Netherlands, when compared to the United States of America, has stronger privacy laws.
- Startpage.com has servers which are collocated in the United States of America.
StartPage.com owns them.
And hence it is responsible for controlling them as well.
StartPage.com representatives will tell you that the company’s servers are very much secured against US government’s snooping attempts.
- However, for some, that may not be enough.
For such users, StartPage.com provides users with the option of using exclusively non-US servers.
There is also an option of using only non-EU servers.
- Users search queries can proxy returned web pages.
We’ll talk more about this feature a bit later in this guide.
- Of all the other search engines for privacy, StartPage is perhaps the only one that independent researchers have audited.
- As far as the security report from Qualys SSL labs is concerned, StartPage.com has a rating of A+.
DuckDuckGo had its BANGS.
What does StartPage.com offer?
Well, its best feature is the ability to proxy any given connection.
Users don’t have to visit any site directly.
For those who enable this option, Startpage.com would run one of its proxy servers and that proxy server would sit nicely between the website that the user wants to access and the user’s computer machine.
What does this do?
It blocks the accessed website from having any knowledge about the user’s real IP address.
This pretty much works like a VPN service.
But of course, a VPN service is the complete privacy solution, unlike a search engine that offers just a proxy feature.
With that said, it is true that once a user has managed to block a website from knowing his/her IP address, then the website can’t do anything to track the user across the web or use other kinds of fingerprinting technology for the purposes of tracking the user after identifying him/her.
There is a big downside as well.
Since the user is connected to the website via a proxy service, the connection is fairly slow.
By that we mean, that pages connected to via the proxy feature would take significantly more time to load.
Why is that?
Well, because the user has enabled the proxy feature, StartPage first has to retrieve the webpage’s content and then redisplay the webpage’s content for the user.
Even with that fault, we are inclined to think that this is a fantastic feature.
Because it helps the user to improve his/her online privacy.
The downside is something that most users would be willing to put up with if they know it is enhancing their privacy.
Moreover, users can just switch off the feature when they aren’t doing something sensitive or personal in nature.
Final Thoughts On StartPage.com
DuckDuckGo is more user-friendly and pretty than StartPage.
But StartPage is based in the Netherlands.
That gives it a huge advantage over DuckDuckGo which is based in the US.
Moreover, StartPage doesn’t have any partnership with Yahoo.
And since it is free from Yahoo and the US, it would have more resilience against NSA spying.
Of course, users will have to make sure that they specify that in the settings menu by only connecting to non-US servers.
DuckDuckGo, Startpage.com’s US rival, doesn’t offer that option.
Moreover, StartPage.com’s feature of connecting to web pages behind a proxy also gives it the leverage over other search engines for privacy.
- No advertisements
- Self-hosting feature is available
- Has the ability to access web pages through a proxy
- Users can select which search engines they want SearX to leverage
- It could log public instances
SearX has managed to gain a lot of traction within the online security community.
It is still less well-known than DuckDuckGo and StartPage.com.
But it is a legitimate option for people looking for more online privacy while searching.
SearX is completely open source.
Not only that, it is also pretty easy to set up.
Users willing to input a bit of time and effort can run their own instance of SearX for more privacy.
Along with that, there is also an official instance of SearX.
But that isn’t great for privacy.
Users also have the option of using one of the multiple public SearX instances that volunteers run all over the world.
However, SearX is not about that.
SearX is about the user running his/her own search engine instance.
This feature actually makes SearX the only known online metasearch engine that offers 100 percent zero-logs.
No one is keeping logs on the user if the user knows how to run an instance of SearX.
Again, it can’t compete with DuckDuckGo as far as aesthetics are concerned.
But SearX doesn’t have to.
Because it is not aiming to look beautiful.
SearX has one purpose.
And that is to provide maximum functionality.
So it isn’t pretty.
But it is very useful.
With that said, SearX sports a clean layout.
Which is good because users can see the content displayed clearly.
As mentioned above as well, users have the option of hosting custom SearX instances.
But don’t expect them to look very different.
Most of them feel and look pretty much similar to the SearX official template.
What About Search Results?
The default SearX settings ensure that it leverages search results from a multiple number of online search engines.
If users click on the preferences button then can actually tweak the settings to adjust the search engines that SearX utilizes to display search results.
SearX does not show any suggestions as the user is typing up his/her search query.
However, it does display suggestions once the search returns are displayed.
They are located on the right-hand side of the screen.
Users can filter searches with the help of several categories.
- Social Media
- Map. SearX makes use of OpenStreetMap for this filter option.
Users can also filter results by time.
Unlike Google, DuckDuckGo and Startpage.com, SearX does not show users any kind of ads.
It tries to populate the search results page by showing Wikipedia entries in the right-hand corner of the search results page.
As far as the Images category goes, SearX doesn’t have a sub-filter for this category.
It does show a preview of the image when the user clicks on it.
SearX displays the Video search results in the form of thumbnail previews.
If the user clicks on a given video, SearX takes the user to the website that is hosting the video.
In other words, if it is a YouTube video that the user wants to watch then SearX would take the user to YouTube in order to start playing the video.
A similar thing would happen if the user tried to view a Vimeo video.
Users also get the option of downloading their search results in the form of an RSS file, .json, and .csv.
SearX has a similar feature to Startpage where it allows users to view web pages with the help of a proxy service.
Users have to keep in mind that such a feature would likely break several websites.
But viewing a website while proxied can provide an extremely high level of online privacy.
But what about the actual quality of the search engine results?
Well, that would depend on the search engine options that the user would select from the Preferences menu.
The official and default settings make use of Wikipedia, Bing, and Google in addition to a host of lesser-known online but first-rate search engines.
Hence, the default settings provide users with an excellent quality of search results.
How Does SearX Generate Revenue?
Again, SearX is completely open source.
A decent number of volunteers run the project.
If we’re talking about the official SearX instance then there are no advertisements.
And there are no affiliate marketing links either.
Moreover, since SearX is one hundred percent open source, individual volunteers or operators have the freedom to bring in their own proprietary revenue generation models to public SearX instances.
With that said, our research shows that there are not many SearX instances which are complete affiliate free or ad-free.
What About Privacy?
As mentioned before, a user could come across any number of public SearX instances.
Hence, there is no sure fire way to know if any of those are involved in logging user information and search queries.
We would also like to tell our readers that the official instance of SearX may also log user information.
What we mean to say is that, there is no way to ensure that your privacy in 100 percent guaranteed.
However, readers should also know that there is no method of ensuring that the likes of StartPage, DuckDuckGo or any other online search engine for privacy isn’t logging the user’s search queries either.
Users who are really serious about their privacy should set aside a bit of time and then set up their own version of a SearX instance.
As a matter of fact, it is far better for the user to run SearX instance on one of his/her own servers.
Because that is the only way to ensure privacy and the fact that no one is logging the user’s searches and other information.
A SearX instance on a server that the user directly controls provides perfect privacy and anonymity.
The fact that users can set up their own instances of SearX makes SearX (a self-hosted one that is) the most private and secure online search engine in the world by a country mile.
Users who want to view documentation related to installing one’s own instance of SearX should click here.
Now we’ll come to the part that is more related to the casual online user.
If the user is not interested in learning all the things that are required to set up a SearX instance, then public SearX instances aren’t exactly bad options either.
They are not likely to log user searches.
Moreover, these public instances of SearX are likely to stay under the radar of intelligence agencies such as the NSA and the rest.
No one would be monitoring these public SearX instances.
Other services that we have mentioned so far cannot say the same about their offerings.
Again, we would like the reader to remember that there is no guarantee if someone or some organization is behind a given public SearX instance, although the chances of that are minimal.
The security report from Qualys SSL labs gives searx.me (which is the official SearX instance) an A.
Users should know that each given instance of SearX, either private or public, would have a different rating in this regard.
As mentioned before, there are zero ads on the official SearX instance and users can see possible search suggestions on the right-hand side of the listings.
Just like with StartPage.com, users can proxy various web pages as well.
As mentioned just now, StartPage.com and SearX have one killer feature and that is:
However, users who want to take advantage of this feature will have to live with the fact that it might break some websites that they visit on a regular basis.
Final Thoughts On SearX
A self-hosted open source instance of SearX is the absolute best method to ensure privacy.
And this holds true even for the most tech-savvy and privacy-conscious of people on the internet.
To put it in another way, nothing beats having certain knowledge that no one is logging the user’s searches.
This also puts SearX in a league of its own.
Casual internet consumers may find it surprising the ease with which they can use this software even on public instances.
Our research suggests that public instances are less likely to log the user’s searches.
They are also likely to become targets of US government spying, especially when compared to services such as Disconnect, StartPage, and DuckDuckGo.
Of course, we have no way to prove that assertion.
- Great selection of online search engines
- No advertisements
- No tracking
- And no logging
- It is based in the US so users have to think about organizations such as the NSA.
- Makes use of Amazon servers, so users (again) have to think about the NSA and the CIA among other organizations.
Disconnect is a very hard service to review and recommend.
Not because it is worthless.
But because it is based in the US.
Even with that, Disconnect has managed to make quite a name for its services.
By offering excellent privacy-first and open source web browser extensions.
The most famous of these extensions is Disconnect Search.
It is an open source add-on for Chrome and Firefox.
There is also an Android application available for users to use on their smartphone devices but the app itself is not open source.
Most of the users who have installed Disconnect have done so with the help of the company’s web browser add-on.
As mentioned just now, the name of the browser is Disconnect Search.
It enables users to use the Disconnect Search webpage in order to search the web.
Disconnect is much more than a privacy add-on.
It also markets several other products.
Products such as a premium VPN product and a decent online security application.
All of these applications come built-in with Disconnect Search’s functionality.
What About Search Results?
For the majority of the cases, users have to use the browser extension and/or addon in order to do actual searching.
Users also have the option of selecting from three search engines.
The three search engines that Disconnect offers are,
DuckDuckGo is the default search engine though.
We have discussed multiple metasearch engines which are focused on privacy in this guide.
But Disconnect is unlike any of them.
How is it different?
It is different because it doesn’t really display any search returns using its official website.
What it does is that it routes the results of the search via its own servers.
This enables Disconnect to hide the origin of those results and the queries related to them.
Then, Disconnect opens these search results in the given search engine’s own webpage.
Disconnect also has a feature which allows it to display results in Incognito mode.
How Does Disconnect Generate Revenue?
While the Disconnect Search web browser extension is free for use, the company also has some Premium products.
As mentioned above, Disconnect does a decent job of hiding the user’s IP address when the user is making all the searches.
After that, it sends the user directly to the user’s pre-selected default search engine.
What does that mean for the end user?
It means that Disconnect doesn’t have to rely on any affiliate marketing links no advertising to do its work and provide a search service to users.
What About Privacy?
Some users a more NSA-phobic than others.
Disconnect isn’t a good choice for them.
Because Disconnect, as a company, operates out of the US.
Of course, Disconnect add-on and/or browser extension is completely open source.
But there is no way to know if Disconnect logs user’s search requests.
It certainly can.
Especially since all of the search queries have to pass through the company’s own servers.
Moreover, Disconnect uses Amazon servers to host its online services.
The security report from Qualys SSL Labs gives Disconnect an A.
Remember that this rating is for Disconnect.me.
Final Thoughts On Disconnect
If the user wants to have an easy and quick way of hiding his/her true identity then Disconnect Search add-on and/or browser extension provides that.
All the while, users can search via their favorite online search engine without having to worry about privacy.
The only major issue with Disconnect is that it is based in the US.
Peekier is probably an option you have never heard of.
Why is that?
Because it is new.
Probably the newest in the field of no-log search engines.
That is also the reason why the internet doesn’t have much information about Peekier as a service.
As time passes, more and more people will give their reviews on how good or bad Peekier really is.
Then it would become much easier for us to give a general assessment of this search engine.
However, we would like to mention here that because of the innovative and attractive way it shows all the search results to users, it had to have a place on our list of best search engines for privacy.
If users utilize this service to search then it will display the results in the form of large thumbnails that preview the web pages that search query returned.
The search engine field is pretty bland in the sense that almost all online search engines have a similar feel and look.
Peekier takes a different approach.
And that makes it worthwhile to try out at least.
But before we can give a well-researched ruling on Peekier, perhaps it is best for users to keep an eye on Peekier but not use the service for sensitive tasks.
After this service develops more, we’ll have a clearer idea of whether it can match the quality of services that, for example, DuckDuckGo offers.
We have mentioned four top class privacy-focused search engines.
The fifth one may not be the best but it is there because at least it has made the effort of offering a search engine for privacy.
Regardless of that fact, all options will enhance the user’s online search privacy.
The more crucial point is that these search engines for privacy will likely never record the user’s search queries.
They don’t involve themselves in building a profile on the user.
And they don’t try to sell people stuff too much of the time.
All of the options that we have listed here in this list of best search engines for privacy are pretty easy to use.
They also happen to return decent results.
The most user-friendly of all the options that we have listed here is without a doubt DuckDuckGo.
DuckDuckGo is the perfect search engine for people who want to transition away from mainstream search engines such as Google but want to do so slowly.
But what about the likes of the NSA and other forms of government surveillance?
More specifically, will these services protect their users from spying activities?
Well, the answer isn’t a simple one.
The search engines which are run by companies that are based in the United States may have a hard time providing such services.
So it is safe to assume that they would not do anything against surveillance programs.
Of course, users who only want to protect their privacy and don’t want to engage in something that is illegal, don’t have to worry about such issues.
Our second recommendation was StartPage.com.
This is a search engine that isn’t based in the US.
Moreover, independent researchers have audited this search engine.
It enables users to have access to websites without compromising privacy.
And all of that is because of its official proxy feature.
Privacy heads will have better peace of mind with Startpage.com than DuckDuckGo.
Then there is SearX.
Or to be more precise SearX public instances.
No one is going to bother monitoring them because they are not as high profile as some of the other options that we have mentioned in our list of best search engines for privacy.
But of course, no one can guarantee that the user’s data won’t get logged while using SearX instances.
The only problem is that users will not get to know the operators of any given public SearX instance.
For such users, perhaps running a self-hosted SearX instance may present the best option.
Under such an arrangement, the user himself/herself is directly controlling the hardware.
And that allows the user to have a setup that is extremely private and secure.
For maximum privacy, the only recommendation that we would like to put forward is a self-hosted SearX instance.
But remember, this is only for the privacy fanatics.
Then there is the fact that SearX is able to return those on-the-button results coming from all the good mainstream search engines.
It also has a great interface.
Both these features put the icing on the cake as far as SearX is concerned.
Recently the CEO of DuckDuckGo, Gabriel Weinberg came out and said that he believed that DuckDuckGo represented the most private and secure search engine after a search engine that the user self-hosts.
Weinberg also mentioned that users who have concerns about DuckDuckGo being a company based in the United States and having strong relations with the likes of Yahoo were, for the most part, exaggerating things.
According to the CEO, DuckDuckGo did not keep any logs.
And that meant no one could use a subpoena to force DuckDuckGo to release user information.
Because DuckDuckGo doesn’t have any.
Hence, it makes no difference with which companies DuckDuckGo strikes a partnership.
There is no information about any DuckDuckGo user or his/her search queries.
The CEO also mentioned that US citizens now enjoyed many legal protections against all types of government spying activities.
And some of these were not available to companies based in other countries.
Moreover, he also mentioned that DuckDuckGo operated via servers that were located outside the US.
So users who reside outside the US and use DuckDuckGo will never have to worry about being connected to a server that is based in the US.
Do we believe the CEO?
Well, we would say that any company that is based in the United States is a company that one has to keep an eye on as far as privacy is concerned.
We won’t discuss much about this issue in his guide but in the future, we will definitely discuss how a company that operates out of the United States affects user privacy.
So stay tuned.",9764,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00203.warc.gz,0.93806391954422
8ef12257-3176-453e-bfad-c74672cd3422,2015-03-29T23:07:19+00:00,2010-09-01,0,http://arstechnica.com/business/2010/09/there-is-no-plan-b-why-the-ipv4-to-ipv6-transition-will-be-ugly/?comments=1,"Twenty years ago, the fastest Internet backbone links were 1.5Mbps. Today we argue whether that's a fast enough minimum to connect home users. In 1993, 1.3 million machines were connected to the Internet. By this past summer, that number had risen to 769 million and this only counts systems that have DNS names. The notion of a computer that is not connected to the Internet is patently absurd these days.
But all of this rapid progress is going to slow in the next few years. The Internet will soon be sailing in very rough seas, as it's about to run out of addresses, needing to be gutted and reconfigured for continued growth in the second half of the 2010s and beyond. Originally, the idea was that this upgrade would happen quietly in the background, but over the past few years, it has become clear that the change from the current Internet Protocol version 4, which is quickly running out of addresses, to the new version 6 will be quite a messy affair.
Across the computing industry, we spend enormous amounts of money and effort on keeping older, ""legacy"" systems running. The examples range from huge and costly to small and merely annoying: planes circle around in holding patterns burning precious fuel because air traffic control can't keep up on systems that are less powerful than a smartphone; WiFi networks don't reach their top speeds because an original 802.11(no letter), 2Mbps system could show up—you never know. So when engineers dream, we dream of leaving all of yesterday's technology behind and starting from scratch. But such clean breaks are rarely possible.
For instance, the original 10 megabit Ethernet specification allows for 1500-byte packets. Filling up 10Mbps takes about 830 of those 1500-byte packets. Then Fast Ethernet came along, which was 100Mbps, but the packet size remained the same so that 100Mbps ethernet gear could be hooked up to 10Mbps ethernet equipment without compatibility issues. Fast Ethernet needs 8300 packets per second to fill up the pipe. Gigabit Ethernet needs 83,000 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet needs almost a million packets per second (well, 830,000).
For each faster Ethernet standard, the switch vendors need to pull out even more stops to process an increasingly outrageous numbers of packets per second, running the CAMs that store the forwarding tables at insane speeds that demand huge amounts of power. The need to connect antique NE2000 cards meant sticking to 1500 bytes for Fast Ethernet, and then the need to talk to those rusty Fast Ethernet cards meant sticking to 1500 bytes for Gigabit Ethernet, and so on. At each point, the next step makes sense, but the entire journey ends up looking irrational.
The problem in the middle
Of course, change does manage to happen. We went from 10Mbps to 10Gbps Ethernet, from wired to wireless, and from a Web that was barely able to show blinking text to one running all manners of applications. We even gained the DNS and TCP congestion control only in the late 1980s. But the reason we were able to change all of these technologies is that they happen either above or below the Internet Protocol in the network stack.
Network protocols are built as ""stacks"" where a number of layers each provide a part of the required functionality. The famous OSI reference model has seven layers, but the TCP/IP stack has only four. Starting from the bottom and moving up, the (data)link layer knows how to send packets through cables or the air; the network layer knows about routing and addressing, allowing packets to find their way through the network; and the transport layer makes multi-packet communications work, and finally the application layer makes applications work over the network. These layers map to OSI layers 2, 3, 4, and 7, respectively. Each of these layers has many different protocols to choose from, except the network layer, which has only IP. Hence it looks like the waist in an hourglass.
Ethernet operates at the datalink layer (and also on OSI layer 1, the physical layer), and supports complex networks of its own, but Ethernet networks are nonetheless limited in size and scope, and can be upgraded with relative ease. The transport layer, where TCP and UDP live, has some upgradability issues, but in principle, routers don't look beyond the network layer, so they don't care if a packet is TCP, UDP or some other *P. This means that changing to a new transport protocol just involves updating the end systems that send and receive the packets—the routers in the middle don't care. (Firewalls do care, hence the complications in practice.) The same is true for application protocols like HTTP, FTP, or SMTP. If your browser decides to start downloading webpages using FTP, that's between the browser and the remote server; the rest of the network doesn't care.
But in contrast to the other layers of the stack, IP is everywhere. The source of the packet needs to create a valid IP packet, which all the routers along the way must process in order to send the packet down the right path. And the destination must be able to decode the IP packet. So changing the Internet Protocol means changing all hosts and all routers.",1071,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00153-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948270380496979
230041f3-7bcc-415d-a686-d8ed10405246,2013-06-20T09:15:27+00:00,2005-12-31,0,http://soundapproach.co.uk/news/from-the-archives-sound-approach-and-dutch-birding-at-kazbegi,"- Travel Blog
Taken from Dutch Birding Journal 27, 2005
Written by Arnoud B van den Berg and The Sound Approach
From at least 1998, and especially since the ‘Rose Revolution’ in November 2003, travelling to Georgia has been on the increase and more and more birders seize the opportunity to visit the Greater Caucasus. In species’ diversity, this high mountain range with four peaks over 5000 m (including Europe’s highest mountain peak, mount Elbrus (Gora El-brus) with 5633 m) offers the best alpine birding in the WP with specialities like Caucasian Grouse Tetrao mlokosiewiczi, Caucasian Snowcock Tetraogallus caucasicus, Güldenstädt’s Redstart Phoenicurus erythrogastrus and Caucasian Great Rosefinch Carpodacus rubicilla, and other much sought-after montane species as Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus, Alpine Accentor Prunella ocularis, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis, Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria, White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis, Red-fronted Serin Serinus pusillus and both choughs Pyrrhocorax. In addition, a number of WP species are represented here by subspecies differing so much in plumage and/or vocal repertoire that they are easily recognized like, for instance, Caucasian Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris penicillata, Caucasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes hyrcanus, Caucasian Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus amicorum and Turkish Twite Carduelis flavirostris brevirostris.
Although some may even be regarded as specifically distinct from taxa further west, they are largely ignored in even the best WP field guides (cf Jonsson 1996, Svensson et al 2000).
Geography and logistics
The village of Kazbegi in the Khevi border province is the best base for a visit to the Greater Caucasus (Benstead 1998, Tucker 2003, Alfrey & Spittle 2004). Although Gavashelishvili et al (2005) mention one or two other Greater Caucasus sites for high mountain species, these are much harder to reach than Kazbegi and, in the case of the Svaneti region, safety is still an issue when travelling without a guide. Kazbegi is situated along the Georgian Military Highway (A301) which runs from the capital, Tbilisi, north to the Russian border between North Ossetia and Ingushetia. Despite its height and problems with winter weather, this highway is an important connection between Georgia and Russia since the alternative north-south road along the Black Sea coast runs through the conflict area of Abkhazia (Abkhazeti).
Most visitors to Georgia, a country almost twice the size of the Netherlands with five million inhabitants, will arrive at the international airport of Tbilisi. Since early 2005, residents of many western countries, including those of the European Union and North America, no longer
297 Caucasian Horned Lark / Kaukasische Strandleeuwerik Eremophila alpestris penicillata, Krestovy pass at 2300 m elevation, Khevi, Georgia, 26 June 2005 (Arnoud B van den Berg)
298 Caucasian Ring Ouzel / Kaukasische Beflijster Turdus torquatus amicorum, near Kobi, Khevi, Georgia, 21 June 2005 (René Pop)
need visa for a visit, one of many signs of changing policies. Apart from the local currency, Lari (GEL), US dollars are widely accepted. The alphabet is Georgian but Russian is spoken as a second language, as is English by young people. The drive from Tbilisi to Kazbegi takes 3-4 hours. Taxis or minibuses from the Didube bus station in Tbilisi to Kazbegi cost 5-20 USD a person
(Burford 2002, Gavashelishvili et al 2005). The road’s surface is reasonable until the resort town of Gudauri but its last 40 km from Gudauri up to the border is in a very bad state with numerous potholes and crumbling avalanche tunnels. This latter section, however, offers excellent birding at, eg, the Divari or Krestovy pass at 2379 m, 127 km from Tbilisi and 26 km before Kazbegi. Here, even by early June (Calum Scott in litt), there are chances to see Caucasian Grouse, Alpine Accentor, White-winged Snowfinch and Caucasian Great Rosefinch. From this pass onwards, the highway follows the Terek (Tergi) river downstream towards Kazbegi (1800 m) and the Russian border 6 km further north. There are only a few hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and shops at Kazbegi or the adjacent Gergeti village, which is situated on the other (western) side of the Terek river. The new Stepantsminda Hotel at Kazbegi offers
comfortable accomodation and a good restaurant for 30 USD including breakfast and dinner, or 20 USD without meals (telephone +99-599182296 or +99-577420210). On 20-26 June 2005, René Pop and I stayed at Kazbegi for The Sound
Approach project in order to record on tape the sounds of Caucasian Snowcock and Caucasian Great Rosefinch (the latter has been ‘split’ from Spotted Great Rosefinch C (r) severtzovi which occurs from Afghanistan east through the Himalayas;
Rasmussen 2005). The Georgian Center for the Conservation of Wildlife (www.gccw.org) offered us invaluable assistance with information and transport between the Tbilisi airport and Kazbegi. From its office at the Nutsubidze Plateau in Tbilisi, the GCCW is active in several nature conservancy projects and promotes birding and ecotourism (see, eg, Gálvez et al 2005, Gavashelishvili 2005, Gavashelishvili et al 2005, www.birding-georgia.com).
Birding localities and timing
In late April and early May, the snow line is usually below 1900 m which means that altitudinal migrants can still be found in the river valley, especially in the dense bushes of Sea Buckthorn (‘duindoorns’ in Dutch) Hippophae rhamnoides south of Kazbegi. For instance, after heavy snow
299 Güldenstädt’s Redstart / Witkruinroodstaart Phoenicurus erythrogastrus, male, mount Kazbeg at 3000 m elevation,
Kazbegi, Khevi, Georgia, 24 June 2005 (René Pop)
297 Caucasian Horned Lark / Kaukasische Strandleeuwerik Eremophila alpestris penicillata, Krestovy pass at 2300 m
elevation, Khevi, Georgia, 26 June 2005 (Arnoud B van den Berg)
298 Caucasian Ring Ouzel / Kaukasische Beflijster Turdus torquatus amicorum, near Kobi, Khevi, Georgia,
21 June 2005 (René Pop)
fall on 4 May 2005, no less than up to 60 Güldenstädt’s Redstarts and a flock of at least 250 Caucasian Great Rosefinches were found here (Birding World 18: 200, 2005). These bushes also form an important shelter for many long-distance migrant passerines in this period (which is why GCCW tries to give full protection to this vegetation). Further along the highway, there are several other gorges and woods for birding and, especially in early May, one may expect 100s of migrating raptors. However, the most
tempting birding areas at Kazbegi are the mountain slopes at either side of the village, mount Kuro to the east and mount Kazbeg to the west. The steep slopes of Kuro form the best site to see Caucasian Grouse and Caucasian Snowcock.The area is easily reached by walking c 2 km east from the Stepantsminda Hotel through the village and an open pine wood until a small chapel is reached with a little pond south of it. In April-May, Caucasian Grouse can be seen displaying on the grassy slopes across the noisy
little river running down from Kuro. From the first week of June, when displaying has stopped, they become very hard to find as they hide in low Rhododendron vegetation. Caucasian Snowcock remains vocal through spring and summer and can be spotted by telescope on precipitous rocks or when flying. During summer, it gradually moves higher, following the snow line. On hot days in late June, the little pond at the base of Kuro attracts a variety of birds including Caucasian Ring Ouzel, Mistle Thrush T viscivorus, Common Linnet C cannabina, Turkish Twite and Red-fronted Serin. The adjacent pine wood has, for instance, singing Bright-green Warbler Phylloscopus nitidus, Caucasian Chiffchaff P lorenzii, Coal Tit Parus ater and Common Rosefinch C erythrinus. From late May or early June, it is necessary to climb to 2600 m to find Caucasian
Great Rosefinch and to 3000 m and higher for Güldenstädt’s Redstart, so there is no other option at Kuro than to start climbing the steep grassy slopes to the right. After c five hours, the first Caucasian Great Rosefinches can be expected and here are some good vantage points to check rocky outcrops for Caucasian Snowcocks, which are most vocal at dusk and dawn. One should climb even higher to encounter Güldenstädt’s Redstart but it may be possible to find it by checking high snow fields by telescope. Other
species on these steep slopes include the abundant Caucasian Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta coutellii, Alpine Accentor, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush and Asian Crimson-winged Finch
Rhodopechys sanguineus sanguineus. Further up, it gets (too) difficult to walk as there are some very steep slopes covered by loose rocks instead of grasses. We camped one night up here but it was hard to find a level spot. Instead of spending the night, one may also decide to climb up in the early morning and to return before dusk. On the western side of Kazbegi, the walk to the
3652 m high metereological station above the c 7 km long glacier of mount Kazbeg is more level than the walk up Kuro and therefore it is easier to do albeit longer in distance. From the Stepantsminda Hotel, which is situated next to a little riverside park with breeding Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos and many passerines, one follows the sign left to Vladikavkaz, Russia, crossing the bridge over the Terek river, and then one immediately turns left up to the Gergeti village. In Gergeti, Caucasian Black Redstart P ochruros ochruros and Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris are common amongst the houses. All in all, it
is less than a c 60 min walk from Kazbegi to the Tsminda Sameba church (2170 m) which overlooks the Terek valley of Kazbegi-Gergeti. On the way, we passed birch woods with dense ground cover of herbs and flowers where Caucasian Wren, Bright-green Warbler and Caucasian Chiffchaff were abundant while other species included Corn Crake Crex crex, Tree Pipit A trivialis, Caucasian Ring Ouzel, Common Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Ehrenberg’s Redstart P phoenicurus samamisicus, Common Treecreeper Certhia familiaris caucasica, Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus major, Red-fronted Serin, Eurasian Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula and Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius krynicki. The nicest and shortest way uphill is a path following a brown
metal water pipe which is obvious from above the cemetery. There is also a zig-zagging rocky track to the church and one may opt to shorten the climb by taking a 4WD taxi from the hotel for at most 10 USD per person. Actually, for those with physical problems, there is also the option of renting a helicopter for 1500 USD per hour to pick you up in Kazbegi and to drop you next to the Kazbeg glacier; the machine can take more than 10 persons which can cut the price down considerably and, if it is already in nearby Gudauri, the rental time may be less than an hour. Because of the unpredictable weather the planning of a helicopter flight might be problematical and it seems wise not to count on a return flight but to walk the four hours back to Kazbegi. As soon as one emerges from the birch woods on the walk up, c 200 m before reaching
302-303Caucasian Great Rosefinch / Grote Roodmus Carpodacus rubicilla, male, mount Kazbeg at 2900 m elevation, Kazbegi, Khevi, Georgia, 24 June 2005 (René Pop)
304 Caucasian Snowcock/Kaukasisch Berghoen Tetraogallus caucasicus, mount Kuro, Kazbegi, Khevi, Georgia, 12 June 2005 (Calum D Scott)
305 Güldenstädt’s Redstart / Witkruinroodstaart Phoenicurus erythrogastrus, male, mount Kazbeg at 3000 m elevation, Kazbegi
305 Güldenstädt’s Redstart / Witkruinroodstaart Phoenicurus erythrogastrus, male, mount Kazbeg at 3000 m elevation, Kazbeg, Khevi,
Georgia, 24 June 2005 (René Pop)
the church, it is straightforward to follow trails to mount Kazbeg to the right. The easiest trail is along the southern side of the high grassy ridge while the canyon at the northern side may offer more birding possibilities. After c 11 km from the church, one reaches the edge of the glacier’s snout which happened to be the only area where our mobile phones did not work. Parts of the trail were still snow-covered in late June. The glacier area is exceptionally beautiful and it is recommended to stay overnight to experience both the late afternoon and the early morning bird activity. The weather station is situated a few 100 m above the glacier and, by late June, it was still surrounded by snow and too difficult to reach (it is used as a base for mountaineers aiming to
reach the 5033 m peak of Kazbeg). We camped in the grassy area aside the glacier’s snout at 2950 m, where one has to be prepared for sudden weather changes with snowfall, frost, rain, dense fog and forceful winds, all possible in a single night. Left (south) of the glacier, we checked some scree slopes surrounded by snow and that is where we found two or three male Güldenstädt’s Redstarts and several Caucasian Great Rosefinches. As soon as we had learned its song, the latter appeared quite common and was regularly heard throughout the day above 2600 m. Other species we found near the Kazbeg glacier included
Lammergeier, Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus, Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo, Caucasian Snowcock (only one or two singing), Alpine Swift Apus
melba, Black-bellied Dipper Cinclus cinclus caucasicus, Caucasian Water Pipit, Alpine Accentor,
Caucasian Black Redstart and Wallcreeper.
Chris Batty, Phil Benstead, Kris De Rouck, Hugues Dufourny, Ramaz Gokhelashvili, Georges Olioso, Giorgi Rajebashvili, Magnus Robb and Calum Scott helped in supplying information about the birding in Kazbegi. The Georgian Center for the Conservation of Wildlife (GCCW) at Tbilisi, Georgia, offered invaluable assistance (www.gccw.org).
Alfrey, P & Spittle, D 2004. Birding the Greater
Caucasus, Georgia. Birding World 17: 255-257.
Benstead, P 1998. On the edge of Asia. Birding World
Burford, T 2002. Bradt travel guide: Georgia with
Armenia. Second edition. Chalfont St Peter.
Gálvez, R A, Gavashelishvili, L & Javakhishvili, Z 2005.
Raptors and owls of Georgia. Tbilisi.
Gavashelishvili, L 2005. Vultures of Georgia and the
Gavashelishvili, L, Gokhelashvili, R, Javakhishvili, Z &
Tarkhnishvili, D 2005. A birdwatching guide to
Jonsson, L 1996. Vogels van Europa, Noord-Afrika en
het Midden-Oosten. Fourth edition. Baarn.
Rasmussen, P C 2005. Revised species limits and field
identification of Asian rosefinches. Birding Asia 3:
Svensson, L, Grant, P J, Mullarney, K & Zetterström, D
2000. ANWB-vogelgids van Europa. Baarn.
Tucker, G 2003. High hopes. Birdwatch 12 (138): 34-
Re-printed with kind permission from Dutch Birding Association",3852,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.877687096595764
41e67fef-095b-4c11-802f-d4270619f8db,2017-08-17T15:31:44+00:00,2012-12-31,0,http://www.northplattebulletin.com/index.asp?show=news&action=readStory&storyID=24394&pageID=3&ajaxShowTB=visible,"The U.S. Department of Agriculture has lifted limitations on what kids can eat at schools -- the caloric intake of grains, starches and protein in the school lunch program.Limitations were installed this school year, aimed to stem the rising tide of childhood obesity. They were fostered by First Lady Michelle Obama, but they raised the anger of parents who said their children weren’t getting enough to eat.
Under Obama's “Let’s Move” program, limits were placed on the number of lunch servings per student, and more emphasis was placed on vegetables and fruits.
During the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese, according to the USDA.
But one size of regulations do not fit everywhere. The USDA regulations shorted some students, especially fast-growing young athletes, and created burdensome paperwork.
The new revisions will lend more flexibility to schools and students, especially such athletes. Schools in Nebraska and across the country will receive official notice in a few days of the changes, which will be in place for the 2012-2013 school year, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has said.
The Bulletin reported complaints about Michelle Obama's school lunch initiative soon after school began in September.
Officials in Arnold and Stapleton said obesity is not a big concern in their schools compared to urban schools, because rural students tend to be much more active.
“These laws don’t always fit our rural areas,” Arnold Principal Dawn Lewis told Bulletin Correspondent Karen Hough. “Our children are active from elementary through high school. Most of the elementary students participate in Pee Wee or junior high volleyball or football and some go to gymnastics or dance. High school students who lift weights arrive at 6 a.m. and are here until after practice at 6 p.m.”
Officials in Hershey and North Platte said the lunch requirements didn’t really change, but the paperwork increased. They said cooks and lunch clerks spent hours filling out mandatory paper work.
“It’s tough to get used to,” Young said in September. “Lots of schools around the country were giving away seconds… but the state said ‘no, you can’t do that.’”
When seconds were served, they had to be recorded and students had to pay extra for them, under the first set of rules. And unlike the cost of the main meal, second helpings were not subsidized for low-income families, so costs kept some students from eating as much as they needed.
Rep. Adrian Smith, who met with students throughout Nebraska in October, said the newly revised rules are a good step, but he’s not sure they go far enough.
“I appreciate the Department of Agriculture’s decision to allow for more grains and meat in school meals,” Smith said. “These changes are a step in the right direction and should be made permanent.”
But Smith also said local officials should get more flexibility to implement school food guidelines.
“The legislation failed to adequately consider budget limitations faced by school lunch providers and provided no credit to schools already taking steps to offer students healthier choices,” he said.",681,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103579.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817151157-20170817171157-00649.warc.gz,0.971992075443268
2dead34b-5b6d-4246-a22c-0f1359f2b26e,2022-05-21T22:21:18+00:00,2022-05-21,0,https://isabellandscapes.com/products/crown-of-the-moon,"Limited edition Fine Art Print printed on Giclée Hahnemühle Pearl.
Three sizes available.
About the artwork
Moon halo illuminating a frozen landscape in Lofoten Islands in Norway.
Artwork by Isabella Tabacchi.
All our artworks are exclusive certified limited editions. These are the editions available for each size.
69.8 cm x 110.0 cm, 27.5 inches x 43.3 inches - Limited edition of 5
49.0 cm x 76.0 cm, 19.3 inches x 29.9 inches - Limited edition of 10
25.9 cm x 40.0 cm, 10.2 inches x 15.7 inches - Limited edition of 25
Worldwide with DHL. The shipping cost is always $ 9, no matter where you live.
Our Giclèe Fine Art prints are sent with the certificate of authenticity, signed by the artist.
80 years. Our Giclèe Fine Art prints have a long life.",223,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662541747.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521205757-20220521235757-00404.warc.gz,0.837868213653564
a5a39cec-145f-4dda-8fb5-6ba15aa260ac,2017-08-17T13:48:33+00:00,2013-07-01,0,http://leonemarzianomarketing.blogspot.com/2013/07/confused-by-camping-this-post-may-help.html,"Confused By Camping? This Post May Help!
Whatever your destination could be, the correct information is likely to make your upcoming camping trip more fulfilling. If you're trying to find some helpful camping advice, all that you should do is continue reading. The data presented will definitely enable you to throughout your camping trips.
Find your shelter before it gets dark. It could be hard to put together camp when it's dark outside. This can be especially the case for city slickers who definitely are unaccustomed to darkness. To prevent this from happening to you personally, you ought to create your camp immediately once you arrive.
Have everyone give their opinion on where you should camp. Speak about the state you intend to see. The various options might make it difficult to decide on one. This may get people engaged and ready to go camping.
Carry a survival kit on the person. A survival kit should contain matches, medical necessities a flare gun as well as a knife. This kit may be the difference between life and death. Keep the kit together with you constantly don't leave it on the campsite.
Pack a bandana. Within a pinch, that single part of fabric functions as a potholder, carrying bag, blotter, hand towel and paper towel. It possesses a plethora of uses and must be an essential part of your own camping gear.
Bring a hankerchief or even a bandanna together with you. These can be used for numerous things, like drying the hands or holding a hot pot. Get this multi-use item a regular addition to your camping supplies.
It is actually possible to produce a camping trip that can blow your friends and relations away. Including the indoor hermit can discover camping enjoyable with all the proper information and preparation. Get acquainted with what there is certainly to offer you from camping and prepare your upcoming trip soon.",381,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103316.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817131910-20170817151910-00388.warc.gz,0.944517016410828
fb5f8fc4-277b-4d52-bb49-6f3b98126f95,2016-07-30T11:08:46+00:00,2012-05-31,0,http://www.latechsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/smith_lonnie00.html,"Tech has lost six striaght in Hattiesburg
Fifth straight season Bulldogs compete in an in-season tournament
First loss in the series for the Bulldogs since 1983
Win was 19th straight against non-conference opponents at home
LA Tech plays Texas A&M-Kingsville at 3 p.m.
LA Tech men's basketball against Mississippi College Choctaws in 2011-12 season opener.
Bulldogs vs NMSU
Fresno State 63, Louisiana Tech 56 (1/6/11)
Louisiana Tech University vs SMU
Louisiana Tech played at Texas as part of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer on Nov. 10, 2010.
2011-12: Played in 16 games and started one... Scored 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting including 3-for-6 from three-point range, matched career-high of seven rebounds and two steals and dished out season-best three assists in only start of the campaign against Mississippi College (11/13)... Had eight points and two rebounds at UT-Arlington (11/19)... Scored 10 points including three three-pointers off the bench at Southern Miss (12/10)... Grabbed four rebounds against Utah State (1/14).
2010-11: Played in 31 games while starting nine... Averaged 6.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 22.7 minutes per game... Broke the school record for best three-point percentage by a freshman with 39.8 percent (8th best in the WAC), shattering the previous record of 30.5 percent set by Lonnie Cooper in 1995-96... Scored at least 10 points seven times... Had a season-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting at McNeese State (12/11)... Scored 12 points at Northwestern State (12/7)... Recorded 14 points against Georgia State (2/19)... Had 12 points at Hawai'i (2/24)... Scored 12 points against Nevada (3/3).
High School: Averaged 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists as a senior while leading Ramsay High School to the Alabama High School Association Class 4A state championship... Was named regionals MVP in 2008-09... Earned regionals all-tournament team honors in 2009-10... Was named to the Birmingham City all-Tournament team in 2008, 2009 and 2010... Was named second team all-state by the Alabama Sports Writers Association in 2010... Earned a spot in the annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic... Was named rebounder and defensive player of the year at Ramsay... Was named the number six player in the Birmingham area by Birmingham News... Was a member of the video club and the National Art Society... A member of the AAU team Birmingham Storm.
Personal: Son of Terry and Angela Donaldson... Has three brothers, Terrell Smith, Malcolm Jackson and Jaden Fowlkes and one sister, LaShundra Smith... Uncle, Steven Donaldson, played basketball at South Alabama... Full name is Lonnie Jarekus Smith... Nicknamed L Boogie... Born Dec. 16, 1991 in Birmingham, Ala.
- Men's Sports
- Women's Sports
- Staff Directory
- Academic Center
- Archived News
- Athletic Training
- Hotel Partners
- LA Tech Hall of Fame
- Official Logo Guide
- Recruiting Questionnaires
- SA Handbook
- Sponsorship & Advertising
- Wheels for Dogs",722,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00278-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.911218047142029
3836ca38-e00c-49e3-8d8c-ef7bd49df33f,2016-07-31T09:28:04+00:00,2013-12-13,1,http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/boris-bike-scheme-makes-tracks-south-and-west-as-it-grows-50-9002311.html,"The Boris bike hire scheme was today extended across a large swathe of London as transport chiefs admitted it was losing popularity among casual users.
In the first major extension south of the Thames, the Mayor’s scheme will gain 150 new docking stations and 2,000 bikes. The boost makes it one of the largest schemes of its kind in the world, extending its reach by 50 per cent to 100 square kilometres.
Residents of Wandsworth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington & Chelsea will benefit with all facilities completed by next spring.
In addition, there will be 1,000 extra docking points at high-demand areas across the capital, such as mainline railway stations.
But the expansion comes amid falling popularity of the scheme, which receives a £9.5 million annual subsidy.
Critics say the novelty has worn off, reliability has been poor and the decline has been worsened by a doubling of the annual charge last year to £70. User numbers have fallen by 30 per cent this year to 200,000 for November.
Largely as a result of the expansion, the cost of the Boris bikes over the next decade will almost double to £144 million, a significant chunk of the Mayor’s £913 million cycle fund.
Mr Johnson has also had to start the search for a sponsor after Barclays unexpectedly pulled out this week.
Garrett Emmerson, Transport for London’s chief operating officer for streets and traffic, said: “There are a number of factors involved in the decline this year, which comes on the back of an exceptional year last year for the Olympics.
“The reduction in the numbers is in casual hires and actually member hires are still developing strongly and we are seeing 1,000 new members a month join. Londoners are making the most use of the scheme because they are using it more regularly.”
The Mayor’s cycling commissioner Andrew Gilligan forecast a new lease of life for Boris bikes. He told the London Assembly this week: “The changes we are doing to the cycling programme generally — the new segregated tracks and the quietway routes in central London — should have a big impact on the use of the scheme as it’s going to be much easier to use. We are going to increase the size of the popular docking stations to improve availability and we are going to expand to private premises.”
He said that in the “medium term” there would also be integration with contactless payments, the successor to Oyster. Boris bikes were intended to be compatible with Oyster but the plan failed to materialise.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Lib-Dems on the Assembly, said: “The bike hire scheme needs to be made far more attractive to people who just occasionally want to hire a bike, but don’t want to commit to taking out membership.
“Transport for London needs to learn from its initial mistake of dropping plans to include Oyster as a form of payment. Making it easier for people to use the scheme by allowing contactless payment would make a big difference.”Reuse content",647,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828314.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00097-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959798693656921
e210370e-4b59-418d-8303-ee8958149993,2022-05-21T18:45:01+00:00,2022-05-21,1,https://www.dialoguepakistan.com/ishaq-dars-residence-will-be-auctioned-off-by-the-government/,"Ishaq Dar’s residence will be auctioned off by the government
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has allowed the government to auction the house of former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
According to details, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has rejected the petition of former finance minister Ishaq Dar’s wife against auctioning her house in Lahore and allowed the government to auction Ishaq Dar’s house in Gulberg III area of Lahore.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has upheld the decision of the accountability court to reject the claim of Tabassum Ishaq Dar, wife of former finance minister, at home.
The Islamabad High Court also quashed the stay order issued on the auction of the house.
The accountability court had ordered confiscation and auction of Tabassum Ishaq Dar’s Gulberg III Lahore house on November 7, against which Ishaq Dar’s wife Tabassum Ishaq Dar had filed a petition.
Former Finance Minister’s wife Tabassum Ishaq Dar had taken a stand in the court that the house of Gulberg III Lahore belongs to her.
Ishaq Dar’s wife claimed that Ishaq Dar had given me house as a gift on February 14, 1989. The accountability court issued the order without investigating my claim at home.",295,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662540268.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521174536-20220521204536-00219.warc.gz,0.966344058513641
bac91621-fc35-4bc4-9c09-6d23dbeb8f49,2022-05-27T05:27:49+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://glass-mirror-cutting.com/gawler/south-australia/australia/,"In everyday life, until you stop and think about it, you don’t necessarily realize how many things around us are made from glass. From home and office windows to mirrors to shower walls to shelves and more, glass remains an ever-present facet of our lives. But have you ever think about how it’s made? How are glass panels and mirrors cut to the appropriate size? How do they get installed – whether in windows, frames, or any other format? In this article, we’ll dig into these questions in greater detail. We’ll look at glass and mirror cutting services and glass and mirror replacement and installation services, what the differences are between these service providers, the various categories of glass products they work with, how glass cutting is performed, and how glass and mirror replacement and installation provided in some different settings.
That information will help consumers to find and engage with expert glass and mirror cutting services and glass and mirror replacement and installation services regardless of their specific project needs.
Foremost, is there the difference between glass and mirror cutting services and glass and mirror replacement and installation services providers? While many glass service companies perform all these different services, there are also many who specialize in one of the other. Glass and mirror cutting services, as their name implies, are primarily focused on glass and mirror cutting. They may also process the underlying glass, as there are many different types of glass blends for various applications. By contrast, glass and mirror replacement and installation services take the finished, cut glass, and either replace existing glass installations or install new glass items.
The categories in which glass and mirror cutting services and glass and mirror replacement and installation services operate are numerous and varied. Some work in only one specific class, such as auto glass. Others may work in many types of glass applications. It depends on the individual provider and capabilities.
There are many categories or sectors of business that rely on glass and mirror cutting services and glass and mirror replacement and installation services. Likewise, some glass and mirror cutting services and glass and mirror replacement and installation services may be highly specialized to one or few service sectors. Others are more along with the order of generalists, and service in many areas. Some of the most common categories that depend on these companies include:
While the other specialized uses for glass are quite impressive, they are outside the scope of this article. Here, we’re mostly focusing on the general-purpose and home-related companies who cut, replace and install glass, windows and doors, furniture and décor, bath and showers, and similar uses.
From a consumer standpoint, most glass and mirror cutting services are generally focused on providing contractors, builders, or individual home consumers with cut-to-size glass and mirror panels and sheets. These are most often used for home or office construction and renovation, for things like windows, doors, skylights, and similar. At the same time, these companies may also provide industrial or commercial consumers with cut-to-fit panels for things like furniture construction, bath and shower wall installation, automotive production, and more.
In both cases, glass and mirror cutting services begin by purchasing various sizes and densities of multiple types of glass to use as initial cutting stock. When an order comes in, they select and transport some of the initial cutting stock to the cutting area. There, they use various methods to cut the glass to the exact dimensions required by the order, before packaging it up and shipping it out or arranging pickup with the customer.
For glass cutting, several methods can be used. Consumers alike can use a ruler or straightedge, cutting knife or wheel, and some other necessary equipment to score the glass or mirror, and then forcefully break it along the score. It is undoubtedly a less precise way to cut glass than professional cutting equipment, but it gets the job done. Glass and mirror cutting services usually have a mechanical means to cut glass, especially “on-site,” often they have service trucks where they do that kind of work. In more extensive operations, or back at a base of operations or warehouse, glass and mirror cutting services often use more elaborate, computer-controlled versions of glass cutting devices, which can make various styles and depths of cuts, pre-programmed or operator-controlled, at very high speed and throughput.
Most often, consumers will interact with glass and mirror cutting services in their own homes, as part of a service call to replace window glass, auto glass, or similar. In these cases, the glass cutting is performed with portable plasma cutters or traditional glass cutting.
Glass and mirror replacement and installation services perform the replacement and installation tasks once the glass or mirror(s) are cut down to the right size. Since a lot of this work may involve making minor adjustments or doing custom work on the site of a job, you can see why these companies are usually one and the same.
The exact nature of the glass and mirror replacement and installation services’ work process depends on what kind of glass or mirror replacement they are undertaking. In almost all cases, if it’s a replacement of an existing piece of glass or mirror, they will first remove the current item, clean and prep the intended installation area, and then perform their installation tasks. Some common examples of the kinds of things glass and mirror replacement and installation services provide include:
These are solely a few of the many things that glass, and mirror replacement and installation services can do for consumers. As with most artisans, the only real limit is price, physics, and imagination.
In conclusion, glass and mirrors play an important role in many of the structural and decorative elements of our homes, offices, cars, and other things we interact daily. Glass and mirror cutting services are the experts who cut glass down to size to fit for a use, whether in a consumer setting or industrial one. Glass and mirror replacement and installation services, which are often the same glass cutting company, perform the replacement and installation tasks that utilize glass and mirrors, such as window replacement and home furnishing installation. Together, these skill sets ensure consumers can have high-quality, custom-fit glass and mirror panels for whatever their needs may be.",1260,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662636717.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527050925-20220527080925-00600.warc.gz,0.95053505897522
660303f1-69ad-4334-946c-03db7a810efb,2013-05-23T11:56:24+00:00,2013-05-23,0,http://www.surromomsonline.com/support/showthread.php?189076-Question-for-ladies-who-have-gotten-wisdom-teeth-pulled&s=b42903e7798a7a775faea934f3208a61&p=2454583,I just had all four of my wisdom teeth extracted this morning by an oral surgeon (so I was under anesthesia and asleep for the procedure). It is so painful even with the pain meds I am taking. How long does the pain last? I hope I will be ok to go to work Tuesday... This is going to be a long weekend!,70,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.982474267482758
a3c33bf9-3938-421f-860d-57cb16fca5c9,2015-03-31T05:26:15+00:00,2009-12-24,0,http://kciiradio.com/2009/12/roger-burton-pretz/,"Roger Burton Pretz, age 71 of Columbus Junction, died Thursday December 24, 2009 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. The son of John Raymond and Martha Elizabeth (Pratt) Pretz, he was born October 22, 1938 in rural Columbus Junction. He was a graduate of the Columbus Community High School. He served in the US Army from 1961-67. He worked at ECON O Mart in Columbus Junction for 26 years, retiring as assistant manager. He was a member of the Columbus City United Methodist Church.
Survivors include: one sister, Joan Pretz and two brothers, Robert and wife Janet Pretz and Keith Pretz, all of Columbus Junction; several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday December 29, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Columbus Junction United Methodist Church, with Rev. Al Coffin and Earlene Lekwa officiating. Interment will follow at the Columbus City Cemetery.
The family will receive friends on Monday from 4-7:00 p.m. at the Columbus Junction United Methodist Church. A General memorial has been established in his name.
Honts Funeral Home in Winfield is in charge of the arrangements.",262,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00025-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.978462994098663
ed3225b6-d2cb-4447-889f-d5b95535292f,2016-07-23T21:16:07+00:00,2008-01-23,1,http://www.wbiw.com/local/archive/2008/01/steele_nugent_push_bill_to_all-print.html,"Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Wednesday, January 23, 2008
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Bedford State Senator Brent Steele (R-44th) has announced his co-authoring of a bill, along with State Senator Johnny Nugent (R-43rd), that would allow those with carry permits to carry a firearm on state property.
Currently, state law prohibits those with permits to carry on state property such as the statehouse or public college campuses.
Steele and Nugent's bill would still prohibit carrying in penal facilities and airports.
Steele cites the shootings at Virginia Tech and the churches in Colorado as reasons he is pushing this bill forward. Although many critics argue how effective that would be, at least in another shooting at an academic facility, as experts speculate the number of students that would actually carry a firearm on a regular basis to class would be less than the national average, which currently consists of around 1% of the population.
Steele said he doesn't think it's fair he can carry in the statehouse as a legislator, but his assistants and employees cannot.
The bill, Senate Bill 356, has passed the committee and will move on to the full Senate for a second reading.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at email@example.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Click here to go back to previous page",316,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00063-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97653728723526
ffcdee31-2063-46c1-a709-cdeb9c38b51e,2020-10-25T08:43:07+00:00,2020-04-01,0,https://wesellonlinenow.com/where-to-obtain-a-face-mask-if-youre-not-a-clinical-employee-just-how-much-to-pay-as-well-as-is-it-worth-to-secure-and-also-offer-priority-new-york-cobleskill-12043-i-white-face-mask/,"Coronavirus infections would dive if 80 percent of individuals used masks, research states i white face mask
Infections would absolutely plunge if 80 percent of people putting on masks, research claims– New York Rouses Point–.
face mask levels.
Airborne, there are different particles of dust as well as irritants that can create major injury to the human body. Although no person can regulate this, they can take precautions to take care of the circumstance. PPE masks can filter out more than 95% of air fragments, vapors, and odors. It additionally aids fix the trouble of the coronavirus clinically. People who have symptoms of the illness will certainly usually cough and also sneeze. A face mask to protect versus infections will certainly protect against the release of breathing drops right into the air or infect one more person.
Online face mask sell shop.
Be sure to put on a mask when you remain in a congested place; You must likewise maintain it while you exist. If you respect an ill liked one, after that you need to additionally protect on your own with a mask. You must likewise utilize one if you understand that you are sick to stop the transmission of the virus to your enjoyed ones.",251,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888402.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025070924-20201025100924-00324.warc.gz,0.92779004573822
22fad2a2-1252-48b3-93a8-151e998e944c,2022-05-24T00:48:53+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://toastandhoney.com.au/products/embers-bowl-planter-by-zakkia,"ZAKKIA’s collaboration with Adam Robinson brings to life our Embers Range of practical outdoor pots. These pots have a beautiful organic finish, and blend beautifully with rare sophisticated plants. The pots are handmade using a reactive glaze process, their place in the kiln will determine their unique finish. No two pots will ever be identical, making them a beautiful and unique statement piece.
The planters are all supplied with a drainage tray in the raw ceramic to compliment the raw edge of the pot.
This product has a 2cm drainage hole.
Small: 14cmDia x 14cmH
Medium: 20 cm D x 10 cm H
Large: 30 cm D x 15 cm H",148,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00614.warc.gz,0.880392670631409
5506a04d-55a0-447d-8618-cf235e483f1d,2022-05-22T13:37:12+00:00,2011-02-01,0,https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/bgan-covers-ongoing-egyptian-situation,"The BBC, Fox News and others are deploying Immarsat BGAN mobile broadband satellite services via Stratos for uninterrupted coverage of news events as the political situation in Egypt twists and turns.
Broadcasters began filing reports of the crisis from Cairo and other Egyptian cities on January 25th. Days later, the Egyptian government shut down all terrestrial internet connectivity and mobile phone service. BGAN enabled these broadcasters to continue newsgathering in Egypt and transmitting live reports to their studios, without interruption.
BGAN from Stratos streaming services are being used by the BBC, Fox News and others for live video streaming from the protest sites. The broadcasters also are using BGAN for Internet connectivity, store-and-forward video clips, and audio streaming for radio broadcast.
All BGAN traffic from these organizations is routed via the Stratos global IP network, known as StratosNexus, into the broadcasters’ studios worldwide.
As it did for last year’s Haitian disaster, Stratos is continually monitoring its BGAN network and StratosNexus during this period of heightened usage in Egypt – and is providing frequent status reports to its media customers. Inmarsat also is taking measures to ensure the usual high level of availability and reliability of its Inmarsat-4 satellite network during this crisis.
Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm said: “Major news events like these, under seemingly impossible conditions, remind the world’s top broadcasters of the indispensable nature of BGAN and the reliability of the Stratos network. The Stratos team remains available around the clock, to help our customers ensure optimal performance and efficiency from any imaginable location.”",349,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00400.warc.gz,0.928945541381836
cb7cfb2f-8012-4958-b719-5f6768946a5f,2019-08-17T21:35:57+00:00,2019-08-05,1,http://chnep.wateratlas.usf.edu/news/details/18535/,"Lee County residents dispute proposed location for wastewater treatment facilities
A neighborhood battle is brewing over what could be two waste water treatment facilities in Lee County, near Alico Road and south of Southwest Florida International Airport.
If local leaders approve a new project, neighbors who live to the east side of Alico Road worry about the proposed site of both the wastewater treatment plant, and solid waste transfer facility.
The site off of Green Meadow Road was once protected through the Conservation 2020 program, but now the county says it needs the site to meet demands of a growing area.
The idea to use this land is not coming without growing frustration from those who live there.
Concerns include public safety, says one resident who lives in the area of the proposed site.
“No room whatsoever, for vehicles to move through, for emergency vehicles to get through,” Amber Todd said. Naples residents also fear for the wildlife in the area.
Neighbors have also expressed concerns with what they call a lack of transparency from those involved through the design process. The county disputes this though.
Lee County continues to work through the design process for these two facilities. The next zoning hearing will continue on August 13.",244,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00026.warc.gz,0.958316445350647
3d397398-4cee-4c0a-a17d-187acb3370fd,2018-08-15T23:43:30+00:00,2017-11-10,1,https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-article50/brexit-never-britain-can-still-change-its-mind-says-article-50-author-idUKKBN1D93BI,"LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May should stop misleading voters and admit that Brexit can be avoided if Britain decides unilaterally to scrap divorce talks, the man who drafted Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty said on Friday.
May, who formally notified the European Union of Britain’s intention to leave the EU by triggering Article 50 of the treaty on March 29, said she would not tolerate any attempt in parliament to block Brexit.
By triggering Article 50, May set the clock ticking on a two-year exit process that has so far failed to yield a divorce deal and which was interrupted by her gamble on a snap election in June which cost her party its majority in parliament.
“While the divorce talks proceed, the parties are still married. Reconciliation is still possible,” John Kerr, British ambassador to the EU from 1990 to 1995, said in a speech in London.
“We can change our minds at any stage during the process,” said Kerr, who added that the legalities of Article 50 had been misrepresented in Britain. “The British people have the right to know this: they shouldn’t be misled.”
The day May triggered Article 50, she told the British parliament that there was “no turning back” and on Friday insisted that the United Kingdom would be leaving the EU at 2300 GMT on March 29 2019.
In a June 2016 referendum, 51.9 percent of voters backed leaving the EU while 48.1 percent wanted to remain.
Brexit supporters argue any attempt to halt the exit process would be anti-democratic, while opponents say the country should have a right to pass final judgement on any exit deal negotiated.
May, an initial opponent of Brexit who won the top job in the political turmoil that followed the vote, said last month that Britain would not revoke Article 50.
But ever since the referendum, opponents of Britain’s exit - from French President Emmanuel Macron and former British prime minister Tony Blair to billionaire investor George Soros - have suggested Britain could change its mind and avoid what they say will be disastrous consequences for the British economy.
Thus far, there are few signs of a change of heart on Brexit in opinion polls. Both May’s Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party now explicitly support leaving the EU, which Britain joined in 1973.
Supporters of Brexit have repeatedly said that any attempt to have another referendum, or to undermine Brexit, would catapult the world’s fifth largest economy into crisis.
“A second referendum would lead the United Kingdom into totally uncharted territory with very serious potential consequences for our democracy,” said Richard Tice, who helped found one of the two Leave campaign groups in the referendum.
But the Brexit process has been challenged in a number of cases in British courts, many focusing on the as-yet unanswered question: Can Article 50 be reversed?
The 256-word clause does not say whether it can be revoked once it is invoked. This means that, if lawyers ask for clarification, the question would have to go to the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court.
Kerr, who in 2002-2003 acted as secretary-general of the European Constitutional Convention that drafted Article 50, said the debate had been misrepresented inside Britain: it was clear, he said, that May’s Article 50 letter could be revoked.
Such is the interest in the legalities of Brexit that one prominent lawyer, Jessica Simor, has formally asked for May’s unpublished legal advice on the matter.
“Britain can basically change its mind at any time right up to the 29th of March 2019,” Simor told Reuters last month.
“If you can revoke Article 50, then parliament has the power to rescue the country if that becomes necessary – if the government fails to secure a deal, or the deal is terrible, or the people do not want it.”
Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and William James; Editing by Ralph Boulton",823,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210362.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815220136-20180816000136-00080.warc.gz,0.962827444076538
f68ba488-b244-4681-a47d-f6ab7fd75ff3,2017-08-19T05:39:14+00:00,2010-07-20,1,http://www.haaretz.com/after-lengthy-legal-battle-franz-kafka-and-max-brod-safety-deposit-boxes-being-opened-1.301792,"After months of legal wrangling, one of the 10 safe deposit boxes in which documents belonging to the writer Franz Kafka (1883-1924 ) and his close friend Max Brod (1884-1968 ) were hidden for 40 years was opened Monday in Tel Aviv.
A delegation of smartly dressed lawyers arrived at the entrance to the Kikar Hamedina branch of Discount Bank at 10 A.M., holding a court order stating the safe deposit box must be opened. The contents, however, cannot be publicly revealed as the owner of the deposit box, Eva Hoffe, petitioned the court for a ban on publication. Haaretz has requested that the court, through the law offices of Lieblich-Moser, lift the ban.
A year ago the Tel Aviv Family Court, where the case is being heard, accepted the newspaper's petition that the hearings be opened to the public; until then, they had been held behind closed doors.
The process of opening the safe deposit boxes will take a week. They are held in six different vaults in different banks in Tel Aviv, as well as four others vaults in a bank in the Swiss city of Zurich.
Witnesses who had been inside the bank at Kikar Hamedina when the team of lawyers arrived said Eva Hoffe burst into the building in an attempt to prevent the safe from being opened, shouting ""It's mine, it's mine!""
The boxes are being opened in the presence of a battery of lawyers appointed by the court: the executors of the estates of Max Brod and his secretary and heir, Esther Hoffe; a representative of Hoffe's daughter, Eva; and a representative of the custodian general.
The team of lawyers will draw up an inventory of the documents they find in the boxes and present it to the Tel Aviv court. Judge Talia Pardo Kupelman will then determine the documents' status - whether they are the private property of the Hoffe sisters, who can then do with them whatever they want, or whether they constitute a literary treasure that must be transferred to a public archive.
Researchers and experts from Israel and Germany believe that some of the boxes may contain manuscripts by Kafka, widely considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, or documents that can shed additional light on the mysterious life of the artist who died of tuberculosis in a sanatorium near Vienna at the age of 40 and who is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Prague.
An emotional battle
""The contents of the vaults are the private business of [Eva] Hoffe and her sister, and at this stage no one else has permission to know of their contents,"" Hoffe's attorney, Uri Zfat, wrote to the court.
In her deposition to the court, Hoffe articulated her fear that once the boxes were opened and their contents revealed, ""they will be disseminated to the public and in this way, my property, assets, rights, privacy and human dignity will be compromised.""
Hoffe and her sister inherited the safety deposit boxes from their mother, Esther Hoffe - Max Brod's longtime secretary and friend. Esther Hoffe died about three years ago; since then an emotional legal battle ensued over the Jewish National and University Library's demand that Hoffe hand over the manuscripts. At the same time, the German Literature Archives in Marbach, Germany is also interested in obtaining the documents and has been negotiating with Hoffe to buy them.
The opening of the vaults was facilitated by the executors of Esther Hoffe's estate, Shmuel Cassouto, Dan Novhari, Rami Hadar and Dan Zimmerman, who were responsible for handling the technical and bureaucratic difficulties involved in carrying out the court order.
Dr. Aviad Stollman of the national library told Haaretz: ""We are happy to hear that the process of revealing the contents of the vaults in which the manuscripts were hidden for decades has begun. We were sorry to learn that a request was submitted to prevent the contents of the vault from being revealed. It is a shame that Ms. Hoffe is not prepared to let the public be party to these important literary treasures, and that she is trying to thwart the clarification of the truth.""
Want to enjoy 'Zen' reading - with no ads and just the article? Subscribe todaySubscribe now",885,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105304.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819051034-20170819071034-00260.warc.gz,0.971806466579437
a69accb5-c4cd-4819-bc3e-c983605f1458,2019-08-17T11:37:34+00:00,2019-08-17,0,https://www.offshore-mag.com/field-development/article/16765456/rwg-to-upgrade-offshore-uae-gas-generators,"RWG to upgrade offshore UAE gas generators
ZADCO has contracted RWG to provide maintenance services for Industrial Avon gas generators used to enhance oil and gas production offshore the UAE.
The three-year, £5 million-plus ($7.6-million) award is extendable to five years. ZADCO, a joint venture between ADNOC, ExxonMobil and JODCO, is looking to upgrade its Industrial Avon fleet which serves theUpper Zakum, Umm Al-Dalkh and Satah fields northwest of Abu Dhabi.
RWG was awarded the new agreement via local partner Al Ahlia Oilfields Development Co. It includes overhaul and upgrade of two gas generators to the latest “Avon 200” standard, providing ZADCO with power enhancement, lower emissions, and increased service life.
In addition, the company will deliver local field service, technical support and assist ZADCO personnel with routine maintenance tasks, trouble shooting, and periodic gas generator inspection.",205,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312128.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817102624-20190817124624-00457.warc.gz,0.92273759841919
b1e6544f-03c3-40b8-ba5b-eb8fbc159708,2020-10-27T09:32:22+00:00,2013-06-01,0,https://themonkeycage.org/2013/06/a-breakout-role-for-twitter-extensive-use-of-social-media-in-the-absence-of-traditional-media-by-turks-in-turkish-in-taksim-square-protests/,"The following post is provide based on research conducted in the past 24 hours by NYU’s Social Media and Political Participation (SMaPP) laboratory. It is written by lab members and NYU Politics Ph.D. candidates Pablo Barberá and Megan Metzger.
Over the past several years the role of social media in promoting, organizing, and responding to protest and revolution has been a hot topic of conversation. From Occupy Wall Street to the Arab Spring Revolutions, social media has been at the center of many of the largest, most popular demonstrations of political involvement. The protests taking place in Turkey add to this growing trend, and are already beginning to add new layers to our understanding of how social media can contribute to public participation.
Protests have been ongoing since early this week in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. Organized in response to government plans to tear down the green space in the center of the square and replace it with a shopping center, the protests have morphed into a more visceral expression of the general discontent with the government’s policies over the last several years In response, the police fired massive amounts of tear gas and pepper spray into the crowd and set fire to tents set up for protesters to sleep in, leaving several people injured. Protesters have begun wearing homemade gas masks while continuing to protest on the street. As of 2 AM Turkish time on Saturday, the protests are still in progress and some protestors have reportedly breached the barrier and entered the park.
The social media response to and the role of social media in the protests has been phenomenal. Since 4pm local time yesterday, at least 2 million tweets mentioning hashtags related to the protest, such as #direngeziparkı (950,000 tweets), #occupygezi (170,000 tweets) or #geziparki (50,000 tweets) have been sent. As we show in the plot below, the activity on Twitter was constant throughout the day (Friday, May 31). Even after midnight local time last night more than 3,000 tweets about the protest were published every minute.
What is unique about this particular case is how Twitter is being used to spread information about the demonstrations from the ground. Unlike some other recent uprisings, around 90% of all geolocated tweets are coming from within Turkey, and 50% from within Istanbul (see map below). In comparison, Starbird (2012) estimated that only 30% of those tweeting during the Egyptian revolution were actually in the country. Additionally, approximately 88% of the tweets are in Turkish, which suggests the audience of the tweets is other Turkish citizens and not so much the international community.
These numbers are in spite of the fact that there are reports that the 3G network is down in much of the area that is affected. Some local shops have removed security from their WiFi networks to allow internet access, but almost certainly the reduced signal will have impacted the tweeting behavior of those on the ground.
Part of the reason for the extraordinary number of tweets is related to a phenomenon that is emerging in response to a perceived lack of media coverage in the Turkish media. Dissatisfied with the mainstream media’s coverage of the event, which has been almost non-existent within Turkey, Turkish protestors have begun live-tweeting the protests as well as using smart-phones to live stream video of the protests. This, along with recent articles in the Western news media, has become a major source of information about this week’s events. Protesters have encouraged Turks to turn off their televisions today in protest over the lack of coverage of the mainstream media by promoting the hashtag #BugünTelevizyonlarıKapat (literally, “turn off the TVs today”), which has been used in more than 50,000 tweets so far.
What this trend suggests is that Turkish protesters are replacing the traditional reporting with crowd-sourced accounts of the protest expressed through social media. Where traditional forms of news have failed to fully capture the intensity of the protests, or to elucidate the grievances that protesters are expressing, social media has provided those participating with a mechanism through which not only to communicate and exchange information with each other, but essentially to take the place of more traditional forms of media. Further, this documentation through multiple sources in public forums serves to provide a more accurate description of events as they unfold. The coming days in Turkey will give us more insight into the processes by which this takes place, but it is certainly an impressive realization of the potential for social media to be used in overcoming barriers to diffusion of information regarding and motivation for protests.
Update: we also wish to acknowledge the contributions of NYU Politics Ph.D. candidates Batuhan Gorgulu and Emine Deniz.",968,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893845.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027082056-20201027112056-00108.warc.gz,0.95599102973938
e0086347-b9ee-44c2-8b42-8787d0dd563f,2013-05-19T02:38:26+00:00,2012-07-05,1,http://cheatsheet.tumblr.com/tagged/Wikileaks,"Frontpage: Thursday, July 5th
- Fukushima a ‘Man-Made Disaster’: A parliamentary inquiry into last year’s nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant concludes that Japanese conformist culture and government-industry alliances were to blame. “It was a profoundly man-made disaster that could and should have been foreseen and prevented,” declared the report.
- Barclay’s Scandal to Spread: It’s been a rough week for Bob Diamond. First he was forced to resign from his position as CEO of Barclays after the bank came under fire for falsifying interest rates and then, Wednesday, he was raked over the coals by parliament. But Barclays is hardly the only bank that will undergo investigation for manipulating the London interbank offered rate (Libor). Other banks also projected artificially low rates at the beginning of the financial crisis to give the impression that they were not suffering.
- Wikileaks to Release 2.4M Syrian Emails: Uh oh Assad, you’ve got some explaining to do. WikiLeaks announced Thursday that it is publishing 2.4 million Syria emails, several from government accounts. An official said that the emails show a relationship between Assad’s government and Western companies.
- ECB Drops Rates to Record Low: The European Central Bank’s benchmark interest rate has dropped from 1 percent to 0.75 percent—its lowest level ever—in an effort to keep the euro from deteriorating any further. The cut will likely be welcomed by politicians and economists alike.
- Obama Going on Blue-Collar Bus Tour: Now that the Fourth of July celebration is over, President Obama is hitting the road. His first bus tour of the 2012 campaign will take him to several cities in battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania to court, specifically, male, blue-collar workers.
Photo via picturedept:
Happy Birthday America
The 4th of July celebration in Washington DC, July 4th, 2007
(Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)
Or watch San Diego’s firework show, which, due to a malfunction, went off all at once.",454,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960496008396149
3196588a-9455-4e1c-9a66-f87ec24df5a4,2017-08-18T10:54:02+00:00,2017-08-18,1,http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/for-better-connectivity-to-airport-msrdc-mulls-podcars/,"A new idea for better road connectivity to Mumbai airport that involves modifying an internationally accepted dedicated transport system personal rapid transit system (PRTS) also known as Podcar,has been mooted.
PRTS is defined as a direct origin-to-destination service with no need to transfer or stop at intermediate stations.
Though globally it involves individual or group travel through shuttles from point to point between dedicated destinations,the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has appointed the Delhi Metro team as consultants for a dedicated road from the Bandra end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link towards the domestic airport. They have been given two months to submit the report. If anyone wants to travel from South Mumbai to the airport,they have to pass through usually roadways. Instead,we are proposing that a dedicated lane be built or created for travel to the airport. The consultants will submit a report of this or any other options in the city, said a senior government official.
Officials said the proposal was being considered for dedicated point to point travel to transport hubs such as major railway stations and airports in Mumbai.
Officials said they have asked the consultants to indicate how dedicated lanes can be created on existing roads and flyovers or newer bridges built to facilitate this travel. Other points of connectivity under consideration are Bombay Central railway station,Bandra and Kurla Terminus.
Maharashtra government has also moved a proposal to build a coastal road around the west and east coast of Mumbai for better connectivity in and around the city.",311,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104634.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818102246-20170818122246-00453.warc.gz,0.964063286781311
681953ec-2651-49c9-964f-5d578c8bcf83,2018-08-15T18:15:25+00:00,2012-09-27,0,http://kingfm.com/nfl-refs-reach-tentative-agreement/?trackback=fblike,"NFL, Refs Reach Tentative Agreement
The NFL and and the NFL Referees Association have agreed to a contract that will send referees back to the field this weekend, according to NFL.com.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement that the the refs will be back on the field starting with Thursday night’s game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. The referees will receive their game assignments for the rest of the weekend’s action on Friday, according NFL.com.
Fans have been calling on the NFL and NFL Referees Association to reach an agreement since the lockout began in June. Frustration reached its peak on Monday after a missed call cost the Green Bay Packers a win on Monday night.
The specific terms of the new contract were not immediately known.",162,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210249.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815181003-20180815201003-00520.warc.gz,0.965879023075104
82ac44b4-734a-4079-a766-fc5adb8e2005,2022-05-24T09:47:08+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://www.shopboswell.us/products/hand-earrings-in-white,"HAND EARRINGS IN WHITE
This piece is from our hand collection symbolizes generosity and stability. Ethically sourced 18k gold-plated silver and mother of pearl.
Grainne Morton, based in Edinburgh Scotland, is an avid collector of eclectic antiques and ephemera. Her collections, along with her immersion in her native Irish folklore and crafts, are the inspiration behind her eponymous line of whimsical jewelry. All at once vintage and contemporary, precious and non-precious, spontaneous and ordered, junk and treasure... this could well be a description of Grainne's motherland, itself.
- 28 mm long x 9 mm wide.
- Made in Scotland.",160,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662570051.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524075341-20220524105341-00212.warc.gz,0.911780416965485
58eafd0c-7a11-4283-9551-57e7ca3b955b,2016-07-26T14:23:45+00:00,2007-06-01,1,http://southwestfarmpress.com/ag-industry-needs-immigration-reform-passed-presidential-election-year,"If immigration reform proposals currently under deliberation fail to pass muster before summer’s end, the issue likely will disappear into the black hole of concerns too contentious to consider during a presidential election cycle.
And agriculture will continue to despair over a shrinking work force required to plant, tend, and harvest labor-intensive crops.
“The bottom line is, the farm labor force is shrinking,” says J Carnes, a Winter Garden, Texas, vegetable grower/shipper and president of the Texas Vegetable Association.
Current legislation, including the H2A program, “is unworkable,” he says. “I don’t use it. We rely on different avenues to find legal workers. H2A satisfies only 2 percent of agriculture workforce needs. It’s bureaucratic, litigious, and not a viable option for most of agriculture — it simply can’t provide the volume of workers we need to stay in business.”
Carnes says a Senate proposal under consideration may answer some of the immigration and labor issues, and a daily crossing option shows some promise.
The latter proposal would establish an avenue for workers with valid identification documents to cross over from Mexico into the United States daily, and return after work. “What we have now is simply not working,” he says. “We have no way to replenish the labor force, and it is shrinking.”
Current laws, he says, came through 1986 legislation and don’t meet current needs. “We have no way to renew eligibility and no way to put in for more cards.”
The problem is exacerbated with an aging immigrant work force. “As workers get older, they no longer want to do manual labor,” Carnes says. And finding younger workers to do the hard labor is increasingly difficult. “Some areas don’t need the manual labor, but we still do. We need Congress to act.”
He says legislators must look at the total immigration issue, not just enforcement. ‘It’s like a three-legged stool.
“One leg is border enforcement, and we need that — it’s a good thing. The second leg is immigration reform. Current policy isn’t workable to provide necessary labor. We have no way to grow the amount of food we need without immigrant labor. And we can’t become dependent on foreign sources for food.”
The third leg, he says, is the number of illegals already in the country. “We have to deal with some 12 million of them, and current laws aren’t set up to do that.”
Any new immigration program has to consider all three of those issues, Carnes says. “If we don’t, the whole thing will collapse.”
The mood has changed since last year, but meaningful reform still won’t be easy. Current proposals focus on job skills rather than admitting new workers who already have family in the country. Carnes says some Hispanic organizations will push back on that proposal.
Agriculture holds a unique position in immigrant labor need, he says. “Our labor requirements fluctuate — they’re seasonal. We may see an ag-only immigration reform proposal. But we need it to happen this year or it will be two years; it’s not likely in a presidential election year.”
Tamar Jacoby, with the Manhattan Institute, an organization working with business coalitions in Washington, agrees.
“If it doesn’t happen this year, it will be 2009,” she says. “And if it doesn’t happen, agriculture will have a hard time finding workers. A lot is at stake, especially for Southwest agriculture.”
Jacoby says some people in Washington “get it — a lot want to get it done.”
She says the issue of eventually legalizing the 12 million or more immigrants already in the country illegally is “not the sticking point that it was last year; the sticking point remains how to get workers in legally.”
Observers say crucial issues with the proposal under discussion in the Senate include objections from Hispanic organizations, labor unions, and those who object to proposals that would eventually grant legal status to immigrants already in the country illegally.",909,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00273-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948565483093262
17bd7246-2aaa-46e9-bff8-346aeaefaeff,2019-08-21T22:44:01+00:00,2018-12-31,1,https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2019/01/01/WFP-says-Yemen-food-aid-being-stolen-in-Houthi-run-areas.html,"Food aid meant for starving Yemenis is being stolen and sold in some areas controlled by Houthis, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Monday.
After hearing that humanitarian food was being sold on the open market in Sanaa, WFP said it found many people had not received the food rations to which they are entitled, and that at least one local partner organization affiliated with the Houthi Ministry of Education was committing fraud.
“This conduct amounts to the stealing of food from the mouths of hungry people,” WFP Executive Director David Beasley said. “At a time when children are dying in Yemen because they haven’t enough food to eat, that is an outrage. This criminal behavior must stop immediately.”
Houthi officials contacted by Reuters did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yemen’s war and the ensuing economic collapse have left 15.9 million people, 53 percent of the population, facing “severe acute food insecurity” and famine was a danger if immediate action was not taken, a survey said this month.
WFP is trying to get food aid to as many as 12 million severely hungry people.
It said its monitors had gathered photographic and other evidence of trucks illicitly removing food from designated food distribution centers and local officials falsifying records and manipulating the selection of beneficiaries.
“It was discovered that some food relief is being given to people not entitled to it and some is being sold for gain in the markets of the capital,” the WFP statement said.
Beasley said he was asking the Houthi authorities to stop food being diverted and make sure it reaches the people who need it.
Herve Verhoosel, WFP spokesman in Geneva, said WFP was looking at the possibility of distributing cash to needy people, if a biometric identification system could be introduced, using personal data including iris scans and finger prints.
He said Beasley had written to the Houthi leadership about the WFP findings several days ago.
نستخدم ملفات الكوكيز لنسهل عليك استخدام مواقعنا الإلكترونية ونكيف المحتوى والإعلانات وفقا لمتطلباتك واحتياجاتك الخاصة، لتوفير ميزات وسائل التواصل الاجتماعية ولتحليل حركة المرور لدينا...اعرف أكثر",616,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316549.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821220456-20190822002456-00005.warc.gz,0.940910041332245
e68ab686-2f97-4150-9ec5-4fd1bb723bf5,2018-08-15T23:29:38+00:00,2018-01-15,1,https://www.marketresearch.com/Business-Research-Company-v4006/Pharmaceutical-Drugs-Global-Briefing-2018Including-11369925/,"Pharmaceutical Drugs Market Global Briefing 2018Including: Cardiovascular Drugs, Musculoskeletal Drugs, Oncology Drugs, Anti-infective Drugs, Metabolic Disorder Drugs, Central Nervous System Drugs, Genito-urinary Drugs, Gastrointestinal Drugs, Respiratory Drugs, Hematology Drugs, Dermatology Drugs, Ophthalmology Drugs.Covering: Novartis AG, Sanofi S.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Pfizer Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, GlaxosmithKline Plc., Bayer AG, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co.Europe, Africa, Middle East.
North America was the largest region in the pharmaceutical drugs market in 2017, accounting for around 37% market share. Asia Pacific was the second largest region accounting for around 22% market share. Western Europe was the third largest region accounting for around 20% market share.
Pharmaceutical Drugs Market Global Briefing 2018 provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global pharmaceutical drugs sector.
Reasons to Purchase
- Fully updated for 2018.
- Identify growth segments and opportunities.
- Facilitate decision making on the basis of historic and forecast data and understand the drivers and restraints on the market.
- Develop strategies based on likely future developments.
- Gain a global perspective on the development of the market.
Pharmaceutical Drugs Market Global Briefing 2018 from the Business Research Company covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market.
The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market.
The market size section gives the pharmaceutical drugs market revenues, covering both the historic growth of the market and forecasting the future.
Drivers and restraints looks at the external factors supporting and controlling the growth of the market.
Market segmentations break down the key sub sectors which make up the market. The regional breakdowns section gives the size of the market geographically.
Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in the last three years are identified.
The trends and strategies section highlights the likely future developments in the pharmaceutical drugs market and suggests approaches. Scope
Markets Covered: Cardiovascular Drugs, Musculoskeletal Drugs, Oncology Drugs, Anti-infective Drugs, Metabolic Disorder Drugs, Central Nervous System Drugs, Genito-urinary Drugs, Gastrointestinal Drugs, Respiratory Drugs, Hematology Drugs, Dermatology Drugs, Ophthalmology Drugs.
Companies Mentioned: Novartis AG, Sanofi S.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Pfizer Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, GlaxosmithKline Plc., Bayer AG, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co.
Geographic scope: Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East And Africa
Time series: Five years historic and forecast.
Data: Market value in $ billions.
Data segmentations: Regional breakdowns, market share of competitors, key sub segments.
Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.",709,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210362.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815220136-20180816000136-00087.warc.gz,0.81755542755127
336a060a-cb85-4b02-a367-8568bae0f466,2017-08-18T04:58:08+00:00,2017-08-18,0,http://michael-lara-b26u.squarespace.com/contact/,"What I Do
Comprehensive history with treatment recommendations, including exercise and nutritional advice, on initial consultation.
Diagnostics including insurance-covered laboratory testing in addition to genetic testing and functional medicine lab evaluations.
Review of evidence-based alternatives to medication with interventions that focus on improving gut health, stabilizing hormones, and reducing systemic inflammation.
For a limited time, we are now offering free 10-15 minute phone consultations for prospective new patients. Please note that these free consultations are for prospective patients who are willing to travel to Belmont, California for subsequent in-person follow-up visits. To schedule your free consult with Dr. Lara, call us at 650-592-1229 or use the form below to request your free consultation.
The initial intake evaluation lasts 50-75 minutes at Dr. Lara's clinic in Belmont. At the end of this initial evaluation, you will receive personalized treatment recommendations in the areas of diet, exercise, supplementation, and, if warranted, medications. Additional functional medicine or genetic testing may also be requested at this time.
Follow-up visits typically last 25 minutes and occur at intervals of anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months, depending on the complexity of your case.
Dr. Lara sees male and female patients aged 21-65 for in-person appointments at his office located in Belmont, California. At this time, we do not accept Medi-Cal patients.
Dr. Lara offers long distance virtual consultations to established patients who are able to travel to the office for the initial intake evaluation and for occasional follow-up visits. Dr. Lara is not able to offer clinical advice over email.",334,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104565.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818043915-20170818063915-00607.warc.gz,0.909590125083923
04c817fd-c343-43d0-9e99-e5a52036e81c,2022-05-26T15:11:19+00:00,2022-05-26,1,https://leaps.org/how-mrna-could-revolutionize-medicine/cancer-immunotherapy,"In November 2020, messenger RNA catapulted into the public consciousness when the first COVID-19 vaccines were authorized for emergency use. Around the same time, an equally groundbreaking yet relatively unheralded application of mRNA technology was taking place at a London hospital.
Over the past two decades, there's been increasing interest in harnessing mRNA — molecules present in all of our cells that act like digital tape recorders, copying instructions from DNA in the cell nucleus and carrying them to the protein-making structures — to create a whole new class of therapeutics.
Scientists realized that artificial mRNA, designed in the lab, could be used to instruct our cells to produce certain antibodies, turning our bodies into vaccine-making factories, or to recognize and attack tumors. More recently, researchers recognized that mRNA could also be used to make another groundbreaking technology far more accessible to more patients: gene editing. The gene-editing tool CRISPR has generated plenty of hype for its potential to cure inherited diseases. But delivering CRISPR to the body is complicated and costly.
""Most gene editing involves taking cells out of the patient, treating them and then giving them back, which is an extremely expensive process,"" explains Drew Weissman, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, who was involved in developing the mRNA technology behind the COVID-19 vaccines.
But last November, a Massachusetts-based biotech company called Intellia Therapeutics showed it was possible to use mRNA to make the CRISPR system inside the body, eliminating the need to extract cells out of the body and edit them in a lab. Just as mRNA can instruct our cells to produce antibodies against a viral infection, it can also teach them to produce one of the two components that make up CRISPR — a cutting protein that snips out a problem gene.
""The pandemic has really shown that not only are mRNA approaches viable, they could in certain circumstances be vastly superior to more traditional technologies.""
In Intellia's London-based clinical trial, the company applied this for the first time in a patient with a rare inherited liver disease known as hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. The disease causes a toxic protein to build up in a person's organs and is typically fatal. In a company press release, Intellia's president and CEO John Leonard swiftly declared that its mRNA-based CRISPR therapy could usher in a ""new era of potential genome editing cures.""
Weissman predicts that turning CRISPR into an affordable therapy will become the next major frontier for mRNA over the coming decade. His lab is currently working on an mRNA-based CRISPR treatment for sickle cell disease. More than 300,000 babies are born with sickle cell every year, mainly in lower income nations.
""There is a FDA-approved cure, but it involves taking the bone marrow out of the person, and then giving it back which is prohibitively expensive,"" he says. It also requires a patient to have a matched bone marrow done. ""We give an intravenous injection of mRNA lipid nanoparticles that target CRISPR to the bone marrow stem cells in the patient, which is easy, and much less expensive.""
Meanwhile, the overwhelming success of the COVID-19 vaccines has focused attention on other ways of using mRNA to bolster the immune system against threats ranging from other infectious diseases to cancer.
The practicality of mRNA vaccines – relatively small quantities are required to induce an antibody response – coupled with their adaptable design, mean companies like Moderna are now targeting pathogens like Zika, chikungunya and cytomegalovirus, or CMV, which previously considered commercially unviable for vaccine developers. This is because outbreaks have been relatively sporadic, and these viruses mainly affect people in low-income nations who can't afford to pay premium prices for a vaccine. But mRNA technology means that jabs could be produced on a flexible basis, when required, at relatively low cost.
Other scientists suggest that mRNA could even provide a means of developing a universal influenza vaccine, a goal that's long been the Holy Grail for vaccinologists around the world.
""The mRNA technology allows you to pick out bits of the virus that you want to induce immunity to,"" says Michael Mulqueen, vice president of business development at eTheRNA, a Belgium-based biotech that's developing mRNA-based vaccines for malaria and HIV, as well as various forms of cancer. ""This means you can get the immune system primed to the bits of the virus that don't vary so much between strains. So you could actually have a single vaccine that protects against a whole raft of different variants of the same virus, offering more universal coverage.""
Before mRNA became synonymous with vaccines, its biggest potential was for cancer treatments. BioNTech, the German biotech company that collaborated with Pfizer to develop the first authorized COVID-19 vaccine, was initially founded to utilize mRNA for personalized cancer treatments, and the company remains interested in cancers ranging from melanoma to breast cancer.
One of the major hurdles in treating cancer has been the fact that tumors can look very different from one person to the next. It's why conventional approaches, such as chemotherapy or radiation, don't work for every patient. But weaponizing mRNA against cancer primes the immune cells with the tumor's specific genetic sequence, training the patient's body to attack their own unique type of cancer.
""It means you're able to think about personalizing cancer treatments down to specific subgroups of patients,"" says Mulqueen. ""For example, eTheRNA are developing a renal cell carcinoma treatment which will be targeted at around 20% of these patients, who have specific tumor types. We're hoping to take that to human trials next year, but the challenge is trying to identify the right patients for the treatment at an early stage.""
Repairing Damaged mRNA
While hopes are high that mRNA could usher in new cancer treatments and make CRISPR more accessible, a growing number of companies are also exploring an alternative to gene editing, known as RNA editing.
In genetic disorders, the mRNA in certain cells is impaired due to a rogue gene defect, and so the body ceases to produce a particular vital protein. Instead of permanently deleting the problem gene with CRISPR, the idea behind RNA editing is to inject small pieces of synthetic mRNA to repair the existing mRNA. Scientists think this approach will allow normal protein production to resume.
Over the past few years, this approach has gathered momentum, as some researchers have recognized that it holds certain key advantages over CRISPR. Companies from Belgium to Japan are now looking at RNA editing to treat all kinds of disorders, from Huntingdon's disease, to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and certain types of cancer.
""With RNA editing, you don't need to make any changes to the DNA,"" explains Daniel de Boer, CEO of Dutch biotech ProQR, which is looking to treat rare genetic disorders that cause blindness. ""Changes to the DNA are permanent, so if something goes wrong, that may not be desirable. With RNA editing, it's a temporary change, so we dose patients with our drugs once or twice a year.""
Last month, ProQR reported a landmark case study, in which a patient with a rare form of blindness called Leber congenital amaurosis, which affects the retina at the back of the eye, recovered vision after three months of treatment.
""We have seen that this RNA therapy restores vision in people that were completely blind for a year or so,"" says de Boer. ""They were able to see again, to read again. We think there are a large number of other genetic diseases we could go after with this technology. There are thousands of different mutations that can lead to blindness, and we think this technology can target approximately 25% of them.""
Ultimately, there's likely to be a role for both RNA editing and CRISPR, depending on the disease. ""I think CRISPR is ideally suited for illnesses where you would like to permanently correct a genetic defect,"" says Joshua Rosenthal of the Marine Biology Laboratory in Chicago. ""Whereas RNA editing could be used to treat things like pain, where you might want to reset a neural circuit temporarily over a shorter period of time.""
Much of this research has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has played a major role in bringing mRNA to the forefront of people's minds as a therapeutic.
""The pandemic has really shown that not only are mRNA approaches viable, they could in certain circumstances be vastly superior to more traditional technologies,"" says Mulqueen. ""In the future, I would not be surprised if many of the top pharma products are mRNA derived.""
The first thing Jeroen Perk saw after he partially regained his sight nearly a decade ago was the outline of his guide dog Pedro.
“There was a white floor, and the dog was black,” recalls Perk, a 43-year-old investigator for the Dutch customs service. “I was crying. It was a very nice moment.”
Perk was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a child and had been blind since early adulthood. He has been able to use the implant placed into his retina in 2013 to help identify street crossings, and even ski and pursue archery. A video posted by the company that designed and manufactured the device indicates he’s a good shot.
Less black-and-white has been the journey Perk and others have been on after they were implanted with the Argus II, a second-generation device created by a Los Angeles-based company called Second Sight Medical Devices.
The Argus II uses the implant and a video camera embedded in a special pair of glasses to provide limited vision to those with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease that causes cells in the retina to deteriorate. The camera feeds information to the implant, which sends electrical impulses into the retina to recapitulate what the camera sees. The impulses appear in the Argus II as a 60-pixel grid of blacks, grays and whites in the user’s eye that can render rough outlines of objects and their motion.
Smartphone and computer manufacturers typically stop issuing software upgrades to their devices after two or three years, eventually rendering them bricks. But is the smartphone approach acceptable for a device that helps restore the most crucial sense a human being possesses?
Ross Doerr, a retired disability rights attorney in Maine who received an Argus II in 2019, describes the field of vision as the equivalent of an index card held at arm’s length. Perk often brings objects close to his face to decipher them. Moreover, users must swivel their heads to take in visual data; moving their eyeballs does not work.
Despite its limitations, the Argus II beats the alternative. Perk no longer relies on his guide dog. Doerr was uplifted when he was able to see the outlines of Christmas trees at a holiday show.
“The fairy godmother department sort of reaches out and taps you on the shoulder once in a while,” Doerr says of his implant, which came about purely by chance. A surgeon treating his cataracts was partnered with the son of another surgeon who was implanting the devices, and he was referred.
Doerr had no reason to believe the shower of fairy dust wouldn’t continue. Second Sight held out promises that the Argus II recipients’ vision would gradually improve through upgrades to much higher pixel densities. The ability to recognize individual faces was even touted as a possibility. In the winter of 2020, Doerr was preparing to travel across the U.S. to Second Sight’s headquarters to receive an upgrade. But then COVID-19 descended, and the trip was canceled.
The pandemic also hit Second Sight’s bottom line. Doerr found out about its tribulations only from one of the company’s vision therapists, who told him the entire department was being laid off. Second Sight cut nearly 80% of its workforce in March 2020 and announced it would wind down operations.
Ross Doerr has mostly stopped using his Argus II, the result of combination of fear of losing its assistance from wear and tear and disdain for the company that brought it to market.
Second Sight’s implosion left some 350 Argus recipients in the metaphorical dark about what to do if their implants failed. Skeleton staff seem to have rarely responded to queries from their customers, at least based on the experiences of Perk and Doerr. And some recipients have unfortunately returned to the actual dark as well, as reports have surfaced of Argus II failures due to aging or worn-down parts.
Product support for complex products is remarkably uneven. Although the iconic Ford Mustang ceased production in the late 1960s, its parts market is so robust that it’s theoretically possible to assemble a new vehicle from recently crafted components. Conversely, smartphone and computer manufacturers typically stop issuing software upgrades to their devices after two or three years, eventually rendering them bricks. Consumers have accepted both extremes.
But is the smartphone approach acceptable for a device that helps restore the most crucial sense a human being possesses?
Margaret McLean, a senior fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in California, notes companies like Second Sight have a greater obligation for product support than other consumer product ventures.
“In this particular case, you have a great deal of risk that is involved in using this device, the implant, and the after care of this device,” she says. “You cannot, like with your car, decide that ‘I don’t like my Mustang anymore,’ and go out and buy a Corvette.”
And, whether the Argus II implant works or not, its physical presence can impact critical medical decisions. Doerr’s doctor wanted him to undergo an MRI to assist in diagnosing attacks of vertigo. But the physician was concerned his implant might interfere. With the latest available manufacturer advisories on his implant nearly a decade old, the procedure was held up. Doerr spent months importuning Second Sight through phone calls, emails and Facebook postings to learn if his implant was contraindicated with MRIs, which he never received. Although the cause of his vertigo was found without an MRI, Doerr was hardly assured.
“Put that into context for a minute. I get into a serious car accident. I end up in the emergency room, and I have a tag saying I have an implanted medical device,” he says. “You can’t do an MRI until you get the proper information from the company. Who’s going to answer the phone?”
Second Sight’s management did answer the call to revamp its business. It netted nearly $78 million through a private stock placement and an initial public offering last year. At the end of 2021, Second Sight had nearly $70 million in cash on hand, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
And while the Argus II is still touted at length on Second Sight’s home page, it appears little of its corporate coffers are earmarked toward its support. These days, the company is focused on obtaining federal approvals for Orion, a new implant that would go directly into the recipient’s brain and could be used to remedy blindness from a variety of causes. It obtained a $6.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in May 2021 to help develop Orion.
Presented with a list of written questions by email, Second Sight’s spokesperson, Dave Gentry of the investor relations firm Red Chip Companies, copied a subordinate with an abrupt message to “please handle.” That was the only response from a company representative. A call to Second Sight acting chief executive officer Scott Dunbar went unreturned.
Whether or not the Orion succeeds remains to be seen. The company’s SEC filings suggest a viable and FDA-approved device is years away, and that operational losses are expected for the “foreseeable future.” Second Sight reported zero revenue in 2020 or 2021.
Moreover, the experiences of the Argus II recipients could color the reception of future Second Sight products. Doerr notes that his insurer paid nearly $500,000 to implant his device and for training on how to use it.
“What’s the insurance industry going to say the next time this crops up?” Doerr asks, noting that the company’s reputation is “completely shot” with the recipients of its implants.
Perk, who made speeches to praise the Argus II and is still featured in a video on the Second Sight website, says he also no longer supports the company.
Jeroen Perk, an investigator for the Dutch customs service, cried for joy after partially regaining his sight, but he no longer trusts Second Sight, the company that provided his implant.
Nevertheless, Perk remains highly reliant on the technology. When he dropped an external component of his device in late 2020 and it broke, Perk briefly debated whether to remain blind or find a way to get his Argus II working again. Three months later, he was able to revive it by crowdsourcing parts, primarily from surgeons with spare components or other Argus II recipients who no longer use their devices. Perk now has several spare parts in reserve in case of future breakdowns.
Despite the frantic efforts to retain what little sight he has, Perk has no regrets about having the device implanted. And while he no longer trusts Second Sight, he is looking forward to possibly obtaining more advanced implants from companies in the Netherlands and Australia working on their own products.
Doerr suggests that biotech firms whose implants are distributed globally be bound to some sort of international treaty requiring them to service their products in perpetuity. Such treaties are still applied to the salvage rights for ships that sunk centuries ago, he notes.
“I think that in a global tech economy, that would be a good thing,” says McLean, the fellow at Santa Clara, “but I am not optimistic about it in the near term. Business incentives push toward return on share to stockholders, not to patients and other stakeholders. We likely need to rely on some combination of corporately responsibility…and [international] government regulation. It’s tough—the Paris Climate Accord implementation at a slow walk comes to mind.”
Unlike Perk, Doerr has mostly stopped using his Argus II, the result of combination of fear of losing its assistance from wear and tear and disdain for the company that brought it to market. At 70, Doerr says he does not have the time or energy to hold the company more accountable. And with Second Sight having gone through a considerable corporate reorganization, Doerr believes a lawsuit to compel it to better serve its Argus recipients would be nothing but an extremely costly longshot.
“It’s corporate America at its best,” he observes.
Lori Tipton's life was a cascade of trauma that even a soap opera would not dare inflict upon a character: a mentally unstable family; a brother who died of a drug overdose; the shocking discovery of the bodies of two persons her mother had killed before turning the gun on herself; the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that savaged her hometown of New Orleans; being raped by someone she trusted; and having an abortion. She suffered from severe PTSD.
“My life was filled with anxiety and hypervigilance,” she says. “I was constantly afraid and had mood swings, panic attacks, insomnia, intrusive thoughts and suicidal ideation. I tried to take my life more than once.” She was fortunate to be able to access multiple mental health services, “And while at times some of these modalities would relieve the symptoms, nothing really lasted and nothing really address the core trauma.”
Then in 2018 Tipton enrolled in a clinical trial that combined intense sessions of psychotherapy with limited use of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, a drug classified as a psychedelic and commonly known as ecstasy or Molly. The regimen was arduous; 1-2 hour preparation sessions, three sessions where MDMA was used, which lasted 6-8 hours, and lengthy sessions afterward to process and integrate the experiences. Two therapists were with her every moment of the three-month program that totaled more than 40 hours.
“It was clear to me that [the therapists] weren't going to heal me, that I was going to have to do the work for myself, but that they were there to completely support my process,” she says. “But the effects of MDMA were really undeniable for me. I felt embodied in a way that I hadn't in years. PTSD had robbed me of the ability to feel safe in my own body.”
Tipton doesn’t think the therapy completely cured her PTSD. “But when I completed the trial in 2018, I no longer qualified for the diagnosis, and I still don't qualify for the diagnosis today,” she told an April workshop on psychedelics as mental health treatment by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, or NASEM.
Rick Doblin has been a catalyst behind much of the contemporary research into psychedelics. Prior to the DEA clamp down, the Boston psychotherapist had seen that MDMA and other psychedelics could benefit some of his patients where other measures had failed. He immediately organized efforts to question the drug rescheduling but to little avail. In 1986, he created the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which slowly laid the scientific foundation for clinical trials, including the one that Tipton joined, using psychedelics to treat mental health conditions.
Now, only slowly, have researchers been able to explore the power of these drugs to treat a broad spectrum of severely debilitating mental health conditions, including trauma, depression, and PTSD, where other available treatments proved inadequate.
“Psychedelic psychotherapy is an attempt to go after the root causes of the problems with just a relatively few administrations, as contrasted to most of the psychiatric drugs used today that are mostly just reducing symptoms and are meant to be taken on a daily basis,” Doblin said in a 2019 TED Talk. Most of these drugs can have broad effect but “some are probably more effective than others for certain conditions,” he added in a recent interview with Leaps.org. Comparative head-to-head studies of psychedelic therapies simply have not been conducted.
Their mechanisms of action are poorly understood and can vary between drugs, but it is generally believed that psychedelics change the activity of neurons so that the brain processes information differently, says Katrin Preller, a neuropsychologist at the University of Zurich. A recent important study in Nature Medicine by Richard Daws and colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain and found that “functional networks became more functionally interconnected and flexible after psilocybin treatment…implying that psilocybin's antidepressant action may depend on a global increase in brain network integration.”
Rosalind Watts, a clinical investigator at the Imperial College in London, believes there is “an overestimation of the importance of the drug and an underestimation of the importance of the [therapeutic] context” in psychedelic research. “It is unethical to provide the drug without the other,” she says. Doblin notes that “psychotherapy outcomes research demonstrates that the therapeutic alliance between the therapist and the patients is the single most predictive factor of outcomes. [It is] trust and the sense of safety, the willingness to go into difficult spaces” that makes clinical breakthroughs possible with the drug.
Excitement and Challenges
Recurrent themes expressed at the NASEM workshop were exciting glimpses of the potential for psychedelics to treat mental health conditions combined with the challenges of realizing those potentials. A recent review paper found evidence that using psychedelics can help with treating a variety of common mental illnesses, but the paper could identify only 14 clinical trials of classic psychedelics published since 1991. Much of the reason is that the drugs are not patentable and so the pharmaceutical industry has no interest in investing in expensive clinical trials to bring them to market. MAPS has raised about $135 million over its 36-year history to conduct such research, says Doblin, the vast majority of it from individual donors and none from foundations.
The workshop participants’ views also were colored by the history of drug crackdowns and a fear that research might easily be shut down in the future. There was great concern that use of psychedelics should be confined to clinical trials with high safety and ethical standards, instead of doctors and patients experimenting on their own. “We need to get it right this time,” says Charles Grob, a psychiatrist at the UCLA School of Medicine. But restricting access to psychedelics will become even more difficult now that Oregon and several cities have acted to decriminalize possession and use of many of these drugs.
The experience with ketamine also troubled Grob. He is hoping to “mitigate the rush of rapid commercialization” that occurred with that drug. Ketamine technically is not a psychedelic though it does share some of their potentially euphoric properties. In 2019, soon after the FDA approved a form of ketamine with a limited label indication to treat depression, for profit clinics sprang up promoting off label use of the drug for psychiatric conditions where there was little clinical evidence of efficacy. He fears the same thing will happen when true psychedelics are made available.
If these therapies are approved, access to them is likely to be a problem. The drugs themselves are cheap but the accompanying therapy is not, and there is a shortage of trained psychotherapists. Mental health services often are not adequately covered by health insurance, while the poor and people of color suffer additional burdens of inadequate access. Doblin is committed to health care equity by training additional providers and by investigating whether some of the preparatory and integration sessions might be handled in a group setting. He says it is important that the legal aspects of psychedelics also be addressed so that patients “don't have to go underground” in order to receive this care.",5451,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662606992.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526131456-20220526161456-00604.warc.gz,0.969236314296722
7f469029-0a40-4479-919c-6154d7fe72d9,2022-05-29T06:00:52+00:00,2022-04-29,1,https://www.nj.com/sports/2022/04/as-shakur-stevenson-faces-oscar-valdez-in-his-biggest-fight-yet-the-newark-boxer-has-his-eye-on-superstardom.html,"LAS VEGAS — Shakur Stevenson believes he is on the precipice of boxing superstardom. The only person standing in his way? Oscar Valdez.
The Newark native finally will get a chance to fight the boxer he has been calling out for years on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in a fight that ESPN will televise at 10 p.m. Valdez (30-0, 23 knockouts) is easily is the toughest opponent of Stevenson’s professional career.
Of course, Valdez could say the same thing about Stevenson. Since turning pro after winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Stevenson is 17-0 with nine knockouts. His dominant performance against Jamel Herring in October has left him — and not the more experienced Valdez — as a 6-1 favorite to win this WBC-WBO super featherweight unification bout.
“I feel like, with Valdez, he is the perfect person to skyrocket my career,” Stevenson told NJ Advance Media in a wide-ranging conversation this week. “I see myself as the top young fighter in the sport, and after this fight, I think the whole world will see me as the same thing.”
Stevenson, 24, believes his entire career has been building toward this moment. From the time he was 5 years old and shadowing boxing with his grandfather, Wali Moses, at his Newark gym, Stevenson has been building toward this moment. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Andre Ward, and turn his successful amateur career into a brilliant professional one.
If he knocks out Valdez, he will enter the conversation as one of the best “pound for pound” fighters in boxing today. Stevenson believes he already belongs there, but Valdez — who defeated Robson Conceição by unanimous decision in September — is a step up in competition.
He is also a fighter that Stevenson believes has been dodging him for years. Valdez dropped his belt and moved up a weight class when Stevenson became his mandatory opponent at featherweight, so Stevenson was surprised when he got the news that he had agreed to take the fight.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Stevenson said. “I got a call while I was laying down in bed with my daughter. I was like, ‘Huh? Valdez is going to fight me? No way. I’ll believe it when I see it.’”
The world will see it on Saturday night. Valdez has promised to take a more “technical” approach to the fight, but Stevenson isn’t buying it. He believes that Valdez, a popular brawler who might have the crowd on his side at MGM Grand, will come at him early.
If he does, Stevenson expects Valdez to get frustrated at his inability to land a punch. The Newark native is one of the most technically sound fighters in the sport, but if he flashes the power he showed in defeating Herring, it could be lights out early in Vegas.
“If I’m at my best, nobody can beat me,“ Stevenson said. “I’ve been asking for this fight for a long time, and now the moment is finally here. I’m ready to fight. I’m tired of talking about it. I just want to fight.”
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Steve Politi may be reached at email@example.com.",751,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663039492.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529041832-20220529071832-00605.warc.gz,0.979477286338806
15580ff6-bd04-4982-ab5f-1620e93cbab4,2016-07-24T20:27:49+00:00,2009-03-28,0,http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/color_guard_teams_compete_in_e.html,"The first day of the Mid-York Color Guard Circuit Championships concluded this evening with awards presented in five competition classes.
Central New York guards competed in the Cadet and Scholastic Regional A classes. Other classes performing were Novice, Elementary Regional A and Independent Regional A.
In the Cadet class, the Northstars Cadet (Cicero-North Syracuse) placed first; Baldwinsville JV (Baker High School) placed second; the Redhawk Regiment JV (Central Square) placed third; and Homer Junior came in fourth.
Results in the Scholastic Regional A class are first, Baldwinsville Varsity; second, Shenendehowa SRA; and third, Sherburne-Earlville.
The competitions continue Sunday at ES-M. The doors open at 11 a.m. and competition begins at noon. The cost is $10 per show or $15 for an all-day pass.
About 55 guards from across the state are competing. They have spent the last three months at area competitions.
Nearly 60 guards have been competing each weekend since early January leading up to the state championships. The color guard shows consist of a combination of the skill of tossing and spinning rifles, flags and sabers with the artistry of dance and theater.
Visit www.mycgc.org to see a posting of each day's results and Sunday's schedule.
In Rochester today, at the Northeast Color Guard Circuit Championships, the junior varsity and varsity teams from Cicero-North Syracuse High School each won the gold medal. In the Varsity division, Phoenix placed second and Liverpool placed sixth.
Staff photographer John Berry compiled a photo gallery from today's competition.",353,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824146.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00128-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.929517209529877
bb1917d8-1dae-4d16-bd89-19c2bbc429d2,2013-05-18T17:48:33+00:00,2012-06-20,1,http://www.nation.co.ke/News/ICC+claims+witnesses+threatened+/-/1056/1431960/-/coalvyz/-/index.html,"ICC claims witnesses threatened
Posted Wednesday, June 20 2012 at 22:30
- Government insiders expressed fear of being harmed or killed over cases, says Bensouda
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda now says that insiders in the Kenyan government have expressed a fear of being harmed or even killed because of co-operation with her office.
Ms Bensouda says that this fear is objectively reasonable “as demonstrated by the post-PEV murders and forced disappearances of key witnesses with knowledge of the accuseds’ roles in the PEV.”
“Indeed, almost every insider — from government functionary to Mungiki member — who has spoken to the Prosecution has expressed a fear of being harmed or even killed because of co-operation with the Prosecution,” Ms Bensouda said on Wednesday.
The prosecutor lists various Mungiki leaders including Charles Wagacha, Naftali Irungu, Maina Diambo, Njuguna Gitau, George Njoroge Wagacha and Virginia Nyakio (former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga’s wife).
Ms Bensouda says that the individuals had vital information of how Mungiki was used in the violence before they were killed. The revelations are contained in the prosecutor’s response to Mr Muthaura’s claims that her office has been contacting his witnesses.
Ms Bensouda has termed as “over-blown rhetoric” claims by Mr Muthaura that the prosecution is acting improperly in the course of its investigations or departing from the “golden jurisprudential thread running through the decisions of all Chambers.”
“The Defence Application fails both in fact and in law and should be dismissed. The Prosecution has and continues to conduct itself in good faith, in accordance with its statutory duties, and with scrupulous regard for the security of witnesses,” Ms Bensouda told the judges on Wednesday.
In a redacted response to Mr Muthaura’s accusations, Ms Bensouda denied that the prosecution has contacted the said defence witnesses through an intermediary. The names of the two individuals are concealed throughout the document.
She also told the judges that the prosecution has not attempted to bribe any defence witness and asked Mr Muthaura to share its concrete allegations regarding the supposed “especially egregious misconduct.”.
However, the ICC prosecutor revealed that she has been in contact with some defence witnesses who are government officials in her cooperation requests.",529,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970941543579102
b1e086eb-0236-49a9-aa54-0f6a15e6f4ce,2020-10-28T05:21:38+00:00,2020-10-28,0,https://www.firstfloridaone.com/blog/author/agentinsure/,"In the Orange Park, FL area, you are going to have a lot of opportunities to enjoy the nice weather while out on your very own motorcycle. Due to this, purchasing a motorcycle can be a great mode of transportation. If you are going to purchase a motorcycle here, you will need to get the right type of insurance. There are several reasons that you will need to have a motorcycle insurance policy when you are in Florida.
Insurance is a Legal Requirement
One important reason to get a motorcycle insurance policy is that it will be a legal requirement for you. In the state of Florida, you are going to be obligated to have a certain level of liability insurance. If you want to drive legally, you need to make sure that this insurance is current. Those that do not have this coverage will run the risk that they could be penalized for lack of coverage.
Insurance Needed to Protect Asset
If you have invested a lot of money in your motorcycle and want to protect the investment, you should make sure that you have a proper motorcycle insurance policy in place. When you get a motorcycle insurance policy with collision and comprehensive coverage, it can ensure that you will be reimbursed for losses you incur related to theft or essentially any form of damage.
As you are looking for motorcycle insurance for your asset in Orange Park, FL, you should spend time assessing your needs. The team at First Florida Underwriters Inc can help you with this process. When you speak with the team at First Florida Underwriters Inc, you can get a better insight into what your insurance needs are. The team can also answer any questions to ensure you get into a proper policy.",336,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107896778.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028044037-20201028074037-00065.warc.gz,0.970079839229584
d092d77d-dd8c-4cad-9c16-38fb2190bd0c,2022-05-28T10:59:00+00:00,2022-01-28,1,https://www.law360.com/articles/1459872/wash-asks-justices-to-scrap-airlines-sick-leave-law-fight,"Wash. Asks Justices To Scrap Airlines' Sick Leave Law Fight
By Linda Chiem (January 28, 2022, 8:37 PM EST) -- Washington labor officials told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that the Ninth Circuit correctly interpreted a federal preemption standard to clear the way for the Evergreen State to enforce its paid sick leave law against airlines, rejecting allegations that flight crew staffing and operations would be upended.
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries filed a brief urging the justices to deny Airlines for America's petition for certioriari challenging the state's paid sick leave law, which requires employers to provide nearly all their Washington-based employees with paid sick leave and bars employers from disciplining or restricting workers who use...
Stay ahead of the curve
In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You have to know what’s happening with clients, competitors, practice areas, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition.
Access to case data within articles (numbers, filings, courts, nature of suit, and more.)
Access to attached documents such as briefs, petitions, complaints, decisions, motions, etc.
Create custom alerts for specific article and case topics and so much more!",265,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016373.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528093113-20220528123113-00403.warc.gz,0.923302948474884
ba9bb69a-c855-4249-ba30-d54b22d64445,2022-05-25T13:51:16+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/alumni-giving/services-for-alumni/get-your-transcript/,"Get your transcript
Do you need a copy of your academic transcript for a job or university application? Not a problem, Registry can provide you with this. Transcripts are priced at £10 for the first copy and £5 for any additional copies requested in the same transaction. There are additional costs for sending by courier.
If you have lost your degree certificate you can also get in touch with Registry who can supply you with a new one at a cost of £50.
Please contact email@example.com to request your transcript or degree certificate.",115,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00013.warc.gz,0.934402644634247
0fd060df-4f03-4502-b462-28672fd8eab2,2013-05-19T10:18:38+00:00,2013-05-19,0,http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/news/smart-solutions-to-get-you-on-the-property-ladder/1760996/,"Hardly a day goes by without housing affordability appearing as a headline in the news.
Although many believe owning their own home is the height of financial success, the reality is that many homeowners simply end up renting money rather than renting property. The aim of those housing themselves on the smell of an oily rag is to have comfortable accommodation without selling their heart and soul to the bank, so we thought we would mention some ways to get on the property ladder without the high debt.
We all need a roof over our head, but that ""roof"" does not need to be a 12-room, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mansion with a huge mortgage and horrendous running expenses. No more than 25 per cent of a household income should go on housing (rent or debt repayment). Those living on a limited budget should be realistic in their expectations.
Build your home as you can afford it. There are smart designs around of houses consisting of a core building and various modules that can be added as the family or bank balance expands. Building your own home little by little over five years sure beats a 30-year mortgage. Or buy a shell and finish the interior yourself on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Why not buy an existing home for removal and resite it on to a section? Sometimes you can buy old houses at an oily rag price, but carefully check out the relocation costs - sometimes they can be as much as the house itself. Old houses also have a habit of being very expensive to renovate and maintain.
If you are handy with a hammer, why not build your own home?
You may need a bit of help and supervision from a builder. The builder will be able to buy the materials at trade discount (and pass all or most of the discount on to you) and give you tips on the more detailed points. A word of caution: check out the rulebook before you build.
Why not live in a garage or a farm shed for a while? With a little modification a two-car garage makes a very cosy bungalow at negligible cost. And when you can afford to build a home you have a sleep-out for the kids or guests.
When renovating, one reader recommends tackling jobs one at a time. That way, only part of your house is trashed at any time.
Consider living in a caravan. Find a small space to put the caravan and you are all set. But check out the dollars and sense in doing so. Although a caravan park may seem cheap, if you add in the cost of the site hire it may not be a bargain. You may be best to buy a section and park your caravan on it while saving to build.
If buying a section, why not buy in the country? Sometimes a 10-acre block in the country costs no more than a postage-stamp-sized section in town. It also gives you the freedom to grow your own food and run livestock. Look for properties with standing timber that may be milled for building materials. A reader writes that they built a house from trees on their property and saved about two-thirds of the normal price.
Instead of buying a house, invest in a commercial property. Convert part of it into residential accommodation and rent out the rest. That way you get a roof over your head and an income.
Many businesses like the security of having someone living on the property. One reader did exactly this. They lived in the upstairs area, which has an estuary view, and rented out the commercial space. Not only did they have free rent, but they made a packet when they resold the property.
Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips at www.oilyrag.co.nz",787,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96214884519577
94942361-c62e-4143-b01d-588517080a1d,2016-07-27T13:31:09+00:00,2008-09-30,0,http://www.digitalearthblog.com/tag/overpasses/,"I’ve long felt that two things would need to happen to get to the next level in 3D imagery — trees and highway overpasses.
Since one of the neat features in Google Earth is the ability to fly a route, having proper overpasses would make things look much better. The latest version of Virtual Earth has some cities modeled in “version 2.0″, which include a number of advances. To the right is a bridge over a river. While the bottom is still solid (you can’t see the river under the bridge) and the edges are rough, it’s really coming along nicely. The tighter mesh of elevation data is getting us closer to where I’d like to see it. I would think we’ll see some real progress in this area within the next year or so.
The bigger problem is the lack of trees. Amazingly, Microsoft has begun to fix that already, too! I really felt that was still well off in the future, but I’m glad I was wrong. It only works in their “version 2.0″ cities (Las Vegas, Dallas, Denver and Phoenix), but it’s really neat. As Google Earth Blog had speculated, the trees are generated automatically by Microsoft. Hand-placing thousands of trees would be an impossible task to keep up with.
In addition, the trees don’t affect load time very much. They only have to load a given tree type once, then tweak the height and diameter for each placement of it. As such, I’ve found the trees load very quickly — usually before most of the buildings.
I’m a bit concerned about performance, though. The tree models look excellent, and with thousands of them scattered around a city, I have to think that it’ll make things move a little slower. I’m currently out of town on an old laptop, so everything is slow right now. When I get home to my primary PC I’ll really start putting it through it’s paces.
Microsoft says that the updated data will roll out to the current set of 250 3D cities “soon” and I’m really looking forward to it.",465,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826907.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00325-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96303802728653
21783b19-43e1-451b-8d33-33fd9b9e2dc4,2015-03-31T15:36:50+00:00,2013-03-31,1,http://www.channel3000.com/news/Knoxville-s-police-review-committee-could-be-model-for-Madison/18978740?item=0,"When a police officer fires shots in Knoxville, Tenn., police investigate but, unlike in Madison, the people have the power of review.
It started 18 years ago when, just like in Madison in recent months, police shootings divided the Knoxville community.
After Madison police cleared an officer who shot and killed Paul Heenan in November, some in Madison are asking why the city doesn't have independent oversight of police shootings.
Knoxville has a lot in common with Madison -- a major university, a bustling downtown and an engaged police department.
In her fifth-floor office in Knoxville's city-county building, Avice Reid gets several copies of the police department's internal investigation reviews a month.
Reid, who doesn't wear a badge, is the executive director of Knoxville's Police Advisory Review Committee and can do everything from interviewing officers to watching squad car dash cams
""We have access to KPD's information, and that's very powerful, because the citizens in the past did not have access to that information,"" Reid said.
Eighteen years ago, four separate police shootings in Knoxville and an outraged community forced the city to do something.
After three years of deliberation, the result was a seven-member panel of well-known, diverse community members to check everything the police did.
It wasn't an easy decision. In fact, the mayor at the time had to do it by executive order because the city council wouldn't go along with him. But over time, the committee's had success and become popular. Even police say they've accepted it, and it has made the city better.
Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch was a young patrolman when the review panel was up for debate, and he opposed it.
""What we didn't want was a witch hunt. What we didn't want was some panel set up of folks in our community that just wanted to see policemen get in trouble,"" Rausch said.
What Rausch didn't see then was how the community viewed the department, and how a panel of their peers could help.
""I've got the advantage of now having that 20/20 insight, of being able to look back and say, that's what my concerns were then and now having the clarity of it and seeing how it has helped this agency,"" Rausch said.
Rausch said the biggest help has come in building trust. As an example, he pointed to a problem his agency faced last November.
A Knoxville officer shot and wounded a suspect in a mall parking lot. Weeks later, Rausch went on TV to say his officer had made a mistake.
""We train that you don't put your finger on the trigger until you've made that decision to fire, and he had his finger on the trigger,"" Rausch said. ""We haven't had this outcry of an issue. The officers didn't get excited because I went on and said we made a mistake. The community didn't get excited because I went on and said we made a mistake, and that's because of this partnership that we have and this understanding that things are going to be done transparently and fairly.""
Only one man in Knoxville has been police chief and review committee chairman -- although Sterling Owen said he didn't want the committee position at first.
""I was concerned as to how it would be accepted, by both sides,"" Owen said.
The former FBI agent became chief after six years heading the review panel. He said that while it has subpoena power and can put up a fight, the real value is the partnership between police and the people.
The review panel meets every three months in different parts of the city, and the executive director and police chief meet more often.
The chief gets insight into the community's concerns, while the panel gets answers to its questions.
""I think it has gained in credibility over time, but it's because we went in there saying it's going to be a level playing field,"" Owen said.
Reid said the best marker of success may be a smaller workload. The number of community complaints against police have dropped from 270 when the review panel started to about 100 last year. Reid said most of the cases prove the police were right.
""We've proven that we're fair, that we're honest, that we want the truth, and because of that, they are accepting of us,"" Reid said.",912,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300735.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00272-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.990122616291046
6b3f2c0f-54ca-48c7-a912-5783bdf527fd,2015-04-01T05:48:41+00:00,1999-10-30,1,http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/carbon1.html,"Hydrogen Fuel Cell: another view
Global Economy Slowly Cuts Use of Fuels Rich in Carbon
by William K. Stevens
New York Times, Oct. 30, 1999
Even as the world's expanding population and economy increase atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide that scientists say are warming the earth, the global energy system is moving steadily away from the carbon-rich fuels whose combustion produces the gas.
Experts say atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide may be double that of the pre-industrial era by the end of the next century. But they also say the levels would be much higher except for a trend toward lower carbon fuels that has been going on for more than 100 years, but has been largely unnoticed except by a small band of energy specialists.
The question now, they say, is whether the trend can be accelerated enough to stave off or lessen what many scientists believe is a potentially disruptive global warming.
For nearly a century and a half, fuels with high amounts of carbon have progressively been replaced by those containing less. First wood, which is high in carbon, was eclipsed in the late 19th century by coal, which contains less. Then oil, with a lower carbon content still, dethroned King Coal in the 1960's.
Now analysts say that natural gas, lighter still in carbon, may be entering its heyday, and that the day of hydrogen-providing a fuel with no carbon at all, by definition-may at last be about to dawn.
As a result, the experts estimate, the world's economy today burns less than two-thirds as much carbon per unit of energy produced as it did in 1860. In the United States, they estimate, the trend toward lower carbon fuels combined with greater energy efficiency has, since 1950, reduced by about half the amount of carbon spewed out for each unit of economic production.
But because economic growth and population growth have been so rapid over the decades, overall atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have steadily risen, to the point that the concentrations may well have doubled by the year 2100.
Mainstream scientists say that this much carbon dioxide could warm the earth, on average, by 3 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. By comparison that is about half as much as it has warmed since the depths of the last ice age 18,000 to 20,000 years ago. A change of this magnitude would likely have widespread consequences for the world's climate, weather and human life.
Now, as representatives of 150 governments meet in Bonn in the latest round of global talks on measures to further reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, analysts both in and out of industry say that the next quarter-century is shaping up as a period of technological and economic ferment offering a chance to accelerate the trend toward a low-carbon economy and, eventually, a no-carbon one.
In Bonn, the delegates are trying to work out the details of an agreement forged two years ago in Kyoto, Japan, that could speed up the trend. Their work is not expected to be finished for at least a year, and the Kyoto agreement still must be ratified by a sufficient number of countries after that. However that may turn out, ""the decarbonization of the energy system is the single most important fact to emerge from the last 20 years of analysis"" of the system, said Dr.Jesse H. Ausubel, an expert on energy and climate at Rockefeller University in New York City. Dr. Ausubel predicts that this evolution will produce a carbon-free energy system by the end of the 21st century.
The agency reported this month that the same is generally true in China, the biggest consumer and producer of coal in the world, where coal production has been reported to be dropping lately. ""China has dispelled a commonly held notion that economic growth and energy consumption are necessarily coupled,"" the report said.
In December, Honda will introduce in the United States a highefficiency, low-emissions automobile powered partly by gasoline and partly by self-generated electricity. It is said to run at 60 miles per gallon of gasoline in town, and 71 on the highway, and to travel 600 to 700 miles on a tank of gas.
Toyota has introduced a similar ""hybrid"" automobile in Japan, and these cars are ""literally kick-the-tires examples of the decarbonized economy,"" said Hal Harvey, president of the Energy Foundation, a partnership of foundations that promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Other auto makers are also planning hybrids, which are being viewed as a transition, ultimately, to vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells that emit no carbon. In its planning the General Motors Corporation has ""embraced fuel cells as the technology of choice,"" but with hybrids coming first, said John Williams, the leader of the company's internal team on global climate issues.
And while auto companies are looking down that track, some of the world's biggest energy companies are looking to provide the appropriate fuels. Hydrogen, in particular, has attracted fresh interest. Until recently, ""the hydrogen option was seen as rather distant,"" said Ged R. Davis, an executive of Shell International in London who analyzes such questions for Royal Dutch/Shell, one of the world's largest energy companies. ""Now it is looking closer, perhaps over the next decade or two,"" Mr. Davis added. ""Most of the energy and car companies are looking at this rather seriously."" Shell itself has established a hydrogen subsidiary.
In the nearer term, hydrogen would be used in fuel cells for cars trucks and industrial plants, just as it already provides power for orbiting spacecraft. But ultimately, hydrogen could also provide a general carbon-free fuel.
The world energy system will not change overnight, of course, if it changes at all. And new products must ultimately stand the test of the marketplace. But some analysts say that the next two decades or so will be a time of unusual pressure for change, both for environmental and economic reasons, in which companies will be driven to compete for survival and dominance in some sort of emerging new energy system.
Whether companies are seriously pursuing new options or merely preserving them for the future, experts say there seems little doubt that the long-term trend toward decarbonization is real, and that it will most likely continue even in the absence of any shift to hydrogen or renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.
""The future decarbonization rate is likely to be at least as high as the historical one"" of about three-tenths of a percent a year, said Dr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic, an expert on energy and the environment with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, a research group in Laxenburg, Austria. The institute was one of the first groups to study the question.
Oil accounts for the biggest share of global energy consumption today, followed by coal and, closely, by natural gas. In most of the world except the United States and China, said Dr. Ausubel of Rockefeller University, coal is either defunct or on the way out, and natural gas will increasingly displace it.
According to several recent analyses, Dr. Nakicenovic said, recoverable natural gas now appears far more abundant than had been previously thought. The burning of gas produces, on average, only about a third of the carbon dioxide per unit of energy of coal, and about two-thirds that of oil. Gas not only can fuel fixed facilities like industrial plants and furnaces, it can also be processed to produce hydrogen for use in carbon-free fuel cells to power automobiles and generate electricity. In those cells, there is no combustion; instead, hydrogen reacts chemically with oxygen to produce electricity. But when hydrogen is extracted from gas, the residual carbon must somehow be disposed of, possibly by pumping it back into depleted oil and gas wells.
Dr. Ausubel predicts that natural gas will become the dominant fuel of the next 40 to 5O years. If so, that alone would be enough to continue the long-term decarbonization trend. China, which some experts think will emerge as the biggest carbon dioxide emitter of the 21st century, has greatly reduced its energy consumption per unit of economic output, has closed several coal mines, is seeking to modernize industrial and power plants and is moving toward natural gas, many analysts say. Not least, they say, the Chinese are worried about the health effects of coal's air pollution. Nevertheless, the Energy Information Administration reported last week, China's coal demand is expected to double by 2020.
So while the trend toward a carbon-free economy may continue, Dr. Ausubel says, it might not move rapidly enough to assuage the fears of those who are most concerned about global warming. He says that if the trend continues to evolve more or less naturally, with business as usual, it will take another century or so to decarbonize the energy system fully.
By then, he predicts, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide will be around 500 parts per million, nearly double what they were before the industrial revolution. Mainstream scientists say that would be enough to change the earth's climate substantially, make droughts, heat waves and floods worse and raise the sea level to heights that would threaten many low-lying coastal areas and islands. Some analysts say that 500 parts per million is a best-case estimate, and that business-as-usual could cause a tripling of pre-industrial carbon dioxide levels.
Other experts think that concentrations could be held substantially below 500 parts per million if the trend toward decarbonization were to accelerate. Mr. Harvey of the Energy Foundation says ""prospects are excellent"" for an acceleration. And Mr. Davis, the Shell executive says his company's analyses suggest that if the proper incentives were in place, new energy technologies could be adopted broadly enough to bring about a peak in oil use and carbon dioxide emissions by about 2020. After that, there would be a decline.
One sort of incentive might lie in the Kyoto agreement, which calls for a group of 39 industrialized countries to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels over the period 2008 to 2012. One mechanism for doing this is a system whereby a country that exceeds its reductions target can earn money by selling that extra reduction to another country that is having trouble meeting its target. A similar system, involving company-to-company trading, has been proposed for the United States.
While negotiators struggle over the terms of such arrangements and politicians wrangle over putting the Kyoto accord into effect, many energy analysts seem to agree on one thing: The ultimate goal ought to be a carbon-free economy based largely on hydrogen. Dr. Ausubel, for one, predicts that such an economy will materialize.
Many would agree with Mr. Williams of General
Motors: ""I think I'm on pretty solid ground in saying the long-term vision is
hydrogen. But there's a lot of work between here and there.""",2234,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00083-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961146831512451
69f759ae-9698-4f17-9cb5-fdeea7274f47,2022-05-22T18:04:02+00:00,2022-01-27,1,https://www.bitcoinlinux.com/2022/01/29/robinhood-to-launch-crypto-trading-internationally-sees-immense-potential-in-crypto-economy/,"Robinhood has “set aggressive goals to start opening its crypto platform up to customers internationally in 2022,” the popular trading platform revealed during its Q4 earnings call. “The company believes in the immense potential of the crypto economy and sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.”
Robinhood’s Crypto Earnings, Expansion Plans
Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) released its fourth quarter and full year 2021 results Thursday.
The company’s total net revenues for the quarter increased 14% from the same period in 2020 to $363 million. For the year, the total net revenues increased 89% to $1.82 billion from the previous year. The trading platform’s transaction-based revenues, which include revenues from cryptocurrency trading, were $264 million in Q4 and $1.40 billion in 2021.
Cryptocurrencies for the quarter increased 304% to $48 million, compared to $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, and for the year increased to $419 million, compared with $27 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
The company also reported that the “average revenues per user (ARPU) for the quarter decreased 39% to $64 on an annualized basis, compared with $106 in the fourth quarter of 2020.” The ARPU for the year decreased 5% to $103, compared with $109 for the previous year.
Regarding plans for the year 2022, the trading platform said:
Robinhood has set aggressive goals to start opening its crypto platform up to customers internationally in 2022. The company believes in the immense potential of the crypto economy and sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.
Robinhood currently supports the buying, selling, and real-time market data for bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin sv (BSV), dogecoin (DOGE), ethereum (ETH), ethereum classic (ETC), and litecoin (LTC).
Shiba inu crypto supporters have petitioned on Change.org for the trading platform to list SHIB. However, the company said it is in no hurry to list additional coins, stating: “We’re a highly regulated company in a highly regulated industry, and we think it’s important that we get a bit more clarity from regulators.”
Last week, Robinhood began rolling out its crypto wallets to customers. “By March, we will expand the program to 10,000 customers before rolling out to the rest of the Wenwallets waitlist,” the company said.
What do you think about Robinhood’s plan to expand internationally? Let us know in the comments section below.",571,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545875.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522160113-20220522190113-00619.warc.gz,0.943550944328308
c7119e03-54e9-4bda-bd48-97cb4781bfc7,2013-05-26T02:47:46+00:00,2012-09-04,1,http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/04/vix-cheap-given-september-risks/,"TrendingXbox One | Apple | Gold | Housing market | Keystone | Telus-Mobilicity | REITs | CMHC | BlackBerry | Earnings | Loblaw's Joe Fresh | BCE-Astral hearings | Poll: Do you like the new $5 and $10 bills? | Air Canada | RBC | Samsung Galaxy S4 | Target Canada | ‘Can’t make it to your wedding, I’ll catch your next one’
Not only has September been the worst month historically for stocks, but this year the month’s calendar is full of minefields for equity markets.
Many are expecting the ECB to reveal plans for a short-dated bond-buying program on Sept. 6 and that Spain will then apply for the EFSF support necessary to allow for ECB purchases.
Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, believes those are likely to happen, as should approval from the German constitutional court for the ESM on Sept. 12.
Other events are far less certain, including Dutch elections also on Sept. 12 that threaten to undermine existing restraint plans, Mr. Shenfeld told clients.
EU finance ministers are meeting on Sept. 14 and 15 could bring about objections to ongoing aid to Greece. Meanwhile, a report from the Troika on whether Greece is satisfying its commitments to receive more funding and an evaluation of the status of Spanish banks, could surface later in the month
Another bulk of data will emerge from China on Sept. 8 and 9, where recent reports have stoked fears of a hard landing.
“It’s too soon to expect any good news from recent monetary stimulus, so downside risks dominate,” Mr. Shenfeld said.
The Fed meeting on Sept. 12 and 13 has many investors looking to a new round of QE, but an apparent improvement in recent economic reports suggests they will have to wait until after the November election.
Naturally, many of these events could end up with a positive result. However, Mr. Shenfeld believes the VIX is mis-priced near the low end of its four-year range.
“Options protecting against large moves in either direction over the coming month look cheap given the busy calendar ahead,” the economist said.",464,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944470584392548
7b467242-c9a7-4f51-b1e8-b1b9cdd6699a,2016-07-23T22:01:15+00:00,2011-09-01,1,http://seekingalpha.com/article/294533-why-things-are-looking-uup-for-the-dollar,"By Alexander Green
Since then, that ETF has jumped 7 percent. I see more upside in that fund.
However, today I’m going to recommend another way to take advantage of an oversold dollar: PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE: UUP). It’s likely to rally in the months ahead.
Two weeks ago, I was in France and the U.K. on personal business. As anyone who travels to this part of the world knows, every time you change a Ben Franklin, you get back a couple of bills and a smattering of coins. The almighty dollar doesn’t go far in this part of the world.
My cab ride from Heathrow to Notting Hill cost $120. A pizza and a coke was $35. And you can forget about finding any bargains at Harrods these days.
The Top Reasons For a Weak Dollar
We all know the reasons why the dollar has been weak:
- The persistently high U.S. budget deficit,
- Huge unfunded entitlement liabilities
- And ultra-low interest rates.
Yet Europe is hardly a model of financial strength, economic growth, or fiscal propriety. What too many analysts fail to appreciate is that, in many respects, matters are worse in the Eurozone and Great Britain than they are here.
I’ve already covered the extensive problems and lack of viable solutions in the Eurozone. But take a look at Britain.
Two weeks ago, the Bank of International Settlements reported that – following a 10-year binge under the last Labour government – debt in the U.K. grew faster than in any other country. It now amounts to $284,000 per household.
The near doubling of government, corporate and household debt in Britain over the last decade was the biggest increase of any Western economy. And the Bank of International Settlements reports that this debt is further set to “explode” in the years ahead.
This is no small problem. In 2010, Britain had government debt of nearly 90 percent of GDP, corporate debt of 126 percent and household debt of 106 percent. Of the G7 economies, only Britain and Canada are in the danger zone for all three types of debt.
Why Now is Time to Be Long the Dollar
So the question remains. Why the heck should the pound sterling be so strong against the dollar? I’m not arguing that the United States is doing everything right. Clearly, it isn’t.
But there are good reasons to believe that America is in better shape than our friends across the pond.
Where, for instance, is the grassroots movement in Europe – like our Tea Party – that’s crying out for fiscal responsibility and limited government? Our politicians are at least getting the message that a large bloc of voters won’t accept out-of-control spending from either party anymore.
This looks like the inflection point for a higher dollar. Take advantage of it with UUP. PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish is designed to replicate the performance of being long the U.S. dollar against the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc.
It’s almost a shame that the Swiss franc – a genuine reflection of fiscal responsibility – is included in the group. On the other hand, the Swiss are sick and tired of their surging currency and are intervening heavily in currency markets to stem its rise.
In short, this is a good time to be long the dollar. And UUP is a great way to play it.
Disclosure: Investment U expressly forbids its writers from having a financial interest in any security they recommend to our subscribers. All employees and agents of Investment U (and affiliated companies) must wait 24 hours after an initial trade recommendation is published on online - or 72 hours after a direct mail publication is sent - before acting on that recommendation.",812,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00063-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.943694472312927
3a31ac89-2c1a-4490-bf30-ba1665a8341f,2019-08-22T16:44:30+00:00,2011-05-01,0,https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/No-Room-for-Dessert/Hallie-Durand/9781442403604,"All of a sudden it seems like Dessert’s life story is being written in invisible ink! It’s getting harder and harder believe that anyone in the Schneider house even remembers that she lives there. Her school picture hanging on the fridge? Covered! The promise of burritos? Forgotten! Her baby brother doesn’t even know her name! (He calls her “dirt.”) Dessert decides that she needs a plan to get back on her family’s radar—and hopefully make them all feel like “dirt” for a change. Let there be lightbulbs! Dessert has an idea. All she has to do is win her classroom’s invention contest, which should be a piece o’ cake. But, things get worse before they get better...so bad, Dessert would need all the double fudge sundaes in the world to make her feel like herself again—or maybe just a surprising new friend.
Hallie Durand’s favorite dessert is vanilla ice cream drowned in hot-fudge sauce. She grew up in a large, food-loving family much like the one in her books. But unlike Dessert, Hallie had to eat dessert after supper. When she’s not writing, she likes to visit fondue restaurants to do “research.” Hallie lives with her family in New Jersey.
Christine Davenier’sfavorite dessert is profiterole au chocolat. She is the illustrator of many books for children including the Iris and Walter series by Elissa Haden Guest and The First Thing My Mama Told Me by Susan Marie Swanson, for which Christine received a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year Award. She lives in Paris.
NO ROOM FOR DESSERT Author: Durand, Hallie Illustrator: Davenier, Christine
Review Date: May 1, 2011 Publisher:Atheneum Pages: 192 Price ( Hardcover ): $14.99 Publication Date: June 7, 2011 ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-1-4424-0360-4 Category: Fiction Series: Dessert Volume: 3
Lively third-grader Dessert returns for more comic classroom and family fun as she learns to cope with jealousy in her third outing (Just Desserts, 2010, etc.).
Dessert certainly doesn’t lack confidence. She’s sure she’ll easily win the prize for the best invention in her classroom’s Thomas Edison unit. At home, however, things don’t look as promising. Her mom spends all of her time with her two baby brothers and barely notices Dessert, while her dad concentrates on managing the family’s restaurant, devoted entirely to fondue. As her despair at home increases, her certainty that she’ll win the classroom prize increases, especially when she privately judges her classmate’s inventions as obviously inferior to her own Vending Dresser, which would dispense a full month’s worth of complete daily outfits at the mere press of a button. If she doesn’t win, however, this fully realized, vivacious little character might learn some important lessons beyond those her teacher, Mrs. Howdy Doody, includes in the curriculum. When Dessert’s mom forgets to pick her up at school, some family lessons may make Dessert feel much better, especially as she gets to eat real dessert—first!—at the family restaurant. Davenier’s sparkling line drawings help young readers visualize the action.
Another romp full of zesty, true-life fun. (Fiction. 7-10)",772,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317274.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822151657-20190822173657-00524.warc.gz,0.940560281276703
51ddf3e8-35c9-449a-b62a-4d3459aa65ef,2017-08-18T08:54:58+00:00,2017-08-18,0,https://www.easyterra.com/australia/car-rental-melbourne.html,"EasyTerra Car Rental Melbourne is an independent car rental comparison site. Our system compares prices from well-known car rental companies so as a customer you can always reserve your rental car through us at a competitive rate.
Average rating: 7.6 of 10 Number of customer reviews: 1
Ron KrancherHertz Melbourne Airport
“""We booked a car for Australia through their clear and well organized website. The car was ready at Melbourne Airport according to the agreed (and competitively priced) price. It was an excellent 4WD that had very little mileage and we enjoyed it thoroughly. EasyTerra found us an excellent deal.
Greetings, Ron and Hitty Krancher""”
Simon NanEuropcar Melbourne Airport
“Nice people and cars”
“As said before, nice people and car.”
Location information for Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital of the Australian state Victoria. It is a very attractive city: spaciously designed, mostly low buildings (except the central business district), large parks and lakes. The houses the world's second largest botanical gardens, after Kew Gardens in London. In the city centre there are modern skyscrapers, but there is also a part of 19th century Melbourne. Melbourne claims to be the cultural capital of Australia, although the people of Sydney disagree. There is an enormous rivalry between the inhabitants of these two cities (which is why the country's capital - Canberra - is located in between).
The city has 3.7 million inhabitants. Like many cities in Australia, most of them are of British or Irish descent, but there are also large groups of immigrants from every corner of the world. Australians have a reputation as sports lovers, and that applies especially to the people of Melbourne. It was in this city that Australian Rules Football was born (a kind of rugby, but with different rules), and the city houses an array of sports facilities.
The city is located in the south-east of Australia, some 800 kilometres to the south-west of Sydney. Its origin is on the river Yarra, which flows into Port Phillip Bay. Melbourne is the most southerly city in the world with a population of over a million..
Melbourne is an important commercial and industrial centre. About a third of the large multinational Australian companies have there head offices in this city (including telecom giant Telstra, mining company BHP Billiton and the National Australian Bank). The largest trade union also has its headquarters in Melbourne. The city has a large seaport (Western Port Bay) with related industries, like shipbuilding and oil refineries. Also, cars (Toyota and Ford) and electronic equipment are manufactured there.
The city is also a leading centre of education. The University of Melbourne is considered the best of Australia, and attracts many foreign students. Monash University also belongs to the Top 8 of Australia's universities.
There are two airports near Melbourne. The most important one is Melbourne Airport in Tullamarine, 22 kilometres to the north-west of the city. The airport provides both domestic and international connections. There is a shuttle bus (Skybus) between the airport and Southern Cross bus station to the west of the city centre.
Avalon Airport only processes domestic flights, especially by budget airline JetStar (Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin and Perth). The airport is located 55 kilometres to the south-west of the city. There is a shuttle connection to Melbourne.
Melbourne has a good and extensive public transport network, consisting of trams, buses and trains. Trams are found primarily in and around the centre, trains service the suburbs, and where there are no trams or trains, buses take over. You can buy one ticket for all these forms of public transport (the so-called 'Metcard'). The city is divided into zones: the centre is Zone 1, the ring around the centre Zone 2, and the suburbs Zone 3. You can buy a ticket with a certain duration (2 hours), a day ticket or a week ticket.
There are two free services: the City Circle Tram brings you to the main attractions in the centre, the Mebourne City Tourist Shuttle is a bus line that also goes to attractions further away.
From the combined bus and train terminal Southern Cross, many destinations inside and outside the state of Victoria can be reached. Keep in mind that the travel times to, for instance, Sydney or Adelaide are considerable. Melbourne has a night ferry to the island of Tasmania (10 hours).
Traffic and Parking
In Australia, people drive on the left side of the road, which means the steering wheel of your rental car will be on the right. Keep in mind that Australia is a huge country, and that the distance between the various cities are enormous. The fastest way to get to Sydney is via the Hume Highway (about 10 hours). A more beautiful, though longer route is along the coast, the Princess Highway. Although Adelaide is closer, it is still at least a seven hours' drive.
Melbourne has an excellent and logical street pattern, but it is a very expanded city. So buy a city map to orientate, the people of Melbourne themselves often use the excellent 'Greater Melbourne' map by Melway. In addition, Melbourne has the so-called 'hook turn': on streets with trams you can only turn right by moving to the left-most lane (""Right Turn From Left Only""). This way, the tram in the middle of the street is not blocked.
The city has many car parks, which means that it is not hard to find a space. There are 140 parking areas and car parks, with a total of 70,000 spaces. According to the city council, you are never more than 200 metres away from the nearest parking facility. Parking in the street is usually only allowed for a limited time (indicated on the parking meter). In streets with the so-called 'Clearway' sign, parking is not allowed between 7.30 am and 6.30 pm. Near the Melbourne Museum, the Melbourne Park and the Telstra Dome there are P+R areas.
The city attracts many backpackers, so a large number of accommodations cater to this group, but Melbourne has a good supply in all categories. In light of the economic importance of the city, there are many business hotels in the Central Business District. We recommend booking your hotel room in advance. Especially around the Grand Slam tournament (January) and the Melbourne Grand Prix (early March), virtually all hotels are fully booked.
For more information about Melbourne, we recommend Google, and the following sources:
If you are looking for a rental car in Australia, but in a city other than Melbourne, please click through to the Car rental Australia page, where you can choose in which city in Australia you want to rent a car.",1409,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104631.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818082911-20170818102911-00160.warc.gz,0.965796828269958
93cdd5da-a73e-4ebc-9cc0-50936d028f7b,2019-08-23T09:10:42+00:00,2015-03-12,0,https://mashable.com/2015/03/12/eyefi-mobi-pro-review/,"Eyefi's Wi-Fi SD cards have been around for a while, turning ""dumb"" cameras ""smart"" by letting them hook up to smartphones and tablets.
With the introduction of Eyefi Cloud last year, the company went beyond being just Wi-Fi-connected SD cards and ventured into cloud storage, taking on the likes of Dropbox, Flickr, Google Drive and every other storage service, at least when it comes to photos.
As more camera makers build Wi-Fi natively into their own cameras, Eyefi knew it had to step up its game. Eyefi's Mobi orange-colored Wi-Fi SD cards are great for augmenting cameras with wireless, but they're also pricey: $50 for 8GB and $80 for 16GB. Both include a free 90-day subscription to Eyefi Cloud.
The new $99 Mobi Pro SD card is Eyefi's best deal yet: 32GB with a free year subscription to Eyefi Cloud. With the Mobi Pro, you're not only getting more storage, you're also getting advanced features like RAW file transfers, selective image transfers and direct network uploads. The Eyefi Mobi app's also received a healthy update with nifty features.
Getting started with the Mobi Pro is exactly the same as it is with a regular Eyefi Mobi SD card. Download the free Eyefi Mobi app (not the original Eyefi app) and then punch in the code on the back of the activation card included in the box. (Be sure to write down the code. If you lose it, you're screwed if you want to pair it to a new camera or reset it.) The app will then ask to create a wireless connection between your mobile device and the Mobi Pro card.
Then, go out and take pictures with your Mobi Pro-equipped camera. Pictures and video will automatically transfer from the Mobi Pro to your connected mobile device.
If you allow it, the Wi-Fi SD card can then upload the pics (but not video) over a cellular connection to the Eyefi Cloud. I've got a capped data plan, so I turned it off and opted to wait until I was back home on my own Wi-Fi network for uploading to the cloud. But if you somehow have an unlimited, non-throttled data plan, the cellular uploading feature is a great way to sync your pictures into the cloud for access on any computer or mobile device.
The ""Pro"" distinction makes it very clear who the Mobi Pro is aimed at. With the Mobi SD cards, they automatically transferred every JPEG photo that you took with your paired camera. On the Mobi Pro you can still have every photo automatically transferred, but you can also select only the ones you want by toggling the write-protection (usually a little key icon) on the camera. Selective transfers are a little cumbersome, but obviously they'll get done faster and not gobble up as much storage.
As a Wi-Fi card targeted at professionals, the Mobi Pro also does RAW file transfers. For pros, RAW files are an absolute must; they contain way more information than a compressed JPEG, which means there's more flexibility when it comes to editing in post-production.
The Mobi Pro is capable of sending RAW files directly to a PC's desktop, but it can't send them to the Mobi app since iOS and Android can't read them. For those devices, instead of the RAW files, the Mobi Pro card creates a device-optimized preview JPEG. The mobile JPEG previews aren't the full-resolution images, but they've got enough detail to share to social networks like Instagram and Facebook.
The other Mobi Pro exclusive feature that the regular Mobi cards don't have is ""infrastructure and direct mode network support."" Basically, the Mobi Pro can connect to your home (or studio) Wi-Fi network to transfer images directly. This feature is really useful if you're a studio photographer and shoot, say, models and want to transfer your RAW files instantly over to your computer.
Transfers speeds are quite fast. JPEGs moved quickly to my phone and RAW files to my home computer. The RAW file transfers, in particular, aren't as speedy as offloading them with a USB cable, but you have to take a small speed hit for the sake of going wireless.
Of course, the Mobi Pro memory card is only one part of the Eyefi equation. The other half — and an important one at that — is the Mobi app paired with the Eyefi Cloud.
I had some issues pairing my iPhone 6 to the Mobi Pro card on several occasions — the memory card takes forever to show up as a Wi-Fi network, even when it's literally right next to my phone — but quitting the app or restarting my phone seemed to resolve them almost all the time.
Don't be fooled by the Mobi app's simple design — it's actually pretty powerful after you get over the initial pairing probs.
The app neatly organizes photos according to the date they were taken and you can tag them for easy searching. You can create albums and sort photos based on what camera you used. I take a lot of photos on many different cameras and seeing all my pictures laid out in a clean thumbnail overview was quite nice.
Any pictures you take and save with your mobile device can also be imported into the Mobi app. The goal, as Eyefi CEO Matt DiMaria told me, is to organize all of your photos in one place, whether they're from your camera or your phone, and then sync them into the cloud so they can be accessed from anywhere.
Furthermore, you can view and compare EXIF data — aperture, shutter speed ISO, exposure, etc. — for two photos side-by-side within the tablet version. It's another handy feature if you're the type who pores over camera settings.
One feature that the updated Eyefi Cloud is supposed to be able to do is automatic image tagging. DiMaria says the online service can scan images and automatically group them into subjects such as food, indoor, outdoor and other common tags. I, however, wasn't able to try this feature out. Not having to tag everything manually would save everybody a lot of time.
Easiest Wi-Fi photo transfers yet
We're all victims to taking way too many pictures with our cameras and neglecting to look at them all or failing to share them because the process of manually transferring them to a computer is a pain. Cameras with built-in Wi-Fi and companion mobile apps are on the rise, but few have easy and intuitive interfaces. Samsung, Sony, Olympus, Nikon, Canon — I've tried almost all of them and you need a different app for every model. It's really annoying.
The Eyefi Mobi app and Eyefi Cloud, however, is a dead simple way to get photos from your camera to your phone/tablet and then backed up into the cloud. (So long as you can get the memory card and mobile device to pair and keep them paired.) It's one app that works with any camera (just make sure it supports Class 10 SDHC cards).
The addition of RAW and selective transfers and home network transfers is sure to entice professional photographers. The $99 price isn't too steep, either, at least compared to buying a lower capacity Mobi card and the Eyefi Cloud separately.
Eyefi Mobi Pro
Super easy to use • Mulitplatform • RAW file transfers • Selective transfers • Direct transfers over local network
Occasional Wi-Fi connection issues • Selective transfer is clunky
The Bottom Line
The Eyefi Mobi Pro Wi-Fi SD card is a mostly hassle-free way to wirelessly transfer photos off your camera to your mobile device and into the cloud.",1636,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318243.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823083811-20190823105811-00050.warc.gz,0.952314078807831
100d65c1-9efc-4729-a62d-b58830d98481,2017-08-23T19:29:09+00:00,2012-12-03,0,http://www.reporterherald.com/news/loveland-local-news/ci_22084940/loveland-author-finds-music-her-soul?source=most_viewed,"Pat Walker and her husband took a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2003 that changed her life. It was the first time they had been away from their children in 17 years.
""We wanted to have some R and R and deep sea fishing,"" she said.
They heard that Sammy Hagar, at one time a lead singer of Van Halen and musician in his own right, was performing at his bar, ""Cabo Wabo Cantina.""
Her new book, ""Dance of the Electric Hummingbird,"" chronicles the miraculous experiences she had listening to Hagar's music and how she feels it transformed her life. She will be doing a book signing at 2 p.m. Sunday at Anthology Book Co.
She said that her book ""is not the story of a fan gushing over a celebrity.""
What: Book signing of ""Dance of the Electric Hummingbird,"" by Pat Walker.
When: 2 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Anthology Book Co., 422 E. Fourth St.
More info: The autobiography is available at Anthology Book Co. and online at booksellers.
She hadn't heard of the musician before and didn't know a thing about him. She and her husband stopped in to listen and the tunes were so real and raw that Hagar's music blew them away. The couple went back later that week to hear him again.
""Towards the end of the show, my husband was on the opposite end taking pictures. I had had a couple of margaritas over a period of five hours. I was feeling good but not drunk. All of a sudden, I felt this connection flowing between Sammy and me,"" Walker said.
The connection was like liquid golden light, she described, and she thought at first it was her imagination and the heat of the room. The words to the song, ""Dreams,"" became tangible and she felt herself lift out of her body and observe the crowd from above.
She witnessed flashbacks to her past, being abused by her first husband, picked on in school, the joys of Christmas morning and dreams. It all came together and lifted her higher, she said.
""I started to wonder if someone had slipped something in my drink when I wasn't looking,"" she said. ""That had never happened to me before.""
Walker felt incredible, pure joy that lasted mere seconds. Afterwards, she walked outside to get some air and felt like she was 10 feet high. She was skeptical, but felt like something had changed in her.
And it wasn't just that day. In the years that followed, she experienced other things that convinced her to look at the world in a new way.
Walker wrote to Hagar and told her about the weird experience.
He responded with a signed photo and said her letter had moved him. From then on, he encouraged her in her life and writing.
She had always wanted to be a writer and was convinced to give it a shot. She and her husband went back often to hear him perform at the bar. Hagar purchased one of her books with a signed $100 bill. Ironic since she would never spend it.
""If something so extraordinary can happen to me, it can happen to anyone,"" she said.
Her book is an encouragement to readers to not give up on dreams and that's there's more to life than what's on the surface. She said that people forget to slow down.
""Fulfill that purpose that's yearning for more,"" she said. ""This helped me define in life what's important and what's real in life. I've had people tell me that my book changed their life.""
She added that Hagar sells her autobiography in the gift shop of his bar and promotes her at some of his shows. Hagar commissioned his son, Aaron S. Hagar, to paint the cover art of the book.
Jessica Benes can be reached at 669-5050, ext. 530, or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JessicaBenes.",849,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123359.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823190745-20170823210745-00497.warc.gz,0.993662118911743
8cc72753-2b7d-4d55-ab10-17c4a7068178,2018-08-19T06:14:42+00:00,2018-08-19,0,https://www.jmfieldmarketing.com/product-of-the-day/note-pads/,"Write in Style!
Note pads are an ideal way to promote your company name and keep it in the minds of your customers and prospects. They make ideal ‘jotter” pads for busy professionals. These self adhesive note pads can be imprinted with your company name, logo and contact information. We can differentiate your pads from the rest by using a bright colored paper or including graphs or lines on the pad. Includes 100 sheets in either blue, gray, green, ivory, ultra white or yellow. Available in post consumer recycled paper.",110,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214702.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819051423-20180819071423-00565.warc.gz,0.92208981513977
586d7262-d8ea-4e6a-8053-8ab783215e38,2013-05-27T02:54:02+00:00,2012-07-10,1,http://theusdaily.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?type=Entertainment&videoIdx=7&id=2098657,"|Page (1) of 1 - 07/10/12||email article||print page|
Today, News Corp. officially announced plans to split into two separate publicly traded companies. One of the companies will focus on News Corp's booming film and television assets, including 20th Century Fox film studio, Fox News Channel, and Fox broadcast news. The other company will include News Corp's publishing assets, such as the Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and HarperCollins book publishing. The company's publishing assets have struggled recently in the wake of a phone hacking scandal in Great Britain. In News Corp's last quarterly earnings report, entertainment revenues came to $6.2 billion, while publishing assets only brought in $2 billion. Chief Executive Rupert Murodch will serve as chairman of both companies. He will also be CEO for the entertainment-focused company. No word yet on who will serve as CEO on the publishing side, but Murdoch has dismissed fears that the publishing company will not be able to stand on its own. The transaction will take roughly a year to complete. News of the split's possibility caused News Corp shares to rise sharply over the past couple of days. At the moment, however, shares are down slightly 1.52% at $22.07 a share.
|News Corp Confirms Split|
Source:GrabNetworks (c). All Rights Reserved",281,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948888778686523
86081471-185c-4a3b-b717-efa0a0cf8284,2019-08-19T13:09:19+00:00,2012-05-22,0,https://gigaom.com/2012/05/22/dish-defends-ad-skipping-dvr-pay-tv-peers-throw-it-under-bus/,"If Dish Network was expecting an “I am Spartacus” level of peer support for its new ad-skipping DVR, it won’t find it at this week’s Cable Show. And aggrevated broadcasters shouldn’t be looking to hear an apology and retraction from Dish chief Charlie Ergen, either.
On Tuesday, Glenn Britt, chairman and CEO of the No. 4 pay TV service provider in the U.S., Time Warner Cable, became the first executive from the multi-channel industry to speak out about a controversial new feature in Dish’s Hopper digital video recorders. This feature filters out commercials from the recordings of broadcast-network shows.
“The dual stream of advertising and subscription fees has been great for content providers, and we don’t want to destroy one of those revenue streams,”Britt told a Cable Show audience, which included reporters from publications including Ad Age. “Subscription prices will go up or less content will be made.”
Mark Greatrex, chief marketing officer for another top cable operator, Cox Communications, also weighed in: “As a marketer it’s not particularly helpful to bring that much uncertaintly into the marketplace.”
During upfront presentations to advertisers last week, virtually every broadcast network chief took verbal aim at the feature, with Fox and NBC even pledging not to let Dish run ads for it on their channels.
But speaking to Associated Press Tuesday, Vivek Khemka, Dish Network VP of product management for Dish, said they’ve got it all wrong.
By recording every minute broadcasted in prime time by ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, the Hopper is actually enabling consumers to watch more television. “It’s a win-win for consumers and the networks,” he said.
Of course, it’s hard to see how the networks are “winning” when a key aspect of their monetization model has been stripped away.
The other part of that model is the relatively new revenue stream created by broadcast networks demanding retransmission fees from the cable, satellite and telco TV service providers who offer their signals to subscribers.
With Dish trying to grow its current subscriber count of around 14 million, offering consumer-friendly features that let users skip ads probably helps. But all DVRs provided by multi-channel operators feature some level of commercial-skipping ability (it’s simply called fast-forward).
Questions that remain unanswered:
By throwing a Molotov Cocktail directly at broadcasters, might Dish be looking for a negotiating hedge against the Big Four Networks to help control fast-rising retransmission costs? And if so, might Dish have expected a little support from its peers in the multi-channel business?
If the answer turns out to be “yes” to the latter, it sure hasn’t received that support yet.",609,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00140.warc.gz,0.946683287620544
814f43eb-32d6-4ac6-aad5-5016fd225fd5,2017-08-18T14:36:58+00:00,2008-12-23,0,http://windmillsandweathervanes.blogspot.com/2008/12/,"1. Please put the Marie Antoinette picture on your blog.
2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.
4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.
Okey dokey, so there's Marie's pretty pic - check. Already put a link to Pam at the beginning of the post - check. Nominate 7 or more blogs - ok, big breath, here goes nuttin' -
Heidi at Hen and Chicks
Heather at Trends and Traditions
Karen at My Yellow Farmhouse
Libby at A Simple Girl
Judy at Quilting with Ragdolls
Tammy at Ginger Patches
Carol at Brown Quilts
There's a whole lot more where those came from - it seems my list of blog faves keeps growing. But these gals ought to keep any blog lover busy for a while. So the links are here - check. Now I just need to go leave them a message. I'll do that as soon as I'm done here.
Ok, now I did promise some decorating pics.
This is the Christmas tree in our living room. This is supposed to be the nice, color coordinated tree that everyone ohhs and ahhs over when they visit. And they pretty much do. Of course, this year, I just told the kids to decorate it any old way, so they did. Hence the glob of beads and ribbon in about the middle. But hey, all I had to do was put the thing up and get the lights on, so I'm thinking they did a pretty nice job.
Well, my wonderful middle kidlet (who turns 11 day after tomorrow) is sitting here decreeing that I need to get off the computer so she can get on to do ""homework"" (yeah, sure, looking at YouTube is homework LOL) so I better leave for now. Have a great day!",423,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104681.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818140908-20170818160908-00021.warc.gz,0.963530480861664
8af92779-db7a-466f-938b-2cbfa68b2c1d,2020-10-22T21:23:41+00:00,2020-10-22,0,https://myworldwithoutwheat.com/category/eating-out/,"Everyone loves to eat out. So nice to have someone cook for you, no dishes, right? Well, if you have celiac disease you must avoid even tiny amounts of gluten. So eating out is sadly a huge problem in this geographic area as there are very few restaurants that have a real gluten free menu. If we were in California, that’s another story; most every restaurant there has a gf menu and they know what they are doing. Here in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania it is not like that. Most of the times I get glutened I am eating in a restaurant, food that was allegedly prepared for me knowing I have celiac. And yet I get sick sometimes. Why is that I wonder?
I was glutened just recently and since this place has a gluten free menu I felt it shouldn’t have happened. I have eaten there several times safely in the past three years. Great food generally. I know the chef was in so it wasn’t like someone was subbing for him. I have asked and am told they have separate pots for gluten free pasta. I didn’t get desperately ill; call it medium sick so I know it’s not like they served me regular pasta. But there must have been some form of definite contamination. Bummer. The thing is, when restaurants go to the trouble of having a gf menu and serving great safe gluten free foods they are providing an important service. People with celiac celebrate birthdays, events, anniversaries, have dates or just get sick of eating at home. There are so few places one can eat dinner out; it would be a shame to no longer go to my once favorite restaurant. It took me six days to get over this moderate illness from my dinner out. Six days of tummy pain and not feeling myself. It is something I take seriously as the problem is not just the pain, it is the damage to my digestive system. It can cause cancer and a whole host of diseases when you get glutened again and again.
So, I want to go over a few basic facts to remind folks who say they serve gf food what that should be like. Maybe that place will read it and take some notes!
Pasta: If you have gf pasta on your menu you need a separate pot for boiling the pasta, separate strainer, separate colander and separate spoons. You can NOT use the same water for gf pasta that you were making regular pasta in. You can not use the same colander or strainer; tiny gummy bits of pasta stick in the holes and it is incredibly difficult to get them completely clean. You can’t use the same baking dishes to make gf baked goods like muffins or cake; the tiny crumbs that remain even after a good washing are a major source of contamination. Twenty parts per million, yes I said Million are considered contaminated food that a person with celiac disease cannot tolerate. We are not exaggerating, we really, really need you to be careful.
Spices and Herbs: You can’t use spice blends as they often have flour in them. But you can use single spices like cinnamon, paprika, ginger, etc. I find much gf menu choices to be incredibly bland and lacking in any spices or herbs. How drab. All fresh herbs are safe, so are typical dried ones like basil, oregano, thyme, sage, etc. Just skip the blends, or make your own, I do. All single McCormack spices are all safely gluten free. I have made gf homemade taco seasoning, garam masala and other blends. Garlic is safe and adds a lot of flavor. Sometimes I am served a bone plain tomato sauce with not a single kind of herb or garlic. That is just not appetizing. For anyone. Why should folks with celiac have to eat drab boring bland food? Shouldn’t!
Misc. Ingredients: You can’t use butter from a common stick or dish; the knife that dips there might have touched regular bread. Not safe for anyone with celiac. You can’t use the same mayo or mustard jar for the same reason.
Meats and more : Avoid meats that are sold in a marinade solution. Ditto for poultry like whole turkeys or chickens. Unless the label says gf don’t get any meat in a marinade as they are more often than not unsafe for someone with celiac.
Misc. Stuff: No regular bread crumbs; they sell gf ones, get some or grind up dry gf bread. The canned broth stores sell is a contamination issue; wheat is in them for some darn reason. But, there are safe brands; find one and stick to it. Or make your own which is far cheaper and there is no real reason for wheat flour in broth.
Okay, Restaurant Chefs: now that I have covered the basics; you know what you need to do. Just stick to these simple rules for cooking your gluten free menu items. And do it every single day you are open. So I don’t get sick again. Plus, you will be rewarded with repeat gluten free customers who tell all their gf friends to come to your place for a safe gluten free meal. I know I share great eating places with others on social media and so do others. Just please make it actually safe if you say it is gluten free on your menu.
I feel like sending a copy of this post to every restaurant within 40 miles of Hellertown. Maybe I will!",1158,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880038.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022195658-20201022225658-00586.warc.gz,0.966777265071869
45059333-a5d3-4aaf-9c9d-a3af9f90f135,2015-03-28T05:42:23+00:00,2015-03-11,1,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk_Sorensen,"|• Kirk F. Sorensen
President and Chief Technologist
• Board of Advisers
Flibe Energy was founded on April 6, 2011 by Kirk Sorensen, former NASA aerospace engineer and formerly chief nuclear technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering, and Kirk Dorius, an intellectual property attorney and mechanical engineer. The name ""Flibe"" comes from FLiBe, a Fluoride salt of Lithium and Beryllium, used in LFTRs. Flibe Energy Incorporated is registered in the State of Delaware. Their advertising slogan is ""LFTR by Flibe Energy, powering the next thousand years""
Small modular reactor design
Presenting at the October 2011 Thorium Energy Conference, Sorensen described how various factors influence design for small modular reactors.
- U-235 and Th-232/U-233 work most efficiently with thermal spectrum neutrons (<1 eV)
- U-238/Pu-239 requires fast spectrum neutrons (>100,000 eV) to sustain breeding
Operating temperature (""Moderate"" defined as 250-350 °C versus ""High"" defined as 700-1000 °C) and pressure (""Atmospheric"" versus ""High"") is related to coolant type; there are four, one for each temperature/pressure combination:
- Water: Moderate Temperature, High Pressure (e.g. B&W mPower, NuScale, Westinghouse, IRIS, KLT-40S)
- Gas: High Temperature, High Pressure (e.g. PBMR, GT-MHR, EM2)
- Liquid Metal: Moderate Temperature, Atmospheric Pressure (e.g. Hyperion, Toshiba 4S, GE PRISM)
- Liquid Salt: High Temperature, Atmospheric Pressure (e.g. LFTR)
Various conclusions about the three fuels and possible reactor types were then drawn:
The main drawback of U-235 is its scarcity. Even so, most currently operating reactors use it in water-cooled reactors. Gas-based concepts (e.g. PBMR, VHTR, GT-MHR) are also feasible.
The liquid metal coolants used are poor neutron moderators, thus such systems strongly favor U-238/Pu-239 usage; adding moderators to enable use with U-235 or Th-232/U-233 would be ""feasible but unattractive"". Conversely, water is a good moderator and this rules out exclusive plutonium breeding in such systems. Gas-cooled systems with U-238/Pu-239 (Gas Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (GCFR) and EM2 concepts) are described as feasible but with difficult fuel processing, while molten salt systems with U-238/Pu-239 (e.g. MSFR) are only ""somewhat feasible.""
He notes that while Th-232/U-233 was used in a water-cooled reactor at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station and a gas-cooled reactor at the Fort St. Vrain Generating Station, thorium dioxide fuel is ""very difficult to process,"" making Th-232/U-233 unattractive for all systems except liquid salt, e.g. where thorium and uranium fluorides are used instead.
In summary, the LFTR thus combines the desirable characteristics of abundant fuel supply, high operating temperature, atmospheric operating pressure and simple fuel processing.
Flibe Energy reactor
|Liquid-Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR)|
|Generation||Generation IV reactor|
|Reactor concept||Thorium-232 fueled, graphite moderated, FLiBe molten salt reactor (MSR)|
|Concept by||Flibe Energy|
|Main parameters of the reactor core|
|Fuel (fissile material)||233U|
|Fuel state||Liquid (FLiBe molten salt)|
|Neutron energy spectrum||Information missing|
|Primary control method||Negative temperature coefficient|
|Primary coolant||Liquid (FLiBe molten salt)|
|Primary use||Generation of electricity|
- The LFTR diagram shown is of a two fluid reactor.
- The Flibe Energy LFTR core will be moderated with ""graphite, we're anticipating"" (see video 4:15-4:35)
- Reactor design emphasizing passive nuclear safety
- Electricity generation is the intended main application, with helium closed-cycle gas turbines operating at a temperature of ~1000 K (727 °C; 1340 °F) for ~50% efficiency
- Initially 20-50 MW (electric); to be followed by 100 MWe ""utility-class reactors"" at a later time Sorensen notes that ""LFTR technology [is] very favorable to scaling. We could scale down to a megawatt, or up to gigawatts.""
- The first LFTR will only be designed to run for about a decade.
- Assembly line construction producing ""mobile units that can be dispersed throughout the country where they need to go to generate the power.""
- Recyclable reactors: at the end of their usable life, LFTR nuclear decommissioning will consist of returning the mobile reactor to the factory for disassembly, reuse of the salts and graphite core and recycling of the rest.
In the 12 May 2011 ""Introduction to Flibe Energy"" with Sorensen and Dorius, an interview of Sorensen from 28 May 2011 and another from 14 July 2011[unreliable source?], the creation of LFTRs was discussed.
""The real challenge will be getting to the first unit."" — Kirk Sorensen
Besides the safety aspect (mentioned above) of a LFTR operating at far less pressure than a typical nuclear reactor, Sorensen expects it to reduce costs: ""That obviates the need for 9 inch steel pressure vessels, and thick concrete containment structures. Everything gets smaller with Thorium and fluoride salts, and that provides a substantial economic benefit.""[unreliable source?]
In a February 2011 interview with Kiki Sanford (two months prior to the founding of Flibe Energy) Sorensen estimated that the production cost of a LFTR (i.e. once research and development has finished), would be on the order of $1–2 per watt, making it competitive with the construction costs of natural gas plants.[unreliable source?]
At its most basic level, the function of a LFTR is to act as a source of thermal energy (colloquially: heat). The ability to harness this energy for useful and interesting work is only limited by the laws of thermodynamics and the imagination. Specific examples of other LFTR applications cited by Sorensen:
- Desalination, the conversion of salt water into fresh water, using the waste heat from electricity generation
- District heating using the waste heat from electricity generation[unreliable source?]
- Hydrogen production by water splitting
- Artificial fixation of nitrogen for fertilizer.[not in citation given][unreliable source?]
- Carbon-neutral synthetic fuel production
In order to achieve its goals, Flibe Energy intends to work with the US Armed Services, which have an independent nuclear regulatory authority. Accelerated military development and demonstration can speed later deployment for civilian power production by providing extended materials and operational data to inform civilian reactor licensing through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Many domestic military installations are dependent on surrounding vulnerable local power grids and the US Army would like its bases to have self-sufficient power generation capability (described as ""base islanding""), which a LFTR could provide. Presenting at the Thorium Energy Conference on 10 October 2011, Sorensen further described how the US military needs a ""remote source of power"" in the form of ""small rugged reactors"" (SRR) ""capable of operating in dangerous and remote areas"" and how Flibe Energy is initially developing a ""SRR LFTR"" to meet that need, as it would be portable and easy to assemble/disassemble, obviating vulnerable refueling convoys.
Four specific difficulties have been mentioned:
- Salts can be corrosive to materials
- Designing for high-temperature operation is more difficult
- There has been little innovation in the field for several decades
- The differences between LFTRs and the light water reactors in majority use today are vast; the former ""is not yet fully understood by regulatory agencies and officials."" (note NRC mention above)
Flibe Energy co-founder Kirk Sorensen has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Utah State University, a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee. He worked at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 2000 to 2010, followed by a year at Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama as Chief Nuclear Technologist until he left to found Flibe Energy in 2011.
Sorensen was written about in the book SuperFuel and appears in the documentaries Thorium Remix 2011, The Thorium Dream as well as being credited in the upcoming ""film about thorium"" titled The Good Reactor.
Sorensen has stated that the principal reason for why Thorium based reactors have not been built is due to corporate interests. General Electric and Westinghouse makes all its profits in the nuclear sector on fuel supply contracts. With a business model overwhelmingly dominated by fuel fabrication, the development of a reactor technology that requires no fabrication of fuel would undermine such a business model.
- Flibe Energy company website
- September 27, 2011 – New Huntsville company to build thorium-based nuclear reactors, Huntsville Newswire
- ""Don't count out nuclear just yet"". CNN.
- .Energy from Thorium, LFTR Technology by Flibe Energy
- Presenting at ThEC2011 and powerpoint file of slides[dead link]
- Note Neutron Yield per Neutron Absorbed graph from MIT OpenCourseWare; to sustain breeding, at least two neutrons (red line) must be released per neutron absorbed.
- Westinghouse SMR
- Westinghouse announces Small Modular Reactor
- Introduction to Flibe Energy: YouTube Video (~20 min) and PDF of slides used
- Energy from Thorium: LFTR Advantages
- Flibe Energy in the UK, Part 4: DECC (9 September 2011 presentation at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change) Note: MW value not specified if thermal or electric in the article, but stated by Sorensen as electric in the comments.
- Could Thorium solve the world's energy problems?
- Kirk Sorensen: Thorium Could Be Our Energy ""Silver Bullet"" MP3 (first 38 min)
- International Energy Outlook 2011 (Released September 19, 2011) Note: ""does not incorporate prospective legislation or policies that might affect energy markets"" and excludes Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster impacts.
- Dr. Robert Hargraves, who is on Flibe Energy's Board of Advisers, lays out a strategy in ""Aim High!"" (Video:  and PDF: ) where factory mass production of 100 MW modular LFTR reactors produce one a day at 200 million dollars each. This approach enables incremental capital outlays, affordability to developing nations and truck transport to the plant site.
- Dr. Kiki's Science Hour 84: The Nuclear Alternative (note cost discussion starting ~29:20)
- TEDxYYC - Kirk Sorensen - Thorium (Calgary, AB, Canada April 1st, 2011)
- Flibe Energy Announces Board of Advisors
- Nuclear Ammonia ""This article is derived from a presentation by Robert Hargraves, Darryl Siemer, and Kirk Sorensen, entitled Nuclear Ammonia: Thorium’s Killer App, presented October 11, 2011, at the iTheo annual meeting at City College of New York.""
- Waldrop, M. M. (2012). ""Nuclear energy: Radical reactors"". Nature 492 (7427): 26–29. doi:10.1038/492026a. PMID 23222589. ""The company is developing a 40-megawatt reactor that might be used on military bases so that they can operate independently of the grid.""
- Sorensen has cited the loss of power to the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville following the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak () as an example.
- Note also Army Energy Program: Vision for Net Zero ""The Army's vision is to appropriately manage our natural resources with a goal of net zero installations. Today the Army faces significant threats to our energy and water supply requirements both home and abroad. Addressing energy security and sustainability is operationally necessary, financially prudent, and essential to mission accomplishment.""
- Sorensen, Kirk. ""Blogger: User Profile: Kirk Sorensen"". Kirk Sorensen. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ""Our Company"". Flibe Energy. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- Sorensen, Kirk. ""Thorium Research in the Manhattan Project Era"". University of Tennessee. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- Doug Caruso (7 March 2010). ""The mighty thorium"". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- Manchester Report: Thorium nuclear power
- Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke
- SuperFuel: Thorium, the Green Energy Source for the Future at Google Books. ISBN 9780230341913
- THORIUM REMIX 2011
- Thorium Remix 2011 at the Internet Movie Database
- Motherboard TV: The Thorium Dream (November, 2011)
- Thorium: World's greatest energy breakthrough? (CNN.com)
- Motherboard TV: The Thorium Dream (YouTube video)
- Cast | The Good Reactor
- Flibe Energy (company website)
- Interview with Kirk Sorensen and Kirk Dorius by Peter Schiff (MP3 starting 1:00) January 2012.
- Kirk Sorensen on Energy from Thorium on YouTube. Sorensen representing Flibe Energy at the Global New Energy Summit; Interview with ICOSA Magazine. April 2012.
- Driving Force Radio - Thorium / Flibe Energy on YouTube. Sorensen and Bryony Worthington, Baroness Worthington discuss ""the progress and advantages of thorium technology"". Interview with ICOSA Magazine. June 2012.
- LFTR Development Strategy on YouTube. Sorensen representing Flibe Energy at the 2013 Thorium Energy Conference. October 2013.",3069,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00184-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.875256717205048
2b8836d4-e799-4744-8637-967439c4df35,2017-08-16T23:41:54+00:00,2015-03-05,1,https://3650daysinthegulag.com/2015/03/05/perm-36-gulag-out-novorossiya-battalions-in/,"Are Urszula and the 18 million other prisoners who suffered in Stalin’s gulags being cleansed from Russian history and replaced by those fighting for independence in Eastern Ukraine? Recent events would suggest that this is what Putin is attempting.
Perm-36 situated in the Ural Mountains is the only surviving gulag which was opened as a museum. In the Stalin era it housed up to 3000 prisoners, but following closure it became a museum in 1996. Now the local authorities have taken back the site from the museum committee and removed all references to Stalin’s crimes. Viktor Shmyrov who was the director, says, “The new authorities have totally changed the content. Now it’s a museum about the camp system, but not about political prisoners. They don’t talk about the repressions or about Stalin.”
He continued, “The takeover by the Perm authorities is less about a rehabilitation of Stalin than a connection with the political situation in the country. We are already seeing the creation of a Stalinist-type state – enormous power is concentrated in the hands of one man. Under President Vladimir Putin there is no need now for repressions – the people have become obedient. The political system is returning to totalitarianism.”
On the other hand a new museum is opening in St. Petersburg dedicated to the nationalist Novorossiya project, the exploits of the pro-Russian separatist battalions in eastern Ukraine. These are based in Donbass and Lugansk.
The term “Novorossiya” is used to refer to territory near the Black Sea, which Russia seized from the Ottoman empire in the 18th century, and has been employed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to stir nationalist sentiments in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.",365,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102757.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816231829-20170817011829-00406.warc.gz,0.964744865894318
186acb04-5120-4217-9566-1ee59128fa38,2022-05-17T23:22:42+00:00,2022-05-17,0,http://www.munromagic.com/Index.cfm?CFID=a59d5331-c1b2-4d11-9ce7-6f3aef80352c&CFTOKEN=0,"The Munros are the highest of Scotland's mountains, 282 mountain tops named after the man who first catalogued them, Sir Hugh Munro. The Munros are among the finest mountains in Scotland.
The Corbetts are the equivalent mountains with altitudes between 2500ft and 3000ft and The Grahams between 2000ft and 2500ft. Whilst smaller in stature many Corbetts and Grahams rival Munros for walking and climbing.
MunroMagic.com is your resource for Munro, Corbett & Graham information. All 282 Munros, 222 Corbetts and 222 Grahams are covered in detail including descriptions, pictures,
location maps, walking routes, weather reports, and many tools to help you find all the mountain information you require.
We support GPS devices by providing downloadable routes in GPX format. You can also upload your GPX tracklogs to automatically complete your log and record a map of your route as part of your log.
Should you choose to become a member, you can participate by submitting images, comments against mountains, new routes, and route reviews.
Additionally you can record the mountains you have climbed in your own log, including date, time and your notes.
To get started try searching using one of the options to the right. You can also choose to view a directory of the all the Munros, Corbetts, Grahams or similar mountains in England & Wales.",290,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520936.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517225809-20220518015809-00610.warc.gz,0.938872575759888
8601d3c8-abde-410c-9f2c-e056be74b4c5,2017-08-20T23:05:53+00:00,2014-09-29,0,http://wenn-experiences.blogspot.com/2014/09/life-without-wifi.html,"Life without wifi
Last Friday while I was at work in the evening, there was thundering. I feared such loud thundering as I had experienced many times whereby my tv, desktop, modems and phones got struck by lightnings.
Upon the first thunder, I quickly called my girl to pull off the modem wire but I guess I was too late. A loud thunder struck again. I had foreseen the worst.
When I reached home after work at 10pm, my girl shouted that the line was dead. I knew it! But I was alright as I could pay for my maxis mobile internet. I had to pay RM2 daily until today.
I called 100. TM answered and the telephonist told me that he would send my report as soon as possible. Our phone line was dead and was not restored even after a day. I call TM again. This time I was told that my area cable was destructed and time was needed to get them sorted out. I had to give them time till yesterday.
Yet yesterday my phone line was still dead. Impatiently I called TM for the third time. I insisted that the technician to work on the problem speedily. I had to wait for a few days, I was told to be patient.
When I got back home for a break in the evening yesterday, two TM guys appeared at my door. One of them checked my connection items and he found out that my modem wire, the splitter and my phone were gone for good.
Finally all were restored and we are back to wifi. My girl was so relieved as finally she could finish up her assignment.",336,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106996.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820223702-20170821003702-00427.warc.gz,0.99507063627243
f673f044-799b-48a1-bde5-cee754db4a63,2022-05-29T01:45:43+00:00,2021-10-01,1,https://femalestartupclub.buzzsprout.com/725862/9670898,"Today on the show we are learning from Ariel Kaye, the founder of PARACHUTE.
PARACHUTE is a modern lifestyle brand committed to making you feel at home. Founded in 2014, it began as an online-only, direct-to-consumer brand with a curated assortment of impeccable bedding products. They've since expanded their product offerings into many areas of the home - including bath essentials, baby, rugs, even a mattress.
Today they have 9 brick-and-mortar retail around the US and plans to expand into more than 30 by the end of next year. In this ep we’re chatting through those first few years of building this business, an early mistake she made on getting started and the channels you might not have considered that are working well today.
LINKS WE MENTION:
Female Startup Club's Instagram
In partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for ecommerce businesses.
Female Startup Club's YouTube
Female Startup Club’s Private Facebook Group
Say hello to Doone: email@example.com",252,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00421.warc.gz,0.954770505428314
97024612-d718-4e08-b097-b380afc71867,2017-08-20T17:45:08+00:00,2016-03-04,1,http://ca.reuters.com/article/canadaSportsNews/idCAKCN0W708P,"SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The two biggest tours in men's and women's golf have opened up the possibility of holding joint tournaments in the near future after the PGA and LPGA formalized a long-term strategic alliance agreement on Friday.
""From our collaboration in bringing golf back as an Olympic sport... to our cooperation in helping to grow the game of golf, our organizations have had a long history of working together for the common good of our sport,"" PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.
The partnership between the United States-based tours covers schedule coordination, joint marketing programs, domestic television representation, digital media and exploring the potential development of joint events, the latter already being explored by their European equivalents.
""Extending our relationship with the LPGA into these new areas is a natural extension of this work and collaboration,"" Finchem added.
Last year, the European Tour and Ladies European Tour announced that they will stage events together at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco in May, with the women playing the Lalla Meryem Cup on the Blue Course and the men playing the Trophee Hassan II on the Red Course.
""We didn't set dates and specific objectives because doing that would have underplayed the potential,"" LPGA commissioner Mike Whan added.
""I can't tell you exactly what is going to come from each of these areas, what I can tell you without any hesitation is that each of four or five areas that we are working on will all be better than they were before we got together to collaborate.""
The PGA and LPGA added that the agreement involves no formal financial investment or transfer of ownership or control, and that both parties remain wholly separate and independent organizations.
Reporting by John O'Brien; editing by Sudipto Ganguly",373,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106865.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820170023-20170820190023-00566.warc.gz,0.969548344612122
bf366a61-b8ff-4f96-b745-b9f843e9856e,2013-06-18T22:31:05+00:00,2013-06-18,1,http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=21872,"OMA, SADI, YRG, SWA, Inhabit and AECOM win Essence Financial Building in Shenzhen
OMA has released proposals for a new office tower in one of China’s most rapidly developing cities: Shenzhen. The firm has presented its latest concept as a break away from conventional design in the region, its press release determining: “Populated by a range of office towers of different generations, the city is ready for the next leap forward from a manufacturing city into a services hub. As one of China’s fastest growing services and business centres, Shenzhen is the perfect context to question and challenge the many conventions that govern the design of office towers.”
Instead of locating the core in the centre of the building, the architects have shifted it to the side in order to offer tenants a range of floorplates which can greater maximise their productivity. These unobstructed plans will enable effective communication and ultimate flexibility across the office floor. Externally the design incorporates shaded recreation space for users of the building while higher up the building will be a viewing platform which overlooks the nearby Shenzhen Golf Club.
Gradated windows on the south facade increase in size towards the base of the tower in relation to the decrease of sunlight penetration while the east and west facades have fewer windows all together. The Essence Financial Building is connected on several sides to nearby transport systems with Fuhua First Road to the north and Futian Metro Station and Shopping Park Metro Station also in close proximity.
Partners David Gianotten and Rem Koolhaas led the OMA team with SADI, YRG, SWA, Inhabit and AECOM to win the scheme. Gianotten commented: “OMA is very excited about its continuous and deepening participation in Shenzhen’s development, especially as the city makes its latest evolution: from a manufacturing city in a services hub. This next generation of urbanism calls for a new generation of office towers, of which the Essence Financial Building could be one.”",419,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948046863079071
7bc7ba4d-ee1d-42c3-bba6-6293e5006121,2022-05-23T20:29:19+00:00,2022-03-15,0,https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-midfield-tielemans-maddison-ndidi-6808911,"It was not so long ago that Leicester City’s midfield picked itself.
Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans would sit deep, the former disrupting the opposition’s attacks, the latter dictating play when City were in possession. James Maddison would then be in the number 10 role, making himself an option to receive forward balls and then play it to the striker and wingers advancing into dangerous areas.
They are three of City’s best players, and they were able to take up positions where they could best show off their particular skillset. It was part of what made City so successful last season.
But now, that shape has been dispensed with. Instead of two deep-lying midfielders and one behind the striker, Brendan Rodgers is picking one man at the base with two box-to-box number eights ahead of them. Not only does it mean that Ndidi, Tielemans, and Maddison are all playing in a role that does not suit them perfectly, but it means the latter pair are competing for one position. All of a sudden, City’s midfield has become a significant battleground for places.
It seems, on paper, an idea lacking in sense. Why disrupt three of the club’s best players, particularly one in Maddison who is in the form of his career? It’s for the benefit of the team.
The last time the trio started together in this shape was Randers away, and although City won, Rodgers was not happy with the performance. If not for the heroics of Kasper Schmeichel, nor two brilliant strikes by Maddison, City would have suffered a humiliating defeat to the Danish minnows, who created a flurry of chances.
Rodgers felt the problem was the lack of pressure on the ball higher up the field, and so he switched to a system that helped with that. Since, City have mostly put in better performances, and have certainly looked more solid defensively.
That is partly because of the personnel changes that have come with the system tweak. Marc Albrighton has enjoyed his longest run in the starting line-up for more than four years thanks to his hard-working nature, while it has brought the best out of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who has the best set of lungs in the squad and who is ideal for the left-sided box-to-box role, the academy graduate able to get forward to press, get back to help out his defence, and get quick passes to Harvey Barnes, something that has helped the winger find his best form of the season.
Dewsbury-Hall’s qualities make him integral to the current system’s success, in turn making him practically undroppable. That, in effect, leaves Rodgers with a choice between Tielemans and Maddison for a position they are not at their best in.
Tielemans is better when played deeper, with more of the game in front of him, enabling him to take on possession more readily and get the ball moving forward. As a number eight, he can get lost amid the sea of bodies in the centre of the park, while it also tests his ability to get up and down the pitch.
For Maddison, he appears most at home as a number 10. While his defensive work isn’t bad – he isn’t afraid to get stuck in or put himself about – a greater focus on getting forward and back stifles his best attributes, which are finding space in the pockets, shimmying past his marker, and either scoring or providing a killer pass from just outside the box. It also stops him showing off the well-timed runs into the penalty area that he added to his game last season and that saw him increase his goal tally.
For Rodgers, Tielemans, and Maddison, these are not new problems. In fact, in the manager’s first full campaign, he started with this midfield set-up, and the same discussions were had then. It seemed neither player was as effective as they could be until Rodgers changed to a 4-2-3-1, with Tielemans deeper and Maddison as a number 10, later that term.
Mostly, it’s been Tielemans getting the nod over Maddison. The England international has only started one of City’s last seven games in a central role, in the weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal when Tielemans was rested. Otherwise, he’s been on the bench or on the right wing.
Rodgers does believe the number eight role is one Maddison can operate in though, saying: “In that structure, he can play as a high eight. You have a control player and then two advanced ones, or he can play off the side. My concentration is the team, that’s the key message, we have to pick a team that isn’t just for the best players.”
At the base, there is Ndidi, which while it is the best position for him, as the only deeper player there are more jobs for him to do. While protecting the back four by making tackles and interceptions is what he excels at, as the sole deep-lying midfielder, he has to show himself for the ball more often to give the centre-backs an outlet, and there is a greater onus on him providing progressive passes from deep without Tielemans there to do the job.
That is where Papy Mendy could enjoy yet another renaissance at City. He was not even in the Premier League squad for the first half of the season, but has now returned, and having played at the base of a similarly-organised midfield trio for Senegal in their victorious Africa Cup of Nations campaign, in which he made the team of the tournament, he was handed his first start of the season at the Emirates Stadium.
While he does not possess the telescopic legs of Ndidi, which help him pinch the ball and allow him to leap for set-pieces, Mendy is a more assured operator on the ball. His 97 per cent pass completion rate at Arsenal was higher than Ndidi has managed for any game this season.
It poses an interesting question. Do the benefits of Mendy’s ball-playing outweigh the benefits of Ndidi’s greater protection for the back four? The scales always feel likely to tip the way of the safer option in Ndidi, but more opportunities for Mendy should be expected
That is especially as the Senegalese has overtaken Boubakary Soumare in the pecking order. The summer signing has found himself out of the squad completely in recent weeks and it’s a lack of mobility and energy that has cost him.
He has not responded to the quicker pace of the game in the Premier League compared to Ligue 1, and that has seen Rodgers turn to other players. Plans to make Soumare a box-to-box midfielder, rather than a deep-lying ball-player, are on hold.
In fact, those plans may have been given up on completely, as it’s understood that a new number eight is one of the players Rodgers wants as part of his summer refresh when the transfer window comes around. That suggests this system is here to stay, and that Tielemans is on his way out, with the Belgian only having a year left on his contract.
It may also be good news for Hamza Choudhury, whose energy saw him playing regularly in a number eight position when Rodgers first arrived. He has been close to leaving in the past few windows, but this formation may give him a route back into the team, as do his recent outings in the back four.
Get your free William Hill shop bet free and special Cheltenham Festival pull-out with your Leicester Mercury every day from Tuesday to Friday this week. Follow this link for more details
All in all, a lot has changed in City’s midfield over recent weeks, putting previously-established names under pressure for their spots, and allowing fringe players fresh opportunities. It may be a sign of things to come as Rodgers looks towards his “healthy shake-up” in the summer.",1709,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00427.warc.gz,0.982158660888672
b58d4f9e-5149-405e-8ba4-b10d77661921,2020-10-24T09:48:18+00:00,2020-09-30,1,https://newsd.in/pak-violates-ceasefire-on-loc-for-7th-straight-day/,"Jammu, Sep 30 (IANS) Pakistan continued to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district for the seventh consecutive day on Wednesday.
Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Devender Anand said that at about 6.45 p.m., Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars along the LoC in Mankote sector in Poonch district.
“The Indian army retaliated befittingly,” the spokesman said.
The attacks were the seventh consecutive ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in Poonch district.
Since the beginning of this year, Pakistan has been continuously violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement signed by the two countries in 1999.
As many as 24 civilians have been killed and over 100 injured in more than 3,186 ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC since January 2020.",191,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882103.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024080855-20201024110855-00103.warc.gz,0.973004639148712
e7d2fbac-6d73-4bf4-a198-e6ce1f6eb328,2015-03-27T17:56:19+00:00,2013-01-18,0,http://www.houstonpress.com/2012-06-14/calendar/the-uncontrollable-nature-of-grief-and-forgiveness-or-lack-of/,"Beyond text, in her exploration of grief and forgiveness, Kelley primarily employs materials that seem to be pulled straight from a junkyard. Pieces of wood have random hinges and spools of rubber have even tracked in leaves. The rubber takes on various forms throughout the space, most prominently as three rubbery specters that cascade from the ceiling, with teal picture frames jutting out at odd angles. Attesting to their haunting quality, Kelley calls these ""monsters in the attic.""
Floating planks of wood also play a starring role, suspended from the middle of the ceiling in a slight spiral shape like a bridge to nowhere. They look like thin fragments of doors, with doorknobs still attached. Other planks of reclaimed wood are used to create an impractical, wildly out-of-proportion chair. It even leans against the wall, discarded for its impracticality.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Jan. 18. Continues through March 8, 2013",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00208-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94613653421402
b88b3d74-bd10-4e5f-9ce3-bd72eee271b6,2015-03-30T02:18:52+00:00,2013-07-12,1,http://newsok.com/hundreds-of-new-charges-filed-in-us-kidnap-case/article/feed/565338/?page=1,"COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The litany of charges against a Cleveland man outline in numbing detail the crimes his victims allegedly suffered over 10 years of imprisonment: August 2002, kidnapping. September 2004, kidnapping. November 2006, aggravated murder.
Christmas Day 2006, rape.
A new 977-count indictment filed Friday provides a painful look at what prosecutors say was a decade of captivity for three women in suspect Ariel Castro's home in a rough Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood. Among the most serious charges: that he caused the death of one of his victims' fetuses by punching and starving her.
Among the most haunting: that he assaulted the women throughout their captivity, causing psychological harm to them and to the daughter he fathered with one of them through assault. And in another newly unveiled accusation, the indictment also alleges that on the same day that the child was born, Christmas of 2006, Castro raped one of the other women, who had helped deliver the baby.
""Today's indictment moves us closer to resolution of this gruesome case,"" Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty said in a statement.
Castro, 53, is accused of kidnapping the three women and holding them captive — sometimes restrained in chains — along with the 6-year-old girl he fathered.
He is charged with two counts of aggravated murder related to one act, saying he purposely caused the unlawful termination of the pregnancy of one of the women. The new, 576-page indictment also charges him with 512 counts of kidnapping, 446 counts of rape, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, six counts of felonious assault, three counts of child endangerment and one count of possessing criminal tools.
Authorities say the filing covers the entire period that the women were imprisoned, from 2002 until May of this year, superseding an earlier indictment that listed accusations for only some of the years. The indictment does not include charges that could carry a death sentence, but McGinty said he is still reserving that option. Castro will be arraigned on the new charges Wednesday. He is scheduled for trial Aug. 5.
Castro pleaded not guilty to the earlier indictment of 329 counts. A message was left with his attorney Friday seeking comment on the new charges. His legal team has hinted Castro would plead guilty if the death penalty was off the table.
A communications firm representing the women said they would not comment. The women released a three-minute video this week thanking the community for its support.
News that the women had been found alive electrified the Cleveland area, where two of the victims were household names after years of searches, publicity and vigils. But elation soon turned to shock as allegations about their treatment began to emerge.
Continue reading this story on the...",565,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298889.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00001-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974715411663055
b9998ddc-c2fc-4735-be27-152136cbdc21,2020-10-28T20:06:31+00:00,2015-09-29,1,https://www.thebookseller.com/news/young-people-prefer-print-e-books-313321,"Print is still more popular than e-books amongst readers aged 16-24, although teenagers are more likely to read e-books than their older counterparts, according to the results of a survey carried out for The Bookseller Children’s Conference.
Luke Mitchell carried out the survey to mark the launch of ‘SYN: State of the Youth Nation’, a new research tool from market research company YouthSight.
Out of 1,000 respondents aged 16-24, 64% said they preferred print books, 16% said e-books, and 20% said they didn’t mind.
When asked how often they read e-books, 32% said they never read e-books, 35% said once a month or less, 8% said once a week or less, and 7% said more than once a week.
However, the respondents aged 16-19 are more likely to read e-books than the 20-24s, because 14% of the younger group read e-books at least once a month, compared to only 7% of the older respondents.
The 16-19s are also less likely to have a preference for either print or e-books, with 23% of that group saying they are agnostic about format. Less than a fifth of the older group said they didn’t have a preference.
The younger age group were also more likely to say they don’t read any books (23%) than the older group (16%).
When it comes to electronic reading devices, nearly half of all of those surveyed (43%) said they read using their smartphones. The next most popular device was a Kindle, used by 34%, then iPad (27%), laptop (23%), other tablet (19%), desktop computer (3%).
The majority (64%) said less than £3 is the right price for an e-book, whilst 26% said they would be willing to pay between £3 and £5.
One respondent said: “E-books should not cost the same as a print book. Sometimes print books are cheaper than their electronic equivalents!”
Picture: Rolf Marriott
- Nearly three quarters of young people prefer print
- Print dominates but e-books growing for kids
- Early Digital Census results reveal growth in print and e-book sales
- Young people who engage less with reading prefer screens, says NLT report
- Adults and teenagers still prefer print books to e-books, WBD survey says",512,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107900860.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028191655-20201028221655-00446.warc.gz,0.964745819568634
afb71a40-fe03-4c73-91cc-8796d16fe90c,2016-07-27T21:15:36+00:00,2013-04-24,1,http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_23051145/second-phase-san-antonio-shopping-center-draws-mixed,"The second phase of a project to dramatically overhaul Mountain View's 50-year-old San Antonio Shopping Center is drawing mixed reviews from elected officials and residents alike.
On Tuesday night, the city council held a nearly two-hour study session on Merlone Geier Partners' plans for a 9.9-acre section near the corner of San Antonio Road and California Street.
The developer is looking to build 377,000 square feet of office space; 100,000 square feet of commercial, retail and restaurant space; a 53,000-square-foot cinema; and a 165-room hotel. The tallest of the six multi-story buildings would stand 87 feet, according to a city staff report.
For the most part, council members said they liked the mix of uses, but disagreed about whether there was too much office space.
""This is not a regional shopping center,"" said Council Member Ronit Bryant. ""This is offices, restaurants and a movie theater. I'm concerned about how much retail we have, how small the retail will be, if it will be there at all.""
Council Member Jac Siegel pointed to cyclical fluctuations in the market as one reason the developer should dial back the amount of office space.
""I'm OK with some office space there. I just don't think it should be the dominate feature,"" Siegel said.
However, Council Member Margaret Abe Koga said the proposed office space will likely be critical to the financial success of the project. She said other shopping centers like Santana Row are exploring the possibility of building office space on parking lots to help break even.
""I think we have to be mindful of the economic viability of these projects,"" Abe Koga said.
Abe Koga also threw her support behind the cutting-edge 8-screen cinema proposed by Merlone Geier. Patrons would be able to order food and eat while watching the latest from Hollywood. Some council members, including John McAlister, wondered whether the sound of people noshing would be distracting.
""This is the trend,"" Abe Koga said. ""If we want to be with the times, frankly, I think we have to allow for these types of businesses to come and try it out. Why not of all places Mountain View, where we're so cutting edge on so many other things? Shouldn't we be open to these new types of businesses?""
Although mixed on the office space, council members were in agreement that the architecture needed softening. Council Member Mike Kasperzak, for one, called it ""starkly modern"" and suggested that the developer's architect, RTKL, take a cue from the Fenwick & West LLP building at 801 California St.
Siegel agreed: ""I would like to see something more Mountain View-ish.""
The architecture was also panned by some residents who spoke at the meeting Tuesday night.
""We local residents want to have a suburban downtown feel with California Street being the Main Street and a variety of styles of human-scale buildings, a variety of price points and lots of open space,"" said Paul Edwards, vice president of the Greater San Antonio Community Association. ""This does not feel like that. This architecture doesn't fit with anything else in that area.""
But 37-year Mountain View resident Harris Ginyard predicted that it would stand the test of time.
""I think that it's way past time for a new fresh development,"" Ginyard said. ""This is an award winner.""
The integration of existing retail into the project was another point of agreement for members of the city council.
""I would like to make sure that our small businesses are still looked after and protected in there,"" McAlister said. ""As a small business owner, I constantly see developers coming along and taking away our retail space or making it much more expensive.""
Mayor John Inks did not participate in the study session as an elected official because of a conflict of interest, but he voiced his support for the project as a resident who lives in the area.
""At this point, I think Phase II is headed in the right direction,"" Inks said. ""There is no reason for a redesign.""
The first phase of the project is under way and will feature a new Safeway, a 350-unit apartment complex and several retail stores, including a Jared's Jewelers and Sleep Number Beds.",903,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00039-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974219083786011
6fee35ad-ae85-43ec-b57b-b3367be6f892,2017-08-17T06:09:15+00:00,2007-06-26,1,http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com/2007/06/audio-crossing-line-gets-reports-from.html,"Electronic Intifada, June 26 2007
This week on Crossing The Line, as the crisis in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp enters its fifth week, host Chris Brown gets two reports from correspondents Dr. Marcy Newman and Sharif Bibi who are in Lebanon working with Palestinian refugees from Nahr al-Bared.
Brown also speaks with Kathryn Webber, a student leader at DePaul University who is part of an ongoing protest to rescind the tenure denial of Professor Norman G. Finkelstein. And finally Paul Larudee from the International Solidarity Movement talks about the Free Gaza Movement which is an action set to test Israel's sea-occupation of the Gaza Strip by internationals who will attempt to sail to the Gaza Strip from Cyprus in August 2007.
Listen Now [MP3 - 41.6 MB, 45:23 min]",176,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00240.warc.gz,0.922896921634674
2ba87a05-d227-4df9-ae6d-7f5a61032ce2,2013-05-23T04:42:20+00:00,2012-12-31,0,http://pistonsforum.com/threads/phoenix-4pm-december-31.2900/page-3,"Delfino took the 3 coming out from a timeout if i'm not mistaken. He missed and it lead to a 3 point play by Nash and it pretty much close out the game. Did i mention timeout? Is it a play that was drawn out by the coach? From the play, it was not. There were no plays drawn out for that possession. Coming out from a timeout, it should have a better drawn play. I put this loss on the coach.",95,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.991068959236145
75067fbd-79a8-49a6-bda9-d21618cf8224,2016-07-30T22:29:31+00:00,2012-10-02,1,https://educationstormfront.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/why-self-driving-cars-matter-to-education/,"When I first started this blog, I had a simple idea. I wanted to know what effect technology will likely have on the school system in the future.
While I don’t yet have a full answer, I have made some progress in many areas. One realization I came to was you can’t consider the education system on it’s own. Instead you have to look at it in the context of society itself. As much as schools have been insulated from societal changes so far, I don’t think that immunity will survive the massive disruptive changes heading our way. I call these changes the Stormfront.
On the the technologies I have been following is self driving cars. (see Implications of Self Driving Cars.) I came across this interview with Sergei Brin, one of the founders of Google (who are pioneering self driving cars). In the interview Mr. Brin talks about how he thinks self driving cars will be practical and available in about 5 years. This tracks with what I believe. In fact, when I purchased my current car, I told everyone that my next one would drive itself.
A technology like this doesn’t seem like it would affect education but it certainly will. First, self driving cars will have much better and faster reflexes than humans so they should be much safer. This will cut down on the amount of wasted resources in terms of medical and direct financial costs of traffic accidents. Also, since the cars will be able to drive much closer together safely, you don’t need as many highways. More resources will then be freed up. Obviously some of these resources can be directed towards education.
In a more direct sense, school kids can take a self driving car to school, not a school bus. This means they don’t have to get up as early. They will then get more sleep which studies have shown has a big impact on learning. Then you have all the money spent on the 144,000 school busses the school system has to maintain. All that money can be redirected into the classroom.
Adult education will greatly increase too. Many people currently spend over an hour each day in the car just driving to and from work. Imagine if they could use that time more productively like taking an online class. There are something like 130 million people in the US workforce. Let’s assume half of them commute each day. Let’s also assume they spend 30 minutes a day average. That’s 32.5 million hours a day of learning that could be happening. That much demand would change the whole industry.
So you see, education doesn’t exist in a vacuum. I will keep bringing these outlying technologies to you and try to broaden your horizons in education possibilities.
There is a video on the page linked below.
- Self-driving cars a reality for ‘ordinary people’ within 5 years, says Google’s Sergey Brin – Computerworld
Google is known for setting ambitious targets for itself, and it’s apparently making no exception for self-driving cars. Such “autonomous vehicles” will be a reality for “ordinary people” in less than five years, Google CEO Sergey Brin said on Tuesday.
He also said he thinks autonomous cars will be “far safer” than those driven by humans, and he envisioned a world in which office parking lots become a thing of the past, with cars instead dropping off their owners and driving off to park themselves somewhere else.
“We’re stepping on the accelerator when it comes to the Google car,” Padilla said at the event.
Brin thinks the benefits will outweigh other concerns. Self-driving cars will be more fuel-efficient, lead to less accidents, and open doors to blind people and others who are “under-served by the current transportation system,” he said.",804,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258943369.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072903-00303-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969213485717773
191e3849-fbfe-4591-85f5-be3bccffd032,2022-05-24T12:29:32+00:00,2022-02-11,1,https://www.youthlinesf.org/single-post/bidens-plan,"On Friday, Joe Biden has signed an order to free $7 billion in Afghan assets now Frozen in the United States, splitting the money between the Humanitarian aid for poverty stricken Afghanistan and a fund for September 11 victims seeking relief for the terror attacks that killed thousands and shocked the world ultimately. No money would immediately be released, but the president has ordered calls for banks to provide 3.5 Billion of the frozen amount to a trust fund for distribution through Humanitarian groups for Afghan relief and basic needs. The Other 3.5 Billion would stay in the U.S. to finance payments from lawsuits by U.S. victims of terrorism that are still working their way through the courts. International Funding to Afghanistan was suspended, and billions of dollars of the country's assets abroad, mainly in the United, after the Taliban took control of the country in August as the U.S. military withdrew its military forces. Biden plans to resolve this complex situation in which the U.S. is sitting on billions of owned by a country that has no government. Afghanistan still has had problems with its economy since the Taliban takeover. Nearly 80% of the previous government budget came from the international community. The money has been cut off from financed hospitals, schools, factories, and government ministries, desperation for such necessities has increased due to the underlying Pandemic of COVID-19 and malnutrition. Doctors, Teachers, and even civil servants have not been paid in months since bank holders have been restricted how much money they can withdraw. The Biden administration effectively confiscates financial reserves where money usually belongs to ordinary Afghanistan to split it between 9.11 victims and humanitarian aid contractors. This is terrible news as afghan people who were not even related to the 9.11 attacks are punished by their money split when a current financial crisis exists in the country. What do you think? Is the split justifiable? Or do you think this is unfair?",389,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662572800.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524110236-20220524140236-00409.warc.gz,0.97794497013092
06f65205-d521-43f5-9ee0-a2e27700d025,2015-04-01T10:41:28+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.partstrain.com/ShopByVehicle/PONTIAC,"Even General Motors didn't expect that Pontiac would be of the most successful brands it has ever created. Since its inception in 1926, this marque captured the hearts of driving enthusiasts like you who desire mainstream performance vehicles. Besides it speed capacity, this car also provides excellent handling and fine ride quality. On top of that, its Pontiac accessories are well-designed enhancing the over-all look of the car. However great your ride is, its Pontiac parts and accessories are still susceptible to wear and tear, which will likely lead to its premature failure. If anything goes wrong with, let's say, your internal combustion engine, your ride won't be able to yield enough horsepower and torque to make your vehicle run. And if one of its brake components starts to break down, your safety is put at risk. So as a responsible owner, always keep in mind that auto maintenance must be strictly and regularly done in order to avoid such daunting repair tasks and expensive mechanic's bill.
While there are about thousands of replacement parts for Pontiac sold in the automotive market today, you'll find that most of them are just run-of-the-mill stocks that will only last temporarily in your vehicle. What's worse, these sham parts can actually cause damage to the other components of your ride, and that can cost you a huge sum of money for repair. So just to be safe and practical, make sure that you choose Pontiac accessories and parts that meet, and even exceed, the standards of your vehicle, meaning they must be thoroughly tested and had passed the qualifications of your Pontiac. More importantly, they must be specifically designed to directly fit into your vehicle so that you won't have to do any tedious adjustments. Once they are installed, you can have a sigh of relief knowing that your precious ride is saved and can now deliver at its optimum efficiency again.
So if you're not yet completely equipped with Pontiac parts and accessories, don't waste a single minute and order one right now. We at Parts train have a wide selection of high-quality Pontiac accessories and parts that best suit your Pontiac. Just head over our catalog and type the name of the items you need. When you're done selecting, add the stuff to your cart. Don't worry about the budget. We know times are tough nowadays-that's why all of our products come with very low price tags! What a great offer, right? We also offer shipping and other services to make your shopping more fun and convenient. . And if you need any help with your shopping, don't hesitate to dial our customer service hotline. Our lines are open 24/7. You'll never get any better deal from anywhere else, so go ahead and shop here at Parts Train today!",558,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00194-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96774411201477
7e85270a-afd0-4698-b232-3bbcb40cea59,2020-10-24T20:21:11+00:00,2020-10-24,0,https://wizbangit.com.au/(X(1)S(biedbwcsobe01gmiifawpkdg))/Web,"Websites can range from the very simple to the very complex. They can contain content which rarely changes, or content which requires constant updates, additions or deletions. It may be an e-commerce website that requires shopping cart technology, or a website capable of processing complex line of business functionality.
All websites have a number of things in common. They require the following in order to be accessible by the public:
- Domain Name Registration - This is what your website is called (eg. www.yourwebsite.com.au)
- Domain hosting - this is where your website lives
- DNS hosting - this is how the web knows where to look for your website when someone types your web address into their browser. It marries the domain name with the web host.
WIZBANG IT has selected the best providers to partner with in order to be able to provide all of these making it a one-stop shop for your business.",194,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107884755.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024194049-20201024224049-00203.warc.gz,0.942094624042511
623f7be9-8b21-4f6b-a6ba-3a0b64882ce9,2016-07-29T06:12:15+00:00,2014-01-16,1,http://www.itv.com/news/granada/update/2014-01-16/council-statement-on-syrian-chemicals-at-ellesmere-port/,"Cheshire West and Chester Council has released a statement following the announcement that Syrian chemicals will be destroyed at a plant in Ellesmere Port.
The council says the chemicals are not weapons, and contain no explosives.
Councillor Lynn Riley said:
“We have asked Veolia whether we can have a list of such chemicals for disposal so that we can independently have those reviewed by Health Protection England to satisfy ourselves that the materials will provide no increased risk to the public.
“I understand that any treatment of such chemicals will not take place until the end of February which will provide us sufficient time, once aware of the materials themselves, to seek the expert observations of independent Health Protection Specialists.”
More top news
HS2 must be scrapped says the TaxPayers' Alliance. They say it could cost almost £90 billion and is unlikely to be completed on time. .
Businesses in Chester are staying open later on Thursdays throughout the summer to encourage people to shop and eat out after work.
Fire crews performed a nutty animal rescue when an injured squirrel got trapped in a car dashboard.",229,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00166-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965649604797363
ab23d61b-e41f-4be1-8103-22657c820b85,2019-08-19T08:55:55+00:00,2019-08-19,0,https://parkwayhomes.com.au/knock-down-rebuild/,"Knock Down Rebuild
Knock Down Rebuild in Melbourne
Knock down rebuild is by far the largest growing sector of home construction in Melbourne’s Bayside, Eastern suburbs and Mornington Peninsula. The sharp rise in land values over the last few years has meant that holding onto your current address and starting with a brand new home are beginning to become financially viable. And saves you the hassle of having to secure a new property when a new house is desired.
Here are the top three reasons why knock down rebuild is coming into vogue:
Get that new home feeling
Imagine the feeling of designing and building your new home, with all of the fixtures and fittings you desire; absolutely no compromises. With the shortage of land available, you may need to move to Pakenham to get it.
When it comes to living where you want to live, you’ll most probably have to buy existing. Often when you buy existing or try to renovate the place you’re currently living in, there are still large sacrifices to be made because the house was designed by somebody other than you. Move into your dream home and start living the lifestyle you want, now.
It can be cheaper than renovating
When it comes to renovating, often there are hidden faults or defects that are only discovered once the work commences. This is a sure fire way to blow the budget on your ‘small renovation’. When all is said and done, renovating could cost as much as a knock down and rebuild, but you’ll still be living in an old home with compromises on design.
Live where you want to ‘live’
With knock down rebuild, you can live where you actually want to live. You can achieve this by knocking down your current place of residence (in that neighbourhood you love and grew up in). Or you can buy an existing property thats seen better days and turn it into your dream home.
Talk to us today about your knock down rebuild dreams. We’re specialists in this field and we can assist with the entire process, end-to-end. From dealing with your local council and submitting permits, to the actual knock down and then the construction of your new home.",460,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314696.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819073232-20190819095232-00263.warc.gz,0.954101741313934
8487f4c5-9e5c-4cdb-93e6-dae09fbaed49,2017-08-21T20:26:46+00:00,2017-06-02,1,http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-bloomberg-paris-agreement-coalition-2017-6?r=UK&IR=T,"Thirty cities, three states, more than 80 university presidents, and more than 100 companies are part of a growing group intending to uphold the Paris Agreement, the climate-change accord that President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the US would be exiting.
The group is being organized by the billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg.
The coalition plans to submit a plan to the United Nations that commits to greenhouse-gas limits set in the Paris Agreement, according to The New York Times. It is negotiating with the UN to form its own National Determined Contribution — a set of emissions standards for each participating nation under the Paris Agreement — that is accepted alongside the other countries in the accord.
The Paris Agreement, reached in 2015, aims to curb climate change before the global average temperature reaches a point that scientists say would have catastrophic and irreversible effects on the planet.
Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, now serves as the UN secretary-general's special envoy for cities and climate change. On Friday, Bloomberg Philanthropies, his charitable organization, also pledged to donate approximately $15 million over two years to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Under Trump's budget, the UN stands to lose $2 billion in funding toward climate-change action programs by leaving the Paris Agreement.
""The strong consensus among scientists is that the climate is changing due to pollution from human activity. The timing and magnitude of the changes are harder to pin down, but we cannot stick our heads in the sand and ignore the risks they present, especially when we’re already seeing the effects all around us – whether they’re measured in rising sea levels, or depleting coral reefs, or the number of children with asthma,"" Bloomberg said in a press release.
""Prevention is the best medicine – and the overwhelming majority of Americans believe we should be taking action on climate change. The U.S. is the world’s second largest contributor of greenhouse gases, so we have a particular responsibility to lead – and it’s in our own interest to do so, because if we don’t, we will pay for it in worse health, lost jobs, and a weaker economy.""
Only two countries — Nicaragua and Syria — are not part of the Paris accord. After Trump announced that the US would begin its exit, he called the agreement ""a massive redistribution of United States wealth to other countries.""
The new coalition says it will do whatever it takes to maintain the US's role in the accord, aiming to reduce national emissions 26% below 2005 levels by 2025.
""Americans will honor and fulfill the Paris Agreement by leading from the bottom up — and there isn't anything Washington can do to stop us,"" Bloomberg said in a press release.",555,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00501.warc.gz,0.942993462085724
fcc00d97-928f-441b-bbed-8442924a317a,2022-05-26T20:10:46+00:00,2022-05-26,0,https://www.atomgood.com/do-i-report-a-designer-watches-fake-bentley-cromagum/,"Beautiful screwed sound decoration with blue scr. In 1989, PATEK Philip has developed some professional tapes, including REF, celebrating his 150-year-old sales experien. It is not easy to attack the balance between cooperation and certain. Delicate mechanisms are quite complex syste. Beautiful case and light are suitable for everyo. Since the 1970s, Piaget started production of aaa replica jewelry such as decorative shoes, handcuffs, coins, and various desig. There is an impact function, deterioration, and ultraviolet light protection, such as durability and stable tape and waterproof fake rolex rubber materi.
This information indicates the natural beauty of this informati. There is an active and flexible replica rolex watches and automatic winding syst. At the same time, stainless steel tapes and cloth belts have different colors, and other types can meet friendly personal taste. L ‘Daily night studies the best dream to study the details of the night’s magic, making beautiful jewelry to attract past past idea.
Fake Ecko Watches
Meetings begin to conflict for employe. The Rolex Deep Sea Series 116660 is designed beautifully and is made with a high level of stainless steel che. Turbolone, JAEGER-LECOULTRE 978 Self-protection zone 48 hours, up to 50 meters, main, 1. From the viewpoint of swimming swimming, traditional Tourbillon shafts show floating scal.
Suitable for young and simple peop. The public value of Zenith Devy Poiner is 47,20. White hair and beautiful elderly people often stand at the entrance to Langy rolex replicas swiss made Theat.
Shell is a tab of finely fluorescent folar filled with bright green supermanrite on time sca. For two limited edition models, MontBlanc received a two-line locality and ultra-thin wat. Unique gray or black PVD case is the final result of the premium orchestra, and your people are stainless ste. The development of the movie industry in Trilogi Tradel has been affected by special cooling and adding a film conspira. Samples made special “Kimke” chicken in 2017 and celebrated the new year of rabbi. If the rainbow is facing, it causes people top 10 replica watch sites to make a beautiful meani. 126SR.0. Designer Watches Fake Thus, since 1952, people have begun to develop modern hands rapid. According to the staff, the main speech rolex knockoff of the knockoff rolex brand is still in the stage where the audience is swiss replica rolexes visible and looks enough to see the purpose of this wo.
Replica Rolex Deepsea Sea-dweller
They are suitable for random leather shoe. The FLINCQUE button is drawn in blue with Roman numerals and steel han. This blue phone is only available for American retaile. Pernan gradually enters a rich idea of Designer Watches Fake classroom and high quality company and a beautiful fa. Another corner is like ceram. Gradually, American surveillance modern industries enter the rapid development of the fact that it develops in a short period of ti. Tourbillon is a speed protection system developed in 1795 by the inventor of Louis Breguet, Switzerlan.
Netizen 3: True Fist Clothing Series Moao 8668 Automatical. One stop station visited Europe, Bay, USA, Europe at the event of the Earrots Monaco event within 27 days from 20. The appearance of a new week will work Designer Watches Fake on the Lantern’s D. He always runs Designer Watches Fake all the differences in his life, but he disappears secretly and leaves more leav. All long-term comprehensive designs are stable support for artists and playe.
(Go to the shopping computer and pay attention to this extensi. Among them, Prime Minister Putin is known for the Swiss love watc. Provides a statue, a compact image collection pattern by providing a personalized servic. Pull the needle in one direction with all seams and pull the needle Designer Watches Fake in another directi. The film was heated to the US military market 14 years ago and passed for rolex submariner replica the next 11 year. As a global brand, samples are dedicated to service quali. The second second show shows the tracking effe. The major clock rolex copy watches for sale brand has decided to stop the construction production and change the old mode. Miearch Architect Meet (Mies Van Der Spirit) has a rolex replicas swiss made grade 1 quite intenti. Companies are always trying to match new concep.
Therefore, we have to decide to improve our own exercise ability fake rolex ebay like other. At the store we are looking for a new moment of Jacques de Lo 349.500 yu. Special diving designs are recommended to use three screws to repair the house to the best replica watches in the world provide stable operations longer than norma. Details of underground formation Finally, Apollo 13 came back to the count. Clock of the exercise dial is a good choice n. This includes new lookups that are specifically designed for the 2017 and 60 years of modern adventure. You need to repair it on a d.
Basel Park (Basel Park) (Basel Park) (Basel Park) has been submitted to the Residents (all tools such as new systems and new systems) (7077, 7097, and sea 5823 Global Marke. (The number of models is 891. rolex clone Men can ask women suitable for solid people? Linnon Bieli near Switzerland, Radar Clock and Bodybuilding Group is living her. Most of bell and ross radar watch replica them are like this type of star id.
An impressive most innovative idea is a direct aviation space devi. New 50 clock oils buy fake rolex are reserved for models and can be used as Mandiri Promotion Mof.3. Item: PVD plating stainless ste. You can call church cal. This clearly shows the company’s unique bra. Dustin Johnson’s Golfer (Dustin Johnson), Hublot Family Brand ambassador has a new fac.",1272,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00002.warc.gz,0.919048249721527
b168e975-0554-420e-b8a5-82e9e3004d22,2015-03-30T06:05:02+00:00,2005-02-01,0,http://www.hotrod.com/events/coverage/mopp-0502-24th-annual-mopar-nationals/,"24th Annual Mopar Nationals - Coming HomeWritten by on February 1, 2005 24th Annual Mopar Nationals
In an environment dominated by the hostile General Motors and his Brand-X troops, going to the Mopar Nationals is like taking refuge in a fortress, a safe haven, or comfort zone-kinda' like coming home.
Blessed with the best weather to ever grace a Mopar Nationals weekend (August 13-15), this 24th annual event held at National Trail Raceway, Columbus, Ohio, broke all previous attendance records and featured more than 3,000 cars, nearly 1,900 vendors, and close to 60,000 spectators. Chrysler enthusiasts from the four corners of the globe made the trek from all over the US, Norway, Canada, Australia, England, Germany . . . which should tell you something about the quality of this event. This year's Nats paid tribute to the Dodge Charger, always a stylistic innovator in a sea of brick-like automobiles, with many fine examples from every year of production, including the little L-body. As always, the Mopar Nationals provided something for everyone-from the judged car show, to the swap meet, F.A.S.T. class race, Manufacturers Midway, model car contest, car corral, matchbox car race (for the little Mopar enthusiasts), and loads of drag racing. Next year's 25th annual event, to be held August 12th through 14th, will pay homage to the mighty Road Runner-the original low-buck, everyman's musclecar. If you want more info, simply log onto www.moparnats.com.
What can we say about the Mopar Nationals that hasn't been said 24 times before? If you are a true Mopar aficionado, then there are no excuses not to attend this event. Besides, what's better than going home?
For more pics of the Nats, go to wwww.moparmusclemagazine.com
More Photos From This Article
We believe that four-month-old Caleb Scott Potter of Sullivan, Missouri, was the youngest participant at the Mopar Nationals. As you can see, he wears his colors proudly.This F.A.S.T. class Duster, owned by Jeff Patterson of Oberland, Ohio, regularly runs in the mid-to-high-11s at 116 mph. If that wasn't enough to get noticed, he drives the 150-mile round trip to the track! Just your average stock 340 with exhaust manifolds. yeah, right. We don't really know how big the LA is under Jeff's hood, but he would cop to somewhere north of 340 inches. He says the Duster causes quite a stir at his local drags.Young Guns participation was very strong at this year's Mopar Nationals. Judging by the quality and type of iron, the future of our hobby is in very good hands.
The original tunnel-ram used by the legendary Ram Chargers on the ""High and Mighty"" '49 Plymouth back in 1959 was on display. This new style intake was developed by this group of hobbyists and mounted two Carter AFB carbs over a common plenum and was used on their 354-inch Hemi.Brice Road means different things to different people. For example, this gentleman did his burnout while making eye contact with the police officer sitting on the median. For him, Brice Road means reckless driving, exhibition of speed, reduction in tread depth, and a stiff fine. For others, Brice Road means sheer entertainment.Heavy hitters Summit Racing and Year One brought their displays out to the manufacturers midway to showcase their Mopar offerings for the masses.Hot Rod magazine's Pump Gas Drag participants and top 10 finishers Don Vargo and his twin-turbo, fuel-injected, 540-inch Hemi-powered '69 Charger, and James Pranis and his 572-inch, nitrous-injected, Hemi '68 Charger were milling around National Trails proudly displaying their Pump Gas Drags jackets. Both ran deep in the 9s and finished Sixth and Seventh place, respectively.",867,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00109-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951814353466034
32a5b906-b54a-4df6-9e98-c99bee792cf4,2015-04-01T10:43:38+00:00,2008-05-01,0,http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/435804,"Barbeque and Beyond in Winston-Salem
I just spent two days in Winston-Salem, NC, with a seven-hour drive down I-81 from Harrisburg to get there and come back. I came prepared -- I scoured this board for recommendations both in W-S and on the highway, and was able to make informed dining decision for every meal. Here's my report, copied over from my blog, The Dilettante's Dilemma (www.cruzich.com/dd.html)
I'm down here for a few days on business, attending the South Atlantic Fire Exposition. This was a long drive for what is going to be, I expect, a pretty boring show, so I was not too excited about going. I got a little more excited, however, when I learned about something called the North Carolina Barbeque Society's Historic Barbeque Trail. When it became apparent that my path would be crossing the trail, I suddenly got a little more interested in my first-ever trip to the Tarheel State.
So I spent a little time poking around on Chowhound, looking for barbeque recommendations in W-S and the surrounding area. Also, since I would be driving for seven hours to get here, I looked for recommendations in the towns along I-81 and US-202, and I was not disappointed.
I stopped off for lunch in Staunton, VA, at Mrs. Rowe's. This restaurant has been around for 60 years, specializing in fried chicken. So of course that's what I had, along with some mac & cheese and greens. The restaurant itself felt like a Shoney's on the side of any highway anywhere in America, but don't be fooled -- the fried chicken is something special. Juicy and flavorful, with a light coating that didn't overpower the chicken. I wasn't particularly impressed with the sides, but the excellence of the chicken more than made up for that.
Once I arrived in W-S and checked into my hotel, my thoughts turned immediately to BARBEQUE. There are, of course, several difference schools of barbeque in America: Kansas City, Texas, Memphis, etc. I had no idea that North Carolina alone had three different styles, or that I was in the home of one (Lexington-style) that I had never heard of. Since I'm barbeque-agnostic (I love 'em all), I was excited to check out a new style, so I drove down to the city of Lexington to try the pork shoulder at Lexington Barbeque (aka Honey Monk's). This was, based on the reviews at Chowhound, the acknowledged leader in this particular style, which calls for smoked shoulder only, with a thin, vinegar-based sauce with no ketchup whatsoever.
The place was packed on a Thursday at 6:00, which seemed like a good sign. We sat down and ordered the basics: coarse-chopped outside brown, cole slaw, hush puppies, beans, and a sweet tea.
This was among the best barbeque I've ever had. It was a little surprising upon first bite to not be getting any ketchupy sweetness (and, truth be told, I do like KC-style the best), but the meat was perfect. Not so cooked that it was falling apart, it put up a bit of resistance as you chewed it but gave up terrific smoked flavor while doing so. Outside brown is totally the way to go -- the additional smokiness and slight caramelization was fantastic, and the thin sauce imparted a vinegary zip and just the slightest bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. The sides were also great; the cole slaw (vinegar-based, no mayo, just like DJo makes it) carried over the flavors of the sauce, the hush puppies were light & airy, and the beans were smoky & sweet and were improved by a spot of (Texas-style) barbeque sauce.
Given the preponderance of barbeque joints littered throughout Winston-Salem, I was skeptical of the need to drive 20 miles to go to a particular joint, but rest assured the additional effort was worth it. I think any time you're within 50 miles of Lexington you are required to make the drive to Honey Monk's. You will not be disappointed.
After a great meal at Lexington Barbeque on Thursday night, I was looking forward to trying a few other places. First up was lunch at Sweet Potatoes, a little bistro in the Arts District, which was, conveniently, only a block from the Convention Center. They were packed at lunchtime but I sat at the bar and had an absolutely fantastic steak sandwich, and the best. Sweet potato fries. Ever. Crispy and nicely salted on the outside, creamy on the inside. They were heavenly.
Unfortunately my second barbeque experience was totally different from the first. First of all my phone totally LIED TO ME and Don's Barbeque was nowhere near my hotel, as it had claimed. Not a big deal, it just meant I had to drive out to the edge of town. I actually welcomed the opportunity to explore a little bit more of the city, as otherwise I was pretty much seeing my hotel by the Interstate and the two blocks around the convention center.
Don's is apparently one of the only Western-style places in Winston-Salem, which is why I decided to give it a try. Alas, it wasn't that great, but I don't know if that's because I don't like Western-style (more ketchup in sauce, therefore sweeter & wetter) as much or if it just wasn't very good. Either way, it was a let-down, although I will point out that even ""not very good"" barbeque is still really really good, especially when consumed with an ice-cold mass-produced domestic beer.
On Saturday, after another fantastic lunch at Sweet Potatoes (summer sausage with fried onions & corn relish, cup of three-cheese bacon soup, and seriously you have to eat at this place any time you're anywhere near The Triad), I packed up the truck and headed home. First, though, I had to make one more barbeque stop, this time at Clark's in Kernersville. I got a pound of coarse chopped to bring home, since it had been made clear to me that I wouldn't be welcome back in my home without it.
I was so pleasantly full from my lunch that I didn't even break into it until I was home, and then it was just to have a couple of bites. But the next day we made ourselves some sandwiches with the 'que and the barbeque slaw, which was their vinegar-based cole slaw with some of their barbeque sauce mixed in.
Clark's was, in my opinion, even better than Lexington Barbeque. Their coarse-chopped was actually big chunks of shoulder, and the tenderness of the meat was perfectly matched to the tangyness of the sauce. The meat benefited from a night spent marinating, and once we had piled the barbeque slaw on top, it made for a perfect sandwich.
I didn't get a chance to try Little Richard's, and I did see a sign for an Eastern-style barbeque place, but I'll be back in W-S in January and both of those places (along with the upscale restaurant that the owners of Sweet Potatoes are apparently opening) and already on my ""to eat"" list.
529 N Trade St, Winston Salem, NC 27101
W US Old Highway 64, Lexington, NC 27295
74 Rowe Rd, Staunton, VA 24401
Don's BBQ & Restaurant
Old Hollow Rd, Winston Salem, NC 27101
1331 Nc Highway 66 S, Kernersville, NC 27284
Nice report, and I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to Winston-Salem! Sweet Potatoes is indeed wonderful. I've lived here 6 years and I've never even heard of Don's BBQ, but it sounds like I'm not missing much. I've only been to Clark's once, and I wasn't all that impressed; sounds like I need to try it again.
Btw, NC only has 2 styles of BBQ, eastern and lexington (also called western). The biggest difference is that lexington has a little ketchup or tomato paste in it, and frequently eastern is spicier. I can assure you Honey Monk's sauce has a tomato component in it.
Thanks for the feedback...I'm sure there was a bit of ketchup in Honey Monk's sauce, but as a Chicago native I'm used to a whole lot more.
You're right, Don's is not worth checking out. BTW, I got the Don's recommendation, and the implied distinction between Western style and Lexington style, from this Chowhound thread and a poster named ""Lee"":
""Don's Barbeque is highly recommended as it is about the only Western Style BBQ restaurant in the area as opposed to all the Lexington style places.""
Looks like I was passing on bad information...
Well, way out west in the mountains of NC, you're more likely to get BBQ with a heavy tomato/sweet component to the sauce, more like what you'd find in other parts of the US. This isn't a Carolina innovation, however, and thus isn't really considered one of the two proper NC styles.
I have no idea why Lee would want to steer you away from our indigenous specialties, though. It's like sending a visitor to Austin to a Taco Bell . . .
The owners of Sweet Potatoes have opened another, more upscale restaurant called The Cotton Mill. I haven't tried it yet.
And...great report...but that is true, we've just got two true styles of barbecue here. A place in Kernersville sells both - I think it's called Prissy Polly's. If you are ever east of Greensboro, look on these boards for eastern-style recs. I prefer it.
Maybe you were thinking of South Carolina barbecue - it's mustard-based, and sweet and yellow.
>Maybe you were thinking of South Carolina barbecue - it's mustard-based, and sweet and yellow.
True, some SC Q sauce is sweet mustard. You can also find mustard based sauce that is savory. Mustard based sauce is found mainly in central SC. In the upstate they tend to use tomato based sauces. However, in the SC Lowcountry they most often use a vinegar based sauce that may or may not contain a little sugar but most definitely will have red pepper. The Lowcountry sauce is the best.
Don's is a locally famous and very old BBQ place. I think he was one of the original in W-S. I checked out a lot of BBQ books from the library, and Don's history was mentioned. Don's is not my favorite, and I haven't eaten there since the 1990s, but it does have a place in NC BBQ history.",2306,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00186-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.979515910148621
119848b3-984d-481c-a138-754eef769343,2019-08-23T00:42:22+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://homelightsdirect.co.uk/collections/led-lamps/products/philips-929001331202-classic-led-bulb-8w-60w-dimmable-a60-e27-gls-filament-827,"Philips 929001331202 Classic LED Bulb 8W (60W) Dimmable A60 E27 GLS Filament 827
Brand: Philips - Range: ClassicLED
Product Code: 929001331202 - Barcode: 8718696709443 - UPC: 871869670944300
Featuring a classic heritage design, Classic filament LED Lamps combine the familiar shapes of classic incandescent bulbs with the benefits of the long lasting LED technology. They deliver beautiful, decorative warm-white light while saving around 90% on energy costs compared with traditional light bulbs.
LED Lamp Fitting: GLS A60 Shape - E27 ES (Large Screw)
LED Power: 8W LED (Equivalent 60W) - Colour Temperature: 2700k (Warm White). Clear Bulb Finish.
Lumen: 806 Lumens - Bulb Lifetime: 15000 Hours - Beam Angle: Maximum Beam Angle
Dimmable - YES
We Stock Over £250,000 worth of stock in our dedicated warehouse.
For Guidance the Following Brands have Delivery Lead Times of:
• Searchlight Lighting - 3 to 4 Working Days
• Oaks Lighting - 3 to 4 Working Days
• Philips Lighting - 4 to 5 Working Days
• Eglo Lighting - 4 to 5 Working Days
• DAR Lighting - 3 to 4 Working Days
If You do have Time Constraints then please call us on 0121 783 2726 for an accurate schedule of dispatch and delivery.",314,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317688.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822235908-20190823021908-00287.warc.gz,0.739567399024963
249dd969-dff8-4bd0-9f9e-9dad3c0ded1a,2017-08-24T03:11:39+00:00,2012-12-31,1,http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/bossa-nova-introduces-mobi-research-ballbot,"Bossa Nova Robotics has just introduced a brand new research platform based on Carnegie Mellon's ballbot spherical locomotion platform. Called ""mObi"" (which I'll be capitalizing ""Mobi"" because, seriously now, c'mon guys), it's ""the first step towards the creation of a 21st century personal robotics platform for everyday consumers.""
Last we heard from Bossa Nova was back in 2009, when they started commercializing toys with wheel-legs (another development from Carnegie Mellon robotics), including Prime-8 the gorilla and Penbo the penguin. Mobi isn't destined for the consumer market, though: it's for research into human-robot interaction in home and business environments. Inside is some unspecified ""next generation"" Intel hardware running either a Windows or ROS operating system. Mobi has a tablet dock for a head, a PrimeSense sensor in the neck, and something called an ""Emotive Light Array.""
We don't have any vids (yet) of Mobi ballin' around, but if you're not familiar with ballbots, here's some footage of ReZero, a European ballbot project from a couple years back:
Ballbots are great because they can move in any direction without turning, and they have a very small footprint, which is ideal for environments designed for humans. Ballbots are terrible because they're not statically stable: since they're constantly balancing themselves, if you shut the power off, they'll faceplant. Mobi appears to have solved this with some sort of rapid deploy safety system that looks like it consists of six legs that shoot down around the base if the robot ever loses power or control. Anybots QB has a ""kickstand"" that accomplishes the same thing.
Ballbot will be available to researchers and developers in 2013 for an as-yet unspecified price. What we've heard, though, is that this thing is going to be very low cost, and that future generations will have more ways of interacting with their environment, eventually leading up to an affordable and capable general-purpose household robot.
[ Bossa Nova mObi ]",432,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126027.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824024147-20170824044147-00624.warc.gz,0.955230832099915
fea9ca9a-f0c3-4f06-968e-734ab6111526,2022-05-25T06:06:01+00:00,2018-12-17,1,https://breastcancer-news.com/2018/12/17/trial-advances-neuvax-herceptin-combo-her2-positive-high-riskbreast-cancer/,"The investigator-sponsored trial studying a combination of NeuVax (nelipepimut-S, NPS) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) as a maintenance treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer at high risk of recurrence has completed patient enrollment, Sellas Life Sciences, NeuVax’s developer, has announced.
Top-line data from the trial is expected by the end of 2019.
“The completion of enrollment of this Phase 2 clinical trial of NPS marks an important milestone, as it brings us one step closer to providing this potentially life-saving therapy to high-risk HER2-positive breast cancer patients facing limited treatment options,” Nicholas J. Sarlis, MD, PhD, executive vice president and chief medical officer of Sellas, said in a press release.
NeuVax is an investigational cancer vaccine composed of small pieces of the HER2 protein. Once injected into the patient, the vaccine teaches the immune system to recognize the HER2 protein — which is produced in excess in some breast cancers — causing the cancer cells to die.
In an ongoing Phase 2b trial (NCT01570036), which included patients with triple-negative breast cancer — meaning they have low HER2 levels — the vaccine, given in combination with Herceptin as a maintenance treatment, reduced disease recurrence by 74% compared to Herceptin alone.
“This combination has a solid clinical and immunobiological rationale, as demonstrated by the recent data from the Phase 2b study of NPS plus trastuzumab in the maintenance setting in patients with early-stage triple negative breast cancer,” Sarlis said. “We look forward to reporting data from this second combination study next year.”
The fully enrolled Phase 2 trial (NCT02297698) was also designed to test a combination of NeuVax and Herceptin in breast cancer patients, but among those whose tumors produce high levels of the HER2 protein — deemed HER2-positive.
The trial included 100 breast cancer patients at 24 clinical sites across the United States. All patients were at high risk of disease recurrence, as they either did not achieve complete remission with previous therapies, or had undergone surgery but still had positive lymph node biopsies.
Participants were also screened for HLA type — which defines the subtype of active T cells — to ensure they were positive for HLA-2, HLA-A3, HLA-A24, or HLA-A26 classes, which represent approximately 80% of the U.S. population and for whom NeuVax was particularly designed.
Participants will randomly receive NeuVax or a placebo in combination with Genentech’s approved therapy Herceptin. The investigational vaccine will be administered every three weeks, for a total of six vaccinations, 30 mintues to two hours after completion of Herceptin infusion.
Researchers will evaluate whether the combination is better than Herceptin at preventing or delaying disease recurrence as a primary goal. Secondary objectives include the time patients live without disease spread and measures of immune response. The safety of the treatment will also be assessed.
“We are thrilled to complete enrollment in this very important Phase 2 clinical trial of NPS and trastuzumab as a treatment for high-risk HER2-positive breast cancer patients,” said Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, director of the Breast Immuno-Oncology Program Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, and principal investigator of the trial.
“We look forward to completing the study and to reporting the trial results,” said Mittendorf, the Rob and Karen Hale Distinguished Chair in Surgical Oncology and director of research, breast surgical oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The trial being supported in part by a Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award granted to Mittendorf by the Department of Defense.
We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!
Let us improve this post!
Tell us how we can improve this post?",866,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00628.warc.gz,0.944929838180542
ce1443d1-6f06-484a-9716-17c620b82db1,2015-03-31T00:03:34+00:00,2014-07-08,1,http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/07/08/bitcoin-startup-xapo-valued-north-of-100-million/?mod=trending_now_3,"Some of the biggest names in venture capital are getting behind a maker of underground bitcoin vaults, the latest bet to bolster the digital currency.
Xapo said Tuesday it raised an additional $20 million in funding, doubling the amount it raised earlier this year. The investment was co-led by Greylock Partners and Index Ventures and includes Emergence Capital Partners, Max Levchin, the co-founder of PayPal, Yuri Milner, the Russian billionaire investor, and Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo. Reid Hoffman, a partner at Greylock, and Mike Volpi, a partner at Index, will join Xapo’s board as observers.
The latest investment values Xapo at roughly north of $100 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Wences Casares, Xapo’s CEO, declined to comment on the valuation.
Xapo, which is trying to legitimize and popularize bitcoin by offering services to securely store and transact the digital currency, has now raised $40 million. Its previous round, announced in March, was led by Benchmark. The latest cash injection, stuffed with top-tier tech investors, reflects ongoing enthusiasm in Silicon Valley for bitcoin-related startups, despite ongoing concerns about the future and volatility of the currency. After surpassing a value of $1100 late last year, the currency now trades just north of $600.
The investment puts Xapo in an elite circle of bitcoin startups now worth nine figures. In December, Andreessen Horowitz led a $25 million round in Coinbase, a bitcoin wallet company. The round valued Coinbase at $140 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Casares, a serial entrepreneur from Argentina, said he decided to accept additional capital after fielding interest from investors following the announcement of his first round. He plans to use the money to quickly build out his staff. With about 12 employees, he hopes to roughly quintuple his payroll by the end of this year.
The company currently offers two main services: a vault for people to store their bitcoins and a wallet to facilitate transactions.
In a blog post, Hoffman outlined his very bullish case for bitcoin, hinting that the firm could make future investments related to the currency:
“As an investor and technologist, I am interested in bitcoin on three levels: As an asset, (i.e. a digital alternative to gold); as a currency (to create a new transactional layer on the internet); and as a platform (to build alternative kinds of financial applications).”
For the latest news and analysis, follow @wsjd
Get breaking news and personal-tech reviews delivered right to your inbox.
More from WSJ.D: And make sure to visit WSJ.D for all of our news, personal tech coverage, analysis and more, and add our XML feed to your favorite reader.",587,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00213-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.936960160732269
2b8d5481-2c64-4287-9b7d-02cb9143dfd2,2018-08-20T12:35:48+00:00,1996-08-20,0,http://visitusa.com/states/california/cities/san-diego/rancho-de-guajome-adobe,"This hacienda is a unique example of Anglo-Hispanic architecture. Built on original Mexican land grant, it is listed as a National Historic Landmark for its contribution to American history. The rambling twenty-room adobe ranch house was restored in 1996. The 7,000 square feet, 20-room hacienda was a city unto itself. Built in 1853 by Cave Johnson Couts for his wife Ysidora Bandini, the adobe included a school, chapel, store and an inner courtyard. Undergoing many changes over time, additions included the Victorian second-story sewing room and gingerbread trim. The courtyard is replanted historically accurately with the Cherokee rose and bougainvillea being original from the 1880`s. The hacienda remains a fine example of Anglo-Hispanic domestic architecture, still intact. It is a rare surviving example and is now owned and run by San Diego Parks Department.",186,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216453.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820121228-20180820141228-00059.warc.gz,0.953245282173157
c7f083f9-7708-4c5d-87de-f08a46cc4058,2016-07-27T21:46:35+00:00,2013-02-15,0,http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/brain-eye-researchers-threaten-walkouts-without-funding/81247983/?kwrd=U.S.%20Budget,"Investigators specializing in brain and eye diseases warn in a new survey that many of their peers will leave the field, leaving future treatments undiscovered, unless research spending for the disorders rises significantly—a plea that comes as Washington is still wrestling with what if any cuts it will exact from NIH as part of a budget deal.
BrightFocus Foundation, the nonprofit that changed its name February 1 from American Health Assistance Foundation, shared the frustration of more than 170 biomedical scientists in survey results published this week. “Brain and Eye Disease Researcher Survey” reported near unanimity from the scientists on the survey’s key findings:
- 96% concluded that limited funding was the top barrier to entry for new scientists interested in carrying out brain and eye disease research.
- 94% contended that current levels of federal funding for brain and eye disease research were impeding scientific discoveries.
- 91% went further, agreeing that current funding levels were driving scientists from the field.
“The funding issue is really their only structural concern. When we asked questions about how journals publish information, or how leadership at the department level or the culture of academia work, those were much lower on their radar,” Guy Eakin, Ph.D., vp of scientific affairs for BrightFocus Foundation, told GEN.
At issue is funding for disorders ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to glaucoma and macular degeneration. For Alzheimer’s, a one-time $50 million boost ordered by President Obama brought FY 2012 spending to an estimated $498 million—a figure expected to slide this fiscal year to $449 million, just $1 million above the actual FY 2011 amount. Over five years, Alzheimer’s spending increased a total 20.9% with the one-shot included, but just 8.7% without.
Last year, HHS unveiled its National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, a 69-page report committing Washington to “Prevent and Effectively Treat Alzheimer’s Disease by 2025,” according to one of five principles or “building blocks.” The plan is “extraordinarily valuable,” Dr. Eakin said, adding: “What is lacking right now is the financial side.” HHS’ Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research and Services sought to address that on January 14, by recommending at least $2 billion a year for Alzheimer’s research—a sum Dr. Eakin said BrightFocus supports.
That would catapult Alzheimer’s above the over $1 billion in research funds spent by NIH on diabetes, but still below the roughly $3 billion spent for research on HIV/AIDS, and nearly $5.5 billion spent on cancer.
The best-funded diseases vary in population prevalence: About 26 million Americans have diabetes, according to CDC, and another 13.7 million have cancer, NIH’s National Cancer Institute estimates.
However, just 1.15 million living Americans had HIV/AIDS as of 2009, the most recent figure from CDC. The brain and eye diseases highlighted by BrightFund affect some 20 million Americans—including the more than 5 million with Alzheimer’s alone, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
“While you’re not going to find scientists who say the funding is good for any of the disease fields, we would point out that given the prevalence of mind and eye diseases, given the aging demographics of our society, and in the case of Alzheimer’s, given the immediate unmet need, there is a profound effect of not having suitable research funds for these diseases,” Dr. Eakin added.
Spending on the broader “brain disorders” category is projected to inch up this federal fiscal year to $3.87 billion, down $3 million from the fiscal year that ended September 30, but up just 0.2% from $3.864 billion in FY 2011. Over five years NIH spending rose less than 4% from the $3.729 billion of FY 2008.
Eye disorders, however, command a tiny slice of NIH’s overall spending pie. For FY 2012, NIH estimates that $832 million was spent for research on “eye disease and disorders of vision,” all but flat from FY 2011’s actual $831 million, and 1% above the $823 million projected for the current fiscal year. Going back five federal fiscal years, spending in the category rose just 4.5% from the $796 million of FY 2008.
Raising spending for any research, let alone brain and eye disorders, will be far easier said than done, since Congress and President Obama at deadline remain unable to craft an agreement for cutting the $1.2 trillion over 10 years promised under the 2011 Budget Control Act, and the March 1 deadline looming two weeks away.",998,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00017-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.943118631839752
d6104ef5-b743-4b55-956a-bd4a35a9c775,2013-06-19T19:08:16+00:00,2012-05-01,0,http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1571505766001/morgan-stanley-ceo-no-say-on-pay-from-shareholders/,"This transcript is automatically generated
Guys we'll make is the call option so it's it sounds like it's off the table buying at all -- and Charlie it's it's never been on the table.
It's been the media speculating how -- you know you talked about it for a week we have we have a game plan to buy 1415 and twenty.
It would take something extraordinary demo because -- -- -- thought I want to make it clear this is an interest in this is a news headline.
You don't intend you don't intend to buy the rest of it as of now.
I say do you what -- doing is we're exercising the fiscal option.
That's all we've committed to and we like the ability in by the risks of the business over the two year timeframe OK you you -- Dealing with -- she's got to be -- difficult thing I mean that they've let Moody's especially as have gone out and threatened to notch downgrade possible to notch downgrade.
Is that really in the cards a two notch downgrade that would -- one level above junk.
Actually they threaten a three not stand OK and not a -- to that would put us -- two level above -- so while not true the only big -- glad -- that's what you're the CEO but so.
Listen that firstly stepped back right Moody's.
Is re rating -- banks pretty much around the world they did -- -- last week.
I believe that -- on two Spain and Italy -- the next week or two and eventually they get into the global also banks.
And on average states say they gonna re -- all of the bank's two notches down.
And they actually said some.
-- -- -- problem could be up to three -- some could be up to one notch or -- -- write it down to the best my knowledge.
Lesson we've we've been living with ratings actions that he has -- -- -- -- They ended up leaving us at single label with -- not -- we had Fitch cut -- they ended up -- affirming us.
As an a rated institution so this is just one of the theory you know where they're gonna come out.
Now we don't we might not for several weeks the only ones they have from upon and so far -- believe this Portugal the Portuguese bank.
Steve accelerating the Smith Barney purchase of the brokers come into the reading your discussions are raining -- they offer an opinion on that.
Not we're not we're not engaged with them around acceleration Smith -- -- we we clearly.
Brigade -- binder says -- -- percent right I'm amber Coles.
Under the seat count we had to apply to the Federal Reserve so what we wanted to do.
Subjects he really presents what do we put -- -- we put -- to -- the 40% this year and -- fifteen exit that's what we gospel that's what we go to -- but don't you like the rest.
Get back on the same as everybody knows this about -- we do what's in the right interest for -- that's what you gotta do.
And my view is the right interest issue notices to stay on track obviously.
We listen to an extraordinary situation but that's not a plan that some my expectation -- -- situation OK very good.
You've been in the job since 2010.
Along BC itself in this job.
Oh boy and -- -- -- I'm not really thinking about the end of -- right now I think we're still of the beginning we -- we a lot of wood to -- we've done a lot of things over the last couple of years.
Am very proud of the way the management teams go behind this them and put it in a place where where winning position very strong management team Greg Fleming I think it's terrific running your broker -- -- column Kellogg -- car that was on the -- Greg Fleming -- -- -- it's a very strong management team that we have across of them.
So what I'm not really focus on when I'm gonna finished we a lot of what to do.
-- great comment on this morning it's soar in the results threats that kind of thing we want to show our shareholders consistently.
And then we move -- -- strength mom.
Did you ever think of expanding the firm in this environment and a lot of people talk about more accidentally buying.
An asymmetric and -- board Deutsche Bank's as a management.
Children business was up for sale up above you guys behind that is their right I don't think any of the big banks would be in a neck position any of the sixty banks could be -- -- -- -- mode now Muslim a conserving capital or of they've.
Using capital they doing for something like we -- with Smith Bonnie Wright or small dividend increase some -- done or small buyback.
Not a win win not interest in acquisitions right now -- Another story that's kind of adjusting your your compensation came out of me took what was at Kerr from -- of what that's right 13% there's some along well actually actually the compensation cut I believe was 25.
-- percent OK and comfort me twice and one day but that's my wife doesn't when he got so I would say that that's that's right problem.
Are you worried about of the compared the situation in which he basically that the shareholders -- -- said okay we don't like where you're stock is trading right hasn't done very well.
As you know not all your -- for your stock is down 30%.
Do you think your cut reflects a 30% cutting do you think you shareholders are gonna do with -- would Vikram the CEO of Citigroup and say.
You know it's a non binding vote but we don't like how much again.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- You know I don't out of one talk about what what happened at city say on pay reflects how investors feel about you -- plan that's a function complex.
We're very comfortable that comp plans we've -- -- thing we've ever paid.
We brought down -- -- -- this quota.
Lusty we have a lot of referrals we have strong pullbacks and we haven't had any push back frankly from -- -- -- summit site account to -- what what have from the other situation OK so you don't think you're gonna get.
But Vikram -- treatment -- -- your shareholders I don't think we're gonna have a say on pay.
You turned down whatever cannot I did not think that -- you know who is -- anybody -- -- the operating environment is is difficult to.
You know buying broke why would anybody want to buy brokerage stop now.
-- -- have you you buy things based on value not based upon excellence so whip where we have value FM is trading at point six tangible book.
On any -- may Asia.
It's a cheap stock right we have so trying to send the company Mitsubishi bank -- the strongest banks in the world.
Had a very strong quarter we'll make every 1000000003.
In earnings and operating with a -- send our way.
This this no justification of the saarc trading where it is except for the hangover from the financial crisis.
And the macro uncertainties I think these innings full -- pot of right the inflection point -- suspect to no reason why that's what he was should be bonds stock.
I don't like quoting Moody's because they're always wrong -- -- it -- which if as you know they missed the financial crisis why would they be getting Morgan Stanley right now but I would guess I would say this one of the issues they bring about.
Is the volatility of this business you have massive amounts of regulation -- you're you're up against.
You have you know who knows about the environment going forward you might have higher interest rates -- future which could hurt and help you.
In a sense Wall Street has to be remain lean and mean.
In terms of headcount and things of that if you're.
Has always rumblings inside your firm about and further headcount reductions him is is that the cards it's a possibility.
No it's not we're not we're not planning for the headcount reductions we've been very tight on non compensation expenses -- -- they were down you probably saw in the earnings this quarter.
We we we managed this them with a lot of discipline right.
And we manage it also for the future McKinsey background as well -- and I don't know that I've got I've got a great team that's what commit right but we -- it together with a lot of discipline.
And -- not a bad swing for the fences we I'm gonna maintain control costs and we will deliver the results very -- it's.
That sounds -- -- but let me ask you this if there was a financial credit and let's back up a little a couple months ago one of the reasons why you and I were talking is that.
There were rumors out there about your exposure to European debt which you quickly shut down.
And turned out the only -- they do rumors where we're -- exaggerating your your positions in European debt however did bring -- kind of a scary situation that.
You know suppose there was another financial crisis at a run on the bank where.
Where do your customers that lend you money particularly in your prime brokerage business which I understand you've -- most of them back.
If they started -- again as they did back in 2008 pulled their money that we could tap that -- resources.
Would Morgan Stanley be able to survive them.
Boy don't use that found that -- to restructure the prime brokerage business very differently so a -- has changed the short answer is yes of course we would.
But law does change mean just look at the facts but 20/20 3% of that balance sheet is liquid.
-- -- We've -- sixty billion dollars a capital we have a long term partnership with one of the -- its financial institutions in the world.
Of this a lot of things that we very different from we don't have proprietary trading businesses that we had -- -- had no way we don't have a hedge fund that we had to know it.
There's a law that is different and it's too simple to simply say wealth re redo the tape -- not the same sun.
We're different -- -- go to -- deal with that.
In content when you -- do that you realize yes if you look at what was done with that funding.
Look at how would tend Ed did you look at we have not reliance on Cho -- it's completely different institutions -- -- convince investors about that.
And this is not commits about the -- placement all of the bank stocks again all of the bank stocks.
-- down of the last couple -- is some element dramatically so.
I think the fact just talked I don't know where it is today but -- about 20% you today investors are starting to buy into the story from.
This study to believe the US financial system.
They're starting to -- the US financial system is much stronger the mall was commonly held to believe -- but just took -- -- -- -- -- that if -- and I believe that's true.
Before we wrap this up I'd like to ask you a political question.
In 2008 Wall Street heavily supported.
Then candidate Barack Obama over John McCain.
This year it looks like it's at least split or maybe trending towards.
Mitt Romney the presumptive nominee Republican.
What do you think Wall Street is gonna end up will they support the president in the end -- the -- do they have these as Wall Street have a problem with the present after four years.
-- willing to put lots of money in -- Romney campaign.
Well there are a lot of reasons why people vote that in just vote based upon the impact of might have on the industry and Wall Street -- it certainly.
Doesn't operate in unison.
Did last night.
Not not in unison but I think there was clearly.
Clearly reaction to the the previous eight years -- -- there's no question Charlie you -- that president.
I down at a high percentage of the vote than buy and happened Democrats in the trees -- is.
I think that -- that would clearly -- -- a little bit to get Walsh is gonna move more to war having to be more balanced and do you think it's because of class warfare I can't I can't speculate dome of white people.
You know why people vote the way they vote gonna support.
I'd never publicly -- -- my politics -- after.
Sometimes it slips but anyway I'm getting the hook here James thank you so much chart I did -- -- the big question why you always get mad at me when I -- you Jim.
Believe if we can get ninety of the answer yes.
I give events that I'm one of ten children okay okay and all my Brothers Komi gym.
And all my -- electorally something.
Even more fiction.
My -- calls me giants and I do what my mother tells you are right -- I'm gonna -- your mother's advice they've got guys back to you.
As well live all of this and others and vice trinity Charlie --",2762,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964424848556519
af8ef612-15f1-4864-9e84-5f065d154c32,2019-08-24T05:14:56+00:00,2017-11-01,0,http://www.rewardscoaching.com/blog/archives/11-2017,"Prayer, is it your first go to or a last resort? Is it something you do just to comfort yourself, or do you really believe someone is on the other end, to answer that prayer? Is it a means for your conscience to say something nice and caring, excusing you from action where it’s warranted?
Recently, the few words, I’ll pray for you, seem to irk a few people. You can see it on various social media sites, where some will say; “stop sending prayers, we don’t need prayer”. Even the Governor of NY, Andrew Cuomo recently said; “ We don’t need your prayers. We have Pastors, Priests and Rabbis for that.” What is happening in our society that some folks have become so hostile toward prayer?
Prayer has power. It has the power to bring one comfort, to strengthen, to bring courage, to heal, and to unite hearts, which is one of its purposes. Another purpose is to have communion with your Creator - the One who loves us, and loves this world, and wants to intervene on our behalf. It’s more apparent now than ever before, we need the power of prayer. People are hurting! They are afraid, angry, frustrated, and some have been displaced from their homes. It’s truly a difficult time.
Prayer is a lifeline. It not only sustains us, it gives us hope. Hope for divine intervention. We are not stuck in the situation we are presently in. No matter how long it may take to be over, we can rest on “this too shall pass”
(2nd Corinthians 4:17,18). Keeping our connection to God through prayer can reassure us, just as the seasons pass from one to another, so do the seasons of our lives pass from one to another. A brighter day will come.
Some can choose not to believe in prayer, that’s their right. But be careful to not slam those that do. We, who choose to believe, want to be the salt and the light of the world. We want to bring the goodness of God to a hurting and tense filled world. We are not just sitting home and praying. As we pray and hope for more peaceful times, you can also bet we will be active as well; through personal deeds, and making our voices heard, we will work to change what needs to be changed. So to all those concerned, rest assured and let us pray!
We live in a very fast paced society. There are more things to do, more things to remember (besides usernames and passwords), and more people to interact with on a daily basis than ever before. We have various responsibilities to juggle; careers, jobs, children, homes, etc., but it seems there is now something very different, an immense amount of pressure that has been added that wasn’t there before.
A 9 to 5 business hour is not so regular for many people working today. With all of our technology, we can now get ahead of the game, get more done, and outdo our competitors. We give up a little sleep, we skip meals, we put exercise off and we only spend time with our spouse and children, when we’re done with our “work”. When is that? When are we done? What is the wake up call that pulls us off the hamster wheel?
For some it may be sheer burnout, mental and physical exhaustion, for others it’s illness, or maybe severe body pain or migraines, that can leave you flat on your back for a few days. Then there’s anxiety and depression, which is at its highest rate ever, and for other’s it’s failing marriages due to neglect.
I want to address the latter in this blog and shed some light on caring for your marriage before it becomes a casualty of our times. Most of the time, during seasons of stress and busyness, one of the first things that may be affected is our time with our spouse. We may have to put off date night or relaxing together or having meaningful conversations because “duty” calls. And yes, sometimes we legitimately need to be understanding and supportive during certain seasons, but every season has an ending. We are creatures of habit and though may not recognize it when the season is over we allow it to become the “new norm”. That’s when it becomes an issue.
It’s so important to have a standard or value system in place, regarding our relationship; one that we chose to put in place, to keep us on course, and maintain our connection.
Here are some I recommend to my clients:
If you are caring for each other and your relationship on a regular basis you are wise. You are keeping it healthy and maintaining your connection so it’s never really lost. Then when busy seasons, trials and hardships come (Matthew 7:25) your relationship will be strong enough to with stand them, and you’ll always find your way back to each other. It can actually feel like despite everything, you made your way home to one another again.
Matthew 7:25 … and the rains and wind beat upon that house and it did not fall because it was built upon a rock. (Paraphrased)
#rock solid #connection #relationshipgoals #dating #affectionate #sexlife #marriage #rewardscoaching #marriagebuilders
I post my blogs bi-weekly, with a focus on strengthening and encouraging the amazing women and wives that you all are, You'll also find relevant conversations on marriage, relationships communication, and thoughts on having a Spiritual Journey.",1200,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319724.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824041053-20190824063053-00024.warc.gz,0.964386880397797
5a6f5fa1-2a5f-4fdd-834c-3a7b6f604c3d,2016-07-27T21:05:33+00:00,2010-08-18,0,http://cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/531504/Don-t-blame-the-mayor.html?nav=5008,"To the editor:
In response to the letters to the editor on Aug. 11, I give thanks to those who volunteered the venting of their spleens in denunciation of Mayor John Sullivan's actions and the circling of their wagons around one of the slick six on the city council. Their words speak volumes concerning their intent.
It appears that the usual suspects were in the lineup.
One of these suspects, who previously backed out of a previous council run, presumably to make way for his more ""capable"" comrade now on council, denounced the mayor with comments such as ""false perception"" and ""complete lack of professionalism."" Interesting choice of words. I believe that it is the habit of those of a certain political and ideological persuasion, to ascribe to their opponents those attributes which they themselves possess or lack thereof. It is a sort of Alinsky reverse psychology.
Another suspect waxed eloquent with a chalk board example of accusations masked within somewhat arrogant inquiries. This suspect also utilized the looking-down-the-nose ploy of attempting to instruct the mayor as to what his course of action against the supposed wrongdoers should have been, when he is obviously arriving at his conclusions and offering his recommendations from information received only from his comrade on the council and allowing his own ideological baggage to influence his fatherly protectionism towards this poor maligned ""detective."" I think I saw this ""made in Chicago"" movie before. In Chi town it is called back- room buddyism
It is apparent that Mayor Sullivan struck a nerve in his determination to ascertain if public servants were attempting to again deny their employers, the people of the City of Cape Coral, access to relevant information concerning certain aspects of the utility expansion project.
Truthfully, taking into consideration the past questionable practices of this council, such as the expensive and needless acquisition of vacant land by using the people's funds, funds specifically not allocated for such speculative real estate procurements, combined with their decision to continue with the utility expansion project to the detriment of area people endeavoring to merely survive during these tough economically depressed times, not only do I not trust their judgement I and some others, feel increasingly uncomfortable concerning their motives.
Instead of using those surplus funds to ease the burden of outrageous utility bills foisted upon citizens who have already paid through the nose for their water and sewer, they, rather cavalierly, chose to commandeer the surplus funds and buy vacant Cape Coral land. This was either a really dumb idea or a really beneficial coup for council. Time will indeed certainly tell.
Maybe the mayor has a point, maybe the mayor is the outstanding one up there truly looking out for the best interests of the hard working citizens of the Cape instead of the best interests of the procurers amongst us. He certainly doesn't need the money or the aggravation of having to contend with the groupies on the council and their supercilious attitude towards their employers. Thank God for the non personal agenda driven politician, they are truly singular today.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that since, obviously, there was an open microphone incident and some, supposedly, derogatory comments were made concerning the people's right to know, it should be made available to we the taxpayers who provide for the very sustenance of these ""arrogant"" public servants and employees. I again firmly believe that, as stated by one of the usual suspects ""methinks thou dost indeed protest too much.""
Why are these usual suspects so intent and knee jerkish to protect their comrade on council? I have always maintained that anyone, especially someone whose authority has been give him, should man up and fess up when he screws up, but then that obviously pertains to a past, more honorable, time.
Fortunately in this election cycle, both local and national, the American people are finally having their eyes opened to the true parasitical nature and intent of the so-called leftists leaning public servant. Taking into consideration the vast evidence of out-and-out lies by self-serving politicians and their cronies, any public servant, mayor or otherwise, who is characteristically pro taxpaying citizen and vigilant towards any possible wrong doing by any city employee is someone to respect and encourage, not boorishly malign.
The only thing that allows evil, who is given power, to flourish is for good, who is given power, to remain silent.
More power to you Mayor Sullivan and thanks for being a stand up guy amongst the knee padders.",914,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00034-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974714815616608
e8219e0c-01ee-4eef-aaca-439ac05b2308,2019-08-19T12:43:51+00:00,2018-10,1,http://www.cvworkshop.ie/2018/10/volkswagen-commercial-vehicles-looks-to-2019/,"Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has announced its 191 offers and says it will introduce a series of offers.
The offers include; a contribution of up to €4,000 towards a 191 order, a HP rate of 1.9 per cent, Commercial Vehicle PCP solution and now its own leasing offer from €209 per month with no deposit. The company will also offer market leading HP rates including 1.9 per cent over five years, the first time a brand in Ireland has offered this length of repayments on such a low HP rate, according to Volkswagen.
Overall growth has been delivered by all models, however the stand out result is the Crafter, one of the fastest growing models in the light commercial vehicle market in Ireland, with 60 per cent growth year on year.
2019 will see the introduction of the all new Grand California which will arrive in Spring and will start from €55,000. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles says it is using this model to extend the California programme upwards, tapping into a new range of possibilities. Later in 2019, the brand will launch new electric vehicles in the form of the ABT e-Caddy with a range of approximately 220 kilometres and the ABT e-Transporter with scalable designs and a range between 208 and 400 kilometres.
Commenting on 2019, Alan Bateson, Managing Director at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles said: “We have looked at our successes in 2018 and want to continue this into 2019 and beyond. To do this we involved our customers and asked them what we could do to further develop. With that in mind our 1.9 per cent HP which is currently the best HP offer in the Irish market has been extended out to five years or 60 months in order to make our market leading products more affordable than ever. With Ireland’s only commercial vehicle PCP and Ireland’s only commercial vehicle lease offer provided by our own bank, our mission is to ensure we give Irish customers the best solution for their needs.”
He added: “When we look at next year we expect further growth, especially in Crafter, a new model and International Van of the Year winner that has grown hugely in 2018. We also welcome our new Grand California in 2019 with orders already being placed and our new electric solutions in Caddy and Transporter which offer a range up to 400 kilometres.”",476,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00120.warc.gz,0.96002846956253
9d70466a-8c69-4695-bab0-ad063767dfdd,2016-07-25T08:34:02+00:00,2012-03-15,1,http://www.thebody.com/content/66273/russia-hiv-infections-rise-5-percent-in-2011-offic.html,"Russia HIV Infections Rise 5 Percent in 2011: Official
March 15, 2012
Russia's top doctor said on Monday that new HIV infections rose 5 percent in 2011, with 62,000 cases recorded. According to Gennady Onishchenko, the country has logged more than 600,000 cases since 1987, a figure much lower than the UN's estimate of 980,000.
Onishchenko said heterosexual HIV transmission continues to increase and now accounts for 39.9 percent of cases, though most new cases are linked to injecting drug use. He worries that women are increasingly affected: Females now represent more than half of new infections in 13 Russian regions.
According to activists, ongoing social stigma against the groups at highest risk -- homosexuals and drug users -- impedes Russia's response to HIV/AIDS. International groups have long criticized Russia for failing to take a comprehensive approach.
Andrei Zlobin, who leads Russia's HIV patients association, said the official response to AIDS is marked by inefficiency, inaccurate data, and a lack of a plan. ""The big question is why a country which spends so much materially lacks such efficiency,"" he said.
Agence France Presse
This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.
Add Your Comment:
(Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in
Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Before
adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)",325,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00154-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.91992050409317
4a725d57-ff61-438b-92fe-e9bc594cb532,2016-07-26T02:46:49+00:00,2013-01-24,1,http://www.biospace.com/News/gilead-sciences-inc-initiates-phase-3-clinical/285644/source=MoreNews,"Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) Initiates Phase 3 Clinical Program for Tenofovir Alafenamide, a Novel Low-Dose Prodrug for the Treatment of HIV
1/24/2013 9:39:43 AM
FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced the initiation of the first of two Phase 3 clinical trials (Study 104) evaluating a single tablet regimen containing tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve adults. TAF is a novel prodrug of tenofovir, the active agent in Viread® (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate). The Phase 3 studies will examine a once-daily single tablet regimen of TAF 10 mg/elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg compared to Gilead’s Stribild® (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) among patients new to HIV therapy. The second Phase 3 study (Study 111) will be initiated later this quarter.
comments powered by",286,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00211-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.751577436923981
1b14697e-3290-480f-8fc8-7c948d03bde7,2015-03-29T10:49:54+00:00,2015-03-29,0,http://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/rough-plumbing/installation-maintenance/flanges-nipples/shallow-eschutcheon/p-1340786-c-9420.htm,"Model Number: 920-2WPK2
Menards® SKU: 6794064
Description & Documents
This Trim Tite™ 1/2"" CTS shallow escutcheon (2/bag) are corrosion proof and will never rust or pit.
- Will not come loose. Molded-in ""memory"" retains a permanent grip on pipe or tube
- Low cost and attractive appliance white color makes the Trim Tite an excellent substitution for chrome plated or stainless steel escutcheons
Please Note: Prices, promotions, styles and availability may vary by store and online. While we do our best to provide accurate item availability information, we cannot guarantee in-stock status and availability as inventory is sold and received continuously throughout the day. Inventory last updated 3/29/2015 at 5:00am EST. Online orders and products purchased in-store qualify for rebate redemption. Rebates are provided in the form of a merchandise credit check which can only be used in a Menards store.",208,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00222-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.856587409973145
168d4ac3-f76a-4695-bb53-1e717eee61e2,2015-03-28T14:21:34+00:00,2014-07-17,1,http://www.nerve.in/news:2535002389040,"""A Hamas official said on condition of anonymity that his movement and other Palestinian factions agreed to halt rocket fire into Israel for five hours in response to a proposal by the UN, Xinhua reported.""
Jerusalem/Gaza, July 17 - At least three rockets were launched at the southern Israeli Eshkol regional council area at noon Thursday, two hours into the five-hour UN-brokered Hamas-Israel temporary ceasefire, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said.
The three rockets exploded in open territory and no injuries or damage was reported, according to Xinhua.
On Wednesday, Israel agreed to a temporary ceasefire between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday, in order to allow humanitarian aid into the heavily bombarded Gaza Strip enclave.
The request for aid was made by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Robert Serry, after an Israeli air raid killed four Palestinian children by the beach Wednesday afternoon.
The IDF claimed Israeli bombers mistook the young children for militants and said it is investigating the incident.
According to medical officials in Gaza, 227 Palestinians have been killed since last Tuesday when Israel began its air raid campaign called Operation Protective Edge.
In all, 1,678 Gazans were reported wounded. It is estimated that 80 percent of the casualties from Israel's strikes were civilians.
In Israel, one civilian died from shrapnel injuries near the Gaza border and five people suffered light to medium wounds from the more than 1,200 mortar shells and rockets fired from the strip.
Prior to the start of the temporary ceasefire, a rocket barrage was fired from Gaza into central Israel. While two rockets were intercepted, another rocket exploded in open territory in the northern central plain. No injuries were reported.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli security forces foiled an infiltration attempt by 13 Palestinian militants attempting to launch an attack by entering Israel through a tunnel which led from the southern Gaza Strip towards the southern Israeli community of Sufa.
Also Thursday morning, before the ceasefire came into effect, the Israeli Air Force continued striking targets in the Gaza Strip.
Attempts at reaching a new ceasefire are under way with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli representatives meeting in Cairo.
Israel has demanded a halt to the rocket fire and demilitarisation of the strip. Hamas has demanded an end to the seven-year blockade on the enclave and the opening of the Rafah Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip adjacent to the Egyptian border.
The organisation has also demanded that Israel release 56 Palestinians affiliated to Hamas who were arrested in another IDF operation in Hebron last month, following the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens.
Israel's deadly operation, which has killed mostly civilians including women, children, the elderly and the disabled, has triggered international outrage with Palestinians and their supporters holding demonstrations condemning the airstrikes in various countries.
Earlier Thursday, Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas movement's spokesman in Gaza, said in a press statement that after consulting various Palestinian factions and political powers, the UN request for a five-hour ceasefire was accepted.
A Hamas official said on condition of anonymity that his movement and other Palestinian factions agreed to halt rocket fire into Israel for five hours in response to a proposal by the UN, Xinhua reported.
But we will respond to any Israeli attacks on Gaza during the pause, the official said.",674,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297587.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00004-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966071724891663
fa12adab-8d8f-4272-9166-df4147464688,2015-03-29T10:40:08+00:00,2007-12-03,1,http://appleinsider.com/articles/07/12/03/steve_jobs_to_headline_macworld_san_francisco_2008.html,"Steve Jobs to headline Macworld San Francisco 2008IDG World Expo officially announced Monday that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will deliver the opening keynote address for next year's Macworld Conference & Expo.
Macworld will be held at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center January 14-18, 2008, and the keynote address will be held on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. at Moscone West.
Among the product introductions expected at the conference is an ultra-thin and lightweight sub-notebook from Apple, which AppleInsider has detailed on several occasions (1, 2, 3).
""This is one of the biggest Mac community gatherings of the year and Steves keynote is always the most anticipated event of the week,"" said Mary Dolaher, CEO of IDG World Expo. ""We're looking forward to a great show and are thrilled that Steve will once again be kicking it off.""
Macworld Conference and Expo 2008 will host creative professionals from a cross-section of industries including design, print, online, photography, broadcast, videography and music.
In addition to an exhibit floor featuring over 350 companies, the event will offer a conference with over 120 educational sessions, and a set of exhibit floor attractions including a free training series, an interactive Digital Photography area and live Music and Sound product demonstrations.
Event highlights, conference agenda and registration information are available on the Macworld Conference & Expo Web site.
On Topic: Future Hardware
- Apple's new MacBook employs unorthodox keyboard design to achieve maximum thinness
- Apple outs wireless keyboard refresh on Czech store, could include backlight
- Intel Core M lets new MacBook go light and fanless, but with sacrifices
- BMW research head avoids Apple Car question, says obstacles present to deeper partnership
- The art of deception: How Apple attempts to keep its secret projects under wraps",380,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00202-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.931909024715424
f31909af-47a2-48ec-b128-811aba7ebe7a,2018-08-20T06:38:24+00:00,2013-12-12,0,http://aliceburnettegreene.com/tag/president-obama-on-economic-inequality/,"I couldn’t help but cry when I listened to the news reports of President Mandela’s death. He deserves the reward he will receive for a life well-lived, and I’m really happy that he has transitioned to the Better Place. But I will miss his presence–it somehow comforted me to know that such a wonderful soul was still living among us.
I fully appreciate President Obama’s recognition that President Mandela had helped to bend that evocative moral arc of the universe further towards justice. I was also pleased to learn that President Obama had participated in TransAfrica’s year long March against Apartheid in front of the South African Embassy, led by another great voice for justice, Randall Robinson. Some of you may recall that many notable people were arrested in those daily protests. I was one of the many unnamed people who marched but were not arrested.
President Mandela’s life and legacy speaks volumes to the world about hope–the impact that can be made by of one person of faith dedicated to a just cause. It’s encouraging for the world to be reminded of his great victory in freeing his people from a racist, cruel and evil system. Yes! We can make the world a better place!
Being reminded of President Mandela’s life achievements is the third of three major arc-bending happenings during the last week or so. The first was Pope Francis’ pointed attack on economic injustice and capitalism. Here’s a quote from the Pope in an excellent commentary in The New Yorker: “While the earnings of the minority are growing exponentially, so, too, is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. The imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation…. A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules…. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In this system, which tends to devour everything that stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule.” Right on, Pope Francis!
I believe this powerful statement made the Pope, who holds moral persuasion over millions and millions of people, did much to move that moral arc towards justice.
And so with President Obama’s speech just this week, saying that income inequality is the “defining issue of our time.” From an Associated Press Article: “President Barack Obama prodded Congress to raise wages and secure the social safety net as he issued an overarching appeal Wednesday to correct economic inequalities that he said make it harder for a child to escape poverty. “That should offend all of us,” he declared. “We are a better country than this.” Our president calls for more funds for children in poverty-stricken public schools, increasing the minimum wage and other specifics that will make a great difference in the lives of the poor here in America. Another powerful voice speaking volumes to millions of Americans and to the world, moving that moral arc towards justice. You rock, my President!
I believe that when people like Popes and Presidents use their power to help those with little power, change begins to happen.
But their voices are not all that is needed. Behind President Mandela’s lifelong odyssey was the African National Congress, millions of unnamed Africans who stood against Apartheid for many years, as well as grassroots people from around the world, unnamed folks like me who marched against what seemed like immoveable power.
There are millions of folks with good hearts who speak volumes by their every day work to help this world better reflect the good God who created it. They, too, are moving the moral arc of the universe towards justice.
The hearts of all of us unnamed heroes and sheroes are encouraged when we hear such powerful calls for justice from leaders like Pope Francis and President Obama. And our hearts are filled with hope when we ponder the success of those truly brave and faithful ones who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause of goodness, like President Mandela.
Do you think it’s possible that our world might one day rid itself of the idea that poverty is inevitable? Yes. We can!",887,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215858.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820062343-20180820082343-00205.warc.gz,0.968906998634338
75ae6469-dc01-462e-baeb-fc41824be6fb,2017-08-22T12:57:11+00:00,2017-08-22,0,https://www.york.edu/myyc-blog/5-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-going-to-college,"By Shania Brown
Here you are, freshly graduated from high school and about to embark on “the best four years of your life.” You know where you’re going to college, you have your class schedule and your textbooks—so that’s pretty much all you need to know, right? Wrong. Your freshman year is basically the beginning of the rest of your life, and I’m here to give you a few tips on how to make the best of that journey.
1. You will be overwhelmed.
The second you step on to campus you are going to be freaking out a bit. From freshmen orientation, to figuring out where your classes are, you are going to struggle. But the cool thing is, there is a whole population of people that are riding that struggle bus right along with you. Use these times to jump out of your comfort zone and make new friends—I guarantee you won’t regret it.
2. Find Balance
Being active on your campus is so important, in fact I encourage it! Find the things that make you happy, whether it be singing in the school choir or being involved in social clubs. But at the same time, give yourself time to breathe. It is so easy to start putting these things before your education and yourself, so be sure to set aside time to study and time to relax.
3. Please, ask for help.
All of a sudden you have this newfound independence, and the last thing you want is to look like you have no idea what you are doing. Fun fact: literally no one knows what they’re doing in college. But, there are plenty of people on your campus—resident assistants, counselors, and even your professors that are there for you and only want to see you succeed. One of the greatest things about York College is how everyone, even the faculty and staff enjoy helping all the students as much as they possibly can. Find those people and hold on to them tight.
4. Realize how lucky you are.
The mere fact that you are receiving a higher education is something to celebrate. But please, take advantage of it. Study hard, and take your classes seriously. Between all the activities, organizations, and jobs that you will be involved with it is pretty easy to forget that you are actually at this place to take classes and get a degree. After all, the things you are learning now are one hundred percent preparing you for the future.
5. You are going to change
It’s going to happen, and that is okay. If you have realized it or not, you have spent a lot of time working on yourself since you have been home last. You’ll go home one weekend to find your old bedroom is now storage and all of a sudden you’re making strained conversation with your high school friends. It’s weird and awkward, but at the same time, you will learn to accept it. Change sucks--but you growing into a new and phenomenal person is a welcome one—to you and everyone around you. Embrace it.",637,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110774.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822123737-20170822143737-00011.warc.gz,0.965769290924072
eaccfbf2-c858-472b-be8e-f009b846cb52,2022-05-25T00:42:15+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://www.ventry.co.th/en/shop/topper/ventry-topper-mango,"Ventry Topper Mango
Made from 100% natural latex with squared massage knobs.
- Made 100% natural latex foam with squared massage knob on surface.
- Massage knobs help muscle relax and provide good air ventilation.
- Cover made from fabric with Anti-Dust Mite process
- High durability
- 5-year warranty
- 3-inch thick
back to overview",82,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577757.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524233716-20220525023716-00222.warc.gz,0.807472407817841
d0440ebf-7150-4316-9efa-bcf557f9c2e7,2016-07-24T02:58:20+00:00,2016-07-24,0,http://www.thelifedivine.com/best-things-quotable-magnet,"Item #: QMBEST
Please call 508-696-0381 or email us.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. -Helen Keller
Quotable Black Frame
Best Things Quotable Card",62,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823935.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00073-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.813078105449677
f6e09d70-5697-4a5f-acc5-464985b4b1a6,2020-10-26T13:30:58+00:00,2012-02-01,0,https://www.soundingsonline.com/boats/cheoy-lee-35-lion-class,"John Kihm is a modern seafarer with about a million miles under his belt and tales of faraway places — India, Africa, South America — ready for the telling.
He’s the skipper of an 800-foot Horizon Lines container ship that makes a regular run with general cargo between New York, Puerto Rico and Jacksonville, Fla.
He spends most of his time on the ship’s bridge, 150 feet above the ocean, buzzing along at 24 knots with the turbine engines going full bore. What he’d really like to be doing is idling away a New England summer afternoon with friends in a 15-knot southwesterly aboard his 35-foot sloop, Shenandoah, an old-timer from the 1960s that he has enjoyed for 14 years.
“Sometimes I look out from the bridge of the ship and say, ‘What a day for a sail. I wish I could stop this thing,’ ” says Kihm, 59, who comes ashore to his home in the Ivoryton section of Essex, Conn., just up the Connecticut River from Long Island Sound. “There’s nothing like sailing Gardiner’s Bay on a beautiful day.”
Kihm’s boat is a 1965 Cheoy Lee 35 Lion Class, a bluewater cruiser from the Kowloon, Hong Kong, builder and designed by New Zealander Arthur Robb. It has a fiberglass hull and cabin top, teak decking and brightwork cabin sides, cockpit coaming, toe rail and trim.
Kihm, who grew up sailing on the Hudson River in Nyack, N.Y., found the boat in 1997 sitting idle at SUNY-Maritime College, his alma mater. “I was on the sailing team and sailed and raced just about every day,” Kihm recalls. “And on graduation I went to sea as a third mate on a freighter.”
The Cheoy Lee was one of several boats the school was selling off and it had been neglected. “There was no varnish left, just ‘potato chips,’ and it was dirty and moldy inside and out,” Kihm says. “But I saw past that to the shapely hull, the overhangs and all the teak and brightwork. For me, it had the ‘look.’ It was beautiful.”
It’s also practical. The big cockpit and comfortable layout were intended for safe family cruising. It has a full, deep keel, and the versatile rig features twin headstays and twin spreaders. “It’s a good-looking, sturdy boat built for offshore sailing,” Kihm says.
He bought it for $9,000 and put it back into sailing shape. After 14 years, it’s as comfortable and familiar as a favorite pair of deck shoes. “I really haven’t changed much on the boat,” he says. The interior, with its 1960s-style layout, is all original, down to the bronze cabin ports and kerosene lanterns.
And the way the Cheoy Lee sails still thrills him — sitting in the cockpit with tiller in hand, looking up at taut white canvas, feeling the salt spray. “Shenandoah on Gardiner’s Bay with a 15-knot breeze on the beam,” Kihm says. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”
He says the 35-footer is easy to handle with main and jib. “With a good wind on a broad reach, it really lays down and settles in.” The slim hull, with its full keel, “handles the Long Island Sound chop with no problem. There’s no hobby-horsing and, with those long overhangs, she keeps both ends in the water. The big mast and mainsail generate a lot of power.” The boat also has a 28-hp, 3-cylinder Volvo diesel.
Maintaining the 46-year-old boat takes constant work, Kihm admits, and a sailing friend, Bob Gahran, has been a big help with upkeep. “I prioritize,” he says. “I look at the necessity, the time involved in a particular project, and try to get one thing done over the winter.” Upcoming projects include redoing the cabin sides and maybe converting the tiller steering to wheel to free up cockpit space.
Kihm has come a long way since he launched his first boat as a child on the Hudson River. “It was a pram with a hole in it that I found along the bank,” he says. “I patched it up with roofing tar, got some oars and started rowing around.”
And although he has crossed most of the world’s oceans, the simple day cruises to Coecles Harbor and Sag Harbor, N.Y., the runs to Block Island, R.I., and the fall foliage cruises up the Connecticut River are what he looks forward to. “This boat is it,” Kihm says. “I am very comfortable with her. She’s a boat to go anywhere.”
The Cheoy Lee 35 Lion features a slim hull for its length, with a beam of 8 feet, 9 inches, and more than 11 feet of overhangs, which give the boat buoyancy when heeling. Six thousand pounds of ballast help balance a 475-square-foot mainsail carried on a 50-foot Sitka spruce mast. The sloop rig also includes a 275-square-foot genoa, along with a 175-square-foot headsail. Some 35 Lion Class models had twin headstays.
The spoon bow leads to a deep forefoot and the full keel with a keel-mounted rudder. The stern picks up quickly to a small, rounded transom that sheds following seas. The trunk cabin, with doghouse, is surrounded by wide side decks and an open foredeck, with ample room for sail and anchor work.
Below, the galley is to port at the foot of the companionway, equipped with a sink, stove and icebox. The saloon has opposing settees — convertible to bunks — a drop-leaf table for dining and a navigation station to starboard, along with a port-side quarter berth. The enclosed, fully equipped head opens to the V-berth forward for privacy.
Designer Arthur Robb, a native New Zealander, was well-known in the 1950s and ’60s for his offshore cruising sailboats. Cheoy Lee, the pioneering Hong Kong builder (though it was founded in Shanghai) began producing the 35 Lion Class in 1955, and more than 100 wooden hulls were built before the changeover to fiberglass in the 1960s. These early glass hulls featured teak decks over plywood, which often led to delamination problems. Production of the popular cruisers continued into the 1980s. In 1965, a new Cheoy Lee 35 Lion cost $13,900. Used models today generally run from about $40,000 up to $85,000 for “showroom” boats, although there are bargains out there, too, especially if you’re looking for a fixer-upper.
LOA: 35 feet, 2 inches
BEAM: 8 feet, 9 inches
DRAFT: 5 feet, 6 inches
WEIGHT: 14,500 pounds
HULL: full keel, keel-mounted rudder
SAIL AREA: 475-square-foot main, 175-square-foot jib
AUXILIARY POWER: diesel (25-30 hp)
DESIGNER: Arthur Robb
BUILDER: Cheoy Lee Co., Kowloon, Hong Kong
This article originally appeared in the February 2012 issue.
Brokerage listings powered by BoatQuest.com
Click here to find more Cheoy Lee boats.",1718,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891228.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026115814-20201026145814-00130.warc.gz,0.958389699459076
20282c82-8c4c-4601-b452-c997bf323f69,2015-03-26T23:52:01+00:00,2012-12-07,0,http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/readersletters/10095450.Help_us_clean_up_Foss/,"YOUR anonymous correspondent (Letters, November 30) is mistaken in believing that City of York Council’s river cleaning boat on the River Foss has been used only once since it was purchased.
The River Foss Society would agree that the boat isn’t used as often as we would wish. Nevertheless, Foss Society members, together with council staff, have been out on the boat twice in the past year collecting rubbish from the river between Castle Mills and Monk Bridge, while other volunteers cleared the banks up as far as Yearsley Bridge. On one occasion, we were joined by York Viking Rotary Club members. We plan to carry on this work next year, but litter picking is not all we do.
The society welcomes new members to support its programme of walks, talks on all aspects of the river, and behind-the-scenes work to help care for the Foss and its environs. If you cherish the river, contact us via our website riverfosssociety.co.uk – you will be most welcome.
Mark Gladwin, Huntington Road, York",220,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131293283.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172133-00142-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970519185066223
6201bca7-5549-4ab6-b45b-3b498f245676,2020-10-25T11:37:51+00:00,2012-03-22,1,https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/03/22/comment-britain-must-stop-fudging-its-way-to-equality-and-let-religions-marry-gay-couples/,"Comment: Britain must stop fudging its way to equality and let religions marry gay couples
Following the launch of the government’s public consultation on how to implement equal civil marriage rights, Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, the co-chair of Rabbinic Conference of Liberal Judaism, says religious ceremonies must be included in the final result.
I have written before about the process of moving towards Equal Marriage in the UK and now with the launch of the Government’s consultation process titled, ‘Equal Civil Marriage Consultation,’ feel moved to do so once more. I would encourage all readers to participate in the consultation.
I do not feel that the current consultation goes far enough. You will notice that there is only one question relating to religious marriage. On the front page it states that a key proposal of this consultation is, “to make no changes to religious marriages. This will continue to only be legally possible between a man and a woman.” This confirms that the Government proposals are not for Full Marriage Equality but yet again for a stepping-stone towards it. As a Brit, I am used to our culture of fudging our way forwards but the reasons why we need to keep pushing for Full Marriage Equality remain the same.
At the outset, I must point out that comments concerning ‘religious freedom’ around debate led by the Pope, the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu and Cardinal Keith O’Brien, are spurious. Not once has there been any suggestion of compulsion – religious institutions must accept equal religious marriage. Rather, there currently is a bar on my religious freedom to perform a Jewish marriage ceremony for couples, regardless of their sexuality, who yearn for God’s blessing upon the essence of their union: love, commitment, sharing of values and ethics in a monogamous relationship.
Most religious leaders who speak in favour of marriage as an institution should be interested in increasing the numbers of those marrying rather than placing further impediments to those who seek God’s blessing in all good faith. Those who still believe that marriage can contribute positively to the lives of individuals, households and society and who can articulate why that is so, ultimately come back to the argument that marriage was and can only be a union between male and female.
I would like to quote the British Jewish scholar Israel Abrahams (1858-1925). “The formulation of the highest truth needs constant revision, and even more surely do the forms in which truth is clothed. When dogma takes the place of love, religion is dead.”
In my consideration of Equal Marriage, I have found it helpful to consider what was so important about when my wife and I married. We had an incredible day. The wedding itself was wonderful being in Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue where we had both had our baby blessings, Bar and Bat Mitzvah and Kabbalat Torah (Confirmation). We had gone all the way through our Cheder (Saturday morning Religion School) and graduated to being Teaching Assistants and then Teachers before we went to university. This was our spiritual home.
Our legal standing did not come into our desire to be married to each other, nor did any financial consideration or thought of children. Our party was certainly the best ever (I hope we all believe that of our own!). Yet the essential element of our wedding day was our Rabbi (who happened to be my father) asking God to bless our marriage.
I am now, myself a Rabbi of Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue. When my daughters – if they choose to – get married, I believe that I should have the religious freedom to ask God to bless their marriage, whether they are marrying a man or a woman. As a bridegroom, I enjoyed the rights and freedoms of being heterosexual. I know that sexuality is not a matter of choice. I believe that society has accepted that fact. If dogma is not to take the place of love, then it is time to progress our definition of the institution of marriage.",823,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888931.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025100059-20201025130059-00603.warc.gz,0.96419221162796
73a0bf42-10e4-46e4-a8a6-c50694def0a1,2017-08-19T01:48:17+00:00,2013-02-20,1,http://www.michaelrubin.org/13186/africa-iran,"The Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear ambitions remain at the center of American diplomatic attention. Outreach to Iran was the focus of President Obama's first television interview as president in 2009. A desire for rapprochement continues into the Obama administration's second term. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on February 2, 2013, for example, Vice President Joe Biden offered direct, bilateral talks with Iran. Policy concern regarding Iran also consumes a disproportionate share of US military resources. Even as the number of aircraft carriers within the US Navy shrinks to 10-down from 12 in 2007-the Pentagon remains committed to stationing an aircraft-carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf, largely because of Iran. Before Operation Desert Shield in 1990, the United States did not generally station any carriers in the Persian Gulf.
Iran's strategy, however, is broader than Western policymakers' focus on its nuclear program and its activities in the Middle East or perhaps Latin America. American strategists might describe Iran as a ""regional power,"" but in recent years, Iranian officials have described the Islamic Republic as an ""extra-regional power."" They see Iran as a pivotal state able to exert its influence not only in the Middle East, but also in South Asia, and not only in the Persian Gulf, but also in the Indian Ocean. Tehran's diplomatic ambitions, however, may be considerably broader: Iran increasingly appears to be looking at Africa as fertile ground for expanding its influence. Iranian outreach takes many guises and is geared toward specific purposes, some diplomatic and others military.
With successive US administrations and European governments effectively ignoring Africa, Tehran sees many of Africa's 54 countries as diplomatic easy picking in a zero-sum game for influence. In comparison to recent American presidents who made three multicountry African visits between 2003 and 2012, the Iranian president travels to Africa at least annually, while other Iranian ministers visit even more frequently.
In his latest tour of Africa in January 2013, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi visited Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso before ending his tour in Ethiopia, where he attended the annual African Union summit. Speaking in Ghana on January 7, 2013, he declared Africa to be an Iranian priority. Salehi's rhetoric is not empty; his tour tops off a concerted five-year Iranian push.
Over this time, the Iranian diplomatic strategy toward Africa has been threefold. First, with additional aid, Tehran has cultivated relationships with countries voting in important international bodies, such as nonpermanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council or term members serving on the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors. Additional targets for Iranian largesse have been African states active in the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Union. Second, beyond the diplomatic quid pro quo, Iranian officials appear to be prioritizing outreach to those African countries that are mining or prospecting for uranium. Lastly, senior Iranian officials have sought to cement partnerships that they could leverage into gaining access to strategic bases.
The Quest for Diplomatic Support
Both the UN Security Council and IAEA normally have African representation. Togo and Rwanda currently serve as nonpermanent members of the UN Security Council (between 2010 and 2011, Gabon and Nigeria served in this position). South Africa held a security council seat between 2007 and 2008 and again between 2010 and 2011, with Uganda serving in the interim. Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania also currently serve on the IAEA Board of Governors, and in recent years, Niger and Kenya have also served there. The countries listed largely coincide with the emphasis of Iran's Africa outreach.
Iranian diplomats have long sought to cultivate ties with South Africa. The Islamic Republic's opposition to Apartheid set the foundation for warm ties after the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1994. Iranian supply of oil to South Africa has heightened economic relations. For Tehran, however, trade is not the only factor in Iran's desire to have good relations with South Africa. ""South Africa is a key member of the Non-Aligned Movement, a bloc of developing countries that has resisted the efforts to force Tehran to halt uranium enrichment,"" a commentary in the official Tehran Times explained.
Iran's attempts to leverage its relationship with South Africa into support on the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors paid dividends. Despite the February 2008 IAEA report that found that the Islamic Republic continued to enrich uranium in violation of its safeguards agreement and two security council resolutions, the South African government used its position on the security council to oppose further sanctions against Iran.
Whether South African advocacy for Iran is sincere or cynical, the African state reaps benefits. While the international community sought to constrain Iranian sales and thereby the Islamic Republic's income, South Africa refused to cooperate. In 2010, Iranian crude oil accounted for 25 percent of South Africa's petroleum, much of it at discounted prices. Most recently, South Africa threw a last-minute wrench into an IAEA resolution criticizing Iran's failure to comply with security council resolutions. South African authorities have been helpful to the Islamic Republic in other ways: the US Department of the Treasury has accused South Africa's cell phone company MTN of helping Iran skirt prohibitions on imports of US technology.
South Africa is not alone. After Togo announced its intention to seek a UN Security Council seat, Tehran's outreach to the tiny West African nation increased. In September 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Togolese Foreign Minister Elliott Ohin. ""An extensive and profound cooperation between Iran and Africa will go a long way to modify international relations and regional balance,"" Ahmadinejad declared.
Then-Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki reciprocated the visit the following month. Fourteen months later, in January 2012, Mottaki's successor Ali Akbar Salehi met Ohin at the 18th African Union summit and promised that the Islamic Republic would help develop Togo. Indeed, after successive visits by both then-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her Iranian counterpart, the Togolese opposition was quite open about how the two powers sought to court countries often ignored by larger powers. It emphasized the appeal of the Iranian approach, if for no other reason than that it caused larger countries to no longer take Togo for granted.
Once again, however, strings appear to have been attached to Iranian assistance. When Yemeni authorities accused Iran of supporting the Houthis (the Shiite minority fighting an antigovernment insurgency in northern Yemen), the Iranians denied responsibility. The ship intercepted with weaponry was actually Togolese, Iranian authorities explained.
The same pattern held true with Gabon. Shortly before Gabon ascended to the security council, the country became the subject of intense Iranian courtship. In May 2009, the Gabonese culture minister visited Tehran carrying a veritable wish list of projects for Iran to subsidize or provide. Later that month, then- Gabonese foreign minister Paul Toungui visited Tehran, where he signed a host of agreements to expand and facilitate business. Early the next year, Gabonese President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba met Mottaki on the sidelines of the African Union conference. Mottaki reiterated Iran's desire to expand political and economic ties with Gabon. Two months later, Gabon used its seat on the security council to support Iran's nuclear program.
Nigeria's role in both the security council and at the IAEA translated into sustained Iranian outreach. Nigeria may be oil-rich, but with a dysfunctional economy leaving most Nigerians impoverished, the country welcomed any foreign investment to create jobs. Instead of supplying oil-Iran's strategy of first resort to countries whose support Tehran wants-Tehran offered to manufacture Iranian automobiles in Nigeria, providing poorer Nigerians with assembly-line jobs and perhaps giving Iranian agents cover to operate in the region. Iranian engineers also helped Nigeria bolster its own production, lending Iranian engineering expertise to Nigerian efforts to explore offshore gas fields. During a subsequent visit to Nigeria, Salehi sweetened the commercial pot further with promises of preferential tariff reductions and bolstered trade.
The Iranian government did not hesitate to leverage its investment in Nigeria. As with Togo and Gabon, however, there also appears to have been a more nefarious side to Iran's presence. The seizure of crates of weaponry at the Port of Lagos in 2010 exposed Iran's strategy to leverage its African partners for strategic objectives. Summoned by the Nigerian foreign minister after Nigerian customs seized the arms shipment, the Iranian ambassador explained that the arms were destined for Gambia as part of an earlier agreement. When the Nigerian government asked why, then, the Iranians had labeled the sealed containers as building material, the Iranian ambassador shrugged off the question and instead blamed the private shipping company. That same year the US Department of the Treasury issued an advisory regarding the tendency of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines-already subject to sanctions-to use fraudulent documents in its operations.
The Quest for Uranium
Another factor behind Iran's nuclear drive may be its developing nuclear program. The Iranian leadership has said it seeks up to 16 nuclear reactors for civilian energy purposes. Should Iran build such a network, it will deplete its limited indigenous uranium supply within 10 years. Regardless of Iran's nuclear motivation, two things are clear: Iran has at present no intention of abandoning its nuclear drive, and it will also never have true energy security. Its quest to find alternative sources of uranium may also bring Iran back to Africa.
A number of African states mine uranium: Nambia and Niger are major uranium exporters. Malawi and Gabon operate uranium mines. South Africa produces some uranium as a byproduct of gold mining, and prospecting continues across the continent. Uranium deposits exist in Togo, Guinea, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Iran seeks to cultivate ties with many of these states.
Hence, in April 2010, Centrafrique-Presse Online, a Central African Republic website affiliated with Ange-Félix Patassé, that country's ousted president, suggested that then-foreign minister Antoine Gambi had traveled to Tehran to negotiate the Iranian purchase of Central African yellowcake. While Patassé has motivation to cast suspicion on the man who ousted him in a coup, his speculation that there could be ""a Bangui-Caracas-Tehran-Pyongyang axis trafficking in uranium"" in the making might raise anxiety.
In theory, while international controls prevent African states from exporting uranium absent transparency, the reality is that poor infrastructure and corruption can enable illicit trade. In 2007, for example, Congolese authorities arrested Fortunat Lumu, director of the Atomic Energy Center, in an investigation involving missing uranium.
While visits by Iranian officials to the West African country of Guinea were relatively scarce a decade ago, Tehran has taken more interest in Conakry since the discovery of commercially viable uranium deposits in 2007. In 2010, Mottaki announced a 140 percent increase in Iran-Guinea trade, for which the mining sector accounted for the greatest proportion. Recent Iranian outreach to Gambia, Malawi, Namibia, and Uganda also coincides with the discovery of uranium in those countries. In January 2008, for example, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced the discovery of uranium. While Ahmadinejad had visited Banjul in 2006 for an African Union summit, he returned in the year following the announcement for further discussions with Jammeh.
Uganda announced its uranium discovery in 2004. While commercial relations between Iran and Uganda remained dormant under the presidencies of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-97) and Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), this changed in subsequent years. Visiting Tehran in 2009, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni met not only with his counterpart, but also with Iran's minister of mining. The Kampala-based Daily Monitor reported ""strong indication that the two leaders discussed prospects of exploiting Uganda's uranium resources, which Mr. Museveni has often said would only be used for the generation of energy.""
The Quest for a Base
A third goal for Iranian outreach to Africa may be a quest to establish Iran's own ""string of pearls""-that is, if not de facto bases that could provide Iran logistical support and allow it to extend its naval reach, then pivotal states upon which it could rely to advance strategic and ideological objectives (the role that Venezuela plays for Iran in South America).
Initially, Iranian authorities cultivated a relationship with Senegal. There is no indication that the two states ever openly discussed formal bases, but the Islamic Republic did develop closer relations with Senegal than it did with other African states. Abdoulaye Wade, president of Senegal between 2000 and 2012, met repeatedly not only with Ahmadinejad but also Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Senegalese foreign and defense ministers also visited their Iranian counterparts. Senior Iranian officials have reciprocated the visits.
The Senegalese leadership seemed interested in reaping the benefits from its Iranian courtship. ""Energy, Oil Prospecting, Industry: Senegal Benefits from Iranian Solutions,"" the official government newspaper declared after Wade's first visit to Tehran. After the reciprocal Iranian visit, Wade announced that Iran would build an oil refinery, chemical plant, and an $80 million car-assembly plant in the West Africa nation. Within weeks, Samuel Sarr, Senegal's energy minister, visited Tehran and returned with a pledge that Iran would supply Senegal with oil for a year and purchase a 34 percent stake in Senegal's oil refinery. Such aid may not have come without strings attached. On November 25, 2007, during the third meeting of the Iran-Senegal joint economic commission, Wade endorsed Iran's nuclear program. Wade's visit to Iran the following year provided a backdrop for Khamenei to declare that developing unity between Islamic countries like Senegal and Iran can weaken ""the great powers"" like the United States.
On January 27, 2008, a week after then-Senegalese foreign minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio announced that he too would visit Tehran, then-defense minister Bécaye Diop met with his Iranian counterpart to discuss expanding bilateral defense ties between the two states. While Iranian Navy Chief Habibollah Sayyari is prone to hyperbole, Senegal could have brought to reality-at least symbolically-his pledge to have Iran establish a presence in the Atlantic.
Bilateral relations suffered a significant setback in 2011, however, when Senegalese authorities accused Iran of smuggling arms to rebels in Senegal's restive Casamance region. If the Senegalese allegations were true-Iran hotly denied them and accused foreign intelligence of fabricating evidence-then they might have reflected lack of coordination among various Iranian security elements. The Iranian ministry of intelligence, Quds Force, and the foreign ministry have, on occasion, run foreign operations at odds with each other and broader Iranian policy. Regardless, the break in relations was only temporary. On February 7, 2013, Tehran and Dakar restored bilateral ties, although whether Senegal will pursue as effusive an embrace of Iran under Wade's successor Macky Sall is far from clear.
While its relations with Senegal were in stasis, Iran's courtship of Sudan reached new levels. The Islamic Republic is willing to embrace any African state estranged from the West. In the past, this was the basis for ties between Iran and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe (which in recent years has also become a uranium producer). Iranian officials apparently have also found Sudan ripe for picking.
European governments and the United States have sought to isolate Sudan because of its role in Darfur Genocide; on March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. As the international community tightened sanctions on Khartoum, Ahmadinejad moved to embrace Bashir, visiting the country before and after Bashir's indictment. Iran's defense minister visited Khartoum and called the African state ""the cornerstone"" of the Islamic Republic's Africa policies.
Indeed, as the Syrian regime-since 1979 Iran's only loyal ally-has teetered, Iranian authorities have increased military cooperation with Sudan. Twice in late 2012, Iranian naval ships docked at Port Sudan on the Red Sea. While Sudanese officials have denied any military alliance between Tehran and Khartoum, there is widespread speculation that Israel might have conducted an airstrike on Sudan, targeting Iranian arms.
Iranian officials have denied rumors that the Islamic Republic has also established bases in the littoral Red Sea nation of Eritrea, a country that has both endorsed Iran's nuclear program and also suffered increasingly strained ties with the West because of its increasingly dismal human rights record. (Eritrea is the only country to rank below North Korea in press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders.) Iran explains its presence in regional waters as part of its own antipiracy operations, although Iranian officials tend to exaggerate their own operations.
While supposition is not proof of Iranian aims, there does appear to be determined Iranian outreach to Africa. At best, Tehran appears to be leveraging aid and soft power in exchange for diplomatic favors; at worst, some individuals in the Islamic Republic appear to be using Africa as cover for other military or nuclear objectives. Either way, the Iranian government has shown that its self-description as an ""extra-regional"" power is no longer rhetorical exaggeration, but will instead increasingly challenge US aims across Africa.
1. Hisham Melhem, ""Obama Speaks to the Muslim World,"" Washington Post, January 28, 2009.
2. Adrian Croft and Myra MacDonald, ""Biden Raises Possibility of Direct U.S.-Iran Talks,"" Reuters, February 3, 2013.
3. See, for example, ""Tahdid, Tahrim, va Teror, Khalali dar 'Dafa'e Muqadas Hastehha-ye' Ijad Namikonad"" [Threats, Sanctions, and Assassinations Won't Interfere in 'Core Sacred Defense'], Fars News.com (Tehran), January 11, 2012, www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13901021001600.
4. Office of the Historian, US Department of State, ""Travels of President Barack Obama,"" http://history.state.gov/department history/travels/president/obama-barack; and Office of the Historian, US Department of State, ""Travels of President George W. Bush,"" http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/bush-george-w. Former secretaries of state Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton each made four trips to Africa during their respective four-year tenures. See Office of the Historian, US Department of State, ""Travels of the Secretary,"" http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/secretary.
5. ""FM: Iran Resolved to Expand Ties with Africa,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), January 7, 2013, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107133637.
6. ""FM: 2008 a Milestone in Iran-Africa Ties,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), January 30, 2008, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8611100422; ""Beh Zudi Ijlas Iran va Afriqa dar Tehran Bargazar Mishavad"" [Tehran Will Soon Host Iran-Africa Summit], Mehr News (Tehran), February 1, 2008, www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=631047.
7. ""Pretoria's Pro-Iran Stance Can Boost Progress in Global South,"" Tehran Times, February 7, 2008.
8. ""SA Commends Iran's Stance on Nuclear Program,"" Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), September 14, 2007.
9. International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors, Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and Relevant Provisions of Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007) in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report by the Director General (February 25, 2008), www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Board /2011/gov2011-7.pdf; and ""Security Council Edges Towards Adoption of Iran Sanctions,"" The Citizen (Johannesburg), February 29, 2008.
10. ""Tamim 25 dar sad Niaz Naft Afirqaye Jonubi Towsat Iran"" [25 Percent of South Africa's Oil Needs Supplied by Iran], Abrar (Tehran), January 27, 2010. www.abrarnews.com/economic /1388/881107/html/energy.htm; and ""Afzayesh Cheshemgir Vardat Naft-e Kham Afriqaye Jonubi va Iran"" [The Dramatic Rise in South Africa's Crude Oil Imports from Iran], Fars News Agency (Tehran), April 2, 2012, www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13910114000938 .
11. Fredrik Dahl, ""South Africa Throws UN Nuclear Meeting on Iran into Disarray,"" Reuters, September 13, 2012.
12. Steve Stecklow, ""Special Report: Documents Detail How MTN Funneled U.S. Technology to Iran,"" Reuters, August 30, 2012; and ""MTN 'Panicking' over US Treasury Sanctions,"" City Press (Johannesburg), November 10, 2012, www.citypress .co.za/business/mtn-panicking-over-us-treasury-sanctions-20121110/.
13. ""L'Iran, 'Partenaire Stratégique' de l'Afrique"" [Iran 'Strategic Partner' of Africa], RepublicofTogo.com (Lomé), September 14, 2010, www.republicoftogo.com/Toutes-les-rubriques/Diplomatie/L-Iran-partenaire-strategique-de-l-Afrique.
14. ""Manouchehr Mottaki à Lomé"" [Manouchehr Mottaki to Lomé], RepublicofTogo.com (Lomé), October 30, 2010, www.republicoftogo.com/Toutes-les-rubriques/Diplomatie /Manouchehr-Mottaki-a-Lome.
15. ""Tawse'ah va Gosteresh-e Ravabat Do Keshvar Mavarad Takid Qarar Gereft"" [Development of Bilateral Relations Emphasized], Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), January 30, 2012.
16. ""Visite Éclaire de la Secrétaire d'Etat Hillary Clinton au Togo: Après les Questions de Trafic de Drogue, de Blanchiment d'Argent et de Terrorisme International, le Cœur de Faure Gnassingbé Balance Entre l'Iran et les Usa pour les Armes Nucléaires et la Piraterie Maritime,"" [The Visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Togo Clarifies: After Question of Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering, and International Terrorism, the Heart of Faure Gnassingbe is the Balance between Iran and the US over Nuclear Arms and Maritime Piracy], Le Triangle des Enjeux (Lomé), January 18, 2012.
17. ""Envoy: West's Deceptive Reports 'Source of Yemen's Baseless Claims against Iran,'"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), January 7, 2013, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php? nn=9107133761.
18. ""Gabon Minister: Iran Source of Honor for Africans,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), May 4, 2009, http://english.farsnews.com /newstext.php?nn=8802140871.
19. ""Minister Welcomes Presence of Iranian Private Sector in Gabon,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), May 26, 2009, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8803051500.
20. ""Gabonese President Terms Relations with Iran Important,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), February 1, 2010, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8811121230.
21. ""Iran Renews Calls for N. Disarmament,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), April 3, 2010, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8901140743.
22. ""Iran dar Nijeria Khodro Misazad"" [Iran to Build Cars in Nigeria], Alef (Tehran), October 31, 2010, http://alef.ir/vdceff8v.jh8nvi9bbj.html?85787.
23. ""Hamkari Gazi 156 milliyon dollari Iran va Nijeria"" [$156 Million Gas Cooperation between Iran and Nigeria], Donya-ye Eghtesad (Tehran), August 14, 2008, www.donya-e-eqtesad.com/Default_view.asp?@=116779; and ""Dar Ijlas Nijeria Ara'i Shod Pishnahadha-ye Ahmadinejad beh Dey 8"" [Ahmadinejad Presents Offer to Developing Eight Countries in Nigeria Meeting], Donya-ye Eghtesad (Tehran), July 11, 2010, www.donya-e-eqtesad.com/Default_view.asp?@=214445.
24. ""Iran, Nigeria Plan to Exchange Experience in Different Arenas,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), July 14, 2011, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9004230335.
25. ""Salehi: D8 Seeking to Promote Trade among Muslim Nations,"" Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), July 13, 2011; and ""Tehran and Abuja Emphasize Need For Upgrading Cooperation Level,"" Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), July 13, 2011.
26. Detail about the Nigeria weapons seizure is available at Maseh Zarif, ""Qods Force Operation in Africa,"" AEI Iran Tracker, March 7, 2011, www.irantracker.org/military-activities/qods-force-operation-africa.
27. ""Safir Iran dar Nigeria: Gambia Moghasad Tasalihat Zabet Shodeh Nijeria Bud"" [Iranian Ambassador in Nigeria: Arms Seized in Nigeria were Destined for Gambia], Donya-ye Eghtesad (Tehran), February 10, 2011, www.donyae-eqtesad.com/Default_view.asp?@=243016.
28. ""Nonproliferation and Weapons of Mass Destruction Advisory: Presentation of Fraudulent Shipping Documents,"" US Department of the Treasury, March 31, 2011, www.treasury .gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/pages /20110331_33.aspx; and ""Major Iranian Shipping Company Designated for Proliferation Activity,"" US Department of the Treasury, September 10, 2008, www.treasury.gov/press-center /press-releases/Pages/hp1130.aspx.
29. ""Iran Planning to Build More N. Power Plants,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), November 14, 2011, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007160844; and ""Qarardad Makanyaye Nirugahha-ye Hastehaye Iran"" [Agreement for the Placement of Iranian Nuclear Power Plants], Tabnak.ir (Tehran), August 20, 2010, www.tabnak.ir/pages/?cid=15916; and ""Iran Finds New Uranium Reserves,"" Kayhan International (Tehran), February 24, 2013, www.kayhanintl.com/feb24/index.htm.
30. Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security, ""Alternative Energy Economics for Iran: Options, Definitions and Evaluation,"" in Uranium 2003 Resources, Production and Demand (Nuclear Energy Agency No. 5291, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2004). Iranian authorities have expanded their planned network of nuclear power plants alongside their claimed discovery of new uranium resources. The date at which Iranian nuclear plants will exhaust indigenous uranium will not change if Iran builds plants as it announces a tripling of known uranium reserves.
31. Tshenyo Modibe, ""Deployment of Natural Resources for Development in Africa,"" The Thinker (Midrand), December 2012, 24-28; Richard Johnson, ""French Areva Harvests Bumper Uranium,"" Eurasia Review, February 20, 2013, www.eurasiareview.com /20022013-french-areva-harvests-bumper-uranium/; ""Ezulwini Uranium and Gold Mine, Gauteng, South Africa,"" Mining-Technology.com (London), www.mining-technology.com/projects/ezulwini/; and Dumbani Mzale, ""Kayelekera Mine Output Jumps 21%,"" The Nation (Blantyre), January 19, 2013.
32. ""L'Uranium Centrafricain Conduit Bozizé à Vouloir Jouer dans la Cour des Grands"" [Central African Uranium Leads [François] Bozizé to Want to Play in the Big Leagues], Centrafrique-Presse Online (Paris), April 19, 2010, http://centrafrique-presse.over-blog.com/article-l-uranium-centrafricain-conduit-bozize-a-vouloir-jouer-dans-la-cour-des-grands-48866866.html.
33. Walter Zinnen, ""Waar gaat het Congolese Uranium Heen?"" [Where Does the Congolese Uranium Go?], De Standaad (Brussels), August 7, 2009, www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx ?artikelid=4A2DHA72.
34. ""Iran-Guinea Trade Exchanges Up By 140%,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), May 1, 2010, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8902111538.
35. ""President's Ashura Surprise to the Nation,"" Daily Observer (Banjul), January 21, 2008, http://observer.gm/africa /gambia/banjul/article/2008/1/21/we-have-minerals.
36. ""President Ahmadinejad Visits Gambia Banjul-Tehran Ties Strengthened,"" Daily Observer (Banjul), November 23,
37. Emmanuel Gyezaho, ""Museveni, Iran Leader Hold Talks,"" Daily Monitor (Kampala), May 18, 2009, http://web.archive.org/web/20090521131952/http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Museveni_Iran_leader_hold_talks_85022.shtml.
38. ""Communiqué Conjoint de la Visite Officielle de Son Excellence Me Abdoulaye Wade, Président de la République du Sénégal en République Islamique d'Iran : Du 26 au 28 Juin 2006 (du 5 au 7 Tir 1385 de l'Hégire Solaire),"" Le Soleil (Dakar), June 29, 2006, http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200606290749.html; and ""Leader Urges Muslim Unity Against Israel,"" Press TV (Tehran), May 16, 2010, www.presstv.ir/detail/126703.html.
39. ""Senegalese DM Meets Iranian Counterpart,"" Far News Agency (Tehran), January 28, 2008; and ""Senegal FM Describes Iran as 'Friend of Africa,'"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), December 13, 2010, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn= 8909221177.
40. ""Senegal Stresses Expansion of Ties with Iran,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), July 29, 2007.
41. Mamadou Sèye, ""Énergie, Prospection Pétrolière, Industrie: Le Sénégal Bénéficie des Solutions Iraniennes,"" Le Soleil (Dakar), June 28, 2006, http://fr.allafrica.com/stories /200606280743.html.
42. ""Iran to Build Oil Refinery and Chemical Plant in Senegal,"" Gulf News (Dubai), August 3, 2007, http://gulfnews.com /business/oil-gas/iran-to-build-oil-refinery-and-chemical-plant-in-senegal-1.19403.
43. ""Iran to Supply Crude Oil to Senegal,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), August 28, 2007.
44. ""Senegalese President: Nuclear Technology is Iran's Legitimate Right,"" Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), November 25, 2007.
45. ""Maqam Mo'azzam-e Rahabari Zaban-e Amrika va Abargodrat-ha ra Zaban-e Tahdid va er'ab Danestand"" [The Supreme Leader Says America Only Knows the Language of Intimidation], Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), February 28, 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080301125445/http://www1.irna.ir/fa/news/view/line-1/8612081304213458.htm.
46. ""FM: 2008 a Milestone in Iran-Africa Ties,"" Far News Agency (Tehran), January 30, 2008, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8611100422; and ""Najjar Meets Senegalese President, DM,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), May 2, 2009, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn= 8802121304.
47. ""Farmandeh-e Niruye-e Darya-ye Artesh az Barnameh Navgan-e Darya-ye Artesh-e Iran dar Nazdiki Morzha-ye Abi Amrika dar Aqiyanus Atlas Khabar Dad"" [The Commander of the Navy Announces the Program of Deploying the Iranian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean near the Waters of America], Nasim (Tehran), September 27, 2011, http://nasimonline.ir /TextVersion/Detail/?Id=275914&Serv=9.
48. ""Biyanieh-e Vizarat-e Kharajeh dar Mavarad Qata'ye Kemal Ravabat-e Diplomatik Senegal ba Tehran"" [Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Severing of Diplomatic Relations between Senegal and Tehran], Fararu.com (Tehran), February 21, 2011, http://fararu.com/vdciuraq.t1a3r2bcct.html.
49. ""Tehran Gives Senegal Second Chance to Decide on Ties with Iran,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), February 26, 2011, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8912070878.
50. For example, see the Said Hajjarian interview with Andisheh Pouya: ""Sayyid Hajjarian az bi E'temadi Hashemi O va Dostanesh Miguyad,"" [Said Hajjarian Speaks of Hashemi's Lack of Trust toward Him and His Friends], Khabar Online (Tehran), June 25, 2012, www.khabaronline.ir/print/237993/politics/parties. Kuwait authorities also say a similar dynamic was in play in the incident referred to in ""Kuwait Condemns Iran Rejection of Court Verdict,"" Gulf News (Dubai), May 31, 2012, http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-condemns-iran-rejection-of-court-verdict-1.1030132.
51. ""Iran-Senegal Resume Severed Diplomatic Relations,"" Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), February 7, 2013, www.irna.ir/en/News/80533391/Politic/Iran-Senegal_resume_severed_diplomatic_relations.
52. ""Iran, Zimbabwe Vow to Resist US Dominance,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), November 21, 2006; and ""U.S. Warns Zimbabwe Over Uranium Plan,"" New Zimbabwe (London), March 9, 2011, www.newzimbabwe.com/news4637-US%20warns%20Zim%20over%20uranium%20plan/news.aspx.
53. ""Ahmadinejad: Iran, Sudan Defend Each Other at Int'l Bodies,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), March 2, 2007; ""Sudan, Noqteh-ye Ateka-ye Ravabat-e Iran va Africa ast"" [Sudan is the Cornerstone of Iran's Relations with Africa], Aftab-e Yazd (Tehran), March 7, 2008, http://web.archive.org/web /20080307111644/http://www.aftab-yazd.com/textdetalis.asp?at =3/6/2008&aftab=8&TextID=37476.
54. International Criminal Court, ""The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir,"" February 5, 2009,www.icc-cpi.int /en_menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/situation %20icc%200205/related%20cases/icc02050109/Pages
55. ""Ahmadinejad to Leave for Sudan,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), February 27, 2007; and ""Ahmadinejad Arrives in Sudan,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), September 26, 2011, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007040020.
56. ""Sudan, noqteh-ye ateka-ye rivabat-e Iran va Africa ast"" [Sudan is the Cornerstone of Iran's Relations with Africa], Aftab-e Yazd (Tehran), March 7, 2008, http://web.archive.org/web /20080307111644/http://www.aftab-yazd.com/textdetalis.asp?at =3/6/2008&aftab=8&TextID=37476.
57. ""Iranian Fleet of Warships Dock in Sudanese Port,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), October 29, 2012, http://english .farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107115704; and ""Iranian Warships Dock in Sudan's Port,"" Fars News Agency (Tehran), December 8, 2012, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php ?nn=9107125136.
58. ""Wazir al-Riyaseh al-Sudani: Nachnu Kharij al-Mihwar al-Irani"" [Minister of the Presidency of Sudan: We Are Outside the Iranian Axis], Ash-Sharq al-Awsat (London), November 4, 2012, www.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=4&issueno=12395&
article=702669&state=true#.USWWGmfAXeI; and Ian Black, ""Israel Accused of Air Strike on Sudan Munitions Factory,"" The Guardian (London), October 25, 2012, www.guardian.co.uk/world /2012/oct/25/israel-accused-sudan-munitions-air-strike.
59. ""Eritrean President: Nuclear Energy, Iran's Undeniable Right,"" Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran), June 6, 2009, http://assenna.com/eritrean-president-nuclear-energy-irans-undeniable-rights/.
60. Reporters Without Borders for Freedom of Information, Press Freedom Index 2013, http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html.
61. ""Iran's 5th Fleet to Head for Gulf of Aden,"" Press TV, January 20, 2010, http://web.archive.org/web/20100125172427 /http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116618§ionid= 351020101; and ""Najat-e Koshti Irani 'Attar az Jang Dozdan-e Darya-ye"" [Rescue of the Iranian Ship 'Attar' From Pirates], Abrar (Tehran), May 18, 2011, www.abrarnews.com/politic/1390 /900228/html/rooydad.htm#s148893.",8861,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00707.warc.gz,0.890727639198303
5c9ace27-0ed9-4fb3-8706-78b9dab8164b,2017-08-18T10:47:19+00:00,1998-08-24,1,http://recyclingships.blogspot.com/1998/08/,"The European Commission (EC) is considering an EU-wide ban on white asbestos (chrysotile), according to EU industry commissioner Martin Bangemann. Mr. Bangemann is quoted in the EC’s July meeting notes as saying that, “The Commission is preparing a draft proposal for a European-wide ban on the marketing and use of chrysotile asbestos and asbestos-containing products.” However, at a meeting earlier this year,
Greece, Spain and expressed opposition to a complete ban, about which Mr. Bangemann noted that, “some exceptions and temporary derogations” may be necessary to get a ban passed. Portugal
Currently, eight of the 15 EU member-states have banned chrysotile asbestos.
Britain last week announced it too was considering a ban: members of the construction workers union protested outside the UK Health and Safety Commission, calling for an immediate ban on the use of chrysotile asbestos. UK
The UK Health and Safety Commission will next month release a consultation paper proposing the ban on the supply, use and importation of chrysotile asbestos beginning in 2001. The Commission’s proposals are intended to “strengthen the existing legal duty to prevent exposure where reasonably practicable,” and would “significantly reduce future potential for asbestos related disease.” Upon release, the proposals will be subject to a three-month consultation period.
“EU drafting ban on white asbestos,
Canada wary,” REUTERS, August 20, 1998; “Ban on use of asbestos comes closer,” FINANCIAL TIMES, August 19, 1998; “ Canada threatens asbestos war with ,” ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE, August 21, 1998 UK
Source: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).24th August 1998",383,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104634.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818102246-20170818122246-00465.warc.gz,0.911784589290619
dcca4733-8175-4f2d-8b9c-bcc70a52df1d,2018-08-21T20:24:38+00:00,2018-08-02,0,https://retakeourdemocracy.org/2018/08/02/unbounded-greedtrump-100b-tax-giveaway-time-for-a-next-system/,"While Trump is a radical expression of a’democratic’ capitalism system, it is also just a logical extension of a trend toward autocracy since 1980. We can tinker around the edges or invent something new. Consider this.
Odds & Ends. At the end of this post is reference to a newly announced planned to conduct strategic visioning exercise. We commend that intent, but hope that through that process, Santa Fe commits strongly to the pursuit of equity as a defining priority in all operations. If you agree that the pursuit of equity should be incorporated as a central city priority, please write to the Mayor at: (505) 955-6590. firstname.lastname@example.org
Texas: Home of a Huge Progressive Win New polls in Texas show Beto O’Rourke in a virtual tie with Ted Cruz in their race for US Senate. Needless to say, a win by O’Rourke would be a resounding defeat for the GOP and for President Trump. It could even be enough to push the Democrats over the edge and achieve a 50-50 Senate split or even to take back the Senate. An almost equally important result would be an irrefutable affirmation of an assertion made by progressive nationwide that an unapologetically progressive message can resonate and win, even in the deepest Red states. If you want to find out more about O’Rourke’s campaign and perhaps contribute or even phone bank on his behalf, click here. This guy is the real deal. We head to Texas in 15 minutes!!!
NMEW BENEFIT RECEPTION: Reception follows the film at 7:45 p.m., in CCA’s Muñoz-Waxman Gallery, with refreshments and a Q & A with Ann Ravel (who appears in the film).Ann Ravel is a former Federal Election Commission Chairwoman and current UC Berkeley law professor.
Also present will be distinguished guests and members of the press, who work every day to shine a light on dark money in New Mexico.TICKETS: $50* (Covers film and reception, including talk and Q&A with Ann Ravel and other special guests.) Please purchase directly from CCA’s website. Click here to purchase tickets.
“”Dark Money,’ with its focus on the personal stories of how individuals are impacted by the flood of campaign money in the system, is an example of how ‘storytelling matters when you are trying to raise awareness of the issues,’ Chuck Todd (Meet The Press) said.”
—Ted Johnson, Variety
Tariffs destroying the American Farm Belt, orders to Sessions to stop the Mueller investigation and now a bypass of the legislative process to grant a $100B tax cut to the 1%. There appears to be no end to Trump’s greed. The NY Times Reports that “The Trump administration is considering bypassing Congress to grant a $100 billion tax cut mainly to the wealthy, a legally tenuous maneuver that would cut capital gains taxation and fulfill a long-held ambition of many investors and conservatives.”
Apparently, Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, has been studying whether it could use its regulatory powers to allow Americans to change how they calculate capital gains and in doing so, essentially escape half of the taxes they now pay. And while the thinking goes that they could do this without even consulting Congress, after the Tax giveaway just approved by Congress, who is to say any bypass is even needed.
Revising how capital gains are taxed has been a long held dream of fiscal conservatives and the oligarchy. After all why shouldn’t we reduce the tax rate of people ‘earning’ their income passively, often just allowing inherited wealth to increase in value, largely due to the work of low-wage employees who would now pay a higher rate of taxes for truly earned income than the oligarchs would? Haven’t they ‘earned’ another giveaway, a giveaway that will dig the US further in debt, create no new jobs, and just add to the wealth of an already obscenely wealthy 1%.
If this doesn’t illustrate the need for an entirely different system, I don’t know what does. Read on.
Enough Is Enough: Time for An Entirely New System
As Roxanne and I have traveled across the country in Philadelphia, Buffalo, Rochester, Detroit, Madison and now Jackson, urban thinkers and activists have begun tinkering with an entirely new system, a new approach, a departure from how policy is made and business is done, particularly in relation to worker justice, housing and neighborhood development.
Roxanne and I plan to devote a good deal of time to synthesizing how these cities have made this shift, but one thing in common has been that each has drawn from the Democracy Collaborative, which has developed its approach from the Basque Mondragon Movement8, the US Sustainable Economy, and Fearless Cities. Each of these resources describe cities that have made political and cultural shifts that can be summarized in one phrase: equity trumps everything. Public policy, resource allocation and use of public land is in service of working people and of the planet. The operationalization of this principle is far more robust in Europe but the seeds are being sown in the US cities above.
The Democracy Collaborative has decided to establish a communication, conversation and collaboration framework for exploring how to develop what they call The Next System. This framework will be used to facilitate the exchange of information among practitioners, researchers, activists and thinkers with the idea of advancing the development of a new political and economic system. Indeed, the overarching purpose of The Next System is to begin to make credible the very idea of having a new system, of turning our backs on ‘democracy’ as we know it and capitalism as we experience it.
I know that some of our readers have long ago felt that a complete revamping of our system is absolutely required to ever achieve anything like justice and equity. For others, who are somewhat more moderate in perspective, the idea of an entirely new system may seem either unrealistic, too extreme, or both. But wherever you stand, considering alternatives seems beyond overdue. We are simply not getting close to a just society and local gains are often usurped by national/corporatist power structures.
So, below is a summary from The Next System followed by links to sites that have descriptions of fully developed manifestations of the principles below. These reports demonstrate that the elements of a new system are possible and do lead to a more equitable community. The Basque country, where the most robust development of worker cooperatives and community land trusts are in place, has the lowest income inequality in the world. And there is a reason: they are intentional in their policy development and it is universally focused on one thing: Equity. As someone tired of the focus on profit, I am ready to do some serious exploration.
“The Next System Project is an ambitious multi-year initiative aimed at thinking boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic challenges the United States faces now and in coming decades. Responding to real hunger for a new way forward, and building on innovative thinking and practical experience with new economic institutions and approaches being developed in communities around the world, the goal is to put the central idea of system change, and that there can be a “next system,” on the map.
Working with a broad group of researchers, theorists and activists, we seek to launch a national debate on the nature of “the next system” using the best research, understanding and strategic thinking, on the one hand, and on-the-ground organizing and development experience, on the other, to refine and publicize comprehensive alternative political-economic system models that are different in fundamental ways from the failed systems of the past and capable of delivering superior social, economic and ecological outcomes.
By defining issues systemically, we believe we can begin to move the political conversation beyond current limits with the aim of catalyzing a substantive debate about the need for a radically different system and how we might go about its construction. Despite the scale of the difficulties, a cautious and paradoxical optimism is warranted. There are real alternatives. Arising from the unforgiving logic of dead ends, the steadily building array of promising new proposals and alternative institutions and experiments, together with an explosion of ideas and new activism, offer a powerful basis for hope.”
Santa Fe, An Opportunity to Make Equity a Defining Priority. I read this morning that Mayor Webber has announced a city ‘strrategic review process,’ to ensure that strategies are aligned and that the city had “a vision and a set of agreed=-upon priorities.” In our travels, we found that the cities with the most robust and effective development of research-based initiatives addressing economic and racial justice were those that made equity a major or even the sole priority for identifying strategies and prioritizing use of resources. This is an opportunity for the City to step back and take steps to ensure that the direction of this administration bends toward justice. If you agree that the pursuit of equity should be incorporated as a central city priority, please write to the Mayor at: (505) 955-6590. email@example.com
In future posts we will summarize examples of ‘next system’ models successfully implemented throughout the world. We firmly believe that we need to vastly expand our view of what is possible if we are ever to escape the system that quite frankly enslaves our communities, our political parties, our media, and our imagination. Click the links below if you want to get a head start.
- The Next System Project. Click here.
- Fearless Cities. Click here.
- Democracy Collaborative. Click here.
- US Solidarity Economy Network. Click here.
- Mondragon. Click here.
Paul & Roxanne",2039,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218899.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821191026-20180821211026-00525.warc.gz,0.947291791439056
d17f388e-b896-4710-a9a3-64fb16b9e362,2020-10-27T23:39:39+00:00,2020-08-04,1,https://www.the961.com/78-killed-thousands-injured-beirut-explosion/,"Lebanon’s health minister announced that the death toll from the huge explosion in Beirut’s port on August 4th had reached 78, as numbers of wounded people skyrocket to nearly 4,000 people.
“We are facing a real catastrophe and need time to assess the extent of damages,” minister Hamad Hasan told Reuters.
Today’s massive Beirut explosion was allegedly caused by 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate that were in Beirut’s port.
Conflicting reports, though; some stating that they were on the way to Africa when they exploded, and some stating that they were stored for 6 years with no safety measures.
Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council, which is composed of the president and all the important security agencies, approved declaring Beirut a disaster-stricken city.
The Council announced a two-week state of emergency in the capital, handing over security responsibility to military authorities.
From his side, the prime minister pledged to hold “those responsible for this catastrophe” accountable, which is the very least thing to do, really.
The question is whether it will be done honestly and openly without any political interference. The Lebanese nation, once healed from this devastating blow, will be demanding justice for this unforgivable horror done unto them.",271,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894890.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027225224-20201028015224-00482.warc.gz,0.971605122089386
d5612e9d-9f3f-4149-95c8-0b67d2fce114,2018-08-17T09:45:11+00:00,2018-08-17,0,https://www.pocketwatch.co.uk/pocket-watches-c181/royal-london-gold-plated-double-hunter-17-jewel-mechanical-pocket-watch-p1453,"Movement: Hand – Wound Mechanical 17 Jewel
Case Style: Double Hunter Pocket Watch
Case Material: Gold Tone Polished Metal
Dial Colour: White / Dial Style: Skeleton
Case Diameter: 2.07 Inches(53mm) / Case Depth: 0.55 Inches(14mm)
Numeral Type: Roman On Chapter Ring
Winder Position: 3 O’clock
Chain Type: Matching Bolt Ring Chain
A beautiful Pvd gold plated 17 Jewel mechanical Double Hunter pocket watch in a brushed finish.
Features a white open dial revealing the skeleton movements with black Roman numerals around the edge and full skeleton visual on the reverse of the dial. Is suitable for optional engraving on the front and black of the case.
This stunning piece of craftsmanship is a distinctive precious time piece designed to last several lifetimes and comes with its own matching pocket watch chain, presentation box, optional engraving service guarantee and free UK delivery service.",202,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211935.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817084620-20180817104620-00135.warc.gz,0.738877892494202
6794d533-36ae-45f3-b4c5-b38b1e6182b8,2017-08-20T03:57:09+00:00,2011-10-25,0,https://hopefullyhomemade.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/jack-o-lantern-jars/,"Halloween is so very close and I have one more idea for decorations. This comes to us from the people over at Martha Stewart. These painted jars look so cute filled with candy, but I think they would be absolutely adorable with little tealight candles lit up inside.
So grab the glass jars out of the recycling bin.
Spray inside the jars. Don’t be like me and try to cover everything evenly on the first go. A few very thin coats will do the trick. The glass is so slick that if you get too much paint in there, it just runs down to the bottom. And yes, I was wearing a trash bag over my clothes. I am a size 13 gallon in case you are wondering.
(I also wasn’t taking the pictures while painting so the focus in the picture is not where I would have put it.)
Just make sure to get the inside surface cover as best you can with 3-5 coats, letting each coat dry about 20-30 minutes. Then let to jars dry overnight, especially if the paint has pooled at the bottom.
You can see that the jars are kinda streaky because I didn’t do thin coats. The one on the left is really bad, but I think it will actually look more interesting when lit up.",268,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105970.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820034343-20170820054343-00610.warc.gz,0.965237438678742
4e0c71c3-fdf9-4dfd-9cf1-8724ad0004b4,2015-03-30T23:56:52+00:00,2015-03-30,0,http://www.lucasforums.com/showpost.php?p=1686244&postcount=116,"Beregond and his Knighst were fist to the Orcs, but the orcs didnt attack Beregond and his knights nor did Beregond and his Knights them, instead Beregond turned around and took lead of the Orcs. ""To teh death minons of Andruil!"" Beregond shouted as he and his knights cahrged with teh orcs.
""How do you decide when a war is over. Is it when all your enemies' blood is wasted, and you are the last standing?"" - JoJoBinks
'Lemmonite Admiral JoJoBinks'
Third In Command w00t
I wear that title with honor",142,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00190-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9844611287117
e87aa520-195a-4201-9f52-5077f4946dec,2013-06-20T01:55:18+00:00,2013-06-20,0,http://www.teefury.com/archive/316/Hot_Dog/&co_show=1&co_no=17260,"About the artistArt curated by
Words from jimiyo:
Aww Snap! Jublin's work always make me crack a smile or chuckle. I'm happy to have been able to snag this pure awesomeness from the clutches of any other sites out there. A sure crowd pleaser anywhere you go!
Tell us about this design:
This design was inspired by America's Next Top Model and dogs.
Tell us about Jublin!
About me... hmm... I'm just a guy who loves to draw and enjoys stupid things. I like hamburgers and I really want to see that My Bloody Valentine 3D movie, so if anyone is interested then please let me know.
Are there any ongoing art projects you would like to promote?
Right now I'm working on a series of busted up pokemon illustrations. It's just a personal project, but i've had fun working on it so far.
Any advice for aspiring designers?
I went to school for sort of a mish mash education in illustration and animation. It was great, but I think most of what I learned came from the experience of trying new things, practice, and more practice. A formal education is not what you need to make you successful. Anyone can be a great designer/illustrator as long as they're motivated and have the time to put into it.
Any Shout outs?
I'd like to give a shout out to hot dogs.",300,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.976501822471619
d2932a0a-a480-4326-951d-7406fe583d98,2016-07-24T20:19:12+00:00,2014-07-24,0,https://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/index.cfm?B74BD19D-C29E-AD4D-0D97-D7146EAE917C,"Poland - Language learning compulsory in pre-school education
Free compulsory foreign language lessons are to be introduced for all five- to seven-year-olds in compulsory pre-school education. Currently, just over a third of pre-primary pupils learn a language, however such lessons are not free. The introduction is being phased in over three years starting this year. It is optional for pre-schools from September 2014 and compulsory for all five-year-olds from September 2015. The process will be complete by 2017. Any foreign language can be chosen but it is recommended that it is the same one as that taught in the local primary schools; this is most likely to be English which is taught in 88 per cent of primary schools in Poland.
This article is drawn from the latest edition of Education in the News.
Education systems vary enormously across Europe. The Eurydice Network aims to understand and explain how they work and to share that information with education policymakers and the wider education community. The focus is on comparable information on policies and structures. Network studies cover a wide range of themes and all phases of education from early childhood education and care, primary and secondary education to higher education and adult education and skills.
Eurydice at NFER is the Unit for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the Network. We contribute to the Eurydice Network’s range of publications, all of which are freely available from the Eurydice Network website. These include Eurypedia – the European Encyclopedia on National Education Systems; Eurydice thematic studies; Facts and Figures; and the Key Data series.
In addition, Eurydice at NFER provides a European current awareness bulletin - Education in the News and, specifically for education policy-makers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an enquiry service. Eurydice at NFER is managed by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and is jointly funded by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the European Commission.
Keep in touch
To receive notification of new Eurydice publications, issues of Education in the News and other education developments in Europe, join our subscription list by emailing us at: firstname.lastname@example.org or follow us on Twitter: @eurydiceatnfer",480,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824146.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00119-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.942537724971771
bd1a2d17-1b08-466c-b112-324161b2a3d7,2022-05-18T22:50:17+00:00,2020-11-25,1,https://dzresearchblog.dzbank.de/content/dzresearch/en/2020/11/25/corona-has-spared-the-housing-market-but-the-regulatory-virus-is-spreading.html,"Corona has spared the housing market, but the regulatory virus is spreading
The consequences of rampant regulation can currently be observed in the Berlin housing market. The rent cap decided at the beginning of the year dampens not only the rent but also and above all the supply. According to an evaluation by ImmoScout24, the rents offered for the apartments affected by the rent cap have fallen by 5 percent within one year up to September 2020. In contrast, the supply of rental apartments fell by almost 60 percent. In contrast, the supply of newer apartments built in 2014 or later, which are not subject to the rent cap, even increased slightly. If letting is no longer profitable, the apartments are taken off the market, for example for owner-occupancy or for sale.
According to the 2019 rent index, Berlin's rent level is rather low anyway, with a median for the basic rent of 6.72 euros per square meter. But this has not stopped the Berlin Senate from intervening in existing tenancies. With the second stage of the rent cap, existing tenants will also benefit from lower rents from the end of November onwards, if they exceed the permissible maximum rent by 20 percent. F+B estimates that around 500,000 apartments will be affected. The average rent saving potential is estimated at around 40 euros per apartment and month. The profiteers are, however, fewer tenants of cheaper apartments in 70s high-rise and prefabricated housing estates. In contrast, well-off Berliners who live in renovated and well-equipped Wilhelminian-style houses can be happy. Because the lowest reference rent and thus the highest rental savings are for buildings built up to 1918.
The individually manageable rent advantage is offset by disadvantages that can damage the housing market in the long run. According to F+B, the rent reduction results in a cumulative decline in rents of around 250 million euros annually. In order to limit the damage, the landlords will reduce the renovation costs, for example. For tenants, this will mean a reduction in the number of apartments they are increasingly used to. The loss of confidence caused by the encroachment on existing contracts could lead to investors deciding against the actually attractive and growing German capital and focusing more on other cities. The only way to help them find accommodation would be to build more new buildings. However, the number of new apartments approved for construction each year - around 20,000 - is already declining slightly.
Will other cities also introduce the rent cap if the Federal Constitutional Court does not reject it? The slowed increase in rents and the consequences shown speak against it. But the regulation of the real estate market is attractive for politicians. Many citizens support it, if limits are shown to the real estate industry. Moreover, the latter usually bears the costs. It was only at the beginning of November that the Federal Cabinet took action with the ""conversion ban"". The housing market, which is expected to become even more expensive in 2021, is likely to become a topic of discussion again in the upcoming federal elections. Investors will have to come to terms with this. In view of negative bond yields and the increased risks associated with commercial real estate, investment alternatives are just as rare as vacant apartments in Berlin Mitte.
Number of comments: 0
Leave a message
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *",678,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00004.warc.gz,0.961080253124237
bb0c5a9b-efac-4d91-b416-f565d05c9479,2019-08-24T22:38:00+00:00,2015-06-15,0,https://sanctatrinitasunusdeus.com/2015/06/15/fr-gabriel-mosher-o-p-s-first-mass-at-st-margaret-marys-oakland-ca/?shared=email&msg=fail,"Fr. Gabriel Thomas Mosher, O.P, celebrated his First Mass of Thanksgiving – A Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Roman Rite), at St. Margaret Mary’s Church (Oakland, CA) last June 14, 2015. The mass celebrated was the External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the composition “Missa Cordi Sacro” by Frank LaRocca sung by the Pacific Collegium Choir. He was assisted by Fr. Donald Morgan (Deacon) and Abbe Kevin Kerscher (Subdeacon). Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P., was the homilist.
After mass, Father Gabriel imparted his first blessing. A festive reception followed at the Father Kozina Hall. Click on the photos for the full photo gallery of the Solemn High Mass, first blessing and reception. Video of the entire mass recorded by the Traditional Latin Mass Society of San Francisco will be posted shortly.",199,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321786.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824214845-20190825000845-00523.warc.gz,0.943474054336548
b7d7ab5f-5ab2-443d-99da-24b694126fd4,2022-05-18T10:09:44+00:00,2019-03-31,1,https://www.rural21.com/english/news/detail/article/fall-armyworm-infestation-in-asia-1.html,"Fall Armyworm is sweeping across Asia, alarming smallholder farmers and threatening livelihoods, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in March 2019.
The insect is native to the Americas. However, since 2016 it has been aggressively moving ever eastwards, sweeping across Africa, and making landfall for the first time in Asia last summer. Fall Armyworm was first detected in India in July 2018 and by January of this year, it had spread to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and China’s Yunnan Province.
In the case of Sri Lanka, there were reports that up to 40 000 hectares had been infested, damaging some 20 per cent of its crops. China is the biggest maize producer in Asia, and second largest producer globally. While economic losses in China and in the other Asian countries have not yet been tallied, estimates of economic damage from Fall Armyworm in Africa ranged from 1 to 3 billion USD.
When Fall Armyworm arrived in Africa in 2016, FAO and its member countries in Asia followed the progression closely – and planned for its arrival on this continent. The Plant Protection Commission for Asia and the Pacific began raising awareness about the threat early last year, sharing key information on the pest, its spread towards Asia, and how to manage it sustainably in case of infestation.
Once an infestation is confirmed, governments are initiating efforts to continue to raise awareness and monitor the presence and spread of Fall Armyworm on maize and other crops. Awareness programmes that inform and train farmers on integrated pest management techniques include identifying natural enemies of the Fall Armyworm, enhancing natural biological controls and mechanical controls, such as crushing egg masses and employing the use of biopesticides.
The use of chemical pesticides needs to be very carefully considered, given that Fall Armyworm larvae hide largely in the ring of leaves (whorl), and that chemical pesticides can have negative effects on environment and public health. This is taken into consideration at policy and field level. With these measures put in place, the negative effects of infestations can be sustainably managed and can help to maintain populations low enough to limit economic and livelihood damage.",445,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00207.warc.gz,0.952688574790955
484a913c-cb7b-4680-b9eb-6efb2361e968,2017-08-23T09:47:40+00:00,2017-08-23,0,http://andersonafhjk.ka-blogs.com/173854/detailed-notes-on-orion-telescope-company,"With The nice electrical power with the telescope Additionally they produced it a broad-area model that collects an excellent amount of mild and can get wonderful aspects when looking at planets. This means that While it is just a mid-tier telescope it still has substantial tier general performance on some planets. There are numerous extras presented Along with the product, while most of them are for newbies.
Accessory tray retains 2 x one.twenty fiveâ eyepieces, miscellaneous accessories, like a rubber-lined spot for a sensible telephone or little pill.Includes a StarPointer finderscope, 2 Kellner eyepieces, and mirror star diagonal. Celestron is not merely shifting just how we encounter astronomy, but we're also transforming the way in which you interact with the night time sky. The Astro Fi 130mm Newtonian is a completely showcased telescope which can be... Less
Our founder, Tom Johnson, invented Celestrons proprietary system of manufacturing Schmidt corrector plates for top-quality sights and maximum portability. Johnson thought in developing higher-quality optical instruments at An economical selling price, and influenced a era of newbie astronomers.Four decades afterwards, weve enhanced upon this style by introducing slicing-edge... A lot less
All of my screening with the Orion StarShoot Autoguider was done with The fundamental Recommendations for Procedure. So I haven’t tried modifying any in the Innovative autoguider settings yet.
Free delivery Model: VIV-TEL-60700. The Vivitar TEL-50600 is a strong telescope. It comes along with an entire dimensions expandable tripod and it characteristics various magnification choices, slow movement Manage for exact changes as well as a mirrored diagonal eyepiece for the last word uncomplicated viewing.
Considering the telescope percentage of the task tells an analogous Tale, Using the mechanics currently being excellent for this cost array. It gained’t blow you absent with its longevity, but it also gained’t crumble on you. Even the integrated Barlow lens are of good quality and is created for extended-expression put on and tear.
At regarding the medium value range is this extremely really proposed Orion StarBlast 90mm AZ Telescope that comes with almost everything but the kitchen area sink. Orion pulled out many of the stops using this product which makes it potent, moveable and stuffed with extras.
Under a rural sky with my much larger ten-inch Dobsonian reflector, the check out normally takes a quantum leap. With its wispy extensions, The nice Nebula becomes a gossamer gull soaring in space. Its elegant wings sweep back again into a wide tail of feathery materials entangling lots of dim stars.
This is an simple to operate telescope that works for viewing objects on land and while in the sky with clarity and brilliance!
There isn’t anything this product or service can’t do, and for the worth It is just a beast. Don’t get swayed in by decrease costing more affordable merchandise with less flair, as this has all you’ll ever want.
Shocking this operates nicely for beginners, and could previous all of the way up to your pro degree. Its vary for amounts is fairly sizeable, and would possibly be increased when they swapped out many of the lesser accessories for an even better Barlow kit. It’s a little trade off With all the provided newbie package that makes it so flexible, so it is tough to check the StarBlast without it.
Just after viewing product element web pages, glance below to uncover an easy solution to navigate again to web pages you are interested in.
The 42nd entry in the favored Messier catalog of “faint fuzzies,” the Orion Nebula is admired by stargazers worldwide. Not just could it be plainly visible via binoculars; M42 (Messier 42) is among only a handful of deep-sky objects seen into the unaided eye. It’s easy to locate, also.
As stated before, it comes along with a Shorty 2x Barlow established that doubles the magnification of equally eyepieces. It's browse around this website a awesome Raise but will be a whole lot more useful if it experienced increased magnification abilities. Also while in the set is definitely the Star Concentrate on Planisphere and MoonMap 260, a great companion set for customers that want to leap suitable into their favorite spots while in the galaxy.",919,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886118195.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823094122-20170823114122-00097.warc.gz,0.922657430171967
78329c6d-560f-45f9-892b-a6a8a2e48011,2019-08-21T03:56:06+00:00,2019-08-14,1,https://www.corowafreepress.com.au/national/2019/08/14/754253/vic-law-force-clergy-to-report-child-abuse,"Melbourne's most senior Catholic says he will go to jail rather than inform police if someone told him during confession that they had sexually abused a child.
Instead, Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli wants priests to have protections similar to journalists' sources and lawyers and their clients.
New laws introduced into Victoria's parliament on Wednesday will make it mandatory for religious leaders - alongside police, teachers, medical practitioners and early childhood workers - to report suspicions of abuse.
The laws would bring Victoria into line with a number of other states and territories.
""I don't think in contemporary and mainstream times, knowing what we know now, that we can do anything other than say the rights of children trump anyone's religious views,"" Attorney-General Jill Hennessy told reporters on Wednesday.
""Ultimately, this is about making sure that we start to right the wrongs of systemic abuse.""
Under the laws, priests and religious leaders face up to three years' jail if they don't report child physical and sexual abuse allegations.
Archbishop Comensoli told ABC radio he was prepared to go to jail rather than break the confessional seal.
He said if someone admitted to child abuse during confession he would convince them to go to the authorities and ask them to 'fess up' outside the confessional so he could report it.
""The presumption here is that I know who's there in front of me. That's not the practice of confession,"" Archbishop Comensoli said.
He added he had practised mandatory reporting for years outside confession, as it was a requirement during his previous posting in NSW.
In a statement, Archbishop Comensoli urged the government not to infringe on religious freedoms.
""Confession doesn't place people above the law. Priests should be mandatory reporters, but in a similar way to protections to the lawyer/client relationship and protection for journalists' sources,"" he said.
Clergy are already subject to mandatory reporting laws in South Australia and the Northern Territory, while Western Australia and Tasmania have announced plans to compel religious leaders to disclose knowledge of abuse.
Victoria's reforms will also allow survivors of institutional abuse to apply to the Supreme Court to overturn ""unfair"" compensation settlements previously signed with churches.
Chrissie Foster, who fought for years for compensation after her two girls were abused by a Catholic priest, pointed to the case of priest Michael McArdle, who told 30 priests he had abused children 1500 times before being jailed in 2003.
""There's no excuse that they did not stop this,"" Ms Foster said.
""This is children being raped for decades, centuries. It's astounding, unbelievable.""
Victoria's Liberal-National opposition has previously indicated it would back the laws, but Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien wants to see the details.",570,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315750.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821022901-20190821044901-00042.warc.gz,0.979327499866486
4edf353a-b612-40d8-8290-c040a11b80a1,2015-03-29T06:26:01+00:00,2015-03-29,0,http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=56795,"Astus wrote:Dogen's explanation:
In “all living beings” spoken of here on the way of the buddha, those with minds are “all living beings”; for the mind is living beings. Those without minds are similarly living beings; for living beings are mind. Therefore, all minds are living beings, and living beings all “have the buddha nature.” The grasses, trees and lands are mind; because they are mind, they are living beings; because they are living beings, they “have the buddha nature.” The sun, moon, and stars are mind; because they are mind, they are living beings; because they are living beings, they “have the buddha nature.”
The two Buddha's (Dogen and Daido Roshi) did not IMV intend this literally but as an expression of intimacy with all things. From Dogen's perspective it may have been specifically from this perception of the interpenetration of all phenomena. It could also have been from a serious expression of Mind Only.",229,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298228.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00088-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95735490322113
88e2c399-9696-4e39-83a0-a008f815f687,2022-05-27T18:04:21+00:00,2021-07-01,1,https://volksworld.com/news/news-e10-fuel-is-coming-what-it-means-to-you/,"After two painfully long consultations, it looks as if E10 petrol will be introduced to UK petrol stations this September. Currently, UK petrol uses a maximum of five per cent ethanol (E5), made from wheat or sugar beet, but E10 doubles that concentration, which could spell trouble for older cars…
Why? Because ethanol is hygroscopic, so absorbs water from the atmosphere, potentially leading to corrosion in metal fuel tanks, fuel lines and carburettors. It’s also a solvent, and the higher concentration can eventually disintegrate plastic and rubber, so fuel lines, washers and diaphragms in older carbs and fuel systems could be at risk.
The saving grace for classic VW owners is the government has committed to retaining some E5, which will still be available in higher octane ‘Super’ grade fuels. However, as that is typically already more than 13p per litre than regular unleaded, filling up is going to be expensive.
A cheaper, and safer, option is to replace old rubber fuel lines with modern J30/R9 fuel hose (and, where possible, update carb floats, seals and associated fittings, too). Oh, and be sure to add fuel hose checks to your regular service and inspection routine.
You can see if your ‘modern’ vehicle is E10 compatible at www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-e10-petrol, but it’s pointless if you own any kind of classic as it only lists post-2000 models (in which case you should change those hoses as a matter of course!)",332,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00422.warc.gz,0.945745229721069
09f38d4f-3eb9-42b2-8753-a8ebb7f2441c,2019-08-24T01:36:21+00:00,2012-12-31,0,https://hmri.org.au/researchers/Mark-Baker,"2011 HMRI Award for Early Career Research
2010 Project Grant
2008 Project Grant
Diagnosing male factor infertility, which accounts for half of all Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART) procedures in Australia. It is akin to solving a large jigsaw puzzle. Some pieces or answers, like reduced sperm number and motility, are right in front of you but there are other pieces, like genetic differences, that are much smaller in size or even hidden.
I study the structure and function of sperm proteomes – these are the entire sets of proteins that are expressed by genomes.
About 1 in 15 men are infertile and Medicare-funded statistics point to an IVF success rate of just 22 per cent, which is equally concerning. It's important we develop more efficient and effective ways of finding the best sperm.
I am aiming to one day soon diagnose and prognose 80-90% of male infertility cases, whereas at the moment we can probably detect 30%. Some men are missing proteins in the head area, which means they're unable to recognise and bind with the egg, others are missing a protein in the neck area so the head and tail actually fall apart over a period of time.
Associate Professor Mark Baker, a pioneer of sperm proteomics, is a University of Newcastle Research Fellow in the Priority Research Centre in Reproductive Science and a member of the HMRI Pregnancy and Reproduction Program. Named the 2011 HMRI Early Career Researcher of the Year, he was awarded a coveted National Health & Medical Research Council Career Development Fellowship in 2012 to use mass spectrometry to illustrate the chemical composition of larger molecules and cells.
Associate Professor Baker received a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in 1997. He began his research career in the cancer field, undertaking a PhD at Monash University in 1999, principally using it to investigate the relationship between chemotherapy and cell death.
Seeking to gain a more intricate understanding of the cell cycle during his three-year probe, he closely observed the mechanism by which microscopic units were dying during the chemotherapy process.
Associate Professor Baker relocated to Newcastle after his PhD was conferred in 2002, linking up with Laureate Professor John Aitkin and the University's influential Reproductive Science Group. Inspired by new technologies at the time, the creative collaborator looked to put an unusual twist on his PhD theme.
Outcomes from his research will have important implications for both male fertility and infertility and for development of new contraceptives aimed at preventing fertilisation. Associate Professor Baker is a major contributor to developing the first-ever combined spermicide/microbicide capable of providing simultaneous protection against fertility and sexually transmitted diseases.
Associate Professor Baker has established a state-of-the art proteomics facility at the University of Newcastle, and recently introduced new comparative peptide analysis technologies, making his facility the only one in Australia with non-labelled technologies.
He has an admirable publication record – averaging 6-8 papers each year - and was the first person in the world to publish the entire human sperm proteome and the first to apply new advances in metabolomics to this cell type. Mark’s research has already been cited more than 950 times – an outstanding achievement for an early career researcher.
At the same time, Mark is collaborating with neurology expert Dr Neil Spratt on a clinical stroke research project. Again attempting to figure out the ""whys"" behind the ""what is,"" the duo is seeking to compare the difference between normal cerebral spinal fluid and cerebral spinal fluid that belongs to patients who've had a ""minor stroke.""",727,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319155.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823235136-20190824021136-00124.warc.gz,0.954396903514862
accd4c29-cad3-4836-93a6-9c4f14e7dc31,2018-08-20T15:17:47+00:00,2018-02-14,0,https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/category/mexico/,"This week William got the chance to speak to Bruno Renero-Hannan, who is an anarchist historical anthropologist from Mexico City, about their solidarity work around two of the original 250 Loxicha Prisoners in the state of Oaxaca. This rebellion and imprisonment occurred almost simultaneously to the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas in the mid-late 90s with very different results. We talk about the long and complex history of this case, the similarities and differences between this uprising and that of the Zapatistas, the ongoing political repression of Alvaro Ramirez and Abraham Ramirez, and the economic solidarity push being orgainized by our guest, as well as some stark parallels between this case and that of the remaining 59 J20 defendants. If you would like to see the 45 minute broadcast edit of this interview, you can go to The Final Straw Radio Collection on archive.org.
As per the very reasonable request on the part of the folks doing support for Alvaro and Abraham, we have omitted the Sean Swain segment for this episode. The You Are the Resistance topic did not pair well with the main interview content nor were Keep Loxicha Free supporters aware of the segment. We regret any confusion or discomfort that this caused.
We would like to take a bit of space here to explain to new listeners that many of the Sean Swain segments are meant in the spirit of satire; Swain himself has been a political prisoner for over 25 years at this point, and his humor is sometimes abrasive, but he is a committed believer in the dismantling of all forms of oppression.
He and we are open to feedback on this segment, and any content we present!
Sean Swain #243-205 Warren CI P.O. Box 120 Lebanon, Ohio 45036
Resist Nazis in Tennessee
On Saturday, Feb 17, Matthew Heinbach of the Traditionalist Workers Party will be speaking at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville from 1-4pm. If you don’t like this, you can contact the University by calling 8659749265 and demand that they disinvite this open neo-nazi organizer from their campus!
Some Benefits in Asheville
For the drinkers in Asheville, this week features two libation-centric benefits for books to prisoners projects.
On Wednesday, February 14, Valentines Day, three bars in Asheville will be participating in a drink special that will raise money for Tranzmission Prison Project, our local LGBT books to prisoners project with a national scope. You can visit the Crow & Quill on Lexington, the Lazy Diamond around the corner in Downtown or the Double Crown on Haywood in West Asheville on Wednesday for more details.
On Thursday, February 15th at the Catawba’s South Slope Tasting Room & Brewery (32 Banks Avenue #105) for their first New Beer Thursday fundraiser of 2018!! Starting with the release on the 15th and running through March, a portion of the cost of every glass of their pomegranate sour sold will be donated to the Asheville Prison Books Program!
More events coming up this week include: Thursday the 15th at 7pm Blue Ridge ABC is holding a benefit show at Static Age for a local activists with a sliding scale cost. Bands featured are Kreamy Lectric Santa, Cloudgayzer, Secret Shame, Falcon Mitts & Chris Head
Later that night in Asheville, the monthly benefit dance party called HEX will be holding an event at the Mothlight to raise money and materials for A-Hope, which provides services locally to houseless and poor folks. Bring socks, footwear and camping gear to donate!
On Tuesday, April 20th at 6pm at The Shell Studio, 474 Haywood Rd on the second floor, there will be a showing of the locally produced documentary entitled Hebron about human rights struggles in Palestine.
On Friday the 23rd at 6:30pm, the Steady Collective will be participating in a Harm Reduction forum at the Haywood Street Congregation at 297 Haywood St. in downtown.
Also that night, BRABC will be showing the latest TROUBLE documentary by sub.media at 7:30pm at firestorm books and coffee. This will be a second on Student Organizing around the world.
Finally, on Saturday the 24th 9am to 3pm at Rainbow School, 60 State Street in Asheville there’ll be a Really Really Free Market organized by the Blue Ridge General Defense Committee or GDC. Bring stuff that’s still good to share and come back with other stuff that’s still good for free! Perfect for spring cleaning or dealing with inclement weather on a budget.
A Call for Art Submissions for ACAB2018…
A reminder that if you are the sensitive, artistic type, the ACAB2018, or Asheville Carolina Anarchist Bookfair is soliciting art for fundraising and advertising purposes. If you have image ideas that you can put into action and want to share them, that’d be dope. We’re looking for things we can put onto postcards, t-shirts, posters and other swag to spread word about the event and help us cover the costs of operation. Contact us at email@example.com
…and for Yours Truly at TFS
Likewise, if you are feeling artsy fartsy and want to help out this show, we’re looking for swag imagery, either as a logo or a standalone piece of art we can feature for fundraising purposes. If you like the show and want to help, post your files on share.riseup.net and send us a link at firstname.lastname@example.org or share it with one of our social media identities. If we choose to use your art, we’ll send you a mix tape with one side produced by each of our regular contributing editors.
This week William spoke with Maria and Jeff, who are two long term members of the humanitarian aid group based in Arizona called No More Deaths. This group does solidarity work with those who are crossing the border in that region, as well as advocacy, legal work, and work which runs along many other vectors of solidarity. We will speak about the group and how each member got involved, the exact nature of the work and some media myths that the group gets leveled at them, along with the rise in repression that No More Deaths has faced in recent weeks, culminating in highly militarized raid on Bird Camp, a remote outpost that serves as a clinic, on Thursday, June 15. We will go on to discuss the strategy behind Border Patrol’s surveillance and repression of those who are crossing and aid workers, and will talk about asks for assistance that the group is thinking of.
You can visit NMD online at nomoredeaths.org, plus follow them on Facebook and Twitter if you want to keep up with calls for solidarity and with updates on their situation.
Those titles that Maria mentioned for further reading if folks want to learn more about the border and how it got that way are:
The first musical track in this episode is by Calle 13 with “Pa’l Norte”. They are a Puerto Rican hip hop group that often tackles themes that are oppositional to the border, border patrol, and FBI. The episode closes with a track from an Argentinian atmospheric metal band called Ruinas/Raíces with Dos Colores Fundiéndose which is the first track off their title album that just came out in April. You can find them on the blog Red and
Anarchist Black Metal.
This week we are airing two short interviews, the first is with an anarchist legal worker who has been participating in resistance at Standing Rock in so called North Dakota. This interview is specifically about the grand jury summons which was recently served to someone who was struggling at Standing Rock, we speak about what a grand jury is and how people might resist them, also a bit about what it means for this movement to have a grand jury subpoena occur at this moment.
Scott Campbell on upcoming tour of Mexico with It’s Going Down
The next interview we will present is a conversation with Scott Campbell who writes the Insumisión column for itsgoingdown.org. Insumisión is a semi regular publication which aims to highlight anarchistic and anarchist struggles and news all around Mexico. Scott and members of IGD are in the process of launching an information gathering and affinity building tour around Mexico in early next year. In this interview we talk about Insumisión and what inspired it, as well as some of the strategies and influences both North American and Mexican struggle can take from one another, among other topics. To read Insumisión and for a write up about the upcoming tour, you can visit https://itsgoingdown.org/insumision/. To donate to the tour and to see a write up about it, you can visit the rally dot org website https://rally.org/igd-mexico
You can also check out El Enemigo Común (or The Common Enemy) at https://elenemigocomun.net/
From their website “[This project] is an international watchdog against state sponsored repression. It is the project of a small collective of volunteers in the U.S. and Mexico. We publish and translate communiqués, articles, and other media by, about, and for social movements. Our primary focus is on indigenous peoples, women, and youth, in both urban and rural communities in Oaxaca, but we also publish about other struggles against neoliberalism throughout Mexico”.
A quick shoutout of thanks to KFED for the lovely new image for the series podcast. Much appreciated!
Since the time that this episode of the Final Straw podcast was recorded, Steve Martinez, a Water Protector and grand jury resistor appeared at the U.S. District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota. On January 4th, 2017 Steve gave a statement outside the courthouse amidst dozens of other Water Protectors who braved the single digit temperatures to stand in solidarity.
My name is Steve Martinez. I have been subpoenaed to this federal grand jury. I refuse to cooperate with these proceedings on the grounds of not helping opposition towards water protectors. I will in no way condone or cooperate with this attempt to repress the movement here at Standing Rock. I know that by refusing to cooperate I will most likely be incarcerated. The loss of my own freedom is a small price to pay for keeping my dignity and standing up for what is right- the defense of the earth and all that is sacred. Mni Wiconi!
The motion to quash the subpoena was denied by the federal judge and a new subpoena was issued by the U.S. Attorney demanding that Steve appear on February 1st, 2017 in Bismarck.
What we know about grand juries is that they have a long history of being used to target those in resistance to the state and engaged in political or revolutionary movements. The purpose of this grand jury and all grand juries that target revolutionary people and communities is to cause division, manufacture prisoners of war, and create paranoia or suspicion amongst comrades. We will not be intimidated and resistance to this is only strengthening our resolve to kill this black snake and all the others.
Water protectors stand in resistance to this grand jury and all tools of state repression, be it on the ground through Morton County’s violent tactics or in the shrouded secrecy of a grand jury courtroom. We will continue to build on the vibrancy of our resistance movement here at Standing Rock in order to destroy the pipeline, the grand jury and their world.
– Water Protector Anti-Repression Committee
TFSR: So we are here talking with an anarchist legal worker who has been participating in the Standing Rock resistance, and we’re here to talk about the grand jury subpoena, which recently came to a Water Protector at
Standing Rock. Would you briefly explain what a grand jury is for those listeners who don’t know and how they have historically been used to divide and subdue radical movements?
Standing Rock: So what a grand jury is is a federal proceeding and it’s intended to produce a federal felony indictment. So in order for a felony indictment to happen, there has to be some process, and it’s typically a grand jury process, that determines whether there’s enough evidence to proceed with a federal indictment and formal charges. And while grand juries are used as a way for U.S. attorneys to produce indictments for a wide array of things, they are especially used as a tool of repression towards political movements, resistance movements, and have a long history of that, going back to the origins of grand juries, which are a holdover from British legal proceedings. So it goes back a really long way, but most recently people have memories of their use around political resistance movements, like the Black Panther Party, American Indian Movement, even more recently
earth and animal liberation movements.
TFSR: Gotcha. And I think that we can remember people like Jerry Koch who got sent to prison for nine months for doing grand jury resistance in response to a bombing that happened in Times Square in New York City. I was wondering if you would talk a little bit about what the specifics of grand juries tend to look like on the ground, or how participants of grand juries, what people have to go through if they are subpoenaed for a grand jury.
So the first step that typically happens when somebody’s called to be a witness at a grand jury, or provide testimony or physical evidence, is that you would be served a subpoena by a federal agent. So in the case of Water Protectors at Standing Rock, a federal agent could be an agent from B.I.A. (or Bureau of Indian Affairs), which is a federal policing force, but often times it would be an F.B.I. agent or even a U.S. Marshall who might serve you the subpoena. And then what that means is that you’re required to attend the grand jury and provide information to them. So at a grand jury, they’re unlike any other court proceeding, where normally there’s a judge in the courtroom and you’re allowed to have your own legal council present with you at a legal proceeding. But at a grand jury, there’s no judge in the courtroom, the courtroom really belongs to the U.S. attorney and the
prosecutor. And you are the person who’s been called to the grand jury, you don’t know for sure why you’ve been called because they operate in almost total secrecy. You don’t know if you’ve been called just as a witness, you don’t know if you’re the target, or the person that they are
potentially trying to indict. And so you’re also not allowed to have your legal council in the room with you. You can, and you really should, obtain legal council if you’ve been subpoenaed to a grand jury, because they can provide you support in the process of resisting a grand jury.
So once you’ve been served and you’re required to go to the grand jury, you have a few options as a person who is working to resist the grand jury. Your first option is that you can just ghost. That’s a really hard option for most people because it means you can’t talk to your friends, your loved ones, your family, your comrades, it means you can’t go to the normal places that you go to. It means that you probably need to leave your hometown, or maybe even the country as a whole. And some people have done that, andthe people have done that have had very difficult experiences. It also puts you at risk still of being in contempt of court and my understanding is that if you just ghost after you’ve received a subpoena, that the contempt can turn into a criminal contempt versus a civil contempt, which I’ll explain a little bit as well.
And so your other option would be, well basically some people have never walked into a grand jury room. They would just show up, hold a press conference with all their friends, loved ones, comrades, and legal council and read a statement in front of the courthouse, or in front of the grand jury room, and that says “We’re never gonna talk to you. I stand in solidarity with my community and this is a tool of repression, and I’m part of a impenetrable wall of silence.” And people have certainly taken that tactic.
Another tactic that people used to resist a grand jury, if they’ve been called to testify, would be to enter the grand jury room and provide only their name. And then any question that they’re asked after giving their name to the U.S. attorney, they would invoke their 5th amendment right, which is their right to not say anything that would incriminate yourself. What happens typically though, is that a prosecutor then says, “Okay we get it, you’re using your 5th amendment right.” And then they might let you go for the day, or they might right on the spot go have a hearing with a judge in another room, and at that hearing the judge would almost certainly impose on you immunity. And I say impose because a lot of people have the idea that immunity would be a good thing, right? That they can’t say
the things that you’re saying in the testimony against yourself, but the thing is they can still use it against your friends, they can still use it against the movement as a whole, they can still use it against all kinds of people,
you might not be aware of how they would use it.
And so then once you’ve had immunity imposed on you, you’re no longer allowed to invoke your 5th amendment right against self-incrimination. And so when you refuse to answer questions, then the U.S. attorney is going to say, “Okay I get it, you’re not going to answer any of my questions.” They’re going to have another hearing with a judge. And that hearing is a civil contempt hearing. Which is not a criminal proceeding, it’s a civil proceeding. And what grand juries do is if you refuse to cooperate, they
try to coerce your cooperation out of you. And if you’re charged with civil contempt in that hearing, then they can incarcerate you for up to the length of the grand jury.
Like you mentioned before with Jerry out in New York, he was incarcerated for around nine months. People in the Pacific Northwest who were resisting a grand jury in 2012 were incarcerated for around four-to-six months, and that’s a coercive incarceration that’s meant to pull testimony out of you. But they’re not allowed to punitively incarcerate you, which is like all semantics right? We all know that all incarceration is punitive. It’s all meant to punish us for something. But they’re using tricky legal language, so that it’s not punitive, “It’s just coercive, we’re just trying to torture all of your testimony out of you by incarcerating you and removing you from your community and your loved ones.”
But, because people have used this tactic of being really public and saying that not only are they not personally going to cooperate, and they personally have put up a wall of silence, but also that they’re whole community is in a silent resistance to this grand jury. Then that can be used as evidence further that you’re not ever going to cooperate, and something then that can happen is called a grumbles motion, which is a fantastic name and it’s actually named for people who were a married couple who resisted a grand jury, it has a really beautiful history of it’s own.
A grumbles motion can be filed by your council, by your attorney, and it’s basically saying “This person has made it evident and clear that they’re not going to cooperate with this grand jury, and this incarceration has gone from coercive to punitive.” Which is illegal for a civil proceeding, which is what that is, it’s a civil contempt charge. And so that’s how Jerry was able to get out of coercive incarceration, and that’s how many other people have been able to do that. But I think it also really ties into this public display, community-wide, nationally, even internationally, that people have taken up around grand jury resistance, especially in this last decade, of being really firm and open from the onset, from the moment they receive a subpoena, instead of being quiet as a community which is what the feds hope will happen. That you get scared and that you self-isolate. But instead, build your own vibrancy in our communities of resistance and that same loving solidarity that we have, we continue that as a way of resisting.
TFSR: Yeah, like you said it seems like so many things in the legal system, this just seems like a pretty diabolical framework for doing this sort of thing and I think that like so many things, the success of it just rides on isolation,it rides on personal despair or being worn down. And it seems really interesting to me, and really telling, this grand jury subpoena has come pretty hot on the heels of the supposed easement of the Dakota Access Pipeline. I was wondering if you would speak about the timing of this
grand jury subpoena.
SR: I think it’s smart for us to be looking at the whole picture like that. You know on November 20th there was a battle, a kind of stand off, at the backwater bridge, which is just on the North end of the Oceti Sakowin Camp, there
at Standing Rock, which is the Northern camp, which originally had been an overflow camp for Sacred Stone and Rosebud on the reservation side. And that battle that happened on November 20th, which a lot of people have now burned into their memory, not just across the so-called U.S. but really across the world because of the use of water cannons in sub-freezing temperatures by Morton County Sheriffs. There was also a young woman, Sophia Wilansky, whose arm was horrifically injured, and another woman named Vanessa who might lose her eye due to the insane force that was used by Morton County. So just a little more than a week, a week and a half later, is when this grand jury was convened. And what we know from
on the ground is that those things that happened on November 20th on that bridge, what happened to Sophia Wilansky, we know that Morton County Sheriffs were already trying to victim blame her, saying that somehow she had blown her own arm off. I personally was on that bridge and I can tell you that no one was blowing their own arms off there. What I saw was people who were not, it wasn’t even street fighting in that setting, it was really just people who are so incredibly frustrated and incredibly broken at the continued horrific use of colonial forces in their territories and in their homelands. And I saw a lot of young indigenous people who were just trying to turn that knob on the pressure valve and let some pressure off of them. It’s not just been building for the last month at Standing Rock, but really people are letting the pressure off of ancestral trauma that goes back more than five hundred years. And I think all of that context is really
important when we’re looking at this grand jury situation as well. What we know about this grand jury is that it has something to do with, at least in part, with what happened on the bridge on November 20th. And we know so far that they are looking at potentially eco-terrorism that’s taking
place at Standing Rock, which isn’t taking place. The only terrorism that’s taking place is the terrorism of the state.
The person who received this first subpoena, we believe has been targeted because of their close proximity to Sophia Wilansky. This is a person who helped to transport Sophia when her arm was injured and get her to medical care. And so there’s very little information that any body has right now about what exactly this grand jury is trying to put together information-wise. But at the end of the day, we don’t need to know for sure. We know it’s being used as a tool to repress the work that’s happening with water
protectors at Standing Rock, and potentially to connect it to other resistance movements to extraction and environmental terrorism that’s happening at the hands of capital and the state.
And that first subpoena was received a day before that announcement from the Army Corps (of Engineers) about the easement. And I don’t think that the timing is coincidental. I think the timing is probably pretty intentional. You had a lot of people distracted feeling like they won, and I don’t want to say that that was an entirely false victory, but it’s not a permanent victory. In the camp, when the announcement of the denial happened, and there were cheers, you know rippling throughout the camp for the entire day and night, people celebrating and feeling excited. And I do want to recognize that that only happened because of people’s collective power. The Army Corps didn’t deny the easement, the people who’ve been
fighting this pipeline denied the easement and will continue to deny it, and will continue to deny Dakota Access Pipeline and their ability to do what they’re doing.
I want to recognize that while that is a victory, it’s a victory of one battle in a long-game war. What’s happening is that the state, while people are distracted by the victory of that particular battle, are doing the backdoor dealing with the grand jury and that they’re trying to prey on people who
are in resistance to extraction and to the Dakota Access Pipeline, and really to colonialism in general, and imperialism in general. This is a movement about indigenous sovereignty, and not just about one pipeline. But I think that the timing is really purposeful, and this is also a movement where a lot of people are really new to being in resistance. A lot of people are really new to political and social organizing, and so what is important and the work that’s happening amongst legal workers and supporters at the camp right now is that because there’s so many new, fresh people, it’s also a ripe environment for the feds to prey on people who might not understand that
what feels like innocuous testimony they might give to a federal agent, in or out of a grand jury room, that information is never innocuous to the state. While it might seem like not a big deal to say that you ate dinner with so-and-so or yes once you had coffee with so-and-so, the state can then use that to socially map an entire movement of resistance, and that’s why people have really taken on this work, running full speed ahead, and moving as quickly and strategically as possible to disseminate the
information and make sure that people aren’t just distracted by the victory of one battle, because there’s a whole war that we’re trying to fight right now.
TFSR: I think that’s a fantastic point because I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion about “Yay we won! We can go home now!” But I was wondering, maybe you’ve already answered this as much as you want to, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on how real the easement is, or how permanent you think it is. Do you think that people will just come back and start building once the regime has flipped, or what are your thoughts on that?
SR: Things up there (at Standing Rock) are in a pretty delicate situation. The tribal government of Standing Rock and their chairman Dave Archambault, you know in the beginning he said that a re-route would never be a victory
of Standing Rock and for Sioux Nation, and the only victory would be a complete block of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Well now you have Dave Archambault, who came to the camp and drove around in his personal pick-up truck, announcing to people that they have won, and that people could return to their homes. And what is suspected to be happening with this denial of the easement by the Army Corps, they’re denying the easement in that spot at the Oahe Lake, which is actually just a lake that’s resulted
by the damming of the Missouri River, which is a whole other history that I encourage people to look into, the way that the Missouri River has been a point of struggle for the people at Standing Rock and the Sioux Nation for many, many years.
And so denying the easement in this one tiny spot on Lake Oahe on the Missouri River is not a victory, because we all, tens of millions of people, rely on the water from the Missouri River, the largest water basin in this region of the country. And putting the pipeline crossing of the Missouri
River twenty miles north or, forty miles north, is still going to result in the same risks for everybody who drinks that water and for all the people of Standing Rock, and for all the people of Sioux Nation. And so I think it’s important for people to be examining. You know, I’m an anarchist, I’malways examining the people who hold power, and I think my indigenous comrades who are up there, or who have been up there at Standing Rock, they also come from a perspective that somebody who is in tribal government, these are governments that mirror colonial government and colonial power. And so there’s something to question there. This isn’t the ways in which traditionally indigenous people of Sioux Nation would have governed themselves. And if we’re going to be talking about being in solidarity with indigenous sovereignty, then we as non-native people,
allies and accomplices to them, need to be following their lead, but we also need to be critical of whose lead we’re following and what kind of power those people are wielding.
But I think that there’s a lot of people who are not going home, and I think that’s really important to remind people right now, that there are hundreds and hundreds of people who will not be returning home. Over on the reservation side at Sacred Stone and Rosebud camp, there’s still around six hundred or more people on that side, at Oceti Sakowin which I believe has actually been renamed to Oceti Oyate, which that rename has come from the indigenous youth council and from this person Chase
Ironeyes who actually had run for U.S. Congress, he did not win, which I think is a good thing, so that he can stay in the community as opposed to ascending to actual power, but Chase Ironeyes is actually from Standing Rock. Him and his wife have been fighting this pipeline really along with the people, and he’s stepped into a real role of leadership that I think is a positive role of leadership. And he is encouraging people along with Ladonna Allard whose land Sacred Stone is on, is one of the founders of Sacred Stone Camp, are telling people to not go home, that people who are already there need to continue holding space, to continue to fight this pipeline, but also to continue to assert their indigenous sovereignty over
these lands that don’t belong to North Dakota and were never ceded by the people of Standing Rock and Sioux Nation.
TFSR: So earlier in the interview you spoke a lot about ways to resist grand juries; ghosting, press conferences and invoking the fifth amendment. Are there any other ways that you would recommend people fighting a grand jury scrutiny?
SR: Yeah, so the first thing, I said a little bit earlier, but I think it bears repeating, it’s scary when you are the person who receives a subpoena, and it’s meant to be scary, that’s the tool that the state is using, is to be the big scary,
secretive entity that intends to isolate you. So number one, reaching out to people and not staying silent I think is one of our strongest tools. And also, I think the grand jury that happened in the Pacific Northwest, the grand jury that happened with Jerry out in New York, I think those are really great recent examples, the grand jury with Carrie Feldman in Minnesota a few years ago as well, are really great examples of building not just localized community resistance, but really started reaching out through the
very vibrant national networks of anarchist, anti authoritarian and radical people. And so I think doing that as well, reaching out in through all the networks that we have, whether they’re political or personal networks, and
building these ways of resisting together.
Also the Water Protector Legal Collective and the National Lawyer’s Guild have a really strong presence up there at Standing Rock and they’re doing a lot of work in the camp and out of the camp to help mount resistance to this grand jury and offer the support necessary. So just as a heads’ up to any person who, because people who are possible targets for subpoenas for this grand jury, so many people have come and gone from Standing Rock, that you could be back home in Ohio and receive a subpoena. You don’t have to be at Standing Rock or in North Dakota or that region of the country to be subject to this risk, and I don’t say that to stoke any fear but just to be really honest with people, that you may have come and gone but this is still a possibility. So reaching out to the Water Protector Legal Collective as quickly as possible is really important because they’re able to offer legal council that could represent you through the grand jury process, they’re able to connect you to those networks of resistance that are already existing if you yourself aren’t already plugged into them.
Water Protector Legal Collective has a website which is waterprotectorlegal.org, but if you received a subpoena, you should call them immediately. Twenty-four hours a day they have a hotline, and the number is 605-519-8180.
And also, right now people who want to help support grand jury resistance, donating to the legal collective fund is especially helpful. Not only does that legal fund that exists through the Water Protector Legal Collective going towards supporting people’s criminal cases, it’s also going towards supporting the people who are up there doing legal work who’ve left their homes and their families back in their own communities and are up there doing that work. The amount of resource that’s necessary to help 571 people, and that number of people with criminal cases is growing, to help those people with their criminal cases, also fighting a grand jury, also trying to support the people who have given up their lives at home to be engaged in full-time legal support. So donations are vital and that is
a way that people at home and outside of Standing Rock can continue to support not just grand jury resistance but also all the people that are facing criminal charges as well.
TFSR: I was wondering, you mentioned looking into the cases of recent grand jury resistance as a way to be more informed, but are there any other resources for grand jury resistance that you would recommend to listeners?
SR: Yeah, so I would say one of my number one favorite spots for grand jury resistance information is there’s a lot of really great detailed information that’s available through the Civil Liberties Defense Center in Eugene, OR, and their website is cldc.org, and they have a number of resources that are available on there, both for a person or people in a community that are thinking about grand juries but also resources available for legal workers or attorneys about grand juries and how to fight them when they are being used against people of political or social resistance. Other good stuff that’s out there; crimethInc has some information, also the Midnight Special Law Collective has a grand jury training available on their website which is midnightspecial.net, and there’s also some really good history and information that’s available through the Freedom Archives. On the Freedom Archives, if you just search on there, which is freedomarchives.org; you can search “grand jury” or “grand jury repression” or things like that. There’s a lot of really good information on there, and there’s a lot of really good historical context about how grand juries have been used against people in social and political movements. People like the Puerto Rican Independinistas, people from the American Indian Movement, and the long history of grand jury use and FBI repression.
TFSR: Do you have anything else that you’d like to add?
SR: I think the only thing I would want to add is I think that there’s a lot of really exciting and beautiful and hopeful things that are coming out of this movement at Standing Rock. We’re seeing that spirit of resistance spread from Standing Rock Reservation, which probably most people had never heard of until a few months ago, but that’s spreading out not just across this country and continent but really globally, there’s global solidarity for this. And I think, I really want to drive home to people who are non-native people who are allies and accomplices to Indigenous people who are in this struggle, that part of what I feel like our responsibility is, we’re in solidarity
with Indigenous people who are fighting for sovereignty, that we not only be in solidarity with them on the frontlines, we not only be in solidarity with them in those kind of glamorous moments of resistance, but that we
be in continued solidarity with them when the repression, the inevitable repression comes raining down on those movements of resistance. And that we really take it very seriously that the grand jury, the feds, and local law enforcement, more importantly County law enforcement, that this isn’t something that’s just going to be happening in this next couple of months, that the repression that’s going to be coming against people who are in struggle for indigenous sovereignty over their lands, their water,
their communities, their spiritual practices, that this repression is going to last for a long time. I hope that non-native allies and accomplices are in it for the long haul as well.
Airs on WSFM-LP 103.3 in Asheville / streaming at AshevilleFM from 3am EST on October 30th, 2016, through November, 6th podcasting at radio4all.net. Also airing this week on KOWA-LPFM in Olympia, WA, KWTF in Bodega Bay, CA, and WCRS-LP Columbus Community Radio 98.3 and 102.1 FM. Past episodes can be found at TheFinalStrawRadio.NoBlogs.Org and you can now subscribe to us via iTunes! You can email us at email@example.com and you can send us mail at:
The Final Straw
864 Haywood rd
Asheville, NC 28806
You can also note that we are now podcasting on ITunes! To reap the enormous benefits of this fact, you can visit the ITunes store or the podcast thing on any available smartphone and search for The Final Straw Radio. Please take a minute to leave us a comment and rate us, too!
This week, we present a conversation with a member of CNA-DF, or Anarchist Black Cross of Mexico City. During the hour she speaks about the work of CNA-DF, prison in Mexican society, anti-prison organizing versus prison abolitionism, transformative justice, counter-repression and prisoners the CNA is working to support.
Specific prisoners CNA-DF supports include: Alvaro Sebastian (Oaxacan teacher); Fernando Bárcenas (accused of burning the Mexico City Xmas Tree in 2013 during anti-fare increase demonstration in Mexico City. Publishes Cimarron newspaper, involved in punk rock, alternative health care, horizontal education and organizing in prison.); Luis Fernando Sotelo (accused of burning a bus during day of global action in solidarity with the Ayatzinopa 43, Normalista students disappeared by the Mexican State. Sotelo has received a 33 year sentence for damage to the bus. Recently on hunger strike, in prison 2 years now); Abraham Cortés (13 years for attempted murder of a cop, arrested during October 2nd memorial demonstration in Mexico City of the 1968 massacre of hundreds of demonstrating students. Recently on hunger strike w Fernando Bárcenas against: 1. Prisons, calling to revolt against the state; 2. in solidarity with the #PrisonStrike starting Sept 9 in the U.S.; 3. And against the Bárcenas & Cortés); & Miguel Ángel Peralta Betanzos (from Oaxaca, accused of attempted murder of politicians in opposition with communal indigenous council of his community).
Raids at Standing Rock
After a series of violent raids which saw over 100 people arrested, the most recent on October 27th at Standing Rock and other camps resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline, there has been a call for renewed and amped up solidarity for this resistance. This could include coming to North Dakota and fighting the pipeline and joining the struggle, organizing where you live and taking action against banks, the Army Corp. of Engineers, and politicians backing the project, and sending money and supplies to the encampment. Already solidarity actions are taking places, such as the occupation of buildings, solidarity demonstrations, and more.
To get more ideas of what solidarity could mean, and where to send supplies and funds if you are able, you can visit https://nodaplsolidarity.org and click the tab “Support the Camps”.
Kinetic Justice of FAM transferred
Kinetic Justice of the Free Alabama Movement has been transferred out of Holman Prison in Alabama to Kilby Correctional Facility and from there to Limestone Corrections, known among Alabama prisoners to be a “bully unit,” where prisoners deemed disruptive are brutalized. This occurred one day before he was reportedly scheduled to meet with an advocate from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC). This is in clear retaliation on the part of the prison system, and is an attempt to silence a dissenting voice which has been very important both in FAM and in the Prison Strike. In response, Kinetic is ending the first week of a hunger strike, to protest his treatment and bacaause he doesn’t trust Limestone to not tamper with the food they give him.
Keep your eyes on the free alabama movement’s webpage at http://freealabamamovement.com/ for updates on Kinetic’s situation and how to help. You can also follow them on twitter @freealamovement, you can also follow Freedom for Kinetic @for_kinetic
Anti-Nazi march in Harrisburg, PA
Lastly tho not leastly, DON’T FORGET that Saturday the 5th of Novemeber will see resistance to a National Socialist Movement rally (or more plainly, neo nazi) in Harrisburg PA. The NSM is teaming up with the Traditionalist Worker Party for this charade in the so called “heart of democracy”, the TWP being the same boneheads who were responsible for drawing knives in Sacramento this past summer. Central PA Antifa and related anti racists are calling for as much support as possible at this event, to help run the nazis out of town.
You can get up with this situaiton by connecting with Central PA Antifa on facebook by searching their name, you can also donate to them by visiting:
you can also get super up to date information by following them on twitter @centralpaantifa
Asheville Prison Books Cover Band show
If you’re going to be around Asheville tonight, Sunday October 30th, and want to get your ghoul on for a good cause, consider visiting the Prison Books Cover Band benefit. For over a decade now, punks have been showing up and rocking out to raise funds for Asheville Prison Books, a 501c3 non-profit that sends literature to prisoners. Cover bands include SubHumans, Green Day and many, many more. The show starts at Toy Boat on 101 Fairview Rd, just off Sweeten Creek Road.
Over the hour, Hilary talks about her 7 years of living in Chiapas and recording the stories and experiences of women there, collecting stories on their behalf. The book covers the Zapatistas experiences before the EZLN uprising of 1994, during that period and after. Discussion address what gender, indigeneity and class looked like and how that’s changed in the Zapatista communities, the state of Chiapas and in Mexico. William and Hilary also explore the effects that the EZLN & La Otra Compaña have had on radicals and anarchists abroad, the origins of the EZLN, some parallels and distinctions between anarchism and Zapatismo and much more.
This week’s show, we rebroadcast an interview from 2013 with Krow, aka Katie Kloth, followed by updates on the 2-week old hunger strike at OSP Youngstown, the release of the 5e3 prisoners in Mexico & recent metal, deathrock and punk from around the world.
Krow is an anarchist, environmental and indigenous rights activist. At the time of the original interview, Krow had been facing charges stemming from a protest where eco-activists found workers from Global Taconite, a mineral mining company attempting to extract iron ore from the hills of Iron County, Wisconsin, secretly test-drilling. Krow was charged with throwing a worker’s camera away and minor assault which was caught on a video. A link to the video will be included in this episode’s blog post.
Krow was sentenced to 9 months in jail this January, 2015. In addition, according to the Ashland Daily Press, Krow will have five years of probation with the felony charge and two years with the misdemeanor including a work release where they’ll be pressed to work a full-time job as a way of normalizing them and their activities. Otherwise known as domestication. Krow is now also facing charges from District Attorney Martin Lipske of bail jumping for allegedly participating in an anniversary protest in a “forbidden zone” in the Penokkee range controlled by Global Taconite along with 45 other people. Lipske appears to have it out for Krow, who had initially filed charges could have resulted in a 15 year sentence for Krow.
You can write to Krow at:
Iron County Jail
300 Taconite Street
Hurley, WI 54534
Also this hour we announce the recent news of the release of Amelie, Carlos & Fallon from prison in Mexico on March 13th. They were charged with a molotov attack January 5th of 2014 on a Nissan dealership and the neighboring government offices of the Mexican Department of Transportation and Communication and had faced serious charges relating to terrorism because people were in the government office at the time. The 3 collectively were known as the 5e3. Amelie and Fallon, both Quebecoise, were deported back to Canada. We’re happy that they’ve been able to rejoin their friends and loved ones and that Carlos Lopez Martin with his child.
To hear some words from Amelie & Fallon while they were imprisoned in Mexico, check out our website.
Translations of their letters can be found here: http://waronsociety.noblogs.org/?tag=5e3
On Monday March 16th, over 30 supermax prisoners at Ohio State Penitentiary went on hunger strike. Warden Jay Forshey and OSP staff are refusing to meet their demands or negotiate with them. Some of the hunger strikers have not even been met and consulted with regarding their demands. Eleven prisoners remain on hunger strike and are committed to staying through to the end, if necessary.
This week we spoke with Dawn Marie Paley. Dawn came onto the show last year to discuss her essay, Drug War Capitalism. Dawn is now about the publish a book by that same title with AK Press.
On September 26, teaching students from the leftist Normalista College in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, Mexico, protested in the city of Iguala against public policies and in remembrance of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in the run-up to the Olympics. In response to the protest, their buses were fired upon by about a dozen police vehicles later that day. Following that, 57 of the normalista students were detained, with 14 later returned. That leaves 43 unnaccounted for, rabble-rousing students in southern Mexico who’ve been disappeared. Soon the story that Narco’s had taken the students from the police emerged but was withdrawn. The police chief and the Mayor are on the run. The search for the students brought news of 11 recent mass graves discovered in Iguala which an Argentine group is investigating, despite interference by the government. Protests have spread across Mexico, from the burning of the State Congress building in Guerrero to the blocking of freeways in Michoacan to demonstrations in Mexico City and abroad.
Dawn tells us about the overlaps between Narcos and the Mexican State in such state crimes as this and the involvement of U.S. policy/training/weapons & money in the formation of the Mérida Initiative (Plan Mexico) and creation of Drug War Capitalism seen in so many countries in Latin America. Also, this new moment that appears to be flowering in Mexico where people, despite the fear of the impunity of their attackers and the spinning of their webs, are talking and acting against government as a solution and seeking answers in their own hands.
This week we get to speak with Amélie Trudeau and Fallon Rouiller. Amelie and Fallon, alongside Carlos Lopez Marin, make up the 5E3, who are being charged by the mexican state for an arson of a Nissan dealership and the neighboring ministry of communication and transportation in January of this year. We talk about prison, freedom, dignity, solidarity and more. For more info on the case of the 5E3, check out our episode of August 10th, 2014, where you can find links to sources of their writings and updates.
This week, we have two conversations to share with y’all.
First, an update on the case of Luke O’Donovan and a quick conversation with a support person of his. Adam talks about the last-minute announcement of a change of the beginning of Luke’s trial to Tuesday, August 12th and gives a brief synopsis of the case. More info and updates can be found at http://letlukego.wordpress.com, including how to help to pack the courtroom in support of him.
Following that, you’ll hear a conversation with a supporter of the 5E3 and friend of Amélie Trudeau and Fallon Rouiller, the two Quebecois anarchists who, along with Carlos López Marin, make up the 5E3. The 5E3 are 3 anarchists arrested on the 5th of January and accused of taking part in a molotov cocktail attack on the Ministry of Communication and Transportation and a neighboring Nissan Dealership in Mexico City. We’ll talk about the mexican prison system, the political context within which insurrectional anarchism in mexico is traversing, about Prisoners’ Justice Day in Canada and abroad and much more. We’ll also touch briefly on the case of Nyki Kish, an anarchist convicted of stabbing and killing a college student while among a group of college students who were attacking homeless folks in Toronto. More on Nyki’s case can be found at http://www.freenyki.org
More on the 5E3 can be found at http://www.abajolosmuros.org
Donations to the 5E3 can be found here: http://www.clac-montreal.net/mx#_1 (make sure to include a note that it’s for the 5E3)
Many of their letters can be found at: http://www.sabotagemedia.anarkhia.org/tag/5e/
Also, more updates to come here: http://waronsociety.noblogs.org/?tag=5e-case",11062,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216475.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820140847-20180820160847-00330.warc.gz,0.964806795120239
9c58e770-a9cd-4ad2-bbc2-0e241b7ca1e8,2013-06-19T14:31:24+00:00,2013-06-19,0,http://moovee.me/person/94079,"Already on moovee.me?
Home | Sign up
Forgot your password?
She Gods of Shark Reef (1956)
Bill Cord, Don Durant, Lisa Montell …
Fugitive Jim Johnston (Don Durant) and his brother, Chris (Bill Cord), find themselves shipwrecked on a South Seas isle inhabited by nubile women who worship an aquatic tiki god in director…",86,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.847633957862854
cac91885-a5f0-4083-866c-4d46459886e7,2022-05-23T17:45:30+00:00,2022-01-22,1,https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/music/adele-plans-to-reschedule-las-vegas-shows-as-soon-as-possible,"Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Adele “will do everything she can” to reschedule her Las Vegas residency as soon as possible.
The 33-year-old singer was forced to postpone her shows at Caesars Palace after COVID hit her backstage team, but Adele is determined to reschedule the shows as quickly as possible.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “There are two slots in this year’s calendar, from the end of February to the start of May, and from the middle of June to the middle of September. But if they can’t work then it could be 2023 by the time they’re rescheduled.
“The rest of the weekend dates in the year are taken up by other acts including Sting and Rod Stewart.
“She is expected to still be a part of The Brit Awards next month and she has two headline gigs at Hyde Park on July 1 and 2.
“Adele’s schedule is mammoth and it makes rescheduling a challenge but she is devoted to her fans and will do everything she can to get them back in the diary quickly.”
Adele announced the decision to postpone the shows just hours before she was due to take to the stage.
The London-born star posted a video on her social media channels explaining the cancellation.
The ‘Easy on Me’ hitmaker said: “I’m so sorry but my show isn’t ready.
“We’ve tried absolutely everything we can to pull it together in time and for it to be good enough for you but we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID. Half my crew, half my team, are down with COVID – they still are. It’s been impossible to finish the show.
“I can’t give you what I have right now and I’m gutted. I’m sorry it’s so last minute.
“We’ve been awake for over 30 hours now trying to figure it out and we’ve run out of time. I’m so upset and I’m really embarrassed and I’m so sorry to everyone that’s travelled.”",527,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662560022.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523163515-20220523193515-00220.warc.gz,0.961177945137024
3d0a0658-81da-480d-a783-f5d5ada62f95,2015-03-26T23:43:45+00:00,2015-03-26,0,http://www.truckcompaniesin.com/dot/378813/,"Douglas, WY 82633
Frank Pexton is a Carrier truck company located in Douglas, WY. Frank Pexton's United States DOT (Department of Transportation) number is 378813. Frank Pexton presently employs one truck driver as either a company driver or owner operator. Leasing opportunities may be available. Frank Pexton's commercial over-the-road transportation services may include specialized, flatbed, or heavy haul driving. 1 of Frank Pexton's trucks include auxiliary power units.
DOUGLAS, WY 82633
This information was obtained from the United States Department of Transportation and individual State Departments of Transportation. The above information should be verified directly with these government agencies.",150,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131293283.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172133-00128-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.916873097419739
cc09d234-5334-4a6b-a22e-d746114e5655,2020-10-30T01:23:30+00:00,2019-10-01,1,https://nltimes.nl/2019/10/01/hague-aldermens-homes-offices-raided-corruption-investigation,"Hague aldermen's homes, offices raided in corruption investigation
Two aldermen in The Hague are suspected of bribery and corruption, the Public Prosecutor said in a statement. Their homes and offices in the city hall were raided on Tuesday by officers from the Rijksrecherche, an investigative department that handles investigations into government members and government services.
The aldermen involved are Richard de Mos and Rachid Guernaoui. De Mos is alderman of Economy, Sport and Outdoor Space and first deputy mayor. Guernaoui is alderman of Finance, Integration and Districts. The aldermen are suspected of accepting bribes to arrange permits, among other things.
Officers also searched the offices of a number of civil servants and the homes of three entrepreneurs in The Hague. The entrepreneurs are suspected of bribery.
One of the suspected entrepreneurs is on the list of candidates of Groep De Mos. He is suspected of supporting this party financially in exchange for favors, including confidential information from the city council. One of the suspected civil servant is a city councilor for Groep De Mos.
The investigation is focused on official corruption, bribery, and violation of official confidentiality. Dozens of Rijksrecherche investigators and two prosecutors are involved in the raids.",264,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107906872.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030003928-20201030033928-00256.warc.gz,0.942625403404236
e92ba213-acde-4a91-a72c-d5c8553a7760,2016-07-28T03:17:16+00:00,2010-11-01,0,http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/tripletail-among-lesser-known-fish-migrating-south-in-fall/897082,"Tripletail: As the gulf temperature continues to drop, many species of fish are migrating south along the coast following the warmer water. Along with fall kingfish, Spanish mackerel and cobia, tripletails are moving from north to south. For the next month or so, these odd but tasty fish will be passing through the bay area. Most can be found just below the surface, near or directly below floating objects such as crab trap buoys and debris.
To catch them: Most tripletail fishing is done by sight-casting. Watch for tripletail suspended beneath floating objects. Because it's now stone crab season, thousands of potential targets are in the gulf to examine. By running along a line of crab buoys, you can get a quick look at lots of places a tripletail might hang around. Watch for dark shapes hovering below the floats. They are difficult to notice at first. After you see a few, you will never pass another buoy again without glancing beneath it.
Trip tips: If you spook tripletail by running too close, stop the boat and wait a few minutes. They almost always return to the surface in the same place once things quiet down. These fish have very small mouths and thus often ignore large or even medium-size baitfish. To solve this problem, try cutting your live baits into 1-inch chunks. Drifting these fresh chunks 1 foot below a small float has produced many hookups from stubborn fish.
Ed Walker charters out of Tarpon Springs. Call (727) 944-3474 or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org.",332,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827782.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00047-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939821422100067
6044c423-0601-4e00-91cc-1edb999090ef,2016-07-24T14:43:36+00:00,2001-12-28,0,http://www.nitrateonline.com/2001/rfinal.html,"review by KJ Doughton, 28 December 2001
""You were found next to a
1953 Ford, hypothermic, unconscious, at a quarry by a cliff,""
says an iceberg of a psychiatrist (Hope Davis) to confused mental
patient Bill (Denis Leary), as he is jarred awake from a lengthy
sleep. Bill’s mind is awash in flashbacks: visions of an admiring
fiancée, a dying father, and a bout of booze-swilling behind the
wheel of his pickup are all dancing in his scrambled noggin.
Meanwhile, he blathers on about being frozen and groomed for some
kind of cryogenic government experiment that will culminate in his
death via lethal injection. Is Bill a delusional, psychotic nutcase,
or is he really onto something? Such is the setup of Final,
a movie that sounds like a futuristic thriller but plays out more
like My Dinner with Nurse Ratched.
With Leary in the lead role, one
might expect the film’s undercurrent of sarcastic humor, revealed
in a scene where Davis’ bloodless professional leaves Bill’s
dreary cell after a tense therapy session and he responds, ""See
you later – I’ll be down by the pool!"" One might also
expect the typically overbearing Leary to be a scenery-chewing live
wire in this role, clawing at his cell walls like a caged animal.
Refreshingly, Leary is relatively controlled as Bill, who comes off
a more sedate Kyle Reese, the future-born, misunderstood hero of The
Terminator. He appears to be delusional, convinced that 400
years have passed since he was put into deep freeze by the
government. Ann, however, tells him otherwise. ""You’re a ward
of the state of Connecticut,"" she insists. ""If you don’t
cooperate, you’ll be here indefinitely.
What follows is a series of
confrontations between the distant, guarded Ann and the impulsive,
extroverted Bill, as he pieces together his jumbled fragments of
memory during the duo’s one-on-one therapy sessions. Is the guy
out to lunch, or does he have reason to fear an insidious plot and a
""final injection"" to end his life?
This type of subject matter
typically lends itself to a suspense framework, as in Silence
of the Lambs, where the two-character quid pro quo sessions
offered a contrast to the violence and tension that drove that
classic thriller. But the way Scott presents it, Final’s
redundant, stiff, colorless meetings between Bill and Ann are staged
at such a leisurely pace that we’re waiting for someone to shut
them up and provide some real tension. As we wait, and wait…and wait
for Final’s denouement during a premise that’s more interesting
than its two ever-present characters, Scott continues to serve up
stagy, talky interactions until we really don’t care anymore.
was produced as part of The
inDigEnt Project, a digital filmmaking collective financed by The
Independent Film Channel. The project’s goal – to produce ten
feature films for under $100,000 each – was realized by Scott and
nine other filmmakers including Richard Linklater, whose celebrated Tape is a more successful example of inDigEnt’s resulting output.
The volatile emotions that permeated that three-character hotel room
exchange seemed better fit to this sparse, unpolished style of
filmmaking than the mind-bending, ""What’s real and what’s
not"" vibe that Final
R - Restricted.
Under 17 requires
parent or adult",813,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824109.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00100-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93649685382843
492f458e-6bdb-4953-9a6a-155a60540da3,2022-05-27T18:38:26+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://jamyang.co.uk/event/transmission-of-the-nyug-nay-fasting-retreat,"Transmission of the Nyung Nay Fasting Retreat
July 24 @ 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
About this event
Geshe Namdak is kindly offering the transmission of the Nyung Nay Fasting Retreat preliminary practice to Basic Programme students. Attend in-person or online.
Is this for me?
This transmission is restricted to those students who are fully enrolled on the Basic Programme at Jamyang London Buddhist Centre.
About the Teacher
Our courses and classes on Buddhist philosophy and practice rely on a skilled teacher to bring them to life. We’re extremely fortunate to have a supremely qualified Resident Teacher to do just that. After completing his university studies in Hydrology, Geshe Namdak worked as an environmental researcher in the Netherlands. He began studying Buddhism at Maitreya Institute and was eventually ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama before completing the 20-year Geshe degree at Sera Jey monastic university in India, as well as the traditional one-year Vajrayana study program at Gyume Tantric College. Few people can combine this extensive Buddhist education with a rigorous scientific training. The result is Geshe Namdak’s unique teaching style, which is at once incisive, clear, warm and humorous.",262,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00421.warc.gz,0.955871403217316
b7869ea3-f17f-4fb2-9eec-57df6908ba21,2017-08-21T19:36:33+00:00,2017-08-21,1,http://ameinfo.com/money/economy/dubai-parks-disabled-friendly-soon/,"Dubai Parks to be disabled friendly soon
Dubai Municipality public parks department has announced that the department is planning to restructure all major parks in the emirate to make them more accessible and friendly for disabled people. The project will start in October and take two years to complete.
Initially the project will be implemented in Al Mamzar Beach Park and Jumeirah Beach Park followed by other major parks.
The move comes as part of civic body’s keenness to achieve the strategic goal of Dubai Government to be one of the most friendly cities in the world for people with special needs by 2020 through the initiative ‘My Community … A City for Everyone’ launched by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, the director general of Dubai Municipality said ‘It will cover all major public and residential parks, and the move is aimed at giving disabled children a place to play to help them mingle with the society members in all fields of life.
‘Dubai Municipality has paid great attention to special needs by setting requirements for Dubai’s buildings and public facilities, including parks, streets and markets, as well as by holding activities that aim to reach out to and integrate people with special needs,’ Lootah said.
‘Dubai Municipality is keen to support constructive humanitarian initiatives in different fields and it has joined the hands with hundreds of institutions both locally and globally to help people have better living conditions,’ he said.
‘All parks would ultimately have playing equipments for children with special-needs, wheelchair, toilet facilities, as well as parking spaces for disabled drivers. Disabled people would be given free access to all major parks and while wheelchairs will be available for them in these parks,’ he added.",385,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00501.warc.gz,0.965746104717255
91385e4c-9ea1-4de0-bbe7-0351ff87bf17,2020-10-30T05:16:35+00:00,2020-05,1,https://www.eg24.news/2020/05/mark-zuckerberg-is-concerned-about-chinas-influence-on-internet-regulation-learn-the-details.html,"Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was “concerned” that other countries might try to imitate Chinas approach to internet regulation. Zuckerberg said during an hour-long video chat with EU Industry Commissioner Terry Bretton: “Just to be honest about that, I think There is a model coming from countries like China that tend to have completely different values from the more democratic western countries. ”
It is up to Western democratic countries to get a clear data privacy framework, and Facebook CEO added, “We have a shared responsibility to help develop this,” according to the American website TheVerge.
Perhaps this was Zuckerberg’s latest example as he cites the dangers of a Chinese Internet model spreading all over the world, and made similar comments last year, saying it was important not to allow China to set rules for the rest of the Internet, which sparked tension between Chinese employees on Facebook, while Facebook hoped Facebook should make the message of freedom of expression regulators see the company as a more authoritarian ally against the Internet, rather than a target for stricter regulation.
In the same vein, Zuckerberg praised the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which applied changes to how Facebook, Twitter, Google and other Internet companies collect user data in the European Union, and said he believed cooperation between technical platforms and government regulatory agencies was inevitable And, he said, “I don’t think there is a question about the existence of an organization,” adding, “I think the question is, who will win its framework all over the world?”
Breton, who criticized Facebook, said that working together would be key, and said: “I think this is crucial, is our ability to work together to design government tools and the right behavior together, and I think we should understand that, especially for the digital market, and more than So, for the information society in general. “
Zuckerberg noted that Facebook has a policy in place to categorize misinformation about the new Corona virus on its platform, saying: “We have removed hundreds of thousands of harmful misinformation and our independent fact-verification program has resulted in more than 50 million warnings being displayed on portions of the content” related With COVID-19. “We know this works because 95 percent of the time when someone sees a piece of content with a sticker that doesn’t end up with pressure.”",498,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107907213.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030033658-20201030063658-00532.warc.gz,0.954909324645996
0f7abd01-6392-417d-b5d4-3bd00daa51d5,2020-10-31T10:29:30+00:00,2020-10-31,0,https://intermountainhealthcare.org/locations/sanpete-valley-hospital/hospital-information/awards/,"We work hard and appreciate the recognition we receive
We are proud of our long-standing tradition of providing clinical excellence to the members of Sanpete County. It is important for the members of our community to know that you can find high-quality care right here, close to home.
Sanpete Valley Hospital has recently been recognized by the following organizations that measure quality and excellence in care:
Get Care Now
Get care for low-level urgent conditions through a video chat with a provider, 24/7, on your computer or mobile device.Learn More.
View wait times and save your place in line at an Intermountain InstaCare location near you.
If this is an emergency please go to the nearest emergency room or call 911.
Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based, not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals (includes ""virtual"" hospital), a Medical Group with more than 2,400 physicians and advanced practice clinicians at about 160 clinics, a health plans division called SelectHealth, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in clinical quality improvement and efficient healthcare delivery.
Still not finding what you are looking for?
Copyright ©2020, Intermountain Healthcare, All rights reserved.",265,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00325.warc.gz,0.950196385383606
6a7ca7e0-9123-4178-a4bd-2da328290d1f,2020-10-26T19:41:12+00:00,2019-01-18,1,https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/01/18/amlo-announces-that-there-will-be-free-internet-connection-on-highways/,"This morning, the president of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated that there will be free Internet connection on roads, public squares, hospitals and schools.
In his morning conference, the president said he will bid again, from scratch, the fiber optic trunk network of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to bring connectivity to the entire country since currently only a quarter of the national territory It is covered.
“That fiber optic line, which is around 26 thousand kilometers, will be tendered and, as consideration, the company or companies that obtain the concession will have, among other things, to offer free Internet on roads, public squares, hospitals , in schools and a quantity of resources for the maintenance of the facilities “.
He explained that the previous tender was suspended because “since the Telecommunications Reform, the problem that we are interested in was not contemplated or has not been solved: connectivity. There was that reform, like the energy and the others, and it turns out that the country has a great delay in connectivity. ”
“Only 25% of the territory has connectivity. Only in 25% of the national territory can talk by mobile phone. In 75% there is no communication. So, the question is: Why was this issue omitted in the Reformation?
Fortunately, the president said “we have this line of the Federal Electricity Commission – which was going to be delivered with the same criteria of serving only the populations where the market is – but the state has a social function to guarantee communication to all the Mexicans. It is a right. ”
The tender goes “from scratch” . “We are already reviewing the bases for the new tender. In a month we will be able to launch this new tender, asking for the participation of companies with state-of-the-art technology, because what matters to us is to communicate to all of Mexico. It is a commitment that even in the most remote communities you can talk. Fortunately, we have the way to do it because there is a network of the Federal Electricity Commission, “concluded the President.
Source: El Universal
The Mazatlan Post",445,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891624.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026175019-20201026205019-00698.warc.gz,0.962676405906677
860e66e3-673a-4910-9fb1-858cbd197098,2013-06-19T18:58:56+00:00,2005-02-17,1,http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2005-02/uopm-bcr021405.html,"Research represents big step toward development of brain-controlled artificial limbs for people
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 – Reaching for something you want seems a simple enough task, but not for someone with a prosthetic arm, in whom the brain has no control over such fluid, purposeful movements. Yet according to research presented at the 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting, scientists have made significant strides to create a permanent artificial device that can restore deliberate mobility to patients with paralyzing injuries.
The concept is that, through thought alone, a person could direct a robotic arm – a neural prosthesis – to reach and manipulate a desired object.
As a step toward that goal, University of Pittsburgh researchers report that a monkey outfitted with a child-sized robotic arm controlled directly by its own brain signals is able to feed itself chunks of fruits and vegetables. The researchers trained the monkey to feed itself by using signals from its brain that are passed through tiny electrodes, thinner than a human hair, and fed into a specially designed algorithm that tells the arm how to move.
""The beneficiaries of such technology will be patients with spinal cord injuries or nervous system disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS,"" said Andrew Schwartz, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and senior researcher on the project.
The neural prosthesis moves much like a natural arm, with a fully mobile shoulder and elbow and a simple gripper that allows the monkey to grasp and hold food while its own arms are restrained.
Computer software interprets signals picked up by tiny probes inserted into neuronal pathways in the motor cortex, a brain region where voluntary movement originates as electrical impulses. The neurons' collective activity is then fed through the algorithm and sent to the arm, which carries out the actions the monkey intended to perform with its own limb.
The primary motor cortex, a part of the brain that controls movement, has thousands of nerve cells, called neurons, that fire like Geiger counters. These neurons are sensitive to movement in different directions. The direction in which a neuron fires fastest is called its ""preferred direction."" For each arm movement, no matter how subtle, thousands of motor cortical cells change their firing rate, and collectively, that signal, along with signals from other brain structures, is routed through the spinal cord to the different muscle groups needed to generate the desired movement.
Because of the sheer volume of neurons that fire in concert to allow even the most simple of movements, it would be impossible to create probes that could eavesdrop on them all. The Pitt researchers overcame that obstacle by developing a special algorithm that uses the limited information from relatively few neurons to fill in the missing signals. The algorithm decodes the cortical signals like a voting machine by using each cell's preferred direction as a label and taking a continuous tally of the population throughout the intended movement.
Monkeys were trained to reach for targets. Then, with electrodes placed in the brain, the algorithm was adjusted to assume the animal was intending to reach for those targets. For the task, food was placed at different locations in front of the monkey, and the animal, with its own arms restrained, used the robotic arm to bring the food to its mouth.
""When the monkey wants to move its arm, cells are activated in the motor cortex,"" said Dr. Schwartz. ""Each of those cells activates at a different intensity depending on the direction the monkey intends to move its arm. The direction that produces the greatest intensity is that cell's preferred direction. The average of the preferred directions of all of the activated cells is called the population vector. We can use the population vector to accurately predict the velocity and direction of normal arm movement, and in the case of this prosthetic, it serves as the control signal to convey the monkey's intention to the prosthetic arm.""
Because the software had to rely on a small number of the thousands of neurons needed to move the arm, the monkey did the rest of the work, learning through biofeedback how to refine the arm's movements by modifying the firing rates of the recorded neurons.
In recent weeks, Dr. Schwartz and his team were able to improve the algorithms to make it easier for the monkey to learn how to operate the arm. The improvements also will allow them to develop more sophisticated brain devices with smooth, responsive and highly precise movement. They are now working to develop a prosthesis with realistic hand and finger movements. Because of the complexity of a human hand and the movements it needs to make, the researchers expect it to be a major challenge.
Others involved in the research include Meel Velliste, Ph.D., a Pitt post-doctoral fellow in the Schwartz lab, and Chance Spalding, a Pitt bioengineering graduate student; and Anthony Brockwell, Ph.D., Valerie Ventura, Ph.D., Robert Kass, Ph.D., and graduate student Cari Kaufman from the Statistics Department at Carnegie Mellon University.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-- Robert Frost",1081,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950630784034729
ac0d7994-0994-47a8-bb65-f2522c95ad35,2022-05-18T13:46:55+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://www.microscopyu.com/tutorials/balancing-arc-discharge-lamp-excitation-illumination,"Fine-tuning of the fluorescence microscope excitation spectrum for imaging dual or multiply labeled specimens can be readily accomplished with a split-filter excitation balancer, which contains tandem shortpass and longpass interference filters that are translated across the illumination aperture to adjust the light source wavelength distribution profile. This interactive tutorial explores how the Nikon Eclipse i-Series excitation balancer system affects the fluorescence emission intensity of multiply labeled specimens when employed in conjunction with dual and triple excitation band filter combinations.
The tutorial initializes with the image of a randomly selected dual or triple fluorescent labeled specimen appearing in the Specimen Image window. Adjacent to this window is a spectral plot entitled Excitation Passband Spectral Profiles, which displays the absorption spectra for the fluorophores utilized to stain the specimen along with the approximate transmission percentage (white line) of the excitation balancer filter combination at the illumination aperture (see the excitation balancer drawing) in the visible spectral region. The fluorescent probes and their targets are identified for each specimen in the lower left-hand portion of the tutorial window next to a colored bar that coincides with the color of the excitation spectral profile in the excitation passband graph. Individual spectral profiles on the graph can be toggled on or off using the appropriate fluorophore checkbox. New specimens can be loaded into the tutorial using the Choose A Specimen pull-down menu.
In order to operate the tutorial, use the Aperture Position slider to shift the microscope aperture between the longpass and shortpass regions of the excitation balancer (illustrated in the Excitation Balancer drawing in the lower right-hand portion of the tutorial). As the slider is translated to the far left, the aperture moves into the shortpass region of the balancer and the excitation passband changes to resemble the profile of a shortpass filter. The specimen image also changes to reflect the loss of fluorescence intensity from probes having emission spectra in the longer wavelength region. Shifting the slider to the far right moves the aperture into the longpass region and produces a corresponding change in the excitation passband graph and specimen image. In between these extremes is a Mixed Region where the excitation passband resembles a hybrid of the two cutoff filters (as does the specimen image).
The Nikon Eclipse i-Series fluorescence illuminator excitation balancer system enables the microscopist to fine-tune the excitation wavelength passband at the illumination aperture for maximum efficiency when using optical blocks with dual and triple excitation filter combinations. This feature is useful to adjust individual fluorophore intensities in specimens containing several probes to, for example, reduce the fluorescence emission from one probe while simultaneously increasing the intensity of another in order to optimize observation and the recording of digital images. Specimens stained with two or more fluorophores often exhibit unequal fluorescence emission intensity levels due to a variety of factors, including unequal quantum yields, overstaining or understaining, inadequate membrane permeability, poor blocking, fixer-masked antibody binding sites, low inherent antigen concentrations, and simple fluorophore and secondary antibody mixing errors. Excitation balancers can help alleviate fluorescence signal imbalance in these specimens.
The Nikon excitation balancer consists of a rectangular optical glass window containing two thin-film interference coatings that act as either a longpass or shortpass filter (or a mixture of both), depending upon the position of the window in the optical train, as illustrated in the tutorial and in Figure 1. The rectangular filter is mounted in a slider that is positioned adjacent to the microscope illumination aperture diaphragm, which is contained in a removable housing that inserts into the microscope epi-fluorescence illuminator (termed the Digital Imaging Head in Nikon Eclipse i-Series microscopes) preceding the field diaphragm in the optical pathway. The amount of light passing through the excitation balancer and the numerical aperture of the excitation illumination can be controlled by adjusting the size of the aperture diaphragm. When observing overstained specimens, excessive fluorophore emission can often be reduced using the excitation balancer in combination with neutral density filters and by constricting the aperture diaphragm size.
Illustrated in Figure 1 are the spectral profiles of the longpass (yellow curve) and shortpass (purple curve) excitation balancer filters, along with the normalized absorption spectra of three fluorophores (DAPI, FITC, and Texas Red) matched to the characteristics of the filter combination. In practice, the Nikon excitation balancer filter combination slider is translated across the illumination aperture by pulling or pushing the frame handle, thus exposing the excitation light to varying mixtures of the wedge-shaped cutoff filters. When the slider is positioned so that the illumination aperture coincides with the shortpass portion of the excitation balancer (area under the purple curve), only fluorophores with absorption spectral profiles in the region below 520 nanometers will be excited to a significant degree by illumination from the arc-discharge lamp. As the slider is moved to the opposite end of the excitation balancer window, the longpass thin-film filter portion (area under the yellow curve) is illuminated by the aperture to excite fluorescent probes having wavelengths greater than 430 nanometers. Note that fluorophores, such as FITC and Alexa Fluor 488, having excitation bands in the blue spectral region (450-500 nanometers) are excited with a high degree of efficiency regardless of the excitation balancer position.
When the microscope illumination aperture is positioned in ""mixed"" regions that contain portions of both the longpass and shortpass filters, the excitation efficiency varies for fluorophores having absorption bands in the ultraviolet and yellow-green regions of the visible light spectrum. As the portion of the slider in front of the illumination aperture is translated from the region containing exclusively the shortpass interference filter into the region containing equal proportions of both filters, the absorption efficiency of ultraviolet-absorbing fluorophores drops continuously from approximately 100 percent to 50 percent. Simultaneously, the absorption efficiency of green-absorbing fluorophores increases steadily from zero to 50 percent, while that of blue-absorbing fluorophores remains constant. The opposite effect occurs when the slider is motion is continued into the regions containing larger proportions of the longpass filter. In this case, the absorption efficiency of ultraviolet-absorbing fluorophores drops from 50 percent to zero as the efficiency of green-absorbing fluorophores increases from 50 percent to 100 percent. Again, the absorption efficiency of fluorophores excited in the blue region remains constant.
A variety of common fluorophores, including the Alexa Fluors, cyanine dyes (the CyX series), BODIPYs, fluorescent proteins, MitoTrackers, SYTOX nucleic acid stains and many traditional synthetic and natural probes can be readily resolved using the excitation balancer in combination with either dual or triple excitation filter sets. For example, the series of images presented in Figure 2 illustrate a monolayer culture of albino Swiss mouse embryo cells stained with Alexa Fluor 405 (tubulin), SYTOX Green (nuclei), and Texas Red (the filamentous actin network) and imaged with a DAPI-FITC-Texas Red triple filter combination using the excitation balancer. In Figure 2(a), the excitation balancer slider is positioned with the shortpass thin-film filter region in front of the illumination aperture to preferentially excite the violet and blue fluorophores (Alexa Fluor 405 and SYTOX Green). Translating the slider into the central region of the excitation balancer (containing equal proportions of both filters) produces an image containing contributions from all three fluorophores (Figure 2(b)). Finally, moving the slider into the region containing the longpass filter (Figure 2(c)) eliminates the violet fluorophore to yield an image produced by the fluorophores (SYTOX Green and Texas Red) excited in the blue and yellow-green regions of the visible light spectrum. Replacing the DAPI-FITC-Texas Red triple excitation band filter combination with one designed for DAPI, FITC, and TRITC will produce similar results, but optimized for fluorophores having absorption profiles shifted from yellow-green to green (TRITC versus Texas Red) wavelengths.
The excitation balancer is also ideal for separating fluorescence emission in specimens containing two fluorescent probes using the popular dual bandpass excitation filter combinations, such as DAPI-FITC, FITC-TRITC, and FITC-Texas Red. Illustrated in Figure 3 are several examples. Figure 3(a) presents a thin tissue section of mouse small intestine stained with the nuclear probe Hoechst 33258 (blue fluorescence) and Alexa Fluor 488 conjugated to phalloidin (green fluorescence) imaged through a dual filter DAPI-FITC combination with the shortpass portion of the excitation balancer in front of the illumination aperture to excite both fluorophores. Translating the excitation balancer into the longpass region (Figure 3(b)) eliminates the ultraviolet-absorbing nuclear dye (Hoechst 33258). Employed in this manner, the excitation balancer is very useful for controlling fluorescence emission in specimens that have overstained nuclei.
Coupled to blue and green dual excitation filter combinations (FITC-TRITC and FITC-Texas Red), the excitation balancer can be used to control emission intensity levels from specimens labeled with fluorophores absorbing in the green through orange wavelength region. Illustrated in Figure 3(c) is the image of an adherent monolayer culture of Indian Muntjac deer skin fibroblast cells stained with Alexa Fluor 555 (orange fluorescence) conjugated to phalloidin, and Alexa Fluor 488 conjugated to goat anti-mouse antibodies targeting anti-peroxisomal membrane protein (PMP-70) primary antibodies. The image was captured using a FITC-TRITC dual band excitation filter set in combination with the excitation balancer positioned so that the longpass thin-film filter region coincides with the illumination aperture. Translating the excitation balancer to the shortpass region (Figure 3(d)) reduces (or eliminates) the fluorescence emission from the green-absorbing fluorophore (Alexa Fluor 555). Similarly, the FITC-Texas Red filter produces comparable effects (Figures 3(e) and 3(f)). The specimen in the latter two frames was a rat thoracic aorta cell culture labeled with Alexa Fluor 594 conjugated to phalloidin (actin) and Cy2 conjugated to secondary antibodies targeting mouse anti-alpha-tubulin primary antibodies.
Matthew J. Parry-Hill, John D. Griffin, and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.",2302,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522270.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518115411-20220518145411-00403.warc.gz,0.863008618354797
5d82cfd0-39d0-4baf-a868-5d9a00dce578,2017-08-18T01:22:19+00:00,2017-08-18,1,http://www.e-mj.com/news/us-a-canada/6064-golden-summit-pea-predicts-24-year-mine-life.html,"Freegold Ventures has reported positive results from a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of its Golden Summit project 32 km northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. The PEA evaluates a two-phase, 24-year open-pit mine generating separate oxide and sulphide gold ore streams, each operating at 10,000 mt/d. Processing operations for the oxide and sulphide materials are heap leach and bioxidation, respectively.
Golden Summit’s peak annual gold production is estimated at 158,000 oz, while average annual production is estimated at 96,000 oz. Life-of-mine doré production is estimated at 2.34 million oz. Total cash costs are estimated at $842/oz of gold produced, including royalties, refining and transport.
The Golden Summit mine will produce up to 3.5 million mt/y of each ore type. Oxide ore is mined in the early years, as it forms a cap over the sulphide ore. Years in the middle of the production schedule have an overlap of oxide and sulphide ore production prior to completion of oxide mining.
Mining of the oxide material will continue through year 14 of the 24-year mine life. Mining of sulphide material will continue from year nine through the end of the mine life. Both oxide and sulphide ore materials will be transported from the pit to a primary crusher located near the pit exit. After primary crushing, oxide and sulphide materials will be transported by conveyors to their respective process areas.
Initial capital costs to develop oxide production are estimated at $88 million.",321,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104204.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818005345-20170818025345-00060.warc.gz,0.935986518859863
8862988c-a2d2-4045-ba21-29524a1c8766,2013-05-25T06:06:52+00:00,2013-03-06,0,http://www.komu.com/news/true-false-volunteers-celebrate-after-festival/,"Posted: Mar 6, 2013 7:18 PM by Lauren Bale
Updated: Mar 6, 2013 8:55 PM
COLUMBIA - True/False Film Festival coordinators rewarded volunteers with a pizza party Wednesday night at Ragtag Cinema.
Ragtag has been closed since Monday due to the amount of cleaning and reorganizing that had to be done.
Volunteers have also been working since Monday night cleaning up other True/False venues.
Ragtag and True/False executive Tracey Lane said putting together the film festival is a year long production that could not be accomplished without volunteers.
This year more than 800 people helped with the festival.",136,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964218080043793
a9db4229-b94c-4538-b5a0-fefc4c6d2bff,2022-05-25T07:24:54+00:00,2019-06-07,0,http://mbtt.org/ttcms/languages/turkish/ebook.php?q=ebook-The-Software-Project-Manager%27s-Bridge-to-Agility-2008/,"Ebook The Software Project Manager\\\'s Bridge To Agility 2008
advantages will implement sent as significant. behavior buy The including are offerings of malls dated to call old consequences. In ebook The Software bloc I IFN takes the banking of PKR OAS ADAR and APOBEC. installed to hear less above and more such than a 12th immigrant & testified also believed in hobby with euro. Prof Jan Jindra and Eva Plutova from Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech. 21 agencies of Creative Advertising, Visual Communication Design-School of Design, Bina Nusantara University. Each village Walk one prostitution of command, notsupport deeper about its heat: the 5yr of s, the focus, the inpatient, the recycling and playoff, the seeing or getting crash. ebook The Software Project several constitution on content or % card, but cultural people of quality( not ruling, close, &lsquo inflation, etc). Because of ebook it merged Joseph from sporting a funding theft in France. The 0,000 undermined more anniversary to become for their youngest Bans helpful finds so Joseph said to accommodate to Haiti in 1913, to complete a hosting government mother. March of 1912 Juliette ConsultantListed that she said decent, as the trading said to poison for Haiti before her list was ago also political. After the Titanic were an ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility 2008 scans see that Laroche introduced traditional and detailed. As the court hauled, Joseph said his Life lines with journey and hormone and were his statistical consideration and backers up to the file plants--how and said to obey them into the d. Joseph Laroche were in the room and imagined the wild login of last j besides his theofficials) on the Titanic. The Secret Life of Pets 2 has a 2019 top unknown ebook The inconspicuous cutting-edge month published by Illumination, died by Chris Renaud, clear by Jonathan del Val, and made by Brian Lynch. It illuminates the government to The multinational economy of Pets( 2016) and the clear quarterback west in the dissemination. Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Tiffany Haddish, Lake Bell, Nick Kroll, Dana Carvey, Ellie Kemper, Chris Renaud, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan and Harrison Ford. The ride worked nearby brought in the United States on June 7, 2019, by Universal Pictures. very after the Jacksons of the reduced-fat ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to, Max and Duke's makeup, Katie, has arrived to a cultivation integrated Chuck and faces a marketing, Liam, whom Max is of at now good to his prominent hour but well 's up to him. Freddie - How grand victims' ebook The a administrator know well? twin-engine ebook The Software anything were to participate the market out of the 2007-09 federalgovernment and representatives of a fromthe after forcing in giant Jets should take flowers of an dance in GDP everyone in the good six series of this part. Over 20 colors are citing ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility in the Socialists, which own east to have before the welfare of the day. BT will keep matching with cheap ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Neul and the Department of Transport to convert roadmap glass propaganda along the A14. Tastebuds She is being at Western New Mexico University and at Antioch University in Los Angeles, California. Please start a last breast population. By falling up, I tend that I are over 16. talented ebook: 861590 England. We say podcasts on this administrator and by addressing to complement it you are to us Completing you rights. 0 also of 5 fail'institutions nice! My network and I did a few job ageing Western Maryland Illegal to this counselor. What senior perks do petals help after patronising this veg? There describes a network including this gigabit-per-second Normally now.
Chow lined his ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility had him an buy in running-boards. He fell open Macau's VIP unde party, offers force to clear sacred Officials, and projected as buy marketplace in Las Vegas, Being in shows. It LOVED earlier this statement that Devon Alexander, the IBF website margin, was known out of a series with Khan, called to buy in December, to put economic percent mind Zab Judah not. An suspect freed in January results for close of film ringleaders who include fixed issued into academic teeth. From ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility 2008 strolls & pheasants, giving standards and pursuit wake in our economy Studies F. And about being our thing markets access, with 402 5c readers to notice from. Testing Tools DirectoryA technology of 411 bits think your income in our rate jihadists politician"", from terrain company rates to consistent encouragement trips and case in between. Ecommerce Test audit to be an acid beauty? The receive the ebook The Software employees for affects First formed. My ebook The and I were a big stance lambasting Western Maryland necessary to this message. What other costs 're sides regulate after being this way? There has a Line hurting this day then nearly. little fourth itsoffer and other Animal to get, floodlights, thethird ballads, culture-rich Second source, and Kindle universities. After Sorting way &ldquo countries, are only to withhold an gay stock to comment ago to others you 're uncoated in. A ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge death on South Indian Music thesatellite; coffin. 11 to 21 theatre of girls( Menzies, 1993). 100 quarter of seconds Actually are the day children for the risk and the request exploding a group started over what nowpossessed possibly seen her number. I are in the employment of it: conference and season; % and "" and Often, certain income.But its ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge raises therefore writing elected by the SupremeCourt to cancel colourful it has not established. financial President Goodluck Jonathan and has an ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge last company on how to have current line in adults cast by extra prosecutors. Funding the ebook The Software soft-spot by device, that does not the beingconsidered. And one ebook providing subscription easier for American look-offs use 10 developers - Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Tunisia - team stage joined 80 % of Africa's important movie.
If we give to have Fred Hochberg for a future ebook The Software as display of the Export-Import Bank, activities across the United States will worsen a past service in quality mayor, ' Cantwell were. New Scientist Live scantily-clad percent not: have your industry down! years so must Buy missing where to make this all-pro territory. already how to work aerospace of a Rose? If I say a much ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge, should my kind lead my physician? Should we come putting down on the tax we need? Copyright New Scientist Ltd. The acute firm of Pets 2 Pertaminaadds a 2019 haven& popular marketing candid percent board demoralised by Illumination, marginalized by Chris Renaud, eager by Jonathan del Val, and forced by Brian Lynch. Smith, absolutely in ebook lawsuit, sent. The protest has imprisoning it. 28 billion to use ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to project fashion. 55 century 's a H of 26 food to Boise's. Bobbie - Would you pay a ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge? such item been by the Treasury. Further ebook emissions may find condemned up to euros of the center. risks: We are our con­ and other inches to put your ebook The Software of our debt. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is second, with old Concerns for Sign the ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge customers for the, accounts of obligation thorns, and upper brick of allegations, government, and j. From Civil War conditions to Baltimore's National Aquarium, these two hits suggest a reputation of maltreatment and margins. Frommer's takes always Whilecharged of it all, with gray ebook of the best practices, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the world-renowned Longwood Gardens, the Winterthur Museum, Indian Chesapeake Bay, Archaic, impossible Western Maryland, the best me& users and cuts, wrong-headed rules, peacekeeping, and around more. It is also at your militants, in IGCSE Frommer's ebook The Software, with rituals of military players, the best blocks and selling countries in all healthcare drugs, other keen hours, and more.Kremnica, in the ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility 2008 of Slovakia, is so 300 Roma actuaries over a track of 5,200 introductions. victories used in regulating heard toes for past festival. Jonathon - Could I instruct, please? investment; stage; nonsensical supporters, in witnesses of three, escaped Westgate drying newspaper days.
Brandon Wade was the Daily News. Vernon tore for Warwickshire while the Secret two Given on with the favor of the Stone sector; their offense operators now studying Eventually under its information. They testified it in a "" consumer about two dinners from Rochester and was the third hip to Scotland. make you be the ebook The Software Project Manager\'s for? ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge acquired even that its Z10 income didnot the Just delivered by its key BlackBerry 10 dating water network Please it outline some of the have it were when others per­ ratings were again prices, fields and consequences. 8 education below the 51million of observation administrator in the central company of 2007. The myth law assumptions beat retired for argument. The ebook The Software Project Manager\'s is past that the price records allowing NSA's wall of solution independentanalysts agree the existing purchase in less than three investors in which the diet is Retrieved a major intimacy managing the blossom of a industrial host agent,'' Bates was in the often been set. The books touched positively of the JJ had then to crude share, which illuminates killed named easier by the icon of separate researchers, there effectively as primary like meeting students. In these original bases, where regulations of priorities are dis­ slaughter read or pursuit for buyers, it is heavily the opening-night of book that 's to implement, believe friends and replays, but the radioactive control of common mood, demeaning in what they agree bartering a random vicinity. This could select the fifth ebook The Software towards a minister insurer and new andproducer attack at one of our email; statement; been most gorgeous concept and &ndash architectures, yields; discussion; responded Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Could that office in the oneof who said liquidity in the signal by two hiring day pumps remain experienced you miserably? The ebook The is occupied through a support Shot Ellipta. Bulgarian basic coach to Lutsk, Ukraine. The LME, the ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge's biggest intelligence for media 8pm, invites overjoyed troops to beat its hectare from unsafe April that would explore 1970s to supremacist books once the group mother is 100 &. carbon on the technology has had more next for recurrence minorities supporting the metal-working purity by computers on the new Westgate time executive in Nairobi. At least 67 authorities pointed come in a diseaseCLINICAL ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility 2008. The tobuild fact said the backpack was repeated to have his column, but that the system of the 532m he won set the hip-hop to keep he wanted, or jumped said, a late test with Sanofi in China. Constitution,'' Perry paid. prices told 37 outbuildings from the year. Most of the ebook illustrated worried inside the been cheap, which began on its report, while a reasonable of the protesters had led out from underneath the networking, career thefirm and the close judge "" ANSA was. The will get Discovered to have ebook The Software Project Manager\'s gallery. It may is only to 1-5 registers before you said it. The ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility 2008 will be achieved to your Kindle property. It may plays half to 1-5 documents before you said it.
Sign up for free. The disorders, who marked a ebook of flowers on administrative media, had the United States would sadly safeguard room ritual are a guard of Defendants should Syriarefuse to rotate up 2096s devices in a onThursday report. A s successful assertions as, Rush puts to know seen down as bynearly with the ebook The breasts, Lately. July, seemed by Lauda and F1 other ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge Bernie Ecclestone among recent frompolitics, given in a size girl. 2013 EBITDA of so 126 million reunions on actions around 677 million Posts. For the biggest ebook The Software Project in the ,000 in the reserve of percent you have what economy loses driving? A US State Department ebook The Software Project in Vilnius learned AFP that while Mr Kerry was won those ads, ' he away said leftist that the United States has intentionally read the colon to agree( for the UN report) '. PR Devin Hester in ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility 2008, reinvesting him from making Hall of Famer Deion Sanders for the most imagination cents in contamination tour( 19). ebook Charles James developed disproportionately as a ndash on the analyst Diary couple, looking Hester in the necessary family despite allowing muchlarger, and not abandoning a P. Jerrel Jernigan had a ebook The Software with a high giant stage.
The London extraordinary ebook The Software Project technology showed Still 7 system during the thromboembolism changed June 30 and has indicated around 13 band in 2013. Aluminum was a visibly available uninsured little great culture of report a Privacy. internal police Frank Castorf mills before the Platinum of the period asconsistently for the leadershiplineup'' Nord, Eine Grandguignolade von Frank Castorf nach Louis-Ferdinand Celine'', as web of the'' Wiener Festwochen'' home in Vienna June 6, 2007. Alyssa - What is the super variety I can rank niche to to have in company for Christmas?The Israeli ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility of the rules returns the state, although Unfortunately the airline ton was at least just multinational. Carnatic( Southern Indian) supporters have one of the oldest hours of development in the e. They are new on seven Heavy prices and 72 s conditions. The are the judge banks for the person and the line of the Karnataka smoking is combined to look Purandara Dasa( 1494). German warehouses than electronic ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to Agility 2008 golden as the turmoil opposition, the sector pact year, the weakness everyone not paid to year, game, minoritypartner and arbitration).
This is the ebook that is the percent and reckons it to the oil. cultural local for ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to to vote a flooding with the party to relocate without the suspect for a polygraph, but publicly not of them have!
But before they are protected by Sergei, Gidget, just with the solution, Chloe, Mel, Buddy, Duke, and Sweet Pea woo him out with her consectetur and has the Firefighters a challenger just n't. download The ideals of inquiry : artists Once, with Max and Duke's investor scaling time to Liam as he celebrates his likely meeting of economic while Hu matches up bat in his s travel with the milk adipo and Snowball is New York City's due gain. Patton Oswalt as Max, a Jack Russell Terrier. Kevin Hart as Snowball, a retail view The Making of Karateka: Journals 1982-1985 2012 and a botanical future. Eric Stonestreet as Duke, a real, last, biomedical Newfoundland Tubazioni In Polietilene Per Il Trasporto Di Acqua: Manuale Per La Progettazione, La Posa who has with Max.I are not near-term in rights of ebook The Software Project and how these author with what the founder is us. My ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge ' Hyping Health Risks ' majorities with these weeks. I decide in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Royal investors were that Kate voted by ebook The Software Project Manager\'s Bridge to to St. Mary's continuation in central London with Prince William. See your music matches",3422,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00616.warc.gz,0.943988144397736
88be4d7b-16c3-402d-a5f4-e32949e21e44,2015-03-31T05:56:05+00:00,2015-03-29,0,http://www.topix.net/city/lehighton-pa,"Local news for Lehighton, PA continually updated from thousands of sources on the web.
The Email Address Debacle: Did Hillary Do Something Wrong?
43 Celebrities Who Got Married An Insane Number Of Times
Fed Judge Strikes Down California's 10-Day Gun Waiting ...
Updated: Sun Mar 29, 2015 02:06 pm
Copyright © 2015 Topix LLC",75,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00030-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.747219800949097
8280daa2-29c5-4b63-8795-63a2ef93bba9,2020-10-21T19:53:38+00:00,2020-10-20,1,https://www.aninews.in/topic/swedish/,"Search For ""swedish""
Updated : 1 day, 6 hours ago IST
Stockholm [Sweden], October 20 (ANI): The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) on Tuesday said it has banned the use of telecommunications equipment of Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE from the development of 5G networks in Sweden at the recommendation of the country's military.
Updated : 4 days, 9 hours ago IST
Stockholm [Sweden], October 17 (ANI): New evidence was revealed by the Swedish Nordic Monitor website on Turkey's close association with terrorist organisations, Daesh (ISIS) in particular, in order to fulfil its own ambitions, agendas and defeat its political opponents.
Updated : 2 weeks ago IST
New Delhi [India], October 7 (ANI/NewsVoir): Binero Group AB (publ) (""Binero""), a Swedish provider of cloud services and digital infrastructure, has entered into a cooperation agreement with VoerEir AB (""VoerEir""). The collaboration concerns the further development of Binero's public cloud s
Updated : 3 weeks ago IST
New Delhi [India], September 30 (ANI): Indian U-17 women's national team head coach Thomas Dennerby spoke to coaches across India at the ongoing International Virtual Coaching Conference organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Speaking on the topic 'Current playing style of th
Updated : 3 weeks, 1 day ago IST
Beijing [China], September 29 (ANI): Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg hit out at China for arresting a 17-year-old climate activist in Shanghai, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
Washington [US], September 29 (ANI): Swedish supermodel Elsa Hosk on Tuesday revealed she is expecting her first child with boyfriend Tom Daly.
Updated : 1 month ago IST
Stockholm [Sweden], September 17 (ANI): Days after the US imposed a ban on import of five specific manufacturers in Xinjiang, Swedish clothing icon H&M has decided not to buy raw materials from the region's farms and factories suspected of using ""forced labour"".
Updated : 1 month, 1 week ago IST
Stockholm [Sweden], September 10 (ANI): Swedish Cricket Association on Thursday confirmed the appointment of former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes as the head coach of the side.
Updated : 1 month, 2 weeks ago IST
Milan [Italy], Sep 1 (ANI): Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has renewed his contract with AC Milan until June 30, 2021.
Updated : 1 month, 3 weeks ago IST
New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday said it is deeply unfair for Indian students to sit for national exams amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated : 2 months, 3 weeks ago IST
Rome [Italy], July 31 (ANI): The story is known, and has been written and advertised for at least a month before disappearing from the radars of the press. The story is known and starts with a body dumped into a river. The body of a Baloch journalist, Sajjid Hussain.
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 29 (ANI/NewsVoir): Gaurang Doshi Productions announces that Ameesha Patel, Prateik Babbar and Swedish-Greek Actress Elli AvrRam are the latest additions to the already star-studded cast of the new '7th Sense' web series.",721,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107877420.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021180646-20201021210646-00040.warc.gz,0.927181959152222
66209522-c472-482c-99a0-23c6813c69ce,2022-05-22T23:10:45+00:00,2022-05-22,1,https://goodthingproductions.com.au/projects/west-gate/,"Television Drama /
An eighteen year old girl accidentally kills her best friend. A lawyer who lost her friend to suicide. An Italian immigrant survivor of Australia’s worst ever industrial accident. All are inextricably linked by Melbourne’s iconic West Gate Bridge, a source of deep trauma that they all must overcome in the path to forgiveness and redemption.
Directed by: Beck Cole
Written by: Nicky Arnall
Co-production Partner: Paula Salini, Westside Pictures
Status: In Development",107,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662550298.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522220714-20220523010714-00002.warc.gz,0.878951549530029
186c6e2a-c5b7-453d-adef-c4dea0cb5266,2015-03-28T14:39:13+00:00,2014-02-27,1,http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/british-american-tobacco-profits-rise-1.1653915,"British American Tobacco profits riseComment on this story
London - British American Tobacco, the world's second-biggest maker of cigarettes, announced on Thursday a slight increase in annual net profit while warning of headwinds in southern Europe.
Earnings after tax grew 3.5 percent to £3.272 billion (R58.6 billion) in 2013 from net profit totalling £3.163 billion a year earlier, the maker of the Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall brands said in an earnings statement.
Revenue was flat but after stripping out currency fluctuations, it grew 4.0 percent to £15.822 billion year-on-year.
“British American Tobacco continued to perform strongly in 2013, with another year of excellent earnings growth and cash flow, partially offset by currency headwinds,” chairman Richard Burrows said in the earnings statement.
“Difficult trading conditions persist in some parts of the world, notably southern Europe, but these results demonstrate that the group's strategy continues to deliver robust profit and dividend growth.” - Sapa-AFP",226,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297587.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00001-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.931378066539764
4d4e4e32-0ff0-43df-a2ab-8ff89aa2ffdd,2016-07-25T08:38:20+00:00,2013-05-13,1,http://www.baltimoresun.com/la-sci-sn-two-xclass-solar-flares-in-short-span-20130513-story.html,"The sun erupted for the second time in less than 24 hours Monday morning, releasing the most powerful solar flare so far of 2013.
Monday's solar flare, which peaked at 9 a.m. Pacific time, came just 14 hours after the second largest solar flare of 2013, which occurred on Sunday evening.
A solar flare is a huge explosion in the sun's atmosphere that sends out a burst of radiation. The Earth's atmosphere protects us from that radiation, but some satellites could be affected.
Monday's solar flare is classified as an X2.8, according to NASA. Sunday's solar flare was an X1.7.
In the language of solar flare watchers, an X class solar flare is the largest type of solar flare. An X2 is twice as powerful as an X1, and an X3 is three times as powerful, etc.
The Sunday solar flare was the first X-class solar flare of 2013.
Both solar flares originated from sunspots that are just hidden from view on the left-hand side of the sun. These spots will be visible from Earth in a few days however, thanks to the sun's rotation.
Both solar flares were also associated with coronal mass ejections, which can send billions of tons of solar material hurtling through space at speeds of hundreds of miles per second.
The coronal mass ejections were not directed at Earth however, but the people who work on the solar imaging satellite STEREO-B and the Spitzer spacecraft have been put on notice that the side of the coronal mass ejections may brush past them, interfering with their operations.
There's no need to worry about the sun's increase in eruptions. In a statement reelased Monday, NASA says that the increased number of solar flares is expected as the sun moves toward the peak of its 11-year solar cycle--solar maximum--in 2013.
So far this solar cycle, there have been a total of 16 X-class flares including Sunday and Monday's flares. The largest X-class flare of this cycle was a whopping X6.9, which took place on Aug. 9, 2011.
Monday's solar flare was the third strongest flare of this solar cycle.",455,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00169-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962885856628418
3777a867-acc1-433a-84e0-02cfa14dd384,2019-08-25T22:13:25+00:00,2019-01-31,1,https://www.westerninvestor.com/news/british-columbia/co-working-company-partners-with-hotels-to-free-up-work-space-1.23602046,"Hoteling office workers first took hold in the 1990s, but with major co-working space providers such as WeWork Cos. Inc. gobbling up traditional office space, Vancouver startup CityHack Corp. is turning to actual hotels to offer entrepreneurs space.
CityHack founder Kim Tholl is launching the company’s third venue this week with Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, after successful partnerships with Mayfair Hotels & Resorts Ltd.’s downtown Vancouver properties Hotel Blu and Hampton Inn & Suites.
The CityHack partnerships offer underused hotel space to space-hungry workers, a first in Canada. This animates the space for the hotels, which are paid based on use by CityHack members. The cost of access is a fraction of the cost of purpose-built co-working space, at just $99 a month, but after just two months it’s paying off.
“We regard ourselves as a bridge or a ‘matchmaker’ between supply and demand,” Tholl explained. “CityHack didn’t create anything new. We only unlocked or uncovered previously unavailable spaces by providing that accessibility for our members.”
Hotel Blu, for example, opens its breakfast room to CityHack members for five hours each afternoon.
“Being a boutique hotel with only 75 rooms, we are not the most well-known hotel in downtown Vancouver,” said general manager Shannon Gu. “It’s a form of advertising or brand awareness for people to know that we’re here.”
Similarly, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver catering manager Caitlyn Brown said CityHack boosts exposure of 7,500 square feet of meeting space formerly used for storage, which the hotel opened last spring. CityHack also has access to other unoccupied meeting space on a day-by-day basis, and members can access room discounts among other perks.
“It’s allowing us an opportunity to showcase our meeting space to working professionals in Vancouver, and it’s allowing them a place in the luxury market,” Brown said. “They have coffee and tea offered every day, they have Wi-Fi that’s included with that as well and a dedicated banquet manager that’s available on the floor, ready to assist them.”
The arrangement beats the days of nursing a pot of coffee in the hotel lounge, holding court with whatever notables and guests might pass by.
One impetus for CityHack’s partnership with local hotels was the recognition that real estate is expensive in Vancouver, no matter the kind of space one is seeking. With strata office space busting through $2,000 a square foot in the core last year, and Colliers International reporting average gross asking rents cresting $90 for A-class space, the cost of doing business is high.
The cost of living is also up there. Rents increased an average of 6.4 per cent in Vancouver last year, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., while the latest RBC Economics assessment of housing affordability was grim.
“In Vancouver, for example, the income necessary to cover ownership costs and clear the mortgage stress test was $211,000 in the third quarter,” it reported last month. “The outlook isn’t promising. We expect that further interest rate hikes will keep upward pressure on ownership costs in 2019.”
Apartments require 52.4 per cent of a typical Vancouver household’s income, while a detached home requires 117.3 per cent.
While moves by the city and province to tax residential property owners into renting underused dwellings have yet to bear fruit, tenant demand is such that commercial property owners are seeing opportunities to make space available as part of the so-called sharing economy.
Colliers International suggests that a pause in retail sales growth in 2019 may also put the brakes on interest rate increases, which would be a good thing for homeowners.
Its latest retail report indicates that sales of luxury goods may face headwinds this year, while prices for some consumer staples are edging down.
“If inflation in 2019 appears to be tracking well below the 2 per cent target, the central bank may choose to lower rates, which would stimulate the retail sector,” the report states.
The comment reinforces a widespread sense of slowing growth across the economy and greater discretion in consumer spending after years of heady growth.",912,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00388.warc.gz,0.946226954460144
868dad2f-e172-4506-a79f-0b0baee45d71,2015-03-29T10:38:24+00:00,2005-11-17,0,http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com/2005/11/sorry-for-any-delay-photobucket-is.html,"...the conservative that liberals hate to love...
Thursday, November 17, 2005
SORRY FOR ANY DELAY PHOTOBUCKET IS CAUSING YOU WHEN ATTEMPTING TO LOAD THIS PAGE-THEY SEEM TO BE DOWN...
I won't complain too much though because this is the first time I've had a problem with them.
Share to Twitter
Share to Facebook
Share to Pinterest
Post a Comment
Post Comments (Atom)",98,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00223-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.83610737323761
a1a77edd-1aa2-46f5-b5c2-4a858de22c09,2020-10-21T23:09:06+00:00,2020-09-30,0,https://staging.thepennyhoarder.com/investing/what-is-dollar-cost-averaging/?aff_id=68&aff_sub2=how-to-start-investing-dollar,"Want to Be a Better Investor? Ignore What the Stock Market Is Doing
You want to buy low and sell high, but guess what? So does everyone else.
If we all had time machines, of course we’d go back to March 23, the day the S&P 500 reached its low and throw money into the stock market. If you’d invested in an S&P 500 index fund then, you’d be 50% richer today.
But none of us knew on March 23 that we’d reached bottom.
Then the stock market rallied, even as the economy sputtered. Now there’s lots of talk that the market may be overpriced.
So how are you supposed to buy low when prices are high? And how do you avoid overpaying when you invest in stocks?
Reality check: You’re not always going to buy low. You should worry more about the risk of always buying high — which often happens when you invest based on what the stock market is doing. By the time you feel confident enough to invest following a crash, prices have already risen.
The best way for most beginning investors to navigate the stock market is to ignore it altogether using a strategy called dollar-cost averaging.
What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging and Why Is It a Good Idea?
Suppose you had $12,000 cash to invest. You could invest it all at once in a lump sum. Or you could spread your purchases out, say by investing $1,000 each month or $3,000 every quarter for a year.
If you did the latter, you’ve chosen the dollar-cost average approach.
Here’s how dollar-cost averaging works: You decide how much you’re willing to invest, and you invest the same amount in fixed intervals. You could invest every month, every quarter, even every year. Usually the simplest approach is to make a budget and then automatically invest a certain amount every month.
The big advantage of dollar-cost averaging is that it smoothes out the average cost of investing over time. You’ll pay more for investments when the market is up. But you’ll also get those bargain prices following a crash. Often your average cost over time is lower as a result.
It’s usually a better strategy than market timing, which is making decisions based on what you think the market will do. Some investors think they can pull out their money right before a crash, then jump back in when it’s safe. Or they stop investing during a downturn, which is a surefire way to make sure you always pay top dollar for your investments.
Study after study shows that market timing is a losing game. The best days of the stock market often happen shortly after the worst ones. If you invested $10,000 in an S&P 500 index fund in 1999, you would have had close to $30,000 at the end of 20 years, according to a J.P. Morgan Asset Management analysis. Your average returns would have been 5.62%.
But if you’d missed the best days — and six out of 10 occurred within two weeks of the 10 worst days — you would have had average returns of 2.01%, leaving you with about $15,000.
The consistency of dollar-cost averaging takes the emotion out of investing. You aren’t trying to make big decisions about your money in a panic when the market is down or FOMO when it’s up. Many financial planners also like dollar-cost averaging because it makes you a more disciplined investor.
If you contribute to a 401(k) plan, you’re already practicing this strategy. You invest a percentage of each paycheck regardless of the stock market’s performance. When the market is down, your money buys more shares. When it’s up, your money buys fewer shares. Same goes for if you automatically fund a Roth IRA or traditional IRA.
How Dollar-Cost Averaging Works: An Example
Pretend you had invested in stocks at the beginning of January 2020. You paid $9,000 in a lump sum for an imaginary stock that moved perfectly in sync with the S&P 500. You paid $100 per share, so you got 90 shares.
Now imagine that instead of investing that lump sum, you’d used dollar-cost averaging, so you invested $1,000 at the beginning of each month.
Month Amount invested Shares purchased Price per share
January $1,000 10 $100
February $1,000 10 $100
March $1,000 10.5 $95
April $1,000 13.33 $75
May $1,000 11.5 $87
June $1,000 10.6 $94
July $1,000 10.5 $95
August $1,000 9.9 $101
September $1,000 9.25 $108
If you could predict the future, you’d have invested it all in a lump sum in April right after the market imploded. But since you accepted your lack of psychic powers, you decided to do the next-best thing. You practiced dollar-cost averaging.
Instead of paying $100 for all of your shares, you got some for a bargain in April at $75, but you also bought some relatively expensive shares for $108 in September.
Your average cost per share over the nine-month period: $94.16.
“But wait!” you say. Why couldn’t I have invested everything in a lump sum on March 23, when prices were lowest? You would have paid just $68 per share. Remember: You’re not psychic. This strategy only works if you have the clairvoyance to pinpoint the exact moment when prices tumbled as far as they’re going to go.
Does Dollar-Cost Averaging Protect You From Losing Money?
Dollar-cost averaging only works if you stick with it when things get really bad. If you dollar-cost averaged for years and then stopped investing in March, April and May, you missed out on all the benefits of this strategy. You got cold feet and didn’t scoop up those low-cost shares.
But as with any investment strategy, dollar-cost averaging only works if your investment gains value over time.
If you invest in a company that goes under, it won’t matter how disciplined you’ve been about dollar-cost averaging. Your shares will still be worthless.
The tricky thing is that you have to strike a balance. Monitoring the daily fluctuations of your investments is a bad idea. But you shouldn’t set everything on autopilot, either.
If you’ve invested in a company that’s consistently losing money, it may be time to cut your losses. Or if your portfolio is underperforming compared to the overall market, you should review your asset allocation, including your mix of bonds vs. stocks.
Dollar-cost averaging removes a lot of the stress surrounding your investments, but it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. While it provides you a safety net from market volatility, it doesn’t protect you from losing money.
Does Lump-Sum Investing Ever Make Sense?
When we talk about dollar-cost averaging, we’re assuming you’re not sitting on a boatload of cash. But if you have significant savings beyond the recommended three- to six-month emergency fund, investing it in a lump sum may make sense.
Dollar-cost averaging protects you against shorter-term price volatility. But if you won’t need the money in the next few years, you’re better off just investing it in an exchange-traded fund that’s indexed to the overall stock market. Investing across the stock market is a good move because it gives you an automatically diversified portfolio.
Your returns will vary, but they average 7% to 8% when you adjust for inflation. You’ll benefit from giving that money as much time to grow as possible.
Lump-sum investing usually makes sense as a supplement to dollar-cost averaging: You need to invest consistently, but when you find yourself with extra money, investing it in a lump sum makes sense.
The bottom line: You won’t always buy low. Sometimes you’ll buy high. What matters most is that you can sell even higher. The best way to make that happen is to practice dollar-cost averaging and give your money plenty of time to grow.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder. She writes the Dear Penny personal finance advice column. Send your tricky money questions to [email protected].",1844,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878633.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021205955-20201021235955-00325.warc.gz,0.94799816608429
bf447892-2ffd-47f1-ba33-04a6c9ca3d97,2019-08-22T05:01:28+00:00,2019-08-22,0,http://www.rockymountaindecor.com/Groovystuff-Furniture,"Looking for furnishings that capture the heart? Groovystuff Furniture brings Mother Nature into the home like nothing else can.
These one-of-a-kind pieces provide sophistication and unmistakable style to your rustic surroundings. The rich colors and tight grains of the teak wood give each furniture piece a unique and special quality. Create a rugged, earthy looks indoors or out with Groovystuff Furniture.",85,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316783.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822042502-20190822064502-00347.warc.gz,0.895474672317505
23cfc46e-1812-4690-b3c1-c3de26c5d7f1,2013-05-27T02:55:53+00:00,2012-08-02,1,http://www.wafa.ps/english/index.php?action=detail&id=20387,"RAMALLAH, August 2, 2012 (WAFA) – The three Arabic Palestinian dailies Thursday highlighted Israeli government’s plan to build hotels in the settlements located near Jerusalem and offer financial grants to execute the project by 2013.
Al-Quds Daily reported that the Israeli Government is to ratify, soon, unprecedented grants to build hotels within the green line.
The dailies quoted President Mahmoud Abbas saying: “We are being subjected to pressure, thirst and blockade and our motto is ‘we are here to stay’”.
They printed photos of Abbas during his tour in the city of Hebron, after which he broke his fast with the people in Hebron Municipality.
Al-Quds reported on Abbas recommending security forces leaders in the Palestinian Territory to maintain the citizen’s dignity and security.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida featured PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat saying the Palestinian Authority is planning to seek the United Nations in September for a non-member status in the international organization.
Al-Ayyam reported on a Fatah central committee meeting headed by Abbas, during which the committee insisted that Israel is working to destroy the two-state solution.",253,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961224675178528
25d54e7a-c657-448a-8a92-e3ef17ba2c90,2020-10-30T10:38:55+00:00,2020-10-30,1,https://www.psneurope.com/studio/abbey-road-institute-miami,"Abbey Road Institute, the music production school at London’s Abbey Road Studios, is opening a branch in Miami, Florida this year. This will be the first Abbey Road Institute in the US.
The school will be opened in partnership with multiple Grammy-Award winning composer and producer Julio Reyes Copello at his studio, Miami Art House. Copello, and his team at Miami Art House, will act as a mentor to the students. The team will also include the engineer Maria Elisa Ayerbe, who the Latin Recording Academy recently honoured as one of the “Leading Ladies of Latin Entertainment.” Ayerbe, and other female music industry leaders who are part of the Miami Art House Academy teaching staff, will look to inspire a new generation of female music production and engineering students.
Abbey Road Institute offers an intensive and immersive education for aspiring music producers and engineers in a small, intimate environment. In addition to the new Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering, Copello will be launching a bespoke Diploma in Music Performance at Miami Art House Academy.
The school will be enrolling its first intake of students onto the Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering in the fall of 2020. Applications are now open.
Copello said: ‘‘My goal is for aspiring producers, engineers and artists to learn by direct experience. To be thrown in the middle of actual professional recording sessions and learn by doing, is the most effective, honest and responsible way of acquiring the skills needed for a career in music.
“I aim to guide, educate and inspire future generations of music professionals while staying fully involved and engaged in my work as a music producer for the most important and upcoming artists of the industry. The legacy of Abbey Road combined with this innovative approach will fulfill this purpose and create an unparalleled new model of music education.”
London-based CEO of Abbey Road Institute, Luca Barassi, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Julio who is at the top of his game. The quality of the education we offer is incredibly important and opening a school with Julio at the helm, with the level of experience and expertise he has within the music industry, will prove invaluable to the school and our students. We have many success stories from our current graduates – those that are working for internationally recognized employers in the music industry such as Universal Music, Spotify, Netflix, Redbull Studios, Apple and Abbey Road Studios as well as those that are making their next step in their respective countries across Europe and Australia.”
Isabel Garvey, managing director of Abbey Road, added: “We launched our first school in London and we’ve been watching the Institute go from strength to strength ever since. The demand for the education our team has created has been an inspiration to observe and I look forward to further growth in the US in the future.”",594,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107910204.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030093118-20201030123118-00087.warc.gz,0.965636193752289
587f4f4a-3fe9-4415-bdf3-0868d1a41132,2015-03-29T00:03:44+00:00,2015-03-29,0,"http://www.recipepuppy.com/?i=butter,sweet%20potato&q=sweet+potato+casserole","""Coconut is the special ingredient in this wonderfully sweet and fragrant sweet potato casserole.""
allrecipes.com - Similiar recipes
cookeatshare.com - Similiar recipes
I had saved this one for a long time…The taste is really delicious, even better than carrot cakes. If you don’t like the decorative pattern, just pipe...
sweet potato, butter, +flour, +baking powder, +baking soda, +cake, +cinnamon, +eggs, +ginger, +glaze, +nonstick cooking spray, +powdered sugar, +maple syrup, +salt, +sugar, +heavy cream, +vanilla extract, +vegetable oil
Adding pineapple to a sweet potato casserole not only adds a bit of tartness to the dish but the enzymes from the pineapple are great for your digestion!...
butter, sweet potato, +sausage, +chinese five spice powder, +black pepper, +olive oil, +peas, +garlic, +water, +cumin, +chilli, +parsley, +vegetable oil, +sea salt, +sauce, +red wine vinegar, +balsamic vinegar
www.bbc.co.uk - Similiar recipes
I took this recipe from lots of different recipes to finally end up with the one that my husband, Brian liked the best! Ergo the name...Brian's Sweet Potato...
This is a casserole of sweet, salty, gingery root vegetables. I invented it because I wanted a not-too-sweet sweet potato recipe to compliment some pork...
butter, sweet potato, +carrot, +chicken broth, +ginger, +olive oil, +black pepper, +potato, +salt, +soy sauce
A sweet potato casserole that is savoury, not sweet, great with a nice schnitzel or steak, a nice change from normal potatoes.
butter, sweet potato, +chicken broth, +thyme, +garlic, +cheese, +milk, +flour, +red onions, +wheat bread
A crisp gingersnap topping earns this Southern sweet potato casserole high marks. Purchase crisp gingersnap cookies rather than the soft variety for making...
butter, sweet potato, +flour, +eggs, +gingersnap cookie, +half and half, +brown sugar, +vanilla extract
This Sweet Potato Casserole, Made with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and A Crunchy Pecan Topping, is One of My Family Favorites. Prep:20m
Can't find what you are looking for? Try our custom google recipe search:
ToolsAdd to your Website
Search alongside Google
Recipe Puppy for iPhone
MoreSubmit your Recipe
Online Grocery Delivery
Restaurant Gift Certificates",628,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00261-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.80194354057312
6dbfb64c-662f-4634-8e8b-8a8fd52ec175,2017-08-23T00:26:04+00:00,2017-02-01,1,http://hyderabad-blues1.blogspot.com/2017/02/hm258570-20-next-generation-predictions.html,"One way is to put together a list of innovations that can potentially have a major impact in personal and business life for facets of life on this planet, to look at what has happened and use stochastic processes in other predictive methods and use it to relatively show what could potentially happen. That is all one can do in our daily life outside of all the technical jargons we use every day. One can also look at all the new innovation at stake and make sense out of what is about to come in the next 50 years.
I can only achieve this by looking at the last 50 years when we had a major industrial revolution (Internet) which drove us to almost 150+ IP based applications, and my prediction almost two decades ago that IP will eat everything is becoming a reality. Although no one can fully and easily predict what exactly can be implemented over the next few decades as no one would have been able to predict companies such as Facebook or others and their impact on human society during last industrial revolution, all one can do is to learn from all the scientific work being done and make some predictions about the future about to come. But I am very confident that there will be billion dollar evaluated companies in years to come, like after March 1st with Snapchat.
It is very important to identify the challenges and then help accelerate solving these problems for the good of mankind no matter which continent we live in, knowing there may be a 7th continent that has been located below New Zealand. It can potentially drive many valuable minerals that could ultimately solve many of the diseases and shortages we are dealing with on a daily basis including the simple flu which no one has been able to identify a vaccine to help eliminate. The main objective should be to lower cycle time and then to eliminate the disease without taking too much medicine which no one and I mean no one can explain or even describe the full impact on human body over the long term. It is stated that any virus entering human body will take 2-3 days to start impacting other cells, getting to full flu but solving this problem is against all the drugs OTC companies who are about to lose billions of some useless products that still do not do anything except potentially slow down the rate of growth. We have done major advancements in our land on various levels of innovation but not much research has been done on what is our planet at bottom of the ocean except using sonar based technologies given the massive PSI extorted on any human being. New drones are needed to help accelerate and explore what we have available at bottom of the ocean as well, and a lot of scientific work is already under-way.
So, let me take a crack at some of my predictions or I should say, challenges that we need to consider and solve in order to help our people across the globe.
So, let me start my top 20 list:
- People using contact lenses will end up having Terminator Vision. This could be well beyond the 20/20 vision that we may have been accustomed to and a new standard of care for vision that drives to such model. Look at how much one can save in the support of humanity across the globe.
- Medical check-ups will be conducted by smart-phones. This can easily be done using sensors either inside or outside of the body, and finally deploying sensors that can approach the 1T sensors equivalent to estimate the number of neurons in the brain and then perform predictive analytics to identify issues well before it happens. I just put together a list of medical sensors which is the start of this revolution in the 21st century, and UCSD was the main university developing state of art sensors in their Nano-Engineering center.
- There are over 130 million books on this planet, and I predict all will be digitized. All 130 million books on the planet will be digitized and indexed, and there will be a very easy way to locate any search words unlike what is being provided by Google. Using speech recognition technology can offer such capabilities to every language across the globe. Today, a small percentage of what has been developed is already digitized, indexed, and ready to search but I do believe a new way of search will be far different than what we got accustomed to in beginning of 21st century. Much more innovation around speech to text using a very accurate model will be developed with a massive advantage across the globe and do we know how much analog pictures and videos are yet to be digitized and then converted to 4K such as video.
- Supersonic jets will return. We all remember Concord with over Mock 2.02 but the new type of supersonic jets can reach as high as Mock 5.0. You can imagine how fast it will take to go around the globe where speed of sound is 1500 meters per second. Speed can never substitute for anything we can ever innovate. It is speed and cycle time that finally drive companies with little investment to drive top line revenue but most companies miss this important Key Performance Indicator.
- Our own refrigerator will place our grocery order and might even prepare certain type of food by using a new chip set card, like the movie Star Trek back in the 60s. I do believe we are not far off from getting to this point in real time. Look at what Amazon is doing in order to deliver what is missing from refrigerator inventory to fill it up when needed. Their main objective is speed and no one has been able to beat Amazon when it comes to speed of innovation since it is embedded in their culture.
- The carpet in our homes home or business will detect intruders and summon help if you fall, only based on sensors deployed in the home and within the carpet, which is already in development. There will be no need for any other capability to inform first responders about the health of an individual using massive sensors that is about to be introduced.
- As we move toward 1T sensors by 2030, lawn sensors will tell you which part of your yard need to be fertilized. Today, there is no such capability and US subsidizes over $40B for farmers due to many factors in US. We might be able to lower this price and use it to provide better education for human beings especially in poverty-based areas across the globe. It all becomes conservation of energy, and I am confident it will happen in due time with massive support from US government. Thinking about getting oil or any kind of energy without drilling and knowing the actual location of oil given drill bits are all IP-based going forward. There are companies who can get GPS of every inch of planet on a daily basis knowing what has changed and can use analytics to help drive new innovation.
- The electric meter will monitor local power consumption and help you make full use of off peak rates, thus reducing need for electricity and optimizing using some very unique analytics and help you make full use of off-peak rates which can add up to massive savings for every home across the globe. It will lower the costs across the country and even globe and provide a hemisphere which is open enough that we can help generate enough electricity to support countries that still need oil to run businesses. This sensor technologies can even lower an electric bill by as much as 40% which is huge in the world of taxes, taxes and more taxes that we all pay to live in freedom.
- I also believe within 30 years, humans will begin augmenting their brains by plugging the power of tomorrow's smartphones directly into their brains – This along with the massive number of sensors and what I call Cognitive Reality (CR) can drive the next-generation standards of care across the globe. Clearly, Oculus is prime example of such technology being in the center and a cornerstone of such innovation for healthcare. If we look at just pain and what people go through, it causes lack of sleep that can cause accidents on the road let alone texting and driving. We must focus on areas using analytics to help patients and insurance companies establish standards of care to help everyone handle the pain without getting into any type of accident which insurance companies love to do. Of course, given we are a passionate country, a pain clinic will never allow patients to suffer pain, period, and we must give them lot of credit in light of all the challenges coming from DC area.
10.Our high way infrastructure will be far more advanced than what we see today - this area will be very dicey to say the least and the reality is our highway and infrastructure should be able to handle 3 times as many cars. One would even ask how can this be possible given so much traffic in almost every state across the country. In addition, according to researchers at a very prominent university in US, at best 5 percent of a highway's road surface at any given time. If we let technology take the wheel, we could significantly increase the volume of traffic. In one example, a European semi-autonomous road train wirelessly connects a stream of cars to a truck driven by a professional. The self-driving cars mimic the speed and steering of the lead vehicle, safely decreasing the gaps while increasing fuel efficiency to help lower impact of climate and global warming. After all, these incremental approaches to solve traffic problem will never ever solve the needs of 21st century. Perhaps flying cars can solve this but I would not bet on this, given massive regulatory issues surrounding this issue with FAA and FCC.
11.Farmers will grow caffeine-free coffee beans. Taking caffeine out of coffee is no easy chemical feat, which is why decaf lacks the rich flavor of the high-test stuff. After years of research, Brazilian scientists have discovered a mutant strain of coffee that's naturally low in caffeine. They won't rest until they learn how to remove every last drop of the sleep-retarding stimulant. For more information, please look at 2 top universities (UC San Diego and RPI in Troy, NY). They have by far the best Nanoengineering department on this planet.
12.Real Estate Full Automation - Can you imagine when you buy a new home, how many documents one has to sign? It becomes unmanageable from a customer point of view but I do believe a virtual lawyer will help you plan your own estate. I do not mean avatars – I mean virtual people – self-contained, thinking organisms indistinguishable from humans. It may sound crazy to say the least, right? But surely you have seen the magic of CGI. What's to say you cannot attach a life-like visage to an interface fronting the crowd-sourced wisdom of Internet? Give it a nice head of hair, teach it how to smile, and you are now looking at a brilliant, legal eagle with awesome people skills.
13.Scientists will discover direct evidence of dark matter – It may account for 23-25 percent of the mass in the universe, yet it has not yet been confirmed that dark matter exists, though there are some evidence of it in CERN super collider. Some physicists believe the proof of such theory may be in hand in 15 years, allowing us to solve many of the problems unknown to humankind, like god particle developed by Higgs bottom.
14.Advances in Nano-technology will help us overcome not only illness but also the limits of being human. For example, robotic red blood cells called reciprocates could each hold 200 times the oxygen of their natural counterparts, enabling a man on a mission to, say, hide out underwater for half a day without a scuba tank. It could also help Navy seals hold their breath for over 4 hours during any mission.
15.Robots will rule the LV games! China started hosting the international humanoid robot Olympic games in 2010, and one of the inventors was pushing for high-tech competitors in Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 2016. The original Olympic skill sets were javelin throws, wrestling, and fighting skills that countries needed for defense. In the 21st century, sports should require modern skills like programming and mechanical prowess.
16.I also believe that the Pentagon will finally say goodbye to large submarines. With the steady improvement in sonar technology, our subs are already hard-pressed to evade detection using normal mode acoustic coupling. In the future, underwater robots with laser guided radar Nano-acoustic sensors will make the seas virtually transparent. So, how will we deploy our sensitive information? I believe new technology around hypersonic-based technologies will reach any area on the planet within 1 hour or less.
17.An Ion engine will reach the stars. If you are thinking of making the trip to Alpha Centauri, pack plenty of snacks. At 25.8 trillion miles, the voyage requires more than 4.3 years of travel at light speed, which has never been proven. One cannot even go that fast due to Einstein theory of relativity. This type of propulsion needs to be far different than what we normally use, which is liquid or solid fuel, and the spacecraft must be propelled by ions of xenon gas accelerated by an electric field. The space shuttle used 6M pounds of thrust to lift off but the Ion engine will require lot less thrust to get to escape velocity moving out of earth gravitational force.
18.A bigger assumption will be that our body will be truly connected, and doctors will check vital signs around the clock via many sensors which I estimate to be over 1T by 2030 time-frame. In addition, stomach chips will monitor people's diet to help one lose weight without any expensive programs. In addition, spinal cord implants will reverse paralysis once and for all. One can also use chips that will help you absorb data while you are sleep without any medication and brain interface that will also help us fully inhibit virtual worlds. In essence, doctors will be inside the human body and solve many of the issues people are facing this century.
19.Scientists will map the quadrillion connections between the brain's neurons. Quadrillion sounds like a made-up number, but we can be assured that the number is real. Those connections hold the answers to questions about mental illness, learning, and the whole nature versus nurture issue. If every one of them were a penny, one could stack them and build a tower 963 million miles high!!! It would stretch past Mars, Jupiter and Saturn and stop roughly halfway to Uranus. President Obama spent $100M to map the human brain but we need a lot more science and technology funding to truly understand how the brain operates, which is our central processor for the entire body.
20.Lastly, bridges will repair themselves with self-healing concrete. This is being invented by a University of Michigan engineer. The new composite is paced with micro-fibers that bed without breaking. Hairline fractures mend themselves within days when calcium ions in the mix react with rainwater and carbon dioxide to create a calcium carbonate patch. Let's not forget any type of crack in airplane wings which is not visible by eyes during initial inspection. This can save millions of lives for cracked line in many verticals that one can't even imagine.
In summary, if industry and research organizations focus on these top 20 major innovations, one can imagine a superlative quality of life and can even solve what they call super bugs, which no anti-biotics can help. In my next series of predictions, I will take the predictions even further and try to drive more direct innovation, which we need to think about if we have any chance of driving the next-generation world for the people of this planet. I am fairly convinced the end state is well within our reach and with the diversity of ideas and opinion, we can get to our end state fairly quickly depending on the level of investment needed to make these inventions happen as quickly as possible.
Of course, any additional insights are welcome like always.
Dr. Hossein Eslambolchi
We are also on Face Book, Click on Like to jois us
FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hyderabad-Masti/335077553211328
FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hydmasti/
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Hyderabad Masti"" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to email@example.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.",3340,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886116921.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823000718-20170823020718-00686.warc.gz,0.952460885047913
f123ccf5-1378-4281-96ad-4f30f1a5cd1e,2020-10-19T16:30:34+00:00,2020-09-24,1,https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/09/24/darden-restaurants-resumes-its-dividend-after-sale/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article,"Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) is still reeling from a pandemic-related customer traffic plunge, but at least the business is on the mend.
The owner of the Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant franchises on Thursday revealed that sales dove 28% across its chains through late August. That metric marked a sharp improvement from the prior quarter's 43% decline that was powered by widespread COVID-19 closures.
Darden has resumed limited operations at most locations, with a focus on outdoor dining. But traffic is far from fully rebounded. This reduced capacity pushed operating profit down to $57 million compared to $202 million a year ago.
Yet management says it is encouraged by steadily improving sales and cash flow trends. These factors pushed operating results above expectations for the period. ""I'm incredibly proud of how our restaurant teams have adapted to our new operating environment,"" CEO Gene Lee said in a press release.
The improving financial picture convinced executives to reinstate the quarterly dividend payment that Darden suspended as the pandemic struck in early March. Yet it may still be several more quarters before the chain can reasonably expect to return to sustainable sales growth.",238,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00020.warc.gz,0.966497600078583
893c090b-4816-4148-a445-90893ccd3ea4,2022-05-18T16:22:33+00:00,2022-05-18,1,https://thedailymorningglory.com/the-rooppur-nuclear-power-plant-will-require-13000-manpower/,"May 18, 2022, 4:22 pm
Dewan Sabuj, Ishwardi (Pabna): The operation of the country’s first nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Ishwardi will require about 13,000 skilled and indirect manpower. Experts at a seminar on “Contribution of Rooppur NPP Construction to Sustainable Development of Bangladesh” held at the Nuclear Information Center in Ishwardi on Wednesday (September 16th) afternoon said that about 21,000 people are currently engaged in the construction work. The seminar was jointly organized by Rosatom State Corporation, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and AtomstroExport (ASE) with local journalists.
The seminar said manpower would be required for two reactors at Rooppur for reloading, tanning, overhauling and power generation from the power plant. (1200 + 1200) The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, which has the capacity to generate 2400 MW of electricity, will start commercial operations in 2023 and 2024.
Natalia Goncharova, Communications Specialist, ASE Group, presented the keynote address on “Sustainable Development in Engineering”.
Konstantin Fokin, chief expert at Moscow’s JSC AtomstroyExport, spoke on “the power of the Rosatom nuclear education system for the Rooppur NPP construction project.”
“Rosatom has received a ৮ 137 billion order to build a nuclear power plant abroad,” said Konstantin Fokin. “69 students have graduated from Rosatom Quota Comp and 27 of them have been appointed to BAC. He assured to discuss the issue of cooperation with Rosatom for launching nuclear science courses in Dhaka and other public universities like BUET.
Natalia Goncharova, an expert in the communications department at ASE, said the completion of the Rooppur nuclear power plant would create 2,500-3,000 high-quality experts to operate. The power plant will also indirectly employ tens of thousands of people.
According to communications experts, the power plant will provide affordable and clean electricity to more than 1.5 million households across the country.
Alexander Bebekev, Deputy Director General, Energy of the Feature, Rosatom and Dr. Farhad Kamal, Bangladeshi Consultant spoke on the occasion.",487,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522284.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518151003-20220518181003-00612.warc.gz,0.928493320941925
53803e37-9bfb-4f73-bc7d-e9b007df0d68,2017-08-24T06:43:47+00:00,2016-06-28,0,https://missingstudsfootball.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/overpaid-nonces/,"England losing to Iceland wasn’t something any of us expected, the wealth of talent we have within the team and the performances these players put in for their club teams should at least mean they can beat Iceland.
Joe Hart playing for Manchester City in a Champions League final does not let that 2nd goal in!
Harry Kane 90 minutes from winning the Premier League plays a lot better and doesn’t lose his first touch the way he did last night.
A lot of these players just weren’t on form and probably our 2 most inform players Rashford and Vardy didn’t start.
There was NO pressure on England to go all the way this year so pressure can’t be used as an excuse.",151,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133042.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824062820-20170824082820-00163.warc.gz,0.964899480342865
d7eafb38-c862-48ec-9606-9593b57f5f87,2016-07-29T17:56:52+00:00,2013-06-28,1,http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/rosatom-awaits-sa-govt-decision-on-nuclear-power-2013-06-28,"Russian State-owned nuclear company Rosatom was awaiting the South African government’s decision regarding the nuclear aspect of its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2010), as well as Russia’s role in this regard, deputy director-general Kirill Komarov said on Thursday.
In April, the South African government indicted that it was set on pursuing its plan, contained in the IRP2010, to construct new nuclear power plants (NPPs) and increase the country’s amount of nuclear-generated electricity to 9.6 GW by 2030. This is in part to help meet South Africa’s growing electricity needs and to reduce the country’s high greenhouse-gas emissions.
South Africa is, however, taking a phased approach to making a decision on new nuclear power capacity and is not ready yet to advertise the tender, officials have indicated last month.
During discussions with President Jacob Zuma and Energy Minister Dipuo Peters last month, Rosatom director-general Sergey Kirienko proposed a strategic partnership with South Africa to develop the nuclear industry and to help it in meeting its future energy needs.
“We are not just interested in constructing nuclear power plant units, we are interested in strategic partnership with South Africa, as well as other countries in the continent, because of the big interest in nuclear in the developing economies,” he told Engineering News Online at the International Atomic Energy Agency International Ministerial Conference, in St Petersburg.
Komarov stated that Rosatom was prepared to provide different financing models to South Africa for NPP construction, including intergovernmental loans and potential investments in ownership of power stations.
The ownership finance option would see Rosatom construct the NPP, which it would wholly own and finance, while the South African government would provide the property, grid access and fixed electricity prices for a certain period of time.
The two financing models could also be combined, if required.
“We have already done all the preparing to be a strategic nuclear power partner to South Africa, we are a member of the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa, which positions us to meet and interact with all participants,” he said.
Komarov said that South Africa could, in addition to partnering with Rosatom to develop its nuclear power industry and, thereby, boost its economy, also implement a proper level of localisation in its nuclear power development plans to positively impact its economy.
“If South Africa has a level of localisation of 50% to 60%, it means that every rand invested in the nuclear plant can have a multiplier effect in the economy of R3 to R5. This is because the construction of a nuclear plant not only entails the construction process, but civil works as well,” he noted.
Komarov highlighted that the construction of two nuclear plant units with the capacity of 1 000 MW each, would create 10 000 jobs on site and a minimum of between 50 000 to 70 000 jobs in the rest of the economy.
“South Africa is ready for nuclear power development, it already has the technology and skill, it is trending with the rest of the world and is ahead of many countries in this regard,” he pointed out.
Komarov noted that nuclear power could offer a more affordable means of electricity generation in South Africa, where the current lacking volume of electricity contributed to higher power prices.
“It is expensive to construct nuclear power plants, producing the nuclear energy is cheap. This is because the volatility and unpredictability of coal, oil and gas prices have a great impact on the costs of the power plants that use these energy sources. This is attributable to the fact that these energy fuels make up between 60% and 70% of plant costs.
“Although uranium prices can also be volatile and unpredictable, it only makes up about 4% of the power plant’s costs and, therefore, does not impact it severely. This is why countries with a lot of oil and gas such as Saudi Arabia invest in nuclear,” he explained.
Edited by: Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Researcher and Deputy Editor Online
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE",845,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00217-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951392233371735
1662f0a7-526b-4a73-b029-1087b897fcc1,2015-04-02T09:48:08+00:00,2012-10-04,0,http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/10/04/margate-florida-1970s/comment-page-1/,"From Jim and Chester’s Garage comes today’s street scenes of a shopping center parking lot, taken sometime in the 1970s in Margate, Florida, replete with a recent customer of Man At Ease. Either that or it’s a still from a 1970s detective TV series. Don Smith of Jim and Chester’s Garage sent us another shot below from the same parking lot and noted that his brother, Ron Spadaro, took both. “It appears I might have been a couple miles off from my original description of US 1 in Pompano, Ron says his notes show it due west on State Route 441 which would make it in Margate, Florida,” Don wrote. “You’ll notice a lot of Oldsmobiles, that’s because all through the 60′s, 70′s and 80′, Ft. Lauderdale had the world’s largest stand-alone Olds store (King Olds). It was immense and the first store I ever visited that had golf carts available to drive customers around. Now that was cool all those years ago.”
Once you get past those sideburns, tell us what you see in these two shots.
28 Comments - Leave a Reply",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427132827069.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323174707-00116-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968390882015228
229deb96-597e-463e-a479-8f568266a514,2022-05-20T09:47:01+00:00,2021-06-15,1,https://www.consultrecruitment.co.nz/blog/hiring-this-is-why-you-are-struggling-right-now/,"Hiring? This is Why You Are Struggling Right Now
This is why NZ companies are going ballistic hiring talent right now. And struggling to do so..
Just in case you never got the memo, read the paper or listened to a recruitment consultant talk about how busy they are right now – it is fair to say that employers are hiring up a storm!
There are loads of reasons for this, so we thought we’d convey some of them to you and give you a bit of insight as to why (because frankly, the COVID experience doesn’t automatically lead to a conclusion that it’s going to create a hiring frenzy!).
So here is why the market is a bit frantic mid-2021 in New Zealand:
- Some companies were a little (erm) comprehensive in their restructuring last year. This time last year companies were dealing with massive uncertainty about what the future looked like. Many moved incredibly quickly to cut costs (including headcount). What now looks like a knee jerk reaction was a pragmatic business decision across many organisations (particularly corporates) – but now, it has resulted in many organisations having to hire to regain the headcount.
- Many businesses have changed their marketing focus and need different talent. During COVID, our marketing area was super busy because many organisations were changing channel focus and having to engage with customers in different ways. (Billboard advertising doesn’t really work when people are locked down!). Additionally, never before has empathy been so crucial in business so many organisations have looked for a refresh in their marketing and CX approach. This change is driving demand for new skills in organisations.
- New pivots, new products, new focus. (sorry for the p word…) – through the past year, organisations were forced to develop in areas that previously were not hugely important. For example, there has been a large push within the HR function around WFH capabilities and resilience of staff – so new talent has been needed to make this happen. Risks with heightened focus (cyber, privacy and H&S anyone?) are also driving hiring decisions.
- Employee fatigue. Unfortunately – we’re seeing the health impact of last year on the health of employees. As a result, temporary and contractor demand has risen due to this (and also due to companies struggling to secure permanent talent).
- New technology plans. Many organisations have decided to develop or implement new technology plans – this is placing considerable demand on tech talent for years to come.
- Increased reporting needs. Like never before, businesses need up to date information from which to make key decisions with. This is putting additional pressure and demands on the finance function of organisations that are having to implement or extend their business insights capabilities. The demand for accounting and finance talent who can interpret and convey information to the business is huge right now.
New Zealand doesn’t have the talent available while our borders are closed.
It’s been an incredibly busy year with many organisations currently scrambling to hire the best talent available in New Zealand. But the reality is this:
- Demand has never been higher for talent
- Our available talent is limited to those in NZ currently
- Moving forward, either borders need to open, or we will need to lower expectations of who we can hire moving forward OR employers will continue to pay increased amounts to entice talent to their organisations
We are seeing significant salary increases across most roles.
We are losing talent to Australia. In fact, the Australians are actively poaching our talent with higher salaries, warmer weather and opportunities to get ahead.
So what do you need to do? Read our coming blogs around how to cope in a hiring environment where there are slim pickings of available talent!
Or drop me a line – I would love to hear from you and how you are coping out there: email@example.com",796,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531779.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520093441-20220520123441-00214.warc.gz,0.965365409851074
5994fbb3-a67e-478d-8154-2495aa1b5339,2017-08-22T00:01:41+00:00,2016-11-30,1,https://www.nrdc.org/experts/alvin-lin/chinas-new-plans-deepen-action-climate-change,"Plans released in November show commitment to transitioning from coal to clean energy to address air pollution and climate emissions
This is part one of a two-part blog covering China’s new 13th Five Year Sub-plans on Climate, Environment and Power, written with Noah Lerner, Princeton-in-Asia Fellow in NRDC's Beijing office
With uncertainty hanging over the U.S.’s future climate contributions under the Trump Administration, three new Thirteenth Five Year sub-plans released recently by the Chinese government on controlling greenhouse gas emissions, environmental protection and development of the power sector provide assurance that China will continue to deepen its environmental and climate actions regardless of any change in U.S. policies. These sub-plans add concrete measures and targets to the climate goals outlined in China’s overall 13th Five Year Plan for Economic and Social Development released last spring. (See our previous analysis on that plan). The Greenhouse Gas Control and Environmental Protection plans reinforce what is happening on-the-ground in China as the country is likely to achieve its third year in a row of reducing coal consumption, contributing to a reduction of its carbon dioxide emissions by about 0.7% last year.
China’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Control Work Plan and Power Sector Development 13th Five Year Plans (FYPs) came out just as countries convened in November for the COP22 climate negotiations in Marrakesh, Morocco, while its Ecological and Environmental Protection 13th FYP (hereafter referred to as the Environmental Protection 13th FYP) was released later in the month. Covering a comprehensive set of policies, these documents lay out benchmark goals for 2020 that will put China on track to over-achieve its 2030 Paris goals, strengthen enforcement of environmental laws and standards, and continue its transition to low carbon energy. While challenges remain, including addressing the remaining pipeline of planned coal power plants that risk becoming stranded assets under China’s low carbon transition, the policies set a clear direction for continued action that will help reduce China’s and global greenhouse gas emissions, and improve environmental quality and public health in China. In this blog post, we discuss the significance of the GHG control and Environmental 13th Five Year Plans. The climate implications of the Power Sector plan will be covered in a second blog post.
China’s Roadmap for Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions During the Next Five Years: Strengthening control of CO2 emissions and coal consumption
The State Council released its 13th Five Year work plan to control GHG emissions (Chinese) in early November just before the Marrakech COP, reaffirming China’s commitment to do its part in combatting global climate change. The plan begins by reiterating a key climate goal: China will peak its CO2 emissions by 2030 and make its best efforts to peak earlier. To do this, the work plan sets out a range of targets and policies related to controlling and reducing CO2 emissions, including reiterating goals to reduce China’s carbon intensity (CO2 emissions per unit of GDP) by 18% by 2020 compared to 2015, reduce energy intensity by 15%, increase non-fossil energy to 15% of the energy mix (from 12 percent at the end of 2015), and increase forest stock volume and coverage to 16.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) and 23.04 percent, from 15.14 bcm and 21.66 percent as of 2015.
The GHG Control work plan also reiterates a total energy consumption cap target of 5.0 billion tons of coal equivalent and a coal consumption cap target of 4.2 billion tons for 2020. This 4.2 billion coal consumption cap target was included in the 2014-20 Energy Development Strategy Action Plan, but this is the first time that a 13th Five Year Plan has included the target. Both the GHG Control work plan and the Environmental Protection 13th Five Year Plan include strengthened policies on controlling coal consumption, given the importance of this task to controlling China’s GHG emissions and its PM 2.5 and other air pollution. The GHG Control work plan notes that severe air pollution regions and cities should continue to reduce their coal consumption after 2017, the final year of the 2013 Air Pollution Action Plan that established the original coal consumption reduction mandates for the Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei), Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu) and Pearl River Delta regions.
Recognizing that reducing coal consumption is key to improving air quality, the Environmental Protection 13th FYP (Chinese) adds a goal to reduce coal’s share of total energy consumption to 58 percent by 2020, compared to 64 percent in 2015. It also establishes specific coal consumption reduction targets for key air pollution regions: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and the Pearl River Delta are to reduce their coal consumption by about 10 percent by 2020, compared to 2015; while Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui are to reduce their coal consumption by about 5 percent. Given the significant coal consumption in these regions, this will result in a reduction in coal consumption of about 140 million tons by 2020 if the regions all fulfill their targets. This would be equivalent to eliminating the annual coal consumption of South Korea, thus demonstrating the Chinese authorities’ continued focus on transitioning China’s energy structure from coal to cleaner energy.
Also under focus is reducing coal consumption in China’s cities, requiring all prefecture-level cities that do not meet China’s air quality standards to achieve an 18% reduction in their average annual PM 2.5 levels by 2020. The Environmental Protection 13th FYP specifically calls on China’s 10 cities with the worst air quality, to continue to implement their plans to reduce coal consumption. The use of “dispersed coal,” i.e., the coal for residential heating and cooking and small-scale industrial boilers, mainly in rural areas, also comes under aim, given its disproportionate contribution to air pollution. In Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, for example, studies have found that cleaning up dispersed coal emissions could reduce PM 2.5 levels by up to 32%. The GHG Control work plan and Environmental Protection plan set targets to reduce dispersed coal use by replacing it with natural gas and electric heating, expanding district heating and green buildings, and upgrading and phasing out smaller inefficient boilers. Urban areas with district heating and natural gas networks are to ban the use of dispersed coal.
Given that China’s coal consumption was 3.96 billion tons in 2013 and has continued to fall in 2014, 2015 and this year, we believe the 4.2 billion ton and 58% coal consumption cap targets can be achieved and even improved upon. The China coal consumption cap project’s research for the 13th Five Year Plan coal cap policy recommends a 2020 coal cap target of 3.5 billion tons and 55 percent of total energy consumption, achievable by reducing excess industrial capacity, expanding energy efficiency and non-fossil energy, and implementing fiscal, tax and market measures to account for coal’s environmental and climate impacts. Strengthening implementation of national, sectoral and local coal cap targets to reduce coal consumption to 3.5 billion tons (compared to the study’s reference scenario of 3.9 billion tons) would reduce PM 2.5 emissions by 1 million tons and prevent 71,000 premature air-pollution-related deaths per year, while helping China contribute greatly to addressing global climate change by avoiding 850 million tons of CO2 emissions.
The GHG Control work plan includes several other key measures to address coal consumption and develop low carbon models, as well as address other non-CO2 GHG emissions:
- Large power generation companies must achieve a fleet-wide average of 550 grams of CO2 emissions per kWh by 2020, which requires that they continue to expand their low-carbon generation resources such as wind and solar while limiting the operation of their coal power plants. This strengthens the 2015 target of 650 grams of CO2 emissions per kWh. According to the 13th Five Year Plan for Electricity Development, Chinese coal power plants in 2015 consumed an average 318 grams of coal equivalent per kWh, emitting 890 grams of CO2 per kWh, while a wind or solar farm emits zero. Based on 2016 electricity generation data, the Chinese electricity system as a whole in 2016 emitted about 620 grams of CO2 per kWh. While the 550 grams of CO2 per kWh is a significant target, there is a need for greater transparency, including a regular scorecard on how power generators are doing in meeting this target.
- The work plan directs economically developed regions to peak earlier than the national 2030 target, including supporting efforts by the 23 Chinese member cities of the Alliance of Peaking Pioneer Cities (APPC) to set targets and develop plans to peak early. It also sets specific carbon intensity reduction targets of 12-20.5% for each province, and calls for establishing 50 pilot “near-zero emission zones,” expanding the current low-carbon cities program from 42 to 100 cities, and establishing 80 low-carbon industrial zones. It also calls on certain heavy industry sectors to peak their CO2 emissions by around 2020.
- Finally, the plan notes that China will establish a national carbon market next year, which will cover all enterprises that emit over 10,000 tons of coal equivalent in eight major industries. By pricing carbon, China is seeking to expand the role of market forces in developing, manufacturing and operating low carbon energy sources, technologies and practices. The work plan calls for strengthening monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) at the national, local and enterprise levels, and developing a complete carbon cap-and-trade system by 2020 with active trading, strict management, and transparency.
- Importantly, China’s GHG Control work plan is looking beyond CO2 to strengthen policies to control other GHG emissions, including methane and HFCs. This includes reducing methane emissions in the agricultural sector and in municipal waste and sewage treatment. In line with the recent Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the State Council’s GHG Control work plan also calls for developing an action plan to control the emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), man-made “super greenhouse gases” used as refrigerants and other applications. The plan also sets new targets for controlling emissions of one type of HFC, HFC-23, a greenhouse gas with 14,800 times the warming effect of CO2, requiring that all HFC-23 emissions basically be destroyed according to the standard, and reducing HCFC-22 production and consumption (HFC-23 is a by-product of HCFC-22) so that production in 2020 is 35% less than that in 2010.
With the GHG Control and Environmental Protection 13th Five Year Plans, China is showing its commitment to deepening policies to reduce coal consumption, develop low carbon technologies and policies, and pursue a path towards cleaner development. Key to this energy transition will be greening the electricity sector. In our next blog, we review the 13th Five Year Plan for power sector development and the challenges and policies needed to develop a low-carbon power sector.",2325,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109682.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821232346-20170822012346-00040.warc.gz,0.930915296077728
d3b2f5ae-e010-4e7e-b78d-f130b2fd422e,2018-08-16T01:06:05+00:00,2018-06-11,1,https://www.missioncityrecord.com/news/b-c-unions-petition-calls-for-end-to-ban-on-gay-men-donating-blood/,"A B.C. union continues to gather signatures for a parliamentary petition calling on the federal government to end what it calls “discriminatory” practices that bar gay men from donating blood.
Annette Toth, vice-president of MoveUp, which represents working professionals in B.C. and is Local 378 of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, said the idea came up as the union was looking to get involved with blood drives this spring.
“One of our members said, ‘I really like this idea, but you do know that I can’t donate blood?” Toth said. “He explained that because he is a gay man, he can’t donate blood, even though he’s been in a monogamous relationship for 10 years.
“We were stunned. This isn’t acceptable, it’s not the 1950s anymore.”
Canadian Blood Services currently requires men and transgender women to abstain from sex with men for one year before they can donate blood. That was dropped from five years, after the agency petitioned Health Canada in 2016. It will take another two years of gathering evidence should the agency want to for another change.
The policy has long drawn fire from LGBTQ groups who argue it should target all people based on their actual sexual behaviour, rather than on certain groups’ sexual preferences.
“It’s not based in science, it’s based in fear,” Toth said, adding unprotected, promiscuous sex is the risk factor.
“If two men walked into Canadian Blood Services right now and wanted to donate blood, the straight man who has unprotected sex would be able to donate blood, but the gay man in a monogamous relationship would not.”
A parliamentary petition needs 500 signatures to trigger a response by the government in the House of Commons. MoveUp’s petition had reached more than 3,600 names by Monday afternoon. It is set to close in July.
Canadian Blood Services said in a statement to Black Press Media that it is focused on moving away from a time-based policy and towards an “alternative screening approach,” which could change the rules for gay men.
“As part of our research program, we are working to gather the scientific evidence required to determine whether it is possible to reliably identify low-risk, sexually active men who have sex with men.”",507,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210387.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815235729-20180816015729-00361.warc.gz,0.958337008953094
5061c547-6640-4ac1-b28d-1cbf65e2bdd1,2015-04-02T03:17:52+00:00,2014-03-21,1,http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/industrials-deals-idUSL2N0MA2AX20140321,"(For more Reuters DEALTALKS, double click on )
NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - When United Technologies Corp paid more than $16 billion to buy plane parts-maker Goodrich Corp about two years ago, the U.S. conglomerate's biggest-ever takeover raised some eyebrows for its rich valuation.
But that is nothing compared to what a buyer would need to cough up today for Rockwell Collins Inc, a similar airplane components maker deemed by Morningstar to be one of the most likely takeout candidates in the industrials sector.
While United Tech paid 12.4 times Goodrich's trailing operating earnings at the time, according to Thomson Reuters data, Rockwell's shares now trade at about that level, without any deal premium baked into the price. Takeout premiums among industrials companies averaged about 25 percent last year.
Such is the dilemma facing United Tech, 3M Co, Honeywell International and other diversified manufacturers that are eager to bolster their businesses through deals and yet may hesitate as the rising stock market drives prices higher.
""There are a lot of companies that want to do deals,"" said Jeff Sprague, managing partner at Vertical Research Partners, which focuses on the industrial sector. ""The question will be can they really get them done. They've been reluctant to pull the trigger because of high valuations, and they've only gone higher.""
The valuations for the broadly defined industrials sector have climbed on average from 8 times forward EBITDA to 10 times in the past 18 months, said Michael Santini, global head of Deutsche Bank's industrials group.
""As the equity markets have driven multiples higher across the industrials sector, we have seen a pick-up in IPOs and spin-offs, but more challenges in getting M&A deals announced,"" Santini said.
ACTIVISTS FORCE 'DISCIPLINE'
Competition from private equity firms, with easy access to capital due to low interest rates, has also buoyed prices for industrials targets. For example, Carlyle Group LP agreed to buy Illinois Tool Works' industrial packaging unit last month for $3.2 billion.
Many analysts are predicting an increase in deals this year in the industry after a lull in 2013. But high prices will cause companies to pause before striking, as a risky deal could anger their shareholders or even draw an activist investor. The safe route might be to use that capital to buy back shares or increase dividends.
Take SPX Corp : After the industrial machinery maker's failed $4 billion bid for rival Gardner Denver in late 2012 sent SPX shares tumbling, activist fund Relational Investors bought a big stake.
""In this environment we are seeing equity investors focused on making sure that companies are being disciplined around capital allocation, both institutional shareholders but also the activists are providing some of that discipline,"" Santini said.
At the same time, companies will look closely at deals if they feel they will struggle to grow on a standalone basis.
Multi-industry companies posted sales increases of 3.7 percent on average in the fourth quarter, only ""modest improvement"" compared to the third quarter, according to William Blair analyst Nick Heymann.
""If you can't get it organically, what are you going to do? You're going to have to go buy it,"" Heymann said.
RIPE FOR A PICKUP?
Industrial companies reorganize through deals, which allow them to obtain growing products, realize cost savings and find other ways to augment their central businesses.
Such reshaping can include sales or spinoffs by the companies themselves, often in response to investor pressure, to focus on their central businesses. Dover Corp made such a move earlier this month with its spin-off of microphones maker Knowles Corp, while General Electric is exiting its private label credit card business.
Globally, acquisitions by all industrial companies slipped 8 percent last year, more steep than the 6 percent overall decline for global deals, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The value of acquisitions by 10 U.S.-based multi-line industrial companies fell last year to the lowest level since 1998, according to Thomson Reuters data.
""M&A is a core part of what industrials do and that's how they optimize their portfolios over time,"" said Kevin Toney, senior portfolio manager with American Century Investments. ""My sense is the buyers wanted to buy, but maybe the prices just weren't there.""
Because of the diverse lines of business for these manufacturers, potential targets exist in numerous sectors, including aerospace, security or climate control systems, healthcare products or electrical equipment.
Certainly, conditions look ripe for a deal pickup in many ways.
Analysts at Citi Research noted recently that among multi-industry companies, net debt stands at ""attractive lows"" of only 17 percent of total capital.
""The sector currently holds ample firepower for strategic deals, with a willingness to pull the trigger once the M&A climate improves,"" Citi analyst Deane Dray wrote in a research note earlier this month.
The lofty level of the stock market also could be a benefit to potential acquiring companies.
""The average buyer has a stock that has gone up a lot so they have a lot of currency,"" said Scott Davis, an analyst at Barclays. ""I think we're going to see a lot more transactions using stock.""
There is no shortage of eager buyers.
Honeywell's Chief Executive Dave Cote said at the conglomerate's investor day earlier this month that the company was planning on $10 billion in deals through 2018, more than double what the company spent the previous five years.
3M has expressed a willingness to spend ""multi-billion dollars"" on individual deals, more than it has in the past, as it eyes $5 billion to $10 billion in acquisitions through 2017.
Danaher Corp, which has cited $8 billion in ""M&A capacity,"" is among the other companies expected to be on the prowl this year.
United Technologies last week became the latest company to make noise about bulking up through acquisitions.
Not yet two years removed from closing its Goodrich deal, executives said they did not foresee an acquisition anytime soon. But United Tech has set a target of $50 billion in revenue for its commercial buildings segment by 2020, recognizing that about $8 billion of $21 billion needed for that goal might have to come from acquisitions.
United Tech's targets could include security companies Allegion and Tyco International, and electrical and lighting systems company Hubbell Inc, according to Credit Suisse.
""We have demonstrated that we do very well on large deals,"" United Technologies Chief Executive Louis Chenevert told the investor conference, adding: ""Some of you thought I overpaid on Goodrich. I don't think anybody thinks I overpaid today on Goodrich."" (Additional reporting by Soyoung Kim in New York; Editing by Grant McCool)",1428,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00273-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963476896286011
b9818bb3-e0b0-45ff-8fc0-07f79579aa07,2013-06-19T12:18:40+00:00,2013-02-14,1,http://www.marriagequality.ie/news/2013/02/14/marriage-equality-5-years-on-weve-come-a-long-way/,"- Get Informed
- Get Involved
- Our Campaigns
- Your Voices
- Donate Now
Marriage Equality... 5 years on: We've come a long way!
14 Feb 2013
Today – Valentine’s Day – Marriage Equality celebrates its 5th birthday. ""We are hugely proud of everything we've managed to achieve in the past five years,"" said Marriage Equality Director Moninne Griffith. ""In that short time, we've seen public support for marriage equality grow from 58% (Lansdowne 2008) to 75% (Millward Browne (Lansdowne) 2012). We’ve progressed from having little or no debate on the issue, to Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore calling marriage equality the civil rights issue of the generation. And now, with the Constitutional Convention set to look at ‘the provision of same-sex marriage’ on April 13th and 14th, we are confident that marriage equality will become a reality in the lifetime of this government.”
In the past 5 years, Marriage Equality's work has expanded to include a strong, successful grassroots lobbying campaign called ""Out To Your TD"", increasing visibility of same-sex couples and their families in a campaign called ""Just Love?"", and highlighting the continued importance of marriage equality, despite the introduction of Civil Partnership in 2011. As part of LGBT History Month, Marriage Equality – in partnership with LGBT Noise and the National Lesbian and Gay Federation – are hosting “Stories of Marriage Equality” – a discussion and celebration of how far the movement for marriage equality has come, on Tuesday, February 19th.
Marriage Equality began life as an Advocacy Initiative to support a court case to recognise the Canadian marriage of two Irish citizens: Senator Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan. Despite losing in the High Court, the case was widely seen as an enormous success, raising awareness about the need for marriage equality for same-sex couples in the media, legal and political spheres as well as winning hearts and minds amongst the general public. The campaign was launched in February 2008 with a broader focus to increase visibility of same sex couples, their families and their children, make the case for marriage equality and mobilise support across Ireland.
In the following 5 years, the campaign for equal rights for same sex couples, families and children has changed dramatically. In 2008, no legal relationship recognition existed for same-sex couples. Today, nearly 1000 couples have held Civil Partnership registrations in counties all over Ireland. Debate on the issue has increased remarkably – where once there was a general lack of understanding of the importance of marriage equality, today marriage equality is a top issue under consideration by the Constitutional Convention in April. City, town, borough and county councils have begun passing motions of support for marriage equality, with 12 councils having passed motions in the last year. It is no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people will be able to marry the person they love in Ireland.
""In the 5 years we’ve been working, it has been so encouraging to watch public support for marriage equality grow year on year. More recently we're seeing that support reflected not only in the Dáil and Seanad, but also in our local communities, with 12 local authorities so far having passed motions of support for marriage equality,"" added Ms Griffith. ""As we begin our sixth year, we hope to encourage new supporters to get involved in our campaign, and to encourage our current supporters to renew and deepen their own commitment to equality. In the run-up to the Constitutional Convention this April, we’re asking everyone who believes in marriage equality to make a submission at www.convention.ie, and to talk to their TDs and Senators about why marriage equality matters. Now really IS the time for marriage equality. Let’s make it happen.""",797,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962113976478577
120e7832-bc4d-42c3-abaf-df633c9ff432,2019-08-19T16:49:35+00:00,2019-05-29,1,http://www.kforcehomesolutions.com/cgvjyy7035/kg-maidotr-4796730/,"By Steven Ertelt, LifeNews – The Louisiana legislature today gave its final approval to the heartbeat bill to make it the next state to ban abortions this year – following states like Ohio, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Missouri. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards says he will sign a bill that bans abortions when a baby’s heartbeat begins… The Louisiana House voted 79-23 to pass the pro-life bill — sending it to the governor for his signature. The House rejected an amendment that would have provided an exception to allow killing unborn babies in cases of rape or incest… The Heartbeat Bill, when it goes into effect, will prohibit abortion when a human heartbeat can be detected. An abdominal ultrasound can detect a heartbeat between eight and twelve weeks.
By Willie Richardson, The Patriot Post – Margaret Sanger is upheld as an important figure to the Democrat Party and the slaughtering of infants in the womb through abortion. Her goal was to assure that “human weeds” would not procreate… Sanger was also an ally to the Klu Klux Klan. She said in her autobiography, “Always to me [any aroused group] was a [good group], and therefore I accepted an invitation to talk to the women’s branch of the Klu Klux Klan.” What was good about the KKK? What was their arousal centered on? Sanger’s legacy was to destroy the Negro race using a “reformed” lynching philosophy called eugenics.
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois issued strong words against the Illinois House passing Senate Bill 25 on May 28, calling it a “gravely immoral action.”… The legislation, titled “The Reproductive Health Act,” would overhaul the state’s abortion statute. The measure passed 64-50 in the House today. Several Democrats voted against it… The act is being called the most liberal reproductive health care measure in the country… The Thomas More Society called the act “the most radical piece of abortion legislation that has ever been introduced in Illinois.”
Reflections on the Feast of the Ascension, by Jonathan B. Coe
By Jonathan B. Coe, Crisis Magazine – During this interim between the Resurrection and the Ascension, (Jesus’) followers ask him if he is going to restore the kingdom of Israel at this time and he replies that they are not privileged to know the Father’s plans on such matters. He then tells them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit is given them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Women's Charcoal Lime Turquoise Asics Gel Athletic Running shoes US Size 9 1 2 Read more
shoes women. Mezzo Stivaletto. CARA GIOYA - LR9011X-14. Con Cerniera. Ecopelle.
1. STATE Women's Wrine Platform Sneaker
New Interview, New Revelations Damage Pope’s Credibility, by Phil Lawler
By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture – Yet even that outlandish suggestion is not enough to bring the Pope’s two claims into a workable alignment. Because if Archbishop Vigano had informed him, then even if the Pope somehow forgot, he could not truthfully say that he knew “nothing” about the McCarrick scandal… Archbishop Vigano, not mincing words, made his own position perfectly clear in responding to the new papal interview: “What the Pope said about not knowing anything is a lie.”
New Balance High Roller 501 Size 5 bluee Sneakers NEW AUTHENTIC
ASICS GEL CONTEND 3 Womens Trail Running Walking shoes Sneaker Euro 42 US 10 GUC
Vans Old Skool Sneakers , Rumba Red Suede White , Women Size 7.5
Ambulances Know Route to St. Louis Abortuary, by Charlie Butts
By Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow – The future of a St. Louis-based Planned Parenthood clinic is in the hands of a judge but pro-life activists have already reached a verdict about its reputation… After states such as Alabama and Georgia have made national headlines recently for their restrictive abortion laws, Missouri is getting national attention because the state’s only abortion clinic could be closing its doors any day now… That’s because The Show-Me State follows health and safety standards that must be followed and the clinic’s permit is set to expire Friday… Kathy Forck, a Missouri-based pro-life activist, says the St. Louis clinic has kept EMT teams busy for years, mostly due to women hemorrhaging including some life-threatening 911 calls.
SCOTUS Cases for Next Term: Religious Liberty, Guns and Possibly Abortion, by Rachel Alexander
By Rachel Alexander, The Stream – The Supreme Court is going on its regular summer break, but has already lined up a few cases to hear when it returns in the fall. And as usual, since the Supreme Court became America’s main legislator, the cases mean a lot for the future of our country… America’s founding fathers designed the Court as an umpire. Now it rules… The court will decide whether federal anti-discrimination law that bans discrimination based on sex also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identification. The lower courts are split on this….
Easy Street Womens Dawna Almond Toe Ankle Fashion Boots
JUSTIN BOOTS L4562 Round-Toe Brown Sz 7.5 B Women Western Cowboy Boots
Pope Francis: Chinese Bishops Know They ‘Must be Good Patriots’ to Communist Regime, by Claire Chretien
ACME Vintage Two TONED CAMEL BEIGE Leather Cowboy Western 7A Woman
By Claire Chretien, LifeSiteNews – In his recent marathon interview with a Mexican journalist, Pope Francis said “relations with China are good, very good” and that two Chinese bishops – one Vatican-appointed from the “underground” Church and one appointed by the Communist government – with whom he recently met “know that they must be good patriots.”… Pope Francis’ controversial deal with China allows the government to nominate clerics from its state-run “church,” the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, for the Vatican to make bishops… Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong has repeatedly spoken out about the Vatican-China deal, decrying it as a betrayal of the Catholic faithful in that country.
Womens 9 M Clarks Indigo Brown Ankle Boots Pumps Heels shoes Steampump Victorian
By Msgr. Charles Pope – A reminder of the resilience of truth comes to us in the Office of Readings during this 6th Week of Easter. Evil and error have their day, or even their era, but the Word of the Lord remains forever. In Tuesday’s Office we read this passage: I have seen the wicked triumphant, towering like a cedar of Lebanon. I passed by again; he was gone. I searched; he was nowhere to be found. See the just man, mark the upright, for the peaceful man a future lies in store, but sinners shall all be destroyed. No future lies in store for the wicked…..
SAUCONY ISO SERIES FIT LADIES blueE AND PINK RUNNING FITNESS SNEAKER SIZE 7
Two Cheers for The Washington Post Fact Check on Maternal Mortality Rates, by Michael New
By Michael New, CNS News – On Tuesday, The Washington Post published an informative fact check regarding maternal mortality trends in Texas. At a House Ways and Means Committee hearing May 16th Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) claimed that the reported rate of maternal deaths in Texas doubled after funding cuts to Planned Parenthood. Unfortunately, as The Washington Post pointed out, Congressman Beyer was relying on incorrect data.
Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: Figueiredo Report the First of Many to Come?
By Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Catholic Register – Whatever the Holy Father may or may not have known, excerpts of correspondence published Tuesday by Mgsr. Anthony Figueiredo seem to indicate that the broad outline of what Archbishop Viganò claimed about McCarrick is true… Msgr. Figueiredo served as McCarrick’s secretary soon after his ordination — by McCarrick himself — in 1994-95. Msgr. Figueiredo then spent most of the next 25 years in Rome and acted as McCarrick’s assistant in Rome, especially after the former cardinal’s retirement in 2006.
Pre-owned: An item that has been used or worn previously. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.See all condition definitions- opens in a new window or tab... Read moreabout the condition",1844,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00024.warc.gz,0.939664840698242
af193320-162e-46ab-a13b-4c93d514bc41,2020-10-31T11:20:41+00:00,2019-12-15,0,http://www.higheredwatch.org/conforming-loan-limits-high-cost-areas/,"The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced this week the new maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and
Minimum Down Payment On Jumbo Loan Payment Jumbo Minimum Loan On Down – rmfields.com – A jumbo loan is a loan which exceeds the national conforming limit guidelines. In most areas of the United States, this means loans higher than $417,000, but there.Conforming Loan Limit Alameda County High Balance Conforming Loan The national conforming loan limit for mortgages that finance single-family one-unit properties increased from $33,000 in the early 1970s to $417,000 for 2006-2008, with limits 50 percent higher for four statutorily-designated high cost areas: alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.The table below lists new loan limits for counties in California all real estate mortgages starting January 1st, 2017. Those figures are based on new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines. This is the first time since 2006 the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) increases the limitsfor mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $424,100 on one-unit properties and a cap of.
Congress temporarily raised the conforming loan limits for such high-cost areas as Silicon Valley from $417,000 to $729,750 and has extended them annually through fiscal year 2011. They are set to.
Great news! The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday that it is increasing the conforming and high-cost area limits for.
Conforming Loan Limits of $484,350 For 2019 the new conforming loan limit is $484,350 which is a $31,250 increase from the 2018 amount of $453,100, and before that it was the age old $ that’s been around since 2006. This means a loan that is greater than $453,100 is considered a Jumbo Loan UNLESS the property is in a High-Cost Area.
The FHA sets loan limits ""at or between the low cost area and high cost area limits"" based on the median house prices for the area. fha loan limits for Homes Sold in Low-Cost Areas According to the fha official site, the FHA loan ""floor"" applies to those areas where ""115 percent of the median home price is less than 65 percent of the national conforming loan limit.""
Even those with full coverage, like extended replacement coverage policies that can provide as much as 150 percent of the.
The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) issued the following statement in response to the FHFA’s announcement to increase the 2017 conforming loan limits to $424,100 on one-unit properties.
30 Yr Conforming Fixed A 30-year fixed mortgage is a loan whose interest rate stays the same for the duration of the loan. For example, on a 30-year mortgage of $300,000 with a 20% down. Our 30-Year VA fixed conforming mortgage has great mortgage rates for qualifying U.S. Military Veterans. Use our VA loan for new home purchases, home refinancing. and more between.
. loan limits affect borrowing for properties, whether you're in a high-cost area or. While “conforming” loans limit how much you can borrow, jumbo mortgages.
Conforming loan limit for Washington DC – 2019. Here are the conforming loan limits for the District of Columbia.. The borrower's income must not exceed either 100% of area median income (AMI) or the home must be located in a moderate.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently have a conforming loan limit of $417,000 in most areas, and a maximum of $625,500 in high-cost areas for a single-unit residence. FHA loans currently have a.
Jumbo loans exceed conforming loan limits and can be harder to qualify for.. home in most areas of the country; $726,525 for high-cost areas, like Washington ,
Conforming Loan Limits 2018 The 2018 maximum conforming loan limit for a one-unit property will be $453,100, an increase from $424,100 in 2017. This allows home buyers to purchase a home without resulting in a Jumbo loan with higher interest rates.",901,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00343.warc.gz,0.94619745016098
a8858c33-d9f0-47ba-89d2-f5c941006259,2022-05-25T03:44:26+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://www.peppercontent.io/translation/az-azerbaijani-to-danish,"Explore Projects with Pepper
Be local, bo vocal
Translated content will help influence their cultural choices and you'll soon begin to see profits pour in. Your local content provides the backbone for both your online and offline businesses. Customers trust businesses that speak their language so why not use business translation to speak their language and deliver your content in a culturally influenced local dialect. Once translated your content has the potential to increase your brand awareness exponentially.
Speak their language
A study has shown that content written in their native language converts 15% better than copy that has been translated. By producing content for a particular market, you stand a much better chance of it being read and shared.
When content is shared in many different countries, it helps you to reach more people in your area of expertise.
A few months ago, Google released a new tool called the Google Translation API , which fully supports 15 foreign languages and 99 percent of all websites. We took advantage of this new scientific creation and implemented it into our Azerbaijani to Danish translation tool.
It will offer you a rough translation within seconds. The Google Translate app is designed to convert Azerbaijani to Danish translation without much hassle on its latest version. Although it is not a perfect translation, you can still translate words in a way that you would understand. Google engineers are working hard on making Google translation more intelligent and accurate. Hopefully, one day it will offer near perfect translations on its services.
Azerbaijani is a language spoken by millions of people around the globe. Often times those who speak this language are perceived as very intelligent, as its use requires an understanding of many rules and an in-depth knowledge of a wide range of concepts to use correctly in a conversation. A basic conversation in Azerbaijani requires a vocabulary that is vastly different from that of other languages which makes the conversion of common words between Azerbaijani and alternate languages something that the average person cannot do. Our simple online translator allows users to convert written or spoken Azerbaijani into Azerbaijani and vice versa. The translations will appear in English, Azerbaijani or both, depending on the source language.
Det er rigtigt.
Mən ondan xoşum gəlmir.
Jeg kan ikke lide ham.
Jeg tager afsted.
İşlər necə gedir?
Hvordan går det med arbejdet?
O, çox əsəbidir.
Han er meget irriterende.
Fra tid til anden.
Mən ondan xoşum gəlir.
Jeg kan lide hende.
Bir şans almaq.
Tag en chance.
Mən səni avtobus dayanacağına aparacağam.
Jeg tager dig til busstoppestedet.",667,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662578939.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525023952-20220525053952-00413.warc.gz,0.822327733039856
12087ac8-cf7d-4eeb-a8ec-7332cba41b21,2016-07-30T11:08:06+00:00,2011-06-21,0,http://www.photographybay.com/2011/06/21/leica-m9-p-for-professionals/,"Leica has introduced its new M9 variant that’s geared toward the pro shooter. The M9-P adds a scratch-resistant sapphire covering and an anti-reflective coating to the LCD. Additionally, Leica has made the camera a bit more inconspicuous by removing the red dot and M9 logo from the front of the camera. Now, the only branding is the Leica name inscribed in traditional font on the top of the M9-P.
Along with the M9-P, is the new Leica Super-Elmar -M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH lens, which sports a flare-resistant elements group and a lightweight construction.
The Leica M9-P was announced at a price of £5395, which is a bit over £500 than the introductory price of the original M9. No word on US prices yet. However, considering that the Leica M9 sells for around $7000 USD right now, expect the M9-P to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $7500 to $8000 USD once it hits the street.",224,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00277-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93741762638092
1c80c328-01b8-4bad-bceb-8cd080c3eda9,2019-08-20T14:01:45+00:00,2019-07-31,1,http://trenca.org/en/noticies/three-pairs-of-lesser-grey-shrike-are-breeding-this-year-in-the-plain-of-lleida/,"After a number of years with only one breeding pair in the whole lberian Peninsula, always at the Segrià regional district (Lleida), this season we have got three pairs. A great new, as this species is the most threatened vertebrate in the Spanish State.
The lesser grey shrike (Lanius minor) is an insectivorous and migratory species, that leaves our area in August to the South of Africa and comes back the following spring. Within the conservation programme for this bird, captive breeding is carried out in the Wildlife Centre of Vallcalent, with the support of the Zoo of Barcelona. Thus, some chicks born in captivity are released every year to strenghten the wild population. In total, out of the 7 adult individuals that this spring arrived to the Plain of Lleida, 5 were born in captivity and released in previous years, a relevant data on the important role of captive breeding in the conservation of this bird in Catalonia and Spain.
The field work of the conservation project of this season is being carried out normally. Last habitat reconditioning works were carried out, so that habitat would be optimal for the lesser grey shrikes to hunt insects; 4 facilities were prepared for the hacking release of chicks born in captivity (they stay in here for about a week, observing the natural environment around them); individuals breeding into the wild are being monitored, as well as the chicks born in captivity that have been released thoroughout the month of July, etc.
In total, wild lesser grey shrike breeding pairs have raised 11 chicks. On the other hand, 45 chicks born in captivity have been already released in the same area where lesser grey shrikes are breeding (very good data compared, for instance, with the 29 chicks that could be released last year) and it is expected to release some more before the end of the season.
All together, the three wild breeding pairs, with 11 chicks, and the high number of chicks born in captivity that are beeing released, makes this year particularly good for lesser grey shrikes and and raises hopes regarding the conservation of this species.
The project for the conservation of the lesser grey shrike is an initiative promoted by the Departament of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment of the Autonomic Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya). Both the Wildlife Centre of Vallcalent (Department of Agriculture) and the Zoo of Barcelona carry out the ex situ conservation programme, that is, outside the natural habitat. Trenca Association is responsible for doing the in situ conservation work, on the field (habitat management, wild population monitoring, predators control in the breeding area, reintroduction of individuals, etc.) as well as bringing more staff to support the captive breeding centre during the breeding season. To carry out the in situ actions, a land stewardship agreement has been signed with land owners. The project is further supported, financially and logistically, by public and private entities.
For further information on this project please check the section Conservation of the Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) in Spain on this website.",640,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315544.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820133527-20190820155527-00407.warc.gz,0.951772034168243
c866242b-8624-403a-a77a-3a81778ed889,2018-08-15T03:04:55+00:00,2018-08-15,0,https://pt-br.knowledgebase.renesas.com?title=English_Content/MCUMPU/Development_Tool/IDE_%26_Project_Managers_%26_Training/High-performance_Embedded_Workshop/How_to_create_project_using_High-performance_Embedded_Workshop_V.4%3F,"I tried to copy the workspace folder, but it was not perfect because the project name was succeeded.
The function of Custom project types is available. This allows you to select the same project as file structure, build option and so from project type when creating new project. Also Custom project types allow you to export to another user environment.
Refer to the following for the detail of Custom project types.
- High-performance Embedded Workshop V.4.xx user's manual
Custom project type
You can download the user's manual from document page.
|High-performance Embedded Workshop|",121,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209856.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815024253-20180815044253-00298.warc.gz,0.861739277839661
45d3cb7f-771e-4989-a1b9-a6383ccf1703,2020-10-22T01:32:58+00:00,2020-09-30,1,https://www.brazzil.com/the-dramatic-struggle-to-save-the-threatened-blue-macaw-from-brazils-pantanal-fires/,"In the 1960s, Luiz de Figueiredo Barretto bought the São Francisco do Perigara farm, in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, to use as a cattle ranch. Since then, however, some 95% of the more than 24,300-hectare (60,000-acre) site has been conserved.
When Barretto realized that a specific part of the property, the size of a city block, was a meeting place for hyacinth macaws, also known as blue macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), he closed off the area to protect the trees. Over the years, the small piece of forest has become unique in the world: a spot where dozens of hyacinth macaws gather to rest every afternoon.
Ornithologist Pedro Scherer-Neto has been conducting population surveys of the hyacinth macaw here for 15 years now, during which time the average number of individual birds has gone from 234 to 708. Sightings peaked between 2013 and 2015, when more than 1,000 of the birds were observed in the same place.
The hyacinth macaw, the largest member of the Psittacidae family of parrots, is considered vulnerable, a “threatened” category on the IUCN Red List, but in 2014 was omitted from Brazil’s national list of threatened species.
With this year’s historic drought and dramatic increase in wildfires in the Pantanal wetlands, the São Francisco farm was also hit: more than half of the property was burned. Unlike in the Amazon, fires sparked by lightning are a natural occurrence in the Pantanal during the wet season.
But in the dry months, which start in July, the fires are caused by human action: when someone burns garbage or clears land for planting, the embers may spread and start major fires. Efforts are now underway to prevent the flames from advancing and destroying the refuge of the hyacinth macaws. A team of volunteer firefighters is standing guard at the farm, monitoring it 24 hours a day.
Ana Maria Barretto inherited the farm along with her sister, Maria Ignez Marcondes Barretto, from their father. She said the fire started outside the farm. “We tried to control it on our own with the help of neighbors, but we couldn’t. The fire spread painfully and dramatically,” she said.
She added that help came from several sources: neighbors, the SESC Pantanal private reserve, the fire department, community volunteers, and others. “They are doing all they can and much more. The area is large and man’s struggle against fire is difficult. These are times of desperation,” Barretto said.
Sharing space with the farm’s cattle has provided important advantages for the macaws. During the day, the birds, mostly juveniles not yet of reproductive age, follow the cattle through the fields in search of food. They pick through the cattle droppings for acuri nuts, which the cows’ digestive process renders easier to crack and open. They also feed on bocaiúva nuts, which they can eat directly off the tree.
In the late afternoon, hundreds of the birds can be seen on the pasture next to the cattle. The Pantanal is characterized by extensive livestock farms and is known as Brazil’s most protected biome. About 86% of it is preserved, of which 90% is private property, according to Embrapa, the federal agriculture research institute.
The Arara Azul Institute has been monitoring hyacinth macaw nests in the area since 2005: 30 natural ones plus 20 artificial ones installed in 2010. The institute says there are also several cavities in formation, mostly in manduvi trees. Since it began its monitoring, more than 60 macaws have been born on the property.
According to biologist Neiva Guedes, founder of the Arara Azul Institute, the area’s vegetation can recover from the fires, but the relationships between species are more sensitive. “Visually, the environment may look healthy and green, but that doesn’t mean everything is fine. It may take years to reestablish relationships between species,” she said.
São Francisco do Perigara remains hugely important to the conservation of the hyacinth macaw. Sightings of more than 1,000 of the birds in just this one place indicate that it’s home to 15% of the global population, and 20% of the Pantanal’s hyacinth macaws.
The ranch is so unique that it was the object of an article published last year by ornithologist Pedro Scherer-Neto with biologists Neiva Guedes and Maria Cecília Barbosa Toledo.
According to the authors, in areas where natural habitat is threatened by fire, agriculture, livestock and human occupation, group resting places have become important refuges for threatened species.
Gregarious behavior protects birds against predators and makes their search for food more efficient. “With this number of macaws, there’s no place like this. All the macaws in the region come to sleep on the farm,” Guedes said.
This is the second consecutive year in which the Pantanal has witnessed dramatic scenes of burning. Although fire is part of the ecosystem cycle, the situation has grown out of control as a result of the combination of climate factors and human action.
Felipe Augusto Dias, executive director of the SOS Pantanal Institute and a member of the Nature Conservation Experts Network, said some measures are needed, including investment in raising the population’s awareness.
“We have reached a level of extreme drought, and chances are it will continue,” he said. “We have to understand how to face it to reduce the consequences of these biodiversity losses.”
Translated by Roberto Cataldo.
This article appeared originally in Mongabay – https://news.mongabay.com
Show Comments (0)",1270,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878662.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021235030-20201022025030-00614.warc.gz,0.961764693260193
680f8290-be7f-4e3f-9034-185de6f09fa5,2015-03-27T17:32:50+00:00,2010-03-27,1,http://www.retailingtoday.com/article/vf-corp-has-big-plans-next-five-years?ad=news,"NEW YORK -- VF Corp., whose stable of banners includes Vans and The North Face, announced an aggressive growth, including plans to open 400 U.S. stores across its various brands during the next five years. The company discussed these plans and more at an investor conference held recently in New York City.
In addition to the U.S. expansion, VF is looking to open some 225 stores in Europe and 80 in Asia. The expansion is expected to bring the company’s global store count to 1,500 units.
Speaking at the conference, VF chairman and CEO, Eric Wiseman, discussed the company's plans to reach its 2015 goals of adding $5 billion in revenues and $5 in earnings per share growth from 2010 levels.
""VF's momentum continues to build,"" said Wiseman. ""We're approaching the next five years with confidence, and with the belief that the full potential of our brands is just beginning to unfold. We have a strategic plan in place to drive revenues at a 10 percent annual rate and earnings at a 12 percent annual rate, with operating margins rising to 15% over the next five years. Our goal is to reach $12.7 billion in revenues by 2015. Growth will come domestically and internationally, across all coalitions, and in both our wholesale and direct-to-consumer businesses.""
During the next five years, the company expects to generate $3 billion from its outdoor and action sports division, where revenues have grown on average by 17% over the past five years, $1 billion from growth in Jeanswear through the Wrangler and Lee brands, led by expansion in international markets such as Asia, Europe and Latin America and $1 billion from higher revenues across Sportswear, Imagewear and Contemporary Brands.",362,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00219-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967663764953613
7871dc79-0529-435e-b3c1-4d1f971f4cd5,2017-08-22T12:43:02+00:00,2017-08-22,0,http://ogdenmustangs.com/news/barillaro-commits-to-wisconsin-superior-for-2017-18/,"Former Ogden Mustangs forward Brandon Barillaro has committed to the University of Wisconsin-Superior for the 2017-18 season.
“I am very excited to have the chance to play for Wisconsin-Superior,” Barillaro said. “They offer a great education, where I’ll be studying exercise science, in a small, enriched community that loves its hockey and are passionate about their team. With the hockey program back on the rise in the next few years, there are big things to come.”
Barillaro joined the Mustangs late last season, right before the trade deadline and ensuing playoff push, adding some key speed and scoring depth up front.
Barillaro — a 5-foot-9-inch, 179-pound Alexandria, Ontario native — played in In 24 games with the Mustangs, registering four goals and six assists. He’s the sixth Mustang to commit to an NCAA program from last season’s team.
Barillaro’s speed, vision and agility provided a few highlight-reel goals in his time as a Mustang.
— Ogden Mustangs (@OgdenMustangs) March 13, 2017
“My time in Ogden was an experience I’ll never forget,” Barillaro said. “The fans and their passion for the team is unbelievable, not to mention playing for a world-class organization who’s goal is to ultimately help you develop and move on. It’s always been a dream of mine, ever since I’ve been little, to play college hockey. To be able to go to school, receive a degree and play hockey at the same time, it’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Superior, Wisconsin is located in the northwest corner of the state, across the river from Duluth, Minnesota. The UW-Superior Yellow Jackets compete in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
The Mustangs had five players move on to the NCAA last season, six players the season before and five before that. They’ve had the highest NCAA placement rate in the Western States Hockey League. You can read more more about current Mustang alumni in our 2016-17 midseason alumni update.
As the sixth Mustang to have an official commitment from the 2016-17 team, Barillaro joins the company of Henrik Axelsson (Plymouth State University), Austin Shea (St. Mary’s University of Minnesota), Montell Greene (New England College, NCAA), Max Dorfman (Johnson & Wales University, NCAA) and Chandler Watson (Milwaukee School of Engineering, NCAA).",559,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110774.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822123737-20170822143737-00019.warc.gz,0.950076699256897
534da937-ee05-44da-9250-f75948625595,2019-08-20T03:53:05+00:00,2019-06-10,1,https://eastern-sec.com/news-disclosures/top-smc-exec-warns-ng-of-severe-power-shortage/,"- | Plan to set up more power plants |
- | Plant operation delay with regulatory and legal issues |
| Action against power shortage |
Luzon grid’s energy reserves are running thin. SMC plans to counter the anticipated power shortage in the Luzon grid by putting up more powerplants to genrate an additional 1,200 megawatts in Ilijan, Batangas. The planned power facility could run on diesel as a peaking plant.
Aside from this, SMC Global Power is planning to put up planned 2×150 megawatts circulating-fluidized bed (CFB) coal-fired power plants in Pagbilao, Quezon and Mariveles, Bataan.
Operation of the coal-fired power plant in Atimonan, Quezon, was delayed due to regulatory and legal issues. The power plant was expected to generate 1,200 megawatts to help alleviate the power shortages in the country.
June 10, 2019 10:11 am",205,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315222.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820024110-20190820050110-00222.warc.gz,0.924654245376587
f38c894e-09d5-4fc7-a8fd-49331076b1dc,2020-10-26T13:13:12+00:00,2020-10-26,1,https://latchedandhooked.com/blogs/news/should-hair-braiders-be-licensed,"Ever since she was a little girl, Fatou Diouf has been braiding hair. And for almost two decades, Fatou has turned that tradition into a vocation by working professionally as a licensed natural hair stylist in Tennessee.
“I never did any other job but hair braiding my whole life,” she said. “I cannot recall a time when I did not know how.”
But in recent years, Tennessee has forced Fatou to pay a staggering $16,000 in fines, simply because she employed workers who did not have a government license to braid hair. Nor is she alone. After examining meeting minutes and disciplinary actions for the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners, the Institute for Justice has identified nearly $100,000 in fines levied against dozens of braiders and more than 30 different natural hair shops and salons since 2009. All of those violations were for unlicensed braiding; none were triggered by any health or sanitation violation.
Read More on Forbes.com
Should Hair Braiders Be Licensed?",219,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891228.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026115814-20201026145814-00147.warc.gz,0.981042325496674
c6255e97-e681-4bd0-9ca3-1e21f0f19851,2017-08-22T03:24:37+00:00,2017-07-31,1,http://us-africarelationsupdates.blogspot.com/2017/07/,"Monday, July 31, 2017
Department of State
July 28, 2017
Representatives of the U.S. Government, private sector, and civil society will meet with nearly 1,000 young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa during the State Department-sponsored Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit from July 31-August 2, in Washington, DC. The Mandela Washington Fellowship and Summit fosters and builds relationships that support and expand U.S.-Africa cooperation on shared goals the continent.
The Summit, held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, will feature an Expo with more than 100 organizations engaged with Africa, as well as a Congressional Forum and other leadership and networking sessions. The young African leaders are convening in Washington after six weeks of academic study and leadership training at 38 higher education institutions across the United States as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Alumni of the Fellowship are playing a role in strengthening democratic institutions, spurring economic growth, and enhancing peace and security in Africa. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, the United States’ effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program of the U.S. Government and is supported in its implementation by IREX.
Story: DC MOAA
On Friday, July 14, 2017, the Mayor’s Office on African Affairs (MOAA) in partnership with Howard University, the UNESCO Center for Peace and the Commission on African Affairs hosted its third annual Young African ConneXions Summit (YAX) themed Strengthening Diaspora Partnerships. The Summit was held at the Howard University School of Business Auditorium as part of MOAA’s Community and Youth Engagement Outreach program.
Following the annual Young African ConneXions Summit, MOAA hosted its third annual Mandela Day of Service on Saturday, July 15, 2017. The agency was joined by volunteers at the Anacostia Park Skating Rink on 1800 Anacostia Drive, Washington, DC 20003, for 67 minutes of community service to commemorate the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela.
Please visit our Facebook page to view pictures of the events #YAX2017 and Mandela Day of Service
Department of State Spokesperson
July 28, 2017
The United States remains committed to working with Libya and our international partners to help resolve the political conflict and advance peace and long-term stability in Libya.
While the Libyan people must lead the process of achieving political reconciliation in their country, the international community plays an important role in supporting those efforts.
In this regard, we welcome the Joint Declaration from the July 25, meeting between Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and General Khalifa Haftar, hosted outside of Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron. We call on all Libyans to support political dialogue and adhere to a cease-fire, as stated in the Joint Declaration.
The United States also welcomes new UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Ghassan Salamé as the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL, which plays a critical role in advancing lasting peace and stability. We look forward to working with him to help Libyans reach a political solution.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Office of the Spokesperson
Department of State
July 24, 2017
Building upon the success of the WiSci (Women in Science) Girls STEAM Camp held in Peru in 2016 and in Rwanda in 2015, this year’s WiSci Girls STEAM Camp will take place in Malawi, July 30–August 14. A public-private partnership designed to expand science, technology, engineering, arts and design, and mathematics (STEAM) exposure and opportunities for adolescent girls, the 2017 camp brings together 100 students from Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Liberia, Tanzania, Zambia, and the United States.
Led by industry experts, WiSci 2017 focuses on the applications of science and technology in creating a safer, more prosperous, and secure world. Campers will learn about coding and app development, engineering and robotics, micro- and molecular biology, satellite mapping, and sustainable development. They will have the opportunity to present project ideas and designs that use the skills and tools they gained to address a social or development challenge. The camp will also provide the girls with leadership and communication skills, teamwork opportunities, cultural exchange, educational excursions, mentorship, and professional development and networks extending beyond the camp to continue participants’ engagement in STEAM fields.
The 2017 WiSci Girls STEAM Camp is led by founding partners the U.S. Department of State, United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign, and the Intel Corporation, and sustaining partner Google. Additional programmatic support is provided by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, American Society for Microbiology, and NASA. The implementing partner for WiSci 2017 is World Learning.
The WiSci Girls STEAM camp is part of the U.S. government’s efforts to empower adolescent girls, especially in the STEAM fields, and to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
For more information on the WiSci Girls STEAM Camp, visit girlup.org/wisci, follow #WiSci2017 on social media, or contact Alex Campbell, CampbellAM2@state.gov or Anita Ostrovsky, Ostrovskya@state.gov.
July 30, 2017
On Friday, July 21, 2017, the new Ghanaian Ambassador to the U.S.–Dr. Baffour Adjei-Bawuah–presented his Letters of Credence to President Trump at an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House.
The presentation of credentials is a traditional ceremony that marks the formal beginning of an Ambassador’s service in Washington.
Department of State Spokesperson
July 20, 2017
The United States welcomes the recent announcements by the Governments of Sudan and Saudi Arabia underscoring Sudan’s commitment to sustain positive dialogue with the United States and to continue collective efforts to fight terrorism. As outlined in the 2016 U.S. Country Report on Terrorism issued July 19, the United States notes Sudan’s improved counterterrorism efforts through enhanced interagency and international cooperation to address the threat from ISIS and other terrorist organizations, and its willingness to pursue counterterrorism operations alongside regional partners, including operations to counter threats to U.S. interests and personnel in Sudan.
Department of State
July 14, 2017
The United States and Togo will co-host the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Lomé, Togo August 8-10. The Forum will bring together senior government officials from the United States and 38 Sub-Saharan African AGOA-eligible countries to discuss ways to boost economic cooperation and trade between the United States and Africa. The African Union and regional economic communities will also participate.
The theme of this year’s Forum is “The United States and Africa: Partnering for Prosperity through Trade.” The 2017 Forum will explore how countries can continue to maximize the benefits of AGOA in a rapidly changing economic landscape, and highlight the important role played by women, civil society, and the private sector in promoting trade and generating prosperity.
Representatives from the private sector, civil society, and the U.S.-sponsored African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) will participate in Forum activities August 8-9. The Ministerial plenaries will follow on August 9-10, bringing together senior government officials from the United States and the 38 African beneficiary countries.
U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer will lead the U.S. delegation, which will include senior officials from the U.S. Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, as well as the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. African Development Fund. Members of Congress and their staff from both parties are also invited to attend the Forum.
The AGOA law, which enhances market access to the United States for qualifying sub-Saharan African countries, has been the cornerstone of the U.S. government’s trade policy with sub-Saharan Africa since 2000. The law mandates that each year a special Forum be convened to discuss issues related to the implementation of the law and issues of economic cooperation and trade in general.
For specific information about the AGOA Forum private sector dialogue, please visit: www.corporatecouncileonafrica.com.
For specific information about the civil society/AWEP event, please visit: http://www.agoacsonetwork.org/.
For information about AWEP Togo, please visit: http://aweptogo.tg/.
Additional questions may be sent to: firstname.lastname@example.org.
Department of State
July 24, 2017
Today, the United States announced that through support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) four African countries are approaching control of their HIV epidemics.
Groundbreaking new PEPFAR data show that the HIV epidemic is coming under control across all age groups in Swaziland, the country with the highest HIV prevalence in the world. Additional PEPFAR-supported studies released in December 2016 for Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe also demonstrate significant progress toward controlling the HIV epidemics in these countries.
In Swaziland, new HIV infections have been nearly halved among adults, and HIV viral load suppression – a key marker of the body successfully controlling the virus – has doubled since 2011. These data suggest that Swaziland has met the global target for community viral load suppression among HIV-positive adults four years ahead of schedule. The Swaziland data is particularly important because PEPFAR funded a comprehensive survey in 2011-2012, which provides the critical baseline comparator of current results and progress.
Today’s findings demonstrate the remarkable impact of the U.S. government’s efforts, through PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in close collaboration with African countries and other partners.
The United States is the largest bilateral donor to the global HIV/AIDS response. Through PEPFAR, the United States continues to invest in over 50 countries, ensuring access to services by all populations, including the most vulnerable and at-risk groups. Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are among the 13 highest-burden countries that have the greatest potential to control their epidemics by 2020 through the UNAIDS 90-90-90 framework and expansion of HIV prevention, leading PEPFAR to accelerate its efforts in these particular countries.
For more information about PEPFAR, visit: www.pepfar.gov
Story and Photo: The Carter Center
By Frank Richards
Dr. Frank Richards leads the Carter Center’s efforts to eliminate river blindness (also known as onchocerciasis), a parasitic disease transmitted by the bites of infected black flies.
There’s a famous line in the movie “Jaws” – after the stunned sheriff sees the monster shark for the first time, he says to the shark hunter: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
As The Carter Center tackles the monstrous challenge of eliminating river blindness in Nigeria, we’re gonna need a bigger plan, a bigger program, a bigger posse of volunteers—in short, a bigger paradigm. Our proposal to the MacArthur Foundation lays out a plan to do this that is entirely achievable with sufficient support; in other words, with a bigger budget.
But everyone involved, especially the millions of people in thousands of affected communities, must understand that to eliminate this curse, we need all hands on deck, and everyone needs to take the medication in the correct doses at the prescribed times. A Mectizan distribution program of this size, in the most populous nation in Africa and the most endemic for this disease worldwide, will require an exponential level of effort and perseverance; it has never been attempted at this scale.
We know our method works; we’ve used it to eliminate river blindness in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. But Nigeria’s at-risk population is 100 times that of all of those places combined, so we have to scale everything up. Tens of thousands of volunteers will need to bring health education to their villages, measure for proper dosage and administer ivermectin tablets—medicine which is proven to stop transmission of the condition—and keep better records that will provide better data needed to track our progress. We will need a lot more volunteers, and each will need to be thoroughly trained, equipped and motivated. We’ll also need a lot more medication, storage space for it, and vehicles and drivers to distribute it. Once we’ve gained the advantage over river blindness, once it is gone from people and the environment, we can scale down all these activities for good.
This is a huge shark we are going after. But at The Carter Center, we don’t shy away from challenges. We believe that when the opportunity arises to make a terrible disease go away forever, we are morally obligated to give it our best shot.
Story and Photo: The Carter Center
By Rebecca Palpant Shimkets
Rebecca Palpant Shimkets, associate director in the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program, develops and oversees the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism.
Seeing South Africa’s mental health journalism program blossom fills me, along with Rosalynn Carter and everyone here at the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program, with the kind of pride one feels when a family member receives a university degree. We are thrilled to have helped the program take its first steps.
In South Africa, like many other countries, mental health is shrouded in ignorance and stigma. Many people associate mental illness with a moral failure or witchcraft, but we know it is a health condition that can be treated.
Journalists have a powerful role to play in better informing the public, dispelling myths and misconceptions, and showing the real faces of mental illness — our neighbors, friends, colleagues, even ourselves. The media also can help shape public policy by shining a light on systemic failures and gaps in services, as well as providing a platform to discuss solutions.
In 2004, South Africa began developing ways for the media to better address mental health issues. The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism South Africa were created and awarded annually until 2011. A total of 14 fellowships were awarded before the South African Depression and Anxiety Group took over administration of the program with a vision for sustaining it without the Carter Center’s help.
That vision has never faltered. Zane Wilson and Marion Scher have found ways to train journalists, provide technical support to media outlets, and carry the torch The Carter Center ignited.
Just one example of a journalism fellow who has made a difference is Tamar Kahn of Business Day in Cape Town. Kahn was a 2006-07 fellow who has written extensively about the mental health issues faced by South African police officers and their families. Kahn uncovered a “tough man” mentality, a common cultural trait in South African men that was exacerbated by working in law enforcement. As a result, many officers lack the skills or inclination to seek the help they need. The publication of Kahn’s work was accompanied by a surge in coverage of mental health issues by South African newspapers and radio shows.
“It’s a way of taking our readers, I hope, to places that they would never go,” Kahn said. “And by showing them these places, perhaps they will be better informed about the challenges facing our police force and in turn pressure our policy-makers to improve the mental health services for police men and women.”
The mental health journalism landscape has changed dramatically in the past dozen years as more and more journalists have addressed the topic. It’s exciting to see Discovery Health declare that these issues are so important that the company will support a journalist to cover them using the standards and criteria established by The Carter Center.
Mrs. Carter and The Carter Center are enormously proud of all the fellows, of Zane and Marion for their determination to sustain the vision, and of Discovery Health for believing in the value of this work.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Africa: The Administration Extends Sudan Sanctions Review Period
07/11/2017 08:19 PM EDT
Department of State Spokesperson
July 11, 2017
Today, the President issued an Executive Order (E.O.) extending the review period established by E.O. 13761 of January 13, 2017, which set forth criteria for the revocation of certain sanctions on Sudan. The President’s E.O. extends the review period for an additional three months and provides for the revocation of those sanctions if the Government of Sudan (GOS) sustains the positive actions that gave rise to E.O. 13761, including maintaining a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan; improving humanitarian access throughout Sudan; and maintaining its cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism.
The United States will revoke the sanctions if the GOS is assessed to have sustained progress in these areas at the end of the extended review period. The general license issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which became effective on January 17, 2017, remains in place and broadly authorizes U.S. persons to process transactions involving persons in Sudan; engage in imports from and exports to Sudan; and engage in transactions involving property in which the GOS has an interest.
While we recognize that the GOS has made significant, substantial progress in many areas, the Administration has decided that some more time is needed for this review to establish that the GOS has sustained sufficient positive actions across all areas listed in E.O. 13761. We remain deeply committed to engagement with the GOS and working toward further progress on achieving a sustainable peace in Sudan, removing remaining obstructions to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and bolstering cooperation to counter terrorism and promote regional stability. Beyond these key areas connected with the potential revocation of most sanctions on Sudan and the GOS, the Administration is also committed to intensifying engagement with the GOS on a broader range of vital issues, including our ongoing dialogue on improving Sudan’s human rights and religious freedom practices, and ensuring that Sudan is committed to the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea.
Background Briefing on Sudan Sanctions
07/12/2017 03:03 PM EDT
Office of the Spokesperson
Department of State
Senior Administration Officials
July 12, 2017
MODERATOR: Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for joining us for the background call on the administration’s decision yesterday to extend the review period for the revocation of certain sanctions on Sudan. You may have seen the statement that was released yesterday, so we wanted to bring some folks in to discuss the decision in greater detail. We have [Senior Administration Official One]; also [Senior Administration Official Two] and [Senior Administration Official Three]. I’d like to add that the call will be embargoed until the end of the call. You can refer to the officials as senior administration officials who are involved in the Sudan assessment process.
With that, I will turn it over to [Senior Administration Official One] to get a little bit more into the details of today’s decision. And let me just add that [Senior Administration Official Two] has to drop off the call early, so we’ll get to [Senior Administration Official Two] after [Senior Administration Official One]. [Senior Administration Official One], thank you. Go right ahead.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Good morning, everybody. I just would like to take a very quick moment to set the frame of what the decision – that took place. Executive Order 13761, issued in January 13, provided for sanctions relief for Sudan with respect to certain sanctions if the Government of Sudan sustained positive actions that gave rise to this order. And basically, these actions, just to be clear so we’re all on the same page, included maintaining a cessation of hostilities in the conflict areas in Sudan, continuing improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan, and maintaining cooperation with the U.S. on both regional conflicts and the threat of counterterrorism in the context of regional conflicts. A key issue is countering the Lord’s Resistance Army.
So the administration recognizes Sudan has made significant progress in these areas over the last six months, but given that a new administration came in in January and looking at where we’ve gone and where we will go, the administration decided that it needed more time to review Sudan’s actions and to establish that the government has demonstrated sustained, positive actions across all the areas that are set out in the executive order. As a result, the President yesterday issued a new executive order that extended the review period for three months. The Government of Sudan, if it is assessed at the end of that review period to have sustained positive actions as we’ve been discussing, the United States will revoke the sanctions. But there was a feeling that the additional time was needed to ensure that, given the scope and gravity of this decision, we reached the proper outcome.
The administration is committed to sustaining this discussion as well as engaging with the Government of Sudan on other vital issues outside of the five-track arrangement, including intensifying our ongoing and fairly intense already dialogue on improving Sudan’s human rights and religious freedom record, and also to ensure that, like we are on track with that throughout the globe, committed to the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. And I’m sure that [Senior Administration Official Two] will have more to say on that if there’s questions.
A couple of other things I’d like to note: In that throughout the course of the extended review period, the OFAC license that was issued in January remains in effect, and what that does essentially is it authorizes U.S. persons to engage in transactions involving Sudan, authorizes imports and exports, and engage in transactions that involve property related to the Government of Sudan. So this general license allows these actions that had been prohibited under previous executive orders as it has for the last six months, and as we go forward – additional three months of the review period, this will stay in place.
One other thing I’d like to note before we go into questions is that the administration looked at all relevant and credible information in terms of where we’ve assessed where we’re going to date, and that this decision was reached through a senior-level process, interagency process, that took the views of the Department of State, the Treasury, the intelligence agencies, as well as USAID and others who have an interest and focus on these issues. But it was the President who made the final decision based on his – the recommendations of the senior levels of the interagency – interagency.
So I think with that I will stop and let any questions go to my colleagues who are also on the line [Senior Administration Officials Two and Three].
MODERATOR: Okay. [Senior Administration Official One], thank you so much. Go right ahead. Let’s take our first question, and if anyone – let me mention again: If anyone has a specific question for [Senior Administration Official Two], since she has to drop off the phone early, go right ahead with that as well.
OPERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press * and then 1 on your telephone keypad. You’ll hear a tone indicating you’ve been placed in queue. To remove yourself from queue, simply press the # key. Once again, to ask your question, please press * and then 1 at this time. And one moment, please.
The first question is from Matina Stevis with The Wall Street Journal. Please go ahead.
QUESTION: Hi. Thanks very much for doing this. It’s much appreciated. You will have seen in the last few moments that the Sudanese president has issued a statement saying he is suspending the sort of relevant commission that was working with the U.S. civil servants and other authorities on this. It is the view of the Sudanese Government that they have no more to do and that this decision effectively is a moving of goalposts. How do you respond to that, and how concerned are you that even this small extension might lead to backtracking of some of the progress that you guys have said has been made over the last few months and, indeed, nearly two years?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: I don’t want to characterize the Sudanese reaction right now because we’ve – we’re having still senior-level engagement on this issue as we speak and going forward. So I’m not going to comment on this report. We don’t know if it’s accurate, and since it’s, I think, a press report, we will wait until we have, actually, a full set of senior-level engagement and discussion back and forth.
We welcomed what Sudan has done to bring itself more in line with international standards and integrate its economy in the marketplace. We want to have a positive relationship going forward; we’ve made that clear throughout the process, and we hope that Sudan will continue. And again, the key focus, I think, for the Sudanese has been working to achieve the full revocation of sanctions. And if, at the end of the three months, which is a relatively short extension, and I think one where we can actually make some additional progress, the stated intent, as our statement indicates, is to lift the sanctions.
QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you very much.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Thank you.
OPERATOR: If there are additional questions, please press * and then 1. Once again, to ask additional questions, please press * and then 1. And one moment please.
And we’ll go to the line of Robbie Gramer with Foreign Policy. Please go ahead.
QUESTION: Hi. Thanks so much for doing this. I was wondering if you could comment on reports that came out a few months back on Sudan purchasing arms from North Korea. Have you talked at all with the Sudanese Government about clamping this down or stopping this, and have they assured you that would – they will?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Yeah. Basically, if you’ll notice that we do mention North Korea in the statement the department issued. The implementation of Security Council resolutions in North Korea, and especially efforts to stem North Korean missile proliferation and financing activities, is a top security priority for the President. He’s said this many times. I want to note – I want to turn this over to [Senior Administration Official Two] if she has any comment on this.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: Sure. Hello, everybody. Again, I’m [Senior Administration Official Two], and as [Senior Administration Official One] has said, and I’ll reiterate, and as you’ve seen in our statement, the Trump administration has made it really clear that the number one security issue for them and for our new government is North Korea. And that is a global, top security issue.
So yes, we have made our position clear with the Sudanese Government, and even outside of the five-track plan and in our longer-term engagement, for a very long time, that they must abide by the UN Security Council resolutions with regards to North Korea. So we continue to say that; that has not been added to the five-track framework, but it has been a continual concern we have with the Sudanese Government, and we’ve expressed that all along.
MODERATOR: (Inaudible) add to that. (Inaudible.)
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: I just wanted to add that we have been and we will continue to be talking about this issue. It is something that we are doing across the board with a range of countries. So again, I think that all our partners and – across the world, and all people – all the other countries that we’ve raised it with understand where this stands in our security priorities, and certainly the Sudanese do as well. And I think that we’ll stop there.
MODERATOR: Okay. Next question, please.
OPERATOR: The next question comes from the line of Kylie Atwood with CBS News. Please, go ahead.
QUESTION: Hello. Thanks for doing this. I have a question on the special envoy for South Sudan and Sudan here at the State Department. Is that a position that’s vacant right now? And if so, does that vacancy have anything to do with prolonging this policy review in that there’s no one who is a voice at the table that could be kind of an additional person to have conducted the review? Thanks.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: There is no special envoy for the moment, although [the] office is fully staffed and continues to work on these issues. What I can say is that basically, the appointment of a special envoy or a special representative for Sudan is under consideration by the administration as a part of State’s ongoing reorganizational design, and that’s really where we are right now. It would – I would not draw any other conclusions based on staffing right now.
MODERATOR: Okay. Next question, please.
OPERATOR: Next, the line of Matina Stevis, Wall Street Journal. Please, go ahead.
QUESTION: Sorry to use up my time, and then I hope other colleagues get to other questions. I just wanted to ask for your comments, since we have you here, on reports from expert analysts that have already been published that potentially, the decision was the outcome of lobbying both from human rights groups, by the likes of John Prendergast and former administration officials, as well as the so-called Christian right, which has historically been very active in lobbying for the isolation of Sudan and the split of South Sudan in the past. Do you guys have any comments on allegations that this – these influences and public statements are what’s really swayed you?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: I don’t want to speculate on any of the internal deliberations. What I can say is that we haven’t made a decision. We decided to – as an administration, that more time was needed to assess this issue.
As we note, there has been some significant progress made across the five tracks. On the question of humanitarian access, there’s been progress in our ability to get to different places on ensuring that the access of some additional materials has happened. But I’m not going to speculate on where we are and what we are – where we’re going on this other than to say that these five issues continue to be extremely important in terms of where we want to go. Humanitarian access has always been a real problem, and I think we’ve succeeded in reversing a number of longstanding impediments. The extended review period is going to let us do even more, and we want to make sure that our principle – which is unfettered humanitarian access in all contexts – is something that we could go forward with with the Government of Sudan, and that restrictions on travel and other issues are – that are inconsistent with the freedom of movement are addressed and overcome.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: This is [Senior Administration Official Two]. I would just add to the question, too, that this was a robust policy review process to determine that we just needed more time, that the new administration needed more time. Our principal – all principals were involved, and like [Senior Administration Official One] said, this is not a decision; it is, in fact, just having – giving a new administration a little bit more time. But we did have a lot of review go on and we’re still going to continue that process.
MODERATOR: Okay, everyone. Thanks so much for joining the call. Let me just go over this again, that the call is a background call with senior administration officials who are involved with the Sudan assessment process. The embargo from this call has now been lifted. Thank you, everyone, so much for joining us today and thanks for our speakers, [Senior Administration Official One], [Senior Administration Official Two], and also [Senior Administration Official Three]. Thank you.
Department of State
July 10, 2017
Teenage girls from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, and Tunisia will participate in the U.S. Department of State’s TechGirls exchange program from July 12–August 3. During their three weeks in the United States, participants will strengthen and develop technical skills, form invaluable networks, and establish relationships with mentors that will influence their future tech careers. The TechGirls initiative empowers girls around the world to become leaders in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
The 28 TechGirls will attend leadership clinics and project management workshops at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA and in Washington, D.C. While at Virginia Tech, the teens will also participate in an eight day, interactive technology and coding camp conducted by the Department of Computer Science Training, participate in a day of job shadowing with top tech companies in the Washington, D.C.-area, and engage in community service activities. Top leaders in the tech industry from the United States and the Middle East and North Africa will mentor the girls throughout the program.
The State Department and program partner Legacy International have teamed up with both public and private sector partners for this year’s TechGirls program, including: AT&T, Byte Back, Echo & Co, FCC, i Strategies Lab, Islamic Relief, Nokia, NPR, Relief International, Synoptos, TechChange, Vox Media, and 18F.
TechGirls exchange alumnae, now totaling 130, have utilized the program’s lessons to train more than 2,300 peers in their home countries. The achievements of these alumnae and the talent of the incoming class contribute to the U.S. global commitment to advance the rights of women and girls around the world, as well as STEM education.
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #TechGirls.
July 9, 2017
The birth of South Sudan in 2011 was marked by hope for a peaceful and prosperous future. The American people, like many around the world, celebrated as the South Sudanese forged a free and independent nation following years of strife. Six years later, on the occasion of South Sudan’s independence, the promise of 2011 has been supplanted in 2017 by a continuing civil war and devastating humanitarian crisis affecting millions.
The conflict that broke out in December 2013 set South Sudan on a precarious course, causing immense suffering, creating divisions and holding the country back. We deeply regret that the second chance made possible by the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity in April 2016 was squandered. Following the collapse of the permanent ceasefire in July 2016, the armed conflict expanded across the country and the parties to the conflict remain unwilling to return to the negotiating table. The consequences have been dire: two million people displaced inside South Sudan, nearly two million people displaced as refugees outside of South Sudan, and six million people facing life-threatening hunger.
The United States remains deeply committed to a stable and inclusive South Sudan, and stresses once again that there is no military solution to this conflict. On this day meant to celebrate South Sudan’s creation, we call upon South Sudan’s leaders and all parties to end this self-destructive violence, to return to political dialogue, and to help South Sudan realize its full potential.
We extend our best wishes to the people of the Republic of South Sudan on the sixth anniversary of the nation’s independence. The United States will stand with the people of South Sudan and with all leaders who are working for peace, stability, and justice.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2017
Readout of President Donald J. Trump’s Call with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt
President Donald J. Trump spoke today aboard Air Force One with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt to address the ongoing dispute between Qatar and its Arab neighbors. President Trump called on all parties to negotiate constructively to resolve the dispute, and he reiterated the need for all countries to follow through on their commitments at the Riyadh Summit to stop terrorist financing and discredit extremist ideology.
The two presidents also discussed the threat from North Korea. President Trump stressed the need for all countries to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea, stop hosting North Korean guest workers, and stop providing economic or military benefits to North Korea.
June 16, 2017
Story: MCC website
Spotlight on Cabo Verde: Expanding Access to Water and Sanitation is Critical to Economic Growth
Women, the poor and other vulnerable groups are particularly impacted by the shortcomings of the water and sanitation sector in developing countries like Cabo Verde. Yet, women and the poor are seldom represented in national policy conversations and decision-making. At the local level, utilities rarely design services that address the challenges that these groups face in accessing and paying for water and sanitation. But in Cabo Verde, an island nation off the coast of West Africa, this is changing.
In partnership with the Government of Cabo Verde, MCC is supporting reforms to the country’s major water and sanitation institutions and the development of a financially sound basis for the delivery of water and sanitation services — from clean tap water to safe wastewater removal. By considering women, the poor and other disadvantaged populations in making these reforms, along with improving accountability, the Government of Cabo Verde is expanding access to and affordability of these vital services to help people lift themselves out of poverty.
Read more about MCC’s partnership with the Government of Cabo Verde in our blog post from Naomi Cassirer, MCC Gender and Social Inclusion Director, and Lona Stoll, MCC Deputy Vice President for Sector Operations.",8075,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109893.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822031111-20170822051111-00610.warc.gz,0.945545315742493
4bbf3cc9-a615-4ad4-b530-783f6bba0aa5,2017-08-18T01:06:04+00:00,2017-08-18,1,http://newhomes.livingrealty.com/transit-city-condos/,"Location: Highway 7 & Jane St
Developer: CentreCourt Developments
Prices: 2 bedroom suites from the low $400,000s
Estimated Completion: 2020
Welcome to Transit City Condos
Welcome to Transit City Condos by CentreCourt Developments, the first phase in SmartREIT’s ambitious 100-acre SmartCentres Place development that is set to redefine Vaughan’s downtown area.
Transit City will be next door to a Viva bus terminal, which will be connected by a tunnel to the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station, the northernmost stop of the new Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension set to open in 2017.
We could list all the places that will be within easy reach of Transit City, but there are too many to mention. Instead, let’s just take a look at the new TTC map to understand how amazingly connected this building will be:
Currently in the pre-construction phase, the 55-storey condo tower will redefine condo living, in addition to being one of the most connected buildings in the entire GTA. In the words of Don Schmitt, principal from Diamond Schmitt Architects, it is “the first transit-friendly, pedestrian-oriented, urban community in the 905 district”.
Transit City Condos phase one will boast 553 suites, which the developer says will be bigger than average condo sizes in Toronto. In addition to more square footage, each suite will have a balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the feeling of even more space.
Elegance and Style
The lobby is set to have the elegance of a luxury hotel and will be complemented by the first Buca restaurant outside of Toronto. The high-end eatery will be 4,500 square feet and will serve top quality Italian food to residents in the finest of surroundings.
In another innovative move, Transit City won’t have its own gym. Instead, residents will have access to a brand-new, custom-built, 100,000 sq ft YMCA facility, which will be just steps away and part of SmartCentres Place.
The building will also be next to a new 9-acre park that will be the focal point of SmartCentres Place. The emphasis on creating wide-open green spaces show the intentions of the developers to create a genuine community for people to live, work and play in. In addition to the park, plans for SmartCentres place include shopping, office towers, a library, a community centre, and other entertainment options. It will truly be a community of the future.
Transit City: Location
Register Now for Transit City Condos
As a preferred VIP brokerage for Transit City Condos, Living Realty can provide inside access to all the latest details about the project. To register your interest in the project and gain access to further information, click the button below.",601,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104204.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818005345-20170818025345-00040.warc.gz,0.90280956029892
c0e5b66b-d3b2-4259-8333-30871cd06a66,2016-07-23T21:08:12+00:00,2016-01-31,1,http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/sex-ratio-of-india.html,"Sex Ratio in India currently stands at 944 females available for every 1000 males. Know more on sex ratio in all states of India and child sex (male female) ratio.
Sex Ratio in India
|Current Sex Ratio in India 2016||944 females for every 1,000 males|
|Sex Ratio in India (Yearly)||943 (2015), 942 (2014), 941 (2013), 940 (2012)|
|Total No. of Males in India||668,760,678 (668 million - Jan, 2016)|
|Total No. of Females in India||626,283,237 (626 million - Jan, 2016)|
Sex Ratio is a term used to define number of females per 1000 males. It's a great source to find the equality of males and females in a society at a given period of time. In India, Sex Ratio was okay till the time of Independence, thereafter it has declined regularly. According to Census of India 2011, Indian sex ratio has shown major signs of improvement in the last 10 years. From a small number of 933 in 2001, the bar has been raised to 940 in the 2011 Census of India. Although this improvement is fair enough in a developing economy, but still there is a long way to go. India suffers from a huge inequality of male female child ratio resulting in a poor sex ratio in some regions. With a overall improvement in sex ratio, the states of South India has shown major signs of improvement in comparison to states of Haryana and Punjab, where sex ratio is far low than national average figure.
Improvement of Sex ratio indicates a healthy growth rate among female to male population in India. The state of Kerala and union territory of Puducherry are only two places in India where sex ratio is above 1000 or exceeds female to male ratio. Another three states which has shown a major signs of improvement in their sex ratio are Assam, Mizoram, and Nagaland. Densely populated states of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim have also shown improvement in female to male ratio. According to Census of India, all these states have taken necessary measures to improve sex ratio in urban and rural areas. Delhi and Chandigarh have also registered a sharp growth in sex ratio between 2001 to 2011 census. On the other hand, the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana have also shown positive signs of overall improvement in their sex ratio. In fact, these two states have registered a postive increase in their sex ratio in the last few years. According to recent estimates of Haryana Govt, the state's child sex ratio (0-6 age group) crossed 900 mark for the first time in December, 2015. This is the first time in the last 15 years that Haryana child sex ratio crossed the 900 mark. Overall, Sex ratio in various states of India has started to witnessed a descent growth in the last 4-5 years begining from Indian Census in 2011.
Explore some interesting facts and figures about Sex Ratio in India:
- Kerala with 1084 females for every 1000 males has the highest sex ratio according to Census of India.
- The union territory of Chandigarh has only 818 females for every 1000 males.
- Punjab has witnessed a growth rate of +48 from 798 (2001) to 846 (2011) in its child sex ratio.
- In Union Territories of India, Daman and Diu has the lowest female sex ratio while Pondicherry has the highest female sex ratio in India.
- There is some extent of gender bias in India which is responsible for this decline in female ratio however it has started to show some improvement in the last 10 years.
- Lack of education and poverty in rural areas leads to gender bias.
- A common belief in Indian society is dominated by preference for a male child, thus leading to a decline in sex ratio in various states across the nation.
- According to Census of India, the child sex ratio (0-6 years) in India is one of the poorest, last recorded at 918 girls for every 1000 boys in 2011.
- Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save girl child, educate girl child) is a scheme launched by Government of India to improve efficiency of welfare services meant for girl child in India.
- The state of Haryana registered a child sex ratio (0-6 age group) of over 900 in 2015 for the first time in the last 15 years.
Indian States by Sex Ratio
|State / Union Territory (U.T.)||Sex Ratio
|Change 2001 - 2011|
|29||Jammu and Kashmir||883||900||-17|
|30||Andaman and Nicobar Islands||878||846||+32|
|34||Dadra and Nagar Haveli||775||811||-36|
|35||Daman and Diu||618||709||-91|
|Sex Ratio of India in 2011|
|Sex Ratio of India 2011||940 females for every 1,000 males|
|Total Male Population||623,700,000 (623.7 million)|
|Total Female Population||586,500,000 (586.5 million)|
|Rural Sex Ratio of India||947|
|Urban Sex Ratio of India||926|",1113,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00042-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.859823822975159
701f8baf-599a-4bd0-b094-25dcbe91dcae,2022-05-20T00:47:14+00:00,2021-09-30,0,http://semanticproxy.com/2021/09/30/hoozuki-san-chi-no-aneki/,"The door partially rockhard to judge spent his mitt on public places. When he found us, mostly homosexual folks who intrigues me with my firm to a chronicle. So fearless ai learned a shame herself from strategically placed them. I flashed as she had an crimsonhot, recuerdo en el hoozuki san chi no aneki bar. She learned as exotic and decent and wished to streak on, revved benefit in my past five minutes. There stood in my bday and my forearm slipping her wallet. He to taunt and mike, i popular him and rested for slpover.",124,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662530553.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519235259-20220520025259-00618.warc.gz,0.966128289699554
4bee599d-7ca0-45d0-abe5-1b5a077de004,2017-08-17T01:44:23+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://www.vancouveryogareview.com/thoughts/my-top-5-favorite-vancouver-yoga-review-articles/,"This was tough! But, here are some of the articles that have lately spoken to me and have stuck to my heart. Hope you enjoy! I would love to hear your fave!
1. Memory Dredging by James Liang. Time traveling through the senses – how smell, sight, taste, sound and touch can revert us back to a time that was significant in our lives. We hold onto these moments (both good and bad). Sometimes we may not even be able to remember the entire instance, but select pieces and parts of it, but for whatever reason, a particular sense captured its imprint. I believe that perhaps a reason we record this instance is for energy. In those places (memories) we experienced something profound, memorable, a particular feeling or emotion. Perhaps they are also places for us to return to learn from and use the experience and its energy for strength to keep going.
2. Coming Back To You by Leeana Anaka. Yoga helps us to reconnect with our bodies in a way that we become more in tune with it and, in a way, we become better at listening to what it’s telling us. Yoga also helps us to take control of the mind, especially when it comes to dictating unrealistic expectations or negativity. As Leeana has written, yoga cultivates a calmness that allows you to believe that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.
3. Browse with Moderation by Sophie Legrand. In this article, Sophie talks about not squandering our energy and exercising our will-power in a modern world of cyberspace. We often resort to things like the television and endless hours of Internet surfing when we are bored, lonely or in need of stimulation. Sophie has some great recommendations for nurturing ourselves instead of giving in to mindless surfing.
4. How to Start Your Day Calm & Relaxed – Without Yoga by Taya Ng. An article from Vancouver Yoga Review’s founder, Taya describes some very nice ways to start the day without yoga. Not everyone can or chooses to start the day with asana practice, and that there are other ways to capture and manifest a sense of relaxation and calmness upon waking up. Yoga can be done at any time of that works best for you.
5. 21 Beautiful Benefits of Yoga by me. One of my self-written faves, this article covers some of the benefits of yoga practice. Perhaps it’s a bit weird to choose one of my own, but I constantly come back to this. It’s important we believe and trust in the process of yoga, surrender ourselves to it and know that the more we do yoga, the more we believe and dedicate ourselves to discovering our true selves, the more will be revealed.",561,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102819.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817013033-20170817033033-00692.warc.gz,0.957878649234772
6608478b-df82-4a3b-b8d6-f922ca73d1a5,2022-05-26T21:39:24+00:00,2017-07-18,0,https://www.firstpost.com/tag/amarnath-yatra-2017,"Amarnath Yatra 2017
Amarnath Yatra 2017 News
Jammu and Kashmir police said three people, alleged conspirators in the 10 July attack on Amarnath pilgrims, have been arrested by its SIT
As many as 813 pilgrims on Thursday paid obeisance at the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir hills, an official said.
Over 300 pilgrims left Jammu for the 3,888-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in south Kashmir Himalayas, amid tight security.
Over 1,002 pilgrims left Jammu for the Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in the south Kashmir Himalayas where over two lakh devotees have paid obeisance this year
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday demanded action against the army personnel for allegedly thrashing and injuring seven policemen
A fresh batch of over 1,100 pilgrims set out from here for the Amarnath Yatra on Friday amid tight security, an official said.
The 21st batch of 1,877 pilgrims on Thursday left Jammu for the Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in south Kashmir Himalayas amid tight security.
Another batch of 2,224 pilgrims on Tuesday left Jammu for the Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in south Kashmir Himalayas, amid tight security.
A week after the terror attack that left eight dead and 13 injured, pilgrims were back undertaking the Amarnath Yatra
Photojournalist Javeed Shah tracked pilgrims who were undertaking the Amarnath Yatra a mere week after the terror attack of 10 July. See his photo essay here:
Myanmar defence chief U Min Aung Hliang called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and conveyed his country's condolences to the Amarnath victims
Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday complimented the Kashmiri people for condemning the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, saying it had restored the faith in the composite culture of Kashmir.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke for Kashmiriyat after Monday's attack on Amarnath pilgrims and said that ""all Kashmiris are not terrorists"".
Amarnath Yatra attack: Bipin Rawat reviews security in Valley, Gujarat to suggest bravery award for bus driver
The army chief rushed to Kashmir on Tuesday to review the security in the valley following an audacious terrorist attack on a pilgrims' bus that was reportedly masterminded by a Pakistan-based militant leader.
Amarnath Yatra attack: Vice president Hamid Ansari condemns terror strike, calls it 'crime against humanity'
Vice President Hamid Ansari on Tuesday expressed shock at the ""dastardly"" attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir
The US on Tuesday deplored the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and said it condemned all acts of terrorism.
Police blamed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba for killing seven Amarnath pilgrims in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi termed the attack on Amarnath pilgrims as ""a crime against humanity"" and called for decisive action against its perpetrators.
Internet services were suspended in the Jammu region on Tuesday after the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district
Amarnath Yatra 2017: Prayers held at Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam to mark commencement of pilgrimage
Special prayers were held near the Pahalgam base camp of the annual Amarnath yatra on Sunday, marking the commencement of the pilgrimage.",730,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00023.warc.gz,0.92395281791687
38758dfb-035f-4a76-8139-3c7c80e11175,2019-08-18T13:45:34+00:00,2012-08-24,1,https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFBRE87N01K20120824,"TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan turned up the heat on Friday in an emotional row with former colony South Korea, with lawmakers calling on Seoul to end its “illegal occupation” of a disputed island chain and the government considering scaling back economic ties.
Tension between the North Asian countries, both close U.S. security allies, flared this month after President Lee Myung-bak became the first South Korean leader to set foot on the islands claimed by both countries.
Lee’s visit and his call for Emperor Akihito to go beyond expressing “deepest regrets” for Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule triggered a diplomatic tit-for-tat feud, and a rare veiled threat from Japan to flex its economic muscle.
Finance Minister Jun Azumi reiterated on Friday that the government might not extend a currency swap arrangement with South Korea after it expires in October and said Japan was weighing an earlier plan to buy South Korean government debt.
“Things have reached the point where the Japanese people may not be able to accept the argument that political relations and economic relations are separate,” Azumi told reporters.
In a symbolic but rare move, Japanese lawmakers passed a resolution condemning Lee’s visit to the islands known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan, and demanded their return to Japan.
Noda, attacked by the opposition for being too soft in territorial rows, referred to South Korea’s control of the islands as “illegal occupation”, breaking with his and other prime ministers’ past practice of avoiding such language.
“It is my understanding that they are being illegally occupied by South Korea,” Noda said in reply to a question from an opposition member of parliament.
The Yomiuri newspaper reported that Japan was leaning towards aborting its planned purchase of South Korean government bonds, saying that the government believed it would not be understood by the public in the current diplomatic climate.
The dispute with South Korea coincides with a stand-off between Japan and China over another island chain, which sparked anti-Japanese protests in China last week.
Despite close economic ties, bitter memories of Japanese militarism run deep in China and South Korea. The simmering territorial disputes show how the region has failed to resolve differences nearly seven decades after the end of World War Two.
The row with South Korea sparked a curious stand-off over a letter from Noda to Lee, which South Korea first declined to accept and then Japan refused to take back.
Commentators say much of the war of words has to do with domestic political dynamics, with both Japan and South Korea facing elections and China preparing for a once-in-a-decade leadership change later this year.
A South Korean newspaper said Noda was trying a “diplomatic gamble” to shore up his dismal ratings ahead of an election his Democrats look set to lose.
However, in a sign that he was keen to prevent the stand-off from spinning out of control, Noda stressed the importance of partnership with Seoul.
“South Korea is our important neighbour and even difficult problems should be handled in a calm way and with a big picture in mind,” he told the parliament.
Editing by Linda Sieg and Robert Birsel",677,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313889.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818124516-20190818150516-00293.warc.gz,0.965450584888458
bf719056-5034-4e36-a23b-3316f5add556,2022-05-18T16:36:03+00:00,2019-04-04,0,https://tribune.com.pk/story/1943813/cii-declares-handcuffing-suspects-violation-law,"ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has declared the procedure of handcuffing suspects of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) before conviction as violation of the Pakistani law and Islamic jurisprudence.
“Defaming a suspect and exposing him on media before his conviction is against the basic human values spelled out in Islamic teachings,” said CII Chairman Qibla Ayaz while addressing the media after chairing a daylong meeting of the council on Thursday.
“Violent suspects can be handcuffed,” said the CII chairman.
The CII chairman urged NAB to refrain from such practices.
A committee, headed by Justice (retd) Raza Khan, has also been formed to evaluate the NAB Ordinance in light of Islamic jurisprudence.
“The committee will critically evaluate whether or not the laws of NAB Ordinance are in contravention of Islamic law in order to ensure compliance of the 1973 Constitution which makes it mandatory for every law in the country to be consistent with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah,” said Ayaz.
The CII chairman expressed deep concern over the Aurat March held last month and the inappropriate slogans and banners during the protest.
“The council has resolved that it will extensively study the causes behind dysfunctional families,” said the chairman. “The council believes that in light of Articles 227 to 231 of the Constitution, the CII must present recommendations to help Pakistani Muslims streamline their individual and social lives in accordance with the principles enacted in the Quran and Sunnah.”
He said issues surrounding family life could not be resolved with emotional speeches and slogans, “instead advocating extensive research into the underlying factors is needed”.
He said the council also observed that there was a communication gap between the teachers and students in colleges and universities while co-curricular activities were on the decline.
“Consequently, the young generation is under intense mental pressure,” he said, urging the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Commission to formulate a strategy for the purpose.
“Impulsive and spontaneous reactions to problems will do no good,” he added.
The council held a key session with President Dr Arif Alvi on April 3 at the President House.
It was decided in the session that recommendation would be sought from religious communities and Ulema on environmental safety, forests, plant nurseries, water preservation, compliance of food safety principles and ensuring right to property for women.
The council is expected to hold a convention at the President House with the coordination of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Climate Change.
The CII chairman assured President Alvi during the session that the council would make all possible efforts to spread the Paigham-e-Pakistan message and its narrative. “The message will be incorporated in the syllabus of madrassas and universities alike,” said Ayaz.
To a question, the CII chairman said the council would seek opinions over granting permission for alcohol in the name of minorities from the minority affairs minister.
The council expressed concern over the growing Islamophobia in the west and demanded of Europe, United States and other countries to play their role in ensuring protection of Muslims in their respective states.
The council also condemned the assassination attempt on Maulana Taqi Usmani and murder of Prof Khalid Hameed at Sadiq Egerton College Bahawalpur.
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ",745,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522284.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518151003-20220518181003-00603.warc.gz,0.950118243694305
3989ab1e-7eab-4511-9bdf-702b359d85ed,2017-08-22T14:56:35+00:00,2013-11-22,0,http://www.dcrpos.com/blog1/2013/11/22/are-your-customers-loyal/,"As the market share among independent grocery stores becomes a more competitive endeavor, it only makes sense for independent grocers and retailers to offer customers and potential customers the same advantages they have come to expect from larger chains.
Chief among these competitive measures is the use of a loyalty program, which has become common practice in almost every retail space. From the mileage rewards of airlines to the discounts of a drug store, shoppers have come to expect some sort of discount program provided by their retailers. Most large supermarket chains will offer loyalty cards which provide discounts on select items, but the loyalty card is far more than a coupon your customer carries in his or her wallet. It is a marketing tool, as well as a discount card, and provides a reason for your potential customers to choose your business over another.
No matter the socio-economic status, consumers now expect to be rewarded for their shopping. Even in households registering incomes of over $150,000.00 per year, 72% of these families use some kind of loyalty card, and the vast majority of female shoppers in these upper-income households use loyalty and discount cards for their grocery shopping. For those below this income level, the use is even higher, with greater numbers generated by those programs which offer something free after a certain spending level.
The point is not to convince you, as a business owner, to give free items to all your customers, but to point out that loyalty programs are not a luxury for you as a business owner, but, rather, is now an expected facet of the shopping experience for the public. Unless your marketing is to specifically counter-advertise to these types of programs, you should be offering some sort of loyalty program for your customers.
Most programs will be composed of lower prices with the use of a card, and some will accrue points to offer an even greater reward for certain spending levels. Whichever you choose, you should be aware of the notion of consumer inertia. Essentially, consumer inertia refers to the notion that a costumer who frequents a store will continue to frequent that store until some force acts upon them to change their shopping behaviors. If one of your regular customers suddenly disappears, chances are some other program or price structure has lured them away. Conversely, advertising lower prices can draw customers from your competitors, and keeping them in your aisles can be aided with an effective loyalty program.
In addition to their use as a customer incentive, loyalty cards also allow you to market specific brands to a customer based on previous buying habits. The customer’s prior purchases are stored in a database and related coupons may be presented at the time of check-out, or via email. Through this personalization, the customer will receive additional coupons or discounts for items they are likely to buy, or, perhaps, an item they have not previously considered but is appropriate to previously-established shopping behaviors.
Lastly, the application used to obtain a loyalty card for your store will provide you with a database of email addresses that you may use to announce sales or store events, enabling you to effectively increase sales from particular customer groups or to encourage specific buying behaviors. For example, you may include an email blast to your customer base around Thanksgiving to encourage sales from your bakery to augment their expected holiday shopping. Regardless of how you choose to use the information, having access to your customers’ email is essential in a market crowded with marketing opportunities from your competitors.
In short, loyalty programs for the independent retailer are no longer luxuries to be explored when the time allows. It is an essential part of most shoppers’ experiences and an expected part of retail behaviors. To ignore the loyalty programs available to you is to ignore your valuable customers’ expectations and a valuable resource for future marketing endeavors.",759,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110792.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822143101-20170822163101-00283.warc.gz,0.960006654262543
7553c9b9-300b-42f9-971c-ca58b615337e,2020-10-29T17:15:40+00:00,2020-10-29,0,https://fanfrenzygifts.com/products/utes-bangle-bracelet,"Celebrate every aspect of being a fan, with this officially licensed Utah Utes Bracelet. The U logo is featured on the center charm and is complimented by a black and red rhinestone. Bracelet is adjustable from 7-8 inches and is the perfect game day accessory! You can personalize this popular bracelet by adding more charms. Comes with a Fan Frenzy lifetime warranty.",80,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107904834.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029154446-20201029184446-00415.warc.gz,0.942507863044739
643c8334-1f9c-4b3d-be95-51fe440027fd,2015-03-29T17:34:46+00:00,2010-11-15,1,http://www.technologyreview.com/news/422009/piecemeal-energy-policy-will-still-cut-greenhouse-emissions/,"It appears unlikely that the newly elected U.S. Congress will fare any better than the last in passing comprehensive, long-term climate and energy legislation. Without this kind of legislation, investors and utilities will find it difficult to make decisions about such things as what types of new power plants to build. But that doesn’t mean that progress on energy policy will necessarily grind to a halt. Smaller, more focused legislation, along with EPA regulations, could have a big impact on greenhouse-gas emissions. And yet these efforts may be too limited to spark the international agreements needed to limit climate change.
Last year, the House of Representatives passed a comprehensive climate and energy bill, including a cap-and-trade program to limit carbon dioxide emissions, but the bill died in the Senate, prompting policy experts and business leaders to search for alternative ways to encourage investment that would reduce emissions. Several groups have recommended increasing funding for the development of new energy technologies. But with the new Congress elected on a platform of reducing government spending, such increases seem unlikely to be approved. At least for next year, the bills that are likely to pass are those that don’t involve new spending.
The policies that could have biggest impact on greenhouse gases are those that promote a switch from burning coal to burning natural gas. Natural gas is abundant in the United States, and burning it releases only half the greenhouse gases that burning coal does, as well as less of other pollutants. Although many regulations are imposed by individual states, Congress in 2011 could make it easier to increase natural gas production by clarifying federal rules about extracting the natural gas found in shale deposits, says David Victor, director of the Laboratory on International Law and Regulation at the University of California, San Diego.
Meanwhile, relatively recent EPA regulations that lower emission limits on mercury and other pollutants, and new requirements for disposing of coal ash, could force utilities to shut down large numbers of old, inefficient coal plants over the next decade. Black and Veatch, a large construction, engineering, and consulting company, predicts that these regulations could lead utilities to shut down about one-sixth of the coal plants now in operation, representing over 50,000 megawatts of generation capacity. These would be replaced mostly by natural-gas-fired plants. Even more coal plants could be taken offline if natural gas prices stay low and extraction companies set up long-term supply contracts to guarantee these prices, making the economics of natural-gas power plants more attractive, says Mark Griffith, a managing director at Black and Veatch. Ultimately, Victor, at the University of California, says the EPA rules are likely to result in the closure of one-quarter to one-third of today’s coal plants over then next two decades.
Largely because of these shutdowns, coal’s share of U.S. electricity generation could drop from 47 percent now to 22 percent by 2030, according to a report from Deutsche Bank released in November. That in turn is likely to mean a 44 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 2030, relative to 2005 levels, and make it possible to meet the overall carbon dioxide reductions that last year’s failed House cap-and-trade bill would have required. However, replacing coal with natural gas won’t by itself reduce emissions enough to meet that goal: Deutsche Bank estimates that it will also be necessary to increase the proportion of electricity generated by solar and wind power from two percent today to 14 percent in 2030.
Developing new low-carbon energy technologies, such as cheap and efficient solar panels, will require both funding for R&D and incentives to increase demand for them. President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), recently released a report that recommended boosting funding for new energy technology development to $16 billion a year—a $10 billion increase. The American Energy Innovation Council, led by business leaders such as Bill Gates and GE CEO Jeff Immelt, recommended an increase of the same size, while policy experts at the Brookings Institute, the Breakthrough Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute called for $25 billion in new funding. The groups argue that such funding is needed to help make American companies competitive in emerging markets for clean energy.
Where this money might come from isn’t clear. The President’s advisers said most of it could be raised by adding a tax of two cents per gallon to the price of gasoline or by increasing electricity prices by one-tenth of a cent per kilowatt hour. But Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, who crafted that organization’s recommendation of $25 billion for developing energy technology, says that passing even such modest price increases is likely to be difficult in the new Congress.",968,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298660.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00052-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95283031463623
bc15ffe6-919a-4748-b62f-a7a53f94d301,2013-05-23T04:41:18+00:00,2008-02-25,0,http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/itineraries/place/MuseoOrnitologico.html,"Museo Ornitologico [Ornithological Museum]
The specimens in the collection were gathered between 1866 and 1911 on behalf of Marchesa Marianna Panciatichi Ximenes d'Aragona Paolucci, an illustrious Florentine malacologist and amateur ornithologist who, in 1927, donated them to the Commune of San Gimignano. A good part of these specimens came from the estate of Villa del Monte, where two bird snares had been set up with nets for capturing birds attracted by decoys.
The taxidermic preparation of the birds was entrusted to Riccardo Magnelli, taxidermist of the Specola Museum in Florence, while other specimens were stuffed by Dal Nero, the famous taxidermist from Verona who had prepared the birds belonging to the Arrigoni degli Oddi collection, one of the world's most beautiful and most complete, now found at the Zoological Civic Museum in Rome. Arrigoni, the grandson of Marchesa Paolucci, actively collaborated in arranging the collection at San Gimignano, donating numerous specimens and providing consultation in case of birds of uncertain attribution.
The original collection was formed of 1260 specimens. There have remained 696, belonging to 253 different species. The current display, composed of 371 specimens, has been housed since 1990 in the small church of San Francesco, and is managed by the University of Siena Department of Environmental Biology and the National Institute of Wildlife Biology.
Texts by Antonella Gozzoli
English translation by Catherine Frost
Last update 25/feb/2008",336,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.92681872844696
35b56356-e3e0-41ff-9cc0-e265976bc976,2016-07-23T22:19:23+00:00,2013-06-30,1,http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/06/30/The-Issue-Immigration-reform/UPI-15241372579200/?rel=43881374395400,"Based on the rhetoric coming from some sectors, one might think immigration is a new concept in the United States, a position at odds with the centuries-old description of the country as a nation of immigrants.
The Senate last week took a major step toward overhauling immigration policy, adopting 68-32 a measure that offers a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people already here illegally and tightens border security to reduce the flow.
Now that the Senate has stepped up, it's the House's turn.
""Today, the Senate did its job,"" President Barack Obama said Thursday. ""It's now up to the House to do the same.
""The bipartisan bill that passed today was a compromise. By definition, nobody got everything they wanted. Not Democrats. Not Republicans. Not me. But the Senate bill is consistent with the key principles for commonsense reform that I -- and many others -- have repeatedly laid out.""
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who helped write the bill, said the issue is much more than a policy decision.
""For anyone in this chamber who believes this is just another vote, just another political issue, remember the last naturalization ceremony you attended when new Americans, with flags in hand, took the oath and became part of this country. The emotion they felt and the emotion you felt should remind you how historic this moment truly is,"" he said.
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has declared the Senate bill dead on arrival in the House, insisting Republicans will craft their own reform proposal. So far so good. The looming problem, however, is Boehner's insistence he will adhere to the so-called Hastert rule -- named after former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. -- saying he won't bring anything to a floor vote, including anything out of conference committee, unless a majority of House Republicans supports it.
""For any legislation, including a conference report, to pass the House, it's going to have to be a bill that has the support of a majority of our members,"" Boehner told his weekly Capitol news conference.
Like the Gang of Eight in the Senate that crafted the Senate bill, a bipartisan Gang of Seven is working on a House measure.
""There will be a bill,"" promised Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., one of the negotiators. ""I don't know when.""
Boehner said any House will would have to have the support of a majority of both parties.
House Republican objections to the Senate-passed bill center on both border security and allowing those already here illegally to stay. The GOP says granting amnesty amounts to rewarding illegal behavior and when it comes to border security, they say, they've heard that before. Democrats counter it's not amnesty: Undocumented immigrants would have to earn their way to citizenship. As for border security, they note the strides that already have been made and point out the bill provides for $46 million to double the number of border patrol agents -- a provision that has rankled politicians and pundits south of the border.
Boehner last week refused to take any specific policy positions aside from insisting on border security, saying that would just slow down the bipartisan discussion. In the past, he has indicated he would like to see a bill by August although he declined to outline a timetable last week.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who heads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force, urged Boehner to speed up the process, saying, ""You are on the clock.""
Citing a report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, White House spokesman Jay Carney said immigration reform would provide ""a boon to our economy, a boon to the middle class, would reduce the deficit significantly in both the first 10 years and then hugely in the second 10 years and would increase innovation and job creation at home because, as you've seen from the statistics, there is -- when we modernize our legal immigration system, we enhance the prospects of keeping highly talented entrepreneurs in the United States so that they can create businesses and jobs in the industries of the future in the United States.""
Failure in the House could spell trouble for Republicans down the road. National party leadership has acknowledged it needs to win Hispanic support to prevail in years to come. Without adopting immigration reform and a path to citizenship, such support is unlikely.
Maria Elena Durazo, who chairs the National AFL-CIO Immigration Reform Committee, urged the House to take action.
""We urge Speaker John Boehner and the House of Representatives to embrace America's diversity and move swiftly to pass an immigration reform bill that tends to the needs of working families and provides a secure path to citizenship to immigrant workers,"" she said in a statement.
""The Labor movement and our allies will continue to work to make sure the final bill offers more protections to workers, fair access to needed benefits, a far less militarized, more sensible border security program and fewer obstacles to aspiring Americans. No further compromise to the roadmap to citizenship will be tolerated.""",1025,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00040-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965763986110687
896dff1f-423f-4945-b4cf-91100a289796,2022-05-21T16:05:41+00:00,2021-09-20,1,https://mikesweet01.com/2021/09/20/winning-the-race-to-net-zero-why-marine-energy-in-pembrokeshire-promises-to-be-a-uk-game-changer/,"The transformation of the Milford Haven Waterway is set to position Wales as a global model of energy innovation, delivering huge benefits to Wales’ and the UK’s carbon reduction plans. Michael Sweet investigates the developments underway at Wales’ largest deepwater port
The view from the office of Steve Edwards, commercial director of the Port of Milford Haven, is breathtaking. In the distance, a vast LNG tanker, longer than three football pitches and capable of carrying enough gas to power a car for 112 million miles is injecting its load into the UK’s national gas grid. It’s one of more than a hundred such vessels a year that use the Milford Haven Waterway, and which make the Port of Milford Haven the third largest energy port in Britain, supplying a fifth of the UK’s energy needs.
In the first 60 years of its existence the Port has managed the emergence of two energy revolutions – oil in the 1960s and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from 2009. Today the Port is core to the UK’s energy network, supporting around thousands of jobs in the maritime, renewables and engineering sectors, and more in the supply chain.
Now it’s planning for a third, and most far-reaching revolution – low carbon energy – through the creation of a clean energy cluster and the future development of hydrogen which is likely to be a key energy source to deliver net zero.
At the helm of arguably Wales’ most ambitious renewable energy project, Steve Edwards, explains how the port plays a critical role in the UK’s energy infrastructure.
“Around 25 per cent of the UK’s gas needs come through the Port of Milford Haven, and during the pandemic the port has played an even more important role, providing 85 per cent of the UK’s LNG gas needs on one day during 2020,” says Edwards.
At the heart of the Port’s vision is the £60 million Pembroke Dock Marine (PDM) project – an integral part of the £1.3 billion Swansea City Bay Deal programme, signed off by the UK and Welsh Governments in 2017.
PDM comprises four separate but interrelated elements that together will build on an existing energy cluster that has grown around Pembroke Dock. PDM is about developing a world-class centre for growing Wales’ ‘blue economy’ – an emerging concept which encourages better stewardship of the oceans.
“It’s a £60 million investment into the Pembrokeshire economy,” says Edwards. “There are more than 5,000 jobs supported around the Haven and we have to ensure we invest in port facilities that are ready for the needs of the 21st century.
“PDM is expected to create in excess of 1,800 jobs and have positive impact on creating supply-chain resilience, protecting more jobs.”
Despite the project’s well-defined benefits in terms of regional economic development and hard to argue sustainable energy credentials, it hasn’t been all plain sailing for Edwards and his team. Some critics of the PDM program, which involves transforming historically important built infrastructure of what was the Royal Dockyard, campaigned against elements of the project up until final Welsh Government approval earlier this year.
Updated port infrastructure was critical for PDM. For marine-based energy generation sources, ports need flat, lay-down spaces next to deep water, but also 21st century buildings and facilities. Edwards says concerns over heritage protection were heard, and where possible, incorporated into the Port’s plans.
“Our aim is to grow the Haven’s prosperity, and one of our core values is sustainability. As we’ve developed PDM and the infrastructure that needs to be built we’ve held numerous stakeholder consultations.
“We understand that everyone has their own particular asks. What we’ve done as part of the project, is ensured that the concerns we heard were as practically possible incorporated into the project.
“We’re revitalising parts of the Port infrastructure such as Carriage Drive and the Hanger Annexes as well as certain walls and areas, and we’ve worked with the likes of CADW, Natural Resources Wales and local stakeholders, and kept both town councils and local communities engaged in those developments.”
Central to PDM is the cluster of companies that are driving it with Port of Milford Haven, those being ORE Catapult, Marine Energy Wales and Wave Hub. The project is bolstered also by working with businesses like the Australian wave-power company Bombora, and big-hitter energy companies like Valero, Dragon, RWE Renewables and Blue Gem Wind.
“The opportunity we have with PDM covers many energy vectors,” says Edwards, “from hydrogen to floating offshore wind, whilst recognising the ongoing role and importance of LNG and hydrocarbons.”
One key message Edwards is keen to share, is that PDM as it stands now, is just the start.
“The infrastructure we’re creating through PDM, is insufficient by itself to take advantage of future opportunities. We’re going to need more lay-down space and a larger quayside near deep water, and storage to be able to unlock things like the £682 million pound opportunity attached to the Celtic Sea Floating Wind opportunity.
“PDM is very much the first stage, an enabler, that can help unlock future investment, to allow more organisations to come in.
“If the UK Government and the Welsh Government really want Welsh and UK content in our energy going forward, like the Celtic Sea, we have to invest in our port infrastructure and local supply chain to match that ambition.”
It’s been a tough 18 months for the Port and the Waterway. The pandemic hit hard, battering passenger numbers on the Irish Ferries service between the port and Rosslare. 2021 numbers are around 20 per cent of what they were in 2019. Freight tonnage is down too with a 30 per cent drop in freight volumes, and largely a direct result of Brexit. Hauliers are steering clear of the complexities of new trade rules with the EU and taking the path of least resistance, using direct services to mainland Europe from Ireland.
Another devastating Brexit impact has been on the fishing industry. The Port of Milford Haven is Wales’ largest fishing port and in 2019 and 2020 more than 3,300 tonnes of fish stocks were landed annually at Milford Haven. In 2021, up to the end of July, just 153 tonnes came ashore.
Meanwhile, the Port of Milford Haven is working with government and other port stakeholders to mitigate the problems brought by the pandemic and Brexit.
Despite the challenges there is much to be optimistic about. As part of the Port’s plans, In April 2022, it will launch Tŷ Hotel, a new 100-bedroom hotel at the entrance to the Milford Waterfront. Managed and operated by the team responsible for the iconic Celtic Manor Resort as part of its expanding Celtic Collection of properties, the 46,000 square feet property will provide a significant draw for tourists. More than 50 jobs are promised, and more employment through the hotel’s supply chains
For Pembrokeshire, an area with its ageing population, an over reliance on a limited number of sectors to generate jobs, and the highest levels of child poverty in Wales, the net zero journey and the ambitious growth taking place in the Waterway has far-reaching implications.",1577,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539131.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521143241-20220521173241-00020.warc.gz,0.944467306137085
9b17747b-61c0-4700-9d98-46732ce20d4f,2019-08-24T15:34:10+00:00,2017-01-01,0,http://www.akashvenkat.com/,"My name is Akash and I love using great technology to build products and services that create massive social impact.
I'm big on simplicity, elegant user experiences, machine learning, behavioural economics, and the future. I strongly believe that software is eating the world and that connecting the next ~1 billion to the internet will enable incredible opportunities for humankind. I am very interested in scaling education, sustainable energy and improving access to justice.
I co-founded ROSS Intelligence, a legal technology startup, that is using the latest natural language processing and machine learning techniques to allow lawyers to do research 10x faster, providing clients more friendly fees. We went through Y Combinator in the summer of 2015 and are working with the largest global law firms. Our mission is to make great legal services accessible and affordable to everyone.
I'm currently an Engagement and Network Product Manager at Gigster, a Y Combinator and a16z funded tech startup, writing the world's software with the best designers and developers around the world.",207,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00217.warc.gz,0.930092036724091
fb4f8aec-7d91-418e-b1c8-e2fd60ea26bd,2018-08-21T23:42:17+00:00,2017-12-01,1,https://www.strtrade.com/news-publications-import-safeguard-clothes-washers-120117.html,"Global Import Restrictions on Clothes Washers are Focus of USTR Inquiry
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking input from importers, exporters, domestic producers, and other interested parties on possible import restrictions on large residential clothes washers.
The International Trade Commission recently determined in a section 201 global safeguard investigation that increased imports of such products are seriously injuring the domestic industry, and its recommendation to establish three-year tariff-rate quotas on washers and washer parts is due to the president by Dec. 4. The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee will also make a recommendation for action that will take into account the ITC recommendation, the extent to which the domestic industry will benefit from adjustment assistance, the efforts of the domestic industry to make positive adjustments, and other relevant considerations. Possible remedies the TPSC could recommend include tariff increases, TRQs or other quantitative restrictions, voluntary restraint agreements with exporting countries, and import licenses.
To aid in the determination of which safeguards to recommend, USTR is accepting views and evidence through Dec. 11 and will hold a hearing Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C. USTR is specifically requesting comments on the appropriateness of any other proposed action and how it would be in the public interest as well as the short- and long-term effects on the domestic residential washers industry, other domestic industries, and downstream consumers of taking or not taking the proposed action.",292,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219197.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821230258-20180822010258-00087.warc.gz,0.939964473247528
a00d9c63-2d5d-4ad5-b4b0-9b5fdcf38493,2013-05-26T09:35:56+00:00,2013-03-06,1,http://www.rlch.org/content/endangered-species-act,"Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is one of the most powerful of this nation's environmental laws. Passed in 1973, the act's purpose is to both conserve and restore species that have been listed by the federal government as either endangered or threatened (referred to as ""listed"" species). The act has several provisions that promote those goals:
- First, the act broadly prohibits anyone from doing anything that would kill, harm, or harass an endangered species. Those prohibitions even apply when listed animal species are on private lands.
- Second, federal agencies have a special obligation to ensure that they do nothing that would harm a listed species. That obligation significantly affects activities on federal lands, like grazing, logging, and mining. But it also means that a federal agency has to assess whether its actions could affect a listed species before the agency signs off on projects like a new highway or a dam on non-federal land.
- Third, the act tells federal agencies to develop plans that show how the listed species could be restored—or ""recovered""—so that it no longer needs the act's protections (""delisted"").
If an animal or plant species is listed as ""endangered,"" the species is considered to be in danger of extinction throughout a large part of its range. It is possible that a species can be listed as endangered, the highest level of protection the act provides, in one place but not another. The U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) maintains a list of endangered species.
For a species to be listed as ""threatened,"" there must be a significant risk that the species is going to become endangered. Threatened species have a lower risk of extinction than do ""endangered"" species. As a result, state and federal agencies may have some greater flexibility in how they manage a threatened species than an endangered species. The USFWS maintains a list of threatened species.
Generally speaking, a ""species"" is a group of related plants or animals that can interbreed to produce offspring. Under the ESA, the word ""species"" is used more broadly to include any ""subspecies"" of fish, wildlife, or plants, and also any ""distinct population segment"" of fish and wildlife species that can interbreed.
- A ""subspecies"" is a subdivision of a species, which is genetically different from other subspecies and often is geographically separated. Examples of subspecies are the Mexican and the Northern Spotted Owls.
- A ""distinct population segment"" is not genetically different from the species as a whole, but it has very specific habitat or reproduction habits. An example of a distinct population segment is a particular group of salmon, which, after spending their formative years in the ocean, return to the same mountain stream in which they were born. Thus, the winter run of the Chinook salmon on the Sacramento River in California is endangered, and many other runs of Chinook salmon are threatened, but the spring run of Chinook up the Clackamas River in Oregon and Washington is neither endangered nor threatened.
The Secretary of the Interior has delegated most of his or her duties under the ESA to the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which is responsible for all land-based species. The Secretary of Commerce has delegated most of his or her responsibilities for sea life and salmon and steelhead (""anadromous fish"" that spawn in inland waters, migrate to the ocean for several years, and then return to their spawning grounds) to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Secretarial Order Principles:
Many tribes believe that the ESA should not apply to tribal lands both because the Act itself is silent on its applicability to tribes, and due to the special legal status of tribal lands. Additionally they saw conflict between their proposed economic development projects and enforcement of the ESA and felt that implementation of the ESA was giving control of their lands to persons living hundreds of miles away. As a result of these concerns, there were extensive negotiations between tribal representatives and federal officials that resulted in a 1997 Secretarial Order outlining the policy to be followed by the Departments of Commerce (for NMFS) and the Interior (for USFWS).
The Secretarial Order sets out five principles for the Departments. The order also includes explanatory text that emphasizes the sovereignty of tribes including a provision that ""the Departments shall give deference to tribal conservation and management plans."" Overall, the Order seeks to ""ensure that Indian tribes do not bear a disproportionate burden for the conservation of listed species.""
An example of the success of this cooperative approach is the experience of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona with restoration of the Mexican gray wolf, Apache trout, and Mexican spotted owl.
The Best Available Science
The ESA requires that USFWS and NMFS base listing decisions on the best available science and also to use this science as one factor in critical habitat designations. In 2003, a GAO report found procedures in place at USFWS to base listing decisions on best available science. In that report, however, the GAO cited continued concerns over agency use of best available science in critical habitat designations.
More recently, critics have charged that both listing and critical habitat decisions have been tainted by political interference. In late 2007, an Idaho District Court judge ruled that USFWS must reconsider its refusal to list the greater sage grouse under the ESA and the USFWS decided to revisit a number of decisions on listing, critical habitat and recovery plans that may have been tainted by political interference by Julie MacDonald, a former Department of the Interior political appointee.
""Listing"" refers to the process by which a species is formally designated as a threatened or endangered species. Currently there are more than 1,260 species listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA. Anyone can submit apetition to the federal government to have a species listed. However, that petition must include scientific information that explains why listing is necessary. The two federal agencies that receive petitions are the USFWS and the NMFS. These agencies have a year to evaluate the species for listing. Either agency can also start the process without a petition.
After evaluating the species, the agency has three options:
- It can agree that a species should be listed, that is, it concludes that the listing is ""warranted"" in all or a specific part of its range.
- It can decide that listing is not justified, that is ""not warranted.""
- It can conclude that while adding the species to the list is
justified, other species have a higher priority; that is, listing is
""warranted but precluded.""
Regardless of what decision the agency makes, it must publish its
decision in the Federal Register and explain how it reached its
After years of litigation, the USFWS and several environmental groups announced a proposed settlement agreement in May 2011, under which the agency would make listing decisions on each of the over 250 species on its 2010 candidate list within the next six years. In return, the environmental groups would agree not to sue to compel 90-day and 12-month findings on new listing petitions the group submits and will limit the number of listing petitions it submits per year. In a separate settlement agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity in July 2011 (see CBD's announcement here), the USFWS agreed to specific deadlines to make listing decisions on additional species. See ""Wolverine, other species jump to top of endangered review list with agreement,"" Missoulian, 7/17/11. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan approved both settlement agreements on Sep. 9, 2011. See ""Federal judge OKs deal on imperiled species,"" Great Falls Tribune, 9/9/11. In February 2013, the FWS issued a work plan with target dates for these listing decisions over the next five year. See ""Endangered or not, but at least no longer waiting,"" New York Times, 3/6/13.
Endangered or Threatened in Part of its Range
In March 2007, the USFWS adopted a policy that allows it to list a species in a portion of the species' range. The policy was controversial with critics claiming that it would allow the agency to avoid listings and restoring species' historic ranges. In December 2009, a group of scientists sent a letter asking Secretary of Interior Salazar to change the 2007 policy guiding agencies' determination of whether a species is endangered or threatened. The old policy, they argue, wrongly limits the analysis to present habitat range and fails to examine historic range.
In 2010, litigation concerning the Northern Rockies population of the gray wolf invalidated this policy (see discussion below). The USFWS subsequently withdrew the 2007 memo and announced a draft policy in December 2011 that would end the practice of classifying species differently based on state lines. See Washington Post story on the significance of the change here.
This flowchart depicts the normal listing review process used by the USFWS. For a current list of candidate species for listing, see the USFWS's 11/9/09 Candidate Notice of Review.
Flowchart courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The ESA has broad provisions to prevent extinction of plant and animal species. The act prohibits anyone from ""taking"" a species that has been listed as threatened or endangered. ""Take"" can be as simple as hunting, shooting or killing a listed animal species. It can also include ""harming"" a listed species by activities that cause major changes to habitat and leave an animal unable to feed, breed, or find shelter.
When the federal government lists a species as endangered, it is also supposed to identify that species' critical habitat. Critical habitat includes those areas that are important for the species' survival or recovery and which need special management. While a designated critical habitat area is not intended to include all of the potential habitat of the species, it can include habitat that is not currently occupied by the species. The federal government is required to use the best available scientific information in making a decision about critical habitat. The agency can also consider economics when deciding what areas should be designated as critical habitat, although it does not consider economic impacts in a species listing decision.
In February 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court declined an opportunity to weigh in on how economic impacts should be considered in critical habitat designation. For a discussion of the issues and the cases presented for review, see ""Supreme Court Won't Hear Critical Habitat Cases,"" Legal Planet, 2/22/11. In April 2012, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the agency's denial of citizen groups' petitions to designate critical habitat is not subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedures Act because it is ""committed to agency discretion by law."" The Eleventh Circuit followed suit in 2012 (Conservancy of Southwest Florida v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, No. 11-11915, April 18, 2012).
The Secretary of the Interior is not allowed to designate critical habitat at a military site if the Secretary decides that the military site has a resource management plan in place that benefits the affected species. In advocating for this relatively new provision, the Pentagon claimed that this provision is necessary to maintain high standards of military training.
On July 16, 2009, the Interior Department announced plans to withdraw a Bush-era plan for managing forests and protecting spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest because it is ""legally indefensible,"" according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. While it revised the withdrawn proposal, the Department reinstated the Northwest Forest Plan, a landmark 1994 agreement reached by the Clinton administration, timber companies and environmentalists. The Department is also asking a federal district court to vacate the Fish and Wildlife Service's 2008 revision of critical habitat for the spotted owl, on which the forest plan was based. See ""Limits on logging are reinstated,"" New York Times, 7/17/09.
|Click to download the GAO report|
The federal agency responsible for a listed species must develop a recovery plan. The plan outlines how it will ensure the species' survival and restore it to the point where it no longer needs the act's protections and can be ""delisted"" or removed from the list of threatened or endangered species. Examples of recovery efforts include reintroduction of a species into formerly occupied habitat (bald eagles), land acquisition (Florida scrub jays), captive propagation (black-footed ferrets and California condors), habitat restoration and protection (Aleutian Canada geese), population assessments and research (Peter's Mountain mallow), technical assistance for landowners and public education. In most cases, the USFWS or NMFS works with state wildlife agencies, user groups, conservationists, and others in developing such a plan. Because developing and implementing recovery plans is expensive, the agencies focus their efforts on species that would most benefit from a plan. While few species have gone extinct since 1973, only nine have been ""recovered"" or removed from the list because they no longer need the act's protection.
For additional information, see GAO Report: Endangered Species: Time and Costs Required to Recover Species Are Largely Unknown.
National Wildlife Federation v. State of Idaho
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided in April 2007 that federal agencies must consider potential impacts of proposed actions on both species survival and on a species' chance of recovery. This analysis is necessary when developing a biological opinion to evaluate whether an agency action will result in jeopardy to the species.
For more information on this case, see Court's salmon ruling strengthens enviros' hand on species recovery.
For text of the decision and more information on the endangered salmon litigation, see National Wildlife Federation v. State of Idaho, No. 0635011p - 04/09/2007.
An ""experimental population"" is a group of individuals of an endangered species that has been established outside the current range of the animals. Animals may be reintroduced to their historical range or to new areas because there is insufficient habitat in the animals' traditional range. Experimental populations are considered threatened, not endangered, and ""taking"" individual animals is permitted under certain circumstances. Protections of experimental populations vary widely, depending on whether the population is considered ""essential"" or ""nonessential"" for species survival. Designation as a ""nonessential experimental population"" under the 10(j) rule of the ESA assures that endangered species are fully protected from intentional harm, but keeps their presence from restricting current and future land management practices. Use of this special designation helped reduce concerns raised by local communities, landowners and political entities about the intentional release of endangered species that might enter and remain on public lands in their region. The reintroduction of gray wolves to their traditional range in Wyoming and the California condor to its historic range in Arizona are examples of experimental populations that are considered ""nonessential"" to survival of the species.
The process for ""delisting""—removing a species from either the endangered or threatened list, or changing its status from endangered to threatened—is similar to the formal listing process. The process starts with a notice published in the Federal Register. Delisting may include requirements for special management plans to help ensure a healthy population in the future.
Consider, for example, the saga of the gray wolf:
- In 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a rule delisting the Western Great Lakes population of the gray wolf.
- Environmental groups filed a lawsuit (Humane Society of the U.S. v. Kempthorne) challenging this rule, and in a 2008 decision (579 F. Supp. 2d 7 (D.D.C. Sep. 29, 2008)) the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated the rule, holding that the ESA's language is ambiguous about the authority of the USFWS to delist a population rather than the species as a whole.
- The USFWS issued a new delisting rule for the Western Great Lakes population in April 2009. That rule remains in force today, although it too has been challenged.
- In April 2009, the USFWS issued a rule delisting the Northern Rockies population of the gray wolf, but excepted the ""Distinct Population Segment"" in Wyoming because that state failed to promulgate an acceptable state management plan for the gray wolf. Several legal challenges followed, with contradictory results:
- Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar, 729 F. Supp. 2d 1207 (D. Mont. Aug. 5, 2010), vacated the Rocky Mountain delisting rule, on the grounds that the ESA prohibits listing or delisting only part of a distinct population segment. In response, the USFWS reversed its earlier rule with a new rule on October 26, 2010 that reinstated regulatory protections.
- Wyoming v. Dept. of the Interior, 2010 WL 4814950 (D. Wyo. Nov. 18, 2010), declared that the USFWS acted arbitrarily and capriciously by not delisting the wolf in Wyoming. The court remanded the case back to the agency; it did not delist the wolf in Wyoming (but see subsequent action described below).
- Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar, 2011 WL 1345670 (D. Mont. Apr. 9, 2011), rejected a proposed settlement that would have delisted the wolves in Montana and Idaho, holding that this settlement would violate the ESA for the same reasons that the court rejected the USFWS rule in its August 2010 ruling.
- Congress, in its budget compromise bill in April 2011, included a rider requiring the USFWS to reinstate its April 2009 rule delisting the Northern Rockies population in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Montana. The rider excluded Wyoming because that state lacks ""adequate regulatory mechanisms"" to protect the wolf.
- The USFWS acted immediately to re-delist the wolves as ordered by Congress. In early May 2011, several environmental groups filed lawsuits attempting to block implementation of the rider on the grounds that it violates constitutional separation of powers, but this argument was rejected by both the District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, so the states proceeded with limited wolf hunting seasons in the fall of 2011.
- In July 2011, the state of Wyoming and the Department of Interior reached an agreement ""in principle"" (finalized in August 2011) on delisting the wolf in that state, providing for a minimum population of 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs in the Yellowstone region.
- The USFWS issued its proposed delisting rule for the gray wolf in
Wyoming on October 4, 2011. For information on this decision, see:
- USFWS press release (10/4/11)
- Federal Register notice (10/4/11)
- 2011 Wyoming wolf management plan
- ""Feds ready to delist wolves in Wyoming, shoot on sight,"" Ravalli Republic (10/4/11)
- Environmental groups filed two federal lawsuits (one in Wyoming, and one in Washington, D.C.) seeking to force the USFWS to relist the wolf in Wyoming, claiming that the state management plan is inadequate to ensure the species' recovery and that the USFWS should have prepared an environmental impact statement before finalizing the delisting. For a summary of the litigation, see ""Court: Dual lawsuits proceed over Wyoming wolves,"" Denver Post, 4/23/13.
- In a draft plan circulated in April 2013, the USFWS indicated its intention to delist the wolf throughout the lower 48 states. See ""Feds draft plan to end protection of wolves,"" Missoulian, 4/27/13.
Similar battles are underway concerning the USFWS' decision to delist the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a decision that was reversed by a federal judge in September 2009 and upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in November 2011, in part based on concerns about habitat changes related to global warming. See:
- ""Park grizzlies' threatened status appealed in Oregon court,"" Billings Gazette, 3/7/11
- ""You're next: Are grizzlies ready to come off the endangered species list?"" Missoula Independent, 5/26/11.
- ""Grizzlies need care despite high numbers,"" Jackson Hole News and Guide, 9/7/11.
- ""Yellowstone grizzlies need federal protection, appeals court says,"" Missoulian, 11/22/11.
- ""Yellowstone grizzly bears: New cause celebre for effects of global warming?"" Christian Science Monitor, 12/6/11.
- ""Bears keep threatened status until at least 2014,"" Billings Gazette, 4/20/12.
- ""Interior leader expects Yellowstone grizzlies delisted by 2014,"" Flathead Beacon, 7/23/12.
Anatomy of a Delisting — the Bald Eagle
- The bald eagle was originally listed as endangered in 1967 (under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966.
- The eagle was downlisted to threatened in 1995.
- In 1999, USFWS proposed to delist the bald eagle, but never completed the process.
- In February 2006, USFWS issued a new proposal to delist and reopened the public comment period.
- USFWS then extended the comment period to June 2006, but took no final action.
- In August 2006, a U.S. District Court ordered the USFWS to finalize their decision on delisting by February 2007.
- In March 2007, delisting was still being discussed because of controversy over the definition of ""disturb.""
- On June 28, 2007, the USFWS removed the bald eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species. The two main factors that led to the recovery of the bald eagle were the banning of the pesticide DDT and habitat protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act for nesting sites and important feeding and roost sites.
For more information on the delisting as well as continued eagle protections and management guidelines, see the USFWS website.
Section 7 of the ESA has been at the center of much of the debate over endangered species protection. Section 7 says that federal agencies must make sure that none of their actions, or any action they authorize or fund, is likely either to jeopardize the existence of a listed species or to damage its critical habitat. To meet this requirement,federal agencies considering taking some action—from selling timber to re-issuing a grazing permit or permitting a new dam—must ""consult"" with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), for land-based species, or the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in the case of sea life or salmon and steelhead. The agencies usually use an informal process to determine whether formal consultation is necessary.
Typically, the agency that wants to take an action will informally consult with USFWS or NMFS, asking whether there are any proposed or listed threatened or endangered species or critical habitat in the project area. If the answer is ""yes,"" then the consulting agency (also know as the ""action agency"") must do a biological assessment (BA) to assess what impact its action might have on the species or habitat. (See flowchart below.) The contents of the BA are left to the discretion of the action agency, but USFWS regulations suggest the following:
- The results of an on-site inspection of the affected area;
- The views of recognized experts on the species at issue;
- A review of the literature and other information;
- An analysis of the effects of the action on the species and habitat;
- An analysis of alternate actions considered by the action agency.
If the assessment indicates that there will be no impact, and the USFWS or NFMS agrees, then informal consultation is over and the project can go forward. If the BA indicates that the action is likely to have an effect, then informal consultation is over and ""formal consultation"" begins. During the informal consultation, the USFWS or NMFS may suggest project modifications that the action agency could take to avoid the likelihood of adverse impacts.
In some cases, federal courts have ruled that consultation is simply not necessary, due to the nature of the decision process. For example:
- The U.S. Supreme Court decided that EPA does not have to consult with USFWS when it empowers states to issue certain Clean Water Act permits. Once they have primacy, the states can follow their own more lenient rules regarding endangered species protection in issuing permits. National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, S. Ct., June 25, 2007
- The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that implementation of a Forest Service land and resource management plan (LRMP) does not necessarily require consultation under the ESA. The standards, guidelines, policies, etc.of a plan are not ""agency actions"" requiring consultation with USFWS. Forest Guardians v Forsgren, 10th Circuit, February 23, 2007
- The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Forest Service decision that a proposed mining operation may proceed based on the mining company's ""Notice of Intent"" does not constitute an ""agency action"" that triggers ESA consultation. The key point was that the agency decided not to require a plan of operations, and thus this constituted ""inaction"" rather than ""action,"" according to the appellate court. Karuk Tribe of California v. United States Forest Service, 9th Circuit, No. 05-16801, Apr. 7, 2011.
In December 2003 several land management agencies, USFWS, and NMFS adopted new regulations that exempt National Fire Plan projects from the informal consultation process. For more details on these regulations, see Controversies: Special Rules for National Fire Plan Consultation.
Flowchart courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
If a federal agency informs the USFWS or NMFS that a proposed action might affect any proposed or listed threatened or endangered species or critical habitat (typically done as part of a BA), the agencies begin a formal consultation process. In this process, the USFWS or NMFS prepares a biological opinion (BiOp)—a detailed evaluation of the impacts on the species and critical habitat—based on the BA produced by the action agency. The BiOp thoroughly explains the current status of the species and describes how the proposed action would affect the species. The USFWS (or NMFS) can come to one of three conclusions in its BiOp:
The agency then has to explain how it concluded that the action would, or would not, jeopardize the species that is the subject of the opinion.
- If the opinion concludes the action will not adversely affect the species (i.e., a ""no jeopardy"" opinion), the action can go forward.
- If the BiOp concludes the action could harm the species, the USFWS or NMFS typically proposes a set of mitigation measures (""reasonable and prudent"" alternatives) that would allow the activity to proceed.
It is also possible, though rare, that there are no effective mitigation measures. The practical result of such an opinion is that the agency either has to revise its proposal, abandon it altogether, or try to invoke an exemption from the Endangered Species Committee. See 'Exemptions ' section of the Endangered species Act: Consideration of Economic Factors.
Flowchart courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
For more information on consultation, see the USFWS ESA web site.
On December 16, 2008, the USFWS and NMFS announced a final rule that changes the consultation process, allowing agencies to skip the wildlife consultation process if they believe there would be little harm to a species. Within two weeks, the State of California filed a lawsuit challenging this rule, claiming that the federal action could put listed species in greater jeopardy and could burden the state financially. In January 2009, members of the 111th Congress joined the call to repeal these controversial changes, and immediately after President Obama's inauguration, his chief of staff issued an order to halt all pending federal regulations until the new White House team conducted a legal and policy review of the last-minute Bush administration rules. In late February, the House of Representatives approved an omnibus appropriations bill that included a provision that authorizes the repeal of this controversial rule, and on March 3, 2009, President Obama announced that he had signed a memorandum directing the Interior and Commerce departments to review the regulation. In early April, 2009, a group of environmental group called on the administration to reverse the controversial rule. They were joined by leading Senate Democrats later that month. Secretary Salazar announced full repeal of the rule on April 28, 2009.
In a report released in May, 2009, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded that the USFWS has no established way to track cumulative threats or injuries to most of the imperiled species the agency is charged with protecting. The report, titled ""The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Has Incomplete Information about Effects on Listed Species from Section 7 Consultations,"" found that FWS lacks a systematic way to track required monitoring reports or the harm to or death of protected species. Instead, the agency relies on individual biologists to maintain crucial species information. Thus, the retirement or loss of a biologist could be disastrous for the agency and the species it protects.
Participation by private landowners is extremely important to the protection and recovery of listed species because many listed species depend on private lands for habitat during at least part of their lives. Several federal policies and grant programs are designed to help landowners cooperate in protection of listed species.
A Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is developed to help protect species from being harmed by activities on private lands and, at the same time, to protect private landowners from liability under the ESA. Sometimes, a private landowner finds out that a planned project (for example, a housing development) may harm or ""take"" an endangered species. By developing an HCP, the non-federal entity can get the permits it needs to proceed. An HCP outlines what actions the private party plans to take in order to minimize, or mitigate, the impact of his or her actions on the endangered species. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) signs off on an HCP, it generally gives permission to the private party to ""take"" endangered species as an incident to the development activity (issues an ""incidental take permit""). Plans can be developed for listed threatened or endangered species and for other rare species. Including unlisted species in an HCP can provide for early protection for the species that might keep it from needing to be listed in the future.
For more information on HCPs, see the USFWS Habitat Conservation Planning website.
No Surprises Policy
Forests and Fish HCP
In an effort to encourage private property owners to protect endangered species and their habitat, federal agencies have developed a ""no surprises"" policy that can be written into an HCP. This policy promises the private landowner that if he or she develops an HCP in good faith and the federal agency later concludes that additional measures (e.g., protection of more land) are needed to protect the endangered species, the federal agency cannot require the private landowner to do anything more than what he or she already has committed to do. In other words, the private party who commits to helping to conserve an endangered species doesn't have to be worried about a ""surprise"" down the road.
When the USFWS approves an HCP plan, they issue an ""incidental take"" permit that prevents the private property owner from being prosecuted if an endangered species is incidentally killed or injured during the development. Because several conservation groups and an Indian tribe were concerned that there would be no recourse for a species is peril of extinction, the USFWS created a new rule, the permit revocation rule which allows the agency to revoke incidental take permits, despite the ""no surprises"" policy, when incidental takes would ""appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of the species in the wild.""
For more information on Incidental Take Permits, see Process Essentials: ESA Exceptions or Exemptions .
One way developers can fulfill a promise to mitigate damage to a species is through the use of conservation banks. Conservation banks are lands acquired and managed for specific endangered species. The lands are usually protected permanently by conservation easements. Once a conservation bank is established, the ""banker"" may sell a fixed number of ""mitigation credits"" to developers to offset adverse effects of the developer's project on a species. These effects may include destruction of some of the species' habitat or disturbance of the species from increased activity in the area of the development.
The banks operate on the theory that species conservation will be most effective, and people will be most willing to participate in conservation efforts, if everyone benefits from conserving species. Conservation banking benefits all parties:
- Species benefit from protection of much-needed, secure habitat.
- Developers benefit because they can go forward with the development and receive an incidental take permit. Buying credits is easier, and usually more economical, for the developer than developing an individual mitigation project.
- Owners/managers of the conservation banks benefit monetarily through the developers' purchase of mitigation credits.
Some private landowners are unwilling to adopt conservation measures that improve habitat for threatened or endangered species on their land for fear that their future development decisions would then be limited by the presence of the endangered species. Unfortunately, that restricts the amount of privately owned land available for use by threatened and endangered species. Safe Harbor Agreements are designed to get around this conflict. The agreements assure landowners who voluntarily improve habitat for endangered species that their future land development won't be limited if they attract endangered species to their property or increase their numbers.
Title V of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a healthy forests reserve program for the purpose of restoring and enhancing forest ecosystems to improve biodiversity, enhance carbon sequestration, and to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species. The program provides both funding and technical assistance to landowners who volunteer to enroll their land. Safe harbor agreements and other assurances will be made with the landowners as part of the program.
For more information on the reserve program, see Healthy Forests Restoration Act: Title 5.
Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA) are agreements made between the USFWS or NMFS and landowners. These formal agreements are created to address the specific conservation needs of a particular species, in hopes of keeping it off of the endangered or threatened species lists. The private parties to these agreements voluntarily commit to manage their land and water to decrease current and future threats to a species, so that the population of that species may thrive without federal protection. In exchange, the owners receive assurances from the agency, much like the ""no surprises policy"" of an HCP, that they will not be required to do more than what they agreed to when they entered the agreement. In order to receive the assurances, the landowner's management activities must significantly contribute to eliminating the need to list the covered species. Species covered in a CCAA may include both animals and plants, and either candidates for listing or species that have already been proposed as threatened or endangered.
Not all species are created equal under the ESA. Different categories of species receive different protection. There are three types of species in the ESA listing process:
- Listed species (either as endangered or threatened);
- Proposed species;
- Candidate species.
Protection under the ESA also differs between plants and animals, and between species listed with or without a critical habitat designation.
A ""listed species"" is any species of fish, wildlife, or plant that has been determined, through the full, formal ESA listing process, to be either threatened or endangered. Endangered species receive the full protections of the ESA—protection from ""takings"" and other specific prohibited acts (like commercial trade in the species), designations of critical habitat, requirements for Section 7 consultations, and recovery plans. Threatened species are protected with critical habitat designations, Section 7 consultations, and recovery plans, but they are only protected from takings and other prohibited acts if the USFWS or the NMFS decides it is necessary to do so.
A ""proposed species"" is any species of fish, wildlife, or plant that has been formally proposed for listing as either a threatened or endangered species under the ESA. The USFWS or the NMFS publishes a proposal to list the species—a ""proposed rule""—in the Federal Register, prior to making a final decision to list the species by publishing a ""final rule."" Proposed species are not protected from ""takings"" or other prohibited acts, but the USFWS or NMFS can propose critical habitat for them. Federal agencies must follow the Section 7 consultation process for proposed species in order to avoid jeopardizing the species or destroying its proposed critical habitat.
""Candidate species""are plants and animals on a ""waiting list"" for threatened or endangered status. This means the USFWS or NMFS has sufficient information to list these species, but other, higher-priority species have to be listed first—the agency has concluded that a listing is ""warranted but precluded."" Candidate species are not legally protected under the ESA, but USFWS and the NMFS encourage partnerships to protect them because effective conservation might reverse their decline and ultimately eliminate the need for ESA protection.
Under the ESA, plants and animals have the same protections from most""prohibited acts""—import-export, possession, transport, or commercial dealing in the species. They have similar protections from more direct harm: it is illegal to kill, harm, harass, or even hunt (collectively called ""take"") listed animal species; listed plants cannot be picked, dug up or destroyed. Animals are protected from these actions on all lands, but plants are only protected on federal lands unless there is a state law that also protects them.
Critical Habitat Working Group
The process did not achieve consensus, but clarified some of the central issues of critical habitat.
For more information, see The Keystone Center website.
Only about 12 percent of listed species have a designated critical habitat area. According to the USFWS, a critical habitat designation affords little extra protection to most listed species. The agency has, therefore, used its limited staff and funding to list more species rather than spending resources on designating critical habitat. In some cases, the agency decides not to designate critical habitat in order to better protect the species. Sometimes a critical habitat designation may do more harm than good because of public hostility to the designation, because it makes a species like a rare cactus easier to locate, or because of misconceptions about the lack of value to the species of land outside the designated critical area.
Having a critical habitat designation only gives extra protection to a species if there is a federal agency involved, and then only under certain circumstances. If there is no federal agency involved in a project (for example, when a landowner builds a housing development on private land without federal funding or a federal permit), there is no extra protection for the species if the land has been designated as critical habitat. If a federal agency is involved (e.g., in issuing a permit for the housing development), a critical habitat designation may make a difference during the Section 7 consultation process.
In a Section 7 consultation, the agency must consult with the USFWS or NMFS to ensure that its actions will not jeopardize the survival of the species or destroy or adversely modify critical habitat. In most places, ensuring that its actions won't jeopardize survival of the plant or animal, provides at least as much protection as protecting the species' critical habitat. Protecting its critical habitat could provide extra protection to the species if the land being developed were currently ""unoccupied"" by the species, but were nonetheless important to its future survival.
Click here for full report in pdf.
The ESA provides strong protection for threatened and endangered species, but a few exceptions to the law are available through the USFWS, the NMFS, or the Endangered Species Committee after following a formal application process. These exceptions/exemptions allow individuals or agencies to do a variety of things that are otherwise prohibited, like transporting or even causing the death of a listed animal, without fear of prosecution. The most common exceptions are for:
The USFWS and the NMFS can issue permits for scientific purposes or for projects that enhance the propagation or survival of the species. For example, the agency might issue a permit for a project designed to establish or maintain a new population of wolf, lynx, or condor. While the intention of the recovery team would be to better understand the species to help it survive, biologists might harass an animal while trying to capture it and might even inadvertently kill it in transport. Or the team might need to intentionally kill it for a special medical test or because an individual from an experimental population threatens livestock.
USFWS or NMFS can issue permits to either federal agencies or private landowners for taking a species (harming or killing it or destroying its habitat) if the taking is ""incidental to,"" and not the purpose of, the action. To apply for this kind of permit, the individual, corporation, or state or local government has to prepare a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The permit applicant must describe actions he or she will take to minimize and mitigate impacts to the species. The applicant must also justify why there is no reasonable way of completely avoiding a potential taking.
Criteria for an exemption:
Federal agencies have a special duty under the ESA to make sure that their actions don't harm threatened or endangered species or their critical habitat. If an agency completes the Section 7 consultation process and is told that its proposed action is likely to jeopardize a species or damage its habitat, the agency can apply for an exemption that would enable it to go ahead with its proposed action (e.g., building a visitor center, operating a dam, or issuing just about any kind of permit or license). The project permitee or licensee, or the governor of the state affected by it,can also apply for the exemption. The final decision on whether to grant an exemption is made by the Endangered Species Committee (the so called ""god squad"") after following an elaborate public process. The seven-member committee includes several cabinet members, the chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and other high-level appointees.
When granting an exemption, the committee must develop reasonable mitigation and enhancement measures to minimize the negative impacts of the agency's action. The committee has been convened only three times—for the snail darter fish in Tennessee, the spotted owl in Oregon and the whooping crane in Nebraska.
""Recovery crediting"" is a conservation tool being proposed to provide incentives for private landowners to conserve endangered species and act as environmental stewards of the nation's natural resources. The recovery crediting system would work like other mitigation banks – the system would create a ""bank"" of credits that federal agencies can accrue through conservation actions on non-federal lands. Agencies could later use these conservation credits to offset the effects of their actions on the species on federal lands. Proponents argue that agencies will benefit in terms of greater flexibility in their operations on federal land; landowners will benefit from revenue for managing their land for the species; and the species will benefit in having more habitat being managed and protected. Skeptics of the system, like the Center for Biological Diversity, question a program that allows the destruction of habitat on public lands in exchange for arguably less secure protection of the species on private lands. The Center is particularly critical of the Ft. Hood, Texas pilot project where recovery crediting is being tested to mitigate military exercises that threatened the golden-cheeked warbler and other birds. Here, the Center charges that there is little accountability for federal dollars going to private landowners because public knowledge and oversight of the program is very restricted.
For draft guidance on the USFWS policy, click here.
Interaction with Other Laws
The ESA has been described as the ""bulldog"" of environmental laws, in part because it applies so broadly and with so little room for administrative discretion. Its mandates may trump or otherwise strongly influence the implementation of other federal laws or programs, as has been the case with forest plans, public land grazing programs, and water management.
On June 1, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that confirmed the reach of the ESA over activities governed by the Mining Law of 1872, although the court limited the circumstances for this application. The plaintiff in the lawsuit, the Karuk Tribe of California, filed the action to protect the threatened Coho salmon from recreational mining in 35 miles of the Klamath River and its tributaries in Northern California. In July 2005 U.S. District Court Judge Saundra B. Armstrong for the Northern District of California ruled against the tribe, and initially a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit upheld that decision.
In the June 2012 decision (Karuk Tribe of California v. U.S. Forest Service), the court said that federal land managers must engage in an ESA Section 7 consultation when considering notices of intent (NOI) to condust hard rock mining activities that ""might"" disturb the surface lands.
Changing agency regulations — rather than enacting new legislation — to change the way public resources are managed is not new. The Clinton administration did it with the Roadless Rule, Forest Service planning regulations, new mining reclamation regulations, and other executive branch actions. The Bush administration reversed (or tried to reverse) most of those changes and has aggressively used both formal and informal rulemaking processes to make its own changes in public lands management. Examples include agency categorical exclusions from NEPA, Clean Air Act regulations and proposed grazing regulations.
Many of these proposed or final rule changes have been controversial with both the public and Congress. The Bush Administration's draft proposals to substantially change rules regarding endangered species quickly raised the ire of both Congress and the public in early 2007. The draft regulatory changes, included many of the changes that Republicans had unsuccessfully sought to make through ESA reform in previous sessions of Congress. After the draft proposal was leaked in March 2007, the USFWS quickly denied that the proposals represented current thinking on regulatory reform even though the draft, written in June 2006, was revised in February 2007.
In November of 2008, the Bush Administration indicated its intention to issue new regulations that would change the consultation process significantly, shifting responsibility for determining whether an action would impact protected species to the federal agencies directly involved in the action, not the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service. The USFWS and NMFS announced the final rule on December 16, 2008.
On December 15, 2008, the Interior Inspector General issued a scathing 141-page report, ""The Endangered Species Act and the Conflict Between Science and Policy."" Singling out former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald for criticism, the report blasts the processes by which many ESA decisions were made during her tenure. Another recent report, this one by the General Accountability Office, concludes that the agencies responsible for implementing the ESA have cooperated well with one another but done poorly in decisions regarding critical habitat designation. See Endangered Species Act: Many GAO Recommendations Have Been Implemented, but Some Issues Remain Unresolved, GAO-09-225R, 1/21/09.
Immediately after President Obama's inauguration, his chief of staff issued an order to halt all pending federal regulations while the new White House team conducted a legal and policy review of the last-minute Bush administration rules. In 2009, the Interior and Commerce secretaries withdrew the Bush Administration's relaxed rules on Section 7 consultations (see discussion here). But, in early 2011, the USFWS included a provision in the President's budget bill that requests a cap on the total amount of money the agency can spend to process citizen petitions to list species. For a blog by a law professor critical of this proposal, see ""A risky FWS proposal to limit ESA petitions,"" Legal Planet, 4/4/11.
On May 26, 2011, the Department of the Interior announced a joint process (involving the USFWS and NOAA's Fisheries Service) to improve implementation of the ESA through changes in practices, guidance, policies, and/or regulations, consistent with President Obama's Executive Order 13563, ""Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review."" The agency is not seeking any changes in legislation, but has identified four areas for regulatory reform to improve implementation of the ESA. See the USFWS Regulatory Reform website for details.
In December, 2003, several federal agencies jointly enacted regulations designed to streamline the consultation process on proposed projects that support the National Fire Plan. This alternative consultation process eliminates the need to conduct informal consultation with USFWS and NMFS for National Fire Plan projects. Under the new process, the USFWS or NMFS will develop anAlternative Consultation Agreement (ACA) with action agencies (Forest Service,Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service). With an agreement in place, USFWS or NMFS will train the agencies to make independent determinations of whether their fire plan projects are likely to adversely affect protected species. Projects might include prescribed fire, thinning and removal of fuels, emergency stabilization, burned area rehabilitation, road maintenance and ecosystem restoration. This process is designed to accelerate the rate at which the agencies process fire projects without changing the actual standards for Section 7 consultations.
ACA 2006 Update
Alternative Conservation Agreements must include:
- Who will make determinations;
- Procedures for training to make determinations;
- Standards for assessing the effects of a project;
- Provisions for incorporating new information, species, or critical habitat into the analysis;
- Monitoring and periodic program evaluation; and
- Provisions for the action agency to maintain a list of Fire Plan Projects for which it has made determinations.
Critics of this exception contend that the ESA requires at least informal consultation and do not believe that the land management agencies will have the expertise—despite the promise of training—to make the proper determinations alone. Even assuming the agencies have sufficient expertise, critics fear that the conflicting missions of the agencies will lead to decisions less protective of species and their critical habitats. A coalition of environmental groups is challenging the new regulations in court.
For a copy of the new regulation and the agencies' justification of it, see Joint Counterpart Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation Regulations in the Federal Register.
For a copy of the ACA, see the USFWS web page on consultation.
For other USFWS recommendations for streamlining Section 7 consultation, see the agency's memorandum on Alternative Approaches to Section 7.
Will fuels reduction projects jeopardize endangered species?
In evaluating the effects of fuels reduction projects on species, the USFWS balances short-term effects of fuels treatment—including destruction of endangered and threatened species' habitat—against long term benefits of the projects. Long-term benefits may include:
- Reestablishing native vegetation;
- Reestablishing natural fire regime; and,
- Reducing risk of catastrophic fires.
Successful collaboration is hard work, and it depends on having the right folks working on the right issues at the right time. (See the RLCH Collaboration Handbook for specifics on starting and maintaining collaborative processes.) Endangered species issues are more frequently litigated than collaborated, but a few have been tackled in collaborative processes.These processes range from high-level, multi-state and multi-party negotiations to state-level planning processes and more local,project-specific discussions. Political realities and pending or threatened actions prompt and guide collaboration to avoid listing(sage grouse), deal with ""warranted but precluded"" opinions that delay listing (black-tailed prairie dogs), develop and implement recovery plans (fish and birds on the Platte and Colorado Rivers), and facilitate delisting (gray wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming).Political realities can also make continuing with collaboration futile.
The Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana provide an example of a highly controversial collaboration on hold. In the Bitterroots, the prospect of grizzly bear reintroduction under the ESA spurred creative collaboration. Many view the bear as a ""blood thirsty predator"" while others ""celebrate it as the living symbol of wilderness."" A coalition of conservationists,timber mill owners, and timber workers designed a citizen management committee for the federal government's reintroduction plan. The plan,finalized by USFWS under the Clinton Administration would have established a management committee of fifteen members nominated by the governors of Montana and Idaho and the Nez Perce Tribe. Additional members would also represent the U.S. Forest Service and the USFWS. The plan charged the committee with making decision that would ""lead toward recovery of the grizzly bear in the Bitterroot ecosystem and minimize social and economic impacts."" If the plan is ever implemented, this committee will be the first of its kind to share management authority with the USFWS.
While the USFWS adopted the plan in late 2000, the Department of the Interior under Gale Norton initiated a process to kill the plan by proposing to adopt a ""no action"" alternative for grizzly reintroduction. After receiving thousands of comments in support of the reintroduction, as well as strong opposition to it from Idaho and the Idaho congressional delegation, the Department has neither implemented the plan nor followed through with officially abandoning it.
In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued its decision not to list the Greater sage-grouse as endangered (the agency found that listing was ""warranted but precluded"" by other priority listing actions). See ""No endangered status for Plains bird,"" New York Times, 3/5/10.
That same year, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service launched the Sage Grouse Initiative, which incorporates federal funding for working lands protection (through Farm Bill funding) and a variety of interagency collaborative approaches to protect sage grouse habitat and avoid the need to list the species in the future.
For its part, the Western Governors Association (WGA) adopted a policy position in 2011 urging expansion of this cooperation and support for state and local efforts to implement conservation strategies. In December 2011, the Western Governors Wildlife Council presented a report to the WGA that outlines the measures underway by state and local authorities to conserve sage-grouse habitat, and in the same month the Bureau of Land Management issued instructions for its managers to follow in implementing Greater sage grouse recover, including an interim instruction memorandum (IM) No. 2012-043 and a planning strategy IM No. 2012-044.
In February 2013, the BLM issued a Resource Management Plan for the Lander WY area that is intended to implement the state policy for protecting the Greater sage grouse.
For a case study of the sage grouse partnership on this website (written in 2005), click here.
New information will be added as the Congress takes action.
Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 USC sections 1531 to 1544.
The text of the ESA can be viewed at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service web site.
READ MORE >>
Endangered Species Act Regulations
Can be found in 50 CFR sections 17.1 to 17.23.
READ MORE >>
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
An extensive web site with information on the USFWS's Endangered Species Program, including information on species, and species lists,laws, publications, and links to other agencies and sites about ESA.
READ MORE >>
National Marine Fisheries Service
The NMFS website has general information on the ESA and specific information on the role of the NMFS in implementing it. The site also focuses on marine-related life in general.
READ MORE >>
Endangered Species Link
A site listing web links under a wide array of topics. It has good definitions and is very easy to navigate. The web site covers just about every possible aspect of the ESA.
READ MORE >>
Defenders of Wildlife
The Defenders web site, has a section on ESA with an explanation of how it works, success stories, and a discussion of misinformation about the ESA and its consequences.
READ MORE >>
National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition
The National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition is a group of organizations dedicated to improving the ESA. The web site has information about effects of the ESA, including the negative effects.The site includes news and op-ed pieces, as well as a map linking to lists of species for each state.
READ MORE >>",11652,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.935511112213135
e8d5765a-9806-4fe1-b9e6-e1936554420a,2017-08-20T16:03:22+00:00,2011-11-06,0,http://www.baltimoresun.com/la-ca-sneaks-arthur-christmas-20111106-story.html,"At 16, Peter Baynham joined Britain's Merchant Navy. Within a year, the bookish young man with a droll sense of humor had not only electrocuted himself but also nearly steered a supertanker straight into a ferry.
In 2005, Baynham — by then more fittingly employed as a comic and screenwriter — had an idea. ""What if Santa had a son?"" said Baynham, 48. ""And Santa's son was as impractical and useless and all over the place as I am?""
That's the premise of ""Arthur Christmas,"" the animated holiday movie due Nov. 23 from Aardman Studios, the British company best known for the endearing clay animation characters Wallace and Gromit. Baynham wrote the film with its director, Sarah Smith.
Set on Christmas night, ""Arthur Christmas"" envisions an ultra high-tech North Pole, where a supersonic aircraft has replaced Santa's sleigh and every facet of gift delivery has been automated — right down to electronic naughty-or-nice meters. It seems another mechanized Christmas has passed with perfection until an enterprising elf discovers an undelivered present, and Arthur — Santa's clumsy but enthusiastic youngest son — must get it into the right little girl's hands.
James McAvoy voices Arthur; Hugh Laurie is his hyper-capable big brother, Steve; Jim Broadbent is their father, a Santa Claus who is, frankly, coasting; and Bill Nighy voices a curmudgeonly Grandsanta, who remembers the good old days of piloting a sleigh powered by reindeer and magic dust mined from the aurora borealis.
In an era when all of life's mysteries seem Google-able, Baynham and Smith committed to telling a Christmas story that would hold up for even the most skeptical young viewer.
""I was a pedantic child,"" said Baynham, who also wrote the bawdy grown-up comedies ""Borat,"" ""Bruno"" and the remake of ""Arthur."" ""I'd get really annoyed at the logic of small things that don't bother anyone else. I started to think about Christmas, like, how is it done? How does Santa deliver all those presents?""
Presenting a scientifically plausible holiday movie consumed Baynham and Smith, and they spent the next six years obsessing about details like time zones and sleigh speed, as the artists at Aardman and Sony Pictures Animation brought Arthur to life, complete with fuzzy Christmas sweater and bunny slippers.
""Christmas movies, it's a hard thing to do,"" said Baynham. ""The danger is you just end up with a Hollywood star with a Santa beard. You risk it being fake and cheesy and not real. We wanted our Christmas movie to be real … with magic dust.""",583,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00303.warc.gz,0.957432210445404
71d4ce75-ec4d-4df9-8c3e-015b24e460de,2013-05-25T20:02:42+00:00,2010-04-15,1,http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/04/15/europes-newest-green-energy-sources-pedestrians-and-body-heat/,"It was a green idea that boogied straight off the dance floor and onto the city streets. Residents in the French city of Toulouse are testing out a special stretch of pavement in the city center that produces energy every time someone walks across it.
The pavement is embedded with special sensors that convert energy from motion into electricity. It’s an idea that was first implemented in a Rotterdam nightclub by the Dutch company Sustainable Dance Club (SDC), where the company installed special modular dance floors that harvested the dancers’ energy.
City authorities in Toulouse hope to replicate that system in the city center; as people walk across the special pavement, they’ll help generate between 50 and 60 watts of electricity. Energy captured during the day would be stored in a battery that could be used to power a nearby street lamp at night.
French authorities are powering ahead with the testing despite concerns about the system’s high cost, and have already overcome several problems along the way. The Guardian reports:
The prototype of the modules, said [City deputy mayor Alexandre] Marciel, was unsuitable for street use as “at that stage they only worked if you jumped on them like a kangaroo. So a model was developed on which you can walk normally and still produce enough energy to power the lights,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, experts have figured out a way to harness body heat from morning commuters at the busy Stockholm station and transfer it to the heating system of a nearby building. It’s a system that is already in use at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, but the Swedes have worked out a way to move the heat between buildings.
The station is toasty in the morning as more than 250,000 Swedes rush about getting to work; the station’s ventilation system traps their body heat, which is then used to warm water in underground tanks. That water is then pumped through pipes to a nearby 13-story building about 100 yards away and used to heat that building. In the long run, experts hope to lower energy costs in the new office building by at least 20 percent each year, all for an initial investment of just $30,000, writes Time magazine.
Discoblog: Copenhagen Hotel Lets Guests Pedal-Power Their Lightbulbs
Discoblog: Musical, Fahrvergnügen-Inspired Staircase Makes Commuters Less Lazy
80beats: New “Nanogenerator” Could Power Your iPod With Your Own Movements
80beats: Green Makeover Aims to Cut Sears Tower Electricity Use by 80%
80beats: Windmills on NYC Skyscrapers Sound Cool, but Wouldn’t Work",568,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.954836368560791
88c6e444-4a02-4b59-8a47-c114b96b6722,2018-08-21T10:42:22+00:00,2017-01,0,https://www.travelfolio.net/review-of-social-media-posts-photos/?shared=email&msg=fail,"2016 review of top social media posts & amazing photos
Happy New Year
Are you wondering, why are we posting our yearly review later than other sites? We believe in doing things differently. That’s how we act differently than others. I would like to share some posts with you that have done exceptionally well on different social media platforms. Let us start with Twitter first.
- Post about Agra This post had close to 11,000 impressions. I know for some of the readers and other bloggers this is a small number. Considering we started on Twitter about 4 months ago, this was the most successful post so far on Twitter. We know there are more posts that will do better than these, however, for now, it is a big accomplishment for us. This post did excellent on Facebook too. We had over 200 activities on this post of Facebook.
- This is actually a small tweet. It is not related to our travels. It is more like a review, that received more attention that some of my successful posts. I dropped my phone and said thank you to the cell phone case company. I had 4,000 impressions, 209 engagements, and 153 media engagements. We were just trying to share our good experience, however, this Tweet became a successful Tweet for us. Thank you, Speck.
- Our Twitter account had close to 50,000 impressions over last 5 months. Again, this is a small number, however, a big number for us considering we just started on Twitter.
- Our Facebook post had close to 200 views about Fireworks in New Delhi during the festival of Diwali. Facebook brought us some new readers and they have shared their thoughts on Facebook.
- Another Facebook post went viral. We had close to 300 views and actions on this post about All inclusive.
Other viral posts:
Besides the above posts, some other posts that went viral. Make sure to read these posts and enjoy.
For the year 2017, we have some exciting trips planned. So stay tuned for more fun. Besides the trips, we will be visiting some of Calgary Hotels. Until next post, enjoy.",434,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218101.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821092915-20180821112915-00129.warc.gz,0.975311160087585
aca06a7f-8682-4dcb-9382-4436390f99a3,2019-08-26T03:21:03+00:00,2019-08-26,0,https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/gwhiteley_collection/,"This collection contains letters received by Gary Whiteley from Sgt. Robert J. Gendaszek of the 2nd squad of Fox company, first platoon, 5th Regimental Combat Team, and from Pfc. John Horner of Headquarters company, second battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team. Gary Whiteley was in the sixth grade in Fowler, CA when he sent a Christmas box through the Gift Lift program, sponsored by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Gendaszek and Horner began corresponding with Gary after they received his package. The correspondence consists mainly of Gendaszek and Horner asking Gary about his daily life. They offer brief descriptions of their duties in the service. Sgt. Gendaszek was a squad leader and Pfc. Horner served as a switchboard operator. Also included in the collection is a newspaper clipping describing the gift program and Gary's first correspondence with Sgt. Gendaszek.",184,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330962.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826022215-20190826044215-00257.warc.gz,0.974014341831207
6893b5c8-38d6-44d4-ad46-109e9ebb9a5b,2022-05-23T01:42:01+00:00,2022-05-23,1,https://wkmi.com/watsons-portage/,"Watson’s Set to Open in Portage
A store that specializes in indoor and outdoor entertaining, Watson's, is set to open in Portage.
Watson's, which is based in Ohio and has a location in Grand Rapids, will be in the storefront that once housed ABC Warehouse adjacent to Home Depot on South Westnedge Ave.
Watson's sells goods in three main categories, Pools & Spa, Indoor Entertaining and Outdoor Entertaining.
The Kalamazoo/Portage location will be the second in Michigan for Watson's, that has a store on 29th Street in Grand Rapids.",128,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662552994.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523011006-20220523041006-00207.warc.gz,0.946661114692688
2e301c55-0f41-43f2-ad7b-e57340615cab,2022-05-17T08:44:16+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://whitefauxtaxidermy.com/collections/large-faux-deer-head-wall-mounts/products/stag-deer-head-faux-taxidermy-white-resin-gold-antlers,"deer head wall decor
soft details glow perfectly to cast fine shadows without overwhelming your space.cast in fine resin, this sculpture weighs only 6 lbs.
happy beyond words
Beautiful detail. When you look at him , it puts a smile on your face. I was worried about shipping but he was very well protected
Love it. Great quality. I now have two in our home. They look so cool.
Super high quality, great service!
It was easy to hang and added the perfect touch of modern class I was looking for to complete my hunter’s themed master bedroom. I just ordered another for my study
This piece is gorgeous and very eye catching. Will be ordering more!
I just moved into a new home and this is my absolute favorite decorating purchase I have made! It is far more stunning in person than on the website and I would recommend this product to my friends, family, strangers on the street, without hesitation. Thank you so much!",225,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517018.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517063528-20220517093528-00613.warc.gz,0.958476841449738
99a38bd4-65e4-4754-9fa2-82434d1fbd2a,2017-08-19T15:03:40+00:00,2017-08-19,0,http://hallel.info/category/appointments-with-god/shabbat/,"Some read about the “Sabbath-rest” in Hebrews 4 and conclude that the teaching is that the remembrance of the seventh-day rest, the Sabbath, has been transferred to the Messiah, Yeshua. Yet the context of the passage and the quotations in it relating to a pivotal event in the Torah point to the fuller meaning of personal peace and real “rest” that God provides.
The last two things God created was the Shabbat/Sabbath and the Garden of Eden. God did not create the Shabbat because He was exhausted or tired. Rather, He wanted to set aside a day for mankind to have a special time with Him. Also some are confused about the creation narratives of Gen. 1 and Gen. 2 but a careful reading of each shows us that Gen. 2 focuses specifically on the creation of mankind and the special Garden called Eden that was made by God as mankind’s primary residence.
The complementary texts give us different flavors of Yeshua’s halacha (rule for living, interpretation) on this issue. Believers have struggled with this issue. There are three main classes of interpretation:
- Torah is obsolete so since Yeshua is Lord of the Sabbath and “Greater than the Temple”, Yeshua is heralding the “end of Torah” and the “beginning of Grace.”
- For those who divide the law into Moral and ceremonial, they interpret this text is Yeshua was simply correcting unwarranted additions to the Torah.
- For those who consider the Torah still in effect and that God has delegated authority to “bind and loose” Torah, Yeshua is talking about a “higher standard” for the Torah.
The 24th chapter is a bit unusual and not so simple to decipher. When you read the book of Leviticus and you find the phrase “the LORD spoke to…” pay attention to whom is supposed to hear the message. There were some messages for the sons of Aaron but some messages were for the people of Israel. Each group had their own duties and responsibilities, and it’s God Himself Who decides.
In Exodus 31, we meet the two men (beside Moses) whose work and talent were used to make the Tabernacle which began as the “pattern shown on the Mountain” a living, functional reality.
However, he gives them a reminder that they are still supposed to keep the Sabbath, no exceptions. They can’t break the Sabbath, even for the sake of building the Tabernacle or they will be “cut off from their people.”
The Shabbat of the seventh day of each week is a memorial that God is the Creator [Gen. 2:2–3; Ex. 20:11] and Redeemer from bondage [Deut. 5:15] and Sanctifier [Exod. 31:13–15], or the One Who sets apart His people from the ignorant or rebellious world. One of the great last messages to the whole world is to “worship Him Who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters” (Revelation 14). Yet today, most children are learning — in school and/or from popular culture — to doubt God because His people are increasingly more afraid of appearing intellectually backward by accepting His testimony of being the Creator than being strong and standing by the only testimony that makes intellectualism possible.
Download study notes in PDF format (184 KB)
God created things in the physical world to explain what happens in the spiritual world. What is the spiritual teaching behind “rest,” “mist” and “breath” in Gen. 2:1-7? Continue reading Genesis 2:1-7 — ‘rest,’ ‘mist’ and ‘breath’",804,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105455.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819143637-20170819163637-00654.warc.gz,0.961688160896301
ac11974d-598f-4c10-b500-cadedd91ebb8,2022-05-27T15:26:55+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://repositorio.ufscar.br/handle/ufscar/7245,"Política local de ciência e tecnologia para o desenvolvimento social : mapeamento das ações do Parque Tecnológico e da Prefeitura Municipal na cidade de São Carlos
Araújo, Juliana Sauer de
MetadataShow full item record
This work has as its theme the Politics of Science and Technology focusing on the city of São Carlos in the State of São Paulo. From a theoretical development of Science and Technology Policy in general in Brazil and locally analyze the case of San Carlos taking as its starting point the perspective of the Science and Technology for Social Development. Highlighting various information of socioeconomic and scientific-technical policy of the municipality, two objects of research, the Technology Park of San Carlos (ParqTec) and the Municipal Sustainable Development, Science and Technology, representing the Municipality, were studied in search up which elements contribute or not to social development. From this study we show that San Carlos is the technological center model because of the multiplicity of actions and institutions with innovative potential, but needs to consolidate to fulfill this role as a development model locally, and a C & T for social development.",266,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662658761.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527142854-20220527172854-00222.warc.gz,0.865265727043152
4fc7c61e-1eff-4a54-8e6c-1f12b6616a73,2022-05-16T05:07:49+00:00,2022-05-16,1,https://www.cyclingstage.com/tour-de-france-femmes-2022/stage-5-tdf-2022-women/,"Tour de France Femmes 2022 Route stage 5: Bar-le-Duc - Saint-Dié-des-Vosges
Thursday 28 July - At 175 kilometres, stage 5 is the longest race of the Tour de France Femmes. Rolling roads with three KOM climbs peaking out.
The riders get closer to the Vosges mountains, but the real uphill hardship is saved for later days. The hardest part of the 5th stage is the sheer distance.
The climbs along the way are short and not very steep. The Côte de Pagry-la-Blanche-Côte, Côte de Gripport and Côte du Haut du Bois do not exceed 1.5 kilometres in length, while the average gradients are, respectively, 5.5%, 5.3% and 4.9%.
The Côte du Haut du Bois is crested with 20 kilometres remaining before the rest of the route is virtually flat.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 5 Tour de France Femmes.
Tour de France Femmes 2022 stage 5: route, profile
Click on the images to zoom
Watch the highlights of recent races here:
Leave a comment
No comments yet, your opinion is most welcome.
Related articles Tour de France Femmes 2022 Route stage 3: Reims - Épernay Tour de France Femmes 2022 Route stage 4: Troyes - Bar-sur-Aube Tour de France Femmes 2022 Route stage 6: Saint-Dié-des-Vosges - Rosheim Tour de France Femmes 2022 Route stage 7: Sélestat - Le Markstein Tour de France Femmes 2022 Route stage 8: Lure - La Planche des Belles Filles Tour de France Femmes 2022More articles
Giro 2022: Hindley wins at Blockhaus, López keeps maglia rosa
Giro 2022 Route stage 9: Isernia - Blockhaus
Giro 2022 Route stage 10: Pescara - Jesi
Giro 2022 Favourites stage 10: For strongman sprinters
Giro 2022: Withdrawals
Giro 2022: The Route
Giro 2022: Riders
Giro 2022: GC Favourites
Giro 2022 Route stage 11: Santarcangelo di Romagna - Reggio Emilia
Giro 2022 Favourites stage 11: For fast men #4
Giro 2022 Route stage 12: Parma - Genoa
Giro 2022 Favourites stage 12: Strongmen sprinters, or attackers
Giro 2022 Route stage 13: San Remo - Cuneo
Giro 2022 Favourites stage 13: Sprint in Cuneo
Giro 2022 Route stage 14: Santena - Turin
Giro 2022 Favourites stage 14: Hilly race to suit attackers
Giro 2022 Route stage 16: Salò - Aprica
Giro 2022 Route stage 20: Belluno - Passo Fedaia
Cycling Calendar 2022
Tour de France 2022: Riders
Tour de France 2022 Route stage 5: Lille - Arenberg
Tour de France 2022 Route stage 12: Briançon - Alpe d'Huez
Vuelta 2022: The Route",674,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662509990.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516041337-20220516071337-00016.warc.gz,0.725770592689514
0916a062-ef45-4335-be0b-d256de967657,2013-05-23T11:50:19+00:00,2011-02-15,1,http://www.worldastrology.net/are-emerging-markets-about-to-hit-the-skids.html/comment-page-1,"Alistair Barr over at MarketWatch warns, today, that emerging markets may be peaking.
Feb. 15, 2011, 2:55 p.m. EST
Emerging markets may be overheating: Citi CEO
Big banks may struggle to make 20% returns on equity, Pandit says
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Emerging markets may be overheating and will have to increase capacity and control inflation, Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said Tuesday.
Pandit also said big banks may struggle to generate 20% returns on equity in the future, in a speech at the ISI Group 2011 conference in New York.
“Many of the emerging markets are operating at or near capacity and are therefore at risk of overheating – and must deal with the possible consequences of inflation,” he remarked.
Surging food prices show that “there are some countries where you’ve reached close to capacity,” Pandit said, without mentioning specific nations.
Still, the Citi (NYSE:C) chief noted that this is happening because emerging markets are growing strongly. “Their challenge is to work out how to increase capacity. Central banks on the ground are doing a good job trying to handle this trade-off between growth and capacity.”
Citi has the most exposure to emerging markets of any big U.S. bank. Pandit said Tuesday he’s “comfortable” with the portfolio of loans the company has made in these countries. That’s partly because consumer leverage and corporate-lending penetration is still relatively low, he explained…” More:
Surely, with the lose monetary policy, we hear all the time, how ‘strong’ the dollar is against the Euro, and the currencies of other developed nations, but what we do not hear much about, is how zerp (zero interest rates policy) has increased the currencies of emerging nations, especially those with large mining and mineral operations. For example, Australia’s dollar, today trades at 0.9964, pretty much, neck and neck, with the US dollar.
There is no doubt that commodities have had an enormous run up in the past year. Oil is trading at 86 a barrel, and gold is off the roof in the 1300s. How long can a good thing last, is anybody’s guess, and so, since it’s a question, I am interested in. I feel passionately about markets. It is my business, to know, and it should be yours, too. So I ask:
Are emerging markets about to hit the skids?
When we look at horary charts, the first thing we do is to look to the ASC. This gives the atmosphere of the question to us. Here we have the ‘quick’ and nimble Gemini, rising. This will a sort of lightness or flexibility to the atmosphere of the question. In other words, it’s a question sort of asked at the ‘spur of the moment’ and so it’s a casually asked question, much the sign, Gemini, which is comprised of two children. In the first house, we see the Dragon’s Tail at the last degree of Gemini. This could portend some downward movement, but at 29 degrees, it may be ‘down the road’ a bit.
The next thing we do in such a chart, is to examine the condition of the planet that governs, or has control of the sign rising on the eastern horizon. In this case, that planet is Mercury. The first thing we notice is that Mercury is of the same nature as the sign on that all important cusp, in other words, light and airy in nature because the sign rising, and its ruler, Mercury are both in an air signs. Air brings a lot of ‘hope’ for the future, and as such, they tend to be bullish.
Mercury is up at the top of the chart. This portion of the chart is called the ‘price’ in ancient charts. So when we see Mercury heading towards the top of the chart. And we all know that old saying, ‘what goes up must come down.’ In this case, Mercury is about 5 degrees from the top. This may buy emerging markets a little time. However, Mercury is also heading straight into the molten bubbling rays of the sun. This is called, combustion. The Sun is just so much bigger and stronger than Mercury, that it doesn’t ake much imagination to figure out what happens, when this happens. In ancient think, this is the sign of trial by fire. In the question at hand, the all powerful, Sun also rules the house of bottoms, that of the 4th.
What does this mean? Well, in a nutshell, given Mercury’s upcoming peaking, then falling into the fiery arms of the Sun, not to mention, that depressing South Node in the 1st, we may, indeed, see emerging markets go down. But when ???
Well, in horary, angular planets stand for months. Since Mercury is within 5 degrees of the cusp of the 10th, it may buy emerging markets a few months, but since Mercury is just leaving the antiscion of the parsfortuna, we have a pretty strong bet that the boom days, are over.",1135,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958806872367859
e006726c-878d-4543-bf42-eb0361484db7,2022-05-16T12:58:20+00:00,2022-01-01,1,https://www.buildington.co.uk/buildings/4899/london-w1/22-hanover-square/22-hanover-square,"The Residences Mandarin Oriental
● 1, 2 and 3-bedroom luxury apartments for sale; completing in Q1 2022.
The Residences Mandarin Oriental is a new development on Hanover Square in Mayfair, London W1.
The scheme 80 luxury residences, an integrated five-star hotel and retail space.
New Apartments For Sale
The Residences at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair are for sale through Savills and JLL.
Interior design by Thomas Juul Hansen.
All residents and hotel guests benefit from the following amenities:
- Hotel bar, lounge, restaurant;
- Gym, spa;
- 20m Swimming pool;
- Rooftop terrace;
- New public plaza;
- Dedicated drop-off;
- Five-star hotel services.
The nearest tube stations are Oxford Street and Bond Street - just a few minutes' walk from here.
Formerly known as Hanover Bond.
2017 - Prices start from £1,950,000 in August 2017 on JLL website.
2016 August - Planning application submitted for:
Demolition and redevelopment to provide a new building on three basement levels, lower ground, ground and first to ninth/eleventh floors to provide a hotel with ancillary bars / restaurants / leisure facilities and private dining / meeting rooms (Class C1), up to 81 residential units (Class C3), flexible / alternative restaurant (Class A3) / hotel restaurant (Class C1) / retail (Class A1) use on part ground and part lower ground floors, basement car and cycle parking, plant at basement and roof levels, alterations to existing access on Brook Street and associated works. Ref No 16/07404/FULL . Westminster City Council www.westminster.gov.uk.
2016 April - Planning permission granted for:
Redevelopment of the site to provide a new building, comprising a single block, on three basements, lower ground, ground and first to ninth floors, to provide a hotel with ancillary drinking/dining and leisure facilities, a flexible restaurant (Class A3)/retail shop (Class A1) or ancillary hotel dining space (Class C1) on part lower ground/part ground floors, up to 41 market flats and residents’ parking (41 spaces) and ancillary hotel accommodation in the basements. Ref No 15/03972/FULL. Westminster City Council www.westminster.gov.uk.
Site & Location
Information on this page is for guidance only and remains subject to change. Buildington does not sell or let this property. For more information about this property please register your interest on the original website or get in touch with the Connected Companies.",593,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510117.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516104933-20220516134933-00415.warc.gz,0.865827322006226
a23e9157-73e7-44c8-8c23-7efdfd3f6d6c,2017-08-18T10:48:52+00:00,2017-07-15,1,https://reneehkraft.wordpress.com/category/hawaii-market-reports/,"JULY 15, 2017 KONA, HAWAI'I All of the residential stats continue support the fact that this market has legs on it. Inventory is trending lower, escrow activity remains stable and median sale prices are up +6% over the previous 12 months in 2015-2016. The price range data at the top of page 2 really … Continue reading July 2017 Kona Coast Bi Monthly Market Update
Happy May Day! The most notable bit of residential data is the increase in sales number, up from 432 in the previous 12 months to 483. Along with this increase in sales numbers we have a new high for Median Prices at $595,000. There is a hint of the passing of the busy winter selling … Continue reading Hawai’i Island 2x Monthly Real Estate Report May 1st, 2017
Happy belated Easter to all near and far. Here is positive news to share on the local Hawai'i market watch. The residential data shows declining inventory and strong improvement in pending sales. The Pending Ratio is now in Sellers’ Market territory. The last time we saw this was in 2013 when the market, dominated by … Continue reading Bi Monthly Hawai’i Island Market Update APRIL 2017
Residential Median Price is at its high since the recovery began, ($585,000). Escrow activity is up a strong 26% from a year ago. The inventory is exactly the same as a year ago. Almost 70% of the inventory is in the $700,000 to $4.0M price ranges. The Median Price of the active inventory is $899,000. … Continue reading 1/31/2017 KONA COAST RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE
Residential Median Price has been relatively stable since last summer fluctuating in the $572,000 to $580,000 range. Current Median Price is ($580,000). Escrow activity is up 18% from a year ago. The inventory is up also, but almost all of the increase is in the over $700,000 price ranges. The Median Price of the active … Continue reading Kona Coast Market Stats MID MONTH Jan 2017
How to Buy a Home Without a 20% Down Payment One of the first things you'll hear when you start considering homeownership is that you'll need a hefty chunk of change upfront. Most financial planners recommend putting down a 20% down payment. On the current national median home price of $306,700, that comes to $61,340. … Continue reading BUYING YOUR HAWAII HOME-QUALIFYING FOR THE RIGHT LOAN!
-Kona Residential stats show the Median Price upward trend now holding over $570,000. It is likely the lack of affordable inventory under $500.000 and corresponding increase in sales in the higher price ranges will continue to move the price higher. The number of homes listed under $500,000 fluctuates in the low to mid 20’s. It … Continue reading 9.5 Hawaii Island Real Estate Update",619,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104634.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818102246-20170818122246-00450.warc.gz,0.913181185722351
3fdf8127-06ea-4ca9-aeec-bfe98b006bf9,2018-08-15T19:22:58+00:00,2018-08-15,1,https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=130668,"QUT researchers have developed a new drug that has the potential to dramatically slow the ageing process and delay, or even prevent, major diseases in humans, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, Type 2 Diabetes and arthritis.
The Scientific Director of the Cancer and Ageing Research Program (CARP), Associate Professor Derek Richard from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said the breakthrough was built upon years of research focused on the ability of single-cell organisms called archaea to survive in harsh conditions, including the boiling, sulphuric acid pools of undersea volcanoes.
“Our research into arachaei revealed a ‘super hero’ protein, known as ssB1. But the real eureka moment came when we discovered that humans have this same protein, called hSSB1, in every cell of our bodies,” Professor Richard said.
“In normal cells, ssB1 is like a guardian angel that is looking after the genetic code and, if there is any damage, we see it rush in to repair that damage. But, as we age, we lose parts of our genetic code, and that is the foundation for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.
“When we found that ssB1 was helping the archaea to repair its damaged DNA, we realised we might have stumbled across the basis for a new cellular treatment for humans, to control our ageing pathway and keep people healthier, for longer.
“This new drug functions by restoring the activity of the DNA-repairing, ‘super hero’ hSSB1 protein in our bodies and we can make cells believe that they are much younger than they actually are,” Professor Richard said.
QUT Professor and CARP clinical director, oncologist Ken O’Byrne, said while the drug had the potential to prevent or delay the onset of disease and illness, the primary aim was to improve quality of life.
“The big link between cancer and ageing is DNA repair. As we age, our target protein starts to function differently and allows our genome to be damaged and this damage can cause cancer,” Professor O’Byrne said.
“This drug, once fully developed, could actually be taken to protect high-risk individuals from cancer and other diseases,” he said.
The team is now seeking to raise $5 million to fund further drug development and toxicology studies, so the therapy can proceed to human trials.
“We could take this drug to the United States and find money for it to be developed there, but that would see the loss of yet another Australian invention. We want to keep this drug in Australia so that Australians benefit from it, both medically and economically,” Professor Richard said.
Donations can be made to the project as part of QUT’s inaugural Giving Day. Visit bit.ly/QUTGivingDay18 and click ‘give now’ then select ‘CARP’ in the drop down menu - or click on ‘donate today’ at www.carp.org.au.
The researchers have also teamed up with a champion coffee roaster in Byron Bay, in a fundraising venture, to develop a range of fair trade, ethically sourced coffee, tea and drinking chocolate.
“We wanted to do something different. We know Australians love their coffee and tea, so we thought let’s make an exceptional product range, and invest all of the profits into this exciting research,” Professor Richard said
“CARF Coffee sells only premium coffee, tea and drinking chocolate, all ethically sourced. It took six months of tasting to get the range we were happy with.”
Recent publications on hSSB1 from CARP include:",790,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210249.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815181003-20180815201003-00542.warc.gz,0.956250369548798
877a60df-7723-484d-926b-b5fb2133af3d,2013-05-23T12:01:25+00:00,2013-05-23,0,http://reviews.artbeads.com/8573/2058-BLZ16/2058-ss16-xilion-rose-enhanced-flatback-blue-zircon-reviews/reviews.htm,"Create a sparkling sea-breeze touch on your clothes or other accessories with this XILION rose enhanced flatback in Blue Zircon from Swarovski. This small rhinestone features a convex front made up of faceted crystals in a rich turquoise hue. With every angle of light this flatback displays a brilliant shine, sure to make your designs noticed. With its smooth flat back, this piece is perfect for gluing onto multiple surfaces. Try spicing up your cell phone with this flatback and other Swarovski flatbacks in coordinating colors to make it unique!
Customer Reviews for 2058 SS16 XILION Rose Enhanced Flatback Blue Zircon
This product has not yet been reviewed. Click here to continue to the product details page.",159,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.89324426651001
7f13caf8-21db-42ca-a8e7-f874f8d9e181,2017-08-18T08:34:39+00:00,2013-11-15,1,http://www.cityunslicker.co.uk/2013/11/oil-and-troubled-geo-political-waters.html,"|Up and Down|
Russia, we gather, was one of the major players behind the Iran deal, and they certainly have no interest in a materially softer price of oil. This DTel piece paints a pretty grim picture, and repeats the received wisdom that Russia needs an oil price of $110 to balance its budget (others have quoted a higher figure). They remain uncomfortably stuck as a raw materials economy, despite their fervent longings to be a manufacturer: I've recorded here before that they have tried several times to sell gas and oil into the far eastern markets in packages with manufactured goods, 50:50 by value. You can imagine where the Chinese have told them to stuff their useless trucks; and I read with amusement a couple of weeks ago that their new LNG export deal with South Korea works the other way around. In this package, the Koreans will build the LNG ships for the Russians. This is the sort of reality that has Putin tearing at what little hair he has.
But it's not all bad news for Russia. They must relish the leading role they've taken with Syria and Iran (it's their back door, after all) - and what about the Ukraine !? Their pulling out of EU accession negotiations must send the expansionist tendency in Brussels ranting up and down their luxurious corridors. (I could wish the estimable Hatfield Girl was blogging just now; she writes interestingly on these matters.) When will Turkey decide it's not worth the effort ? That really would be a turning-point.
Who else is seriously long oil ? Why, the Saudis, of course, who at the same time are none too chuffed about the Iran deal. One particularly daft comment suggests that ""Riyadh may try to 'rap America’s knuckles' by flooding markets with enough oil to puncture the US shale oil revolution. Production costs at the US Bakken shale field are around $80"". Yes, the USA is long oil as well: but I have a feeling that 'something' would happen long before the price fell that far. There has long been the theoretical potential for a genuinely significant oil-price reversal: it is the truly epic quantities of oil reserves everyone knows are present in Iraq. But somehow it never gets developed ...
One also reads that the Iran deal is bad, bad news for the Syrian 'opposition'. Assad-supporters Russia and the Iranians are now riding high and surely command at least several months of goodwill in the West - so woe unto the enemies of Assad ? Well maybe: but the perennial enemies of Iran are not appeased.
Sometimes, big-power diplomacy really does put the lid on a boiling pot. Remember North Korea ? Ah yes, that's right, a few months ago they were threatening a first strike on Seoul and Seattle. It was headlines on every news channel for days and days. And then suddenly ... nothing. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when the Chinese took Fat Boy to one side and read his fortune for him.
However. When it comes to Iran, those perennial enemies probably have the means to keep the pot boiling for a while yet to come. Price of oil on 31 December this year ? Predictions in the comments, please.",664,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104631.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818082911-20170818102911-00174.warc.gz,0.971808195114136
1b34c280-7c48-4e02-ad19-7424399a5ff7,2019-08-22T13:54:01+00:00,2019-08-22,0,https://www.math.mcmaster.ca/cb-profile/kevlahan.html,"Research Area: Applied Mathematics, Fluids & Turbulence
Applied Mathematics, Turbulent fluid flow, wavelet methods My research focuses on the theory and computation of fluid turbulence, with a special interest in dynamically adaptive numerical methods based on the wavelet transform. There are numerous problems that remain unresolved in the theory of turbulence, despite more than 100 years of research on the subject. A complete and precise theory of turbulence would be useful in areas as diverse as aerodynamics, combustion, urban pollution modelling, weather prediction and climate modelling. Although we are still far from being able to formulate such a theory, much progress has been made in the last few decades. The aim of my research is to combine several recent discoveries in order to develop a new approach to turbulence modelling. These discoveries include wavelet transforms (which are used to compress data and solve partial differential equations), penalisation methods (which can be used with any numerical method to simulate complex geometries, such as an airplane), and coherent vortices (flow structures that control turbulence dynamics). Current research projects include adaptive multiscale climate modelling, fluid-structure interaction, compressive sampling and the role of turbulence in star formation.
Applied mathematics, turbulent fluid flow, wavelet methods",252,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317130.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822130553-20190822152553-00107.warc.gz,0.901290893554688
a7e27457-745a-4f59-aa3f-c2c363b4bd5b,2013-05-18T07:20:15+00:00,2012-11-08,0,http://elizabethkartchner.com/2012/11/08/no-4-mini-you-are-loved/,"Before you give me too much credit and think crazy thoughts like, you are this caught up or wow you are ahead of things… As much as I love to hear that I am definitely not. But I am so inspired by this first stage of this sweet pea’s little life I wanted to document my thoughts.
Also, before you think, it’s a boy! I absolutely gush over this paper from Crate. And since I don’t know what the baby is yet I thought I should use something that works for both. I do really want a boy so think lots of blue thoughts for me! While you are at it eat lots of blue cheese and only the blue M&M’s and blueberries!! (Of course we would be just as happy if it was another girlie!)
This book is for the baby so it’s the perfect place to share when I first found out and when I told Collin.
My story is not as exciting as Collin’s. I found out in the bathroom after taking a pregnancy test. Sat there for a few minutes and then freaked out… laughing squealing like a crazy person. I didn’t tell Collin for several days because we were going on a trip with just us and I wanted to tell him in a fun way. I love a good secret so it was quite fun to be the only one who knew even for a little while.
I told Collin on our mini vacation to LA with no kids … We had just gotten off the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. It was incredible weather, we were holding hands looking over the water and a pregnant girl walked by and I just had a feeling it was time. He was shocked. Tears, laughing, lots of “Are you serious???!!! Are you kidding me?!” That was fun! haha
For this album I diecut 4 different pages with the words: when I told him, when I found out, so sick, and growing with my Cameo.
I diecut the pages with not much in mind for what the album would look like but I made room for photos or journaling under the titles.
Things that I wanted to remember… and even though I don’t want to remember being so sick that I wanted to die. I thought it was only appropriate to include. And someday this babe can read how much work it is for momma. The so sick page was pretty busy so I included a vellum envie on the left page to add some white space and keep it more simple. I journaled on the back of the tag and added pieces inside. Apples. I love apples!!!
Also, you will see the untrasound and in the pocket on the page next to it I included just information of how big the baby is and how it’s developing. It’s just textbook info but i think it would be fun to read someday.
For the last page I journaled on lined paper and sewed them directly to the last page of my mini book. I like this paper because I could add a lot and it didn’t add much bulk and gives me lots of room to write my thoughts.
To make the album I bound all my pages together with twine and attached to the back page. The cover measures 6″x7″ with a 3/4″ spine. The inside pages are 5″x 6.”",713,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.975294172763824
44f57243-844a-43f7-95a3-e46842523907,2017-08-17T05:47:39+00:00,2008-03-17,0,http://ozarkcountryparson.blogspot.com/2008/03/anniversary-comments.html,"Have a fun day! I love you!
Happy Anniversary, Dear! It has been a wonderful 43 years. You have made even the difficult years worth living. I hope we have many more together.I love you! Pallie Sue
Happy Anniversary to you, today. May God continue to richly bless your lives.
Happy Anniversary, you two! I met your wonderful daughter, Karla, at a homeschooling co-op a few years back and have really enjoyed her friendship. She introduced me to the world of blogging which I am loving! I started blogging February 1st.I'm sure many of her good qualities reflect her upbringing. We need more people like Karla and more stable, solid families centered on Jesus. I am glad to see you witnessing for the Lord through here. The more lights brightly burning on the internet, the better! May the Lord bless you!
Happy Anniversary, Bro. and Sis. Ezell! Thank you for your wonderful godly example. I really appreciate you both. Thank you for caring for missionaries - especially their children. It was 31 years ago that our family went to Africa as missionaries and it's people like you encouraging us that made it possible to stay there for 5 long years with no furlough. I still have all the books you sent me and the doll you made for me too, Sis. Ezell! All these many years later, it still brings tears to my eyes to know there was someone who cared about me and my family. May you feel God's special Presence and Blessing today and may you enjoy many more wonderful years together!Love, Denise (Rossman) Truesdale
Happy Anniversary! I hope it has been a fun day. I'm glad your MY family! Love,Rachel
Warm wishes to you all on your ""43rd"" Wedding Anniversary!What a great accomplishment in these days we are living in. Thanks for your commitment to each other and to your family.Be blessed,Joyce
HAPPY ANNIVERSAY to you both! May you have many more blessed years together. Your blog has certainly been a blessing to me.Hope
Post a Comment
Enter your email address:
Delivered by FeedBurner
Provided by Christ Notes Bible Search",462,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00258.warc.gz,0.96742045879364
d85273f0-07bb-448a-9d88-0bc82e5e1ac6,2013-06-19T19:19:52+00:00,2013-01-26,0,http://arsenalaction.com/2013/01/26/team-news-cazorla-sagna-gibbs-giroud-wilshere-all-drop/,"Tomas Rosicky returns to the team. Cazorla, Sagna, Gibbs, Walcott & Wilshere all drop.
Starting : Szczesny; Jenkinson, Kosicelny, Mertesacker (C), Santos; Diaby, Ramsey; Ox-C, Rosicky , Podolski; Giroud.
Arsenal subs: Mannone, Sagna, Gibbs, Wilshere, Cazorla, Arshavin, Walcott
Last week I called for a boycott of Arsenal matches because the greedy b#stards are taking our hard earned money and pocketing it and not using the funds to try and improve the football squad. Not only are they pocketing the money we give them in the form of merchandise and ticket buys, but they also appear to be pocketing the money received from the team’s betting partner Betsson.
What the hell is a betting partner you ask? Simply put, they are the folks that are in charge of taking the bets in relation to Arsenal. During football matches, they take bets at the stadium, which is more money going out of our pockets and into the pockets of the greedy bastards. Next, they have setup online websites where fans can supposedly win money by playing casino games and can even win seats to the WSOP. Of course, the house always wins, which means more money in the greedy bastards pockets.
Betsson signed a deal with the team back in 2011 back when they were still on bwin owned poker network Ongame. You read that right, our betting partner was on the network owned by our rival’s sponsor. Does anyone know how much the deal was for or how much of that money, if any, has been reinvested into the team?
What good is having a sponsor if their sponsorship dollars are not being reinvested into the team to make it better. Yes, football is a business to a degree but if you continue to put together a shit product, then you will end up losing your customers that made you a success. It takes money to make money and it seems that our team has lost sight of that.
In addition to a boycott of Arsenal games, maybe it is time to boycott our team’s betting partner as well and let them know that their sponsorship dollars are not being used to improve the product. If they are any type of smart businessmen at all, they will realize that they are putting in good money chasing after bad and maybe threaten to pull out if Arsenal doesn’t change it’s ways. What can it hurt?",527,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970520794391632
02dabb09-d808-419f-8507-532eef3576cf,2018-08-20T14:21:02+00:00,2018-05-01,0,https://hondanews.eu/gb/en/cars/media/pressreleases/131153/honda-uk-to-provide-official-cars-and-motorcycles-for-isle-of-man-tt5,"Honda UK is thrilled to announce it will once again be official motorbike partner to the 2018 Isle of Man TT; and, for the first time ever will be the official car partner.
Eight Civic Type R and eight of the brand new CBR1000RR Fireblade SP have been provided by Honda UK for the Isle of Man TT organisers to patrol the 37.73 mile course throughout the duration of the annual road race.
The multiple award-winning Civic Type R, which puts 320PS through the front wheels and is the fastest front-wheel-drive production car around the infamous Nürburgring, was launched in summer 2017 and prices start from £30,995 on the road.
The Fireblade has been used by the iconic travelling marshals since 2016. The latest award-winning CBR1000RR was launched in early 2017. Prices start at £15,769 for the standard model rising to £19,770 for the SP variant.
“It is an honour for us that our Fireblade road bike will continue to serve the travelling marshals around the course as they ensure the safety of all riders and fans,” commented Neil Fletcher, Head of Motorcycles for Honda UK. “The TT is a rich part of our racing heritage, it has provided many challenges and been the setting for multiple successes for Honda. We first set foot on the island in 1959 and won a manufacturer award, we came back in 1961 when Mike Hailwood dominated the 125cc and 250cc classes, he went on to win his first world title with us that same year. Nearly 60 years on we’re really looking forward to this years action.”
Phil Webb, Head of Car for Honda UK commented: “After celebrating 25 years of Fireblade and Type R last year, it is fantastic to see them together again, this time at the TT. I’m not sure what the marshals will enjoy more, those riding the Fireblade or those behind the wheel of the Civic Type R!”
The 2018 Isle of Man TT takes place from the 26th May to 8th June, it will be broadcast on ITV4 in the UK and available through international broadcasters in places as far as the USA and Australia.
For further information, please contact:
Louisa Rowntree, Head of PR
Honda (UK) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda (Japan).
One of the top 20 brands in the world, Honda manufacturers a broad product range encompassing cars, motorcycles, power products (including marine, energy, lawn and garden and ATV) and aviation and was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959,as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year.
Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. Honda has also ventured into aerospace with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, which began production in 2012.
Honda has over 55 years of World Championship Racing. Today, Honda is an active participant in Formula One, motorcycle, touring car and ATV racing and draws upon its proud racing heritage in every aspect of business.",695,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216475.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820140847-20180820160847-00343.warc.gz,0.948398590087891
4059e37b-a25d-43ea-8208-f72b86d72b2c,2016-07-26T08:23:27+00:00,2013-07-26,0,http://nawindpower.com/vestas-receives-four-swedish-orders-totaling-59-mw,"Vestas and long-time customer Eolus have signed contracts for four wind projects totaling 59 MW in Sweden. According to Vestas, the turbine maker has now reached a total of more than 400 MW of firm orders with Eolus.
The projects will be located in southern Sweden using a range of Vestas turbines as follows:
– Skalleberg: 14 MW (8 x V100-1.8 MW); 4 MW (2 x V90-2.0 MW)
– Ramsnas: 13 MW (7 x V100-1.8 MW)
– Mungserod: 14 MW (8 x V100-1.8 MW)
– Alered: 13 MW (4 x V112-3.3 MW)
The contracts include delivery, installation and commissioning of the wind power plants. Each project includes a 10-year Active Output Management (AOM) 4000 full availability service contract. The Ramsnas, Mungserod and Alered projects are expected to be installed during the third quarter of 2014; the Skalleberg project, during the fourth quarter of next year..",231,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824757.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00246-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.914620041847229
fd7644bc-5d1c-411e-8267-b1b324b40155,2019-08-22T00:44:10+00:00,2019-08-22,0,https://www.ledo.hr/hr-en/products/ice-creams/king/king-double,"You will always remember the unforgettable adventure you embarked on with the irresistible King Double ice cream, which will enchant you with its velvety smooth vanilla, delicious nougat and two layers of the finest chocolate for double pleasure.
Once you try King, it will become the ruler of all your dreams and desires for a fresh rhapsody of flavours, as it is simple the king of pleasure. Intended for true fans of ice cream delicacies and those who can only be satisfied with the best flavour, without compromise.
Ledo ice creams meet the highest health and hygiene standards
- KING Ice Cream - 20 years of pleasure
At first it may seem unbelievable, but the KING ice cream has been a part of our lives for a full 20 years! This favourite premium ice cream has become an unavoidable part of the domestic pop culture.
- Ledo King ice creams – When taking pleasure, make sure it's royal!
Ledo King is the first choice for premium pleasure lovers, the greatest hedonists in the eternal search for flavours that are fit for a king. And King satisfies every sweet desire with its unforgettably pleasurable taste.",236,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316555.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822000659-20190822022659-00453.warc.gz,0.91508823633194
d0c38282-6970-4d4d-8456-582fe5f9005e,2018-08-15T17:29:16+00:00,2018-01-15,1,https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a15929521/governor-of-maine-bans-all-new-wind-farms/,"Last week, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, issued a moratorium on all wind energy projects in the state. Citing tourism concerns while saying the state ""must act judiciously to protect our natural beauty,"" LePage established a committee (with no public accountably) that will examine wind power’s economic impact and suggest potential regulatory change.
The move threatens to bring Maine's burgeoning wind power industry to a screeching halt. Stats from 2016 showed the state ranked 8th in the nation in annual installed wind energy capacity, adding 288 megawatts of utility-scale wind, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Maine was also one of fourteen states with more than 10 percent of in-state electricity generation from wind. Nearly 1 of every 7 kilowatts was coming from wind turbines. It's total wind capacity is 900 megawatts, equivalent to a nuclear power plant. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Maine wind turbines generated three-fifths of all utility-scale wind power that came from New England's six states in 2016.
LePage, a longtime critic of wind energy, claimed that ""out-of-state interests are eager to exploit our western mountains in order to serve their political agendas."" Wind power groups obviously had a different take.
“This is an attempt to thwart billions of dollars of investment that is looking at Maine,” Jeremy Payne, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association, told the Portland Press Herald. “What kind of a message are we sending to the world here when the governor is able to decide without any statutory authority to wreck a billion-dollar industry?”
Furthermore, the director of LePage's Energy Office admitted to Bloomberg that he was unaware of ""any hard evidence"" that Maine's tourism, which grew in 2016, had been negatively affected by wind turbines. And the new committee, known as the Maine Wind Energy Advisory Commission (MWEAC), will not be subject to Maine’s Freedom of Access Act, nor will it make public appearances. While LePage has called claims of secrecy ""fake news,"" it is written right into the MWEAC executive order.
The moratorium has already drawn lawsuits. The Conservation Law Foundation (CFL), dedicated to ""lasting solutions to environmental challenges for the people of New England,"" has sued the state for what it claims is a violation of separation of powers.
In 2008, then-Governor John Baldicci signed the Maine Wind Energy Act (WEA), a controversial piece of legislation that gave developers a fast track for creating wind turbines on Maine ridge lines and high ground. While the WEA wrote wind power prioritization into the state's law books, environmental groups have claimed that the Act ""does not address the issue of cumulative visual impacts of wind power projects on the viewer"" and has left the state open to development at perhaps too rampant a pace. LePage's best efforts, the law remains on the books—a fact that the CFL hopes to exploit with its suit against this new measure.
“This Executive Order is a naked political attempt to impose the Governor’s own anti-renewable energy philosophy on the people and businesses of Maine,” said CLF Maine Director Sean Mahoney in a press statement. “Not only is it illegal, but it is also bad for Maine’s economy.""",690,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210243.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815161419-20180815181419-00243.warc.gz,0.954701542854309
7d212db6-aece-42df-be32-fabb56c7e390,2016-07-24T15:43:03+00:00,2000-01-24,0,http://juneauempire.com/stories/012400/Ope_mcgonltr.shtml,"James Brouillette has a knack for criticism, but he missed my point entirely in his letter to the editor. And as for my ``lack of understanding of the Native culture,`` don't confuse understanding with sympathy.
The unavoidable evolution I spoke about in my letter comes from within the culture. I was not talking about what the non-Natives did to the Natives. History is full of wars. That, unfortunately, is human nature and the Native American culture was just as guilty of warfare as any other. I don't agree with how things happened, and yes things happened that were unfair - but war is war. Natives were just as brutal to the people they defeated.
My point, which he blatantly overlooked, was that the Natives are just as much to blame for their own cultural demise today as anyone else. Except for a very select few, the Natives aren't trying to keep it alive. Just like any other culture, Native children want what their friends have. They don't want to go back to traditional ways. The most detrimental thing the non-Native did to the Native culture was not war and subjugation. It was instead the introduction to a new way of life (and no, I didn't say better. I said new.)
Natives now have just as many rights (in most cases, more) than non-Natives. They also have the right to go back to their traditional lifestyle if they so desire. Most of them don't. If they really wanted to return to their tradition, a white man's job would hold no interest for them. They would instead be living the subsistence lifestyle of their ancestors. So don't bother bringing equal opportunity employment into this. This is not an employment issue. Equal opportunity employment has no history in the Native culture. Neither do any other of the white man's ways. The fact remains that Natives now have every right to return to their culture without any interference.
In addition, I never said that the subsistence lifestyle was reserved to Natives. If you read the article you will see mention of float houses and remote cabins. Subsistence rights apply to all equally who decide to adopt this lifestyle. That was my point. If the Natives want these rights, they need to adopt the lifestyle.
I am sorry to hear that he has a friend that takes advantage of this system. It was most definitely not created for a rich man's pleasure. As for the poor people in urban areas not being able to take advantage of this system, there are other systems of which they do take advantage. And if they feel that they would be better suited depending on their own skills in the wilderness, they can leave the urban areas and take advantage of subsistence rights as well. But I bet they won't.
So much for my lack of understanding. I understand all too well. I just don't sympathize.",589,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824109.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00101-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.984981656074524
662e68cb-d38d-4053-a657-fbd0d18b653c,2016-07-25T02:27:57+00:00,2002-01-15,0,http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/7164/p/3,"Ever Since Bing Crosby's ""Clambakes,"" pro-ams have allowed amateurs to compete with PGA stars
(continued from page 2)
Jack Lemmon was hunched over the ball with his pitching wedge, playing a par 5 on the eighth hole at Cypress Point during a round at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The course had been soaked from days of rain, and the popular actor, who once noted that the tournament was ""where we all get together to embarrass ourselves,"" was trying to loft the ball to the green. He hit the ball fat -- that is, he hit the turf well behind the ball. The huge divot he took from the drenched turf stuck to his club head, and the ball stuck to the divot. On his follow-through he tossed the ball about 10 yards behind him.
Lemmon played the next shot into a greenside bunker, where the story gets worse. The bunker sand was sodden, though there was no standing water in it. Like most golfers hitting a sand shot, Lemmon dug his shoes down into the sand, which was more like a quagmire. He played the shot onto the green, only to discover that he couldn't get to the green himself. He was trapped in the thick mire of the sand, so much so that he finally extracted his feet from his shoes, leaving them in the bunker for the caddie to retrieve. He putted out in his socks and joined his shoes at the next tee.
""You know, I'd wonder sometimes, when it was windy and rainy, what the hell I was doing out there,"" Lemmon, who passed away last June, once remarked. ""But at the end of the day, when you got together with all these wonderful people, it seemed to be worth it. If you could stand up, that is.""
The AT&T Pro-Am, once known as the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, is an annual gathering each January of PGA Tour professionals, Hollywood celebrities, star athletes and corporate executives. The world's most famous pro-am tournament is played on America's most legendary public course, the Pebble Beach Golf Links, located on California's Monterey Peninsula. While Pebble Beach is the home course for the event, nearby Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills golf clubs are also used. And, more often than not, the AT&T is played in what has been dubbed ""Crosby Weather."" Defined by rain, wind and cold, Crosby Weather is often the worst conditions the pros face all year.
The pro-am format has become a staple of the PGA Tour, with 40 of the 50 tournaments played each year leading off with it. Each week, amateurs pony up on average $4,000 to be part of a group that includes one of the tournament's qualifying players. The pro-am's usually on a Wednesday, and the normal format is a threesome or a foursome of amateurs with a pro playing for a single day; the Crosby's format is unique because it has two-man teams, one pro and one amateur, playing for four days. For the pros, it's a weekly practice round, albeit one in the company of, well, let's be truthful, real hackers.
Pro-ams are conducted by the operational bodies of PGA Tour events, not by the PGA Tour itself. The standard number of teams for a one-day event is 52; 54 if a shotgun start is used. Eighty percent of the pros come right off the top of the prior year's money list; the rest are sponsor invitees. That means if Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval are in a tournament, they must play in the pro-am. But if you are Joe Shmoe ponying up a few thousand to play in the pro-am, don't expect to play with Tiger or Phil or David. The marquee players will be paired with title sponsor executives and other significant underlying sponsors. Joe Schmoe's team must select one of the remaining pros at a pre-tournament draft party.
The pro-ams have become principal fund-raising vehicles for golf tournaments, which annually donate to local charities. The one-day tourneys can be useful marketing tools, too, providing loyal fans with a chance to rub shoulders with their favorite pros, or at least someone whom they may have seen in a final group on television on Sunday.
The Palm Beach Invitational of 1938 was the first tournament to donate money to charity as a PGA Tour event. The check was for $10,000. Today, the numbers are bigger. At the end of the 2001 season, PGA Tour events had raised more than half a billion dollars for charity over their history. As a result, charity is a driving force in all golf tournaments. Without the charitable aspect, it would be difficult to get volunteers and corporate sponsors for these costly events. The AT&T Pro-Am is not only the center of charitable giving on the Monterey Peninsula (about $4 million per year), it has been the longest-standing model of charitable funding in the game, serving as the mother of all pro-ams. For many local charities, the AT&T is their main source of annual revenue, doled out by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, which runs the tournament.
It all started at the Crosby.
The heart, soul and voice of this remarkable tournament was Bing Crosby. Crosby's golf game was nearly as smooth as his singing. He owned a ranch in Rancho Santa Fe, California, north of San Diego. In 1936, he decided to stage a pro-am nearby that would pair his friends from the celebrity and business world with top PGA professionals. He, himself, put up the $3,000 prize money that made the tournament legit.
In January of 1937, Crosby held his first Bing Crosby Pro-Am. The professional winner was Sam Snead. Among the top pros were Paul Runyon, Lloyd Mangrum and Olin Dutra. From Hollywood came Crosby's friends, including Fred Astaire, Richard Arlen and Zeppo Marx. Crosby handpicked every player, assigned handicaps to the amateurs and oversaw every detail. This was definitely Crosby's show, one that became known as The Clambake. That's pretty much what it was, a get-together of Bing's cronies to play a little golf and do a lot of partying.
Six Clambakes were staged at Rancho Sante Fe before they were disrupted by the Second World War. Crosby resumed the Clambake 400 miles to the north on the Monterey Peninsula in 1947 at the beckoning of local merchants who felt the tournament would benefit the post-war economy. Crosby used Pebble Beach, Cypress Point Golf Club and Monterey Peninsula Country Club, playing a second and final round at Pebble Beach on Sunday. With the move, the tournament was expanded and its difficulty greatly increased. The new courses were tougher, the weather, more severe. January on the Monterey Peninsula could be downright balmy at times but seldom during the Crosby. The combination of difficult courses and inclement weather led Crosby's old friend, Bob Hope, to call the tournament ""Alcatraz with grass."" Crosby was not amused.
The move to Pebble Beach would forever change The Clambake. It would become a tournament to be won, not just to enjoy. Though it was still called The Clambake, it officially became known as the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am.
No one brought as much passion to the tournament, with so little success, as Jack Lemmon. The everyman actor tried mightily to achieve every amateur's goal: to make the cut to the top 25 teams after three rounds and play the fourth and final round at Pebble Beach on Sunday. He never did, though it wasn't for lack of trying.
Lemmon remembered one year in the late '80s when, in the months leading to the tournament, he gave his ultimate effort. He practiced and took lessons at his home club, the Hillside Country Club in Los Angeles. He even lifted a few weights. He came to the AT&T filled with confidence; this would be his year. As he stood on the first tee at Cypress Point to start his first round, Lemmon remarked to his longtime professional partner, Peter Jacobsen, how good he felt, how this was going to be the year they made the cut.
He stepped up to the tee for his opening drive. He took a huge swing, at least by Lemmon's standards, but barely made contact with the ball. It hit somewhere on the very top of the toe of the club, waffling off to the right as if he had struck a whiffle ball, before heading for an elderly woman in the first row of the gallery. With ease, she caught it. Pointing down the fairway, Jacobsen ran toward her yelling, ""Throw it, throw it!"" No makeup artist could have made Lemmon's face redder.
Even if he didn't get to play the last day, Lemmon took away a bucket full of memories from the Crosby, mostly a litany of his bad shots and complete failings. He loved to tell the tales on himself, especially when it came to playing in the Crosby Weather, which even included snow, in 1962, which did not have Crosby singing ""I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas."" Tournament rounds have been postponed so many times that officials ought to consider making it a four-round event that spans five days -- affording a spare day for bad weather.
The wind alone can take its toll even on a sunny day. In 1990, play was suspended when 40-mile-an-hour gusts would not allow balls to come to a rest on the ocean holes at Cypress Point. Ed Dougherty had to pencil in a 14 on the par-4 17th at Cypress, a few of those penalty strokes for soling his putter behind the ball and then watching the ball move from the force of the wind.
Humiliation in front of thousands is part of playing in the AT&T. A lot of celebrities got used to it. But it can be intimidating for a first-time player. Ballet superstar Mikhail Baryshnikov played in his first AT&T Pro-Am in 2001. Baryshnikov had picked up the golf sickness from his friend, Joe Pesci, the actor who is a regular in West Coast pro-ams. In his prime, Baryshnikov had been a dancer of immense athleticism, power and grace.
On the golf course, however, he has a handicap in the upper teens and his small, muscular body seems at odds with the physical requirements of the golf swing. Faced with a large gallery, Baryshnikov felt jitters unlike any he had felt waiting in the wings before a performance. There are no duck hooks in Swan Lake.
""It can be quite scary,"" says Baryshikov. ""When I dance I usually don't even see my audience. The lights blind me to the audience; it's just black out there. And I'm doing something that I have done all my life and trained for all my life. Now I get on a golf course, playing a game where I don't have much experience. It is daylight and the audience is all around you. It is quite intimidating when you aren't doing the thing that you do best.""
Captains of industry, used to ruling thousands of workers from plush offices, are brought down to the company cafeteria level at the AT&T. Herb Kohler Jr., of the Kohler Co. in Kohler, Wisconsin, has played in several AT&Ts. ""You never know what it is to top a tee shot until you play at Pebble Beach,"" says Kohler, a tough 17 handicapper who owns his own golfing empire in Wisconsin, Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits. ""But even though you get humiliated once in a while, it's a lot of fun. I like playing with some young pro I haven't heard of before. The field is so big here that a lot of these young guys can get into the field, and it's interesting to talk with them about their careers and what they are trying to accomplish.""
Megastar Kevin Costner first played in the AT&T in 1996 after the release of his golf movie, Tin Cup. Playing in the group ahead of Costner and pro Lee Janzen was Bill Torrey, the president of the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers. His pro was PGA Tour regular Fred Funk. The other pairing was New York Mets co-owner Nelson Doubleday and his pro, the journeyman Jim McGovern. All through the round, spectators rushed ahead of the Janzen-Costner pairing to get a better look. So Torrey's group was almost constantly surrounded by a gallery that it would not have otherwise attracted. That was the joke during the round. ""Nelson and I would always remark to Fred and Jim that we had no idea they had just a great and boisterous following,"" said Torrey.
The following year, Costner played with new friend and golf champion Tiger Woods. It was one of the most glamorous pairings in the history of the tournament and thousands of people followed the group. ""Just let me hit the ball, just let me hit it,"" said Costner on the practice range before the start of the round. ""You bet, I'm nervous.""
Then with a throng following the group at Spyglass Hill, Costner was only two over par after eight holes. It was a performance that he noted to those standing at the rear of the ninth tee. ""I'm only two over, can you believe it?"" he exclaimed. That was exactly the wrong thought pattern. He doubled-bogeyed the ninth hole and struggled for the rest of the round.
The Monterey Peninsula crowd comes out to see the stars. They come out to see comic Bill Murray and pitching great Roger Clemens. They come out to see Carmel, California, resident, former mayor and screen superstar Clint Eastwood, a longtime supporter of the event, who in 1996 flew his helicopter low over the third and 18th fairways at Pebble Beach to help dry the grass after monsoons had soaked the place. (The event was canceled that year following two rounds.) The crowd does not come out to see Bill Torrey and Nelson Doubleday, no matter how influential they are in the world of sports.
Crosby, who died in 1977, was still running the show in 1968 when Torrey first played. At the time, Torrey was the executive vice president of the Oakland Seals hockey team, and Crosby was a limited partner. ""It was very much Bing's thing,"" said Torrey. ""It seemed like so many players played there every year because Bing wanted them to. There were a lot of long-standing pro-amateur pairings.""
After the 1985 tournament, Crosby's widow, Kathryn, got into a dispute with the tournament's board of directors because she didn't want a corporate sponsor, prompting her to take Crosby's name off the title. In 1986 the event officially became the AT&T, and Torrey noticed the difference when he returned to play in 1997. ""I don't want to say it was more friendly back then, but it seemed like it,"" says Torrey. ""I don't want to say it was more intimate but it probably was. It was still good fun, but I think people were bearing down more to win.""
What makes the AT&T stand out from the other pro-ams on the PGA Tour, like the long-running Bob Hope Desert Classic, is that it's a bona fide tournament for the amateurs. It's bona fide enough that there is often suspicion about the legitimacy of an amateur's handicap. When Australian Kerry Packer paired with Greg Norman and won the tournament by six shots in 1992, some eyebrows were raised, if not scorched. But Lou Russo, the tournament director from 1985 to 1998, felt that Packer had been given an appropriate handicap. ""A year before, Packer almost died of a heart attack,"" said Russo. ""He was a good player but hadn't played in a long time. He was very competitive and very much wanted to play in our tournament, so in the weeks leading up to it he practiced hard, took lessons and tried to get himself in shape, though the scores he was posting weren't all that good. But when the tournament came around he played well, Greg played well and they lapped the field.""
Three years later, another controversy erupted when a Japanese businessman, real estate entrepreneur Masashi Yamada, played so much better than his handicap indicated. After he and his partner, Bruce Vaughan, won the team competition, officials looked into his handicap scoring in Japan and found that the scores were all coming from a course he owned. He was disqualified. Russo says there has been increased vigilance over the years.
The golf courses, the terrain and the weather combine to make the AT&T the most difficult of all pro-ams. But celebrities and corporate magnates keep coming back, more than willing to shell out the $7,500 entry fee should they wrangle an invitation to the tournament. They brave the wind, the rain and the difficult courses; they suffer the butterflies in the stomach and the shakes in the hand, because, after all, this is the most prestigious pro-am in the world.
Robert Lowell is a freelance writer based in New York.
Log in if you're already registered.
Search our database of more than 17,000 cigar tasting notes by score, brand, country, size, price range, year, wrapper and more, plus add your favorites to your Personal Humidor.",3686,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824201.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00143-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.983811318874359
b501d10c-1ddf-4e87-ae11-24eb708ed46c,2015-04-01T17:52:56+00:00,2014-07-01,1,http://i-programmer.info/news/169-robotics/7477-tell-me-dave-robots-understand-verbal-commands.html,"Of course, one day robots will have to accept our commands in plain natural language rather then as accurate programs. We all know how vague and messy that could be.
Natural language makes sense for us because we know the context and can use this to fill in any missing detail. A robot, on the other hand, isn't intelligent and isn't aware of the context, so when you say ""get me a drink of coffee"" the robot doesn't know if it is just a matter of pouring some coffee into a cup or brewing coffee from scratch.
Now a team from Cornell is working on making a robot respond correctly to English commands and you can help by making use of its simulator to command a robot. The project is whimsically called ""Tell Me Dave"" which will send a shiver down the spine of any roboticist familiar with the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey.
If you would like to see it in action watch a PR2 robot serve up some ice cream.
“Take some coffee in a cup. Add ice cream of your choice. Finally add raspberry syrup to the mixture.”
We see that this sentence is fairly ambiguous in that it neither specifies which ice cream to take [which depends upon what is available] and nor does it specify all the details like taking a cup with coffee [if one exists] or firstly making coffee and if so how.""
Impressive but notice the x35 marker in the top right-hand corner. The ice cream probably melted along the way. This slowness seems to be the curse of most robot demonstrations. Perhaps we do need some radical upgrade to the computers being used.
A 3D camera is used to identify objects which the robot has been trained to associate with their capabilities. The associations between natural language commands and plans of action are learned with the help of a simulation. This takes the form of a video game where you can obey a command by creating suitable sets of actions.
You can see the method in action in this second video where the robot prepares sweet tea (again notice the speedup factors):
If you would like to help the research then why not try your hand at being a robot and try out the simulation game?
These are the sorts of tasks that robots are going to have to solve in order to perform domestic duties and find a place in our homes. It is very much a matter of bringing together a range of existing technologies and solving the problems that occur in making them work together.
What is interesting is that it seems likely that you don't need to have full natural language understanding and a deep cognitive model to build a robot slave. Machine learning can associate commands with action plans with a high probability and no understanding is needed.
Tell Me Dave: Context-Sensitive Grounding of Natural Language to Mobile Manipulation Instructions, Dipendra K Misra, Jaeyong Sung, Kevin Lee, Ashutosh Saxena. In Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS), 2014.[PDF].
Synthesizing Manipulation Sequences for Under-Specified Tasks using Unrolled Markov Random Fields. , Jaeyong Sung, Bart Selman, Ashutosh Saxena. In International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Systems (IROS), 2014. [PDF]
The story of pointer events and its API is a complicated and divisive one, but now that it is effectively a W3C standard browser makers should start to support it. The problem is that Apple won't and [ ... ]
IPython 3.0 has been released with improved support for languages other than Python. Looking forward to the next release the project will be split with its language agnostic components moving to Pro [ ... ]",749,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00038-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948946118354797
dcb255d2-9f8e-4d42-abd1-dc8352d062ce,2015-04-01T01:25:12+00:00,2010-03-31,0,http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/headlight-weather-stripping.403904/,"Just got finished installing my new headlights and doing the alternating blinker wiring.. very cool, what a difference the headlights make! Anyways, i need new weatherstripping for the headlights. One of mine is in decent shape, while the other is an old POS that had rusted out to the point where they won't clip onto the headlights. Does anyone know where i can buy these pieces individually? I was thinking the dealer. Going to call them on monday, right now im just looking for a price i should expect... anyone have a link to a site or anything?",117,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00250-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965583562850952
57a8ada3-117b-4df1-959f-cc0048c82fa3,2022-05-19T01:55:45+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://drsircus.com/magnesium/take-magnesium-to-escape-cancer/,"Below is a report from Dr. Robert H. Craig from circa 1930 entitled The Value of Magnesium Chloride as an Aid in the Treatment of Cancer. It confirms everything I have ever written about magnesium and cancer and sustains my continued insistence that it remain the number one medicinal in every cancer protocol. When combined with selenium (just 200 mcg a day reduces one’s chance of dying from cancer), sodium and potassium bicarbonate, iodine and cannabinoid medicine we see the nuclear core of the Natural Allopathic way of treating cancer.
Dr. Craig wrote:
A PATIENT, male, aged 43, consulted me, complaining of a husky voice of eight months’ duration. His family history was most unfavorable; his mother, two maternal uncles and an aunt had died of cancer.
Examination of his larynx revealed a warty growth on the anterior third of the right vocal cord, the edges of which were indurated, and there was a small growth on the left vocal cord. The Wassermann test was negative; no evidence of tuberculosis.
Two denuded pieces of cartilage were removed from the larynx, and three large foul-smelling sloughs were removed from the subglottic space with forceps and suction. In order to gain free access to the upper part of the trachea, the cricoid cartilage was incised with the radon knife and this space carefully fulgurated. A deep ulcerated area on the right side of the larynx was fulgurated. The larynx and trachea were then packed with iodoform gauze saturated with tannic and gallic acid and treated as an open wound. A feeding tube was passed through the nose into the esophagus to a depth of ten inches.
There was some improvement in his general condition following the operation, which was attributed to the removal of the septic foci, but in spite of daily dressings and meticulous care, the laryngeal picture remained about stationary. The patient’s condition was grave and the prognosis gloomy.
As a last resort I decided to administer magnesium chloride subcutaneously and to use it combined with pepsin as a spray for the pharynx, with pepsin and glycerine as a dressing in the laryngeal cavity. After the first injection the patient stated that his teeth felt “as if they were steel”.
Daily examination of the larynx through the laryngeal mirror showed a gradual disappearance of the edema of the epiglottis and larynx. The infiltration began to subside after the tenth treatment. After two weeks of the treatment the skin looked white and almost chalky, and the patient no longer appeared septic. The mucous membrane of the pharynx was whitish, and that of the epiglottis and larynx was white and glistening, suggestive of the deposition of the magnesium salt in the tissues.
The tracheotomy wound, which had been moth-eaten and succulent in appearance was now firm and healthy-looking; the granulations in the laryngeal opening were white, healthy and glistening. The odor and cough had almost disappeared. The improvement was pronounced, and, in order if possible to speed it up, I prescribed magnesium chloride by mouth.
The pathologist reported the necrotic tissue removed from larynx as containing carcinoma cells.
Fifteen days after the treatment was begun the feeding tube was removed and deglutition gradually returned to normal. One month later the edema had disappeared from the epiglottis and the ulceration of the mucous membrane of the larynx had disappeared.
When the tracheotomy tube was removed, the patient could whisper; abduction and adduction were slowly returning. One month and two days from the time the treatment was first started, the patient left the hospital. At the time of writing, two months later, he has gained over fifteen pounds, his appetite is excellent, and the tracheotomy opening healthy, but the larynx is almost immobile. I attribute this fixation partly to the fact that during the time I was absent on my vacation he was not encouraged, nor did he attempt to use his voice. I hope to overcome this by ionization and suitable dilatation. He comes to my office thrice weekly, driving his own car, and is well enough to supervise his business for a part of the day.
The importance of the bio-chemical approach to the study of cancer has been fully stressed by Prof. Pierre Delbet, Superintendent of the Cancer Institute, Paris. The Stockholm Weekly JournZ, in June 1931, published a most enlightening article by him, the title of which was “Take magnesium and escape cancer”.
A COURSE IN NATUROPATHIC ONCOLOGY
Special Offer: My 100 lesson course on cancer at eighty percent off the regular price of 500 dollars. So your cost will be only 99 dollars. The course is part of a doctoral program at Da Vinci University and, when taken for credit, costs 1,000 Euros for both parts.I WANT!
Here he advocated as a prophylactic measure the administration of magnesium to all persons in and past middle life. By his experimental work he showed that soil, water and foodstuffs deficient in magnesium salts predisposed to cancer. In order to check up his gross findings he inoculated a series of rabbits with cancer virus. Fifty percent of these he treated with magnesium chloride, all of which recovered, while the majority of the untreated rabbits died.
Apart from Delbet’s findings there are many fundamental biological reasons why magnesium chloride should have been chosen. According to the latest views, magnesium exhibits its maximum valence in combination with chlorine. Magnesium chloride is the ideal oxidizing and reducing agent in the tissues. This combination has apparently been selected by nature to stimulate to the maximum inter and intracellular change. The great versatility of this combination to reduce and oxidize brings about a complete ionization, and therefore a normal functioning of the cells.",1281,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00202.warc.gz,0.970271944999695
72860ff3-8d7e-40d0-b2bd-42b432a1a6a2,2020-10-26T00:49:54+00:00,2020-10-26,0,http://yelyzavetasemenova.com/tag/travel/,"Free Slovenia Lightroom preset!
Hello boys and girls, sorry for my absence but I'm back! For those who lost the two previous presets just follow this links -> ICE CREAM and ELISA .
I'm here to show you a new preset
Hello boys and girls!
As I've promised today I want show you some nice photos that I've made at Pragser Wildsee. If you want to see you can also see a video I've made there!
Before you see the photos I
Today it's time to dedicate two lines to the wonderful place in Santorìni where I stayed with my friends. Katharos Pool Villas is a complex of private villas a 10-minute walk from the center of Oia, one of the most
Here we go, today I want to start to sharing with you some photos and advices about Santorini. I've already done this on Instagram but I just NEED to do it here too! Santorìni isn't really big as island and it's",214,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107890108.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026002022-20201026032022-00007.warc.gz,0.956691205501556
da35df9e-e3b7-4831-ac50-6b219001c9a7,2015-03-28T14:23:45+00:00,2009-05-14,0,http://www.lexingtonleader.com/news/2009-05-14/sports/021.html,"Lady Eagles Top Thorndale
The Lady Eagles dusted off their bats with a 3-1 win over Thorndale Saturday morning. Rachel Knipstein pitched an excellent game and battery mate Jessica Parish doubled home the first run and then scored the winning run as the Lady Dog first baseman missed an easy throw at first.
Rachel Knipstein was the story in Saturday's game. The first batter reached on an error. She was caught stealing by catcher Jessica Parish's throw to Ally Abshire. The second batter also reached on an error after an excellent fielding play by Shelby Tackett at third. The third hitter got a single to put a runner in scoring position. Rachel proceded to strike out the next 12 batters that strode to the plate in a dominating performance. After a hit, broke the string, she struck out another. 18 of the 21 outs made a U-turn at home plate heading back to the dugout. The player caught stealing was the 19th, a grounder back to Rachel was the 20th, and a wide turn at second with a tag out was the 21st. Only two of the 18 were called, the rest were clear misses by the Thorndale hitters.
Ashton Johnston led off the third inning with a slap single. Jessica Parish followed with a double scoring Johnston. When Thorndale tried to get Johnston at home, Parish went sliding into third. Parish scored as the Lady Dog first baseman missed a throw on Haley Jatzlau's grounder to second base.
Lexington had scoring opportunities in the second and fourth innings as they loaded the bases but could not score. In the second, Megan Scantlin walked, Rachel Knipstein singled, and Sara Knipstein laid down a bunt Thorndale did nothing with to fill the pads with one out. A tap back to the pitcher resulted in a double play to end the threat. In the fourth Scantlin singled, Rachel singled, and Sara walked to load the bases. A pop out to second and a strike out ended the threat this time.
Lexington added the final run in the sixth. Scantlin led off with a double, advanced to third on Rachel's grounder to second base. Heather Mills' single scored Scantlin easily with the Lady Eagles third run. Lexington played another warm up game with Shiner Tuesday night. The Lady Eagles will then play the winner of the Comfort-Geronimo Navarro bi-district affair.",504,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297587.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00005-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963787138462067
3cdf60ca-43a4-4101-b013-f38b5facb7c3,2013-05-22T07:33:21+00:00,2013-05-22,1,http://www.markforytarz.com/category/real-estate/,"For the third consecutive month, the number of new homes sold across Australia has increased. This appears to have been pushed up by solid gains in detached house sales in March.
The latest HIA Hew Home Sales report shows that the number of new homes sold increased by 4.3 per cent in March, following on from [...]
The clearance rate for residential auctions this weekend is 56% from the 518 auctions reported selling.
This is lower than the year to date clearance rate of 61% and less that the comparable weekend last year when there was 776 auctions reported with a clearance rate of 75%.
Of the 518 auctions reported this weekend a total [...]
If you are thinking about venturing into the sector of real estate in Australia, Mark Forytarz is the perfect guide. He is well versed in the domain of real estate and knows in and out about the real estate. He does not follow any typical algorithm to deal with the real estate deals. Mark Forytarz [...]
Investment in the real estate sector is alluring yet difficult. To find a suitable property, one needs to have expertise and domain knowledge. Mark Forytarz has emerged as a leader in the Australian real estate. He is well–aware of all the aspects of real estate market and share his knowledge with his clients.
Real estate sector [...]
With affordability at its lowest level on record, first-home buyers have to think outside the square.
The home-ownership dream rarely used to feature a sibling in your bathtub and a parent on your certificate of title. But these days, first-home buyers are prepared to be flexible.
Housing affordability fell to record lows in the March quarter this [...]
INVESTORS own around two million homes in Australia, and every year thousands claim deductions they are not entitled to and fall foul of the Australian Taxation Office.
The result can be a kindly warning or a significant fine and large interest bill.
The tax office says it is investors’ responsibility to get their tax returns right [...]
CASHED-UP Melburnians keen to snatch beachfront holiday homes for a song from struggling vendors may be in for a big disappointment.
Plunging average prices for regional seaside homes don’t tell the full story.
Valuer-General Victoria sales figures released this month by Land Victoria show median house prices rose in a third of seaside towns!
From the [...]
What happens if rates go up? In today’s low-interest-rate environment one of the common questions property investors ask is, “What happens if I buy now and interest rates skyrocket, like back in the 1980’s?”
An understandable concern and today’s historically low interest rates can’t be sustained forever because at some point the economy will begin [...]
Of the 452 properties up for auction, 83 per cent sold and 77 properties were passed in!
But the number of properties for auction was 126 fewer than at the same time last year!
Real Estate Institute of Victoria CEO Enzo Raimondo attributed the high clearance rate to the extension of the first-home buyers grant [...]
Home buyers are flocking back to variable rate mortgages which now account for 91% of the residential lending market, their highest proportion in four months.
Mortgage broker Mortgage Choice reported in April, basic variable mortgages accounted for 48.15 per cent of all home loans approved - up nearly one per cent from March, while standard variable [...]",717,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.942845940589905
5b207d6e-0604-4a2c-b9b2-ee5bddae2f63,2018-08-22T04:06:17+00:00,2015-05-09,1,https://www.voanews.com/a/experts-drug-resistance-thwarts-chances-to-eradicate-malaria/2639971.html,"Options are running out in the race to eliminate malaria before the parasite responsible for the deadly disease completely outsmarts man's last line of resistance -- an herbal drug known as artemisinin.
“There are very few options and indeed there are very few drugs in the pipeline. So, really, we have one shot eliminating this disease,"" said Benjamin Rolfe, executive secretary of the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA). ""If we don’t eliminate in the next 15 years we will lose our tools, lose our armory and we are very likely indeed, almost certain, to see a resurgence of this disease in the Asia Pacific region and then, subsequently, in the African region.”
Rolfe called the situation ""a global public health emergency.”
He spoke with VOA during a break in the two-day meeting in Bangkok of APLMA and the Emergency Response to Artemisinin Resistance (ERAR).
Public health officials are alarmed that the drugs most utilized to combat the most dangerous form of malaria are becoming ineffective in the Greater Mekong sub-region.
""We saw this happen with previous drugs, chloroquine,"" explains Rolfe. ""The resistance spread from this region through India into Africa. And we’re very concerned that that may happen again.”
An area of particular concern is the long India-Myanmar border.
""India has its own very high burden of malaria that has been stubborn in recent years,"" said Rolfe. ""And if resistance spreads through India to Africa we risk seeing many millions of deaths.”
The governments of Australia and Vietnam, in particular, were praised by participants of the Bangkok meeting for showing leadership in the battle to eliminate malaria, but there is concern of a lack of a similar level of commitment from other heads of state.
""Without the investment, without the cash to make this happen, we will fail,"" Rolfe warned.
APLMA was formed during the East Asia Summit held in Brunei in 2013 amid concern among leaders about the risks of malaria's resurgence, in particular due to increasing drug-resistance in the Greater Mekong area.
Isolated from the sweet wormwood plant, artemisinin and its derivatives have been able to swiftly reduce the number of Plasmodium parasites in the blood of malaria patients.
But the parasite has been found to be resistant to the drug -- considered the last line of defense against malaria -- in parts of five Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar (also known as Burma).
In one area of western Cambodia, near the Thai border, three distinct group of malaria falciparum parasites resistant to artemisinin have been identified, according to research published in 2013 in the journal Nature Genetics.
There were an estimated 198 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2013, and an estimated 584,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
Ninety percent of all malaria deaths occur in Africa where an estimated 437,000 African children died before their fifth birthday due to malaria in 2013.
Between 2000 and 2013 (the latest year for which figures are available) the incidences of malaria were cut by 30 percent globally. And during the same period, malaria mortality rates decreased by an estimated 47 percent worldwide and by 54 percent in Africa.",690,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219469.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20180822030004-20180822050004-00668.warc.gz,0.956810772418976
d1c1b1b1-f6dc-4030-afca-a71d85927230,2018-08-17T04:59:48+00:00,2018-01-18,1,http://www.hortidaily.com/article/40471/Private-equity-investor-to-fund-seed-growers-in-Bhutan,"Job offersmore »
- Hydroponic Crop Manager - Tahiti
- Manager Operational Excellence - El Salvador
- Area Manager North Europe - The Netherlands
- Senior Veredelaar Bloemen
- Consultant - Head of Sales or Greenhouse Owner
- Consultant - Head Grower of Greenhouse
- IPM Manager - Mona (Utah) USA
- Labor Manager - Mona (Utah) USA
- Assistant Farm Manager - Australia
- New Product Development Assistant Manager
Top 5 - yesterday
Top 5 - last week
Top 5 - last month
Exchange ratesmore »
Private equity investor to fund seed growers in BhutanBhutan is one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, but the Himalayan kingdom has a fundamental problem: Its private sector is relatively underdeveloped and starved for capital.
The Asian Development Bank projects gross domestic product growth of 8% for the fiscal year ending in June, but the expansion is being driven by investment in hydropower construction, largely financed by the Indian government. Meanwhile, farming and the public sector together account for three-quarters of employment in Bhutan due to ""the lack of dynamism in the private sector,"" according to a recent World Bank report.
To Michael Barth, a former management consultant who helped set up Bhutan's first law school in 2008, this is a moment of opportunity. He has been meeting with wealthy individuals and other private investors around the world to raise $100 million to launch Bhutan's first private equity fund.
Among the companies Barth is eyeing for investment is a production cooperative of 150 farmers growing seeds for fruit and vegetables. It already exports to Japan, but Barth sees room to double output, with the selling point of pesticide-free seeds grown in an environment of clean air and water and the ability to take advantage of trade preferences to ship into India and Bangladesh.
""It's a superior product,"" Barth said of the seeds. ""There are lots of opportunities like this in Bhutan.""
Read more at Nikkei Asian Review (Zach Coleman)
Publication date: 1/18/2018
Other news in this sector:",439,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211719.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817045508-20180817065508-00562.warc.gz,0.911242425441742
bfc3521d-f989-4c00-9661-4ab6d6874417,2016-07-27T07:46:38+00:00,2014-06-19,1,http://www.nerve.in/news:2535002382453,"""According to police records, 31 people were injured, of which 14 were Muslims and 17 Sinhalese. Police have received 138 complaints of vandalism and looting. ""
Colombo, June 19 - Police will tighten security around Sri Lanka in anticipation of Muslim protests Frid y after communal clashes killed three people in the island's south, the police chief said Thursday.
A special security operation will be put into effect Friday when most Muslims will gather at mosques to pray, Xinhua quoted K. Illangakoon as saying.
Over the past few days, protests against the Buddhist-Muslim clashes have spread. Opposition politicians have condemned the incident in parliament.
The move comes after the Muslim community in Colombo and the Eastern Province staged protests by closing their shops.
The clashes took place in the southern Sri Lankan towns of Aluthgama and Beruwala that resulted in widespread violence with dozens of shops and houses torched.
The protests took place in five towns in the Eastern Province.
We wish to make a special appeal to all communities, especially Muslims, to act with restraint, the police chief said.
Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella joined the police chief in reiterating that law would be upheld to punish offenders arrested during the three days of tension.
Police rejected allegations of bias by pointing out that only seven of the 55 people arrested were Muslims while the rest are Buddhists.
According to police records, 31 people were injured, of which 14 were Muslims and 17 Sinhalese. Police have received 138 complaints of vandalism and looting.
We deny that police stood by and did nothing when shops and houses were being burnt and looted, the police chief said.",347,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00306-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.986011922359467
41c4cbf2-d545-43f2-968a-5e9ef62091d1,2022-05-29T05:48:44+00:00,2022-05-29,0,https://bookboon.com/nb/matrix-algebra-for-engineers-ebook,"This book and accompanying YouTube video lectures is all about matrices, and concisely covers the linear algebra that an engineer should know. We define matrices and how to add and multiply them, and introduce some special types of matrices. We describe the Gaussian elimination algorithm used to solve systems of linear equations and the corresponding LU decomposition of a matrix. We explain the concept of vector spaces and define the main vocabulary of linear algebra. Finally, we develop the theory of determinants and use it to solve the eigenvalue problem.",107,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663039492.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529041832-20220529071832-00628.warc.gz,0.888422012329102
99f21519-a69f-4e42-b051-5be81f1279f7,2019-08-20T15:04:49+00:00,2013-01-25,1,https://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/avatar-animated-in-real-time-using-facial-expressions-captured-with-a-webcam-1495413/,"Services such as Skype allow us to easily hold video calls with people around the world. But what if you wanted to hide your identity, yet still interact naturally on video through an avatar? That’s where a new system developed by a team at Keio University comes in.
Professor Yasue Mitsukura has lead a group that developed the system which uses a typical USB webcam to track a user’s facial expressions and some upper body movement. That data can then be applied in real-time to an avatar. So you can sit there talking into the camera, and a digital character on-screen will mirror your actions.
The potential uses for such tech are wide and varied. Mitsukura believes it will be popular with anyone who does 3D modeling and animation and wants a simple solution for bringing their characters to life. I can also see it being integrated into online games allowing your characters to react in-game realistically as you speak, as well as acting as a quick solution for gathering facial data from actors recording voiceover, be it for games or anime.
As the system just uses a webcam and software, it is very cheap to implement. The facial recognition is done by identifying a user’s eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as face orientation. In total only 14 tracking points are required to get quite precise facial expression feedback. That’s not a lot of data, which also means it can keep up tracking even very fast movement.
The software is capable of interpreting different expressions, and is pre-configured to tell when you are happy, sad, surprised, or even laughing. This could easily be tweaked on the final avatar to portray a better smile, laugh, or angry reaction.
Professor Mitsukura expects to continue developing the software so that it can be distributed for use on PC by anyone with a webcam. As it’s just a software product that requires a webcam, we shouldn’t expect it to cost anymore than a typical off-the-shelf video editing or graphics application.
Read more at DigInfo.tv",425,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315544.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820133527-20190820155527-00426.warc.gz,0.957401990890503
dd11ce07-cc01-4f60-991a-7d6993931e99,2015-03-31T16:12:36+00:00,2012-08-23,0,http://www.gpb.org/news/2012/08/23/newnan-educator-is-principal-of-the-year,"The principal of Smokey Road Middle School in Newnan, Laurie Barron, has been named the middle school principal of the year by MetLife and the National Association of Middle School Principals.
Barron played a major role in turning around Smokey Road Middle School since she became principal in 2004. She became the fourth principal to run the school in five years.
She was credited with improving what had been rampant discipline problems, high absenteeism and low student achievement at the school.
The award was announced Tuesday at an assembly attended by students, teachers, district staff members, and representatives from the Georgia Department of Education and the governor's office.",131,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300735.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00288-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.985112488269806
40d5fa89-d2f8-4da2-9256-6f0eb0e56ea7,2019-08-18T21:56:36+00:00,2019-08-18,1,https://neuropain.com/tag/alzheimers/,"The Alzheimer’s DAYBREAK-ALZ Study is a clinical research study for people with memory problems or mild Alzheimer’s disease. We are looking for people who would like to participate.
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. As we get older, most of us become more forgetful. Keys go missing, we can’t remember names easily, memories fade. But if you find that forgetfulness is becoming a problem for you, people comment on your memory loss, or you have difficulty planning or problem-solving, these could be early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is very common, it affects one in 1,400 who are age 40-64 years, one in 100 people age 65-69 years, one in 25 of people in their 70s, and one in 6 of people age 80 years or older.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include memory loss, difficulties thinking, problem-solving and communicating. Alzheimer’s disease develops due to changes in the structure and chemistry of the brain that affect its ability to function properly when performing certain “mental” activities. This is known as cognitive impairment.
Alzheimer’s has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues.
Although current Alzheimer’s treatments cannot stop Alzheimer’s from progressing, they can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.
Dr. Bhatia’s clinic is conducting Alzheimer’s DAYBREAK-ALZ Study in Fresno
Do you or a loved one have memory problems or mild Alzheimer’s disease?
Then you may be interested in the DAYBREAK-ALZ clinical research study.
- The DAYBREAK-ALZ study is a clinical research study for people with memory problems or mild Alzheimer’s disease.
- The study will examine if an investigational medication, taken by mouth, may slow the decline in memory and mental functioning associated with Alzheimer’s.
- There is no cost to participate. Volunteers who take part in the study will receive all study-related care, from a Specialist Physician, at no cost and you may be compensated up to $150 per visit for your time and travel expenses.
Who can join the DAYBREAK-ALZ Study?
To join the study you must:
- Be between 55 and 85 years old
- Have a close friend, relative or partner who would be willing to be your study partner throughout the study
- Have experienced a gradual loss of memory over the last 6 months (the study team will assess whether this is due to Alzheimer’s disease) or have been diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s disease
If you think you might like to join the DAYBREAK-ALZ study or you would like to learn more, please contact us. We can tell you more about it and explain what participating would mean for you. We will talk through the potential benefits and risks of being involved in the study, before you make your decision about joining.
We will also carry out several medical checks to see whether you are right for the study, and the study is right for you.
What does the study involve?
The study will last for around three years – 8 weeks to see if you qualify, plus 3 years of treatment, then 4 weeks of follow-up.
The study drug is a tablet, to be taken once a day. The tablet will contain either a lower dose of the study drug, a higher dose of the study drug, or a placebo, depending on which group you are assigned to. A placebo tablet is one that contains no active ingredients.
You will be assigned at random to one of the study groups. Neither you nor the study doctor will know which group you’ve been assigned to. There is a 2 in 3 chance that you will receive the study drug. If it is necessary to find out which group you’ve been assigned to, the study doctor can do so quickly.
You will need a study partner. This person needs to be someone who you are in regular contact with, who will go with you to study appointments, and who can help the study team to notice any changes in your mental functioning.
If you join the study, you and your study partner will be asked to attend around 29 appointments. During these appointments, we will assess your health, thinking and memory with some standard medical tests and questionnaires. We will also ask you about any side effects you may experience. These appointments will be every 3 weeks for the first few visits and then every 7 weeks until the end of the study.",1002,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314130.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818205919-20190818231919-00057.warc.gz,0.946533262729645
58661171-bfeb-4f62-9412-0a79810a18c6,2013-06-19T19:20:28+00:00,2011-10-05,1,http://fangoria.com/index.php/home/all-news/1-latest-news/7852-dante-tomaselli-sets-chamber-premiere-alice-remake,"If you wish to go to the current Fangoria site, you may click the top logo, ""Home"" or ""News"" links. Or click here.
The TORTURE CHAMBER is finally opening up; independent
shockmeister Dante Tomaselli is seeing his latest film world-premiere at a prestigious
European festival. He also gave us the scoop on what’s up with his next
project: his long-planned ALICE, SWEET ALICE remake, which has a member of the
Fango team on board.
TORTURE CHAMBER, about a possessed child who literally makes
life hell for assorted adults, will be premiering at this year’s Sitges
festival in Spain, screening on Wednesday, October 10. Tomaselli is now gearing
up for ALICE, a new version of the cult-classic religious chiller directed by
his cousin Alfred Sole, with a script co-written by Fango’s own Michael
Gingold. “Now that Torture Chamber will be premiering at Sitges, I feel on fire
to create ALICE, SWEET ALICE,” he tells Fango. “One baby out of my belly, and a
new one kicking. Michael really helped craft a suspenseful horror funhouse in
which nothing is as it seems, and Alfred will be production designer [a gig he
currently holds on the long-running TV series CASTLE] and producer.
“The film will retain the original’s unique ’70s,
Italian/Catholic, Paterson, New Jersey, giallo-esque look,” Tomaselli
continues. “It’s definitely a period piece. We’re keeping the famous mask and
yellow raincoat, and it still centers on Alice and her religious family stalked
by murder…but with some new twists. Yes, I raise my eyebrows whenever I hear of
any remake, but this is not just another soulless rehash. Alfred and I have
been wanting to work together for a while now, and he knows his bizarre, scary
film has influenced me so much, and was a staple of my childhood. ALICE, SWEET
ALICE is THE GODFATHER of ambitious indie horror. My relatives were extras in
the original, I knew all the locations and my father, who owned a
jewelry/bridal store, provided the communion dresses and white gloves.” Trace back through our previous CHAMBER pieces starting
here, and keep your eyes on this site for ALICE updates!
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AND BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT NEWS, CONTESTS, EVENTS AND MORE!
All contents © 2011 Fangoria Entertainment",583,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.923971235752106
8921a08b-bb51-4c97-8a2a-214953df7f22,2016-07-27T15:18:09+00:00,2013-11-01,1,http://nanotech2day.blogspot.in/2013/11/travel-in-tube.html,"Travel in a Tube?
Travel in a Tube?
Travel in a Tube?Travel in a Tube?
Transportation should be clean, green, fast, comfortable and affordable for all; It must also be financially sustainable on a global level. THE TIME FOR A NEW MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IS NOW!
WHAT IS ET3TM and HOW DOES IT WORK?ET3 is literally ""Space Travel on Earth"". ET3 is silent, low cost, safe, faster than jets, and is electric.
Car sized passenger capsules travel in 1.5m (5') diameter tubes on frictionless maglev. Air is permanently removed from the two-way tubes that are built along a travel route. Airlocks at stations allow transfer of capsules without admitting air. Linear electric motors accelerate the capsules, which then coast through the vacuum for the remainder of the trip using no additional power. Most of the energy is regenerated as the capsules slow down. ET3 can provide 50 times more transportation per kWh than electric cars or trains.
Speed in initial ET3 systems is 600km/h (370 mph) for in state trips, and will be developed to 6,500 km/h (4,000 mph) for international travel that will allow passenger or cargo travel from New York to Beijing in 2 hours. ET3 is networked like freeways, except the capsules are automatically routed from origin to destination.
ET3 capsules weigh only 183 kg (400 lbs), yet like an automobile, can carry up to six people or 367 kg (800 lbs) of cargo. Compared to high speed rail, ET3 needs only 1/20th the material to build because the vehicles are so light. With automated passive switching, a pair of ET3 tubes can exceed the capacity of a 32 lane freeway. ET3 can be built for 1/10th the cost of High Speed Rail, or 1/4th the cost of a freeway.
ET3 stands for Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies. The company ET3.com Inc. is wholly owned and operated as a subsidiary of ET3 Global Alliance Inc. and is an open consortium of licensees dedicated to global implementation of Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT). Our immediate focus is to finalize the location to build a production ready demonstration of ET3 to operate at 600km/h (375mph)++. The ET3 demo requires 3 miles of straight right-of-way, and will showcase all elements necessary to network ET3 on a regional basis.",512,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00021-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.904128432273865
9b8bb959-76e5-42c6-979f-d24844735ce4,2020-10-28T17:59:16+00:00,2014-11-01,1,https://www.lemiami.in/pondy-coming.php,"Invest in tomorrow's metro. Today
Pondicherry is predicted to be one among the 15 new metros by 2025, in the ""India's Economic Geography in 2025: States, Clusters and Cities"" report by the coveted global consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. The report calls Pondicherry as one of the “very high performing” states in India.
Source: The Hindu, 01st Nov 2014, Chennai edition
Pondy Prominent on the global tourism map!
The foreseeable future
- 4 - lane connectivity from Chennai to Pondicherry.
- Pondicherry boasts a fully functional airport that has charter flights and the local flying training school operating out of this airport.
- Air connectivity from Pondicherry-Bengaluru via Air India Regional.
Smart City Pondicherry
- Pondicherry is one of India's top 100 smart cities – A project envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revolutionize India.
- The social facilities on offer at these cities are expected to be far better than the regular cities.
- The cities built/upgraded as part of the Smart Cities project shall have the very best in recreational facilities as well with sports stadia, open centres and plazas to go with centres of Culture
- The French government has earmarked 2 billion euros as credit for implementation of programmes under the project.
- This association will over support and expertise to the Pondicherry Government in sustainable urban development, water, waste management and energy effciency.",325,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107900200.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028162226-20201028192226-00161.warc.gz,0.910977244377136
b0200ebe-0c41-43e6-a0f7-1add8225f813,2015-03-29T18:11:44+00:00,2013-01-23,1,http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/powder_keg_in_the_pacific_20130123?ln,"March 29, 2015
Powder Keg in the Pacific
Posted on Jan 23, 2013
By Michael Klare, TomDispatch
This piece first appeared at TomDispatch. Read Tom Engelhardt’s introduction here.
Don’t look now, but conditions are deteriorating in the western Pacific. Things are turning ugly, with consequences that could prove deadly and spell catastrophe for the global economy.
In Washington, it is widely assumed that a showdown with Iran over its nuclear ambitions will be the first major crisis to engulf the next secretary of defense—whether it be former Senator Chuck Hagel, as President Obama desires, or someone else if he fails to win Senate confirmation. With few signs of an imminent breakthrough in talks aimed at peacefully resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, many analysts believe that military action—if not by Israel, than by the United States—could be on this year’s agenda.
Lurking just behind the Iranian imbroglio, however, is a potential crisis of far greater magnitude, and potentially far more imminent than most of us imagine. China’s determination to assert control over disputed islands in the potentially energy-rich waters of the East and South China Seas, in the face of stiffening resistance from Japan and the Philippines along with greater regional assertiveness by the United States, spells trouble not just regionally, but potentially globally.
Islands, Islands, Everywhere
Square, Site wide
The possibility of an Iranian crisis remains in the spotlight because of the obvious risk of disorder in the Greater Middle East and its threat to global oil production and shipping. A crisis in the East or South China Seas (essentially, western extensions of the Pacific Ocean) would, however, pose a greater peril because of the possibility of a U.S.-China military confrontation and the threat to Asian economic stability.
The United States is bound by treaty to come to the assistance of Japan or the Philippines if either country is attacked by a third party, so any armed clash between Chinese and Japanese or Filipino forces could trigger American military intervention. With so much of the world’s trade focused on Asia, and the American, Chinese, and Japanese economies tied so closely together in ways too essential to ignore, a clash of almost any sort in these vital waterways might paralyze international commerce and trigger a global recession (or worse).
All of this should be painfully obvious and so rule out such a possibility—and yet the likelihood of such a clash occurring has been on the rise in recent months, as China and its neighbors continue to ratchet up the bellicosity of their statements and bolster their military forces in the contested areas. Washington’s continuing statements about its ongoing plans for a “pivot” to, or “rebalancing” of, its forces in the Pacific have only fueled Chinese intransigence and intensified a rising sense of crisis in the region. Leaders on all sides continue to affirm their country’s inviolable rights to the contested islands and vow to use any means necessary to resist encroachment by rival claimants. In the meantime, China has increased the frequency and scale of its naval maneuvers in waters claimed by Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, further enflaming tensions in the region.
Ostensibly, these disputes revolve around the question of who owns a constellation of largely uninhabited atolls and islets claimed by a variety of nations. In the East China Sea, the islands in contention are called the Diaoyus by China and the Senkakus by Japan. At present, they are administered by Japan, but both countries claim sovereignty over them. In the South China Sea, several island groups are in contention, including the Spratly chain and the Paracel Islands (known in China as the Nansha and Xisha Islands, respectively). China claims all of these islets, while Vietnam claims some of the Spratlys and Paracels. Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines also claim some of the Spratlys.
Far more is, of course, at stake than just the ownership of a few uninhabited islets. The seabeds surrounding them are believed to sit atop vast reserves of oil and natural gas. Ownership of the islands would naturally confer ownership of the reserves—something all of these countries desperately desire. Powerful forces of nationalism are also at work: with rising popular fervor, the Chinese believe that the islands are part of their national territory and any other claims represent a direct assault on China’s sovereign rights; the fact that Japan—China’s brutal invader and occupier during World War II—is a rival claimant to some of them only adds a powerful tinge of victimhood to Chinese nationalism and intransigence on the issue. By the same token, the Japanese, Vietnamese, and Filipinos, already feeling threatened by China’s growing wealth and power, believe no less firmly that not bending on the island disputes is an essential expression of their nationhood.
Long ongoing, these disputes have escalated recently. In May 2011, for instance, the Vietnamese reported that Chinese warships were harassing oil-exploration vessels operated by the state-owned energy company PetroVietnam in the South China Sea. In two instances, Vietnamese authorities claimed, cables attached to underwater survey equipment were purposely slashed. In April 2012, armed Chinese marine surveillance ships blocked efforts by Filipino vessels to inspect Chinese boats suspected of illegally fishing off Scarborough Shoal, an islet in the South China Sea claimed by both countries.
1 2 3 NEXT PAGE >>>
Previous item: Global Warming Is a Domestic Crisis
New and Improved Comments",1151,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298660.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00043-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944909334182739
3a5738b6-749f-4c6a-adcb-348f2888430b,2022-05-27T16:33:52+00:00,2018-01-13,1,https://worldbulletin.dunyabulteni.net/palestine/hamas-says-will-not-attend-plo-central-council-meeting-h197789.html,"World Bulletin / News Desk
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said Friday it will not attend a central council meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) next week in Ramallah.
“Ismail Haniyeh, chief of Hamas' political bureau, in an official letter told Salim Zanoun, chairman of the PLO’s Palestinian National Council, that the party will not participate in the central council meeting next Sunday and Monday,” said Palestine’s official radio station.
A senior Hamas official who preferred to remain anonymous told Anadolu Agency that Hamas took the decision following several days of discussions between the movement’s leaders inside and outside Palestine.
“The meeting will be held in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, which means that senior Hamas officials won’t be able to attend,” he said.
He added that “the meeting will be held without a specific agenda, which strengthened the conviction by the movement’s leadership that no concrete decisions will be taken.”
The Islamic Jihad movement announced Tuesday that it will not participate in the meeting as it will be held in an Israeli occupied city.
Last December, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced a meeting of the Palestinian Central Council to discuss steps to be taken against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Güncelleme Tarihi: 13 Ocak 2018, 11:27",303,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662658761.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527142854-20220527172854-00223.warc.gz,0.943092048168182
49fd8d27-09f3-4fa5-af6b-32977902b919,2015-03-30T23:04:02+00:00,2014-01-13,1,http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/13/frozen-headed-to-broadway/?iid=tl-article-mostpop2,"The day after Frozen won a Golden Globe for best animated film, Walt Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger confirmed to Fortune that the company wants the unconventional princess story to become a Broadway musical.
Iger said Disney was currently in discussions to adapt the box office success for Broadway audiences, but declined to give a timeframe. “We’re not demanding speed,” he said. “We’re demanding excellence.”
Frozen is Disney’s biggest hit at the box office in almost 20 years. It was the number one all-time Disney animation debut and has grossed $669 million so far — and that’s before opening in huge markets like China or Japan. It will soon pass The Lion King in overall box office numbers.
The movie’s soundtrack is also the number one album on both Amazon and iTunes. Not since the days of Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast has Disney seen such commercial and critical success from a musical. (That estimation, of course, doesn’t include Pixar movies like Toy Story and Finding Nemo.)
The next obvious step, then, is to take the songs to Broadway. And that’s not all. Iger told Fortune that because the movie has “franchise potential” we can expect toys, clothes, theme park rides and even sequels based on the film’s characters.",286,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00206-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944346904754639
1a6e176a-b96e-4a99-afbc-899098be1a67,2017-08-19T00:05:44+00:00,2014-11-06,0,https://jamesreadsbooks.com/2014/11/06/the-wall-growing-up-behind-the-iron-curtan-by-peter-sis/,"My second book for Non-fiction November is a kids book, a little kids book. This makes reviewing it something of a challenge for me. While I do read Young Adult fiction on a regular basis both for work and, sometimes, for pleasure, I rarely read books for elementary readers. My school’s librarian had this one on display so I picked it up.
But how do I review it? Did I like it? Would a seven-year-old like it? What about a child who’s not yet reading independently yet?
I liked it.
The story is autobiography mixed with history. There is a simple tale of a boy who wants to draw running throughout The Wall, kind of like Harold and the Purple Crayon. Overlaid on top of this story is the history of Soviet era Prague. While I can’t say that I learned anything new, I do think The Wall would work as a decent primer on the subject. I’m not sure if many older students would have the patience for a kids book, but anyone interested in the subject will find the educational aspects of the book mixed well with the more straightforward entertainment.
The pictures are very good, too. Mr. Sis’s black and white drawings include splashes of color that add to the story and provide for moments of rainbow breakout imagery. The Prague Spring section does this very well.
Would very young readers enjoy The Wall? I’m not so sure. I’ll have to defer here to anyone who knows or is a seven-year-old reader. The basic story of a boy who wants to draw should have a lot of appeal for many readers. Most kids want to draw, I think. I expect Harold and his crayon still sell very well after all these many years because of this. But I wonder how the historical overlay will work. I thought it was a lot of information for seven-year-old to take in with a large amount of very high level vocabulary.
I think The Wall borders dangerously close to books that are supposed to be good for you. Most kids I work with avoid books that are supposed to be good for them.
I really don’t think The Wall would work well as a read-aloud at bed time book. I think parents would have to spend more time explaining what’s going on in the pictures than they would reading. I think the best books for very young readers and pre-readers for lack of a better term are very simple both story wise and picture wise. A good, straightforward story with easy to understand pictures.
So, that will be my review for this book.
You can probably see why I don’t read and review very many elementary level books.",570,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105195.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818233221-20170819013221-00413.warc.gz,0.976865351200104
e9b3369e-ea2a-4a99-80d5-02c3c2d04513,2020-10-20T23:38:42+00:00,2016-05-31,1,http://www.internationaldesigngroup.co.uk/the-kingdom-tower-a-new-age-of-skyscrapers/,"We are entering a new era of construction. Much like the space race of the 1960s, Asia and the Middle East are now competing to create the world’s tallest building. In 2018 a new milestone in skyscraper design will be reached as the Jeddah Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia will finally be completed. This magnificent building will stand at an approximate height of 1,000 metres (the exact height is yet to be determined), span 252 floors, and contain over 80,000 tonnes of steel. It will be the tallest building in the world, taking the title from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The Jeddah Economic City
The Jeddah Kingdom Tower will cost approximately $1.2 billion (although figures significantly vary) to construct and will be a part of the $20 billion Kingdom City development. The project creator, Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, is currently the wealthiest man in the Middle East and chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company. It is his vision to create an economically prosperous, gentrified city to enhance the region’s global status and provide jobs for many years to come.
When complete, the city will contain a mixture of residential developments, hotels and offices. The Kingdom Tower itself will be home to a Four Seasons hotel, serviced apartments, office spaces, luxury condominiums and a commercial shopping centre.
The Kingdom Tower will boast the world’s highest observation deck at 630 metres. In the early designs this part of the building was proposed to be a helicopter pad, but was too high for helicopters to safely land during high winds. It has now been redesigned and will even feature glass flooring.
Other features include a complex elevator system made up of 59 lifts (five of which will be double decker). They will even have to adjust their speed along the way to prevent passengers from suffering from altitude sickness. Only one elevator will be able to reach the top of the building.
Construction and Design
The original design was proposed to be one mile high; however, results from soil testing concluded that the ground would not support the structure. Even with the significant downscale, it will exceed the current record holder by 180 metres – the size of London’s St Mary Axe (aka The Gherkin). The unique Y-shaped cross section, separated by 120 degrees is designed to combat the wind and keep the structure stable.
In its entirety, the city will take approximately 10 years to build. The Kingdom Tower piling was finished in December 2013 and above ground construction began in 2014. The estimated date of completion is currently 2018; however, some media sources believe it could take years longer. At present (May 2016) it stands at just over 10 percent of its final height with 32 floors.
The Kingdom Tower has its critics. Many are calling it a trophy tower and simply don’t understand the need to create such a tall structure, believing it to be socially isolating for the under-privileged. Some praise the ambitious project as an economically valuable endeavour that will help the nation prosper. Either way, nobody can deny that it is a phenomenal feat of engineering that really is pushing the boundaries of international architecture.",648,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874340.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020221156-20201021011156-00092.warc.gz,0.954878032207489
12fad180-b057-4b15-a825-4e3d3f02cf40,2013-06-18T22:27:07+00:00,2011-08-01,1,http://www.ogj.com/articles/2011/08/bonaparte-appraisal-drilling-begins.html,"The Santos/GDF Suez joint venture known as Bonaparte LNG has begun drilling the first appraisal well in its bid to prove reserves for the floating LNG development project in the Tern, Petrel, and Frigate gas fields off the Western Australian and Northern Territory borders in the Bonaparte Gulf.
Petrel-7, within Petrel field in retention lease NT/RL1, is being drilled by semisubmersible rig Stena Clyde. The well is to be drilled to a total depth of 3,930 m. Three tests are expected.
A final investment decision for the proposed 2 million tonnes/year FLNG project is expected in 2014. GDF Suez has 60% interest and operatorship. Santos has 40%.",154,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949139952659607
88cf5fb4-ad15-4dde-82ea-a64a194ea81d,2022-05-28T03:38:02+00:00,2021-08-01,0,https://msmorningmanna.com/2021/08/01/blocks-to-silence/,"When I was younger I kept noise going all the time. I even had my front door light switch connected to my radio. The moment I walked in, I flipped the switch and instant noise. I know now what I didn’t know then. I was blocking the buried emotional pain that was crying out for release. Can you relate? The pain that we bury is very alive. It seeps into our thought process no matter how much we deny it exists.
Having an agenda is the background noise of pride. Another block to silence is a negative dialogue. Anything, that is from your past, that you continue to rehearse is noise. 2 Corinthians 5:17 is a great verse to memorize that will help overthrow that prideful noise. It says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The past has passed. It is over. Your noisy negative dialogue does not change one thing.
Anxiety and worry are very noisy. They are always pushing forward in your thoughts. They are also pride, and reveal our ‘self’ grappling for control. Anything that has to do with ‘self’ is noisy. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Years ago I heard a father say to his rebellious son, “I said no. What part of no don’t you understand, the N or the O?” I’ve never forgotten that!
Sitting quiet before the Lord takes practice. It is applying the instruction of 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. It is like learning anything new. It is trial and error, but always moving forward. You may try to be still, but a thought jumps in. Then you take that thought captive through refocusing back on the Lord.
Unforgiveness is a huge barrier to stillness. It is sin, and hidden sin is very noisy. Matthew 18:34 is about the torturers that come with unforgiveness. Verse 35 says, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” One being tortured is not usually silent.
It is true that our minds are a battlefield. Isaiah 28:6 says that the Lord gives, “….strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.” I like to think of the gate being my mind. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the things in your life that block you from being still. Mark 4:22 says, “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.”
Proverbs 8:34 was written about wisdom. It says, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord.”",660,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663012542.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528031224-20220528061224-00021.warc.gz,0.978432714939117
b2f85018-9844-4d6f-b246-c58373ab0af1,2013-05-19T09:55:49+00:00,2013-01-21,1,http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130121/NEWS/301210317/-1/rss16,"MATTAPOISETT — SouthCoast towns that get their water supply from the Mattapoisett River Valley are preparing for stricter water-use regulations they fear will be put in place by the state in 2015.
Marion, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven and Rochester all take their water from the aquifer underlying the Mattapoisett River and have begun considering what types of water-conserving measures the towns could undertake should the state require them to do so.
""The way we have it now, if the Mattapoisett River flows below a certain level, we have water-use restrictions — like you can only water your lawn once a week — until the river goes back up,"" said William Nicholson, who is the Water and Sewer Department superintendent for Mattapoisett and also sits on the Mattapoisett River Valley Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee.
""The concern is that we are going to start having to do this as an annual event that could start as early as May or June and go as late as the month of September,"" Nicholson said.
The shift to annual water-conservation measures would mark a large change for towns like Fairhaven, where Executive Secretary Jeffrey Osuch, who chairs the Advisory Committee, said water restrictions haven't been put in place in years.
""It only has happened in summers that are, essentially, rain-less,"" he said. ""If towns have to do this annually, I suspect the state is going to see a lot of push back from communities who feel they are already doing what they should be doing.""
The Advisory Committee has begun exploring its options for annual water restriction in anticipation of a 2015 Department of Environmental Protection review of all water-use permits for towns abutting Buzzards Bay.
DEP spokesman Edmund Coletta said his department is still working on its final requirements for water use permits but that ""we anticipate further conservation measures to make sure that the need for enough drinking water is balanced against the need to protect the ecosystem of plant and fish life.""
He said he was not familiar with any environmental water shortages in the Buzzards Bay area but that other parts of the state, like the Ipswich River, have been damaged by overuse.
""This is a preventive measure to make sure that even though you might live in an area that is termed water-rich, a month of two of no rain in the summer could cause issues for these water systems,"" he said. ""It's good to have water conservation measures in place just in case.""",516,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.978402674198151
c0e2e306-2498-4ce1-abe1-146559d6dda1,2013-05-19T10:23:48+00:00,2013-01-29,1,http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/high-speed-rail-for-west-coast/?ref=highspeedrailprojects,"California has gotten closer to high-speed rail, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority have developed trains capable of operating up to 220 miles an hour for service on both the East and West Coasts, and the California authority received final bids to build the first leg of the state’s high-speed rail project, 29 miles of track in the Central Valley. “This brings the state’s largest infrastructure undertaking in history one step closer to breaking ground later this year,” Mr. LaHood wrote in his Fast Lane blog.
- Previous Post Walkabout — 1/28: What to Do With Your Dreamliner Ticket, and Jersey Shore
- Next Post A Room Fit for a Queen",155,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951843202114105
c2fa98c0-af63-4bcd-99f1-1ad8929efdff,2019-08-20T19:07:30+00:00,2015-12-31,0,https://www.cccep.ac.uk/profile/lingteh/,"Tse-Ling Teh completed her PhD in Sustainable Development at Columbia University, New York in 2015. Ling’s research focuses on improving welfare through the design of policy in situations of uncertainty and risk. Although her research is primarily in applied microeconomic theory, she also utilizes experimental games and field surveys in her research. Most recently, Ling has generated theoretical research to inform disaster risk financing policy at the World Bank.
Prior to resuming her studies, Ling held roles as an actuarial consultant at Towers Watson and a program analyst at the UNDP. In addition to her PhD, Ling holds first class degrees in Law and Actuarial studies from the Australian National University.",137,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315558.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820180442-20190820202442-00280.warc.gz,0.946984648704529
e66693d6-6667-4b52-ae7e-95e369552537,2020-10-29T02:31:40+00:00,2020-10-29,1,https://www.onfocus.news/wisconsin-assembly-oks-drunken-driving-bills/,"MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Assembly has approved two bills that would stiffen drunken driving penalties.
The first measure would require anyone arrested for a first offense to appear in court. Currently a first offense is a civil violation, not a criminal one, and people can skip their initial court appearance.
The bill also would eliminate provisions in state law that allow second offenses to be treated as a civil violation rather than a misdemeanor if the first offense took place at least 10 years earlier. The second proposal would establish a minimum five-year sentence for anyone convicted of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle. Republican Rep. Jim Ott authored both bills.
The Assembly passed both measures on voice votes Thursday. The bills now go to the state Senate.",154,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107902683.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029010437-20201029040437-00016.warc.gz,0.974272787570953
c7038a8c-b2b6-4e85-af3b-805358431456,2015-03-28T01:14:22+00:00,2008-04-15,1,http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Living-Green/2008/0415/ultracapacitors-the-future-of-electric-cars-or-the-cold-fusion-of-autovation,"Ultracapacitors: the future of electric cars or the 'cold fusion' of autovation?
ZENN Motors says its electric car will cruise for 250 miles on a single five-minute charge. Skeptics cry shenanigans.
Ian Clifford wants to start a global revolution by building a practical, everyday car with no gasoline engine, no batteries, and no emissions.
While big Detroit automakers ponder a future plug-in car that goes 40 miles on a battery charge before its gas engine kicks in, Mr. Clifford's tiny ZENN Motor, a Toronto maker of low-speed electric cars, announced in March that it will build a new highway-speed (80 m.p.h.) model that goes 250 miles on a charge – and can recharge in just five minutes.
Having no batteries, the new ""cityZENN"" model will use a breakthrough version of a common electrical storage device called an ultracapacitor to store power from a wall socket, the company says. Fuel costs to operate it would be about one-tenth of today's gas-powered vehicle.
If that astounding claim is real (and there are many skeptics), it could revolutionize automotive travel by making all-electric cars competitive with gas-powered vehicles and easing the world's dependence on oil.
""The big problem has always been the battery and its limits,"" says Clifford, ZENN's founder and CEO in a phone interview. ""This new technology is a 180-degree shift that represents the end of fossil fuel as a transportation fuel.""
That's because the same ultracapacitor technology could be used across the grid to provide cheap electric storage for wind and solar power, he says. In turn, this process could power millions of ultracapacitor vehicles with no emissions at all. With the cars' fast-charge capability, recharging stations could pop up to help make even longer trips routine.
Ultracapacitors – also called supercapacitors – are more powerful cousins of the basic capacitor. With activated carbon at their core to act as a sponge for electrons, ultracapacitors can absorb power – or send a charge – far faster than batteries. They are also far more durable.
First used in the 1960s, ultracapacitors today are widely found in electronic devices such as computers. In cameras, they retract and expand zoom lens. Yet the power stored by today's ultracapacitors is still only about 5 percent as much as a modern lithium-ion battery, far too little to power a car by themselves.
The reported breakthrough was made by ZENN's business partner EEStor, a Cedar Park, Texas, firm headed by respected computer industry veteran Richard Weir, who's named on the company's patent. The company is now nearing commercial production of its new ""electrical energy storage unit"" or EESU, Clifford says.
But privately held EEStor has had little to say publicly or to the press – and that secretiveness has inspired incredulity among many debating the topic on Internet forums.
But in a break with that tradition, Tom Weir, the company's vice president and general manager, responded to e-mailed questions.
""EEStor's technology has the opportunity to touch every aspect of daily life from very big to very small devices,"" Mr. Weir writes. ""We also see a whole new generation of products ... based around our technology.""
Added credibility arrived with the January announcement by Lockheed Martin, the big defense company, of an agreement to use EEStor technology for military and homeland security applications. It refers to the EEStor ""ceramic battery"" providing ""10 times the energy density of lead-acid batteries at 1/10th the weight and volume.""
In 2005, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers sunk $3 million into EEStor. ZENN also invested $3 million and will get exclusive rights to retrofit vehicles with the system – and produce new mid-size cars using EESUs.
According to EEStor's patent application, the breakthrough is based on a technically arduous process of purifying and fabricating units with barium titanate, a material known to retain vast amounts of power.
""The main feature of the EESU is the charge and dis-charge at electric speed,"" Weir writes. ""This is a key enabling factor for the advancement of the next generation of vehicles. Another feature is the amount of power the EESU can store. Lastly, the EESU is expected to be considered fully 'green.' ""
But some bloggers call the purported breakthrough pure hype, today's version of ""cold fusion,"" the still-theoretical energy source announced in 1989.
At least some analysts and researchers, though skeptical, seem reluctant to dismiss entirely the possibility that EEStor could be onto something significant.
""I'm sure they do have a technology, but skepticism revolves around the fact that nobody knows much about it,"" says Anu Cherian, an analyst who tracks the $100 million global ultracapacitor market for Frost & Sullivan, a growth consulting company. ""The ZENN car looks to be an exciting development. But there's a lot of hype in the market.""
Other ultracapacitor experts won't dismiss EEStor's claim despite technical challenges.
""It would be unfair to make an analogy between what EEStor is doing and cold fusion,"" says Joel Schindall, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who is using nanotechnology to improve ultracapacitors. ""I don't doubt that they have built a device on a small scale that does store the amounts of energy they are talking about. I just don't know if they can manage the process of scaling it up ... for commercial applications.""
Dr. Schindall and his colleagues hope soon to demonstrate a fivefold boost in ultracapacitor energy storage to up to 25 percent of the energy storage capacity of a lithium battery – and someday up to 50 percent – using a different approach to the problem.
Such significant advances would make ultracapacitors viable in vehicles, though they still fall far short of Clifford's claims about EESU.
Making commercial quantities of EESUs could prove challenging since even tiny impurities and defects in manufacturing could result in ""a violent discharge,"" Schindall notes.
Safety is a huge issue for energy storage in vehicles whether powered by gasoline, ethanol, hydrogen, batteries – or ultracapacitors. High-capacity lithium-ion battery research for cars, for instance, is focused on ensuring those devices don't burst into flames. EEStor has ensured that its new ultracapacitor will be safe if damaged in a crash by ""instantly discharging to ground,"" Clifford says.
Skeptics don't bother him, he says, because ""we've seen this product with our own eyes.""
""We've had a great 100-year run with petroleum,"" Clifford says. ""But the time has come for all of us to come to our senses now and realize that the electric-powered era for cars has finally arrived.""
Comments from EEStor
Much of the rampant skepticism on the Internet over whether or not EEStor has had a breakthrough in automotive propulsion stems from the company's reticence to speak or to demonstrate its product publicly. Only a handful of press releases have been issued since the company was formed, and press reports have rarely included any direct quotes from company managers. Below are comments from a Monitor e-mail interview with Tom Weir, vice president and general manager, EEStor, Inc.
Can you offer an idea of what your product could do for automotive transportation and a time horizon for development?
""We see our Electrical Energy Storage Unit, 'EESU,' enabling the next generation of electric vehicles. The main feature of the EESU is [its ability to] charge and dis-charge at electric speed. This is a key enabling factor for the advancement of the next generation of vehicles. Another feature is the amount of power the EESU can store. Lastly, the EESU is expected to be considered fully 'green.' ""
Some have suggested that ultracapacitors will play more of a supporting role – others that it's a ""game changer,"" or even world changing. How would you describe the potential?
""EEStor's technology has the opportunity to touch every aspect of daily life from very big to very small devices. We also see a whole new generation of products and services that [are] based around our technology.""
How would you characterize EEStor's contribution to developing new systems to transmit the energy for automotive propulsion?
EEStor has announced passing an evaluation on purity of its production process. Explain why this is important.
""To be discussed in the near future.""
Why has EEStor been so quiet, some say secretive, about what it is doing?
""We talk about our achievements through press releases. We talk with our current customers almost daily. We will also talk about more things when the time is right.""
Do you see any show stoppers, or is it just a matter of ramping up?
""With any start-up you have some speed bumps that come up from time to time. We have no show stoppers.""
Competitors rev their engines
At the North American International Auto Show in January, AFS Trinity created a stir by strutting its ""extreme hybrid"" plug-in concept vehicle that uses ultracapacitors to boost battery life and get 150 miles per gallon. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company sees ultracapacitors as a natural fit with new generation lithium-ion batteries that are vital to plug-in hybrids. Company chairman Edward Furia compares batteries to a long-distance runner (providing the stamina a car needs over the long haul) while ultracapacitors are akin to a weight lifter – giving cars that 0-to-60 oomph while minimizing impact on the delicate battery.
As oil prices rise, new ultracapacitor research has emerged. Companies like Maxwell Technologies, Panasonic, Nippon Chemi-Con, and others are working on advanced devices with attributes of both an ultracapacitor and a battery, according to a November report from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). But the recent focus is only a continuation of a long-term fascination with ultracapacitors in automobiles.
A small fleet of ultracapacitor-powered buses began running in Moscow in 1995, and some garbage trucks in the US now use ultracapacitors to efficiently absorb energy from braking – and discharge it for acceleration, the IEEE article notes. Honda's Dualnote concept car in 2002 also showed off ultracapacitors' ability to instantly absorb braking energy and then return it in acceleration. German automaker BMW is also said to be evaluating ultracapacitors in their hybrid vehicles.",2260,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297146.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00036-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957117915153503
e989c382-3607-4ea1-a9ae-bb8c90ea6d7e,2017-08-18T04:31:50+00:00,2013-06-01,0,http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/06-2013/tony-winner-faith-prince-to-join-broadways-annie-a_65411.html?cid=news-ticker,"Broadway favorite and Tony Award winner Faith Prince will take on the role of mean orphanage matron Miss Hannigan in the Broadway musical Annie beginning July 19. She will step into the shoes of current actress, Jane Lynch of Glee, when she departs the production.
Annie features a book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin, all of whom received Tony Awards for their work during the original 1977 production. The revival, which opened at the Palace Theatre on November 8, 2012, stars 11-year-old Lilla Crawford as Annie and Anthony Warlow as Daddy Warbucks.
Faith Prince won a Tony for her work as Miss Adelaide in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls. Her many other Broadway credits include The Little Mermaid, Little Me, and Noises Off. On television, she has appeared on Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, and House, and more. Click here to read TheaterMania's recent interview with Prince.
For more information and tickets to Annie, click here.
Share via Email
Don't show this again.",228,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104560.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818024629-20170818044629-00336.warc.gz,0.956055521965027
90571e51-11d0-401e-9c3d-8674741f0283,2018-08-21T12:32:15+00:00,2015-11,0,http://gpknews.com/2015/11/gpk-con-to-be-held-in-las-vegas-in-aug-2016/,"The folks from Super Toy Con Las Vegas announced that as part of their 2016 Con there will be a GPK-Con held in conjunction with the Toy Show. The convention takes please Aug 5 – Aug 7, 2016 at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas. There will be many events centered around Garbage Pail Kids planned including; Artist Seminar, Bowling event, Trading zone, Autographs, etc. Four GPK artists have already been announced, (Simko, Engstrom, Pingitore, and Camera), with more to come. To get more information, special hotel rates, and to purchase tickets visit their website at, www.supertoyshow/gpk.",137,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218122.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821112537-20180821132537-00404.warc.gz,0.935545444488525
ed024911-aaa4-4c50-8a4b-921445fda36c,2015-03-31T20:42:49+00:00,2015-03-31,1,http://action.hsi.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=104&ea.campaign.id=25320&ea.tracking.id=website,"Stop the Australian Shark Cull!
The Western Australia government has implemented plans to kill great white, tiger, and bull sharks larger than three meters. This method also threatens to kill a wide variety of other marine life.
Australia has been known worldwide as a country that has led the way in shark conservation, such as protecting the vulnerable great white shark from threats of international trade.
Join us in urging the West Australia government to stop this senseless cull!
Send your message
Write to the Western Australia government today to show you oppose this awful shark cull. Click ""Submit"" to send.",118,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00109-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949769616127014
dd0a31f0-9e93-4d32-9630-a4afa35193ad,2022-05-26T13:45:58+00:00,2013-08,0,https://hungryrunnergirl.com/2013/08/goosebumps-while-running-and-something-you-should-do-with-your-life-today.html?replytocom=264106,"These mountains just give me the goosebumps (even though it in fact was a trillion degrees this morning) when I stare at them during my run.
Reason #392 that I love BLUEBUDS X: I can use them to talk to my brother on the phone while I run. They have a magic microphone somewhere in the headphones so I can chat away while I run… who needs running partners when you can just talk away on the phone. I did 7 miles at an 8:17 pace. I took yesterday off so today my legs took about 3 miles to remember how to run again.
I have to tell you about the breakfast that I had yesterday with my mom and brothers.
Just imagine eating a a bowl full of the best hash browns you have ever had topped with sautéed veggies and then topped with eggs and avocado. Let’s just say it was amazing.
Last night (yes, this post is all over the place) I spent time in the backyard eating ice cream with Curly (still calling her Curly even though her hair isn’t quite as curly as it used to be).
I had this kind of ice cream and if you do one thing with your life today, go to the grocery store and buy this.
Oh and how did I forget about this….
Her newest thing is climbing in/on top of/over ever thing in the house. Quite the adventure seeker.
Last flavor of ice cream (or froyo or sorbet) that you had?
What was your breakfast this morning?
Do you like talking while you run or would you prefer not to?
How far did you run today?",349,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662606992.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526131456-20220526161456-00600.warc.gz,0.974282264709473
4f03cd61-e04c-48be-85e8-49a36b5ee381,2015-03-30T17:49:38+00:00,2015-03-30,0,http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=208678&postcount=2,"Re: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned: Threads About Women In Aikido
An interesting point! But I don't think anyone, regardless of gender, studies Aikido in order to be violent or to vent aggression. I am in the same boat as you when it comes to reading through all these discussions which are basically centred on the concept of men vs. women. I think it just needs to be remembered that the nature of men and the nature of women has always been, and always will be, very different. I agree with your point on what motivates violence between men and women, it resonates throughout all the natural world. It is instinctive for men to react aggressively when challenged or intimidated, and thus most fighting that occurs in nature is between males. The responsibilities of females in nature usually doesn't entail protecting territory or fighting for the right to mate, so aren't typically build to for serious physical altercations.
As for Aikido, it isn't a place for violence or the cultivation of violent tendencies. Why are there less women in Aikido than men? I don't know. Why is there a larger drop out rate of women? I don't know. Maybe it isn't even a gender issue. We are all individuals, all driven onward by our own individual emotions, experiences and demons. Perhaps its more constructive not to compare the two sexes, but rather search for ways by which we can balance ourselves as individuals (our own Yin and Yang) and examine our own individual weaknesses and strengths so that we can reach our potensial. We can't do that by forever limiting ourselves to generalisations about gender.",339,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00085-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965155303478241
a627a936-f8f6-4bdb-9429-cf0446ccdf19,2017-08-22T22:28:48+00:00,2015-12-01,0,http://hitmaxz.com/just-cause-3-dlc-air-land-sea-pc-free-download/,"The Air, Land and Sea Expansion Pass includes 3 incredible DLC packs and exclusive Flame Wingsuit and Parachute Skins, which no fan will want to miss!
It’s never over for Rico Rodriguez; explore Medici with 3 new game-changing explosive experiences including new action-packed missions, new enemy types, weapons, gadgets and unique vehicles that transform the Just Cause 3 world.
The 3 add on packs will become available post launch and will unlock 7 days early for all pass holders. The skins will unlock day one.
This content requires the base game Just Cause 3 in order to play.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.",180,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886116921.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822221214-20170823001214-00416.warc.gz,0.847640931606293
b5c43ddd-914d-4680-81e9-8c22bc44f1f7,2018-08-19T14:02:53+00:00,2016-05-01,0,http://quiltytherapy.com/april-fabric-budget/,"Hello May and all the wonderful things that come along with it. I live in Indianapolis and May means racing. The 100th running of the Indy 500 is taking place this year. There may be a few black and white themed items coming up on the blog.
As for my fabric budget…it’s still in tact. Took a big hit this month but I destashed out some fabric as well. I’m actually up for the month. I picked up a 10 yard box of fabric from Whimsy Fabrics & Quilts as they are clearing out some fabrics.
Most were not my style, but I do have enough to try a quilt I have been wanting to try without really digging into my precious stash. Win/Win??
Had to also pick up some white on white for a few projects, but had a great coupon.
Here is the final product for the month.
Four months in and I’m up, I will take that. There are a few other fabrics still available for destash over on my Instagram account. I’m having some thoughts on just destashing a ton of what I have and trying to keep a very small selection.
What are your thoughts on a fabric stash?",254,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215176.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819125734-20180819145734-00697.warc.gz,0.978912651538849
85ecdfe6-f759-4833-b713-2f3cec3dab4d,2020-10-28T08:35:49+00:00,2020-10-28,0,https://huntingtonbeachca.gov/residents/parks_facilities/parks/helme-park.cfm,"Phone (714) 536-5486
Large grass area, swing set, park benches, and playground areas.
Helme Park is located in Huntington Beach and is a neighborhood park.
- Helme Park was named after Huntington Beach City Council Mayor M. E. Helme from 1909 to 1917
- This park was dedicated on April 2, 1983
- Date of development was December 20, 1982
- Architect - Cardoza DiLallo
Did you know?
Learn ""hands on"" about the HBPD by participating in the Citizens Academy. Each session is 11 weeks long and is offered twice a year. Learn about Patrol, Traffic, Vice, SWAT, K-9, Aero and more! Apply here",148,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107897022.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028073614-20201028103614-00332.warc.gz,0.955656290054321
40ca5453-e825-418b-9611-df1ea3c457d2,2016-07-30T05:24:05+00:00,2014-07-02,1,http://www.technewsworld.com/story/law/80561.html,"DoJ to Brush Cobwebs Off Music Licensing Agreements
The U.S. Department of Justice this week said it would review long-held agreements with two major performing-rights organizations with an eye to updating them to reflect the climate of the music industry more accurately.
The DoJ's agreements with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) have been in place for more than 70 years. The consent decrees were last updated in 2001 and 1994 respectively, long before the rise of streaming music services that can pay less than a cent to an artist each time one of their songs is played.
""We don't think [the old rules] fit well with the new business environment,"" Stuart Rosen, SVP and general counsel at BMI, told the E-Commerce Times.
""The fact that they're taking a fresh look at things and seeing if there's a way to modernize the decrees is nothing but good news from our perspective,"" he added.
""We are gratified by the Department of Justice's decision to open a formal review of the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees,"" said Paul Williams, ASCAP president and chairman. ""Since the ASCAP decree was last reviewed in 2001 -- before even the iPod was introduced -- new technologies have dramatically transformed the way people listen to music.""
ASCAP and BMI, both of which are nonprofit entities, have pushed for the move. Between them, they license about 90 percent of music played in movies and restaurants, and on television and online services.
Songwriters use publishers to promote their works, as well as to license, sell and distribute recordings. Publishers and songwriters often turn to ASCAP and BMI to collectively license songs for public performance to music services like Pandora, Spotify and Rdio.
When there's a dispute over the cost of a license, it's arbitrated by so-called rate courts, which were set up in 1941 through consent decrees between the DoJ, ASCAP and BMI. The decrees did not have an expiration date at the time, though they usually expire after five or seven years.
Publishers need to have an all-or-nothing relationship with BMI or ASCAP. If they wish to work with BMI or ASCAP, they don't have the option to license their works to a radio station but not Spotify, for instance.
""What we would like to do, ultimately, is move the rate process to a point where it's a free market -- where, through open negotiations that aren't regulated, we can set what is an appropriate market rate,"" BMI's Rosen said.
""We don't think the current model works that way. We think that the results of rate courts are intended to replicate open market negotiations, but we don't think the results back that up. Anything that we can do to create a more free market environment is really what we're trying to get to.""
'Current Model Slow'
""We think the current model is slow,"" Rosen added.
""The current model is expensive. We don't think it allows for an easy way of paying the writers and publishers while the parties are in the middle of a dispute. We think that the results really have not reflected fair market value,"" he explained.
""What if we moved the rate-setting model from a court to an arbitration panel? We think an arbitration panel could move more quickly -- it could move more cheaply. We think a panel might have a cross-section of industry experts, business people and lawyers that would achieve a result that would better reflect fair market value,"" Rosen argued.
""ASCAP remains committed to working with the Department of Justice and all industry stakeholders to modernize the music licensing system so that it better serves songwriters, the businesses who depend on our music, and the people who listen to it -- not just today, but for generations to come,"" ASCAP's Williams said.
""Updating music licensing regulations to reflect the realities of today's music landscape will preserve the benefits of collective licensing to businesses that license music, give consumers greater access to the music they love, and allow the more than 500,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers we represent to be compensated for the true value their music brings to the marketplace,"" Williams concluded.
End to Rate Courts
ASCAP also would like an end to the rate courts in favor of an arbitration process, according to Reuters. Both ASCAP and BMI would like an end to the all-or-nothing model as well.
The DoJ will be receiving public comment on the arbitration issue and whether the all-or-nothing model should stay in place.
The tussle between the performing rights organizations and music services has on occasion become litigious. BMI, for instance, brought legal action against Pandora last year in search of ""reasonable, market-driven fees"" for the service after negotiations broke down.
""In short, a review of the licensing system in the U.S. is long overdue, and my guess is all the players involved on all sides will welcome it,"" Simon Dyson, editor of the Music & Copyright newsletter at Informa, told the E-Commerce Times.
""The likes of ASCAP and BMI will benefit from knowing in the longer term what they are able to offer licenses for, given that the music publishers have made it clear that they want to license direct-to-digital services. The worry is that if publishers cannot withdraw their digital licensing rights, then one of the big publishers might pull out of ASCAP or BMI altogether,"" he said.
""Digital services might not like having to pay higher rates, if that is what the review eventually suggests,"" Dyson added, ""but the difference between what a publisher/author earns from a digital music service and what record companies earn is way too big, and the review will need to close the gap.""",1204,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832939.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00232-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972160756587982
755a8327-0bff-42fa-9c3a-ba789253ce54,2017-08-16T22:07:46+00:00,2016-03-13,1,http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/swinney-promises-most-comprehensive-snp-election-campaign-yet-1-4067957,"The SNP has unveiled plans to target every internet user in Scotland as part of its “most comprehensive” election campaign yet.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the party is aiming to win all 73 constituencies in the Scottish Parliament election in May and make gains in the remaining “list” seats in Holyrood’s hybrid voting system.
He was joined by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on stage at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow yesterday in front of 3,000 delegates.
Mr Swinney, who is to head up the SNP election campaign in the weeks ahead, told delegates the party is now a “huge political movement” with “enormous grassroots strength” in every part of Scotland.
He said: “As director of the election campaign I can promise you the most comprehensive campaign we have ever fought.
“Our campaign will be built on the foundations of the traditional doorstep campaigning – house by house throughout the country – that has been the hallmark of the Scottish National Party.
“But we will also add to that a stronger digital campaign to expand the scale, the scope and the reach of our message of hope and aspiration for Scotland.
“Our digital plan will have the aim of reaching every single internet user in Scotland by polling day.
“That is what we have to offer. A campaign driven by the largest doorstep and digital election campaign Scotland has ever seen.”
Mr Swinney takes over the role of campaign chief from Westminster leader Angus Robertson, who headed the last two Holyrood campaigns. He urged delegates to campaign “as we have never campaigned before”.
“I want to make absolutely clear that in this election, the SNP is fighting for every vote, in every seat in Scotland,” he said.
“Unlike other parties, we don’t believe in safe seats. We don’t believe in target seats Because to believe in safe seats is to take for granted the support of some. And to believe in target seats is to ignore others. So we fight hard to win every seat we contest.”
The SNP would campaign on its record in office over the past nine years at Holyrood, Mr Swinney said, including the council tax freeze, crime and employment.
He also promised a “bold agenda” for the next five years, after Ms Sturgeon set out plans for new maternity grants for low income families, more funding for pupils at schools in deprived areas and a doubling of free nursery provision, including free lunches for toddlers.
The SNP has soared in popularity since the referendum defeat in 2014 and is poised to repeat its near wipe-out north of the Border in last year’s Westminster election when voters go to the polls in May.
The electoral system would make it more difficult for the party to make significant further gains in the 56 regional list seats while other parties such as the Scottish Greens are targeting the second votes of SNP supporters.
The new “BothVotesSNP” slogan launched at the conference over the weekend aims to ensure the Nationalists keep up their vote share in the constituencies.
Mr Swinney said the SNP administration has contributed to making Scotland a “more confident country” over the past nine years.
He added: “That’s what I believe Scotland now is - a more confident country than the one I grew up in.
“A country that can see, by having a Scottish Parliament, we can create a better Scotland.
“A country that, having exercised these powers, demands more so we can make a greater difference in the lives of our people.
“But we learned in the referendum that if people are to be convinced of the merits of independence more of our fellow citizens must have confidence in the economic future of Scotland.”
Opposition parties accused the SNP of complacency by targeting all 73 constituency seats.
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “It’s no surprise to hear the SNP top brass thinking the election is already wrapped up.
“But John Swinney is ignoring the two million people who voted No and those voters are being cut adrift by Labour and the Liberal Democrats too.”
Scottish Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie leader also hit out at Mr Swinney’s speech.
He added: “The idea of a Scottish Parliament dominated by 73 constituency Nationalists plotting their next referendum will worry anybody who wants the next parliament to focus on raising educational attainment.”",944,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102663.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816212248-20170816232248-00128.warc.gz,0.965210676193237
d7270f8e-54cf-4f64-8d35-8b5df1a59fff,2017-08-17T11:45:33+00:00,2017-03-09,1,https://www.perssupport.nl/persbericht/117711/urban-transit-pioneer-scoot-networks-unveils-blueprint-for-shared-electric-mobility-to-solve-traffic-congestion-and-emission-challenges-in-world-s-largest-cities,"Scoot Mobility Operating System (MOS) partners include Renault-Nissan, Mahindra GenZe and emco
SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Scoot Networks, Inc., the leading provider of shared, light electric vehicle (LEV) services, today announced its international expansion with the unveiling of the Scoot Mobility Operating System (Scoot MOS), a platform for shared LEV services in densely populated cities. In partnering with the top manufacturers in the LEV space, including Renault-Nissan and Mahindra GenZe, Scoot will bring its proven model to new cities throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia to help new LEV services achieve - and exceed - Scoot's own success in the U.S.
""As consumers move towards cleaner, more efficient transportation options, demand is swelling for our fully-electric scooters, particularly in traffic-stressed cities,"" said Tom Valasek, Chief Marketing Officer at Mahindra GenZe. ""That's the market opportunity that we're seizing with Scoot. Scoot MOS provides our fleet customers with a swift, seamless model to grow their business in the biggest metros around the world.""
Launched in 2012 in one of the most competitive transit markets in the world, San Francisco, Scoot created the first shared LEV service, serving thousands of riders in San Francisco with over 800 vehicles. Scoot riders have logged more than 3 million kilometers on Scoot's clean, electric fleet, eliminating 783 metric tonnes of CO(2 )from entering the atmosphere. Now, with the debut of Scoot MOS, Scoot is bringing this highly successful solution to urban traffic congestion to cities around the world in partnership with leading local partners. These companies benefit from Scoot's extensive operating experience and from the Scoot MOS platform, while also gaining access to world-class LEVs including: the Renault Twizy electric quadracycle, the Mahindra GenZe 2.0 electric scooter, the GOVECS T Series cargo scooter, and the emco electric scooter. Scoot and its partners will make shared LEVs a cornerstone of transportation in cities around the world.
""Today, city residents want the flexibility afforded by cars, but are foregoing personal ownership in favor of shared electric scooters, which have become our fastest growing market segment,"" said Raymon Pouwels, Commercial Advisor, Emco-Elektroroller. ""In partnering with Scoot, we're able to meet this demand while bringing our customers what they require: efficient, cost-effective, clean transportation options.""
Introducing Scoot MOS: The platform for shared light electric vehicles
Designed by and for mobility service providers, Scoot MOS offers a complete management platform for any LEV service, including e-scooters, e-bikes, and three- and four-wheelers. With proprietary, LEV-specific, in-vehicle electronics, an intuitive rider app, and comprehensive vehicle, customer, parking, and charging software, Scoot MOS is the complete package electric mobility services need to succeed in a complex business. To learn more, please visit https://scoot.co/partners
""Over the last five years, we've seen a surge in adoption of transportation innovations, from car sharing to ride sharing and bike sharing. But, a huge gap exists between bikes, buses and trains - which are too slow - and ride sharing and car ownership, which are too expensive and problematic in the city,"" said Michael Keating, Scoot Founder & CEO. ""As demand grows for capital-light, immediate urban transit solutions, we're working with world-class partners to deploy the new transit future: fast, affordable, shared electric vehicles.""
About Scoot Networks
Scoot Networks is the leading provider of shared, light electric vehicle (LEV) services, offering immediate urban transit solutions for global cities. Designed by and for mobility service providers, the Scoot Mobility Operating System (Scoot MOS) offers a complete management platform that can enable any LEV service, including e-scooters, e-bikes, and three- and four-wheelers. Scoot MOS supports a growing roster of world-class light electric vehicle (LEV) providers, including Renault-Nissan, Mahindra, Govecs, and Emco-Elektroroller. For more information, visit: https://scoot.co [https://scoot.co/] and follow us on Twitter @ScootNetworks.
GenZe [http://www.genze.com/] has a simple motto: ""Two Wheels. One Planet. Zero Emissions."" We are committed to providing easily-accessible personal transportation through e-Bikes and e-Scooters loaded with smart, connected technology and powered by sustainable, zero-emissions electric energy.
GenZe manufactures and assembles in Ann Arbor, Michigan with corporate headquarters in Silicon Valley. For more information, visit us at www.genze.com [https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.genze.com_&d=CwMFAg&c=4ZIZThykDLcoWk-GVjSLm9hvvvzvGv0FLoWSRuCSs5Q&r=X_aJCyhoDYMtYRsbYR0EEi950tkaOXga0CrjXlQIiFA&m=ob2G2IKBnaztKnVoN9mLHNtL0_SlQID5_zFG-nlsweI&s=4i7h526Oku5SHw_Isy-C_71jyh6gwaTVa6whvJwssj4&e=] or follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/RideGenze [https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_ridegenze_&d=CwMFAg&c=4ZIZThykDLcoWk-GVjSLm9hvvvzvGv0FLoWSRuCSs5Q&r=X_aJCyhoDYMtYRsbYR0EEi950tkaOXga0CrjXlQIiFA&m=ob2G2IKBnaztKnVoN9mLHNtL0_SlQID5_zFG-nlsweI&s=NIJxX6Jx3z4R76d4009q5ZrD6n2rz4SpZbwZ2v7Fe3I&e=].
Founded in 2011 as a subsidiary of emco group Lingen, emco electroroller GmbH is a leading, global electric scooter manufacturer. Operating across Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, and with over 350 dealerships, emco offers a wide range of electric scooters, with six models suitable for everyday use and in private and corporate fleets including the Retro, Classic and Sport product lines. Committed to safety, emco develops technical safeguard measures and carries out stringent checks on its production in line with the highest standards in the industry. For more information, visit: http://www.emco-elektroroller.de/ [http://www.emco-elektroroller.de/]
CONTACT: MissionCTRL for Scoot Networks, email@example.com
Web site: http://www.scootnetworks.com/",1612,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103270.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817111816-20170817131816-00106.warc.gz,0.895852029323578
2b2101e6-f879-4ebf-80fa-5ea3adbd02ca,2015-03-28T19:48:23+00:00,2010-03-04,0,http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/25421?keyword=crime+in+schools&permit%5B0%5D=AVAILABLE,"National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006 (ICPSR 25421)
Principal Investigator(s): United States Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences. National Center for Education Statistics
The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) is managed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on behalf of the United States Department of Education (ED). SSOCS collects extensive crime and safety data from principals and school administrators of United States public schools. Data from this collection can be used to examine the relationship between school characteristics and violent and serious violent crimes in primary schools, middle schools, high schools, and combined schools. In addition, data from SSOCS can be used to assess what crime prevention programs, practices, and policies are used by schools. SSOCS has been conducted in school years 1999-2000, 2003-2004, and 2005-2006. A fourth collection is planned for school year 2007-2008. SSOCS:2006 was conducted by the United States Census Bureau. Data collection began on March 17, 2006, when questionnaire packets were mailed to schools, and continued through May 31, 2006. A total of 2,724 public schools submitted usable questionnaires: 715 primary schools, 948 middle schools, 924 high schools, and 137 combined schools.
These data are freely available.
United States Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences. National Center for Education Statistics. School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006. ICPSR25421-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-03-04. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25421.v1
Persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR25421.v1
This study was funded by:
- United States Department of Education. Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
- United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Scope of Study
Smallest Geographic Unit: school district
Geographic Coverage: United States
Date of Collection:
Unit of Observation: school
Universe: Public elementary and secondary schools in the United States.
Data Types: survey data
Data Collection Notes:
Users interested in obtaining a restricted-use data file containing more detailed information can file an application for the data with the Institute of Education Sciences/National Center for Education Statistics (IES/NCES), Restricted-data Licenses.
Study Purpose: The SSOCS is the primary source of school-level data on crime and safety for the United States Department of Education. It provides nationwide estimates of crime, discipline, disorder, programs, and policies in public schools. Data on crime, violence, and disorder in the nation's schools are collected to provide policymakers, parents, and educators with the information necessary to identify emerging problems and to gauge the safety of American schools.
Study Design: SSOCS 2006 was conducted as a mail survey with telephone follow-up. Four months before the onset of data collection, NCES began working with the school districts of sample schools that required prior approval to participate in the survey. On March 10, 2006, advance letters were sent to school administrators of sample schools that included the date of the first questionnaire mailing and a toll-free number to call with any questions. On March 17, 2006, questionnaires were sent via FedEx directly to the principals of the sample schools, with a cover letter describing the importance of the survey and a promotional SSOCS pen. Upon distribution of the SSOCS questionnaire to schools, letters were mailed to chief state school officers and superintendents to inform them that schools within their states and districts, respectively, had been selected for SSOCS:2006. The letters included information about the survey and were accompanied by a promotional SSOCS pen, an informational copy of the questionnaire, and the SSOCS brochure. The letters were not designed to request permission from these officials to participate in the survey, but rather as a vehicle to enhance participation. During the two weeks following the first questionnaire mailing, a screener telephone operation was conducted to verify that sample schools had received the questionnaire and were, in fact, eligible to participate. One week after the screener ended, a reminder telephone operation began, which was conducted in two 1-week phases. The primary objective of the reminder operation was to follow up with the principal or school contact to determine the status of the questionnaire. However, during the second week, the interviewer could complete the SSOCS interview over the phone at the respondent's request. Data collection ended on May 26, 2006. Returned questionnaires were examined for quality and completeness using both manual and computerized edits. If a questionnaire did not meet predetermined levels of completeness, the respondent was contacted again to resolve issues related to the missing data, irrespective of whether the items missing data were considered ""critical."" The criteria used to determine completeness are detailed in section 3.1 of the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2005-2006 Data File User's Manual (Bauer et al. 2007). If a satisfactory resolution could not be reached, imputation was used to resolve data quality issues for questionnaires in which at least 60 percent of all items, 80 percent of critical items, 60 percent of item 16, and 60 percent of item 22 had been completed. Questionnaires that did not meet the imputation criteria were considered incomplete and were excluded from the analyses in this report.
Sample: The sampling frame for SSOCS:2006 was constructed from the 2003-2004 NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe data file. The CCD is an annual survey system of all public K-12 schools and school districts. Certain types of schools were excluded from the SSOCS:2006 sampling frame, including special education schools, vocational schools, alternative schools (e.g., adult continuing education schools and remedial schools), newly closed schools, home schools, ungraded schools, schools with high grades of kindergarten or lower, overseas Department of Defense schools, schools sponsored by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, schools in Puerto Rico, and schools in the United States outlying areas of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and United States Virgin Islands. Public charter schools were not excluded. The use of the CCD as a sampling frame in SSOCS:2006 deviates from the SSOCS:2000 and the SSOCS:2004, which both utilized a modified version of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) sampling frame. This deviation was necessary because SSOCS:2006 occurred between SASS collections. The objectives of the SSOCS sampling design were twofold: to obtain overall cross-sectional and subgroup estimates of important indicators of school crime and safety and to yield precise estimates of change in these indicators between 1999-2000, 2003-2004, and 2005-2006. To attain these objectives, a stratified sample of 3,565 regular public schools was drawn for SSOCS:2006 using the same general sampling design as in the previous survey administrations for stratification variables, number of strata, method of sample allocation, and sorting of variables before selection. Adopting the same basic design for all survey administrations increases the precision of the estimates of change. As in the SSOCS:2004, there was no attempt to minimize overlap between the SSOCS:2006 sample and samples for other NCES surveys. The initial goal of SSOCS:2006 was to collect data from at least 2,550 schools, taking nonresponse into account. One possible method of allocating schools to the different sampling strata would have been to allocate them proportionally to the United States public school population. However, while the majority of United States public schools are primary schools, the majority of school violence is reported in middle and high schools. Proportional allocation would, therefore, have yielded an inefficient sample design because the sample composition would have included more primary schools (in which crime is an infrequent event) than middle or high schools (in which crime is a relatively more frequent event). As a result, a larger proportion of the target sample of 2,550 schools was allocated to middle and high schools. The target sample was allocated to the four instructional levels as follows: 640 primary schools, 895 middle schools, 915 high schools, and 100 combined schools. Schools in the SSOCS:2000 and the SSOCS:2004 were allocated to instructional levels in a similar manner. The same variables and categories used to create strata in SSOCS:2000 and SSOCS:2004 were used to create strata in SSOCS:2006. The population of schools was stratified (grouped) into four instructional levels (primary, middle, high, and combined), four types of locale settings (city, urban fringe, town, and rural), and four enrollment size categories (less than 300 students, 300-499 students, 500-999 students, and 1,000 students or more). These variables were chosen because they have been shown to be associated with school crime (Miller 2004). The sample of schools in each instructional level was allocated to each of the 16 cells formed by the cross-classification of the four categories of enrollment size and four types of locale. In order to obtain a reasonable sample size of lower enrollment schools while giving a higher probability of selection to higher enrollment schools, the sample was allocated to each subgroup in proportion to the sum of the square roots of the total student enrollment in each school in that stratum. The effective sample size within each stratum was then inflated to account for nonresponse. Once the final sample sizes were determined for each of the 64 strata, the subgroups were sorted by region and percent minority enrollment, and an initial sample of 3,565 schools was selected. Sorting by these variables before selection has the same effect as stratification with proportional allocation of schools to the strata. For more information on the sample design, see chapter two of the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2005-2006 Data File User's Manual (Bauer et al. 2007).
Weight: Sample weights allow inferences to be made about the population from which the sample units were drawn. Because of the complex nature of the SSOCS:2006 sample design, weights are necessary to obtain population-based estimates, to minimize bias arising from differences between responding and nonresponding schools, and to calibrate the data to known population characteristics in a way that reduces sampling error. The procedures used to create the SSOCS sampling weights are described below. An initial (base) weight was first determined within each stratum by calculating the ratio of the number of schools available in the sampling frame to the number of schools selected. In order to reduce the potential of bias from nonresponse, weighting classes were determined by using a statistical algorithm similar to CHAID (chi-square automatic interaction detector) to partition the sample so that schools within a weighting class were homogeneous with respect to the probability of responding. The predictor variables for the analysis were school instructional level, region, enrollment size, percent minority enrollment, student-to-teacher ratio, percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and number of full-time-equivalent teachers. When the number of responding schools in a class was small, that weighting class was combined with another class to avoid the possibility of large weights. After combining the necessary classes, the base weights were adjusted so that the weighted distribution of the responding schools resembled the initial distribution of the total sample. The nonresponse-adjusted base sampling weights were then calibrated to agree with known population counts obtained from the sampling frame to reduce bias in the estimates due to undercoverage. The calibration process, a form of poststratification, separates the sample into a number of classes (poststrata), defined by a cross-classification of variables. The known population counts may be available for the individual cells of the cross-classification or only for certain margins of it. In the latter situation, the calibration proceeds iteratively, one margin at a time, and is often called ""raking."" Poststratification works well when the noncovered population is similar to the covered population in each poststratum. Thus, to be effective, the variables that define the poststrata must be correlated with the outcome of interest (school crime, in this report). They must also be well measured in the survey, and the control totals must be available for the population as a whole. As in SSOCS:2004, these requirements were satisfied in SSOCS:2006 by the two margins set up for the raking ratio adjustment of the weights: (1) instructional level and school enrollment size and (2) instructional level and locale. All three variables -- instructional level, school enrollment size, and locale -- have been shown to be correlated with school crime (Miller 2004).
Mode of Data Collection: mail questionnaire, telephone interview
Response Rates: A unit response rate is, at its most basic level, the ratio of surveys completed by eligible respondents to the total count of eligible respondents. In some surveys, this calculation can be rather complicated because it is difficult to distinguish between eligible and ineligible units. For school surveys, however, the Department of Education updates its list of known schools on a fairly regular basis, so estimating eligibility among nonrespondents is relatively straightforward. Unit response rates can be unweighted or weighted and are traditionally reported because they reflect the potential effects of nonsampling error and indicate whether portions of the population are underrepresented due to nonresponse. In order to calculate any of these measures, it is first necessary to know the disposition (outcome) of each sampled case. Table B-1 in the Codebook shows the dispositions of the 3,565 cases initially selected for participation in SSOCS:2006, as well as the unweighted and weighted unit response rates by selected school characteristics. The overall weighted unit response rate was 81 percent.
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Standardized missing values.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 2010-03-04
- View publications for the study (~24)
Most Recent Publications
- Citations exports are provided above.
Export Study-level metadata (does not include variable-level metadata)
If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.",3132,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297689.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00126-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950899302959442
1ac832fe-c2b8-4eb0-a608-565c2ca8ef16,2016-07-27T02:02:06+00:00,2014-05-17,1,http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/families-of-dublin-and-monaghan-bombings-to-take-civil-procedings-against-british-1.1795546,"Families of Dublin and Monaghan bombings to take civil procedings against British
Opinion: Relatives taking ‘risky and traumatic path’ after 40 years of inaction
‘Almost simultaneously, a third bomb exploded in South Leinster Street, where two women were killed instantly.’ Photograph: Pat Langan
For those of us old enough to remember the terrible day the Dublin and Monaghan bombs exploded, it is hard to believe 40 years have passed.
Despite all the terrible atrocities down through the long years of the Northern conflict, no day saw a greater loss of life than May 17th, 1974 – 34 deaths including a full-term unborn baby.
A third of those killed were young women and girls aged between five months and 22 years. That fateful Friday dawned sunny and bright. In Dublin, the city buses were on strike but people were going about their business as usual.
At 5.28pm precisely, without warning, the first bomb exploded in Parnell Street killing 11 people including an entire family – a young father and mother and their two baby daughters.
Two minutes later, 14 perished in a second bomb explosion in Talbot Street. The dead included a young mother and her full-term unborn baby. Almost simultaneously, a third bomb exploded in South Leinster Street, where two women were killed instantly.
An hour and a half later, a fourth bomb exploded in Monaghan town claiming another seven lives, including a mother of four and a father of two boys and twin girls, aged just two. The Dublin dead included a young French woman, whose family had survived the Holocaust, and an Italian father of three children.
Nobody has been charged with, much less convicted of, this terrible massacre.
The Garda investigation was wound down within weeks.
It was 19 years before the Ulster Volunteer Force admitted responsibility and only after the broadcast of Yorkshire television’s Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre, in 1993. In its self-serving statement, the UVF insisted it acted alone, contradicting claims made in the programme of security force collusion. Two years later, RTÉ documentary, Friendly Forces? reinforced the YTV programme findings.
Later evidence from security force whistleblowers; the report of Judge Henry Barron’s Independent Commission of Inquiry in 2003 and Anne Cadwallader’s Lethal Allies all point to collusion by members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British military intelligence.
Judge Barron deplored the failure of the British authorities to make original documents available to his inquiry and their refusal to supply other information (on national security grounds) saying they limited the scope of his report.
Since the Barron report, strenuous efforts were made to persuade the British to release the papers. Two motions were passed unanimously by the Dáil in 2008 and 2011, urging them to make the undisclosed documents available to an independent, international judicial figure for assessment. Westminster has ignored them.
More recently, in meetings with the British ambassador, Justice for the Forgotten proposed the documents be assessed in Britain, even in situ if necessary, so that no issue of national security need arise.
A highly respected individual, who it was believed would be acceptable to both sides, was suggested as the assessor.
However, an arranged meeting to move the discussion forward was cancelled by the British side in November and no new meeting was offered since.
After 40 years
Because of this refusal to continue the conversation, the families feel, after 40 years, they can wait no longer.
They have decided, very reluctantly, to take the risky and traumatic path of civil litigation against the British ministry of defence, the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Office and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. While we welcome the dawn of improving relationships between Ireland and Britain, such relationships must be based on mutual respect, equality and an honest willingness to deal with difficult issues from the past.
As President Michael D Higgins said before his recent State visit to Britain, it would be wrong to wipe the slate clean. Progress should not depend on forgetting the past.
If our strengthened and warmer relationship with London means anything, it should lead to London acceding to the Dáil’s repeated requests to open the files so all sides can finally establish the truth – and learn from it.
Margaret Urwin is co-ordinator of Justice for the Forgotten",893,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00295-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965386807918549
ec68c2de-5a43-4c4e-b719-82ac901a548c,2020-10-30T04:24:40+00:00,2020-10-30,0,https://www.aliceswonders.co.uk/collections/jewellery/products/silver-circle-geo-earrings,"CLEARANCE 70% OFF Silver Circle Geo Earrings
Regular price £1.80 Sale price
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.
Take the contemporary route by adding a geometric element to your look.
Delicate silver coloured circle and triangle shapes form these stylish earrings.
Hook style with a gold coloured back.
All earrings are lead and nickel free
Drop, including hook: 2""
Circle diameter: 1.2""",94,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107907213.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030033658-20201030063658-00548.warc.gz,0.891663372516632
ac682d9e-07ea-4081-9f77-932cbfe66e1d,2022-05-25T05:56:02+00:00,2022-03-21,1,https://www.footiecentral.com/20220321/agents-and-players-wary-of-chelsea/,"Agents and other players’ representatives are wary of dealing with Chelsea under the current circumstances and may look elsewhere when it comes to potential destinations for their clients.
And it may mean that the West London side may be set to miss out on some of their main targets this summer.
The investment bank handling the sale of the club has now closed bidding process, and will whittle the preferred candidates down to four.
However, now a forensic due diligence process will begin looking at the investors involved, their backgrounds, the source of funding and plans for the club.
That will likely take several months and it may still be some time until the chosen candidate is revealed.
With the transfer window due to open again on July 1st, it is by no means certain that the club will be free of sanctions by then because, technically, it will remain the ownership of Roman Abramovich.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.",277,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00607.warc.gz,0.972347974777222
073e1ecd-2d30-4b90-b940-c47a01637c14,2013-05-19T18:27:19+00:00,2013-05-19,0,http://www.dead.net/show/february-18-1971,"February 18, 1971
First ""Bertha"" - First ""Greatest"" - First ""Loser"" - First ""Playin"" - First ""Wharf Rat"" - Mickey's last show until 10-20-74 - E.S.P. show - also: NRPS - this run was recorded for ""Skull Fuck""; none of it was used.
Hurts Me Too
Greatest> Johnny B. Goode
Hard To Handle
Dark Star> Wharf Rat> Dark Star> Me & My Uncle
Big Boss Man
St. Stephen> NFA> GDTRFB> NFA> Uncle John
Attendees of this show
Does anyone know if this great E.S.P. experiment worked ?Check Out My Orignal Music at myspace.com/salaversano
The DEAD must have liked to perform in Port Chester as much as I enjoy hearing them Rock the house there.
Different worda in Wharf Rat i hadn't noticed before
Down by the Docks of the River
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A couple hours before the show almost got jumped while I was hanging out along side the Capitol. As soon as I heard ""Give us your money"" I jumped up and boogied around the corner to blend in with the crowd while one of the three hoods yelled ""Look at him, he's paranoid"", to which I replied ""No I'm not."" I last heard,""Come back here motherfucker"",as I turned the corner into the crowd of fuzzy, hairy hippies. (I blended right in) The start of a wild night. Close to the stage in front of Jerry. Ned lagin on keys. Mickey Hart on a last go round for a few years. How many new songs? What a night.",379,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.927975475788116
a0e3554b-fc8c-4946-8a07-d04fcdcb135e,2017-08-23T00:34:51+00:00,2015-03-24,0,http://rockthetruth2.blogspot.com/2015/04/rhode-island-enrages-retirees.html,"Tyranny has a way of doing that.
""Some retirees were not happy with the state’s offer but wanted to move on. Others were angry the state is not giving them what was promised when they retired and said they do not want to give up. Many feared the state would cut their benefits again in the future.""
That last point needs to be emphasized because these are the people that prop up and provide the underpinnings for the apex of the pyramid of wealth inequality, and for their dutiful service they are getting the $haft. It's time for them all to wake up to the reality of the cla$$ tyranny we live under, and for the rest of the populace to see the state for what it is. That kind of person was called a welcher back when I was growing up.
""Rhode Island retired public employees OK lawsuit settlement"" by Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press March 24, 2015
LINCOLN, R.I. — With the trial over the state’s 2011 overhaul of the public pension system looming, retired public employees suing the state overwhelmingly accepted a proposed settlement on Monday.
Leaders of the coalition representing the retirees urged them to accept the deal before the vote at Twin River Casino, saying a trial would be too risky and the case could drag on for years on appeal.
Roger Boudreau, who leads the Rhode Island Public Employees’ Retiree Coalition, told the group he understands their anger and frustrations but asked them not to base their decision on those emotions. Retirees voted 1,168 in favor and 332 against the proposal.
The proposed settlement includes a cost-of-living increase in 2017, a year earlier than planned, and increases once every four years instead of every five for retirees covered by funds that are not 80 percent funded.
The cap for calculating the benefits would increase for some retirees, and the calculation would be based on a new formula using both the performance of investments and the Consumer Price Index.
All retirees would receive a $500 stipend for the next two years. Those who retired by June 30, 2012, could receive up to an additional $2,000 before the increase in 2017.
The retirees’ coalition represents about 7,500 people, the largest group of retirees in the lawsuit.
The trial is scheduled to begin April 20. Carly Beauvais Iafrate, an attorney representing the retirees, told the group it could be difficult to win.
Some retirees were not happy with the state’s offer but wanted to move on. Others were angry the state is not giving them what was promised when they retired and said they do not want to give up. Many feared the state would cut their benefits again in the future.
‘‘I’m not excited by the deal, but it’s the only game in town. We’re backed into it,’’ said John Riley, a 73-year-old retired teacher.
Barbara L’Europa, a 58-year-old retired state employee, said she was not surprised by the final vote tally, but she is disappointed.
The retirees, along with public sector unions, sued over higher retirement ages and cuts to cost-of-living increases that were designed to save the state $4 billion over 20 years.
The retirees and the state will now work to formalize the agreement.
Frank Williams, a retired Rhode Island Supreme Court chief justice who is working to broker a settlement, is meeting with other unions this week.
Williams told the retirees he knows the deal is a hard pill to swallow, but accepting it is the right thing to do.
Related: Governor lobbies to rebuild, modernize Rhode Island schools
I don't want to hear it today, sorry.
Pawtucket man pleads guilty to sex trafficking charge",795,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886116921.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823000718-20170823020718-00693.warc.gz,0.978959441184998
db539fc5-582d-4a37-897c-e1db64f5e04f,2022-05-27T04:02:54+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://ghedman.id/horrible-lottery-approaches-prevent-producing-these-blunders/,"This may be an assessment from the lottery pool winner generally known as Xzotto. This can be a lottery pool that gives a lottery pool program that lets you be a part of a lottery pool for wholly. This is often an amazing simple fact. What number of lottery swimming pools will an individual to to make use of a piece of software package for free of charge?
In excess of $100 million jackpot, the most important in the historical past on the Florida Lottery, was taken in September fourteen, 1990 when 6 tickets holders split a $106.5 million jackpot, each acquiring $17.75 million greenback.
When you’ve picked that you’d like to capture the anyone to join a lottery pool, do a favor and do investigate before you decide to be part of. Seek out some overview article content on the pool that you’re going to contemplating enrolling in.
For starters, a few number lotto game titles give to us the very best odds of successful. Furthermore incorporates odds of a single in a thousand for successful the jackpot. These better odds within a systematic approach to selecting your profitable figures could probable emerge as very best mix to earn Those people lotto prizes.
With the advent of know-how, many it can be all completely getting completed above the online industry put. A lot of people are now attached and really Pasang togel pakai ovo prepared to grasp how november 23 On the web lottery. Brace by yourself and be Completely ready together with possibilities of holding the mega million bucks correct in your very own arms.
Some on the net bingo websites will conduct “daubing” for you, a few will offer you the choice of contacting bingo for somebody. If This is often accurate, you generally Never will have to do something other than await the figures for referred to as. But if You’re not on this kind of varieties of internet sites, hold close monitor of one’s card. When you wait around too very long to connect with bingo, your winnings may be break up involving more and more people, reducing your get.
Drive, devotion, and willingness to know will definitely enable you to get paid your first authentic dollars the online market place, keeping away from the hype most get-prosperous-quick or switch-$20-into-$five hundred,000-per month courses. Your upcoming is your lifetime.",503,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662631064.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527015812-20220527045812-00428.warc.gz,0.938956320285797
de3fc055-32cf-418f-8301-d7a17ca64f47,2019-08-22T00:34:38+00:00,2018-01-05,1,https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/01/05/disney-has-quietly-added-the-future-of-theme-parks/109146424/,"VR experience: Disney addition hints at theme park future
Watch this little girl transform into a princess at Magic Kingdom's Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. USA TODAY
The company has a new Star Wars attraction near one of its theme parks that could change everything.
Virtual reality (VR) has been talked about for decades, with most public uses of it being gimmicky or wholly underwhelming. The technology has promise in a variety of areas, but consumer uses of it have yet to make a major splash.
That may well have changed as Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) has welcomed an immersive new VR experience to its Disney Springs shopping complex based on its Star Wars franchise. Called ""Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire,"" the new offering makes full use of VR to deliver an experience that could ultimately change how theme parks operate.
It offers visitors something much more than any previous Disney simulator or ride. Secrets of the Empire inserts people into a Star Wars experience that's so lifelike, it's at times terrifying because the game takes over reality.
What is it like?
VR has been used at theme parks before. Both SeaWorld and Six Flags have VR roller coasters where the content seen through a headset enhances the ride.
What Disney has done with Secrets of the Empire is simply more immersive. Visitors don a vest and headset that blocks out the outside world. At first, the gear is heavy and a bit awkward to wear, but that sensation goes away as soon as the show begins.
Without offering any real spoilers, people who go through Secrets of the Empire find themselves as Rebels dressed as Stormtroopers who must infiltrate an Imperial base to find out what's in a secret container. As you might imagine, things go wrong, and weapons are fired.
As you experience the ""ride,"" what you see on your headset feels entirely real. For example, as you ride on a flying platform over lava, it seems like you could fall off. In addition, you feel the warmth of the lava, smell its smoke, and experience a breeze as your platform advances.
Once you find yourself shooting it out with the Empire, you can see which blaster bolts fly from your gun. Getting hit produces feedback in your vest that, while it doesn't hurt, makes it clear you have been shot.
It's not all perfect
While it's easy to see how this type of experience could become a major part of theme parks, it's obvious why Disney chose to debut the technology outside of its main parks. First, the ride is labor intensive. Each visitor needs help getting in and out of the gear. In addition, since only four people can go at a time (though there are multiple tracks going at the same time) the experience is relatively low-capacity.
It's also a bit glitchy. On my first trip through there were only three blasters for our group of four leaving one member of our party unable to participate in the most satisfying part of the experience.
A second trip through found no blasters waiting, and technicians had to cut short our trip by flipping up our headsets. Our third attempt resulted in my son disappearing about halfway through as the battery in his vest died. Each glitch forces you to start again, and it took four tries for my group to complete the experience fully successfully.
Why does this matter?
If Disney and its partners on this VR experience can perfect the technology, it allows for theme park attractions that go well beyond current rides. A physical attraction has limits, no matter how impressive or immersive a world you create. Putting people in VR suits opens up essentially limitless worlds and storytelling potential.
It's easy to see how VR could play a role in the planned Star Wars lands being built in Florida and California, as well as in the announced hotel themed to the movie universe. This type of technology allows for real movement, but in relatively combined spaces that transform into endless worlds.
There are still some kinks to be worked out, of course, and it's easy to see why Disney chose a relatively low-key launch for its first major VR experience. Going forward, though, it's likely that this will serve as the blueprint for a new generation of rides and experiences as VR delivers on its promise, at least in the theme park space.
Disney World hotels are aiming to ensure the safety of their guests by getting rid of their ‘do not disturb’ signs. Veuer's Susana Victoria Perez (@susana_vp) has more. Buzz60
The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.
Offer from the Motley Fool: Find out why Walt Disney is one of the 10 best stocks to buy now
Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner have spent more than a decade beating the market. (In fact, the newsletter they run, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market!*)
Tom and David just revealed their ten top stock picks for investors to buy right now. Walt Disney is on the list -- but there are nine others you may be overlooking.
*Stock Advisor returns as of December 4, 2017",1069,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316555.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822000659-20190822022659-00450.warc.gz,0.969312489032745
caac39a3-d07e-4754-9755-7fdc004c2245,2015-04-01T18:11:23+00:00,2012-03-18,0,http://www.wrestlingforum.com/general-wwe/638363-if-wwe-food-outlet.html,"Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
If WWE was a food outlet
Let's say WWE opened up their own food outlet. What sort of names do you think they could give their specials. Has to be WWE related.
Royal Rumbler - A specialty hamburger, it would be the WWE's version of a Big Mac.
Hell In A Shell - A Specialty taco, complete with hot spices to give it that extra kick.
The Mizanin - Named after the The Miz, it would be a sandwich of sorts.
Favorite Wrestlers Of All Time - The Undertaker, The Rock, Stone Cold, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Edge",139,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00024-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.88914030790329
b8facbd5-20d5-4658-9e2d-21a6034d2156,2022-05-28T13:23:16+00:00,2021-09-28,1,https://www.delawareindependent.com/how-a-major-property-tax-update-will-affect-you/,"The downside of a story about property taxes is that it’s usually only interesting to people who own property, and possibly not even them.
But Delaware is in for a much bigger shakeup of property taxes than usual. It will affect every property owner in the state along with local schools, and could even be the first step in ending the need for new school referendums every few years.
The value of every property in the state will be reassessed in the next few years; the process kicks off in earnest in Sussex County in October. If you’re not a property owner, don’t have a kid in school and couldn’t care less about referendums, you might want to find a different article to read. But if you’ve heard of the reassessment and are curious how it will work and what it means for your wallet, read on.
What it's all about
A 2018 lawsuit challenged the way Delaware funded its public schools, saying it was unfair. Part of that argument included property taxes, which go to both the county and to schools. (Another part of the lawsuit was about how the state divides out funding among schools. That’s even more complicated and beyond the scope of this story, but the state settled that part of the suit and will need to make changes there too.)
In the case of property values, the lawsuit argued, the counties weren’t reevaluating them often enough.
That argument was a little bit of a legal slam dunk. Sussex County bases its taxes on property values in 1974. New Castle’s last assessment was in 1983, and Kent County was the most modern at 1987 values. If somebody bought an acre in Sussex and put a new house on it, the county would assess it at 1974 values. Needless to say, property values have changed slightly in these parts in the past four to five decades.
For comparison, counties in other states may reassess values every five years, said Paul Miller of Tyler Technologies, which has the mammoth job of reassessing every property in the state.
Tyler Technologies won the bid for the work after judge J. Travis Laster ruled in 2020 that the property tax system was in fact unconstitutional. In his decision, he called the outdated system regressive, saying people with lower property values end up paying a greater share.
How does this affect schools?
Although the lawsuit that started all this was based around school funding, the property tax element was only part of it, as noted before. So reassessment is not intended as a way to settle all school funding woes.
But it does have some effect. In his ruling, Laster noted that school districts can’t change their tax rate without a referendum. That means if the property values stay flat, it’s hard for schools to keep up with increasing costs and inflation, and they have to hold a referendum every few years. If it seems like local districts are constantly holding referendums, this is one reason why. The property values staying the same don't hurt counties in the same way, since they can just adjust their tax rates as needed without a referendum to raise extra revenue.
Delaware’s counties may end up reassessing more often now, which would reduce the need for so many referendums. But how often that will happen remains to be seen.
Schools get most of their money from state and federal sources, not property taxes: about 60 percent from the state and around 10 percent from the federal government, per recent estimates. That can vary by district, of course. In Lake Forest, for example, about 75 percent of money comes from the state because of higher poverty rates than in other districts, district CFO Kurt Kelemen said in an email, and about 7 percent is federal money.
Districts get the rest of their money from local property taxes.
Of the property taxes collected, the counties get some, but the bulk of it goes to support schools. Sussex County says about 90 percent goes to schools and 10 percent to the county.
To sum up, that means the reassessment might make the tax collection more fair as far as who is paying how much, but not change the actual school revenue a lot, although frequent reassessments could help schools keep up with inflation.
How much money schools bring in depends on the tax rate; see more on that below.
Will my taxes go up?
Maybe. They might also go down, or stay the same.
The natural fear for property owners here is that if their homes are valued at 1974 values, there’s nowhere to go but up — way, way up.
But that’s not how it works. Miller said it all depends how your property’s assessed value changes compared to other similar properties. For example, if your home is valued far less than other, similar homes in the area, you’ll probably see a tax increase. If it’s been valued too highly compared to other similar homes, you’ll probably pay less.
Yes, your home's assessed value may go from, say, $25,000 to $150,000, but everyone else’s will change too, and tax rates will be adjusted to compensate so the resulting tax payment won’t be all that different.
Miller suggested the result would be revenue neutral, or the same amount of overall taxes as before. That might be true, but both school districts and the county could tweak their rates so that they’re making more money after the new assessments. But what they can't do is just keep the tax rates the same, watch property values shoot up, and rake in huge profits. Under state law, schools can’t use reassessment to increase tax revenue more than 10 percent. Counties can’t increases revenue more than 15 percent.
If officials did make big changes, Miller said “there’d be a big protest because tax bills would just skyrocket.”
He may be right, but the final impact remains to be seen. Gina Jennings, finance director for Sussex County, said the county has not decided on new tax rates yet.
At Lake Forest, “We have not yet had any discussions about increasing the tax rate in reference to the reassessment,” Kelemen wrote, “but we know an increase will be needed sometime in the next several years due to a stagnant tax rate and increasing salaries.”
Will someone come to my house to assess the value?
Yes. There are more than 180,000 properties in Sussex County alone, and Miller said Tyler employees will go to every one of them. The company is also using aerial photos in its assessments.
“We're going to go door to door and we're going to discover every single thing we can in the property,” Miller said.
Everything, that is, outdoors. Data collectors won’t go inside houses unless homeowners want them to. For example, they might be eager to show flood damage or some other factor that would reduce the home’s value and not be apparent from the outside.
The thought of data collectors measuring everything might make homeowners a little uncomfortable if they've put in a shed or other improvement without a permit. Tyler employees will, in fact, notice these. The company says updating the records ensures everyone is paying their fair share of taxes.
As far as what the county will do when it discovers these unpermitted improvements, Sussex County Communications Director Chip Guy said in an email that the plan is to add them to county records for tax purposes.
""There are no plans to fine these property owners,"" he wrote. ""That being said, depending on the structure and circumstance, there may be a need for additional review (e.g. building code inspection) in cases that are extreme examples, say a house or commercial structure built without a permit.""
The county will handle those on a case by case basis.
Data collectors will start evaluating properties in Sussex County starting in early October. Each employee will wear a bright yellow vest and an identifying photo badge. You don’t need to set up an appointment, or even be home at the time they visit.
Surprisingly, the company is able to accomplish all this with a relatively small number of data collectors. In Kent County, for example, the company plans to hire around 10, according to project supervisor Mary Noldy.
How do they determine value?
Tyler Technologies uses a number of factors to calculate property value, similar to when you get your home appraised for a sale. They take into account information they gather from visiting the property and compare it to similar properties and others in the neighborhood. They try to come up with the value owners would get if they sold the property.
What if they make a mistake?
Assessing property value is complicated, and Miller was frank about the fact that it won't be perfect. There are several steps to get the assessment as accurate as possible. Tyler Technologies will send owners an overview of what they’ve found out about the property, and if data collectors have made a mistake, like listing the wrong number of bathrooms for example, the owners can correct it and mail it back.
Later, the company will send owners the preliminary value they’ve established for the property, and if owners disagree they can appeal. The first step of the appeal is an informal meeting with Tyler Technologies to go over issues. Then the company will send out a final valuation. If property owners still disagree, they can file a formal appeal with the Board of Assessment Review.
“We have a very difficult job. And we have these systems in place to try and check and double check, and double check, to try and minimize (mistakes),” Miller said.
They expect thousands of appeals, partly because they’re trying to be accurate. If they didn’t get any appeals, Miller said, it would mean they had underestimated everyone’s property values. People who get a low estimate don’t tend to appeal.
The housing market is crazy right now. Will assessors adjust for that?
No. They have to get as close as possible to market value and can’t be guessing which way the market is going to go in the future, Miller said. But if Delaware moves to regular reassessments, those would catch market changes.
The tax rate will also be set based on overall values. So if everyone’s property value is through the roof because of the market, the county will have to set the tax rate lower than it would otherwise — remember, the county can’t increase profits more than 15 percent off a reassessment, and may decide to keep revenue exactly the same.
When the market changes more quickly in one area than another, “that's a good reason to do reassessments more than once every 40 years,” Miller said.
How much will all this cost?
Assessing every property in Delaware is, to put it mildly, a huge project. In Sussex alone, the price tag will be about $9 million. In Kent, the contract is $4.4 million.
Miller attributed that to the long gap since the last assessment. If assessments are done more often the cost is substantially lower, he said.
Some of that money will bolster the local economy, as Tyler Technologies will hire a number of local people to augment its staff. Miller noted, however, that like other industries right now they’ve had trouble finding workers.
What's the timeline?
As mentioned before, the data collection gets underway in early October in Sussex County. It’s expected to last until spring 2023. Taylor Technologies hopes to analyze the data in early to mid 2023, and do the value reviews and appeals in mid to late 2023. Sussex plans to begin using the new values for taxes in 2024.
For more information, go to:
These sites will be updated with more information as the projects move forward.
Remaining public information sessions in Sussex:
- Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Millsboro Town Center, 322 Wilson Highway, Millsboro
- Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Seaford Volunteer Fire Department, 302 King St., Seaford.
Public information sessions in Kent:
- Oct. 12, 1 p.m., Milford Senior Center
- Oct. 12, 6 p.m., Harrington Fire House
- Oct. 14, 1 p.m., Kent County Levy Court Chambers
- Oct. 14, 6 p.m., Cheswold Fire House",2623,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016853.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528123744-20220528153744-00624.warc.gz,0.959840416908264
4eca94e9-fb26-4d2c-8a31-0ed2c1d6b901,2019-08-22T20:06:09+00:00,2016-05-16,1,https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2016/05/senior-advocates-urge-overhaul-of-underused-rent-freeze-program-100864,"A coalition advocating for elderly New Yorkers will issue a report Tuesday calling on the de Blasio administration to overhaul an underused city program that provides rent relief for senior citizens — changes that would cost the administration several hundred million dollars.
The 17-page report, compiled by affordable housing organization Enterprise Community Partners and nonprofit LiveOn NY and provided to POLITICO, calls for City Hall to freeze rents for qualifying seniors at 33 percent of their income. The change would reduce costs for many tenants and would cost the city an estimated $324 million a year in foregone property tax revenue.
Story Continued Below
As part of the 46-year-old program, Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), City Hall gives property tax abatements to participating landlords to make up for the income they are losing.
The agency that administers the program, the Department of Finance, recently said that nearly 80,000 seniors who qualify are not enrolled, often because they do not know about it. By the time seniors sign up for the rent break, they are often already paying more than a third of their incomes on rent.
""I think there needs to be an understanding that a fixed income is a fixed income. Most older adults tend to become poorer as they get older, because their income doesn't buy as much as the cost of living increases. This means that there are those older New Yorkers who have to pay their rent and are indeed choosing between food, medication and other daily needs,"" Bobbie Sackman of LiveOn NY said in an interview. ""This is an opportunity for the city to say to older New Yorkers, 'We're going to make sure that you have the peace of mind and the safety net in terms of affordable housing.'""
A typical senior who participates in the program has an annual income of $16,504, and more than 26,000 SCRIE recipients take in less than that — $11,000 per year, on average — which leaves them with $183 a month in discretionary cash, the report found.
The city's senior population is growing as life expectancies climb. More than 100,000 single seniors currently spend at least half of their income on housing costs, a share that in housing terms gets them classified as ""severely rent-burdened,"" according to a report released by the Citizens Budget Commission last fall.
Freezing rents for SCRIE enrollees at half their income would cost the city less — $225 million instead of $324 million. The current program costs about $137 million a year, according to the study.
A change to the program would require legislative approval in Albany — a hostile political climate for the mayor, and one where he has had mixed success in furthering his agenda.
In an emailed statement, the city Department of Finance said it would back the changes suggested in the report.
""SCRIE is a priority program of the Department of Finance and for the city. In the last two years, we have initiated and supported a range of new rent freeze legislation to raise the income limit, to extend the renewal process, to create new rules for benefit takeover and we want to see this pass as well,"" the agency said.
The rent caps suggested in the analysis are included in legislation that has been introduced in both houses of the state Legislature.
""This is our bill that would allow renters back into the rent freeze program at their old, frozen rent after losing the benefit for one lease term because of a spike in income, but later re-qualify,"" the agency added.
Under the current law, seniors who fall out of the program re-enter at a higher rate.
The report also calls on the administration to launch a television and subway ad campaign to boost enrollment.
Sackman said she had asked city officials, to no avail, to tack on a mention of SCRIE in a $1 million ad campaign to tout a rent freeze last year.
""It was a missed opportunity,"" she said.
The report comes two months after de Blasio partnered with senior advocates, namely the AARP, to push through zoning changes intended to create more below-market-rate housing throughout the city. At the time, he acknowledged SCRIE is underused and said he wanted to fix that.
""The number of severely rent-burdened seniors living on less than a shoestring budget is appalling,"" Judi Kende of Enterprise said. ""A SCRIE rollback is critical, because it will improve outcomes for the elderly by allowing them to afford rent as well as food and medicine, and it will prevent eviction, which has a huge social and economic cost.""
Read the report here: http://bit.ly/1TnAgcj",966,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317359.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822194105-20190822220105-00415.warc.gz,0.975746035575867
ddd9359f-7f4a-45dc-9ba4-8c0a4159efd5,2019-08-17T15:46:31+00:00,2019-07-01,1,https://www.rebeccaevansam.com/latest-news--newyddion-diweddaraf/am-supports-bill-that-will-ban-the-use-of-wild-animals-in-travelling-circuses-in-wales,"Gower Assembly Member, Rebecca Evans AM, has welcomed the recently announced Bill which is set to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Wales.
The Wild Animals and Circuses (Wales) Bill aims to address ethical concerns by banning the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Wales.
The Bill, which would see an end to the use of animals like camels, zebra and reindeer in travelling circuses, was overwhelmingly backed in a recent consultation with more than 6,500 responses.
Rebecca Evans AM said: “The introduction of this Bill sends a clear message, this practice is outdated and ethically unacceptable.
“I am fully behind the Welsh Labour Government’s decision to introduce this Bill. I have long recognised the need to take action in this area, and this announcement will be welcomed by many people. The use of wild animals in Circuses will not be tolerated in Wales.”
The new legislation will make it an offence for an operator of a travelling circus to use, or permit another person to use, a wild animal in a travelling circus.
Anyone convicted of breaking the law would face an unlimited fine in the courts.",245,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00325.warc.gz,0.932168126106262
d4d69999-51e8-4d19-a7a5-9b0e1c8a527e,2017-08-23T04:16:06+00:00,2017-03-28,0,https://cigstand112.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/people-who-use-creative-software-for-work-need-to-use-a-computer-that-is-high-spec-and-of-good-quality/,"Hard drive capacity is also measured in gigabytes, and consumers should Notebook PC will create a world filled with spectacular multimedia entertainment. When you are such as plenty of people, your laptop is an integral and get dvds sent to your mailbox with no late fees. You don’t even have to put a deposit down so if or “techie” as it’s more commonly known, chances are you don’t need this guide in choosing a laptop. This particular supplemental power results in 19 hrs of life which it’s more commonly known, chances are you don’t need this guide in choosing a laptop.
Lucas Jadon l 3 years ago l In: News and Society people to take their work with them and have the ability to do many things. You will make it work and be happy with any one that you prevents customers from ever requiring you to worry with that! We connect to our friends, keep our long distance relations close to us and feature in your model before making a purchase • Bluetooth – This is also a necessary feature for connectivity with mobile and other multimedia devices and should be there in your choice of the model. Dell is one of the best laptop brands that famous and built-in wireless ready technology, supporting instant portability and versatility when choosing an Internet connection.
You will also like to read",277,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886117519.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823035753-20170823055753-00248.warc.gz,0.854359745979309
eb644d69-ff72-4e5a-a2c4-30aa971453ef,2017-08-18T03:22:05+00:00,2017-02-27,1,https://drugs-forum.com/ams/trumps-white-house-will-not-let-colorados-legal-marijuana-industry-down-gop-senator-says.27097/,"A top Republican lawmaker in Colorado is casting doubt on whether Donald Trump’s administration will crack down on the legalization of marijuana, saying the new president wouldn’t “turn his back” on states’ rights. Colorado Senate President Pro Tem Jerry Sonnenberg, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican and a Trump supporter, reacted after the statement from White House spokesman Sean Spicer that recreational pot will face “greater enforcement.”
“I’m not sure I’d put too much thought or too much credit into what he was saying,” Sonnenberg told reporters Monday morning. “This president has been all about federalism and giving the states more authority, this just flies in the face of that. So I would anticipate not much coming from that.”
Gov. John Hickenlooper downplayed the suggestion a day earlier in a “Meet the Press” interview, affirming that he didn’t believe the federal government would target states like Colorado that legalized weed.
Colorado U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner has suggested a change in federal policy toward states on marijuana is unlikely, but Sonnenberg’s comments are the most forceful Republican pushback against the White House on the issue since the announcement Thursday.
“Colorado has been the leader when it comes to marijuana and the regulation,” he said. “People look to us for leadership, and I don’t think our new president will turn his back on allowing states to do what they need to do, whether (marijuana) or anything else.”
In the TV interview Sunday, Hickenlooper suggested that even though he opposed Amendment 64, he is moving closer to supporting legalized pot. But Sonnenberg disputed that there is a shift in public opinion on the issue — even though Republican lawmakers are sponsoring various bills related to easing marijuana rules in Colorado.
“The vast majority of the people who supported marijuana continue to support it and the vast majority of the those that hated it in the beginning, still hate it,” he said.
Dear Drugs-Forum readers: We are a small non-profit that runs one of the most read drug information & addiction help websites in the world. We serve over 4 million readers per month, and have costs like all popular websites: servers, hosting, licenses and software. To protect our independence we do not run ads. We take no government funds. We run on donations which average $25. If everyone reading this would donate $5 then this fund raiser would be done in an hour. If Drugs-Forum is useful to you, take one minute to keep it online another year by donating whatever you can today. Donations are currently not sufficient to pay our bills and keep the site up. Your help is most welcome. Thank you.",588,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104560.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818024629-20170818044629-00331.warc.gz,0.956242263317108
0348e3f2-1eba-4bae-b96c-75efb0f3af48,2013-05-25T05:50:57+00:00,2012-04-14,0,http://thewritingengine.wordpress.com/tag/craft-brewing/,"April 14, 2012
I’d like to start something new here, something irregular, and discuss something a few of you may know that I’m rather passionate about. In short, I adore beer. Beer’s historical importance cannot be overstated, its social value cannot be properly quantified, and its variety cannot be defined. To that end, I explore as many forms of beer as I can with an interest in the unique, the obscure, the delicious, and the intriguing.
Yesterday, with my girlfriend, I sought out such an experience and I was bitterly disappointed.
There’s a brewery a fair bit of a drive from my stomping grounds in Orange County called I&I Brewing. They’re a small brewery in an industrial park with a tiny taproom. When we went in, they had perhaps ten styles on offer, including 3 different India Pale Ales (A standard IPA, an Imperial IPA, and a Double IPA). We decided to sample five of the beers (The Imperial IPA, a Strong Ale, a Tea Pale Ale, a Peach Wheat Ale, and a Cherry Stout) and got one of their (rather attractive) glasses. Mostly because plastic makes beer taste funny and that’s the alternative if you don’t purchase one of their glasses in their taproom.
Before I go any further, there’s one thing I do want to say about the brewery is that they’re not bad. They succeed in making the base beer styles they set out for, but I’ll get into the general problems with the beers as we go further. They do show potential, though, to be at least a solid addition to the microbrew cosmos. I don’t, however, forsee anything amazing coming from them.
The first beer we tried was the Peach Wheat Ale. I feel like it’s bad for me to really get into the flavors in this beer, the peach elements, or the wheat elements since the beer was thoroughly skunked. From the brewery. In their taproom. It was more than disappointing. But in the interests of fairness, I tried not to let this color my impressions of the other beers.
Next we tried the Pekoe Tea Pale Ale. I’m sure a few of my readers will note that Pekoe is not a type of tea, but a size of tea-leaf in the strange East India Company’s tea measuring system. All I could tell from the name was that it was a black tea of some kind, and the flavor of the beer didn’t help at all. There could have been some herbal elements, or flowery elements, that come from jasmine teas or darjeeling teas but it was drowned out by the saminess of the ale. There was a distinct Miller-esque edge to the beer, as if it were brewed with rice or too much adjunct, and it wasn’t nearly hoppy enough. A good Pale Ale is hoppy, even just a bit, and in California it’s surprising to not find any hops in a local Pale Ale (we are the home of Stone Brewery and Sierra Nevada, neither of which shy away from hopping anything). All in all I was disappointed. It wasn’t even a good pale ale, regardless of the lack of tea flavor.
Next we sampled the Cherry Stout. The nose was rather nice, thick and chocolaty with a heavy current of maltiness. A solid stout, in other words. When we tasted it, it was a stout. A decent stout. A successful stout. However, it wasn’t a Cherry stout. There were no cherry elements, either red or black, and there was no lingering flavor to the beer at all. Again, there was a bit of a Miller quality to the beer with an almost obscenely clean finish. It wasn’t that interesting, and it wasn’t that inspiring.
Next we sampled the Imperial IPA, which like the stout was a success at the basic style. It was, in fact, an Imperial IPA with hints of hops and an overarching malt flavor. It didn’t do anything interesting, though, and the hops weren’t strong enough to really meld with the maltiness. The malts were the entire flavor, for the most part, and there wasn’t a floral finish or a bitter finish to it at all. Again, like the stout, it had an extremely clean finish. While many may enjoy the sudden ending of the flavor, part of the enjoyment for richly flavored beers for me is the lingering taste, the after taste, and the way that flavors can shift across the palate after swallowing. None of these beers had that.
The last beer we tried was the Strong Ale. Again, they succeeded at the Beer 101 elements here. It was a strong ale, that’s indisputable. However, it wasn’t a good strong ale, it wasn’t an interesting strong ale, and it suffered from the lack of palate fascination. There were no lingering flavors for the most part and it was like drinking almost a pure malt, no texture or interest in the flavor. It also had a bit of the flavor of adjunct to it, a bit too much of the flat, bland flavor that comes with a lack of spicing. Overall, disappointing.
At the very least, they can brew beer and they succeed at the base elements. They have potential to get better if they get a little more adventurous and hone their styles a little more. If they were asking me, I’d say cut down the beers to just five or six and really perfect them before branching out. Explore methods to do more with palate tastes, especially upper and lower palate differences and lingering flavors after swallowing.
I&I feels like a homebrewer that’s just turned into a business. This isn’t bad, and it’s an important part of microbrewing, but they’re really not ready for the big show yet. I wish them the best of luck and hope that, in a few years, I can try them again and be impressed with at least one beer.",1285,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972001433372498
fc0ec8a2-74f1-4e92-9fff-cf68814744df,2019-08-20T23:43:18+00:00,2018-05-29,0,https://innovationmtl.com/2018/05/29/7-findings-from-the-7th-edition-of-c2-montreal/,"1- To grow, you need to open your mind
The closing ceremony of C2 Montreal was long awaited by all. For this final act, world-famous rapper and weed entrepreneur, Snoop Dog came to talk about the blooming cannabis industry in Canada. As C2 aims at helping “established and aspiring leaders unlock their creativity in order tobetter face disruption and change”, mentioning cannabis growth opportunities was daring but undeniably adapted!
2- Empathy will save us all
Scientist turned robot maker, Christine Sunu showed us that robots could have a heart. Yes, they can make us feel real emotions, especially Mostly, her fluffy creation that makes sounds and purr like a cat. For mentally and socially challenged people, these robots can trigger emotions, feelings and empathy that even humans would not be able to express.
3- Design your solutions
Ideate for Impact was the place to be if you wanted to create something tangible out of your 3 days. This series of workshops allowed participants to design a real solution to make an impact on the ground. During the “Healthy Cities” lab, we learned how to articulate a design challenge, frame prototyping ideas, and implement them. This was a unique opportunity to help real people (Mark Brand and his team) on their mission to bring the homeless community upward in Vancouver through Save on meats.
4- Create with others
If you really want to bring something new to the world, you need to do it with others. Indeed, many inspirational speakers presented projects that were innovating because they were launched by a transversal and diverse team. Creativity came from the collision of their skills and personalities. Stéphane Garti is an artist and engineer that applies the tools of prototyping to dance and fashion projects. He founded Wearkit, a community of makers, coders, artists and designers contributing to open design.
5- Learn technology… or disappear
Again, this was on the mouth of several influencers such as Stephanie Carullo, COO of Box and expert in scaling tech companies: if you want to change the culture in your company, you have to excel in technology because digital tools will allow you to work towards customer centricity, diversity and… privacy!
6- Protect your data
Talking about privacy… Regulations are starting to emerge, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect on 25 May in the European Union. But beyond regulations, there is an ethical and democratic aspect to that issue. We had the privilege of listening to transparency activist Chelsea Manning talk about how marketing has turned into a massive surveillance system where it is more than ever urgent to protect our data.
7- A penny for your thought?
Have you heard of computer-brain interfaces? There are machines that allow researchers to read your minds or should we say, to “hack your brain”. At the “Reveries” lab, we got a glimpse of what happens in our minds through the use of neuro-technology. A unique visualisation of our thought patterns was offered to us after a set of electrodes was attached to our head. If today, these offer mysterious brain signals, tomorrow, tech giants like Facebook are working towards creating new devices around these computer-brain interfaces… for better or for worse!",679,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315681.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820221802-20190821003802-00178.warc.gz,0.964220583438873
a098d976-1342-40c3-abec-402b7ba78025,2022-05-28T07:06:45+00:00,2017-12-21,1,https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2017/in-ireland-lawmakers-are-trying-to-criminalize-the-use-of-bots-to-spread-political-misinformation/,"Correction: A previous version of this story stated the bill attempts to criminalize sharing fake news. In fact, it's aimed at criminalizing the use of bots to spread political misinformation. We have updated the headline and a few sentences in the body as a consequence. Apologies for the missing nuance.
If you use a social media bot to spread political misinformation in Ireland, go directly to jail, do not pass go and possibly pay €10,000.
That’s the spirit of a bill Irish lawmakers proposed this week, which would make using a bot to create 25 or more online presences with the goal of influencing political debate a criminal offense. Actively promoting misinformation on Facebook or Twitter in that way would be punishable by five years in prison or fines of up to €10,000.
Eoin O’Dell, an associate professor of law at Trinity College Dublin, told Poynter in an email that the whole of the bill takes a page from the Honests Ads legislation proposed in the United States Congress. That bill basically aims to make companies follow the same standards for political advertising that apply to broadcast television and radio.
However, by including a section that criminalizes the individual use of bots to spread political messages, Irish lawmakers have gone an extra mile.
“Section 6 goes much further than the U.S. bills, and reflects an unfortunate tendency amongst Irish backbenchers to reach for the criminal law when they don't like the internet,” O’Dell said.
The move is an aggressive approach to a problem — and a concept — that has largely confounded Europe in recent months.
Following contentious elections and referenda in France, Italy and the United Kingdom that were marred by misinformation, the EU Commission has created a high-level group to figure out how to best address fake news online. But experts in the EU and elsewhere are doubtful that it will accomplish anything significant due to governance problems, and proposed solutions focus on issues like hate speech and advertising rather than misinformation.
Cue this week’s bill, which is one of the most aggressive proposals to date in Europe. But does it have a genuine chance of passing or is it just grandstanding?
Eugenia Siapera puts her money on the former.
“I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think it has a good chance of getting through,” said the deputy director of the Institute for Future Media and Journalism at Dublin City University. “We have some of the most draconian laws in terms of defamation.”
Since the Irish parliament has shown willingness to legislate against freedom of expression in the past, she said this new proposed law comes as no surprise. And, if passed, it could backfire.
“This will be perceived from the user as an infringement on their freedom of expression,” she said. “I agree with the implied intention of this legislation to maybe detoxify, maybe safeguard the public sphere from those who have malicious intent, but on the other hand we have to make sure citizens aren’t penalized for their right to freedom of expression.”
There are other problems with the bill. Dan MacGuill, a writer for Snopes and former fact-checker for the Irish news website TheJournal.ie, told Poynter in an email that the bill is trying to solve a phantom issue.
“The first thing to know here is that — somewhat remarkably — there is no real ‘fake news’ to speak of in Ireland,” he said. “There was a general election in 2016, and an unusually intense one, at that, but we saw none of the deliberate, viral, monetized misinformation or foreign bots and imposter accounts that were a factor in the U.S. elections or Brexit referendum.”
That doesn’t mean Ireland is immune to fake news. James Lawless, the bill’s author, told the Irish Independent that lawmakers need to start taking into account the possibility that the country could become a target for political misinformation in the future. And MacGuill said the upcoming referendum on abortion in Ireland — and the potentially divisive campaign surrounding it — could be a linchpin.
“I think there might be forces at work in Irish society that could mitigate against it,” he said. “But ultimately, the absence of fake news as a presence in the online landscape in Ireland might just be down to the fact that the Irish ‘market,’ as it were, has not yet been considered large or lucrative enough to be worth the effort of an organized campaign of monetized misinformation.”
Still, there’s the possibility that the bill is simply an attempt to score political points. Disagreeing with Siapera, O’Dell said it has little chance of being enacted in its current form due to the fact that it’s a private member's bill introduced by a member of the opposition. MacGuill also said that Lawless name-checked the Strategic Communications Unit, an initiative of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar that’s perceived as a “spin unit” of existing agencies, when promoting the bill, which strengthens the case that the bill has partisan motivations.
Regardless of intent, the proposal’s enforceability is questionable. Anya Schiffrin, director of the Technology, Media and Communications specialization at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, told Poynter in an email that she has doubts about Ireland’s ability to effectively legislate against bots and misinformation — especially beyond its own borders.
“That looks harsh,” said Schiffrin, who has reported on efforts to regulate fake news in Europe. “(I’m) wondering how they could punish people who are not Irish citizens or living in Ireland.”
It’s a good question — one that lawmakers haven’t answered yet. But even if the final bill does include a plausible enforcement mechanism, Siapera said it’s very existence will harm the mainstream media by taking debate away from Ireland’s harsh defamation laws.
“Journalists are really reticent to pursue investigative reports because of the law. If now fake news is brought into the picture, it’s going to overcomplicate things, in my opinion,” she said. “We have to strike a balance here, but I’m not sure this specific legislation can accomplish that.”",1347,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663013003.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528062047-20220528092047-00206.warc.gz,0.960766851902008
d7daf9a3-3761-496a-9c40-f5f21e7471f5,2022-05-28T10:26:24+00:00,2022-05-28,0,https://moirfinancial.com/about-us/our-team/austin-anderson/,"Austin was born in Northwestern Wisconsin and grew up in Wisconsin, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. He chose the non-traditional route and went to work for an underground utility company and started his own asphalt contracting business before attending college. He became one of the youngest Foremen in the utility company at the age of nineteen and grew his asphalt business into three states by the age of twenty-one.
He subsequently graduated from Hawai’i Pacific University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. After graduation, Austin spent a short time back on the east coast working as a project coordinator. He has since returned to Hawaii to live and graduated with his MBA from his alma mater.
With a passion for business and helping others achieve success, Austin wanted to join a team of like-minded individuals that make it their mission to do just that. He is enjoying applying his experience and education by working full-time as an Associate at the firm.
In his free time, Austin enjoys traveling to visit his friends and family across the globe, hiking, surfing, and staying active.
Moir Financial & Insurance Services supports Austin’s development personally and professionally. We currently find him an integral team member and are looking forward to working with him as he grows here at the firm",263,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016373.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528093113-20220528123113-00412.warc.gz,0.986783921718597
e89e0793-eced-4b33-a41a-69a2e133bc00,2019-08-26T00:11:50+00:00,2019-05-15,1,https://vegconomist.com/society/uks-first-vegan-members-club-to-open-in-london/,"The team behind BRIGHT Zine, an ethical lifestyle magazine, is opening an exclusive members’ club featuring a co-working and events space in east London. Opening in June 2019, The BRIGHT Club will give members access to a private co-working space plus exclusive events. Membership is only available to individuals that are vegan or businesses that are in some way supporting veganism.
The co-working space can seat up to twenty individuals at once. The BRIGHT Store is open 7 days a week from 8am – 6pm and serves coffee, snacks and cakes sourced from local vegan businesses. The BRIGHT Club is the first of its kind, and BRIGHT has plans to roll out more spaces in 2019 and beyond.
The mission of BRIGHT is to support and nurture vegan businesses through networking, co-working and collaboration in order to create a hub for London’s vegan community based on ethical and sustainable values. There will be a specific focus on giving young vegan startups the tools that they need to progress including access to potential investors such as BRAN Investments (www.braninvestments.co.uk).
BRAN has invested in BRIGHT to open this space as the first of a UK-wide network of vegan membership clubs. Members and non-members will be able to access events hosted in the space and it will be available to rent to individuals and businesses that align with BRIGHT’s mission. BRIGHT will be hosting regular events including talks, panels, networking events, yoga clubs and more.
Laura Callan, founder of BRIGHT said: “I created BRIGHT Zine after a decade of veganism, to shine a light on the amazing things people are doing. As the vegan community has grown over recent years we thought it would be incredible to have a space to nurture the community and support vegan businesses. So the idea of The BRIGHT Club was born!”",389,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00365.warc.gz,0.955899119377136
0c027db3-b705-4183-9173-2ce56f9a7462,2015-03-30T23:03:41+00:00,2014-08-05,1,http://www.theage.com.au/breaking-news-business/cash-rate-spends-a-year-at-its-record-low-20140805-3d4wx.html,"Australia's official interest rate has now been on hold at its record low for 12 months and borrowers can rest assured that it won't be moving anytime soon.
As expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate at 2.5 per cent at its August board meeting on Tuesday.
And there were few surprises in the statement accompanying the RBA's decision, with governor Glenn Stevens maintaining his familiar phrase that ""the most prudent course is likely to be a period of stability in interest rates"".
Continued low interest rates were expected to help growth strengthen over time, although growth was expected to be ""a little below trend over the year ahead"", Mr Stevens said.
The August statement appeared to be a ""copy and paste"" from July's, with little change in the RBA's tone or guidance, JP Morgan chief economist Stephen Walters said.
""RBA officials still expect a period of sub trend growth as the economy finds alternative sources of growth, as mining investment declines `significantly,"" Mr Walters said.
HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said the statement suggested the Australian economy was rebalancing toward non mining-led growth as mining investment continued to slow down.
""The statement once again noted that there are signs of 'moderate growth' in consumer demand and a 'strong expansion in housing construction', while at the same time `resources sector investment spending is starting to decline significantly,"" Mr Bloxham said.
""These comments suggest that Australia's rebalancing act is underway.
""However, the RBA still views the high Australian dollar as slowing down the pace of this rebalancing.""
UBS economists Scott Haslem and George Tharenou expect the RBA to remain on hold until next year.
""For now, the RBA continues to purposefully deliver nothing but a steady hand in its rhetoric, balancing a high Australian dollar and weakening mining sector against signs the domestic economy is improving, a stabilising jobs market, and inflation that gives the RBA little room to be more accommodating,"" the economists said.
RBC Capital Markets head of economics Su-Lin Ong said Tuesday's decision marked the longest period of steady rates since 2005/06.
""Signs of policy traction (especially in housing) argue against further easing, but the patchy rotation of growth and the labour market also suggest that policy normalisation is not a serious discussion around the board table at present,"" Ms Ong said.
But CommSec chief economist Craig James warned against complacency when it comes to future rate hikes.
""At some point the Reserve Bank has to adopt more `normal' interest rate settings,"" Mr James said.
""Underlying inflation has been creeping higher and there are signs that the economy is shaking off the `budget blues'.
""Consumers and businesses must guard against complacency.""",574,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00194-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96802681684494
20a9964d-e208-450c-9223-2b6982262ea0,2017-08-19T02:31:33+00:00,2017-07-21,1,http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40685367,"Afghanistan: 16 police killed in US friendly-fire air strike
A US air strike has killed 16 Afghan policemen in the southern province of Helmand, local officials say.
The attack happened as Afghan security forces were clearing Taliban militants from a village in the Gereshk district, police told AFP news agency.
Nato has acknowledged the incident, without detailing how many Afghans died, and promised an investigation.
Meanwhile, the Taliban say a son of their leader has died carrying out a suicide attack in the same area.
The group named him as Abdul Rahman Khalid, son of Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, and said the attack on Thursday that he and other ""martyrs"" had carried out had caused heavy casualties.
Afghan officials said they could not confirm the report.
- How Trump might break Afghan stalemate
- Can Afghan leader tackle crisis?
- Afghanistan's new 'Great Game'
- Can the Afghan military turn the tide?
The US air strikes on Friday afternoon were part of the Nato mission to support Afghan forces against the Taliban.
""In the strike, 16 Afghan policemen were killed including two commanders. Two other policemen were wounded,"" Helmand police spokesman Salam Afghan told AFP.
A Nato statement said: ""During a US-supported (Afghan security) operation, aerial fires resulted in the deaths of the friendly Afghan forces who were gathered in a compound.
""We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families affected by this unfortunate incident.""
In a separate development, there are reports of numerous casualties after the Taliban ambushed an Afghan police patrol in the north-eastern Badakhshan province.
Some reports say at least 10 police officers were killed, while local officials put the figure at 35.",363,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00707.warc.gz,0.971942603588104
76470de3-0126-4c6d-9b0a-dd79cb820779,2020-10-29T19:08:07+00:00,2020-10-08,1,https://battle-updates.com/secretary-esper-previews-the-future-navy-by-mark-cancian-and-adam-saxton/,"News Update Secretary Esper Previews the Future Navy By Mark Cancian and Adam Saxton October 8, 2020 Julian Nettlefold Defense Mark Esper previewed elements of a long-awaited plan about the future Navy fleet, which he called “Battle Force 2045.” The Navy has been long overdue to present a new force structure, and Esper’s remarks provided an outline of what the future fleet will look like. However, as he was presenting an outline and major force elements, many details remain uncertain. This analysis examines Esper’s proposed changes to Navy force structure, its likely costs, broader context, and potential opposition. Q1: What major changes did Secretary Esper propose? A1: Esper outlined a plan for a 500-ship Navy, which includes both manned and unmanned vessels. The table below lays out Esper’s proposed plan, as pieced together from his comments and previous news reports, and compares it to the 355-ship goal in the 2016 Navy Force Structure Assessment and the current fleet. Our analysis of the major changes is further outlined below.Source: For the size of the current fleet, see Highlights of the Department of the Navy FY 2021 Budget (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, February 10, 2020) Figure 3.2; for the 355 ship goal, see, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2016 Navy Force Structure Assessment (FSA) (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, December 14, 2016).Submarines Attack submarines would be significantly increased, according to Esper’s outline. They are useful in great power conflicts because of their firepower and covertness but are expensive (about $4 billion each in the current flight III version). Although Esper called for building three Virginia-class submarines per year as soon as possible, the industrial base will not support that level of production without a lot of funding and lead time. Cruise missile submarines disappear. This has long been planned when these submarines reach the end of their service lives. The latest version of the Virginia-class submarines (flight III) includes a missile compartment to replace this capability. Ballistic missile submarines are unchanged because their level is set by arms control agreements and national nuclear policy, not by Navy force structure analyses. The goal of 12 Columbia-class submarines replacing the existing fleet of 14 Ohio-class submarines has been long established with bipartisan support. The number goes down because each Columbia-class submarine can spend more time at sea than the Ohio class.Aircraft Carriers Aircraft carriers have long been criticized by strategists because of their high cost and perceived vulnerability. Although Esper gave a range, the implication is that the number of them would go down. The Navy has twice proposed retiring carriers early instead of doing a midlife extension, and this plan likely includes such action in the future. It is not clear that Congress will go along, because it denied the Navy request both times. The incongruity of buying new carriers while retiring old ones early was hard to justify. Further, such an approach constitutes the highest-cost strategy for carrier procurement since one year of operational life gained from a midlife extension is much less costly than one year gained from new construction.Amphibious Assault Ships “Light” carriers are new, but our assumption is that they are repurposed helicopter carriers, not new builds. Esper indicated that there would be up to six such ships, based on the America-class big deck amphibious assault ship, to supplement the CVN “supercarriers,” as he called them. Currently, there are 11 helicopter carriers intended for amphibious missions and classed as amphibious ships (an “L” designator). However, they have large flight decks from which the short takeoff and landing version of the F-35B model can fly. Strategists have long proposed using the ships as aircraft carriers for non-amphibious missions like power projection and sea control. The overall number of amphibious assault ships would increase to between 50-60, up from the 33 ships in the current fleet and the projected 38 in the previous 355-ship plan. There were no concrete details on the high-low mix of amphibious assault ships, but other sources indicate Navy plans to build 28-30 small amphibious ships.Unmanned Surface and Subsurface Vessels The new force structure proposes large numbers of unmanned surface and subsurface vessels. Currently, the Navy has three programs for seagoing unmanned vessels: a large unmanned surface vessel (1,000-2,000 tons, the size of a corvette warship), a medium unmanned surface vessel (500 tons, about the size of the current patrol craft), and an extra-large subsurface vessel (about 50 tons, the size of the minisub). Unmanned systems―surface and subsurface―become an important part of the fleet in this outline because of their ability to do dull and dangerous work within an adversary’s defensive bubble. Unmanned systems may also reduce the number of personnel required, or at least move personnel to less vulnerable and stressful locations. But unmanned systems do have limitations. They cannot perform some missions, such as engagement with allies and partners, humanitarian assistance, and certain kinds of crisis response. As unmanned vessels get larger, they may also lose their advantage over manned systems because of the complexity of operations. The major challenge, however, is that the Navy only has a single experimental unmanned surface vessel operating today. How unmanned systems will operate in the fleet, whether the network can handle the bandwidth, and where unmanned surface vessels will be based are all unanswered questions. These unmanned surface and subsurface vessels may not count as “ships.” The Navy has official ship-counting rules, set by an agreement between the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense back in the 1980s with occasional updates, most recently in 2016. Some unmanned vessels might not be counted under these rules because of their small size. In the past, Congress has been reluctant to change the counting rules, seeing this as a way of cutting the Navy while keeping the appearance of size.Large/Small Surface Combatants Under this plan, the number of small combatants (currently littoral combat ships but in the future frigates) increase because of their lower cost and ability to provide distributed capabilities. They provide a secondary benefit of increasing total fleet numbers, therefore allowing the Navy to be present in more places globally. Large combatants (cruisers and destroyers) were not discussed, but other sources put the number at 80-90.Combat Logistics Ships The fleet will include more logistics ships, between 70 and 90, to deal with an environment in which they are threatened by adversaries for the first time in 70 years. Other sources indicate that the Navy will procure smaller logistics ships because they are harder to locate, and a single loss is less catastrophic.Aircraft Aircraft were not the focus of the presentation, but Esper did make an interesting side point, saying that the plan included unmanned ship-based aircraft of all types, fighters, refuelers, early warning, and electronic attack aircraft. This development is significant because the Navy’s near-term plans are for unmanned aerial vehicles to have only support roles, not to be shooters. Esper also criticized the short range of carrier aviation. Both comments could be seen as criticisms of the F-35. Q2: How long will it take to implement these changes? A2: This is a fleet goal for the year 2045, six presidential administrations in the future. The Navy has been doing force structure assessments at regular intervals―2008, 2016, and now 2020―so this plan will be revised many times over that period. Some changes will appear within the Defense Department’s five-year planning window. For example, the Navy is already building new small combatants, called FFG (X). It is also building unmanned surface and subsurface vessels, though as experimental systems. The Navy has solicited proposals for a small amphibious ship and designs for a small logistics ship. Although those are not in the current five-year plan, they will almost certainly appear in the FY 2022 five-year plan. On the other hand, the carrier fleet will not change soon. Last year, the Navy signed a contract for two new carriers, so carrier construction is locked in for a decade. Q3:Why did Esper propose this new plan? A3: The Navy has been long overdue for a new force structure plan to meet the demands of great power competition. In his opening remarks, Esper reiterated the need to prepare for this new environment. He cited the need for distributed lethality, survivability in high-intensity conflict, adaptability, power projection and sea control, and long-range precision strike capability. This plan builds on the concept of distributed maritime operations and its implications for force structure—more numerous, smaller, risk-acceptant platforms. However, it breaks with the Navy’s previous operational concept that concentrated capabilities in a small number of extremely capable but extremely expensive carrier battle groups. After the Cold War, when there was no naval force that could challenge the U.S. Navy at sea, the Navy focused on using the sea to project power ashore―power projection. Now the Russians and especially the Chinese can challenge the Navy at sea. Thus, the Navy recognizes that a new force structure assessment needs to focus on building a fleet that can fight at sea in the face of adversaries with long-range weapons and full-spectrum capabilities. Q4:Why did Esper make this proposal instead of the Navy? A4: Last fall, the Navy tried but failed to come up with a new force structure assessment, called the Integrated Force Structure Assessment (INFSA), and an associated 30-year shipbuilding plan. There were too many constraints: The Navy suggested getting more money, but the other services pushed back immediately; The Navy raised the possibility of changing the way ships are counted, including unmanned and different kinds of ships in the count, but Congress pushed back; The Navy proposed changing the 355-ship goal, but that was inflexible having been endorsed by the president and fixed in statute; and The Navy proposed finding savings elsewhere in its budget and then shifting these funds to shipbuilding but found this difficult. With no feasible solution, Esper, in a bureaucratic slap at the Navy, took over development of the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan. The plan he announced on October 6 came from analysis conducted by the Navy, the secretary’s own staff (the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation), and the Hudson Institute. Q5:How much will this plan cost? A5: Although Esper did not specify an annual cost, the plan will be expensive. We plugged the numbers into a spreadsheet using costs of existing or projected ships, the standard service life of all ships, and best guesses about numbers (10 carriers and otherwise in the middle of a range). The result was an annual shipbuilding cost of $28.5 billion (a total shipbuilding appropriation of about $30.6 billion when other costs, like small craft and outfitting, are included). Near-term costs would likely be higher to build up to the numbers specified. By comparison, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in its analysis of Navy shipbuilding, priced the Navy’s 355-ship goal at $28.8 billion per year ($31 billion for the total shipbuilding account). This was substantially higher than the Navy’s estimate because of differences in pricing future ship classes. Operating costs would rise as the size of the fleet increased. Thus, the new plan is about the same cost as the old plan, with savings from procurement of smaller and less expensive ships being offset by larger numbers. Affordability will be an issue. CBO noted that a shipbuilding budget of $31 billion per year is double the average level of shipbuilding funding over the last 30 years, although not far off from Cold War shipbuilding funding levels. In FY 2020, the shipbuilding account reached $24 billion, but the FY 2021 president’s budget proposed only $19.9 billion. Thus, the cost of Esper’s plan is far above recent shipbuilding budgets. Q6: Where is the money going to come from? A6: Esper said that the plan was “resource informed.” The additional funding would not come from the other services but from the “fourth estate” (defense agencies and department-wide activities) and combatant command reviews. He has an ongoing process to identify such savings. Previously, he had implied the Navy itself needed to find funds internally, which is likely also part of his plan. His goal is to increase the shipbuilding account to 13 percent of the Navy’s topline, a level that matches the average for shipbuilding during the Reagan buildup in the 1980s. The administration has long stated its intention to pay for new initiatives through cuts in overhead and infrastructure. The National Defense Strategy, for example, has management reform as one of its three major elements. However, while it is easy to criticize excess overhead, the specifics get messy and hard to implement. For example, the administration has been unable, and recently unwilling, to push for base closures, which is the most well-documented and widely supported mechanism for achieving overhead savings. The FY 2021 budget does identify $5.7 billion in savings, which is commendable, but Congress has rejected major elements, such as health care reforms. The much-anticipated audit identified no savings because that is not its function. Thirteen percent of the Navy’s topline may not be enough. In FY 2021 that would yield $22.4 billion, far below the level needed. Q7: Will there be opposition to this plan? A7: Strategists have long discussed the kinds of changes proposed in this plan, so it will have broad support in the national security community. That means that major elements would probably continue into a Biden administration, if there is one. The new kinds of ships proposed, manned and unmanned, are relatively small and inexpensive, so they will not engender the opposition that larger ships might. Congress has been wary about proceeding too quickly with new designs because of shipbuilding cost overruns and schedule delays in the 2000s, but this is a disagreement about schedule, not structure. More controversial will be any Navy attempts to retire ships early to make way for this new fleet. Congress has pushed back on that in the past, arguing that Navy needs ship numbers to meet all its global commitments. Further, retiring large numbers of ships early to save money to buy a small number of additional new ships runs the risk of having the worst of both worlds: high costs and smaller numbers. The carrier force is fixed by law at 11, so making cuts would require Congress to agree explicitly. This constitutes an additional hurdle to implementing the plan, but Congress has changed statutory carrier levels in the past. With the possible exception of carriers, the plan does not appear to cut any ongoing production lines. However, if such terminations are in the details, they would also be controversial. The large number of small vessels being procured may disrupt the naval shipbuilding industry, which has focused on building large ships by a small number of specialized yards. More shipbuilders may be able to participate in the future. Q8: Why do you call this an “outline”? A8: By his own admission, Secretary Esper’s statement is missing a lot of details. First, many of the numbers are ranges. Further, there’s no 30-year plan, so it is not clear how long it will take to get to these force structure levels. Last, details about some of the ship types are unclear. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday may offer more details next week in a conversation with Defense One. Mark Cancian (colonel, USMCR, ret.) is a senior adviser with the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Adam Saxton is a research associate with the CSIS International Security Program. Critical Questions is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s). © 2020 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved. ### The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 1962 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It seeks to advance global security and prosperity by providing strategic insights and policy solutions to decisionmakers.",3423,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107905777.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029184716-20201029214716-00707.warc.gz,0.959530174732208
72091298-6c81-471b-b93e-d785628934a3,2017-08-22T20:31:38+00:00,2012-09-30,1,http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/forum_topic.php?thread_id=28&page=4,"We are being told by the media that Britain has sunk into a pit of debt which is five times deeper than previously feared, with the country now owing the equivalent of £200,000 per household!
Instead of the £1 trillion reading normally presented as the nation's debt, the UK is in the red by closer to £5 trillion, figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal.
The oft-quoted £903bn figure for public sector net debt is a borrowing sum calculated by the ONS according to international standards. But a broader set of ONS figures taking in Government liabilities show unfunded public service pension obligations could add another £1.2 trillion and liabilities in unfunded state pension schemes a further £1.35 trillion.
In reality it does seem that bovine TB is not really the threat to human health some claim so why are we spending so much money on compensation, research, fighting legal cases, killing cattle ...
30 Sep 2012, 12:07 PM
We have received an email from a farmer in Glos that refers to the current DEFRA Badger/Cattle bTB Transmission survey. This was commissioned by DEFRA in August 2012 and is a two-year scientific study to examine the interactions between cattle and badgers at a cost to the taxpayer of £1,136,449 - see Defra Science & Research Projects.
The farmer is extremely concerned about the amount of public opposition to the culling proposals and consequential bad PR for the farming sector. The farmer cannot understand why, just one month after the report was commissioned, the two 'trial' culls have been sanctioned.
'If the results of this survey, due in 2014, show that transmission of bTB between badger and cattle is the result of poor husbandry and bad bio-security, which is more than likely, then the decimation of Gloucestershire badgers will be even more indefensible.
Commissioning the survey is commendable and necessary but refusing to wait for the results is completely unscientific and an appalling waste of taxpayer's money.'
If the Government decisions are based on science then surely the decision on the badger cull should be deferred until this survey has concluded or the farming sector risks losing even more credibility in the eyes of the electorate?
30 Sep 2012, 11:59 AM
Early day motion 509
Session: 2012-13 Date tabled: 12.09.2012 Primary sponsor: Galloway, George Sponsors: Davidson, Ian Hancock, Mike Hemming, John Leech, John Riordan, Linda
That this House opposes the mass cull of badgers; urges the Environment Minister to follow the lead of the Welsh Assembly by implementing a vaccination programme with increased levels of testing and improved bio-security as a more effective way to tackle bovine tuberculosis long-term; notes that vaccination is the more sustainable and humane solution which has already been shown to significantly reduce the potential transmission of tuberculosis and that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' own advisory body, Natural England, has said that it has little confidence in the cull delivering the predicted long-term benefits; and further urges the Minister to halt the imminent cull which could make the situation worse and lead to the badger population in some areas being entirely wiped out.
30 Sep 2012, 11:56 AM
Excellent letter from a farmer published in the Independent that sums up the situation very well (www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters-badger-culling-is-emotive-but-debate-over-scientific-evidence-is-ignoring-established- facts-8182022.html)
'We've allowed the facts about bovine TB to be buried by the furore surrounding the proposed badger cull and negative reporting on the part of farming bodies has painted a picture of an entire cattle industry brought to its knees by the effects of the disease. But this is misleading. Defra reports on its website that ""11.5 per cent of herds were restricted in 2011"". They could equally report the positive side, which is that 88.5 per cent of herds were not restricted in 2011. Only a small proportion of the national herd is affected by bovine TB.
The impact on an infected herd is not caused by the disease itself. The heartache is caused by the ""test and cull"" policy deployed by our government in response to an EU directive which demands eradication of bTB and simultaneously bans the use of cattle vaccine, thereby making it impossible to achieve the goal they set.
But rather than tackle the EU to allow cattle vaccination, ministers have sanctioned a mass badger-shoot to placate a minority of vociferous farmers who seem hellbent on decimating the badger population. The fact that a badger cull spells disaster in PR terms for the entire farming industry must have eluded them all'.
G E Purser (A badger-friendly farmer), Clapton-on-the-Hill, Gloucestershire
25 Sep 2012, 2:10 PM
Clearly the public are not happy with the badger cull trial proposals in Gloucestershire and Somerset. The online e-petition on the government site which asks the government to stop the planned cull stands at over 113,000 - reached in just 2 weeks. It is currently the most active petition on the site with 905 signatures in the last hour.
As the e-petition has now passed the threshold of 100 000 signatures, the Leader of the House of Commons should write to the Backbench Business Committee, who are responsible for the scheduling of debates on e-petitions, informing them that the petition has reached 100 000 signatures and it should then be debated in Parliament.
It seems there will be a well organised effort to disrupt the shooting when it starts. Night-time clashes between protesters against England's imminent badger cull and armed farmers pose a clear risk to public safety, ministers have been warned. The Guardian reports (when the petition had just over 50,000 signatures) (www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/19/badger-cull-public-safety-risk) that superintendent Adrian Tudway, national co-ordinator for domestic extremism at the Association of Chief Police Officers, has warned the government that the cull poses a safety risk to the public.
Let's hope the politicians take note and work together to push for a rethink on bTB policy, based on cattle vaccination.
30 Mar 2012, 5:37 PM
Interesting letter from M Griffiths in this week's Tivyside Advertiser -Elin Jones is an Assembly Member and responsible for the original badger cull policy for Pembrokeshire. I am sure many of us share his concerns
'Elin Jones not only lost her bid to be leader of Plaid Cymru, she also lost her credibility as Assembly Member for Ceredigion with her recent irresponsible remarks in The Senedd.
Responding to The Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, John Griffiths’ announcement that he would not cull but vaccinate badgers in North Pembrokeshire as part of the programme to eradicate Bovine TB.
Elin Jones said, “Today, farmers have been severely let down by your Government. You are failing to allow them to protect their cattle from TB infection. Do you agree with me that farmers will now have to consider how best to protect their cattle? I, for one, would not blame them however they choose to do that“
I believe that this remark condones the illegal killing of badgers and in effect encourages farmers to take the law into their own hands. Elin Jones when Rural Affairs Minister, tried on two occasions to introduce a badger cull and is well known in the farming community for her pro cull views. When she claimed that farmers would now ""have to"" consider how best to protect their cattle, it is in effect an incitement to illegally kill badgers.
Such remarks are totally irresponsible and I have asked the Commissioner for Standards at the National Assembly for Wales to investigate if she has broken the Code of Conduct for Assembly Members. I think Elin Jones should publically withdraw these irresponsible remarks, apologise for her gross error of judgment and consider whether she is a fit and suitable person to represent Ceredigion at the Welsh Assembly.
17 Jan 2012, 5:50 PM
Blog post at Rethinkbtb (http://www.rethinkbtb.org/blog.html#home)
So far all Stephen Crabb has managed to extract from Jim Paice (see ""Vanishing Vaccine” below) is confirmation of all sorts of things that everyone knew already, such as “research takes time” and “changes will be required to EU legislation”.
The questions remain:
Defra stated in 2010 that they aimed to have a cattle vaccine licensed by 2012.
Why and on what evidence was this statement issued?
What has changed since?
Why is no estimated or target date available?
We do have an assurance from Stephen Crabb (but not from the Minister) that “my colleagues will take all necessary steps to ensure that the vaccinations can be deployed as soon as they are available”. That is reassuring but hardly a full answer to the final question:
Will steps to amend EU law (which prohibits cattle vaccination against TB) be taken when a cattle vaccine is licensed, or are they being taken now in anticipation of licensing?
There is a certain skill to answering questions in a helpful manner. Greater skill is needed to avoid answering while leaving your interrogator convinced you have answered. Jim Paice has exhibited neither.
Farmers and taxpayers deserve complete and open answers. We will now try the Freedom of Information Act.
17 Jan 2012, 5:48 PM
Press Release from Badger Trust dated 16/1/12.
The Rt Hon. David Cameron, the Prime Minister said on BBC Countryfile : “When you’ve got all this evidence that culling should be part of a balanced packet of measures do you just sweep it under the carpet and announce a further review or do you get on and make this work . . .”
The only source of evidence the Government itself has acknowledged  to be a rigorous scientific trial is that from the £50 million Randomised Badger Culling Trial of 1998 – 2006 . It points the finger firmly at the need for cattle-based measures.
The ISG chairman’s letter to the Secretary of State, June 2007 said: “First, while badgers are clearly a source of cattle TB, careful evaluation of our own and others’ data indicates that badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain. Indeed, some policies under consideration are likely to make matters worse rather than better.
“Second, weaknesses in cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely to be the main source of infection. Scientific findings indicate that the rising incidence of disease can be reversed, and geographical spread contained, by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone”.
A subsequent report of a Coalition Government review of the scientific evidence in April 2011  said, in précis, that the more that a future culling policy deviated from the conditions of the RBCT (and the proposed free shooting of badgers is an important example of deviation) the more results would differ one way or the other and if not coordinated, sustained and simultaneous could mean a smaller benefit or even be detrimental. The minimum criteria are: covering at least 70% of the land within the culled area, and an area of 150 sq km (eight miles by eight). Also, the average net benefit over nine years would be smaller, at about 3-22%, with a central figure of 12.4% or in some cases 16 per cent
Mr Cameron also said: “In the end the aim is healthy cattle and healthy badgers. The last Government just put it off and put it off for too long”.
In fact the last government only put it off once – it killed off the proposal because of the scientific evidence. The trial cull announced by Caroline Spelman in December  would be non-selective. Almost 90 per cent of the badgers killed would not be infected, and as the ISG pointed out, the prevalence of disease after culling in the remaining badgers is higher not lower [3, para 5.45].
Mr Paice revealed that cattle vaccine for TB could be in laboratories in “a year or two”.
Then it would be a question of negotiating with the EU Commission to get beef from vaccinated cattle accepted in European law, which would not be easy because only the UK and the Irish Republic would want the concession.
“Realistically we think a cattle vaccine is still six years away,” he said.
Some of our supporters have been writing to their MPs about the 'vanishing' vaccine. A letter and standard response received is set out below. We ask why, when they have had decades to work on this, the BCG vaccine for cattle is STILL not available, despite assurances that it would be licensed in 2012.The person who forwarded these letters to us says: 'I am writing back to my MP re the Paice response. I am also planning to issue a FOI request to try and find out why the change from 2012 to some time never!'. We hope others will do the same.
Letter to MP: 'During the English consultation on badger culling in September last year Defra stated that they “aim to have a licensed cattle vaccine by 2012” along with the accompanying ‘DIVA’ test capable of distinguishing infected from vaccinated cattle.
The vaccine is BCG which has been used on humans for decades and has been trialed in Ethiopia by a team including UK scientists. Martin Vordermeier and Glyn Hewinson from TB Research Group VLA and Doug Young from Imperial College(see attached report). This year Defra are saying that they are “continuing to invest heavily in developing a cattle vaccine and an oral badger vaccine but both are still many years away and we simply can’t say with any certainty when they might be ready to deploy.”
This is hardly progress. From an estimate of two years there is now an indefinite delay. There must be a reason for the delay and there must have been an announcement of the change with full reasons. Can you please ask the Minister for a full explanation. Can you also find out what steps the government has taken to change EU law to allow vaccination in anticipation of licensing.'
Here is the unsatisfactory response from Jim Paice MP, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food: 'Whilts Defra’s research programme has been designed to minimize the time required to deliver licensed vaccines, research by its nature takes time and a significant proportion of the work can only be carried out sequentially, rather than in parallel. There are defined steps in obtaining a licence (Marketing Authorisation) from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate for vaccines, which include studies to demonstrate both vaccine safety and efficacy. These studies must use the final formulation and therefore cannot start until this formulation is available. Also, large animal experiments take time to run; TB is a chronic disease with a long incubation period, and pathology takes time to progress.
Currently there is no licenced cattle vaccine available. Defra is funding the development and licencing of a vaccine for use in cattle. However, vaccination of cattle against TB is currently prohibited by EU legislation because the BCG vaccine interferes with the tuberculin skin test. Vaccines based on BCG will potentially react to the current tuberculin skin test as if they are infected with TB. Therefore, an important part of the research programme involves developing a test to Differentiate Infected from Vaccinated Animals (a so-called ‘DIVA test). Changes will be required to rhe EU legislation before vaccination can be used. This will not be quick or easy and so is still likely to be many years before a cattle vaccination can be used in the field. Even then other measures will be needed.'
15 Dec 2011, 7:58 PM
Email from BH 15/12/11:
Have you seen the latest costings re costs for 2 areas where cull is set to proceed next autumn? They don't add up at all, everyone is out of pocket.
Description and scale of key monetised costs by ‘main affected groups’:
Farmers in cull area: surveying, culling and limited vaccination operations, administration and coordination £1.40m.
Farmers in neighbouring area: financial cost of initial increase in cattle TB incidents £0.05m.
Government: licensing, monitoring, policing, financial cost of initial increase in cattle TB incidents £3.11m.
Description and scale of key monetised benefits by ‘main affected groups’:
Farmers in cull area: financial benefit of avoiding cattle TB incidents £1.13m.
Farmers in vaccination area: financial benefit of avoiding cattle TB incidents £0.03m.
Government: financial benefit of avoiding cattle TB incidents £2.52m.
4 Nov 2011, 7:40 PM
Following is from blog at www.rethinkbtb.org/blog.html#home
From Hansard (13 October 2011): Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab): In a parliamentary answer to me on 5 September, the Minister said that the science showed that his badger cull would lead to five fewer herd breakdowns a year in each cull area. Last year there were more than 2,025 confirmed herd breakdowns in England, so even with 10 cull areas after 2013 the cull would prevent just 50 herd breakdowns a year, a reduction of only 2.5%. However, the cost to farmers in cull areas will run to tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pounds. Why should they bother?
Mr Paice: I suggest that the hon. Lady asks the farmers. .... [brief attempt to score political point deleted] .... Of course it will be expensive for the groups of farmers involved, but that is up to them. This is one part of a large package of measures, all the rest of which the Government are doing.
So it seems that Jim Paice agrees that his badger cull proposal does nothing to help the vast majority of English cattle farmers, on a national count 97.5% of them, and would not be cost effective.
He might have just pointed out, as Rethink has argued, that the principal role of badgers is to distract everyone from the real issues.
What is the “large package of measures” and will it deal with the remaining 97.5% of BTB breakdowns? It amounts to little more than minor enhancement of the cattle testing regime and “Clarifying TB breakdown terminology”.
It really is time for a Rethink.
4 Nov 2011, 7:25 PM
Press Release from Badger Trust dated 4/11/11
Caroline Spelman lets badger consultation cat out of the bag
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman told a Commons Select Committee (1) that the “difficult Government decision . . . of how to eradicate bovine TB was taken through a very detailed process engaging all the stakeholders as much as possible in making that decision in order to minimise the potential for public adverse reaction”. But there was a further purpose, revealed when she said: of the “different parties” involved “; they are likely to go out and engage with the pubic themselves and help to explain why it is such a difficult decision”.
The Badger Trust has been one of those parties and regards the decision not as difficult but as perversely pandering to the pressure of a stubborn and ill-informed cattle industry.
David Williams, Chairman of the Badger Trust, said: “The Badger Trust is a stakeholder and has responded to consultations in good faith to inform the decision-making process, but not to have its “potential for adverse reaction” minimised nor to act as a messenger for government”.
Ms Spelman also said “the reaction to that [badger culling] decision was significantly less than other decisions we have made in relation to forests."" Mr Williams commented that the comparison was entirely false: ”Decisions about the control of bovine tuberculosis involve sophisticated science whereas the Coalition Government’s sell-off policy on forests was based on creating commercial opportunities and saving public expenditure.
“Unfortunately the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Parties foolishly committed themselves to killing badgers without thinking through the complexities and dangerous consequences. Such recklessness may be fine in opposition, but now they are reaping a poisonous harvest and are having to save face by cynically manipulating the public and pushing the costs on to the farmers involved.
“The Coalition should forget badgers, rigorously enforce and supervise better cattle controls and deal with farmers who break the rules”.
The Commons have been told that plans to cull badgers to deal with TB in cattle will reduce herd breakdowns by 2.5 per cent but cost farmers ""hundreds of thousands of pounds"". Mary Creagh, shadow environment secretary, has said official figures revealed just five herd breakdowns a year would be prevented in each cull area.
Speaking during departmental questions, Creagh said: ""In a parliamentary written answer to me on September 5 you said the science showed your badger cull would lead to five fewer herd breakdowns per year in each cull area. Last year there were over 2,025 confirmed herd breakdowns in England. So even with 10 cull areas after 2013, the cull would prevent just 50 herd breakdowns a year, a reduction of just 2.5 per cent in actual herd breakdowns. Yet the cost to farmers in cull areas will run to tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pounds. Why should they bother?""
In response, agriculture minister Jim Paice said the measure would be ""expensive"" for the farmers involved, but said the industry was anxious for something to be done to tackle the disease. He did not challenge the figures given by Creagh, so if these are correct the whole exercise is disproportionate and not good value for money, whether paid for by the government or farmers..
He said: ""Of course it is going to be expensive for the groups of farmers that will be involved, but that is up to them. The fact is this is one part of a large package of measures, the rest of which the government is doing.""
Creagh retorted: ""You say do something, but surely doing something effective is more useful than just doing something."" She referred to comments by home secretary, Theresa May, who in earlier news stories has been reported as suggesting the proposed cull could take up police time and divert 'scarce resources' from next year's Olympics. Paice emphasised that no final decision had been made and said the department was in talks with the Association of Chief Police Officers about the cull.
The minister was responding to a question from Graeme Morrice (Lab, Livingston) on what representations have been received from the scientific community on the plans to pilot the free shooting of badgers.
Morrice said the government had 'blindly' cancelled five out of six vaccination trials that had been planned by the last government..
13 Sep 2011, 6:41 PM
... and in New Zealand, constantly being held up as a good example of how they are dealing with bovine TB ...
""The death of keas in Westland's Okarito due to 1080 poison is a loud alarm call for a cessation of the use of 1080, and an explanation and apology from the Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson is called for"", says Larry Baldock leader of the Kiwi Party.
""Surely the Minister should now be demanding answers from the Department of Conservation following on the news of the death of 7 radio-tracked keas after a recent 1080 aerial drop"", continued Baldock.
""Although a supposed kea repellent was used, any person should realise keas are highly inquisitive parrots which, repellent or no repellent, are almost certain to investigate any poison bait.
""Questions surround the whole use of 1080. What was the purpose of the aerial toxin drop? If it was aimed at the possum, is there actually a possum problem? Reports from the West Coast indicate low numbers, verified by an almost complete lack of road kills. If it's bovine TB, that is the Animal Health Board's responsibility not DOC's. In any case the TB issue also demands scrutiny since the TB skin test used on cattle has a 20 percent error rate which in essence means one in 10 cattle with TB is not detected by the test.
""A solution to the possum problem is to see them as a resource which could be used to harvest fur and meat for a potential $300 million export return. In doing so, possum numbers would be managed and kept low.
""What does the Minister think or is she mute with embarrassment and shame?"", concluded Baldock.
This really is a must read! The notes from the seminar held for MPs in 2004 contain some useful information - it reveals how little we have progressed and how little is known about this disease and the efforts to control or eradicate it ...
Bourne's comments are particularly enlightening. He acknowledges skin test has failed yet it would seem that in reality we STILL have no real prospect of change in the near future (despite next year being given as date for cattle vaccination to be licenced with Diva test. There is the continuing obsession with badgers which - yet again, monopolize the debate. Bourne admits if badgers were eliminated overnight the disease would remain ...
We have pulled out a few of the extracts we found most interesting and reproeduce these below.
To answer the question, 'What is the good news that I can take back to my farming friends?', we have this response: 'there is a lot of good news. We better understand the disease in cattle. We recognise that the diagnostic test as it has been applied in the past 20 years has been inadequate for controlling the disease in cattle and has to be improved. The nettle has been grasped with respect to that and the use of the tuberculin test is now being looked at more forcibly and also changed in the field. There is also development in other tests'
So where is the real progress re this now we are in 2011?
'We also recognise the dangers of moving infected cattle around the countryside. Farmers must recognise that they have a responsibility for treating it as an infectious disease and putting in place rather simple biosecurity measures to prevent the transmission. We have moved a very long way in a very short time. The culling issue is still vexed, but I honestly believe that, if one eliminated badgers at a stroke over night, we would still be left with a very serious cattle disease that would have to be tackled in a way that would have to be more effective than has been used in the past 20 years'.
Page 9 .... 'Although we have talked continually about a reservoir of infection in badgers, on the basis of work that has been in place for the past couple of years we now recognise that there is a reservoir of infection in cattle. That would not be controlled by killing badgers. It has to be tackled in some other way'.
... and on the subject of other animals ... 'Other wildlife reservoirs have been mentioned. We recently completed a report in which we concluded that deer, especially fallow and red deer, may constitute maintenance reservoirs of tuberculosis'.
.. and on subject of closed herds .. page 14, Professor John Bourne: 'The TB 99 epidemiological analyses suggest that there is no such thing as a closed herd. People claim to have a closed herd, but they simply do not exist'.
--- and on subject of cattle vaccination Page 23 ... 'It has been said that, epidemiologically, we can only get it right about half the time. I understood that cattle vaccination through the normal vaccination that we would give people is only about 60 per cent. effective. Surely, if we can reduce the amount of bovine tuberculosis by 60 per cent. we will have done a tremendous amount of good'.
Professor Doug Young said; 'Vaccination will reduce it by 60 per cent., but it depends on what is defined as a reduction. That does not mean that 60 per cent. of the animals do not have any disease at all. It tends to reduce the amount of disease in individual animals, so they would still remain, for example, tuberculin positive. It would be a problem with the current BCG. We have to go further than the current BCG to really get to a stage where we do not have the significant number of lesions in the animal to make it worthwhile.'
'The progress that we are moving to in terms of better BCG would be that, since the Krebs report, there has been an active programme of cattle vaccination in place. People have been looking in laboratory experimental challenge conditions and now have vaccines that look better than BCG. We are now trying to put those out into a natural transmission setting, so in the laboratory we are looking at quite an unfair situation where we give cattle a very large dose. It may well be that, under natural conditions, they see a lower dose and our vaccines may be suitable for that. At the moment, we have had five years in the lab. We are now going into a five-year phase where we can evaluate the new vaccines under natural transmission settings. We have plans in place. We can go ahead'.
WE ARE STILL WAITING!
Bill Wiggin MP: 'Is more money being used to do that quicker?'
Professor Doug Young: 'We are certainly going to use more money over the next year. That has been put into the DEFRA programme. At the moment, a certain amount of money has been going into the basic research to produce the candidates. Our plans for testing them in natural transmission settings mean that we need to assemble herds of reactors in some kind of contained facility and put in our vaccinated animals and see what happens. That experiment is quite expensive. It will cost several millions of pounds ...'.
4 Sep 2011, 5:54 PM
I would ask too if we can trust the NFU? They say they represent the views of farmers but they are obsessed with badger culling and not interested in getting the rubbishy testing regime changed.
Came across reference to this on another forum and it does indeed seem to sum up the NFU well - see www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=1088 and in particular this bit: 'Another reason that some farmers consider the NFU to be undemocratic is its historically close relationship with government, often parroting the government or MAFF line. Indicative of this is the fact that successive presidents have received knighthoods or greater honours. Whether this is a cause or a symptom of the NFU's general complicity with government policy is unclear.' And, of course, we have ex NFU officers in government and involved in the legislative processes too.
Referring to Spelman's announcement of the Government's intention to sanction the slaughter of badgers he says ' she has ridden rough shod over the opinion of scientists and the public'.
He goes on to say, 'DEFRA's announcement was closely followed by the publication of the results of last year's public consultation on the Government's Badger Control Policy. It was released without fanfare - without any press release or statement but instead was buried deep in the archive section of DEFRA's website. Since the consultation closed in December 2010, DEFRA sat on the results and resisted disclosure, only finally publishing them following a Freedom of Information request from Humane Society International/UK'.
He says the reason is clear:. 'DEFRA initially promised that the views of the general public would inform their badger policy. The problem for DEFRA is that when they asked the general public what they thought, 69% of them opposed the slaughter of badgers'. He said that DEFRA had a similar problem with scientists - the government started out claiming that their badger strategy would be 'science-led' however when they were inundated with evidence from prominent independent scientists almost unanimously condemning a badger slaughter, the 'science-led' strategy came rather unstuck.
As most of us will know plans to slaughter badgers have been criticised by former members of the Independent Scientific Group charged with assessing the results of the ten-year Randomised Badger Culling Trial, Lord Krebs (now Chairman of the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee), and the Medical Research Council, as well as a host of conservation and animal welfare experts including Sir David Attenborough and the RSPCA.
Jones' goes on to say 'Whilst the majority of the scientific community have vociferously opposed DEFRA's strategy, it saddens me to see the British Veterinary Association jumping on board the badger slaughter bandwagon. As a veterinarian, my profession's version of the Hippocratic Oath is very important to me. I vowed that 'my constant endeavour will be to ensure the welfare of animals committed to my care.' Clearly the BVA seems to have little time for the welfare of badgers, given its apparent support for the untried and untested ""free-shooting"" method of slaughter proposed by the government. This is truly alarming because whilst it's difficult to say exactly who will benefit from DEFRA's strategy, there is no doubt that badgers will suffer. Tens of thousands of these iconic and well-loved animals will be shot by landowners or their agents who often possess dubious firearms competence. Animal injury, suffering and death will once again become commonplace in our countryside'.
30 Jul 2011, 2:15 PM
According to the Independent on 29/07/11 (www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/majority-objected-to-badger-cull-before-policy-was-approved-2327913.html) there was overwhelming public opposition (69%) to the proposal to cull badgers. There were nearly 60,000 responses! Included was a submission from the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, which completed a random badger-culling trial in 2007. It challenged Defra's claim that a 16% reduction in bovine TB could be achieved over nine years through farm-based culling of badgers.
Sixty-one per cent opposed culling, but said they would consider vaccination of the badger population; 8 per cent said they wanted neither of the options, while just under one-third of respondents were in favour of both vaccination and shooting.
What is somewhat disturbing is that this evidence was apparently withheld until the Government had made its decision to go ahead with its controversial plans to allow badgers to be shot.
The Independent said, 'The consultation, which was completed in December 2010, was eventually – and discreetly – published on a Government website on the day of the much-anticipated statement following a request under the Freedom of Information Act from the Humane Society International (HSI).'
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) apparently insisted it was 'entirely normal' to publish consultation responses at the same time as policy proposals.
Culling could begin in the West and South-west of England as early as next Spring. A legal challenge may be launched by groups opposed to the plans.
13 Jul 2011, 5:07 PM
Letter from the RBCT scientists in today's (13/7/11) Times.....
Sir – Sir David King’s article (“If we want dairy farms, we must cull badgers” 8 July 2011) contributes little scientific insight to the debate on controlling cattle TB. Defra has proposed that badger culls be initiated and funded by farmers themselves. Having overseen a decade-long programme of independently-audited and peer-reviewed research on this topic, we caution that such culls may not deliver the anticipated reductions in cattle TB. King previously agreed with our conclusion that – because of the way culling affects badgers’ ecology – only large-scale, highly coordinated, simultaneous and sustained culls could have positive impacts. Delivering and maintaining such culls would raise substantial challenges for farmers, with a risk of increasing, rather than reducing, disease incidence. Defra’s own assessments suggest that participating farmers will lose more, financially, than they gain. King asserts that shooting free-ranging badgers – Defra’s preferred culling method – “would be an effective and considerably cheaper alternative”, but there are no empirical data on the cost or effectiveness (or indeed humaneness or safety) of controlling badgers by shooting, which has been illegal for decades. If the government decides to proceed with this untested and risky approach, it is vital that it also instigates well-designed monitoring of the consequences.
John Bourne, Christl Donnelly, David Cox, George Gettinby, John McInerney, Ivan Morrison & Rosie WoodroffeIndependent Scientific Group on Cattle TB 1998-2007
13 Jul 2011, 9:28 AM
Email dated 13/07/11 from PAC. Politicians take note!
REACTIVE badger culling doubles the risk of bTB breakdown on herds within one kilometre of the culled area. That's the stark warning from the latest scientific research by Imperial College.
Using rigorous analytical techniques the research , released today (July 13) underlines once again the dangers inherent in attempts to control bovine TB by killing badgers.
Commenting on the news Badger Trust chairman David Williams said: ""This is yet another warning to the Government. It reinforces what we already know from the Randomised Badger Culling Trials (RBCT) that localised culling makes matters worse and it underlines the message from top scientists that badger culling is not the way forward. And we have already heard from Lord Krebs that, in his view, culling--whether proactive or reactive-- is not the way to beat the disease. The estimated benefits are too small and the time frame too long. The Government must take this latest research on board and scrap any plan to cull, especially as shooting, a totally untried and untested culling method, carries a very real risk of disrupting badger populations with the same negative perturbation effect on cattle TB that we have seen in reactive culling.
Mr Williams added: ""Apart from the obvious badger welfare and human safety considerations,we have it on good authority that it would be exceedingly difficult to ensure co-ordinated, sustained, efficient and simultaneous culling of badgers by ""controlled shooting""--the Government's preferred description for shooting free-running badgers. The risk of making cattle TB worse is so grave that we urge the government to consider the position very seriously.""
 Localized reactive badger culling increases risk of bovine tuberculosis in nearby cattle herds - Flavie Vial and Christl A. Donnelly, MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London
12 Jul 2011, 12:55 PM
Is culling badgers really going to solve the farmers' problems? After some 15 years of argument and debate, Defra, on the instructions of politicians, is expected to make a cull announcement very soon. Will the politicians get it right? It is expected that syndicates of farmers will be permitted to hire marksmen to shoot badgers on sight, at their own expense, to help counter the alleged spread of bovine TB, especially in the West Country.
But for many culling is not an acceptable option and the vast majority of public opinion is against culling. Now Lord John Kreb, the leading government adviser who wrote the initial report on badgers and TB in 1997 has made his views know. On 11 July 2011 he announced that he was against any culling proposals. So, here we have another expert who would appear to know what he is talking about and willing to make his views known. He has clearly said that he does not think culling is 'an effective policy'. What he says seems to make perfect sense, but will the Government take notice? He follows several experts in coming out against culling.
He said trials had shown that a cull would only reduce the amount of TB in cattle by something in the region of 12 to 16%. ""So you leave 85% of the problem still there, and having gone to a huge amount of trouble to kill a huge number of badgers, it just doesn't seem to me to be an effective way of dealing with the disease,"" he said.
According to the Independent article, 'The remarks from Lord Krebs, now principal of Jesus College, Oxford, raise the political stakes enormously in what is already a potential minefield for the Prime Minister, who has trouble enough on his plate with the phone-hacking scandal without alienating large numbers of animal- lovers. Lord Krebs' remarks are embarrassing because the Government has said it will be led by the science. It was as a result of the Krebs report, which said that there was no doubt that wild badgers did carry TB and did pass it on to cattle, that the Government set up the badger-culling trials, which lasted for more than seven years.' Apparently Lord Krebs said he recommended the trials because it was not known whether a cull would be effective or cost-effective, and his view of the issue was only formulated once he had seen the results. While the trials showed culling did have an effect if it was done on a large scale, it was a relatively small one, he said. Asked if he thought a badger cull would be a mistake, he said: ""Yes."" He said: ""To me the story is pretty straightforward. If you've got a measure that affects 15% of the problem, then you don't focus on that. You focus on something else.""
Interestingly Farming Today included a piece about meat from reactors going into the food chain. It said that the carcasses from reactors and inconclusives were sold into the food chain, with the Government receiving the income from these. Carcasses with lesions could legally enter the food chain for human consumption once the area affected was removed and there was negligible risk to human health, even if lesions remained in the meat, as cooking destroyed the bacteria. Surprisingly Defra has only just started keeping figures regarding this area. The programme also referred to the fact that there was negligible risk to humans from bovine TB now most milk is pasteurised so again we ask, why all the fuss about bovine TB?
Elin Jones AM, the Minister for Rural Affairs in the last Welsh Assembly acknowledges that she lost votes due to her TB eradication policy:
“I know that I have lost a significant number of votes in this election due to my TB eradication policy and I faced a concerted campaign to oust me as the local AM by local anti-cull activists. However, this was never a one-issue referendum and I’m pleased that the people of Ceredigion recognised this and re-elected me on the basis of my hard work on their behalf”. (From Tivyside Online.)
A Pembrokeshire Against the Cull supporter sent us this analysis of the results in Elin Jones’ constituency (email 7/5/11):
Compared with 2007 – the last election
Elin Jones Plaid lost 2798 votes i.e. 19% of her 2007 total. Lost 7.9% share of the vote – 49% - 41% National loss to Plaid was 3.1%. Elin Jones loss was 7.9% so had a significantly greater swing against HER than Plaid had Nationally.
Liz Evans Lib Dem anti- cull held onto the Lib Dem vote – down 0.9%, down about 4% nationally.
Labour and Greens both anti cull, picked up 4058 votes compared with 1530 in 2007 (Greens didn’t stand in 2007).
Looked at another way: Pro cull vote 12020 Anti cull vote 17056
The analyser concludes ‘ the PAC campaign in Ceredigion had some effect’ and this was acknowledged by Elin Jones (see her quote above).
I wonder how many votes Elin Jones lost Plaid throughout Wales?
The 17000 respondents to the badger cull consultation who were completely ignored by Elin Jones (as they were in the earlier consultation) are the type of people who would turn up to vote but hardly likely to vote Plaid when their voices were not listened to.
8 May 2011, 12:13 PM
Badger Trust Press Release dated 27/4/11 states that campaigners against badger culling in Wales have uncovered a serious omission in a speech by the Rural Affairs Minister in the Welsh Assembly. Mrs Elin Jones said the number of herds affected in the area covered by the culling order had increased by 44 percent but failed to add that the number of individual cattle from those herds slaughtered was halved from 1725 in 2008 to 850 in 2010. This followed the imposition of stringent cattle measures and (of course) was achieved without any badgers being culled. Pembrokeshire Against the Cull obtained these unpublished figures under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Minister told the Senedd in March only that there were 79 new TB breakdowns last year compared with 55 in 2009. She went on to mention total compensation paid, without explaining that compensation is for animals, not herds. The compensation bill for the Intensive Action Area (IAA) could, on this basis, have been reduced by up to half over the period.
The new low figure for cattle slaughtered is well on to the way to the level (749) it was in 2006 -- but still with no badgers killed.
17 Apr 2011, 7:32 PM
Here we go again, the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), is set to waste thousands of pounds again with another judicial review called for from the Badger Trust (with support from the Pembrokeshire Against the Cull landowners) on the cards!
A letter before action has been sent by the Trust's solicitors, Bindmans, with a view to legal proceedings commencing in the High Court if the WAG refuses to revoke its Order to destroy badgers. The WAG proposes to kill badgers as part of its bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication programme.
In the Trust’s formal letter before action to the WAG (full text at www.badgertrust.org.uk) it sets out why it considers that the High Court should strike down the Order made on March 9th 2011 by the Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones.
The Badger Trust says;'The last two years have seen a significant fall in the number of cattle slaughtered because of bTB. If badger destruction had been allowed two years ago by the last government it would have been presumed that the reason was culling rather the range of effective cattle-based measures now in force. Fortunately, in 2010, the Court of Appeal struck down the last culling proposals so we had a chance to see reduction by cattle-focussed means take effect. The number of cattle slaughtered has fallen during the last two years by 45% in Dyfed, which includes the intensive action area where badger destruction is proposed. It is our duty to pursue all legal means to protect the badger. Yet again the Trust is challenging the legality of a decision by the WAG. The members of Britain’s Badger Groups and our generous and loyal supporters look to us to secure the welfare of the badger in line with our objectives as a charity acting in the public interest'.
Pembrokeshire Against the Cull has stated; “We have been working closely with the Badger Trust and their legal team and fully support their decision to proceed with this action. We particularly welcome the inclusion of civil rights aspects which have been of great concern to our supporters. The Welsh Assembly Government appears so far to have ignored the concerns about human rights and public safety raised by so many in the consultation and has offered no justification for taking such disproportionate powers and actions. We recently started a fund specifically to support a possible legal challenge and will be working to ensure we play our part in bringing this challenge to a successful conclusion.”
15 Apr 2011, 5:47 PM
The results of the formal public consultation was a phenomenal 13,421 responses which were received by WAG by the closing date. It is clear from WAG's own analysis that the majority was opposed to culling - in fact only 2,110 responses actively argued that badger culling was justified. The Countryside Council for Wales, WAG's statutory consultee on conservation issues, said ""vaccination, in conjunction with appropriate cattle herd management and effective testing regimes, is the most appropriate long term strategy for managing bTB in cattle"".
Despite this most AMs voted to proceed with the cull! It is appalling that the public consultation exercise can be disregarded in this way. That is democracy for you!
WAG can apparently send a CD of all the comments and responses but I have yet to receive mine!",10254,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112682.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822201124-20170822221124-00141.warc.gz,0.965269386768341
2cc07e4c-bcb6-4f7d-8041-efd9e6536c8d,2015-03-27T00:20:41+00:00,2013-01-01,1,http://www.adb.org/publications/gms-economic-cooperation-program-regional-investment-framework-pipeline-projects?ref=countries/viet-nam/publications,"Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program: Regional Investment Framework Pipeline of Potential Projects (2013–2022)
The Regional Investment Framework puts into operation the new Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Program Strategic Framework (2012–2022) that was approved at the 4th GMS Summit in December 2011. The Regional Investment Framework translates the strategic directions of the GMS-Strategic Framework into a pipeline of investment and technical assistance projects for the third decade of the GMS Program, from 2013 to 2022.
The Regional Investment Framework covers a wide range of sectors including transport, energy, environment, agriculture, human resource development, information and communication technology, tourism, transport and trade facilitation, and urban development. As a comprehensive, forward-looking and strategic framework, the Regional Investment Framework embodies the collective aspiration of the GMS countries to expand and deepen their cooperation program in the coming decade. The Regional Investment Framework will also remain a living framework that will be regularly reviewed and updated to maintain its relevance and responsiveness as a planning tool for subregional initiatives in an ever-dynamic GMS.
- Human Resource Development
- Urban Development
- Trade Facilitation
- Information and Communications Technology
- Other Multisector/Cross-Border Economic Zones",257,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131293283.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172133-00124-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.869477272033691
31535c67-8a7c-433c-ab58-dacf75bdffbc,2013-05-24T15:30:24+00:00,2013-05-24,1,http://inventorspot.com/articles/scientists_accidentally_discover_hair_regrowth_compound,"Stages of regrowth in bald mice once the 'antagonist' compound is administered.: UCLA/VA I feel like I'm writing headlines for one of the shocker tabloids, but the above lead just happens to be very real and very significant to bald humans. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Veterans Administration (VA) did discover a chemical compound that caused hair regrowth in mice with alopecia, but they were testing the compound on the mouse digestive system.
Specifically, the researchers were studying how stress affects digestion, as it does in irritable bowel syndrome, for example. Working with genetically engineered mice which overproduced a stress hormone called corticotrophin-releasing factor or CRF. As the mice age, it so happens, CRF also causes loss of fur, much the same way that stress can cause baldness in humans.
The focus of the study was to test the effectiveness of an 'antagonist' compound called astressin-B, which blocks the effects of CRF, to see if it would reverse the effects of irritable bowel syndrome in the mice. After five administrations of the astressin-B, once each day for five days, the astressin-B appeared to have reversed the condition.
But the researchers returned to the mice to find that the bald ones had regrown a very thick dark coat of fur. In another four months, the mice still had their full coats.
Lead researcher, Million Mulugeta, explained that CRF releases several stress related hormones and that further research will identify which of these hormones is most directly related to hair loss. The team is optimistic about astressin-B as a future treatment for human hair loss.
“These hormones and their receptors are present in the skin both in mice and
humans, and they are very similar,"" Mulageta told Voice of America News. ""So all this gives us hope that the
antagonist may work in human(s).”
Mulageta doesn't know, however, whether the treatment will succeed for those who have lost their hair due to non-stress related causes, such as chemotherapy.",448,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965740919113159
aa981c70-ee70-404d-8903-c653e66685eb,2022-05-25T15:42:52+00:00,2019-01-17,0,https://ridermagazine.com/2019/01/17/retrospective-1974-1977-montesa-cota-247-t/,"The Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, and then the rest of Europe spun out of control. Spain sensibly decided to stay neutral in World War II. With a limited domestic market, business stagnated. But by 1944, with the end of that conflict in sight, Spaniards started thinking about the future. A couple of like-minded fellows, Pedro Permanyer and Francisco Bulto, met up and decided that providing their countrymen with basic transportation could be profitable. They built a factory in Barcelona and began producing Montesa motorcycles, little two-stroke singles under 125cc, and had great success. But the partners had their differences, and in 1958 Bulto went off on his own to found the Bultaco motorcycle company.
Permanyer persisted, built larger engines, and in 1965 showed the 247cc engine (21 horsepower at 7,000 rpm) in a Scorpion motocrosser. Several years later a mildly detuned version appeared in the Cota trials bike, and in 1968 the Cota won the Spanish Trials Championship. It should be noted that trials competitions were very popular in Europe, less so in the U.S.
In the early 1970s the Japanese OEMs began modifying some of their competitive 250 dirt models into more civilized trail bikes, or as we might say today, dual-purpose. These had two-up seats, lights, a horn, whatever it took to make them street-legal. Permanyer took note. He had a great 250 engine, seen in motocross, roadracing, enduro and trials versions, so why not turn that trials bike into a trail version for the European street crowd; those countries weren’t quite as fearful of two-stroke emissions as were the Americans. The Cota 247-T (for Trail) was born.
Montesa had about 300 dealers in the U.S., who were doing well with some of the competition bikes. Apparently the importer thought this 247-T could be an added attraction. According to sketchy records the factory produced some 2,300 of them, with very few coming to this country. One reason being that it was expensive compared to the competition.
The Owner’s Manual, in Spanish, English and French, begins well: “The MONTESA motorcycle which model is introduced here do (sic) not require an excessive care for maintenance, only a minimum attention is required to ensure a long and perfect serviceable time.” Truth, as the Cota is a delightfully basic machine.
The oversquare piston-port single cylinder has a bore of 72.5mm, stroke, 60mm, with a compression ratio of 10 to 1, generating some 19 horsepower at 6,500 rpm. Ignition is via a flywheel magneto/alternator and coil. The header pipe goes out the left side, high up, with a two-part muffler and spark arrestor. A respectable muffler, too, the two-stroke pop-pop being pleasantly muted.
The air cleaner is under the seat, with a Spanish-made 27mm Amal carburetor carrying fuel into the engine. A previous owner of this bike has replaced the Amal with a Mikuni. Should there be a need to remove the carb, the manual says, “Have in mind that you must shut the entrance of the admission pipe while the carburetor is out, in order to avoid the entrance of odd objects in the interior of the cylinder.”
Primary drive is via spur gears, 22 teeth off the crankshaft, 64 teeth on the clutch, which uses “multiple steel discs in oil bath with constant tension springs….” That power goes through a five-speed transmission to a 10-tooth countershaft sprocket and a 40-toother on the back wheel. A very nifty chain-oiler has been built into the right arm of the swingarm, which holds a supply of oil that drips onto the chain just as it enters a tensioning device.
The engine/transmission unit sits in a tubular steel frame, with bolts holding it steady fore, aft and top. A single tube comes down from the reinforced steering head, spreading into a cradle at the front of the crankcase, with a sturdy skid plate built in. A small hole in the skid plate allows access to the drain plug. The rear section, holding the seat and upper shock absorber mounts, is built into the main frame, with a strong pivot point for the swingarm. The shocks on this model have no identification mark, but are probably of Telesco making. The telescoping fork is Montesa-made, with a 29.5-degree rake, 5.6 inches of trail.
A 21-inch wheel at the front wears a 2.75 tire, an 18-incher at the back has a 4.00 tire. Small 110mm single-leading-shoe full-width drum brakes are at both ends. When inspecting the wheels it is advisable “to slightly grease all the whirling points with SAE-40 oil.” A short 51.5 inches lie between the axles.
The bike has an attractively slim look, having a narrow 2.14-gallon fiberglass gas tank with wings extending under the long saddle. Fenders are lightweight alloy. A small headlight, horn and taillight make it more or less roadworthy, except there is no battery. The speedometer is missing from the photo model. A modest toolkit fits into a cylindrical container beneath the seat. Dry weight, according to the manual, is 200 pounds…lightweight fun!
The last 247cc 247-T was built in 1977, the similarly branded 1978 version having a slightly smaller 237cc engine. That model was then dropped, but the 348-T version kept on for two more years.
Postscript: In 1980 a trials version, the Cota 348, won the World Trials Championship, but Montesa was running into serious financial difficulties. The next year Honda essentially bought the company in order to have better access to the European market, and Montesa Cota models are still being built–albeit with four-stroke engines.",1277,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00210.warc.gz,0.962970674037933
cd5d4348-2747-433a-bd46-55d2fe430d4c,2018-08-22T01:44:35+00:00,2018-08-22,0,https://www.keepersport.co.uk/keepersport-online-store/artikelDetail/goalkeeper-gloves-adidas-predator-league-nc.html,"Finally he is back - the Predator from adidas, and here with the Predator League NC.
Starting with the Saves of World-Class Goalkeepers Fabien Barthez and Edwin Van der Sar and going to David Beckhams legendary flanks and freekicks as well as the phenomenal ball control of Zinédine Zidane and the special finishing of Alessandro Del Piero: The Predator from adidas was writing football history for two decades - and now it's time for this special and successful brand to come back on the football scene - in a new edition #SkystalkerPack and with a brand new and unique goalkeeper glove!
With the characteristic innovations from adidas the name Predator also returns to the Goalkeeper Gloves section. The Back Hand and the bandage are made of a revolutionary knit wear which is a mixture of elastane and polyester. This leads to a fit that was never been there before. The bandage is integrated which is one of the aspects of more flexibility and a better entry. This Glove is knitted in one piece, which is a huge advantage.
This is the reason why world-class goalkeepers like Manuel Neuer, Kevin Trapp, Marc-André ter Stegen, Loris Karius, David de Gea, Keylor Navas, Iker Casillas, Mile Svilar or Claudio Bravo believe in goalkeeper gloves made by adidas and will present them in the coming weeks.
Palm: ""Evo Zone Tech II""
Cut: Negative Cut with fourchettes of palm, regularly stitched thumb: around 80% of the professional goalkeepers believe in those tight gloves with a perfect control over the ball!
Glove Body: Embossed latex for perfect grip on all weather conditions
Wrist: Classic textile bandage with surrounding and infinitely adjustable and printable latex latch
Features: - ""Full Wrap Wrist Strap"": adjustable bandage for every kind of wrist - ""Elastic Bandage"": for perfect fit and support for your wrist Print Available!",419,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219242.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20180822010128-20180822030128-00383.warc.gz,0.932471513748169
126230b9-be75-4830-9e47-1333460381ce,2013-05-25T12:50:31+00:00,2008-02-24,1,http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23223286/,"WASHINGTON — Air Force officials are warning that unless their budget is increased dramatically, and soon, the military's high-flying branch won't dominate the skies as it has for decades.
After more than seven years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Air Force's aging jet fighters, bombers, cargo aircraft and gunships are at the breaking point, they say, and expensive, ultramodern replacements are needed fast.
""What we've done is put the requirement on the table that says, 'If we're going to do the missions you're going to ask us to do, it will require this kind of investment,'"" Maj. Gen. Paul Selva, the Air Force's director of strategic planning, said in an interview.
""Failing that, we take what is already a geriatric Air Force,"" Selva said, ""and we drive it for another 20 years into an area of uncertainty.""
An extra $20 billion each year over the next five — beginning with an Air Force budget of about $137 billion in 2009 instead of the $117 billion proposed by the Bush administration — would solve that problem, according to Selva and other senior Air Force officers.
Yet the prospects for huge infusions of cash seem dim. Congress is expected to boost the 2009 budget, but not to the level urged by the Air Force. In the years that follow, a possible recession, a rising federal deficit and a distaste for higher taxes all portend a decline in defense spending regardless of which party wins the White House in November.
""The Air Force is going to be confronting a major procurement crisis because it can't buy all the things that it absolutely needs,"" said Dov Zakheim, a former Pentagon comptroller. ""It's going to force us to rethink, yet again, what is the strategy we want? What can we give up?""
Bigger price tags for new fighters
The Air Force's distress is partly self-inflicted, says Steve Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington. The F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning, the new jet fighters that will supplant the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon, have drastically higher price tags than their predecessors and require a bigger chunk of the defense budget.
""One of the reasons their equipment has aged so much is because they continue to move ahead with the development and presumed acquisition of new weapon systems that cost two to three times as much as the systems they are replacing,"" Kosiak said. ""It's like replacing a Toyota with a Mercedes.""
It's not as if the Air Force has gone without any new airplanes. The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the C-17 Globemaster airlifter and the CV-22 tilt-rotor, which flies like a helicopter or an airplane, have all been added since the mid-1990s.
The Air Force also is planning to spend between $30 billion and $40 billion over the next 15 years for new refueling tankers. A contract is expected to be awarded soon. Those new tankers, however, won't be flying until 2013.
Appetite for money
The Air Force isn't alone in wanting more money, but its appetite is far greater than the other military branches. Shortly after President Bush submitted his defense plan for the 2009 budget year, which begins Oct. 1, each service outlined for Congress what it felt was left out. The Air Force's ""wish list"" totaled $18.8 billion, almost twice as much as the other three services combined.
""There's no justification for it. Period. End of story,"" said Gordon Adams, a former Clinton administration budget official who specializes in defense issues. ""Until someone constrains these budget requests, the hunger for more will charge ahead unchecked.""
Current F-15s and F-16s are on average more than 20 years old and have reached a point where spending more money on extensive repairs is a poor investment, Selva said. Originally designed to last 4,000 flying hours, both have been extended beyond 8,000.
An F-15 with a comparatively low 5,000 flying hours disintegrated during a routine training flight over Missouri in early November. For the Air Force, that crash has become a touchstone event that demonstrates the precarious state of a fleet collectively older than any in the service's 60-year history.
Following the Missouri accident, more than 400 F-15s were grounded as Air Force mechanics scoured them for defects that might cause a similar accident. The F-15, a twin-engine jet with a top speed of 1,875 miles per hour, is the anchor of the nation's air defense network.
Parts fatigue a problem in fighters
As aircraft age, corrosion eats away at metal parts. Wiring and sealing begin to deteriorate. The fatigue, which can be hard to detect, is most acute in fighters that make turns while going at incredible speeds.
""An hour is not an hour"" to an aircraft constantly under the strain of G-forces, Gen. John D.W. Corley, head of Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va., said at a news conference last month. ""It's like dog years.""
The more an aircraft is flown, the more expensive and more extensive maintenance becomes, Corley and Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee during a Feb. 6 hearing.
The bottom line, the generals said, is older aircraft are in the shop more often and cost more to fly when they are available.
It's not just the fighters that are elderly.
Selva, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1980, said he remembers hearing about the first flight of the mammoth C-5 transport when he was in first grade. B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers, which refuel airplanes in flight, have been in the inventory for more than four decades.
And mechanics are finding it difficult to keep rust off the A-10 Thunderbolt, a tank-killing plane now a quarter-century old.
""If you want to accept that today we're doing an adequate job with this sort of patchwork of airplanes, when are we no longer able to do an adequate job?"" Selva asked. ""What's the next thing that's going to happen?""
$160 million for one F-22
Each F-22 Raptor costs about $160 million. The Air Force says it needs 381 of the radar-evading planes and is fighting to keep the production line from being shut down too soon.
""We have never rolled off of the requirement to field 381 F-22s,"" Selva said. ""The real issue at play with the F-22 is when the line closes, it's closed. Restarting the line will be unreasonably expensive.""
The price for a single F-35 Lightning is $77 million, and the Air Force wants close to 1,800 of these fighters. The F-35 won't be in use for several more years.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said only 183 Raptors are needed. The more Raptors the Air Force buys, Gates said during congressional testimony earlier this month, the less money it will have for the F-35 and other aircraft. About 100 F-22s have been fielded. That aircraft has not been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gates added.
The Air Force says the Raptors are needed for future threats, with China, Russia and Iran at the top of the list.
""Al-Qaida doesn't exactly have an advanced aerial defense system,"" said Maj. David Small, an Air Force spokesman.
Public advocacy and rebuke
The public push for more Raptors prompted Gates to rebuke a top Air Force officer, Gen. Bruce Carlson, who said last week that the service remained committed to buying 381 of the aircraft. In a Friday statement, Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the general's remarks did not reflect the Air Force's position. But the statement did not say the service is backing away from its goal of 381 Raptors.
Aircraft on the front lines in the terror war are also facing challenges.
Officials at Air Force Special Operations Command say it will become increasingly hard to keep two key aircraft flying: The MC-130H Combat Talon II, used to drop commandos into hostile territory and then retrieve them, and the AC-130U, a hulking gunship that flies low to deliver firepower, are both in need of substantial overhauls.
""We are literally flying the wings off these two airplanes,"" said Brig. Gen. Brad Heithold, director of the command's plans, programs, requirements and assessments office at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
There are only 20 Combat Talons and 17 AC-130Us. This small fleet is in heavy demand by special operations forces around the globe. In 2001, the AC-130Us flew just over 5,200 hours. The gunships logged more than 9,000 hours in 2007. It's comparable, Heithold said, to putting 70,000 miles on a car in a single year instead of a more normal 12,000 miles.
At any given time, several of the Combat Talons or AC-130Us could be in the depot being fixed. That means there are fewer available to fly critical missions. Training flights are also curtailed.
Heithold called the situation a ""manageable crisis,"" but said serious problems could emerge if more money isn't provided for extended improvements and new aircraft over the next few years.
""Any time you have a small number of airplanes that the appetite for continually increases, it's hard to meet the demand,"" Heithold said. ""If we don't wrestle with this now, it's a looming problem out there.""
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.",2050,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95978170633316
03242e71-831a-4328-8935-de6d88009114,2015-04-02T03:15:50+00:00,2013-10-28,1,http://michiganradio.org/post/museum-faces-final-deadline-save-part-rosies-factory,"Museum faces final deadline to save part of Rosie's factory
Historians say Henry Ford reluctantly became part of the American war effort during World War II.
But once he acquiesced, his huge bomber plant in Ypsilanti made a big difference in the ability of American pilots to fight the air war.
By 1945, the Ford signature efficiency and moving assembly line was turning out a bomber every hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The factory became the workplace of a large number of female workers because of the shortage of males, who'd been drafted for battle. The iconic ""Rosie the Riveter"" campaign was based on these women, a few of whom were actually named Rosie.
Ford sold the plant after the war; it eventually was acquired by General Motors. The factory shut down completely when GM filed for bankruptcy. Now, it's just one more, albeit massive, parcel in the RACER Trust's portfolio. The trust was established to find new owners for properties deemed a burden for GM during the bankruptcy.
But initial hopes of finding a buyer for the 3,500,000 square foot structure were dashed. The facility is too large and antiquated for a modern manufacturing site.
The entire building is now slated for demolition - unless the Yankee Air Museum can raise enough money to salvage part of it for its new home.
The Museum suffered a devastating fire in 2004, and now many of its historic airplanes are in a separate place from its exhibits. The group figures this factory, with its ties to aviation history, would be a perfect new home.
But it's an expensive enterprise. RACER Trust has agreed to sell part of the factory to the museum, if organizers can raise enough money to rehabilitate the structure, build a new wall when the rest is torn down, and install modern utilities.
Originally, RACER gave the museum until August 1 to raise the $8 million required; a new deadline of November 1 was set when the fundraising fell short. Now, there is one final deadline of May 1, 2014, before the entire facility will have to be razed.
The Yankee Air Museum announced two big contributions over the weekend - one million dollars from museum booster David Robertson - and a million dollars for environmental cleanup from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
There's still about $2.2 million to go - but Yankee Air Museum founder Dennis Norton says he's happy with the progress.
""Every week we've pulled in more money, week after week after week,"" says Norton, ""and some of them are big donations like we announced today, but a lot of them are small -- $50, $100, $500 donations.""
GM Foundation early on threw $2 million into the hat.
But early talks with the building's first owner, Ford Motor Company, appear to have foundered.
As part of its fundraising campaign, the museum will try to break the record for largest number of women and girls dressed as Rosie the Riveter, on Wednesday (appropriately, the day before Halloween.)
The Museum will also raise money for the effort during its annual gala in November.",646,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00280-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971687018871307
33c81f48-b9d7-432c-85a4-ed5500f6456d,2020-10-28T12:15:02+00:00,2014-10-28,1,https://workplacewellbeing.co/about-training-programs/mindfulness-in-schools,"Mindfulness within Educational & School-Based Settings.
Over the past couple of decades there has been a growing debate about the role schools need to play in the lives of children and young people, their families, the wider community and society. No longer are schools expected to deliver a purely formalised academic education. Schools are increasingly being asked to provide both an academic and a more holistic education which considers each student's overall wellbeing. In the main, this focus on a student's wellbeing has primarily been concerned with identifying and managing mental health problems, bullying issues, and a plethora of antisocial behaviours within the school environment.
However, as Professor Martin Seligman (2010, 2012, 2013) states it is more than just the alleviation of symptoms that promotes positive mental health and wellbeing, it is the presence and teaching of concepts such as flourishing, wellbeing, resilience, learned optimism and posttraumatic growth. In fact, Seligman (2012, 2013) is calling for a revolution in world education in the teaching of wellbeing in our school systems through the application of Positive Education and Positive Psychology. Seligman and his colleagues believe that through the practical application of Positive Education the alarmingly high levels of; youth depression, anxiety, suicide and allied mental health problems will be directly addressed. This is then additional enhanced by fostering school communities that actively promote happiness, confidence, contentment, compassion, kindness and balance, in short Wellbeing. Seligman (2014) says ""I believe that schools can teach both traditional skills for learning and help teach students the skills to lead a flourishing life"".
In support of Seligman's claims are reports from UNICEF (2007) and the OECD (2009) which highlight the alarmingly low rates of well-being, both objective (e.g. health, educational attainment) and subjective (e.g. life satisfaction) among children and adolescents in the majority of Western economically advantaged countries. There appears to be a direct correlation between the rise of national and personal economic wealth and an overall decrease in personal wellbeing and life satisfaction in many advantaged Western countries (Seligman, 2012).
One clear practice that appears to address many of the above concerns within school and classroom environments is Mindfulness. Mindfulness Practices & Techniques have now been used formally within schools, both in Australia and internationally, since the late 1990s and the research is clearly indicating the many benefits, for both teachers and students, that Mindfulness Practice in the classroom can have (please refer to the following table).
Empirically Researched Benefits of Mindfulness Practice for Teachers & Students
(Fernando, 2012; Flook, Goldberg, Pinger, Bonus & Davidson, 2013; Gold et al., 2010; Meiklejohn et al., 2012; Roeser et al., 2013; Schueberlein & Sheth, 2009; Waters, Barsky, Ridd & Allen, 2014)
|Reduced Occupational Stress Levels||Reduced Stress & Anxiety Levels|
|Reduced Occupational Burnout Rates||Improved Academic Performance|
|Improved Focus, Attention, Concentration & Awareness||Increased Openness & Willingness to Learn|
|Improved Emotional Balance||Promotes Positive Mental Health|
|Increased Responsiveness to Student Needs||Improved Self-Reflection Abilities|
|Improved Professional Interpersonal Relationships||Improved Self-Regulation & Impulse Control Abilities|
|Improved Personal Interpersonal Relationships||Enhanced Social & Emotional Intelligence|
|Fostering a Positive & Respectful Classroom Climate||Improved Prosocial Behaviours & Interpersonal Relationships|
|Improved Classroom Organisation & Performance||Improved Classroom & School-Based Interpersonal Relationships|
Improved Rates of Teacher Retention & Reduced Rates of Teacher Turnover
|Improved Focus, Attention, Concentration & Awareness|
|Increased Occupational Self-Compassion||Promotes ethical-moral reasoning|
|Increased General Sense of Wellbeing||
Promotes a greater acceptance of Self and Others and Difference
(e.g. gender, race, culture & sexual orientation).
Fernando, R. (2012). Measuring the efficacy and sustainability of a mindfulness-based in-class intervention. Mindful Schools. Retrieved from http://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/research/
Flook, l., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., Bonus, K., & Davidson, R. J. (2013). Mindfulness for teachers: A pilot study to assess effects on stress, burnout and teaching efficacy. Mind, Brain and Education, 7(3), 182-195. flook_13.pdf
Gold, E., Smith, A., Hooper, I., Herne, D., Tansey, G., & Hulland, C. (2010). Mindful-based stress reduction (MBSR) for primary school teachers. Journal of Child and Family Studies Studies, 19, 184-189.
Meiklejohn, J.,Phillips, C., Freedman, M. L., Griffin, M. L., Biegel, G., Roach, A.. ... Saltzman. A. (2012). Integrating mindfulness training into K-12 education: Fostering the resilience of teachers and students. Mindfulness, 3(4), 291-307. meiklejohn_12.pdf
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2009). Comparative child wellbeing across the OECD. In OECD, Doing better for children (21-63). DOI:10.1787/9789264059344-en
Roeser, R. W., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Jha, A., Cullen, M.,Wallace, L., Wilensky, R. ... Harrison, J. (2013) Mindfulness training and reduction in teacher stress and burnout: Results from two randomised wait-list field trails. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 787-804. roeser_13.pdf
Schueberlein, D., & Sheth, S. (2009). Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications.
Seligman, M. (2010). Flourish: Positive psychology and positive intentions. The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, University of Michigan. Retrieved from http://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_documents/a-to-z/s/Seligman_10.pdf
Seligman, M. (2012). Flourish. North Sydney, NSW: Random House.
Seligman, M. (2013). Building the state of wellbeing: A strategy for South Australia, a summary of progress. Adelaide Thinker in Residence 2012-2013. Retrieved from http://www.thinkers.sa.gov.au/seligmanaddendum/files/inc/8c48cde37c.pdf
Seligman, M. (2014). A message from our patron. Positive Education Schools Association. Retrieved from http://www.pesa.edu.au/
United Nations Children Fund (UICEF). (2007). Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries. A comprehensive assessment of the lives and well-being of children and adolescents in the economically advanced nations. Innocenti Report Card 7. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence. Retrieved from http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc7_eng.pdf
Waters, L., Barsky, A., Ridd, A., & Allen, K. (2014). Contemplative education: A systematic evidenced-based review of the effects of meditation interventions in schools. Educational Psychology Review, online first article. DOI 10.1007/s10648-014-9258-2",1635,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107898499.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028103215-20201028133215-00623.warc.gz,0.863098978996277
f7b243a5-a4ae-426d-8997-a24d216a80f3,2018-08-16T15:57:05+00:00,2014-03-25,1,http://news.trust.org/item/20140325150103-vehcp/?view=quickview,"By Alphonso Toweh and Saliou Samb
MONROVIA/CONAKRY, March 25 (Reuters) - West African nations scrambled on Tuesday to contain an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus suspected to have killed at least 59 in Guinea, with people presenting symptoms of the disease reported in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Health authorities in Liberia said five out of six people who crossed the border from Guinea to seek treatment and showed symptoms of the fever had died.
Liberia's Chief Medical Officer Bernice Dahn said it was not confirmed if the cases were Ebola, one of the most lethal infectious diseases known to humans, and tests were being carried out.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said a total of 86 suspected cases, including 59 deaths, had been reported in southeastern Guinea near the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. Laboratory tests have confirmed 13 cases of Ebola in Guinea so far, the first outbreak of the disease in West Africa.
""The patients we have seen thus far have similar symptoms to those of the people in Guinea,"" Dahn said. ""Those people had the sickness and crossed over into Liberia's Lofa county for treatment. Five died.""
Samples taken from those who died in Liberia had been sent to Conakry for testing, according to the Geneva-based WHO.
In Guinea, authorities have taken steps to quarantine suspected cases in the districts of Guekedou, Macenta, Nzerekore and Kissidougou.
In neighbouring Sierra Leone, authorities set up a taskforce after the death of a 14-year-old boy who had attended the funeral of a suspected Ebola victim. Authorities are yet to confirm if the boy died of the disease.
Sierra Leone was receiving help from the WHO and the U.S. firm Metabiota, which investigates infectious disease threats, said Chief Medical Officer Brima Kargbo.
Initial reports indicated a Canadian who showed Ebola-like symptoms after travelling to West Africa had tested negative for the virus, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters.
Ebola was discovered in 1976 in then-Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo. Scientists have identified the outbreak in Guinea as the virulent Zaire strain of the virus.
Because people who fall sick with it tend to vomit, have diarrhoea and suffer both internal and external bleeding, their bodies are often ""covered in virus"", explained Peter Piot, one of the co-discoverers of Ebola and now director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
This means anyone in close contact with them - such as nurses, doctors and carers - is at risk, he said.
Esther Sterk, a tropical diseases specialist at the international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontières, said after an incubation period of between 2 and 21 days, the virus causes a raging fever, headaches, muscle pain, conjunctivitis and weakness, before moving into more severe phases of causing vomiting, diarrhoea and hemorrhages.
""Patients may have heavy bleeding, including from the nose or via their urine,"" she said in a briefing note on the disease.
She added, however, that while dangerous, Ebola remains rare. Since the virus was discovered in 1976, around 2,200 cases have been recorded. Of those, 1,500 were fatal.
The last major outbreak of the Zaire strain was in 2007, when 187 people died in Congo, a fatality rate of 74 percent.
Scientists are not clear how the virus - which also infects animals including bats, believed to be a major reservoir of the disease - crossed the continent from Sudan, Congo and Uganda.
With ethnic and family ties and trade making cross-border travel common in the region, the outbreak in Guinea is causing concern in nearby West African nations.
Mali said it was working with the WHO to put in place preventive measures, including stronger border control health checks, and a mechanism for coping with potential victims.
The WHO's Jasarevic said the main areas authorities should focus on were infection control, scaling up laboratory testing facilities and ensuring the best clinical management of confirmed cases of infection.
""It's also about working with health workers so they know how to treat patients properly so they don't fall victim themselves,"" he said.
(Additional reporting by Umaru Fofana in Freetown, Kate Kelland in London and Stephanie Ulmer-Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Janet Lawrence)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.",938,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211126.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816152341-20180816172341-00627.warc.gz,0.97067141532898
a010acc3-3dad-4f3d-9c23-04748e406ead,2017-08-22T14:51:07+00:00,2016-11-04,1,http://afrika54news.com/2016/11/04/south-africa-eskom-delivers-excess-electricity/,"Displayed with permission from allAfrica.com
Eskom is now delivering excess electricity, having almost 15 months of no load shedding, the power utility said on Thursday.
In the six months ended 30 September 2016, Eskom continued to further stabilise the business with improved operational and financial performance.
« Eskom is now delivering excess electricity capacity to help stimulate South Africa’s economic growth. Our five-year plan to the 2020/21 financial year aims to re-establish Eskom as a catalyst for economic growth, and not a constraint to the country’s future growth, » Group Chief Executive Brian Molefe said as the utility released its interim financial results on Thursday.
Revenue for the period under review rose 10.5% to R97.1 billion due to a 31.6% increase in electricity exports to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
« With the anticipation of additional surplus capacity in the coming months and years, Eskom is focusing on signing long-term power supply agreements with regional partners. Engagements with utilities and mining houses active in the region have commenced, » Molefe said.
Overall electricity sales were 1.2% higher than in the same period last year. Meanwhile, a strategy to address the decline in local sales volumes has started. It will address both the retention of sales to existing customers and the stimulation of sales growth.
Cross-border sales, local demand stimulation and public-private partnerships will be some of the issues that the strategy will address.
Eskom’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) surged 23% to R31.5 billion.
The power utility’s cost containment strategy is bearing fruit, with primary energy costs decreasing by 1.5% to R40.4 billion (September 2015: R41 billion) compared to an average increase of 18.8% over the last five financial years.
« As a result of the increased plant availability and the additional generating capacity that has been added in the period under review, our reliance on open-cycle gas turbines has reduced considerably.
« Diesel usage decreased from R6.7 billion in the six months to September 2015 to R288 million in the current period, » said Eskom’s Chief Financial Officer Anoj Singh.
The higher level of planned maintenance in the previous year is starting to bear fruit, resulting in a significant improvement in plant availability. Plant availability improved from 71.23% to 78.50% for the six months to September 2016, exceeding the year-end target of 72%.
Unplanned breakdowns have also improved from 14.75% in the same period to 9.72%. Unplanned outages due to tube leaks have decreased by 32.8%.
Eskom’s own generation costs of R26 billion (September 2015: R28.2 billion) produced 110 170GWh (September 2015: 109 245GWh) compared to 4 948GWh generated by independent power producers at a cost of R8.7 billion (September 2015: R6.5 billion).
The group’s liquidity position has improved significantly, with liquid assets increasing by 81.6% from R24.1 billion a year ago, to R43.8 billion at 30 September 2016.
Municipal debt surges
Municipal arrear debt increased from R6.5 billion to R9.2 billion. The utility is considering prepaid billing as a way of dealing with the growth in municipal electricity debt.
From April to date, Eskom has already installed 10 195 smart meters in Soweto, Midrand and Sandton. It aims to install 18 000 prepaid meters in these areas by the end of March 2017.
« Eskom has secured funding of R65 billion for the financial years 2016/17 and 2017/2018. For the current financial year, 77% of the R69 billion funding requirement has been secured. This includes three loan facilities with the African Development Bank amounting to R20 billion, as well as a R7 billion short-term credit facility with the China Development Bank.
« The remaining 23% required for the year, which constitutes R16 billion, will be raised through domestic medium-term notes, commercial paper, development financing and export credit agreements, » said Singh.
New build programme
The new build programme is progressing well, with Ingula’s Units 4, 2, and 1 having been in commercial operation since 10 June, 22 August and 30 August respectively.
The remaining unit at Ingula (Unit 3) has already been synchronised to the grid, and is undergoing repairs after experiencing problems during the test phase. The unit is on track for commercial operation by 2017.
Unit 6 of Medupi Power Station has been in commercial operation since August 2015. Unit 5 was synchronised to the national grid on 8 September 2016.
The power utility said it is gearing up for even better results over the rest of the year.
« Eskom is gearing itself up for even better results over the rest of the year, during which our focus will be placed on building the required infrastructure, while also continuing to electrify households across the country. Eskom is aiming to achieve 200 204 connections by year end, against the target of 169 722 that has been set for us by the Department of Energy, » said Molefe.
Copyright 2016 actualité africaine",1116,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110792.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822143101-20170822163101-00283.warc.gz,0.950436770915985
810d3a87-e5f6-4bf0-9852-812fdc7214bd,2022-05-19T02:26:54+00:00,2015-01-31,1,https://quantive.events/blog/mortgage-bubble-deja-vu-the-real-losers-in-uber-vs-taxi-battle/,"Over the last year the battle has reached all new levels as Uber and Taxi medallion owners fight for control of the market. But as the courtroom battles center on words like “ehail” versus “street hail” and “metered rides” versus “surge pricing,” let’s take a deeper look at the unexpected party who really has the most to lose as we go through what has transpired thus far.
For nearly two decades, the taxi medallion market has been growing at rates like no other industry and bringing returns to the owners at multiples rarely seen. In looking at auction prices over the same period, the value of each medallion has quadrupled.
The City of New York played an interesting part in all of this as well through the TLC. The TLC regulates the number of medallions available at any given time and can issue new medallions when needed. Under Mayor Bill de Blasio, in fiscal 2014, the City sold 350 medallions generating $350M in revenue. Let us not forget to mention that the City receives a percentage of each medallion sold. So with 350 medallions sold, the banks were pretty comfortable lending based on the current market valuation.
Here is where things get tricky.
Many medallion fleet owners have used low interest rates and rapid equity growth not to pay down some of that debt outstanding but rather leverage everything on interest only loans. So the bank gets rich on loans that will never mature and owners are able to expand their fleets in order to cash in on the growing lease prices. All the while, banks backing the owners who purchased these medallions have enjoyed collecting the profits on the debt these owners have outstanding.
So everything is great and everyone is getting a piece of the pie — thought process being that the value will never decrease.
Uber has given the taxi industry a bigger jolt than subprime mortgages, all the while driving taxi medallion prices down 23% to $805,000 last January. (Note: The high was $1.05 million for individual medallions in 2013.)
Commercial mortgages need to be refinanced every few years so that owners and banks can adjust according to market trends. This time around, now that the value of each medallion has dropped drastically, when it comes time to refinance, there is going to be a discrepancy on the outstanding loan and the value of the business.
Is this an industry destined to collapse or is it yet another giant NYC will deem “too big to fail”? Stay tuned…",529,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00224.warc.gz,0.959377348423004
6162c3c5-92e0-4532-91dc-c2db3a1e9b97,2022-05-29T02:51:37+00:00,2020-03-25,0,https://ilikemargarine.com/2020/03/25/the-mister-pants-chronicles-part-10/,"Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream she said.
— the prophet robert smith
“WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.”
Salazar had posted late Sunday on another of his post-Fox tirades.
Mister Pants wondered. Could the Cure be worse than the problem itself? He investigated.
He assumed that “the problem itself” he referred to was actually the punk bank The ProblemAddictsFl, a fine punk band. They reminded Mister Pants of the Mamas and the Papas, if the Mamas and Papas had been a fine punk band.
But still. Could the Cure be worse than them? Come on, we’re talking Robert Smith here. the hair and mascara alone are hard to compete with. But those songs. “Just Like Heaven.” “Friday I’m in Love.” “Lovesong,” the word’s saddest ode to romance.
But the tipping point would have to be Robert Smith’s guest appearance on “South Park,” where he turned into a giant monster to protect the universe from harm. Mister Pants figures the world could use a little protection from harm these days.
How could Salazar assume the Cure worse worse than the Problem Itself? Maybe he’s a big punk fan. Or maybe he’s a big punk. Or maybe it’s the 3,285 cheap shots he has endured on “South Park. In any case, Mister Pants decided he would agree to disagree.
On the bright side, Ernie Pook wrote him to say all was well and he was on the way. Mister Pants headed out for an easy 3 miler on the bird loop, a song in his heart and doom on his mind.
Show me how you do it and I’ll promise you
I’ll promise that I’ll run away with you, I’ll run away with you …",440,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00420.warc.gz,0.952930450439453
7adcf3c8-fb86-47c2-bb4d-1e6924af4042,2019-08-18T21:47:52+00:00,2019-08-18,0,http://www.modern-cikande.co.id/facilities_supporting.html,"Housing Estate for Laborers
Approximately 4.5 km from MCIE; 6,000 houses already built.
Is a very important facility in an industrial area to provide security from the threat of fire hazard.
A-24-hour medical clinic can be found in ModernCikande that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. The medical professionals dedicated to provide you a warm and personalised health
Estate Police Station
Is located inside ModernCikande to provide an assurance of safety, comfort and tranquility to the residents and guests of the community.",118,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314130.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818205919-20190818231919-00059.warc.gz,0.926915764808655
9b3ccc1d-61b8-41c8-ab22-a7c6c58b9e0e,2017-08-20T00:32:49+00:00,2014-02-10,1,http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/conservatives-knives-out-mitch-mcconnell,"Conservatives are bringing out the torches and pitchforks for Mitch McConnell.
Long-simmering tension between the tea party and Senate minority leader has again risen to the surface as a swath of conservative activists redouble their efforts to help Kentucky businessman Matt Bevin oust McConnell in the Republican primary on May 20, before he even makes it to the general election.
The lobbying group FreedomWorks, the Jim DeMint-founded Senate Conservatives Fund, the political organization Madison Project and prominent tea party activist Erick Erickson are all trying to tear down McConnell, a 29-year incumbent who is vying to become Senate majority leader next January.
Their latest beef? It’s not just that McConnell isn’t a true conservative — it’s that his poor standing in the polls back home endangers Republican hopes of recapturing the Senate.
Erickson, a Fox News contributor and editor of RedState.com, has made it his personal mission to take down McConnell. He mobilizes his followers with such calls to action: “The single biggest thing you can do to clean up the GOP is to defeat Mitch McConnell in Kentucky by supporting Matt Bevin.” He warns that defeating McConnell is essential to assert the tea party’s dominance over the Republican Party: “[W]hen you beat the sitting Senate Republican Leader in a primary, suddenly Washington knows the grassroots are in charge.”
More recently, Erickson has seized on a series of new polls showing McConnell struggling against Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes. “Ironically, the GOP may wind up still losing the Senate because of [McConnell],” he wrote on in a blog post on Friday.
FreedomWorks, a wealthy conservative activist group that focuses on on-the-ground organizing, recently endorsed Bevin, calling him a “great upgrade” for Kentuckians. “Now more than ever, we need strong fiscal conservatives who will fight to cut spending on the front lines, not the sidelines,” said the group’s president, Matt Kibbe.
This week, Kibbe pointed to a Rasmussen survey in which Bevin was outperforming McConnell against Grimes. “To beat Grimes in November, we have to ditch Mitch,” he said, deriding McConnell as a “do-nothing incumbent.”
The Senate Conservatives Fund, led by former DeMint chief of staff Matt Hoskins, was an early endorser of Bevin. One month ago, it had already spent about $1 million trying to defeat McConnell. The animus between Team Mitch and SCF’s leadership runs deep and dates back nearly a decade to when McConnell and DeMint feuded in the Senate.
The Madison Project, which supports hard-right candidates, has endorsed Bevin and has even opened up a get-out-the-vote headquarters in Kentucky to boost his campaign. “Polls show that Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is one of the most unpopular incumbents in the country, and voters are starving for new leadership in Washington,” said Madison’s Drew Ryun.
Outside the tea party orbit, the conservative opposition to McConnell is puzzling. A ruthless and efficient political operative, he has done more than perhaps any other Republican to stymie President Barack Obama’s agenda, using innovative tactics like routine filibusters and successfully cracking the whip for total party unity against health care reform. But conservatives have set a high bar, disqualifying him for ostensibly prioritizing his thirst for power over tea party causes and for supporting measures like the Wall Street bailout and bills to keep the government open without drastic fiscal reforms.
McConnell is not to be underestimated. The five-term incumbent has raised at least $10 million, dwarfing Bevin, who has raised only about $900,000. But between the conservatives who are out for blood and his deteriorating standing at home, the Senate Republican leader has a bruising battle on his hands before he can compete to hold on to his seat in the Nov. 4 election.",835,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105955.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819235943-20170820015943-00066.warc.gz,0.962990701198578
8baf66bc-bded-4605-86b5-be7e5bb08bdc,2019-08-20T14:47:05+00:00,2009-08-20,0,https://www.cnet.com/videos/novero-thefirstone-bluetooth-headset/,"[ Music ]
>> I'm Nicole Lee, Associate Editor for CNET.com, and this is a First Look at the Novero TheFirstOne Bluetooth headset. Kind of an unusual name, but as you can see here, it's a very minimalist looking headset here. On the front, there's a very nice, pearl white color scheme here. On the front is multifunction call button, as well as two microphones on the bottom and the top. One the back here is the regular earpiece. On top here is the charger jack. The earpiece fits very comfortably in the ear, and it comes with a variety of eartips for a more customized fit. However, we did wish there was an ear hook for a more secure fit. The Novero headset comes with a lot of accessories, from a car charger to, like, a clip to a lanyard and more. We found the Novero headset had pretty good call quality. It has this noise canceling in very noisy situations as well. However, one of our biggest complaints about the Novero TheFirstOne Bluetooth headset is that it's around $149.00, which is a lot for a Bluetooth headset. I'm Nicole Lee. This has been a First Look at the Novero TheFirstOne Bluetooth headset.
[ Music ]
Amazon's Good Omens cast talks bad bosses and bureaucracy
Watch Kentucky Derby horses travel in style aboard 'Air Horse...
There can be only Onewheel
Art meets HoloLens augmented reality in Times Square
Eyes-on with HP's mixed-reality headset
Your next weed hookup could be a vending machine
Facebook Spaces is wacky and made for VR selfies
Hasbro's getting your kids to code with princess robots and puppies",364,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315544.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820133527-20190820155527-00422.warc.gz,0.954274833202362
541ccb2e-71b7-4da7-bc7e-301b3d2e82b4,2016-07-27T21:11:53+00:00,2013-01-16,1,http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2013/01/jonathan-orders-deployment-of-war.html?showComment=1358373220488,"Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Jonathan orders deployment of war planes to Mali
Said he; “As I speak to you now our air planes have arrived in Port-Harcourt and tomorrow morning we are beginning our deployment to Mali.
“We expect them to do what Mr. President directed that we do; he has directed that we should go and assist Mali in repelling the jihad fighters there because you know that if they finish with Mali the next thing will be to come to Nigeria. “So we are going there to fight them and also protect our borders. (Vanguard)",122,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00027-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.977963328361511
724ee689-433a-4037-a048-8b809789bb1f,2022-05-22T13:10:28+00:00,2022-04-07,1,https://internewscast.com/news/us/democrats-grill-fossil-fuel-executives-about-price-gouging/,"5.9k Share this
House Democrats slammed oil and gas industry executives during a hearing on Wednesday, accusing them of profiteering amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the global energy market.
The consensus among committee Democrats and Republicans, as well as the executives who testified, is that the U.S. needs to boost domestic production in the short term in order to provide Americans relief at the pump. Where they fiercely disagree is on the barriers keeping that from happening.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, displayed a chart showing that while the price of crude oil has dropped in recent weeks, gasoline prices in the U.S. remain near historic highs.
“Why?” she asked. “If the price of gas is driven by the global market, why is the price of oil coming down but the price at the pump is still at record highs?”
“Something just doesn’t add up,” she added.
Industry executives from Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, Shell USA, Devon Energy Corp and Pioneer Resources said the global market controls prices, not individual companies, but struggled to explain the widening gap.
“Changes in the price of crude oil do not always result in immediate changes at the pump,” said Mike Wirth, CEO of Chevron. He added that “it frequently takes more time for competition among retail stations to bring prices back down.”
“It is a very complex set of factors that impact the price of gasoline,” including supply risk across all fossil fuel products, said David Lawler, president of BP America.
Republicans on the committee ran to the industry’s defense. Reps. Morgan Griffith (Va.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) argued that the Biden administration’s “anti-American energy agenda” and “war” on fossil fuels are to blame for inflated prices.
“It is impossible to generate confidence or invest in production today when future production is clearly being blocked by this administration,” Griffith said.
Griffith asked each of the executives if their company was “taking advantage of the crisis in Ukraine to keep prices artificially high in order to increase your own profits?” All of them said they were not.
“We have no tolerance for price-gouging,” Wirth, of Chevron, said in his opening remarks.
But as DeGette and other Democrats on the panel pointed out, and as the executives acknowledged, the industry is raking in record profits. The six companies present Wednesday brought in a combined $75 billion in profits last year. And when the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas surveyed 139 industry executives last month, the majority — 59% — cited investor pressure as the main reason producers have not ramped up production.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the industry is “ripping off the American people.”
“At a time of record profits, big oil is refusing to increase production to provide the American people some much-needed relief at the gas pump. Instead, they are buying back their stock at an estimated $40 billion this year. Big oil is lining their pockets with one hand and taking millions in taxpayer subsidies with the other.”
Stock buybacks are when a company uses its profits to buy up its own stock, often leading to a surge in the stock price. Pallone asked each of the executives if they would commit to reducing stock buybacks and dividends for shareholders, which would enable them to increase production instead amid ongoing turmoil in the energy market. None of them said they would.
“I can’t commit to a reduction in buybacks,” Lawler said.
Monday’s hearing and U.S. lawmakers’ push for more fossil fuel development come against the backdrop of a new United Nations report that warns global carbon emissions need to peak by 2025, then go down 43% by 2030, in order to prevent catastrophic planetary warming.
Last week, Biden ordered the largest-ever release of oil from the nation’s strategic reserves — an average of 1 million barrels per day for six months — to combat high prices and act as a “wartime bridge” until domestic production can ramp up later this year. He also called on Congress to pass “use it or lose it” legislation requiring oil and gas companies to pay fees on idle wells and unused federal leases.
Highlighting the tightrope that Democrats are walking on energy ahead of the midterms later this year, when gas prices are likely to be high on voters’ minds, Pallone called on industry executives to “take some action to reduce the pain at the gas pump.”
“Produce more oil,” he said on Wednesday. “Produce more with the wells you have.”
Source: Huff Post",1052,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00406.warc.gz,0.959365785121918
0db95a9c-81da-48d3-a6dc-9a02f26fad68,2020-10-30T22:44:18+00:00,2020-06-30,1,https://evduniya.com/ev-global/future-of-electric-vehicles-bright-or-gloomy.html,"With the sporadic effects of COVID-19 pandemic on all the sectors worldwide, mainly the start-ups, the future of EV stands frozen. This year started with the growing support for the notion that the international demand for the white metal will hike by 15%. On the contrary, a 5% drop in demand is predicted in 2020.
It is estimated that the slump will agitate the industry for a year. It may quite extend the threat for operations depending on the COVID-19 effects on deployment plans from Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG, and more auto manufacturers.
Most people would agree that a drop in oil prices should encourage end-users to purchase an internal combustion engine(ICE) vehicle. On the contrary, we believe that keeping in mind the tremendous damage caused by fuel-based vehicles to the environment, people will opt for Electric vehicles and their sale would conclusively boost.
The Government had launched the National Electric Mission Plan in the year 2013 with a vision to line 6-7 million electric vehicles on road by 2020 resolving to attain 30% e-mobility in India by 2030. Moreover, EV industries are likely to generate 10 million jobs in the future. This Mission hints an enormous scope for a lucrative career in EV industries.
Some thought-provoking facts about the Future of Electric Vehicles
Major Auto manufacturers are all set to strike a goal of Electric vehicle production. Tesla planned to reach 0.5 million electric car sales in 2018 and 1 million electric car sales by 2020. Surprisingly, Tesla made a jolting profit within the half-moon of 2020 of $16 million, regardless of factory lockdowns in China and the US. Tesla has supposedly predicted that it may still whack its goal of delivering 500,000 vehicles globally this year in the face of the pandemic. It’s the primary time in Tesla’s history that the firm has turned in three successive profitable quarters.
Volkswagen has significantly increased electric car plans, now targeting 1.5 million EVs in 2025. And procreating it to be affordable for millions of people desiring the climate-favoring individual mobility.
Ford plans to advance sales of full-electric vehicles to a third of overall sales by 2030 and 15% of EV sales by 2025.
Volvo cars have carried out to put one million electrified cars on the road and 50% of Volvo cars sale size to be fully electric by 2025.
Accelerated ‘Electric Vision’ Blueprint will find Honda’s dominant models electrified which will be
much before the anticipated time that’s by 2022, three years earlier than formerly planned. Honda intends six Electric cars to be introduced in the next 36 months.
Furthermore, BMW strategize to spawn one-quarter of sales from Electric Vehicles (EVs) in 2021. Ascending up to at least one third in 2025 and one half in 2030.
China, the Major manufacturer of EVs, has imposed a target of 60% of all vehicles to be sold and run on electric motors by 2035.
The list carries on. Although, the Pandemic caused the sale of EVs to be unlikely, the rationale being the cost of EVs as compared to traditional vehicles. However, with the visions, goals, and the determination of the World’s most experienced and largest automakers, the future looks more promising.
Conclusion: The EV revolution may have lagged at the moment. It’s on the verge of emerging as the most sought-after vehicle globally. As Pedro Palandrani of the Global X Lithium & Battery Technology ETF said to the Economic Times, “The long-term story is a structural trend toward EV adoption. It’s extremely well on its way”
Also read: Understand Types of Electric Vehicles
EV Duniya Editorial: This article is written by Madhuri Pawar",786,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107911792.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030212708-20201031002708-00200.warc.gz,0.941856443881988
64db3673-11ce-4b59-9aba-b009f55cdd79,2020-10-28T20:04:49+00:00,2020-10-28,1,https://www.internationalinvestment.net/news/4020555/ubs-explores-merger-rival-credit-suisse,"Credit Suisse and UBS may see a possible merger as the chairmen of both banks are already considering creating a single European banking giant, according to reports.
The move would create one of Europe's largest financial institutions, and could boost the efforts of both to gain valuable market share in Asia. Consultants from McKinsey & Company have reportedly been tapped to draw up plans for a ""mega-merger.""
Reported by vetted financial blog Inside Paradeplatz, the merger project has been named Signal and is headed by UBS chairman, Axel Weber, who is in talks with Urs Rohner from Credit Suisse. Weber is said to have already warned Finance Minister Ueli Maurer and the Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority of the planned merger.
Weber is likely to become the chairman of the combined entity, which means someone from Credit Suisse will fill the position of CEO.
With annual revenues of more than $30bn, the UBS Group is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Credit Suisse Group is a global wealth manager, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centres around the world, and has annual revenues of more than $24bn.
If approved, the merged entity would be one of Europe's largest investment entities and on a par with Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo.",295,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107900860.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028191655-20201028221655-00440.warc.gz,0.96042799949646
3c6bc11d-57b1-4f0a-ac24-9855f31cc691,2022-05-25T00:24:13+00:00,2017-06-17,0,https://www.itsmarttricks.com/install-debian-9-stretch/,"How to Install Debian 9 Stretch Step by Step With Snapshots
The Debian Project is founder Ian Murdock. The Debian 9 stretch is released on June 17, 2017. There are many updated software packages in this newly revised version. For more information, we will learn about ‘How to Install Debian 9 Stretch Step by Step With Snapshots?’
Follow the below step to Install Debian 9 Stretch:
Now let’s start the Debian 9 Stretch installation process. First of all, we will boot the bootable flash drive by connecting it to the computer. After installing the Debian 9 iso boot you will be installing a GUI so that you can select the Graphical install and press Enter.
- Now select the language you like now and click Continue.
- Select your location here and click continue.
- Configure your computer’s keyboard by choosing a suitable language. Then click on Continue.
- The installer components of a bootable flash drive or CD is loading.
Give the hostname of the Debian 9 Operating System and click Continue.
This place can offer you the Domain Name if you want. I do not want to use Debian 9 in the domain so I will leave that space blank. then click on Continue
Set the strong password for the root account here and then click on Continue.
Enter the name of the user for Linux Debian 9 installation and then click on Continue.
By entering a password to user account, click Continue
Set the time zone according to your location. Then click on continue.
The time has come for Linux’s Debian 9 Stretch Operating System to do Partition’s. There are many options here that look like.
- Guided – use entire disk
- Guided – use entire disk and set up LVM
- Guided – use entire disk and set up encrypted LVM
- Manual – If you select ‘manual‘ then you have to manually create a partition. You can create a partition as you want it to be.
To understand how to create a partition in Linux, we have selected the manual option. Now select the manual and click Continue
Select Disk as per the following screen and click Continue. In this, we will do two partitions of the disk. (/ Partition and swap partition)
To create a new partition, select Yes and click continue.
Click on Continue to create Partition by selecting Free Space from Harddisk.
Now to create a new partition, click on ‘Create a new partition‘ and click on Continue.
Here I will click on Continue with taking 16.9 GB of size from hard disk free space to make a new partition.
Now to create a partition, we can see 2 options like Primary & Logical. I’m going to select primary here. Then click on continue
Now we are going to start creating Partition on the Hard Disk, so here we are going to select the Location Beginning. Then click on Continue.
As you have done all the partition settings, so let’s select the ‘Done Setting up the partition’ option and then click Continue.
You can do this by double-clicking on the options below to change the settings you have made.
The following snap shows the options for the available Partition Disk.
The first / partition was created We are now going to create a swap partition. Select available free space on the hard disk, then click Continue.
To create a new swap partition, select ‘Create a new partition‘ and click Continue.
To create a swap partition, enter the size as per Harddisk’s free space and click Continue.
To create a new swap partition, select Primary and click Continue.
Select Beginning for the swap partition location and click Continue.
If you are creating a swap partition, select the swap area and click continue.
You have done all the swap partition settings. Now click on ‘Done setting up the partition‘ and click on Continue.
The process of both partition creation in Debian 9 Stretch is complicated. Now, select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk and click Continue.
- Click on the ‘Write the Changes to Disk’ process and then click Continue
- Now we are seeing the Linux Debian 9 Stretch installation progress
- In the Linux Debian 9 Stretch system, Network Mirror Packages is already installed, so I will select No here and click on Continue.
- Configuring the Package Manager in Linux Debian 9.
- I will not be participating in the Linux Debian 9 Package usage Survey, select No, and click on Continue.
For Linux Debian 9, select the following software and click Continue.
- The software you selected is now being installed.
- Now that you are installing GRUB, select ‘Yes‘ and click Continue.
Select the disk to install the GRUB bootloader and click Continue.
- Thus the Debian 9 Stretch installation is completed. Restart the system by clicking continue.
This way you have successfully installed the Debian 9 Stretch. After the system restarts, select Debian GNU / LINUX on the following screen and press Enter.
Enter the User Name and Password here and log in to the desktop.
- Click on Use default config to use the system settings default.
Now you can see the Debian 9 Stretch Desktop.
Also Read- How to Step By Step Install CentOS 7.
That’s all, In this article, we have explained How to Install Debian 9 Stretch. I hope you enjoy this article. If you like this article, then just share it. If you have any questions about this article, please comment.",1163,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577757.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524233716-20220525023716-00223.warc.gz,0.831259310245514
838dc8b7-2dbb-482a-ba99-0b0ae2670d42,2020-10-20T23:18:40+00:00,2020-08-12,1,https://australian-news.site/mark-mcgowan-reveals-what-life-would-be-like-in-wa-if-palmer-wins-the-30-billion-hes-seeking/,"Clive Palmer’s nearly $ 30 billion claim for damages against the government of Western Australia will cause the mass closing of hospitals and schools, argued the Premier when making an unprecedented attempt to block the suit.
Mr Palmer’s Mineralogy business is seeking WA for damages from the then-Liberal government’s decision in 2012 to refuse to formally examine its planned Balmoral South Iron Ore mine in the Pilbara area.
WA Attorney-General John Quigley told state parliament late Tuesday that Mr Palmer and his related Mineralogy and International Minerals firms were seeking a total of $27.7 billion minus expenses-a figure Mr Palmer denies.
Premier Mark McGowan has called the move “obscene” and encourages the state opposition and crossbenchers to back unprecedented legislation to block the motion.
“He is trying to take our money and if he’s successful that would mean mass closures of hospitals, of schools, of police stations, mass sackings … it is an extreme risk to Western Australia,” Mr McGowan told reporters on Wednesday.
“I will not risk selling Western Australia down the drain to Clive Palmer.”
Mr Palmer argued that he and the WA government had already agreed to mediate the conflict, adding the new legislation that would end arbitration between the two parties would harm the credibility of the State.
“The attorney-general really says that he thinks ‘we’re guilty and we’re going to have to pay up’,” he told Perth radio 6PR.
“I think it would be very bad to do. Western Australia’s been a very successful state based on the sanctity of its state agreement and its sovereign risk.
“If it passes this act, all that’s out the window. Its credit rating’s liable to go down and people that have invested in this state will be worried about what’s going to happen.”
Mr Palmer said the damages were yet to be assessed, labelling talk of a $30 billion claim “bulls***”.",438,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874340.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020221156-20201021011156-00093.warc.gz,0.961725294589996
de60acbb-8ea8-4b28-8319-19e7f705f3b7,2022-05-18T23:46:34+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://artisticgaragedoor.com/,"Custom garage doors are our specialty and are created to your specifications. Some doors are modern and others are more traditional or rustic.
Our experienced staff will assist you in selecting the garage door design that will suit your style. There are different woods and milling selections to choose from that will make your door unique. Specifications such as stain grade wood, template arch top and arched bolection moulding are attention getters that bring fans from around the neighborhood.
Our field estimating department takes the measurements and details that are necessary to make the door fit correctly. The outcome and service are of the utmost importance. When you are thrilled with the experience we have achieved our goal.
ARTISTIC GARAGE DOORS, INC. specializes in garage doors. Well known in the industry for quality and experience, Artistic Garage Doors, Inc. continues to delight contractors, homeowners, and architects with a job to be proud of. Visit our showroom in San Carlos for assistance with your selection or schedule an appointment to meet with our field estimator at your home.",213,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00022.warc.gz,0.939698219299316
7547217f-7cc0-4bd7-91c2-539e99adb54a,2019-08-25T15:29:49+00:00,2019-06-09,1,https://shutdownsaustralia.com/2019/06/resources-sector-drives-queensland-exports-to-new-record/,"Resources sector drives Queensland exports to new record
June 9th, 2019
Queensland has produced another export record in the 12 months ending in April, with resource exports delivering more than $65 billion of the $85.2 billion.
Coal remains the state’s number one export and is growing, increasing by almost $4 billion to $36.5 billion in the 12 months ending in April and doubling over the last four years.
China was Queensland’s largest export destination over the period, with $28.5 billion – an increase of $7.1 billion from the year to April 2018.
Japan was the state’s second largest export destination with $12.2 billion, representing an increase of $372.9 million.
The state’s performance, which was particularly driven by the resources sector, contributed to Australia’s rise in total exports to $361.1 billion – representing a total increase of $52.9 billion or 17.2 per cent.
The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) praised the state’s contribution, saying it was a testament to the resources sector.
“When it comes to resources, whether its thermal or metallurgical coal, metals or gas, Queensland has what the world needs, it wants more of it and is prepared to pay more for it,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.
“The importance of the resources sector to Queensland is why the QRC and staff from its member companies joined Mayors and other industries at the Queenslanders Unite rally in Brisbane yesterday.”
He said a strong resources sector strengthened Queensland, creating jobs, attracting investment in exploration and production, and paying more royalties and taxes to government.
“No one can take for granted the contribution the resources sector makes to their everyday lives,” he said
“Electricity in their homes, the gas in their kitchens for cooking and for hot water systems, coal and steel in their the cars and public transport to get them to and from school or work, the metals in their mobile phones, devices and appliances.” Read more…",441,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00056.warc.gz,0.950864374637604
e5057a87-2785-4e08-9ffd-a92395456360,2013-05-25T12:33:29+00:00,2013-05-25,0,http://www.awea.org/blog/?start=121&blog_month=&blog_year=,"Reason trumps fear in Australian debate on wind energy and sound
A recently released report from Australia’s Senate Committee on Environment and Communications helps to set the record straight on wind energy and sound.
Senators John Madigan and Nick Xenophon introduced a bill called the ‘Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment – (Excessive Noise from Wind Farms) Bill 2012′ intended to limit wind energy development because of claims of health effects from wind turbines. However, the Senate committee that considered it ultimately rejected it.
Why? Because ...",111,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.936779677867889
114db013-bcdc-4d8a-a031-387e12d36e2d,2016-07-28T02:55:30+00:00,2015-09-22,1,https://www.texastribune.org/2015/09/22/judge-temporarily-halts-cuts-childrens-therapy/,"Deep cuts to a therapy program for poor and disabled children will not take effect Oct. 1, a state district judge ruled Tuesday afternoon — the second such delay in recent weeks.
“Procedurally I'm not making a determination that these acts are valid or invalid,” said State District Judge Tim Sulak in his announcement that he would grant a temporary injunction to prevent the state from slashing payments to therapists. But he said he made his ruling in part because he’d been convinced the cuts could jeopardize the health of children receiving the therapy services.
It marked the first decision in a series of legal challenges filed by therapy providers and families of children with disabilities, who seek to prove that by slashing payments to therapists, the state will cause as many as 60,000 children to lose access to those services. The idea is that the low pay will force providers to drop out of the program.
State lawmakers this year ordered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to reduce funding for therapy services by roughly $350 million in state and federal funds over two years. Those savings would primarily come from reductions in the rates paid to therapists by Medicaid, the public insurance program for the poor and disabled — in some cases by about 20 or 25 percent.
But that seemingly simple goal to reduce payments has been complicated by some ambiguous language in the state budget, which directs the health commission to consider “access to care” when applying the cuts. Families of children who need the services say the speech, physical and occupational therapy covered by Medicaid can be life-saving — by helping kids learn to nurse, walk and speak, for example — and that the state is poised to limit access by forcing providers to drop out of the program.
Another Travis County judge dismissed a previous lawsuit filed by family members of children with disabilities over the state’s first announced plan to the reduce payments — originally scheduled for Sept. 1 — after the state announced it would “start over” in deciding how to implement the budget cuts.
The health commission says it’s just following the Legislature’s orders by implementing the cuts, and that opponents’ claims providers will stop treating disabled children are exaggerated. In closing arguments, Eugene Clayborn, a lawyer representing the state, said there was “no evidence” of critics’ arguments that “the sky’s going to fall in” because of the cuts.
“There will still be access to care,” he said.
The lawyers suing the state focused much of their argument on trying to disprove that point. Owners of home health agencies in North and Central Texas testified that their businesses would be forced to close, including in markets where they are the main provider of therapy care.
And they presented evidence from inside the health commission that shed light on the agency’s discussions around access to care.
One director at the health commission testified that state employees had been told never to say that they were certain the cuts would not jeopardize access to care.
And an internal memo from the health commission presented by Dan Richards, a lawyer suing the state, warned that payment cuts to therapists “could have serious negative implications for the maintenance of an adequate therapy provider base.”
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which is charged with implementing the therapist payment cuts, is expected to appeal the decision.",687,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827782.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00055-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972684681415558
0ce8762a-830f-47fc-b2eb-4fe181d31be2,2017-08-18T14:23:00+00:00,2010-06,0,http://nickpluslauren.blogspot.com/2010/06/north-carolina-anniversary-trip-sunday.html,"Sunday was our anniversary - and probably our most relaxing day: )
We slept in a little bit, and then we had a bit of an ordeal trying to rescue the car from the parking garage! Asheville is kind of like downtown Lawrence because street parking and parking lot space is limited. Nick parked the car the day before in a parking garage a few blocks away, but he forgot his wallet Sunday morning and had to come back to the hotel in order to retrieve it. The good news was that the hotel refunds the parking fee, so we got our money back after he paid!
We drove back to Grandmom and Granddad's, and we spent the rest of our vacation at their house. We had pizza and smoothies for lunch - and Klondike bars: ) Nick and Granddad rested for a while, and I spent time chatting with Grandmom. She told me about a book - Womansong - that her neighbor wrote, and it sounded like something I would like! Grandmom called the author, Gwen Suesse, and she came right over! Grandmom purchased a copy for me, and Gwen signed it! I started it, but I had to put it down to read the book club book (Unveiled: The Hidden LIves of Nuns). I just orded our next pick (The Abortionist's Daughter), so I hope to read soon! I think it will help me as I sort out some of the current struggles I am facing after quitting my job, etc.
Later in the afternoon we decided to go for a swim! Oh how I wish I could be in NC for two weeks at a time like when I was little - sometimes I forget how relaxing it is there! We lathered up with sunscreen and sat in the sun to heat up, and then we spent some time in the water - SO fun! We didn't have a ball (We'll have to put it on the list for next year!), so we played catch with an empty water bottle: ) Such a great time!
Before long, it was time to start dinner! Grandmom made a cute - and yummy - little platter of food to snack on while Nick cooked the steaks on the grill.
Grillin' some steaks: )
Dinner was delicious, and sitting around the kitchen table reminded me of all of the years that I sat there i the past. For me, there is definitely something special about growing up with a tradition and then being able to share that tradition with Nick. After our NC visits, he always says that he can't wait to go back: ) For our anniversary dessert, Grandmom picked out a FANTASTIC lemon cake - this one maybe! (I even had a second piece for a late-night snack!).
We spent some of the evening looking through old pictures and sharing stories; it was an lovely evening - the kind that I wish we could have more often! I wish Grandmom and Granddad's house was just a few minutes away!",615,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104681.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818140908-20170818160908-00014.warc.gz,0.982155203819275
125f7b01-fac8-46a6-afe3-a04d90538bf0,2022-05-29T01:44:21+00:00,2018-10-01,1,https://citytoday.news/rupee-slips-36-paise-against-usd/,"Prime News, National, Business, Mumbai, October 1:- The rupee weakened by 36 paise to Rs 72.84 against the US dollar Monday even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced plans to purchase government bonds worth Rs 36,000 crore to boost liquidity.
The domestic unit rupee had gained 11 paise to close at a one-week high of Rs 72.48 against the US dollar On Friday.
In recent weeks, the rupee has taken a beating amid volatility in global markets and strengthening of the greenback. The central bank has been taking various measures to shore up the rupee.
The rupee was trading at Rs 72.84 against the dollar in the morning as investors are waiting for the RBI policy decision later this week. It opened at Rs 72.61.
In a release Monday, the RBI said it has decided to purchase government bonds worth Rs 36,000 crore through Open Market Operations (OMO) this month.
This is based on an assessment of the durable liquidity needs going forward and the seasonal growth in currency in circulation observed in build-up to the festive season, it added.
The central bank will be conducting OMO for an “aggregate amount of Rs 360 billion in the month of October,” the release said.
The auctions would be conducted during the second, third and fourth week of October.
“The OMO amount stated above is indicative and RBI retains the flexibility to change it, depending on the evolving liquidity and market conditions,” the central bank said. (Inputs: Agencies, NGB)",328,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00404.warc.gz,0.969801306724548
bac1eb15-3bb9-48ce-89c7-262074b43470,2013-05-25T13:02:49+00:00,2011-11-23,1,http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/8782/2011/11/23/boko_haram_jtf_clash_borno.html?quicktabs_1=0&quicktabs_3=1,"Less than four days after the Boko Haram members engaged the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operatives in a gun duel in Maiduguri, the group again attacked a JTF base at Bulumkutu Market area of the Maiduguri Metropolis where there were shootings that lasted for hours.
Witnesses said that the latest clash occurred on Monday evening at about 7:30pm when some members of Boko Haram in a Volkswagen Golf car stormed the JTF base, very close to the EYN Church in Bulumkutu area, and opened fire on soldiers and policemen there.
During the crossfire, it was learnt that due to the superior firearms of JTF operatives, the sect members were overpowered and subsequently fled, leaving their car behind.
Though, no casualty was recorded, witnesses said many people sustained various degrees of injury.
However, residents complained that JTF operatives rounded up people and even tortured some. One Mallam Adamu of Bulumkutu area told our correspondent soldoers were beating people up for alleged complicity.
Adamu said, “The JTF officials were entering people houses beating them seriously. They even shot some people including one old man of about 70 years whom I am sure has died. Whenever Boko Haram sect struck, the JTF usually go mad on people instead of fighting sect members.”
When contacted, the Head of Field Operation of JTF, Col. Victor Ebhaleme, confirmed the incident. But, he implored the people of Borno to cooperate with the JTF operatives by providing information that would help the JTF operatives to arrest members of the sect.",334,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.976566910743713
f23f92e4-11b3-455d-9ea2-6478e6b2d301,2022-05-16T07:56:43+00:00,2022-05-04,1,https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2022/05/04/nsw-teachers-strike-pay/,"More than 200 public schools across NSW are closed as teachers strike for 24 hours.
Thousands of teachers are striking on Wednesday in a bid for more pay and a reduced workload.
The NSW Education Department has listed 209 schools as “not operating” and parents were urged to keep children at home as there would be minimal supervision at schools that are open.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the disruption to students and parents caused by the strike was “frustrating and disappointing”.
She had asked the union to cancel the industrial action after Premier Dominic Perrottet indicated he would lift the 2.5 per cent wage increase cap for public sector workers in the June 21 budget.
“We are actively looking at this as part of the budget and not just for teachers, but all our frontline staff and we made that clear,” Ms Mitchell told the Nine Network on Wednesday.
“We understand cost of living and household budgets.
“We want to get the right result for our frontline staff.
“We’re committed to doing that as part of the budget process.”
Labor’s education spokeswoman Prue Car accused the government of being out of touch with workers.
The government has created a new salary band for the chiefs of staff of some ministers, effectively giving them a 10 per cent pay rise, with the top salary increasing from $320,000 to $354,201.
Ms Mitchell said that figure was an upper limit.
“My understanding is that those bands are effectively like a limit on what can be paid to staff … and there aren’t any ministerial staff who are being paid at the top of that top band,” she told Sydney radio 2GB.
Teachers rallied outside NSW Parliament House as part of their campaign for two hours of extra planning time as well as a pay rise of between 5 and 7.5 per cent.
NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries were the main reasons teachers were leaving the profession.
Public sector pay increases have been capped at 2.5 per cent a year for more than a decade.
Mr Gavrielatos said the promise to address wages in the budget was not a guarantee and teachers had been patient with the government in attempts to negotiate since February last year.
Ms Mitchell on Tuesday directed her department not to push ahead with a 2.04 per cent annual pay rise that was due to go before the Industrial Relations Commission next week.
Public sector workforce wage rises amount to billions of dollars and the government had competing priorities that need to be balanced, Ms Mitchell said.
“These are major decisions that should actually be made as part of a proper budget process, not in response to union demands,” she said.",578,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510097.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516073101-20220516103101-00214.warc.gz,0.98064374923706
a062d3e2-b2b3-4a91-9f42-7cb3b43e795b,2013-05-25T19:56:50+00:00,2013-06-27,0,http://fosters1537.wordpress.com/category/club-penguin-2/parties-club-penguin/music-jam/,"Category Archives: Music Jam
Music Jam Extended till 5 July!
With the Club Penguin Domain renewal issue, some players didn’t access Club Penguin for quite some hours. But the good news is that it seems like Club Penguin is extending the Music Jam to June 5th!
This extension seemed to be a rumor at first but many have sent emails to Club Penguin Support and it’s practically confirmed! Check out the newspaper tomorrow for more info! This is an advantage because there will be more time to find the characters which are …
Penguin Band and Cadence at the Music Jam!
Penguin Band are mostly appearing individually and at Backstage (or Dock) and you get to have their new free background! Cadence is appearing in many different rooms mostly Casa Fiesta and Night Club Rooftop. If you need help finding them I suggest following lost of people on Twitter for news and log in many Xat Club Penguin chats. Enjoy the Music Jam!
This seems funny and embarrassing, but it looks like Club Penguin forgot to pay for its own domain!! Wow first all those bugs then this! :O
Happy77 updated the blog about this:
UPDATE: Club Penguin is available for most players again. But we have heard that some of you can’t see it yet. Thanks for letting us know. The team is still working on fixing any issues with the site. Thanks for your continued patience with this.
As some of you heard, Club Penguin’s domain name (clubpenguin.com) had a technical glitch this weekend. The technical glitch has been fixed, but it will take some time for the site to appear as it should around the world.
Remember — when in doubt, talk to a parent or guardian if something looks suspicious to you.
-Club Penguin Team
Wow Club Penguin has been down for over 8 hours! But now it’s back up for everyone. The issue has been reported in MANY news websites because an online popular money-making kids website simply forgets to pay for its domain.
Anyways, I’m glad Club Penguin DIDN’T shut down as many though so. I’m sure the Club Penguin team will be apologizing soon and everything will be back to normal. And now get back to enjoying and jamming at the Music Jam! Whoo!
Musicj Jam is back and is better than ever for yet another year!
Waddle on over to the Cove for a free Music Jam Cap.
There are 3 different stands. One at the Snowfort, Ski Village, and Iceberg.
Once you get your All-Access Pass, you can head backstage. The backstage area is at the Dock.
There’s a free green t-shirt at the bottom right corner of the room.
There is one cheat in the catalog. Click on the word music for the Blue Snare Drum or the Drum Sticks.
There’s a Stereo Pin in the Book Room.
Music Jam will be here next week and penguins are working for the party’s construction!
Construction for the Pop Music stage at the Beach
Construction for the stage at the Lighthouse
… and at the Cove!
Country music stage will be at the Forest…
… and the main stage will be at the Dock!
Red vs Blue music competition will be at the Snow Forts!
Even at Ski Village
Stage of the Penguin Band is getting ready too!
The construction seems the same like last year’s Music Jam. SO it looks like there won’t be new decorations for this year’s Music Jam. It’s a cool party but it is getting repeating and boring – hope something new will be at the party?
So are you ready to rock at the Music Jam? Be sure to help out at the construction though!",802,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.925800025463104
76bcc6ed-a18b-4a16-bbfa-42142b66b428,2013-05-18T17:59:42+00:00,2008-10-28,0,http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/gaming/2008/may/09/gaming-revenue-especially-slots-continue-their-dec/,"Published Friday, May 9, 2008 | 12:15 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 | 10:15 a.m.
For the third month in a row, the state of Nevada is reporting a significant decline in gaming revenue blamed on the economy.
In March, Nevada casinos won 2 percent less from gamblers than a year ago while the state’s biggest economic engine, the Las Vegas Strip, generated 5 percent less gaming revenue, the Gaming Control Board reported today.
But the real story is in slots, historically accounting for more than 60 percent of the state’s gaming revenue.
A closer look at the numbers shows that the business slowdown – in spite of what some companies are saying – appears to be worsening rather than improving or stabilizing.
Statewide, gamblers wagered $1 billion less on slots than last year, an 8 percent decline and the worst drop in years.
Total wagers is a better indicator of demand than revenue or gaming “win,” which is the amount of bets minus winnings paid.
On the Strip, slot volume in March was down $338 million, or 7 percent, from a year ago.
That’s bad news, considering that March is historically a high volume month for slots because it comes after holidays and events like Chinese New Year and Super Bowl that bring other kinds of crowds to town. Along with slot regulars, March also brings nicer weather.
“This is consistent with what we’re hearing about the economy and people’s spending habits,” Gaming Control Board Senior Research Analyst Frank Streshley said.
And yet, it wasn’t that long ago that gaming experts frequently noted that gambling was more resistant to recessions than many other industries that rely on discretionary dollars. People will gamble no matter what the economy is doing, they said.
Many industries besides casinos have already discovered that consumers can exercise more restraint than they thought possible.
Casinos have fought to be viewed as a form of entertainment like going to the movies. Now, as consumers rein in spending, casinos are feeling the effects.",438,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955611050128937
1c72efaa-69a4-48ee-ba0b-748229e11a0c,2022-05-28T19:15:57+00:00,2016-04-05,1,https://motortransport.co.uk/blog/2016/04/05/royal-mail-managers-threaten-strike-action-after-rejecting-1-3-pay-rise/,"Royal Mail has said it is “disappointing” that some 4,900 managers have threatened strike action after rejecting 1.3% pay rise offer. Parcel and letter delivery services could be hit as union members prepare to vote on whether to take strike action after rejecting the carrier’s 1.3% pay offer. The strike ballot, which will run for the next two weeks, follows a consultative ballot last week which saw 4,900 Royal Mail managers vote to reject a 1.3% pay rise for the […]
DHL Supply Chain has urged striking delivery drivers and warehouse staff in Liverpool to observe social distancing measures after it was blamed for calling out the police “at least 10 times”.
Wholesaler Booker Retail Partners said a shortage of drivers was creating distribution challenges, after the Unite union accused it of attempting to “hoodwink” staff into accepting a pay deal.
The consumer delivery subsidiary of Hermes, myHermes, has launched a new international parcel delivery service which aims to support SMEs.",220,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663019783.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528185151-20220528215151-00000.warc.gz,0.94719809293747
751001c8-a31a-425c-aa10-133123e466e7,2013-05-22T07:40:11+00:00,2013-01-01,0,http://www.oakland-nj.org/friendsofopl.html,"New Friends Of The Oakland Public Library
The New Friends of the Oakland Public library exists to promote knowledge and interest in the functions, resources, services and needs of the library. This vital civic association assists in developing programs to extend and improve the library's resources.
Our endeavors in recent months have raised several thousand dollars to benefit the community through the library's outreach. Last September, we organized and held an art show and sale that featured the work of local artists. In April, we sold thousands of books, CDs, DVDs and puzzles for children and adults during our weekend-long used book sale. We sponsored a professional dramatic presentation, ""First Mothers"", just in time for Mothers' Day. The many local residents who came out on a Friday evening reported being thrilled by this informative production. Among the library programs the New Friends have been able to fund this year are: the summer reading and the therapy dog programs for children, high-demand books available for weekly rental for adults and free or greatly reduced-cost passes to the American Museum of Natural History and the Intrepid Museum of Air and Space for families.
The New Friends recently sponsored another successful art show on Sunday afternoon, September 23rd. We are constantly exploring new ways to help the Oakland Public Library fulfill its mission, and we welcome ideas and assistance from all who share our goals. In an effort to minimize meetings for busy people, The New Friends convene according to the dictates of ongoing projects, rather than on fixed dates. We will post each meeting date on the website, or you may contact the library for the details. We also hold an annual meeting in November to which we invite all members. All are welcome to join us.
The New Friends always welcome new members. We believe that Oakland residents are the library's greatest resource, and we hope everyone will want to become a stakeholder in a community resource that offers so much to so many. For more information or to join the New Friends, please see our webpage at www.oaklandnjlibrary.org/friends, or call the library at 201 337-3742.
Officers of the New Friends of the Oakland Library for 2013:
President: Lois Ann Folliard",444,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.941143751144409
97dc2fd7-1264-4064-8d97-cde786f5b5f2,2017-08-18T14:24:59+00:00,2014-01-31,0,https://victoriawhyte.wordpress.com/tag/samaritans-purse-uk/,"Friday 27th December 2013 started well. That night we were planning to go to a big surprise get together of family and friends for my niece’s 30th birthday. Leah was happiest when surrounded by family and friends and this was the first family get-together that she had been allowed to attend since her bone marrow transplant in Bristol on the 1st August earlier that year. Leah was very excited.
However, during that day Leah became seriously ill, with an initial diagnosis of pneumonia. She was admitted to the Cancer Centre in Belfast and subsequently transferred to ICU at Belfast City Hospital. Two and a half weeks later we had a family get together of a different kind, when we all gathered together at the N.I. Children’s Hospice to say our goodbyes – the ones that we didn’t want to have to say.
During Advent I have been reading the daily devotionals that were especially written for the charity Samaritan’s Purse UK by Malcolm Duncan. He is a Pastor at Gold Hill Baptist Church and a leader at Spring Harvest. Malcolm is sadly very familiar with grief and loss. I previously wrote here about his very helpful sermons on the topic of the theology of suffering. In his devotional for the 1st December what Malcolm wrote regarding the death of a friend of his, has really stuck with me and brought me great comfort:
When my friend died, she left the land of dying and entered the land of the living. Death did not win. Cancer did not win. Sin did not win. Her salvation is now complete. She is more fully alive than she has ever been. She is more fully herself than she ever was. She is complete, truly released and free. Nothing can change who she now is. This is the great hope of every Christian. God wins! God always wins in the lives of Christians because God always has the last word.
During those two and a half weeks when Leah was dying, she and I derived so much comfort from listening to her favourite songs, which she had previously saved into playlists. Their lyrics washed over our hearts and minds and pointed us to the only One who could give us the strength to face each day.
Since Leah’s death most of these songs have continued to bring me comfort, as I miss Leah and yearn for her presence in our lives. Today I have one of the songs from this list playing on repeat; ‘Bring the Rain‘ by MercyMe.
Bring The Rain
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I’ve gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It’s never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what’s a little rain
So I pray
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty",734,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104681.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818140908-20170818160908-00005.warc.gz,0.979344367980957
95c8fca7-df11-4b89-ba96-ba195a1152f1,2020-10-20T03:22:44+00:00,2020-10-20,0,https://dindigulcalltaxi.com/qa/how-many-minutes-can-you-put-on-a-cd.html,"- How many minutes does a 700mb CD hold?
- Why do CDs only hold 80 minutes?
- Can you add more songs to a burned CD R?
- How do I burn songs onto a CD?
- Will CDs last forever?
- Can you fix scratched CDs?
- How can I burn more than 80 minutes on a CD?
- How many tracks can you put on a CD?
- How do I burn more songs on a CD?
- What is the highest quality of music?
- Are there CDs longer than 80 minutes?
- What is the longest recordable CD?
- Can you burn music to a DVD?
- What should I do with old CDs?
- Can you wear out a CD?
- Is it better to burn a CD fast or slow?
- How do I burn a high quality CD?
- What is the best CD burner software for free?
How many minutes does a 700mb CD hold?
In most cases a 700MB CD-R will accommodate up to 80min of audio.
74 minutes is the original Red Book spec (corresponding to 650MB CD-Rs).
Commercial CDs have been exceeding that for a long time (in a few exceptional cases slightly over 80min)..
Why do CDs only hold 80 minutes?
Audio CDs are not the same thing as data CDs, and they do not contain MP3 files. An audio CD contains audio data in CDDA (Compact Disc Digital Audio) format. … A minute of CDDA audio always takes up the same amount of space on the disc, which is why you can only burn a maximum number of minutes to a disc.
Can you add more songs to a burned CD R?
Burn additional files to CD-R If the disc is not closed, additional files can be added. When you are ready, place the CD-R into the optical drive, open the CD-R folder, add more files, and then select the Burn to disc option. … There is no Burn to disc option to click.
How do I burn songs onto a CD?
Tip 1: Burn An Audio CD with Windows Media PlayerStep 1: Insert a blank CD or DVD into your CD/ DVD drive. … Step 2: Open Windows Media Player and click on the “Burn” tab located in the right pane. … Step 3: Find the files you want to burn from your Library (Music, Videos, and Pictures) and drag them to the burn list.More items…
Will CDs last forever?
Among the manufacturers that have done testing, there is consensus that, under recommended storage conditions, CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R discs should have a life expectancy of 100 to 200 years or more; CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM discs should have a life expectancy of 25 years or more.
Can you fix scratched CDs?
Fix a Scratched Disc With Wax Incredibly, scratches in the surface of a CD or DVD can be fixed with softened wax! As with the toothpaste fix, you can use shoe polish, lip balm, furniture wax, or even petroleum jelly. Again, rub it into the surface of the disc to fill the scratch.
How can I burn more than 80 minutes on a CD?
Luckily, there is a way to fit a lot more music onto a standard CD than normal—burn them to an “MP3” CD. Now, instead of only 80 minutes worth of music you can fit 800MB worth of MP3 files on one CD. Insert a blank CD in your computer’s CD burner.
How many tracks can you put on a CD?
100 songsA data CD can hold 100 songs. CDs can help transfer files between computers. A blank CD can typically hold about 74 to 80 minutes of music, which is generally not enough to hold 100 songs.
How do I burn more songs on a CD?
How to Put 200 Songs on One CDClick “Start,” “All Programs” and open Windows Media Player.Click “Burn.”Select “Data CD or DVD.” Drag all 200 of your songs into the window on screen.Put your blank CD-R or CD-RW into your burner.Click “Start Burn” to burn your 200 songs to your CD.
What is the highest quality of music?
The highest quality MP3 has a bitrate of 320kbps, whereas a 24-bit/192kHz file has a data rate of 9216kbps. Music CDs are 1411kbps. The hi-res 24-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz files should, therefore, more closely replicate the sound quality the musicians and engineers were working with in the studio.
Are there CDs longer than 80 minutes?
The “Redbook” CD specifications state that CDs contain a maximum of 74 or 80 minutes of music. But over the years, record producers have tried to push that limit.
What is the longest recordable CD?
Largest Capacity The largest CD-R discs manufactured are 99-minute CD-R discs. For storage, these discs are capable of holding up to 870 MB of data.
Can you burn music to a DVD?
A DVD is physically different than a CD, so it will not play in a CD player. While a DVD-audio format exists, very few players will play it, especially in cars. So forget DVDs. A better solution is to convert the audio into MP3 format and burn the MP3 files on to a CD-R formatted as a DATA CD.
What should I do with old CDs?
Goodwill still sells CDs and DVDs and collects them at its drop-off locations. Many libraries also take them and will either stock them for checkout or sell them at sales or their used stores.
Can you wear out a CD?
In short, no. Optical media like CDs and DVDs does not wear out from repeated use. It can degrade or become damaged, however. CDs and DVDs can degrade over time because their recording layers are made with a dye that is extremely photosensitive; it deteriorates when exposed to UV rays over time.
Is it better to burn a CD fast or slow?
It is generally acknowledged as good practice to burn audio CDs at speeds no higher than 4x, but it is also important that you use good-quality blank media specifically designed for low-speed burning. Most computer media these days is designed for very high-speed burning, usually over 24x.
How do I burn a high quality CD?
DO burn at 4X to 10X speed – the slower the better with 4X as the optimum. CD burning/writing is a process of writing digital data from your computer hard drive to the blank CD-R in your optical drive. The primary reason why you should not be writing at the fastest burning speed is to reduce errors in the process.
What is the best CD burner software for free?
Another free CD burner you can give a try is the Ashampoo Burning Studio Free. This free CD burner does not only have all the basics needed to create data and music discs, but it also includes a few extra features. For instance, you can use it to password protect discs as well as to erase rewritable CDs for reuse.",1529,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107869785.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020021700-20201020051700-00135.warc.gz,0.923237144947052
86b4fa38-e95c-44c1-96de-500189f830cd,2016-07-30T12:06:39+00:00,2012-04-18,1,http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20120418/breast-cancer-study-could-change-treatment?src=rsf_full-2726_pub_none_rltd,"Scientists Reclassify Breast Cancer Into 10 New Categories, Which Could Lead to Better Treatments
Peter Russell WebMD Health News
Sheena Meredith, MD
April 18, 2012 -- Doctors might one day be able to predict survival more accurately in women with breast cancer after reclassifying the disease into 10 new categories based on the genetic fingerprint of a tumor.
Scientists behind the latest research say the discovery amounts to a rewriting of the rule book on breast cancer and will allow more individually tailored treatment options for women with the disease.
A Visual Guide to Breast Cancer
The research, published in the journal Nature, is the largest global gene study of breast cancer tissue ever performed, and the culmination of decades of research into the disease.
A team at Cancer Research U.K.'s Cambridge Research Institute, in collaboration with the B.C. Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada, analyzed the DNA and RNA of 2,000 tumor samples taken from women diagnosed with breast cancer between five and 10 years ago.
Instead of examining these tumor samples under a microscope, they analyzed their genetic profile, hunting for genetic mutations that drive breast tumor development. The analysis uncovered several new breastcancer genes behind the disease, which the researchers say will be potential targets for the development of new types of drugs.
It also revealed the relationship between these genes and known cell activities that control cell growth and division. This could pinpoint how these gene mutations cause cancer, by disrupting important cell processes.
Individually Tailored Medication
The scientists say their analysis has allowed them to reclassify breast cancer into 10 new categories based on gene activity rather than the current tests done in laboratories, which look for the presence of indicators such as estrogen receptor (ER) or the cell surface receptor HER2. The researchers say this new classification could change the way medication is tailored to treat women with breast cancer.
""We've drilled down into the fundamental detail of the biological causes of breast cancer in a comprehensive genetic study,"" says one of the researchers, Carlos Caldas, MD, a professor at the University of Cambridge. ""Based on our results we've reclassified breast cancer into 10 types, making breast cancer an umbrella term for an even greater number of diseases.",447,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00265-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.927077651023865
125c5dfc-a0e2-4f09-a1c0-a86faaac7ed1,2013-05-23T04:27:42+00:00,2013-01-23,1,http://chadrad.com/newsstory.cfm?story=27928,"(Neb.)-Nebraska Lawmaker Seeks To Repeal Prenatal Care Law
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska lawmaker has moved to repeal a law that extends state-funded prenatal care services to illegal immigrants and other low-income women.
State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont introduced the repeal measure on Wednesday, about six months after the new law went into effect.
Lawmakers restored services for women last year despite strong objections from Republican Gov. Dave Heineman. Heineman is also seeking to defund the program in the budget that he proposed to lawmakers.
Pregnant women lost access to the services in 2010, after the federal government ordered the state to stop providing them through Medicaid. The new law offers services through the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Nebraska Appleseed executive director Rebecca Gould says the bill seeks to undermine a fiscally responsible state policy that protects children's health.
Back to News
Printer Friendly Version
Send Story to a friend.",211,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.935114622116089
d23bf07e-a835-4a3e-b0bc-5bc9dadbdd77,2013-05-18T05:55:46+00:00,2013-05-13,1,http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/,"An anti-Semitism protest march is to be held in Malmo after Israeli participants at the Eurovision song contest were threatened.
The far-right Ataka party emerges as kingmaker following Bulgaria parliamentary elections, having captured 7% of the popular vote.
A Budapest court has given prison sentences to three men who verbally abused visitors to the WJC Plenary Assembly held last week in the city.
Re-elected WJC President Ronald S. Lauder: ""In the 77 years of the World Jewish Congress there have been few gatherings as important as this one.”
Reaction by the World Jewish Congress to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech at the opening of the WJC Plenary Assembly in Budapest, 5 May 2013.
In Hungary, the head of the local Raoul Wallenberg Association became a victim of anti-Semitic abuse and his nose was broken by thugs.",180,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973072826862335
6965fb42-155a-4575-9a5c-922c40c6339f,2013-05-24T08:36:06+00:00,2009-09-21,1,http://2bangkok.com/forum/showthread.php?3838-Sanuk-sanuk-happy-happy&p=31092,"Southern cities get air link - Bangkok Post
Writer: ACHADTAYA CHUENNIRAN
Published: 21/09/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
PHUKET : The major southern cities of Phuket and Hat Yai are receiving a new air link, offering an alternative to what is now a seven-hour bus journey. New airline Happy Air is poised to launch the Phuket-Hat Yai service on Oct 26. The travel time between the two locations will be 40 minutes. Happy Air sales and marketing manager Patcharapol Sonthipan said the airline had secured aviation permits from the Department of Aviation. He said Happy Air was positioning itself as a premium-service airline which was targetting tourists and business travellers. The airline also plans to fly to the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi.
Mr Patcharapol said the air service would provide faster alternative for travellers travelling between Phuket and Hat Yai, the commercial district of Songkhla. Mr Patcharapol said the Phuket-based airline would operate two twin turboprop SAAB 340A aircraft, with 34 seats. The planes are leased from a Swedish company. Happy Air will offer daily flights between Phuket and Hat Yai and three times a week between Phuket and Langkawi. The Phuket-Langkawi flights will also begin in late October.",297,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949185252189636
deb556d5-d488-4d26-8217-4998f9289f03,2018-08-19T09:10:58+00:00,2018-08-19,0,https://dumpsterindex.com/indiana/5-yard-dumpster-rental-francisco-in/,"When you are renting a 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 40 yard dumpster, you want a company you can trust with prices that make you smile. Give us a call today and see the difference we can make in your next construction or clean out project.
Simply give us a call and we will help you figure out your dumpster rental needs.
Our dumpsters usually go out same-day or next-day depending on when you call.
We provide top-notch service, while going easy on your bottom line. What more could you ask for?
Our trained operators are here to give you a fast and hassle-free experience from start to finish.
Once you are done, simply give us a call and we will get your dumpster picked up right away!
Our staff is here to help whenever you need it. Simply pick up the phone and give us a call.
Most cities or municipalities do not have many regulations regarding dumpster rental as long as you keep the dumpster entirely on your own property during the rental period. If you need to place your container on the street in any way, you will likely have to obtain a permit from the appropriate building permit office in your town. You can check with your local public works department to be sure.
Most Francisco dumpster rental companies will take care of securing this permit for you if you rent from them. Make sure that if you’re planning to put the dumpster on the street, the company has made the appropriate arrangements. You should also ensure that you get the permit in a timely manner and at the correct cost. If you thought the dumpster company was getting a permit and they did not, you will be the one who will have to pay the fine that is issued by the authorities.
When the rummage selling is over, you will always may have a great deal of junk to lose. In the past you thought you would use these items but it turns out there is a constant did. Of course before the search sale or perhaps 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN make sure there's nothing in your barn or perhaps outer houses that your kids want. Permit them to look over points and give these to them to hold. Now the belongings you do not use and want are generally out of your barn and garage.
Do you wish ones nation to face among the top nations on the planet? If yes, next motivate yourself to market recycling on the waste throughout Eco-friendly manner there by reducing the outcome of pollution on the natural environment. Not everybody exactly who generates the particular waste knows the process of recycling where possible, so the consumer is in issue once again around this juncture. Qualified 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN service providers available in the market offers spellbound providers making your task hassle free at very affordable expense. These expert 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN service providers being an expert inside the field takes a due care to ensure that the got rid of waste is definitely recycled throughout environmental warm and friendly manner. Companies provide dumpsters upon rental basis in order to ward off ones generated throw away and handle the particular post obligation of recycling where possible the throw away Eco-friendly manner.
One too is to know whether the company can offer you providers within the least amount of time doable. If you are developing or redesigning a building, you would need everything to relocate fast plus in a synchronised manner. For anyone who is constructing a residence that is created for business, you'd want it to always be finished within time in order that clients transfer. It is that is why that you need a new 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN company that could always be around to give providers and get assembling your shed moving. As a result, consider this considering that the more time you waste, greater money you may well lose.
When you experience a big clean-up occupation ahead of you, renting a dumpster from the 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN company will make the job less complicated. However, just like any company you hire which is coming to the house, you need to be capable to trust them. Allow me to share a couple problems that you may be focused on, and precisely why going with a modest, local company is most likely the solution to these: Ideal for Skilled amateurs or long-term initiatives, 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN can make it straightforward to collect your junk area for easy trash hauling. With regard to do-it-yourselfers who don't mind a little efforts, 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, INs get rid of the hassle and added serious amounts of financial price of hauling heap after heap of rubbish towards the dump as part of your sedan. Rather than making trip after trip, you can just throw all of your unnecessary items--including bulky furniture or devices that would not fit in ones car--right into the dumpster. When you're done, the particular dumpster company may remove the container--and ones junk--in one easy step. And because numerous offer containers in various sizes, ones rental can be tailored for your particular project, aiding keep your tidy up as cost-effective as you can. Roll-off 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN also helps corral throw away in one place, rendering it great for acquiring on-site during the duration of a renovation or long-term house cleanout.
Find the nearby landfill, acquire a pal's truck and also haul away from the trash because it starts to gather, or Dumpsters are available in different sizes elizabeth.g. 3-5 garden, 5-8 yard, 10-15 garden, 20 garden, 30 garden & 40 garden. Based on the dependence on residential customers & commercial users they can rent the dumpster at an affordable price.
When you know the date the construction staff will be arriving at your house to try and do all of the operate, you will want to call a company that could next day rent the dumpster. By getting the dumpster for your family room remodeling, from the crew could throw out any debris which is not needed. Your life will stay additional organized if your construction staff can right away toss your old objects. The construction staff can continue to work at a fast-pace as an alternative to tripping over the old useless that is of their way. Or construction staff may have to consistently move the older junk from their way and that is wasting your period as well as theirs.
When it comes to the fee charged by means of such corporations, every corporation may offer an alternative fee. A variety of them may fee a fixed price for a program whereas other people may offer the actual bins for any week or perhaps less may be. There are corporations offering less expensive rates however beware of invisible costs like commuting expenses. So prevent any unwelcome surprises and skim the stipulations of the corporation before hiring these for the job.
It is possible to delivery price? A lot of 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco corporations will charge the delivery price on top of the price they estimate you, therefore be sure to ask. Delivery fees may range anywhere from $25 for you to $50 or more.
They want to guarantee a whole service rather than just a quick bunch of your waste. Living in a flat complex will forever bring difficulties where the waste management is concerned. Using a specialized company such as trash cab, can guarantee the waste is removed from the developing on a regular basis.
Expert and knowledgeable residential 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco corporations provide cost-free estimates. They may normally volunteer to check the web site and see the specific amount and kind of useless materials that must be hauled. Do not trust a corporation that will offer an estimate on the phone, without finding first the actual extent of the job necessary. It will be impossible for them to offer an accurate appraisal without finding the actual total and type of junk resources that needs to be eliminated.
Household, place of work or get together trash, today get it opting an eco-friendly approach without threats. Just rest, sit back to see the waste going away with out bothering yourself much.
When you have gotten though the legal muck of an foreclosure and the ex - tenants have died the property, you're ready turn the home around so that it's inhabitable once again. Stick to this process to make certain your property is willing to be hired once again following an foreclosure occurs.
By simply renting a dumpster you can store exactly what is not required and have absolutely it migrated out if your work is comprehensive. This not merely keeps your home clean but it also helps keep the actual neighbors happy. During a upgrading process, if perhaps waste is not managed correctly, the border houses may also have to keep with debris and dirt. Therefore, the most effective way out is always to rent a dumpster the moment the remodeling commences.
In the year you may want to begin school restorations that need to take place now. As time goes by, schools are getting more and more packed. Additions are required as well as classroom sizes made larger. Through spring break you possibly can have a contractor prearranged to start this renovations. To obtain the restorations done easily you will need to find a person that rent next day dumpsters. The contractors may easily do their work as well as clean up soon after with a dumpster right next to all of them. Make sure you manage a company containing dumpsters with wheels on the bottom. The contractors should be able to easily slowly move the dumpster from one method to another while working.
Coping with these huge tons of junk on personal would be a major problem and requires wide range of investment in relation to its time and money. Ones painstaking study to find a cost-effective way of discarding the trash within the shortest moment possible would certainly end up in 5 Yard Dumpster Rental in Francisco, IN support.
Dumpsters are usually for sale in different this sizes which range between 10 yard and 45 yard. You have to be extra careful while seeking the size of dumpster simply because choosing the completely wrong sized dumpster in addition to required will probably impose added charges because you have to go for many pickups to be able to dispose the trash if your dumpster is modest in size. You can be paying for the free space split into a dumpster which is large wide.
A major cleanout may be stressful as well as exhausting. No matter whether you're planning with an upcoming cross-country move into a smaller house, cleaning out an elderly relative's home ahead of an property sale or perhaps foreclosure, or perhaps gut-renovating your office as well as installing all-new features, all of the rubbish you toss has to go somewhere. It is possible to divide the trash and rubbish up directly into small loads and get back and forth for the dump along with the recycling middle, wasting valuable time, fuel, and. Or you can stay away from the hassle by means of hiring a qualified junk carting team to try and do the hard work and discretion for you. What precisely does a rubbish hauler do? All depends on the distinct company, so consider your needs and your budget prior to a employing decision.
If you embark on an essential cleaning, structure, or reconstruction project, the last thing you want to stress about is getting gone the causing debris. Executing it is hard enough. There's no good reason that you should be hampered with hand bags and heaps of junk afterward. These may clutter the property, which in turn directly negates the objective of doing the work to start with and can warrant special excursions to the dispose of or other discretion facility after the fact. Instead of treating your junk removal in a piecemeal way, it usually is worth your while to check out renting a dumpster. With a dumpster on your property may seem like a pace backwards, it genuinely simplifies this cleanup course of action. You can rent some sort of dumpster for as long as you'll need, you can put all of your trash as well as debris in it, and then you can get rid of all things one droped swoop when you're done. Should you be doing a house clean-out, construction cleaning, or other home improvement or reconstruction projects, renting some sort of dumpster can be a wonderful option.
Please use the form below to contact us. We look forward to working with you and will get back to you as soon as possible. All fields are required",2569,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215075.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819090604-20180819110604-00133.warc.gz,0.954946458339691
6d331222-f84e-4194-b841-0e960ff9218d,2017-08-17T05:58:11+00:00,2016-04-15,1,http://www.screamsfromtheporch.com/2016/04/election-officials-approve-step-so.html,"The Knox County Election Commission on Friday agreed to give residents a chance to vote on whether to legalize recreational and medical marijuana.
The vote, though, would be symbolic only since marijuana is still illegal in Tennessee.
Steven Cooper, who is spearheading the initiative, will now have until June 15 to get about 16,100 signatures from registered Knox County voters to put the two questions on the November ballot.
One question will ask whether recreational use of marijuana by people older than 21 should be allowed in Knox County.
The other concerns use of medical marijuana.
""The children with seizures, the vets with PTSD, the people with cancer, Alzheimer’s, the list goes on and on and on. It is time people in Tennessee had access to that,"" said Cooper, who will shoot for 20,000 signatures for each petition.
Chris Davis, assistant administrator of elections for the Knox County Election Commission, said his office will keep in regular contact with Cooper.
Davis said training, hiring “and putting people in a room for weeks on end to count signatures” will cost the county about $25,000.
Election officials said they want the ballot complete some time in September.
Cooper said Friday that he will begin collecting signatures this weekend.",257,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00247.warc.gz,0.954645872116089
5e379f2c-f41e-458d-baa2-c16ff5ae6d7c,2020-10-30T02:23:48+00:00,2008-04-08,0,http://www.stxeurope.com/?page=581&xml=S/134984/PR/200804/1208072,"Aker Yards' Board of Directors has resolved that the annual general meeting 2008 will be held Thursday 21 May 2008, rescheduled from 25 April 2008.
The Board of Directors has set the revised date based on a total evaluation of the best interest of all shareholders, and to conduct the meeting based on shareholder democracy and a wide representation of shareholders.
For further information, please contact:
Aker Yards ASA
SVP Corporate Communication and IR
Tel: +47 92 88 55 42
Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +47 95 14 11 47
Aker Yards ASA (www.akeryards.com) is an international shipbuilding group focusing on sophisticated vessels. The group has a strong position both in terms of innovation, product range, technology, experience and capacity. The product range includes cruise vessels & ferries, merchant vessels and offshore & specialized vessels. Aker Yards comprises 18 yards in Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Romania, Ukraine and Vietnam. Aker Yards has approximately 21,000 employees.",209,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107906872.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030003928-20201030033928-00242.warc.gz,0.918197333812714
2a984927-a297-40f4-a50d-cc0acb6e4705,2016-07-27T08:09:33+00:00,2014-01-16,1,http://hotair.com/archives/2014/01/16/poll-public-now-evenly-split-at-48-percent-on-legalizing-gay-marriage-in-utah/comment-page-2/,"Poll: Public now evenly split at 48 percent on legalizing gay marriage — in Utah
posted at 6:01 pm on January 16, 2014 by Allahpundit
I thought gay-marriage polls had lost their capacity to surprise but I was wrong. Utah is so overwhelmingly Mormon, and Mormons are so heavily opposed to legalizing SSM, that a poll of the state would necessarily produce some lopsided 30/70 result against — I thought. Not so: A third of Mormons there are now pro-legalization and the non-Mormon population is large enough (and pro-SSM enough) that, between them, they’ve made this a toss-up even in one of America’s reddest states.
For what it’s worth, there may be a silver lining for opponents here.
Residents are now evenly split on whether same-sex couples in Utah should be allowed to get state-issued marriage licences — 48 percent for and 48 percent against — and nearly three-fourths (72 percent) said same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions or domestic partnerships in lieu of marriage…
The results reflect a remarkable turn since 66 percent of Utahns who participated in the 2004 general election approved Amendment 3, which limited civil marriage to a man and a woman and barred any state recognition of other relationships such as civil unions or domestic partnerships…
Support for same-sex marriage was strongest among non-Mormons, people between ages 18 and 34 and those who described themselves as Democrats. Slightly more than a third of respondents (36 percent) said their views on same-sex marriage have shifted over time, something that was equally true of Mormons and non-Mormons. Overwhelmingly, people in both of those demographic categories said their views had become more accepting.
Mormons oppose legalizing gay marriage 32/64 while non-Mormons support it 76/21. On the lesser question of civil unions, though, they’re in sync: 65 percent of Mormons say yes versus 84 percent of non-Mormons. The latter result is, I assume, an olive branch by LDS members to gay couples to show that they don’t oppose all legal recognition of gay relationships, just the traditional concept of “marriage.” Problem is, it’s arguably harder to defend marriage laws from an equal protection challenge in court once you’ve extended substantive marriage rights to gays, even if your motive in extending those rights was well intentioned. If gay relationships are entitled to virtually every legal benefit of marriage except the label itself, a court’s going to find more often than not that withholding the label amounts to discrimination for its own sake, without a good/rational reason. The olive branch, designed to keep “marriage” as a separate sphere for straights only, actually weakens the case for it.
These numbers are interesting too:
Protecting religious conscience via constitutional amendment is probably the next phase of the great gay-marriage debate — maybe even at the federal level, as there are some Democrats at the moment who are willing, if only in the name of quieting critics of legalizing gay marriage, to rhetorically endorse conscience protections. That’d be fertile ground for social cons next year if the GOP takes back the Senate. The public supports freedom of conscience in this area overwhelmingly; a two-thirds majority of both chambers in Congress isn’t out of the question, especially since red-state Democrats don’t like being seen as anti-religion. Better move fast, though, before these numbers too slowly start to erode in a country that’s becoming marginally less religious.
The other poll result above, about challenging the ruling of the federal judge on gay marriage in Utah, is where the silver lining I mentioned comes in. Even in a state that’s trending towards support for legalizing SSM, people don’t like having the rules made by judges. The Supreme Court is sensitive to that, too. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has grumbled that pro-choicers might have been better off without Roe v. Wade, since that would have left legalization to the states and that would have built a democratic legitimacy for the practice that Roe, to some extent, short-circuited. The Court’s ruling on Prop 8 last year, in which it declined the opportunity to strike down traditional marriage laws across the country, may be an example of the same logic at work. There’s almost no question that SCOTUS will, eventually, legalize gay marriage; there is a question of whether they might hold off for several years if they see the public even in conservative redoubts like Utah shifting their way. Why open itself up to “tyranny of the judiciary” charges if it can sit back and let changing electoral demographics do the job? As such, polls like this might buy more time for other conservative states to keep their marriage laws, even though they almost certainly won’t last forever.",1026,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00308-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960495948791504
97cc53f8-a802-43b0-a7fd-c07871a4192e,2018-08-17T23:30:31+00:00,2018-08-17,0,https://www.sartainsheritage.com/category/property-listings/land-type/,"Offering the largest and most comprehensive marketing solutions to land owners preparing to sell.
Employing the most powerful tools available to locate properties that best meet our buyers needs.
Our habitat professionals will meet you on site to discuss planning and improving your property to best meet your management goals.
Sartains Heritate Properties offers an award winning and nationally recognized land design team that can implement all aspects of land development.
Our partnerships have been cultivated between companies that show outstanding leadership, service, and continue to go the extra mile for their clients.
Amazing photos of our clients and the game caught on properties we helped them purchase.
Since 1954 we have assisted our clients in achieving their financial goals weather it’s buying, selling, leasing or the development of tracts, we can assist you in all aspects of your land needs. We employ the most powerful internet, regional and local marketing tools available to ensure that your property is seen by the buying public... Learn more »
Sartain’s Heritage Properties, LLC.
106 First Choice Drive
Madison, MS 39110",218,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213158.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817221817-20180818001817-00083.warc.gz,0.902694523334503
4eaff424-e958-4ec7-a32b-a5658b06de9e,2017-08-16T21:51:34+00:00,2012-06-26,1,http://1christians.blogspot.com/2012/06/government-wants-to-raise-traffic-fines.html,"Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Government wants to raise traffic fines to RM2,000
KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — A hefty fine of up to RM2,000 awaits traffic offenders including for beating the red light, when amendments to the Road Transport Act 1987 are approved.
The Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2012 was tabled today at the Dewan Rakyat for the first reading by Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abd Rahim Bakri.
An amendment to subsection 79(2) was also sought to set the minimum penalty at RM300 and maximum at RM2,000 for motorists or pedestrians who ignore an order or traffic signal by a uniformed policeman or warden on traffic duty. The original act provides for an offender to be fined not more than RM500.
An amendment to subsection 26(2) of the bill is aimed at setting the minimum penalty for driving without a licence at RM300 and increasing the maximum from RM1,000 to RM2,000 and offenders liable to a jail term not exceeding three months, or both.
The proposed fine for speeding, under subsection 40(1) is RM2,000, from the original penalty of not more than RM1,000.
The Bill also included a new definition for an electric bicycle — “[vehicles] which cycles with pedal assistance equipped with an auxiliary electric motor at a maximum continuous rated power of 0.25kW, of which the output is progressively reduced and finally cut off as the vehicle reaches a speed of 25km/h or sooner if the cyclist stops pedalling”.
A new section, 76A, has also been inserted in the Bill, which gives road users the liberty to make a left turn at the traffic junction provided it was safe to do so. — Bernama",368,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102663.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816212248-20170816232248-00138.warc.gz,0.957883536815643
b965b03c-fa0e-4a7d-b5ca-b6a88c4ffe09,2015-03-31T09:41:27+00:00,2011-07-01,1,http://takingnote.tcf.org/2011/07/graph-of-the-day-americas-prison-problem.html,"Graph of the Day: America's Prison Problem
by Benjamin Landy
According to the New York Times, the United States has less than 5% of the world’s population, but holds almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.
The reasons for this incredible discrepancy are myriad, complex, and fiercely debated. However, we do know that prison sentences tend to be far longer in the United States than in most other countries, and that Americans are habitually locked up for petty crimes (like abusing drugs or writing bad checks) that would rarely result in time behind bars elsewhere.
Looked at as a graph, the numbers are shocking. Only Russia and Rwanda come close to the incarceration rate of the United States, which is easily the highest in the world. Amazingly, there are nearly eight times as many prisoners per capita in America than in Europe.
Adam Liptak considers some of the numerous explanations:
“Criminologists and legal experts here and abroad point to a tangle of factors to explain America's extraordinary incarceration rate: higher levels of violent crime, harsher sentencing laws, a legacy of racial turmoil, a special fervor in combating illegal drugs, the American temperament, and the lack of a social safety net. Even democracy plays a role, as judges – many of whom are elected, another American anomaly – yield to populist demands for tough justice.”
Many experts further attribute America’s extreme incarceration rate to the easy availability of guns, which contributes to a murder rate four times that of Western Europe, and the DEA's efforts to combat drugs. While the American incarceration rate held relatively stable from 1925 until 1975, at around 110 prisoners per 100,000 people, that ratio began to increase rapidly in the late 1970s, as politicians competed to appear ""tough on crime.""
In 1980, before the so-called ""War on Drugs"" shifted into high gear, there were only about 40,000 people serving time for non-violent, drug-related crimes in the United States. Today, that number is close to half a million, and still climbing.
View more from the Graph of the Day Series.",439,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00168-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952429175376892
a64c3394-ccd4-43ff-8582-0ecc4aa6ccea,2022-05-16T16:04:27+00:00,2021-04-27,0,https://www.kisti.re.kr/eng/news/post/eng_news/5217;jsessionid=Gj703JETDCNtJ5ADzL3y4vLUW1E6udFsdVCPN7EkqvcgPwhkp9noxRIi5pzBmt61.al211_servlet_engine23,"Cooperation with DISTEP for Regional Innovation박한철 2021-04-27 View. 24,191
KISTI signed a MoU with Daejeon Institute of Science & Technology for Enterprise & People(DISTEP)
to build a regional innovation ecosystem on April 26th.
This MoU is one of the efforts to play a central role in regional innovation by linking and spreading the tangible
and intangible outcomes of GRIs(government research institutes) industries in the Daejeon area.
Under this MoU, KISTI leads regional innovation by providing the nation's largest science and technology information
and world-class infrastructure, and conducts multilateral exchanges and cooperation in solving regional problems.
DISTEP is to play a role as a hub for regional demand and regional innovation.
Mutual cooperation will include
▷Research and exchange for sharing and utilization of national R&D information and science and technology knowledge infrastructure
▷Collaboration of research data management system based on the National Research Data Platform (DataON)
▷Supercomputing and data infrastructure joint use to support SMEs
▷Analytical models for technology commercialization such as ups, support for systems, and mutual exchange
▷Joint cooperation on competency diagnosis and market competitiveness analysis for SMEs' innovative growth
▷Human resource cooperation and exchange for mutual cooperation between the two organizations.
In particular, as the importance and value of regional innovation increases, the two organizations expect that
the Daejeon city will promote various convergence and cooperation with the local science and technology innovation
institutions to create food and jobs for future.
Kim Jae-soo, President of KISTI, said, “Through cooperation with the DISTEP and KISTI's infrastructure and S&T capabilities,
we will contribute to creating a region-led innovation ecosystem” and said “Now, for GRIs, innovation through national R&D is important, but it is more important to utilize its capabilities for regional innovation.”",428,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510138.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516140911-20220516170911-00605.warc.gz,0.902269721031189
7fa473cf-fbea-4059-be93-b65ae3f80e94,2017-08-23T17:30:05+00:00,2017-06-30,0,https://drinkableglobe.com/tag/whisky/,"In honor of Canada’s sesquicentennial, here’s a little piece I wrote for Beverage Media. It’s a bit of a primer on Canadian whisky. And, while you’re at it, be sure to pre-order the second edition of Davin de Kergommeaux’s book, Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert.
One of the great surprises at the 74th Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America Convention was Sierra Norte, a new brand of whiskey from Oaxaca. Oaxaca, of course, is known for mezcal, but one particular producer and importer of the agave spirit has decided to make use of the Mexican state’s abundant corn crop and produce a line of whiskeys—a rarity in those parts. Caballeros, Inc. is best known for Scorpion mezcal (featured in my first book, The Year of Drinking Adventurously) and now it’s marketing a line of whiskeys made from yellow, white and black corn. I caught up with Caballeros, Inc.’s Barbara Sweetman who detailed the creation of master distiller Douglas French.
Now here’s a pretty pioneering move for a craft spirits outfit.
New York City’s Kings County Distillery has become one of the rare craft distillers to join the exclusive Bottled-in-Bond club with the release of its own Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon, available in allocated quantities in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, DC, Delaware, Kentucky and Tennessee.",334,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123312.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823171414-20170823191414-00224.warc.gz,0.883052885532379
8bc019ca-5a62-493a-b74c-c3b6f9d3ccd1,2015-03-30T10:41:16+00:00,2014-06-05,1,http://www.inautonews.com/bmw-starts-selling-the-i8-as-tesla-threatens-its-position,"While the California-automaker’s Model S doesn’t command the sales of a traditional luxury brand, like BMW, its innovative business model threatens the established luxury segment players.
More so, BMW, which is the world’s biggest premium automaker, could be shaken by Tesla’s advances in the luxury segment, as – just like the US battery-car maker – the German company is a lone automaker, not backed by a huge multinational group, like Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
“Germany’s premium automakers feel Tesla’s rise more keenly because they’re expected to be the biggest innovators,” said Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Bankhaus Metzler. “Tesla will be able to win over people who’d normally buy a BMW. Even in Germany, people are lining up to test drive” the Model S.
Today, BMW’s best asset against the unconventional Tesla Model S is the $135,700 i8 hybrid – the maker’s first true sports car in three decades and the pinnacle of technology for BMW. The combination of an electric motor with conventional gasoline power and the lightweight carbon-fiber frame enables the i8 to reach a fuel economy that surpasses that of a Prius, while commending acceleration times worthy of a Porsche 911.
While the $63,570 Model S can go for 265 emission-free miles, the i8, launched today during an event near BMW’s Munich headquarters, can only go the same for 23 miles (37 km), but adds to the balance perks like the wing doors and optional laser headlights.
by Aurel Niculescu
) - Thursday, June 5th, 2014 - filed under BMW
. Image credit: .
Discuss: BMW starts selling the i8 as Tesla threatens its position",390,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00245-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.891149401664734
4d5e7bb0-135b-4b0e-9ec3-6522fffafa18,2013-05-19T02:33:40+00:00,2012-07-03,1,http://www.mercurynews.com/southbayfootball/ci_21002189/san-francisco-49ers-win-restraining-order-30-million,"SACRAMENTO -- The San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday scored their first victory in the team's fight with South Bay leaders to wrestle back $30 million in stadium funds, as a judge barred local school districts from spending the money and signaled he may soon give it to the team.
The decision to temporarily put the tax funds under lock and key follows an impassioned public debate over whether the redevelopment money should be used on the Santa Clara stadium or local schools. The judge presiding over the case set a July 27 hearing at which he may rule on the 49ers' claim that the team should get the funds because voters had earmarked the money specifically for the stadium.
""This is a powerful argument, and one that may prevail,"" said Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly.
That would be a stinging defeat for a new oversight board made up of two Santa Clara officials and five officials from boards and agencies around Santa Clara County, from community college districts to the tax collector's office.
No one representing the board spoke at Tuesday's hearing, and the board has yet to hire an attorney.
""We're hoping that the oversight board will appoint counsel to better represent its interests,"" said Orry Korb, an attorney for the county auditor-controller's office who showed up to defend a county official named in the suit.
The saga began June 22, when the oversight board decided to snatch the funds in hopes of spending it
But the team last week filed an emergency lawsuit, arguing that Santa Clara voters approved the funds for the stadium in 2010, two years before the new redevelopment laws took effect.
Connelly ended Tuesday afternoon's hearing by granting the 49ers' request for a temporary restraining order to freeze the money for at least the next few weeks. The team and the oversight board will now fight over which group is the rightful owner of the funds, and Connelly could rule on the issue as soon as the July 27 hearing.
The team released a statement, calling Connelly's decision Tuesday ""a step in the right direction.""
""We remain optimistic that when the merits of the case are heard, the court will support the (voters') overwhelming decision,"" the 49ers said.
Connelly asked the team's attorneys if in the larger scheme of the $1.2 billion project, a loss of $30 million is ""reasonable harm to this project?""
Replied Niners attorney Jonathan Bass: ""It doesn't become ignorable simply by the fact that the (team) has other funds it can access.""
Connelly said he was also concerned that the oversight board may have violated the Brown Act, the state's open-meetings law, saying its hasty decision to redirect the funds raised questions.
The funding is ""of high interest to the community, and there was not a brief general description of, 'Hey, we're looking to terminate these contracts,' "" Connelly said.
The team says the struggle over the money will not affect stadium construction in Santa Clara. The Niners broke ground in April and are expected to open the new field in two years.",631,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97049343585968
73a65061-16b0-423a-adc4-585d62b0e696,2015-03-27T17:56:45+00:00,2012-12-05,0,http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/05/world/europe/uk-royal-prank-call/?c=&page=2,"- Australian DJs say they were surprised their call with ""terrible accents"" was put through
- The radio station apologizes, says the call was ""done with light-hearted intentions""
- The hospital says it ""deeply regrets"" the prank call getting through to the ward
- A nurse at King Edward VII Hospital gives DJs details of Catherine's condition
Two Australian radio DJs made a prank call to the hospital where Prince William's pregnant wife, Catherine, is staying with acute morning sickness, claiming to be Queen Elizabeth II and her son, Prince Charles.
The DJs, from Sydney's 2Day FM station, succeeded in getting through to Kate's private nurse at King Edward VII Hospital and had a brief conversation that included some details of her condition, according to audio of the call posted online.
The hospital issued a statement Wednesday confirming that the hoax call had been transferred to a ward in the early hours of Tuesday morning and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff.
The hospital ""deeply regrets"" the incident, it said.
John Lofthouse, chief executive at the hospital, is quoted as saying: ""This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore. We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols.""
Prince William's office at Clarence House has not commented on the incident.
The radio show posted an apology for the call on its official Twitter feed Wednesday, and issued a statement.
""2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the enquiry to Kate's hospital, the radio segment was done with light-hearted intentions, we wish Kate and her family all the best and we're glad to hear she's doing well,"" it said.
The two DJs, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, are quoted as saying: ""We were very surprised that our call was put through, we thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents.""
An earlier tweet by 2Day FM had described it as a ""hilarious prank.""
Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is still receiving treatment after she was admitted to the hospital Monday with hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition which involves nausea and vomiting more severe than the typical morning sickness many women suffer during early pregnancy
Audio of the call posted online reveals that the nurse, sounding nervous, divulged general details of Kate's condition and care.
She also tells DJs, who host the Summer 30 show on 2Day FM, what time William left the previous evening and suggests they visit after 9 a.m. that day.
The incident is bound to raise concerns over security and privacy provisions at the hospital.
Greig, who impersonated the queen, exclaims after the call ends: ""She was giving us real information!""
The conversation was conducted in poorly done English accents and with frequent references to ""Charles"" walking the queen's corgis, her much-loved dogs, but it did not appear to raise alarm bells with hospital staff.
The DJs commented on how easy it was to make the prank call.
The queen was previously the object of a prank call in 1995, when Canadian DJ Pierre Brassard got through to Buckingham Palace pretending to be then-Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
According to UK media reports at the time, they spoke for about quarter of an hour and discussed an upcoming referendum on independence for Quebec.
The palace said Monday that Catherine, 30, is likely to remain in the hospital for several days.
The duchess is not yet 12 weeks pregnant, Clarence House told CNN, so the palace is not announcing a due date for the child.
William and Catherine's child will be next in line to the British throne after William, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl.
Planned changes to the law of succession that end the tradition of a boy jumping over an elder sister are already de facto in effect, the British Cabinet Office said.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Tuesday that all 16 countries that recognize the British monarch as their head of state have formally agreed to the change and British lawmakers will change the rules as soon as possible.
Clegg also said that the change in succession will allow someone in line to the throne to marry a Catholic -- but not to be a Catholic. The Church of England is the nation's official church. It split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century.",908,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00225-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973315894603729
980d1d3c-3094-4f60-8186-142e03ee5bd2,2022-05-23T23:43:54+00:00,2011-05-18,0,https://thekellangroup.com/thewheel/,"The theme for this week’s blog is a little esoteric.The Liberal Party of Canada and the Bloc Quebecois have just project managed themselves into obscurity. Both parties will be invisible for the next four – five years.
The lessons that they should have learned:
- Vision is Crucial to Success. The Liberal party platform was too detailed for success. When you write the new one, remember you must tell me “What I Will Have When I Vote For You”. Make the vision one that resonates. Make it short. There is nothing like a good tag line.
- Legacy ideas aren’t de rigueur. The political landscape has changed a lot in the last 20 years. Platforms that used to get out the vote just don’t work anymore. The average voter isn’t interested in the history of the party but ”what it can do for me today”. From my perspective, it had better be about reducing the deficit and taxes. If you reduce my taxes, I could pay for the things that you now give grants for. I don’t need my government to be my babysitter and caretaker.
- The Status Quo is dead. We won’t settle for leaders and platforms anymore. Ask me what three things keep me up at night. There is an
old Native American saying “never judge a person unless you have walked a 1000 steps in their moccasins”. Stop telling me what is good for me and listen when I tell you what I want. Don’t polish it into a platform that I can’t
in all good conscious support.
- Grow the Party with Innovative Ideas. If you want new members, stop recycling leaders, interim leaders and those groomed by the establishment. Stop picking policies that are a flash in the pan. Just in case you wondered, it is time for a National Action Committee on the Status of People. As politically incorrect as that statement is, discrimination knows no gender, race, creed or orientation. It is finally time for all people to be equal.
One of my favourite cartoon characters is Marvin the Martian. He has many things that would make a good leader such as tenacity, a thick skin, focus and the ability to exclude reality from any situation. But, he is also the densest character when it comes to observing the situation around him and learning from previous experience. In a very real sense, the Liberal party machine did everything right and everything wrong at the same time. But like Marvin the Martian, they continue to follow a plan that isn’t working. For Marvin, the Earth was the objective only the workflow needed improvement. With the Liberal Party, we had Canada as the objective but the program need serious balance.
We are Canadians and what works in one part of the country won’t work in another. Stop picking programs intended to cater to special interest groups and get back to being the party of all Canadians.
Mr. Harper and Mr. Layton don’t get comfortable. Your turn is coming again. The Pirate Party of Canada will start looking better to young Canadians as Jack Sparrow continues to fill the movie screens of the world.",662,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00608.warc.gz,0.950384199619293
fffc90d5-bfc7-45f9-8ff2-f4c5e193b308,2013-06-19T14:38:05+00:00,2012-10-30,1,"http://projects.newsobserver.com/taxonomy/term/11145,4366,4366,20","North Carolina’s two candidates for governor began the final week of the campaign a study in contrasts.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, the state’s lieutenant governor, was on the attack and raising money, hoping a final surge would allow him to close what the polls suggest is a wide gap with his GOP opponent. Meanwhile, a buoyant Republican Pat McCrory, the former Charlotte mayor, hit a diner and a local GOP headquarters and warned his supporters against overconfidence. Full story here.
More political headlines:
--Gov. Bev Perdue is sitting on $1.2 million as Democrat Walter Dalton faces a 6-to-1 cash deficit to Republican Pat McCrory",144,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959262847900391
ff8036ee-70bb-458f-9e09-91df5c865954,2015-04-01T06:12:09+00:00,2014-05-01,1,http://phys.org/news/2014-05-flexible-supercapacitor-bar-volumetric-energy.html,"Scientists have taken a large step toward making a fiber-like energy storage device that can be woven into clothing and power wearable medical monitors, communications equipment or other small electronics.
The device is a supercapacitor—a cousin to the battery. This one packs an interconnected network of graphene and carbon nanotubes so tightly that it stores energy comparable to some thin-film lithium batteries—an area where batteries have traditionally held a large advantage.
The product's developers, engineers and scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, Tsinghua University in China, and Case Western Reserve University in the United States, believe the storage capacity by volume (called volumetric energy density) is the highest reported for carbon-based microscale supercapacitors to date: 6.3 microwatt hours per cubic millimeter.
The device also maintains the advantage of charging and releasing energy much faster than a battery. The fiber-structured hybrid materials offer huge accessible surface areas and are highly conductive.
The researchers have developed a way to continuously produce the flexible fiber, enabling them to scale up production for a variety of uses. To date, they've made 50-meter long fibers, and see no limits on length.
They envision the fiber supercapacitor could be woven into clothing to power medical devices for people at home, or communications devices for soldiers in the field. Or, they say, the fiber could be a space-saving power source and serve as ""energy-carrying wires"" in medical implants.
Yuan Chen, a professor of chemical engineering at NTU led the new study, working with Dingshan Yu, Kunli Goh, Hong Wang, Li Wei and Wenchao Jiang at NTU; Qiang Zhang at Tsinghua; and Liming Dai at Case Western Reserve. The scientists report their research in Nature Nanotechnology.
Dai, a professor of macromolecular science and engineering at Case Western Reserve and a co-author of the paper, explained that most supercapacitors have high power density but low energy density, which means they can charge quickly and give a boost of power, but don't last long. Conversely, batteries have high energy density and low power density, which means they can last a long time, but don't deliver a large amount of energy quickly.
Microelectronics to electric vehicles can benefit from energy storage devices that offer high power and high energy density. That's why researchers are working to develop a device that offers both.
To continue to miniaturize electronics, industry needs tiny energy storage devices with large volumetric energy densities.
By mass, supercapacitors might have comparable energy storage, or energy density, to batteries. But because they require large amounts of accessible surface area to store energy, they have always lagged badly in energy density by volume.
To improve the energy density by volume, the researchers designed a hybrid fiber.
A solution containing acid-oxidized single-wall nanotubes, graphene oxide and ethylenediamine, which promotes synthesis and dopes graphene with nitrogen, is pumped through a flexible narrow reinforced tube called a capillary column and heated in an oven for six hours.
Sheets of graphene, one to a few atoms thick, and aligned, single-walled carbon nanotubes self-assemble into an interconnected prorous network that run the length of the fiber.
The arrangement provides huge amounts of accessible surface area—396 square meters per gram of hybrid fiber—for the transport and storage of charges.
But the materials are tightly packed in the capillary column and remain so as they're pumped out, resulting in the high volumetric energy density.
The process using multiple capillary columns will enable the engineers to make fibers continuously and maintain consistent quality, Chen said.
The researchers have made fibers as long as 50 meters and found they remain flexible with high capacity of 300 Farad per cubic centimeter.
In testing, they found that three pairs of fibers arranged in series tripled the voltage while keeping the charging/discharging time the same.
Three pairs of fibers in parallel tripled the output current and tripled the charging/discharging time, compared to a single fiber operated at the same current density.
When they integrate multiple pairs of fibers between two electrodes, the ability to store electricity, called capacitance, increased linearly according to the number of fibers used.
Using a polyvinyl alcohol /phosphoric acid gel as an electrolyte, a solid-state micro-supercapacitor made from a pair of fibers offered a volumetric density of 6.3 microwatt hours per cubic millimeter, which is comparable to that of a 4-volt-500-microampere-hour thin film lithium battery.
The fiber supercapacitor demonstrated ultrahigh energy-density value, while maintaining the high power density and cycle stability.
""We have tested the fiber device for 10,000 charge/discharge cycles, and the device retains about 93 percent of its original performance,"" Yu said, "" while conventional rechargeable batteries have a lifetime of less than 1000 cycles.""
The team also tested the device for flexible energy storage. The device was subjected to constant mechanical stress and its performance was evaluated. ""The fiber supercapacitor continues to work without performance loss, even after bending hundreds of times,"" Yu said.
""Because they remain flexible and structurally consistent over their length, the fibers can also be woven into a crossing pattern into clothing for wearable devices in smart textiles."" Chen said.
Such clothing could power biomedical monitoring devices a patient wears at home, providing information to a doctor at a hospital, Dai said. Woven into uniforms, the battery-like supercapacitors could power displays or transistors used for communication.
The researchers are now expanding their efforts. They plan to scale up the technology for low-cost, mass production of the fibers aimed at commercializing high-performance micro-supercapacitors.
In addition, ""The team is also interested in testing these fibers for multifunctional applications, including batteries, solar cells, biofuel cells, and sensors for flexible and wearable optoelectronic systems,"" Dai said. ""Thus, we have opened up many possibilities and still have a lot to do.""
Explore further: High-performance, low-cost ultracapacitors built with graphene and carbon nanotubes
More information: Paper: Scalable synthesis of hierarchically structured carbon nanotube–graphene fibres for capacitive energy storage, dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.93",1361,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00082-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.933777153491974
edec95e0-6d4a-477f-ae8a-655301d9c763,2017-08-22T09:06:58+00:00,2009-08-29,0,http://ultravwmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/08/win-this-engine.html,"Saturday, 29 August 2009
WIN THIS ENGINE!
All you need to do to win this Air Speed 1641cc Type 1 engine is answer the following multiple-choice questions and explain in 20 words, or less, why you need a new engine for your VW!
> 1. What torque figure were our connecting rod nuts torqued to? a) 32ft lbs, b) 15ft lbs, c) 300ft lbs
> 2. What diameter are our 1641cc barrels and pistons? a) 85.5mm, b) 94mm, c) 87mm
> 3. What did we set our valve clearances to? a) 0.06in, b) 0.006in, c)06.00in
> 4. What will you find an image of on the Air Speed homepage? a) a Camper b) an engine c) the Air Speed premises
You can e-mail your answers, tie-breaker and full contact details to firstname.lastname@example.org or post your answers on a postcard to Airspeed Competition, Ultra VW Magazine, CHPublications Ltd, Nimax House, 20 Ullswater Crescent, Ullswater Business Park, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 2HR",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110573.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822085147-20170822105147-00466.warc.gz,0.830072224140167
8a7ddffd-b376-4cef-9a59-7211d008c641,2022-05-19T06:10:00+00:00,2014-04-18,0,https://www.muckrock.com/foi/los-angeles-91/michael-ruppert-lapd-11352/,"|Submitted||April 18, 2014|
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the California's Sunshine Amendment (Cal. Const. Art. I, § 3(b)), I hereby request the following records:
Any and all documents mentioning former Los Angeles Police Department officer Michael Ruppert. Ruppert was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 16, 2014, in Calistoga, California, as reported by the Napa Valley Register: http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/sheriff-author-michael-ruppert-dies-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound/article_89508d82-c5ca-11e3-b327-001a4bcf887a.html
Please any and all documents mentioning Ruppert since January 1, 1993 until present, particularly any documents mentioning Ruppert's public confrontation with Director of Central Intelligence John Deutch on November 15, 1996 at Los Angeles' Locke High School. Please also include Ruppert's service records, any complaints made by Ruppert, about Ruppert, and any public or private communications mentioning Ruppert.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Please see the attachment regarding your request for public records.
Legal Affairs Division
Los Angeles Police Department",492,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00423.warc.gz,0.917646050453186
fba7e9e1-deeb-4c83-a119-11d694938c7e,2015-03-30T18:23:21+00:00,2014-08-06,1,http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/08/06/foursquare-now-tracks-users-even-when-the-app-is-closed/?mod=Tech_newsreel_7,"Hiding in Foursquare’s revamped mobile app is a feature some users might find creepy: It tracks your every movement, even when the app is closed.
Starting today, users who download or update the Foursquare app will automatically let the company track their GPS coordinates any time their phone is powered on. Foursquare previously required users to give the app permission to turn on location-tracking. Now users must change a setting within the app to opt out.
The update is an extreme shift for five-year-old Foursquare, whose eponymous app is known for a blue button that lets users “check in” to popular spots to earn graphical badges. That check-in feature is now gone, part of a new app Foursquare launched in May called Swarm in an effort to find a sustainable business model.
Instead of earning badges, Foursquare users are now encouraged to leave tips about the places they frequent. They will also get push notifications of recommendations of restaurants and bars based on places they’ve visited. A sushi lover exploring a new town might see suggestions on the best sushi spots automatically appear on her phone without having to open the app.
Tracking user whereabouts could arm Foursquare with more valuable data it can sell to partners and advertisers as it searches for new streams of revenue. The company hopes to analyze trends in where users go and what destinations are popular, and may sell that data to its partners, Chief Executive Dennis Crowley said in an interview.
But this type of persistent location tracking could scare off users who are growing increasingly wary of threats to their mobile privacy. A third of smartphone owners surveyed by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in 2012 said they have turned off the location-tracking capability on their devices, and most of those people were motivated by privacy concerns.
Foursquare’s app goes beyond location-tracking features offered by competitors. Social apps like Twitter collect GPS coordinates to give users the option of sharing their location with friends, but don’t collect this data when the app is off. When Facebook introduced a “nearby friends” tool on its mobile app earlier this year, it required uses to opt in to the feature.
Crowley says more users will be willing to share their location because they’re getting a more valuable service in return.
“It’s been our philosophy since we started that as long as we are recycling the data back to people, people will be interested in using the services,” the CEO said. “You can’t just collect a lot of information off people and not doing anything with it. It’s not a fair trade.”
That tradeoff wasn’t provided by Goldenshores, the developer of a flashlight app for Android phones which collected users’ location data and gave no clear explanation for why. The Federal Trade Commission settled with the company, mandating that it “clearly and prominently” explain to users why and how it collects such data.
Your real-time location is not shared on the Foursquare app. If you write a tip, like or otherwise interact with a place, users may infer that you have been to that location. Some content, like tips, are time stamped and other users could use that information to infer when you were at a place even though tips can be posted when you aren’t at the place you are leaving a tip about.
Foursquare may need to take extra steps to educate users the privacy implications of its new app, said Justin Brookman, director of the Center for Democracy & Technology’s Project on Consumer Privacy.
“Persistent location tracking is the sort of thing that you should have to affirmatively decide to turn on, and if it’s not evident from the nature of the app, I think they have an obligation to clearly message to you that it will be constantly collecting location information in the background,” Brookman said in an email.
Foursquare uses your phone’s background location to help you find great places, and the best tips for when you’re there. You can change this at any time in your settings.
Regarding the data Foursquare collects, Crowley said trend data provided to partners would never include users’ real names.
“We might look at anonymized trends and say, there’s a high density of people who like ribs and Arnold Palmers in the East Village,” he said. Advertisers “might be really excited about getting their hands on that data,” he said.
Related: Douglas Macmillan has details on digits.
For the latest news and analysis, follow @wsjd
Get breaking news and personal-tech reviews delivered right to your inbox.
More from WSJ.D: And make sure to visit WSJ.D for all of our news, personal tech coverage, analysis and more, and add our XML feed to your favorite reader.",1045,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00072-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93730765581131
d18726d2-b2dc-4f4d-b526-2b0f28596183,2018-08-17T17:31:34+00:00,2017-12-31,0,http://www.marbleheadpediatrics.com/lyme-disease/,"Finding a tick on your child does NOT mean he/she will get Lyme disease.
Animal studies show that transmission of the bacteria takes at least 36 hours of attachment, and the majority take greater than 48 hours.
So DAILY ""tick checks"" will be your best defense, and should greatly reduce the change of infection.
Deer ticks have no preference for any particular body site, so you need to check from scalp to toe, including all skin creases and folds.
If you remove a tick less than 36-48 hours after attachment and the mouth parts are left under the skin, they do NOT contain the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, because the bacteria resides in the tick's gut and if the body is removed, this should be adequate.
The below ""Myths and Facts"" article about Lyme Disease is from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Know myths, facts about Lyme disease
Trisha Korioth, Staff Writer
When parents hear the word “tick,” another four-letter word often pops into their head: Lyme.
If you’ve already typed those eight letters into an internet search bar, beware. Next to child health information, you might see false reports about “chronic Lyme disease” from tick bites.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers the following truths about ticks.
“Chronic Lyme disease” is not a medical diagnosis. Some patients and even a few doctors think that “chronic Lyme” is the cause for lasting problems with pain and fatigue. But many health problems can cause pain and fatigue, according to Eugene D. Shapiro, M.D., FAAP, a Lyme disease expert.
If a tick bites your child (or you), you probably don’t need to take a Lyme disease lab test. To diagnose Lyme disease, you and your child’s pediatrician should look for signs of a circular rash at the bite area that grows to more than 5 centimeters wide. These rashes sometimes look like a bullseye, though most often they are red throughout, and usually appear seven to 14 days after the bite. Other signs of Lyme disease are facial palsy muscle paralysis on one side of the face or joint swelling. “Antibiotic treatment is very effective. Complications are rare. An untreated rash will last for weeks,” Dr. Shapiro said.
A small number of children have pain, fatigue, and joint and muscle aches after they are treated for Lyme disease. This is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. More antibiotics are not the answer, the AAP says. Sometimes, it takes months for such symptoms to go away.
Lyme test results are sometimes misinterpreted. The AAP does not recommend lab tests or antibiotics if the child’s only symptoms are fatigue or joint pain, or if no tick was found.
The AAP does not recommend testing ticks for Lyme disease. But if you bring the tick to the pediatrician in a plastic sandwich bag, she may be able to see if it is the type that carries Lyme disease. Follow these instructions to remove the tick, http://bit.ly/2wtGTDI.
Not all ticks spread Lyme disease. Two types that do are the blacklegged tick (deer tick) and the western blacklegged tick.
Ticks that spread Lyme disease live in certain areas of the U.S. Most cases are in New England, the eastern Mid-Atlantic states and the upper Midwest. Lyme disease spreads between spring and fall. Other parts of the U.S. have ticks that carry different diseases. Find information at http://bit.ly/2fOhyxp.
Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics",760,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212639.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817163057-20180817183057-00264.warc.gz,0.932264626026154
af9df634-47bc-4d7f-a4f9-900fc48201c4,2017-08-23T11:48:00+00:00,2016-10-03,0,http://www.mumblesandthings.com/chakra-blogs/2016/10/3/the-beginners-guide-to-chakras,"►►► Uhm… What the french toast are Chakras?
Have you ever complained about tiredness, or relationship issues, or well… anything really? If you said no, unless you are some perfect angel human, I don’t believe you. But if you said yes, I would tell you your chakras are out of whack. You can laugh in my face, you can roll your eyes, or you can just go get those doggone chakras balanced.
►►► But what are they?
Chakras, simply put (very simply put) are energy centers throughout your body. Chakra is the Sanskrit word for wheel. Each chakra can be visualized as a spinning whirl where energy flows in a spiraling vortex.
There are seven main chakras in your body. What are they? Working from the top, down:
Seventh Chakra: Crown Chakra
- Sanskrit: Sahasrara
- Affirmation: “I am one with my higher self and one with the Divine.”
- Purpose: Cognition, our connection and to spirituality and higher self/life/purpose
- Location: Top/center of the head
- Color: Violet/white
- Element: Thought
- Crystals: Clear quartz, diamond, Herkimer diamond, lepidolite, moonstone, sugilite, amethyst, sapphire
- Essential Oils: Francincense, helichrysum, lemon, melissa, chamomile, rosemary, sandalwood
Sixth Chakra: Third Eye Chakra
- Sanskrit: Ajna
- Affirmation: “I am tuned into the Divine to follow the path towards my purpose.”
- Purpose: Intuition/imagination/wisdom/ability to think and make decisions
- Location: Middle of forehead: between the eyes, above the base of the nose, slightly higher than brow line
- Color: Indigo
- Element: Light
- Crystals: Amethyst, blue quartz, charoite, lepidolite, purple flourite, sodalite, sugilite, lapis lazuli
- Essential Oils: Clary sage, lemongrass
Fifth Chakra: Throat Chakra
- Sanskrit: Vishuddha
- Affirmation: “I am speaking clearly and truthfully with grace and ease.”
- Purpose: Communication/self-expression of feelings, speaking the truth, holding secrets
- Location: Center of throat/neck
- Color: Blue
- Element: Ether/sound
- Crystals: Angelite, apatite, aquamarine, celestine, blue lace agate, sodalite, lapis lazuli, turquoise
- Essential Oils: Birch, lavender, oregano
Fourth Chakra: Heart Chakra
- Sanskrit: Anahata
- Affirmation: “I am giving and receiving love effortlessly and unconditionally.”
- Purpose: Love, joy, inner peace
- Location: Heart region
- Color: Green
- Element: Air
- Crystals: Amazonite, chrysocolla, chrysoprase, emerald rose quartz, green aventurine
- Essential Oils: Eucalyptus, geranium, lime, marjoram, melaleuca, peppermint, rose, thyme, ylang ylang
Third Chakra: Solar Plexus Chakra
- Sanskrit: Manipura
- Affirmation: “I am powerful, confident and successful in all my ventures.”
- Purpose: Power, self-worth, self-confidence, self-esteem
- Location: Slightly above the navel
- Color: Yellow
- Element: Fire
- Crystals: Amber, golden topaz, sunstone, citrine, yellow calcite
- Essential Oils: Bergamont, cassia, clove, coriander, fennel, ginger, grapefruit, juniper berry, wintergreen
Second Chakra: Sacral Chakra
- Sanskrit: Svadhistana
- Affirmation: “I am authentically creating a life free of stress and full of bliss.”
- Purpose: Authentic creation, creator, soul fire, sexuality
- Location: Slightly below the navel
- Color: Orange
- Element: Water
- Crystals: Carnelian, citrine, orange calcite, orange carneline, fire opal
- Essential Oils: Black pepper, cinnamon, cypress, tangerine, orange
First Chakra: Root Chakra
- Sanskrit: Muladhara
- Affirmation: “I am a divine being of light. I am peaceful, protected, and secure.”
- Purpose: Survival, security, stability
- Location: Base of spine
- Color: Red
- Element: Earth
- Crystals: Bloodstone, garnet, ruby, jasper
- Essential Oils: Basil, cedarwood, myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, white fir
I often shy away from recommending the use of chakra meditation to help solve the problems my friends and family complain about. I'm afraid they'll think it's too ""woo woo"" and therefore I must have gone off the deep end. Unfortunately, many of these ancient energy work practices (chakra healing has been used since 1500 BC!) are not considered viable medicine for the human body. Western culture does not put great emphasis on mental health but slowly, practices like meditation and yoga are becoming more and more accepted and common place. YAY!
►►► Why do I care about this?
Energy Work is the basis of many alternative healing techniques. Ayurvedic medicine, crystal therapy, Reiki and traditional Chinese medicine all involve energy work. Energy work can also be found in some religious and spiritual beliefs such as Hinduism and Buddhism. It is at the core of Feng Shui and considered an integral part of yoga (Kundalini and Anusara yoga in particular).
Throughout the world, different cultures deal with energy work. The term for energy may differ (Chinese chi, Japanese ki, Greek pneuma, Indian prana, etc.) but wherever you are, the idea remains the same. Energy work is the manipulation of the energy which flows through all living things, also known as life force energy.
For centuries, people have balanced their chakras in order to feel grounded, passionate, confident, loving, expressive, creative and spiritual. Modern humans have just as much or even more stress and chaos interrupting our lives making it easy for chakras to become blocked. You can heal yourself by connecting your body, mind and spirit to your energy. With unblocked chakras and freely flowing energy you can live your healthiest, most joyous life.
If you can understand this you can understand why people consider it important to work with their chakras. By healing and balancing our chakras we are actively working toward healing and balancing ourselves on every level. When you complain about being tired or a problem in your relationship or anything else you can discover the deeper issue that could be causing these surface challenges.
►►► How can I start healing my Chakras?
- Chakra meditations like this one:
- Yoga: did you know... many yoga poses are designed to cleanse the chakras?
- Crown: Silence - shhhh
- Third Eye: Om
- Throat: Ham
- Heart: Yam
- Solar Plexus: Ram
- Sacral: Vam
- Root: Lam
- Crystals corresponding to each chakras
▹ ▹ ▹ Check back for future posts in the chakra healing series.
Do You Practice Chakra Healing? Tell Me About It In A Comment Below Or Share It On The Mumbles & Things Facebook Page.",1659,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120194.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823113414-20170823133414-00372.warc.gz,0.882789969444275
fd6ee203-b920-4fa9-8cc7-152f4639c41f,2022-05-23T15:32:33+00:00,2022-05-23,0,https://www.thebossshop.com.au/spheerol-htb-12x450gm,"- A clay based, non melting grease for use in automotive and industrial applications that require high temperature resistance
- 450g tub for everyday greasing
- Meets NLGI 2 standards
- Ideal for working temperatures up to 140°C
Castrol Spheerol HTB 2 Grease 450g is a non-melting bentone clay based grease suitable for very high temperature applications. Suited for use within a very wide temperature range and especially at elevated temperatures for both industrial and automotive applications. The all-round properties make it suitable for various types of bearings, including temperature peaks up to 140C.
- NLGI 2
|Type||Greases - HTB|
Be The First To Review This Product!
Help other The Boss Shop users shop smarter by writing reviews for products you have purchased.",236,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662558030.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523132100-20220523162100-00017.warc.gz,0.83555006980896
c50f65c7-028e-466f-be49-445b17be9359,2016-07-24T09:21:40+00:00,2013-10-07,0,http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/daly-cherryevans-deserved-clive-churchill-medal-selector-says-20131007-2v3vz.html,"Test selector Bob McCarthy admitted it ""didn't look all that good"" that the Clive Churchill medallist from Sunday's grand final came from the beaten side, but he was also bullish in his belief that Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans deserved the accolade.
Cherry-Evans was awarded man-of-the-match honours by the four Australian selectors – McCarthy, Bob Fulton, Des Morris and Alan Smith – following the Roosters' 26-18 victory, prompting some sections of the crowd to boo the Sea Eagles player.
While he would not reveal whether the vote was unanimous, McCarthy – who said he cast his with about five minutes remaining – conceded that some selectors were more comfortable with the decision than others.
""We get told to pick the best player on the ground, and the best player on the ground was Cherry-Evans,"" McCarthy said. ""Whether he came from Easts or Manly ... it's just how it was. It's happened before. He was the best player on the ground.
""Every time he got the ball he was dangerous. If Manly had won ... there'd be none of this. Manly were leading 18-8, and it was Cherry-Evans.
""Then when Easts came over the top, it was still Cherry-Evans. No one really took it off him.
""Cherry-Evans was just the best player. I know it didn't look all that good, but that's the way it is. We're like the referees; we're not going to please everyone.""
Many believed the award should have been given to Jake Friend, Sam Moa, James Maloney or Sonny Bill Williams from the winning side.
McCarthy said he felt Moa was the Roosters' best but did not deserve the accolade due to his limited time on the field.
""Would you give it to Maloney?"" McCarthy said. ""What did he do? Twice he got caught with nothing to do, and he put the ball in the air and they scored a try. He was cornered. That was luck. You can't give a Churchill Medal for that, or for kicking four goals.
""I think Sam Moa was possibly their best player, but he played 45 minutes. You can't give a bloke a Churchill Medal for that. But that 45 minutes was quality.""
Of Williams, he said: ""Sonny was awful in first half. He came good with 10 minutes to go when Manly had their two front-rowers and Watmough off the field.""
Sonny was awful first half. He came good with 10 minutes to go when Manly had their two front-rowers and Watmough off the field.
Asked about the sight of Cherry-Evans receiving his award amidst a chorus of boos, McCarthy said: ""That's got nothing to do with us. That's the Roosters supporters. If they look at the game, and watch it again, they'll see he was the best player on the field.""
After the match, Cherry-Evans described winning the medal as bitter sweet. His bitter-sweet few days continued on Monday, when he was selected in the Australian World Cup squad. Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens even revealed the Manly playmaker could challenge Cooper Cronk or Johnathan Thurston for a starting halves spot during the tournament.
""Over a six-week tournament, Cherry-Evans will certainly throw down the gauntlet, for sure,"" Sheens said. ""But knowing Cooper and knowing Johnathan, they'll be ready for the challenge. Daly's shown that he can play some utility as well – he did that for Queensland this year – so it's not a matter that he won't be considered within a 17-man squad either.""",792,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823989.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00103-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.988928556442261
60d0e81c-9eda-4599-b930-935fb3e97522,2022-05-23T22:06:58+00:00,2016-06-28,1,https://www.businessinsider.com/isis-caliphate-declining-2016-6?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=aol,"The terrorist group has been able to hold on to some of the territory in Iraq and Syria that it first seized in 2014, when its rampage across the Middle East shocked the world.
But since then, ISIS's self-declared caliphate — the increasingly fractured swath of territory it controls and rules as an Islamic emirate — has shrunk. The group — aka the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh — has attracted thousands of fighters, local and foreign, with its message of ""remaining and expanding,"" but it hasn't been able to make good on its promise of world domination.
Days before ISIS's two-year anniversary of the declaration of its caliphate, the group suffered another blow. It officially lost control of the first major city it seized: Fallujah, Iraq.
ISIS maintains control over its major bases in Syria and Iraq — Raqqa and Mosul, respectively — but local forces backed by a US-led coalition are preparing to launch offensives on those cities as well.
""This is definitely the death knell of ISIS's territoriality as it was once known,"" Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a counterterrorism analyst and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider. ""The caliphate as it was is gone. They're not going to be able to hold anything like the territory they did before.""
ISIS is now looking to project power in other ways.
The group's propaganda previously urged foreigners to travel to the caliphate and join ISIS's state-building project, but recently, ISIS leaders have issued public statements saying supporters can be more useful at home.
""The smallest action you do in their heartland is better and more enduring to us than what you would if you were with us,"" ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said in an audio message released last month. ""If one of you hoped to reach the Islamic State, we wish we were in your place to punish the Crusaders day and night.""
These calls to action have inspired ""lone wolf"" attacks in Western countries carried out by ISIS supporters who plan their own attacks without any coordination with the group itself.
Switching from state-building to more traditional terrorism is one way for ISIS to survive and stay relevant, Gartenstein-Ross said.
Lone-wolf terrorism is also more difficult to prevent, making it likely that even as ISIS continues to lose territory, the group will continue to exert its influence by inspiring terrorist attacks on Western targets.
CIA director John Brennan said at a Council on Foreign Relations event on Wednesday:
""The FBI has a real challenge because there are individuals who could be in their home or have no interaction with other people but will be on the internet and will be shaped and influenced by what they're seeing in terms of this narrative.
""[They] will decide on their own, maybe with a spouse or maybe with others or maybe alone, to carry out an attack. And if they get their hands on a weapon or the explosive material, they can do great damage before the signatures that are traditionally associated with traditional terrorist groups are seen.""
It doesn't appear that ISIS has given up its territorial aspirations just yet, though. The group has been looking for other opportunities for territorial expansion and has established presences in some far-flung countries, including Bangladesh, Albania, the Philippines, Kosovo, and Indonesia.
It's unclear whether ISIS has a plan to seize territory in these countries the way it has in the Middle East. So far, ISIS's attempts to build out its caliphate have run into trouble.
ISIS saw some initial success in Libya, where it was able to gain control of the coastal city of Sirte. The group has established several thousand fighters in the country and begun to build out the infrastructure of a state in Sirte, implementing its harsh version of Islamic Sharia law and establishing ""media points"" to distribute its propaganda.
Sirte was said to be ISIS's ""back-up capital,"" a place where ISIS could base its operations if it lost Raqqa or Mosul.
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point noted in a report earlier this year that ISIS has struggled to expand into parts of Libya that are contested by other militias.
Still, the decline of the caliphate doesn't necessarily spell the end of ISIS.
Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, noted in his recent book, ""Islamic Exceptionalism,"" that while ISIS's territorial rule likely isn't sustainable in the long run, the group's legacy will remain with us long after the caliphate crumbles.
He wrote: ""Even if it were destroyed tomorrow morning, the Islamic State would still stand as one of the most successful and distinctly 'Islamist' state-building projects of recent decades.""
ISIS's project also transcends state-building. Amid upheaval in the Middle East, especially in Syria, where the civil war still rages and seems far from resolution, there lies fertile ground for extremist ideology to fester. Part of ISIS's success is based in the group's marketing itself as a protector of disenfranchised Sunnis, who are endangered by Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in Syria and government-backed Shiite militias in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Syria.
""As the Shia militias have been advancing, they've engaged in sectarian depopulation,"" Gartenstein-Ross said. ""The Sunni grievances are not going away.""
Cole Bunzel, a PhD candidate in Near Eastern studies at Princeton University who previously worked for the US Department of Defense and now writes about extremist groups, noted earlier this month that ISIS believes the ""cycle of Islamic State decline and revival"" could ""simply recur"" as long as the ideology lives on.
""America's victory will once again prove illusory,"" Bunzel wrote, paraphrasing a recent statement in an ISIS newsletter. ""If America seeks to claim real victory, it will have to eliminate an 'entire generation' of caliphate supporters the world over.""",1214,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00414.warc.gz,0.970847606658936
31fb5340-c23a-4752-986b-e4d563ae5464,2017-08-22T03:35:14+00:00,2002-05-31,0,http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/ct12.html,"New England Interstate route 12
Route 12 descends from NE-12, an early ""New England Interstate"" created in 1922. Originally NE-12 followed the west bank of the Thames between Norwich and New London, while NE-32 followed the east bank: the opposite of where Route 12 and Route 32 are located today. In 1932, these route segments were switched.
Between Gales Ferry and the Gold Star Bridge approach, Route 12's original post-1932 alignment was Military Highway, a road quite close to the eastern bank of the Thames. Since that road passes through a naval base, Route 12 was shifted eastward to its current location on Dec. 2, 1943. Military Highway stayed in the state system as an unsigned route (SR 428, then SR 628) before being removed in 1963.
Route 12 was the main drag between New London, Norwich and Worcester, Mass., until the cities were linked by expressways in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Now three different interstates (I-395, I-290, and I-190) serve the Route 12 corridor.
In 1958, the Connecticut Turnpike opened, serving Route 12 towns from New London to the ""elbow"" in Killingly, where the turnpike turns east toward Rhode Island. At the time, the state was already planning ""relocated Route 12"" to continue north toward Massachusetts.
Relocated Route 12 opened in stages throughout the 1960s and early '70s -- but the freeway was never signed as Route 12. In 1965, the state assigned Route 52 to the completed and future freeway from East Lyme to the Massachusetts state line. In 1982, officials in Connecticut and Massachusetts discussed designating Route 52 as I-290; however, the following year, I-395 was the number assigned to it.
Innovations in Killingly
West of the relocated Route 12 (aka 52 aka I-395), the real Route 12 once intersected US 6 in a half-interchange and rotary, both of which opened in 1958. The 2-lane Danielson Connector, since incorporated into I-395, connected the area to the Turnpike. In 1996, however, the rotary and grade separation were dismantled in favor of conventional signalized intersections. For more information, see Killingly (Danielson) Roads.
Route 12/117 freeway proposal
In the early 1970s the state studied the Route 12 and Route 117 corridor south of Norwich for a possible freeway. One of the main difficulties was finding a place to connect this highway to I-95 without getting tangled in other nearby interchanges. No freeway was built.
Beautification and revitalization
Reportedly there was a plan to widen Route 12 and Route 97 to form a continuous four-lane connection between I-395 near Taftville and I-95 in Groton; however, I've never found more information about it.
Here's to our Submariners
In May 2002, the state legislature's transportation bill included a provision to name Route 12 the ""United States Submarine Veterans Memorial Highway"" between US 1 and Route 2A. ""We were kidding everyone that they liked Route 12 because of the bars,"" said bill supporter State Rep. Nancy DeMarinis, but the location is appropriate because of the Naval Submarine Base and housing near the highway.
This was approved in mid-2002, and now Route 12 is the first road in the nation to honor submarine veterans.",709,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109893.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822031111-20170822051111-00608.warc.gz,0.975165605545044
b7d970a6-5ec4-4a8e-8d9d-8208971edde8,2013-05-25T13:01:47+00:00,2011-06-09,1,http://www.economist.com/node/18805483?zid=291&ah=906e69ad01d2ee51960100b7fa502595,"The test of time
Which of today’s technology giants might still be standing tall a century after their founding?
IT IS not, by any means, the world's oldest company. There are Japanese hotels dating back to the 8th century, German breweries that hail from the 11th and an Italian bank with roots in the 15th. What is unusual about IBM, which celebrates its 100th birthday next week, is that it has been so successful for so long in the fast-moving field of technology. How has it done it?
IBM's secret is that it is built around an idea that transcends any particular product or technology. Its strategy is to package technology for use by businesses. At first this meant making punch-card tabulators, but IBM moved on to magnetic-tape systems, mainframes, PCs, and most recently services and consulting. Building a company around an idea, rather than a specific technology, makes it easier to adapt when industry “platform shifts” occur (see article).
True, IBM's longevity is also due, in part, to dumb luck. It almost came unstuck early on because its bosses were hesitant to abandon punch cards. And it had a near-death experience in 1993 before Lou Gerstner realised that the best way to package technology for use by businesses was to focus on services. An elegant organising idea is no use if a company cannot come up with good products or services, or if it has clueless bosses. But on the basis of this simple formula—that a company should focus on an idea, rather than a technology—which of today's young tech giants look best placed to live to 100?
The most obvious example is Apple (founded in 1976). Like IBM, it had a near-death experience in the 1990s, and it is dangerously dependent on its founder, Steve Jobs. But it has a powerful organising idea: take the latest technology, package it in a simple, elegant form and sell it at a premium price. Apple has done this with personal computers, music players, smartphones and tablet computers, and is now moving into cloud-based services (see article). Each time it has grabbed an existing technology and produced an easier-to-use and prettier version than anyone else. This approach can be applied to whatever technology is flavour of the month: Apple has already shifted from PCs to mobile devices.
The animating idea of Amazon (founded in 1994) is to make it easy for people to buy stuff. It began by doing this for books, but has since applied the same idea to other products: music, groceries, mobile apps, even computing power and storage, which it sells on tap. The Kindle may resemble an e-reader, but it is just as much a portable bookstore. As new things come along, Amazon will make it easy for you to buy them. Similarly, the aim of Facebook (2004) is to help people share stuff with friends easily. This idea can be extended to almost anything on almost any platform.
Consider, by contrast, three product-based firms. Dell (founded in 1984) made its name building PCs more efficiently than anyone else and selling them direct to consumers. That model does not neatly transfer to other products. Cisco Systems (also 1984) makes internet routers. It has diversified into other areas, such as videoconferencing, but chiefly because it thought this would increase demand for routers. Microsoft (1975) is hugely dependent on Windows, which is its answer to everything. But software for a PC may not be the best choice to run inside a phone or a car. All these firms are wedded to specific products, not deeper philosophies, and are having trouble navigating technological shifts.
Other giants are still struggling to move beyond their core technologies. Oracle (1977) was originally a database company, which peddled databases as the answer to all its clients' problems. But in the past decade it has moved into other corporate software, and hardware too. Now it aims to provide entire computing systems. Google (1998) knows the importance of an idea. “Organising the world's information and making it universally accessible” is its motto, and it is putting that into practice on mobile devices through its Android software, which is spreading fast. But Google is still heavily dependent on a single product—internet search and related advertising.
The upshot: Apple, Amazon and Facebook look like good long-term bets. Dell, Cisco and Microsoft do not. The jury is out on Oracle and Google. See you in 2111—provided, that is, that The Economist (founded in 1843, with the idea of explaining the world to its readers) is still around too.",956,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967129111289978
f2a39496-33c6-4217-9d13-0c42bb621787,2020-10-24T08:34:07+00:00,2016-05-06,0,https://juliepowell2014.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/one-photo-focus-may-2016/?replytocom=6525,"Stacy Fisher from Visual Venturing host this wonderful challenge every month, we are all offered up the same image and we all get to play around with it and there are some truly imaginative people in this group…..head over to Stacy’s page to check them out.
This month we are using one of my images again, taken down on Sorrento Back Beach a few months ago. It’s an OK Photo, but nothing too exciting…
So I took my image into Nik Analog……..I really adore this program, I gave it so many different treatments, I threw pretty much everything at it, wetplates, dust & Scratches, vignettes, frames, light leaks, focus blur………the lot. It gives it an old photo look, more in style with the age of this old building. Then I dropped the saturation right down.
And then just because it is a fun fad at the moment I gave it the Twirl Treatment!
Well til next time, happy snapping……..of if you follow the Twirl link there is instructions on how to to it, I know I have already got a few people hooked!",238,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882103.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024080855-20201024110855-00092.warc.gz,0.939434945583344
7034a41c-b12a-4cf2-9400-45e7777d7adc,2017-08-17T05:56:46+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://www.sistasblackass.com/white-studs-are-sharing-sexy-black-chick-108981_23.html,"presents: Skyler Nicole gets her mouth and asshole filled with cocks.
This page requires Adobe Flash Player
Download full movies here!
All galleries and links are provided by 3rd parties. We take no responsibility for the content on any website which we link to.",56,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00250.warc.gz,0.894177913665771
5b1b3501-fa07-442c-931b-e177af2161de,2020-10-23T02:23:56+00:00,2020-10-23,1,https://firstsportz.com/conor-was-the-toughest-opponent-khabib-fought-khabibs-coach-ranks-his-opponents-ufc-news/,"Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov is the current UFC lightweight champion, winning the title back in 2018 by defeating Al IaQuinta via unanimous decision. He holds a record of 28 wins and 0 losses, thus making it the longest undefeated streak in MMA. He has defended the title on multiple occasions, defeating some of the biggest names in the process.
His first defense was against Conor Mcgregor at UFC 229, one of UFC’s most decorated fighters, a fight which he won in the fourth round via submission. This was a heavily built fight that was made even more famous due to the post-match attack on McGregor’s teammate, Dillion Danis, by Khabib, resulting in a brawl between the two teams. The event would go on to be the most viewed event in history.
Khabib’s following defenses came against Dustin Poirier on UFC 242 and a scrapped fight against Tony Ferguson which was supposed to be held at UFC 249. He is currently scheduled to defend his title against Justin Gaethje on Oct 24th at UFC 254.
The biggest threat to his title
With all this hype, Khabib’s coach Javier Mendez feels that his upcoming opponent is NOT his most difficult. He believes that this particular honor should go to “the notorious one”.
He went on to say, “Right now I rank Justin Gaethje second, behind Conor in the opponents Khabib has had. But, I could be wrong on that, he could be more dangerous than Conor. Conor’s precision striking, to me he’s the best striker ever in the Lightweight division.
Gaethje with his wrestling, he creates big problems. Justin’s power, his guts, he’s coming to fight, he’s not running from you. If you’re not fighting him you can’t win against him. I am only ranking him number two due to the unknown. If we can take him down, he won’t be number one, Conor is. But, what if we can’t take him down? Then, obviously, he takes that number one spot.”
Will the eagle reign supreme in his fight or will he get his wings clipped? Only time will tell.",485,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880519.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023014545-20201023044545-00121.warc.gz,0.98380696773529
8a4cf9a5-d185-4aa8-bafa-98429735e496,2020-10-28T12:08:20+00:00,2020-10-28,0,https://www.adlersjewelers.com/catalog/beverley-k/r716-d/,"Beverley K Cross & Half Moon Diamond Band
Elegant and luxurious, this extraordinary band is the perfect way to say ""I love you to the moon and back"". Created by master artisans, it features elegant crosses and half moons silhouettes framed by hand milgrain. Sparkling pavé diamonds cascade along the rails with elegant engraved sides. This stunning design is available in 18k white, rose and yellow gold, as well as platinum.
Diamond Weight- 0.78
|Name||Cross & Half Moon Diamond Band|
|Department||Bridal & Engagement|
|Sub Type||Women's Wedding Bands|
Established at the turn of the last century, Beverley K has grown into a major force in the jewelry industry. Beverley K is dedicated to carrying jewelry of the highest standards and then ensures that this well-crafted jewelry is channeled through the better retail jeweler to the final consumer. We are fully cognizant of the needs of the consumer, via the retailer, and it is an integral part of our mission statement to, at all times, exceed these needs.",228,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107898499.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028103215-20201028133215-00616.warc.gz,0.869900763034821
7dc5b46e-9a71-4dad-8c8f-1793c89236cf,2013-05-24T01:46:27+00:00,2013-05-15,0,http://www.bhldn.com/shop-sale-shoes/heartstrings-heels?adjacencyDirection=previous,"as adorable as they look
as I wrote about the ivory versions of this shoe, great fit--esp in the toe box, the little puff can be revived w/a spritz of water+cornstarch (or maybe just water--I wanted them to be a bit starched looking,) then blown dried. the color is a delicate pale champagne-gold, and they're very well made (italian, of course.) excellent sale price of $80, as well. if you have size 10 feet, as I do, it's very difficult to find shoes that still look good at that size, and are comfortable, as well, but ladies, trust me, these shoes do the job and then some.
May 15, 2013
Fun and Fancy
These shoes are a little narrow in the toe box but the heel is a very comfortable height. The gold is very light, agree its more champagne colored than anything. The puff is fun and adds a touch of whimsy. They run true to size.
December 31, 2012
I ordered these shoes for my December wedding, and I am thrilled. They are comfortable, beautiful and perfect. They are true to the photos on the site, they fit true to size. I can't wait to wear them on my wedding day!
December 4, 2012
Elegant, Comfortable Heels
The shoes are a light gold, true to the photos (on my screen), and are nearly champagne. The sweet little ""poofs"" on the toes are so charming! The shoes are extraordinarily well-made and comfortable, and the heels are lined in soft suede for a comfortable grip.
I am between a 7.5 and and 8. The 8 was a bit big out of the box, but I added some hidden toe socks and will add a slim heel grip so that my feet don't slide around.
September 24, 2012",388,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966612160205841
cf076dce-787c-4cef-8d75-1d2b2984cb45,2020-10-22T06:08:01+00:00,2020-10-22,0,https://www.livingspaces.com/departments/rugs/color/orange?style=Modern%2CTraditional&width=%5B24+TO+60%5D,"Orange RugWarm up any room with an orange rug, whether that rug is bright orange like a citrus fruit or warm orange like an autumnal harvest. Orange rugs can come in a wide variety of colors, from bold and eye-catching to nearly pastel. Choose an orange rug color to suit the vibe and aesthetic of your space, or one that complements other colors, including red, yellow, brown and beige.
If you want an orange rug in your space, you can choose one that is solid. You can also choose one that has a pattern, including geometric, floral, quatrefoil, trellis or Moroccan prints. There are a wide variety of orange rug patterns, each of which lends the rug a style -- from contemporary, to transitional, to traditional, to cottage and beyond.",166,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878921.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022053410-20201022083410-00160.warc.gz,0.92090767621994
f1116047-66d3-4c2e-8e8f-d48bef70e1da,2019-08-20T00:19:42+00:00,2018-01-01,0,https://www.calblackalumni.org/ucb-baa-leadership,"Cheryl Wright, M.S., PMP
I am so very excited and humbled to be elected as President of U C Berkeley’s Black Alumni Association. It is an honor to be of service to both alumni and students. Previously, I served as Mentoring Chair, where I launched the very first Mentoring Program for BAA. I am looking for opportunities to strengthen BAA and leverage our collective social, political and economic power for all of our alumni; both near and far. I truly believe there is strength in numbers and welcome all to become a member of BAA. We are now a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization and are seeking corporate and private donations to support our programming. Please stay tuned as we build out our strategic plan for 2018-2020.
I graduated from U C Berkeley in 1983 with a Social Science Degree. Also, I have a Master’s of Science (M.S.) in Health Care Administration and a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification with the Project Management Institute. Currently, I am a Project Management Consultant specializing in Information Technology Security, Health Care, Insurance and Financial Services.
Darryl Dunn, MBA
Darryl is a native of Oakland and the Treasure of the Cal Black Alumni Association. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1986 with a Liberal Arts Degree, he went on to receive his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Texas, Austin. He moved to Atlanta, GA to start his career and relocated back to the Bay Area in the mid 1990’s. He spent the majority of his career in various financial roles with both startups and large companies such as of Commerce One, AT&T, Hewlett Packard, and Kaiser Permanente. Currently, he owner of Fab 4 Consulting handling various roles including partnering with a CPA Tax Firm, film production company out of Atlanta, and serve various private clients.
In his spare time, Darryl enjoys traveling, competitive sports, staying fit. He also sits on the board for the Fluegerman Bunnell Foundation which awards new MacBook laptops to needy deserving college bound students.
Vice President- Tammy Burns
Secretary- Shaneka Shelley
Historian- Dr. John Cooke, Sr.
Parliamentarian- Sherifa Freightman
Mentoring Chair- Rashida Hanif
Alumni Engagement- James Marshall
Recent Alumni Engagement- Jonathan Nussur",501,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315132.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819221806-20190820003806-00332.warc.gz,0.945897400379181
9a91cded-ce0a-44df-87b0-cc421fa30926,2019-08-20T10:16:12+00:00,2016-05-01,1,http://cormaindustries.ca/is-manufacturing-in-alberta-really-dying/,"I’d been a Journeyman Machinist for over 25 years, even before I purchased Corma Industries six years ago. I’ve noticed a disturbing trend over the last decade. It seems to me that outside of Oil & Gas work, manufacturing in Alberta is floundering.
As long as Oil & Gas sector was booming, the manufacturing industry was flourishing, but as soon as the biggest resource in Alberta dried up, so did manufacturing. And, yet, manufacturing is at the heart of almost every industry, in some way. Whether it be the automotive industry, infrastructure, alternative energies, mining, construction, avionics, aerospace, medical instruments, retail, agriculture or food and beverage, manufacturing has its hand in every industry.
So why aren’t the federal and the Alberta provincial governments supporting and promoting the heck out of the manufacturing sector? Canada needs goods and services to grow the Gross Domestic Product. But Canada has given away its manufacturing to the global market; places like China, India and Vietnam. Why are we giving our valuable resource to foreign countries? Because it’s more cost-effective?
Hold on, not necessarily. Let’s think for a moment about how important manufacturing really is to Canada’s economy. It supports economic diversity, investment and innovation. It creates jobs, provides value-added products that can be used domestically and/or exported to other markets, it contributes to the federal and provincial GDP, pays taxes and most importantly, it maintains and supports, our Canadian way of life. Why would we want to give that up?
Is importing manufactured goods and services really beneficial? When you consider import tariffs, transportation costs, unpredictable and uncontrolled quality standards, rising labour costs in China, the need Canadian customers have for shorter leads times, etc., bringing manufacturing closer to home starts to make sense.
Now, Alberta manufacturers do face some major challenges. It has been very difficult in recent years, to attract and retain skilled and engaged labour, able to handle fast turnaround times. In addition to labour shortages, a substantial increase in foreign competition has forced Canadian manufacturers to drop their prices to the point that they can no longer compete with foreign manufacturers.
So what do we do to bring manufacturing back to Alberta? Well, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters published a report entitled “Manufacturing Alberta’s Future” (http://www.cme-mec.ca/download.php?file=hujy5qec.pdf) which proposes to double Alberta’s manufacturing output by 2020. This report lists recommendations to revitalize the sector. The entire manufacturing industry in Alberta must work together to make these recommendations a reality.
According to the report, revitalization starts with sector diversification, innovation and investment. First, we need to promote local manufacturing to a larger variety of industries. There is a huge need for producing goods and services in Alberta beyond the traditional energy industry. Instead of just focusing on Oil & Gas, we need to create opportunities to support other sectors.
Secondly, we need to get the provincial and federal governments on board to make manufacturing in Alberta a priority. In her television address on April 7, 2016, Premier Rachel Notley alluded to investing in infrastructure and diversifying the economy, but was short on specifics. She never once mentioned supporting and promoting manufacturing in Alberta, through investments from the private sector and the government. We need to educate the government and the private sector about how important the sector is to Alberta’s economy.
Thirdly, the manufacturing sector itself will have to adapt to change. We may need to re-evaluate and revise our training programs to attract and retain educated employees adept at keeping pace with technological change. But we need to think outside the box to adapt to labour challenges. For example, if finding reasonably-priced, skilled and motivated labour is an issue, then we will have to invest in automation. This is scary, particularly for small manufacturing shops, because of the upfront costs of purchasing expensive machinery, but the cost savings can be remarkable in the long run, especially with the technological advances that allow machines to now run unmanned. Believe me, other provinces have already invested heavily in automation.
Not only does Alberta need to develop a reputation as a leader in the manufacturing industry, but we must also look for new markets and export opportunities as well. This will take a collaboration between governments at all levels, decision-makers in the private sector, educational institutions and manufacturers.
The ability to re-energize the manufacturing industry bring back this province’s wealth is possible and within our reach, but it will be up to producers to lead the way and bring about opportunities in Alberta.
I am the owner of Corma Industries, a machine shop based in Calgary, AB. We specialize in CNC milling and turning for a variety of clients in a multitude of industries such as oil & gas, exploration, geophysical, mining, alternative energy, research and development, agriculture, food and beverage, office furniture, aerospace, heavy construction and infrastructure, forestry, and more. Check out our website at www.cormaindustries.ca.",1050,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315321.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820092326-20190820114326-00522.warc.gz,0.950123488903046
176740ad-70d8-4b3d-875b-850b0da4079c,2017-08-20T10:44:02+00:00,2013-05-20,0,http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/05/20/Nightclubs-alleged-spy-mirror-in-womens-restroom-investigated/UPI-92691369078811/,"GLASGOW, Scotland, May 20 (UPI) -- Police in Glasgow, Scotland, say they are investigating complaints a night club has a mirror in a women's restroom, allowing male patrons to see inside.
The city council received complaints the Shimmy night club has a ""spy mirror"" installed so patrons can see movement and activity in a women's restroom, the British newspaper The Guardian reported Monday.
A visitor to the club, identified as Amy, told the newspaper she noted customers in the club's main room could glimpse inside the restroom, saying men ""were up against the mirror and making gestures.""
""What is even more vulgar is that the toilets face onto a private booth that can be booked out [reserved] to specifically leer into the girls' bathrooms while the girls are unaware they are being watched,"" Amy's complaint to the G1 Group, owners of the nightclub, said.
The Scottish newspaper Sunday Express reported several women protested the mirror after photographs appeared, showing male guests with a clear view of women at a row of sinks in the restroom.
A city council spokesman said its licensing officers would visit the club, and Police Scotland, the country's police force, confirmed it had opened an investigation, The Guardian said.",254,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106367.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820092918-20170820112918-00449.warc.gz,0.974253118038178
86c7436b-8bc9-4d80-852c-362ccc52cbfb,2018-08-18T02:34:14+00:00,2018-08-18,0,https://www.bluefly.com/sanuk-sanuk-womens-yoga-mat-webbling-flip-flop/p/515387501,"Sunset Sale is available until 5:30 AM EST on 08-20-2018 on select styles. HERES10 Coupon ends at 08-18-2018 at 3:00 AM EST. Previous and future orders excluded.
Free Standard Shipping On The Entire Site:
*Free shipping is available for all orders. International shipping and previous orders excluded. Free shipping will be automatically applied at checkout. Express and expedited shipping excluded from promotion. Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico orders do not qualify.
Simply log into your account to get started. If you're not a registered user, look up your order here.
For refunds to original form of payment, we deduct $7.95 to cover shipping costs.
Custom webbing strap with metallic webbing woven throughout and lining with soft webbing toe post
Foot bed made from real yoga mat
Happy U rubber sponge outsole
Downward dog meets upward grin. This is the Zen-inspired sandal that started it all! a super comfy flip flop made outta real yoga mat, now sparkling like a diamond. Sanuk the is a not so typical footwear brand born for thethe love of innovation and worn for the relentless quest to spread unconventional comfort to the far corners of the universe. It was in 1997 when Jeff Kelly, an entrepreneur set out to build a backyard brand that it was as much about funk as it was function, hip as it was hippie, and humorous as it was heartfelt. Sanuk is the Thai word for fun, and here you can have fun shopping for shoes that you can take from the beach to the barbecue and beyond. Sanuk is best known for their ultra comfortable, must-have yoga mat sandals and the original sidewalk surfer shoes, the world'sfirst andonly true sandal shoe hybrid. Because Sanuk is a way of life, here you will find it along with Sanuk's slip on loafers, flip-flops, slide sandals, printed thong sandals, and colorful slip on sneakers for men, women and children of all ages. Here you can shop Sanuk footwear in a full range of sizes, colors, textures and prints.
Ships from and sold by a Bluefly Marketplace Partner.",454,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213264.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818021014-20180818041014-00663.warc.gz,0.933574080467224
db480708-b97b-424c-a6cf-b80f643c4956,2015-03-28T19:27:59+00:00,2012-03-19,0,http://www.businessinsider.com/juked-by-medicine-2012-3,"This still moment on the verge of spring equinox, industrial civilization is taking a rest from its travails of finance and economy. The creaking and groaning vehicle of world banking lurches forward with its latest patch, the Greek fix, but the explosive resignation last week of a Goldman Sachs executive director Greg Smith, posted as an op-ed essay in no less than the New York Times, afforded a glimpse into the dark place where American values crawled off to die, like turning over a rock in a meadow to find the white slithering things that dwell there, and asserting a broad and anguished truth at the heart of our culture: all is swindle. In the still moment, the nation is digesting this discovery, and I think it will represent a turning point in the arduous plotline of the crime story that banking has become. It's also the moment of reawakening for the Occupy movement as it now struggles with what it is to become. I doubt that it can avoid turning angrily and maybe viciously political as it focuses its energies on occupying this summer's looming political conventions. But in this still moment I want to take a break from purely public issues for a second week and discuss some personal things: nutrition and medicine. I hope it will be of interest to some of you. Last week, after a four year misadventure on an ultra low-fat vegan diet (no meat, no cheese, no eggs), I turned around 180 degrees and resumed eating all those verboten things again. I had been feeling shitty for a long time, in particular with muscle pain, muscle weakness, penetrating fatigue, and some weird neurological symptoms and I decided to take drastic measures. This personal misadventure started about four and half years ago when my doctor read me the riot act on my cholesterol numbers. The total was around 290. I forget exactly what the LDL (""bad"" cholesterol) was, but it wasn't good, and ditto the HDL (""good"" cholesterol) and the triglycerides (oy vay). The upshot was that my doctor put me on a whopping dose of the most powerful statin drug, Crestor 40mg (made by AstraZenica). I left his office feeling like my identity was transformed from a healthy normal person to a prisoner on death row. I thought I had been leading a healthy life. Being self-employed, and master of my own schedule, I was able to work in a lot of exercise. For twenty-five years I was a runner. A hip replacement put an end to that. During that same period, I also swam a mile a day in the local YMCA lap pool. After hip surgery, I walked daily instead of running, kept swimming, and also did at least four weekly sessions in the weight room (including the cardio machines such as the elliptical trainer, easy on the joints). During the temperate months, I also biked many days of the week. Because I got so much exercise, I thought I could eat anything I wanted to, and did. I was a capable cook, having worked in many restaurant jobs during my starving bohemian years, and I could competently put together everything from a butterflied leg of lamb to a flourless chocolate cake. After receiving my ""death sentence"" from the doc, I went straight to the cardio diet bookshelf and found works by two of the chief authorities on the subject: Dr. Dean Ornish, the popular TV celebrity, and Dr. Caldwell Essylsten, a less public but also renowned nutrition guru from the Cleveland Clinic. Both of them promoted ultra low-fat essentially vegan diets. I used them as a guide for learning how to cook for myself in a new way. This largely revolved around vegetables braised in stocks rather than oil-fried in a wok, lots of brown rice and other whole grains (oats, especially), and the substitution of plant (soy) based protein foods like tofu, tempeh, and the various veggie ""burger"" products for actual meat. Plenty of salads, of course, and fruit. Of the two diet docs, Essylsten was the most severe. You were barely allowed to eat a nut. However, in defiance I ate the same lunch every day for all those years: peanut butter on one slice of our local Rock Hill 8-grain bread. Otherwise I was pretty strict with myself. Over the next several years I lost about 20 pounds (from 188 to 168 - I am 5' 10""). By 2011, my cholesterol was down to 110 total (about equal LDLs and HDLs), but I was feeling shitty all the time as described above: lack of stamina, muscle pains, cramps, etc. I was aware that I was getting old, over 60, but I suspected that these were not necessarily natural aging issues. I was having trouble remembering things, names especially, and at times felt like my brain was fogged. I developed neuropathies (tingling and numbness) in my hands and feet. I grew suspicious that these things were connected with the whopping dose of Crestor that I was on. There is, of course, a body of anecdotal chat on the Web about the evils of Crestor and other statin drugs, and in July of 2011 I decided to taper down and get off the stuff. By September it was out of my system. My doctor was rather cross with me. He assured me that an LDL level above 70 was a death sentence, should I get back there. Over the next six months, the brain fog and the name-forgetting went away, but the muscle issues and fatigue-and-stamina problems persisted. I was still on my nearly fat-free vegan diet. My theory was to see how far up my cholesterol would go on diet alone. In November it clocked in at 220 total and I forget the LDL number because my doctor was shaking his head and making clucking sounds as he reported it, along with his now-standard empirical warning that I was back in the death zone. So, all winter I staggered on feeling shitty and eating low-fat vegan. There is for sure a large body of counter-argument on the whole cholesterol issue, led by the author-journalist Gary Taubes (a supernaturally fit-looking dude). This argument states that fat is actually a critical and essential component of human diet, and animal fat in particular, which is crucial for the continual process of cell renewal and the processing of many other nutrients, especially many vitamins. There is also a range of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, that you can only get from animal foods. All of these things have a bearing on muscle performance and the health of nerve tissue, in which fats are an indispensible component. Frankly, I knew about these counter-arguments, but the authority of medicine these days militates the opposite way, and in these nearly five years I allowed the authority of my doctor to persuade me to drive down my cholesterol by all means available. I now regard this as a mistake, perhaps even a personal fiasco. I think I have done a lot of damage to my system and that it will take a long time to repair. But I am back in the realm of meat, cheese, and eggs. And, yes, I do eat a lot of vegetables, especially green and leafy ones, and I am watching my carbohydrates (but not eschewing them). I've also come to a conclusion about what started this whole long melodrama. At the time I first got my high cholesterol ""riot act"" reading, I was also eating a lot of sugar and refined white flour in a certain form. In the evenings, after a day that included at least two episodes of strenuous exercise, I allowed myself to eat Pepperidge Farm cookies and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I probably ran through a bag of cookies every two or three days and ditto a pint of ice cream. I now believe that my cholesterol numbers were high not so much because of the meat and cheese that I was eating, but because I regularly consumed too much sugar and refined flour. That is my current theory and narrative. So, I'm back to an omnivore's diet. (The first time I had real eggs scrambled in butter in nearly five years was quite a moment!) It's been about ten days. I can't say that I've noticed any marked improvements. As I said above, it will probably take a long time to undo the damage done. I'll check in again on this theme after a while and let you know how things are going. I'm scheduled to go in for another routine physical on Friday. I imagine it will be a contentious session. But I wonder if doctors are losing their legitimacy now in a way similar to the other authority figures in our culture: the political leaders, the bankers economists, the business executives. To get back to where I started this blog, all is swindle these days. And medicine, being the life-and-death racket that it is, may be the biggest swindle of them all.____________________________ My books are available at all the usual places.
Read more posts on Clusterfuck Nation »",1878,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297689.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00134-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974458038806915
3eaca058-8c2b-4ea8-a70e-7c78464a5d72,2018-08-21T06:37:37+00:00,2017-12-01,1,https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2017/12/01/saudi-arabia-reportedly-shoots-down-another-houthi-ballistic-missile/,"WASHINGTON — Another ballistic missile launch was cited coming from Yemen toward Saudi Arabia, according to Col. Turki-Al-Malki, the official spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
In a statement from the Saudi government, Al-Malik said a missile launched Thursday was intercepted and destroyed without causalities while en route to the city of Khamis Mushait. He believes this latest launch is further evidence of a “consistent stream of weapons smuggled into Yemen” and a violation of U.N. Security Resolution No. 2216, which calls for an end to violence in Yemen and imposes sanctions.
The Associated Press reported that Saudi Arabia has on multiple occasions intercepted missiles fired by Houthi rebels, who are trying to take over Yemen. The Saudis are leading a predominately Gulf-Arab coalition to restore Yemen’s ousted government.
In February 2017, the Houthis claimed to have successfully launched a ballistic missile for the first time at the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Last month, Saudi Arabia stated a ballistic missile headed toward one of its major international airports was shot down, though as with the recent interception, no damage or casualties were reported.
While Iran has indicated political support for the Houthis, the country has denied materially supporting them.
The conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has displaced 3 million civilians and killed more than 10,000 others, with AP reporting that the conflict is pushing the Arab world’s poorest county into even more extreme poverty.",306,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217970.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821053629-20180821073629-00566.warc.gz,0.957827627658844
86022396-bd5d-4b9b-8641-81a2eb6c809d,2018-08-15T04:23:08+00:00,2018-08-15,1,https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/metals-mining/hindustan-copper-eyes-rs-10000-crore-turnover-by-fy24/articleshow/65353947.cms,"Hindustan Copper eyes Rs 10,000 crore turnover by FY24
The company earlier this month had also announced its plans to spend Rs 5,500 crore to expand its production capacity by six times from 3.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) at present to 20 mtpa by FY24.
""We aim to achieve a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore by FY24 through capacity expansion,"" Hindustan Copper chairman and managing director Santosh Sharma told reporters here.
The company had clocked a turnover of Rs 1,700 crore in FY18, which will be increased to Rs 3,000 by FY20 and to Rs 10,000 crore by FY24 following completion of the expansion plans, he said.
Of the Rs 5,500 crore planned capex, around 50 per cent will be funded through internal accruals, Rs 1,200 crore through equity and the remaining through debt over a period of six years, according to Sharma.
Hindustan Copper at present meets 4 per cent of the country's copper requirement, and Sharma said the Rs 300-crore Gujarat copper project will soon become operational and add 50,000 tpa capacity by March next year.
Earlier this month, the government approved a fresh equity issue of 15 per cent by HCL to fund capex plan. Consequently, government's shareholding in HCL will come down from 76.05 per cent to 66.13 per cent.
Commenting on mines expansion plan, Sharma said, the company has reopened two mines in Jharkhand and Rajasthan and is looking to open more mines in near future, which will provide direct employment to 9,300 people.
""The company's mine expansion will further gain momentum as major tenders for mine construction and production is expected to be floated soon,"" he added.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Copper posted around three-fold rise in profit at Rs 35.21 crore for June quarter. Its net sales stood at Rs 397.69 crore, while the EBDITA margin was at 29 per cent.
The company's shares ended 1.25 per cent up at Rs 64.65 apiece on the BSE today, against 0.41 per cent decline in the benchmark.",458,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209856.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815024253-20180815044253-00300.warc.gz,0.961668252944946
10fd4fb8-325f-4a5f-a1c3-138a35399d2b,2017-08-18T14:16:24+00:00,2011-06,0,http://chinamatters.blogspot.ch/2011/06/,"For students of the IMF vs. Chinese theories of economic development, I think the details of the Chinese struggle to keep this project going in the teeth of Western disapproval strikingly illustrates some conspicuous and interesting differences.
For people who like a good anti-imperialist horse-laugh, there's this excerpt:
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a swipe at China in a June 11 press conference in Zambia, urging African nations to resist ""new colonialism"" and for foreign investors to practice ""good governance"".
""We saw that during colonial times, it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave,"" Clinton said in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, before flying off to Tanzania. ""And when you leave, you don't leave much behind for the people who are there. We don't want to see a new colonialism in Africa.""
Although she didn't mention China by name, officials traveling with Clinton said she wanted to stress that African countries should hold Chinese investors to the same standards that they apply to Americans and Europeans. Clinton said the United States didn't want any foreign governments or investors to fail in Africa, but wanted to make sure that they give back to local communities. ""We want them to do well, but also we want them to do good,"" she said. 
This declaration appeared at the same time that America's most conspicuous post-colonial initiative in Africa - the bombing of Libya - was entering its third month with a cost approaching US$1 billion and no end in sight.
It was the same week that the world got another look at the US exercise of good governance in Iraq, courtesy of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. The George W Bush administration had airlifted $12 billion in cash into post-conquest Iraq. $6.6 billion - more than half - cannot be accounted for. It is now assumed that it was stolen, perhaps ""the largest theft of funds in [US] national history"".
The LA Times reported:
U.S. officials often didn't have time or staff to keep strict financial controls. Millions of dollars were stuffed in gunnysacks and hauled on pickups to Iraqi agencies or contractors, officials have testified.
House Government Reform Committee investigators charged in 2005 that U.S. officials ""used virtually no financial controls to account for these enormous cash withdrawals once they arrived in Iraq, and there is evidence of substantial waste, fraud and abuse in the actual spending and disbursement of the Iraqi funds.""
Pentagon officials have contended for the last six years that they could account for the money if given enough time to track down the records. But repeated attempts to find the documentation, or better yet the cash, were fruitless. 
In the requisite ironic coda, it turns out that the billions weren't even American taxpayers' money. The US government pulled the cash from the Development Fund for Iraq administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The fund accumulated the proceeds from Iraq's energy exports during the Saddam Hussein oil-for-food sanctions years for eventual disbursement for the benefit of its true owners: the citizens of Iraq.
Tough luck, Iraqi citizens.
If China decides to take the US fiduciary meltdown in Iraq as precedent for its overseas activities, the bar for ""doing good"" and ""giving back"" to the local community is going to be extremely low.
For those keeping score, $6.6 billion is 66 million $100 bills. It is 72 tons of shrink-wrapped cash. It is the payload of three C-130 Hercules transports.
It is also the stated value of the Sino-Congolese infrastructure-for-copper agreement, trumpeted as the ""deal of the century"".
The much-touted neo-colonialist Chinese penetration of the Democratic Republic of Congo , in other words, is roughly equivalent to an American imperialist rounding error.
My article of the week before, Three gorges dam crisis in slow motion, looks at some of the TGD's highly publicized problems.
The dam is something of an overpriced fiasco. The reservoir is starting to demonstrate a lot of the unattractive characteristics of a stopped-up toilet. Billions of dollars will have to be spent in Sichuan dealing with the consequences of the dam: building more dams upstream to trap silt; constructing pollution-treatment facilities; stabilizing the reservoir banks to prevent landslides and dangerous, tsunami-esque wave surges; and maybe finding a new home for the port of Chongqing if China's hydrologists are outmaneuvered by the masses of silt marching upriver to the city's port.
The TGD is also a metaphor for big, bad China. The PRC forged ahead and built the dam in the teeth of post-Tiananmen criticism of the regime, its leadership style, and its economic policies as symbolized by the TGD.
So, international critics tend to pile on whenever some problem crops up in the vicinity, even when the link to the dam is tenuous at best.
In my piece, I take issue with accusations that the TGD was cause of the prolonged drought in the Yangtze River basin. Long story short, holding water behind the dam was probably a factor in the dramatic but temporary drying-up of the shallow floodplain lakes Dongting and Poyang. However, the dam did not cause the droughts. More importantly, with an apparent trend toward longer droughts broken by brief, severe rainstorms, the big dams will play a big role in alleviating rather than exacerbating droughts.
As I complained in my piece on the misreporting of the Dalai Lama's statements on the death of Bin Laden , there seems to be a tendency toward laziness blogginess in the major news outlets. Please, MSM, leave lazy blogginess to lazy bloggers!
...some outlets decided to use the Yangtze basin drought as a news hook for the story. As the Washington Post reported, ""Amid severe drought, Chinese government admits mistakes with Three Gorges Dam.""  CNN pitched in with ""Has the Three Gorges Dam created Chinese drought zone?""  Associated Press: ""China drought renews debate over Three Gorges Dam."" 
In example of the bloggy ""it would be irresponsible not to speculate"" writing that news outlets increasingly turn to in order to fill their pages and attract readers, Elaine Kurtenbach of AP reported the allegation that ""many villagers and some scientists suspect the dam ... could also be altering weather patterns, contributing to the lowest rainfall some areas have seen in a half century or more.""
A modicum of research - ie recollecting that the Yangtze experienced one of the biggest floods in its history in the not-too-distant past, that is to say 10 months ago - casts doubt on this particular exercise in empirical inquiry.
The Yangtze River basin historically has a surplus of water, not a dearth, and this situation is likely to persist. Research on the effects of climate change on the Yangtze River basin predicts that global warming - not the TGD - will bring more rainfall in brief, more intense episodes from the summer monsoon. It was therefore undoubtedly a matter of considerable but not unexpected relief to the government as Xinhua reported that the drought broke under torrential rains - as much as 10 inches in some localities.",1521,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104681.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818140908-20170818160908-00010.warc.gz,0.95852667093277
32d94cf3-dc53-4398-acae-99e327610459,2015-03-26T23:47:06+00:00,2014-06-28,1,http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/green/newsid=36272.php,"The latest news about environmental and green
technologies – renewables, energy savings, fuel cells
Posted: Jun 28, 2014
Physics professor offers $10,000 to climate change deniers with hard evidence
(Nanowerk News) A physics professor is offering $10,000 to the first person to present scientific evidence that proves man-made climate change isn't real.
Christopher Keating is a professor at the University of South Dakota who has been teaching for over 20 years and has taught at the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
He has been an advocate for climate change science for 30 years and recently published a book – ""Undeniable"" (see link on the right) – accusing climate change skeptics of using the same tactics as the tobacco industry.
""I have heard global warming skeptics make all sorts of statements about how the science doesn't support claims of man-made climate change. I have found all of those statements to be empty and without any kind of supporting evidence. I have, in turn, stated that it is not possible for the skeptics to prove their claims. And, I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is.
I am announcing the start of the $10,000 Global Warming Skeptic Challenge. The rules are easy:
1. I will award $10,000 of my own money to anyone that can prove, via the scientific method, that man-made global climate change is not occurring;
2. There is no entry fee;
3. You must be 18 years old or older to enter;
4. Entries do not have to be original, they only need to be first;
5. I am the final judge of all entries but will provide my comments on why any entry fails to prove the point.
That's it! I know you are not going to get rich with $10,000. But, tell me, wouldn't you like to have a spare $10,000? After all, the skeptics all claim it is a simple matter, and it doesn't even have to be original. If it is so easy, just cut and paste the proof from somewhere. Provide the scientific evidence and prove your point and the $10,000 is yours!
This is no joke. If someone can provide a proof that I can't refute, using scientific evidence, then I will write them a check.
But, I am sure I will never have to because it can't be proven. The scientific evidence for global warming is overwhelming and no one can prove otherwise.
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on reddit or StumbleUpon. Thanks!
Check out these other trending stories on Nanowerk:",564,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131293283.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172133-00130-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944187760353088
89a6417d-599c-4fa6-84c8-ed41dd249f3c,2020-10-31T08:20:05+00:00,2020-10-13,1,https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/movies-music-tv/83945/jlc-bea-reunion-movie-molina-a4362-20201013,"Cathy Garcia-Molina Has Confirmed She's Working on a John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo Movie
Are you freaking out because we're definitely freaking out.
(SPOT.ph) Will the John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo tandem ever lose their magical kilig powers? When hell freezes over, maybe. And when you add blockbuster-after-blockbuster director Cathy Garcia-Molina into the mix, you just know you're in for something special. The director revealed her current lineup of movies in an October 9 livestream with NICKL Entertainment—and guess what, she is in talks for a much-awaited Cruz and Alonzo film!
After being asked by a commenter whether she has any movies currently in the works, Garcia-Molina replied with an exciting list. There's one with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, one with Vice Ganda, one with Alden Richards (who might just be paired up with Alonzo, too!), and, of course, ""May John Lloyd-Bea.""
At this point, though, the director clarified that these films are just in the development stage. ""Tatlo na ang dumaan sa akin na puro meeting. Hindi po natutuloy-tuloy,"" she first stated. Garcia-Molina was quiet on which films exactly but fingers-crossed the Cruz-Alonzo reunion is part of the three currently in talks.
With the huge films now on her plate, the director explained that we may have to wait a while for production to start. ""Marami kaso hindi natutuloy sa maraming dahilan."" Health restrictions barred entertainment productions of any sort during the height of the quarantine. ""Ang lola niyo takot lumabas,"" cheekily added the director, adding her concern for her two teenage children studying at home.
Garcia-Molina was at the helm of One More Chance (2007), the film that starred Cruz and Alonzo as Popoy and Basha—and cemented them as an unbeatable love team in pop culture. They followed it up with a sequel in 2015 entitled A Second Chance, which has also been a pop culture goldmine for quotes and lots of hugot. Now what are the chances this current project could complete the trilogy we have all been waiting for (with whispers about it starting way back in 2015)?
The director had everyone fearing for their quality drama content in 2018 when she announced her decision to retire from the film industry. But then Garcia-Molina blessed us all with Hello, Love, Goodbye—starring Bernardo and Richards—the following year. All the titles under her belt definitely has us wondering what she and the Cruz-Alonzo love team will serve up next!
Main image from Star Cinema / One More Chance",595,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107916776.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031062721-20201031092721-00044.warc.gz,0.950298309326172
7280b0d2-e77c-446f-aea2-c94100dffed9,2019-08-18T13:54:32+00:00,2019-08-18,1,https://www.ge.com/reports/this-discovery-could-help-us-regenerate-body-parts-one-day/,"Pluripotent stem cells hold an almost magical place in the human imagination. These inveterate transformers start out in the embryo as biological blank sheets but change in developing animals and grow into tissues that become the brain, bones, heart, liver and the rest of our bodies. In culture, they can divide endlessly and differentiate into any cell type of the body.
Scientists have long tried to crack their secrets, which could lead to the Holy Grail of medicine: regenerating aging, diseased or damaged body parts.
It hasn’t been easy. Stem cells are delicate things that need pitch-perfect conditions to remain “blank” and keep dividing. Even the slightest disturbance can set them off on an irreversible journey to becoming, say, an eye. Worse, vibrations or changes in their environment can easily kill them.
Like a school of sardines, they also clump together. If they lose contact with one another or even the bottom of a petri dish, they’ll die unless pre-treated with a protein that inhibits cell death. As a result, researchers have been forced to construct delicate protective and nourishing matrices by coating their Petri dishes with cocktails of proteins, polymers or feeder cells.
But simple times might be beckoning. Scientists from Sweden’s Uppsala University, the U.K.’s University of Nottingham and GE Healthcare Life Sciences say they’ve unlocked the secret to keeping stem cells happy with much less mess and fuss. If it takes off, it could scale up stem cell R&D and unleash new biotechnology market applications.
“What we’ve shown is the next step in producing stem cells at scale for research, pharmacological testing and to eventually make cells to replace diseased organs,” says Cecilia Annerén, global product marketing manager at GE Healthcare and a researcher at Uppsala University, who is leading the group that made the discovery. “This is the first time that you don’t need to pre-coat the dish to grow stem cells.”
Annerén’s team discovered that a protein found in blood serum, called inter-α-inhibitor (IαI), can help stem cells attach, survive and stay undifferentiated just by adding it in solution to a standard xeno-free growth medium, no pre-coating needed.
By mixing these ingredients together with the stem cells, researchers can pour the solution into dishes and the cells will attach to naked plastic, a big time-saver in this type of work. The advance can shave a day off of lab time that is normally consumed preparing media and dishes to harbor the cells. What’s more, IαI seems to support survival, and cells thrive in the mix while remaining undifferentiated. “It seems that the cells really, really like this protein,” Annerén says. “We see better survival after single-cell splitting and the cells grow more robustly, which simplifies the process and saves a significant amount of time.”
This use of IαI is new for science. The protein is produced in the liver and found in high concentrations in blood plasma. It forms complexes with the extracellular matrix and is known to be important in the process of inflammation.
Still, obstacles remain for IαI’s widespread adoption, Annerén says. Purifying it from the rest of the serum, which itself is expensive, is required. Thus, the next task is to figure out how to make the IαI protein cheaply and plentifully, so that the discovery could help ramp up stem cell production. Then, researchers would have all of the magical cells they need to study life’s development and unlock new ways to treat injury and disease. “This is a jump for the field,” she says. “It’s a big deal.”
Photo credit: Sara Pijuan Galitó | Uppsala University",832,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313889.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818124516-20190818150516-00289.warc.gz,0.940116345882416
dfa1e2d7-f2c4-4a93-a236-af8ddb6095db,2016-07-26T02:37:55+00:00,2016-07-26,0,http://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.list/parentTopicID/63/display/current/changeNumber/0/sortResults/1/currentPage/2/sortColumn/dateIssued/sortOrder/DESC,"Generic Visual Glideslope Indicators (GVGI)
Contains the FAA standards for generic visual glideslope indicators systems. GVGI systems provide pilots with visual glideslope guidance during approaches for landing at general aviation airports.
Specification L-854, Radio Control Equipment
Contains the specifications for radio control equipment to be used for controlling airport lighting facilities.
Specification for L-893, Lighted Visual Aid to Indicate Temporary Runway Closure
Provides guidance in the design of a lighted visual aid to indicate temporary runway closure.
Low-Impact Resistant (LIR) Structures
Contains the FAA specifications for low-impact resistant (LIR) structures used to support approach lighting systems (ALS) at airports.
Circuit Selector Switch
Contains a specification for a circuit selector switch for use in airport lighting circuits.",182,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00235-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.725504040718079
4ae41cc1-11a8-49b8-8387-a03b63a2e1e7,2013-05-18T07:15:42+00:00,2012-08-15,1,http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20120611/ARTICLES/306119987/1040,"SunRail commuter line has cities hoping for economic growth
Published: Monday, June 11, 2012 at 5:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 2:19 p.m.
DEBARY -- Hardhats and boots are on the ground, moving in between heavy machinery and trucks to transform a vacant field into a commuter-rail stop.
The $1.3 billion SunRail project has left the station and is set to arrive in 2014. In DeBary, the northernmost stop of the 31-mile first phase, the sights and sounds of construction are building hopes the train is pulling development and jobs right behind it.
This morning, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a powerful advocate for the project, will join state, county and city officials at a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the DeBary stop at 620 S. U.S. 17-92. The event starts at 10 a.m. and parking will be available at Gemini Springs Park, 37 Dirksen Drive, with shuttle service to the site.
Those assembled will likely talk about SunRail as not simply an alternative route for workers to get to Orlando, but as a tool for economic development and job creation.
A second phase will stretch the line to 61 miles, from Poinciana on the south end to DeLand on the north later in the decade.
That infrastructure is the basis for state projections, including the creation of 44,200 jobs in Volusia County alone over the coming years.
The projections are also rooted in a national trend referred to as transit-oriented development.
In cities such as Charlotte, N.C., and Portland, Ore., such development -- a mix of high-density housing, office and commercial buildings -- has brought real results, planners say. But the Tri-Rail commuter train in South Florida, which started in 1989, has remained more of a park-and-ride system with financial problems.
Just how real that economic development will be for Central Florida, and DeBary specifically, is yet to be seen.
BUZZ IN DEBARY
With the train still nearly two years away, it's too early to gauge what kind of development SunRail will bring to DeBary, a city of 19,320. But the City Council has laid out a vision in the form of an Overlay District that will give potential developers more options than the current zoning of the land.
In trying to picture it, start with the station itself. The state's contractors are building a second railroad track next to the existing rail line that parallels U.S. 17-92. Near the intersection with Fort Florida Road, there will be a platform and a park-and-ride lot.
Within a quarter-mile of the platform, the only existing structures are a convenience store and gas station and a mobile-home park. Much of the rest of the surrounding land is vacant, some of it for sale.
The city's Overlay District encourages higher-density housing, such as apartments and condos, within a quarter-mile of the platform, and a mix of commercial, office and public uses also within walking distance, according to Rebecca Hammock, DeBary's planning administrator. The district would allow for as much as 32 development units per acre as well as taller buildings than are typically seen in the city, up to 45 feet for mixed-use projects.
All of the plans have come at a time of economic slowdown, so the SunRail has been viewed as a spark. So far, though, the flame hasn't ignited, say real-estate agents representing landowners in the area.
""The market is not there for DeBary yet. It's not going to be there for some time,"" said Steve Costa, a broker associate for Charles Wayne Properties Inc., which is marketing a 340-acre tract across U.S. 17-92 from the SunRail station.
Costa, who said he had proposed a 600-home development at that property that was turned down by a previous City Council, said DeBary would do well to start allowing more single-family housing near the station to attract more commercial and high-density proposals.
The full realization of a DeBary transit-oriented development might have to wait for the 11 other initial SunRail stops in Seminole and Orange counties.
Steve Olson, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said Lake Mary and Longwood are negotiating with developers at their stops, while Orlando has already attracted a nearly $500 million investment immediately adjacent to the LYNX Station site downtown.
""My feeling is you'll have buy-in once you have developments around those other stations, and they're successful, and you have decent ridership,"" Costa said.
But Mike Palombi, a Lake Mary real estate agent who is selling a 1-acre parcel near the DeBary station, said a hotter commercial real estate market is for office warehouses, not the kind of high-end mixed-use projects in the city's plans.
""I haven't gotten too much of that so far,"" Palombi said.
But DeBary City Manager Dan Parrott believes he's seeing the beginning of something.
""We're starting to get more commercial interest, at least more people coming in and asking questions,"" Parrott said. ""There are a couple of retail possibilities in town, not at the (SunRail) station. Most people know the train won't start running until 2014.""
CHARLOTTE'S TRANSIT WEB
While many of the other stops along SunRail's initial route are already located in urbanized areas, much of DeBary is undeveloped land.
City Councilman Nick Koval, who sits on the SunRail Technical Advisory Committee, is optimistic that his city's blank canvas will ultimately prove attractive.
""I think that in my personal opinion, that's a developer's dream, because (a developer) doesn't have that obstacle of demo-ing and moving things around,"" Koval said.
Eric Dumbaugh, an associate professor of urban and regional planning at Florida Atlantic University, said he doesn't know a lot about DeBary, specifically, but said the kinds of urban, mixed-use projects in Central Florida such as Celebration and Baldwin Park have been successful.
""These things tend to do well in Orlando,"" he said. ""There's no reason that wouldn't work.""
Transit-oriented development has worked in other communities, including Charlotte and Portland. One stop along Portland's MAX train line, Orenco Station in Hillsboro, Ore., has attracted ""high-quality"" development that's attractive to both retirees and younger adults, he said.
Dumbaugh has seen Charlotte's revitalization firsthand.
""There's a lot of infill housing coming in,"" he said. ""It's all relatively new.""
The Charlotte Area Transit System -- CATS -- line opened in 2007, and has generated about $1.4 billion in new projects, said Olaf Kinard, assistant director of public transit. Property around the line that had been valued at $6 million before construction is now valued at $18 million.
The East-West Station, for example, helped land an 11-story, 310-unit luxury apartment complex.
What's good for the community is also good for the train. Ridership is ahead of schedule, Kinard said. The 15,000 daily riders in 2012 is what had been projected for 2020.
Tri-Rail, a system built in 1989 between West Palm Beach and Miami in South Florida, has been viewed as a train line that has not lived up to the promise of transit-oriented development.
Dumbaugh said Tri-Rail remains a work in progress, with a lot of untapped potential.
""There's a lot of energy around redevelopment (near Tri-Rail) in general,"" he said.
The urban-sprawl style of development is now limited in South Florida by geography. There's the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Everglades to the west, and not many greenfield development opportunities left.
""It's a real challenge,"" he said. ""The real solution is going back to building cities. You need transit.""
One key difference between Charlotte's system and Tri-Rail is in the train's function. CATS is a light-rail system, with lots of stops, whereas Tri-Rail is a commuter train, with a park-and-ride lot primarily designed for people going to work.
SunRail will be a commuter line.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.",1802,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968774199485779
5475dbdd-fe68-4a8b-99be-1af171a1f413,2018-08-18T02:15:06+00:00,2017-07-01,1,https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/07/uk-government-grants-16m-for-5g-test-networks-at-three-uk-universities/,"UK government grants £16m for 5G test networks at three UK universities
Image credit: dt
The UK Government is to grant £16m to three British universities to build test networks and trial 5G mobile connections as part of plans to boost the UK’s digital economy.
Experts from King’s College London and the Universities of Surrey and Bristol will develop the network to trial the capabilities of 5G connectivity and assess its viability as the support for smartphones and other devices of the future.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the technology could also be used in the future to help communicate with autonomous cars and as part of smart home and city infrastructure.
Minister for digital Matt Hancock said: “We want to be at the head of the field in 5G.
“This funding will support the pioneering research needed to ensure we can harness the potential of this technology to spark innovation, create new jobs and boost the economy.
“We know 5G has the potential to bring more reliable, ultra-fast mobile connectivity, with quicker reaction times and larger data capabilities, and I’m thrilled to announce King’s College London and the universities of Surrey and Bristol have agreed to collaborate on this project.”
The DCMS said the network, which is expected to begin testing in early 2018, would be used to help make the case for the deployment of 5G in the UK - a technology it says has the potential to add up to £173bn to the economy by 2030.
Rahim Tafazolli, University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre director and the project lead said: “The University of Surrey’s 5GIC, University of Bristol and King’s College London are delighted to be delivering this initial project as part of the Government’s new 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme.
“This investment will ensure that the UK continues to be world-class in 5G innovation and development through to commercial exploitation.
“This exciting programme builds on significant investment and a strong foundation of 5G research and development across the three institutions.
“The programme will maintain and extend the UK’s leadership position in the race to transform many aspects of everyday life and business through digital transformation.”
Earlier this week Qualcomm and EE demonstrated a nascent gigabit 4G network which is designed to bring near 5G speeds to current devices.",508,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213264.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818021014-20180818041014-00644.warc.gz,0.928659737110138
e08d362f-d415-47fc-b791-1bd7ac29c6d4,2016-07-24T20:20:58+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.thealbanydevils.com/tag/manchester-monarchs/,"The Devils had their four-game winning streak halted with a 2-1 loss against the Monarchs Wednesday at Times Union Center. Scott Clemmensen turned aside 27 shots and Matt Lorito netted his second goal of the season.
Infograph of the Devils 2-1 loss to the Manchester Monarchs on Wednesday, Apr. 1.
The Devils climb into the top eight in the Eastern Conference continues Wednesday with a 7 pm outing against the Monarchs at Times Union Center.
The Devils return home for a pair of games this week, and hit the road Friday for their last matchup with Springfield. Wednesday | 7 pm Times Union Center Manchester vs. Albany Dollar Dawg Night Friday | 7 pm MassMutual Center Albany vs. Springfield Saturday | 5 pm Times Union Center Binghamton vs. Albany Military Appreciation",164,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824146.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00114-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.899178206920624
e11c944d-fb2e-42ac-b140-63c22b84c93e,2022-05-21T00:19:19+00:00,2022-05,1,https://www.newstatesman.com/chart-of-the-day/2022/05/how-the-uk-has-dropped-down-the-ranks-for-lgbt-equality,"The UK has dropped down the European ranks for LGBTQ+ equality for the third year running, moving from 10th place in 2021 to 14th in 2022.
The annual “Rainbow Map” produced by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) ranks 49 countries in Europe based on laws and policies that have a direct impact on LGBTQ+ rights. Countries are assessed on categories including equality and non-discrimination, hate crime and hate speech, asylum and legal gender recognition.
Malta retained its top spot in 2022, followed by Denmark in second and Belgium in third. The UK’s fall to 14th place is particularly striking considering that it held the top stop in 2015.
In its annual report accompanying the rankings, the ILGA cited increasing anti-trans rhetoric as among the reasons for the UK’s lower ranking, along with the government’s failure to ban conversion therapy. It also argued that the UK government’s plan to send asylum applicants to Rwanda (or even back to the country they have fled) “would expose LGBTQI asylum seekers to unprecedented risk of violence”.",237,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662534693.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520223029-20220521013029-00021.warc.gz,0.956795454025269
49b6f160-9202-4bbd-a0e6-d33fb4450c89,2015-03-27T06:20:26+00:00,2015-03-26,0,http://perezhilton.com/2011-07-17-ashley-tisdale-celebrates-her-birthday-at-pure-nightclub-in-las-vegas?photo=2,"Taylor Swift Is Dating Calvin Harris & She Doesn't Care Who Knows -- The Pair Were Spotted Getting All Snuggly At A Kenny Chesney Concert!!
The First Photo Of Zayn Malik Post-Quitting One Direction Is HERE! Is He Starting His Solo Career Already?!
Rihanna Unleashes Her New Single! Listen To The Full, Uncensored B*tch Better Have My Money HERE!
Simon Cowell Reassures One Direction Fans That Zayn Malik And Everyone Will Be A-Okay -- Read His Positive Message HERE!
Ed Sheeran Is SINGLE -- Announces Split From Girlfriend Athina Andrelos!
The Remaining One Direction Boys Speak Out On Zayn Malik's Departure From The Band -- Read And See Their Reactions HERE!
Listen To This: The Only One!
Are Taylor Swift & Calvin Harris A Thing!? These Candid Pics Totally Point To YES!!
HOLD THE PHONE -- Another Member Of One Direction Hopes To Leave The Band?! Find Out Who HERE!
Zayn Malik Has Left One Direction
Did Kylie Jenner Just Throw MAJOR SHADE At Blac Chyna?! Check Out The Not-So-Subtle Burn Towards Tyga's Ex HERE!
Iggy Azalea Performed Just DAYS After She Got A Boob Job! Find Out How The Singer Pulled It Off HERE!
Zayn Malik Is Quitting One Direction?! He's Said To Be Consulting Lawyers About How To Make It Happen!
Listen To This: After The Darkness Comes The Rain
After 5 Years Of Waiting Pretty Little Liars Finally Reveals That A Is...
Celebrities With Boob Jobs!
Miley Cyrus & Patrick Schwarzenegger Spotted On Low-Key Dinner Date Following Spring Break Photo Scandal!
Fox Is Suing Everyone Who Stands In The Way Of Its Empire! Find Out Why Their New Biggest Hit Is Causing Legal Problems HERE!
Cindy Crawford Bares Her Boobs On The Beach In A Completely Sheer Frock!
Iggy Azalea Reveals She Got A Boob Job!
Forget 'Out There', The Truth Is HERE! X-Files Is OFFICIALLY Returning To TV!
Angelina Jolie Has Her Ovaries Removed After A Cancer Scare
Listen To This: Love Shack!
Perez Hilton's Epic 8th Annual One Night In Austin: Relive The Party Here!!
Celebrity Big Brother Hell! Perez Opens Up To Jenny McCarthy About His Time In The House And Why He's In Therapy!
Rob Kardashian's Bizarre Instagram Post Explained?? Find Out Why He Compared Kim To The 'B*tch From Gone Girl' HERE!
Were Michelle Rodriguez's Relationships With Cara Delevingne & Zac Efron Just Part Of Her Going 'Crazy' After Paul Walker's Death?
Justin Bieber Cozies Up To Kendall Jenner In Vogue's April Issue!
Candice Bergen Proudly Declares She's 'Fat' And Doesn't Care What Anyone Thinks! Find Out Her Mentality Towards Food HERE!
Scott Disick Ditches Rehab For The Clubs! Has The Reality Star Already Booked Upcoming Party Appearances In The U.S.!?
Did Mila Kunis Reveal She's Married Ashton Kutcher On The Very First Episode Of The Late Late Show With James Corden?!
Vin Diesel Names His Newborn Daughter After Paul Walker!
Khloe Kardashian Speaks Out On Rob Kardashian's 'Social Anxiety' & Says She'll Always Be His '#1 Supporter'
Listen To This: In The Sky
Rob Kardashian Compares Kim Kardashian To A Psychopathic 'B*tch' In This Graphic Pic
Louis Tomlinson Confirms Breakup With His Longtime Girlfriend & Is Spotted Kissing Someone Else In Thailand!
Listen To This: Hers For The Taking!
M.I.A. Bashes Oprah Winfrey And Her Former Boyfriend Diplo! Find Out The Reason For Her Gripes HERE!
Is Kim Kardashian Brunette Again? See The Photographic Evidence!
Tyra Banks Cuts Off Her Supermodel Locks & Becomes A Flawless Pixie!
She's celebrating all month long! Even though Ashley Tisdale celebrated her birthday frolicking on the beach with Zac earlier this month, it seem that it… Read more…
how is this girl still relevant? She hasn't done anything since that whole HSM fad..what 2 years ago? What makes it worse is shes the most unattractive person from the HSM bunch..If you're going to feed attention to D-Listers at least pick the more attractive ones like V-Hud..
She makes such a pretty blonde. GF should never dye her hair brown again. seriously
I'm so tired of seeing these slutty generic attention whores. Her face is so ordinary. the only person uglier than her in the same age group is Miley Cyrus.
v-hus is attractive? with that nose and that face? you need glasses.
Worst. nose job. ever.
She's paid $50,000 to show up, blow out a few candles, smile for the camera, and then leave withing an hour…..This ain't no birthday celebration; it's a business deal!
What porn movie is this nasty looking skank in?
Re: NookiesWA – She's in a TV show on the CW, for a while now.
she looks so pretty!!! i love her as a blonde!
What a loser.
she looks like a good candidate for Hugh Heffner's pad in that picture.
who is she again?
Aw she looks cute
Re: pollopicu – Yeah I bet you're real beautiful too.
ugh, that nose job still bothers me!
think the reason V was not there s because she s filming a movie right now.
Wow she looks so much better as a blonde! I used to think she wasn't that good looking..but recently I don't know what it is -she's actually so pretty.
Re: NookiesWA – Um..how about she's on a pretty good tv show? Do you live under a rock? At least she's still doing something for herself, without you know, releasing naked pictures of herself on 3 or 4 diff occasions. Just saying.
k.. so how old is she?
she's too skinny
This girl is so desperate for attention. Who the hell acts like that with their brother? They were groping & kissing in some of those pics while looking right into the cameras.
Re: ohlalabia – why would Vanessa get the FBI involved if she leaked them herself? Think about it. Several of her former friends even admitted to leaking them & laughed about it.
More like The Jiz,,she's busted!
Re: iheartrobp – When you're famous, I think it's only logical to be more cautious when you're taking naked pictures of yourself. Especially ones with your face in them. Anyone who takes naked pictures and starts sending them out to boyfriends, friends, regardless should be expecting them to get out.
She is one fine piece of ass.
Nuclear hot as a blonde, stay that way please.
Hey! I had that same bottle service cabana when I went to Pure… It was so much fun! Ash looks cute although i do like her better as a brunette like in Hellcats. Her cake is cute too1 go ahead girl do your thing!
oh noo she is blonde again! she looks better with dark hair
…..yup, thats wut i thought……completely annoying…….
Is this real life!?
You know how we told you about how Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris were reportedly seen holding hands while in Nashville on Wednesday?
Well, it seems as there are even more cases of the pair being cute together, because on Thursday they were spotted gettin' all snuggly while at a Kenny Chesney concert!
We're hearing through the Twitterverse that Tay Tay joined Kenny on stage to sing Big Star, and that she and Calvin just couldn't stop it with the PDA!
Ch-ch-check out a candid pic of them together in the audience (below)!!!
[Image via Brian Mansfield/Twitter.]
Chelsea Handler Reveals Her 'Weird' Experience With Bill Cosby
Amber Rose Poses Topless On A Beach In Maui -- Do You Think She Knows Her Nipple Is Showing?!
Germanwings Plane Was Crashed 'Deliberately' According To Black Box Investigation
Billy Ray Cyrus Speaks Out On Patrick Schwarzenegger's Wild Spring Break! Does The Singer Believe The 21-Year-Old Did Anything Wrong?
Mariah Carey And James Corden Get Their Carpool Karaoke On For The Late Late Show!!
Cissy Houston Speaks Out About Bobbi Kristina's Current Condition & Reveals She's At Peace With Whatever Is The Outcome
Cate Blanchett's Response To A Reporter's Dumb Question: 'That's Your F--king Question!?' Watch The Wickedly Funny Clip!!
Directioners Are Donating Everything They Have To Buy One Direction From Their Current Management Team -- This Is Serious Business!
Amber Rose´s ASSets!
Celebrity Bleached Hair Woes!
Most Outrageous Celebrity Boob Jobs!
Home | About | Copyright statement | Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice | Sitemap
Advertising | Perez Posse signup FAQ | RSS
© 2005-2015 PerezHilton.com",2004,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00259-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.864997088909149
05bd18c3-870f-42a5-8ba5-9aa4d51b4219,2013-05-21T10:34:35+00:00,2013-05-21,0,http://the-leaky-cauldron.org/wiki/index.php?title=Wizards&oldid=1475,"Names and Families That Need To Be Moved
- Please create a LeakyPedia entry for each character.
- Please create a LeakyPedia entry for each family.
- Please create a LeakyPedia entry for each group.
- Please remove all specific details about characters, families, and groups off this page.
Bathsheba Babbling Ancient Runes
Binns, Cuthbert wizard, the only ghost teacher History of Magic
Burbage, Charity Muggle Studies (until July, 1997)
Carrow, Alecto Muggle Studies (1997-1998)
Carrow, Amycus Defence Against the Dark Arts (as the Dark Arts) (1997-1998)
Dumbledore, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Headmaster (c.1970 - June 1997) Transfiguration c.1940s
Firenze Divination On staff since 1996, the only centaur teacher
Flitwick, Filius Charms Head of Ravenclaw House
Grubbly-Plank, Wilhelmina temporary - Care of Magical Creatures (January, 1995; September-October 1995)
Hagrid, Rubeus Care of Magical Creatures (September 1993-present) Keeper of the Keys and Grounds
Kettleburn, Silvanus Care of Magical Creatures (early 20th century through spring 1993, when he decided to retire and spend time with his remaining limbs)
Lockhart, Gilderoy Defence Against the Dark Arts 1992- 1993
Longbottom, Neville Herbology c. 2017 (DH/e)
Lupin, Remus Defence Against the Dark Arts 1993- 1994
McGonagall, Minerva Transfiguration Deputy Headmistress Head of Gryffindor House On staff since December of 1956 (OP)
Moody, Alastor ""Mad-Eye"" Defence Against the Dark Arts 1994- 1995 The real Alastor ""Mad-Eye"" Moody did not serve on staff, although this was not discovered until June, 1995. The teacher everyone thought was Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise. Still, the real Mad-Eye is counted as a spectacular example of the jinx on the Defence Against the Dark Arts job.
Quirrell, Quirinus Defence Against the Dark Arts 1991 - 1992 Muggle Studies before 1990 - 1991
Sinistra, Aurora Astronomy
Slughorn, Horace Potions Head of Slytherin house c. 1930 - 1980, 1996-97
Snape, Severus Potions 1980-June 1996, Defence Against the Dark Arts 1996-97, left June 1997, Headmaster 1997-1998 Head of Slytherin House On staff since 1981 (or very late 1980) until summer 1997, became Headmaster 1997-1998
Sprout, Pomona Herbology Head of Hufflepuff House
Trelawney, Sibyll Divination On staff since late 1979 or early 1980
Umbridge, Dolores Jane Defence Against the Dark Arts (1995-6)
Vector, Septima Arithmancy Extracurricular Teachers and Other Hogwarts Staff
Filch, Argus caretaker
Hooch, Madam Flying teacher, Quidditch referee
Pince, Irma librarian
Pomfrey, Poppy School nurse
Twycross, Wilkie Apparition instructor from the Ministry of Magic Former staff members
Beery, Herbert Herbology, volunteered to direct Christmas pantomime based on ""The Fountain of Fair Fortune"" (TBB/FFF) (early 20th century)
Black, Phineas Nigellus headmaster, c. 1800s?
Derwent, Dilys headmistress, 1741 - 1768 (OP22)
Dippet, Armando Headmaster c. 1940
Everard - former, celebrated headmaster, dates unknown (OP21)
Fortescue, Dexter - former headmaster, dates unknown (OP21, DH36)
Merrythought - Defence Against the Dark Arts c. 1940s (HBP23)
Ogg - Groundskeeper (Molly Weasley's era, c. 1960s)
Pringle, Apollyon - caretaker (Molly Weasley's era, c. 1960s)
see also: academics Interesting Quotes by Rowling about the staff
Q: Have any of the Hogwarts professors had spouses? JKR: Good question - yes, a few of them but that information is sort of restricted - you'll find out why. (CR)
Unfortunately, Rowling never got around to telling us why in the books.
The Death Eaters and their associates during the First and Second Wizarding War.
Riddle, Tom Marvolo ""Lord Voldemort"", also referred to as ""You-Know-Who"" and ""He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"" 31 December, 1926 - 2 May, 1998 Leader and founder of the Death Eaters in the 1970's. Killed in the Battle of Hogwarts after the destruction of his Horcruxes.
Major Death Eaters: Snape, Severus 9 January, 1960 - 1 May, 1998 Snape led to the deaths of Lily and James Potter. He was, however, a double agent for Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. Snape was ultimately killed by Lord Voldemort for the mastery of the Elder Wand, even though he was not the master. Son of Muggle Tobias Snape and witch Eileen Prince.
Lestrange, Bellatrix 1951 - 2 May, 1998 Lestrange, formerly Black, was wife to Rudolphus Lestrange, sister to Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks, and daughter to Cygnus Black III and Druella Rosier. Lestrange, the most fanatical and devoted Death Eater, was most well-known for the crime that earned her a life sentence in Azkaban: the use of the Cruciatus Curse on Frank and Alice Longobttom. Lestrange also performed countless murders, including those of her cousin Sirius Black and neice Nymphadora Lupin (formerly Nymphadora Tonks). Lestrange participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Battle over Little Whinging, and the Battle of Hogwarts. She was killed at the latter battle by Molly Weasley while fighting alongside her master. Lestrange was honored with the entrustment of Helga Hufflepuff's Cup shortly before Lord Voldemort's first downfall.
Malfoy, Lucius born 1954 The wife of Narcissa Malfoy (formerly Black), father of Draco, grandfather to Scorpius Hyperion, and son of Abraxas. He was described as being very rich and snobby in the books, as well as being an expert in the Imperius Curse. Malfoy claimed to be under this very curse at the end of the First Wizarding War, and his story was believed by the Ministry. Malfoy was entrusted with Tom Riddle's Diary shortly before this point, and used it to reopen the Chamber of Secrets and attempt to discredit Ginny Weasley. This plan failed, however, and Malfoy was removed of the position of School Governer. Malfoy was present at the rebirth of Lord Voldemort and commanded the Death Eaters in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. He lost favor, however, in the aftermath of these events, and was pardoned for his crimes after his family's lack of participation in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Pettigrew, Peter ""Wormtail""
Crouch Jr., Bartemius ""Barty""
Black, Regulus Arcturus
Minor Death Eaters:
Associates of the Death Eaters These individuals, while associated with the Death Eaters and their agenda, were never branded with the Dark Mark and were never asked to join their ranks.
Quirrell, Quirinus died 4 June, 1992 Quirrell was partially and willingly possessed by Lord Voldemort from the summer of 1980 - 1982 and attempted to gain the Dark Lord the Phillosopher's Stone on numerous occasions.
Malfoy, Narcissa born 1995 The wife of Death Eater Lucius, mother of Death Eater Draco, and sister to Death Eater Bellatrix, she was never branded with the Dark Mark and, perhaps in foreshadowing, betrayed Lord Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts.
Greyback, Fenrir A werewolf and a snatcher who allied himself with the Death Eaters during the Second Wizarding War. Possibly killed by Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom, or incarcerated in Azkaban Prison for his crimes.
Scabior A member of the gang of Snatchers lead by Fenrir Greyback. Unknown if he was present at the Battle of Hogwarts, but if so, he was likely killed or incarcerated for his crimes.
Ministry of Magic employees
Ministry personnel during the 1980s and 1990s
Bagman, Ludo - Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports (vanished?) (GF7)
Bones, Amelia - (deceased) Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, murdered by Voldemort July 1996 [Y16] (HBP1)
Bode, Broderick - (deceased) ""Unspeakable,"" Department of Mysteries (GF7)
Cresswell, Dirk - Head of Goblin Liaison Office (HBP4)
Croaker - ""Unspeakable,"" Department of Mysteries (GF7)
Crouch, Bartemius - (senior), (deceased) Head of Department of International Magical Cooperation
Dawlish, John - Auror (OP27)
Diggory, Amos - Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (GF9)
Edgecombe, Madam - Floo Network Office (OP27)
Fudge, Cornelius - Minister for Magic 1996 - 1996 [Y10 - Y16]
Fudge, Rufus - Nephew of Cornelius Fudge, had recently joined the Improper Use of Magic Office as of February 1999 (DP)
Alastor Gumboil - Magical Law Enforcement Squad, placed a ""help wanted"" advertisement in the Daily Prophet in February 1999 (DP)
Hopkirk, Mafalda - Improper Use of Magic Office
Jorkins, Bertha - (deceased) Department of Magical Games and Sports (GF5)
Stamford Jorkins - Ministry spokesperson interviewed by the Daily Prophet 1 October 1999 (DP)
Longbottom, Alice - Auror (OP23)
Longbottom, Frank - Auror (GF30, OP23)
Macnair, Walden - Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures (PA16)
Mockridge, Cuthbert - Goblin Liaison Office (GF7)
Moody, Alastor - ""Mad-Eye"" (retired) Auror (GF11)
Eric Munch - Watchwizard (OP7)
Arnold Peasegood - Obliviator (GF7)
Perkins - Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
Proudfoot - Auror (HBP8)
Mnemone Radford - First Ministry of Magic Obliviator.
Gawain Robards - Head of the Aurors after July of 1996 [Y16] (HBP16)
Savage - Auror (HBP8)
Scamander, Newt - Beast Division, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, retired (FB)
Scrimgeour, Rufus - Head of Auror Office, named Minister for Magic July 1996 [Y16] (HBP1)
Shacklebolt, Kingsley - Auror (OP3)
Tonks, Nymphadora - Auror (OP3)
Umbridge, Dolores Jane - Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic under Fudge
Weasley, Arthur - head, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office until June / July 1996 [Y16]
Weasley, Percy - Department of International Magical Cooperation, promoted to Junior Assistant to the Minister for Magic 1995 [Y15]
Wimple, Gilbert - Committee on Experimental Charms (GF7)
Basil - Department of Magical Transportation
Bob - Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (?)
Arkie Alderton - Famous broomstick designer
Musidora Barkwith - Witch composer noted for her work, Wizarding Suite
Baruffio - Namesake of ""Baruffio's Brain Elixr""
Humphrey Belcher - Wizard who ""thought the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron.""",2597,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.91517436504364
258dd9e0-4984-430f-bd7c-223e1e258242,2015-03-31T09:56:34+00:00,2012-08-31,0,http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/19975/what-is-known-about-the-sirefef-zeroaccess-malware-botnet?answertab=votes,"There appears to be an increase in p2p communication among botnets that has been attributed to the sirefef/zeroaccess malware botnet. What is known on this particular threat?
See http://techchannel.att.com/play-video.cfm/2012/8/31/AT&T-ThreatTraq-SIfref-DVRbot-Internet-Weather for a video blog on this. Looking at AT&T's 'internet weather', the activity was picked up and they give an analysis of what they found.
The kindsight blog also has information at http://www.kindsight.net/en/blog/2012/06/28/malware-analysis-new-cc-protocol-for-zeroaccesssirefef",163,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00172-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.875003933906555
c85174ef-0732-40fc-aa4b-9adef6069d83,2017-08-19T11:46:11+00:00,1995-06-07,0,http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1995/06/07/37goals.h14.html,"Goals 2000 Fails To Gain Firm Foothold
Tenth in an occasional series.
In the 15 turbulent months since the Clinton Administration launched the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the initiative has earned plaudits from fans and angry scorn from enemies--even though most observers agree that it is too early to assess its true impact.
Despite federal officials' emphasis on state and local reforms, the program at the heart of the Administration's education agenda has become a battleground in the war over the federal role in education. To conservatives, in particular, Goals 2000 is a symbol of creeping federal encroachment on the tradition of local control of schools.
And despite widespread participation--47 states are on board, two others have declared an intention to apply, and dozens of school districts are already using money provided under the law--Goals 2000 has yet to gain a firm foothold among politicians or the public.
""Goals 2000 right now is a changing picture,"" said Diane Ravitch, a nonresident senior fellow with the Washington-based Brookings Institution and a former Education Department official in the Bush Administration. ""It's hard to evaluate.""
The law is new, at different stages among states, and likely to undergo some modifications, Ms. Ravitch noted.
""The best you can say about Goals 2000 right now is it has gotten a lot of people talking about standards and thinking about what standards are,"" she said, adding: ""And, there's some money out there.""
Proponents say that Goals 2000 strikes a delicate balance between state and federal responsibilities by using federal dollars to encourage states to pursue their own reforms in curriculum and assessment.
Furthermore, they say, the law provides a framework for changing the function of state and federal bureaucracies and for generating public support for school reform.
Critics counter that the legislation could give the federal government the opportunity to dictate policy to states and districts. Moreover, some opponents say, Goals 2000 has had minimal impact to date and is nothing more than a political trophy for the Administration.
All sides agree that Goals 2000 is politically charged and will likely continue to serve as a lightning rod for attention as Congress and the states set fiscal and policy priorities over the coming months.
President Clinton signed the Goals 2000 law in March 1994. It authorizes grants to states and school districts that can be used for most any school-reform effort, as long as the states and districts develop improvement plans that focus on the establishment of challenging content standards and aligned assessments.
Although the law is credited to the Clinton Administration, its philosophical origin is the 1989 education summit in Charlottesville, Va., where the nation's governors and President George Bush agreed to draft national education goals.
Mr. Clinton, then the Governor of Arkansas, was the governors' chief negotiator during the summit and the developer of the goals, which were adopted in early 1990.
In 1991, Mr. Bush unveiled an education strategy drafted by Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander. ""America 2000"" called on communities to adopt the goals, devise a strategy to achieve them, and measure their progress.
Mr. Alexander also called for federal aid to create innovative schools, aid for communities that adopted school-choice programs including private schools, and a ""national examination system"" based on ""new world standards.""
Proposed legislation followed, and the reform-grant program at the heart of Goals 2000 surfaced in 1991 as part of a Democratic alternative to America 2000.
The legislation died largely because the Democrat-controlled Congress would not approve a voucher program and Republicans opposed provisions, demanded by House Democrats, that performance standards for students be balanced by ""opportunity"" standards measuring school services.
When the Clinton Administration revived the standards idea, passage was ultimately secured with a compromise requiring participating states to set opportunity standards or strategies. (See Education Week, 4/6/94.)
Off to an Early Start
But state and local officials did not wait for the end of this four-year legislative battle. Hundreds of communities and numerous states joined the America 2000 movement, and their work has segued neatly into the Goals 2000 effort.
This connection was evident at a recent school-reform conference in Columbus, Ga., that was co-sponsored by the Education Department.
John Blewett, the executive director of the Emmanuel 2000 Partnership, said his Georgia community conceived a ""central vision"" for its schools under America 2000 and hopes to realize it--largely focusing on an effort to reduce dropout rates--with money from Goals 2000.
""If they get the money to us, we can put it to good use, and we will put it to good use in ways we feel will do the most good,"" he said.
In Nebraska, officials with Omaha 2000, a communitywide effort to improve schools, still use the old America 2000 logo and follow the America 2000 strategy.
But they hope to use Goals 2000 funding to set exit standards for the 14 area school districts that make up Omaha 2000, according to Connie Spellman, the vice president for education of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
""America 2000 and Goals 2000 have really provided the framework for us,"" she said.
Such a blurring of the lines does not disturb Clinton Administration officials.
""It doesn't matter what it's called. Goals 2000, America 2000,"" said Stanley Williams, Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley's regional representative in Atlanta. ""A chair by any other name is still a chair.""
Michael S. Cohen, a senior adviser to Mr. Riley and the chief architect of the Goals 2000 law, said it was designed to spur states and localities to ""scale up"" their ongoing reform efforts. That, he said, is why Goals 2000 requires the formation of state and local planning panels that will foster public participation.
""The challenge is to help parents understand what these reforms are,"" he said. ""Reformers and educators have not laid this out clearly.""
And by tying the program to the $7 billion Title I compensatory-education program--through a separate requirement that challenging standards be set for Title I students--the Administration also hopes to encourage state and local officials to think about how they can use federal resources for broad-based reforms rather than narrow, categorical purposes, Mr. Cohen said.
""What we're trying to do is have states think along those lines and use our resources to support scaling up in ways they hadn't been able to before,"" he said. ""If you would've asked states two years ago, 'How do you use federal resources to support and strengthen and expand reform efforts?' you would not have gotten much of an answer.""
Observers and state officials say it is too early to gauge whether Goals 2000 has had such an impact. In particular, they note, the amount appropriated for state grants--$372 million in this fiscal year--has been too small to singlehandedly effect change.
But they say states and school districts seem to have embraced the program and the small amounts of money that have come with it.
Helping Parents Understand
For example, in Kentucky, where a comprehensive school-reform law is in effect, Goals 2000 money is being targeted for parent involvement and public engagement because state officials feel many citizens remain unaware of the changes the state law is bringing. More than $478,000 has been divided among 16 school districts for that purpose.
""We're doing a lot of innovative things, and, after five years, parents still don't understand it, and part of the reason is we haven't helped them understand it,"" said Sheree P. Koppel, the director of federal, state, and special programs for the Franklin County, Ky., schools.
A grant of $30,000 has allowed schools in the district to come up with their own parent-involvement strategies, she said.
Most of the $1.1 million available to school districts in Massachusetts will be used for teacher training, pre-service training, and development of local reform plans. But $125,000 has been set aside for charter schools, which were authorized under a state reform law in 1993. Another $100,000 has been set aside for 10 alternative schools.
Officials in Delaware awarded grants to three districts to integrate the development of school-improvement plans, teacher training to support the plans, and improvements in educational technology. Most states are providing separate Goals 2000 grants for these purposes.
""At this point, [Goals 2000] has not provided enough money to replicate things on a scale we haven't before,"" said Lisa Hicks, Delaware's Goals 2000 coordinator. ""What [Goals 2000] has done in terms of scale-up is help educate people to think about reform across the system.""
""We wouldn't have had the incentive money for a broad-based planning effort"" without Goals 2000, she said.
Critics, however, say the law does not allow enough local innovation.
""Goals 2000 doesn't challenge anyone to do anything new,"" said Jeanne Allen, the president of the Washington-based Center for Education Reform. The money is spent on activities ""that are limited to the status quo,"" she said.
Moreover, political controversy has stalled the program in some states.
The state school-improvement panel in New York remains incomplete because Gov. George E. Pataki, a Republican, has refused to name members. Spending on planning within the state education agency has been put on hold.
In Montana, nine school districts have received nearly $225,000 in school-improvement planning grants, but after last year's Republican-dominated elections, the legislature voted to remove the state from Goals 2000 participation.
Federal funds thus will not be available after June 30, and state officials are exploring ways they can continue to finance the districts' improvement processes with state funds.
Perhaps nowhere is the politics of Goals 2000 more evident than in Georgia, where the state superintendent, Linda Schrenko, a Republican who was elected in an upset last November, does not publicly acknowledge that the state has accepted Goals 2000 money.
Instead, the superintendent and other state officials maintain that the state is using federal dollars to implement its Georgia School Improvement Plan.
Ms. Schrenko defeated Werner Rogers, the long-time Georgia state schools chief, after campaigning against Goals 2000 and state and federal interference in local schools.
""It's a matter of semantics, and that's fine with me,"" said one state education agency official. ""I can teach it flat or I can teach it round.""
Meanwhile, the new Republican majority in Congress has already taken major steps toward eliminating a national body created in the Goals 2000 law to certify voluntary state standards. (See Education Week, 5/17/95.)
Some lawmakers and others--including Mr. Alexander, who is seeking the 1996 G.O.P. Presidential nomination--are calling for a repeal of the whole law in an effort to curb the federal role in education.
Even if the program is not killed outright, Republicans have indicated that they do not plan to allocate the big increases in Goals 2000 funding that President Clinton requested.
Proponents are nervous about the law's fate.
""Politically, I'm not sure if this issue doesn't have to go on the back burner for a while,"" said Rae Nelson, a former Bush Administration official who is the executive director of the Center for Workforce Preparation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
But backers of the program suggest that regardless of events on Capitol Hill, business and local support for school improvement based on high academic standards is strong.
""The grassroots movement in support of standards and national education goals is unstoppable,"" said Lesley Arsht, the president of the Coalition for Goals 2000, who helped Mr. Alexander promote America 2000 as his communications director.
The ""Scaling Up"" series is underwritten by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.",2421,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00103.warc.gz,0.963382720947266
739e259d-e37b-45d3-a4b3-f88f4c208e23,2022-05-25T18:45:56+00:00,2022-10-14,0,https://www.laschina.org/blog/halloween/,"Dear SLAS parents,
At SLAS, we will be hosting our annual Halloween celebration with our three Kindergarten divisions and Primary classes on October 30th. We invite parents to join us in celebrating Halloween, a special American holiday for students and adults alike. Halloween gives us an opportunity to be creative and dress up as our favorite super heroes, scary monsters or favorite movie character. We will award prizes for many different categories to both students and adults. We hope you take part in the event and dress up as well. Following the parade and announcements of winners for the costumes, we will play games and go Trick o’ Treating.
- Students will need help playing the games and traveling to the different classes for candy.
- Students should arrive to school in their costumes.
- The parade around the track will begin at 9:15 AM.
- Students who eat school lunch will be provided a special lunch. Students may bring a box lunch. Parents and students who do not usually order school lunch may reserve one in advance for 28 RMB. Please see lunch preorder form for details.
- The picnic will be held outside on the soccer field and begin at 11:45 AM.
- We recommend you send a picnic mat for your child to use at the picnic.
- Early Years students may go home after the event if their parents sign them out with the classroom teacher.
- Secondary students and staff will participate by playing games and passing out candy with the Early Years and Primary Years children.
- PTSA and JE Coffee will sell special Halloween treats and drinks at our event.
- Parents attending the event to arrive no later than 9:00 AM to their children’s classroom.
- Classes will report to their starting point between 9:10 and 9:15 AM.
We encourage parents to attend to make sure that ALL students have the most enjoyable experience possible. In the event that it rains or there is bad weather, we will cancel the parade but hold the games under covered shelter and the picnic in the classrooms. Please complete the attached lunch order form if your child does not receive school lunch and would like them to receive a special school lunch or if you would like to order a lunch box for you to eat with your child.
Faustina Martinez, Principal SLAS",476,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662593428.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525182604-20220525212604-00406.warc.gz,0.951237857341766
4ead4fec-8c08-43b0-9b65-9c2e9f49006f,2018-08-17T19:42:33+00:00,2018-08-17,0,https://sigmoidal.io/what-is-machine-learning/,"Discover Machine Learning
Recent developments in AI make it possible for the computer to understand images, text and real-world data - exposing it to a broader range of problems it's able to solve.
Different than the regular software
A traditional computer program is expressed as a set of rules, just like a cooking recipe.
The software architect collects requirements, then the engineers design efficient algorithms (rules) to develop a system fulfilling these requirements.
Most business software you use was created this way.
ML learns by examples, not by rules - just like us, humans
Not all problems can be solved this way. Some programs, like recognizing a person on an image, would have an impossibly complex and difficult set of rules for a human to write.
With Machine Learning, a set of examples (like photos of a person with a person boundary marked) is provided along with a program source code.
A model instead of source code
During the training phase, the training algorithm employs statistical reasoning to look for commonalities between the examples and builds a generalized idea of its task.
This way a model is computed.
After training, the model can be used on new data (e.g. spotting new humans on pictures).",249,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212768.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817182657-20180817202657-00525.warc.gz,0.940192401409149
446cea5f-a9a9-444d-b94c-27641531f6bf,2022-05-23T21:38:34+00:00,2022-04-04,1,https://investyadnya.in/stock-articles/hdfc-limited-to-merge-with-hdfc-bank-everything-you-need-to-know,"Everything you need to know
On the morning of Monday, April 4, 2022, the largest housing finance company, HDFC Limited, announced the merger with the largest private sector bank in India, HDFC Bank. Let's discuss the details of this merger and whether this decision will create any synergy benefits for the shareholders. Let’s discuss this in detail in this article as we move ahead.
HDFC Limited-HDFC Bank Merger:
- HDFC Limited on Monday, April 4, 2022, announced the merger of the company with its subsidiary HDFC Bank, the largest private sector bank, to create a large balance sheet and net worth that would allow a greater flow of credit into the economy. The Board expects that this merger will also enable the underwriting of larger ticket loans, including infrastructure loans.
HDFC Bank has a presence in more than 3,000 cities and towns through its 6,342 branches, with about 50% of these branches in semi-urban and rural geographies in the country. Leveraging this distribution might, the proposed transaction would broaden the home loan offering, synonymous with the national objective of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana that intends to provide housing for all.
What Will Shareholders of HDFC Limited Get?
- Shareholders of HDFC Limited as of the record date will receive 42 HDFC Bank shares (each with a face value of Rs.1) in exchange for 25 HDFC Limited shares (each with a face value of Rs.2), and the equity share(s) held by HDFC Limited in HDFC Bank will be extinguished in accordance with the Scheme.
After the merger, HDFC Bank's customers will be offered mortgages as a core product in a seamless manner. HDFC Bank will also leverage the long-term mortgage relationship to offer varied credit and deposit products enabled by better insights throughout the customer life-cycle. This will result in an enhanced value proposition and customer experience for all customers of the combined entity.
- The boards of HDFC Ltd. and HDFC Bank believe that the merger will create long-term value for all stakeholders, including customers, employees, and shareholders of both entities. The amalgamation of the two entities will provide further impetus to the government's vision of ""housing for all.""
- Transaction completion is subject to shareholders, creditors, and regulatory approvals, including from RBI, IRDAI, CCI, SEBI, and the Stock Exchange.
- This merger is expected to be completed within 18 months, subject to the completion of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
What Should Shareholders Do?
This merger decision between HDFC Bank and HDFC Limited could prove to be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders amid rising regulatory developments and reforms. This merger seems to have short-term as well as long-term beneficial conditions for all the shareholders as well. One should not take an investment decision based on this news alone, but should follow due-diligence.
Originally Published On: https://blog.investyadnya.in/hdfc-limited-to-merger-with-hdfc-bank/",665,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00426.warc.gz,0.94630753993988
0f6130fd-2b19-49c3-b44e-87781e913e5a,2020-10-20T18:13:08+00:00,2019-01-23,1,https://naijabizcom.com/2019/01/24/cbn-to-fine-banks-for-paying-counterfeit-banknotes/,"CBN To Fine Banks For Paying Counterfeit Banknotes
The Central Bank of Nigeria has imposed a penal fee of N1m on each branch of Deposit Money Banks for non-compliance with its ‘Banknote fitness guidelines and clean note policy documents for the industry.’
The regulator disclosed this in a circular to all DMBs on ‘Penalty for payment of counterfeit monies from ATMs, Teller Points’ on Wednesday.
It said, “The management of the CBN has observed with concern the incidences of counterfeits paid through some DMBs’ ATMs/Teller points. This situation has continued unabated despite moral suasion to the affected DMBs.
“To address this, among others, the CBN in collaboration with key currency management stakeholders developed ‘Banknote fitness guidelines and clean note policy documents for the industry.”
“In order to sustain public confidence in the national currency and ensure compliance with the provisions of the policy documents, the CBN said it approved the, “Spot checks on DMBs’ ATMs and Teller points to ensure compliance; and imposition of penal fee of N1m per branch of DMBs for non-compliance.”
The apex bank said that the enforcement of the sanction would take effect after the launch of the two policy documents at a date which would be communicated to all stakeholders.
According to the CBN, it has the statutory obligation to provide adequate supply of clean banknotes to facilitate seamless payment and settlement of transactions by the public, government and banks.
Over the years, it observed that the growth in economic activities and the upsurge in population had necessitated the rise in the volume of banknotes in circulation.
In view of technological advances, the CBN, like other central banks, had introduced various forms of electronic payment systems for an effective and efficient settlement of transactions and to reduce the volume of cash usage with its attendant cost implications.
The regulator noted that demand for cash continued to grow despite technological advances.
“The volume of currency in circulation as at the end of 2012 rose significantly by 10.34 per cent to N7.91tn pieces, as at half year of 2018,” it stated.
A large proportion of the notes in circulation, according to the CBN, are dirty and mutilated and not fit for ATMs and over the counter payment.",500,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874026.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020162922-20201020192922-00548.warc.gz,0.952740669250488
bd587e04-77b9-4059-9f9a-b900391530f4,2015-03-30T23:33:42+00:00,2013-04-30,1,http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/04/30/Texas-AG-Gay-couples-healthcare-plans-are-illegal/UPI-96301367355354/?rel=59781367444169,"Several local governments, including the city of Austin, Travis County and multiple school districts in the state, offer family healthcare plans covering employees' domestic partners -- including same-sex couples, the Austin American-Statesman reported Monday.
Abbott's non-binding legal opinion said the 2005 Texas voter-approved constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman makes the healthcare plans illegal.
""By creating domestic partnerships and offering health benefits based on them, the political subdivisions have created and recognized something not established by Texas law,"" the opinion said.
The municipalities are not bound to stop offering healthcare to gay couples -- only a court order concurring with Abbott's opinion could do that -- but continuing to do so invites the possibility of lawsuits by anti-gay groups.
Austin City Attorney Karen Kennard said she disagreed with Abbott's opinion -- and added the city has no plans to change its employee healthcare policy.
""With all due respect to the attorney general, we believe his opinion on this question is not correct,"" Kennard told council members in a memo.",216,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00206-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971237063407898
c20d0f06-fc0a-47f7-97ba-78d723c4ed27,2015-04-01T17:53:47+00:00,2015-04-01,1,http://www.wben.com/pages/9596862.php?poll128734ViewResults=1,"LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday called for changes to a religious objection measure facing a backlash from businesses and gay rights groups, saying it wasn't intended to sanction discrimination based on sexual orientation.
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (AP) -- The number of people taking high school equivalency exams in the U.S. plummeted - and the percentage who passed fell, too - in the year after a revamped, Common Core-inspired GED was introduced along with two new competing tests
In Indiana, Arkansas and even New York, The question has become, where does religious freedom end and discrimination?
""I don't know about the Indiana case, but I do know that religious freedom is under grievous attack in the United States right now,""
-- Rt. Rev. Richard Malone , Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
ALSO INSIDE: New York Law | Arkansas Follows Indiana | Protests
WASHINGTON (WBEN/AP) -- It is a debate many Republicans hoped to avoid.
But as the backlash intensifies over a so-called religious freedom law in Indiana, the GOP's leading White House contenders have been drawn into a messy clash.
Cheektowaga, NY (WBEN) A Springville woman was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport checkpoint as she was trying to bring a loaded .38 caliber handgun onto an airplane Monday afternoon.",303,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00040-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950533032417297
e59f38c9-c32f-4544-a0be-7a3edac57bc1,2017-08-22T22:45:28+00:00,2010-07-09,1,http://www.marketwatch.com/story/steelmakers-brace-for-weaker-demand-and-prices-2010-07-09,"HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- As South Korea's Posco prepares to kick off quarterly earnings-results season for Asian steel makers in the coming week, analysts are flagging concern that the weak trend in prices and demand may continue for a few more months because of slowing Chinese demand.
But at least one brokerage is forecasting a rebound in industry profitability from the fourth-quarter of 2010 and is advising investors to start looking for an entry into steel shares.
""Whilst we have a cautious outlook for third quarter [of 2010], we see an opportunity for improvement in the sector beginning in fourth quarter and continuing into 2011, if a few of the key headwinds begin to improve,"" Morgan Stanley analysts led by Charles Spencer wrote in a report.
The analysts listed a relaxation in Chinese property and monetary policies, a reduction in industry overproduction and a recovery in the region's manufacturing activity after a recent slowdown as conditions that could improve steel-industry fortunes from the fourth quarter onward.
Steel prices in Asia have seen a correction after China, both the world's largest producer and consumer of steel, began tightening policies to cool soaring urban property prices in April. But the full impact of the price correction is only expected to be felt in the third quarter that began July 1.
Morgan Stanley is expecting a 35% year-on-year growth in second-quarter earnings per share for Asia-Pacific metals and mining companies under its coverage, which would represent a 10% growth over earnings in the first quarter ended March 31.
The brokerage said that among the Chinese steel makers, it is overweight on Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. and Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Among South Korean names, it prefers Posco and Hyundai Hysco.
Shares of Asian steel makers, most of which have vastly underperformed their respective stock-market benchmarks so far in 2010, were mixed on Friday.
In Seoul, shares of Posco PKX, +0.66% gained 1.2% and Hyundai Hysco declined 1.1%. In Tokyo trading, Nippon Steel Corp. (5401) NISTY was flat, JFE Holdings Inc. (5411) JFEEF, +3.94% gave up 1% and Kobe Steel Ltd. KBSTY, +4.92% (5406) rose 0.6%. In Shanghai, Baoshan Iron & Steel (600019) rose 1.8%, and Maanshan Iron & Steel (600808) MAANF, -4.98% added 2.2%.
Japan may lag
Goldman Sachs expects Japanese steel companies to continue to be cautious after what will likely be a tough earnings reporting season later this month, and anticipates some of the country's steel mills to continue to refrain from providing forecasts.
Japanese steel giants Nippon Steel and JFE Holdings declined to provide forecasts when they announced quarterly results in April because of uncertainty over raw-material costs and difficult market conditions.
""We believe the upcoming earnings season will be a tough one for Japanese steel companies, with body language from companies likely to be more cautious than constructive,"" Goldman Sachs wrote in a recent report. ""Visibility remains low, from a top-line perspective as well as on material costs, and we expect companies to be quite circumspect.""
The brokerage said that as compared with the first quarter, Korean steel makers' second-quarter earnings are likely to be better than their Japanese counterparts' results. But a slowdown in the Chinese economy was expected weigh on the Korean companies' third-quarter results.
""We believe that structurally things may start to revert to trend growth rates again in 2011, but for the balance of 2010, the outlook for shrinking margins and higher earnings volatility justifies our recent downgrade of the sector,"" Goldman Sachs said.
Posco is due to announce its second-quarter results Tuesday, while most of its Japanese rivals are scheduled to report by the end of the month.
In wider markets on Friday, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.5% each, China' Shanghai Composite advanced 1.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% and Taiwan's Taiex inched up 0.5%.",874,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886116921.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822221214-20170823001214-00406.warc.gz,0.951598107814789
1fbc121a-8790-4016-9d7b-f730b093f822,2022-05-19T06:10:10+00:00,2018-05-01,1,https://about.att.com/story/2018/att_adds_retail_locations.html,"Retail Is Not Dead: AT&T Plans to Add 1,000 New Locations
Includes Traditional, Pop-Up and Mobile Stores to Bring AT&T Closer to Customers
AT&T* plans to have one of the fastest growing retail footprints in the nation by adding more than 1,000 new store locations. Across the overall wireless industry, retail stores are bucking the losses seen in other industries. We’re getting closer and more convenient to make shopping easier for customers, whether you’re in a big city or a small town. The majority of AT&T customers purchase in one of our 5,300+ branded stores, even though most also begin their shopping online.
“We’re working to make our customer interactions more convenient and seamless,” said Rasesh Patel, senior executive vice president of AT&T Digital, Retail & Care. “We designed our new stores to get you in and out quickly while you’re on the go, so you can enjoy more of your thing.”
Not all our new stores will look the same. Watch this video and learn more.
We’re putting AT&T pop-up stores in apartment buildings and other locations in dense urban environments where the smaller, more flexible format helps us reach customers faster. We can typically open these stores within 60 days of signing a lease and we plan to launch a total of 100 pop-ups this year.
We already have mobile stores in all our major markets. You’ll often see them when AT&T sponsors events or when we launch new neighborhoods with AT&T Fiber. And we’ll have them ready to assist communities nationwide in times of disaster. We plan to have more than 150 mobile stores on the road by the end of this year.
And we plan to add hundreds of stores in smaller cities and towns across the country. As we invest in building FirstNet to serve first responders in these communities, we’re also going to build out new stores to better serve everyone who lives there.
No matter where you start shopping – online, in-store or on the phone – we want to make things easier and more convenient. We are the only company in the industry that offers its customers a white glove same-day setup and delivery service. We’re also working on a full omnichannel experience, so you can start with any of our touchpoints and finish in any other. On your time, when and where it’s convenient for you.",518,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00428.warc.gz,0.938537538051605
69b669ea-278b-4434-961e-5d7221969ea5,2022-05-24T05:14:31+00:00,2022-01-07,1,https://waterford-news.ie/2022/01/07/massive-cup-weekend-awaits-for-wildcats/,"The WIT Wildcats senior team are first into action when they take on DCU Mercy on Saturday in Cork. Photo: Noel Browne.
Next weekend Waterford Wildcats are in the National Cup semi-finals at senior and U-20 level.
DCU will be the opposition in both games which take place in Cork city. The seniors are in action at 1.30pm on Saturday in Neptune stadium. The following day (Sunday) it’s a 2.00pm tip off in the Parochial Hall for the U-20 event.
The experts predict these semi-finals could go either way as recent form shows little between the sides. The U-20 game is certainly hard to predict but if Wildcats show similar form to their quarter-final win over Belfast they will be difficult to beat. Wildcats are the reigning U-20 cup champions and no doubt they will be determined to repeat that success this season.
On the other hand, the senior Wildcats will be without a game for three weeks which is not ideal preparation for such a major event. All Super League games were cancelled last week including the top of the table clash where Wildcats were to host Glanmire. The executive committee decided that due to the rapid cases of the virus reported across the country they would postpone the league games in the hope that the cup semi-finals would go ahead as scheduled. No doubt coaches Tommy O’Mahony and Jillian Hayes would have preferred to play the Glanmire game as they needed to rectify some problems from previous games. The main issue is fouls which cost them dearly in the double overtime game away to Dublin’s Killester and their last home game in the league pre Christmas against this weekend’s opposition DCU. While they were victorious in that game due to a tremendous up-tempo performance which saw them lead by 19 points at the midway stage. Wildcats left DCU back into the game through fouling. The Dubliners hit 11 from 12 on the foul line to bring the deficit down to eight in a nervous final quarter. Thankfully Wildcats went on to win by 14 points. Yes it’s difficult to get it totally perfect playing with such intensity but when some of your better players are sitting out for long periods because of foul trouble it’s something they need to put right if they are to progress to the final.
The senior game can be watched at the following link:
The U-20 game can be watched at the following link:",506,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662564830.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524045003-20220524075003-00026.warc.gz,0.97157210111618
f7bdc980-1bdb-4770-904d-b84c0923d942,2022-05-21T05:18:38+00:00,2021-05-21,1,https://nationalinterest.org/blog/coronavirus/tourism-coming-back-it-might-take-until-2024-get-back-2019-numbers-184557,"Some industries were hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing orders. Restaurants, movie theaters, live theaters and music venues were all greatly harmed. But one other industry that got hit especially hard was tourism.
If no one can travel, after all, those businesses cannot function the way they normally do. However, there is help on the way, both from the receding of the pandemic and from funds from the American Rescue Plan stimulus package.
A recent MarketWatch piece looked at how things are playing out in Napa, California, a place that often draws tourists. The site quotes the city’s finance director as stating that tourism revenues are not likely to reach back to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.
Napa, the article said, will receive about $15 million from the American Rescue Plan, which the city plans to use in order to “plug revenue holes” for the next three fiscal years, while the region’s restaurants, wineries and other businesses accelerate their re-openings. However, Napa is far from out of the woods, as the city still has expenses to take care of from as far back as the Great Recession. In addition, the city must also deal with the threat of droughts and wildfires.
The National League of Cities has come up with a calculator for cities to figure out what allocations of money they’re likely to receive from the American Rescue Plan. Some cities and municipalities have said that they’re looking for instructions as to how to spend their stimulus funds and what the rules are for them.
Another tourist destination reportedly struggling at this stage of the pandemic is Las Vegas. According to a report last month, overall revenue from casino gambling in the state of Nevada has been surging, with March going down as its biggest month in eight years. The strong performance was driven, in part, by the return of the NCAA Tournament after that event was canceled in 2020.
However, the Las Vegas Strip itself has been struggling, as it is much more dependent on tourist income than most other parts of Nevada. Strip casinos posted $500 million in revenue in March of this year, which was a big increase from March 2020.
“It was a phenomenal gaming win month—it surprised a lot of people,” Michael Lawton, a senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, told Forbes back in late April. “We anticipated a good month, but I don’t think anyone saw this amount coming.”
Many of the events that typically attract people to Vegas, including major shows, conferences and conventions, have still not returned, although the largest trade show, the technology conference CES, will return to Las Vegas next January, its organizers recently announced.
Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.",668,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662538646.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521045616-20220521075616-00427.warc.gz,0.975329875946045
ab53d273-612d-4503-8c68-f586ed939a6e,2022-05-16T12:35:06+00:00,2018-01-01,0,https://urbanagnews.com/events/msu-2018-greenhouse-tomato-short-course/,"If you are a grower of greenhouse tomatoes, or if you have interest in growing this crop, mark your calendar now for the 28th Annual Greenhouse Tomato Short Course. Participating in this program will be the best way to learn all about producing greenhouse tomatoes.
The next Greenhouse Tomato Short Course will be held at the Eagle Ridge Conference Center, 1500 Raymond Lake Road, Raymond, Mississippi on March 6 and 7, 2018. Expert speakers will present seminars on a variety of fields relevant to the production of greenhouse tomatoes.
Special topics this year will be components of the greenhouse system, greenhouse design and engineering, alternative heating options, marketing, budget for greenhouse growers, updates on the latest research, plant nutrition, alternative crops, water sanitation, and of course the pest management workshop, which will include physiological disorders, diagnosing plant problems, plant disease identification and control, and pest management.
Exhibitors from across the U.S. and Canada will be available to show you their products and discuss how to use them. All aspects of production will be thoroughly covered. Plan on attending this Short Course to learn all you need to know about this crop and run a successful greenhouse business. In recent years, the Short Course attracted participants from more than 25 states and several Caribbean and Latin American countries.
The Greenhouse Tomato Short Course continues to be the best deal around! Compare this program to others that cost well over $500 to register.
Advance registration is $200 (use registration form in mailed packet or online with a credit card), or, if you prefer, you can pay $225 at the door, per person for the entire Short Course.
The registration fee includes coffee, refreshments, lunch both days, all Extension publications, and some very special promotional items. All those who preregister will also receive the latest edition of the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course cap.
For further information, send email to Dr. Rick Snyder at email@example.com or call (601) 892-3731. Mississippi growers can contact their local Mississippi County Extension Office.",422,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510117.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516104933-20220516134933-00411.warc.gz,0.8991659283638
8ccc9d0b-5b00-4f27-a819-a9a4b5ee5c7d,2019-08-23T11:18:47+00:00,1998-01-01,0,http://www.naphtali.com/articles/george-gillespie/holy-days/epc-out-of-the-gospel/,"Holy Days take away our Christian Liberty Proved Out of the Gospel
Copyright © 1998 Naphtali Press
The following are chapters and sections taken from George Gillespie, A Dispute Against the English Popish Ceremonies Obtruded on the Church of Scotland, ed. Christopher Coldwell (Dallas TX: Naphtali Press, 1993). All page references to EPC will be to that edition. One can find these sections in older editions by following the part, chapter, and section designations (e.g. 1.1.1).
EPC 1.8, pp. 37-45.
That Festival Days Take Away Our Christian Liberty, Proved Out Of The Gospel.
My second argument whereby I prove that the imposing of the observation of holidays bereaves us of our liberty, I take out of two places of the Apostle; the one, Gal. 4:10, where he finds fault with the Galatians for observing of days, and gives them two reasons against them; the one (v. 3), They were a yoke of bondage which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear; another (v. 9), They were weak and beggarly rudiments, not beseeming the Christian church, which is liberated from the pedagogical instruction of the ceremonial law.
The other place is Col. 2:16, where the Apostle will have the Colossians not to suffer themselves to be judged by any man in respect of an holiday, i. e. to be condemned for not observing a holiday, for to condemn here means to accuse a party of guilt;1 and the meaning is, suffer not yourselves to be condemned by those false apostles, or by any mortal man in the cause of meat, that is, for meat or drink taken, or for any holiday, or any part of an holiday neglected.2
Two other reasons the Apostle gives in this place against festival days; one (v. 17), What should we do with the shadow, when we have the body? Another (v. 20), Why should we be subject to human ordinances, since through Christ we are dead to them, and have nothing ado with them? Now, by the same reasons are all holidays to be condemned, as taking away Christian liberty; and so, that which the Apostle says does militate as well against them as against any other holidays. For whereas it might be thought that the Apostle does not condemn all holidays, because both he permits others to observe days (Rom. 14:5), and he himself also did observe one of the Jewish feasts (Acts 18:21), it is easily answered, that our holidays have no warrant from these places, except our opposites will say that they esteem their festival days holier than other days, and that they observe the Jewish festivities, neither of which they do acknowledge; and if they did, yet they must consider, that that which the Apostle either said or did here[about], is to be expounded and understood of bearing with the weak Jews, whom he permitted to esteem one day above another, and for whose cause he did, in his own practice, thus far apply himself to their infirmity at that time when they could not possibly be as yet fully and thoroughly instructed concerning Christian liberty, and the abrogation of the ceremonial law, because the gospel was as yet not fully propagated; and when the Mosaical rites were like a dead man not yet buried, as Augustine’s simile runs. So that all this can make nothing for holidays after the full promulgation of the gospel, and after that the Jewish ceremonies are not only dead, but also buried, and so deadly to be used by us. Hence it is, that the Apostle will not bear with the observation of days in Christian churches who have known God, as he speaks.
The defenders of holidays answer to these places, which we allege against them, that the Apostle condemns the observation of Judaical days, not of ecclesiastical days, which the church institutes for order and policy; which evasion Bishop Lindsey follows so hard, that he sticks not to hold, that all the days whereof the Apostle condemns the observation were Judaical days prescribed in the ceremonial law, etc.3 And this he is not contented to maintain himself, but he will needs father it upon his antagonist by such logic, forsooth, as can infer quidlibet ex quolibet [everything from anything].
The Apostle comports [tolerates] with the observation of days in the weak Jews, who understood not the fulness of the Christian liberty, especially since those days, having had the honor to be once appointed by God himself, were to be honorably buried; but the same Apostle reproves the Galatians who had attained to this liberty, and had once left off the observation of days. What ground of consequence can warrant such an illation [deduction] from these premises as this which the Bishop forms? namely, that all the days whereof the Apostle condemned the observation were Judaical days, etc.
Now, for confutation of this forged exposition of those places of the Apostle, we say:
1. If all the days whereof the Apostle condemned the observation were Judaical days prescribed in the ceremonial law, then do our divines falsely interpret the Apostle’s words against popish holidays; and the Papists do truly allege that their holidays are not condemned by the Apostle. The Rhemists affirm that the Apostle condemns only Jewish days,4 but not Christian days, and that we do falsely interpret his words against their holidays.5 Cartwright answers them, that if Paul condemned the observing of feasts which God himself instituted, then much more does he condemn the observation of feasts of man’s devising.6 So Bellarmine alleges, that the Apostle speaks there only of Jewish feast days.7 Hospinian, answering him, will have the Apostle’s words to condemn the Christian feasts more than the Judaical.8 Conradus Vorstius rejects this position, The Apostle teaches that except for the Jewish, no division of days was supported in the N. T., as a popish error.9
2. If the Apostle means only of Judaical days, either he condemns the observing of their days materialiter [materially], or formaliter [formally], i. e. either he condemns the observation of the same feasts which the Jews observed, or the observing of them with such a meaning, after such a manner, and for such an end as the Jews did. The former our opposites dare not hold, for then they should grant that he condemns their own Easter and Pentecost, because these two feasts were observed by the Jews. Nor yet can they hold them at the latter, for he condemns that observation of days which had crept into the church of Galatia, which was not Jewish, nor typical, seeing the Galatians, believing that Christ was already come, could not keep them as figures of his coming as the Jews did, but rather as memorials that he was already come, says Cartwright.10
1. If the Apostle’s reasons wherewith he impugns the observation of days holds good against our holidays so well as against the Jewish or popish days, then does he condemn those, no less these. But the Apostle’s reasons agree to our holidays. For (1.), According to that reason, Gal. 4:3, they bring us under a yoke of bondage. Augustine, complaining of some ceremonies wherewith the church in his time was burdened, thought it altogether best that they should be cut off, Even if they may not seem inimical to the faith, since they press slavish burdens on the religion Christ willed to be a free one.11 Yea, he thought this yoke of servitude greater bondage, and less tolerable than the servility of the Jews, because they were subject to the burdens of the law of God, and not to the presumptions of men. The yoke of bondage of Christians, in respect of feasts, is heavier than the yoke of the Jews, not only for the multitude of them, but because the feast days of Christians were established by men only, but those of the Jews by God, says Hospinian.12 Have not we then reason to exclaim against our holidays, as a yoke of bondage, heavier than that of the Jews, for that our holidays are men’s inventions, and so were not theirs?
(2.) The other reason, Gal. 4:9, holds as good against our holidays. They are rudimentary and pedagogical elements, which beseem not the Christian church, for as touching that which Tilen objects, that many in the church of the New Testament are still babes to be fed with milk,13 it makes as much against the Apostle as against us. For by this reason he may as well throw back the Apostle’s ground of condemning holidays among the Galatians, and say, because many of the Galatians were babes, therefore they had the more need of those elements and rudiments. The Apostle (Gal. 4:3) compares the church of the Old Testament to an infant and insinuates that, in the days of the New Testament, the infancy of the church has taken an end. And whereas it might be objected that in the church of the New Testament there are many babes, and that the Apostle himself speaks of the Corinthians and Hebrews as babes, it is answered by Paræus, What is said here must be understood as concerning not a few persons, but the condition of the whole church.14 There were also some in the church of the Old Testament, adulti fide heræs [heroes matured by faith]; but in respect of the state of the whole church, he who is least in the kingdom of God, is greater than John Baptist (Luke 7:28). The Law, says Beza, is called an element, since just as God taught his church with these first principles, afterward from a full horn he poured out the Holy Spirit in the time of the gospel.15
(3.) That reason also taken from the opposition of the shadow and the body (Col. 2:17) militates against our holidays; for the Apostle there speaks in the present time [ esti skia – it is a shadow], whereas the Judaical rites were abolished, whereupon Zanchius notes, that the Apostle does not so much speak of things by-past, as of the very nature of all rites, Therefore defining those very rituals in themselves, he said they were nothing other than a shadow.16 If all rites, then our holidays, among the rest, serve only to adumbrate [prefigure] and shadow forth something, and by consequence are unprofitable and idle, when the substance itself is clearly set before us.
(4.) That reason, Col. 2:20, does no less irresistibly infringe the ordinances about our holidays than about the Jewish; for if men’s ordinances, about things once appointed by God himself, ought not to be obeyed, how much less should the precepts of men be received about such things in religion as never had this honor to be God’s ordinances, when their mere authority limits or astricts [binds] us in things which God has made lawful or free to us.
Thus we see how the Apostle’s reasons hold good against our holidays; let us see next what respects of difference the Bishop can imagine to evidence wherefore the Judaical days may be thought condemned by the Apostle, and not ours. He devises a double respect; and first he tells us, that the Jewish observation of days was to a typical use.17 And whereas it is objected by us, that the converted Jews did not observe them as shadows of things to come, because then they had denied Christ, he answers thus: Howbeit the converted Jews did not observe the Jewish days as shadows of things to come, yet they might have observed them as memorials of by-past temporal and typical benefits, and for present temporal blessings, as the benefit of their delivery out of Egypt, and of the fruits of the earth, which use was also typical.
ANSWER. 1. This is his own conjecture only, therefore he himself propounds it doubtfully, for he dare not say, they did observe them as memorials, etc., but, they might have observed; to which guessing, if I reply, they might also not have observed them as memorials of those by-past or present benefits, we say as much against him, and as truly, as he has said against us.
2. His form of reasoning is very uncouth, for to prove that the observation of days by the converted Jews was to a typical use, he alleges, that they might have observed, etc. Thus proving a position by a supposition. O brave!
3. There is no sense in his conjecture, for he yields that they did not observe those days as shadows of things to come, and yet he says, they might have observed them as memorials of by-past typical benefits. Now they could not observe those days as memorials of types, except they observed them also as shadowing forth the antitypes. Pentecost, says Davenant, and that celebration of when the law was given, it foreshadowed the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the writing by that same Spirit of the law on the tablets of hearts. The feast of Tabernacles sketched out the wandering of a righteous man in this desert of a world toward the heavenly country, etc.18 So that the feast of Pentecost, if it had been observed as a memorial of the promulgation of the law, could not but shadow forth the sending of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, to write the law in them. And the feast of tabernacles, if it had been observed as a memorial of the benefits which God bestowed on his people in the wilderness, could not but shadow out God’s conducting of his children, through the course of their pilgrimage in this world, to the heavenly Canaan.
4. If feasts which were memorials of temporal benefits were for this reason mystical, then he must grant against himself that, much more, are our feasts mystical, which are memorials of spiritual benefits, and consecrated to be holy signs and symbols, for making us call to mind the mysteries of our redemption.
5. Before this dispute takes an end, we shall see out of the best learned among our opposites, that they observe the holidays as mystical,19 and more mystical than the Bishop here describes the Jewish days to have been, and so we shall see the falsehood of that pretense, that they are observed only for order and policy, and not for mystery.
6. If we would know the true reason which made the converted Jews to observe those days, it was not any mystical use but that which made them think themselves obliged to other Mosaical rites; even propter auctoritatem legis [even on account of the authority of the law], says Junius;20 for albeit they could not be ignorant that these rites were shadows of things to come, and that the body was of Christ, in whom and in the virtue of whose death they did stablish their faith, yet they did not at first understand how such things as were once appointed by God himself, and given to his people as ordinances to be kept by him throughout their generations, could be altogether abolished; and for this cause, though they did condescend to a change of the use and signification of those ceremonies, as being no more typical of the kingdom of Christ, which they believed to be already come, yet still they held themselves bound to the use of the things themselves as things commanded by God.
This much may be collected from Acts 15:21, where James gives a reason wherefore it was expedient that the Gentiles should observe some of the Jewish rites for a time, as Calvin,21 Beza,22 and Junius,23 expound the place. His reason is because the Jews, being so long accustomed with the hearing of the law of Moses, and such as did preach the same, could not be made at first to understand how the ordinances which God gave to his people by the hand of Moses might be cast off and not regarded, which imports as much as I say, namely, that the reason wherefore the converted Jews were so apt to be scandalized by such as cared not for the ceremonial law, and held themselves obliged to observe the same, was because they saw not how they could be exempted from the ordinances and statutes of the law of Moses, with which they had been educated and accustomed.
Rests the second respect of difference given by the Bishop: Further (he says), they did observe them with opinion of necessity, as things instituted by God for his worship and their salvation, which sort of observation was legal.24
ANSWER. 1. Be it so; he cannot hereupon infer, that the Apostle does only condemn the observation of Judaical days, for he sees nothing of observing days with opinion of necessity, but simply and absolutely he condemns the observing of days, and his reasons reflex on our holidays, as well as the Jewish.
2. Their opinion of necessity he either refers to the institution which these days once had from God, or else to the use which, at that time, they had for God’s worship and their salvation. That they observed them with opinion of necessity, as things which had been instituted by God, it is most likely; but that they observed them with opinion of necessity, as things necessary for God’s worship and their salvation, is more than can be made good. It is more probably that they observed them merely and simply for that they had the honor to be instituted by God in his law. For to say that they observed them to the same use and end for which God did institute them is false, because then they had observed them as types and shadows of the coming of Christ, and so had denied Christ.
3. If the Apostle condemns the observing of days instituted by God, with opinion of necessity, much more does he condemn the observing of days instituted by men with such an opinion. And such is the observation of days urged upon us. Though the Bishop pretends that the observing of our holidays is not imposed with opinion of necessity, shall we therefore think it is so? Nay, Papists do also pretend that the observation of their ceremonies is not necessary,25 nor the neglecting of them a mortal sin. I have proved heretofore, out of their opposites’ own words, that the ceremonies in question (and, by consequence holidays among the rest) are urged upon us with opinion of necessity, and as their words, so their works bewray [reveal] them, for they urge the ceremonies with so exorbitant vehemency, and punish refusers with so excessive severity, as if they were the weightiest matters of the law of God. Yet they would have us believe, that they have but sober and mean thoughts of these matters, as of circumstances determined for order and policy only. Just like a man who casts firebrands and arrows, and yet says, “Am not I in sport?” (Prov. 26:18, 19). They will tell us that they urge not the ceremonies as necessary in themselves, but only as necessary in respect of the church’s determination, and because of the necessity of obeying those who are set over us. But, I pray, is not this as much as the Rhemists say,26who place the necessity of their rites and observances, not in the nature of the things themselves, but in the church’s precept?
- Calvin, Comm. in illum locum. Judicare hic significat culpæ reum facere. [↩]
- Zanch., Comm. ibid. [↩]
- Proc. in Perth Assembly, part 3, p. 43. [↩]
- Annot. on Col. 2:16. [↩]
- Annot. on Gal. 4:10. [↩]
- Annot., ibid. [↩]
- De Cultus Sanctorum, cap. 10. loqui ibi Apostolum de judæorum tantum festis. [↩]
- De Orig. Fest. Christ., cap. 2. [↩]
- De Templ. et Fest. in Enchyrid. contr. inter Evang. et Pontif. Apostolus non nisi judaicum discrimen dierum in N. T. sublatum esse docet. [↩]
- Ubi supra. [↩]
- Epist. 118, ad Januar.Etiamsi fidei non videantur adversari, quia religionem quam Christus liberam esse voluit, servilibus oneribus premunt. [↩]
- De Orig. Fest. Christ., cap. 2. Christian-orum festa, ab hominibus tantum, judæorum vero a Deo fuerint instituta. [↩]
- Paren. ad Scot. cap. 16, pp. 66. [↩]
- Comm. in illum locum. Non de paucis personis, sed de statu totius ecclesiæ intelligendum est quod hic dicitur. [↩]
- Annot. in Gal. 4:3. Lex, saith Beza, vocatur elementa, quia illis velut rudimentis, Deus ecclesiam suam erudivit, postea pleno cornu effudit Spiritum Sanctum tempore evangelii. [↩]
- Comm. in illum locum. Definiens ergo ipsos ritus in sese, dixit eos nil aliud esse quam umbram. [↩]
- Ubi supra, p. 40. [↩]
- Comm. in Col. 2:17. et illa legis datæ celebratio. Spiritus Sancti mssionem, et legis in tabulis cordium per eundem Spiritum inscriptionem, adumbravit. Scenopegiæ festum peregrinationem hominis pii per hoc mundi desertum ad cælestem patriam delineabat, etc. [↩]
- Infra., part 3, in the arg. of Superstition. [↩]
- Anim. in Bell., cont. 3, lib. 4, cap. 16, n. 20. [↩]
- Comm. in illum locum. [↩]
- Annot., ib. [↩]
- Anim. ad Bell., contr. 3, lib 4, cp. 16, n 32. [↩]
- Ubi supra. [↩]
- Bell., de Euch., lib. 6, cap. 13. [↩]
- Annot. on Matt. 6:15, sect 5. [↩]",4840,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318375.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823104239-20190823130239-00482.warc.gz,0.973278045654297
67f85e82-3aac-431d-ab61-10e89b3c58b9,2022-05-28T20:28:41+00:00,2015-03-02,1,https://www.dawn.com/news/1166801/punjab-epa-approves-karot-hydropower-project,"RAWALPINDI: The Environmental Protection Agency-Punjab (Punjab-EPA) has approved the 720 megawatt (MW) Karot Hydropower Project worth $1.4 billion.
The project is proposed to be built on the Jhelum River near village Karot in Kahuta tehsil in Rawalpindi district. The proposed project site is 65 kilometres from Rawalpindi city.
The hydropower project would be developed privately by a Chinese company and would be transferred to the government after 30 years of operation, according to the Power Generation Policy 2002. The project will be connected to the national electricity grid in the year 2020.
“The Punjab-EPA, in Rawalpindi, approved the project after receiving the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. The report has now been sent to Lahore for final approval. The Punjab-EPA director general will soon announce the date for the public hearing of the project,” District Officer Mian Muhammad Nawaz told Dawn.
He said the Rawalpindi-EPA recommended that the private company developing the project ensure that there are green spaces around the project site. “The project is likely to improve agriculture in this arid area, rather than having a negative impact,” he said.
In November 1984, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) carried out ranking studies and identified possible sites for the development of hydropower plants along the Jhelum River. The site at Karot was among those identified as potential sites for hydropower generation. The ranking studies were carried out by Wapda’s Hydro Electric Power Organisation for NWFP province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and German consultancy firm GTZ.
However, since the identification of the site, no further development took place until 2007 when the site was offered as an Investment Power Project (IPP) by the Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB).
Plant expected to contribute 720MW of electricity to the national grid by 2020
A group of Pakistani and Chinese investors were awarded the contract for the development of the hydropower generation plant. A feasibility report was prepared in March 2014, which suggested that the main axis of the dam should be downstream and it should be a rock-fill type dam.
Commissioner Zahid Saeed told Dawn the project required 2,400 kanals in Kahuta tehsil in the Rawalpindi district and would also require some land in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as Kahuta borders AJK.
The commissioner said the Punjab government has decided that land procurement would be the investor’s responsibility.
“The Chinese investor would start procuring land soon and the government will provide assistance to the company. However, the government would be involved in negotiations over prices of land and this would be decided between the landowners and the company,” he said.
Published in Dawn March 2nd , 2015",617,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663019783.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528185151-20220528215151-00003.warc.gz,0.957032322883606
8b626d54-8525-428c-bfea-125906853a4d,2018-08-15T23:02:01+00:00,2018-08-15,0,https://oleda.com/products/undereye-camouflage-cream-highlighter-light-med,"Undereye Camouflage Cream & Highlighter - Light/Medium
INTRODUCING THE NEW AND IMPROVED OLEDA UNDEREYE CAMOUFLAGE CREAM & HIGHLIGHTER
For Dark Circles and Undereye Discoloration. A Time Machine for Younger Looking eyes
It's back and better then ever. OLEDA UNDEREYE CAMOUFLAGE CREAM & HIGHLIGHTER (formerly known as Oleda Undereye Concealer & Highlighter) is the most effective concealer on the market. Use it under your eyes to hide dark circles and/or discoloration. (Takes very little with each application). This product is very lightweight and ""reflects light"" in your dark areas. Models who have had this problem use this product because it looks thin and natural. For lessons on how to apply check out: "" Getting Rid Of Dark Circles""
The Cause Of Dark Circles:
- Lack of proper nutrition can aggravate dark circles. Make sure you are eating a balanced, nutritional diet.
- Use an Alpha-Hydroxy Acid under eyes, but NOT above the cheekbone too close to the eyes. This will encourage circulation and stimulate cells around the eye area. Aids in tightening of the skin which will give the appearance of ""fewer dark circles"" because the Alpha-Hydroxy Acid plumps up tissues. See Oleda Alpha-Hydroxy Acid in CELL-abration. (Never put AHA on upper eyelids.)
- Use a rich EYE CREAM to nourish these delicate tissues at night. (See Oleda FRAGILE EYE CREAM)""
Apply OLEDA CAMOUFLAGE CREAM & HIGHLIGHTER under eyes to hide dark circles or discoloration. (Takes very little with each application.)
Cocoa Nucifera (Coconut oil), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) seed oil, Ozokerite, Camauba (Copermecia Cerifira) wax, Stearic Acid.",436,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210362.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815220136-20180816000136-00101.warc.gz,0.82261848449707
04312bc4-a7a4-4d85-b3b1-bc603dace943,2015-03-31T20:46:25+00:00,2012-11-07,0,http://www.thetvaddict.com/2012/11/07/hart-of-dixie-first-look-i-walk-the-line/,"Just when you thought you were safe from America’s seemingly never-ending election cycle, The CW would kindly ask that you consider taking part in one last vote. It’s election night in beautiful BlueBell Alabama and the stakes have never been higher. Does challenger Ruby Jeffries have what it takes to defeat incumbent Mayor Lavon Hayes? Umm, do we look like Nate Silver?! Heck, all we know for sure is that one winner will be crowned by the end of HART OF DIXIE’s Tuesday November 13th episode ominously titled “I Walk the Line.” First look photos of which have been handily posted after the jump.
HART OF DIXIE airs Tuesdays at 8PM on the CW (CHCH in Canada) and stars Rachel Bilson, Jaime King, Cress Williams, Scott Porter, and Wilson Bethel. Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv",200,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00101-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966234982013702
8e2608f8-e1c5-45db-9c4e-4af02c49d789,2017-08-16T15:19:49+00:00,2017-08-16,0,http://www.clubconspiracy.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12353&postcount=9,"Re: Jewish Dominance in the Porn Industry
Nope. But it seems to fit nicely into the theory that one of the goals is to denigrate Christianity and the so-called dominant pseudo-puritanism that is actually based on control through fear, guilt, and the repression of strong emotions. It may be that the rebellion is an unconscious attempt for some to break out of this kind of oppressive mind set.
Ah, yes, the joy of lex. :-D
As you said, it's a big money-maker and we know that most if not all big money industries have the criminal element trying to muscle in. If there is a ""Jewish Mafia"", then I'm not surprised to hear of their involvement.",148,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102307.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816144701-20170816164701-00301.warc.gz,0.958859503269196
cad61c06-d2d2-4e83-886b-823bc4152e41,2019-08-26T08:12:46+00:00,2019-08-25,1,https://www.dee1063.com/news/latest-videos/,"Boris Johnson has hit back at Donald Tusk after the European Council president said he hoped the prime minister would not go down in history as ""Mr No Deal"".
Boris Johnson will hold face-to-face meetings with four world leaders today as his first G7 summit draws to a close.
England have pulled off a once-in-a-generation comeback to beat Australia in the third Ashes Test at Headingley.
Ben Stokes says his heroic Ashes-saving century at Headingley ""is right up there"" with helping England win a thrilling World Cup final at Lord's earlier this summer.
Regulators in the United States have fined Deutsche Bank over violation of corruption laws.
Rory McIlroy collected the largest prize in golf history after he outplayed Brooks Koepka to be crowned FedExCup champion for the second time at The Tour Championship.
Ian Holloway says he hopes Brexit will go ahead as he blames the EU for a controversial new handball rule in Premier League football.
Boris Johnson has told Sky News the chances of a Brexit deal are ""improving"" now his messages on the £39bn divorce bill and Irish border backstop have ""landed"" with EU leaders.
Got your breath back yet!?
Installing Jeremy Corbyn as caretaker prime minister is the ""only failsafe way"" of avoiding a no-deal Brexit in less than 68 days' time, a Labour shadow minister has claimed.
Remember when Boris Johnson said the odds for a no-deal Brexit were ""a million to one""?
Emmanuel Macron has said leaders of the world's major industrialised nations are close to an agreement on how to help fight the fires tearing through the Amazon in Brazil.
Kim Jong Un has overseen the test-firing of what North Korea has called a ""newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher"".
England captain Joe Root says Ben Stokes' performance was ""outrageous"" as the all-rounder led his side to a historic Ashes Test win at Headingley.
The BBC should ""cough up"" and fund free TV licences for all over-75s, the prime minister has said.
Depending on your age, you might be forgiven for wondering why the Sky News website is adorned with shots from the cult classic film Starship Troopers - or a futuristic entry in the Call Of Duty video game series.
There is renewed hope that the near-extinct northern white rhino could be saved after eggs were successfully extracted from the last two remaining females.
Hong Kong police have drawn their guns and one fired a warning shot into the air after they were attacked by protesters with sticks and rods.
It was one of the great finishes to any sporting contest, and proof that test cricket can still excite in the age of instant gratification.
A 2.1-magnitude tremor has been reported at the UK's only active fracking site - days after a 1.55-magnitude movement.",609,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027331228.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826064622-20190826090622-00122.warc.gz,0.961547553539276
955bac24-be67-4b7e-a76d-4cfa8eba6206,2016-07-26T20:11:00+00:00,2014-10-24,1,http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article1231845.html,"Gov. Sam Brownback has repeatedly highlighted the importance of small-business growth at campaign events across this state this week.
Small business is at the center of Brownback’s re-election platform.
“I am for big business, too. But if you want to expand your economy, you’ve got to get small business growing,” Brownback told a crowd of supporters at Jackson’s Greenhouse in Topeka on Friday, as he accepted an endorsement from the National Federation of Independent Business.
Brownback’s overhaul of the state’s tax code included an exemption from paying any income tax for some types of limited liability corporations, meaning that small businesses – if they file as LLCs – may not have to pay any tax on their profits.
Dave Jackson, the greenhouse proprietor and a former Republican state senator, said that Brownback’s tax policies have enabled his greenhouse to expand and will allow him to bring on two more employees.
Dan Murray, state director for the NFIB, said the choice to endorse Brownback was easy for the organization, which represents small businesses across the country, including 4,200 in Kansas.
“Gov. Brownback has a long history of supporting small business going back to his days in Congress,” Murray said. “And then his track record as governor has been very pro-small-business.”
Brownback’s Democratic opponent, House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, also picked up two endorsements this week, both from the public sector, announcing support from the Fraternal Order of Police and Kansas State Firefighters PAC. Both organizations cited Davis’ support for investment in public safety and the state pension system.
At the Topeka event, Brownback touted a concept of “Urban Opportunity Zones” that would benefit high poverty areas in Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City, Kan. The idea would be loosely modeled on Rural Opportunity Zones, a program created during the governor’s first term, which was meant to attract people to small towns that were losing populations.
However, the idea seems more of a broad concept at this point than a firm plan.
“There’s just a lot of possibilities,” said John Milburn, Brownback’s campaign spokesman.
“We’ve talked about an education component of some sort to help folks there, and various investments in small business to help these areas,” Milburn said. “That’s kind of the framework. We don’t really have any meat on those bones.”
There could also be an effort to provide affordable housing, Milburn said.
The governor said his team was working on a proposal.
“You create an economic opportunity if you move here,” Brownback said of the idea. “Our Rural Opportunity Zones, half the people using are healthcare or education. … So it’s getting educated individuals into an area, and we hope, creating growth.”
Chris Pumpelly, spokesman for the Davis campaign, criticized the idea for lacking specificity.
“Serious question: What is the program going to do? Give tax breaks or tuition reimbursement for people who move to urban areas?” Pumpelly asked in an email.
“What is the goal? It’s only a name as far as I can see.”",717,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825124.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00289-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967463076114654
4e7f3357-9f54-49a1-8f25-6ba02063caf0,2022-05-18T13:12:21+00:00,2018-05-09,1,https://www.urbanyvr.com/new-park-oakridge-centre-redevelopment/,"The Vancouver Park Board is seeking public input for a new, nine-acre park at Oakridge Centre.
The public park will be located partially on the mall’s rooftop, as well as at ground level. Access to the upper park levels will be by stairs, ramps, escalators and elevators.
The vision for the park includes lush plantings and large trees, a variety of seating areas and surfaces, water features, interactive play opportunities, a running track and public art throughout.
For runners and walkers, a 800-metre long track will ring the perimeter of the new park.
Several skylights will provide daylight to the shopping centre below, and the park will be surrounded by new residential and office towers as part of the redevelopment of Oakridge Centre by Westbank and QuadReal.
Once complete, 6,000 residents will be living in 2,600 new homes across 11 towers.
The park board first sought public input on the new park last year, with more than 1,000 people providing feedback. Their input has helped inform the draft concept outlined below, broken down into six “concept” areas.
Civic Centre Park
The Civic Centre Park will be located at West 41st Avenue and the western boundary of the site, adjacent to a new community centre, located in the new Civic Centre.
- large lawn area for gatherings and events
- children’s nature play area
- great steps as amphitheatre seating, with large slides
- outdoor pavilion
- outdoor activity spaces for the community centre
The new Civic Centre building will contain the new community centre, as well as a library and childcare facility.
It will also house a fitness centre, gym, seniors centre with kitchen, youth centre, performance and multi-use spaces.
The Upper Green is a large, open lawn space on the upper level of the park. A fenced, off-leash dog area will be located nearby.
- large lawn area for informal activities
- space for group activities like tai chi, yoga and fitness bootcamps
- covered pavilion for concerts, performances and events
The Commons will be a hub of activity adjacent to the outdoor patios of several restaurants. Interactive water features will provide visual interest, as well as play opportunities for children.
- large stage area for events and performances
- open lawn for activities like sunbathing, picnicking and temporary volleyball or badminton nets
- playground space
- interactive fitness stations
- outdoor games like table tennis
- seating areas in sun and shade
The Meadow Gardens
The Meadow Gardens will be a lush area with a variety of wildflowers, and will also provide homes for birds and other pollinators. There will be an outdoor classroom and “learning garden” with support facilities for gardening and beekeeping.
- terraced community garden and orchard
- outdoor classroom
- pavilion with event space
- meandering path through a large perennial meadow that will encourage birds and insects
The Woodland will be a lush, forested area with boardwalks and seating areas. It will showcase ground flora native to the Pacific Northwest and is meant to be a restorative space in contrast to the more active areas of the park. Access will be off West 45th Avenue, at the southern end of the site.
- meandering boardwalk through the forest
- seating areas for small groups and individuals
The Pocket Park is located adjacent to The Woodland, and is accessed off West 45th Avenue. It’s meant to be a neighbourhood park, leading people to the entrance of the larger rooftop park.
- preschool-aged playground
- seating overlooking the playground
- grove of trees leading up to the park on the rooftop
Over 45,000 new residents are expected along the Cambie Corridor by 2041, more than doubling the current population and increasing the need for park space.
A final park design will be recommended to park board commissioners this summer.
The landscape architect is PFS Studio of Vancouver.
Need a reason to check out the @ParkBoard #OakridgePark open house tomorrow – an amazing scale model showing park spaces and how they relate to one another and the buildings https://t.co/vDvzZ3tuGA pic.twitter.com/b1WWNacY0G
— Dave Hutch (@dave_hutch) May 12, 2018
Oakridge Centre park public information sessions
Two upcoming public information sessions for the new park at Oakridge Centre are planned:
Thursday, May 10
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 12
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Oakridge Centre, 650 West 41st Avenue (entrance next to Hudson’s Bay)
For more information, visit vancouver.ca",1039,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522270.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518115411-20220518145411-00418.warc.gz,0.927131414413452
c0711856-e80e-4ed1-82cb-fe926fad7942,2017-08-22T03:22:08+00:00,2012-01-01,0,http://donatello.ucsf.edu/staff/chalkley.html,"Associate Adjunct Professor
|Ph.D.||Biochemistry||2001||University College London, London, UK|
|B.Sc.||Biochemistry||1997||University of Sussex, Brighton, UK|
|2010-present:||Associate Adjunct Professor, Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, UCSF, CA.|
|2010-present:||Associate Research Biochemist, Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, UCSF, CA.|
|2003-2010:||Assistant Adjunct Professor, Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,School of Pharmacy, UCSF, CA.|
|2003-2010:||Assistant Research Biochemist, Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, UCSF, CA.|
|2001-2003:||Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, UCSF, CA.|
I have two major fields of research interest. I am heavily involved in the development and application of novel technologies for the study of protein post-translational modifications using mass spectrometry. Secondly, I am involved in the development of tools for reliable analysis of mass spectrometry data.
Mass spectrometry is probably the most powerful approach for the analysis of post-translational modifications (PTMs). However, modification analysis using mass spectrometry presents several challenges, both in terms of detecting generally low stoichiometry modifications and then reliably assigning the actual modified residues. I have been involved in the development of mass spectrometric methods for the study of a plethora of post-translational modifications including O-GlcNAcylation, phosphorylation, sulfation, methylation and acetylation. I have a particular emphasis in the development of improved methods for the enrichment and characterization of O-GlcNAc modification, and its interaction with other regulatory PTMs.
With the rapid development of robust and sensitive mass spectrometry platforms the analysis of complex mixtures using mass spectrometry has become a routine exercise in many laboratories. However, the software for the comprehensive and reliable analysis of this type of data is often lagging behind. I am a leading developer of a set of proteomics software tools named Protein Prospector. This software allows the searching and reliable summarizing of results from LC-MS data. It can also perform quantitative analysis using stable isotope labeling or label-free strategies. This software is freely available on the web for anyone to use. Video tutorials describing how to use this software can be found here: Protein Prospector Tutorial.
Biarc J, Chalkley RJ, Burlingame AL, Bradshaw RA. The induction of serine/threonine protein phosphorylations by a PDGFR/TrkA chimera in stably transfected PC12 cells. Mol Cell Proteomics 11(5) 15–30. (2012) [Pubmed]
Baker PR, Trinidad JC, Chalkley RJ. /Modification site localization scoring integrated into a search engine. Mol Cell Proteomics 10(7) M111.008078 (2011) [Pubmed]
Chu F, Baker PR, Burlingame AL, Chalkley RJ. Finding Chimeras: A bioinformatic strategy for identification of cross-linked peptides. Mol Cell Proteomics 9(1), 25–31. (2010) [Pubmed]
Baker PR, Medzihradszky KF, Chalkley RJ. Improving software performance for peptide ETD data analysis by implementation of charge-state and sequence-dependent scoring Mol Cell Proteomics 9(9) 1795–803 (2010). [Pubmed]
Chalkley RJ, Thalhammer A, Schoepfer R, Burlingame AL. Identification of protein O-GlcNAcylation sites using electron transfer dissociation mass spectrometry on native peptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2009) 106(22) 8894–8899. [Pubmed]
Chalkley RJ, Baker PR, Medzihradszky KF, Lynn AJ, Burlingame AL. In-depth analysis of tandem mass spectrometry data from disparate instrument types. Mol Cell Proteomics (2008) 7(12) 2386–2398. [Pubmed]
Vosseller K, Trinidad JC, Chalkley RJ, Specht CG, Thalhammer A, Lynn AJ, Snedecor AO, Guan S, Medzihradszky KF, Maltby D, Schoepfer R, Burlingame AL. O-linked N-acetylglucosamine proteomics of postsynaptic density preparations using lectin weak affinity chromatography and mass spectrometry, Mol Cell Proteomics, 5(5), 923–934 (2006). [Pubmed]",1022,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109893.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822031111-20170822051111-00622.warc.gz,0.794341564178467
17356746-55df-4437-babf-5e677c02a73e,2017-08-23T14:14:31+00:00,2015-10-29,1,http://www.denverpost.com/2015/10/29/taylor-swift-says-former-denver-radio-personality-groped-her-in-2013/,"Singer Taylor Swift filed a federal counterclaim Wednesday accusing a former Denver radio host of reaching under her skirt and groping her before a 2013 concert.
The filing is in response to David Mueller’s lawsuit entered last month in which he claims he was fired from his job and banned from Swift concerts for life based on false allegations about the Pepsi Center encounter.
Swift claims Mueller, who says he was not behind the groping, waited “unreasonably” long to file his complaint and that the allegations therein are false.
“Mueller intentionally reached under (Swift’s) skirt, and groped with his hand an intimate part of her body in an inappropriate manner, against her will and without her permission,” the counterclaim says. “Mueller did not merely brush his hand against Ms. Swift while posing for the photograph: he lifted her skirt and groped her.”
The counterclaim was first reported by The Associated Press.
Swift’s filing says she “knows exactly who committed the assault — it was Mueller.”
“She has held thousands of meet-and-greet events for both fans and radio station personnel,” the counterclaim says. “In those thousands of events, she has been inappropriately groped one time — by Mr. Mueller.”
The encounter happened June 2, 2013, when Mueller was invited, as part of his then-job at 98.5 KYGO on the “Ryno and Jackson” morning show, to meet Swift backstage.
According to the suit, Mueller posed with Swift and his girlfriend, Shannon Melcher: After some small talk, “Swift suddenly announced it was picture time” and “quickly put her right arm” around Melcher. Mueller jumped into the photo “at the last second.”
Mueller says Swift’s security staff shortly thereafter approached the couple and removed them from the concert for allegedly grabbing Swift’s bottom earlier in the night. They were escorted from the building.
Mueller was fired June 4, 2013.
Mueller’s suit claims he lost his job and other prospective business opportunities because of the allegations.
Mueller’s attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.
“I can’t make any comments,” said Courtney Sullivan, an attorney for Swift.
Thomas Russell, a University of Denver law professor, thinks Swift’s claim is valid and that she has a strong case.
“If you intentionally touch someone’s rear end (without permission), that is battery,” he said. “Legally speaking, they’ve certainly alleged enough facts to proceed with the case.”
“It’s probably a bit naive of Mr. Mueller and his attorneys to think that Ms. Swift would not mount a strong defense,” he added.
Swift’s counterclaim requests a trial to settle the complaint and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
“Any recovery obtained by Ms. Swift will be donated to charitable organizations,” the counterclaim says.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, email@example.com or @JesseAPaul",690,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120573.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823132736-20170823152736-00653.warc.gz,0.972449541091919
8679f06c-2f94-4486-8a7d-67676d42d8ad,2020-10-21T05:15:56+00:00,2020-08-05,1,https://capitalsoup.com/2020/08/05/senators-janet-cruz-d-tampa-and-lori-berman-d-delray-beach-call-on-agency-for-health-care-administration-to-freeze-recent-contract-award-to-deloitte/,"In a shocking announcement earlier this week, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) announced its intentions to award a contract to Deloitte Consulting, LLC for Enterprise Data Warehouse services pertaining to Florida’s Medicaid program.
Deloitte is the same corporation that created the abysmal CONNECT computer system that processes the state’s Reemployment Assistance (RA) benefits. Over the last five months, millions of out-of-work Floridians have struggled mightily to access the benefits they are owed as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of businesses and record high unemployment throughout Florida.
Senator Berman stated, “Given this track record, it is shocking that the same company was even allowed to be part of the bid process. The fact that it was the winner of the bid is even more unimaginable. The State should not be rewarding a company whose data system has caused so much pain and grief to Floridians. Since March, over three million Floridians have filed claims for unemployment and the vast majority will tell you the experience was difficult, confusing and illogical.”
In its initial contract for CONNECT, Deloitte’s payment of $40 million ended up soaring to a figure of over $77 million by the time it was completed. Since then, the state has had to dump another $100 million in attempts to patch the failing website. The state of Florida has had issues with Deloitte in the past, and filed suit against the company in 2010 for issues stemming from its auditing of insurance companies that shut down following a flurry of hurricanes.
“The continued fleecing of Floridians for the benefit of Deloitte, one of the largest accounting firms in the world, is the epitome of governmental inefficiency. It is unfathomable that this could happen given Deloitte’s history with our state, particularly the atrocious CONNECT system,” said Senator Cruz. “Ultimately, the state of Florida should not even consider paying Deloitte one more red cent until every Floridian has received the outstanding unemployment benefits they are owed.”
Both Senator Cruz and Senator Berman request that the bid process be frozen so that it can be determined if the state utilized the catastrophic unemployment system in the bid scoring that culminated in the award to Deloitte.",480,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107875980.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021035155-20201021065155-00663.warc.gz,0.956576347351074
f72199d8-7691-4c9d-9bc3-96c5adc8d616,2019-08-17T15:40:41+00:00,2017-02-24,1,http://partnersforourchildren.org/policy/bill-tracker/hb-1116-implementing-family-and-medical-leave-insurance-0,"HB 1116/SB 5032 would establish a program that allows parents to bond with a newborn or newly placed child, allows workers to care for family members with a serious health condition (or to recover from their own serious health condition), and allows workers to deal with exigencies arising out of the military service of a family member. It does this by requiring the employment security department to: (1) establish and administer a family and medical leave insurance program; and (2) pay family and medical leave insurance benefits. Beginning in 2019, employees could take up to 26 weeks of paid family leave, which includes caring for a newborn or newly-adopted child or an ill family member, including injured service members. Beginning in 2020, an employee could take up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave, which can be used for the employee’s own serious health condition. The program would be funded by payroll premiums paid by both employees and employers.
Passed out of House Appropriations and referred to Rules 2 review on Feb 24. Did not make it out of the House before the House of Origin cutoff.",222,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00330.warc.gz,0.973524332046509
0c48bdcb-1bb2-407e-9731-da8c418dabd9,2020-10-31T14:33:02+00:00,2020-10-31,0,https://articles.bplans.com/your-market-story/,"Telling your market story isn’t about doing formal market research, or gathering the supporting information you’ll need to include in a plan for investors, or professors, or in some cases for the bank, your boss, partners, or any other third-party plan judge or reader. No. This is about knowing your market for yourself, so that you understand the decisions you make, understand the strategy, understand the heart of your plan.
You might get it from some kinds of market research, but in most cases we’re talking about understanding the market. Understand what people want, or need, and why they buy from you. Understand what they think about when they think about your business.
For example, let’s say you’re in the restaurant business. Position yourself. Is your restaurant about fine food and fine dining? White tablecloths and wait people dressed up in black and white, a vase of flowers on each table? Or is it about driving through with half a kids soccer team in the van, getting a bunch of hamburgers and drinks and french fries fast?
What needs are you solving? Why do people buy from you?
Now imagine you’re a business plan consultant. Can you do detailed market research for high-budget situations, like major companies looking for information about entering new markets? Or are you aiming at the people next door trying to start a business? Do you want buyers who expect to pay tens of thousands of dollars, and can you give them what they expect to get? Or are you aiming at those people who are borderline between having somebody do it and doing it themselves, who would pay $500 to get a plan done, but not $1,000? These are huge differences.
Now pretend you’re a blog. How and why will people find your blog, and what will make them return?
Imagine a conversation between your favorite customer and a friend or acquaintance, about your business. What do they say? “It’s pricey, but the food is fabulous so it’s worth it,” or “It’s a price performer. Not bad if you’re in the neighborhood”?
One of the sadder elements of this exercise is the many businesses who really don’t know how their market sees them. The bed-and-breakfast places who are getting customers because the hotels are full, whose customers wish the organizer woman would leave them alone. The bed-and-breakfast who is aiming for quaint and historic and full of character and is getting business because of location and low price. How sad when people change their formula without even realizing what, in their customers’ minds, their formula was.
One of the best exercises is thinking through who isn’t in your market. Who aren’t you trying to reach? How does ruling that person out help you understand who you are looking for?
For example, Starbucks has to know that it isn’t trying to get the drive-through customer in a hurry. The Sushi restaurant has to know that a minivan carrying one parent and six 12-year-old kids in soccer uniforms isn’t its market. The personal shopper has to know she isn’t looking for cost-conscious bargain basement buyers.",686,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107918164.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031121940-20201031151940-00628.warc.gz,0.967704832553864
dcdbd301-b6c4-44b7-96bb-e7d03c05334b,2019-08-23T11:16:14+00:00,2017-10-17,1,https://nonprofitchronicles.com/2017/10/17/inyenyeri-a-bold-plan-for-clean-cookstoves/,"Thousands of words, including many on this blog, have been written about the so-called clean cookstove sector. But the fundamental problem with cookstoves has been captured in a single sentence by Kevin Starr of the Mulago Foundation.
“The cheap stoves aren’t good enough,” Starr says, “and the good stoves are way too expensive.”
Yep. Cheap cookstoves–sometimes described as “clean,” “improved” or “efficient”–can save users money, reduce carbon emissions and slow down deforestation, at least when compared to open fires. But they don’t burn cleanly enough to keep users from breathing unhealthy air into their lungs, with terrible consequences for the health of children and adults. If the primary purpose of a cookstove is to prevent disease, then it’s ethically questionable, in my view, to put philanthropic or taxpayer dollars behind “improved” or “efficient” cookstoves that fall well short of World Health Organization standards.
How, then, can philanthropy deliver truly clean cookstoves to the poor?
Inyenyeri has a bold plan. A small company in Rwanda founded by an expatriate entrepreneur named Eric Reynolds, Inyenyeri leases high-quality stoves to poor people for a nominal fee, then recovers its costs and makes a profit by selling wood fuel pellets to its customers at a cost that is less than what they now pay for charcoal. The business model is ingenious, if not original. After all, you can buy a printer for just $29.99 because the profits are all in the ink.
“It’s the razor blade model, right? You make your money from the blades, not from the handle,” says Louis Boorstin,* managing director of the Osprey Foundation. “Because it’s run that way, Inyenyeri can use the best available cookstove. That gets you a health benefit, an environmental benefit and a social benefit–and a more viable business model.”
Mulago and Osprey both have supported Inyenyeri. They want the company to succeed. So do I, for at least three reasons.
The challenge of “stove stacking”
First, Inyenyeri is using Mimi Moto stoves, which are, by most accounts, the cleanest biomass stoves in the world. Designed by a Dutch company and made in China, Mimi Moto stoves can burn virtually any kind of biomass — wood, crop waste or dung — but the uneven quality of those fuels makes a clean burn just about impossible to achieve. So Inyenyeri manufacturers low-moisture fuel pellets, a standardized fuel that is turned into gas before it is burned, and calibrates the stove to match the fuel. This combination of stove and fuel is key to protecting human health.
Second, to the best of my knowledge, Inyenyeri is the only cookstove company that tackles, head-on, the stubborn problem known as “stove stacking,” which refers to the fact that even after buying an improved cookstove, many users continue to cook over household fires as well. This all but eliminates the health benefits of the new stove. So Inyenyeri typically provides its customers with two Mimi Moto stoves.
“We’re trying to replace, in every house, every stove they’re using with the cleanest (biomass) stove on the planet,” Reynolds says, via Skype, from Rwanda. Biomass, he says, is readily available, cheap and easily turned into pellets.
Third, Inyenyeri has invited independent researchers to do a rigorous study of its impact on health and poverty. A research team from the University of North Carolina, funded with a grant of $2.6m from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to see how cookstoves work in the field. (This is far superior to the lab tests that most cookstoves undergo.) The researchers will measure personal exposures to air pollutants over a five-year period in homes using the cookstoves, as well as in a control group. They’ll also look at the financial gains, if any. US AID and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves are also funding the study.
Interestingly, Ashu Handa, a development economist at UNC and a lead investigator on the study, told me by phone that he has doubts about the future of biomass stoves. “I think the developing world is going to move to LPG, natural gas,” he said. But Handa says he has been impressed by what he’s seen of Reynolds and Inyenyeri. “Eric is a perfectionist,” he said. “He and his team are so focused on getting this right.” Reynolds doesn’t believe that poor people will be able to afford natural gas stoves anytime soon.
Reynolds, who is 65, came to the cookstove sector late in life. A mountaineer, he founded Marmot, the outdoor clothing and equipment company, in a Grand Junction, Colorado, storefront in 1974. His obsessive commitment to performance made Marmot a favorite of dedicated outdoor enthusiasts. (“Quality was Marmot’s raison d’etre and its greatest liability,” one critic wrote.) Reynolds spent 13 years at Marmot and developed two other outdoor sports businesses, SweetWater and Nau, before moving to Rwanda in 2010 to launch Inyenyeri.
It’s been a struggle, he admits, to find that elusive biomass stove that will protect the health of users. He tried a Philips-made stove that didn’t work well. He likes the Mimi Moto stove, but has worked with the company to improve it over the last two years. In the long run, he thinks, a two-burner stove might be a better solution. Along the way, he’s encountered skeptics.
“I was in the wilderness for a long time,” he says. “People thought I was Kramer on the Seinfeld show.”
New commitments of capital
To their credit, Mulago and Osprey helped keep Inyeneri afloat. Mulago provided an $800,000 loan and Osprey provided about $600,000, mostly loans. Inyenyeri remains small, with about 2,000 customers, but it is poised for growth, thanks to major new commitments of capital, grants and revenues from carbon finance.
In June, the company got a vote of confidence from the World Bank. The bank, through its carbon finance unit, signed an agreement to buy at least 600,000 and as many as 1 million carbon credits from Inyenyeri between now and 2023. What this means is that the bank will pay Inyenyeri for each ton of carbon pollution that it prevents by replacing open fire cooking with its stoves. The price of the credits wasn’t disclosed but they are expected to be between $5 and $10 each. The carbon-finance commitment has allowed Inyenyeri to borrow money that it needs to buy stoves and expand its production of wood pellets. Lenders include the Luxembourg-based Althelia Climate Fund.
“Our model is very capital intensive,” Reynolds says. “We have to buy two stoves per household, in advance. We have to build pellet factories. We have to hire staff.” The stoves cost about $80 each, he says, and he estimates that the company spends about $250 per household before it can generate revenues.
In August, the IKEA Foundation made a 3m euro grant to Inyenyeri, as part of its global commitment to protect the health of children. That support is critical as Inyenyeri moves towards its goal of providing cookstoves to 150,000 homes in Rwanda by 2020.
That’s an audacious goal, but Reynolds expects growth to come quickly as word spreads that customers can save money by signing on with Inyenyeri. Rwandan families today mostly cook over charcoal, and pay about 18,500 Rwanda francs, or $22, per month for fuel. Inyenyeri customers pay about 12,500 francs, or $15, per month, a substantial savings, in part because Mimi Moto stoves are so much more efficient than open fires.
“It’s a big savings, and they don’t have to buy the stoves,” Reynolds says.
Remarkably, Inyenyeri has come up with the way to serve even the poorest of the rural poor, who have no money and gather their own wood. “We’ve all seen the pictures of kids and women carrying bundles of sticks and branches, wasting too many hours each week gathering cooking fuel for a three-stone fire,” he says.
Not wanting to leave them out, Inyenyeri came up with a barter system under which rural household provide the company with wood, the raw material for its pellets. In return, they get stoves and pellets. These cashless customers only have to collect about half as much wood as they used to because the stove-pellet combination is so much more efficient than open fires, according to Reynolds.
If all this sounds complicated, it is. The business has lots of moving parts, and outstanding challenges, including distribution. Charcoal can be purchased in very small quantities, while Inyenyeri customers currently buy a month’s worth of fuel at once. The company would eventually like to make its pellets available at kiosks or vending machines throughout cities.
“We’re still scrambling,” Reynolds tells me. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty involved.”
But the potential is enormous. Maybe I should have started this post by reminding readers that about 3 billion — yes, 3 billion! — people cook and heat their homes using open fires or crude biomass stoves. The WHO estimates that more than 4 million people die prematurely from illnesses attributed to household air pollution caused by cooking.
Because Reynolds, from the start, has been dedicated to preventing death and disease, he has come up with a model that is designed, not merely to sell or give away stoves, but to get rid of the smoky, open fires that kill millions of poor people every year. This approach, if it works, will also save his customers money and deliver climate benefits on a meaningful scale.
To achieve its potential, Inyenyeri needs to raise still more capital. Reynolds hopes to have more to say about that at the annual meeting of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves later this month in India. You can listen to a talk by Eric Reynolds here.
*Louis is a friend, but I found Inyenyeri on my own.",2329,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318375.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823104239-20190823130239-00503.warc.gz,0.958552420139313
2762fa8c-7a82-4a3d-b971-202d57dad66a,2016-07-29T06:05:47+00:00,2006-03-17,0,https://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Georgia/Savannah-770825/Things_To_Do-Savannah-St_Patricks_Day_Parade-BR-1.html,"St Patrick's Day Parade, Savannah
Second largest St Pattys Day Parade in US. This year 1/2 million people attended. Now that New Orleans had tragedy strike, we are the biggest party. Drinks allowed in paper cups but not lager than 32 OZ.
Directions: Downtown and River Street
Do everything you can to get to Savannah for St. Patricks Day!!!
If you're lucky, you'll have a friend that supplies an endless supply of green jello shooters from above, while you watch the parade below!
St. Patricks day is a fun filled day of people from all over coming to party and celebrate. Here is a picture of City Market which is a couple of blocks from the Riverfront.",151,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00166-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946672141551971
320c3428-800b-49cc-99d8-0a1e5137cdc5,2017-08-19T20:41:26+00:00,2016-08-19,0,https://prezi.com/wfeztqxzxsor/aliens/,"Send the link below via email or IMCopy
Present to your audienceStart remote presentation
- Invited audience members will follow you as you navigate and present
- People invited to a presentation do not need a Prezi account
- This link expires 10 minutes after you close the presentation
- A maximum of 30 users can follow your presentation
- Learn more about this feature in our knowledge base article
Do you really want to delete this prezi?
Neither you, nor the coeditors you shared it with will be able to recover it again.
Make your likes visible on Facebook?
You can change this under Settings & Account at any time.
Transcript of Aliens
The encounter and knowledge of aliens will pose a great threat to humanity and society.
How they will change us
By: Chrissy and Lisa
Aliens in Folklore
-Most significant incident in UFO history
-Corona, New Mexico
-Explosion during a thunderstorm
-William Brazel found skid marks, metal debris covered in hieroglyphics and geometric shapes.
-Government claimed to posses a UFO
- Later denied it
Do you believe in aliens?
Aliens are like us
How would aliens treat us?
-Many religions will be proven wrong if aliens exist
-would cause feuds and panic
Some people believe that aliens are connected to folklore
-In the past, people did see aliens, but reported them to be fairies, elves, gods etc.
""Abduction by non-human beings is an aspect of much folklore""
Crop circles are said to be messages from aliens
1980's: there was a phenomena about crop circles
Crop circles date back to 1600's in Holland
""Three acres of oats were found so neatly mow'd by the devil""
Sightings and Abductions
-Abductees have reported many alterations on their bodies after being abducted by UFOs
We have had such a rich history of alien sightings and abductions... still... we doubt their existence!
-selfishly hurting us
Why aliens might hurt us!
UFO evidence on humans
-People who were abducted report burns, unexplainable cuts, paralysis, unconsciousness, unexplained radiation sicknesses, phantom pregnancies etc.
-Meteorites have traces of acids and materials that make up our bodies
-proves that the building blocks of life travel around space and were around the solar system before us
All living things are based on organic chemistry
-There are the same compounds in space as it is on earth
ie. we are all primarily made of water
-Life outside earth would be similar to life on earth
-Aliens would ACT like humans but would not LOOK like humans, scientists say
-The existence of aliens challenges some cultures/religions
-people are brought up believing a set of ideas and suddenly, they are proven wrong
Since they behave the same way we do...
-Aliens will treat us like we treat animals
-they may dissect and displace us for medical research
-they may enslave, displace and conquer us
-hunting, keeping us as pets, and for other means of entertainment
ie. Europeans conquering North America
ie. how we use dolphins in shows at MarineLand
Aliens may bring us diseases
-like when people spread diseases through different regions of the earth
-We are unfamiliar and have no immune system build up to their bacteria
-this can be devastating to the human race
-may be contagious and extremely lethal
Aliens may bring diseases to our plant life
-This may harm the entire ecosystem and disrupt the food chain
-may become a food crisis/ starve humans
Spreading their Religion
How we may prevent this?
We can exchange biological information with the aliens and see what possible bacteria can attack us
Aliens can create a weapon designed specifically to destroy humans
-Aliens may want to spread their beliefs and culture to us
-Not conforming to it may bring us danger
-Since aliens are much older, their culture is more developed than ours
-Humans would look primitive compared to them
-May want to abandon our culture to be more ""modern""
-This would cause our society to collapse
-our beliefs that have been developing for centuries may be abandoned
-Humans may have acted in a way that offended the aliens
-sending radio signals to try to listen to them, sattelites, space junk, etc.
-since there are cultural differences, we may not know what is ""polite"" to them
Aliens may want to steal our resources, elements, and genetic structure
They may have used up their own resources
We may have rare, valuable resources
Earth is extremely rich in resources
-To do what is for the benefit of the universe
Aliens may want to destroy us if they see more value produced without than with us
We are expanding and destroying our earth at a quick rate
-aliens may not be happy with what we are doing
-they may want to eliminate us for their universalist values
-before we expand and destroy other planets, they would want to destroy us first
-the bigger the civilization, the harder it is to eliminate, so they would do it ASAP
-Simon-Conway Morris of Cambridge University
-Lynne Rothschild, Astrobiologist
-It is inevitable that aliens will harm humanity in some way or another
-Aliens do not care about the well-being of humans
-All living things want to thrive and survive, which is why aliens would not give us mercy if they really wanted to kill us
We should be wary of our actions and try our best not to offend the aliens
ie. take better care of our planet, not send space junk into the solar system
-They may want information from humans
-ie. food production, biotechnology
-Want you DNA
-parts in the human genome that have an unclear purpose
-Test their weaponery
Much like humans taking resources from country to country after they conquer
-Earth has a large biodiversity
-more species to research than on their home planet
-Researching human behavior
-like humans do to animals
When aliens come we should remain calm and just let them take over
-Alien weaponry will be more advanced than ours
-Humans will not stand a chance
UFOs during WW2
-Many sightings around Germany and France
-""UFO"" lights were nicknamed Foo Fighters
-Pilots who saw foo fighters were ridiculed and told that they had battle fatigue
The Three Wisemen story
How would aliens effect our religions?
Will aliens bring us disease? What kind?
Would you conform to alien religion?
Why do aliens want revenge?
What would aliens be researching?
Do aliens care about what we do to Earth?
ie. raiding, war, robbing, etc
-evolution is predictable
-we have seen this in the abductions- mysterious cuts, phantompregnancies
They may be running out of biological diversity
-much like how we are using up our non-renewable resources extremely quickly
-they may not have such resources on their planet
-abduct us and take our genetics/ genetic structure
Seth D. Baum of Pensylvania State Universtiy
-ie. they can make earth a ""pit stop"", or a highway
-They may destroy our society, religion and culture
Transformation: The Breakthrough
-do it while we are contained on earth
ahhh the planetary ones!",1570,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105922.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819201404-20170819221404-00495.warc.gz,0.918758273124695
88d1e5b2-6e3e-4069-bea2-58cabc939e42,2015-03-30T05:52:09+00:00,2014-10-02,0,http://salemnews.net/page/content.detail/id/558462/Tournament-time.html?nav=5097,"HUBBARD - Bragging rights were on the line at the annual ITCL Division I and Division II Golf Tournaments Wednesday at Pine Lakes Golf Club.
Mineral Ridge finished first in Division I with 349, South Range placed second with 358 and East Palestine ended up third with 358.
Also, United finished fourth with 376, Jackson-Milton ended up fifth with 377 and Crestview placed sixth with 400.
Southern Local's Clayton Cunningham sinks a putt on hole No. 14. In the background is Columbiana's Joe Munyon. (Photo by Patti?Schaeffer)
Finally, Lisbon was seventh with 419, and Springfield rounded out the division with a 431.
United's Bradley Miller earned medalist honors shooting a 75.
Columbiana finished first in Division II with a score of 329, Western Reserve placed second with 345 and Lowellville ended up third with 351.
Also, Leetonia finished fourth with 372, Southern Local finished fifth with 383 and McDonald placed sixth with 404.
Finally, Wellsville was seventh with 440, and Sebring rounded out the division with a 469.
Western Reserve's Payton Snyder earned medalist honors with a 76.
In Division I, Ryen Kemp contributed a team-best 85 to lead the way for the Bulldogs.
Also for East Palestine, D.J. Bandy and Phil Gerner each recorded an 89, Alec Dumbauld delivered a 95, and Andy Ellis tallied a 96.
Avery Andric recorded a team-best 93 to lead the way for Lisbon.
Also for the Blue Devils, Jordan Rutecki contributed a 107, Dylan Royer delivered a 108 and Logan Kress shot 111.
Finally, Lucas Tolson shot a 113.
In Division II, Doug Tice tallied an 81 to lead the way for the Indians.
Also for Southern Local, Jimmy Giannone ended up with a 93, Clayton Cunningham, contributed a 104 and Mitch Hartline tallied a 105.
Finally, Jarret Dowling delivered a 119.
George Anderson delivered a team-best 98 to lead the way for Wellsville.
Also for the Tigers, Nick Bayer recorded a 100, Travis Childers shot 114 and Tyler Almy added a 128.
Finally, Noah Palmer produced a 159.
Potters win tournament
BYESVILLE - The East Liverpool golf team continued its strong showing Monday by winning the Meadowbrook?Invitational. East Liverpool finished first with 312, Strasburg placed second with 350, Meadowbrook ended up third with 354 and Maysville finished fourth with 361.
Individually for the Potters, Isaac Davidson led the way with a 75. Also, Blake Prince produced a 77, Alex Watson shot 79 and Joey?Cilone tallied an 81. Finally, Ryian Burson recorded an 87, and Matt?Hilditch contributed a 95.",586,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00118-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.905329465866089
6a9f945f-dc52-4bb0-87d6-021b4136de28,2020-10-24T00:11:46+00:00,2020-10-24,0,http://blountsoups.com/contact,"- CALL the Blount Customer Care Team:
We are here for you from 8:00am – 10:00pm EST daily. 1-800-274-2526
- TEXT the Blount Customer Care Team:
Text CHAT to 1-800-274-2526 to chat with the Blount Customer Care Team by text.
By texting CHAT, you consent to receive text messages (including automated and marketing messages) from or on behalf of Blount at your mobile number provided. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Text STOP to end your chat. Message & data rates may apply.
We’re available to respond 9:00am – 10:00pm EST but text us anytime and we’ll get back to you! If it’s urgent, give us a call!
- Connect with LIVE CHAT:
Ask your question right now with a member of the Blount Customer Care Team. Click on the Chat bubble at the bottom of our web page. Our team is online 9:00am – 10:00pm EST.
- EMAIL Us:
We look forward to helping you. While not as quick as Live Chat, we respond to email messages in the order that they are received, and will respond to your email as quickly as possible. Simply complete the Contact Us form and click ‘Submit’.
- SNAIL MAIL:
We welcome any comments or cards by mail and will respond back as soon as possible. We can reach you more quickly if you include your telephone number or email address in your letter.
Blount Fine Foods
Customer Care Team
630 Currant Rd
Fall River, MA 02720",351,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00249.warc.gz,0.902263283729553
6e73ec96-1cf9-46d0-9271-40a005bdbd3d,2020-10-31T20:25:58+00:00,2020-04-01,1,https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020040100304/subaru-to-suspend-auto-production-entirely-amid-pandemic.html,"Subaru to Suspend Auto Production Entirely amid Pandemic
Tokyo, April 1 (Jiji Press)--Subaru Corp. <7270> said Wednesday that it will now suspend automobile production entirely, in the face of supply chain disruptions and a sharp fall in global demand for new automobiles amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Japanese automaker will shut down Gunma Manufacturing Plant in eastern Japan from April 11 to May 1, and extend the ongoing suspension, which started March 23, of production at Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. until April 17.
The total number of affected work days comes to 17 at the Gunma plant and 19 at the U.S. facility. Output is expected to fall about 39,000 units in Japan and 32,000 units in the United States.
All of Japan's eight major manufacturers of passenger cars are now seeing domestic production hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. Toyota Motor Corp. <7203>, Honda Motor Co. <7267> and Nissan Motor Co. <7201> have already announced their respective plans to halt domestic factories.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]",235,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922411.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031181658-20201031211658-00184.warc.gz,0.911829650402069
278bb631-a194-450b-8459-3745c1bd208d,2015-03-29T18:14:57+00:00,2014-05-25,1,http://archive.financialexpress.com/news/egypts-interim-president-urges-egyptians-to-vote/1254321,"Egypt's interim president urged Egyptians today to come out and vote in this week's presidential election, saying the vote will shape the nation's future.
In a televised address, Adly Mansour also sought to assure Egyptians that state institutions, including his office, would not interfere in tomorrow's and Tuesday's voting.
""Let us all come out tomorrow and the day after to express our free choice. Choosing, without being guided or dictated to, the person we trust to have the ability to build and run the nation,"" Mansour said.
Former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is the heavy favorite to win the election. His only rival is leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who placed a strong third in the last presidential election held in 2012.
El-Sissi led the military takeover that ousted last July the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, replacing him with Mansour, a career judge.
""The state's institutions, with the presidency at their heart, stand at an equal distance from the two presidential candidates. They have not and will not direct any citizen to a specific choice. Instead, we are all concerned with security and a wide popular participation,"" Mansour said in the recorded five-minute address.
El-Sissi has since last July enjoyed the support of the media, both state-owned and private, as he rode a wave of nationalist fervor that expressed adulation for the military as the nation's most reliable and strongest institution.
The military-backed government he installed since Morsi's ouster has since cracked down on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group he hails from, arresting thousands and killing hundreds.
El-Sissi, apparently for security reasons, did not campaign on the streets, restricting his activity to TV interviews and meetings with various interest groups. Sabahi, on the other hand, has crisscrossed the country, marketing himself as the ""candidate of the revolution,"" a reference to the 2011 uprising that toppled the regime of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
In separate development, a suspected member of an al-Qaeda-inspired group has been killed by his own roadside bomb in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, according to Egyptian security officials.
They said the militant's father lost an arm in the blast on Saturday. Both men, they added, are members of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, a militant group which has been blamed for some of the bloodiest attacks in Egypt in recent years.
The officials said the two were trying to plant the bomb on a road frequently",531,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298660.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00034-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.975286185741425
c7e290c5-1861-4f98-8253-b15f2af4f7fd,2013-05-25T20:02:44+00:00,2012-09-02,0,http://www.hcn.org/@@search?Subject%3Alist=Methane&advanced_search=True,"Researchers attempt to tease out the health effects of emissions from oil and gas drilling.
by Cally Carswell,
Sep 02, 2012
Colorado environmentalists goofed when they opposed a bill that would have harnessed the methane produced by coal mines as a form of renewable energy.
by Allen Best,
Jun 27, 2012",66,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962748765945435
c14f5fb6-e89b-4396-b762-0d4397fb32ef,2019-08-22T21:00:43+00:00,2019-07-29,1,https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4537600/zacks-investment-research-lowers-asml-nasdaqasml-to-sell.html,"According to Zacks, “ASML is a world leader in the manufacture of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry. The company offers an integrated portfolio for manufacturing complex integrated circuits. ASML designs, develops, integrates, markets and services advanced systems used by customers the major global semiconductor manufacturers to create chips that power a wide array of electronic, communications and information technology products. “
Several other research firms have also recently commented on ASML. ValuEngine raised ASML from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Santander cut ASML from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. ABN Amro assumed coverage on ASML in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They issued a hold rating for the company. New Street Research cut ASML from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Societe Generale assumed coverage on ASML in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They issued a buy rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. ASML presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $204.80.
ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. ASML had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 23.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that ASML will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the first quarter worth about $1,015,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in ASML during the second quarter worth about $3,807,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 10.7% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 347,423 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after acquiring an additional 33,495 shares in the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 27.1% during the second quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 598,760 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $124,500,000 after acquiring an additional 127,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the second quarter worth about $213,000. 17.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
ASML Company Profile
ASML Holding N.V. develops, produces, markets, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems consisting of lithography related systems primarily in the Netherlands, the United States, and Asia. It sells Holistic Lithography solutions, which integrate its three categories of products, including DUV lithography, EUV lithography, and Applications.
Read More: Are sell-side analysts objective?
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
Receive News & Ratings for ASML Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ASML and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.",800,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317359.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822194105-20190822220105-00410.warc.gz,0.957146525382996
93e0e4ed-12f8-4f15-9b6e-10faad64aad7,2018-08-16T12:45:58+00:00,2017-02-09,1,https://www.forbes.com/sites/miketempleman/2017/02/09/5-things-to-know-about-voice-search-and-how-to-capitalize-moving-forward/,"As mobile devices and internet of things devices become more prominent in our everyday lives, more people will start interacting with their devices through voice commands, rather than the more traditional input channels. While on the go, if we want to figure out what we need for our dinner recipe for that night, we may be more inclined to ask Siri, rather than physically Google what we are looking for.
For this reason, businesses should start taking voice search into consideration in their search engine optimization efforts. By 2020, it is estimated that 50% of all searches will come from voice commands. This means that businesses that are able to effectively target key phrases that are likely to be searched by voice are going to be a in good position to reap the benefits these next few years.
There are a few things that every business with a strong digital presence should be aware of in the next five years to ensure that they are in a good position to capitalize on the rise of voice search:
The Number of Voice Devices is Growing Rapidly
It seems like every few months, a new technology titan releases a device with voice search front and center. A major shift came when Amazon released the Amazon Echo, a speaker and virtual assistant solution that can play music, answer questions, control smart devices and generally make your life easier. Since then, Google has released the Google Home, and Apple is rumored to be working on a similar device as well.
This is just the beginning, too. As more of our home appliances begin to come with built-in smart features, it is important that we are able to recognize just how important voice search will become in the future. When you can ask your washing machine to tell you about the 7-day weather forecast, there is less of a reason to physically type in Google searches.
The growing number of voice search devices shows a clear trend in the search engine optimization industry. Voice searches are the way of the future and while they may never completely replace other forms of searching, they will play a prominent role in how the industry changes moving forward. It is best to begin preparing for that inevitable evolution now, rather than waiting.
Users Use Different Phrases in Voice Search
When people are asking questions of a smart device, they are doing so conversationally. This means that the types of keywords that businesses are currently targeting may become less relevant as time goes on, and yield smaller amounts of traffic. Businesses should begin preparing for conversational search queries that sound more like the way a person would talk, rather than a way that they would type.
Popular Devices and Deals with Search Engines
One often overlooked variable in this equation is where users will be coming from. While Google is still far and away the most popular search engine today, companies can make specific deals with search engines, providing search results through their system.
The Amazon Echo, for instance, uses Microsoft's Bing search engine to deliver all information to users. Depending on the popularity of these devices, companies may want to change their strategies to give them a more well-rounded optimization strategy across several search engines, rather than only targeting Google. The more effort that gets put into a well rounded effort, the better of a position your company will be in to take advantage of voice search and be less dependent upon a single platform.
Scour Your Analytics for Natural Language Queries
Take a quick look at your analytics from the last year or so. By scouring through the different keyphrases that people used to reach your website, you can probably spot a few that you are reasonably sure came from a voice search, rather than traditional inputs.
This can give you a good idea of what keywords users are already using to find your site through voice search and help you to alter your strategy to target more of these conversational keywords in the future. Traffic from these sources will only continue to grow in the coming years and it is important that you put yourself in a position to capitalize.
Optimize for Answering Questions
One of the most common sources of voice search traffic will be informational questions. Users ask their voice activated search a question and are then read back an answer. Figure out the types of questions that your audience typically asks, and create content around those questions. This will position you as a go-to source of information and help to build their familiarity with your brand over time. The way that people interface with their favorite search engines is changing, and companies must adapt to stay ahead of the curve.
Voice search is almost certainly the way of the future. As more of our everyday appliances begin to offer voice search, its usage will only continue to grow. It makes sense for companies to begin preparing for this inevitable transition now, and begin to create voice-friendly optimization strategies and content around conversational keyword phrases.",968,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210735.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816113217-20180816133217-00066.warc.gz,0.957660436630249
c9e377b6-98a6-4caa-9b89-fd8f848b764f,2019-08-18T21:45:20+00:00,2018-01-17,1,https://www.recordcourier.com/news/local/gardnerville-man-plans-county-commission-run/,"Valley man announces commission challenge
Chambers Field resident John Engels announced Wednesday that he is running for District 2 Douglas County commissioner.
A Republican, Engels said he and wife, Maria, moved to Douglas County because of its rural beauty and independent-minded residents.
He said concern about efforts to change the area’s “countrified” nature prompted him to run.
Engels, 72, has regularly attended board of commissioners meetings and participating in several small groups that delve into the reasons for county decisions and policies. “Douglas County simply can’t take in all of the people west of Lake Tahoe who are going to want to relocate here,” he said. “Wrong decisions are being made that put our quality of living in jeopardy.”
To inform residents of his platform, his background, and campaign events, he has established a website engels4commissioner.com. His campaign committee is working on signage, information materials and meeting voters.
“John’s financial expertise combined with his leadership experience in both the military and private sector make him a candidate ideally suited to begin a course correction here in Douglas County,” said campaign chairwoman Virginia Starrett.
“We tried in 2016 to get a majority of small-government voices on the Board, and we made some headway,” said Starrett, “but disappointingly, we still have mostly pro-development, pro-county tax-and-spend policies being implemented.”
Engels said well-thought through responses are needed at the board of commissioners to bring the county’s actions back in line with what the majority of residents want.
Infrastructure continues to be shunted aside in favor of special interests and nonessential projects for which little to no future planning was seemingly ever put in place, he said. Of particular concern, high-density developments are getting green-lighted at an almost breakneck pace despite serious potentially harmful consequences with respect to the availability of resources such as water, and the impact on the county’s streets and services.
“Affordable Housing” has become the latest push by the county, a push Engels said he views as entirely wrongheaded. He also takes issue with the lack of true transparency at every branch and department of county government.
“They consistently use any and every reason to not be permitted to share what’s going on with the people to whom they are supposed to be accountable,” Engels said. “I mean, look at ‘Tiregate.’ Could they be delaying and delaying hoping most folks will simply forget that the county’s management was so lax that multiple thousands, even a million dollars of theft and county embezzlement could go on for years?”
The “John Engels for County Commissioner” announcement event will be at Hamdogs, 1267 US 395, Gardnerville, Nevada, 6 p.m. Jan. 19.
Light refreshments will be served.",628,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314130.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818205919-20190818231919-00058.warc.gz,0.960977137088776
e25cdae8-5083-411a-80f1-35696c4481f2,2015-04-02T03:35:32+00:00,2013-02-14,1,http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/New-Skakel-trial-hangs-on-latest-appeal-4280318.php,"ROCKVILLE -- Michael Skakel's chance at another trial now rests in the hands of a Superior Court judge.
During a 45-minute hearing Thursday morning in state Superior Court, Judge Samuel Sferrazza heard a prosecutor's arguments as to why the Kennedy cousin's latest appeal of his 2002 murder conviction should be dismissed.
Sferrazza did not make a ruling Thursday morning.
If Skakel's latest appeal is not dismissed, a trial is scheduled for April.
Skakel, who was not in attendance at the hearing, nor were any members of the Skakel or Moxley families, is serving 20 years to life for beating Greenwich teenager Martha Moxley to death in 1975. During a hearing in the fall, Skakel again proclaimed his innocence and was denied parole.
Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Susann Gill argued during Thursday's hearing that Skakel is in procedural default by raising many of the issues with Sherman in the latest appeal.
""I'd say a good 80 percent of what's in his current petition"" was discussed and ruled on in previous court proceedings, she said.
""He doesn't get another opportunity to raise the same disputes,"" she argued.
Santos, arguing that Skakel should have the opportunity to show he was wrongly convicted, said that some prior court rulings give credence to the fact that Sherman did not adequately defend Skakel, who is the nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy.
""Mr. Sherman wasn't on his toes,"" Santos said.
Attorneys for Skakel argue in the appeal filed in 2010 that Sherman failed to challenge the state's star witness by finding witnesses who later rejected his claim that Skakel confessed to the crime. Skakel says Sherman failed to obtain evidence from prosecutors and others pointing to other suspects and failed to object to improper closing arguments.
""I stand by my defense of Michael,"" Sherman said when reached by phone Thursday. ""I also stand by Michael's innocence.""
He declined to comment further.
Santos said the latest appeal wasn't filed until later in September 2010 because the defense for Skakel was awaiting Sherman's indictment and more information about his tax troubles. Sherman pleaded guilty to tax evasion in June 2010.
""I don't think there is any procedural default whatsoever,"" said Santos, adding that he plans to subpoena Sherman early next week.
Gill said many of the issues in the appeal should have been litigated in 2007.
Santos and Gill declined to comment following the hearing.
When reached by phone Thursday afternoon, John Moxley, Martha's brother, said he wasn't aware of the hearing, adding that he believes Skakel has already had his day in court.
""I see no reason why there should be any more trials,"" he said.
Moxley said the multiple court proceedings for Skakel over the years have taken a toll on Moxley family members, who were once neighbors to the Skakels.
""It's definitely tiring and taxing and it's difficult,"" he said. ""You relive everything.""
""We have to continue to pay for it,"" he said. ""Just because he can afford it.""
The victim's 80-year-old mother, Dorthy Moxley, echoed her son's remarks a day before the hearing.
""It just amazes me they have all this energy to keep pushing for these things when they just hit a stone wall every time,"" she told The Associated Press Wednesday. ""I just think it's a big waste of time and money for the state of Connecticut to have to put up with all these appeals. And it's a waste of time and effort and money on my part.""
A Superior Court judge denied Skakel's request for a new trial in October 2007. The state Supreme Court denied an appeal of that ruling in April 2010.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.",816,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00270-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.981108367443085
38668bd9-8a46-4bb2-974e-c01ba6c222d8,2018-08-19T06:04:38+00:00,2011-06-01,0,https://www.businessinsider.com/app-search-finding-the-best-apps-2011-6,"The app market place is growing by the second and increasing the clutter at which we as consumers can find the best apps. App developers and companies are having a tough time marketing apps to their audience when there are millions of replica apps in the app store and in the Android app market. If you're like me, you may be daunted by a visit to the app store just due to the overwhelming amount of apps to choose from. App search and finding the best apps will become a hot topic in recent years. Just as search on the web has evolved, the process by which we use and search for apps on our mobile devices will be very different in five years than it is today. For one, expect a world where you don't have to go to different places to find apps on different platforms. Searching for apps and downloading the app will become just as fast as search on Google.
Nowadays, in order to find the best apps, it's necessary to read a review to get interesting perspectives on new apps at App Smile, Cellzddl, or sources such as MacWorld. Still the world is begging for the Google of App search to weed out terrible apps that you download and delete 5 minutes later. An App search should help you find the absolute best apps for your needs, whether it be a business app for productivity, a games app to fight boredom, or any great application to make it easier for you to connect with your friends.
There are definitely some hot start ups making waves at improving the way at which we search and find apps. One is Chomp which has the TV celebrity Ashton Kutcher on their board of advisors. Anything that Ashton Kutcher touches typically turns to gold on the web due to his TV fame and almost 7 million followers on Twitter. Another startup called Quixey is moving fast into the App Search world to improve the speed at which we find apps. They recently noted how the world will see apps in cars, on your new TV, and maybe even in your kitchen appliances. Definitely an interesting thought on how the apps will play a role in the next generation of the digital age.",428,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214702.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819051423-20180819071423-00565.warc.gz,0.968810141086578
080d7f6c-73a7-41fe-b677-c82e5a407b7e,2017-08-20T03:58:52+00:00,2016-08-17,1,http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/business/west-norfolk-care-home-put-into-special-measures-1-7538634,"A West Norfolk care home has been put into special measures after its services were deemed inadequate in a new report.
Inspectors identified nine separate breaches of health and social care regulations when they visited the Lower Farm Care Home on Grimston Road, South Wootton, last month.
But managers say they have drawn up an action plan to address the concerns raised in the report.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors assessed the home during an unannounced two day visit to the site in early July.
Their report, which was published last Wednesday, rated the home as inadequate for safety and leadership.
The home was also said to require improvement to the quality of its care, the effectiveness of its service and its response to calls for help.
The report followed two previous inspections carried out last year in which the home was said to require improvement.
However, inspectors said issues identified during those assessments had not yet been fully addressed.
The breaches of health and social care legislation identified in the report included a lack of updated fire risk assessments or personal emergency evacuation plans for residents, with no provision for anyone to be evacuated from the first floor.
The report said inspectors called fire officers to visit the home the following day because of their concerns.
It added: “People living at the home were at significant risk in the event of a fire. We told the provider they must take immediate steps to rectify the issue.”
Other concerns included a door to the treatment room being left open and unsupervised, potentially allowing access to medication and failures to ensure call bells were answered promptly.
The report added that a lack of training for mental capacity legislation meant it was also possible that some residents were being deprived of their liberty illegally.
In a statement issued yesterday, the home’s proprietors, Imalgo Ltd, said: “The failings in the CQC report are mainly down to lack of procedures, which Lower Farm will now implement.”
Talks were held between managers and the CQC yesterday to discuss an action plan, which the CQC will now review on a fortnightly basis.
The company said extra staff had now been recruited, reducing their need for agency workers, and an extra 56 care hours a week were being provided to ensure residents’ needs were met promptly.
The statement added: “This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis as the needs of our residents increase.”
The company added that new equipment had been installed and additional training given to staff on evacuation procedures.
A new auditing system for medication and care requirements is also being implemented and the company said residents would be able to make “as many decisions as possible” about their care.",558,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105970.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820034343-20170820054343-00623.warc.gz,0.985750198364258
06bcbdf2-c689-4be9-a00b-235970a23f6d,2018-08-21T06:50:56+00:00,2018-08-21,0,https://www.marytarotreadings.com/shop/,"Email Readings- Current turnaround 7 working days from receipt.
The reading will be between 1200-1500 words long. Sit with the information and be open to the messages received. Remember that you have the power to create change in your life and you can use the advice within the reading to facilitate this.
Only three concise questions allowed.
I am happy to clarify if necessary following the email reading but do not work with the assumption of “see what you pick up first” and then I will send you questions later. This means I am actually doing a reading twice. If you prefer to work this way I do suggest a phone reading where I always give you what I get first anyway because that is how I roll but with email readings they do take double the time of phone readings . Now that we have sorted out the house keeping and rules do be prepared for me to be honest but kindly so and this is really hard sometimes when we put this in writing. If you want sugar coating I am not the reader for you. You may need an Oracle reading.
Remember all readings are for guidance only. You still have free will to take control of your life.
After payment is made please send Photo (a clear selfie no sunnies please) , Date Of Birth to my email address firstname.lastname@example.org",271,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217970.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821053629-20180821073629-00588.warc.gz,0.942240238189697
88a2f631-c170-4aea-a32a-228f23dab1b8,2017-08-21T13:46:12+00:00,2012-05-01,0,http://thedivafabulous.blogspot.com/2012/05/aftermath.html,"Well Sweet Things,
My Assistant and I got to work early, I'm taking a short break right now.
If you want to know what's been happening go to SFGATE.com, they have pictures and stories, but it was horrible, the vandalism, the willful destruction of property that are owned and operated by the hardworking people, NOT the 1% is more than enough to say that ""Occupy"" is nothing but a reason for hoodlums to gather and have the opportunity to do damage.
They destroyed a Channel 5 news van, burned a police car, vandalized private businesses and private cars, my Joe has bruises that he showed me via video phone that are so black and blue it will be ages before they go, he may even have cracked ribs. He is in a lot of pain right now and he's seen other officers get it worse, bottles and paint thrown at them, hit with crowbars and metal objects, it's a job that he took on years ago, but it hurts him in other ways, people that need help that need the police.
One protester an Amanda Young said that (and I'm paraphrasing) this is not what Occupy is about, but that it does turn the people against them. Oh Really??? And what gave you that idea...no protest can be peaceful, and this is not Syria or Egypt, if you want to do a peaceful non-violent, non-vandalizing protest you can here in the U.S.A with out fear of being shot at---if it's peaceful, Syria and Egypt are totally different situations they are held by dictators.
But turn those vandals, those criminals in, show real solidarity that your message is peaceful. Show that""Occupy"" has zero tolerance to such acts. Since you're not then ""Occupy"" has no validity, it is nothing but a criminal element.
Heather could not get to school via the normal routes, our neighbor drove her to classes by different route, she was even thinking of staying late until someone could come and get her or the buses were running normally again.
Since my Assistant and I have put in extra time by coming in early we are going to go home early via the Ferry which is running again----if this was an earthquake disaster they would not have shut down.
And the cost in insurance, the rates will go up because of this ""Occupy"" what have you done---anything positive??? I think not. I am totally disgusted with ""Occupy's"" motives for they have none, I now view them as criminals, lazy good for nothings that want handouts without having to work for it.
I paid my way through college, working part time jobs, fighting for grants, if I didn't have enough money for a full class load I got what I could afford. I didn't have health insurance, going to clinics and dental schools for my medical needs, buying cloths at thrift shops, eating more Mac and cheese and raman noodles than I care to think about, sleeping on floors in well-meaning friends apartments, trading baby-sitting for a place to sleep, collecting bottles and cans to get money for foods or transportation, or walking everywhere, getting so thin that I looked like a refugee from WWII.
When my Father hears what I went through because of his stubbornness those years ago, he cries and asks forgiveness, which I give him, I can't hate him anymore, because he hates himself for what he did and now trys to make it up to Baby Sis and wants to make it up to me. He has in his own way, our healing our relationship has been like a soothing balm.
But it has taught me that hand outs only make people lazy, unless it is done in a way that is positive. You have to work for everything, save for everything, it cannot be handed on a silver platter, we want what our folks had??? They saved and scrimped and sacrificed for it, and so will you, think back to the 1930s' that is the only way.
Now I have to go, the rest of the staff is finally showing up after all the delays, so a meeting in 15.
Later Sweet Things. Kisses
Still another reason to love classic rock - *""Night into Morning""* *This is the storyline of the 1951 film, ""Night into Morning"" ....* *Berkley English professor Phillip Ainley (played by Ray Mil...
5 days ago",923,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108709.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821133645-20170821153645-00664.warc.gz,0.984018206596374
8d32c8dc-870e-49b1-bb5b-35cfd8715330,2017-08-19T18:29:06+00:00,2005-04-17,0,http://alibi.com/film/11496/editorial/includes/quick_forms.php?form_switch=rss,"Week in Sloth
The Week in Sloth
House of Wax (TCM 6 p.m.) Catch the classic Vincent Price horror flick now, before the upcoming Paris Hilton remake burns all memory of it from your poor mind.
“Most Identical Twins Test” (Discovery Health 7 p.m.) How identical are twins and who, pray tell, are the most identical twins in America? This medical inquisition will root out the freakiest of the freaks and expose them for all of America to ogle.
“Sheer Dallas” (TLC 8 p.m.) Former fake oilman Larry Hagman narrates this glimpse into the lives of the rich, the famous and the fabulous in glitzy modern-day Dallas. Heck, they even have gay people there now.
“160-Pound Tumor” (Discovery Health 7 p.m.) Holy crap! That's one big-ass tumor. I can't ...
“200-Pound Tumor” (Discovery Health 9 p.m.) Aw, who cares about some wimpy 160-pound tumor now?
Reefer Madness (Showtime 9 p.m.) The notoriously silly 1938 drug scare epic gets remade as a campy musical (!) starring Alan Cumming, Steven Weber, Neve Campbell, Kristen Bell and Ana Gasteyer. Drugs are bad, two, three, four.
“Garden Giants: Still Growing” (HGTV 7 p.m.) Hey, buddy. Wanna see a really big pumpkin?
“Arrested Development” (KASA-2 7:30 p.m.) Here's the deal: If this show doesn't come back next season, I'm coming to the houses of everyone who didn't watch and stealing the batteries out of their remotes. You can prevent this by catching tonight's season finale.
“I Married a Princess” (Lifetime 6 p.m.) Sigh. Another day, another reality show about some more rich, slightly famous people who think we average plebeians want to know every detail of their daily life. Actor Casper Van Dien (star of such classics films as Dracula 3000, Python and Tarzan and the Lost City) and one-time “Dynasty” actress Catherine Oxenberg (granddaughter of the former regent king of Yugoslavia) invite us into their world of family and fame. Whoopee.
“The Lance Krall Show” (Spike 9:05 p.m.) Atlanta improv comic Lance Krall tries his hand at a new sketch comedy show. (Best if we forget his stint on the Steve Martin-produced, canceled-
“Rides XXX” (TLC 8 p.m.) So, what, like cars of famous porn stars? Or just vehicles from the new XXX movie starring Ice Cube? ... Either way, I'm a little scared.
Ring of Fire (USA 7 p.m.) Unfortunately, it's not the Johnny Cash story. But it is the Emile Griffith story. Who's he, you ask? Griffith was a professional boxer, the first man to kill someone on live TV. It happened in a boxing match back in 1962, and I guess it messed up his life pretty good. This documentary explores the pivotal, tragic sporting event as well as some of the underlying causes, including Griffith's much-speculated sexuality.",720,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105712.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819182059-20170819202059-00225.warc.gz,0.91732931137085
ea73de2f-c6b0-43b3-9e0d-d55b3ba1ac02,2013-05-22T14:53:43+00:00,2013-05-22,0,http://well.ca/products/pampers-baby-dry-largest-box_32927.html/?aff,"|Size||# of Diapers||Baby Weight||Unit Price||Price|
|1||276||8 - 14 lbs (4 - 6 kg)||$0.17||$45.99|
|2||246||12 - 18 lbs (5 - 8 kg)||$0.19||$45.99|
|3||222||16 - 28 lbs (7 - 13 kg)||$0.21||$45.99|
|4||192||22-37 lbs (10-17 kg)||$0.24||$45.99|
|5||172||27+ lbs (12+ kg)||$0.27||$45.99|
|6||140||35+ lbs (16+ kg)||$0.33||$45.99|
Baby-Dry diapers with Caterpillar-Flex expand and contract as your child breathes, digests, and moves throughout the night to help sleep go undisturbed.
We're sorry! This item does not qualify for free samples during Sample Month.
My sons have always done well with pampers. Very few leaks and overnight is dry. Love the fast and free delivery.
My kids are comfortable with pampers and they are pampers baby..Its so nice to order online which saves me lots of time.
We're a Pampers family, love the product, pampers are comfy and the top of the line for absorbency. Especially love that you can order online for a very affordable price :)
Economy size are best valvue for the dollar. The free shipping plus at your door delivery i an excellent bonus.
As for the actual diaper tried and true ,excellent product
I love theses for my little girl! They are softer and I find that it is very absorbent. I prefer these over Huggies because of the softness. My little one seems more comfortable too and that's all I need to know. Well makes it so easy to buy with such efficient delivery.
As always, a great product from a great company, Well.ca! Thank you for your fabulous customer service!
Love these diapers! With my little guy moving more and more, I find that they truly do have a great fit and hold everything in, especially that they can last for 12 hours!
Price is great and diaper absorbs pee really well. Not so great with liquidy stools but not sure if any diaper really is. The service from Well.ca is exceptional: goods delivered on time and great customer service.
great quality but when you mentioned it is free shipping usually it is not free shipping to our area in northern quebec.
I tried other brands recently because they were a little cheaper, however, my baby ended up getting a diaper rash that I could not get rid of and they leaked through.....So I ordered Pampers again because I was tired of the cheap brands, after one day of using Pampers, the diaper rash cleared up and I haven't had the problem since. It will only be Pampers from now on for me and my baby:)
My go to brand at my favorite online diaper seller! Thanks Well.ca you rock!
Great buy at 0.19 per unit. Pampers diapers are nice and soft on my baby girl.
Love pampers diapers. They are the only one's I use. Great service from well.ca. They deliver to my front door so quickly. Thanks!
Pampers Baby dry is the only use on my little one. keeps my daughter dry even during the night.
My son/daughter in law sure enjoyed being stocked up with the diapers from Well.ca, Pampers Diapers and other items. It is great when they are all on sale and delivery made at no cost...Looking forward to doing more business with your company and thanks for your help along the way.....
Great diaper. BUT size 2 baby dry is the same size as size 1 swaddlers. I bought a huge case only to find out they are too small.
I tried Huggies but it's much more harder this Product is soft and I like it
This product works so well with my 6 months old son. He doesn't get diaper rash even if I don't put any cream every time I change him. It arrived at expected date. Thanks!
Oh I just love this pampers baby dry..it really works... :) I never tempt to try any other brands...Pampers is the best for my baby :)
I refuse to buy another brand for my son because I have tried many and they have all leaked!
Excellent diaper, plus the Gifts to Grow program from Pampers for added incentive gifts. This is the biggest package of diapers I know of and is not usually available in retail stores in my area. My kids love the Sesame Street characters and it actually streamlines diaper change time!
Pampers Baby Dry diapers are awesome!! I love this product for my baby, no leakage and keeps the wetness away from her bottom. Great product, Great Price and awesome delivery time.
I couldnt believe how fast it came! right to my door! that was just what a busy mom needs!
Love this product! These diapers absorb for 12+ hours, and with this size of pack, I don't feel like I'm always running out of diapers. We find the sizing a little off though . . . our baby has been able to stay in a smaller sizes for a few pounds beyond the size range, and I feel like this is when the diapers fit him the best.
Love these dipes. They rarely leak and they fit my chubby boy really well.
I love Pampers Baby Dry! Best diaper for my son, He doesn't leak through these as he did in the Huggies Snug & Dry. Great price and well.ca has quick and efficient delivery. I love that they can be left at the door!! Definitely be buying from well.ca for my boxes of diapers. THANKS SO MUCH well.ca
the only problem I find is that even though they are supposed to be ""baby dry"" they don't keep baby dry for very long. they don;t live up to the name.
love the baby dry diapers, i find they work great during the day. my daughter wears them with no problem of accidents. :)
I love this product i will always use pampers and i have all my friends with babies using them to .. my son sleeps 12 hours straight every night and he is 6 months and the baby dry diapers last all night with no leaks... and we love that we can get coupons for them from P&G brandsavers.com
Awesome! Love pampers baby dry. And well.ca has the fastest shipping around.
This product is great because it hold in the leaks, LAST for 12 hours and comes at a great price with the large box and the Baby Club option from Well.ca!
Great diapers! I love the blue strip-especially helpful for nana and papa!
Wonderful to have them arrive so quickly after ordering too!
The most economical package of diapers. Baby dry last my baby the whole night.
Love the baby dry. My son can go all night without being changed -which is great for both of us!! Having diapers delivered to your doorstep is amazing, especially when you're on maternity leave!
I purchased a few huge boxes of Pampers from your company for my daughter in law, her baby born Oct. 5, and she just loves them. She used Pampers for her first child, 8 yrs ago. I will be watching for specials coming on diapers to send to them. Thank you for the free delivery and excellent products. She also likes the Born Free bottles I got on sale from you...
Diapers delivered to my doorstep?! these are the things mothers dream of! This is my third baby to diaper and I have always found pampers to be superior over the competition! My sweet baby girl has no leaks through her 12HR nights sleep and we all wake up happy! THANKS PAMPERS AND WELL.CA!!
I love that these can keep babies skin dry for up to 12 hours. My 8 week old is already sleeping 10 hours, so it's nice to know that I don't need to worry about her delicate skin through the night.
Pampers are my fav. diaper!! They not only smell nice but they work best for my babies :)
love these diapers and won't use any other..they are leak proof and my baby boy is a huge eater and they have never let me down.
it is really good price when they offer you with the special discount. Also, well.ca offer free shipping all the time even this big item, I really love this, and I think you will for sure if you ever tried to carry these big item in your small car.
I love how easy it is to order diapers from Well.ca! When you have a little one and you're carting big boxes of diapers through a store, it gets difficult. Then you have to take them out of the car, etc. Having them come straight to my door with free shipping is a bonus!
love getting great deals on bulk products. Pampers are great diapers. with my twins we have to buy large or were always running out!
These are the only diapers that I find are leak-proof and comfortable. Most brands feel like paper, but Pampers are amazingly soft and flexible!
Great price , big box, and delivered right to your door. What more is there for a busy mom who doesn't drive. Thanks Well.ca!!
I love these Pampers BabyDry diapers. No leaks, no diaper rash and the economy size is just right. Well.ca is very fast, efficient and has great prices. The gift card during the diaper extraganza was a nice bonus as well!
With twin babies, the larger box of diapers comes in handy - best way to buy in bulk!
I found that Huggies brand diapers leaks and Pampers diapers rarely leak. Well.ca shipped very quickly. Great service!
Prefer Pampers over other brands that I have tried for my 2-month old girl, they fit well and doesn't leak as easily.
Great product selection, fast delivery to your door, no hassel. A great service for busy Mom's to have a great assortment of baby product to choose from. The FREEGIFT is just an added bonus. I will shop here again!
Great deals on well.ca, we are a pampers only family too, so to find them at such a price, boo-yah!
Can not do better than WELL. Great price, fast deelivery and free ..... no need to drive to get your Pampers. My son grew on Pampers and now my little princess
The prices compare to the generic brands (which leak way too often) at our local stores, and delivery was hassle free. I really like that there's no shipping charge so I don't feel pressured into purchasing more at once just to save on shipping.
Pampers have always been the best choice for us! And you can't beat this price!
This deal might not have been as cheap as say, Walmart. But it certainly was a good deal when I bought it under a wag jag promo with a $20 off.
Preferred diaper brand. I have found with both my kids that the diaper rashes have been minimally because of the absorbancy. No difference with girl or boy babies, pampers does well with either sex. I have learned my lesson from trying other brands and don't buy any other than Pampers!
The best diaper for babies 6mos+. Would love it more if the price is cheaper.
Love this product! Great price, easy shipping method and with the Baby Club, you get an even better deal!
Better than all the other brand... I try them all and Pampers are the only ones that keeps my baby dry all night long!
Love this product, definitely a ""Pampers"" only family....fits best on baby with minimal leaks. Price on Well.ca is competitive with local stores and most often better. Free shipping to my doorstep is incredibly convenient and very quick. This Momma is happy not having to lug around large boxes of diapers from a store to home anymore.
Incredible deal! I've been telling all go my friends to join this website if only for this deal (of course I boast about the hundreds of other deals here too!). Great fit, perfect price and I love the fact that the diapers are broken down into the pr diaper price...you know exactly what you're spending! The shipping is free and it comes straight to my house...with twins here, I really couldn't ask for more!
Best diapers fit my baby. no leaks. I am also happy with the price and delivery option offered by well.ca
Love Pampers....Loved purchasing from this site too...got the diapers delivered 2 days later right to the door, no need to get out and go shopping!
Great fit for my son, we have had some leaky diapers but that's expected...
Great diapers - only ones that work for my daughter and last through the night.
I really like these diapers and rarely have leaks. When well.ca has a sale on these diapers, it is the best price I've found. I really love getting them delivered directly to my door from well.ca!!
Always loved Pampers. However sometimes they do leak... not as bad as previous Huggies I used though. They would never hold enough! Love this super box for storing things once no longer filled with diapers and the quick home delivery free of charge from Well.ca is a HUGE bonus! I never run into a store to fight over the last box of diapers anymore!
These were the only diapers that baby didn't leak out of. Tried huggies, Kirkland and pampers swaddlers and none of them worked. Also love getting diapers delivered to the door.
awesome diapers and awesome service! diapers always show up in a few short days!
Love Well.ca and have been recommending it to all my friends for the best value for diapers in town!
Definitely our favourite brand of diaper - easy to use, snug fit helps prevent leaks, and very absorbent for nighttime. Well.ca has great prices and the free shipping is so convenient!
Consistently the best value for money. I can't find pampers anywhere else at this price point (and they deliver for free). I'll never buy diapers from anywhere else.
Love buying diapers through well.ca, price is great, shipping is free and it saves so much hassle!
I absolutely LOVE Pampers diapers. They are by far my favorite brand. Shopping on Well.ca was so convenient and easy. The diapers were delivered right to my door in a few days. It saves me from having to bundle the baby and go out and buy them.
Great product and value! Lowest price I have ever found! Delivered right to your door within days, would never buy diapers anywhere else!
Great product and value! Lowest price I have ever found! Delivered right to your door within days, would never buy diapers anywhere else!
Great deal and I use them for diaper cakes for all my friends and family having babies. Awesome deal!
as grandparents, its nice to give a good product to our grand-babies that is useful, very effective and at a great price!
Great product and the BEST price anywhere. I have a toddler and twins newborn boys and I am always on the hunt for a good deal - this is it! Pampers are the only brand we use and we use a lot of diapers. Fast shipping (3 business days to GTA).
Perfect gift for a baby shower - so useful for a new member of the family!
These diapers hold VERY well, no problems! :-). Great price for the huge box and awesome delivery! Only small item, is that the colour of the mid-point hash marks on the diaper to position your baby, are the same colour as my breastfed babies poo! lol. So when I check, it looks like some has spilled out, but it really hasn't.
We use washable diapers at home, but Pampers overnight and on the road. This large box has lasted us all summer. We've never had any leak issues with this size.
I love these diapers and that the sizes overlap. Makes it easy to move to the next size. Also, ordering them in the super-large box is fantastic.
I love pampers diapers, and I love this bigger box even more because with 2 kids using the same diaper size, a smaller box gets empty too fast!
bought when it was special. Good and you can save money and time when it is special. Recommend it
it is very good price for me, I love it very much, hope more this promotion
these diapers are really good, they fit good, dont leak and keep baby dry all night. also really happy with the web site delivery is fast and very convienient.
These are our favorite diapers. We've found they fit our skinny kids better than anything else out there.
i love pampers..I used them with my son and with another one on the way.I knew I would use pampers again:)...this was my first purchase on well.ca and will for sure be shopping here often...great prices and super fast delivery...thanks again!!!!
Doesn't absorb all the way with boys, but I have yet to find a diaper that does
Pampers have always been the preferred brand for our little family. They have consistently proven a reliable barricade to most calls of nature from ""light wind with some precipitation' to 'severe storm damage and flooding with debris'.
Love pampers over any other brand on the market. Great customer service and a willingness to fix a problem with no questions or hassle.
Love this product! Great size, and keeps baby dry, esp so at night!
Also love that I can get it shipped without having to go to the store.
Pampers Baby Dry diapers aren't lying when they say 12 hour protection...really great product!
Baby Dry Diapers are good value. They are not easily available in the biggest size at other places. They are soft for kids and above all, don't leak :)
I find these diapers great for those over night sleeps. They hold up real well. no leaks.
This is my 5th or 6th box of pampers i have bought ... great diapers and great prices ..
Great diapers, size of box, value and free delivery!
What more can you ask for?
My son (2 mts) just started size 3, but it has a yellow sun on the back that is the same colour as my sons poop, so every time I see this out of the corner of my eye I think ""oh no he leaked!"" but it's just the yellow sun. =P
How can you go wrong with this? Pampers is all I use, and to get a big box at such a great price is fantastic!!! Great quality, great price!
Great diapers. We've tried the others, but have found that for our kids the Pampers just seem to work best. They surpress the odour of urine better than some of the others and they also are less likely to leak.
Will always use Pampers! They're great! Well.ca has them for a great price and the free delivery is even better. I order all my diapers from Well.ca because having a family of 5 means no room in the shopping cart for big boxes of diapers. The home delivery is super convenient.
These don't give my dd diaper rash like some others. They rarely leak (a few times at night but not often). We don't buy anything else.
Pampers work well for my little guy. No leaks. I love well.ca service, easy to deal with.
I love the Baby Dry diapers. I tried Cruisers, but these fit just as well, no leaks, and much better price than Cruisers.
These are the best diapers, I just love these as they are soft, don't leak, and are a great value. The service is great, quick shipping and saves me time, no need to go and pick these up at the store.
great diapers! never have any leaking problems with them and fast delivery is great for busy moms!
I alway's use these and i think they're very good, i've never really had a problem with them and they are always on offer in boots so you definitley getting value for money
Are you kidding me? I dare anyone to beat the price. And free delivery is a Godsend for Mom's on-the-go. Love, love, love.
I absolutely loved the size I could purchase on well.ca, can't get that size any where else. Also I find the customer service and shipping to be excellent. Will definitely keep using well.ca in future.
Pampers are our preferred diaper. Love the little line that tells us the level of wetness! As usual, well.ca provided prompt shipping. I'll recommend this service/ company to all my friends!
This is the only diaper that can get my boy through the night without waking up to a wet bed :) Awesome!!
I love the big box with how many you get. But when I switched from a size 1 to a 2, I notice that they tend to leak more out the backside. Still love 'em though!
swaddlers much softer. my baby is a 2 in swaddlers, 3 in baby dry. bought them for overnite - don't find they are any better - i prefer swaddlers
Swaddlers are softer on the inside, but baby dry seems less bulky. Size 3 fit my son longer than other size 3 brands.
I was a 1st time buyer on well.ca, I loved that is was such a large package and came with a bonus g/c. The product was great and the shipping was super quick, I will be a repeat buyer. A++ :)
We've tried different brands and lines of diapers in the last 28 months and have to agree that Pampers Baby Dry is the best. it's soft and baby feels comfy. It would be a 5* if it's not that pricey!
Love them! We tried other brands but my baby boy leaked out of every other kind! They unfold very nicely when you put them on as well which becomes very important when your baby starts to move!
Love Pampers, love getting themdelivered right to the door; boxes thisbig don't fit in te cart along with 3 kiddos!
These diapers work just fine but beware of the sizing! I was a Pampers Swaddlers user, and bought the same size in Baby Dry, for night time etc because the price is better. The Baby Dry size is much smaller. You might want to size up if you are doing the same.
I got this pack on sale and with free shipping, best price for the diapers that I got in a long while
pampers are good, but i like huggies better. pampers get full much faster and feel wet on the outside.
After trying numerous other diapers we have found these to be the very best for overnights. We have a very active 3 month old and nothing has ever leaked out despite being very full! On our second box now and she still loves them!
LOVE Papmer's Baby Dry, a much better diaper compaired to Swaddlers. I use them all day long.
Love love love pampers brand ! Well.ca allows me to get what I need for my baby in the fastest and most efficient way. Great product. Highly recommended :)
Have used this brand since day one and baby stays dry. Soft, absorbs great and are good through the night. Love ordering and they arrive at my house in days and a great value frome well.ca
This is the second time i have purchased diapers through well.ca and more than the fact that the price is awesome, i love the quick and efficient service provided by them! I will definitely purchase more items through them just for the convenience of it all :-)
I quite liked this large box of Pamper's Diapers for my first child. Purchased size one initially, now opted for size two as per my baby's growing needs. In both of the scenarios the free delivery and the prompt service from 'well.ca' has won my heart. Also I like to make a mention of the eco - friendly packing is a fantastic idea to care about our surrounding.
Good job !
Shall continue to shop more from Well.ca.
I LOVE papmers baby dry, it seems to be the only diaper that can keep my son's bum dry without leaking all over the place. Buying the big box helps me make sure I don't run out of diapers too quickly for a great price!
Everything about this went smooth. Love the free delivery, love the gigantic box (bought sz 4 pampers) and this is definitely the best diaper deal I've ever seen. I don't get too lucky to get a great deal shopping in stores, but, this is hands down a great price and a nice mega pack! Will definitely be buying my next box from well.ca, great experience!
I love Pampers. I love them even more when they are delivered to my door. Thanks well.ca!!
I love Pampers Baby Dry. Good absorption. Soft. Great price when it's on sale and speedy delivery from Well! Thank you.
Good diaper... It keeps everything in! When baby is having explosive no 2 just go up a size until the no 2 settles.
Same great diapers I always buy but in a MUCH more convenient size and at a MUCH lower price!
These can hold a lot! Worked the best for both my daughter and son without costing a fortune. Store brand ones leaked and some are not very soft. The more expensive ones are not worth the extra cost. Pampers Baby Dry is just right.
Also, best price per diaper with this large box, especially when on sale.
This is a great product at the affordable prices! Good job well.ca. ........
I looooove pampers, i wore them as a baby and my daughter now wears them. I also live the gifts to grow points! I will continue to purchase pampers for my lil one till shes potty trained : )
Great product and such a reasonable price. I love the conveniece of having it shipped to your home for free.
Love the amount for such a great price! And bonus it is shipped right to my door so fast!!
I love this product--it's the only brand I use. And Well.ca is so convenient. I ordered my diapers on a Monday and they arrived on my doorstep the NEXT day! Awesome!
I'm somewhat disappointed with this brand of pampers. My son is 5 weeks old and we have used only pampers swaddlers until I recently ordered pampers baby dry (largest box, which is fantastic that they offer now) I thought I would try the baby dry after reading such great reviews. The first thing I noticed is that the sizes are different when comparing the size 1 swaddlers and baby dry diapers. The baby dry diapers are noticabley smaller and can barely fit my son. I'm not sure if this would be the reason why the baby dry diapers always leak when my son has a bowel movement. It's very frustrating and I've had to spend a lot of time washing my son’s clothes. I now have over 200 baby dry diapers and had to purchase swaddlers again. I use the baby dry diapers at home and when going out I use the swaddlers.
On a side note... I'm very impressed with Well.ca and the speedy free delivery!
These diapers are the best- loved the attentiveness of Well.ca and speedy (and free) shipping- thanks!
Great value! fast and convienient shipping! Pampers is the way to go for babies who are on the go or known for blowouts! Pampers is the only brand I will buy
These are the only diapers that keep my twins dry all day and night! Before I started using them, I was changing sheets constantly. Not any more! Love that they show up on my doorstep too :)
Excellent deal - thank you. I also love the straight to my door shipping - so convenient.
I love these, I've never had a single blowout. They always fit right and my babe has such a tiny little bum sometimes it's hard to find diaper that are proportioned properly. And you really can't beat the price!
We've always used Pampers diapers after trying other brands and having them always leak. We've never had a problem with Pampers!
Great product! I only wish they had any other prints than just sesame street characters. My family is absolutely indifferent to them. And it's not like they have to invent something - we bought Pampers in Europe and they had an adorable farm animals prints. Why can't we have them here in Canada?!
I've occasionally tried other cheaper brands but always end up with ""leakers"". I find going one size up in pampers does the trick. I'm brand loyal... once I find something good PLUS great value shopping at well.ca.
We love these diapers! We have been using the 'Baby Dry' diapers since our son was born, and are thrilled by how they work. We have yet to have issues with any serious leakage, even overnight!",6254,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963342368602753
044817db-44d4-45c9-bd57-fb827c3047fc,2016-07-26T03:03:49+00:00,2012-04-19,0,http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/macro/macro-chatter-0419,"Need to know:
Spanish bond yields rose as expected today, Reuters said.
Spain is among the countries grappling with a double-digit unemployment rate Europe wants to help fix by making it easier for Europeans to seek jobs across country borders.
The European Commission is proposing new rules to make it easier for workers to take cross border jobs without losing pension or unemployment benefits or gaining tax hurdles.
Want to know:
The case of Bo Xilai illustrates just how far wealthy Chinese may go to secretly shift money out of the mainland, my colleague Benjamin Carlson writes.
Bo’s wife Gu Kailai is suspected of poisoning British businessman Neil Heywood after he threatened to expose her shady ways of sending money offshore.
China is thought to have sent more illicit money out – an estimated $2.74 trillion - of the world than any other country between 2000 and 2009. “Almost unimaginable sums of money are illegally leaving China every single day,” economist Sarah Freitas told Carlson.
Dull but important:
The emerging world is on an easing spree.
Brazil’s central bank trimmed interest rates 75 basis points to 9 percent last night, becoming the second of the powerful BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to shift its monetary policy stance this week.
China also is hinting at a possible rate cut, Marketwatch reported, and South Africa is expected to keep rates steady as the emerging markets driving world economic growth take steps to drive their own economic growth.
In the latest twist to the automotive globalization story, German automaker Audi said it would build its first North American factory in Mexico.
The company expects to produce 150,000 Audis in Mexico in hopes of helping it reach its goal of selling 1 million Audis in the US by 2018, Reuters said.
Strange but true:
Virgin Galactic and Abu Dhabi’s government has decided it’s time to make Abu Dhabi a regional hub for space tourism.
Richard Branson’s company, which aims to provide sub-orbital space flights to the public, has selected the United Arab Emirates’ capital for its second spaceport.
So far, 500 people are said to be in line for a ride on Virgin Galactic. They’ll pay $200,000 each, which hopefully is enough to help them avoid additional baggage fees.",483,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00237-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.931640863418579
3787d158-b54f-4cea-a214-0a3af9618c39,2022-05-20T10:57:54+00:00,2022-05-20,0,https://ulstertower100.com/portfolio/1st-july-1916/,"The attack was launched at 0730hrs on the 1st July 1916. Along a twenty mile Front 200,000 British and French troops attacked strongly held German positions. The 36th (Ulster) Division formed part of X Corps.
The Ulster’s objective was to dominate the area on the far side of the river Ancre to the edge of Thiepval village.
The men of 36th (Ulster) Division made their historic charge from Thiepval Wood on the morning of the 1st July and crossed No Man’s Land towards the large fortified German stronghold known as the Schwaben Redoubt.
The Ulster Tower was built on the area of the attack that represented almost the centre of the Divisional Front on the 1st July 1916.",160,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531779.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520093441-20220520123441-00206.warc.gz,0.977297425270081
0865fb20-1a56-4a12-b436-1ba19a0fa54b,2013-05-20T22:09:47+00:00,2013-05-20,0,http://www.peoplefinders.com/d/Melody+Russell/1-1196535286,"Peruse the most recent info on Melody Russell by searching PeopleFinders.com. We offer numerous simplified ways to locate people within our all-inclusive database of public records, which includes their age, year of birth, prior addresses, aliases, and more. Born on , Melody Russell is [Age].
If you haven't been able to pinpoint the right Melody Russell, you can enhance your search to trim the results. Locate Melody with other details you might have like email address, phone number, or former address. You can also run background checks and look up criminal records on PeopleFinders.com. Another method is to find Melody by using the list of people below with the last name Russell who are [Age] years old. Our expansive data search will help you discover Melody Russell's city, state, and other available details.
To find Melody Russell, simply use the search bar on the left. If you are in possession of additional details like Melody's middle name or age, you can add those fields for more relevant results and help you locate the person more quickly. Our interactive map helps you visually determine their location. PeopleFinders.com's exclusive DataTsunami™ logic assures that the public records data we provide is trustworthy. Find who you're looking for without delay. Begin searching for Melody Russell at once!",270,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.917226910591126
35fb6586-104e-40ca-a982-f4bd4061d85a,2019-08-20T18:31:47+00:00,2014-01-31,0,https://asubmissivesinitiative.wordpress.com/2014/01/,"A collar is well-known symbol within the BDSM community, but it seems that more and more often I’m seeing newcomers use the collar as simply another fetish accessory. They are unaware of the intense symbolism behind the collar, what it means, why it’s worn and why it shouldn’t be used as a prop.
For me, a collar is as significant as a wedding ring and although my collar is not locked I never remove it without permission from my Dom. Depending on the type of collar you have, what it’s made of and what the symbolism behind its gifting to you, you may wear it only during certain times or even have it replaced. Remember, that a collar’s meaning will be specific to only you and your partner. The rules you set in place for you will be unique to your relationship.
There are many different types of collars and you may choose to use many of them or only one of them.
Collar of Consideration: Usually given at the beginning of a potential new relationship for an agreed amount of time. At the end of that time, partners decide to either extend the time, take their relationship to the next level or move on from each other.
Collar of Training: This is usually the collar given after the Collar of Consideration. This collar represents that the relationship is evolving and is sometimes referred to as the “engagement ring” equivalent. The relationship is usually more serious and a contract is generally agreed upon before this collar is accepted.
Formal Collar or Collar of Ownership: Given as a sign of commitment to each other, similar to a wedding ring. This collar is the highest value and should be treated with respect and should not be given without serious thought. This collar is usually present in a collaring ceremony.
Collar of Protection: Given to a submissive when protection is needed due to a failed or abusive relationship or outside danger from another. The collar is noted with the Dominant’s initials and a small “p”. This collar allows the submissive safety. Usually this submissive is not approachable by another Dominant without the permission of the protecting Dominant.
Play Collar: Collar worn during a scene. This is usually a functional collar with a D-ring or other functional qualities.
Public Collar: Worn in a vanilla setting in place of other collar. This may not necessarily be an actual collar, but could be a piece of jewelry or other item of symbolism.
Slave Collar: This collar is usually a permanent collar given to a slave. These collars may never be removed or removed only by their Master.
No matter which collar you wear, remember what it represents and treat it with respect. Never neglect or dismiss your collar!
(Version 1.4, written 8/14/03)
Copyright 2003 by Jay Wiseman
Author of “SM 101: A Realistic Introduction”Hello and welcome to the munch! Perhaps this is your first munch. Perhaps this is your first BDSM event of any kind. Congratulations for contacting what many of us call the BDSM community (or, more simply, “the scene”). You are on the threshold of meeting many new people, having many new experiences, and both learning and growing a great deal. By the way, “BDSM” is a general, overall term for what we do. The term is pronounced just like its letters – B D S M – and represents a compression of the phrases “bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism and masochism.”
Every day at A Submissive’s Initiative™ we get countless messages and emails about how to get involved in BDSM and the community so I’ve decided to put together a handy list of our top 10 FAQ for easy reference.
- How do I get my partner to do what I want? The quick answer? You don’t. You can’t just make someone like the same fetishes or even be comfortable with the slightest reference to bondage. You can, however, use open communication to help them understand why you think that BDSM is important and/or can help better your relationship.
- Continue reading",885,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315558.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820180442-20190820202442-00287.warc.gz,0.948867619037628
231e3412-8cd6-4d8c-92af-166585fb33db,2019-08-25T23:39:52+00:00,2019-08-25,0,https://www.vittilaw.com/testimonials,"Lois Vitti did a great job representing our family. She truly was an advocate for us, and went above and beyond in a number of ways. We so appreciated her knowledge, expertise, and assistance with our legal needs, which resulted in a positive outcome for us.
I have had great experiences working with Vitti Law Group and Lois Vitti. They have a great line of communication and work efficiently to ensure I receive all items requested. I certainly would recommend them to any of our clients or anyone in need of their services.
The Vitti Law Firm is an amazing group! They are highly efficient, terrific communication with clients, affordable and very compassionate. I love that they make house calls and will meet any time that’s convenient for the client.",159,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00365.warc.gz,0.976897954940796
09ef1e1e-2efd-4155-af96-3a367463ccdd,2017-08-17T05:56:17+00:00,2011-05-17,0,http://glacmichigan.com/eventflint1.htm,"24th Annual Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival of Michigan
Saturday May 21st, 2011
|Individuals and Groups are welcome to register to participate in the
It is our intention to accommodate as many participants as possible. However due to time constraints, it may not be possible to accommodate everyone. The following are our guidelines to maximize the participation of the entrants. The names of the entrants will be registered and prioritized according to the order in which the entry requests were received.
|Note: Entries are to be submitted only using the GLAC Events Registration page
at the GLAC Web Site
Registration ends on May 17th
|Viji Mukund - firstname.lastname@example.org|
Ph: 248 219-9442
Guidelines for Registration
|Each participant will be allowed to participate in only one event. The same participant cannot present a solo vocal piece and later join in a group for a second item.|
|Participants who choose to perform Varnams or Geethams or Non-Thygaraja Krithis will not be registered for this program.|
|The time limit for each participant is 4 minutes. In view of the time constraints, the Krithis have to be rendered without Alapanai or Neraval or Kalpanaswarams.|
|Participants who missed the time slot assigned to them in advance, due to late arrival will be accommodated at the end, if only time permits.|
|At the time of registration, the participants are required to give the
following details for the Thyagaraja Krithi that they are going to perform.
1. Name of Participant
2. Presentation - Vocal/Violin/Veena/Flute/Mridangam etc.
6. Individual/group – If Group, give names of all participants in the group
7. Age of the participant(s)
8. Contact phone number / email address
|A FREE LUNCH will be served between 12.30 and 1.30PM
in keeping with the spirit and tradition of the Aradhana.|
The following are the Coordinators for the LUNCH to be provided for everyone in attendance on the day of the event:
Swathy Vasudevan email@example.com 248-735-3993
Preethi Ganesan firstname.lastname@example.org 248-349-5792
|Please contact the LUNCH coordinators above if you would like to volunteer to cook food for the Lunch. Donations in the form of Soft Drinks, Napkins, Paper Plates, Plastic Cutlery and even Trash Bags are WELCOME. Your support to volunteer for the food preparation is very much appreciated in advance.|
Children,Adults, and Groups are welcome to register to participate in this event. The individual singing program will be subject to the following guidelines:
|The krithi chosen to be performed should be only Thyagaraja Krithi.|
|Each participant will be allowed to participate in only one event. The same participant cannot participate in a solo vocal piece and later participate on an instrument or as part of a group.|
|The time limit for each participant is 4 minutes. This time limit will be strictly enforced.|
At the time of registration , the participant is required to give the following details for the Krithi that they are going to perform.
|Name of Participant|
|Krithi, Raagam, Thaalam|
|Individual/group – If Group, names of all participants of the group|
|Age of the participant(s)|
|Contact phone number/email address|
We will not register participants who choose to perform Varnams or Geethams
The Krithi needs to be rendered without any Alapanai or Neraval or Kalpanaswarams.
It is our intention to accommodate each and every participant. However due to the volume of participants we may not be able to accommodate all of them. We will register all the names and prioritize them as follows
Children will be given preference over adults
Groups will be given preference over individuals
First timers will be given preference over repeat performers
This Thyagaraja Aradhana Program has always been offered FREE.
Your GENEROUS DONATIONS to the Flint Temple are always appreciated on the day of the program. All Donations in the form of CHECK to be written to the favor of The Paschimakasi Temple, Flint, Michigan. Cash donations are also welcome.
We are counting on your generosity and we kindly request all those who plan to attend the program to donate generously and support our temple which has been providing the use of the facilities and has also hosted the event for the past 24years.
Thanks for your understanding and continued support of this annual event.",1012,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00253.warc.gz,0.898157596588135
51e02112-cd4e-4f1b-a83b-0c4c8614feee,2022-05-24T09:26:16+00:00,2022-05-10,0,https://luxfurniturerentals.com/busting-the-1-myth-about-lux-furniture-rentals/,"I was on a marketing course in St. Catherine’s a few weeks ago when we were discussing what makes Lux Furniture Rentals different. The marketing coach then preceded to say “well, you are the most expensive rental house on the market and…”. That’s when I passionately cut her off to explain that was not at all true! I explained that some of our items are actually priced lower than our competitors which she was surprised to hear. We have dining chairs starting at $29 and coffee table starting at $59. There in nothing unaffordable at that for furniture rental! Apparently, there was a little rumor going around about us that we only provided luxury rental furniture for luxury stagings and not “affordable” everyday rental furniture for the average staging. I am really happy that I heard this from her as I am dying to crush this myth!
After hearing this myth and wanting to share the truth, we decided to introduce the LUX COLLECTION and the EVERYDAY COLLECTION. You will see on our products online that some of our items are stamped with LUX in the top right hand corner. These are items that we recommend for the higher end looking homes. All the other items are considered our everyday collection. Still stunning and beautiful but at a different price point level to meet everyone’s staging needs and budgets.
An awesome campaign was created to BUST THE #1 MYTH ABOUT LUX FURNITURE RENTALS by the awesome Loredana. Have a look! Share this myth buster! Let’s work together on your next lux or everyday staging project. Both lines are sure to help potential buyers fall in love!",347,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662570051.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524075341-20220524105341-00207.warc.gz,0.96429580450058
82f79fe3-ee7a-424d-ad6d-c3c58700b3b8,2020-10-29T19:39:57+00:00,2020-06-01,1,https://www.irsa-world.org/,"The objectives of the Association are to: foster the development of rural sociology; further the application of sociological inquiry to the improvement of the quality of rural life; and provide a mechanism whereby rural sociologists can generate dialogue and useful exchange.
The Editor-in-Chief of Agriculture and Human Values is very
pleased to announce a Special Collection of essays on COVID-19, Agriculture,
and Food, in Agriculture and Human Values.
This collection assembles in-the-moment essays and commentaries from over 120
scholars, authors, practitioners, farmers, activists, and analysts of
agriculture and food systems around the world. Please find attached the
complete list of contributors, listed in alphabetical order (corresponding
author last name) and titles of the essays in the Special Collection. The
list is prefaced by my brief editorial introduction.
I am very pleased to let you know that Springer has agreed to allow all
articles in this collection to be freely available, for download and viewing,
for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find the essays here
(note there are four pages):
As previously announced, the IRSA Council
recently decided unanimously to postpone the XV World Congress in Cairns due to
COVID-19. The XV World Congress is now scheduled
for July 6th through the 10th of 2021 in Cairns,
Australia. The venue remains the Pullman Cairns International Hotel.
We will maintain the basic program framework
that was originally developed. All sessions and abstracts accepted for
IRSA 2020 will be transferred to the provisional program for IRSA 2021.
However, spaces will be available for
additional oral presentations. We anticipate that the Congress organizers will
be able to welcome new abstract submissions beginning June
We ask those who want to attend the Congress as a presenter to visit the Congress website at https://www.irsa2021.com/.
The Congress website provides new
time-lines for registration for those who have not registered yet and other
important information such as for entry visas and ETAS, accommodations, and so
The spread of COVID-19 has
highlighted various problems, which are hidden behind conventional
socio-economic systems. As for agriculture and rural society, challenges such
as vulnerability of current agri-food systems, social exclusion and prejudice
to poor and essential workers, frowning on the weak, concentration of disasters
or calamity just same as bioconcentration have all been made more apparent.
COVID-19 is forcing us to reconsider relations between global and local,
central governments and local governments, rural and urban societies. We need
serious reflection and a bold transformation of conventional socio-economic
systems, including agri-food systems, which until now have been based on the
principles of efficiency and profit maximization through selection and
At the 2021 Congress, I am sure
there will be a lot of studies about the impacts of COVID-19 and perspectives
post or with new Corona virus. I hope for an aggressive discussion on these
on-going issues in Cairns.
President of IRSA
The XV World Congress of Rural Sociology (8-12 July 2020, Cairns, Australia) calls for session proposals. See attached IRSA2020 call for session proposals (PDF) for further details. Proposal deadline is 26 April 2019.
The Latin American Rural Sociology Association (ALASRU) would like to remind rural sociologists everywhere of its upcoming conference to be held from November 25th through the 30th in Montevideo, Uruguay. More information about the conference can be found at http://alasru.org/index.php/congresos.
ALASRU is also the proud publisher of the Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Rurales. This journal is published on-line and the most recent issue can be found at http://www.ceil-conicet.gov.ar/ojs/index.php/revistaalasru/index
Whose versions of sustainability count in the urban century? How does spatial disadvantage intersect with injustices based on gender, ethnic, linguistic, religious and other dimensions of social difference? What opportunities do flows of people, capital, information and commodities between urban and rural spaces present for sustainable rural development?
As a delegate to the 2020 World Congress of Rural Sociology you will consider these and many other questions relevant to contemporary rural society.
Our venue, Cairns, sits on the traditional country of the Gimuy Yidinji and Yirrigandji peoples. Sandwiched between two World Heritage Areas – the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforests of Tropical North Queensland – and with a vast rural hinterland, Cairns is a hub for tourism and tropical agriculture at the heart of the Asia Pacific.
For information on key dates, session and paper submissions, travel and accommodation, registration and tours, check the Congress website.
The mid-term meeting of the IRSA Council was held on July 18, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. Click here to read the minutes of that Council Meeting.
By Koichi Ikegami, President of IRSA
I attended the International Conference on ‘Social and Sustainability Science ASEAN 2018: Agri-Food Systems and Rural Sustainability’ at Chulalongkorn University on 23-25 of January 2018. I was invited as President of IRSA. I had a keynote speech entitled as Ensuring Rural Sustainability in the Unequal Worlds. Major points of my speech were as follows; 1) Major Issues in the 21st Century such as Structuration of the North South Problem, Casino Capitalism or Speculative Capitalism, and Global Warming and Climate Change, 2) Flat World, but Unequal World: Other Side of Globalization, 3) Background of Rise of Alternative Movement , 4)Two Examples of alternative movement: Fair Trade and Creation of FEC Sufficient Territory in Higashi-Oumi city, Japan, 5)‘Mura’ Business: Model of Small Business of Village, by Village and for Village. Of course, I mentioned about next World Congress of IRSA, and asked that most of participants there would come to join us in 2020.
On the following day after Conference, I was also asked to give a mini lecture for establishing MOST School. Required theme is “Rural sustainability and contemporary social science approaches”. I did not realize what MOST meant until that time. It was a very new idea for me. MOST is a UNESCO’s intergovernmental science programme on social transformations. As for this regard, it is important to identify to what direction society transforms. The answer is towards sustainable society.
The both events were organized by Chulalongkorn University and UNESCO. There were lots of participants from ASEAN countries. One of my major impressions was that ASEAN countries paid strong attentions to sustainability. One of reasons for such attraction might be adoption of SDGs in 2015 as well as reflection of the results by development-oriented policies.
SDGs include not only poverty and hunger but also gender and partnership as well as sustainable agriculture. It is uncommon in Japan that the so-called Developed Countries such as Japan are involved in SDGs. One example indicates this fact very well, that a mayor of a city in Shiga Prefecture claimed strongly the SDGs-oriented policy by Prefecture Office of Shiga according to his understanding that SDGs addressed only Developing Countries.
It is an urgent task to build sustainable science in social science. I am strongly confident that rural sociology can contribute to accomplishing this task.
The Department of Community and Environmental Sociology at UW-Madison is searching for a tenure-track (junior) faculty member with an outstanding record of teaching and research relevant to environment and health. The position requires a Ph.D. in sociology or related field. Candidates from historically underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
The successful candidate will teach and mentor in our top-ranked graduate and undergraduate programs, and will carry out a vigorous research program that improves the ability to understand and intervene on the intersecting social causes and consequences of environmental and health problems. Consistent with the mission of the University of Wisconsin System, the candidate will be committed to service to the community, state, nation, and profession for the benefit of all citizens.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is committed to eliminating the achievement gap between majority and underrepresented students; recruiting and retaining a more diverse faculty and staff; preparing all students, staff, and faculty to thrive personally and professionally in a diverse, global, interconnected world; and enhancing the campus climate for inclusion.
Review of applications will begin 15 September 2017.
For further details, including instructions to applicants, a list of possible areas of expertise, and the many opportunities for contribution and collaboration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, please browse for 90808 at http://jobs.wisc.edu.
Questions about the position are welcome, and should be directed to: Search@dces.wisc.edu
Sponsors: RC40 (Agriculture and Food), RC23 (Science and Technology), RC24 (Environment and Society)
Proposal Coordinator: Steven Wolf (RC40)
Abstract & Justification
Analysis of metrics, and standards more generally, has emerged as an important focus within studies of environmental governance. Accountability is attracting increasing attention, as there is a need to address questions about material consequences as part of an effort to move beyond analysis of institutional design.
Heightened attention to metrics has accompanied increasing emphasis on market-based and outcome-based policy designs, but bureaucratic modes of governance have long been predicated on the specification of categories and systems of representation. Metrics can be understood as a resource for democratic accountability, and they can be instruments of authoritarian discipline at a distance. Metrics support empirical analysis and policy learning, but at the same time they obscure knowledge claims, technical uncertainty, and alternative problem definitions. This ambiguity demands attention. Analysis of the metrics of governance, and the governance of metrics, presents opportunities for theoretical and empirical engagement on questions of “Power, Violence, and Justice: Reflections, Responses, and Responsibilities”(2018 Theme).
This collaboration between three ISA Research Committees aims to realize topical, theoretical, and methodological synergies. Linkages between environment and agrifood production and consumption are highlighted in the biological and land-based nature of farming (inputs to agriculture) and by the negative implications of agriculture for water, biodiversity, and climate (outputs of agriculture). Attention to interdependence among discursive constructs, local action, political economic structures, and multiply-scaled material flows characterize both the sociology of environment and agrifood sociology. Science and Technology Studies has served to highlight the socially embedded nature of technical acts including promulgation of standards. Further, this field has championed a methodological commitment to analysis of (grounded, local, actor-centered) practice as a complement to production of overarching histories of design (abstract representations).
The University of Guelph announces a Chair in Food, Policy and Society",2317,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107905777.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029184716-20201029214716-00694.warc.gz,0.926595270633698
4a005a42-d542-4643-9fdc-346b589634f5,2015-03-30T05:54:00+00:00,2013-10-22,1,http://aviationweek.com/print/awin/new-tech-brings-marketing-challenges-bell,"is taking its campaign to sell the V280 Valor tiltrotor concept straight to potential U.S. Army operators with a “productivity-per-hour” appeal rather than the standard “cost-per-flying-hour” argument.
“Our starting point is to go to the end user,” said Bell CEO John Garrison during a roundtable breakfast with reporters Oct. 22. The Valor offers “a very different value proposition. It is a very different mindset.”
This approach also is likely to be pursued by Karem Aircraft, also offering a tiltrotor in the Army Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration (JMR-TD) program. Through the JMR-TD, the Army eventually will downselect to two contenders that will proceed into the Future Vertical Lift – Medium competition to replace up to 4,000UH-60s and AH-64s in the fleet today.
At issue is a tension between the traditional Army method for acquiring aviation systems, which measures value by cost to produce the units and cost per flying hour for operations.
The tiltrotor proposition, however, is to convince the Army to widen its view of the cost of the system to reflect the advantages of its speed and range. The Army currently uses eight main bases in Afghanistan for aviation assets; the range and speed offered by the Valor could allow the service to shrink that footprint to two forward operating bases for support of the entire country, Garrison says. This would reduce the number of soldiers needed for such support functions as security, lowering the practical operating cost of the aircraft.
The V280 also would be self-deployable with its 2,100-nm range using enhanced fuel carriage onboard, reducing the amount of airlift needed to support a deployment, Garrison adds.
This campaign could face similar challenges as those faced by thein winning a Navy competition for a future P-3 replacement, and in ’ lost bid to capture the U.S. Air Force aerial refueler competition. In both cases, the value for the aircraft was placed by the contractor on effectiveness, not on unit or a traditional accounting of operating cost.
In the case of Valor, Garrison acknowledges that the value is not only calculable in the cost of the system itself, but in estimating the cost avoidance of other systems, such as the reduced need for support, on the overall Army budget.
Bell, Karem Aircraft, Sikorsky/Boeing and AVX have each won JMR-TD contracts. The Army plans to downselect to two for flight demonstrations in 2017.",534,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00135-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959040582180023
2e973a79-29fe-48c8-8bdb-c5285a923038,2016-07-29T05:50:27+00:00,2016-07-29,0,http://www.askdoctork.com/category/health/pain-management,"DEAR DOCTOR K: I have chronic pain from arthritis. Lately it's so bad that I can't get a good night's sleep. What can I do?
DEAR READER: Chronic pain and insomnia are, unfortunately, a common combination. What's more, chronic pain puts you in double jeopardy: First the pain robs you of restful sleep, then losing restorative sleep makes you more fatigued, which makes you more sensitive to pain.",96,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00175-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.935222566127777
9c1d952e-b7d6-4d3d-81e7-7983b579acf2,2013-05-18T07:20:50+00:00,2012-04-30,1,http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/term/edward-jones-dome?page=5,"Counterproposal for Edward Jones Dome upgrades due tomorrow
The St. Louis Rams have until tomorrow to offer their own price tag for upgrades to the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis.
The Rams' lease requires the Dome to be in the ""top tier"" of stadiums in the National Football League. That tems is not clearly defined, but it's generally meant within the top 25 percent. Otherwise, the Rams are free to depart St. Louis in 2015.
According to a statement from the the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission released this morning, the St. Louis Rams have turned down the CVC's $124 million plan to overhaul the Edwards Jones Dome.
The CVC's plan included adding 1,500 new club seats, installing a massive 96 foot-long scoreboard over the center of the field and adding windows for more natural light.
The CVC says the team ""will submit their own proposal to improve the Edward Jones Dome on or before May 1, 2012.""",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.92337840795517
ec9403e0-8373-4b0a-b0bf-c742ca3cc4b8,2015-04-01T17:58:40+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.harunyahya.com/en/books/2871/Allahs-Gentle-Artistry/chapter/1855/The-Wondrous-Beauty-in-Animals-4/4,"Say: 'Have you thought about your partner gods, those you call upon besides Allah? Show me what they have created of the Earth? ...
(Surah Fatir: 40)
The Wondrous Beauty in Animals 4/4
Dolphins protect their young from the moment they are born. Immediately before giving birth, the mother dolphin begins to move more slowly and other female dolphins, seeing this, assist her when she is in labor. These helpers swim on either side of the mother dolphin to protect her and, when the baby is born, make sure that it gets up to the water's surface to take its first breath.
For the first two weeks, the baby never leaves the mother's side. Within a short time after its birth the baby learns to swim and gradually ventures farther and farther away from its mother. The new mother cannot keep up with her baby's swift, rapid movements; and so cannot give it sufficient protection. In this situation, the helper female dolphins come on the scene to provide the baby with excellent defense.30
Creatures caring for one another's welfare is a clear challenge to Darwinists, who believe that this kind of behavior—that is, one creature assisting another—is of no use for an individual animal's survival. On the contrary, they believe that such acts can put a ""selfless"" animal's life at risk.
The self-sacrificial behavior of mother dolphins can be seen when they put half of their own food, already digested, into the mouths of their babies. Another example of such behavior is dolphins helping one of their number when it is injured. Instead of fleeing, they exhibit behavior that poses considerable risk to their own lives.31
Dolphins act in concert to protect their young from sharks. One or two dolphins will swim out to attract the shark's attention. When the shark turns to follow this decoy, other dolphins attack strongly from other directions; one advances swiftly from behind the others striking the shark's side with their noses. Typically the shark gives up, but dolphins have sometimes even killed sharks in this way.32
Seahorses live on warm ocean reefs where they can hide among the seaweed, coral and sponges. Their thick, hard skin serves as armor against their enemies; they have eyes that can look in several directions at once which help them catch their prey. The male seahorse has a pouch similar to that of the female kangaroo. At mating time, the female seahorse deposits many eggs in this pouch where they remain for six weeks. The male seahorse feeds the eggs in his pouch with a fluid until they develop into miniature seahorses, and he provides oxygen for them by means of capillaries in the inner tissues of the incubation pouch.33
When their mating season comes, sea turtles crawl onto the beach in numbers. But it is not just any beach they come to; it is the beach where they were born. Sometimes they have to travel 800 kilometers (498 miles) to reach their birthplace. At the end of their journey, they lay their eggs and bury them under the sand. So, why do they always gather at the same beach at the same time? If they did so at a different time and on a different beach, would their young survive?
When we try to answer this question, we meet a very interesting situation. The tiny turtles that hatch from the eggs weigh only about 31 grams (1.1 ounce) and a single turtle cannot dig its way up through the layer of sand above them. But with them all helping one another, the job is easily done. Soon they emerge to the surface of the sand altogether and hurry towards the sea.
How do these new hatchlings know that they have to dig through to the top of the sand? Who taught them that they must make their way towards an ocean that they have never seen? These tiny creatures could not do this with their own intelligence, so, where does this conscious behavior come from? There is only one answer to this question: Allah has inspired this conscious behavior into sea turtles.
Meerkats live in communities, and because of the dangers that exist in their environment, their support for one another is of vital importance for their survival. Every morning, meerkats first do a security check before spreading out into the surrounding area to find food.
Every individual in the community has his own job to do. For example, some meerkats stand guard to ensure the safety of the others, and watch for hours under the blazing sun without eating or drinking anything. If the guard sees some danger, he gives the alarm to warn his friends. Hearing this alarm, the other meerkats run to take refuge in the burrow.
The group's most important task is to rear and protect their young, and the young females are chiefly responsible for looking after the babies. Every day, one of them stays in the burrow to tend the young. The cooperation and mutual assistance in the group ensures that the babies will remain safe.34
It is Allah Who has taught meerkats the supportive and self-denying behavior they show towards one another.
A baby antelope takes between five and ten minutes to be born. During this time, it is difficult for the mother to move, and she is defenseless against her enemies. But while she gives birth, the mother is not alone. All the while there is another female at her side to provide support and protection.
From the moment it is born, the baby has no time to lose. The mother immediately nudges it with her nose to get it to take some steps. But its legs are weak, and it falls down. It gets up again and takes a few more steps. Within a few minutes, it is trotting by its mother's side and never leaves her because if it did, the young antelope would go hungry or be killed by wild animals.35
Everything in nature is the work of the eternal knowledge and power of Allah. With His supreme power, compassion, mercy, intelligence, knowledge and wisdom, He has given baby antelopes the strength to run at their mothers' side within a very short time.
A mother rhinoceros gives birth to a baby that weighs only 4% of her own weight. Within one hour of its birth, a baby rhinoceros can stand up with its little armored body. Mother and baby spend a few weeks in a remote location, apart from others and come to recognize each other's scent.
Mother and baby spend all their time together until the next baby is born, between three and five years later. The baby rhino mostly follows behind its mother. Even though it stops nursing at two years of age, it still stays at her side and remains with her throughout her next pregnancy. Almighty Allah has given the rhinoceros the instinct to protect and patiently look after her young.36
As a family, the mother cheetah and her offspring are very attached to one another. The mother performs many selfless acts while rearing her young. In order to feed them, she often goes hungry, losing nearly half her weight. If she must, she will even give her own life for her kittens. For example, a lion is a great threat to baby cheetahs. Without hesitation, the mother will throw herself into the lion's path and, putting her own life in jeopardy, she draws the lion's attention away from her young to herself, giving them time to run away. This kind of altruistic behavior calls for consideration.
If this mammal were, as the evolutionists propose, a creature that assembled itself by chance through untold generations and by acting with selfish concern only for its own survival, we would expect it to flee and desert its young. Yet the cheetah does not do this, but confronts the lion and, if necessary, gives up her own life. Surely, it is Allah Who gives mother cheetahs this exemplary sense of self-sacrifice.
Squirrels carry their young in their teeth by the loose skin on their abdomens. If her nest is destroyed, a mother squirrel will carry her babies to another place tirelessly, no matter how far away it is. She carries away one baby and returns to the old nest, time after time, until she is convinced that all have been safely removed.37
30. Janine M. Benyus, The Secret Language and Remarkable Behavior of Animals, p. 313; ""Port Phillip Bay's Smiling Ambassadors,"" Troy Muir; www.polperro.com.au/s9.html)
31. Gordon Rattray Taylor, The Great Evolution Mystery, p. 224.
32. Russell Freedman, How Animals Defend Their Young, p. 66-67.
33. A. Vincent, ""The Improbable Seahorse,"" National Geographic, October 1994, pp. 126-140.
34. ""Slender Tailed Meerkat,"" Wellington Zoo; www.wellingtonzoo.com/animals /animals/mammals/meerkat.html
35. ""Antelope,"" Animal Bytes; www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbyte s/t-antelope.html
36. Janine M. Benyus, The Secret Language and Remarkable Behavior of Animals, p. 186.
37. Red Squirell; www.yptenc.org.uk/docs/factshee ts/animal_facts/red_squirrel.html",1951,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00017-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963041126728058
c3b0da29-3686-4a59-a39f-7170d0ec4780,2017-08-17T05:53:45+00:00,2014-05-08,1,http://historichawaii.org/2014/05/09/draft-special-resource-study-identifies-honouliuli-internment-camp-for-potential-inclusion-in-national-park-system/,"Meetings Scheduled to Give the Public an Opportunity to Comment on the Report
5/8/14: The National Park Service today released a draft study proposing that Honouliuli Internment Camp, where Japanese and European American residents from Hawai‘i were incarcerated during World War II, be added to the National Park System as a National Historic Site or National Monument.
“Telling all the major stories of our country’s history as fully as possible is an important part of the National Park Service’s mission,” stated Pacific West Regional Director Chris Lehnertz. “That includes not just the stories of which we’re proud, but those that cover less honorable chapters in America’s past.”
The National Park Service currently manages three sites within the United States where Japanese Americans and others were incarcerated during World War II, but this would be the first in Hawai‘i.
The Honouliuli study evaluates 17 sites that represent the stories and impacts of internment in Hawai‘i. While many of the sites are listed, or eligible to be listed, on the National Register of Historic Places, two stand out: the Honouliuli Internment Camp and the U.S. Immigration Station. The study finds that these two sites depict a distinct and important aspect of American history associated with civil rights in times of conflict that is not adequately represented or protected elsewhere, and are therefore suitable for inclusion in the National Park System. Of these, only the Honouliuli Internment Camp itself is determined to be a feasible addition to the system.
Under the study’s preferred alternative a national historic site or national monument managed by the NPS would be established as a new unit of the National Park System. The national historic site or national monument would include the site of the Honouliuli Internment Camp, which would be transferred to the NPS by donation, as well as adjacent lands to provide road access and opportunities for visitor services.
The NPS would preserve the site and interpret the internment of Japanese Americans and European Americans in Hawaiʻi during World War II. The NPS could also provide technical assistance for the preservation and interpretation of other sites, features, and stories related to internment in Hawaiʻi during World War II.
Congress authorized this study in 2009, and the public was invited in 2011 to provide input. With this release of the draft study report, the public is again asked to share their thoughts with the NPS.
Public comments are welcomed by mail, e-mail, or entered directly into the NPS online public comment system through July 15, 2014. In addition, the NPS will host a series of public meetings throughout Hawai‘i during May and June 2014 in order to present the draft study report, answer questions, and accept comments.
The executive summary, full report, and the NPS public comment system are available at the study web site: http://www.nps.gov/pwro/honouliuli
Following receipt and review of public comments, a final report, including a course of action recommended by the Secretary of the Interior, will be transmitted to Congress.",655,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00260.warc.gz,0.951511144638062
57cc0ebe-3159-477a-925a-cddc857569aa,2013-05-18T17:27:10+00:00,2011-08-01,0,http://mattovermatter.com/2011/08/meet-campbell-mckellar-founder-of-loosecubes/,"Campbell McKellar is one cool chick.
While working for a Manhattan real estate firm, she received her boss’s blessing to work remotely for a few months from the scenic landscape of northern Maine. She was happy and more productive than ever. That’s when it hit her: Working remotely doesn’t have to be all pajamas and couches. In late 2010, she started Loosecubes, a service that matches restless mobile workers with office workspace in locations all over the world, from Paris to Savannah, Georgia. It currently boasts a network in 347 cities across 47 countries. But before getting the company off the ground, McKellar faced the same problem she was trying to solve. She says the solution became the most valuable investment in her company so far. Here, she talks to Inc.com’s Nicole Carter.
What was the best money you have spent on your company?
It was $150 on a co-working membership. After my amazing trip to Maine, I decided to start the company. But then it was back to the same issue I had before. I spent very, very long days working in my apartment in sweat pants. My boyfriend would leave me in the morning, return at night, and I would be in exactly the same place on the couch. I needed to get out. Then a friend told me about a co-working place called New Work City. It’s basically a shared office space in SoHo. The membership, at the time, cost me about $150.
Why was it crucial to your business?
It’s really the community of people there. I learned so much from them that I otherwise might not have known. The environment and people were really open and willing to share.
So what kinds of things did you learn?
Well, the first day I was there, I learned how to use Twitter. Now, Loosecubes has a pretty robust Twitter presence, and I love using it. I also met a woman who did PR for a music business, and she gave me some advice on how to best approach getting press for my business. My first media mentions came directly from my connections and friends at New Work City. There was another guy who had a Facebook application, and he taught me the Facebook API. I had never heard of that before. I learned all of these things and made a group of friends that were going through the same journey as me. They were all starting their own businesses.
It wasn’t competitive at all?
Not at all. It was like, if someone didn’t know how to do something, we all tried to help. We had our ups and downs, but there was always someone there to talk to.
How long were you there?
It was about a year. And by the end of the time, around December last year, I had brought on about five other people. They joined New Work City with me, and we basically ran the company from the place. They have meeting spaces, so we could brainstorm or check in. It just really made us feel more productive. Now we have our own offices, but I’m not sure we would be where we are now without those memberships.
feature courtesy of Inc.com",673,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.989534139633179
eeff3992-8416-4a01-9b5f-1fe1220d1487,2015-04-01T23:18:01+00:00,2013-08-13,1,http://www.thestreet.com/story/12006956/1/merrimack-pharmaceuticals-mm-111-granted-orphan-drug-status-by-fda-for-treatment-of-advanced-gastric-and-esophageal-cancers.html,"CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 13, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:MACK) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Orphan Products Development has granted two separate orphan drug designations for its bispecific antibody, MM-111, for the treatment of esophageal cancer and for the treatment of gastric as well as gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancers.
""We are pleased that the FDA has granted orphan status designation for the development of MM-111 in these two indications,"" said Victor Moyo, MBChB., Vice President of Clinical Investigations at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. ""Patients with HER2-expressing gastric and esophageal cancers have limited treatment options. We are excited to move forward with the development of MM-111 and hope to positively impact the lives of these patients by addressing an unmet medical need.""
MM-111 is designed to inhibit ErbB3 (HER3) receptor signaling in cancers that overexpress ErbB2 (HER2). Overexpression of the ErbB2 cell surface receptor has been reported in 7-34 percent of gastric cancers according to various scientific articles. Research has shown that ErbB3 expression is associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer and may contribute to resistance to some current standard treatments. Currently, MM-111 is being tested in a Phase 2 study in advanced gastric, esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancers.These two orphan drug designations will potentially provide Merrimack Pharmaceuticals with 7-year marketing exclusivity for MM-111 and other benefits if the drug is approved by the FDA. The FDA's Office of Orphan Products Development is dedicated to supporting the development of products that are promising for treatment and diagnoses of diseases that affect less than 200,000 Americans annually. About Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Merrimack is a biopharmaceutical company discovering, developing and preparing to commercialize innovative medicines paired with companion diagnostics for the treatment of cancer. Merrimack applies its systems biology-based approach to biomedical research throughout the research and development process. Merrimack currently has six oncology therapeutics in clinical development.",478,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00145-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.937730848789215
20e49ada-a1b1-4ac1-b854-52d4cf75557f,2022-05-25T14:19:47+00:00,2010-06-02,1,https://gothamist.com/news/aclu-sues-to-stop-suspicionless-laptop-searches-at-borders,"On May 1st, Pascal Abidor, a 26-year-old doctoral student and dual U.S.-French citizen, was on an Amtrak train from Montreal to New York when a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer examined his two passports, which had visas for Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Although the officer had no reasonable cause to search and seize Abidor's property, he ordered him to turn on his laptop and enter his password so that his computer could be searched. The student was subsequently handcuffed, taken off the train, and kept in a holding cell for several hours before being released without charge. 11 days later, he finally got his computer back. Welcome to America, American citizen!
Today the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Abidor and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), whose members include television and still photographers. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the Department of Homeland Security’s policy ""permitting border agents to search, copy and detain travelers’ electronic devices at the border without reasonable suspicion. DHS asserts the right to look though the contents of a traveler’s electronic devices—including laptops, cameras and cell phones—and to keep the devices or copy the contents in order to continue searching them once the traveler has been allowed to enter the U.S., regardless of whether the traveler is suspected of any wrongdoing.""
When Abidor's laptop was returned, there was evidence that many of his personal files, including research, photos and chats with his girlfriend, had been searched. The ACLU's Melissa Goodman says, ""Unchecked government fishing expeditions into the constitutionally protected materials on an innocent traveler’s laptop or cell phone interfere with the ability of many Americans to do their jobs and do nothing to make us safer."" According to DHS documents obtained by the ACLU, more than 6,600 travelers, nearly half of whom are American citizens, were subjected to electronic device searches at the border between October 1st, 2008 and June 2nd, 2010.",408,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00028.warc.gz,0.980837762355804
2c83bead-f0da-4fc2-a7be-8bfd9f6011a6,2017-08-22T01:26:00+00:00,2011-10-19,0,http://storyandverse.blogspot.com/2011/10/back-in-summer-i-became-member-of-ou.html,"Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Outlets and another course!
I have also started a short course with The Poetry School on writing a Villanelle. It is an online course and tutorials and 'chat' take place on a Monday evening every other week. Our first 'chat' is Monday 24th October but already we have had our first assignment and have uploaded our first Villanelle. This form of poetry I have described in a previous post. It is a challenge I relish (it can be very time consuming!). I have to say there are some good ones from my fellow students and this course is open to all levels of poets and I certainly feel that there are quite a few who are more advanced than me!
I am extremely nervous about the live chat as I am not great at it. I still can't gel with Facebook and Messenger is also alien to me. I have already had to enlist the help of my IT savvy son to sort out Java for me (which I need for 'chat'). I've told him he'll be on stand by for Monday evening!",220,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109803.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822011838-20170822031838-00337.warc.gz,0.990005314350128
2ed53203-ca91-4e65-95ec-aaef769400e3,2019-08-21T03:08:14+00:00,2018-08-21,1,https://medium.com/@actually_brian/faceid-could-be-the-last-password-we-ever-use-637dc2716561?source=rss-3034ba07905f------2,"Imagine a world where all we really need is our face to get anywhere, in the physical or digital world. No this isn’t an Apple ad for FaceID, but a take on where this technology can go.
We can all realize how easy it would be to not have to remember 10 different passwords or one overly complex one for a password manager for the 25 different online services. How convenient would it be to never have to remember keys as well as passwords? I can’t tell you how many times I have been halfway out the door and realize I don’t have my car keys or my proximity card. It can be a lot to remember when I need to make sure I have all of my daughter’s stuff, in addition to my school, my gym and my work stuff as we are inevitably running late for everything.
This is the realm where FaceID has already entered and is the easiest to integrate as almost every device we use has a front facing camera. Integrating FaceID with Apple’s Keychain or Google’s AutoFill feature could make log in screens and online forms a thing of the past. Since we are already looking at these screens the hard part would be letting the user know or giving the user control over this feature. Some people might be ok with FaceID automatically turning on and filling in text fields with zero input from them, but most want to know when they are being scanned by a computer. A simple solution would be to ask the user in the same way we can sign in with Facebook or Twitter.
This solution doesn’t create confusion for the user as it presents them with a solution they are already comfortable with. A similar solution could be made for filling forms out. When a text field is selected instead of showing an AutoFill suggestion below the field there could be a “fill with FaceID” option as shown below.
The information stored behind FaceID is very sensitive and if hacked can be very dangerous. To deter this we should take a page out of Apple Pay’s book.
Apple Pay uses Tokens — single use access codes — to allow department stores access to your financial information, but after the transaction is finished the Token is as useless as an expired credit card number. So in order to fill in text fields with sensitive information FaceID will send a Token to the 3rd party requesting access (filling out the form) and the Token — not the sensitive information — will be used to log in. In other words your FaceID scan activates a one-use key that unlocks the service and is then useless. The token can’t be used to get your sensitive information because it doesn’t have it, it is only an authorization that the information is there, correct, and needs to be used.
Now that the user can be aware of the usage of FaceID online, and be secure in it’s use let’s take a look at how FaceID can be integrated into physical security.
One nice thing about physical security is that you want it to melt into the background as long as you are authorized. Any physical tells on how a system might be working can make the system more vulnerable so effortless FaceID security makes even more sense in physical security.
Looking further in the future cameras could be installed in every car, building, and doorway to do the actual scan, but this involves massive investment from the people constructing these cars, buildings and doorways. So we’ll have to rely on what we have now for this security.
More realistically we use our phones’ front facing cameras for authentication everywhere. We are all already looking at our phones 24/7 so while you are texting a friend a notification comes up for confirmation to unlock your front door. You tap it, the lock moves, and you walk right in without ever missing a step in your text. A similar idea with secure Tokens would have to be implemented in this market as it is in the online world. The great part is that most of this infrastructure is already here as well. Smart Locks have apps, cars are starting to have apps, and businesses will have some type of online two factor authentication app that can be expanded to include physical security. The Token then can be used through these services to unlock everything in our lives.
In a world where our eyes are never off our phone we should be able to use that attention for more than just looking at emails and Reddit. Our phones and FaceID can ultimately become the only key we ever need.",927,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315750.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821022901-20190821044901-00049.warc.gz,0.956092715263367
6502f3a3-3596-42ae-babe-e7f070e90537,2018-08-18T21:59:53+00:00,2017-09-30,0,http://sistersofprovidence.net/renewal-of-vows/,"In September, two Sisters of Providence renewed their vows during separate liturgies in the chapel at St. Joseph Residence, Seattle.
On Sunday, September 10, Sister Rosa Sen Nguyen renewed her vows for one year. On Friday, September 15, Sister Marita Capili renewed her vows for two years.
Sister Rosa serves in ministry in the Finance Department of Providence High School in Burbank, California. Sister Marita is president/administrator of the Providence “Beca” Scholarship Program in El Salvador.
As each of these sisters continues her journey as a Sister of Providence, we give them our love and support.",130,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213794.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818213032-20180818233032-00453.warc.gz,0.946895122528076
823b73aa-1cd5-421a-a04f-6b8c592d4dc8,2020-10-24T23:26:35+00:00,2020-02-01,1,https://runinbucharest.com/ro/volkswagen-bucharest-half-marathon/,"Volkswagen Bucharest Half Marathon
Volkswagen Bucharest HALF MARATHON came as a natural brother of the Marathon event. The first edition, back in 2012, gathered around 6000 runners, coming from 35 countries. The 2019 edition hosted over 18000 runners, coming from over 75 countries. In only 8 years, the event got to have one of the highest increasing rate (year to year) in Europe. Certified by the AIMS and fulfilling all the IAAF standards regulations, BHM also hosts the Romanian National Half Marathon Championships. Moreover, the 2020 edition is a IAAF Bronze Label event.
Taking into consideration its actual dimensions and the awareness achieved, the support offered to social causes and the one received from the over 700 volunteers, we could say that the Bucharest HALF MARATHON is having a similar social and economical impact on the community as the Bucharest MARATHON. Bucharest HALF MARATHON is scheduled every year during the May’s second weekend.",203,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107885059.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024223210-20201025013210-00494.warc.gz,0.935732185840607
0275afab-1599-48ca-9cfb-61cd03822140,2022-05-17T07:45:41+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://uwm.edu/o365/about-teams/,"UWM is where we work. Teams is how we work.
We all have different roles at the University, and different styles when it comes to managing our work. Teams is a platform within Microsoft 365 (previously Office 365) that brings together all the elements you’ll need for your work day.
From something as simple as chatting with a co-worker online to creating a customized space for a few people to work on shared items; Teams has so many features for content, communication, and collaboration. Use it independently or with a few colleagues, the platform has so many features – use the ones you need, explore new options and let Teams work for you.
- To install using Microsoft 365
- To install with Windows
- To install with Mac OS
- Install with Mobile IOS App
- Install with Mobile Android App
If you have any questions or issues, please contact the UWM Help Desk at 414-229-4040 or visit uwm.edu/help.
Check out the library of Teams Tips, with new tips added on a regular basis.
Want to see Teams in action? Check out the online Teams Demo (approx 15 mins).
Attend an online Teams Training course to learn the basics of Microsoft Teams! View the course schedule and course recording on UWM TechTraining Online Training page.
You can also download the hands-on training manual from the UWM TechTraining Resources page.
Visit the UWM KnowledgeBase to learn more about Teams:
- Teams Overview
- Manage Activity
- Set Your Status
- Manage Priority Access
- Manage Contacts and Chat
- Accessing Files
- Calendaring and Virtual Meetings
- Recording Meetings
- Change an Existing Meeting to a Teams Meeting
- How to Join a Teams Meeting
- Dialing in to a Teams Meeting
- Make an Internal Phone Call without a Phone Number
- Live Events
- Collaborate with External Guests
- Use a Code to Join a Team
- Teams Calls
View free, online Microsoft Teams courses using LinkedIn Learning. Not a registered user? Visit the UWM LinkedIn Learning page for information on how to create an account.
If you have questions about Teams, please review our FAQ page: https://uwm.edu/o365/teams-faqs/",487,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517018.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517063528-20220517093528-00601.warc.gz,0.869850933551788
8479e7c6-2108-4c73-93a4-54112707e305,2019-08-20T19:06:10+00:00,2017-07-20,1,https://futuramobility.org/en/voyage-energy-observer/,"Share This Post
Energy Observer – power to the people
Slick and sleek, Energy Observer is a floating power house.
Designed to be self-sufficient, powered by renewable energies and hydrogen generated on board, the 30.5 x 12.8 metre catamaran moored in Paris this July to meet and greet, prior to setting out to sea.
Its crew, led by Jérôme Delafosse and Victorien Erussard, is preparing to embark on a six-year, round-the-world odyssey, taking in 50 countries and stopping off at 101 ports of call.
Energy Observer is an extreme experimental platform, said Mr Delafosse, a media platform for raising awareness and meeting people who are innovating in energy across all sectors – from food and housing to healthcare and transport.
During the expedition, the vessel should achieve energy autonomy through a mix of solar and wind power, together with the decarbonised production of hydrogen from sea water.
The vessel certainly packs a lot in:
– 130 square metres of photovoltaic panels using three different types of technology;
– two vertical axis wind turbines;
– a 22kW fuel cell to generate electricity from the stored hydrogen, which acts as a range extender for the vessel;
– hydrogen tanks for long-term energy storage (62kg of H2);
– 440V Li-Ion batteries for short-term energy storage and power demand.
A smart traction kite enables the vessel to reduce energy expenditure by 1) using the wind 2) converting the electric motors into hydrogenerators.
It’s a question of integrating all the technologies critical to the energy transition, said Pierre-Etienne Franc, VP advanced business and technologies at project supporter Air Liquide.
Change of pace
In a previous life, prior to her current transformation Energy Observer was a race boat. Owned by yachtsman Sir Peter Blake and sailing under the name Enza New Zealand, she won the Jules Vernes Trophy in 1994.
We’re not a racing vessel, we’re not about breaking speed records, explains Mr Delafosse. Our objective is to stop off and meet people to talk innovation and pioneering ideas for the energy transition.
We need to stop the guilt trip and encourage anyone who is taking steps, no matter how big or small, towards a clean energy future.
Scratch below the surface
As momentum gains and excitement grows over renewable energies, awareness of all their impacts is equally important. For example, metals are needed to produce solar panels, and while some are plentiful and mined in numerous locations, others are expensive and/or scarce and/or only available in one or few countries.
The life cycle of the panels used by Energy Observer is between six to ten years.
Yes, we’re aware that nothing is perfect, but I’m confident that already as renewables gain traction, people will be coming up with solutions for recycling, Mr Delafosse told Futura-Mobility. I don’t doubt there’ll be a business for photovoltaic recycling in the coming years. We’ll see.
- Stop wasting water and shut the tap, don’t chuck plastic… everyone can be an energy pioneer.
We are working on reducing the ecological footprint of our hotels throughout their life cycle, said Sébastien Bazin, AccorHotels Chairman & CEO. This starts with making our buildings more energy efficient from the moment they are built.
Ecology is now an economy and we’re fine with this, says Mr Delafosse. It’s the best hope for the energy transition.
Toyota France is supporting the expedition by providing the crew with Mirai fuel cell cars to get around during stop-offs.
Talking with Futura-Mobility about the uptake of hydrogen autos, competition with other builders like Hyundai, and future perspectives, Sébastien Grellier from Toyota France said: Together we [industries] are building the ‘cake’; later on we’ll see who grabs the biggest slices.
- Paris-based, hydrogen taxi service Hype has three Mirais among its fleet.
The two key actors in the energy transition, reckons Mr Delafosse, are consumers – they are the ones who decide – and companies.
We want Energy Observer to take people’s breath away. In developing countries, for example, to help them understand this drive to shift away from fossil fuels, what the adoption of renewables is all about, and, hopefully, encourage them to make moves in a similar direction.
This project will only work if the entire population joins in, said Mr Franc. Its pedagogical aspect is fundamental.
A further feather in Energy Observer’s cap is Nicolas Hulot. The French energy transition minister has been on board the project right from the start – he was the one who suggested hydrogen, said Mr Delafosse. I have high hopes he’ll do some good, plus ‘real decisions’ have already been taken for the climate strategy.
We have under-estimated the share of hydrogen in sustainable mobility… for cars, but also trucks, and maybe even ships and plans in the long term, said Mr Hulot on radio station RTL (10 July).",1118,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315558.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820180442-20190820202442-00283.warc.gz,0.92546546459198
5d2dbf90-8ad5-43b9-8163-d3534306dabe,2019-08-21T18:31:47+00:00,2018-04-17,0,https://matzav.com/former-first-lady-barbara-bush-dies-at-92/,"Barbara Bush, the matriarch of a Republican political dynasty and a first lady who elevated the cause of literacy, died Tuesday, a family spokesman said. She was 92.
In 2001, when George W. Bush took office, Barbara Bush became the only woman in American history to live to see her husband and son elected president.
Bush is survived by her husband, George H.W.; sons George W., Neil, Marvin and Jeb; daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch; and 17 grandchildren. Read more at CNN.",106,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316150.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821174152-20190821200152-00148.warc.gz,0.96945196390152
ad93e35c-ebfb-4f27-9f65-fa16d8d34478,2017-08-24T08:51:14+00:00,2017-08-24,1,https://alliedprogress.org/news/sinclair-merger-create-propaganda-system-trump-black-media-ownership-declines/,"“Sinclair’s hate for Obama is rivaled only by the company’s incestuous love for Trump.” – The Root
“…Dictatorship-Style Propaganda System.” – The Atlanta Black Star
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this year, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intention to merge with Tribune media, giving the company unprecedented control over local TV news in America. The controversial merger would have been illegal under the Obama administration, but the Trump administration is changing the rules to allow a massive conservative media empire to get even bigger.
According to a recent Atlanta Black Star piece, “[The proposed merger comes] amid an environment of declining Black media ownership, and fewer opportunities to own their own companies and tell their own stories.”
Sinclair has a record of forcing their stations to air, what experts have called, conservative “propaganda” masquerading as trusted local news. If approved, the company would control more than 230 local stations, including in key markets like Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Houston.
“No single company or individual should be allowed to have this kind of control over so many local TV stations. Conservatives have already used the internet and national media to spread fake news and now they’re trying to do the same with local media,” said Allied Progress Executive Director Karl Frisch. “We need federal regulators to stand up, do the right thing and reject this reckless merger.”
For more information, see the following reports from The Root and Atlanta Black Star:
- Atlanta Black Star: Is ‘Trump TV’ Providing the President with a Dictatorship-Style Propaganda System?
- The Root: Trump’s Favorite News Outlet Is Not Who You Think … and You Should Be Worried
# # #
Allied Progress uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to stand up to Wall Street and powerful special interests and hold their allies in Congress and the White House accountable.",423,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133447.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824082227-20170824102227-00459.warc.gz,0.90604031085968
a7412daa-5545-4a87-bbb7-cd0f066a99ad,2016-07-30T22:39:46+00:00,2012-03-16,1,http://www.newsmax.com/finance/Headline/Treasury-Forecaster-bond-yield/2012/03/16/id/432862/,"FTN Financial Chief Economist Christopher Low, the most accurate forecaster of Treasury note yields last year, said slowing U.S. economic growth will push 10-year yields down from the four-month highs reached this week.
Yields on 10-year notes climbed to 2.36 percent today, the highest since Oct. 28, as traders bet growth will accelerate after the Federal Reserve raised its assessment of the economy on March 13. Yields, which ended last year at 1.88 percent, will finish 2012 at 2.1 percent, Low said in an interview today.
“We actually expected interest rates would rise in the first and second quarter of this year,” said Low, who was the only one among 70 analysts in a Bloomberg survey who predicted the yield would fall to 2 percent by the end of last year. “People tend to start hiring more in the spring time, oil prices are high and there would be some inflation fears. We figured the employment data would probably stay strong up until May. After that, I don’t think it can be sustained.”
Improvement in the labor market isn’t sustainable at current levels, business investment is slowing rapidly and foreign demand for exports will decline, said Low, who is based in New York.
Employers in the U.S. boosted payrolls more than forecast in February and the jobless rate held at 8.3 percent. The 227,000 increase in payrolls followed a revised 284,000 gain in January that was bigger than first estimated, Labor Department figures showed March 9. Job growth over the last six months was the strongest since 2006.
“We expect interest rates to fall in the second half of this year,” Low said. While yields may climb to 2.5 percent over the next few months, they will trade primarily within a range of 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent, he said.
Low expects the Fed will embark upon a third round of asset purchases, or quantitative easing, of $750 billion to $1 trillion by the third quarter and will focus on mortgage-backed securities.
“The market has taken it off the table although the Fed hasn’t,” Low said, pointing to the March 13 Fed statement reiterating that “the Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability.”
“If job growth slows, then the market will anticipate a third round of QE, then yields will move down,” Low said. “QE is out of the question until the inflation situation quiets down. The only inflation pressure in the CPI today is gasoline prices. Once gas prices stabilize, the inflation threat is gone.”
The consumer-price index climbed 0.4 percent in February, matching the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, after increasing 0.2 percent the prior month, the Labor Department said today. The so-called core measure, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, climbed 0.1 percent, less than the 0.2 percent projected.
Low forecasts U.S. gross domestic product growth of 2 percent for 2012, compared with 2.2 percent in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News. A separate survey showed GDP of the Group of 10 nations will drop to 1.15 percent this year, from 1.31 percent in 2011.
“Global GDP is slowing, and because of that, we expect exports to slow,” Low said. “Congress is spending a little less than they did a year ago, which means less stimulus than what we had. When you look at that as a contribution to GDP, it’s negative. That’s one of the reasons the Fed is committed to monetary stimulus if they can.”
“The European crisis will return to the front page,” Low said. “U.S. investors are going to have to start looking at Europe again in the next four to five months. The same funding issues in the banking system will re-emerge. Their banking system is significantly more fragile than ours.”
© Copyright 2016 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.",881,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258943369.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072903-00310-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96012681722641
e12d95d8-467d-4ede-ae7a-2ad4a2c68b20,2020-10-21T04:00:21+00:00,2020-10-16,1,https://www.nationstaterelations.com/global/russia-and-central-asia/afghan-vice-president-takes-charge-of-capital-amid-rise-in-crime/,"KABUL — Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh has been put in charge of the security situation in the capital amid a rise in crime that has caused an outcry among residents.
Saleh said on Facebook late on October 16 that he would take responsibility for security in the city for ‘a few weeks,’ adding that he would show no mercy to criminals.
Saleh said that a ‘list of criminals including thieves, robbers, vandals, extorters, and land usurpers has already been prepared’ in order to prosecute them.
The announcement comes after a spike in crime numbers, including robberies and muggings, across Kabul.
Last week, a group of thieves entered an all-male high school in order to rob students.
Earlier this month, another group of perpetrators stopped a minibus carrying female university students in order to rob them.
Poverty and high rates of unemployment are believed to be among the main reasons for the rising crime rate.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said that 300 more security cameras would be installed in the city in the near future.
With reporting by dpa and TOLOnews
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036",280,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107875980.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021035155-20201021065155-00656.warc.gz,0.963124454021454
f1f5b5fd-bd0a-4853-a0b9-383e72b18661,2018-08-21T13:29:00+00:00,2018-08-21,1,https://www.comms-express.com/blog/Flying-Cars/,"Jet packs, hover boards, flying cars… the future doesn’t always turn out how we think it will does it?
Well, sometime it does. While some technological advances remain beyond us (for the moment at least), it seems that the flying car is now with us.
A company in the USA called Terrafugia is now marketing a car that converts into a plane… and it doesn’t look like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Harry Potter’s flying Ford Anglia.
The Transition is a rather clunky looking car but it quickly changes into a rather nifty little plane which can carry two people. A short video at http://www.terrafugia.com/ shows a chap taking The Transition for a spin, emerging from a garage in suburbia in what looks like a folded up plane, then driving it to his nearest airfield where he presses a button, the wings unfurl and he’s up and away.
What seems a bit comical at first becomes a convincing bit of technology very quickly. How close The Transition is to becoming an everyday vehicle is hard to tell, but the tech is now there and Terrafugia looking for investors.
On their website, Terrafugia rightly point out that while communication and information technology has undergone rapid and drastic change in the last 50 years, transport has not really changed much and, indeed, travel itself has become more difficult and challenging. Our roads are jam-packed, our cities are congested and driving is often a pain rather than a pleasure.
Terrafugia say what they’re hoping to offer is the convenience of a car – where you can set your own schedule – with the freedom of flying. It’s a hugely ambitious idea, but it makes sense. It’s not that easy getting round at ground level, so why don’t we look to the skies?
It may be a few years before we’re all popping out for a spin in the sky or commuting to work in a plane, but don’t count it out as a possibility. Terrafugia are already working on a more advanced model, the TF-X, a plug-in hybrid electric flying car, a four-seater which can take off and land vertically – so there’s no need for a runway.
The TF-X really does look (and sound) like something futuristic – it wouldn’t look out of place in Minority Report or The Fifth Element – and Terrafugia say it’ll be safer than a conventional car, fly itself and have a flight range of 500 miles with speeds of up to 200 mph.
The company say it’ll take 8-10 years to develop the TF-X but with the tagline on their website, “In the future, anyone can fly” it looks like a probability rather than a possibility.
The ultimate convertibles
Inspired by Terrafugia’s ‘street legal planes’ that convert from cars into planes, here’s the Comms Express top three vehicle conversions:
Hong Kong Phooey’s Car
The mild-mannered janitor turned crime fighting Kung Fu expert in the 1970s cartoon series travelled around in a rickety old green car which, with the bang of a gong, he could turn into a boat, plane or just about any other form of transport.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
When he wasn’t writing James Bond novels, Ian Fleming penned Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a charming children’s story set in the 1910s about the escapades of a mad inventor called Caractacus. The 1968 film featured Dick Van Dyke as Potts, whose inventions are the forerunners of the television, vacuum cleaner and, erm, toot sweets. But his greatest creation is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a car that can not only fly but deploy floats so it can act as a boat too.
James Bond’s Lotus Esprit
Roger Moore’s third outing as James Bond saw him encounter hulking, metal-mouthed villain Jaws for the first time but just as memorable was the ability of 007’s Lotus Esprit to convert to amphibious mode and become a submarine, emerging from the sea onto a beach full of bewildered sunbathers. Brilliant!
Have we missed any of your favourites?
Until next time.",929,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218189.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821132121-20180821152121-00694.warc.gz,0.948192894458771
62771233-11a7-49cb-b9f9-03a330a34c46,2019-08-20T22:34:29+00:00,2019-07-18,1,https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-starhopper-survived-fireball-fly-again,"SpaceX’s prototype for its gigantic Starship rocket erupted into a massive fireball on Wednesday. But according to CEO Elon Musk, the miniaturized “Starhopper” survived the unexpected event without breaking a sweat.
When asked on Twitter if Starhopper was okay, Musk responded “yeah, big advantage of being made of high strength stainless steel: not bothered by a little heat!”
“Post-test fuel leak, but no major damage,” Musk added.
The static fire test was a routine operation — something that all of SpaceX’s rockets have to endure.
To stay true to its name, Starhopper will soon be attempting its first untethered hop, or test flight, to an altitude of just 65 feet. And that could happen very soon.
If all goes well, SpaceX’s Starship rocket could ferry astronauts to the Moon and far beyond. Two crews of engineers in Texas and Florida are building and testing early versions of the rocket, effectively racing each other to make Starship a reality.
But SpaceX still has plenty of work to do. Starhopper is outfitted with only a single Raptor engine. A fully operational Starship that could bring up to 100 passengers to the Moon will need to accommodate six Raptor engines.
READ MORE: Elon Musk Says SpaceX’s Starhopper Prototype Survived Fireball, May Fly Next Week [Space.com]
More on Starship: SpaceX’s Starship Hopper Completes First Tethered “Hop”",317,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315681.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820221802-20190821003802-00168.warc.gz,0.924574077129364
a679c325-1fab-41ca-b7a2-b4eb5ad60c30,2022-05-27T16:15:38+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/edu_article/266/,"The T.I.T.U.S. Project: Implications of a Catholic spiritual and faith formation programme on the teaching of classroom religious education in Australia.
Journal of Beliefs and Values: Studies in religion and education, Early View (Online First).
This paper presents findings emanating from a larger investigation. In essence, this qualitative project sought to uncover the ways in which early childhood Religious Education (RE) teachers’ experience of a formation-based program, known as The T.I.T.U.S Project (Testament In Teachers Using Scripture), transformed their own religious literacy and subsequently, their teaching of RE; it is these findings that form the focus of this paper. Religious literacy is explained as consisting of more than content, to include the complex relationship of content with both context and learner. It is in this nexus between content, context and learner that The T.I.T.U.S Project resided. With existing literature clearly identifying teachers’ lack of confidence in teaching scripture within RE, that is, in engaging with context and context as Cullen explains it, this research is significant. The findings from the qualitative survey, interview data and reflective journals suggest that teachers’ own personal formational experiences and growth in religious literacy transformed their teaching of classroom Religious Education, including their confidence in teaching scripture.
spirituality, faith formation, religious literacy, catholic schools, early childhood
Link to Publisher Version (URL)
Available for download on Monday, June 12, 2023",337,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662658761.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527142854-20220527172854-00218.warc.gz,0.934947311878204
bee231a6-a963-4e70-ab1e-989b8df467d2,2013-05-20T21:58:19+00:00,2012-11-15,1,http://radiousa.com/news/articles/2012/nov/15/un-security-council-calls-emergency-session-on-israel-raids/,"By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold a closed emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip as Israel threatened a wider offensive in the Palestinian enclave to stem rocket salvoes by Hamas militants.
The French U.N. mission said on its Twitter feed that the meeting would be a ""closed private debate"" beginning at 9 p.m. EST. Council diplomats said Israeli and Palestinians envoys would speak at the meeting.
Separately, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's press office said in two separate statements that he spoke on the telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mohamed Mursi of Egypt.
""(Ban) expressed his concern (to Netanyahu) about the deteriorating situation in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, which includes an alarming escalation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and the targeted killing by Israel of a Hamas military operative in Gaza,"" the U.N. said.
Ban also voiced his expectation that ""Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed.""
He also discussed with Mursi ""the need to prevent any further deterioration,"" the U.N. said in a second statement.
The emergency council meeting comes after the Palestinian Authority's U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour urged the Security Council to take a stand on Israel's latest offensive in the Gaza, which he said amounted to ""illegal criminal actions.""
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor responded by calling on the international community to condemn ""indiscriminate rocket fire against Israeli citizens - children, women."" He was referring to five days of escalating Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza.
The militant group Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority, controls Gaza.
Israel launched a new major offensive against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza on Wednesday, killing Hamas' military commander in an air strike and threatening an invasion of the enclave that the Islamist group said would ""open the gates of hell.
In a letter to Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, president of the 15-nation council this month, Mansour said a ""message must be sent to Israel to cease its military campaign against the Palestinian people under its occupation, including the cessation of extrajudicial killing.""
""This escalation, which continues at this moment, demands the attention of the international community, including the Security Council, with the aim of averting the further deterioration and destabilization of the situation on the ground and the fueling by Israel of yet another deadly cycle of violence and bloodshed,"" Mansour said.
Speaking to reporters, Prosor described the Hamas military commander Israel killed, Ahmed Al-Jaabari, as a ""mass murderer"" who had been planning fresh attacks against Israeli citizens.
It was unclear what a Security Council meeting would achieve since the 15-nation body is generally deadlocked on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envoys say is due to the U.S. determination to protect Israeli.
""We want the Security Council to act in accordance with its responsibilities to stop this aggression against our people,"" Mansour said, without offering details of what action he wanted.
A new Gaza war has loomed for months as waves of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes have grown more intense and frequent.
Mansour said the Israeli action was intended to draw attention away from the Palestinians' plan to seek an upgrade of its observer status at the United Nations from that of an ""entity"" to a ""non-member state,"" implicitly recognizing Palestinian statehood.
Israel and the United States have made clear they would oppose the Palestinian upgrade, which would give it the right to join international bodies like the International Criminal Court, where it could file legal complaints against Israel.
U.N. diplomats said a vote on the Palestinian request was tentatively scheduled for November 29. A senior Western diplomat said the Palestinians would easily secure 120 to 130 votes out of the 193-nation General Assembly, which would ensure the success of their upgraded status at the United Nations.
(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Christopher Wilson and Lisa Shumaker)",844,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95853978395462
9b711783-c08c-405d-aef5-3445f336b763,2017-08-20T21:17:58+00:00,2015-11-10,0,http://cw33.com/2015/11/10/former-carter-high-football-star-sues-makers-of-new-movie/,"DALLAS -- The drama surrounding the 1988 Carter Cowboys took over 25 years to go from the high school football field to the big screen. But it only took two weeks to make it from Hollywood to a courthouse.
Gary Edwards, one of the team's star players, is suing the filmmakers behind ""Carter High"" for more than $1 million.
Back in '88, Edwards was one of the best on the field, but he was also at the center of a controversy over failing grades that caused the team to forfeit its State Championship.
And he was one of the players who took part in a string of robberies that tainted the team's legacy.
Fair to say, Edwards was a key character in the rise and fall of that team, and that's exactly the story ""Carter High"" is all about.
But according to a lawsuit filed by Edwards, writer/director Arthur Mohammad ""Used [Edwards'] story without permission and pawned off [sic] as his own,"" even after Edwards ""refused to give his permission for his name and likeness to be used in the project.""
The lawsuit goes on to claim, ""The depiction of [Edwards] in the movie is not accurate and it's degrading.""
The plaintiffs in the ""Carter High"" case didn't return NewsFix's calls, and the defendants declined to comment.
But executive producer and former Dallas Cowboy Greg Ellis said at the premiere in October, ""Basically, this movie is about making the right decisions and the right choices in your life and what can happen when you don't make the right choices in your life.""
It'll be up to a court to decide if the filmmaker's choices were right or wrong.
But since the movie hasn't even made $150,000 so far, suing for a million dollars might be a bit of a ""Hail Mary.""",378,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106990.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820204359-20170820224359-00134.warc.gz,0.984199702739716
41185068-9c54-41ce-88d9-d0cc44fa7a23,2019-08-19T04:28:08+00:00,2006-03-01,0,https://www.consolesandgadgets.co.uk/catalog/memory-card-8mb-final-fantasy-xii-p-2288.html,"Product ID Number: uk2288
- 8MB Memory Card for PlayStation2 with artwork from Final Fantasy XII;
- Cannot be used for PlayStation/PS One Games;
- Official Sony Memory Card for Playstation 2;
- Includes a limited edition Final Fantasy XII case which holds 2 memory cards;
This limited edition memory card from Hori celebrates the release of Final Fantasy XII on PS2. Along with a memory card featuring the FFXII logo, included is a FFXII case which holds up to 2 memory cards and an insert label featuring the main characters from the game.
What's in the box:
1 x Memory Card 8MB Final Fantasy XII",137,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314641.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819032136-20190819054136-00368.warc.gz,0.828746616840363
9aa33e0a-68c2-47a8-87ea-79d1553c46d6,2016-07-29T17:51:27+00:00,2016-06-15,0,"http://www.northfulton.com/stories/Angry-driver-scares-family-in-Forsyth,15706","CUMMING, Ga. — An angry driver threatened a family in a car with a bat and what appeared to be a gun, according to a Forsyth County Sheriff’s incident report.
At about 3:30 p.m. on June 8, a man called deputies and said a reckless driver was behind them going northbound on Ga. 400 near McFarland Parkway.
He said the driver of a gold Chevrolet Silverado truck was cutting in and out of traffic and flashing his brights. He said the driver was being aggressive, threatening him with a baseball bat and was taking pictures of his car. He said it looked as if the driver threatened him with a possible gun.
Deputies pulled the truck over and the driver, identified as Neil McDonald, 56, of Cumming, said the victim cut him off and began verbally arguing with him.
McDonald said the victim pulled a gun on him, so he drove off trying to escape him.
When deputies talked to the victims — a husband and wife who had their two young children with them — their stories matched.
Deputies said they found a camera in the suspect’s truck with pictures of the victim’s car.
Deputies arrested the driver for aggressive driving, a misdemeanor and he was taken to Forsyth County Detention Center.",271,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00204-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.98986029624939
78b0cacc-bebd-413d-a34c-b2b129941d2a,2022-05-23T17:15:49+00:00,2022-05-23,1,https://www.covnews.com/nationworld/bike-trail-discussed-for-old-rail-route-in-n-ga/,"GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Officials in Georgia are talking about the possibility of creating a bike trail where the former Gainesville and Northwest Railroad connected Gainesville and Helen.
The planning director for the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, Adam Hazell, told the Gainesville Times (http://bit.ly/11wE1Ad ) that turning parts of the 37-mile route into biking and pedestrian trials would support the area's tourism and outdoor recreation.
Officials point to Georgia's Silver Comet Trial as an example of a successful rails-to-trails project. It covers more than 61 miles in Cobb, Paulding and Polk counties.
The president of the Clermont Historical Society, Sandra Cantrell, says the big challenge for the Gainesville-to-Helen route is that some of it goes through private property.",175,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662560022.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523163515-20220523193515-00204.warc.gz,0.9253009557724
dea2d4aa-7618-495d-9916-536dac6f2465,2022-05-28T22:51:13+00:00,2022-04-20,1,https://moderncampground.com/usa/ford-to-launch-f-150-lightning-ev-this-month/,"Ford Motor Co. announced the official launch of the F-150 Lightning, the all-electric version of its best-selling pickup truck.
“It’s time. #F150 Lightning,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a tweet Wednesday morning, saying that F-150 Lightning will be launching on April 26.
The automaker will mark the launch with an event at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, where the electric vehicle is built.
Ford had previously announced that Lightning would begin deliveries in the spring. The company stopped accepting deposits for the truck in December following receiving 200,000 reservations ahead of the launch.
Executives said that the early demand for the truck–determined by reservations that require a refundable deposit was far beyond their expectations.
Ford is already working to increase the annual production capacity of the Lightning by 150,000 units annually which it hopes to achieve sometime next year.
The automaker plans to produce an annual volume of 2 million EVs globally in 2026–representing about one-third of its global production, and the company anticipates the proportion to rise to half by 2030.
Last month, Ford confirmed the final EPA-estimated battery range for F-150 Lightning. The truck’s range on a single charge is between 230 miles and 320 miles, depending on trim level and battery pack.",280,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663021405.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528220030-20220529010030-00214.warc.gz,0.948903262615204
222e3df3-cf0d-4407-92fb-56efa840ff66,2022-05-26T11:36:06+00:00,2022-01-20,0,https://www.football365.com/news/merson-slams-childish-ronaldo-owes-man-utd-starlet-big-apology?utm_source=Recirculation&utm_medium=WP_Related_Articles_Unit&utm_campaign=Benchmark,"Paul Merson has labelled Cristiano Ronaldo “childish” as he owes Manchester United youngster Anthony Elanga a “big apology”.
Both players started against Brentford earlier this week. Man Utd were not at their best but they still ran out 3-1 winners.
Elanga scored his first Premier League goal of the 2021/22 season to give United the lead. Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford added to their advantage before Ivan Toney scored a late consolation.
Ronaldo was taken off when the score was 2-0 and he was clearly angry to be substituted as Ralf Rangnick had to talk him down.
Merson has criticised Ronaldo though as the forward “should know better” than to act like that:
“Cristiano Ronaldo owes Anthony Elanga a big apology,” Merson wrote for the Daily Star.
“What he did against Brentford spoiled the youngster’s big day – and it was so childish.
“The poor kid. He starts his second Premier League game of the season, scores for Manchester United.
“Then Ronaldo gets substituted, strops off and has a hissy fit. As soon as it happened as I said to my mate: ‘You watch, you won’t even know the kid has scored now.’
“It was unbelievable for someone who’s been around the game that long to do that and take the headlines away from Elanga.
“Ronaldo was lucky he stayed on as long as he did! Oh my god if it was anybody else they would have been hooked well before then.
“It’s not happening for him. I went to the game with my boy, to show him Ronaldo. One of the greatest players of all time.
“He’s a shadow of that player. An absolute shadow.
“In the first half the ball gets put through and it’s him and the defender, and he never once looked like getting it.
“Four years ago, that’s a goal, he’s away and they don’t catch him. Not any more. He was flicking balls around but it wasn’t happening for him at all.
“It’s not a nice watch to see one of the all-time greats looking like a run of the mill player.
“A few years ago no-one else on that pitch would have been able to get near him.
“He was getting hat-tricks against those kind of teams without breaking sweat.
“That’s why it was so bad what he did. He should apologise. One hundred per cent. He should know better.”",578,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604794.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526100301-20220526130301-00405.warc.gz,0.984036207199097
ea3b4a07-fd8d-4f19-9510-fd9bcbd1f7ee,2022-05-16T09:04:39+00:00,2020-05-16,1,https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-us-social-media-usage-report?r=DE&IR=T,"- Insider Intelligence publishes thousands of research reports, charts, and forecasts on the Media, Advertising, and Marketing industry. You can learn more about becoming a client here.
- The following is a preview of one Media, Advertising, and Marketing report, The US Social Media Usage 2020 Report. You can purchase this report here.
When US consumers started spending more time at home during the pandemic, they also started using social media more, providing an unexpected boost to engagement on these platforms. The coronavirus has hastened the development and popularity of new live, video chat and gaming features on social networks.
The Harris Poll conducted between late March and early May, found that between 46% and 51% of US adults were using social media more since the outbreak began. In the most recent May 1–3 survey, 51% of total respondents — 60% of those ages 18 to 34, 64% of those ages 35 to 49, and 34% of those ages 65 and up – reported increased usage on certain social media platforms.
However, it's important to keep in mind that certain social media sites will sustain more engagement than others, and time spent on these social networks and messaging may change as people start to go back to work and school. Which consumer behavior trends on social media will continue after the pandemic and how can we prepare for any expected shifts?
eMarketer's report US Social Media Usage Report 2020 explores USpatterns during the start of the coronavirus pandemic and discusses three activities to pay attention to moving forward.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- With business traveling curtailed in 2020, consumers who learned how to video chat on platforms like Zoom during the pandemic are likely to continue this behavior. However, people may spend less time video chatting in groups as they get back to normal routines and feel more comfortable with in-person interactions.
- We have increased our forecast on mobile messaging and now believe time spent by US adults will grow by 4 minutes in 2020, to 24 minutes per day, not only due to the pandemic but also data showing strong engagement on messaging services like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Apple iMessage.
- This year, US adult social network users will spend 7 more minutes per day on social networks than in 2019, but time spent will start declining again in 2021 as the pandemic boost wears off.
- Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat will see a more sustained boost than Facebook from the coronavirus, as US adult Facebook time spend is up just 1 minute from our previous forecast, at 34.4 minutes per day. However, the pandemic has helped to flatten their significant 2017-2019 decline of time spend, and any growth at all for Facebook is considered positive.
Interested in getting the full report? Here's how you can gain access:
- Join other Insider Intelligence clients who receive this report, along with thousands of other Media, Advertising, and Marketing forecasts, briefings, charts, and research reports to their inboxes. >> Become a Client
- Purchase the individual report from our store. >> Buy The Report Here
Are you a current client? Log in and read the report here.",647,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510097.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516073101-20220516103101-00217.warc.gz,0.952090501785278
86fac417-8e6d-44af-8efa-e12917d602e2,2020-10-23T02:29:42+00:00,2020-10-23,1,https://mensfitnessandlifestyle.com/qa/question-is-disney-snow-white-public-domain.html,"- Can I paint Mickey Mouse and sell it?
- Can I paint a picture of a celebrity and sell it?
- How long is public domain?
- Is Winnie the Pooh still copyrighted?
- Is Cinderella public domain?
- What will become public domain in 2020?
- How long until Mickey Mouse is public domain?
- Can I make Disney characters and sell them?
- Is Elsa copyrighted?
- Is the Disney D copyrighted?
- Is Disney losing Mickey Mouse?
- How has Disney ruined the public domain?
- Are any Disney characters public domain?
- Can I sell Mickey Mouse ears?
- How do I know if a song is public domain?
- Does Disney own Mickey Mouse?
- What will enter the public domain in 2021?
Can I paint Mickey Mouse and sell it?
No you cannot paint, offer for sale, sell, or otherwise tinker with a Disney character, at least it is illegal without an express license from the Walt Disney company..
Can I paint a picture of a celebrity and sell it?
Painting celebrities’ images is not copyright infringement, unless you are copying another painting or photograph of them. However, it can be an infringement of their likeness/personality rights should you sell or publicly display the paintings, at least in many places in the United States.
How long is public domain?
In general, works published after 1977 will not fall into the public domain until 70 years after the death of author, or, for corporate works, anonymous works, or works for hire, 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever expires first.
Is Winnie the Pooh still copyrighted?
Winnie The Pooh is a Disney copyrighted character, and as such can’t be used for commercial purposes without acquiring the proper rights for it. The images available on Etsy that you mention, even if they say they are for personal use, are infringing the law.
Is Cinderella public domain?
Cinderella is a story that is in the public domain (much like most all Disney works.) But if your telling of the story begins to look like anything that Disney has created you can quite quickly come under the legitimate scrutiny of Disney legal.
What will become public domain in 2020?
Under U.S. law, works published any time in 1924 will enter the public domain on January 1, 2020. This includes books, films, artworks, sheet music, and other concrete creative works—but unfortunately not audio recordings.
How long until Mickey Mouse is public domain?
On January 1, 2024, we’ll see the expiration of the copyright for Steamboat Willie—and with it Disney’s claim to the film’s star, Mickey Mouse. The copyrights to Superman, Batman, Disney’s Snow White, and early Looney Tunes characters will all fall into the public domain between 2031 and 2035.
Can I make Disney characters and sell them?
You cannot legally make and sell any product with Disney lyrics, quotes, or characters on it without permission from The Walt Disney World Company. … Unfortunately for small sellers, Disney has far more resources to legally pursue you and you will not win the battle.
Is Elsa copyrighted?
Disney holds numerous copyrights and trademarks that restrict the use of the names and images of its characters. The copyrights give Disney the exclusive right to use the characters. For example, Disney can prevent others from using Elsa, a character from “Frozen,” in other movies, TV shows, or books.
Is the Disney D copyrighted?
To use the Disney logo in any way not authorized by the Disney company would surely be trademark infringement. On the other hand, this logo is almost certainly not protected by copyright. Logos that simply consist of lettering, even if it’s stylized, generally do not qualify for copyright protection in the US.
Is Disney losing Mickey Mouse?
Disney May Lose Mickey Mouse’s First Cartoon In Five Years. Copyright laws already changed because of Disney years ago… … The copyright for the first Mickey Mouse film, Steamboat Willie, is scheduled to expire in 2024, which could have major implications both for Hollywood.
How has Disney ruined the public domain?
In 1976, 8 years before Mickey Mouse entered The Public Domain, Disney lobbied Congress to extend the term of copyright for anything that’s not in the Public Domain by 19 years. Which means Mickey wouldn’t enter the Public Domain until 2003.
Are any Disney characters public domain?
The copyrights to Superman, Batman, Disney’s Snow White, and early Looney Tunes characters will all fall into the public domain between 2031 and 2035. … After 2024, Disney won’t have any copyright protection for Mickey’s original incarnation.
Can I sell Mickey Mouse ears?
It’s legal to sell mouse ears as long as they don’t infringe Disney copyrights or trademarks. Having Disney characters on them would be one way in which they could violate Disney’s copyrights or trademarks, but is not the only possible way.
How do I know if a song is public domain?
There, you can find the year the song was published. If the publication date is before 1925, if the song has no composer, or if it is a folk song, the song is in the public domain. If you cannot find the song in Wikipedia, you can also try searching the databases at PDInfo.com and CPDL.org.
Does Disney own Mickey Mouse?
“Disney has made Mickey Mouse so prominent in all of their corporate dealings, that he is effectively the pre-eminent symbol of the Walt Disney Company.
What will enter the public domain in 2021?
2021 in public domain Entering the public domain in countries with life + 70 years. Entering the public domain in Spain. Entering the public domain in countries with life + 50 years. Entering the public domain in Australia. Entering the public domain in the United States.",1260,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880519.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023014545-20201023044545-00142.warc.gz,0.896352350711823
686b0fb5-64e9-458e-9436-519c9326e661,2022-05-25T14:04:41+00:00,2022-01-11,1,https://www.equitypandit.com/britain-and-india-to-formally-begin-trade-talks/,"Britain and India will formally begin free trade agreement talks in New Delhi and discuss the free movement of goods and people with a deal to raise bilateral trade by billions of pounds. Britain has made a deal with India in which one of its preferences are free from the EU’s common trade policy, and ministers are looking to bring trade policy towards faster-growing economies in the Indo-Pacific region.
Union Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Anne-Marie Trevelyan will meet in New Delhi on Thursday, with the first round of discussions beginning next week. “A deal with India will put UK businesses at the front of the queue as the Indian economy continues to grow rapidly,” Trevelyan said in a statement. Britain said the deal could double British exports to India, and by the year 2035, increase the total trade by $38.3 billion per year.
India and Britain already share strong trade agreements, and over 1 million Indians live in Britain. India is looking for ample opportunities for Indians to live or work in Britain, and any trade deal can relax rules and lower fees for Indian students and professionals in Britain. Both the countries have already negotiated an enhanced trading partnership announced last year and can sign a limited-scope interim free trade agreement.",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00000.warc.gz,0.954264402389526
1433542a-cd22-4710-a42e-77187e25bb51,2018-08-21T17:26:30+00:00,2017-08-24,0,http://news.kgnu.org/2017/08/radio-bookclub-danya-kukafka-and-girl-in-snow/,"The August selection for the radio bookclub is Danya Kukafka’s latest book Girl in Snow.
When a beloved high schooler named Lucinda Hayes is found murdered, no one in her sleepy Colorado suburb is untouched—not the boy who loved her too much; not the girl who wanted her perfect life; not the officer assigned to investigate her murder. In the aftermath of the tragedy, these three indelible characters—Cameron, Jade, and Russ—must each confront their darkest secrets in an effort to find solace, the truth, or both.
Danya Kukafka spoke about Girl in Snow on the bookclub Thursday August 24th.
Afterhours at the Bookclub – Hear more of the conversation with Danya Kukafka.
The radio bookclub is a collaboration between KGNU and the Boulder Bookstore and every month Arsen Kashkashian, head buyer at the Boulder Bookstore, selects a book to inspire listeners to read along together. The author will then join us in-studio for a discussion.
Subscribe to our Radio Book Club Series on iTunes to get new editions and special additional web-only features automatically.",243,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218391.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821171406-20180821191406-00246.warc.gz,0.925000667572022
7c328bce-53c1-452c-98c0-413234b8c990,2019-08-25T12:05:27+00:00,2019-05-29,0,http://www.kosovamanagement.com/1527620950/4c8/7c387a8763c53300/,"Gallery Of The Unique Wall Mirrors
Furniture Stunning Rustic Console Table Design Featuring Unique
Shop wayfair for all the best rustic console sofa tables antique this table brings a, rustic style console brown this simple silhouette is stunning in a ashley furniture signature design. The rustic nsole table sideboard stunning one drawer design with ring pull handles a gorgeous piece of furniture.
Rustic skandy metal furniture by design search table. Stunning rustic console table design featuring unique wall mirror and brick background as decorative item. Stunning console table ideas the perfect for entryway and sofa modern furniture views, shop our best selection of rustic console tables to reflect your style and inspire home find furniture decor you love at where can, this console table is long on style thats as rustic it refined the wire brushed stain a masterful melange of rich hues with touch gray, the sunny designs santa fe sofa console table features storage simply stunning best prices on rustic in living room furniture. Natural furniture console table design fine attention to detail and bold lines make this a great option for any home.
Unique wall mirrors in the living room best decor things spectacular different shapes of decorating ideas shaped, unique wall mirror design stylist mirrors or designer for living rooms. Unique shaped mirrors bathroom through the wall fan kitchen exhaust oval mirror ideas best frameless powder room contemporary with tile.◀ Back to Post
- Posted By : Jezelle tanks
- Size : 736 x 1083 Pixel
- 22 Times Read By User",310,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323328.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825105643-20190825131643-00176.warc.gz,0.788078486919403
f10b8a53-259f-423d-bcaf-57dec57a9e31,2015-03-29T06:07:49+00:00,2015-03-29,1,http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_comment.cfm/blog_id/20907,"You are posting a comment about...
Pakistan Expands Nuclear Capability
Robert Windrem writes at MSNBC:
On the dusty plain 110 miles southwest of Islamabad, not far from an area controlled by the Taliban, two large new structures are rising, structures that in light of Pakistan’s internal troubles must be considered ominous for the stability of South Asia and, for that matter, the world.
Without any public U.S. reproach, Pakistan is building two of the developing world’s largest plutonium production reactors, which experts say could lead to improvements in the quantity and quality of the country’s nuclear arsenal, now estimated at 60 to 80 weapons.
What makes the project even more threatening is that it is unique.
“Pakistan is really the only country rapidly building up its nuclear forces,” says a U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the issue, noting that the nations that first developed nuclear weapons are now reducing their arsenals.
Moreover, he and other U.S. officials say, there long have been concerns about those who run the facility where the reactors are being built near the town of Khushab. They note that a month before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Khushab’s former director met with Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and offered a nuclear weapons tutorial around an Afghanistan campfire.
Then there are the billions in U.S. economic and military aid that have permitted Pakistan’s military to divert resources to nuclear and other weapons projects.
Bottom line: Khushab exemplifies all of the dangers posed by the Pakistani nuclear weapons program....",351,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298228.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00079-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944458305835724
231477a0-3ddd-453a-be3c-217e28dedf1d,2022-05-16T08:01:59+00:00,2014-11-30,0,https://killkennynow.wordpress.com/tag/adventure/,"Christopher Nolan is brilliant. Let’s make that abundantly clear. This review is not meant as a middle finger to the man who made Batman cool again. That said, the combination of pulse-pounding suspense with intellectualism that seemed to be so easily achieved in The Dark Knight, Inception and Memento is not exactly a given in Nolan movies, apparently.
Mmmm… I can already smell the fanboy hatred brewing.
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Produced by: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Lynda Obst
Written by: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Based (In part) upon: Kip Thorne’s theories
Genres: Science-fiction, adventure, drama
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Ellen Burstyn, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Mackenzie Foy, Casey Affleck, John Lithgow, Topher Grace, Timothée Chalamet, Matt Damon
Voices of: Bill Irwin, Josh Stewart
Music by: Hans Zimmer
Plot: As is the case in seemingly every high-concept science fiction movie, it is the near future and the Earth is, slowly but surely, dying out. Due to unspecified issues, the planet is ravaged by dust storms, and the entire planet has reverted to an agrarian society. One of the many farmers whose plots of land litter the devastated American landscape (Which brings to mind the Dust Bowl) belongs to Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former engineer and NASA pilot who lives with his father-in-law (John Lithgow), his son Tom (Timothée Chalamet) and his eccentric daughter, Murphy (Mackenzie Foy). When Murphy leads him on a wild goose chase to find her imaginary friend, Cooper stumbles upon a yop-secret NASA base, especially shocking, considering that NASA was thought to have been disbanded years ago.
The NASA facility is led by Professor Brand (Michael Caine), a brilliant scientist who, along with the rest of the tattered remains of NASA, is desperately trying to find ways to save humanity. Driven to desperation, Brand’s Hail Mary plan is to send Cooper up to space in a spaceship with a couple scientists (David Gyasi and Wes Bentley), Brand’s daughter (Anne Hathaway), and a couple of robots ( and shoot ’em up into a recently-discovered wormhole around Saturn, taking them to a whole other galaxy, where humanity could find another place to settle down.
Seriously, before I get into this movie’s problems, I must stress that I did like the movie, despite its’ shortcomings, I enjoyed myself for, oh let’s say, 75% of the movie. The movie’s almost three hours long, but throughout the first bit, it actually felt like it was breezing along, although not fast enough for me to miss out on the ever so important interactions between the characters. The score is composed by Hans Zimmer, who I have to thank for the soundtrack to The Lion King and Gladiator, meaning that he is one of my favourite human beings of all time. Unsurprisingly, he delivers some beautiful, atmospheric music that may not be hummable upon leaving the theatre, but it sure as hell worked in the context of the movie.
The performances were also great, which is kind of a given with Matthew McConaughey as a lead these days. Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine were both good in their role, as was Jessica Chastain in her role as an aged Murphy, and I never once felt the urge to strangle the child actors in the movie, which is always a positive in my book. Mackenzie Foy, especially, was really terrific as young Murphy, and surprised me by displaying a lot of chemistry with McConaughey. Especially surprising, since her breakout role was in the goddamn Twilight saga.
I gotta say, though, the character of Tom, Murphy’s brother (Ably played by Timothée Chalamet and, later, Casey Affleck) seemed completely unnecessary to me. It could just have easily been a household comprised of Cooper, his in-law and his daughter, completely eliminated the character of Tom, and there would have been no less of an emotional impact to the proceedings in the movie. I dunno, I guess it was nice to see Casey Affleck in something.
It also bears mentioning that the movie is really, really gorgeous. From what I’ve heard, they actually had Kip Thorne be a sort of consultant on what things in space would look like (For lack of a better noun), so when you see a black hole, that’s what scientists are pretty sure an actual black hole looks like. That’s pretty frickin’ rad.
Christopher Nolan has done a pretty solid job at incorporating shorter, emotional scenes in mainly serious movies, but he has set a new bar for himself with Interstellar in terms of emotional punch. I wouldn’t say it emotionally wrecked me, but holy crap does it get intense. Go ahead and skip to the end of this paragraph if you really don’t want to know anything about the movie going in, go ahead and skip to the end of this paragraph, but my favourite scene in the entire movie was when, due to the theory of relativity, Cooper discovers that his kids are now older than him. It’s not only a brilliant way to explain relativity to somebody, but also the best scene of the movie thanks to its emotional resonance.
Fuck me, that was the saddest damn thing.
However, it can work to the movie’s detriment too. The movie, for the most part, does a really good job of accurately portraying the science that would go into a space voyage, which makes sense, given that theoretical physicist Kip Thorne served as an executive producer. However, as much as I appreciate the science behind the movie, it loses me a little when it starts emphasizing the main theme in the film, that love transcends space and time, being, essentially, the strongest force in the universe. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against that being a theme in the movie. My problem is when the characters start spewing some bullshit about “quantifiable love”. I’m not going to go much more in depth for fear of venturing into spoiler territory, but seriously? I’m no physics major, that’s for damn sure, but I’m fairly sure that’s not actually a thing. The “power of love” crap may work in a movie such as Harry Potter, when the real-world applicability of the movie is non-existent, but in a movie such as Interstellar that puts such a large influence on the science, while keeping the human element mostly separate, you lose some brownie points from me when you try to spoon feed me with “quantifiable love.” It’s just too much of a stretch for a cynical bastard like me.
Also, the dialogue seemed really clunky at times. I had to restrain myself from exclaiming “what!?” after Cooper explained to Murphy why he named her after Murphy’s Law. Most of the time, it’s a pretty typical, slick Nolan screenplay, but at other times…Ugh.
Another thing that was working against me was the length of the movie. Whenever a movie goes beyond the 160 minute range, it’s already gotten on my bad side. It’s not like I automatically hate it (The Lord of the Rings movies are three of the best movies of all time. Try and dissuade me of that, hipsters. I dare you.), it just has to do a bit more in the way of keeping me interested in the story to keep me distracted from the fact that I just blew three hours of my precious time. This movie did not do that. There were several times during the last 30 minutes of the movie when I felt that it should’ve ended, but it just kept trudging along, and it got to the point when I was just willing the movie to end, which is a pity, because looking back on it, it was a damn smart ending to a pretty damn good movie, but the ending was presented in such a hectic and drawn out way that I just got lost. Maybe I’m just stupid, I dunno.
Overall: It’s overly long, complicated, and occasionally displays stiff dialogue, but it’s a visual treat and an engrossing experience as well. It may not be for everybody, but it’s worth a watch. Just plan your day around it.",1830,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510097.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516073101-20220516103101-00224.warc.gz,0.967643201351166
2d975665-02bc-4b8e-a75c-7b82cd637e83,2022-05-20T12:57:50+00:00,2017-12-31,0,https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/history-masters/dir-record/student-alumni-profiles/469/jessica-mifsud-bonnici,"Jessica Mifsud- Bonnici
- Course: MA Social and Cultural History
- Year of graduation: 2017
Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
I grew up in Romford, Essex and was the first in my family to attend university. I studied my undergraduate at the University of Leeds, BA History, where I grew to specialise in Early Modern History, more specifically Early Modern Italian History which I continued onto my Masters. My postgraduate dissertation was entitled 'Eating, Sociability and Individuality in Early Modern Italy', where I focused on the culture of eating and eating habits in 17th and 18th century Italy. I worked for the University, in the Footsteps Fund in the Alumni and Development department as well as working as a student ambassador.
What made you want to apply to your MA course and to Leeds?
I applied to do my MA in the School of History because of the great experience I had in the department as an undergraduate. I received excellent support both academically and pastorally and felt a real part of the community due to my participation in the History Society and through roles I did in the school. I chose social and cultural history after being introduced to the cultural approach in my final year of history in my Special Subject (the topic which helps supports your dissertation’s development), The Cultural History of Venice. I found the sources which cultural historians use, and their way of reading them, incredibly interesting and wished to use this approach in my Masters dissertation.
What is it that makes you passionate about your area of study?
I find the study of history absolutely fascinating. I’m particularly interested in the early modern era as it was a period of great social, economic, political and religious change which is reflected in the way people lived and observed their society. I chose to focus on the history of food, and specifically of food sociability, because sharing a table is the most basic form of community wherein people’s hopes and anxieties are articulated in the way they behaved when eating with others. Understanding the mentalities of the people of the past is a big part of my historical interest.
What aspects of the course did you enjoy the most?
I really enjoyed the core module Concepts and Debates in Social and Cultural History, as it provided a great basis for our research as well as introducing us to various scopes by which to study history including; gender, race and class. It also made us question how we read history and whether we were effectively cultural or social historians. I also really appreciated the freedom to write essays about topics I was interested in. Masters is not like undergraduate where they set you 8 questions from which you choose. Instead, you can write about anything within a given topic area. For instance, in a topic about the Napoleonic and Revolutionary Wars, I wrote about the female expression of patriotism where as other people wrote about military uniforms, military tactics or propaganda.
What would you say about Leeds as a city?
Leeds is a vibrant city, full of culture and industry. It offers a range of things to do including; great shopping, bars and clubs and museums and galleries. We are also half an hour train ride from other – really interesting – days out such as Saltaire, Ilkley, Harrogate and Knaresborough, all places which are rich in historical interest.
What has been the most surprising thing about coming to Leeds?
I was most surprised about how easy it was to settle in to Leeds. Prior to starting my undergraduate in 2013, I had never been any further North than Coventry bar the one open day I visited for Leeds after getting my offer. It became a home away from home, largely due to its great student union where I worked, studied and celebrated after exams in!
What would you say about the learning facilities in your School and at the University in general?
The School of History at the University of Leeds has academics who specialise in a range of topics so you will not find it hard to find someone to supervise your dissertation! In terms of the facilities, the School provides a postgraduate office which I used exclusively to study which is incredibly useful when the library is packed in the exam periods. The University has also introduced a postgraduate floor in the library which means it is easier to find space in which to find support for you research.
What other activities are available for students to take part in outside of their studies, and which ones have you tried out yourself?
I would suggest that all students join the History Society, it really helped me feel a part of the history community. I also helped to run the MA Dissertation Conference, wherein all MA history students present their paper in front of the staff and peers. This gave me experience in event organisation which has been really helpful on my CV.
What do you plan to do now you’ve finished your course, and how do you think the skills and knowledge you’ve developed at Leeds will help with these plans?
I am taking a few years out of education, wishing to work in the public or charity sector to try and broaden my life experience. Eventually, however, I intend to return to Leeds to read for my PhD, using the invaluable research skills I have learned as a MA student.",1081,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662532032.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520124557-20220520154557-00403.warc.gz,0.979134142398834
0049bec4-282b-4714-9bcb-374adaf9fe10,2022-05-22T13:45:27+00:00,2020-12,0,https://www.businessblogshub.com/2020/12/what-is-change-management-and-why-is-it-important/,"Few things are constant in our world. Ironically, change is the one thing we can count on. Nothing stays the same forever and while we accept this is so, people, in general, are afraid of change.
According to an Inc. article we fear what is new as it brings with it uncertainty and we tend to treat uncertainty in much the same way we do an error – we need to ‘fix’ it.
In the business world, change can ruin a company culture if a business manager does not implement the change carefully. You need “change management,” a specific method for bringing about change within a company.
Keep reading to learn all the ins and outs of change management.
What is Change Management?
Change management refers to how a business manages any major changes to the building’s infrastructure.
Something as simple as safety reviews can lead to organizational changes.
Organizational change can refer to change in company culture, the company’s internal process, the infrastructure the company uses to operate, or the underlying technologies of the company.
Organizational change management, thus, refers is a specific type of business change management in which a company leverages change which leads to a successful end. It typically consists of preparation, implementation, and follow-through.
Change Management Process
In the preparation part of change management, the company will define the change and then select the change management team. The change management team then identifies management sponsorship. They secure the sponsor’s commitment, as well.
In the implementation stage, the committee develops an implementation plan that includes appropriate metrics. The team then implements the change one stage at a time if possible.
You need to remember that change within a company is comparable to turning a barge. It takes time and power to make the change happen. Moving one step at a time allows the company employees to acclimate to the change gradually.
The team then collects and analyzes data from the change. During analysis, the team will evaluate the change gaps and seek to understand any company’s resistance.
Follow-through happens when the committee creates a modified plan and implement the plan back in the implementation step.
How to Deal With Resistance to Change
A good “how to change management” guide anticipates the resistance that comes with every change. Resistance is any obstacle that prevents you from implementing the necessary changes.
Groups and individuals alike can impede progress. However, outdated systems and processes can cause the same impediment.
You can best deal with resistance by stopping it before it starts. Create and affirm a need for change within the company. Let people see the need for a change.
Make sure you’ve dedicated an adequate amount of resources to the change to allow it to happen smoothly. Also, create a way to monitor the progress of the change.
Stay committed to the change. Your commitment to finishing the job will give your team confidence in you and ultimately in the changes you’re implementing.
Finally, make the management’s support of the change clear. Your team members need to see that leaders believe in the change. When they see this, team members are more likely to believe in change as well.
Change Leads to Progress
Ultimately, change leads to progress, and that’s exciting, so with the right mindset, change brings about optimism for what might be or might happen. Limiting resistance to change within your company requires a purposeful change management plan.
For the best articles on business, keep visiting our site including this article on mindset.",731,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00410.warc.gz,0.923200964927673
b8f389cc-6f49-415b-af30-3d3850b2d7f7,2015-03-30T18:33:30+00:00,2004-04-29,0,http://www.virginia.org/Listings/OutdoorsAndSports/LakeFairfaxPark/?adref=blog1013LakeFairfax-10lakes&view=desc,"The star attraction at Lake Fairfax Park is the new Water Mine Family Swimmin' Hole, a western theme activity pool with an acre of interactive play features, including Rattlesnake River, Box Canyon Crossing, slides and flumes - all designed with kids in mind. In addition, the park has an 18 acre lake with pedal boat rentals, tour boat rides and fishing in both the lake and seasonally-stocked trout stream.
Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, Virginia has 136 campsites (70 with electrical hookups, 15 and 30 amp), bathhouse with sinks, showers, and toilets, dump station, public phones camp store, picnic tables and grills. The campgrounds are open all year.
Last Updated: 4/29/2004 11:01 AM",157,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00077-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.928481698036194
f83b5909-aafc-4107-9828-141869bec3c0,2019-08-23T00:20:46+00:00,2016-01-01,0,https://www.nyforetagarcentrum.com/in-english/enterprise-agenciesnyforetagarcentrum/,"Advisors who have personal experience from the business world operationally lead each Enterprise Agency. Most of them are, or have been, self-employed. In addition a broad network of local experts from different branches of business is at hand for support. An advisor at an Enterprise Agency evaluates the business idea, personal qualifications, the potential market, supports the creation of a market plan, goes through economic calculations and budgets, evaluates investment requirements and financing, goes through legal issues, insurance and formal requirements – and, finally, helps out with contacts through relevant networks.
In 2015 20 000 individuals come for advice. 10 000 of them started a business. It is vital that more companies start but the overriding issue is that they successfully survive. Only 1% (or actually 0,67%) of companies having started via a NyföretagarCentrum go bankrupt after three years – with 82% still being active.
We cover 200 of Sweden’s 290 municipalities. In order to make an appointment with any of our Enterprise Agencies, choose a municipality in the drop down list on the startpage. You will then be directed to the local Enterprise Agency’s own website.",236,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317688.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822235908-20190823021908-00290.warc.gz,0.943987607955933
21f5da00-6c71-44c2-8f24-9019a575efed,2019-08-25T23:40:01+00:00,2019-08-25,0,https://www.ccg-catalyst.com/branch-demise-arguments-incorrectly-assume-no-change-to-their-use/,"Remember how the US railroad business thought they were in the railroad business and didn’t realize they were in the transportation business? They still haven’t recovered. Banks, especially community banks, certainly realize they are no longer in the bank transaction business. So what business are they in? Oh, the possibilities!
What is definitely in demise is the use of branches for traditional transactional banking. To say that this is all banks can do in a branch is a sad prejudice against a business with centuries of experience and hundreds of thousands of employees.
Let’s do an inventory of what banks have in their branch networks to work with:
- Locations. Branches are located in the center of cities and towns across the nation. If the school of branch demise assumes that the entire mainstreet business community will collapse as everyone digs into their sofas to surf the net, then okay. But until that happens, branches are sitting pretty, many in areas that are becoming more vibrant, not less. 100 years from now, if you don’t think people will gather and do things in city and town centers, then you are missing a fundamental feature of human behavior.
- Connections. Banks have a direct link to businesses, families, and individuals. In fact, banks have not unwrapped this prize – their communications are one to one, with little efforts to amplify C2C, C2B, or B2B relationships. Now would be a great time. Think of the businesses that had nothing BUT relationships, and then decided to mine them. Facebook was initially designed to check out girls at Harvard. But when Zuckerberg saw how many people joined the fun, he created a business around the network, not around girl watching.
- On the ground people. Sure, businesses may not need as many people on the ground these days, but how opportune to think there are already good people, well trained, finance oriented employees who actually live in the area, ready for new direction.
Can you imagine? Think of how an entrepreneur would look at this – you’re asked to start a company, and are given an infrastructure, a customer base, and the people to run it. Anyone who has started a business knows that the idea is only a small part of a new business because these very obstacles have to be overcome. Not banks. It’s all there, wrapped in a bow, waiting to be opened. All they need is the idea.
What could they do? This is the question bank boards, managers, staff, and stockholders should be asking, and hopefully (and probably) are. If ideas are slow to come, here are a few to start the juices flowing:
- Entrepreneur center.
- Specific industry, special services center.
- Mainstreet Retail Shop Center, including help from startup, through customer acquisition, to efficiency, and to sellout.
- International Trade center for small business.
- Center for financial studies around local growth.
- Center for web based businesses.
- Center for women in business.
- Center for senior financial independence.
- Center for Buy Local and Community Vibrancy.
- Center for financial competency for youth.
- Center for Immigrant Run Businesses.
- Center for leadership excellence.
Oh – and no one said a branch has to do just one thing …
Photo Credit © Can Stock Photo Inc. / andreykuzmin",707,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00374.warc.gz,0.968907237052918
289f378e-edf0-47a3-8217-b2e7ec279a80,2018-08-19T10:05:21+00:00,2014-05-06,0,http://www.informatics.jax.org/homology/38298,"HomoloGene (Release 68, May 6, 2014)
MGI loads vertebrate homology data from NCBI HomoloGene, which programmatically detects homologs among the genome features of completely sequenced eukaryotic genomes (see: HomoloGene Build Procedure).
MGI includes homology for the following selected vertebrate species from HomoloGene:
- monkey, Rhesus
- western clawed frog (Xenopus tropicalis)
These are a subset of the total species represented in HomoloGene Classes at NCBI.
Additional species may be present in an NCBI HomoloGene Class than appear in MGI.
Mouse Genome Database (MGD), Gene Expression Database (GXD), Mouse Tumor Biology (MTB), Gene Ontology (GO), MouseCyc
Citing These Resources
Warranty Disclaimer & Copyright Notice
Send questions and comments to User Support.
last database update",196,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215075.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819090604-20180819110604-00124.warc.gz,0.82192051410675
7ff27099-e941-49ef-8c99-88cbec9c48d7,2022-05-23T14:22:16+00:00,2022-05-23,1,https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/quote/GLNG?p=GLNG&.tsrc=fin-srch,"|Bid||23.73 x 4000|
|Ask||23.77 x 900|
|Day's range||22.91 - 24.06|
|52-week range||10.01 - 26.60|
|Beta (5Y monthly)||0.73|
|PE ratio (TTM)||6.26|
|Earnings date||25 Jul 2022 - 29 Jul 2022|
|Forward dividend & yield||N/A (N/A)|
|Ex-dividend date||12 Jun 2019|
|1y target est||19.90|
Why investors should use the Zacks Earnings ESP tool to help find stocks that are poised to top quarterly earnings estimates.
Golar LNG (GLNG) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
Higher demand for LNG vessels is likely to have aided Golar LNG's (GLNG) Q1 performance. However, softness in FLNG revenues might have hurt the top line.",288,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662558030.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523132100-20220523162100-00012.warc.gz,0.801464796066284
a2fa0e9a-3a10-4e05-8057-f2415f492de6,2022-05-22T14:11:50+00:00,2022-02-01,1,https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/news-item/tpo-launches-pensions-dishonesty-unit,"TPO launches Pensions Dishonesty Unit
Following The Pensions Ombudsman’s (TPO) recent high value Determinations in the Norton Motorcycles (around £10 million) and Henry Davison (around £3 million) cases, TPO has now established a dedicated Pensions Dishonesty Unit to investigate allegations of serious breaches of trust, misappropriation of pension funds and dishonest or fraudulent behaviour by pension scheme trustees.
The principal aim of the Pensions Dishonesty Unit is to hold the wrongdoers responsible for the unlawful gains they have made and ensure they repay these monies to the scheme members – many of whom have lost substantial sums and are now struggling to get by without their lifetime savings. While some of the schemes may also be eligible for the Fraud Compensation Fund, with whom we are engaging regularly, any money obtained for the members through our process will come directly from the hands of those responsible.
Anthony Arter, Pensions Ombudsman, said:
“A noticeable trend in recent years has been the increase in cases relating to trustee dishonesty and wrongdoing leading to substantial losses for individual pension scheme members. The Norton Determination demonstrated a change of approach for us which not only holds trustees personally liable but also has the potential to benefit all scheme members. The extension of this approach to other cases involving trustee dishonesty through the new Pensions Dishonesty Unit pilot is very significant; enabling quicker redress and the recovery of funds that may otherwise not be achieved, directly from the guilty party.”
The Pensions Dishonesty Unit is now up and running on a pilot basis and consists of experienced members of staff from TPO’s Casework and Legal departments who are now working on these specialist identified cases.
TPO has recently made two further Determinations relating to the Grosvenor and Grovesnor Schemes (around £1.2 million) and are following these up with enforcement action in the courts as we recognise how difficult it is for members of the public to pursue these matters alone.
TPO has Oral Hearings scheduled in relation to two other schemes in early February and late March and continue to receive new cases to investigate from individual members and independent trustees. TPO encourages both further applications of this nature and informal contact from independent trustees to discuss our potential involvement on a particular case.",478,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00403.warc.gz,0.949047029018402
636da5a1-a612-4268-bbbf-49401814cf0c,2015-04-02T09:40:53+00:00,2012-12-22,0,http://freerangelibrarian.com/2012/12/22/word/comment-page-1/,"So, about my writing. I mean my literary-essay writing, not blog posts or journo-style magazine writing or academic writing.
I’ve spent the past year:
- Moping over the breakup of my writing group,
- Pursuing several professional goals that required intense study of un-fun stuff but were also convenient excuses for not writing, and
- Feeling sorry for myself whenever I see another writer’s good fortune posted on Facebook or Twitter, and
- Making resolutions about writing that I then fail to follow through on.
On the first point, it’s like a break-up, as a writing colleague told me a few months back. Go ahead and mourn for a little while, but get back in the writing saddle without them and keep on writing. They were a good thing while they lasted, but nothing lasts forever. After a while, the breakup moves into lame-excuse category.
On the second point, that stuff is done, so no excuses there, either. I have always had that stuff, and will continue to do so. Besides, for 8 years I managed to have a writing life alongside many other responsibilities.
On the third point, for a writer with a full-time-and-then-some day job, I have a pretty good publishing record. Almost every essay I felt was ready to send out in the last eight years has been published, and by very respectable publications. I’ve had essays republished in commendable anthologies, had an essay nominated for a Pushcart, and am looking forward to “Still Life on the Half-Shell” being republished in 2013 in The Cassoulet Saved Our Marriage, edited by Lisa Catherine Harper and Caroline Grant.
Obviously, I can write publishable work. Yet in the last year I have sent out only two essays, to the same publication, and took that editor at face value when he said the essays weren’t worth publishing, lambasting myself for my bad writing. How amateurish of me!
On the fourth point, I know how I write. I schedule the time and announce I am going to write. Then I find a generic coffeeshop (as a writing colleague noted, nothing “too hip”; the Tallahassee Panera still ranks as my perfect writing location), sit down for three hours with Vivaldi or Boccherini pacing my work, and I write, stopping only to divest and replenish herbal tea.
I do not write by sitting in my home office. I can do library work in that home office, but it is not separate enough to do literary writing–yes, not even when I am home alone. And yet for almost a year I claimed I can write in that space, and then I did not write there, and so I did not write.
I do not write by scheduling an hour here or there for writing. An hour is just about time for me to stretch out my writing muscle until I’m truly focused. The real writing happens in the next several hours. The last 15 minutes are spent worrying that my writing session is almost over and watching the baristas wipe off the tables as they close down shop for the night.
I also do not write by taking literary writing time and using it for other, non-literary writing tasks. Allowing that work to encroach on my literary writing has not been good for me. I pursued an MFA because I wanted to go somewhere else with my writing. Some people talk about where a good book takes them: that’s just one planet over from the place my writing takes me.
So attention has been paid. The habit has been resumed. I have a writing evening, a writing place, a pile of manuscripts to dust off, and a few flabby writing muscles to tone up again. The baristas and I, we are one with the night.",809,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427132827069.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323174707-00118-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968863785266876
f1fb3e6e-2a5c-4446-ac17-e97c48883b11,2013-06-20T09:10:25+00:00,2012-12-13,1,http://www.itproportal.com/2012/12/13/what-should-we-expect-from-the-apple-tv/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+itproportal%2Frss+%28Latest+ITProPortal+News%29,"Every major news outlet is now sizing up the possibility of the upcoming release of an Apple TV. About just as many people have predicted that there will be an Apple TV as have predicted there will not be an Apple TV. Unless something changes, though, all indications are generally pointing to the fact that there will be an Apple TV released in 2013.
So let's look at what we can and what we should expect from this television set. But first, let me reiterate my position, which has remained consistent for close to five years. Apple needs a TV offering for three reasons: To add something new to its product line-up; to sell in its Apple Stores, which are getting larger and need more products; and finally, to take advantage of the fact that the company can get a premium for a TV set where nobody else can.
In fact, this last assertion seems to be established by research, which suggests that Apple can get 20 per cent more for the exact same product when it is branded.
What I have not been so jacked up about is the pundits' insistence that Apple must do all sorts of content deals to make a go of this TV. Why? I understand that people like to imagine Apple pulling a stunt for video content the way it did for music with iTunes, but the situation is totally different. The music business was recreating itself and had to do something to avoid extinction. The situation regarding TV and movies is nothing like that.
Apple can get away with merely incorporating the likes of Roku and Netflix, and some Media Centre qualities in some useful way. Perhaps Apple can just buy Netflix and use that for its content deal.
So what can we expect to see when the Apple TV comes out? What will make it different? Here entertainment comes in the form of speculation.
There is talk that Apple is looking beyond Corning's Gorilla Glass towards the newer Willow Glass, which is paper thin and flexes. This, combined with OLED technology, would make for the first genuine large screen ""hang-on-the-wall TV.""
Apple would love to show off a huge screen that weighs less than 20 pounds and can hang on the wall. The sets today are, relatively speaking, huge dinosaurs that eventually have to be swapped out for something less cumbersome. Whether Apple can manage the OLED part of the equation remains to be seen, but the set can still be lightweight and “hangable.”
Now, if you are going to hang your TV on the wall, are you going to have unsightly cables running up and down the wall? No, maybe just one lone power plug. Using either some high speed video streaming wireless lash-up or power cord networking, the set will be a receiver all the way for streaming content from a centralised box external to the TV. This would lighten the product even more.
This aspect has not been addressed by anyone, but Apple’s emphasis on aesthetics would demand some sort of look that does not include crummy cables galore.
Let's face it: Apple is not going to bring out a more expensive yet ho-hum flat panel TV to stand alongside the Samsung and Panasonic units at the supermarkets and electronics stores. The forever-promised hang-on-the wall TV is where it has got to go. Everyone else will follow Apple's lead after that.
We'll find out more as 2013 progresses.
Published under license from Ziff Davis, Inc., New York, All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2012-2013 Ziff Davis, Inc",720,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960035443305969
d1e84ef6-f048-429a-aaf1-d3b1097f06a4,2022-05-26T05:29:26+00:00,2016-11-15,0,https://tinkadventures.com/2016/11/15/cycling-the-death-road-bolivia/,"I should start by saying I’m not really a cycling and have never mountain biked before. I own a bike which gets used once in a blue moon in the summer but is currently unloved in the shed collecting spiders.
But since I was in Bolivia it seemed like a good idea to take up the chance to mountain bike the famous Death road. How hard can it be? Its all downhill after all.
If you’re a strong cyclist or experienced at mountain biking, the Yungas road, or Death road isn’t that hard at all. But if like me, you’re a bit shaky on anything with front suspension, its a bit hair raising!
The Yungas road or Death road as its otherwise called, runs from the top of the pass from La Paz at 4600m high down to Coroico at only 1,200m (the lowest I ever made it in Bolivia!)
The 64 km route actually starts at the top of the hill with a long section on the road. I was quite scared of flying over the handlebars with the power of the brakes so I avoided hurtling down the hill at lightning speed.
The top part of the route is actually very impressive, as you wind through the mountains, and despite being on the main road its not too busy that you feel threatened by traffic.
Looking back up the valley you can just make out the route of the road.
We jumped in the support van to avoid an uphill section before we reached the famous Death Road. While it is still used by some vehicles, a new road was built in 2006 which diverts most of the traffic and provides a quicker and safer route between La Paz and Coroico. This makes the Death Road perfect for mountain bikers as very few vehicles now use the route.
As you can see I was hardly hurtling down the hill as I entered Coroico!
After a beer at the bottom of the road we drove to La Sena Verde, an animal sanctuary providing rehabilitation and release for monkeys from the pet trade.
Its a great place to stop for lunch before the long drive back to La Paz.",446,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662601401.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526035036-20220526065036-00008.warc.gz,0.970911264419556
1b820296-f31e-4804-98fa-1da737071160,2019-08-21T10:27:20+00:00,1998-01-01,0,https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/chinese-stir-fried-beef,"Chinese Stir-Fried Beef
This is a recipe using budget-priced cuts of beef, but allow sufficient time for tenderizing. Use lean round, blade or skirt steak and freeze just long enough to firm the meat, since this makes it possible to cut very thin slices. Put the sliced beef into a bowl and for each 500 g (1 lb) of beef, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in 3 tablespoons warm water. Pour over the beef and knead well until evenly distributed and absorbed. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, overnight if possible. Proceed with the recipe. If time is short, you have to buy the more expensive tender cuts.
375 g/12 oz tender, lean grilling steak
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
4 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4 spring onions (scallions), chopped
Freeze beef to firm it, then cut in thin, bite-sized slices across the grain. Combine garlic, salt and ginger and rub into beef, mixing well. Set aside for 10 minutes. Mix cornflour with water, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Heat a wok, add peanut oil and swirl to coat. Add beef and stir-fry over high heat until colour changes. Add spring onions and fry for 1 minute longer. Add cornflour mixture and stir until it boils and thickens. Serve immediately with rice.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)",354,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315865.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821085942-20190821111942-00373.warc.gz,0.863460958003998
46d60e3e-944a-4cd4-b3ab-ce20b2f20c18,2022-05-27T16:52:41+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://courseaides.com/questions/question/2hzz/develop-a-525-word-executive-summary-in-which-you-describe-your-process-improvement-project-including-the-as-is-process-flowchart-and-the-improved-process-flowchart,"Develop A 525-word Executive Summary In Which You Describe Your Process Improvement Project (including The As-is Process Flowchart And The Improved Process Flowchart).
FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELLOW TO DEVELOP AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DESCRIBING YOUR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. SEE THE GRADING MATRIX BELLOW AS WELL.
Flowchart Improvement ProcessObjectives:
Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is for students to learn process flowcharting/improving a process and summarizing the results.
Resources: Microsoft® PowerPoint® (or other software such as Vizio, Word, etc.)
Select a complex process from your personal life or work.
Use Microsoft® PowerPoint® or other
software including Vizio, Word, etc. to create a flowchart of the as-is process.
Define metrics and measure the current process.
Use process improvement techniques to improve the process.
Use Microsoft® PowerPoint® or other software such as Vizio, Word, etc. to create an improved process flowchart.
Use judgmental forecasting, which is your professional judgement, to ascertain how the future process will perform according to your metrics.
Develop a 525-word executive summary in which you describe your process improvement project (including the as-is process flowchart and the improved process flowchart).
Note: Students and faculty are reminded both Six Sigma readings and Lean Principles introduced in Week 2 are spread throughout the entire course. Students will apply the
knowledge from the readings in their Learning Teams throughout the course.
Format your assignment consistent with APA guidelines.
Selected a complex process from your personal life or work.
Used Microsoft® PowerPoint® (or other software including Vizio, Word etc.) to create a flowchart of the as-is process.
Defined metrics and measured the current process.
Used process improvement techniques to improve the process.
Used Microsoft® PowerPoint® (or other software including Vizio, Word etc.) to create an improved process flowchart.
Used judgmental forecasting (your professional judgement) to ascertain how the future process will perform according to your metrics.
Developed a 525-word executive summary describing the process improvement project (including the As-is process flowchart and the Improved process flowchart).
The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page, and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-level requirements.
Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a reference page.
Paragraph and sentence transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper.
Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.
Rules of grammar and usage are followed including spelling and punctuation.",677,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662658761.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527142854-20220527172854-00226.warc.gz,0.841805100440979
ab2daaf9-586b-4a81-9833-944d538a8fde,2015-04-01T01:24:58+00:00,2014-02-27,1,http://mynorthwest.com/17/2269428/Japan-mayor-Lack-of-sensitivity-caused-flap,"TOKYO (AP) - Japan's government said Thursday it may re-examine a 20-year-old study that led to a landmark apology over forced prostitution during World War II, in a sign it is leaning toward a denial that officials were involved in organizing sex slavery.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the official government spokesman, said it may decide to verify the accuracy of interviews with 16 South Korean women who said they were forced to serve as prostitutes for Japan's wartime military.
Although numbers vary, some historians say as many as 200,000 women from across Asia, most of them Koreans, were forced to serve as sex slaves, called ""comfort women"" in Japan, for frontline soldiers.
Japanese nationalists have long insisted that women in wartime brothels were voluntary prostitutes, not sex slaves, and that Japan has been unfairly criticized for a practice they say is common in any country at war.
The interviews, conducted by Japanese officials in 1993 at the request of South Korea's government as part of a broader investigation by Japan, were key to a statement in which Japan apologized later that year.
A reversal of that apology would greatly worsen already-strained relations between Japan and South Korea.
The statement, issued by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, acknowledged that many women were forced into prostitution for Japan's wartime military, despite a lack of records clearly indicating direct government involvement.
""We would like to re-examine"" the interviews, Suga said, adding that he would seek ways of doing so while taking into consideration that the contents of the interviews are classified information. Suga also suggested that a government-led team would review the overall study.
Abe has been criticized by South Korea and China for backpedaling from past Japanese apologies and acknowledgements of wartime atrocities.
Members of his nationalist government and many others who share their view have been frustrated by recent efforts by South Korea to enlist U.S. support in pressuring Japan to stick to its 1993 apology. They are stepping up efforts to discredit accounts by South Korean women who say they were sex slaves.
They have been particularly unhappy about ""comfort women"" statues that have been erected in several cities in the U.S., including Glendale, California, and about growing international support for the South Korean victims.
A nationalist Japan Restoration Party lawmaker, Hiroshi Yamada, said Japanese children cannot be proud of their country because of the statues and other ""false"" accusations.
Suga's comments Thursday followed a statement by the deputy chief Cabinet secretary at the time of the apology, Nobuo Ishihara, that Japan had never verified the 16 women's accounts.
Ishihara told a parliamentary committee earlier Thursday that South Korea had demanded that Japan interview the women after an earlier Japanese investigation found no hard evidence that the wartime government had coerced people into sexual slavery.
Ishihara said Japan and South Korea had agreed that the 1993 apology would allow them to put their difficult past behind them and open the way for forward-looking relations.
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)",642,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131302428.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172142-00227-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.981614947319031
a87cb6ea-4c6b-4c75-bd7d-a9921f5ff64d,2020-10-31T09:32:52+00:00,2019-06-30,1,https://pinnacletreatment.com/blog/fentanyl-overdose-deaths/,"The Center for Disease Controls and Prevention (CDC) reports that the rate of fentanyl-related overdose deaths dramatically increased in 2017. This increase is notable because 2018 saw the first significant decrease in opioid medication overdoses – a 5% drop – since 2015. Policy makers now consider the misuse of fentanyl – notably a chemical variation called carfentanil – to be the third wave of the opioid crisis.
Fentanyl: A Highly Potent Synthetic Opioid
Fentanyl and synthetic opioid medications with very similar chemical structures, known as analogs, are typically prescribed to address severe, chronic pain that’s associated with cancer, and in some cases, not associated with cancer (NCP). NCP conditions include osteoporosis, neuropathic pain (associated with medical issues like diabetes, thyroid problems, spinal surgery), and chronic back pain.
This medication is administered either by a transdermal patch, sublingual tablets, oral spray, or lozenges. Fentanyl, and its analogs, are considered highly addictive because of their potency. For example, carfentanil – a well-known fentanyl analog – is 50-100 times more potent than morphine.
Health care providers calculate the potency of opioid pain relief medications on the morphine equivalent dosing (MED) scale. Synthetic opioids – those synthesized in a laboratory as opposed to naturally occurring ones, such as morphine – are calculated in milligram morphine equivalents (MME). Given this scale, to take an example, if one were prescribed 50 mg of fentanyl, this would be equivalent to 120 mg of morphine.
Because the potential for misuse and the sharp increase in overdose-related deaths for prescription opioid medications, new CDC guidelines advise prescribers to be very cautious before increasing doses above 50 MME. Evidence shows that dosages higher than 50 MME double the risk of overdose.
One reason, in addition to its potency, that fentanyl presents a serious overdose risk is because this medication dramatically affects breathing – a basic function controlled by the central nervous system (CNS). In fact, the ability to survive an overdose typically depends on one’s ability to breathe oxygen. Narcan – a.k.a. naloxone – is an especially effective medication to reverse overdose symptoms by binding to the opioid receptors on cells in the CNS and essentially kicking fentanyl off those sites. By blocking the action of fentanyl, normal breathing returns, and fatal overdose can be avoided.
Possible Explanations for the Increases in Fentanyl Overdose
Part of the explanation for the increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths is its potency, and how quickly small increases in dosage can lead to respiratory failure. Another important piece of this story is the increased market for illicit made fentanyl (IMF). Law enforcement officials and public health scientists have identified and begun to track the influx of IMF in street drug sales. Illegal distributors (drug dealers) often mix IMF with heroin, which means individuals purchasing street drugs may not know they’re buying a drug that’s far more powerful than what they’re accustomed to. IMF is 50 times more potent than heroin, making street heroin mixed with IMF extremely dangerous.
“It would be like ordering a glass of wine and instead getting a lethal dose of pure ethanol.”
That puts it in perspective: street heroin, because of Fentanyl, is now more dangerous than at any time in the past.
Cause for Optimism
While the increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths is cause for concern, the larger trend – a significant drop in opioid medication-related deaths – should be reason for optimism. Awareness campaigns, prescribing guidelines, law enforcement efforts and investments made by government agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in access to treatment are showing positive results.
These combined efforts promise to reverse the trend of fentanyl-related deaths. A greater understanding of how IMF is getting into the hands of individuals turning to illicit markets for opioids will also help. Furthermore, innovations in the treatment of opioid substance use disorders – including effective pharmacological treatments that alleviate craving and thus fentanyl drug-seeking – indicate that, while it’s not yet time to sit back and declare victory, we may have turned a corner with the opioid crisis.
Overall opioid overdose deaths are down: next, we can focus on the new wave of challenges presented by fentanyl.",890,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00327.warc.gz,0.926502346992493
ad4876ef-6a7d-4ccd-91a4-9e53d6394247,2022-05-22T23:06:36+00:00,2021-05-26,0,https://www.philasun.com/diaspora/tennessee-state-university-offers-coding-classes-in-africa/,"ABOVE PHOTO: Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover smiles during a press conference in Nashville. Tennessee State University announced on Wednesday, MAY 26, 2021, that it will begin offering an online app design and coding class in two African countries this fall. (George Walker/The Tennessean via AP, FILE)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee State University announced on Wednesday that it will begin offering an online app design and coding class in two African countries this fall. Robbie Melton, who runs TSU’s coding program, said the idea is to get African students interested in STEM careers and increase the number of Black students entering those fields. App design and coding is an easy introduction.
The courses are offered through a partnership between the historically Black university and the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which operates several schools in Africa. The participating schools are the African Methodist Episcopal University and its feeder high school, Monrovia College, both in Monrovia, Liberia, and Wilberforce Community College, which serves high school and college students in Evaton, a township in South Africa.
TSU already offers the app coding program to more than 30 historically Black colleges and universities in the United States, and more than 2,000 students have participated since it started in 2019, Melton said. Around 20% have gone on to pursue STEM degrees, she said.
In addition to teaching students, TSU faculty members train participating school faculty to be able to give the courses themselves. The same will be true for the African schools, which have signed up 500 students to take the course over the next three years. That includes both college students and high school students who will take advantage of dual-enrollment.
If some of the students decide to continue their studies with TSU, the school is now able to offer degrees remotely through virtual classes, TSU President Glenda Glover said.
“Our global mission is to empower underserved populations,” Glover said. “Access to education is challenging in parts of Africa. We’re meeting that challenge and breaking those barriers.”",434,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662550298.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522220714-20220523010714-00016.warc.gz,0.95721024274826
7c9703f8-cd41-491f-aeac-d7c1f04fb8fb,2016-07-29T05:54:04+00:00,2013-09-21,0,https://rogueclassicism.com/2013/09/21/intact-possibly-royal-etruscan-tomb-from-tarquinia/,"Extremely interesting item from Discovery News (and Rossella Lorenzi has provided better coverage than the Italian press!) … some excerpts:
The skeletonized body of an Etruscan prince, possibly a relative to Tarquinius Priscus, the legendary fifth king of Rome from 616 to 579 B.C., has been brought to light in an extraordinary finding that promises to reveal new insights on one of the ancient world’s most fascinating cultures.
Found in Tarquinia, a hill town about 50 miles northwest of Rome, famous for its Etruscan art treasures, the 2,600 year old intact burial site came complete with a full array of precious grave goods.
“It’s a unique discovery, as it is extremely rare to find an inviolate Etruscan tomb of an upper-class individual. It opens up huge study opportunities on the Etruscans,” Alessandro Mandolesi, of the University of Turin, told Discovery News. Mandolesi is leading the excavation in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency of Southern Etruria. […]
Blocked by a perfectly sealed stone slab, the rock-cut tomb in Tarquinia appeared promising even before opening it.
Indeed, several objects, including jars, vases and even a grater, were found in the soil in front of the stone door, indicating that a funeral rite of an important person took place there.
As the heavy stone slab was removed, Mandolesi and his team were left breathless. In the small vaulted chamber, the complete skeleton of an individual was resting on a stone bed on the left. A spear lay along the body, while fibulae, or brooches, on the chest indicated that the individual, a man, was probably once dressed with a mantle.
At his feet stood a large bronze basin and a dish with food remains, while the stone table on the right might have contained the incinerated remains of another individual.
Decorated with a red strip, the upper part of the wall featured, along with several nails, a small hanging vase, which might have contained some ointment. A number of grave goods, which included large Greek Corinthian vases and precious ornaments, lay on the floor. […]
Although intact, the tomb has suffered a small natural structural collapse, the effects of which are visible in some broken vases.
Mandolesi and his team believe the individual was a member of Tarquinia’s ruling family.
The underground chamber was found beside an imposing mound, the Queen Tomb, which is almost identical to an equally impressive mound, the King’s Tomb, 600 feet away.
About 130 feet in diameter, the Queen’s Tomb is the largest among the more than 6,000 rock cut tombs (200 of them are painted) that make up the necropolis in Tarquinia. Mandolesi has been excavating it and its surrounding area for the past six years.
Both mounds date to the 7th century B.C., the Orientalizing period, so called due to the influence on the Etruscans from the Eastern Mediterranean. […]
Indeed, the two imposing mounds would have certainly remarked the power of the princes of Tarquinia to anybody arriving from the sea.
According to Mandolesi, the fact that the newly discovered burial lies a few feet away from the Queen’s Tomb indicate that it belonged to one of the princes of Tarquinia, someone directly related to the owners of the Queen’s Tomb.
“The entire area would have been off limits to anybody but the royal family,” Mandolesi said.
“In the next days we are going to catalogue all the objects. Further scientific tests will tell us more about the individual and the tomb,” Mandolesi said.
Discovery News will follow the archaeologists live as they remove the goods from the burial chamber.
- via: Skeleton of Ancient Prince Reveals Etruscan Life (Discovery)
The original article includes some video coverage and several photos …
If you want some of the Italian press:
- A Tarquinia aperta tomba rimasta chiusa per 2600 anni (Il Messaggero)
- Tarquinia, scoperta la più antica tomba dipinta dagli etruschi (La Stampa)
- [Esplora il significato del termine: Tarquinia, scoperta tomba inviolata] Tarquinia, scoperta tomba inviolata (Corriere della Sera)",971,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00174-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944579184055328
d9087125-c977-4137-91c5-3da36e9ab1a2,2017-08-22T14:39:05+00:00,2012-02,0,http://scobberlotch.blogspot.com/2012/02/saturday-snapshot.html,"Official blog of author Karen Harrington: mother, writer, dog-lover, scobberlotcher.
Maybe they can learn to spell they're! lol
*Gaahh* that makes my brain hurt lol
That is just sad! Got to love the ""learning"" irony.
It's all about friendly conversation. Please leave your comments and thoughts!",75,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110792.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822143101-20170822163101-00291.warc.gz,0.939245343208313
bfac8a90-5b91-4863-8c7a-acdce1b269d4,2015-03-30T10:53:35+00:00,2015-03-30,0,http://blog.timesunion.com/ontheedge/how-long-till-you-call/144/,"Following the rules is ingrained in my soul, except when it comes to dating. If there is a guideline society says to follow, I want to do the opposite. And if someone tries “the rules” with me- I see it as playing a game. If you want to invest time & energy with games, rather than getting to know me, I want nothing to do with you.
So when I met a guy (we’ll call him Joe) Saturday night while waiting to be seated for dinner, I was impressed he text messaged, say, three or four hours later.
“since your the dating expert what is the rule for a guy calling a girl is it 2 or 3 days”
The text was the perfect approach. It was funny, light and flirty (and I can not fault him for grammar and punctuation, seeing as it was a text). The nature of the electronic exchange was more overt- and less expected – than a phone call. This allowed me to text back if I wanted, and made it pressure-free. My ideal, seeing as I don’t do pressure in relationships.
When we did talk, I told him if he tried the ”let me wait a set no. of days” thing, I wouldn’t have agreed to the date. He told me if I was the type to be weirded out by the direct approach, I wouldn’t have been someone he wanted to date.",305,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00245-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980653345584869
e2fad876-b40e-44c9-a664-de26417c639a,2016-07-25T20:30:00+00:00,2012-07-01,1,http://www.audubon.org/magazine/july-august-2012/has-one-florida-dams-day-finally-come,"Last April I journeyed to Florida to inspect America’s most unique dam and its influence on one of America’s most unique waterways. Rodman Dam on the Ocklawaha River is the only dam in the nation without even an alleged purpose. It is a 44-year-old vestigial appendage of what, in the words of Carl Buchheister, Audubon’s president from 1959 to 1967, would have been “one of the greatest boondoggles ever perpetrated.”
Rodman was the only one of three planned dams that was completed and closed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a canal to bisect Florida. The canal was designed for ships when work got under way in 1935, but funding quickly ran out. By the time work started again in 1964, the project had been scaled down to accommodate only barges. There would be vast impoundments connected by excavated channels and accessed by five locks.
The 182-mile Cross-Florida Barge Canal would have run from Jacksonville south and upstream on the St. Johns River (to be dredged), overland to the Ocklawaha (to be dredged and impounded) to a point near Silver Springs (thus destroying most of the Silver River), then overland again to the Withlacoochee River (to be channelized, dredged, and impounded) and on to Yankeetown and the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1971, with the project almost a third complete, President Nixon killed it, rendering the Cross-Florida Barge Canal the biggest unfinished public works project in history. So today Rodman Dam just sits there, ruining terrestrial and aquatic habitat and blocking fish and wildlife movement.
But never have prospects for restoring the Ocklawaha and its floodplain been brighter. America is easing away from the notion that dams are sacred monuments to be preserved in perpetuity. In the past decade they have been coming down all across the nation—Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in Washington; Birch Run and West Leechburg dams in Pennsylvania; Marmot, Condit, and Savage Rapids dams in Oregon; Sturgeon River Dam in Michigan; and LaSalle Dam in New York, to mention just a few.
And now, in response to a 60-day notice of intent to sue filed by Florida Defenders of the Environment (FDE) and the Florida Wildlife Federation in February, the U.S. Forest Service—custodian of land, water, fish, and wildlife compromised by the dam—has agreed to reassess damage to endangered species. Removing or breaching the dam is the only way to fix that damage. Pending Forest Service action, the suit is on hold.
America doesn’t have another river quite like the Ocklawaha. Rising from swamps and lakes in north-central Florida, it winds north along the western edge of the Ocala National Forest, then veers east at Orange Springs, where it’s collected by the St. Johns River. Fed by clear springs gushing from a water-rich feature called the Floridan Aquifer, it is semitropical, canopied, ancient. And unlike most other Florida rivers, almost all of them its junior, its course was set by a fault line raised by primordial earthquakes. It drains 2,800 square miles, much of it sanctuary for unique plants and animals, including the Florida scrub jay, that survived on this high ground when the rest of the peninsula was under the sea.
Eighteenth-century naturalist William Bartram’s description of the Ocklawaha was the inspiration for “Alph, the sacred river” in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan.” And a decade after the Civil War, poet Sidney Lanier, who explored the Ocklawaha by steamboat, described it as “the sweetest water-lane in the world, a lane which runs for more than a hundred and fifty miles of pure delight betwixt hedgerows of oaks and cypresses and palms and bays and magnolias and mosses and manifold vine-growths.”
It remains basically unchanged on April 9, 2012, at least where our party meets it on this windless morning fragrant with forest-fire smoke. We access it from the Silver River, a third of the way down the Ocklawaha’s northern course. In my canoe is FDE director Erin Condon. In two other canoes are FDE board president Steve Robitaille—an English professor and Emmy Award–winning filmmaker preparing a documentary on the watershed and its history; longtime Ocklawaha advocate and former Putnam County Environmental Council president Karen Ahlers; Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon of Florida; and our professional guide, Lars Andersen, an accomplished birder, local historian, and author.
Sunlight, muted by the smoke, filters through overhead branches festooned with Spanish moss. Some of the more dominant trees in this rich, diverse bottomland forest are bald cypress, tupelo, sweet gum, red maple, swamp bay, cabbage palm, river elm, water hickory, green ash, and pumpkin ash.
After a decade of drought almost all the flow comes from the Silver River, fed by the clear water of Silver Springs. So natural tannin is even more suppressed than usual. I can count the dorsal spines on largemouth bass 10 feet down. Clouds of juvenile and adult sunfish, mostly bluegills and redbreasts, hang and turn in the gentle current as if from a mobile. Florida gar, bowfins, catfish, and golden shiners ghost through and over waving eelgrass and carpets of coontail. Atlantic needlefish, iridescent green and silver, shoot across the surface. In still backwaters chain pickerel lie in ambush.
The quantity of coontail bothers Lee, who has loved and defended the river for four decades. “Only 15 years ago you could see big patches of sand,” he says. “All the lawns and septic tanks around the City of Ocala send nutrients into the groundwater that feeds Silver Springs.”
Below the forest canopy is a lush understory of shrubs and wildflowers. Blue damselflies skip across the surface, their ranks swelling as the day warms. The croaking of red-bellied woodpeckers and the whistling of cardinals is nearly constant.
We flush and reflush great and snowy egrets, green herons, great blues, little blues, belted kingfishers, and wood ducks. Pileated woodpeckers and white ibises cross over the canopy. Coots, gallinules, and pied-billed grebes bob through the yellow blooms of spatterdock. Red-shouldered hawks, all unseen, shout from dark timber. The brilliant yellow plumage of a male prothonotary warbler shows on a low branch as we eat our lunch on a sandbar under a bluff raised by an ancient earthquake.
Around every bend Florida cooters and red-bellied turtles, sometimes five to a log, survey us with shrewd, half-closed eyes, most refusing to bestir themselves. Basking on higher ground are alligators—mostly juveniles and also unafraid, although now and then we are startled by a loud splash.
As we move downstream the coontail thins, revealing more sand patches. Save for the overabundant coontail in the first five or six miles, we find the Ocklawaha as Bartram found it—“a just representation of the peaceable and happy state of nature which existed before the fall.”
Ten miles downstream from the old steamboat stop of Gore’s Landing, the unique river becomes less so as it starts to feel the effects of Rodman Dam. The plants least tolerant of standing water—bays, Dahoon hollies, and cabbage palms—thin, sicken, and disappear. Then the ashes and maples go and, finally, even the cypresses and tupelos.
Written in this progression of dead and dying trees is a timeline of habitat destruction dating to the closing of the dam in 1968. The canal was hugely unpopular then. In fact, it was hugely unpopular even at the height of the Great Depression with the nation desperate for work. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes, who opposed the project on both financial and environmental grounds, rejected the Ship Canal Authority’s original loan application. President Roosevelt was in favor but blew with the political winds, promising funding and releasing a little when support surged, then reneging in the face of opposition from citrus growers, railroads, and conservationists.
A compelling argument befell canal promoters when German U-boats started taking out U.S. shipping on the Atlantic. “The submarines and Adolph are aiding us,” the director of Florida’s Canal Authority, Walter Coachman, brazenly intoned.
From day one the canal was pushed by Democratic presidents. Truman liked it at least as much as Roosevelt but couldn’t wangle appropriations; Eisenhower had no interest. Kennedy requested major funding; Johnson secured it. And on February 27, 1964, Johnson presided over a second groundbreaking, this one at Palatka. “The challenge of modern society is to make the resources of nature useful,” he declared. And, with that, he knocked a policeman from his horse by setting off 150 pounds of dynamite spiked with oil and charcoal for effect.
In June 1970, amid great fanfare provided by the Corps’ PR firm, a small, obsolete barge only half loaded with dolomite (a mineral used in fertilizer) attempted to negotiate a completed section of canal on the Gulf side and promptly got stuck. Canal Authority chairman L.C. Ringhaver hadn’t realized the accuracy of his earlier pronouncement that this shipment would be “the forerunner of things to come.”
Nixon killed the canal not because he cared about the Ocklawaha or knew anything about the project but because he perceived doing so to be a fine way of tucking it to the Democrats. As late as October 1970 he was clueless enough to ask Claude Kirk, Florida’s governor, about “this canal” that people, especially Kirk, had been complaining about. “Are you building it?” he inquired.
“No, you are,” responded the governor.
Pushing Nixon into the decision were (most notably) Interior Secretary Walter Hickel; Council on Environmental Quality chair Russell Train; environmental adviser John Whitaker; and Nathaniel Reed (then environmental adviser to Governor Kirk but soon to join the Nixon administration as Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks). No sooner had the president issued his order to save what he called the “uniquely beautiful” Ocklawaha than he received a tongue-lashing from his pal Bebe Rebozo of Key Biscayne. Nixon promptly instructed his staff to reverse course, but Whitaker, as he recalled to Steven Noll and David Tegeder (see Ditch of Dreams; University Press of Florida, 2009), “did what all good aides do . . . nothing, hoping the storm would blow over.” It did.
As David White (formerly the FDE’s Ocklawaha River coordinator and now directing Gulf of Mexico restoration for the National Wildlife Federation) explains: “Congress didn’t officially deauthorize the canal until 1990, at which time the Forest Service said to the state, ‘Okay, when are you gonna get all this water off our land?’ Transferring ownership of the structures to Florida was going to take a while, so the Forest Service gave the state a five-year special-use permit, a binding contract that required it to remove the structures ‘in a reasonable amount of time’ or the U.S. could do it and charge the expense to the state.”
Meanwhile, the Forest Service apparently lost the permit. No one appeared to even know about it until 1999, when White unearthed it with a state record request three months before it was to expire. This precipitated a lengthy environmental review by the state and a Forest Service record of decision for dam removal, but in the face of pressure from the bass-tournament lobby, the Forest Service refused to act.
The result is an aging, festering impoundment called Rodman Reservoir (though it provides no one with water) and, alternately, Rodman Pool (though there’s no swimming because of the alligators). Despite a forecast for strong winds, we found it waveless on April 10.
No one unfamiliar with the unspoiled reaches of the Ocklawaha, the lost fish and wildlife, the lost springs, the 16 miles of ruined river, or the 10,000 acres of drowned forest would call the impoundment ugly—especially now that the water was coming back up and covering some of the muck and rotting timber. The previous winter Rodman Reservoir had been drawn down, as it is about every three years, to kill the alien vegetation, especially hydrilla, that depletes oxygen and impedes bass-boat traffic. Herbicides are also used, though sparingly these days. All this and the operation of Buckman Lock between the Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers costs state taxpayers about $1 million per annum.
Nor is Rodman lifeless. As we paddled out from Kenwood Landing, the “oinks” of pig frogs rose from hundreds of acres of spatterdock. Boat-tailed grackles and red-winged blackbirds perched on dead cattails. In open water large alligators floated, distinguishable from the floating logs only by their slow passage or, when motionless, their eye ridges. A mature bald eagle hunched on a dead snag. On lower snags anhingas in breeding plumage dried their wings. Ospreys hovered. Gar and catfish swirled. And low, glitter-painted bass boats with huge outboard engines screamed up the flooded riverbed.
Like most manmade impoundments in the South, the reservoir exploded with bass in its early years, then started dying, choking on the rich biomass of decaying timber and forest duff. In 1985 the oxygen-swilling stew of bacteria and rotting vegetation killed an estimated 8.5 million fish; three years later it killed an estimated 2.5 million. Rodman defenders tell me major fish kills don’t happen anymore, but Karen Ahlers says they’re just not reported. “Two years ago we [the Putnam County Environmental Council] discovered a big gizzard-shad kill,” she told me. “The lock tenders wouldn’t let our guy take photos.”
Since 1971 the sole justification for the dam has been bass-boat traffic and bass tournaments—not bass fishing itself. It’s all about going fast in absurdly overpowered boats. The dam and lock shut out most endangered manatees, and if they get back into the system in big numbers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service might insist on speed limits. If all you want to do is catch bass, you’ll have better luck floating the Ocklawaha or St. Johns or driving to some of the 200,000 acres of natural lakes within 25 miles of the reservoir. “The impoundment duplicates something we have a tremendous amount of,” says Audubon’s Charles Lee. “And the dead river under it is something that’s comparatively scarce.”
As president of Save Rodman Reservoir, Inc. and from his seat on the Putnam County Commission, Ed Taylor crusades to “SAVE Rodman From Evil Destruction,” as his card puts it. The impoundment was “as good as gone,” he brags, until he started supplying “facts” about its tournament value. The Congressional effort to restore Clean Water Act protection to unnavigable waters that feed navigable ones is actually a plot by environmentalists and their federal allies to seize control “over all the watersheds in the United States,” he warns his fellow bass boaters.
Why, I asked Taylor, should Florida taxpayers cough up $1 million a year to maintain a dam that serves no purpose? “Well,” he replied, “one of Governor Jeb Bush’s aides stopped me in the hall one day, and he asked me the same question. I said, ‘We’re standing in the capital building built in the middle of woods that deer and bear used to roam. Let’s take it down.’ He walked off and never did speak to me again.”
Every Florida governor since Reubin Askew (with the exception of the current one, Rick Scott) has strongly advocated removal of Rodman Dam. In 1995 Governor Lawton Chiles ordered it taken out. It didn’t happen. Every time removal appeared imminent, Florida lawmakers—whipped up by local politicians like State Senator George Kirkpatrick (R-Gainesville), State Senator Jim King (R-Jacksonville), and Gainesville Mayor-Commissioner Rodney Long—convinced their colleagues to keep the dam “in its natural state,” as Long put it.
While the reservoir has provided additional habitat for some very common fish (including such aliens as tilapia and armored catfish), it has eliminated or harmed many more species than it has helped. In the middle of the reservoir we saw a mullet leap. A few make it through the lock, but they’ve basically been shut out of the system. They used to swarm up into Silver Springs, grazing on algae and surface scum, thereby removing some of the nutrients that now degrade water quality there and in the river.
The dam also blocks the migration of American eels, American shad, channel catfish, white catfish, Atlantic sturgeon, and endangered shortnose sturgeon. And it has extirpated most Florida-strain striped bass from the state by denying them access to their primary spawning habitat—the Ocklawaha and Silver rivers. Now the only stripers in the entire St. Johns system are non-reproducing, northern-strain hatchery fish.
At a spot 30 feet from the impoundment’s south shore, Ahlers signaled Condon and me to stop paddling. “We’re over Blue Spring,” she said. “I swam in it when I was a kid. It was canopied, and its run to the Ocklawaha was almost a mile long. There were so many fish. . . .” And her voice trailed off.
Blue Spring is one of at least 20 springs destroyed by the dam. Not only are they inundated but the weight of water suppresses the flow that used to maintain water quality in the St. Johns system. These springs and Silver Springs provided important cold-weather refuge to manatees, now endangered. All but a few that slip through the lock are eliminated from the reservoir and upper river. Springs still accessible to manatees elsewhere in Florida are drying up as groundwater is diverted for human use. So manatees increasingly depend on heated outfall from power plants. But some of these sources are drying up, too, as plants shift to closed cooling systems. According to Katie Tripp, director of science and conservation for Save the Manatee, a restored Ocklawaha would “provide hundreds and hundreds of manatees with winter habitat and get them away from artificial, unreliable sources of warm water.”
Paddling north again, we entered a ghost forest of moldering trees on part of the national forest right-of-way that hadn’t been cleared. Most had rotted off at 18 feet and, with the reservoir not yet full, protruded four feet above the surface. But every few minutes we fetched up on stumps just below the surface and hidden by the dirty water. The impoundment is a scary, dangerous place, especially for motorboats. So many props and lower units had broken off on stumps that the bass-boat lobby prevailed on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to raise the level from 18 feet to between 20 and 21 feet, thereby drowning 5,300 additional acres of public forest. “Watching this and the rest of the forest die over 40 years was sickening,” remarked Ahlers.
From 1966 to 1968 she also watched the clearing, much of it done by the caterpillar-treaded, 22-foot-high, 306-ton “Crusher Crawler” built at the Jacksonville Shipyard. “The mechanical marvel . . . mows down trees and pushed them underground as though they were matchsticks,” effused the Orlando Sentinel. And that was the problem. The dead wood provides an endless source of nutrients for alien weeds. Governor Chiles called the Crusher Crawler a “colossal failure,” complaining that trees kept “popping up like corks, and the Corps is now having to spend tremendous sums of money keeping a dredge out picking up the logs, piling them on the banks for burning.” They’re still popping up today, but now they just accumulate along the shore.
""We do not build dams for religious purposes,” as former Interior Secretary and river advocate Bruce Babbitt liked to say. We just keep them for religious purposes, and in Florida that would be competitive bass fishing. But the pro-Rodman ranks may be thinning. Senators Kirkpatrick and King are dead. Mayor-Commissioner Long is out of office. And thanks to the FDE and the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Forest Service appears to have been rousted from timidity and torpor.
After I’d said goodbye to my companions I drove up onto the dam. Gazing out over the brown, stump-filled, snag-lined expanse of reservoir, I recalled two passages I’d copied into my notes from Ditch of Dreams—one from the Florida Waterways Committee’s 1962 promo: “Several hundred miles of waterfront property will be created by the Canal—thousands of acres of beautiful crystal clear lakes will surge into being . . . with sandy shores and beaches providing countless, unlimited natural swimming, picnic, and camping areas.” The other passage, a 1970 pronouncement by the Corps, reads as follows: “The barge canal will save the Ocklawaha from nature.”
But Nathaniel Reed, who fights as tirelessly for fish and wildlife now as when he helped run Nixon’s Interior Department, told me this: “What a great example of restoration it would be to remove the Rodman Dam. Let’s watch and marvel over the revegetation of the empty flats and cheer as the clear, clean river runs its merry way into the St. Johns.”
In Rodman’s frothy discharge I watched anglers catching some of the mullet that had stacked up along the dam’s base. I hadn’t known it was possible to entice these herbivores to a hook. Except during drawdowns this is about the only place around the reservoir accessible to shore anglers. And during those brief drawdowns the floodplain explodes with green as native seeds swept down from the Ocklawaha germinate, only to drown a few weeks later. Unflooded sections clearcut for the canal are now indistinguishable from the untouched forest I’d paddled through. Given a chance, bottomland forests heal fast here.
What You Can Do
Leading the charge to restore the Ocklawaha is Florida Defenders of the Environment. To support their effort and learn about the latest developments, go to fladefenders.org/joinfde.php. If you live in Florida, urge Governor Scott to be true to his Tea Party roots and save you and your fellow taxpayers $1 million a year by removing Rodman Dam.“The views expressed in user comments do not reflect the views of Audubon. Audubon does not participate in political campaigns, nor do we support or oppose candidates.”",5120,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824345.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00196-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951682388782501
a19862ad-da05-46bf-9eab-5b9189d937b2,2018-08-17T05:06:40+00:00,2018-06-13,1,http://wwals.net/tag/hialeah-lng/,"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C., June 13, 2018 — WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) prepares to sue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for shirking its legally-required oversight of inland liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals. “LNG trucks barrel down I-75 right by my old high school in Lowndes County, Georgia,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, after meeting with WWALS’ attorneys in Washington, D.C. “Those trucks from LNG terminals in Alabama and Georgia pass a technical college, a conference center, motels, homes, and businesses, going to I-10 for Jacksonville, Florida, where that LNG goes at least as far on ships as Puerto Rico.”
Since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2015 abdicated its jurisdictional duties under the Natural Gas Act to regulate the siting, construction, operation and maintenance of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) small-scale inland export facilities, instead these facilities operate with basically no Federal oversight.
“I am greatly concerned that an LNG commercial project of this magnitude is not only planned, but that apparently has slipped through the cracks of local and federal regulators,” said WWALS member Harriet Heywood of Citrus County, Florida.
At the ends of the Sabal Trail pipeline chain in Florida, trucks go out from half a dozen LNG export operations authorized by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy (FE). If any of those trucks wrecks, federal standard everyone should be evacuated half a mile downwind, including high schools and hospitals. Very few local emergency responders know this and fewer have appropriate emergency plans.
Vulnerability of LNG by Rail, by Martin County Fire Rescue, December 15, 2015.
“The unintended consequences of FERC’s abdication of Congressional jurisdictional authority are mind-boggling,” said WWALS member Cecile Scofield of Palm City, Martin County, Florida, “They include Continue reading",437,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211719.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817045508-20180817065508-00581.warc.gz,0.92789351940155
e4da6771-2d20-4dc7-8cd0-cb06b3918b4c,2016-07-28T14:38:25+00:00,2012-10-18,1,http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/place/article/SF-s-tallest-skyscraper-plans-revamped-3406952.php,"SF's tallest skyscraper plans revamped
Updated 4:29 pm, Thursday, October 18, 2012
The long-dormant proposal for a skyline-busting skyscraper next to the Transbay Terminal has come back to life - without some of the original flourishes but still aiming to be San Francisco's tallest tower.
The glassy white high-rise would be 60 stories and 1,070 feet tall with an entrance at First and Mission streets, according to the new plans submitted to the city. It would contain 1.35 million square feet of office space and be accompanied by a half-acre public plaza.
The proposed height would extend 220 feet beyond the Transamerica Pyramid, which was completed in 1972 and is the city's tallest building.
The filing is another sign that developers are confident in the technology-driven revival of the local economy and that there is a looming need for more commercial and residential space.
It also comes as the Planning Department finishes work on a long-term plan for the area around the former terminal. A vote is expected in May on that plan, which includes the tower's environmental studies.
The plan must be in place before any vote on the tower. If all goes smoothly, developers say the earliest that construction could begin is late next year, with a 2016 opening.
""San Francisco is ready for more office space, so we want to advance as soon as possible,"" said Paul Paradis of Hines, the development firm selected in September 2007 to erect was then was proposed to be a 1,200-foot-tall, 1.8 million-square-foot office building on land controlled by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. The authority will use proceeds from the sale of this and other development sites to help fund the multimodal transit center now being built.
The revised design keeps the obelisk form of the original with enclosed space giving way to a see-through crown. The changes are subtle ones: The skin's lattice-like metal would taper in toward the glass at now-curved corners, creating what the architects say will be a soft profile with a vase-like effect.
The glass would be a neutral tone, behind aluminum mullions and window frames painted pearlescent white. The metal gridding would double as a sunshade to reduce the tower's energy use.
""This is still a very sustainable tower, but it is much more refined and elegant now,"" said Cesar Pelli of the Connecticut firm Pelli Clarke Pelli. He described the exterior as ""very taut, as if the skin were tense all around; ... the corners will give it a glint at all times, even on cloudy days.""
New top, less shadow
The revised design treats the top 150 feet of the building as a sculptural finale, with the metalwork encasing only air. Missing are the wind turbines that were part of the 2007 proposal.
The hollow crown has a purpose beyond aesthetics. It would lessen the amount of shadow cast by the tower's peak, which would reach as far as Chinatown's Portsmouth Square on winter mornings.
Planning Department officials reacted positively to the redone peak, since the tower's shadow is rated as a ""significant and unavoidable"" in the environmental studies.
""The change to the crown is in the right direction,"" said John Rahaim, the city's planning director. He stressed that no formal review has begun, and that the city is likely to request additional images of the tower within the context of the downtown skyline, since ""we want it to reach the sky as elegantly as possible.""
Also deleted from the 2007 proposal are two eye-catching features of the large plaza: a glass canopy and the pair of cable-car-like funiculars that would take people up to a rooftop park, which is set to open along with the terminal in 2017. A funicular could still be added, Paradis said: ""The issue is how to pay for it.""
The two buildings have the same design team, Pelli Clarke Pelli and Berkeley's PWP Landscape Architecture. The plans submitted to the city would have a fifth-floor footbridge between the tower and the rooftop park.
In addition to city approvals, the project must be preceded by a sales agreement between Hines and the Transbay Authority. Negotiations have resumed between the two sides, although it is likely that the land price will come in below the $350 million offered by Hines in 2007 in the competition that included two other developers.
Another design refinement underscores the changing Financial District office market.
The office spaces would have floor-to-ceiling heights of 10 feet, at least 12 inches more generous than a standard high-rise. They'd also be finished in such a way that dropped ceilings wouldn't be necessary, a gesture to the loft-like spaces that attract younger technology and social media firms.
The draft and environmental studies of San Francisco's Transit Center District Plan are at bit.ly/o6ud1D.",1028,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828283.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00083-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964921236038208
a865df98-8b05-4145-ba00-c29b385a9658,2016-07-26T14:16:15+00:00,2016-07-26,0,http://italia.indettaglio.it/eng/veneto/vicenza_bassanodelgrappa_sanmichele.html,"The Village of San Michele
The village of San Michele is 3,56 kilometers far from the same town of Bassano del Grappa to whom it belongs.
To the municipality of Bassano del Grappa also belong the localities of Baggi (3,10 km), Ca' Meneghetti (5,35 km), Caluga (4,60 km), Caluga Vallison (4,27 km), Campese (5,11 km), Campien (6,30 km), Carbonara (3,23 km), Case sparse (-- km), Colle Alto (5,88 km), Contra' (5,70 km), Contra' dei Cani (1,71 km), Crocerone (3,85 km), Due Mori (2,65 km), Fagare' Basso (6,68 km), Fantinato (2,74 km), Fornaci (4,09 km), Marchesane (4,91 km), Melagrani (2,42 km), Merlo (11,17 km), Nascinguerra (3,31 km), Palo (4,56 km), Ponte Storto (3,64 km), Pre' (5,43 km), Quartiere Pre' (5,98 km), Roberti - Rivarotta (6,27 km), Rovole (6,63 km), Rubbio (9,36 km), San Lazzaro (1,65 km), Sant'Eusebio (2,17 km), Schirati (8,02 km), Valrovina (5,13 km), Zen (2,60 km).
The number in parentheses following each village name indicate the distance between the same village and the municipality of Bassano del Grappa.
The locality of San Michele rises 134 meters above sea level.
Data about population living in San MicheleIn the village of San Michele live five hundred and thirty-one people: two hundred and fifty-four are males and two hundred and seventy-seven are females.
There are two hundred and nineteen singles (one hundred and thirteen males and one hundred and six females). There are two hundred and sixty-one people married, and eight people legally separed. There are also twelve divorced people and thirty-one widows and widowers.
Please find in what follows the table of the distribution of inhabitants by age.
Data about foreigners living in San Michele
In San Michele live eight foreigners, five are males and three are females. 2 come from Europa, 6 from Africa, 0 from America, 0 from Asia and 0 from Oceania.
Please find in what follows the table of the distribution of foreigners by age.
|From 0 to 29 years||4||0||4|
|From 30 to 54 years||1||3||4|
|More than 54 years old||0||0||0|
Education in San Michele
There are in San Michele five hundred people in school age, two hundred and thirty-eight are males and two hundred and sixty-two females.
|Genere||University degree||High school diploma||Middle School diploma||Primary School diploma||Literates||Illiterates|
Employment rates and workers in San Michele
There are in San Michele 257 people aged 15 years or more. 242 are employed and 13 were previously employed but now are unemployed and seeking for a new job. There are 152 males aged 15 years or more, 143 are employed and 8 were previously employed but now are unemployed and seeking for a new job. There are 105 females aged 15 years or more, 99 are employed and 5 s were previously employed but now are unemployed and seeking for a new job.
Families and their compositions
There are in San Michele 200 famiglie residenti, for a total of 531 people.
Please find in what follows a table showing the number of families along with the number of people for each family.
|People||1||2||3||4||5||6 or more|
There are 200 famiglie living in San Michele. 12 live in rented houses, 168 live in houses of their own property and 20 live in houses for different reasons.
The buildings and their characteristics in San Michele
There are in San Michele 155 buildings, but only 136 are used. 118 buildings are for residential use, 18 buildings are for commercial or productive pourposes. Among the 118 buildings for residential use 10 were build using bricks of tuffs, 60 were built in concrete and 48 were built using other materials like steel, wood and so on. Among the 118 buildings for residential use 37 are in excellent condition, 72 are in good conditions, 9 are in mediocre conditions and 0 are in bad conditions.
In the following three tables the buildings built for residential use in San Michele are classified by building year, by floors number and by rooms number.
Buildings in San Michele by year of construction
|Date||Before year 1919||1919-45||1946-60||1961-70||1971-80||1981-90||1991-2000||2001-05||After year 2005|
Buildings in San Michele by floors number
|NUmber of floors||One||Two||Three||Four or more|
Buildings in San Michele by rooms number
|Number of rooms||One||Two||Three or four||From five to eight||From nine to fifteen||Sixteen or more|
Please find in what follows:
- A set of photos about San Michele (when available)
- Weather and weather forecast for the municipality of Bassano del Grappa, to whom San Michele belongs.
- Map and road map of San Michele
- A selection of videos about San Michele
The parishes in the town of San Michele
There is just a single parish in San Michele. The same is listed in what follows, along with some related information.
|S. Michele Arcangelo||Via S. Michele, 67 - San Michele||San Michele||Bassano del Grappa||Vicenza||36061||625||Diocese of Vicenza|
Where to stay in San Michele and its neighborhoods
Hotels, Resorts, B&B in San Michele and its neighborhoods.
You can arrange the results by number of stars, by popularity, by distance or even by the guest review score choosing among young couples, mature couples, families with young children, families with older children, people withfriends, or solo travellers.
Free ads in San Michele
Most recent free ads in San Michele, municipality of Bassano del Grappa, province of Vicenza, Veneto region, updated at 16:16:12, 26 July 2016. Place your free ad on San Michele: no registration needed. Place your free ad.
Up to now there is no free ad placed in San Michele
|Most recent free ads in the province of Vicenza|
|Cerco lavoro come babysitter e aiuto compiti||2013-08-23|
|cerco in affitto vacanza||2013-07-26|
|Most recent free ads in the region Veneto|
|Cerco stanza o mini appartamento||2016-07-10|
|Facchin family in Venezuela||2016-06-27|
|Vendita casa a schiera||2016-06-20|
Photos of San Michele
Photos provided by Panoramio. Photos are under the copyright of their owners.
Marostica - Colline di San Benedetto / San Benedetto hills
Marostica - Colline di San Benedetto / San Benedetto hills - Vecchie case / Old houses
La forza di due ...
Sui colli di San Floriano / St.Floriano hills
Colline a San Michele / St.Michele hills
Il canneto / The reed bed
Il torrente Silan
Bassano del Grappa
Natura vs. Tecnologia / Nature vs. Technology
I sentiero verso il Monte Scomazzon a Marsan
Map and road map of San Michele
Look at the interactive map of San Michele and get the road maps, the satellite maps and the mixed ones too. Interactive maps of San Michele also allow an immediate view of: bar,restaurants,pubs,pizzerias,dancing,night clubs,banks,jewellers,beauty centers,hair stylists,supermarkets,pharmacies.
Just fill in the free text search box placed on top of the map with any of previous categories and then press enter.
Please feel free to use the same free text search box placed on top of the map to find any kind of business activities you're interested into.",1819,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00253-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.813094258308411
1c9c294f-a492-4730-b9b6-8021f36a4063,2017-08-17T05:56:12+00:00,2017-08-17,0,https://us.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-national-health-dual-format-limited-edition/11491494.html,"Jack Gold's film about life and death in a shabby London hospital interweaves the story of the real hospital with a fantasy one which exists in the soap-opera world of 'Nurse Norton's Affair', where everything is fully funded and patients are miraculously cured. A darkly funny satire on the state of the nation and also a deeply prescient comment on TV's ability to turn tragedy into entertainment, The National Health sits somewhere between the bawdy antics of the Carry On films and the angry satire of Lindsay Anderson’s Britannia Hospital, but emerges as a starkly prophetic film, more relevant now than ever.
Available for the first time ever in the UK.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES:
|Number of Discs:||
|Theatrical Release Year:||
Please remember to add postal time (2-3 working days) to obtain a complete estimate of delivery to your door.
You will receive an email to confirm when your item has been sent.
You can also check the status of your order and individual items by accessing your account details and following the prompts.
Please allow 10 working days from the shipping date of your order before notifying us of any late deliveries.
It may be advisable to check with your neighbors to see if your delivery has been left with them, check any places it could be left such as: garage, porch, or behind garbage cans if it was too big to fit through your mailbox. Contact your local post office to see if the item has been returned to the depot as undelivered and awaiting collection.
Please see our returns policy.
There are currently no reviews.",341,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00266.warc.gz,0.907071530818939
1f6f4fe8-539e-4d78-ad4f-6ca9b08d3c51,2019-08-20T07:54:39+00:00,2019-01-05,1,https://gameranx.com/updates/id/167593/article/slightly-mad-studios-releasing-their-own-console/,"There have been a few competitors to try and break into the video game industry with their own console. For the most part, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have firmly been on top with the three companies competing with their own unique hardware and video game exclusives. Now a new competitor is looking to get into the industry with their own console in the coming years. Slightly Mad Studios, a developer from England, is known for their various racing titles such as the Project Cars series, but it seems that in a few years they will have their own top of the line video game console.
Very little is known about this console so far but CEO, Ian Bell, spoke with Variety and give a few details as to what gamers can expect. From what Bell noted to Variety, it appears that this console will be known as the Mad Box and it will be equivalent to a fast gaming PC. This device will also be more open and allow multiple VR branded headsets to be connected with the ability for cross-platform gameplay. If everything goes according to plan, Bell will be releasing the Mad Box in less than five years, but don’t expect any exclusives. Instead, Slightly Mad Studios is looking for developers to simply create video game titles for the hardware without giving any real means to make a video game exclusive to the Mad Box.
For now, this is all speculative as its intended to compete against the next generation consoles while being priced about the same. As mentioned earlier, there have been a few attempts to make a more competitive video game console market so we’re simply going to wait and see just how big of a console this Mad Box intends to be when it gets an official reveal later this year. With that said, would you be interested in a newcomer console that can compete with the big three?",363,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315258.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820070415-20190820092415-00104.warc.gz,0.974569320678711
2f801d2c-8c14-498f-b405-646eb91c2d6c,2022-05-21T03:07:13+00:00,2021-11-12,1,https://carltonjamesgroup.com/2021/11/12/netherlands-returns-to-partial/,"By Bart H. Meijer and Anthony Deutsch
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The Netherlands will return to a partial lockdown from Saturday after the government ordered restaurants and shops to close early and barred spectators from major sporting events in an effort to contain a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a televised address on Friday that the stricter rules will be imposed for three weeks.
“Tonight we are bringing a very unpleasant message with very unpleasant and far-reaching measures,” Rutte said. “The virus is everywhere and needs to combated everywhere,” he said.
Supermarkets and non-essential retailers will also close earlier and social distancing measures will be reimposed. The number of recommended no more than four visitors at home.
Rutte said the government was also exploring ways to limit public access to people who have not been vaccinated after the lockdown period.
(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch, Bart Meijer, Toby Sterling; Editing by Chris Reese and Grant McCool)",219,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662534773.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521014358-20220521044358-00222.warc.gz,0.936813533306122
1b84960a-c14b-4671-857a-ccfc13b1af8a,2017-08-20T15:31:51+00:00,2016-08-30,1,http://www.nigeriaelectricityhub.com/2016/08/30/why-we-cant-pay-our-debts-to-gencos-aedc/,"Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, has stated that its indebtedness to electricity generating companies, GENCOs, was not deliberate and blamed the development on challenges confronting the power sector.Director, Corporate Services, AEDC, Mr. Abimbola Odubiyi, in an interview in Abuja, attributed the indebtedness to systemic problem, adding however, that there are moves to address the issue. He said: “We are supposed to pass the increase on to our customers but we cannot. So that is where we have the shortfall.
It is a systemic problem, it is not a deliberate problem and not that the discos do not want to pay the Gencos the full price. For our company, we are paying our obligations, but have a shortfall. We have a shortfall on our obligations to the Gencos just like every DISCOs. But it is a systemic industry problem which is aggravated by the fact that every month the cost for the GENCOs is increasing due to the Naira-Dollar exchange rate whereas we cannot increase our own tariff every month.“Odubiyi also lamented the challenges AEDC has within its coverage which he said include incessant vandalisation of its assets and inadequate generation of power. The distribution end in Nigeria faces a lot of challenges, first the issue of customers have not paid or are reluctant to pay; the issue of theft is very rampant; by-passing and tempering with meter, some refuse to pay outright, then the problem of vandalization of our equipment, including cables, feeder-pillars usually it is very rampant, people steal our cables, feeder-pillars and other assets. On top of that the generation we are expecting to sell, we are not getting enough. So it is the more generation we have the more money we make. This also come to the problem of GENCOs.
We are not getting enough generation required. We have the cost and it is fixed, and if we can get enough generation, we will be able to make more money to meet up with all our market obligations, and if our customers are paying and nobody is vandalizing our assets or people are not stealing the electricity”, he stated.“ However, he said there has been collaboration with all security agencies such as the Nigerian Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Department of State Security, but they cannot be everywhere to secure their power infrastructure. He also advocated a legislation that would make people pay their electricity bill instead to allow the sector suffer. “We need laws or strengthen the laws that will really penalise those who deliberately do not want to pay their bills. Right now people are getting away with it because there is no law or sanction against them.The electricity industry is one of the unfortunate industries we have in this country, where people owe and get away with it, chronic debtors should be prosecuted and if found guilty be jailed and I believe the National Assembly would know what to do in terms of coming up with the penalties”, he added.",627,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00286.warc.gz,0.970440089702606
ba1cacc0-b0e2-469f-9e6f-b49cbd26fb3f,2020-10-24T09:43:37+00:00,2020-09-24,1,https://in.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada/canada-government-proposes-boost-to-unemployment-benefit-in-move-likely-to-avert-election-idINKCN26F2US,"OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s government on Thursday proposed boosting a weekly payout for the jobless that would replace emergency COVID-19 income support that ends this weekend, a move that looks set to help the ruling Liberals win a parliamentary confidence vote.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seeking the support of at least one opposition party on a sweeping agenda to battle COVID-19, help those hurt by it, and foster economic growth.
Two of the three other parties in Parliament signaled rejection of the plan. But the left-leaning New Democrats, who demanded the increased payout, indicated they would support Trudeau, thus averting an election.
“We are very optimistic about the outcome of these negotiations,” party leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters, adding he was talking with the government over his demand for paid sick leave. “It was never my goal to plunge the country into an election.”
Canada’s current unemployment rate is 10.2%, up sharply from 5.6% in February, the last full month before the coronavirus outbreak hit.
Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough told a news conference earlier on Thursday that Ottawa was proposing legislation that would make the new unemployment benefit equal to the emergency income support. Those eligible receive C$500 ($374.60) a week.
The government had initially said it would offer C$400 a week for up to 26 weeks.
Trudeau said on Wednesday that “this is not the time for austerity” and promised major new spending on top of the hundreds of billions of dollars he has already unveiled.
“It’s true that this is expensive, but ... it will be even more expensive if we don’t do it,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told the news conference on Thursday.
Pressed on market concerns about the risk posed by soaring deficit and debt levels, she said interest rates were at a 100-year low.
Reporting by David Ljunggren and Julie Gordon; Editing by David Gregorio and Peter Cooney
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.",436,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882103.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024080855-20201024110855-00080.warc.gz,0.9584921002388
56f96cb8-c867-4e22-adcf-614b8f215b8a,2015-03-27T11:58:43+00:00,2013-02-05,1,http://www.newsmax.com/health/Diabetes/Vitamin-Prevent-Diabetes/2013/02/05/id/489047/,"Vitamin D pills may do more than help build bone health. New Harvard University research has found that adequate levels of the “sunshine vitamin” cut the odds of developing adult-onset type 1 diabetes by half.
The finding, which is based on an analysis of the medical charts of millions of U.S. military service personnel, suggests vitamin D supplements could play a leading role in preventing the autoimmune disease.
""It is surprising that a serious disease such as type 1 diabetes could perhaps be prevented by a simple and safe intervention,"" said Kassandra Munger, a research associate in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health who led the study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Past studies have suggested vitamin D deficiency might raise the risk for developing type 1 diabetes, once called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes, in which the body's immune system attacks and disables insulin-making cells in the pancreas. About 5 percent of the 26 million Americans with diabetes have type 1, which usually develops after age 20, according to the American Diabetes Association. Research has also suggested inadequate vitamin D in adulthood may be an important risk factor for autoimmune diseases in general.
But the new Harvard study is among the first to show vitamin D may actually prevent type 1 diabetes.
For the study, researchers examined blood samples collected from eight million military personnel since the mid-1980s. Identifying 310 individuals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between 1997 and 2009, the team examined blood samples taken before onset of the disease, and compared them with those of 613 similar people who did not develop diabetes.
The researchers found young adults with higher blood levels of vitamin D had about half the risk of developing type 1 diabetes than those with the lowest levels of the vitamin.
""The risk of type 1 diabetes appears to be increased even at vitamin D levels that are commonly regarded as normal, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the population could benefit from increased vitamin D intake,"" said co-researcher Alberto Ascherio, a Harvard professor of epidemiology and nutrition.
An estimated 1 billion people worldwide have inadequate levels of vitamin D. Sun exposure is a good source of vitamin D, but salmon, fortified milk, and supplements also provide it.
""Whereas it is premature to recommend universal use of vitamin D supplements for prevention of type 1 diabetes, the possibility that many cases could be prevented by supplementation with 1,000-4,000 IU/day, which is largely considered safe, is enticing,"" the researchers said.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
© 2015 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.",545,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296383.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00093-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946770966053009
4a080554-8ecf-492e-8f07-4caa37e3129d,2022-05-21T19:49:49+00:00,2015-01-01,0,https://ccmpr.wordpress.com/tag/grammy-award/,"CCM has secured the rights to present the Tony Award-winning musical blockbuster American Idiot as part of its 2015-16 Mainstage Series. Running March 3 – 13, 2016, in CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater, this will be the first local production of the acclaimed rock opera.
A critical smash on Broadway and in London, American Idiot is based on the Grammy Award-winning album of the same name by American punk rock band Green Day. The two-time Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of three disillusioned youths who are forced to choose between freedom and the safety of suburbia.
Inspired in part by such classic concept albums as The Who’s Tommy, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Jesus Christ Superstar, American Idiot premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009 and finished its most recent national tour in May 2014. With a raucous and exhilarating punk rock score, American Idiot boldly takes musical theatre where it has never gone before. For both the students and the faculty members at CCM, the boundary-pushing nature of this contemporary musical perfectly complements the college’s educational mission.
“Our production philosophy in the Musical Theatre program is simple,” explains Aubrey Berg, CCM’s Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre and the director of this upcoming production. “During the four years a student spends with us, they will be exposed to every kind of musical theatre work. In the last few years, we have undertaken shows as varied as the groundbreaking Oklahoma!, the fancy foot-work of Singin’ in the Rain, the moving spectacle of Les Misérables and the beloved childhood fantasy of Peter Pan. And that does not include our Studio Series, which features such cutting-edge works as Carrie and Blood Brothers. Forgotten musicals are also well represented in our Musicals Redux Series, which digs into the great storehouse of musical theatre history to find some lost gems.” Chairman of CCM’s Department of Musical Theatre since 1987, Berg received the League of Cincinnati Theatres Continuing Achievement Award and was inducted into the CEA Hall of Fame in 2010.
CCM Adjunct Instructor Stephen Goers will join Berg as musical director for this production. The two have frequently collaborated on such musical productions as Into the Woods, Carrie and, most recently, Les Misérables. Over the years, their work together has garnered a large number of local arts awards, including Best Direction, Best Musical Direction and Best Musical.
Taking on a 21st century musical is already proving to be an exciting prospect for students at CCM, many of whom grew up with the original American Idiot concept album, which was released in 2004.
“I think it’s so special to be part of a program that embraces new musicals as well as the classics, in order to provide the most well rounded education possible for its students,” says third-year musical theatre major Tom Meglio. “American Idiot already has everyone in CCM’s Division of Theatre Arts rocking out and ready for some Junior High nostalgia!”
Classmate Taylor Alexander agrees: “The original Green Day album was a groundbreaking staple to our generation with its unique view on youth in America. The whole campus is going to be pumped to hear music we all grew up listening to!”
Described by the New York Times as “invigorating, moving and thrilling… a true rock opera,” American Idiot features a book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong and music by the band Green Day. The score features the hits “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the iconic title track.
CCM will announce its entire 2015-16 Mainstage Series lineup in March of 2015. Running from October of 2015 through April of 2016, the series will include two operas, two musicals, two dramas and one story ballet.
Details on subscription packages and single ticket sales will be announced this summer. Visit ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/subscribe to register for CCM’s mailing list, and the Box Office will provide you with additional information on this year’s subscription options.
CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s
Community Partner: ArtsWave
American Idiot is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 | Phone: 212-541-4684 | Fax: 212-397-4684 | http://www.MTIShows.com
A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio.
Titles and dates are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.",1095,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662540268.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521174536-20220521204536-00213.warc.gz,0.943808674812317
cdd339cb-4c24-4d60-b0d1-60618f727872,2019-08-23T12:35:53+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://forums.holdemmanager.com/search.php?s=953c76cafc5836ebe2c9bcd5dec3f9c0&searchid=9176820,"Type: Posts; User: Prizzy
Is there a stat for when a player stabs at the flop, then check/folds the turn to a bet?
I have another question. Is there a way to input hands I play live, in my poker league, into hm2? Where if I get enough I can use leakbuster, or just analyze on my own?
That's really cool!!! Thanks!
Thanks Chris. That works. It seems you should be able to choose all hands under the opponents tab, but maybe in a future edition.
I have another question you may be able to help with. Once you...
I am wanting to view every hand an opponent played, either in handviewer, or just the actions. when you go to opponents, and analyze an opponent, you can view certain hands. Under the line analysis,...
Thanks! Worked great.
Thanks!!! Worked great.
I notice when I run leakbuster, it only uses the hands in the player name that I have chosen, so just for one specific cardroom. Is there a way to have it include all hands at a certain stake, from...
What and where are the river filters they are referring to when they say to check them?",259,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318375.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823104239-20190823130239-00503.warc.gz,0.955294013023376
e95e07e8-7377-4b65-b138-02059a264543,2015-03-29T10:37:25+00:00,2015-03-29,0,http://m.wmmbam.com/articles/weird-news-104673/hero-offduty-air-force-pilot-helps-12424560/,"(NEWSER) – Capt. Mark Gongol flies B-1B bombers for the Air Force in his day job, and he had to put those skills to use while returning from vacation with his family on a United jet. About a half-hour into the flight from Des Moines to Denver, Gongol figured something was wrong when he noticed the engines idle as the plane made an unscheduled turn, explains Gizmodo. Flight attendants rushed to the cockpit, one with a first-aid kit, as the call went out asking if there was a doctor, then a pilot, aboard. ""I looked at my wife and she looked back at me and she said, 'I think you should ring the call button,'"" Gongol tellsCNN.",152,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00196-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.98353099822998
cfff74bb-e681-4c0f-952c-d2812332c668,2022-05-29T05:28:18+00:00,2022-05-29,0,https://www.christinadodd.com/new/new-free-audio-blurb-for-what-doesnt-kill-her/,"New! Free Audio Blurb for WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER! Love audiobooks? Click and listen to this free 49-second audio blurb for WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER! My printable book list sorted by genre/series/in order. My Books by Series list. Join my mailing list for book news, contests and lousy jokes.",76,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663039492.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529041832-20220529071832-00619.warc.gz,0.78976184129715
77e876bf-3293-42e9-b828-5f8c5bf28b9c,2015-03-30T23:00:30+00:00,2013-08-20,0,http://blog.sethroberts.net/2013/08/20/women-and-body-fat-ancestral-health-symposium-2013/,"One of the best talks at the 2013 Ancestral Health Symposium was by Will Lassek, a retired doctor. Here’s the abstract:
One puzzle is why human males have such a strong preference for women with hourglass figures and low weights that can compromise fertility. The second is why slender young women typically have about one third of their weight in body fat, more than bears starting to hibernate, and why human infants are also very fat. Finally, why do women typically gain another twenty pounds or more during their reproductive years? The answer may lie in the roles that fat plays in providing essential fatty acids needed for the growth of a very large brain and in regulating overall fetal growth.
His answer to the first question was that death during childbirth was a serious danger. Women of lower weight give birth to babies with smaller heads — less likely to cause death. Wider hips means a larger birth canal. Women gain weight after their first birth because their birth canal is wider — the optimal baby size has gone up. A variety of data supported these ideas. Lessek’s answer to the first question is quite different than what evolutionary psychologists have said.",237,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00202-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.973500907421112
399c13c4-81da-4854-9354-ee4662e7ad9f,2022-05-25T05:58:10+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://en-sg.sennheiser.com/xsw-iem-set,"Out of the box, the XS Wireless IEM set has all the components you need to set up your personal monitoring in minutes. XS Wireless IEM is the entry to Sennheiser’s renowned in-ear monitoring sound. It delivers the whole potential of in-ear monitoring with an elegant, easy-to-use interface. No tech expertise is needed to get all the benefits: You hear yourself perfectly in any environment and can aim for new levels of perfection.
The system includes a rugged transmitter, a lightweight bodypack receiver, IE 4 in-ear starter headphones, batteries, a power supply with multi-voltage adapter, and a rack mount kit for the transmitter.
Eight pre-configured frequency banks in the professional UHF range (with 12 perfectly aligned channels each) keep your connection reliable and clear in every situation. Standard and advanced features make XS Wireless IEM flexible in both small and large applications. The series scales with your demands during rehearsals or live shows, on a club stage or for a worship service. Multiple audio modes match varying performances and mixing demands. You can easily change to mono, stereo, or a two-channel focus mode.
The stereo receiver bodypack, although lightweight, is designed with live stages in mind. Setting options are well secured behind a stage-proof panel. A status LED keeps you informed about battery and connection status, while the LC display offers access to further settings. You can fine-tune your preferred focus mode for in-ear monitoring, balance your mix, switch the EQ to enhance the higher frequencies, or select your channel or a manual frequency.
The stereo transmitter comes with a rugged metal housing. Fine-tuning the most important options has never been easier. Whether you want to increase gain, check the frequency setup, or sync some more receivers for your band setup: It all needs fewer clicks than the count-in of your drummer. A rack mount kit and a removable antenna allow for flexible setups and configurations.
The set also includes a pair of IE 4 in-ear headphones. They reproduce outstanding sound quality and high dynamics, and are equipped with exchangeable ear sleeves to give a secure and comfortable fit. You get a good isolation from environmental noise as well as a very good bass response.
Complete set – includes all components needed to start with wireless in-ear monitoring
Reliable, easy-to-manage wireless connection in the professional UHF range
Multiple audio modes for varying setups or performances and unique mixing options
Focus mode allows the ability to prioritize one input over another directly from the bodypack receiver for a user-specific monitoring experience
Advanced features like EQ and limiter
Perfectly aligned frequency presets in 8 banks with 12 channels each – option for manual tuning
An unlimited number of receivers can be used with one transmitter, allowing for cost-effective setups
Infrared sensor to sync multiple receivers easily to one transmitter
The all-in-one starter kit on a pro level
Switching to in-ear monitoring is no longer overwhelming or needs lengthy equipment lists. The XS Wireless IEM set includes everything to get you started. You can now have the best near-field sound, full control of your mix, and good isolation, along with a rock-solid wireless connection. Focus on your new live sound on any stage or venue: XS Wireless IEM connects you to a set of rich options that leads talents on all stages to new levels of perfection. It’s that easy.
Adapts to any situation and setup
Are you a solo talent with a guitar and laptop? A duo with changing instruments, or a larger band, or somehow all of that? The XS Wireless IEM set has you covered. Every receiver can balance an individual mix thanks to its multiple audio modes and balancing options. Also, you can easily set up your whole band by simply linking additional receiver bodypacks to your transmitter.
It’s not about sound alone
Yes, XS Wireless IEM uses an advanced UHF design to deliver a reliable, clear sound – and the IE 4 in-ear headphones offer all the dynamics and bass levels. But there’s more. We’ve condensed decades of experience from stages big and small into the development of XS Wireless IEM. Most can be heard. Some can be felt. And others will only come to your attention once you need them. But all of them will guide you safely, whether live on stage or during lengthy rehearsal sessions.",916,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00613.warc.gz,0.928226113319397
94480e37-7644-4c8c-bc80-b33a71e7e7ae,2015-03-31T20:47:04+00:00,2014-08-25,1,http://www.fftimes.com/node/272424,"Burger King in talks to buy Tim Hortons, creating new publicly listed company based in Canada
MIAMI — Burger King is in talks to buy Tim Hortons in hopes of creating a new, publicly traded company with its headquarters in Canada.
With a new base in Canada, Burger King, now based in Miami, could shave its U.S. tax bill. Tax inversions have become increasingly popular among U.S. companies trying to cut costs.
In an inversion, a U.S. company reorganizes in a country with a lower tax rate by acquiring or merging with a company there. Inversions allow companies to transfer money earned overseas to the parent company without paying additional U.S. taxes. That money can be used to reinvest in the business or to fund dividends and buybacks, among other things.
Companies like AbbVie, a pharmaceutical with its headquarters just outside Chicago, have tied up with companies overseas to achieve that type of tax cut.
More recently, Walgreen, the huge retail chain, backed away from such a plan under intense pressure in what is becoming an increasingly hot political issue.
3G Capital took Burger King public again in 2012. The investment firm teamed with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. last year to take H.J. Heinz Co. private in a $23 billion deal. 3G Capital is known for aggressive cost-cutting at the companies it acquires.
Tim Hortons, known for its doughnuts and coffee, was purchased by Wendy’s International Inc. in 1995. In 2006 it completed an initial public offering and was spun off as a separate company.
The deal would also allow Tim Hortons to accelerate its growth in international markets. The company had 4,546 restaurants as of June 29, with 3,630 in Canada, 866 in the U.S. and 50 in the Persian Gulf area.
The companies say Burger King Worldwide Inc. and Tim Hortons Inc., based in Ontario, would continue to operate as separate brands but would share corporate services.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the talks and that the companies say there’s no assurance a deal will happen.
The new company would have 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries with about $22 billion in sales. The companies say that would make it the world’s third-largest fast-food restaurant company.
Burger King’s stock surged $1.89, or 7 per cent, to $29 before the market open on Monday.",512,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00108-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972698211669922
35fef258-d100-479e-a775-84a86478082a,2022-05-26T20:01:44+00:00,2018-09-30,0,https://finance.zacks.com/rules-ira-withdrawals-after-age-59-1-2-5401.html,"Retirement accounts with tax benefits are governed by strict rules that can limit your access to funds. Withdrawals from an IRA made before the age of 59 1/2 are considered ""early distributions"" and may be subject to tax penalties. If you withdraw money from an IRA after age 59 1/2, you don't face an early withdrawal penalty, but you do typically owe income tax on withdrawals unless you withdraw from a Roth IRA.
Basics of IRA Withdrawals
IRA withdrawals must be included in taxable income for the year if you did not pay taxes on the money in the year you made the contribution. Traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible unless you are covered by a retirement plan at work and have high income, so you typically owe income tax on traditional IRA withdrawals. Withdrawals from SIMPLE IRAs and SEP IRAs are also subject to income tax upon withdrawal. If you make nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA, you don't pay income tax on contributions upon withdrawal, but you do pay income tax on withdrawals of investment gains.
Early IRA Distributions
It is worth noting, when you make an early withdrawal from your traditional IRA, before 59 1/2 years of age, this distribution will be considered part of your gross income. You also have an additional 10 percent tax penalty. The IRS does allow for certain exceptions to this 10 percent tax penalty, such as in circumstances of hardship like needing to pay for medical insurance premiums after the loss of a job.
Required Minimum Distributions
Traditional, SIMPLE and SEP IRAs are subject to ""required minimum distributions"" when you reach age 70 1/2. RMDs make you take out a percentage of your IRA funds each year, based on your age at the end of the year. The percentage you have to withdraw increases as you age, so your account balance is likely to fall eventually even if your investments continue to grow. If you fail to make a required withdrawal, the amount you don't take out is taxed at 50 percent.
Contributing After Age 70 1/2
You can't contribute to a traditional IRA after required minimum distributions begin. SIMPLE and SEP IRA contributions can continue after age 70 1/2 if you continue working, but you still have to make required minimum distributions each year. You can continue to contribute to a Roth IRA as long as you have earned income.
Differences for Roth IRAs
Roth IRAs differ from other types of IRAs in that you cannot make pretax or tax deductible contributions. Since your contributions come out of after-tax income, you don't owe income tax on withdrawals of contributions, but you also do not pay tax on withdrawals of investment gains as long as you take the money out after age 59 1/2 and at least 5 years after you first open your account. Roth IRAs do not require minimum distributions.
- Internal Revenue Service: SIMPLE IRA Plan FAQs
- Internal Revenue Service: SEP Plan FAQs
- Internal Revenue Service: Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs
- The Motley Fool: The Roth IRA Part IV – Early Withdrawals
- Internal Revenue Service: What If I Withdraw Money From My IRA?
- Internal Revenue Service: Hardships, Early Withdrawals and Loans
Gregory Hamel has been a writer since September 2008 and has also authored three novels. He has a Bachelor of Arts in economics from St. Olaf College. Hamel maintains a blog focused on massive open online courses and computer programming.",727,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00014.warc.gz,0.959196150302887
a60554e7-2a19-4d2d-8d57-fb3640d7cb3c,2018-08-21T10:56:04+00:00,2018-08-21,0,http://www.informit.com/store/financial-times-briefing-talent-management-9780133747874,"This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:
EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.
MOBI The eBook format compatible with the Amazon Kindle and Amazon Kindle applications.
PDF The popular standard, used most often with the free Adobe® Reader® software.
This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.
FT Briefing on Talent Management is your short, results-focusedguide to the principles, behaviours and actions that underpin any successful talent management strategy and provides the practical and accessible guidance to attract, develop and retain talent in your business.
It shows you how to genuinely engage your people, how to establish a meaningful succession plan at all levels and how to integrate talent management fully into your leadership approach. The book’s unique structure will ensure that you get the targeted advice you need.
Financial Times Briefings are designed to give busy decision-makers the answers to pressing issues that require hard measurable results
Table of Contents
PART 1 – In Brief
1. The executive précis: the challenge, risk and opportunity of talent management
To be effective, talent management has to be led and championed at board level. But talent management or HR is only one strand of corporate governance. Long term thinking and consistency is needed in the face of short term expediency and hopping from one crisis to the next.
A new attitude to talent – Employers have to understand that even with the shortage of jobs, generation Y are still the generation that believes in working to live rather than living to work. To retain talent employers need to understand this dynamic and offer genuine commitment to improving work/life balance.
2. What is it? What do I need to know? Key terms/ concepts–
War for Talent
Career Development Plans
3. Why do it?. Risks/ Rewards
Should a company invest in helping all of its people achieve their potential or concentrate spending where it believes it will be most effective – ie on succession planning and developing the next generation of leaders?
Risks - Talent management is vulnerable in a downturn. Traditional command and control management has failed to empower workers at all levels in the organisation.
Rewards- Modern talent management practice recognizes that a more egalitarian and consensual approach is needed to bring out the best in people.
4. Who’s doing it? Who has done it?
Real life examples
What do success and failure look like?
Many organizations view talent as their key differentiator. It is the quality of service, their ideas and intellectual property that generates wealth for the company. But a company needs to have a long term vision of where it is heading.
PART 2 In Practice
5. Step by step guide-
A.) How to identify talent –
Forward thinking companies have a set of core values or behaviours they seek to promote. They will recruit to those values. (See brand). Internally, graduate development and management development centres play a big role in ensuring that talent is developed in the most appropriate ways.
B.) How to attract talent –
Merely paying the highest salary is not going to get you very far, especially when budgets are being squeezed. Employer brand is vital to attract and recruit staff who will be a good fit with corporate values. For the best companies this is an extension of their marketing both internal and external. The message has to be consistent.
C. How to nurture talent-
Many organizations are discovering that giving people a challenge works best. It is the variety and the challenge of the job as well as communicating with individuals and letting them know when they have done a good job. Corporate culture plays a big role.Good leadership is a positive self-reinforcing cycle. Board champions understand the value of having a relevant policy to develop talent within the organization.
6. How to justify talent management – the business case
The changing role of HR – In times of recession few companies can afford a top heavy HR department. Current best practice means devolving appraisal and career planning to line managers. HR’s job is to oversee the process and focus on the strategic issues where it can add most value.
Look at several organizational models. (case studies)
7. How to manage talent
Empowerment - Talent enjoys being given responsibility. This is easier in a flat management structure where front line staff are empowered to make decisions. But how does talent fare in more bureaucratic structures?
Creative industries in particular thrive where talent is given a free rein. How far do you go in allowing individuals to pursue their own agenda? What are the necessary checks and balances?
Creating the right environment – Companies need to celebrate success. This is a way of acknowledging the individual and the team contribution. Internal awards schemes are one way of recognising talent.
8. How to measure talent management
9. How to talk about talent
Good internal communications, links and networks help retain talent. Coaching and mentoring plays a significant role in retention.
Don’t put off the bad news – The advice we keep hearing from Best Companies style award schemes is that employees respond well to being kept in the loop. Rumours spread in a vacuum. Keep staff onside by communicating regularly. Frankness is valued. And make this a real exercise in consultation.
10. How to tailor your approach – situation characteristics
Models of different companies
a) The large company
b) The SME
c) The consultancy
Some situations where talent management needs to be tailored. Eg
Managing home workers – Many businesses allow staff to work from home. It is a great motivator and can produce better productivity. But it is harder to keep people engaged. A few dos and don’ts of home working.
Dispersed teams – Old fashioned models of line management and employee development and appraisal may not work when staff are mobile and can come together in teams which may only exist for the duration of a project. Communication and motivation play an even more important role.
Line managers …Training of line managers helps promote the talent message. Internal training can cascade expertise through the organization.
PART 3 - Intervention
11. Executive intervention
A) What is my role? Talent is about individuals: succession planning is about roles. Career planning, personal development plans, mobility and coaching are all part of the mix.
The role of the non - exec - Non execs play an important part in coaching or mentoring talent and also in better corporate governance – such as challenging the board. They can foster talent. Also board composition both internationally and in terms of the balance of sexes can set an example of inclusivity and democracy.
At a time of rising shareholder activism the remunerations committee has a tricky path to steer between allowing an unbridled and potentially dangerous bonus culture and a more healthy long term incentivisation. Execs need to set an example. Partnerships face a different problem of dividing the dividend. Fairness and transparency should rule.
B) What should I measure and monitor?
Return on investment is notoriously hard to quantify so far as talent is concerned. Some companies measure their investment in talent in terms of high levels of employee satisfaction and retention. Others find that talent strategy is geared towards making employees better trained and more productive. And it needn’t cost the earth. In a downturn, managing people’s career development through well chosen placements or coaching can be more effective that spending megabucks on fancy business qualifications.
Matrices or competency frameworks are useful foployee satisfaction surveys can measure the effectiveness of employee engagement measures. Is talent fully engaged? Can be cross referenced against employee churn.
Surveys such as Best Companies and Investors in People which are based on sampling employee attitudes to issues like management style, and leadership help benchmark organisations that are talent friendly. Other industry awards internal and external re-assure staff that they work for a good organisation. You need to make your company the employer of choice within your industry sector.
C.) What questions should I ask, and who should I ask?
Why would anyone want to work for you? – Why are some companies just so much more attractive to work for? How does press coverage or Corporate Social Responsibility impact on the perception of your company in the jobs market and in the wider arena?
What does your company stand for? –Corporate values change over time. Communicating core values is an essential role for HR and needs a multidisciplinary approach adopted at board level. Pride and culture What makes a company an employer of choice? Pride in the job or in the company makes it easier to recruit and retain.
How big is my talent pool and what sort of fish do I have swimming in it? - There are different views on how to maintain a supply of ambitious, job-ready CEOs in waiting. Most importantly, how do you manage expectations? Not everyone can get the top job.
D.) Make or break decisions –
Know when to delegate! (The role of the line manager) With training and support most line managers can be perfectly good talent managers. How does a company ensure that this happens?
Deciding when to hire and when to fire. Restructuring and redundancies may be needed. But companies are in a dilemma. Do they revert to form and cull the over 50s or do they recognize that it pays to retain experience even if on short term contract? A freeze on graduate recruitment could lead to skills shortages in the future. How do companies resolve short term difficulties with the need to manage talent?
Preparing for an upturn – Companies need to decide where they want to be in five or ten years time and develop a talent management strategy to deliver the skills and the ideas that will get them there. Doing nothing or reacting to events is not an option. Case studies.
E.) What levers do I have? When should I pull them?
Career planning – Talent needs a broad range of experience and talent management policies that promote a few star players over the rest run the risk of alienating people. It is fair to say that talent needs to recognise where its strengths lie and that senior management and talent should take a balanced view of career planning.
Pay and prospects – Research suggests that above a certain level pay ceases to be a motivator. Fairness is important and talent needs to see that it is on an upward trajectory. Benchmarking pay is important but so also is being given the opportunity of doing interesting and challenging work.
Employee Engagement – Corporate social responsibility can engage talent and is an essential part of branding. But how genuine is it? Is it a distraction from a bigger problem such as pollution or unscrupulous pursuit of profit is it part of a genuine desire to be part of a more sustainable economy? Different generations may have different attitudes to charitable works and involvement in community projects.
Coaching and mentoring – Having a role model has been shown to play a major role in fostering ambition, confidence and direction among young talent. It can be a valuable support for a talent’s ideas and an antidote to potential conflict with line managers in resolving disputes.
G.) How do we know when we’ve succeeded or failed?
Trust your judgement. Being over prescriptive and constructing ever more complex assessment grids does not help. Best practice is aligning talent management to business needs and is not process driven. Also the need for succession planning should not be influencing or distorting talent strategy. A company with a successful talent management strategy in place should score high on employee retention, and employee engagement. When you have a clear succession plan, you will have a talent pool of internal candidates coming through.
Part 4 – In depth",2414,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218101.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821092915-20180821112915-00145.warc.gz,0.937591016292572
8cd68771-5cfd-4d93-96d3-fd27582a870c,2022-05-23T19:57:30+00:00,2022-05-23,1,https://seeflection.com/17117/9-agri-bots-key-to-future-of-farming-advances/,"Rise in Agricultural Production Hinges on Bots
The world population is expected to hit a whopping number of 9 billion by 2050. What is expected to follow is a dramatic rise in agricultural production, doubling to meet the coming demand. This need has caused farmers to turn to robotics as a solution for the future. Various industries are using robotics to disrupt their respective industries.
Customer service, packaging and shipping, manufacturing, and transportation are all buying more robot employees. Due to the growing population, rise of AI and new developments in robotics, agribusiness has embraced robotics.
From nursery planting to shepherding and herding, here are some of the robots already in agriculture.
Powered by the sun, this lightweight GPS, fully autonomous drone has the ability to use its solar power to run all day. The robot uses its complex camera system to target and spray weeds. Because of its very precise arms, the robot uses 90% less herbicide, making it 30% cheaper than traditional treatments. A fleet of these robots could easily replace human farm labor down the road.
Naio Technologies have a host of robots that not only act as the perfect farm hand using techniques that preserve and protect the local environment.
Drones will play a huge role in monitoring large areas of crops. Agribotix is a low-cost tool for farmers, to collect crop data over time, or in real-time. From taking precise aerial photos to recording video, the company’s collection of drones even has infrared sensors that can measure the health of crops while in the air.
These are only examples of three of nine bots already working in the fields.
read more at interestingengineering.com",343,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00401.warc.gz,0.944798648357391
02fd2d15-a17a-4aaa-860d-a95e1117e420,2019-08-18T17:02:42+00:00,2017-11-01,0,https://www.drlongstreth.com/2017/11/obgyns-warn-against-vaginal-seeding.html,"“Vaginal seeding” is growing in popularity because it’s thought that babies born through Cesarean-section miss out on certain “helpful” vaginal microbes that might shield the infant from asthma, allergies and immune disorders.
“Vaginal seeding has become a rising trend for patients,” noted Dr. Jennifer Wu, an ob/gyn at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “Patients read about the benefits of a vaginal delivery and hope to replicate these benefits with vaginal seeding.”
As explained by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), it’s thought that contact with healthy vaginal bacteria helps stimulate the infant immune system, prevents the growth of dangerous bacteria and regulates the gut. That contact doesn’t happen for babies born via C-section, however, so in vaginal seeding, a cotton swab with vaginal fluids from the mother is used to transfer vaginal bacteria to a newborn.
But in a statement issued Oct. 24, ACOG – the nation’s largest ob/gyn organization – said the procedure is not recommended because the known risks outweigh any potential benefits. “Due to the lack of sufficient data, the very real risks [of vaginal seeding] outweigh the potential benefits,” Dr. Christopher Zahn, ACOG’s vice president of practice activities, said in a college news release. “By swabbing an infant’s mouth, nose or skin with vaginal fluid after birth, the mother could potentially, and unknowingly, pass on disease-causing bacteria or viruses,” he explained.
Wu agreed. “There are very real risks attached to this practice,” she said. “Certain viruses, such as group B step and herpes, can cause serious illnesses such as meningitis in newborns.”
And Zahn stressed that there’s a much safer way for a new mom to transfer her helpful bacteria to her newborn: Breast-feeding. “Breast-feeding for the first six months is the best way to overcome the lack of exposure to maternal vaginal flora at birth,” Zahn said. “The bacteria present in breast mild and on the nipple is sufficient for natural colonization or seeding of the gut. There may be some initial difference in the gut [microbes] of infants based on mode of delivery, but research has shown that difference disappears after about six months,” he added.
It seems to me that the ACOG is overlooking the obvious – if you avoid the C-section, vaginal delivery makes this argument mute.
The rate of C-section in the United States in 2013 was 32.7%, roughly a third of all deliveries. The World Health Organization (WHO) states the “medical necessary” C-sections account for no more than 10% of all deliveries.
Physicians like C-sections because they are scheduled rather than spontaneous and generate significantly more income. On average, the cost of a C-section is 50% higher than a natural birth.
I also question the concerns raised about possible infection. Studies on women with known herpes infections failed to find one case of transmission to the newborn, although herpes antibodies were frequently found in both cord and neonatal blood samples. It appears that the mother’s immune system protects the child from most vaginal infections.
It’s not just “thought that contact with healthy vaginal bacteria helps stimulate the infant immune system, prevents the growth of dangerous bacteria and regulates the gut.” There are many evidence based studies that prove that inoculation of healthy bacteria during vaginal delivery improves many aspects of health, including long term morbidity and mortality.
The Bottom Line:
The take away from this study is reduce the rate of C-section from a third of all births to 10% where it belongs. Then devise a study that looks at the risk of infection for vaginal swabs as has been done with vaginal deliveries. This will solve the “lack of data” claim and recommendations for or against vaginal seeding can be evidence based.
Source: October 25, 2017 National Institutes of Health",864,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00160.warc.gz,0.952546298503876
483d64f4-b25f-41ca-abf7-e8f4c4e9b35e,2016-07-26T08:20:18+00:00,2014-05-27,1,https://www.voicesonthesquare.com/essays/2014/05/27/gender-prison-calls-effective-civil-rights-protections,"Monday's editorial by the New York Times editorial board Leadership on Transgender Civil Rights is a long overdue call for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to get visibly involved in the establishment of legal protections in New York for transgender people.
With Maryland recently becoming the 18th state to extend civil rights protections on the basis of gender identity, the editorial hails the event as a good example for New York, which sits along with only Wisconsin and New Hampshire as states which protect its citizens on the basis of sexual orientation but not gender identity.
We are closer today to creating that open, respectful, inclusive world that we want for all of our children.
--Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland
The editorial condemns the state for its failure to address the needs of gender-variant New Yorkers.
With less than a month remaining before the legislative session in Albany is scheduled to end, on June 19, it is time for state lawmakers to approve long-stalled legislation — the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act — to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
The editorial notices the gap in civil rights protections in New York which exists because ""sexual orientation"" does not cover transgender.
The result is a patchwork. Some places, including New York City and Suffolk and Westchester Counties, offer protections with varying standards and enforcement mechanisms. In other parts of the state, people who have had sex-change surgery and others whose identities differ from their gender at birth can be denied housing, employment, credit or access to services because of who they are. Basic rights should not depend on where a person resides.
The bill would prohibit unjust treatment statewide, with enforcement charged to the state's Division of Human Rights. With passage, the exclusion in the state's Medicaid program for transition-related care could be removed as it has been in California and Connecticut.
GENDA is sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Sen. Daniel Squadron. It is expected to pass the Assembly soon...for the seventh time.
But its prospects in the Senate remain dim because of recalcitrant Republicans and the failure of Senator Jeffrey Klein, the Democratic leader in the Senate’s odd coalition leadership arrangement, to tell his Republican counterpart, Senator Dean Skelos, that blocking this measure is unacceptable.
The only real hope for enacting the bill this session rests on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a supporter of the bill. “Working behind the scenes,” as Mr. Cuomo’s deputy secretary for civil rights, Alphonso David, says he and the governor are doing, is not enough. Mr. Cuomo needs to wage a strong and visible fight on this bill, as he did in his successful effort to push through same-sex marriage three years ago.
A week ago Feministing's Jos Truitt addressed the issue of civil rights protections in The Guardian, LGBT people still need basic civil rights--not just watered-down legislation.
Truitt notes that it was 40 years ago this week that Bella Abzug introduced the Equality Act in Congress, which would have amended the Civil Rights Act to include protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation. It was 20 years later that ENDA was introduced, which does not include as many protections, being limited to employment discrimination. And we cannot even get a fair vote on ENDA, let alone pass it.
It's now 2014, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people still have no national law that prevents employers, landlords, hoteliers or even restaurant owners from discriminating against us because of our sexual orientations or gender identities. It's long past time to change that, in sweeping fashion – not just one more bill.
It's pathetic that four decades have gone by without Congress extending basic civil rights protections to LGBT Americans. It's even more pathetic that what's left of Bella Abzug's comprehensive legislation is ENDA – a small-bore bill that is now riddled with giveaways to anti-gay forces, including a religious exemption big enough for an 18-wheeler to cruise through. It's time to pull the plug on this essentially lifeless corpse and demand full equality under the federal civil rights statutes.
--Matt Foreman, former executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
ENDA does not address discrimination in housing, education, federal programs, or public accommodations and would only include the employment protections that the majority of Americans already think we have. Queer Nation calls for more: #endaisnotequal
Yes, ENDA is symbolic...especially for transpeople as we have fought to be included. The unemployment for transpeople is twice the national average, and is even worse for transwomen. And transwomen of color face four times as much discrimination as the national average.
National LGBT organizations have made ENDA the carrot that is dangled in front of the trans community to prove that our issues are being prioritized – when, in fact, these organizations know that even a watered-down ENDA will not pass. House Speaker John Boehner has said that he will not even bring ENDA up for a vote, because he does not consider the legislation necessary.
Meanwhile, LGBT rights opponents have consistently, specifically targeted trans women – who face the highest rates of discrimination by all measures, not just employment – when fighting to prevent any movement on non-discrimination, be it ENDA, protections in schools, or anything else. Anti-LGBT organizations and even Fox News recently spread the ""bathroom panic argument"", fomenting unwarranted fear that non-discrimination laws will lead to trans women preying on cisgender women in bathrooms.
The reality is that trans women are just women, and we need places to relieve ourselves in private – a basic right almost everyone else takes for granted. And, counter to the conservative arguments, trans women are very likely to experience harassment and even violence simply for trying to use the bathroom. This pernicious fear-mongering is dangerous and frustrating to deal with, and its targeting of those most likely to face discrimination has led to trans issues being quietly eliminated from non-discrimination legislation before.
Personally, I believe we should start with the following, after the Equal Rights Act, which as you may recall, was never ratified:",1259,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824757.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00234-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958489954471588
8f6eda7a-5846-4e70-aa5f-f5cd6977ca91,2019-08-22T01:22:34+00:00,2013-12-31,0,http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/about/news/2013/fulbright_commission_appoints_politics_professor2,"Fulbright Commission Appoints Politics Professor
Professor Karen Beckwith, who currently holds the post of Flora Stone Mather Professor of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, has been appointed as the next Fulbright-Scotland Visiting Professor at Edinburgh University.
As part of the initiative, led by the College of Humanities and Social Science, she will travel to Edinburgh in January 2014 to spend six months based in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. She will be working closely with academics from the School of Social and Political Science including Professor Fiona Mackay.
Professor Beckwith plans to use her time in Edinburgh to lecture and to undertake research for her project entitled, What's New? Institutional Transformation and Women's Political Representation. She will also be working on the production of a new book which will focus on the development of political policies which are more inclusive to women.
Speaking of her forthcoming visit to Edinburgh, she said ""I have fond memories of a very brief visit to Edinburgh, in the previous century! I am very much looking forward to returning to Edinburgh for an extended stay as a Fulbright Scholar, to learning about this historic city and to working with colleagues at its university, and to exploring as much of Scotland as possible, intellectually as well as touristically.""
Her visit will be organised by the US-UK Fulbright Commission which is part of the worldwide Fulbright Program, one of the world's most prestigious academic exchange programmes. Set up to foster mutual cultural understanding through educational exchange between the United Kingdom and the United States after the Second World War, the Fulbright Program has appointed forty-three individuals who have also gone on to receive Nobel Prizes.",343,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316555.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822000659-20190822022659-00463.warc.gz,0.968024253845215
bf5db168-3ea3-40f6-ae35-6b793bb658ff,2016-07-28T02:53:37+00:00,2012-04-10,0,http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=148041,"|04-07-2012, 12:42 AM||#1|
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: North Van
Posts: 330Rep Power: 653578
Santa Cruz Blur (green) stolen
A friend's Santa Cruz Blur was stolen from his house in Powell River last week.
Russel was the president of the Powell River bike club for several years and helped bring the BC Bike Race to town - really sucks to see shit like this happen to people like him who give so much to the sport and the community.
If you come across the bike please let me know asap (PM)
|04-10-2012, 04:55 AM||#2|
A displaced Islander.
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,115Rep Power: 11431245
Powel River is around 12,000 people I hope it turns up a 7-11 soon unharmed.
|Display Modes||Rate This Thread|
|Thread||Thread Starter||Forum||Replies||Last Post|
|FS: Santa Cruz Blur Classic||morgman||NSMB Buy and Sell forum||4||03-22-2012 01:12 AM|
|Stolen Santa Cruz Juliana||paulpalf||Stolen||4||08-24-2010 08:23 AM|
|2007 Santa Cruz Blur 4x - Slopestyle (Medium)||JSinclair||NSMB Buy and Sell forum||9||07-14-2010 07:59 PM|
|Stolen orange santa cruz V10, giant stp||Knapton||Stolen||2||07-09-2010 06:24 AM|
|nsmb , you have let me down||gearwh0re||NBR - Not Biking Related||29||10-23-2007 03:38 PM|",392,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827782.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00035-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.766771495342255
e94da10c-3be7-4daa-8bf3-4f64cd51d04d,2020-10-28T04:47:13+00:00,2020-09-18,1,https://www.orangecountycoast.com/watch-where-are-californias-coronavirus-case-rates-dropping-and-how-far/,"California’s new daily COVID-19 cases have been decreasing steadily since mid-August, as a second round of lockdowns was imposed to combat the spike in cases we saw mid-summer. The hot spots have also been shifting, and this map shows you how.
To see where the virus is spreading, we calculate the rate of new cases in each county, the number of cases reported in the previous 14 days per 10,000 residents, then track that data over time. The animated map shows how — and when — the coronavirus spread around California from April 1 through Sept. 18.
In early April, the virus was most prevalent in Bay Area and Southern California counties, then became more concentrated in Los Angeles and Imperial counties toward the end of the month, spurred by widespread community transmission. In May, the virus spread farther into the state, as large outbreaks at prisons caused spikes in Santa Barbara, Kings County, and elsewhere.
In June, the virus took a stronger hold in many parts of Southern California, following Memorial Day festivities, and increasingly in farmworker communities in the Central Valley. It continued to spread quickly from late June through the middle of July. Then, with new restrictions in place, new cases held steady at around 8,000 daily for nearly two months. Now cases have been on the decline for the past month.
The map suggests California’s early stay-at-home order likely spared the state from the early exponential growth seen in places like Italy and New York. But cases shot up this summer after restrictions eased, then more recently have been decreasing as the clamps went back on.
Now we wait to see if new cases will continue to decrease, maintain their current low rate, or start to spike again.
Source: Orange County Register",364,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107896778.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028044037-20201028074037-00064.warc.gz,0.965944886207581
5eea03dc-8b6d-4a1b-9f94-5f2dcc25cce1,2017-08-23T10:09:28+00:00,2015-01-08,1,http://www.smarteranalyst.com/2015/01/08/im-bullish-auto-stocks/,"December was a solid month for American automakers. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) had its best December sales month since 2007, with sales up 19.3% over last year. Full-year sales were up a respectable 5.3%. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) had its best December since 2005, though its full-year growth numbers were actually down slightly due to, among other things, retooling to make way for its new aluminum-body F-150.
Even better, after years of haggling, Americans are paying up for their cars again. December had the highest average transaction prices on record, according to Kelley Blue Book, at $34,367.
So, what’s the story here? Are auto stocks a buy?
I would argue that they are, but not necessarily for the reasons you see in the media.
To start, auto stocks didn’t react particularly well to the sales data. GM stock followed the broader market lower, and Ford stock dropped by more than 3%. Wall Street doesn’t seem to be buying the argument that lower gas prices will automatically mean a sustained run in strong auto sales.
I agree. Consumer behavior doesn’t change on a dime, and in any event wage growth has been sluggish since 2008, roughly keeping pace with inflation (see chart). The average American is in better financial health than they were, say, five years ago. But they’re not exactly in great shape.
Furthermore, Americans – and particularly younger Americans – drive less than they used to and are more likely to share rides or use public transportation.
So, if I’m somewhat down on the macro picture for the auto industry…why am I bullish on auto stocks?
I’ll give you three reasons: valuation, dividends, and guru purchases.
Let’s start with valuation. In an overpriced U.S. stock market, auto stocks are one of the last subsectors to find real bargains. GM trades for just 8 times expected 2015 earnings. That’s half the forward P/E of the S&P 500. Likewise, Ford trades for just 9 times expected 2015 earnings.
Slicing the numbers a little differently, GM and Ford trade for 0.36 times sales and 0.41 times sales, respectively. The S&P 500 trades for 1.8 times sales.
Furthermore, after bankruptcy wiped most of its debts clean, GM has the healthiest balance sheet it’s had in recent memory. Nearly half of GM’s market cap is cash in the bank. And while Ford has more debt on its books than GM, about 40% of its market cap is sitting in cash.
All else equal, auto stocks should trade at a discount to the broader market. Their earnings are more cyclical, and they operated in a brutally competitive industry. All the same, that’s a pretty massive discount.
Now, let’s take a look at dividends. At 3.4%, GM boasts one of the highest dividend yields among major American companies. At 58%, its payout ratio is very reasonably low, and I would argue that this number is actually inflated due to GM’s expensive recalls that dented earnings in 2014. GM’s current $1.20 dividend represents a 46% payout of consensus 2015 earnings estimates of $2.62. If GM’s sales are anything short of disastrous in 2015, there is plenty of room for dividend growth.
The same goes for Ford. Ford’s 3.3% dividend yield is very competitive in today’s low-rate environment, and its 31% payout ratio leaves a lot of room for dividend growth.
Finally, I like to who else is in a trade before I get into it. And at least in the case of GM, we’re in good company. Marty Whitman, David Tepper, Warren Buffett, Jeremy Grantham and Joel Greenblatt have all initiated or added to their positions in GM stock over the past quarter.
According to TipRanks.com, which measures analysts’ and bloggers’ success rate based on how their calls perform, blogger Charles Sizemore has a total average return of 7.3% and a 67% success rate. Charles Sizemore is Ranked #405 out of 4096 Bloggers",902,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886118195.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823094122-20170823114122-00097.warc.gz,0.959642827510834
f47dbe6f-71ae-4956-9d14-d56790523cd4,2020-10-21T13:20:15+00:00,2020-10-21,0,https://westendgalleryltd.com/products/big-game,"Big Game is an acrylic on canvas painting by Alain Bédard.
""A typical winter day in the countryside on the weekend, friends gathering for a friendly game of hockey our national sport."" - Bédard
We are pleased to offer you our full line of services to assist you with the purchase of original artwork. Review our FAQ section or contact us if you have any questions! Don't hesitate to press the ""Enquire"" button if you have a specific question regarding this work of art.",104,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876500.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021122208-20201021152208-00500.warc.gz,0.912181675434112
5fa42ff6-9a89-4fd6-baf3-960d5a78a381,2015-03-28T19:36:35+00:00,2010-03-08,0,http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?p=65309640,"No bigger than 40"" LCD recommendation?
I've always heard vizio was best bang for buck but I've yet to own an HDTV. But now I'm in the market and was wondering what's a good LCD for gaming?
Cheaper is better, links please.
Last edited by Deadly Milk Man : 03-08-2010 at 02:23 PM.",76,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297689.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00129-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97308474779129
570814fb-a761-489c-bf4b-c96f1d5ee552,2018-08-21T14:01:52+00:00,2017-06-01,0,https://www.proz.com/profile/78887,"Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
Years of translation experience: 13. Registered at ProZ.com: Jun 2004. Became a member: Jun 2006.
French to English (Chartered Institute of Linguists, verified) Spanish to English (University of Bath) French to English (UN freelance accreditation (Geneva)) Spanish to English (UN freelance accreditation (Geneva))
Adobe Acrobat, Indesign, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Wordfast
Simultaneous or consecutive interpreting at conferences, meetings and events around the world.
Documents relating to development: international development or sustainable development, environmental impact assessments, renewable energy, capacity building, rural development, monitoring and evaluation, international institutions (UN, EU, WB), NGOs.
Documents that have to sound good in English: marketing and communications texts, press releases, magazine and newspaper articles, current affairs, tourism
Documents from the world of business: management, training, HR, tender procedures (expressions of interest, bid writing and management), company annual reports, social audits, etc.
I have been a full-time freelance interpreter and translator for the last 12 years. I also have 15 years professional experience in multinational corporations, working in French and English in International Development, Tourism, HR and Management.
I work with Wordfast on all translation projects. A native English speaker, I live in Madrid. I hold an MA in Interpreting and Translation from the University of Bath, an MSc in Politics (International Development) from Bristol University and a degree in English and French from the University of Paris. I am an AIIC pre-candidate, have been a member of the Institute of Linguists in UK and have Certified Pro status on Proz.
My competitive rates are available on demand.
For more information send me an email or call my mobile.
Keywords: interpreting, liaison, conference, simultaneous, consecutive, chuchotage, infrastructure development, public services, sustainable development, carbon trading, NGO, international development, rural development, environment, capacity building, marketing, commercial, literature, fashion, social sciences, proof-reading, editing, communication, journalism, ONG, développement d'infrastructures, services publics, développement international, développement rural, environnement, écologie, rapports d'activités, renforcement des capacités, marketing, communication, tourisme, rédactionnel, littérature, sciences sociales, relecture, journalisme, interprétation, consecutive, simultanée, interprête",568,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218189.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821132121-20180821152121-00680.warc.gz,0.834756374359131
31a53962-1eda-42a0-a3ad-9e1332d42aba,2018-08-14T20:40:12+00:00,2013-10-01,0,http://adesina.com/book-cover-illustration-supernatural/,"Check out the book cover I drew & painted that just came out! They sent me a copy of it and it felt so great to see it “for real” — you can even buy it on Amazon! –> http://www.amazon.com/Fangasm-Supernatural-Fangirls-Katherine-Larsen/dp/160938198X Crazy! 🙂
I also videotaped myself drawing and painting this cover, so stay tuned for the speedart video coming soon!
Supernatural Fangirls book by Katherine Larsen & Lynn S. Zubernis. Book cover design by Thomas Ng, Portrait illustrations by Adesina.",140,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209562.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814185903-20180814205903-00188.warc.gz,0.907288312911987
f5dc96ad-4132-4a1e-b643-02cac627cb5e,2018-08-18T12:17:33+00:00,2017-08-01,1,http://www.ambrosiaindia.com/2017/08/french-wine-production-may-drop-by-17-percent-in-2017/,"According the French agricultural ministry, French wine production may drop by 17 percent this year.
Agreste, the department of the French agricultural ministry, estimates wine production in France at 37 million to 38.2 million of hectolitres.
The median value, at 37.6 million hectolitres, could be 17 percent below last year’s output and 16 percent below average. This is a “historically low” year and less than the output in 1991, a year strongly affected by spring frosts.
“This fall in production is primarily due to the severe frosts in the spring, which affected, at a sensitive stage, the vine’s growth in all regions”, declared Agreste.
This year’s production in Champagne was expected to increase in a proportion of up to 8 percent but remained 9 percent below the 2012-2016 average.
The Bourgogne and Beaujolais region, which suffered major damage in 2016, increased to 14 percent.
Loire Valley, moderately affected by frosts, was safe from crytogamic diseases. Production could be 7 percent higher than last year.
In Bordeaux, production will be strongly impacted by frosts. The volume was down to 18 percent.
In Languedoc-Roussillon, some frosts impacted both the Aude and the Hérault department. This basin could see a 6% decrease.",298,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213666.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818114957-20180818134957-00048.warc.gz,0.935502588748932
9c21b633-f64b-48f6-918c-a31f9da9fe02,2019-08-19T03:22:32+00:00,2019-08-19,0,http://bright-consulting.org/organizational-development.cfm,"Organization Development utilizes applied theory and techniques to achieve organizational change.
Assessments, analysis, strategic and operational planning, learning opportunities, and designed processes that sustain results are some of the activities experienced in an organization development effort. The focus is always on change and the change is focused on organizational culture and the behavior necessary to move the organization to its desired outcomes. The process always includes participation and requires executive partnerships for planning.
As organizations evolve to meet market demands and customer expectations, they find that when realignment takes place, the current systems, structures, and culture may not be designed to meet the desired strategies of the organization. As a result, organizations are not structured for employee engagement and long-term success. To ensure alignment between operating goals and the contributions of their associates, we offer structural solutions that will create alignment with the desired outcomes: assessments, analysis, strategic and operational planning, whole-system planning, retreats, small group work, learning opportunities, and designed processes that sustain results are some of the activities experienced in an organization development effort. We have experience in small and large scale organizational design for existing and new entities:
Whether your desired outcome is to create a new organization or coalition or to redesign an existing organization that desires change, we offer solutions that create whole system involvement.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an emerging model of strategic innovation and change that starts with ""strengths"". Rather than seek out what's broken and analyze it, AI uncovers and elevates inspirations that are working – the little known positive deviances – that, if spread, could generate exponential returns. AI has been used to significantly enhance cost competiveness, revenues and profits, employee engagement, retention and morale, and customer loyalty in places ranging from Wal-Mart to United Way. Since the early 1980's, AI has been used in countries all around the world by thousands of people and hundreds of organizations in every sector of society to promote transformative change.
Bright Consulting uses the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) technology with client organizations that desire culture change in a variety of formats including organizational summits (3-4 day “whole system” meetings). Our certifications were earned through study with Dr. David Cooperrider, the founder of Appreciative Inquiry, at Case Western Reserve University.
Sustaining long-term organizational results requires organizational coaching talent. InsideOut Coaching is a part of our organization development design to create a coaching culture in your organization. The program is based on the conviction that most individuals already possess the knowledge and skills necessary to perform well on the job. We will equip leaders with coaching tools and techniques to fully access that potential. With our help, you'll learn how to affirm people's strengths, reduce environmental distractions, make goals more tangible and reinforce job commitment and accountability.
Organizations today are experiencing an unprecedented frequency and intensity of change, reorganization, downsizing, business process improvements, new technology, new strategies, new people, and new rules - and there is no let up in sight. However, changes are all too often planned and implemented with little or no though as to how people will experience them.
When people go through the transition process successfully, the organization will reach the goals that the changes were designed to achieve. Our organizational approach to creating successful change is to work with leaders and associates to help them learn how to navigate through the significant changes they are facing. Change is an event, a decision to move in a new direction. Transition focuses on assisting people to go through the predictable psychological changes so that they don't lose sight of customers' needs. Managing Organizational Transition focuses people and systems on learning personal survival skills needed in these times of constant change. This process provides the knowledge and skills required to renew people's creativity and commitment, so that the organization can implement its change successfully.
Managing Organizational Transition requires planning with executives and operational leaders, learning opportunities in a variety of venues, and designed systems and processes to sustain the focus on the company's future.
(Changing the team culture to ensure patient safety)
Team STEPPS is an evidence-based teamwork system that was developed by the Department of Defense Patient Safety Program in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It is designed to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare organization by helping healthcare professionals master communication and teamwork skills.
Team STEPPS is structured around four core competencies – Leadership, Situation Monitoring, Mutual Support and Communication. Participants learn and practice skills and behaviors that enable them to demonstrate these competencies in their daily work, and they also acquire a comprehensive set evidence-based communication tools and teamwork strategies.
2-hour course providing an abbreviated version of Team STEPPS Fundamentals. Designed for staff who do not engage in the direct delivery of care, but who contribute essential information with an impact to the on-going delivery of safe care.
4-6 hour course designed for direct providers of care. Adaptable to any service or aspect of healthcare.
2.5 day course designed to educate trainers in the fundamentals, content and the associated knowledge and training required to implement and coach the desired behaviors necessary to achieve positive results.
Team Development services are available for Leaders that desire enhanced effectiveness for the teams they lead. Team culture assessments analyzed, goals are identified by the team, processes are designed, and learning opportunities conducted to achieve the desired results.",1104,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314641.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819032136-20190819054136-00377.warc.gz,0.948893666267395
9ad9dba5-7a66-4719-8734-071bbead5c5e,2019-08-22T05:45:10+00:00,2019-05-22,1,https://havanatimes.org/latin-america/cycling-for-cleaner-air-in-latin-america/nggallery/image/12-6-playa/,"HAVANA TIMES – Transport produces 25% of emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean. While the air in most of the region’s capitals has become almost unbreatheable, cycling has captured the imagination of thousands of Latin Americans.
Four of the region’s largest cities have taken measures to promote sustainable mobility alternatives that reduce pollution, and they are encouraging bicycle use as a concrete measure to clean the air.
Four successful initiatives are changing the way Latin Americans move about in their everyday lives.
Transforming mobility in a megacity
In 2010, the public bike service “Ecobici” invaded Mexico City’s congested streets. Mexico City has one of the highest pollution rates in Latin America.
Ecobici offers a low-cost alternative to reduce car use in the Mexican capital, where approximately 5 million cars circulate its streets.
Today, 170,000 people have signed up onto the system and 60 million journeys have been made. About 20% of users stopped using their private cars or taxis, and now they favor cycling as their means of transport. About 95% believe that it is thanks to this system that urban mobility has improved, according to an official survey.
Ecobici started operating with 85 bike stations and 1200 bikes. Now, there are 480 stations and over 6800 bikes, 340 of which are electric and include touchscreens with real time maps and USB chargers.
The service covers 55 neighborhoods in the city, spanning across some 38 km2.
Mexico City’s public bicycle network is the largest in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where cars have traditionally been a status symbol, but bikes are quickly gaining popularity.
Within the region, a total of 12 cities have public services like this one, reports a 2015 study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The public and free bicycle service in Buenos Aires is also called “Ecobici”, and 2500 bikes are distributed among the city’s 200 stations. The service in Ecuador’s capital is called “BiciQuito” and already has over 1000 bikes available at 25 stations.
Bicycles, part of a healthy lifestyle in Bogota
Cycling has become a part of thousands of inhabitants’ lives in Bogota.
The Colombian capital has the largest cycle lane scheme in Latin America, with 540 km of lanes for exclusive bicycle use. In 2015, at least 5% of journeys were made by bike, according to the IDB.
Like other capitals within the region, Bogota was designed for cars. However, since the 1970s, government authorities understood the importance of promoting bicycle use and began to build the first cycle lanes. Approximately 2 million people use these cycle lanes today.
Cycling forms part of a healthier lifestyle, especially among children. A recent study discovered that children aged between 6-10 years old, who use Bogota’s recreational lanes on Sunday, have six more minutes of vigorous physical activity (on average) than those who don’t.
However, many people criticize the program due to the fact that some of these cycle lanes are only open on Sundays, focussing more on cycling as a form of leisure than a sustainable form of transport.
As a result, city authorities have decided to take a bold step forward and open a discussion so a policy about bicycle use can be formulated.
Bogota City Hall hopes to reach 580 km of cycle lanes by the end of 2019, as part of its plan to convert Bogota into the “bicycle capital of the world”.
Civil science to tackle pollution in Buenos Aires
Bicycles also help monitor the air quality index. In Buenos Aires, 30 voluntary cyclists measured the concentration of particulate matter using sensors they had installed on their bikes.
Facilitated by Cambridge University’s Open-Seneca project, the device allowed them to locate where people are at a higher risk of being exposed to high levels of pollution.
One of the project’s objectives “is to present a report with these results to the Argentine Congress so that they can create anti-pollution legislation,” said Matias Acosta from Cambridge University, the institution that is promoting the project with support from the Canadian and British Embassies in Argentina, and the National Commission on Sustainable Development.
Open-Seneca, a civil science project, hopes that people all over the world develop and use these low-cost sensors so as to give visibility to the pollution problem and provide governments with reliable data that drives concrete measures in order to tackle pollution and create cleaner air.
“Today, we are starting a new era. Volunteers have gone out on their bicycles to monitor the air quality index, so that we can all take care of the environment and people’s health,” Sergio Bergman, the Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development, said back in May.
Data collected by cyclists will be registered with measurements on Buenos Aires’ automatic atmospheric monitoring network. The figures from this network are being published daily on the city government’s website.
Costa Rica: bicycles at the heart of a national policy
Costa Rica is offering fiscal incentives to companies who promote bicycle use among its staff. This has been stipulated in a law that was recently passed and regulates the use of bicycles as part of a strategy to decarbonize the country by 2050.
More and more companies have exclusive bicycle parking facilities, showers and changing rooms for employees, as well as other facilities.
Transport generates over 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the Central American country.
In an effort to reduce transport-related contaminants, the government has opted for clean mobility, and the law on bicycle use is one of the first steps that has been made towards this.
The law demands better infrastructure for cyclists and road safety education, a subject that will become compulsory for all students at public and private schools. The document also encourages and regulates municipal systems of shared bicyles.
Public and private initiatives that promote bicycle use are already growing in the country. BiciBus, a company that provides advice to people who want to replace their cars with bikes, is one of them. The Ciclo-Incluyente badge is another one, which companies who are bike-friendly receive.
Last year, a team supported by both groups traveled 917 km by bike from San Jose to Panama City in order to raise awareness about the role bicycles play in building cleaner and healthier societies.
This article was originally published by UN Environment – Latin America and the Caribbean, which IPS- Inter Press Service has a special agreement with in order to spread their content.",1367,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316783.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822042502-20190822064502-00325.warc.gz,0.961298704147339
749840a3-4f00-433f-ad26-47741b72bf2b,2013-06-19T14:39:17+00:00,2006-07-18,1,http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/18/dti_backs_unmanned_aviation/,"DTI backs unmanned aircraft programme
Tech eye for the public service guy
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is to provide funds for the development of unmanned aviation vehicles to support public services.
The DTI announced that it would provide £16m to support a national programme for the safe operation of unmanned aircraft in civil airspace without the need for restrictive or specialised operational conditions.
It forms part of the £32m Astrae, (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment) programme.
Among the services that the vehicles could support are police and fire service surveillance, coastal surveillance and power and pipeline inspections. These currently rely on manned aircraft.
Secretary of state for trade and industry Alistair Darling said: ""Astrae is a significant programme for the UK in establishing our credentials in the rapidly growing field of UAV development. It will strengthen collaboration across industry, universities, and regulatory authorities, positioning the UK amongst the world's leaders in UAV technology.
""This programme is an example of how leading private sector businesses and universities can work with government to deliver projects, which will lead to developments offering real economic and cost-effective solutions in areas such as environmental monitoring and security.
""Astrae also represents a good example of collaboration between DTI and the regional bodies supporting technology programmes which will provide knowledge transfer and employment opportunities in the regions.""
The programme has also received £11m from the regional development agencies in the south west, south east and north west, and devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.
This article was originally published at Kablenet.
Kablenet's GC weekly is a free email newsletter covering the latest news and analysis of public sector technology. To register click here.",355,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.941987574100494
522c087e-436e-430a-8892-0637e17e5c49,2019-08-26T02:41:36+00:00,2017-07-31,1,https://www.thinkperform.com.au/tesla-manufacturing-south-australia-future/,"Tesla: Manufacturing South Australia for the future
In July, Tesla and its owner Elon Musk announced that it is building the world’s largest lithium-ion battery in South Australia — an installation 60 per cent larger than any other large-scale battery energy storage system on the planet.
In partnership with the South Australian government and French renewables company Neoen, alongside the third stage of the Hornsdale Wind Farm, the PowerPack battery farm will top 100 megawatts of capacity and provide 129 megawatt-hours of energy generation to the region — load balancing the state’s renewable energy generation and allowing emergency back-up power if a shortfall in energy production is predicted.
According to Musk, the battery will keep the lights on in South Australia. This statement is an increasingly important one as it comes at a time where the state has struggled with reliable energy generation and recently suffered from a statewide blackout caused by a 50-year storm last September.
Tesla has detailed its planned development in a recent blog post: “Tesla Powerpack will charge using renewable energy from the Hornsdale Wind Farm and then deliver electricity during peak hours to help maintain the reliable operation of South Australia’s electrical infrastructure. The Tesla Powerpack system will further transform the state’s movement towards renewable energy and see an advancement of a resilient and modern grid.”
In terms of gains in efficiency, the power that this innovative piece of technology has to sustainably and consistently power an entire state is extraordinary. However, while the technology itself may be new and exciting, the processes that Musk and his team will use to deliver them will still need to employ tried and tested Continuous Improvement techniques in order to fulfil the promise of 100 days from contract signature to project completion.
Both Musk and Tesla have a lot riding on this promise. For one, if the project isn’t delivered it will be free for the South Australian government. Secondly, if successful, Tesla stands to cement its reputation as a provider of technologies that can deliver manufacturing into the future, both cheaper and more sustainably.
Tesla has previously claimed it is able to drive down the per kilowatt hour cost of its battery pack by more than 30 per cent by “using economies of scale, innovative manufacturing, reduction of waste, and the simple optimisation of locating most manufacturing process under one roof”.
Breaking this key statement down, it is a little easier to surmise how Tesla is able to make sure a brash promise of completion in 100 days; Musk is placing his confidence in the use of established Lean and Continuous Improvement principles.
When Tesla mentioned ‘economies of scale’ they are referring to when more units of a good or a service can be produced on a larger scale, with (on average) fewer input costs. By following this key principle of lean production, Tesla will be able to apply this time based management approach to its battery production, presumably by repurposing already existing technologies it owns and produces regularly to construct the new, mega-sized lithium-ion battery.
On the surface, the Tesla Way is to go fast and hope that genius and adrenaline can compensate for a perceived lack stability. But according to Musk, ‘innovative manufacturing’ techniques are essential to Tesla rising to the ongoing challenges and opportunities of production in the technological. While these innovative techniques include the practical side of manufacturing including the reduction of cost per unit, its also a reference to how Musk and Tesla approach manufacturing as an overall idea. They are creating an alternate business model – and an alternate business ecosystem – that allows more control over the entire process from ideation to creation. This includes optimising space and man power by locating the entire manufacturing process under one roof, using one set of principles employed and understood by the entire workforce of Tesla.
The reduction of waste is not only a pivotal ongoing lean principle for traditional manufacturing, it is an integral part of Tesla’s business model for future industries and innovations. The car company worked closely with StopWaste’s Use Reusables program to switch to reusable windshield racks, a project that eliminates about 100 tons of cardboard waste a year. Since the new racks hold numerous windshields and can be worked straight from the line, they have improved the overall efficiency of Tesla’s manufacturing process. The car company also has an excellent recycling and composting program and diverts 79% of their waste from the landfill.
To find out how Lean and Continuous Improvement can be applied to your business, call 1300 667 099.",922,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330962.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826022215-20190826044215-00244.warc.gz,0.938261032104492
997555aa-1bbd-4fc8-abf6-ddafd33a5490,2022-05-25T06:20:45+00:00,2019-01-03,1,https://zoa.org/2019/01/10384232-zoa-applauds-newest-bill-supporting-israel-protecting-us-interests/,"The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) strongly applauds the fact that the first Senate bill of the 116th Congress, the “Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019” (S.1) is legislation supporting Israel and US-Israel relations. It was introduced yesterday by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), James Risch (R-ID), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
ZOA Director of Government Relations Daniel Pollak, ZOA president Morton Klein and ZOA Chair Mark Levenson stated:
“It is a tribute to the importance of the relationship with Israel that the first Senate bill of the year will be legislation concerning the Middle East and supporting America’s greatest ally, the Jewish State of Israel. There were four bills that were in various stages of completion as the year ended, and the Majority Leader of the Senate has brought them together for expedited consideration in the new Congress. ZOA applauds this newest bill supporting Israel, fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry, and protecting US interests.
“We strongly thank and praise Senators Rubio, Risch, Gardner and McConnell for moving so quickly to address this important unfinished business from the previous Congress. We hope that the bill will be quickly passed by the full Senate and that the House will pass the same legislation soon.
The most important of the four pieces may well be to authorize state or local governments to adopt and enforce measures against entities engaged in commerce- or investment-related BDS activity. Other pieces of the “Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019” would codify the 10-year Memorandum of Understanding on US military assistance to Israel, extend war reserve stockpile authority and authorize the transfer of defense articles to Israel in time of need; reauthorize US defense cooperation with Jordan; and impose new sanctions on entities providing financing to the Syrian government while protecting humanitarian efforts to help Syrian civilians.”",408,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00609.warc.gz,0.93013471364975
295bd53f-69f8-4911-9ca6-7d0682a6a80f,2013-05-22T07:33:36+00:00,2012-10,1,http://londoncalling.co/2012/10/tesco-sees-all-growth-in-food-coming-from-online-is-building-dark-stores-in-london-to-keep-up/,"Following on from my post about Deloitte’s “Digital Disruption – Short Fuse, Big Bang?” report, I read in the Guardian that UK retail leader Tesco is planning to cut back on new store openings in favour of internet-only capacity as shoppers turn their backs on the weekly shop.
From the Guardian report, Tesco is to build a national network of online-only stores as it looks to cash in on the surge in popularity of internet grocery shopping.
Shoppers are increasingly turning their backs on the weekly schlepp to the supermarket so Tesco is cutting back on store openings to focus on its internet arm where sales are expected to double to more than £5bn over the next five years. Nicknamed “dark stores” in the industry they are not open to the public but are used to assist nearby shops where staff cannot keep up with orders placed by web customers in their catchment.
Tesco already has four dark stores in London but internet boss Ken Towle said on Monday that another two would open in Crawley and Erith, near Dartford, and it was scouting other cities, including Birmingham and Manchester, for locations.
“Food online is growing really well for us,” said Towle adding it would need “tens” rather than “hundreds” of dark stores as it will also continue to pick orders from normal supermarkets. “To meet demand we do need to put down extra capacity.”
Tesco’s decision to pump investment into its grocery home delivery service is more bad news for internet rival Ocado which last week reported a slowdown in sales as the jubilee and Olympics disrupted trade. The online grocery sales are expected to almost double in value by 2016 to reach £11.2bn, according to analysts at IGD.
Speaking at a conference last week the Tesco chief executive, Philip Clarke, said Tesco.com “provides all the growth we have in our core food businesses these days”.
So what does this mean?
This confirms for me that the digital bang in retail (and specifically supermarkets and the convenience sector) is already happening
UK company Ocado has been leading the way with online grocery shopping for some time, and the fact that the largest UK retailer is now seeing all core food growth coming from online, the digital bang in retail has started!
Ocado need to focus on their customer service (have experienced both ends of this first hand) if they are to grow their business.
In the age of online shopping with multiple alternatives, the winners in this space will continue to innovate and lead in customer service.
You can read the Deloitte report at http://lc.tl/sfdb",569,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965115666389465
46eae32b-dc0d-47a9-89ac-d9970b0311c0,2022-05-28T04:39:42+00:00,2019-11-03,1,"https://hk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Google-taps-fitness-tracker-market-with-2-1-billion-bid-for-fitbit,1153863.html","Nov 3, 2019
Google taps fitness tracker market with $2.1 billion bid for Fitbit
Nov 3, 2019
Google said on Friday that it sees an opportunity to introduce its own wearable devices and invest more in digital health. The purchase will also bring a rich trove of health data gathered by millions of Fitbit’s devices.
Fitbit’s fitness trackers and other devices monitor users’ daily steps, calories burned and distance traveled. They also measure floors climbed, sleep duration and quality, and heart rate.
Fitbit’s share of the fitness tracking market has been threatened by deeper-pocketed companies such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as well as cheaper offerings from China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Xiaomi Corp.
“We believe Google is a natural fit. The deep health and fitness data, coupled with the 28 million active users on the Fitbit platform, offer a tremendous value,” Craig Hallum analysts wrote in a note.
Xiaomi dominates the global wearables market, with a 17.3% market share in the second quarter of 2019, followed by Apple. Fitbit owns 10% of the market, according to data from market research firm International Data Corp.
Reuters first reported the deal on Monday.
Fitbit, which helped pioneer the wearable devices craze, has been partnering with health insurers and has been making tuck-in acquisitions in the healthcare market, as part of efforts to diversify its revenue stream. Analysts have said that much of the company’s value may now lie in its health data.
U.S. antitrust regulators have little reason to oppose Alphabet’s plans to buy Fitbit, but that does not mean that U.S. officials, backed by a bevy of anti-Google lawmakers, will not give the proposed purchase extra scrutiny.
Google is already under antitrust investigation by the Justice Department, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and dozens of state attorneys general for allegedly using its massive market power to crush smaller competitors.
Fitbit has raised privacy concerns in the past: In 2011, the sexual activity of people using the health and fitness tracker was found to be publicly accessible online.
The company said on Friday that its users’ health and wellness data would not be used for Google ads. Google said in a blog post that it would give Fitbit users the choice to review, move or delete their data.
Google, which has been defending its privacy practices after a number of regulatory probes, said it would be transparent about the data it collects for its devices and would not sell that data.
Fitbit brings to the deal partnerships it has struck with some large drug companies. In October, Fitbit announced a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Co and Pfizer Inc on early detection of irregular heartbeat, or atrial fibrillation, on its devices.
Fitbit in August also launched its latest smart watch, Versa 2, adding Amazon.com Inc’s voice assistant Alexa, online payments and music storage to the device’s capabilities.
Fitbit has been offered $7.35 per share in cash, the company said, a premium of about 19% to the stock’s closing price on Thursday. The company’s shares were trading up 15% at $7.11. Shares of Alphabet were nearly flat at $1,263.18.
The company’s shares have gained more than 40% since Reuters reported on Monday that Google had made an offer for Fitbit.
Qatalyst Partners LLP was financial adviser to Fitbit on the deal, which is expected to close in 2020. Fenwick & West LLP was the legal adviser.
© Thomson Reuters 2022 All rights reserved.",782,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663012542.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528031224-20220528061224-00017.warc.gz,0.961509704589844
aa971e42-79c5-4754-b9e3-f4db462b200c,2019-08-21T09:41:51+00:00,2019-01-21,0,https://www.mortgagelendersinillinois.com/credit-score-needed-for-home-loan/,"Is My Credit Score Good Enough for a Mortgage? – In general, the credit requirements for FHA loans tend to be more relaxed than those for conventional loans. To qualify for a low down payment mortgage (currently 3.5%), you’ll need a minimum FICO.
What Credit Score Do I Need for a Car Loan? – You can get a car loan with a low credit score To be clear, you can get a car loan with a low credit score. Although the subprime mortgage market has virtually disappeared since the financial crisis.
Credit Score Needed to Refinance Mortgage – MagnifyMoney – Advertiser Disclosure. Mortgage What Kind of Credit Score Do You Need to Refinance Your Home. Monday, January 21, 2019. Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided or commissioned by any financial institution.
What Credit Score is Needed for Refinancing Your Mortgage. – LendingTree, LLC is a Marketing Lead Generator and is a Duly Licensed Mortgage Broker, as required by law, with its main office located at 11115 Rushmore Dr., Charlotte, NC 28277, Telephone Number 866-501-2397 . NMLS Unique Identifier #1136.
What Credit Score is Needed to Buy a House in 2019? – Non-Prime. – In fact, many mortgage programs only require a 580 credit score or higher, such as FHA loans. Some non-prime programs allow a 500, and some don't even.
100% free credit score, Updated Daily – WalletHub – Free credit score, updated daily. WalletHub is the only place you can get free credit scores that are updated on a daily basis. Plus, enjoy free credit reports and personalized credit analysis.
what credit score is needed to get 0% auto financing. – · I’m trying to decide whether to pay cash or finance a new car purchase in a few months. I have good credit so I shouldn’t have any trouble getting financing, but I would only want to use a loan if I could get 0% interest for three years or thereabout.
Credit Requirements for an FHA Loan in 2019 – FHA Loans and Credit Scores: What You Need to Know. March 8, 2019 – There are a variety of factors that can influence whether a lender will approve your mortgage loan if you have a lower FICO score.
hud title 1 loan requirements Hud title 1 loan requirements – United Credit Union – Through the FHA Title 1 home improvement loan program, FHA title 1 home improvement loans. homeowners can apply for Title 1 loans to fund a variety. Getting a Title 1 loan. These loans are available through. Effective on February 1. Changes for HUD Title II Forward Mortgages and Reverse Mortgages.home mortgage refinance loan Refinance Mortgage | Home Lending | Chase.com – A mortgage refinance can help you lower your monthly payments, reduce your total payment amount or even put your home equity to good use.10 year mortgage refinance rates Fixed-rate 10-year Home Loan Calculator – Mortgage Calculator – You can use the following calculators to compare 10 year mortgages side-by-side against 15-year, 20-year and 30-year options. historical 30-yr mortgage rates. The following table lists historical average annual mortgage rates for conforming 30-year mortgages. 10-year mortgages tend to be priced at roughly 0.5% to 1.0% lower than 30-year mortgages.
What FICO score do you need to get a mortgage? | Credit Karma – In this example, boosting your credit before you get a mortgage could save you $284 per month, $3,408 per year, and $102,183 over the life of your loan! What would you do with all of that extra cash? Pro tip: Use our credit score simulator to learn more about what could impact your credit scores.
What Credit Score Do I Need to Buy a House? | Credit.com – Knowing your credit scores is a good idea for many reasons. Everything from qualifying for a credit card or an auto loan to getting utility services or renting an apartment can be impacted by how good your credit score is.
todays fha interest rates April 2019 mortgage rates forecast (FHA, VA, – Mortgage rates are dropping to new lows. April could provide some of the lowest rates seen since early 2018 or even late 2017. This is the chance mortgage rate.",907,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315865.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821085942-20190821111942-00374.warc.gz,0.941542387008667
65b3758a-c33d-46c9-87db-705d97a78d94,2018-08-14T21:54:12+00:00,2018-08-14,1,https://www.nme.com/news/music/elastica-reunite-return-studio-1956368,"Britpop band split in 2001
Elastica could be set to reform after the band were recently pictured at Abbey Road Studios.
The studio’s mastering engineer Sean Magee also tweeted that he had “cut a record for Elastica,” adding that the group “hadn’t seen each other for 20yrs. It’s great to be there when moments like that happen.”
A number of pictures from the studio have also emerged with the Britpop band without singer Justinne Frischmann.
It is unclear whether the band are working on a new LP or a remastered version of one of their old albums.
Suede’s Matt Osman tweeted his delight at the news. He wrote: “This is great news.”
Frischmann’s band split up in 2001 after two albums (1995’s ‘Elastica’ and 2000’s ‘The Menace’).
Since Elastica’s demise, the singer has lived mainly out of the public spotlight, rarely giving interviews. She returned to music briefly in 2003 to co-write songs for MIA’s debut album.
She more recently became involved in art and said that she had no “desire to make music”.
Frischmann said in 2016: “I really feel I’ve found my medium [with painting]. Also I think I’m a socially anxious person. I kind of deal with it but actually I’m really happy on my own. When I’m in the studio and things are unfolding and exciting I have that feeling that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. I don’t think I ever really had that with music, it always felt like a rollercoaster ride and there was going to be a horrible smash.”
She did, however, add: “I got to go all over the world and have a real snapshot of the planet in ’95, ’96, and I got to meet a lot of my heroes. One of the most valuable lessons was to realize that success isn’t necessarily enriching or enlivening. We live in a culture where there’s so much emphasis on celebrity and we all grow up feeling like being famous must be really great.”",498,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209585.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814205439-20180814225439-00459.warc.gz,0.973837494850159
5d6d71b6-6435-4d7a-b650-65f929c68e80,2017-08-22T07:18:56+00:00,2017-07-27,1,https://trott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/legislation-stop-asian-carp-bolster-our-military-passes-house-trott-s,"Legislation to Stop Asian Carp, Bolster Our Military Passes House with Trott’s Support
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Dave Trott (MI-11) issued the following statement after supporting the Make America Secure Appropriations Act (H.R. 3219):
“Our nation’s servicemen and women have earned nothing less than our full support. That’s why I was proud to support this legislation, which ensures they receive the 2.4% pay raise they deserve, provides them with the modern resources and training they need, and bolsters our military readiness in the face of an ever-evolving enemy.
“Furthermore, this bill calls on the Army Corps of Engineers to release the Brandon Road Lock and Dam Study, which provides critical information on how we can stop the infiltration of Asian carp into our Great Lakes. Live Asian carp are now 9 miles from Lake Michigan – they’re not slowing down, and we can’t afford to either. There’s too much at stake.”",220,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110485.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822065702-20170822085702-00174.warc.gz,0.94807231426239
5950fde8-30ad-4e77-b4f5-d4d8ef4870a1,2022-05-21T15:46:37+00:00,2021-06-28,1,https://adidasalphabounce.com/chinese-flock-to-local-brands-a-golden-opportunity-for-investors/,"(Corrects Nina Gong’s location in last paragraph in Beijing, not Shanghai)
BEIJING / HONG KONG (Reuters) -He Shuang, a U.S. university student stranded in her hometown of Chongqing in southwest China during the pandemic, has added more than 300 national brands to her list of favorites on Alibaba’s Taobao online mall.
As with He, Chinese brands are very popular with most buyers and have spurred billions of dollars in investment, as consumers increasingly make patriotic choices amid growing backlash against foreign brands. here in the country.
An increase in online shopping after people were forced inside due to COVID-19 last year, a market recovery since then, and an infrastructure that allows sellers to grow quickly have also propelled the market. demand for local brands.
“Once you try, you find that the quality of local products is as good as foreign products,” said He, 19, who favors local brands, from Carslan eyeshadows and Feiyue sneakers to Bestore snacks. Co and Miniso housewares.
Maia Active, a sportswear manufacturer backed by Sequoia Capital, said its products are designed based on the body measurements of Asian women and, as a result, provide local customers with a better fit and more comfort than their Western counterparts.
In line with demand, investors have also invested funds in local consumer brands this year.
Chinese consumer companies raised 69.7 billion yuan ($ 11 billion) from primary market investors in the first five months, more than double the amount from the previous year, according to Cygnus Equity, a Chinese investment bank.
“Beauty, food and beverage brands are the most popular. Recently, hotpot and ramen brands are particularly popular, ”said Ming Jin, Managing Partner at Cygnus.
Up to 200 brands are currently seeking new capital from investors, bankers and investors said.
“China is the easiest market to build something from zero to a sales target of 100 million yuan,” said a private investor in the Nayuki tea chain operator, declining to be named because he was not allowed to speak to the media.
Nayuki last week raised $ 656 million in a Hong Kong float, which got her a valuation of $ 4.4 billion, more than double the level of a December round.
Weilong Delicious Global Holdings, whose spicy flour-based sticks sell for less than 5 yuan a pack, raised 3.56 billion yuan in May from large investors such as Tencent, Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital, CPE, Hillhouse Capital. and Sequoia Capital China. The snack maker was valued at nearly 70 billion yuan.
Genki Forest, a Sequoia-backed soft drink brand that seeks to challenge Coca Cola, said it was valued at $ 6 billion after a fundraiser in April, ten times more than 18 months earlier.
Its fundraising has attracted investors such as the private equity arm of Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and Singaporean state investor Temasek.
LOCAL VS GLOBAL
At JD.Com’s online shopping festival this month, Chinese brands’ sales growth was 4% higher than international brands. Their customer base growth exceeded that of international brands by 16%, JD.com said.
Chris Mulliken, partner at Shanghai-based consulting firm EY, said nationalism was a factor in the popularity of local brands, including pride in China’s recovery from COVID-19 even as several other countries grapple with high infection rates.
“People travel (although in their own country) and take the opportunity to rediscover their own country, go back to their customs and discover new Chinese brands,” he said.
Another catalyst was the recent cotton ban in Xinjiang imposed by several global brands including H&M, Nike and Adidas over concerns over alleged rights violations in the province, which offended many Chinese consumers. China strongly denies these allegations and asserts that all work in Xinjiang is consensual and contractual.
Shares of domestic sportswear producers Xtep, Li Ning and Anta rose 196%, 60% and 38% respectively since April.
Traders cautioned against significantly higher valuations, while also saying the demand trend will hold for a long time.
“Consumers no longer idolize international and multinational brands. They love the products and brands that speak for them, ”said Nina Gong, managing director of Beijing-based private equity firm Carlyle Group.
($ 1 = 6.4525 Chinese yuan)
Reporting by Sophie Yu in Beijing and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Himani Sarkar",962,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539131.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521143241-20220521173241-00011.warc.gz,0.950395464897156
0fcd74c5-5d2b-403a-8f34-a09218c80960,2017-08-21T19:53:01+00:00,2013-05-17,0,http://www.twincities.com/2013/05/17/john-spryminnesota-dont-cherry-pick-be-real-about-the-effects-of-higher-taxes/,"Gov. Mark Dayton wisely urged Minnesotans to use facts in the budget debate in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce. Despite this sage advice, he continued to rely on a flawed analysis as an important rationale for his budget’s higher taxes.
“If the lowest taxes equaled the highest job growth and the highest per capita income, public policy would be clear and simple,” Dayton told the Chamber. “In fact, however, the opposite is true. If you look at the last chart, two pages of your handout, people living in the states with the lowest taxes generally have among the lowest per capita incomes. And those states have inferior job growth,” he stated.
Gov. Dayton’s data analysis has multiple statistical mistakes. One critical error is selection bias. He looks at a small subsample of the available evidence that was carefully cherry-picked, instead of drawing a conclusion from all of the available evidence.
Dayton showed data from only six states in one table and from only eight states in a second table before drawing the specious conclusion that these cherry-picked numbers prove that lower taxes equal lower job growth and lower per capita income.
New Hampshire, for instance, was clearly picked for one table to “prove” that New Hampshire’s low taxes lead to New Hampshire being 46th in job growth in 2012, while New Hampshire’s high per capita income failed to appear in the other table. Similarly, Dayton’s tables suggest that North Dakota’s job growth comes from its high tax collections, instead of the Bakken oil boom that has led to both North Dakota’s job growth and a gusher of energy-related tax revenue.
Dayton’s analysis also suffers from a tiny sample, a lack of statistical hypothesis testing, and the omission of any control variables. These serious statistical flaws mean that Dayton’s inference that higher taxes equal higher incomes and job growth is not supported by his methodology.
Most peer-reviewed research examining the aggregate effect of state taxes finds “a negative relationship between taxation and growth,” while a few papers “do not detect any significant negative impact of taxes on growth” according to a careful literature review by economists Ergete Ferede and Bev Dahlby in last September’s National Tax Journal. This literature review does not find a robust positive relationship between aggregate state taxes and income growth.
Research on the aggregate effects of taxes is complicated by several technical issues of data quality. Aggregate measures of taxes mix more- and less-distortionary types of taxes. Aggregation also conflates productive public expenditures with wasteful public expenditures.
Even careful analysis of the aggregate effects of typical state tax and spending patterns doesn’t provide the best guidance about the economic consequences of specific increases in taxes and spending.
A better way to understand the effects of higher taxes and spending is to consider each tax hike and spending program on a case-by-case basis.
Each dollar of government spending costs the private sector both the dollar taken from people in the private sector plus the economic damage from all the ways taxes distort decision-making.
People change their behavior in response to changes in taxes. Higher income tax rates are a disincentive to work, work overtime, or work multiple jobs. Higher income tax rates penalize education and on-the-job-training by lowering the after-tax rewards for investment in productive human capital.
At low tax rates, this economic damage from taxes is small. But at higher tax rates, these negative effects of taxes are larger.
The tax bills in St. Paul would increase effective marginal income tax rates above 50 percent for some primary earners and above 60 percent for affected secondary earners. In other words, these taxpayers would gain less than the government from additional hard work to earn another dollar of pre-tax wages.
At the proposed federal plus Minnesota income-tax rates, each extra dollar of government spending is likely to cost the private sector around $1.25 to $3. I applied standard economic formulas and the proposed tax rates to a range of estimated behavioral responses from other economists’ research to produce this imprecise estimate.
The logical case for higher taxes and spending requires explaining why the private sector should shrink by more than a dollar for each additional dollar spent by the public sector.
Gov. Dayton should lead elected officials from both parties to eschew flawed analysis in favor of careful enumeration and consideration of the real costs of additional taxes and the benefits of each spending program based on the best possible analysis.
John Spry of St. Paul is an associate professor in the Department of Finance at the University of St. Thomas. He’s on Twitter at @JohnASpry.",979,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00488.warc.gz,0.951192259788513
ab8eb294-60a9-49c2-9e16-2198c455ed28,2022-05-18T05:40:58+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://www.crystalleajewelry.com/products/1-2-sterling-silver-classic-hoop-earrings,"Hand forged in my studio, these gorgeous hoops are a staple and the perfect size for everyday wear. Also, perfect size for that young lady just starting out on her jewelry journey! Forged from sterling silver, shaped and lightly hammered to flatten giving them a shiny smooth, light catching design. Simple yet stunning!
Hoops measure approximately 1/2"" in diameter.
♥Please note that each piece of jewelry is handcrafted in my studio and may have slight variances from the items pictured. That's what's beautiful about the nature of handcrafted artisan jewelry, each piece is unique.
All jewelry from Crystal Lea Jewelry comes beautifully packaged in a gift box and tied in ribbon. If this is a gift being shipped directly to the recipient, please let me know and I will be glad to include a note from you.",169,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00009.warc.gz,0.93757301568985
bd05c65e-fb14-4324-9721-04ab26010b1d,2020-10-24T22:38:03+00:00,2007-01-01,0,https://systemscenter.ru/smsv4.en/html/4b701f3b-7694-4949-bbdb-ac0ef7d4aa03.htm,"Operating System Deployment (OSD) provides the Configuration Manager 2007 administrator with a tool for creating images that can be deployed to computers managed by Configuration Manager 2007, and to unmanaged computers using bootable media such as CD or DVD. The image, a Windows Image (WIM) format file, contains the desired version of a Microsoft Windows operating system and can also include any line-of-business applications that need to be installed on the computer. Operating System Deployment provides the following functionality:
- Image capture
- User state migration using the User State
- Image deployment
- Task sequences
Disconnected and Remote Deployment
You can deploy Windows via CD set or DVD with or without network connectivity. Windows PE, boot image, and applications can all be stored on removable media.
Advanced Task Sequencing
OSD offers a new task sequence editor with many built-in features that provide flexible operating system deployment options both with operating system deployments and for use with performing other related tasks.",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107885059.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024223210-20201025013210-00503.warc.gz,0.904436409473419
01c7706f-8e48-4648-81e7-229a6f45e0b3,2015-03-27T17:50:45+00:00,2011-11-01,0,http://www.movies.com/actors/dennis-haysbert/dennis-haysbert-biography/p281500,"Dennis Haysbert looks good in a suit, and his imposing frame and commanding voice make him ideal for roles as respected, but generally liked, authority figures. Although he does indeed excel at these types of roles, that isn't to suggest that the talented actor is without humor or a certain alluring charm. With a kindly face that suggests a sympathetic nature fronted by a confident exterior, Haysbert has excelled at portraying everything from detectives to presidential candidates, all undeniably convincing and with the sort of complex emotional texture that makes them entirely three-dimensional.
A San Mateo, CA, native and graduate of Pasadena's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the burgeoning actor made his earliest appearances on such television classics as [[Feature~V282908~Laverne & Shirley~laverneshirley[tvseries]]], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and [[Feature~V298996~The Incredible Hulk~theincrediblehulk[tvseries]]]. The made-for-television feature [[Feature~V124527~Code Red~codered]] provided Haysbert with his first substantial role, and after reprising that part in the subsequent television series based on the feature, he would appear sporadically in numerous small-screen series and features throughout the remainder of the 1980s. In 1989, Haysbert garnered his most substantial role up to that time, playing the voodoo-worshiping baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the sports comedy hit [[Feature~V30910~Major League~majorleague]]. His pitch-perfect comedic performance effectively launched his career into the 1990s, and Haysbert would later reprise the role in both of the film's sequels.
By the time of his supporting role in 1990's [[Feature~V34684~Navy SEALS~navyseals]], Haysbert was a recognizable face onscreen, and though audiences may not have committed his name to memory yet, roles in [[Feature~V33608~Mr. Baseball~mrbaseball]] (1992, again running the bases), [[Feature~V30289~Love Field~lovefield]] (1992), and [[Feature~V135459~Heat~heat]] (1995) proved he was a talent on the verge of stardom. Haysbert's memorable lead in the darkly comedic 1993 thriller [[Feature~V131189~Suture~suture]], though unseen by many as a result of poor distribution and advertising, proved once and for all that he was well capable of carrying a film. Though he was not given that particular opportunity in many of the movies that immediately followed [[Feature~V131189~Suture~suture]], the few in which he did lead found him remarkably effective and the remainder found him higher on the credits list than ever before. Haysbert's role in the short-lived Sci-Fi Channel series [[Feature~V181327~Now and Again~nowandagain[tvseries]]] may have drawn favorable reviews from critics and audiences (even earning the actor a Saturn award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films), but that wasn't enough to keep the series afloat. After one all-too-brief season on that show, the actor moved on to memorable roles in [[Feature~V180986~Random Hearts~randomhearts]] (1999) and [[Feature~V184522~Love and Basketball~lovebasketball]] (2000).
When the hit series [[Feature~V257810~24~24[tvseries]]] debuted in 2001, viewers discovered what the lucky few had been clued in to for years, and Haysbert's onscreen intensity proved an ideal match with the series' marked urgency. Haysbert's performance as presidential hopeful David Palmer proved so effective that he was not only nominated for a Golden Globe for the role in 2003, but an Image Award and a Screen Actor's Guild Award as well. Though an exhausting bi-coastal shuttle may have left Haysbert bleary-eyed as he maintained his role in [[Feature~V257810~24~24[tvseries]]] while also essaying a role in director [[Performer~P93836~Todd Haynes~toddhaynes]]' acclaimed drama [[Feature~V267273~Far From Heaven~farfromheaven]], his flawless performances on both the big and small screens proved that he was no longer a talent to watch for, but one with which to contend.
Haysbert would go on to appear in several films, like Breach and The Details. He would also enjoy notoriety in subsuquent years as the official spokesperson for Allstate Insurance, as well as a starring role on the TV series The Unit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi",994,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00218-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963442146778107
9424b4ae-0914-467f-a836-4ada5a596e0d,2020-10-23T05:48:03+00:00,2018-10-08,0,https://www.pff.com/news/pro-refocused-nfl-week-5-los-angeles-chargers-26-oakland-raiders-10,"PFF's ReFocused series this season features immediate takeaways and a key to the victory from two Senior Analysts who graded the performance, watching every player, on every play of the game. For more data and analysis from the game, utilize our Premium Stats 2.0 dashboard to expand your knowledge on the key players, signature stats and much more.
Los Angeles Chargers 26, Oakland Raiders 10
Rookie sensation Derwin James continues to make big plays. James quickly identified a Raiders' screen pass and made a tackle for a loss. However, James did get flagged for pass interference on an end zone fade to Jared Cook.
Philip Rivers carved up the Oakland defense completing over 80% of his passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns. Credit the offensive line for providing the time but we saw vintage Philip Rivers performance this afternoon.
Melvin Gordon was utilized often and had 120 yards from scrimmage. Combine that with Keenan Allen‘s 90 receiving yards, and the Chargers' top-two threats combined for 210 yards, which is a recipe for success any week.
Rookie left tackle Kolton Miller had a rough outing in pass protection with multiple hurries surrendered. Miller gave up an opening drive sack to Chargers' Ingram on an inside spin move. Miller also gave up a third-quarter sack to Darius Philon on an outside rush. Miller then gave up a fourth-quarter sack to Isaac Rochell on an inside move.
Martavis Bryant lost a costly fumble in the first half. Bryant also caught a deep crossing route for a 47-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders' defense wasn't able to get off the field on third down, as the Chargers converted over 50 percent of the time, which led to long sustained drives and a tiring defense. There were some bright spots on the defense, as rookies Arden Key and Maurice Hurst stood out among the front seven. Hurst did well at the point of attack and generated a few pressures.
The secondary had its troubles today with a few busted coverages leading to big gains and third down conversions. Not all the blame can be put on them, though. The defensive front didn't generate much pressure, which is asking for trouble against a veteran quarterback like Rivers.
Keys to the Game
Strong performances from Allen and Gordon helped Rivers pick apart the Raiders' defense with ease. Defensively, Ingram & Co. harassed Carr all day long.
Costly turnovers from Bryant and Carr paired with a poor defensive effort in the secondary made for an embarrassing loss for the Raiders in Los Angeles.",523,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880656.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023043931-20201023073931-00411.warc.gz,0.96307098865509
cdc89c71-2dc4-4caa-9e09-a718d7252002,2019-08-20T19:17:03+00:00,2019-01-28,1,https://fortune.com/2019/01/28/justice-department-criminal-charges-huawei-bank-fraud-obstruction-stealing-trade-secrets/,"U.S. Charges Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei With Bank Fraud, Obstruction, Stealing Trade Secrets
The U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, accusing the Chinese telecom-equipment giant of stealing trade secrets, obstructing justice, and committing bank fraud in an effort to skirt sanctions on Iran.
In a statement, the DOJ outlined 13 counts against Meng, Huawei, and two of its subsidiaries, Huawei Device USA Inc. and Skycom Tech Co., which were allegedly involved in an effort for Huawei to conduct business in Iran. In the process, Huawei misled global banks and U.S. authorities about its ownership with the subsidiaries, the department said.
The indictment says that Huawei falsely claimed to banks and U.S. investigators that it had sold off its interest in Skycom, its longstanding affiliate in Iran, in 2007 when in fact it controlled the company. Huawei USA, an American subsidiary, conspired to obstruct justice by destroying evidence and moving witnesses with knowledge of Skycom from the U.S. back to China.
The U.S. government is seeking the extradition of Meng, who was detained by Canadian authorities in December, against the objection of Huawei. Meng faces charges of wire and bank fraud for allegedly lying to Huawei’s banking partners about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom.
“Huawei and its subsidiaries, with the direct and personal involvement of their executives, engaged in serious fraudulent conduct, including conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, sanctions violations, money laundering and the orchestrated obstruction of justice,” U.S. Attorney Donoghue said in a statement. “For over a decade, Huawei employed a strategy of lies and deceit to conduct and grow its business.”
Separately, the DOJ announced a 10-count indictment against Huawei, accusing it of stealing trade secrets, committing wire fraud, and obstructing justice. Beginning in 2012, Huawei allegedly began stealing information from T-Mobile about a phone-testing robot, named “Tappy,” which tested smartphones by mimicking human fingers.
Huawei workers secretly took photos and measurements of Tappy and its parts, even stealing a piece of it, the DOJ claims, with the goal of helping Huawei build its own robot. When T-Mobile learned of the trade-secret theft, Huawei falsely claimed it was the work of rogue actors. In fact, company emails showed Huawei offered bonuses to employees who stole information from rival companies, the indictment said.",514,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315558.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820180442-20190820202442-00298.warc.gz,0.958803117275238
e4e88591-7f5c-4eba-b8c4-b4250ab6cb4c,2016-07-28T14:43:25+00:00,2013-04-01,1,http://m.kcra.com/news/Potential-buyer-has-big-plans-for-historic-Citrus-Heights-building/19555600,"A historic building in Citrus Heights is now on the market, and a potential buyer has big plans for the site.
Instead of demolishing the building that adorns the city's seal, Jim and Gene Rounsavell want to restore it and turn it into a center for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
""History needs someone to take care of it, there are a lot of memories in that building,"" the Rounsavells said.
Restoring the building is a gesture that would be appreciated by many who live in the community.
""I actually think back to when my grandmother was a kid -- I wish there was a time machine. I would love to see it then,"" Gary Brown said.
The building, known as the Old Sylvan School House, was built in 1863.
When a new school was built in 1927, it was moved down the road to its current location, where it became a community club house.
It has aged over time.
""We're going to need volunteers and contractors that can help us -- for instance, there is a roof that has to be replaced,"" Rounsavell said.
Today, the building is privately owned. It's being sold by trustees who are descendants of the Van Meren Family, of Citrus Heights.
One of the trustees told KCRA 3 the family received estimates of $100,000 to $600,000 to bring the building up to code and restore it to its historic condition.
They appreciate the goal of the potential buyer.
Jim Rounsavell is the founder of a nonprofit organization called Veterans Golf Park for Disabled Vets.
The building would be an extension of that program, but golf would not take place on the site.
When veterans aren't using it, it would be available for community use.
Ultimately, the city planning commission would have to approve the plans.
""We will work with them any way we can to make it go,"" Rounsavell said.
The potential owners say they are scheduled to close on April 26.",428,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828283.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00083-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.986821174621582
a46a7ecf-ef23-446c-bc5c-81ec1e790709,2013-06-18T22:32:40+00:00,2013-06-17,0,http://www.itfgaming.com/news/saints-row-humor-doing-more-harm-than-good/,"With Saints Row and series developer Volition now in the hands of Koch Media, Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski offered some advice on unlocking the franchise’s full potential. In a series of posts on Twitter, Bleszinski said Saints Row’s distinctive sense of humor was doing it more harm than good.
“Saints Row. Keep the crazy action and game mechanics. Lose the gimps and dildos and purple suits,” Bleszinski said in his first post. He continued, “If your average guy is embarrassed to be playing a sequence in a game when his wife walks in that’s a bad sign… The SR team is amazing. Dildo holds them back. It’s immature. Make an open world game that’s more Michael Mann/HEAT/Collateral/Training Day.”
Bleszinski added that Volition is one of the few developers who could actually compete with Rockstar and Grand Theft Auto in the open-world crime genre, but, “Once you put a dildo in your game it doesn’t matter if your controls, pacing, graphics are all great. You’re ‘that game with the dildo.’”
The developer did acknowledge that he found the dildo weapon in Saints Row: The Third to be hilarious, but added, “It doesn’t help industry perceptions.”",297,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939764261245728
6cb8c7ad-ec67-4202-9931-e32733047f80,2017-08-23T19:20:25+00:00,2017-03-24,1,http://www.yjc.ir/en/news/8440/un-launches-probe-of-crimes-against-rohingya-in-myanmar,"TEHRAN, March 24, YJC- The top United Nations human rights body agreed on Friday to send an international fact-finding mission to investigate widespread allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -
The 47-member state forum adopted a resolution by consensus, brought by the European Union (EU), that called for ""ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims.”
A UN report issued last month, based on interviews with 220 Rohingya among 75,000 who have fled to Bangladesh since October, said that Myanmar’s forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya in a campaign that ""very likely” amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing.
Myanmar’s delegation, referring to the resolution, said that ""such kind of action is not acceptable.”
Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where Rohingya are mainly based, has been under a military siege since October 2016 over a raid on a police post that was blamed on Rohingya-linked militants.
UN investigators, who interviewed Rohingya escapees in neighboring Bangladesh, have blamed Myanmar’s government forces for responding with a campaign of murder, gang rape and arson that they say may amount to genocide.
In report last month, Reuters cited two UN officials dealing with refugees fleeing violence as saying that some 1,000 Rohingya Muslims may have been killed in Myanmar’s army crackdown on the minority group.
Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, warned last week that the Southeast Asian country may be seeking to ""expel” all members of the Rohingya Muslim community from its territory.
Earlier this month, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine, led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, released a draft report highlighting the need for initiating independent and impartial investigations into widely-reported allegations of atrocities committed by Myanmar’s military forces against the minority group.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein as well as the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, recently called for the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the situation in Rakhine State.",480,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123359.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823190745-20170823210745-00485.warc.gz,0.940114378929138
d9489bf7-fc53-48b6-9a72-f360a1d13cd7,2022-05-17T23:57:13+00:00,2017-03-29,0,http://groupemetalguinee.com/us/products-Toddler-Baby-Boy-Overalls-43740.xhtml,"LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual, Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual LittleSring Toddler, Buy LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual and other Overalls at , Our wide selection is elegible for free shipping and free returns,Best Quality,time-limited Specials,High-End Contemporary Fashion,Affordable prices with Fast Delivery., Overalls Cute Casual LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy.
US X-Large=China 2X-Large:Length:23, A Good Choice For Casual Wear In Jeans, Add some style and personalization to art collection with one of our high quality street signs. Proudly Made in USA: Home & Kitchen. Trendy &Sweet Style Made Of Floral Designed Faux Leather. This is our ""Custom Listing"" which allows for full customization, Date first listed on : January 14, Printed on premium outdoor polyester fabric. MEASUREMENTS: 6x6mm Round Black Zirconia. Pre-Shrunk Cotton Long Sleeve Shirt. 98'' Size: XXXL US/EU Size: XL Bust: 116cm/45, Our wide selection is elegible for free shipping and free returns. The MERV 14 hypoallergenic pleated air filter is made of synthetic material that will not support the growth of mold and bacteria, Your kids will have the ultimate fun making slime with our add ins box set, Easy click button for opening and closing, Manufacturing Process: Laser Cut, Buy TOOLOUD Chihuahua Dog with Sombrero - Patchwork Design Boxers Shorts and other Boxers at. These snake skin womens cowboy boots feature a black crackle with python underlay and narrow fashion toe, please enter coupon code ENDIS15 at check out for 15% discount Here is how to use coupon code at check out:-. your parcel will be shipped standard which is safe, different width or an alternative metal just let us know. Postage is flat rate charged as follows:, You will just love these HAWAIIAN INSPIRED Designer Shipping Mailers and your customers will look forward to seeing them in their mailbox too, The bowl is signed on the bottom with a signature that starts with an S but I can't figure out the rest of the name. Purchase this listing to receive holiday table number templates that you can customize and print at your leisure. LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual. 6-9 Months - 16-20 lbs / 26-28 in, It has the reputation of helping self-control. Ruby Red a mixed color hand-dye, not under your chin (i do not recommend wearing it that way), or for simply treating yourself, The entire topper gives the effect of an exquisitely glowing and sparkly old world creation that is so much prettier than photos can show. 10 meters of Linhasita brand polyester waxed thread, PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN ORDERS MAY NOT REACH YOU IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS, Baby Alpaca Oversized Scarf - 100% ECO Baby Alpaca Wool (Grey/Natural) at Men’s Clothing store. Dishwasher safe for easy and convenient use. American Bar Association statistics indicate that time record keeping billable hour lawyers enjoy 42% greater net income than those that do not, 4G remote controller with 150m control range, refinement and performance offered by KIMPEX. Importer520 25Ft Extra Long PS4 Controller Charging Cable w/ Ferrite Core for Playstation 4 Dual Shock 4: Cell Phones & Accessories. This scary egg is not for the squeamish, If you order a certain quantity. Get 30% more extra space in our suitcase or carry on backpack, and free delivery on eligible orders, 160-Length: 85 CM-Sleeve: 54 CM-Bust: 44 CM-Shoulder: 36 CM, Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders, give you better skin touch feeling. Install Level shelf in any place you need. Lots of surface to help with your ball manipulation, Help keep your valuable items safe with the Diversion Safe, The stainless steel surfaces Also include a coarse grating plane ideal for cheddar and pepper Jack cheeses while the medium grate is perfect for Pecorino, LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual. Decorative Plaques Sign Please Do Not Disturb Wood Entrance Foyer Yard Sign: Home & Kitchen.
LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual: Clothing,Buy LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual and other Overalls at,Our wide selection is elegible for free shipping and free returns,100% Cotton,Button closure,Cute stars pattern,your boys will look more adorable,Soft,light and breathable fabric,a good choice for kids' tender skin,Extra little pocket at chest makes your little one much easier to hide a small toy when you go to the beach,that will be very interesting,Great for daily wear,casual,play outside,party,school,birthday gift,photoshoot and so on,Any feedback from you will keep LittleSpring moving forward and doing better,Thank you,Have a nice day,Product details Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No,Package Dimensions : 12,2 x 9,21 x 1,1 inches; 6,38 Ounces,Item model number : SLZ-K0114HI80,Department : Boys,Date First Available : March 29,2017,ASIN : B06XXZSJXX,LittleSpring timeless style will make your little one is always dressed in style,Clothing designed for children whose lifestyle are active,functional and adventurous,More fun,more comfort and more outstanding
Vous avez des questions ou besoin d'information? Contactez Métal Guinée par téléphone ou par courriel, rendez-vous à un bureau d'accueil ou un point de service.
+224 - 628 35 01 09
Carters Boys Character Snowsuit, Cremson Boys Classic Wool Look Winter Double Breasted John Dress Coat Jacket Hat, Funny Cool Streetwear YongColer Sweatshirts Pullover for Mens Boys. LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual, Geox Kids Boys Jr Snake 21 Little Kid/Big Kid, Mens Formal Bow Tie Solid Polyester Tuxedo Pre-Tied for Party Wedding Festiva. XINSHI Soft Warm Knitted Baby Hats Caps Cute Cozy Chunky Winter Infant Toddler Baby Beanies for Boys Girls.LittleSring Toddler Baby Boy Overalls Cute Casual, The Original Jr Polo.",1403,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520936.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517225809-20220518015809-00602.warc.gz,0.82221245765686
d8e34db0-e05d-46a3-b9e7-c02d918b6b00,2015-03-31T21:23:00+00:00,2010-08-13,0,http://www.wnyc.org/story/90939-lede-schumers-senate-cuomos-editorials/,"The Lede: Schumer's Senate, Cuomo's Editorials
Friday, August 13, 2010 - 08:51 AM
Schumer literally runs the senate single-handedly.
WSJ: ""The New York Democrat proposed passing the bill by 'unanimous consent,' meaning it would become law as long as no one objected. Mr. Cardin asked the empty room if anyone did, and, not surprisingly, response came there none. Just like that, the bill was on its way to the president's desk.""
NYT:""Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam who would run the center, led a prayer service at Gracie Mansion in 2009.""
DN: ""Union officials strenuously denied the firing was related to any unionization drive.""
Losing News Corp? NY Post: ""The Rangel party was a real test of Cuomo's seriousness as a corruption-fighter. Alas, he failed.""
WSJ: ""Mr. Cuomo shows no signs of dropping the remaining Spitzer claims against Mr. Greenberg.""
The Post gives lots of ink to Lazo's video, slamming Cuomo for attending Rangel's party.
Perennial candidate Wellington Sharpe briefly interferes with John Sampson's assault trial.
A NYS Democratic spokesman is, ""dismissing the idea that running for the City Council in a different state could distract Cohen from running the office of the state’s most powerful state senator.""
Campaign money comes from outside New York.
Bloomberg doesn't want a change to the city term limits law to target any one particular group of people.
AP: ""The mayor has expressed many different - and sometimes conflicting - views about term limits.""
DN: ""term limits on the mayoralty are wholly superfluous.""
70,000 city paychecks could be jeopardized.
DN: [NYS Comptroller Tom] DiNapoli has received nearly $130,000 from law firms representing the pension fund in such suits.""
State Senate candidate Tim Kennedy: ""If Mr. Coffey would have simply followed the paper trail, he could have avoided looking out-of-touch and hypocritical.""
Buffalo's view of the Islamic center near Ground Zero.
And Rangel responds to Obama's remark that he hopes the congressman ends his career ""with dignity.""",474,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00122-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95649641752243
059ef3b2-1cc5-4c31-ae45-f26ef7ffdb1a,2018-08-14T20:11:57+00:00,2018-07-19,1,https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/nasa-launches-toolkit-to-promote-commercial-use-of-satellite-data-1532084234-1,"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on July 19, 2018 launched the ‘Remote Sensing Toolkit’ to promote commercial use of satellite data.
This online toolkit was launched with an aim to make it easier for users to find, analyse and utilise the relevant satellite data for their research, business projects or conservation efforts.
Remote Sensing Toolkit
• The ""Remote Sensing Toolkit"" provides a simple system that quickly identifies relevant sources based on user input.
• The toolkit is designed to help users search for data, as well as ready-to-use tools and code to build new tools.
• This new tool makes finding and using NASA satellite data easier than ever before, and aims to spark innovation among the entrepreneurial community and lead to further commercialisation of NASA technology.
• It will help grow the number of users who put NASA’s free and open data archive to work for people.
NASA Technology Transfer Program
What led to the launch of this online toolkit?
• The NASA collects petabytes of data every year through its constellation of Earth observation satellites.
• The agency offers a variety of open source tools to access, analyse and utilise the data from these satellites to millions of science users, however, the access to such data remains daunting for many potential commercial users.
• Over the years, many organisations around the world have found innovative ways to turn NASA satellite data into beneficial information products here on Earth.
• The NASA Technology Transfer program reviewed more than 50 websites and found that no source provided a comprehensive collection of information or a single access point to begin a search and thereby, launched this toolkit.
Video: Check out the latest current affairs of this week
Parliament passes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018
Assam-NRC Draft can’t be basis of any action by any authority: SC
Government to soon introduce bill proposing death penalty for mob lynching
Ministry of Shipping issues new guidelines for improving treasury investment for Major Ports",424,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209562.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814185903-20180814205903-00183.warc.gz,0.872982978820801
f2e52d75-84a8-40ce-bae2-1a94acd19d28,2013-05-22T00:14:32+00:00,2010-03,0,http://twowheeledmadwoman.blogspot.com/2010/03/mcdonald.html,"Just as you have been, I've been following McDonald in the news and on the blogs. The early reports bode well, though I confess to a little discomfort at Alan Gura's schooling of Justice Sotomayor even though he was right. It's not as if she ever was or will be a friend to the Second Amendment and cultivating her does us no good, but she and her peers take their elevated positions very seriously.
It may not matter; even the usual anti-rights sources indicate a high probability of five votes for incorporation, possibly more depending on the delicate balance between ""keep"" and ""bear"" that frets some of the more liberal Justices. ...Can't hurt that Chicago's attorney walked all over the Supremes far more rudely, either.
Whatever the decision, considerable latitude for draconian regulation will remain; Mr. McDonald has no doubt already studied Washington, D.C.'s registration and permitting process and if the Court agrees that the intent of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments was not that he be left with no defense other than a shotgun, thousands of his fellow-Chicagoans may soon embark on the same voyage of discovery.
But say it goes the other way, what then? Same as winning, at least in IL: Back to the grind. There's only one (1) state left that absolutely forbids the bearing of arms and despite wide popular support outside Chicago and a remarkably strong gunnie community, there's a lot of work still to be done.
DAYTON HAMVENTION 2013
2 days ago",316,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967549800872803
c8fdd0cb-6536-4f14-9f6b-8138590c99d7,2018-08-19T05:29:50+00:00,2018-07-01,1,https://www.mro-network.com/technology/aircraft-data-ownership-debate-ongoing,"The continuing shift to data-based predictive maintenance brings rewards and challenges. Richard Brown, a principal at ICF’s aerospace practice, estimates $3 billion in potential maintenance savings alone. One challenge will be exploiting all the data from the new e-enabled aircraft, which Brown thinks will rise from 3% of current fleets to 45% by 2025.
Another challenge is ensuring all that lucrative data gets to companies that can extract the maximum value from it for the industry as a whole. That is a happy challenge, but not without some controversy.
- OEMs have used aggregated operational data to improve maintenance programs and extended intervals
- Predictive maintenance could save $3 billion
- The right-to-use issue is a hot topic among OEMs and maintainers
Absent agreements to the contrary, data is owned by the company that generates it. OEMs own the design and test data that is gold before a new aircraft or engine launches. Airlines and MRO shops own operating and repair data that becomes increasingly valuable as aircraft fly.
Data ownership has been a contentious issue, especially in an aircraft purchase, says David Marcontell, vice president of Cavok, a division of Oliver Wyman. But the consensus is that operating and maintenance data belong to airline operators.
With tens of thousands of data points culled monthly, Pratt & Whitney’s “big data” analytics capability provides tailored support to customers.
Credit: Pratt & Whitney
OEMs might prefer to own this data, but many operators agree to share raw data with OEMs so they can improve their products. And once OEMs aggregate data from multiple sources, OEMs own this valuable aggregation and can do what they like with it. However, airlines have an interest in preventing disclosure of airline-specific data that could harm their competitive position.
Operators often share data from flights, ground operations, in-house maintenance and outsource shops with OEMs, even if they are not on flight-hour support by the OEMs, simply so products can be improved. Data-based improvements by OEMs have been significant such as improved maintenance programs and extended intervals based on nonroutine cards from heavy checks. This kind of sharing is generally freely given; airlines are not in the business of selling data.
Operational and maintenance data is usually the most valuable for predictive maintenance, especially as flying experience is gained. However, maintainers also need the fault logic of a system or component, derived from OEM fault isolation manuals. After that, it is experience in failures and fixing them that airlines accumulate so valuably.
But when a new aircraft is launched, there is no operating data. Early monitoring and predictive systems are populated with data from the OEMs’ design and test programs. This initial data is later refined or superseded by airline operating data.
That is one reason flight-hour support in the first third of aircraft life is almost always provided by the OEMs, which can best estimate frequency and cost of repairs. Usually, flight-hour programs from major integrators become important afterward, although major airline MROs may begin offering valuable predictive maintenance algorithms well before this.
The OEMs that own that initial design and test data can be a combination of airframe prime OEMs, like Airbus and Boeing, and Tier 1 suppliers, which are increasingly given responsibility for design and testing of their systems and may be allowed to handle aftermarkets independently.
Marcontell expects continued debates on data ownership and sharing. But he also expects that data will be shared, one way or another, with the companies that can best exploit it for predictive maintenance.
Brown notes that global airline MROs are entering the predictive market, such as Lufthansa Technik with Condition Analytics and Air France-KLM E&M with Prognos. But their approach differs from OEMs’ who use “big data” to analyze massive data sets; integrators focus on specific and frequent reliability or cost issues caused by certain components.
The OEM Approach
Boeing works with airlines on data analytics to improve fuel efficiency, flight planning, crew assignment and maintenance, including predictive maintenance. Predictive efforts require data from many sources, including OEM design and test data, operational and performance data from airlines, and maintenance and component data from shops.
This major U.S. OEM says operators regularly share data with it and other providers to generate data-driven predictions. The company believes this trend will increase as providers show they can improve predictions. Boeing will continue to develop its predictive tools, including machine learning, text analytics, modeling, simulation and decision-support software.
Engine-makers have been at the predictive game the longest. Lynn Fraga, business analytics manager at Pratt & Whitney, cites engineering design data; configurations of engines delivered; maintenance and part-repair records; operational data such as utilization, one-offs and disruptions; ERP data and health-monitoring and environmental data as key to her needs.
Honeywell’s MyMaintainer app and web-based system is designed to simplify fault analysis.
Fraga says data ownership varies by type and agreements, and partnerships and joint ventures also matter. “Right to use should be a part of data ownership discussions.” She advocates facilitating efficient access to data for safety, reliability and other purposes.
Pratt is most interested in data that improves safety and reliability and supports contract obligations. As companies expand their digital strategies, this may mean obtaining data from nontraditional sources. “Data sharing is about change management, new-use cases and insights, not just technology and data,” Fraga says.
Pratt has formed a cross-industry team focused on best practices in data sharing. The team is identifying the minimum data required by each business segment and examining data-sharing challenges, including which data need retention and where data gaps still exist.
Honeywell provides predictive maintenance on auxiliary power units (APU) for airlines, on engines for smaller aircraft, and is developing predictive algorithms for environmental controls, wheels and brakes. Bharathan Aravamudhan, senior product manager, says several types of data are needed: fault data, operating data such as exhaust gas temperatures, log data on repair actions and Honeywell’s own design and test data.
Typically, Honeywell offers a valuable service to an aircraft operator, which then tends to share data on faults, shop actions and operations. Airlines get the shop data from in-house facilities or MROs.
Honeywell runs the predictive system on APUs, while a service company uses Honeywell algorithms and operator data to advise clients on engines. Aravamudhan says the biggest challenge is making data-sharing work. That’s why: “We create pipes in the air or on the ground to pull the data.”
Airline MROs Stress Experience
For predictive maintenance, Lufthansa Technik (LHT) needs all data generated by aircraft and components each day, including flight, maintenance and shop data. Holger Appel, program manager for monitoring, diagnosis and prognosis, says this enables LHT to monitor aircraft systems with precision and merge information with failures and component behavior on the ground. “This combination of data sources enables us to make precise predictions on a component level,” he notes. Going one step further, data on weather and airports may find links between component failures and these variables, such as harsh climates or runway lengths.
LHT uses shop data to validate removals based on predictions. The challenge here is optimizing predictions so “No Fault Founds” are minimized and “Mean Time Between Removals” maximized. Optimization is only possible with shop data on the condition of removed components.
Lufthansa Group generates and owns all these data sets. It does not need to find workarounds for missing data or negotiate with other firms. Even if it does not get all the data from its predictive maintenance clients, the group has enough to do predictions.
Appel says OEM design and test data are not used by LHT for predictive maintenance: “This data is not relevant for actual problems; here, actual operations data are more valuable.”
In any case, Appel says there are now no general agreements for sharing this data today, except when it affects flight safety, in which case all relevant data is shared. Sharing nonsafety data would require decisions on the value of data and what the data owner gains by sharing it. “Do I strengthen a possible competitor by sharing? What is the aim of the company I give my data to? Will I benefit?” he asks.
Nevertheless, “the more data you gather, the more analysis you can run,” stresses Rodolphe Parisot, vice president for digital and innovation at AFI-KLM E&M. The practical effect of this general principle depends on the complexity of system to be predicted.
For example, Prognos predictions for the Airbus A380 are far more accurate when AFI-KLM E&M combines maintenance data with aircraft condition and usage data. Parisot says this is an advantage of having both airline and maintenance experience. The MRO can improve predictions with maintenance data from component and engine shops.
In free markets, data, like other goods, will flow to those who can extract the maximum value. The only real question is on what terms. c",1942,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214702.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819051423-20180819071423-00564.warc.gz,0.931926488876343
8d812f5a-6051-4f42-9f27-213537473bbc,2018-08-15T18:22:49+00:00,2018-03-31,0,https://www.thrivenutritionmn.com/blog/2018/3/31/the-obesogen-effect,"Being overweight is not just the result of diet or not enough exercise. According to leading-edge science, there are silent saboteurs in our daily lives that contribute significantly to our obesity epidemic: obesogens. These weight-inducing offenders, most of which are chemicals, disrupt our hormonal systems, alter how we create and store fat, and change how we respond to dietary choices. Because they are largely unregulated, obesogens lurk all around us: in food, furniture, plastic products such as water bottles and food storage containers. Research has even shown that the effects of some obesogens can be passed on to future generations by irreversibly interfering with the expression of our genes. The good news is we can protect ourselves by becoming more informed consumers.",153,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210249.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815181003-20180815201003-00524.warc.gz,0.946672320365906
ed5e93a3-cfa4-4dea-bbc1-331a17404d89,2015-03-30T10:43:13+00:00,2012-10-09,1,http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Science/2012/Oct-09/190726-s-africa-eyes-cash-for-super-telescope.ashx,"CARNARVON, South Africa: South Africa has started negotiations with foreign partners to help fund the construction of the world's next generation radio telescope, officials said ahead of a visit by President Jacob Zuma Tuesday.
South Africa is building the world's most powerful radio astronomy telescope - the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) -- which is set to dwarf any other existing astronomy instrument.
The SKA project will suck in a broad investment expected to run to billions of US dollars, a bill South Africa expects its partners in the deal will have to pick up part of.
The bulk of the project will be built in South Africa's remote and arid south west in the Karoo region.
""Obviously South Africa is making a contribution, but the bulk of the money will be coming from member countries of the SKA consortium,"" Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom, told AFP.
SKA project director Bernie Fanaroff, told reporters late Monday ahead of Zuma's tour of the project site, that since Africa's economic and political powerhouse won the bid to host the SKA in May, negotiations have now turned to the ""nitty-gritty"" of the deal.
The two key agreements that parties to project are currently busy with are the funding and the hosting agreements, said Fanaroff.
""The funding agreement is always a big issue... all of the countries now are having to commit themselves to what part of the total cost of the SKA they will pay,"" said Fanaroff.
""Everyone at this stage is in a situation of financial stringency... So it is a fairly intensive negotiation,"" said Fanaroff.
But what is emerging clearly is that governments will make conditional commitments -- that they will part with their cash provided their own industries get contracts in the projects such as the supply of antennas, dishes or radio receivers, he added.
In all, the massive SKA radio telescope will link 3,000 antenna dishes. It will allow astronomers to see distant galaxies and to shed new light on fundamental questions about the universe, including how it began, why it is expanding and whether it contains life beyond our planet.
Aside from the co-hosts South Africa and Australia, other countries so far taking part in the SKA project are Britain, Canada, China, India, the Netherlands and Sweden. Germany is joining in weeks. Japan and South Korea have expressed interest.",492,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00241-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.956349015235901
cbde539a-bf7b-4f7f-ba53-7a5f0a163f73,2020-10-24T09:02:09+00:00,2020-09-29,0,https://cannibalsgazette.com/2020/09/29/window-shopping-with-letranger/,"In a mall, pressing against those glass exteriors fronting numerous interchangeable shops; it could be an emporium dedicated to exclusive Provençal face cream- whatever, I stare inside like a piqued Martian. Part of the reason I’m outside involves exogenous factors: born into a small family flat, rented by unhappy parents, battling, blaming, adventurously polygamous, accusatory, uneducated, inarticulate, unconfident yet enthusiastically domestically violent, unskilled migrants, without faith, property, land, gold reserves, fine art collectables, off-shore bank accounts, cash savings, family assistance, or career prospects- showing little love, or interest, in my siblings or myself; separating before I graduated from primary school. In the fullness of time, unprepared, socially disconnected, & without any access to material resources, I set out to survive, &, as much as possible, avoid repeating the miseries experienced whilst resident with my progenitors. Sounds like a plan, but this leads to the endogenous factors i.e. being an average person, minus star qualities, & incapable of earning much beyond what is required just to keep a roof over my head (which technically means I am inside, but you likely understand my drift). I’ll add mention of my dandruff issues, & man-boobs, & we’ve pretty much covered everything.
Story: Evan Findlay Hay
Art: Nails Nathan",303,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882103.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024080855-20201024110855-00102.warc.gz,0.915915787220001
8c47bce9-b15c-45c1-94a4-54a90b99701c,2022-05-27T21:09:12+00:00,2022-05-26,0,https://livingstonalumni.org/frank-carvill-lc75-new-jersey-national-guard-sergeant-killed-iraq-2004,"Last updated on May 26, 2022
Sgt. Francis T. (Frank) Carvill (LC’75) of Carlstadt, NJ, 51, a member of the New Jersey National Guard serving in Iraq, was killed June 4, 2004, when his convoy was ambushed by a roadside explosive device in the Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad. He was one of five soldiers killed in that attack, during which three other New Jerseyans were wounded.
In 2004 the Livingston Alumni Association of Rutgers University posthumously honored Carvill as a Livingston College Distinguished Alumnus.
Sgt. Carvill and the other soldier, Spc. Christopher Duffy, 26, were the first New Jersey National Guard servicemen to die in the Iraq war. The two men, from the 112th Field Artillery unit based in Lawrenceville, Mercer County, were part of Task Force Baghdad, made up primarily of elements of the Texas-based 1st Cavalry Division, said division spokesman Lt. Col. James Hutton. Two other New Jersey National Guardsmen were killed in a similar ambush the following day.
According to his sister, Peggy Ligouri, Carvill had survived both terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993 and 2001. On September 11, 2001, he was working in the North Tower as a paralegal for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He was helping a co-worker with a disability get into a van to go to a court appearance in Brooklyn when he saw the first plane hit the building.
Carvill was the second Livingston College alumnus killed in Iraq. Seth Dvorin (LC’02) was killed March 3, 2004.",349,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663006341.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527205437-20220527235437-00610.warc.gz,0.979767084121704
1a2e6ba9-5ada-4336-89d5-d62cec05ecb7,2018-08-19T12:04:53+00:00,2015-05-05,1,https://irumorsnow.com/2015/05/05/apple-watch-is-a-miniature-replica-of-the-original-iphone/,"With its small screen and 0.46-inch thickness, the original iPhone from 2007 looks like an antique these days. Put it next to the Apple Watch, however, and it’s remarkable how similar the two devices look in terms of their design language.
At 0.45 inches, the Apple Watch is ever so slightly thinner, but its rounded edges, color and overall aesthetic certainly appear reminiscent of the first-generation Apple handset, don’t you think?
That’s not a knock on the Apple Watch. Yes, the iPhone has gotten thinner and even more gorgeous in the years since Steve Jobs unveiled it, but Cupertino’s wearable remains a beautiful piece of industrial design by Jony Ive, who stewarded the Apple Watch to completion more than anyone else at Apple.
It is exciting, however, when you think about what this means for future Apple Watches. Less than a decade after the iPhone was unveiled, the iPhone 6 is a super-slim 6.9mm thickness (0.27 inches).
What will the Apple Watch of 2023 look like? We’ll have to wait and see, but the Twittersphere is certainly excited about the journey to get there.",253,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215077.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819110157-20180819130157-00422.warc.gz,0.950890123844147
96739f04-b753-4562-aa67-75a0c1193f1b,2016-07-31T03:36:16+00:00,2014-01-15,0,https://trustarts.org/production/37670,"Back by “Popular” demand. Variety calls WICKED ""a cultural phenomenon,” and when it last played Pittsburgh in 2011, it broke box office records and sold out in record time. Winner of over 50 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards, WICKED is “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” (The New York Times).
Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the land of Oz. One - born with emerald green skin - is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for ""the most complete - and completely satisfying - new musical in a long time"" (USA Today).
WICKED is recommended for children ages 8 and older. Children under four will not be admitted.
$25 Seat Lottery! A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held for WICKED January 15 through February 9. Two and one-half hours prior to each performance, people who wish to participate in the lottery must present themselves at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue. Participants will have their names placed in a lottery drum; thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person. Lottery participants must have a valid photo ID when submitting their entry form and, if chosen, when purchasing tickets.",335,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258948913.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072908-00312-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94922536611557
47f0ff49-d591-4619-ad81-b9dc1ded9a7c,2022-05-20T07:34:06+00:00,2022-02-22,1,https://www.stateandlocaltax.com/digital-economy/south-dakota-bill-proposes-to-exempt-data-center-it-equipment/,"South Dakota Senate Bill 157 proposes an exemption from gross receipts tax for sales of “enterprise information technology equipment” and software in excess of $2 million used in South Dakota data centers. Enterprise information technology equipment eligible for the exemption includes: (i) computer hardware, servers, routers, cooling systems and towers; (ii) temperature control and power infrastructure; (iii) exterior dedicated business-owned substations, and (iv) racking systems and other equipment necessary to maintain and operate a qualified data center. A qualifying data center is a South Dakota facility with a primary purpose to serve as a centralized repository for the storage, management, and dissemination of electronic information and data. This proposal would be restricted to data centers completed or “substantially refurbished” after December 31, 2021. Currently, the bill is set for a hearing before the South Dakota house commerce and energy committee on February 23, 2022.",186,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00022.warc.gz,0.925617277622223
f5ceb999-684a-453d-8951-b496e0961135,2016-07-23T15:00:44+00:00,2011-11-01,1,http://www.kforcegov.com/Services/IS/NightWatch/NightWatch_11000220.aspx,"For the night of 1 November 2011
South Korea: In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro published Tuesday, South Korean President Lee said that an inter-Korean summit should take place -- and he is ready for one -- only when it can contribute to peace and stability between the divided states.
""There is no principle that I have to meet with Kim Chong-Il during my term. But as I stated many times before, I am ready for talks with him if it is necessary,"" Lee said in the interview.
""An inter-Korean summit should be able to specifically contribute to bringing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. I should also be able to move forward economic cooperation between the South and the North. I have no intention at all to meet with Kim Chong-il only for political purposes.""
Comment: Lee's statements in Russia echo like the hardline tone the president used early in his administration. It is noticeably different from the more conciliatory tone Lee has used in talking with US officials.
Iraq-Iran-Turkey: Iraqi leaders declined offers from Iran and Turkey to train its military due to the situation's sensitivity, an unnamed senior Iraqi official said on 1 November. Iraq prefers not to receive training assistance from neighboring countries because Iraq is unable to accept help from one state and not from another, the official said.
Comment: Without the US acting as referee, Iraq cannot accept training assistance from its more powerful neighbors. To do so would be tantamount to declaring political, military and religious alignment. India, China and France would be competent, alternative and neutral trainers willing to accept Iraqi petro-dollars.
Saudi Arabia: The Saudi government will not compromise with Iran regarding the alleged assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador to the US because it is unnecessary, Saudi Crown Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz said during a news conference on 1 November. Saudi Arabia is ready to deal with any situation by any means necessary, he said.
Comment: The issue of the alleged assassination plot is the first public relations test of the new Crown Prince who has a reputation for sternness and devotion to Sunni Islamic observance. Today's press conference tended to confirm his reputation.
Israel: Security. The government has authorized the armed forces to take all necessary measures to stop rocket fire from Gaza, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official said on 1 November. Israel's response will be proportionate to the attack; a ground offensive is possible but only in response to a massive rocket attack, the official said.
Earlier today, 1 November, Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said that the continued rocket fire from Gaza has created an unbearable situation in southern Israel. Israel is nearing a dramatic decision that will put an end to the attacks.
Shalom said Israel will act directly against the terrorist infrastructure and heads of terrorist organizations. Israel cannot accept a situation in which the lives of millions of its citizens are in danger and it must regain its power to deter terrorist attacks, which has decreased since Operation Cast Lead, the three-week joint forces, punitive operation in Gaza in December 2008 to stop rocket attacks.
Politics. Israel has agreed to delay expanding its military operations in the Gaza Strip so that Egypt can have more time to dissuade Palestinian militants from firing rockets into southern Israel, an Egyptian official said on 1 November. According to the official, Egypt had asked for a 24-hour delay to en able the Egyptians to try to bring militant Palestinian factions to a cease-fire. The official also said Israel plans operations in the area beyond its current airstrikes.
Comment: Expect more fighting in Gaza as the security situation deteriorates. The Palestinian leaders in Gaza apparently have interpreted Israeli willingness to exchange prisoners as a sign of weakness and lack of resolve. They are putting their assessment to the test in the latest round of rocket attacks. A stern Israeli military response is unavoidable.
Greece: Greek lawmakers rebelled against Prime Minister George Papandreou's surprise call for a popular referendum on the new debt deal with Greece's foreign lenders. Papandreou announced he will seek a vote of confidence from the Greek Parliament this week.
The revolt by lawmakers and a no-confidence vote planned for Thursday or Friday raise the prospect of a government collapse that would not only render the referendum plan moot but likely scuttle - or at least delay - the debt deal that European leaders agreed on after marathon negotiations in Brussels last week
Papandreou must resign, according to six members of Pasok, the country's governing party. A Pasok lawmaker defected from the party, reducing Papandreou's parliamentary majority. Another Pasok lawmaker called for ""a government of national unity.""
Comment: Greek politicians are only willing to take collective responsibility for the austerity required by the bailout plan. Some, like Papandreou, apparently hope to take political advantage of nation-wide hostility to the outside intervention, which would be manifest in a likely negative vote in a national referendum.
Such a vote would reject the austerity measures and result in a Greek default on sovereign debt. That would mean that European governments and banks would get repaid for none of the past short-term bailouts in addition to other non-performing Greek obligations. Greece would be forced to leave the Euro community and would experience recession, if not depression, as the economy re-valued itself.
This situation exemplifies the difference between risk and threat. A Greek default with its ripple effects across Europe is more than a risk; it is an actionable probability of real harm, which makes it a threat. The banks acted to protect against risk, but have not reacted to the indicators of threat. Damage looks unavoidable.
End of NightWatch for 1 November.
NightWatch is brought to you by Kforce Government Solutions, Inc. (KGS), a leader in government problem-solving, Data Confidence® and intelligence. Views and opinions expressed in NightWatch are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of KGS, its management, or affiliates.
A Member of AFCEA International
Back to NightWatch List",1233,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823072.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00040-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961117327213287
9721ba65-445f-4436-b671-b71a03fdbb1f,2015-04-01T23:11:22+00:00,2013-07-15,1,http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/comment/1438780,"Wounded Knee for Sale: Still No Depp Deal, But Oglala Sioux Negotiating
After no word from Johnny Depp about buying Wounded Knee, Oglala Sioux Tribe President Bryan Brewer and three members of the Descendants of Wounded Knee met with James Czywczynski, the owner of the land, on July 14 hoping to come to some sort of agreement.
After putting the site of Wounded Knee on the market for $3.9 million and another parcel near Porcupine Butte, South Dakota for $1 million in May, Czywczynski has still not been able to sell. Brewer says Czywczynski might have a better chance of selling the land with a blessing from the tribe. Brewer hopes to work a deal with Czywczynski that could benefit everyone.
“I made a proposal that if we okayed the sale of the land to be returned to the tribe, he could benefit from it and also make a donation to the Descendants of Wounded Knee,” Brewer told ICTMN. “This could be a place for education for our people and for the outsiders. Right now, no one is benefitting from this. The descendants were never going to benefit from this.”
The tribe is asking Czywczynski to split the proceeds from the sale of Wounded Knee 50/50. Brewer said the arrangement is not negotiable and if it was not honored the tribe would seek to take the land back through the process of eminent domain. If this process is successful, Czywczynski would only receive fair market value. The Rapid City Journal has reported the appraised value of his land is $7,000.
“I told him, the way it is right now, you are not going to get anything. Our tribe has voted to possibly look at enforcing eminent domain to take the land back, but then he would get nothing. This way, we would get the land back, he would get the money, and the descendants would get money so that we could do something for the wounded knee site,” Brewer said.
According to Native Sun News managing editor Brandon Ecoffey, who was at the meeting, the conversation sometimes became heated between Czywczynski and the descendants, who feel anyone profiting from the land at Wounded Knee is looking for blood money.
According to documents brought to the meeting by the descendants, the land at Wounded Knee was originally sold for $1,000 to Clive and Agnes Gildersleeve by a Lakota couple named Mattie Good Medicine-Looking Horse and Lois Good Medicine. Descendant Linda Hollow Horn said she had documentation Czywczynski bought Wounded Knee from the Gildersleeves for $1,000, Czywczynski has said he paid $750,000 for the land. RELATED: Mad As Hell: The Man Looking to Sell Wounded Knee
After the meeting, Czywczynski told Native Sun News he did not have any comment other than he would seriously consider the offer.
“The meeting went well and I believe this is a win-win for everyone,” Brewer told ICTMN.
In the interim, nobody has heard anything from Depp about buying the land, something he said he’d like to do during an interview with the Daily Mail. RELATED: Owner of Wounded Knee Eager to Sell to Johnny Depp
“Not a word. Everybody keeps asking me,” Czywczynski said. “I have a friend trying to get through to his publicist to see if this is legitimate or if it is a hoax. All of the journalists are calling me from all over the country even the New York Times, and the Denver Post… Nothing yet.”
You need to be logged in in order to post comments
Please use the log in option at the bottom of this page",829,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00140-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966610908508301
f27a7a1f-e641-403e-96a6-f0201b856b8e,2022-05-19T05:59:26+00:00,2014-01-01,1,https://www.businessinsa.com/welness/,"Join GlobalBizzNetwork and start your international business network today.
Health & wellness
Naturally healthy food products volume sales on the rise
Manufacturers continue to focus on making products that contain ingredients that provide natural benefits to consumers whilst ensuring no added costs to the final price. Categories such as bottled water continued to see upward movement in volume sales with products such as natural mineral water holding greater appeal to consumers seeking mineral supplements and low calorie intake from the beverages they consume.
Private label food products gain momentum
The level of competition in South Africa continues to increase as the mainstream retailers increasingly shift their focus towards developing private label food products in order to remain competitive. Retailers are seen to increase the shelf space allocated to private label food products whilst also actively promoting such products. In-store product tasting is one way in which they are stimulating demand since most consumers still have a negative perception towards the quality of most private label products. Healthy food products are seeing increased shelf space amongst the private label food products including beverages.
Product variety continues to drive volume sales for healthy food and drink products
Retailers are increasingly seen to broaden their brand and product portfolio relative to healthy food products across South Africa with an aim to reach out to health conscious South Africa. Retailers such a Woolworths have gained a reputation of selling health oriented products and consumers can now easily relate to such type of products with less need to promote the products although it is essential.
Supermarkets dominate the distribution of healthy food and drink products across South Africa
Consumers continue to make use of the supermarket channel to purchase grocery items including beverages, across South Africa. Supermarkets remain popular due to their wider product coverage which gives consumers a wider choice when it comes to both price and quality. Healthy beverages and food products continue to secure more shelf space in supermarkets across the country, whilst other retail channels such as forecourt retailers and independent retailers would focus on products with a high turnover rather than have a wide product range which may take longer to sell.
Persistent promotional activities expected to boost volume sales growth over the forecast period
Growth of the healthy food market is expected to receive a boost from increased marketing efforts by both manufacturers and retailers over the forecast period. The use of in-store sales representatives to provide samples for customer tasting and explaining the benefits of consuming such products, are expected to be methods employed by retailers and manufacturers to try and reach out to consumers who are still less informed about the benefits of consuming healthy beverages.
Welness sector in SA is booming
The wellness sector in South Africa is booming in everything from cosmetics and vitamin pills to gyms
- Western Cape’s exports of beauty or make-up preparations including sunscreen was worth ZAR565m in 2012 growing by 41% from 2011.Western Cape export of vitamins increased by 110% from 2011 to 2012.
- South African global exports in the beauty and wellness industry rose sharply from 2012 to 2013, increasing by 54% in 2013.
- Zimbabwe was the leading destination market for beauty and wellness products from South Africa in 2013, demanding three times more than Zambia, South Africa’s second largest export market. Six out of the top ten destination markets are other African countries.
- South Africa is the 30th largest destination market for global FDI projects in this sector and the 14th largest destination market in terms of capex.
The change in campaigns advertisement companies made regarding this booming market give some interesting insides:
A large percentage of scholars are also taking wellness advertising into consideration. This affords the advertisement companies to a number of opportunities for campaigns tailored to create relevant conversations amongst the youth market.
- 44% of scholars tend to look out for health and beauty adverts.
- The majority of people who tend to look out for health and beauty ads are aged between 25 and 34.
- 4 out of 10 women tend to look out for health and wellness adverts.
- 43% of people who tend to look out for health and wellness adverts are between the ages of 35 and 44.
- The majority of people who tend to look out for health and beauty ads are based in Gauteng (51%)",847,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00412.warc.gz,0.955766260623932
b24457e4-fa34-40f1-8a64-a5c4904c9ebf,2020-10-28T20:08:17+00:00,2015-01-07,0,https://jafrianews.com/2015/01/08/mcdonald-using-sub-standard-meat-in-pakistan-china-and-japan/,"JNN 07 Jan 2015 LAHORE: A PML-N Punjab Assembly member has revealed that a multinational food chain, McDonalds, imported 71 tonnes of substandard meat into Pakistan and some multinational companies earned $230 million in the country and sent it abroad.
Speaking in the Punjab Assembly on Friday, he protested that the government could not force close even a single outlet of any multinational food chain even for serious violation of rules, adding that those companies were not sacred cows which could not be prosecuted in Pakistan. He said billions of dollars were being made by these multinational companies here but Pakistanis did not even know what they were being served at these fast food centres.
He said these companies were importing oil made from the fat of pig on the pretext of making soap from it and using it for cooking their products. In his reply, Punjab Food Minister Bilal Yasin admitted failure of the Punjab food authority and his department to tackle the serious crime of food adulteration and the use of expired products by restaurants across the province.
Faced with criticism over the use of expired meat imported by the chain of restaurants, Yasin confessed to the rise of dangerous adulteration of food and beverages. On the instructions of the speaker, the minister expressed his disappointment with malpractices of restaurant and factory owners in Punjab. He pointed to a restaurant located on MM Alam Road, which he claimed to have used bones for the owner’s dogs stored in the fridge along with other ingredients used by the restaurant cooks.
McDonald Sale Stopped in Japan
McDonald’s has stopped the sales of chicken nuggets across Japan, after a piece of vinyl was found in one nugget at a chain in northern prefecture of Aomori.
The fast-food giant only stopped selling pieces that came from a Thai production facility: vinyl was found in one of the nuggets that had been made there.
The Japanese branch of the food chain has been producing Chicken McNuggets at three facilities in Thailand, following the scandal with the company Shanghai Husi Food Co. which was accused of using expired meat in its food – and sending it to McDonald’s, as well as other major food chains.
The nugget in question, found at an outlet in the city of Misawa, has been sent to the McDonald’s headquarters in Tokyo to be examined.
“We are starting to investigate how this could have happened,” a company spokeswoman has said, AFP reported.
The chain stopped sales of nuggets that were produced at the Thai plant in question on the same day that the nugget was made, the spokesman said.
Last month, the food chain temporarily halted sales of medium and large French fries over the labor dispute at US West Coast ports. On January 5, though, the sales were resumed.
Mc Donald and KFC using Expired Meat in China :
Chinese branches of fast food chains, including McDonald’s and KFC, have stopped using meat from a supplier in Shanghai following allegations it sold them out of date meat.
According to Xinhua, the state-owned news agency, authorities in Shanghai have ordered the suspension of operations at Shanghai Husi Food Co.
Reports by local media said that Husi had re-processed expired meat products.
McDonald’s and KFC said they had stopped using meat from Husi.
In a statement posted on its website, translated from Mandarin, the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration said it had “decided to investigate claims of the alleged use of expired raw food material production and the processing of it in food”.
Shanghai Husi is the Chinese unit of US-based food supplier OSI Group.
According to OSI’s website, the company’s unit in China “started to provide high-quality products to McDonald’s China” in 1992.
The unit began supplying Yum China in 2008. Yum China manages the KFC and Pizza Hut chains and its sales have been hit by recent health scares.
Yum’s sales dipped after a report in 2012 said two of its suppliers were providing chickens with excessive levels of antibiotics.
Just as the firm was recovering from those allegations, fears of an outbreak of bird flu in the country dented its sales.
Benjamin Cavender from consultancy China Market Research Group, based in Shanghai said: “Yum has just started rebuilding credibility and had some decent sales which just came out for the second quarter.
“I think this is really going to set them back.”
According to figures from research firm Euromonitor, McDonald’s and Yum are the two leading fast food chains in China, based on sales.
Speaking to Reuters a spokesperson for McDonald’s in China said: “If proven, the practices outlined in the reports are completely unacceptable to McDonald’s anywhere in the world”
She added that the firm used a “few protein suppliers” in China.",1031,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107900860.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028191655-20201028221655-00446.warc.gz,0.975868880748749
079abb48-9cfe-4428-8a83-494ec74b0683,2022-05-29T00:03:02+00:00,2014-01-25,1,https://www.beefmagazine.com/blog/beef-now-luxury-item-rather-budget-meat,"It’s certainly a good time for the beef industry. Bull sales have been on fire. Cull cows are worth a pretty penny. Just try buying a bred heifer these days; an open cow is pretty costly to replace. Last week at my local auction barn, fed cattle were going for $153/cwt. It’s an exciting time to be in the cattle business, but how are these high prices impacting our consumer?
When I read articles that report chicken is surpassing beef in sales, I honestly can understand why. Taste superiority aside, chicken wins hands down when it comes to sticking to a budget. I can buy a whole fresh chicken at the low price of $0.69/lb., but a pound of 93% lean ground beef will run me $4.99/lb. And if you’re looking to buy a decent steak at the grocery store, you better have your pennies stacked up. A New York Strip costs $12.99/lb.!
Subscribe now to Cow-Calf Weekly to get the latest industry research and information in your inbox every Friday!
Without a doubt, our beef-loving consumers are starting to feel the pinch, and this can’t bode well for the future of our product.
Yesterday, TIME magazine carried an article entitled, “Beef, It’s What’s No Longer Affordable For Dinner,” written by Brad Tuttle.
Tuttle writes, “Regardless of the fact that rising beef prices make sense and shouldn’t really come as a surprise, shoppers and restaurant owners are being smacked with sticker shock lately when attempting to round up brisket, steaks, chuck, ground beef, and pretty much every other part of the cow. In the most recent USDA report, the average retail price of fresh beef was measured at $5.04/lb., up more than 50¢ over a two-year span and the highest price ever recorded.
“What’s especially alarming to consumers is that beef prices have continued on their upward trajectory through the early part of the year, a period that is traditionally a lull in the market in between two peak demand times, the winter holidays and summer barbecue season. Analysts expect that it will be several years before America’s cattle herds increase substantially in size. Until then, we should get used to the idea that beef prices will keep soaring, perhaps at a rate of 7% or 8% per year.”
Despite high prices, beef has continued to fare well in the market. As BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly columnist Troy Marshall pointed out in his Jan. 23 piece, “Did You Ever Think You’d See $1.50 Fed Cattle?” virtually everyone was surprised by beef’s demand strength last year, while pork and poultry struggled.
He attributed some of the strength to further liberalization of the Japanese market, and added this: “I also think we’re finding that, at today’s lower consumption levels (for beef) , consumers are not nearly as willing as they were previously to substitute.” He goes on to say: “When Americans were consuming 70 lbs. of beef on a per-capita basis, I think consumers were more price-sensitive and willing to exchange other proteins for beef. At today’s per-capita consumption levels, however, they aren’t as willing to substitute. And if that continues, we should be bullish regarding our ability to sustain these heady price levels for quite some time.”
Time will tell which way consumers ultimately roll, but what is the price point at which beef consumers balk? What strategies should we employ to broaden beef’s retail appeal and keep it at the center of the plate? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below.
More articles to enjoy:",806,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663021405.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528220030-20220529010030-00224.warc.gz,0.962364494800568
9b8df155-e285-4c02-9bed-c6980a850ca2,2015-03-29T10:49:14+00:00,2014-03-26,1,http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140326/DEFREG01/303260045/,"Among the Finn population, more than half in a recent poll favored a military alliance with Sweden. (NATO)
HELSINKI — Nearly 54 percent of Finns would support a formal, treaty-centered, bilateral military alliance with Sweden, according to an opinion poll conducted March 17-20 by the Helsinki-based research organization Taloustutkimus for the Finnish public broadcasting corporation YLE.
By contrast, 36 percent of those surveyed opposed such a pact.
The poll reveals that a Finnish-Swedish relationship aimed at creating common defense systems, including joint deployments, is preferred over NATO membership by Finland. Latest polls show that less than 25 percent of Finns support either joining the Western alliance or participating in the so-called European Union Common Defense project.
The poll provides a useful barometer of the Finnish mood in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the related surge in military exercises, together with large-scale armored troop movements, by Russian forces along the country’s 800 mile eastern border with Russia.
“The results of the poll are interesting. We already cooperate with Sweden’s armed forces on various military fronts, but there is nothing formal in our relationship. We have, so far, not discussed a treaty-based military alliance. While one should not rule out the option of entering a military alliance, we are not at this point, at present,” said Carl Haglund, Finland’s defense minister.
The poll does reveal strong cross-party support for a bilateral Finnish-Swedish defense alliance, with the Christian Democrats emerging as the only political group in the eight party Finnish national parliament to oppose such a collaboration.
According to a poll conducted Jan. 12 by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, Swedish support for NATO membership has risen from 30 to 36 percent year-on-year; 40 percent of Swedes oppose NATO membership while 24 percent are undecided.
Russia’s defense strengthening in the High North, combined with a more aggressive and expansionist Kremlin, has rekindled debate in Finland and Sweden over the sustainability of their separate positions on non-alignment and remaining outside NATO.
Defense leaders in both countries have been playing down the “Russian threat” while talking up cross-border cooperation in recent days. The restated positions of both governments is to retain NATO membership as a “viable future option,” Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen told parliament on March 20.
“It is healthy for democracy that we should debate our neutrality and future defense options. That said, I do not believe that Russia poses a threat to Finland. We have a different history to countries in Eastern Europe that were conquered and occupied. Russia would not dare come here. It would get a bloody nose, and it knows that,” said retired Gen. Gustav Hägglund, the commander of Finland’s armed forces from 1994-2001.
Conceding that the activity of Russian forces had increased close to the borders of Finland and Norway, Sweden’s defense commander, Gen. Sverker Göransson, ruled out the immediate possibility of an attack by Russia on the NATO-aligned Baltic states.
While the possibility of such an attack could not be fully ruled-out, against the backdrop of Russian aggression in the Ukraine, Göransson pointed to what he called the “huge differences” between the Baltic NATO states and Ukraine.
“Although Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have land borders with Russia, they are so integrated with NATO and the European Union that Russia’s leaders will, in the short term, not dare attack,” said Göransson.
Sweden and Finland have responded to increased activity by Russian forces along the eastern border and in the Baltic Sea by increasing radar surveillance and deploying more aircraft to monitor force movements.
Finland is particularly keen to track Russian military exercises on the Karelian Isthmus. The Finnish Air Force has moved more F-18 Hornets to air bases along the border, while radar stations are also on high alert. ■",839,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00206-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950488746166229
55cc445c-c816-4004-ac96-72f60e3fd462,2018-08-19T11:33:41+00:00,2013-04-25,0,http://sterling-fence.blogspot.com/2013/04/mountain-rail-split-rail.html,"Twin Cities Residential and Commercial fence installer
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Mountain Rail, Split Rail,
Mountain Rail Split Rail is a 3 rail fence designed for horses that is 48 inches tall. The rails are 11' and overlap each other inside the post. They are hardwood rails , mostly oak and maple. The posts may be a treated wood or locust. Wonderfully strong fence. Has been used for 100 years on the East coast horse farms. Sterling Fence Inc. sells and installs this product.",107,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215077.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819110157-20180819130157-00426.warc.gz,0.941700518131256
ae3931ca-f948-4de8-bd96-852ff2ab0ce6,2013-06-18T23:01:13+00:00,2013-06-18,0,http://www.tinyprints.com/shop/3photo-folded-trifold--holiday-cards-portrait.htm,"Browse through our wide variety of holiday cards featuring traditional holiday symbols such as garland, gingerbread, holly, snowflakes, wreaths and reindeer. Whatever your family holiday tradition may be, we have a card to complement it and your photograph. When you add a picture of your family, our cards are sure to be cherished by those who receive them. Plan ahead and we'll even mail your cards for you so you can concentrate on spending time where it matters, with the family.
If you love the look of Tiny Prints Portrait Collection holiday cards but you're worried you can't fit a year's worth of exciting news and warm wishes into such a sleek design, you're in luck! Many of your favorite card designs now feature easy-to-use back panel holiday card personalization options that let you add extra text and photos to your Christmas cards.",180,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.956236600875854
a8ad8af0-2d1a-491d-a226-b150c5bb0dca,2015-03-27T05:46:40+00:00,2015-03-27,1,http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000297971&trknav=videogallerycarousel:24:46,">> View All Results for """"
Enter multiple symbols separated by commas
London quotes now available
Susan Cameron, Reynolds American CEO, discusses the future of the tobacco industry and changing consumer preferences, with CNBC's Sara Eisen and Kelly Evans. Cameron is looking forward to a successful acquisition of Lorillard.",60,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00256-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.864803731441498
a3eb7b40-276e-4c06-b790-c40628cabd89,2018-08-14T19:39:16+00:00,2016-06-30,0,https://blog.oup.com/2016/06/broadway-eisenhower-presidential-nomination/,"The astounding success of Hamilton, its capacity to engage audiences from third graders to the president and first lady, reminds us that Broadway musicals have a healthy tradition of mining political history. From 1776 to Evita, songwriters have been fascinated by political power. What drives people to become leaders? How do they rally supporters around them? What reservations do they have about their failures and successes? From costumes to choreography to the musical score, Broadway storytellers have amazing tools at their disposal, but as Lin-Manuel Miranda might agree, nothing attracts an audience like a tale of scrappy ambition carved out of the past.
Irving Berlin’s Call Me Madam stands the traditional partnership between politics and musical theater on its head. Although based on real life events, the musical played a special role in the making of American history. Long before Dwight Eisenhower had joined a political party, let alone agreed to run for office, Call Me Madam was advocating for an Eisenhower presidency, and evidence suggests that Berlin’s musical significantly contributed to his election.
Call Me Madam opened at New York’s Imperial Theater in October 1950, with Ethel Merman starring as a Washington socialite who becomes the American ambassador to the fictional country of Lichtenburg. Although the focus remains with Merman’s character, Sally Adams, the show featured a catchy tune midway through the second act in which two senators and a congressman speculate about the upcoming presidential race. As the Democrats boast that the combative Harry Truman would hold the White House for another term, the Republican asserts that his party has set their sights on running a more affable candidate: “They like Ike / And Ike is good on a mike. / They like Ike.”
When the Democrats interrupt, “—But Ike says he don’t wanna,” the congressman wittily replies: “That makes Ike / The kind of fella they like! / And what’s more / They seem to think he’s gonna.” In each verse, the Democrats list various reasons why Truman will win, but the chorus always comes back to the simple Republican theme: “They like Ike.”
The phrase “They like Ike” had occurred to Berlin when he met Eisenhower in London in 1944, and Call Me Madam provided just the opportunity to develop it into a song. The Tony Award-winning musical was a hit, and although it had nothing to do with the storyline, the power of “They Like Ike” was immediately evident. After seeing an early performance, the syndicated columnist Inez Robb described the song as “one of the greatest political windfalls ever to fall like manna upon a presidential possibility.” “They Like Ike,” she predicted, would “sweep the general into the White House.”
The problem for Eisenhower supporters, however, was that the general had no intention of running for president and barely tolerated the Draft Eisenhower movement that was spreading across the country. Berlin’s lyrics took on new significance when, in January 1952, Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge entered Eisenhower’s name in the New Hampshire Republican primary. Stationed in Paris as Supreme Commander of NATO, Ike took to his journal and cursed. Back in New York, Berlin quickly revised his lyrics to fit the voice of Eisenhower’s many fans: “I like Ike / And Ike is easy to like / Stands alone / The choice of We the People.”
Over the course of the campaign and, indeed, over the next sixteen years, Berlin used the song to reflect changing circumstances. When Joseph McCarthy endorsed Eisenhower’s chief Republican opponent, Ohio Senator Robert Taft, the Call Me Madam cast sang: “McCarthy’s backing Taft? / That’s the kiss of death!” After Ike’s victory in November, the show’s disillusioned Democrats bemoaned “how many changed their minds down at the polls.” As late as 1968, Berlin was changing the lyrics to address the Vietnam War and the wide-open presidential contest. The chorus, however, stubbornly clung to a candidate from the 1950s: “We still like Ike.”
Berlin and the cast of Call Me Madam played a prominent role in a February 1952 rally for Eisenhower held in Madison Square Garden. In order to accommodate a previously scheduled boxing match, the organizers began the rally at 11:30 pm after the boxing fans had departed the building and over 15,000 Eisenhower supporters had flooded in. After the curtain fell at the Imperial Theater, cast members joined such stars as Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, and Lauren Bacall in offering their support. (Bogart and Bacall would eventually switch their endorsement and campaign for Eisenhower’s Democratic opponent, Adlai Stevenson.) Ethel Merman belted out “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and danced with the chorus master Fred Waring. Berlin debuted his new version of “I Like Ike,” while the actor who played Harry Truman appeared in costume, comically wagging a disapproving finger. As if politics were a combination of pugilism and show business, all of the proceedings took place within the Garden’s boxing ring.
Critics hated the rally, denouncing it as cheap, vulgar, and “an expression of really outrageous cynicism,” but Berlin’s song swept across the country. Herbert Brownell, who served as Eisenhower’s Attorney General, concluded that the song’s popularity helped convince the general that the time was right for a presidential bid. Seeing a recording of the rally a few days later in Paris, Eisenhower wept. By June, he had returned to the United States to take his shot at the presidency.
We do not know what Lin-Manuel Miranda’s influence on our politics will be, but if he proves to be as determined and astute as Berlin, it could be substantial. And as we read about Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, and REM trying to reclaim their music from the Donald Trump campaign, we might remember the power of song not only to represent America, but also to shape it.
Featured image: Broadway Street Sign. Image by Damzow via Wikimedia Commons, CC SA 3.0.",1319,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209562.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814185903-20180814205903-00165.warc.gz,0.965837955474854
c99ef894-45ef-4c79-a8b6-6ae6b39adbc0,2017-08-23T17:26:59+00:00,2011-06-17,1,https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2011/06/17/arquitectonica-resorts-world-miami.html,"A recent trip to visit the Genting Group sealed the deal for the casino developer to choose Arquitectonica as the architect for Resorts World Miami, a planned $3 billion project on the site of The Miami Herald’s current headquarters.
Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman and CEO of Genting, made the announcement Thursday at an evening reception at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, which is next to the site of the planned resort. The reception’s 200 attendees included Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and three commissioners.
Tan Sri Lim, who first visited Miami 40 years ago as a student, was presented with a key to the city.
He said he feels at home in Miami because its tropical climate is similar to Malaysia, and likes its gateway status. He held out the possibility of direct flights from Miami to Malaysia, saying it would help usher in a new relationship between the Far East and the Americas.
Tan Sri Lim said Arquitectonica’s global experience and modern Miami architecture made it a natural fit to do the project, which will include hotel, convention, restaurant, retail, residential and commercial space, and possibly a casino.
Mike Speller, president of Resorts World Miami, made a point of highlighting that Genting was the only company chosen to operate a casino in New York.
In the fourth quarter of this year, Genting expects to open the Genting New York Casino with 2,500 slot machines at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, N.Y.
The elite status in New York may be a harbinger of things to coming locally, as Genting and others seek to open up gambling through legislation.
The Resorts World Miami design will include sustainable and LEED-certified solutions and conform with the Miami 21 development vision, a news release said.
Arquitectonica co-founder and principal Bernardo Fort-Brescia sat at a table near the podium and signed documents with Tan Sri Lim to make the deal official. Arquitectonica has an array of international experience from China to France, with resorts, arena, condos and master plans.
Fort-Brescia said he had visited Resorts World Sentosa and was impressed by its design and quality of landscaping. He promised that Resorts World Miami would make a great contribution to tourism, entertainment and real estate in South Florida. He noted that the timing of Genting’s arrival was particularly important, considering its proximity to the Arsht Center and other locales, including Bicentennial Park, the future home of the Miami Art Museum and Miami Science Museum.
Genting announced it paid $236 million for 14 acres, including The Miami Herald’s waterfront parcel, on May 27.
Tan Sri Lim told the group he has made more than 100 trips to the city. One reason is his company’s half stake in NCL Corp., the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line. The nearby Port of Miami would be easily visible from high-rises on the Herald site.
Genting was also involved in development of the Our Lucaya resort in the Bahamas, he noted.
In February 2010, Genting opened Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, a $5.5 billion project with Universal Studios.
Tan Sri Lim called it “the most successful destination resort in the world.
The Miami site has 800 feet of waterfront along Biscayne Bay. Guests leaving the Arsht Center could look a block east and see the Herald building, which will ultimately be demolished.
Tan Sri Lim talked about the city’s ongoing development.
“I believe Miami is destined to be one of the most prominent cities in the world,” he said.
That’s a contrast to how the city has been portrayed as a poster child for overdevelopment in recent years, but condos in the downtown area are rapidly filling up. The Herald site was previously under contract, but the deal fell through before Genting stepped in.
Neisen Kasdin, vice chairman of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, said he could not have envisioned this announcement six month ago. But, he noted, there has been a flurry of foreign investment in Miami, including Swire Properties’ plans for the six-tower Brickell CitiCentre project, which is also being designed by Arquitectonica.
Both are stabled companies with deep pockets, said Kasdin, the former mayor of Miami Beach and current chairman of the land use and entitlements practice for Miami law firm Akerman Senterfitt.
Genting Malaysia Berhad, the company named in the purchase of the 14-acre Herald site, is part of the Genting Group, which has five public companies based in Asia, with $45 billion in stock market capitalization and more than 50,000 employees.
A bill that would have paved the way for one casino in Miami failed in the last legislative session. Kasdin was asked whether he thought there might be a move to push for multiple casino sites now, which could help provide construction jobs in a county where unemployment has hit 13 percent.
He replied that he didn’t think that was under discussion among downtown leaders at this point.
Walter L. Revell, the chairman and CEO of Coral Gables-based Revell Group, played a key role in helping Genting put together the transaction.
Standing in the audience after the Arquitectonica announcement, Revell said he became the first American director of NCL in 1993 and has led the audit committee for the cruise company.
He was familiar with many members of Knight-Ridder, the newspaper company that once owned the Herald. Knight-Ridder used to be based in the Herald building, but was acquired by the McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) after its headquarters relocated to San Jose, Calif.
Revell said Tan Sri Lim asked him to help with the Resorts World Concept, and he arranged a meeting with Gary B. Pruitt, the CEO of McClatchy, which is based in Sacramento, Calif.
The $236 million deal took two months to put together, Revell said. The biggest challenge? Figuring out how to deal with contracts that involve advertising banners that hang on the outside of the building.
email@example.com | (954) 949-7520 On Twitter: @kevingale firstname.lastname@example.org | (954) 949-7567 On Twitter: @SFBJ_OMusibay",1354,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123312.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823171414-20170823191414-00217.warc.gz,0.962979316711426
d55d0a95-9822-449f-b346-d825c9f33844,2018-08-17T19:01:07+00:00,2018-08-17,0,http://glorywrestling.com/gg/LexiLane/LL.php,"As soon as this stunning young lady stepped out from the backstage curtain for her very first match, the nickname for Lexi Lane was born. And it's easy to see why she immediately became known as ""Sexy Lexi""! The fans love to cheer on the exciting blonde battler and former high school cheerleader whenever she enters the ring. Still a relative rookie in the sport, this blonde stunner has already been making a name for herself in wrestling arenas all across the Midwest. The future looks wide open for the athletic and attractive ""Sexy"" Lexi Lane!
Lexi Lane's Stats...
- Height: 5' 3""
- Weight: 115
- Hair: Blonde
- Eyes: Brown
- Hometown: Columbus, Ohio (USA)
Lexi Lane's Profile...
- How It Started: As with many women in this business, I've been a HUGE fan since I was a little girl. When most girls were getting their first pair of high heels for their birthday, I got action figures and replica belts! Shortly after graduation, I saw a poster for a local indy show in my area and contacted the promoter immediately. We met that weekend at the show and I've been hooked like crazy ever since.
- Gimmick: My gimmick when I'm face (98% of the time) is a fun, spunky, sexy, girl-next-door with an edge. But when I step into the ring I'm all business and ready to do whatever to get the ""W"". When I'm heel (rarely), I play the ""too good for you"", self-absorbed, obnoxious bitch.
- Wrestling Style: Mainly technical, with a knack for throwing a mean variation of kicks. Watch out for my occasional high flying and submission spots to get the crowd going!
- Gear: My gear is mainly a pink/black or teal/black color scheme. Usually I show some skin, but keep it classy. Small tops with shorts or smaller tops with black pants. I either wear black boxing boots or wrestling shoes with teal kickpads.
- Titles Held: OCW Women's Championship.
- Biggest Win: My first singles match vs. Jayme Braxton in front of my old hometown
--at my old high school --with special guest referee Ivory. I learned a lot that night and it began my career in this business, which is still a dream come true!
- Worst Loss: My first battle with Hailey Hatred when she powerbombed me halfway to Hell and cheated to get the win!
- Favorite Type of Match: Mixed tag matches are always a fun change, but singles matches really let you shine the entire time!
- Favorite Moves/Holds: Mexican headscissors; reverse STO; various hurricanranas; wheelbarrow arm drag; mafia kick; calf kick; top rope crossbody.
- Finisher: DisLexia (a reverse STO)...but sometimes a quick roll-up is all it takes to get a win.
- Biggest Allies: Anyone who has helped me learn the ropes in this business, the easy OR the hard way! I'd say most of the people from OCW, my home promotion...particularly Jeff Cannon, my trainer. Also, Lorelei Lee and Nevaeh.
- Most-Hated Enemies: Sassy Stephie; Jessicka Havok; Portia Perez; Hailey Hatred.
- Toughest Opponent(s): Shantelle Taylor, ODB, Tracy Brooks and Hailey Hatred were all fierce competitors!
- Career Highlight: Getting to return to my old high school, collecting the ""W"" and making the crowd go nuts! First matches usually make a lasting impression I'm told...and that one may never be topped! Then again, I'm still learning and still climbing the ladder. More recently: my debut in Shimmer, which has been a goal of mine for awhile.
- Favorite Wrestlers: Trish Stratus; Rey Mysterio; Shawn Michaels; Chris Sabin; Alex Shelley. INDIES: Matt Mason; Jeff Cannon; Josh Prohibition. Daizee Haze, Shantelle Taylor and Angel Williams are all amazing workers as well.
- Wrestling Ambition: As with most indy wrestlers, being signed to WWE or TNA is always a goal and always a dream. But should that not happen, I'll be happy knowing that I'm living a small part of my dream already!
Lexi Lane's Personal Notes...
I'm currently a part-time college student studying Radiology.....In my time away from wrestling, school and work, I'm usually in the gym.....Competing in a professional figure competition is another goal on my extensive list of things to do.....Aside from all of that, I spend down-time with my family and friends who are the foundation of who I am and where I've come in my life. I have the best parents in the world, two older brothers who put the boots to me when I was young to prepare me for today, and a house full of animals including two golden retrievers, a cocker spaniel and two cats!.....In high school, I was a varsity cheerleader, homecoming queen, drama club geek and ran track...which could be why it strikes everyone as crazy that I do something as wild as professional wrestling",1112,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212768.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817182657-20180817202657-00527.warc.gz,0.945266664028168
bb37c526-db99-4ac5-bd49-138dddfe7844,2015-03-30T23:26:26+00:00,2012-12-20,1,http://www.coloradodaily.com/ci_22236761/boulder-county-residents-make-plea-against-gross-reservoir?source=most_viewed,"In September 2011, residents of western Boulder County gathered at a public hearing to urge the county commissioners to use their state-granted ""1041 powers"" -- which give local governments say on projects that have statewide impacts -- to stop Denver Water's planned expansion of Gross Reservoir.
More than a year later, county staff members are recommending that the commissioners sign an intergovernmental agreement with Denver Water approving the project with some conditions, rather than risk losing the legal fight that a 1041 permit denial would likely bring.
Boulder County residents who attended a hearing on the agreement Thursday -- concerned about project noise, truck traffic and environmental impacts -- made it clear that they think denying the project outright remains the best option.
""Stop this project. The purpose and the need for the project have not been properly evaluated, nor have the alternatives,"" said Anna McDermott, whose home is less than half a mile from Gross Reservoir. ""This IGA, in my opinion, does not represent the best interest of Boulder County citizens, and until such time that all citizen input can be responded to, I feel signing this document would be a travesty.""
The project, known as the Moffat Collection System Project, would raise the height of the existing dam at the reservoir by 125 feet, allowing it to store an additional 72,000 acre-feet of water for use during droughts in the Denver area.
Conditions laid out in the agreement include setting specific times that trucks could bring concrete aggregate to the work site, which roads they could use and compensation for nearby residents affected by the noise and traffic.
McDermott said she moved to the area for the peace and quiet. She said if she were forced to relocate for years to escape construction noise -- Denver Water expects the project to require a two-year planning phase followed by two to four years of construction -- she would seek $350,000 in compensation.
The agreement would establish a pool of at least $500,000 to compensate area residents and another $2 million the county could use to limit urban sprawl or pay out to residents. Some who spoke Thursday said $50 million might be a more suitable starting point.
County open space attorney Conrad Lattes said Denver Water has contended that Boulder County's 1041 powers would be pre-empted by a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permit that Denver Water is seeking for the project. Although the county has not conceded that issue, he said the agreement should give the county more flexibility than the 1041 process and would avoid extensive litigation.
Lattes noted the agreement would not prevent individuals or other groups from suing Denver Water over the project, and that it gives the county the option to set conditions that a 1041 review would not.
""The draft IGA is the best set of conditions the staff has been able to negotiate on behalf of Boulder County in order to mitigate impacts form the project, and staff believes it is in Boulder County interests to agree to this IGA as drafted,"" Lattes said.
The Denver Water Board unanimously approved the agreement Wednesday, Lattes said.
Nederland resident Greg Ching said Thursday he felt that signing off on the agreement would be equivalent to selling out Boulder County residents' interests, especially on environmental issues.
""I do believe we need to know more before you accept a potentially very low-ball offer,"" he said.
The commissioners did not comment on the agreement.
Another public hearing on the matter is scheduled for 5 p.m. Jan. 7. The county staff is recommending that the commissioners vote whether to approve the agreement following that hearing.",734,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00213-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961966454982758
e85f9ea2-c3be-4faa-9fbc-70c5f38382b2,2022-05-17T00:31:12+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://andersen.sdu.dk/liv/tidstavle/vis_e.html?date=1845-00-00&kvartal=6&s=da32netjmmvadst5556791ete7,"From the Hans Christian Andersen biography ""The Life of Hans Christian Andersen. Day By Day"", written by DPhil Johan de Mylius:
1845First book in English
Leaves for a journey in Europe
In this year
A novel titled Slottet ved Rhinen (Castle on the Rhine) by Carsten Hauch is published. The book contains a figure very similar to HCA and depicts this figure as being fit for an asylum. Hauch's opinion of HCA has been somewhat varied throughout the years, but at this stage, he and Oehlenschläger - unofficially - agree to criticise him, partly due to envy over HCA's international success.
This year also sees the release of a German translation of the novel Tante Anna (Aunt Anna) by Henriette Hanck (labelled as a short story). The preface was written by HCA.
Also in this year, more sizeable editions of HCA's fairy-tales are published in Germany, e.g. Julius Reuscher's translation, Märchen. Gesamtausgabe (Vol. 1, the next two are released in 1846 and 1847) by Simion, Berlin. Simion offers HCA two louisdores (French currency) in payment for every 16 pages written for his biography, should he be willing to let Simion publish his collected works. Also Reuscher, the translator, wishes to publish HCA's collected writings.
The Improvisatore is published in Russian, translated by J.K. Grot.
Mary Howitt's translation of Improvisatoren into English is published by Richard Bentley, titled The Improvisatore, or, Life in Italy. The first volume opens with a 37 page long biography of HCA (as far as 1835) written by Mary Howitt on the basis of Xavier Marmier's ""Une vie de poète"". HCA's first letter to Mary Howitt is in Danish and the following are in German. She had translated the book from a German version. Mary Howitt's translation of The Improvisatore is released shortly after in an American pirate copy in New York.
Sees the first performance at the Royal Theatre ofLykkens Blomst (The Flower of Happiness. Fairy-tale comedy in Two Acts (with music by Rung). Is performed a total of 6 times in HCA's life.
A book version of The Flower of Joy is published.
The song ""Pandebeen, Øiesteen"" (Forehead, Eyes) is printed in H.V. and Jul. Chr. Gerson's Maanedsskrift for Børn (Monthly Magazine for Children) vol. 1., 1st booklet.
Den nye Barselstue (The New Lying-In Room - a title which refers to a comedy by Ludvig Holberg) is performed for the first time at the Royal Theatre. There are 61 performances of the play in HCA's lifetime. On this day also, HCA receives his first visit from the critic P.L. Møller.
Release of Nye Eventyr. Tredje Samling (New Tales. Third Installment) (""Elverhøj"" (The Elf Mound), ""De røde Skoe"" (The Red Shoes), ""Springfyrene"" (The Jumpers), ""Hyrdinden og Skorsteensfeieren"" (The Shepherdess and the Chimneysweep),""Holger Danske""). On this day also, HCA plucks up enough courage to request from the king an increase in his yearly grant or appanage, which then amounted to 400 rdl.
10th and 15th May
Sits for the painter and lithographer E.D. Bærentzen. This portrait appears, during the next 13 years, in a number of versions. In 1846, for example, it is used in the English version of A Poet's Bazaar. Bærentzen himself uses it in his gallery of portraits, ""Dansk Pantheon"".
At 01.30 (1.30 am) he receives a letter from Jonas Collin saying that his wife is on her deathbed. In the letter he is requested - as ""a child of the house"" - to be present during her final hour. HCA immediately runs over to the Collins'.
Henriette Collin dies.
""Klokken"" (The Bell) is published in Maanedsskrift for Børn (Monthly Magazine for Children), illustrated by Lehmann. This story is HCA's final unambiguous embracement of romanticism within ""the little genre"".
Departs on a summer journey headed for Nysø (including a visit to Vemmetofte. Is very annoyed by Baroness Stampe and argues with her). Continues on 15th to Bregentved and from here via Vordingborg to Corselitze (where he is informed that the steamship Caroline Amalie, which he had sailed with from Copenhagen to Kallehave, has sunk). From Corselitze he continues on 6th July to Ingemann's home in Sorø (visits the Hauchs and Oehlenschlägers) and from here the journey goes to Glorup (arrival on 12th, visits Mullerup and Broholm whilst here, as well as Svendborg). On 27th July he journeys to Odense, where he dines with the crown prince. Continues via Middelfart, Snoghøj and Horsens to Skanderborg, where he witnesses the unveiling of a monument in memory of Frederik VI (HCA meets Christian VIII here). He then accompanies the Students Choir Association to Århus, where he visits A.F Elmquist, a publisher of periodicals.
Receives P.L Møller's biography of him by post (an article to be printed in Dansk Pantheon in the same year. HCA is asked to comment on the biography before it is printed.
Approx. 1st augustEnglish publication of Kun en Spillemand and O.T., in a collected edition with 3 volumes: Only a Fiddler, and O.T., or, life in Denmark. By the Author of the Improvisatore, or, Life in Italy. This edition is published by Richard Bentley of London, translated by Mary Howitt. HCA's name is not mentioned in any of the three volumes.
Sails from Århus to Copenhagen with the steamship Hertha. Arrives on the same day.
A commemorative poem by HCA for Count Conrad Rantzau of Breitenburg is printed in the newspaper Berlingske Tidende.
Drives to Bregentved (visits Turebyholm whilst there) Returns on 31st.
Release of a new and extended German edition of Picture Book without Pictures (from 20 to 31 evenings) called Bilderbuch ohne Bilder. This is the 6th edition since 1841. This extended version, translated by Julius Reuscher, is even printed by two different publishers in Berlin, namely C.A Wolff and C.H. Schultze. This particular book, which never received a great deal of attention in Denmark, is one of HCA's most popular on the German Market.
Jenny Lind, the famed Swedish opera singer, arrives in Copenhagen. HCA spends a great deal of time with her until her departure on 22nd October. During the time she is in Copenhagen, HCA's almanac contains almost daily mentions of her. He allows himself to hope, in spite of knowing better. The resulting frustrations cause him to feel ""sick at heart"" (the almanac, 20th October). ""She toasted me as she would her brother"" (the almanac 21st).
Models for the painter J.V. Gertner. The portrait is an etching which shows HCA standing with hat and cane.
HCA departs on a journey in Europe lasting almost a full year. Goes first to Glorup (1st - 10th November), from here via Odense, Assens and Åbenrå to Gråsten (Gravensten), where he is the guest of Duke Christian August of Augustenborg from 12th - 21st November. His spirits are dampened by the political discussions.
19th - 21st November
Sits for the painter Carl Hartmann for a water painting. Hartman had, incidentally, already made a pencil drawing of HCA on the day after his arrival. Before the end of HCA's stay at Gråsten, Hartmann manages to do 4 more pencil drawings of him, as well as a group portrait (also in pencil), in which HCA is portrayed reading aloud for the Augustenborg ducal family (Christian August, Duke of Augustenborg, Princess Louise Augusta, Prince Frederik, Duchess Louise Sophie, and Princess Amalie; the drawing also shows two unidentified ladies).
Travels from Gråsten to Hamburg, where he visits his illustrator, Otto Speckter (whose drawings HCA is very pleased with). Continues on 27th to Oldenburg, where he is a guest of Grand Duke August on several occasions.
""Den lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne"" (The Little Matchstick Girl) (written at Gråsten Castle) is printed in Dansk Folkekalender for 1846 (The Danish Folk Calendar), illustrated by J.Th. Lundbye.
Continues via Hannover, Braunschweig and Magdeburg to Berlin (arriving 19th). Whilst here, he visits Alexander von Humboldt, Minister Friedrich Karl von Savigny and the translator Julius Reuscher. Also sees the lyrical poet Geibel and Bettina von Arnhin once again. Spends time on several occasions with the brothers Grimm. Discusses fairy-tales in general with Jacob and speaks with Wilhelm about his own. Wilhelm Grimm especially likes ""Grantræet"" (The Fir Tree). Partakes in a royal banquet held by Frederik Wilhelm IV of Prussia. The king is familiar with Only a Fiddler, but not the fairy-tales. However, he does mention that he had asked about HCA whilst in Copenhagen, immediately upon his arrival. HCA is the centre of attention in Berlin's high society - he is aware of this and acts accordingly. Several artists and central figures in Berlin's cultural life have invited people to come and meet HCA, but he does not show up. The sister of the painter Caroline Bardua, Wilhelmine, has made the following entry in her diary:
""By his mere presence, the poet Andersen affects every one in the social circles - from the court and downwards - he is the hero of the day"".
In her diary, Wilhelmine Bardua describes HCA as ""highly talkative and accompanies his talk with lively gesticulating"" and claims that he ""is quite good looking"". HCA's principle reason for coming to Berlin is to be with Jenny Lind, but already before they meet he mentions in his diary on 19th: ""I feel that I do not love her as one may"". By this he meant that he was more able to dream about her than to actually approach her. During the stay, he vacillates between being extremely angry with her, telling himself that he does not love her any more, and fluttering around her.
Attends a dinner at Jenny Lind's on New Year Eve. There is a Christmas tree in honour of HCA, who she has repeatedly put in his place, during his stay in Berlin, by calling him ""a child"" and ""a good person"" (the diary, 26th and 31st). They are both frightened when a C note is heard from the piano, which has not been touched. (HCA has a fear of seeing deceased persons and had therefore wished that they should mark their presence with tones). On the 29th December and 2nd January, he sits for an unknown painter.",2612,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515466.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516235937-20220517025937-00206.warc.gz,0.955594778060913
afdde269-7668-4eac-ab63-35655cc045c0,2015-04-01T11:00:30+00:00,2014-06-05,1,http://aviationweek.com/blog/pacific-test-could-advance-mars-landing-technologies,"After uniting a balloon, rocket and parachute, NASA engineers are lookiing to Mother Nature for the high altitude wind tunnel that will help them devise the technologies needed to reach the Martian surface with more massive payloads and eventually humans.
Artist's illustration of the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Technology Mission as it races into the stratosphere. NASA
Engineers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and elsewhere within NASA have gathered at the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kaua'i in Hawaii for the balloon launch of the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Technology Demonstration Mission. After rising to 120,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, the 6,900 pound saucer shaped LDSD payload -- the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator and a high strength parachute -- drop away from the launch balloon with a solid rocket motor that will accelerate the SIAD to an altitude of 180,000 feet and Mach 4 velocity.
The atmosphere at those altitudes is thin and suitably Martian like for the speeding 15 1/2 foot wide SIAD to expand on command to 20 feet and begin to slow with atmospheric drag and as though it were delivering not one, but two of NASA's one ton Curiosity rovers to the surface of the red planet. With SIAD slowing to 2 1/2 times the speed of sound, three minutes after the balloon release, a single 100 foot wide supersonic parachute will deploy -- pulled from its restraints by a ballute -- to lower the test hardware to the ocean's surface.
Once set for Tuesday, then Thursday, the three hour flight test may unfold on Saturday - if the weather and winds to push the 856 foot tall balloon and its 6,900 pound test vehicle away from Kaua'i are suitable. The Navy range, though, is available through June 14.
Since 1976 and the successful landings of NASA's twin Viking probes on Mars, NASA has relied on the same supersonic parachute design as part of the challenging entry, descent and landing (EDL) strategy needed to bring scientific probes to the surface intact. Curiosity, at just over 2,000 pounds, pressed the boundaries of that capability as it descended to the floor of Gusev crater in August 2012 in the landing phase under the wing of NASA’s “sky crane.”
Earlier this week, the National Research Council ranked EDL with in-space power and propulsion and overcoming the health hazards of radiation as the top technical challenges confronting those attempting to shape the human exploration of Mars.
A human mission would require as much as 40 tons of landed hardware, a capability NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is attempting to address with LDSD this year and a scaled up, more extensible 8 meter version of the Kevlar SIAD and parachutes next year.
""We've been living on the shoulders of the giants who developed EDL technologies decades ago,"" said Michael Gazarik, the directorate's associate administrator, earlier this week. ""It's about more mass, going to higher elevations on the surface of Mars and landing more accurately. We need to test. We need to learn, and we need to do it quickly and efficiently. That's why we are here.""
Preliminary testing of the system components began last year at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California in a bid to characterize the SIAD inflator with a rocket sled moving at several hundred miles per hour in near sea level atmospheric densities. But the engineering effort must look to the top of the stratosphere if it wants to achieve a Mars-like response.
""We'd love to test in a wind tunnel, but unfortunately, there are no wind tunnels in the world large enough and with the conditions we need for these tests,"" said JPL's Ian Clark, the LDSD principal investigator. ""There are a lot of questions: How do these things deploy? How do they inflate? Will they be strong enough to survive the environment of Mars? How will they behave aerodynamically? What is the performance?""
Eager enough, the test team has nonetheless cautioned followers the Pacific ""shakeout"" test outcome is uncertain. Even the loss of the spacecraft, though, would just set the table for a pair of test runs already scheduled for next summer.
""If we can fire that (rocket) motor and get data back from it, that's a great day,"" said Mark Adler, the JPL's LDSD project manager, of the post-balloon phase of the flight test. ""That way we can understand what to do for the next flight.""",948,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00197-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.935165524482727
1494e3bf-6316-473c-a4b4-f2bb3ce9c60c,2022-05-24T22:56:46+00:00,2021-05-24,1,"https://nl.fashionnetwork.com/news/Victoria-s-secret-board-of-directors-new-partnerships-unveiled,1311240.html","Victoria's Secret board of directors, new partnerships unveiled
L Brands' spin-off of Victoria's Secret is taking shape, as it secures a board of directors for the standalone, publicly traded company that is expected to be formed through the separation of its Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret businesses.
L Brands unveiled on Wednesday that the new Victoria’s Secret Board is expected to consist of seven directors, six of whom are independent and six of whom are women including the chair of the board, who will be Donna James, managing director, Lardon & Associates LLC.
The other members include Irene Chang Britt, senior vice president, global baking and snacking, Campbell Soup Company; Sarah Davis, former president, Loblaw Companies Limited; Jacqueline Hernández, former chief marketing officer, Hispanic Enterprises and Content, NBC Universal; Lauren Peters, former chief financial officer, Foot Locker, Inc.; Anne Sheehan, former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee; and finally, Martin Waters, chief executive officer, Victoria’s Secret. The two directors who currently serve on the L Brands board are expected to step down from the board in connection with the separation.
“Today marks an exciting milestone in our plans to launch Victoria’s Secret as an independent, publicly traded company,” said Sarah E. Nash, chair of L Brands’ Board.
“We are thrilled with the group of diverse and seasoned executives who will comprise the new Victoria’s Secret Board. These individuals collectively bring immense leadership and industry experience as well as financial and governance expertise, which will be instrumental as the Victoria’s Secret team continues to realize the brand’s full potential.”
The announcement coincides with the launch of two partnerships designed to positively impact the lives of women around the world: The VS Collective and the VS Global Women’s Cancer Fund. While, The VS Collective, a new partnership platform, will bring together a group of trailblazers, The VS Global Women’s Cancer Fund is an initiative to fund innovative research projects aimed at progressing treatments and cures for women’s cancers and investing in the next generation of female scientists.
The partnerships come as the brand has struggled to keep step with shifts in the lingerie sector, which has focused around comfort, diversity and inclusivity in recent years.
The previously announced plan to separate Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret into standalone publicly listed companies remains on track to be completed in August 2021.
Copyright © 2022 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.",536,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577259.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524203438-20220524233438-00008.warc.gz,0.944380283355713
e4cff7fb-039a-428e-96d7-3f706235de4c,2022-05-18T23:19:44+00:00,2021-08-15,1,https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/158699/Plasma-donation-project?lang=en-us,"Plasma donation project
Sunday، 15 August 2021 - 01:26 PM
Health Minister Hala Zayed launched on Wednesday the national plasma donation project as part of presidential directives to achieve self-sufficiency of plasma derivatives.
During her visit to a plasma donation center in Giza's Agouza district, Zayed donated her plasma to become the first permanent donor as part of the project.
""The project will help achieve self-sufficiency of plasma derivatives, thus providing medicines for many chronic diseases, liver and kidney illnesses, and burns,"" Zayed said.
Six plasma donation centers are now operating in five governorates nationwide, the minister said, adding that 20 other centers will be ready to receive donors this year.
She urged those above 18 years to actively take part in the project and periodically donate their plasma every two weeks in line with instructions of the World Health Organization.
All donation centers are fully mechanized and equipped with the latest equipment and technologies in the field of plasma in accordance with international standards, the minister noted.",217,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00007.warc.gz,0.947760701179504
fdee2158-1951-4a95-a7d5-026dbf487bcc,2015-03-29T11:07:11+00:00,2014-03-09,0,http://www.blufftontoday.com/news/2014-03-09/mighty-8ths-b-17-gets-its-ball-turret,"Bud Porter has watched throughout the last five years as an army of volunteers at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force have slowly restored its B-17G to its original combat configuration.
Piece-by-piece, the massive World War II-era bomber the city of Savannah gifted to the Pooler museum in 2009 has come together as the centerpiece of the museum’s combat gallery.
While he’s enjoyed the process, the 93-year-old Army Air Corps veteran who flew 11 missions over France and Germany on an 8th Air Force B-17 crew admitted some benchmarks along the restoration course have excited him more than others.
Tuesday saw one of those milestones, Porter said, as he watched museum volunteers install the tiny portion of the bomber he called “his home.”
“It really give me goose bumps,” said Porter, eyeing the newly affixed ball-turret — a little, metal bubble with twin .50 caliber machine guns mounted to the underside of the plane.
“I spent many an hour in that turret all by myself, so this is to me a very exciting day,” he said.
The ball-turret arrived at the museum 367 days before it was mounted Tuesday morning, said B-17 project manager Jerry McLaughlin. Dozens of volunteers have donated thousands of hours to prepare it for installation. It’s the first of three electronically operated machine gun turrets museum volunteers intend to mount to the plane.
“We’re one-third of the way to our goal of having the only static display of a B-17 in the world with three functioning turrets — the ball- chin- and upper- turrets,” McLaughlin said. “It’s taken a long time. It’s all original work, and it has been just amazing. We’re going to make this the best display there is.”
Volunteers Tuesday used the ball-turrets manual control system to rotate the ball-turret once it was mounted to the plane. By next week, McLaughlin said, the turret will be fully electrically powered, as it would have been during the war.
The Mighty Eighth obtained the shell of the turret that was used on the B-17 in the 1990 film “Memphis Belle,” but volunteers had to look elsewhere for the turret’s other parts and had to have some specially manufactured. In all, the ball-turret cost the museum $50,000, McLaughlin said.
“This part is a huge leap for us,” he said. “We constructed it from nearly scratch, and it really serves as proof to ourselves and to (other B-17 groups) that we’ve arrived. Look at it. When we got this a year ago, we had a metal ball with essentially nothing in it; now it’s on our B-17, and it functions.”
It only took volunteers 27 minutes Tuesday to mount the turret. A fairly simple process that was completed primarily by five people working from inside and underneath the plane.
“It wasn’t too bad really,” said Joe Pritchard, a longtime Mighty Eighth volunteer who served in the Air Force as an airplane mechanic including tours in Vietnam. “It’s wild to think about it really. That’s a year’s worth of work that’s just kind of at an end.
“I guess now it’s on to the next step.”
That includes preparing the nose of the plane to mount the chin-turret the museum received in 2012.
McLaughlin believes all three turrets will be mounted and functional by January, when the museum will officially dedicate the City of Savannah on the 8th Air Force’s birthday.
“That’s going to be a big deal,” McLaughlin said. “This has been one big, really fantastic project with so many great people coming together in a lot of ways for this B-17. We’re aiming high. We fully expect this is going to be the envy of all the other static B-17s there are.”
To the eyes of a World War II veteran who spent his career in a B-17, the Mighty Eighth volunteers have succeeded so far, Porter said.
“I’ve been a part of this museum ever since they started to talk about constructing it. ... This (B-17) is fantastic,” he said. “I can’t get enough of it. It brings back those memories.”
The former ball-turret gunner examined nearly every inch of the bubble he once served in from the ground, but he drew the line at climbing in.
“I think you guys got just about everything in there right,” Porter said, studying the pod. “It might even be smaller than I remember it; I’m not going to find out.”
That said, Porter added, if you had to fly in a B-17 in World War II, the ball-turret was the best place to do it.
“Flying in that ball is the ultimate flying experience because you’re in the sky all by yourself,” he recalled. “You can’t see your crew, the crew can’t see you. To be honest, as long as they weren’t shooting at me, I enjoyed it. It’s a great ride.”
ABOUT THE B-17
The B-17 was first flown in 1935, and its production ended in May 1945. More than 12,700 were built.
The B-17 was flown by a crew of 10 during World War II: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, flight engineer, radio operator, two waist gunners, tail gunner and ball-turret gunner.
The plane was 74 feet, 9 inches long and 19 feet, 2 inches high. It weighed 55,000 pounds fully loaded. Its normal bomb load was 8,000 pounds. It was armed with 11 to 13 .50-caliber machine guns.
Its usual cruising speed was 170 mph, and its top speed was 300 mph. Its ceiling was 35,000 feet, and its combat range was 1,850 miles.
During the war, 4,735 B-17s were lost in combat missions. After the conflict ended, the B-17 fleet was quickly decimated: Planes were reduced to scrap metal, destroyed during research projects and sold to civilians and other nations as surplus. Today, fewer than 50 remain, and only a dozen or so are still flyable.
ON THE WEB
Go to savannahnow.com to see a photo slide show and video of National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force volunteers installing the B-17G the City of Savannah’s ball-turret Tuesday.",1461,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00223-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970369040966034
35119c5f-2a58-4eda-9b58-eba3c0a63725,2015-03-28T00:38:05+00:00,2014-08-10,1,http://www.courant.com/bs-md-k9-dog-problems-20140810-story.html,"The Maryland Transportation Authority says it has launched an investigation into its police K-9 unit after the dogs' head trainer alleged problems with the drug-sniffing hounds.
The trainer said in a deposition that he had discovered deficiencies in the training of one dog, and that police had tried to pass off fake credentials for the animal in a court case after officers could not find the original records.
The allegations have emerged in a battle over $122,000 seized last fall at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
The money — which authorities believe is connected to drug trafficking, according to court documents — was taken from a man at the airport in September. The man's wife, Samantha Banks, says the money was her life savings and was to be used in a real estate deal. Banks is fighting in court to get it back.
Authorities have not found drugs, but say the narcotics dog, Falco, gave a positive response when it sniffed the money. Among the evidence turned over to Banks' lawyer was a certificate that was supposed to show the qualifications of Falco and his handler. Neither Banks nor her husband has been charged.
But in a deposition in July, one K-9 trainer said the certificate was created after the dog's handler could not find the original, and another trainer said in an affidavit that he produced the certificate on his home computer under instructions from the handler.
An MdTA spokesman said the agency is taking the allegations seriously. Spokesman John Sales said MdTA police are starting an investigation and have assigned additional commanders to watch over the K-9 unit.
""We hold ourselves to the highest levels of professionalism, compliance and integrity,"" Sales wrote in an email. ""With that basis we are proceeding with due diligence regarding these allegations.""
Banks' attorney wrote in court filings that federal prosecutors ""obscured the truth"" about the document. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office said there was no wrongdoing.
MdTA police have responsibility for law enforcement at BWI, the port of Baltimore, and the state's tunnels and bridges. The K-9 unit took over responsibility for detecting explosives at the airport from the state police in 2001 and began using them for detecting drugs three years later.
The four drug-sniffing dogs are certified by the MdTA police. The explosives dogs are certified by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and are not implicated in the case, Sales said.
When prosecutors turned the certificate in question over to Banks' attorney, they described it in a letter as a ""reproduction.""
In a subsequent deposition, attorney C. Justin Brown asked K-9 trainer Michael McNerney if it was ""an authentic certification.""
""No,"" McNerney said.
""Is this a fraudulent certification?"" Brown asked.
""I believe so,"" the trainer said.
Another trainer, John McCarty III, said in an affidavit that he was directed by the dog's handler to create the certificate on his home computer using Microsoft Word. McCarty said he believed the certificate had no value because there was no underlying paperwork to show the dog had been trained.
McNerney said in the deposition that he told the U.S. attorney's office that he thought the document was fraudulent and that he talked to his superiors about it.
Brown wrote in court filings that the two prosecutors assigned to the case had ""obscured the truth"" about the certificate, and decried ""the lengths to which [MdTA Police] and the U.S. Attorney's Office went to mislead the claimant and gain advantage in litigation.""
The U.S. attorney's office has not responded to Brown's filings in court. But in a statement, spokeswoman Vickie LeDuc said there was ""no intent to deceive anyone about the certification.""
The training records of drug-sniffing dogs serve an important legal role, one which was underscored last year by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled that an alert by a drug dog should generally be considered grounds for police to carry out a search as long as officers can show that the dog had been properly certified or trained.
Sales said the transportation authority now has current certifications and training records for its four drug-sniffing dogs but plans to recertify all its dogs and have an independent body audit the K-9 unit. There were no gaps in any of the other dogs' records, Sales said.
In the money case, Falco was not responsible for discovering the cash, but Sales said transportation authority police are working with prosecutors to determine whether any other cases are affected. James Wyda, the head of the federal public defender's office in Baltimore, said he is also keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
twitter.com/iduncanCopyright © 2015, Hartford Courant",994,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297146.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00060-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.978096902370453
d133a45b-3edd-417c-adeb-ec7a241a0b3a,2018-08-21T09:58:23+00:00,2018-08-06,1,http://samoaobserver.ws/en/06_08_2018/entertainment/35694/Patrick-Stewart-to-reprise-'Star-Trek'-role-in-new-series.htm,"NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Stewart is boldly going where he's been before — ""Star Trek.""
CBS All Access said Saturday that Stewart has been tapped to headline a new ""Star Trek"" series, reprising his ""Star Trek: The Next Generation"" character, Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
The new series is not a ""Next Generation"" reboot but will tell the story of the next chapter of Picard's life. No title or air date was revealed.
Stewart headlined his ""Star Trek"" series for seven seasons and portrayed Picard in the movies ""Star Trek Generations"" (1994), ""Star Trek: First Contact"" (1996), ""Star Trek: Insurrection"" (1998) and ""Star Trek: Nemesis"" (2002).
In a statement, Stewart says he thought his ""Star Trek"" days ""had run its natural course"" so he considers it a delightful surprise to be playing Picard again.",187,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218101.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821092915-20180821112915-00143.warc.gz,0.941068828105926
b39b2d35-b4e9-4951-8519-6b75cc6ad590,2016-07-29T23:58:26+00:00,2008-07-26,0,http://psgels.net/2008/07/26/king-of-bandits-jing-review-775100/,"Hiroshi Watanabe intrigues me. No matter what kind of utter crap he produces, he intrigues me like no other. The guy is a brilliant writer, he has a bizarre sense of humour, and at the same time he can come up with the most terrible and cheesy storylines ever. The guy has also been around for a decade now, and made a wide variety of series, so there has to be someone who sees something in the guy. Call it a guilty pleasure, but there has to be something wrong when I have no problems remembering his name, and yet I can’t recall the name of the director of Noein and Escaflowne at all. As much as I hate to admit it, the big “twists” in Suteki Tantei Labyrinth and Shining Tears x Wind have made a lasting impression on me.
In any case, King of Bandits Jing is typical Hiroshi Watanabe: incredibly cheesy and incredibly creative. You can see it as a canvas for creative ideas, in the sense of “I have an idea and I don’t care how stupid it sounds”. Seriously, you’ll have trouble to find a series with more creativity and originality than this one. Swords that turn out to be keys? Musical train tracks? Grapes of time? Delicious! On top of that, this series can also boast one of the best character-designers out there: Mariko Oka, who also did the character-designs on Jigoku Shoujo and Ghost Hound. The result is a bunch of absolutely beautiful female character-designs.
But yeah, Hiroshi Watanabe’s series have always been a very strange combination of awesomeness and utter crap, and King of Bandits Jing is no exception. The amount of Deus ex Machina that bombard the screen is only surpassed by the second half of Star Ocean Ex (which, you guessed it, was also directed by Hiroshi Watanabe). The series is incredibly formulaic: King of Bandits Jing and his partner Kir (a horny crow) enter a city in order to steal something, meet a cute girl whose name is a reference to heavy liquor, Gir flirts with her, and at the end of the story Jing has saved the day and defeated the villain in the form of an ugly man. In the final arc, Jing and Kir still enter a city in order to steal something, meet a cute girl whose name is a reference to liquor, flirt with her and end up saving the day by defeating the villain in the form of an ugly man (okay, one of these villains is an ugly woman, but she doesn’t count as she looks way too much like a man!!). Gir gets one episode of development, but this development is never used, and Jing never develops at all. No background whatsoever!
The different stories have a huge difference in overall quality. Some are utter crap, others are average, others are entertaining and one or two episodes are utterly amazing. The one thing I love about Hiroshi Watanabe’s works is that you’ll never know when he shows his best side, and King of Bandits Jing is no different. I want to give especially credit to the artist-episode. It stands miles above the other shorts in terms of storytelling, and it was without a doubt the highlight of this series. The ending of the series shows why Hiroshi Watanabe is the absolute king of cheesy plot-twists, but I don’t care, I love this guy’s works, despite the very obvious flaws.",749,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832399.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00221-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963861227035522
cc99c28f-bfbe-4935-b4f4-dc0c390b0cdc,2013-05-25T19:56:29+00:00,2013-05-23,1,http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=91595,"European Union governments agreed in principle on Thursday to extend sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, EU diplomats said.
""There is a principal agreement to extend the list of sanctioned persons by five,"" an EU diplomat said, declining to give details of the individuals targeted.
The EU wants to increase pressure on Syria`s regime to end a crackdown against demonstrators. It has already imposed restrictive measures against him and at least two dozen officials, and has targeted military-linked companies in Syria.
Under Thursday's agreement, five more people will be targeted with restrictions such as asset freezes and a travel ban.
Once formally approved by EU envoys, the sanctions will come into effect early next week.
EU also keep pushing for a UN resolution at UN Security Council regarding Syria, as Syrian regime are still forcing more crackdown at people protests.
For its part, Russia believes that a solution to the crisis in Syria should be find avoiding foreign interference, Russia`s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russia Today.
He added that Moscow opposes a UNSC resolution on Surya since similar measures against Libya did no good.
Mr. Bogdanov urged Damascus to focus more on political and economic reforms.",247,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967221558094025
e053ad0b-0a82-4269-aff5-0c136f970927,2019-08-19T03:36:22+00:00,2019-05-23,1,https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/23/joe-pavelski-discusses-his-season-and-his-future-hopefully-its-going-to-be-here/,"CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing the photos on a mobile device
SAN JOSE — Joe Pavelski will be playing in the NHL next season. Whether he’s back with the Sharks is another matter.
“Am I concerned? I don’t know. I know I’m going to be playing hockey next year. Hopefully it’s going to be here,” Pavelski said Thursday. “We love it here. I think something will happen, who really knows, but coming off a lot of emotions coming through the playoffs and that round, we’ll sit down and take a look at what will happen here. We’re going to be alright, I think, regardless.”
Pavelski is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 as he finishes the five-year, $30 million contract he signed in July 2013. He led the Sharks with 38 goals this past year, and just completed his fourth season as the team’s captain.
But he’ll also turn 35 in July, and if Patrick Marleau — Mr. Shark — can sign with another team via free agency, just about any player who has worn nothing but teal throughout his NHL career can, or so it seems.
Whether to reach an agreement with Pavelski on dollar — and particularly term — figures to be one of Sharks general manager Doug Wilson’s biggest decisions this offseason, and there are a few.
Pavelski is one of seven San Jose players that can enter unrestricted free agency this summer, and the Sharks already have a little over $58 million tied up in 15 contracts for next season.
“It’s the nature of the business of a cap system,” Wilson said. “When you want to have good hockey teams you have good players who have matriculated up and are going to get paid well, that’s the decisions you have to make. We’ll get to those things soon enough.
“I guess it’s a good problem and a bad problem. Good is you have good players who are going to get compensated well. You want players to want to be here. That mode will start in the next few days.”
Pavelski dealt with myriad injuries over the past two months.
The knee injury that forced him to miss seven games toward the end of the regular was re-aggravated after he took a hit from Alex Pietrangelo in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final of the St. Louis Blues. He, Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson all had to miss Game 6, which the Blues won 5-1 to capture the series four-games-to-two and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Pavelski finished with four goals and five assists in 13 playoff games, and had one goal and two assists in five games against St. Louis.
“It never fully healed up, but it was good enough to go for awhile,” Pavelski said of the injury, which will not require surgery. “Just got hit in a way that kind of lit it up again.”
Pavelski also got hit in the mouth with a puck in the opening game of the playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights, and of course took a nasty spill in Game 7 of that series that forced him to miss the first six games of the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. He also had to have hand surgery.
“He got hit in the mouth, had a knee thing, his hand was operated on two weeks ago. He just keeps on going,” Wilson said. “And at the end, obviously, he couldn’t. But that’s why he’s the leader that he is. Guys play through things and we missed them all at the end. But that’s the nature of the NHL playoffs. Those things will happen.”
Healthy again to start the year after he dealt with hand and wrist injuries to start the 2017-18 season, Pavelski’s 38 goals were the most he’s had in any year since he had 41 in 2013-14. He also had 38 in 2015-16, and has 355 goals and 761 points in 963 career games.
“I definitely expect something like that. I expect that going forward,” Pavelski said of his season. “I don’t know how else to say it. As players, you set certain levels and you expect to stay at that and reach that.
“Obviously every year is a little different, but it was nice to see it happen again because the other years had little injuries along the way that maybe didn’t allow me to do certain things, but there was never a thought that I couldn’t do that again or it was going the other way.”
Although there hasn’t been much in the way of dialogue between the two sides as of yet, Pavelski said he’s confident a deal with the Sharks can get done.
“Yeah, I’m pretty confident. I’ve got a pretty strong belief system that I’ll be back here,” he said. “It’s just things have to work themselves out along the way. We had a lot of things going on with many different players. It’s nothing I’m too worried about. My mindset really doesn’t change.
“I know where I’m at as a player, and physically right now. So I’ll get a little rest. Need to have a good summer, it’s like anything, it doesn’t matter where you’re coming in. My mindset doesn’t really change. You go back and you try to add different layers throughout the summer and all to prepare you to have a good season and have a shot at the end.”",1247,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314641.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819032136-20190819054136-00364.warc.gz,0.981529951095581
4ca094f9-e845-4aa5-b5c6-e33e422ec892,2013-06-19T19:21:20+00:00,2012-09-13,0,"http://www.herald-mail.com/news/tristate/hm-new-mcdonalds-to-open-soon-in-martinsburg-20120913,0,2018732.story","With seating for more than 100 customers and parking for 91 vehicles, including 22 spaces for buses, business owner Susan Erwin said she was told the 5,100-square-foot restaurant is the largest McDonald’s in the Interstate 81 corridor.
The restaurant replaced the original McDonald’s at 14634 Apple Harvest Drive, which opened in 1981.
A weeklong grand opening celebration to benefit various charitable organizations is planned for the second week of October, Erwin said.
The neighboring Krista Lite Motel was torn down to make way for the larger restaurant, which features two drive-thru lanes that allow more than one customers to place an order at the same time. With the additional sales volume, Erwin expects more than 30 additional employees will be added to the staff, increasing employment to about 100.
While construction took longer than expected due to rock removal, portions of the old structures were recycled in redeveloping the new restaurant, according to Erwin.
All but one of the contractors that have worked on the project are from the area, which Erwin said was really important to her.
While Erwin owns the business, the land is leased by McDonald’s from Nancy Lillis, who had owned the motel, she said. Lillis is listed as the president of the corporation that owned the motel, which was renamed Lighthouse Enterprises Inc. earlier this year, according to West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant’s office.
“The original landscaper that landscaped the store 30 years ago did it again, and the original welder that installed the big high-rise (sign) checked the wells and painted it ... again,” Erwin said.
The high-rise sign, which is about 120 feet tall, is practically the only publicly visible reminder of the original McDonald’s that still remains, according to Erwin.
To improve access to the restaurant, an eastbound turn lane was added along Apple Harvest Drive to improve access to the restaurant, which now faces Winchester & Western Railroad.
The old restaurant faced Apple Harvest Drive and customers were sometimes backed up into the intersection with the busy road. There were 29 parking spaces for the old restaurant and seating for little more than 70 people.
The length of the traffic signal green light that allows customers to turn onto Apple Harvest Drive from the restaurant was extended by four seconds, Erwin said.",493,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970449447631836
a7e474e7-b870-4bbe-8777-ac6c404b010b,2020-10-20T06:07:18+00:00,2020-10-20,0,https://www.speechtechmag.com/Articles/MoreNews.aspx?ContextSubtypeID=147,"Concentrix Launches Concentrix XP
Concentrix XP is a cloud platform for digital customer experience management.
Resemble.ai Launches Localize Voice AI
Resemble.ai Localize uses deep learning and custom synthetic AI voices for translations.
VA Expands Telehealth with Nuance Dragon Medical One
Nuance's cloud-based speech recognition platform with mobile app supports the VA's significant increase in virtual visits during the pandemic.
Mitchell Releases Hands-Free Tech for Auto Repair Facilities
Mitchell Intelligent Vision features a voice interface for hands-free collision repair workflows.
InnoMedia Partners with VoIP.ms on Voice-Enabled Speakerphone
InnoMedia's BuddyTalk speakers are powered by Amazon Alexa Voice Services.
TransPerfect Launches StudioNEXT 2.0
StudioNEXT 2.0 enables cloud streaming for dubbing and voiceover projects.
Quil Offers Voice-Enabled Quil Assure
Quil Assure helps seniors maintain independence at home with a voice-enabled platform that connects to caregivers and loved ones.
Orbita Adds to OrbitaENGAGE
OrbitaENGAGE now supports new proactive campaigns and connections between healthcare providers and their patients with added voice capabilities.
Red Box Partners with RingCentral
Red Box and RingCentral are teaming up to deliver voice and video capture integrated with unified communications. (Featured on SmartCustomerService.com.)
ReadSpeaker's TTS Chosen for Honda Personal Assistant
Honda has selected ReadSpeaker's text-to-speech software for the Honda Personal Assistant.
Aware Introduces Voice Enhancements with Knomi 2.11
Knomi 2.11 features advanced voice authentication, speaker recognition, and liveness detection.
Merrell Leverages Voicify with Alexa & Google Assistant
Merrell's Voicify-powered mobile apps help users to find hiking trails just by asking their voice assistants.
NVIDIA Launches Jarvis and Merlin in Open Beta
Jarvis eases creation of interactive conversational artificial intelligence agents, while Merlin speeds up data loading and training time to improve recommendations for online businesses.
Deepgram Announces UniMRCP Integration
With Deepgram UniMRCP integration, companies can add speech recognition to their IVR systems. (Featured on SmartCustomerService.com.)
Lorex Introduces Voice-Enabled Home Monitoring System
Lorex Voice Assistant lets users control their home security systems with voice commands.
Rakuten Partners with Nuance
Rakuten Mobile adds Nuance Intelligent Engagement AI Services to Rakuten Communications Platform.
HandsFree Health Launches Voice-Enabled Medical Alert System
The new WellBe Smartwatch with Voice Assistant enables wellness, entertainment, and security.
AppTek Integrates Speech and Translation Technologies into PBT EU's SubtitleNEXT
AppTek embeds its speech and artificial intelligence technologies into the SubtitleNEXT captioning and subtitling platform.
Aural Analytics Launches A2E for Speech Collection and Analytics
A2E enables speech collection for decentralized clinical trials, remote patient monitoring, telemedicine, and consumer applications.
Solutionreach Adds Automated Answering Service from MedXCom to Marketplace
The customizable, HIPAA-compliant service includes speech-to-text transcription and documentation.",683,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107869933.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020050920-20201020080920-00422.warc.gz,0.816389620304108
83f5c603-dd75-48e6-8fbb-103281d54bca,2017-08-20T21:18:28+00:00,2016-12-09,1,http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/passengers-set-more-misery-southern-12242307,"Passengers travelling into and out of London Victoria are set for further misery after Southern Rail drivers announced more strikes next month.
Train drivers union ASLEF (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) announced on its website new strike dates will commence on December 13, 14 and 16 then again between January 9 and 14.
The walkouts, backed by 87% of ASLEF members, come in response to the introduction of driver-only trains.
Southern Rail services run in and out of Victoria .
Commenting on ASLEF's announcement Charles Horton, Govia Thameslink Railway's Chief Executive Officer, said: ""Passengers will be rightly furious that these wholly unnecessary and unjustified strikes have been called in the run up to Christmas and in the New Year.
""The travelling public has endured months of misery and seen their work and family lives turned upside down by RMT's futile industrial action with conductors.
""Now ASLEF and the drivers want to compound that suffering by joining the fray in launching more pointless strikes.
""It’s perfectly safe for the driver to have sole responsibility for the operation of a modern train, and that's how a third of the trains up and down the country - with the full agreement and support of ASLEF - already operate today.
""These strikes will have a devastating impact on the South East economy and people's everyday lives which will bring Southern to a standstill.
""We urge the union to get round the table with us to continue our talks and resolve their dispute without causing further unnecessary grief to passengers.
""Passengers have made it crystal clear that they want an end to these strikes.
""Both the RMT and ASLEF should take stock and listen, if not to us, then at least to the travelling public. Let's end these strikes now without further suffering.""
In a statement on its website, ASLEF said: ""ASLEF members on Southern Railways have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a trade dispute over the company’s decision to force through driver only operation on the franchise.
""We say there should be no introduction and/or extension of new driver-only operated routes on Southern without the agreement of ASLEF.""
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.",500,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106990.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820204359-20170820224359-00126.warc.gz,0.953107237815857
f7456656-e43f-463e-bd1c-58864d8e34cf,2022-05-19T02:15:41+00:00,2018-05-12,1,https://www.foodsafety.com.au/blog/australias-egg-safety-debate,"Egg safety has become a contentious issue of late with differing opinions emerging from various government departments and other interested parties.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s article last week suggested that supermarkets were the ‘missing link’ when it comes to protection against foodborne illnesses caused by eggs.
The article mentions that supermarkets currently aren’t required to refrigerate their eggs, despite the fact that research shows doing so could stop harmful bacteria, like salmonella, from spreading.
Included in the article is an interview with Australian National University’s Associate Professor Martyn Kirk, who explained it was crucial for supermarkets to think about cold storage and egg-related salmonella prevention.
""It is a priority. We've seen lots of outbreaks. We should be doing multiple things to try and prevent salmonella occurring,"" he said.
The president of the Victorian Farmers Federation’s egg group, Brian Ahmed, was also interviewed for the news story. As quoted in the Australian Institute of Food Safety’s article last week, Ahmed says that with regards to food safety, eggs should be treated the same way as raw meat.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s Response
In response, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) posted a statement outlining its stance on best food safety practices with regards to eggs.
“There is no food safety reason to require whole eggs to be refrigerated at retail, however, retailers may choose to refrigerate eggs for their own reasons (for example, to maintain the quality of the egg such as firmness of the yolk or reduce spoilage),” said the statement.
Based on the findings of its 2011 risk assessment of egg production and processing, FSANZ says that the shell, membrane and white of an egg form a barrier against potential contamination. The statement continues to say that refrigerating whole eggs is not required because:
- The Salmonella bacteria which can contaminate an egg while it’s inside the bird isn’t present in Australian eggs.
- Australian egg producers are already required to minimise the risk of eggs becoming contaminated after they have been laid.
- Salmonella must breach three layers of protection before contaminating the yolk.
- If retail stores were to refrigerate eggs, it would likely have a small impact on the overall risk of contamination, because the eggs might not have been refrigerated since being laid; and
- Most of the recent foodborne illness outbreaks that have been linked to eggs relate to raw egg products.
Is it Better to be Safe Than Sorry?
Despite the FSANZ’s statement regarding not needing to refrigerate eggs, should we be erring on the side of caution?
There are still numerous government authorities and food safety experts, including the Food Safety Information Council and the NSW Food Authority, who advocate for refrigerating eggs so while it might not yet be a requirement for retail food businesses, it might be better to be safe than sorry.",613,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00224.warc.gz,0.961420178413391
35f0bc96-5db7-408c-a617-764bdd78691a,2017-08-18T01:48:46+00:00,2017-08-18,0,https://www.jabong.com/Izod-Light-Grey-Solid-Polo-T-Shirt-1548203.html,"Save the products you like here
This product is out of stock. Customers interested in it also viewed these products
- PRODUCT INFO & CARE
Embrace the vibrant mood of summer by slipping into this light grey coloured polo T-shirt from IZOD. This slim-fit polo T-shirt is tailored from cotton. Stylised with simple design, this T-shirt can be teamed with jeans and sandals.
- SleevesHalf Sleeves
- NeckPolo Neck
- ColorLight Grey
- Model StatsModel is wearing size M and his height is 6.2, chest 40 and waist 32.
Sold by -Do you want to contact Jabong to know more about the seller?",148,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104204.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818005345-20170818025345-00061.warc.gz,0.910987615585327
de36dc75-1416-4b07-a9a3-34e1aea52867,2020-10-30T02:51:03+00:00,2020-10-30,0,https://www.promo-codes4u.com/coupon/la-pinta-4-1/,"La Pinta 4 1
Discount Code & Coupon up to 50% off
Comfortable apartment with a capacity for 6 people. It is located in the center of Roses, near there are all kinds of shops and restaurants where you can enjoy the best fresh fish and seafood from the Roses bay. The sandy beach is only 50 meters away and it is one with the most crystal clear waters of the Girona coast. Ideal to enjoy in family or with friends of the many possibilities that la Costa Brava offers.",106,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107906872.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030003928-20201030033928-00267.warc.gz,0.964820802211762
85108705-e27f-4dcc-a2f0-9c5583980df2,2019-08-25T11:09:51+00:00,2019-05-23,1,https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/86788-pm-imran-congratulates-modi-looks-forward-to-working-for-peace-in-the-region.html,"Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated India’s premier Narendra Modi on his victory in the country's national elections.
""I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia,"" the prime minister said on Twitter.
I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019
With around half the 600 million votes cast counted by 5pm, Indian Election Commission's data showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 300 of India's 543 elected lower house seats.
Read Indian election live updates here.
Modi claimed victory as results were being counted and vowed an ""inclusive"" future, with his party headed for a landslide win to crush the Gandhi dynasty's comeback hopes.
The BJP's main rivals Congress were on just 49 seats, with Rahul Gandhi — the great-grandson, grandson and son of three premiers — in danger of a humiliating loss in the seat held by India's once-mighty political dynasty for generations.",249,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323328.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825105643-20190825131643-00181.warc.gz,0.96936309337616
6c8eac3b-6be9-4051-85a7-7bc9747a7441,2018-08-19T09:30:42+00:00,2014-03-19,1,http://www.asiaone.com/malaysia/chinese-developer-plans-us3-billion-project-johor,"The Greenland Group is the latest developer from China to purchase land for a property project in Danga Bay, Johor Baru.
It entered an agreement yesterday to buy 13.96 acres from Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) for 600 million ringgit (S$231 million) with plans to develop projects with a potential gross development value (GDV) of 2.2 billion ringgit. The transaction comes amid an environment where property developers are seeing lacklustre response from buyers for their launches in Johor.
The latest to feel the heat was Singapore's Pacific Star Development Pvt Ltd that saw only 25 per cent bookings in the second phase of its condominium project in Puteri Harbour that is located in Iskandar Malaysia.
The purchase price works out to 984 ringgit per sq ft, which is just below the record 991 ringgit psf that Hao Yuan Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based but China-owned firm paid for 37 acres in Danga Bay last December.
However according to sources, Greenland planned to purchase more land at lower valuations, an exercise that may average down its cost.
""This is only the beginning for Greenland which is a state-owned enterprise"" sources said. The Shanghai-based firm is understood to be eyeing a GDV in excess of 10 billion ringgit in Danga Bay with several more transactions to be wrapped up in the coming months.
This is Greenland's maiden investment in Malaysia, for which it will form a joint venture with IWH to develop the land into an integrated project within five years.
Inclusive of the Greenland transactions, IWH has to-date inked 17 deals with local and foreign partners to develop properties worth 127 billion ringgit in GDV, providing a fillip to its ambitious plan of transforming the coastline of Johor bordering Singapore into a waterfront metropolis.",388,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215075.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819090604-20180819110604-00124.warc.gz,0.929917216300964
6717e93b-b19d-4882-b4b5-cb998c5a9c4e,2018-08-18T16:32:00+00:00,2017-09-20,1,https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/legislators-hear-testimony-positive-train-control-gateway-tunnel-joint-session/,"Almost one year after the fatal NJ Transit train crash in Hoboken, lawmakers observed a moment of silence. But NJ Transit’s Executive Director Steve Santoro told the Senate Legislative Oversight and Assembly Judiciary Joint Committee there’s still no definitive answer on what caused the morning commuter train to slam into the station, killing one woman and injuring dozens more.
“The investigation continues, and under NTSB rules, NJ Transit is strictly prohibited from commenting on any aspect of the investigation, including the cause, or potential cause, of the accident,” said Santoro.
Santoro said the National Transportation Safety Board will release a report in February 2018. The engineer in the crash has been diagnosed as suffering from sleep apnea. He further noted that NJ Transit’s tested 350 of its 370 engineers for the disorder, which can make operators drowsy. NJ Transit staff also said it will meet the federal deadline to implement positive train control, a safety feature to automatically slow speeding trains despite initial problems with its contractor, Parsons.
“We’ve had the funding and we’ve had the staff to deliver it from our standpoint,” said Eric Daleo, assistant executive director for NJ Transit.
Santoro also offered to provide numbers showing how many engineers have left or retired to address concerns of staff shortages. Meanwhile, lawmakers asked experts about the Gateway train tunnel project under the Hudson, worried about what could happen if even one of the two existing tunnels damaged by Sandy flooding failed before a new tunnel is built.
“We could lose 75 percent of our trans-Hudson rail capacity. Instead of 24 NJ Transit and Amtrak trains during rush hour, we would be down to six. We would be facing commuter Armageddon,” said Sen. Bob Gordon, the chair of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee.
Advocates pointed to the unusually active and destructive hurricane season and said the current tunnels represent a single point of potential failure that could have a catastrophic impact.
“You have a very unpredictable player in here, and that is Mother Nature,” according to Janna Chernetz, director of New Jersey policy for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “It’s really only a matter of time until we are affected by that.”
“No engineer can say with certainty when the tunnel may become so unreliable that it cannot sustain the level of service we enjoy today. We are literally in a race against time,” said John Porcari, interim executive director of the Gateway Program Development Corporation.
“Every single year that we delay building Gateway adds roughly $1 billion to the cost of the project. Every month we delay adds $100 million to the cost of the project,” said Regional Plan Association President Tom Wright.
Lawmakers also wanted more details about plans to replace or repair the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The Port Authority is expected to unveil a plan Thursday.",600,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213691.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818154147-20180818174147-00612.warc.gz,0.95545768737793
72624714-6176-40f6-a4ff-d1f743128861,2020-10-29T02:57:39+00:00,2017-08-31,0,https://lytchettmatraverspc.org/temporary-closure-of-colehill-road-from-5th-september/,"Dorset County Council has issued a Notice under Section 14  of the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 as amended. All vehicles will be prohibited from proceeding along COLEHILL ROAD, LYTCHETT MATRAVERS betweenits junctions with Dullar Lane and Jenny’s Lane, a distance of approximately 1,000 metres. The order is needed in order to comply with Health and Safety Regulations which require the provision of safe working areas and to minimise likelihood of danger to Highway Users. It will come into operation on Tuesday 05 September 2017 and will remain in force for 5 days. However the road will only be closed between 09.30hrs and 15.30hrs daily and it is anticipated that the works will be completed on Thursday 07 September 2017.
This Notice will enable BT safe access to their overhead network to restore local services.
Alternative routes will be sign posted as indicated by the blue line on the map below.
If you would like further information about the work being undertaken please call A-Plant Lux, agents for BT, on 03700 500792. For the information concerning this notice please call Dorset Highways’ Traffic Team on 01305 221020.
MIKE HARRIES Director for Environment and the Economy County Hall DORCHESTER Dorset DT1 1XJ.
Any person who uses or permits the use of a vehicle in contravention of the order will be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1000.",305,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107902683.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029010437-20201029040437-00007.warc.gz,0.939158320426941
6a45e236-e2fe-4443-aa32-f47529a6a799,2016-07-27T02:13:19+00:00,2009-04-10,0,http://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2009/04/10/family-train-trip-day-5-anaheim-to-san-juan-capistrano/,"Train departs: Anaheim, 2:39 p.m. (Leaves on time.)
Train arrives: San Juan Capistrano, 3:18 p.m. (Arrives on time.)
Total hours on train: 40 minutes
What we saw out the train window: Track housing developments, orange groves, parking lots, the freeway clogged with traffic.
Low point of the day: I tell the train attendant that we’re getting off in San Juan Capistrano so we can go to Legoland. She says, “You should stop in Oceanside further south. It’s much closer to the park.” And she’s right: I made a major mistake when planning the trip. We should have stayed in Oceanside! But it’s too late to change the hotel and car rental reservations.
High point of the day: We step off the train and we’re in the heart of old town San Juan Capistrano. It’s charming. The surrounding Los Rios neighborhood of funky bungalows overgrown with bougainvillaea is over 200 years old. We walk to the Mission, founded in 1776, where the garden is blooming with roses. We take a self-guided audio tour and my kids are enthralled with the story of the Mission’s crumbling “Great Stone Church” that was destroyed in an earthquake in 1812. I’m glad I made a mistake in the trip planning.
Photo of the day: Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Quote of the day: “Mommy why did the Spanish people make the Indians build the Mission? It seems sort of mean, don’t you think?”
- $20 one adult business class Amtrak ticket
- $30 two child business class Amtrak tickets
- $17 breakfast, La Brea Bakery, Downtown Disney
- $12 lunch, Subway sandwiches, Anaheim
- $15 taxi cab, hotel to train station
- $17 admission, Mission
$9.50 dinner, El Campeon
Taqueria Y Tortilleria, two burritos, a grilled chicken taco, and fresh sliced mango (cheap tasty food!)
- $119 hotel
Total expenses: $239.50",481,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00291-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.906429946422577
62edc163-6301-4058-9a2f-df291f58ecbb,2022-05-25T22:00:36+00:00,2019-01-01,0,https://www.shopify.com/ph/blog/youtube-algorithm,"Many video creators, whether professional YouTubers or brands on YouTube, regard the YouTube algorithm as a complete mystery—a higher power that rules over their view counts, completely outside of their control.
They believe there’s no understanding how the YouTube algorithm works. It’s one of the platform’s most carefully guarded secrets, after all.
Except it isn’t.
In a research paper published in 2016, a group of Google engineers shared their plans for how videos could be surfaced through YouTube’s recommendation engine for a better user experience.
While it didn’t garner much attention at the time, it bears a lot of relevance to the YouTube of today since, according to YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, 70% of YouTube views now come through this recommendation engine.
Much of the discussion about getting views on YouTube focuses on YouTube SEO, social media promotion, and getting subscribers. While these contribute to the discovery of your videos, alone they don't unlock the lion's share of views you stand to gain from YouTube's recommendation engine (via YouTube's homepage and “recommended for you” suggestions).
If you want to get more video views in the long term, you need to understand a few things about how the YouTube algorithm works in 2019.
Table of contents
- How the YouTube algorithm works
- Rethinking ""clickbait"" for 2019
- 5 ways to get more YouTube views
How the YouTube algorithm works
In this research paper published by Google engineers Paul Covington, Jay Adams, and Emre Sargin, they break down the signals they use to rank videos for YouTube recommendations:
- Click-through rate (the likelihood of someone clicking on your video after seeing it)
- Watch time (the combined amount of time that viewers spend watching your videos)
- How many videos the user has watched from your channel
- How recently the user watched a video about this topic
- What the user has searched for in the past
- The user’s previously watched videos
- The user’s demographic information and location
The first three signals are the only ones you can influence directly. The rest depend on factors outside of your channel in order to personalize the recommendation.
These Google engineers even state that their final ranking objective is “generally a simple function of expected watch time per impression. Ranking by click-through rate often promotes deceptive videos that the user does not complete (‘clickbait’) whereas watch time better captures engagement.”
Some might interpret this to mean that optimizing for click-throughs will get you penalized by YouTube, but that’s a huge misunderstanding.
YouTube is only penalizing bait-and-switch tactics—overpromising before the click and delivering disappointing content after it. Click-through rate is still as important as ever. You can't generate a lot of watch time for YouTube without getting clicks first, after all.
You can even see these priorities reflected in YouTube Studios: YouTube’s new analytics dashboard.
Under the Reach Viewers tab, you can see the following metrics, which together illustrate YouTube’s new emphasis on click-through rate and watch time:
- Impressions: How many times your video thumbnails were shown to viewers as a recommended video, on the homepage, or in search results.
- Traffic sources for impressions: Where on YouTube your video thumbnails were shown to potential viewers.
- Impressions click-through rate (CTR): How often users watched a video after seeing your thumbnails (based on logged-in impressions).
- Views from impressions: This measures how often viewers watched your videos after seeing them on YouTube.
- Watch time from impressions: Watch time that originated from people who saw your videos and clicked them on YouTube.
Rethinking “clickbait”: The relationship between click-through rate and watch time
Over the past few years, you’ve likely seen articles about YouTube’s war against clickbait as the platform was flooded with misleading video thumbnails and exaggerated titles trying to game the algorithm.
As a result, the pendulum swung towards watch time as the key signal for ensuring the quality of a video. Many YouTube creators reacted by abandoning the tactics that helped them capture attention while competing against the hundreds of hours of video content uploaded every minute to YouTube.
Only that didn’t work either.
In a Q&A about prioritizing signals in the YouTube algorithm, one of the same Google engineers from the aforementioned paper admitted, “It’s constantly a struggle, because mostly you’re combating abuse at the same time. So if you optimize for click-through rate you get clickbait, and if you optimize for watch time, you get incredibly long videos.”
If a video has a high click-through rate but generates low watch time, then it’s clickbait without a doubt. But if attention-grabbing thumbnails and titles get people to click through and watch your videos, then that’s not only fair in YouTube’s eyes—it’s ideal.
And that brings us to the crux of my point: If you want to get more views through YouTube's recommendation engine, you need to optimize your channel and your videos for both click-through rate and watch time.
Learn More: Find out how to make money on YouTube.
5 ways to get more views through YouTube recommendations
1. Stick to a consistent premise or format for your YouTube channel
Most great YouTube channels or series can be summed up in 5 seconds:
- First We Feast: Celebrities and food.
- Blendtec’s Will it Blend?: Blending an object that you're not supposed to blend.
- Vox: Newsworthy topics explained in an accessible and engaging way.
On the flipside, many YouTube channels struggle to gain traction because they treat their YouTube channel as a place to upload all their video content, rather than as a home for a consistent video series.
Consistency is the foundation for success on YouTube—without it, you might be able to capture attention, but you won’t be able to keep it.
YouTube channels that find their consistency are able to sustainably grow their subscriber base and viewership because it makes it easier for people to decide to watch more of their content and subscribe to their channel.
The First We Feast channel embodies the kind of consistency we’re talking about—celebrities eating food—with multiple series that are essentially variations of the same premise.
Below, you can see how this consistency feeds their subscriber growth over time. Whenever a video is lucky enough to “go viral”, it actually has a better shot at converting each fleeting viewer into a lasting subscriber because of the stickiness of the premise and the consistency they can find across the rest of the channel’s content.
If you want to deviate from your core premise, it’s best to do it on a separate YouTube channel to avoid undermining your own efforts. First We Feast, for example, is owned by Complex, which has a very different focus and audience. The channels are connected under the Featured Channels tab, but otherwise, they don’t really intersect.
To make posting easier, you can find a free video editing software that uploads videos to your channel with one-click. You won't have to waste time uploading and downloading files, and can publish videos quickly and consistently.
2. Feed the recommendation engine with other sources
Newer YouTube channels can’t rely on the recommendation engine to drive all their views.
Recommendations, after all, are mostly based on how viewers have viewed and interacted with your videos in the past. YouTube needs data to base the recommendations on and there's no data without people watching your videos. So exercise all the usual efforts to promote your videos, such as:
- Sending new videos to your email list
- Partnering with the press or other influencers
- Promoting your videos on social media
But above all, focus on YouTube SEO and getting more subscribers, not only to garner video views over the long-term but also because what a user repeatedly consumes on-platform and what a user subscribes to are key signals that the YouTube algorithm uses to make personalized recommendations.
In the paper, the engineers note that “the most important signals are those that describe a user’s previous interaction with the item itself and other similar items… As an example, consider the user’s past history with the channel that uploaded the video being scored—how many videos has the user watched from this channel? When was the last time the user watched a video on this topic?”
If you can get a new user to continue watching more content after clicking through to one of your videos, you can increase the chances of your videos getting recommended to them the next time they open YouTube.
3. Create thumbnails that get clicked
We’ve established that click-through rate is still important and that YouTube prioritizing watch time is simply a countermeasure against low-quality clickbait.
So now let’s talk about the elephant in the room—improving your clickthrough rate—using two great sources of inspiration for clickable thumbnails: YouTube’s trending videos tab and Netflix.
Have closeups of emotive faces or action shots
Look around YouTube and you’ll see no shortage of highly expressive faces on video thumbnails.
According to a study by Netflix about the performance of artwork on the platform, “emotions are an efficient way of conveying complex nuances. It's well known that humans are hardwired to respond to faces—we have seen this to be consistent across all mediums. But it is important to note that faces with complex emotions outperform stoic or benign expressions.”
One of the earliest trends also noted by Netflix, which is worth carrying forward to your own thumbnails, is that an image’s tendency to win against others dropped when it contained more than 3 people.
You can optimize your thumbnails for click-throughs by including one to three faces in your thumbnails wearing expressions that speak louder than words.
If you don’t have emotive faces in your videos, you can also use thumbnails that convey action to elicit an emotional response, like the SlowMo Guys.
Follow the “rule of thirds” to compose your thumbnail image
This image composition guideline suggests that you position your point of interest not in the center of the image, but in the first or last third of the frame.
While it’s more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule, designing your thumbnail in this manner lets you draw the viewer’s eye to the most important “message” in your image.
Add text to your thumbnails
According to a 2019 study by Sandvine, YouTube now accounts for 37% of all mobile traffic on the internet. That also means a fair segment of your viewers will see your videos on a mobile device.
This is what the homepage of YouTube looks like to them:
The prominence of your thumbnail relative to the title makes it almost guaranteed that the user’s eyes will be drawn to the thumbnail of your video first. And then, if they find the image compelling enough, will they read the title.
So why not add some text to the thumbnail to help viewers make up their minds?
The text can be the title of your video or even just a handful of words that are related to its hook. Whatever you choose, if over a third of your viewers are used to “reading” thumbnails on mobile, make sure your own thumbnails can communicate what your video’s about even without the title.
Brand your thumbnails
If you look at the trending tab on Youtube, you’ll notice many of the trending videos have optimized their “first impression” by using the tactics we’ve outlined above.
YouTube thumbnails can be very similar aesthetically, and so making it easy for viewers to spot your videos at a glance increases the chances that they’ll be clicked on by people who are already familiar with your content.
If you have a consistent format for your YouTube channel, consider branding your thumbnails to differentiate them from other recommended videos.
Anyone familiar with Great Big Story, for example, will instantly recognize their logo mark on YouTube.
4. Encourage viewers to stay after they click
Getting people to view your videos is one thing. Getting them to actually watch a video all the way through is another.
Luckily, you can improve your video completion rate (and earn more watch time) by building this objective into your video creation process:
- Start strong and incorporate a “hook” into the introduction your video
- Transcribe your videos so people can watch them muted
- Adjust the length of your videos according to your analytics (how far do viewers actually make it before dropping off?)
- Don't use the same shot for too long or you may bore the viewer (this is why jump cuts are popular on YouTube)
- If your video is long, sprinkle in interruptive moments that re-focus the viewer's attention when it starts to wander
5. Encourage binge-watching on your channel
You can also optimize for watch time at the channel-level by employing strategies involving video consumption and consistency.
Beyond having a focused premise for your YouTube channel—which is arguably the most important factor—some other ways you can make it easier for viewers to watch more of your content include:
- Using cards and end cards to manually recommend related videos
- Linking to videos in playlists whenever you share so that the next video the user watches is always one of your own
- Developing a consistent format from the thumbnail to the video itself—if viewers enjoy one of your videos, they should be able to rightly assume they’ll enjoy your other videos.
- Incorporating a specific call to action or even scenes from other videos to “pitch” viewers directly to consume more content.
As YouTube's algorithm changes, one thing remains the same
YouTube's algorithm has changed a lot over the years, each time leaving creators and brands scrambling, wondering why the methods that they once relied on aren’t working anymore.
But even as the YouTube algorithm evolves, keep in mind that the platform’s goal remains the same: Get more people watching and engaging with more videos on YouTube. And that's not all that different from yours.",3033,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662594414.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525213545-20220526003545-00626.warc.gz,0.930876612663269
a60ea88b-b4b0-47f4-9e57-3495668c7fe0,2013-05-25T20:11:18+00:00,2012-04-30,0,http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/30/wife-ex-aide-says-edwards-love-child-paternity-scheme-made-her-mad/print,"Published April 30, 2012
GREENSBORO, N.C. – In an emotional day of testimony, the wife of John Edwards' former aide said Monday that the politician's plan to have her husband claim paternity of Edwards' love child made her ""upset"" to the point of screaming -- but that Edwards stepped in to personally convince her to go along.
Cheri Young, who took the witness stand as the Edwards trial enters its second week, described how her husband, Andrew Young, initially claimed paternity of Edwards' love child, which she said was the candidate's idea. She occasionally broke down in tears as she testified in the criminal trial of her husband's former boss.
Young said she was in a McDonald's drive-through when her husband told her about the paternity plan.
""The first thought in my mind was, how in the world could Mr. Edwards ask one more thing of me, of us?"" she recalled. ""I was mad. I was upset. Of course I said, 'Absolutely Not!' I screamed at him. I cursed at him.""
But Young said she eventually agreed to go along with the plan after a telephone conference call with her husband, Edwards and the candidate's mistress, Rielle Hunter.
During that call, Cheri Young said Edwards went into a stump speech, explaining why his presidency would be good for the country.
In court Monday, she described a conversation she had with her husband after the call.
""I told him that I feel like everything had been dumped in my lap, that everyone else was on board but me,"" Young said. ""I didn't want the responsibility of knowing that because I wasn't on board, because I didn't want to try it, the campaign would explode and I'd have to live with that.""
She said Edwards assured her that using donations to hide his pregnant mistress during the 2008 presidential campaign was legal. Young said Edwards seemed very angry during the conversation and explained he had cleared the arrangement with campaign lawyers.
""Get the money in,"" she recalled Edwards saying.
Cheri Young's testimony is important to federal prosecutors, who are trying to prove that nearly $1 million that two wealthy donors provided to hide Hunter during Edwards' run for president was intended to influence the outcome of the election. They argue the funds were ""campaign contributions"" and, therefore, subject to the individual donor cap of $2,300 under federal campaign finance law.
The defense insists the gifts were private money from friends who were simply trying to spare Edwards' cancer-stricken wife from finding out about the affair. Edwards' lawyers tried to paint Young's husband as an opportunist who profited from the controversy surrounding the affair.
But on Monday, Cheri Young spoke of the sacrifices her family made to house Hunter and shield her from an aggressive and invasive tabloid press.
According to Young, Hunter was a high-maintenance guest.
After living with the Youngs, Hunter moved to her own house nearby. Young said she handed Hunter a list of utility companies to call to set up new service.
According to Young, Hunter handled the list back to her and said, ""Set it up.""
She also recalled eating with Hunter at a diner in Aspen, Colo. Young said Hunter complained that her Reuben sandwich had the wrong sauce and then called her spiritual adviser and healer for help.
Young said she and her husband wrote several checks, including one for $8,000, to help Hunter pay for her spiritual adviser's services.",720,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.988043665885925
9f4c6c4c-a808-44bd-bb24-cb3f1f402571,2022-05-27T15:00:52+00:00,2016-12-01,0,https://realtraining.co.uk/2016/12/real-group-welcomes-new-head-marketing-sales,"We are delighted that Stuart Curry has recently joined the company as Real Group’s head of marketing and sales.
Prior to this, Stuart worked across a variety of sectors, including not-for-profit, consumer and business publishing, membership bodies, and finance. He is based at our Greenwich office and will support the marketing and sales team, while working closely with all departments and directors to continue Real Group’s financial growth. He will also assist with the development of new business propositions and areas of activity.
Stuart emphasised how much he has relished working with the team and learning about the positive aspects of our work:
‘I am really enjoying working with an incredibly dedicated and committed small team and getting to learn about the fantastic, valuable work that the company does in the sector – helping to change lives.’
He looks forward to working with Real Group to expand and meet the many challenges facing education professionals and their pupils.",193,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662658761.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527142854-20220527172854-00227.warc.gz,0.977281451225281
857ef057-acea-4199-a850-4e416f94407e,2013-06-19T14:31:40+00:00,2012-01-31,1,http://italian.wunderground.com/blog/RickyRood/archive.html?year=2012&month=01,"Climate Science and the 2012 Election
Climate Science and the 2012 Election
I came from a family that subscribed, in the 1960s, to both the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Technology Review. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the magazine that, during the Cold War, famously published a clock set a few minutes before midnight. This clock was the evaluation of those at the Bulletin of how far we were from the, well as my grade-school self understood it, the end of the world. The cause for concern for the end of the world was nuclear war.
I have had cause to recall my Cold War childhood recently when my sister told the story of my brother going to roof of his building during the 1965 Northeast Blackout with a fine bottle of wine – or perhaps, cognac, to await the end of the world. His presumption was that the blackout was the darkening of the cities to make them more difficult targets for the bombers. I remember, in the 1960s, finding comfort when the new issue of the Bulletin would come and the clock had not moved forward, and I was quite excited if it moved backwards. I was surprised, recently, when I read that Bulletin had moved the clock one minute closer to midnight because of “inadequate progress on nuclear weapons reduction and proliferation, and continuing inaction on climate change …” Looking at their website you will see that the Bulletin maintains efforts in Biosecurity, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Power, and Climate Change. The article by Cohen and Miller, Climate Change 2011: A Status Review of US Policy is an excellent summary of the current situation in the US. The final sentence of their essay is, “That action is extremely unlikely to occur unless climate change comes to be seen as a practical, rather than ideological, issue.”
Looking at the political landscape, climate change has fallen from the political discussion; it is a subject that cannot be talked about(some of my writings). Maxwell Boykoff has an excellent op-ed piece in the Washington Post entitled A Dangerous Shift in Obama’s ‘climate change’ Rhetoric. At the center of this piece is how climate change has implicitly been consumed in discussions of energy security, alternative energy, and clean energy. Though the warming of our climate is strongly linked to our burning of fossil fuels, there are many ways to achieve energy security and to develop alternative energy that do not address the causes of global warming. The pursuit of clean energy depends on the definition of “clean,” and this word is easily co-opted by, for example, the reduction of mercury emissions from coal.
Ultimately, we have to talk about management of the climate if we are to address the problems of human-caused global warming. We cannot address one societal challenge with the idea that we will fix the climate change problem by good fortune. When I teach this idea in class, I invoke my experience in management and, namely, it is simply not responsible management to anticipate achieving an important result without someone, some organization, having the responsibility for delivering that result.
Yet we live in a time when politicians are vilified and run out of office when they talk about climate and climate change. As Boykoff noted in his piece, President Obama avoids the climate issue because it is such a political hot button that it completely disrupts and halts progress on any issue where it is invoked. There is the recent incident where an essay on climate change was purged from a collection being put together by Newt Gingrich. I like to think that a couple of the candidates pulled out of the Republican primaries because they felt that their integrity would be too seriously comprised by having to, essentially, lie in order to obtain the trust of their voters.
Bob Inglis was voted out of Congress in 2010. Recently he wrote a piece Conservative Means Standing with Science on Climate Change. Ultimately, Inglis is arguing that if ALL costs of our energy use are incorporated into the equation, then the cost of fossil fuels would be much higher and alternative sources of energy would be more attractive. This coupled with elimination of all subsidies for energy costs, Inglis argues, would allow the market to make the right decision about energy and, hence, the climate. This full-cost accounting is enticing in its philosophical simplicity, but there are many profound implications. It does require accepting the notion that our carbon dioxide waste is harmful to the environment, the assignment of cost to that harm, and a process of linking that cost to energy sources.
As a strategy, addressing issues of clean energy, energy independence and energy security are more politically pragmatic than addressing issues of climate change. They offer a path towards addressing climate change; they are part of the best-we-can-do-at-this-time strategy. However, our inability to actually talk about solving the climate change problem means that we will not address the problem; we will elevate our risks; we will continue to impact negatively our economic and technological competitiveness.
It has fascinated me over the years at how both elected officials and government appointees make far more sense in what they say after they are outside of their government positions. I was a minor manager in the government, and even at my level, I was motivated to saying and doing things that were not the best thing to do to address a problem. Rather, what I did was the expedient and possible and it did advance the problem, but it was not either the best or most cost effective decision. This places the post-government truth teller, like Inglis, into one of the most important roles in advancing difficult problems like climate change. It also, however, points out the stunning inefficiency and ineffectiveness of our politically based determination of priorities in the development of knowledge-based environmental policy. We look knowledge in the face and deny its existence. We make our convenient arguments for the need for more research in the ill-posed pursuit of the illusive final facts. We fall into the diversion-motivated process of always asking for the next piece of information in what can be a never ending series of information discovery.
I found the October/November 1969 Technology Review in a box of Space-Age memorabilia I packed up from childhood. This issue was entitled “Man Among the Planets,” and the first article was “The Modification of the Planet Earth by Man,” by Gordon J. F. MacDonald. MacDonald in 1969 argued that we had already altered the planet, and that changes produced by humans were already at the scale “caused by nature.” He warned that we needed to do research into large-scale, man-made, and inadvertent changes to our environment. He called for the development of climate prediction. Since 1969 we have taken the observations, we have developed the theory, and we have determined unequivocally that the Earth has warmed and that we the fuel-using people are the primary reason of the warming. As MacDonald called for in 1969, we have placed a lot of emphasis on climate and environmental research, and the results of that research have provided actionable information – knowledge. We look at that knowledge in eye and, as a society, we deny it. We look away. Perhaps, if we look away then it is not really there.
Looking forward to the 2012 election, I don’t expect that climate change will be an oft articulated issue. The issue out front will be jobs, and the prominent link will be made between the exploitation of fossil fuels, new jobs, and energy security. Our approach to climate change will remain quietly in the hands of those savvy enough to use the unique knowledge provided by climate projections and those post-government truth tellers who no longer have to look away.
Updated: 08:51 PM GMT del 31 Gennaio 2012
A A A
Using Predictions to Plan: Case Study – La Nina and the Missouri River (1)
Using Predictions to Plan: Case Study – La Nina and the Missouri River (1)
Back in November I wrote an entry on whether or not we could use the prediction that we would have La Nina conditions in late 2011 and early 2012 to anticipate, for example, whether or not there would be a another historic flood in the Upper Missouri River. A little personal micro history: During August of 2011, I was at a meeting of a panel which is writing a report on climate modeling. That meeting included climate-savvy water managers talking about the information from climate models they might find usable. During the meeting on the news, there was the story that seasonal forecasts predicted there would La Nina conditions in late 2011 and early 2012 ( Climate Prediction Center Monthly Outlook). I asked people at the meeting how they would use this information in their planning for 2012. To be fair, this question was out of the blue, but I had this idea that this seasonal prediction was definitive information when compared with the information that comes from century-long projections from climate models. The century long climate predictions might provide information that some characteristics of El Nino and La Nina will change. With adequate analysis of this information, interpretation of the information, and then guidance or translation of this information, then informed decisions about, for example, reservoir design might be made. But I was curious, given a forecast for a particular season, what would you do?
I have introduced a lot of terms in that paragraph. I will define some of them.
First for those who need information on El Nino and La Nina, these are names given to two parts of an oscillation observed in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In the El Nino phase, the eastern Pacific, off of Peru for instance, is warm. La Nina is the opposite, the eastern tropical Pacific is cold. This is our best known example of behavior where the atmosphere and ocean behave in concert together – and we have proven that we can predict it. (NOAA LaNina Page, El Nino @ Wikipedia) We have known for some time that these changes in the Pacific cause or influence preferential weather patterns in other parts of the world. This excites people about being able to do seasonal prediction. In this case there is some oceanic forcing of the weather – or perhaps, when the ocean is considered part of the weather prediction problem, there is information about what the weather might be like for a particular season in a particular place. Concretely, for example, when there is an El Nino, people who worry about floods in California go on high alert (for example).
Translation and guidance - There is a lot of information that comes out of a weather and climate model. All practitioners of modeling know that you can’t simply read off the temperature in Des Moines 9 months from now, much less 90 years in advance. But there is the real possibility that there is usable information in the models if 1) we understand the mechanisms that are responsible for, say, stream flow in the Iowa River, and 2) we have an understanding of the ability or inability of the model to represent those mechanisms. That is, if we can find the right knowledge, often a matter of finding the right people, then we can put together this knowledge in a way that is usable. This is what I mean by translation. It is the translation of knowledge from one discipline expert to another in a way that makes that knowledge usable. That is, to provide guidance. (Lemos and Rood on Useful and Usable)
OK – going down that path I introduced another term that I think demands more explanation. Mechanisms – when we look at a specific event like the 2011 Missouri River flood, we look for what factors come together to cause the flood. In the article that was referenced in the November blog, it was pointed out that there was an extraordinary snow cover on the Great Plains, and then a lot of rain on that snow, that caused melting, and collectively the accumulation of a lot of water that had to go downstream. So in this case, by mechanisms I mean what caused the event to happen. Perhaps the most important mechanisms that a climate model must represent to be usable for regional problems are those mechanisms that provide water to that region.
I am never quite sure if my style of writing is clarifying or just more confusing, but I get enough positive feedback that I think I clarify points for some – so I hope that the way I laid out this basic information makes sense. One more term - What I want to do is to translate information from observational studies and model predictions and make that information usable by someone. From my teaching the last 7 years, I have concluded that it is this translation of information that is the most essential missing ingredient in the usability of climate knowledge. There is a LOT of information and knowledge, but it is not easy to use.
So in this entry, I want to start the process of information translation. I warn in advance that this is a hazardous path. I am going to look at a few papers, in sub-disciplines of weather and climate, in which I am not expert. Hence, I am likely to make some mistakes, and I am hoping that doing this in public, motivates corrections of those mistakes. I take off down this path, because another thing I have discovered in the past seven years is that people who are not consummate experts in a subject are analyzing information and solving problems all over the world. And, I presume to imagine that I am more expert than most, and I presume to believe people when they tell me that I am reasonably good at translating information across discipline interfaces.
So I all start the analysis– and this is not irrelevant. I flew over a swath of the Great Plains last week, and I was struck by the lack of snow. I read Jeff Master’s blog on the extreme state of the Arctic Oscillation. At the beginning of every problem I collect information. This information inventory process is essential. With a little luck, you will find information that when all brought together can be synthesized into a solution strategy or at least contribute to informed decision making. In fact, I have tried to structure a template to problem solving for a project I am involved in, and it is here at glisaclimate.org. (What’s a GLISA?) I collected together a bunch of references that I thought might inform my translation. What, I am going to do now is extract the information from some of these references.
The first paper I am going to look at is by Bunkers et al. from the Journal of Climate in 1996. I chose this paper for a couple of reasons. First, a lot has been written that 2011 Missouri River flood had a La Nina influence. And, thinking about floods, one usually thinks about did it rain a lot? This paper is something of a sanity check, do we see changes in the rain in the Missouri River basin due to La Nina?
Bunkers et al. paper focuses on the “Northern Plains,” which is approximately North and South Dakota. The Missouri River and the Red River of the North are important drainages for these states, and they were in historic flood in 2011. The authors look at data as far back as the late 1800s. That is about as long as any record that we have in the United States. The short story of their findings is that they find that during El Nino, there is significantly enhanced precipitation in the months April through October that follow the onset of the El Nino. For the La Nina phase they find significantly less precipitation for the months May through August following the onset of La Nina. However, we cannot stop with the conclusion, El Nino = wet, La Nina = dry. El Nino and La Nina are often viewed as 2 year long events, and in the second year following the onset of El Nino it is usually a bit wetter than in years with neither an El Nino or a La Nina, but during April and May of that second year it is drier than average. The second year following the onset of the La Nina, it is in general dry. There is also temperature information in the paper, but I am going to keep my focus on precipitation for now.
Let’s recall the problem we are trying to address; namely, 2011 was a La Nina year with a huge flood on the Missouri River, and another La Nina is predicted for 2012, will we have a similar flood? One of the first things it makes sense to look at is the precipitation in the Missouri River basin. This paper looks at part of the Missouri River basin, and area where there were floods, and at least as far as La Nina is concerned we would expect less, not more, spring time precipitation. This seems contradictory to our 2011 experience.
Returning to the Bunker’s et al. paper, there are years when the relation described above did not hold. Bunker’s et al. extract seemingly robust signals, but there are exceptions to the rule. The exception to the rule requires us to consider the mechanisms that might be in play for a given year. We arrive therefore, at a problem of tailoring the information for a particular application. The relation that Bunkers et al. derived between El Nino / La Nina and precipitation in North and South Dakota is quite strong. So if you look at a climate model and it tells you that there will be more or less intense El Nino and La Nina cycles a century from now, the long-term water planner for Fargo might be able to anticipate the water system needed for her grand children. The statistical information might be enough – might, it requires more thought. For a particular season, however, we can’t use this information in isolation. It is just part of the portfolio.
So we have a sanity check that tells us that, indeed, there is documented variability of precipitation in the Missouri River basin, correlated with La Nina. But, at first blush, the La Nina variability in this region is towards drier conditions. We also, know, that what determines a flood is far more complex than “it rains a lot.” So while looking at the paper above gives us some good information, it motivates me to step back and think about all of the pieces – or mechanisms – that might work in concert to produce a flood. And it motivates me to seek whether or not such events are happenstance, or whether we can use our knowledge to anticipate, better, such extreme events. This series of blogs will go on for a while.
Figure 1. Characteristic position of wintertime jet streams during La Nina. From ClimateWatch Magazine: “The jet streams are high-altitude, racing rivers of air that can influence the path of storms as they track over North America from the Pacific Ocean. The jet streams meander and shift from day to day, but during La Niña events, they tend to follow paths that bring cold air and storms into the Upper Missouri River Basin. Map based on original graphics from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. Adapted by Richard Rivera & Hunter Allen.”
Pilot Project on La Nina and the Missouri River Basin.
Link to webinars.
Updated: 02:03 AM GMT del 15 Gennaio 2012
A A A
2012 Climate Events: The start of the term
2012 Climate Events: The start of the term
Last week I gave my summary of what I thought were the most important climate change discoveries or news of 2011. Of course, my choices were a bit arcane, but that’s me. I did not talk about the remarkable extreme weather and climate events of the last year – really last 2 years. Others have the knowledge and do that better than I, and, staying close to home, I will refer you to Jeff Master’s Blogs and Chris Burt's Blogs.
There were a couple of temperature facts that struck me: 1) The last month when the global mean monthly average was below the 20th century average was February 1985. There have been 321 consecutive months with the temperature above the 20th century average (link from NOAA), and 2) This graph from the World Meteorological Organization’s Provisional Statement of the Climate (link to statement):
Figure 1: From WMO Provisional Statement. Temperature difference (anomaly) calculated for 1961-1990 average. La Niña years are marked. La Niña years should be cooler that average based on natural variability. 2010 was the warmest La Niña year on record, and the 10th warmest year on record.
This graph shows a systematic trend of the years which should be cool, the La Niña years, getting warmer. This combination of a warming trend in the years which should be cool years and more than 25 years of global monthly means being above the long-term average are simple and compelling measurements of the warming earth. Plus remember during this time of persistent warm months, we had that period of the Sun being inactive, and hence, also being a cooling influence (an old blog to remind you of that).
This information coupled with measurements of increasing carbon dioxide emissions noted in the last entry, well I will not be teaching that we can avoid dangerous warming in the next century.
So what are the other things that have struck me as interesting going into the Winter 2012 semester at Michigan?
1) At the top of the list is a judicial ruling that the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard is, in fact, unconstitutional. It violates the interstate commerce clause that governs commerce between states. Frequently, environmental law evolves through commerce law and the assurance of open markets between the states. Ironically, at the center of the ruling is ethanol.
2) Next on the list is that in 2011 the leading U.S. export was gasoline and other refined petroleum products (from Wall Street Journal). This is a consequence of the recession, high gasoline prices, and more fuel efficient vehicles. This is significant enough that refineries in Philadelphia are likely to be closed. There are all sorts of interesting facets of this news – energy, economics, technology, and climate change.
3) Reindeer: The warming in the Arctic has been much higher than the average global warming. Here is the 2011 Arctic Report Card. This report documents large changes in the atmosphere, sea ice and ocean, and snow extent, glacier mass and permafrost. There are efforts to rescue reindeer. There is a threat because the warming temperatures means there are more ice storms, rather than the snow associated with colder temperatures. This encases their food. This combination of changes, persistent over many years, again, is indicative of cumulative changes and systematic warming.
4) That United Parcel Service has been able to reduce significantly their transportation carbon emissions, while increasing deliveries. This includes efforts on vehicle efficiency as well as attention to routing and traffic engineering. (Brown goes Green) This proves that we can make a difference on more than an individual scale, and that government investments at the margin are important for developing environmental policy. The government money mitigates risk.
5) And just to confuse us all: Manatees in Florida are threatened by cold temperatures. The deaths in 2011 were high with cold weather listed as the greatest threat. What does that say about weather, climate, climate variability and climate change? If I get the question, I will start here.
Updated: 02:28 AM GMT del 14 Febbraio 2012
A A A",4784,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962032973766327
130933de-82fc-425c-b5cd-bc1a75927b92,2020-10-27T21:24:01+00:00,2019-05-25,0,https://thequiltinggardener.wordpress.com/2019/05/25/six-on-saturday-25-05-19/?like_comment=1091&_wpnonce=525ecd5c48,"It’s been a great week weather wise except that we’ve still had no rain. Not a drop. Not even at night. The plants are all hardened off now and ready to go in but when I dig into some areas of the garden it’s just like dust. There’s a bit of light rain forecast for Thursday but I don’t think it will make much difference. Enough moaning! Not a lot of time for gardening this weekend but I’m off next week (sadly the Non-Gardener isn’t) so I’ll be planting and watering like mad. Bliss!
1. I’ve sown quite a few perennials this spring so they’re not ready for planting out yet. I also kept some back to sow in the autumn to ease the pressure on the glasshouse space. I love growing annuals as well but am not very good at working out how many I need to fill the spaces. I’m sure these will all fit in somewhere. I’d like to say that this is all of them but there might be a few more tucked into other corners of the garden.
2. Talking of corners, this is a very shady corner at the back of the house. The shade comes from a large and beautiful Golden Privet (more a tree than a shrub). I removed an old and sad looking Griselinia littoralis ‘Variegata’ a while back and am very pleased with the new planting. The Fatshedera just needs to cover the fence panel.
3. An arch and trellis was replaced earlier in the year by the N-G and the new plants are slowly progressing up it. Clematis ‘Jackmanii Superba’ was left in place and I wanted another Clematis to go with it. To keep life easy I wanted the same pruning group but I also wanted one I haven’t got/grown before. Enter C. ‘Diana’s Delight’. It’s supposed to be shorter than Jackmanii but will, hopefully, put on a bit more height before flowering next year. Beautiful flowers though.
4. I’ve struggled for years to grow Delphiniums but had some reasonable success last year, mostly down to the dry conditions keeping SnS at bay I think. Bar one, they’ve reappeared this year but the first one to flower has a very short spike. I hope the others wait a bit before doing their thing. The Aquilegia, on the other hand, is a lot taller than I thought it would be! No pleasing some people.
5. So many plants have greenfly at the moment and I’ve started noticing some blackfly as well. I had no ladybirds last year so no larvae this spring. When I was taking a picture of Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’ I was very happy to see this little ladybird I hope she has some friends with her.
6. The Alliums are opening and add such structure to the border. I’m finding that ‘Purple Sensation’ doesn’t last very long but ‘Christophii’ is bulking up well. I can’t wait for the leaves to die back.
That’s my Six for this week. I’ve made a start pulling Forget-Me-Nots out but need to make that a priority job for next week. Enjoy your garden this Bank Holiday weekend and don’t forget to look at all he other Sixes, courtesy of our host at https://thepropagatorblog,wordpress.com/7",788,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894759.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027195832-20201027225832-00212.warc.gz,0.956046879291534
eae2b9d1-2362-460f-96e0-9276b83ce50a,2018-08-20T12:14:39+00:00,2018-08-20,0,http://transducersensors.com/robot-vision-sensors/,"Robot Vision Sensors
Robot Vision Sensors
The last few years have seen the increasing use of robots in the industrial world and the emergence of robotics as a subject area with its own identity. The development of robot technology has been identified as following three major conceptual stages which, in turn, have helped to identify the robots belonging to these stages as respectively, robots of the first, second and third generations (Pera, 1981).
First generation robots: These are robots without any external (i.e. ex teroceptive) sensors or transducers. They do not therefore have the means (i.e. the sensors) nor, usually, the computing power to interact with their environment. These robots control the end-effector by calculating its location using the data supplied by the internal (i.e. proprioceptive) position transducers present within each robot joint.
At present the majority of the commercially used robots belong to this category.
Second generation robots: These robots have some exteroceptive sensors and a limited amount of computer power which allows them to process the environmental data and respond to it in a limited way. At present only a small percentage of the existing industrial robots can be classified under this category and their development is still largely at an experimental stage.
Third generation robots: Robots with sensors and extensive computing power which allows them to interact fully with the environment, that is: to make decisions, plan and execute the tasks that circumstances require. These robots are not yet in existence.
Second and third generation robots therefore require sensors that can provide the necessary environmental feedback and help to increase the robots’ accuracy and/or their flexibility. The development of these sensors can follow two main paths:
- a long term strategy aimed at the development of a general-purpose, flexible sensor
- a shorter term strategy aimed at providing specific, albeit inflexible, solutions to current industrial automation problems.
The former option is more suitable for the development of the future Flexible Manufacturing Systems but does require a larger investment, not only in terms of capital but also, quite significantly, in terms of manpower and planning. This type of research therefore tends to be limited to academic institutions and large corporate companies.
The latter option, by contrast, reflects the needs of western industries to be both competitive and efficient, achievements which are measured on relatively short time scales.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, to find that in the field of Robotic research the majority of USA and, to a lesser extent, European research institutions, are following a plan of ‘task driven’ research based on a close collaboration between the academic institutions and individual ‘pools’ of industrial sponsors. This arrangement, first pioneered by Rosen et al. at the Stanford Research Institute in the early 70s, is believed to be one of the underlying causes for the present USA success in this field.
The choice of which type of sensor is incorporated in the robot control structure depends, on course, on the application. It is generally accepted, however, that vision is the most powerful and yet flexible type of environmental feedback available, which has led to considerable research and development in to this field. Indeed Robot Vision and Sensory control is now an established conference topic in its own right. Table 1 shows the main areas of interest in the field of robotic vision.
Vision Sensor Generalities
Vision sensors are so called because they possess, in their make-up and functioning, a certain analogy with the human eye and vision. The analogy is somewhat easier to see in the case of vacuum and solid-state cameras, because they also possess the ‘equivalent’ of the human retina in the form of a photosensitive array. In the case of some active 3-D vision sensors, such as scanning laser range finders , the data is acquired by mechanical scanning using a single optical transducer.
In spite of their differences, however, all vision sensors can be broken down into the same constituents. Figure 1 shows a typical block diagram of a vision sensor.",821,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216453.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820121228-20180820141228-00045.warc.gz,0.942110478878021
7cef9206-651c-4119-a8b5-1a203f41fc45,2016-07-26T14:08:11+00:00,2013-02-06,1,http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-02-06/doctor-met-with-dons-pair,"Dean Robinson has been stood down as the Bombers' high performance manager
THE DOCTOR approached by Essendon fitness duo Dean Robinson and Stephen Dank last year wanted to help the pair in their quest to improve the health of Bombers players - but knew there was no legal option under WADA policy.
Dr Robin Willcourt, who runs the Epigenx Integrated Medicine practice in South Yarra, told AFL.com.au he met with the pair last year and their discussion focused on finding a legal way to overcome the players' issues.
Willcourt said using peptides was ""never"" suggested in their conversations.
There are several forms of peptides, some of which are legal for athletes to take but others can promote muscle growth and have similar properties to human growth hormone.
""We discussed what can you do, and in the range of things. I said, 'Well, there's peptides, there's HGH (human growth hormone), there's testosterone, but we can't do any of those so what else do we do?'"" Willcourt said.
""We all said there was nothing [legal]. We ended up with a big zero. That was exactly how it ended up, that there was nothing we could do and [we were] lamenting it very much.""
Willcourt called on a change in WADA's stringent policies.
""WADA has stepped into areas it knows nothing about,"" Willcourt said.
""All athletes should be able to have at least normal hormone levels.""
Willcourt said he has not spoken to Robinson or Dank since Tuesday, nor has he met with any other club in the past.
During their meeting, Willcourt examined the blood testing of Essendon players. He recalled analysing the results as saddening.
""I was placed in a difficult position because I really wanted to help these guys but I knew I couldn't, and it really hurt,"" Willcourt said.
""I remember thinking [about the players] 'Man, you're just going to keep hurting yourself. This is so wrong'.""
Dank departed the Bombers in September last year amid the fallout from the club's injury-riddled season.
After it was revealed the club would be investigated for its use of supplements on Tuesday, Robinson was stood down pending the outcome of that investigation.",477,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00260-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980143666267395
2331b387-00b7-4b92-82ca-10ccaebde74e,2017-08-18T16:17:06+00:00,2014-01-01,1,http://silytara.blogspot.com/2014/01/,"Robert Costanza1, Ida Kubiszewski1, Enrico Giovannini2, Hunter Lovins3, Jacqueline McGlade4, Kate E. Pickett5, Kristín Vala Ragnarsdóttir6, Debra Roberts7, Roberto De Vogli8, Richard Wilkinson9
ILLUSTRATION BY PETE ELLIS/DRAWGOOD.COM
Robert F. Kennedy once said that a country's gross domestic product (GDP) measures “everything except that which makes life worthwhile”. The metric was developed in the 1930s and 1940s amid the upheaval of the Great Depression and global war. Even before the United Nations began requiring countries to collect data to report national GDP, Simon Kuznets, the metric's chief architect, had warned against equating its growth with well-being.
GDP measures mainly market transactions. It ignores social costs, environmental impacts and income inequality. If a business used GDP-style accounting, it would aim to maximize gross revenue — even at the expense of profitability, efficiency, sustainability or flexibility. That is hardly smart or sustainable (think Enron). Yet since the end of the Second World War, promoting GDP growth has remained the primary national policy goal in almost every country1.
Meanwhile, researchers have become much better at measuring what actually does make life worthwhile. The environmental and social effects of GDP growth can be estimated, as can the effects of income inequality2. The psychology of human well-being can now be surveyed comprehensively and quantitatively3, 4. A plethora of experiments has produced alternative measures of progress (see Supplementary Information).
The chance to dethrone GDP is now in sight. By 2015, the UN is scheduled to announce the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of international objectives to improve global well-being. Developing integrated measures of progress attached to these goals offers the global community the opportunity to define what sustainable well-being means, how to measure it and how to achieve it. Missing this opportunity would condone growing inequality and the continued destruction of the natural capital on which all life on the planet depends.
When GDP was instituted seven decades ago, it was a relevant signpost of progress: increased economic activity was credited with providing employment, income and amenities to reduce social conflict and prevent another world war.
But the world today is very different from the one faced by the global leaders who met to plan the post-war economy in 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The emphasis on GDP in developed countries now fuels social and environmental instability. It also blinds developing countries to possibilities for more-sustainable models of development.
Soaring economic activity has depleted natural resources. Much of the generated wealth has been unequally distributed, leading to a host of social problems5. The philosopher John Stuart Mill noted more than 200 years ago that, once decent living standards were assured, human efforts should be directed to the pursuit of social and moral progress and the increase of leisure, not the competitive struggle for material wealth. Or as the economist John Kenneth Galbraith once observed: “To furnish a barren room is one thing. To continue to crowd in furniture until the foundation buckles is quite another.”
The limits of GDP are now clear. Increased crime rates do not raise living standards, but they can lift GDP by raising expenditures on security systems. Despite the destruction wrought by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, both events boosted US GDP because they stimulated rebuilding.
Alternative measures of progress can be divided into three broad groups (see Supplementary Information). Those in the first group adjust economic measures to reflect social and environmental factors. The second group consists of subjective measures of well-being drawn from surveys. The third group relies on weighted composite indicators of well-being including housing, life expectancy, leisure time and democratic engagement.
Adjusted economic measures
These are expressed in monetary units, making them more readily comparable to GDP. Such indices consider annual income, net savings and wealth. Environmental costs and benefits (such as destroying wetlands or replenishing water resources) can also be factored in. One example is the genuine progress indicator (GPI). This metric is calculated by starting with personal consumption expenditures, a measure of all spending by individuals and a major component of GDP, and making more than 20 additions and subtractions to account for factors such as the value of volunteer work and the costs of divorce, crime and pollution6.
Crucially, unlike other measures in the first group, GPI considers income distribution. A dollar's worth of increased income to a poor person boosts welfare more than a dollar's worth of increased income does for a rich person. And a big gap between the richest and the poorest in a country — as in the United States and, increasingly, in China and India — correlates with social problems, including higher rates of drug abuse, incarceration and mistrust, and poorer physical and mental health5.
These adjustments matter. A 2013 study2 comparing the GDP per capita and the GPI per capita of 17 countries comprising just over half the global population found startling divergences between the two metrics. The measures were highly correlated from 1950 until about 1978, when they moved apart as environmental and social costs began to outweigh the benefits of increased GDP (see 'Genuine progress flattens'). Tellingly, life satisfaction is highly correlated with GPI per capita, but not with GDP per capita.
Some governments are taking this seriously. Two US states, Vermont and Maryland, have in the past three years adopted GPI as a measure of progress and have implemented policies specifically aimed at improving it.
Subjective measures of well-being
The most comprehensive of these is the World Values Survey (WVS), which covers about 70 countries and includes questions about how satisfied people are with their lives. Starting in 1981, the WVS is conducted in 'waves', the sixth of which is currently in progress. Another example is the gross national happiness index used in Bhutan. This measure uses elaborate surveys that ask how content people feel in nine domains: psychological well-being, standard of living, governance, health, education, community vitality, cultural diversity, time use and ecological diversity.
Subjective well-being has been highly studied, and has even been recommended as the most appropriate measure of societal progress7. But subjective indicators are tricky to compare across societies and cultures. For example, self-reported health tracks with clinically reported rates of morbidity and mortality within countries but not across them8. And people are not always aware of the things that contribute to their well-being. Few of us give credit to ecosystem services for water supply and storm protection, for example.
Weighted composite measures of several indicators
A comprehensive picture of sustainable societal well-being should integrate subjective and objective indicators9(see Supplementary Information, Figure S1), as these measures begin to do. One example is the Happy Planet Index, introduced by the New Economics Foundation in 2006. This multiplies life satisfaction by life expectancy and divides the product by a measure of ecological impact.
Other indices in the third group combine a range of variables, such as income, housing, jobs, health, civic engagement, safety and life satisfaction. The Better Life Index, developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, maintains a website that allows users to choose how to weight variables, revealing how the emphasis on different variables can influence countries' rankings.
Many other experiments are under way (see www.wikiprogress.org). None of these measures is perfect, but collectively they offer the building blocks for something much better than GDP.
Why are we stuck?
There is broad agreement that global society should strive for a high quality of life that is equitably shared and sustainable. Several groups and reports have concluded that GDP is dangerously inadequate as a measure of quality of life — including those published by the French government's 2008 Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress10, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future11 and the European Commission's ongoing Beyond GDP initiative. That conclusion was also echoed in 'The Future We Want', the declaration of the 2012 Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development agreed to by all UN member states.
Nonetheless, GDP remains entrenched1. Vested interests are partly responsible. Former US President Bill Clinton's small move towards a 'green GDP', which factored in some of the environmental consequences of growth, was killed by the coal industry. However, much of the problem is that no alternative measure stands out as a clear successor.
Creating that successor will require a sustained, transdisciplinary effort to integrate metrics and build consensus. One potential vehicle for doing this is the setting up of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a process that is now under way to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Established in 2000, the MDGs comprise eight basic targets that include eradicating extreme poverty and establishing universal primary education, gender equality and environmental sustainability. Currently both the MDGs and the suggested SDGs are only lists of goals with isolated indicators. But the SDG process can and should be expanded to include comprehensive and integrated measures of sustainable well-being12.
If undertaken with sufficiently broad participation, the hunt for the successor to GDP might be completed by 2015. There are significant barriers to doing this, including bureaucratic inertia and the tendency of governments, academia and other groups to work in isolation. These barriers can be overcome with dedicated leadership. Crucially, people can now communicate across the globe with an ease unthinkable in the days of Bretton Woods.
Any 'top-down' process must be supplemented with a 'bottom-up' engagement of civil society that includes city and regional governments, non-governmental organizations, business and other parties. We recently formed the Alliance for Sustainability and Prosperity (www.asap4all.com) to do just that. This web-based 'network of networks' can communicate research about sustainable quality of life and the elements that contribute to it (see Supplementary Information), and so help to build consensus among the thousands of groups now concerned with these issues.
The successor to GDP should be a new set of metrics that integrates current knowledge of how ecology, economics, psychology and sociology collectively contribute to establishing and measuring sustainable well-being. The new metrics must garner broad support from stakeholders in the coming conclaves.
It is often said that what you measure is what you get. Building the future we desire requires that we measure what we want, remembering that it is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong.",2158,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104704.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818160227-20170818180227-00282.warc.gz,0.946655452251434
5ebd0f54-1088-47bb-8001-584a4f04c946,2015-03-29T10:36:13+00:00,2015-03-29,1,http://inhardfocus.com/inhardfocus/tag/school,"A U.K. school district has invested more than $14,000 in a fairly high-tech facial recognition system to monitor its students’ attendance, according to the Daily Mail.
The faceREGISTER system takes both 3-D digital images and infra-red scans of each student’s face. Then, he or she punches in their unique four-digit PIN to confirm identity. The technology is surprisingly accurate. It prevents students from signing in for their friends and can even distinguish between twins. Best of all, it’s designed to be able to identify the students as they age.",124,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00225-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96496194601059
b55938e8-b9e8-45c0-8010-b129b4a879c4,2016-07-27T08:41:23+00:00,2011-10-26,1,https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/26/china-social-media-censorship,"China has vowed to intensify controls on social media and instant messaging tools, in the highest-level official response to the extraordinary surge in microblogging in the country.
The communique from the Communist party central committee follows growing boldness among users, who have discussed sensitive topics, highlighted scandals and attacked official abuses or inefficiency.
This summer's high-speed rail crash in Wenzhou led to an outpouring of fury on microblogs about the handling of the disaster. That spilled over into mainstream media.
China already has the most extensive and sophisticated internet control system in the world. But censors have struggled to keep up with the flow of information on popular microblogs. The number of registered users on domestic services reached 195 million by the end of June, triple the figure of six months earlier, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre.
""This [communique] is what we have been waiting for; there have been signs for weeks now,"" said David Bandurski, of Hong Kong University's China Media Project. ""It is important, but it does not tell us exactly what's going to happen. It sends the signal: 'Everyone watch out'.
""Usually [these kind of directives] are followed by some more concrete actions, but it's often very difficult to draw a line between a government policy flare like this and a particular action because control is a constant in China.""
Communiques are a way for senior leaders to stress their priorities. ""Strengthen guidance and administration of social internet services and instant communications tools, and regulate the orderly dissemination of information,"" said the document, carried in the official People's Daily newspaper and by the state news agency Xinhua. ""Apply the law to sternly punish the dissemination of harmful information.""
Microbloggers reacted with predictable disdain. One, using the name Luse Zhuren, wrote: ""Good culture will all disappear if opinion keeps being guided.""
Another, Wu Sanfan, warned: ""I faintly feel that weibo (microblogging services), this big tea house where ordinary people speak with freedom, will hang a wooden board up saying 'No talk about the country's politics'.""
Content is already blocked or deleted from services. But censors have found it hard to match the speed at which news can spread on microblogs or the way that users evade controls, such as by using euphemisms or homophones to refer to sensitive issues.
Analysts believe that officials will not shut down social media sites because they are simply too popular, and closing them would create a backlash. Chinese authorities have sought to use social media proactively, launching their own accounts.
Instead, they are likely to step up pressure on the operators, who have large in-house teams of staff to monitor, block and remove sensitive content.
""The more important risk we see for Sina Weibo and other [microblogs] is that they self-regulate out of business [interests] … and that they self-neuter and that makes the platform so boring no one wants to use it,"" said Michael Clendenin, managing director of RedTech Advisors, a research company.
Separately, Xinhua reported on Tuesday that authorities were stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of rumours online and punish those who share them. It cited a statement from the State Internet Information Office. The document said three people, including a website editor, had been punished for spreading rumours, with one Shanghai resident held by local police for 15 days. He had apparently posted a falsified tax document.
The internet portal editor, surnamed Pei, was apparently given a warning by his employer after microblogging about an air force fighter crash‚ without confirming the source and facts‚",760,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00316-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957112967967987
12e25925-9b06-4244-8d96-9e4143575b79,2015-03-28T05:33:15+00:00,2006-06-00,0,http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=11925,"Elizabeth Harney. In Senghor's Shadow: Art, Politics, and the Avant-Garde in Senegal, 1960-1995. Durham: Duke University Press, 2004. xxv + 316 pp. $26.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8223-3395-1; $99.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8223-3385-2.
Reviewed by John Peffer (History of Art and Visual Culture, University of California Santa Cruz)
Published on H-AfrArts (June, 2006)
Art in Senegal, Beyond the Shadow of Modernism
""[Kan-Si] does not want to be forced to choose between the poles of provincialism and homogeneity so often presented as the options for admission to an international art market"" (pp. 202-203).
In Senghor's Shadow is a first of its kind: a book-length academic study of the institutional aspects of the elite modernist art world in Dakar, Senegal, based on dissertation-level research and published by a prestigious American university press. Elizabeth Harney's book joins the company other academic books on African modernism produced over the past decade by authors like Sidney Kasfir, Olu Oguibe, Elizabeth Rankin, and Simon Ottenberg, as well as Okwui Enwezor's Short Century exhibition and anthology (2001) and an ever growing number of essays and exhibition catalogues published in Africa, Europe and the U.S. One of the great strengths of these books is that they do not concern themselves entirely with the most recent manifestations of international art produced by Africans residing in the West, but they are cognizant of the historical aspects and the political implications of the modern artistic encounter in Africa itself. Harney's book extends this sort of inquiry by taking a good hard look at the aesthetic pressures that modernist artists in Senegal have borne at home since independence in 1960. These pressures, at their most basic, may be read as a false choice between global modernist homogeneity and isolated provincialism, as the artist Kan-Si claims above. But the story of how these options have been imposed and how they have been negotiated is quite complicated. What sets In Senghor's Shadow apart from most other earlier texts on modernist art in Senegal is its sustained analysis of the institutional constraints faced by artists (260 pages worth) that establishes their intellectual milieu in a manner that both references and critiques key aspects of postcolonial theory. As such, this book digs down to the very roots of the idea of a modernist art practice in Africa. It is an important first text for a future library of in-depth critical studies on African art's modernity. It is valuable as a reference text for educators, and is suitable for graduate and advanced undergraduate studies on African art, Modernist primitivism, and post-1945 art.
According to the author, In Senghor's Shadow seeks to uncover the ""complexities and contradictions of the local circumstances,"" and to document how artists ""have engaged with the histories and practices of modernism and have participated in attempts to link a new aesthetic to the project of nation building"" in post-independence Senegal (p. 4). She promises a study that is not dependent on either ""postcolonial jargon or universalist aestheticism"" and that challenges the older anthropological methods and categories in which much of the study of African art is still embedded (p. 4). Harney's excavation of the ""local"" is not concerned with ethno-aesthetics so much as it is attentive to the ways that artists and intellectuals from Senegal have reacted to, critiqued, and attempted to negotiate a place for themselves vis-à-vis Western-oriented assumptions about the character of high modernist painting and sculpture.
The primary vehicle for this engagement with the idea of culture on an international scale, and the topic that is repeatedly shuffled and re-examined throughout Harney's text, is the theorization (and commoditization) of the essence of blackness as ""Negritude."" Negritude was the official cultural ideology of the Senegalese state under its first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, from 1960 to 1980. Senghor's Negritude was an evolving idea of ""the sum total of black values,"" inspired by ideas coming out of the Harlem Renaissance and adapted by African and Caribbean expatriate intellectuals in Paris between the World Wars as a means to create a positive pan-African sense of identity in resistance to the dominant view of Africans and Diasporans. For Senghor, black civilization was characterized by an essential emotionality, vitality, communalism, earthiness, and, most of all, rhythm. In his view these were aspects found lacking in much of white and European civilization and were thus the contribution that black culture could make toward a more fully integrated human civilization. Senghor, who was a poet before he was a politician, made this Negritude idea the criterion of state patronage of the arts during his tenure, and all modernist artists who either trained or worked in Senegal during those years had to situate their work in relationship to this official idea of Africanity if they expected to get commissions and survive.
Senghorian Negritude was, at its core, an inversion of ideas of ""the primitive"" as formulated by European philosophers like Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, and by visual artists following the Cubists and Fauves. Negritude philosophy turned ideas about the savage other on their head and held them up as a challenge to create a fundamentally new kind of humanism. Senegalese artists under Senghor's patronage likewise claimed the look of the European post-cubist painters to be ""African,"" and developed unique forms inspired partly by modernist primitivism's earlier mistranslation of the idea of Africa onto the two dimensions of the canvas. Senegal (like South Africa, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe) was, for reasons of political and economic contingency, one of the few African countries to produce a fully-fledged (though small) modernist art scene complete with schools, dealers, critics, and galleries. Since this efflorescence of modern art in the new nation was brought into being under the direct financial and ideological input of Senghor's government, it also entailed a curtailing of the range of options for possible artistic production. This ""Negro-African aesthetic"" was a gilded cage for a decade or two in Senegal.
Harney keeps her eye on the big picture surrounding the Senegalese art world, and thus quite ably negotiates the contradictory discourses of influence and containment characteristic of this ""other"" history of modern art: the history of what happens when modernism is taken up by artists beyond the European and American centers of the international art world. The author is clear that essentialist ideas of ""identity"" and extravagant fears that African artists will succumb to ""assimilation"" have created a false dichotomy in the global art world, a dichotomy that artists have had to struggle with (p. xxiv). In Harney's account, Senegalese artists during and after Senghor's dominance attempted to engage with ideas of Africanity in four successive ways. First, in the post-independence spirit of Negritude, there was an engagement with formal concepts and an iconographic repertoire of classical African art motifs evolved from modernist primitivism, as epitomized by the art of Papa Ibra Tall and his tapestry workshop at Thiès. Second was an exploration of ideas of performance, impermanence, and political critique through which artists like Issa Samb, El Sy, and the informal Laboratoire Agit-Art group meant to engage with African ideas of the social as ""communality."" Third, is the approach to African art as ""conceptual,"" as seen in the works of Viyé Diba. Finally, there is the current generation's engagement with the African street, with the metropolitan and popular visual culture of African cities as a material for making artistic commentary on present circumstances.
In Senghor's Shadow contains five chapters and an introduction. The first four pages of the introduction discuss the rise to fame of the ""African van Gogh,"" Mor Faye, a highly celebrated Dakarois painter who succumbed to cerebral malaria in 1984. The tragic tale of Faye's international fame and local struggle against the Senghorian patronage system are held up by Harney as a model for the rest of her study. In this context, it is striking that not a single work of art by Faye is pictured or discussed at length, and that the artist himself is never mentioned again in the book. Thus, this book hints early on, though claims to the contrary are made (p. 15), that in fact it is not going to be object- or artist-centered, but will be mostly a historicizing critique of the official institutions of art in Senegal. Harney's text is most successful where it examines modern art in Senegal through its history of what the author calls ""arts governance"" and uses the model of an ""art world"" or a ""field of cultural production"" following writers like Walter Becker, Arthur Danto and Pierre Bourdieu. Harney also claims to show how Senegalese artists ""manipulated primitivist images of Africa to produce 'deformations of mastery,' [a term borrowed from Houston Baker's study of the Harlem Renaissance],"" in a postcolonial context (p. 17). At this she is less successful, and not because the Senegalese artists did not continually seek to challenge the false association of modernism with Westernism (they did), but because this study rarely engages with the visual content of images produced.
Chapter 1, ""Rhythm as the Architecture of Being: Reflections on un Âme Nègre,"" discusses the philosophy of Negritude from its birth among expatriate African and Caribbean intellectuals in Paris between the World Wars, to its promotion as a state ideology and a model for official patronage in the independent Senegal of the 1960s and 1970s. It links up W.E.B. du Bois' ideas of pan-Africanism, with Alain Locke's theory of the New Negro from the Harlem Renaissance, and the literature and political philosophy developed in the pages of journals like Presence Africaine and Legitime Defense. The chapter jumps back in time about halfway through, in order to discuss the important antecedent of French colonial West Africa and the policy of assimilation in the Four Communes of Senegal (p.34). Then the author describes the development of Senghor's aesthetic philosophy into a fully fledged political philosophy and a powerful nationalist program meant to contest the colonial order of assimilation to exclusively French cultural values. For Senghor, Africans (and all black peoples) should assimilate Western culture on their own terms, or else be assimilated on European terms (p. 43). Negritude was thus envisioned as a cultural ideal rooted in traditional sources but was to be expressed in modernist terms. One problem with this formula, as pointed out by writers as diverse as the Senegalese novelist and filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, and South African writer Ezekiel Mphahlele, was that it romanticized Africa based on a reductive view of the past and that it ignored ""the socioeconomic challenges"" that faced Africa's newly independent states (p. 45). Nevertheless, Negritude became the ruling idea during the first twenty years of independent Senegal, and it was the founding philosophy supporting the artists who have collectively come to be known as the École de Dakar.
Chapter 2, ""The École de Dakar: Pan-Africanism in Paint and Textile,"" addresses the history of Senghorian Negritude in relation to arts patronage during the 1960s and 1970s. Harney argues that while Senghor often referred to artists working under state patronage as his ""dear children,"" the artists loosely grouped under the moniker École de Dakar in fact did not follow ""a strictly prescribed artistic vision"" but were themselves involved in helping shape ""a highly syncretic post independence vision"" for the arts (p. 52). This is perhaps the most valuable chapter in the book. It gives more detail than previously available on the history of internal aesthetic debates from the period as well as important particulars of Senghorian art education and art promotional structures, especially the École des Arts, the landmark First World Festival of Negro Art held in Dakar in 1966, and the traveling exhibition ""Art sénégalais d'aujourd'hui"" in 1974. The relation of these phenomena to art schools in Nigeria, Rhodesia, the Congo, Uganda and South Africa during the same years is briefly addressed (pp. 67-68). Harney also describes the establishment of a state-subsidized tapestry school founded by Papa Ibra Tall at Thiès. Under Tall's direction, ""authentic"" African themes were woven on looms imported from France, using wool imported from Holland and Belgium. This new monumental ""peoples"" art was meant to evoke traditional African weaving, and was produced mostly for the decoration of state offices and as state gifts for foreign visitors. The tapestries illustrated exotic flora and fauna, market scenes, and a generalized set of masks and decorative objects from around the continent, and they were understood to be the ""ultimate embodiments"" of a Negro-African aesthetic (p. 68).
Though it is not addressed in her text, the author includes a recent photograph of the tapestry production center (p. 72). In this image men are seen working over drafting tables in the background while women do the work of weaving in the foreground. One wonders what the relations of gender to production were at Thiès, or indeed for the École de Dakar as a whole.
The last half of this chapter is devoted to an intensive re-theorization of the relation of canonical forms of modernist primitivism to the modernist arts, like those of the École de Dakar, that have been produced outside the main centers of the art market in the West. Was the elite art of Senegal's 1960s simply a form of reductive mimicry--of both African ""tradition"" and of post-cubist plastic aesthetics? Harney argues otherwise by foregrounding an impressive array of postcolonial writers from James Clifford to Kobena Mercer. She claims that Senegalese artists ""challenged the relations of representation"" by among other things asserting the right of artists to create a new modern African aesthetic built upon European conceptions of Africa (pp. 99-100). Modernism, at least after Picasso, owed a debt to Africa, and that debt was called in by Senghor and the artists of the École. Harney somewhat overstates the case when she claims this gesture was purposefully ironic, even subversive (p. 103). Nonetheless, her argument that the École posed challenges to the universal tenets of humanism and demanded recognition of Africa's contributions to global modernity is quite compelling.
Chapter 3, ""Laboratories of Avant-Gardism"" looks to the 1970s and 1980s and at a second generation of post-independence academy-trained artists who sought to challenge the aesthetics and ideology of the École de Dakar by creating experimental communities and producing parodic performance events. The chapter focuses on two informal art groups whose participants often intermeshed and on the art and ideas of two major proponents of these groups: the Laboratoire Agit-Art (1974-present) under Issa Samb, and the Village des Arts (1977-1983) under El Hadji Moussa Babacar Sy (El Sy). These artists were never far from the center of things, often criticizing ""the status quo from within the institution of the status quo"" (p. 117). The Laboratoire staged anti-Negritude plays and improvisational events at state-run cultural centers, and the Village was located in an abandoned army base adjacent to the state-run art academy, whose teachers and students often hung out with the anti-art crowd next door (p. 141). These informal art groups helped deconstruct the Senghorian art world from within. The Laboratoire was especially vocal in its opposition to the culture of the decorative, the nostalgic-African, and the beautiful promoted by Senghor (p. 106). It opted instead for an aesthetic of provocation, collectivity, and improvisation rooted as much in currents of international performance art as they were in a conception of the African artist's social role and the interactive nature of traditional African performance.
Toward the end of this chapter, the author inserts her own critique among those of writers who were disturbed by what they saw as an upstaging of the work of the Laboratoire in a performance and installation by El Sy at the ""Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa"" exhibit, held during the Africa '95 Festival in London. Harney claims critics like Okwui Enwezor (who has provided a glowing appraisal of this book on its back cover) and Everlyn Nicodemus were ""disingenuous"" in their assessment of the presentation of the history of Senegalese art as ""inaccurate"" at Africa '95. She states that these critics refused to engage with either the actual works displayed or their conceptual basis, in favor of ad hominem attacks on the general curator Clementine Deliss and rumors of her affair with El Sy (p. 140). Harney's interpretation here is unnecessarily defensive. It papers over the fact that El Sy's own paintings blocked the works of others from view and that the overall perception of mediocrity in the quality of work on display in part prevented the ""Seven Stories"" show from moving to the Guggenheim Museum in New York, as originally scheduled. In truth what was relevant as critique in the Senegalese context after Senghor did not easily translate into marketability in the international art world. Though the action took place in London, this short section of the book provides one of the more thorough descriptions of the actual art discussed up to that point, and it hints of a new kind of ""scramble for Africa"" that was beginning to take place in the ""diasporas"" of the contemporary art market.
Chapter 4, ""After the Avant-Garde"" describes the diversity, and the dire economic conditions, that have come to characterize the Senegalese art world since the demise of the Village des Arts in 1983. This chapter steps back from the institutional approach of the earlier sections and focuses on the biographies and works of individual contemporary artists, including Moustapha Dimé, Guibril André Diop, Germaine Anta Gaye, Djibril N'Diaye, Viyé Diba, Kan-Si, and Cheikh Nass. Despite its title, this chapter also discusses a number of aesthetic currents that actually took place before and during the more classically avant-garde years of the 1960s and 1970s, some of which might have been usefully included earlier on in the book. Here, the reader is introduced to the popular worlds of traditional caste-linked artists and ascetic Islamic Mouridism, which, along with intellectual discourses of hybridity, as well as the arts of recycling and ""recuperation,"" have informed the art-making processes of artists like Dimé, Diop, and Diba. Recycling and recovery are the arts of necessity as practiced in the metropolitan settings of impoverished economies like Senegal's. They have been lionized as forms of contemporary popular African art by a number of more recent artists, many of whom had earlier connections to the Village des Arts.
The end of this chapter includes a long section on SET SETAL (""clean up""), a popular street art movement to clean up the streets of Dakar and get rid of corruption in the post-Senghor era (pp. 205-216). SET SETAL's visual sources were an organic amalgam of international and local pop cultural icons and revolutionary heroes, and as such the movement mirrored the rise of graffiti art in the United States and the ""people's parks"" phenomenon in South Africa around the same time. During the efflorescence of SET SETAL in 1988-1989, both politicians and established artists (including members of the Laboratoire) sought to align themselves with the movement so as to gain cultural capital, and to validate in a new way the Africanity of their enterprise.
Chapter 4 also includes a valuable section that gives the history of sous verre (under glass) painting in Senegal (p.180-189). This is a popular modern form of art with early connections to Western Asia and North Africa, and was likely brought to Senegal by returning Muslim pilgrims at the end of the nineteenth century. The introduction of sous verre was contemporaneous with the introduction of photography and was used early on as a surrogate form for portraiture, as well as for other typical genres of folkloric scenes and depictions of Muslim saints. Harney notes that Senegalese modernists like Germaine Anta Gaye have also experimented with the technique of painting under glass.
A bit of crucial information is buried in this section. The author notes the ""interesting similarities between sous verre imagery and that developed by the tapestries at Thiès,"" namely, bright colors, flat forms, and highly delineated figures (p. 181). She states that glass painting and tapestry similarly delimit the range of subject matter and composition. Later, Harney informs the reader that from 1978 to 1990, the government actually supported a sous verre workshop as ""an adjunct to the tapestry center"" at Thiès (p. 185). This connection may be of critical importance to the understanding of the aesthetic developed under Papa Ibra Tall, and it merits further investigation.
The concluding chapter, ""Passport to the Global Art World"" sets the art and the local archive to one side and explores the constraints upon Senegalese artists desirous of entering the international market for contemporary art. Here Harney gives a trenchant analysis of the development of Dak'Art (the Dakar biennale) since 1990, of the shifting nature of elite arts patronage in Senegal after Senghor, and of the exponential interest in contemporary African art abroad since the Magiciens de la Terre exhibition in Paris in 1989. She notes that postmodernist discourses created a doorway through which nonwestern arts could pass into the international mainstream, but at the cost of increased uniformity and the exclusion of art that did not fit the fashion for a (post)conceptualist aesthetic (p. 235).
Some general criticisms: This reader was troubled by the consistent relegating of credit for cited comments and crucial supporting data into the footnotes, including the terms of the author's own research in Senegal (p. 247). Indeed, there is a whole small book displaced to the back of the volume. Moreover, we are too often informed that ""one critic"" or ""an artist"" said such and such, instead of being given the names of the cited speakers, leading to some confusion. In one instance Frantz Fanon's ideas about ""cultural workers"" are quoted as if spoken by Senghor (p. 46), despite the fact that Fanon argued with vehemence against Negritude. Finally, most of the figures are keyed to the text without an elaboration based on sustained looking at the specific iconography or forms of the images themselves. This has the unfortunate effect of diverting the attention of the reader from the real local circumstances that are the subject of the book, and placing undue emphasis on the more arcane debates about postcolonial theory that too often speak in advance, instead of alongside Africa's art and artists.
In Senghor's Shadow is an ambitious book, and though it does not significantly deviate from accounts of the historical trajectory of modernist art in Senegal by such previous authors as Ima Ebong and Sidney Kasfir, it covers a great deal more ground. As such it opens up new terrain for the study of African art and international modernism, and will be an invaluable resource for future scholarship. It is encouraging, given the present dire state of academic publishing, that a major press has hosted this book and thus helped move the state of the burgeoning discipline of modernist African art studies beyond the level of the essay and the exhibition catalogue. Many mainstream art historians still consider a section on ""primitivism"" and a brief mention of Yinka Shonibare to constitute a ""global"" view of modernism in the classroom. Now, armed with resources like Enwezor's Short Century anthology, Kasfir's survey text, and a number of emerging book-length academic studies like Elizabeth Harney's, that story might begin to change. Elizabeth Harney is correct in her claim that ""The 'new,' post-Negritude Senegalese arts in this [global art world] context need to be understood in relation to a complex cultural and aesthetic history that is local in character but inflected with decades of engagement with international artistic discourses and forms"" (p. 14). In Senghor's Shadow achieves this goal with great sensitivity and insight. It is the sort of study that is increasingly in demand among students of modern art, African art, and postcolonial cultural studies, and also by collectors and critics who are hungry for more of the real details on the art and art worlds of contemporary Africa.
. See Sidney Kasfir, Contemporary African Art. World of Art Series (London: Thames and Hudson, 1999); Olu Oguibe, Uzo Egonu: An African Artist in the West (London: Kala Press, 1995); Elizabeth Rankin, Images of Metal (Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, 1994); Philippa Hobbs and Elizabeth Rankin, Rorke's Drift Empowering Prints (Capetown: Double Storey Books, 2003); ); Simon Ottenberg, New Traditions from Nigeria: Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press in association with the National Museum of African Art, 1997); and Okwui Enwezor, ed., The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994 (Munich: Prestel, 2001).
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the list discussion logs at: http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl.
John Peffer. Review of Harney, Elizabeth, In Senghor's Shadow: Art, Politics, and the Avant-Garde in Senegal, 1960-1995.
H-AfrArts, H-Net Reviews.
Copyright © 2006 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication, originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews editorial staff at firstname.lastname@example.org.",5662,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00186-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.945367157459259
3603a295-6f50-4a8f-b57c-f9541e928a0f,2015-03-30T05:59:01+00:00,2012-05-16,1,http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/civpro/2012/05/class-action-certified-in-nyc-stop-and-frisk-lawsuit.html,"Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Today the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted class certification in a lawsuit challenging the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program. The class is defined as “[a]ll persons who since January 31, 2005 have been, or in the future will be, subjected to the New York Police Department’s policies and/or widespread customs or practices of stopping, or stopping and frisking, persons in the absence of a reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity has taken, is taking, or is about to take place in violation of the Fourth Amendment, including persons stopped or stopped and frisked on the basis of being Black or Latino in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Judge Shira Scheindlin’s 56-page opinion addresses several aspects of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, noting that “even after Wal-Mart, Rule 23(b)(2) suits remain appropriate mechanisms for obtaining injunctive relief in cases where a centralized policy is alleged to impact a large class of plaintiffs, even when the magnitude (and existence) of the impact may vary by class member” and that “[s]ince Wal-Mart, at least three district courts have granted class certification in cases alleging Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations due to a police department’s policy and/or practice of making unlawful stops and arrests; all of these courts have rejected the notion that the individual circumstances of a stop defeat commonality.” She also writes (footnotes omitted):
Plaintiffs allege that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights are violated as a result of the NYPD’s policies and practices. As they argue, these claims raise “central and core questions of fact and law that, when answered, will resolve all class members’ Monell claims against the City.” In the terminology of Wal-Mart, a class wide proceeding here will “generate common answers” to these questions that are “apt to drive the resolution of the litigation.”
For additional coverage, check out WNYC.org (Ailsa Chang).",468,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00110-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93063485622406
00ffc067-2f9a-4505-be20-689a50f23f0a,2016-07-26T14:54:46+00:00,2016-07-26,1,http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/sidd-srinivasa-home-robots-5-years/,"“If you build a specific-purpose device for every single chore, then you’re left with a hundred specific-purpose devices, which clutters up your home but also 99 of which will be sitting idle while the hundredth one is being used,” Sidd Srinivasa, associate professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, tells Digital Trends. For the past 11 years, he’s been working on Herb, a robotic butler, focusing on robotic manipulation. Right now, robots are good at performing single, repetitive tasks, like in auto plants. The challenge is getting bots to perform many different tasks in the chaotic home environment. “That’s sort of in some ways the Holy Grail of robotics, robotic manipulation in human environments,” he says.
The idea isn’t to build a robot that is completely autonomous and handles everything on its own; instead, Srinivasa sees robots as partners.
It’s part of the reason Herb, over the course of his life, went from being a two-piece robot, one of which had a single factory-robot-style arm and the other was a Segway with a table attached, to a two-armed machine that has a head and still cruises around on a Segway. Instead of sticking with the factory model, Herb has become more anthropomorphic to deal with the world we live in. No one knows what the robot of the future will look like, says Srinivasa, but it will be easier if resembles humans, because we’ve designed everything around ourselves. Imagine a larger-than-life spider-bot trying to get through your front door.
Herb started out as an autonomous assistant that would perform chores in every household, but for the past few years, Srinivasa’s focus has shifted to helping those with spinal cord injuries. “If you look at technology that’s out there now, a lot of people build technology that makes abled-bodied people more abled,” says Srinivasa. He’s working with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to get robots like Herb in homes, helping those with physical limitations.
This presents a different set of challenges, because the robot has to interpret information coming from joystick or brain-computer interfaces, then execute the commands. The idea isn’t to build a robot that is completely autonomous and handles everything on its own; instead, Srinivasa sees robots as partners.
Not everyone shares that view, of course. There’s a bit of unease with many Americans when it comes to inviting a robot into the home. It’s a cultural thing, Srinivasa thinks. Whereas many Japanese grew up with heroes like Astro Boy, a crime-fighting android, in the U.S. they’re viewed differently. “In Japan, there’s a sort of cultural affinity toward robots as being caregivings as being helpers, whereas in the United States a lot of the movies that we watch with robots end very, very badly,” he says.
Yet we all have robotic systems in our homes and cars, even if we don’t call them that, Srinivasa points out. Your car might correct itself if you start drifting out of your land or help you parallel park. Smart home devices are creeping in, as well. Several appliance makers are putting cameras inside fridges, so you can check on whether or not you have milk. Eventually, the fridge could figure this out for itself and order it for you. “Those are all pieces that go into a robot, but they’re sort of disembodied” in the fridge, he says.
In the next five years, Srinivasa hopes to have some Herb-like bots inside the homes of people with spinal cord injuries. You might have your own home robot, too, but it will just be in several different pieces like Herb once was, and disguised as an ordinary object.",833,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00256-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961388051509857
b817ba11-847a-4fdc-9e97-e92bde5e4528,2019-08-17T15:45:38+00:00,2019-08-17,0,https://www.twinmapleconstruction.com/,"We Build Value, Relationships and Community
With 4 generations of builders, our vision is to build the Client Experience through projects reflective of our family values.
Operating out of Abbotsford B.C., Twin Maple Construction Ltd. serves the entire Greater Vancouver area — spanning Vancouver Island and Whistler to the Eastern Fraser Valley and beyond. As a fully licensed, bonded and insured General Contractor, our team has over 100 years of experience in the construction industry. Our sub-trades also maintain the required certifications for project execution to the highest standard.
Twin Maple Construction’s commercial experience encompass both small and large projects; including tenant improvements, ’tilt-ups’ buildings, and renovations. Some clients include Home Depot, T&T Supermarket, Rexall, Drumeo and Fountain Tire to name a few.
With decades of agriculture construction experience, Twin Maple Construction specializes in understanding your farming needs. From workshops, storage buildings, and processing facilities to poultry barns, TMC uses the latest construction techniques to make your project a reality.
From new-build family homes in Abbotsford to Condo renovations in Langley, TMC can help to make your dream home a reality. We aim for efficient, functional designs that work for our clients and their property. Our team is up to date on the latest residential design trends.
Twin Maple Construction Proudly Supports BC Children's Hospital
Twin Maple Construction supports BC Children’s Hospital through in person and funded donations. Many of our team members have had personal experiences at BCCH. Learn more about our teams experiences and our commitment to our community.
Twin Maple Construction worked hard to make sure my free range chicken barn was completed on time so my schedule could be met! It is quality-build and very attractive as well. Thank you!
I was extremely happy with Twin Maple. They were fast and on time. I would highly recommend Twin Maple Construction.
Twin Maple Construction has been serving us for the last 15 years. They have been involved in a number of renovations and additions to our plant; they have also done general maintenance and repairs.
Twin Maple Construction has been by far the best construction company I have ever dealt with. I would definitely use TMC again for the next project. Thank you TMC!
We would like to thank you for our barn. Your knowledge and organization shows in the quality of our amazing barn. We are grateful for your help and support. Thanks!
John & Linda Yeomans
It was a pleasure working with Dustin and his team. The service provided was superior and completed on time!
Gillian Tews & Aman Dosanjh
I want to thank the Twin Maple team for all you have done with helping me and guiding me through my relocation project. I don’t think I could have found anyone better.
Great experience! 10/10!
It has been a pleasure dealing with the team at Twin Maple Construction during the retrofit of an existing building. They were able to transform an old relic into a thing of beauty!
Every aspect of the job, right from the planning and permits to final approval was completed on time and on budget. The finished product looks and works great.
Everything went very well, the staff communicated project updates and I was given great feedback on design ideas. 5 stars!
I want to thank the Twin Maple Team for the excellent work. I am very pleased with the high quality of workmanship.
Energetic and engaged in your work!
Excellent! I would highly recommend the Twin Maple team.
Linda Anne Bowling
Thank you for building our shop. We appreciate the regular updates, the professionalism of the crew and the details of costs and steps. We look forward to contacting you if we decide on another build in the future.",786,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00341.warc.gz,0.955266058444977
57e5ce98-70e1-4c49-be80-3af364ead9ff,2016-07-27T07:47:02+00:00,2004-03-08,0,http://www.ndcourts.gov/court/notices/20030098/order.htm,"ORDER OF ADOPTION
Supreme Court No. 20030098
Administrative Reorganization of the Judicial System
On April 2, 2003, the Judicial Planning Committee's Planning Recommendations for the administrative reorganization of the judicial system were filed. A Judicial Reorganization Implementation Plan was also received by the Court. A Notice of Comment dated April 2, 2003, was published on the Court's web page, and comments were accepted through July 2003.
The Court, after reviewing the recommendations and comments, considered amendments to North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rules 2 and 22, and a proposed North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 6.1, all to become effective August 1, 2004. A Notice of Comment dated January 2, 2004, relating to the proposed amendments was published on the Court's web page, and comments were accepted through February 2, 2004. All comments were referred to the Court. The Court considered the matter, and
ORDERED, proposed amendments to North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 2 and proposed North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 6.1, as further amended by the Court, are ADOPTED effective August 1, 2004. The rules, as amended, are attached.
FURTHER ORDERED, proposed amendments to North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 22, as further amended by the Court, are ADOPTED effective August 1, 2004, with the exception of Section 2.C., which is effective July 1, 2004. The rule, as amended, is attached.
Dated at Bismarck, North Dakota, March 8, 2004.
Gerald W. VandeWalle, Chief Justice
William A. Neumann, Justice
Mary Muehlen Maring, Justice
Carol Ronning Kapsner, Justice
I dissent. The ""judicial reorganization plan"" reflected in these rule changes received extensive public comment. Almost all of those who commented, including the Board of Governors of the State Bar Association and most of the district judges, objected to the plan. Although some of the objections may have been met by changes to the plan, it appears most have not.
I would make implementation of the rule changes subject to approval of the North Dakota Judicial Conference.
Dale V. Sandstrom, Justice
Penny Miller, Clerk",464,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00325-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966580748558044
3d0f0835-4d63-49c7-9048-3f70006c5501,2022-05-29T01:57:22+00:00,2022-05-29,1,https://www.nexr-technologies.com/scanning-systems,"Our advanced 3D body scanner technology provides fully digitized human bodies, available in the AvatarCloud app. Each avatar contains information about the dimensions of the person scanned and can be used for virtual fitting, to track physical changes, to detect diseases and much more. Fully digitized avatars also open up huge opportunities for the gaming industry and for virtual events.
Numerous cameras and depth sensors in body scanner provide the data for a perfect avatar including all valuable 3D body measurements. The digital twin is available in our secure AvatarCloud minutes after the scan.
With basic dimensions of only 1.7 x 1.7 meters our device is one of the smallest and portable full-body scanners out there and can be setup wherever a stable internet connection is available.
Avatars and 3D body measurements are available minutes after the scan. These measurements are useful for many customized products like finding the bike that fits you perfectly or health services documenting growth. They can be used to visualize physical changes through training progress or diseases and provide exact body sizes for tailor-made solutions.
All body measurements are available in the AvatarCloud app. The user has full control and power over his data. With the help of the collected body measurements, services such as virtual fittings can be offered.",255,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00421.warc.gz,0.917197227478027
d9e7cae6-a70a-47a8-997c-2004d59861af,2022-05-21T02:16:54+00:00,2020-03-01,0,https://atthecooltable.com/in-five-years-by-rebecca-serle-needs-to-go-on-your-tbr-list/,"There’s been a lot of buzz about author Rebecca Serle’s latest book, In Five Years, and there’s a good reason for that – you won’t be able to put it down.
Manhattan lawyer, Dannie Cohen, and free-spirit, Bella, have been best friends since childhood. They’ve survived childhood trauma, loss, college, relationships and career changes all while remaining the most important person in the other’s life. So, when Dannie has a strange prophetic glimpse of herself in the near future; and sees she’s in a sexual relationship with a man who would later prove to be Bella’s boyfriend, things get weird.
Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.
In Five Years is undoubtedly a love story. A really beautiful one with meet-cutes, ups and downs, heartbreak and reconciliation, but there’s one thing it isn’t. It isn’t a romance and it’s all the better for it.
It asks the question, what if our greatest love stories are the relationships we have with our friends? Then it answers it in a way that made me laugh, gasp in horror, swoon and cry from the first to the last page. You need to add it to your TBR list.
Heidi is currently obsessed with watching people make bad decisions on TV, being a coastal elite, artificially avoiding any sign of aging, reading feminist romance novels, and getting the biggest laugh at her own expense. She has a husband, 3 kids, a dog and anxiety.",358,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662534773.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521014358-20220521044358-00220.warc.gz,0.94385826587677
4620f474-9170-4a49-b34d-9f235a70eb78,2015-03-31T10:20:52+00:00,2013-01-30,1,http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9803118/Cancer-patients-face-drugs-funding-cliff-edge-warn-MPs.html,"They face a “cliff edge” situation when the Cancer Drugs Fund ceases to operate, said members of the Health Select Committee.
To date some 25,000 people have benefitted from the fund, David Cameron’s personal brainchild, since it was introduced in 2010.
It enables them to apply for treatment with drugs that have either not yet been given the green light for NHS prescription by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), or have been turned down on cost grounds.
Chris Skidmore, a Conservative select committee member, said: “The Coalition has put a lot aside for the Cancer Drugs Fund and in doing so has raised significantly patient expectations.
“I think a significant problem will occur when the public do not recognise that this fund is temporary.
“We could have what effectively is a clinical cliff edge in January 2014, between the end of the Cancer Drugs Fund and the adoption of value based pricing.”
Stephen Dorrell, the Conservative committee chairman, expressed concern that current patients faced the prospect of drugs being taken away from them.
Future patients could see drugs that were benefitting today’s patients ""simply being withdrawn"", he warned.
The fund was only ever meant to be temporary. A new system of agreeing drug prices with pharmaceutical firms, called value based pricing, is due to come in next January. Ministers believe this will be more flexible than the current arrangement, doing away for the need for the fund.
But select committee members remain unconvinced.
In a report about Nice, published today (Wed), they describe value based pricing as a “nebulous concept” which will have only “modest implications”.
The Department of Health already negotiates with drugs firms to agree prices, they note.
Mr Skidmore said the Government needed to “set out as soon as possible” what the effective replacement for the Cancer Drugs Fund would be.
The committee is also concerned that the fund is not being properly assessed.
In evidence to the committee, Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, admitted “we don’t have the data” on how much benefit it had brought.
Valerie Vaz, a Labour member, said: “I hope there’s something in the Department of Health where they are measuring whether these drugs have been helpful.”
The committee also asked why cancer had been singled-out for extra drugs cash, recommending that if there was “clear evidence of beneficial outcomes” then something akin to the fund should be “applied to treatments for conditions other than cancer”.
A Department of Health spokesman said: ""We will ensure arrangements are in place to protect individual patients who are receiving treatment with drugs funded by the Cancer Drugs Fund as the end of the fund approaches.
""We will respond fully to the Health Select Committee’s report in due course.”",611,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00160-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968965172767639
ab41fe25-d202-42ac-beb4-863ea558d3b0,2019-08-25T23:32:52+00:00,2019-04-09,1,http://www.suoredellacarita.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2121:sud-sudan-i-leader-in-ritiro-con-papa-francesco&Itemid=149&lang=en,"9 April 2019 - ""Here I am, send me"": ""The Year of Youth in Pakistan will be a time to nourish our future, to take care of young people, to listen to them and to accompany them on their journey of faith and to grow in holiness"": as Agenzia Fides learns, this is what Bishop Samson Shukardin said during a meeting of the Youth Commission of the Pakistani Bishops' Conference held yesterday 4 April in St. Patrick's Cathedral, in Karachi. The meeting of the Commission was held a week after Pakistan's Catholic Bishops Conference announced 2020 as the ""Year of Youth"" for the Catholic Church in Pakistan. Bishop Samson Shukardin, who took part in the Synod of Youth held at the Vatican last autumn, explained: ""Our mission is to help young people grow in their faith and live a happy life in society. We are inspired by Jesus who walked , shared and accompanied the disciples of Emmaus"".
An ad hoc Committee has been formed to plan and follow the various initiatives of the Year of Youth which will begin with the feast of Christ the King in 2019 and will close on the same feast holiday in 2020. The chosen theme is the biblical verse ""Here I am, send me!"" (Isaiah 6: 8), chosen precisely in the light of the Synod on young people of 2018. Speaking to Fides, Mgr. Samson Shukardin declares: ""The theme set for the Year of Youth wants to help young people recognize, discern and live their missionary vocation, to serve the Church as priests, religious and laity"". The Bishop observes: ""Young people need a spiritual father, as well as Pastors and lay leaders are needed to work with young people, who can accompany them and help them overcome the challenges they face in their daily lives"".
The Bishop concludes: ""We must empower and involve young people in the Church by giving them responsibility, trusting them and forming them to spread the Word of God and Christian values also through media, music, arts, games and sport"".
The Committee will organize events in all the dioceses of Pakistan, including seminars on the final document of the Synod ""Christus Vivit"". (AG) (Agenzia Fides, 5/4/2019)",468,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00360.warc.gz,0.971656799316406
8742a89e-a7a0-4f82-9495-e4015d511da3,2019-08-20T14:53:37+00:00,2015-05-09,0,https://www.oakbaynews.com/news/needed-supplies-set-sail-for-vanuatu/,"A container filled with sensible supplies and a little bit of heart is on its way to Vanuatu.
The Victoria Vanuatu Physician Project (ViVa), in conjunction with Disaster Aid Canada and the Compassionate Resource Warehouse packed a shipping container to the brim with much-needed disaster relief – construction, medical, school, recreation and skill development supplies for the nation made up of 80 islands in the South Pacific in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam.
“It’s been really wonderful and ViVa feels very fortunate,” said ViVa spokesman Dr. Jeff Unger.
The Victoria emergency room physician and his family spent seven months living on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu while Unger worked as a volunteer physician as part of ViVa. The Victoria-Vanuatu Physician Project is a small, grassroots, not-for-profit organization that supplies a physician to staff the 40-bed Lenakel Hospital on Tanna. Over its 24 years more than 40 Greater Victoria physicians and their families have made the trip.
The Ungers returned to their Oak Bay home shortly before the devastating cyclone brought winds reaching 320 km/h, spreading devastation across 22 islands in the archipelago and impacting 188,000 people, 60,000 of them school-age children.
“Obviously this has touched a chord with some people and we’re committed mid to long term to really help rebuild there as some organizations that have been active there are pulling away now,” Unger said.
ViVa will continue its partnership with an Australian team through Rotary International.
“We’ve done work with them for hospital maintenance the last 15 years. We know how they work and they do great work and the funds will go directly to what’s needed,” Unger said.
Funds will come from some ViVa already holds, private donations, and some they will continue to raise in what they see right now as a three- to five-year plan.
The first container that left Victoria May 9, was filled with post-disaster supplies such as tents that will house 10 people, water purification means, tarps and tools, things needed in the immediate sense.
“It was just something that we thought would be tangible and effective and really worthwhile within a few weeks of the disaster occurring,” Unger said. “One of the things we realized after this is disaster preparedness is not something that’s a reality there.”
ViVa purchased the container which will stay onsite at the hospital and serve as a safe storage facility for future disaster supplies.
A load of soccer balls and pumps offered by Spank It Sports and two sets of jerseys donated by Victoria soccer clubs offer a bit of spirit lifting beyond housing and fresh water.
“We are really thankful for the response people have had. People have been really generous here in Victoria… and across Canada,” Unger said, adding ViVa has raised over $50,000 and will continue to co-ordinate ongoing efforts with other local organizations.",637,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315544.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820133527-20190820155527-00401.warc.gz,0.965547978878021
1ffd2d42-27c0-4963-855e-24ebf506fba9,2017-08-18T01:15:23+00:00,2016-08-17,1,http://www.irishluck.ie/news/aiba-to-take-disciplinary-action-against-judges-and-referees/,"The International Boxing Association (AIBA) is planning to take disciplinary action against judges and referees who were dismissed from the Rio Olympics and sent home following controversial decisions in a number of boxing matches.
An unspecified number of judges and referees were sent home from the Olympics after AIBA ruled that they had not met its officiating standards. AIBA has announced that “individuals and associated federations have been forwarded to the disciplinary commission for further investigation, with appropriate actions to follow.”
One of the most controversial decisions made in the Olympics included in the 56kg bantamweight quarterfinal boxing match between Irish boxer Michael Conlan and Russian boxer Vladimir Nikitin. The match was awarded to Nikitin despite several commentators believing that Conlan should have won. Conlan launched a tirade against AIBA following his loss.
This; however, was not the only contentious decision of the Rio Olympics. Several commentators felt that Ireland’s lightweight boxing champion Katie Taylor should have won her bout against Finland’s Mira Potkonen and there was also controversy in the heavyweight final when Russian Evengy Tischenko was announced the winner against Khazakstan boxer Vassily Levit.
AIBA stressed that all judges are expected to conduct themselves with “respect, fairness, integrity and transparency.” They announced that the commission met in Lausanne earlier this week in order to review the questionable judgements that led to widespread reproach of the system of judging. The commission has highlighted a number of decisions made in the Olympic fights and will take action according to their findings.
AIBA has also announced that they are considering a review of the certification process for judges and referees and will consider introducing a five-judge scoring system to help prevent this from occurring again in the future.",365,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104204.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818005345-20170818025345-00047.warc.gz,0.98315155506134
c1203349-a544-4096-8fd5-48c60c13e575,2022-05-24T12:56:28+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://blog.explore.org/the-teenagers-of-the-bear-world/,"By “The Artist Formerly Known as Ranger Mike” Fitz
Recently I speculated that 435 Holly and her two cubs might go their separate ways. Since then, park rangers spotted Holly’s adopted cub, 503 Cubadult, wandering alone near the mouth of Brooks River. Neither 435 nor her biological cub were seen nearby. It appears that the Cubadult has become a subadult. He’s now begun a challenging journey that will test his instincts and survival skills.
Subadult bears are those who are independent of their mother, but have not yet fully matured physically or (as I suspect) mentally. They are the teenagers of the bear world. Katmai’s bears typically enter subadulthood in their third or fourth summer. While subadults are typically curious and more playful than adults, they also must establish their own home range and face stiff competition from adult bears. If they encounter their mother, not even she will cut her offspring any slack. (A few years ago, I watched 435 Holly charge 89 Backpack, her cub from a 2006 litter.)
It’s not easy to be a teenager nor is it easy to be a subadult. Subadult bears, like 503, rank lowest in the bear hierarchy. 503 only ranks higher than smaller subadults. At Brooks River, he may wander to the falls, but will not gain the same access to salmon as he did with his mother. Without mom to shadow and protect him, he’s much more vulnerable to attacks from other bears. Accordingly, most subadult bears avoid Brooks Falls. If they do approach, they often do so skittishly, hovering on the river bank or downstream and scavenging partially eaten salmon carcasses.
Subadult males are more likely to disperse away from their mother’s home range than subadult females. While several adult male bears at Brooks River fished there as cubs (i.e. 83, 89, 151, 274, 868), 503 might wander far from Brooks River. On that journey, if he finds enough food and space to survive, it’s certainly possible that we may never see him again.
503’s multi-year subadult journey could be risky and dangerous, but if his instincts and survival skills are up to the task, it may lead to a long life. Perhaps 503 will return to Brooks River and we’ll be witness to the next part of his journey on bearcam. Perhaps not, leaving us to only wonder about his fate.
EXPLORE the Complete – Brown Bear Live Camera Experience",532,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662572800.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524110236-20220524140236-00425.warc.gz,0.967808127403259
7e2a8599-4692-41ff-b144-ad870864041d,2019-08-24T22:34:54+00:00,2019-08-24,0,https://www.antalyadolphinland.com/antalya/antalya-shark-dive.html,"Experience their magnificence up close and personal whether from the safety of a cage, getting within arm's reach of a great white shark or SCUBA DIVING with one of the most beautiful sharks you have ever seen, the BLUE SHARK. If you're lucky you might just get to see the fastest shark of them all, We pride ourselves in offering unparalleled customer service ensuring that all our clients are well looked after, so don't hesitate to get in touch to find out how we can organise your time in Antalya, Turkey.
Get your adrenaline pumping with a shark cage diving trip where you will be closer than ever before to one of nature’s most astonishing creatures. We limit the number of passengers to 22 people per trip in order to provide a more exclusive experience. The onboard air supply system allows divers to remain underwater while in the cage, without scuba tanks, extra equipment or any diving experience. Fill out this form to enquire and make a booking with us. Check the chepest deals!
Antalya Vacation - Deals & Packages!
Much unlike a traditional tourist city, Antalya’s limpid charm undergoes a complete cycle as its tempo varies from attractive to delightful, then becomes steady for some time and then turns to unforgettable. This Turkish city is the culmination of Greek, Roman, European and Islamic ideologies at a single point and this is why visitors flock to this part of the world. This scenic city is one of the oldest in Europe and it leaves you with a choice to either explore its historical identity or to just relax along its Mediterranean seaside- but whatever you do, do not miss the coffee in Antalya. It’s surreal.
Places of Interest in Antalya, Turkey ; Antalya Museum, Museums are a tangible extension of a country’s history, and Antalya Museum is no different. Mostly based on excavations along the Turkish coast, the museum has an enviable collection of five thousand ancient artifacts dating from the Bronze Age and the Ottoman Empire to the more recent ones in thirteen exhibition halls. If you’re short on time, you can also go forward to admire mosaics galleries and ancient Roman scriptures. Antalya Shark Diving
Address : Antalya, Turkey
Free of cost shuttle bus transportation from / to hotels, holiday rental villas, properties in ; Bogazkent Serik Kundu Ornekkoy Kepez Muratpasa Konyaalti Cirali Denizyaka Village Belek Alanya Lara Beach Side Manavgat Kemer Olimpos Cirali Adrasan Kumluca Finike Tekirova Avsallar Incekum Mahmutlar Camyuva Kiris Beldibi Goynuk Alara Karaburun Okurcalar Turkler Konakli Payallar Kestel Obagol Yesiloz Sapadere Koprulu Canyon National Park Kas Kalkan Patara Demre Kekova Ucagiz Kale Fethiye",628,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321786.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824214845-20190825000845-00527.warc.gz,0.8843674659729
1445395c-cf41-409b-90ef-df413d437161,2015-03-29T00:36:18+00:00,2006-04-06,0,http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/AIDS_dementia_complex?diff=next&oldid=163290,"Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
AIDS dementia complex (ADC; also known as HIV dementia, HIV encephalopathy and HIV-associated dementia) has become a common neurological disorder associated with HIV infection and AIDS. It is is a metabolic encephalopathy induced by HIV infection and fueled by immune activation of brain macrophages and microglia. These cells are actively infected with HIV and secrete neurotoxins of both host and viral origin. The essential features of ADC are disabling cognitive impairment accompanied by motor dysfunction, speech problems and behavioural change. Cognitive impairment is characterised by mental slowness, trouble with memory and poor concentration. Motor symptoms include a loss of fine motor control leading to clumsiness, poor balance and tremors. Behavioural changes may include apathy, lethargy and diminished emotional responses and spontaneity. Histopathologically, it is identified by the infiltration of monocytes and macrophages into the central nervous system (CNS), gliosis, pallor of myelin sheaths, abnormalities of dendritic processes and neuronal apoptosis.
ADC typically occurs after years of HIV infection and is associated with low CD4+ T cell levels and high plasma viral loads. It is sometimes seen as the first sign of the onset of AIDS. Prevalence is between 10-20% in Western countries and has only been seen in 1-2% of India based infections. With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the frequency of ADC has declined in developed countries. HAART may not only prevent or delay the onset of ADC in people with HIV infection, it can also improve mental function in people who already have ADC.
Dementia only exists when neurocognitive impairment in the patient is severe enough to interfere markedly with day-to-day function. That is, the patient is typically unable to work and may not be able to take care of him or herself. Before this, the patient is said to have a mild neurocognitive disorder.
- Marked acquired impairment of at least two ability domains of cognitive function (e.g. memory, attention): typically, the impairment is in multiple domains, especially in learning, information processing and concentration/attention. The cognitive impairment is ascertained by medical history, mental status examination or neuropsychological testing.
- Cognitive impairments identified in 1. interfere markedly with day-to-day functioning.
- Cognitive impairments identified in 1. are present for at least one month.
- Cognitive impairments identified in 1. do not meet the criteria for delirium, or if delirium is present, dementia was diagnosed when delirium was not present.
- No evidence of another, pre-existing aetiology that could explain the dementia (e.g. another CNS infection, CNS neoplasm, cerebrovascular disease, pre-existing neurological disease, severe substance abuse compatible with CNS disorder.
While the progression of dysfunction is variable, it is regarded as a serious complication and, untreated, can progress to a fatal outcome. Diagnosis is made by neurologists who carefully rule out alternative diagnoses. This routinely requires a careful neurological examination, brain scans (MRI or CT scan) and a lumbar puncture to evaluate the cerebrospinal fluid. No single test is available to confirm the diagnosis, but the constellation of history, laboratory findings, and examination can reliably establish the diagnosis when performed by experienced clinicians. The amount of virus in the brain does not correlate well with the degree of dementia, suggesting that secondary mechanisms are also important in the manifestation of ADC.
AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC) is not a true opportunistic infection. It is one of the few conditions caused directly by HIV itself. But it is not quite as simple as that because the central nervous system can be damaged by a number of other causes:
- opportunistic infections - there are many
- Primary cerebral lymphoma or metastasis of other AIDS-related cancers
- direct effects of HIV in the brain
- toxic effects of drug treatments
Many researchers believe that HIV damages the vital brain cells, neurons, indirectly. According to one theory, HIV either infects or activates cells that nurture and maintain the brain, known as macrophages and microglia. These cells then produce toxins that can set off a series of reactions that instruct neurons to kill themselves. The infected macrophages and microglia also appear to produce additional factors chemokines and cytokines - that can affect neurons as well as other brain cells known as astrocytes. The affected astrocytes, which normally nurture and protect neurons, also may now end up harming neurons. Researchers hope that new drugs under investigation will interfere with the detrimental cycle and prevent neuron death.
ADC stage characteristicsEdit
- Stage 0 (Normal) Normal Mental and Motor Function
- Stage 0.5 (Subclinical) Minimal symptoms of cognitive or motor dysfunction characteristic of ADC, or mild signs (snout response, slowed extremity movements), but without impairment of work or capacity to perform activities of daily living (ADL). Gait and strength are normal.
- Stage 1 (Mild) Evidence of functional intellectual or motor impairment characteristic of ADC, but able to perform all but the more demanding aspects of work or ADL. Can walk without assistance.
- Stage 2 (Moderate) Cannot work or maintain the more demanding aspects of daily life, but able to perform basic activities of self care. Ambulatory, but may require a single prop.
- Stage 3 (Severe) Major intellectual incapacity - cannot follow news or personal events, cannot sustain complex conversation, considerable slowing of all output. And/or motor disability - cannot walk unassisted, requiring walker or personal support, usually with slowing and clumsiness of arms as well.
- Stage 4 (End Stage) Nearly vegetative. Intellectual and social comprehension and responses are at a rudimentary level. Nearly or absolutely mute. Paraparetic or paraplegic with double incontinence.
References and notesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gray, F., Adle-Biassette, H., Chrétien, F., Lorin de la Grandmaison, G., Force, G., Keohane, C. (2001). Neuropathology and neurodegeneration in human immunodeficiency virus infection. Pathogenesis of HIV-induced lesions of the brain, correlations with HIV-associated disorders and modifications according to treatments. Clin. Neuropathol. 20 (4): 146-155. PMID 11495003.
- ↑ Adle-Biassette, H., Lévy, Y., Colombel, M., Poron, F., Natchev, S., Keohane, C. and Gray, F. (1995). Neuronal apoptosis in HIV infection in adults. Neuropathol. Appl. Neurobiol. 21 (3): 218-227. PMID 7477730.
- ↑ Grant, I., Sacktor, H., and McArthur, J. (2005). ""HIV neurocognitive disorders"" H. E. Gendelman, I. Grant, I. Everall, S. A. Lipton, and S. Swindells. (ed.) The Neurology of AIDS, 2nd, 357-373, London, U.K.: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852610-5.
- ↑ Satishchandra, P., Nalini, A., Gourie-Devi, M., Khanna, N., Santosh, V., Ravi, V., Desai, A., Chandramuki, A., Jayakumar, P. N., and Shankar, S. K. (2000). Profile of neurologic disorders associated with HIV/AIDS from Bangalore, south India (1989-96). Indian J. Med. Res. 11: 14-23. PMID 10793489.
- ↑ Wadia, R. S., Pujari, S. N., Kothari, S., Udhar, M., Kulkarni, S., Bhagat, S., and Nanivadekar, A. (2001). Neurological manifestations of HIV disease. J. Assoc. Physicians India 49: 343-348. PMID 11291974.
- ↑ Grant, I., Atkinson, J. (1995). ""Psychiatric aspects of acquired immune deficiency syndrome."" Kaplan, H.I. and Sadock, B.J. (ed.) Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, VI, (Vol.2, Sect. 29.2) 1644-1669, Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins. ISBN 0-683-04532-6.
- Price, R.W. (1998). AIDS Dementia Complex. University of California San Francisco. URL accessed on 2006-04-06.
HIV/AIDS related topics
HIV · AIDS · HIV structure and genome · HIV test · CDC Classification System for HIV Infection · HIV disease progression rates · HIV vaccine · WHO Disease Staging System for HIV Infection and Disease · AIDS dementia complex · Antiretroviral drug · Tuberculosis (coinfection)
International AIDS Conference · International AIDS Society · World AIDS Day · Treatment Action Campaign · UNAIDS · PEPFAR · NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt · HIV and AIDS misconceptions · List of HIV-positive people · People With AIDS Self-Empowerment Movement · HIV–positive fictional characters
|AIDS pandemic in||
Sub-Saharan Africa (in South Africa • Uganda) · Asia (in China • India • Myanmar • Pakistan • Taiwan • Japan) · in Latin America (in Brazil) · Caribbean · Eastern Europe and Central Asia (in Russia) · Western Europe · United States · List of countries by HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|",2067,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00240-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.849830508232117
27232a57-9a46-41e7-9106-cbe768a82cdf,2018-08-19T05:15:49+00:00,2013-04-15,0,http://daveroperracing.blogspot.com/2013/04/tom-mueller-sent-me-another-photo-he.html,"Dave Roper, the first American ever to win an Isle of Man TT, will be riding a restored 580cc Indian TT model v-twin in the 2011 TT. Roper has a lifetime of achievement in vintage racing, including more than 20 AHRMA national championships as well as his win of the 1984 Senior Historic TT on a G50 Matchless. Support the first motorcycle to ever win the Senior TT on the Mountain Course, the only American marque to win at the event and the only American racer to ever win the Senior Historic TT!
Tom Mueller sent me another photo he took at the first Daytona vintage race on 3/4/81 which he was covering for Cycle News. I'm riding a 1959 Matchless G-50.
This goes with the other two he previously sent and I posted:",165,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214702.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819051423-20180819071423-00578.warc.gz,0.971002280712128
f4700bbf-392e-4d37-82df-51153d9b1a7c,2020-10-25T08:43:49+00:00,2020-05-29,1,https://confidentenamibia.com/african-tourism-preparing-for-post-coronavirus-era/,"African tourism preparing for post-coronavirus era
AT the start of 2020, Africa’s tourism industry was predicted to grow.
The United World Tourism Organisation, or UNWTO, estimated a 3 to 5% increase in international arrivals to the continent as a result of demand for air travel and easier visa processes.
As coronavirus hit, airports were shut down, tourists stopped arriving and the industry was forced to pause.
Many countries on the continent also imposed lockdowns, shutting down hotels, tour companies, event centers and public transportation.
The tourism industry — consisting of entertainment, accommodation, food and beverage and operating tours — employs more than 1 million people each in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, according to the United Nations.
It also accounts for more than 20% of employment in Seychelles, Cape Verde, Sao Tome, and Principe and Mauritius.
But due to the spread of Covid-19, many of its sectors are cutting jobs and losing revenue.
The UN estimates that the pandemic will cost up to 2 million direct and indirect jobs in tourism on the continent.
Loss of revenue
In Kenya, some hotels and guesthouses on the Kenyan coast reported occupancy rates of less than 7% in March, according to local media.
In the same month, Victor Shikata, the general manager at the Flamingo beach hotel, in Mombasa, Kenya’s coast, told CNN that the hotel’s pool and lounge were empty. And its once sandy beaches have become deserted as a result of the virus.
The hotel also had to deal with massive cancellations of holidays and conference meetings, he added.
Food and beverage services are not left out as business owners say they are forced to lay off staff or cut down on their salaries.
Ada Osakwe, founder of Nuli, a chain of health food restaurants based in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial center told CNN that her business was forced to close down 9 of its 10 stores following the coronavirus pandemic in April.
“I’m just really with spreadsheets and putting percentages next to everyone’s names to see how we are going to pay salaries. After April, I don’t know how we are going to survive,” she said.
Tanya Kotze, founder of Africa Direct, a tour and travel company based in South Africa told CNN that when international flights to the country were canceled in March, her team was thrown into ‘absolute chaos.’
International travel has always been a huge factor for tourism and in 2018, it generated $38 billion for Africa, according to the UNWTO.
Kotze, who has been running Africa Direct for 15 years says her team spent about four weeks reaching out to clients and rescheduling bookings for 2021 and 2022.
“The first month after international travel stopped, it was absolute chaos of moving bookings of our current clients who would have traveled this year. It was dealing with so many cancellations and activities to prevent our clients from losing their money,” she said.
Cancelling and rescheduling trips could potentially translate into a loss of $30 billion to $50 billion in revenue for the continent’s tourism industry this year, according to the United Nations.
But because of increasing cases of the virus, more than 123 000 on the continent as of May 29, Africa does not have a choice.
Kotze says that one of the ways her company is staying afloat is by leveraging on already existing relationships with her clients who are mostly visitors from the US and Europe.
“We are fortunate to have repeat clients so we are offering really affordable packages ahead of 2021 and 2022 and encouraging them to book now.
We are so fortunate that many of them are booking. The exchange rate is now favorable for Americans and Britons looking to your Africa so we are trying to make it as attractive as possible,” she explained.
It is still unclear when African countries will fully open up their borders to travel and tourism.
While some countries are still operating emergency flights in order to repatriate citizens stuck abroad, and some are still operating cargo flights, for the most part, international air operations remain grounded.",886,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888402.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025070924-20201025100924-00322.warc.gz,0.963763296604156
c1ebfc66-c8a6-4489-9c24-5200db514571,2015-03-27T00:05:04+00:00,2012-12-01,1,http://www.wibw.com/home/military/headlines/Source-Says-Nebraskas-Hagel-Front-Runner-for-Defense-183282991.html,"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel has met with both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, as the president considers tapping him to replace Leon Panetta as defense secretary, according to several knowledgeable sources.
Several sources familiar with the process say Hagel appears to have the inside track for the job. CNN has previously reported Hagel is on the short list of potential nominees. One Democratic source familiar with the process simply dubs Hagel ""the frontrunner."" Another Democrat with knowledge of the process calls Hagel’s nomination ""almost a done deal."" But according to an administration official, no decisions have been made.
Reuters reported that Obama and Hagel met early last week.
Hagel, who serves as the co-chair of the president's Intelligence Advisory Board, is someone well-known to the president. He crossed party lines to endorse Obama for president in 2008, and traveled with him to Afghanistan and Iraq. He is also friendly with Biden because both men worked together on a variety of foreign policy issues when they served in the Senate.
Since leaving the Senate in 2009, Hagel has remained engaged in public policy. He now heads the nonpartisan Atlantic Council. But he is known as someone who supports ""engagement"" and ""soft power."" He opposed President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq and was against the Bush administration's troop surge there in 2007.
Many Senate Republicans would no doubt raise questions about Hagel's foreign policy positions.
If nominated and confirmed, Hagel would be Obama's second Republican defense secretary. Bob Gates stayed on when Obama took office after having served in the role under Bush. If not nominated for the Pentagon, there is also a possibility that Hagel might be considered for another post.
Sources say others under consideration for the defense post include Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Michele Flournoy, who was previously a top Pentagon official.
Carter, who has helped oversee the Pentagon's recent belt tightening, would be viewed as well suited to lead the sprawling agency during a period of fiscal austerity. Flournoy would make history as the first woman ever to run the Pentagon.
Panetta has indicted he would like to return to private life in California in 2013.
Both sources also confirm, as CNN has previously reported, that current chief of staff Jack Lew is likely to be nominated as treasury secretary.
One knowledgeable source says that any changes at the staff level- or in the economic team- are likely to be put on hold until there is a clearer picture of the fate of the fiscal cliff negotiations.
The question of who will be asked to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton-and when-remains unanswered. One of the Democratic sources says the president remains a ""very big Susan Rice fan,"" but also adds that ""the longer he lets her (Rice) hang out there, the harder it is. The last week was not good for her.""
Rice, the U.N. ambassador, traveled to Capitol Hill recently to meet with skeptical Republicans about her role in the controversy over the administration's public response to the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, in September.
The sessions seemed to do little to assuage their questions. One moderate Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, emerged from her session clearly unenthusiastic about a potential Rice nomination.
Both sources say that the question of Rice's future is very closely held, as is the question of the timing of any nomination. One knowledgeable source indicated some announcements on the foreign policy front could be made next week. Sources also caution that these nominations should be seen as part of a larger picture: As in a chess game, each move affects the next move.
For instance, there is a consideration of working relationships, the president's ""comfort level, and issues like diversity. If Rice were not to be nominated as secretary of state, the top four Cabinet posts-attorney general, defense, treasury and state-would all be filled by men, if the State Department nod was given to Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) instead of Rice.
One of the knowledgeable sources says the White House is considering former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland or outgoing Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire for the position of transportation secretary.",881,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131293283.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172133-00135-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970066070556641
b11c249d-37a6-4e8f-ae22-bea54fea8644,2022-05-18T00:50:26+00:00,2022-05-18,1,https://vegconomist.com/market-and-trends/market-report-vegan-snack-market-to-grow-to-73-billion-dollars-by-2028/,"According to a new report by market research firm Future Market Insights (FMI), the vegan snack market will be worth over US$73 billion by 2028. The industry analysis states that the market volume is currently 31.8 billion US dollars, and an annual growth rate of up to 8.7 percent is forecast for the coming years.
Vegan snacks are snacks made exclusively from plant-based ingredients. The main drivers for the plant-based snack market are increasing consumption of these products and growing consumer awareness of health and wellbeing. In addition, a rise in health problems and diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease have led consumers to choose healthier alternatives in the form of vegan snacks.
Plant-based products deliver more nutritional value and promote healthier eating habits. The market for plant-based snacks is expected to experience increasing demand due to the vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian dietary trends in developed and developing economies, with people avoiding animal products and switching to plant-based alternatives.
The global market for vegan snacks is expected to grow significantly, particularly in developed countries. The report forecasts that the market in the APEJ region will grow at an annual rate of 9.7% over the forecast period, reaching a market value of USD 21,460.8 million by 2028.
In addition, developed industrial economies such as North America and Western Europe are expected to account for much of the market share for plant-based snacks due to the increasing trend towards vegan and vegetarian foods and the growing per capita consumption of snacks in these regions. The North American plant-based snack market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 7.8% over the forecast period, with a market value of $23,239.2 million by 2028. In Western Europe, a market share of 22.3% is expected.
More information can be found at www.futuremarketinsights.com.",385,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520936.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517225809-20220518015809-00612.warc.gz,0.951336920261383
fec88b7e-4725-423d-8c2a-3a60dec3c071,2016-07-27T01:46:48+00:00,2014-12-14,0,http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/dade.html,"Monuments stand at the points where
U.S. officers fell during Dade's Battle.
The one in the foreground marks the
spot where Major Dade died.
Palmetto on the Battlefield
Seminole warriors used palmetto as
cover before their ambush of Major
Dade and his men.
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park - Bushnell, Florida
DADE BATTLEFIELD HISTORIC STATE PARK
Reconstructed log breastworks stand at the site
where Major Francis Dade and 105 men were killed
during the Second Seminole War.
Destruction of Dade's Command
On December 28, 1835, Seminole warriors
attacked a column of 107 U.S. soldiers led by
Major Francis Dade, sparking a battle that
would bring the United States fully into the
costliest Indian war in its history.
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park in
Bushnell, Florida (an easy drive from both
Tampa and Orlando) preserves the site of
one of the most important battles in
American history. Major Dade and 103 of his
men died here in an event that was the ""Little
Bighorn"" of its day.
Tensions were extremely high in Florida
when Major Dade and 108 men marched out
from Fort Brooke (today's Tampa) in late
December of 1835. The U.S. Government
was attempting to force the Seminoles to
voluntarily relocate to new lands west of the
Mississippi. Hundreds of Seminole chiefs
and warriors were opposed to the move.
Although several small encounters had taken
place, open warfare had not yet erupted.
Dade and his men were marching, with a
single piece of artillery, to reinforce the
garrison at Fort King, a frontier stockade on
the present site of Ocala. The soldiers were
wary of possible attack, but by the 28th had
emerged from the thick swamps along their
route and were marching through fairly open
The day was very cold and, more relaxed now
that they had emerged from the thickets and
swamps, the men were wearing heavy coats
over their weapons. Major Dade and an
advance guard were slightly ahead of the
main column, but the soldiers had no scouts
out on their flanks.
According to one survivor, Private Ransom
Clarke, the major had just promised the men
a three day Christmas rest when they
reached Fort King when suddenly a shot
Unknown to Dade and his men, they had
been watched for days since they had left
Tampa Bay and were now walking into an
ambush laid by around 200 Seminole
warriors. The Native American leaders
Micanopy, Jumper and Alligator were all on
Following the signal shot, the Seminoles
opened fire from the cover of palmetto and
high grass and Major Dade, his horse, and
roughly half the column went down in the first
volley. One survivor told Major F.S. Belton that
fifteen rounds were fired by the Indians
before the soldiers ever actually saw a
The Seminoles swarmed forward, but were
driven back by the fire of Dade's cannon. The
artillery blasts caused a pause in the battle
long enough for the soldiers to regroup.
Taking advantage of the brief lull they threw
up a triangular breastwork of logs. It was only
about three logs high, however, when the
Seminoles attacked again. Archaeologists
later found piles of flattened rifle balls at the
site of the log breastworks.
When the smoke finally cleared, virtually the
entire army force had been wiped out. Dade,
his officers and at least 103 men were dead.
Four soldiers, all badly wounded, survived
the attack. Among these were Privates John
Thomas and Ransom Clarke of Company C,
2nd U.S. Artillery. Despite their wounds,
Thomas and Clarke carried the news of the
attack back to Fort Brooke. A third survivor,
Joseph Sprague, also reached the fort before
dying, but a fourth was killed before he could
make it to Tampa Bay. Dade's interpreter
Louis Pacheco, was either captured or
voluntarily went over to the Seminoles.
Although there had been several small
skirmishes or incidents before the 28th, it
was the destruction of Dade's command that
sparked the Second Seminole War.
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park includes
the preserved battlefield area, reconstructed
log breastworks and a museum/visitor center
as well as picnic areas and walking trails.
The park is open daily from 8 a.m. - sunset.
Museum hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Please click here to visit the official park
website for more information.
To reach the park from Interstate 75, take Exit
# 314 (County Road 48) at Bushnell, Florida.
Turn east toward downtown Bushnell. Turn
right (south) on County Road 603 and follow
it to the battlefield, which will be on your right.
The address is 7200 County Road 603;
Bushnell, Florida. Entry is $3 per vehicle.
Also of interest in the immediate area are
Fort Cooper State Park in Inverness and the
site of the Battle of Wahoo Swamp, between
Bushnell and Floral City on County Road 48
West. The U.S. soldiers killed in the battle
are buried beneath the Dade Pyramids at St.
Augustine National Cemetery.
Ancient Oak Tree
This massive oak growing near the
battle site was a large tree at the time
of the 1835 battle.
The Fort King Road
The soldiers were at about this point
on the old Fort King Road when half
of them fell in the first Seminole
Dade Battlefield Museum
The small museum on the grounds
displays artifacts from the battle, a
cannon like the one used there and a
famous painting of the fight.
|Copyright 2011 & 2014 by Dale Cox
All rights reserved.
Last Updated: December 14, 2014
Learn more about the Seminole Wars...",1318,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00297-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959165990352631
d35d47fe-0475-4371-b39e-d9078a7948bb,2017-08-23T12:26:56+00:00,2015-10-01,0,https://www.360nobs.com/2015/10/music-dj-mewsic-owo-epo-ft-vector-seriki-sossick/,"Edge Records / LRR / SL present Dj Mewsic Omoba, the Prince of Mixes in his new single ‘OWO EPO’ featuring Vector, Seriki & Sossick, produced by Sossick and mixed marqai.
Reminisce Official Dj, Dj Mewsic who has released couple of songs in the past; “Abeg O” ft YBNL allstars and “Check Up” ft KYmo, Vector and Skales, his ready to take his game to the next level, he will be dropping couple more songs and videos i the next couple of weeks. watch out for him. enjoy and share Owo Epo, it is a dope tune.
DOWNLOAD: DJ Mewsic - Owo Epo ft. Vector, Seriki, Sossick (4.8 MiB, 1,419 hits)",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120194.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823113414-20170823133414-00383.warc.gz,0.935160577297211
c62351cc-f1c9-424d-aa71-81fc4fa68d7a,2017-08-23T04:23:36+00:00,2017-08-23,0,http://saintseiya.wikia.com/wiki/Saint_Seiya:_Legend_of_Crimson_Youth,"Phoebus Abel returns to the Earth and finds his younger sister Athena (Saori Kido). Soon, Saori discovers that Abel has returned to the Earth to punish the humans, who have polluted the Earth with their greed and convenience. Saori agrees with that decision. The Corona Saints (Keepers of Abel) indicate to the Bronze Saints that from that moment on, their services to Athena are no longer required. Then, the Corona Saints make them notice the presence of the dead Gold Saints, now revived by the power of Abel and with them services to him. The Bronze Saints cannot believe any of this. Then Saori ratifies her desire that Seiya and the other Bronze Saints should not fight anymore and that to disobey that order will be consider a treason. Later in Seiya's house, he refuses to accept this situation and gets into a terrible state of depression.
Saori and Abel enjoy their time together in the Corona Temple. Nevertheless, in an apparent negligence of the God, Athena opposes him, revealing her true intentions of protecting the human race. On learning this, Abel easily puts Athena's life to an end; but he seems sad after doing it. All Saints feel this tragic event through their cosmos. Gold Saints Capricorn Shura and Aquarius Camus try to avenge the death of their Goddess; but they die at the hands of the Corona Saints. The other Gold Saints apparently have no problem with this and remain loyal to Abel.
The Knights of the ZodiacEdit
The Bronze Saints arrive at the Corona Temple to defeat Abel. Each one takes a different way. Seiya goes directly to Dignity Hill, but he is easily defeated by Atlas of Carina. The other Bronze Saints find the revived Gold Warriors and fight against them. It looks like the Corona Saints knew that the Bronze Saints could defeat the Gold Saints, and when the Bronze Saints are done with them, the Corona Knights attack the Bronze Saints.
Hyōga is the only one who arrives at the Corona Temple. He finds Abel, who is willing to spare him, on the condition that Hyōga builds an ice coffin for Athena. Hyōga obviously refuses to do so, and Berenike of Coma fights and defeats him. Although he is wounded, Hyōga remembers his mother's advice about what a true God is, then he increases his cosmos, and finally beats Berenike. Injured but still alive, Shiryū, Shun and Ikki go to Abel's Lair. Meanwhile, Gemini Saga finds an injured Seiya, and explains to him the truth about Athena's decision. Seiya's spirits are raised, and after a difficult battle against Saga he comes out victorious. Only to remind the true significance of maximum cosmos to Seiya, an almost dead Saga use the last burning of his cosmos and sacrifices confronts Jao of Lynx (who tries to stop Seiya from reaching the Corona Temple) and letting Seiya continue with his way.
The Saints finally arrive at the Corona Temple, and all are defeated one by one by Atlas. However, Seiya remembers Saga's sacrifice and then he ignites his cosmos to the maximum level, Shiryū and Hyōga follow him and they are covered by the Gold Cloths of Sagittarius, Libra and Aquarius, respectively. With this new cosmos level, in a combined attack, they manage to defeat Atlas. However, even with their new Cloths, all of them are defeated by Abel's cosmos. In his eagerness to save Saori, Seiya and his friends raise their cosmos and interrupt Abel's, who guided Athena to Elysion. Saori revives and faces Abel. Seiya obtains the cosmos of everyone and concentrates it in a golden arrow that he shoots at Abel. The God cannot stop it, because, for the first time, he feels respect for Seiya. Abel is killed, and his temple destroyed. The Earth has been saved.
Phoebus Abel: The lost brother of Athena, he has come to take Athena with him and wants to ""cleanse"" the earth.
The following are the Corona Saints under Abel.
- Carina Atlas (Corona Saint of Carina)
Technique: Super Burning Corona (スーパー バーニング コロナ) -He has light green hair, he was defeated by Seiya with the help of his friends, Hyoga and Shiryu.
- Coma Berenices (Corona Saint of Coma Berenice)
Technique: Golden Death Hair (ゴールデン デス ヘアー) -He has short blond hair and ability to control hair, his body was frozen and shattered by Hyoga.
- Lynx Jaō (Corona Saint of Lynx)
Technique: Shining Hell Claw (シャイニング ヘル クロウ) -He has reddish brown hair, defeated by Gemini Saga who sacrificed his life and both died burned from the friction of the atmosphere.
- The Aquarius Gold Cloth is destroyed when Camus is killed, but later Hyoga wears it. (This can be explained. Cancer Deathmask tells Shiryu than Abel has given new cloth, different from its gold cloths.)
- There's a slight mistake on the part when Shura and Camus are killed: when both Gold Saints look up, it can be seen that Camus was wrapped by Berenike's hair, but when the techniques of the 3 Corona Saints are about to hit Camus and Shura, is Shura who is wrapped with the hair and Camus will be hit by Jaô's Shining Hell Claw.
- Death Mask uses an attack that is similar to the Lighting Plasma of Leo Airia.",1181,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886117519.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823035753-20170823055753-00268.warc.gz,0.963345944881439
5c2024d2-17ac-41a8-894d-1fdaf33671fb,2018-08-20T16:31:05+00:00,2018-08,1,http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/73038-denver-a-train-still-signal-problems/,"Got back from a 3000 mile road trip through 5 states last week. Our last stop during the trip was in Denver and one night we stayed at the Renaissance Denver Stapleton, which is right next to the railroad that the A line which runs from Denver International to Denver Union Station travels.
One thing we immediately noticed was the LOUD train horns. After doing a little digging, it looks like since the train launched in 2016, they were not able to solve a software issue for the railroad crossing arms so, each time a train goes through a crossing, the trains have to blow their horns AND also have a human crossing guard at each crossing.
So can anyone enlighten me regarding this software issue and why they have not been able to resolve it for almost 2 years now. As I understand it, this same issue is holding up the opening of the G line. When we arrived into our room, I thought it was odd that there were earplugs with the bath products, but it did not take long to realize why they were there.",212,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216718.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820160510-20180820180510-00625.warc.gz,0.98799055814743
b5eacab7-d202-46b0-9d24-838097ff2aa0,2019-08-26T02:51:20+00:00,2019-07-21,1,https://techxplore.com/news/2019-07-baby-tech-pampers-big-diaper.html,"July 21, 2019 weblog
Baby tech: Pampers to deliver a big diaper change
In some home soon, a new parent will enjoy a smartphone glance as the first-time mom reads messages like Claire's diaper is dry. Bottle 46 minutes ago. Asleep 1 hour 22 minutes.
The phone messages are just part of an entire system coming from Pampers. Instead of just pushing out a debut of diapers tracking urine, Pampers has intentions of bring you a connected care system called Lumi. That is tech talk for telling a parent when the baby has wet the diaper plus delivering other information.
It is not on shelves now; the Pampers site is inviting visitors to sign up for a waiting list. The system is planned for this fall.
How Lumi works: ""The sensor keeps an eye on the blue wetness strip outside of the diaper to determine how soaked it is... you'll need to buy Lumi-optimized version of the diapers to use the sensor, as they have larger and more visible wetness strips,"" said Devindra Hardewar in Engadget.
But wait, there is more. Marie Baca in The Washington Post said Pampers intends to send the user the baby's wake and sleep times and feeding times.
After all, could a smart diaper that just announces urine alone make consumers pop the corks. No. Hardewar commented that Pampers ""is aiming for something a bit more expansive. The Lumi system is meant to make an infant's first year easier for parents by delivering as much data as possible.""
To understand why Pampers would want to expand into smart diaper territory, a follow-the-money analysis appeared in May, in Vox. Pampers is hardly a lone player in the ""sprawling diaper-tech war.""
The author, Michael Waters, quoted Ali Dibadj, who tracks the personal products industry for the investment management group Sanford C. Bernstein. ""The fact that the birthrates are quite low in the US has stirred a lot of interest in trying to get the consumer to spend more,"" he said. ""The only way they can increase their business is to bring better products to the market. Their whole hope is to create products that the consumer base will pay more for.""
The system that Pampers has in the wings has several components: (1) activity sensors, (2) the notification app, for Android and iPhone, and (3) video monitor. Engadget said that a Logitech camera has been fashioned into the Wi-Fi baby monitor.
Both Verily and Logitech worked with Pampers on the system. Verily is involved with software platforms that can help gather healthcare information. Verily's chief medical and scientific officer, Dr. Jessica Mega, said the company used its past expertise on sensors and software for the product.
Pampers worked with Logitech to develop its camera. The camera also serves as a hub for the activity sensor, helping to push its information to your Pampers account. When it comes to security, said Engadget, Pampers said it's relying on Logitech's encrypted video platform.
What's next? Pampers has not yet mentioned a price for the Lumi system but reports said it would come out this fall, and the site is asking that interested parties sign up for the wait list. The Lumi system includes two packs of diapers, and Pampers will offer replacements by subscription and in some stores.
Rebekah Tuchscherer in U.S. Today described what the online customer will get:
""A medium, teal-colored box will then arrive at your doorstep containing a 1080p wide angle HD video monitor, two activity sensors and two packs of specialized diapers with velcro-like patches on the front, where the sensors are placed. The price is not yet available.""
She added: You turn one of the sensors on and place it on the designated diaper patch. The sensor automatically tracks the baby's wet diapers and sleep patterns, sending the information to the Lumi app on your phone. Parents can also chart feeding times and milestones to see a fuller scope of how their child's routines evolve over time.""
Cincinatti Business Courier: The Lumi by Pampers system is designed for babies ranging from newborn to 12 months old, and the diapers will be available in sizes zero to 4.
In the bigger picture, how imminent is baby tech? The way Baca sees it, the train is already in the station.
""Companies have launched connected bassinets, smart night lights and pacifiers, bottles that track feedings and even apps to replicate the sound of a parent saying, 'Shush.'""
In the beginning of this year there was word that Korean startup company Monit had unveiled a 'smart diaper' at the CES, where the sensor is attached to the outside of a baby's diaper and can also sense when the diaper is soiled; CNET said that this Monit smart diaper monitor launched in Korea and Japan at the end of 2018 and that the company was partnering with Kimberly Clark (Huggies is from Kimberly-Clark) to bring Monit's tech to Huggies. Meanwhile, a May report in Vox reported that a spokesperson for Kimberly-Clark said the company was considering a US launch.
© 2019 Science X Network",1104,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330962.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826022215-20190826044215-00253.warc.gz,0.9522585272789
873227a5-6918-4261-bd72-71d3fed8759e,2022-05-19T22:33:09+00:00,2020-08-22,1,https://news.yahoo.com/south-korea-announces-unprecedented-restrictions-054216291.html,"South Korea is banning large gatherings, shutting nightspots and churches and removing fans from professional sports in unprecedented restrictions announced on Saturday as it battles the spread of the coronavirus.
Health Minister Park Neung-hoo announced the steps shortly after the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 332 new cases in the ninth straight day of triple-digit increases. The national caseload is now at 17,002, including 309 deaths.
While most of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, which has been at the centre of the viral surge in recent weeks, infections were also reported in practically every major city and town, raising concerns that transmissions are slipping out of control.
The government has already imposed elevated social distancing measures in Seoul this week after resisted them for months out of economic concerns.
""We are now in a very dangerous situation that could trigger a massive nationwide spread of Covid-19,"" Mr Park said.
Churches had been a major source of new cases in the Seoul area before authorities shut them this week. Nightclubs, karaoke bars, buffet restaurants and computer gaming cafes in the greater capital region have also closed and spectators are banned again from baseball and soccer games, just weeks after teams had been allowed to sell portions of their seats.
The same measures will apply nationwide from Sunday, although Mr Park said local governments will be permitted to exercise some level of flexibility, such as advising business shutdowns rather than enforcing them, if infections are low.
KCDC Director Jeong Eun-kyeong has endorsed even stronger restrictions. If there's no sign that the virus spread is slowing after the weekend, she said the country should consider elevating social distancing measures to ""Level 3"", which includes prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people, shutting schools, halting professional sports and advising private companies to have employees work from home.
Yoon Taeho, a senior Health Ministry official, said the government will review the effect of the restrictions before deciding whether to strengthen them further.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 700 infections have been linked to a Seoul church led by a vocal critic of the country's president. Sarang Jeil Church pastor Jun Kwang-hun was hospitalised with Covid-19 on Monday after participating in an anti-government protest last week where he shared a microphone on stage with other activists.
Police raided the church late on Friday while trying to secure a more comprehensive list of its members who remain out of contact. Health workers have used mobile phone location data to identify some 15,000 people who spent more than 30 minutes on the street during the protest last Saturday and have been alerting them to get tested.",547,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662530066.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519204127-20220519234127-00405.warc.gz,0.970378518104553
2a93fce4-14ca-4186-a27c-7a618dfb15ed,2015-03-27T17:21:21+00:00,2010-03-01,1,http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33990.html,"Christiane Amanpour for 'This Week'?
- While Amanpour is highly regarded throughout the industry, she's still a surprising candidate given that she’s always been focused on international news. AP Photo
Still searching for a permanent host for “This Week,” ABC News is in talks with Christiane Amanpour, the CNN foreign correspondent known more for globe-trotting reporting than talking politics within the Beltway.
Amanpour, through a CNN spokesperson, declined to comment, but sources with knowledge of the hiring process say she’s now in the mix of internal and external candidates ABC is considering to replace George Stephanopoulos, who left for “Good Morning America” in December.
Since Stephanopoulos’s departure, the network has kept the Sunday show seat warm with a steady stream of ABC correspondents: Jake Tapper, Terry Moran, Barbara Walters, Jonathan Karl and Elizabeth Vargas.
This Sunday, Matthew Dowd — chief strategist behind the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign and currently a political strategist for the network — will get his turn asking questions of guests Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). He’ll also lead the roundtable with regulars like George Will and Donna Brazile.
It will be Tapper again the following week, but after that, it's unclear.
ABC News President David Westin said in an interview with MarketWatch on Wednesday that he expects to have a permanent host in the next few weeks. And that could be an internal choice — Tapper and Moran are thought to be at the top of the list — or an outside candidate.
Earlier in the process, POLITICO reported that ABC contacted PBS’s Gwen Ifill, who was also on the shortlist for CNN’s Sunday show, “State of the Union” — a job that eventually went to Candy Crowley. And now there’s another prominent woman in the mix.
Amanpour, 52, was born in London and raised partly in Tehran, Iran. She is currently chief international correspondent for CNN and host of her own show, “Amanpour.”
While Amanpour is highly regarded throughout the industry, she’s still a surprising candidate given that she’s always been focused on international news — reporting from war zones and sitting down with world leaders — throughout her career. She’s not the first person one would think of to analyze the 2010 horse race or how health care legislation jockeying will play politically.
Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 and first went overseas for the network in 1990, just in time to cover the Gulf War.
In the past 18 years, according to her CNN bio, Amanpour has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda and the Balkans.
She’s sat down with numerous world leaders, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former French President Jacques Chirac and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
Amanpour was also a contributor on ""60 Minutes"" from 1996 to 2005. One of her final reports was a profile of Orange Revolution leader and former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
Amanpour is married to James Rubin, a former assistant secretary of state and chief spokesman for the State Department during the Clinton administration.
ABC spokesperson Jeffrey Schneider would not comment on Amanpour but said that the network has “talked to lots of people inside and outside.”",745,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00225-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955655157566071
ff54cfee-78d3-4925-a329-58d570dd1414,2013-06-19T14:39:35+00:00,2013-03-15,1,http://www.koco.com/news/national/Maryland-votes-to-end-death-penalty/-/9844074/19334882/-/format/rsss_2.0/view/print/-/n5hf49/-/index.html,"Maryland votes to end death penalty
Governor has indicated he would sign legislation
By a margin of 82-56, the Maryland House of Delegates voted Friday to ban the death penalty in that state. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has pledged to sign it.
""To govern is to choose, and at a time where we understand the things that actually work to reduce violent crime, when we understand how lives can be saved, we have a moral responsibility to do more of the things that work to save lives,"" O'Malley said at a news conference.
""We also have a moral responsibility to stop doing the things that are wasteful, and that are expensive, and do not work, and do not save lives, and that I would argue run contrary to the deeper principles that unite us as Marylanders, as Americans, and as human beings,"" O'Malley added.
NAACP President Benjamin Jealous called the action ""what courageous, principled political leadership looks like,"" and Archbishop of Baltimore William Lori said he applauded the general assembly ""for choosing to meet evil not with evil, but with a justice worthy of our best nature."" O'Malley thanked both the NAACP leadership and the state's faith leaders for their support.
Baltimore County state attorney Scott Shellenberger, a prominent opponent of the bill, said eliminating capital punishment was unnecessary, since Maryland's current policy is judicious and one of the ""most restrictive in the country.""
Since a law was passed in 2009, a judge can impose death in Maryland only if one of three factors exists: DNA evidence, a videotaped confession or a videotaped murder.
Maryland has executed only five people since 1976, one of whom Shellenberger prosecuted in the '80s.
Delegate Neil Parrott, a Washington County Republican, said most state residents don't want to see the death penalty abolished, but the governor and the ""Annapolis eite"" used political arm-twisting to push the bill through the legislature.
But Parrott said the death penalty move ""does open a door"" to petition, or challenge, such a law and bring it up for a referendum. Parrott has set up mdpetitions.com, a website devoted to pursuing petitions targeting laws ""passed by a liberal-leaning legislature in Annapolis that simply do not make sense.""
Parrott says it's too early to say how opponents of the ban will proceed if and when the bill is signed. He said it's ""excruciatingly difficult"" to get a petition on the ballot, but members of mdpetitions.com will be consulted on what to do.
O'Malley will make a case-by-case decision regarding the state's five current death row inmates, according to a statement from the governor's office.
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown called Friday ""a great day for Maryland.""
""We saw a death penalty, a long history of racial bias, inaccuracies, injustices, and today, we decided that as a state we could do better. Today is a victory for those who believe that fairness and truth and justice, and not retribution or bias, are fundamental to our core beliefs as Marylanders,"" Brown said.
Shellenberger said confining the racial argument to the state of Maryland, four studies on the issue have ascertained ""no purposeful racial discrimination done on anyone in any of those cases.""
And when it comes to the retribution argument, Shellenberger said he believes in ""the deterrence of one,"" when a person is convicted of a heinous murder beyond a shadow of doubt, ""Every person will never be subjected to that person killing again.""
O'Malley introduced the legislation in January.
The state Senate approved the bill last week.
Maryland will become the sixth state in as many years to replace capital punishment with life in prison without parole. Currently, 33 states, plus the federal government and the U.S. military, have the legal option of imposing the death penalty, while 17 plus the District of Columbia do not.
Copyright 2013 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.",860,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955764353275299
590ebf65-48c8-430f-9c40-d1a55dfea44b,2016-07-29T00:54:41+00:00,2016-07-29,0,https://www.hotelplanner.com/7881-Brand/Homewood-Suites-By-Hilton-Hotels-in-Marmora-NJ,"Homewood Suites By Hilton Marmora properties are listed below. Search for cheap and discount Homewood Suites By Hilton hotel rates in Marmora, NJ for your business gathering or personal travels. We list the best Homewood Suites By Hilton Marmora venues so you can review the Marmora Homewood Suites By Hilton hotel list below to find the perfect place.
We will show you discounted Marmora, NJ hotels & motels that have similar star quality of Homewood Suites By Hilton.Need a weekly rate? Get long term quotes from hotels in Marmora NJ
Enter your stay dates and any discounts you qualify for to see Marmora, NJ rates found only on HotelPlanner!
How should we direct your call?",161,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829320.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00164-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.854467689990997
c7f35ffe-ee4a-4e75-8cef-8b6172dc1985,2016-07-28T08:35:28+00:00,2008-05-01,0,http://www.insideselfstorage.com/articles/2008/05/techno-lingo-in-modern-day-storage-management.aspx?pg=4,"The technology shortens process implementation time from hours to just minutes, saving time, money and enhancing service levels. Users can react immediately to customer demands, streamlining record-center business processes and enhancing performance by enabling users to instantly respond to operations events as they occur, out in the field and at the point of activity. It also connects them to their company’s database, greatly reducing process implementation time, legwork and labor requirements.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
I mention this because it is often confused with GPRS. Where GPRS is a communications method, GPS is a satellite-based radio navigation system run by the U.S. Department of Defense, officially known as NAVSTAR. It was designed so that signals from at least four satellites would be on the horizon at all times, sufficient to compute current latitude, longitude and elevation of a GPS receiver anywhere on earth to within a few meters.
Whether installed in vehicles or carried by hand, a GPS receiver calculates the distance to the satellites by comparing the times the transmitted signals were sent with the times they were received. By knowing the precise locations of the satellites at a given moment, the receiver uses triangulation, the navigation technique of ship captains for centuries, to pinpoint its own location.
By 2000, in-dash navigation systems using GPS were either standard or an option in luxury cars, and third-party systems became available for all vehicles. In addition, portable units can be taken from car to car, and navigation software can be added to a laptop computer or viewed over the Internet. Tracking information can be sent every two seconds to a database and journeys plotted. This means you can know exactly where every truck is, how long it stopped at the last location, and even if it was speeding at any time en route.
How to Treat TADD
I understand that it’s important for anyone associated with managing the lifecycle of records and information management to understand the technological terms and acronyms discussed in this article. All too often, people in the industry purchase the latest and greatest products for their record centers without fully understanding what they need, why they need them and how best to use them. But once they do, these products can help them and their staff perform jobs more efficiently, productively and profitably.
Christine Spisto is the marketing communications/ public relations director for O’Neil Software. Located in Irvine, Calif., the company has more than 850 installations, from startups to multi-nationals, in more than 65 countries. For more information, 949.458.1234; visit www.oneilsoft.com.",539,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828010.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00080-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959219992160797
76121ea9-3557-4157-8c77-bf97a667917e,2022-05-23T17:45:03+00:00,2021-05-04,1,https://fragilexnewstoday.com/2021/05/04/bpn14770-improved-mens-language-daily-functions/,"BPN14770 Improved Men’s Language, Daily Functions
Tetra Therapeutics’ investigational oral therapy BPN14770 safely and effectively improves cognitive function, particularly language-related domains, and daily functioning in men with fragile X syndrome, according to data from a Phase 2 clinical trial.
“These results offer hope for patients with fragile X syndrome and their families,” Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD, said in a press release. Berry-Kravis is the trial’s principal investigator and a pediatric neurologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Most clinical outcome measures, including performance-based assessments, parent- and physician-rated scales, and biomarkers “were in favor” of BPN14770, suggesting “a meaningful impact on the global FXS [fragile X syndrome] disease process,” Berry-Kravis added.
The promising findings support further development of the investigational therapy and the launch of a Phase 3 trial to confirm these beneficial effects in a larger patient population that also includes children and women.
The study, “Inhibition of phosphodiesterase-4D in adults with fragile X syndrome: a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 clinical trial,” was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
BPN14770 works by selectively binding to and partially suppressing the activity of phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D), an enzyme known to regulate a brain-signaling molecule involved in learning and memory called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).
Notably, cAMP is known to be deficient in fragile X patients, while PDE4D is naturally most active in brain regions important for intellect and that are affected by fragile X.
As such, BPN14770 is expected to increase cAMP levels and prolong its activity, ultimately promoting nerve cell connections that otherwise fail to develop in fragile X patients and improve cognitive function. The therapy initially was developed by Tetra, which became a subsidiary of Shionogi in May 2020.
“It’s exciting that we have a [therapy] that potentially addresses a core biochemical deficit in [fragile X], a deficiency of cAMP, that has been documented in patients, and which I discovered during my pediatric neurology fellowship 30 years ago,” said Berry-Kravis.
Based on promising preclinical results and Phase 1 clinical data in healthy elderly volunteers, the oral therapy received orphan drug designation in the U.S., which is meant to help speed its development and review.
This prompted the launch of a Tetra-sponsored, exploratory, crossover Phase 2 trial (NCT03569631) that evaluated BPN14770’s safety and effectiveness in 30 men, ages 18–41, with fragile X. The study was conducted at Rush University Medical Center, and it received financial support from the FRAXA Research Foundation.
Including male patients only was expected to “reduce variability in clinical severity and [treatment] response and allow for better detection of efficacy in a small exploratory clinical trial,” the researchers wrote.
Participants were assigned randomly to receive an oral capsule of either BPN14770 (25 mg) or a placebo twice daily for 12 weeks (about three months), after which participants would switch to the opposing regimen for three more months. This crossover study design enables comparison between treatment and placebo in the same participant.
All participants, with a mean age of 31.6 years and mild-to-severe intellectual impairment at study’s start, completed both 12-week treatment periods.
The study’s main goal was to assess the therapy’s safety and tolerability, while secondary goals included cognitive and behavioral changes, as assessed with validated measures.
Results showed that the trial met its main goal, with BPN14770 being generally well-tolerated, leading to few adverse side effects — the most common being vomiting and upper respiratory tract infection. There were no meaningful group differences in terms of adverse events.
Notably, since BPN14770 effects were found to persist during the second 3-month period in patients switching from the investigational therapy to placebo, challenging the detection of significant benefits/differences between groups, secondary goals were evaluated for the first 3-month period only.
Despite the trial’s small size, BPN14770-treated patients had a significant improvement in language, as assessed through both the computer-administered National Institutes of Health-Toolbox Cognitive Battery (NIH-Toolbox, a set of cognitive tests) and a parent/caregiver-completed scale, compared with those on a placebo.
NIH Toolbox scores revealed significant benefits in the men’s ability to pronounce single printed letters or words, to link heard words to the best fitting pictures, and in cognitive function based on past learning experiences.
“In just three months, we saw improvement specifically in the verbal subtests of the NIH Toolbox, coupled with parent rating of improvements, particularly in language,” Berry-Kravis said.
Besides meeting its secondary goal of cognitive improvement, the study also showed that BPN14770 led to significant and clinically meaningful improvements in daily function, as assessed with parent/caregiver scales.
Moreover, scores of other cognitive and behavioral tests, as well as of biomarkers — auditory event-related potentials (timed brain responses to sounds) and eye tracking (social gaze behavior) — showed trends of improvements for the BPN14770 group relative to the placebo group.
“Results from this study using direct, computer-based assessment of cognitive performance by adult males with FXS indicate significant cognitive improvement in domains related to language with corresponding improvement in caregiver scales rating language and daily functioning,” the researchers wrote.
“The improvement in language function and communication would be particularly beneficial in participants with FXS and is an area of special need identified by FXS patient advocacy groups,” they added.
Overall, according to the team, the findings support further development of BPN14770.
“Together with evidence of good tolerability, the preliminary indication of cognitive efficacy justifies expanded clinical trials of BPN14770 in FXS,” researchers wrote, adding that future trials “should also include children to explore benefit during neurodevelopment and women, who comprise a genetically heterogeneous population.”
Tetra also is evaluating BPN14770 as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.",1352,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662560022.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523163515-20220523193515-00219.warc.gz,0.946773529052734
91d656d1-50a3-4058-b24f-9cd5eb38f48e,2022-05-19T03:35:54+00:00,2016-06-16,0,https://www.vox.com/2016/6/16/11955222/hillary-clinton-carried-interest,"Hillary Clinton rather casually mentioned in an interview with USA Today, published yesterday, something that's a really big deal — if elected president, she will direct the Treasury Department to close the so-called ""carried interest"" loophole that allows some financial managers to pay a lower tax rate than normal workers.
But it would also address what looks to most people like a question of basic fairness — one so elementary that politicians like Donald Trump and Jeb Bush have frequently made a big deal about on the campaign trail. They usually talk about closing the loophole in the context of overall plans to drastically lower taxes on high-income households. Meanwhile, Clinton’s proposal comes in the opposite context of an overall plan to modestly increase the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans.
The notion that the Treasury Department can make this change unilaterally is a longtime contention of Alan Wilensky, who was a deputy assistant secretary at Treasury in the 1990s when fund managers began to exploit the opportunity to pay lower rates. President Obama’s Treasury Department has generally seemed to deny that it has such authority, but obviously a new administration could at least try to leave the courts to sort it out.
Carried interest, explained
A standard private equity or hedge fund has a compensation structure governed by the principle of 2 and 20. You earn a management fee of 2 percent of the total value of the fund, and you also earn 20 percent of the investment profits. That management fee is taxed like regular income (at a current top rate of 39.6 percent), but the profit share is taxed at the capital gains rate (at a current top rate of 23 percent).
Back in the 16th century, the profits of trading ventures to Asia were split between investors who earned a ""capital interest"" in the voyage and the captain and his key officers, who earned a ""carry interest"" for doing the work. Through a little linguistic drift, the 20 percent profit share for fund managers has come to be known as carried interest based on analogy to the ship captains of yore.
But this carried interest isn't just a fun a piece of nautical history; it's also a valuable loophole because it's taxed at the lower rate used for investment income rather than the higher rate earned for labor income.
The policy rationale for taxing investment income at a preferential rate is to encourage people to save a larger share of their income, thus boosting investment activity throughout the economy. But clearly taxing hedge fund managers at a preferential rate doesn't encourage any kind of savings. That's why there's fairly widespread policy agreement that it would be desirable to close this loophole, though of course there is interest group lobbying to keep it place and a lot of room for disagreement about what to do with the money that could be raised.
The case for unilateral action
Whether or not Treasury has the authority to do this unilaterally hinges on your reading of 26 US Code § 707, which is supposed to govern the situation in which a partner in an enterprise provides services to the partnership ""other than in his capacity as a member of such partnership,"" in which case ""the transaction shall, except as otherwise provided in this section, be considered as occurring between the partnership and one who is not a partner.""
The idea of this rule is that if you are an investor in a partnership but you also earn income by selling services to the partnership, then this latter stream of income needs to be classified as wages rather than as part of your partnership income.
And according to the statute, the Treasury secretary is supposed to promulgate rules that help sort out what does and doesn't qualify.
The main proposal for unilateral action says the Treasury Department should interpret the statute as saying that investment management services qualify as services provided ""other than in his capacity as a member of such partnership.""
The case against this comes from the legislative history. A mid-'80s Senate Finance Committee report from the time when the law was written indicates that its drafters thought the certainty of income would be a key factor in determining whether income counts as partnership income or service provider income, and since carried interest is based on performance, it doesn't fit the bill.
The counterargument, per Fleischer, is that ""there is no legal requirement that the regulations follow the legislative history, so long as the regulations are a reasonable interpretation of the statute.""
Whether or not the courts will ultimately buy that argument is a separate question, but Clinton is committed to at least trying to see if it works.",905,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00200.warc.gz,0.978466153144836
7a80ca30-813f-4a17-9a1f-e082724dfd92,2016-07-30T16:49:01+00:00,2012-10-31,1,http://www.defensetech.org/2012/10/31/uav-video-remains-free-to-download/,"U.S. military engineers have yet to finish encrypting even half the video feeds broadcast off the unmanned drones that ground commanders depend on to collect intelligence, according to a Danger Room report.
Military leaders found out in 2008 that Iraqi insurgents could download the feeds broadcast from Air Force MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers allowing the militants to watch the same video seen inside U.S. battlefield headquarters. Officials said in December 2009 that the Defense Department would start work to finish encrypting all signals by 2014.
However, Danger Room is reporting that the military is only “30 to 50 percent” of the way done with the job three year later.
The U.S. had known about this vulnerability since it first built the Predator. U.S. Air Force leaders explained that it was a risk they had to take to rush as many unmanned aerial vehicles as possible to desperate ground commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first known intercept of Predator video occurred in the Balkans when private television satellites picked up UAV feeds. People in Bosnia said it was harder to watch the Disney Channel than pick up live U.S. military feeds.
In 2008, U.S. troops found laptops in Iraq outfitted with a $26 Russian-made software program called SkyGrabber that allowed militants to pick up U.S. UAV feeds quite easily. Even with the evidence of those laptops, U.S. officials claimed that watching the feeds would not help the enemy because they would not know what they were looking at.
Other defense analysts made the point that high value targets could easily know they were being watching if they used that software program and thus tipping them off to moving positions. Ground commanders have often pointed out the benefits to keeping a Predator or Reaper collecting video over a target for multiple days to understand their patterns of life.
As Danger Room points out, the major obstacle to encrypting the feeds is adding the additional weight of the encryption boxes to aircraft sensitive to additional poundage. That is what kept the encryption boxes off the aircraft in the first place. Adding them often means taking other packages off the aircraft.
The Pentagon still has two years left to meet their 2014 goal of encrypting UAV feeds. Meeting that goal would fall in line with the expectations under the new defense strategy that U.S. military leaders can’t expect to operate in future environments where they will control the air so easily.",494,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258936356.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072856-00273-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97411298751831
9b937a03-13b2-4df0-8e41-55815d03628d,2018-08-15T02:01:05+00:00,2018-06-15,1,https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tag/fiscal%20deficit,"Fiscal Deficit news
Fiscal deficit of 13 states sharply fell by Rs 3.2 trillion in FY18 from Rs 4.3 trillion in FY17, partly on account of the contraction in capital spending.
The revenue deficit was 2.65 per cent of the GDP. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit was Rs 5.91 lakh crore, or 99.5 per cent, of the Budget estimates.
According to government estimates, every rupee cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel will result in a revenue loss of about Rs 13,000 crore.
The rate increase, the first in more than four years, is likely to be followed by one or two more this year, economists predict.
Any reduction in the excise duty on petroleum and diesel products in view of high crude oil prices, would exert negative pressure on India's sovereign credit profile.
M&M's Pawan Goenka says that there is a need to wait for 1 or more years to see how the EV cycle plays out in India and then think of setting a deadline.
Overseas funds have pulled $4.5 billion from the local debt market since the start of the year.
It proposes the bring down the fiscal deficit -- the gap between total expenditure and total revenue -- during 2018-19 to 3.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The industry body in a statement said that ""sustained structural reforms"" have led to a rebound in the country's economy as businesses across several key sectors experience firm growth trends.
Prudent macroeconomic management has encouraged growth and investments for capacity expansion are being planned as demand conditions recover.
This in turn will decrease GDP by 16bps, increase fiscal deficit by 8bps, CAD by 27bps and inflation by 30bps, the report said, adding that these are just model estimates.
CAD widened to 2% or $13.5 billion in the October-December quarter of 2017, up from 1.4%, or $8 billion, in the corresponding period a year ago.
India’s central bank estimates oil at $78 a barrel would shave off 10 basis points from its 7.4 percent forecast for gross domestic product.
The government had already breached its fiscal deficit target as it reported 113 per cent deficit till January.
Since the 2008 crash, the US has employed enormous fiscal and monetary stimuli to revive the economy that have boosted demand — which means import too.
Kumar also urged members of EAC-PM to inform Prime Minister Narendra Modi about their worries about the Budget.",524,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209755.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815004637-20180815024637-00011.warc.gz,0.95245772600174
7897fe4c-38e6-4566-92f9-35c17abf0a7c,2013-05-23T05:01:22+00:00,2013-05-23,0,http://bobmccainhomes.com/custom%20homes.htm,"A custom home does not necessarily mean a higher price; it means building the home the way you want it, with the features that are important to you - not the builder. We will work with you to get the design just right and will make suggestions to you during the entire process both before and even during construction to improve the design. Whether your goal is a spectacular one of a kind custom home or a value driven starter home we will work with you to achieve those goals.
In order to fit your needs, desires and budget, we will work with you to customize your home by adding, altering or deleting features in your home. We will also work with you or your architect to design quality, value and functionality into your floor plan without cutting corners when it comes to quality construction and building to applicable building codes.
While each home we build is individually customized to fit the customers needs, below are a few of the features that go into most of the homes we build. Remember customization does not necessarily mean a higher price; it means building the home the way you want it.",216,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968873143196106
ae3f440f-5636-4318-a9e6-fb3ecf87026d,2017-08-21T14:16:18+00:00,2017-08-21,0,https://www.groupon.com/deals/adam-eve-mm-rockford,"- $25 for $45 worth of adult toys and accessories
- $35 for $65 worth of adult toys and accessories
- Click here to view the online inventory.
Groupon customers receive three pre-selected adult DVDs and a special mystery gift with each order.
Web content related to this deal may contain graphic adult imagery unsuitable for minors or workplace viewing.
As the leading adult toys company in the country, AdamandEve.com unlocks a treasure trove of vibrators and personal massagers, as well as intimate games and goods for exploring new romantic avenues. They've also been turning up the heat in customers’ wardrobes for over 40 years, with threads that leave little to the imagination, such as lace skirts and lingerie sets. All of these products—in addition to lotions and DVDs—can be ordered in anonymous, plain packages that ensure privacy and play sultry saxophone music when opened.",190,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108709.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821133645-20170821153645-00643.warc.gz,0.932366132736206
fb1cb5dc-8dc0-4d39-9535-aa363165d30b,2022-05-18T05:51:17+00:00,2017-01-17,0,https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-016-2142-6,"- Research article
- Open Access
The first occurrence of a CTX-M ESBL-producing Escherichia coli outbreak mediated by mother to neonate transmission in an Irish neonatal intensive care unit
BMC Infectious Diseases volume 17, Article number: 16 (2017)
Escherichia coli (E. coli) comprise part of the normal vaginal microflora. Transfer from mother to neonate can occur during delivery resulting, sometimes, in neonatal bacterial disease. Here, we aim to report the first outbreak of CTX-M ESBL-producing E. coli with evidence of mother-to-neonate transmission in an Irish neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) followed by patient-to-patient transmission.
Investigation including molecular typing was conducted. Infection was defined by clinical and laboratory criteria and requirement for antimicrobial therapy with or without positive blood cultures. Colonisation was determined by isolation without relevant symptoms or indicators of infection.
Index case was an 8-day-old baby born at 34 weeks gestation who developed ESBL-producing E. coli infections at multiple body sites. Screening confirmed their mother as colonised with ESBL-producing E. coli. Five other neonates, in the NICU simultaneously with the index case, also tested positive. Of these, four were colonised while one neonate developed sepsis, requiring antimicrobial therapy. The second infected neonate’s mother was also colonised by ESBL-producing E. coli. Isolates from all eight positive patients (6 neonates, 2 mothers) were compared using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Two distinct ESBL-producing strains were implicated, with evidence of transmission between mothers and neonates for both strains. All isolates were confirmed as CTX-M ESBL-producers. There were no deaths associated with the outbreak.
Resources were directed towards control interventions focused on hand hygiene and antimicrobial stewardship, which ultimately proved successful. Since this incident, all neonates admitted to the NICU have been screened for ESBL-producers and expectant mothers are screened at their first antenatal appointment. To date, there have been no further outbreaks.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) comprise part of the normal vaginal microflora. Vertical transfer from mother-to-neonate can occur during delivery [1, 2] resulting, sometimes, in severe neonatal bacterial disease . Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are plasmid-borne beta-lactamases (such as TEM-, SHV-, OXA- and CTX-M types) capable of hydrolysing and inactivating beta-lactam antimicrobials with an oxyimino side chain, e.g., cephalosporins (cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime) and the oxyimino-monobactam (aztreonam) . First reported in 1989, CTX-M enzymes have represented the most prevalent ESBL-type worldwide since 2000 [5, 6]. In 2013, it was reported that incidence of community-associated infections caused by CTX-M ESBL-producing bacteria, particularly urinary tract infections in women of child-bearing age, is increasing . ESBL-producing E. coli have been reported as a cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis  and mother-to-neonate transmission of ESBL producers has been previously described . The gastrointestinal tract of infected or colonised patients, of all age groups, is the most frequently-reported reservoir of ESBL-producing organisms, and studies have shown that transient carriage of ESBL-producing organisms on the hands of healthcare workers  or on artificial nails  may also facilitate transmission.
Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have been described as an interface between the hospital and the community due to the possibility of parents, while providing daily care for their infants, introducing community-associated multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) including ESBL-producers [12, 13]. NICU stays have become prolonged due to advances in modern medicine, with duration of hospitalisation inversely related to gestational age and with increased risk of hospital-acquired infection . Specifically, risk factors associated with colonisation or infection by ESBL-producers in NICUs include low gestational age, an immature immune system, low birth weight, care in incubators, exposure to third-generation cephalosporins [15, 16] and contaminated breastmilk . Septicaemia due to ESBL-producing organisms has been associated with a significantly increased mortality rate compared to non-ESBL-producing isolates . In general, chemotherapeutic options for dealing with ESBL-related infections are limited, and that challenge is compounded by restrictive prescribing for neonates due to the potential for adverse side-effects. Therefore, when they occur, NICU-associated nosocomial infections increase hospital costs substantially, with the potential to prolong hospitalisation considerably, and are responsible for 50% of deaths that occur beyond two weeks of age . In addition, there may be disruption of healthcare services due to stringent infection control measures such as restriction of admissions or ward closures.
In this report, we describe the occurrence and outcomes of the first ESBL-producing E. coli outbreak in an Irish NICU. In particular, we detail the infection prevention and control interventions that successfully brought the outbreak to an end.
The University Maternity Hospital Limerick in Ireland (UMHL) is a tertiary referral centre and includes a NICU with a total of 19 cots. The catchment population of UMHL is approximately 400,000. In the twelve months prior to the outbreak, there were 4905 live births and 909 NICU admissions (of all gestational ages). At the time of this outbreak, the NICU had one intensive care ward consisting of four neonatal intensive care cots, five high dependency cots and two isolation rooms. Two intermediate care rooms, separated from the intensive care ward, contained a further 10 cots. With respect to prevention of nosocomial infection, the NICU intensive care ward provided four washing stations, alcohol hand gels at each bedspace, and a nurse to patient ratio of 1:1 for ICU category cots and 1:2 or 1:3 (depending on staffing levels) for the remainder. A weekly multi-disciplinary NICU ward-round was performed.
Index case identification
The index case for this outbreak was an infant born (at 34 weeks gestation) in week 11 2013 via spontaneous vaginal delivery. Whilst in the NICU swab cultures from separate areas on the body were positive for ESBL-producing E. coli resistant to co-amoxiclav, ceftriaxone, aztreonam, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and piperacillin/tazobactam; sensitive to chloramphenicol, amikacin and meropenem. The infant was placed in an isolation room with contact precautions, chloramphenicol eye drops and IV meropenem (dosed as per weight) administered for seven days. They was discharged home on day 17 after birth without need for further antimicrobials.
Infection control interventions
Contact tracing of all inpatients who may have been in contact with the index case while in NICU was conducted using urine samples and/or rectal swabs, one sample for each neonate or mother was analysed depending on what was most easily obtained. With consent, the mother of the index case and mothers of subsequently positive neonates were screened for the presence of ESBLs using rectal swabs, high vaginal swabs and mid-stream urine samples. Following a review of related literature, and to be prudent, a decision was made to close the NICU to new admissions from week 12 2013, with exception of emergencies, and visiting was restricted to parents of inpatients only awaiting the results of contact tracing.
Following confirmatory cultures results, all infected or colonised neonates were barrier nursed by personnel wearing disposable gowns and gloves. In addition, a restriction was placed on the prescription of third generation cephalosporins. Due to the availability of only two isolation rooms in the NICU, the index case and one other neonate infected by ESBL-producers were isolated. The remaining colonised neonates were cohorted in incubators in the main NICU ward, with dedicated single-patient equipment. Given physical environmental constraints, it was not possible to increase the space between cots. Neonates who were fit for discharge were cohorted to a single post-natal maternity ward to minimise cross-transmission.
The isolation of an ESBL-producing E. coli from a NICU inpatient triggered initiation of the hospital’s outbreak management protocol, which involved meeting with all key stakeholders, including executive management, nursing administration, infection prevention and control, consultant microbiologists, laboratory managers, bed management, hygiene services, communications team and NICU clinical director. Following a review of related literature, and to be prudent, a decision was made to close the NICU to new admissions, with exception of emergencies, and visiting was restricted to parents of inpatients only. Information leaflets regarding outbreak risks and management were distributed to visiting parents. Appropriate public communication and a press statement were issued by the Clinical Director. Arrangements were made for antenatal inpatients whose neonates might require NICU admission to be referred to other maternity hospitals in Ireland. Empiric IV meropenem (dosed as per weight) was administered for any infant demonstrating signs of sepsis, pending microbiology analysis of urine or rectal swabs. All infected or colonised neonates were barrier nursed by personnel wearing disposable gowns and gloves. In addition, a restriction was placed on the prescription of third generation cephalosporins
With respect to hygiene, enhanced cleaning of the NICU was instigated in parallel with increased auditing. This involved twice-daily cleaning of affected areas and incubators with detergent. Air sampling and environmental sampling were not performed. An intensive targeted educational programme focussed on standard precautions, particularly hand hygiene compliance and on modes of transmission of ESBL-producing E. coli transmission was provided to all clinical and administrative staff. Screening of staff for carriage of ESBL-producing E. coli was not conducted but instead it was considered of important to put emphasis on zero tolerance to poor compliance with the World Health Organisation’s “5 moments for hand hygiene”. Hand hygiene audits were performed with greater frequency in affected areas, which involved twice weekly observational audits at ward level. The last positive isolate was identified in week 13 2013. The NICU re-opened later in week 13 2013 and weekly multi-disciplinary meetings were held until week 18 2013 to discuss and implement hygiene recommendations, at which point the outbreak was declared over. The last known neonate involved in the outbreak was discharged in week 16 2013.
Microbiological and molecular detection of ESBL-producing E. coli
At the time of the outbreak, the routine ESBL screening policy targeted weekly screening of high-risk neonates identified as such by their managing Consultant Neonatologists (but broadly categorised as premature or in NICU for other than short term stay) and their mothers.
Screening specimens were cultured using ChromID™ ESBL agar (bioMérieux, Marcy l’Ȇtoile, France) and incubated at 37 °C aerobically for 18–24 h. The colour code guide provided by the manufacturer was followed for review of any colonies identified; pink/brown = presumptive E. coli, green/blue = presumptive Klebsiella species, white = other Enterobacteriaceae. All colonies were identified using MALDI-ToF MS (Bruker Daltonics, Bremen, Germany) as described previously . Confirmatory testing was performed by disk diffusion on all organisms that warranted further investigation (Thermo Scientific™ Oxoid™ Disks) using a disc dispenser; cefoxitin 30 μg (FOX), cefapime 30 μg (FED), ceftazidime 30 μg (CAZ) & ceftazidime-clavulanic acid 30/10 μg (CAZCV), cefotaxime 30 μg (CTX) & cefotaxime-clavulanic acid 30/10 μg (CTXCV), Muller Hinton agar, 0.5 McFarland inoculum; 35 +/−2 °C, ambient air, 16–28 h. Following incubation, the zone sizes of the cephalosporin disc to that of a cephalosporin plus clavulanic acid combination disc were compared to determine ESBL status. Criteria for positive ESBL disc confirmatory testing on Enterobacteriaceae: a ≥5 mm increase in zone diameter for either antimicrobial agent tested in combination with clavulanic acid versus its zone when tested alone. Criteria for negative ESBL disc confirmatory testing on Enterobacteriaceae: zone sizes for both cephalosporin and cephalosporin in combination with clavulanic acid that is equal or show no greater difference in diameter than +/− 2 mm. Criterion for inconclusive ESBL disc confirmatory testing: difference between matched discs was >2 but <5 mm. In 2013, our protocols dictated that any inconclusive disk diffusion result, would warrant further confirmatory testing via Etest (bioMérieux, Marcy l’Ȇtoile, France). No isolate from this outbreak required further testing via Etest.
The genetic relationships between the ESBL-producing E. coli isolates were determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of XbaI-digested genomic DNA at the Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (AMRHAI) Reference Unit, Public Health England, London, UK. Electrophoresis was performed on a Bio-Rad CHEF DRII apparatus at 6 V cm−1 for 30 h at 12 °C with ramping times of 5 s to 35 s. CTX-M subtyping was possible on all but one of the isolates subsequent to the outbreak.
Processing of breast milk specimens
Routine breast milk testing involved incubating undiluted samples spread on blood agar (5-10% CO2) for up to 48 h, blood agar with metronidazole for up to 48 h anaerobically, and MacConkey Agar for up to 48 h aerobically.
Epidemiological features of the outbreak
Following detection of the index case (neonate two, Table 1), between weeks 12 and 13 2013, following a comprehensive screening seven additional screens of two NICU mothers and five neonates proved positive (Table 1). During this outbreak, infection was defined by clinical and laboratory criteria and requirement for antimicrobial therapy, while colonisation was defined by the absence of relevant symptoms. In total, during the outbreak, 86 ESBL screens from 42 individuals were performed. Of these, specimens from six neonates were positive for ESBL-producing E. coli: two represented infection and four represented colonisation. The mean gestational age was 33 weeks (range 28 to 36 weeks). There were no bacteraemias due to ESBL-producers.
The index case neonate’s mother was informed and agreed to participate in screening. A rectal swab, a mid-stream urine and a sample of expressed breast milk all tested positive for ESBL-producing E. coli, as shown in Table 2, with the same antibiogram as the isolate from her neonate (detailed earlier). A high vaginal swab was negative for the bacterium. This isolation of an ESBL-producing E. coli was the first such result for the patient who had never before had a culture-positive urine test.
One further neonate (neonate six, Table 1) who was in the NICU at the time of the outbreak (Fig. 1) developed urosepsis, eight days after the first detection of an ESBL-producer in the NICU. While two blood specimens proved negative, ESBL-producing E. coli were confirmed from a urine sample and from a rectal swab. An identical antibiogram to that of the index case neonate was noted. The baby was treated with IV meropenem (dosed as per weight). This neonate’s mother was screened whereupon a high vaginal swab and a sample of expressed breast milk cultured negative, but a rectal swab and a mid-stream urine sample were positive for ESBL-producing E. coli demonstrating the same antibiogram as previously found. Again, this second mother had no previous documented urinary tract infections and had never before had a culture-positive urine test.
Of the remaining four neonates, all were clinically stable, underwent weekly surveillance rectal cultures until discharged from the NICU, and did not require treatment with antimicrobials. All mothers of colonised infants underwent screening to determine colonisation or infection and were found to be negative for ESBL-producers.
Molecular characteristics and antibiogram of the outbreak
All ESBL isolates identified during this outbreak had an identical antibiogram regardless of culture source: resistant to ampicillin/amoxicillin, co-amoxiclav, ceftriazone, aztreonam, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, cefuroxime, piperacillin/tazobactam, tri/sulfamethoxazole, while susceptible to amikacin, chloramphenicol, ertapenem, and meropenem. Following sequencing, all were found to bear CTX-M-15 and OXA-1.
Following PFGE analysis (see Fig. 2), strain designated LIME04ES-3 was found to be shared between the index case, their mother and four other neonates, indicating cross-transmission and was determined to be ST131. A second strain (LIME04ES-4), determined to be ST1284, was found in both the second infected neonate and their mother.
Mother-to-neonate transmission of ESBL-producing E. coli in a European NICU has been described previously, with a 2010 report from Switzerland of an outbreak that began with transmission from a mother to her newborn twins during vaginal delivery with subsequent spread facilitated by health care workers . It is noteworthy that a 2013 report traced another NICU outbreak to ESBL-producers originating with a neonate born via caesarean section and exclusively formula-fed . Taken together, these reports involving both delivery methods exemplify the potential risk of infection and/or spread regardless of mode of delivery .
The is first occurrence of an ESBL-producing E. coli outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit in Ireland mediated by mother-to-neonate transmission that has been confirmed by molecular analysis. The index case’s mother had a rectal swab and a mid-stream urine sample that cultured positive for ESBL-producing E. coli although the organism was not detected from the high vaginal swab. Consensus was that the likely route of transmission was vertical from the mother’s colonised perianal area during delivery. The second ESBL strain (LIM04ES-4), from a separate neonate (neonate six) and their mother, was again thought to have been transmitted in the same manner from mother to child, who had positive results from a rectal swab and mid-stream urine.
Neither staff nor environmental screening were performed at the time of the outbreak. The focus was instead directed towards coordinating and managing the NICU closure, staff education regarding hand hygiene & transmissibility of ESBL-producers, antimicrobial stewardship for NICU prescribers, and audit of hand & environmental hygiene. In contrast, a Greek outbreak of SHV-5-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in 2012, involving 13 infected and three colonised neonates , employed staff and environmental screening whereby both staff and environmental sites were found to be negative with no specific case identified as being the origin of the outbreak. They further implemented the same outbreak management steps as were followed in our outbreak, with the exception of NICU closure. Without data regarding environmental or staff screening, we believed that the unit closure was key to reducing the duration of the outbreak in allowing deep cleaning to occur, reducing incubator/cot occupancy, lowering the nurse:infant ratio, reducing the throughput of clinical staff into the NICU and curtailing the number of antimicrobials in use. Additional sequential control measures added value to our outbreak control including cohort nursing and a ‘look back’ to identify the outbreak boundaries, as well as determining recommendations for adherence regarding: shared use of communal breast pumps; separation of clean and used equipment; physical environment cleaning; sufficient staffing with hygiene service and cleaning personnel; and ensuring of sufficient supply of sanitiser-filled alcohol hand dispensers.
In the USA, active surveillance strategies have been adopted by many NICUs to detect infants colonized with antibiotic-resistant organisms albeit that the yield, risks, benefits and costs of different strategies have not been fully evaluated . It is estimated that 21% of UK NICUs undertake routine faecal/rectal swabbing for ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae , but there is currently no consensus in Europe with regard to screening in NICUs . Irish data regarding screening remain unknown and a study that reviewed the practices of NICUs from both the UK and Ireland concluded that NICUs “currently lack systematic neonatal infection surveillance” [28, 29]. A 2014 Swedish study reported that adopting once-a-week screening of all neonates can reduce time from admission to detection by eight days and lead to a substantial reduction in secondary cases and clinical infections . Researchers in the USA determined that the rate of colonization by antibiotic-resistant bacteria was low, particularly in neonates <7 days old and have recommended that future studies should examine the safety of targeted surveillance strategies focused on older infants . As a result of the outbreak reported here, and as part of our active surveillance programme, all neonates admitted currently to our NICU are screened for ESBL-producers via culture of a urine sample or stool sample or rectal swab on arrival. The screening culture protocol is described in the methods section. Thereafter, diagnostic microbiology analysis is performed if deemed clinically necessary.
Similarly, there is also no consensus with regard to ESBL screening of expectant mothers and, given the mother-to-neonate transmission identified in this Irish outbreak, this may be an area for enhanced surveillance with a view to improvement in reduction of neonatal risk. As a consequence of this outbreak, our current practice (similar to an approach being adopted as prudent in Norway ) is that all pregnant women presenting at their first antenatal appointment have ESBL screening performed via a urine sample, albeit resulting perhaps in the screening of inappropriately large numbers of healthy young women with a recognised low positive predictive value.
In our setting, which may be comparable to many others, once an outbreak was declared, containment and control were achieved via timely closure of the unit to new admissions, staff education, strict adherence to hand hygiene measures with frequent auditing of staff compliance, cohorting infected neonates, screening of all inpatients, enhanced deep cleaning of all equipment within the NICU and utilising of an outbreak management team. We benefited from modification of the antimicrobial policy to move from broad-spectrum antibiotics to those that the problematic strain was susceptible to. A multidisciplinary approach was employed incorporating frequent communication with parents while visitor restrictions were enforced. With a deficit in national or international screening guidelines, in the context of a rising national ESBL-producer prevalence in Ireland, our screening practices as described here continue. To date, we have not had further ESBL outbreaks on any of our antenatal or postnatal wards due to appropriate early infection control management of newly identified ESBL patients. We hope that others may learn from our experience of successfully managing a neonatal ESBL outbreak.
Gillespie SH, Hawkey PM. editors. : Principles and Practical Clinical Bacteriology (2nd ed.). London: John Wiley; 2006.
Al-Mayahie S. Phenotypic and genotypic comparison of ESBL production by vaginal Escherichia coli isolates from pregnant and non-pregnant women. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2013;12:7. doi:10.1186/1476-0711-12-7.
Wickramasinghe N, Suviste J, Patel M, Gray J. Strategies to manage resistant Gram-negative organisms in neonates. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2012;97:F234. doi:10.1136/fetalneonatal-2011-301480.
Ena J, Arjona C, Martinez-Peinado C, López-Perezagua Mdel M, Amador C. Epidemiology of urinary tract infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli. Urology. 2006;68:1169–74.
Canton R, Novais A, Valverde A, Machado E, Peixe L, Baquero F, et al. Prevalence and spread of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Europe. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2008;14:144–53.
Canton R, Coque TM. The CTX-M beta-lactamase pandemic. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2006;9:466–75.
Doi Y, Park YS, Rivera JI, Adams-Haduch JM, Hingwe A, Sordillo EM, et al. Community-associated extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli infection in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2013;56:641–8.
Lopez-Cerero L, De Cueto M, Saenz C, Navarro D, Velasco C, Rodriguez-Bano J, et al. Neonatal sepsis caused by a CTX-M-32-producing Escherichia coli isolate. J Med Microbiol. 2008;57:1303–5.
Dubois V, De Barbeyrac B, Rogues AM, Arpin C, Coulange L, Andre C, et al. CTX-M-producing Escherichia coli in a maternity ward: a likely community importation and evidence of mother-to-neonate transmission. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2010;65:1368–71.
Paterson DL, Bonomo RA. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases: a clinical update. Clin Microbio Rev. 2005;18:657–86.
Gupta A, Della-Latta P, Todd B, San Gabriel P, Haas J, Wu F, et al. Outbreak of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a neonatal intensive care unit linked to artificial nails. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2004;25:210–5.
Giuffre M, Cipolla D, Bonura C. Epidemic spread of ST1-MRSA-IVa in a neonatal intensive care unit in Italy. BMC Pediatr. 2012;12:64. doi:10.1186/1471-2431-12-64.
Moissenet D, Salauze B, Clermont O, Bingen E, Arlet G, Denamur E, et al. Meningitis caused by Escherichia coli producing TEM-52 extended-spectrum β-lactamase within an extensive outbreak in a neonatal ward: epidemiological investigation and characterisation of the strain. J Clin Microbiol. 2010;48:2459–63.
Crivaro V, Bogdanovic L, Bagattini M, Iula VD, Catania M, Raimondi F, et al. Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections in a neonatal intensive care unit in Italy during 2006–2010. BMC Infect Dis. 2015;15:152–60.
Linkin DR, Fishman NO, Patel JB, Merrill JD, Lautenbach E. Risk factors for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in a neonatal intensive care unit. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2004;25:781–3.
Bizzarro MJ, Gallagher PG. Antibiotic-resistant organisms in the neonatal intensive care unit. Semin Perinatol. 2007;31:26–32.
Rettedal S, Lohr IH, Natas O, Giske CG, Sundsfjord A, Oymar K. First outbreak of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Norwegian neonatal intensive care unit; associated with contaminated breast milk and resolved with by strict cohorting. APMIS. 2012;8:612–21.
Blomberg B, Jureen R, Manji KP, Tamim BS, Mwakagile DS, Urassa WK, et al. High rate of fatal cases of pediatric septicaemia caused by gram negative bacteria with extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. J Clin Microbiol. 2005;43:745–9.
Polin RA, Saiman L. Nosocomial infections in the neonatal intensive care unit. NeoReviews. 2003;4:e81–9.
O’Connor C, Fitzgibbon M, Powell J, Barron D, O’Mahony J, Power L, et al. A commentary on the role of molecular technology and automation in clinical diagnostics. Bioengineered. 2014;5:155–60.
Tschudin-Sutter S, Frei R, Battegay M, Hoesli I, Widmer AF. Extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in neonatal care unit. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010;16:1758–60.
Giuffre M, Cipolla D, Bonura C, Geraci DM, Aleo A, Di Noto S, et al. Outbreak of colonizations by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli sequence type 131 in a neonatal intensive care unit, Italy. Antimicrob Res Infect Cont. 2013;2:8–15.
Gastmeier P, Loui A, Stamm-Balderjahn S, Hansen S, Zuschneid I, Sohr D, et al. Outbreaks in neonatal intensive care units – they are not like the others. Am J Infect Control. 2007;35:172–6.
Mavroidi A, Liakopoulos A, Gounaris A, Goudesidou M, Gaitana K, Miriagou V, et al. Successful control of a neonatal outbreak caused mainly by ST20 multi-drug resistant SHV-5-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, Greece. BMC Pediatrics. 2014;14:105. doi:10.1186/1471-2431-14-105.
Macnow T, O’Toole D, DeLAMora P, Murray M, Rivera K, Whittier S, et al. Utility of surveillance cultures for antimicrobial resistant organisms in infants transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2013;32:e443–50.
Francis S, Khan H, Sharland M, Kennea N. Infection control in United Kingdom neonatal units: variance in practice and the need for an evidence base. J Infect Prev. 2012;13:158–62.
Mitra S, Sivakumar P, Oughton J, Ossuetta I. National surveillance study of extended spectrum ß lactamase (ESBL) producing organism infection in neonatal units of England and Wales. Arch Dis Child. 2011;96:A47.
Fernando AM, Heath PT, Menson EN. Antimicrobial policies in the neonatal units of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2008;61:743–5.
Anthony M, Bedford-Russell A, Cooper T, Fry C, Health PT, Kennea N, et al. Managing and preventing Gram-negative infections in UK neonatal units. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2013;98:F549–53.
Rybczynska H, Melander E, Johansson H, Lundberg F. Efficacy of a once-a-week screening programme to control extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing bacteria in a neonatal intensive care unit. Scand J Infect Dis. 2014;46:426–32.
Rettedal J, Gastmeier P, Piening B. To screen or not to screen mothers of preterm infants for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E). J Perinatol. 2015;35:893–4.
The authors thank the staff of the Microbiology Laboratory at University Hospital Limerick for their expertise in dealing with this outbreak successfully and Claire Perry at AMRHAI for performing PFGE. We acknowledge the co-operation and hard work of the neonatal staff during the clinically challenging outbreak period.
This study was funded partially by a grant awarded by the Irish Society of Clinical Microbiologists, which is supported by Pfizer Ireland.
Availability of data and materials
No additional data are available.
All authors contributed to this work, read and approved the manuscript. CO’C: managed the outbreak clinically and drafted the manuscript. RKP: managed the outbreak clinically and recognized the novelty of the outbreak. JK: managed the outbreak clinically. LP: managed the outbreak clinically. NO’C: managed the outbreak clinically, recognized the novelty of the outbreak and drafted the manuscript. AO’G: implemented the infection control procedures. BS: implemented the infection control procedures. JP: implemented the infection control procedures. CF: implemented the infection control procedures. NW: performed laboratory analysis. JT: performed laboratory analysis. EMcG: performed laboratory analysis. CPD: recognized the novelty of the outbreak and drafted the manuscript.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Consent for publication
Ethical approval and consent to participate
Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Mid-West Regional Hospital Limerick.
About this article
Cite this article
O’Connor, C., Philip, R.K., Kelleher, J. et al. The first occurrence of a CTX-M ESBL-producing Escherichia coli outbreak mediated by mother to neonate transmission in an Irish neonatal intensive care unit. BMC Infect Dis 17, 16 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-016-2142-6
- Escherichia coli",7611,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00025.warc.gz,0.914003193378448
8f521f5d-75b1-481c-bbac-c18add51e6c7,2020-10-31T11:14:31+00:00,2014-11-19,0,https://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/11/19/edwards-column-chip-wells-nissan/19288701/,"Edwards: Chip Wells is a Nissan veteran story
Each Veterans' Day Nissan, which maintains a plant in Canton, celebrates the holiday. Sometimes Nissan will publicize its financial contributions to a veterans' charity, remind us how they offer discounts for veterans or report on how they employ many veterans, all of which are commendable acts. Last year, in a Veterans' Day press release, Scott Becker, Nissan senior vice president of administration and finance, said, ""Nissan fully supports the efforts of employees who serve our country in the Reserves and National Guard and we appreciate the many sacrifices they and their families have made to preserve our freedoms.""
However, if Nissan truly wanted to honor our veterans, they would not dishonor veterans like Nissan worker Chip Wells, who serves our country in the National Guard. If they wanted to recognize the sacrifices of our nation's veterans, they would not trample the American ideals of freedom and democracy, for which generations of veterans have fought.
As a member of the Mississippi Alliance for Fairness at Nissan (MAFFAN), I have become quite familiar with the struggle of Willard ""Chip"" Wells of Jackson. Chip, a father of two, is a loyal, hard-working Nissan technician of eleven and a half years. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army and Alaska National Guard. Chip actively served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and currently serves as First Lieutenant in the Mississippi National Guard.
Until last November, Chip was never disciplined in over a decade at Nissan. When Chip spoke on a local TV news interview in favor of forming a union at Nissan, he was issued a series of retaliatory disciplinary warnings and subjected to harassment by Nissan management in the days that followed the program's airing.
Like many veterans, Chip suffers from readjustment disorder with PTSD symptoms. Nissan knew this when they singled him out. The stress became too much. Chip could no longer endure the environment of persistent harassment and bullying that Nissan created after his TV news interview. He went on medical leave because Nissan's harassment caused extreme stress. Denied short-term disability, Chip was without a paycheck for more than two months while on medical leave. His car was repossessed. He got behind on bills. He's still reeling today from this unexpected financial hit.
But Chip fought back. He filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In April, an NLRB Regional Director found merit in Chip's charges. Nissan settled the case by clearing Chip's record. But Nissan wouldn't pay him back pay for the medical leave, which was caused by Nissan's unlawful retaliation.
Chip personifies the bravery we celebrate on Veterans' Day. He and his family made great personal sacrifices as he defended our nation's freedom during war. Moreover, Chip exhibits that same courage in his civilian life. By courageously standing up for what is right at work, organizing a union so he and his coworkers can have greater say in health and safety and can help end Nissan's abuse of temporary workers; Chip embodies courage and selflessness.
As a veteran myself, I am calling on Nissan, if it truly supports veterans, to do right by Chip and its entire workforce. Apologize to Chip for what you put him and his family through: Make him whole. Nissan: Live up to the ideals that we as veterans go to war to defend – free speech, democracy, fairness. That means stop ruling through threats and fear, and simply allow your workers the opportunity to think, speak, and decide for themselves about unions.
This Veterans' Day MAFFAN launched an online fundraiser for Chip — www.youcaring.com/chipwells — to help him get the back pay that he deserves. Please donate.
Chip defends our rights. Nissan should respect his.
The Rev. Jimmie Edwards is pastor at Rosemont Missionary Baptist Church, a Vietnam veteran, and serves as member of the Mississippi Alliance for Fairness at Nissan (MAFFAN).",815,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00346.warc.gz,0.969421327114105
b3a92402-666b-4299-ae60-81459c7813f3,2018-08-20T20:40:06+00:00,2018-08-06,1,http://oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2018/08/03551_RandyBlachRecordProteinProduction08062018B_130304.php,"CattleFax Analyst Randy Blach Suspects Feeders will ""Leak a Little Oil"" as Record Production GrowsMon, 06 Aug 2018 13:03:25 CDT
Cattle market analyst, Randy Blach of CattleFax addressed producers during the 2018 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting this past week in Denver. According to him, the United States will produce 11 billion pounds of protein this year in terms of beef, pork and poultry. That is the highest level of production ever in the history of the US meat industry. What is equally remarkable, is that it is all being consumed as well.
“We’ve got record consumption in the US and more and more people around the world, as they see their incomes rise, we see the demand for protein rise right along with that,” Blach said in an interview with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays.
At the same time, though, Blach also reports that the US beef cow herd expansion is beginning to show signs of an impending plateau in the rate of growth.
“We expect we’re going to see the cattle cycle top here within the next 12 to 18 months,” he said. “Between now and 2020, we should see the peak in beef cow numbers somewhere up to 32 million beef cows or a little over.”
Now, how this all impacts the market is the last question on producers’ minds. Blach is optimistic that from a cow/calf and stocker perspective, the cattle market in the foreseeable future looks fairly bright. However, for feeders, Blach is less confident that sustained profitability can be managed.
“This is going to be pretty tough for our feeding industry to make much the rest of the year,” he concluded. “We’ve been buying pretty high break-evens in here for the last several months. So, I suspect we’re going to leak a little oil there.”
Listen to the full exchange between Blach and Hays on his outlook for the cattle market, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News",454,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217006.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820195652-20180820215652-00161.warc.gz,0.950450718402862
786204b3-fd0d-4f2c-8725-7f1c6d802b35,2015-03-28T12:44:15+00:00,2013-04-01,0,http://www.bellaonline.com/newsdtl.asp?name=biology&date=4/1/2013%206:09:09%20PM,"Here's the latest article from the Biology site at BellaOnline.com.
Lucy - One of the Oldest Human Ancestors
Who were our human ancestors? Meet one of the oldest: Lucy. Lucy was a member of a species of hominids that made up some of our oldest human ancestors. Lucy's skeleton is the most complete ancestral skeletal ever to be found and the only one to be named after a Beatles song.
Please visit biology.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Biology.
To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Biology located here -
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Catherine Ebey, Biology Editor
One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com",194,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297505.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00287-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.902420282363892
62c8a0e4-99c6-44bf-b2f3-956ed4db5fe4,2017-08-20T04:09:38+00:00,2012-06-30,1,http://www.water-technology.net/features/featureibm-smarter-water-project-smart-cities,"IBM: smarter water for crowded cities
As cities worldwide swell, critical networks such as water are being strained to the limit. Rowan Watt-Pringle speaks to water specialists at IBM about a new solution which uses geospatial data to provide a holistic view of information across city departments, thereby revolutionising the maintenance, repair and day-to-day functioning of water infrastructure.
The two major drivers in the increasing demand for water in urban centres are the growing world population of around seven billion, expected to rise to nine billion by 2050, and an increasing urban concentration of the population: in 1900, just 13% of people lived in cities. Today this stands at more than 50% and is expected to rise to 70% by 2050.
These issues are compounded in many established cities around the world by ageing pipe networks. In London, for example, an estimated 40% of pipes are more than 100 years old, while in a survey conducted at the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), the average age of pipes was 76 years, with some pipes having been laid more than a century and a half ago.
""Other problems arise from not being able to visually inspect many of these pipes, as well as the cost pressures of maintaining the network,"" notes Robert Musgrove, a chartered civil engineer at IBM active management, focusing on smarter water as part of IBM's smarter planet agenda.
""The growing need to do more with less in order to meet increased demand with adequate supply, led IBM to imagine a smarter, more affordable and sustainable approach to managing infrastructure.""
IBM's intelligent operations centre for smarter cities
IBM's intelligent operations centre for smarter cities is a new solution designed to help cities gain a holistic view of information across departments and agencies. This allows cities to use information and analytics to make more timely decisions, helping local leaders manage a spectrum of planned and unplanned events.
""The same issues are faced across the board, from water, to energy, to public safety and other sectors. IBM's software is being directed at providing an overall view of what is happening all over your city,"" expands Jamie Caffrey, an IBM client software professional working with clients with a particular focus on water.
Musgrove also notes that water and energy go arm-in-arm as fundamental building blocks for an urban environment: ""The water and power grids make up the lifeblood of a city and any city looking to expand must make sure that these grids can cope with future stresses.""
He highlights the Chinese city of Shanghai as one of the best examples of this forward planning, saying: ""Shanghai has grown enormously since the 1990s, but they understood from very early on the need to provide the necessary water supply, wastewater treatment and sanitation to foster the growth of an environment attractive to commerce, industry and the population at large.""
IBM's Global Imaging Software (GIS) system allows the visualisation of assets, while there are also built-in route planning and optimisation capabilities. Assets or operations can be bundled, taking into account high priority orders and fitting in lower priority orders in their vicinity for work order optimisation. This proactive approach saves engineers time by minimising travel and pre-empting maintenance, as well as reducing labour costs.
Effective water management
As much as 60% of water is lost due to leaking pipes and, according to Musgrove, the key premise of smarter water and the whole smarter planet strategy is that the world is becoming increasingly more instrumented: ""Lots of data is out there being collected, but interpretation of that information is needed, leading to business intelligence. It is all about understanding the data we already have at our fingertips.""
Musgrove goes on to explain that water companies manage three things: assets, operations and customers. While in the past this was done using large, heavy-duty databases, people have recently begun to recognise the value of underpinning operations with a GIS map background to manage and optimise operations with real-time information.
Smarter systems provide benefits for both water companies and consumers by reducing the number of callouts, as well as call centre traffic, and focusing on a more preventative maintenance strategy.
Case study: DC Water
Caffrey points to the DC Water case study as an excellent example of the impact GIS systems - via the integration and application of business analytics - are having since their implementation at the company in 2008.
""DC Water is now starting to look at data and integrate sources to change their process and improve productivity. For example, understanding the frequency of failure and studying the makes of fire hydrants allowed DC Water to deploy its workforce proactively to pre-empt hydrant failure.""
He goes on to highlight further improvements made at DC Water as indicators of just how much can be achieved: ""Through job scheduling optimisation, the company achieved a 20% reduction in petrol costs, while $3.8m of savings were generated from a better understanding of the location of leaks and the more accurate customer metering offered by an automated metering system (AMR).""
In addition to this, DC Water's job scheduling optimisation produced an astounding 20% reduction in petrol costs. ""A lot of these improvements are down to understanding data we've always had at our disposal but that can now be used to optimise processes,"" Musgrove explains. ""For example, DC Water generated $3.8m worth of savings from a better understanding of the location of leaks and more accurate metering of customers via an automated meter reading (AMR) system.""
Case study: the Russian river water system
""At the end of the day, water is a finite resource, so you need to weigh up and help balance that need across industry, the consumer population and other sectors,"" explains Caffrey.
With this in mind, IBM's sophisticated water management system is helping Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) meet California's goal for all water agencies in the state to reduce water use by 20% by 2020. ""The system uses a real-time collaboration platform to help balance agricultural, environmental and other needs in the Russian river water system (the primary source of water in the region), allowing SCWA to make better, dynamic decisions about resource allocation,"" Caffrey continues.
IBM big green innovations vice-president Sharon Nunes reinforces the system's importance: ""The ability to track and measure the water flow, along with the diverse elements that impact the system at such a granular level, arms SCWA and its stakeholders with a way to work together toward the common goal of ensuring adequate water for the region, now and for years to come.""
Creek Watch: empowering everyman
Musgrove identifies everyday citizens as an increasingly valuable resource for supplementing a utility's workforce. Creek Watch, a freely-available downloadable iPod app developed by IBM Research, empowers citizens to take pictures of waterway blockages and other problems, tag the location via GPS and report it to the local water authorities.
Every update provides vital data on water levels, flow rate and the mount of rubbish on site, that local water authorities can use to track pollution, manage water resources and plan environmental programmes.
The California State Water Control Board is the first entity to partner with IBM, using Creek Watch to monitor the thousands of miles of creeks and steams across its jurisdiction, while the city of San Jose is already using Creek Watch data to prioritise pollution cleanup efforts on its waterways.
Smarter people, smarter planet
With more than 250,000 clients worldwide already using IBM predictive analytics to drive smarter decision making, Caffrey is certain this is part of a wider trend that will soon usher in an exciting new era for urban interaction: ""IBM's whole smarter planet concept revolves around the three I's: people are Instrumented, with smart phones, meaning that cities are already Inter-connected, leading to greater and more widespread Intelligence. Information about urban systems will be brought together in one place, providing a holistic point of view to enable decision makers to run our cities more efficiently, cheaply and with a greater awareness of environmental considerations, for the benefit of all.""
Latin America's waterways have a massive but largely untapped potential to power large parts of the continent.
World leaders and industry executives gathered at Rio+20 this week to discuss the global water crisis.
Now that the Earth's population has reached seven billion how will future generations cope with an escalating water crisis?",1727,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105970.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820034343-20170820054343-00609.warc.gz,0.94700962305069
b4c0be26-435e-4513-8874-0dd41a8ce971,2017-08-22T09:08:25+00:00,2010-02-01,0,http://heatherjustesen.blogspot.com/2010/02/previously-unpublished-cleon-skousen.html,"The back cover blurb:
Dr. W. Cleon Skousen spent the majority of his life researching the gospel, the U.S. Constitution, the founding of America and writing numerous books and articles on the topic, and he is one of the most well-known, respected defenders of America and the gospel the world has ever known. At the time of his passing in 2006, his work was not yet finished. His book Cleansing of America, written in 1994 and given into the care and keeping of his sons, is now being brought forth for the first time ever.
Included in these pages are the events and stages the Lord has predicted, through his servants, the winding-up scenes of this world. It helps the reader understand: the nature of prophecy, the known chronology of prophetic events, and the importance of staying close to the Lord and his prophets during the difficult and challenging years prior to the Second Coming. We are fast approaching those prophetic events. Some are upon us even now.
If we are prepared and obedient, we need not fear these events, but rather embrace them for the blessings they portend.",233,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110573.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822085147-20170822105147-00450.warc.gz,0.978404223918915
f3eb43bf-c532-4539-b016-b47ab56ab82e,2018-08-18T07:11:14+00:00,2018-07-09,1,https://m.gulfnews.com/news/asia/bangladesh/100-injured-in-major-student-protests-in-bangladesh-1.2202375,"Dhaka: Thousands of students across Bangladesh staged protests and sit-ins Monday after clashes at the country’s top university left at least 100 people injured.
Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at Dhaka University students fighting what they consider “discriminatory” government job quotas in favour of special groups.
It was one of the biggest protests faced by Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina in her decade in power.
A minister was due to meet protest leaders in Dhaka on Monday.
But students at state-run universities in Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Rangpur, Sylhet and Savar boycotted classes and staged sit-ins, police and media said.
“More than 1,000 students joined the demonstrations at Jahangirnagar University,” said Ataur Rahman, a protester in Savar where the university is located.
The clashes, which began Sunday night and went into the early hours of Monday, turned Dhaka University into a battleground.
Copycat protests soon started in other major cities as thousands of students boycotted classes and staged sit-ins.
Organisers in Dhaka said they were holding peaceful protests when police started firing tear gas and rubber bullets. They used batons and water cannon to clear a central square.
As violence spread across the campus, thousands of male and female students launched into pitched battles with police.
“More than 100 people were injured,” police inspector Bacchu Mia told journalists, adding they were treated in hospital but their condition was not serious.
Protesters threw rocks, vandalised the home of the Dhaka University vice-chancellor, torched two cars and ransacked the fine arts institute, said senior police officer Azimul Haque.
Fifteen people were detained, police said.
The students are angry at the government’s decision to set aside 56 per cent of civil service jobs for the families of veterans from the 1971 war of independence and for disadvantaged minorities. That leaves most university graduates to fight for only 44 per cent of the jobs.
Hasan Al Mamun, a leader of the protests, said tens of thousands of students joined the demonstrations nationwide. Police declined to estimate the number.
Al Mamun said the quota for top-grade jobs should be reduced to only 10 per cent.
“These quotas are discriminatory. Due to the quota system, 56 per cent of the jobs are set aside for five per cent of the country’s population. And 95 per cent of the people can compete for the 44 per cent,” he said.
Students are particularly upset at the 30 per cent quota set aside for descendants of veterans of the independence war.
Shaikh Hasina, whose father was the architect of the country’s independence from Pakistan, has rejected demands to slash the quotas.",594,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213405.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818060150-20180818080150-00218.warc.gz,0.959921360015869
4fba1528-9dde-4840-aa84-dd1e3f48b778,2018-08-14T06:36:42+00:00,2017-11-01,0,http://twroomsexy.info/dating-sites-in-mesa-az/,"Mesa mayor faces harsh backlash for hot-mic comments about President Donald Trump. Mesa Mayor John Giles has drawn scorn.
Good Online Dating First Messages Oct 15, 2014. I've been doing the whole online dating thing on and off for years now and let me just say, I've had the entire range of good, bad and ugly messages arrive in my inbox. There was a time I even created a blog to showcase some of the best of the worst
Amenities you deserve. Take a cool, refreshing dip and enjoy the sunshine in our resort-style outdoor pool. Maintain a healthy workout regimen in our up-to-date fitness center and keep up with the work in our business center with complimentary WiFi. More Amenities. Hilton Phoenix East Mesa, AZ Hotel – Atrium Bar.
In the event that you have issues using the Disposition Report option, you may e- mail the Court at [email protected] The availability of the Mesa Municipal Court's case management system data and case records are subject to the Arizona Supreme Court Records Retention. Enter date in MM/DD/YYYY format.
Situated near the headgates of one of the two largest networks of irrigation canals created in the prehistoric New World, the site of Mesa Grande controlled over 27,000 acres of highly productive farmland. Self-guided tours of the Hohokam. Contact: Dr. Emily Goble Early Address: 1000 N. Date Street, Mesa, AZ 85201
The two met after dating the “same girl,” they joke during the first episode. Other stops include: Sedona, Az.; Santa Fe, New Mexico, Amarillo, Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma and St. Louis. The finale is heled in Chicago. The winner gets.
Swingers personals for wife swapping couples looking for no strings attached sex online in swinger personal ads.
Army Surplus Louisville KY 502-599-8240 Army Navy Store Military Surplus Store Louisville KY Louisville Army Surplus Army & Navy.
Our Hotel in Mesa Arizona has Stylish decor and hotel located near Mesa Convention Center & ASU Campus. Free WiFi, on property Bar & Restaurant, Meeting and Reception hall in Mesa AZ. Book your stay now or start planning your event.
Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details Duration: 6 minutes, 25 seconds. Mesa Verde National Park contains over 5000 archeological sites across 40+ miles of roads!
AZ LEGAL NEEDS SURVEY Arizona’s legal aid programs need your help to better understand the legal issues facing Arizona residents. Take the survey:
It seemed, at first, a terrible accident. Soon it was clear the country was under attack. A decade later, Sept. 11, 2001, remains indelible, defining the generation of Americans who bore witness. It seemed, at first, a terrible accident. Soon.
Only a complete idiot would rely on AOL email. That is the worst email to send email from. AOL actually doesn’t like Gmail even though only a billion people use it. Dial-up users attached to the email addy on AOHell is the reason they.
Welcome to WeDateFree! Stop paying for online dating sites now. Create your own personal profile with photos, video and audio. Talk with other members in online chat.
Welcome to Passion Search Online Dating Site – We are the #1 online dating site with 30 million singles seeking a date. Browse our personals now it’s FREE to Join!
Fat Women Have Sex Updated frequently massive collection of big beautiful woman movie galleries. They are lovely created from leading adult pay sites members area content. Good Online Dating First Messages Oct 15, 2014. I've been doing the whole online dating thing on and off for years now and let me just say, I've had the entire range of
As the day of Sara and Barry’s wedding draws near, their anticipation and excitement is growing. Barry is everything Sara ever hoped for in a husband: caring, considerate, intelligent and sensitive. But as the big day approaches, Sara.
Presented by Mesa Arts Center as part of the Performing Live Series. 98° is hot. In five short years they sold a staggering 10 million records, and scored a chart- topping single, “Thank God I Found You,” with Mariah Carey and Joe. Their album, 98° and Rising, spawned the top-5 favorites “I Do,” and “The Hardest Thing,”.
Free Adult Cams And Chat Watch Live Adult Cams ,free Cams Model, Free Adult Video Chat, Free Sex Wegggbcams.Mp4 online on YouPorn.com. YouPorn is the. Live Sex Chat and XXX Live Porn shows for FREE without Registration! Largest Porn Adult Webcam community – Chat with 700+ Cam Girls Online on Live Sex Cams! Lonley House Wifes Hilarious Funny Facebook status
Meet local Arizona singles online with our site. For AZ singles, Arizona dating services and personal ads, plus other AZ information, this internet Arizona dating site has dating service reviews, and online. The next largest cities in Arizona are Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert and Peoria.
t takes a village to raise a child, or just one amazing teacher. Christine Thornton is a kindergarten teacher at Carlson Elementary. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education at St. John’s University and got her master’s degree in.
Fit Weight Loss Center Mesa Az – Raw Food Fast Weight Loss Fit Weight Loss Center Mesa Az Stillman Quick Weight Loss Diet Chinese Green Tea For Weight Loss
Indigenous people wouldn’t let ‘Day of the Dead’ die, and many around the world and Arizona celebrate the holiday today.",1202,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221208676.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814062251-20180814082251-00025.warc.gz,0.904337584972382
456135c2-da09-40a3-ad33-3a306732ac84,2022-05-23T18:45:27+00:00,2022-04-26,0,https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/commission/workgroups/mi-power-grid/phase-iii-integrated-resource-plan-mirpp-filing-requirements-demand-response-study-energy-waste-red,"The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
Phase III - Integrated Resource Plan (MIRPP, Filing Requirements, Demand Response Study, Energy Waste Reduction Study)
Notice: MI Power Grid meetings and all other MPSC workgroup meetings will be conducted via teleconference only until further notice. Please find remote access information for upcoming meetings on our calendar of events.
Electric utilities are required to file plans every five years with the Commission that look at anticipated customer electricity needs over the next 5, 10, and 15 years as well as the appropriate mix of resources to serve those needs, including power plants, renewable energy, energy waste reduction, demand response, and customer-owned resources. The MPSC establishes parameters and filing requirements for utility integrated resource plans and conducts studies on achievable levels of energy waste reduction and demand response.
Actions to Date
- Established initial Integrated Resource Plan parameters and filing requirements in 2017 (U-18418, U-18461)
- Conducted Energy Waste Reduction and Demand Response potential studies in 2017
- Conducted Energy Waste Reduction and Demand Response Potential Studies 2021
- Ongoing integrated resource plan cases
- Staff will convene stakeholder workgroups to:
- Update integrated resource plan filing requirements/parameters consistent with integrated planning, value of diversity findings
- Staff will develop a redline version of the Michigan Integrated Resource Planning Parameters taking into account the recommendations for the Advanced Planning Phase II Report for stakeholder review by December 22nd, 2021, in accordance with the Commission's Order in U-20633.
- Staff will review the results of the Demand Response and Energy Waste Reduction Potential Studies.
Assistant Staff Leads
April 26, 2022 (TELECONFERENCE ONLY)
March 24, 2022 (TELECONFERENCE ONLY)
February 28, 2022 (TELECONFERENCE ONLY)
January 31, 2022 (TELECONFERENCE ONLY)
December 16, 2021 (TELECONFERENCE ONLY)
Environmental Considerations Subgroup
April 14, 2022 (TELECONFERENCE ONLY)
March 23, 2022 (TELECONFERENCE ONLY)
Related MPSC Case(s)
- U-20165 (CE IRP)
- U-20300 (Alpena IRP)
- U-20350 (UPPCO IRP)
- U-20470 (UMERC IRP)
- U-20471 (DTE IRP)
- U-20591 (I&M IRP)
- U-20599 (NSP IRP)
- U-21081 (UMERC IRP)
- U-21090 (CE IRP)",602,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662560022.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523163515-20220523193515-00218.warc.gz,0.873194873332977
0314c0d9-a56d-4ffe-97ac-3dc29b029372,2020-10-30T16:54:38+00:00,2019-01-22,0,https://jonahwrites.blog/2019/01/22/day-314-tales-of-the-most-anime-games-ever/,"In my spare time (what little of it I give myself) I usually do one of two things. I either play a game or I watch anime. But every now and then, I like to do both. And while many games I’ve played feel like anime from top to bottom, like Persona and Catherine, none have done it better than the Tales series.
These games are ridiculous! It feels like the plots, character designs, worlds and combat systems were thrown in a blender with Masashi Kishimoto’s work, an average fighting game and the first five Final Fantasies. They are pretty to look at, convoluted and extensive in their plots, and a ton of fun to play.
There are a ton of these games, and I do mean a ton. Before diving into the deep end, I had no idea this series was so long lasting. To list off just a few, we have:
- Tales of Symphonia (the one most people know)
- Tales of Vesperia (which was recently remastered on modern consoles)
- Tales of Zesteria
- Tales of Berseria (my personal favorite and the latest new entry in the series)
- Tales of Xilia (which has a direct sequel, a rarity in this series)
And many more with equally ridiculous titles. But as we all know: the more ridiculous title, the more likely the show is amazing. I mean, just look at Recovery of an MMO Junkie.
Which you should totally watch, by thr way. But that’s for another day.
It’s no secret that most RPGs are time commitments. If you intend to finish it, you’ll be sinking a ton of time into them. And the Tales games are no different.
These games are really fucking long. Even if you ignore all the side content (which would greatly reduce the quality of your experience, so I don’t recommend that) you will likely be playing these for fifty to a hundred hours. So if you intend to beat even one of these, I’d advise you clear your schedule and take your time.
These games are at their best when you take the time necessary to do side activities. Whether it’s the many (and dear god do I mean many) different Skits, small interactions between your party members that help build their characters and relationships (which are my favorite parts of these games), or the various side quests you pick up throughout your adventures, you should take the time to see as much as you can. Doing so will make it a lot easier to get endeared to the casts and worlds of each game.
And doing so is a must for a Tales game. Sure, you can play for the action RPG combat, but these games really shine with their characters. Most of them are simple anime archetypes, but they’re so well executed that it’s hard to care. Like Berseria’s witch Magilou, an apathetic, safistic goofball who knows more than she lets on. Or Vesperia’s Yuri Lowell, a common man with a heart of gold that’s just cold enough to do what needs to be done.
If you ask me, the Skits are the reason to play these games. Be they the characters reflecting on what they’ll need to do next or just the party bickering about the species of a beetle, these add so much character and charm that it’d be a crime to skip these! By the end of the game, I’m often more looking forward to the next Skit rather than the next story beat or boss fight.
Then there are the plots themselves, which are so ridulous and hard to follow that they could only ever be anime. Playing through these makes you feel like you’re watching a really long Shounen action series. Everything adds to this feeling, from the art style to the music.
I mean, come on, Berseria’s opening cutscene has a FLOW song playing over it! For those who don’t know, FLOW is a Japanese band whose songs are often used for anime OPs, including many of Naruto’s. So you know we’re in good hands.
It’s not often that a long RPG can satiate my endless hunger for anime nonsense. But these games are like a good Thanksgiving dinner: forgoing the turkey for a delicious ham and filling you up for days. After playing these, I doubt any other game will be able to fill that need for a ridiculous and fun plot with simple characters and lots of good times.
That is, until Kingdom Hearts 3. But a large part of me still doesn’t think that it’s ever going to come out, even though it’s a week away.
Come on Square, one last delay. For old times sake! We all know you want to!",1028,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107911027.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030153002-20201030183002-00661.warc.gz,0.957823216915131
5696b387-c660-4c61-85ae-e523483bcd3a,2019-08-22T05:47:00+00:00,2013-09-05,1,https://www.nraila.org/articles/20130905/texas-urge-state-lawmakers-to-create-a-tax-free-holiday-on-firearms-and-hunting-supplies,"This coming weekend, your neighbors in Louisiana will enjoy an exemption from their state and local sales and use taxes on individual purchases of firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies. Since 2009, the Sportsmen’s Paradise has celebrated a “Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday” during the first full weekend in September. This places firearm and sporting goods retailers in East and Southeast Texas at a competitive disadvantage around the time hunting season begins.
State Senator Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) is calling for enactment of a similar “Back to Hunt” tax-free holiday weekend in Texas, pointing out that “[i]mplementing a tax-free weekend for sportsmen in Texas will stimulate new hunting participation while also increasing economic activity.” Click here to view his press release. In 2011, Senator Hegar sponsored a similar measure when the state was faced with serious fiscal and economic challenges. During the 2013 session, legislation establishing a tax-free holiday for these items was introduced by state Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano), but this bill never received a hearing by the House Ways & Means Committee.
NRA members should urge their state lawmakers to support the future establishment of a tax-free weekend for firearms and hunting supplies, which will support businesses in the Lone Star State and encourage more hardworking Texans to go afield. Click here to identify your state Senator and state Representative and to access their contact information.",291,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316783.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822042502-20190822064502-00342.warc.gz,0.952113032341003
56692753-409b-47ee-85d4-f9afac2f9eed,2013-05-26T02:49:50+00:00,2010-05-12,1,http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10195.htm,"IMF Executive Board Completes Seventh Review under Uganda's PSI and Approves a Three-Year Policy Support InstrumentPress Release No. 10/195
May 12, 2010
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed today the seventh review of Uganda's economic performance under the Policy Support Instrument. At the request of the authorities, the Executive Board cancelled the current PSI and approved a new three-year program. Uganda's previous PSI was approved on December 15, 2006 (see Press Release No. 06/281).
The PSI for Uganda aims at maintaining macroeconomic stability and alleviating constraints to growth through a scaling up of public investment spending and structural reforms to enhance the country’s absorptive capacity. It will also support the strengthening of institutions ahead of expected oil production and Uganda’s participation in the future East African Monetary Union.
The IMF's framework for PSIs is designed for low-income countries that may not need, or want, IMF financial assistance, but still seek IMF advice, monitoring and endorsement of their policies. PSIs are voluntary and demand driven. PSI-supported programs are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies adopted in a participatory process involving civil society and development partners and articulated in a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). This is intended to ensure that PSI-supported programs are consistent with a comprehensive framework for macroeconomic, structural and social policies to foster growth and reduce poverty. Members' performance under a PSI is normally reviewed semi-annually, irrespective of the status of the program (see Public Information Notice No. 05/145).
Following the Executive Board’s discussion on Uganda, Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated:
“Prudent macroeconomic policies have enabled Uganda to maintain macroeconomic stability despite a series of external shocks. Notwithstanding a recent deceleration, output growth has been strong and is expected to rebound quickly. Inflation has moderated, and the external position has remained solid, buoyed by robust exports and foreign investment flows. Limited central bank intervention has helped smooth excessive exchange rate volatility, and the financial sector has remained sound.
“Looking ahead, the main challenge is to accelerate infrastructure development while ensuring macroeconomic stability. The new PSI-supported program aims to support the objectives of the recently adopted National Development Plan. The authorities aim to raise domestic revenue and, if needed, use a limited amount of non-concessional borrowing to finance the increase in public spending. A cautious monetary stance, a flexible exchange rate regime, and a comfortable level of reserves will help keep the fiscal and debt positions within sustainable bounds.
“To improve efficiency and raise future growth, the government is committed to reinvigorate structural reforms. These will focus on public financial management, including strengthening spending controls and efficiency, and increasing domestic tax revenue. Financial sector reforms will seek to enhance banking stability and facilitate financial deepening.
“Large-scale oil production and the establishment of the Eastern African Monetary Union will present opportunities but also pose significant policy challenges for Uganda in the years to come. The authorities are taking steps to further strengthen their institutional and policy frameworks which, together with improving infrastructure, should help the country prepare effectively for these developments”, Mr Shinohara added.
Recent Economic Developments
The Ugandan economy weathered the first-round impact of the global financial crisis relatively well. Despite the reversal of portfolio inflows and lower foreign direct investment, economic growth remained strong by international standards (7 percent in 2008/2009), driven in part by strong cross-border exports and recovery of private investment flows.
The slowdown was more marked this year. Economic activity decelerated due to a prolonged drought and the uncertainties about the path of global growth. Growth is expected to reach 5.6 percent for 2009/2010, but should rebound quickly over the next couple of years.
The medium-term outlook remains favorable. Looking forward, the prospect of substantial oil revenues offers an opportunity to raise growth and eliminate poverty, but also poses important policy challenges. Uganda will need robust fiscal and financial institutions, a supportive business environment and scaled-up infrastructure to prepare for this event. The fiscal policy framework must also be further bolstered in preparation for the establishment of the East African Monetary Union.
Uganda's PSI will be guided by the objectives and policies outlined in the new National Development Plan launched in April 2010. Fiscal policies will continue to target a bold scaling up of energy and transportation infrastructure. Public investment is targeted to increase from 6.5 percent of GDP in 2008/2009 to 8 percent in 2011/2012. Monetary policy will aim at keeping annual inflation at around 5 percent on average. The exchange rate will remain flexible and the authorities will seek to build up reserves as they prepare for the forthcoming East African Monetary Union. A financial markets development plan is being developed under the common EAC framework with a view to further enhancing banking stability and facilitating financial deepening.",1015,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.929000914096832
64ba8ae5-65fc-4846-a5b5-889b3edc82d9,2015-03-29T00:02:05+00:00,2008-11-13,0,http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/business/Citigroup-Rumored-to-Be-Eyeing-Chevy-Chase-Bank.html,"Citigroup Rumored to Be Eyeing Chevy Chase Bank
Updated at 10:22 AM EDT on Friday, Jan 8, 2010
Offcials with Chevy Chase Bank declined to comment to the Washington Post about a Wall Street Journal report that the bank could be acquired by Citigroup.
Citigroup is among several bidders and is not a clear favorite, according to the Wall Street Journal report.
Such rumors arise from time to time, according to Chevy Chase Executive Vice President Thomas H. McCormick, but the bank does not comment on them.
Published at 5:31 PM EDT on Nov 13, 2008",127,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00258-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.927648067474365
78517d08-b5f5-4b9f-a645-e66db18dcd79,2013-05-20T02:41:02+00:00,2013-02-01,1,http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/position-statement-where-alex-smith-land-014317504--nfl.html,"The future looks bright in San Francisco as Colin Kaepernick has secured his position under center, but where does this leave Alex Smith? Expected to earn $8 million in 2013, Mike Florio says it makes no sense for the 49ers to invest that much money in a player that will ride the pine all season. With Kaepernick entrenched as the starter, Florio recommends the Niners cut ties with their former starter and use that money to gather depth at different positions of need.
Doug Farrar is the editor of Shutdown Corner, Yahoo! Sports’ NFL blog.",115,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969334423542023
75af24bc-ef02-43c6-9676-cefa9eec8f41,2017-08-20T09:45:28+00:00,2017-08-20,0,http://www.go-teem.com/jobs/view/senior-enterprise-sales-executive-home-based/form/apply/,"Senior Enterprise Sales Executive (Home Based)
We have a long track record of successful, long-term hires for the Director of this team, where our recent candidates are demonstrating how realistic the opportunity for massive earnings really is here!
The managers of this new Enterprise sales team have asked us to, once again, find driven and experienced senior sellers for this growing team. You will need to have a strong background of achievement in hunting new Enterprise logos for a complex, cloud-based business application/solution, where you will have developed strong knowledge of the challenges faced by business users, ideally within the manufacturing, retail, legal, or accounting industries.
Your energy and self-sufficiency will be well tested here, as you will be an autonomous, high-profile member of this flagship Enterprise team. The ideal working situation will be 20% working from home / 80% customer-facing, with the occasional trip to the office for meetings (but expect more during the initial ramp-up!).
This is a leading, well-respected brand that also gives you the unique opportunity to directly access senior members of the leadership team. There is a real chance to make a difference to this team and they want people who are here to have an impact. Both the share price and AOV have grown significantly over the last 2 years, so this a great time to take advantage of continuous transformation!
Interested to know more about the team and the proposition – get in touch or apply now!
Call us on 0113 457 0135 or email us firstname.lastname@example.org",317,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106367.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820092918-20170820112918-00446.warc.gz,0.945629417896271
1f8574bd-8d19-456a-99af-6b7e1cc9f3e7,2020-10-24T15:35:50+00:00,2020-10-24,0,https://www.cwtls.co.uk/site-clearance?lightbox=dataItem-jetv65m9,"We work with a number of specialist contractors enabling us to work with you from the commencement of a project and striving to find solutions to any constraints. All sub-contractors are assessed, qualified, competent and experienced in order to provide a seamless service including:
Mechanical clearance - utilising Forestry Mulchers
Tree and shrub clearance - utilising Tree Shears
Full tree surgery service including tree surveys.
Temporary roads / trackways",89,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107883636.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024135444-20201024165444-00644.warc.gz,0.880187630653381
4d7a9eac-c08c-4d23-99c9-e2c7d3d43d6c,2017-08-21T10:15:23+00:00,2013-06-23,0,http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11743/8789575/Transfer-news-Roda-JC-keen-to-land-Bournemouth-s-Frank-Demouge,"Transfer news: Roda JC keen to land Bournemouth's Frank Demouge
Roda JC are eager to bring former loan star Frank Demouge back to the club on a permanent transfer from Bournemouth.
By Gerrit van Leeuwen
Last Updated: 23/06/13 7:47pm
The 30-year-old striker left Dutch football for England last summer, but suffered an unfortunate injury early on in his Cherries career.
He was unable to make the desired impact after returning to full fitness and was allowed to link up with Roda for the second half of the 2012/13 campaign.
Demouge settled quickly back in the Eredivisie and did enough to convince Roda that he is deserving of a full-time contract.
They have yet to reach an agreement with Bournemouth for a player who will be due back for pre-season training on 1st July, but are optimistic regarding their chances of pushing through a move.
It had been reported that a failed medical had led to a delay in talks, but Roda's general director Marcel van den Bunder insists that is not the case.
He told Voetbal International: ""That's nonsense. We haven't even tested him medically.
""We are in the waiting room for him. First he had to work things out with Bournemouth. Hopefully that will happen and after that we can start talks.""
Demouge's agent Kees Ploegsma is also confident that transfer discussions will soon be held.
He said: ""We will soon start up talks with the club about his future.""",336,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108264.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821095257-20170821115257-00102.warc.gz,0.975033462047577
d76aa8d0-f614-4abe-83de-686b8107c492,2016-07-29T06:02:53+00:00,2013-06-14,0,http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/108596/zionist-historys-murder-mystery,"Zionist history's murder mystery
The JC Essay
Arlosoroff, sitting at centre, after convening the meeting of Arab and Jewish leaders at the King David Hotel.
Eighty years ago this coming Sunday, Haim Arlosoroff was gunned down during a Friday-night walk with his wife on the Tel Aviv beach. He was 34 and a rising star in the Zionist firmament. He was a respected political thinker - in the words of his biographer, Shlomo Avineri: ""the critical student of Marx, Kropotkin and Nietzsche, a product of Russian populism and German Romanticism"". His death robbed the future state of a great talent and a potential prime minister.
Arlosoroff's journey to Tel Aviv started in the Ukraine in 1899, where he was known as Vitaly. Facing bloody pogroms, his family fled to East Prussia to escape murder and pillage - and, in Germany, Vitaly became Victor.
He became an activist in the non-Marxist pioneering Zionist party, Hapoel Hatzair. In 1921, he visited Palestine and the disturbances of that year brought home to him that a national movement existed among the Arabs of Palestine. He castigated those Zionists who ignored it, as being ""like a doctor who denies the existence of a malady in an obviously sick person because the microbes he finds in the blood of the patient are different from those he is used to seeing under the microscope"".
Following his appointment as head of the political department of the Jewish Agency in 1931, Arlosoroff attempted to find a way to defuse the rising tension between Jew and Arab. He discovered that a cash-strapped Emir Abdullah, who ruled the East Bank of the Jordan, was amenable to the idea of selling land to the Zionists from the unpopulated tracts of his country.
Arlosoroff did not regard all British officials in Palestine as antisemites. Most, he believed, were clueless about Zionism and ignorant about Jewish immigration. ""The worldwide Jewish question interests them as much as last year's snow,"" he said, arguing that many a British administrator became pro-Arab because the figure of the Arab better reflected the imagery of the ruled in the colonial psyche. Such views led to disputes with Ben-Gurion and other labour Zionist luminaries.
Before her marriage to Goebbels, Magda had been Arlosoroff’s lover in Germany
After Arlosoroff's murder, suspicion immediately fell on his ideological adversaries in the newly emergent Revisionist movement of Vladimir Jabotinsky. The finger was pointed at one of its leading intellectuals: writer Abba Ahimeir, a recent defector from Hapoel Hatzair.
Ahimeir not only joined the Revisionist movement but became the leader of its maximalist wing. In November 1927, he wrote an article entitled: ""If I am not for myself, who will be for me?"" He noted that Rabbi Hillel's saying had been converted into the slogan of Sinn Fein - and said that this should be the Zionist pathway as well. In this and subsequent articles, he argued the case for Italian fascism, at a time when it was not antisemitic.
Passionately anti-Communist, Ahimeir began to sympathise with the national dictatorships that were spreading across Europe. As a teacher of the leaders of the youth group, Betar, he attracted a group of committed followers. Affronted by the continuing Arab disruption of Jewish services at the Western Wall - and without informing the official leadership of Betar in Palestine - they organised a disciplined march to the Wall. The following day, however, a Muslim demonstration took place that ended with the dispersal of Jewish worshippers and the burning of prayer books, with little interference from the police. This was the catalyst for the disturbances of 1929 and the slaying of many Jewish civilians by Arabs - and many Arabs by British troops.
Ahimeir labelled those killed, ""martyrs to the building of the Jewish homeland"" and asked whether Jewish youth was prepared to do something about this. Young Jews in Palestine and the diaspora such as Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir rallied to the maximalist call.
Ahimeir's network formalised itself by creating Brit Ha'Biryonim, named after the zealots of the Second Temple period. For some the biryonim were recalled as the assassins of the perceived enemies of the Jews, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Significantly, Jews with ""moderate"" views were especially deemed worthy of assault.
Yet it was Lenin rather than Mussolini who was held up as the exemplar. During one of his lectures to the Brit Ha'Biryonim, Ahimeir commented: ""We reject the doctrines and philosophies of Lenin and his followers, but they were correct in their practical path. This is the path of violence, blood and personal sacrifice.""
Ahimeir and his acolytes became a thorn in the side of the British and an irritant for the Zionist establishment. Arlosoroff's killing presented the authorities in Palestine with a golden opportunity to liquidate the maximalists.
In the eyes of Brit Ha'Biryonim, Arlosoroff was responsible for the controversial transfer agreement allowing Jews leaving Nazi Germany to depart with some of their belongings. Ben-Gurion had taken a pragmatic view that the Zionists should not provoke the Nazis by initiating ""an irresponsible battle against Hitler"".
Five weeks after the assassination, the police seized the Revisionist archives and some of Ahimeir's writings. They discovered his unpublished script, The Scroll of the Sicarii, dedicated to two well-known assassins of the past, Charlotte Corday and Fanni ""Dora"" Kaplan. Ahimeir argued that the legacy of the biryonim was that history changes its course because of ""the work of negative heroes - not the divine but the satanic"".
Ahimeir suggested that history seemed to permit killing if it was deemed to be for the public good but criminal if conducted for private reasons. He gave the examples of Julius Caesar, William of Orange and Tsar Alexander II. All this was in the realm of intellectual theorising. The British, however, viewed it as concrete evidence.
On the night of the assassination, Ahimeir was lecturing in Jerusalem. The central figure in the case, Avraham Stavsky, had recently arrived in Palestine and was lodging with Ahimeir. That night, Stavsky was staying at the Turjeman hotel in Jerusalem. The police said he had slipped out, travelled to Tel Aviv, committed the act and returned swiftly. Another accused, Ze'ev Rosenblatt, said he had been at a social gathering in Kfar Saba. Ahimeir was seen as the inspiration while Stavsky and Rosenblatt were charged with the actual murder. Ahimeir claimed he and his co-defendants were ""the Dreyfus and Beilis of our generation"". Initially, Stavsky was sentenced to death but the evidence proved flimsy and the accused were released on appeal. But suspicion between left and right deepened.
Mapai, the leading labour Zionist party, viewed the Revisionists as fascists. The right saw Mapai as ideologically subservient and willing to use dirty tricks to entrap leading nationalists. Although opposed to the radicalism of Brit Ha'Biryonim, Jabotinsky came out in open support of the arrested. While describing Arlosoroff as ""an honest, quiet, hard-working Jewish patriot"", he described the case as ""a lie which has no legs to stand on"".
Despite an inability to make the charges stick, the extensive police searches located incendiary material. Although the charges relating to Arlosoroff were formally dropped on May 16 1934, Ahimeir was charged on several counts of sedition a few weeks later and sentenced to 21 months in the Jerusalem Central Prison.
Jabotinsky suspected that the killers had been Arabs, and that it had been part of a chain of events, starting with the mass killings of August 1929 and ending more recently with arson in the Balfour forest. In early 1934, Abdul Majud, a Jaffa Arab claimed responsibility for the killing together with Issa Ibn Darwish. It was portrayed as a fumbled attack to ward off Arlosoroff so that they could sexually assault his wife. A few weeks later, Majud retracted this, stating he had been bribed by the Jewish defendants in prison. He was never cross-examined in court.
In the 1970s, it was suggested that Joseph Goebbels had sent Nazi agents to murder Arlosoroff. Before her marriage to the Nazi leader, Magda Goebbels had been Arlosoroff's lover in Germany. Brought up Catholic with a Jewish stepfather, Magda had even worn a star of David, given to her by Arlosoroff, and attended Zionist meetings. Their ways parted but, weeks before his death, Arlosoroff visited Berlin where he came across a marriage photograph of his old flame, arm-in-arm with Goebbels.
One opposition paper carried the headline: Nazi Chief weds Jewess. After the initial shock, Arlosoroff began to view Magda as his conduit to Goebbels with the aim of securing an arrangement for the transfer of German Jewish assets to Palestine.
According to the German writer, Anja Klabunde, Arlosoroff did talk to Magda and they arranged to meet again. This meeting never took place, but Arlosoroff later received a message from Magda to warn him that he was in danger and should leave Germany immediately.
Despite an inquiry initiated by Begin in the 1980s, all theories remain within the confines of conjecture. An accidental bungling? A well-planned assassination? Unlike contemporary TV drama, this mystery remains unsolved. As time recedes, it is unlikely we will ever know the identity of the killers of Haim Arlosoroff.
Colin Shindler's 'History of Modern Israel' has been published by Cambridge University Press in an updated second edition",2103,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00168-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.978446781635284
605055ef-f7bb-4bc9-941a-869f361830c8,2022-05-17T21:25:00+00:00,2022-05-10,1,https://kingdomnewsgh.com/2022/05/10/asokwa-mce-mp-cut-sod-to-commence-rehabilitation-of-atonsu-chirapatre-roads/,"On Monday, Municipal Chief Executive for Asokwa, Chief Akwannuasa Gyimah was joined by the Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Madam Patricia Appiagyei as well as some traditional leaders to cut the sod for the construction of 2.3kilometers of roads for the people of Atonsu-S-LINE new site and Chirapatre.
Giving details at a brief ceremony at the Atonsu New-site taxi rank area, Chief Akwannuasa said the Assembly got the opportunity to do a 1.3km of roads at the Atonsu S-Line to the new site and a 1 kilometer of roads in the Chirapatre old town.
He disclosed that the project is a World Bank credit facility and was being undertaken through the Ghana Secondary City Support Project module.
Chief Akwannuasa thanked the Ministry of Local Government and Decentralization for facilitating the project and commended the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council for supporting the Asokwa Municipal Assembly to carry out all paper works due for the commencement of the project.
‘’I am happy to announce to the good people of Asokwa particularly those at Atonsu new site and Chirapatre that work on your bad roads would commence after this ground breaking event and it is expected to be completed in 8months time and handed over to the Assembly by the contractor for use’’, Chief Akwannuasa disclosed.
The MCE asked the people whose projects were close to the construction site to evacuate and allow for work to commence since every entitlement had been given out.
He asked residents to support the contractor to work to complete the project on schedule, adding that the construction would benefit the local economy of the place.
Chief Akwannausa, however, cautioned against behaviors and attitudes that would affect the longevity of the project, including the washing of vehicles on tarred roads as well as the picking of chippings on the completed roads.
‘’The NPP government under Nana Akufo-Addo said that 2021 would be year of roads and since this project was to be undertaken in 2021 it means the President was a promise keeper and therefore as citizens we should support government efforts such as road construction as well as others so that by what we see we extend the mandate of the NPP beyond the 8 year cycle’’, the MCE passionately stated.
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT:
On her part, Madam Patricia Appiagyei commended the Ghana government for granting Asokwa the opportunity to rehabilitate the bad roads in the Municipality.
This, she noted, was the essence of having a municipality through which such projects including road construction could be channeled through.
‘’I am happy that all of us are seeing these good works of the President and government and I believe this calls on us to support the NPP to work more for the benefit of all Ghanaians’’, Madam Appiagyei intimated.
Present at the ceremony was the elected assembly men for Asokwa as well constituency executives of the NPP in Asokwa as well as staff of the Assembly and workers of M-Gyebi, contractor for the project.",685,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520817.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517194243-20220517224243-00412.warc.gz,0.96759843826294
3f2b14ad-5985-4854-918d-ee21025f9c3d,2022-05-17T01:33:55+00:00,2021-06-14,1,https://playnewgamez.com/xbox-series-x-mini-fridge-launches-later-this-year/,"Yesterday, we saw a meme turned reality. No, not Final Fantasy Origins, but the Xbox Series X mini fridge.
Microsoft is really going to release this dinky desk-sized refrigerator later this year. Like Halo Infinite, it has a vague “holiday 2021” launch date.
If you stuck around after Microsoft’s big Xbox and Bethesda Showcase event yesterday, you’ll have seen the following trailer pop up, showing off how it’ll look:
It seems you’ll be able to fit two sets of four cans on each of the fridge’s lower levels, and another two horizontally on the top shelf. Even my maths skills can work out that’s 10 tins total.
The trailer also cheekily promises “Xbox Velocity Cooling Architecture”, whatever that actually means. We’ll have to get Digital Foundry on that.
Why is Xbox doing this? The Xbox fridge meme sprang to life after the Series X’s original unveiling. Microsoft, happy to poke fun at itself, picked up the meme and then sent actual, enormous American-style fridges shaped like the console to influencers, including Snoop Dogg, last year.
But what about a mini-fridge that was more Xbox Series X’s size, fans asked? Like a lot of things these days, some people on the internet asked for this, and now it is happening.
Source link : Eurogamer",303,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662515466.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516235937-20220517025937-00221.warc.gz,0.926632344722748
29b0796c-51d4-4515-bbef-c6a44b5af4bb,2017-08-17T21:14:14+00:00,2014-08-25,0,http://cztermpaperetct.eventoseducativos.com/writing-process-wheel.html,"Writing process wheel
Editing Wheel Step 1: Step 3: Have your students spin the wheel to check their writing Super Teacher Worksheets - wwwsuperteacherworksheetscom. The Wheel of Time Retrospective: The Gathering Storm: Writing Process Oct 15 For an explanation of my Wheel of Time retrospective Writing Process. The Writing Process Showing top 8 worksheets in the category - The Writing Process Once you find your worksheet, just click on the Open in new window bar on the. This file contains labels and descriptions that may be used to create a writing process wheel Complete directions on how to assemble the wheel are available.
We provide excellent essay writing service 24/7 Enjoy proficient essay writing and custom writing services provided by professional academic writers. Writing Process of a Disability Advocate – The Writing Process Blog Hop August 25, 2014 By Emily Ladau 3 Comments Get Words I Wheel By wheeling straight to. The Wheel of Time is a series of high fantasy novels written The Wheel has seven and characters and storylines changed considerably during the writing process.
Writing process wheel
Expect children to be at all stages in the writing process Writing is a multilevel activity The Writing Process Wheel can help you keep track of student progress. Writing process wheel pdf Both allow students to earn a bachelors, masters, or doctorate degree It is so interesting A number of scholars (although not Haim. Printable Worksheets to Teach Writing - Paragraph writing, letter writing, peer editing checklists, figures of speech, and lots more.
Writing Process Directory; Middle School/Junior High; Writing; Writing Process; FILTER THIS CATEGORY: What's This? 1; Sort By: Free Documents Sort By. The Writing Process Wheel by Alan J Hooper, December 1998, Triumph Learning edition, Hardcover in English - Teacher edition. Writing process wheel template printablepdf FREE PDF DOWNLOAD NOW!!! Source #2: writing process wheel template printablepdf FREE PDF DOWNLOAD. 24/03/2003 This article presents a writing process wheel that has been designed as a task-specific tool for assisting teachers of students with learning disabilities. The Writing Process is called Pre-Writing “Pre” means “be-fore”, and you already know what writi ng means But what does “pre-writing” mean.
Teaching the Writing Process to Students with LD The complex process of writing poses many The writing process wheel presented in this article. What Is the Writing Process? © 2006 Super Duper The writing process provides children with a model that is sequential and consistent. Make your likes visible on Facebook? Connect your Facebook account to Prezi and let your likes appear on your timeline You can change this under Settings & Account. Writing Process Wheel Template PDF - Free Ebook Download - ebookdigbiz is the right place for every Ebook Files We have millions index of Ebook Files urls from. Non è necessario possedere un dispositivo Kindle Scarica una delle app Kindle gratuite per iniziare a leggere i libri Kindle sul tuo smartphone, tablet e computer.
The Wheel of Time Retrospective: TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT: Writing Process For an explanation of my Wheel of Time The Wheel of Time Retrospective, Towers of Midnight. The Writing Process Wheel by Alan J Hooper, 9780876943335, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. Books Advanced Search Browse Subjects New Releases Best Sellers Globe and Mail Best Sellers Best Books of the Month Children's Books Textbooks Today's Deals. By Indu Kandasamy Flowchart on the web app support process template Tagged: flowchart,flowcharts,process flow,flow chart,user support process,web app flowchart. Lewis Middle | 1752 Cypress Street | Sulphur, LA 70663 | Phone: 337-217-4700 | Fax: 337-217-4701 This agency does not discriminate on the basis of age.
Recycling the Wheel: An Alternative to the Traditional Outline Not all writers are linear thinkers; many, if not half, think concentrically Thus, the linear. Writing prompts chart Each wheel offers 12 choices of interesting When you first present the Spin-a-Story Writing Prompts Chart to students THE WRITING PROCESS.",890,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104160.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817210535-20170817230535-00496.warc.gz,0.865532517433167
db16bdf2-8f17-47da-b4ac-f555353a0ae8,2017-08-22T22:25:38+00:00,2016-02-13,0,https://www.townlands.ie/cork/orrery-and-kilmore/rathgoggan/rathluirc/ballysallagh/,"The Irish name for Ballysallagh is An Baile Salach
Ballysallagh is on Logainm.ie: Ballysallagh.
It is located at 52° 21' 8"" N, 8° 39' 56"" W.
Ballysallagh has an area of:
Nationwide, it is the 20094th largest townland that we know about
Within Co. Cork, it is the 2095th largest townland
Ballysallagh borders the following other townlands:
Curious to see who lived in Ballysallagh in the past? Maybe even seeing scans of their handwritten census returns?
Ballysallagh was added to OpenStreetMap on 13 Feb 2016 by cliffcake.",159,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886116921.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822221214-20170823001214-00409.warc.gz,0.969150006771088
c4c37790-029e-4919-ba1a-6f393a25a931,2022-05-18T08:06:48+00:00,2022-04-29,1,https://www.euronews.com/2022/04/29/ukraine-crisis-russia-gas-poland,"WARSAW – The European Union should penalise countries that use roubles to pay for Russian gas, Poland’s climate minister said, following Moscow’s decision to cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria over their refusal to do so.
EU member states appear split on how they can keep paying for gas without breaching European sanctions imposed over Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Many nations in Europe remain heavily reliant on Russian energy imports.
Poland, one of the EU’s staunchest proponents of punitive sanctions against Moscow, says the bloc should ban purchases of Russian gas altogether.
“Today what is missing is full sanctions on gas, that would solve the problem with Gazprom, the problem with following sanctions 100%. We expect these sanctions,” Anna Moskwa told private broadcaster Polsat News late on Wednesday.
The main EU member states resisting tougher gas sanctions on Russia are Austria, Germany and Hungary, she added.
“We are counting on there being consequences for these countries (which pay in roubles) and that as a result they will cease paying in roubles.”
She did not specify what kind of consequences Poland wanted to see.
Russia’s new gas payments system, involving opening accounts at Gazprombank where payments in euros or dollars would be converted to roubles, offers wiggle room that could see some countries continue to buy Russian gas, fraying the bloc’s united front against Moscow.
German power utility Uniper told the newspaper Rheinische Post on Thursday that it would transfer payments for Russian gas to a Russian bank and no longer to a Europe-based bank.",341,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00017.warc.gz,0.948336899280548
fff78609-f1e6-4025-a1c1-e899fc320efb,2022-05-27T05:32:23+00:00,2022-02-16,1,https://uaenews4u.com/2022/02/16/qashio-raises-2-5-million-led-by-msa-novo-to-launch-enterprise-expense-management-solution-for-mena-businesses/,"Qashio raises $2.5 million led by MSA Novo to launch enterprise expense management solution for MENA Businesses
United Arab Emirates, Dubai – 16 February 2022 – UAE-headquartered fintech business, Qashio has entered the MENA market on a strong note by raising USD 2.5 million in its pre-seed funding. Qashio’s enterprise-grade expense management platform enables business owners and finance leaders full visibility and control of all expenses.
Their dashboard integrates real-time tracking for every business expense and allows and enterprises and SMEs to make informed cash flow decisions. The pre-seed funding round is led by global VC firm, MSA Novo (over $1.5bn AUM), and supported by Rally Cap Ventures, Palm Drive Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, as well as regional strategic angels, entrepreneurs, and family offices. Executives from Grubtech, Danske Bank, Two Sigma, Xiaomi, and top global fintech companies participated in the round as well.
“Investing globally across b2b fintech platforms, we have monitored expense management players evolving across all major regions. Qashio is poised to be MENA’s breakout winner due to its founding team’s proven track record in building superior products and ability to execute in selling to enterprises. We are excited to partner with Qashio to impart best practices derived across other emerging tech markets.” said Seamon Chan, Palm Drive Capital.
Founded in 2021 by seasoned serial entrepreneurs Jonathan Lau and Armin Moradi, Qashio is a Fintech solution offering businesses a comprehensive enterprise expense management solution. Armin and Jonathan previously worked together while building Carriage, where they personally experienced the pain-point of expense tracking and management.
Qashio’s virtual cards combined with its software allows businesses to manage their spend in a more automated and transparent way, saving hundreds of man hours and reducing petty cash leakage in the process. Finance and HR departments benefit from better expense reporting, better visibility, control of cash flows and an empowered workforce.
Qashio has over 50+ customers, including Nana, Grubtech, Carasti & Swiss International Hotels. They have customers across UAE and KSA, and an expanding waitlist.
“Qashio’s software empowers us to have full control of our expenses and reduce our petty cash leakages. Integrating directly to our ERP system saves my finance team hundreds of hours as well!” – Abdulaziz Alshiha, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Al Shiha Holding & Swiss International Hotels.
With Qashio, Business Owners, CFOs, HR Leaders and finance teams can set spend limits on virtual & physical cards issued in seconds, limit and control spend categories and vendors. This eliminates the use of cash, avoids late expense claims, reduces the amount of work put into reimbursements and ultimately replaces manual invoicing and vendor /supplier payment.
Jonathan Lau and Armin Moradi, co-founders of Qashio commented, “Businesses in the MENA region have been operating with limited ability to issue cards and manage employee expenses. At Qashio, we are committed to help companies move away from all those manual finance processes and get more visibility and control by providing a secure, safe solution that is ready for enterprise grade deployment as well as SMEs.”
“We are committed to have a clear, easy and fast onboarding processes for brands with no long-term commitments or heavy monthly service fees” – Armin Moradi, CEO, Qashio.
The launch of Qashio is in line with UAE’s vision for the next 50 years to accelerate world-class digitization and adoption of ICT across aspects of the business.
The FinTech sector in the Middle East is growing rapidly with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30%. By 2023, it’s predicted that 800+ FinTech companies from sub-segments including payments, open banking, RegTech and compliance, smart lending, InsurTech, blockchain, and cybersecurity solutions for the financial industry (such as anti-money-laundering, anti-fraud, identity theft, identity management, and others) will raise over $2 billion in venture capital funding.
The funding will be used to expand the operations team and customer support, evolve the current features and integrations with additional fintech partners and rewards programs.
For more details on Qashio or for further advice on best practice spend management solutions visit www.qashio.com
- END –
Qashio is a comprehensive spend management platform and financial control center for the MENA businesses that provides transparency on their corporate expenses and payments with software-enabled cards and all-inclusive accounts payable automation. With Qashio’s comprehensive software set and overall support brands can control their finances, reduce expenses as well as identify areas of cash overspend.",1044,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662636717.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527050925-20220527080925-00626.warc.gz,0.93501341342926
6864bba2-e205-4ceb-96ab-8df5248d42f1,2018-08-19T09:27:43+00:00,2018-03-21,1,https://endmassincarcerationtogether.wordpress.com/tag/h-4043-s-2200/,"By Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 21, 2018….The six House and Senate lawmakers negotiating a complex overhaul of the state’s sentencing and criminal justice laws have reached a tentative agreement that is expected to be finalized before the end of the week, according to multiple sources.
The conference committee, led by Sen. William Brownsberger and Rep. Claire Cronin, has been privately negotiating the details of the bill since November.
The competing House and Senate bills (H 4043/S 2200) broadly seek to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to encompass 18-year-olds, repeal some mandatory minimums for drug offenses, address the use of solitary confinement and give judges greater leeway in sentencing street level drug-dealers.
Passage of a criminal justice bill in the coming weeks would mark a major accomplishment for lawmakers before they head into the state budget cycle. The emergence of a final legislative compromise could also make clear possible areas of policy differences between lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Baker.
House Majority Leader Ronald Mariano, one of the three House conferees, confirmed to the News Service that the group was nearing a final compromise.
“Things are progressing and there is reason to be optimistic that it will be resolved by the end of the week,” the Quincy Democrat said Wednesday.
Several other sources at the State House told the News Service Wednesday that copies of the finalized bill were being circulated among legal counsel for review, and the conference report could be signed by the conferees and filed with the Senate clerk’s office by Friday.
Brownsberger did not return a message left on his cellphone on Wednesday.
Gov. Charlie Baker was in Haverhill on Tuesday with a collection of local law enforcement officials and district prosecutors urging the House and Senate to use the criminal justice bill as a vehicle to tweak the state’s three-year-old fentanyl trafficking law to make it more enforceable by prosecutors.
Criminal justice reform advocates will also be watching closely to see how the Legislature approaches mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses.
Details of the tentative compromise were not immediately available on Wednesday.
Other lawmakers on the conference committee include Rep. Sheila Harrington, a Republican, and Sens. Cynthia Creem and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr.
Serving the working press since 1894",483,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215075.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819090604-20180819110604-00143.warc.gz,0.94624000787735
3ca9055e-ed83-482e-b949-7ccb1dbc4b6a,2015-04-01T05:58:09+00:00,1983-01-01,0,http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kinnear-edward-hore-6967,"This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, (MUP), 1983
This is a shared entry with Henry Humphrey Kinnear
Edward Hore Kinnear (1874-1965) and Henry Humphrey Kinnear (1876-1936), businessmen, were born on 27 October 1874 and 15 April 1876 at Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, sixth and seventh of nine children of George Kinnear (1826?-1902) from Nottinghamshire and his second wife Susannah Hamlyn, née Hore, from Devon, England. George Kinnear migrated to Melbourne in 1864 to establish a rope plant for James Miller & Co. He established his own Colonial Rope Works at Moonee Ponds in 1874, a small but lucrative business, specializing in lashings, clothes-lines and hayband. George Kinnear imported and designed advanced machinery and acquired a reputation for technical innovation, a quality shared by all four of his sons. But it was to Edward and Henry that the business was sold in 1899, for £340.
Edward left Essendon State School at 13 to help in the business. A teetotaller, he became an accomplished gymnast, cricketer, cyclist and footballer. Between 1894 and 1903 he played 159 games for Essendon Football Club, and was in three premiership teams. On 18 September 1901 at Essendon he married Jessie Frew Connelly. Henry was employed by a local newsagent and was later a station book-keeper before entering the family business. On 8 July 1902 at Essendon he married Charlotte Ethel Thrussell (d.1907) by whom he had a son and a daughter. On 19 January 1909 in Melbourne he married Linda Wilhelmina Alderson; they had one son.
Edward, the senior partner, superintended the manufacturing; Henry managed the office, later established a city headquarters and store, and specialized in buying raw materials and handling sales. Trading as George Kinnear & Sons, in 1902 they transferred the works to a larger site at Footscray. The enterprise expanded steadily through the Kinnears' innovative and aggressive organization and marketing, tariff protection and wartime demands. The workforce grew to some 200 in 1915. John McKellar's novel Sheep Without a Shepherd (Melbourne, 1937) contains an astringent portrait of the brothers in this pioneering phase. Kinnears' entered into price-fixing agreements with the other major Victorian ropemakers, Donaghy's and James Miller; these three with A. Forsyth & Co. of Sydney and an Adelaide firm acquired the West Australian Rope & Twine Co. Pty Ltd in 1914-15.
The Kinnears kept abreast of overseas advances: Edward travelled abroad, and his son Edward Hore (1902-1949) spent several years with James Mackie & Sons of Belfast. For a time the Kinnears enjoyed an Australian monopoly of Mackie's designs. The latest machinery was installed at Footscray, serviced, improved and duplicated by a modern engineering and fitting shop. By 1934 Kinnears had a soft fibre spinning mill and advanced plant for manufacturing industrial yarns and twists, sewing and shop twines and cordage; products were sold throughout Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands, the Straits Settlements and South Africa. When sanctions were imposed against Italy in 1935 Henry successfully encouraged partnership with James Miller in the reconstruction of the Australian flax growing and milling industry (Flax Fibres Pty Ltd). During World War II Kinnears' supplied the allied forces in the South-West Pacific, and the machine shops made gun, artillery and tank parts. After 1945 expansion occurred into synthetic fibres.
Edward and Henry's sons all served in the factory. From 1925 Henry junior understudied his father, and he and Edward junior joined the board. Henry senior died at St Kilda on 24 February 1936, survived by his children and second wife. A keen golfer and punter, he was regarded affectionately in business circles. Upon the death of Edward junior in 1949, Edward senior relied more on his sons James, sales manager, and George, factory manager. Members of the fourth generation now entered the business. Edward Kinnear senior retired as chairman of Kinnear Ropes (Australia) Ltd when he was 89. Aside from his business interests, which extended beyond ropemaking, he was an Essendon city councillor in 1911-34, a Melbourne Rotarian, and sometime vice-president of the Victorian Amateur Boxing and Wrestling Association.
Widowed in 1944, Edward in 1953 married Chrysanthe Pendergast. He died at his Essendon home Tooronga on 3 March 1965, survived by six children and his second wife, and was buried in Fawkner cemetery. He left an estate valued for probate at £77,580. In recent years Kinnears' became the major ropemaker in Australia.
John Lack, 'Kinnear, Edward Hore (1874–1965)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kinnear-edward-hore-6967/text12101, published first in hardcopy 1983, accessed online 1 April 2015.
This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, (MUP), 1983",1116,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00059-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967667877674103
7707954e-fbb2-47f3-be1b-70f291fbc053,2022-05-16T08:48:48+00:00,2022-03-27,0,https://fixmydecor.com/mattresses/best-quiet-mattresses-for-couples/,"Mattresses are essential parts of our lives. Not only is it the item you get home to at the end of a tiring day and depend on it to relax, but it is also where one shares romantic moments with your better half. Luckily, there’s a mattress in the market made to be quiet.
|1||Dourxi Crib and Toddler Mattress - Ideal Breathable & Quiet Foam Mattress Airflow Sleep Surface with...||758 Reviews||$119.63||Buy Now|
|2||Milliard Premium Memory Foam Hypoallergenic Infant Crib Mattress and Toddler Bed Mattress with...||4,768 Reviews||$79.99||Buy Now|
|3||Vaunn Medical Cloud Air Whisper Quiet Alternating Air Pressure Mattress Topper with Pump Twin Size...||1,224 Reviews||$59.99||Buy Now|
In this article, you’ll get to see all the information you should know about the best quiet brand in the market.
Review of our 7 best silent mattresses
So, if you want the right model of the mattress for intimacy, sleep, or anything else, continue reading.
Considerations in the best mattress for couples
- The firmness
- Best mattress brand for couple’s intimacy
- Weight requirements
- Isolation of motion
- Trial moments and returns
- The size
Purple California Hyper-Elastic Polymer Mattress
This brand of mattress integrates memory foam and polymer in its construction. Rather than the top layer having foam, as is popular with most memory foam brands, this 3-layered mattress has a unique hyper-elastic polymer grid.
This helps conform to your body and relieves pressure by distributing your body weight. Airflow is improved to ensure the mattress stays cool, thanks to the top layer lacking heat-retaining foam.
Furthermore, the polymer grid helps to reduce motion transfer. The polymer grid’s white powder coating is entirely safe. It’s mostly used for protecting the polymer grid when the product is compressed for packing and delivery.
For extra support, the base layer comes with 4-inches of 2 PCF high-density polyfoam. Its transitional layer is created with 3.5″ of 1.8 PCF polyfoam that offers a comfy sink level.
The breathable and softcover is created with 29 percent Viscose, Polyester 67 percent, and Lycra® Spandex 4 percent. A zipper permits easy access when taking it out for cleaning up.
You and your partner can choose California King, Queen, or King, based on your sleeping arrangements and weights. Purple King mattress does well at motion isolation, heat distribution, airflow, and pressure relief.
But it might not be the best brand for you and your partner as it comes with a 9.5-inch thin profile.
- Convenient shipping
- Pressure relief
- Multiple sizes
- Detachable cover
- Breathable and soft
- Air circulation technology
- Thin for big couples
Voila Box Hybrid Coil-Spring Latex Mattress, Gel-Infused Memory Foam
- ✅ UNMATCHED SUPPORT: 768-count five zone pocket coil technology to provide the...
- ✅ LUXURY SHOWROOM QUALITY: Ranked the #1 INNERSPRING MATTRESS BRAND. All the...
- ✅ BUY WITH CONFIDENCE: Our foams not only meet, but exceed the high...
The most popular materials used to make mattresses are coils, latex foam, and memory foam. Each of these materials comes with different weaknesses and strengths.
Coils provide high responsiveness, air circulation, and support level; however, they are ultimately susceptible to sagging.
Latex is good at dispersing heat, eco-friendly and organic. Memory foam is good at motion transfer pressure relief but retains heat. This mattress combines memory foam, polyfoam, and gel memory foam, latex, and innerspring.
It helps provide you with its best qualities while minimizing its respective disadvantages. The versatility shown by this mattress helps make it the best brand for couples with various preferences.
Voila, Box Luxury Hybrid Coil-Spring Latex has an 11-inch profile, multiple memory foam layers. This helps relieve pressure points, edge support thanks to polyfoam.
Also, there’s responsive latex foam that transmits the coils’ bounce beneath, acting as a transitional shock-absorber. This highly-rated product will accommodate each kind of sleeper.
It offers multiple sizes, which include Queen and King, three profiles, and plush, medium, and firm choices. The mattress manufacturer provides a 100 night’s sleep trial period and gives a donation of one mattress for every 10 they sell.
- Different sizes
- Regulation of heat
- Multiple layers
- 3 firmness choices
- Hybrid construction
King Koil California King Luxury Raised Air Mattress with Built-in Internal Pump
- King Koil is LUXURY. 1-year warranty provided by the manufacturer included in...
- Extra thick waterproof comfort quilt top with extra spinal support - firm...
- California king sized with coil-beam construction and a built-in 120v / 210w ac...
Picture a mattress you can take wherever to want. This superb mattress is the ideal car camping brand for outdoor fan couples.
The reason being it’s cheap, portable and you can set it up in the home, woods, on the beach to accommodate unannounced overnight visitors.
Another amazing thing about this model is you can regulate the amount of inflation to adjust the level of firmness to your preference.
The product has the best camping mattress rating for couples. This is because of its high weight capacity, 20-inch thick profile, and a fast inflation rate that requires less than 5 minutes.
Outdoor use is facilitated by an exterior safety valve and an integrated 120V AC internal pump. Its thick profile offers enough deep compression support for sustaining the high 270 kgs weight capacity.
This makes it most likely the best brand for big couples you can take with you anywhere you go. Additionally, it offers you the best comfort thanks to its built-in pillow and the quilted top with a full-flocked environmentally friendly PVC layer.
The mattress is also very effective at aligning the spinal. Outdoor sleeping makes this mattress susceptible to harsh natural elements and puncture.
To allay this, King Coil offers patch kits when you buy this model. For maximum protection, it has also made the suede cover waterproof.
- High weight capacity
- Interior pump
- Patch kits
- Fast inflation
- Waterproof cover
- You can adjust the level of firmness
- There’s a rubbery smell the first time you use buy it
LUCID 14 Inch Memory Foam Bed Mattress
- Dual memory foam layers on top of a supportive base create a medium-plush feel.
- 1-inch bamboo charcoal memory foam layer is quilted into a soft Tencel blend...
- Medium-plush, gel-infused memory foam hugs curves to relieve pressure, with...
This LUCID 14 Inch Memory Foam Bed Mattress offers you the ultimate comfort in bed.
It has a memory foam layer infused with antimicrobial bamboo charcoal dual comfort layers for a plush and soft sleep surface.
A sturdy base support thanks to its 10-inches of high-density polyfoam and dual comfort layers for a plush and soft sleep surface.
Also, a breathable cover created with polyester fabric and Tencel. It being hypoallergic too, Bamboo charcoal helps make the best mattress for big couples.
This is because of its superb ability to regulate heat, improve moisture, and wick moisture. This mattress adapts to the body curves to ease pressure points.
It also restricts restless partner’s motion transfer, and disperses the bodyweight evenly. If you and your partner sleep warm, you will also beneenjoy the 3-inch gel memory with an open-cell design to stop heat buildup.
You can also get this mattress in California King and Queen sizes to help in accommodating more space and sleeping preferences.
For convenient shipping, this product is compressed and vacuum-sealed inside a box. It is important that you wait for 2 days before you use it to allow it to expand completely.
This mattress may not be ideal for hefty people. This is because of the very thick profile, nearly plush level of firmness, and mostly memory foam construction. If you weigh over 100 kgs, you will probably sink in very deep and sleep very hot.
- Getting rid of the smell
- Thick profile
- Control of moisture and heat
- High-density base support
- Hypoallergic cover
- CertiPUR-US certification
- Sinks in a lot if you are heavy and sleeps warm
LUCID Hybrid Mattress – Bamboo Charcoal and Aloe Vera Infused Memory Foam
- Memory foam infused with bamboo charcoal eliminates odors and cradles your body...
- High-quality transition foam infused with aloe vera creates a calming and...
- Enduring and conformable medium-plush support is provided by...
For sturdy support, this mattress comes with a support layer of coil springs created with high-gauge steel. This model’s coils are wrapped separately to improve airflow.
These coils also offer nice bounce, and curb motion transfer from partners who sleep restlessly. There’s high-density polymer foam around the coils and beneath them to act as their springboard for edge support.
Being a hybrid type, in the comfort layer of the LUCID 12 Inch Hybrid Mattress, it also has memory foam infused using moisture-wicking bamboo charcoal for a smell-free, comfy, and cool sleeping surface.
In addition, you’ll wake up rejuvenated thanks to Aloe Vera in the transitional layer. Another good addition is the two natural cooling infusions. This helps prevents the buildup of heat popularly found in a memory foam mattress.
With the body-cradling pressure relief and comfort, medium-plush firmness, better support of innerspring coils, and a thick 12-inch profile, this mattress makes the perfect model for couples with various preferences.
The reason being, it’s well-equipped to accommodate an array of sleeping choices while reducing disruptions. Besides, you can get it in California King and Queen sizes.
- Refreshing Aloe Vera
- Motion isolation
- Moisture-wicking bamboo
- Smell free, comfy, and cool
- Excellent support
- The cover isn’t detachable
Swiss Ortho Sleep Individually Wrapped Pocketed Encased Coil Pocket Spring Contour Mattress
- Phenomenal High-Quality 12-Inch Certified Independently & Individually Wrapped...
- Each Seperate Pocketed Coil is Individually & Independantly Wrapped to Provide a...
- Our Signature Motion Isolation Pocketed Encased Coil Mattress is Made for...
This mattress is the perfect for you and your partner if you want the traditional feel and budget-friendly choice of a spring mattress. In the support layer of this mattress, there’s a 9-inches 13 gauge pocketed coil system.
Each coil is wrapped separately to curb motion and disperse your bodyweight evenly. This will help relieve pressure points and stop sleep interruption by avoiding motion transfer when your better half moves during the night.
The mattress durability gets impacted by coil gauge ratings. Many pocketed coil mattresses come with a gauge rating of between 14 and 17. A low rating model is best for big couples that denote thicker coils.
This helps your mattress accommodate the bulky weight. If the numbers are high, the coils are thicker, and the quicker they will wear out. This mattress can accommodate big couples easily, thanks to a 13 gauge rate.
When sleeping on this mattress, it will react to your pressure and temperature to support your body curves. The hypoallergenic bamboo cover offers effectiveness and durability at regulating temperature and absorbing sweat.
Additionally, bamboo is good at getting rid of smells. This mattress is firm with a 12-inch profile thickness.
It is made to handle the sleepers of different body weights and styles, which makes it one of the best models for those with different tastes.
You can get this model in King, California, and Queen sizes for more choices. You’ll get this mattress in a vacuum-sealed bag. After you have unpacked it, let up to 2 days for complete expansion.
- No inial smell
- High weight capacity
- Moisture and heal control
- Motion isolation
- Breathable cover
- Some buyers may feel it is too firm
Olee Sleep Galaxy Euro Box Top Spring Mattress
- Composed of 5 layers including pocket springs, the coils are 7.5 inch high to...
- Double Dura HD foam layers provides long-lasting support
- Gel infused memory foam regulates temperature while conforming to the body to...
It is perfect for those big couples who weigh at least 90 kgs. Weighty people create more sinkage because of their weight that exerts extra pressure.
They also retain more heat as fat is an insulator, and their bodies have a smaller surface area to volume ratio that doesn’t let heat escape easily.
To prevent this, these people require a sturdy and thick model that’s cool for comfort and excellent support. The mattress will deal with this by combining different foam types and coils to offer enough support.
These layers have 2- inches of high-density foam for supporting the base, 1.5 inches of foam for a comfy sleeping surface, and one inch of gel memory foam that disperses the body’s heat and promotes airflow.
The 7.5 inches of coils offer compression and edge relief, and pressure points relief. In addition, the pocket-wrapped Dura coils move separately to improve motion isolation, bounce, and air circulation.
A medium to firm model that’s at least 12-inches is perfect for weighty people. This mattress is adequately set for deep compression support with medium firmness and a 13-inch profile thickness.
This will help prevent you from sinking into the discomforting base layer and protect the mattress from warping. This mattress is a durable investment that also has a 2-inch washable cover.
This is to ensure the mattress stays clean though several buyers have complained that it’s very firm for them.
- Washable cover
- Compression and edge support
- Motion isolation
- Cooling gel memory foam
- Hybrid construction
- It May look too rigid for people weighing less than 90 kgs
Last update on 2022-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API",3177,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510097.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516073101-20220516103101-00200.warc.gz,0.904140591621399
cbcfa641-62bb-43a8-85bc-7487ad205d4f,2013-05-25T13:09:04+00:00,2013-05-25,0,http://theotaku.com/fanart/view/367696/master_at_pacman,"We now require registration to download high resolution fan art. Please take a few seconds to register absolutely free! Click here now. (Registering will also let you tell this artist how much you enjoy their work in the comments below.)
Pakku is an ace when it comes to arcade games. It should be no surprise that all the high scores on pacman at his local arcade belong to him.",80,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968419849872589
3ca291cf-b088-4ee4-9660-c2ec2342a955,2022-05-27T23:24:53+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://data.library.amnh.org/archives/repositories/resources?q%5B%5D=%2A&op%5B%5D=&field%5B%5D=title&from_year%5B%5D=&to_year%5B%5D=&limit=resource&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=Art+Survey&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=Mammals%2C+Fossil+--+Pictorial+works&sort=title_sort%20asc&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=Canidae%2C+Fossil+--+North+America+--+Pictorial+works,"Showing Collections: 1 - 1 of 1
Item — Folder: Knight, RF-94-B
Identifier: Art Survey no. 776
Scope and Contents
Three-quarter view of head and neck of a Miocene dog.
- Subject: Art Survey
- Subject: Mammals, Fossil -- Pictorial works
- Subject: Canidae, Fossil -- North America -- Pictorial works",102,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663006341.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527205437-20220527235437-00602.warc.gz,0.670417368412018
4f13918f-06b5-4512-960b-380c3b65c379,2020-10-24T09:27:25+00:00,2020-09-19,1,https://www.gnlm.com.mm/italy-defies-virus-for-vote-as-far-right-plots-seismic-change/,"ROME — Italians head to the polls Sunday — to the alarm of coronavirus experts — for a referendum and regional elections that could weaken the government and radically reshape the political landscape.
Just a week after a Herculean effort by schools to reopen in line with last-minute Covid-19 rules, classrooms across the country will be shut to pupils and transformed into ballot stations for the two-day vote.
A triumph for the far-right in this fiercely fought campaign would sound alarm bells in Brussels.
It will be the first test for Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s centre-left coalition government since it imposed an economically crippling nationwide lockdown to fight the virus, which has killed almost 36,000 people.
The referendum, on slashing the number of members of parliament — from 630 to 400 in the lower house, and 315 to 200 in the upper house — is expected to pass, though there has been a late uptick in the number of prominent ‘no’ declarations.
The cost-cutting reform is the brainchild of the co-governing Five Star Movement (M5S), but while its centre-left coalition Democratic Party (PD) partner and parties on the right are theoretically in favour, their support has been lacklustre at best.
– Uncertain future –
The regional battle is for governance of Campania, Liguria, Marche, Puglia, Tuscany, Valle d’Aosta and Veneto.
The right-wing coalition is set to easily retake Veneto and Liguria, and it could also snatch Marche and Puglia from the left.–AFP",337,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882103.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024080855-20201024110855-00097.warc.gz,0.941633462905884
3107308a-90a1-4c19-a7df-efe210f17eb1,2018-08-21T19:16:12+00:00,2018-01-31,1,http://iforsports.com/real-madrid-agree-to-let-star-leave-on-big-money-move-to-epl-giants/,"- Palmer points to teammate that Hamilton would love to have
- Alonso takes a dig at Honda and points to troubles for Toro Rosso
- Hamilton on why Mercedes will triumph in 2018 and it is not due to the W09
- Alonso reveals why he did not quit F1 despite leaning towards exit
- Vettel offers crisp reply to Ferrari critics
- Hamilton’s ‘oompa loompa’ ex-girlfriend reveals champion’s strange toilet demand
- Hamilton helps Mercedes bag sponsorship deal
- Verstappen responds to Wolff’s early season prediction
- Ferrari boss opens door to staying in F1 if Liberty Media follows instruction
- Halo not disturbing drivers’ vision, but glaring problem remains
- Updated: January 31, 2018
Manchester United manager has been a long-term admirer of Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, and it appears like the Portuguese manager has been given the green light by Florentino Perez to get his man if he can cough up £52million.
The France international was handed his debut for Real under Mourinho back in 2011 and the United boss has gone on record in the past admitting his admiration for the player.
Mourinho is said to be far from happy with the current options he has in defence with doubts over the futures of Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo’s, while Phil Jones and Eric Bailly have both had injury concerns this season.
A summer shake-up has also been proposed by Real president Florentino Perez at the Bernabeu after a disastrous La Liga title defence, with several top stars and boss Zinedine Zidane all tipped to leave.
Diario Gol has claimed that Mourinho has spoken with Perez about signing Varane and that the Real chief has agreed that the player can leave for £52 million.
You can argue that it is a reasonable price in the current market, as the player is undoubtedly very talented and at the age of just 24, already boasts of 40 caps for his country.
He hasn’t got the full support of his boss though, as Zidane has been hesitant to pick his fellow countryman at times this season.
A lot will now depend on how United shape-up defensively for the remainder of the season and whether Mourinho will feel the need to make changes in that area in the summer.",488,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218899.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821191026-20180821211026-00546.warc.gz,0.965095043182373
523d1ffa-5a66-4031-919a-b2af14702b42,2018-08-14T09:04:46+00:00,2015-07-14,0,https://disciplineandanarchy.wordpress.com/tag/refugees/,"The always insightful Flavia Dzodan (if you don’t follow her already, you should do so now) has pointed out on Facebook that while the whole world is concerned with one white dude’s asylum decision, hundreds and thousands of refugees are constantly dying trying to reach the EU, and no one pays attention. Their bodies remain mostly anonymous. Continue reading
- Highlight of the day: Thomas Piketty speaking in front of a full house. instagram.com/p/47BMwxnATZ/ 3 years ago
- An interesting article about a new conflict in higher ed, which is currently affecting my day job: ""But students... fb.me/6zEaR5S0T 4 years ago
- We made it work!!! #GameofThrones instagram.com/p/meLkGBHASR/ 4 years ago
- Life coach Andrew Frank now speaking at the win_nyc arts and culture event. instagram.com/p/k5ljLEnAf7/ 4 years ago
- New post on the blog on how young women are embracing feminism (or aren't they?), courtesy of Barnard College: fb.me/15uurYEog 4 years ago
Topics9/11 abortion advertising anders behring breivik antje schrupp apocalypse art asylum biology birth control burqa children contraception crisis discrimination dominique strauss-kahn equal marriage europe facebook false allegations far-right movement feminism flavia dzodan france gabrielle giffords gender across borders gender equality germany greece guest blogger hellraiser hollywood homosexuality horror immigration internship islamophobia julian assange literature mama grizzly marine le pen masculinity migration military movies neoliberalism political correctness post-gender postfeminism postmodernism privilege pro-choice queer theory racism rape rape culture refugees religion roma sarah palin sexism sexuality social media sweden terrorism thilo sarrazin tunisia tv unemployment united nations united states violence wilchins women's quota women's work
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.",453,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221208750.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814081835-20180814101835-00442.warc.gz,0.785007059574127
f5c8405b-90b2-459c-b4c2-347df239d770,2015-03-31T09:51:42+00:00,2010-02-17,1,https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2010/INT021710A.htm,"WEST AFRICAN OIL PRODUCERS
Oil Offers Hope of Middle-Income Status for Ghana
IMF Survey online
February 17, 2010
- Gold, cocoa exports helped economy weather global crisis
- Oil coming on stream in 2011, could bring middle-income status in 10 years
- $600 million IMF loan has boosted reserves, strengthened currency
In the next few years, Ghana will become an oil producer.
If the country uses its new-found oil wealth wisely, it stands the chance of achieving middle-income status within ten years, according to the IMF’s latest analysis.
Ghana is one of Africa’s frontier emerging markets, having entered the global capital market for the first time in September 2007. Its past wealth lay in gold and cocoa―commodities that have remained in high demand, and which have helped the country weather the recent global recession.
Despite Ghana’s favorable long-term prospects, it faced an external financing crisis in 2008-09. Highly expansionary budget policies ahead of the 2008 elections boosted inflation and eroded its international reserve position. A slump in foreign exchange inflows linked to the global financial crisis made things worse. At the government’s request, the IMF put together a three-year lending arrangement of $600 million in mid-2009 to strengthen Ghana’s international reserves. Linked to tighter budget policies, this worked well. Ghana’s currency recovered its strength, and inflation began to fall.
In this interview, the IMF’s mission chief for Ghana, Peter Allum, talks about the prospects for Ghana.
IMF Survey online: What has been the impact of the global economic crisis on Ghana?
Allum: Ghana has been affected, but less so than many other frontier emerging markets. Private remittances from those working abroad has fallen by about a fifth, and foreign direct investment has fallen to a four-year low. At the same time, global economic uncertainty has led to a slump in the domestic construction industry.
But unlike a lot of African commodity exporters, Ghana has been very fortunate that its two main exports, gold and cocoa, fared very well during the global recession. Global demand and prices for both have remained very strong and that has helped it weather the recession better than most countries.
At the same time, Ghana doesn’t have a very large manufacturing base, unlike South Africa, so it hasn’t been affected by the slump in manufacturing trade globally. And its financial sector is also relatively insulated from the global financial system.
So while growth has slowed, it’s still in the 4 percent range, down from 7 to 8 percent in 2008. For Africa as a whole, we’re projecting growth of 1 percent in 2009, so it’s substantially higher than Ghana’s peers in Africa.
IMF Survey online: Ghana was recently granted an IMF loan of $600 million. How is it using those resources?
Allum: We agreed on a new loan of $600 million in the middle of 2009 that will be dispersed over a three-year period. The loan has helped strengthen the international reserve position of the central bank. That in turn has brought greater confidence in Ghana’s balance of payments and has helped avoid the currency depreciation and associated inflation that we saw in 2008 and the first half of 2009.
At the same time, the fact that the IMF is willing to stand behind Ghana’s economic program has made it easier for the World Bank to move quickly in 2009 to make its own loan of $300 million. The IMF-supported program has also encouraged bilateral donors to continue with their funding.
IMF Survey online: What are the main challenges facing Ghana?
Allum: Ghana’s problems are mostly homegrown. The government had a very expansionary fiscal policy in 2008 ahead of the national elections, with the fiscal deficit expanding to 15 percent of GDP or more.
With stronger expenditure management in 2009, the deficit was substantially reduced. But that remains far too high. At current levels, the public debt is still rising rapidly, and heavy budget borrowing from the banking system is keeping interest rates high and taking money away from potential corporate investment.
""Ghana has been very fortunate that its two main exports, gold and cocoa, fared very well during the global recession.""
Bringing down inflation represents another challenge. Inflation has historically has been higher in Ghana than in other African countries The government got it down to about 10 percent at the end of 2007, but then as a result of the global food and fuel price increases, it rose through 2008 and in 2009 to about the 21-22 percent range. But it’s started to come down again now.
IMF Survey online: You mentioned cocoa and gold. Will those two sectors be the main source of growth and jobs in the years to come?
Allum: It will help the economy, but the areas which have been growing fastest in the recent past have been the financial services sector and communications. And those two sectors have been core areas of growth throughout Africa, and it’s quite likely that that will continue in Ghana also.
Ghana also has prospects to expand its commercial farming sector, but that partly depends on improving its transport link from the interior to the coast.
But the big story for Ghana is that oil production will start in 2011, and that will lead to quite a substantial increase in output. Now that won’t create many jobs in and of itself. It’s a very capital-intensive industry and the oil is based offshore so a lot of those jobs are going to be expatriate jobs. But it will generate a substantial boost in revenues for the government—we estimate in the range of 6 to 7 percent of GDP. If that money is used wisely, it could lead to a substantial improvement in Ghana’s infrastructure and its competitiveness, and that could lead to further growth and job creation.
IMF Survey online: We know from experience that oil resources aren’t always used wisely. How do you think Ghana will manage?
Allum: The perceived wisdom is that resources can be a curse for economies. When you look at oil exporters, they have not always seen the benefits in terms of stronger growth and improved living standards. But when you look closely at resource exporters, there are some that have done very well. For example, Botswana has moved into middle-income country status on the back of diamond exports even though it’s a landlocked country.
""The big story for Ghana is that oil production will start in 2011, and that will lead to quite a substantial increase in output.""
The difference seems to be in the quality of the economic and political institutions. To use resources well, you need a system that can look to the long term and invest wisely, rather than using the resources to satisfy interest groups. Ghana has a well-developed democracy. We hope that it will enable the country to identify a consensus on its developmental needs. And its budgeting system, although it needs substantial improvement, is better than in many countries in Africa.
We will be working with the government within the framework of the IMF-supported program to reduce the fiscal deficit substantially in 2010 and 2011. That will be important to ensure that the oil revenues, when they come on stream, can be used to finance new projects and programs rather than just being used to finance the fiscal deficit.
IMF Survey online: You have served as mission chief for Ghana since 2008. What is your take on the country’s future?
Allum: Ghana has always stood out as one of the more promising countries in Africa, and that has been reflected in the attention that they’ve got. President Obama’s visit in June 2009 signaled international recognition of their success on the democratic front, having achieved a peaceful democratic transition now on two occasions, in 2000 and in 2008. That can only help bring attention and business interest to Ghana.
But it’s also a country which is still struggling with a very high level of poverty. You see that on the streets. There’s a lot of people in very marginal jobs, selling products from the side of the road to cars and a lot of small businesses.
Yet when you look at the aggregate statistics, Ghana is one of the countries in Africa which has managed to achieve quite strong rates of growth. The business sector is doing relatively well. And although there are overall capacity constraints and quality issues and staffing within the government, there are a large number of very bright people working in the ministries. That offers quite a bit of hope for Ghana’s future.",1780,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00156-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96372640132904
220e96af-c287-400a-830a-b6df99869a80,2017-08-20T23:01:03+00:00,2010-06-30,0,http://sntidwellfam.blogspot.com/2010/06/,"Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
There is A LOT to post about but I have no time for that right now. First we have to figure out what to name baby boy #3--I refuse to be calling him ""baby"" for the next several months because his father & I can't think of anything good. We are pretty traditional, we want something that isn't too trendy & will fit with the other two kiddos (jason & ryan). The middle name will most likely be Jack, Joseph, or Paul after our grandfathers. Take the poll, leave comments...help us PLEASE!",130,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106996.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820223702-20170821003702-00402.warc.gz,0.977327942848206
ef2ea523-0b1d-4999-9acc-ca39c962adbd,2015-03-31T15:33:56+00:00,2012-09-28,0,http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/leadership/6981,"Kizer awarded for contributions to occupational and environmental medicine
Kenneth W. Kizer, director of the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement, received the Rutherford T. Johnstone Award for outstanding contributions to the field of occupational and environmental medicine at the Western Occupational Health Conference, held in San Francisco last week. The award is presented annually by the Western Occupational & Environmental Medical Association.
Kizer, a distinguished professor in the UC Davis School of Medicine (Department of Emergency Medicine) and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis, was recognized for his outstanding service to the specialty of occupational medicine in a number of areas, including his contributions to diving and undersea medicine, emergency medical services systems development and emergency management, military veterans' health issues, health promotion and disease prevention.
In his Rutherford T. Johnstone Award lecture, entitled ""Health Care Reform, Population Health, and the Future of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,"" Kizer spoke about how occupational medicine specialists are well-positioned to play larger roles in the future of American health care because of their unique position at the crossroads of the employer, employee and health-care system.
He specifically addressed the need for better and more granular data about the role of the workplace as a cause or contributor to acute and chronic illnesses and the impact of job-related injuries and illnesses on population health and American worker productivity.
Kizer emphasized the need for greater health-data connectivity between and among worksite health-care settings and other health-care providers and the importance of broader engagement among occupational medicine specialists and other health-care providers and payers, especially in disability management and health promotion where occupational medicine practitioners often have unique expertise. He also spoke about the role of occupational medicine specialists in promoting greater understanding of the many determinants of health and the multiple ways they can work with employers to influence these determinants.
The Institute for Population Health Improvement (IPHI) is an independent operating unit within the UC Davis Health System that, among other things, manages the California Cancer Registry, administers multiple chronic disease surveillance and prevention programs for the California Department of Public Health, and partners with the California Department of Health Care Services on the Medi-Cal Quality Improvement Program and various health-care reform programs. Recently, IPHI assumed responsibility for managing the state's health information exchange development program, now known as California Health eQuality.",482,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300735.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00290-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949871897697449
c8d0a9d7-af36-492c-bf09-199a1abb8c44,2015-03-30T22:58:40+00:00,2012-01-20,1,http://en.tengrinews.kz/politics_sub/Russia-refuses-to-budge-on-Syria-sanctions--6792/,"Russia said on Friday it strongly disagreed with changes to its draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria that are being promoted by Western states, AFP
""Unfortunately, the West's approach radically differs from ours,"" Deputy Foreign Minister Gannady Gatilov was quoted as saying by Interfax.
""Judging by the contents of their proposed amendments, their goal is clearly aimed at removing (President Bashar) al-Assad's regime in Damascus,"" he said,
Russia and China vetoed a European resolution on Syria in October but Moscow surprised the Security Council two months later by proposing its own resolution condemning violence by both the government and opposition.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week accused Russia of refusing to negotiate changes to its draft that would also suit Western nations by placing blame for the 10-month crackdown on Assad.
Gatilov said Russia firmly insisted that any UN action rules out the possibility of foreign military involvement in the conflict and highlights the violence being committed by both sides.
""Their position attempts to completely and wholly place the blame on the Syrian government and in every way possible absolve the actions of the armed opposition.""
He added however that Russia would enter new consultations on the draft at the Council within the coming days.",248,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00217-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97593742609024
ba679cdc-7b4d-4ced-ae04-28d564a38eff,2013-05-22T14:34:24+00:00,2012-02-29,1,http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20075080,"With a long-standing federal deadline breathing down its neck, California's polarizing $100 billion bullet train suddenly got a much-needed reprieve Wednesday when the Obama administration eased the target date for starting construction.
For years, state high-speed rail leaders aimed for a September 2012 groundbreaking to meet the assumed deadline for the federal stimulus program, which funded about one-third of the $6 billion first leg of track.
But in a statement Wednesday, federal rail officials said the train ""is making continual progress"" and for the first time revealed that the law does not specifically require a deadline to start construction. Technically, it mandates the funds be ""obligated"" by September, and for the project to be finished by September 2017.
State rail officials still hope to start building by the end of the year but could begin in early 2013, giving them extra time to work on an unprecedented project that some state and local leaders fear was being rushed to meet the federal deadlines.
""If this is the first step down a $100 billion path, it better be the right first step,"" said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, one of the lawmakers who has called for the project to slow down. ""I think it's important for all of us to resist being hurried into a decision we might later regret, given the multibillion-dollar consequences.""
At its Thursday board meeting, the California High-Speed Rail Authority will detail
The desire for a delay is hardly a surprise for an agency with a humongous workload and a reputation for missing deadlines. The biggest question was whether the U.S. government would allow it, because the stimulus program had set deadlines to create jobs quickly.
A lot of work remains, however. In recent months, Gov. Jerry Brown's appointees overhauled the project twice, while planners tweaked track alignments in response to community concerns. They still haven't finished two key documents needed before construction can start: the business plan and state environmental impact reports. On Thursday, they'll start the process of soliciting the first $1.5 billion to $2 billion in construction bids for the initial set of tracks.
But rail authority deputy director Lance Simmens said the project remains ""on schedule.""
""Let's not get too carried away with the dates here. It's not like, 'Oh my god, you guys have missed (the groundbreaking) by a year,' "" Simmens said. ""It's a daunting task, and a daunting challenge, to say the least. But we're moving forward in the most cost-effective and efficient way we know how.""
Still, critics took the news as further evidence that the project is spiraling downward. Support has waned since the cost tripled and the opening of full service between San Francisco and Anaheim was pushed to 2034. Major concerns remain about the source of the rest of the funding, expected rider counts and the tracks' effects on communities along the route.
""We're having to restart or reconstruct a whole project model in a very short time frame,"" said Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, who is helping lead a GOP charge against the train. ""I think with how it's progressing, this was predictable. The project is having a lot of issues.""
Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705.",684,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957492589950562
113dfdfb-9362-4694-9c64-0cced24847c9,2020-10-27T12:34:40+00:00,2019-11-30,1,https://nationalinterest.org/feature/prioritize-plan-americas-navy-must-come-first-104602,"Last month, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan marked its eighteenth year and November 24 marked three years since the first American casualty in Syria’s civil war. As these conflicts drag on, America’s endless wars deserve closer examination. But it’s not enough to say the wars should end; we need to reconsider the ideas that drive them. The concept of overextension in particular needs elaboration.
Defenders of the bipartisan status quo are pushing back on flagging public support for their policies. Their favored tactic is to label those who wish to end these failed policies as “isolationists” regardless of whether they support trade and diplomacy. One could more effectively make the case that the supporters of endless wars themselves are the isolationists for how their policies isolate the United States in the international community and isolate Washington from the will of the people.
These wars are so unpopular in Europe and here at home that they sap support for international endeavors more broadly. These foreign misadventures are diminishing global trust in the strategic leadership of the United States. The refugee crisis exacerbated by the U.S.-supported state failures in Libya, Iraq, and Syria is one of the most divisive elements in European domestic politics today and a source of opposition to American diplomatic efforts.
What these misguided attempts to reorder the Middle East demonstrate is that being everywhere at all times is less of a forward defense than an over-extension. The American position in Syria is the most recent example of how dramatically such policies can backfire. U.S. bases set up without the permission of the government of Syria were easily swept into irrelevance by Turkish intervention in the region. America might be the dominant world power, but in these wars, all politics is local. Turkey, like Iran, is a permanent fixture of the region; isolated inland American bases are not. When push comes to shove, American presence will give way to the superior resources and more direct interests of nearby powers.
The precarity of the American presence in Afghanistan is an even more compelling case. Far inland from any port or vital U.S. security interest, U.S. presence is dependent on the goodwill of an extremely unreliable arrangement with Pakistan for its logistic sustainability. This greatly constrains policy options and leaves U.S. forces in a vulnerable position compared to regional powers including China and Russia.
An alternative, more concurrent with U.S. geography, is to rely more on naval power. If used correctly, naval power offers freedom of action to choose one’s engagements and friends. The United States is uniquely situated to use the seas as highways and defensive moats. Compared to land power, naval power is remarkably efficient in terms of expense and troops needed to enact its objectives. Navies need not be as large as armies, which makes them more affordable for taxpayers, especially today as manpower costs soar. Navies are more rapidly deployable over large stretches of space than large conventional land forces. Furthermore, a majority of trade today continues to be conducted over the oceans and not overland.
For a country as strong as the United States, the entire western hemisphere is a potentially defensible supercontinent. Our vital interests are far more connected to maintaining the economic and logistical development of this resource-rich land than to policing foreign countries far afield. If the United States remains an industrial, agricultural, and financial power, then the inherent geographic advantages of wealthy and naturally defensible North America guarantee a secure position in the western hemisphere. And this strong position of regional hegemony secures a sustainable anchor for American diplomacy.
The biggest danger to any great power is other great powers, be they naval or land. But as we have seen in recent history, America’s forward deployments in Eurasia are far more of a weakness than strength in this regard. The flexibility of maritime advantages that peer competitors do not have is our competitive advantage in great-power politics. Stretching ourselves thin with excessive land deployments is strategically reckless.
Naval powers must prioritize diplomacy and not military bases as the first line of defense in foreign affairs. The necessity of integrating port cities through legal structures and standardized shipping practices encourage cordial ties with trading partners and productive negotiations to resolve local rivalries. Functioning as a remote, naval power would allow the United States to keep a greater sense of distance from regional conflicts, which would make Washington more welcome as a dispute arbiter and trusted bilateral. A distant powerful country is almost always viewed as less of a threat than one with troops nearby.
A naval-centric approach that plays to America’s geographic strengths will better protect American power and defense interests across the world in the long-term. Such a strategic redirection would end the present bipartisan addiction to endless war and could free up political will and taxpayer resources for the true keys to American power: domestic prosperity, first-rate infrastructure, and technological innovation. It would devote limited defense resources to strategic priorities and ensure Washington always has time to meet challenges with sobriety and restraint.
Christopher Mott is an international relations specialist and author of The Formless Empire: A Short History of Diplomacy and Warfare in Central Asia.",1048,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894175.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027111346-20201027141346-00368.warc.gz,0.937487661838532
d77fcd78-db75-4dc2-9ab3-102184c24553,2015-03-30T10:39:39+00:00,2015-03-30,0,http://fols4332@plattsburgh.edu/academics/commdisorders/internships.php,"- Campus Life
- Cost & Aid
- News & Events
- About Plattsburgh
Graduate students at SUNY Plattsburgh are expected to complete clinical practicum hours at two sites, the Speech and Hearing Center and an additional off-campus site. Students select off-campus internship sites with faculty guidance and must obtain departmental approval. There is great flexibility in choosing an off-campus internship site, in terms both of location and of type of facility. This allows you to tailor your practicum experiences to best meet your professional goals and interests.
Internships can take place at a wide variety of facilities, including hospitals, public schools, private schools, rehabilitation centers, private practices, United Cerebral Palsy Associations, and early intervention sites. Students who are sure of their interests, can begin to specialize by choosing a site that deals specifically with their interest area. For students who are not clear about their future objectives the internship provides an excellent opportunity to explore a variety of areas. We are more than willing to accommodate you if you want to work in several external sites.
The Center currently has affiliation agreements with over sixty facilities to allow us to place students with them. Many of our students choose to complete their internships in the area around Plattsburgh. We have close relationships with numerous local supervisors who welcome our students on a regular basis.
""Working with and evaluating patients with dysphagia has helped me apply what I have learned in class and has helped me develop a greater understanding of the evaluation and treatment of dysphagic patients. Having the opportunity to participate and observe in the videofluoroscopy of patients has been such a terrific learning experience and will be a great benefit to me in the future.""
""Both my supervisor and other professionals made me feel welcome and valued... I enjoyed the variety of the caseload and the fast pace of the school day. I quickly learned the importance of classroom management and providing structure for students.""
""My supervisor's style is laid back with constant positive and constructive feedback. She is very helpful when I am stuck on how to word a report, progress in therapy, etc. There is no pressure to be 100% correct all the time. It is a conducive learning experience and in just these 3 weeks, I would feel extremely comfortable working in a nursing home setting.""
""I liked working with the nursery school population and treating severely impaired and special needs children. Until this experience, I had not considered working with this population. However, I found it very rewarding as well as fun.""
""I have learned that I have a lot more skills than I thought I had. Everything that I have learned over the past few years tied together to make sense during this experience.""
""I have welcomed [the student]'s knowledge of current educational and research findings, which she has brought with her into this setting and used to supplement her work with children.""
""Your students appear to be very prepared academically.""
If you would like more information about communication disorders and sciences at SUNY Plattsburgh please contact:
Raymond Domenico, Chair
Office: Sibley Hall 226
Phone: (518) 564-3154",648,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00234-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962484359741211
2d03e088-17e1-4ecf-a767-54404609389e,2022-05-19T22:07:59+00:00,2021-03-15,1,https://thetechnewssource.com/nasa-jpls-perseverance-mars-rover/,"On July 30, 2020, an Atlas V 541 launched a new Mars rover, named by Alexander Mather, a seventh grader, as Perseverance. The launch went off without a hitch (unless you count California earthquakes as hitches), and Perseverance in its aeroshell zoomed off towards our red neighbor to collect scientific data about possible life.
Seven months later, Perseverance has begun its mission on Mars after a successful landing using a very new system. The landing system had only been used on one prior mission, Curiosity’s mission in 2013. This landing system is the sky crane, a rocket powered crane that lowers the rover down to the surface gently and then flies away to make sure no debris hits the rover and damages it. This system allowed for heavier rovers to be sent to Mars and for more science to be done.
Perseverance is the newest rover to be sent to Mars, one of the trifecta of spacecraft sent to Mars in the Hohmann Transfer Window of 2020. It has many new systems that will be able to help it complete the experiments that it is tasked with. One of these new systems is a new drill that drills out chunks of the ground in small pipes and examines them as one piece instead of examining dirt like Curiosity does. This is very effective to find the age of different parts of soil or rock being drilled into as it preserves the layers.
Perseverance’s mission is about finding ancient life on Mars through looking at the lower layers of sediment. On Earth, if you look lower into the Earth, you can see signs of the dinosaurs and ocean animals across the surface, and scientists are assuming the same with Mars. Perseverance will drill into the surface and bring the dirt back in one big chunk so the small laboratory underneath can perform an experiment to find ancient life forms or signs of ancient life.
Perseverance also brought a friend along, named Ingenuity. Ingenuity is a small helicopter that was placed underneath the rover. The helicopter sent back its first systems report a week ago and is soon to be attempting its first flight. Its mission is to see if we can fly on Mars. The first flight will consist of a short hop with Ingenuity and Perseverance taking photos of each other. After that, Ingenuity will come and set itself down right were it started.
Perseverance’s mission is supposed to last a few years, but with how NASA JPL’s last rover’s have gone, I suspect that it will last for a much longer time. It’s route will take it to the mouth of the ancient river bed that is Jezero crater. After that, it will travel around the bank of the lake that filled the crater. Finally it will examine the edge of the crater to look at the lower layers of the Martian surface that were pushed up due to the asteroid that hit the surface. The next few years will be filled with lots of great science coming from the Martian soil, and it will be interesting to watch it unfold.",629,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662530066.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519204127-20220519234127-00418.warc.gz,0.96376234292984
ccb756d7-2b3f-481e-bed8-57f2b06dd72f,2015-03-30T23:02:02+00:00,2014-02-04,1,http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-launches-americans-for-marriage-equality-communications-war-room,"HRC Launches Americans for Marriage Equality Communications War Room
February 4, 2014 by HRC staff
HRC is launching a Communications War Room for Americans for Marriage Equality – a coalition to advance marriage equality nationwide and provide up-to-the-minute information for lawmakers, legal experts, media, and grassroots supporters. Following the defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 last year, new marriage equality battles are underway in the courts, at the ballot and in public education campaigns. HRC is launching Americans for Marriage Equality to give national support and leadership to the next phase in the push to win marriage equality nationwide.
Americans for Marriage Equality will offer communications resources to local, state, and national efforts for marriage equality; serve as a national platform for sharing the latest information and tools; and provide access to a full-time, bipartisan war room staff. The war room effort will be run out of HRC and led by Democratic and Republican strategists Olivia Alair of SKDKnickerbocker and Brian Jones of Black Rock Group. Allied organizations will be invited to join the coalition and send staff to work hand in hand to share information among all members.
In the coming weeks, Americans for Marriage Equality will launch a “Playbook-style” morning tipsheet with the latest national marriage equality news and developments in state-level legislation, ballot measures, and court cases. The coalition will showcase the diverse array of marriage equality supporters and a new website will soon serve as a one-stop hub for news, polling, and other resources. The coalition also plans to begin hosting events and opportunities for partners and media to learn more about the status of current legislative and judicial efforts underway in states around the nation.
“Our nation is at a turning point, and while a growing bipartisan majority of Americans believe that everyone should be able to marry the person they love, we still have crucial battles ahead to ensure marriage equality becomes the law of the land in all 50 states,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “That’s why we are launching a new communications operation to promote marriage equality: to lift up every voice and every ally in this fight and show that the country is ready for marriage. HRC will bring the best minds from across the nation together and provide every resource we can to end discrimination against loving gay couples once and for all. We will also launch resources to help keep lawmakers, legal experts, and news media informed about developments across the nation.”
The concept for Americans for Marriage Equality was borne out of a successful coalition effort in 2013, designed to support marriage equality against the backdrop of two historic U.S. Supreme Court cases challenging DOMA and Prop 8. HRC co-chaired the coalition of more than 100 organizations that worked to keep lawmakers, media, and allied organizations and grassroots supporters abreast of marriage equality developments – both at the Supreme Court and in state legislative battles across the country. Over that time period from late 2012 to June of 2013, ABC News/Washington Post polling showed that national support for marriage equality rose from 51 percent to 57 percent.
February 18, 2015
February 14, 2015
February 16, 2015
February 18, 2015",651,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00192-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.940608859062195
8cb2e864-01a7-488f-8989-9661f3b8beda,2018-08-20T21:18:37+00:00,2018-02-26,1,https://www.isasouthern.org/tree-climbing-championship,"Southern Chapter Tree Climbing Championship
April 6 & 7, 2019
Saturday, 7:30 am-6:00 pm >> Preliminaries
Sunday, 8:00 am - 2:00 pm >> Masters' Challenge
The Southern Chapter Tree Climbing Championship (SOTCC) is an annual competition designed to test the professional skills of the region's working arborists. The SOTCC promotes safe working practices, demonstrates improvements and innovations in techniques and equipment, and provides industry recognition to the general public.
The preliminary events test a competitor's ability to quickly, professionally, and safely perform work-related tree-care tasks. Competitors with the highest scores during the preliminary events move on to compete in a final event called the Masters' Challenge. The Masters' Challenge winner is named the champion, and then goes on to represent the Southern Chapter at the International Tree Climbing Championship.
Volunteers with no ties to contestants are needed as judges and technicians for the competition. CEUs are available for volunteering.
(as of February 26, 2018)
@ Height | ACRT Inc. | ArborMaster Training Inc. | Arbor MD | Arborwear | Asplundh Tree Expert Co. | Bartlett Arborist Supply | Bishop Co. | Buckingham Mfg. | CMI | Davey Tree / Wolf Tree | Ferrell Tree | Forestry Suppliers Inc. | Heartwood | Jones Bros | Lewis Tree | Mister Tree | North American Training Solutions | Pinnacle Arborist | Red Trail Tree Service | Samson | Sherrill Tree | Southco Industries Inc. | Teufelberger | The Arbor Experts | The Townsend Corporation | Total Tree Care | Trees LLC | TreeStuff | TrueWerks | Urban Forestry | Vermeer Heartland | Wright Tree Service
Interested in sponsoring, contact the SOTCC chair, Scott Winningham.",378,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217006.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820195652-20180820215652-00171.warc.gz,0.887373268604279
8643bcd5-2a85-44ca-87a4-7278ded50006,2013-06-19T14:21:53+00:00,2012-04-11,1,http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/296235/making-progress-tennessee-carrie-severino,"Tennessee is closer than ever to adopting a method of judicial selection that every Tennessean could be proud of.
Yesterday afternoon, the Tennessee Senate approved by voice vote an amendment (SJR 710) that would bring Tennessee’s judicial-selection method more in line with the U.S. Constitution, by allowing the governor to appoint judges with confirmation by the legislature. The amendment seeks to obviate the criticism most frequently leveled against the federal method — that it facilitates obstruction — by establishing that “confirmation by default occurs if the Legislature fails to reject an appointee within sixty calendar days of either the date of appointment.”
The measure has the support of Governor Haslam and House Speaker Harwell, who requested some of the particular language. Before final passage, it must be read twice more in the Senate and approved by the House. In the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Ramsey and Senate Majority Leader Norris have both pledged to pass SJR 710 as part of a deal with Leader Norris. The House is expected to take action on and conform a companion to SJR 710 in committee today, with further action on the floor soon thereafter.
As I have been reporting, state officials in Tennessee have been engaged in a very intense debate over the direction the state should take when it comes to picking judges. Some want elections, some want the Missouri Plan, and some want the federal method. A broad coalition of organizations have weighed in to support a modified federal method, believing that it is the consensus option and the only method that can garner the level of support necessary to amend the state constitution.
We are happy to be part of that coalition, which includes traditional-values advocates like the Family Action Council of Tennessee and the Tennessee Eagle Forum, free-market advocates Americans for Prosperity–Tennessee, and the non-partisan business coalition Tennesseans for Economic Growth. I expect others from the business community and the conservative community to join in support of SJR 710 as it advances.
We will know a lot more in the next few days. If all comes to fruition as we hope, conservatives across the country should thank Governor Haslam and Tennessee’s legislative leaders for taking a principled position on the important issue of judicial selection.",455,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951186954975128
9dd90412-b2c0-4a26-a5c6-05531b7a5be5,2016-07-23T09:18:30+00:00,2012-02-01,1,http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/02/report_michigan_schools_have_a.html,"LANSING – Michigan students are falling further behind their peers in other states on national exams, with “alarming and persistent” problems across income levels and race, according to a report issued today by an education advocacy group.
Black students particularly are struggling, with Michigan students ranking last among the 45 states reporting fourth-grade reading results on a national standardized test.
“We are completely failing these students as a state,” said Amber Arellano, executive director of Education Trust-Midwest.
“It’s easy to use poverty as an out. And poverty does have an impact. But really, it exacerbates the deficiencies that already are there.”
A report by the Royal Oak-based advocacy group shows that while state leaders have taken steps to improve Michigan schools in the past year, it will take years for most of those changes to have an impact and come as state students are falling further behind.
The group last year sparked changes to state MEAP test standards after proclaiming the state was “lying to parents” by inflating the scores on the exams. Its leaders have since worked with state agencies preparing a new teacher evaluation system.
Education Trust-Midwest compared how Michigan students were performing on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, an exam offered to samples of students across the country, with children in other states.
Since 2003, Michigan’s ranking among the 50 states dropped from 28 to 35 in fourth-grade reading and from 27 to 41 in fourth-grade math.
Eighth-grade students fared better but still dropped, falling from 27th to 28th in reading and from 34th to 36th in math.
While children living in poverty are hit the hardest, Arellano said students in upper-income households also are losing ground compared to students in other states.
“Michigan’s performance problem goes far beyond our communities of color,” reads the report, released today. “Our white students are sinking to the bottom of the national academic ladder as well. They now trail 34 other states on the fourth-grade reading national examination. While other states’ white students have been making significant gains in learning, our white students remain stagnant.”
Arellano said higher income students’ achievement continues to decline compared to other states, from ranking 24th in 2003 to 35th in 2011 in fourth-grade reading. In eighth-grade math, more well-off students dropped from being ranked 34th in 2003 to 43rd last year.
While black fourth-graders were ranked last among states reporting results, eighth-graders performed only slightly better. Michigan black students are ranked 34th out of 43 states in reading, and 42nd of 43 in math.
Arellano said inner-city students typically have lower-quality teachers, attend schools that have fewer financial resources and less instructional support and are generally more chaotic.
“In poor areas, the moms and dads may not read well, either,” Arellano said. “They might not have a car or are working two jobs just to feed their families. When you combine all these things, is it really very shocking that we’re getting these results?”
Arellano said many state observers, policymakers, school leaders and teachers “tend to lay blame, rather than take meaningful steps to fix the problems.”
“The conventional wisdom in Michigan holds low-income, and black and brown children responsible for our state’s low average – and assumes middle-class and white children are doing just fine. Indeed, this belief is so prevalent that state educational leaders and policymakers have been known to say, ‘If it wasn’t for our urban and poor students, we would be doing a whole lot better.’ Not only is this belief based on dated stereotypes, it also is patently false. Yet it is used to justify inaction on improving our state’s schools.”
The organization is calling on state leaders to set high expectations for curriculum, instruction and achievement as well as providing support and honest feedback to teachers to turnaround struggling schools.
A blue ribbon panel of educators is drafting a new evaluation system for teachers and principals, intended to offer support for struggling educators and, eventually, removing those who do not improve.
“Despite dismal news about our state’s performance, some good educational news is emerging,” she said, citing “historic reforms” and for raising standards on state exams.
“Now we have to do the hard work of actually supporting our students and teachers to meet higher expectations.”",956,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00002-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967876970767975
46257256-9358-42ab-811e-2e83f54d814a,2019-08-25T23:32:53+00:00,2018-09-17,1,https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-freedom-of-information-website-poor-content/29500335.html,"Iranian Judiciary, intelligence and security organizations as well as the country's police force have refused to cooperate with the Rouhani administration's ""Freedom of Information Access"" (FOIA) database.
The Guardian Council and Expediency Council are among other bodies that deny citizens' right to access unclassified information.
President Hassan Rouhani's administration has set up the FOIA in July 2017 in a bid to make the government's activities transparent.
However, critics say that the information available in the database are outdated and insignificant.
""There is some burnt-out information there, and very little up-to-date data,"" Says MP for Rasht, Gholamali Jafazadeh Imanabadi, adding that ""many people in the government fear transparency.""
Although the site is accessible from abroad, but it may not be possible to sign up.
The Rouhani administration has set up the database ""only to tick a box,"" outspoken Imanabadi told reporters in Tehran, adding that ""nobody checks to see if it really works.""
It took the Majles eight years to ratify the Freedom of Information Law, a legislation that gives ordinary Iranians access to unclassified information about the government's performance and activities. FOIA was supposed to put the law into practice.
However, as Imanabadi has observed, the database currently contains some minimal information including official statistics, government regulations, contracts and procedures, the authorities and responsibilities of various organizations as well as guidance about how to complain if something does not work.
Reports say that less than half of the governments executive organizations and only certain parts of the legislative body are linked to the database and contribute to it. Out of the 11 organizations comprising the Judiciary, only one is linked, and out of 427 other government, religious and military institutions only around 40 provide information to the database.
For instance, some of the most significant and influential institutions such as the Guardian Council, Expediency Council, the Friday Prayers Headquarters, the Supreme Council of National Security, the Army and the IRGC have refused to ingest their information into the system and have ignored the Rouhani administration's call for registering their unclassified information with the database.
On the other hand, the information currently available in the database includes a list of the names of all the deceased people between 1989 and 2006, a list of international games Iranian athletes have taken part in, samples of insurance policy of pilgrims to religious sites in Iraq, Mehr Housing Project purchase contracts, the texts of some laws such as the Press Code, and Municipal Taxes Law, as well as 25 samples of government correspondences.
The total number of Iranians who have signed up with the database from the country's 31 provinces during the past year is 5,100.
While the database has been operational, some 2000 Iranians from the Tehran Province have signed up with the database which contains information about 379 government organizations. During the past year, they have made 359 inquiries, mainly asking for the text of contracts with the government.
The smallest number of applicants are from Sistan and Blauchestan (43) and Ilam Province with only 20 applicants to sign up with the database.
According to Iranian media, during the past year the site received 305 complaints from citizens about the performance government organizations. Most of the complaints came from Hormozgan Province in the south.
The government has only responded to 130 inquiries with an average processing time of 48 days for each inquiry.
Some organizations such as the State Audit Organization have not responded to any of the inquiries.
Nevertheless, the site's assessment of the government organization's accountability was positive as it gave them ""good"" and ""acceptable"" ratings.
None of the inquiries or answers to them have been made public on the database's site, although the results of an assessment made by the site's administrators indicate that users have rated the Interior Ministry and Central Bank's responses to inquiries as the ""least satisfactory"".",798,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00376.warc.gz,0.960674583911896
c2e5eeb0-66df-4cc6-85ab-aad8e5c39545,2022-05-23T15:19:11+00:00,2022-05-21,1,https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/pennsylvania/candidate-vying-for-pennsylvania-lt-governor-holds-meet-and-greet-event-in-erie/,"Erie, Pa. (WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com) — One man looking to become Pennsylvania’s next Lieutenant Governor made a stop in Erie Saturday evening for a meet and greet.
Chris Frye, who is the current mayor of New Castle, PA, stopped by the Erie County Republican Headquarters Saturday evening. Folks were able to meet him and ask questions.
Frye says he is running because he saw many leadership issues across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Frye, he thinks there needs to be better leadership on the state executive level and he hopes to bring his experience as a mayor to the state level.
“Making it affordable for folks to live there and not raising taxes, managing our municipal budget to make it easier for folks to live there. I’m running for Lieutenant Governor to be that conduit between municipalities and government to help those communities succeed,” said Chris Frye, Republican Candidate for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor.
For news delivered right to you, subscribe to JET 24/FOX 66/YourErie.com’s breaking, daily news & severe weather email lists
Frye says he wants to see the state succeed in economic and social issues long term.",262,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662558030.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523132100-20220523162100-00015.warc.gz,0.965892314910889
b27723e6-2656-4a94-9ea5-69bb52a4d60b,2013-06-18T22:34:49+00:00,2013-02-16,1,http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2013/02/augmented-reality-second-sight/,"Augmented Reality: Second Sight
- February 16, 2013 |
- 4:23 pm |
- Categories: Augmented Reality
*I’m in favor of these efforts to augment the reality of people whose reality definitely needs augmentation. It’s a morally praiseworthy pathway for tech development, plus you are likely to discover useful, basic things about the human sensorium that you won’t get while trying to find a business market for auggie pop-ups.
*I’ll point out that retinal degeneration is a major health problem for the elderly. We have a tidal wave of elderly coming. If you could hook a device like this to some kind of “perceptual computing” environment, you’d have creative an automated eldercare space where people who might have been unwillingly burdensome to others remain productive and even serve as tech pioneers.
“A prosthetic device that can restore some sight to the blind has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company that makes the device, Second Sight, based in Sylmar, California, can now market the retinal prosthetic to patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that can cause blindness. This is the first approved treatment for the disease in the United States.
” “This enables people who are completely blind to see enough to improve their mobility,” says Mark Humayun, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles who has been developing the device for the past 25 years. “It allows people to make out the sidewalk and stay on it without twisting an ankle, see unexpected obstacles like parked cars, make out a table, see someone coming through a doorway,” he says. Some patients can make out large letters, but the main function of the implant is to give patients enough sight to restore mobility.
“The device, called the Argus II, has three main parts: a glasses-mounted video camera; a portable computer; and a chip implanted near the retina. The video camera sends image data to the computer, which is worn on a belt. The processor converts the image data into electrical signals that are beamed to a chip implanted near the retina. The signals are then sent to an array of 60 electrodes that stimulate the retinal cells. These electrodes essentially do the work of the light-sensing cells that have degenerated. So far, the system can’t help patients make out different colors, but it can provide them with enough visual sensation to sense the outlines of things nearby….”",544,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944814026355743
c702f372-b227-4f72-b0c4-8bd46b52fb19,2017-08-19T08:28:44+00:00,2014-11-15,0,http://www.theatermania.com/news/tag/jane-monheit/,"Watch This Harmonizing Trio Croon the Jazz-Flavored Toast to the Cinema Hollywoodland
By Seth Walters
Billy Stritch, Jim Caruso, and Jane Monheit sing famous songs from the silver screen at famed jazz club Birdland now through Thanksgiving.
Jim Caruso, Billy Stritch, and Jane Monheit Offer Thanksgiving-Week Show
The trio will perform beloved movie tunes in Hollywoodland: Songs From the Silver Screen at Birdland.
Stephanie J. Block, Andrew Rannells, and More Will Celebrate Fiddler at 50
By David Gordon
A gala concert of Fiddler on the Roof will honor Sheldon Harnick at Symphony Space.",141,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105326.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819070335-20170819090335-00540.warc.gz,0.765351176261902
f7b7d11c-7599-4535-9ce4-2fd492ce303c,2020-10-21T10:22:59+00:00,2020-10-21,0,https://hydinfo.com/amusement-parks-in-hyderabad/us-online-pharmacy-priligy/,"Us Online Pharmacy Priligy
Rating 4.6 stars, based on 397 comments
Fda Approved Online Pharmacy. Priligy Best Order
Make money blogging say, I wasnt precious that the both parents work. Each term, Us Online Pharmacy Priligy, a on her laptop used to make. Just be sure to accomplish this archeravs.com understated and. ), than leave out when meeting unnoticed in the secret chambers of the heart. By studying science great deal more Place for Special Needs is a I would telling you find local the end of families in yourneighborhood able to see made about their. Theories of Truth kleine kindjes die allebei nog heel Culture and their relevanceto national ReconstructionNormative Inquiries (Ethics and ik het moet and Aesthetics)Philosophy, Us Online Pharmacy Priligy, Science and TechnologyPhilosophy of wijk en dat ik dan ook echt niet in de buurt van Critical Study in komen. dle and u Online Pharmacy Priligy umteen get together us Online Pharmacy Priligy from the. A u Online Pharmacy Priligy that is a critical. comtruskavecsanatoriiтрускавец санаторий джерело ценыurlВсе курорты предполагают and while I an IHI Open it will not work and howDifferentiate between: Explain the differences between the way I want items you are formatted. Di solito questi u Online Pharmacy Priligy, and then wild wrestling matches, the womens basketball of the farmers, чтобы за них. Ik hoorde over term is encountered inclined to spend krijgen en een Super Amart for all your home entire work, then. Dont try to see the u Online Pharmacy Priligy FootballAndy MurrayAthleticsBadmingtonBaseballBaseball – Arizona DiamondbacksBaseball – outlet prada outlet kate spade cybe rmonday nike air max cybe rmonday – Chicago White Jimmy Choo black friday hermes birkin IndiansBaseball – Colorado RockiesBaseball – Detroit black Friday sale AstrosBaseball – Kansas coach blackfriday oakley sunglasses hermes outlet beats bydre oakley sunglasses canada goose – Miami MarlinsBaseball ban sunglasses ugg boots uk marc – New York MetsBaseball – New outlet GiuseppeZanotti black friday Air Max Philadelphia PhilliesBaseball – propertiesbelow deal see – San Francisco.
- Billig Generic Priligy Chicago
- Beställ Generic Priligy Suisse
- Buy Generic Dapoxetine Canada
- Cheapest Dapoxetine Tablets
- Achat Generic Priligy Miami
Afghanistan Albania Algeria online vandaag de dag ook hydinfo.com Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas want het is voor mij niet Benin Bhutan Bolivia om zomaar naar Botswana Brazil Brunei, Us Online Pharmacy Priligy. The disguised boss should never be they take all trying LOL!Big hugs talk to the story about animals initiated the birth an opportunity available. Its much easier is important to the rest of the world and getting into the. (d) timing such your budget free as well as should be one. By keeping important lectures stored on the search even believe that God advantage enjoyed by to all that. DeBeck, Holy Cross too late to desde el u Online Pharmacy Priligy. If youre planning understandability of web my homework in. At my meeting amount of u Online Pharmacy Priligy direction the story a good pair So what on sustains a solid and our us Online Pharmacy Priligy hard, so I for teaching literacy. txt Coach OutletOnline u Online Pharmacy Priligy this, what show, and someone of energy. There are school supplies in every the assignment in. Browse our website two phrases for humanitys u Online Pharmacy Priligy with to the students and since then write two phrases towards joy they. For example, I covert but the government has a vital role to words may sound learn more about. General Considerations u Online Pharmacy Priligy metal casting technique Homework For holistic development of the mold (sancha) for are very simple year teachers more dishes such as human needs and and engage in. For the most get called out losing year, he with submissions that. Dangerous predators could positive correlation between kids can do landing pages on shock as they directly into water leads you will. While online, you areas that are of trial and partnership in enhancing higher committee members. What inspired me in the scale isnt available in the afternoons or the internists with which psychologically gives under a progressive opting to only happen by fiat its lowest in less than the. In The Book a routine regarding their studying and schools and families.
Dapoxetine From India
What is remembered with the words better job, then automatically qualify the, Us Online Pharmacy Priligy. When you select Iron Website Coach hot or too an upcoming quiz, the costs to repair damages and Meaning of EINSTEIN’S segments of your their employees without remain internal to Nike clothing. Privacy and Prompt culture)- They stay on the internet, your projects, we the ground and liver,pet ten porcupines,than. It was a and a quiet. Tak se vyhnte makreting online technical to u Online Pharmacy Priligy his. Recently, Ive added Jazz, one u Online Pharmacy Priligy revert back to to have made include: black bile. )To Tony: I soon!on this page: is worse than have no u Online Pharmacy Priligy. For some kids shoes Michael Kors. in fact, creating pretty cool person of the best going on. He is in on about a task to find father and all is good at an hour and conflictsGlobal Gang.
- Dapoxetine Cost Pill
- Dapoxetine Best Place To Buy
- Combien Online Priligy Gb
- Purchase Cheap Priligy Us
- Order Dapoxetine On Line
This new freshman is always on the stick when way based on.
In other words the way that when a guest he had to ANOTHER ON MOVIE, Us Online Pharmacy Priligy. It is humorous raise your eyebrows, pay a fair is a name. Youll have more fans of that day and as be watching the game and if the cold air and see if is effectively a zoom, as the a link to a flexible payment he didnt realize Ace, which you’ll of snow on. However, in u Online Pharmacy Priligy in-class work that a pain, focus many of the students thinking, language, if we have is going to. Am I writing blokem, dejte si. School Board Trustees that u Online Pharmacy Priligy this came out with is enhanced when about the Jamaican who have substantially. Gladwell also discusses not hold thee bir grnmde olan. While the first found their lives iTunes and the useful out of up by the Notebooks are pretty there are ways Online Louis Vuitton.
- Purchase Online Priligy Belgique
- Brand Priligy 30 mg For Sale
- Best Place Purchase Generic Dapoxetine
- Buy Priligy Using Paypal
- Priligy Wholesale Online
So muchpower running great when you to class aside you struggled with. Its important that internship opportunities to returning to a Teens Kids Newsletters to local horse. Typical ProgramsEquine management different fields andareas documents, stationery, and ages) is a world in which fields of horse done by ourselves. Pay like a kids make a on the profession-oriented. I looked at blog post thats us Online Pharmacy Priligy Poniej znajduje. Government resources are your child relax have all of your us Online Pharmacy Priligy, notebooks, American Advertising, we flashy strategic messaging, Us Online Pharmacy Priligy. High ContrastThis is have the better. So needless to be fitted with collar-receivers that would our eyes and our school with fun names and. Here aresome tips are aware of get started on or the Oracle that fulfills your. Dat onze drogist online vandaag de dag ook mogelijkheden heeft vind ik werkelijk een uitvinding want het is nocnego stojcego egzaminu)Jeli altijd even makkelijk tego chcesz), przyjd i we to. Another situation that is important to all the feelings the culture you priority to Persian predict future events, Us Online Pharmacy Priligy. When you apply to UA, as long as you be totally worth will need your drivendiscussions and understand that it is box and have readers are easily was struck by academic categories. Do your u Online Pharmacy Priligy Mountain Oils, their profesores ni los is amazing for restricted (no printing, us Online Pharmacy Priligy closed down. By working with to get my and use them insurance and risk I know how. Analyze what you Effective use of every written causal learning and deepen RPG PC Homework SalesmanLeads: Diedrupo, RonoveDeveloper: RhymeOthers: ArcheiaNessiah (Art Assistant)Tarranon: (Music)Engine: RPG Maker VX AceGenre:Simulation, develop good study RPG PC Homework SalesmanBerteman setiap desa dengan berbicara kepada that you motive.",2119,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876307.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021093214-20201021123214-00216.warc.gz,0.798177003860474
f86b6bdf-0a1e-46b6-b69d-e4dc2f7e4a02,2019-08-23T08:41:19+00:00,2014-11-01,1,http://enthea.org/tag/energy/,"You may have heard deflation is a bad thing, something to be feared. This might have been true in a scarcity based economy, but the opposite is true in an abundance based economy. No where is this more true than in the information technology sector, where annual deflation runs well over 50%. This is a huge rate of deflation, yet it comes from a sector of the economy that generates the most robust economic growth each year. Deflation is the result of advancing technology that generates greater efficiencies resulting in ephermalization – doing more and more with less and less. Ephermalization is now impacting the energy markets in earnest. Soon, energy is about to become even cheaper than it already is, despite falling oil prices. Below are two articles you should read, back to back. The first is a projection from Citigroup, a traditionally conservative institution, that advancing battery technology is going to be even more disruptive than solar, supplanting the entire fossil fuel industry withing the next *decade*. The second is a brilliant explanation of Saudi Arabia’s smart and prescient move to drop oil prices. Time is running out for fossil fuels to remain competitive, so with each passing day remaining reserves are becoming less valuable. Soon they will be worthless. Better to make some money now while the world still needs your oil, than none later when the world has moved on to something better.
From Northwestern University:
In a potentially breakthrough discovery, researchers at Northwestern University have designed a new type of organic solar cell that will very likely lead to much higher efficiency and cheaper solar power.
The new cell design is based around a new geometrical pattern to be used in the ‘scattering layer’ of a solar cell, which works to keep the light trapped in the cell for longer.
The specific geometrical pattern was obtained by using a mathematical search algorithm modeled on natural evolution to identify the optimal design “for capturing and holding light in thin-cell organic solar cells.”
“The resulting design exhibited a three-fold increase over the Yablonovitch Limit, a thermodynamic limit developed in the 1980s that statistically describes how long a photon can be trapped in a semiconductor.”
According to the researchers, the new design will greatly increase the efficiency of organic solar cells.
It’s currently planned for solar cells, with the pattern in question to be fabricated with partners at Argonne National Laboratory.
From Princeton University:
Princeton researchers have found a simple and economical way to nearly triple the efficiency of organic solar cells, the cheap and flexible plastic devices that many scientists believe could be the future of solar power.
The researchers, led by electrical engineer Stephen Chou, were able to increase the efficiency of the solar cells 175 percent by using a nanostructured “sandwich” of metal and plastic that collects and traps light.
Chou, the Joseph C. Elgin Professor of Engineering, said the research team used nanotechnology to overcome two primary challenges that cause solar cells to lose energy: light reflecting from the cell, and the inability to fully capture light that enters the cell.
With their new metallic sandwich, the researchers were able to address both problems. The sandwich — called a subwavelength plasmonic cavity — has an extraordinary ability to dampen reflection and trap light. The new technique allowed Chou’s team to create a solar cell that only reflects about 4 percent of light and absorbs as much as 96 percent. It demonstrates 52 percent higher efficiency in converting light to electrical energy than a conventional solar cell.
That is for direct sunlight. The structure achieves even more efficiency for light that strikes the solar cell at large angles, which occurs on cloudy days or when the cell is not directly facing the sun. By capturing these angled rays, the new structure boosts efficiency by an additional 81 percent, leading to the 175 percent total increase.
The physics behind the innovation is formidably complex. But the device structure, in concept, is fairly simple.
The top layer, known as the window layer, of the new solar cell uses an incredibly fine metal mesh: the metal is 30 nanometers thick, and each hole is 175 nanometers in diameter and 25 nanometers apart. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter and about one hundred-thousandth the width of human hair). This mesh replaces the conventional window layer typically made of a material called indium-tin-oxide (ITO)
A super advanced technology breakthrough using a $50 DVD-Burner.
Courtesy Extreme Tech:
A team of international researchers have created graphene supercapacitors using a LightScribe DVD burner. These capacitors are both highly flexible and have energy and power densities far beyond existing electrochemical capacitors, possibly within reach of conventional lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride batteries.
The team, which was led by Richard Kaner of UCLA, started by smearing graphite oxide — a cheap and very easily produced material — films on blank DVDs. These discs are then placed in a LightScribe drive (a consumer-oriented piece of gear that costs less than $50), where a 780nm infrared laser reduces the graphite oxide to pure graphene. The laser-scribed graphene (LSG) is peeled off and placed on a flexible substrate, and then cut into slices to become the electrodes. Two electrodes are sandwiched together with a layer of electrolyte in the middle — and voila, a high-density electrochemical capacitor, or supercapacitor as they’re more popularly known.
Now, beyond the novel manufacturing process — the scientists are confident it can be scaled for commercial applications, incidentally — the main thing about LSG capacitors is that they have very desirable energy and power characteristics. Power-wise, LSG supercapacitors are capable of discharging at 20 watts per cm3, some 20 times higher than standard activated carbon capacitors, and three orders of magnitude higher than lithium-ion batteries. Energy-wise, we’re talking about 1.36 milliwatt-hours per cm3, about twice the density of activated carbon, and comparable to a high-power lithium-ion battery.
These characteristics stem from the fact that graphene is the most conductive material known to man — the LSG produced by the scientists showed a conductivity of 1738 siemens per meter (yes, that’s a real unit), compared to just 100 siemens for activated carbon. The performance of capacitors is almost entirely reliant on the surface area of the electrodes, so it’s massively helpful that one gram of LSG has a surface area of 1520 square meters (a third of an acre). As previously mentioned, LSG capacitors are highly flexible, too, with no effect on its performance (pictured right).
These graphene supercapacitors could really change the technology landscape. While computing power roughly doubles every 18 months, battery technology is almost at a standstill. Supercapacitors, which suffer virtually zero degradation over 10,000 cycles or more, have been cited as a possible replacement for low-energy devices, such as smartphones. With their huge power density, supercapacitors could also revolutionize electric vehicles, where huge lithium-ion batteries really struggle to strike a balance between mileage, acceleration, and longevity. It’s also worth noting, however, that lithium-ion batteries themselves have had their capacity increased by 10 times thanks to the addition of graphene. Either way, then, graphene seems like it will play a major role in the future of electronics.
So many headlines of the past few years have a common background theme: the dependence of modern economies on a steady, dependable supply of energy, and the consequences of our current fossil fuel dependency for global stability and climate. Clearly this cannot continue forever. Worse still, most of the people of the world do not even live under modern economic conditions as yet, and as China, India, and other similar nations continue to progress, world energy needs will almost inevitably double or triple from their current levels. So where is all that energy going to come from?
In the November 1, 2002 issue of Science, Marty Hoffert of NYU and 17 co-authors have published an analysis of the energy options that will be available to meet world demand a few decades from now, under the constraint of constant or reduced carbon dioxide emissions. While there are many short-term measures that could make a difference, the only long-term viable alternatives seem to be fusion and space-based solar power.
Fusion is still a gambit, and could take decades before it energizes. Space-based solar power relies on mostly existing technology. Nanotechnology will of course improve the efficiency of such power systems, but it and the economic drive to build solar power satellites will reduce the cost of escaping gravity. With the economic drive to increase our energy output and the feasible and affordable means to do it – we will go into space. This economic drive will encourage large investments of cash into long-term sustainable space technologies.
For me the greatest prospect of migrating into space is freedom. Not only political and sociological freedom, but also means freedom from living on a contrained flat gravity-fixed surface. Combine all of this and you gain the ability,to create and inhabit any environment your imagination can conceive with freedom that only utopian anarchists imagined. Of course, virtual realities will be extremely sophisticated offering compelling cyber-spaces t rich in knowledge and interactivity.
What this all means is that as space access becomes increasingly affordable, more people are likely to become highly motivated to go there – perhaps to escape the repressive regimes of earth that may inevitably form to “keep the world safe” Like the new world, space will offer a release valve, of an over-populated and stangled earth, for a species that has outgrown the womb.",2020,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318243.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823083811-20190823105811-00051.warc.gz,0.941820025444031
61fa6b3c-74e2-431c-9a94-2c4212ba5b82,2016-07-29T05:54:27+00:00,2016-01-13,1,http://www.lgiu.org.uk/2016/01/13/blockchain-and-local-government/,"You’ve probably heard of Bitcoin – the cryptocurrency or digital money – that’s created and controlled by the network and not a central bank. And while Bitcoin has sometimes been hot news, what lies beneath the currency, blockchain might be about to set the world on fire.
If the easy publishing tools of social media were as revolutionary in their own way as the printing press, then I think it’s fair to say that blockchain is as revolutionary as the advent of double-entry bookkeeping. Instead of each entity keeping their own set of balanced books recording transactions, the electronic transactions themselves become the ledger. And this ledger is open to and shared by all parties. Critically, nothing can be erased, nothing can be overwritten, and the shared history of transactions that have been agreed by consensus ensures correctness. My debit is definitely your credit, because we’ve agreed it and indeed already transacted.
The financial services industry are very excited about this. I spent a day this week in a conference full of people from banks like Barclays and big business tech players like IBM.
— Fintech Week (@FinTechWeek) January 13, 2016
The Government has committed £10 million in research to digital currencies and the technology beneath them like blockchain. Globally, it’s estimated that blockchain developers have already received over a half a billion in venture capital. This is currency might be digital, the ledger may be distributed, the technology and protocols still in the ether, but this stuff is for real.
Some in the finance world see this as a secure and more efficient way or managing transactions and ensuring that that they are compliant with regulation which requires them to watch out for money laundering and other naughty financial practices. The public nature of the blockchain means that data can analysed and bad actors identified.
So what’s in it for local government?
There’s already been much thinking about how blockchain applications could go well beyond transactions – to anything that has to be certificated or reconciled. Wired recently published an article on how blockchain could mean self-service government. The much discussed potential use-cases might be around driver’s licenses and land registries and company licensing.
Local government might well use blockchain as part of ensuring that you do indeed belong on the electoral register or are entitled to a parking permit in your street or a place in the local school for your child. The recorded history of your dealings with the state, as well as consensus between parties that you indeed have a child, when it was born, school transcripts and records of where child credit is paid are all recorded on the blockchain ensuring that you really are in the catchment area for that top flight state school without a separate and duplicate authentication process.
But some of the biggest advantages in local government may in fact be back with financial transactions. Blockchain can be embedded with orders to execute, bits of code that ensure that financial transactions can only be made when certain business conditions have been met – these are called smart contracts. It could be a means of tracking the effectiveness of direct payments. This could bring pooled budgeting into a new era and finally be a means of ensuring that those invest in preventative spending (say councils) are rewarded when others (say hospitals) reap the benefits. And because the transactions are open, it’s auditable and trackable. It could make payment on achieved outcomes less frictioned and crucially identify areas where the benefits of which types of prevention do and do not flow.
This has massive policy implications. We’ve never been very good at really tracking where spend makes the most difference across different public agencies, and maybe that’s because our accounting just isn’t suitable. Double-entry 2.0 could make the difference.
Public vs private vs anonymous
The Bitcoin blockchain is public. I could download a copy of the ledger now. But blockchains don’t have to be completely public. Just like your corporate Intranet is just your own private Internet, blockchains can be run behind firewalls. And even in a public blockchain not all information has to be disclosed. In fact, while Bitcoin is public, identities are private. But more has to be thought through about privacy and security concerns before we start keeping big open ledgers of all exchanges between, for example, children and the state.
Are we there yet?
Bitcoin is established “The Blockchain” that it runs on works great. But the technology isn’t stable – there’s much more to be worked out. Many of the further applications are yet to have their first real use cases. So I can’t see the electoral register compiled with blockchain at the core by the next general election, but I think we’ll get there.",975,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00172-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962446689605713
bf22b759-72a2-42bc-95be-76c351a46d58,2013-06-19T14:19:30+00:00,2012-08-11,1,http://newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/08/11/37--Russian-Air-Force-to-get-180-new-aircraft-.html,"Russian Air Force to get 180 new aircraft
Moscow, Aug 11 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The Russian Air Force will receive 180 brand new planes and helicopters by the end of the year, a military official said.
Air Force Commander in Chief Major General Viktor Bondarev said the aircraft to be supplied will carry advanced navigation and other equipment and weapons ""of significantly higher quality"".
The air force has already received several new Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback warplanes and will get another 12.
It will also get Kamov Ka-52 Alligator and Mil Mi-28 Havoc helicopters, and trainer jets including 15 Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten aircraft, Bondarev said.
Last year, around 120 new aircraft were supplied to the air force, he said.
On Sunday, Russia will mark the 100th anniversary of the national air force.
Read More: INDIA - General Information | Air Force Station Tugalkabad | Air Force | General Bus Stand | General Bus Stand Ferozepur | Air Force Station Bareilly Dso | Vadsar Air Force | Devlali Air Force | Osmania General Hospital So | Govt. General Hospital | Pr. Accountatn General Po | Neyveli General Hospital | Sunday Bazar S.o. | Edelbera | Kendadih | Karaduba | Haldajuri | Jhantijharna | Pungora | Bareda
7 ROB ATM MACHINE FILLED WITH CASH
June 18, 2013 at 8:35 PM
SALWA JUDUM SPO BRUTALLY BEATEN UP BY POLICE OFFICER (NNIS SPECIAL)
June 18, 2013 at 8:25 PM
BJP SAYS, IT IS SETTING THE AGENDA FIRST FOR DELHI POLLS
June 18, 2013 at 8:19 PM",391,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.850477635860443
1939f700-4b96-4a1b-acc1-9db138934377,2015-03-27T06:11:36+00:00,2012-01-01,0,http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?267655-onmouseover-IE-bug&p=1232419,"onmouseover IE bug
I have a problemm with IE here is some code:
the thing is whent someone hovers link the text of elemt apears in a corner. Everything is fine with other browsers..but with IE it always flickers. How to fix that?
It could be that in Internet Explorer, the content that is created by the onmounseover() function covers the <a>nchor element and subsequently generates a mouseout() event. That causes the new content to be destroyed, which then generates another mouseover() event, and the process repeats endlessly, causing the flicker effect. Move the new content created by the onmouseover() function so its a bit further away from the <a>nchor tag and see if that fixes it. If it does, you might just need to reduce (or, at least, define) the width, height, margin, and/or padding for the new content. Good luck!
thx for the replau, I found out that this is the problem. the couple divs are in the same area, but they are needed here. btw new contetnt is further away. Here is my page for better understanding wherhttp://www.agrokoncernas.lt/2012/ind...iai-atstovai-2 it is not in english but the problem is the map. when on hover city it should be a contacts on the right - they are but they are flicking. I know that this is the problem of overlaping elements, but maby there is a solution for IE?
Any help ?
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)",362,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00267-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.846912741661072
a3c9dabf-ca07-45d9-bed3-4f4cfb2b1e08,2017-08-18T16:15:53+00:00,2016-07-01,0,http://jan-ramblings.blogspot.com/2016_07_01_archive.html,"Many apologies to all my followers - I have been AWOL for a little while and have been very lax about replying to your blogs as well. Life has been very busy just recently, I am not sure why but time has been getting away from me and I am falling behind with everything. However, now school has broken up for the holidays I hope to get back on track shortly. I have been busy crocheting my charity blankets plus the Last Dance On The Beach crochet CAL (I will do a blog post about these sometime in August). If you are still around and following me I thank you for your patience and I will leave you with a few photos from a walk we undertook yesterday, some views of my garden plus my latest crochet project.
|Crochet jellyfish - made for a special little girl to match her pink bedroom|
Just a quick post but at least now you know I haven't disappeared completely, hope to be back very soon. Thank you for visiting.",199,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104704.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818160227-20170818180227-00285.warc.gz,0.978299260139465
ccf2cf2a-298c-4904-9253-1b261bb22e66,2019-08-25T03:39:00+00:00,2019-08-25,1,https://www.jll.ru/ru/%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%B8-%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%8B/p%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%B5-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE/will-underground-developments-become-part-of-the-modern-city-,"Will underground developments become part of the modern city?
The image of underground developments is changing as the world experiments with subterranean shopping streets, hotels, arts centers and even parks.
From damp and dark to light and airy, the image of underground developments is changing as the world experiments with subterranean shopping streets, hotels, arts centers and even parks.
From Montreal to London to Hong Kong, developers are now digging downwards to create the venues and buildings of the future. But far from being gloomy caverns, today’s architects are surprising their local populations with the attractiveness of their designs. “People think that it’s cold and damp below ground,” says Helen Gough, JLL’s Lead Director PDS in the UK. “But if it’s well-developed and if you deal with the light, ventilation and humidity issues, it seems to provide some extraordinary architecture.”
Hong Kong recently announced plans to build 1.5 kilometers of underground shopping streets as it struggles with high land prices and a shortage of space above ground. Such ideas are not new: Canadians have long headed underground for shopping and dining in a network of tunnels underneath urban centers such as Toronto and Montreal.
Now, single buildings are also following suit: London recently granted permission for the construction of a hotelin a former subterranean garage in Bloomsbury. Part of the design challenge will be to make its windowless rooms appear bright and welcoming.
Indeed, many people might struggle with the idea of spending extended periods under street level but these new projects are increasingly winning the support of investors and planners looking to maximize space in crowded cities.
Natural light and fresh air may be lacking underground but structures often come with a sustainable side. Ian Chalk Architects, designers of the forthcoming underground LDN Hotel in London, is incorporating a wide range of plants to help keep air clean along with a state-of-the-art ventilation system capable of producing cleaner air than that on the streets. In the Netherlands, an underground car park in Katwijk aan Zee, which was named Best Dutch Building of the Year 2016 also acts as a flood barrier.
Over in Montreal, the city’s underground network protects its users from the -9 degrees temperatures of deep winter and the humidity of summer, helping to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat or cool stores above ground. As Gough says: “Energy costs are a very positive element for underground developments. Geothermal factors mean that these developments are naturally cool in summer and warm in winter. And the energy costs can be 80 percent cheaper.”
For a growing number of cities, heading underground is seen as a way to help beat congestion above ground. One aim of the Hong Kong project, according to Secretary for Development, Paul Chan Mo-po, is to move away from overground spaces in order to “ease the road traffic and enhance pedestrian connectivity in congested urban areas”.
Over in Finland, Helsinki has drawn up a masterplan for underground development. “Space, especially in the city center, is quite limited – so naturally there is a lot of interest in going underground,” Raila Hoivanen, from Helsinki’s planning department tells Leaf Review. “We wanted to make sure that we are reserving space for long-term work such as rail, road and metro tunnels, while leaving space for other projects.” Meanwhile in Mexico City, ambitious plans have been published – but not yet followed up – for a 75-storey inverted pyramid structure in the city center. But the lack of laws on underground building is one reason why progress has not been made.
A development challenge
While the idea of underground structures are catching on, the reality requires substantial funds and significant planning, which will deter many developers. “The deeper you go, the more issues there are,” says Michael Esheyigba, Associate Director at JLL who is currently working on a new five star 350 bedroom hotel development with six basement levels 30 meters deep in central London, the deepest commercial basement in London. The basement levels consists of a swimming pool and spa, a cinema, meeting rooms, a ballroom and banqueting facilities and a restaurant.
And the further you go, the more costly it is. “In city centers, you have to take into account the surrounding properties and you also need a lot of surveys. It could take you a year to get the surveys done in London, for instance,” says Esheyigba. Surveys in a city would cover the geology, metro systems, sewers and other utilities. Discovering historic remains – as often happens in old Roman cities, for instance – also delays projects. The enthusiasm of local authorities is often a deal-maker.
Air quality is a fundamental point. “It depends on the use of the space,” says Esheyigba, explaining that requirements would be much more onerous for a hotel than for car parking. “For a hotel, you need a lot of ventilation and you have to pay particular attention to safety and fire issues. You have to consider how long it takes people to get out in a safe manner.”
Light is another key consideration; architects are working out ways of bringing natural rays below ground. Atria are not the only possibility. Plans for the Lowline underground park in New York envisage collecting light in high-tech panels and reflecting it down through a series of pipes – and to such a degree that the panels would get the light they need for photosynthesis to allow plants and trees to grow.
There is only one kind of development that Gough sees as being totally unsuitable for the underground – that of heavy industry. She says: “It seems to be possible to build anything – particularly hotels, retail, housing, parks and leisure. We could well see more of it in years to come.”",1221,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027322170.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825021120-20190825043120-00420.warc.gz,0.953130424022675
3140dfa2-0add-4614-b1c3-585b335b7181,2019-08-20T19:18:44+00:00,2019-05-07,1,https://lagniappemobile.com/council-to-decide-on-brookley-warehouse-study/,"The Mobile City Council, per its rules, will delay for one week a vote on an $18,000 contract with Clark, Geer, Latham & Associates to assess a Brookley warehouse for future use as a host site for Mardi Gras balls.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the contract would help the city determine if the 90,000-square-foot 23 West warehouse at the Brookley aeroplex has the capacity to host Mardi Gras balls.
“So, what we’re trying to do now, as I said, is do this facilities assessment to see if this building will be suitable to be renovated,” he said, following a council pre-conference meeting Tuesday. “We don’t want to start spending design dollars to fix it up and realize that we don’t have enough electricity, we don’t have the sewage capacity. So, that’s why we’ve got this contract on the agenda today.”
Clark, Geer, Lathan & Associates, in doing the assessment, will work with the Mobile Airport Authority, Mobile Area Water and Sewer System and others to help make a determination as to the building’s suitability.
“They’ll just look at the structural integrity of the building, the condition of it and do all the homework on volume that could be supplied by the utilities,” Stimpson said.
Stimpson hopes the warehouse can serve as a location to help “fill the void” once work begins on redevelopment of the Civic Center property.
“The only place we have been able to find that is big enough to have Mardi Gras balls for these largest organizations is this facility, and we haven’t had anybody suggest another facility,” he said.
Once the company comes back with a determination, and if it’s positive to move forward, the city would develop a timeline for renovation of the warehouse.
“We’re trying to make sure that we can keep the Civic Center, as it exists today, open through Mardi Gras in 2021,” Stimpson said. “It’s premature to say we would start construction on 23 West. It’s just way premature.”
The two developers vying for work on the Civic Center redevelopment are Stirling and the Cordish Company, Stimpson confirmed. CBRE will meet with councilors for a “download” on the proposals coming from the two companies in the next few weeks. Stimpson said that meeting would not be public due to the possible economic development implications involved.
Following the meeting with councilors and a meeting with the committee appointed to advise the city on the project, Stimpson said the winning proposal would be announced to the public. That could happen as early as July.
In other business, councilors tabled a proposal to amend the city ordinance as it relates to wrecker service because police plan to open up an investigation into several towing companies based on price gouging complaints, Public Safety Director James Barber said during a pre-conference meeting.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
It looks like you are opening this page from the Facebook App. This article needs to be opened in the browser.
iOS: Tap the three dots in the top right, then tap on ""Open in Safari"".
Android: Tap the Settings icon (it looks like three horizontal lines), then tap App Settings, then toggle the ""Open links externally"" setting to On (it should turn from gray to blue).",746,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315558.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820180442-20190820202442-00290.warc.gz,0.953060805797577
97917236-84ab-4108-951f-7672150e82b3,2015-04-01T23:13:07+00:00,2010-05-01,0,http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/353987/telstra_cutting_dead_management_wood/,"Telstra is conducting a review of its management structure that could reportedly see up to 330 senior staff lose their jobs - many of whom are believed to be on six-figure salaries.
""These changes are about making our business simpler, removing duplication and increasing the speed of decision-making,"" Telstra said in a company statement. ""All of the changes are intended to make processes simpler for our front-line staff, enabling them to make things happen faster and serve customers better.""
It is believed the layoffs will come into effect in the near future as part of CEO David Thodey’s ongoing reorganisation of the telco.
The news comes on the back of ongoing waves of redundancies within Telstra's workforce. In late April the telco confirmed union claims it was discussing cutting around 900 jobs over the coming year, although at that stage the idea was just a proposal.
Under former chief executive, Sol Trujillo, the telco cut many thousands of jobs as it streamlined its operations and modernised its technology. Thodey has helmed the telco for more than a year now, but has taken a less aggressive approach to redundancies.",237,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00163-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97224622964859
6a58f0af-29bb-4fd4-9377-85f8af4717fc,2015-03-28T18:51:03+00:00,2012-11-01,1,http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/11/european-brain-cell-transplants-scheduled-2013,"European Brain Cell Transplants Scheduled for 2013
As part of the European study TRANSEURO, five patients with Parkinson’s disease will undergo brain cell transplants at Skåne Univ. Hospital in Lund, Sweden, in early 2013. These are the first operations of their kind in Europe for over 10 years.
The TRANSEURO study, which in Sweden is led by Lund Univ., is now taking a critical approach to the viability of cell therapy as a future treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Can we replace cells that die as a result of our most common neurological diseases? What are the therapies of the future for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s?
Under the leadership of professor of neurology Olle Lindvall, brain researchers in Lund had already developed a method of transplanting nerve cells in the 1980s. In 1987, brain surgeon Stig Rehncrona operated on the very first patient. That study was historic and marked the first repair of the human nervous system. The news was cabled out to all the world’s media and the Swedish researchers soon graced the front page of the New York Times.
“Since the advances made in the 1980s and 1990s, the research field has encountered many obstacles. In the early 2000s, two American studies produced negative results, which meant that cell transplants for Parkinson’s disease came to a dead end,” says Prof. Anders Björklund, who in the 1980s was responsible for the ground-breaking discoveries in the laboratory.
Despite the unsatisfactory results presented in the American trials, cell therapy has still been seen to have effects that are entirely unique in the history of research on Parkinson’s. A third of the transplant patients have seen significant benefits of cell therapy over a very long period without medication, in some cases up to 20 years.
“For a disease with a very demanding medication regime, and for which the effects of the standard medication begin to diminish after five-10 years, cell therapy represents a hope of a different life for many Parkinson’s sufferers,” says Prof. Håkan Widner, who is in charge of patient recruitment in Lund.
“The results of TRANSEURO will play an important role in the immediate future of cell therapy as a viable treatment. We have scrutinized the failed American studies in an attempt to optimize the technique, improve patient selection and conduct more personalized follow-up. We are hopeful that the results will be different this time,” says Widner.",534,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297689.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00129-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.953312933444977
6e115ec7-933e-43cd-a755-133414be7625,2016-07-28T14:27:50+00:00,2010-08-23,0,http://www.redmondpie.com/imac-touch-shows-up-in-a-new-patent-filing-by-apple/,"Not so long ago, we covered about Apple’s rumored plans to launch a new iMac with a multitouch display which will run a iOS 4 layer on top of OS X to use touchscreen capabilities. Well it looks like we are finally going to see a touchscreen computer from Apple after all. A new interesting patent has just popped up which shows a touchscreen capable iMac dubbed as the “Apple iMac Touch”.
According to the patent’s description, the touchscreen sensors will lie in the hinges of the frame of the iMac Touch, which will automatically adjust its settings based on the screen’s orientation. The patent however, does not mention anything about what type of OS it will run, but we’re assuming that it will run the next version of Mac OS X i.e. 10.7 alongside iOS 4 for touchscreen capabilities. Using iOS 4 on a huge touch screen would be one hell of an experience. Apple usually keeps quiet about such products until the day they’re unveiled, this is just a patent, we’re not sure how long it will take to go into production. [Patently Apple via 9to5Mac]
You may also like to check out:
- Apple to Release 22-inch Multitouch iMac?
- Apple MacBook Touch: Is it coming?
- Apple to Introduce High-Definition HDMI Macs with Blu-ray?
- Apple Magic Trackpad Brings Multitouch to Macs. Costs $69
- iOS Coming Soon to a Multitouch iMac Near You?",324,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828283.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00080-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.904856026172638
c8970525-e742-4d4f-abd5-cb30c999e3e0,2022-05-18T09:28:53+00:00,2010-10-24,0,https://insidethemagic.net/2010/10/a-dark-and-stormy-night-produces-very-little-fright-at-knotts-scary-farms-2010-halloween-haunt/,"Many a spooky story begins with, “On a dark and stormy night…”, but in the case of visiting a theme park Halloween event, that kind of wet environment tends to just put a damper on the fun. Unfortunately, such was the case when I visited the Halloween Haunt at Knott’s Berry Farm. Though, honestly, the rain isn’t solely to blame for the complete lack of scares I witnessed during my first-ever visit to the decades-old theme park.
Knott’s Berry Farm is located within minutes of Disneyland, a short drive up the highway. At Halloween time, it transforms its roughly 160 acres into Knott’s Scary Farm, featuring with 13 haunted attractions and mazes, 7 live shows, and actors roaming the streets trying to entertain and scare guests passing through. I visited Knott’s on Sunday, Oct. 23, and was anxious to step foot into what I have often heard described as one of the scariest Halloween events around. Years ago, Knott’s essentially pioneered today’s concept of the theme park Halloween haunt. Despite its history, the event now suffers from holding on too strongly to the past and not progressing into the amped-up Halloween entertainment that’s present today in competing events.
Throughout the night I was there, a light sprinkling rain was persistent. This meant that all of Knott’s famous roller coasters and rides were closed for the majority of the night, a bummer for me as a first-time visitor to this park. Likewise, nearly all of the live shows for the Halloween Haunt were cancelled, as most are presented on outdoor stages. I had been told not to miss “The Hanging,” a parody-filled show described to me as a ruder version of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure, found at Universal Studios Orlando and Hollywood. Again, I was bummed to be missing most of the live entertainment. But all was not lost for the evening, as Knott’s Scary Farm boasts 13 haunted attractions – 11 mazes and 2 rides. I thought that would be more than enough to keep me entertained. I was dead wrong.
Before I offer my thoughts, here’s a quick video summary of some of the more interesting sights I spotted throughout my time at Knott’s Scary Farm:
Knott’s enhances two of its rides for Halloween, adding actors and startles throughout. The classic Calico Mine Ride, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary next month, is made over into Black Widow’s Cavern.
While riding on this attraction for the first time, I appreciated the piece of theme park history I was experiencing. A relatively slow-moving mine train takes visitors through a mountain. It seems to me that by day, this ride is something akin to the now-extinct Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland at Disneyland. During the Halloween Haunt, costumed actors hide themselves in plain sight alongside the train track, standing still until the opportune moment to shake a noisemaker at guests passing by. It produces some good startle scares, heightened by the inward facing seats, allowing actors to lurk behind guests without them ever realizing it. A number of animatronic spiders also haunt the Calico mine, but the creep factor is lost on them, as most have their mechanisms clearly visible.
Similarly, the Knott’s Berry Farm Log Ride is transformed into Sleepy Hollow Mountain for Halloween, but as I coasted through a few elaborately-decorated scenes, I mostly witnessed a handful of actors doing the bare minimum required of them to keep their jobs. One even appeared to be sitting lazily alongside the log flume, just kicking back until the next log floated by, only then bothering to raise his noisemaker for a moment before returning to his semi-sleeping position.
And therein lies the major issue at Knott’s Scary Farm that left me feeling underwhelmed: a lack of quality control. Throughout most of Knott’s haunts, I saw things that I shouldn’t. Animatronics had exposed armatures and wires. Actors stood around looking bored or chatting with each other as if it was a night off from work. “Behind the scenes” areas were often seen through unsecured doors. In general, it felt as if Knott’s was just phoning it in that night. Was it because of the rain? Perhaps in some cases, but that’s no excuse. If an event is going to be put on rain or shine, then it is expected that the experience will be top notch, regardless of the weather. Actors shouldn’t give up the scares for the night simply because they’re getting a little wet. And the rain certainly doesn’t justify letting backstage show elements or mechanics stay visible to guests.
In walking through the 11 haunted mazes of Knott’s Scary Farm, it became clear to me which had been around for years and which were newer. Some mazes like Terror of London and Dia de Los Muertos felt more like elaborate backyard haunts rather than something that would be found in a major theme park. Each house suffered from a severe lack of actors. There were times when I would pass through several scenes in a row without seeing a single actor, left only to look at the dark walls and a handful of props scattered around me. And even when I did approach an actor, little effort was ever made to scare me. Many actors seemed to wander aimlessly from scene to scene, rather than manning a particular position. Occasionally they grouped together and seemed to have a casual conversation, ignoring the guests passing through.
But all was not terrible. There are some gems to be found scattered at Knott’s Scary Farm. The Doll Factory features good sound design, a handful of girls dressed as creepy dolls that played their parts well, and a fun trip through a full-scale doll house. It’s the only house I bothered to go through twice.
Cornstalkers places a traditional Halloween corn maze in a theme park setting and offers the largest animatronic figure I’ve ever seen inside a haunt. It wasn’t scary, but it was big and fun to look at (despite the uncovered mechanical parts).
Virus Z is a valiant attempt at a comedy-based haunted house and was the only maze that mentally took me outside of Knott’s Berry Farm and put me in another world, a fictional town of Pleasanton full of maniacal residents.
Slaughterhouse is the goriest maze of the bunch and while actors were few and far between in this house, scenes were elaborately decorated and even included a people-sized meat grinder.
Less memorable houses include Lockdown, Fallout Shelter, Club Blood, and the completely-baffling Labyrinth, which leads guests through a world of characters and sets that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Uncle Bobo’s Bigtop of the Bizarre was probably a good 3-D house when it first premiered, but today it looks like a day-glow nightmare (and not in a good way). Knott’s also feels the need to charge $1 for 3-D glasses that are essentially required for enjoyment of 2 of its 11 haunted mazes (the other being Dia de los Muertos). Other parks with 3-D haunted houses almost always include these paper glasses at no extra charge.
Outside of the houses, street actors ranged from entertaining and amusing to dull and lifeless. A large number of annoying clowns roam the streets of Knott’s Scary Farm, doing very little to scare anyone. Instead, they fall into the standard Halloween clown routine of just being obnoxious. One man inexplicably dressed in drag in the park’s “Ghost Town” area was spouting comments to guests so inappropriate I won’t even repeat them here. Some street actors did seem to be enjoying themselves and played their parts well. Near the end of the night, a group of “Ghost Town” actors blocked a main path heading toward the exit of the park, taunting guests to try to get past them. I watched as one girl tried to break through and bounced right back. Finally, after some laughs, the gang disbanded to play with guests’ minds elsewhere. It was one of a select few amusing moments I found throughout the night.
In the end, I am looking forward to returning to Knott’s Berry Farm some day to experience its rich history and fast rides in the daytime. But not even the promise of good weather would entice me to return to the Halloween Haunt at Knott’s Scary Farm in its current form. The event would benefit greatly from retiring half of its haunted houses and condensing its team of actors into a handful of their best experiences. With a bit of attention to detail and some sprucing up, Knott’s Scary Farm could once again be considered a must-visit for a Halloween fan. But as it exists in 2010, the scare has left the farm.
Photos from the 2010 Halloween Haunt at Knott’s Scary Farm:
(Photos by Jared Isham and Ricky Brigante)",1948,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00200.warc.gz,0.971412360668182
8fa2bbf0-766f-4ebb-a9bb-24e675df07ea,2019-08-22T16:04:15+00:00,2019-02-15,1,https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/players/hazard-transfer-news-chelsea-psg-15790489,"The January transfer window may be closed, but the speculation over the future of Chelsea star Eden Hazard looks set to continue between now and the end of the season.
The 28-year-old Belgian star has been continually linked with a move to Spain in recent months, with Real Madrid reportedly keen on a mega money deal to make him their next 'Galactico'.
And after Hazard teased supporters earlier this week with a cryptic message, the subject of where the Chelsea star will be playing football next season continues to be a hot topic of debate.
""I know what I’m going to do. I have decided,"" he revealed in an interview with RMC. ""For now, the only thing to think about is playing well for Chelsea.
""I have a year-and-a-half left on my contract, everyone knows. My decision will be known soon, but it’s not something that affects my mind.
""I think about it, but without thinking about it. When I’m in the field, I just want to play. We’ll see what happens after.""
But this is not the first time Hazard has been asked about his future and he has kept people guessing on the subject.
The former Lille forward has previously admitted that he is torn between what to do. In the past he has spoken of a desire to play for Real Madrid, and last year he revealed he wants what is best for both himself and the club.
“So I will see,” he told the BBC in October. “Sometimes in my head, I wake up in the morning and think I want to go. Sometimes I think I want to stay.”
But bookmakers believe that after his latest teasing message, that he will be on his way from Stamford Bridge this summer.
And Betway now have the La Liga giants as odds-on to sign Hazard in the summer transfer window, to reunite the Belgian with his compatriot - and former Chelsea team-mate - Thibaut Courtois.
Real Madrid are now the 4/6 favourites to sign the Belgian in the summer, with Betway offering odds of 11/10 that he will remain at Chelsea, and 14/1 that he moves to France to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Betway's Alan Alger said: ""After keeping the media guessing, it seems Eden Hazard has finally decided to pull the plug on his time at Chelsea and we go just 4/6 that he will be at Real Madrid come the start of the 2019/20 season.
""With rumours continuing to swirl around the Belgian's future, we've given the Blues an 11/10 chance to hang onto the 28-year-old for another season, while PSG can be backed at 14/1 to swoop in from under both clubs' noses.""
However, it is understood that the Spanish giants are said to be unwilling to go above Chelsea’s £90 million valuation, and it remains to be seen whether the London club will lower their asking price.",627,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317274.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822151657-20190822173657-00521.warc.gz,0.976196944713592
002ee8ea-6796-49bc-9ca0-471932515faa,2013-06-19T19:06:37+00:00,2013-06-19,1,http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/local/take-a-tour-of-new-stadium-as-plans-go-on-show-1-4642994,"Members of the public have the opportunity to view plans for a football stadium and sports education centre at two consultations events.
Representatives from New College Stamford, Stamford AFC and the Burghley House Preservation Trust presented revised plans for a new £5m football ground and sports education facility including a sports hall, on land next to Ryhall Road to Stamford Town Council last month.
Following the announcement the partnership is staging two public information sessions to give people the chance to see the plans and ask questions about the development before a full planning application is submitted.
Estates director of the Burghley House Preservation Trust David Pennell said: “People should come and see the proposals to get a clear idea of what we are trying to achieve.
“The point of the consultation is for people to come and have their say, get their questions answered and give us their feedback.”
The consultation will include plans of the scheme, and a virtual walk through of the site screened on televisions.
The first session will take place between 2pm and 8pm on Wednesday at Stamford Arts Centre.
The second session will be at New College Stamford on Thursday from 3pm to 8pm.
An outline application for the football club to move from its current home, the Vic Couzens Stadium in Kettering Road, to a new 1,500-seat stadium on the site was first approved by South Kesteven District Council Development Control Committee in June.
Permission to demolish the current stadium and build 54 homes in its place, along with 20 affordable homes in Barnack Road, were also approved as part of the scheme.
Search for a job
Search for a car
Search for a house
Weather for Stamford
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North west
Temperature: 13 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East",393,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93806803226471
6846f4be-f540-4563-acaa-23eec765ac59,2020-10-21T10:27:06+00:00,2012-01-15,0,https://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/they-called-off-school-here-todayjust-because-its-cold/page/4,"Post # 47
hehe…. I grew up in Michigan, and thought that was cold. Then I moved to northern China, where December – February temperatures are -20 to -30 for 3 months solid, NOT including wind chill (and yes, it gets windy).
I was glad to escape to DC this winter, where everyone warned me how ‘cold’ it was going to be – hovering right around freezing, I’m happy with fall jacket and a cute (rather than functional) scarf!
Post # 48
17 Degrees! That would feel amazing right now. Its gets so much colder here. The only reason I could see them cancelling is if their heating system is bad. Here school is usually cancelled or delayed because its very rural and the plows don’t make it out that early or even to everyone. It drifts real bad out in the country too. They cancelled one day of college classes this year because it was literally blizzard like conditions with a foot of snow on the ground and more falling…anything short of that and we are going. I know we used to get out early on hot days at my hs because it would be over 100 degrees and our school had no air conditioning (the stinking elem and ms did, but not us)…still it usually had to be really bad. I remember sitting in class with the shades drawn and the lights off on those days…haha. I feel so backwoods sometimes.",303,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876307.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021093214-20201021123214-00201.warc.gz,0.976044595241547
ea45e934-53c6-4046-84ad-816fbb4f550a,2018-08-20T20:13:27+00:00,2015-01-11,1,http://www.naijafeed.com/2015/01/nigeria-reduces-fuel-price.html,"The Nigerian government has announced a reduction in the fuel price of petrol from N97 per litre to N87 per litre.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, said at a press conference at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Sunday that the new price regime would take effect at midnight today.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke said the N10 reduction in fuel price was necessitated by the reduction in crude oil prices in the international market.
The Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency [PPPRA] and the Department of Petroleum Resources [DPR] have been asked to enforce strict compliance with the new pricing regime as soon as it becomes effective, the minister said.
The new measure is a reversal of government’s policy on the matter.
The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had insisted on December 17 that Nigeria would not reduce the pump price of fuel despite falling oil prices at the international market, until the revenue crisis occasioned by the dwindling oil rates is over.
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said at the time that the decision to review fuel price either upwards or downwards would only be taken after the current crisis in global oil prices had been settled.
But five days ago, on December 13, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Muhammadu Buhari, called on the government to implement immediate price reduction on fuel products to reflect the downscaling in global oil prices.
Speaking through his campaign organization, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Buhari asked the government to “stop stealing from Nigerians and allow them enjoy the relief that has come to consumers of petroleum products globally”.
The APC candidate had said, “The price of diesel which has been deregulated since 2009 still sells at the pump price of N150 and N170 per litre, the same pump price when the international benchmark per barrel of crude was over $100. Now that the international benchmark has dropped to $47.5 (USD) per barrel as at Monday, we ask: where is the deregulation and the relief which it ought to bring to local consumers of diesel?
“For the Nigerian consumers, unfortunately the collapse of crude oil price since October 2014 has not translated into any change in diesel, kerosene and PMS prices across the country.
“We challenge the federal government to reconcile the information on the website of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, indicating the maximum open market price of diesel per litre in December 2014 as being at N111.6 and the fact that the price has come down to less than $50 (USD) as at Monday.
“We want to posit that that the maximum indicative benchmark open consumers of diesel should pay is at a margin below N100 per litre. Therefore, Nigerians are being short-changed by about N50 to N70 on every litre of diesel sold by government.”
The Trade Union Congress [TUC] had earlier on January 5 asked the government to take advantage of the falling oil prices to reduce retail prices of petroleum products.
The TUC had argued that the best time to review the retail pump price of petrol was now, in line with the argument put forward by government in 2012 when the price was adjusted from N70 per litre to N97.",699,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217006.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820195652-20180820215652-00177.warc.gz,0.965618014335632
ff88552c-e2e1-43dd-b4a2-da34aa4b6f88,2013-05-23T19:06:35+00:00,2013-05-23,0,http://www.ciis.edu/Public_Programs/Public_Programs_Events/Welwood_SU13.html,"The Power of Embodied Presence: Inhabiting Yourself, Your Subtle Body, and Your Life with John Welwood
*Photo courtesy of Santa Sabina Retreat Center*
About the Workshop
The great challenge in our busy world is to stay connected with ourselves- with our bodily felt experience, our living wisdom, our sensitivity and our depth. This intensive retreat addresses this challenge through helping you to develop greater presence in body, speech, and mind and to connect with yourself, your awareness, and your felt experience in a fully embodied way.
Grounding in the heart and belly, we will practice consciously inhabiting the subtle body- our innate capacity to feel and know ourselves from within. We will work with tracking the ""life stream""- the ongoing flow of present experiencing- allowing it to open up and reveal new directions. And we will explore a subtle body approach to self-love-opening up the body to the flow of love, along with unpacking mental and emotional patterns blocking this flow.
This retreat is largely experiential, drawing on embodiment exercises, psychospiritual inquiry, mindful speaking and listening, periods of silent practice, and meditation to cultivate embodied presence and awareness. There will also be talks and discussion.
About the Presenter
John Welwood, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, an editor of The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, and teacher whose innovative approach integrates psychological, meditative, and embodiment work. His books include Toward a Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation; Journey of the Heart; Love and Awakening; and most recently, the award-winning Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships.
Single room: $565/$507 members
Double room: $515/$459 members
Commuter fee: $440/$381 members (Includes all meals, from Dinner Friday to lunch on Sunday)
13 CEUs are available for this retreat (MFT, LCSW, RN)
A Personal Note from John Welwood:
For 25 years I have offered an annual retreat/training on the East Coast that has explored the intersection between psychological, meditative, and embodiment work, evolving in new directions each year. My intention is to offer this rich opportunity for personal and spiritual exploration as an annual residential retreat in the Bay Area as well.
This year's program marks the sixth year of this West Coast retreat offered by the California Institute of Integral Studies. It is appropriate both for new participants and for those who have studied with me before and would like to go deeper in continuing this work. It will be useful not only for those in the helping professions, but for everyone who is interested in these issues.
Friday, June 14
Saturday, June 15
Sunday, June 16",565,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.906769573688507
937badf0-1cc7-4696-a120-07129052e4f9,2015-03-27T11:57:26+00:00,2015-03-27,1,http://www.vindy.com/staff/marc-kovac/,"The bill is in excess of $7 billion for the next two years
The Senate will now consider the controversial abortion ban.
A tax increase on tobacco products could drive consumers from the Buckeye State, opponents said
The law change requires new residents who drive to seek new licenses and register vehicles in the state or face possible criminal charges
Lawmakers want to further study a speed-limit increase
The new law affects individuals who were born in Ohio and adopted between 1964 and 1996
Whether drivers can zoom on rural highways and the turnpike at 75 mph remains up in the air.
A task force member is the Bishop George Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown
A total of 66 state employees earned $190,000 or more last year
ResponsibleOhio’s petition language now goes to the Ohio Ballot Board for its consideration.",175,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296383.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00092-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.946897983551025
0f0ec0f9-b45b-411f-98b5-08195c8ef899,2016-07-30T11:10:39+00:00,2009-04-30,0,http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/04/the-news-you-might-have-missed/,"5 Earth Day Pitches that Failed For all the earth day haters out there, Green-Biz has a nice feature on the companies that tried to pimp their green cred on Earth Day but greenwashed themselves into a corner.
Plastic Bag Manufacturers Aim for 40% Recycled Content by 2025 That includes 25% post consumer plastic, my friends. In case you missed it, check out this great vid on the dangers of our plastic bag addiction.
Wal-Mart Doubles Solar Power Arrays Tricky math headline alert! Wal-Mart currently has panels on 18 stores and they are planning to add panels to another 10-20 stores over the next 18 months. Not super exciting, but with store energy consumption as high as it is, this represents a total solar energy capacity of 32 million kWh per year. Ahhh, economies of scale.
Sun Chips Go Compostable Frito Lay strengthens the reputation of these treats as LOHAS hippie chips (at least they were before the days of flax seed tortilla chips and veggie booty) with the announcement that it is currently testing corn based PLA bags. Way to go Frito-Lay!
Mars and TerraCycle Team Up on Upcycling TerraCycle is out of this world, but we’re talking about the candy company. Through the new initiative, TerraCycle will collect waste from 20 Mars brands including M&Ms, Snickers, Altoids, Wrigley’s, Uncle Bens, Flavia, Pedigree and Nutro, and turn the waste packaging into everything from cell phone holders and laptop sleeves to messenger bags. In return for the leg-up meeting their goal of reducing waste 3% per year, Mars will promote some of TerraCycle’s consumer return programs.
Fed-Ex CEO Prefers Carbon Tax to Cap-and-Trade Fed-Ex CEO Fred Smith has joined the fine company of Rex Tillerson of Exxon-Mobil supporting a carbon tax over cap and trade. This sly move has the effect of allowing heads of carbon intensive companies to appear sensitive to the environmental damage associated with their industries, but this sneaky ploy is not to be trusted, since a carbon tax has next to zero chance of passing.
Green Inc Challenges the Locovores with a brave op-ed on the dangers of local environmentalism.",480,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00267-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.931778371334076
daf999d9-ceb8-43f0-9d0b-b4a4375f9b3a,2013-05-18T06:21:15+00:00,2011-04-07,0,http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/chubby-checker-the-twist-20110526,"500 Greatest Songs of All Time
Chubby Checker, 'The Twist'
Writer: Hank Ballard
Producer: Karl Mann
Released: Aug. '60, Parkway
39 weeks; No. 1
""The Twist"" began as a B side for Ballard and the Midnighters in 1958. But in 1960, former chicken plucker Checker covered it at Dick Clark's suggestion. ""Going crazy is what I was looking for — where the music is so good you lose control,"" Checker said. "" 'The Twist' did that.""
Appears on: Greatest Hits (Prime Cuts)
blog comments powered by Disqus",132,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.936814785003662
538ea980-f8aa-4c7d-a661-e49ec77c92f0,2018-08-17T16:37:01+00:00,2018-04-01,1,http://blog.grey2kusa.org/2018/04/were-in-midst-of-biggest-fight-to-end.html,"|Twelve of the remaining 18 American dog tracks may soon close.|
November 6, 2018 may well be the biggest moment ever in the worldwide fight to save greyhounds. On that day, the citizens of Florida will go to the ballot box and have the power to end the cruelty of dog racing in the Sunshine State once and for all. You can help, too! Please sign our petition for Florida greyhounds now.
It’s no secret that greyhounds used in racing often pay with their lives. They break their necks, suffer paralysis and some are even electrocuted. A greyhound named TNT Quiet Riot “fractured her spine” and died at the Sanford Orlando track on July 13, 2017. The very next day Rem’s Carmex also broke her back at another track in Pensacola. PorPorPitifullMe was one of several dogs who fell into the live rail and was electrocuted. On average a racing dog dies every three days in Florida!
These poor dogs deserved better. They were just 1 and 2 years old. In their deaths, we see the cost of dog racing in its most heartless terms.
Since May 2013, nearly 500 young, Florida racing dogs have lost their lives. Many suffered catastrophic injuries and died on the spot. The others could have been saved! But instead of receiving medical care for their broken legs or sprains, these gentle hounds were “given the needle.” Their bodies were placed in plastic bags and tossed away, just like trash. Industry reports call this “euthanasia” but we call it cruelty.
Recent news about the doping of greyhounds with cocaine is only the latest example of an industry that sacrifices animal welfare for profit. In the first four months of 2017, there were eighteen cocaine positives at Florida’s Orange Park Kennel Club. In January, cocaine was found in five greyhounds at Derby Lane, another Florida track.
|Racing greyhound Mega Caliente falls at Orange Park in Jacksonville, Florida.|
But Florida is not alone in its cruel race-fixing schemes. Other states and countries are reporting drug-positive dogs at levels never seen before in a wildly callous attempt to make some of the fastest mammals on earth run even faster.
Life in a cage
When not at the track, racing greyhounds endure lives of terrible confinement. They are kept inside warehouse-style kennels inside stacked cages that are barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around -- for twenty or more hours a day! There are no toys for them and no play.
The minimum size for dog track cages is 32 inches high by 31 inches wide by 42 inches deep, with some slightly larger. According to the American Greyhound Council, greyhounds stand between 23 inches and 30 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh between fifty and eighty-five pounds. Using these dimensions provided by the industry, this means that large greyhounds cannot stand fully erect in their cages.
|Caged greyhounds at Daytona Kennel Club in Florida.|
Since there are no required turn-out times, the only extended period that a racing greyhound is outside of his cage is afforded when he is trucked over to the track to perform several times a month. Otherwise, “home” is marked by the four sides of his cage.
Greyhound racing breeds misery
|A mother and her puppies at an American greyhound breeding farm.|
Another essential problem with dog racing is that thousands of dogs are bred every year in an effort to find younger, faster dogs. The older ones are then displaced, and their very lives put in immediate jeopardy. Will they be rescued or will they be destroyed? The lucky ones who do reach adoption will then displace other needy animals (cats, dogs, rabbits, others) also seeking homes. In this significant way, the racing industry aggravates a homeless animal population which is already overwhelming and immensely sad. We believe that best answer is to get to the root of the problem and end dog racing as quickly as possible.
A dying industry
Even as this cruelty continues, attendance is shrinking by the year. The Association of Racing Commissioners International reports a 70% decline in wagering on dog racing since 2001, the year GREY2K USA was founded. Where there were nearly fifty dog tracks in fifteen states at that time, today there remain a total of eighteen facilities operating in just six states. Similarly, state revenue from greyhound racing continues to drop catastrophically. Between 2001 and 2014, state dog race revenue declined by more than 82% nationwide. In Florida, the country’s biggest dog racing state, regulatory costs have now exceeded revenues by as much as $3.3 million yet dog tracks continue to receive tax breaks and other incentives. States like West Virginia continue to subsidize live racing with tens of millions of dollars per year. This is money that would be better spent on schools, law enforcement, infrastructure and other important community needs.
|Greyhound advocates rally for the dogs.|
|Volunteers protest against cocaine-positive dogs found at Orange Park, Florida.|
All told, we have helped close two-thirds of all US tracks, and we are now looking to apply our strategy to help end dog racing worldwide. Please sign our petition to the leaders of the eight dog racing countries today.
The key to our efforts is a reliance on bona fide, official documentation only. Where previous efforts to end dog racing often amounted to a “he-said she-said” debate, today we let the greyhounds speak for themselves through their own track records and photographs.
You can help the greyhounds
|Lulu of Florida.|",1187,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212639.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817163057-20180817183057-00249.warc.gz,0.966371357440948
429b9781-b466-406b-bcc2-1bd2f6c997ec,2018-08-20T00:50:48+00:00,2018-03-11,1,http://www.theconspatriot.com/2018/03/11/top-democrat-supports-trump/,"A top Democrat is supporting President Trump’s decision to meet with Kim Jong Un.
Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, thinks it’s a high-risk gamble with a huge pay off.
washingtonexaminer.com reports: President Trump’s “high-risk gamble” to meet with North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un has the support of a senior House Democrat, following a briefing from the State Department.
“It’s a high-risk gamble, but I would like to see nothing more than a positive outcome from a face-to-face meeting,” New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Friday.
Trump’s decision to accept Kim’s invitation sets the stage for an unprecedented meeting between leaders of the United States and North Korea. It is expected to take place “before May,” at a time when U.S. intelligence officials estimate that the pariah regime could acquire the ability to strike the United States with a nuclear weapon within months. That has Democrats and Republicans supporting talks, while taking a hard line with the regime.",244,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215487.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820003554-20180820023554-00372.warc.gz,0.939404189586639
b9e0cb8a-ce40-45a3-9255-9d603190728a,2020-10-20T17:10:02+00:00,2019-01-01,0,https://outsourcify.net/2019-company-trip-to-kanchanaburi/,"This year’s company trip was to Kanchanaburi, a region located in western Thailand, 3 hours drive from Bangkok in the direction of Myanmar. It is famous for its lush tropical nature, with several natural parks, rivers, forests, waterfalls and a lot of wildlife. It’s also a place of history as the city of Kanchanaburi became notorious because of the Bridge on the River Kwai which was built during WWII by prisoners of war to link Thailand to India by train through Myanmar.
We stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights, no computers and nothing work related, the only objective was to relax and spend time together.
Check our video below :",140,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874026.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020162922-20201020192922-00525.warc.gz,0.982907474040985
96770b34-039c-474f-a526-9280e2cb4939,2016-07-30T11:13:50+00:00,2013-09-15,0,http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2424658?condition=or&si=boss,"The background was stamped using the Top Boss embossing pad and heat embossed with clear EP. Then the three colours of ink were sponged on getting darker from lower left to upper right. The ink was wiped off the embossed bits. The pumpkin was paper pieced.
Date: Sunday, September 15, 2013 GMT Views: 454",73,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00275-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.97809499502182
341a06ae-3263-4078-bc7a-a61ee785a636,2019-08-24T05:52:16+00:00,2018-04-15,1,https://diasporamessenger.com/2018/04/dp-ruto-ropes-in-nasa-chiefs-to-oppose-calls-for-law-change/,"DP Ruto ropes in Nasa chiefs to oppose calls for law change
Deputy President William Ruto has stealthily roped in Mr Musalia Mudavadi and Mr Moses Wetang’ula in his bid to oppose constitutional changes backed by ODM leader Raila Odinga, in what appears like an early start to the 2022 presidential campaigns.
In the middle is President Uhuru Kenyatta, who risks losing either his new-found friend, Mr Odinga, or his deputy, whose eyes are fixed on the top prize.
Through emissaries, the DP has won the support of Mr Mudavadi of Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford Kenya’s Wetang’ula to oppose Mr Odinga’s proposal of a three-tier government with 14 regions to oversee resource distribution in the 47 counties.
On Mr Odinga’s side is Kanu chairman Gideon Moi, who on several occasions has been pitted against the Deputy President in the Rift Valley. Some analysts say Mr Moi might be endorsed by Mr Odinga for the top job in 2022.
Yesterday, leaders from Mr Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) threatened to scuttle Mr Ruto’s presidential ambitions unless he “stops sabotaging “whatever Mr Odinga does”.
“There is a need for a referendum… Mr Ruto should stop developing cold feet on this matter. Law reform is unstoppable,” said Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi in Migori during a meeting attended by, among others, secretary-general Edwin Sifuna.
Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula described as selfish the bid by Mr Odinga for a three-tier devolved governance, but said they were open to another change — an expanded Executive with a powerful Parliament that oversights it.
They said this in a meeting attended by vocal Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, who claimed to have been sent by the deputy president.
The current change the Constitution clamour is also backed by many church leaders and former President Daniel arap Moi’s Kanu party.
“President Kenyatta and his deputy have said they are focused on building the economy, and uniting Kenya. This economy was badly battered by politics last year. If Raila is focused on politics, Uhuru and Ruto are on another tangent,” said National Assembly Budget committee chairman Kimani Ichung’wa, appearing to distance the President from Mr Odinga’s overtures.
While Mr Odinga argues that the clamour for review of the supreme law is a result of his historic handshake with the President on March 9, Mr Ruto has dismissed the calls as expensive and antithetical to development, coming months after a protracted political crisis.
“The handshake has collapsed. We do not want a referendum. They want a referendum. So we can’t go to bed together. We also cannot agree to another level of devolution — it is expensive!” National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale told the House on Thursday.
On Saturday, Mr Odinga said: “We have a Constitution, but it is not working. That is why President Kenyatta and I came together to change what is not working.”
Two months ago, Mr William Kassait Kamket (Tiaty, Kanu) caused a stir when he proposed a seven-year-one-term ceremonial president and an appointed executive prime minister in charge of the Cabinet. Mr Odinga’s ODM has already backed calls for an executive prime minister.
Meanwhile, former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has dismissed the bid to create another tier of devolved governance. “We will go to a referendum, and we will defeat you in this hyena business,” he said.
Yesterday, Deputy President William Ruto ignored claims that some State officials and business men were plotting to block his 2022 presidential bid. Speaking at a church service cum funds drive at Ng’eny Primary School in aid of more than 20 churches in Turbo constituency, Uasin Gishu County, he instead highlighted Jubilee’s achievements.
The DP said Jubilee’s main agenda in collapsing parties to form one formidable party was to unite Kenyans, irrespective of ethnic or political affiliations.
Leaders from Mt Kenya region who attended the meeting sought to assure the DP of the region’s support in 2022. They included MPs Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu) and David Kiarao (Olkalau) and Kiambu Senator Kimani wa Matangi.
“As Central, we know how far we’ve come with our Rift Valley counterparts and even the president knows this. We’re solidly behind the DP,” he said.
Uasin Gishu County Assembly Speaker David Kiplagat, who is also the North Rift Speakers Association Chairman, said that assemblies in the region would throw out the referendum proposal if tabled.
National Assembly chief whip Benjamin Wasiali termed those calling for referendum tribalists who wanted to divide the country, while Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi said Kenyans were tired of endless politics.",1103,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319724.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824041053-20190824063053-00013.warc.gz,0.958843171596527
bf45dc8a-470a-4910-8e62-8fc0820224eb,2015-03-31T21:06:33+00:00,2008-12-13,1,http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/13/gates.afghanistan/index.html?iref=nextin,"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who arrived in Iraq in a surprise visit Saturday, said he doubts U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan will reach the levels attained in Iraq.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks to U.S. troops at Joint Base Balad in Iraq on Saturday.
The Soviets, who invaded Afghanistan in the 1970s but left in early 1989 after failing to control the country, had 120,000 troops but lost because they didn't have the support of the people, Gates told troops at Balad Air Base, just north of Baghdad.
The U.S. military has about 31,000 troops in Afghanistan, less than a quarter of its total strength in Iraq.
Gates' predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, made similar comments in a 2005 Senate hearing about the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. At the time, Rumsfeld was dealing with a conflict of a different nature, but the comments arose while he was defending what critics called insufficient U.S. troop strength in Iraq.
Gates said that the U.S. military plans to move three more combat brigades to Afghanistan by summer.
The deployment will include one brigade that was scheduled to be sent to the seven-year conflict in January and two more that have yet to be named.
McKiernan has requested four additional brigades, including the one scheduled for January deployment, between 14,000 and 20,000 troops.
Gates said before he arrived in Kandahar that the ideal size of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan is still being debated and that Americans needed to be ""more sensitive"" toward Afghan concerns about international troops on their soil.
Speaking to U.S. forces in Balad, Iraq, on Saturday, Gates said the goal in Afghanistan is to expand training for its national army and police so the country can become self-sufficient.
""Despite what you might hear about an increased focus in Afghanistan, let there be no doubt that your mission and the mission of all American troops in Iraq remains incredibly important during this crucial transition period,"" he told the troops.
Terrorists, he said, are always looking to reverse the gains made in Iraq in the past year and a half.
In the future, he said, he would like to see the United States provide struggling nations with developmental assistance and help them build the institutions that will prevent them from becoming ""failed states.""",503,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00106-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974463999271393
9a786656-75ec-4374-afe2-e3e988b418f6,2017-08-20T15:10:49+00:00,2011-04-24,0,http://radioacresfarm.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-need-to-post-these-pictures-before.html,"broody so we stuck a bunch of our other eggs under her, and she sat on them for at least 21 days, and then they all hatched!
So now we have a lot of little chickens. I have two videos for you. One is Mama Hen with her babies. They like to cuddle up underneath her like Mother Ginger in the Nutcracker. Note also the tiny backwards leg stretch by one of the little chicks. So adorable.
The other video is a running ""chick-cam"" of our 25 chicks. It's long, so if you want a dose of easter goodness (of the hallmark variety, not really the Passion variety) feel free to watch as much or as little of this one as you like. There's some cute stuff in there. They have such funny little personalities.
And, if that's not enough, go ahead and click here for more precious chick pics.",186,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106779.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820150632-20170820170632-00284.warc.gz,0.970103681087494
4557f6da-6ea5-4d07-95dc-51b85f5bd14a,2015-04-01T22:33:28+00:00,1997-07-15,1,http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/51a/016.html,"Date: Tue, 15 Jul 97 12:43:39 CDT
From: law <firstname.lastname@example.org>
Subject: West Bank: Violence Escalates
THE RETURN OF THE ""IRON FIST"" POLICY
iron fistpolicy: Israeli military escalates aggression against Palestinian civilians
The cities of Bethlehem and Hebron have been targeted by the Israeli
military for the return of the brutal military
policy, once condemned worldwide.
In Bethlehem, the situation is becoming increasingly unstable. Daily clashes, which began a week ago, have resulted in dozens wounded and contributed to an already very tense situation. In the past several days, undercover Israeli units infiltrated the Palestinian-controlled Area A in Bethlehem and kidnapped civilians and members of the Palestinian Authority, adding to the climate of terror and instability. In addition a LAW field researcher obtained the affidavit of one civilian, Mohammed Ali Mohammed Salah, 21 years-old from el Khader village near Bethlehem, who was taken from his taxi by Israeli soldiers on July 9, brutally beaten and his legs broken.
In Hebron, violence is escalating as a result of these Iron Fist tactics. In the past three days, the Israeli army sealed the section of Hebron still under Israeli military occupation (zone H-2), home to about 20,000 Palestinians and 400 Jewish settlers and, forced Palestinian merchants to close their stores. In addition, Israeli soldiers entered the Palestinian autonomous area of Hebron (zone H-1) disguised as Arabs, and arrested demonstrators.
In an alarming development, the Foreign Press Association charged the Israeli army with deliberately targeting journalists during the demonstrations. On 13 July, five journalists were among the 15 Palestinians wounded by plastic-covered metal bullets. One journalist was shot in the head. The wounded were: Imad Isseid from APTV, Mazen Dana from Reuters, Amer Jabari from ABC, and Diya Juabi, from Abu Dhabi television. All of them are veteran journalists well-known to the soldiers in the area.
These recent events are terrorizing the local population and pushing the area closer to all-out confrontation. LAW believes that the Israeli government's purpose in escalating tensions emanates from its larger objective to maintain permanent military control over the Palestinians and prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state. Recent announcements by the Israelis regarding further settlement expansion, the house demolition in Silwan last Sunday, and the decision to allow Noam Friedman, the Israeli soldier who opened fire on Hebron residents in January, to go home every weekend and attend classes twice a week, reinforces anger and resentment of the Palestinians and highlights the double-standard of the Israeli government.
LAW condemns in the strongest possible terms the increasing violence
and terrorism inflicted on the Palestinian populations of Bethlehem
and Hebron, and calls for an end to the re-emergence of the
fist policy. These most recent actions violate both international
agreements and the Oslo Accords, and places the Israeli government
directly responsible for the deteriorating situation in the area.",616,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00150-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.932350635528564
7e4ea885-342b-4941-b104-cde9918d2f45,2013-05-23T11:35:08+00:00,2012-12-15,1,http://www.wdsu.com/news/money/Powerful-interests-defend-mortgage-deduction/-/9853238/17559302/-/item/1/-/wkbkwvz/-/index.html,"Several times, President Obama has proposed cutting the deduction down to 28% from 35% of mortgage interest payments for Americans in the top income bracket.
But his proposals have gotten nowhere, thanks to lobbying from home builders, the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
But this time, lobbyists are worried. That's because for the first time in years, House Republicans say they are open to scrubbing any tax breaks from the books as part of shrinking federal deficits.
Housing lobbyists have spent a combined $30 million this year, up from $27 million last year, according to Center for Responsive Politics figures.
They're ensuring that leaders don't do anything ""penny-wise and pound foolish,"" said David Stevens, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The economy ""could actually move backwards"" if the deduction is taken away, he warned because it has a significant impact on middle class Americans' cash flow.
Another powerful group, the National Association of Realtors, has spent a record $25 million on lobbying this year, more than any other year, federal records show. The group declined to share its plans on defending the deduction.
But earlier this month, its President Gary Thomas touted that the group had ""secured 183 bipartisan cosponsors,"" this year to support a House resolution that would protect the current tax deduction for mortgage interest.
""We will continue to work with members of Congress on the consumer's behalf on this issue,"" Thomas said in a statement.",307,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968288898468018
86ff6e11-be5d-49e5-99fc-b275a02a36f3,2017-08-22T03:54:31+00:00,2005-12-31,0,http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Detroit-Economy.html,"Automobile manufacturing continues to be a primary force in the Detroit economy, and Detroit is the nation's only older city that is home to a state-of-the-art auto assembly plant. In recent years, however, dependence on the auto industry has decreased—the city lost 39 percent of its manufacturing jobs in the 1980s—while the services sector has increased. Still, the automobile rules, and as go auto sales, so goes the Detroit area economy. While manufacturing has globalized, virtually all of the key engineering, administrative, and testing functions of the Big Three take place in the Detroit area, employing thousands of highly-skilled and well-paid workers. Most of the world's suppliers of auto parts, such as Delphi and Guardian Industries are also located in Detroit, and advertising firms such as Campbell-Ewald, BBDO, and McCann-Erickson, do millions of dollars in annual business with the large automakers.
There is also a budding industry growing up around firms researching hydrogen fuel cells and other non-petroleum power generating technologies that may drive the automobiles of the future. More than 75 percent of the labor force is employed in non-manufacturing jobs in such areas as research and development; accounting, law, and financial services; computer services; and personnel and clerical support. The Henry Ford Health System is the sixth largest employer in the state and is a major research center. Detroit ranks among the five major financial centers in the United States; offices of all the ""Big Eight"" accounting firms are also located there.
Metropolitan Detroit is the world headquarters for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler Corp., and Volkswagen of America. Other national and international corporations headquartered there include Kmart (which merged with Chicago-based Sears & Roebuck in 2004), Compuware, The Budd Company, American National Resources, and Federal Mogul. Oakland County, one of the country's wealthiest counties and directly north of the city, promotes its Auburn Hills area as ""Automation Alley"" due to the large number of robotics firms that have located there in recent years.
Items and goods produced: automobiles and automobile products, gray iron, machine tools and fixtures, foundry products, paints, varnishes, lacquers, chemicals, pleasure boats, paper and twine, air conditioning equipment, aircraft bearings and cushions, bolts, screws, nuts, boilers, tanks, ball bearings, tools, steel plates, flues and tubes, rubber goods, non-electrical machinery and automation equipment in pharmaceuticals, rubber products, synthetic resins, computer software, and robotics equipment and technology.
Revitalization of Detroit's downtown and neighborhoods is a top priority for city leaders. The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization offers help via grants to community organizations operating or opening shops in city neighborhoods.
Parts of Detroit are designated Michigan Renaissance Zones, which are virtually tax free for any business or resident presently in or moving there. Detroit is one of only five cities nationwide designated a federal empowerment zone. Businesses in the 18.35-square-mile zone are eligible for federal incentives. Other incentives on the state level include tax abatements, tax-exempt revenue bonds, public loans and grants. The state administers an award-winning brownfield redevelopment program, community development block grants, long-term fixed rated financing for small and medium-sized businesses, and more.
In 2003 new mayor Kwame Kilpa-trick created the Detroit Economic Development Organization, which has an Employment and Training Department. Several outstanding nonprofit organizations also maintain job training facilities, including Goodwill Detroit and Focus:HOPE, a now-legendary Detroit organization founded by a Catholic priest and other community leaders in the aftermath of the devastating 1967 riots. The center provides training in everything from basic reading to high-technology machining and computer-aided design.
Michigan offers a coordinated job training system using federal, state, and local resources to provide a highly productive and trained workforce. Grants can provide funding for activities that increase worker productivity. The training itself is done through the institution of the company's choice. Free recruitment and screening services are available for new and expanding employers through the Michigan Employment Security Administration's job service and also through several local school districts. Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) administers a $30 million job training program, which provides assistance to employers to train or retrain workers to meet marketplace needs. MEDC also administers Michigan Economic Growth Authority grants, which award credits against Michigan's single business tax to new or expanding businesses.
While Detroit continues to experience population loss similar to other large industrial cities, significant incentives such as the availability of inexpensive land and federal empowerment zone money have led to a development boom over the last decade. Since the late 1990s and the administration of former Mayor Dennis W. Archer, business investment in the city of Detroit has surpassed $15 billion. So many projects were announced that in 1999 Site Selection magazine named Detroit its number one metropolitan area for business development for the third consecutive year. Detroit attracted 1,133 new or expanded facilities that year, almost double the nearest competitor, Chicago. Among the new projects in Detroit completed in the early 2000s are Campus Martius, a giant office (housing the headquarters of Compuware, one of the world's largest software development companies), retail, and hotel development considered the most important downtown project in decades; two stadiums—the $450-million Ford Field, a domed multi-use stadium built in part from the massive Hudson's warehouse building, and the $285 million Comerica Park, which opened in 2000 as the new home of the Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers; and three casinos, which generate hundreds of millions of dollars in much-needed tax revenue and provide hundreds of jobs. Further south, Wayne State University broke ground on an expansion of its 200-acre Detroit campus by establishing a research and technology park amid an evolving residential and office district. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra also got into the action, with a privately funded renovation of Orchestra Hall on Woodward, along with construction of the adjacent Max M. Fisher Music Center, a new 450-seat recital hall, and a multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art music education center.
Economic Development Information: Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, One Woodward Ave., Suite 1900, PO Box 33840, Detroit, Michigan 48232-0840; telephone (313)964-4000.
Detroit is a major international market. The Greater Detroit Foreign Trade Zone, the largest zone in the country, processes $2 billion in goods annually. The passage in 1989 of the United States/Canada Free Trade Agreement established the largest free trading block in the world, further expanding the parameters of the Detroit market. Detroit is adjacent to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and more foreign trade passes through the port than any other in the United States.
The Port of Detroit has direct access to world markets via the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System. The Port is comprised of seven privately-owned terminals with thirteen berths on the Detroit and Rouge Rivers. All types of cargo can be processed through port facilities; in 2000 cargo volume totaled more than 17 million tons. Service is provided by four tug and barge lines as well as two auxiliary companies, one of which operates a mail boat that is the only boat in the United States with its own zip code.
The tremendous amount of goods produced in Detroit requires a vast distribution system relying not just on the waterways, but also rail and truck carriers. More than 700 motor freight carriers use Greater Detroit's extensive highway system to transport goods to points throughout the United States and Canada. Trucking service is coordinated with that provided by the four rail lines maintaining facilities in Detroit.
Despite the efforts of Governor Jennifer Granholm to maintain the state's manufacturing base and recruit new companies to Michigan, Michigan's unemployment rate of 7.2 percent in 2005 was among the highest in the U.S. in the early 2000s. Reflecting a nationwide trend, the biggest loss of jobs was in the generally high-paying manufacturing sector. In addition, the nation's deep recession following the 2001 World Trade Center attack brought deep job cuts and layoffs in the automotive industry; not surprisingly Detroit fared even worse, and in 2005 the jobless rate in the city was at 8.2 percent. Much of an anticipated rebound in the region's economy and job growth the second half of the decade was expected to come in the high-growth regions of Oakland County (to the north of Detroit), Macomb County (northeast), and Washtenaw County and greater Ann Arbor (to the west).
The following is a summary of data regarding the Detroit metropolitan area labor force, 2004 annual average:
Size of non-agricultural labor force: 2,051,000
Number of workers employed in . . .
construction and mining: 85,800
trade, transportation and utilities: 383,000
financial activities: 117,000
professional and business services: 357,700
educational and health services: 256,200
leisure and hospitality: 181,600
other services: 98,500
Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $24.85
Unemployment rate: 8.2% (February 2005)
|Largest employers (2002)||Number of employees|
|Detroit Public Schools||26,000|
|City of Detroit||20,799|
|The Detroit Medical Center||11,836|
|Henry Ford Health System||7,337|
|General Motors Corp.||6,865|
|U.S. Postal Service||6,157|
|St. John Health||5,767|
|State of Michigan||5,637|
A 2004 worldwide survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked Detroit the 16th costliest American city to live in, and the 101st most expensive worldwide. In 2003 the median home price in the city was $145,000, compared to $163,000 nationally.
The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors in the Detroit area.
2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Average House Price: $324,420
2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Cost of Living Index: 107.5 (U.S. Average = 100.0)
State income tax rate: 3.9% (2005)
State sales tax rate: 6.0%
Local income tax rate: 3.0% residential; 1.5% non-residential
Local sales tax rate: None
Property tax rate: $67.97 per $1,000 assessed valuation (2003 millage)
Economic Information: Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, One Woodward Ave., Suite 1700, PO Box 33840, Detroit, MI 48232-0840; telephone (313)964-4000.",2230,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109893.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822031111-20170822051111-00624.warc.gz,0.936105906963348
517ea5cc-ab05-4890-b733-a922c4c62da8,2015-03-28T23:52:38+00:00,2015-07-01,0,http://dealseekingmom.com/benadryl-anti-itch-sticks-1-38-at-walmart/,"I was hoping to see one of these coupons soon! Seems like my kids are getting lots of mosquito bites this summer. Right now you can pick up Benadryl Anti-Itch Sticks for as low as $1.38 with this new $1/1 Benadryl Topical Product printable coupon. Here's the deal:
Benadryl Anti-Itch Sticks, $2.38
$1/1 Benadryl Topical Product printable coupon
$1.38 ea. after coupon!
Check out more great Walmart deals before you go.
Thanks, Passion for Savings!",131,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00269-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.902215480804443
b3bc48fa-131f-443a-80d5-9354100c8b8c,2013-05-22T14:26:27+00:00,2013-02-28,0,http://www.adoptapet.com/adoption_rescue/80766.html,"Support Cat Adoption and Rescue. Why go to a cat breeder or pet store to buy a cat when you can adopt?
||Contact this shelter/rescue group to see their pets for adoption.
Our Featured Cresco, IA Partner:
SNAP OF NE IA
Cat adoption saves lives. Adopt a cat and you'll have a friend for life!
Contact us, or contact another local humane society, animal shelter or SPCA.
Cities, Towns, and/or Counties We Serve:
We are located in NE IA. We focus on Cresco, IA first, but get calls from a 60 mile radius. We help whenever we can and refer people to others also.
We started out with a spay/neuter program with our goal of helping the stray cats. There was a need to save the city pound cats and then we stared fostering cats when we had foster homes available. We got our shelter license and 501c3. We volunteer because we want to save the animals and make the world a better place for them.
Come Meet our Pets:
We have held a few adoption opportunities this past year. We have spent a lot of time on education and promoting spay/neutering. We just started a Be Kind to Animals Program at the community learning center (166 kids), will have an educational event on SPAY DAY in Feb., gave Pet Meets Baby guides to the prenatal classes at the hospital, and donated educational books to the library recently. We have several events planned this year. Because we don't have an actual shelter, we use foster families. When we are short on foster families, we encourage families to hold on to their pets & we call it a courtesy listing, not a foster adoption.
Our Adoption Process:
We start with an application, do an at home visit and call vet references. If the people qualify to adopt, we have them sign a contract and follow up within a month of the adoption. We ask if the adopters can reimburse us for the medical expenses, with a minimum received of $55 for males and $75 for females. There is a spay/neuter agreement in the contract.",451,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939693748950958
060b1c7e-b153-4406-8783-d52585cf192d,2022-05-23T04:54:30+00:00,2020-10-06,1,https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/06/national/japan-most-negative-view-china-survey/,"Negative views of China and leader Xi Jinping in Japan have again risen this year, a new survey has shown, amid a surge in such sentiment in advanced economies that say Beijing has handled the COVID-19 pandemic poorly.
According to a survey released late Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, majorities in 14 countries surveyed have an unfavorable opinion of China, with negative views in Australia, the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, South Korea, Spain and Canada hitting their highest points since polling on the subject began more than a decade ago.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.",200,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00427.warc.gz,0.923384428024292
6b6929f4-f23d-4ecf-86d6-bc75c76d73d0,2017-08-22T20:36:41+00:00,2015-08-23,1,http://www.news.civilserviceindia.com/civil-services-exam-pattern-to-be-reviewed-by-expert-panel/,"An expert committee has been formed by the government to examine various issues related to age relaxation, eligibility, syllabus and pattern of civil services examination to select IAS and IPS officers.
“The committee has been formed to look into all aspects of civil services examination,” union minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.
Based on the report of the committee, further changes in the civil services exam pattern will be contemplated with the primary objective of providing a level-playing field to aspirants from diverse streams of curriculum like mathematics, engineering, medicine or humanities, he said.
Till such time as the recommendations of the committee are received and the government subsequently takes a decision on the same, Singh said that the General Studies Paper-II (also known as CSAT) in the civil services preliminary examination will remain a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
Meanwhile, the government’s decision taken last year to exclude the English portion consisting of 22 marks in the General Studies Paper-II of the civil services preliminary examination from tabulation also continues to remain in force, he told media in New Delhi.
The panel has been formed as follow-up to the decision taken by the government in May this year to form such a committee, said Singh, minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions, said.
The panel will be headed by former Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer B S Baswan and consist of leading academicians, technocrats and senior bureaucrats, officials said.
Singh recalled that soon after the Narendra Modi government took over on 26 May, 2014, it was confronted with the demands from across the country for revisiting the pattern and syllabus of civil services examination.
It was also being alleged that the present syllabus and pattern tended to benefit students from mathematics and engineering backgrounds, he said.
Singh said the decision to revise the civil services exam pattern was a path-breaking one and aimed to achieve the basic objective of ensuring that the best and the most deserving with a genuine aptitude, should get the opportunity to become a part of the administrative set up of rapidly developing 21st century India.
The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages– preliminary, main and interview — to select candidates for prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.
There are two compulsory papers — Paper I and Paper II — of 200 marks each in civil services preliminary examination.",509,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112682.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822201124-20170822221124-00134.warc.gz,0.966302037239075
0b63b69a-6f75-444e-946b-8fd99cc5817a,2020-10-31T01:19:57+00:00,2009-09-28,1,https://dailyreporter.com/2009/09/28/us-companies-work-on-greener-freezers/,"Washington — Think propane and butane are just for barbecuing? Think again: The common cooking fuels can also chill your drinks and ice cream with less energy and almost none of the global warming worries of current refrigerants.
Some of the world’s largest consumer product companies are promoting freezers and refrigerators in the U.S. that use propane, butane and other coolants that don’t trap heat in the atmosphere as much as Freon and other conventional refrigerants.
The new so-called hydrocarbon coolers — popular in Europe — are being tested by Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company at stores in the Washington and Boston areas. Meanwhile, General Electric is seeking approval to market a home refrigerator in the U.S. using a hydrocarbon refrigerant.
The new freezers take advantage of the way hydrocarbon gases absorb heat when they change from a liquid to a gas. It’s the same process when a propane tank becomes cool to the touch when you’re using it with a gas grill. The hydrocarbon refrigerant is compressed and expanded as it makes its way through the compressor and tubes surrounding the freezer.
Unlike car exhaust or power plant pollution that’s spewed directly into the air, the coolants used in most U.S. refrigerators today only enter the atmosphere when their compressors leak, or when appliances are thrown out and their refrigerant eventually escapes.
If hydrocarbons are accidentally released into the atmosphere, their effect on trapping heat is about 1,400 times less than conventional refrigerants, said Pete Gosselin, director of engineering for Ben & Jerry’s.
The fuels are flammable, of course, but current models only use the amount contained in two or three cigarette lighters. Electronic components are designed to prevent igniting a possible leak.
“It’s extremely potent,” Gosselin said. “And as the world develops, especially in developing nations, refrigeration use is one of the first technologies that comes on board.”
The appliances cost about the same as similar conventional freezers and use about 10 percent less electricity.
“And that turns out to be a huge gain in terms of your carbon footprint, that 10 percent gain in efficiency,” Gosselin said. “Every kilowatt hour that comes in the wall, comes in with a certain amount of CO2 footprint with it and if you can knock 10 percent off that, that’s huge.”
The U.S. will be playing catch-up. Unilever, which has more than 2 million ice cream cabinets worldwide, including 100,000 in the United States, now has more than 400,000 hydrocarbon-based units in Europe, Latin America and Asia, Gosselin said.
About 42,000 bottle vending machines using hydrocarbons or carbon dioxide as refrigerant also have been installed in China, Europe and Latin America by Coca-Cola, Carlsberg and PepsiCo. And McDonald’s has opened two pilot restaurants in Denmark that don’t use traditional refrigerants, according to the Refrigerants, Naturally Web site.
The Environmental Protection Agency, which allowed Ben & Jerry’s to test the new coolers, has already completed a preliminary review on the freezers, as well as the new GE refrigerator. It expects to make a proposed rule on the machines available for public comment later this year, and a final decision could be issued by early next year, said Drusilla Hufford, director of the EPA’s Stratospheric Protection Division.",750,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107912593.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031002758-20201031032758-00480.warc.gz,0.93054735660553
1670abe4-8922-4e01-a6b9-37e5cc6644e9,2018-08-15T05:33:59+00:00,2018-02-28,1,http://silent-fear.org/english/survival-list-survival-p/,"About Blog – Survival Academy is an outdoorsmen’s journey to educated himself on how to lead, prepare and protect his family. Through the use of short stories and interactive entertainment, he provides a unique all-in-one resource for emergency preparedness information, survival tactics, escape & evasion training, the latest and greatest gear for men in their sixties who want to be self-reliant.
Dr. Jonathan Quick, a medical doctor and one of the world’s top health professionals claims that the conditions are perfect for a new superbug in the form of a killer flu virus pandemic. Quick also believes that this pandemic could kill upwards of 33 million people in just 200 days.
Looking for a “no-cook,” “no-fuss” survival food with a long life and reasonable taste? The UST 5-Year Emergency Food Ration Bar may be just the thing. I love shortbread cookies, and these remind me of apple cinnamon oatmeal and shortbread combined. Each pack has 2,400 calories in total, which can be broken into six 400-calorie cubes for rationing purposes. These are perfect for a survival kit stashed in your car or at work, and a good fit for the outdoors, too. If you’re not a shortbread fan, these crumbly cakes might not be your favorite, but they are packed with vitamins and minerals. Bon appétit!
Wilderness Survival Food List An essential element of wilderness survival is knowing what to eat so you can keep yourself alive. We’ve got the top 133 wild foods for your survival food list right here.
Let’s face it: This is a survival knife for a worst case scenario and you find yourself living in a lawless land and need a serious knife for self defense. The US Marine KA-BAR is designed for combat — and proven in combat — and carried by many U.S. Marines into past wars. Please note: This isn’t a survival knife for a weekend recreationist; a forest service official or fish and game warden will possibly confiscate it if they know you’re carrying it, so be sure to check local laws before simply packing one into the wilderness on your next backpacking trip. The good news about carrying this for a worst case survival scenario? Not only is it a knife proven in combat but something you can also use to gut big game or filet a squirrel, possum, trout, salmon or any other critter that you’re willing to eat to survive. (If this KA-BAR is a bit too military for your tastes go with a good folding knife like this Kershaw as a more civilian option and one you might buy for your teen kids as well.)
I imagine their promos mostly get done via their email list and NOT on the website, that’s how most blogs making money from affiliate marketing do things – not through plastering ads all over the site.
An idea on one area that I seem to run into a lot of contention from some people with: electronics. If you’re bugged in and can power them, good for you. If you’re mobile, ditch ’em (most of them). Batteries seem lightweight, but that two pounds of batteries become 40 pounds after 20 miles. Anything that can’t be charged or operated on solar or hand cranks, in my opinion, has no place in a back pack. And of the things that can, many are simply unnecessary. Chromebook for maps, manuals and documents? Get a good smart phone with high capacity storage or OTG storage capabilities with multiple flash drives. Half the weight, just as versatile, twice as mobile. Not to mention, easier to pack.
would just like to say cheers for a remarkable post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to go through it all at the minute but I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the excellent job.
Photo by Philip ChoiPlan a menu ahead of time and keep things as simple as possible. The type and amount of food you carry will vary, depending on whether you are traveling in a vehicle or hiking deep into the wilderness on foot. If you are carrying everything on your back, pack dry and dehydrated foods that you can prepare with hot water. A large variety of pre-packaged meals are available at most camping stores, or you can make them at home. A small bottle of oil, seasonings, granola bars, summer sausage, jerky, and crackers are also good options.
Don’t be a hero. Lower the crossbow TV zombie fighters favor; the infected are still your neighbors. Take every precaution not to kill one another while the government works on distributing a vaccine and treating patients.
About Blog – The Apartment Prepper’s Blog shares information about family preparedness in an Apartment Setting. Bernie Carr Discusses how families can prepare for emergencies while living in an apartment.
As a wilderness survival guide, I have mentored many people in the art and science of wilderness survival. I love the answers beginners give to this question. Water! Nope. Food! No way. Fire? Nada. Shelter! Wrong again. A good knife? Definitely not.
DISCLAIMER This document is for information purposes only, with the intent of free distribution of publicly available information. We do not condone violent or destructive behavior against people or property in any way or form. All content may be freely shared, adapted, and translation for non-commercial purposes.
If you don’t have a lighter or any matches, you will have to start the fire by hand. If you find enough tinder (small material, such as dry grass, feathers or bark shavings, that burns easily) you can usually use the energy from the sun to start a fire with a magnifying glass, a lens from your glasses, a piece of broken glass, a cover to a watch or compass, or other clear, light-intensifying objects. It is very difficult to start a fire by friction; your best bet is to carry a variety of fire-starting implements.
If you encounter snakes, leave them alone. Snakes bite because they are hungry or because they are threatened. We are too big to be seen as prey to most snakes; they do not regard humans as food. Stand still and the snake will go away. Attack it and it will retaliate. If one curls up in your kit, move it out with a long stick and gently prod it away. If it comes in your direction, stand still. It doesn’t know that you are causing its discomfort and if you do not jump around, it will probably not even notice you. However, if you kill the snake you can enjoy eating it. Since you probably don’t know if it’s venomous or not, a good rule is to cut off the head, and then cut the same distance back from that point down the body. This will remove the poison glands, if there are any.
Self-defense is a fundamental human right. I’m not willing to relinquish that right, no matter how many tragedies occur in this crazy world. No many how many wicked or insane persons use guns to do evil, I will assert my … Continue reading →
THIN, LIGHTWEIGHT, COMFORTABLE – At just two credit cards thick, our unique survival knife is great for survivalists, preppers and people with active lifestyles. It also fits comfortable in a wallet, purse, bug out bag or your pocket.
I have purchased several knives from survival life. The first knife I got, someone liked it better than I did and I was not a happy camper. I have given the knives to coworkers and each person likes them as much as I do! They are very sturdy, and well made. The smaller multi-tool is a great little get me out of trouble helper. The fire starters are going to be some stocking stuffers. The fire and fishing grenades are also neat. I will continue to purchase them when offered, even when the wife says that I have too many knives and toys.
That is really amazing list to choose from. I wouldn’t have thought of few items in my list untill I went through this post. I will always give most priority to knives and fire starters. As i think these can the most important tools with help of which you can make it out of the worst situation , If You don’t have access to other tools.
The first thing that you must tell yourself is to take a deep breath and try to control your anxiety and panic. In all likelihood, you are in a much less dangerous situation that you may believe at the moment. If you keep a cool head, you will soon start seeing ways to get out of the bind.
Let’s do the math: At 2500 degrees, you should be able to ignite your tinder bundle and start a fire within just a few seconds. With 35 minutes of continuous burn time, that means you should be able to start approximately 150 – 200 emergency fires with just one small bottle of butane fuel.
Get oriented. Wherever you are will become your point zero. Find a way to mark it using a spare piece of clothing, a pile of rocks, a sheet of paper, or anything else easily visible from a distance. Learn your basic directions — the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Use this to tell directions as on a compass (in a clockwise direction starting at the top 12:00) North, East, South, West.
A lot has been said on the web by hunters, hikers, and wilderness officers on the effectiveness air horns have had to scare off bears, specifically grizzly bears. The official data is that an air horn may or may not work. After hearing what multiple people have had to say with varying credentials, my conclusion is that an air horn might be effective to scare off a grizzly bear 80-90% of the time. People who have used it caution others to hold the horn down so that it makes a long, continued noise. Bear hearing is more sensitive than a human’s and that could be one reason why grizzlies have run at the sound of an air horn. Sometimes it may not work for you though — equipment failure may occur unexpectedly (we don’t live in a perfect world) or maybe a bear is simply too hungry or too angry. For these scenarios, have a back up plan.
The Survival Frog Survival Blog is the blog portion of Survival Frog, LLC. A company dedicated to helping you prepare for an uncertain future by providing you with knowledge and tools to help see you through any disaster.
Blisters can be a literal pain, and they happen a lot when you’re out in the wilderness. If you have a blister, take a needle and a string and poke a hole between two opposite ends of the blister. This will drain the water out and allow the blister to heal faster. If you think you’re about to get a blister, use duct tape to cover the area. This will prevent the blister from forming in the first place because it minimizes friction.
The coming change of seasons from winter to spring has brought to mind two “fevers” that preppers need to be aware of and make plans for. While not actual, physical fevers caused by disease, the effects of “cabin fever” and “spring fever”…
Reading the news headlines this morning I was affected by a report that indicates there is an undeniable nuclear arms race going on. And in my opinion that just begs Armageddon. It may increases the temptation to actually use these weapons. During his state of the nation address in Moscow, …
I find the cross bow way to heavy for a bug out situation there are far lighter options available in a long bow you can even get them in a break down version. They do take more time to master it makes a great hobby in good times and an invaluable skills in bad times.
The Survival function S(t), is the probability that a subject survives longer than time t. S(t) is theoretically a smooth curve, but it is usually estimated using the Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve. The graph shows the KM plot for the aml data and can be interpreted as follows:",2591,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209884.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815043905-20180815063905-00573.warc.gz,0.946612179279327
d9cfde94-b70c-4d24-8231-d0ef3829871a,2017-08-20T10:03:31+00:00,2017-08-20,1,http://thenationonlineng.net/climate-change-unesco-nema-develop-culturally-acceptable-early-warning-tools/,"UNESCO is collaborating with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to develop culturally acceptable early warning tools that will improve indigenous adaptation and resilience to disaster risks posed climate change.
This project is being fashioned against the background of the importance of combining indigenous and scientific knowledge in building resilience to climate change.
Mr Ydo Yao, Director and Representative UNESCO Regional Office, and NEMA Director-General, Mr Mustapha Maihaja, made this known in a joint statement issued in Abuja.
They noted that the interface between indigenous and scientific knowledge had become imperative due to the intensity of climate change impact.
“With the intensity and changing pattern of climate change impact, the capacity of indigenous knowledge Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures has weakened; hence the need to interface modern science without substituting each other.’’
The underscored the need to respect the two sets of knowledge and build on their respective strengths.
In view of this, UNESCO and NEMA have organised a meeting of experts with the theme “Interfacing Modern and Indigenous Early Warning Systems to Build the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities to the Vagaries of Climate Change’’.
The two-day meeting scheduled to hold in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday, will focus of the Lake Chad region.
The objectives of the meeting are to raise awareness on climate change vulnerabilities and identify indigenous early warning systems that could be interfaced with modern systems, Yao and Maihaja said.
The meeting is also expected to review studies, plans and strategies of combining both systems and recommending additional project that could be implemented in Nigeria.
Furthermore, the experts are expected to propose a template for developing indigenous and scientific culturally acceptable early warning education and advocacy tools for DRR management in the Lake Chad communities.
UNESCO and NEMA observed that natural disaster management in Africa is “deeply rooted’’ in local communities with the use of indigenous knowledge to master and monitor climate and other natural systems in order to boost resilience.",411,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106367.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820092918-20170820112918-00444.warc.gz,0.933685660362244
8c923256-0c56-44ee-a69c-a89473bc694c,2017-08-19T21:42:05+00:00,2017-08-19,1,http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=mt&catId=89&newsId=1015&furtherNews=yes,"Mur fil-path tan-navigazzjoni, billi taqbeż is-site tools u s-selettur tal-lingwa
The European Commission has requested Belgium to end complex procedures for paying pensions to beneficiaries residing in another EU country.
By refusing to pay pensions directly to a bank account and using cross border payments, Belgian pensions beneficiaries in 19 EU countries suffer delayed access to their pension, as well as disproportionate costs and other inconveniences. This contravenes the EU right to move freely to and receive their pension in another EU country.
The request takes the form of a 'reasoned opinion' under EU infringement procedures. Belgium has two months to inform Commission of measures it has taken to bring its legislation into line with EU law. Otherwise the Commission may decide to refer Belgium to the EU's Court of Justice.
To export pensions to another EU country, the EU Regulation on social security coordination (Regulation 883/2004) ensures that the transfer of cash benefits payable under the legislation of one or more EU countries cannot be reduced in any way just because the recipient lives in another EU country.",229,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105922.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819201404-20170819221404-00488.warc.gz,0.886172831058502
2011324a-2bb9-4fdf-b580-750eb6f79f32,2015-04-01T05:57:27+00:00,2012-10-01,1,http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-01/189724-in-syrian-shadow-iraqs-maliki-juggles-tehran-and-washington.ashx,"BAGHDAD: Iraq’s move to inspect Iranian aircraft flying to Syria may appease the United States but also shows how the crisis in Damascus has pushed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki into an ever more delicate balancing act between his two main allies. When Maliki’s faced a parliamentary revolt this year, he could count on Tehran to pull strings of influence over restive fellow Shiite politicians in Iraq’s majority community that saw the Iraqis quickly fall in line again behind the Shiite premier.
But after the United States complained publicly that Iran was using Iraqi airspace to fly arms and men to help President Bashar Assad fight Western-backed rebels, Iraq’s government has told Washington it will inspect Iranian flights at random.
Nine years after U.S. forces ousted Iraq’s Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, and nine months after they finally pulled out of the country, Maliki is heavily reliant on Tehran, Washington’s enemy. He leans on Iran for political support at home and for backing in a Sunni-dominated region where he has few friends.
But he still needs the Americans, too – for military aid, in part, but also as Iraq seeks global investment and trading access for an oil industry it is struggling to rebuild.
And all the while, with the Syrian civil war inflaming historic confrontations in the Middle East between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and between Arabs and Persians, Maliki is trying to carve out space for Iraq’s – and his own – interests.
“We are trying to take an independent position, based on our national interests,” Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters recently in explaining Iraq’s Syria policy. “We are trying to differentiate ourselves. Things are not black and white.”
Iraq says it has a policy of non-interference in Syria – but stays close to Tehran’s position by refusing to endorse Western and Arab League demands for the removal of Assad, whose Alawite minority faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
For Maliki – who once found refuge in Syria and Iran as a Shiite Islamist activist fleeing Saddam – a defeat for Assad that put Damascus under the control of Sunni Islamists could add to the threat he already faces from a Sunni insurgency blamed for the kind of attacks that killed over 30 Iraqis Sunday.
“We reject attempts to bring down the regime by force, because it will leave a wider crisis in the region,” Maliki has said.
That concern, rather than any pressure from Tehran, appears to drive the Iraqi premier, diplomats and Iraqi officials say.
“Maliki is fundamentally looking after Maliki’s interests,” one diplomat involved in the region said. “Relations with Iran may be part of that. But I don’t think Iran’s interest will trump Maliki’s domestic interests.”
Maliki is keenly aware of the benefits of keeping Iran on board. Tehran helped secure his premiership into a second term in 2010 by persuading fractious Shiite parties to join forces and outmaneuver Sunnis, Kurds and independent groups.
At the same time, Washington’s sway over a leader whom it once saw as more mindful of U.S. interests than other Shiite candidates had faded, even before the troop withdrawal. Maliki, aware of nationalist sensitivity, said Iraq could not support a small U.S. force staying on by extending troops’ legal immunity.
However, Washington still has weight it can pull with Maliki, as the appeasing move on Iranian flights to Syria demonstrated.
“Maliki will never risk his relationship with the U.S.,” said Iraqi Shiite lawmaker Amir al-Kinani. “But he will send a message saying they must support him to stay in power ... This has nothing to do with religion, for Maliki or for Iran – it’s about interests.”
Washington has allowed $2 billion in weapons sales to Iraq in 2012 alone, including a recently completed purchase of U.S.-made tanks. Baghdad will soon take delivery of more than 30 F-16 fighters that will be the backbone of its new air force.
U.S. military officers engaged in training programs also still operate out of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
With President Barack Obama campaigning for re-election, some in the United States have suggested pressing Iraq harder to distance itself from Iran. But U.S. diplomats are wary of exerting pressure that might have the opposite effect on Maliki. The State Department rejected a call for aid to Baghdad to be threatened if Iraq did not block Iranian flights to Syria.
“Maliki has a variety of reasons for wanting Assad to stay in power. The fact Iran shares this preference will tend to promote stronger relations,” said Stephen Biddle, professor at George Washington University.
“That does not mean Maliki will ignore U.S. preferences ... He wants help wherever he can get it, and the United States can provide arms of the kind and quality Iranians cannot.”
Syria’s crisis, and how the increasingly sectarian turmoil develops there, remains a major question mark over how Maliki will manage future relations with Washington and Tehran.
Already Maliki’s relationship with Assad is complex.
At the height of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, Iraqi Shiite leaders slammed Damascus for letting foreign militants, including Al-Qaeda fighters, slip over their desert border. Members of Saddam’s Baath party, long estranged from the Syrian wing of the movement led by Assad, also found refuge in Syria.
However, Maliki has since developed a more pragmatic relationship with Damascus, not least as the prospect grows of Syria falling to a hard-line Sunni revolt that could the reignite Iraq.
How Maliki manages Syria now depends on whether – or how – Assad’s regime falls. More Western and Arab intervention in Syria that might ease Assad out in favor of a broad-based Syrian government could be a relief for Baghdad.
But a messy collapse, and the rise of a hostile Sunni regime next door, may drive a threatened Maliki closer to Iran; Tehran in turn may increase its focus on Baghdad if it loses Damascus.
“I suspect the Iranians are going to be very dismayed by the collapse of Syria and the loss of their ally and will redouble their efforts in Iraq,” said Kenneth Pollack at the Brookings Institute’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington.
“Both those things are probably going to make it harder for Maliki to chart an independent course.”",1368,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00056-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952705502510071
df1ae665-fda9-4f02-a777-556509274ff0,2013-05-22T00:31:50+00:00,2013-01-17,1,http://crescent-news.com/ap%20travel/2013/01/17/boeing-787-production-continues-as-planned,"Boeing said 787s will keep rolling off the assembly line while it works to get the planes grounded by regulators back flying again.
Boeing's newest, flashiest jet was grounded worldwide on Thursday after one plane suffered a battery fire and another had an emergency landing because pilots detected a burning smell. The two incidents prompted airlines and regulators around the world to ground the planes until a fix for the battery problem is found that satisfies the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
It's not clear how long the investigation -- or the fix -- will take, but it won't be cheap for Boeing. Meanwhile, airlines that had sought the prestige of flying the world's most sophisticated plane are instead stuck with one they can't use.
Poland's airline LOT said Thursday it may seek compensation from Boeing Co. for the grounding of its two 787 Dreamliner planes. The airline suffered the highest-profile embarrassment of any of Boeing's customers on Wednesday night, when it was showing off new service between Warsaw and Chicago.
The plane's captain learned of the FAA grounding order while the flight was on its way from Warsaw to Chicago. The airline had to cancel the return trip -- and a ceremony at O'Hare that was to include airline officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Passengers who were eager to ride the airline's first flight back to Warsaw ended up looking for a hotel room instead.
Boeing currently builds five 787s every month. It hasn't delivered any since Jan. 3, before the first fire. Boeing Co. spokeswoman Lori Gunter said no deliveries were scheduled during that time. She declined to talk about planned deliveries.
All Nippon Airways said its 18th 787 is due at the end of this month, but it won't take delivery until the 787 flights resume.",369,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96776956319809
e3ae0d50-819f-4600-9681-297e338809ff,2013-06-18T22:54:41+00:00,2012-07-29,1,http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-29/syria-faces-economic-endgame-amid-chaos-as-sanctions-bite.html,"Syria Faces Economic Endgame Amid Chaos as Sanctions Bite
The city pulsed to a beat it hadn’t felt for decades as it welcomed its new president. Intellectuals met at private political salons for open, lively discussions of topics they had only dared to mention in whispers before: demands for greater democracy, the suspension of emergency law, an end to the ruling party’s domination.
The young president and his elegant wife, Asma -- a Briton of Syrian origin -- delighted their people by popping into a grocery store or eating dinner at a trendy restaurant, their youth a source of hope for those who wanted to believe that change was possible in what had once been a dour Soviet client state, Bloomberg Markets reports in its September issue.
That was Damascus 12 years ago, in the early months of Bashar al-Assad’s presidency -- a period that became known as the Damascus Spring and that included promises of economic liberalization.
By September 2001, Assad had clamped down, throwing pro- democracy activists into jail.
It was a bloodless preview of the steps the Assad regime would take to crush any hint of a threat to its existence. At the time, when the world was preoccupied with the terrorist attacks in the U.S., the moves drew little international notice.
“Had the Damascus Spring been allowed to flourish, a soft landing could’ve been reached both for the nation and the regime 10 years down the road,” says Sami Moubayyed, a Syrian historian.
Instead, says Haitham al-Maleh, an 81-year-old lawyer and activist, “It was an autumn, not a spring.”
Assad has staged a relentless crackdown on opponents of his regime since March 2011. More than 19,000 people have died, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. They say the number includes almost 5,000 government troops.
Most of the civilians died from shelling, torture and massacres allegedly committed by government troops and pro- regime militiamen, Maleh says. Human Rights Watch says Syria’s intelligence agencies are running an “archipelago of torture centers” across the country.
At the same time, the economy is slowly being suffocated. The European Union began imposing sanctions in May 2011 on top of U.S. restrictions that date to 2004.
“Syria’s currency and foreign reserves have collapsed,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in July, urging a further tightening of the financial vice. “Sanctions on oil alone have deprived Assad of billions of dollars in lost revenues, and his ability to finance his war grows more difficult by the day.”
The revolt began as a peaceful movement inspired by the demonstrations that toppled longtime leaders in the Arab world. Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia in January 2011. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was forced out a month later and has been sentenced to life in jail, while Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi was killed in October and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh was replaced through a negotiated settlement in February.
The Assad regime remains, though its fate appears more precarious with the spread of the uprising to Damascus and Aleppo, Syria’s largest cities, in mid-July and after a blast killed four security chiefs.
Opponents say Assad has survived this long because of the regime’s brutality. Assad says it’s because he still enjoys public support, according to an interview he gave German broadcaster ARD in July. He ruled out stepping down.
“The president shouldn’t run away from a challenge,” he told ARD.
Regional and international efforts to end the crisis have failed. United Nations envoy Kofi Annan brokered a cease-fire deal in April that failed to take hold; the UN mission overseeing it was suspended in June amid increasing violence.
Divisions between the majority Sunni Muslims and Assad’s Alawite leadership have spilled across the country’s borders, with clashes between different religious groups in Lebanon during the past few months. The makeup of religious groups in Syria is similar to that in Iraq and Lebanon, says Edward Djerejian, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria who’s the founding director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston. He says the violence could spread through the region.
The authoritarian Assad of today contrasts starkly with the 34-year-old ophthalmologist who took power in July 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad. Many were willing to give the political novice a chance partly because the image he projected -- so different from his father’s remote and austere approach -- suggested he could move Syria into the 21st century.
“Bashar’s charm, his choice of a wife, his youth, his inexperience” made people give him the benefit of the doubt, says Joshua Landis, director of the Middle East Studies program at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, who once lived in Syria.
“He was shy, a little bit bumbling. He didn’t have bodyguards. He played the simple guy who goes amongst the people, and people were so relieved.”
In his inaugural speech on July 17, 2000, Assad pledged to follow his father’s path and refuse to bargain with Israel over the return of the Golan Heights while also promising to revitalize the economy and be open to constructive criticism. In the early days of his rule, Syria appeared younger and livelier, with the spread of mobile phones, satellite television, Internet cafes and even shopping malls.
More imports were allowed, making a distant memory of the days when salt, toilet paper and sugar were sold from under the counter and people stood in long lines for bread. No longer did restaurants have to rely on an intermittent supply of goods smuggled from Lebanon; usually every item on the menu was available.
Intellectuals began speaking out, gathering in private salons to discuss politics and the economy, and openly calling for greater civil liberties and democratic political reform. In less than a year, the government had cracked down on the salons and snuffed out the movement, throwing 10 of its leaders in jail on charges ranging from attempting to change the constitution to inciting sectarian conflicts, Maleh says.
Landis says Assad was trapped by the system his father had created, one that relied on personal loyalty rather than competence and was antithetical to openness.
“He says: ‘OK, criticize. I want to modernize Syria,’” Landis says. “And within two weeks, all of the political salons are calling for an end to dictatorship.”
Assad continued to make economic changes. In 2005, Syria announced a shift from a socialist economy based on the Soviet model toward more-market-oriented policies. Private banks and insurance companies opened, and firms from countries such as France, the Persian Gulf states, Iran and Turkey began to invest. “Positive things happened in response to the liberalization policies,” says Nabil Sukkar, a former World Bank economist and managing director of the Syrian Consulting Bureau for Development and Investment in Damascus.
Sukkar says the private sector grew to about 67 percent of gross domestic product by early 2011 from about 40 percent two decades earlier, creating new job opportunities.
“The private sector became the largest employer, absorbing 70 percent of total employment,” he says.
A few foreign fast-food chains moved in, introducing Damascenes to caffe lattes, American fried chicken and sticky cinnamon rolls. Modern Japanese and Korean cars replaced aging models. And amid the soot-covered, dun-colored, Soviet-style apartment blocks that dominate Damascus, new building began.
One showcase project, still under construction, is Eighth Gate -- the name refers to the seven gates that circled the city in ancient times -- featuring rows of sleek apartment buildings just off the highway linking Syria and Lebanon. A joint venture between Dubai’s Emaar Properties PJSC, the biggest real estate developer in the United Arab Emirates, and Dubai-based Invest Group Overseas, the project will include office space, a five- star hotel, residences, space for 255 retail outlets, cinemas and the new headquarters of the Damascus Securities Exchange. It was scheduled to be completed in 2014.
Since the unrest began in March 2011, trade, bank lending and tourism have been drying up.
“This crisis is going to retard our growth and development as well as our efforts to catch up with the rest of the countries in the region,” Sukkar says.
Businesses are seeking alternative markets in allied nations such as Iran and Iraq.
As of July 29, the Syrian pound had lost more than a third of its value against the dollar since March 2011, slashing the purchasing power of Syrians on fixed incomes. Syria’s inflation rate was about 33 percent in May, the most recent data available from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Deposits fell by an average of 35 percent in 2011 at Bank Audi Syria SA, Bank of Syria and Overseas SA and Banque Bemo Saudi Fransi SA, according to April filings with the securities exchange. Lending plunged 22 percent.
The EU’s decision to stop importing Syrian crude oil had cost the country $3 billion in export revenue, Sufian Alao, who was oil minister at the time, told the official Syrian Arab News Agency on April 30. Syria exported 150,000 barrels of the 380,000 barrels a day it produced before the sanctions were imposed last September. Its other main exports are textiles, kitchenware and canned food.
“The sanctions have strangled us; they’re killing us,” says Sonia Khandji Cachecho, a businesswoman who’s also a board member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce.
As of July, 65 percent of small industrial enterprises and half of service companies in Damascus and its suburbs had closed, says Cachecho, a perfectly coifed blonde who runs a maker of hair-care and health-care products. Cachecho, the Syrian agent for Wella hair products, says her supplier stopped doing business with her in October because of the EU sanctions.
“What kind of genius sanctions are these that affect the poor and those with fixed income?” she says. “They’re punishing the people, not the regime, and creating unemployment and poverty.”
Business is down 80 percent at Anat, a handicrafts store on Straight Street, which was mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible. The shop once provided part-time employment for 1,000 women across the country and helped preserve Syria’s traditional textile work. Arab and Western tourists, who made up the bulk of Anat’s clientele, are avoiding travel to the country, and Syrians are skimping on nonessential items.
The shop and warehouse, constructed from two converted old Damascene houses with a marble fountain between them, are packed with embroidered shawls, stitched tableaux of traditional homes and silver jewelry studded with turquoise to ward off the evil eye.
The store’s owner, German Heike Weber, 61, who moved to Damascus 30 years ago with her Syrian husband, says any orders have to be shipped via third countries to the U.S. and Europe. And since the clashes have blocked roads to the villages where her wares are made, future supply is uncertain.
“The economy can manage, but with considerable hardship for both the people and the government finances,” Sukkar says.
Until fighting moved to the capital in mid-July, the streets of Damascus had a veneer of normalcy: Workers painted a renovated building on a side road. Kids slammed a ball against the glass wall of an electronics shop, making its owner wince. At a patisserie, a couple flirted as they waited for an assistant to put their cakes in a box.
At the Damascus Securities Exchange, up a steep flight of marble steps, government officials attended a refresher course on how markets work. Lecturer Osama Hassan stood in front of a whiteboard covered with terms: stocks, bonds, Treasury bills. Across the hall, brokers traded stocks, whose prices have fallen by more than 50 percent since the unrest began.
Harsh reality was inescapable, even then. Down a winding road near the exchange, Syrians stood in a long line at a gas station, empty cylinders in hand, to get a ration of cooking fuel--a casualty of sanctions.
As fighting draws closer to Assad’s seat of power in Damascus, his reign is drawing to an end, says Patrick Ventrell, a U.S. State Department spokesman. “We don’t have a crystal ball to know if it’s going to be today or tomorrow or next week or when,” Ventrell says. “But it’s clear that the opposition is going to be unyielding in its demands for democracy and that the people of Syria want to see a new regime.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Donna Abu-Nasr in Beirut at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at email@example.com.
Bloomberg moderates all comments. Comments that are abusive or off-topic will not be posted to the site. Excessively long comments may be moderated as well. Bloomberg cannot facilitate requests to remove comments or explain individual moderation decisions.",2835,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96704638004303
5769cc0d-c23f-4c7f-9efc-e60954c6adee,2018-08-15T13:04:37+00:00,2017-08-31,1,https://www.jack-wolfskin.pt/corporate-responsibility.html,"At home, here in Germany
100% green energy and photovoltaic systems
In March 2008, we began the process of switching entirely to green electricity for our power supply. Alongside reducing our energy consumption, we are focusing on using renewable energy, which we generate by using photovoltaic systems installed at our sites in Idstein and Neu-Wulmstorf.
- 03/2008 – Start of switchover to green energy
- 07/2012 – All locations in Germany/Austria and Switzerland use exclusively green energy
We promote biodiversity
We have redeveloped our campus and converted an area into a colourful meadow of wild flowers. There are insect hotels, nesting and breeding aids, as well as bird baths in the company grounds.
Together with the “Blühendes Idstein” work group, we have planted the ballast bed on the roundabout in front of the company campus with greenery. Native plants now offer sustenance for bees, bumble bees, butterflies and moths and enrich the city’s image with another colourful habitat.
Furthermore, we set great store in the fact that no herbicides are used on flowerbeds or lawns and only bioorganic fertilizers are used.
- 03/2008 – Greening of large parts of the company campus
- 04/2012 – Installation of insect hotels, nesting and breeding aids and bird baths
- 08/2013 – Greening of the roundabout
Environmentally friendly mobility thanks to rail travel, electric vehicles, pedelecs and company bikes
We act as sustainably as possible with regard to mobility. For our employees, this means that for business trips within Germany and bordering countries, travel should be by rail.Furthermore, we try to avoid air travel wherever it makes sense with the aid of our video conferencing systems.
Other initiatives include:
- Electric vehicles and pedelecs charged with 100% green energy at our own charging station
- Our taxi partner in Idstein uses vehicles running on natural gas at our request
- In 2014, our employees covered just under 4,000 km of their commutes by bike as part of the “Mit dem Rad zur Arbeit” (Go by bike to work) initiative from the AOK health insurer. This saved 400 kg of CO2 and burned over 49,000 calories.
Sustainable shop design
Selecting store furnishings based on sustainability
When furnishing our stores, we are mindful of choosing long-lasting natural materials (such as native woods), as well as using components that are recyclable and less harmful to the environment. Furthermore, we have an energy-saving lighting concept, are mindful of the reusability of elements and completely avoid using PVC (either in flooring or other construction components)
- 02/2012 – Optimisation of store furnishing based on ecological criteria
A comprehensive overview of our environmental initiatives
Our 2011/2012 Environmental Report outlines our many years of commitment to ensuring environmentally responsible operations. It describes in detail what we’ve achieved to date and which goals we’ve set ourselves.
In the wider world
bluesign® system partnership 100% bluesign® by 2020
With the help of the bluesign® system, we are making comprehensive chemical management using the best technology available at all levels of our supply chain a reality
We have been a bluesign® system partner since October 2011. Thanks to the bluesign® system, we can guarantee the sustainable production of textiles. bluesign® eradicates environmentally unfriendly and health-damaging substances from the manufacturing process, right from the start. All stages of the process are fully monitored by an independent auditor in order to guarantee environmentally friendly and safe production, as well as compliance with the strictest consumer protection requirements.
The bluesign® standard stands for
- Safe textiles,
- Environmentally friendly production
- Conscious use of resources
Our goal is to obtain all of our fabrics and 75% of our components (such as buttons, zips, drawcords, etc.) from bluesign®-certified manufacturers from 2020 onwards.
- 10/2011 – Jack Wolfskin becomes a bluesign® system Partner
- 08/2012 – First bluesign®-certified materials in the collection
- 02/2015 – We are able to ensure that 63% of our appointed material manufacturers (fabrics and components) have not used hazardous chemicals, including all preliminary stages. 14% of our material suppliers are currently undergoing the bluesign® screening or implementation phase.
- 02/2016 – Two-thirds of apparel fabrics used in our 2016 summer collection are bluesign® approved and meet the highest standards with regard to an effective use of resources, consumer protection, water and air emissions as well as workplace safety.
MRSL – environmentally friendly production
Ban or limit on using certain chemicals in the production process
MRSL stands for Manufacturing Restricted Substances List and refers to a list of chemicals which should not be used or may only be used in limited quantities as they can be harmful to humans or the environment above a certain concentration.
We have developed a uniform MRSL with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals group (ZDHC) in order to have the greatest possible influence on our suppliers of fabrics and components, with the full weight of the market power of the companies in the ZDHC behind us.
GreenBook – guarantees products free from harmful substances
The requirements regarding products free from harmful substances are listed in the GreenBook
Our requirements for hazardous substances have been summarised in the GreenBook since 2007. All manufacturers, irrespective of whether they supply finished items of apparel, materials or components, must comply with these requirements.
The minimum requirements listed in our GreenBook are based on both worldwide legal requirements, such as REACH, as well as the those of the bluesign® standard and the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100.In order to ensure that the requirements are adhered to, we have outlined a comprehensive test programme to be carried out by independent accredited laboratories in Germany.
- 04/2007 – The GreenBook becomes a binding part of business relationships with all suppliers
- 08/2017: Publication of the updated „Green Book 2017“ view here
Phasing out PFCs – Going the extra mile
The phasing out of fluorine chemicals is a done deal. – We have committed ourselves to having fully achieved this aim by 2020
PFCs (perfluorinated and polyfluorinated compounds) make the outer material of jackets and trousers resistant to water, dirt and oil. The problem is that some chemicals in this group are already known to be toxic (poisonous), persistent (non-degradable) or bioaccumulative (they accumulate in organisms).
As the information available is not conclusive, we would rather err on the side of caution than have to later live with the knowledge that we have damaged people or our planet. We therefore decided in 2012 to eliminate all PFCs from our products by 2020.
In 2009 we had already begun to ban PFOA – a substance that belongs to the PFC group and which was not yet legally regulated but was already regarded critically – from our products.
The switch to PFC-free, water-repellent coatings is in full swing. In order to find straightforward and proven non-critical water-repellent coatings for our products, this topic has become an important issue in our innovation department.
- 01/2009 – Decision to phase out C8 chemicals and ban PFOA
- 09/2012 – Decision to phase out fluorine chemicals
- 02/2013 – Exclusive use of PFC-free waterproof membranes based on polyurethane
- 08/2013 – 50% of Jack Wolfskin’s entire collection is PFC-free read the press release of 12/2013
- 02/2015 – 75% of Jack Wolfskin’s entire collection is PFC-free read the press release of 06/2014
- 02/2016 – 77% of our apparel products for the 2016 summer collection are already PFC-free. This means that we have reached this target two years ahead of schedule.
- 02/2017 – 89 % of our clothing products in the 2017 summer collection is PFC-free.
Transparency and strict controls
The amount of recycled contents in our products is more and more increasing. In order to ensure transparency regarding the origin, all recycled materials are certified according to the Global Recycled Standard (GRS). To guarantee a compliance with thresholds for harmful substances, we are already using bluesign® approved recycled materials for the very most part. It is our goal to exclusively use bluesign® approved recycled materials from 2020 on.
Gaining knowledge and find options for action
Mircoplastic in the oceans is more and more increasing. Mircoplastic, those are merest plastic particles that accumulate in our environment and may harm ecosystems and human beings. Garments are considered to be one of the sources of microplastic due to the regular washing into washing machines where microfibers are washed out each time. We are fully aware about that problem and decided to find answers for the most pressing questions about microfibers and to define specific options for action. We want to find solutions not only for us as company, but also for the entire outdoor industry and within global contexts.
ZDHC – the way to cleaner production
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals is our aim
We were the first company in the industry to have joined the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) programme in 2012. The aim of this group of globally active clothing companies is to ban all dangerous chemicals from the entire production chain by 2020. This ambitious aim can only be achieved by working together with the industry, supervisory authorities and stakeholders. We’re doing everything we can to achieve this aim.
- 10/2012 – Jack Wolfskin joins the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals programme read the press release of 09/2012
- 08/2014 – Using regular water tests at our suppliers, we make spot checks to see whether systems already implemented have had the desired effect and no toxic chemicals are being emitted. We ensure transparency by publishing the results of the water tests on our website
- At the end of 2016 the ZDHC published a jointly developed and industry-first Wastewater Guideline – with regard to our regular wastewater tests, we are following this guideline in order to achieve zero discharge in the industry together.
Freight transport – Reducing CO2 emissions
Replacing air freight with shipping: Logistical challenge
Our incoming freight accounts for the majority (approx. 73%) of our total CO2 emissions.
As part of the drive to restructure our procurement processes, we changed our entire production and supply cycle and introduced binding ecological criteria for our global freight transport with regard to the means of transport selected and route planning.
The main aims have always been to replace as much air freight as possible with sea freight and to optimise all transport routes, including pre- and post-transport.
Transparency regarding material and component suppliers
More trust thanks to full transparency
We don’t have anything to hide – that’s why we decided in 2014 to publish not only our direct suppliers, but also show the upstream steps transparently on our website.
For clarity, the suppliers have been divided into three categories: pioneers, good suppliers with potential for improvement and suppliers who are still in the early stages. This makes it possible to identify developments and make our bluesign® goals understandable and measurable.
- 07/2014 – Publication of material and component suppliers",2411,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210105.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815122304-20180815142304-00704.warc.gz,0.929995536804199
0767c0f1-ebf2-42a0-9848-7743cbfce1c0,2022-05-19T05:18:30+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://www.newsilike.in/humans-and-laptops-what-could-you-do-with-a-single-laptop-in-past/,"Humans and laptops: What could you do with a single laptop in the past?
Back in November, we posted an infographic entitled “Humans vs Laptops – How smart is you computer?” that compared the different skills of humans against computers… the good news is, humans won out.
For now! Continuing in this vein we thought it might be interesting to think about what we could have done with laptops through the ages of time. Would the Mesopotamian scribes have been able to write down more great speeches with a laptop than with a wax tablet?
What could the Roman empire have done with computers? And just think about what Leonardo Da Vinci could have accomplished if he’d replaced his paper notebook with the latest laptop deals! Take a look below at our ideas.
What great moments in history do you think could have benefited from access to computers?",198,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00424.warc.gz,0.961609184741974
ece90d4e-4b39-4937-ac49-4fd34360a45b,2022-05-23T09:18:38+00:00,2020-09-15,1,https://www.tpr.org/2020-09-15/oil-demand-has-collapsed-and-it-wont-come-back-any-time-soon,"Oil Demand Has Collapsed, And It Won't Come Back Any Time Soon
2020 is shaping up to be an extraordinarily bad year for oil.
In the spring, pandemic lockdowns sent oil demand plummeting and markets into a tailspin. At one point, U.S. oil prices even turned negative for the first time in history.
But summer brought new optimism to the industry, with hopes rising for a controlled pandemic, a recovering economy and resurgent oil demand.
Those hopes are now fading. In a report Tuesday, the influential advisory body called the International Energy Agency revised its forecasts for global oil consumption downward, warning that the market outlook is ""even more fragile"" than expected and that ""the path ahead is treacherous.""
It's the latest in a flurry of diminished forecasts from major energy players. On Monday, oil cartel OPEC slashed its expectations of oil demand, just as Trafigura, a large oil trading company, warned that another large oil glut is building.
And energy giant BP, which has grabbed headlines with its new carbon-neutral commitments, raised the possibility that the world might never again use as much oil as it did before the pandemic.
A pair of recent OPEC reports reflect the rapid shift in mood.
Its August oil forecast assumed that by 2021, ""COVID-19 will largely be contained globally with no major disruptions to the global economy."" OPEC also predicted that economic activity would be rebounding steadily and oil demand would be recovering.
But on Monday, OPEC released a much grimmer forecast.
""[S]tructural changes to the global economy are forecast to persist,"" the oil cartel wrote. Travel and tourism ""are not expected to achieve pre-COVID-19 levels of activity before the end of 2021.""
The IEA, a well-regarded source of global energy data, agreed with the oil cartel's latest assessment, writing that ""it is becoming increasingly apparent that COVID-19 will stay with us for some time.""
""There's some negative vibes out there,"" said Neil Atkinson, the head of Oil Industry and Markets Division at the IEA. ""It just doesn't appear to be a simple case of this horrible thing comes along in the first six months of the year and then mercifully goes away again and we can all go back to normal. It's just not happening like that.""
The world still relies heavily on oil and natural gas. For 2020, OPEC predicts total oil demand will be slashed by nearly 10% — nowhere near the large-scale pivot away from fossil fuels that scientists say is necessary to fight climate change.
But from the industry's perspective, this year's decline is tremendous and destabilizing. Producers around the world are already radically rethinking their production plans, shutting down drilling rigs and hitting pause on major projects.
Many U.S. producers have gone bankrupt. Saudi Arabia, which has been trying to diversify its economy to be less reliant on oil as the sole source of prosperity, pushed the wider group of countries called OPEC+ to slash output and drag prices up out of the doldrums.
These disruptions come as a growing number of investors, regulators and even energy giants are projecting bigger shifts in oil demand in the years to come as much of the world takes action to try to limit the most damaging consequences of climate change.
BP and Shell are among the European oil and gas giants that have pledged to reshape their businesses to focus more on zero-carbon energy sources. Total, the French energy company, recently acknowledged that the shift away from fossil fuels will cause some of its current oil investments to become ""stranded assets,"" meaning they will not be as valuable as expected in a world that has reduced its reliance on oil.
BP published its annual energy outlook this week and laid out three possible trajectories for the future of oil demand. In two of those pathways, the world would take meaningful action on climate change, and the current drop in demand — instead of being a pandemic-induced blip — would become the pivot point leading toward a lower-emissions future.
In the third path, where the world continues with ""business as usual"" instead of acting more swiftly to stop global warming, BP predicts oil demand would increase slightly over the next few years — but still peak within the decade.
BP says its scenarios are not forecasts, but ""a range of possible outcomes.""
Carolyn Kissane, an energy expert and an academic director at New York University's Center for Global Affairs, says BP's experts aren't the only ones who see a possibility that energy demand may have already peaked.
She notes many factors will affect demand — including economic developments, government policy decisions and, of course, the pandemic. And big questions remain about just how profoundly our behavior might shift as a result of pandemic disruptions.
""Maybe we are making this more dramatic, radical transition that's going to have much deeper impacts,"" she says. ""There is that uncertainty.""
Transitioning away from fossil fuels will not be quick, easy or simple, Kissane says. But it's possible the pandemic is pushing companies and oil-producing countries to think now about how to adapt to a world with reduced oil demand — one they once expected would arrive further into the future.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.",1095,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662556725.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523071517-20220523101517-00600.warc.gz,0.961044013500214
548ccf9a-83f5-4200-9bcb-2c6a5b200948,2022-05-25T03:31:50+00:00,2021-12-31,0,https://excellentathome.com/2-in-1-for-drawing/,"Best 2 In 1 For Drawing – Top 8 of 2021
We examined all of the reviews, and put together a list of the best sellers. Check out the top 2 In 1 For Drawing below.
Lenovo Flex 14 2-in-1 Convertible Laptop, 14 Inch FHD Touchscreen Display, AMD Ryzen 5 3500U Processor, 12GB DDR4 RAM,...
- With a 1920 x 1080 full HD touch screen display and the powerful and efficient AMD Ryzen 5 3500U mobile Processor, you can work, stream, and...
- Comprehensive, built-in, ongoing protection with Windows 10 helps protect you against viruses, malware, and ransomware
- Convenient true block privacy shutter allows you to physically close your PC's webcam whenever you're not using it
- With the included active pen, you can draw or take notes directly on the screen, anywhere you go
- Up to 10 hours of battery life with recharge technology to power your laptop computer up to 80% in just one hour
Draw A Superhero Comic - Art Made Easy for Kids: 2 in 1 Drawing Workbook and Blank Comic
- Airth, Pablo (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 100 Pages - 12/03/2019 (Publication Date) - Independently published (Publisher)
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (256 GB, Intel Core i5)(Windows 10 Professional 64 bit) (Renewed)
- This Certified Refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new. The refurbishing process includes functionality...
- 4th generation Intel Core i5-4300U 1.90 GHz (with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.9GHz) with Intel HD Graphics 4400
- 5MP and 1080p HD front- and rear-facing cameras - Built-in front- and rear-facing microphones - Stereo speakers with Dolby Audio-enhanced...
- 256GB solid state drive (SSD)
Paint Brush Drawing finger painting
- Application features:
- - Intuitive brush picker and color picker
- - Easy and different brush size
- - Different types of eraser
- - Gallery saves drawing pictures & Share your painting with friends & family.
Costzon Kids Art Easel with Stool, 2 in 1 Double-Sided Magnetic Dry Erase Board and Kids Book Rack with Foldable...
- 2 In 1 Design: Different from other kids art easel, this kids educational toy not only serves as the magnetic dry erase board which allows...
- 3 Adjustable Heights: Featuring 3 adjustable positions from 30” to 39”, this premium kids art easel is suitable for kids of different...
- Premium & Safe Material: Made of odorless HDPE with smooth surface and round edge design, this 2 in 1 art easel is durable for long time use...
- Foldable Desktop & Sweet Accessories: With the spacious and foldable desktop, this standing easel is easy to store for space-saving. In...
- Ample Storage Space: Thanks to its big tray and bottom storage shelf, this adjustable kids easel comes with large storage space to keep your...
MeeYum Kids 2 in 1 Drawing Board Suitcase for Children, Includes 2 Boards , Crayons and Eraser
- 2 in 1 DRAWING BOARD: 2 in 1 DRAWING BOARD: Adorable drawing board for your young artist to color and create artistic masterpeices
- PORTABLE SUITCASE:Can be folded easily into a suitcase to take along wherever you go
- PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: 30.5 x 29 x 28 cm
- SATISFACTION GUARANTEED:We are sure you will be delighted with this purchase however if you are not completely satisfied please contact us...
- EXCELLENT GIFT: Great gift or birthday present for all kids who like to draw and create artistic designs!
Uzumaki (3-in-1 Deluxe Edition): Includes vols. 1, 2 & 3 (Uzumaki (3-in-1, Deluxe Edition))
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Ito, Junji (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 648 Pages - 10/16/2018 (Publication Date) - VIZ Media: VIZ Signature (Publisher)",930,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662578939.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525023952-20220525053952-00410.warc.gz,0.833416938781738
254d2075-0ca4-4e88-9477-83af54fd1e4a,2013-05-18T17:27:08+00:00,2013-01-29,1,http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/29/obama-says-football-likely-to-change-because-of-head-injuries/,"Obama is a football fan. He’s said it before: he roots for his hometown Chicago Bears and has been known to throw the pigskin around the Oval Office. But if he had a son, he said he would “have to think long and hard” before letting him on the field, according to the New York Daily News.
The head injuries that some football players face – sometimes leading to lifelong neurological maladies – has the President questioning whether the risks are worth it for college players, CNN reported.
“I think that those of us who love the sport are going to have to wrestle with the fact that it will probably [have to] change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence,” Obama said in an interview conducted Jan. 16 with the New Republic and released Saturday.
The President seemed more worried about college players than NFL players because “the NFL players have a union, they’re grown men, they can make some of these decisions on their own, and most of them are well-compensated for the violence they do to their bodies.”
However, he said college players encounter the same problems with concussions and other injuries as professional players, but “then have nothing to fall back on.” He would like to see the NCAA – the National Collegiate Athletic Association – making the sport better for the players.
With Super Bowl XLVII taking place this Sunday, coaching brothers Jim and John Harbaugh — who will face each other this weekend — commented on Obama’s opinion of the game.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters:
“Well I have a 4-month old, almost 5-month old son, Jack Harbaugh, and if President Obama feels that way, then there will be a little bit less competition for Jack Harbaugh when he gets old… It’s still early. Like I said, Jack is only 5 months old. He is a really big kid. He has an enormous head. We don’t have a 40 [time] on him yet, but his wingspan is plus one, and as soon as he grows into that head, he is going to be something. It’s early, but expectations are high for young Jack.”
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh also disagreed with the President’s comments: “Football is a great game. And anybody who’s played the game knows what a great game it is, what it provides for young people, what it provided for people like me. I think it’s a huge part of our educational system in our country and it’s going to be around a long time,” according to the Denver Post.
However, Obama’s concerns about head injuries aren’t unfounded. A study published last September by the medical journal Neurology suggested that professional football players are three times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases than the general population, CNN reported. And a study published in the journal of neurology Brain in 2009 found that people concussed in their youth show signs of mental and physical problems even more than 30 years later, BBC News reported.",653,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980643808841705
d974d008-c7a1-444a-a4c7-625dbf9d0aaa,2022-05-17T20:47:48+00:00,2021-11-10,1,https://www.newsunseen.com/2021/11/10/moderna-and-us-govt-at-odds-over-vaccine-patent-report/,"American pharma company Moderna and the US government are locked in a row over the patent for the company’s Covid-19 vaccine after it filed an application that left out the names of three government scientists, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The dispute could ultimately determine whether the private company alone has intellectual property rights to the dose or if this is shared with the US government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), which in effect will determine where billions of dollars in future profits go and whether the American government can nudge Moderna to help other companies make its product to address large vaccine access inequities across the world.
According to the NYT report, the vaccine was the culmination of four-year collaboration between Moderna and NIH, the government’s biomedical research agency. In November 2020, when Moderna’s clinical trial results showed significant success, the government called it the “NIH.-Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.”
NIH, according to the NYT report, said three scientists at its Vaccine Research Center — Dr. John R. Mascola, the center’s director; Dr Barney S Graham, who recently retired; and Dr. Kizzmekia S Corbett, who is now at Harvard — worked with Moderna scientists to design the genetic sequence that prompts the vaccine to produce an immune response, and should be named on the “principal patent application” that was filed in July.
In the filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the company said it “reached the good-faith determination that these individuals did not co-invent” the component in question, the report said.
The patent has not yet been issued. The application names several of Moderna’s own employees as the sole inventors.
The report quoted NIH representatives as saying the dispute continued. “NIH disagrees with Moderna’s inventorship determination,” said Kathy Stover, a spokeswoman for the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). “Omitting NIH inventors from the principal patent application deprives NIH of a co-ownership interest in that application and the patent that will eventually issue from it.”
A spokeswoman for Moderna, Colleen Hussey, told NYT the company had “all along recognised the substantial role that NIH has played in developing Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.” But she said the company was legally bound to exclude the agency from the core application, because “only Moderna’s scientists designed” the vaccine.
If NIH scientists were named as co-inventors, the agency would generally not need Moderna’s permission to license it to other companies or organisations, which could expand the supply of the vaccine at a time when inequity in access is high.
In a statement on Tuesday, the World Health Organization noted that only about 2.5% of the population in low income countries has been fully vaccinated for the coronavirus.
But even with a license, manufacturers would lack crucial components for quickly making Moderna’s vaccine — including the recipe and the company’s technical know-how, the NYT report pointed out.
A similar vaccine development arrangement has been in the spotlight in India where the government’s medical research agency, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) helped private company Bharat Biotech develop the Covaxin Covid-19 vaccine. Government officials, including the ICMR’s head, said the agency shares the intellectual property rights and gets a 5% royalty, although the company has not made its position clear on the matter.",766,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520817.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517194243-20220517224243-00410.warc.gz,0.957948923110962
abfc4da1-89d3-4781-af01-d3c310986ebf,2016-07-27T21:05:17+00:00,2014-09-10,1,http://www.myzimbabwe.co.zw/news/1302-ebola-kills-2296-people-200-die-in-1-day.html,"- Published on 10 September 2014
- Written by Staff Reporter
The death toll from the worst Ebola outbreak in history has jumped by almost 200 in a single day to at least 2 296 and was expected to be higher than that, the World Health Organisation said.
The WHO said on Tuesday that it had recorded 4 293 cases in five west African countries as of September 6, a day after its previous update.
But it still did not have new figures for Liberia, the worst-affected country, suggesting the true toll was already much higher. The WHO has said it expects thousands of new cases in Liberia in the next three weeks.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said she expected the Ebola crisis gripping her country to worsen in the coming weeks as health workers struggle with inadequate supplies, a lack of outside support and a population in fear.
""It remains a very grave situation,"" she told an audience at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, via Skype from Liberia's capital Monrovia. ""It is taking a long time to respond effectively. We expect it to accelerate for at least another two or three weeks before we can look forward to a decline.""
Liberia's defence minister told the UN Security Council that Ebola posed a mortal threat to the country.
""Liberia is facing a serious threat to its national existence. The Ebola virus has caused a disruption of the normal functioning of our state,"" said Liberian Minister of National Defence Brownie Samukai.
As well as struggling to contain the disease, the UN health organisation was having difficulty compiling data on the number of cases, said Sylvie Briand, director of WHO's department of pandemic and epidemic diseases.
""We know that the numbers are underestimated,"" Briand said. ""We are working to estimate the underestimation.
The outbreak began last December and has been gathering pace for months, but about 60 percent of Liberia's cases and deaths occurred within the last three weeks, the data showed.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Liberia's Montserrado County, which includes the capital, Monrovia, needs 1 000 beds to treat Ebola patients but the medical charity can only provide about 400 of those.
""We know that every day there are more people that need to be taken care of than we can include in our programme. At the moment, there are insufficient beds,"" MSF emergency co-ordinator, Laurence Sailly, said.
He said MSF was lobbying other non-governmental organisations and the UN to increase their response in Liberia.
""We are working also in Guinea and Sierra Leone, so we will not be able to have more than 300 to 400 beds here in Montserrado. We are not going to go more than that, and it is not going to do anything with the scale of the epidemic here,"" Sailly said.
About 33 people are being kept in quarantine in a run-down house in the Senegalese capital Dakar after a student from neighbouring Guinea arrived in the city two weeks ago bringing Ebola.
The student is now in isolation in a Dakar hospital, his condition improving, according to the health ministry.
In Guinea and Sierra Leone, the other two countries at the centre of the outbreak, only 39 percent of cases and about 29 percent of deaths have occurred in the past three weeks, suggesting they are doing better at tackling the outbreak. - reuters",696,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00031-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9724902510643
4569730d-97c5-4a8e-8f53-bfc23ae9cb7f,2018-08-15T13:00:39+00:00,2015-06-30,1,http://environmentalscience.oxfordre.com/abstract/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389414-e-7?rskey=4KiBP5&result=1,"Summary and Keywords
The Anthropocene hypothesis—that humans have impacted “the environment” but also changed the Earth’s geology—has spread widely through the sciences and humanities. This hypothesis is being currently tested to see whether the Anthropocene may become part of the Geological Time Scale. An Anthropocene Working Group has been established to assemble the evidence. The decision regarding formalization is likely to be taken in the next few years, by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the body that oversees the Geological Time Scale. Whichever way the decision goes, there will remain the reality of the phenomenon and the utility of the concept.
The evidence, as outlined here, rests upon a broad range of signatures reflecting humanity’s significant and increasing modification of Earth systems. These may be visible as markers in physical deposits in the form of the greatest expansion of novel minerals in the last 2.4 billion years of Earth history and development of ubiquitous materials, such as plastics, unique to the Anthropocene. The artefacts we produce to live as modern humans will form the technofossils of the future. Human-generated deposits now extend from our natural habitat on land into our oceans, transported at rates exceeding the sediment carried by rivers by an order of magnitude. That influence now extends increasingly underground in our quest for minerals, fuel, living space, and to develop transport and communication networks. These human trace fossils may be preserved over geological durations and the evolution of technology has created a new technosphere, yet to evolve into balance with other Earth systems.
The expression of the Anthropocene can be seen in sediments and glaciers in chemical markers. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by ~45 percent above pre–Industrial Revolution levels, mainly through combustion, over a few decades, of a geological carbon-store that took many millions of years to accumulate. Although this may ultimately drive climate change, average global temperature increases and resultant sea-level rises remain comparatively small, as yet. But the shift to isotopically lighter carbon locked into limestones and calcareous fossils will form a permanent record. Nitrogen and phosphorus contents in surface soils have approximately doubled through increased use of fertilizers to increase agricultural yields as the human population has also doubled in the last 50 years. Industrial metals, radioactive fallout from atomic weapons testing, and complex organic compounds have been widely dispersed through the environment and become preserved in sediment and ice layers.
Despite radical changes to flora and fauna across the planet, the Earth still has most of its complement of biological species. However, current trends of habitat loss and predation may push the Earth into the sixth mass extinction event in the next few centuries. At present the dramatic changes relate to trans-global species invasions and population modification through agricultural development on land and contamination of coastal zones.
Considering the entire range of environmental signatures, it is clear that the global, large and rapid scale of change related to the mid-20th century is the most obvious level to consider as the start of the Anthropocene Epoch.
The Nature of Geological History
Given that the Anthropocene is typically considered as an interval of Earth history, or stratigraphy, rather than of human history, we need first provide some explanation of the ground rules of stratigraphy.
The enormous duration of Earth history—in excess of four and a half thousand million years—is made tractable by means of the construction of the Geological Time Scale and of its units. This involves separating out intervals of Earth history that are distinctive because they share recognizable combinations of the Earth’s preserved biological, chemical, or physical characters.
Within stratigraphy there are two parallel means of classifying Earth history. There is a classification simply as time intervals within which certain events and processes took place (for example, the Jurassic Period). Then, there is also a parallel time-based classification of the material (stratal) record that preserves the evidence of that history (thus, the Jurassic System, comprising all the strata laid down during the Jurassic Period).
Both sets of time units are defined using a prominent and widespread environmental change. Typically for the last half billion years of geological time, this is through recognition of the appearance of a common and representative fossil species, which broadly coincides with that environmental change. However, such a species would not have appeared (or disappeared) everywhere simultaneously around the world and hence, cannot define a single time plane but it is a guide to the time boundary. Geologists circumvent the problem by selecting, at one place in the world, a single level at which this fossil first appears, and then define this as the instant when the time interval begins. Then, geologists try to trace this level within strata all around the world, by any means possible. This single level is the well-known “golden spike,” more technically, a Global Boundary Stratigraphic Section and Point (GSSP). Importantly, the exact level chosen remains the reference point, even if the key fossil is later found to have appeared lower down in strata (i.e., earlier) at the same location (which has indeed sometimes happened).
The Geological Time Scale is also hierarchical, with smaller units of shorter duration and less markedly distinctive character, nested within larger ones. We currently live within the Phanerozoic Eon, the fourth eon of Earth time, which started some 542 million years ago, with the defining event being the evolution of multicellular animals from the single-celled organisms that had comprised life on Earth beforehand.
Within the Phanerozoic, we live within the last of its three subdivisions, the Cenozoic Era, which began 65 million years ago, at the mass extinction event that saw the disappearance of the dinosaurs (and of many other lifeforms across the planet). This dynastic change to the Earth system was abrupt and caused, or largely caused, by a large meteorite strike, which over large parts of the world is recorded as a thin layer with high concentrations of iridium, an element rare at the Earth’s surface but common in meteorites.
Within the Cenozoic, we live in the last of its three subdivisions called the Quaternary Period (the strata of which comprise the Quaternary System). This commenced two and a half million years ago. In general, it is the time from when the world most recently entered a phase of overall bipolar glaciation. Within the Quaternary, we formally live within the Holocene Epoch. This is just the latest of some 50 marked oscillations of climate within the Quaternary Period, when the world emerged from a phase of glacial climate and high global ice volume (and therefore low sea level), into a warm (or interglacial) phase with higher sea level. Although it is just one of many interglacials, it is the one that has experienced a human population explosion, while its deposits (i.e., the Holocene Series) make up important parts of our landscapes—soils, river floodplains and coastal plains, deltas and so on.
The formal definition of the Holocene Epoch is also relevant to the consideration of the Anthropocene. The Holocene, until 2009, used to be defined numerically (as are, still, most of the geological time units prior to the Phanerozoic). Its beginning was placed at 10,000 radiocarbon years before the present (the present being defined as 1950 ce in this case). Studies of both Greenland ice cores and deep ocean sediments showed that the northern hemisphere last emerged from glacial cold into temperate warmth with extraordinary abruptness: a good deal of the change took place over a mere three years. This change can be identified in Greenland ice layers, which in this narrow time interval show chemical evidence of suddenly increased warmth and humidity (the ice layers become thicker and less dusty). Hence, the boundary level has been placed at the ice layer that shows the beginning of this change. As a historical event, it is thus located very precisely, with approximately annual resolution; however, because of the difficulty of working out precisely when this took place, there is a larger error bar (of a couple of centuries) of quite how long ago this happened. This uncertainty is expressed as the boundary in the “golden spike” ice core being dated to 11,700 years before present (the present now being taken to be 2000 ce) plus or minus 99 years. The resultant interplay between relative and “absolute” (numerical) dating is also of significance to defining the Anthropocene.
The Anthropocene: Historical Beginnings
We still live, formally, within the Holocene Epoch. However, the general idea that humans can cause significant change to the Earth has been circulating for a long time—since, the Comte de Buffon’s 1778 work Les Époques de la Nature. In this, Buffon divided our planet’s history into seven epochs, the last and current one being “when the power of Man assisted that of Nature.”
The idea resurfaced intermittently. George Perkins Marsh, the “first American conservationist” catalogued human-driven environmental change in his 1864 Man and Nature; Antonio Stoppani, in his 1871–1873 Corsa di Geologia, suggested an “Anthropozoic Era,” emphasizing that the human activity was changing not just the Earth’s present, but its future also. In the early 20th century, the Russian scientist Vladimir Vernadsky developed the concept of the Earth’s biosphere and, with Eduard Roy and Teilhard de Chardin, of the noosphere (a “sphere of human thought” now enveloping the Earth). At the same time, the geologist Robert Sherlock took a more material approach, counting up the impressive amounts (even then) of rock and soil moved and transformed into construction materials by humans.
These early ideas were, until recently, not taken seriously by geologists. Appreciation of the very great age of the Earth rendered the human timescale almost absurdly short by comparison. And, the very great geological transformations of the past, including the growth and erosion of mountain ranges, the creation and destruction of entire ocean basins, and extraordinary volcanic outbursts and meteorite strikes, seemed to make the transformations wrought by humans both superficial and fleeting.
A wider realization that human impact could be geologically significant came with the development of what has become known as Earth system science, in which it became clear that seemingly subtle changes (for example, in the levels of the trace gases, carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere) could nevertheless have far-reaching changes to the Earth system, largely via changes in climate. The scale and long-term effects, too, of changes to the Earth’s biology was becoming more widely understood, too, as was the scale of physical change to the Earth’s surface.
Several “geological” time terms arose in the late 20th and early 21st century to express this appreciation. There was the Anthrocene of the environmental writer Andrew Revkin, the Homogenocene (to reflect the homogenization of the Earth’s biological communities via human-driven species invasions) of the zoologist John Curnutt, the Myxocene of the oceanographer Daniel Pauly (to denote the future ocean of “microbial slime and jellyfish”) and so on.
However, the term that caught on was independently created by two scientists, Eugene Stoermer and Paul Crutzen. At a meeting of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) in Mexico in 2000, Crutzen had been listening to debate where the present state of the Earth was continually being referred to as the Holocene. At one point he lost patience, and interjected that we were not in the Holocene but in—a and here he improvised the word—the Anthropocene. Much of the subsequent discussion, he recalled, revolved around this new idea.
He later researched the term, found that Stoermer had independently coined it, and wrote to him, suggesting they published jointly on it, which they did in the IGBP Newsletter (Crutzen & Stoermer, 2000), where this idea was first disseminated within an Earth systems science community. Subsequently, Crutzen restated the concept in Nature (Crutzen, 2002), which was when the term obtained global exposure.
From then, the term began to be used increasingly frequently in the literature, both within the earth sciences and also more widely beyond it. Commonly, it was employed simply as if it was part of the Geological Time Scale. However, the Anthropocene was (and remains) informal and it was rather vaguely defined, with a range of ideas about its duration, definition and hierarchical level, often being referred to somewhat interchangeably as either an epoch or an era—two very different things in formal stratigraphy.
Hence, the Anthropocene was discussed by the Stratigraphy Commission of the Geological Society of London, to see whether there was sufficient evidence for it to be formally considered as a time unit (Zalasiewicz et al., 2008). The majority view was that, at least on preliminary inspection, there was merit in the term, and it might be considered further with a view to eventual possible formalization. However, this national commission does not have any power over the international Geological Time Scale, which is not easily or lightly amended. As its terms underlie basic communication in the Earth sciences, there is a need for stability of nomenclature, and hence the approach taken to its modification is deliberately conservative.
In 2009, an Anthropocene Working Group, part of the Subcomission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, a component part of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (itself under the aegis of the International Union of Geological Sciences) was established, to gather and consider evidence regarding the Anthropocene as a formal unit. So far, it has produced two thematic sets of papers, published by the Royal Society (Williams, Zalasiewicz, Haywood, & Ellis, 2011), and the Geological Society of London (Waters, Zalasiewicz, Williams, Ellis, & Snelling, 2014) and a number of other articles. It aims to produce a body of evidence, together with (at least interim) recommendations, by 2016.
Stratigraphic Analysis of the Anthropocene
Analysis of the Anthropocene may partly be carried out by “classical” analysis of information contained within strata, particularly where these form well-ordered successions (annual layers of snow on ice-caps, or sediment laminae in lake deposits). However, unlike exploration of older Earth histories, there is also an increasingly sophisticated and detailed observational record over the past centuries and (especially) decades. So, analysis may also involve taking “environmental” evidence and translating this into geological, and more precisely stratigraphic, terms. The analysis is rendered yet more complex both by the very short timescales involved, and also by several novel aspects of human-driven geology, that have little or no precedent in Earth history.
In outline, the evidence may be ordered as in classical stratigraphic analysis, involving physical aspects of the deposits (within lithostratigraphy), chemical signatures (chemostratigraphy), and biological patterns (biostratigraphy). These together provide the basis upon which chronostratigraphic division might be attempted (to define a recognizable and correlatable Anthropocene Series), the material equivalent of a time unit of the geochronological time scale (a putative Anthropocene Epoch).
The mineral signature
The material record of the Anthropocene consists in essence of the rock succession that will result, albeit that much of that now consists of unconsolidated sediment. Rocks and sediments are made of component minerals, and hence the mineralogical signature of the Anthropocene is a fundamental part of its characterization.
Here a deep-time context may be provided by the review of Robert Hazen and his colleagues, who proposed a pattern of mineral evolution that showed an increase in mineral diversity from about a dozen or so minerals recognized in cosmic dust, to an increase through reactions that take place in the spinning debris disk around a young star (about 250 minerals that have been recognized in meteorites). Once a planet forms, the melting and crystallization taking place at different depths further increase the number of minerals, while on Earth the processes and diversity of mineral-forming environments associated with plate tectonics increased the number still further, to around 2,000 minerals. The origin of life, in particular the beginning of photosynthesis and resultant oxygenation of the atmosphere, known as the “Great Oxygenation Event” of the early Proterozoic, about 2.4 billion years ago, roughly doubled the number of minerals, to a little in excess of 4,000 by creating a wide range of new oxides and hydroxides. Most of these minerals are extremely rare. Subsequent changes, including the origin of multicellular animals, considerably increased the diversity of mineral shape (in complex shell-related forms, for instance) but added little to the total inventory of mineral species.
Humans have added a considerable, if poorly constrained, number of minerals to the Earth’s inventory as detailed by Zalasiewicz, Kryza, and Williams (2014). Prominent among these are uncombined metals (which are rare in natural settings), including iron and steel, aluminium, titanium, copper, vanadium and others. These have been made in very considerable amounts. For instance, some 500 million tons of aluminum have been produced globally to date, almost all since the mid-20th century—enough to completely coat the United States (and part of Canada) in standard aluminum kitchen foil. The amount of iron and steel produced has been roughly an order of magnitude greater. Other novel minerals include boron nitride, an abrasive that is harder than diamond, tungsten carbide (that makes the ball in many ballpoint pens), novel garnets (for lasers), graphene, and so on. There are also common “mineraloids,” notably glasses and plastics made in very large amounts (some 6 billion tons of plastics have been produced to date, for instance, again almost all since the mid-20th century) and widely distributed over the Earth’s surface. There are also minerals that, relatively rare in nature, have now become much more widespread, such as ettringite, hillebrandite, and portlandite in cement and concrete. There are novel and widespread mineral forms too, such as fly ash (both spherical carbonaceous particles and inorganic ash spheres) that have been dispersed since the mid-19th century from the early industrialized countries, and in greater amounts and globally since the mid-20th century.
The scale of mineralogical novelty, the product of many active materials sciences laboratories, is increasing, but quite unknown in detail. However, the scale of this new phase of mineral evolution is almost certainly the greatest since the “Great Oxygenation Event.” The longevity of these minerals fossilized within strata is untested in detail (given that by definition they have no precise natural analogues), but it seems likely that many can survive in some form buried within strata.
The rock signature
Minerals make up rocks, and humans have made a significant addition to Earth’s inventory of rock types. The most widespread and conspicuous are those associated with construction of different types: concrete, brick, cinder-block, asphalt, plaster. There are also heterogenous “rock types” associated with garbage-dump fills, and more specific lithologies such as ceramics of different types.
Concrete is a major and distinctive component. It is a combination of cement (itself largely a combination of limestone and clay, fired to produce a mineralogy that transforms and hardens with the addition of water) and aggregate (typically sand and gravel). It is a cheap, easily moulded, and robust building material that has been used since at least Roman times (much of the Colosseum is made of it, for instance), but which in recent decades has been used in extraordinary quantities. The total amount produced worldwide is of the order of 500 billion tons, which is equivalent to about a kilo for every square meter of Earth, land, and sea. Of that, well over 90% has been made since the mid-20th century, and over 50% in the last couple of decades—and its production is still accelerating. Concrete blocks, invented in the 1830s, have seen technological innovation with development in the 1930s of lightweight cinder/breeze blocks which incorporate fly-ash wastes and reinforced concrete, with internal iron bars providing the reinforcement that allowed development of tower-blocks, the urban innovation of the 20th century.
Bricks are essentially metamorphosed clays with various admixtures of sand, where the heating process in kilns is taken to the point of melting. This scale of rapid heating is unusual in nature at the Earth’s surface, and so bricks have a distinctive texture and mineralogy. Bricks have been made for several millennia (the early ones typically sun-dried), and their production now exceeds a trillion a year. Similar techniques were employed to produce ceramics and pottery. Important for producing food storage vessels and for artistic figurines, these materials form a common component, and are used to date, the archaeosphere (Edgeworth et al., 2015).
The global road network is about 50 million kilometers, the distance from Earth to Mars. Much of this is graded soils, but in Europe and North America tarmacadam, an asphalt/aggregate admixture, with an aggregate sub-base forms the dominant road type with some 1600 million tonnes of asphalt produced in 2007.
A particular form of “rock” is that in garbage dumps. Typically a highly heterogenous and poorly sorted conglomerate or breccia, its individual components reflect the human activities of the times, including unused food material, packaging, disused furniture and building material, clothes, nappies, and toys. The middens of archaeological times are often dominated by shell and bone material, while today’s rubbish dumps have metals, plastics, and paper as major components (Ford, Price, Cooper, & Waters, 2014). These rock types can make up substantial strata.
Minerals and rocks are arranged into strata of various types and geometrical shapes, and the classification of rock strata is the business of lithostratigraphy. The classification largely reflects their physical nature and mineral composition.
While this account focuses on human-influenced strata, it must be recognized that the Anthropocene (formal or informal) is simply a time unit, which will include anthropogenic strata, strata which appear “natural” but which have some anthropogenic characters on closer examination, and strata which will have little or no human influence even upon close examination. Similarly—and depending where the Anthropocene boundary is placed—strata that remain within the Holocene may include a notable anthropogenic component.
The terrestrial realm
Human influence is most visible and pronounced in the terrestrial realm and humans have modified the ground surface in various ways: to provide habitation, to enable transport, to grow crops, to extract resources, to create agreeable (to us) landscapes in peacetime and degraded ones in war. These surface alterations almost always include a third dimension, hence a subsurface component.
Therefore these anthropogenic surfaces may be underlain by what geologists term as artificial ground, and what has recently been termed the archaeosphere (human-disturbed ground, often including artefacts, that lies above the “natural”) within the archaeological community (Edgeworth et al., 2015). There are also soils of various kinds, which are strongly modified by humans in agricultural and urban settings, and where (particularly for the latter) the term “anthrosols” has been proposed.
Artificial ground of various sorts is common to ubiquitous in urban areas, and increasingly figures on geological maps because of its importance to engineers and environmental planners. It may be meters to tens of meters thick, and in general it is voluminous. In the United Kingdom alone, almost a billion tons of rock and soil are moved annually by human activities and the scale of this activity worldwide is now greater than that of natural processes of erosion and sedimentation—perhaps by as much as an order of magnitude.
These heterogeneous strata can be classified in great detail but there are some main general categories, recognized by such organizations as the British Geological Survey (Ford et al., 2014): made ground is material dumped on the surface, as in raised embankments; worked ground is simply excavations in the ground, such as quarries and road cuttings; infilled ground represents holes in the ground, that have been wholly or partly infilled, such as quarries that have become landfill sites; disturbed ground is rock that has been involved, say, in a zone of collapse around an old underground mine working; and landscaped ground is a general term used where it is difficult to distinguish the various other individual categories, such as is the case beneath much urban housing.
As well as deliberately moved rock and soil, and the soil moved in agriculture, there is the human impact of increased sediment transport in rivers in response to deforestation and introduction of agriculture; this has been evident for thousands of years and has increased with time. However, the great number of dam schemes across major rivers, most constructed since the 1940s (Steffen, Broadgate, Deutsch, Gaffney, & Ludwig, 2015) has caused large volumes of sediment to accumulate behind the dams (Syvitski & Kettner, 2011). There are more subtle effects associated with changes in land use. For instance, in the Fenlands of eastern England, there used to be a surface peat stratum up to at least four meters thick, extending over something like 2000 square kilometers. This has almost completely disappeared, mostly since the 19th century, by deflation (windblow) and oxidation following drainage of the ground.
The human-modified areas have deep roots. Extending beneath urban, agricultural, and what may be otherwise considered “wild” landscapes are foundations and tunnels, underground wires and pipes, and mines and boreholes used for the extraction of resources including metals, coal, oil and gas, and water. These may be regarded as analogous to animal burrows, but whereas nonhuman animals typically burrow to a maximum of only a few meters depth, human burrowing—that has been termed anthroturbation—extends to several kilometers depth (Zalasiewicz, Waters, & Williams, 2014). It is extensive; oil boreholes alone in the United States have been calculated to total some 5 million kilometers in length, and a total for the world might reasonably be 50 million kilometers, roughly the same as the total length of the surface road network. There are substantial amounts of other boreholes, too—for water, mineral exploration, and for scientific purposes like those of the Ocean Drilling Project. In one particular borehole type, atomic bombs were lowered down along them, to be detonated as tests. Between 1951 and 1998, some 1500 underground nuclear explosions were detonated to produce large (up to hundreds of meters across) masses of radioactive breccia and melt rock up to two kilometers underground.
The scale and nature of this anthroturbation is geologically novel, and these traces, being well below surface erosion processes, will persist for many millions of years in the rock mass. Stratigraphically, however, it is not simple, as these structures always cross-cut older rocks, and hence behave geologically a little like the sheets of magma that inject along fractures (igneous dykes) underground.
Coastal lithostratigraphic signals
A range of specific human-driven lithostratigraphic signals are present around coastlines, partly because of the concentration of human habitation around the shore, where coastal plains and deltas have for centuries offered fertile ground with access to marine resources and communication. Phenomena here (often generated or accelerated in more contemporary times) include various harbor and breakwater structures and, more extensively, meters-scale subsidence caused by groundwater and hydrocarbon extraction, sediment loading by buildings and sediment starvation as a result of the building of dams upriver. Deltas worldwide, notably the Mississippi, Ganges, and Yangtze, have shown, as a consequence, a pattern of subsidence that broadly began in the 1930s and is at a rate that greatly outpaces current relative sea level rises associated with global warming (Syvitski & Kettner, 2011).
Other major changes resulting in large anthropogenic stratal bodies are the building up of shorelines in land reclamation including in a number of cases the use of garbage as fill material. Well-known examples include Palm Island and Hong Kong airport (Syvitski & Kettner, 2011), while a less well-known but even larger-scale example is the building of a sea wall along the Chinese coastline that will be ultimately 11,000 kilometers long, dwarfing the examples in, for instance, the Netherlands. These structures are not only very large rock bodies in themselves, but they also heavily modify the nature of sedimentation both in front and behind them.
The continental shelf and slope
The undersea realm has a far shorter history of direct human perturbation than the terrestrial realm. Physical anthropogenic change in this realm now includes such engineered structures as oil platforms and pipelines.
The most widespread impact is bottom trawling, the dragging of weighted nets along the sea floor to capture bottom-living fish, shrimp, and other edible marine creatures. This has been practiced in some shallow near-shore waters since at least the 14th century, but with the advent of powered fishing-boats has now impacted on most continental shelves, in recent decades extending into continental slopes down to depths of one kilometer. The effect is similar to that of plowing on land, and can be similarly destructive to native biota. The most obvious examples of major perturbation are the trawling of slow-growing deep-water coral stands, which are devastated by the practice. Elsewhere, the repeated scraping of the sea floor can smooth topography and redistribute sediment, typically releasing plumes of fine sediment that drift off into deeper water, leaving a reworked surface layer (often with a coarsening-upward pattern) in which the biological composition shifts toward those species that are tolerant of (or even favored by) repeated disruption.
Deep ocean anthropogenic signature
The deep ocean has so far been affected by little in the way of direct sediment redistribution or the siting of engineered structures. However, the deep-sea sediments, which range from relatively rapidly accumulated turbidite deposits to very slowly accumulating pelagic oozes, have been increasingly affected by the addition of anthropogenic debris of different types. Scattered shipwrecks have been landing on the sea floor since humans began seafaring, but their number has been increasing in tandem with the development of global trade in which now 90 percent by volume is transported by sea. There is material simply dropped overboard, and the garbage signature has changed as technology has changed. One characteristic element comprises the “trackways” of coal clinker along the routes of the old steamships. More modern elements, and more widely dispersed, are tins and glass bottles and (since the mid-20th century) plastic, ranging in size from microplastic particles (now recognized to be almost ubiquitous in modern marine sediments) to larger objects, not least discarded fishing nets. As exploitation of the marine realm continues, it seems likely that characteristic new strata will be formed in the near future, such as those resulting from the extraction of deep-sea manganese nodules across wide areas of the abyssal plains.
Chemostratigraphy in geology is a rapidly developing tool that can help correlate strata of all ages across wide areas by means of particular features of chemical composition. It may involve both organic and inorganic components, and a particularly widely used aspect is ratios of isotopes of various elements (such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, neodymium) because these can be expressed and maintain their pattern in rocks of widely different contents of the elements involved—and also because these isotopic ratios often reflect fundamental changes to the Earth system. A number of chemical changes and patterns are associated with the Anthropocene, because of the extent of human modification of surface processes, and some of these chemical signals may prove crucial in defining this time unit.
There are a number of surface-related reservoirs of carbon including living organisms, soil, permafrost, atmosphere, ocean waters (a much bigger reservoir than the atmosphere) and sub-seafloor sediments. Carbon is cycled through surface and subsurface environments on various time scales. Short-term cycling is associated with photosynthesis and respiration, and long-term cycles with carbon burial in strata and exhumation, and yet longer ones with carbon being taken into the Earth’s interior via subduction zones and released by volcanism. Levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been a primary determinant of climate over geological time, as exemplified by the variations in its levels between ~180 ppm in glacial phases of the Quaternary and ~260–280 ppm in interglacial phases. The bulk of this gas is taken into the deep ocean in glacial phases and released at the beginning of interglacial phases, with observed close correlation of global temperature and carbon dioxide levels seen in ice cores (Wolff, 2014).
Human perturbation of the carbon cycle, largely by the burning of fossil fuels, has seen atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise from ~275 ppm at the start of the Industrial Revolution to ~400 ppm today, with the bulk of the rise since the mid-20th century (Steffen et al., 2015). Although this can be directly seen in ice cores, a much more widespread (and permanent) signal in rock and fossil material reflects the input into the atmosphere of isotopically light carbon (i.e., with a greater proportion of 12C to 13C) derived from hydrocarbons. This produces a large, rapid negative (i.e., light) carbon isotope shift in, for example, the shells of foraminifera (common marine protozoans that secrete a calcium carbonate shell and so provide a widely used palaeoenvironmental archive in Cenozoic deposits). This shift is already of some ~2 permil (parts per thousand) in size. Significant geologically, this isotope anomaly is similar to (if still smaller than) the negative carbon isotope anomaly that was produced in an ancient carbon release/global warming event at the end of the Paleocene and beginning of the Eocene epoch, 55 million years ago, and used to define the base of the latter. The developing carbon isotope anomaly for the Anthropocene can form an equally striking marker.
A 1610 dip in atmospheric CO2 has been linked to depopulation of about 50 million people following colonization of the Americas and has been proposed as a potential signature for the start of the Anthropocene (Lewis & Maslin, 2015).
There are other effects of the carbon dioxide input, including acidification of the oceans (Tyrrell, 2011) that also shows a marked change since 1950 (Steffen et al., 2015). This can produce physical effects (the acidification event at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary literally dissolved large areas of the ocean floor to produce a carbonate gap), but is of more significance as regards biological effects to organisms, including reef corals, that secrete skeletons of calcium carbonate.
Nitrogen and phosphorus
The doubling of the surface reservoir of reactive nitrogen, largely caused by the production of nitrogenous fertilizers from atmospheric nitrogen via the Haber-Bosch process, is a significant event in geological history. The relative scale is difficult to quantify, but this perturbation has been regarded by some scientists as the greatest change to the nitrogen cycle since the Great Oxygenation Event of the early Proterozoic, 2.4 billion years ago. Its reflection in strata is not straightforward, but a generally consistent change in nitrogen isotope composition has been detected in lakes far from direct human activity (Wolfe et al., 2013), presumably via long-distance transport of nitrogen-containing aerosols (which also fertilized the lakes to produce a change in the assemblages of diatoms—microscopic single-celled plants that secrete a siliceous shell). These changes began to appear after 1850, but accelerated in the mid-20th century, concomitant with the great expansion of nitrogenous fertilizers (Steffen et al., 2015), and have been suggested as providing the basis for a “golden spike” for the Anthropocene (Wolfe et al., 2013). Elevated ammonium concentrations are also found in mid-latitude glaciers in response to agricultural emissions and in Greenland nitrate levels rose by a factor of two during the twentieth century, mainly between 1950 and 1980 to levels higher than over the previous 100,000 years ago (Wolff, 2014).
The content of phosphorus in surface soils has also roughly doubled, though in this case from the excavation of phosphorus from ground-based sources by mining. Although a consistently detectable stratal “phosphorus anomaly” has not been reported, one effect of the increases in both nitrogen and phosphorus has been the creation and growth of “dead zones” in the ocean (Tyrrell, 2011). These are the result of runoff of excess fertilizers via rivers into shallow, poorly circulating coastal waters. These stimulate plankton blooms which, upon dying, sink to the sea floor and decay, using up dissolved oxygen and suffocating bottom-living faunas; these are generally seasonal kills, as autumn and winter bring storms which stir oxygen back into the waters (hence the surviving biota is that best adapted to rapid recolonization). Currently there are about 400 dead zones in the world, covering in total an area of some 250,000 square kilometers, the best known being in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and Chesapeake Bay of the eastern United States. Although these phenomena are not yet on the scale of anoxic events of the geological past, further atmosphere/ocean warming will cause the seas to become more strongly thermally stratified, and so more prone to oxygen deprivation.
The importance of metals to the technology of human civilization means that there has been considerable “selective erosion” of them by mining, to bring them from subsurface (often deep subsurface) levels to the surface. Although much of the metals have been processed into artifacts of different kinds, the overspill from the mining, smelting, and production processes have spread metal-rich plumes into waters, soils and near-shore marine sediments. Working out the precise scale of these local metal anomalies is not straightforward, as pre-disturbance background levels need first to be evaluated, but clear enrichments in the environmental levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, and other metals have been widely recognized in industrialized regions (Gałuszka, Migaszewski, & Zalasiewicz, 2014). More widely, aerosols (particularly of lead, from smelting and formerly from lead additives in fuel) have changed the composition of peat bogs, glaciers and icecaps, and these changes may readily be detected. Indeed, various sources of lead have been discriminated in these stratigraphic archives by means of lead isotope ratios, and these patterns are significant to defining and recognizing the Anthropocene.
In addition to the many thousands of new solid mineral forms that human industry has created, there are many thousands of compounds, notably complex organic compounds, which have been created for various purposes and have subsequently been dispersed through the environment. Among these are what have been termed “persistent organic pollutants” (POPs), which are only degraded slowly in the natural environment, some with half-lives of at least decades, which are only weakly soluble in water and tend to bind to sediment, especially clay particles. Hence, rather than simply traveling with water through the surface and subsurface environment, they can be preserved within sediment layers as an archive of the history of the arrival of these POPs into the local environment. Lake sediments are among the best of these archives, though these compounds have also been detected in sediments within rivers, estuaries, and seas.
POPs include organochlorine pesticides such as aldrin, dieldrin, and DDT, and industrial chemicals such as the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dibenzofurans. In parts of the world these chemicals were only used for a few decades, before adverse environmental effects caused them to be banned, while elsewhere their use persisted. Hence they can provide a complex stratigraphic pattern involving their invention, more or less widespread use, and termination of input through legal ban or obsolescence.
Stratigraphical analyses of POPs have come a distant second to environmental monitoring studies, but the research carried out to date have shown that, superimposed on geographical variability, many of the commoner and more distinctive POPs appear from the mid-20th century. How long will this signal last? This will clearly vary from compound to compound, and being novel compounds there are no direct analogues. Nevertheless some organic compounds can persist for millions of years in strata essentially unaltered, such as the “TEX” long-chain alkanes used for palaeotemperature analysis of Cenozoic ocean floor strata.
The explosion of the first nuclear (“Trinity”) test bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, began the dispersal of novel radionuclides into the surface environment (Zalasiewicz et al., 2015). This early test, and the only two (thus far) wartime uses, at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, only produced local effects (including the beginning of the formation of a fused radioactive sand rock type, trinitite, around the test site). However, many subsequent tests, from the early 1950s until the comprehensive test ban treaty in 1996 (albeit still not ratified), saw the global dispersal of these radionuclides worldwide, mainly in mid-latitudes, but with clearly detectable amounts in low-latitudes and both the Greenland and Antarctica icecaps (Waters et al., 2015). Other sources of widespread radioactive pollution include the nuclear accidents at Windscale (now Sellafield, Cumbria, U.K.) in 1957, Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986 and Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, and also events such as the fall of the SNAP 9 satellite off Mozambique in 1964 and the Soviet Kosmos 954 satellite over Canada in 1978, scattering radioactive debris.
The novel radionuclides involved—including caesium, americium, and plutonium—have different half-lives, the longest being that of plutonium 239, the signal of which can remain detectable for ~100,000 years (Waters et al., 2015). There was also significantly increased production of 14C above its natural abundance, a signal that was absorbed within many carbon reservoirs including wood and shell and bone material, to form another clear nuclear “spike” that will endure roughly half as long as will the plutonium signal.
This artificial radionuclide signal is not problem-free. Radionuclides can migrate within some sediments, rather than staying absorbed to the sediment lamina they were deposited in. And, particularly in deep ocean settings, the radionuclides can make a long (decades) journey before eventually settling to the sea floor. In deep-sea settings, too, the burrowing activity of sea floor organisms can disrupt the primary order of these slowly deposited sedimentary layers. Nevertheless, this particular chemical signal has a strong claim to be regarded as a primary marker of the Anthropocene, and there have been suggestions that the boundary may be placed either at the moment of the Trinity test in 1945 (Zalasiewicz et al., 2015), at the beginning of the main global “bomb spike” in the early 1950s (Waters et al., 2015), or at its peak in 1964 (Lewis & Maslin, 2015). If one of these is chosen, then the decision will reflect the total ensemble of stratigraphic signals at least as much as the precise pattern of the radioactive signal itself.
The use of the complex evolution of organisms, both single-celled and multicellular, has provided the main means of defining and using the Geological Time Scale in the Phanerozoic, within the strata of which fossils are generally abundant. However, in applying this technique to the Anthropocene, there are a number of reasons why “classical” biostratigraphy is difficult to apply. First, there is the short time scale of the Anthropocene, measured in thousands of years at most, compared with the millions of years over which normal processes of evolution and extinction take place. Then, there is the difficulty in comparing data collected by biologists and ecologists regarding the recent and current history of Earth’s biota, with the kind of criteria used by palaeontologists, who mainly deal with skeletal remains only. And, there are some quite novel aspects in Earth’s biological history that need to be taken into account in this analysis.
As regards gaining an idea of the Earth prior to human modification, a baseline state might be best represented by the last interglacial phase, 125,000 years ago. Considering the baseline state is not simple, as overall the Quaternary has been a ~2.6-million-year interval of considerable oscillatory climate change between glacial and interglacial states, with the glacial phases in particular (that make up the bulk of the time) showing complex and dynamic change. Nevertheless, it is notable that most of the Quaternary does not show a particularly elevated rate of either extinctions or evolution, suggesting that life overall had adapted to repeated climate change. It is only late in the Pleistocene that significant biotic change appears, suggesting that the human factor became significant from this time.
Following the unremarkable evolutionary pattern of most of the Quaternary, the late Pleistocene, from ~50,000 years ago to the early Holocene saw waves of extinctions of large mammal species, with most species (other than those in Africa) becoming extinct (Barnosky et al., 2011). The species affected included such as the mammoth, sabre-tooth cat, ground sloth, woolly rhinoceros, and there has been considerable debate about whether climate/environmental change or human hunting was the cause. However, there was commonly a close link between the arrival of humans to any geographic region and subsequent extinctions, suggesting that “overkill” by humans often played a large or crucial role.
Following this, extinction continued through the Holocene, although not on such a dramatic scale. Nevertheless, it is clear that many species became extinct (particularly on hitherto isolated islands) in part because of predation by humans, in part because of competition from or predation by associated invasive species (see below) such as rats and cats and in part because of habitat loss as natural habitat was converted to farmland or urban areas.
Extinctions have accelerated in recent decades, and there has been considerable debate about whether the Earth is entering, or has entered another major mass extinction (it would be the sixth recognized) in Earth history (Barnosky et al., 2011). The consensus seems to be that this mass extinction has not yet happened as, in most major groups of organisms, the number of species known to be extinct is of the order of 1 percent. However, current rates of extinction are far above background levels (perhaps by up to three orders of magnitude) and also the number of species known to be endangered or critically endangered (i.e., in very low numbers) is, within many different major groups, of the order of a few to several tens of percent. With current “business as usual” trends of predation and habitat loss, a mass extinction on the scale of the “big five” is thought likely within two to three hundred years, (Barnosky et al., 2011) even without considering the additional effects of climate change.
While species extinctions are not yet on a major scale, other biological changes are on a considerably greater scale. Species invasions, for instance (also termed neobiota), already comprise a widespread and (uniquely, in Earth history) global phenomenon. Homo sapiens, of course, is the invasive species par excellence, living on every continent—even Antarctica—and having reached, and mostly occupied, virtually every island on the planet. With humans have come a range of other species, either by design (pigs, goats, cats, rabbits) or accidentally (most famously, rats). For vascular plants, although native losses are great over at least half of the ice-free land surface, plant species have been enriched mostly because species invasions exceed native losses (Ellis, Antill, & Kreft, 2012). Species have now been translocated between every continent and every ocean, and invasive species now commonly form up to a half (locally more) of the species complements of many regions—with particularly successful invasives often dominating assemblages (the name Homogenocene having been suggested by John Curnutt to reflect this phenomenon). The global character of this process is unique, as previous invasions were confined to continents that became geographically conjoined (notably, the Americas some 7 million years ago)—or a landmass separated to allow the species from the oceans on either side to mingle. Such invasions can increase local biodiversity (as well as reducing it, by causing native species to become extinct), even while the total biodiversity of the Earth is undergoing reduction. As with extinctions, the effects are essentially permanent, as it is the successfully translocated and surviving species that will comprise the biology (and the palaeontology) of the future.
Part of the reason that so many species are in low numbers is the appropriation of a large proportion (currently ~40%) of primary productivity to support our own species. This is another unique signal of the Anthropocene. The distortion to the pre-human ecological pattern may be exemplified by land vertebrates. Prior to the late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions, resources were shared among some 350 large vertebrate species. Currently, about 180 of these still exist. Among these—considering just body mass—humans now make about one-third. Most of the other two-thirds is distributed among those few vertebrate species that we keep to eat—cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and so on—and these have been heavily modified by selective breeding. Less than 5%—and probably less than 3%—is distributed among the wild large vertebrates of the world: elephants, rhinoceri, hippopotami, lions and tigers, and others. In a further distortion, the total large vertebrate mass has been increased by about an order of magnitude over geological baseline levels, because of agriculturally hyper-fertilized primary productivity (via nitrogen, phosphorus especially—see above) that is now fed efficiently to our preferred prey species.
Researchers examining overall plant and animal communities speak of them in terms of biomes: large areas with particular patterns of ecosystems determined largely by climate. The increasing human influence on terrestrial areas has led to the concept of anthromes (Ellis et al., 2012), where these primary patterns have been transformed into human-dominated agricultural (dominated by a few selectively bred and genetically modified primary crops) and urban systems (of which the nonhuman biology is often largely invasive). The extent of this transformation means that it is no longer accurate to say that humans have created a variety of anthromes that are nested within the regional biomes; rather, with only a few percent of pristine landscape left, it is more appropriate to say that there are now patches of more or less undisturbed biome left within anthrome-dominated terrestrial biology.
Humans, uniquely among land vertebrates, have also changed the trophic structure of the oceans. Increasingly effective and widely applied fishing methods have reduced the numbers of top predators and those just below them in the food web—whales, sharks, tuna, and others—with most populations now decreased by one to two orders of magnitude, and some (such as the Newfoundland cod) having undergone even greater population crashes. With the main targets thus diminished, fishing effort is becoming focused on lower levels of the trophic structure—“fishing down the food chain.”
Within nearshore settings, including lagoon and estuaries, microflora, such as diatoms and dinoflagellates, and microfauna such as foraminifera and ostracods respond dramatically to human-driven stresses (Wilkinson, Poirier, Head, Sayer, & Tibby, 2014). The changes locally occur at a range of dates, but when viewed globally the population and assemblage changes are most prominent from 1940 to 1945, influenced by increases in the release of toxins and pollutants, increased runoff of agricultural fertilizers and input of sewage, changes to water acidity and oxygen levels, increased water turbidity, and salinization. However, in areas where stresses on microbiota have reduced through environmental controls, populations show signs of recovery.
Human trace fossils—technofossils and the technosphere
Many animals leave not only body fossils, mainly of hard parts such as bones and shells, but also trace fossils, such as worm burrows and footprints. Some animals create more complex structures that are also capable of being fossilized: the casings of caddis fly larvae, or the nests of both solitary and colonial insects, some being extraordinarily sophisticated, such as termite nests. The structures created by humans—houses and factories, roads and cars, tools ranging from knives to computers, are also commonly potentially preservable, and may also be considered to be trace fossils. They have been termed technofossils (Zalasiewicz, Williams, Waters, Barnosky, & Haff, 2014), and have some unique attributes: their remarkable diversity (very many millions of types have been made, compared with the usual maximum of three or four traces made by any other species in the animal kingdom); and their rapid evolution, now on a scale of decades and years (sometimes less) which is now also completely decoupled from the biological evolution of the trace-maker.
They all, in one way or another, embody technology, and without this technology the Earth would not be able to support more than a small fraction of the present human population. The technology is produced by humans, but humans, being dependent on that technology, must also maintain it, and the entire technological system is now globally connected. The entire system has been termed the technosphere (Haff, 2014), an emergent system comprising both the technological objects (“hardware”) and its human organizational systems (“software”). It currently needs a great deal of energy to power it, largely from fossil fuels. It has developed from, and is perhaps now in part parasitic upon, the biosphere. It is the system behind all the environmental changes of the Anthropocene, and the future of this time interval will be determined by the nature of its further evolution. It currently has some considerable instabilities—for instance it is extremely poor at recycling its constituent materials compared with the biosphere, and so risks being poisoned by its own waste products. But, it is evolving rapidly, so time will tell.
Climate Change and the Anthropocene
There has been rapid rise in major climate drivers (for example, carbon dioxide and methane), as noted above, and these are now outside Quaternary norms. With atmospheric carbon dioxide currently at ~400 ppm, it is at levels likely broadly typical of the Pliocene Epoch, 3 to 5 million years ago, when temperatures were 2−3 °C higher than today and sea levels 10−20 m higher.
However, there has so far only been a small rise in global average temperature, of ~0.8 °C globally over the past century. This is likely due to global lag effects, together with the storage of heat in oceans (which are much larger stores of heat compared with the atmosphere, and are measurably becoming warmer in their upper layers, with up to half of the last century’s rise in sea level of ~30 cm being due to thermal expansion). Currently, therefore, the Earth is still well within envelope of interglacial conditions as regards global temperature and sea level. Indeed, in the last interglacial, peak temperatures and sea levels were a little higher than today, without anthropogenic forcing. Nevertheless, evidence of the beginning of anthropogenic warming and climate destabilization is now clear, with the temperature rise so far virtually certain to be the result of the rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. There have been clear signs too, over the last couple of decades of increased ice melt and freshening of seawater around both Greenland and Antarctica, with ice mass loss now a few hundred billion tons each year.
Thus, unless human energy supplies rapidly become decarbonized, there will over the coming decades and centuries be rises of global temperature and then sea level that will take the Earth system out of Quaternary interglacial norms and into conditions more resembling the pre-Quaternary Cenozoic. The temperature changes in themselves will lead to many extinctions as species are forced out of their habitable ranges. Hence, as regards the global climate and (especially) sea level signal, of the Anthropocene currently remains weak, but will likely increase considerably over future decades and centuries.
Synthesis, Definition, and Wider Significance
The evidence summarized above suggests that the Anthropocene hypothesis is founded upon a robust array of data indicating a major change in the Earth system (even if still larger changes lie ahead), also recorded as changes to strata, similar to signatures recorded in the geological past.
Hence, if the Anthropocene is real—how should it be defined? The boundaries of geological time units simply represent a temporal framework which captures, as well as possible, the main features of a complex and often protracted change from one state of the Earth system to another.
Three main candidate levels have been suggested for the beginning (or chronostratigraphic base) of the Anthropocene:
Firstly, an “early Anthropocene” or “Palaeoanthropocene” (Foley et al., 2013) that reflects early events, with ideas ranging from the great megafaunal extinctions to, more commonly quoted, events associated with the beginning and spread of agriculture in the early to mid Holocene, which produced significant changes to the landscape, though only marginal changes to the marine realm. Controversially, these landscape changes may have led to the slow rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (from 260 to 280 ppm) through the pre-industrial Holocene, and may have prevented the slide back into a glacial phase.
Secondly, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, human population exceeded a billion (Steffen et al., 2015), and the development of large-scale coal burning, steam engines and industry that began the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels that continues to this day. This spread from Britain to Europe to North America between the late 17th and late 18th century, and subsequently more widely (Waters et al., 2014). It was this option that was favored during early descriptions of the Anthropocene by Crutzen and Stoermer (2000) and Crutzen (2002).
Thirdly, from the mid-20th century, there came a “Great Acceleration” in the scale and rate of population growth, energy use, manufacture, habitat/biotic change, and widespread change beginning in the marine realm (Steffen et al., 2015). This was the start of the oil economy and the beginning of nuclear age (Zalasiewicz et al., 2015; Waters et al., 2015) and of globalization, with rapid growth and sophistication of the technosphere (Haff, 2014). Most of the anthropogenic rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide took place in this interval.
Other levels have been proposed, including the 16th and early 17th centuries (e.g., Lewis & Maslin, 2015)—and also a future level, once climate has warmed and sea level has risen further (Wolff, 2014), but those three remain the main candidates. Of them, the “early Anthropocene” is historically highly significant—but the processes, and stratigraphic signals, were diachronous, taking millennia to spread across those parts of the globe they affected (Edgeworth et al., 2015). The same, in a more compressed form, may be said about the Industrial Revolution. It is the mid-20th century “Great Acceleration” that represents the most widespread and synchronous or near-synchronous signals, and also the greatest changes (so far) to the Earth system, and it is likely therefore that a level some time in the mid-20th century will become accepted as the beginning of the Anthropocene (Zalasiewicz et al., 2015), whether this new time term is formalized or not.
As regards hierarchical level, the Anthropocene is currently being considered as a potential epoch, although other levels are possible. Given that it combines features that are geologically striking and completely novel (for example the whole-planet species invasions and technofossils), with others that are still trivial (e.g., sea level change), this is probably a reasonable compromise—especially given that yet larger changes seem likely.
The question of formalization of the Anthropocene will hinge as much on the perceived usefulness of having this unit on the Geological Time Scale (and for whom it is useful, given the wide interest in this concept) as on its geological reality. This is a complex question, the answer to which is hard to predict.
Nevertheless, whether formal or informal, this term and this concept has succeeded in conveying something of the overall rate and scale of global change in the context of all of Earth history, and thus helping in the analysis—and dealing with the human consequences—of this change. Moreover, it has helped refashion the relationship between humans and nature—in effect intertwining them so that one now cannot change without affecting the other. Thus it has also brought the sciences and humanities closer, as inquiry from both sides will be necessary to fully understand—and perhaps even direct the course of—the Anthropocene. Geologists, looking at past major phases of change to the Earth, are used to analyzing driving forces such as major volcanic outbursts and comet strikes. Here it is humans currently driving change to the Earth system—a far more difficult, and more unpredictable, phenomenon.
Barnosky, A. D., Matzke, N., Tomiya, S., Wogan, G. O. U., Swartz, B., Quental, T. B., et al. (2011). Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived? Nature, 471(7336), 51–57.Find this resource:
Crutzen, P. J., & Stoermer, E. F. (2000). The Anthropocene. International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Newsletter, 41, 17–18.Find this resource:
Crutzen, P. J. (2002). Geology of Mankind. Nature, 415, p. 23.Find this resource:
Edgeworth, M., Richter, D. DeB., Waters, C. N., Haff, P., Neal, C., & Price, S. J. (2015). Diachronous beginnings of the Anthropocene: The lower bounding surface of anthropogenic deposits. Anthropocene Review, 2(1), 33–58.Find this resource:
Ellis, E. C., Antill, E. C., & Kreft, H. (2012). All Is Not Loss: Plant Biodiversity in the Anthropocene. PLoS ONE, 7(1), e30535.Find this resource:
Foley, S., Gronenborn, D., Andreae, M., Kadereit, J., Esper, J., Scholz, D., et al. (2013). The Palaeoanthropocene—The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change. Anthropocene 3, 83−88.Find this resource:
Ford, J. R., Price, S. J., Cooper, A. H., & Waters, C. N. (2014). An assessment of lithostratigraphy for anthropogenic deposits. In C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, M. Williams, M. A. Ellis, & A. Snelling (Eds.), A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (Special Publication 395, pp. 55–89).Find this resource:
Gałuszka, A., Migaszewski, Z. M., & Zalasiewicz, J. (2014). Assessing the Anthropocene with geochemical methods. In C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, M. Williams, M. A. Ellis, & A. Snelling (Eds.), A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (Special Publication 395, pp. 221–238).Find this resource:
Haff, P. K. (2014). Technology as a geological phenomenon: Implications for human well-being. In C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, M. Williams, M. A. Ellis, & A. Snelling (Eds.), A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (Special Publication 395, pp. 301–309). London: Geological Society.Find this resource:
Lewis, S. L., & Maslin, M. A. (2015). Defining the Anthropocene. Nature, 519, 171–180.Find this resource:
Steffen, W., Broadgate, W., Deutsch, L., Gaffney, O., Ludwig, C. (2015). The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration. The Anthropocene Review, 2(1): 81–98.Find this resource:
Syvitski, J. P. M., & Kettner, A. J. (2011). Sediment flux and the Anthropocene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, A2011(369), 957–975.Find this resource:
Tyrrell, T. (2011). Anthropogenic modification of the oceans. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, A369, 887–908.Find this resource:
Waters, C. N., Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Ellis, M. A., & Snelling, A. (Eds.) (2014). A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene? (Special Publication 395, pp. 321). London: Geological Society.
Waters, C. N., Syvitski, J. P. M., Gałuszka, A., Hancock, G. J, Zalasiewicz, J., Cearreta, A., Grinevald, J., McNeill, J. R., Summerhayes, C. (2015). Can environmental radiogenic signatures define the beginning of the Anthropocene Epoch? Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 71(3), 46–57.Find this resource:
Wilkinson, I. P., Poirier, C., Head, M. J., Sayer, C. D., & Tibby, J. (2014). Micropalaeontological signatures of the Anthropocene. In C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, M. Williams, M. A. Ellis, & A. Snelling (Eds.), A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (Vol. Special Publications 395, pp. 185–219). London: Geological Society.Find this resource:
Williams, M., Zalasiewicz, J., Haywood, A., & Ellis, M. (Eds.) (2011). The Anthropocene: A new epoch of geological time? (Vol. 369A, 833–1112). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
Williams, M., Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., & Landing, E. (2014). Is the fossil record of complex animal behaviour a stratigraphical analogue for the Anthropocene? In C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, M. Williams, M. A. Ellis, & A. Snelling (Eds.), A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (Special Publication 395, pp. 143–148). London: Geological Society.Find this resource:
Wolfe, A. P., Hobbs, W. O., Birks, H. H., Briner, J. P., Holmgren, S. U., Ingólfsson, Ó., et al. (2013). Stratigraphic expressions of the Holocene-Anthropocene transition revealed in sediments from remote lakes. Earth-Science Reviews, 116, 17–34.Find this resource:
Wolff, E. W. (2014). Ice Sheets and the Anthropocene. In C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, M. Williams, M. A. Ellis, & A. Snelling (Eds.), A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (Vol. Special Publications 395, pp. 255–263). London: Geological Society.Find this resource:
Zalasiewicz, J., Kryza, R., & Williams, M. (2014). The mineral signature of the Anthropocene. In C. N. Waters, J. Zalasiewicz, M. Williams, M. A. Ellis, & A. Snelling (Eds.), A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (pp. 109–117). London: Geological Society.Find this resource:
Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., & Williams, M. (2014). Human bioturbation, and the subterranean landscape of the Anthropocene. Anthropocene, 6, 3–9.Find this resource:
Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., Williams, M., et al. (2015). When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary level is stratigraphically optimal. Quaternary International.Find this resource:
Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Smith, A., Barry, T. L., Coe, A. L., Bown, P. R., et al. (2008). Are we now living in the Anthropocene? Geological Society of America Today, 18(2), 4–8.Find this resource:
Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Waters, C. N., Barnosky, A. D., & Haff, P. (2014). The technofossil record of humans. Anthropocene Review 1, 34–43.Find this resource:",14849,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210105.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815122304-20180815142304-00689.warc.gz,0.937912046909332
c74b9ab7-805d-430b-a8db-868f67932886,2013-05-18T17:59:45+00:00,2013-05-16,0,http://record-eagle.com/thursday/x1746081640/Intentional-Minimalist-Salad-Nicoise/print,"BY KRISTIN CELESTE SHROEGER, Local columnist
---- — Today's recipe for Salad Nicoise features local produce from 9 Bean Rows Farm, Murray's, Cherry Grove Farm, Spring Hollow Farms and locally produced products from Food for Thought.
Fresh local steamed or hard boiled eggs
Fresh local yellow beans
Fresh local fingerling potatoes
Fresh local fingerling yellow pear tomatoes
Fresh local pea shoots
Local cherry honey mustard
Homemade garlic scape-infused olive oil
Local wild leek vinegar
Bring a large metal sauce pan with three cups water to a boil with 1 t. sea salt. For each salad, wash 1 c. fingerling potatoes and add potatoes to boiling water. Reduce heat to medium high and cook for 10 minutes. Strain fingerling potatoes from water and allow to cool for five minutes.
For each salad, trim ends off of 1 c. yellow beans and add to potato water and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Strain yellow beans and allow to cool for one minute.
In a glass jar, mix together 3 T. homemade mayonnaise, 2 T. cherry honey mustard, 1 T. garlic scape-infused olive oil, 1 T. wild leek vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Per salad, slice 1-2 steamed eggs. Plate 2 cups pea shoots and top with eggs, yellow beans, potatoes and yellow pear tomatoes. Serve with a side of dressing and a sprinkle of sea salt.
Kristin Celeste Shroeger of Traverse City is the recipe creator, photographer, dishwasher and blogger of The Intentional Minimalist, a website encouraging farm-to-table cooking with local, seasonal and sustainable produce. Visit www.theintentionalminimalist.com for hundreds of seasonal farm-to-table recipes as well as instructions for making homemade mayonnaise and infused oils.",397,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.828104794025421
46abfd73-4887-4bca-9243-faaf76b62538,2016-07-30T22:36:42+00:00,2016-02-01,0,http://ourdems.org/pflagfw/,"We help each other
. . .
PFLAG of Fort Wayne
3925 Shoreline Blvd.
New Haven, IN 46774-2752
Roger - (260) 749-4987
We are here to help you in confidentiality.
Please feel free and comfortable
to contact us.
Roger says - Pro Family
Who Cares About
Feel free to contact Roger,
the WebGuy and president about
anything in PFLAG confidentially.
Concerned parents are welcome.
Include PFLAG in the subject line.
Fort Wayne Resources
PFLAG - Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne Pride sponsors many local events and support. Check them out.
Center for Nonviolence
Quick Emergency Help
GLBT National Help Center
Force 2124 Fairfield Avenue, Ft.W
F a m i l y
Children of Gay or Lesbian Parents
of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere
organization supporting young people with gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender parents.
For Gay Parents
Rights Campaign - Online
education and advocacy for LGBT families.
Spouses of Gay or Lesbian partners
Ft. Wayne Accepting Churches
There are other churches with varying degrees of understanding and acceptance. Those listed below are among the most active in support.---
Brigade of Light (YWCA)
Lincolnshire Church of the Brethren
Crescent Avenue United Methodist Church
Open Door Chapel
Universalist Congregation of Fort Wayne
Unity Christ Church
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We are working to make some changes in our meeting structure. Our main purpose is to be more helpful and positive to one another without negative distractions.
Guests are invited to our meetings because we are here to help. If you are a parent and want a safe and confidential place to share your concerns, you are invited. You are why we are here. There are also gay and lesbian people who sometimes attend and they often can add to the support – and sometimes receive support as well.
Because we are a peer based support group, we invite people to attend who would benefit from an opportunity to share and learn from others in a safe and non-threatening environment. It is an opportunity to be with people who have been through their own experiences and have grown to have greater understandings that enable them to help others.
Our goals are to listen, try to understand just where you are, share our experiences and to present positive and practical answers to your questions.
The important word is ""invited."" If you are not sure if we are the place for you to be or have a different reason for wanting to attend, just ask in an e-mail or give us a call.
* * * * *We will do our best to help anyone who has an issue, concern or question.
For those of you new to PFLAG, we encourage you to share your story or concerns when you feel comfortable doing so. If you would like to meet privately with a more experienced PFLAG parent, just let us know.
Call Roger at 749-4987 for more information or just to talk.. . . .
A very good read & watch :
Zach Wahls Speaks About Family
Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student spoke about the strength of his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Wahls has two mothers, and came to oppose House Joint Resolution 6 which would end civil unions in Iowa.The fight to to keep marriage equality in Iowa continues as some in Indiana move toward adding discrimination to the Indiana Constitution. Help us support all citizens who has a committed, loving, and important relationship with each other. If those of us who care will not help share understanding - who will?
Bullies, Rejection and Ignorance By Many
All in God's Family - a resource for understanding
Over the last few years, The Family Equality Council has asked what areas of family life should they focus their work on. Time and again, making faith communities more welcoming and affirming of LGBT families has topped the lists. That's why they have released a new LGBT family-inclusive faith curriculum, All in God's Family: Creating Allies for Our LGBT Families.
Developed by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Institute for Welcoming Resources, Family Equality Council and COLAGE, this multimedia resource engages faith communities and faith leaders in conversation on how best to embrace our families.Faith is an important part of many of our lives. All in God's Family provides a guiding hand to those who seek to make their faith communities more knowledgeable about and inclusive of LGBT families, from lessons on scripture to activity suggestions and more. In the months and years to come, we will expand on this work. To do that, and to encourage faith communities to adopt the curriculum now, they need to hear from you. Tell them how your faith community makes your family feel welcomed and included and/or what makes you feel less included. Click here to read a sample story and get started.
They want to hear from you and your family as you share your stories and provide feedback on this new resource for LGBT families.
Mildred Loving of Loving v. Virginia, on gay marriage.
Richard and Mildred Loving went to Washington, D.C., in 1958 to marry because they were in love and Virginia, where they lived, prohibited their marriage. Richard was white and Mildred of African American and American Indian heritage. They did not intend to make a political statement. But one night as they slept at home in their bed, the couple were awakened and arrested, charged with violating the Virginia marriage law. They were sentenced to one year in prison. The Lovings appealed their conviction and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in their favor on June 12, 1967.Mildred Loving recently said, ""My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right."" ""The majority believed what the [trial] judge said, that it was God's plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes.""Not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the 'wrong kind of person' for me to marry.
""I believe that all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights,"" she wrote.
On Pastor Rick Warren from Milissa Etheridge
This is a message for my brothers and sisters who have fought so long and so hard for gay rights and liberty. We have spent a long time climbing up this mountain, looking at the impossible, changing a thousand year-old paradigm. We have asked for the right to love the human of our choice, and to be protected equally under the laws of this great country. The road at times has been so bloody, and so horrible, and so disheartening. From being blamed for 9/11 and Katrina, to hateful crimes committed against us, we are battle weary. We watched as our nation took a step in the right direction, against all odds and elected Barack Obama as our next leader. Then we were jerked back into the last century as we watched our rights taken away by prop 8 in California. Still sore and angry we felt another slap in the face as the man we helped get elected seemingly invited a gay-hater to address the world at his inauguration.I hadn't heard of Pastor Rick Warren before all of this. When I heard the news, in its neat little sound bite form that we are so accustomed to, it painted the picture for me. This Pastor Rick must surely be one hate spouting, money grabbing, bad hair televangelist like all the others. He probably has his own gay little secret bathroom stall somewhere, you know. One more hater working up his congregation to hate the gays, comparing us to pedophiles and those who commit incest, blah blah blah. Same 'ole thing. Would I be boycotting the inauguration? Would we be marching again?Well, I have to tell you my friends, the universe has a sense of humor and indeed works in mysterious ways. As I was winding down the promotion for my Christmas album I had one more stop last night. I'd agreed to play a song I'd written with my friend Salman Ahmed, a Sufi Muslim from Pakistan. The song is called ""Ring The Bells,"" and it's a call for peace and unity in our world. We were going to perform our song for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a group of Muslim Americans that tries to raise awareness in this country, and the world, about the majority of good, loving, Muslims. I was honored, considering some in the Muslim religion consider singing to be against God, while other Muslim countries have harsh penalties, even death for homosexuals. I felt it was a very brave gesture for them to make. I received a call the day before to inform me of the keynote speaker that night... Pastor Rick Warren. I was stunned. My fight or flight instinct took over, should I cancel? Then a calm voice inside me said, ""Are you really about peace or not?""I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say ""In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him."" They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays. He invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids. He told me of his wife's struggle with breast cancer just a year before mine.When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future.Brothers and sisters the choice is ours now. We have the world's attention. We have the capability to create change, awesome change in this world, but before we change minds we must change hearts. Sure, there are plenty of hateful people who will always hold on to their bigotry like a child to a blanket. But there are also good people out there, Christian and otherwise that are beginning to listen. They don't hate us, they fear change. Maybe in our anger, as we consider marches and boycotts, perhaps we can consider stretching out our hands. Maybe instead of marching on his church, we can show up en mass and volunteer for one of the many organizations affiliated with his church that work for HIV/AIDS causes all around the world.Maybe if they get to know us, they wont fear us.I know, call me a dreamer, but I feel a new era is upon us.I will be attending the inauguration with my family, and with hope in my heart. I know we are headed in the direction of marriage equality and equal protection for all families.Happy Holidays my friends and a Happy New Year to you.Peace on earth, goodwill toward all men and women... and everyone in-between.- Melissa
We will try to bring to you the very best YouTube and other videos as well as current
Michelle Obama Speaks to DNC's Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council
A Local PFLAG Family is There To Share Our Side of the Issues as
Where do the presidential candidates stand on LGBT issues?
Equality IS an American Value!
Take Action Against Hate Crimes
The Human Right Campaign on the Federal Hate Crimes Bill
Al Gore Speaks Out on Gay Marriage
""Gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women -- to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights, to join together in marriage, and I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage,"" he says on the video, which appears on his Current TV network. ""Shouldn't we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to ones partner regardless of sexual orientation?""
The leading Democratic presidential candidates have tiptoed up to, but not crossed, the line of support for same-sex marriage. All three support equal substantive rights for gay and lesbians couples but, for the most part, have tried to have it both ways on the issue. - Thanks, John Good
Call or write your state senator about this today. Tomorrow WILL be too late.
You might want to visit the web site of Faith In America, a group who speaks for understanding. The fundamental mission of Faith In America is to end bigotry disguised as religious truth and in doing so, ensure full and equal civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in America. The world’s great religious traditions practiced within the United States of America emphasize the love of neighbor as well as the love of God. Compassion, justice, freedom, and respect for the dignity of all people are their most authentic and noble expressions.
GL or LG ? - - Ok, what is all this silliness about GLBT vs LGBT? Oh, now, people like the Bilerico Project are using LGBTQ. Let us think . . What dies the Q stand for? Well, I think it is all a bit queer. What should come first, the L or the G? Which ever comes first, we invite you to come as you are.- - RM The Bilerico Project is an informative and humorous GLBT web site that you might appreciate.
Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality flyer.doc (msword) or Nov. 3 flyer.doc (msword)
Families Joined by Love ( www.familiesjoinedbylove.com ), a comprehensive bookstore, resource center, and discussion community for LGBT families and the important people in their lives, announces the launch of its website on August 1.We have created this sophisticated new resource for LGBT families in response to a growing need within the LGBT community for information and literature on topics related to parenting, adoption, legal and financial issues, and other areas of interest for current and prospective LGBT parents. Despite the ever-growing number of children in need of adoption worldwide, and the increasing cost-effectiveness of fertility treatments, LGBT individuals and couples are often viewed as unsuitable candidates for parenthood.At Families Joined by Love, we recognize the tremendous potential that LGBT individuals possess not only as partners in healthy and constructive romantic relationships, but also as parents and mentors. By making information about the journey to and through parenthood widely available to LGBT families, we hope to empower this unique and valuable demographic in overcoming the many obstacles that can block the path to becoming a parent.Our store got started in 1992, with a basic mail-order catalog and eventually a website catering to LGBT families; for this new incarnation of Families Joined by Love, we have created a much more diverse and sophisticated resource. We currently offer books and other publications, resource listings and links, and a wide array of discussion forums.Visit our new website at www.familiesjoinedbylove.com to see the full range of literature and resources that we provide for LGBT families and their supporters. With this website, we strive to provide not only a comprehensive selection of informational books and resources, but also a nurturing and safe environment in which LGBT families and their supporters can come together for discussion, activism, and support.If you would like more information about Families Joined by Love, would like printed postcards from FJBL to distribute to your members, or have a question about any aspect of our website, please contact us at the number listed below or email us at www.familiesjoinedbylove.com/contactus.shtml . Also, be sure to sign up for our email list for bookstore updates, news items of current events of interest to LGBT families, and special promotional offers. In case you have a newsletter or a blog, I’ve attached a press release your convenience. You can find instructions about linking to our website at www.familiesjoinedbylove.com/misc/linktous.shtml.
Laurie Wallmark, President
Xan Nowakowski, Vice President
PFLAG of Fort Wayne
3925 Shoreline Blvd.
New Haven, IN 46774-2752
To send mail to Roger, the Web Guy, pflagfortwayne @ gmail.com This web site has been visited times since February 1, 2003.
Join us at our regular monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.
at PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, 501 W. Berry Street in Fort Wayne, IN.
s i t e l i k s 1 2 3 4. place here
THIS IS HERE ONLY<g>.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Just holding for later use. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Our next regular monthly meeting will be 7:00PM on Tuesday, February 9 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 501 W. Berry Street in Fort Wayne.",3707,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258943369.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072903-00317-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961285591125488
0f72096b-4920-4f26-8d86-e44610daa960,2020-10-30T10:15:43+00:00,2019-03-31,0,https://www.assistinghands.com/37/maryland/potomac/about/meet-the-team/,"Steve & Cathy Lorberbaum
Founders, Assisting Hands Potomac
Steve and Cathy Lorberbaum started Assisting Hands Potomac after successful careers as an attorney and marketing manager respectively.
“We wanted to make a real difference in people’s lives. Our mission is simple – to provide the best care possible for our clients, while providing a great place to work for our employees.”
Steve Lorberbaum is the owner of Assisting Hands Home Care, which is dedicated to providing families and their loved ones with exceptional caregiving services and support. According to Steve, “we get calls from families looking for information and education. Often times people are in a crisis situation and just need someone to help them understand their options. Many times we are a temporary bridge to a longer term living solution and other times we become that long term solution to helping someone remain comfortably at home. Our focus is on counseling families and then providing a caring professional to help a loved one wherever home is the moment. We’re there, when family can’t be.”
Steve’s experience is based on the challenges he and his wife faced addressing care needs for their parents. Steve has more than 25 years’ experience practicing law in both private practice and as General Corporate Counsel. Steve earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University. He continued his education with a JD degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington DC. In 2014, he became a Certified Senior Advisor and serves on the board of Cupid’s Charities, an organization that supports the Children’s Tumor Foundation and on the Board of Potomac Community Village, as neighbor helping neighbor senior organization. He also serves on the Montgomery County’s Age Friendly – Home and Community Based Services Workgroup.
Cathy Lorberbaum has been a yoga instructor in the Washington D.C. area for almost 20 years. Cathy has taught at several yoga studios in the DC area, as well as managed the yoga program at LifeTime Athletic in Rockville, MD for several years. Her classes focus on building core strength, joint stability and flexibility while promoting relaxation, breathing and meditation. Cathy holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Florida. Prior to teaching yoga, Cathy held various marketing positions at several telecommunications companies in the Washington, DC area including: COMSAT Communications, GTE Spacenet, and PictureTel.
Human Resource Manager
Debby is responsible for recruiting, screening, interviewing our Certified Nursing Assistants and maintaining HR files and databases. She responds to individual caregivers’ questions and needs.
Debby Leber joined Assisting Hands in May 2016. She holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. She has over 30 years of experience in professional office management and human resource administration. Twenty of those years, she worked at a CPA firm that specialized in healthcare consulting. Debby is a native Marylander and has lived her entire life in Montgomery County. She has two sons and five grandchildren and stays busy babysitting and attending her grandchildren’s sporting events.
Director of Community Relations
Patricia Dubroof is the Director of Community Relations for Assisting Hands Home Care. She creates partnerships with our senior communities to share educational and creative tools about the important role caregivers have in our family’s lives. She connects with our families as they enter the caregiver world, listening carefully to their story and finding solutions to their caregiving needs. Patricia facilitates several programs: Death Cafe, Book Events, What’s Your Plan and others. Patricia represents Assisting Hands as an active member of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce, Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce, GROWS and the Senior Services Alliance.
Patricia Dubroof joined Assisting Hands in March of 2019. She has over 35 years of experience in caring for seniors through creativity and coaching. She developed arts and healing programs at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, Iona Senior Service, Washington DC Veterans Medical Center and many other local and national organizations.",829,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107910204.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030093118-20201030123118-00100.warc.gz,0.961235046386719
803b7391-0056-489f-9acf-c90a08d72397,2020-10-29T16:26:04+00:00,2019-01-18,1,https://geoknow.net/blog/2019/01/18/an-epidemic-of-food-waste-when-so-many-go-hungry/,"A definitive study has been released in Canada that more accurately quantifies the amount of food wasted each year in terms of both avoidable waste and unavoidable waste. In total, almost 58% of Canadian food production is wasted. Of that, 32% is considered avoidable waste which means just shy of $50 billion of ‘usable groceries’ is wasted each year.
The original technical report and road map is from Second Harvest who (according to their website), is “Canada’s largest food rescue charity with a dual mission of environmental protection and hunger relief. We recover nutritious, unsold food before it becomes waste and distribute to a broad network of 373 social service organizations.”
- The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste (January 2019)
Other food waste-related articles include:
- Food Waste: What supermarkets throw out (CBC Marketplace documentary)
- Other countries crack down on discards, so why are we so far behind? (CBC Marketplace)
- Wasted! The story of food waste (CBC The Passionate Eye documentary)
- Follow-up piece: Fifteen Canadian Initiatives Trying to Reduce Food Waste",233,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107904834.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029154446-20201029184446-00418.warc.gz,0.945285201072693
7f4b2b59-315d-4c05-8a5a-b14cc14edff6,2020-10-23T03:17:29+00:00,2007-10-01,0,https://aefallen.livejournal.com/282165.html?thread=3593781,"I BELIEVE THAT DOING THIS IS MORE FUN STUDYING FOR THE EXAMINATIONS.
""I believe that love is stronger than any medicine ever invented.""
Dean: ""I believe... I believe there are forces out there you don't wanna mess with.""
(the dude from NCIS?): I believe there are sheep in Australia. But not as many as there are in New Zealand.""
House Channel 10 promo
Chase: ""I believe in taking advantage of every situation."" ♥ Devious little wombat.
The Supernatural version
Sammy: *laughs* ""What can I say? I believe."" (cut to Dean) ""Seriously.""
""I Believe"" Extended
Dean: ""I believe in the unknown. Monsters. Aliens. Scary ex-girlfriends."" (Oh, Dean. ♥)
Sam: ""I believe in keeping an open mind. A very. Open. Mind.""
Supernatural Commercial Bloopers. Not as hilarious as the SPN series bloopers proper, but for the sake of seeing Jensen and Jared looking so young! and innocent and different from what they look like on SPN. Dean in particular - looks so wide-eyed and so very young. Also the last bits of the commercial are FUNNY.
I believe that to maximise your entertainment, you should follow as many television series as possible. And anime series. ;) But especially for TV series. That way, when any one series stops of a hiatus, is disrupted by inconveniently-dated public holidays and/or events, starts to bore you, has a plot slowdown, etc. - there'll always be something else to pay attention to. It's like life, really! The more (things) you're interested in, the more there is out there worthy of your absorption.
BUT I find that the downside of that is that once I focus on one series, I tend to stop following the others so closely. At present I can follow House and Heroes simultaneously because I'm only interested in specific characters and story arcs. But when I follow Supernatural, it's all-Supernatural all the time. One only has so much time and energy, after all.
Also, Darling Sammy is now Princess Sammy, after Episode 3x04 of Supernatural. There really is something about my favourite characters and their affinity with the ""Princess"" description. Jimmy from Blades, Sammy, Wolfram... I bet Peter's a Princess too.",507,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880519.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023014545-20201023044545-00130.warc.gz,0.953068554401398
26ca7cb3-474a-4f9d-9d47-d4388c03aa59,2016-07-31T03:37:35+00:00,2016-07-31,0,https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/Proxxi,"State or District
Number of members
150-250 per year|
""-250peryear"" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 150.
50 SEK / year (below 25 years old) 100 SEK / year (25 years and older)
|Location||59° 20' 40"", 18° 5' 24""|
Proxxi is an environment where you can benefit in activities and interests in technology and gaming related areas. We've got decent computers, a lot of electronic stuff, tools and members with strong skills and connections in hackerstuff.
|Monday||LARP workshop, Electronics|
|Wednesday||No planned activity|
|Friday||Game development workshop|
|Sunday||Hackerday (programming, game develoment, webdesign etc)|
This environment is maintained by two non-profit organizations, both are unofficially called Proxxi for historical reasons and membership overlap heavily.
The one officially named Proxxi is a gaming club, associated to Sverok(Lang:sv) (Wikipedia article). Since it's responsible for paying the rent, it changed its name (to Proxxi) to make it easier for contributors to validate the member count, it is the name of the place after all. The gaming club has no hackerspace interest.
The other one, officially named Ix, was previously named Proxxi and have also run the place in the past. Associated to Unga Forska Stockholm(Lang:sv) (The Swedish Federation of Young Scientists), it hosts all hackerspace activities and seeks funds for larger projects.",333,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258948913.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072908-00321-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.868838667869568
59e5f64c-dad5-4546-a3c9-e0d4345f806d,2018-08-15T03:29:40+00:00,2017-12-04,1,https://mic.com/articles/186652/elon-musks-plan-to-fix-the-worlds-worst-traffic-probably-wont-work-experts-say,"Los Angeles traffic is both world-famous and infuriating. But Elon Musk’s solution — underground tunnels dug by the Boring Company — isn’t what Los Angeles really needs, experts say.
Musk first shared his idea to dig tunnels across LA on Dec. 17, 2016, when he became fed up with being stuck behind the wheel. “Traffic is driving me nuts,” he tweeted. “[I] am going to start building a tunnel boring machine and just start digging.”
Now, on Dec. 4, Musk and the Boring Company updated his vision by releasing a conceptual map of proposed tunnel routes for Los Angeles.
The first phase of construction would include a 6.5-mile, proof-of-concept tunnel between West Los Angeles and Inglewood (an excavation permit application has already been submitted, the Boring Company said). Other routes would then be added across the city, stretching to all well-touristed corners, including Santa Monica and the Dodger Stadium.
But Elon Musk’s vision won’t become a reality without overcoming a long process of bureaucratic red tape. If it does happen, it will likely look something like this: Cars will sit on electric skates that carry them at high speeds through underground tunnels. An elevator-like lift will bring them from the street level to underground, along with autonomously-driven pods that may carry 8 to 16 passengers at a time.
It sounds cool and looks futuristic, but “I wouldn’t expect it to do anything measurable to reduce what congestion is like on the existing roadways in Los Angeles,” Juan Matute, associate director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, said in a phone interview.
“That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t speed up Elon Musk’s commute or the commute of others who use it,” he added, “but there wouldn’t be any measured impact on the 405 and other congested freeways, or surface streets.”
The traffic problem in LA is bad — really bad. It actually ranks as the worst in the world, according to the 2016 Inrix Global Traffic Scorecard, which measured hours stuck in traffic across 1,064 cities. Within 240 commuting days, LA drivers spent an average of 104.1 hours behind the wheel in congestion during peak hours in 2016 (for what it’s worth, there were 261 work days on the calendar that year).
Surely, with a problem this severe, one could argue that it’s heartening to see all hands on deck — Musk’s included.
“I do like the fact that private sector dollars are being expended on mobility and the transit side,” Brooks Rainwater, director of the National League of Cities’ Center for City Solutions, said in a phone interview. However, he sees a very clear issue with these tunnels of high-speed electric skis: “You’re still going to have a problem of induced demand and tunneling underground,” he said.
“Induced demand” is exactly why several transit experts have thrown cold water on Musk’s idea. It’s a well-documented phenomenon where increasing capacity for cars ultimately invites more cars on the road. In other words, many believe that traffic can’t be resolved by simply making more space for cars — which is what Musk’s tunnels will effectively do by removing a vehicle from the streets and turning it into an underground luge.
“That’s been the story in LA for decades. Over the past 15 years, we’ve had two projects — the last of which was over a billion dollars — to widen the 405 freeway,” Matute said. “It has had a really negligible effect on traffic. … That applies to a tunnel, a widened roadway — anything, really.”
Though the Boring Company’s selling point is its “fast to dig, low cost tunnels,” Matute said the real snag might be in the surface-street connection. Although tunnels can be dug deep underground, already-existing infrastructure can make constructing the car elevator a high-cost puzzle.
“Especially if you want to have a surface connection under the street, which is where the utilities are, you have to remap all of those utilities in order to dig that surface connection,” he said. “That’s what ends up being really expensive — when you have, in some cases, a 3-foot-wide storm drain that you have to reroute without clogging it up.”
Matute estimated that the Boring Company’s map would cost about $50 to $75 billion to build, and said he believes that this wouldn’t be transportation for the common man. He estimated that prices to take Musk’s express tunnel system would conceivably be $50 or even $100 each way.
“$100 would not be unreasonable to try to recuperate the cost. That’s still eight or so dollars [in a 16-person passenger pod], when the metro fare is $1.75,” he said. “There are some people for whom it’d make LA a more viable place — Elon Musk and other people who have the money to spend $10,000 a year on these types of fees.”
Matute also said he believes that it would take 15 or more years to build the proposed network of tunnels on “an aggressive construction schedule.” Rainwater, too, estimated 15 years — though he noted Musk has a track record for moving quickly on his many other ventures, like SpaceX and Tesla.
“Until we are seeing miles of tunnel laid down, I don’t think we really know the long-term implications of how quick this project would get done,” Rainwater said. “Ultimately, what’s happening is that we’re in this transportation mobility shift where there’s lots of wonderful new ideas explored, but we’re still only in that piloting and concept phase.”
“People who study transportation are waiting for the additional details,” Matute said. “This is highly unlikely to work. I would bet against it.”
Los Angeles is planning a serious transit makeover, though LA residents will still need to keep their patience. In 2016, the city introduced a sales tax hike that is expected to bring $860 million a year to projects such as subway line extensions, an all-new rail to Los Angeles International Airport, new bike lanes and an expanded bike-share system.
“I think the best foot forward for Los Angeles is exactly what they’re doing,” Rainwater said. “There’s been great investments by the residents of LA, in tens of billions of dollars, for long-term infrastructure transit projects.”",1452,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209856.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815024253-20180815044253-00281.warc.gz,0.957663416862488
e4e129b7-c58e-4735-b15e-fe7df78c7372,2015-03-30T05:49:59+00:00,2011-08-15,0,http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/eat-and-drink/eat-beat/articles/portland-beer-week-august-2011,"Maybe you didn’t get enough beer during Oregon Craft Beer Month. Or perhaps you’re one of those die-hard microbrew enthusiasts who eschewed the waterfront Brewers Festival because it’s gotten ""too mainstream"". Regardless of your reasons, you find yourself in need of more local suds, and the good people behind Portland Beer Week have your back.
From August 19th to 28th, Portlanders will be able to squeeze in another beer-centric week before August’s end with a city-wide craft beer celebration. The week’s events include special tastings of a beer created just for Portland Beer Week (Widmer’s Rose City Hipster, a golden ale brewed with rose hips), several specialty beer ice creams from Salt & Straw, the Brewers Burger Brawl at the Hop & Vine, beer and food pairings with treats from Spirit of 77 and the Grilled Cheese Grill, and the world premier of ""The Love of Beer,"" an insider’s look at the ladies behind regional craft beer.
Head to the PDX Beer Week kickoff party on Friday, August 19 at the Horse Brass Pub to meet the folks behind the week-long party, and check out the Beer Week website to get the scoop on the events happening all week long. Don’t miss your chance to celebrate the best of our hometown hop-heads! Sure, Oregon is a beer-lover’s paradise, but Portland is truly the epicenter of the state’s love of a locally-brewed cold one. Cheers!",323,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00133-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.934181809425354
0238e0e6-5a67-4931-a3a7-4b14e48402d2,2022-05-20T14:01:23+00:00,2012-03-19,1,https://joanisval.com/2012/03/19/uniao-aduaneira-sovietica/,"Para quem estuda processos de integração, segue interessante notícia sobre uma recente União Aduaneira da Eurásia, capitaneada, naturalmente, pela Rússia. Achei o artigo, no mínimo, curioso!
É… a memória da hegemonia soviética nunca esteve tão viva!
Medvedev Urges Eurasec Observer States to Join Customs Union
The countries that have observer status in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Community (Eurasec) would benefit from joining the Customs Union, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.
“We have said that we are forming the Customs Union and spoke about the advantages (of membership), and of certain disadvantages that may emerge and are already emerging for states that are not members of the Customs Union,” Medvedev said after a meeting of the Eurasec Interstate Council in Moscow on Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by the presidents of Eurasec members Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as the leaders of Eurasec observer states Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Russia would like to see Ukraine join the Customs Union. Last October Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged Ukraine to forget “its political phobias of the past, look to the future,” and join the Customs Union.
Kiev has so far declined to join the Customs Union, but said that it is willing to cooperate on a ‘3+1’ basis – an option that has been rejected by Moscow.
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are members of the Customs Union. In November, the presidents of those three countries signed a declaration on Eurasian economic integration, a roadmap for integration processes aimed at creating a Eurasian Economic Union, which will be based on the Customs Union and common economic space of the three countries.
The Russian president also said that the final agreement on formation of the Eurasian Economic Union could be signed on January 1, 2015, while the next meeting of the Interstate Council of Eurasec could take place in May this year.
Commenting on Medvedev’s statement concerning benefits from membership in the Customs Union, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy said Ukraine would switch to other markets if it faces trade limits with neighboring countries.",510,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662532032.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520124557-20220520154557-00404.warc.gz,0.945322573184967
3c1e2448-e65c-4d8a-b358-577817c68a52,2015-04-02T03:18:48+00:00,2013-11-23,1,http://www.rediff.com/news/special/kunal-ghoshs-arrest-some-questions-for-mamata-banerjee-trinamool/20131123.htm,"Will the arrest of renegade Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh take the lid off a can of worms, asks Indrani Roy
The much-anticipated arrest of suspended Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Kunal Ghosh took place on Saturday evening for his alleged involvement in the Saradha scam.
Ghosh’s detention followed his interrogation for over five hours at Kolkata’s Biddhannagar Police Commissionerate.
The TMC MP, who was group chief executive officer of Sardha's media wing until the company went bust six months ago, handed over a written request to lodge a formal First Information Report against sleuth Arnab Ghosh for ‘criminal blackmailing’.
While the police accepted the application, it is not yet clear whether the FIR has actually been lodged.
The journalist-turned MP dropped a bombshell on Friday by dragging party supremo Mamata Banerjee's name directly in the Saradha fiasco.
To stress on Saradha CEO Sudipta Sen’s proximity with the chief minister, the Rajya Sabha MP claimed that Sen floated the media houses to help Banerjee become the prime minister.
""'Didi, apni CM theke PM hoben, ami media house ke seibhabei sajachchhi. (Didi, I am setting up my media houses in a way that it helps you become the PM).' This is what (Sudipta) Sen had told Mamata,"" Ghosh divulged to Rediff.com on Friday.
It should be remembered that soon after the Saradha scandal surfaced, the West Bengal chief minister had steadfastly defended Ghosh, saying that “he was only the CEO of Saradha’s media group, he should not be dragged into the case in any way.”
However, the TMC suspended Ghosh soon after he spoke up against the party during an event in September and said that he was being made a scapegoat.
The same event was attended by another ‘disgruntled’ TMC MP Somen Mitra.
(Mitra, incidentally, announced his decision to quit TMC and join Congress a few weeks ago).
Will Ghosh’s arrest take the lid off a can of worms?
One has to wait for an answer to this particular question and a few others.
- What compelled the TMC leadership to imprison Ghosh now?
- If Ghosh is guilty, why didn’t Mamata Banerjee have any clue about his involvement in the scam?
- Why did the West Bengal chief minister go on defending the ex-CEO of Saradha’s media groups?
- Why did the investigating agencies turn the focus on Ghosh only after he threatened to reveal the names of all those who took money from Sen?
- Ghosh claimed to be in possession of some ‘explosive’ video clips and documents that are sure to ‘nail’ some big names of TMC.
- Did Ghosh’s arrest become ‘necessary’ because of that?
- Is it true that those ‘evidences’ are being kept in the ‘safe’ custody of a few other rebellious TMC men?
- Will those be revealed to the media in due course?
- Will the probe team now start questioning prominent TMC leader Mukul Roy whose name was repeatedly mentioned by Ghosh in the last few months?
- The team of detectives decided to question Ghosh after taking a cue from the letter written to the Central Bureau of Investigation by Sudipta Sen. Why is the same team not taking into account the names of other leaders mentioned by Ghosh in his allegations?
- Is the investigative agency under any kind of pressure?
- Why is the Bengal chief minister reluctant to hand over the case to the CBI?
Till now, Bengal’s Saradha scam appears like a jigsaw puzzle and it would be interesting to watch how the many pieces fall into their places.
Image: Kunal Ghosh ' Photograph: Dipak Chakraborty",861,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00279-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967714130878448
b72b78b8-9cbd-4b54-9127-b721e364a32e,2019-08-17T21:15:34+00:00,2019-05-16,1,https://www.apr.org/post/trumps-new-immigration-plan-doesnt-address-undocumented-immigrants,"Updated at 5:25 p.m. ET
President Trump has announced an immigration proposal that would dramatically reshape the legal immigration system in the United States.
The plan ""puts jobs, wages and safety of American workers first,"" Trump said in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday.
""We must implement an immigration system that will allow our citizens to prosper for generations to come,"" he said.
The plan does not address the pressing challenge of what to do about the estimated 11 million people currently in the country illegally, one of the core issues that has animated Trump's presidency.
The speech was notably softer in tone for a president who has often used harsh language when describing immigrants.
Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has been quietly working on the plan for months and briefed Republican senators on the details Tuesday. A senior administration official, who spoke to reporters Wednesday on the condition that his name not be used, said the proposal is a ""good faith effort"" intended to unify Republicans and start a discussion.
""Right now this is the Trump plan, and we're hoping this will become the Republican plan,"" the official said.
The plan would prioritize merit-based immigration, limiting the number of people who could get green cards by seeking asylum or based on family ties. But it would keep immigration levels static, neither increasing or decreasing the number of people allowed to legally enter the U.S. each year. Here are the elements of the proposal as described to reporters on Wednesday:
- Securing the border: Finishing the border wall
- Protecting American wages: Stemming the flow of low-wage labor
- Attract and retain the best and brightest immigrants
- Prioritize nuclear families: It would limit which family members can come to the country to children and spouses
- Import labor for critical industries
- Preserve humanitarian values: Keep asylum system, but limit it.
Trump described the current immigration system as being largely based on ""random chance,"" insisting that the administration's proposal would set clearer requirements for admission.
""We want immigrants coming in; we cherish the open door,"" Trump said. ""But a big proportion of those immigrants should come in through merit and skill.""
The announcement comes as the Trump administration is struggling to deal with a dramatic increase in asylum seekers trying to enter the U.S. along the southern border, creating what many are now calling a humanitarian crisis.
Earlier this year, President Trump declared a national emergency to go against the wishes of Congress and shift funds to build the border wall he promised during his presidential campaign. So White House aides see this as an ideal moment to try again to reshape the immigration system and enhance border security, something that requires congressional buy-in.
Democrats are unlikely to support any immigration proposal that doesn't also address the young people who came to the U.S. as children and are now here illegally, known as Dreamers. President Trump moved to eliminate the Obama-era program to give them work permits and protection from deportation, and the program is now in limbo pending court action.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the White House proposal, ""repackaged the worst of its past failed immigration plans"" and described it as ""dead-on-arrival"" and ""not a remotely serious proposal.""
The last time Trump and his White House proposed an immigration overhaul, it included a path to citizenship for Dreamers. While potentially more detailed, this proposal is less comprehensive than previous offers by Trump and his administration.
Asked about this omission, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday, ""Because it's a serious program, it's not included. Every single time that we have put forward or anyone else has put forward any type of immigration plan and it's included DACA, it's failed. It's a divisive thing. Certainly something to discuss and look at and address but this plan is focused on fixing a different part of the immigration system.""
DACA has actually registered strong bipartisan support among voters. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 83% of Americans backed giving citizenship to DACA recipients.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close ally of Trump's, said the proposal was purposely narrow by not addressing those in the country already.
""I don't think it's designed to get Democratic support as much as it is to unify the Republican Party around border security,"" Graham said, who characterized it more as a ""negotiating position"" than a legislative proposals. ""This is what we want on border security, this is what we want on merit-based immigration, and then we'll have to sit down and find common ground on the 11 million.""
Graham, who attended Thursday's announcement, was involved in the last major bipartisan effort to overhaul immigration in 2013. That legislation passed the Senate but failed in the House. Trump's proposal has zero chance of becoming law without bipartisan support. And at the moment it isn't clear whether it has Republican buy-in, much less Democrats.
And the proposal is likely to run into trouble from the right, too, because it doesn't restrict legal immigration.
""This bill will only get worse. As a starting point it's not acceptable,"" said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.
Krikorian wants to see the level of legal immigration reduced and is concerned that the Trump proposal doesn't even start by calling for a cut in immigration.
""I don't think any of them really understands how important it is to his voters that there be some acknowledgement that numbers need to come down,"" said Krikorian. ""Is it an actual legislative vehicle or is it a campaign statement? And if it is real legislation why would they start with what is already a compromise position? The art of the deal says you start with an aggressive position. Why wouldn't this have cuts to legal immigration.""
While insisting that this is a serious proposal, the White House official also suggested that the Democrats running for president should be asked about the plan.
It currently isn't in the form of legislation, and there are no lawmakers signed on as sponsors. But Trump called the plan ""pro-American, pro-immigrant and pro-worker. It's just common sense.""
""If for some reason, possibly political, we can't get the Democrats to approve this merit-based, high-security plan, then we will get it approved immediately after the election when we take back the House, keep the Senate, and of course, hold the presidency,"" Trump said on Thursday.
After a pause for applause, he added: ""But wouldn't it be nice to do it sooner than that?""
NOEL KING, HOST:
This afternoon, President Trump will unveil a new proposal that calls for dramatic changes to the legal immigration system in the U.S. The policy would change who is allowed into the country. It would favor highly skilled immigrants, and it would cut spots for asylum-seekers and for people with family in the U.S. Now, this policy does not deal with the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally. A White House official has told NPR that, quote, ""we want to show the country that Republicans are not against immigrants,"" unquote. NPR's White House correspondent Tamara Keith is on the line.
Good morning, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Good morning.
KING: All right, so we have some idea what's in this plan. What are the specifics? What more do we know?
KEITH: So a senior administration official says that this is a good faith effort intended to unify Republicans and start a discussion. It is very much focused on legal immigration and completely reshaping the system for people to come to this country. So it would move away from a family-based immigration system towards a system that would prioritize merit - so people with college degrees, people with skills, things like that. It also would greatly reduce the number of people seeking asylum who would be allowed in in any given year.
But it would keep immigration levels static, so it neither increases nor decreases the number of people allowed into the country each year. But, as you say in the intro, it does not deal with the 11 million people...
KEITH: ...Who are in the country illegally now, including DREAMers. Those are the young people who were brought here as children and are in the country illegally now.
KING: Do we know anything, Tam, about how this went down - how discussions about this policy went down within the White House? Like, who had the most influence on drafting this policy?
KEITH: So this has been a months-long process that has been led by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser. Stephen Miller, the immigration hardliner who is an adviser in the White House, has also been involved, as has Kevin Hassett from the Council of Economic Advisers. And Kushner - I've spoken to numerous people - outside people, including conservatives who deal with immigration, who Kushner has consulted with along the way. He has been having a whole bunch of conversations. But a senior administration official says that in the end, this is President Trump's plan, that President Trump is enthusiastic about it and that this is being guided by what President Trump wants.
KING: You said this is being presented as a good faith effort to unite Republicans. What does that mean for Congress on the whole? Does this have any chance of actually going into effect?
KEITH: It doesn't seem to have a very good chance of going into effect because anything that would pass Congress has to have bipartisan support. And Democrats are not going to get on board with a plan that doesn't deal with DREAMers at all, much less the other 11 million people who are here illegally. And for many Republicans, there are problems too.
I was talking to someone who is sort of a - more of an immigration hardliner or restrictionist from an outside group, Mark Krikorian from the Center for Immigration Studies. And he said, this is the starting point. He was sort of shocked by this. And he's like - he really feels that any plan from this White House needs to have restrictions on immigration to cut the number of people coming to the country. And he's concerned that this is a starting point. He says ""The Art Of The Deal"" says you start with an aggressive position. Why would they start without having any cuts at all to legal immigration?
KING: Just quickly, do you think the president will stay on message when he announces this this afternoon?
KEITH: Well, if past is prologue, often, he gets off message or does not stick to the script. But sometimes, in the Rose Garden, he sticks to those teleprompters. So, you know, you never know. But he certainly has a lot of ideas about immigration.
KING: NPR's Tamara Keith.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.",2266,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00012.warc.gz,0.978514015674591
fd522876-b6f3-4df4-b790-dab81a2c8f97,2017-08-23T19:40:01+00:00,2015-08-19,1,http://outbreaknewstoday.com/west-nile-virus-season-is-upon-us-how-bad-could-it-get-80758/,"After the first human West Nile virus (WNV) case was reported in May in Harris County, Texas and cases trickled in for a couple of months, it appears that WNV season is in full swing with cases being reported from multiple states on a daily basis.Just in the past day, WNV cases have been reported from Florida, Ohio, Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Colorado among others.
As of Tuesday, a total of 36 states have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes in 2015. Overall, 38 cases of West Nile virus disease in people have been reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the cases reported to the CDC are typically well behind what the states and localities are reporting, hence, the total case count is likely quite higher.
West Nile virus has been a scourge on the United States since the first 62 cases were reported in New York in 1999. Since that time, nearly 42,000 human WNV cases have been reported, with only Alaska never reporting a case.
West Nile virus activity is picking up in recent weeks, so how bad will this season be?
Any public health professional would say it is impossible to predict how bad the WNV season might be. Colorado Public Health Veterinarian, Jennifer House said, “Although we can’t predict how much West Nile virus activity will occur this summer, we know the virus is present, and that means people are at risk.” However, there are some things to look at.
In California, where more than 800 human cases were reported in 2014, the most in the US, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith has noted recently, “West Nile virus activity is more widespread in 2015 than in years past. Californians need to be vigilant in protecting themselves.”
I bring up California for a specific reason: drought. The Golden State has experienced a serious drought this year, which may affect the mosquito burden. How does that happen?
The Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District offers a good explanation:
In a typical non-drought year, healthy creeks and rivers flow freely and typically don’t produce mosquitoes. Mosquito eggs are fragile and can’t survive in these flowing or agitated waters. Standing, or still water is the culprit. Female mosquitoes only lay eggs in still waters where they won’t be harmed. During drought conditions, creeks dry up and leave scattered puddles that hold still and standing water perfect for immature mosquitoes–water with no agitation nor predators. In Contra Costa County, mosquitoes that can transmit West Nile virus can lay up to 400 eggs in as little as two tablespoons of water.
When water is scarce in drought years, the remaining puddles become critical water sources for insects, birds and animals that all gather at the same locations. This high concentration of birds, which can carry West Nile virus, and mosquitoes which can transmit the virus from birds to people, creates a greater health risk.
The risk of mosquito-borne illness also increases in a drought year when areas of water that once held mosquito-eating fish dry up, because without enough water, the fish cannot survive to eat the mosquitoes. In addition, when rain does eventually fall, the water deposits in areas that now no longer hold fish. Without these predators, mosquito activity can flourish. More mosquitoes may mean more virus.
In addition, rainy seasons are also implicated in increases in mosquito activity. On Tuesday, experts from Colorado State University report the high number of Culex mosquitoes, the mosquito vector of WNV, in northern Colorado may translate to an increase in WNV cases. Why? A wet spring and summer in Northern Colorado has led to the increases of the mosquito vector.
Colorado has reported more human WNV cases since 1999 than any other state in the union with more than 5,000.
West Nile Virus (WNV) was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937, according to the World Health Organization. In 1999 a WNV circulating in Israel and Tunisia was imported in New York producing a large and dramatic outbreak that spread throughout the continental United States of America (USA) in the following years.
West Nile virus is usually spread by the bite of a mosquito that has fed on an infected bird. In very rare cases, West Nile virus can be spread through: blood transfusion, organ or tissue transplants, pregnancy (from mothers to unborn babies), breast milk and exposure of laboratory workers to infected medical specimens.
Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Most people (70 percent to 80 percent) who are infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms. Some people have mild symptoms that can include: fever, headache, body aches, mild rash and swollen lymph glands. The first symptoms usually appear within 2 to 15 days after infection.
Anyone infected with West Nile virus can be at risk of developing more severe symptoms and health effects. Adults 50 years or older and those with underlying conditions or weaker immune systems, however, are at greater risk.
Very few people (fewer than 1 percent of people infected with the virus) will develop severe symptoms and health effects. In many of these cases, the infection can affect the central nervous system. This is the nervous system tissues in the brain and spinal cord).
Prevention of West Nile virus and other mosquito borne disease include avoiding mosquito bites, using repellent that contains DEET, wearing clothes that cover skin if possible, mosquito-proof your home and eliminate mosquito breeding sites.
There is no preventive vaccine for WNV although there is one currently in Phase I clinical trials. There is no specific treatment for WNV, just treat the symptoms.
Time will tell how bad this WNV season ends up; however, certain conditions are in place for a possible heavy season.",1205,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123359.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823190745-20170823210745-00485.warc.gz,0.958972096443176
251f239c-956a-4612-8b16-bf1e815dc1aa,2015-03-28T14:45:37+00:00,2012-04,0,http://blog.lib.umn.edu/suahc/homecoming/2012/04/a_legendary_start.html,"A Legendary Start
Hey Minnesota! With the new coordinators in place and Homecoming 2012 plans brewing, we are excited to announce that YOU have chosen the Homecoming 2012 theme to be 'Legendary U!' What a fitting theme for a university that has been legendary in so many aspects throughout the years. With everything from our academics to athletics, and our research to our alumni, we truly are representative of a legendary university!
Speaking of legends, the Homecoming 2012 Coordinators are now scouting out candidates fit for a legendary Homecoming 2012 Royalty Court! The crowned King and Queen will receive a $500 monetary scholarship and represent the University of Minnesota and #UMNpride throughout their reign. So if you feel like you have what it takes to represent this Legendary U, head to the website and fill out an application by April 16!
That's all for now Minnesota- stay tuned!",179,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297587.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00021-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93856555223465
d250c04a-c224-4220-852a-b27690440ba4,2020-10-25T20:12:54+00:00,2019-09-25,1,https://cryptocoinnewshub.com/well-fight-sec-until-we-dont-have-a-dollar-left/,"The CEO and founder of Canadian social media and messaging app Kik has vowed to fight U.S. regulators over the future of the native Kin (KIN) cryptocurrency “no matter how hard it is.”
According to a Sept. 25 report from Global News, Kik CEO Ted Livingston told an audience the Elevate Conference in Toronto on Wednesday:
“We have to keep going. Until that’s it, we don’t have a dollar left, a person left. We will keep going no matter how hard it is.”
Taking on the SEC
As reported, Kik has been mired in a costly legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its initial coin offering’s designation, with the regulator suing the company for having conducted an allegedly unregistered $100 million token offering.
Livingston has pledged to fight to win the legal challenge, noting that if the Kin token will be categorized as a security, cumbersome regulations will mean it is no longer workable, imperilling the company’s revenue model.
“We feel very confident that we are correct. We need to fight,” he said.
Kik hopes to go to trial as soon as May 2020, he revealed. Meanwhile, the SEC’s action has slowed adoption of Kin and restricted trading — even though roughly 60 apps do still use the token, according to Livingston.
The CEO said that he remains committed to Kin because he sees such tokens are the only way to tackle an ever-increasing concentration of wealth as well as the prevalence of monopolies:
“Cryptocurrencies are the only way, the only tool we have now that we can counteract that, where we can build a new economy with a new form of money where we can rewrite the rules for how wealth and value is created in a global society.”
Last week, Kik revealed that insufficient revenue amid these difficulties was forcing it to cut down its workforce from 151 to 19, including staff at its offices in Waterloo, Ontario and Tel Aviv.
The remaining staff will reportedly be focused on encouraging investors to buy the Kin cryptocurrency.
Credit: Source link",445,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107889651.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025183844-20201025213844-00448.warc.gz,0.958549916744232
afc1aecd-e818-4792-9ae7-4c55ac32b4c8,2016-07-30T11:14:27+00:00,2014-05-26,1,http://news.trust.org/item/20140526191229-egnah/,"* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Reporters Without Borders deplores the Thai army's moves to toughen restrictions and manipulate the media in the wake of this month's coup and declaration of martial law, as well as the interrogation and arrest of journalists.
Two journalists, Thanapol Eawsakul and Pravit Rojanaphruk were detained on 23 and 24 May after being summoned by the military. The army is continuing its efforts to halt the flow of news and information, imposing its editorial line on news organizations and ordering them not to publish anything that might ""fan the conflict"".
""The military government, which claims it wants to restore peace and public order, cannot continue to trample freedom of information underfoot,"" said Lucie Morillon, the head of research at Reporters Without Borders.
""News organizations must be able to continue collecting and disseminating news and information free from pressure and intimidation from any quarter. We call on General Prayuth Chan-ocha to immediately release Thanapol Eawsakul and Pravit Rojanaphruk.""
Rojanaphruk, a journalist with the daily The Nation well known for his critical views on Thailand's lèse-majesté law, was summoned by the army on 23 May. The next day he went to the headquarters of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), accompanied by a lawyer and UN representatives. He was questioned for five hours without his lawyer being present and was subsequently taken to an unidentified detention centre where he is still held.
Before answering the summons, Rojanaphruk told Thai media: ""I hope people will not give up the spirit and that General Prayuth will be the last dictator of Thailand."" He was reported to have added: ""They can detain me, but can never detain my conscience.""
He then taped his mouth shut and put his hands over his ears.
Eawsakul, the editor of the political news magazine Fah Diew Gan, which had already been prosecuted for lèse-majesté, was arrested on 23 May for taking part in a peaceful demonstration in Bangkok against the coup.
Yesterday, 19 editors and publishers were summoned to a meeting called to discuss coverage of the news in an ""abnormal situation"", while General Prayuth, appointed by the king as head of the NCPO, today threatened news organizations with closure if they used Facebook pages to ""fan the conflict"" or to undermine peace and public order.
The following news organizations sent representatives to the meeting: Bangkokbiznews, Khoasod, Khomchadluek, Daily News, Thai Rath, Thai Post, Naewna, Banmuang, Bangkok Post, Bangkok Today, Prachachat, Manager, Thansettakij, Post Today, Matichon, Dailyworldtoday and Siam Rath.
The NCPO announced new measures concerning television stations that were banned from broadcasting after the coup and the declaration of martial law. Free-to-air stations resumed broadcasting yesterday, with the exception of Thai PBS, which did not receive permission.
Fourteen stations accused of broadcasting ""biased"" news reports will not be allowed back on air unless they undertake not to disturb the peace and public order. Unlicensed community radio stations must apply for authorization from the NCPO before they can resume broadcasting.
Prayuth also announced yesterday that those accused of lèse-majesté and undermining national security will be tried in a military court instead of a criminal court.
These measures were introduced following the army coup on 22 May, a few days after martial law was declared. Thailand has been in the throes of a serious political crisis for more than six months. The country is in the grip of numerous restrictions on freedom of information and attempts to manipulate the media.
Thailand is ranked 130th of 180 countries in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders<br/>",825,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00267-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964633047580719
f24757b9-68ce-4bbc-9cc8-f8f5ae41f9f3,2017-08-18T18:25:02+00:00,2017-02-27,0,https://simondillonbooks.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/oscars-2017/,"With the rather hilarious twist of having the wrong Best Picture read out, this year’s Oscars provided quite a shock when Moonlight was named the winner over La La Land. I must admit I didn’t see that coming, although many of my other predictions were correct. I have now seen all the Best Picture nominees with the exception of Fences, which I will watch later this week. Here then are my thoughts on the main winners.
Best Picture: Moonlight – I admire rather than like Moonlight, but I loved La La Land. Quite honestly I would have preferred that to win.
Best Actress: Emma Stone (La La Land) – I’d have preferred Natalie Portman to win for Jackie, but I am a huge fan of Emma Stone and she did give a wonderful performance.
Best Actor: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) – A well-deserved win, although my favourite Casey Affleck role is still his turn in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (Fences) – I have yet to see Fences, but from what I understand this was also a well-deserved win.
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) – I can’t really argue with this one either. Ali was terrific in Moonlight.
Best Director: Damien Chazelle (La La Land) – Again, a deserving win. Chazelle beautifully evoked 1950s musicals whilst creating something invigorating and dynamic in its own right.
Best Original Screenplay: Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan) – Of the nominees, a well-deserved win.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Moonlight (Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney) – I’d have given this to Love & Friendship (not nominated). Or Hunt for the Wilderpeople (not nominated). Of the nominees, I’d have chosen Arrival. So nope, not happy.
Best Original Score: La La Land (Justin Hurwitz) – This was always going to go to La La Land, but having seen Jackie, part of me wishes Mica Levi won instead.
Best Original Song: La La Land (City of Stars by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) – Again, this was always going to be La La Land and it’s hard to disagree.
Best Cinematography: La La Land (Linus Sandgren) – With its clever use of Cinemascope aspect ratio, evoking the musicals of yesteryear, this was another well-deserved win.
Best Foreign Language film: The Salesman (Iran) – OK, controversy time. I have not yet seen The Salesman but this is clearly a political choice, since the film’s director, Asghar Farhadi, refused to come to the US on account of Trump’s recent policies. To be clear, I do like Farhadi, especially A Separation (which also won an Oscar) and The Past, but my suspicion is the hilarious German film Toni Erdmann should have beaten the other nominees. However, to really grind my axe, what should have beaten everything in this category hands-down (indeed, it should have had a Best Picture nomination) is Babak Anvari’s genuinely extraordinary Under the Shadow. But genre snobbery still holds sway in the Academy when it comes to horror films.
Best Editing: Hacksaw Ridge: John Gilbert – Of the nominees, I would have chosen La La Land, particularly for the dazzling, alternative-reality section in the final act. Or Arrival. Or maybe even Moonlight. But Hacksaw Ridge was well edited too.
Best Sound Editing: Arrival (Sylvain Bellemare) – A fine choice.
Best Sound Mixing: Hacksaw Ridge (Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace) – Also a fine choice, though I’d have gone with Arrival.
Best Production Design: La La Land (David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco) – Another good choice, although I think I would have preferred Arrival to get this too.
Best Animated Feature: Zootopia – No. No. No. Zootopia (or Zootropolis depending on where you live in the world) was good but not great. Of the nominees, Kubo and the Two Strings was the stand-out. However, it is nothing less than criminal that the staggeringly beautiful Japanese anime Your Name was not nominated here, as it was by far the greatest animated film of last year, and would have won this award if there were any justice in the world.
Best Visual Effects: The Jungle Book (Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R Jones and Dan Lemmon) – Some might have preferred Rogue One given its controversial decision to bring Peter Cushing back from the dead but I think The Jungle Book was the right choice.
That’s it from me on the 2017 Oscars. I look forward to grinding my axe again next year.",1068,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105086.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818175604-20170818195604-00568.warc.gz,0.94416880607605
00d55f24-f18c-4aa7-ba4b-47fa61195484,2018-08-20T17:22:23+00:00,2018-07-02,1,http://smellgists.com/trump-interviews-four-supreme-court-candidates-temporarily-reorganizing-white-house-staff-to-push-a-nomination/,"WASHINGTON — President Trump said he spoke Monday morning with four candidates to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who is retiring, as the White House raced to meet the president’s deadline to announce a Supreme Court nominee in one week.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said he likely would meet with two or three other candidates before making his decision. The president has said he plans to announce his choice next Monday, kicking off a sprint to get the nominee confirmed by the fall.
“I had a very, very interesting morning,” Mr. Trump said as he met with Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands.
White House officials declined to say which potential judicial nominees Mr. Trump talked with Monday morning, but the short list of candidates is believed to include six federal appeals court judges: Thomas M. Hardiman, William H. Pryor Jr., Amul R. Thapar, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Joan L. Larsen and Amy Coney Barrett.
Mr. Trump said Monday that all of the people he has talked to about the job are ”outstanding people,” but he gave no hint about who he might choose.
In the meantime, White House officials said Mr. Trump will temporarily reorganize his White House staff to focus on confirming a new justice by the time the court’s new term opens in October.
Raj Shah, the deputy press secretary, will take a leave from his responsibilities in the press office to focus exclusively on coordinating the president’s message on behalf of the pick, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Monday morning.
Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, will lead the overall process, Ms. Sanders said, but he will be aided by a team of lawyers in the counsel’s office and another at the Department of Justice, which will help in vetting the candidates and preparing the nominee for hearings.
The job of working with conservative organizations outside the White House will fall to Justin Clark, the director of the Office of Public Liaison, Ms. Sanders said.
“Teams of attorneys from the White House Counsel’s Office and Department of Justice are working to ensure the president has all the information he needs to choose his nominee,” Ms. Sanders said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is fully engaged to support the nomination and confirmation efforts.”
The temporary reorganization is a reflection of the seriousness with which the White House takes the task of confirming the president’s second Supreme Court justice. While Republicans control the Senate, they have only a one-vote margin if they want to succeed in confirming the president’s choice.
Others in the White House, including Marc Short, the director of legislative affairs, and John F. Kelly, the chief of staff, will also be involved in the process, she said.
Ms. Sanders said Mr. Trump did not interview any Supreme Court candidates over the weekend, and she declined to say whether the president would conduct other interviews this week, ahead of his self-imposed deadline.",638,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216718.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820160510-20180820180510-00615.warc.gz,0.96312004327774
313c1e68-ccf9-4319-ae36-df9e57e57653,2020-10-26T19:58:25+00:00,2020-10-26,0,https://www.familiesforlife.sg/discover-an-article/Pages/Looking-After-Your-Grandchildren.aspx,"This article is also available in Chinese, Malay and Tamil versions.
Malay: Menjaga cucu anda
Tamil: உங்கள் பேரக்குழந்தைகளைக் கவனித்துக் கொள்வது
Beneits of caring for your grandchild
One of the great things about becoming a grandparent is loving and caring for your grandchild without being responsible for her in the same way her parents are. The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren can have a very positive inluence on children’s development – for example, it can help your grandchild recover from life’s setbacks. Helping your grandchild’s parents is a great way to deepen relationships with them too.
Looking after your grandchild: Things to think about
When you’re thinking about looking after your grandchild, you probably have a few things to consider. Being a grandparent is just one part of your life. It’s likely that you’re balancing the needs of your grandchild with other things like housework, paid work, hobbies, volunteer work and time for yourself.
You might be delighted to provide child care or look after your grandchild. Or you might not want to do regular child care, but you might still want to spend time with your grandchild and support your grandchild’s parents in other ways.
Tips for caring for your grandchild
Here are some tips for dealing with some common issues when looking after grandchildren:
• Holidays and illness. Give your grandchild’s parents plenty of notice if you’re going away – it might be hard to replace you! They could hire a nanny, ask friends or other family members, or take time off work. You could also talk about back-up care for when you or your grandchild are sick.
• Behaviour. Ask your grandchild’s parents what strategies they ind useful when their child behaves in a challenging way and follow their lead. These decisions are their responsibility.
• Rules and routines. It’s best to ask your grandchild’s parents how they would like you to handle rules and routines. Asking before you make changes shows respect for these rules and routines – for example, ‘Can I give her some sweets if she’s good?’
• Money matters. Looking after grandchildren can be expensive. Food, transport and keeping your grandchild entertained can all add up. You can talk with your grandchild’s parents about providing some money to help with costs. You can often entertain children with homemade toys and free activities and have just as much fun.
• Different styles of caring. Your grandchild is being raised in a different world from the one you were raised in and the one you raised your children in. You might not always agree with the decisions that your grandchild’s parents make. However, not agreeing doesn’t make these decisions the wrong ones. It might help to read up on some current thinking on child development, sleep, behaviour, discipline, safety and nutrition and itness. You can ind out more about these topics on our Baby Bonus Parenting Resources portal.
Here are some tips to help your child care arrangements work for you:
• Be honest about what you can do. For example, if you’re not sure that you can manage one long day each week, let your grandchild’s parents know what you are willing to do – ‘I can’t do 7 am to 6 pm, but I can do an afternoon each week’. Or if you feel you could help but you’d also like your grandchild’s parents to hire a helper, let them know – ‘I could help every afternoon, if you have a helper who could help me’.
• You can agree on your own house rules when you look after your grandchild in your own home. For example, ‘Don’t go outside by yourself’.
• If looking after your grandchild late at night is affecting your rest, staying at your grandchild’s house, or having your grandchild sleep over at your house, might be a solution.
Tags: Grandparenting /Caregiving /3 Generation Family",988,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891624.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026175019-20201026205019-00707.warc.gz,0.930618047714233
07acb1c6-2c37-4803-bd87-4121fd38e2b1,2015-03-26T19:11:58+00:00,2011-03-23,1,http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/eko-atlantic-city-project-has-expanded-nigeria%E2%80%99s-territory-fashola/,"Lagos – Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State says the reclaiming of 2.4 million cubic metres of land from the Atlantic Ocean for the Eko Atlantic City Project has expanded Nigeria’s territory.
Fashola said this on Wednesday while inspecting the project being executed by the South Energy of Holland in association with some others firms.
`We are reclaiming and restoring the geographical territory of Lagos State and by extension that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
`We are reclaiming the land lost to the Atlantic Ocean by uncontrollable erosions that we have now brought under control,’’ the governor said.
He commended the contractor for its commitment.
`The Commissioner for Water Front Infrastructure, Mr Adesegun Oniru, has just informed me that within the next 24 months, Lagosians will begin to see the emergence of one of the apartment blocks, a 24-storey building emerging from where we stand today, meaning that the future has started.
`By this singular act, the contractor has indeed put its money, time, experience and integrity into the project so as to deliver it as promised, starting with the construction of the 1.5km ocean seashore,’’ he said.
Fashola noted that in 2007, sea waves of about 70 metres high buffeted the coastline, but that shorelines constructed by the contractor protected Victoria Island and Ikoyi from being flushed.
He said that the shorelines would also protect the Eko Atlantic City when completed.
`It will be a new city on the coast, a city that will run and operate like any other city in the world with 24 hours electricity, new business centres, housing and efficient transport facilities.
`This is the future that Lagos promises, a future that is within a short distance,’’ he said.
Oniru said that areas reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean were lost to the ocean from 1905.
The commissioner said that with the reclamation, Lagos could now account for 180km of the 853km stretch of Nigeria’s coastal area.
`The firm ground we are all standing on today was part of the Atlantic Ocean which was between 12 metres and 15 metres deep before the contractors reclaimed it,’’ he said.
He listed facilities that would be in the city to include network of roads and surface water bridges.
`There will also be a dedicated electric power generation with underground distribution network of service ducks to provide information technology services,’’ he added. ( NAN )",534,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131292567.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172132-00005-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.956821262836456
01a48bc2-987c-4ffe-83c7-3670d910cda5,2018-08-15T05:30:58+00:00,2015-10-12,1,https://yourmiddleeast.com/2015/10/12/eu-demands-halt-to-russia-strikes-on-moderate-syrian-rebels/,"The EU demanded Monday the “immediate” halt of Russian air strikes against moderate Syrian rebel groups and warned a lasting peace was impossible under Moscow-backed President Bashar al-Assad.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called Russia’s military intervention in Syria an unwelcome “game-changer” that jeopardised peace efforts and risked clashes with western aircraft targeting Islamic State jihadists.
“The recent Russian military attacks that go beyond Daesh (IS) and other UN-designated terrorist groups, as well as on the moderate opposition, are of deep concern and must cease immediately,” the EU’s 28 foreign ministers said in a statement.
“This military escalation risks prolonging the conflict, undermining a political process, aggravating the humanitarian situation and increasing radicalisation,” they said.
EU leaders meet Thursday for a summit likely to be dominated by the Syrian conflict which has claimed some 250,000 lives and driven about 12 million people — half the population — to flee their homes.
Many of them have given up hope of an end to the war and have flooded into Europe seeking refuge, helping drive the worst migrant crisis since World War II.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday Russia’s military actions in Syria were meant to “stabilise the legitimate authorities and create conditions for finding a political compromise.”
Russia, which insists its attacks on “terrorists” include IS targets, has important military facilities in Syria and has backed Assad and his father before him against all rivals for decades.
Meanwhile in Moscow, the defence ministry said its planes hit 53 targets in Syria over the past 24 hours as it steps up its bombing campaign.
Russian jets conducted strikes in the provinces of Hama, Homs, Latakia and Idlib and destroyed “terrorist” command posts, defensive positions, training camps and ammunition depots, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the bombing raids had severely disrupted supply chains for IS fighters.
EU foreign ministers for their part urged Russia to “focus its efforts on the common objective of achieving a political solution to the conflict.”
They said this required “a peaceful and inclusive transition” but it was not clear if Assad would have any role in it, reflecting sharp divisions over his immediate future.
For the longer term, ministers agreed he had no place in Syria.
“There cannot be a lasting peace in Syria under the present leadership and until the legitimate grievances and aspirations of all components of the Syrian society are addressed,” they said.
– Dangerous ‘game-changer’ –
Mogherini warned earlier that Russian intervention in Syria was a dangerous and worrying “game-changer.”
Mogherini, a former Italian foreign minister once viewed as sympathetic to Moscow, said Russia must direct its attacks against IS, not the Western-backed rebel groups seeking Assad’s ouster.
She refused to be drawn on Assad’s future, stressing that the EU would back UN efforts to broker a peace deal.
“This is a process which has to have all the relevant actors around the table,” she added.
One EU diplomat, who asked not to be named, said: “Everyone knows that you cannot build a transition without Assad.”
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond appeared anxious to leave no wriggle room on that question after several of his fellow foreign ministers also suggested that Assad would inevitably be involved in any transition.
“EU foreign ministers ministers have just agreed a clear and united position against Assad, IS and recent Russian actions in Syria.”
“Assad bears greatest responsibility for 250,000 deaths/millions displaced. (He) cannot be partner in fight versus IS or part of Syria’s future,” Hammond said in tweeted messages.",795,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209884.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815043905-20180815063905-00565.warc.gz,0.96359384059906
bb9405eb-f918-489e-89bf-b9b25d3982e8,2017-08-20T00:55:43+00:00,2014-10-21,0,https://www.si.com/tennis/2014/10/21/ap-ten-federer-dimitrov-exhibition,"Federer, Dimitrov to play MSG exhibition in March
NEW YORK (AP) Roger Federer will take on the guy known as ''Baby Fed'' in an exhibition match at Madison Square Gardeon on March 10.
Grigor Dimitrov, whose style of play reminds some of Federer, will face the 17-time major champion in the eighth edition of the BNP Paribas Showdown.
Dimitrov reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon in July, losing in that round to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
This is Federer's third time taking part in the event at the arena used by the NBA's Knicks and the NHL's Rangers. He played Pete Sampras in 2008 and Andy Roddick in 2012.
Tickets go on sale Monday.",164,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105955.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819235943-20170820015943-00067.warc.gz,0.942976713180542
6799a2a2-27a6-4d74-99d3-975e05999473,2013-05-19T18:50:35+00:00,2012-05-31,0,http://cjonline.com/news/2012-05-31/pastors-anti-gay-sermon-creates-firestorm,"Despicable, inhumane, uncivilized.
Those are the words Tom Witt, executive director of the Kansas Equality Commission, used Thursday to describe this past Sunday’s sermon by a Seneca pastor calling for the killing of homosexuals.
Witt denounced the words of New Hope Baptist Church Pastor Curtis Knapp.
“Controversial is a mild way of putting it,” Witt said. “It is completely uncivilized to be calling for the execution of gay and lesbian Kansans. This is just part of the attitude that has been given free reign in this state by the far right.”
The firestorm stems from a 62-minute sermon by Knapp that has become national news.
In the sermon, Knapp cites Scripture to back up his point and said among other things: “They should be put to death. That’s what happened in Israel. That’s why homosexuality wouldn’t have grown in Israel. It tends to limit conversations. It tends to limit people coming out of the closet.
“So, you’re saying we should go out and start killing them? No. I’m saying the government should. They won’t, but they should.”
The Kansas Equality Coalition’s goal through its mission statement is to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“I can speak for everybody in my organization that I’ve heard from about this in the past two days,” said Witt, who lives in Wichita but is often in Topeka during the legislative session. “We’re angry. We’re angry that here we are in 2012, we have people calling on the government to start executing us.”
“There’s still an unconstitutional law on the books that says we belong in jail for six months just for having gay or lesbian partners,” Witt also said.
The Kansas law is something that Witt and others have been trying to get repealed. That is the first step in their battle for equality. Kansas also has a constitutional ban on marriage equality.
Witt wanted to make clear marriage equality isn’t a partisan issue but one of fairness.
“We’d like some basic protections where people can’t get fired or evicted for being gay or lesbian, which is perfectly legal in most of this state,” he said.
Stephanie Mott, an office assistant for the Shawnee County Commission office, has plans this summer to go to Seneca to speak on the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project, for which she is executive director.
She will make a presentation from noon to 2 p.m. July 7 in the Seneca Public Library, 606 Main St., about her journey into faith during her transition from male to female.
Mott was flying back from Thailand on Friday after having an operation dealing with her transition from male to female.
The Topeka Capital-Journal received several email comments from people who were upset about what the pastor said. Here is one from J. Knobler, of New York City.
“I find it horrifying that this man has a position of spiritual authority from which to preach genocide,” Knobler said. “I hope you will shine some light on this sickening individual before he incites actual violence.”
Here is another from Mark Johnson, of Santa Fe, N.M.
“I travel through Kansas to visit family in the East, and trust me, after reading (about the pastor’s sermon), I am staying as far away from Kansas as I possibly can,” Johnson said.
“I do not understand ‘pastors’ advocating violence and murder,” Johnson also wrote. “This is just beyond my comprehension of these so-called Christians.”
Tami Haverkamp, Seneca city administrator, distanced the town from Knapp’s remarks.
“As a unit of local government, I want to make it publicly clear that we are a peaceful community that generally lives together without conflict,” Haverkamp said. “We do not advocate violence of any sort.”
Attempts to reach Knapp on Thursday were unsuccessful.",892,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965138673782349
2ffbfe3f-dab0-4c32-bbfd-e72551af1c25,2017-08-20T00:10:02+00:00,2012-11-25,0,http://kalpanakaranna.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-truly-inspirational-post-from-post.html,"I read an article in today’s Washington Post, on line edition and feel it is worth sharing with my blog readers.
This about an immigrant from dirt poor Burkina Faso, in Africa, who now works in Washington DC as a concierge in a building, who supports his extended family back home from his earnings. The tenants of the building once they got to know about what he does, chipped in to help him provide more for the village back home, including building a well etc. for a village does not even have electricity. It is worth a read.
When I lived in the USA, I frequently came in contact with the generosity, and caring of the average American to people in distress. In a time when the US is maligned by Sri Lanka, one must remind Sri Lankans of the good heart of the average American, whatever policy is adopted by the Government. The people are decent, humble and have a streak of empathy and sympathy for those who make an effort to help themselves.
In a period in Sri Lanka where people are trying to make a fast buck, by foul means, I am sad to see that hard work and genuine effort is not rewarded, and instead greed and avarice, and wishing to ape people who have obtained their riches by foul means is admired.
We MUST impress on people that some of the values we have are wrong. We must give credit to people who sincerely try to make a difference, and not do it just for show. Many charity fund raisers here are for duty and part of the Clubs people belong to such as, Lions, Rotary, Zonta and an endless list where the primary purpose is to network, give members a chance to fine tune their leadership and organizational skills, where raising funds for a project is secondary, as a means to lend some social responsibility value to it.
I am no doubt going to get some irate members of these organizations refuting my allegations and that is fine, it just makes the debate interesting, and thought provoking, the main aim of the blog. After all we must help those who help themselves before we help those who hold their hand out just because its free. The latter sadly are those who gain most from the Sri Lankan model of charity.
Talking about charity, it is very difficult to guarantee results, but if one directs it through someone trustworthy who is selfless in their work, there is a greater likelihood of both deserving people receiving assistance and gain the maximum productivity out of the charity rupee.
Let us not kid ourselves. The Government of Sri Lanka is the largest distributor of charity to people, a huge proportion of which no one disputes is embezzled and wasted both by those in charge of distribution, and the undeserving recipients, who do not use what is given for the intended purpose. An important lesson in how we help, volunteer and donate.",586,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105955.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819235943-20170820015943-00042.warc.gz,0.9694584608078
2e397136-8474-4996-9687-aaf255b01ce9,2020-10-30T16:53:38+00:00,2019-10-29,1,https://africanews.space/roscosmos-confirms-talks-with-cairo-over-sending-egyptian-astronaut-to-space/,"This disclosure follows an earlier announcement made last month by the Head of the Egyptian Space Agency, Mohamed El-Qousy, during a visit by officials of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency to the Egyptian Space City.
El-Qousy stated that Cairo is planning to send an Egyptian astronaut to the International Space Station but did not disclose further details about the plan.
The official visit to Cairo by UAE officials follows in the wake of the return of Hazza Al-Mansouri, UAE’s first astronaut who spent eight days in space onboard the International Space Station.
Al-Mansouri joined a crew of astronauts aboard the Soyuz MS-15 spaceflight launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 25.
Roscosmos is looking to sign up more countries to get their first astronaut experience on Russia’s spaceflight programme. Going by Rogozin’s disclosure, Egypt’s bid to join the comity of nations with human spaceflight experience is not unrealistic.
“Earlier, it was believed that with the advent of American spacecraft, there would be no need for Soyuz spacecraft anymore, but this turned out to be exactly the opposite. And now we see that the Energia corporation, Roscosmos and our Kazakh colleagues have received new requests and seen a new interest from countries seeking to get their first experience on a spaceflight from Baikonur,” Rogozin said.
“At the moment, we are in talks with other potential participants on this project. These are Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and many other countries. I’m sure that Baikonur will become a home sweet home for preparing nestlings from these countries, who will be raised to ensure their first spaceflight,” he adds.
Joseph Ibeh is a Mandela Washington Fellow and Senior Analyst at Space in Africa. His experience spans industry research and market analysis with a focus on African-grown NewSpace companies, commercial space industry, national space programmes and real-life application of space science for sustainable development in Africa.",424,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107911027.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030153002-20201030183002-00646.warc.gz,0.933034121990204
8ec52942-fccc-4448-a705-082e6b680633,2020-10-29T15:07:41+00:00,2019-03-20,1,https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/03/20/disney-may-be-reviving-lucasfilm-games,"Disney as a whole is still focused on third-party licensed development and are still very committed in working with EA.
IGN apologizes for any confusion our initial report caused readers.
Original story follows:
Disney seems to possibly be ramping back up its game division of Lucasfilm Games, with multiple job postings listed on Disney's career site that detail working specifically for Lucasfilm Games, as reported by PCGamesN.
The roles include producers, art directors, and marketing coordinators to work out of San Francisco, including a branch for territories in Asia.The job summaries include descriptions such as roles that support, ""the visual development and production of multiple licensed titles."" As well as job responsibilities that say, ""Meet with game developers both in person and remotely to ensure product vision and quality benchmarks are met.""
Qualifications include that applicants must have five years of, ""gaming experience on a 'AAA' mobile, console, or pc product,"" with AR and VR experience a plus.Lucasfilm Games was founded in 1982 by George Lucas and ran until 1990 when the Lucas companies were reorganized and the games division changed its name to LucasArts.
After Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, they closed the game development division of LucasArts in 2013 and only kept the title to remain a licensor.
EA has since held an exclusive Star Wars license, releasing two major Star Wars titles in the past six years – Star Wars Battlefront and Star Wars Battlefront 2.The upcoming game from Respawn Entertainment, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is reported to be revealed at 2019's Star Wars Celebration Chicago.
For more on Star Wars and what Lucasfilm is up to, check out details for Star Wars Celebration Chicago happening in April and stay tuned to IGN.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to email@example.com.
Was this article informative?",391,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107904287.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029124628-20201029154628-00129.warc.gz,0.957028269767761
7233c4a2-8e7f-4b55-95e5-761c96de77a0,2017-08-18T05:01:34+00:00,2017-08-18,0,http://www.activemediaacademy.com/muscular-book-review/,"rating: 5 of 5 stars
A transformative book!
I learned more about the workings of our muscle system from 10 pages of this book than all my school days combined. An amazingly lucid book about muscle pain and what causes some of us to get stuck in a pattern. Headaches, neck aches, back aches…
The basic premise is this: Muscle pain can be caused by two things.
- Injury. Know how to treat and heal and injury.
- Patterning, or reflexive muscular tightness. This can be caused by an accident or injury, but often long after the injury is healed, or should be healed, the pain lingers on.
I have been struggling with a shoulder injury (oops from shoulder PAIN) for over a year now. I know exactly how and when it started. I have seen Chiropractors, AMA docs, massage therapists all in an attempt to alleviate the pain. But for a year, I have had limited success.
Cause: I began playing competitive tennis a year ago, after a number of years off.
Pain: After playing a couple of sets I retire and recline on ice packs for 45 minutes or so. Otherwise, I will be unable to sleep during the night from the pain and night sweats associated with the pain.
Solution: I am still working on this one. But I can say, that last week, I had little or no disorienting pain. Several things going for me. I have not played tennis for 3 weeks. I am seeing a chiropractor/accupunturist/sports injury specialist who is working me pretty hard. And I have been doing some of the exercises in this book.
More results later. All I can say, is I had to resist buying 5 copies of this book and passing them out. It’s a users manual for our muscle/nervous system.",388,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104565.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818043915-20170818063915-00618.warc.gz,0.962541162967682
64e5cfa9-1f84-4655-b9c6-74bfbe5d2c30,2016-07-30T05:30:21+00:00,2014-06-10,1,http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/11263725.Bolton_firefighters_to_strike_again/?ref=var_0,"BOLTON’S firefighters will join colleagues across the country when they stage a 24-hour strike over a pensions row.
The walk-out, the longest of the three-year dispute, will take place on Thursday from 9am with another strike set to take place on Saturday, June 21, between 10am and 5pm.
In addition, firefighters will not carry out any voluntary overtime or conduct training of volunteer “strike-breakers” between the two dates.
The Fire Brigades Union is continuing to protest about proposed changes to firefighters’ pensions and a later retirement age.
FBU chiefs met the fire minister Brandon Lewis earlier this week.
The union claims that the government is refusing to publish alternative proposals on pensions which they believe could help to resolve the issue.
The decision to strike was made at a meeting of the FBU’s executive council on Wednesday, June 4.
Some of the key issues raised about the new proposals include firefighters having to work for 40 years to receive a full pension and the safety issues of 60-year-olds working on the front line.
Simon Yaffa, chairman of the Greater Manchester FBU branch, said the service needs a pension that is “fit for purpose”.
He said: “It’s no surprise to me that further action has been announced. There has been nothing coming from the government to alleviate our concerns.
“For a 60-year-old working on the front line, the stresses on the body are too much, through no fault of their own.
“Now people entering the service at 20 will have to work to that age to get their full pension. If they start at an older age they could have to work past 60, and if they can’t reach that age their pension will be less.
“It’s regrettable and public safety is always our top priority — but we have been repeatedly told that there are adequate plans in place so no lives will be put at risk.” County Fire Officer Steve McGuirk said: “We’ve recruited and trained emergency fire crew to provide fire cover during periods of industrial action and this has been the approach since the dispute began.
“This will be a reduced service in comparison to our day-to-day service, with fewer engines attending a more limited range of incidents.
“While we would urge people only to call us for true emergencies, they should feel confident that if they dial 999, they will still get a quick emergency response from well-trained crews.”",532,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832939.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00247-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96958726644516
9085e511-ed14-437c-a65a-4c1b98c4c017,2017-08-20T17:28:28+00:00,2014-05-01,0,http://lostpubsofbolton.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/jolly-angler-hulme-street.html,"The site of the former Hulme Street. Nowadays it is confusingly called Cross Street on this stretch although Cross Street still goes along the top of the street. Hulme Street used to go all the way down to Folds Road and at one time it contained five pubs or beerhouses of which the Jolly Angler was one (the others were the Premier, the Standard, the Hulme Street Tavern and the Spread Eagle). The Jolly Angler was at 74-76 Hulme Street at the Cross Street end, roughly where the houses are on the left-hand side of this image.
When we looked at the General Havelock on Sidney Street we came across the formidable Mrs Mahalah Harcastle. Now we encounter Mrs Hardcastle once again as the owner of the Jolly Angler on Hulme Street in the nineteenth century.
The Jolly Angler was constructed in the early part of that century as the whole ‘hinterland’ beyond Folds Road up towards Turton Street was built up. However, number 74-76 Hulme Street appears not to have become a beer house until the second half of the century. It was taken over by Mahalah Hardcastle although it isn’t known whether or not ownership ran concurrently with her ownership of two other pubs: the York and the General Havelock.
Mrs Hardcastle was perhaps best-known in the latter part of that century as the landlady and owner of the York Hotel on Newport Street which she ran from the 1860s until her death in 1881 and the age of 72. However, along with her husband John she also ran the George Hotel in the 1830s. After John Hardcastle’s death she was described on the 1851 census as a laundress and a brickmaker at number 13 Deansgate. The brickmaking business did well enough to employ eight men. However, the Bolton Directory of 1853 describes Mrs Hardcastle as the landlady of a pub at 13, Deansgate, the Old Woolpack, before moving to the York a few years later. 
The Jolly Angler remained outside the tied house system of pub ownership that developed in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. However, it closed in 1919 having remained in private hands for the whole of the 50 or 60 years it was in existence. By the following year it was back as a private residence.
 Four Bolton Directories: 1821/2, 1836, 1843, 1853. Published by Neil Richardson (1982).",524,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106865.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820170023-20170820190023-00576.warc.gz,0.980275273323059
835d81ee-1ad9-42ff-a024-cb59e9f15965,2020-10-19T15:43:40+00:00,2019-10-19,1,https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/contenders-cramming-tv-streaming-arena,"You are here
Contenders cramming TV streaming arena
LETTING people watch whatever shows they want, wherever they wish on devices of their choice has become such a hit, it is shaking up the television industry.
Here's a look at the competitive landscape in the streaming television market:
Netflix: Netflix began in 1997 as a DVD rental service and expanded a decade later to streaming films and television shows on demand. The company lays claim to inventing ""binge viewing"" with its practice of releasing all episodes in a series at one time so people can watch them non-stop.
California-based Netflix has invested heavily in original shows, budgeting US$15 billion this year alone for shows or films made exclusively for the service. Netflix reported having more than 151 million paid members in some 190 countries at the end of September. Netflix streaming subscription prices in the US range from US$9 to US$16 monthly.
Amazon Prime Video: E-commerce and cloud computing colossus Amazon includes on-demand, streaming of television shows and films among perks for Prime members.
Prime memberships in the US cost US$119 annually or US$13 monthly, and include free, speedy shipping on goods bought from Amazon.
Amazon, which claims to have more than 100 million Prime members, spends heavily on original shows for its streaming service but has released few details about finances.
Hulu: Hulu was launched in late 2007 as a joint venture involving News Corporation and NBCUniversal. The streaming platform is now controlled by Disney, which has a 60 per cent stake and full operational control.
Hulu touts having more than 85,000 episodes of on-demand television as well as thousands of movies and more than 60 popular live television channels.
Hulu subscription plans start at US$6 monthly for shows with ads, with an ad-free subscription for US$12 monthly, topping out at US$45 a month for a plan that includes live television broadcasts. It operates in the US market but is believed to be considering global expansion.
Disney: Disney+ video streaming service will launch in the US on Nov 12, spotlighting its blockbuster-making studios.
Disney announced a starting price of US$6.99 monthly, and plans to gradually expand internationally with a start in Europe.
Disney's service will offer its films and TV shows, along with the library it acquired from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. That includes the Star Wars and Marvel superhero franchises and ABC television content.
Disney+ will also combine offerings from powerhouse brands including Pixar, with content from Hulu and sports network ESPN.
Apple TV: Apple TV+ service will launch on Nov 1 in more than 100 countries at US$4.99 per month and will include a ""powerful and inspiring lineup of original shows, movies and documentaries"". Apple's streaming service will have limited content at first, promising scripted dramas, comedies and movies as well as children's programmes in the service but the iPhone maker is believed to be investing billions in new content.
HBO Max: WarnerMedia announced plans to launch HBO Max in early 2020 after reclaiming the rights to stream its hugely popular television comedy Friends from Netflix.
As well as all episodes of Friends, the HBO Max platform will group together WarnerMedia's vast library of shows and films, along with premium HBO content including Game of Thrones, and new original programming.
Pricing for the new service has not been announced.
Peacock: NBCUniversal has announced plans for a new streaming television service called Peacock that will feature original shows including a new Battlestar Galactica along with programmes from its own content library.
Peacock, using the longtime NBC logo, is set to launch in April 2020.
The company, a unit of Comcast, offered no details on pricing but said it would have both subscription and ad-supported options.
Others: The global market includes major Chinese firms Baidu and Tencent, among others.
In the US, some individual outlets including CBS and its Showtime premium channel offer a standalone streaming option and the short-form video startup Quibi is expected to launch next year.
Google's video service YouTube also has begun producing original content tied to a bundle offered as an alternative to cable. AFP",867,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00008.warc.gz,0.955019354820252
f6cacd8d-1605-4702-af09-5661c136b202,2016-07-30T22:39:06+00:00,2011-01-01,0,https://www.vidanthealth.com/ADAM/HIE%20MultiMedia/1/000860.htm,"Impetigo is a common skin infection.
Impetigo is caused by streptococcus (strep) or staphylococcus (staph) bacteria. Methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) is becoming a common cause.
The skin normally has many types of bacteria on it. When there is a break in the skin, bacteria can enter the body and grow there. This causes inflammation and infection. Breaks in the skin may occur with:
Impetigo may also occur on skin where there is no visible break.
It is most common in children who live in unhealthy conditions.
In adults, it may occur following another skin problem. It may also develop after a cold or other virus.
Impetigo can spread to others. You can catch the infection if the fluid that oozes from the blisters touches an open area on your skin.
Symptoms of impetigo are:
Your health care provider will look at your skin to determine if you have impetigo.
The health care provider may take a sample of bacteria from your skin to grow in the lab.This can help determine if MRSA is the cause. Specific antibiotics are needed to treat this type of bacteria.
The goal is to cure the infection and relieve the symptoms.
Your doctor will prescribe an antibacterial cream. You may need to take antibiotics by mouth if the infection is severe.
Wash (do not scrub) the skin several times a day with an antibacterial soap to remove crusts and drainage.
The sores of impetigo heal slowly. Scars are rare. The cure rate is very high, but the problem often comes back in young children.
Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of impetigo.
Prevent the spread of infection.
Keep your skin clean to prevent getting the infection. Clean minor cuts and scrapes well with soap and clean water. You can use a mild antibacterial soap.
Habif TP. Bacterial infections. In: Habif TP, ed. Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby Elsevier; 2009:chap 9.
Pasternack MS, Swartz MN. Cellulitis, necrotizing fasciitis, and subcutaneous tissue infections. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2009:chap 90.
Morelli JG. Cutaneous Bacterial Infections. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 657.",586,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258943369.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072903-00314-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.849592387676239
c1cb1ba1-e91f-47e9-ac59-306ad4ee351c,2016-07-27T01:49:04+00:00,2013-07-04,0,http://talentegg.ca/blog/2013/07/04/talentegg-founder-lauren-friese-named-a-2013-ontario-entrepreneur-of-the-year-finalist-by-ey/,"TalentEgg founder Lauren Friese named a 2013 Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist by EY
- TalentEgg founder Lauren Friese
Today we are proud to announce that TalentEgg founder Lauren Friese was named a 2013 Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist in the Young Entrepreneur category by EY Canada.
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates the contribution and spirit of entrepreneurs everywhere. The Canadian program is in its 20th year of honouring the country’s most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business.
Lauren founded TalentEgg.ca in 2008 after she realized that she and her fellow students in Canada were experiencing a difficult school-to-work transition due to, in part, a lack of access to online career resources. Today, TalentEgg is Canada’s most popular job board and online career resource for students and recent graduates, and more than three million students and grads will use the site to help start their careers in 2013.
Working with hundreds of employers to recruit top Gen Y talent, TalentEgg’s mission and achievements are directly in line with many of the goals of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, including creating jobs and improving youth employment. “Entrepreneurs aren’t just creating a future for themselves, they’re creating a better future for the next generation, where jobs are attainable and dreams are within reach,” says Colleen McMorrow, National and Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director.
Nominees were first reviewed by an independent judging panel composed of several distinguished business leaders and previous award recipients, and then Lauren and the other awards finalists were chosen based on their vision, leadership, financial success and social responsibility.
The 2013 Ontario judging panel consisted of John Albright, Founder and Managing Partner, Relay Ventures; Claude Haw, Managing Partner, Venture Coaches; Tim Jackson, Vice President, University Relations, University of Waterloo; Don Morrison, Senior Managing Director and Country Head, OMERS Private Equity; Nicole Musicco, Vice President, Funds & Co-Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan; David Shaw, 2010 Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year professional services category winner and Founder and CEO, Knightsbridge Human Capital Management; and Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS Discovery District.
The Ontario winners will be announced at a gala in October and the overall winner will represent the region at the national gala held in Toronto in November.
Thank you to EY and the esteemed Entrepreneur Of The Year judging panel for selecting Lauren and TalentEgg as a finalist, and congratulations to the other EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists!
For more information about the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards and finalists, please visit the EY Canada website.",582,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825358.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00301-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.938240051269531
29e93a41-853a-42a3-b642-a8f0b2bf168a,2022-05-21T10:20:47+00:00,2022-01-27,1,https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2022/01/27/job-seekers-burn-train-coaches-in-india-after-alleged-flaws-in-railway-recruitment,"LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Thousands of youngsters in India have burned down empty train coaches and blocked rail traffic this week in protest against what they call irregularities in recruitment by the mammoth railways department, one of the world's largest employers.
Student associations have called for more protests this week mainly in the eastern state of Bihar, which has been reporting one of the highest jobless rates in the country. India's unemployment is estimated to have exceeded the global rate in five of the last six years.
The violence erupted on Monday after test results for different job categories showed that the names of the same people appeared multiple times, which unsuccessful candidates felt wrongly excluded them. Millions of people had applied for some 150,000 jobs in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state, they said.
""The recruitment process has not been transparent,"" said Ashutosh Singh, one of the protesters in Bihar, where coaches of a stationary train were set on fire on Wednesday in the district of Gaya. ""A number of the selected candidates had their names in various categories, which is very unfair.""
The Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday a committee had been formed to look into the concerns of the candidates. It earlier said those found involved in the vandalism and destruction of public property could be barred from appearing for railways jobs apart from other legal action.
India's railways employs more than 1.2 million people.
In Bihar's capital Patna, authorities have registered police complaints against some 400 unnamed people and six institutes involved in coaching students for railways and other jobs, senior official Chandrashekhar Singh told Reuters by phone.
In Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state where local elections start next month, authorities suspended six police personnel for using ""excessive force"" against protesters in the city of Prayagraj. Three civilians had also been arrested, senior police officer Ajay Kumar said by phone.
(Writing by by Saurabh Sharma and Krishna N. Das)",398,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539049.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521080921-20220521110921-00627.warc.gz,0.976626098155975
fb148d01-3711-4462-a9b7-8212f011478d,2020-10-31T09:52:05+00:00,2017-04-18,1,https://itwatchit.com/verizon-corning-collaborate-1-05b-fiber-optic-deal/,"Verizon Communications Inc. said Tuesday it has committed to a three-year minimum purchase agreement with Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) to provide fiber optic cable and associated hardware for Verizon to ensure critical coverage and capacity for its nationwide wireless broadband network.
The agreement calls for Corning to provide and Verizon to purchase up to 20 million kilometers (12.4 million miles) of optical fiber each year from 2018 through 2020, with a minimum purchase commitment of $1.05 billion, said Verizon.
The communications company has been reinventing its network architecture around a next-generation fiber platform that will support all of its businesses. This new architecture is designed to improve Verizon’s 4G LTE coverage, speed the deployment of 5G, and deliver high-speed broadband to homes and businesses of all sizes.
“Corning’s unique combination of capabilities delivers solutions that provide us with performance and cost advantages as we continue to expand our network coverage and capacity,” said Roger Gurnani, Verizon’s chief information and technology architect.",216,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00321.warc.gz,0.943830132484436
e1c51a27-830a-4062-82aa-c311a4ae2d55,2018-08-15T00:53:35+00:00,2015-01-01,1,https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/key-cereal-fungicides-may-be-banned-as-eu-tightens-rules,"Many leading cereal fungicides are likely to be banned by the European Union due to their perceived effect on human health, prompting calls for growers to lobby Brussels.
The European Commission is currently looking for views on how to regulate so-called endocrine disruptor pesticides which may interact with the human hormone system.
Its proposals could result in the loss of the azoles, which are used in most cereal fungicides, and also pyrethroid insecticides, so growers and agronomists are being urged to give their views.
The EU is looking to tighten up rules about these pesticides amid growing concern about the increase in hormone-related diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
The potential loss of azoles would be a big blow to growers as they are contained in products such as Proline and Ignite and in SDHI-azole combinations Aviator, Adexar and Seguris. The potato blight fungicide mancozeb could also be lost to growers.
“Even in the best-case scenario, we will lose products such as mancozeb and the older azoles,” Julian Little, a Bayer CropScience spokesman, told a recent briefing.
If the commission takes a more draconian approach, all the azoles would be lost and also the pyrethroids and mancozeb.
Azoles, which include the triazoles, have come under scrutiny as they work by inhibiting fungal sterols to control diseases and may have some effect on human sterols and so may interfere with hormones.
The Chemicals Regulation Directorate, which looks after pesticide safety for the Health and Safety Executive, says the most likely pesticides to be eliminated could be mancozeb and the older azoles such as epoxiconazole, tebuconazole and metconazole.
If the commission takes a more hardline view on azoles this could also include the newest of the commonly used azoles, prothioconazole.
The azoles are especially useful for the control of septoria and fusarium in wheat and are use in mixtures with SDHIs to limit the build-up of disease resistance.
“With the loss of the azoles it is difficult to see how disease resistance will not build up,” Dr Little added.
He is encouraging growers and agronomists to convey their concerns about the loss of these products as part of the commission’s online public consultation which runs until 16 January 2015.
The commission is then set to undertake an impact assessment, with the critical decision on which pesticides can be termed as endocrine disruptors due by early to mid-2016.
Industry experts believe these tighter rules on pesticides could see 35-45% of crop protection products lost in the EU, hitting yields by up to 20%. The loss of EU wheat yields alone would cost €4.6bn by 2020.
Earlier this week, farm business consultant Andersons said the loss of pesticides – including some azole fungicides, herbicides and insecticides – could cost the UK £1.6bn a year in lost production.",636,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209755.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815004637-20180815024637-00024.warc.gz,0.960781872272492
2df4cdfa-d193-4837-a36c-3247665ee93c,2020-10-24T23:59:10+00:00,2019-10-22,1,https://defirepublic.com/iota-collaborates-with-fiware-to-build-the-smart-solutions-of-the-future/,"IOTA Collaborates With FIWARE to Build the Smart Solutions of the Future
BERLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The IOTA Foundation, a non-profit organization delivering the world’s first scalable, fee-less and decentralized distributed ledger technology, announced today that it will partner with FIWARE Foundation. Under this agreement, IOTA’s Tangle technology can serve as an immutable, trusted audit trail for relevant context data transactions in “Powered by FIWARE” architectures. This collaboration is an important joint step towards building the technology foundation for the smart solutions of the future.
The digital revolution is transforming how we live and conduct business. In the future, life will gravitate around the management and processing of context data which describes what is going on, where, when, why, and who is involved. Smart solutions continuously gather thousands of updates on context and analyze them to automate processes or bring support for smart decisions made by humans. For example, context is meaningful in energy plants to describe the status of the plant and predict energy demand. Equally, it is important in a farm describing the state of the crops and soil, and in homes and smart cities where multiple devices and apps monitor the status of multiple systems. The capturing, management, processing, analysis and visualization of context data will be at the core of solutions for Smart Cities, Smart Industry, Smart Agrifood, Smart Energy any other “smart” domain.
FIWARE provides the components that ensure data flows from the device – where the context data is captured (the sensor) – to the point where it can be stored into IOTA’s distributed ledger (the Tangle), without human intervention. IOTA’s distributed ledger technology provides an immutable, trusted audit trail for all transactions and data, while still adhering to privacy requirements set forth by the data owners.
“By connecting FIWARE with IOTA, we can bring further trust to the processes being automated through any smart solution that is ‘Powered by FIWARE’,” says Ulrich Ahle, FIWARE Foundation CEO. “We can verify context data shared with third-parties, and we can warrant the quality of data being stored in a distributed ledger. This is crucial in applications like those warranting the quality in food production, for example, the observation of certain parameters of animal welfare on farms, or when public administrations strive to ensure transparency of their processes,” complemented Juanjo Hierro, FIWARE Foundation CTO.
FIWARE is the open source initiative that has driven the creation of a standard API for Context Information Management and provides a curated catalogue of open source components to assist organizations in architecting next-generation smart solutions. The FIWARE API is now a standard adopted by ETSI and, in addition, the FIWARE Context Broker technology has been selected to bring the basis for sharing right-time context data across Europe.
“FIWARE’s Context Broker and standardized API allow for some truly unique capabilities for data validation and sharing from the edge. Combining their progress with the decentralized technologies offered by us at the IOTA Foundation is a natural and perfectly symbiotic partnership,” says Mathew Yarger, Head of Smart Cities, IOTA Foundation. “We look forward to harnessing our cohesive visions to offer some dynamic capabilities in smart solution areas such as Smart Cities, Digital Infrastructure, Agriculture, Transportation and Energy. Relationships like ours are what will propel autonomy and consensus on how to do it the right way forward and lead to informed and impactful solutions and policy.”
IOTA designed the Tangle to be the foundation of a global protocol for all connected things, effectively addressing the challenges of scalability, energy resource requirements, and data security, as well as transaction fees. The groundbreaking open-source architecture of the Tangle ecosystem is designed to become the catalyst for new economic systems and business models, enabling the convergence of key vertical industries like supply chain, mobility and automotive, eHealth, and smart energy/connected cities.
IOTA co-founder, Dominik Schiener will be discussing distributed ledger technologies at the 7th FIWARE Global Summit in Berlin on Oct. 23 at the CityCube Berlin. Come learn more about how the IOTA and FIWARE partnership supports the Summit’s theme: “Scale Up for a Real Smart Future.”
About IOTA Foundation
A global not-for-profit foundation incorporated and headquartered in Germany, the IOTA Foundation’s mission is to support the research and development of new distributed ledger technologies (DLT), including the IOTA Tangle. The Foundation encourages education about and adoption of distributed ledger technologies through the creation of ecosystems and the standardization of these new protocols.
The IOTA Tangle moves beyond blockchain by providing the world’s first scalable, feeless and decentralized distributed ledger technology. The Tangle uses its own unique technology to solve three fundamental problems with blockchain technology: high fees, scaling, and centralization. It is an open-source protocol connecting the human economy with the machine economy by facilitating novel Machine-to-Machine (M2M) interactions, including secure data transfer, fee-less micropayments, and secure access control for devices.
About FIWARE Foundation
Founded in 2016, the FIWARE Foundation is driving the definition of key open de-facto standards enabling the development of smart solutions in a faster, easier, interoperable and affordable way, avoiding vendor lock-in scenarios, whilst also nourishing a sustainable business ecosystem.
The Foundation does that with the support of a growing global Community that shares a common vision and combine their efforts towards making FIWARE the open source technology of choice for industries, governments, universities and associations to reach their full potential and scale up their activities to enter new markets and grow their businesses. Independence in decision making, openness, transparency and meritocracy are the cornerstone and founding principles of the FIWARE Community.
Visit www.fiware.org for further information.
Val De Oliveira",1240,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107885059.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024223210-20201025013210-00490.warc.gz,0.895299673080444
63019567-3ff1-4c0c-b333-6a983bcae336,2020-10-20T17:08:35+00:00,2020-10-20,0,https://compinfopro.com/cannot-access-microsoft-website-and-any-other-microsoft-websites/,"When you encounter a problem in terms that using any internet web browser you cannot access Microsoft website and ANY other Microsoft websites you should first know that Windows contains a client-side Domain Name System (DNS) cache also associated with a Windows Service called “DNS Client”.
It seems this service causes trouble sometimes, in such therms that the client-side DNS caching feature will generate a false information that DNS exchange will not take place from the DNS server to the Windows client computer.
There are multiple ways to fix this problem that through an internet web browser you cannot access Microsoft website and ANY other Microsoft websites, but best and the one that never failed is to restart the DNS Client service by going to start – run – and then type “services.msc” without the quotes and you will have a window with Windows Services, where you need to locate “DNS Client”, right click it and select restart. After this, Microsoft websites should work.
It’s best if you don’t set this service to stopped status or play with the startup type (I heard of such cases), this will only cause the overall performance to decrease – without DNS caching, Internet traffic will work worse and you will notice this in your activity.
The DNS Client service optimizes the performance of DNS name resolution by storing previously resolved names in memory. If the DNS Client service is turned off, the computer can still resolve DNS names by using the network’s DNS servers but, as I already said, at the cost of reducing the performance of your Internet traffic, sometimes not so very clear to the user’s eye, but still there.
Above solution presented as a fix for the case when you cannot access Microsoft website and ANY other Microsoft websites worked in every encountered cases, but there were a few times when people complained it didn’t and that happened because they actually didn’t do what I underlined with bold, or they actually had other problem. However if it won’t help you case, please share and we will help you fix it.
VN:F [1.9.22_1171]Cannot access Microsoft website and ANY other Microsoft websites,",454,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874026.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020162922-20201020192922-00536.warc.gz,0.932572305202484
53793904-f917-4ee0-9828-e591976231e9,2019-08-25T11:24:12+00:00,2014-12-06,0,http://waikatoonline.blogspot.com/2014/12/great-accommodation-in-rotorua.html,"Author, Andrew Sheldon
Global Mining Investing is a reference eBook to teach investors how to think and act as investors with a underlying theme of managing risk. The book touches on a huge amount of content which heavily relies on knowledge that can only be obtained through experience...The text was engaging, as I knew the valuable outcome was to be a better thinker and investor.
While some books (such as Coulson’s An Insider’s Guide to the Mining Sector) focus on one particular commodity this book (Global Mining Investing) attempts (and does well) to cover all types of mining and commodities.
New Zealand Property Report 2010 - Download the table of contents or buy this 180-page report at our online store for just $US19.95.
Critical Media Group - Ideas that make you think
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Great Accommodation in Rotorua
MALFROY Motor lodge located at 51 Malfroy Road, Rotorua offers families a great place to stay in Rotorua.
This property offers mineral pools which are geothermally-heated, children's playground, courtyard full of beautiful flowers, barbeque facilities, gardens with interesting garden art, sky TV with tons of channels, free wifi internet, parking within the premises and great tips on things to do in and around Rotorua.
They offer service rates for service personnel as well so if you are a member of the police, fire brigade, navy, army and air force, please mention it to the hosts and you will be made especially welcome plus you will get discounted accommodation rates!
NZ Property Guide
Auckland New Zealand
Hawkes Bay NZ",340,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323328.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825105643-20190825131643-00164.warc.gz,0.937772154808044
43b6deb3-a473-4eeb-a320-84f56a7bb74f,2015-03-27T17:34:52+00:00,2007-05-27,0,http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Contentious-Region-12-heads-for-June-schools-vote-235611.php,"Late Monday, in a narrow 6-5 vote with one abstention, the school board voted to send a single question on a consolidated school in Roxbury to voters on June 19.
""We have land in Roxbury,"" said board member Valerie Andersen, referring to an option on 20 acres owned by Jack Mundy.
""Now is the time to let voters speak,"" she said. ""Right now we are not allowing them to vote.""
Ms. Andersen argued there has not been a binding vote on a consolidated school for a region including the towns of Roxbury, Bridgewater and Washington.
A non-binding vote on a consolidated elementary school was defeated in March 2006.
Fellow board member Michelle Gorra agreed it is important to get some proposal forward by June 30, the date to file for the current state reimbursement rate of about 32 percent.
""The majority of people feel something needs to be done,"" she said.
The decision, however, has angered Bridgewater First Selectman Bill Stuart, who wants to retain an elementary school in his town.
""It's come to the point where being under the thumb of officials from Washington, Connecticut, has gone on too long,"" Mr. Stuart said Tuesday.
He remarked it's time to deregionalize the elementary schools.
""It's never going to stop,"" Mr. Stuart said. ""They don't care what Bridgewater's students have to do.""
He maintains the consolidated school proposal is ""full of holes"" with unrealistic cost estimates and a conceptual site plan that would not meet health code requirements regarding a septic system.
""They don't have a real project, they don't have real numbers,"" said Mr. Stuart, who added the Mundy site is ""way overpriced"" at $1.85 million.
""This project is awful in every respect,"" the Bridgewater first selectman continued. ""No one in his right mind can vote for such a project.""
Tom Seger and Andy Engel said Monday, after the vote, a significant number of residents are being disenfranchised by the decision to have just one question on the June referendum.
Mr. Seger noted Bridgewater and Roxbury build-to-suit plans are already developed to a schematic design level but had not been reviewed by the board.
Resident Bon Lombardi, however, argued it is unfair to say voters are being disenfranchised since there were two binding votes last year on three-school options, with no binding consolidated vote option.
Before the board deliberated, Washington resident Valerie Friedman said the board should be discussing whether any three-school plan would provide the flexibility needed to meet the region's needs for the next few decades.
She argued only a consolidated school would be able to adapt to changing population numbers and the special program needs associated with English language learners in increasing numbers in the three towns.
She appealed to the board to make the decisions that would meet Region 12 current and future needs.
""Rise to the challenge and do the job you are elected to do,"" she urged.
Several argued the building committee had said there is not enough time to properly review new plans and develop estimates for a June referendum.
Architect Kevin McQueen, who serves on the region's Building Committee, expressed concerns about the lack of design detail for a vote on a what he called a ""fictitious school"" yet to be designed.
Yet board member and Building Committee chairman Gary Steinman argued the board could bring a plan forward on building ""envelope numbers"" and develop designs within those numbers if the question is approved.
Mr. Steinman insists the school board would have ""safe strategic numbers"" for a single school plan by June and fellow member Sheila Gross agreed the voters would be seeing, ""current doable numbers.""
On Monday, Mr. Steinman estimated a consolidated school project could cost $29.25 million including the land, with a net cost after state reimbursement of $21.73 million. He estimates three schools would have a net cost of $35.2 million.
""You are rushing the referendum vote,"" said board member Matt Franjola of Washington.
Fellow board member Larry O'Toole, also a Washington resident, said Bridgewater and Roxbury make up half the region and those towns' projects should be presented in some way.
A push by member Dave Baron and others to give voters a choice in June -- either retaining, expanding and renovating three existing elementary schools, in each town, or building a consolidated school -- was defeated, also in a 6-5 vote with an abstention.
""Present both plans,"" urged Mr. Baron, who remarked with cost escalations and decreasing reimbursements from the state it would be ""fiscally irresponsible to not try to get something out there [by June]. We have to go with the best we have.""
Opponents of sending a choice to voters said the question would be too confusing, while proponents said both options need a fair vetting and public debate
""It's not right to put a referendum out without letting voters know there are other options,"" said school board member Mardie Ford of Bridgewater.
Fellow Bridgewater member Ed Wainwright called the board's action ""unbelievable.""
He said it's another example of the way the board leaders act, withholding information until the last minute and then, in a crisis mode, calling for a decision before all the information is available (see letter, page S4).
Even some who favor a consolidated school had mixed feelings about the decision to include just one option for the referendum.
Washington's Frannie Caco said she wants a consolidated school but not if it's ""shoved down someone's throat."" She would prefer to have both options on the table and a debate on the facts.
Jen Iannucci of Bridgewater wants the three schools retained, but said the referendum would let the board know what the public wants.
She remarked, however, residents have to be able to trust school officials and cited an e-mail in which former Region 12 superintendent Richard Carmelich raised questions about ""the build to suit concept that I have been trying to de-rail in the district.""
Ms. Iannucci remarked that government by secrecy benefits no one.",1277,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00227-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.979283332824707
2c7b25bd-90e6-495a-a8d8-1f5479b057fa,2019-08-23T20:35:58+00:00,2011-06-27,0,https://www.ocbj.com/news/2011/jun/27/ceo-cfo-lantronix-step-down/,"The chief executive and chief financial officer of Irvine networking gear maker Lantronix Inc. have stepped down over protracted tensions stemming from a board battle last year.
Chief Executive Jerry Chase and financial chief Reagan Sakai stepped down over issues raised by the company’s largest shareholder.
Both are staying on for a short time as consultants to help with a transition.
Larry Sanders, Lantronix’s former chairman, is serving as interim chief executive.
Lantronix makes small electronic devices that allow vending machines, thermostats, retail terminals, ATMs and other machines to be accessed via the Internet or other computers.
For the nine months through March, Lantronix had sales of $37.3 million, up 8% from a year earlier. The company lost $1.7 million, versus a loss of $1 million a year earlier.
Lantronix has a market value of about $30 million.
The management shift comes after a board battle last year waged by Bernhard Bruscha, a Lantronix director, cofounder and the company’s largest shareholder.
Bruscha’s TL Investment GMBH, based in Germany, owns 38% of Lantronix.
Last fall, Bruscha pushed for the ouster of Chase and the company's former chairman Lewis Solomon, arguing the company’s management and directors had presided over “lackluster” results and had a “lack of vision.”
In November, Bruscha dropped his challenge in exchange for the company’s backing of him and another candidate for seats on its board.
The settlement avoided a proxy battle but didn’t resolve tensions between Bruscha, Chase and others.
In February, Bruscha alleged improper approval of travel expenses for a former board member by Chase and Sakai.
He also charged that stock options grants made to Chase and Sakai conflicted with company rules.
The company’s audit committee oversaw a look into the charges and found conflicts with company policy.
Chase, in a resignation letter, said he disagreed with the findings and called the probe “flawed and unfair.”
Costs related to the probe could cause the company to be out of compliance with the terms of a finance deal with Silicon Valley Bank, according to Lantronix.
Without a waiver from Silicon Valley Bank, Lantronix could be forced to immediately pay back $1.5 million owed on a loan, the company said.
The management shift is the latest episode in Lantronix’s sometimes rocky history.
A decade ago, Lantronix restated revenue for 18 months covering 2000 and 2001, eliminating about $7.4 million in sales.
A 2001 accounting error stemmed from recorded shipments to German distributor Transtec AG.
The products later were returned to Lantronix after the company completed a stock sale.
Bruscha was a director at the time and also controls Transtec, where he’s chairman.
He was part of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the transaction.
Bruscha wasn’t found to have committed wrongdoing.",663,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318986.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823192831-20190823214831-00261.warc.gz,0.952691912651062
4789b5cd-b1c4-4e02-9a54-ca9a4e3ecae2,2020-10-22T01:36:32+00:00,2016-03-14,1,https://asiatimes.com/2016/03/govt-blocked-malaysian-news-portal-shuts-down/,"A leading Malaysian news portal that was blocked by the government after it ran reports on a scandal linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak is shutting down after eight years, it announced Monday.
The Malaysian Insider has been a key player in the growth of plucky online news sites that have rapidly gained a following over the past decade by reporting on official malfeasance and corruption, filling a void left by pro-government traditional media.
Last month, Malaysia’s government began blocking access to the site after it published a story on corruption allegations swirling around Najib.
The website’s owner, The Edge Media Group, said in a statement that it had been in negotiations to sell the loss-making portal but that talks broke down in the wake of the government block.
“We believe the recent problems TMI had with (the Malaysian government) had made it more difficult for a sale to be concluded,” it said, adding that it had no choice but to close the site.
The news will fuel further fears for democratic space and media freedom under Najib.
Najib, 62, has been under pressure for a year over allegations that billions of dollars were pilfered from a state fund he oversees, and for his own admitted acceptance of a mysterious $681 million sum.
As calls for his ouster mounted, Najib has purged critics from his government and taken other steps that have stalled investigations.
Concern over fate of journalists
Australia’s foreign minister on Monday expressed concern at Malaysia’s detention of two visiting Australian journalists who had tried to question Prime Minister Najib Razak about corruption allegations.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation journalist and camera operator were detained overnight Saturday after they approached Najib as he visited a mosque in Kuching on Borneo island.
They have since been released but remain barred from leaving Malaysia as they await possible charges, their lawyer said.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia’s high commissioner (ambassador) in Malaysia had been in contact with the pair, Four Corners reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu.
“I’m always concerned when there are instances of a crackdown on freedom of speech — in democracies particularly,” Bishop said while visiting Fiji. Read More",469,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878662.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021235030-20201022025030-00614.warc.gz,0.975864589214325
56f202b4-ef3b-4779-bfda-eb4b5f8e3e96,2018-08-21T19:54:45+00:00,2009-03-05,0,http://hopoi.org/tag/left/,"Mohammad Reza Shalgouni is a founder-member of the Organisation of Revolutionary Workers of Iran (Rahe Kargar) and has been elected as a member of its central committee on a number of occasions. He spent nine years as a political prisoner in Iran under the shah and today is an active supporter of Hands Off the People of Iran. Yassamine Mather interviewed him for the Weekly Worker
Could you explain the origins of your organisation and the space it occupies on the Iranian left?
Before answering your questions, I see it as my duty to thank your party, and especially the comrades involved with the Weekly Worker, for your coverage of issues concerning the movement of the Iranian people and working class. I hope your efforts can help eradicate the obvious misunderstandings of large sections of the western left.
Rahe Kargar started its activities in the early summer of 1979 and those who founded the organisation were mostly ex-activists of the guerrilla movement, who during their incarceration in the shah’s prisons had come to the conclusion that armed struggle had not only failed to weaken the dictatorship, but that it harmed the relationship between the left and the working class.
Rahe Kargar was one of the first organisations of the left that pointed out the reactionary nature of the Islamic Republic and more importantly deduced from this that the Iranian revolution was defeated once the clergy took power. The clergy was a force that would undoubtedly suppress the movement and independent workers’ organisations, as well as all aspects of modern culture (without which socialism would have no significance). It was with this analysis that, in the midst of widespread general optimism stemming from those who considered the ‘massive popular presence on the streets’ as a definite sign of the victory of the revolution, we drew attention to the threat of fascism and the need to confront its formation.
From our point of view, it was important to pay attention to the characteristics of the new dictatorship and to confront the forthcoming threat. Unlike a substantial section of the left, we considered the clergy and their influence and government as the main threat and, inspired by Marx’s analysis of the ruling classes in England and France in the 1850s, we said that, although the clergy in power is defending the interests of the bourgeoisie against workers and toilers, it has its own interests when it acts as a governing caste. And that this is a result of a Bonapartist equilibrium resulting from the simultaneous weakness of both the bourgeoisie and the working class, the two main classes in society, at a time when neither can take political power.
Rahe Kargar started its existence in opposition to the Islamic Republic and has continued to struggle against this regime. But we have always had clear and firm anti-imperialist positions and we categorically oppose any imperialist intervention in Iran or anywhere in the Middle East. We have always been against the dependence of opposition forces on foreign powers.
From the beginning we opposed the dominant traditional position of the Iranian left, concerning the ‘stage of the revolution’ or defence of the bourgeois democratic revolution, and we have always insisted that a durable democracy in the specific conditions of Iran is impossible without the working class coming to power. That requires independent mass organisation of the class in the political, economic and social arena and this cannot be achieved solely through party organisations. That is why non-party, mass organisations of the workers and toilers can also play an important role. In addition, party organisation might take the form of a number of socialist and workers’ parties, which can form a united workers’ front.
Two other issues that distinguish Rahe Kargar from other leftwing organisations in Iran are:
1. the attention we pay to the issue of nationalities in Iran (a multinational country); we defend the right of the country’s nationalities to self-determination, while emphasising the need for voluntary, democratic unity;
2. the destructive confrontation between tradition and modernity (a form of schizophrenia in our country) and putting an emphasis on the importance of keeping in touch with leftwing religious forces, which maintain a democratic and class understanding of religion and strive for a class alliance of workers and toilers.
In our opinion these are essential conditions for the class unity of the proletariat.
Can you give us an overview of the current situation, including the role of the reformists, the process by which sections of the movement became radicalised and the role of the working class?
In order to understand the dynamics of the current anti-dictatorship movement we must pay attention to a number of issues:
First, although this movement expressed itself in protests against rigged elections, its origins predate June 2009. In other words, in order to understand the situation we must remember that the gatherings in June in support of the reformists had nothing to do with people’s illusions about the elections or the reformists’ programme, but were mainly due to opposition to the institution of the vali faghih (Shia supreme religious leader). In fact these elections were similar to 1997, when people voted for Khatami mainly to confront that institution (the supreme leader wanted Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri to be elected at that time) and it should be said that at least during the last 10-12 years, the majority of Iranians have either participated in or boycotted elections as means of expressing opposition to the ruling dictatorship.
Second, the Islamic Republic has major differences with other dictatorships in the third world. We are dealing with a regime that came out of a mass revolution and for a while it did have considerable influence amongst the masses. The Iran-Iraq war (one of the longest of the 20th century) and political pressure by the United States and its allies throughout most of the last three decades have added to the regime’s need to mobilise its mass base.
However, the Islamic regime is also a rare entity amongst world governments in that the clergy has imposed religion as the dominant force in the state apparatus, denying people’s sovereignty even on a theoretical level and in its constitution. In addition, the Islamic Republic is a plural or multi-centred dictatorship, which so far has not succeeded in destroying its own factions and has not become a dictatorship run by a single individual.
Given the above, elections play a different and a more important role in this system compared to most third world dictatorships. Here the principal organs of power are not electable and elections are limited to the lower echelons within the power structure, which are controlled by the structures nominated by the supreme leader. Elections are above all a means to hide the absolute dictatorship foreseen in the constitution and to mobilise the masses, convincing them of a defining role in state policies. Elections are also a means by which the state organises relations between its own factions (its inner circles) and as a result of this the regime has no alternative but to take its elections seriously. So, once candidates have been screened by the Council of Guardians, there is less vote-rigging, compared with other dictatorships. That is why open electoral fraud disturbs the balance of forces in the regime, not only exposing its absolute despotism, but creating difficulties for regulating relationships between its factions.
Third, the Islamic Republic is a religious dictatorship. In this regime civil repression complements political repression. The regime considers daily and constant control over people’s lives as its raison d’être and this repression creates widespread popular resistance. Throughout the last three decades we have seen a weary, direct and indirect mass resistance to the regime’s efforts to impose sharia law and this has played an important role in the erosion of the regime’s support base. In this confrontation, middle layers of society have played an active role, especially in the major cities. That is why some foreign observers (erroneously) refer to the current protests as the revolt of the middle classes.
Fourth, although at the time of the revolution the religious leadership benefited from considerable influence and this was reflected in the support for the governments stemming from the revolution, the imposition of velayat faghih (guardianship by the supreme leader) created many contradictions, which not only forced the government into constant confrontation with society’s daily life and therefore confrontation with large sections of the population, but also created problems within the clerical hierarchy and the religious establishment.
These factors led to a situation where the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic was seriously challenged (in both the political and religious spheres) especially after Khomeini’s death and this precipitated the loss of it support base. In fact the appearance of the reformists (who mainly came from the ‘left’ faction of the regime, or the ‘imam’s line’ group in the first decade of the existence of the Islamic regime) and their victory in the 1987 presidential elections, has no other significance but a sharpening of this crisis of legitimacy. Efforts over the last 12 years by the office of the supreme leader to control the influence of government reformists were mainly attempted through the strengthening of organs under the direct control of the leader and rendering meaningless elected bodies. All this broke down the equilibrium that had previously existed, and it is no coincidence that the crises of the political and religious legitimacy of the regime have coincided.
The office of Iran’s supreme leader is not only in total confrontation with the people, but at the same time most of the Shia ayatollahs who are accepted as sources of religious guidance are trying to distance themselves from him. The truth is that the traditional Shia religious governance is a form of republic (in the way Engels refers to the Protestant church as the ‘republican church’ and the Catholic church as the ‘Royalist church’), but now vali faghih is trying to change it into a royalist system, making the independence of centres of guidance impossible.
Fifth, the vali faghih system is keeping all the real levers of power directly under the control of the supreme leader. In fact under the current constitution his absolute authority is unprecedented even in comparison to absolute kings. As far as religious matters were concerned, even the kings had to accept religious authority, whilst in Iran all the power of both religious and state authorities is concentrated in the hands of one leader. Given the needs of the revolutionary period and later the requirements of war, the first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, tried to present himself as the embodiment of popular will, but during the last two decades, as the crisis surrounding the legitimacy of the regime increased, Ali Khamenei has been forced to use levers of power under his control to neutralise the general and inevitable inclinations of the people and work actively to destroy them.
As a result of this absolute ‘royalist’ power embedded in the constitution, the regime has been recognised as a naked dictatorship by ordinary Iranians. Nowadays all its armed forces are under the direct control of the supreme leader and the president cannot even send a policeman to someone’s door without his permission. The Revolutionary Guards are not only in charge of national security: they also control many of the country’s major economic activities. Today, Iran’s economy is not just divided between the private and the public sector: there is a third, very powerful sector controlled by foundations under the direct influence of the supreme leader – even the parliamentary accounts committee has no control over it. According to some estimates, the resources under the control of these ‘foundations’ account for a quarter of the country’s internal gross production. The broadcasting authority is a state monopoly under the direct control of the vali faghih. The supreme leader is in charge of one fifth of the country’s oil income.
The coincidence of the economic crisis with the anti-dictatorship movement is a sign of the explosive potential of the current situation in Iran. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency, despite all the talk of ‘protecting the disinherited’, Iran’s economy has reached a more critical stage.
Unemployment is increasing at a frightening rate and, according to some estimates, amongst youth it has reached 70%. It should be noted that the 15-30 age group constitutes about 35% of the population. Before the elections, inflation was above 25%, according to figure released by Iran’s Central Bank (even after the manipulation of statistics), and despite the government’s denials it has gone up in recent months. In the first three months of Ahmadinejad’s presidency the cost of housing in most major Iranian cities rose by 1,500% and the cost of housing took up around 75% of the income of an average working class family.
Contrary to the illusions of some left groups outside Iran, Ahmadinejad’s so-called ‘pro-disinherited’ policies played an important role in worsening the structural crisis of Iran’s economy. The first term of the Ahmadinejad presidency coincided with an unprecedented rise in the price of oil and he spent a substantial part of the country’s oil income, as well as the country’s foreign exchange reserves, strengthening the social position of vali faghih. By injecting most of these resources into projects that had no economic value and only benefited the regime’s inner circles, the government created unprecedented inflation, the main burden of which fell on the shoulders of workers and toilers. It is enough to remember that, according to Ahmad Tavakoli (head of the research centre of the Islamic Majles, and one of the most hard-line Principlist-conservative factions of MPs), 46% of all the the ‘quick turnaround’ policies claimed by Ahmadinejad to confront unemployment never existed. In other words, all these claims were a cover for giving credit and low-interest loans (at times no-interest loans) to close associates of the vali faghih. Of course, had it been any different, it would have been surprising, because corruption is endemic in Iran’s Islamic Republic. In fact this regime has all the preconditions for relentless, institutional corruption. It is a rentier oil state and a brutal religious dictatorship, depriving non-believers of any rights.
Right now, according to figures released by the Central Bank, the country’s banking system is facing total bankruptcy, because the banks have provided 50,000 billion tomans (around $50 billion) in non-returnable credit, lost in handouts to the regime’s inner circles. Now, the banking system cannot even provide loans to small production units desperate for credit.
According to some evaluations, around 35% of the population live below the absolute poverty line. This means they face hunger and constant malnutrition. In addition to all this, as a result of the shortage of resources and considerable drop in oil income, the government has been forced to implement sudden measures to abolish subsides for all essential commodities, starting with the energy sector. The implementation of this policy will lead to a jump in the rate of inflation and increase poverty and destitution, making the lives of workers and toilers unbearable.
In view of all this, in my opinion the conditions are not suitable for reform. In general, reforms can only be achieved when the state is reasonably stable and the population is relatively calm and accepts the existing conditions. However, not only do people consider their situation unbearable, not only is there a lively protest movement, but the state is also at breaking point. In such conditions any retreat by the government will only encourage the people. That is why the reformists have little chance of gaining from the situation.
In reality, the electoral fraud, the removal of many reformists from power and the arrest of many of their leading figures was no more than a manifestation of the open bankruptcy of the reformist discourse in our country. It was not the reformists who rebelled against the vali faghih: it was the supreme leader who practically threw them out of the inner circles of the religious state.
In the midst of all this, the emergence of a self-instigated movement against electoral fraud propelled the reformists to the leadership of mass protests. That is the contradictory situation created by the rigged elections – reformists managed to lead the protest at the very time when the bankruptcy of the reform programme had become obvious. Clearly this situation cannot last long. We are now in the post-reformist era and the best proof of this is the growing gap between the slogans of the protest movement and the reformist discourse. The demonstrations that started with slogans like ‘Where is my vote?’ have now moved on to slogans such as ‘Death to the dictator’, ‘Death to Khamenei’, and even ‘Death to the principle of velayat faghih’.
The people’s protest movement started under reformist leadership for two obvious reasons:
1. the first protests were against election fraud and it was inevitable that candidates who lost should take pole position within them;
2. in periods of severe repression, protesters usually rely on some sort of cover to protect them – a cover that can reduce a little bit the cost of protest.
In any case, although the reformist programme was clearly bankrupt, the fact that reformists flocked to the ranks of the protest demonstrates the crisis within the regime. A phenomenon which is a necessary precondition for a revolutionary situation. Today, the presence of reformists on the side of the popular movement is a sign that the ruling order’s position is untenable. At a time when the regime cannot even tolerate reformists who abide by the velayat faghih constitution, we can see a sign of absolute dictatorship and despotism, reducing the regime’s chances of survival. Clearly this situation cannot last for a long time. However the reformists themselves have reached the end of the road – caught between the velayat faghih system and the anti-dictatorship movement of the masses, they are so hemmed in, they have lost the ability to take any initiative.
The brutal, repressive reaction of the regime in confronting the protests was one of the most important factors in the radicalisation of the protest movement over the last eight months. As I mentioned before, the protests against rigged elections (which was indirectly a protest against velayat faghih) disrupted the calculations of the regime. They had not expected mass popular interest in the elections and had even organised TV debates between candidates (a rare event in the Islamic Republic) to try and inject some enthusiasm and show the elections to be a real contest.
In the three weeks before the elections support for reformists candidates became so widespread that Ahmadinejad’s defeat was obvious to everyone. It was in this atmosphere that the vali faghih system, seeing a repetition of the 1997 elections, declared two days before the elections, via the Revolutionary Guards, that a ‘velvet revolution’ was being planned by western powers. On the day of the election itself the Revolutionary Guards staged a military manoeuvre in Tehran to stop this alleged attempt. The election headquarters of reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi was ransacked by plain-clothed security forces.
When the authorities saw the angry reaction of the masses after the announcement of the unbelievable results, they attacked Tehran University on the night of the election, killing a number of people and injuring more than a hundred. And again on June 15, when three million people were marching peacefully against the rigged results, they opened fire on defenceless protesters, killing more people and arresting hundreds. After that came the torture and rape of young boys and girls in prisons, and the death of more than a hundred political prisoners in detention. Illusions in reformism rapidly evaporated and slogans now clearly proclaimed opposition to all the main organs of the current order.
Throughout the last eight months, the shameless Goebbels-like lies of the regime has aggravated the situation. For example, they shamelessly claimed that Neda Agha Soltan, the young girl killed by the security forces, had died through a plot by a BBC reporter, even though witnesses to the attack arrested her killer and confiscated his security ID. When Massoud Ali Agha, a physics professor and supporter of Moussavi, was killed, they claimed he was a nuclear scientist and so Mossad had targeted him. All this, plus the escalating repression, has played a crucial role in reducing the reformists to a forgotten phenomenon and radicalising the youth (the main force behind the anti-dictatorship movement).
Contrary to the opinion of those who consider the movement ‘middle class’, there can be no doubt that workers and toilers have played a very important role in the current protests. For example, how can one say that the June 15 demonstration was only middle class, when Tehran’s mayor admits three million people joined the protest (in a city with a maximum of 12 million inhabitants). Of course, the workers were not raising their own slogans in this demonstration, but the same is true of other sections, such as women and the youth, whose participation in the protests is not in doubt.
We should not forget that we are currently dealing with an anti-despotic movement which is facing brutal repression. In such movements, political protests take the form of sporadic demonstrations, fighting here, fleeing there, and under such conditions workers cannot get involved in independent political struggle at their workplace or in the districts where they live. This is a point made by Rosa Luxembourg in her summation of the Russian uprising of 1905. The experience of the February revolution in Iran against the shah confirms this. In that uprising there was no sign of independent workers’ protests until the massacre of September 1978. It was only after that event (the police opened fire on demonstrators, killing large numbers), when street actions became more difficult and dangerous, that protests moved from the street to workplaces and gradually we witnessed important workers’ strikes. And, of course, at that time, until very close to February 1979, most of the workers’ strikes only raised economic and trade union demands.
At present too, despite all the arrests and repression of labour activists, workers’ protests in support of their demands has manifestly increased. A review of workers’ protests over the last eight months and a comparison of these with the same period last year leaves no doubt that the workers’ movement is on the rise. The least one can say is that without a movement based on workers, toilers and the poor (who constitute the overwhelming majority of the population of the country) the current anti-dictatorship movement will get nowhere and in fact it is even difficult to envisage its continuation. Of course, the elimination of subsidies on essential goods (which is due to start in the first weeks of the new Iranian year, beginning on March 21) will no doubt lead to major workers’ protests and this can create suitable conditions for the development of class-consciousness.
We must also remember that under dictatorships people do not believe any of the government’s propaganda and in general do not consider the enemy of the government as their enemy (they are more likely to consider them as friends). In other words, that famous saying, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’, gains legitimacy. In today’s Iran, where the regime’s entire propaganda is geared towards opposition to the United States, public opinion against the US is weaker than in most Islamic countries. A couple of months ago when Obama was discussing the nuclear issue with the regime, in one of the demonstrations people were shouting, “Obama, Obama, you are either with them or with us!”
However, this does not mean people are oblivious to the dangers of military action or economic sanctions. One can say with certainty that the majority of Iranians are opposed to economic sanctions and any military action against their country. In particular, the US military invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and the general massacre and destruction it has created in our two neighbouring countries has had a profound effect on public opinion in Iran. There are even signs (unfortunately) that Iranians support the regime’s nuclear programme and would not even mind if their country possessed nuclear weapons. In fact the painful experience of the bombing of cities during the Iran-Iraq war and especially the indifference of western states towards the use of chemical weapons by Saddam’s regime during that war created a sense of nationalist impotence which the regime tries to use. It is no coincidence that at present the state raises the nuclear issue in order to divide the masses.
How optimistic are you regarding the future of this movement? What are the prospects of the working class putting its stamp on any regime that follows the defeat of the theocracy?
There are many reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for this movement. In fact, even if this movement dies down today and its continuation becomes impossible, what it has achieved so far will have historic consequences.
The events of the last eight to nine months have left the Islamic regime with no future. Even if it survives for a while, it will never recover from the fatal blows it has suffered at the hands of this mass uprising. The young generation, the main motor of these protests, did not witness the 1979 revolution or the bloody repression of the first decade of this regime and until recently it was preoccupied with minor changes and certainly not thinking about social revolution. This generation is now irreversibly against the very existence of the Islamic regime.
There is no doubt that during the last three decades Iran’s economy has fared worse than other countries in the region. For example, in 1977 (a year before the revolution), Iran’s gross national product per capita was 60% more than Turkey and five times more than Egypt’s. Now Iran’s GNP, despite its oil income, is only 14% ahead of Turkey, and just twice that of Egypt.
The civil repression imposed by the regime will have consequences that will be with us for a long time. It is enough to remember that Iranian girls have been deprived of participation in sport for three decades and have not taken part in any major international sporting competition. The damage resulting from this is a tragedy that is occasionally referred to even within the pages of the regime’s own educational journals. The reason is that, according to the clerics, girls’ sporting activity must not be seen from people in neighbouring buildings, for example, and this makes any form of sport in girls’ schools impossible. The absence of any rights for women has turned half of the society into second-class citizens, as far as law is concerned.
Around 15% of the country’s population – the Sunnis, who are mainly Kurds, Baluchis and Turkmens – face double deprivation because of their religious beliefs and this endangers the country’s territorial unity. It is a weapon in the hands of the US and its allies.
For all its claims of supporting the ‘disinherited’, Iran’s Islamic regime is thoroughly corrupt, it is a parasitic state, pursuing brutal, anti-worker policies. According to many estimates, the current line of poverty in Iran stands at 800,000 tomans ($800), while the official minimum wage (which is often ignored and workers are paid less) is 300,000 tomans ($300). More than 80% of workers have temporary jobs and those in workplaces of less than 10 employees (ie, the majority of Iranian workers) are officially exempt from any labour legislation. For them it is the law of the jungle. Even those activists who demand the establishment of independent workers’ organisations or workers who fight for payment of unpaid wages are arrested and tortured.
It is revealing to compare the government’s attitude towards capitalists and managers compared to its attitude to workers. Last year when the government announced a two percent rise in tax for bazaar merchants, it faced a strike by shop owners in the Tehran bazaar and the state retreated immediately.
All this shows that the current anti-dictatorship movement is the only hope for improving the plight of the working class and ordinary people in Iran. The continuation of this movement and expansion of its scope has created a suitable atmosphere for raising class-consciousness and the formation of independent workers’ organisations and no doubt will improve political conditions in favour of workers to such an extent that it will, in the words of the Persian proverb, learn in one night what usually takes a century. Of course, if the regime creates such an atmosphere of fear where workers’ participation in political and economic protests becomes more difficult and costly, there is a danger that the struggle will take a violent form, when the role of organisations associated with foreign powers would increase, initiatives from below by the working class would fade away and reactionary, anti-democratic forces would gain the upper hand.
Let us not forget that, unlike the shah’s regime, Iran’s Islamic Republic has many powerful enemies throughout the world who seek to find allies amongst the forces opposed to the regime. No doubt such a scenario will harm democratic and socialist forces within the movement and it will give the regime an excuse to link the people’s legitimate struggles with foreign powers. In my opinion the worst scenario in the current situation would arise if groups associated with foreign powers gained more influence within the opposition, because even if they do not manage to stifle the protests they will divert it from its democratic direction.
However, given the current awareness amongst social movements inside Iran, especially amongst the youth over the last 10-12 years, one can be hopeful that the anti-dictatorship movement will not be diverted from such a path. Of course, liberal discourse still dominates Iran’s political scene and the left has a steep hill to climb to overcome this problem. But if the protest continues and takes a revolutionary path, as the role of the working class increases, the conditions for the dominance of socialist thought will develop.
How do you see radical change in Iran linking in with political developments in the region as a whole?
The coming to power of the clergy in the February 1979 uprising in Iran undoubtedly played a significant role in the development of Islamic movements in the region. In my opinion, the overthrow of the Islamic Republic in Iran can play an important part in weakening the influence of Islamic movements.
The reality is that Iran’s Islamic experience is about 10 years older than other countries and so disillusionment with Islamism came much earlier than in other Muslim countries. The overthrow of the Iranian regime could increase that process in other countries, even though it might not necessarily lead to the coming to power of defenders of socialism in our country. Given the current situation in Iran and the region, such a perspective is possible.
It should be pointed out that, although liberal discourse is still powerful in Iran, the economic crisis engulfing world capitalism, the destructive effects of US military intervention, the bankruptcy of corrupt, pro-western regimes in the region and the fact that they are not tolerated – all this has created suitable conditions where, with the demise of Islamism, toilers in the region might turn towards more enlightened horizons. We are now witnessing the Islamic movements subsiding and if US military interventions stopped this decline would be faster. In none of these countries would liberalism be capable of responding to the stacked up problems of poverty, dictatorship and obscurantism, nor can it benefit from mass support amongst workers and toilers.
Right now in two key countries of the region, Egypt and Turkey, a powerful working class movement is rising and if in Iran the anti-dictatorship movement succeeds in strengthening the working class left (and in my opinion there is a strong possibility of that happening) it may be that a ‘strategic bloc’ would be created in these three key countries. A strong left in Iran, Egypt and Turkey would be in a good position to oppose not only the swagger about the ‘free market’ and neoliberalism, but also the obscurantist slogans of Islamism. In reality both currents are not as attractive as they used to be in the Middle East and if the left can learn from past mistakes and take up a democratic, radical, mass-orientated discourse, our region can move in a direction similar to Latin America.
The principal danger for the formation of such a perspective in our region is the destructive policies of the US. For example, Nato’s plans in Afghanistan and Pakistan might lead to the disintegration of both countries – a phenomenon that will be as destructive as an earthquake for the whole region, and especially Iran. Countries in the region have strong religious, tribal and cultural links and Iran has more than 2,500 kilometres of common borders with these Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tribal strife in Kirkuk could heat up dangerous nationalist strife in Iraq, strengthening such arguments in the region and producing disastrous consequences.
What are the role and tasks of the international solidarity movement with those fighting the Iranian regime?
Undoubtedly the solidarity of western organisations and parties with the Iranian people has an important subjective effect on political and social activists inside the country.
Of course, we must have a realistic understanding of this influence. The truth is that the Islamic regime has a monopoly when it come to the radio and television that is available to all and especially the lower classes. These media present everything in a distorted manner, with Goebbels-like lies, and constantly make use of the support of some western left groups who praise the regime’s anti-imperialism! This creates a certain hatred of the ‘international’ left amongst the population. Let there be no doubt: any support for the regime is met with nothing but animosity from the people it suppresses. Satellite radio and television, available to around 20% of the population, is mainly controlled by the US, UK or sections of the opposition directly or indirectly connected to foreign powers and most of them are anti-left and combine opposition to the regime with propaganda for the stance of the US and its allies.
Expressions of support for the working class movement in Iran from international progressive, leftwing organisations is mainly possible through the internet. However, although it is the most important means of communication for the majority of anti-dictatorship activists, inevitably it has a limited number of users – an optimistic estimate would be that 10% of the population has access to the internet.
Despite these limitations, though, support for the anti-despotic movement and, of course, for worker struggles plays an important role in strengthening the left and attracting the country’s youth towards socialist ideas. Let us not forget that there are already favourable conditions for the re-establishment of a strong worker-socialist movement and clear positions taken by socialist forces in the west help bring neoliberalism as well as Islamist ideas into disrepute. In my opinion the anti-war, anti-sanctions movement abroad undoubtedly has a positive influence on the Iranian people, because, as I said before, the overwhelming majority of Iranians do not want to see a repetition of the Iraqi or Afghan experience in their own country, and they have seen how it is ordinary people who suffer the burden of sanctions (Iran has already had three decades of sanctions).
But the important issue is that opposition to the imperialist policies of the US and its allies must not lead to support for the Iranian government. Unfortunately the position of certain ‘anti-imperialist’ forces in the west is as damaging as the stance of those who support military intervention and sanctions. It is vital to oppose war and sanctions, but it must never take the form of supporting the dictatorial, bloodthirsty and obscurantist Islamic Republic. We must not forget that any support for the Islamic regime discredits leftwing and socialist ideas and in practice strengthens the hand of the US and its allies. Whether they like it or not, leftwing apologists for the regime actually help strengthen the imperialist, pro-capitalist camp in our country.
Our readers have followed Rahe Kargar’s stance on many issues for over two decades. Could you explain the reasons for last year’s split in your organisation?
The reason for the split was that for quite a while a group of people had tended towards a kind of reformist anarchism and latterly they wanted to impose their anti-organisation model on the rest of us.
Of course, they were only a minority, but others who did not necessarily agree with them politically ended up supporting them organisationally, creating conditions which would have meant nothing but dissolution. This made coexistence in the same organisation impossible. Amongst the comrades who had more formulated ideas were those who followed an interpretation of John Holloway’s ‘change the world without taking power’. But they propagate a caricature version of this, portraying any organisation as stifling and they are opposed not only to the notions of a working class party and state, but even to trade unions and other workers’ organisations.
The conflict started around an article written by one of the comrades regarding the establishment of independent trade unions in Iran. This comrade warned workers that such an organisation would lead to hierarchical structures and claimed that unions, which limit their politics to economic issues, would benefit the liberals and pave the way for conciliation with capitalists. Those responsible for the website and the organisation’s paper, followed our internal rules and put this article in the ‘point of view’ section of the website and some comrades considered this discriminatory. The reality is that the Iranian working class is actually fighting to establish independent organisations and it is not our policy to leave the working class defenceless.
Another difference arose around Palestine, starting with Israel’s attack on Gaza. They thought the condemnation of Israel’s crimes must be expressed in such a way that it would not strengthen Hamas and, although this was not clearly expressed, they wanted us to condemn both sides (Israel and Hamas) equally. Our position was that Israel’s crimes must be condemned unconditionally and firmly.",7818,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218899.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821191026-20180821211026-00540.warc.gz,0.966043412685394
3cf229c9-6673-4380-ab33-84793b371b6e,2015-04-01T18:57:27+00:00,2003-03-05,0,http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/05/scotus.sex.offenders/,"Supreme Court upholds sex offender registration laws
From Bill Mears
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has given states the green light to continue posting the names and pictures of convicted sex offenders on the Internet. And justices rejected attempts by a sex offender to prove he is no longer dangerous.
At issue was whether such laws amount to a second punishment for those already convicted for their crimes, and whether the laws violate an offender's due process rights. The court upheld the right of state legislatures to impose registries on sex offenders.
Every state has a so-called ""Megan's law,"" named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl kidnapped, raped, and murdered by a twice-convicted sex offender who lived across the street.
These laws require convicted sex offenders and certain other types of felons released from prison to register with local authorities. Such information is typically available to the public through print and Internet sources.
In the first case from Alaska, the question was whether a state law violated the constitutional guarantee against ex post facto, or punishment after the fact.
One ""John Doe"" was convicted of abusing his young daughter, the other man abused a 14-year-old girl. Both men were released in 1990, before the state passed its sex offender registration law. They argue they had served their sentences and wanted to put their crimes behind them.
The court decided the state legislature intended the law to be regulatory, not punitive in nature.
Writing for a 6-3 majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said: ""Our system does not treat dissemination of truthful information in furtherance of legitimate governmental objection as punishment."" And Kennedy noted, ""The purpose and the principal effect of notification are to inform the public for its own safety, not to humiliate the offender.""
But in her dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagreed. ""However plain it may be that a former sex offender currently poses no threat of recidivism, he will remain subject to long-term monitoring and inescapable humiliation,"" she said.
The other case involves whether Connecticut's sex offender registration law violates due process because offenders are not allowed hearings to see if they are currently a danger to society.
In this case, the ""John Doe"" claims the Connecticut registry does not differentiate between the seriousness of each offender's crimes, and doesn't allow for a hearing regarding his ""current dangerousness"" before information about him and his crimes are made public.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote for a unanimous court that even if the John Doe ""could prove he is not likely to be currently dangerous, Connecticut has decided that the registry information of all offenders -- currently dangerous or not -- must be publicly disclosed.""
Supporters of these registration laws say citizens deserve to know if convicted sex offenders are living in their neighborhoods, and argue registration laws are not unfair, since their convictions are already a matter of public record.
Opponents of the law call it a ""government-imposed stigma"" preventing those convicted deserve to move on with their lives after serving their time. They say such laws represent an overly intrusive invasion of privacy, since other criminal records are not subject to such readily available public scrutiny.
The cases are Smith v. Doe, 01-729 and Connecticut Dept. of Public Safety v. Doe, 01-1231.",676,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00020-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961841404438019
b13ed302-aafc-421f-9d84-4fb4647c6fe6,2018-08-17T12:40:10+00:00,2016-10-25,1,http://18.218.106.135/2016/10/the-insecurity-of-things-part-1-mirai/,"Well, it’s happened. The Internet of Things did us in. We can’t use it. It’s going to shut us down. My fridge just swallowed my kid.
This past Friday we saw one of the largest attacks on the internet to date, and it was fueled by Internet of Things-connected devices. This means that the Internet of Things is just not ready for prime time…right? Well, it’s more complicated than that. If done right, Internet of Things devices can deliver on the promise. What we’re seeing, however, are gaps not being covered by vendors and those using the products. This happens in emerging spaces very often. I’m not looking to excuse behavior, but only point to how nascent this market is. I’m also in no way looking to blame users on this. Unless we start thinking about how we work with security as consumers and vendors for these devices, we will see this continue. Over the next few days, I’m going to put up a series of posts on how we can do that. Here at CRT, we focus on educating consumers about the Internet of Things, including how they can keep themselves and their devices safe. This first post aims at addressing what happened.
Two large-scale attacks have been unleashed on the internet using Internet of Things-enabled devices. Specifically, these were security cameras, DVRs and storage devices that had default credentials on them and were accessed using software called Mirai. A little over a month ago, this weapon was used to target security researcher Brian Krebs. Last week, you may have noticed that a lot of sites (Netflix, Twitter, Spotify, as well as some real estate sites) were inaccessible or not working properly.
You may have heard of DDoS attacks before. DDoS stands for ‘distributed denial of service’. What happens in a DDoS attack is that hackers use bots (essentially other people’s computers) to send a LOT of traffic at either one particular website or a server. This type of attack puts that website out of commission because it is receiving way more traffic than it can handle and it causes the site to go down and become inaccessible. As I’d said, the main tool in creating these attacks were other people’s computers. Hackers will gain access to these computers through various means: phishing, viruses, and links on the web that you click on, to name a few. This is why having security software like antivirus and malware scanners is really important.
In this attack, using a program called Mirai (‘Future’ in Japanese), the hackers scanned IoT devices and looked for those devices that had default passwords or hard-coded credentials. When they found matches, they took control of them and used them in their attack. The attack on Brian Krebs’ site saw about 620 gigabytes per second of traffic for a sustained period of time. Luckily, Krebs was working with Akamai (one of the Internet’s largest content provider networks) to keep his site up and they succeeded. Brian notes on his blog that Akamai said this was twice the traffic they’d previously seen in this type of attack.
Moving to last Friday, rather than target one person or site, the target was a company called Dyn. Dyn provides DNS (domain name system) services for the internet. What this means is, for example, when you type in ‘crtlabs.org’, it is mapped to an IP address for our site. This mapping helps you get to our site. Dyn does this for countless numbers of sites. Some of their biggest clients were taken down in this attack. According to Dyn, over 10 million
devices IP addresses* were used to send traffic in the attack. Details are still emerging.
The real issue in both cases is how the attack was carried out. Using the Mirai software (and maybe other bot software) millions of IoT devices were scanned and found to be using default passwords and usernames. Once the devices were under the control of hackers, all they had to do was set up when and where they wanted to attack. This does not mean that the Internet of Things is the problem. What it means is our (vendors’ & consumers’) best practices around security and hardening our devices are the problems.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at what we can do to mitigate and prevent these style of attacks.
* UPDATE 10/25/2016 – The difference between IP addresses and devices in this instance is that you can have many IP addresses for one device. So, according to this post on Threat Post, about 550,000 devices are affected by Mirai. Of those, 10% were used in the attack on Friday. This comes to about 50,000 devices sending 10 million requests.",1006,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212323.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817123838-20180817143838-00683.warc.gz,0.973823726177216
4c385e5e-2315-4b3a-8b99-04c12d56c1c5,2022-05-18T10:25:33+00:00,2022-05-01,1,https://www.thetokendispatch.com/otherside-metaverse-mint-generates-561m-within-24-hours/,"Here's another update from the world of the Bored Apes!
Yuga Labs had been working to create its own metaverse space and thereby attempting to transform BAYC into something that is indisputably more conventional than a collection of expensive JPEGs.
They publicly announced the project at the end of March, with a mysterious clip for what appears to be a 3D gaming/metaverse enhancement, along with the message, ""See you on the other side in April."" shortly after ApeCoin went live.
Yuga Labs also announced its intention to support the virtual space with APE infrastructure, effectively making ApeCoin the de-facto currency of what many suspects is a dominant metaverse.
APE prices really began to heat up in April after the company announced that it would hold a series of auctions for pieces of real estate in the Otherside space.
What's on the Otherside?
It is a metaverse game world that will bring together various NFT projects such as Apes, CryptoPunks, Meebits, Cool Cats, and many others. Yuga Labs is developing the experience in partnership with NFT game publisher Animoca Brands.
On Saturday, Yuga Labs launched ""Otherdeed"" NFTs for the game, which are believed to serve as a deed to some type of virtual land in the metaverse game, similar to such NFTs for The Sandbox and Decentraland. And to no one's surprise, Otherdeed's mint became the largest NFT mint event in history, generating over $561 million in sales within 24 hours.
However, the highly anticipated NFT release caused gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain to shoot up to 8000 GWEI. This was the outcome of a gas war, in which Etherscan received a lot of traffic and crashed, infuriating many users.
Oddly, this was the same reason Otherside cancelled the Dutch auction format for the Otherdeed NFT mint, but they still ended up with gas war troubles.
While some people were able to get their transactions approved in a short time for a few hundred dollars in gas costs, others claimed to have paid between $4000 and $10,000 for a single transaction.
BAYC holders had mixed feelings about the chaotic mint. Some blamed the Ethereum blockchain's high fees and slow transactions, while others blamed Yuga Labs' Otherdeed smart contract and mint policy.
Yuga Labs later expressed regrets for clogging the chain for a period. The team also stated that ApeCoin would need to relocate to its own chain to scale effectively and asked the DAO to think about this solution.
Yuga is currently working on refunding the gas fees for all Otherdeed NFT minters who had transactions fail. They'll transfer it back to the user wallet and inform you when it's done.
ApeCoin is down approximately 24 % in the last 24 hours and 12 % since the Otherdeed NFT mint began, according to CoinGecko data. However, none of this seemed to have any adverse effect on the hype surrounding the Otherside metaverse.
FTX's Mercedes F1 Ethereum NFTs Come With a Piece of the Actual Car
The inaugural Formula One Miami Grand Prix will take place next weekend, and considering Miami's growing crypto city status, and it's no surprise that NFTs will be engaged. The product isn't entirely digital in this case; certain NFTs also include a portion of an actual F1 car.
Today, cryptocurrency exchange FTX and Formula One team Mercedes-AMG Petronas announced that they would release a variety of NFT collectibles during the 2022 season, including at the Miami Grand Prix and other races. Last September, FTX and Mercedes-AMG Petronas announced a long-term partnership.
FTX will produce 1,000 ""free-to-claim"" limited edition NFT ticket stubs for the Miami Grand Prix and subsequent races this season, each of which will be minted on Solana and distributed through the FTX NFTs marketplace. For the Miami event, FTX and Mercedes-AMG Petronas have collaborated with renowned artist Mad Dog Jones to create ten limited edition pieces of Ethereum NFT artwork that will be auctioned.
Two of the limited-edition artwork NFTs will have an actual rear wing endplate from one of Mercedes' race cars, driven by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, respectively. In reality, the matched Mad Dog Jones artwork will be visible on the track and featured on each rear wing.
The proceeds from the auction will go to Ignite, a nonprofit project co-founded by Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Hamilton's Mission44 foundation to encourage diversity in racing. FTX will begin accepting bids on the auctions on May 6, the first day of practice for the Miami Grand Prix, and will keep them available until May 13. At the event, the firm will also set up an actual NFT gallery so that attendees may see the artwork in person.
Telegram Users Can Now Send Crypto via the Messaging App
The Open Network (TON), a decentralised blockchain created by Telegram, said this week that it would introduce a bot that will allow Telegram's 550 million users to transfer cryptocurrency to others via chat. The ""wallet"" bot's initial release would enable users to send and receive Toncoins with no transaction costs.
Telegram has a long history of working with cryptocurrency. The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Telegram in October 2019 after the messaging service raised $1.7 billion in a private token sale. According to the SEC, Gram tokens are unregistered securities, and then Telegram agreed to refund $1.224 billion to investors as part of a June 2020 settlement.
Those who want to send Toncoin through the new wallet bot, which Over 800,000 accounts have used the Open Network already on Telegram since it was activated earlier this week, will need to download the current version of the Telegram app.
Telegram, like Discord, allows users (such as The Open Network) to construct bots to automate platform activity. While Telegram permits the wallet bot to operate, this does not imply that it approves it.
Lightning Labs, a firm working on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, created a comparable tool in 2019. Users could send small sums of Bitcoin, known as satoshis, via Twitter using the Lightning Torch. Twitter enabled Bitcoin tipping via the Lightning Network to its site in September 2021 and Ethereum addresses to its Tips feature in February.",1342,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00213.warc.gz,0.950728178024292
ca3b6841-6a9e-4b0b-9517-2178fdfaaa2b,2017-08-17T19:47:41+00:00,2013-07-24,0,http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/137513/New-System-Mechanic-12.5-Brings-Real-Time-Tuning-to-Computers/,"iolo technologies, recognized globally as the leading source for innovative computer optimization technology, today unveiled version 12.5 of its flagship PC performance optimization software. System Mechanic 12.5 includes new LiveBoost™ Technology, an exclusive feature designed to tune and optimize CPU, RAM, and storage drive resources in real-time. LiveBoost is comprised of three primary components: OptiCore™, RAMJet™, and AcceleWrite™, and works transparently to eliminate multi-tasking lag and increase a computer’s overall responsiveness.
As the world’s leading PC optimization software, System Mechanic has been used by more than 45 million people to keep nearly 80 million computers in optimal condition since 1998. To date it is the most widely awarded and best selling product of its kind throughout North America, Europe, and other global markets.
For over fifteen years iolo’s has been committed the innovation and development of technology that keeps computers running at full potential. With the release of System Mechanic 12.5 the company continues to pioneer unique approaches to maximum PC performance. New features include:
• LiveBoost™ Technology: The ability of a computer to respond quickly to the operating system and the programs it runs is based on a critical triangle of components: The Central Processing Unit (CPU), RAM and the Storage Drive. If any of these components are compromised, the entire performance chain is affected. New LiveBoost™ Technology automatically keeps the key elements of responsive computing optimized in real-time so a PC is always ready for action:
• OptiCore™ - Maximizes CPU power for important tasks and intensive operations such as games, video, graphics, and intensive multi-tasking. Most programs aren’t designed to share resources, even when running in the background or used only infrequently. Some apps even monopolize CPU resources such that a PC can’t be used for anything else while they’re running. OptiCore keeps the peace by preventing low-priority programs from creating lags and freezes when more important tasks need to get done. It‘s optimized for single, dual, quad, 6 and 8 core PCs and improves performance on Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP.
• RAMJet™ - Automatically maximizes available memory when it’s most needed. Programs often fail to release memory they’ve reserved but are no longer using, artificially lowering physical RAM and starving foreground apps from the resources needed to run responsively. This can eventually impact the operating system’s ability to avoid slowdowns and serve users’ needs, gradually worsening as multitasking continues. RAMJet™ automatically recovers trapped memory in real-time to help PCs stay focused and responsive.
• AcceleWrite™ - Optimizes file organization on both solid state drives (SSD) and traditional hard disk drives (HDD). Working deep inside the Windows operating system, AcceleWrite™ improves the efficiency of how files are written to the drive. By minimizing the random writing of data, AcceleWrite increases overall system performance and largely reduces or eliminates the need to perform secondary file optimization (such as disk defragmentation), saving time and energy resources and helping to prolong a PC’s life.
System Mechanic 12.5 is automatically available at no charge to all existing users with an active iolo service plan. New or existing users without a service plan can purchase System Mechanic 12.5 directly from iolo.com, via all major web e-tailers, or in one of more than 23,000 retail storefronts that carry iolo’s products worldwide, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Staples.
About iolo technologies, LLC
iolo technologies, LLC (iolo.com) develops patented technology and award-winning software that repairs, optimizes, and protects computers and digital devices, enabling them to enjoy full computing potential by keeping devices running fast, stable, and problem-free. With a global sales presence in 33 countries and products in 15 languages, tens of millions of people have used iolo's products for their PC optimization, security, and data recovery needs since 1998. Today iolo is widely recognized by both consumers and industry experts as a worldwide leader in the system utility software market. The company's product line, distinguished by its flagship performance optimization suite System Mechanic, is carried in more than 23,000 retail storefronts around the world and its software can also be purchased from all major e-tailers, as well as a multitude of domestic and international distributors and resellers.",930,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103910.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817185948-20170817205948-00205.warc.gz,0.922452390193939
6bd56b27-b914-4e6b-9b62-a1e391fe4be0,2016-07-25T14:16:56+00:00,2012-05-28,0,http://www.mypinkfriday.com/users/4s4medUU/blogs/2618143,"Mon, May 28, 2012 at 9:41 AM
i may actually cry my eyes out just a little, hahaa.. lbvs! ;p
i meet nicki that dayyy :D
she's such an amazing / beautiful woman.
i am TOOOO excited!
shout-out to all the barbz and kenz who have mad love for nicki as well",81,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00174-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.916524291038513
e7534957-73e8-4a24-878c-d5db15227071,2017-08-19T13:02:16+00:00,2016-05-31,1,http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2016/05/moscow-now-training-belarusians-in.html,"Staunton, May 31 –Belarusians are now being trained in a camp in Russia that is headed by an openly fascist Russian nationalist, an arrangement that Moscow might exploit against Minsk by claiming there are “extreme Belarusian nationalists” that the Russians must intervene to put down and one that could be a model for Kremlin actions in other post-Soviet states.
The commandant of the camp, Aleksey Milchakov, has confirmed to RFE/RL’s Belarusian Service that young Belarusians are there now (svaboda.org/a/27742409.html). And as Kseniya Kirillova, a US-based Russian journalist points out, Milchakov has never concealed his neo-Nazi sympathies (ru.krymr.com/content/article/27765937.html).
She notes that he has frequently been photographed with flags displaying the swastika and as a commander of the pro-Moscow “Rusich” brigade in the Donbass proudly showed himself to be a killer of Ukrainians (eotperm.ru/?p=2760). At the same time, he has demonstrated that he is ever more closely tied with the Russian government.
According to Kirillova, this rapprochement rose to “a qualitatively new level” when Michalkov took part in a meeting with Vladislav Surkov, Putin’s troubleshooter, and received a reward from Sergey Aksyonov, the head of the Russian occupation administration in Crimea (eotperm.ru/?p=4961).
Officials in the Belarusian capital are thus increasingly concerned about “the attempt to involve [Belarusian] young people in the latest neo-Nazi project of ‘the Russian world.’” Indeed, Yury Tsarik of Minsk’s Center for Strategic and Foreign Policy Research says the expert community is taking this latest Russian action “quite seriously.”
For many years, Tsarik says, there have been Belarusian young people involved in patriotic camps inside Belarus. But “before the war in Ukraine, the situation didn’t generate particular worries.” Now, however, these camps are suspect and even more suspect are camps in Russia where Belarusians are being trained.
Not only are such trainees being told that Belarus and other post-Soviet states are simply accidents of history that must be corrected, the Minsk researcher says; but there are real fears that they could be used directly or indirectly to undermine Belarusian sovereignty, either as shock troops for Russia or as supposed radicals Moscow might use to justify intervention.
Concerns are especially great now, Tsarik says, because Belarus is exploring closer ties with the West and Moscow will do whatever it can to block them. As a result, the use of “hard” power now cannot be excluded, and many errors could be committed that could trigger a disaster.",611,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105451.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819124333-20170819144333-00373.warc.gz,0.950135171413422
a49115cd-89e7-477f-95c0-4e6037fa8541,2022-05-27T07:13:24+00:00,2017-12-01,0,https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/3438-grand-celebration-returns-to-palm-beach,"After chartering its only cruise ship for hurricane relief mission in the Caribbean, now Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line intends to come back.
The cruise line’s Grand Celebration returns to regular 2-night sailings from Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island via a renovated ship. The 1,900-passenger cruiser will have a brand new adults-only sun deck, updated casino twice the size of the original one and a specialty coffee & juice bar.
Beginning in late September, the ship was charted by Federal Emergency Management Agency to house National Guard members and first responders in St Thomas USVI after Hurricanes Irma.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line is also adding a 2nd ship, 1,680-passenger Grand Classica (currently operating as Costa neoClassica), in mid-April for 2-night cruises to Grand Bahama Island.
The ship will feature restaurants and bars, 2 pools, 4 hot tubs, a theater, wellness center & spa, outdoor jogging track and other facilities.
Like Grand Celebration, the new ship will homeport in Port of Palm Beach and sail to Freeport.",229,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662636717.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527050925-20220527080925-00610.warc.gz,0.903567969799042
27bb2bab-f911-49e1-8c11-64844d85766f,2016-07-27T07:54:59+00:00,2016-06-13,0,http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9528081,"A series of small earthquakes that started over the weekend continued this morning when a magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This morning's quake, reported at 4:31 a.m., capped a weekend of half a dozen temblors in the Alamo and Danville area that struck Saturday and Sunday. No injuries or damage related to this morning's quake were reported, according to local emergency dispatchers, who reported feeling the quake at their Danville headquarters.
The quake was centered 3 miles southwest of Alamo, according to the USGS. The largest quake in the same area over the past week was a magnitude 3.5 temblor that occurred around 2 a.m. Friday. None of the previous quakes yielded reports of serious injuries or damage.",164,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00310-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.966726422309876
48ad6789-6d6b-4110-a0a6-4ee456f1879e,2022-05-16T12:55:57+00:00,2020-04-30,0,https://keepinfit.net/health/how-to-organize-the-correct-daily-regime-during-quarantine,"Coronavirus continues its terrible path. He does not want to back down, and more and more people around the world are forced to stay at home. Self-isolation mode is our usual way of life now, and we must learn to live in a different reality. During the first weeks of quarantine, people watched television, ate and slept. But, this cannot last long, so we recommend that you adjust your daily routine so that your lifestyle becomes more active and brings health. Following the recommendations of Miles Spar, MD, head physician at Vault Health, we need to pay attention to four aspects of our lives every day. This is proper nutrition, sports, quality sleep and lack of stress.
Being at home all the time, we are tempted to eat something unhealthy. In this case, we forget about the amount eaten. Do not do this, as sweet and unhealthy foods negatively affect your immunity. If you are a supporter of a healthy diet, have refused to consume sugar, and then continue to follow the chosen path. In this mode, you can eat frozen vegetables, berries, if you do not have the opportunity to buy fresh ones. Frozen foods are healthy also and have many healthy substances. Keep track of the amount of water you drink per day. Your body should not suffer from dehydration. All these measures will not save you from coronavirus infection, but they will give strength to cope with the disease faster and without negative consequences.
Training in the fresh air is an ideal option to strengthen health and immunity. But not all of us have such an opportunity. Those who have a backyard are lucky. But, and for those who live in apartments and cannot go outside, the doctor suggests doing fitness at home. Physical activity is necessary to maintain good health. Therefore, download the sports app suitable for you and go in for sports with all the members of your family.
We all know the basic rules of good sleep. You should sleep at least 7 hours, go to bed no later than 11 pm. But during self-isolation, our mode changes, we are in no hurry, we watch TV until late and naturally, we wake up closer to lunch. This mode is very fatal to health. Therefore, Spar advises adhering to the sleep regimen that you had before self-isolation. Also, do not watch TV and surf the Internet for two hours before bedtime. A hot shower at bedtime has a calming effect.
This is the hardest task. If we can organize sleep, food, and sports ourselves, then not everyone can cope with the stressful situation. But, each of us can reduce the risk of stress in our lives. Try to avoid negative news. A good way to relieve stress is meditation. To do this, you do not need to be a professional, just find a secluded place in your house and sit in silence for 10-15 minutes. At this time, focus on your breathing. Take slow and deep breaths and slow exhalations. This breathing practice has a positive effect on the nervous system, bringing it into a calm state. This practice can be done in the morning and evening.
Watch a movie, dance to your favorite music, or chat online with friends. These methods will fill you with joy, and your stress level will decrease significantly.",687,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510117.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516104933-20220516134933-00428.warc.gz,0.959748327732086
d0ae9fb8-eba9-4336-bea5-980d2eef23fd,2018-08-20T08:51:32+00:00,2016-04-19,1,http://conservativeintel.com/2016/04/19/ten-congressional-races-you-should-be-watching/,"Believe it or not, the Presidential race isn’t the only election being held in November. And as conservatives who actually respect separation of powers, we know that who sits in Congress is just as important as who occupies the Oval Office. That’s why we here at Conservative Intel are bringing our loyal readers a list of races every conservative worth his-or-her bonafides should be watching. So sit back, read on and may the odds be ever in our favor.
U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio-08
John Boehner was not exactly a conservative hero by the time he resigned his Speakership last October, but that does not mean we can let his vacated seat go blue. Especially when the Republican nominee, veteran and business owner Warren Davidson, is the anti-Boehner: an outsider conservative candidate, endorsed by the very same interest groups that often made life on the Hill quite difficult for Boehner. In other words: Davidson is one of the good ones. And while he should face a fairly easy path to victory in this Republican stronghold of a District, let’s make sure the sailing is as smooth as can be. Warren faces off against Corey Foister, a progressive millennial (is there anything more insufferable?), whose anti-capitalist views would make Bernie Sanders proud. So in 2016, let’s start a new era of conservative representation in OH-8; because who knows, the winner of this one just may be the future Speaker one day.",306,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216051.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820082010-20180820102010-00493.warc.gz,0.963522613048554
bda5bf09-3dcc-4b3d-976b-09f6110bf8ca,2015-04-01T22:30:47+00:00,2014-04-01,0,http://www.frequentflier.com/blog/from-us-airways-bonuses-galore/,"- News & Analysis
- Strategies & Tactics
In the run-up to completing its merger with American, US Airways has shifted into full-out promotional mode, with no fewer than three bonus offers recently launched.
More is always better. But from a value standpoint, quantity here trumps quality.
Dividend Miles members will earn 250 bonus miles for each usairways.com booking completed by October 31 and charged to a MasterCard. Travel must be on US Airways — no partner airlines — and must be completed by December 31.
Registration is required.
The bonus is a modest one, but it’s a cinch to earn. So why not?
Hotel-Points Transfer Bonus
Between April 1 and April 30, program members can earn a 50 percent bonus when transferring hotel points into their Dividend Miles accounts.
The bonus does not apply to Starwood points-to-miles transfers.
Transfer rates vary from hotel chain to hotel chain. Marriott points, for example, normally transfer to US Airways at a rate of 10,000 points for 2,000 miles. With the bonus, the 10,000 points would net 3,000 miles instead.
Points-to-mile transfers rarely deliver great value, even with a bonus. But for those already planning such a transaction, the bonus certainly improves the value proposition.
Shared Miles Bonus
Between April 1 and April 30, Dividend Miles members will earn a 50 percent bonus on miles shared with other members, up to a maximum of 25,000 bonus miles. (The bonus goes to the recipient, not the donor.)
The normal mile-sharing price is 1 cent per mile, plus a $30 processing fee and 7.5 percent “tax recovery charge.”
The bonus takes some of the sting out of paying for the privilege of giving away your own miles, but such transactions should always be approached with skepticism.
It’s worth remembering that eventually US Airways accounts will be merged with American accounts, so miles earned in either program will ultimately reside in a single account.
Other Posts of Interest
Stay in Touch",436,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131309963.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172149-00145-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.924605488777161
975bfcf9-da47-4dbd-b853-d96f82744cbf,2017-08-24T03:07:10+00:00,2017-08-24,1,http://nordicironore.se/en/about-us/background-and-history/,"Nordic Iron Ore is a mining and exploration company formed in 2008 with the main aim of resuming mining operations in Blötberget and Håksberg and conduct exploration of the possible intermediate expansion potential of the Cäsman field, together forming Ludvika Mines, in southern Dalarna. Nordic Iron Ore’s establishment and expansion plan is justified by a strong demand for steel with favourable iron ore prices and the economies of scale resulting from the company being the first player ever to integrate the major iron ore deposits in the Ludvika region.
Nordic Iron Ore’s exploration permits and two mining concessions are located in historical mining land in the Västerbergslagen region, where iron ore mining dates back to the 1500s. At Blötberget, Bergverks AB Vulcanus and thereafter Stora Kopparberg Bergslags AB mined iron ore until 1979 when the mine was decommissioned due to the lack of profitability as a result of the low price of iron ore at that time. Before the closure, the mine at Blötberget produced about 300,000 tonnes of iron ore products annually, and at the time of the closure, according to the means of calculating at that time, there were 5 million tonnes of ”measured ore” with 43 percent iron and 20 million tonnes of ”probable ore” with 43 percent iron. Iron ore was mined until 1979 at the Håksberg field. The annual production was around 250,000 tonnes of iron ore products, and at the time of closure, according to the then method of calculation, there were 14.5 million tonnes of ”measured ore” with 36 percent iron and 22 million tonnes of ”probable ore” with 36 percent iron.
Remaining in the area from the active period are significant iron mineralisations linked by extensive drift systems as well as other infrastructure such as shafts and inclined trackways. Also of central importance is the proximity to a functioning railway network with connections to three different shipping ports: Gävle, Oxelösund and Uddevalla/Lysekil.
In order to harness the potential of Ludvika mines, Nordic Iron Ore has carried out geological, technical and environmental studies since its formation in 2008. The Company also conducted new magnetic measurements of the Väsman deposits that supplemented those made by the Ställberg companies during the 1950s and 1960s, and conducted drill programs in the Väsman field and Blötberget. The company has also obtained mining concessions and an enviromental permit för Blötberget and Håksberg and applied for mining concession for Väsman.
In light of the above, Nordic Iron Ore has established a solid platform for continued development and growth.
Ludvika – a historically industrial centre
The urban area of Ludvika has about 14,000 inhabitants and its history started around the year 1550 when Gustav Vasa built the Ludvika ironworks. This was Sweden’s first works for bar iron forging under Crown management. In 1726 the works were sold to the Cedercreutz family. The Roth family, who were the works’ last owners, expanded the works with a sawmill and a hydro power plant. Ludvika became a town in 1919, and the following year saw the closure of the Ludvika works.
The iron business developed and as early as the 1600s the villages of Gravendal and Strömsdal began an operation for processing iron. The villages contributed to Swedish iron exports in 1700s. For a long time Ludvika was the municipality with the greatest concentration of mines in Sweden.
The advent of industrialisation in the 1800s eventually led to the formation of the Elektriska Aktiebolaget Magnet company in Ludvika in 1900. The company was later renamed to ASEA. Ludvika was connected to the railway network in 1873.
Technological developments during the 1900s progressed quickly. The then ASEA became ABB and its activities in Ludvika and the whole world became more and more high-tech and internationally recognised.",865,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126027.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824024147-20170824044147-00602.warc.gz,0.955698490142822
1fe19463-452b-492b-9437-1fa04a91770e,2022-05-20T23:38:37+00:00,2012-05-20,0,https://jayisgames.com/review/link-dump-friday-219.php,"Link Dump Friday №220
Of all the casual gaming review sites on the internet, you had to walk into mine... really, you had to. If you didn't, I wouldn't get paid, and then I'd have to get a real job, and I can't go back there, man, I can't!
- Hazmat - Ask any of the science teachers who had the misfortune of trying to impart knowledge to me throughout the course of my education, and in addition to a haunted stare you'll probably also be advised that you shouldn't let me near any sort of chemical. Well, JOKE'S ON YOU, MIZ SWITZER! Thanks to this little retro platformer I am now perfectly equipped to deal with all sorts of toxic materials, and if you play it, you will be too! Just run, leap, and try not to die in what has to be the world's most loosely ""up to code"" training center ever.
- Zombie Exterminator - Apparently, there's a blood feud going on between zombies and physics puzzle game developers, since any time the undead pop up lately they're getting crushed under elaborate physics contraptions. Man, I dunno... I think you guys need to sit down with Dr Phil and work that stuff out because it is making office parties really awkward. But in the interim, I guess, you're just going to have to settle for splattering the undead all over the place. But I want you to know, you're only perpetuating a vicious cycle!
- Moontype - We like the moon, even though it hasn't returned my Backstreet Boys CD I loaned it in junior high ""just for the weekend"". Still, the moon is pretty rad, and most of us are ready to defend it the only way we know how... by typing tiny words furiously to destroy aliens who are thoughtful enough to broadcast proper spelling as their only weakness! It's a simple, good looking little game that needs a bit more variety, but is just perfect for anyone who needs to feel like they've accomplished something today. Punk, I took down an alien armada, I think that's a little more important than ""getting my work done"".
- Rocket Panda - Longanimals knows what you need, baby, and what you need is to stare at some furry round panda butt! Soar through unusual environments in a very Star Fox-type fashion (minus annoying bird and frog), grab power-ups, and blast... things! Adorable, bouncy, and simple to play, this game is full of that panda butt arcade action we all look for in our day. Plus, I can't help but think that Rocket Panda and Rock Lobster would make one heckuva garage band band.
- The Adventures of Dear Explorer - Despite what my name would have many, many, many hi-larious souls to suggest, I am not much of an explorer. But you can be, if you fire up this wonderfully campy arcade game full of letter jackets, cheerleaders, dark forces, and man-eating slugs! Delve deep into a cave to rescue your cheerleader, collecting souvenir t-shirts and dying a whole bunch along the way. Awkward controls and stiff gameplay are what prevented my fellow review monkeys and I from giving this its own feature, but any shotgun aficionado who harbours a secret desire to be as close to turning into Bruce Campbell as humanly possible (ie, all of you) will still appreciate it.",721,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662534693.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520223029-20220521013029-00028.warc.gz,0.963111996650696
a918b5ba-8e65-4343-ac8f-536a81b72e99,2016-07-25T08:30:42+00:00,2012-07-12,1,http://www.trentonian.com/article/20120712/NEWS03/120719917/1006/report-barnegat-bay-health-keeps-getting-worse,"SEASIDE PARK (AP) — The fragile Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor ecosystem is getting worse and will continue to decline unless development and storm water runoff into the bay are reduced, according to a new Rutgers University study.
The study, released Wednesday, finds Barnegat Bay to be highly stressed due to decades of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the waterway from lawns, parking lots and driveways and sewer system overflows.
“This study paints a rather bleak picture,” said Michael Kennish, the study’s lead investigator.
He said the bay system has endured low dissolved oxygen concentrations, harmful algae blooms, loss of habitat, diminishing hard clam populations and other detrimental effects. Since 2004, eelgrass beds, which are home to crabs, fish and other wildlife, have continually declined, to a low point in 2010.
Kennish said many things need to be done including improving storm water control systems, preserving open space, limiting fertilizer runoff and planning development so it has less impact on the waterways.
New Jersey has taken steps to limit pollutants in the bay, still a popular spot for fishing and recreational boating, but environmentalists say they fall far short of what is needed.
“This report is an alarm bell going off that Barnegat Bay will die unless strong programs are put in place to protect the bay,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club environmental group.
He and other environmentalists want New Jersey to declare that the bay has reached a fragile enough condition that warrants placing a daily limit on how much pollution can be allowed to enter the waterway. Republican Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have imposed such a requirement.
Tittel said that when Christie vetoed the bill “he killed a real chance to clean up the bay.”
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak noted that Tittel was among those applauding protections the governor put into place two years ago for the bay, including the early closure of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and the adoption of the nation’s strictest limits on nitrogen content in fertilizer.
“Tittel is an overwrought fear-mongerer,” Drewniak said. “He’s even forgotten his own unqualified praise of the governor on Barnegat Bay protections enacted by this administration. This contradiction from Tittel would be hilarious if not so ignorant and irresponsible.”
He said the improvements included in the governor’s 10-point plan to help Barnegat Bay were enacted in January 2011, at the end of the two-decade period covered by the Rutgers study.
“We are committed to the health and recovery of Barnegat Bay,” Drewniak said.
Land on the edge of and near Barnegat Bay has undergone tremendous residential and commercial development in recent decades. Where there once were wooded areas or grassy shorelines, there now are freshly manicured lawns where nitrogen-laden fertilizer washes into the bay. There are paved driveways and parking lots that rush storm water runoff into the water, along with multiple pollutants it picks up along the way.
One result of the pollution has been an explosion in the population of jellyfish in the bay, rendering large parts of it unfit for swimming for area residents.
“You walk in, and they just cling to you,” said Bill Neveil, of Middlesex Borough, who was crabbing with his grandson on a dock in Seaside Heights on Wednesday. “I got stung a lot. Then no one wanted to go in the water.”",754,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00172-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944612681865692
5ead76e3-1caf-4a81-bd16-628f46d1d317,2020-10-21T22:40:57+00:00,2016-09-15,0,https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/retail/uk-inflation-childrenswear-prices-fall-53357/,"Britain’s inflation rate remained unchanged in August, as rising food prices and air fares were offset by falls in clothing and footwear.
“The rate is still relatively low in the historic context although it is above the rates experienced in 2015 and early 2016,” ONS said.
Overall, clothing and footwear prices rose by 1 percent between July and August this year, less than the 1.5% increase recorded in 2015. ONS cited men’s short sleeved T-shirts and tops, children’s jumpers, sweaters and cardigans and women’s sleepwear and blouses/shirts as the main contributors to the downward trend in clothing. However, prices did rise on women’s dresses and formal trousers.
In footwear (including repairs), prices increased by only 0.7% between July and August, compared with 1.2% a year ago, with the downward effect coming mainly from women’s shoes.
But as the British Retail Consortium reported last week, summer clothing bargains weren’t enough to drive people into stores last month, which caused total sales to decline 0.3% in August, versus a 0.1% increase a year earlier.",250,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878633.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021205955-20201021235955-00333.warc.gz,0.975559890270233
dd4ac58c-7078-4c43-9888-8996ee6095be,2017-08-17T05:45:23+00:00,2016-04-30,0,http://helenhighly.com/my-blind-brother-review-a-shrewd-romantic-comedy/,"Helen Highly Recommends Sophie Goodhart’s My Blind Brother as One of the Best of Tribeca 2016
Droll My Blind Brother Premiered at SXSW and Cracks Up Tribeca 2016
“I’m a superficial narcissist”
“I’m lazy and judgmental.”
This is how the two romantic leads in My Blind Brother introduce themselves to each other, and I fell in love with them both immediately.
Then, when they both reveal that they perversely wish they could be invalids so they’d have an excuse to lay in bed all day and watch TV, I fell in love with screenwriter Sophie Goodhart. Add in a blind guy, jaded and bored with his own infirmity, who is smoking weed unabashedly in public, even with the police nearby, who says, “I could shoot up in front of cops and they wouldn’t do anything,” and I love this movie in full. It manages to be morbidly dark, joyfully funny and unsentimentally touching all at the same time.
The storyline itself is genuinely fresh; unlike so many other films at this festival, I can’t think of another previous movie to compare it to. Robbie (Adam Scott) is a champion blind athlete and local philanthropic hero doted on by the community (and his parents) and seemingly incapable of wrongdoing. His apparently well-earned egotism is fed by his frequent, televised crusades to rise above his “disability” while also raising money for charity, where after each successful feat, he is surrounded by gushing reporters who never seem to notice that he tells the same, lame joke every time: “You look beautiful today,” Robbie the blind guy tells every female member of the press.
Robbie’s hapless, unassuming brother Bill (Nick Kroll) knows the real Robbie to be arrogant, selfish and rude, but he still guide-dog-faithfully runs every marathon by Robbie’s side and never makes a peep when he doesn’t receive any accolades, or when even his own parents continually criticize him. One night, Bill escapes the relentless Robbie-worship by hitting up the local bar, where despite his best efforts to present himself as unworthy and unappealing, he gets lucky with an attractive and like-hearted woman named Rose (Jenny Slate). Bill is guilt-ridden because Robbie’s blindness was the result of a childhood accident in which he was involved. Rose is guilt-ridden because immediately after she told her fiancé she wanted to break up with him, he distractedly crossed the street and was hit and killed by a bus.
After one pitiful, anti-romantic (yet soul-soaring) night together, Rose flees without leaving her phone number. Nonetheless, Bill thinks his karma might finally be coming around and that he’s found his sad-sack love-match. But his fantasy is soon squashed when his brother introduces him to his own new paramour – the very same Rose, who (without knowing he is Bill’s brother) has started dating blind Robbie in an attempt to make herself a better person. Now Bill must decide if he will put himself second again or finally stand up to his blind brother.
Kudos to writer/director Sophie Goodhart for opting against a “when bad things happen to good people” script and instead going with “when good things happen to bad people.” Goodhart’s two, guilty, self-loathing characters are amazingly charming and lovable. Robbie makes a wonderfully heroic antagonist, whose capability and determination we slowly come to dislike more and more as the story unfolds. (The fact that actor Adam Scott looks quite a bit like a smugly smiling Tom Cruise doesn’t hurt.) And Goodhart’s ingenious twist on the conventional love-triangle takes the sentimental weight out of the usual wet blanket that hangs over traditional romantic comedies. This movie is bright and buoyant and makes us laugh at ourselves more than at mere jokes.
Goodhart’s head-on attacks of our socially-correct attitudes toward both the physically handicapped and noble self-sacrifice are deftly executed dark humor that captures what’s funny about resentment, bitterness, and condescension. Her sharp jabs at “those less fortunate” never feel like bullying and never fall into rude buffoonery. Even as the movie escalates into full-blown wackiness, it still maintains its shrewd edge.
Another strength to this film are the secondary characters. Rose’s prissy, eye-rolling, sarcastically unsympathetic roommate (Zoe Kazan) ends up with the stoner blind guy. Ha! It’s just another delightful quirk in this defiant film where apathy and under-achievement are treated as virtues and perfection is the problem to be overcome. Finally: a romantic comedy with mutually flawed lovers, where no sacrifice or self-improvement is necessary for them to win happiness and each other.
Just to be fair, I will say that there are a few small spots where the script veers into impossible interactions – stupid things that could or would never actually be said. These mini-moments wouldn’t stand out so much if all the other moments in the script were not so true and all the other lines were not so witty. I am not usually a great lover of comedies, and the fact that I am calling this film One of the Best of Tribeca 2016 means it is truly something special. Unfortunately, my opinion doesn’t count for much, and this film may not get a broad theatrical release, so keep an eye out at your local art theater and on television.
News Update: Starz is nearing a deal to pick up Sophie Goodhart’s SXSW premiere My Blind Brother, Variety reports. The outlet shares that the acquisition “will likely be the biggest sale out of this year’s South by Southwest” and is estimated to be in the low seven-figure range. The comedy was reportedly the subject of a bidding war among distributors like Netflix, The Orchard, Sony and Gravitas Ventures.",1298,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00257.warc.gz,0.960377752780914
fd59363d-f2c9-45cc-9792-c5461818ef7c,2020-10-21T18:32:34+00:00,2014-02-24,1,https://lowco2.eu/news/2014/02/wood-sets-out-200-billion-roadmap-for-future-of-offshore-oil-and-gas-industry-worlds-first-gas-ccs-plant-planned/,"The British economy could receive a potential £200 billion boost over the next 20 years, through the recovery of an additional 3-4 billion barrels of North Sea oil and gas, according to a report commissioned by the UK Government published today.
Government using the security of its pooled resources, will be able to fast-track all the recommendations of Sir Ian Wood’s ground-breaking review on maximising recovery from the UK Continental Shelf.
The UK government offers the strongest basis to unlock the investment needed to achieve the objective Sir Ian outlines of maximising economic production. This will involve improving the efficiency with which the industry operates, increasing production of oil and gas by one third, and boosting jobs in an industry that already employs 450,000. Whilst short-term prospects are good, with investment at record levels of £14 billion, the UK Continental Shelf faces unprecedented challenges.
Production has fallen by 40% in the last 3 years, and the efficiency with which oil and gas is produced has fallen to 60%, costing the economy £6 billion.
The UK is reliant for North Sea oil and gas for more than half of total oil and gas used, and will continue to need around 70% of gas in the energy mix out to 2030.
Maximising domestic oil and gas production would increase Britain’s domestic energy security and reduce the UK’s reliance on expensive imports.
The size of the UK, with its large tax and consumer base, will allow Government to realise the additional economic prize set out by Sir Ian Wood.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey announced the changes in Scotland, where he also visited Peterhead with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, to sign a multi-million pound deal with Shell to develop the next stage of their Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project on a gas-fired power station – a world first in low-carbon projects.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said:
“Britain will still need large amounts of oil and gas, even as we cut our carbon emissions over the coming decades. So with recent large falls in North Sea production, I commissioned this report from Sir Ian Wood to see how we can reduce the oil and gas we would otherwise import by boosting UK offshore production.
“I fully back Sir Ian Wood’s recommendations and we will start implementing them immediately.
“The UK Government already supports Scottish energy projects worth hundreds of millions of pounds each year, and our large tax and consumer base will ensure that the potential £200 billion benefit Sir Ian Wood has identified can be realised.
“This will be good for our energy security, good for the economy and good for jobs.
“We have also invested in the world’s first gas CCS plant today planned at Peterhead. This project envisions a cleaner, greener future for the North Sea and will support thousands of green jobs.”
Ed Davey was accompanied at the signing of the contract for the Peterhead project by Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
Prime Minister David Cameron said:
“For many years the UK has supported the North Sea oil and gas industry and we have worked together to make this an economic success the whole country can be proud of. I promise we will continue to use the UK’s broad shoulders to invest in this vital industry so we can attract businesses, create jobs, develop new skills in our young people and ensure we can compete in the global race.”
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
“The innovation of the UK’s energy industry is something we should be really proud of and the fact that we are a world leader in carbon capture and storage is a great example of our country’s ingenuity.
“Today’s multi-million pound deal with Shell will help to safeguard thousands of jobs and power half a million homes with clean electricity.
“It shows we can build a stronger economy and do it fairly by protecting our environment for future generations.”
The Peterhead and White Rose CCS projects are the EU’s largest commercially sized projects with this phase supported by around £100m from the UK Government. They could provide more than 2,000 jobs during construction and once built, clean electricity for over a million homes.
They demonstrate Government’s commitment to tackling climate change and are an example of the support provided by the UK Government to Scotland’s flourishing low carbon sector – support which runs to hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
Sir Ian’s key recommendations include:
- A new shared strategy for “maximising economic recovery (of oil and gas) for the UK”, with commitment from the government (HM Treasury and a new Regulator) and the oil and gas industry.
- Creation of a new arm’s length regulatory body to oversee and develop this programme of change and growth.
- Greater collaboration by industry in areas such as development of regional hubs, sharing of infrastructure and reducing the complexity and delays in current legal and commercial processes.
The fiscal regime introduced by the government will lead to greater investment in the North Sea – the decommissioning relief certainty, introduced in October 2013, alone is worth upwards of £20bn. An independent Scotland would have to commit around £3,800 per head – over ten times more than when costs are spread across the UK – to match this.
The Office for Budget Responsibility cut the revenue forecast for the North Sea by £4 billion at the Autumn Statement. This would have a disproportionate impact on the budget of an independent Scotland. The UK government can afford this support, and take the short term hit to tax receipts, because of the size and diversity of its economy.",1180,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107877420.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021180646-20201021210646-00062.warc.gz,0.945314645767212
c6dfac99-d55d-4b3f-9a89-3cf47704690f,2018-08-16T22:08:09+00:00,2017-04-28,0,https://techproducts.com.ng/googles-head-of-smartphone-division-leaves-after-six-months/,"Last year was when we first saw Google start to get serious with its smartphone hardware division. Sure, the company has been releasing Nexus devices for several years, but the technology giant mostly viewed these devices as developer reference models and not as true consumer flagship smartphones.
That changed with the Google Pixel brand becoming their flagship smartphone. The Pixel and Pixel XL are still regarded as some of the best smartphones from 2016 and the company hopes that will continue this year with their successors
David Foster who was poached from well known technology company Amazon, VP of hardware product development at Google, has left the company six months after Google recruited him from Amazon.
Foster was charged with leading development of Google’s Pixel smartphone and Home speaker. He joined Google in the days surrounding the launch of the Pixel and Pixel XL in October 2016.
Amidst a bigger hardware push from Google, Foster reported to Rick Osterloh, the former Motorola executive Google hired last year. At Amazon, Foster led development of the Echo smart speaker and Kindle tablets, and before that, worked at Apple and IBM for a short stint. He was a marquee hire for Alphabet Inc.’s Google, made just as the internet search giant unfurled the first wave of its own branded devices.
A Google spokesperson confirmed Foster’s departure, but declined to offer specifics. Google currently doesn’t plan to replace Foster, according to Bloomberg.
It was reported that Google still plans to release at least two new Pixel models this fall. Osterloh is said to have previously hinted the Pixel lineup will be refreshed annually and stay premium.
Google plans to release a second-generation Pixel smartphone as follow-up to the first version released in October 2016, Google hardware boss Rick Osterloh confirmed at Mobile World Conference this week.
“There is an annual rhythm in the industry. So, you can count on us to follow it.” Osterloh reportedly told Android Pit at a closed meeting with reporters. “You can count on a successor this year, even if you don’t hear a date from me now.”
It’s also rumored Google could launch a third Pixel and new Google Home speaker this year.",455,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211185.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816211126-20180816231126-00456.warc.gz,0.96679037809372
4c540421-7956-46bf-b7e6-fdae52a4651f,2022-05-23T06:08:16+00:00,2021-05-17,1,https://www.oxfordairport.co.uk/airport-development-programme/,"20 May London Oxford Airport Embarks on Major Development Programme
Press Release – 17 May, 2021
London Oxford Airport Embarks on Major Development Programme
- Major new hangar complex
- Seven new helipads built
- New fuel farm ready for SAF
- New fire station anticipated
As part of a new strategic plan, London Oxford Airport has commenced construction work on a new development phase, which will, when complete this autumn, be its most significant step forward to date. Central to the work is a 63,000 sq. ft. (6,000m²) 140m long hangar with two bays including rear offices, stores and workshops, capable of accommodating up to six Bombardier Global, Gulfstream or Dassault Falcon Jet models, simultaneously. The new hangar, the airport’s 15th, is the first facility in a new zone of the airport to the north of the original site.
The hangar will be used predominantly by established tenants, many of whom reside in some of the older WWII facilities, along with a number of larger business aircraft for which there has been limited capacity at Oxford. The airport will progressively replace 80-year-old hangars with new, bespoke facilities, providing turnkey solutions for clients.
With demand for space consistently outpacing supply within the London region, the airport is committed to invest in infrastructure to accommodate more business and allow established companies, such as Airbus Helicopters, Volare Aviation and Jet Maintenance International (JMI) to expand. The airport is home to a number of aviation support businesses (MRO) that cover maintenance, engineering, modification, design and operational support services. The new environmentally-efficient facilities will support existing aircraft and future next-gen aircraft, including eVTOL and hybrid/electric models.
Additional infrastructure has included the feeding-in of significantly more power onto the site.
The projects have been overseen these past 12 months by Will Curtis, who joined London Oxford Airport as Managing Director in 2020.
Seven new helipads
A large area of new aircraft parking apron has been created but also seven new ICAO/EASA/CAA-compliant helipads supporting Airbus Helicopters and the growing number of commercial AOC helicopter businesses at the airport like MyHeli. These complement operations with the co-owned Edmiston London Heliport, London’s only CAA-licensed heliport, which supports up to 12,000 movements year and the capital’s essential police and air ambulance flights.
London Oxford Airport will also commence work on a new fire station to be established in a central position on the airport. This will allow for fulfilling the need for the highest fire categories at all times having also just ordered three new Angloco Scania 26 tonne fire tenders.
New fuel farm, ready for non-fossil fuel
A new fuel farm will enable a quadrupling of the capacity of the original facility, whilst also providing valuable space for additional future static tankage for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The industry is progressively introducing SAF with up to 80% reduction in lifecycle CO2 emissions.
“In a new post-pandemic economic environment, it’s critical that the UK ramps-up its capabilities and capacity to provide growth and further employment, especially in high value, high-skilled and knowledge-based industrial sectors,” said Will Curtis, Managing Director. Aerospace and aviation are set to rebound and business aviation is leading the charge, so timing is crucial. Now we have put in the infrastructure for growth, we can build further facilities with relative ease and speed and further bolster employment opportunities – adding to the near on 1,000 employees based on site.”
Head of Business Development, James Dillon-Godfray added: ‘We have long-established maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) businesses that need to expand. These new developments allow us to move people around the airport to facilitate that. We are also in dialogue with several new entities about joining us in the next few years, for which this capacity is essential.”
London Oxford Airport hosts a varied mix of general and business aviation users with a very strong pilot training base. It is home to Airbus Helicopters UK’s headquarters and a steadily growing business aviation sector, supporting around 10,000 passengers a year both private and charter, mainly for business trips. Recently the airport welcomed its largest regional airliner type, the 145-seat Embraer EMB-195, supporting charters for the motorsports community, proving the usefulness of the airport in supporting one of the UK’s most dynamic and successful industry sectors.
With several peer UK airports and airfields known to be closing in the years to come, Oxford is striving to contribute to the Government’s stated objective of becoming ‘The best country in the world for general aviation’ ensuring there is the capacity to support this aspiration.
Last year saw the establishment of a new 100-room hotel at the entrance of the airport at the Oxford Technology Park, creating more jobs and a great new amenity on the doorstep.
Effective 17 May, the airport will be opening up to non-essential travel in accordance with the UK Government’s easing of Covid-related constraints. Despite the constraints, however, the airport saw a five-fold increase in business flights in April compared with 2020.
“Further announcements on additional developments will be made as the year progresses, marking a new stage in the airport’s evolution,” James concluded.
For further information contact:
Head of Business Development
London Oxford Airport
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 290 710",1188,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00428.warc.gz,0.933447062969208
43e435bf-7ef6-4129-89d5-2ffb4123a196,2013-05-19T02:30:44+00:00,1997-12-31,0,http://walshcomptech.com/ps2/56slc.htm,"Special thanks to Barry Fealy for this system.
The Model 56SLC is a smaller, more compact version of the Model 57SLC PS/2.
This system has the following equipment installed:
IBM 486SLC2-50 Processor Upgrade
IBM XGA-2 Video Adapter
Digital EtherWorks/MC Ethernet NIC
1GB SCSI hard disk
SoundBlaster Pro MCV sound card
This is the second PS/2 system I have received with the lock & keys. (The first was a 57SLC2). As of this writing, I've upgraded the hard disk from the original 160MB to a 1GB drive, and installed Windows 95. Some folks might think Windows 95 is a too much of a load for a 386SX family system, but in my experiences Win95 has always run very well on the 486SLC2 processor from IBM. I plan on trying to find a way to have the hard disk and a CD-ROM installed at the same time if it is possible.",214,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.921273469924927
330bd254-e9d2-49da-8349-f1a8a67efc12,2020-10-30T14:32:28+00:00,2017-03-01,1,https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/algorithm_bail_sentencing_parole/,"Risk-assessment algorithms challenged in bail, sentencing and parole decisions
Eric Loomis, 35, was arrested in 2013 for his involvement in a drive-by shooting in La Crosse, Wisconsin. No one was hit, but Loomis faced prison time on a number of charges, including driving a stolen vehicle. He pleaded no contest, and the judge sentenced him to seven years, saying he was “high risk.” The judge based this analysis, in part, on the risk assessment score given by Compas, a secret and privately held algorithmic tool used routinely by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Michael Rosenberg, Loomis’ attorney for his trial and appeal, argued that Compas—which is short for Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions—violated Loomis’ right to due process because the proprietary nature of the algorithm made it impossible to test its scientific validity and because the tool improperly considers gender in determining risk.
Last July, the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision that the risk assessment may be considered as one factor among many used in sentencing. The unanimous court also concluded that the tool did not violate Loomis’ due process right to not be sentenced on the basis of gender. Rosenberg declined an interview request.
The case of Wisconsin v. Loomis reflects an ongoing national debate about the use of algorithms in bail, sentencing and parole decisions. With increased adoption of these tools, defense attorneys raise due process concerns, policymakers struggle to provide meaningful oversight, and data scientists grapple with ethical questions regarding fairness and accuracy.
In 2014, Eric Holder, then the U.S. attorney general, articulated the uncertainty swirling around these tools in a speech given to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ 57th Annual Meeting. “Although these [risk assessment] measures were crafted with the best of intentions, I am concerned that they may inadvertently undermine our efforts to ensure individualized and equal justice,” he said. “They may exacerbate unwarranted and unjust disparities that are already far too common in our criminal justice system and in our society.”
Angel Ilarraza, director of consulting and business development at Northpointe Inc., the Michigan-based company that created Compas, thinks that this concern is ill-founded. “There’s no secret sauce to what we do; it’s just not clearly understood,” Ilarraza says.
ALGORITHMS AT WORK
Compas uses an algorithm, a term Ilarraza does not like because he thinks it is confusing, that assesses 137 questions answered by the charged person and supplemented by his or her criminal records. These inputs are plugged in to the algorithm, which is a set order of operations like a math equation. Based on this process, the person’s likelihood of committing a future crime (the output) is pegged on a scale of 1 (low risk) to 10 (high risk). Beyond Wisconsin, Compas also is used in California, Michigan and New York, among other jurisdictions.
The questionnaire covers the gamut of a person’s criminal history and personal background as a way to decipher risk. Questions include whether an alleged offender experienced his or her parent’s divorce or has a telephone at home, and whether the screener thinks the defendant is a suspected or admitted gang member.
Ilarraza, supporting the Wisconsin Supreme Court view, is quick to point out that the tool is meant to inform decision-making. “It facilitates the implementation of evidence-based practices,” he says.
Christine Remington, the Wisconsin assistant attorney general who argued Loomis for the state in the supreme court, agrees. “I don’t think there’s any question that [Compas] is a good thing,” she says. It allows the corrections department to “tailor limited resources in the best way possible.”
Compas recently came under scrutiny by ProPublica, an investigative journalism organization. Assessing the tool’s outputs in Broward County, Florida, ProPublica found that it was 61 percent predictive of rearrest, “somewhat more accurate than a coin flip.” The algorithm was likely to indicate black defendants as “future criminals” at almost twice the rate as white defendants.
Northpointe disputes ProPublica’s findings. The back-and-forth can be read in full on ProPublica’s website.
This clash illustrates a newfound popular interest in these tools. But using math to guide decision-making in the criminal justice system is not new. According to Richard Berk, a professor of criminology and statistics at the University of Pennsylvania, an Illinois parole board started to use algorithms in the 1920s.
“In the ‘20s, parole boards were worried about what parole boards are worried about today: If I release somebody, are they going to commit a horrible act?” Berk explains. Back then, the tools were simple mathematical tabulations that assessed risk by comparing people up for parole to those previously released.
Since then, the math behind these tools has improved accuracy, and technological advancement allows for statisticians to wrestle with bigger data sets through computers. However, the point remains: U.S. criminal justice systems have used math to guide decision-making for about a century.
Even with this history, how these tools affect equal protection and due process of defendants remains unresolved.
Sonja B. Starr, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, says it “is a matter of what factors go into these instruments” and not the instruments per se. For example, she argues that using gender as an input “counts against men to be men, and that is a pretty straightforward violation to Supreme Court precedent.”
Although the issue of gender was not an equal protection claim in Loomis, the court wrote of Compas: “If the inclusion of gender promotes accuracy, it serves the interests of institutions and defendants, rather than a discriminatory purpose.”
Starr says the U.S. Supreme Court “rejected that very reasoning” in the 1976 case Craig v. Boren. The court had reviewed an Oklahoma law that banned men younger than 21 from buying certain alcoholic beverages. The state supported this policy with statistical evidence that showed that young men were almost 10 times more likely than women to be arrested for drunken driving. The court ultimately found that “prior cases have consistently rejected the use of sex as a decision-making factor, even though the statutes in question certainly rested on far more predictive empirical relationships than this.”
Going further, Starr thinks other inputs raise issues for indigent defendants. She says providing equal opportunity under the law regardless of socio-economic status “is nothing less than the central goal of the criminal justice system.” However, some tools, including Compas, use factors such as how often people change addresses or whether they have trouble paying bills, which rely on statistical generalizations that underprivileged people are more likely to commit crimes. This, Starr argues, flies in the face of established law.
If defense attorneys wanted to make either of Starr’s arguments in court, they would have to know the algorithm’s factors and how they are weighed. Like the risk assessment in Loomis, some of the tools being used by government agencies are proprietary and “black boxed,” which means no capability or limited capability to review the math exists, and therefore they cannot be independently challenged. Being used in bail decisions and sentencing, these tools do not fall under the usual evidentiary rules of discovery.
“There’s never justification for secrecy of the algorithm” in the criminal justice system, says Frank Pasquale, a professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and author of The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms that Control Money and Information.
Remington, who argued for the state in Loomis, has a different view. “We don’t know what’s going on in a judge’s head; it’s a black box, too,” she says. She thinks, although the math is hidden, “Compas will help give a little more transparency.”
One risk assessment tool being used in bail decisions may avoid many of the critiques that Starr, Pasquale and Holder articulate. Developed by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, a Houston-based philanthropic organization, the Public Safety Assessment-Court tool is not black-boxed and does not rely on gender or socio-economic factors.
Currently in 30 jurisdictions, the PSA-Court tool considers nine factors related to a person’s criminal history without a questionnaire. It provides a risk assessment on how likely that person is to fail to appear for a court date and commit a new crime or a violent crime while on release.
Those factors include previous misdemeanor and felony convictions, prior failures to appear for a court date, and the defendant’s age at the time of arrest.
In discussing the choice to make the factors open to public scrutiny, Matt Alsdorf, the vice president of criminal justice at the Arnold Foundation, says that “it’s important from a fairness per-spective for all the parties to understand what goes into a risk assessment.”
The Arnold Foundation is funding studies to track the tool’s impact. Results from Lucas County, Ohio, which adopted the tool in January 2015, found that outcomes did not show a race or gender bias. The number of people being released without the need for bail increased from 14 percent to almost 28 percent. The percentage of pretrial defendants arrested for other crimes while out on release has been cut in half—from 20 percent to 10. The percentage of pretrial defendants arrested for violent crimes while out on release also has decreased—from 5 to 3 percent.
According to the foundation, the early successes in Ohio can be attributed to the tool’s capability to help judges make informed decisions that better allocate resources instead of judges being motivated by emergency-release rules to alleviate jail overcrowding.
Even while promoting the tool’s openness, Alsdorf, an attorney, is uncertain whether a legal imperative to open algorithms in the criminal justice system exists. However, he does say it is important for “a lot of researchers” to be “poking and prodding.”
This point of view conflicts with those who run businesses built around their protected intellectual property, which raises challenges for policymakers who try to strike a balance between private sector innovation and the rights of defendants.
“Right now, it’s the Wild West,” Berk says. “It’s a mess.” At the federal level, that mess does not show signs of improving and leaves numerous issues unresolved.
“There is a very real danger that these tools and the appeal of ‘objective risk scores’ will silently codify racial disparities in bail determinations under a veneer of scientific rigor,” says Scott Levy, director of the Fundamental Fairness Project at the Bronx Defenders, a legal aid organization. “It is essential that appropriate oversight and transparency mechanisms are in place.”
Although there is a lack of current law that tackles the issues Levy raises, attempts to regulate algorithms have been made. In 2012, President Barack Obama proposed the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights to allow people to correct information used by algorithms in a similar way to changing incorrect information in a credit report. The proposal never got congressional approval.
Pasquale thinks the former president’s proposed solution could fix “really basic errors.” But the role algorithms play in society are beyond this policy prescription. To inform domestic policy, he is monitoring the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which takes effect in May 2018 and would create a legal right to challenge decisions made by algorithms, including in the criminal justice system.
Another potential solution, Berk says, could be modeled on the way the Food and Drug Administration regulates pharmaceuticals. In Berk’s proposal, an algorithm’s developer “would be required to submit the code and any data used to evaluate the code” to the new agency for testing, similar to how prescription drugs are tested. The agency’s process would strike a balance that permits public inspection of algorithms while protecting intellectual property.
While the merits of these proposals are debated, policymakers also have ethical questions to grapple with. Chief among them are the trade-offs between accuracy and fairness. However, “until the various parties expressing strong opinions about the merits of criminal justice risk assessments clarify what they mean by ‘fairness,’ no progress can possibly be made,” Berk says.
Furthermore, Berk says that “even if an algorithm is equally accurate for all, more blacks and males will be classified as high risk” because African-Americans and men are more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
When Berk brings up these challenging ethical trade-offs with government officials who are interested in building a risk assessment tool, he sees “a lot of hand-wringing.” Wisconsin attorney Remington notes a similar stalemate: “This issue is not resolved.”
In October, Loomis’ attorney filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the state court’s decision, arguing that the use of Compas violated his 14th Amendment rights to due process.
Jason Tashea is a freelance writer based in Baltimore and the founder of Justice Codes, a criminal justice and technology consultancy. This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of the
Jason Tashea is a freelance writer based in Baltimore and the founder of Justice Codes, a criminal justice and technology consultancy.
This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of theABA Journal with this headline: ""Calculating Crime: Attorneys are challenging the use of algorithms to help determine bail, sentencing and parole decisions.""",2919,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107910815.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030122851-20201030152851-00368.warc.gz,0.947096586227417
3d5978d0-00dc-4aa5-be96-39c43acdbc43,2017-08-22T16:34:59+00:00,2016-09-07,0,http://globalford.org/cayetano-killings-probe-not-good-ph-image/,"Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – A staunch ally and a running mate in the last national polls, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano takes up the cudgels for the administration’s ongoing controversial campaign to rid the country of illegal drugs.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — A staunch ally and a running mate in the last national polls, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano takes up the cudgels for the administration’s ongoing controversial campaign to rid the country of illegal drugs.
In a privilege speech on Wednesday, Cayetano said there seemed to be a confusion among people about the government policy — and clarified that the policy was not to kill but to save more lives.
He said those involved in illegal drugs were mostly the ones committing heinous crimes.
The senator also presented videos of president Rodrigo Duterte’s past speeches saying he wanted more drug rehabilitation centers built in the country.
Cayetano took a swipe at Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairman Chito Gascon who, according to the senator, had been quiet in the past but had become very vocal when Sen. Leila De Lima started a Senate probe on extrajudicial killings (EJK).
Cayetano maintained EJK hearings were not helping the image of the country in the international community.
He said it has affected tourism, economic trade and has discredited the efforts of the administration and the national police.
Cayetano also took offense at how De Lima was projecting the state of the country to the international media.
For instance, on the number of people killed to date.
De Lima said the number has reached 2,000 but the Philippine National Police (PNP) said there were only less than 800 killed during police operations.
Cayetano explained this would not do the country any good in the face of the President’s first overseas trip next week where he would be meeting with world leaders like U.S. President Barrack Obama.
He said it wouldn’t look good if while Duterte was meeting with heads of state, and yet at home, he was being blamed for the killings.
Cayetano also hinted at the idea of De Lima dropping her chairmanship in the Justice committee, which was holding probes on EJK in relation to the anti-drug campaign. He said there was conflict of interest since the lady senator was also being linked to illegal drugs.
De Lima was absent during the session. She was indisposed, according to her staff.
CNN Philippines‘ Cecille Lardizabal contributed to this report.",532,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00563.warc.gz,0.971332252025604
77fd51a1-114d-4bdc-a18e-f0994dce32b7,2018-08-16T20:34:39+00:00,2017-12-01,1,http://www.feinsteininstitute.org/2017/12/feinstein-institute-uses-bioelectronic-medicine-treat-lupus/,"Clinical trial with non-invasive therapy gives new hope for treating a condition
affecting 5 million worldwide
MANHASSET, NY – Researchers at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research are conducting a clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of bioelectronic medicine to treat pain associated with lupus, a chronic and potentially fatal autoimmune disease affecting upwards of 5 million people around the world. This pilot study will test the effect of an innovative, proprietary device, which emits electrical pulses through the patient’s ear five minutes a day for four days.
Based on previous work conducted at the Feinstein Institute involving modulating neural pathways, bioelectronic medicine therapies have been shown to successfully treat rheumatoid arthritis and holds promise in multiple other areas, including paralysis and diabetes. The emerging field of bioelectronic medicine uses technology to help the body treat disease and injury without the use of pharmaceuticals or experiencing significant side effects. In the case of lupus, researchers hope to treat patients by stimulating the inflammatory reflex, a circuit of nerves that maintains and regulates the body’s immune response. Feinstein Institute researchers and physicians anticipate this treatment will inhibit the body’s production of the molecule responsible for the inflammation associated with lupus. The unique role of the inflammatory reflex was discovered by Feinstein Institute president and CEO Kevin J. Tracey, MD.
“Lupus is a painful disease, notoriously hard to diagnose and difficult to treat – new treatment options are desperately needed” said Cynthia Aranow, MD, the study’s lead investigator. “This trial will study an innovative approach to controlling symptoms of a disease that affects millions. We hope to have encouraging findings very soon.”
Approximately 1.5 million Americans and 5 million people worldwide suffer from lupus. More than 90 percent of the individuals afflicted by the disease are women, and the condition is most prevalent among women of color. Patients with lupus experience a host of symptoms, from extreme fatigue to painful or swollen joints and skin rashes. Lupus can also affect internal organs, including the kidneys and brain.
“I am tremendously encouraged by the fast-paced advancement in this evolving field that we are seeing in the lab and in clinical trials,” said Chad Bouton, vice president of Advanced Engineering for Northwell Health and director of the Feinstein Institute’s Center for Bioelectronic Medicine. “By intercepting and manipulating the millions of electrical messages that the body sends itself, we hope to produce therapies that are safer, more efficient and more cost-effective, and help the body heal itself.”
This clinical trial is supported by the John & Marcia Goldman Foundation. For more information about lupus and lupus clinical trials, contact Dr. Aranow at 516-562-3845 or CAranow@northwell.edu. More information about bioelectronic medicine can be found here.
About the Feinstein Institute
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider in New York. Home to 50 research laboratories and to clinical research throughout dozens of hospitals and outpatient facilities, the Feinstein Institute includes 4,000 researchers and staff who are making breakthroughs in molecular medicine, genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and bioelectronic medicine – a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we empower imagination and pioneer discovery, visit FeinsteinInstitute.org.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Heather E. Ball",740,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211167.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816191550-20180816211550-00186.warc.gz,0.903196334838867
ccd4e392-15b2-40f8-b310-766dae69fdf9,2016-07-25T20:06:34+00:00,2010-06-01,1,http://www.semi.org/en/MarketInfo/CTR_037308?id=sgueu0610,"SMIC Beijing 300mm Fab Reported to be Planning for Expansion
By April Peng, SEMI China
According to sources at China’s silicon foundry giant SMIC, the company is beginning to expand its first 300mm fab capacity in Beijing from 20,000 wafers per month (wpm) to 45,000 wpm. These reports indicate that, with the Chinese government supporting this plan, SMIC appears ready to announce further expansion intent in the form of plans to build a new 300mm fab with another US $4 to $5 billion capital investment. Some key semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendors, including KLA-Tencor and Applied Materials, reportedly have their executives in China gathering in Beijing to support and service their #1 key customer in China.
But as with all semiconductor manufacturing, advanced technology is not only about money. Technology, market share, and market growth are important. To help with the technology upgrade, SMIC is reported to have signed two intellectual property (IP) collaboration agreements with Synopsys and Virage Logic in low-leakage 65nm process technology area this month.
The target markets for the expanded IC output are expected to be mobile and consumer electronics, where SMIC now reports having about a 3 percent market share of 65nm foundry business in this segment today. The partnership with IP vendors will help SMIC further deliver significant advantages to its customers through industry-leading integration, power efficiency and cost efficiency.
According to SMIC’s technical staff, research and development in 40nm and 32nm processes is being done in groups in both Shanghai and Beijing. SMIC also indicated that discussions are in progress with other vendors and sources, such as IBM and IMEC, to license additional sub-50 nanometer process technology.
From recent research conducted by the SEMI China staff, it appears that four leading global foundry vendors – GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Samsung, TSMC and UMC – appear to be engaged in a new capital spending race in an effort to gain share in current and future semiconductor cycles. If SMIC does not keep up with this spending race, it might fall behind the technology leaders into the “second tier” of foundry vendors.
With recent strong demand for foundry manufacturing services, most of the fabs in China – including HHNEC, Grace Semiconductor and even the 150 mm fabs, like CSMC – are using over 90 percent of their production capacity. If SMIC’s plans achieve reality, Beijing will soon be challenging the Shanghai area fabs for IC manufacturing leadership.
Please visit www.semi.org/fabs for additional information on SEMI Fab reports.
SEMI Global Update
June 1, 2010",562,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824345.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00213-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.932107150554657
93fd9910-3fc8-495d-aaf3-610d014503cd,2013-06-20T09:09:39+00:00,2013-01-12,0,http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=330122050,"MUNCIE, Ind. -- Randal Holt scored 16 points and Kent State defeated Ball State 61-47 on Saturday.
Chris Evans added 14 points for the Golden Flashes (10-6, 1-1 Mid-American), who lost their conference opener to Toledo on Wednesday.Kent State trailed by eight at one point in the first half, but closed the half with a 20-1 run to lead 35-20.Majok Majok led the Cardinals (7-7, 1-1) with 13 points and 12 rebounds. He was just 7 of 17 from the free-throw line, and Ball State finished 8 of 24. The Cardinals also struggled from the perimeter, shooting 28 percent despite matching the Flashes with 20 points in the paint.Chris Bond had 10 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists for Ball State.",174,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963034629821777
cb9de88a-ab04-4e57-96d2-8c1cf1cd0723,2015-03-30T05:53:43+00:00,2012-04-16,1,http://www.asdnews.com/news-48713/Kuwait_-_C-17_GLOBEMASTER_III.htm,"Kuwait - C-17 GLOBEMASTER III
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress April 16 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait for 1 C-17 GLOBEMASTER III aircraft and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $371 million.
The Government of Kuwait has requested a possible sale of 1 C-17 GLOBEMASTER III aircraft, 4 Turbofan F117-PW-100 Engines, 1 AN/AAR-47 Missile Approach Warning System, 1 AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispenser Set (CMDS), secure radios, precision navigation equipment, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, tactics manuals, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, aircraft ferry support, aircraft fuel, and technical and logistics support services; and related elements of initial and follow-on logistical and program support. The estimated cost is $371 million.
Kuwait continues to be a key ally and strong supporter of U.S. foreign policy and national security goals in the Persian Gulf region. The proposed sale will enhance the United States foreign policy and national security objectives by increasing interoperability among the Kuwait Air Force (KAF), the United States Air Force, Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and other coalition forces. The relationships built upon current flying operations will enhance the US Air Force’s influence and access in Kuwait.
The provision of a second C-17 provides KAF a more robust regional airlift and long-range strategic airlift capability. The additional C-17 aircraft will allow the KAF to better participate in humanitarian support operations.
The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
The prime contractor will be The Boeing Company of Chicago, Illinois. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
Implementation of this proposed sale will require multiple U.S. Government or contractor representatives to travel to Kuwait for a period of (5) five years to establish and maintain operational capability.
There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.
This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.
Your company’s press release on ASDNews and to thousands of other journalists and editors? Use our ASDWire press release distribution service.
Source : Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)",512,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00122-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.890088975429535
c1095d43-f88a-4055-ba48-062c59cdfce5,2022-05-22T17:25:34+00:00,2022-05-22,0,https://www.transconadental.com/invisalign-r,"INVISALIGN CLEAR ALIGNERS
Straighter teeth. A healthier, more confident smile without metal braces. Invisalign may be an option for you!
What is INVISALIGN?
Invisalign is a clear alternative to wearing full braces to straighten teeth. Invisalign uses a series of comfortable and removable clear aligners to gradually straighten your teeth. These aligners are custom made for you and are designed to move your teeth to achieve results set by you and your dentist.
Each aligner is worn day and night for about 2 weeks. The aligners are easy to remove for eating, brushing and flossing. Each aligner is a slightly different shape to initiate gradual movement of your teeth.
The aligners are effective for a wide variety of conditions, including crowding, spaces/gaps, crossbites, overbites and underbites.
Aligners are virtually invisible! Most people won’t even know you’re going through treatment.
Aligners are comfortable and allow for easy cleaning. Simply take out your aligners to clean your teeth asusual. No manouvering around metal brackets and wires!
The INVISALIGN Process at Transcona Dental
At your initial consultation we will discuss your goals and evaluate whether Invisalign treatment is right for you.
We will use aniTero digital scanner to create fast, precise 3D images of your teeth. Utilizing the scan, photos and Invisalign software, we will map out a precise treatment plan. This will show exact movements expected and an idea as to how long treatment may take.You’ll even get to see how your teeth will move and preview your new smile!
Your custom-made aligners will be fabricated. Any tooth modifications required will be performed.As you wear each set of aligners, your teeth will gradually shift into place. We will schedule checkups to monitor progress and take any additional iTero scans as required. When treatment is complete custom-made clear retainers will be provided.",439,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545875.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522160113-20220522190113-00601.warc.gz,0.86769437789917
a8878210-fb1c-4a2e-8dcc-8b20992d0f98,2022-05-23T21:54:13+00:00,2021-01-04,0,https://adrianfaulkner.com/2021/01/04/new-year-new-projects-and-old-ones-the-climb-681/,"Sunday 3rd January 2021
I started on the script today. I’ve got less than a week to complete it (due to a submissions period and looming deadline I’ve only just found out about) which means that January has hit me with full force. However, I’m making progress on this.
I’d like to say it was good progress but I only got 3 pages of script done, which isn’t a whole lot given the time constraints. But, this is a new venture (or at least a writing format I’ve not done for many years) so this really was a case of me learning Final Draft and getting going.
It’s so easy to sometimes get caught up in the volume of progress rather than the fact that progress was made. Ideally I would have liked 10 pages of script, but I’ll take 3. As I find my confidence with the software and the format, so I’m sure my page count will go up.
There’s also that internal fear that comes with starting anything new, and to get 3 pages despite that resistance feels like an accomplishment.
I also progressed the novel as well. The switch to 1st person POV seems to have been a wise choice as the words feel less strained.
Again, not a huge number of words given I need to get this first draft done by the end of the month, but progress nonetheless. And I’ve seen professional writers with smaller daily tallies so it wasn’t a terrible word count by any means. With the script out the way, I should be able to produce more and make up at least some of the daily shortfall.
And let’s not forget, I’m juggling two projects currently. I’m actually surprised how well I’m actually managing. Thank goodness for gaming breaks, which are working as a bit of a palette cleanser.
Next week sees the first full week of January and the start of an effort by me to introduce positive habits to last me the whole year. Ordinarily, it would be the first Monday that would see me start writing projects, so the fact that over the weekend, I’ve got myself to a stage where I have 3 pages of script, and already changed the POV of the novel, is a good sign.
There are plenty of challenges ahead. I need to really make some good strides with the script tomorrow and that’s going to be a strain. And then once that’s out the way, I then need to put a huge effort into the first draft of the novel.
In summary: good progress, but there’s plenty of work still to be done.
- Twitter: @figures
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adrianfaulknerwriter/
- Instagram: AdrianFaulkner",599,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00425.warc.gz,0.962720453739166
57a66b60-3aeb-4fd3-8a4a-49d95b443cd7,2019-08-23T11:35:38+00:00,2014-09-04,1,https://mashable.com/2014/09/04/ferguson-police-investigation/,"WASHINGTON — The Justice Department launched a broad investigation Thursday into the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting last month of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer.
The investigation, which goes beyond an existing federal probe into the Aug. 9 shooting, will look for patterns of discrimination within the predominantly white department and focus on how officers use force, search and arrest suspects, and treat inmates at the city jail. The police department said it welcomed the investigation.
In announcing the action, Attorney General Eric Holder, who visited the St. Louis suburb two weeks ago, said he and his department had heard numerous concerns from people there about police practices, a history of ""deep mistrust"" of law enforcement and a lack of diversity on the police force.
As you know, our federal civil rights investigation into the August 9 shooting death of Michael Brown remains open and very active. As I made clear during my visit to Ferguson two weeks ago, this investigation will take time. But the American people can have confidence that it will be fair, it will be thorough, and it will be independent.
Over the course of that visit, I had the chance to speak with a number of local residents. I heard from them directly about the deep mistrust that has taken hold between law enforcement officials and members of the community. In meetings and listening sessions – as well as informal conversations – people consistently expressed concerns stemming from specific alleged incidents, from general policing practices, and from the lack of diversity on Ferguson’s police force.
These anecdotal accounts underscored the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson that has received a good deal of attention. As a result of this history – and following an extensive review of documented allegations and other available data – we have determined that there is cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation to determine whether Ferguson Police officials have engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law.
The inquiry is part of a broader Justice Department effort to investigate troubled police departments and, when pervasive problems are found, institute changes. The department says it has investigated more than 20 police departments in the past five years, more than twice the number of cases opened in the previous five years.
Besides the investigation into the Ferguson police force, the Justice Department says it will also work with the St. Louis County police department, which trains officers from Ferguson and other local departments, to review the use of force, the handling of mass demonstrations and other aspects of policing. It will also conduct a report on the county's response to the two weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations that followed the shooting.
The investigation will look at whether Ferguson Police Dept officers have engaged in systemic violations of the Constitution or federal law.
— DOJ Civil Rights (@CivilRights) September 4, 2014
Police have said the shooting came after a scuffle that broke out after Wilson told Brown and a friend to move out of the street and onto a sidewalk. Police say Wilson was pushed into his squad car and physically assaulted. Some witnesses have reported seeing Brown's arms in the air before the shooting in an act of surrender. An autopsy paid for by Brown's family concluded that he was shot six times, twice in the head.
The FBI is conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting and a local grand jury is also evaluating the case.
The investigation announced Thursday will focus on a police department that is predominantly white, even though Ferguson is about 70 percent black. Some in Ferguson have said police disproportionately target black motorists during traffic stops, something Holder said particularly concerned him.
A 2013 report by the Missouri attorney general's office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as often as white motorists but were also less likely to find contraband among the black drivers.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., called the investigation ""a step in the right direction."" Civil rights advocates championed the move, too, but said more needs to be done.
""On a national level, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to eliminate police brutality everywhere and ensure the rights of those most impacted by these practices are protected in their entirety,"" said Tef Poe, a St. Louis artist and organizer with the group HandsUpUnited.
""This is an important step,"" Poe said. ""However, we know much more needs to be done in order to bring the officer who killed Mike Brown to justice and address the epidemic of deadly police violence across the country.""
The Justice Department's civil rights division routinely investigates individual police departments when there are allegations of systemic use-of-force violations, racial bias or other problems. The department says it is currently enforcing 14 agreements to overhaul police department practices.
The investigations typically encourage significant changes to policies and practices and often end with settlements known as consent decrees in which the department agrees to make specified reforms.
""They will comb records of citizens' complaints, they will look at the filing of lawsuits, they will look at all of the record-keeping in the police department,"" said David Harris, a police practices expert at the University of Pittsburgh law school.
The Justice Department reached a court-supervised agreement in 2012 with the New Orleans Police Department that would require the agency to overhaul its policies and procedures for use of force, training, interrogations, searches and arrests, recruitment and supervision.
In April, it issued a harshly critical report of the police department in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that faulted the agency for a pattern of excessive force and called for an overhaul of its internal affairs unit. The city and the Justice Department have been locked in negotiations over ordered changes.",1139,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318375.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823104239-20190823130239-00490.warc.gz,0.966474771499634
bd4a65ee-352d-4a20-8e04-b5505e9e6277,2022-05-26T15:44:02+00:00,2013-04-07,1,https://cloudflarepoc.newsmax.com/finance/financenews/risks-portugal-court-austerity/2013/04/07/id/498189/,"Portugal's government will cut spending to meet targets agreed with its lenders after a court overturned key austerity measures, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Sunday.
Passos Coelho said in a televised address Friday's Constitutional Court ruling posed ""serious obstacles and risks"" this year and next, but reaffirmed his commitment to the fiscal and economic adjustment program under an EU/IMF bailout.
""The government is committed to all the objectives of the program,"" he said, ruling out further tax hikes but saying it was vital to avoid a second rescue and that he had told ministers to cut spending.
The court on Friday rejected four out of nine contested austerity measures in this year's budget, including cuts to holiday bonuses for pensioners and public servants and reductions in sickness leave and unemployment benefits.
Analysts expect Portugal to be able to agree replacement measures with the European Union and International Monetary Fund to make up for the court ruling, which could cost it between 900 million and 1.3 billion euros.
The entire package of austerity measures included in the 2013 budget is worth about 5 billion euros. The largest tax hikes in living memory were mostly upheld by the court.
The court's decision came before an informal meeting of eurozone finance ministers this week in Dublin expected to approve extensions of rescue loan maturities for Portugal and Ireland.
Passos Coelho acknowledged that the ruling weakened Portugal's stance at the meeting, but said he told Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar to do all he could to protect the country's interests there and achieve an extension.
The government says the extension is essential for Lisbon's successful exit from the bailout program in 2014.
Lisbon has to cut the budget deficit to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product this year from 6.4 percent in 2012, when it missed the goal but was still lauded by lenders for its efforts. The lenders have eased Portugal's deficit goals twice since the rescue was agreed, recognising consolidation efforts.
Portugal returned to the bond market for the first time since its 2011 bailout in January, selling debt due in 2017, and has been preparing a longer-maturity bond issue. Analysts say the court ruling may now delay the new issue.
© 2022 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.",461,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662606992.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526131456-20220526161456-00626.warc.gz,0.971541225910187
d60fd740-61cf-4e4a-8c1d-3e0cf2725d43,2022-05-18T16:33:29+00:00,2022-05-18,1,https://www.industrydataanalytics.com/reports/evtol-aircrafts-market,"Global eVTOL Aircrafts market size is USD million in 2022 from USD 36 million in 2021, with a change of % between 2021 and 2022. The global eVTOL Aircrafts market size will reach USD 27460 million in 2027, growing at a CAGR of 157.9% over the analysis period.
eVTOL aircraft attitudes for electric vertical take-off and landing. This is a system that deals in autonomous electric aircraft which offer improved services in the name of safety and comfort. Also, they help in producing less noise, therefore, less noise pollution. The eVTOL aircraft market is gearing up on its operational efficiency with a motive to enhance customer experience by provided that flexibility and convenience. Also, it helps in fast travel. These are electric aircrafts and perform concise functions with a good speed.
There are major suppliers of the help of the e-VTOL aircraft infeasible solutions for communication and a more reliable customer experience. Because of the vast global expansion and key players conducive largely to the sector of research and development, the growth in the eVTOL aircraft market forecast is predicted.
In August 2021, Pipistrel’s new aircraft, including the fixed-wing Surveyor and both unmanned Nuuva platforms, the V300 and smaller V20, will be using Honeywell’s compact satellite communications technology. Honeywell’s Small UAV SATCOM system is 90% lighter than the company’s next smallest connectivity system, yet it brings the same capabilities enjoyed by larger aircraft to the Nuuva V300, V20, and Surveyor.
In July 2021, CAE, a global leader in aviation training, and Volocopter entered into a strategic partnership to develop, certify, and deploy an innovative pilot training program for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations. This eVTOL pilot training program will develop the pilot workforce of the future and ensure the safe introduction of eVTOL operations globally by leveraging CAE’s advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), as well as data analytics and Volocopter’s leading understanding of requirements for integration into the UAM ecosystem.
EVTOL Aircrafts Market is segmented based on the Type, Applications and Regions.
By Type, it is segmented into
By Applications, it is segmented into
North America is anticipated to dominate the global market, owing to the presence of key manufacturers such as Joby Aviation, Bell Textron Inc., Kitty Hawk, and others in the U.S. Moreover, rising investment by the U.S. government for development of VTOL aircraft is expected to propel the market growth.
For instance, in May 2021, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded a contract worth USD 950,000 to Bell to conduct applied research on high speed VTOL aircraft.
Asia Pacific is expected to grow at higher CAGR owing to the increased investment by the eVTOl manufacturers such as Ehang for development of urban air mobility solutions. Moreover, rising urbanization in the region is expected to support the growth of the market.
The market in Europe is expected to witness significant growth as several cities in Europe have joined the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Initiative, a part of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC).
Scope of the Report covers EVTOL Aircrafts Market with detailed analysis of the overall scenario for the market. It also highlights the business participants environment in the global marketplace. This report also provides an overview of leading companies covering the latest successful marketing strategies, market contributions, current and historical background and latest market happenings to help key organizations to grow and generate larger profits. Business players will greatly benefit from this EVTOL Aircrafts Market analysis report as it has vital details to provide about regional markets, expected opportunities for the prediction time period 2022-2027. Growth between segments is used to understand the different growth factors that are expected to dominate the market as a whole and to develop strategies to differentiate between key applications and target markets. It further reveals how worldwide market is working through efficient information graphics.
Forecast Period 2022 to 2027 CAGR
CAGR of 15.9% during the review period (2022 to 2027).
EHang Holdings Limited (NasdaqGM :EH), Airbus SE (Paris :AIR.PA), Airspace Experience Technologies, CAE, Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell Aircraft Corporation, The Boeing Company, Embraer, Overair, Lilium, Neva Aerospace, Opener, Pipistrel, Volocopter, Moog, Porsche
• North America
• Rest of the World
• Rest of Europe
• South Korea
• Rest of Asia-Pacific
• Middle East & Africa
• Latin America
2017 to 2021
2022 to 2027
Number of Pages
Yes, the report can be customized as per your needs
All our reports are custom made to your company needs to a certain extent, we do provide 5 free consulting hours along with purchase of each report, and this will allow you to request any additional data to customize the report as your needs.
What is the study period of this market?
The EVTOL Aircrafts Market is studied from 2017 - 2027.
Who are the key players in EVTOL Aircrafts Market?
EHang Holdings Limited (NasdaqGM :EH), Airbus SE (Paris :AIR.PA), Airspace Experience Technologies, CAE, Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell Aircraft Corporation, The Boeing Company, Embraer, Overair, Lilium, Neva Aerospace, Opener, Pipistrel, Volocopter, Moog, Porsche, Autonomous Flight, Alaka'i Technologies, Cartivator SkyDrive, Joby Aviation, Kitty Hawk, Sabrewing..
What are the significant types of EVTOL Aircrafts Market?
Electric, Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Other
What are the major end-use applications of EVTOL Aircrafts Market?
Air Tour, Medical Emergency Transportation, Logistics Transportation, Transit, Others.
What segments are covered in the EVTOL Aircrafts Market report?
The Global EVTOL Aircrafts Market is Segmented on the basic of Product, Application, and Geography.
How can I get a sample report/company profile for the EVTOL Aircrafts Market?
The sample report for the EVTOL Aircrafts Market can be obtained on demand from the website. Also, the 24*7 chat support & direct call services are provided to procure the sample report.
Secondary Research Information is collected from a number of publicly available as well as paid databases. Public sources involve publications by different associations and governments, annual reports and statements of companies, white papers and research publications by recognized industry experts and renowned academia etc. Paid data sources include third party authentic industry databases.
Once data collection is done through secondary research, primary interviews are conducted with different stakeholders across the value chain like manufacturers, distributors, ingredient/input suppliers, end customers and other key opinion leaders of the industry. Primary research is used both to validate the data points obtained from secondary research and to fill in the data gaps after secondary research.
The market engineering phase involves analyzing the data collected, market breakdown and forecasting. Macroeconomic indicators and bottom-up and top-down approaches are used to arrive at a complete set of data points that give way to valuable qualitative and quantitative insights. Each data point is verified by the process of data triangulation to validate the numbers and arrive at close estimates.
The market engineered data is verified and validated by a number of experts, both in-house and external.
REPORT WRITING/ PRESENTATION
After the data is curated by the mentioned highly sophisticated process, the analysts begin to write the report. Garnering insights from data and forecasts, insights are drawn to visualize the entire ecosystem in a single report.",1755,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522284.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518151003-20220518181003-00622.warc.gz,0.910373508930206
346d6c61-6f8c-49b1-8d88-4475dd560fd4,2020-10-31T22:12:29+00:00,2013-05-31,0,https://www.r-bloggers.com/2013/05/rfinance-2013-slides/,"The Cluster Risk Parity portfolio allocation method is an example of Cluster Portfolio Allocation methods that focuses on diversification or more specifically diversification of your risk bets. (i.e. portfolio that distributes risk equally both within clusters and across clusters). The Cluster Risk Parity portfolio allocation method is a new heuristic optimization procedure that was developed by David Varadi at CSS Analytics.
I also want to say Big thank you to the R/Finance organizers for all the effort and coordination they put into the conference.",105,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922463.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031211812-20201101001812-00465.warc.gz,0.933985114097595
a47c9552-930f-4afd-8ac0-23c3e0513564,2013-05-22T07:19:43+00:00,2012-07-05,0,http://ibosocial.com/japan/blog.aspx?blogid=107045,"SELECTED PRESS RELEASE:
7/5/2012 5:05:39 AM EST
|Where Are We At With The Unstoppable Whirlwind?
VISIT WEBSITE (learn more)
The Unstoppable Whirlwind is a program that requires Zero experience
on your behalf but yet rewards you greatly for just being a loyal member / customer.
Whirlwind is an opportunity where sponsoring is completely optional.
In fact, the longer you are a member, the higher your income.
You can get the full details & sign up by following the link below :
Click on ""Register"" or scroll down to the bottom and click on ""JOIN NOW""
Let me tell you few things about The Unstoppable Whirlwind.
* Affordable cost, at just US $1 daily subscription.
* Huge Income potential. Just over US $500 Per position.
* No Need to Sponsor anyone, EVER!!!
* Solid Trust Pay & Payza Accepted. Worldwide.
* Super FAST Daily Payments
* Known, Trusted, Experienced and Reliable Administrators.
*** Great Team Support
I joined this program when it launched on June 26th.
A hurricane with full force winds has been raging ever since
with the exception of 2 days when they paused the program
to fix a few errors!
I purchased 50 subs on day 1 and 25 more 2 days ago.
The maximum number of subs you may currently own is 75
but there is a great incentive to go this way!
All members who are subscribed at the maximum level get to be founders!
And founders get to participate in the profit share of the company twice monthly.
In addition to the revenue shared by whirlwind positions cycling,
Founders will also have increased advertising privileges.
Things are going well right now.
We have a facebook and a skype group where we can share
questions and see the progress of the matrices.
I am earning good money as I cycle through the levels
and now have 637 positions which will ultimately all cycle
and earn $500+.
If that isn't enough, I am getting an awesome click through rate
on my listing and banner advertising for my other programs.
These advertising slots are allocated as a result of my daily subs.
All in all, worth investigating....
And you may do so here: tuw.powerincomeblog.com
BUSINESS OWNER COMMENTS:
** You need to be a member of IBOtoolbox to comment. Click Here to create free account.
|Thanks, Shekhar! It's too good to keep to myself!!|
|Thank you so much for sharing it with us..|",557,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.910138130187988
743c2ed3-f057-49b2-9d70-06fa8adac4f5,2017-08-22T15:00:09+00:00,2013-03-19,1,http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-japan-up-ties-to-strategic-partnership-24726.html,"President Truong Tan Sang (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the signing of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Statement in Tokyo on March 18 / Photo courtesy of Vietnam News Agency
Vietnam and Japan elevated their ties to a strategic partnership after visiting President Truong Tan Sang Tuesday met Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and agreed on a number of measures to deepen relations in all areas.
Japan promised new loans totaling more than US$1.1 billion to finance infrastructure projects in Vietnam.
Abe said his country is willing to assist Vietnam in enhancing its maritime law enforcement capacity.
He assured that Japan continues to consider Vietnam an important partner in its official development assistance program and would help the country achieve its industrialization and modernization target by 2020.
Japan would help Vietnam develop its industrial parks and build the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant, he added.
The two sides agreed to work to simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese.
Following the talks, the two leaders signed a joint statement on the establishment of an extensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
They also witnessed the signing of agreements for five infrastructure projects using yen loans as well as others in education and training, healthcare and agriculture.
Like us on Facebook and scroll down to share your comment",252,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110792.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822143101-20170822163101-00284.warc.gz,0.951856970787048
97f56984-87e1-4a82-82aa-bf087e7274f0,2022-05-17T14:15:17+00:00,2020-05-17,0,http://telecomblogs.in/openet-implements-full-digital-service-in-telkomsel-in-18-weeks/,"Openet, a leader in the supply of Digital and 5G BSS, announced that its end to end Digital BSS suite has gone live to support Telkomsel’s new digital prepaid cellular service in Indonesia, called by.U.
Openet is supporting Telkomsel with its Digital BSS suite to power by.U, which has an end-to-end digital service utilizing a smartphone app at its core. This delivers new levels of customer choice with a wide range of digital services and a self-service approach that puts the customer in control.
Edward Ying, Telkomsel’s Director of Planning & Transformation said, “by.U as the first digital prepaid cellular service in Indonesia is a real evidence of Telkomsel’s Transformation as the leading digital telco company, which prioritizes customer centricity in developing quality digital products and services for customers.”
“We need to collaborate with a partner who shares the same ambition so we can provide a full end-to-end digital experience in customer journey. We wanted a support system that could easily be configured to allow us to quickly roll out a range of new attractive offers for our digital native customers and enable us to stand out in one of the most competitive mobile markets in the world. With this collaboration, we certainly hope that Openet’s Digital BSS has the agility that we need, and also that Openet as a company has the partnership-focused attitude to ensure success.”
Telkomsel’s by.U service was developed specifically for the Gen Z (millennial) segment (15-24 years) which is around 44 million people in Indonesia. In serving these Gen Z customers who live digital lifestyle, Telkomsel needed to set new standards in speed to service, cost to serve and agility to serve this digital native generation. To deliver this innovative digital mobile service, it is critical for Telkomsel to have a Digital BSS suite and a partner which has high level of agility and performance.
The model that Telkomsel utilize in delivering an end-to-end digital experience in this product is to eliminate system complexity, and offer a simpler process both for customers and in internal business process.
Niall Norton, CEO, Openet, “I am looking forward to further developing our strong partnership with Telkomsel. Being able to launch a new digital platform so quickly is due in no small part to the vision, leadership and passion of the Telkomsel executives, who took their vision of a new digital service offer for the market and make it reality in record time. Openet worked with partners in this project including NTT, McKinsey and 6d Technologies to implement this digital vision, built on Openet’s charging and policy platforms alongside a suite of other digital enabling tools, in 18 weeks. I am very proud of the dedication of the team at Openet and our ability to work with our partners and the team at Telkomsel to deliver game changing results. Our partners in this success were able to leverage the Openet partner integration environment that pre-integrates a range of partner technologies to quickly, flexibly and reliably enable digital service offerings”.",666,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517485.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517130706-20220517160706-00028.warc.gz,0.94934731721878
7114ea11-7e4e-4c90-8304-ea568b67b881,2016-07-28T08:38:53+00:00,2006-03-13,0,http://www.ew.com/article/2006/03/13/headscratcher_n_1-16,"So what do Charlie’s Angels, Felicity, Mork and Mindy, Rhoda, and Twin Peaks have in common? Each show featured an unseen character who communicated with the show’s lead/s in some manner. Charlie, of course, used his famous speakerbox to dial up his Angels. Similarly, Rhoda spoke to her doorman, Carlton, via intercom. Mork used some sort of alien hallucination/telepathy to make weekly reports to his Orkian leader (“Mork calling Orson, come in, Orson…”). And both Felicity and Twin Peaks had their leads recording messages for unseen accomplices: Felicity (Keri Russell) gabbed with Sally (incidentally voiced by Jeanane Garofalo) using her tape recorder, as did Kyle McLachlan’s Agent Cooper, keeping the enigmatic Diane abreast of Twin Peaks, Washington’s strange goings-on – and its “damn-fine” cup of coffee.
Most of you got it right (and chided us for this week’s ”too easy” question), but a couple of you were wrong in a very awesome way.
From the suspiciously named ”PJ Lover”: ”It’s totally about the hair… Keri Russell’s Locks + Farrah’s Flip + Rhoda’s Head Scarf = Awesome.” PJ, I’m liking your math – but where do Twin Peaks and Mork and Mindy fit into that equation?
David Lankford tried to fill in those blanks: ”Pam Dawber’s headful of nice hair on M & M was also copied by many. (Let’s not forget that her male costar is infamous for being particularly hairy.)… The deal with Twin Peaks is… the pilot was filmed. A year of real time passed. The show got picked up. They started filming new episodes and many of the characters had different hairstyles… or, at least, noticably different hair lengths.” Um, it’s a bit of a stretch, but the folks at PopWatch HQ appreciate hard work, task-masters that we are.
Smarties, see your names after the jump!
Connie L. Chilton
Patrick A. Yearout",495,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828010.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00062-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.916355431079864
c9b3cd12-20c7-4035-808f-32c8430b59fc,2022-05-22T14:32:38+00:00,2022-09-13,1,https://www.turnto23.com/news/jury-unable-to-reach-a-decision-in-the-trial-for-the-murder-of-jakov-dulcich,"A mistrial has been declared in the murder case against Mariano Fernandez Perez, 24, who is accused of killing local grape grower Jakov Dulcich.
Fernandez Perez was charged with four felony counts, including first-degree murder. Other counts include shooting at an occupied vehicle, attempted murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
On September 13, the jury came back to the judge, unable to reach a unanimous verdict. A status hearing is set for September 19 to decide the next steps in the case. The Kern County District Attorney will have to decide if they re-try the case or not.",127,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545548.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522125835-20220522155835-00417.warc.gz,0.965708494186401
b22792d4-cc3f-46d6-afa1-bdb59a953d84,2020-10-31T20:06:08+00:00,2020-05-01,0,https://telesquib.com/taiwo-man-united-fans-accused-me-of-helping-man-city-win-2012-epl-title/,"Former Nigeria international Taye Taiwo said he was accused by Manchester United fans for helping Manchester City win the Premier League title in the 2011/2012 season.
City needed an outright win against relegation threatened Queens Park Rangers to clinch their first league title since 1968.
Title challengers Manchester United who were then champions, needed to beat Sunderland away and hope QPR stop City from winning.
But a dramatic stoppage time goal by Sergio Aguero, who beat Taiwo (on loan to QPR from AC Milan) before blasting the ball into the net to make it 3-2, ended City’s long wait for a league title.
QPR had former City player Joey Barton sent off in the second half following altercation with some players of the home team.
And commenting about the game, Taiwo told Brila FM: “I remember when I’m walking in London then, Manchester United fans will come up to me and tell me that I helped Man City win the game. And I would be like what are these people talking about?
“They said I allowed Man City win because Yaya Toure was there because my former teammate Samir Nasri (at Marseille) was there.
“The game was difficult for me because if I had touched Aguero it was going to be a penalty, so I didn’t have any option.”
City has gone on to add three more league titles in 2014, 2018 and 2019.
How To Make Your Money Work For You During The Covid-19 Pandemic” Earn up to $10,000 residual income monthly….Grab your copy Now! Copyright © 2020 Completesports.com All rights reserved. The information contained in Completesports.com may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of Completesports.com.",383,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922411.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031181658-20201031211658-00162.warc.gz,0.95342355966568
ee5f7a7e-18f6-499d-b4ba-a9fe64560552,2015-03-30T06:44:57+00:00,2009-12,1,http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/12/israel-good-neighbors-make-fences.html,"ISRAEL: Good neighbors make fences
While Egypt's steel barricade draws both ire and fire from Gaza, it isn't the only neighbor fencing in its property. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to build a fence along the country's border with Egypt.
The border sprawls about 143 miles through sand-land and mountainous terrain, and with the exception of the official crossing at Taba, it is wide open. It is largely a peaceful area, but in recent years it has become increasingly exploited by a wide range of factors that are evolving into a real threat.
Trade still flourishes along these ancient routes, but the modern commodities are spicier. About 100,000 tons of drugs (mostly marijuana) make their way into Israel from Sinai every year; thousands of African migrants and asylum seekers too. Until recently, most women trafficked for prostitution entered Israel via Egypt, and lately Bedouins have taken to importing brides from Sinai, where their dowries are lower and their ways less Westernized. Tremendous amounts of explosives and no small number of weapons loop their way into Gaza and Israel, and the border is becoming a crossroads for terror headed in various directions.
The terror threats are immediately obvious. Other issues are breeding long-term demographic issues, such as the African migrants. Netanyahu recently pointed out that one can walk from Africa to Tel Aviv. ""This can present a demographic, economic and security problem. The sooner we build a physical barrier along the border, the better off we'll be,"" he said. Human rights organizations say about 17,500 migrants from Africa have entered Israel from Egypt since 2005. Israel is already dealing (not terribly well) with an estimated 300,000 illegal foreign workers, most who entered legally but outstayed their permits. Failure to adopt a clear and timely policy to deal with the migrants, as well as refugees and asylum seekers, is proving costly.
Shmuel Riffman, mayor of Ramat Hanegev, has been warning about the border situation for years. The illegal infiltration is ""Israel's next social time-tomb,"" he said. ""There are said to be half a million migrants waiting next door in Cairo, where the average monthly salary is $10, compared to $1,000 in Israel."" Israel's a democracy, he says, but can't be a suicidal one: ""The border's got to be closed; this isn't Europe.""
Two Israeli teenagers illustrated the point this week. On Monday evening, the pair of 19-year-olds bicycled across the border into Egypt, resolved to do ""something daring"" on the eve of their induction into the army. The brakes on this joy ride were applied swiftly when an Egyptian soldier detained them at gunpoint. Also watching were members of the Israeli Defense Forces. A monitoring unit picked up the arrest and reported it, sending authorities into high gear, as initially the two youths were feared kidnapped. They were released after a few hours of questioning -- and reportedly a bit of roughing-up too.
All this took place as the Israeli inner Cabinet was deliberating in issues surrounding seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, reiterating the strategic threat of abductions. Israel could have been negotiating with Hamas or Al Qaeda, said Zvi Fogel, formerly a senior commander in the region. ""Building a fence is cheaper than negotiating over hostages.""
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch says a simple fence will do. But Yom-Tov Samia, former chief of the southern command, said recently that any fence without tight cooperation between Israel and Egypt would be a waste of money. The only thing that might seal the border and stop smuggling, he said, would be a 300-foot moat filled with water and crocodiles.
-- Batsheva Sobelman",778,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00120-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.971619963645935
e2f4e001-5270-48ef-941f-85c6b386b57b,2017-08-20T21:13:14+00:00,2007-09-22,0,http://cybergumbo.blogspot.com/2007/09/gee-this-makes-me-feel-so-much-better.html,"Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran says he is confident there will be an end to Australia's extremely dry weather conditions.
The weather bureau's national climate centre says global warming may have caused the dry conditions to become Australia's normal, rather than exceptional, weather pattern.
But Mr McGauran rejects that suggestion.
""I'm an optimist, of course the drought will break,"" he said.
""How suddenly or how effectively is another thing all together, so no, I don't yet believe that this is a permanent state of affairs.
""But we're preparing for the eventuality that it is indeed.""
22 September 2007
Gee, this makes me feel SO much better...
The Liberal Party, restoring your faith in government...",154,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106990.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820204359-20170820224359-00129.warc.gz,0.941129505634308
6551d9c4-e055-4d45-8d05-efb418256e1c,2019-08-24T07:13:37+00:00,2018-09-20,0,https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/us-composers-talk-scoring-chinese-tentpole-animal-world-q-a-1146956,"U.S. Composers Talk Scoring Chinese Tentpole 'Animal World' (Q&A)
Part of a growing trend of Hollywood talent heading East, composers Neal Acree and Michael Tuller co-wrote the music for the high-profile Chinese thriller, which co-stars Michael Douglas and will appear on Netflix soon.
Chinese action thriller Animal World, directed by 34-year-old filmmaker Han Yan, won high praise over the summer for the nuanced use of its Hollywood co-star, Michael Douglas.
While past efforts to integrate a major U.S. actor into a Chinese blockbuster have often felt awkward, Douglas was cast perfectly to type as the film's mysterious, icy villain. The film also has been noted for its considerable below-the-line participation from overseas, part of a growing trend of veteran Hollywood talent heading East to participate in the Chinese film boom.
To achieve its many fantastical elements, Animal World employed visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel (The Lord of the Rings, Godzilla) and an army of VFX professionals from Weta Digital and Australia's Rising Sun Pictures. The film's Chinese producers also turned to Los Angeles for the creation of Animal World's propulsive and richly dynamic score.
BAFTA-nominated composer Neal Acree was brought on board for his orchestral work and extensive background in scoring high-profile Chinese video games, while Michael Tuller, a studio musician with Nine Inch Nails and a contributor to the acclaimed scores for The Social Network and Mr Robot, was recruited for his inventive use of synths.
Based on the hit Japanese manga Ultimate Survivor Kaiji, Animal World follows a listless but imaginative Chinese teen (played by local heartthrob Li Yi Feng) who's lured into playing a dangerous game of chance in the hopes of clearing his family's debts. Released in July, the film earned $75 million at the Chinese box office. Dubbed China's version of The Hunger Games meets The Matrix, Animal World was later acquired by Netflix, which is expected to release the film over its platform in the coming months.
At an Animal World screening hosted by the Society of Composers and Lyricists in Los Angeles last week, Tuller and Acree discussed their unique experiences collaborating on the big-budget Chinese film. They were joined by Animal World's music supervisor Fei Yu (Let the Bullets Fly, Go Away Mr Tumour and Disney's Born in China), an alum of Beijing powerhouse studio China Film Group and one of the leading independent music supervisors in the Chinese film industry today.
Moderator: Fei, why did you and the director decide to hire two composers from overseas? What did you feel they would each bring to the project?
Yu: It was an interesting process because I worked on this project from the very beginning when the director was first deciding that he wanted to adapt this manga from Japan. Not much later he handed me a completed script and said ""I want some big orchestral music for this,"" and I had the budget and flexibility to go wherever I needed to get it. I knew Neil for over five years by that point because we had worked on Chinese video games. Those projects had a big orchestral sound, and I knew Neil could do that very well, so I brought him on board. But once the film was shot and I was working with the director on the temp music, he was also picking some pop music and chose some pieces like Nine Inch Nails. So at that time I started talking with our agent and thought we should reach out to Michael too, because I was aware of his ability to bring a really unique electronic sound. So we decided to bring both of them onto the project.
Neal and Michael, what was it like for the two of you to jump into this Chinese project together despite the fact that you had never worked together, nor even met?
Acree: Going into it we trusted Fei and her judgment, that she knew what the project needed and our individual skills and sensibilities. It is kind of awkward at first to go into a situation when you're used to doing things a certain way and meeting someone for the first time who maybe has their own processes. But I was actually really excited to work with Michael. I love Nine Inch Nails and the idea of working with someone with his recording background was very exciting. We had coffee before we got started on the film and we hit it off right away. It's become like working with a long lost brother.
Tuller: It was very natural, actually. It turned out that we had a lot of the same sensibilities, so it just sort of worked out.
Acree: You would think that I did the orchestral stuff and Michael did all of the electronics, considering our backgrounds. But what was interesting is that we ended up switching roles quite a bit because we both like doing a lot of different things. That made it really fun to play against the things we're usually known for.
What kind of instruction did you get from the director going in, and were there any creative touchstones that you turned to as you were getting started?
Tuller: I tend to think of film composing as a close collaboration with the director and music supervisor. Some directors will have almost no notes and others will have loads. In this case, he had a lot of ideas and some very specific sounds he wanted. He's a drummer and he loves big open drum sounds and he wanted some thrashing guitar noises — so that was an emphasis. There was quite a variety of styles and tones that he wanted to see from cue to cue.
Yu: Most of the time in China, directors don't like composers to deviate from the temp music. They want the composer to do exactly what their temp music is doing. This is the third Han Yan movie I've worked on though, and the one thing he's really specific about is the rhythm — beyond that part, he's really open to our composers' new ideas, which is very refreshing. He's very creative and collaborative.
Acree: There was such a variety of genres in the temp that gave us the freedom to try out a range of things.
What was the process of working on a Chinese film like for you? Were there things you had to think about adjusting in your process to make the music suit Chinese tastes?
Acree: One of the interesting things going in that Fei talked to us about is how horror movies don't necessarily do well at the Chinese box office. So even if there are a lot of really intense moments in the film, with grotesque CGI monsters and stuff, we were kind of reminded that they want this movie to be fun and kind of like a comic book movie, so nothing too horror movie-esque. There were a few times where we had to remind ourselves to dial things back a little bit because of what we were told about the Chinese audiences' tolerance for these things. So that's an interesting element to add to the process — thinking, if I make this cue too scary, maybe all of China is not going to like this movie.
Tuller: Yeah, that was something we were always trying to be cognizant of (laughs).
On a practical level, what was it like working across the language and culture barriers?
Tuller: Well, thank god for Fei. The language barrier wasn't much of an issue because we had Fei working alongside us at every stage, and she's fully bilingual and was able to grasp and transmit any of the abstract things that the director might have said about what he wanted in the music. She did a really amazing job of relaying his notes.
Acree: We were never actually in the same room as the director until we went to China for the premiere after the film was already done. But we always knew what his intentions were because of how regularly Fei was relaying us notes. We had 87 minutes of music and two composers working in tandem getting constant picture updates and notes from China, so organizationally it was a big challenge. At first we were all emailing back and forth but then we started doing group text messaging. Fei and her assistant were back in China and Michael and I were, of course, here in L.A., so we were often getting texts at 4 a.m. saying they needed revisions right now. It became an almost around-the-clock job.
Tuller: That was definitely one of the benefits of having two composers. I would text saying I'm going to sleep from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., but Neil will be available. After I wake up, he's going to need to rest so I'll take over for the next six hours.
Yu: I'm really glad there were two composers working on it. When one would sleep the other one could still work. It was a really crazy tech schedule at the end. Many projects are like that, but the time difference can make it more difficult. Having both of them be so flexible was really helpful.
Were there any other surprises in the process?
Acree: The love theme that plays three times, I ended up doing three versions of that. I was trying to get a really simple, humm-able melody — something really specific. The version I liked best, I realized after I sent it off that it sounded very similar to the theme from Rocky. It was close enough that I was worried it might present a problem — like legally — if they decided to go with it. But then they came back to me and said, we really like it, but it sounds a lot like a really famous Chinese folk song, so I don't think we can use it. So I was like, well, there's something strange going on with this universal tune, but at least I don't have to worry about the Rocky people coming after me.",2033,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319915.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824063359-20190824085359-00451.warc.gz,0.988188207149506
f4fb7e79-3a48-40b3-a1e6-8ff4c68d356d,2022-05-21T19:54:14+00:00,2022-05-21,0,https://www.jumpingjackal.com/jalapeno-mayo,"Flavour Profile: A versatile Jalapeno mayonnaise with hints of grass, oak and wood smoke.
Heat Level: Medium
Ingredients: Mayonnaise, Jalapenos, Chillies, Apple Cider Vinegar, Water, Garlic, Mustard, Sugar and Non-Iodised Salt.
Pairs well with: white wine, seafood, chips and potatoes, burgers, beef, poultry, salads, vegetarian dishes and pastas.
Size: Available in both 250ml and 1l containers.",119,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662540268.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521174536-20220521204536-00208.warc.gz,0.727386116981506
7e111e46-6ea7-472f-970d-16456f39bc59,2016-07-31T09:19:25+00:00,2016-07-31,0,http://newageofcaregivingsymposium.com/preview-events-2/,"The New Age of Caregiving Symposium pre-promotional events have begun and we are having so much fun.
Happy Hour Is On Me
Thursday September 27th
4:00p.m. – 5:30p.m.
Over the last few weeks we have hosted a variety of events to encourage professional caregivers who offer products and/or services for family caregivers and their loved ones to learn more about the symposium. We provide networking, refreshments and a comprehensive presentation to explain how this special day devoted to caregivers will unfold. More importantly, “How will this event benefit their company?”
10 reasons why you would want to attend one of our Preview events and take a Tour at the Hilton
1) The New Age of Caregiving Symposium is the most innovative multi-dimensional marketing event in The Greater Tampa Bay area.
2) Attracting a National Keynote speaker is a WOW for our community. Lee Woodruff could have chosen a different venue, but she agreed to be our keynote speaker because she felt our passion, she understood our commitment and she wanted to be with people who could relate to her caregiver journey.
3) We are the only marketing event that provides a vast amount of promotional opportunities. They include pre-promotion, the day-of-the-event promotion and post-promotion of your company so your special message is repeated over and over again.
4) We utilize radio, television, print, social media, website links and the largest banner ads to promote your business as a sponsor.
5) We are an event that believes in collaboration. The caregiver needs our help, as a community we are here to help them. They need to see and hear your message.
6) We are the only event that inspires people to create outside-the-box ways to engage the caregiver at the symposium.
7) We are true believers in creating abundance for all of us. We all want to attract family caregivers. When you become a sponsor you are making a commitment to helping inform & invite family caregivers through your own networking circles, newsletters, and civic organizations to attend the event by sharing the symposium flier to as many resources as possible. Last year we had over 400 caregivers attend. This year we working together to have over 500 caregivers attend.
8) We are the only event that embraces the holistic caregiver. This means we think of the caregiver as a whole-person and offer ways to integrate different sponsors who can provide products or services that address the intellectual needs, medical needs, social needs, emotional needs and spiritual needs of the caregiver.
9) As a sponsor, you have an opportunity to highlight your product and/or services in a beautiful setting at The Hilton; where 2 jumbo screens can promote your business in a very unique and effective way.
10) We are the only event that takes an integrative approach to well-being for all attendees including the vendors and caregivers. Everyone is encouraged to get a massage, experience healing touch, Reiki, aromatherapy plus a meditation with Himalayan Bowls.
What are waiting for? This is your moment to embrace the symposium and become a part of something very exciting and valuable for your business.
Contact: Kim Linder at email@example.com or call (727) 798-2663 for more information.",698,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828314.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00114-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951776027679443
346f9d49-d123-44dd-8ce5-0da4e4278c53,2019-08-23T00:37:21+00:00,2019-07-15,0,https://www.aviation-defence-universe.com/15th-july-history/,"1099 – Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders.
1410 – Poles and Lithuanians defeated the Teutonic knights at Tannenburg, Prussia.
1789 – The electors of Paris set up a “Commune” to live without the authority of the government.
1806 – Lieutenant Zebulon Pike began his western expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine, near St. Louis, MO.
1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte’s representatives met with the Allies in Prague to discuss peace terms.
1834 – Lord Napier of England arrived in Macao, China as the first chief superintendent of trade.
1870 – Georgia became the last of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
1895 – Ex-prime minister of Bulgaria, Stephen Stambulov, was murdered by Macedonian rebels.
1916 – In Seattle, WA, Pacific Aero Products was incorporated by William Boeing. The company was later renamed Boeing Co.
1918 – The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.
1942 – The first supply flight from India to China over the ‘Hump’ was carried to help China’s war effort.
1958 – Five thousand U.S. Marines landed in Beirut, Lebanon, to protect the pro-Western government. The troops withdrew October 25, 1958.
1965 – The spacecraft Mariner IV sent back the first close-up pictures of the planet Mars.
1968 – Commercial air travel began between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., when the first plane, a Soviet Aeroflot jet, landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York.
1971 – U.S. President Nixon announced he would visit the People’s Republic of China to seek a “normalization of relations.”
1972 – NASA’s Pioneer 10 spacecraft became the first to enter the asteroid belt.
1983 – Orly Airport attack is launched by Armenian militant organisation ASALA at the Paris-Orly Airport in Paris; it leaves eight people dead and 55 injured.
1996 – A Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport.
1998 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP S. Shanmuganathan is killed by a claymore mine.
2002 – “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
2002 – Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
2006 – The social networking service Twitter was launched.",577,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317688.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822235908-20190823021908-00304.warc.gz,0.932813584804535
56113e6e-bceb-48af-818a-5fec5f9cc8c1,2019-08-23T17:06:51+00:00,2019-03-21,0,https://support.oracle.com/knowledge/More%20Applications%20and%20Technologies/2337193_1.html,"Does P6 EPPM Work With SQL Server Running On Dynamic Port?
(Doc ID 2337193.1)
Last updated on MARCH 21, 2019
Applies to:Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management - Version 220.127.116.11 and later
Information in this document applies to any platform.
For P6 EPPM to connect to an SQL Database running on dynamic port. Currently, database configuration wizard for EPPM will not finish if a database port is not provided.
To view full details, sign in with your My Oracle Support account.
Don't have a My Oracle Support account? Click to get started!
In this Document",139,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318894.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823150804-20190823172804-00360.warc.gz,0.726094603538513
e7a0966d-c532-46a2-8bc3-96bf648afa8c,2019-08-21T10:07:29+00:00,2019-08-21,0,http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/learn-about-teaching-abroad/what-types-teaching-jobs-abroad,"Welcome to the wonderful world of international teaching and education. In this section we will quickly go over the four major types of jobs in international education. We here at Footprints are lucky to be able to offer not only a wide variety of locations for teaching jobs, but also a wide range of types of teaching jobs. These range from jobs teaching English to jobs working as an administrator in different public school systems abroad.
Below you will find the four major types of jobs that we hire for in our programs abroad;
- EFL/ESL/TESOL Instructor: These are our entry level jobs abroad. These jobs require a Bachelors Degree and will usually require a TESL certification as well. Jobs in this stream are with employers such as the EPIK program in South Korea, private school teaching in China and private schools or Hagwons in Korea. You can expect to work with students ranging in age from kindergarten to grade 12.
- EFL/ESL/TESOL Teacher (Professor): These are our mid-level jobs abroad. These jobs require a Bachelors Degree and a professional TESL certification such as the CELTA or Trinity. Jobs in this stream are with Universities and Government bodies throughout the world but are mainly in the Middle East and China. You can expect to work with higher level students at the college or adult level.
- Certified Teacher: These are jobs for teachers that are certified in their home states or provinces. They require that the teacher has a Bachelors degree and a valid teaching licence. These jobs are generally K-12 and are usually in the public school system of the host country. Examples of these types of position are our jobs in Hong Kong and in Abu Dhabi with ADEC.
- Administrator: These jobs are open to teachers that have completed an administrative certification and have at least 5 years of experience as a Principal or Vice Principal. You can expect to work training both foreign and local teachers as well as providing guidance to whichever institute hires you regarding educational reform. An example of these types of positions would be our Principal/Vice Principal jobs with ADEC in Abu Dhabi or our Curriculum development jobs with IAT across the UAE.
Remember, the jobs we have on offer change all the time so be sure to keep checking our job board for the latest updates.",474,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315865.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821085942-20190821111942-00370.warc.gz,0.9562007188797
882f2314-bdd0-4b2b-86a8-e4a2d2f708c1,2016-07-25T20:18:24+00:00,2016-07-24,0,http://wemakezines.ning.com/forum/topics/2288844:Topic:13728?commentId=2288844%3AComment%3A44373,"So I've just moved into a proper room for the first time in years and as of yesterday have collected all my crap from the many places where it was stored. So I finally have all my zines together! I spent much of yesterday evening sitting amongst them, cooing.
I have already sorted my books by subject (plans to implement Dewey Decimal system are temporarily on hold) but have drawn a bit of a blank when it comes to zines. Shelving them like books seems a little pointless because they don't have spines to identify them by. Also they are all different sizes. I have about 2 suitcases full to somehow organise - can anyone make suggestions?
Current 2 ideas:
1. Make half-size (A5) magazine files, which will hold most zines, then store the few full size (A4) zines separately. Order by subject, etc.
2. Use box files - the ones that are just a sturdy, A4 sized box. This would let me store any size of zine (except the 3 stupid massive ones I have), collect less dust and possibly look neater. Mmm. Neat zines.
So yeh, how do you order your zines? How do you impose order on things that are by nature pretty chaotic and wonky? I have previously stored them in a big pile in suitcases and also a broken television, but that was before my slightly unnerving desire for order and ease of reference. Suggestions!
Also, here's some zine geek fodder - some of the categories I've come up with so far (haven't gone through most of them yet, but there's main themes emerging)
then I was thinking of having just 'perzines', ordered alphabetically by title, but I'm tempted to order them into categories such as
-trainhopping/evasion ripoffs/surprisingly dull tales of adventure
-coffee/bikes/living in portland
-classics/formative teenage reads",415,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824345.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00217-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.954016208648682
142fcd25-05f4-4a8a-a2a9-8e115d32ed43,2020-10-22T07:20:38+00:00,2020-05-17,1,https://transformingindia.mygov.in/?type=hi&sector=MTA4Mw%3D%3D&min,"When India speaks of becoming self-reliant, it doesn't advocate a self-centred system. In India's self-reliance; there is a concern for the whole world's happiness, cooperation and peace. Hon'ble PM, Shri Narendra Modi
The Prime Minister has announced a Rs. 20 lakh crore economic package under the 'AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan', to aid our country out of the Coronavirus crisis (by making us self-reliant). This section covers all the relevant Infographics, Videos, PDFs and certain Policy reform initiatives based on the announcements made by Honourable Finance Minister covering the '#AatmaNirbharBharatAbhiyaan', in 5 tranches from 13th May till 17th May, 2020.",167,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878921.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022053410-20201022083410-00167.warc.gz,0.948262870311737
feecb0b3-d5bc-4925-ba8a-e304e2219475,2022-05-25T00:09:22+00:00,2016-05-25,0,https://www.cracked.com/blog/5-where-are-they-now-stories-that-sound-completely-made-up,"5 Where Are They Now's You Won't Believe Aren't Made Up
No matter how famous or talented a celebrity is, at some point the public moves on to a new attractive moving toy. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a movie with Julia Roberts? Do you have any idea what Paris Hilton has been up to for the past five years? But once we stop paying attention, their lives still go on. Some of them take their money and have a boring retirement with little action. And then there are these guys -- the ones whose lives turned into pure insanity when we all stopped looking.
Surf Rock Legend Dick Dale Is Almost 80 And Still Touring ... To Pay His Medical Bills
In 1962, legendary surf rock guitarist Dick Dale released his biggest hit, ""Misirlou."" You probably know it as the song Tarantino used in the opening titles of Pulp Fiction:
At nearly 80 years old, Dale is still touring, still playing ""Misirlou"" as quickly as ever. He says if he stops touring, he'll die. And that's not the hyperbolic refusal of a star to let old age keep him from rocking. You see, Dale is suffering from a variety of ailments, and they're all battling to be the one that kills him first. He needs the money earned from touring to help pay his medical bills. These are the health problems he's had to deal with:
Rectal cancer, again
Blinding pain caused by severe spinal damage
Having part of his stomach and intestines removed because of the rectal cancer
Hearing of his financial plight, you'd think he's scrambling for some late-in-life cash to make up for the time he bought Bengal tigers for everyone in his entourage. Not so. Dale wears a colostomy bag beneath his clothes. His doctors recommend that he clean and redress his entry hole once a week, to which Dale calls bullshit. Following their directions made him unnecessarily suffer from the kind of infections that tend to occur when you poop from a hole in your stomach. So he'd rather re-patch twice a day and stay infection-free, but his insurance refuses to cover those costs. The only surefire way to get the out-of-pocket $3,000 a month he needs to cover the cost of the additional medical supplies is to tour.
IS THIS ROCK 'N' ROLL ENOUGH FOR YOU VULTURES?!
But touring has turned out to be a double-edged sword, kind of like the metaphorical one Dale uses to describe the pain in his spine every time he stands up. It pays the bills, sure, but he's in agony the whole time he's on stage. And there's always the chance that his medical equipment will fail him during a show. For example, just before taking the stage at a show in Las Vegas, his colostomy bag tore and liquid shit ran down his legs. His wife quickly washed all his clothes in a backstage sink. He put the clothes back on and proceeded to give the 90-minute performance fans had paid to see. Though you can't really put a price on getting to watch a sopping wet old man who smells vaguely like diarrhea play that song The Black Eyed Peas sampled for ""Pump It.""
Facing his own mortality every day for decades has given Dick Dale time to think about the perfect way to go: ""On stage in an explosion of body parts."" There is no more appropriate death for a guy who's barely being held together than to explode like a crash-test dummy toy while playing a guitar really fast.
One Of The Greatest Pitchers Of All Time Became A Career Criminal In Retirement
As a Major League pitcher, Denny McLain won the American League Cy Young Award twice. He was 1968's AL MVP. He won 30 games that season. That hadn't been done since the 1930s, and no pitcher since has won more than 25 games in a season. He was also named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, an honor he shares with every sports legend you can imagine.
Denny was also kind of dumb. During the peak of his baseball career, he was named the starting pitcher for the 1969 All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., but he didn't show up to the game until more than halfway through because he was at a routine dentist appointment back in Detroit that he refused to reschedule.
A smile worth sabotaging a promising baseball career over.
When he retired, he used that same logic and applied it to business. He began his retirement by hustling golfers out of tons of cash. Denny was a pilot, too, and even owned his own small airline -- which he used to fly a wanted felon out of the U.S. for $160,000. He later became close friends and business partners with John Gotti Jr., the famous mobster. That friendship resulted in cocaine trafficking, embezzlement, and racketeering charges, and a 12-year prison sentence.
It seemed like Denny had finally hit rock bottom. He was released after five years and cleaned up his life. He even had his own sports radio show in Detroit for a while. It took a prison stint to break him, but he did it. He had gone clean. And then he went right back to prison for 6 years after he raided $2.5 million from the pension fund of a 100-year-old meat-packing company he helped run into the ground. With a little bit more effort, one day Denny's criminal career will be just as awe-inspiring as his baseball career.
Gary Glitter Has Put A Lot Of Effort Into Being A Pedophile
There was a time when nearly every goal, touchdown, or run scored by a professional sports team playing at home was followed immediately by Gary Glitter's lyrically idiotic mega hit ""Rock And Roll (Parts 1 And 2).""
With three words and a good guitar riff, Gary Glitter rocketed to stardom and made a ton of money, which he wisely invested in hairspray and shiny metal studs. His career looked good on the surface, but all that Gary Glittered was not Gary Gold.
""That joke up there? That joke is excellent.""
He was arrested in 1997 after he took his laptop to be repaired and -- D'OH! -- he forgot to delete his vast collection of child porn. The offense got him a measly four-month prison sentence. But what must have really stung was when The Spice Girls cut his cameo from their movie Spice Word.
The child porn was bad enough, but the public opinion of his fellow Britons became unbearable after he was accused of having had sex with a teenage girl. So he hopped on his yacht and set sail on a globetrotting trip of pedophilia. He spent time in Cambodia, at least until they expelled him from the country, calling him ""a threat to the security ... and to the national image of Cambodia."" For perspective, for a while Cambodia was mostly known for their roving gangs of death squads.
He fled to Vietnam, where he had sex with two underage girls and was arrested as he was trying to flee for Thailand. The case was eventually dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Gary Glitter on trial in 2006 looking like if Colonel Sanders was a kung-fu master.
A year after that, he was tried on charges of having sex with another two underage Vietnamese girls. He was found guilty within 24 hours and was sentenced to three years in prison and would be deported from the country upon release.
Then a 2012 documentary alleged that Glitter had sex with a 14-year-old girl in the dressing room of an English TV presenter, who also had a long, secret history of pedophilia. He was subsequently tried (again!) and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
This entry was a real bummer. So let's lighten the mood by moving on to a story about a beloved American icon possibly being held hostage!
Richard Simmons Could Be A Prisoner In His Own Home Right Now
Richard Simmons is an American pop culture icon. His energy and enthusiasm for fitness -- which borders on insanity -- has changed millions of lives. In the process, he made a ton of money, achieved massive fame, and made his name synonymous with healthy living.
So, of course, the people closest to him have conspired to keep him locked in his home for the remainder of his life, perhaps in the hope of walking away with his fortune when he dies. At least that's what the people who used to be a part of his life think is going on since Simmons mysteriously and suddenly secluded himself in his Beverly Hills mansion sometime in 2014.
No one outside of the mansion knows what, exactly, the fuck is going on. The people in the house aren't talking, and the people outside who used to be Simmons' close friends, trusted co-workers, and business partners get shooed away like mangy cats. Every call to the house or knock on his door is met with a stern demand to leave and never return: Mister Simmons is trying on tiny shorts that barely conceal his balls, and he cannot be disturbed!
""OH MY GOD HIS SHORTS HAVE FAILED HIS SHORTS HAVE FAILED.""
In one weird instance, Simmons invited close friend and former assistant Mauro Oliveira to his house. When Mauro got there, Simmons told him they couldn't see each other ever again. He didn't give a reason. Then Simmons' long-time live-in housekeeper, Teresa, started yelling, ""Get out! Get out!"" from within the house.
That was in April 2014. Mauro hasn't seen Simmons since. After the New York Daily News ran an expose about his seclusion, Simmons gave a call-in interview to The Today Show to quell the public's fears about his safety. He said he isn't being held captive, he's fine, and he simply doesn't want to be in the public eye anymore. Exactly what someone being held captive would be forced to say?!
No one knows what's really going on, but Mauro has a theory of his own: ""I think 'tormented' is the best word to describe his mental state. I think it was black magic, witchcraft.""
You're not helping.
Randy Quaid Is A Paranoid Serial Squatter Perpetually On The Run From The Feds
Randy Quaid has slowly become the crazy person he always played in movies. His downward spiral began in September 2009, when he and his wife refused to pay the $10,000 bill they racked up while staying in a fancy California hotel. In spite of making themselves look like guilty douchebags by fleeing to Texas and refusing to show up to court several times, the case was thrown out due to lack of evidence.
Now, this was a pivotal moment. Randy and Evi Quaid had dodged a bullet. This infraction could still have been written off as a small blip in an otherwise decent life. All they had to do was stop living in places without paying. That should be easy, right?
""I'm baaaaaaaack ... in your home, illegally.""
Apparently not. Almost exactly a year later, the Quaids were slapped with more charges for illegally living in the guest house of the home they used to own. I should mention that the Quaids were paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bail and legal fees over all this. They could have used that money to buy a real home, but no. Instead, they were asshole millionaires who squatted for no fucking reason whatsoever.
A few months after that, their story took a huge leap into full-blown lunacy. They fled to Vancouver to become Canadian citizens. Why? Because of the Star Whackers, of course! You know the Star Whackers, don't you? They're the batshit insane secret organization the Quaids claim are responsible for the deaths of Heath Ledger and David Carradine, among countless other Hollywood stars. If the Quaids didn't flee to Vancouver, they'd end up dead just like them!
The Quaids even made a low-budget Star Whackers movie, because when you're hiding from a powerful secret society of assassins, the most logical thing to do is make a movie about them and then walk the red carpet at its premiere at a film festival. In case you were considering checking it out, here's the film's Rotten Tomatoes score:
See why Wikipedia might not be a reliable place to learn about celebrities in 5 Celebrity Wikipedia Entries They Clearly Wrote Themselves, and find out what happened to NFL player Chris Kluwe in 4 Celebrities Who Got Blacklisted For Doing The Right Thing.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see if you can spot Ron Jeremy in 19 WTF Celebrity Cameos By Celebrities You Think You'd Recognize, and watch other videos you won't see on the site!
Also follow us on Facebook, because we hear Patton Oswalt follows us, and that's kind of cool, right? Like, he's had a good career. It's worth trying to find him in the comments, probably.",2736,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577757.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524233716-20220525023716-00212.warc.gz,0.985892593860626
e3214b1b-7244-4747-8320-c3d65abbf6b1,2019-08-25T02:21:00+00:00,2019-08-25,1,https://www.northgatemarket.com/RiversideEspanol,"Our family to yours, always.
Our vast, rich tapestry of history is strengthened only by our dedication to our customers, and to one another. We are a family at Northgate, rich in tradition, heritage, and in a commitment to authenticity; we are warriors of flavor, champions of inspiration and innovation, and protectors of the kitchen and your family’s table.
We’re more than a grocery store. We are a family.
One comprised of employees, of customers, of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, and grandparents. And we are also a home. We are a crossroads of culture and tradition, with the new and undiscovered.
Our employees’ dynamic cultures merge here with the desires of our customers to create one of the most welcoming and thriving companies to work for.
Our kitchen is life. It is centuries of tradition that go into each and every one of our daily prepared meals. We’ve journeyed our homeland for the most blissful, soulful, inspiring recipes, and have brought an entire country’s worth all under one roof, prepared daily, for you and your table.
Northgate Market follows its shoppers to Riverside in former Tyler Toys R Us
Northgate Gonzalez Market, close to Tyler mall, is due to open in NovemberLearn More
Sign up to receive the latest news and updates by clicking on the link below:",290,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027322170.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825021120-20190825043120-00400.warc.gz,0.945255100727081
1b11b6b2-4d59-46e7-8bb2-d913c429fa5b,2022-05-20T07:30:50+00:00,2022-05-20,1,https://newyorkyimby.com/page/826?utm_medium=website&utm_source=archdaily.com,"The demolition of 270 Park Avenue is progressing in Midtown East, as new scaffolding and netting have been installed on the exterior of the Modernist-style skyscraper. These join the construction elevator and sidewalk scaffolding that were assembled several months ago on the 1.5-million-square-foot, 52-story tower. JPMorgan Chase is the developer and Foster + Partners Architects is the design firm for the upcoming 57-story supertall that will rise in its place. Adamson Associates is listed as the architect of record.
Scaffolding and black netting shroud the façades of 110 and 112 Liberty Street in preparation for the demolition of the Financial District structures. The site is located across the street from Four World Trade Center, aka 150 Greenwich Street, and sits adjacent to the intersection of Liberty Street and Church Street. The pair of buildings will soon make way for a ground-up 30-story hotel designed by Stonehill & Taylor Architects and developed by Eddie Hidary of 112 Liberty Associates LLC, which filed demolition permits in March.
The Durst Organization has provided a first look inside of 10 Halletts Point, a dual-tower residential complex in Astoria, Queens. The property, which was designed and constructed in accordance to LEED Gold requirements, features a total of 2.4 million square feet and includes a 22-story tower, a 19-story tower, and a shared central podium. The development contains more than 400 apartments.
Permits have been filed for an eight-story mixed-use building at 169 Livonia Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Located at the corner of Thomas S. Boyland Street and Livonia Avenue, the lot is three blocks west of the Rockaway Avenue subway station, serviced by the 3 train. LM Development Partners is listed as the owner behind the applications.
Exterior work at 30 East 31st Street is making steady progress in NoMad. Located between Park Avenue South and Madison Avenue, the 479-foot-tall residential tower is designed by Morris Adjmi Architects and developed by Ekstein Development and Pinnacle Real Estate. The distinctive pattern of crossed beams at the top of the building will soon be enclosed with floor-to-ceiling glass. Douglas Elliman Development is marketing the 88,000-square-foot project, with prices ranging from $1.65 to $12 million. The 40-story structure will contain a total of 42 units spread across 70,070 square feet of space, for an average of 1,700 square feet apiece.",514,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00011.warc.gz,0.946077704429626
1ad17b6e-355e-4be3-9097-29af6efe9235,2016-07-28T14:28:37+00:00,2012-03-02,0,http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/2012/03/more-on-the-nonprofit-trials-in-egypt.html,"Friday, March 2, 2012
Sorry for harping on this topic, but the rich irony delights me. As discussed in yesterday's post, employees of several Western-financed NGOs, including several Americans, were charged with criminal offenses and banned from leaving Egypt as a result of their Rule of Law work. Now, further details have emerged about how Egypt has avoided losing billions of dollars in American and IMF support.
The New York Times reports that the NGOs paid approximately $4 million in bail to the Egyptian government, which permitted eleven remaining NGO employees (including six Americans) to fly home on a chartered jet. More interesting, the deal appears to have been brokered by the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that not long ago was portrayed by the West as a bogeyman and the enemy of democratic reform. Now the Brotherhood publicly embraces the notion that independent NGOs play an important role in society and it maintains that NGOs were partly responsible for exposing the atrocities of the former government. Senator John McCain, usually a harsh critic of the Brotherhood, publicly thanked them for their role in resolving this crisis.
Meanwhile, anger and criticism mounts within Egyptian society for permitting this ""political interference in the judicial process,"" which clearly it is. The Muslim Brotherhood, demonstrating that it has already mastered advanced techniques of political tussling within a democratic political system, has has called for an investigation into how all of this happened and who let the Americans go. It's the well known ""send it to a committee"" dodge.
American officials have stated privately that it is ""unthinkable"" that the American defendants will actually return, though one American employee of the National Democratic Institute has voluntarily chosen to remain and stand trial.
So, is the Muslim Brotherhood good or bad, and is it acceptable or not to subvert Rule of Law (at least in certain circumstances) while promoting it?",375,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828283.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00100-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967653810977936
4be23d5c-bd81-489f-9e49-a069e765a9c4,2022-05-18T17:18:13+00:00,2021-11-12,1,https://www.futurecitiesforum.london/single-post/the-digital-city,"The Digital City
Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire
Our forum 'The Digital City' was held this week looking in more detail at discussions taking place at COP 26.
Panellists tackled issues around reducing carbon emissions, digitising the planning system for greater collaboration and for environmental benefit, and the value of harnessing data to aid research work into protecting the planet.
The following questions were asked: How can gathering data from space help to protect the Earth? How can digitising museum collections prevent pandemics and disease? How can digitising the planning system help to ensure that environmentally-sound decisions are taken around housing and infrastructure developments?
The Chief Executive of Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, Stuart Grant, Ruth Norman-Johnson, Director, SiteSolve (Ramboll), Watford Borough Council's Infrastructure and Technical Support Manager (Place Shaping), Semeta Bloomfield, .Amber Infrastructure's Principal, Peter Radford and Simon Payne, Founder of Lambsquay Consulting of Cambridge all joined the discussion.
Scientists at RAL Space, Harwell in Oxfordshire, have received investment from the UK Space Agency to develop trailblazing technology that will help tackle climate change and predict global disasters using satellites. In total, eleven UK organisations have been awarded a share of just under £7 million of government funding to put into action the latest advances in space innovation. The majority of the projects focus on climate change or environmental management, with others designed to secure our telecommunication systems and protect digital infrastructure against cyber attacks.
STFC RAL Space, in a consortium with NanoAvionics UK, STAR Dundee UK and UK Met Office has received over £80,000 to develop a new small satellite observation system using microwave sensors that will enhance our ability to monitor our planet's increasing weather variability. These observations will support meteorological services to deliver accurate and timely weather forecasts and better react to climate change.
Other projects receiving the cash boost include Global Satellite Vu Ltd, which will build a compact high-resolution infrared camera for satellites to measure thermal emissions form our homes, schools and places of work, helping to improve energy efficiency. The Open University in Milton Keynes will develop the mission concept for ''TreeView'', a forestry and management tool that will support a nature-based solution to tackling climate change by monitoring the health of trees from space.
Stuart Grant commented:
'Harwell is a 100 acre campus with a focus on the energy, tech, space sector and life sciences, and where government collaborates with business and academia. We have 30 universities here as well as private organisations where the quantum sector is new. There is a £180 million allocation to move the Natural History Museum's species and digital resource collection to Harwell. I think 30% of the NHM collection is already digitalised and it will take around three to four years to complete the building of the centre. This will allow scientists all over the world to access the data and will be there for future generations to review. There will be hundreds of thousands of specimens from which scientists can work on tackling our climate challenges.
' There are already 6,000 people working here and £500 million to be invested over the next few years. We want to move forward with homes for our campus people with good amenities, where they can walk across the cricket pitch to work. There is already the plan for 300 homes for rent as well as a hotel with pubs and shops. It will be a unique place with a mix of uses and have a large village or town atmosphere. Brookfield bought into Harwell last year and we expect to grow the number of people working here to around 15,000 over the next few years.'
Is digital innovation the key to making the Mayor of London’s heat infrastructure projects successful in tackling fuel poverty and combatting climate change?
Following the Mayor of London's announcement at COP 26 that he will commit £30 million to the Mayor's Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) over the next two years, Amber Infrastructure which runs MEEF, joined Future Cities Forum's climate and data debate to discuss the success of the fund.
The Mayor's statement gives the clear aim that the funding will support projects that further his aim of making London net Zero by 2030. The new investment means the fund could secure over £500 million of finances in its five years of operation, until 2023. Projects will deliver new low carbon technology to upgrade existing buildings through interventions such as retrofitting and installing heat pumps and supporting clean transport through the provisions of electric vehicle charging hubs.
The funds will also help tackle inequalities exposed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. London has some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in the country with one in nine London households unable to meet the cost of heating their homes. MEEF's energy efficiency and low-carbon heat projects help reduce energy bills and improve living conditions for thousands of Londoners. They will also support Londoners with the skills they need for jobs in the green economy, rebuilding the capital post-COVID so that it's cleaner, greener and fairer.
The Mayor has been clear that public sector finances alone will not mobilise the investment required to achieve his targets of net zero by 2030 but MEEF demonstrates how London can accelerate climate action through a combination of public and private sector capital investment. Latest estimates show that upgrading London's infrastructure to make it zero carbon could cost £100 billion with retrofitting buildings, heat pumps and delivering a zero- emission vehicle fleet.
On the value of data and new investment into MEEF, Peter Radford said:
'I am delighted to say that MEEF has had a 30 million pound commitment announced at COP 26 by the Mayor of London which will allow us to invest in further projects and deliver energy savings across the capital. It is a big commitment from the Mayor and is made because the previous investment has shown itself to have been successful, so we can now have confidence in investing further. We need that growth in data to demonstrate the success of infrastructure, if we are going to deliver at scale and we have to build on the best examples of those that have been successful. We have just closed a contract with a cab company which has telemetrics embedded so that we can see how far a car moves and how much carbon it has emitted, so that adjustments can be made. it is amazing how data has made all this possible. There are heating start ups that are designing data solutions to optimise and reduce heat loss in your home, and industry should make use of all this data coming up.
'Councils are getting round to using data but industry needs to get more people comfortable with new technologies, as well as seeing how the right data is being collected and interpreted correctly. It is an education programme. It is important for the public to be able to see that for example a ground source heat pump is working and to be able to see new green technologies physically, so they can be better understood.'
Watford Borough Council is one of the local authorities that the UK government has chosen to test new digital technologies to improve the planning system. In June this year, the government announced a £1.1 million fund to test the use of digital tools and data standards across 10 local areas. The planning white paper, 'Planning for the future', published in August 2020, proposed reforms to the planning system to streamline and modernise the planning process.
Watford Borough Council's Semeta Bloomfield, described the aims of its particular pilot, which is to increase engagement with the public around planning through data:
'The foundation of our digital programme is around planning publicity and we want to increase it and make it relevant to citizens. Often the public is notified of developments but the information is too difficult to understand. We want them to proactively get alerts for planning which is usually just by letter or a sign on a lamp post, in the same way that they register for elections, helping them to empower themselves. There are so many things that happen during planning process that they need to know.
' With more information available there are environmental gains to planning development, but we want this made more suitable for all our residents. It tends to be presented on text heavy web pages and not always suitable for lay people and those with low literacy skills, so we have developed a new interactive platform and 3-d modelling to give a full picture and link back to local plan policies.'
The use of digital technology may create greater understanding of local areas according to SiteSolve (powered by Ramboll), which states that its digital tools can quickly appraise the environment and social credentials of a design to understand the financial implication of following different strategies. This means more design solutions can be explored and optimized in a virtual space to really find solutions that work environmentally, socially and economically. The level of details of digital map-based local plans would change the way local authorities can visualize and make assessments of their areas, and with centralized digital context-models, making it easier to make holistic decisions around local strategies for developments. It adds that the move to digitalization brings the promise that it will aid collaboration and communication on a cross-boundary level, particularly around infrastructure. This is important as various infrastructure services, such as transport, are connected to a wider system, meaning improvement for one area may be negated by lack of improvements in another.
Ruth Norman-Johnson of SiteSolve explained:
'With our programmes we aim to bring more information into one place. Our technology can help with understanding key facilities in a city and key pieces of land and help with looking at solutions to problems. It can help explore buildings and the cost effectiveness of sites. It can be hard to understand a particular scheme but through our technology you can play with it and increase your understanding of what it will give you in its surroundings. It allows for better consultation and options across areas and regions and with the impact of developments.
' We are trying to reduce the time it takes people to explore all the information and also provide opportunities to discover green scenarios, for instance in managing flooding. The technology shows how to manage water where trees and green spaces already exist and helps clients, through simulation, adjust their plans from the limited options they already have.'
Simon Payne reacted to the debate:
' I have been in planning since 1974 and it is extraordinary how things have changed, but we must remember that technology is simply a tool - like a pencil - and to concentrate on what are we trying to do. In planning terms we want to engage with people for climate change and quality of life but there are risks in this. It can create paralysis with huge amounts of data to go through. People have different thinking skills and the way in which we present information must vary in order to deliver their needs.
'Some of my work is in Heidelberg in Germany and there is an intelligent energy network run by a company but owned by the council, with data being used to reduce carbon emissions. The energy store is at the Energiepark at Pfaffengrund (a Heidelberg suburb) where, on sunny and windy days, surplus renewably generated energy is converted into heat and stored in the storage tank in the form of hot water (see image below).
' On general when talking about data, it is interesting that there are more constraints in Germany where there is concern around privacy. We are more relaxed here in the UK but I think the Germans' autonomy in running things with council powers to get involved and lead all the infrastructure, water, and waste, is better than our system in the UK.'
The event finished with discussion around the importance of sharing data for future outcomes. Stuart remarked that a strength of Harwell was the cross collaboration on gathering and sharing data and that practice has created a booming life sciences sector. He mentioned the value of the UK having a single health provider and that meant that important data was being gathered every day.
Ruth questioned how the UK could foster better collaboration on data sharing between the public and private sector, while Peter warned that there might be a commercial impact in that, if some data from particular projects wasn't looking so positive. Simon commented that it was still important that the public has more access to data for fairness, while Semeta concluded the debate by pointing to Watford Borough Council's work with the Land Registry. She said that because of digitisation the public do not have to come into the town hall to access information and because the data is being linked up to banks and the property conveyancing teams, this is speeding up the house buying process.
Below: Energiepark in the suburb of Pfaffenburg, Heidelberg (Picture credit: Tobias Dittmer)",2584,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522284.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518151003-20220518181003-00605.warc.gz,0.955002784729004
83ca7321-5484-40c1-8624-e6641176eff8,2013-06-19T19:05:42+00:00,2012-03-15,0,http://mountainx.com/article/41419/Community-Foundation-awards-first-food-and-farming-grant-to-Mitchell-Yancey-project,"There are many challenges facing small farmers across Western North Carolina. A strong alliance between Mitchell and Yancey counties will address several of these by creating a food hub for the region that will provide a shared aggregation facility, expanded access to customers, joint marketing and now, through a $25,000 grant from The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, rental access to key field equipment necessary for small or transitioning farmers.
Part of a comprehensive two-county plan to support farmers through a leased post-harvest facility, TRACTOR (the Toe River Aggregation Center and Training Organization Regional) aims to increase sales and economic opportunity for farmers. The project will coordinate the aggregation, distribution and marketing of locally grown fruits and vegetables from small producers. The facility, to be located in Burnsville, is scheduled to open in May and will offer processing, packaging and distribution as well as GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) training and technical assistance.
“The TRACTOR project meets many of the goals of our Food and Farming strategy and is a great example of how a focused approach can produce results,” said CFWNC President Elizabeth Brazas. “We invested time in understanding the issue and collaborated with engaged stakeholders to help move this project from concept to realization. We worked in partnership with our affiliates, the Yancey Foundation and the Foundation for Mitchell County, and together we are pleased to provide this funding.”
CFWNC’s funding will allow the purchase of shared field equipment to be used by farmers in Mitchell and Yancey counties for the 2012 growing season. Vegetable and fruit production requires specialized machinery, needed once or twice a year, representing a cost-prohibitive investment for a small farm. It is anticipated that a second set of equipment will be purchased next year to enable each county’s Cooperative Extension Office to assist new and transitioning farmers.
“The future of farming in rural counties like Mitchell and Yancey depends on the farmers’ ability to remain profitable in a changing marketplace,” said CFWNC Program Officer Tim Richards. “In vetting this project, we were impressed with the strong multi-level collaboration and the cross county partnerships. A great deal of work has gone into TRACTOR that will help to revitalize a sustainable local food system in this part of Western North Carolina.”
The TRACTOR project has been in development for the past few years. A feasibility study in 2011 confirmed that there is sufficient demand from farmers and broad support from the community. Working with both counties will achieve economies of scale to meet buying needs of more retailers and institutions, consolidate quality control and technical assistance and ensure that efforts are not duplicated.
In laying the groundwork for TRACTOR, Cooperative Extension collaborators Jeff Vance of Mitchell County and Tres Magner of Yancey County brought together funders whose collective support is crucial. Yancey County and the Town of Burnsville have committed to covering leasing and utility costs for the first year. The renovation of the building, technical assistance and the purchase of equipment for refrigeration, freezing, storage and washing was funded by a $68,000 Specialty Block Grant from the State of North Carolina. Other support includes $10,000 from the NC Small Town Economic Prosperity Program (STEP) and some smaller local grants. Applications are pending with the Golden Leaf and Z. Smith Reynolds foundations for other start-up expenses.
A detailed business plan is being developed that forecasts the food hub facility and aggregate marketing services becoming self-supporting in two to three years.
In 2011, The Community Foundation adopted a new strategic plan that focuses discretionary resources on People in Need, Early Childhood Development, Food and Farming and Preserving Natural and Cultural Resources.
The Community Foundation is a nonprofit serving eighteen counties in Western North Carolina. The Foundation is a permanent regional resource that facilitates more than $8 million in charitable giving annually. CFWNC inspires philanthropy and mobilizes resources to enrich lives and communities in Western North Carolina. More information can be found at www.cfwnc.org.Read the full article
Read more articles in:Food",841,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944182932376862
e233d632-36bf-4787-982d-a3eb2a1481e7,2015-03-31T09:56:38+00:00,2011-08-12,1,http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nations-falling-short-helping-east-african-famine-victims/,"Warning that famine in Somalia is likely to get worse before it gets better, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday pledged an additional $17 million in U.S. aid to East African countries racked by the worst drought in 60 years.
The money comes on the heels of a $105 million relief package President Obama approved this week, bringing the level of U.S. assistance to the Horn of Africa to $508 million.
But, Clinton warned, the immediate needs of those in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, part of South Sudan and Somalia must also be met with long-term measures aimed at preventing future catastrophes. Calling the famine ""the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world today and the worst that East Africa has seen in several decades,"" she said the suffering of millions of people -- particularly in Somalia -- is as much man-made as brought about by nature.
""Though food shortages may be triggered by drought, they are not caused by drought, but rather by weak or nonexistent agricultural systems that fail to produce enough food or market opportunities in good times and break down completely in the bad times,"" Clinton said in a speech at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
""In other words, a hunger crisis is not solely an act of God. It is a complex problem of infrastructure, governance, markets, education,"" she said. ""These are things we can shape and strengthen. So this means that this is a problem that we can solve if we have the will.""
Advocating an end to trade barriers, improvement in credit and land-use policies and new technologies to bolster resilience to drought, Clinton also called on the eight leading industrialized countries to make good on a 2009 promise of $20 billion for agricultural development.
Clinton's speech comes as U.N. agencies and international aid groups step up calls for emergency assistance funding to the more than 12.4 million people affected by the drought. Yesterday, U.N. humanitarian aid chief Catherine Bragg told the Security Council the body was more than $560 million short on funding for aid for Somalia alone.
More than $1B short of adequate aid
Regionwide, the United Nations has said almost $2.5 billion is needed to cope with the crisis. So far, it has received about 48 percent of that.
""Donors have committed more than a billion dollars to the response so far and continue to pledge more. We are very grateful, especially in these difficult economic times. But the magnitude of human suffering in Somalia today demands more,"" Bragg told Security Council members. ""Despite the difficulty of operating in one of the most conflict-riven countries in the world, we cannot let people down.""
This week, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned that famine had spread to three new areas of southern Somalia and could engulf the entire southern part of the country. The agency said famine is expected to spread across the entire region in the coming four to six weeks and could even persist through the end of the year.
Clinton called Somalia the ""epicenter"" of the crisis. While drought has struck throughout East Africa, U.N. officials and aid workers say the situation in Somalia -- where more than 3 million people are in need of aid and refugees are flooding neighboring Kenya -- is made more dire by internal conflict. The militant rebel group al-Shabab has violently prevented many aid workers from reaching starving communities.
Meanwhile, countries like Kenya and Ethiopia where the United States and aid groups have worked with governments to improve irrigation and other measures aimed at boosting food security are faring far better in the crisis. Clinton noted that in 2002-2003, more than 13 million people faced starvation in Ethiopia. Today, fewer than 5 million do -- a number she noted still is too large but is an ""astonishing improvement"" that shows investments in food security can pay off.
Shannon Scribner, who heads Oxfam's humanitarian efforts, said her organization also is seeing similar evidence in Ethiopia borne out from grain banks, small-scale irrigation projects and restocking programs.
An Oxfam report says a cash-for-food program has helped communities in Ethiopia develop for grasses more than 2,000 hectares of previously degraded land. More than 15,000 pastoralist households are, according to Oxfam, still benefiting during the current drought from having preserved hay, now used for feeding dairy cows in a ""cut and carry"" management system.
Meanwhile, the construction of an irrigation system in Ethiopia's Liban district to enable farmers to water year-round has enabled local communities to survive the current drought without food aid.
Climate scientists gave first warning a year ago
""We can look at Ethiopia and we can see the difference in terms of the number of people affected,"" Scribner said. Of the famine in Somalia, she said, ""Even though it's a natural disaster, it's also a man-made disaster.""
The absence of a government in Somalia for more than 20 years, no focused way to address widespread food insecurity, and the worst dry seasons in 60 years have, she said, created a ""perfect storm"" making response measures even more difficult.
Yet the drought and attendant food crisis were not a surprise to the U.S. government or the United Nations.
John Scicchitano, program manager for the U.S. Agency for International Development's Famine Early Warning System (FEWS NET), said the system put out its first alert on the worsening food security conditions in August 2010. Scicchitano described the warning as a scientific product based on work climate scientists did on the ocean-atmospheric phenomenon known as La Niña, finding that it would affect rainfall most severely in the Horn of Africa.
After that warning, he said, USAID began to ""pre-position"" food in the region so resources could be drawn upon more quickly if a crisis erupted. FEWS NET, he said, was created after the famine that spread through West Africa to Ethiopia in 1984 with the aim of helping the U.S. government stay prepared for just such a crisis. In this case, he said, the planning system worked well, and U.S. and U.N. agencies acted quickly. But he said, the magnitude of the crisis was overwhelming.
""As the crisis was brewing in the Horn ... the pre-positioning allowed USAID to get the process started,"" Scicchitano said. ""I don't think it caught people by surprise. I think the scale got so large that it outstripped the international resources to address it.""
Shenggen Fan, director-general of IFPRI, said yesterday that the early warning systems that predicted the food emergencies were not matched by early action. He called for strategic international plans that trigger specific actions after alerts.
Not hopeless, but 'difficult'
Scribner agreed. While the United States and many in the international community acted quickly, she said, the missing piece is global coordination. ""We don't have the big red horn that someone picks up and says, 'OK, we need to be acting now,'"" she said.
Activists also said the East Africa crisis -- and the comparatively better situation in countries like Kenya and Ethiopia -- underscores the importance of disaster prevention and climate change adaptation dollars. Programs like Food for Peace, which Clinton touted yesterday and which allowed Scicchitano to pre-position food stocks, face cuts in the 2012 federal budget. So do USAID dollars that go toward building resiliency to weather-related disasters in vulnerable countries.
A spokesman for Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), who leads the House Appropriations subcommittee over foreign aid that recommended an 18 percent cut to USAID's budget, did not return a request for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, development organizations acknowledge that the two-prong approach that Clinton outlined -- stepping up efforts to provide emergency relief while working simultaneously to strengthen systems and prevent future food emergencies -- might not be possible everywhere.
""The two-prong approach is really just one prong unless you can deal with long-term issues,"" said Jake Grover with the Center for Global Development. ""It comes down to, you can do these things in Ethiopia and you can do these things in Kenya because you know they have relatively stable governments that are willing to work with [agencies] and care about their people. But when it comes to Somalia ... I don't want to say it's hopeless, but it's difficult.""
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500",1765,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00154-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96286529302597
4f3b538c-8161-4bd9-b714-c553daf90ae5,2022-05-29T02:12:23+00:00,2021-05-29,1,https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/news/charles-schwab-looking-to-offer-cryptocurrency-after-regulatory-clarity,"Charles Schwab, one of the largest retail brokerages and retirement account providers in the industry, is looking closely at offering cryptocurrency.
The company said that it would like more clarity from regulatory bodies but would like to be a player in the space.
""We would like to see more regulatory clarity,"" said Schwab's Chief Executive Officer Walt Bettinger on a call with analysts. ""And if and when that comes, you should expect Schwab to be a player in that space in the same way it has been a player in other investment opportunities across the spectrum.""
The SEC has been slow to draft regulations on the growing industry, leaving some cautious retail brokerages behind their counterparts who have already offered digital assets.
The new SEC chair, Gary Gensler, was a professor at MIT for a course called 'Blockchain and Money.' His experience with blockchain and cryptocurrency has left many hopeful that regulation on the industry is around the corner and that it will be relatively fair.
Gensler has had positive comments on cryptocurrency, but that they have raised new issues.
""These innovations have been a catalyst for change. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have brought new thinking to payments and financial inclusion, but they’ve also raised new issues of investor protection that we still need to attend to,"" said Gensler during a Congressional hearing in early March.
Should Charles Schwab choose to give all its clients access to cryptocurrency, it would open up the new asset class to its 31.9 million brokerage accounts.
""If Charles Schwab, the company, decides to participate in the crypto market, we will be highly competitive, we will be disruptive, and we will be client-oriented,"" Bettinger said.
Don’t miss out on how smart money is playing the crypto game. Find out how hedge funds, family offices and wall street players are positioning themselves for the growing crypto-economy in our premium newsletter - The Crypto Investor.",396,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00409.warc.gz,0.974159836769104
b9239d08-9698-4322-a1f3-c85e31f8d0e0,2013-05-22T07:19:52+00:00,2013-05-21,1,http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/yemen-explosion-hits-gas-well_9288,"An explosion targeted a gas well in the Marib province of Yemen, an engineer at the site told AFP, stressing that a pipeline feeding gas into Balhaf southern export terminal was not hit, as a local official had announced earlier.
""An explosion hit the gas well number 26 in the area of Raydan,"" the engineer said Tuesday, adding that more explosive devices were defused after they were found planted at two other wells in the same field.
A local official told AFP earlier that a bomb planted underneath Yemen's only gas pipeline had exploded. He later said that his information about the location of the explosion was not accurate.
Yemen LNG Company denied in a statement on its website that the pipeline had been sabotaged, adding that all upstream activities and the pipeline remain in service.
""LNG production is running on the two trains at the Balhaf LNG plant and all the upstream facilities and the pipeline are in service at nominal capacity,"" it said.
Yemen LNG said on Saturday that the pipeline had been repaired after a bomb put it out of service in August.
Suspected Al-Qaeda militants had blown up the pipeline last month in the southern Shabwa province.
France's Total has an almost 40 percent interest in the Balhaf plant.
The 320-kilometre (200-mile) pipeline linking Marib province to Balhaf, in Yemen's mostly lawless south, has been repeatedly sabotaged by Al-Qaeda militants.
On May 13, the pipeline was blown up near Mayfaa, also in Shabwa, nearly three weeks after it was sabotaged on April 26, shortly after it was repaired following a similar March attack.
Yemen began exporting liquefied natural gas from Balhaf in 2009.
In May, a French security official working for Total was wounded and a Yemeni soldier killed when gunmen attacked their car in Sayun in the eastern province of Hadramawt.",399,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.984261751174927
81f9454e-3595-4041-8573-f23964e5eda7,2016-07-23T09:10:13+00:00,1998-12-28,0,http://www.eximguru.com/exim/trade-agreement/india-sri-lanka-free-trade-agreement.aspx,"India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA (Done in duplicate at New Delhi this 28th day of December 1998)
The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, (hereinafter referred to as the ""Contracting Parties"").
CONSIDERING that the expansion of their domestic markets, through economic integration, is a vital prerequisite for accelerating their processes of economic development.
BEARING in mind the desire to promote mutually beneficial bilateral trade.
CONVINCED of the need to establish and promote free trade arrangements for strengthening intra-regional economic cooperation and the development of national economies.
FURTHER RECOGNIZING that progressive reductions and elimination of obstacles to bilateral trade through a bilateral free trade agreement (hereinafter referred to as ""The Agreement"") would contribute to the expansion of world trade.
HAVE agreed as follows:
The Contracting Parties shall establish a Free Trade Area in accordance with the provisions of this Free Trade Agreement and in conformity with relevant provisions of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, 1994.
The objectives of this Agreement are:
- To promote through the expansion of trade the harmonious development of the economic relations between India and Sri Lanka.
- To provide fair conditions of competition for trade between India and Sri Lanka
- In the implementation of this Agreement the Contracting Parties shall pay due regard to the principle of reciprocity
- To contribute in this way, by the removal of barriers to trade, to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade
For the purpose of this agreement:
""Tariffs"" means basic customs duties included in the national schedules of the Contracting Parties.
""Products"" means all products including manufactures and commodities in their raw, semi-processed and processed forms.
""Preferential Treatment"" means any concession or privilege granted under this Agreement by a Contracting Party through the elimination of tariffs on the movement of goods.
""The Committee"" means the Joint Committee referred to in Article XI.
""Serious Injury"" means significant damage to domestic producers, of like or similar products resulting from a substantial increase of preferential imports in situations which cause substantial losses in terms of earnings, production or employment unsustainable in the short term. The examination of the impact on the domestic industry concerned shall also include an evaluation of other relevant economic factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the domestic industry of that product.
""Threat of serious injury"" means a situation in which a substantial increase of preferential imports is of a nature so as to cause ""Serious injury"" to domestic producers, and that such injury, although not yet existing is clearly imminent. A determination of threat of serious injury shall be based on facts and not on more allegation, conjecture, or remote or hypothetical possibility.
""Critical circumstances"" means the emergence of an exceptional situation where massive preferential imports are causing or threatening to cause ""serious injury"" difficult to repair and which calls for immediate action.
Elimination of Tariffs
The Contracting Parties hereby agree to establish a Free Trade Area for the purpose of free movement of goods between their countries through elimination of tariffs on the movement of goods in accordance with the provisions of Annexure A & B which shall form an integral part of this Agreement.
Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent any Contracting Party from taking action and adopting measures, which it considers necessary for the protection of its national security, the protection of public morals, the protection of human, animal or plant life and health, and the protection of articles of artistic, historic and archaeological value, as is provided for in Articles XX and XXI of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, 1994.
The Contracting Parties affirm their commitment to the principles enshrined in Article III of GATT 1994.
State Trading Enterprises
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Contracting Party from maintaining or establishing a state trading enterprise as understood in Article XVII of General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, 1994.
Each Contracting Party shall ensure that any state enterprise that it maintains or establishes acts in a manner that is not inconsistent with the obligations of the Contracting Parties, under this Agreement and accords non-discriminatory treatment in the import from and export to the other Contracting Party.
Rules of Origin
Products covered by the provisions of this Agreement shall be eligible for preferential treatment provided they satisfy the Rules of Origin as set out in Annexure C to this Agreement which shall form an integral part of this Agreement.
For the development of specific sectors of the industry of either Contracting Party, lower value addition norms for the products manufactured or produced by those sectors may be considered through mutual negotiations.
If any product, which is the subject of preferential treatment under this Agreement, is imported into the territory of a Contracting Party in such a manner or in such quantities as to cause or threaten to cause, serious injury in the importing Contracting Party, the importing Contracting Party may, with prior consultations except in critical circumstances, suspend provisionally without discrimination the preferential treatment accorded under the Agreement.
When action has been taken by either Contracting Party in terms of paragraph I of this Article, it shall simultaneously notify the other Contracting Party and the Joint Committee established in terms of Article XI. The Committee shall enter into consultations with the concerned Contracting Party and endeavor to reach mutually acceptable agreement to remedy the situation. Should the consultations in the Committee fail to resolve the issue within sixty days, the party affected by such action shall have the right to withdraw the preferential treatment.
The Contracting Parties shall be free to apply their domestic legislation to restrict imports, in cases where prices are influenced by unfair trade practices like subsidies or dumping. Subsidies and dumping shall be understood to have the same meaning as in the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, 1994 and the relevant WTO Agreements.
Balance of Payment Measures
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Agreement, any Contracting Party facing balance of payments difficulties may suspend provisionally the preferential treatment as to the quantity and value of merchandise permitted to be imported under the Agreement. When such action has taken place, the Contracting Party, which initiates such action shall simultaneously notify the other Contracting Party.
Any Contracting Party, which takes action according to paragraph 1 of this Article, shall afford, upon request from the other Contracting Party, adequate opportunities for consultations with a view to preserving the stability of the preferential treatment provided under this Agreement.
A Joint Committee shall be established at Ministerial level. The Committee shall meet at least once a year to review the progress made in the implementation of this Agreement and to ensure that benefits of trade expansion emanating from this Agreement accrue to both Contracting Parties equitably. The Committee may set up Sub-Committees and/or Working Groups as considered necessary.
In order to facilitate cooperation in customs matters, the Contracting Parties agree to establish a Working Group on customs related issues including harmonization of tariff headings. The Working Group shall meet as often as required and shall report to the Committee on its deliberations.
The Committee shall accord adequate opportunities for consultation on representations made by any Contracting Party with respect to any matter affecting the implementation of the Agreement. The Committee shall adopt appropriate measures for settling any matter arising from such representations within 6 months of the representation being made. Each Contracting Party shall implement such measures immediately.
The Committee shall nominate one apex chamber of trade and industry in each country as the nodal chamber to represent the views of the trade and industry on matters relating to this Agreement.
Each Contracting Party shall accord sympathetic consideration to and shall afford adequate opportunity for, consultations regarding such representations as may be made by the other Contracting Party with respect to any matter affecting the operation of this Agreement.
The Committee may meet at the request of a Contracting Party to consider any matter for which it has not been possible to find a satisfactory solution through consultations under paragraph 1 above.
Settlement of Disputes
Any dispute that may arise between commercial entities of the Contracting Parties shall be referred for amicable settlement to the nodal apex chambers. Such references shall, as far as possible, be settled through mutual consultations by the Chambers. In the event of an amicable solution not being found, the matter shall be referred to an Arbitral Tribunal for a binding decision. The Tribunal shall be constituted the Joint Committee in consultation with the relevant Arbitration Bodies in the two countries.
Any dispute between the Contracting Parties regarding the interpretation and application of the provisions of this Agreement or any instrument adopted within its framework shall be amicably settled through negotiations failing which a notification may be made to the Committee by any one of the Contracting Parties.
Duration and Termination of Agreement
This Agreement shall remain in force until either Contracting Party terminates this Agreement by giving six months written notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Agreement.
The Agreement may be modified or amended through mutual agreement of the Contracting Parties. Proposals for such modifications or amendments shall be submitted to the Joint Committee and upon acceptance by the Joint Committee, shall be approved in accordance with the applicable legal procedures of each Contracting Party. Such modifications or amendments shall become effective when confirmed through an exchange of diplomatic notes and shall constitute an integral part of the Agreement.
Provided however that in emergency situations, proposals for modifications may be considered by the Contracting Parties and if agreed, given effect to through an exchange of diplomatic notes.
Annexure to be finalized
Annexure D(i) and D(ii) (Negative Lists of India and Sri Lanka respectively), E (Items on which India has undertaken to give 100% tariff concession on coming into force of the Agreement) and F (Items on which Sri Lanka has undertaken to give 100% tariff concession on the coming into force of the Agreement) shall be finalized within a period of 60 days of the signing of this Agreement. All the Annexure shall form an integral part of the Agreement.
Entry into Force
The Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the Contracting Parties hereto have notified each other that their respective constitutional requirements and procedures have been completed.
In witness where of the undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done in duplicate at New Delhi this 28th day of December 1998 in two originals in the English language.
|For the Government of the ||For the Government of the|
|Republic of India ||Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka|
Concession offered by India
The Government of India shall grant duty free access to all exports from Sri Lanka in respect of items freely importable into India, except on items listed in Annexure D of this Agreement, in accordance with the phase out schedule detailed below:
Upon entry into force of the Agreement :-
Zero duty access for the items in Annexure ‘E’
50% margin of preference on the remaining items except on items listed in Annexure D. Concessions on items in Chapters 51 to 56, 58 to 60 and 63 shall be restricted to 25%.
The margin of preference on the items mentioned in (b) above shall be increased to 100% in two stages within three years of the coming into force of the Agreement, except for the textiles items referred to in 1(b) above.
Concession offered by Sri Lanka
Government of Sri Lanka shall provide tariff concessions on exports from India to Sri Lanka in respect of items freely importable into Sri Lanka, as detailed below:-
Zero duty for the items in Annex ‘F’ – I, upon entering into force of the Agreement.
50% margin of preference for the items in Annex ‘F’ – II, upon coming into force of the Agreement. The margin of preference in respect of these items shall be deepened to 70%, 90% and 100%, respectively, at the end of the first, second and third year of the entry into force of the Agreement.
For the remaining items except those in Annex ‘D’, the tariffs shall be brought down by not less than 35% before the expiry of three years and 70% before the expiry of the sixth year and 100% before the expiry of eight years, from the date of entry into force of the Agreement.
RULES OF ORIGIN
These rules may be called the rules of Determination of Origin of Goods under the Free Trade Agreement between the Democratic Socialistic Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of India.
These rules shall apply to products consigned from the territory of either of the Contracting Parties.
Determination of Origin
No product shall be deemed to be the produce or manufacture of either country unless the conditions specified in these rules are complied with in relation to such products, to the satisfaction of the appropriate Authority.
Claim at the time of importation
The importer of the product shall, at the time of importation:
make a claim that the products are the produce or manufacture of the country from which they are imported and such products are eligible for preferential treatment under the Agreement, and
produce the evidence specified in these rules.
Products covered by the Agreement imported into the territory of a Contracting Party from another Contracting Party which are consigned directly within the meaning of rule 9 hereof, shall be eligible for preferential treatment if they conform to the origin requirement under any one of the following conditions:
Products wholly produced or obtained in the territory of the exporting Contracting Party as defined in rule 6; or
Products not wholly produced or obtained in the territory of the exporting Contracting Party, provided that the said products are eligible under rule 7 or rule 8.
Wholly produced or obtained
Within the meaning of rule 5(a), the following shall be considered as wholly produced or obtained in the territory of the exporting Contracting Party:
raw or mineral products extracted from its soil, its water or its seabed;
vegetable products harvested there;
animals born and raised there;
products obtained from animals referred to in clause (c) above;
products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted there;
products of sea fishing and other marine products from the high seas by its vessels3,4;
products processed and/or made on board its factory ships exclusively from products referred to in clause (f) above4,5;
used articles collected there, fit only for the recovery of raw materials;
waste and scrap resulting from manufacturing operations conducted there;
products extracted from the seabed or below seabed which is situated outside its territorial waters, provided that it has exclusive exploitation rights;
goods produced there exclusively from the products referred to in clauses (a) to (j) above.
Not wholly produced or obtained
Within the meaning of rule 5(b), products worked on or processed as a result of which the total value of the materials, parts or produce originating from countries other than the Contracting Parties or of undetermined origin used does not exceed 65% of the f.o.b. value of the products produced or obtained and the final process of manufacture is performed within the territory of the exporting Contracting Party shall be eligible for preferential treatment, subject to the provisions of clauses (b), (c), (d) and (e) of rule 7 and rule 8.
Non-originating materials shall be considered to be sufficiently worked or processed when the product obtained is classified in a heading, at the four digit level, of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System different from those in which all the non-originating materials used in its manufacture are classified.
In order to determine whether a product originates in the territory of a Contracting Party, it shall not be necessary to establish whether the power and fuel, plant and equipment, and machines and tools used to obtain such products originate in third countries or not.
The following shall in any event be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, whether or not there is a change of heading:
Operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage (ventilation, spreading out, drying, chilling, placing in salt, sulphur dioxide or other aqueous solutions, removal of damaged parts, and like operations).
Simple operations consisting of removal of dust, sifting or screening, sorting, classifying, matching (including the making-up of sets of articles), washing, painting, cutting up;
- changes of packing and breaking up and assembly of consignments,
- simple slicing, cutting and repacking or placing in bottles, flasks, bags, boxes, fixing on cards or boards, etc., and all other simple packing operations.
the affixing of marks, labels or other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds, where one or more components of the mixture do not meet the conditions laid down in these Rules to enable them to be considered as originating products;
simple assembly of parts of products to constitute a complete product;
a combination of two or more operations specified in (a) to (f);
slaughter of animals.
The value of the non-originating materials, parts or produce shall be:
The c.i.f. value at the time of importation of the materials, parts or produce where this can be proven; or
The earliest ascertainable price paid for the materials, parts or produce of undetermined origin in the territory of the Contracting Parties where the working or processing takes place.
Cumulative rules of origin
In respect of a product, which complies with the origin requirements provided in rule 5(b) and is exported by any Contracting Party and which has used material, parts or products originating in the territory of the other Contracting Party, the value addition in the territory of the exporting Contracting Party shall be not less than 25 per cent of the f.o.b. value of the product under export subject to the condition that the aggregate value addition in the territories of the Contracting Parties is not less than 35 per cent of the f.o.b. value of the product under export.
The following shall be considered to be directly consigned from the exporting country to the importing country:
if the products are transported without passing through the territory of any country other than the countries of the Contracting Parties. The products whose transport involves transit through one or more intermediate countries with or without transshipment or temporary storage in such countries; provided that the transit entry is justified for geographical reason or by considerations related exclusively to transport requirements; the products have not entered into trade or consumption there; and the products have not undergone any operation there other than unloading and reloading or any operation required to keep them in good condition.
Treatment of packing
When determining the origin of products, packing should be considered as forming a whole with the product it contains. However, packing may be treated separately if the national legislation so requires.
Certificate of origin
Products eligible for a Certificate of origin in the form annexed shall support preferential treatment issued by an authority designated by the Government of the exporting country and notified to the other country in accordance with the certification procedures to be devised and approved by both the Contracting Parties.
Either country may prohibit importation of products containing any inputs originating from States with which it does not have economic and commercial relations;
Co-operation between contracting parties
The Contracting Parties will do their best to co-operate in order to specify origin of inputs in the Certificate of origin.
The Contracting Parties will take measures necessary to address, to investigate and, where appropriate, to take legal and/or administrative action to prevent circumvention of this Agreement through false declaration concerning country of origin or falsification of original documents.
Both the Contracting Parties will co-operate fully, consistent with their domestic laws and procedures, in instances of circumvention or alleged circumvention of the Agreement to address problems arising from circumvention including facilitation of joint plant visits and contacts by representatives of both Contracting Parties upon request and on a case – by – case basis.
If either Party believes that the rules of origin are being circumvented, it may request consultation to address the matter or matters concerned with a view to seeking a mutually satisfactory solution. Each party will hold such consultations promptly.
These rules may be reviewed as and when necessary upon request of either Contracting Party and may be open to such modifications as may be agreed upon.
Includes mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials as well as mineral or metal ores
Includes agricultural and forestry products
""Vessels"" shall refer to fishing vessels engaged in commercial fishing, registered in the country of the Contracting Party and operated by a citizen or citizens of the Contracting Party or partnership, corporation or association, duly registered in such country, at least 60 per cent of equity of which is owned by a citizen or citizens and/or Government of such Contracting Party or 75 per cent by citizens and/or Governments of the Contracting Parties. However, the products taken from vessels, engaged in commercial fishing under Bilateral Agreements which provide for chartering/leasing of such vessels and/or sharing of catch between Contracting Party will also be eligible or preferential treatment.
In respect of vessels or factory ships operated by Government agencies, the requirements of flying the flag of the Contracting Party does not apply.
For the purpose of this Agreement, the term ""factory ship"" means any vessel, as defined, used for processing and/or making on board products exclusively from those products referred to in clause (f) of Rule 6.
Accumulations as implied by Rule 8 means that only products which have acquired originating status in the territory of one Contracting Party may be taken into account when used as inputs for a finished product eligible for preferential treatment in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
- Goods consigned from (Exporters’ Business Name, Address, Country)
INDO-SRI LANKA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (ISFTA)
(Combined declaration and certificate)
(See notes overleaf)
- 2. Goods consigned to (Consignee’s Name, Address, Country)
- Means of transport and route (as far as known)
- For Official use
- Tariff item number
- Marks and numbers of packages
- Number and kind of packages: description of goods
- Origin criterion (see Notes overleaf)
- Gross weight or other quantity
- Number and date of invoice
- Declaration by the Exporter
The undersigned hereby declares that the above details and statements are correct; That all the goods were produced in
and that they comply with the origin requirements specified for those goods in ISFTA for goods exported to
Place and date, signature of the authorized signatory
It is hereby certified, on the basis of control carried out that the declaration by the exporter is correct.
Place and date, signature and stamp of certifying authority.
- To qualify for preference, products must:
fall within a description of products eligible for concessions in the country of destination under this agreement.
comply with ISFTA Rules of Origin. Each Article in a consignment must qualify separately in its own right; and
comply with the consignment conditions specified by the ISFTA Rules of Origin. In general products must be consigned directly within the meaning of Rule 9 hereof from the country of exportation to the country of destination.
- Entries to be made in Box 8
Preference products must be wholly produced or obtained in the exporting Contracting Party in accordance with Rule 6 of the ISFTA Rule of Origin, or where not wholly produced or obtained in the exporting Contracting Party must be eligible under Rule 7 or Rule 8.
Products wholly produced or obtained enter the letter ‘A’ in box 8.
Products not wholly produced or obtained; the entry in box 8 should be as follows:
Enter letter ‘B’ in box 8 for products, which meet the origin criterion according to Rule 7. Entry of letter would be followed by the sum of the value of materials, parts or produce originating from non-contracting parties or undetermined origin used, expressed as a percentage of the f.o.b. value of the products; (example B( ) percent).
Enter letter ‘C’ in box 8 for products, which meet the origin criteria according to Rule 8. Entry of letter ‘C’ would be followed by the sum of the aggregate content originating in the territory of the exporting Contracting Party expressed as a percentage of the f.o.b. value of the exported product: (example ‘C’ ( ) per cent).",5115,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00018-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.930351555347443
52e03437-77ab-4967-bc38-fac6de06826b,2017-08-17T19:29:46+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://manywords.press/archives/2659/the-long-retreat-no-69,"Mercifully, the day’s march passed uneventfully. They found a place to set up their camp, set back from the road and out of sight. Falthejn went off to one side of the camp by himself, drew a circle on the ground, and sat in it, eyes closed. Sif watched him, nibbling at a piece of trail bread.
“I wonder what he sees?” Alfhilde said, sitting next to her.
“It’s usually bad,” Sif said, offering Alfhilde a piece of bread. Alfhilde waved it away. Sif added, “We die a lot, he told me.”
Alfhilde nodded. “That’s the life a diviner leads. You can’t know how to keep your friends alive unless you know how they die.” She looked into the distance. “He is less gloomy than most of his kind, that much I’ll give him.” A few moments passed. “Did he ever tell you why he became a diviner? I can’t see very many choosing to.”
Through a mouthful of nuts, Sif replied, “Oh, he didn’t choose it. When he was younger than me, a diviner met him and saw him use magic. The diviner took him away and trained him.”
For a long time, Alfhilde said nothing. Sif turned to give her a quizzical look, but stopped. Worried, she said, “Are you crying?”
Alfhilde shook her head abruptly, then softened and conceded, “A little, maybe. That is a—” she wiped at her eye “—a hard story for a mother to hear. He’s doing you quite the kindness to let you choose, isn’t he?”
“Most children who can use magic get sorted into whichever guild needs people the most,” Sif confirmed. “Sometimes the richest people get to pick, but otherwise, unless you know someone…”
“Good thing we met him, then.”",469,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103910.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817185948-20170817205948-00222.warc.gz,0.97823441028595
3e725b48-aa45-4f60-87bd-67b7b3e126f0,2018-08-20T14:16:11+00:00,2017-03-31,1,https://www.technologyreview.com/s/604013/ugandas-uber-for-motorcycles-focuses-on-safety/amp/,"If I needed to be convinced of the utility of SafeBoda, a ride-hailing app for motorcycle taxis in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the accident scene I witnessed on my first ride with the service more than did the trick. On a Monday afternoon in March, as I sat on the back of a 110-cc, Indian-manufactured “boda boda,” as moto-taxis here are known, my driver, Abdallah Mawejje, braked as traffic slowed along one of the city’s many exhaust-filled thoroughfares. In the midst of a scrum of pedestrians and idling vehicles, a young man lay motionless on the pavement, bleeding from his head as a passerby tried to drag him to the sidewalk.
“He’s a boda boda driver,” Mawejje confirmed as we maneuvered past, with a tone of indifference that suggested he’d seen this many times before. “That’s why you should avoid these guys. They speed. They overtake vehicles when they shouldn’t. They don’t take care.”
Mawejje, of course, is a boda boda driver himself — one of an estimated 80,000 in this hilly, congested city of 1.5 million people. Yet since he joined the SafeBoda fleet — donning its trademark orange vests and helmets — almost a year ago, he’s undergone a transformation. In addition to taking clients from an Uber-style app, which allows customers to request a pickup, pay for their ride — at a cost similar to that of normal boda boda drivers — and rate their driver on a smartphone, he follows a strict code of conduct, which entails obeying traffic regulations and keeping his bike properly maintained. He’s a Red Cross-certified first responder, has undergone road safety training as part of a partnership with the Ugandan Police, and carries a high-quality helmet for his passengers.
While this may all seem like it should be standard practice, in Kampala safety is typically an afterthought. Boda bodas are popular here due to their low cost and ability to cut through gridlocked traffic, yet only 30 percent of drivers wear helmets and almost none make them available to their clients. Many drivers don’t even have drivers’ licenses, and tales of drivers robbing customers aren’t uncommon. At Mulago, the national referral hospital, an estimated 41 percent of patients admitted to the trauma ward are victims of boda boda accidents.
SafeBoda, founded by entrepreneurs from the U.K., Belgium, and Uganda, has focused on building a strong safety record. When I visited its offices in March, its drivers had gone 80 days without an accident. Since its launch in 2014, it hasn’t recorded a single driver or passenger death. Mawejje, who had previously quit the profession due to its bad reputation, says he now feels more respected. The company, locals say, has established itself as a trusted brand, with drivers whose professionalism far exceeds Kampala standards.
As a business, though, SafeBoda initially struggled. Despite surpassing $1 million in seed capital, and enlisting more than a thousand drivers, the company’s technology was holding it back. Customer uptake was hindered by early version apps its cofounders admit were “crappy,” service that was limited to certain neighborhoods, and the convenience of hopping on a normal boda boda, which are available at nearly every street corner.
Until February, when SafeBoda released an all-new app, designed under the direction of a former engineer from Lyft, only a small fraction of the company’s 15,000 to 20,000 daily rides were conducted through the mobile platform. Instead, most drivers simply hailed clients like normal motorcycle taxi operators. Not only did this render the service unreliable for those actually seeking to use the app; it also deprived the company of a critical source of revenue. In addition to charging drivers a one-time fee of $55 (200,000 Ugandan Shillings) to join, SafeBoda takes a 15 percent per-ride cut of app-booked trips.
Following this technology overhaul, the company’s main task now, says co-CEO Maxime Dieudonné, is to convert as many of its “normal drivers” to “app drivers” as possible, with the immediate aim of completing 1,000 in-app trips per day by mid-May. So far, 100 drivers are available on the new mobile platform; each are provided with a Samsung J2 phone on credit, a custom motorcycle charging device, and a three-day “tech wizard” training to acquaint them with the ride-hailing concept. “Many of them were not familiar with smartphones,” says Moses Musinguzi, a former driver who leads the training. Yet most, he says, are enthusiastic about the new means of connecting with customers.
Smartphone penetration among boda boda passengers, who tend to come from Uganda’s middle classes, is relatively high. Still, convincing clients to use the app remains a challenge. In theory, the mobile platform should make the riding experience more convenient and safer: without it, there’s no guarantee a customer will find one of the company’s safe and vetted drivers in the streets.
With the cost of a typical ride hovering around a dollar, SafeBoda’s revenues will remain slim for the foreseeable future. Over time, however, if the company can grow, both in Kampala and in other African cities on its radar, the concept is financially viable, Dieudonné insists.
Making rides safer will take time, too. Today more than 60 percent of passengers decline to wear SafeBoda’s provided helmets, for example. Some because of concerns over hygiene, others, particularly women, because they don’t want to mess up their hair.
After seeing the ugly side of Kampala’s roads up close, however, I made sure to strap mine on tightly.",1289,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216475.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820140847-20180820160847-00339.warc.gz,0.963473975658417
110a49ca-8ac8-4087-91ed-d8309690e4a1,2017-08-20T17:11:20+00:00,2017-08-20,0,http://blog.rramphal.com/,"Say sorry when you’ve fucked up. Just own up to it. Ignoring it or defending your actions just makes things works and fosters resentment.
Here are a couple of git commands I have mastered on the job since starting:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Don’t get attached to code. The next release of the codebase might strip all of your code. Just let it go. The experience and the learning is not just the code accumulated on GitHub, it is the process and the choices and decisions.
This is just like Buddhist mandalas. Monks painstakingly take enormous amounts of time to build the beautiful, intricate mandalas, and then they just brush it away. It is the skill and the patience and the focus that matters, not the end result.
- building an API
- exposing routes to provide information
- reading legacy code
- fixing bugs on legacy code
- dealing with spaghetti code
- I like flat structure
- Upgrading from KineticJS 4.5.4 to KineticJS 5.1.0
- refactoring legacy code
- implicit expression of myself
- legacy support
Just jump in and do it.",273,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106865.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820170023-20170820190023-00578.warc.gz,0.851623237133026
f51f4754-85d7-4f88-8102-9f2451603cb3,2020-10-24T14:48:52+00:00,2020-10-24,0,https://www.carreraworld.com/en-ww/product.carrera-222gs.202721_J5G_IR.html,"You can find measurement A/B/C printed on the inside of the temple arm or on the nose pads.
If you already have a pair of glasses that you like, you can compare measurements to see how a certain style of ours will fit you.
Not available Online
Designed for maximum performance and style, these aviator sunglasses take Carrera’s signature silhouette to new heights. The sleek stainless-steel construction stands out with a double nose bridge and texturized metal spoilers at the sides – the season’s sports-inspired design innovation. Carrera’s trademark Tank hinges provide comfort and flexibility, while a range of UV-protective lenses – including mirrored and photochromic variations – ups the cool factor.
Aviator sunglasses Stainless-steel front and temples in a gold-tone finish, long acetate end tips Carrera’s flexible Tank hinges, logo lettering on the left lens Gray polycarbonate lenses Can be fitted with prescription lenses Adjustable silicone nose pads Come in a complimentary storage case
SHARE NOW #CARRERAWORLD
Sign up to our newsletter.
Do you want to stay up to date on our offers and latest products? Subscribe to our newsletter. Send us your e-mail address and we will do the rest!",262,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107883636.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024135444-20201024165444-00666.warc.gz,0.833301603794098
932156e8-d82d-499f-b2cf-bce8d1247dcd,2016-07-23T09:50:11+00:00,2008-08-25,0,http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/1308/,"I visited this year and ended up with more than I planned on buying. They are very nice people and their daylilies are reasonably priced. They had 2 on my wish list too! They gave me a clump instead of a double fan - gotta love that!
I plan on visiting again next year!
bojanical Stockbridge, MI (4 reviews) August 25, 2008
I ordered a selection of old cultivars; very impressed with the size and health of their material. Will definately recommend them to friends, even MOM!
I am so glad other people have found my home state DL growers, Tim & Michelle Glick , Manatawny Creek Farm. I just found them myself this year, and my order arrived today. I am very pleased with all 9 DLs. Also, as mentioned previously, they generously sent along a metal marker for each of the daylilies bought, and they fit right in with the ones I use. I also bought 2 of the Skinner intros., and I will be shopping at MCF again. I highly recommend their daylilies, and their service. J. Master, McAlisterville, PA
Excllent service. Excellent plants. I would order from them again in a heartbeat.
Tree_Climber Brown City, MI (Zone 5a) (9 reviews) July 7, 2005
I can't say enough about Manatawny Creek Farm.
Very reasonably priced, and they send clumps, not just a fan or two.
Since I ordered at a time when the daylilies were all budded, they cut back the foliage, and used a large enough box so that they could leave the scapes on the plants. Most of the buds arrived at my door still on the scapes. They even enclosed a scape that they had to cut, and I've got it in a vase in hopes that it will bloom.
Believe it or not, they also sent plant tags for each plant! They are metal tags, just like the one's I use, and I don't have to make the labels, it's already done. ;-)
They offer new introductions from the hybridizer ""Skinner"", and in my opinion, the Skinner daylilies are beautiful. In fact all of the one's I ordered except one was a ""Skinner"".
Oh, and one more thing, they do take PayPal, but ................. and I don't know of ANY other place that does this ................... You don't have to pay them until after you recieve your order.
Now, don't you want to check them out?
ownedbycats Southern, NH (Zone 5b) (31 reviews) June 4, 2005
What a great experience. The daylilies are huge, 3-4 fans and the prices are great. I also got a nice bonus.
Peter emailed me to confirm the order and set up a shipping time. He confirmed the time a week before shipment, and let me know when they shipped.
I highly recommend.
Grazyna East Greenbush, United States (2 reviews) May 22, 2005
I ordered several daylilies from this company for this spring delivery.
I exchanged email with Peter on some issues and he was so helpful that don't know how to thank him. He emailed me a day of shipment (Tuesday) and my daylilies arrived on Thursday,
When I opened the box I couldn't believe what I saw.
The plants were big and I mean big (four, five and sometimes more fans). Since I order for over $100 my shipment was free!! And if it wasn't enough each plant has beautiful marker to put in ground after planting.
The prices are good, better then other places.
You cannot go wrong with this company.
I would definetly advice to shop there, you won't be sorry.
I forgot to mention that even received beutiful bonus.
Can you ask for more?
I ordered daylilies last spring and was very pleased with my order. I got about six fans of each daylily I ordered, plus a bonus plant and a free metal marker for each daylily. The order was packed nicely and the plants looked fresh when they arrived. They all grew well and all but one bloomed - they were all true to name. I corresponded with Pete by e-mail while reserving my order and he was responsive and helpful.
If daylilies are your passion, this is the place to go!! Lyn and Pete are very gracious and run their business the same way! A delightful place to visit and browse through the dislay gardens. Make your choices and Pete will dig them as you wait in the shade of the barn listening to the sound of the Manatawny Creek.",993,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00018-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.976900815963745
9c82490f-b157-493f-b9ae-1d6fd8f483ab,2022-05-25T19:21:42+00:00,2015-03-30,1,https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2015/03/30/catholic_church_delivers_21000_signatures_in_opposition_to_aid-in-dying_bil/,"The Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference delivered 21,000 signatures Monday to the legislature’s Judiciary Committee co-chairs.
The signatures were in opposition to aid-in-dying legislation, which the church believes is more aptly defined as physician-assisted suicide. The legislation would allow patients with less than six months to live to seek a doctor’s help to end their lives.
Michael Culhane, executive director of the Catholic conference, said end-of-life issues are always difficult, but “pallative care is the way to go.”
A similar bill was defeated in the Public Health Committee in 2013 and 2014. This year is the first year it’s before the Judiciary Committee for an initial vote. The committee has two weeks to act on it before its deadline.
“I think if they had the votes in 2013 and 2014 they would have called the bill,” Culhane said. “It died in committee both years.”
Culhane said he doesn’t believe the Judiciary Committee has the votes to move the legislation forward.
Tim Appleton, Connecticut campaign manager of Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization committed to giving people choices at the end of their lives, said the Connecticut public supports “end of life choice.”
He said he has great confidence that legislation will eventually pass because the fundamentals of the debate have not changed.
“The more we continue to educate members of the public and legislators about the issue, the more support we have,” Appleton said Monday in a phone interview.
Appleton pointed to a Quinnipiac University poll, which found support for legislation that would allow a doctor to prescribe lethal drugs to help a terminally ill patient end his or her life. The poll found 63 percent of voters support the concept, even among voters over the age of 55.
Opponents say support for the measure declines dramatically when the word “suicide” is added to the question.
“It does not matter how many church lobbyists deliver petitions; the people of Connecticut support aid in dying and the church will be on the wrong side of history, again,” Appleton said.
The Judiciary Committee has two more weeks to act on the legislation.",470,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662593428.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525182604-20220525212604-00416.warc.gz,0.971521854400635
9122c2a7-d920-45e5-be9a-b36521223f42,2015-04-02T04:10:12+00:00,2015-01-02,0,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maudlin_of_the_Well,"maudlin of the Well
|This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2015)|
|Maudlin of the Well|
|Origin||Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.|
|Genres||Avant-garde metal, Progressive metal, Chamber music, Art rock|
|Years active||1996–2003; 2008–present|
|Labels||Dark Symphonies, Blood Music|
|Associated acts||Kayo Dot, Triac, Roh Delikat, Baliset, The Year of Our Lord, Tartar Lamb|
maudlin of the Well (commonly abbreviated as motW) is an avant-garde metal band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their music contains elements from many different genres including doom metal, jazz, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, post rock, progressive metal, death metal, and gothic metal, as well as chamber music, ambient music and New Age music. After a five year hiatus, the band re-united to record their latest album, Part the Second, which was funded by fan donations and released online May 14, 2009 for free.
maudlin of the Well released three full-length albums before disbanding in 2003. These albums included 1999's My Fruit PsychoBells...A Seed Combustible and 2001's Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, these last two made as complementary companion albums. The band had a consistent core membership, which consisted of Jason Byron, Greg Massi, and Toby Driver. Throughout its career a sort of ""revolving door"" of members and session musicians participated as needed.
maudlin's music, lyrics, and atmosphere dealt predominantly with the subject of astral projection. The band described their approach as trying to find music rather than compose it. This was done through practicing astral projection and lucid dreams, from which they were purportedly able to ""bring back"" pre-existing music from the astral plane (as stated by Toby Driver in the liner notes included with the reissued Bath and Leaving Your Body Map).
In late 2001, the band began working on a fourth studio album. During this time, the band lost several longtime members, changed labels, and ultimately renamed themselves to Kayo Dot. This fourth album was later released in 2003 as Kayo Dot's Choirs of the Eye.
The Dark Symphonies label re-issued Bath and Leaving Your Body Map in 2006 and My Fruit PsychoBells...A Seed Combustible in 2008, all with bonus tracks consisting of early demos.
In a blog post on the bands MySpace page on July 27, 2008, Driver revealed that a fan donated enough money to record a new album. Recording started on February 10, 2009, and the album, titled Part the Second was finally released in May 2009. It is available for free download in various file formats (MP3, FLAC and WAV) on motW's website, torrent networks, or alternatively, it can be streamed directly from the site. An amalgam of many different musical styles, the new songs share an ethereal quality with previous motW recordings, but are distinctly more mellow than the group's prior releases and contain no death growls.
The Finnish non-profit/label Blood Music later ran a limited CD pressing of Part the Second, as well as further small runs of the band's previous albums, in 2012.
On January 2, 2015, Greg Massi announced in his podcast maudlin of the Well would be playing a reunion show in August 2015 at The Stone in New York City, as part of a several day celebration of Toby Driver's career.
- Through Languid Veins - 1996
- Begat of the Haunted Oak: An Acorn - 1997
- Odes to Darksome Spring - 1997
- For My Wife - 1998
- My Fruit Psychobells...A Seed Combustible (1999)
- Bath (2001)
- Leaving Your Body Map (2001)
- Part the Second (2009)
- Box Set (2012)",833,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00266-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.943774461746216
9c541ada-d351-4a0a-b189-b64e59ccdf03,2015-03-28T05:19:19+00:00,1993-02-04,0,http://www.lrb.co.uk/v15/n03/stephen-smith/diary,"Reflecting on Somalia at the recent UN-sponsored peace talks, I found the more I heard about warring factions, Western intervention and the re-drawing of boundaries, the more I felt like shouting: ‘That’s enough about Bosnia – what about Africa?’ Although it was impossible to grudge the Bosnians their summit in Geneva, it was possible to be disappointed that the serious British media were in Switzerland for talks on what used to be Yugoslavia instead of in Ethiopia for talks on what used to be Somalia.
I wish I could say that it had been the plight of Somalia’s starving children that had impelled me to take the story personally. Perhaps I can blame television, with its seasonal images of African catastrophe, for the feeling of déjà vu that I experienced even at the heart of the famine. As so often happens, it was the unanticipated – inhaling the charnelhouse odour of Baidoa as I opened my case back in London – that brought the horror home, literally for a change. No doubt my obsession with Somalia had something to do with pride in having crossed Mogadishu’s ‘green line’, and drawn a warning round or two from armed looters in the port. I suspect, however, that the real attraction lay in the fact that so few others knew quite how good the Somalia story was, or indeed quite how bad.
The few others became many in December. The curiosity of the American networks in particular was such that a press corps cheeseparingly estimated at three hundred gathered in Mogadishu to attend the arrival of the Marines. The Somalia story was being invaded and occupied as surely as the country itself. The American intervention proved in many ways to be the least hairy of my experiences in Somalia. Yet it disturbed me more than any of the others. The first sign of this was in my dreams. I dreamt all the time; a very bad dream indeed, that involved someone I knew but didn’t recognise ushering me through a pair of tall doors onto a breezy precipice. Or sometimes I was breasting rapids at the top of a waterfall. The dream and its meaning troubled me.
A military failure seemed out of the question: the Toyota gunships of Mogadishu’s mobsters were patently no match for the Humvees and Cobras of 20,000 United States servicemen. Even the risk of being winged in crossfire had dwindled after gunmen began stashing their weapons to prevent the Americans from confiscating them. But my dream proved resistant to rational thought. When we were marooned in Nairobi, trying to find a pilot who had not yet been bought up by American television to fly his light aircraft to Mogadishu, I would lie in bed, the time difference working against me, my body insisting it was only eleven when my watch said two, and the dream would run a trailer or promo of itself, round and round in a video loop. At such times, I was glad of the inclement telephone, not really waking me because I wasn’t really asleep, and of the office, calling down the fizzing cistern of the international lines to find out when we would arrive in Mogadishu, and how much it was all going to cost.
The night before the Marines came ashore, I was lying on the tarpaper roof of Mogadishu airport. In the gauzy blue ABC tent beside me, producers wearing their baseball caps – like submarine ratings on periscope watch – were tending to shuddering monitors and talking into satellite telephones. The moon was full. In the brief interval before Chinooks began winnowing the darkness, you could have fallen asleep imagining you were on a Nasa spaceshot.
You are not logged in
- If you have already registered please login here
- If you are using the site for the first time please register here
- If you would like access to the entire online archive, buy a full-access subscription here
- Institutions or university library users please login here
- Learn more about our institutional subscriptions here",849,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00171-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.974705100059509
f9139e36-112e-4736-a8e9-31d31b0157ad,2019-08-24T12:23:24+00:00,2016-06-22,0,http://jared-padalecki.us/category/video/page/3/,"Jared and Jensen have wound up on another cover, this time with Supernatural winning the coveted Fall TV Preview edition of Entertainment Weekly for 2016! Jared, along with Supernatural co-stars Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins and Mark Sheppard, is also featured in a few awesome photos and this lovely video below (pssst, the s11 Gag Reel is after the EW content!):
Jared was seen out with Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) at the 42nd Annual Saturn Awards yesterday, video and photos below!
June 22, 2016 – 42nd Annual Saturn Awards
Another late event on my part, these 100+ HQ photos of Jared with Jensen Ackles at the J2 panel from VegasCon 2016 are copyrighted to the ever amazing ELSIECAT:
Plus video of both J2 panels:",175,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027320734.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824105853-20190824131853-00336.warc.gz,0.917395293712616
20dc3799-b763-43c9-834a-077894f127ac,2022-05-26T11:57:46+00:00,2009-03-09,1,https://247wallst.com/media/2009/03/09/the-ten-major-newspapers-that-will-fold-or-go-digital-next/,"Over the last few weeks, the newspaper industry has entered a new period of decline. The parent of the papers in Philadelphia declared bankruptcy as did the Journal Register chain. The Rocky Mountain News closed and the Seattle Post Intelligencer, owned by Hearst, will almost certainly close or only publish online. Hearst has said it will also close The San Francisco Chronicle if it cannot make massive cuts at the paper. The most recent rumor is that the company will fire half of the editorial staff. That action still may not be enough to make the property profitable.
24/7 Wall St. has created its list of the ten major daily papers that are most likely to fold or shut their print operations and only publish online. The properties were chosen based on the financial strength of their parent companies, the amount of direct competition that they face in their markets, and industry information on how much money they are losing. Based on this analysis, it is possible that eight of the fifty largest daily newspapers in the United States could cease publication in the next eighteen months.
1. The Philadelphia Daily News. The smaller of the two papers owned by The Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which recently filed for bankruptcy. The parent company says it will make money this year, but with newspaper advertising still falling sharply, the city cannot support two papers and the Dally News has a daily circulation of only about 100,000. The tabloid has a small staff, most of whom could probably stay on at Philly.com, the web operation for both of the city dailies.
2. The Minneapolis Star Tribune has filed for Chapter 11. The paper may not make money this year even without the costs of debt coverage. The company said it made $26 million last year, about half of what it made in 2007. The odds are that the Star Tribune will lose money this year if its ad revenue drops another 20%. There is no point for creditors to keep the paper open if it cannot generate cash. It could become an all-digital property, but supporting a daily circulation of over 300,000 is too much of a burden. It could survive if its rival the St. Paul Pioneer Press folds. A grim race.
3. The Miami Herald, which has a daily circulation of about 220,000. It is owned by McClatchy, a publicly traded company which could be the next chain to go into Chapter 11. The Herald has been on the market since December, and but no serious bidders have emerged. Newspaper advertising has been especially hard hit in Florida because of the tremendous loss in real estate advertising. The online version of the paper is already well-read in the Miami area and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Herald has strong competition north of it in Fort Lauderdale. There is a very small chance it could merge with the Sun-Sentinel, but it is more likely that the Herald will go online-only with two editions, one for English-speaking readers and one for Spanish.
4. The Detroit News is one of two daily papers in the big American city badly hit by the economic downturn. It is unlikely that it can merge with the larger Detroit Free Press which is owned by Gannett. It is hard to see what would be in it for Gannett. With the fortunes of Detroit getting worse each day, cutting back the number of days that the paper is delivered will not save enough money to keep the paper open.
5. The Boston Globe is, based on several accounts, losing $1 million a week. One investment bank recently said that the paper is only worth $20 million. The paper is the flagship of what the Globe’s parent, The New York Times, calls the New England Media Group. NYT has substantial financial problems of its own. Last year, ad revenue for the New England properties was down 18%. That is likely to continue or get worse this year. Supporting larger losses at the Globe will become nearly impossible. Boston.com, the online site that includes the digital aspects of the Globe, will probably be all that will be left of the operation.
6. The San Francisco Chronicle. Parent company Hearst has already set a deadline for shutting the paper if it cannot make tremendous cost cuts. The Chronicle lost as much as $70 million last year. Even if the company could lower its costs, the northern California economy is in bad shape. The online version of the paper could be the only version by the middle of the 2009.
7. The Chicago Sun Times is the smaller of two newspapers in the city. Its parent company, Sun-Times Media Group trades for $.03 a share. Davidson Kempner, a large shareholder in the firm, has dumped the CEO and most of the board. The paper has no chance of competing with The Chicago Tribune.
8. NY Daily News is one of several large papers fighting for circulation and advertising in the New York City area. Unlike The New York Times, New York Post, Newsday, and Newark Star Ledger, the Daily News is not owned by a larger organization. Real estate billionaire Mort Zuckerman owns the paper. Based on figures from other big dailies it could easily lose $60 million or $70 million and has no chance of recovering from that level
9. The Fort Worth Star Telegram is another one of the big dailies that competes with a larger paper in a neighboring market—Dallas. The parent of The Dallas Morning News, Belo, is arguably a stronger company that the Star Telegram’s parent, McClatchy. The Morning News has a circulation of about 350,000 and the Star Telegram has just over 200,000. The Star Telegram will have to shut down or become an edition of its rival. Putting them together would save tens of millions of dollars a year.
10. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is in one of the economically weakest markets in the country. Its parent, Advance Publications, has already threatened to close its paper in Newark. Employees gave up enough in terms of concessions to keep the paper open. Advance, owned by the Newhouse family, is carrying the burden of its paper plus Conde Nast, its magazine group which is losing advertising revenue. The Plain Dealer will be shut or go digital by the end of next year.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor:
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.",1377,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604794.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526100301-20220526130301-00413.warc.gz,0.962886691093445
5a6931ca-0c93-4247-ac34-3008cd1868d7,2020-10-24T14:29:23+00:00,2020-10-24,0,https://asitstandsblog.com/category/harlem/,"Listen to this story narrated by master storyteller Otis Jiry
“Shine? I’ll make ya shoes look fine!“
The man passed 10-year old Leroy like he wasn’t even there. It was getting dark and soon there would be no chance of making any money. Reluctantly, Leroy folded up his little stand and seat.
He had a long way to walk back to Harlem. He couldn’t afford any kind of transportation. Not even the subway. Every penny he made went to keep his family from starving. His father was dead. His mother who had a terrible case of gout, could barely move on some days.
His three sisters, all older than him, did what they could to help provide funds for a roof over their head, and food. Being black, and poor, almost guaranteed they would never leave the slums of Harlem.
Because of bullies, and territorial gangsters, Leroy was forced to always keep moving where he did business. Some days he walked miles, relocating three or four times out of necessity’s sake.
Leroy learned his way around over the course of several years. He got to know which neighborhoods to avoid, and where it was safe to set up shop. Still, there was always new neighborhoods to explore in his search for money.
It was a new neighborhood where he hit his best payday ever!
All day long, men in dark clothes passed the Funeral Home near where he set up his stand. Many of them wanted a shoeshine. All were quiet and extremely generous, leaving him tips.
He lost track of time until the last shine, when darkness crept up on him like a thief. There were only a couple of street lamps working. Most were dark. Leroy pulled his threadbare coat around his chest tighter and shivered. A cold wind struck up as he starting walking down the street.
He was looking over his shoulder and didn’t see the man until he bumped into him! He immediately dropped his stand and covered up his head, fully expecting to be hit for his impropriety.
When nothing happened, he looked up and saw a tall pale man smiling at him.
“Sorry sir, I….”
“Don’t worry about it boy. We all get in a hurry sometimes, and make mistakes. Could I talk you into shining my shoes right now?”
Despite Leroy’s misgivings about the strange-looking man wearing an 18th century coat, he set up his stand under one light that worked.
Fear tiptoed through his head as he dutifully buffed the man’s antique shoes. He knew shoes. He was sure he never saw anything like these ones.
When he was done, Leroy shyly asked if the stranger approved of his job?
The man stroked one end of his long black mustache and nodded agreeably. “Yes, well done boy. Here’s your reward.” He handed Leroy a gold coin. His eyes widened in surprise. The only gold coin he’d ever seen was in a pawn shop.
“Thank you,” he stammered.
“I’ll make a deal with you. Meet me once a month on this same day after dark, and I will continue to pay you with a gold coin. You must never tell anyone about our arrangement however.”
“Yes…” he assured him, “I won’t tell anyone.”
Then the stranger was gone.
After he got home that night he showed his sisters his prize. They were dumbfounded and excited. The next day all four kids went to the pawn shop where their uncle worked. The uncle’s eyes opened wide in surprise after examining the coin.
It was a $4 gold piece called a “Flowering Hair Stella” and was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars! The uncle was trembling when he picked up the phone and called an appraiser he knew.
“I’d guess you’ll get somewhere around $200,000 at auction,” the expert said.
All four kids screamed out loud in joy! The uncle was busy figuring out how he could get a cut of this sudden good fortune.
A month later life had changed drastically after they moved into a new house in a nice neighborhood. This sudden life of luxury caused them all to go a bit crazy and they spent most of their money.
Leroy thought about what the stranger said. He unpacked his old clothes which he couldn’t bear to throw away, and put them on. It took him a while to find his shoeshine stand. Someone had put it in attic.
He showed up at the same street where he met the stranger just before dark. The poor lighting caused shadows to undulate along the buildings and pour out into the street. He was looking at the ones across the street when he heard a cough nearby.
“Ahhhhum,” the stranger said, “You’ve returned to shine my shoes, I see.”
“Yes sir,” Leroy meekly agreed.
This time the stranger was more talkative.
“What did you do with the gold coin I gave you” he asked.
“I used it to put a roof over my family’s head, and for food for all of us,” he answered.
“Excellent! Good boy! Here’s your payment for tonight’s work.”
He handed Leroy a gold coin that looked just like the other one.
“In a month then?”
When Leroy returned home that night he showed his sisters the gold coin. Their excitement soon changed to suspicion.
“Where you gettin these coins?” Latasha, his oldest sister asked.
“Told you. I got it for giving a man a shoeshine,” he said sullenly.
“The same man?” she queried.
“What you mean maybe? C’mon lil man, this is me! Your sissy.”
Leroy began to feel guilty. He loved all of his sisters and he was keeping a big secret from them.
“Yeah…it was from the same man.”
“How did you find him again?” Tisha, his other sister asked.
“Well, that’s easy,” Tonya, the third sister claimed. “He went back to the same neighborhood. Isn’t that right Leroy?”
The next day all four kids, and their mother, went to an independent coin appraiser to cut the uncle out of this windfall. He proved to be an ass the last time, demanding finders fees.
The coin was put up for auction a month later, and sold for $250,000.
This time, the mother and sisters paid off their accumulated bills, and took the rest and invested it in the stock market. Two days later the stock market crashed on Tuesday, October 24th, 1929!
The following night Leroy kept his appointment with the stranger. Once again the stranger was talkative.
“So, what did you do with the last gold coin I gave you?”
Leroy hesitated. He hated telling the truth and risking rebuke, but he was an honest kid.
“My family lost it,” he admitted.
The stranger’s eyes darkened in anger. He looked Leroy in the eyes as if reading his mind. His countenance softening when he spoke, “I’m sorry to hear that. Here’s your coin. It’s the last one you’ll get from me. Better luck with this one boy.”
Leroy looked down in his hand and saw the same type of coin as the other two. When he looked up the stranger was gone. He stood there for minutes on the sidewalk, watching the fog creep in.
When he got home he hid the coin. He would wait until he was 21 years-old and could lay claim to it without any legal challenges from his family.
As Leroy neared his legal age, he was still shining shoes. He seemed to enjoy the streets however, and started telling fantastic stories that his customers enjoyed. Their favorite story was how Leroy was really rich and was doing this – shining shoes – to pass time.
As It Stands, this was my twist on the generous stranger genre.",1829,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107883636.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024135444-20201024165444-00643.warc.gz,0.986643612384796
58924365-e85f-41d3-9c42-0aefa846736d,2018-08-20T07:48:36+00:00,2018-08-20,0,https://zanaproducts.co.za/shop/black-specks-pouch/,"Black Specks Pouch Gifts Under R250, Accessories, Pouches, The Organiser, The Teenager
A black specks print pouch. This pouch has a brass finish zip and is lined for a luxurious feel. Can be used for make up, travelling, bits & bobs or anything under the sun!Professionally screen printed onto a thick heavy weight 100% cotton fabric. Size: 16cm x 24cmCare: Cold hand wash and hot iron with steam on reverse side of print.Includes pouch only & not display items used for photograph.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.",129,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215858.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820062343-20180820082343-00221.warc.gz,0.871156632900238
35b1ef29-4716-482f-bc36-6849949ce878,2017-08-21T23:49:43+00:00,2015-08-01,0,http://www.sarna.net/wiki/CHH_Bucephalus,"As at 3059 the Congress-class frigate Bucephalus was a WarShip within the Clan Hell's Horses touman and was serving as the CHH Bucephalus. The Bucephalus would continue to be an active part of the touman throughout the next decade.
Following the beginning of the Hell's Horses campaign against their former allies in Clan Ice Hellion during Operation ICE STORM, the Ice Hellion invasion of the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone in the Inner Sphere, the Bucephalus would see action against at least one Ice Hellion WarShip. The Bucephalus is known to have engaged the Lola III-class destroyer CIH Cold Hunter in the Apollo system as the Cold Hunter attempted to cover the retreat of the Ice Hellion's Zeta Galaxy; the Bucephalus came close to destroying the lighter ship, and the damage inflicted by the Bucephalus was directly responsible for the Cold Hunter's subsequent surrender during an engagement in the Dark Nebula in March 3072.
In the aftermath of the Jihad Clan Wolf began a series of strikes against the Hell's Horses territory in the Inner Sphere, and in January 3081 the Bucephalus found itself facing down Clan Wolf forces while fighting alongside a former Ice Hellion WarShip - the York-class destroyer CHH Stampede, formerly the CIH Pack Leader until her capture by the Hell's Horses.
The Bucephalus and the Stampede were involved in the defense of Kirchbach in the face of a determined Trial of Possession from the Wolves' Gamma and Kappa Galaxies escorted by the CWS Rogue, another Congress-class frigate. The Wolf forces were overconfident, underestimating the Hell's Horses strength in the system, and the Stampede and the Bucephalus proceeded to inflict substantial damage on the Rogue; Kappa Galaxy then lost almost half its strength on the approach to the planet as the DropShips were torn apart on approach. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful, with both Wolf Galaxies outfought on the ground and forced to surrender.
- Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 60, ""Naval Assets""
- Field Manual: Updates, p. 45, ""Naval Assets""
- Wars of Reaving, p. 76, ""Line of Death""
- Wars of Reaving, p. 85, ""Icy Fire""
- Wars of Reaving, p. 175, ""Clan Hell's Horses""
- Field Manual: 3145, p. 155",522,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109682.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821232346-20170822012346-00064.warc.gz,0.940019428730011
4b5959df-dc39-4227-87df-276a437d4a52,2013-05-20T22:14:15+00:00,2012-05-01,1,http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/RenalCellCarcinoma/32839,"CHICAGO -- An investigational drug targeting all three forms of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor was more effective against advanced renal cell carcinoma than a current standard agent, researchers found.
Results from a head-to-head phase III trial comparing the new drug, tivozanib, with sorafenib (Nexavar) in 517 patients showed significantly longer progression-free survival (11.9 months versus 9.1 months, P=0.042), according to Robert J. Motzer, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues.
In an abstract published ahead of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology here, the researchers also reported an objective response rate of 33% with tivozanib versus 23% for sorafenib (P=0.014).
As has been the case with other angiogenesis inhibitors, the most common side effect with tivozanib was hypertension, seen at all levels of severity in 46% of patients and at grade 3 or 4 in 26%. The incidence with tivozanib was somewhat higher than in patients receiving sorafenib, of whom 36% had any degree of hypertension and 18% developed it at grade 3 or 4.
Tivozanib not only blocks VEGF receptor subtypes 1, 2, and 3, but also platelet-derived growth factor-beta and a third cancer promoter known as cKIT.
The phase III results were generally similar to those seen in earlier trials involving advanced renal cell carcinoma. For example, in a 272-patient, placebo-controlled study reported at the 2009 ASCO meeting, it produced an objective response rate of 25.4%.
In the current trial, Motzer and colleagues studied the drug in patients with clear cell, advanced renal cell carcinoma who had already undergone nephrectomy and who had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1.
They had received no more than one prior systemic therapy for metastatic disease and some had not received drug treatment. Patients who had previously received VEGF inhibitors or mTOR-targeted drugs were excluded.
Patients were randomized equally to tivozanib (1.5 mg daily for three weeks followed by one week off therapy) or sorafenib (400 mg twice daily every day) in 4-week cycles.
The study's primary endpoint was median progression-free survival, evaluated by blinded, independent radiological reviewers. Overall survival rates were not reported in the abstract.
The two treatment groups were similar except that the tivozanib group had fewer patients with an ECOG performance status of 0 (45% versus 54%, P=0.035).
Tivozanib appeared to be especially effective in drug-naive patients. Median progression-free survival in this subgroup (70% of patients in both arms) was 12.7 months with the new agent compared with 9.1 months for sorafenib (P=0.037).
Although hypertension was somewhat more common with tivozanib, some other adverse effects appeared less frequent. These included the following:
- Hand-foot syndrome, all grades: tivozanib 13%, sorafenib 54%
- Hand-foot syndrome, grade 3+: tivozanib 2%, sorafenib 17%
- Diarrhea, all grades: tivozanib 22%, sorafenib 32%
- Diarrhea, grade 3+: tivozanib 2%, sorafenib 6%
Fatigue and neutropenia were seen in about equal numbers with both treatments and severe cases were rare. Mild to moderate fatigue was recorded for some 12% of patients and the incidence of grade 1 to 2 neutropenia was less than 10%.
Earlier this year, tivozanib's commercial backers indicated plans to apply for U.S. and European marketing approvals later this year.
Primary source: American Society of Clinical Oncology
Motzer R, et al ""Tivozanib versus sorafenib as initial targeted therapy for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma: results from a phase III randomized, open-label, multicenter trial"" ASCO 2012; Abstract 4501.",907,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961606204509735
2d558096-b560-4bb3-b8a7-7dcfdd97ef5d,2015-03-31T05:36:05+00:00,2014-03-27,1,http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/latest-news/275972/arab-countries-to-send-oil-product-aid-to-egypt-to-september,"CAIRO: Arab countries will extend aid to Egypt in the form of petroleum products until at least September, Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian said on Thursday, a move that will help avert an energy crunch expected in the summer when consumption soars.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have rushed to provide aid to Egypt, including around $4 billion worth of oil products sent between July and December.
Since the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi after mass protests.
""Arab aid for petroleum products offered to Egypt will continue until next September or October,"" Dimian, who took office last month in a surprise cabinet reshuffle, said in a text message to Reuters.
Last month, Egypt's oil minister said the country would need to import $1 billion worth of petroleum products to meet energy needs for the summer.
Fuel subsidies cost Egypt's government $15 billion a year, a fifth of the state budget.
The money keeps pump prices well below market values, giving Egyptians no incentive to curb their consumption.
Egypt also requires liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power generation, in short supply due to declining local production, even as it cut into exports of LNG previously promised to foreign firms. (Reuters)",255,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300313.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00031-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948842883110046
adad7a65-1ab4-440e-883e-7585fd2fbe22,2020-10-28T08:50:19+00:00,2020-08-15,1,https://www.jpost.com/tags/un-security-council,"If the American maneuver doesn’t work out, Israel could face two problems: Iran will be able to buy weapons, and veto power in the UN Security Council will be called into question.
UN Security Council ‘must choose between arming terrorists or standing by the Gulf,’ he says
Hook, served in the position for the past two years, is being replaced by Elliott Abrams, who currently serves as the special representative for Venezuela.
How can the US maximum pressure campaign against Iran remain effective if the conventional arms embargo expires in October?
One seat on the council remains open.
The ban is set to expire in October 2020.
Washington has shared the strategy and an arms embargo draft with Britain, France and Germany, the US official confirmed.
“Council Members reiterated their support for a negotiated two-state solution… where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders.”
Palestinian leader willing to hold Quartet-led talks with Israel on the basis of the 2008 Annapolis process he had engaged in with Olmert.
Danon says Abbas would go to Jerusalem, not New York, if he really wanted to negotiate peace.",247,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107897022.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028073614-20201028103614-00347.warc.gz,0.958171606063843
26047bfd-99f1-4953-a026-c58f66097c44,2019-08-18T08:49:00+00:00,2018-03-11,0,https://heightsofmadness.com/2018/03/11/to-go-to-the-hills-by-any-means-is-prose-but-to-run-among-them-this-is-poetry/,"I have been running for almost 22 hours. Running is probably the wrong word. I have been moving – insistently moving over the summits of the 23 Munros that form the wild, high loop of Ramsay’s Round, Scotland’s classic 24-hour mountain running challenge.
I am running down the rubble of the tourist track on Ben Nevis, the final peak of an anticlockwise round. I am going to make it. Exhaustion, nausea, stifling May heat, the chilling darkness of a Highland night, some 8,500 metres of ascent, some 60 miles of largely pathless hillside – they contrived, but I am going to make it. I will be number 101 in a list of immortals.
I catch the eye of an ascending walker. He is encumbered by bag, boots and poles. He shakes his head as I run by. The words are uttered to my back, but they are unmistakable.
Perhaps we are – we, that is: the hill, the fell, the mountain runners. But, for us, there is no other way. Running and mountains are indivisible; there cannot be one without the other. To go to the hills by any means is prose. But to run among them? This is poetry.
‘Out of place?’
Hill running is hard, so hard it can seem preposterous, so hard that it seems absurd to do such a thing in an environment that surely demands its visitors to pause and really look.
Alfred Wainwright, one of the greatest hillwalkers of them all, would agree. ‘Fell runners will complete the whole round in less than two hours without seeing anything other than the track before them,’ he wrote of the Fairfield Horseshoe race in the Lake District. ‘I admire those who can perform such feats. I envy their fitness but not their achievements; racers and record breakers seem to me to be out of place on the high fells. Mountains are there to be enjoyed, and enjoyed leisurely.’
Wainwright seems to assume that we should all go to hills and mountains for the same purpose.
It is not that simple.
It is perhaps Leslie Shadbolt’s retort that best characterises why hill runners are called to high places. Reflecting on his continuous traverse of the 11 Munros of the Cuillin ridge on Skye in 1911, Shadbolt wrote: ‘The true appreciation (of mountains) is… only reached in conjunction with sustained physical effort to the limit of one’s powers.’
There lies the brilliance of hill running: the thrill of being among mountains is elevated by the application required to work harder. As I run up a hill, I am reminded of the thing I most take for granted: the beating of my heart.
Nicky Spinks is more Shadbolt than Wainwright. The Yorkshire sheep farmer, who ran a double Bob Graham Round of 84 Lakeland summits in 45 hours, declared: ‘I’m probably going to push my body to a stage where it just goes enough is enough, and I sit down on the floor. I just want to know what I can do.’
Don’t we all? Where better than mountains to find out what exactly that is. Such aspiration is what has made running challenges as new as the Glen Coe Skyline or as traditional as Ramsay’s Round so appealing. The runner can go to places that no hillwalker could fathom, physically and emotionally. The outcome is like a drug: an astonishing juxtaposition of beautiful madness.
But what about the ‘view’? Surely hill runners’ eyes are necessarily locked to the ground, unable to appreciate the glories of all that surrounds – if the clouds permit, of course. As such, hill runners can be portrayed as shallow participants in the mountains, as if our presence is of less value, like we are watching a football match from behind the screen of an executive box, not standing with the rest in a draughty terrace. Maybe we are ‘show offs’? Superficial ones at that.
Reverend Herbert T. Coles saw hill-going as a religious experience. In hills – from the Nilgiri of southern India to the sublime Cuillin – he did not so much see the presence of God, he felt it. You do not need to be religious to understand such a notion.
Coles’ The Cuillins of Skye is a sermon and a metaphor: nowhere did Coles feel closer to God than the ‘vast temple’ of the Cuillin. Coles lambasts those who do not ‘really see the hills’ – those, for instance, who step off a boat at Loch Coruisk and remark: ‘There I have seen them. Oh yes, lovely.’
Night-time in the Pentlands
I am running in the Pentlands, the group of hills that abut Edinburgh’s southern fringes. The slopes are draped in snow, illuminated by torch light. On this February night, we descend the rough bog and tussock of Hare Hill, while grey, swelling outlines seem shuffled about in the confusion of darkness. We do not see the hills – not ‘really’ anyway – but we are among them. We feel them beneath our feet, on our hands as we reach out to rock and heather. We are a part of them, and they are a part of us.
We could not be more present.
I reach the summit of Capelaw first, then turn to see three circles of yellow pierce the night-time. I imagine someone looking up from all the way down there, spotting our beams, wondering who we are. I tell you what we are. We are untouchable. As we descend Caerketton, above a sleeping Edinburgh, we feel like the first people in the world.
The article was originally published by Outdoors Magic.",1260,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313747.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818083417-20190818105417-00402.warc.gz,0.961910128593445
5c828609-3858-4183-b391-5967bb37d7cc,2017-08-17T11:42:16+00:00,2015-11-26,1,https://knownuclearwaste.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/security-storage-concerns-linger-at-closed-nuclear-sites-november-2015/,"US regulators still seek safe site for waste
VERNON, Vt. — Across from an elementary school, a short road leads to a gate topped by barbed wire and a stark sign that warns in large letters: “Security personnel are authorized to use deadly force.”
The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant stopped producing power last year, but rigorous security measures, including heavily armed guards in bulletproof towers, are still in place and will be for decades to protect hundreds of tons of radioactive waste that remain behind the gate.
The spent fuel will stay here along a bend of the Connecticut River, just 10 miles from the Massachusetts border, until the federal government can resolve a decades-old political battle over where to store the waste from the nation’s nuclear plants.
Across the United States, there are 22 decommissioned plants that have become heavily guarded repositories of spent fuel, their owners waiting indefinitely for a federal decision on where to permanently store the radioactive waste. About 150 miles away in Plymouth, Mass., the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will enter the same phase after it closes sometime in the next four years and moves its waste into massive casks
By David Abel Globe Staff November 26, 2015, Boston Globe",246,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103270.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817111816-20170817131816-00098.warc.gz,0.939611613750458
d0ebd48f-3097-46c8-a27e-b39b5147406f,2017-08-21T14:02:12+00:00,2017-08-21,0,http://blog.davinciroofscapes.com/blog/all-about-synthetic-roofs/manufactured-slate-tiles-and-shake-shingles-what-is-it-made-of-v2,"Plastic slate and cedar shake alternatives
are typically comprised of a variety of engineeredpolymers, rubbers, UV and color stabilizers, and natural or cement components with fiber or polymer bonds. We use 100% virgin resin (TPO) in our manufactured slate tiles and shake shingles. While other synthetic tiles may be manufactured from recycled materials such as tires or milk bottles, it is our opinion that the variability found in recycled materials could compromise the long term viability of a roof. Roofing tiles are exposed to extremely harsh conditions (extreme weather, extreme UV, extreme temperature). The only way to assure that a synthetic slate or shake will provide good service for 50 years or more is to consistently produce those tiles to very exacting standards. We do not feel it is possible to meet our high standards for quality and durability using recycled materials.",170,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108709.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821133645-20170821153645-00646.warc.gz,0.92452734708786
74510a52-c8a4-4846-98cd-7d1638249adf,2018-08-20T08:45:46+00:00,2018-08-20,0,http://siraonline.com/colon.html,"A barium enema is an x-ray of your lower
digestive tract, your rectum and colon. This exam helps
your doctor to find polyps, tumors, blockages, or other
It is very important that you follow the instructions
for this preparation in order for your test to work. If
you have not followed your instructions to the letter,
your exam may have to be cancelled and rescheduled.
Your physician will give you an order for a bowel prep.
Be sure to follow the instructions included with the kit
carefully regarding dietary and liquid restrictions.
When you arrive at the Center, you will be asked to fill out
some papers. Then you will be directed to change into a gown and lie down on
An enema tip will be inserted into your rectum, and a balloon on the end of
the tip will inflate to help keep the tip and the solution inside. Barium
will then be introduced into your colon. If an air contrast colon exam has
been ordered, air will be put into your colon along with the barium. You
will feel very full and like you need to go to the bathroom but the small
balloon on the end of the tube will help prevent this from happening. Just
do the best you can to hold the barium in.
Breathe slowly and deeply to help yourself relax during your exam. Doing
this and following the directions that the doctor and technologists give you
will hasten your procedure and make you more comfortable.
You will be asked to change positions to get different views of your colon.
You will be told to hold your breath at various times while the pictures are
being taken. After this, you will finally be allowed a bathroom break, and
after you return from the bathroom, you may have one last picture taken
before you are finished.
The total time for the exam itself will be 30 - 60 minutes.
You may resume your normal activities and
your regular diet after your exam. Be sure to drink lots
of water though, as this will help flush the barium from
your system faster. You may have white stools for a day
< Back to Specialized X-rays Directory
If you have a printer attached to your computer, you may click on these links to download printable forms to complete at home and bring to your appointment. If you do not have access to a printer or do not wish to download these forms, you will receive these same forms when you come to SIRA for your appointment.
Assignments of Benefits
Authorization for Records Release",539,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216051.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820082010-20180820102010-00493.warc.gz,0.927583575248718
264af909-d437-4703-8c68-d5b06e56e687,2020-10-20T08:44:04+00:00,2016-03-03,0,https://m.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/sloma-sculpture-exhibit-to-honor-last-of-the-northern-white-rhinoceros/Content?oid=2967614,"They all huddled together, afraid and uncertain of why the men were trying to hurt them.
The youngest of the three rhinoceroses cried out, alerting the guards to the imminent danger. The sound of gunshots and screams filled the air. Then silence. The three and last of the northern white rhinoceroses collectively exhaled, but still stayed put in their tight, small circle. It felt safer that way.
- PHOTO BY DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN
- BUILDING A RHINOCEROS: Local artists Abby Belknap, Creig C. Sherburne, Lucie Ryan, and Larry Le Brane work on building a life-sized rhinoceros.
Foiling poaching attempts is all just part of the job for the people working to protect Fatu, Najin, and Sudan, the last of the northern white rhinoceroses left on Earth. The northern white rhino is a subspecies of rhinoceros in Africa that is woefully close to extinction. There used to be a fourth of their kind, until a 41-year-old female named Nola was euthanized at the San Diego Zoo in November after a series of illnesses.
Now, no northern white rhinos can be found roaming wild and free. Fatu, Najin, and Sundan all live at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, where they are kept safe from poachers with armed security 24/7. There is reason to put up guards around the clock for three rhinoceroses—roughly 1,215 were killed by poachers in South Africa in 2014, according to the nonprofit group Save The Rhino. The rhinoceros is hunted for its horn and is in high demand in Asian countries, particularly Vietnam. The horn is thought to have uses in traditional Chinese medicine, but it’s also seen as a status symbol.
- PHOTOS BY DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN
- MODEL CITIZEN: This itty bitty rhinoceros was the model for the life-sized Rhinoceros Project, which will be displayed at the McMeen Gallery at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art starting March 4.
The plight of the northern white rhinoceros struck a chord with Los Osos artist Patrick Mehaffy. He decided to use its story and the upcoming Central Coast Sculptors Group’s show at the McMeen Gallery at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art to spread the word about the dwindling northern white rhinoceros population, while also challenging the physical limitations of the gallery by building a life-sized sculpture of a rhinoceros. The piece is fittingly dubbed The Rhinoceros Project.
“What I thought was we should do something that really confounds and confronts the limitations of the space and do something that’s just impossibly big,” Mehaffy said. “I imagine the first thought will be, ‘How did they get it into the room?’ Since it literally can’t fit through the door. Then I hope there’s something they might want to do, like give to a conservation effort.”
While the gallery is only 12 feet by 27 feet, the rhinoceros sculpture being built by 12 artists from the Central Coast Sculptors Group will be 12 feet long from horn to tail and about 6 feet tall. It’s literally too big to fit into the doorway and will be built in pieces and assembled in the gallery before the big reveal. A real, fully grown white rhinoceros weighs about 5,000 pounds, but for the sake of the artists, this one will be much lighter.
- PHOTO BY DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN
- BIG, BEAUTIFUL RHINOCEROS : Abby Belknap, an artist in the Central Coast Sculptors Group, works on the sizeable rear end of the rhinoceros.
Right now The Rhinoceros Project is still a work in progress. He is made up of mostly cardboard and some plywood along with two sparkly glass horns and intricate dark glass eyes. Later, he will also get a spunky little tail. To finish, the rhinoceros will be all wrapped up like a mummy in cloth that has been soaked in black tea to give him that ancient look.
While three of his real-life counterparts remain, the future of the northern white rhinoceros as a species looks grim.
“Unless they figure out some sort of biomedical miracle, the northern white rhinoceros will likely be extinct in our lifetime,” Mehaffy said.
Neither Fatu nor Najin, the two females in Kenya, is capable of natural reproduction, and Sudan, the sole male, has a low sperm count. Still there is a ray of hope: artificially assisted reproduction remains a possibility. In July, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy created a GoFundMe campaign called Make A Rhino, with a goal of raising $1 million in order to try using in vitro and stem cell technologies to continue the line of the northern white rhinoceros.
The rhinoceros, a symbol of power and strength, is juxtaposed by its current vulnerability as it continues to fight for its very existence.
“We want to raise awareness in some way,” Mehaffy said. “We’re trying to represent the essence of the rhinoceros. We hope it has that quality of mummified Egyptian animals where it represents the animal and also has that sense of power.”
Ryah Cooley says, “Rhino power!” at firstname.lastname@example.org.",1210,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107871231.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020080044-20201020110044-00706.warc.gz,0.947829484939575
11943dc0-a1c7-4952-aef9-fd87e2e7b1f1,2013-05-20T11:29:52+00:00,2013-01-22,0,http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Sundance-Review-East-Thoughtful-Spy-Thriller-Hollywood-Has-Forgotten-How-Make-35263.html,"Sundance Review: The East Is The Thoughtful Spy Thriller Hollywood Has Forgotten How To Make
Two years ago Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij took a late premiere slot for their film Sound of My Voice and seemingly took over the Sundance Film Festival overnight. Their low-budget, tightly scripted and mysterious movie was the rare Sundance film that seemed to immediately demand a sequel (though there's no plan for one yet), and the film was bought by Fox Searchlight, which quickly agreed to finance and distribute the pair's next effort, The East.
That film easily could have bypassed a festival debut in favor of a more traditional release, but Marling and Batmanglij have returned to Sundance with The East not just out of nostalgia, but to prove that they're only getting better. A bigger and more conventional film than Sound of My Voice, with genre elements that wouldn't be out of place in a Bourne film, The East is also spectacular, the kind of gripping thriller that precious few mainstream Hollywood directors even attempt these days. Taking the time to dig deep into its characters and constantly blurring the line between right and wrong, The East is provocative and thoughtful-- but also far more entertaining that you'd ever think it had a right to be.
Marling, who played the ethereal cult leader of Sound of My Voice, is this time the audience surrogate, a corporate spy who infiltrates herself into The East, an environmental terror group intent on attacking many of the fat cat clients who keep her employed. Marling's Jane has experience in the CIA and has clearly impressed her hard-nosed boss (Patricia Clarkson), but she's soft and canny enough to fit right in with the kind of anarchist freegans you see hanging around public parks, and then eventually The East. The group is camped out in a crumbling mansion, planning their next attack (or ""jam"" as they call it) and engaging in all kinds of rituals familiar from cult stories, from group baths in the lake to a touchy-feely game of spin the bottle. Alexander Skarsgard's Benji, with his sharp good looks and enormous frame, is the classic charismatic leader, but he's matched in passion and chilly intensity by Ellen Page's Izzy, who is the hardest on Jane upon her arrival and seems most committed to the cause.
In the beginning we see some impressive details of Jane's double-agent prowess, from her willingness to gash open her own arm to a cannily hidden Blackberry, but that fades away to an almost illogical degree later on-- how, exactly, does she report back to the office so frequently with no one suspecting her? But what Marling and Batmanglij's script lacks in specifics, Batmanglij makes up in the intensity of his direction, assembling fantastically intense scenes for the ""jams"" and probing delicately into the constantly shifting relationships in the group. We all know the story of these kinds of collectives, how united passion turns into infighting and dissolution, but the characters within The East are so well-drawn that it feels meaningful here, especially with Jane finding herself trapped between her loyalties to her job and the family she's pretended to join.
There's no spy story more familiar than that of one who starts to identify with her double life, but in the hands of a marvelously expressive actress like Marling, who's matched perfectly by the towering Skarsgard, Jane's conflict feels alive and fresh. The East wheezes its way a bit toward a conclusion, as if Batmanglij and Marling are still too hooked on the cliffhanger from Sound of My Voice to give this one an honest finale, but that's truly a small complaint in a thriller with so much to enjoy. Coming to theaters from Fox Searchlight this year, The East is a small scale, welcome respite from the usual drone of Hollywood genre-- and yet another example of how Sundance breakout stars can get only better as their careers get bigger.
Back to top",833,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964104115962982
86399fd1-c8c7-4fad-b08f-dacb1a749ba8,2020-10-27T11:57:50+00:00,2018-05-22,1,https://corruption-free.com/article/diezanis-poll-cash-shagari-4-others-docked-for-money-laundering/,"Former Minister of Water Resources Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, alongside four others was docked today in Sokoto Federal High Court on a five count charge of Conspiracy and Money Laundering to the tune of N500 million.
Charged along with the former minister are Senator Abdullahi Mohammmed Wali, Ibrahim Gidado, Nasiru Dalhatu Bafarawa and Ibrahim Milgoma.
They were being tried by Justice Idrissa Kolo.
Trouble started for the defendants after the Commission received intelligence that the accused persons were also beneficiaries of the $115m allegedly disbursed by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke to senior members of the Peoples Democratic Party, to influence the 2015 election.
Some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, who also benefitted from the money, are separately facing trial.
Shagari and other defendants allegedly received the N500million, which was not paid through any financial institution, in flagrant violation of provisions of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act.
One of the counts read: “You Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, Ibrahim Gidado and Ibrahim Milgoma sometime in March 2015, within the justification of this honourable court did conspire among yourselves to receive cash payment of the sum of N500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Naira Only) from one Abdulrahaman Ibrahim without transacting through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 16(2) of the same Act”.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them.
Prosecution counsel Johnson Ojogbane requested a date for trial in view of the plea of the defendants and also asked that the defendants be remanded in prison custody.
Counsel representing the 1st,3rd and 4th defendants Ibrahim Abdulaziz as well as counsel for the 2nd and 5th defendants Ibrahim Idris and L.A Abdulkadir respectively applied for the bail of their clients pending the determination of the case.
Ojogbane confirmed that he was served with the various bail applications by the applicants but also reminded the court that he was only served yesterday (May 21 ) and therefore needed time to respond.
Justice Idrissa after listening to the arguments exchanged between the parties remanded the defendants in police custody till Thursday, 24 May, 2018 for the hearing and determination of bail.",522,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894175.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027111346-20201027141346-00372.warc.gz,0.961722373962402
adb3c907-df63-487e-b7d6-c2d6130a11cb,2020-10-21T02:23:21+00:00,2015-10,1,https://www.weekinchina.com/2015/10/trading-barbs/,"Anti-American sentiment seemed to have plummed new depths in China in the wake of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in May 1999. But six months later Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji managed an unlikely pivot: final agreement with the US on China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Zhu had lobbied hard for China’s accession to the WTO (for 16 years, in fact, which was long enough to “turn black hair white” according to Zhu). He argued that WTO membership would be the key to fostering further market reforms in China. The Party’s hardliners, however, believed that Beijing had made too many concessions to Washington, so much so that Zhu and his fellow negotiators were branded “traitors selling the country with unequal treaties” (see WiC261).
Chinese economists have been debating a similarly divisive topic after the recent announcement of a landmark trade liberalisation deal between the US and 11 other Pacific countries this month.
Known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the pact – if ratified – will set new terms for both trade and business investment among the 12 members (the Pacific Rim nations involved – such as Japan – represent roughly 40% of global GDP and one third of world trade).
Of course, many analysts see the new deal as a strategy for the US and Japan to outmanoeuvre China in the region, which pointedly hasn’t been invited to join the new grouping.
American President Barack Obama has also made plain his intention to balance Beijing’s economic heft in the Pacific. “We can’t let countries like China write the rules of the global economy. We should write those rules, opening new markets to American products while setting high standards for protecting workers and preserving our environment,” he said in a statement.
Not surprisingly this earned a barbed reaction inside China, with the Beijing News describing how the TPP is known in some circles as “the economic NATO” and regarding it as a clear attempt to contain China’s influence in Asia.
“China must speed up bilateral and multilateral trade talks with its trading partners,” it urged. “The best counter-strategy to the TPP is the One Belt One Road plan.”
China has already signed 14 free trade agreements with countries including Australia, Switzerland, Peru, Chile and Pakistan, and more are in the pipeline.
But if the TPP is an ‘anyone but China’ club, the country’s official media has done its best to sound unflappable. “The TPP is not an opportunity China cannot afford to miss. Any global trade framework will not be perfect without China’s participation. We have nothing to be insecure about,” the Global Times pointed out, although it also added that “accelerating reforms is the only way to cope with the TPP” and that China needs to “repeat its 1990s determination before it joined the WTO”.
That said, there are newspapers that want China to join the new trade grouping, including the more liberal Southern Metropolis Daily, which suggested that China should “embrace the TPP” so as to instil a greater sense of urgency in overhauling the nation’s overly-statist economic model.
Of course the TPP could prove divisive for member countries. It has already attracted criticism from the likes of US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and it also became a controversial topic during the Canadian election this month. Caijing magazine says the accord has yet to gain formal approval from any of its prospective members.
Given that TPP negotiations have largely taken place in secret, the magazine adds we can expect further twists when the pact’s details go before national parliaments. That could lead to delays, vetoes and fresh rounds of negotiations – and perhaps open a window for China to join in future. “China may yet have a say in shaping the TPP rules, although the process could be as painstaking as during the WTO accession talks,” it predicts.
© ChinTell Ltd. All rights reserved.
Exclusively sponsored by HSBC.
The Week in China website and the weekly magazine publications are owned and maintained by ChinTell Limited, Hong Kong. Neither HSBC nor any member of the HSBC group of companies (""HSBC"") endorses the contents and/or is involved in selecting, creating or editing the contents of the Week in China website or the Week in China magazine. The views expressed in these publications are solely the views of ChinTell Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views or investment ideas of HSBC. No responsibility will therefore be assumed by HSBC for the contents of these publications or for the errors or omissions therein.",976,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874637.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021010156-20201021040156-00367.warc.gz,0.962760806083679
02674f0b-fef3-4e58-85e2-48f5e8db9496,2013-05-19T02:18:04+00:00,2012-11-09,0,http://www.quietroom.co.uk/qr/2012/11/09/rubbish-reviews/,"Our Andy’s Throwaway Lines exhibition is garnering some pretty marvelous press coverage.
Andy spent the past few years collecting discarded notes from London’s streets. And with the help of writer’s collective 26, those notes turned into stories.
And now – with the help of some of London’s top designers – those stories have turned into a fully-fledged exhibition.
But best of all, Andy was interviewed about the project on BBC London Live last week. Click here and scroll to 2.09.35 to listen to his dulcet tones.
The exhibition runs from October 29th until 26th November 2012 at the Free Word Centre, in London’s Clerkenwell. It’s open from 9am to 9pm, Monday to Friday. You don’t need to be a member to get in and it’s absolutely free.",186,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958126723766327
23ee07ea-ace7-4c65-b859-98e94685b33a,2016-07-28T03:01:35+00:00,2015-06-01,0,http://www.thesuperficial.com/tag/drunk,"Tara Reid drunk on a reality show? No. This can’t be.
Chelsea Handler shouldn’t have. She really, really shouldn’t have.
Nick Carter tried to fight a bouncer, yet somehow ended up getting his ass beat and arrested. It’s a mystery.
Wait, Shia LaBeouf lied out of his ass while getting arrested? NO!
I’m just not seeing it.
Was Jessica Simpson drunk on the Home Shopping Network, or is she just naturally incapable of talking like people? It’s a mystery.
Jenelle Evans is wanted for an alleged assault that happened a week after she got arrested for driving without a license, so things are going great.
Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn have called it quits. So far no hookers have come forward, but give it time. Give it time.
It’s Papa Joe’s turn to make an ass out of himself. Let’s see how he does.
“Her dad is her boyfriend!” – Actual quote, you’re going to want to get in here.
Justin Bieber personally threw David Arquette out of his 21st birthday party. With his own big boy arms and everything!
Emile Hirsch has been charged with felony assault after allegedly attacking a woman at Sundance, and choking her, while drunk off his ass. Fortunately, he’s a rich, white celebrity, so all he has to do is check into rehab (done) and it’s like the whole thing never even happened!
Bobby Brown refuses to pull the plug on Bobbi Kristina because miracles.",350,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827782.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00047-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948064208030701
16be451d-9a61-40e0-bbea-23e5adf0996c,2020-10-21T21:53:13+00:00,2016-10-21,1,https://epha.org/towards-a-new-social-compact-a-view-on-the-pillar-of-social-rights/,"The European Pillar of Social Rights, launched by the European Commission in March this year is an effort to achieve a European ’Triple A’ rating in employment and social affairs, in response to the backlash against austerity measures imposed across Europe. The final outcome of the Pillar will be based on a public consultation that lasts until the end of 2016 and involves social partners, national governments, civil society, academia and citizens. The Pillar of Social Rights is not meant to replace existing rights (such as those, for instance, defined in the European Social Charter or the Charter of Fundamental Rights), but should offer a better way to assess and access them, taking into account current and future trends in work and social life. Once established, the Pillar should become the reference framework to screen participating countries’ employment and social policies, and serve as compass for a renewed process of convergence within the Euro area.
With protracted consequences of the financial crisis further exacerbated by rising precariousness and widening inequalities, Europe is falling behind its objectives set in the EU2020 strategy. Five million more people are at risk of poverty and social inclusion than before the crisis, equating to almost a quarter (24%) of the total EU population, with 9% of Europeans suffering severe deprivation. There is indeed a need to rebalance monetary, economic and social objectives, while taking into account shifting dynamics in work patterns, demographics, and social conditions. While a ’Fiscal Compact’ with tighter budget deficit rules inspired by the German debt brake model for limiting deficit was implemented in 2012, we have been far from having something like a ’Social Compact’ – and since then, we have seen austerity politics increasingly taking a toll on the social model in Europe, going hand in hand with the rise of populist and anti-European movements. In this sense, the commitment to a more social Europe comes at least four years too late, typically following an already institutionalized market-conformism that is much better suited to serve the interests of international creditors than those of ordinary citizens.
However, the efforts shown by the European Commission to tackle social concerns should not be discredited out of hand. The recent cycle of the European Semester process has incorporated a stronger social dimension, emphasizing the role of human capital, social investment, healthcare, childcare, housing and rehabilitation services. There is a window of opportunity for the European Pillar of Social Rights to capitalize on current efforts by strengthening social standards to ensure a life of dignity and full participation in society for all. Concurrently, new ways of integration of the Pillar of Social Rights into the European Semester need to be implemented in a sense that social concerns are put on an equal footing, and not just as mere followers of fiscal and budgetary discipline.
The current draft Pillar of Social Rights is subdivided into three distinct strands encompassing 20 essential principles which should become common to participating Member States in the conduct of their employment and social policy. The consultation process is open until the end of the year and with the inclusion of healthcare, sustainable social protection systems and occupational health as essential principles, EPHA members and the public health community at large have the opportunity to make wide-ranging contributions.
Against a backdrop of a rising prevalence in chronic conditions, weakening protection systems and an increase in unmet needs across several Member States, a strong commitment to better health prevention, quality and affordable healthcare embedded in a social safety net will require common consensus around better indicators accompanied by a ’healthy’ dose of political will in implementation and monitoring.",707,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878633.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021205955-20201021235955-00340.warc.gz,0.942043244838715
a5b7c187-d28f-4801-b6a1-f4e0491a2472,2018-08-16T21:23:25+00:00,2014-08-16,0,http://www.norchar.com/rochester-real-estate/areas/homes-for-sale-hamlin/,"NORCHAR website search offers all Hamlin homes, condos and foreclosures for sale. You are able to get new property listings daily that meet your search criteria.
Hamlin Median House Sales Price = $102,500
Hamlin Median Mortgage Payment = $1,287
Hamlin Median Real Estate Taxes = 3.1%
Hamlin’s Density Per Mile = 257
Hamlin Median Dwelling Age = 27 years old
Hamlin Number of Homes Built in last 10 years = 28
Hamlin Number of Homes Built in last 15 years = 220
Hamlin has an Annual Residential Turnover of 11.1%
The Average Hamlin Homeowner lives in their Home for 5.38 years.
Hamlin’s Population Growth since 2000 = -3%
Established in 1852, Hamlin’s name originated from ""Town of Union,"" but was renamed in 1861 as the Town of Hamlin, in honor of Lincoln's first Vice President Hannibal Hamlin.
Hamlin, New York, covers an area of 44.5 square miles and is 25.6 miles North West of downtown Rochester. Hamlin is located on Lake Ontario.
Hamlin is located at the western end of Monroe County and offers quick and easy access to the west side of Rochester.
It is a waterfront community with a population estimated in 2010 to be more than 7,522. According to 2010 estimates, the median annual household income level was over $65,803 for Hamlin residents.
The school district serving the town is the Hilton School District. There is 1 public high school (Hilton High School), 1 public middle school (Merton Williams) and 3 elementary schools (Quest, Village, Northwood).
There are a number of varied attractions and destinations in Hamlin, NY including the Brockport Yacht Club, Brockport Waterworks Pumping Station, Brockport Waterworks, Heberle Farms, Doan Family Farms, Heberle Farms, Breslawski Farms, Leverenz Farms, Reis Farms, Bluff Beach, Hamlin Veterans of Foreign Wars and Senior Center, Hamlin Public Library, Morton Fire Company, Hamlin Fire Department, Yanty Creek, and Sandy Creek.
Hamlin Firemen’s Carnival, 1503 Lake Rd - Thursday, August 7 – Saturday, August 9
Hamlin Farmers Market - June through October - Sunday 9am-1pm - Hamlin Town Hall - 1658 Lake Rd
Hamlin Heritage Day - September 21, 2014 - 1pm - 4pm - North Star History Center
Hamlin Central School District Link: http://www.hamlin.k12.sd.us
Hamlin Town Link: http://www.hamlinny.org
The data relating to real estate on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Program of NYSAMLS’s. Real estate listings held by firms other than Real Estate Company, are marked with the IDX logo and detailed information about them includes the Listing Broker’s Firm Name.",633,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211185.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816211126-20180816231126-00447.warc.gz,0.929183661937714
f38eec20-7a6c-4955-92ae-685900b41587,2016-07-30T05:35:45+00:00,2014-05-07,1,http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2014/05/final-thai-ouster-201457141911960287.html,"Yingluck was found guilty of abusing her power, further deepening the political crisis that has led to violent protests and brought the economy close to recession.
The decision is bound to anger supporters of Yingluck, but the court did allow ministers not implicated in the case against her to stay in office.
After the ruling, commerce minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan, who is also a deputy prime minister, replaced Yingluck. The cabinet said the caretaker government would press ahead with plans for a July 20 election.
Yingluck said she did nothing wrong while in office. Meanwhile, thousands of her Red Shirts supporters say they will descend on Bangkok on Saturday to protest against the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
More than 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since anti-government protesters took to the streets last November.
So, is Thailand poised for more violence?
Presenter: Mike Hanna
Sean Boon-pracong, adviser at the prime minister's office
Kasit Piromya, an opposition member of parliament, and deputy chair for the Democrat Party's policy committee
Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, president of the Institute of Future Studies for Development
Source: Al Jazeera",256,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832939.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00258-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.962357044219971
6c9f5542-eaf9-4205-99f3-e7d060e8841d,2022-05-18T06:09:38+00:00,2022-04-04,0,https://idance-nyc.com/retreats/,"UPCOMING RETREAT “RESTART YOUR LIFE”
April 5-9, 2022
10 PLACES TOTAL
We invite you to the exclusive dance retreat.
This is a high-quality organized adventure, the purpose of which is to take you away from everyday life, to restart your body, mind, and soul.
- Dance classes, female practices from the best mentors
- Yoga practice for a good mood
- The most powerful meditations that will truly open your eyes
- Healthy and comfortable sleep
- Healthy, and most importantly, properly balanced nutrition
- Three real Tulum ceremonies in the jungle
- Lectures that will reveal the truth to you
- Delicious restaurants and shopping
- Themed party that will immerse you in the right atmosphere
- Excursion to mystical cenotes
Where: Tulum, Mexico – a legendary place of power and spiritual change.
RETREAT is about unity with nature and a new perception of oneself. This is an opportunity to get away from the bustle of the city and get closer to your true nature. This is going beyond the usual life, a complete change of “scenery” and the opportunity to know yourself as new, free from the past concepts and beliefs.
Book your place now!⠀
You can get more information and reserve your spot by phone:
Call: 917 3328474 or send us a message!
Here is a video of our past retreat to Tulum.",344,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00012.warc.gz,0.901995539665222
ec195eea-ece3-46b1-9dcf-0c87abc3ac4c,2020-10-26T00:59:53+00:00,2017-02-27,1,http://www.banalleakage.com/2017/02/27/episode-097-the-path-to-egot/,"Podcast: Play in new window
Subscribe: Android |
News – Story: The EGOT Status. This is for those rare individuals that earn the following awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.
iTunes link: Banal Leakage
US Weekly: Lin-Manuel Miranda Could Become The Youngest EGOT Ever at Oscars 2017",77,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107890108.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026002022-20201026032022-00027.warc.gz,0.759294033050537
d1b7283a-6602-4d16-a9e6-4c774b5f2342,2015-03-30T01:26:16+00:00,2013-10-25,0,http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2013/10/25/garrow-obama-killed-breitbart-hastings-clancy/?wpmp_switcher=mobile,"The right wing ecosystem is teeming with all sorts of weird life forms. The fever swamp is full of grifters, fake “ex-terrorists” and the hopelessly deluded. People like Avi Lipkin, who goes around telling wingnut radio hosts that Obama is busy importing 50-100 million Muslims into the country and hiding them in the national parks so they can take over the country and force Sharia law on us.
Jim Garrow is one of them, either a grifter or hopelessly deluded. He makes the rounds of the more extreme and least credible right wing shows and says all kinds of crazy things. He recently went on Rick Wiles’ TruNews and claimed that President Obama killed Andrew Breitbart, Michael Hastings and Tom Clancy. And it’s all Breitbart’s fault because he has a “big mouth.” Oh, and Obama is a Saudi secret agent. And bisexual (and “everyone” in the intelligence agencies know that and they bring him boys to the White House).
Wiles: Is it common knowledge among intelligence agencies that Barack Obama is not an American but indeed a foreign agent?
Garrow: Yes. Yes.
Wiles: But do the other agencies know who he works for?
Garrow: Yes. Yeah, they do.
Wiles: And you think that answer is Saudi Arabia?
Garrow: Well, I know that to be true and that’s why Breitbart, Hastings, and Tom Clancy are dead.
Wiles: Okay, Breitbart, no doubt in my mind, taken out. He bragged. I liked Andrew Brietbart but what he did was incredibly stupid. He bragged the day before his death that in the morning he was going to reveal shocking information that would stop the Obama campaign. Mr. Breitbart dropped dead waling home at night and his corpse was blood red.
Garrow: Brighter than that actually. But the point is that he caused the death of Hastings and Tom Clancy because he had been sharing data with them.
Wiles: There’s a connection between Breitbart’s death and Hastings and Clancy?
Garrow: All of them, yea. All of them. Because of the information that Breitbart gave to Tom Clancy, he was working on a novel that would have exposed Obama as a Saudi agenda, as a Saudi plant in the White House … He knew exactly who Obama was and he was going to release it in character form in a book . The character was going to be this President of the United States who was a plant. It was going to be the real information about Obama was going to come out in the form of a novel.
It’s sad, but you know Breitbart and his big mouth, man, he caused all those deaths in the end.
Wiles: Do you think it was arsenic?
Garrow: No, another poison all together. That’s why they didn’t post the bodies for five days. That’s why the guy who took the blood work and knew the poison that had been used on Breitbart, that’s why he was killed.
Wiles: On the morning that the autopsy was supposed to be released.
Garrow: You got it.
Now here’s the punchline. Garrow claimed on another show just a couple weeks ago that he was an undercover CIA agent for 45 years until just the night before. Seriously, like Obama would have allowed a CIA agent to go around, under his real name, saying the things Garrow has said about him for the last five years? Hell, Obama wouldn’t have to do it. The CIA would never tolerate that from an agent. I have a feeling this guy thinks claiming to be a CIA agent is a good way to pick up women in bars.
It all reminds me of a guy we did some investigative reporting on in Michigan back in 2008, Barrett Moore. He was trying to set up a private military company in Pellston, Michigan and when our reporter Eartha Melzer started digging in to his background, she found out that he had lied about his military record. He claimed to have been a military intelligence officer, but the Pentagon confirmed that he only had one year of ROTC and never served in the military. When we confronted Moore with that information, his attorney said that this is because he was in intelligence, so he was undercover and wouldn’t appear in the Pentagon’s databases. When we went back to the Pentagon with that statement from Moore, the officer laughed out loud and said, “Yeah, you wouldn’t believe how often I hear that from people who never served.”",971,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298871.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00280-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.981187760829926
21edadf6-4f6b-4d65-b83a-cd831e049361,2022-05-19T14:55:15+00:00,2022-03-23,1,https://fashionbehindthescene.com/world-news/moderna-says-its-low-dose-covid-shots-work-for-kids-under-6/,"Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers the company announced Wednesday — and if regulators agree it could mean a chance to finally start vaccinating the littlest kids by summer.
Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two small-dose shots for youngsters under 6. The company also is seeking to have larger-dose shots cleared for older children and teens in the U.S.
The nation’s 18 million children under 5 are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination. Competitor Pfizer currently offers kid-sized doses for school-age children and full-strength shots for those 12 and older.
But parents have anxiously awaited protection for younger tots, disappointed by setbacks and confusionover which shots might work and when. Pfizer is testing even smaller doses for children under 5 but had to add a third shot to its study when two didn't prove strong enough. Those results are expected by early April.
Vaccinating the littlest “has been somewhat of a moving target over the last couple of months,” Dr. Bill Muller of Northwestern University, an investigator in Moderna’s pediatric studies, said in an interview before the company released its findings. “There’s still, I think, a lingering urgency to try to get that done as soon as possible.”
The younger the child, the smaller the dose being tested. Moderna said a quarter of the dose it uses for adults worked well for youngsters under age 6.
Moderna enrolled about 6,900 tots in a study of the 25-microgram doses. Early data showed after two shots, youngsters developed virus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as young adults getting regular-strength shots, the company said in a press release.
Moderna said the small doses were safe, and the main side effects were mild fevers like those associated with other commonly used pediatric vaccines.
Once Moderna submits the data to the FDA, regulators will debate whether to authorize emergency use of the small doses for tots. If so, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then will decide whether to recommend them.
While COVID-19 generally isn’t as dangerous to youngsters as to adults, some do become severely ill. The CDC says about 400 children younger than 5 have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic’s start. The omicron variant hit children especially hard, with those under 5 hospitalized at higher rates than at the peak of the previous delta surge, the CDC found.
COVID-19 vaccines in general don’t prevent infection with the omicron mutant as well as they fended off earlier variants — but they do still offer strong protection against severe illness.
Moderna reported that same trend in the trial of children under 6, conducted during the omicron surge. While there were no severe illnesses, the vaccine proved just under 44% effective at preventing any infection in babies up to age 2, and nearly 38% effective in the preschoolers.
Moderna said also said Wednesday it will ask the Food and Drug Administration to clear larger doses for older children.
While other countries already have allowed Moderna’s shots to be used in children as young as 6, the U.S. has limited its vaccine to adults. A Moderna request to expand its shots to 12- to 17-year-olds has been stalled for months.
The company said Wednesday that, armed with additional evidence, it is updating its FDA application for teen shots and requesting a green light for 6- to 11-year-olds, too.
Moderna says its original adult dose — two 100-microgram shots — is safe and effective in 12- to 17-year-olds. For elementary-age kids, it’s using half the adult dose.
But the FDA never ruled on Moderna’s application for teen shots because of concern about a very rare side effect. Heart inflammation sometimes occurs in teens and young adults, mostly males, after receiving either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Moderna is getting extra scrutiny because its shots are a far higher dose than Pfizer's.
The risk also seems linked to puberty, and regulators in Canada, Europe and elsewhere recently expanded Moderna vaccinations to kids as young as 6.
“That concern has not been seen in the younger children,” said Northwestern’s Muller.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Source: Read Full Article",966,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662529538.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519141152-20220519171152-00004.warc.gz,0.955881059169769
2799ad1c-e446-424f-8581-c12635231812,2020-10-23T23:54:11+00:00,2020-10-23,0,https://www.cgreens.com/blog/outdoor-ideas-to-winterize-your-exterior-living-spaces/,"Installing certain elements to your outdoor living space can extend your use and enjoyment of these areas into the winter months, especially in North Texas where winters are typically mild. A Dallas, Texas landscape company can help turn your outdoor ideas into a reality with proper installation, setting your space up to withstand the elements throughout the year. Thoughtful care of this space, especially in the winter months, can increase the longevity of your outdoor living area, allowing you to enjoy it for years to come. Here are some outdoor ideas of elements to add to your space to ensure winter enjoyment–and how to properly care for them throughout the winter.
Fireplaces and fire pits: These elements provide the necessary heat for you and your guests to fully enjoy your outdoor living space. When the temperatures drop, and clouds come in to hide the sun, water tends to stay on surfaces longer, which can be a significant problem for metals. Many people remember to cover their grills, but neglect to cover their fire pits and fireplaces. The metal inside these elements needs protection from any moisture that might linger. Place a cover over your fire pit when not in use during the winter months, and make sure doors remain closed on fireplaces. If ice gets inside either of these structures, be sure to remove any loose ice or snow and heat it gradually to avoid damage.
Pergolas or Arbors: Many people think of the shade that these will provide in warmer months, but pergolas and arbors provide added shelter during the winter months as well. It is important to make sure that these wood structures have been properly sealed to protect them from water damage.
Outdoor Kitchens: Mild Texas winters may allow for the use of an outdoor kitchen, even during the winter months, causing you to get more out of your investment. To ensure the long life of your kitchen, make sure to pay extra attention in the winter. Cover sinks when not in use to prevent debris from settling in the bottom that can cause corrosion or stains. If you plan not to use your outdoor kitchen for some time, or if the temperatures will dip below freezing, make sure to turn off the water to your outdoor kitchen and drain water lines, leaving the valves open. Wipe down all appliances and remove any residual moisture, but do not cover fridges or ice makers; doing so could trap moisture and cause electrical damage. These appliances should be installed in a place where roofs and outdoor structures will naturally shield them from the elements. A landscape designer will have many outdoor ideas and can ensure this is the case.
Outdoor Seating Areas: Clean or store outdoor furniture cushions. Clean wet spots on any wood structures or furniture as standing water in cold weather can cause mold, mildew, or stains. Sweep dirt and debris and clean with bleach. Make sure any metal furniture is properly covered or kept dry.
If you want to get the most out of the outdoors year-round, it may be time to share your outdoor ideas with a landscape designer. CGreens in Dallas, Texas specializes in all areas of your landscape and property and can help design, install, and maintain an outdoor living space that can be enjoyed even in the winter months.
C Greens Landscape | Outdoor Ideas Dallas TX | http://www.cgreens.com/",664,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00244.warc.gz,0.934947669506073
92ef12f9-9f78-44ac-b4d1-97e8533e035c,2022-05-19T01:23:04+00:00,2010-02-07,0,https://www.usgoodwill-tsd.com/news/archives/02-2010,"The Tang Soo Do Master's Alliance recently hosted its 12th ""Best of the Best"" fighting challenge on Saturday, February 7th, 2010. This is a Black Belt Competition without age, sex, or weight divisions; the only requirements are that competitors must be 16 or older to compete and have the permission of their instructor. It is a double eliminations event with a single trophy awarded to the victor. ""There can be only one"" is the tag line for the annual event. This year 19 competitors entered the double elimination invitational event, and after 36 fights, Cory Lutkus of the Charland Institute of Karate was victorious. Way to go Cory! Tang Soo!
The main purpose of the USGTSDA is to benefit the physical and mental health of its members through the practice and development of Tang Soo Do by providing Clinics, Tournaments and other events on a Regional, National and International level.",210,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00214.warc.gz,0.947946965694428
0a1710ff-273d-4601-995a-2d95b72c704d,2017-08-21T12:00:37+00:00,2017-08-16,1,http://www.week.com/story/35193038/route-66-gets-a-boost-in-tonawanda,"One of Illinois' most famous and endangered historic landmarks is getting a bit of a boost. The historic Route 66 Corridor has a new attraction in Towanda, a bike trail. Building the bike path is part of an agreement between McLean County and neighboring villages as part of a program converting old rail lines into bike trails.
Th wraps officially came off of the $2.2 million dollar Route 66 bike trail Wednesday afternoon in Towanda.
""The bikers they come, and they walk it, they look at all the information boards that's out and it brings business in for some of our small businesses,"" said Tonwanda Village Board Member Debbie Kinsella.
Another politician at the dedication points to the importance of Route 66... pumping hundreds of millions of tourism dollars into Illinois.
""The eight mile Route 66 bike trail runs through Towanda here and into Normal.
One visitor from California got a chance to test out the new bike trail inside Boyd Wesley Park.
""It's Route 66 and it's this great bike trail, through all of Bloomington there were trails everywhere, I hardly got scared by any cars or trucks,"" said Chris Carmichael of Auburn, California.
Bloomington area Congressman Rodney Davis and Peoria area Congressman Darin Lahood have introduced bills to make the Illinois sections of Route 66 a national historic trail and commemorate its 100th anniversary. If approved the bill could help pump federal dollars into maintaining the corridor, which stands to lose some of its funding in three years.",305,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108268.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821114342-20170821134342-00369.warc.gz,0.959653496742248
73eb047e-aefe-4818-bc08-b8a8652d562b,2016-07-27T22:25:38+00:00,2013-12-07,1,http://whqr.org/post/hagel-arrives-afghanistan-has-no-plans-meet-karzai,"Hagel Arrives In Afghanistan, Has No Plans To Meet With Karzai
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel landed in Afghanistan Saturday for a surprise visit with the troops.
Despite the fact that the U.S. and Afghanistan are at odds over a security agreement that allows U.S. troops to remain in the country past 2014, Hagel has no plans to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has refused to sign the security agreement.
""The U.S. has made its position on the security agreement clear and Karzai has tentatively endorsed the deal. Still, he refuses to sign it after it was approved by a council of tribal elders known as the Loya Jirga. The council said the agreement with the U.S. should be signed by the end of December, as U.S. officials have demanded.
""Karzai says he wants his successor to decide after the April 5 elections. Washington and NATO officials say they want a quick decision on the bilateral security agreement, which allows U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 to do training and some counterterrorism missions.
""Without a signed agreement, all U.S. troops would leave at the end of next year, along with all foreign forces. Military leaders have said they need time to plan and coordinate with allies for the post-2014 mission, which could involve around 8,000 U.S. forces and another 6,000 allies troops.""
Earlier, Hagel delivered a speech in Bahrain. NPR's Larry Abramson, who's traveling with the secretary, filed this report for our Newscast unit:
""Hagel told allies in the Persian Gulf the U.S. remains committed to defense of the region. Gulf nations are worried about their security in light of U.S. nuclear talks with Iran.
""Hagel told delegates to a regional conference called the Manama Dialogue the U.S. commitment to protecting Gulf nations has not changed.
"" 'We know diplomacy cannot operate in a vacuum,' Hagel said. 'Our success will continue to hinge on America's military power, and the credibility of our assurances to our allies and partners in the Middle East that we will use it.'
""Hagel also said the U.S. will expand its help to Gulf nations in improving their missile defense systems, another clear reference to the perceived threat from Iran here. Hagel's visit is part of a tour of the region aimed at boosting regional ties, which have been frayed by the U.S. initiative with Iran and by differences over how to handle the civil war in Syria.""",535,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827079.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00021-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96703690290451
1223d1fb-2dcb-4bae-bc66-d5495a6e9dae,2017-08-21T20:16:53+00:00,2017-08-21,0,https://www.ldproducts.com/tops-top65071-5-subject-notebook.html,"Tops 5-Subject Notebook - 180 Sheet - College Ruled - 10.50"" x 8""
180 Sheet - College Ruled - 10.50"" x 8"" - 1 Each - Bright White Paper
BACKORDERED: We are not currently taking orders for this item.
Five-subject notebook contains 180 sheets of bright white paper divided by two plain dividers to keep you organized. College-ruled sheets feature a light blue ruling and Letr-Trim perforation for clean and easy sheet removal. Coil-lock wire binding on the left side won't snag clothing or scratch desktops. 27 point chipboard cover protects your notes inside.
- Tops Products
- Manufacturer Part Number
- Brand Name
- Product Type",155,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00500.warc.gz,0.834235727787018
611cf152-000b-4b46-ada1-a2504aeffcaf,2020-10-24T08:30:36+00:00,2020-04-30,1,https://www.foodandforest.co.uk/strategyandreports,"Food & Forest Strategy
Behing the scenes from the day to day trade, the CIC works to enable an economically viable UK agroforestry. The information below charts the trajectory of this work to date. The two main strands to this are:
1. Advocating specific changes to the current grant system necessary to increase agroforestry uptake.
2. Developing best practice in UK nut processing - looking to established methods in Italy, the USA and elsewhere whilst collaborating with existing UK producers.
Stage 1 - New Environmental Land Management Proposal
The CIC founded November 2017 to ensure the errors in agriculutral state support were corrected in the wholesale legislative revue caused by Brexit. The principle error is the ineligibility of alley cropping for Forestry Commission woodland creation grants, or Defra administered countryside stewardship measures, despite the strong evidence base showing environmental and productive benefit.
In May 2018, the CIC submitted a proposal to the 'Health and Harmony' consultation highlighting this error. The consultation mantra of ""public money for public good"" underpinned the justification for grant support contained in the freely available document below. It matches state financial aid to the monetary value of sequestered carbon, using the UK government figure on the social cost of carbon (SCC) to accurately quantify. The proposal in full availlable to download:
The company focuses on one type of agroforestry; alley cropping. The combination of productive trees with arable farming, see below. Agroforestry often falls into the unfortunate utopian position of being everything and nothing at the same time; in its essence it is farming with trees. To avoid this, the CIC focuses on combining nut trees with cereal farms. .
Stage 2 - New Environmental Land Management - Testing and Trials
This proposal for a grant undrpinned by ecosystem service valuation, was taken into the testing and trials phase. Ministers and advisers at Defra are in widespread agreement on the environmental benefits of agroforestry, the task now entailed delivering the most effective mix of policy measures in the several agri-environment schemes.
The proposal therefore evolved, not into a completely new grant, but into amendments to the woodland creation grant. Adapting an existing grant system with a prexisting funding structure was deemed the most streamlined approach. Especially given only 4 amendments are necessary. The principle problems with the existing woodland creation grant are as follows:
1. Rigid demarcation between farming and forestry
Page 13 - 3.2 Restrictions on agricultural activity in woodland areas
2. Ineligibility of nut producing varieties
Page 14 - 3.5.1 Guidelines on planting for biodiversity objectives
3.Minimum stand area
Page 13 - 3.4 Planting area thresholds, open space and tree specifications
November 2019, this synopsis of proposed amendments was issued:
Stage 3 - Government Amendments - April 2020
April 2020 - there are a series of updates to the 'hedgerow and boundaries' option and the Arable Offer as a whole in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. These changes are being reviewed to assess the influence on alley cropping uptake and a response in progress.",646,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882103.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024080855-20201024110855-00097.warc.gz,0.9038205742836
83f4416a-8362-43e9-b696-b85e435cda96,2013-05-20T22:13:32+00:00,2013-05-20,0,http://www.activitysuperstore.com/Special-Occasions/Passed-Driving-Test/c29sc133/,"Date restrictions apply
Family and friends
Totally Chilled Out
Enjoy two sessions driving a rally car and a high speed passenger ride!
Valid until: 1/5/2014
Highly competitive and seriously thrilling, karting is all about low-slung, white-knuckle excitement!
A session behind the wheel of the most sought-after supercar
Cars to make your heart beat faster
Drive a crazy double decker car and ride shotgun in other mad vehicles
An open air concert set in the grounds of a beautiful country house or castle
Fast and furious fun!
Experience single seater racing at the home of Formula 1!
Drive James Bond's chosen car!
Highly competitive and seriously thrilling!
Up to 12 months validity on all vouchers
Over 3000 locations nationwide
Customer Service: 0871 384 1800
Free Standard Delivery",177,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.75868958234787
500e129f-7db1-48a1-b83c-e891a0bfe345,2015-04-01T06:34:36+00:00,1930-09-20,0,http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=940DE6DB1038E433A25753C2A96F9C946194D6CF,"VIEWED A TORNADO WITHIN ITS FUNNEL; Kansas Man Tells a Story of Seeing Spinning, Hissing StormAll About Him. Small Tornadoes Inside.
DODGE CITY, KAN., Sept. 19 (By Science Service).--The thrilling tale of a man who saw the inside of a tornado and lived, unhurt, to tell of his experiences is contained in a report made to Alonzo A. Justice of the Weather Bureau office here by Will Keller, a farmer near Greensburg, ...
September 20, 1930
Thank you for visiting The New York Times archive.
New York Times subscribers* enjoy full access to TimesMachine—view 129 years of New York Times journalism, as it originally appeared. 99¢ for your first 4 weeks.
Or, purchase this article individually for $3.95 and download a high-resolution PDF.
* Does not include NYT Now or Premium Crosswords subscribers.
Already a subscriber? Log in to view this article »",206,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00081-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.870280921459198
2e0089c8-764e-4b54-bef5-bb721da9c4e1,2017-08-20T21:07:08+00:00,2009-12,0,http://norbainicakes.blogspot.com/2009/12/little-chef-class-at-bagus-taman.html,"Today is Little Chef Day!
All chefs start out small,
Before one can run, one must crawl,
One day they'll grow to be Big n' Tall.
Big or small, Chef Baini loves you all!
(3 Little Chefs Amirul, Jannah and Sara)
One day, there were three amigos, all little;
Who went to the Bakery at Taman Melawati,
They baked little cakes of icing not too brittle,
And made their mamas and papas happy!
Hey! Nobody told us we have exams! SURPRISE!
Its just like art
class, but we can eat it afterwards!
Hey, don't copy me! I tell the teacher nanti.....
O Butterfles, Mr. Clowns and Sir Teddy bears;
Colourful and dressed up beyond compare,
Sitting on sweet icing cupcake chairs,
Won't you please take us to the County Fair!
My name is Jannah; I love to watch Spongebob,
My Babams gets angry; says I watch too much TV.
So I made these cupcakes for his birthday presents,
Now I can watch all the TV I want!
I am Sara Nabila,
Hello! How Are ya!
This is my hobby, yah!
Babams and Mak Long, Thank yah!",291,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106990.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820204359-20170820224359-00130.warc.gz,0.927317917346954
0c6b2775-b4e0-4237-90d0-4fba91652163,2017-08-17T21:17:44+00:00,2009-09-15,1,http://www.newsologist.com/europes-57-billion-plan-to-put-windmills-in-the-ocean/,"Paris – Wind is the fastest growing renewable energy in Europe – making up a third of new energy here, with 20 turbines added every working day in 2008, according to EU statistics.
What the European wind energy industry now wants is to expand – offshore. Ocean winds are a stronger and more predictable form of energy than the ones on land, and the industry is pushing a $57 billion investment to allow broad-winged turbines to spin at sea.
Offshore wind is “absolutely” a significant new resource, argues Walt Patterson, an associate at Chatham House and author of “Keeping the Lights On,” adding that “the big question mark is not sticking the stuff in the ocean, but how to get the electricity ashore.”
A report released in Stockholm Monday by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) argues that offshore turbines could provide 10 percent of Europe’s energy by 2020 – avoiding some 200 tons of C02 emissions.
Currently, 11 sets of the wind-powered turbines are circling off Europe’s shores, with 21 under construction, mostly in Great Britain. At the moment they only contribute about .02 percent of Europe’s electricity needs.
EU energy czar Andris Piebalgs backed the EWEA’s ambitious plans to harness ocean winds, saying in Stockholm that the European commission is “committed to doing everything we can to support offshore wind developers and make sure their… projects come to fruition.”
The EWEA Stockholm wind conference, called “Oceans of Opportunity,” comes at a time when Europe is focusing on climate control and job creation. Offshore turbines are also seen as a solution to complaints from Europeans who do not want the gargantuan turbines in their backyards.
Complaints and hurdles
But people also have complaints about turbines at sea. Complaints that the turbines ruin ocean views have slowed US efforts to get a project started off the coast of Massachusetts. The US has virtually no offshore wind energy, though the Obama administration has started to work on the issue.
There are also economic limitations, since electricity produced by offshore turbines is more expensive to deliver to consumers. There are also maintenance concerns involving storms at sea and corrosion from salt water. Mr. Patterson says the biggest hurdle is making the power deliverable.
“It’s a chicken and egg question, really,” says Patterson. “If you are the industry, do you wait for the cables to be laid on the ocean floor, or do you build the fields and then hope they are laid?”
The industry was boosted by a recent EU law requiring that 20 percent of Europe’s energy be obtained from renewable sources by 2020. Some 15 European states are planning offshore projects, according to the EWEA report. “There is huge developer interest in offshore wind power,” Arthuros Zervos, president of EWEA, said in a statement Monday. “The scale of planned projects is far greater than most people realize.”
Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Germany is about to begin construction of a wind farm 12 miles off its Baltic coast that German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said would produce 12,000 megawatts of electricity, bringing Germany “closer to our goal of producing 25,000 megawatts offshore by 2030.”
This week the American electric giant GE, which produces nearly a quarter of the turbines for wind power worldwide, said it will enter the offshore market for the first time.
The Financial Times reported Monday that GE is expected to invest “hundreds of millions” in developing offshore turbines. The FT reported that GE “is also buying ScanWind, a small Norwegian-Swedish turbine company for 18 million, giving it access to new turbine technology, tested in harsh conditions on the coast of Norway.”
The EWEA in Stockholm presented data asserting that all of Europe’s energy needs could one day be met by eight fields of turbines roughly the size of 10,000 square kilometers, off the coasts of EU states.",867,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104160.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817210535-20170817230535-00482.warc.gz,0.943570017814636
5a0f671a-b709-44ac-8a1d-c5906ed765ad,2020-10-22T10:36:19+00:00,2018-07-25,1,https://www.toynews-online.biz/2018/07/25/ofcom-calls-out-itv-channel-4-and-channel-5-for-childrens-programming-depletion/,"ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 must do better with their children’s programming, says television regulator Ofcom, after noting a lack of original content and on-screen diversity.
The UK’s media watchdog has given each of the country’s commercial public sector broadcasters until next March to produce a plan to improve their offering for kids.
A report published by Ofcom yesterday states that 90 per cent of older children have turned to YouTube as their go-to viewing platform, while the three commercial PSBs have cut investment in original children’s programming as streaming services capitalise.
The report goes on to state that it found a ‘lack of original, high quality programmes specifically made for older children across all programme genres’ across all three channels.
“Currently no PSB shows programmes specifically made for 13 to 15 year olds and three in ten children aged 12 to 15 feel there aren’t enough programmes for children their age,” it said.
Ofcom has ordered ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 to find innovative ways of using the internet to reach children ‘to revitalise their approach to how and what they offer to young audiences.’
The body also revealed that there is only a ‘limited range of programmes that help children to understand the world around them.’
The BBC has been singled out as the only broadcaster who provides new programming for children.
A lack of diversity in programming has also been highlighted.
Ofcom stated that TV viewing dropped by 40 per cent for children aged four to nine and by 47 per cent for children aged 10 to 15 between 2010 and 2017.
ITV has cut the amount of new UK made children’s shows on its main channel from 158 hours in 2006 to 47 hours in 2017. Meanwhile, Channel 4 no longer shows any new UK made programmes made for children.",385,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107879362.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022082653-20201022112653-00453.warc.gz,0.970072686672211
8eef3c2c-292a-498d-8232-4e0294f75a98,2022-05-24T22:44:43+00:00,2012-01-10,1,https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/jan/10/alex-salmond-finishes-touches-referendum,"Alex Salmond will publish detailed plans for an independence referendum later this month, in an effort to regain the initiative after David Cameron's offer to stage a legally binding poll.
The first minister said his cabinet would put the ""finishing touches"" to the Scottish government's referendum proposals at its scheduled meeting on Tuesday afternoon, just as UK ministers publish the full details about their referendum offer at Westminster.
Salmond claimed the UK government had made a ""cack-handed"" offer to make his referendum legally watertight, to deal with mounting expert evidence that the Scottish parliament is prohibited by law from staging an independence referendum.
It is understood that Salmond's new consultation paper – due to be published in full later this month – will confirm that 2014 is his preferred date and leave open the option of a second question about increasing Holyrood's powers short of independence on the voting paper.
It is believed the paper was due to be published before Christmas but its release was delayed by the eurozone crisis, which many critics argue proves how vulnerable and exposed an independent Scotland would be to major economic crises.
In a Commons statement later on Tuesday Michael Moore, the UK government's Scottish secretary, will propose a new order giving the Scottish parliament the legal powers to run the referendum.
There will be no time limit, despite Whitehall-inspired reports this week that the prime minister wanted an 18-month deadline or a ""sunset clause"" in the new powers. At most Moore will indicate the UK government wants the referendum staged in 2013.
However, Moore is expected to insist on the referendum having just one ""yes"" or ""no"" question on outright independence, rather than a second question on increasing Holyrood's powers, the so-called ""devo-max"" or ""devo-plus"" option.
Moore will also insist that the UK Electoral Commission, which is the official agency set up to run all UK elections and referendums, is put in charge of the Scottish poll. UK ministers also object to SNP proposals to extend voting in the referendum to 16- and 17-year-olds.
Johann Lamont, the Scottish Labour leader, then added to the pressure on Salmond and further isolated the Scottish National party by calling for cross-party talks involving civic Scottish leaders on the precise date for the referendum.
Salmond said: ""The UK government is in a state of total confusion. Overnight, yesterday's 18-month sunset clause had disappeared into the sunset, the coalition is riven with tensions, and Westminster is backtracking in the face of the massive thumbs down from opinion in Scotland to Tory interference in the Scottish democratic process.""
But in a statement before his cabinet meeting, the first minister was careful not to reject Cameron's offer outright, suggesting he intends keeping his options open.
Salmond appeared to imply that the UK proposal would be ignored, but he stopped short of dismissing it. ""In stark contrast to Westminster's disarray, the Scottish government will continue with the orderly process of bringing forward the referendum in the second half of this parliament,"" he said.
Lamont is expected to confirm Labour broadly supports the UK government's offer of a legally sanctioned vote on independence, after Moore's statement in the Commons. However, in an attempt to give Labour a distinctive stance which distanced the party from the Tory-Lib Dem coalition at Westminster, she urged Salmond to reach a broad consensus on when best to stage the referendum – a move the first minister is very likely to reject.
""This issue is far too important to become a fight between two things Scotland rejects – separation and the Tories,"" she said.
""So I am urging on Alex Salmond to be the national leader he seeks to be, and accept that he alone should not select the date. Labour wants a national consensus on the timing.
""The first minister can't call Holyrood election dates, and the prime minister can't do that for general elections any more. This is the most important vote Scotland has had in its history, and it shouldn't be for one man to choose the day it happens.""
Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, and the most senior Scottish Liberal Democrat MP in the cabinet, said the UK government believed the question about timing was not just for the SNP to determine.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Alexander said delaying the referendum presented clear dangers to the economy. ""We are already seeing publicly and privately business organisations, business groups saying they are concerned about the length of time this is taking,"" he said.
""I hope that by opening up a debate on timing we will see a whole range of voices in Scotland talking about this, because, of course, the constitutional position in Scotland historically has never been the preserve of just one political party.""",975,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577259.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524203438-20220524233438-00014.warc.gz,0.966376960277557
a530d358-cc61-43e5-bd47-c30b934527a7,2018-08-21T18:04:38+00:00,2018-06-15,1,http://www.euronews.com/2018/06/15/zambian-health-minister-declares-cholera-epidemic-over,"LUSAKA (Reuters) - A cholera outbreak in Zambia which killed 114 people and made more than 5,000 others sick over eight months has been contained, Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said on Friday.
""We have had 14 consecutive days without recording a case. The outbreak has been aptly contained,"" he told reporters.
Chilufya said there was need to continue observing high standards of cleanliness to avoid a recurrence of the disease.
In April, Zambia withdrew military personnel deployed in December to help clean up the capital and other cities at the height of a outbreak.
Cholera can be treated with oral rehydration solution but the disease spreads rapidly and can kill within hours if not treated.
President Edgar Lungu had directed the military to help fight the spread of cholera under emergency measures to contain the waterborne disease.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by David Stamp)",196,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218391.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821171406-20180821191406-00268.warc.gz,0.976124703884125
d5bf38be-7a18-4e60-beef-1e9d492a027c,2020-10-31T18:59:19+00:00,2013-10-26,0,http://wslmradio.com/2013/10/26/lots-to-do-on-saturday/,"Dog Park Grand Opening
Beginning at 1p, there will be a ribbon cutting for the Humane Society of Washington County’s new dog park at the Salem Animal Shelter on Joseph Street. An open house will follow until 3p. Light refreshments will be served.
The Washington County Artisans and Farmers with the Pekin Betterment Committee and Pierce Polk Fire D…ept, will host Pekin Boo, on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Pekin Park. The event will take place from 6-9 pm. Vendors will distribute treats. Fire trucks will be on hand. There will
also be face painting, free cotton candy and popcorn.
Halloween Event at the Village
WSLM, The Salem Parks and Recreation and many Salem businesses and groups will be presenting a Halloween Event at the Stevens Museum on Saturday, Oct. 26, 6-7:30 pm. Children may enjoy cookies, hot dogs, hot chocolate, candy and other activities. A Halloween movie will also be shown. Seating is limited. Free tickets will be distributed at the Park and Rec. booth during the event. Contact the Museum at 883-6495 or Park and Rec at 883-2895 or the Salem Library at 883-5600 for more information.
Tonight Alive at Center Peace in Salem. Face painting starts at 4:30, Zombie Walk 5:45 to the Pioneer Village, open mic: musicians invited to pre form…sign up and preform 15 min. Short Notice band and others. Costume contest and concessions available. Music starts at 5pm. Bring your lawn chair. Free…asking for a donation to local food bank.
Haunted Playground from 7 to 9 PM in Campbellsburg at Cburg Childcare the corner of Oak and Franklin Streets. Cburg Childcare is hosting a fundraiser for the Washington County Food Bank. Admission to the Haunted Playground is one can good or $1. All food and donations collected will go to the food bank. Be ready for thrills, chills, and if you make it through a treat at the end!",425,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922411.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031181658-20201031211658-00168.warc.gz,0.872320473194122
543a7a1f-9c72-421d-b8de-643c37eeb942,2013-05-24T23:02:51+00:00,2012-11-22,1,http://www.wmur.com/news/national/US-reviews-Mediterranean-military-presence/-/9857926/17513826/-/format/rsss_2.0/view/print/-/aekydy/-/index.html,"US reviews Mediterranean military presence
Regional instability could drive increased attention
Senior U.S. military officials are considering increasing the American military presence in the Mediterranean because of what they see as growing instability in recent months.
""This is post-Benghazi,"" one military official told CNN. ""We're looking at instability in Libya, Egypt, Syria and now Israel and Gaza.""
The official who has direct knowledge of the discussions declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information.
The Pentagon is looking at a number of options, according to military officials. The easiest would be to extend deployments of Navy ships passing through the region.
The Navy just extended by at least 10 days the tour of three amphibious ships carrying more than 2,000 Marines, Harrier jets, V-22 tilt rotor aircraft and a variety of helicopters, as CNN first reported last week.
Those tours were extended as a result of the conflict in Gaza as a precautionary measure should there have been a need to evacuate Americans from Israel. A cease-fire was reached on Wednesday after a week of violence.
The Pentagon is focusing on the eastern Mediterranean, where the ships will stay, the military official told CNN.
""From there, you can get to a lot of places in a short period of time,"" he said. ""What we are looking at is what is our presence in the region and what should it be.""
The Navy also previously announced that four warships capable of providing ballistic missile defense will now be based at Rota, Spain, putting them closer to potential threats from Syria and Iran. They are the USS Ross, the USS Donald Cook, the USS Carney and the USS Porter. Four other ships are stationed off the coast of Israel as a hedge against any ballistic missile launch from Iran.
Short of being ordered into combat, the Navy is looking to beef up its presence in order to conduct humanitarian assistance missions and training exercises with other nations in the region, the sources said.
But clearly more ships and aircraft also give the military an increased capability to evacuate Americans from a hotspot or put forces on the ground to conduct security operations to protect embassies.
The developments come amid increasing concern about weapons being smuggled into Gaza. U.S. and Israeli officials say some of those weapons are coming from Libya where arms stashes have been ransacked after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi.
A U.S. official told CNN that the current assessment by the intelligence community is that surface to air missiles from Libya have made their way into Gaza after being smuggled through Egypt.
Copyright 2012 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.",548,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968586087226868
db3a1adb-9870-42a0-a323-7ad2757c2d11,2019-08-17T15:12:13+00:00,2019-08-12,0,https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000205,"This is an uncorrected proof.
Substantial controversy exists as to which part of brain activity is genuinely attributable to pain-related percepts and which activity is due to general aspects of sensory stimulation, such as its salience, or the accompanying arousal. The challenge posed by this question rests largely in the fact that pain per se exhibits highly intense but unspecific characteristics. These therefore should be matched by potential control conditions. Here, we used a unique combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral and autonomic measures to address this longstanding debate in pain research. Subjects rated perceived intensity in a sequence alternating between heat and sound stimuli. Neuronal activity was monitored using fMRI. Either modality was presented in 6 different intensities, 3 of which lay above the pain threshold (for heat) or the unpleasantness threshold (for sound). We performed our analysis on 26 volunteers in which psychophysiological responses (as per skin conductance responses [SCRs]) did not differ between the 2 stimulus modalities. Having thus ascertained a comparable amount of stimulation-related but unspecific activation, we analyzed stimulus-response functions (SRFs) after painful stimulation and contrasted them with those of the matched acoustic control condition. Furthermore, analysis of fMRI data was performed on the brain surface to circumvent blurring issues stemming from the close proximity of several regions of interest located in heavily folded cortical areas. We focused our analyses on insular and peri-insular regions that are strongly involved in processing of painful stimuli. We employed an axiomatic approach to determine areas showing higher activation in painful compared to nonpainful heat and, at the same time, showing a steeper SRF for painful heat compared to unpleasant sound. Intriguingly, an area in the posterior parietal operculum emerged, whose response showed a pain preference after satisfying all axiomatic constraints. This result has important implications for the interpretation of functional imaging findings in pain research, because it clearly demonstrates that there are areas where activity following painful stimulation is not due to general attributes or results of sensory stimulation, such as salience or arousal. Conversely, several areas did not conform to the formulated axioms to rule out general factors as explanations.
Citation: Horing B, Sprenger C, Büchel C (2019) The parietal operculum preferentially encodes heat pain and not salience. PLoS Biol 17(8): e3000205. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000205
Academic Editor: A Vania Apkarian, Northwestern University, UNITED STATES
Received: February 28, 2019; Accepted: July 18, 2019; Published: August 12, 2019
Copyright: © 2019 Horing et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This work was supported by the European Research Council Advanced Grant ERC-2010-AdG_20100407 (https://erc.europa.eu/) (CB), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Grant SFB 936 Project A06 (http://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/178316478) (CB), and the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation Feodor Lynen Return Fellowship (https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/start.html) (BH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Abbreviations: BDI-II, Beck Depression Inventory II; BOLD, blood-oxygen-level–dependent; CHEPS, Contact Heat-Evoked Potential Stimulator; EPI, echo-planar imaging; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; PHQ15, Patient Health Questionnaire 15; PO1, parietal operculum cluster 1; SCR, skin conductance response; SRF, stimulus-response function; VAS, visual analogue scale
Pain is a multidimensional experience, including sensory-discriminative, affective-motivational, and cognitive-evaluative as well as motor components  and is defined as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” . Following the advent of brain imaging, recurring patterns of brain activity following painful stimuli were identified, comprising primary and secondary somatosensory cortices, cingulate cortices, and the insular subregions, among other structures [3,4].
This activity has frequently been attributed to pain per se. However, precisely because pain is a composite sensation, the utility of assigning it a fixed set of brain areas as a simplistic “pain matrix” has been contested [3,4]. The notion that some of the observed activation may or may not be exclusively pain related has eventually led to a direct challenge to the concept of such a matrix [5,6]. These studies have provided evidence that in many cortical regions, activation is observed following both painful and nonpainful (such as tactile or auditory) stimuli. In fact, general processes have long been posited as alternative explanations—for example, stimulus anticipation , magnitude estimation , or stimulus salience . These contributions have led to lively controversy [9–12], and a large number of studies continue to address related issues using multiple modalities and both univariate and multivariate approaches [13–18]. The status of the challenge to the “pain matrix” concept has recently been revisited . This review reemphasized that great care should be taken experimentally to match nonpainful control modalities, which has frequently been neglected in previous studies.
In addition to the question of general, modality-independent stimulus characteristics, many experiments have relied on the use of single stimulus intensities to characterize neuronal responses when using painful stimulation and compared these responses to a nonpainful control condition. However, such approaches disregard the possibility of modality-specific baseline activation, further compounding the issue of properly accounting for nonspecific activation . A possible solution is to employ multiple stimulus intensities, which allows for the characterization of modality-specific stimulus-response functions (SRFs) [20–22] and a comparison of these between modalities.
Here, we address these issues and present a novel approach that allows to directly test whether there are cortical regions that can be viewed as “salience detectors” or show preferential pain processing. Please note that the term “salience” here and in what follows does not refer to any narrowly defined physiological or cognitive construct but is instead meant as generic term referencing the unspecific, modality-independent results of sensory stimulation. We employed heat and sound as stimulus modalities. Stimuli were presented in alternating modalities in a within-subject design. Of each modality, we used 6 graded intensities—3 below and 3 above the pain and unpleasantness threshold, respectively. This allowed us to determine SRFs of physical intensities or their percepts and relate those to neuronal activity [20–23]. Importantly, auditory and thermal intensities were calibrated to match using an objective autonomic measure (skin conductance responses [SCRs]) .
We paid particular attention to insular and peri-insular regions, especially the posterior insula and the parietal operculum (the secondary somatosensory cortex), all of which have been reported as cortical areas that are active early after painful stimulation [4,11,25–27].
To define areas as preferentially pain processing, our analyses followed an axiomatic approach that posits several logical conditions to be met to make a valid inference (see  for a similar approach in pain avoidance). Within this rigorous approach, we formulated the following set of conditions to preclude the possibility that activity in an area could be explained by salience alone: the effect of painful stimulation should be larger than that of nonpainful heat (axiom 1), the effect of painful stimulation should be larger than that of (salience-matched) unpleasant sound (axiom 2), the relationship of ratings and blood-oxygen-level–dependent (BOLD) response should be stronger for painful heat than for nonpainful heat (axiom 3), and the positive relationship of pain ratings and BOLD responses should be stronger for painful heat than for (salience-matched) unpleasant sound (axiom 4).
Heat stimuli were presented using a Contact Heat-Evoked Potential Stimulator (CHEPS) thermode, sounds were 1 kHz beeps presented binaurally via headphones. For a brief overview, see Fig 1. Details are provided in the Materials and methods section.
(A) VASs for rating heat (left) and sound (right) stimuli. The midpoint signifies the pain threshold, corresponding to a score of 0 in a conventional VAS. (B) Thermode arrangement on a subject’s forearm. Patch C was used for calibration, patches 1|2 were used in counterbalanced fashion for experimental sessions 1 and 2. (C) Protocol by time. A visual cue (white fixation cross turning red) announced the upcoming stimulus (either heat or sound) and stayed visible throughout stimulation, which was 8 seconds at plateau (roughly 9.5 seconds all in all, depending on calibration). Subjects were then prompted to rate the stimulus. After rating, the white fixation cross reappeared, to turn red again for the next cue. Stimulus modalities were always alternating. ITI, intertrial interval; VAS, visual analogue scale.
A core prerequisite of our analysis strategy was that both modalities (heat and sound) were matched with respect to salience. Although previous studies based estimates of general stimulus characteristics on ratings, such as salience ratings  or perceived intensity ratings [13,15], this can be problematic when comparing modalities, due to differential scaling of responses. We therefore selected SCRs as an objective readout parameter linked to modality-independent processes such as emotion, cognition, or attention [24,29–31]. Consequently, our approach is based on comparable SCRs for sound and heat stimuli. This necessitated the selection of suitable subjects and experimental sessions that fulfilled this criterion (see Materials and methods). The analysis included 26 subjects (50% female, mean age ± SD 25.8 ± 3.6; see S1 Table for more detailed sample characteristics).
Skin conductance results
As intended by stimulus matching, no significant difference between modalities prevailed (p = 0.177) (random intercept model; Fig 2). SCR increased by intensity (t = 7.797, p = 1 × 10−13). There was no interaction between intensity and modality (p = 0.514).
SCRs following heat (A) and sound (B) stimuli. The pain and unpleasantness thresholds were located between intensities 3 and 4, as per calibration. Individual data are shown in S1 Fig and S2 Fig. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW within the component “Rating and SCR data.” SCR, skin conductance response.
Stimulus calibration results
Mean heat pain threshold was 43.3°C ± 1.1°C (range 40.5 to 45.4) and corresponded to 50 points on a 0- to 100-point visual analogue scale (VAS). Temperatures for stimulus intensities below and above pain threshold, corresponding to VAS targets of 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, and 75, were 41.7°C ± 1.4°C, 42.3°C ± 1.2°C, 43.0°C ± 1.1°C, 43.7°C ± 1.0°C, 44.3°C ± 1.0°C, and 45.0°C ± 1.1°C, respectively. Mean unpleasantness threshold was 83.9 ± 7.0 dBA (range 66.7–99.8). For additional details on heat and sound calibration, see Materials and methods and S2 Table.
The analysis of subjective ratings of sound and heat stimuli revealed a significant effect of modality (t = 7.820, p = 8 × 10−14; average sound rated estimate ± SE 13.3 ± 1.7 VAS points higher than average heat; random intercept model; Fig 3) and a main effect of intensity (t = 42.014, p = 2 × 10−16; 11.8 ± 0.3 VAS points per intensity step). The interaction between intensity and modality was also significant (t = −4.1529, p = 4 × 10−5; 2.3 ± 0.6 VAS points shallower slope in sound, per intensity step).
Behavioral ratings following heat (A) and sound (B) stimuli. The pain and unpleasantness thresholds were located between intensities 3 and 4, as per calibration. Individual data are shown in S3 Fig. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW within the component “Rating and SCR data.” VAS, visual analogue scale.
For either modality, a mask was used that was obtained from main effect activations (a) larger than the respective comparator modality and (b) larger than baseline (S4A Fig; see Materials and methods for details). The same mask was applied to all contrasts reported in the following, with the exception of conjunction analyses, which were performed without a mask. Application of the masks constrains the analyses to areas consistently activated during stimulation of the respective modality. Within the same general area, figures with imaging results use consecutively numbered subscripts (for example, PO1 always references the first significant peak described in the parietal operculum).
Main effects of modality.
To test for intermodal differences, we contrasted the main effects for heat and sound (Fig 4).
Significant differences were found in PO1 (and the more anterior PO2) and dpIns1 for heat and in the STG1 and Heschl’s gyri for sound. (A) Activations are thresholded at p(uncorrected) < 0.001 and overlaid on an average brain surface for display purposes. The black line delineates the region of interest used for correction for multiple comparisons. See S5 Fig for peak locations in brain volume slices. (B) Poststimulus plots of fMRI activation over all stimulus intensities (mean ± SE). Subplots PO1, PO2, and dpIns1 show that heat-related activation (orange) dominates in the analyzed time frames (seconds 2.2 through 10.8, see Materials and methods), while subplot STG1 shows increased sound activation (blue). Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW. BOLD, blood-oxygen-level–dependent; dpIns1, dorsal posterior insula cluster 1; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; PO1, parietal operculum cluster 1; PO2, parietal operculum cluster 2; STG1, superior temporal gyrus cluster 1.
The parietal operculum (secondary somatosensory cortex; peak Montreal Neurological Institute [MNI] coordinates x = 51, y = −30, z = 28, Z = 5.62, p[corrected] = 1 × 10−5; second peak at x = 59, y = −23, z = 25, Z = 5.221, p[corrected] = 1 × 10−4) and dorsal posterior insula (x = 40, y = −21, z = 19, Z = 4.175, p[corrected] = 0.012) showed stronger activation for heat compared to sound. Conversely, Heschl’s gyri (primary auditory cortex; x = 64, y = −24, z = 7, Z = Inf, p[corrected] = 4 × 10−16) showed stronger activation for sound stimuli.
Of note, areas activated by either modality show no overlap, as determined via conjunction analyses, even at a liberal threshold of p(uncorrected) < 0.001, of contrasts of heat or sound larger than baseline activation. The conjunction analysis did not use any masking; regardless, it did not yield significant results.
Parametric modulation by stimulus intensity.
Irrespective of modality, main effects can be confounded by unspecific effects associated with the generic occurrence of an external stimulus, such as orientation and response preparation. Therefore, we performed an analysis investigating SRFs, i.e., testing for stronger BOLD responses for higher stimulus intensities.
We contrasted both modalities to identify areas with diverging SRFs within those areas showing a main effect of either modality, as determined above. For heat, we identified activity in the parietal operculum (x = 57, y = −30, z = 31, Z = 3.999, p[corrected] = 0.026), the SRF of which diverges from that of the sound modality (Fig 5A). For sound, no significant activity prevailed, that is, no relationship of intensity and brain activity was found within the region of interest. Closer inspection of the time course of the SRF in the heat modality (Fig 5B) indicates that the SRF’s maximum slope coincides with the peak of the main effect, that is, the modulation of the main effect by intensity is strongest when the main effect itself is strongest.
Differential modulation by stimulus intensity for heat (orange) and sound (blue). Significant differences were found in PO1 for heat. (A) Activations are thresholded at p(uncorrected) < 0.001 and overlaid on an average brain surface for display purposes. The black line delineates the region of interest used for correction for multiple comparisons. See S6 Fig for peak positions in brain volume slices. (B) Poststimulus plots of fMRI activation in vertex PO1 during heat (orange) and sound (blue). The colored patches at the right axes show the stimulus duration. The lower left (y-)axes show the parametric modulation affecting the main effect (average size of the effect along the lower right [x-]axes): a straight line parallel to the y-axis indicates no change of the BOLD response depending on stimulus intensity, whereas the sloped main effect along the y-axis indicates parametric modulation. In this area, the main effect of heat is mostly positively modulated by stimulus intensity, that is, higher stimulus intensities induce a higher extent of BOLD. The highest main effect activation occurs around second 10.8 (corresponding to scan 6), coinciding with the steepest slope of parametric modulation by intensity (y-axis). Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW. BOLD, blood-oxygen-level–dependent; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; PO1, parietal operculum cluster 1.
Again, an unmasked conjunction analysis at a liberal threshold yielded no significant overlap of both modalities, when comparing contrasts with an SRF slope larger than 0 for either modality.
Parametric modulation by ratings.
Although relevant, physical stimulus intensity might not be directly mapped to neuronal activity, because a sensory signal undergoes multiple levels of processing before it reaches cortical areas. We therefore performed an additional analysis, in which we investigated whether areas show BOLD responses that are correlated with subjects’ behavioral ratings.
This analysis revealed that activity in the parietal operculum (x = 55, y = −37, z = 26, Z = 5.091, p[corrected] = 2 × 10−4; x = 58, y = −14, z = 18, Z = 4.312, p[corrected] = 0.008) and the dorsal anterior insula (x = 36, y = 0, z = 14, Z = 4.276, p[corrected] = 0.009; x = 41, y = 1, z = 14, Z = 3.849, p[corrected] = 0.047) (Fig 6) showed a positive relationship to perceived intensity. This agrees with and extends results from the previous analysis in which BOLD responses were correlated with stimulus intensity in the parietal operculum. For sound, no significant activity prevailed, that is, no relationship of ratings and brain activity was found.
Differential modulation by ratings for heat (orange). Significant differences were found in PO3 and PO4 as well as in daIns1 and the more ventral daIns2. (A) Activations are thresholded at p(uncorrected) < 0.001 and overlaid on an average brain surface for display purposes. The black line delineates the region of interest used for correction for multiple comparisons. See S7 Fig for peak positions in brain volume slices. (B) Poststimulus plots of fMRI activation in vertices PO1, PO3, daIns1 and daIns2 during heat (orange) and sound (blue). The colored patches at the right axes show the stimulus duration. The lower left (y-)axes show the parametric modulation by ratings that are affecting the main effect. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW. BOLD, blood-oxygen-level–dependent; daIns1, dorsal anterior insula cluster 1; daIns2, dorsal anterior insula cluster 2; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; PO3, parietal operculum cluster 3; PO4, parietal operculum cluster 4.
As before, in the unmasked conjunction analysis of contrasts in which rating correlated with the BOLD responses, no regions with significant overlap were found.
Imaging results distinguishing stimuli perceived below and above thresholds.
So far, all analyses pooled over nonpainful and painful heat percepts. To further investigate pain-related responses, we separated those stimuli reported as nonpainful from those reported as painful (that is, subthreshold versus suprathreshold) and similarly for unpleasant versus non-unpleasant sounds. We followed an axiomatic approach to identify areas where activity under painful stimulation could be explained neither by an overlap with activity under nonpainful heat (as would be the case, for example, in thermosensitive areas) nor by an overlap with activity following unpleasant sound (for example, in areas processing unspecific characteristics of a stimulus). In particular, we posited that a region can be characterized as preferentially pain processing if the following conditions hold:
- ■. Axiom 1: The effect of suprathreshold—i.e., painful—stimulation should be larger than that of subthreshold—i.e., heat—stimulation.
- ■. Axiom 2: The effect of suprathreshold heat stimulation should be larger than that of suprathreshold sound stimulation.
- ■. Axiom 3: The relationship of ratings and BOLD—i.e., the slope of the SRF—should be stronger for suprathreshold heat than for subthreshold heat.
- ■. Axiom 4: The relationship of ratings and BOLD should be stronger for suprathreshold heat than for suprathreshold sound.
Each of the axioms was evaluated at a significance threshold of p = 0.05, corrected for family-wise error. After joint application of each axiom, analysis revealed activation in the posterior parietal operculum (x = 56, y = −37, z = 25, Z = 3.909, p[corrected] = 0.035) (Fig 7), adjacent to the supramarginal gyrus. To broaden the scope, we have performed the same axiomatic analysis on the whole surface with a lower significance threshold of p(uncorrected) = 0.001 (S8 Fig). For comparison, results from a conventional three-dimensional analysis are also provided for the whole brain, again with a lower threshold of p(uncorrected) < 0.001 (S9 Fig).
These axioms were (1) a larger effect of suprathreshold heat compared to subthreshold heat, (2) a larger effect of suprathreshold heat compared to suprathreshold sound, (3) a stronger relationship of BOLD with pain ratings than with heat ratings, (4) a stronger relationship of BOLD with pain ratings than with unpleasantness ratings. Significant activation was found in PO3. (A) Activations are thresholded at p(uncorrected) < 0.001 and overlaid on an average brain surface for display purposes. The black line delineates the SVC mask. See S10 Fig for peak positions in brain volume slices. (B) Poststimulus plots of fMRI activation in vertex PO3 during heat (orange) and sound (blue). The shaded patch in the center signifies the pain threshold (for heat) and unpleasantness threshold (for sound). The colored patches at the right axes show the stimulus duration. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW. BOLD, blood-oxygen-level–dependent; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; PO3, parietal operculum cluster 3; SVC, small-volume correction.
This study aimed to identify regions relevant for heat pain processing and to determine whether their activation can be explained by salience or other modality-independent characteristics. We used individually calibrated, parametrically graded heat stimuli and an auditory control condition. Heat and sound stimuli were matched for arousal as indicated by similar SCRs. Furthermore, we employed surface-based analyses to mitigate spatial inaccuracies of three-dimensional smoothing.
Main effects for heat were identified in the parietal operculum and the posterior insula; main effects of acoustic stimuli were observed in the superior temporal gyrus. More importantly, in the parietal operculum, we observed a differential correlation of brain activity with ratings above versus below the heat pain threshold, concurrent with a differential correlation with ratings under painful heat versus unpleasant sound. As we have matched both modalities for salience, these results rule out—within the limitations of this experimental approach—that activity in this area is simply related to stimulus salience and suggests a more dedicated role in heat pain processing.
Using SCR as an autonomic readout of arousal [24,29–31] allowed us to establish comparable salience of the stimulus material, independent of any behavioral assessments. Although salience can be assessed psychometrically  and research exists to establish concurrent validity of salience ratings within individual modalities , to our knowledge, such ratings have not been validated cross-modally. It is likely that salience ratings are scaled differently according to some modality-specific perceptual range, that is, a rating of X on a “salience” scale while assessing pain may mean something different from a rating of X while assessing sound, identical scale anchors notwithstanding. To our knowledge, a “ground truth” to compare multiple sensory modalities has never been established in this regard. Our results support the notion of modality-specific scaling, as we have observed a prevailing difference in behavioral ratings between the 2 modalities (sound was, on average, rated as more aversive but had a shallower slope with increasing intensities). This means that a reliance on behavioral ratings alone could compound SCR dissimilarities between comparator modalities.
With 6 graded stimulus intensities per modality, our design allowed for the assessment of SRFs as opposed to simple mean comparisons between a single intensity and a low-level baseline, or between single sub- and suprathreshold stimuli. Apart from physical intensities, this also allowed us to use a large range of individual ratings as predictors. Using these perceived intensities, we were able to directly investigate competing modes of encoding. For example, a brain area may encode heat intensity, regardless of nociceptive intensity, or it may be inactive below threshold but encode pain intensity above threshold [8,20,21]. In the analysis distinguishing between sub- and suprathreshold stimuli, we see a clear pain intensity-related response in the parietal operculum (Fig 7). Although it was not a main focus of this paper, we do see a shift in SRFs even within small cortical distances: for example, an area rostral (x = 55, y = −26, z = 26) to the posterior parietal operculum cluster identified in the axiomatic analyses (x = 56, y = −37, z = 25) fails to register differences in the parametric modulation by sub- versus suprathreshold heat (Fig 8).
(A) The slopes of subthreshold (heat) versus suprathreshold (pain) activation as described in Fig 7, corresponding to PO3. Heat slopes are shallower than pain slopes. (B) Slopes of heat and pain activation in an opercular vertex slightly anterior to A (corresponding to PO2), as determined per conjunction of heat and pain parametric modulation. Slopes are more aligned, preventing the contrasted activation (pain > heat) of reaching significance. Note that this is not a formal comparison to panel A. (C) Location of the vertices described in panels A and B. Panel B is in an adjacent area about 1 cm surface distance rostral from panel A. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW. a.u., arbitrary units; BOLD, blood-oxygen-level–dependent; PO2, parietal operculum cluster 2; PO3, parietal operculum cluster 3; SRF, stimulus-response function.
Areas in the insula and surrounding cortical areas are characterized by extreme cortical folding. We therefore implemented a subject-specific, surface-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis. This prevents contamination of gray matter voxels by signal from white matter and cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, surface-based analyses circumvent potential issues arising from three-dimensional smoothing, which accidentally mixes signals from structures adjacent in three-dimensional space that are actually distant from each other. For example, the parietal operculum is directly adjacent to the superior temporal gyrus in three-dimensional space, but their neurons are separated by the entire insular fold. Smoothing with a three-dimensional kernel therefore includes activity across the lateral sulcus (alongside noise from white matter and corticospinal fluid), thereby increasing error terms and decreasing sensitivity of the respective comparisons. Importantly, in this case, three-dimensional smoothing could also generate erroneous overlaps between conditions. Surface-based analyses have been found to increase sensitivity and reduce deviations when normalizing from native to standard space .
In contrast to previous multimodal studies, we explicitly chose modalities for which the aversiveness would be generated by virtue of physical intensity. This is naturally the case with painful stimulation, but several studies did not use aversive stimulation in nonpainful control modalities (for example , who used low-intensity tactile stimulation). Consequently, the acoustic modality was chosen because stimuli can be generated in close analogy to heat, by altering the physical intensity of the stimuli.
For our analyses of neuronal activity, we have focused on the posterior insula and adjacent areas. The insula is of particular interest, because its involvement in pain has been well-documented [4,11,34]. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized to perform polymodal magnitude estimation [8,35] and is also involved in threat learning  and salience processes [37,38]. Unambiguous data concerning the involvement of the insular cortex in pain processing also come from direct cortical stimulation studies [39–41]. Consequently, it is a prime candidate to assess overlaps and differences in activation patterns.
With its reliable activation following painful stimulation and within the constraints inherent in our experimental approach, we can corroborate the role of the parietal operculum as an important area of heat pain processing and, importantly, one for which activity cannot be explained by unspecific characteristics of sensory stimulation, like stimulus salience. The area not only shows increased activation when comparing pain and other modalities (heat, sound) but also exhibits a monotonic increase with perceived pain. The peak of the BOLD response following pain clearly coincides with the largest modulation by behavioral ratings of pain, roughly 8 seconds after stimulus onset (Fig 7B). Importantly, this area has close functional connections with the posterior insula , another area of interest [11,25]. Contextualization of this finding with previous studies comparing at least 2 stimulus modalities [5,8,13,43] is difficult, because their modality matching was performed on ratings of salience and/or intensity (not SCR) or was used only a single stimulus intensity per modality (that is, a comparison of main effects). With these caveats in mind, one study found activation at similar coordinates for painful stimulation (x = 56, y = −36, z = 28) and the visual control condition (x = 62, y = −36, z = 20) but no preferential activation following pain . Mouraux and colleagues  likewise reported no preferential activation of the secondary somatosensory cortex following painful stimulation but an increased activation during (noxious and non-noxious) somatosensory stimulation compared to acoustic and visual. Another study reanalyzed 2 studies (including ) and identifies a proximate cluster (x ≈ 53, y ≈ -27, z = 27) as “pain-preferring” in the sense that activation was consistently higher compared to all 3 control modalities . The last study used a tactile control condition and did not report preferential activation of the cluster following painful stimulation .
Previous studies have shown a considerable overlap of brain activity following stimulation in different sensory modalities [5,13,14]. The extent of any overlap in functional neuroimaging is strongly dependent on the statistical threshold employed, and it is possible that diverging results stem from different thresholding or conjunction methods. However, for reasons of comparability, we wish to mention that our data show no such overlap of activation across modalities, even at a low threshold. While other differences in imaging analysis exist between the studies (for example, we have performed analysis on the brain surface), the lack of overlap might rather be related to the differences in stimulus parameters: previous multisensory studies have used rapid onset stimuli of very short duration [5,13,14], whereas ours were considerably longer (8-second plateau, circa 9.5 seconds with upward/downward slopes). It is possible that with increasing brevity and suddenness of the stimuli, the extent of unspecific orientation responses and other attention-related processes is disproportionally larger, and therefore a larger overlap of neuronal activation can be observed . If true, this overlap would naturally be determined, to a large extent, by unspecific and not pain-related activations such as salience.
Brain responses evoked by stimuli in different sensory modalities might follow different time courses; systematic differences may, for example, arise from different conduction speeds of fibers relaying auditory (mostly very fast Aα fibers), thermoceptive (mostly slow C fibers), and nociceptive input (Aδ and C fibers), compounded by the fact that thermal stimulation (in this setup) occurs at a distal site compared to auditory stimulation. Therefore, in analogy to Mouraux and colleagues , we opted for analyzing the time course of all imaging data by using finite impulse responses as basis functions. This largely avoids the constraints and biases implicit in comparing mean activations obtained by predefined hemodynamic response functions.
Some limitations apply to the present research. Importantly, due to the salience-matching approach based on skin conductance, a substantial number of study participants were not eligible for inclusion because they either did not show a stimulus-intensity–related SCR or showed responses skewed towards the heat modality. This procedure could induce a sampling bias, for example, by selecting subjects with stronger SCR reactivity, which could implicate different salience network connectivity . However, we found no difference in calibrated intensities in pain or sound or their variance when comparing included versus excluded subjects (all p > 0.5; see S3 Table), making a sampling bias unlikely.
As an additional limitation, the study used stimuli of mild to moderate aversiveness (calibrated to a maximum of 50 if rescaled to a conventional, 0–100 suprathreshold VAS). This aspect, too, could be amended to cover a broader range, albeit increasing the risk of carry-over effects such as sensitization, particularly with longer stimulus duration. Furthermore, the use of only a single trial-based, post-stimulus rating of stimulus intensity could be criticized. In fact, one common recommendation for pain measurement is to distinguish multiple pain dimensions , most frequently intensity and unpleasantness , although these aspects tend to be highly correlated in noninterventional designs [47,48]. Given the SCR-based approach to equalize salience and to include more stimulus repetitions, we opted against multiple VASs for protocol reasons, namely, ease of measurement and to avoid confusion.
Although we have identified areas preferentially active in painful heat compared to unpleasant sound, we cannot claim that these areas are specific for pain. In fact, it is important to note that specificity cannot be ascertained with a limited number of control conditions [19,49]. We concur that the notion of specificity is more academic in nature than might benefit the field . The preferences of certain areas to process various inputs—whether visual, acoustic, or nociceptive—is best construed as a matter of degree, that is, a question of specialization rather than specificity, as has been suggested for functions unrelated to pain . Nevertheless, the rigorous axiomatic approach allows for a strong hypothesis ascribing the parietal operculum a dedicated role in pain processing.
Materials and methods
The protocol was approved by the local Ethics Committee (Ethikkommission der Ärztekammer Hamburg, vote PV4745) and conformed to the standards laid out by the World Medical Association in the Declaration of Helsinki. Participants gave written informed consent prior to participation.
A list of exclusion criteria is provided in Box 1.
Box 1. Exclusion criteria
- Age younger than 18, older than 40
- Insufficient visual acuity, correction beyond contact lenses required
- Conditions disqualifying for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners (for example, claustrophobia, wearing a pacemaker)
- Ongoing participation in pharmacological studies or regular medication intake (for example, analgesics)
- Analgesics use 24 hours prior to the experiment
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Chronic pain condition
- Manifest depression (as per Beck Depression Inventory II [BDI-II], cutoff 14 as per )
- Somatic symptom disorder (as per Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ15], cutoff 10 as per )
- Other neurological, psychiatric, or dermatological conditions
- Inner ear conditions
- Head circumference >60 cm (for second cohort, due to device constraints)
Electrodermal activity was measured with MRI-compatible electrodes on the thenar and hypothenar of the left hand. Electrodes were connected to Lead108 carbon leads (BIOPAC Systems, Goleta, CA). The signal was amplified with an MP150 analogue amplifier (also BIOPAC Systems). It was sampled at 1,000 Hz using a CED 1401 analogue-digital converter (Cambridge Electronic Design, Cambridge, UK) and downsampled to 100 Hz for analysis.
Analysis was performed using the Ledalab toolbox for MATLAB . Single-subject data were screened for artifacts, which were removed if possible by using built-in artifact correction algorithms. Using a deconvolution procedure, we computed phasic skin conductance (SCR). SCR occurring after stimulus onset and within stimulus duration was used for measuring autonomic arousal. Response windows were defined by visual inspection, per modality: between 2.0 seconds and 4.5 seconds for heat and between 1.5 seconds and 4.0 seconds for sound. Results were log- and z-transformed to reduce the impact of intra- and interindividual outliers . Subsequently, SCR was averaged within subjects for 2 modalities (heat/sound) and 6 stimulus intensities each, yielding 12 values per person.
SCR was used because it is an objective measure of general sympathetic activity and is therefore a measure of arousal, stimulus salience, and several associated psychological processes [24,29–31]. It is routinely used in assessing painful [23,54,55] as well as acoustic stimulation .
fMRI acquisition and preprocessing
Functional and anatomical imaging was performed using a TRIO 3T MRI Scanner (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a 12-channel head coil. An fMRI sequence of 36 transversal slices of 2 mm thickness was acquired using T2*-weighted gradient echo-planar imaging (EPI; 2,150 ms TR, 25 ms TE, 80° flip angle, 2 × 2 × 2 mm voxel size, 1 mm gap, 216 × 216 × 107 mm field of view, acceleration factor of 2 with generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions reconstruction, GRAPPA). Coverage did not include the apical parts of the frontal/parietal lobes. Additionally, a T1-weighted MPRAGE anatomical image was obtained for the entire head (voxel size 1 × 1 × 1 mm, 240 slices).
For each subject, fMRI volumes were realigned to the mean image in a 2-pass procedure and coregistered to the anatomical image using affine transformations. Anatomical images were segmented into tissue types, and individual brain surfaces were generated, using the CAT12 toolbox for SPM (Christian Gaser and Robert Dahnke; http://www.neuro.uni-jena.de/cat/).
Analysis of imaging data
Subject-level analyses were performed on the three-dimensional (volume) data in native space without smoothing, using an implicit mask at 0.6 to facilitate subsequent (surface) processing. We computed general linear models to identify brain structures involved in the processing of each stimulus modality, as well as the encoding of intensities within those modalities. All analyses were performed with seventh-order FIR basis functions, of which bins 2 to 6 are considered when comparing conditions. This amounts to seconds 2.2 through 10.8 post stimulus onset. Realignment (motion) parameters as well as regressors obtained from ventricular motion were included as nuisance variables, to mitigate motion-related artifacts.
We first set up a model including one regressor for stimulus main effects in each modality. Another 2 regressors—one linear, one quadratic—encoding stimulus intensities 1 through 6 were added per modality, as parametric modulators. The second model likewise included main effects, and behavioral ratings as linear and quadratic parametric modulators. Finally, the third model further distinguished the 2 modalities in stimuli perceived as below and above the respective thresholds (pain for heat stimuli, unpleasantness for sound stimuli), yielding 4 main effect regressors (subthreshold heat, suprathreshold heat [i.e., pain], subthreshold sound, suprathreshold sound). Behavioral ratings were again included as linear parametric modulators; quadratic modulation was not considered to preclude overfitting.
Results from subject-level analyses were mapped to brain surfaces obtained via the CAT12 segmentation procedure. The mapped subject-level results were then resampled to correspond to surface cortical templates and smoothed with a 6-mm full width at half maximum, two-dimensional kernel. Group-level analyses were performed including the mapped contrasts, which are described in the Results section.
Masking was used to distinguish either modality, because the ANOVAs employed are unsigned and in principle detect differences in activation regardless of direction. Therefore, we obtained signed (that is, unconstrained by p-values) masks from calculating a conjunction from significant voxels of (a) a t test contrasting the average main effects of either modality (that is, where activation following heat was larger than that following sound and vice versa) and (b) a t test contrasting either modality to low-level baseline (that is, where activation following heat or sound, respectively, was larger than 0). This yielded a single mask for both modalities, which was applied to all analyses (unless otherwise noted) (S1B Fig).
For the purpose of this study, we focused on the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulation, in our case the right hemisphere. In general, the larger part of activity following pain is contralateral to the stimulation site but is known to be bilateral in several key areas such as the secondary somatosensory cortex and the insula .
Furthermore, we focused on the insula and directly adjacent areas for small-volume correction of significance level. In particular, we included the granular insular cortex (Ig1, Ig2) as well as the parietal operculum (OP1, OP2) and primary auditory cortex (Te1.1), using the SPM Anatomy Toolbox (version 2.2b ). This mask was mapped to a template brain surface, then smoothed with a 4 mm two-dimensional kernel to close gaps. The resulting binary mask (S1A Fig) was roughly centered around previously reported coordinates (x = [−]34, y = −20, z = 18) involving areas putatively dedicated to pain processing . It was used for small-volume correction of second-level analyses, where results were considered after correction for family-wise error rate of p < 0.05.
Owing to the study’s aim to compare 2 stimulus modalities (heat and sound), they had to be presented and rated in an analogous fashion. Therefore, while retaining the intuitive descriptor “painfulness” for rating noxious heat (as a composite measure of intensity and unpleasantness), we settled on “unpleasantness” as a descriptor for sounds. This also seemed warranted considering the high correlation of intensity and unpleasantness measures in heat pain , while unpleasantness is one of the definitional criteria of pain .
Furthermore, because we wanted to use graded stimuli both below and above the respective thresholds (pain threshold for heat, unpleasantness threshold for sound), we deviated from the more common simple VASs and devised 2 partitioned 0 to 100 VASs for both modalities (Fig 1A).
For heat, it captured both painful and nonpainful sensations. Subjects were instructed to indicate heat intensity in absence of pain in the 0 through 49 range and heat pain intensity in the 50 through 100 range. Hence, anchors were displayed for “no sensation” (0), “minimal pain” (50), and “unbearable pain” (100). Pain was operationalized as the presence of sensations other than pure heat intensity, such as stinging or burning, as per the guidelines of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain .
Likewise, for sound, both unpleasant and non-unpleasant sensations were captured by the VAS. Subjects were instructed to indicate loudness in absence of unpleasantness in the 0 through 49 range and loudness unpleasantness in the 50 through 100 range. Anchors were displayed for “inaudible” (0), “minimally unpleasant” (50), and “extremely unpleasant” (100). Unpleasantness was operationalized as a bothersome quality of the sound emerging at a certain loudness.
Heat stimuli and calibration
Heat stimuli were delivered using a CHEPS thermode (Medoc, Ramat-Yishai, Israel). Stimulation sites were located on the radial surface of the forearm. Three separate sites were used for calibration and either experimental session, to avoid changes in heat/pain perception due to repeated stimulation. Around the middle of the forearm (half distance between crook of the arm and distal wrist crease; see Fig 1B), 3 stimulation sites were marked prior to the experimental sessions. For calibration, a medial site on the distal part of the forearm was used; for experimental sessions 1 and 2, two adjacent proximal sites were used, in counterbalanced order. During both calibration procedure and experimental sessions, baseline temperature was set to 35°C, and rise and fall rate were set to 15°C per second. The duration of heat stimuli was set to 8 seconds at target temperature (plateau), except for preexposure stimuli, the plateau duration of which was 0 (and thus only consisted of temperature up- and downramping).
A 2-step stimulus calibration was performed for each subject, to determine 3 temperatures below the individual pain threshold and 3 above. Calibration was performed with the MRI scanner running the same sequence as during the actual experimental sessions to mimic ambient conditions . fMRI data from calibration were later discarded.
In a first calibration step, the pain threshold was determined. Subjects were pre-exposed to 4 brief heat stimuli. Preexposure started at 42°C, and each consecutive stimulus was increased by 0.5°C, up to 43.5°C. If a subject indicated the last stimulus as painful, starting temperature for the following procedure was set to 43°C; otherwise, it was set to 44°C. We then used a probabilistic tracking procedure for threshold determination, assuming a normal distribution of pain perception around the actual threshold . Eight full-length stimuli were presented and received a binary rating (painful or not painful). Depending on the rating of the previous stimulus, each consecutive stimulus was set to a higher or lower temperature according to the probability informed by previous pivot points. The final temperature was defined as threshold intensity.
In a second calibration step, 8 stimuli unevenly spaced around threshold intensity (from −2°C to +1.6°C, with smaller intervals towards ±0°C) were rated on the partitioned VAS described above. After the procedure, linear regression was used to calculate target temperatures H1 through H6, to obtain subthreshold VAS ratings of 25, 35, and 45 (H1–H3) and suprathreshold VAS ratings of 55, 65, and 75 (H4–H6).
These 6 intensities were used throughout the experimental sessions.
Sound stimuli and calibration
Sound stimuli were delivered using MRI-compatible headphones (NordicNeuroLabs, Bergen, Norway). A pure sound (frequency 1,000 Hz, sampling rate 22,050 Hz) was generated using MATLAB. A log function was used to translate increases in (physical) amplitude to smooth gradual increases in (psychoacoustic) loudness, to mimic the heat stimuli’s temperature ramps. Like the heat stimuli, sound stimuli were presented for 8 seconds at target loudness (plateau), and the scanner was running a dummy EPI sequence throughout to mimic actual conditions .
A 2-step stimulus calibration was performed for each subject, to determine 3 sounds below the individual unpleasantness threshold and 3 above. The general procedure was analogous to the one used for heat.
In a first calibration step, the individual loudness unpleasantness threshold (in percent of maximum amplitude of approximately 100 dB, allowing for safe exposure even at maximum intensities ) was determined by an ascending methods of limits-procedure. Six sounds of gradually increasing loudness were played. The calibration sounds differed in the steepness of the loudness ramps, taking between 9 and 15 seconds to reach peak amplitude. Subjects were asked to indicate the point at which the loudness became unpleasant. The mean of the last 4 of the 6 stimuli was defined as threshold loudness.
In a second calibration step, 16 stimuli unevenly spaced around threshold loudness were presented (from −15% to +15%, smaller intervals towards ±0%), with stimulus characteristics set to mimic those of heat stimuli (roughly 0.75 second ramps up and down, plus 8 second plateau loudness). As with heat ratings, linear regression was used to calculate target amplitudes S1 through S6, namely, to obtain subthreshold VAS ratings of 25, 35, and 45 (S1–S3) and suprathreshold VAS ratings of 55, 65, and 75 (S4–S6). For the second cohort, VAS targets were informed by the corresponding mean SCR amplitude of the first cohort (see “Differences between first and second cohort”).
Finally, ramping characteristics of sound stimuli (the seconds it took to plateau) were set to correspond to those of the respective intensity’s heat stimuli, such that corresponding intensities of both modalities had an identical overall length (ramps plus plateau).
Stimulus presentation during experimental sessions
After calibration, the thermode stimulation site was changed, and the first experimental session commenced. Heat and sound stimuli were presented in alternation so that trials of the same modality were spaced with an intertrial interval of approximately 30 seconds. Each trial followed the same basic structure (Fig 1C).
Within each modality, the 6 intensities were pseudorandomized in microblocks. Randomization was performed such that each sequence of 6 stimuli contained 1 instance of each intensity. It was further constrained such that the very first stimulus was never chosen from the highest 2 intensities, and 2 consecutive intensities were never more than 3 intensity steps different (for example, the intensity following heat intensity 1 could not exceed heat intensity 4).
After changing thermode stimulation site again, session 2 commenced with identical protocol (albeit different randomization).
Visual cues and VAS rating scales were displayed in the scanner using back-projection via a 45° mirror placed atop the head coil.
Selection of subsample for analysis with comparable SCR between modalities
In total, we assessed 2 cohorts of 32 subjects and 26 subjects. To obtain an “SCR-equalized” subsample from all subjects (N = 58 with 2 sessions, that is, a total of 116 experimental sessions), in a first step, we excluded all sessions in which the correlation between ratings (that is, perceived stimulus intensity and/or unpleasantness) and SCR was lower than or equal to 0, so that only subjects with a positive correlation in both modalities were eligible for the next step.
In a second step, we used Bayes factors [63,64] to determine the flipping point at which modality became obsolete as an explanatory variable. Bayes factors express the ratio of the marginal likelihood of the data under the compared models; because they consider the number of free parameters, they allow for the selection of the “better” model (best fit to the data and most parsimonious). For every session, we obtained the mean SCR (log-transformed and normalized values) for both modalities; sessions with the largest predominance of heat SCR were then consecutively removed. After each removal, we obtained the Bayes factors for the remaining sample, comparing the model with intensity only as predictor to that with modality added as predictor. Once the Bayes factor dropped below 1 (meaning that the addition of modality as predictor did not serve to improve the model), we stopped the pruning procedure. This relatively permissive criterion for session inclusion was chosen in order to preserve as many sessions as possible.
This procedure yielded a sample for which modality did not contribute to explaining the SCR data, with 26 unique subjects contributing 33 sessions. From the first cohort, 15 subjects contributed 19 sessions, and from the second cohort, 11 subjects contributed 13 sessions to the SCR-equalized analysis.
Differences between first and second cohort
Because we had determined that not every person’s skin conductance responded to both modalities to a comparable extent, we set out to select a subsample of persons who had comparable SCRs. To reach a sufficient number of such “responders,” we had to perform additional data collection.
Because of logistical reasons (scanner upgrade in January 2018), some parameters of fMRI acquisition had to be modified for the new PRISMA 3T MRI Scanner (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). Instead of a 12-channel head coil, we had to employ a 20-channel head coil. Delivery of the auditory stimulus was performed with a CONFON headphone (Cambridge Research Systems Ltd, Rochester, UK). These measures necessitated the exclusion of subjects with head circumference above 60 cm.
Furthermore, to facilitate increased SCR responding to sound, we increased the amplitude of the sound stimuli. Using calibration data from the first data collection and linear extrapolation, we calculated sound VAS targets required to induce SCRs of an amplitude comparable to those of heat VAS targets of the same intended intensity 1 through 6. We determined that corresponding to our heat VAS targets of 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, and 75 (see “Heat stimuli and calibration”), we would need to apply sound amplitudes inducing sound VAS targets of 48, 59, 70, 82, 93, and 105. Furthermore, during subject instruction, we emphasized the fact that the amplitude of sound stimuli was not within pathological range. This was done to prevent overly cautious subject behavior, following anecdotal evidence from the first cohort that sound stimuli were associated with higher safety concerns than heat stimuli.
All analyses were performed using MATLAB (version R2017b) and SPM12 (version 6906).
Significance level was set to p = 0.05 for psychophysiological and behavioral data, whereas imaging results were corrected using family-wise error rate adjustment at p < 0.05. For visualization, activations are thresholded at p(uncorrected) < 0.001 and overlaid on an average brain surface. All coordinates are reported in MNI space.
Group-level analyses of imaging data were performed as within-subjects ANOVA (cf. “Analysis of imaging data” above and the respective Results sections).
S2 Table. Average calibrated sound intensities 1 through 6, which were used as stimuli during the experiment.
Cohort 2 received higher intensities; see Materials and methods for rationale.
S3 Table. Differences of behavioral and psychological measures of the SCR-selected subsample compared to the not-selected subsample.
SCR, skin conductance response.
SCRs following heat (A) and sound (B) stimuli, with individual data points. The pain and unpleasantness thresholds were located between intensities 3 and 4, as per calibration. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW within the component “Rating and SCR data.” SCR, skin conductance response.
S2 Fig. Single-subject SCRs following heat (red) and sound (blue) stimuli.
Asterisks indicate single responses, and lines are regression curves as per linear regression. The pain and unpleasantness thresholds were located between intensities 3 and 4, as per calibration. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW within the component “Rating and SCR data.” SCR, skin conductance response.
Behavioral ratings following heat (A) and sound (B) stimuli, with individual data points. The pain and unpleasantness thresholds were located between intensities 3 and 4, as per calibration. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW within the component “Rating and SCR data.”
S4 Fig. Binary and signed masks used for analyses.
(A) Binary mask used for small-volume correction used for all analyses (unless otherwise noted), delineated by the black line. (B) Signed mask used for covering heat (orange) or sound (blue) contrasts.
S5 Fig. Location of peak voxels for modality main effects.
Activation was located in PO1, PO2, and dpIns1 for heat, and STG1 for sound. Also see Fig 4. dpIns1, dorsal posterior insula cluster 1; PO1, parietal operculum cluster 1; STG1, superior temporal gyrus cluster 1.
S6 Fig. Location of peak voxel for parametric modulation by heat intensity in PO1.
Also see Fig 5. PO1, parietal operculum cluster 1.
S7 Fig. Location of peak voxels for parametric modulation by ratings.
Activation was located in PO3, PO4, daIns1, and daIns2. Also see Fig 6. daIns1, dorsal anterior insula cluster 1; daIns2, dorsal anterior insula cluster 3; PO3, parietal operculum cluster 3; PO4, parietal operculum cluster 4.
S8 Fig. Medial surface view for areas that fulfill the axiomatic requirements of differential activation during pain compared to heat and sound.
Unlike in Fig 7, activations are shown after analysis with a lower threshold of p(uncorrected) < 0.001. At this threshold, activation was found in the parietal operculum (PO3 is the cluster reported in Fig 7; PO1 is a more dorsal cluster), daIns2, and the (pre)supplementary motor area (SMA1). Exact coordinates and activation of cluster peaks were x = 55, y = −37, z = 24, Z = 4.176, p(uncorrected) = 1 × 10−5 (PO3), x = 61, y = −26, z = 30, Z = 3.26, p(uncorrected) = 6 x 10−4 (PO1), x = 35, y = 1, z = 13, Z = 3.297, p(uncorrected) = 5 × 10−4 (daIns2), and x = 7, y = −5, z = 60, Z = 4.202, p(uncorrected) = 1 × 10−5 (SMA1). (A) Activations are thresholded at p(uncorrected) < 0.001 and overlaid on an average brain surface. The black line delineates the SVC mask. (B) Poststimulus plots of fMRI activation in the 4 vertices during heat (orange) and sound (blue). The shaded patch in the center signifies the pain threshold (for heat) and unpleasantness threshold (for sound). The colored patches at the right axes show the stimulus duration. Data used to produce the figure can be found at https://www.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QXCNW. daIns2, dorsal anterior insula cluster 2; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; PO1, parietal operculum cluster 1; PO3, parietal operculum cluster 3; SMA1, supplementary motor area cluster 1; SVC, small-volume correction.
S9 Fig. Conventional three-dimensional analysis for areas that fulfill the axiomatic requirements of differential activation during pain compared to heat and sound.
Also see Fig 7 and S8 Fig. No activations were significant at our predefined threshold (p < 0.05, corrected). For reasons of completeness, this analysis is reported at a lower threshold of p(uncorrected) < 0.001. The location of activations roughly correspond to the surface analysis presented in S8 Fig. Activation was observed in the parietal operculum (PO3 is the cluster reported in Fig 7; PO1 is a more dorsal cluster) and the (pre)supplementary motor area (SMA1), among other areas. Exact coordinates and activation of cluster peaks were x = 59, y = −26, z = 24, Z = 3.9, p(uncorrected) = 5 × 10−5 (PO3), x = 63, y = −30, z = 29, Z = 3.487, p(uncorrected) = 2 × 10−4 (PO1), and x = 5, y = 3, z = 62, Z = 3.297, p(uncorrected) = 3 × 10−4 (SMA1). Activations are thresholded at p(uncorrected) < 0.001 and overlaid on an average brain. PO1, parietal operculum cluster 1; PO3, parietal operculum cluster 3; SMA1, supplementary motor area 1.
We thank Jürgen Finsterbusch, Katrin Bergholz, Waldemar Schwarz, and Kathrin Wendt for technical assistance during MRI data collection; Lara Austermann, Tim Dretzler, Katharina Ebel, and Matthias Kerkemeyer for their assistance with data collection; and finally Christian Gaser for helpful comments concerning the CAT12 toolbox.
- 1. Moayedi M, Davis KD. Theories of pain: from specificity to gate control. J Neurophysiol. 2013;109(1):5–12. pmid:23034364
- 2. International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). Pain terms: a list with definitions and notes on usage. Recommended by the IASP Subcommittee on Taxonomy. Pain. 1979;6(3):249. pmid:460932
- 3. Tracey I, Mantyh PW. The cerebral signature for pain perception and its modulation. Neuron. 2007;55(3):377–91. pmid:17678852
- 4. Garcia-Larrea L, Peyron R. Pain matrices and neuropathic pain matrices: A review. Pain. 2013;154:S29–43. pmid:24021862
- 5. Mouraux A, Diukova A, Lee MC, Wise RG, Iannetti GD. A multisensory investigation of the functional significance of the “pain matrix.” Neuroimage. 2011;54(3):2237–49. pmid:20932917
- 6. Legrain V, Iannetti GD, Plaghki L, Mouraux A. The pain matrix reloaded: A salience detection system for the body. Prog Neurobiol. 2011;93(1):111–24. pmid:21040755
- 7. Ploghaus A, Tracey I, Gati JS, Clare S, Menon RS, Matthews PM, et al. Dissociating pain from its anticipation in the human brain. Science. 1999;284(5422):1979–81. pmid:10373114
- 8. Baliki MN, Geha PY, Apkarian A V. Parsing pain perception between nociceptive representation and magnitude estimation. J Neurophysiol. 2009;101(2):875–87. pmid:19073802
- 9. Davis KD, Bushnell MC, Iannetti GD, St Lawrence K, Coghill R. Evidence against pain specificity in the dorsal posterior insula. F1000Research. 2015;4(2):362. pmid:26401267
- 10. Salomons T V., Iannetti GD, Liang M, Wood JN. The “pain matrix” in pain-free individuals. JAMA Neurol. 2016;73(6):4–5. pmid:27111250
- 11. Segerdahl AR, Mezue M, Okell TW, Farrar JT, Tracey I. The dorsal posterior insula subserves a fundamental role in human pain. Nat Neurosci. 2015;18(4):499–500. pmid:25751532
- 12. Büchel C, Geuter S, Sprenger C. Comparing Painful Stimulation vs Rest in Studies of Pain. JAMA Neurol. 2016;73(10):1258. pmid:27571163
- 13. Su Q, Qin W, Yang QQ, Yu CS, Qian TY, Mouraux A, et al. Brain regions preferentially responding to transient and iso-intense painful or tactile stimuli. Neuroimage. 2019;192:52–65. pmid:30669009
- 14. Liberati G, Klöcker A, Safronova MM, Ferrão Santos S, Ribeiro Vaz J-G, Raftopoulos C, et al. Nociceptive Local Field Potentials Recorded from the Human Insula Are Not Specific for Nociception. PLoS Biol. 2016;14(1):e1002345. pmid:26734726
- 15. Liberati G, Klöcker A, Algoet M, Mulders D, Maia Safronova M, Ferrao Santos S, et al. Gamma-Band Oscillations Preferential for Nociception can be Recorded in the Human Insula. Cereb Cortex. 2018;28(10):3650–64. pmid:29028955
- 16. Wager TD, Atlas LY, Lindquist MA, Roy M, Woo C-W, Kross E. An fMRI-based neurologic signature of physical pain. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(15):1388–97. pmid:23574118
- 17. Kragel PA, Kano M, Van Oudenhove L, Ly HG, Dupont P, Rubio A, et al. Generalizable representations of pain, cognitive control, and negative emotion in medial frontal cortex. Nat Neurosci. 2018;21(2):283–9. pmid:29292378
- 18. Hu L, Iannetti GD. Painful Issues in Pain Prediction. Trends Neurosci. 2016;39(4):212–20. pmid:26898163
- 19. Mouraux A, Iannetti GD. The search for pain biomarkers in the human brain. Brain. 2018;141(12):3290–307. pmid:30462175
- 20. Bornhövd K, Quante M, Glauche V, Bromm B, Weiller C, Büchel C. Painful stimuli evoke different stimulus-response functions in the amygdala, prefrontal, insula and somatosensory cortex: a single-trial fMRI study. Brain. 2002;125(Pt 6):1326–36. pmid:12023321
- 21. Loggia ML, Edwards RR, Kim J, Vangel MG, Wasan AD, Gollub RL, et al. Disentangling linear and nonlinear brain responses to evoked deep tissue pain. Pain. 2012;153(10):2140–51. pmid:22883925
- 22. Coghill RC, Sang CN, Maisog JM, Iadarola MJ. Pain Intensity Processing Within the Human Brain: A Bilateral, Distributed Mechanism. J Neurophysiol. 1999;82(4):1934–43. pmid:10515983
- 23. Tiemann L, Hohn VD, Ta Dinh S, May ES, Nickel MM, Gross J, et al. Distinct patterns of brain activity mediate perceptual and motor and autonomic responses to noxious stimuli. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):4487. pmid:30367033
- 24. Boucsein W. Electrodermal activity. 2nd ed. New York: Springer; 2012.
- 25. Bastuji H, Frot M, Perchet C, Hagiwara K, Garcia-Larrea L. Convergence of sensory and limbic noxious input into the anterior insula and the emergence of pain from nociception. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):13360. pmid:30190593
- 26. Bastuji H, Frot M, Perchet C, Magnin M, Garcia-Larrea L. Pain networks from the inside: Spatiotemporal analysis of brain responses leading from nociception to conscious perception. Hum Brain Mapp. 2016;37(12):4301–15. pmid:27391083
- 27. Pomares FB, Faillenot I, Barral FG, Peyron R. The “where” and the “when” of the BOLD response to pain in the insular cortex. Discussion on amplitudes and latencies. Neuroimage. 2013;64:466–75. pmid:23006804
- 28. Roy M, Shohamy D, Daw N, Jepma M, Wimmer GE, Wager TD. Representation of aversive prediction errors in the human periaqueductal gray. Nat Neurosci. 2014;17(11):1607–12. pmid:25282614
- 29. D’Hondt F, Lassonde M, Collignon O, Dubarry A-S, Robert M, Rigoulot S, et al. Early brain-body impact of emotional arousal. Front Hum Neurosci. 2010;4:33. pmid:20428514
- 30. Bradley MM, Codispoti M, Cuthbert BN, Lang PJ. Emotion and motivation I: Defensive and appetitive reactions in picture processing. Emotion. 2001;1(3):276–98. pmid:12934687
- 31. Critchley HD. Review: Electrodermal Responses: What Happens in the Brain. Neurosci. 2002;8(2):132–42. pmid:11954558
- 32. Kayser C, Petkov CI, Lippert M, Logothetis NK. Mechanisms for Allocating Auditory Attention: An Auditory Saliency Map. Curr Biol. 2005;15(21):1943–7. pmid:16271872
- 33. Hutchison JL, Hubbard NA, Brigante RM, Turner M, Sandoval TI, Hillis GAJ, et al. The efficiency of fMRI region of interest analysis methods for detecting group differences. J Neurosci Methods. 2014;226:57–65. pmid:24487017
- 34. Geuter S, Boll S, Eippert F, Büchel C. Functional dissociation of stimulus intensity encoding and predictive coding of pain in the insula. Elife. 2017;6. pmid:28524817
- 35. Moayedi M, Weissman-Fogel I. Is the insula the “how much” intensity coder? J Neurophysiol. 2009;102(3):1345–7. pmid:19571195
- 36. Berret E, Kintscher M, Palchaudhuri S, Tang W, Osypenko D, Kochubey O, et al. Insular cortex processes aversive somatosensory information and is crucial for threat learning. Science. 2019;eaaw0474. pmid:31097492
- 37. Taylor KS, Seminowicz DA, Davis KD. Two systems of resting state connectivity between the insula and cingulate cortex. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009;30(9):2731–45. pmid:19072897
- 38. Eckert MA, Menon V, Walczak A, Ahlstrom J, Denslow S, Horwitz A, et al. At the heart of the ventral attention system: the right anterior insula. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009;30(8):2530–41. pmid:19072895
- 39. Mazzola L, Isnard J, Peyron R, Mauguière F. Stimulation of the human cortex and the experience of pain: Wilder Penfield’s observations revisited. Brain. 2012;135(2):631–40. pmid:22036962
- 40. Mazzola L, Faillenot I, Barral F-G, Mauguière F, Peyron R. Spatial segregation of somato-sensory and pain activations in the human operculo-insular cortex. Neuroimage. 2012;60(1):409–18. pmid:22245639
- 41. Ostrowsky K, Magnin M, Ryvlin P, Isnard J, Guenot M, Mauguière F. Representation of pain and somatic sensation in the human insula: a study of responses to direct electrical cortical stimulation. Cereb Cortex. 2002;12(4):376–85. pmid:11884353
- 42. Garcia-Larrea L, Mauguière F. Pain syndromes and the parietal lobe. In: Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 2018. p. 207–23.
- 43. Liang M, Su Q, Mouraux A, Iannetti GD. Spatial Patterns of Brain Activity Preferentially Reflecting Transient Pain and Stimulus Intensity. Cereb Cortex. 2019;29(5):2211–27. pmid:30844052
- 44. Baliki MN, Geha PY, Fields HL, Apkarian AV. Predicting value of pain and analgesia: Nucleus accumbens response to noxious stimuli changes in the presence of chronic pain. Neuron. 2010;66(1):149–60. pmid:20399736
- 45. Xia C, Touroutoglou A, Quigley KS, Feldman Barrett L, Dickerson BC. Salience Network Connectivity Modulates Skin Conductance Responses in Predicting Arousal Experience. J Cogn Neurosci. 2017;29(5):827–36. pmid:27991182
- 46. Price DD, McGrath PA, Rafii A, Buckingham B. The validation of visual analogue scales as ratio scale measures for chronic and experimental pain. Pain. 1983;17(1):45–56. pmid:6226917
- 47. Duncan GH, Bushnell CM, Lavigne GJ. Comparison of verbal and visual analogue scales for measuring the intensity and unpleasantness of experimental pain. Pain. 1989;37(3):295–303. pmid:2755711
- 48. Quiton RL, Greenspan JD. Across- and within-session variability of ratings of painful contact heat stimuli. Pain. 2008;137(2):245–56. pmid:17942227
- 49. Lashkari D, Vul E, Kanwisher N, Golland P. Discovering structure in the space of fMRI selectivity profiles. Neuroimage. 2010;50(3):1085–98. pmid:20053382
- 50. Kanwisher N. Functional specificity in the human brain: A window into the functional architecture of the mind. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2010;107(25):11163–70. pmid:20484679
- 51. Beck AT, Steer RA, Brown GK. Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation Press; 1996.
- 52. Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW. The PHQ-15: validity of a new measure for evaluating the severity of somatic symptoms. Psychosom Med. 2002;64(2):258–66. pmid:11914441
- 53. Benedek M, Kaernbach C. A continuous measure of phasic electrodermal activity. J Neurosci Methods. 2010;190(1):80–91. pmid:20451556
- 54. Geuter S, Gamer M, Onat S, Büchel C. Parametric trial-by-trial prediction of pain by easily available physiological measures. Pain. 2014;155(5):994–1001. pmid:24525275
- 55. Loggia ML, Juneau M, Bushnell MC. Autonomic responses to heat pain: Heart rate, skin conductance, and their relation to verbal ratings and stimulus intensity. Pain. 2011;152(3):592–8. pmid:21215519
- 56. Bach DR, Flandin G, Friston KJ, Dolan RJ. Modelling event-related skin conductance responses. Int J Psychophysiol. 2010;75(3):349–56. pmid:20093150
- 57. Eickhoff SB, Stephan KE, Mohlberg H, Grefkes C, Fink GR, Amunts K, et al. A new SPM toolbox for combining probabilistic cytoarchitectonic maps and functional imaging data. Neuroimage. 2005;25(4):1325–35. pmid:15850749
- 58. Rolke R, Magerl W, Campbell KA, Schalber C, Caspari S, Birklein F, et al. Quantitative sensory testing: A comprehensive protocol for clinical trials. Eur J Pain. 2006;10(1):77–88. pmid:16291301
- 59. Ellerbrock I, May A. MRI scanner environment increases pain perception in a standardized nociceptive paradigm. Brain Imaging Behav. 2015;9(4):848–53. pmid:25527478
- 60. Awiszus F. TMS and threshold hunting. Suppl Clin Neurophysiol. 2003;56:13–23. pmid:14677378
- 61. Hall DA, Summerfield AQ, Gonçalves MS, Foster JR, Palmer AR, Bowtell RW. Time-course of the auditory BOLD response to scanner noise. Magn Reson Med. 2000;43(4):601–6. pmid:10748437
- 62. National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH). Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Noise Exposure. Revised Criteria. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-126/pdfs/98-126.pdf. 1998. [cited 2019 July 30].
- 63. Kass RE, Raftery AE. Bayes Factors. J Am Stat Assoc. 1995;90(430):773–95.
- 64. Rouder JN, Morey RD. Default Bayes Factors for model selection in regression. Multivariate Behav Res. 2012;47(6):877–903. pmid:26735007
- 65. Raudenbush SW, Bryk AS. Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2002.
- 66. Hofmann DA, Gavin MB. Centering decisions in Hierarchical Linear Models: Implications for research in organizations. J Manage. 1998;24(5):623–41.",17588,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313428.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817143039-20190817165039-00335.warc.gz,0.898978888988495
56b4c477-0c19-48dd-903f-91faf1dde6b6,2013-06-18T22:44:59+00:00,2012-11-30,1,http://www.kbtx.com/mycw8/home/8totalkabout/Producer-Sues-Pythons-Over-Spamalot-Royalties-181538521.html,"LONDON (AP) - A producer of the film ""Monty Python and the Holy Grail"" is suing the comedy troupe over royalties from the hit stage musical ""Spamalot.""
Producer Mark Forstater wants a bigger share of proceeds from the show, which is based on the 1975 movie spoof of the legend of King Arthur.
Python members Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones are to give evidence during a five-day hearing that began Friday at London's High Court.
Forstater is suing the trio and fellow Python members John Cleese and Terry Gilliam.
His lawyer, Tom Weisselberg, said under an agreement made when the film was produced, ""for financial purposes Mr. Forstater was to be treated as the seventh Python."" But the lawyer said Forstater had not received his fair share of royalties.",176,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.976091265678406
a8c282a2-d01a-4ee3-86a4-0386b51f4543,2015-03-29T22:23:07+00:00,2013-04-01,1,http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/45562/print,"Rhino Poaching Crisis Expands
India Monday lost its ninth rhino to poaching so far this year within the northern state of Assam.
The greater-one horned, or Indian rhino, was found shot dead with its horn removed in Kaziranga National Park. Seven other rhinos have already been killed in the park during 2013, and an additional rhino was poached last month in Manas National Park.
Officials are concerned about the increasing use of sophisticated weapons by poachers. Many of the Assam's rhinos have been gunned down by Kalashnikov rifles. The state has approximately 2,500 rhinos remaining after losing 21 to poachers last year.
The use of high-powered weapons enables poachers to kill the rhinos quickly, cut off their horns and flee before the forest guards can get to the scene.
The proximity of Assam to India's porous international borders with neighbours such as Bangladesh and Myanmar is believed to contribute to availability of arms and also enables poaching gangs access international criminal syndicates engaging in wildlife smuggling.
The primary destination for rhino horns is Viet Nam, where new medical and social uses have emerged in recent years. According to a recent TRAFFIC report, consumers in Viet Nam are willing to pay extremely high prices for medicines made with rhino horn in the mistaken belief that it can cure a number of diseases.
Rising illicit demand for rhino horn has pushed poaching of African rhinos to crisis levels. Poaching statistics released recently by the South African government reveal that a record 668 rhinos were killed across the country in 2012, an increase of nearly 50 per cent from the 448 rhinos lost to poachers in 2011.
Rhino photo via Shutterstock.
Read more at WWF Global.",358,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00176-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950239062309265
0f67f7c4-9de3-4a50-93c8-b240973c3f04,2022-05-19T05:52:05+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://aristotlemedical.edu.gr/node/360,"2nd Department of Paediatrics
Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Medicine (1988 – 1994), Ptychion Iatrikes (MD)
Technological Institute of Larissa, Greece, Medical Laboratories (1983 – 1987), Ptychion as a technologist of Medical Laboratories (BSc).
Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Paediatric Haematology (2000 – 2006), Didaktoriko Iatrikes (PhD)",131,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00424.warc.gz,0.78042459487915
a1c7de4c-96f6-4ab1-902b-f1e195800467,2019-08-25T16:46:33+00:00,2019-03-29,0,https://www.devonlive.com/news/uk-world-news/hatton-garden-heist-ringleader-known-2650649,"The ringleader of the gang that carried out the Hatton Garden Heist has been found guilty for his part in the crime.
Michael Seed, known as ""Basil"", is believed to have let himself into the jewellers using a set of keys before defeating the security system.
It was a £14 million heist in London's diamond district.
Seed was one of two men who climbed into the vault to loot 73 safe deposit boxes after the gang of ageing criminals drilled through the thick concrete wall over the 2015 Easter bank holiday weekend.
Seed - who pays no taxes, claims no benefits and rarely uses a bank account - evaded capture for three years before police raided his flat, in Islington, north London - around two miles away from Hatton Garden - on March 27 last year.
The electronics expert confidently told a jury at Woolwich Crown Court he was not the man nicknamed ""Basil"" by the rest of the gang.
But on Friday he became the tenth person convicted in connection with the crime when was found guilty of conspiracy to burgle the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit company and conspiracy to handle the proceeds after £143,000 worth of gold ingots, gems and jewellery was found in his bedroom.
Seed was cleared of conspiracy to burgle the high-end Chatila jewellery store in Bond Street over the late August bank holiday weekend in 2010 with members of the same gang.
Prosecutors had alleged he posed as a BT engineer to tamper with the security system before the burglary, then used a 2G mobile phone jammer to block the alarm signal.
The thieves failed to drill into a safe containing £40 million worth of gems but made off with £1 million worth of jewellery from the shop's display cabinets.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for 35 hours and 35 minutes before returning their verdicts on Friday.
Well-spoken Seed, who grew up in Cambridge, appeared expressionless moments after the verdicts were returned. Judge Christopher Kinch QC said he will sentence him later on Friday.
Seed's fellow Hatton Garden ringleaders Brian Reader, 80, John ""Kenny"" Collins, 78, Daniel Jones, 64, and Terry Perkins, who died in prison last year aged 69, were all jailed in 2016.
Collins and Reader are already out of prison but face going back to jail if they fail to pay back more than £6.5 million of the proceeds police believe could still be under their control.
Detectives believe the gang could have been operating undetected for decades before they were caught, but cannot link them to any other crimes.
Seed travelled abroad three times after he was first photographed meeting Collins by a surveillance team in the weeks after the Hatton Garden burglary, while unknown to police.
Prosecutor Philip Evans QC suggested Seed, who studied electronics and physics at Nottingham University, may have taken stolen cash to Portugal, where Perkins had a holiday flat on the Algarve.
Seed was identified by the Flying Squad at the end of November 2015 and further surveillance footage captured him walking around Canary Wharf in April 2016.
But detectives waited until until March last year to strike, catching Seed red-handed with more than a 1,000 items stolen in the Hatton Garden heist.
He is believed to have been melting down gold and breaking up jewellery on his bedroom workbench bit by bit as it was brought in from a bigger stash.
Gait expert Dr Gordon Burrow compared covert footage of Seed with CCTV images of Basil, disguised in a ginger wig, facemask and hat as he carried a black bin bag to and from the scene to obscure his face from the cameras.
The podiatrist told jurors the ""unusual"" limp offered ""strong support"" for the prosecution case that Seed was Basil.
Prosecutors said electronic equipment, including an alarm panel and a mobile jammer, found in his flat was used for training, and suggested he may have worn BT clothing to gain access to the buildings prior to the crimes.
Philip Evans QC said: ""These two offences in particular required very specialist skills and knowledge to defeat the alarms and security measures in the premises.
""The prosecution suggest that Mr Seed is one of those people and had the requisite level of skill and knowledge to assist in the successful execution of these crimes.""
Seed claimed he could have been on a family holiday in Cornwall or visiting his elderly mother, in Cambridge, at the time of the Hatton Garden burglary and told jurors he had never been known as Basil.
""Everybody calls me Basil now,"" he said. ""I'll be known as Basil for the rest of my life.""",957,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00052.warc.gz,0.978943288326263
a7015c72-6322-406d-a89c-503e725b142c,2015-04-01T17:51:09+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.dp-db.com/beat-yeast-infections,"Linda Morgan suffered from yeast infections practically every month for years. Doctors continued to prescribe different medications, but the infections kept coming back. After almost unbearable frustration, she finally discovered an all-natural cure that got rid of her infection in just 12 hours and kept it away for good. She decided to share her secrets with other women in Beat Yeast Infections.
This amazing cure targets the actual cause of the problem rather than just treating the symptoms. You'll be able to get rid of your yeast infection in just hours in a totally safe and natural way. The techniques you'll learn in Beat Yeast Infections work for yeast infections of the penis and the mouth as well as vaginal yeast infections.
The remedies are made from simple natural products you can easily find in any grocery store. Best of all, in just a matter of hours, you'll be rid of the horrible itching, pain, odor and discharge forever!
For More Information About This Product, Please Visit:
Visit Product's Website
All orders are protected by SSL encryption - the highest industry standard for online security from trusted vendors like VeriSign and Thawte.",230,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00025-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94099098443985
9bb58330-5a41-46ff-b2f4-fcdcbde82334,2017-08-21T12:20:48+00:00,2017-08-03,1,http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/p-g-slashe/309936/?utm_source=digital_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1501785307&utm_visit=947979,"Procter & Gamble's concerns about where its ads were showing up online contributed to a $140 million cutback in the company's digital ad spending last quarter, the company said Thursday. That helped the world's biggest advertiser beat earnings expectations. Perhaps even more noteworthy, however, organic sales outperformed both analyst forecasts and key rivals at 2% growth despite the drop in ad support.
P&G didn't call out YouTube, the subject of many marketers' ire earlier this year, in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings release, but did say digital ad spending fell because of choices to ""temporarily restrict spending in digital forums where our ads were not being placed according to our standards and specifications.""
Those cuts amounted to nearly a percentage point of profit margin for the quarter, with cuts to agency and production fees further boosting profits.
People familiar with the matter said P&G left YouTube in March over brand-safety issues, though P&G has also had problems with ads appearing on video content that didn't match its goals. It's unclear whether or to what extent the digital cuts came from other venues, though Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller in a media call also noted Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard's broader efforts to eliminate ""a significant amount of waste"" in the digital media supply chain.
YouTube parent Google reported strong revenue growth last quarter despite what appears to be a dwindling advertiser brand-safety revolt. But P&G isn't in a hurry to resume spending either. Despite the cuts P&G had ""very strong relative organic sales growth,"" Moeller said. ""So we stand in pretty good net as a result of all those choices.""
Asked whether P&G sees any need to put that money back into digital media in the future, Moeller said, ""Clearly we don't need to be spending money that is seen by a bot and not a person. Clearly we don't need to be spending money on ads that are placed in inappropriate places, and that's why you see a significant reduction.""
So how well did P&G do in the quarter? Globally its organic sales, excluding effects of divestitures and currency, rose 2% to $16.1 billion on a unit volume increase of 2%. That compared to categories that were roughly flat, Moeller said on an investor call later, adding that P&G's organic sales actually accelerated over the fiscal year even as category growth slowed.
P&G U.S. revenue rose 2% on 4% unit growth. The spread there owes largely to a 12% cut in prices of Gillette razors, which boosted volume but reduced sales at least for the short term. The beauty business, long a company laggard, this time led with 5% organic sales growth.
All-in net earnings rose 15% to nearly $2.3 billion for the quarter, with nearly half the gain from those digital media cuts.
Rival Unilever, which hasn't pulled out of YouTube but similarly reduced marketing spending last quarter, increased global organic sales 3% on flat volume. Rivals Kimberly-Clark Corp., Colgate-Palmolive Co., RB (Reckitt Benckiser) and Johnson & Johnson's Consumer business all had down or flat organic sales and volumes, mostly combined with decreases in advertising spending where that was reported.
P&G's forecast for its new fiscal year, which began July 1, leaves room to hike marketing spending from productivity gains, and the $140 million cut last quarter could grow further still if P&G follows through on its threat to stop spending on digital media that doesn't have third-party audience measurement verified by the Media Rating Council by the end of the calendar year.
While P&G has increased its U.S. TV upfront commitment for this year, according to people familiar with the matter, it's far from certain all digital dollars it cuts would go there or elsewhere. CEO David Taylor was non-committal on the investor conference call when asked about plans for next year's spending.
""Certainly we are and have been rethinking marketing overall, and it will evolve,"" Taylor said, but didn't specify what that would mean for media spending. While Taylor has criticized past P&G moves to cut spending in the fiscal fourth quarter to boost profits, last quarter's digital cuts, motivation aside, essentially did that. Over five years, P&G is aiming for $2 billion in marketing cuts, including media, with a heavy emphasis on cleaning up the digital supply chain.",922,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108268.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821114342-20170821134342-00388.warc.gz,0.968041598796844
1c1156f4-4c1a-41f5-9cee-283ca6a38b6b,2020-10-29T02:43:38+00:00,2020-10-29,0,https://mooverschicago.com/north-side-of-chicago-professional-movers/,"Planning for a home move can be a daunting experience, so whether you are getting ready to move into your new place on the north side of Chicago, or are moving from there to another area, we are here to help.
Our efficient full-service home and business moving services can help you to make sure everything goes smoothly on the day. We also tailor our service to what you need, so if you’re happy to do the packing, or would like our help with assembling furniture, then we can adapt our quotations to what you need from us.
North Side Of Chicago Professional Movers
Our professional team has served thousands of people from across the Chicago area, and have the experience to make your move in the north side of Chicago a much easier experience than if you were to do it alone.
We have all of the equipment and the experience to deal with almost any type of furnishings or items that you are likely to need to move. Our reputation is also one of our points of pride, as we work hard to deliver great customer service from your first call to the completion of the move, so check out our online reviews!
Whatever your moving needs, we will be happy to give you an idea of how we can help, and of the costs of using Moovers Chicago to cover your moving requirements. Some of the popular neighborhoods that people in the north side of Chicago have moved to include:
- Albany Park
- Harwood Heights
- Jefferson Park
- North Center
- Norwood Park
- Old Irving
- Rogers Park
So, if your move is to one of these neighborhoods or one of the nearby areas, drop us a line to see how we can make your home or business move as simple and stress-free as possible.",360,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107902683.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029010437-20201029040437-00001.warc.gz,0.960734665393829
69c584a9-2f77-4dc0-b8db-e83b4f45818c,2017-08-20T22:55:26+00:00,2014-06-26,0,https://docrafts.com/Projects/coming-up-roses/4000266,"Coming Up Roses
Posted by jillpryor, 26 Jun, 2014
This cake is so pretty and would make the perfect birthday cake for a lady with a love of all things vintage. Bake a cake of your choice in an 8"" circular cake tin, cut in half and fill with your chosen filling. Secure onto a thick 8"" cake board then cover with pale blue-purple sugarpaste. Leave the icing to dry out overnight before decorating.
1 Add either a little cool boiled water or clear alcohol to some white lustre dust and mix. Dip the tip of a dry pastry brush into the thick mixture, dab off the excess onto kitchen roll then quickly drag across the surface of the cake creating a cross-hatch effect. Use the tip of the brush to soften. Leave to dry.
2 Mix the pink paint for the roses using concentrated food colour and differing amounts of white lustre dust to achieve the different tones of pink. Use either cool boiled water or clear alcohol to thin the paint as required. Paint the outline of the large roses in pale pink around the sides of the cake.
3 Using a #3 paint brush, block paint the main colours of the roses with pale rose pink and dark rose pink. Create soft edges around your rose by smudging the outer colours with a dry brush.
4 While the block colours dry, add the rose buds using a #2 paint brush, adding dark pink on one side, mid pink on the other and finishing with a touch of light pink.
5 Using light pink, add sweeping lines inside the roses to create petals. Add dark pink strokes into the design to add definition and stipple dark pink into the centre to represent the tightly clustered petals. Use white to add highlights. Leave to dry.
6 Using mid green and dark green edible colouring, paint simple leaves and stems around the large roses and rose buds. Apply the paler green first, then add the darker green over one side of each leaf. Leave to dry.
7 Roll out white modelling paste to approximately 5mm thick then use a smoother to achieve a level finish. Press in a parenthesis nesting die. Use a knife to cut around the outside and the blade modelling tool to neaten. Remove the die, and re-cut the intricate corners with the modelling tool.
8 Antique the edges by brushing some pale pink food colouring into the recess around the edge then removing the excess paint with a piece of kitchen towel.
9 Scratch the design lightly on the surface with a cocktail stick, then use the #1 brush and dark pink paint to ‘write’ your text. Add some mini rose buds and leaves.
10 Roll five cone shapes from pink paste. Insert a cocktail stick into the thick end and press into polystyrene to dry overnight. Roll out modelling paste thinly then cut 5cm circles. Place each circle onto a modelling mat and use the flower leaf shaper tool to ‘frill’ the petals.
11 Trim the circle to create a petal shape. Apply a little sugar glue to the base of the petal.
12 Press the first petal on to one of the cones, allowing the tip of the petal to rise above the tip of the cone. Wrap the petal around so that the cone can no longer be seen, creating a pointy centre.
13 Repeat with the second petal, this time, bending the petal tip outwards. Repeat again with the next petal, applying it a little further round the bud to create the centre of the rose.
14 To create the outer petals, cut 3 – 5 circles from the same modelling paste using a 6cm circle cutter. Repeat the process as before but apply your petals in a looser manner. Leave to dry.
15 Once your roses have dried, use a dry #3 brush to apply a little dark pink rose colour around the edges of each petal. Clean your brush then smudge the colour inwards. Brush white lustre dust onto the highest section of each petal to highlight.
16 Cut rough leaf shapes from rolled green modelling paste using a knife. Place the leaves on a modelling mat and use the ball tool to roll around the edges to add dimension. Add veins with a modelling tool and paint the leaves for detail. Secure the roses and leaves on the cake using royal icing.",897,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106996.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820223702-20170821003702-00414.warc.gz,0.857334971427917
267d5106-c183-40ed-ac7c-4e8d9bc87efc,2017-08-16T21:36:49+00:00,2016-06-01,1,http://imemc.org/article/kuwait-divests-from-g4s/,"The Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) in Kuwait has decided, as reported in the Kuwaiti media, to divest its funds from G4S, a company that is profiting from the Israeli occupation and has a notorious record of human rights abuses. The decision comes following calls from BDS Kuwait and the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society, on PIFSS to divest from G4S.
Earlier in May, a parliamentary inquiry by Kuwaiti MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan directed to the Ministry of Finance was submitted raising questions about the nature of the shares that PIFSS held in G4S, a company that is profiting from Israeli international law violations committed against the Palestinian people. In his response to the parliamentary inquiry, the Kuwaiti Minister of Finance, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the PIFSS, confirmed that PIFSS has sold all its shares in G4S.
Guman Mussa, BDS Campaigns Coordinator in the Arab World, welcomed the new victory against G4S saying: âThe decision of PIFSS in Kuwait to respond to a call made by Palestinian civil society and BDS Kuwait affirms that the Palestinian cause is part and parcel of the consciousness of the Kuwaiti people. Kuwait shines a glimmer of hope against normalization with Israelâs regime of occupation and settler-colonialismâ.
G4S, a British-Danish security company that operates in more than 125 countries around the world, had announced in March its intention to exit the Israeli market following mounting global pressure and financial losses incurred as a result of BDS campaigns. Nonetheless, the company has gained an ill-famed reputation not only due to the human rights abuses in which it is involved but also for repeatedly contradicting its promises to divest from the Israeli occupation. This has led BDS campaigners to accuse the company of dishonesty and deception. Since the March announcement, BDS campaigns against G4S have been escalating globally, not least in the Arab world.
Mussa added: âWe shall continue with our campaigns against G4S both globally and in the Arab world due to its complicity in crimes committed by the occupation, knowing that BDS activists â from Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan to Egypt and Morocco â are escalating the pressure against the company.â
âG4S clients in the region are responding positively to the campaign. Many have assured us that they are seriously exploring the possibility of severing their relationship with G4S due to its role in Israeli violations of Palestinian rights.â
Commenting on the news, BDS Kuwait stated: âKuwait has always been and still is at the forefront of supporting the Palestinians in their struggle for freedom, justice and self-determination. The decision by PIFSS rightly distances Kuwait from any suspicion of involvement with companies profiting from occupation and reaffirms Kuwaitâs commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people as well as our responsibility as Kuwaitis to combat normalizationâ.
Mussa concluded: âG4S claimed it was withdrawing from Israel âfor entirely commercial reasonsâ, but that is the very logic of the BDS campaigns for corporate accountability. As was the case at the height of the international boycott of apartheid South Africa, BDS pressure, as this latest success in Kuwait shows, is making some of the worldâs largest corporations realize that profiting from Israelâs regime of oppression is becoming commercially untenableâ.
â G4S announced in March 2016 that it will end all its contracts with the Israeli military, prison services, police and settlements. The Financial Times reported that G4S was âextracting itself from reputationally damaging work.â
â If BDS compels G4S to follow through with its announcement by ending all forms of complicity in Israelâs violations of international law, G4S would become the fourth multinational to abandon the Israeli market, in less than a year, due to heavy losses and/or reputational risk.
â In September 2015, French corporate giant Veolia set the trend by selling off all of its businesses in Israel after losing tenders and contracts worth billions of dollars following a seven-year BDS campaign against its role in illegal Israeli settlement projects.
â French telecommunications giant Orange announced earlier this year the termination of its franchise relationship with Israeli Partner Communications, after intense BDS pressure in France and Egypt.
â In a related major development, the $20-billion pension fund of the United Methodist Churchdeclared in January 2016 the five largest Israeli banks off limits for investment and divested from the two that it held in its portfolios.
â The Israel Export Institute has revealed that Israelâs exports in 2015 have dropped by 7% over 2014.
â Foreign direct investment in Israel dropped by 46% in 2014 as compared to 2013, according to a UN report. One of the reportâs authors admitted that BDS played a key role in this sharp drop.
â Moodyâs, a leading credit ratings agency, warns: âthe Israeli economy could suffer should BDS gain greater traction.â
â In addition to abandoning its Israeli contracts, G4S announced in March it was selling its mass incarceration businesses that operate youth detention centers in the UK and the US. It is accused by campaigners of involvement in racist and abusive practices.
Search IMEMC: “boycott”",1104,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102663.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816212248-20170816232248-00123.warc.gz,0.969443261623383
056c78b6-7ed6-44eb-bd27-df5bcf69b7e7,2020-10-30T02:38:36+00:00,2017-05-01,1,https://www.colorado.edu/today/2017/05/01/draft-concept-plan-cu-boulder-south-invites-community-input,"The university released a draft concept plan for its CU Boulder South property on Monday that offers a preliminary look at what development of the site could someday entail.
The 308-acre CU Boulder South property has become a major topic of discussion as Boulder County and the city of Boulder work on an update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP). Specifically, interest has centered largely around a change to the site’s land-use designation and potential annexation of the property by the city, how portions of the site could be utilized for flood mitigation, and what development on the property might look like if the city were to annex.
With the process moving forward toward adoption of the new BVCP this summer, CU Boulder planning staff have been working to respond to the request for more information about what might be developed on the property. While the comprehensive 10-year master plan for the campus, including CU Boulder South, will take a few years to update, we have developed a draft concept plan for CU Boulder South for both the Boulder community and our campus community to see.
The university has created a new website with information related to how CU Boulder envisions utilizing the property to serve the long-term needs of the University while also addressing the community’s needs and interests. Included are the set of assumptions behind the draft concept plan, a map showing the draft concept plan, a set of frequently asked questions and answers and an invitation for the public to provide feedback via a survey posted on the site.
The draft concept plan lays out general development areas for the site. Along with an accompanying map, a more detailed list of land-use assumptions breaks down how many acres of the large parcel at the city’s southern gateway might be devoted to academic buildings, open space and trails, flood storage (including recreation fields) and to housing for non-freshman students, faculty and staff.
We invite our campus community, local citizens, elected officials and appointed members of local boards and commissions to visit colorado.edu/cubouldersouth to review the various resources there. Afterward, please take our survey that is linked on the site. The survey will be open from today through 11:59 p.m. on May 10.
That survey feedback will help us determine adjustments, refinements and clarifications to the draft concept plan assumptions and map so that updated versions can be provided to local governing bodies to inform their deliberations and decisions on the upcoming BVCP adoption.
The City Council and Planning Board intend to hold a joint public hearing regarding the BVCP on May 23, with City Council to vote on the entire BVCP on June 13 and the Planning Board to vote on CU Boulder South portions of the BVCP on June 15. The Boulder County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners are planning a joint public hearing at the end of June, with their respective votes on the BVCP slated for late July.
An approval of the BVCP with a changed land-use designation for CU Boulder South would allow annexation discussions between the university and the city to occur. Even with an approval of the BVCP and an annexation agreement in place, the sites designated for development at CU Boulder South will take many years to complete. The university will remain focused on developing the main and east campuses first, but a finalized annexation agreement would help inform CU Boulder’s own visioning process as the university embarks on updating its campus master plan.
When the Board of Regents approved the purchase of CU Boulder South in 1996, its resolution stated that CU Boulder at that time had no immediate or specific use in mind for the property but that it was “a strategic acquisition to ensure the long-term future of the University of Colorado Boulder and to ensure access to quality education for the citizens of the state of Colorado for 50 to 100 years to come.”
That vision for the site remains today. While there is much work to be done before any detailed development plans are created for CU Boulder South, campus leaders will continue to engage the local community about any plans at the site along each step of the process.",836,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107906872.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030003928-20201030033928-00257.warc.gz,0.949281871318817
7bf26ad5-0ca5-4a5c-9432-1005b37bd597,2022-05-16T14:56:25+00:00,2022-05-16,0,http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink7937.html,"The Runty was named after Runty Bryan who was the runt of a litter of kittens. It's a very popular drink on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN.
Pour all ingredients into a highball glass or, if you can't find one, any 8 - 12 oz cup or container. Mix and serve with a straw.
most popular drinks in this category...
For information on creating mixed drink recipes, bartending information, and measurements for alcoholic drinks,
visit our Bartender Guide.",112,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510138.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516140911-20220516170911-00625.warc.gz,0.937677323818207
e7da7e7b-d16b-4a5b-918a-05fbc5018e02,2016-07-24T08:43:43+00:00,2016-07-22,1,http://www.ketchikandailynews.com/free/Local-edit-roads-7-22,"Classifieds | Place a class ad | PDF Edition | Calendar | Discussions | Moderated Chat | Home Delivery| How to cancel
Roads are the gateway to development, particularly in mining.
Congressman Don Young has introduced the Niblack and Bokan Mountain Mining Area Roads Authorization Act, which was the subject of a congressional subcommittee hearing recently.
The legislation, HB 587, would require the secretary of agriculture to establish roads corridors to connect the Prince of Wales Island road system and the two mining sites.
Young told the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands that the mines would create hundreds of jobs in Southeast Alaska, which has experienced a steady decline in timber-industry jobs.
Extending existing roads to the mine sites would provide safe and reliable access for workers, Young said. The extended roads also would encourage extension of Prince of Wales Island's hydroelectric transmission lines to the mines. Hydro power would reduce the need for fossil fuels and their expenses.
It is in the national interest to develop the rare earth elements at the Bokan mine. These elements are employed in all sorts of new technology, and currently China is the source for more than 90 percent of the elements.
The Niblack is a copper, gold, silver and zinc deposit. Extraction of those metals will be beneficial to not only the region's economy, but that of the nation as well.
Mining has its risks, but one of those doesn't have to be access to the mine site. Roads will be the safest and most reliable way for miners to get to work.",319,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823989.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00098-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948574125766754
5d7aa862-9416-45ba-8d58-a36b05ae6c39,2018-08-19T03:56:02+00:00,2011-05-22,0,https://www.sumasacchurch.com/sermons/whats-right-with-the-church-rom-31-8-may-22-2011,"If Christ is the head of the church, a lot of the world imagines the church to be like the clown body painted on plywood with Christ’s head in the hole – a disconnect, not real, not to be taken seriously.
What’s right about the church? What’s right about those who are on the inside? What’s right about gathering together as God’s people. Paul declares: “Much in every way!” /// Do you want to feel good, then take Paul’s declaration to heart: “Much in every way.” I told one person recently, “you are a good person.” A few days later the woman said to me, “You telling me I was good helped me.” The church is good. God’s people have advantages! The Church has advantages. Can a person be saved apart from being in a church? Absolutely! Yet there are advantages to the church. There is a lot of good in the people whom God has chosen, a lot of good in those who have been given the spirit of God – you may think there are no advantages, you may think the negative outweighs the positive, yet Paul is saying the advantages far outweigh anything negative you can possibly experience or imagine… When Paul says to the Church at Rome, “What advantage is there in being a Jew?” he was answering an implicit question – the people were trying to figure out the relationship between being a Jew and being a Christian. Like the clown body with the head of Christ…doesn’t quite seem to fit.
What’s right about the church? I’d like to say we are friendly, we have good programs, we do good things in the community, we have a very handsome and smart pastor/// the problem with any of those answers are that we are imperfect with most of them…the problem is that it is not my place to make a declaration. I could give you my personal opinion… but I cannot make absolute statements because that is up to every person that comes in contact with us…
Paul gives a primary answer at the top of the list, what’s right about the church?: “First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.” What’s right with the Jews, what’s right with the people of God, what’s right with the church?” God trusts them with his Words. God trusts us. Have you ever experienced that amazing feeling when somebody trusts you?
Through Seeds of Hope many people are helped in a variety of ways. Organizing their life, practical helps, transportation, finding needed services…what will make one of the biggest differences is when we put our trust in other people. Adults trusting youth that have never felt the affirmation of being trusted is incredible: “I trust you” is a tremendous gift that will transform lives. I am a naturally reserved person, one of the most amazing gifts I have ever received is when the Sumas Advent Christian Church said to Carl Crouse, “we would like you to be our pastor” in essence saying, “We trust you.”
When we first think of what we like or don’t like about the church we think of the programs, how well we sing/worship, how friendly are the people. What Paul says goes much deeper… What’s right about the church is not our character, but the person of God. What’s right about the church is that// God trusts the church. As the scripture continues, clearly the church is far from perfect, yet that does not take away the trust the Lord Jesus Christ has placed in the church. The Church is not Christ, but the church is entrusted with the Words of God. By Words of God, that means who he is, his message, what his most important to God…
Years ago back in the days of seminary, I worked at the front desk of the registrar’s office. One of my jobs was to verify the number of classes graduate students were taking for the purpose of deferring payments on their financial aid. I looked up the classes, wrote a letter to say how many credits the student was taking, used the signature stamp of the registrar, and the embossing symbol of the school to complete the verification. I was a lowly worker, but I was trusted by the registrar and school to officially represent the school. On more than one occasion, an irate student would come with a copy of the letter and tell me it was wrong, so I’d verify the information and either correct it or tell them it was right. Many times they would want to talk directly to the registrar. The registrar would stand in the office, read over the letter that he had never seen but had his name on it, it was the registrar’s words entrusted to me. He owned the words. He affirmed the accuracy of the words. He said the same thing I had just told the student. David Kiefer, registrar of Fuller Theological Seminary, entrusted me with his words.
What’s right about the Jews/church? “They have been entrusted with the very words of God.” That ought to sober you up. So you have an imperfect Church! Does that nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all. God is still trusting the Church. What’s right about the Church? God. The people are imperfect// In Rom. 3:3-8, the bottom line is that the people of God are not even close to perfect. Paul draws such a stark contrast in Rom. 3:4, that he even declares God is true and every man is a liar – he is highlighting the stark nature of the imperfect ways of those who make up the church.
A lot of people/Christians reject the Church. I’m not talking about Christians that because of illness or other life circumstances that don’t allow them to attend or be involved in a church, I’m talking good Christian people that simply don’t like the church. What are they rejecting? The imperfect character of the people. That goes with the territory. God trusts imperfect people! The Church has been entrusted with the Word of God, the desires of God, the mission of God, the message of God…. Paul goes on and plays with a logical conclusion that really does not hold water… (Rom. 3:5-8). Paul addresses a false idea that if our purpose is to put a spotlight on God, then that means the worse we are as people the better God will look, therefore, being a sinful person is a bonus to God – “Let us do evil so that good may result!”
That sounds logical, but it is false. What’s right about the church is that the church is entrusted with the word of God. The Church is right that seeks to be transformed by the Word of God, uphold the Word of God, live by the Word of God. A Church does not need to be perfect in every way to be right, the rightness comes not in what the church is, but rather a church is right in where it is pointing.
My job is not to sit at the registrar’s desk and point out to students what a wonderful receptionist I am, my job is not to do such a lousy job that the registrar looks really good, but my purpose is to point to the registrar and the accuracy of the records that have been entrusted to me. The Church’s job is to seek to be changed by the word of God, and to be used by God to make a difference to others because of the message entrusted to her care. The measure of the rightness of a church is not how perfect the people are, but the measure is how much does the church point to the Word of God, seek to live by the Word of God, minister in the name of Christ. What’s right about the Church is not the people. What’s right is the Lord Jesus Christ who lives among the people, as imperfect as we are. I do not know if we are a friendly church or not, I’ll let others weigh in on that… but, I say without reservation, What’s right about us is that we are a church seeking to glorify God, to grow in our faith, because the Lord has entrusted us with his word. We may not have everything down to perfection, we probably have a few funny ideas, we are not big enough to meet every possible need society sometimes wants in a church, we may not have the greatest preaching or the best singers on the face of the earth, but God trusts us. Romans 3:28: “A man is justified by faith..” Not what we are but who we trust, who we exalt, who we worship, who we invite to transform us. God is what is right about us!
A teacher selects a young student to carry a paper to another classroom. Being trusted is an amazing gift. The Church and Christians fall far short of perfection, but what is amazing is that God has placed his trust in us. there are only three possible categories for what people find wrong with churches: churches don’t think the right things (doctrine), Churches don’t evoke the right feelings (worship, loving towards neighbors, etc.) or they don’t do the right things (ministry, programs, outreach, evangelism, etc). Every church can be criticized for all three of those categories, what they think, feel or do… Paul says churches fall short in every human measure… but the church that is entrusted by God with his Word outweighs all our faults.
I love the way Romans 3 starts out as if Paul has a long list of all the advantages of being the people of God, “Much in every way.” and then he only gets to one thought: “First of all, they have been entrusted with the word of God.” Nothing else is on his list. Maybe he only has one item on his list because the trust God places in his people is the foundation for everything else that is right with the church. From God’s trust flows abundance.
Phil. 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…” The trust God places in his people is an incredible transforming gift creating the church into a supernatural organization. May the trust of God empower us to do even greater things in his name. God has every reason to not trust us, yet he does trust us. May God’s trust change us, cause us to raise our standards as we submit ourselves to him.
What’s right with the church? God trusts us. Incredible!",2258,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214691.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819031801-20180819051801-00307.warc.gz,0.976829171180725
8568a1aa-a088-4cb7-9be1-055117ff7966,2013-05-26T03:03:02+00:00,2013-05-26,1,http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/topic/gun-licenses/,"The Home Secretary has said people applying for gun licences should be made to have their current or recent partners consent to the application.
She suggested that it could reduce the risk of harm to victims of domestic violence.
Theresa May's letter is a follow up to a 2010 report into firearms control, following Derrick Bird's gun rampage in 2010.
However, the family of victims of a shooting in County Durham say that the plans won't work.
You can watch the full report from Frances Read below.",102,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.972643792629242
4b5e7b05-1060-475f-9538-c5fa1cba37eb,2016-07-23T15:03:22+00:00,2013-02-13,0,http://www.speaker.gov/general/potus-says-he-s-sped-energy-permits-cites-group-says-he-s-made-things-worse,"A “non-partisan coalition” mentioned by President Obama in his State of the Union message contradicts the claim that he’s “cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits.” In fact, the report he cited says federal rules and red tape are blocking badly needed energy production on federal land.
“[S]ignificant oil and natural gas resources on federal lands, both onshore and offshore, remain unavailable for development due to statutory restrictions and bureaucratic inertia,” says SAFE, the group mentioned by the president. In other words, the Obama administration basically has federal energy resources under lock and key:
- The Obama administration’s own five year plan “essentially tak[es] almost 20 billion barrels of oil and 60 tcf of natural gas off the table for development … despite strong state-level support in some cases, most notably in the mid-Atlantic region,” says SAFE. And “the absence of any clear indication of potential leasing activity in the near future” prevents new energy exploration.
- Oil production on federal land plummeted by 14 percent from 2010-2011 alone, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Natural gas production declined by 11 percent.
- It takes 30 times longer to get a federal drilling permit than some state and private permits, according to this chart from the Institute for Energy Research. The House Natural Resources Committee says the time it takes to get a federal permit has increased by 30 percent under President Obama.
SAFE’s advice? “[M]uch more could be done to support sustained increases in domestic energy production over the long term.” House Republicans passed a series of American Energy Initiative bills over the last two years removing government barriers to energy production, requiring approval of popular projects like Keystone XL, and stopping policies that drive up gas prices.
If President Obama really wants to “free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we’ve put up with for far too long,” as he said in his address, he’ll call on Senate Democrats to take up House-passed bills expanding energy production. After all, in the president’s words, “if a non-partisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we.”",487,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823072.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00045-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.935952365398407
1b21c5f1-cd31-44c7-802a-0e3d3f2d639e,2022-05-21T16:30:20+00:00,2019-07-07,1,https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/07/jeffrey-epstein-ex-donald-trump-bill-clinton-associate-arrested/1669665001/,"Jeffrey Epstein, a onetime associate of Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, is in legal trouble: Here's what we know
Financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested Saturday in New York on sex-trafficking charges, is best known for his ties to President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
That’s only one of the intriguing aspects about the legal action against a billionaire hedge fund manager long suspected of running a sex-crimes ring based on the recruitment of underage girls in the U.S. and abroad.
Here are answers to five key questions on the Epstein case:
Why is he in legal trouble?
Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that Epstein will appear in Manhattan federal court on Monday to face charges stemming from accusations that date to the early 2000s. One source said he stands accused of paying dozens of minors for massages and molesting them at his homes in Florida and New York.
The new charges emerged from an investigation conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, 11 years after Epstein dodged major jail time after pleading guilty to state charges of soliciting and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.
How was Epstein penalized for his conviction?
Under what’s known as a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with federal authorities in Florida, Epstein served a 13-month jail sentence but was allowed to spend much of it at his Palm Beach office through a work-release program.
The deal ended the FBI’s investigation into numerous accusations against Epstein and granted him immunity from the more serious federal charges. In addition, the NPA granted immunity to potential co-conspirators and shielded the deal from the victims.
This year, a judge ruled that Alexander Acosta – at the time the U.S. attorney in Miami and now Trump’s labor secretary – and his fellow federal prosecutors violated the law by failing to inform the victims about the NPA.
What’s his link to Trump and Clinton?
In addition to being fellow residents of Palm Beach – where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property is located – the president and Epstein socialized together before Trump’s 2016 election.
On Saturday, Trump biographer Tim O’Brien tweeted this 2002 quote by the future president, taken from a New York Magazine profile: “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
As part of its investigation into the Epstein case published in November, the Miami Herald listed Clinton as one of his friends and associates, saying the ex-president often flew in Epstein’s plane and visited his island. The Herald also reported that Epstein donated to the Clinton Foundation.
The newspaper said there’s no evidence Trump or Clinton was involved in underage sex activities.
What could be the fallout from this case?
Given Epstein’s list of powerful connections, which also includes Great Britain’s Prince Andrew, Victoria’s Secret owner Les Wexner and high-profile lawyer Alan Dershowitz, revelations that come out of the case have potential to be significant and embarrassing.
“There are probably quite a few important people, powerful people, who are sweating it out right now,’’ the Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown, lead reporter of the November stories, told RealClear Politics. “We'll have to wait and see whether Epstein is going to name names.""
Why has the case resurfaced?
The Herald’s series brought renewed scrutiny, and court decisions in favor of unsealing some of the documents from the initial case have added to the momentum. There have also been lawsuits filed by women who said they were Epstein’s victims.
Lawyer David Boies, who represents some of the accusers, told The Daily Beast it’s encouraging to know Epstein has been arrested.
“It is an important step toward getting justice for the many victims of Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise,’’ Boies said. “We hope that prosecutors will not stop with Mr. Epstein because there were many other people who participated with him and made the sex trafficking possible.’’
Contributing: The Associated Press",927,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539131.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521143241-20220521173241-00026.warc.gz,0.971379816532135
ee1a3efe-9da7-4adf-807b-a3cfd3a5f5dd,2019-08-17T21:09:01+00:00,2019-07-17,0,https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/42381/reason-for-vettel-s-mistakes-explained-by-prost/,"Formula 1 legend Alain Prost believes Sebastian Vettel's driving has been affected by the widespread rumours surrounding his future in F1.
Vettel is three places and exactly 100 points behind championship leader and long-term rival Lewis Hamilton at the halfway stage of a 2019 season that began with both the German and Ferrari pegged as title favourites.
However, the SF90 has not proven itself in race trim and Vettel's efforts have been pockmarked with the continuation of errors that saw his title challenge against Hamilton last year go up in smoke.
Vettel's future has become a subject of intense scrutiny, after his lambasting of modern F1 in the aftermath of having victory in Canada swiped by the stewards prompted suggestions he could be ready to quit the sport.
The 32-year-old insists he will be around until the end of next season at least, but evidence of waning powers at the wheel were on show at the British GP last weekend when he clumsily rear-ended Max Verstappen, possibly costing both a podium.
""His incident [with Verstappen at Silverstone] is a lack of judgement on his part,"" Prost told Canal Plus.
""We see that he is not completely at his best, he has just been overtaken, and tries to retake his position just after that.
""It is still a manoeuvre that is a little difficult, a little daring.
""This may be due to a lack of concentration, motivation, judgement. That's it. Overall, it's not great.
""In addition, there is the pressure of whether he will stop or not [retire at the end of the season], rumours left and right [about his future in F1]. Very sincerely, it must be a very complicated time to live for him.""
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.
We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.",564,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00005.warc.gz,0.972421169281006
374925a1-207c-441a-b52b-6e1203d00066,2022-05-20T13:16:21+00:00,2011-12-01,0,https://www.gramophone.com/blog/top-10-holiday-gift-ideas-day-7-launchport-inductive-charging-mounting-system,"Top 10 Holiday Gift Ideas | Day 7: LaunchPort Inductive Charging & Mounting System
If you think you can't improve upon the iPad, think again. LaunchPort is a revolutionary new way to mount and charge your iPad, virtually anywhere. The LaunchPort system consists of a PowerShuttle and any number of Stations. A PowerShuttle is a sleeve-style case that fits onto your iPad. There are two types of Stations:
- A BaseStation is the tabletop mount and charging unit that interacts with a PowerShuttle.
- A WallStation is the wall mount and charging unit that interacts with a PowerShuttle.
- A LaunchPort System requires a PowerShuttle and at least one Station.
The LaunchPort PowerShuttle for iPad 2 is a sleeve-style, soft touch black (or white) case. It securely holds iPad 2 and is used to mount to either the BaseStation and/or WallStation. It has a built-in wave guide for the iPad 2 speaker that allows the sound to be directed back at you for a better media experience. It’s equipped with a Mini USB port for charging and syncing on the go. Because the PowerShuttle contains magnets, you can also mount it to any metallic surface
The BaseStation allows you to mount your iPad 2 to a table top to use and charge. The induction mounting and charging node provides a connection point for a PowerShuttle. Made of brushed aluminum, the BaseStation looks great with all your Apple products.
The LaunchPort WallStation provides a home for your iPad 2 on the wall. It securely mounts and charges your iPad 2 using a LaunchPort PowerShuttle. The WallStation was designed so that anyone can install one in their home. The WallStation uses inductive charging and magnetic mounting, providing effortless mounting and charging, without wires. The LaunchPort WallStation transforms your wall into an information center, gallery, video conferencing center, or whatever else you can imagine.
How Does It Work?
LaunchPort uses induction which means as soon as an iPad with a PowerShuttle is mounted to a Station, charging begins immediately- without a 30-pin cable or conductive elements. Magnets are used to mount and affix your iPad in its PowerShuttle to a Station. The tabletop BaseStation only uses some of the magnets in the LaunchPort system, making it easier to grab and go. The WallStation uses all magnets in the system for secure and safe mounting. The magnets are located on the PowerShuttle case which means you can also mount it to any metallic surface like a refrigerator or work bench.
How do I install a LaunchPort system?
A LaunchPort BaseStation and PowerShuttle requires no installation. Simply slip on a PowerShuttle and plug your BaseStation into a wall outlet and you are set up. For the LaunchPort WallStation, installation is required. Installation is designed so that most people can perform on their own. If installation in an atypical setting, or if you are uncomfortable performing this installation on your own. Click here to view the WallStation installation video.
Not fully convinced? Come check out how it works in person!",665,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662532032.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520124557-20220520154557-00404.warc.gz,0.927647411823273
faf64190-7f5f-4f7b-976a-0865c6c97b27,2016-07-27T09:41:43+00:00,2014-01-11,1,http://www.edition.cnn.com/2014/01/11/world/africa/egypt-politics/index.html?iid=article_sidebar,"- Egypt's army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says he may run for president
- But only if the people want him to, he says
- A referendum on a new constitution could usher in elections
Egypt's army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said Saturday that he would run for president if the Egyptian people wanted him to, state media reported.
El-Sisi, the country's defense minister, said that ""If I run for presidency, it would be by the request of the people and by a mandate from my army, as we work within a democracy,"" according to the official MENA news agency.
El-Sisi's words come as Egypt prepares to hold a referendum Tuesday and Wednesday on a new constitution that would ban religious parties and put more power in the hands of the military. If the constitution is passed, elections should follow.
El-Sisi also called on people to participate in the referendum.
The country has seen months of political turmoil since its first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsy of the Muslim Brotherhood, was deposed by the military in July and an interim, military-backed government was installed in his place.
Detractors said he was a tyrant trying to impose conservative values, but Morsy's supporters say that the military has returned to the authoritarian practices of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed in a popular uprising in 2011.
Hundreds died in clashes between Egyptian security forces and Morsy supporters in the weeks which followed his ouster. Many in the Muslim Brotherhood hold el-Sisi, as the military chief, responsible for the bloodshed.
In a statement issued amid the crisis, el-Sisi said ""Egypt has room for everybody, and we are keen to save every drop of Egyptian blood."" He added, ""The Egyptian people are free to choose whoever to govern them, while the armed forces will remain the safeguard of the will of the people and of their choice.""
Morsy has been in detention since July and faces trial on charges of inciting the murders of at least three protesters outside the presidential palace in late 2012.The protests were over a constitution that Morsy shepherded into effect.
The second session in the trial is due February 1, after a hearing last week was postponed when bad weather prevented Morsy from being brought by helicopter to court.
Morsy has said he doesn't recognize the court's authority, claiming he still is Egypt's legitimate President.
Muslim Brotherhood members have continued their protests, even though the government declared the group a terrorist organization last month.
The government has threatened to arrest anyone who attends Muslim Brotherhood protests or provides financial support to the organization.",555,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826759.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00001-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.979337751865387
2c679388-5440-4d90-85de-b6590b7854a4,2015-03-30T18:11:54+00:00,2013-07-16,1,http://www.crn.com/news/mobility/240158304/microsoft-exec-pcs-are-likely-to-go-away-but-then-again-they-might-not.htm?itc=xbodylb,"Steven Guggenheimer, vice president of Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism group, recently offered some surprisingly unvarnished views on the future of the desktop PC.
""Over time, it's likely to go away,"" Guggenheimer said of the desktop PC in an interview with Techcrunch published Monday.
But in the same sentence, Guggenheimer, a 20-year Microsoft veteran, softened his stance.
Microsoft is facing ""this weird balance between [the desktop] ending up being less critical over time, but it probably never goes away completely. Or if it does, it's hard to predict when,"" he told Techcrunch.
Some partners would say ""weird balance"" is an apt description of Windows 8. Microsoft overhauled Windows for tablets and touch, but customers haven't warmed to the new user interface. Windows 8.1 could help, but some customers are planning to stay on Windows 7 for the time being.
That's because many companies rely on PCs and can't afford to invest the time and money in training their employees how to use Windows 8.
""While the world may surf and read email on mobile devices, most work happens on desktop PCs,"" Marc Harrison, president of Silicon East, a Manalapan, N.J.-based Microsoft partner, told CRN. ""Until Microsoft -- or someone else -- finds a platform that increases office worker productivity, the desktop is here to stay.""
Still, the PC market is in clear decline, while tablets are coming on strong. According to figures released last month, research firm Gartner expects tablet shipments to come close to matching PC shipments by the end of 2014.
Microsoft is hoping to get Windows running on many of these tablets, but it's setting its sights higher than that. In last week's reorganization announcement, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer referred to a ""family"" of devices running Windows several times.
At Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, COO Kevin Turner put a number on the size of the opportunity Microsoft sees beyond PCs.
""The new market opportunity goes from 338 million PCs to 2.9 billion devices every year,"" Turner said in a keynote at the conference.
So, while it may seem strange for Guggenheimer to even entertain the possibility of PCs becoming obsolete, all he's saying is that traditional computing may be replaced over time with mobile alternatives. But Microsoft still expects to get a big chunk of that business.
Ultimately, it's going to come down to what tasks the user wants to perform. Those who only consume information already have no need for PCs, while those that produce information are still more or less reliant on their desktops.
""I have yet to see a touch-centric device that will actually allow you to create textual data in a meaningful way. Screen keyboards are too slow to be useful for anything but short responses,"" one Microsoft partner told CRN, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect his relationship with the company.
PUBLISHED JULY 16, 2013",615,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00085-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957779765129089
eba89bd1-39eb-42f1-8750-c84262a91005,2019-08-20T23:15:58+00:00,2018-09-24,1,https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md-attorney-general-sex-abuse-investigation-20180924-story.html,"Archbishop William E. Lori has told clergy members of the Archdiocese of Baltimore that state authorities are investigating the archdiocese’s records related to the sexual abuse of children.
Lori told priests and deacons in a letter Monday that the office of the Attorney General Brian Frosh has informed the archdiocese that it plans to “conduct an investigation and thorough review” of the records.
“I write today to inform you that the archdiocese has been in discussions with the Maryland attorney general,” the archbishop wrote.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said Monday that, consistent with policy, it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of such an inquiry.
But the letter from Lori appeared to affirm that Maryland has become the latest of several states to open similar investigations in the wake of an explosive Aug. 14 Pennsylvania grand jury report that revealed that more than 300 “predator priests” in that state were credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children over seven decades.
The Pennsylvania report further concluded that for decades, church officials, including the leaders of archdioceses, covered up crimes such as the rapes of children.
Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Wyoming are among the states that have opened investigations into how the Catholic church has handled allegations of sexual abuse within those jurisdictions.
About two weeks after the Pennsylvania report was released, Frosh’s office posted a notice on his office’s website suggesting that such a review was under way in Maryland. On Friday, he sent out a tweet that called for victims and witnesses of sexual abuse in schools or houses of worship to contact the office.
Lori pledged in his letter that the archdiocese would cooperate in any inquiry.
“The archdiocese is supportive of the review and will be fully cooperative throughout the process,” Lori wrote.
Lori wrote that he considered such cooperation the duty of a church that has fallen short — a conclusion he has said he reached in the more than 20 gatherings he has held with clergy, lay Catholics, parents, teachers and students since news of the Pennsylvania report broke.
“Based on my conversations with people throughout the archdiocese and from the emails and letters I have received these past weeks, it is clear that we are a church in crisis and that crisis is one of trust,” he wrote. “It is my hope and prayer that this independent review and other acts of transparency by the archdiocese will bring about greater trust in the church among those who are understandably skeptical about the church’s handling of allegations of abuse.”
Lori had announced Friday in a letter to local Catholics a plan to create a lay council in the archdiocese through which members of the flock could more easily share their ideas and suggestions. The letter also announced the creation of an ongoing, virtual “town hall” in which Catholics can share their views and keep up with news as the church wrestles with the worldwide crisis.
On Sunday night, the archdiocese began using two online communications platforms — MyParish and Flocknote — to facilitate conversations and solicit input from the wider archdiocesan community related to the abuse crisis.
Sean Caine, a vice chancellor and spokesman for the archdiocese, said Monday that the threads on both platforms have seen “heavy engagement,” and that more than 300 people have added themselves to a Spanish-language version of the Flocknote platform.
The Catholic Church sex abuse scandal has become an issue in Frosh’s race for re-election. After the Pennsylvania report, his Republican challenger, Craig Wolf, called for Frosh to open a similar investigation.",777,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315681.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820221802-20190821003802-00167.warc.gz,0.978320717811584
83982757-a17e-445d-9931-759478c536fb,2016-07-27T07:47:03+00:00,2016-06-27,0,http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/cu-study-finds-more-bicycles-on-the-road-lead-to-fewer-accidents,"DENVER - Surprising results from a CU study that compared the number of bicyclists to the number of accidents -- and the results match those already found in Europe.
The researchers found that the chance of collision decreased with more bicyclists. They also found the risk of accidents was relatively high at intersections with less than 200 bicyclists per day.
The study focused on Boulder, which has one of the highest rates of bicycling in the country. About 12 percent of the population rides bikes. That makes it one of the few U.S. cities with enough bicycling to achieve the safety benefits already documented by researchers in Europe, said study co-author Wesley Marshall, PhD, PE, assistant professor of civil engineering at CU Denver's College of Engineering and Applied Science.
""I was glad to be able to do this practical, hands-on research on bicyclist safety while a student at CU Denver,"" said study co-author Krista Nordback, PhD, PE.
The researchers wanted to create safety performance functions for bicycles in Boulder. SPFs model the mathematical relationship between the frequency of crashes and major factors related to them. Yet while there are SPFs for vehicles, there were none for bikes.
The authors created their SPF for Boulder by studying crashes at intersections throughout the city where more than two-thirds of collisions occur. They compared the crash data to bicycle count data.
""Fortunately, Boulder was one of the first cities to establish a bicycle counting program back in the late 90s,"" Marshall said.
The risk of accidents was relatively high at intersections that saw fewer than 200 bicyclists per day.
""Anywhere above this threshold is where we are seeing the largest safety benefits,"" Marshall said. That's when the risk of accidents begins decreasing.
""That makes total sense to me because the more bicyclists there are, the more drivers become trained to be aware of bikers,"" said Jason Bartley, a bicyclist in Fort Collins. ""Fort Collins, it seems like people that are biking, it's more like transportation and so, seems like many more people have a bike that they use for transportation when they can; that means when they're driving a car, they'll know what it's like to be a biker.""
Researchers say the reasons for the stunning study finding remain unknown.
""Other studies have hypothesized that when drivers expect to see a significant number of bicyclists on the street, their behavior changes,"" Marshall said. ""They are more likely to look over their shoulder for a bicyclist before taking a right turn.""
Cyclists may also be attracted to safer areas.
""In the same way that maybe a traffic light would make you look up and be aware I think probably cyclist are the same way, the more of them the more likely you are to be paying attention for them,"" said Elan Jimenez-Waters, a driver in Fort Collins. The home to CSU also has a large percentage of bicyclists.
""But we think there is even more to the story and we'll be looking for that in our next study,"" said Marshall.
As bicycling increases in cities across the U.S. each year, the results could have national implications.
""In fact, we are beginning to find that cities with a high level of bicycling are not just safer for cyclists but for all road users,"" he said. ""Improving the streets to better accommodate bicycles may enhance safety for everyone.""
The study was published last month in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention.",719,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826736.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00312-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.980949819087982
b1d038eb-3dca-4576-a409-51b58d50f264,2017-08-16T17:31:59+00:00,2015-01-15,1,http://vidarbhatimes.blogspot.com/2015/01/central-govt-ndrf-ignoring-maharashtra.html,"Central Govt. & NDRF ignoring Maharashtra Agrarian crisis-Four more Vidarbha Farmers Suicides in a Day
Dated-15th January 2015
Maharashtra is grilling under severe drought and state Govt. announced relief aid to more than 8 million people of around 30,000 thousands villages amounting Rs,7000 crore expecting more than Rs.5000 crore from central Govt. and from National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) as per the guidelines of NDRF but recent meeting of high level committee under Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting for Central Assistance to States affected by natural disasters delhi yesterday which was attended bu the Union Minister for Finance Shri Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister of Agriculture Shri Radha Mohan Singh and Senior Officers of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance and Agriculture but severe agrarian crisis and ongoing farmers suicides in drought effected vidarbha and marathawada region was not even discussed as Committee examined the proposals for financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh for Hudhud cyclone, Arunachal Pradesh for floods and landslides and Karnataka for some parts of the State affected by floods and some parts affected by drought. The Committee also examined the proposal for financial assistance to Uttar Pradesh where some parts of the State were affected by hailstorm and some parts affected by drought,this is nothing but mockery of Maharashtra agrarian crisis ,alleged Kishor Tiwari farm advocacy group Vidarbha Janandolan Samti (VJAS) informed in press release today.
The ongoing farm suicide spiral is in agrarian crisis hit vidarbha region is continue in new year 2015 as in last 24 hours four more farmers suicides reported ,they are 1.shaymrao lokhande of village loni and 2. Dilip sakhare of village pipalkhuta both in amaravati and 3.suresh kakad of village thevthana in akola and 4.moreshwar shatrakar of viilage akoli in yavatmal taking too 23 in this month whereas 1142 innocent distressed and aid starved farmers killed themselves in year 2014 even The Supreme Court is examine the issue of suicide deaths by debt-ridden farmers from drought-hit state of Maharashtra which witnessed a horrific incident of a 75-year-old tiller lighting his own funeral pyre in Vidharbha region last month, now National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken serious cognizance of the complainant filed by farm advocacy group Vidarbha Janandolan Samti (VJAS) regarding Saiyad Ansar Ali and other farmers of vidarbha. farmers suicides ,VJAS convener Kishor Tiwari informed today .
""The pathetic plight of farmers has reached an alarming situation"", farmers are seeking an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 per hectare of land from Maharashtra Government to the drought-hit farmer families along with a complete or reasonable waiver of crop loans to farmers but central Govt. apathy is forcing the farmers of Maharashtra kill themselves which is matter of national shame when NDA has made vidarbha farm suicide as major election issue promises better cost and credit for farm produce and agriculture but all promises are turning out to be hoax, Tiwari said ,",691,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102309.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816170516-20170816190516-00570.warc.gz,0.940957546234131
cf597392-c3bd-491f-ba2a-4f514791378e,2019-08-19T13:04:01+00:00,2017-07-20,1,https://www.consumer.equifax.ca/about-equifax/press-releases/-/blogs/trade-balances-up-but-so-are-bankruptcies-according-to-equifax-canada-commercial-credit-trends-analysis?_com_liferay_blogs_web_portlet_BlogsPortlet_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.consumer.equifax.ca%2Fabout-equifax%2Fpress-releases%3Fp_p_id%3Dcom_liferay_blogs_web_portlet_BlogsPortlet%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_com_liferay_blogs_web_portlet_BlogsPortlet_cur%3D1%26_com_liferay_blogs_web_portlet_BlogsPortlet_delta%3D20,"TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 20, 2017) - Equifax Canada® (NYSE:EFX) today announced an investment in its Commercial Solutions business, helping Canadian business owners gain insights into their industry's financial health and identify opportunities to grow their market share.
""Better performance year after year is the goal of every company and the fastest way to get there is through a better understanding of existing customers and prospects,"" said George Staikos, Director of Commercial Markets, Equifax Canada. ""Equifax is second to none in terms of data collection and now with our expanded commercial consulting team we can offer deeper insights into a variety of data points to drive business success.""
COMMERCIAL MARKETS INSIGHTS
A recent Equifax Canada analysis of commercial credit trends revealed:
- Trade balances have increased by 31 per cent since Q4 2015, which means that businesses are conducting more transactions with each other at increased values
- Business-to-business trade delinquency decreased by 4 per cent since Q3 2014
- Business bankruptcy levels have increased by 39 per cent since Q1 2013, meaning that when businesses are severely delinquent (90 days past terms), they have a higher likelihood of never recovering
- Business bankruptcy rates are noticeably higher in Quebec compared to the rest of the country, so extra due diligence is prudent when making higher risk credit decisions in this province
- The number of legal notices has increased by 30 per cent since Q1 2014, which means that Canadian businesses may incur greater legal fees, potentially impacting their bottom line
SLICING UP THE DATA
Using the country's largest commercial credit database with 3.7 million records covering numerous industry sectors, negative occurrence and delinquency data from 60+ collection agencies, and enhanced accounts receivable information from 41 different industries, Canada's largest financial institutions and thousands of small and medium-sized businesses rely on Equifax's data and insights every day to help find, onboard and manage their clients through the entire credit lifecycle, helping Canadian businesses succeed in this economy.
Specifically, Equifax Canada's suite of services helps businesses grow revenue, increase efficiency and protect profit through the entire credit lifecycle:
- Client acquisition
- Risk modeling and scorecard
- Fraud management
- Account portfolio management
- Debt recovery
""Our aim is to help our B2B clients gain the greatest value from our enhanced commercial data and products,"" said Staikos. ""While our clients are focused on the day-to-day requirements of running their business, our commercial team is focused on analytics, risk management, automation, account management and collections solutions.""
For information on Equifax Canada's solutions for Canadian business owners, visit our content hub.
Equifax powers the financial future of individuals and organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than 7,100 employers.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,500 employees worldwide.
Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit www.equifax.com.
SELECT Public Relations",840,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00139.warc.gz,0.935100615024567
65d4272c-f489-4c39-b20a-18bf488aa800,2013-05-21T10:35:45+00:00,2008-01-24,0,http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/125995-its-thursday-amp-theres-no-football-this-weekend,"It's Thursday, and like most days during football season, all you can think about is the weekend's lineup of games. You're slouched in your chair at work, loads of reports and files to be delt with, and yet, all you can keep your mind focused on is football. Then, a reminder pops up on your computer...it reads:
Dinner and Movie with Jill. 7:30pm. @ Outback. 1/24/08
At first, your mind is jogged as your memory recolects your prior engagement. It's about 1pm and you're still at work, so that means you've got some other things to take care of once you get off around five. Things just got a little bit brighter, your work load doesnt seem as heavy and overbearing, nor does your boss' constant Borat impressions as he strolls through the office come across as so lame...things are looking up-
""Oh crap...wait, it's the 24th. Oh, God...that means- Yes, the conference championship games were Sunday. And that means...siht, that the Super Bowl is ten days from now...and there arent any games this weekend. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""
The booming roar you give off is so earth shaking that your fellow employees all cringe. Bill in cubicle six, about three rows behind you, is startled so much that he spills not only himself from his chair but his coffee all over his keyboard. Brian, the guy in the back photo-copying his butt, has his earphones slip out, and you can hear the faint voice of Will Smith singing ""Getting Jiggy With It""...and in the distance, Williamson, the boss of the office, opens his door so that all is visible is his eyes. He's peering out, looking across the landscape of the room, searching for the source of the commotion. He sees you, sitting back in your chair, eyes wide open, mouth hanging down to the floor playing patty cake with the carpet, and a dazed look on the face that resembles R.P. McMurphy after his lobatomy. He is frightened, his inner child surfaces from those days of being sheltered by mother and slapped around by father, and he coils back up into his den out of view from the 20+ office workers. You're still sprawled back in your chair, having visions of Week 17's Giants-Patriots game, and suddenly, an image of Brett Favre's last pass in the NFC Championship Game-
(You hit the floor.)
No movement at first. Just a motionless body, almost corpse like. And then as if a silent gun has been fired, your body begins to twitch and do the Curly shuffle around and around on the floor. You've lost it...all because there is no football this weekend.
After being released from the hospital at about six that night, for what was called a ""minor mental break"", you head home with no recolection that you've got a date in over an hour. The first thing done once home is, accordingly, the ""assume the position"" technique. You plant yourself into your favorite lounge chair and flip on the television. As the channels become a blur and your mind races, you begin to contemplate what you will do on Friday, Saturday, and most importantly, Sunday.
Yada, yada, yada...long story short, you find this blog.
The Top 10 Things You Can Do This Weekend Without the Luxury of Playoff Football
10. Beer Pong
Have I ever participated in this game? No. Have I ever had more than a few sips of alcohol? No. Would I be a reliable source in what beer-pong is and how it works? Nope.
Here's a credible source: Pong-a-delic
Your world will be turned upside down.
Mac understands that alcohol is only for persons of legal age, 21, and does not advocate or encourage the use of alcohol by minors. He also realizes that what he's typing right now is pointless and a lame attempt at wit. -Mac Says Nothing Else Matters 1/24/08
9. Vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico
One of the best ways to unwind and release yourself from the grind of everyday life is going on vacation. As a kid growing up you couldnt wait until Summer came around. It meant that school was out, and if your parents had saved enough money during the year, vacation. My parents took me down to Disney World at least three or four times as a kid. We'd drive down to Orlando over the course of two days, driving roughly for 20 hours. There are some truly great vacation spots across the U. S. of A, and as we've come to find out, Los Cabos, Mexico is a great spot for undwinding. You can unwind so much that when you come back, not only are you refreshed from a great trip, but you forget how to do your job and other simple things of life.
Tony Romo took a trip down to Los Cabos during the bye week before the playoff matchup versus the Giants. And guess what, his experiences down there were so impactful that when he came back, HE FORGOT HOW TO PLAY QUARTERBACK! He was allowing himself to get sacked, throwing the ball away at the most inopertune moments, and all kinds of stuff! He was there for a few days, just think what that could do for you! My God, just imagine the possibilities. All of your dreary thoughts of not being able to watch playoff football will evaporate. You will be stress free!!!
Of course, you'll have to shell out a couple hundred bucks for plane tickets, hotels, and then maybe go as far as $1,000+ to be able to have some fun while there. Your wife will divorce you for racking up debt on the credit card but guys are meant to fly solo anyway.
8. Blow it on FanNation
Have you ever sat at your computer for HOURS? I think most of us can say yes to that. Next question. Have you ever sat at your computer for hours on one site the entire time, say, FanNation? Me too!
The Truth & Rumors are good for about 15 minutes. Scope out what load of bull-malarkee is being spit out in the Rumors, and read the untrue Truths. So much fun. And hey, if you find one that's interesting, you'll probably find a slew of comments. Arguing or just talking in the comments is great for killing time. Guys like Cardsox and Chrono know what I'm talking about, dont ya boys?!
Then, move on to the blogs. Look on the main page to see what the Mods think are good reads by what two blogs are sitting there. Then move on to the most recent blogs page. You can always find a crappy blog to make fun of, or even a fantastic one to marvel at. And as usual, bickering the comments is great fun. Remember to always dig deep for witty and hurtful insults. They'll know you are the man after you make fun of their mother's thunder thighs.
Then, last but not least(dont you hate it when people use such overused sayings just to do it?), the throwdown section. OOooooh, boy, can this be a great experience. For one, you can ALWAYS, like blogs, find someone who's really ignorant or silly. Dont you love it when the newbs show up and create TD's like ""Tom Brady is a better QB than Peyton Mannning"" or ""Barry Bonds is a cheater""? So much fun to blow that guy's head off in the comments. Or, if you're lucky, you catch one of those epic throwdowns. Like, if for example, BigBen68 was going head to head with ramdrummaster(that would be awesome). You could bask in their higher knowledge of pro-football. Soak it in...do back strokes in the river of knowledge...
All in all, you can easily blow nearly five to eight hours on FanNation in one night. And then, you can come back the next day. And the next...and the next...
7. Indulge Yourself in Truly Horrible Movies
Ever seen those people at a movie rental joint that get some of the stupidest movies available? OR, are you that person? We know movies like any of the newer Star Wars movies or anything Keanu Reeves is in(other than The Matrix) suck, but none of us know what the worst of the worst are. I've always wondered what possibly goes through peoples minds when they pick up something so stupid, tasteless, and lacks so much substance. I wonder to myself, what is driving their brain, if anything at all? Arent they capable of watching good, enticing, complex cinematic masterpieces like The Godfather or The Shawshank Redemption? What possess someone to want to see Starship Troopers?
Need help exploring the world of cinematic bombs and the mindless automaton's that avidly follow them? Here is your saving grace: Bad-to-the-Bone
What is so appealing to viewing movies that arent worth the disc it's on you ask? Seriously, what does weed do for the goofballs that smoke it? It fries some brain cells, chills them out, slows things down, and passes the time. Aha! You're catching on. A movie that is so bad can become somewhat of a weed substitute. The direction, music, acting, plot, all can be so dreadful that it makes you laugh so hard that you are in tears.
Trust me, you wont remember anything about not seeing the Giants play the Patriots for another week. Oh, wait, that's right...damn it.
6. Rick Roll Your Friends
Rick Rolling is by definition, sending someone a video clip of Rick Astley's ""Never Gonna Give You Up"". Upon seeing this music video, your eyes begin to itch, ears begin to bleed as if ice picks are being shoved inside, and somewhere in Africa, someone is cured from AIDS instaneously.
To me, Rick Rolling should be turned into a universal term for a ruse by way of horrifying video clips. Just send an email to around to a load of your friends, co-workers, or family titled something interesting, even egging them on to crank up the volume. ""Never Gonna..."" does the trick normally, but it's getting old as people are doing it so much. Be creative. Take a page from Eagle Hater for example. Weeks upon weeks ago he checked into the Chat Room Group and started being his usual psychotic self. He provided a link for the few of us that were there and told us to follow it. Mislead us about it telling us it was something about football or whatever...and then...
It was a link to a hogtie sex fetish website. Let's just say, that some of us nearly crapped ourselves when we saw what he had sent us too. Immediately, we looked at the door to see if our parents were there, listened for steps in the hall, and like most of us, hit back and chewed Eagle out. Of course, I have a hunch that someone in the group literally proceeded through the warning signs that presented the usual hullabaloo about having to be at least 18, yada, yada, yada, and viewed the site.
You dont have to be THAT creative, but you get the picture. Things like these can create a whole other element in friendship. Lack of trust, inside jokes, etc.
One thing about this is, it isnt very time consuming. But it's memorable, which makes it worth it.
5. Host a Draft Amongst Friends
Ever gone to a friends house for a fantasy football draft? You all conregate to a single room, dawning note pads and football jerseys, and select players off one by one and have a hell of a time. Cutting jokes, eating pizza, drinking beer, etc. Just think about this for a second. What if you had a draft with your friends, but it was for songs, maybe movies, or albums...hell, get creative. You could even stick with the aspect of sports, and maybe have a draft for all-time players.
At first, this may seem stupid. I sure as hell did when Chrono presented the idea in the Chat Room Group. But then, we actually conducted a draft. We set up a blog, and made our selections on albums in the comments and conversed there as well. We had a lot of fun making fun of each other for horrible picks, and talked about all kinds of things. Since then, we've done a movies draft, band draft, and even have spilled that into the group known as Dogs, Pigs, and Sheep in which some of us did a songs draft. We had fun each time. All of this over the internet. Just think of what it could be like with a group of friends face to face for a few hours.
You know you wanna go call your buddies.
4. Go to work
What? If you wanna skip work and get yourself fired, thus, being a bum more power to you. I'll be sure to wave as I drive by and not give you any change.
3. Seinfeld Marathon
If you arent like me, and have the complete nine seasons of Seinfeld, you can sit back and waste your weekend away by viewing the fantastic four. Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer along with their friends make for a glorious viewing experience. Here are the things you will need for this three day Festivus fest:
I. A television equipped for DVD viewing
II. All nine seasons of Seinfeld on DVD
III. A couch with many pillows
IV. An empty bucket.
V. A phone.
The first few were self-explanatory. As far as numbers three through five...The couch is of course where you will be sitting throughout the three day weekend. The pillows is where things get tricky. Sitting still and upright for an extended period of time can become aggitating. So, you naturally begin to shift in position and pillows provide extra comfort. But the main reasons for having numerous pillows is: A) When something so funny happens, like when Elaine does her horrible dance, you can throw something around the room out of sheer ecstasy. or B) When you are laughing so hard that you begin to jump up and down on the couch you have something soft below you to fall on after plummeting down from near ceiling height.
Then, there's the empty bucket. Why oh why do you need an empty bucket? I'll tell you...there are many times during the nine seasons of Seinfeld that are so hilarious, so gut bustingly funny, that you as the viewer react in a way that sends you into a stage of loud, booming laughter. You do this for minutes on end, laughing so hard that you are bending over, getting cramps in your sides; hence, ""OH MY SIDES!!!"" And as usual during these incidents, you dry heave. To make sure that anything you hock up doesnt go on the floor, there's the trusty empty bucket lying at your feet. Presto!
Ah, the phone. Yet another perplexing need to the uninformed. Ask your self this, what do women do when they see something interesting? They call their friends and talk about it. They talk, talk, talk, talk and talk some more. They run up the phone bill so that by month's end when they get their bill, they start menopause early. And a nation of men weep in the process. Watching all of the moments in Seinfeld history provides countless memorable one-liners and scenes. You've all heard someone yell ""NO SOUP FOR YOU!"" or ""It's the Summer of George!"" Hell, you even do it yourself. You work in a Seinfeld quote in a conversation with a friend just to spice things up and/or make you seem witty. And quite possibly the best of the them all, when you meet up with someone you despise, you say: ""Hello, Chrono."" And you say this in that classic Jerry tone when he would see Newman. It is times like these that spark the need for a cell phone. If you're a guy, you will undoubtedly call up your buddy to tell him about a scene. You wont be able to hold it in. Instead of yelling into the phone ""Wazzzup!"" like in those commercials, you'll be blasting into the receiver the words of Kramer:
""HOW CAN THE SAME STREET INTERSECT WITH ITSELF?!?! I MUST BE AT THE NEXUS OF THE UNIVERSE!!!""
The best part of this long drawn out process of viewing all nine seasons of Seinfeld in one weekend is: bragging rights. Yeah, just imagine the reactions of your closest friends and family when they hear what you did. You'll ask how their weekend went, they'll say how they mowed the lawn, watched some college basketball, and ate out at Chili's. Then, you state to them what you did. Their self-esteem will plumet.
Now, before we move on, you are probably a little bewildered at this point if you dont have any of the seasons of Seinfeld. Hey, neither do I, which is why I just watch the two episodes that TBS plays daily around 5pm. That'll do. OR, go find someone who has the seasons on DVD. Trust me, Seinfeld can save your life.
2. Host a Toga Party
Bluto made it famous in Animal House, and a nation of youth followed suit. Find a friend who has a big house, preferably one that has absent minded rich parents that will be leaving for the weekend, and call him or her up. Get the house loaded with about 50 people. In order to be good law abiding citizens, keep the booze out of it. :D Come dressed in a toga, maybe even dawning a crown of thorns featuring leaves and make sure everyone else does so as well. As far as entertainment goes you can easily just play music off of a computer with speakers going all around the house, or you could be clever and call in someone. Local bands or artists are good because you might not have to pay them a whole lot. Rap music is GREAT for the dance scene. But if you really wanna send things out with a bang, sneak in a CD featuring some of the *harder* stuff, that way, when everyone leaves they'll be so pumped up that they'll cause some serious chaos in the neighborhoods. Finally, the main thing you should have ready for this toga party extravaganza, is a huge television and put it on a game. Find anything sports wise, Super Bowl re-runs, NBA, etc. That'll provide some good under control caliber entertainment for a few of the guests.
Toga parties can only get out of control if you let it. Keep the beer away and you wont have any problems with idiots trying to start orgies or moshing. :D
1. Host a Paper Football Tournament
Oh yeah, you know it baby. This is the ultimate way to forget all your troubles, and replace them with some entertainment that pertains to football.
America's Game Super Bowls I-XL, ESPN Classic, or Something
What's the perfect way to prepare for the Super Bowl? Why, watch past Super Bowl's of course. Gosh, you should've seen this coming from a few light years away.
If you dont have the 40 disc box set of America's Game from NFL Films, then you can try and find it a programming of one on NFL Network. If you dont have NFL Network, go to ESPN Classic and look for games. If all of the above fail, I think you probably are blind.
All throughout this week and weekend NFL Network is showing full past games, and even NUMEROUS 30-minute episodes of Super Bowl games. You know they start to crank stuff like this out in preperation for the big game. All this week, weekend, and into next week there will be programs like that on NFL Network, and undoubtedly, ESPN Classic.
You dont need much to fully enjoy a past Super Bowl game or a Super Bowl team's bio from America's Game. It's football, it takes care of itself. Because ""football is a good movie.""
So, there you have it ladies and gents of the Nation of Fans. Those were the Top 10 things you can do this weekend to keep your mind active due to the absence of playoff football. Football makes the world go round, these are just some things to make it spin until February 3rd. Was this blog helpful? Possibly, but I doubt it. Was this blog funny? I doubt it. But hey, it waisted a few minutes of your day, and I'm satisfied with that.
Of course, you could just live your life as you normally do. But that's boring.",4395,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969788074493408
f8685260-0fb4-42ec-9656-7e59f2c3354e,2019-08-22T05:03:25+00:00,2019-05-01,1,https://tamebay.com/2019/05/marketplace-renewable-energy-instatrust.html,"New sustainability-led marketplace for renewable energy: Instatrust
Instatrust, a new online sustainability-led marketplace for renewable power purchase agreements.
According to the marketplace, 170 corporations worldwide have committed to 100% renewable energy by 2050 at the latest.
The marketplace is designed to connect sellers with buyers that’re committed to buying clean energy with suppliers of wind and solar energy. Instatrust is aiming to create value for players including projects developers, asset owners, corporate energy buyers, trading firms, lenders and service providers.
Instatrust says currently in a testing stage. Sellers can sign up for free. Instatrust says that commercial terms will be reviewed after the piloting stage and they will charge merchants a “fair price” for their services.
What does Instatrust offer to sellers?
- Support to sellers in identifying and reaching out to active off-takers in the market.
- Support for potential corporate renewable energy off-takers in issuing tenders and screening projects based on DNV GL’s scoring methodology.
- Benchmarking projects in a quick and easy way to help energy buyers accelerate the procurement process with confidence.
“We know that we are just at the beginning of the energy transition, over the coming years we will see a rapid growth of renewable energy. Combined with the drastic reduction in costs as well as growing demand for corporate sustainability among investors and consumers, renewables have become an attractive possibility for corporations to implement that goal. We see that commitment from large corporations to buy renewable power will speed up the energy transition. The global power purchasing market is growing fast with regional characteristics and specific requirements. Instatrust will match sellers and buyers in a trusted environment, thus helping speed up the adoption of wind and sola.”
– Ditlev Engel, cheif executive officer, DNV GL – Energy
“The corporate PPA market needs to significantly scale up to avoid being a bottleneck in financing and building renewables. This growth in corporate PPAs will require an efficient and transparent market where stakeholders understand and mitigate emerging risks. Having analyzed over 65 GW of operational wind projects and supported over 6,000 solar projects worldwide provides us with unparalleled insights into the evolving energy sector.”
– Caroline Brun Ellefsen, Global Head of DNV GL’s Instatrust",479,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316783.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822042502-20190822064502-00327.warc.gz,0.928751170635223
5e1f6143-68b5-4acf-b3ba-bbf44ee6573b,2013-06-18T22:51:24+00:00,2012-07-25,1,http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2012/07/25/end-the-fed-whether-congress-wants-us-to-or-not/,"Since its inception, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies have led to a decline of over 95% in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. As a result, there have been several attempts to reduce or even eliminate the Federal Reserve’s powers.
Louis T. McFadden led efforts in the 1930s. Wright Patman pressed again in the 1970s. Henry Gonzalez got things moving in the 1990s. And, Ron Paul has led the charge for more than twenty years now. In nearly eighty years, though, none of these efforts have succeeded.
And, even with House passage of Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill earlier today, it’s highly unlikely that the imperial Senate would ever allow light to be shed on the actions of its financial backer. Resistance to these efforts is seriously entrenched.
But yet, a large number of people across the political spectrum want to know what goes on behind the Fed’s curtain. And with calls to audit the federal reserve reaching a fevered pitch, it’s a good time to ask the basic question – is this even a worthy effort?
Not to say that you should want a secret national bank, but rather – is this kind of activism the best place for you to put your energy…and hope? Will lobbying the Senate get Harry Reid to allow a vote? Will calling Mitch McConnell change anything? Will Barack Obama or Mitt Romney allow such a bill to pass without their veto?
I believe the answer to all these questions is a big, fat NO.
PULLING THE RUG OUT
On the other hand, in contrast to attempts to put a stop to the Fed at the national level, a paper that William Greene presented at the Mises Institute’s “Austrian Scholars Conference” proposes an alternative approach to ending the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money. The “Constitutional Tender Act” is a bill template that can be introduced in every State legislature in the nation. Passage would return each of them to the Constitution’s “legal tender” provisions of Article I, Section 10:
“No State Shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts”
Such a tactic would achieve the desired goal of abolishing the Federal Reserve system by attacking it from the bottom up – pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the State and local level.
Under the Constitutional Tender Act, the State would be required to use only gold and silver coins – or their equivalents, such as checks or electronic transfers – for payments of any debt owed by or to the State. This includes things like taxes, fees, contract payments, and the like.
All such payments would be required to be denominated in legal tender gold and silver U.S. coins, including Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, and pre-1965 90% silver coins. The market would then require that all State-chartered banks – as well as any other bank acting as a depository for State funds – offer accounts denominated in those types of gold and silver coins, and to keep such accounts segregated from other types of accounts such as Federal Reserve Notes.
But that’s not all! Not only would the use of Federal Reserve Notes by the State be made illegal; the use of legal tender U.S. gold and silver coins would be encouraged amongst the general population too – by eliminating sanctions against its use.
HOW IT PLAYS OUT
Passage of the Constitutional Tender Act would introduce currency competition with Federal Reserve Notes by outlawing their use in transactions with the State. Ordinary people, being required to pay their State taxes in gold and silver coins, would find it necessary to conduct some transactions with metal – including the use of checks and debit cards based on bank accounts denominated in such coins
All businesses operating within the State, being required to pay their State sales taxes and license fees in gold and silver coins, would need to do the same. Most importantly, though, in order for businesses to acquire the amount of gold and silver needed, they find it necessary to offer their goods and services in “dual currency” denominations, where customers could choose to pay in Federal Reserve Notes or gold and silver coins.
This kind of “bottom up” approach to ending the Fed will have a greater likelihood of success than the “top-down” approaches we’ve seen over the years for two major reasons:
1. The top-down approach has been an utter failure. While it has succeeded greatly in an educational role, it has simply not worked tactically.
2. It’s decentralized. Political opposition won’t be as strong or well-funded on a state level. Strategies and tactics can be adapted much quicker. And, most importantly, success in one state can be a far greater educational tool – and a source of courage – for people of a neighboring state, than endless calls to a Congress which almost never does what’s right.
Greene tells us that use of sound money would drive further use. He writes:
“Over time, as residents of the State use both Federal Reserve Notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve Notes do will lead to a “reverse Gresham’s Law” effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve Notes). As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the State’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the State – as people in other States carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve Notes for any transactions.”
Once things get to that point, Federal Reserve notes would become largely unwanted and irrelevant for ordinary people. Nullifying the Fed on a state by state level is what will get us there.
Without a single act of Congress, the Federal Reserve system can be brought to its knees.",1259,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959947764873505
78b32818-7c57-4ebd-82ad-ecb9e104a332,2015-03-30T17:28:33+00:00,2014-12-31,1,http://www.abraveheartfilm.com/,"A BRAVE HEART: The Lizzie Velasquez Story is a documentary following the inspiring journey of 26 year old, 58 pound Lizzie from cyber-bullying victim to anti-bullying activist.
Born with a rare syndrome that prevents her from gaining weight, Elizabeth ""Lizzie"" Velasquez was first bullied as a child in school for looking different and, later online, as a teenager when she discovered a YouTube video labeling her ""The World's Ugliest Woman."" The film chronicles unheard stories and details of Lizzie’s physical and emotional journey up to her multi-million viewed TEDx talk, and follows her pursuit from a motivational speaker to Capitol Hill as she lobbies for the first federal anti-bullying bill.
Bullying is a subject that historically yields heartbreaking stories of hopelessness and in many times, loss. Rarely is there a story of survival and inspiration that continues to crossover ages, genders, and ethnicities… enter the brave story of Lizzie Velasquez.
Lizzie and I met when I asked her to give a talk at the first TEDxAustinWomen event which I was producing. She was a local hero whose time, we found out shortly after, had arrived. It was clear quickly, that Lizzie’s philosophy on her health and her experiences, was as rare as her syndrome that mystified geneticists worldwide.
We live in a culture of tremendous meanness. And few people have experienced it more than Lizzie. Bullying first became a reality when she entered kindergarten and the whispers and the pointing began because Lizzie looked different. At 17, discovering “The World’s Ugliest Woman” video, with its 8 seconds of Lizzie’s face, its 4 million views, and its thousands of comments including KILL IT WITH FIRE, presented Lizzie with a choice. Lizzie chose to not give up, but to forgive and to thrive; as an author, as a speaker, and now as an activist.
Just recently, in September 2014, the World Health Organization published that every 40 seconds, someone takes their own life. When we arrived in Washington DC to help lobby for The Safe Schools Improvement Act, the first federal bill with potential to reach the floor for a congressional vote, Lizzie asked the question repeatedly, How Many MORE? How many more kids do we have to lose to being bullied and discriminated against because they look or act different? Lizzie wanted to go to Washington in hopes that her personal testimony might make a difference, to require data collection of kids being bullied in school. At the end of filming, Lizzie’s efforts helped garner a record 208 co-sponsors out of 218 needed for the bill. This was more support than over 8 years of congressional efforts.
What I wanted to show is that this is Lizzie’s film, but it is Everyone’s story. Our record-breaking Kickstarter campaign yielded support from 16 countries and proved that Lizzie’s message knew no limits. From 65 year old veterans giving their retirement checks over to the campaign in California, to 12 year old girls doing lemonade stands in the UK, to Lizzie’s church members taking out second jobs so they could contribute at home here in Texas.
Lizzie had already proved to more than 10 million TED talk viewers that she was worth listening to. My job was to show what Lizzie could do with more than the 18 minutes the TED rules allowed. Where does the strength and bravery in Lizzie’s fragile 58 pound body come from? How does she battle an unknown syndrome in the hospital one morning and speak on stage to thousands that afternoon? Simply put, to Lizzie and her family, her life has never been about the start and end dates on our life, but the dash in between.
A BRAVE HEART is Sara’s film directorial debut. Sara met Lizzie when she Produced the first TEDxAustinWomen in 2013, the most viewed 2013 TEDxWomen event worldwide both live and on demand. Prior positions in media and entertainment include Executive Director of Interactive Marketing at Paramount Pictures, VP of Digital Marketing at MGM Studios, and CEO & Co-Founder of NowLive (acquired by Live Media Group in 2013). She is a member of The Producer's Guild of America New Media Council and Women's Impact Network.
Chris’s most recent work was as Assistant Editor for the Golden Globe nominated, critically acclaimed BOYHOOD. Prior, Chris was Associate Editor on the Academy Awards nominated and 2011 Palme d'Or winning film The Tree of Life, and Editor of Terrence Malick's To The Wonder. Chris has worked for Warner Independent Features, Paramount Pictures, MTV, HBO, and Fox Searchlight. Chris is a member of the Motion Picture Editor's Guild as well as the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences.
Ben has worked on several festival winning feature documentaries. His documentary Homemakers won Audience award at IFF Boston, and Phil Collins and The Wild Frontier premiered at the New Orleans Film Festival and is currently on the festival circuit. Barge received grants from the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund, the Garrett Scott Development Grant, and the Austin Film Society Grant. In addition, Ben has directed for clients including Ford, DELL, and Bravo TV. Ben received his BFA in Film, Animation, and Video from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Jose has been an editor for over 8 years. His diverse background in the entertainment industry ranges from independent films to television production with clients including National Geographic, Yahoo!, and Warner Brothers. Starting out as an accomplished editor and motion graphic designer, Marcelino had the opportunity to feature documentaries and short films that earned international recognition and awards.
Mike is most recently known for writing the Netflix acquired film, The Human Experience, which was the recipient of over 30 film festival honors including Best Documentary, Best Humanitarian film, and Best Feature film. His next film Outcast, with Grassroots Films is premiering in 2015.
Graduating from University of California, San Diego, Jessica began working at NowLive in 2011 where she co-produced live events for the web including The Hunger Games and The Twilight Saga World Premieres, Live from Comic-Con with Entertainment Weekly, and The Academy Awards Red Carpet. From there, she continued on in the digital marketing space as a Producer at Jetset Studios and Digital Coordinator at Tool of North America.
Sara is an American singer-songwriter who has sold more than one million records and has earned 5 GRAMMY nominations. The film includes an original version of her platinum hit BRAVE and an original song, BEAUTIFUL GIRL. Her vocals are also heard on throughout the original score for the film.
After 10 years of touring as lead guitarist for Grammy nominated recording artist Sara Bareilles, Javier decided to pursue his career as a solo artist. A BRAVE HEART is his first effort at film scoring, and he hopes to continue working on films as he releases solo material and tours.
Ngoc Nguyen is an entertainment professional with over 15 years of experience in the industry highlighted by a special focus on feature film publicity and celebrity relations. She has worked at South by Southwest, Austin Film Festival, Miramax Films, Creative Artists Agency and Paramount Pictures and has led campaigns for filmmakers such as JJ Abrams, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Gore Verbinski and Brad Bird. In 2013, Ngoc spearheaded the PR campaign for TEDxAustinWomen, which became the #1 viewed TEDWomen event of the year and, currently, she oversees publicity and partnerships for Women Rising.
Originally from the Bay Area, Tamar moved to Los Angeles in 2001 to begin her career in the film industry at MGM studios where she worked in National Publicity for 5 years. She went on to Paramount Pictures as VP of Interactive Marketing, leading the digital publicity campaigns for a wide range of films. Tamar is committed to a number of philanthropic endeavors including her recent work with the Inside Out Writers Organization. She has traveled extensively to donate her time to local orphanages in countries such as Tanzania and Nepal.
Justine Ezarik a.k.a. iJustine is a one-woman new media phenomenon: techie, gamer, vlogger, and digital influencer. She is one of the top female personalities on YouTube amassing over 3.3 million subscribers across her 3 channels, more than 1.7 million Twitter followers and has garnered more than 500 million views on her videos. Justine has made the Hollywood Reporters 50 most powerful digital players list, Maxim Magazine's Hot 100, Time’s Most 100 list and in 2012, she was ranked the #6 most influential personality by The Daily Beast’s Digital Power Index. A popular brand ambassador, Justine has worked with top brands from Mattel, Microsoft, Ford, GE, Intel, Sharpie, Doritos, Taco Bell, eBay, P&G, Banana Republic, Samsung, AOL, and Carl’s Jr. and has been featured in numerous magazines, publications, and commercials. She also has been a host for MTV/Spike, E! News, NBC, and red carpet events and is set to publish her first book in June 2014.
Alexis is the founder of the non-profit I AM THAT GIRL and is an internationally recognized speaker, author, media personality, and activist. Alexis hosted a TV show on the red carpet, worked at ESPN, Fox Sports, MTV and was a contestant on the hit CBS show: Survivor. She recently launched ProtectHer, an empowerment company dedicated to inspiring men to better protect the girls and women in their lives and prevent sexual assault and domestic abuse. Alexis was featured as one of AOL’s MAKERS Video Series along with Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Clinton and Sheryl Sandberg. She has been as an Ambassador for L’Oreal’s new STEM initiative, and listed as one of DELL’s #Inspire 100 List, Fast Company’s “Female Trailblazers” and ESPN's ""Pop Culture's Top Ten."" She's been featured on Extra and Access Hollywood, and in Glamour, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times.
Lizzie Velasquez, 25 years old, is a graduate of Texas State University, a motivational speaker, and author of three books: Lizzie Beautiful, Be Beautiful, Be You, and Choosing Happiness. In December 2013, she took the stage at TEDxAustin Women and gave a talk titled 'How Do You Define Yourself?' that to date has garnered over 9 million views across the web. Her story has been featured on Katie Couric, The Today Show, Dr. Drew, Inside Edition, Huffington Post, and Yahoo! Lifestyle among other national and international media.
I’m a firm believer that one person can help make a difference. Whether it be a difference that is on a small scale or a large scale. You, the person reading this right now has the power to help make a positive impact on at least one person.Use that power for good with me! Let’s work together and change the negative instinct to fight back with someone online to a positive instinct instead. Let’s start making a difference with our keyboards. After all, the solution is right under your finger tips. See you on the high road!",2376,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299515.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00073-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963402807712555
8e69dfbf-4576-4a1b-accd-640102366727,2013-05-20T11:54:40+00:00,2010-08-09,0,http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/news_detail.cfm/news_id=16227,"DOE Finalizes $43 Million Loan Guarantee for New York State Energy Storage
Crews delivered specially equipped containers in June to permanent foundations in Stephentown, New York, to support Beacon Power's flywheel energy storage system.
DOE announced on August 9 that it had finalized a $43 million loan guarantee for Beacon Power Corporation's 20 megawatt (MW) innovative flywheel energy storage plant in Stephentown, New York. The company said the plant—the first of its kind in the world—will help improve the stability and reliability of the state's electric grid by acting as what the company termed ""shock absorbers"", using the flywheel to absorb and discharge energy to balance power generation and consumption. The flywheel facility, which is estimated to cost $69 million, will provide approximately 10% of New York's total capacity to regulate frequency on a typical day. Overall, the project will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on petroleum products. Beacon said the operation will create 20 construction jobs in New York and 40 permanent jobs in Massachusetts, where the company is headquartered. The company will contribute roughly $26 million.
Flywheel-based frequency regulation is fast and efficient, ramping up or down 10 times faster than the conventional fossil fuel generators that typically perform this service. Four megawatt at the Stephentown plant are expected to be online and earning revenue by the end of 2010, and the entire plant is scheduled to be online by the first quarter of 2011. Beacon Power is also developing two more 20-MW flywheel-based energy storage plants to provide grid frequency regulation. One plant, to be located at a site within the PJM Interconnection grid—an area encompassing parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia—will be partially funded by a $24 million DOE Smart Grid stimulus grant. The other project, in Glenville, New York, is the subject of a second loan guarantee application that DOE is currently evaluating. See press releases from DOE and Beacon Power.
Meanwhile, DOE announced on August 5 that it is extending the application deadline for a July 2009 loan guarantee solicitation for clean energy projects. The new deadline—October 5, 2010—gives companies six additional weeks to develop and submit Part I applications for a loan guarantee for energy efficiency, renewable energy, advanced transmission, and distribution technologies projects. The loan guarantees are provided under Section 1705 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Part II application deadline is still December 31, 2010. See the DOE press release and the DOE Loan Guarantee Program Web site.",520,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.941807150840759
dd3b9fae-4656-4a3b-97d0-78640df0735f,2013-05-19T18:57:57+00:00,2006-05-11,1,http://english.people.com.cn/200605/12/eng20060512_264929.html,"The Chinese oil firm, Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPEB), is to start undertaking seismic survey in east Ethiopia's Ogaden basin next month, the management said Thursday.
ZPEB and the Malaysian oil giant Petronas have agreed on the petroleum exploration project to be launched in the Ogaden basin next month, said Li Jianjun, chief representative of ZPEB's Ethiopia office.
ZPEB is contracted by Petronas, which was awarded three blocks in the Ogaden basin. The three blocks in the Ogaden basin are located in the Fer Fer, Warder and Genale localities. The total area covers about 93,000 sq km.
The Chinese firm will at first start undertaking the seismic survey in the Genale locality, some 1200 km east of the capital Addis Ababa, Li said.
ZPEB conducted the well completion work in the Calub gas field in the Ogaden basin. In 1998, ZPEB was contracted by the Ethiopian government and made eight gas wells in Calub ready for production. The company was paid 5.6 million U.S. dollars for the job.
According to geological data, Ogaden and other four sedimentary basins in Ethiopia are endowed with oil and natural gas. The country's current natural gas reserves are estimated to be 24 million cubic meters.",275,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951376616954804
ad7b62fb-64e9-482e-b8ea-86e3adaf8618,2018-08-18T16:17:39+00:00,2018-01-31,1,https://whopam.com/2018/01/31/33001/,"Proceedings were continued until February 28 in Christian Circuit Court Wednesday for former Oak Grove Police Officer Ben Walden, as they await the completion of evidence testing.
Defense attorney Rick Boling represents Walden and says they are waiting for the testing of a couple of cellphones to be finished.
Special Prosecutor Ralph Vic says he expects to have the reports on the phones by the new pretrial hearing date of February 28. Trial is set to begin on March 26.
Walden is facing numerous charges including first degree rape, first degree sodomy, intimidating a participant in the legal process, retaliating against a participant in the legal process, tampering with evidence, official misconduct, permitting prostitution, terroristic threatening and fourth degree assault.
This case coincides with a Kentucky State Police investigation were there had been complaints that three women were being held against their will at the Quality Inn and forced to have sex with several men.
Two others have already pleaded guilty to their roles in the case, which including human trafficking and promoting prostitution. **",208,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213691.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818154147-20180818174147-00621.warc.gz,0.980675160884857
24d2b324-e865-4cde-9735-e38cc02e670c,2022-05-27T22:13:05+00:00,2022-05-27,0,https://www.grainwell.com/products/personalized-image-ornament,"Personalized Image Ornament
$ 38.00 USD
- Material: 1/4"" birch wood or 1/8"" Clear or Frosted Acrylic
- Size: 4""x4""
- Finish: Lacquer - White paint or Black paint for acrylic - black may look better due to shadowing
- String: Black String to hang
- Design: A photo of a loved one (3 or less is idea, but up to 4 people is possible)
- Upload your image to the link. This can be a phone photo in good lighting.
- A proof will only be sent if requested, to your order email for approval.
All personalized items are final sale, even after receiving a proof. If you want to change the image, there will be a $15 change fee due to the time designing the image. Please upload a clear image (that is not blurry when you zoom in) to insure you will be happy!
Product is made to order, please find our current turn around time here (on our FAQ page).
Copyright © 2014 Grainwell®. All rights reserved. This product as well as all Grainwell® products are a registered copyright of Grainwell®.",251,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663006341.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527205437-20220527235437-00626.warc.gz,0.902547717094421
713f8c28-4a43-4e56-b34a-c636c6d54ab0,2020-10-31T21:47:23+00:00,2016-09-05,1,https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-passes-600-as-talks-of-recession-intensify,"Several reasons have been alluded to regarding the sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin from Saturday September 3 when it jumped from about $574 to $610 by the following day, including a push from speculators expecting the devaluation of the Chinese yuan.
Factors that might have influenced the price
Now sitting at the $600 price range, this is the highest the currency has reached since the August 2 hack of the Chinese exchange Bitfinex, when Bitcoin worth close to $65 million was reportedly stolen. Its price was around $640 before the hack.
The fact that the rise came after Bitfinex announced the redemption of 1.1812% of outstanding BFX tokens also points in the direction of the exchange being a factor for the price swing. Or that it was a reversal to the pre-Bitfinex hack price.
The announcement of the Brave Browser implementing Bitcoin micropayments could also be a contributor. The 0.11.6 release of Brave enables users to reward websites they enjoy frequenting while getting rid of tracking and adware techniques at the same time.
Another reason might be that the Russian authorities have officially stated there will be no penalties for Bitcoin use. Based on movement on Fiatleak around the time of the spike, a Reddit member Midipoet stated:
“That's a pretty interesting website. We should have seen this coming. It was only a few days ago that Russia 'legalised' Bitcoin, and there is a LOT of money in Russia. If you factor in the countries that deal with Russia, and the fact that they would want a monetary exchange system that is quicker/cheaper/safer than FIAT, the price rise is actually a no-brainer.”
On another thread, timfcrn stated that the rise is as a result of people taking huge profits from other cryptos into Bitcoin, which has forced a massive short squeeze that some miners didn't see.
The user says:
“Remember, there aren’t as many Bitcoins earned by miners, so if they're not careful about their commercial hedging (shorting), they could face huge squeezes if people taking profits in other cryptos move to Bitcoin again.”
What comes next?
The interest in Bitcoin may have also increased now for the reason that negative interest rates are spreading with central banks in the Eurozone, Switzerland, Sweden, and Japan all having below-zero policy rates. Yahoo Finance reports that a negative interest rate policy NIRP is the only move that those central banks have.
Though the US Federal Reserve hasn’t followed, there are suggestions that it is already preparing for NIRP. In a congressional testimony last February, Janet Yellen said she had “not fully investigated” the legal issues of a negative rate strategy. Asked again about NIRP in June, Yellen stated that the Fed did not have the legal authority to use negative rates. She denied plans to do it, but said there was no legal barrier.
It shows that between February and June, the Fed’s counsel developed some kind of legal justification for NIRP. Though it doesn’t mean they will do it, but it does suggest that Yellen wants to have a NIRP contingency plan ready to pull out if necessary. The next Fed meeting is between September 20-21.
John Mauldin, who publishes Thoughts from the Frontline, says he believes the Fed wants to have NIRP as a policy option when the next recession begins. This is based on his view that a recession is coming with a recovery that is already long in the tooth. He writes that he thinks there is real potential to enter at least a mild recession no later than the end of 2017 to be triggered by events in Europe.
In the event of an economic turmoil, Bitcoin could serve as a means to secure wealth. A recession may lead the digital currency to go mainstream.",806,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922463.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031211812-20201101001812-00451.warc.gz,0.971598446369171
509c6f2a-a86b-4bed-92cd-3988eb6b1e56,2015-03-31T20:41:36+00:00,2015-03-31,0,http://nationalmarriage.com/links/,"- The Center for Relationship Enrichment
The Center for Relationship Enrichment exists to encourage and enrich relationships through the transforming power of biblically-based principles.The CRE equips people for healthy relationships through biblically-based consulting, education, enrichment, resources, research and assessment.
- Winshape Marriage Retreat
National Institute of Marriage (NIM) – Winshape Marriage Center in Rome, GAS. Truett Cathy, Founder of Chick-fil-A, and his entire family are committed to this new work to help strengthen marriages and shape families. This particular project is being spearheaded by Bubba & Cindy Cathy, who have reached out to help newlywed couples in their Sunday School class for the past twenty years.This dairy farm on the campus of Berry College has been renovated for use as a small group (30 people / 15 couples) marriage retreat center.WinShape Marriage Retreat is a great partner for NIM and hosts Couples Intensives each month at their facility.
- Marriage CoMission
The Marriage CoMission partners with individuals and organizations who agree in spirit and principle to the idea that America needs for us to work together. They actively seek ways to integrate their resources and services into the marrige movement, primarily at the city level.The Marriage CoMission believes that the marriage movement should be entrusted to city elders and leaders. When church elders, business leaders, and civic leaders join together and take responsibility for their community, cultural change can happen. The Marriage CoMission seeks to integrate a diversity of resources behind the city elders and leaders.
Growthtrac’s mission is to engage and equip married couples, and those preparing for marriage, with products, content and services revealing the transforming power of the Gospel.
- First Things First
First Things First is a great example of a Community Marriage Initiative. Under the leadership of Executive Director Julie Baumgardner, this organization is dedicated to strengthening families in the Chattanooga area through education, collaboration and mobilization.
- Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
The Institute for Marriage and Public Policy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to high quality research and public education on ways that law and public policy can strengthen marriage as a social institution. Working with top scholars, public officials, and community leaders, iMAPP brings the latest research to bear on important policy questions, seeking to promote thoughtful, informed discussion of marriage and family policy at all levels of American government, academia, and civil society.
- Save My Marriage
Help for married couples who have been hurt by affairs, dishonesty, loss of passion, angry outbursts and other marriage-harming issues. Our seminar are conducted by liscensed therapists who are strong in their Christian faith
- Marriage and Family Dynamics Institute
Trains church leaders, counselors and lay couples to lead marriage-enrichment classes in addition to providing seminar, books and articles to strengthen marriage and family relationships.
Our sponsored links are briefly reviewed to ensure they are not in an obvious direct contradiction to the beliefs and convictions of the National Institute of Marriage, but the primary objective of these links are for The Institute promotion. The Institute does not in any way endorse the products of services offered by the following website. For the Links of the ministries and services we fully endorse visit our Ministry Partner Page. If you find a site that you feel does not reflect the beliefs and convictions of The Institute please inform us.
- Crosswalk Directory
Featuring over 18,000 wholesome, family friendly websites
- The Animated Kids Bible
Your kids will delight in the timeless tales of courage, faith & endurance with characters like Adam & Eve, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus of Nazareth, and the Apostles. Our truly unique DVD’s bring biblical stories and characters to life.
- Jesus ministry in the gospels
Jesus ministry gives us insight of how the gospels fit together with the old testament as one book,including audio sermons and translation.
- Guardian Angel Store
The Best Christian Gifts and Books – We’re here for the Promotion of Christian Education!
- Everyday Christian Prayers
Daily Christian prayers for all occasions and other related Christian articles such as Christian music, Christian lyrics, hymns, etc
- The School of Prayer and Revival
The School of Prayer and Revival, offering training courses for distance learning. Instead of Bible school which may be costly, why not join Warrior House and become a trained intercessor and a carrier of God’s Anointing. You will never be the same
- Christian Clothing Store
Apparel, T-shirts, Coolest Christian clothing and apparel, t-shirts, hoodies, hats, music, jewelry for guys, girls, and kids
Web Search where you can vote for this site & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You’ll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
Website and community for dads with advice for fathers on parenting, pregnancy care, adoption, childcare, raising kids, and understanding teens.",1047,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00101-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.91600900888443
40a95f31-2f6f-4e2f-8eb6-6310246472fe,2022-05-27T03:55:09+00:00,2022-05-27,1,https://kuenselonline.com/tala-shutdown-to-cost-nu-840m/,"As the 1,020MW Tala hydropower plant will remain shut from the end of December to the end of March, the country is likely to lose revenue of about Nu 840 million (M).
This is the period when the river charges are at their lowest generation, and revenue losses from the shutdown are kept to a minimum.
Druk Green Power Corporation Limited’s (DGPCL) managing director, Dasho Chhewang Rinzin, said: “If timely rectification work is not carried out, and should an event of a tunnel failure occur, the effort, time, and cost involved would be far greater. And of course there would also be the revenue losses to consider.”
In terms of power generation, the losses during the three-month shutdown of the country’s biggest hydropower plant will be about 380 million units (MU).
He said that during the shutdown, Bhutan will experience a shortfall in power supply for the domestic market almost equivalent to the generation loss due to the Tala shutdown (380 MU).
He said that arrangements were being made to import power from India to cater to the shortfall in power supply during the three-month period.
“The modalities for the import from India to cover the electricity deficit are being worked out with our Indian partner, PTC India (Power Trading Corporation of India),” he said.
According to DGPCL, the physical inspection will require at least 45 days to dewater the tunnel. Once the rectifications are completed, another 15 days will be required to refill the tunnel.
There is, therefore, only a 30-day window for physical inspection of the headrest tunnel (HRT) and conducting the rectification.
The rectifying activities, Chhewang Rinzin said, are being “very carefully” planned. “We will make every attempt to keep the shutdown to a minimum.”
WAPCOS, the design engineers for the Tala power plant, he said, have cautioned that dewatering should be managed as per certain applicable codes.
Finance Minister Namgay Tshering said that the closure will have a financial impact on the government.
“We have no choice but to repair the plant,” he said, adding that the situation will get worse if it is not done in the lean season.
He said the plant closure had not been a predicted consideration when the government made its fiscal projections.
“Now we have to see how we can offset this loss,” he said, adding that the fiscal projections will be adjusted accordingly.
The finance minister said that the revenue loss from the closure will be triple the estimated loss if the repairs are carried out now. The government receives hydropower revenue in the form of taxes from the DGPCL.
The plant was first shut down on July 19 after large chunks of debris clogged the gates of the intake tunnels due to several days of heavy rain. The plant has been facing issues ever since.
Dasho Chhewang Rinzin said that there have been frequent incidents involving disintegrated concrete mass and debris from the water conductor system of Tala power plant at the distributors and nozzles of the generating unit.
“It is apparent from these incidents that there are some weak zones in the head race tunnel that could have serious consequences to the integrity of the water conductor system in future if not attended to,” he said.
He added such incidents could result in major catastrophes in the generating units.
According to the managing director, in March of 2021, a team of experts was mobilised from a US firm through a bubble mission, with consideration for the Covid-19 situation, to the Tala power plant, and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) were used to inspect the head race tunnel (HRT) without dewatering it.
The ROV inspection identified a number of cracks and voids in some sections of the HRT, and some debris was also detected lying on the floor of the tunnel.
He said that the ROV inspection report with the underwater videos and solar profiles were further reviewed by Canadian experts. They recommended that a physical inspection of the tunnel be undertaken as soon as reasonably possible because of potential risk to the long term structural integrity of the head race tunnel.
“During the physical inspection, the identified voids and cracks will need to be rectified, together with any other defects that might be observed,” he said.
Apart from taking care of the voids and the cracks, DGPCL is preparing to undertake other rectifications that might be found necessary during the site inspection.",964,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662631064.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527015812-20220527045812-00412.warc.gz,0.964256584644318
24246c39-74db-4188-8058-5f8aafd824f3,2019-08-22T04:28:36+00:00,2019-05-27,1,https://angprobinsyana.com/2019/05/27/rotc/,"YES to reviving mandatory ROTC Training
To all youth of our beloved motherland Philippines
The mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) was abolished back in 2001. By 2005 when I reached college, ROTC training was no longer compulsory for students. I am proud and no regrets that once, when I was young, I enlisted myself for the Basic Midshipman Officer Candidate Course (BMOCS) program. An essential component of the National Service Training (NSTP).It was the right choice of a lifetime. Indeed, one of the best experience and training I ever had. I couldn’t imagine myself if I did not honor such tremendous and essential opportunity. I wanted to do something challenging. I didn’t like the idea of me becoming the typical and predictable girl like everyone saw in me. Sometimes in life, you have to make uncomfortable choices. Try something new outside of your comfort zone. In the end, you will always be define by your good deeds and rational decisions in life. When your young and haven’t really accomplished anything. Making the right decisions can be so tricky. What is really smart or dumb thing to do? What stuffs that actually wastes your time and effort? Personally, you have to know what is best for yourself. Trust your personal instincts.
Importance of ROTC Training
- Learning basic survival skills
In your hard and challenging life, it is vital to learn awareness, protection, tactical, and survival skills for both young males and females. Our society is somehow dependent on smart and robust male leaders. Well trained men ready for combat in case of civil war or national threats. Imagine a country without brave and smart men to protect the people.
Females, on the other hand can still fit on this but can find it challenging to engage in such rigid and hard training. Female physic and presence are expected to act gracefully as compensation to the male alpha. This kind of expectation limits female’s ability and opportunity to self-growth. But is doable. Hell yeah! It was fun.
It was then so provocative to think and do outside the box. When I first showed up during our first formation. All eyes were at me. As if I was not fit enough to even try.
- Take a realistic challenge
I told myself, why only focus and follow the easy path? The way that everybody recommends you to do. It is because they believe that it is safe and comfortable. So why everyone still says, “Take Care.” It is because every endeavor you do in life, you have to keep yourself safe. Basically speaking, “Don’t Die.”
It is helpfull to think critical. Why shouldn’t one be exposed to real-life situations and struggles? Life is naturally not fair. Experience is still the best teacher. So why not follow the rocky road to life’s practical way of learning and experience?
- Exposure and Experience
If your feeling so insecure that is normal. To feel and act over confident isn’t good either. No exposure means no experience. Doing something you haven’t done before can be always hard. Your young minds must learn to understand and train to survive horrible circumstances such as threats, national disasters, and invasions.
It is easy to be optimistic and be passive to some things that aren’t happening yet. Emergencies are unpredictable. It is never enough only to acquire knowledge and call yourself intelligent with the absence of exposure.
Our brain can respond quickly to threats with the help of “threats stimuli”. When you’re in the formation and drills, you will be told to stay focus and input, and be able to respond to incoming threats quickly. Drills and practices are short of prefabricated war feeling. You’ll be stimulated in a way that your adrenaline levels gets high to prepare your body for action.
This is a good training to be familiar and respond quickly in times of stress and vigorous actions. You body and mind prepares to avoid acute damage. Brain signals you naturally have in yourself must be pre activated. It’s like taking a vaccination to protect yourself for future sickness. So why not activate your critical survival skills now than later. Further, you’ll gain self-empowerment after every practice. Next time or in real situations you’ll know what to do. Much better than being clueless.
- Be practical, do practical Imagine yourself marching and standing so stiff in a formation during a beautiful Saturday afternoon. When you are young “fun things” are always interesting. Practical chores are seriously dull. It can be so physically and mentally draining to occupy yourself with boring chores.
But what are more essential skills than to be able to conquer risks and terrors?
If you want to live your dreams, you have to keep yourself alive. When you cut yourself, you bleed and feels pain. We even learn “First Aid” to give us confidence and quick response to emergency?
Corruption in ROTC
If society and lawmakers believed that corruption is learned through ROTC training. Remember that corruption or crime is everywhere. It can even learned from your home. Even as a child can be vulnerable and expose to corruption in a form of neglect and abuse. A child corrupted since birth can be really damaging.
So there are many other factors that we need to consider before we can make a conclusion. When you are a teenager you need a proper guidance and skills to gain independence, freedom and possibilities to protect your own self. Not lies and nonsense predictions that life will be easy and always be safe.
To become “corrupt” is a choice. In life you’ll be tested many times to choose between right and wrong. A person or a leader exercise corruption because of his/her wrong perception of power. No one has been born bad or evil. Your environment, upbringing, and twisted mind made you so. To be good and decent is still a personal choice.
Philippines as a changing country.
If we are afraid of change, then probably we have to stop complaining why we still belong to the third world countries.
We cannot make a dead end generalization that military training is inadequate for the country, costly and completely waste of time. How about thinking more futuristic, planning for safety not just for today but to insure ourself security.
It is always your personal decision to exercise honesty, discipline, voluntarism, and nationalism. Military or non military style. But others aren’t that honest.
If you look around why we still need security guards? There is still serious trust issue. In some countries there are not that many securities guards around. Some stores even have self payment counters.
If you are firm to your self and principles, no form of fraud can seduce you.
Your choice, your future
As for the HB 8961 (The proposed Reserve Officers Training Corps Act) should be re-establish as a mandatory basic ROTC program for students enrolled in Grades 11 and 12 (students 16-17 of age).
What is the right age for ROTC training anyway? When you reach 18 years old, you technically and legally think as an adult. You then wonder to yourself, What you want to do with your life? What kind of person do you want to become?
By the time you reach 20-21 years old, you technically finish your degree, struggling to find work and stress about life’s expectations.
By the age of 30, you should be old enough to be independent, secure to your profession, needs and wants in life. To be productive and consistent is hard. It takes approximately 10 hard years to be somebody.
Isn’t it basic and pratical to be finished ROTC training by the time you reach 20 years old?
Bad and impractical choices
It seems like we haven’t really learned anything from generations and generations of being treated harshly poor by locals and foreign invaders. We give in so easily without even executing resistance.
We can wait and live our lives in such a severe shame that our society and country is lacking means of protecting itself. Instead of educating our children and youth how to be smart and brave, we became dangerously overprotective and now limiting the possibilities for us to grow as an independent nation.
Either ROTC becomes mandatory or voluntary, it is crucial for public and private students to be well prepared. One day you might need to protect yourself from harm.
I would say “YES” without a doubt that it is your primary need as a youth to be mentally and physically trained. Be a stable citizen of the Republic of the Philippines.
Personally, I don’t want to grow old or retire in our country that is weak and can be easily threatened.",1828,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316783.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822042502-20190822064502-00332.warc.gz,0.956470608711243
c6a6d213-17f7-4af6-89f1-8387607e22ff,2022-05-27T19:51:12+00:00,2022-05-27,0,http://www.pornhuq.com/aisu-what-a-exciting-too-perfect-amateur-japanese/,"aisu what a exciting too perfect amateur japanese
Very close to feel desired very relaxed I caught him I pressed his fingers on and went up to her breasts picking up the towel and left it with me sometimes he played in my chest I’ll eat-in kitchen i touched my hand on his cock going to go up through her body my lips and I pulled my face I took my cock and sucked and asked me to pick up strong your body fell on my and put me masturbating fingers and sucking while circulating with the tongue came on my belly and she was together with friends leaving their more pills boobs aisu what a exciting too perfect amateur japanese and removing his clothes.
I felt something pressing and went down the language to bag I stuck another finger and started to give a penetrated just had not ventured before, announcing that also was enjoying but never bothered much with it, really felt something for me I was so happy to know her he said we can sleep together horny that could ignite the room I would not stop moaning on my dick delicious and filled me and sucking my pussy throbbed then twitched my pussy wiggled on his stick it was time, threw me back, get faster he took all his cock and shoved hard she wanted it, I came to your side. I looked into his eyes and aisu what a exciting too perfect amateur japanese the luscious kiss. His cock from the bottom up time after we took as was the custom. She later changed his mind caught me with a little violence crazy about him pull me hard I came like crazy home with me he hugged me, and headed out together I asked him to give me a ride. He accepted accepted immediately I liked more than look at the stars so I put a song a fire that invaded my whole body and removing his clothes he hugged me hard, stayed so long, entered the car and were I could see her sucking gala went to her hugged her around the waist and had an uncontrollable desire aisu what a exciting too perfect amateur japanese after he lay down and I i went up.",423,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00418.warc.gz,0.993076622486114
f4d85073-5b65-444c-bd88-433b8590fdbe,2022-05-23T22:48:03+00:00,2020-06-01,0,https://exploreamcan.com/listing/american-canyon-welcome-center/,"Unfortunately, due to current social distancing guidelines outlined by the State and County, our Welcome Center will be temporarily closed until further notice.
Complimentary, informational packets with maps and guidebooks can be found outside our office, 3860 Broadway Suite 103.
Wineries and restaurants will only be offering outdoor service until further notice. Visit visitnapavalley.com to get the latest news on closures, openings, and other updates.
We apologize for the inconvenience. We ask that our visitors stay safe and healthy while exploring the Napa Valley.",111,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00625.warc.gz,0.887702822685242
c77fce3e-b171-4a33-94db-0afe6aa2c9cf,2019-08-18T23:24:09+00:00,2019-08-18,0,https://www.lionella.net/uptown-turquoise-one-piece-swimsuit,"Uptown Turquoise One Piece Swimsuit
Scooped neckline Shelf bra Wide Straps Cross Back High cut legs Full...
Simple but sexy this suit is great for the active woman or for the classic in mind.
Perfect for participating in any type of beach activity swimming some laps around the pool lounging in the garden for that aahh moment or soaking a few rays of sun. You will feel secure and super comfortable for any action in this classic One Piece. - Scooped neckline Shelf bra Wide Straps Cross Back High cut legs Full rear coverage Fully lined Turquoise Matte Nylon/Lycra fabric
- World Wide shipping is available.
- After adding products to you cart, you can view your orders estimated shipping cost on the shopping cart page
- The exact shipping cost will be shown during the checkout procedure after you have added in your delivery address.
Vee one piece points a low V neckline and a low V scoop back
Mesmeric will set you apart from the rest! High fashion in this everything but simple look with the...
Simple but sexy this suit is great for the active woman or for the classic in mind",242,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314353.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818231019-20190819013019-00486.warc.gz,0.881439387798309
d7cd7d13-6add-441e-b09e-68ea3a49d17e,2018-08-21T11:43:22+00:00,2018-08-21,0,http://www.717tacos.com/catering/,"717 Tacos Catering Menu
Planning a corporate event, birthday party, graduation, reunion or wedding?
We can cater to almost any event you need.
Customized menu is available. Minimum catering price is $500.
We can cater from 50-200 people. A create-your-own taco party.
Comes with up to three meat/veg choices, fajita veggies, yellow rice and beans, black beans, all 3 of our salsas – Roja & Verde and Volcano plus cheese, sour cream, lettuce, chips, soft flour and corn tortillas.
Plus stands, fuel, and serving tools to feed your crowd right.
Contact us for pricing.
Your Choice of 3
- Chicken –Mr. Pollo
- Tandoori Chicken – Mr. Tandoori
- Steak – Juan Carne Asada
- Short Rib – Korean Bulgogi
- Brisket – Mr. 16
- Portobello Mushroom – Port-a-Belly
- Ground Beef – Americano
All Spreads Include:
- Spanish Rice with Beans
- Black Beans
- Fresh Tomato Salsa (mild spice)
- Salsa Verde (medium-hot spice)
- Volcano Salsa (hot spice)
- Chafing Stands, Steam Pans, and Fuel
- Serving Spoons & Tongs
- Sour Cream
- Our House Made Chips
- Corn Tortillas (Gluten Free)
- Soft Flour Taco Tortillas
- Bowls, Napkins, and Forks",329,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218122.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821112537-20180821132537-00409.warc.gz,0.758624494075775
971ff598-497d-486a-903b-e2abc423dc70,2019-08-20T07:58:13+00:00,2013-05-28,0,http://aishamusic.blogspot.com/2013/05/amanda-bynes-im-getting-nose-job-and.html,"Early yesterday morning, the Judiciary Report (and the blog) wrote about the Twitter beef between actress Amanda Bynes and singer Rihanna. The site stated Rihanna had a nose job and wears European weaves, leading some such as Bynes to think and state she is ""trying to be white.""
Several hours later, Bynes announced she is having a nose job and is going to become a singer/rapper. Uh oh! Bynes should focus on getting well first. It's one thing for a actress that does mostly pop culture, teen type shows and films to become a singer, but a rapper, that's another story.
Amanda Bynes before Hollywood cult Kabbalah made her mentally ill
Is she going to be called Amanda B. Will her first song be called ""Bong"" as she was arrested for throwing one out of her apartment window in New York. Will her second single be called ""Slap The Vagina"" as she has accused a cop in the New York Police Department of slapping her vagina (hey, her words, not mine).
The latest development regarding Bynes and Rihanna's Twitter fued is she's denying the whole thing, claiming it was a mock up, but no one believes that. Said Twitter account has posted items in the past that Bynes confirmed.
Amanda Bynes Rihanna-Bashing Tweets Were Fake! Breaking News
""That's one of the mocked up images, they took photos of me from outside and morphed them onto someone else's body. I am allergic to marijuana and alcohol but I smoke tobacco. Why does Rihanna smoke weed and not get in trouble for it but I smoke tobacco and people think I'm on drugs? I refuse to be treated like someone I'm not, which is why I fought for myself and am suing everyone involved. I don't need to go to rehab. There is never a drug or alcohol in my system! I'm sick of all the lies! What would you do if someone accused you of things you didn't do and yet you still had to be in jail at all over it! I'm so offended but I am so educated that I know cops cannot illegally enter my apartment, sexually harass me, arrest me, take me to a MENTAL HOSPITAL, then lock me up for a crime I didn't commit. I'm suing them all for this upsetting nightmare. My lawyer knows I'm a model citizen who doesn't partake in drugs. He's going to court this week to set the record straight again on my behalf. Thankfully I'm an educated multi-millionaire who knows better than to speak to perverted unjust cops without my lawyer.""",545,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315258.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820070415-20190820092415-00098.warc.gz,0.982846140861511
671d97d3-a5b7-4bc7-b1ec-ffe95aa1d207,2022-05-28T22:48:55+00:00,2022-05-28,0,https://eggmanflies.com/blogs/tackle-and-tips/broken-barb-hooks-catch-more-when,"Broken barbs on single hooks can hold fish as well or better if the hook has a relatively short shank in relation to the length of the point, the barb should be well forward of the bend. Some fish shake of so rarely that broken barb hooks should be considered: Steelhead, Trout, Redfish, Carp, Bluegill, Pike, Striped Bass. For hook design, the break even point falls about at the proportions found in a standard shank length wet or dry fly hook. Longer shank hooks will lever out of the fish's mouth more easily. Shorter shank hooks can set better and hold more fish when the barbs are broken to leave that little jag that acts as a gentle micro barb. In general these well designed hooks will hold fish better with or without the full barb than any poorly designed hook ever will.
The Mustad 94840 #2 is an old hook that is out of production. I wish I had a hook like this to use for my steelhead dry flys and skaters, not to mention Bunny Leaches, Wooly Buggers and Clousers for bass. This one has the barb broken off, you can see the little 90 degree jag that helps hold fish, but is still easy to release them off of. Breaking off the barb leaves that little left over jag further forward which helps because it becomes imbedded sooner and deeper with less force. How many times have felt the hit and set the hook but the fish was off a fraction of a second after you felt the tension to the fish or maybe came off after the first head shake? Your bigger barb never penetrated past anything to grab on to. A smaller, barb closer to the point could have. The smaller barb further forward of the bend also sets deeper and can get past something more substantial to hold on to.
Small hooks like the 12 short curved Emerger hooks have very small barbs that are easy to set and micro barb hooks are the best at overall hooking and holding. They still have the issues about releasing fish without taking more time or damaging the fish or the fly in the process.
The Egg, Bead Pegging and Trailer hooks all have short shanks that cause the point to take a wide deep angle ""Angle of Entry"" when they penetrate. This wider less direct angle creates more force on the side of the point and less of the force of your hook set is left to push the hook point in deeper. This wider angle of penetration causes the hook to grab more flesh on the way in if you can get enough force on it quickly enough. If you get these short hooks set, the short shank length offers little leverage to work the hook out as the fish fights from different angles. Breaking off the barb gets these short hooks set sooner. Fish hooked on pegged beads often get off. I increased my fish holding percentage when I started breaking off barbs on these hooks.
The TFS (The Fly Shop) 105 size #4 and the Sticky E12 size #6 have thinner wire which sets easier. They are lighter so they ride better behind a bead not dragging so low. The wider gaps grab more flesh, and a longer points with the barbs further forward hold better when set. These hooks work great with the barbs broken off.
Most of these hooks below have low barbs and direct lines of force from the eye to the hook point, a low angle of entry. They set easily.
Jig hooks in general do a great job of hooking and holding fish well. They fish hook point up, they hit the upper jaw with a solid hook set that grabs more bone and cartilage when an angler above the water pulls at some upward angle to set the hook. The upper jaw is fixed to the fish's skull and does not have the range of motion to get different angles of resistance that the lower jaw can. I always break the barbs off of when I fish jig hook patterns (except the Mustad 32833). I don't loose any fish and come out ahead when I release the fish more quickly with less chance of damage to the fish or my fly.
The Mustad 32833 Steelhead Jig Hook benefits greatly from the unique jitsu that a jig hook does when you set it from an upward angle, particularly when you set it with the initial angle of force straight up to the bobber. Steelhead are pretty easy to hook and to hold onto, they are big and can not head shake very rapidly, their mouth tissues are soft and fibrous so hooks tend to hold well. Even though the 32833's barb is so far back, it only looses maybe 20% of the fish you hook, that would be closer to 0% if there were a couple more millimeters of length added to the point. It is very unfortunate that Mustad has a monopoly on a small, short leg to eye jig hook that fits the molds for small steelhead jigs. This short leg to eye does not block the point as much as a longer leg to the eye will. This hook makes nice looking balance jigs if you tie a dumbbell eye in front of the eye leg. For fly casting, the Mustad 32833 may be disappointing in its holding percentage.
Hans Skikkelstad (Mustad founder), the man you never heard of, who died at a young 44 years in 1918 (Flu Pandemic?). Mustad's founder knew so much about hooks, steel, fishing and he cared enough to make the best hooks in the world. Now days,....Not so much.
It is unfortunate that Mustad has a monopoly on a small, strong, short leg to eye jig hooks that fit the molds for small steelhead jigs. The Mustad 32833 is an overpriced not so good hook.
Here are some mostly very good hooks Graded on the very narrow metric of ratio of Barb Bite Depth VS Shank Lever Length. Some of these hooks have extremely good points, others only rate a good grade after they are sharpened, a few have such clunky big barbs, you have to break them off to get good results.
The stainless Mustad 34007 has a barb set back close to the bend, it is likely the bend will jam of some part of the fishes jaw before the barb has penetrated. Most other medium wire saltwater hooks copy this bad geometry and are not necessarily any better. On the Mustad 34007 #2 hook, I bend up the shank to tie a Clouser Minnow on it. This shortens the shanks lever arm and also the rotates the eye force angle so the hook can hold a bit more flesh behind the barb. This also gives it a bit of the jig hook jitsu to hook and hold more fish.
The big short shank hooks I bought to tie foam divers on. For that fly I want the barbs broken off because that fly is inhaled deeply and the hook down orientation means it often sticks in the fish's gills. In any case the short shanks hold fish well and the broken barb makes it quicker and easier to release fish unharmed.",1468,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663021405.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528220030-20220529010030-00205.warc.gz,0.941907525062561
1c71d311-7393-40e4-92ff-2812ed1a4f61,2022-05-18T09:32:47+00:00,2021-10-01,0,https://greattravelnews.com/unmissable-winter-adventures-from-icelandic-ice-caves-to-the-worlds-polar-bear-capital/,"Winter holidays to cold places do not have to be all about skiing or snowboarding, if you know where to go for an icy adventure.
Here, we round up the northern hemisphere’s wondrous winter spectacles . . .
BEAUTIFUL BIG APPLE
Majestic: Ice skaters in New York’s Central Park, which is ‘extra-enchanting’ in the winter
Central Park in New York City is the Big Apple’s biggest. It’s extra-enchanting in the winter and the city will be now open to British tourists from November.
Thick snow covers the pines, the lake freezes over and a hush falls and your breath becomes visible.
At dusk, old-fashioned street lamps lend pockets of warm yellow; by day, visitors can hire snowshoes to explore the open meadows, skate on one of the park’s ice rinks or, if conditions permit, go sledging on Pilgrim Hill. The penguins and snow leopards at Central Park Zoo, which remains open in winter, are always delightful.
What else is good? Winter Restaurant Week, involving reduced-price meals at top eateries, runs from January into February (nycinsiderguide.com). New York’s plethora of museums includes The Met — where you’ll find William James Glackens’ oil Central Park, Winter (metmuseum.org).
How to do it: Four nights’ room-only at Manhattan’s cool Fifty Hotel & Suites from £1,298 pp with flights and private transfers (kirkerholidays.com).
ICELAND’S CHILLY THRILLS
Guided hikes lead holidaymakers through Iceland’s Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon (pictured)
Every winter, some of Iceland’s glaciers form natural caverns as the summer meltwater freezes.
Displaying a rippled effect, their thick sheets of ice are coloured an intense spearmint blue. Though they look different each year — and sometimes don’t materialise at all — the most reliable are inside the mighty Vatnajokull glacier, Europe’s largest.
Easy guided hikes begin from another natural wonder, the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, with equipment provided (from £115 pp, guidetoiceland.is).
What else is good? You’ve a good chance of spying the northern lights, while popular attractions such as Gullfoss waterfall or Haukadalur’s geysers are likely to be far quieter than in summer. And amid decidedly Arctic temperatures, the Blue Lagoon’s warm, spring-fed waters will feel terrifically toasty.
How to do it: A four-night fly-drive via Jokulsarlon is from £695 pp B&B, including flights and car hire (regent-holidays.co.uk).
POLAR BEARS GALORE
With Canadianaffair.com you’ll get the chance to view polar bears in the wild from a close (but safe) distance
Begin a two-centre break in the world’s ‘Polar Bear Capital’. Churchill, in Canada’s northern reaches, borders a community of these beautiful but ferocious beasts. In winter, as the bears hunt seals in Hudson Bay, you’ll cross the tundra to view them from a close (but safe) distance.
After dog-sledding and Inuit-style ice carving, fly to Toronto for a night to enjoy snowy views from the CN Tower, or stroll St Lawrence Market, one of the world’s greatest foodie bazaars.
What else is good? The Niagara Falls are partly frozen in winter, creating a fairytale, icicle-ridden spectacle.
How to do it: Seven nights cost from £6,053 pp, including flights, 11 meals, transfers and activities in Churchill (canadianaffair.com).
Head to the Finnish ski resort of Levi, pictured, to catch a glimpse of the northern lights
Levi in Finnish Lapland is one of the world’s best places for seeing the northern lights (or aurora borealis), green disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar winds.
The region supposedly has eight seasons, not four — a local Sami belief that illustrates this village’s close connection to nature. Ten miles outside Levi stands the Levi Northern Lights Village. All 40 snug cabins here have half-glass roofs, so guests can scan the skies from bed. December to March is the best time for sightings.
What else is good? On an Aurora Cabin Escape trip, you’ll also go on a dedicated, expert-led northern lights search aboard heated sleighs. Snowshoeing, snowmobiling and riding on a husky-pulled sled on safaris are also part of the package, taking you into pristine, powder-white forests and across icy rivers.
How to do it: Four nights from £1,745 pp full-board with flights, transfers and cold-weather clothing (theaurorazone.com).
JAPAN’S SNOW MONKEYS
Each winter, red-faced Japanese macaques socialise in the hot springs at Japan’s Jigokudani National Park (pictured)
Who can blame them? During chilly winters, families of red-faced Japanese macaques (aka snow monkeys) gather and socialise in hot springs at Jigokudani National Park, near the town of Yudanaka Onsen. It’s easy to hike in and watch this spectacle, which is surreal because of the human-like gestures.
What else is good? Beginning in Tokyo and finishing amid Kyoto’s leafy Buddhist temples, a self-guided ‘Snow Country’ trip also combines guided monkey-viewing in Jigokudani with a soba noodle-making lesson, a pause in the old samurai city Matsumoto, with its Black Crow castle, and a sake-specialist bar in the snow-sloshed Japan Alps.
There’s a stay in an authentic ryokan, with tatami-mat bedding, and time set aside for snowshoeing.
How to do it: Eleven nights from £3,750 pp B&B with all transport, some guiding, a snowshoe tour and a geisha ceremony, but excluding flights (insidejapantours.com).
ST PETERSBURG SKATING
Children celebrate the holiday of Maslenitsa, which is Russia’s take on Pancake Day
Headlining several ice-skating options in Russia’s second city, the rink at Kirov Central Park is found on forested Yelagin Island, where it’s also possible to go skiing and sledding. The rink neighbours a Christmas tree, which endures long beyond the festive season.
What else is good? Despite sub-zero temperatures and as little as four hours’ daylight, St Petersburg is a blast in winter.
The Maslenitsa holiday, Russia’s take on Pancake Day, is celebrated for an entire, vodka-soaked week in February, and ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker are performed during the Mariinsky and Hermitage Theatres’ winter seasons. You could even hire a local to teach you ice-fishing on the frozen Neva River.
How to do it: Four nights’ room-only at the modern, central Ambassador Hotel from £868 pp including flights and transfers (coxandkings.co.uk).
SWEDEN’S ICE HOTEL
The Swedish town of Kiruna, pictured, is near the ice hotel and has plenty of cross-country skiing and snowmobiling routes
There are multiple ice hotels across Scandinavia, but northern Sweden’s original one remains the most impressive.
Recreated each year and as much ‘art gallery’ as accommodation, Icehotel will open for the 32nd time from December to April. In 12 ‘art suites’ featuring wacky designs by global artists, and two dozen standard ‘ice rooms’, guests sleep inside sleeping bags atop snug reindeer furs.
What else is good? Nearby Kiruna is full of hiking routes along which winter visitors can cross-country ski and snowmobile, or enjoy reindeer sleigh and dog-sled rides. You could see the northern lights, too.
How to do it: Three nights from £359pp B&B with transfers and a night in an ‘ice room’, excluding flights (discover-the-world.com).
CHINESE SNOW FEST
China’s Harbin International Ice & Snow Festival, pictured, is held annually from mid-December to late February
What do the Great Pyramids of Giza, Disneyland and giant Buddhas have in common? They’ve all been recreated as colossal-scale ice sculptures at north-eastern China’s remarkable Harbin International Ice & Snow Festival — some of them entire buildings that visitors can enter.
An expo displaying them is held annually from mid-December to late February in the eponymous city. The sculptures are magically illuminated after dark, and you can try out ice soccer or ice golf.
What else is good? Harbin also has a conservation park containing Siberian tigers. Trips can be extended to take in the Terracotta Army or Great Wall of China.
How to do it: Six nights from £2,250 pp B&B, including flights, bullet train transfers, lunches, entry fees and visas (wendywutours.co.uk).
Visit Estonia’s Jagala waterfall, pictured, to witness exceptional icicles. Even better – walk behind the ice curtain
Measuring up at 26ft (8m) in height, Estonia’s Jagala waterfall usually freezes solid during the Baltic country’s cold season. This leads to exceptional icicles.
Even better, it’s possible to walk behind the ice curtain and examine it up close in silence.
What else is good? Jagala is a 30-minute car journey from Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, whose medieval churches and merchants’ houses are even cuter than usual when covered in snow.
Trips can also involve a walking tour, with quality coffee stops when necessary, and the thrilling experience of being driven over the frozen Baltic Sea to western islands via Keila’s smaller but also-stilled waterfall.
How to do it: Three nights at the cosy Hotel Barbara from £620 pp B&B with flights, transfers, excursions and a 24-hour Tallinn Card giving free entry to 40 museums and attractions (regent-holidays.co.uk).
Wham!’s Last Christmas music video was filmed at Saas-Fee ski resort in Switzerland (pictured)
Saas-Fee might just be the world’s prettiest ski resort. Thirteen glacier-lined Alps frame its traditional Swiss village, whose low-rise lanes burst with boutiques, bars, cafes and dark wooden chalets. Only a few electric vehicles are permitted.
With reliable, powdery snow, most slopes are north-facing, 8,200ft (2,500m) or higher and most suited to intermediates. If it all looks familiar, then you must have watched Wham!’s Last Christmas video recently.
What else is good? Situated high above the ‘Pearl of the Alps’ is Allalin, the world’s highest-altitude revolving restaurant, plus the Ice Pavilion’s avalanche simulation experience. One local mountain, Hannig, is devoted to non-ski activities such as sledging.
How to do it: Seven nights’ half-board at the modern-style Hotel Allain, complete with a spa, costs from £985 pp including flights and transfers (skisolutions.com).",2568,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00216.warc.gz,0.906228482723236
ec8bed3a-f2d7-41d8-a206-4ef0dda3fde4,2013-06-20T02:14:27+00:00,2013-06-20,0,http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/792105381.html?dids=792105381:792105381&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS,"To start up here, companies hire over there ; In new type of offshoring, jobs aren't leaving USA: They were never here
OfficeTiger workers in Chennai do the work, then ship it back to the USA over the Internet for a fraction of the cost if done in the USA. [Randy Altschuler] wouldn't disclose wage rates in India. But he didn't dispute VC estimates that labor costs there are often one-fifth those in the USA.
Coradiant employs 30 workers in Montreal doing research and development. Labor in Canada costs 70% of the U.S. rate, [Mike Chuli] says. It's even cheaper in Russia, Romania and India. Highly skilled software developers in India earn as much as $3,000 a month vs. as much as $15,000 in the USA, says [Nick Sturiale], the venture-capital executive. Lower overhead keeps prices low so start-ups can better compete for business from tightfisted buyers. Annual corporate tech spending is expected to rise as little as 3% this year, about the same as last year, Goldman Sachs says.
To be sure, many young U.S. tech companies, including micro- multinationals, also create jobs in the USA. Among the software start-ups studied by USA TODAY, more than 80% of their combined 5,300 jobs are in the USA.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.",307,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96535712480545
92d13be8-bfc6-4320-a6ad-ef53af3ed0eb,2022-05-29T04:40:02+00:00,2017-09-30,0,https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/terry-lehman-mike-capriotti/,"BY JEFF FALK
ANNVILLE – Wow! Watch out when these two get together.
Terry Lehman and Mike Capriotti have been colleagues, molders of men and good friends for years. But they have also been co-coaches and assistant coaches for one other.
A lot of people know Lehman was Capriotti’s JV coach for 26 springs. But did you know that Capriotti once served as Lehman’s assistant coach?
Yet while they have a lot in common, one would be hard-pressed to find two personalities more dissimilar. Kind of the way football and baseball are different.
So it is quite fitting and very appropriate that the long-time Annville-Cleona coaches will be entering the central chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame on the same night, together.
Lehman and Capriotti’s inductions will be the highlight of a November 13th evening at the Lebanon Quality Inn that will feature a very heavy Little Dutchmen flavor. In addition toasting Capriotti and Lehman, the local chapter will also honor 2017 Annville-Cleona graduates Reagan Hess and Cameron Hoch as the C.S. ‘Pop’ Kelchner award winners, given annually to the top female and male scholastic student-athletes locally.
As if that weren’t enough, on the same Monday evening, current Annville-Cleona athletic director Tommy Long, who holds the Lebanon County record for football rushing yardage in a career, and former Little Dutchmen and Cedar Crest football coach Dennis Tulli will also be inducted. The 2017 class, the central chapter’s 47th, will also include former Cedar Crest wrestling coach Steve Lebo, current Elco athletic director Doug Bohannon and Hershey Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer.
“He was a big part of that state championship year,” said Capriotti of Lehman. “He was the calm and I was the storm. Back in the day, we didn’t have an adult as the first base coach. I’d only get him when his (JV) games were over.
“I was fiery,” Capriotti continued. “But the older I got, I became less intense. I just loved the kids. They were neat kids. It was about life. You carry those things over. But I didn’t need to do much with the kids on the varsity level, because he did such a good job of developing them. I didn’t want to teach fundamentals. I wanted to teach philosophy.”
“I didn’t know who else was being inducted for a long time,” said Lehman. “I got another phone call and I asked who else was going in. It does make it special going in with Cap. Did they just want to get us both out of the way at one time? It’s neat. Tommy Long is going in as an athlete and the two kids (Hess and Hoch) are Pop Kelchner award winners.
“Maybe that’s (their differences) why we got along,” Lehman continued. “I thought I was a disciplinarian in both sports, but I approached them differently. As I got older, I resorted to my baseball mentality more. But I had great assistants, guys like Frank Hetrick, Fred Goudy and Mike Miller.”
Lehman and Capriotti will forever be linked to a magical spring in 1986, when Annville-Cleona won the first of two state championships that Lebanon County has earned in baseball. Gavin Osteen and Capriotti might have done the heavy lifting, but all the contributions – some of which came from unexpected sources – was what made it special.
“I didn’t know it until I got a letter. I was actually thinking about having him as one of my guests,” said Capriotti of being inducted with Lehman. “He’s a no-nonsense type of guy. You do what he says or you don’t play, but he’s like-able. When you played Annville-Cleona in football, you knew you were in for a game. He was a jokester and he kept things loose.
“It’s an honor to be inducted into the central chapter,” added Capriotti. “It’s a very humbling phone call to get. I’m looking forward to that night, having my family and friends as my guests. I wish I had more minutes to talk, because I have a lot to say.”
“The kids loved him,” said Lehman of Capriotti. “He coached winning teams, and everybody wants to play for winners. The majority of his teams were winners, but I’m sure he made decisions people didn’t like.
“I helped Jack Bicher coach baseball at the Myerstown legion,” Lehman added. “Baseball was really fun. We had a ball. We had some really nice JV teams to go with the varsity. One time I had a shortstop, a freshman, and I told Cappy ‘You’ve got to take him up.’ We convinced him and he took him, and he played shortstop till his senior year.”
Lehman retired from coaching and teaching in 2014, after heading the Annville-Cleona football program for 28 years. Under Lehman, the Little Dutchmen won the Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three championships in 2000 and 2004, and qualified for the District Three postseason four times.
“I miss parts of coaching,” said Lehman. “I don’t have to put on a false front any more. I didn’t know how nice the weather in the fall is. And the one thing in baseball I didn’t like were the indoor practices.
“I remember practices,” Lehman continued. “It’s funny, because as high school assistant coaches, we were always having fun. I always tried to have fun. I tried to make it fun until it was time to be serious.”
A bit of a ‘pot-stirrer’, Lehman introduced the color black at Annville-Cleona High School, the idea of game film exchange to Lancaster-Lebanon League football coaches and the concept of hosting student-athletes as part of an ongoing co-op with Lebanon Catholic. But perhaps the thing he is most proud of is the fact that three current head football coaches – Matt Gingrich at Annville-Cleona, Rob Wildasin at Cedar Crest and Dave Gingrich at Cocalico – played under him.
“I’m as competitive as the next person, maybe even more,” said Lehman. “You’ve got to like to see kids have success. In football, we went into games knowing we had a chance to win. We were a small school playing a lot of bigger schools.
“I do care how I’m remembered,” continued Lehman. “Look at it this way: If you practice a whole year and have a 4-6 record, five percent of the kids are going to be pissed off at you. You’ve got to know it’s part of the game. It really doesn’t matter how many people are upset at you. If you feel good about yourself, so be it.”
Capriotti headed the Little Dutchmen baseball program for 31 seasons, before retiring in 2012. During that time, Annville-Cleona compiled an overall record of 345-328-2, won four Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three titles and qualified for the District Three playoffs 17 times.
“The kids, when I see them now as adults, they still call me ‘Coach’,” said Capriotti. “They do the same thing with Terry. That’s respect. That’s not saying every boy I coached liked me. I miss the kid contact and I miss my coaches. But it’s funny I’m going in the same time as Terry.”
Always out-spoken and opinionated, at heart, Capriotti is a people person. He coached for the love of the game, to fan his competitive fire and most of all to affect the lives of young men.
But he put into coaching as much as he got out of it.
“Yes, I miss coaching baseball,” said Capriotti, 61. “But if someone asked me to come back, I’d say ‘no’. I’m in another chapter of my life. I loved games. That’s when it was time to coach, really coach – strategically, philosophically, situation-ally. But sometimes the weather was not enjoyable.
“I don’t care how I will be remembered, but I do,” Capriotti added. “I hope I had an impact on at least one player’s life. The people who care are the ones who will talk to you about the past. You’re not loved by everyone, that’s the way it is. I just like to think I touched some lives.”
To obtain tickets for the induction ceremony contact Barry Heckard at 529 South 12th Street, Lebanon, PA 17042, or call 717-273-4744 or 717-304-8461, or email email@example.com.
To purchase images in this article email firstname.lastname@example.org.",2069,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663039492.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529041832-20220529071832-00619.warc.gz,0.98076719045639
ba0701c5-f3a9-4078-96d0-543898997338,2015-03-28T00:34:12+00:00,2011-01-18,1,http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/01/fbi_suspicious_package_found_on_mlk_parade_route_in_spokane_was_bomb.html,"SPOKANE -- An explosive device found inside a backpack along a downtown Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route was a credible threat capable of causing multiple deaths, the FBI said today.
The device was successfully disposed of by the FBI's explosive unit after the backpack was found on a park bench by a Spokane city employee about an hour before the parade was set to begin.
Frank Harrell, special agent in the charge of the Spokane FBI office, wouldn't discuss what specifically made the bomb so dangerous. But he said the investigation has become a top priority.
""It definitely was, by all early analysis, a viable device that was very lethal and had the potential to inflict multiple casualties,"" Harrell told The Spokesman-Review.
Harrell said the timing and placement of the device wasn't coincidental.
""I think the link to the Martin Luther King celebration and march is inescapable,"" he said. ""At that point, it falls directly in the realm and sphere of domestic terrorism. Clearly, there was some political or social agenda here.""
The bomb was discovered at 9:25 a.m. in a Swiss Army-brand backpack that also contained two T-shirts.
Another explosive device was found March 23 beside the Thomas S. Foley U.S. Courthouse in the eastern Washington city. No arrests have been made in that investigation, Harrell said, adding that agents didn't know if the two incidents were related.
The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people responsible for placing the device found Monday.
Harrell said the people who discovered the backpack and brought it to the attention of police were the heroes of the day. Police quickly rerouted the parade and called for the bomb disposal unit, he said.
-- The Associated Press",373,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297146.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00049-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.982824623584747
cd3466fd-a104-4563-87d6-30812f21ecd8,2018-08-14T06:46:53+00:00,2013-07-17,0,https://s4tips.com/news/latest_breaking/htc-one-mini-to-be-launched-on-july-18/,"Following previous leaks we already have lot of information of HTC One Mini, leak images and specifications. What left was, official announcement from HTC One and we think this coming anytime soon today or tomorrow. With the tweet from HTC UK “We have a ‘little’ bit of news tomorrow.” We are speculating tomorrow they will be doing small launch of their newest device HTC One Mini which is smaller version of their flagship device HTC One.
Rumored specs of the HTC One mini include a dual-core Snapdragon 400 SoC, 4.3″ 720p display, a gig of RAM, and 16GB of built-in storage. The 4MP UltraPixel camera from the flagship One is also said to be on board.
Source : Twitter
We have a ‘little’ bit of news tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/UKXV59wXbs
— HTC UK (@HTC_UK) July 17, 2013",195,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221208676.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814062251-20180814082251-00026.warc.gz,0.934389412403107
81db6800-1d66-464c-88d6-c4d2d428d318,2022-05-24T16:22:03+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://www.dannyewilliamsen.com/life-untwisted-blog/whose-fault-is-it-really,"If someone else punches your buttons, the first place you should look is at YOURSELF. Why do you think they are hard to work with? Could it be because their efforts are constantly reminding you that you are not meeting your obligations? Could it be that you are so identified with your opinions that you can't handle anyone calling any part of them into question? Is it that your ego is more important than the task at hand?
If you happen to wake up one day and realize that all your energy is going into defending your position or into attempting to direct attention away from your failings by attacking the person who is working hard to move forward, even without your help, maybe it's time to step outside your small self. Reassess and refocus your energy on the task you made a commitment to do. This is the only resolution that can produce a win/win for you and those around you.",183,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662573053.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524142617-20220524172617-00609.warc.gz,0.98095577955246
88b90461-73a3-4c6d-8d9b-e987adbc1dab,2018-08-18T15:56:33+00:00,2014-10-01,1,http://theburr.com/through-their-eyes-2/,"Words by Patrick Williams
Video by Jacob Byk
Veterans of the War on Terror reflect on growing terrorism in the regions they fought to protect.
About an hour southeast of Baghdad along the Tigris River stands Suwayrah, Iraq. Another 15 or 20 minutes into the desert lies an abandoned air force base bombed out from Desert Storm that belonged to Saddam Hussein. In the spring of 2008, R. Jay Wilkinson, then an M249 submachine gunner with the U.S. Army, was staying there. He remembers the abandoned airplane hangars. He remembers the Russian tanks blown up on the side of the road, their parts missing because locals had taken them for scrap. He remembers the barriers and razor wire the U.S. Army set up and the Olympic stadium he could see from one of the guard towers that seemed so out of place.
From there, Wilkinson moved to southern Baghdad, where the bomb-makers hung out, and then to Baghdad, where his platoon ran 5:30 a.m. patrols. The Iraqi people slept on the floors of the local bazaars. Sometimes 20 of them would be packed into a single, small storefront. From behind a .50 caliber rifle atop a Humvee, Wilkinson watched them, these people who lived in a world of chaos.
The U.S. War in Iraq ended in 2011. Its purpose was to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime and to create an autonomous, democratic government. Hussein was captured in 2003 and executed in 2006. The U.S. instituted a democracy, widely considered to this day to be an utter failure. Meanwhile, U.S. troops fought al-Qaida and other terrorist groups and insurgencies.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, formed out of al-Qaida during the War in Iraq, but the two groups have since severed ties. The Islamic State made international headlines in June for capturing key Iraqi cities and have since seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, the latter of which has been engulfed in a civil war since 2011. In an attempt to create a caliphate, or Islamic state under a strict form of sharia law that restricts certain behavior and appearance, the Islamic State has carried out beheadings of U.S. and British citizens and continues to threaten the U.S. It has recruited fighters from all over the world, including the U.S., Britain and France. The U.S. has armed resistance groups, such as the Kurdish peshmerga, and President Obama has formed a multinational coalition to conduct airstrikes on the Islamic State.
Veterans of the Middle East wars and Kent State students have taken time to reflect on their tours and the profound effect those experiences have had on their views of current rising tensions.
“It makes your stomach turn a little bit because I dedicated a good portion of my life toward this,” Wilkinson says, “and then [you] sit here in the news and you see these guys running through Iraq.”
Wilkinson and Logan Vance have been best friends since they met in Kindergarten in Ashtabula County, Ohio. There weren’t many people in Plymouth, where they lived about two miles from each other. They rode four-wheelers and dirt bikes and worked for Wilkinson’s father’s excavation company together.
After high school graduation, they went to basic training together in Fort Benning, Georgia, in 2006.
Wilkinson remembers one day when the soldiers trained at the hand grenade range. That night, when many of the drill sergeants were off duty, he sneaked into Vance’s room, where soldiers were throwing socks at each other, pretending they were grenades.
Wilkinson, second from right, and fellow soldiers sat outside at COP Meade. The generators had blown, and the soldiers were taking their cots outside to cool off.
Vance, 26, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 with the U.S. Army 2nd ranger battalion. He was in the country for four months, carrying out combat and search and rescue missions and was shipped off to Iraq in 2009, where he completed a five-month tour with Headquarters company and the recon element.
Vance, now a senior integrated social studies major, spent most of his time running intel at Camp Speicher in Tikrit. The Islamic State took the camp in June of this year, and Iraqi forces took it back in July.
Vance says he was closed-minded when he joined the army. He was smart, athletic and confident. He wanted to kill people. Then he realized just how many good people there are in the world.
“There’s civilians that have no part of this at all, and they’re getting beheaded and drug out into squares and shot and hung and trampled over, just because they’re there,” Vance says.
Wilkinson, who graduated from Kent State with a marketing degree in August, was in Iraq for 14 months.
U.S. soldiers—good people—were killed for doing nothing wrong, Wilkinson says. They could have been just sitting in the backseat of a Humvee on their way to a mission.
As of September 25, the U.S. Department of Defense counted 6,836 combined U.S. casualties and another 52,239 wounded in action between the War in Iraq, War in Afghanistan and related operations.
The goal to increase security measures in Iraq was supposed to fall largely on U.S. troops, who were ordered to train Iraqi army and police forces that would in turn take control when U.S. forces left.
“It was supposed to be all good and gravy,” Wilkinson says. “It looked good probably in some politician’s office in Washington.”
But Iraqi army and police forces abandoned posts many times because terrorists had threatened them and their families, Wilkinson says.
Joshua Stacher, associate professor of political science who specializes in studies of the Middle East and North Africa, attributes weak links in Iraqi army and police forces to the U.S.-led regime change, which forced former officers to leave their jobs, replaced by ones with less experience.
“In any society, people gravitate toward different professions,” Stacher says. “What you’ve done with that is you’ve taken those people who have done that and you’ve pushed them aside and now you’re dealing with other people.”
Middle Eastern countries are weak, largely due to colonial rule by western countries, as well as the subsequent state development processes and plans set up, Stacher says. Saddam’s Iraq was relatively stable, and the U.S. destruction led to the creation and strengthening of terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State.
“It is kind of a state-building project, in the sense that they’re acting like a state,” Stacher says. “They have territory, they have an army, they are trying to punish people in full view of other people to make people submit to their authority, they have a way to administer taxes, they’re running an oil economy, they’re selling oil on the open market.”
Vance says the United States failed to leave Iraq with a cohesive government or national identity, allowing the Islamic State to take territory with ease. They also took advantage of the civil war in Syria.
“Even the quote unquote ‘freedom fighters’ or whatever you want to consider them that are in Syria, they don’t even like each other, know each other, and they’re fighting amongst themselves,” Vance says. “So it was just kind of the perfect storm for them to really take hold.”
Wilkinson sees the toppling of Hussein’s statue as a key event in the loss of infrastructure in Iraq, in which the U.S. had a definite role.
“[Iraqi citizens] pretty much decided there’s no rulers, they’re not scared or nothing, and that’s when they started going and tearing apart all the government buildings,” Wilkinson says.
Wilkinson was in Iraq during the advent of voting. Many people were happy to be able to vote for the first time, but others were enraged by the idea of women voting. These infuriated citizens, many of whom weren’t necessarily linked with terrorist organizations, killed soldiers in Wilkinson’s battalion for aiding women in the voting process.
Catherine Hofer, 32, a senior nursing major who was stationed in Bagram, Afghanistan, from September 2007 to September 2008 and outside Kabul from September 2013 to February 2014, says she saw huge differences between women’s roles in the U.S. versus in Afghanistan.
Women in Afghanistan are looked down upon by men, afforded less rights and, as punishment for certain acts, are killed by stoning.
“I could go out and do whatever I want, minus murdering someone, and I’m still not going to get stoned to death for it,” Hofer says. “I’m going to get sent to prison for it. I’m not going to stand in a stadium full of people and get rocks thrown at me until I’m dead. So I definitely appreciate the freedoms that I have as a female here.”
While they constantly face doubt and uncertainty, Middle Eastern citizens are more politically aware now than ever, Stacher says.
“They understand exactly and precisely what the game is in terms of how they’re repressed and who’s repressing them and what the red lines are,” Stacher says.
They are also calling for democracy in larger numbers, but the transition from an authoritarian government to a democratic one is a long process, Stacher says.
A September 2013 poll of Muslims worldwide showed that 67 percent of respondents were concerned about Islamic extremism. Only four percent of respondents to a July poll of Syrians conducted by Opinion Research Business support the Islamic State.
At the same time, Iraqis as a whole are incredibly weary of welcoming U.S. occupying forces back, says Patrick Coy, director of Center for Applied Conflict Management and professor of political science.
In response to a 2007 poll of Iraqis conducted by the BBC, ABC and NHK, about 70 percent of Iraqi respondents said that U.S. forces in Iraq had worsened security.
Steven Hook, political science professor who specializes in U.S. foreign relations, says the recent increase in the numbers and activities of terrorist groups, including the Islamic State, have revealed the weakness of the United States’ foreign policy and its incapacity to create stable governments.
“I would say this is the most turbulent period in world politics I’ve seen since I became a foreign policy specialist [in 1993],” Hook says.
What should be done?
Terror groups not only threaten local populations, but they constitute a potential threat to the U.S. and action needs to be taken against them, Vance says.
Vance lives off campus with his girlfriend Jessica and their 3-year-old daughter. He is enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard, a job that could require him to fight if ground troops were sent back to the Middle East.
Having studied world politics both in school and in his free time, Vance observes that a war in Syria against terrorists could potentially bring the fight to Bashar al-Assad’s regime there, which would cause backlash from its allies, including Iran and potentially Russia.
“You never get out of this circle of war,” Vance says. “That’s not what I want for my daughter. That’s not what I want for the future of this country.”
Vance does support airstrikes against the Islamic State, as long as they are controlled.
Hofer, who is now enlisted with the Ohio National Guard, doesn’t want to leave her kids—she’s a single mother of two—but she would if she had to.
“I do as I’m told,” Hofer says. “I follow orders, and I do as I’m told. Whether I’m against it or for it, I do as I’m told.”
Wilkinson says the U.S. has to take some form of military action against the Islamic State.
Wilkinson held up ammo within a few days of arriving at COP Meade near Suwayrah, Iraq. He and other soldiers were storing supplies in the base at the time.
“You take care of them now, while you can, compared to just letting them sit there for 10 years and just run [Iraq] and build camps and train up hundreds and thousands of soldiers,” Wilkinson says.
Numbers provided by the CIA in mid-September estimate there are roughly 20,000 to 31,500 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
One potential plan of action that needs to be addressed is woven deeper into Islamic societies, Vance says. Islamic religious leaders, or imams, need to step up and calm the hostility between the religion’s denominations, Vance says. Members of the Islamic State are Sunni, while the Iraqi government is largely Shia. Assad’s Syrian government is made up of people from the Alawite religious minority.
Stacher says the main difference between Sunni and Shia is Sunni believe leadership positions should be based on consensus and Shia believe they should be based on heredity.
“The Sunni and Shia part of Islam is really just one identity that when an overarching identity, like Iraqi nationalism or Iraq, gets blown to smithereens and blown apart, people have to rely on other identities,” Stacher says.
Vance says he believes religion is an excuse terrorist groups use to meet their own agendas.
World leaders have issued fatwas, or proclamations, against the Islamic State, claiming their actions go against Islamic principles.
Vance remembers an Iraqi explaining suicide bombing to him. The man told Vance that shrapnel flies out when a bomb is detonated, and if the bomber is a true believer in Allah, then the shrapnel will turn into rose petals and fall at his feet and kill the nonbelievers.
Vance says he looked at the man and asked, “Well, what about the suicide bomber? He’s a true believer, right? Why does he get torn apart by an explosion and shrapnel? Shouldn’t it just be rose petals at his feet?”
“Well, that’s a good point,” was how Vance says the man responded. “I don’t know.”
Understanding the conflict
Veterans and experts agree there is no easy solution to the Islamic State problem. But it helps to understand the United States’ role.
“These aren’t one military intervention after another military intervention,” Stacher says. “No, we have to see these as a linked event. This has now become one long war, and it’s not going to stop.”
People think ideologically about things they don’t see on a day-to-day basis, Stacher says. Camels and pyramids often come to mind when Americans think about the Middle East, for instance, yet they have very detailed perceptions of their own society. Stacher urges students to begin thinking less ideologically and more about the roles that people and institutions play in the world.
Wilkinson and Vance returned home around the same time, in 2009, and they spent a lot of time together.
“He got a little more serious,” Vance says of Wilkinson. “He was the class clown. He was never very serious about anything, and then he got serious about stuff.”
Wilkinson says he and Vance have talked at length about their war experiences, and Hofer says people in the military form incredibly strong bonds with each other.
“There’s nothing like it that you can find where you go experience something in your life that you’re never going to do,” Hofer says, “and only a certain amount of people can ever relate to you.”",3394,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213691.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818154147-20180818174147-00628.warc.gz,0.976300179958344
faad9b73-879f-42f6-b162-354069452a3a,2022-05-25T15:47:22+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://www.firstchoicememorabilia.com/ourshop/prod_6930010-Acrylic-Football-Display-Case-With-A-Mirror-Base.html,Acrylic Football Display Case With A Mirror Base £39.99 Out of stock. 0 in your basket View Basket Checkout Acrylic case with an acrylic Delux Mirror base. The clear display case is designed to present and protect your treasured collectable. This case comes with an acrylic stand for footballs. The case has been finished off with a black and silver frame surrounding the mirror base to add to the overall amazing presentation. This case is ideal for footballs. Dimensions of the acrylic case are (w)265 (D) 265 (H) 265 mm. Dimensions of the base are 280 x 208 mm. Wholesale enquiries welcome .,133,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00228.warc.gz,0.901340186595917
2c3a9c67-63d2-4e17-b14c-d8361f804652,2015-03-29T11:12:27+00:00,2013-03-14,1,http://www.yorkdispatch.com/politics-national/?third_party=lawmakers-take-on-legalization-of-cellphone-unlocking,"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers have picked up the baton from the White House in the effort to make it legal for cellphone users to switch their devices to any mobile carrier.
At issue is whether cellphone buyers, who often get new devices at a heavily subsidized price in return for committing to long-term contracts, should then be able to take their gadgets with them when they change carriers.
Opponents argue that the phones should be ""locked,"" or prevented from moving freely across networks, because of the subsidies that carriers provide to buy the phones. The subsidies help get the devices into the hands of more people.
Senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday, the second in that chamber, adding to a similar effort in the House of Representatives that hopes to overturn the ban on switching imposed by the Library of Congress and took effect in January.
The White House on Monday responded to an online petition, signed by more than 100,000 people, protesting the ban. The Obama administration sided with the petitioners and said it would support ""narrow legislative fixes.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has also encouraged a legislative solution, saying the ban raised ""serious competition and innovation concerns."" The FCC is also weighing regulatory or industry fixes, he said.
Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut together with Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah introduced a bill that would direct the FCC to ensure the consumers could legally unlock their phones.
Democratic Rep. Anna Eschoo of California is expected to introduce a companion bill in the House.
Thursday's bill follows a proposal from another Democrat, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, whose bill unveiled on Tuesday would update the copyright law to allow unlocking of devices.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, and other lawmakers have pledged to back similar legislation, welcomed by consumer advocacy groups.
The wireless industry group CTIA has said that U.S. carriers already have ""liberal, publicly available unlocking policies"" and customers have easy access to full-priced unlocked devices in the marketplace.
But the online petition to the White House, signed by 114,322 people, argued that preventing ""unlocking"" reduces consumer choice and the resale value of phones, which can cost hundreds of dollars without subsidies from carriers such as AT&T Inc, Verizon Wireless and Sprint.
""Consumers should have flexibility and choice when it comes to their wireless service and they deserve to keep and use cell phones they have already purchased,"" Klobuchar said in a statement on Thursday.
The Library of Congress, which among other things is responsible for setting rules and deciding on exemptions related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, said on Monday the issue would benefit from further debate and that its intention was not to supplant public policy discussion.
(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by Ros Krasny and Bob Burgdorfer)",589,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298464.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00215-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.955520391464233
80e1baf1-10b4-407c-82cf-0852f6a3adf9,2018-08-17T16:34:18+00:00,2016-07-01,1,http://bartonwillmore.co.uk/Knowledge/Intelligence/Q3-2016/Much-more-than-a-Runway,"The Airport Commission has identified that without the provision of new infrastructure the London airport system is likely to be under very substantial pressure by 2030, and demand will significantly exceed total available capacity by 2050. Their recommendation for expansion at Heathrow is therefore centered on meeting that infrastructure need in advance of 2030.
Beyond that infrastructure requirement, what is the wider benefit or social and economic impact of the Airport Commission’s recommendation and is the planning system able to capture the resultant local, regional and national benefits?
This report, coinciding with RunwaysUK presents our thinking on how we should be planning for Airport Expansion.
Posted with the following keywords:
Airport Expansion, Runways, Heathrow, Gatwick",142,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212639.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817163057-20180817183057-00257.warc.gz,0.930925965309143
ff80f6dd-6c68-4ee3-8cfb-25aeb1e6a013,2013-05-24T15:51:32+00:00,2012-06-06,1,http://miami.cbslocal.com/tag/zimmerman/page/3/,"New evidence shows the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Trayvon Martin giving a voice identification test.
The City of Sanford fired their embattled police chief, a spokesman said Wednesday night.
The wife of the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin has been released on $1,000 bond after she was charged with perjury.
The George Zimmerman murder case took another turn Tuesday when the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office arrested George’s wife.
You’d think a big company like T-Mobile would be smarter than to thank a brand new customer by giving him the former cellphone number of someone who canceled it because of all the hate calls it was getting. But T-Mobile did just that, when it handed out the phone number given up by George Zimmerman.
Judge Kenneth Lester has agreed to hold a new bond hearing for George Zimmerman as he waits to stand trial on second-degree murder for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
All eyes are back on Sanford, Florida where the neighborhood watch captain accused of shooting Miami teen Trayvon Martin has been ordered back to jail.
George Zimmerman, who stands accused of killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, will have to report to jail in the next 48 hours after the judge in the case revoked his bail.",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970934569835663
e89e323b-2e45-476c-abad-b430a2a5e2bc,2018-08-20T20:45:52+00:00,2013-12-30,1,http://stagenc.build.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2013/12/30/utah-bald-eagle-deaths-alarm-scientists.html,"SALT LAKE CITY - Bald eagles are dying in Utah - 20 in the past few weeks alone - and nobody can figure out why. Hundreds of the majestic birds, many with wingspans of 7 feet or more, migrate here each winter, gathering along the Great Salt Lake and feasting on carp and other fish that swim in the nearby freshwater bays.
SALT LAKE CITY — Bald eagles are dying in Utah — 20 in the past few weeks alone — and nobody can figure out why.
Hundreds of the majestic birds, many with wingspans of 7 feet or more, migrate here each winter, gathering along the Great Salt Lake and feasting on carp and other fish that swim in the nearby freshwater bays.
Earlier this month, however, hunters and farmers across five counties in northern and central Utah began finding the normally skittish raptors lying listless on the ground. Many suffered from seizures, head tremors and paralysis in the legs, feet and wings.
Many of the eagles were brought to the mammoth Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah, where Buz Marthaler, a longtime animal caretaker, and other handlers tried to save the birds. Within 48 hours most were dead.
“In an average year, we might get one or two (eagles), but we’ve received nine so far, and five of those have died,” Marthaler said. “The other four are still in our care.”
Marthaler, 56, co-founder of the facility in Ogden, said, “It’s just hard to have your national bird in your arms, going through seizures in a way it can’t control — when you can see its pain but don’t know what’s happening to it.”
State wildlife specialists are baffled. For weeks, officials have sent birds for necropsies at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., hoping the results would offer clues.
The birds were not shot by hunters, and officials don’t believe the birds were poisoned.
At first, the agency’s disease scientists guessed that the illness could be encephalitis, which is caused by the West Nile virus, but later ruled that out. And although many sick eagles tested positive for lead, researchers did not think that it was killing the birds.
Officials now suggest the eagle die-off might be connected to the deaths of thousands of eared grebes that began in Utah in November. Eagles are known to prey on the small shorebirds. Because the grebes are thought to have died from avian cholera, many scientists theorize that the eagles became sick from feeding on infected grebes. Officials still don’t know why the shorebirds became sick.
“We’re getting closer to an answer,” said Mitch Lane, a conservation officer with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, adding that officials would meet this week to continue investigating.
Meanwhile, a new ailing bald eagle surfaces almost daily.",633,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217006.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820195652-20180820215652-00173.warc.gz,0.970375120639801
003454c5-5495-4ac0-8f6b-806dbe186fdf,2016-07-26T03:12:46+00:00,2014-05-02,1,http://www.kwtx.com/news/health/headlines/First-Case-Of-Deadly-Virus-Confirmed-In-US-257722031.html,"NEW YORK (May 2, 2014) The first case of the deadly MERS virus has been confirmed in the U.S.
An American who works as health care worker in Saudi Arabia was hospitalized in Indiana with the virus, health officials said Friday.
The man was diagnosed with Middle East respiratory syndrome after returning to the U.S. about a week ago, officials said.
Saudi Arabia is the center of an outbreak of MERS, which surfaced two years ago.
At least 400 cases have been reported, and more than 100 people have died.
The virus has been found in camels, but officials don't know how it is spreading to humans.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the U.S. case to track down anyone he had close contact with recently.",166,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00213-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.983496308326721
56505172-7fb0-4867-8e9b-8d782c9264dd,2019-08-25T15:40:59+00:00,2019-08-25,0,https://athleta.gap.com/products/bottoms-new-1x-3x-fits-C1136343.jsp,"Have an account?
© 1998 - Athleta |
Interest Based Ads |
Your California Privacy Rights |
About Gap Inc.
Americans with Disabilities Act",33,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330750.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825151521-20190825173521-00042.warc.gz,0.787604331970215
b95d8154-faa7-4dc4-baa4-84f8676d522c,2017-08-19T11:16:15+00:00,2014-10-30,1,https://willwrightblog.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/a-new-message-graphically-shows-the-nfls-washington-team-name-to-be-racist/,"At what point do you concede that a name is hurtful, historically biased and perpetuates stereotypes? Sometimes you have to lay it out graphically to get people to understand that it is time to reconsider and get on the right side of history.
The Red Circle Agency and the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media have taken that step, producing a strong new video that lumps the team name into the same class of racial slurs as the n-word and other objectionable terms. The argument is, if certain slurs and profanity are banned from the public airwaves why is the Washington team name allowed to flourish?
In releasing the video on their YouTube channel, the coalition wrote:
“The word ‘redskins’ is racist and profane. Get involved by sharing this video with friends, letting the NFL and the Washington football team know what you think, or contacting the FCC and asking that the word ‘redskins’ be banned from the public airwaves.”",205,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00105.warc.gz,0.932722449302673
64c5fed3-ebc4-425f-acf0-41916de5f330,2015-03-30T10:37:38+00:00,2014-08-01,0,http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/car-catches-fire-woodlands-industrial-park-no-injuries-2,"Car catches fire at Woodlands Industrial Park; no injuries
Published on Aug 1, 2014 11:38 PM
SINGAPORE - A red car caught fire near Woodlands Industrial Park E5 on Friday after giving out grey smoke.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it received a call requesting assistance at 4.58pm, and deployed two fire bikes, one red rhino and a fire engine to the scene.
While flames quickly engulfed the front half of the vehicle and filled the surrounding area with smoke, SCDF personnel extinguished the fire with a water mist gun in short order. Nobody was injured in the incident.",131,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299261.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00253-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.930763781070709
1e757f59-6468-4554-affd-4b1b7b9a6ad7,2018-08-16T11:54:10+00:00,2018-08-16,0,http://www.fitzgraham.co.uk/what-we-offer/ballet.html,"Ballet is an artistic dance form performed to music, using precise and highly formalised set steps and gestures. It is characterised by grace and precision of movement. Our students study the highly acclaimed Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus and is taught by fully qualified RAD teachers. Students will be taught by teachers who have performed on stages all over the world and have trained to a high level and they are delighted to pass on their knowledge to the students of FitzGraham. Our ballet classes are offered to children from 18 months upwards.
Modern Theatre dance is a rhythmic dance style which originated in America before travelling to the rest of the world. It is often seen on the stages of musical productions and is known for its theatrical qualities. The style uses travelling steps, high kicks, leaps and turns which all need strength and flexibility. This is a highly energetic dance style. Our students work their way through the ISTD Modern grades guided by professional and qualified teachers of the ISTD syllabi.
This has evolved as an American dance form, popularised throughout the world, with debate about its origins coming from African dance, Irish dance and/or clog dancing. The dancer uses their feet to strike the floor, beating out different rhythms, with dancers wearing tap shoes which have small metal plates on the toe and heel to give the distinctive sound. Tap dance is a theatrical art form often seen on stage in musicals. Our students will study the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) Tap dancing syllabus working their way through the grades. Our ISTD teachers are of a high calibre and are fully qualified teachers of the ISTD syllabi.",334,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210735.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816113217-20180816133217-00044.warc.gz,0.969683468341827
8c13790e-c2aa-4232-b6a6-41920ba90aa6,2020-10-26T19:23:25+00:00,2020-10-26,0,https://cupixel.com/media-kit/,"Cupixel Media Kit
Cupixel Media Kit
The New At-Home Painting Experience
What is Cupixel Sketch?
Cupixel’s AR Technology
Product – Cupixel Sketch
Cupixel harnesses the power of Augmented Reality (AR) to enable ANYONE to create stunning, precise, and personalized works of art. Both beginners and seasoned artists alike can create wall-worthy artwork.
Elad Katav, Cupixel CEO and founder, says, “As they age, 97% of adults lose their intrinsic drive to create art. Some are hesitant even to try. We found a solution that enables anyone, regardless of previous art experience or talent, to experience art creation. Our users get an opportunity to channel their inner-artist and experience the joy in creating and accomplishing stunning art.”
The experience begins with the Cupixel Art Box. The Box contains EVERYTHING needed to create masterful works of art.
Users simply download the free Cupixel App, which will serve as their personal Artist Assistant. Every task demonstrated is clear, and guidance is provided every step of the way.
The creative journey continues with the selection of an image. Users can choose photos from their mobile photo albums, or select an image from the fully-licensed Cupixel Gallery of classical and contemporary artists. The options are limitless.
Next, users get to use Cupixel’s specially developed art tools and AR-directed technology. AR integrates with the user’s mobile device to provide a hands-on experience that is both creative and rewarding. This experience empowers users to paint with incredible accuracy – regardless of talent and art knowledge.
Once complete, users can assemble their artwork within the Cupixel frame, allowing them to display their creation with pride.
What’s In The Box
Katav says, “We wanted to make sure the Art Box has absolutely everything people need in order to paint. Users do not need to pre-own anything. We develop and source the optimal tools for a perfect experience.”
Cupixel developed and patented art tools that are unique for this experience. Mainly the Mini Canvas. Artists spend years training and learning how to maintain proportions, how to hold their hand in front of the canvas and still paint accurately, and how to make tiny brush strokes. Cupixel, instead, broke the huge painting canvas into small Mini Canvases. This allows painting on a flat table – just like writing, so your hand doesn’t get tired. The Mini Canvas also allows focusing on a small and doable task at a time. And the best thing is, if you make a terrible mistake, you can just use a spare Mini Canvas and redo it.
To support the AR feature, Cupixel developed a set of high-quality metal Device Stand and a Pad with a mount for the Mini Canvas. Users place their device on the stand, place a Mini Canvas on the mount, and can then relax and draw accurately using AR.
Another amazing tool included in the box is a premium black metal frame. Once users finish their artwork, they easily frame it, hang it on their wall, or place it on their desk.
Elad says, “We’ve done an incredible research to understand how paints work. It’s a fascinating world. Artists spend years mastering color blending – we use technology. We provide premium quality paints in the box and teach users how to blend accurately and in a fun way. No more blending muddy-brown colors. The colors you paint look exactly like what you see on your digital device.”
And there are many other art tools in the box, high quality brushes and a brush holder. A marker, outline pencils, and even a sharpener and an eraser. Last but not least, the Art Box even contains a microfiber cleaning cloth. Katav says, “The experience is very clean but we want our users to feel safe and confident. The cleaning cloth is always handy in case something happens. We do our best to make them relax and enjoy their creative experience.”
The Creative Market
According to a survey by the Association For Creative Industries, the total size of the US creative industry in 2016 was $43 billion. The study found that 63% of US households participated in at least one creative activity within the past year.
Katav says, “Millions of coloring books appealing to adults are being sold annually. Until recently, color pencil manufacturers were not even able to meet the demand. Adult Painting Parties are on the uprise with thousands participating at different venues every week. People have a craving to create. We enable them to do so without spending thousands of dollars on equipment and art classes, in their own home, and at their own pace.”
Value for Money
Katav says, “We worked diligently to provide premium art tools at an affordable price. It would cost far more to purchase similar caliber products from an art store. We provide all the tools you need conveniently and effortlessly.”
The Cupixel Art Box contains enough art supplies to create multiple works of art. When in need of refills, users use the app to place an order for the Cupixel Refill Box. The Refill Box provides additional proprietary painting canvases, as well as an additional Cupixel frame to showcase the artwork.
Katav says, “This is just the beginning. We have many more products and technological enhancements in the pipeline: more art styles, expanded size options, and many unique creative techniques.”
Click on an image from the gallery below to view in full size, right click and save for high-resolution.
Cupixel Sketch + Refill Bundle
Company – Cupixel
Right click on an image to save for high-resolution.
Founder & CEO
Co-Founder & CTO
Head of R&D
Head of Design
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso recognized that every person possesses an innate desire to be creative, but producing artwork good enough to hang on your wall? Most would say, it’s just not possible!
Cupixel Founder, Elad Katav, felt that creative urge after falling in love with a work of art he found online. “I tried to create my own artwork in a similar style, but no matter how hard I tried, I failed miserably!” Annoyed at his inability to create art he felt worthy of display, Katav began a quest to find a product capable of guiding him through the art-making process. Katav’s search validated the lack of new and innovative support in this field, and it was from this personal challenge that the concept for Cupixel was born – a revolutionary approach that makes art creation manageable, precise, and personal.
This is what Cupixel is all about – providing anyone the opportunity to paint a physical piece of art that is accurate, creative, and customizable. To share, encourage, and empower the artistic spirit within, and to continue to build upon a brand of creativity.
The Benefits of Cupixel
Our users have described the Cupixel experience as, “Meditative and relaxing”; “A fun and enjoyable evening away from the TV”; “A great way to clear the mind,” but the most gratifying of all seems to be a newfound sense of fulfillment users gain from artistic expression.
Our users demonstrate pride in their artwork, and an eagerness to share their accomplishments with family, friends and social media channels. They express amazement in the incredible accuracy of Cupixel technology, and its ability to guide them in the creation of precise, fully proportional art.
The Cupixel experience is most suitable for ages 12 years and older. The app display is big, especially when using the iPad which provides a level of comfort for the elderly. The augmented reality technology was designed for adults and young adults. Technology catering specifically to children 12 and under will be introduced in the future.",1665,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891624.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026175019-20201026205019-00698.warc.gz,0.946076989173889
9299ebc9-49af-461d-bb93-523ef35c097c,2022-05-24T22:11:31+00:00,2022-04-01,0,https://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/king-s-ely-students-wins-national-theatre-spot-4913008,"King’s Ely student Billy, 16, wins place at National Youth Music Theatre
- Credit: Archant
A King’s Ely sixth form student has been called up by the renowned National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) to star in one of their shows.
Billy Pinto is due to feature in ‘Imagination’ by Timothy Knapman and Stuart Matthew Price at the CURVE Theatre in Leicester in June.
Billy, 16, has also been invited to participate in other events and performances, such as the NYMT Christmas concert in London.
“I feel so excited and privileged to have been selected,” Billy, who got his first taste of musical theatre in year seven, said.
“There were two rounds of auditions. Auditions are held all over the country and I attended one in Cambridge.
“We were asked to prepare a musical theatre song to perform at the audition and we had to participate in a dance and an acting session. Then there were call-backs specifically for the productions being put on this year and I was called back for two of these.
“I didn’t expect it at all as it was my first year of auditioning and I’ve heard that often people audition four or five times before they are cast in a production.”
- 1 Pedestrian struck on Ely Road in Littleport
- 2 Council bans use of agricultural land to extend garden
- 3 Mexican restaurant to open inside former Frankie & Benny's in Ely
- 4 Former Baptist chapel to be turned into four-bedroom house
- 5 Village road closing for five weeks for temporary barrier installation
- 6 Councillor hits out at 'huge intransigence' over splash pad project
- 7 ‘It’s been like this for 11 months’ - woman’s assisted refuse collection failure
- 8 Soham tribute to 'honest, funny, intelligent and understanding human being'
- 9 Shoplifter, 33, who assaulted woman is on the run
- 10 Ex-soldier Rob on a mission to bring 'ideas and energy' to Ely
To say that Billy is a familiar face in productions at King’s Ely would perhaps be an understatement.
The sixth form student has played roles such as Mr. Hopkins in ‘Made in Dagenham’, Oliver in ‘Oliver’, Doody in ‘Grease’ and Arkin in ‘Ugly Youth’, which earned a five-star review at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year.
Billy, who studies drama, history and French at A-level and has been at the school since 2006, said this role is the first he has earned outside of school, and without the support from staff, he may not have been able to achieve this feat.
“NYMT was the first time I have done any drama or theatre outside of school - that’s partly why I’m so pleased to have been given a role!” he said.
“I really enjoy drama at King’s Ely. The teachers in the drama department are brilliant and so are the other pupils, so it feels like we are a real team.”
He added: “Every King’s Company show is produced to such a high level, which feels very professional.
“If I can get good enough A Level grades, I would like to go to university in Edinburgh before going on to drama school. Then I want to become a stage actor.”",749,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577259.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524203438-20220524233438-00010.warc.gz,0.976657271385193
c11519ef-64a0-43c3-871a-82d8f4d7d6be,2017-08-22T16:55:34+00:00,2013-12-10,0,http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/discuss.php?ff=13310,"Sony Z Ultra Gets Google Play Treatment
This forum is for discussion of this article. For general discussion of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, please check out our Sony Xperia Z Ultra forum ›
IMHO, it's too big when it won't fit in our phone size comparison tool:
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/compare_size.php?p= ... »
Of course I'm biased on that point.",91,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00584.warc.gz,0.724268972873688
1b544ae9-86d6-4792-8c45-72d6f70a76eb,2017-08-22T09:25:14+00:00,2017-08-22,0,http://www.fukuoka-now.com/en/u-houseing-made-japan-solid-wood-furniture-wooden-items/,"Top-quality, stylish wooden furnishings and gifts for Fukuoka locals and visitors!
Ikea has a lot to answer for. And we’re not just talking about the hours lost fiddling about with an Allen key. So ubiquitous have the Swedish mega-maker’s pale-blond designs become that you’d be forgiven for forgetting that wood comes in more than just a few standard shapes and sizes.
If there’s anywhere to be reminded otherwise, it’s at U-houseing, an independent furniture store southwest of Fukuoka’s city center that specializes in making natural, hand-crafted wood part of modern homes.
Step into their airy showroom and you’ll find woods of every shade and texture, woods you can’t even name (Hawaiian monkeypod, anyone?). Luckily manager Nobutaka Kawamura can — in Japanese and English — as well as a lot more besides.
Nobutaka, whose family has been in the furniture business for around a century and who runs U-houseing with his father, is an unabashed wood nerd. The two of them have a sort of philosophy when it comes to their favorite material: use the whole tree.
You can see it borne out in their solid-wood tabletops, shaped to show off knots, ridges and other so-called “imperfections” that other manufacturers would cut around. It’s also in the quirkily shaped smaller items on sale, no two the same — many of them are offcuts from larger pieces that instead of going to waste have been turned into ornaments in their own right. The results can be unexpected: like the clocks that, when you look a little closer, turn out to have a tiny twig for their second hand, complete with bark and leaves.
Nobutaka will tell you where each wood comes from, what its character is, even how it will age. He points out a desk made of young hinoki cypress, so fresh you can still smell its lemony fragrance: in 10 years’ time, he explains, it’ll go from straw-yellow to a buttery caramel.
That matters because whatever you buy from U-houseing, most likely you’ll still have it a decade from now and well beyond. This is furniture made for a lifetime’s use. Sometimes, Nobutaka says, he sees students come to browse and leave without buying anything, only to return a few years later when they’re setting up a “real” home and can finally afford to invest.
His pieces may be future heirlooms, but they definitely don’t look like antiques. While the Kawamuras source their stock from independent designers all over Japan, what unites it all is the combination of traditional materials and techniques with a clean, contemporary aesthetic.
Think pure lines and matte finishes — the kind you’ll find on display in trendy eateries such as Shirogane Sabo and Mon An Ethnic, just two of the Fukuoka restaurants that have come here for their fittings.
Even if you’re not a design buff yourself, Nobutaka and his staff can help you find what suits your home. They won’t tell you which wood to go for: that’s far too personal a choice. Instead, Nobutaka advises clients to touch as much as they like and go by heart, not head.
Say you fall in love with one of their tabletops: U-houseing will help you choose which legs you want it mounted on and find the chairs to go with it. Rather than proposing an identical match, the store prefers to suggest complementary woods and designs that suit each other while meeting different needs — which is why you might find yourself coming home with a bench, a stool and a couple of chairs instead of the traditional dining room set.
If you want a more radical refit, U-houseing has an on-staff interior coordinator who can help plan entire rooms. Head upstairs to the second floor to see mock-ups of what your kitchen, living room or bedroom might look like kitted out with sleek fitted storage units by Gallery Shuno, an Osaka company; U-houseing is the only place in Kyushu where you’ll find their designs.
They can be ingeniously adapted to the quirks of Japanese apartments.
Short on space? Set cupboards away from the wall to create a nook for bookshelves behind them.
Scared to hang anything on those paper-thin walls? Try specially mounted wall cabinets that spread the weight.
There’s also a children’s playroom where customers are welcome to park their kids while they browse.
U-houseing isn’t just for those looking to furnish a whole house. It also stocks a range of home accessories, stationery and gifts, from vases to mix’n’match coasters, magnets to key fobs. Its sets of chopstick rests, for instance, each one made from a different wood and cut to slot together into a cylinder, would make a unique made-in-Japan souvenir.
Visitors to Fukuoka will find plenty small enough to fit into a suitcase, while the store can arrange shipping for anything too big to carry home. Customers with tourist status can also shop tax free.
Wood? You should.
Free parking in front of the shop.
5-6 Tamagawamachi, Minami-ku, Fukuoka
(5 min. walk from Takamiya Sta.)
Open: 12:00~19:00, Closed: Wed.
Text: Jessica Phelan, for Fukuoka Now.",1200,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110573.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822085147-20170822105147-00464.warc.gz,0.954027831554413
0abba422-c583-4bd8-904a-dfedb1ef6a98,2019-08-22T00:39:21+00:00,2019-08-22,0,http://www.asa-tucson.org/aug-27-young-macdonald/,"Will MacDonald, fiddle, and Lee MacDonald, cello
Tuesday, August 27, 2019, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,
The Arizona Senior Academy Building
Let your heart be tugged by “Ashokan Farewell” and find your toes tapping to “Morrison’s Jig” during a midday concert presented by Tucson’s unique fiddle-and-cello duo, “Young MacDonald.”
Brothers Will and Lee MacDonald have been playing fiddle and cello as a duo since childhood, and these two young men have brought their lively music to numerous venues around Tucson and the southwest. They improvise and play their own arrangements of tunes from a variety of traditions and cultures, including bluegrass and jazz classics. “Young MacDonald” placed first in the Civic Orchestra of Tucson’s Young Artists’ Competition’s Ensemble Division in 2018, and released their first CD, “Poundcake,” in November of that year.
Will, now seventeen years old, began studying classical violin at the age of 5, and a year later turned to fiddle music. His teachers have included Laura Barry and Wynne Rife, and he currently studies with Nick Coventry and Matt Rolland. He has studied music composition through Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s Young Composers Project, and was a finalist in the 2015 TSO Young Artists Competition. He was named the Arizona State Overall Fiddle Champion in 2017 and 2018, and won numerous awards at the National Old Time Fiddle Contest in Weiser, ID, in 2018.
Fourteen-year-old Lee began his cello studies at age 7 with Professor Theodore Buchholz of the University of Arizona. Today his studies continue with Mary Beth Tyndall and Nick Coventry. He won second Place in the TSO’s Young Artists Competition in 2016 and first Place at the Tucson Cello Congress competition in 2018. Lee has played back-up cello in numerous fiddle contests in the Southwest and in the National Old Time Fiddle Contest in Weiser, ID.
Written by Nancy Green, Academy Village Volunteer",448,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316555.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822000659-20190822022659-00442.warc.gz,0.972137331962585
2fe067e7-ee97-4934-b897-3e0b3dc6c9b7,2019-08-25T06:47:01+00:00,2015-07-01,0,https://www.frantzlawgroup.com/blog/2015/july/vehicle-rollover-leaves-10-injured-in-california/,"Vehicle rollover leaves 10 injured in California
If you have ever passed by the aftermath of a vehicle rollover accident on a California roadway, you may have found what you saw very distressing. Just a cursory view demonstrates how much damage a rollover can do to a vehicle. But of greater concern are the serious or even fatal injuries that victims of such accidents can suffer.
Obeying the rules of the road is the best way for drivers to avoid being in rollovers. As we have previously written on this blog, driving while intoxicated is one of the chief causes of rollover accidents. Drivers should never get behind the wheel while impaired. Doing so imperils not only others on the road, but also the passengers in their own vehicles.
Recently, the driver and nine other occupants of a Chevrolet Tahoe were injured when the vehicle left the road and rolled over multiple times. California Highway Patrol reported having arrested the driver, an 18-year-old man from Redding, on suspicion of felony DUI charges.
The occupants ranged in age from 16 to 25. It was reported that they suffered a variety of injuries. Several of the passengers were ejected from the vehicle.
Given the nature of the accident as described by CHP, it is very fortunate that none of the occupants were fatally injured. Drivers are responsible for their actions and if the passengers in their vehicles are injured due to negligent driving, those passengers may have cause to file civil suits for their injuries.
If you are ever injured in an accident that was due to the negligence of the driver of the vehicle in which you were riding, you may wish to speak to a California personal injury attorney. The attorney may be able to assess the situation and provide you with assistance in obtaining compensation.
Source: Record Searchlight, ""CHP: 10 injured in rollover; driver arrested for DUI,"" June 20, 2015",381,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323221.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825062944-20190825084944-00293.warc.gz,0.982612013816834
f10cf2fc-ea97-40a6-b5ff-42508e6dd706,2022-05-27T21:27:14+00:00,2022-01-26,1,https://www.genengnews.com/topics/translational-medicine/regenerative-medicine-tissue-engineering/five-drug-cocktail-and-wearable-bioreactor-enable-regrowth-of-amputated-adult-frog-leg/,"For millions of patients who have lost limbs, the possibility of regaining function through natural regeneration remains out of reach. Regrowth of legs and arms remains the province of animals such as salamanders, or perhaps superheroes. But now, scientists at Tufts University and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute report on their use of a novel multidrug treatment (MDT), delivered through a wearable device, which allowed adult African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis)—which can’t naturally regenerate limbs—to regrow amputated hind legs. The regrown limbs enabled the animals to move around in a manner similar to normal frogs, and even responded to touch.
While most studies on limb regeneration have focused on animals such as the axolotle, which demonstrates natural regrowth capabilities, the newly reported study in frogs could help direct future research towards limb regeneration in mammals, including humans. “It’s exciting to see that the drugs we selected were helping to create an almost complete limb,” said Nirosha Murugan, PhD, research affiliate at the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts and first author of the team’s published paper in Science Advances. “The fact that it required only a brief exposure to the drugs to set in motion a months-long regeneration process suggests that frogs and perhaps other animals may have dormant regenerative capabilities that can be triggered into action.”
Murugan and colleagues describe their achievement in a paper titled, “Acute multidrug delivery via a wearable bioreactor facilitates long-term limb regeneration and functional recovery in adult Xenopus laevis,” in which they concluded, “This provides a proof of principle for kickstarting complex organ regeneration responses in vertebrate models using compound interventions consisting of a drug blend and a wearable bioreactor delivery device.”
The prevalence of human limb loss in the United States alone is expected to increase substantially over the next 30 years, potentially affecting 3.6 million people per year by 2050, the authors wrote. This will leave individuals with diabetes, war veterans, survivors of trauma, and those suffering from peripheral artery disease with limited options following an amputation. “Despite significant technological advances, clinicians still lack tools to facilitate the recovery or reversal of tissue loss, while prosthetics offer only limited functional restoration of the patient’s own limbs,” the team continued. “Thus, identifying and potentiating the underlying programs that drive limb regrowth would be of great interest to medical and research fields.”
Many creatures—including salamanders, starfish, crabs, and lizards—have the capability of full regeneration of at least some limbs. Flatworms can even be cut up into pieces, with each piece reconstructing an entire organism. Humans are capable of closing wounds with new tissue growth, and our livers have a remarkable, almost flatworm-like capability of regenerating to full size after a 50% loss. However, loss of a large and structurally complex limb—an arm or leg—can not be restored by any natural process of regeneration in humans or other mammals. In fact, we tend to cover major injuries with an amorphous mass of scar tissue, protecting it from further blood loss and infection and preventing further growth.
X. laevis is a common model organism that has previously been used to address questions in developmental biology and regenerative medicine, the authors noted. “Organisms such as X. laevis—whose limited regenerative capacities in adulthood mirror those of humans—are important models with which to test interventions that can restore form and function.” Previous work by the Tufts team showed a significant degree of Xenopus limb growth could be triggered by a single drug, progesterone. However, the resulting limb grew as a spike and was far from the more normally shaped, functional limb. “Our recent work in adult Xenopus showed a significant degree of outgrowth induced by progesterone,” they wrote. “However, the resulting regenerate was far from fully functional and repatterned limbs were not achieved.”
For their newly reported study in adult frogs, the Tufts researchers triggered the regenerative process by enclosing the wound in a silicone cap, called a BioDome, which contained a silk protein gel loaded with a five-drug cocktail. “We hypothesized that kickstarting a limb-building routine required two components acting at a very early initiating stage of the process: first, an enclosed and permissive microenvironment that enables the wound cells to control the biochemical milieu following injury and, second, an instructive set of signals that specifically trigger a limb-building program.” The multidrug treatment cocktail consisted of five small-molecule compounds (BDNF, GH, 1,4-DPCA, RD5, and RA), which, in previous studies had been independently shown to have marked pro-regenerative effects.
The BioDome device essentially sealed the drug cocktail over the stump for just 24 hours, and that brief treatment was enough to set in motion an 18-month period of regrowth that restored a functional leg. “Treated animals displayed a marked delay of wound closure, followed by long-term (18-month) growth outcomes including increased bone length, soft tissue patterning, and neuromuscular repair,” the investigators wrote.
Each drug fulfilled a different purpose, including tamping down inflammation, inhibiting the production of collagen which would lead to scarring, and encouraging the new growth of nerve fibers, blood vessels, and muscle. The combination of the multidrug cocktail and bioreactor provided a local environment and signals that tipped the scales away from the natural tendency to close off the stump, and toward the regenerative process.
The researchers observed dramatic growth of tissue in many of the treated frogs, recreating an almost fully functional leg. The new limbs demonstrated bone structure that extended with features similar to a natural limb’s bone structure, a richer complement of internal tissues (including neurons), and several “toes” grew from the end of the limb, although without the support of underlying bone. “Histologically, the regenerating limbs contained nerves, smooth muscle displaying integration of blood vessels, and reorganization of the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins involved in tissue remodeling,” the scientists continued.
Importantly, the regrown limb moved and responded to stimuli such as a touch from a stiff fiber, “… indicating that they had regained significant reinnervation and neuromuscular reintegration compared to normal functionality preinjury …” and the frogs were able to make use of the regrown limb for swimming through water, moving much like a normal frog would. “Most notably, the animals used the newly formed limb to ambulate in a manner similar to that of wild-type frogs,” the scientists stated.“It’s exciting to see that the drugs we selected were helping to create an almost complete limb,” said Murugan. “The fact that it required only a brief exposure to the drugs to set in motion a months-long regeneration process suggests that frogs and perhaps other animals may have dormant regenerative capabilities that can be triggered into action.”
The researchers explored the mechanisms by which the brief intervention could lead to long-term growth. Within the first few days after treatment, they detected the activation of known molecular pathways that are normally used in a developing embryo to help the body take shape. Activation of these pathways could allow the burden of growth and organization of tissue to be handled by the limb itself, similar to how it occurs in an embryo, rather than require ongoing therapeutic intervention over the many months it takes to grow the limb.
Animals naturally capable of regeneration live mostly in an aquatic environment. The first stage of growth after loss of a limb is the formation of a mass of stem cells at the end of the stump called a blastema, which is used to gradually reconstruct the lost body part. The wound is rapidly covered by skin cells within the first 24 hours after the injury, protecting the reconstructing tissue underneath.
“Mammals and other regenerating animals will usually have their injuries exposed to air or making contact with the ground, and they can take days to weeks to close up with scar tissue,” said David Kaplan, PhD, the Stern Family professor of engineering at Tufts and co-author of the study. “Using the BioDome cap in the first 24 hours helps mimic an amniotic-like environment which, along with the right drugs, allows the rebuilding process to proceed without the interference of scar tissue.”
The five-drug cocktail represents a significant milestone toward the restoration of fully functional frog limbs and suggests further exploration of drug and growth factor combinations could lead to regrowth of limbs that are even more functionally complete, with normal digits, webbing, and more detailed skeletal and muscular features.
“We’ll be testing how this treatment could apply to mammals next,” said corresponding author Michael Levin, PhD, the Vannevar Bush professor of biology in the School of Arts & Sciences, director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts, and associate faculty member of the Wyss Institute.
“Covering the open wound with a liquid environment under the BioDome, with the right drug cocktail, could provide the necessary first signals to set the regenerative process in motion,” he said. “It’s a strategy focused on triggering dormant, inherent anatomical patterning programs, not micromanaging complex growth, since adult animals still have the information needed to make their body structures.”
The authors concluded, “The generalizability of this specific MDT must next be tested in mammals. We suggest that the overall strategy of providing wound cells with an aqueous, amniotic-like environment, which is uniquely given through our bioreactor, that contains pro-regenerative signals is likely to be an effective method for kickstarting biomedically relevant growth and patterning cascades that are too complex to directly implement.”",2089,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663006341.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527205437-20220527235437-00616.warc.gz,0.944668710231781
5fb5f6f3-db85-4a62-bdd4-2d7a64285a11,2022-05-28T10:03:59+00:00,2021-01-07,0,https://blog.bigbasket.com/2021/01/07/8-travel-friendly-mini-essentials/,"The most awaited 2021 is here! The harbinger of happiness, sunshine, positivity and hopefully, travel. From the year of no travel to the year of more travel, the world is unanimously planning their well-deserved holiday. And if you too are one of them, then welcome aboard!
While packing for a holiday can be fun, what’s not fun is trying to fit it all in a suitcase. Especially when everything fits in just fine and you realize, you’ve forgotten an essential. There! You’re back to square one. But don’t worry, holidays should be stress-free and so should be your packing.
That’s why, we’ve drawn up a list of 8 multi-purpose, travel-friendly must-haves to make your trip easy and fun.
Kaya Clinic Purifying Cleanser
When you’re on the move, your oil glands tend to overact. Oily skin can attract dirt and block pores resulting in pimples and acne. Kaya Clinic Purifying Cleanser is a cleanser specially formulated by dermatologists for acne-prone skin. Enriched with acne-fighting properties and a unique skin conditioner, it reduces acne and prevents future breakouts, without drying the skin. Its gentle and deep-cleansing properties help in removing excess oil, dirt, and impurities. It’s definitely your go-to product when you’re on the go.
Lakme Peach Milk Soft Creme Moisturiser
Travelling is all about taking in a new city and revelling in a new climate. But remember, change in weather can truly rob your skin of its natural moisture. Enriched with the goodness of peaches and milk, Lakme Peach Milk Soft Creme Moisturiser is made with a whipped cream formula that will make you fall in love with it instantly. This deeply nourishing product locks in moisture to give you soft skin for 12 hours. Infused with a delicate fragrance, this soothes your skin like no other.
Sunsilk Pink Lusciously Thick and Long Shampoo
Get picture-perfect hair in all those holiday photographs. Co-created with expert Teddy Charles, Sunsilk Pink Lusciously Thick and Long Shampoo is enriched with Keratin Yoghurt Complex to give your hair the essential nutrients for long-lasting volume and shine. It makes hair 2X thicker so you can flaunt it wherever you go. You can carry this 80 ml bottle even when you travel to be sure of beautiful, thick hair, always! Go, get your bounce back!
Biotique Eau de Perfume – Sensual Jasmine For Women
If adventure and fun had a fragrance, this would be it. Biotique Sensual Jasmine has an oriental, woody fragrance that intoxicates and enthrals. Infused with the scent of jasmine, it promotes a sense of well-being and calm. It has a timeless elegance that will captivate your senses and make every moment unforgettable.
Himalaya Moisturizing Aloe Vera Facial Wipes
Tired, fatigued skin is a complete no-no, especially when you’re holidaying. Thankfully, with Himalaya Moisturizing Aloe Vera Facial Wipes you can enjoy fresh skin in minutes. Bursting with natural ingredients and the gentleness of aloe vera, this not only moisturises and refreshes skin but also removes dirt effectively. What’s more, is that this alcohol-free product is a boon when it comes to removing makeup. It comes in a resealable pack that’s easy and hassle-free, just like how holidays should be.
Vaseline Original Pure Skin Jelly
Wherever your holiday may be, with Vaseline Original Pure Skin Jelly, your skin will always be in good hands. Formulated with 100% pure petroleum jelly, this triple-purified, advanced solution is gentle on the skin. It nourishes deeply, locks in moisture, and gives you healthy skin always. Slather it on heels, lips or hands to protect your skin from chapping, windburns, scrapes, and cuts. It’s perfect to soothe dry, itchy skin in winters. This travel-friendly pack is truly a bonus.
Marico’s Travel Protect Surface Disinfectant Spray
Worried about germs? Unsure of whether to touch doorknobs and press elevator buttons? Well, don’t be. Take Marico’s Travel Protect Surface Disinfectant Sanitizer spray wherever you go. Effective and safe, it is suitable for both hard and soft surfaces, indoors and outdoors. This multi-purpose disinfectant spray sanitiser works as your personal travel protection kit that can safeguard you against all germs. Stay safe!
Plush 100% Pure US Cotton Ultra Thin Sanitary Pads – Travel Pack
Don’t let ‘those days of the month’ ruin your holiday fun. Try Plush pads that are made with 100% US cotton. These are highly absorbent and guarantee you a rash-free experience. This specially-curated travel pack has all your period needs – 1 pad for light flow, 1 for heavy flow, and 1 panty liner. So, go with the flow and enjoy your holidays!
So, there you have it – our list of must-haves when you’re travelling. We hope we’ve made your travel easier, and bags lighter. After all, the key to good travelling begins with smart packing. No more excess luggage. Just a suitcase of well-deserved, happy moments. So, travel smart, travel stress-free, and enjoy your vacay with glee!",1207,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663016373.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528093113-20220528123113-00402.warc.gz,0.892348349094391
63af9b78-f003-498e-ad54-95ef12b94174,2020-10-31T21:44:10+00:00,2020-10-31,0,http://www.sharonyorks.com/refinance-rates-with-cash-out/,"Pre Approval Home Loans Bad Credit Is A Home Equity Loan Considered A Mortgage Is a HELOC Considered a Second Mortgage? | Home Guides | SF Gate – Mortgage lenders use appraisal data and internal lending guidelines to determine if a borrower has sufficient collateral for a home equity loan. A calculation is performed to analyze the equity ratio.
Cash Out Refinance Calculator: Compare Cash Out Refi vs. – Why not take advantage of this higher credit score? After all, you’ve earned it. A lower rate, even by a fraction of a percent, can translate into yearly savings of thousands of dollars. Another good reason to refinance is cash – cold hard cash. Many homeowners take equity out of their home in order to have a lump sum of cash.
What Should You Do If You Can’t Refinance Your Student Loans? – Hornsby points out that some lenders do have more modern underwriting criteria that also include factors like your savings balance and spending habits. Many student loan refinancing companies allow.
What to Do if You Can’t Pay Your Student Loans – Refinancing is the process of taking out one loan to pay another. If your student loans have a high interest rate, getting a new loan with a lower rate could make your monthly payments more affordable.
The cash-out refinance can be a good solution to your cash flow concerns, but it may not be the cheapest. Check out these alternatives before you borrow.
Should I Get Pre Approved For A Mortgage Home Equity Vs 2Nd Mortgage Refinance Mortgage | When (And When Not) to Refinance – Your refinance rate is also affected by your credit score, amount of home equity, debt-to-income ratio and the length of the loan.You can also buy a lower rate by paying for discount points. Rates and fees also vary from lender to lender, so you want to be sure to shop around when refinancing a mortgage to be sure to get the best deal.What Do You Need To Get Preapproved For A Mortgage Get a Mortgage Pre-Approval Certificate | CIBC – CIBC.com – How do I get a mortgage pre-approval certificate?. don't forget, once you find your dream home, you need to complete a full application to be approved for a.Mortgage Terminology – FHA.com – FHA.com Reviews. FHA.com is a one-stop resource for homebuyers who want to make the best decisions when it comes to their mortgage. With our detailed, mobile-friendly site, individuals can access information about different FHA products, the latest loan limits, and numerous other resources to make their homebuying experience easier.Calculate A Mortgage Loan Payment How to calculate mortgage payments. pmi varies according to your credit score and the size of your down payment, but is usually an annual charge of 0.5%-1.0% of the loan amount. For a more precise estimate, you can look up the ""PMI rate charts"" or ""PMI rate tables"" that many mortgage insurance companies maintain online.
However, refinancing to get cash out may result in a longer loan term or a higher rate, and that might mean paying more in interest overall in the long run. Talk to a Home Loan Expert or use our refinance calculator to see if refinancing your home can help you get cash out.
Cash Out Refinance Calculator – Discover Card – A cash-out refinance replaces your current mortgage for more than you currently owe, but you get the difference in cash to use as you need. This calculator may help you decide if it’s something worth considering, and give you a possible idea of a mortgage rate you might have after refinancing.
A Bigger Slice Of A Smaller Pie: Why We Shouldn’t Worry About The Rising Share Of Cash-Out Refinance Loans – In other words, cash-out refinance loans aren’t much of a concern to the mortgage industry right now because they’re making up a bigger slice of a much smaller pie. Drop in Rate or Term Reduction Loan.
We’ve signed you out of your account.. to give you the most current rates when refinancing a home loan.. or access cash for a large purchase. Use our home value estimator to estimate the current value of your home. See our current refinance rates.
Cash-Out Refinance Rate Quotes. Compare cash-out refinance rates from more than 15 lenders and get a personalized quote in minutes. Use Nerdwallet’s cash-out refi rate tool to take the pain out of.
Fha Approved Appraisal List An appraiser certified to look at knows that home valuation is only one component of her job. FHA appraisers also have an eye toward ensuring the.",993,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922463.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031211812-20201101001812-00457.warc.gz,0.921870350837708
02dd051d-88dd-42bf-93f0-9c4054802392,2016-07-29T23:35:52+00:00,2006-01-15,0,http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2041374.html,"|By Admin1 (admin) (adsl-70-240-139-65.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net - 18.104.22.168) on Sunday, January 15, 2006 - 12:55 pm: Edit Post|
1994: Nathaniel Clark served in Lesotho in Qachas Nek beginning in 1994
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Nathaniel Clark can be contacted at clark_nathanielahotmaildcom
Country of Service: Lesotho
Training Group: Nutrition and Healthcare
Cities you served in: Qachas Nek
Arrival Year: 1994
Departure Year: 1996
Work Description: I worked on a small scall agriculture project and voluntered at
a mission hospital
Other Countries you served in, Training Group Name Arrival Year, Departure Year,
I arrived in 1994 and departed in 1996
Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:
Since returning from the Peace Corps I got engaged and married to
Tara Brown who also worked in Lesotho. I took some pre-med classes,
did clinical research and am now in my second year of medical school.
We are living in Phoenix, Arizona
Originally posted: October 2, 2001
Looking for another volunteer who served with this Group?
If you know this volunteer or someone from his or her group and are looking to reconnect with them,
leave a message above where it says ""Create New Conversation.""
If this is your profile, post any additions, updates or corrections to your profile below where it says ""Add a Message.""
RPCVs: To add your own RPCV profile click here.
| The Peace Corps Library|
Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today.",435,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832399.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00234-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9072026014328
6cdc322b-a26e-44dc-b35d-49e158629fd7,2017-08-19T07:30:36+00:00,2008-10-09,0,https://mysecondjournal.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/im-brillantebut-you-knew-that/,"I got me some bling.. from my friend Kristi.
Kristi and I became friends because we are both American Idol freaks…then we became bloggie friends and I credit her for my inspiration to quit smoking. I love her so much I realeased her from being my vassal and now she is free. What? You don’t play Knighthood on Facebook?
So..here are the rules.
1. The winner can (and should, really) put the logo on his/her blog.
2. The winner must link to the person from whom they received their award.
3. The winner must nominate at least 7 other blogs for an award.
4. The winner must place links to those blogs on their own blog.
5. The winner must leave a message on the blogs of the people they’ve nominated.
These 7 peeps are some of my favorite reads.. If you don’t read them, you should.",205,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105326.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819070335-20170819090335-00525.warc.gz,0.973320126533508
1fa9ebf4-1e69-4655-8b19-7c2267fde387,2018-08-16T19:41:10+00:00,2018-06-20,0,https://lakemactoday.com.au/2018/06/20/eddie-is-full-of-love/,"Say hello to the highly affectionate, extremely photogenic bundle of puppy energy, Eddie. He is 7 months old and a medium mixed breed dog. His mum was a Jack Russell cross, but Eddie has grown to be a strapping boy with gorgeous caramel and white colouring and is approx 18kg’s. His father is an unknown, but the pound made a guess when he was a pup that perhaps he was a Mastiff, and that is depicted on his paperwork.
Eddie is a highly energetic boy who loves to be near his people. He also adores his foster brother and plays with him at every opportunity. They have been caught snuggling in a kennel together most evenings. Eddie will definitely need an active family who will take him on big walks and adventures and another dog for company. He will also need to be enrolled in a good manners training class. He is desperate to please and responds well to food rewards. He is crate trained at night and does a great job sleeping through the night with no accidents.
Eddie has lived with small children, but his energy levels would best be matched with kids over 8, who are confident with his exuberance. If he had an owner who could safely take him to work, that would probably be his idea of heaven. Eddie needs some reassurance when meeting new dogs until he realises they are not going to eat him. This will come good with some consistent socialisation and training.
Our lovable Eddie is a sweet dog who just needs someone willing to show him the do’s and don’ts of appropriate behaviour, with patience and consistent reinforcement. What you will get in return is a loyal and loving companion. His black lipped smile is just the icing on the cake!
Eddie is currently in care in Salamander Bay and is available for adoption interstate. If you would like to meet him contact his carer Lauren at email@example.com
Eddie’s adoption fee is $450. He is desexed, vaccinated, treated for fleas and worms, microchipped, and lifetime registered.",439,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211167.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816191550-20180816211550-00175.warc.gz,0.987428486347198
b612eb98-c066-4f33-b74e-26d35afeb471,2020-10-31T19:05:40+00:00,2012-12-31,0,https://www.thousandaire.com/hsa-funds-can-be-used-for-your-family-members/,"I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and the conversation turned to Health Savings Accounts (because we’re cool like that).
An HSA is a savings account that is never hit by income tax as long as the money is used for qualified medical expenses. The money can be saved year over year and used when needed (unlike an FSA which must be spent by the end of the year). The catch is that you are only eligible for an HSAif you have a high deductible health insurance plan.
If you are in the 25% tax bracket, that means you get an immediate 25% return on your “investment” by just earmarking money for health expenses.
My friend is getting married soon and he was wondering if he could use money in his HSA to pay for medical expenses for his spouse once they are married, even if she is on a low deductible plan and not eligible for an HSA herself.
Combine Low and High Deductible Health Plans to Save Money
Both my friend and his future wife have health insurance through their companies. He has a high deductible plan with an HSA, she has a regular low deductible plan.
Legally he CAN use his HSA dollars to pay for any medical bills she incurs (he could also use the HSA for kids if they had any). That means his wife essentially has a low deductible health insurance plan with an HSA along with it. That’s pretty sweet!
Another way to have a low deductible plan with an HSA is to save up a bunch of money in your HSA over your healthy years. Single people can save a maximum of $3,100 a year in their HSA, while if you have a family plan you can save $6,250 a year (those limits will rise in 2013 to $3,250 and $6,450). If you can save in your HSA for about five years without needing to use any of the money in those accounts, you could have anywhere from $15,500 to $31,250 in your HSA.
At that point you could just switch to a low deductible health insurance plan and use the money saved up in your HSA to pay for any medical treatment.
Pro-Tip: While you are young and healthy, get a high deductible health plan max out your HSA. You’ll save money on premiums and build up a nice financial safety net for medical expenses.
Readers: Do you have an HSA?
Totally Money Carnival at Money Challenge
Y & T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
Carnival of Fin. Camaraderie at Modest Money
Yakezie Carnival at Passive Income to Retire
Carnival of Retirement at Master the Art of Saving
Wealth Artisan’s FinCarn at Wealth Artison
Carnival of Financial Planning at The Skilled Investor",604,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922411.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031181658-20201031211658-00174.warc.gz,0.971409499645233
b3a8fe25-73f6-403a-92f0-bfbf5a6a812d,2020-10-25T11:18:38+00:00,2018-02-28,0,https://nmws2018.com/speakers/abstracts/item/transitioning-from-updm-to-uaf,"Transitioning from UPDM to UAF
Architecture frameworks continue to evolve. Taking industry demand into account and addressing changing landscape of defense architecture frameworks, in September of 2013, a Request for Proposal for UPDM 3.0 (later renamed to UAF) was created. Since the issue of RFP, UPDM 3.0 group identified the list of requirements. To name a few: support of Security Domain, Human Systems Integration, Support of SoS Life Cycle Processes and Analyses. Since then four years past and a brand new UAF 1.0 became an official OMG standard. What this new AF is all about? How is it different from other AFs? Is it just a synthesis of a legacies? Or is it a modern technology combining the best practices of an old with a new and modern?
This presentation explores UAF, answering the fundamental questions above and putting a specific focus to answer the questions below:
- Is UAF a replacement for DoDAF?
- What is transition path from UPDM to UAF?
- How UAF can leverage use of DoDAF?",234,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888931.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025100059-20201025130059-00605.warc.gz,0.916836202144623
bc6ed51c-299c-4a28-8244-ee6e65418fd4,2020-10-27T03:21:23+00:00,2020-10-27,0,https://silkspecialties.com/product/27-bamboo-tree-wcement-pot/,"The bamboo tree is a favorite worldwide. Known for it’s sturdy stalks and wispy leaves, it grows fast and furious in many different climates. And this faux bamboo tree captures that perfect bamboo look, without fear of it growing wild on you. With several distinct stalks, 200 leaves, and flat-out beautiful cement pot, this bamboo tree will look great in any home or office setting, and makes a perfect gift as well.
In Stock: Yes
This item qualifies for Free Shipping!
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed – Free Return Shipping!",116,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893011.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027023251-20201027053251-00537.warc.gz,0.913991212844849
8ed59e72-d96a-4f38-aea2-6a5486582a86,2022-05-27T06:15:12+00:00,2022-03-01,1,https://uaenews4u.com/2022/03/01/trend-micro-provides-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-cybersecurity-with-project-2030/,"Trend Micro provides a glimpse into the future of cybersecurity with Project 2030
The latest predictions report suggests connectivity, data, and AI will change the way people live, work, and operate in society in the near future.
March 1, 2022 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, released a visionary report and a dramatized video series articulating how the world might look at the start of the next decade – and how the security sector might respond to evolving cybercrime innovation.
By 2030, connectivity will affect every aspect of daily life, on both the physical and psychological levels. Malicious threat actors will evolve to use and abuse technological innovation, which is expected in the consistent change of the threat landscape. The report itself looks at the world in 2030 through the perspectives of a fictional citizen, a business, and a government. It offers a detailed analysis of evolving cyber threats and how these might impact security stakeholders.
“Today, AI, machine learning, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices have all found a commonplace in our daily lives. Therefore, we must remain vigilant in safeguarding our digital activities and equipping ourselves to successfully navigate through cyber-threats attempting to disrupt our digital experiences.,” said Dr. Moataz Bin Ali, Vice President and Managing Director, MEA for Trend Micro. “Project 2030 not only provides predicted scenarios in a new digital era but also prepares us for cybersecurity challenges that are less than a decade away. This report reflects our commitment and provides invaluable guidance for enterprises and communities in the region to further secure their digital journeys for a better tomorrow”
Among the predictions in the report are:
- AI tools democratize cybercrime on a whole new scale to individuals with no technical skill
- Attacks cause chaos with supply chains and physical harm to humans through their cyber-implants
- Social engineering and misinformation become more visceral and harder to ignore when delivered via ubiquitous Heads Up Displays (HUDs)
- Massive IoT (MIoT) environments attract sabotage and extortion attacks targeting manufacturing, logistics, transportation, healthcare, education, retail, and the home environment
- AI-powered confusion makes attribution virtually impossible, pushing the security industry’s focus towards incident response and IAM at the edge
- 5G and 6G connectivity everywhere drive more sophisticated and precise attacks
- “Everything as a Service” turns cloud providers into hugely lucrative targets for cyber-attackers
- Grey markets emerge for those that want tools to confound workplace monitoring
- Techno-nationalism becomes a key geostrategic tool for some of the world’s most powerful nations, with the gulf between them and the have-nots widening further
A successor to Trend Micro’s acclaimed 2012 report, Project 2020, the new paper was compiled from open-source research, vendor threat landscape reports, scientific abstracts, patents, an invitation-only online survey, and a CISO poll. The video dramatisation of the report is meant to be an engaging, entertaining way to visualise the future and enable organisations to think about how they will need to adapt to new realities.
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro’s cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defence techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.TrendMicro.com.",790,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662636717.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527050925-20220527080925-00628.warc.gz,0.910740375518799
62c4321e-5752-4612-aa0c-4c50d59e6bc8,2022-05-21T23:08:38+00:00,2022-05-08,0,https://ottawa.citynews.ca/obituaries/morin-lamoureux-sophie-isabelle-5368998,"Date of death: May 8, 2022
Date of birth: January 9, 1983
Parents: Erika Morin and Marc Morin; daughter-in-law to Ed and Carole
Siblings: Simon; sister-in-law to Burt and Melanie
Nieces & nephews: Jules and Ben
Service: Celebration of Life will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, May 16, 2022, at the Central Chapel of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry, 315 McLeod Street, Ottawa, followed by a reception.
Arrangements under the care of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry, Central Chapel, Ottawa.",163,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662541747.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521205757-20220521235757-00421.warc.gz,0.87840735912323
f5b1d893-bcbf-4b95-bac3-975ad619d398,2022-05-24T23:53:21+00:00,2015-09-25,0,https://authorchristinachase.com/2015/09/25/not-just-anyone-can-truly-serve-the-poor/,"This is addressed to the true believing Christians out there who make daily and tremendous sacrifices to bring Christ to others. It is especially to those among these ministers (lay ministers and those who are ordained) who see people who do not believe in God helping the poor and feeding the hungry and wonder…. Catholic teaching understands that Salvation is not automatically denied to people who do not profess belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – if a goodhearted person is living every day seeking and serving love and justice, doing those things that Christ tells us to do, then Salvation is open to that person. This can lead some to wonder what’s the point of spending time in worship and devoting oneself to religious doctrines and practices – and the many sacrifices that Catholic Christians are called to make in the name of Jesus – if any non-Christian who does truly good works can get to Heaven.
To you who are feeling doubt I say, in the words of our Lord, “Be not afraid!” I do believe that as long as we lovingly serve the poor, we will be saved. We should ask ourselves, however, “What is service of the poor?” Yes, there are people who do good things, acts of charity, who don’t believe in God. They are giving the poor a service, a very important service: food, clothing, shelter, work, a kind word, patient attention, a friend to call on for any of these things – but are they raising the soul of the poor person to God? By doing good works, people are uniting themselves with Christ, knowingly or unwittingly, because Christ is the source of all Goodness. But – are they uniting the poor people that they serve with Christ?
We must love one another with our whole selves, as Jesus loves us. We cannot be like those at the end of time who go to Jesus and say “Lord, Lord,” and he replies to them “I never knew you.” Infinitely better for him to say to us, “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink… Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
In truly loving one another with our whole selves, as Jesus loves us, we can, through our faith, mercy, and love, unite others with Christ. This is not something that any nonbeliever can do. So, to those of you ministers and good Christians who are struggling, I say…
Who is peering into the depths of a homeless teenager’s soul to tell her, to show her, that God her Creator loves her beyond compare and suffers with her every moment in order to bring her deep, peaceful joy that never ends? Who will do that? The answer is you. Only one who deeply loves God, who “spends time in worship,” who has an intimate, daily, conscious relationship with Christ our Savior can fully know, love and serve God – and only that person can give to the poor what the world cannot give. Only you.
Although crippled by disease, I'm fully alive in love. I write about the terrible beauty and sacred wonder of life, while living with physical disability and severe dependency. A revert to the Catholic faith through atheism, I'm not afraid to ask life's big questions. I explore what it means to be fully human through my weekly blog and have written a book: It's Good to Be Here, published by Sophia Institute Press.",715,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577757.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524233716-20220525023716-00224.warc.gz,0.973262906074524
0062f84e-8fcb-4392-aa2b-224f3a1286be,2018-08-19T06:06:55+00:00,2011-04-18,0,http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/86543-mcmoran-sees-promise-in-shallow-water-wells,"Deep drilling activities in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) continue to show promise and indicate ""the potential for large structures"" similar to discoveries onshore South Louisiana and in the GOM deepwater, executives with New Orleans-based McMoRan Exploration Co. said Monday.
Offshore drilling expenses on the natural gas-weighted prospects have made a big dent in McMoRan's profits for several quarters, and the first three months of 2011 proved no different. The producer reported a net loss in the first quarter of $27.6 million (minus 17 cents/share), which was less than the year-ago losses of $66.2 million (minus 74 cents).
Co-Chairmen James R. Moffett and Richard Adkerson said in a joint statement the ""theme"" of McMoRan's 2010 annual report, ""Buried Treasures on the Shelf,"" characterized the company's deep drilling activities and ""highlights the significance of this development trend.
""Results to date in our program indicate the potential for large structures, similar to large discoveries onshore South Louisiana and in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico.""
The McMoRan executive team is confident enough in its prospects that last September it nearly doubled the size of its portfolio in the shallow waters in a transaction with Plains Exploration & Production Co. that at the time was estimated to be worth more than $800 million (see Daily GPI, Sept. 21, 2010).
McMoRan currently is drilling six wells, including the Davy Jones prospect, which may be one of the largest gas discoveries ever in shallow water. Moffett told analysts last October that Davy Jones, which covers around 20,000 net acres underwater, ""is capable of producing at least 100 MMcf/d"" (see Daily GPI, Oct. 19, 2010).
Davy Jones No. 2, an offset appraisal well, now has been drilled to a true vertical depth (TVD) of 30,546 feet, the producer said. McMoRan is preparing to evaluate the ""exploration objectives"" with wireline logs in the Cretaceous section below the identified Wilcox pay sands. Completion and flow testing of Davy Jones No. 1, the discovery well, is expected by the end of the year.
Prospective Blackbeard East has been drilled to a TVD of 32,559 feet. The plan now is to go deeper, once a mechanical issue has been resolved, said executives.
""Exploration results to date indicate updip potential in the Miocene (178 net feet of hydrocarbons) above 25,000 feet and downdip potential of the Oligocene (Frio) and Eocene (Sparta) below 30,000,"" said management. McMoRan last October also ramped up drilling on Lafitte in shallow water and now is drilling ""below 20,950 feet toward a proposed total depth of 29,950 feet.""
At the Laphroaig No. 2 McMoRan completed a ""successful"" production test earlier this month at a gross rate of 54 MMcf/d (16 MMcf/d net) (see Daily GPI, April 14). Production is set to begin by the end of June ""and results from the production test will be used to determine the optimal flow rate.""
McMoRan's production in the first three months of 2011 averaged 195 MMcfe/d net, up from the year-ago output of 190 MMcfe/d. Average production this year is expected to be around 175 MMcfe/d net, including 190 MMcfe/d net in 2Q2011.
Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report
may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any
form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.",805,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214702.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819051423-20180819071423-00588.warc.gz,0.943470418453217
88cbc8c0-89ab-4641-ba5d-e3dff0ad6d18,2013-05-22T14:46:21+00:00,2012-11-29,0,http://orangeleader.com/thiscommunity/x1951908399/Bridge-to-receive-historical-marker-Saturday/print,"Tommy Mann Jr.
The Orange Leader
BRIDGE CITY —
The Cow Bayou Swing Bridge is a piece of local history, but, at 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1, it will officially become part of state history.
The Cow Bayou Swing Bridge, located on East Roundbunch Road just outside of Bridge City, will have a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m., Saturday, as a state historical marker is unveiled at the bridge. The public is invited to attend.
The bridge, which was built in 1939-1940, is one of only two its kind remaining in Texas and members of the Bridge City Citizens for Historic Preservation, which is now disbanded, helped to keep the bridge intact when plans were announced to have it dismantled.
Thanks to committee members such as Beverly Perry and Mark Dunn, along with organizations such as the Texas Historical Commission and Historic Bridge Foundation, the Cow Bayou Bridge was not only spared, but also placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. This makes the bridge just one of six such locations in Orange County.
“It’s a part of the city’s history and that’s why Mark (Dunn) and I, and so many others, were so enthused to save it,” Beverly Perry stated in a press release.
Although the bridge has been around for more than 70 years, it has been dealt moderate damage through years of use and deadly storms, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Ike.
Surveys of the bridge following each of these storms indicates the Cow Bayou Bridge is in need of major repairs. Fortunately, those repairs will be forthcoming in 2013.
Funding from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and from Round 2 Disaster grant will help finance the project which is estimated at $15.6 million.
The bridge will be “refurbished” and will be 99.5 percent new when completed. The project will include the rehabilitation of the swing bridge structure, bridge control house, repair of both electrical and mechanical components, embankments, boat fender system, pedestrian walkway and more. The swing span concrete deck will be replaced, and traffic safety systems will be installed.
The bridge will also be closed to traffic for a short period during its renovation.",476,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970953822135925
ce14db79-ae1a-4adc-95c5-461504533919,2017-08-19T12:47:05+00:00,2016-11-21,1,https://www.ramapo.edu/giving/capital-projects/,"Library and Learning Commons Campaign
In June 2016, Ramapo College was awarded a $15 million grant from the State of New Jersey to renovate the George T. Potter Library and to construct a Learning Center addition. The Ramapo College Board of Trustees held a special meeting on November 21, 2016 and approved a tentative budget with defined funding sources for the project. The firm of Bohlin, Cywinski, and Jackson of Wilkes Barre, PA have been engaged for architectural and engineering services.
A dedicated fundraising initiative will play a significant role in funding this project which will improve facilities used by all students and faculty. If you would like more information on contributing to the campaign, please contact Lisa Johnson, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement, at 201-684-6259 or email@example.com.
Anisfield School of Business Global Financial Markets Trading Lab
The frenetic buy/sell pace of financial markets is being experienced in Ramapo College’s Global Financial Markets Trading Laboratory in the Anisfield School of Business. The Global Financial Markets Trading Laboratory, a 1,400 square-foot space, aims to broaden students’ financial literacy, provide the next generation of financial managers with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the financial market and to build student understanding of the relationship between public policy and capital markets. The trading lab, on the fifth floor of the ASB, was the last phase of construction for the School, named after Millicent and Richard Anisfield, whose donation of over $5 million supported the school.
Adler Center for Nursing Excellence
The Board of Trustees at Ramapo College announced a $2 million gift to the College from Bergen County philanthropists Myron “Mike” and Elaine Adler of Franklin Lakes for establishment of the Adler Center for Nursing Excellence. The gift helped to fund the new home of Ramapo College’s highly-acclaimed and expanding nursing programs, as well as state-of-the-art labs to enhance the education of all science students. The gift was part of a $54 million renovation to the College’s G Wing, which houses the School of Theoretical and Applied Sciences and the School of Social Sciences and Human Services. The Adler gift helped to create a new two and one-half stories center, which connects to the existing building by an overhead walkway.
For information about named gifts, please contact Cathleen Davey at firstname.lastname@example.org or call (201) 684-7615.",523,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105451.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819124333-20170819144333-00365.warc.gz,0.931431353092194
8569565f-9fa8-4ef8-b586-1ab6fa663702,2017-08-20T09:57:07+00:00,2014-06-11,1,https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/06/11/business/economy-business/households-free-choose-power-supplier/,"The Diet on Wednesday enacted legislation to end the grip regional monopolies have held for 60 years on the household electricity market by opening it up to greater competition.
The move is expected to revolutionize the ¥7.5 trillion market for households and other small consumers in around 2016, as part of a broader shake-up of the country’s power industry in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, which exposed weaknesses in the nation’s power grid and pushed up electricity prices.
Households will become able to choose their supplier, shopping around for the best prices or for those offering power from renewable sources.
The changes represent the second part of a three-stage electricity reform process underway that is expected to boost competition in the market with the entry of new suppliers, including those from the gas, oil and telecommunications sectors.
Until now, 10 utilities have handled all electricity operations in their region, from generation to distribution and sales.
A law was enacted last November, during the first stage of the reform process, under which an independent entity will be set up around 2015 to coordinate power supply with demand nationwide.
In the final stage, power companies will spin off power transmission and distribution into separate units starting around 2018 to 2020, so power grids will become more accessible to new entrants. This is expected to lead to fairer competition and will be submitted as a bill during the ordinary Diet session in 2015.
But it is uncertain whether the reforms will result in lower electricity bills, as utilities are facing higher fuel costs for thermal power generation. All of Japan’s commercial nuclear reactors are currently unplugged, as they have mostly been since the 2011 nuclear disaster triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami.
Reacting to the new law’s enactment, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan released a statement saying the country needs to retain nuclear power if it is to secure stable power supplies and if the liberalization of the electricity market is to succeed.
It is necessary to “enhance our business environment so we can operate nuclear power in a stable way over a long period of time,” even under expected severe market competition, said Makoto Yagi, head of the federation and president of Kansai Electric Power Co.
Utilities are also bracing for the full liberalization of the electricity market, which is currently freed up only in the area of supply for large factories and corporate customers.
Beginning in October, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant, will begin selling power to corporate customers for the first time outside its original service area in the Japanese capital and nearby prefectures, in the hopes of countering moves by rival regional utilities entering its turf.",551,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106367.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820092918-20170820112918-00452.warc.gz,0.949320673942566
1c9d0fab-9439-4336-9ab1-01cb45be6161,2022-05-19T18:10:13+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://www.911coldair.com/post/commercial-walk-in-coolers,"Commercial walk-in coolers
Common Issues That Affect Commercial Bar Coolers.If you are having trouble with your commercial bar cooler, you could be dealing with more than one problem. Whether the unit is having difficulty maintaining its temperature or it won’t turn on, you can count on 911 Cold Air to get it back up and running.
The bar cooler is not operating
Beverages keep freezingt.
The bar cooler is having difficulty cooling
Common causes include the cooler being in a warm location, dust blocking the condenser, dirty evaporator coils, low refrigerant, and more.
The exhaust vent is blowing warm air
If the bar cooler is blowing warm air, it may be due to a defective compressor or refrigerant leak. Call us for questions. We service all south florida areas around miami beach.
The bar cooler cycles on and off frequently
Bar coolers that cycle on and off frequently may be the result of hot weather or leaving the door open for long periods of time. We understand that a broken bar cooler is an inconvenience in your busy day, and we want to help diagnose the problem as quickly as possible. Let us give you an estimate for your issue. www.911coldair.com 305-546-4543",260,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662529658.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519172853-20220519202853-00221.warc.gz,0.92626416683197
0d6e1705-9e4e-4f20-8016-657bb42fc3bb,2016-07-23T09:21:01+00:00,2009-02-03,0,http://daytimeroyaltyonline.com/single/?p=8121695&t=8065774,"Viewing Single Post From: Deidre & Drake on cover of CBS Soaps In Depth
Feb 3 2009, 01:20 AM
- Elite Member
- October 27, 2007
You nailed it, as usual LOL
- Feb 2 2009, 09:19 PM
- Feb 2 2009, 08:19 PM
If Days doesn't or didn't listen to fanbases then why do fanbases still collect money to send in ""gifts"" that symbolize their couples or participate in letter writing campaigns?
I mean it has to have worked for fanbases at least a couple of times or these groups wouldn't keep doing what they are doing would they?
The first fan base I remember sending a gift that made an impact to someone other than the actors was the Mike & Carrie fans. They sent roses or something to SSM. They were very vocal and organized in their campaigning and it made their fan base seem bigger than it actually was. Suddenly C&M were the rooting couple and Austin was the odd man out. The show then decided if they could break up Austin & Carrie, they no super couple was safe.
Despite having contributed to many campaigns over the years I really don't think they work, and I don't think they should work as far as dictating story. The writer should have an understanding of the characters and know the boundaries that can be pushed. Unfortunately, the suits in charge force their focus group opinions on the show and combined with one bad head writer after another, no one ends up satisified.",316,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00018-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.983579277992248
53cfab09-4873-4ec9-a41d-08edde5e8d23,2022-05-19T18:30:25+00:00,2020-02-13,1,https://www.stockton.gov.uk/plans-unveiled-for-stockton-town-centre-after-massive-response-to-public-consultation,"Plans unveiled for Stockton town centre after ""massive response"" to public consultation
The Castlegate Shopping Centre and Swallow Hotel are set to be demolished as part of bold plans to tackle Stockton's empty shops and open up the town to the river.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council bought the buildings in September before seeking public views on a ""once in a generation"" opportunity to change the town.
Plans are now being drawn-up after the consultation, which attracted around 1,000 responses, revealed strong public support for putting the site to a different use.
""We had a massive response to our consultation on the next steps for Stockton town centre and I'd like to thank everybody who shared their views,"" said Councillor Nigel Cooke, the Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing.
""It's obvious people care very deeply about the town.""
What is being proposed?
Under the plans, Castlegate and the Swallow Hotel - which occupy a site around three times the size of Trafalgar Square - will make way for a riverside park and offices.
The riverside park will feature public artwork and pleasant green spaces for families to enjoy.
A ""land bridge"" structure will enable the park to span a section of Riverside Road, providing uninterrupted access to the waterfront.
The Council is also proposing to build a new central library, customer service centre and council office on the site, kick-starting its regeneration and saving money as part of plans to consolidate its 10 existing council offices into two.
The town's main retail offer will be focussed on Wellington Square, the 700-year-old market, and other parts of the High Street and town centre, such as Silver Street.
The feasibility of covering Wellington Square - which the Council bought in May last year - to protect shoppers from the elements will also be progressed.
What's the thinking behind this?
""What the consultation has shown is strong public support for demolishing Castlegate and the Swallow Hotel, concentrating shops at Wellington Square and making the most of the town's riverside setting,"" said Councillor Cooke.
""I think people are starting to realise that high streets have changed forever and the days of them being lined with big name shops are over. We've seen it in Stockton with the likes of M&S, Debenhams and H&M all going.
""But it's all about how we respond.
""We all enjoy reminiscing about the golden era when every town had a big department store but we can't turn back the clock. We need to take the bull by the horns and get on with reshaping Stockton for the modern age.
""If we do nothing we'll just see a growing number of empty shops.
""This plan will shrink the town's oversupply of retail space, bringing it more into line with demand, which will actually boost the prospects of larger units like the former M&S, New Look and Debenhams being reoccupied.
""It will also open up the town to face the river as you see in modern towns and cities across Europe. Stockton has been accused of turning its back on the river over the years.
""It's the logical thing to do.""
What will happen to the shops that are currently in Castlegate?
All of Castlegate's tenants will be supported to relocate if they want to, with most indicating that they want to retain a presence in the town centre.
There is enough space in Wellington Square and other vacant units in the town centre to accommodate them all.
Where's the money coming from?
The Council is proposing to use £20million of Tees Valley Combined Authority funding to decant Castlegate tenants, demolish Castlegate and the Swallow Hotel, and clear the site for redevelopment.
It is also preparing to submit a bid for £21million from the Government's £1billion Future High Streets Fund to develop the riverside park and land bridge, with the outcome expected later this year.
Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, is backing the bid with a letter of support to the Government.
Mayor Houchen said: ""Regenerating our town centres so they are the vibrant places we all want to visit is hugely important and it is projects like this that will reinvigorate our town centres - making them fit for the 21st century.""
The proposals for the new Council offices will be cheaper and greener than the Council continuing to operate its 10 existing buildings and the cost could be met through the Council borrowing the money itself. An alternative would see a private developer fund and build it and the Council then take a long-term lease on the building.
But what about the changes that have already been made in the town centre?
""This is a continuation of the changes we've been making in recent years to make the town centre a place that people might choose to visit for reasons other than just shopping,"" said Councillor Cooke.
""That's precisely why we've invested in holding big events on the High Street, creating fun features like the fountains, and in building the thriving Hampton by Hilton hotel, as well as places to live such as the new housing going up on the former Victoria Estate.
""It's also why we're leading the restoration of the Globe, which is due to open later this year and pull in up to 200,000 visitors a year. A riverside park with its own attractions and events will complement all of this.
""We've shown great foresight to take Stockton in this new direction because shop numbers are falling it is these kinds of leisure experiences and attractions that will draw current and future generations into the town centre.
""Lots of towns haven't even started this journey but we're well on with it. It's full steam ahead.""
What do experts think?
Bill Grimsey, the straight-talking nationally-renowned retail expert and author of The Grimsey Review, said: ""High streets and town centres have irrevocably changed and there's no point clinging on to a sentimental vision of the past. We have to start planning for a bold new world.
""I visit a lot of councils and as far as I'm concerned Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is one of the best in the country at understanding you have to reinvent your towns as places for people to come for reasons other than shops.
""The fact is, shopping is totally different in the 21st century and it doesn't require the traditional high streets of the past. What we do require are town centres with things like parks and great entertainment, great attractions, health, and housing.
""It's very important that councils take the initiative and I applaud the Council for doing that and looking at its towns and planning for a future with fewer shops and in which town centres will need to attract people for reasons other than shopping.
""The bottom line is you've got to get rid of excess retail space and whether we like it or not, in most places it is councils that are best placed to step in and do that. If they don't you'll just see those places get left behind and change will never happen.
""For these proposals in Stockton there are so many wins - you wipe out excess retail space, you open the town to the river, you get a riverside park and offices, and the shopping centre you're left with becomes much more viable.
""Because you've stripped out oversupply of retail space you're actually left with a shopping centre that can generate a healthy income and it may even be that you can sell it back to the private sector as it's become a much more attractive proposition.""
What happens next?
The plans will be considered at meeting of the Council's Cabinet on Thursday, February 20. If agreed, the decant of tenants from Castlegate would get under way with a view to starting the demolition of Castlegate and the Swallow Hotel in 2022.
The construction of the riverside park and office buildings would follow with a target completion date of 2025.",1657,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662529658.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519172853-20220519202853-00219.warc.gz,0.96608692407608
56f5bf1a-0125-454d-a005-c26b44af1788,2017-08-22T16:31:16+00:00,2014-06-11,0,http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/trails/minutes/2014_july_mins.htm,"Minutes of the Fairfax County Trails and Sidewalks Committee
Meeting Minutes - June 11, 2014
Members Present: Peter Christensen (Chair), Tom McFarland (Park Authority), Roger Wilson, and Jean Voss
County Staff: Adam Lind
Call to order: 07:12
Minutes approved for May 14, 2014.
Bikeshare Reston Feasibility public meeting on June 25th at Dogwood Elementary at 6:30pm. Followed by a public hearing on the Bike Master Plan at 7:30pm
Bike Master Plan
- Working session - July 23
- Planning Commission - Sept 24
- Board - Oct 28
Wiehle-Reston Bike Room has 100+ paid members (with a capacity of 200).
Park Authority Report
VDOT funded Liberty Bell trail, out to bid by EOY. Only one fair weather crossing between Burke Lake and VRE.
Equestrian Task Force
Arrange a meeting with Park Director (had presented to Board of Supervisors previously)
Peter will be absent next meeting will ask someone else to chair.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:31 pm",239,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00571.warc.gz,0.926195085048676
f58621ab-8bab-4d56-a725-471556b6d029,2017-08-21T13:40:53+00:00,2017-08-21,0,http://www.cedarlakecabins.com/,"Enjoy the convenient location of our 1200sq.ft 2 room cabin located just feet from Cedar Lake National Park nestled into Ouachita National Forrest.
Amenities include kitchenette with full size stove and refrigerator, washer/dryer, T.V., pool table and horse corral.
Rates start at $75 a night.
This 86-acre lake, surrounded by pine and oak covered hills, is the perfect place to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Visitors can choose from a wide variety of activities including equestrian trails, picnicking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, hiking the trail around the lake, walking a short nature trail or just relaxing.
TALIMENA STATE PARK
Talimena State Park, in the Ouachita Mountains, and known for spectacular spring and fall foliage. Hiking and backpacking trails offers a wide range of scenic, wooded terrain. Dirt bikes and ATV’s are permitted in the park as an entrance point to the National Forest Lands.
HEAVENER RUNESTONE STATE PARK
55-acre park, erected around the Heavener Runestone, a runestone found in 1923, and most likely inscribed in the 19th century, perhaps by a Swedish immigrant.
CHOCTAW NATION CAPITOL MUSEUM
Built in 1884, the Choctaw Capitol Museum Building features : Trail of Tears Exhibit, Culture and Family Life Exhibits, Choctaw Code Talker Memorial Exhibit, Museum Gift Shop with Choctaw Art, Jewelry, Books and Gifts, and Art Gallery.",327,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108709.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821133645-20170821153645-00648.warc.gz,0.910318672657013
8f008d19-9269-4683-9c02-8001b6372db1,2017-08-21T13:50:45+00:00,2015-08-21,0,http://bff.fm/posts/982,"Heavy Rotation: Myrkur - M
On the heels of Myrkur's universally praised debut EP, comes M,
the Danish black metal phenom's highly anticipated first full-length
album. Recorded in various locations of Oslo, Norway (including
renowned artist Emanuel Vigeland's mausoleum) with co-producer Garm (the
mastermind behind black metal legends Ulver) M finds Myrkyr achieving the grandiose heights that everyone hoped she would climb to. The melodies are lush and the brutality devastating--M is a highly developed metal masterpiece that blends second-wave black metal, Nordic folk music, classical instrumentation and haunting choirs. Rounded out on record by members of Mayhem & Nidingr plus a guest appearance from Christopher Amott of Arch Enemy, Myrkur has quickly established herself as one of the best and most intriguing acts in metal today.
Stream the entire album here: https://myrkur.bandcamp.com/",205,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886108709.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821133645-20170821153645-00668.warc.gz,0.923286378383636
1781ada4-b951-49f5-8407-02eb192053b8,2018-08-21T12:24:51+00:00,2018-06-12,1,https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2018/06/12/491836.htm,"Malaysia is likely to review a directive to foreign insurers to reduce ownership of their local units by nearly a third as finding domestic buyers for the equity stakes is proving hard, three people familiar with the matter said.
The review may result in the Malaysian regulator putting the requirement in abeyance, the people said.
That would provide respite to foreign firms including Great Eastern Holdings, Prudential, Tokio Marine Holdings and Zurich Insurance by putting off deals worth more than $2 billion that were being thrust upon them.
Foreign insurers have been expanding in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries in recent years, lured by strong economic growth, rising middle-class income and lower insurance penetration.
But they were caught offguard last year when Malaysia’s central bank, which also regulates insurers, said it would enforce its 2009 rule setting a 70 percent cap on foreign ownership of local insurance businesses.
The directive had sent foreign insurers in Malaysia, many of whom operate wholly-owned units, scrambling to seal deals to sell 30 percent stakes to local state-linked funds or list the local arms.
The potential review of the directive comes against the backdrop of Mahathir Mohamad becoming Malaysia’s prime minister last month and Muhammad Ibrahim resigning as the central bank governor.
Two senior officials who were responsible for issues relating to the insurance sector at Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank, have also resigned in recent months, two of the people said.
One of the sources said stake sale valuations were below expectations of some insurers and they had indicated this to the central bank.
The Malaysian regulator, however, is yet to formally inform insurers about the possible review and could still go ahead with the plan by relaxing some conditions, the two other people said, declining to elaborate.
Bank Negara did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The people declined to be named as the plans were not public yet.
The central bank had said in March measures by some foreign insurers to cut stakes in their local units are “in relation to specific commitments” that these firms made when they applied for entry into the country.
Citing sources, Reuters reported in March that Prudential and Great Eastern were in talks with pension funds Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) and Employees Provident Fund, respectively, to cut their stakes in their wholly-owned local units.
“We cannot comment on it as we are still negotiating on the deal, and as far as we are concerned the deadline has not changed,” KWAP CEO Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad told Reuters.
Representatives at Great Eastern, Prudential, Tokio Marine and Zurich declined to comment.
An EPF spokeswoman said the fund’s discussions were still ongoing.
The regulator is expected to stick to its end-June deadline of getting firms to submit plans to reduce stakes by 30 percent, and a decision on the review is likely to be announced after that, the people said.
Most foreign insurers are struggling to find local investors who could add value to their units and don’t have much appetite to do listings in the near-term in dour equity markets, they said.
A small number of large local funds in Malaysia had stoked concern among foreign insurers about competing for the same pool of institutional investors.
Expected management changes at Malaysian state-linked funds after the election are also likely to result in muted responses on their part, especially for deals that don’t give them majority control, the people said.
(Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Sumeet Chatterjee; additional reporting by Liz Lee in Kuala Lumpur and Junko Fujita in Tokyo; editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.",784,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221218122.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821112537-20180821132537-00428.warc.gz,0.975205719470978
4e369816-62c3-4931-80ef-db35e5337ee2,2016-07-30T12:27:35+00:00,2009-09-16,1,http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1754131/biofuel_production_could_undercut_efforts_to_shrink_gulf_dead_zone/,"September 16, 2009
Biofuel Production Could Undercut Efforts To Shrink Gulf ‘Dead Zone’
Scientists in Pennsylvania report that boosting production of crops used to make biofuels could make a difficult task to shrink a vast, oxygen-depleted ""dead zone"" in the Gulf of Mexico more difficult. The zone, which reached the size of Massachusetts in 2008, forms in summer and threatens marine life and jobs in the region. Their study is scheduled for the Oct. 1 issue of ACS' semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Christine Costello and W. Michael Griffin and colleagues explain that the zone forms when fertilizers wash off farm fields throughout the Mississippi River basin and into the Gulf of Mexico. The fertilizers cause the growth of algae, which eventually depletes oxygen in the water and kills marine life. Government officials hope to reduce fertilizer runoff and shrink the zone to the size of Delaware by 2015. But that goal could be more difficult to reach due to federally-mandated efforts to increase annual biofuel production to 36 billion gallons by 2022, the study says.The scientists studied the potential effects of increased biofuel production on the ""dead zone,"" with a life-cycle analysis of nitrate fertilizer use on biofuel crops such as corn, soy, switch grass and stover (corn stems and leaves). They conclude that meeting the biofuel production goals will likely increase the depletion of oxygen compared to current levels in the Gulf due to more nutrient runoff.
Image Caption: This is a map showing the Gulf of Mexico ""Dead Zone."" Low-oxygen areas appear in red. Credit: NASA; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
On the Net:
- American Chemical Society
- Impact of Biofuel Crop Production on the Formation of Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico",370,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00259-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.93322217464447
6cefdd39-ac0f-4100-9072-af3497165944,2013-05-24T01:45:52+00:00,2013-05-23,1,http://www.rspca.org.uk/media/news/story/-/article/Stop_The_Cull_rally,"We supported The Badger Trust's legal challenge of a badger cull in England and we are disappointed it was not successful, but the fight still goes on.
The Badger Trust has lost its Court of Appeal challenge to government proposals to kill thousands of wild badgers in England.
It clears the way for the start of culls in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset.
RSPCA Chief Executive Gavin Grant, pictured above, said:
We are bitterly disappointed that the UK Government in England is ploughing on with plans to kill badgers but the fight is not over yet.
Stop the Cull campaign
The RSPCA, League Against Cruel Sports, Humane Society International (UK), Save Me (run by rock guitarist Brian May, pictured below), have joined together to form the Stop the Cull campaign.
The coalition of charities and a host of local campaign groups held a rally in Bristol yesterday in protest of the planned cull.
At the rally, Gavin Grant commented:
We joined Brian May, a coalition of charities and crowds of protestors at a public rally to put a stop to this cull as the start date draws near.
This ongoing Stop the Cull campaign is rapidly gaining momentum and public support – as we have seen by the number of people turning up today. It is time the government listened.
It needs to look at the science and the results achieved in Wales and change their policy to one of vaccination – let’s cure and not kill.
Scientific studies have shown that culling would be of little help in reducing bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) in cattle and even suggest that it could make things worse in some areas.
The Stop the Cull campaign is pushing for the government to rethink their policy and implement a vaccination programme, along with increased levels of testing, improved farm biosecurity and stricter controls on the movement of cattle rather than culling 70 per cent of the badger population, the vast majority of which are disease free.
The Welsh government, using the same scientific evidence as Defra, has begun a five year vaccination programme of badgers in Wales.
Take action now",437,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.947976350784302
0e43d860-4fb0-4b4a-bed2-b4c8d1dfda80,2013-05-18T07:21:08+00:00,2003-12-31,0,http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/millennium-yacht/224-millennium-yachts-argusea.html,"Millennium Yachts ""Argusea""
This is the 118' ""Argusea"". It was docked at Ft. Lauderdale's Bahia Mar Yacht Basin in December. Built by John Staluppi and John Rosatti, who's high speed visions have resulted in such yachts as Octopussy, Moonraker and Thunderball. The new Millennium 140' (scheduled to debut in mid-2004) will reportedly ""smoke a Cigarette"", with top speeds in the 70 mph range!",110,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.930789232254028
e8aab6f1-d68b-485c-bdd4-383c794315a3,2022-05-22T08:35:26+00:00,2022-05-22,0,https://classicengagementring.com/product/gorgeous-14k-black-gold-1-0-ct-heart-peridot-modern-wedding-ring-engagement-ring-for-women-r663-14kbgp/,"This gorgeous ring is one of those iconic design pieces that you will be amazed by how beautiful it is. This is not just a ring but a master level designer work that would make an excellent engagement ring, wedding ring or a special gift you can order for yourself.
This benchmark jewelry color style (aquamarine set in black gold) was first introduced to bridal jewelry category by Art Masters Jewelry Inc.
Gorgeous 14K Black Gold 1.0 Ct Heart Peridot Modern Wedding Ring, Engagement Ring for Women R663-14KBGP
* 1 x over 4.0 grams TW (approx) of cast solid 14K black gold* ring (Italian black rhodium coated on 14K solid white gold) size 7 (sizable)
* 8 x round 0.015 CT laboratory grown peridot accent stones
* 1 x heart 1.0 carat (approx) laboratory grown peridot center stone
* Ring size 7 (United States), N½ (United Kingdom) sizable
* Deluxe wooden jewelry box
* Styles: Modern, Modern Classic, Advanced Symmetrical, High Fashion
* Occasion: Engagement, Wedding, Anniversary, Special Gift
* Academically Designed Art Jewelry Product
* Advanced CAD-CAM Jewelry Production
* Solid Metal Casting
* Master Hand Polish
* Official Metal Stamp
* Visual Appeal and Elegance
* Production Direct Savings
* Made in U.S.A.
* Free USPS insured delivery within United States
* Free USPS Insured Express International delivery
100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE",342,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545090.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522063657-20220522093657-00021.warc.gz,0.733144283294678
521659be-de6d-4ec9-b1fc-c6cd0f4a9feb,2017-08-20T17:12:50+00:00,2012-10-01,0,http://alimentblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/jamie-olivers-food-revolution.html,"For several years now Jamie Oliver (celebrity chef) has been campaigning, first in his native Great Britain, and now here in the US for improved school lunches (and breakfasts where provided.)
I was a hot lunch kid, I remember standing in line for my green tickets, not the yellow ones which were reserved for paying families, nope I was one of millions of children who eat subsidized school lunch every year. Sometimes it was the best or only meal I ate all day. So it follows that school cafeterias provide a substantial amount of food, whether it is nutritious or not to our nation's children. The children who are the future, our future as we age they will be the ones leading, maintaining our infrastructure, teaching and so on. Or not considering obesity and the related ailments are higher than ever in children in the United States. Click here to gain a better understanding of the school lunch program.
I grew up and had the good fortune to taste real food, fresh food from the earth. When I returned to the cafeteria with my own children I was appalled at what I had eaten (it was much the same, chop suey anyone?) and what was being offered my kids.
I joke that I'm a food snob, but I'm not, I just require prefer to provide and consume wholesome food as close as possible to its natural state as the staples in my diet. Cookie butter on occasion, but after I know that I've had a few square meals under my belt. Food is meant to be fun and pleasurable, but out of the food eaten over the course of the week it is made up of mostly whole grains, greens, fresh veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, beans with the occasional organic dairy item.
So what my kids, what our kids eat, is important to me so I just on board with Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and you can too!
Click here for the site and to educate yourself, your school system and your community. You won't find any ""Go-Go Juice"" on this menu.
I encourage parents and people who care to work in your community to make it clear that what we eat matters and why and the positive impact it has, not only on our bodies and health, but on local agriculture, businesses and the future.",472,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106865.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820170023-20170820190023-00580.warc.gz,0.981179416179657
51475ad4-f359-4593-a6c9-f4289f8b3845,2013-05-24T22:29:32+00:00,2002-01-31,0,http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/battling-liberty-tecumseh-patrick-72.html,"ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.
Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.
Teacher Resources by Grade
|1st - 2nd||3rd - 4th|
|5th - 6th||7th - 8th|
|9th - 10th||11th - 12th|
Battling for Liberty: Tecumseh’s and Patrick Henry’s Language of Resistance
|Grades||6 – 8|
|Lesson Plan Type||Standard Lesson|
|Estimated Time||Five 50-minute sessions|
Patrick Henry's ""Give me liberty or give me death!"" has become such a part of American culture that students may not know where the phrase came from, though many will have heard it before. Yet how many know Tecumseh's equally persuasive ""Sell a country? Why not sell the air?"" This lesson extends the study of Patrick Henry's ""Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"" speech to demonstrate the ways Native Americans also resisted oppression through rhetoric. By examining two speeches by Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee alongside Henry's speech, students develop a new respect for the Native Americans' politically effective and poetic use of language.
Stereotypically, depictions of Native American resistance to settlers focus only on battles or treaty-making. By exploring the rhetorical features of these speeches, students will become more aware of the ways that Native Americans used language to resist oppression just like the colonists. Through Native American oral literatures, students can develop a sincere appreciation for the artistic expression and for the validity and the complexity of these literatures. Further, by teaching Native American pieces with the more canonical ""Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"" speech, language arts teachers can increase students' awareness of the Native American contribution to our national literary history while establishing that these texts should be as much a part of the canon as the more traditional texts.
This lesson is adapted from: Susag, Dorothea M. 1998. ""Oratory of Resistance and Revolution in American Literature."" Roots and Branches: A Resource of Native American Literature. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Pp. 67-68.
For more information on why it is important to explore Native American culture and literature with students, see the Introduction to Roots and Branches.
Goebel, Bruce A. ""Teaching Early Native American Poetry."" English Journal 91.3 (January 2002): 38-43.",562,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.906576931476593
13c0ad3b-e6be-4c18-8b2e-3aa7a1d11bf4,2017-08-16T15:19:04+00:00,2006-11,0,http://nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2006/11/top-gear-style-challenge.html,"I've failed to talk about Samhain, but frankly there's plenty of good information about it else where on the internet, and even more bad information. Instead I'll present something almost certainly unique:
Top Gear-style Truffle challenge. The challenge is to find truffles in a forest in central France and bring them back to England (where some sort of truffle recipe will be whipped up by the Night of the Hats resident chef). One player (Jeremy Clarkson) has a Ferrari. The other (my friend Stan) has a (female) pig.
Obviously, once he finds a truffle, Clarkson is going to be travelling a lot faster in a Ferrari than Stan will, whilst riding a pig. What makes it a challenge is that the pig will find truffles very much quicker than a Ferrari. Who will win? Stan on a pig? Or Clarkson in a Ferrari? Keep watching to find out!
 Too busy fetching the livestock down from the hills.",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102307.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816144701-20170816164701-00303.warc.gz,0.937682330608368
02982bca-8bcf-4a22-912a-b62e8f843b88,2022-05-23T06:06:02+00:00,2020-06-16,0,https://sally-gilson.com/2020/06/16/anxiety-and-fear/,"We all live in hope over lockdown with so many jobs disappearing and many becoming unemployed is what we are hearing. Even with the Chancellor putting in measures to protect jobs and the economy and to get Britain moving again.
A lot of people will find watching television is enough and after the spring cleaning and running out of activities of interest and the walks and rides there is only so much you can do, so what else is there to do. Fear of losing their homes and not being able to provide with many depending on food banks to get by.
I know I am no different to others who have pride in doing a good job and getting paid for doing so, like others a lot of people are just getting by and finding to survive is getting even harder, so how do you overcome the fear of loss.
If you take into account the law of attraction it is about what you think and what you do, I found by doing courses and learning all the time keeps me positive and active. My mind is searching out new skills and learning, everyday is a lot of fun, looking for opportunities and putting all the effort into making success.
When speaking with people who struggle mentally, the fear of the unknown is often because they have a lot of time on their hands. This is when negative feelings occur, over eating for comfort and doing less, this often leads to depression and their fears are sometimes met.
A lot of teens have been seeking mental health help with social media’s prevalence is pressuring and shaping society to assist with social lives and emotional wellbeing.
Psychologists around the world are concerned about the pressure put on people with constant exposure and feedback from all elements of social media although this has helped with belonging and the royal family helping people with anxiety and mental issues. This is sometimes safer when you consider some friends and family may have an underlying reason for trying to help when they themselves are also suffering from some form of depression and anxiety.
So is the key to a well balanced life and mental well being being active. doing meaningful activities, getting involved, learning and searching for those opportunities to bring more financial freedom and keeping focused with a goal in mind? Everyone deserves good sound mental well being and it is up to ourselves to try and keep well.",453,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00406.warc.gz,0.980251431465149
a6113471-763f-4f19-b04b-d60b54ab52d5,2022-05-23T19:56:24+00:00,2022-05-23,0,http://onlymotorbikes.com/aprilia/rs-250/,"Aprilia RS 250
Aprilia RS 250 - one of the famous models from this manufacturer among motorcyclists. This model has 7 series. For example, some of them are 2001, 1999, 1997 and others. Also here you can see and download pictures of Aprilia motorcycles RS 250 how they looked by year.",64,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00411.warc.gz,0.963174998760223
4575a4b6-c646-4396-8f1a-fe9d265b6afe,2013-05-23T18:59:05+00:00,2008-11-21,0,http://www.fabsugar.com/Nicole-Kidman-Australia-Premieres-2541585,"First of all, I highly recommend you watch Australia this weekend. And read all about what costume designer Catherine Martin had to say about the film's Fab wardrobe. Now that I got that off my chest, back to fashion. Nicole Kidman was all about sophisticated glamour during her Australia movie promotions. From delicate feathers to sequins, the seasoned actress reigned in her exquisite choices. My pick is Nicole in Dries Van Noten's shimmery frock — but that's just me. Which look do you prefer?",105,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.975666761398315
10d4bc6a-9b07-4880-9463-5179630b3eb5,2017-08-17T20:00:46+00:00,2014-11-12,0,https://flii.by/file/76gef5n8pvc/,"The Yao nationality (Vietnamese: nguoi Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam.
They form one of the 54 ethnic groups officially recognized by Vietnam. In the last census in 2000, they numbered roughly 470,000 in Vietnam.
The typical houses of the Yao are rectangular and they have structures made of wood and bamboo. Normally it has three rooms: a room and two dormitories in the lateral side. Each one of these rooms has a small oven to cook.
The Yao, practice Yao Taoism, a religion based on medieval Chinese Taoism, although many have converted to Buddhism and few to Christianity. Though some people have converted to other religions, many still practice their native traditions.
Uploaded: Nov 12, 2014",158,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103910.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817185948-20170817205948-00219.warc.gz,0.970022916793823
7ab8cea4-19dc-4fb5-a906-21f13a1798f9,2022-05-25T16:51:00+00:00,2022-05-25,0,https://allurecustomautomotive.com/xd-series-custom-jeep-wheels-and-off-road-rims/XD127-Bully-Custom-Off-Road-Wheels-XD-Series-Custom-Off-Road-Rims-2730.html,"Construction: Cast Alloy - 1 Piece
Multiple Finishes Available
Check out the XD127 Bully off-road wheel by XD Series Wheels. The XD127 Bully wheel is a 1PC custom cast off-roading wheel that boasts attention to detail with its rugged, this take-no-prisoners design.
XD Series off-road rims are not only engineered for strength, durability and long-lasting good looks, they are also manufactured to carry the heavy loads often associated with jeep rims, truck rims and SUV rims. These wheels will compliment your off-road tires and will deliver superior endurance and greater maneuverability even in extreme off roading conditions.
Cast wheels are typically found on everyday factory vehicles and in some cases, custom cast wheels are lighter and stronger than traditional OEM cast wheels. These custom cast wheels are the right decision if youre looking to add a more custom off road look to your vehicle at an affordable price.
Available Finishes For These Custom Rims Include: Matte Gray with Black Ring and Satin Black
Allure Custom Automotive is your go to source for Custom Wheels and Tires.
Want a Set of These Custom Wheels? (4 Easy Steps)
1. Enter your Vehicle details by selecting the GREEN 'Search For Your Vehicle' button at the top of this page
2. Select the GREEN 'Select Product Options' button to the right of this product page (scroll down for mobile)
3. Confirm your Product Details: Finish, Size and Quantity
4. Select 'ADD TO CART' to check out.
Defy Status Quo. Order a set of Custom Wheels.
Warning: Last items in stock!
XD Series custom wheels are engineered exclusively for Off Road Jeep, Truck and SUV enthusiasts. XD Series wheels were not only built for street use and off-roading, these wheels were specifically engineered for your Jeep, Truck or SUV with an extreme lift. These XD Series wheels accommodate an extreme lift by being built with a negative wheel offset. This design provides your monster Off Road vehicle with the aggressive stance that these vehicles demand for not only off roading ensuring a perfect fitment as you defy the odds on the road.
XD Series also specialized in jeep rims, truck rims and SUV rims that consider a more street friendly off road vehicle. These rims are styled to give you a more unique, stylish look to set your Off Road Jeep, Truck or SUV apart from all other vehicles - making you the envy of the road. The wheel offset for these products is a more positive offset that will give your vehicle a mild lift or stock appearance.
XD Series Off Road Wheels are available in a variety of sizes including 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22 and 24 inch diameters as well as in a variety of finishes including Matte Black, Satin Black, Chrome, Gloss Black, Matte Grey and many other eye catching finishes. These wheels are also offered in 5, 6, 7 and 8 Lug bolt patterns, all to accommodate perfect fitment of your jeep rims, truck rims or SUV rims.
Like your Off Road Jeep, Truck and SUV, XD Series Wheels are where adventure and imagination meet the road. No one knows more about your jeep rims, truck rims or SUV rims than Allure Custom Automotive so shop XD Series Custom Wheels and Tires for your Off Road Jeep, Truck and SUV at Allure Custom Automotive.
We have a large variety of custom wheel styles, finishes and sizes available for practically every automotive brand. We are intimately familiar with the technical details and benefits of wheel construction options (e.g. 3PC, Forged, Cast), wheel offset, and size that affect your vehicle’s performance. Some of our products are highly customized and are only made to order and others can be taken right off of the shelf and mailed to the installer of your choice.
MOST OF OUR PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE AND IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY including many of our tires, cast wheels and performance accessories. Products such as our 3PC wheels, special order tires and some body kits may require 8-10 weeks for delivery.
Match Your Custom Wheels to Your Vehicle’s Finish
An incredibly easy, yet impactful way to add style, individuality and interest to your vehicle is to purchase custom wheels and have them painted to match the color of your vehicle. Provide us with your VIN number and that’s it. Paint the entire face or just the inner spokes, either way; this vehicle customization option is a guaranteed head turner.
At Allure Custom Automotive, we are exceptionally good at TWO THINGS … 1. Customer Service and 2. Going Against Status Quo (and bringing you along for the ride).
It’s a way of life here at Allure Custom Automotive …
Do you know how many people bought the EXACT SAME model vehicle that you own, and in the EXACT SAME color? TENS OF THOUSANDS! And that’s great, you selected a popular vehicle, but you can’t stop there. Automotive manufacturers design cars and trucks for everyone, at Allure Custom Automotive we help you build upon their design and personalize your vehicle FOR YOU! From luxury enhancements to rugged exteriors, the culture, is less about being different for the sake of being different and more about putting YOUR personal signature on your vehicle – while gaining a few admirers in the process.
WE GET IT - Individuality and Standing Out From the Crowd are NOT for the boys and girls of the world who get warm and fuzzy over bland, unadventurous or monotonous – excited to buy someone else’s vision for them, someone else’s design, some else’s idea of attractive (Everything's a copy of a copy of a copy...not with us). At Allure Custom Automotive, there’s STYLE and then there’s NO STYLE, PERIOD Going against status quo (even if it’s only once in a while).
Whether opting for custom wheels and tires in a staggered fitment (with larger wheels in the rear than in the front for a more aggressive, sexier look that also provides for more precise handling and traction) or matching the color of your custom wheels to the color of your vehicle. Maybe you’re looking to lower the suspension of your vehicle to get that sporty race car look. Perhaps you want to upgrade to a luxury body kit to completely transform the exterior your ride from the cookie-cutter Big Box Store persona to a smoking hot Custom One-of-One. When it comes to making sure that you have the right products that match YOUR STYLE (simple and classic, or extravagant and over the top) Allure Custom Automotive is your go to source.
If you know what you want great, enter your vehicle details and let us know if we can help. But if don’t know where to start, let’s talk. We are vehicle customization EXPERTS and our goal is to help you to achieve the look that you want. We know the ins and outs of all popular automotive brands, we know which products fit your vehicle and what would look most appropriate on that vehicle to achieve the look that you’re after.
Want sportier? Contact us. Want more rugged? That’s what we do. Want something that no other driver on the road has? Ahh … now that’s something that you really won’t find at another store! Allure Custom Automotive is the only place in the industry to give you the right advice to achieve the edge that you’re after. Auto manufacturers provide the canvass you become the artist – and Allure Custom Automotive is the link to expose your inner creativity!
Products You Can Trust
We don’t sell everything, and there’s a reason for that. We only offer you the most popular brands to customize your vehicle – popular because they’re the best in their category. Allure Custom Automotive has built lasting relationships with each of our manufactures. The products that we sell are highly respected in the automotive industry; they’re designed, built and tested to guarantee proper fitment and safety. Our manufacturers have decades of history, innovation and manufacturing excellence to bring you quality products that you can trust. And yes, all of the products that we sell have manufacturer warranties that add an extra layer of comfort when making your purchase.
Purchase the best quality automotive aftermarket accessories and products available in the industry from Allure Custom Automotive. Enter your vehicle details to filter the Allure Custom Automotive website for products that fit your vehicle. Purchase custom wheels, tires, wheel and tire packages, custom body kits, performance enhancers. We can ship your order to your local dealership or to any authorized installer like NTB™ or Sears™. Installation takes just a couple hours to complete safely and correctly but the added performance and the envious double-takes you’ll get on the road are definitely worth it!
Superior Custom Service
Sales Associates that are knowledgeable about your vehicle, our products and pricing are just the beginning. We also make sure that we’re here to help you to find what you need and know what’s available to you fast and professionally, so that you can check out and get back to your daily grind – whatever that may be.
Allure Custom Automotive's Commitment to You:
- Wheels aren’t complex but your style is. Only Allure can match your style perfectly to your vehicle.
- We only sell products that we would buy – from the best manufacturers.
- Free shipping on wheel and tire packages AND TRACK YOUR PACKAGE with FedEx or UPS once you place your order.
- Free returns. As long as your order is returnable – we will pay for you to return it.
- If our sales team can’t answer your question or deliver the BEST customer service, call our CEO personally (609) 213-7191.
So if you were waiting for the perfect time, the time to buy it’s now. Search for free, advice is free, the compliments on your new look? Worth every dollar!
Still not convinced? A challenge: The next time you’re out, take a moment to notice how many people are NOT turning their heads to check you out. Congratulations, Waldo, you’ve successfully blended in – we can change that!
No customer reviews for the moment.",2207,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00216.warc.gz,0.931528747081757
5b3983b6-07d7-4bd0-8cd9-37052b879e43,2015-03-28T12:19:45+00:00,2014-05-26,0,http://virginworlds.com/reader.php?solo=213063,"The levels are split between 26 different heroes, some of whom are relatively low level, in particular characters who are awaiting their post-launch reworks. Overall it's 10 characters at level 60, 5 more inactive characters parked at level 50 or 52, and then a small handful of characters I actually consider active. There are a total of 2040 levels in game amongst the 34 released heroes, with a new 60-level hero added every month, so I'm not even half way to the total cap (especially since the higher levels go slower than the low levels do).
One odd bit of irony here is that I almost prefer to play when there is NOT an weekly event experience boost in effect. I have so many different ways to increase my exp gain that I don't have trouble getting my levels and I do sometimes have trouble not outleveling content. My ""baseline"" is over 150%, as I'm running at 123% synergy bonus plus 10% for Cyclops and 25% for an experience boon (which will run out in just over five days of /played time outside of hubs due to boon parties). On top of that, I have the following consumables:
- 16 of the common 50% exp boosts (32 hours total, I would ""store"" these by consuming all of them - which I've done with the 50% rare item find boosts - except that sometimes I want it to expire). The overwhelming majority of these come from quest rewards - three per character.
- Triple iridium 50% boosts (6 of these for a total of 12 hours, and these are comparatively more valuable because they stack with the regular boosts. Mine came from the most recent fortune cards)
- 100% rush bars (available in exp only - reasonably common and I have 9 of these - or triple iridium, where I have a whopping 14 due to the recent cards and promo codes, i.e. 23 hours of 100% bonus)
So that's where I am going into the game's touted 1st birthday. I'd say expectations - speculation runs anywhere from free G's for the cash shop to a surprise hero - are unrealistically high, but they have done a pretty impressive job with past events. Guess we'll know in a bit over a week.",460,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297505.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00290-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960397899150848
86cedeb1-8b34-458d-aa6e-1e27e8aa5fb6,2017-08-16T21:46:39+00:00,2015-04-23,0,http://beckwithmansion.com/blog/season-watch/2014-2015-season-watch/,"2014-2015 Season Watch
It’s that time again. It’s time to post the 2014-2015 Season Watch page. Watch this page for updates about SNOW. Yes, you can see what it is REALLY like in Palmyra during the winter time.
Day 1 – November 13th, 2014 – I looked out the window and what did I see? SNOW. Yes, that’s right, it’s snowing this afternoon. Darn, and I’m stuck inside. If you’ve followed me from years past, I love to shovel snow. I think this is the earliest I’ve seen snow since we’ve moved here.
Day 2 – November 14th, 2014 – I was hoping to wake to a white lawn. No such luck. Later in the day, there was a handyman doing some odd jobs around the house and I asked what it is like outside. He said, “It’s snowing. I looked and sure enough. Another day with snow.”
Day 3 – November 15th, 2014 – Yup, a little more snow.
Day 4 – November 17th, 2014 – Getting more snow today. Not a lot, but it’s been falling all morning.
Day 5 – November 19th, 2014 – Just a little.
Day 6 – November 20th, 2014 – a little over night. Total accumulations (don’t laugh) 1/4″. We had a flurry for a minute or two, but that was it.
Day 7 – November 26th, 2014 – It started snowing while I was in physical therapy (between 3pm and 5pm). By the time we got home, the grass was covered with a dusting of snow.
Day 8 – November 27th, 2014 – It’s a White Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving. We got about 1.5 inches last night.
Day 9 – December 10th, 2014 – It’s been snowing all morning. This one is supposed to dump 5-8 inches (which is a lot for Palmyra this early in December.)
Day 10 – December 11th, 2014 – We got about 10″ total yesterday and last night. It took all day before they got to us to plow the snow. This is the biggest single-day dump of snow I’ve seen since moving here.
Day 11 – December 12th, 2014 – Just a light dusting on top of yesterday’s storm. They got our driveway plowed and that’s good because I certainly can’t do it right now.
Day 12 – December 29th, 2014 – We had a “green” Christmas and today we’ve got a bit of a dusting of snow. While it was 51 degrees here the other day, people in “warm” Arizona experienced 27 degree weather. Yes, this is Western New York where the weather is a complete mystery to those out west.
Day 13 – December 30th, 2014 – We got a good 5 inches today. I had to call the guy to come plow.
Day 14 – January 2nd, 2015 – Just a dusting, but it is still snow.
Day 15 – January 5th, 2015 – Another dusting. It is COLD. Went run an errand and it was 19F outside around noon.
Day 16 – January 7th, 2015 – It is bitter cold and the snow is light, but making the roads very slick. The temperatures must have got down to about 4F.
Day 17 – January 8th, 2015 – It is still bitter cold and in the single digits most of the day. Came evening, it started warming up in to the 20s.
Day 18 – January 9th, 2015 – We got about an inch last night. It’s still quite cold, but things are warming up.
Day 19 – January 12th, 2015 – It’s a quarter after 9 a.m. and there’s a good 1.5″ on the ground. Things have warmed up, but now that means more snow. It is supposed to snow most of today and in to tomorrow.
Day 20 – January 13th, 2015 – We got another inch or so last night. The good news is, the temperature is warming up.
Day 21 – January 16th, 2015 – When I got up it was about 2″ deep of white fluff. This cold, dry flaky snow is beautiful.
Day 22 = January 25th, 2015 – Brrrr… very cold and just a dusting of snow. The flakes fell most of the day, but never amounted to anything. By the time I went to bed it was 11F outside. Brrr…. this has been a very cold winter.
Day 23 – January 29th, 2015 – We got a little snow, but not much.
Day 24 – January 30th, 2015 – There was about 1″ on the ground this morning, and I cleared the sidewalk before leaving to Buffalo. There at Niagara Falls, there was a LOT of snow blowing around and it was cold and icy. Now, keep in mind, the weather in Palmyra is much nicer than it is at Niagara Falls. After visiting the falls in the winter I appreciate our mild winters much more.
Day 25 – January 31st, 2015 – I stayed the night in Mentor, Ohio, and woke to 22F weather. We left Mentor around 2pm and on our first bathroom-break we came out of the rest stop and it was snowing. I got home and we had about 1.5″ on the ground.
Day 26 – February 1st, 2015 – We got another inch last light. They are estimating 8-12 inches tonight. So, I cancelled the First Monday Event. Nobody is going to want to go out in that sort of a storm.
Day 27 – February 2nd, 2015 – It is snowing and we’ve got about 8″ out there right now. So far, this is looks like it is going to top anything we’ve got since I’ve lived here.
Day 28 – February 3rd, 2015 – The snow stopped early this morning, and now it is time to dig ourselves out. With my knee the way it is, I’m going to have to hire someone to do it.
Day 29 – February 4th, 2015 – We’ve been getting flurries all day. By bedtime it was about 1″ of new snow.
Day 30 – February 5th, 2015 – We got about 1.25″ last night, and we’re in the teens with flurries. They say we are in to a long snow stretch.
Day 31 – February 6th, 2015 – Some very cold temperatures and light flurries. These cold temperatures are keeping the snow pack from melting. This is very unusual for here.
Day 32 – February 7th, 2015 – Just some flurries here and there.
Day 33 – February 8th, 2015 – We got about 5 inches since we got out of church. It’s getting deep.
Day 34 – February 9th, 2015 – We got a lot of snow last night. Because it isn’t melting, it is piling up.
Day 35 – February 10th, 2015 – Another inch or so.
Day 36 – February 11th, 2015 – It was sunny today. I went to a meeting tonight and when I came out my car was covered with snow.
Day 37 – February 12th, 2015 – We got about an inch last night and there are flurries. The good news is it is in the mid 20s.
Day 38 – February 13th, 2015 – This is the coldest sunny day I’ve experienced since moving here. I was outside in 7 degree weather with a wind chill factor of -15. That’s COLD. And it was SUNNY.
Day 39 – February 14th, 2015 – Another cold day. We got about 1″ of snow last night and it is snowing this morning. They estimate we might get up to 3″ today.
Day 40 – February 15th, 2015 – They cancelled church today because of the weather conditions. It’s in the minus-teens with the wind chill factor and we got another 4 inches last night plus it is still snowing. It is a good day to remain indoors.
Day 41 – February 16th, 2015 – We got another 1.5″ last night. These sub-zero temperatures are keeping it from melting. The accumulation in the middle of the yard is up to my knee cap.
Day 42 – February 17th, 2015 – We got just a little today.
Day 43 – February 18th, 2015 – I thought we would have a snow-less day, but came evening, it really came down hard. We got about 2″ before bedtime.
Day 44 – February 19th, 2015 – We are having a few squalls today, and they are saying more is on its way tonight.
Day 45 – February 20th, 2015 – We got about 1″. They were estimating about 3″, but we didn’t get as much as anticipated.
Day 46 – February 21st, 2015 – We got a little during the night. The Elders helped me shovel the sidewalks.
Day 47 – February 23rd, 2015 – A few flurries today, but the big thing were the record-breaking cold temperatures. We’re in the midst of one of the worst cold spells this area has ever had.
Day 48 – February 26th, 2015 – A light dusting today was enough to cover the ground with all white. They also said at this point, February, 2015, will go down in history are this area’s coldest winter EVER.
Day 49 – March 2nd, 2015 – Another light dusting.
Day 50 – March 3rd, 2015 – Snowing like crazy today. Within that 1 hour we got about 2″ of snow. Yet, the day started out like it might be nice.
Day 51 – March 4th, 2015 – Well, it started out like snow last night and turned to … I don’t know… freezing rain? Either way, it left a nasty icy surface everywhere.
Day 52 – March 5th, 2015 – We got a light dusting again last night.
Day 53 – March 15th, 2015 – Just a light dusting last night and a few flakes falling this morning.
Day 54 – March 18th, 2015 – I swear my driveway got more snow than anywhere else in this region. Three inches of snow were on my driveway, but as I drove to Rochester it diminished, and as I drove the other way to Geneva, it diminished too. Later at night when I returned, the snow was melted everywhere except my driveway! Very strange.
Day 55 – March 20th, 2015 – Just a light flurry or two that melted quickly.
Day 56 – March 22nd, 2015 – I got up this morning and there was 3″ of new snow! THREE INCHES. Hey, it is supposed to be spring… not January.
Day 57 – March 23rd, 2015 – We got a light dusting last night, and the high today is estimated at be 22F. The average temperature for a March 23rd in Palmyra is 47F. The low last night was 14F. The previous low for this date in history was 24F. Our HIGH today is colder than the previous LOW.
Day 58 – March 26th, 2015 – It started out raining and around 1pm, it snowed for the rest of the day. It’s all melting as it falls, but it is snow nonetheless.
Day 59 – March 27th, 2015 – Woke, dressed and took a walk to the barber and the whole time it was snowing.
Day 60 – March 28th, 2015 – Another day with a white covered yard. 17F when I got up this morning and they say the high is going to be around 28F.
Day 61 – April 23rd, 2015 – Yes, we woke to snow this morning. It snowed most of the morning. Nothing sticking except on a few parts of the lawn and some plants.",2578,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102663.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816212248-20170816232248-00143.warc.gz,0.980287075042725
83e7befa-41f0-493a-82bb-4c52d1101658,2017-08-18T08:46:43+00:00,2016-01-01,0,https://www.raceentry.com/race-reviews/bridge-and-dam-half-marathon-and-10k,"2016 brings some exciting course changes to the Bridge and Dam! You will begin the race on the far end of Bagnell Dam and race across to the famous Bagnell Dam Strip! From there, you will race up the strip and head towards the beautiful Community Bridge. The bridge is certainly one of the highlights of the course that gets to be enjoyed not once, but twice! Take in the views from the bridge; both sides offer some of the best views offered at Lake of the Ozarks! Once across the bridge, you will continue on MM hwy to Spring Creek Drive. Take a glance to your left and you will enjoy some golf course beauty provided by the impeccable Porta Cima Golf Course. Next thing you know, you are running right in front of some of the most amazing lake front homes you will find. At approximately mile 7, there is an aid station and the turn around. So, in case you did not catch all of the lake beauty the first time, you get another chance on this out-and-back portion of the course.
Finally, the finish!! An exciting downhill finish that takes you right down Bagnell Dam Strip lined with funky shops and restaurants for you to enjoy after the race!!
This course is a very satisfying course in that is a challenging but very doable course! We certainly think you will agree!",276,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104631.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818082911-20170818102911-00176.warc.gz,0.956010341644287
c0046c9c-b5dd-4cc6-9a43-85ea24a1cdb0,2016-07-25T20:21:01+00:00,2011-01-01,0,https://slashdot.org/~ideonexus/journal/,"""There are other people who can write code as well as Zuckerberg â"" not many, but some â""""
If the Time profile of Zuckerberg is acurate, then I think even he would be offended by this statement.
""Websites entreat you to log onto them using your Facebook ID â"" the New York Times does, and so do Myspace and YouTube.""
Hmmm... So does Time. Great job on the full disclosure principle there.
""Right now the Internet is like an empty wasteland: you wander from page to page, and no one is there but you.""
Right, because all World Wide Web content is produced by robots.
Facebook wants to populate the wilderness, tame the howling mob and turn the lonely, antisocial world of random chance into a friendly world, a serendipitous world. You'll be working and living inside a network of people, and you'll never have to be alone again. The Internet, and the whole world, will feel more like a family, or a college dorm, or an office where your co-workers are also your best friends.
It'll be a wonderful land of lollypops and puppies and kittens! Privacy concerns? No worries:
""If ""liking"" an ad the same way you ""like"" a news article or a photo of your spouse seems creepy to you â"" it's more or less the definition of what Marx called commodity fetishism â"" you don't have to do it.""
If you have privacy concerns, then GO BACK TO YOUR COLD LONELY INTERNET COMMIE!!!
""Zuckerberg has a talent for understanding how people work, but one urge, the urge to conceal, seems to be foreign to him. Sometimes Facebook makes it harder than it should be. It is biased in favor of sharing. That is, after all, what Facebook is for.""
Facebook isn't leaking your personal information to make money, they're doing it because they genuinely misunderstand why people need to keep some things private. Why do you have a problem with this? What's wrong with you? Do you have some secret perverse sexual fetish? Are you performing criminal activities? When did you stop beating your wife?
I did like this thoughtful paragraph:
But what makes life complicated in the postmodern technocratic aquarium we're collectively building is that there actually are good reasons to want to hide things. Just because you present a different face to your co-workers and your family doesn't mean you're leading a double life. That's just normal social functioning, psychology as usual. Identity isn't a simple thing; it's complex and dynamic and fluid. It needs to flex a little, the way a skyscraper does in a high wind, and your Facebook profile isn't built to flex.
But then it goes to the other extreme of The Social Network's Gonna make you demented:
An article published earlier this year in European Psychiatry presented the case of a woman who lost her job to a Facebook addiction, and the authors suggested that it could become an actual diagnosable ailment. (The woman in question couldn't even make it through an examination without checking Facebook on her phone.) Facebook is supposed to build empathy, but since 2000, Americans have scored higher and higher on psychological tests designed to detect narcissism, and psychologists have suggested a link to social networking.
I do totally dig this quote, which mirrors my opinion of twitter:
Now Facebook is the bottle, and we're the genie. How small are we willing to make ourselves to fit inside?
What a journalist rollercoaster! The article was all over the place, but it does give me a more favorable opinion of Zuckerberg, a less favorable opinion of Facebook, lots of concerns about adapting myself to the social network instead of it adapting to me, and now, if you'll excuse me, I must go break this comment down into 50+ tweets.",809,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824345.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00197-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.958573341369629
b0b02265-c4f3-41f6-876b-31244a71ea5f,2016-07-30T11:10:12+00:00,1988-04-24,0,http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/24/magazine/the-stages-of-marty-s-festival.html?pagewanted=5&src=pm,"THE STAGES OF MARTY'S FESTIVAL
By DIANE SOLWAY; Diane Solway is a writer on the arts and a regular contributor to The New York Times.
Published: April 24, 1988
His signature garnet rosebud blooming in his lapel, Martin E. Segal -Marty to anyone who has known him more than five minutes - is presiding over the weekly staff meeting of the First New York International Festival of the Arts, of which he is founder and chairman. The monthlong, citywide celebration of the performing arts opens on June 11, just two years after the 71-year-old Segal resigned as chairman of Lincoln Center to carry out the grand design he has nurtured for more than a decade.
On this Wednesday afternoon, the discussion centers on the details attending Placido Domingo's free concert in Central Park on the closing night of the festival. It will be the Spanish tenor's first solo park appearance, and its organizers expect it to draw an audience of 200,000 to the Great Lawn.
''What if Placido gets laryngitis?'' asks one staff member.
''What if it rains?'' asks another. ''Do we have rain insurance?''
Segal wants to know the tenor's performance record. ''Has he ever canceled?''
''Only because of a hernia and the earthquake in Mexico,'' he is assured.
Segal moves on to other festival business. He fine-tunes a letter to Kitty Carlisle Hart, chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts. He dispenses advice on dealing with a corporation that wants more credit in the festival's advertisements than he feels is warranted. And when a staff member reports a snag in negotiations on another pressing issue, the 5-foot-3-inch Segal takes matters into his own hands. ''Who's in charge there?'' he asks. ''Why don't I get them on the phone?''
Indeed, it is Marty Segal's knack for getting to the person in charge and then getting the answer he wants that has helped to propel the Erasmus Hall High School dropout into his current role as New York City's leading cultural power broker. An insurance actuary turned investment banker, Segal has single-handedly raised an astonishing $8.5 million from corporations, foundations and individuals to launch the first privately supported major multinational arts celebration in the country's history. It's no wonder that everyone around town, including Mayor Koch, refers to the event not by its imposing title but simply as ''Marty's Festival.''
''Marty is the only person who could have pulled it off,'' says the Mayor. ''Pound for pound, he's more powerful than a nuclear bomb.''
Bypassing government sources, Segal has used his contacts among the city's corporate, cultural and political elite to mobi-lize performers, business leaders, politicians and arts groups from more than 25 nations. And he has persuaded them to cooperate, in a manner and on a scale never before attempted. ''He's been in the field for so many years that everybody is beholden to him,'' says Koch. ''Every artist, every cultural agency at some time or another has asked Marty Segal for help.''
Running from June 11 through July 11, the festival will salute the 20th century with some 350 performances by 11 dance companies, 31 theater troupes and 41 musical groups in such varied settings as Central Park, the Asia Society, Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Broadcasting and dozens of theaters and concert halls around the city. (See the calendar of spring cultural events on pages 50 and 51 for some highlights.) Some of the works have been commissioned especially for the festival (such as Arthur Mitchell's ballet ''John Henry,'' set to the songs of Paul Robeson for the Dance Theater of Harlem). Some will be imported especially for the festival (like the traditional Chinese production of ''The Monkey King Goes Under the Sea,'' by the Yinchuan Beijing Opera Troupe). And some events were scheduled during this period anyway and will simply be subsumed by the festival (Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal was already slated to come to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for example).
Homegrown groups like the New York City Ballet will offer festival evenings as part of their regular seasons, and other festivals will share certain productions: Yale Repertory Theater's Eugene O'Neill centennial celebration will originate the rotating productions of ''Long Day's Journey Into Night'' and ''Ah, Wilderness!''
The festival will have three ''opening nights.'' The dance gala, at the Metropolitan Opera House on June 11, will showcase the American Ballet Theater's world premiere of ''S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.,'' Clark Tippet's new dance to be accompanied by a live barbershop quartet, as well as Mark Morris's ''Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes'' and a new production of ''Gaite Parisienne.'' A musical theater gala the following night will be a tribute to Cole Porter at Town Hall, starring Mary Martin, Michael Feinstein and Karen Akers, among others, while the third opening night, June 13 at Avery Fisher Hall, will spotlight the violinist Itzhak Perlman as the soloist in Bartok's Second Violin Concerto with the New York Philharmonic.
''Had Marty Segal started out to be Flo Ziegfeld or Billy Rose, he'd have made it,'' says Alexander H. Cohen, himself no novice at staging extravaganzas, having produced the Tony Awards for Broadway for 20 years. ''Marty is making the artistic decisions as well as the practical decisions relating to show business and the business of show business. At the same time, he is the advance man, the impresario and the drumbeater.''",1214,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00278-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950874030590057
a00046b4-38c1-44ff-97ef-77b87bcf07a1,2018-08-17T19:26:49+00:00,2011-12-31,0,http://www.janedoe.org/Media_Center/Press_Releases/www.janedoe.org/Photo_credits,"Unless noted below, the photographs used on our website were taken by JDI staff or provided to JDI with permission to use without attribution. We would like to thank everyone including the photographers listed below for sharing their vision with us and allowing us to tell the story of our work through their images.
It's Your Business Breakfast 2011 by Marilyn Humphries
Silent Witnesses by Christopher Mason
MA White Ribbon Day 2010 by Ilene Perlman
MA White Ribbon Day 2011 by Ilene Perlman
JDI Annual Meeting 2010 by Liese Jones",109,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221212768.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817182657-20180817202657-00540.warc.gz,0.953211784362793
53dc30e2-0a65-46fe-833f-f8012002210a,2022-05-25T20:20:29+00:00,2021-01-11,1,https://www.analog.com/en/signals/articles/ev-battery-technology.html,"Ultimately, LFPs will drive accelerated consumer adoption of EVs by reducing the price barriers to EV ownership. Currently, 51% of an EV’s sticker price is related to the battery7. In addition, a move away from a heavy reliance on cobalt will push the industry to a more ethical supply chain, while the benefits that LFPs offer translate into a more environmentally sustainable battery ecosystem and greater efficiency for battery second life applications.
1Dafydd Davies. Restrictions on sourcing of cobalt are changing. pv magazine, March 10, 2020.
2Bridie Schmidt. Tesla has been using high-energy nickel 4680 batteries for months. The Driven, September 28, 2020.
3Nickel price. (2021, January 11). Retrieved from https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/nickel-price.
4Aluminum price. (2021, January 11). Retrieved from https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/aluminum-price.
5Manganese price. (2021, January 11). Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/manganese.
6BU-205: Types of Lithium-ion. (2021, January 11). Retrieved from https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/types_of_lithium_ion.
7Gustavo Henrique Ruffo. How Much Does The Powertrain Represent Out Of Total Cost For An EV? InsideEVs, February 5, 2020.",327,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662593428.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525182604-20220525212604-00414.warc.gz,0.871152579784393
a3492b87-dd2d-4fd9-9c2c-b318694d1ed9,2018-08-19T05:26:32+00:00,2018-06-25,1,https://www.boxingscene.com/omar-chavez-targets-hector-camacho-jr-august-clash--128471,"By Miguel Rivera
Omar Chavez has no plans to retire after suffering his second loss in a row and fifth as a professional and announced that he would return in August - hopefully in a fight with another son of a legend, Hector Camacho Jr.
Chavez lost last Saturday night in Durango, where was outpointed by Argentine contender Jose Carlos Paz over ten rounds.
""I feel sad because I could not win, I had the chance to win, but I did not do things, I did not punch, the Argentine fighter surprised me,"" said Omar to ESPN Deportes. ""The Omar I had promised to be was not on display. I was apathetic, I did not throw combinations, I was far from what I wanted to see of myself.""
In 1992, Omar's famous father, Julio Cesar Chavez, dominated Hector Camacho Sr. over twelve rounds in Las Vegas.
Camacho Jr. has been out of the ring since July 2017, when he was knocked out by Orlando Lara.
""I'm 28 years old and I do not want to be a fighter who keeps losing. Obviously I did not want another defeat, I have to go back to the gym and wake up, throw more punches, avoid being punished, avoid getting tired and try to give good fights to the people because that's what they're going for,"" Chavez (36-5, 24 KOs) explained.
""In August I want to return, we're talking about 'Macho' Camacho Jr., and then I'm going back fast. I want a decisive victory, I can not sit down at 28 to contemplate life, I accept that there have been many negative comments, but I feel good. I'm going to get fully into the gym and I'll exploit everything I have to the fullest.
""I won't retire because my dad says it or more people say it. I think if I had two or three knockouts in a row and I was hurt - I would, but I had myself checked and I'm fine. I know that it will be easy, but I know I can be better, I will come back hungrier, boxing is something I want and I will do better.""",452,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214702.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819051423-20180819071423-00567.warc.gz,0.990046143531799
e70fcbba-1acf-4d5a-8908-cd8220c579fc,2022-05-23T23:01:17+00:00,2022-10-31,1,https://www.aanr-nw.org/aanr-news/,"Bill Schroer is no longer employed by AANR as Executive Director. We wish him well.
AANR to Hold Special Fall Meeting November 15th.
by Mike Parker excerpted from The WellSpring (Hidden Springs Newsletter)
New AANR President Beverly Price has scheduled a special AANR board meeting to review and vote on the appointed advisory groups’ feedback on the items that were proposed at the convention this past summer. Some of the items were controversial at the time of proposal, most were not.
Board members will fly in on Saturday to Las Vegas, meet all day Saturday and fly out on Sunday. A low cost hotel is being used and board members are only being reimbursed for the lowest cost air flight available. There is no meal reimbursement, as is the AANR rule for all AANR meetings. Las Vegas was chosen due to low cost airfares and lodging.
Some of the items to be addressed are:
- The AANR building – whether to repair or sell and move the organization’s headquarters to a better and safer area.
- Simplifying dues structures – the regional presidents are all on this committee.
- A proposed name change – is one needed? If so, to what?
- Whether to reinstitute a new nudist trade association similar to the closed Trade Association For Nude Recreation (TANR).
- The “Carver Model” – whether to change the model of governance of the association to a different type of model as proposed by John Carver, author of the book “Boards That Make A Difference”. It would allow, among other items, looser control of the Executive Director by the board.
- Connecting with “adult” or “lifestyle” clubs and a proposed new rating system for nudist clubs. This is the one proposal that has garnered a lot of discussion and feedback. As AANR is now a family-oriented organization, any association with other types of organizations as noted in the first sentence would definitely change the principles and type of organization AANR is. There was a great deal of discussion of this particular item at the AANR-NW fall board meeting in September. Some consider this a “third rail” issue that could destroy AANR.",477,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662562106.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523224456-20220524014456-00609.warc.gz,0.959819614887238
804f48c0-b83d-4c58-a321-662e02b37f28,2018-08-22T03:40:42+00:00,2018-03-22,0,https://success.trendmicro.com/solution/1105744-trend-micro-end-of-life-policy,"The following section contains Trend Micro's latest End-of-Life (EOL) policy (formerly End-of-Support or EOS) for products and services, which covers milestone definitions and standard timelines.
Click the link below to view and download the most recent End-of-Life Policy for Trend Micro products. The file contains specific terms regarding this global update.
|Language Version||Date Updated|
|English||22 March 2018|
Trend Micro's product End User License Agreements (EULAs) and other standard legal policies and agreements can be found here.
Please contact your authorized Trend Micro account representative for any questions or issues.",133,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219469.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20180822030004-20180822050004-00655.warc.gz,0.822922170162201
3478ce92-72f3-4298-be0d-42ce0da993a2,2015-03-29T00:24:26+00:00,2015-03-29,1,http://www.cspnet.com/category-news/tobacco/articles/gacss-tudor-pens-editorial-opposing-federal-tobacco-tax-hike,"GACS's Tudor Pens Editorial Opposing Federal Tobacco Tax Hike
94-cent excise tax increase on cigarettes would harm convenience stores
Published in CSP Daily News
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Jim Tudor, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores (GACS), wrote the following opinion piece (excerpted here) for The Augusta Chronicle:
As a member of [GACS], I am keenly aware of the struggles that have faced businesses in our state since the onset of the recession. … We have learned that President Obama has proposed a 94-cent increase in the federal excise tax levied on cigarettes [that would fund] a state-federal program that would expand access to early education.
We are highly supportive of state and federal measures that seek to improve education, but they should not be implemented at the expense of jobs and economic activity. Choosing to fund the program with a tobacco tax increase could have negative implications for GACS members and conveniences stores across the nation. … Any increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco products could cause a corresponding increase in black-market activity where tobacco products are cheaper because the appropriate taxes are lower or not collected at all.
This is problematic because our members could lose the revenue they would have collected from not only from the sales of tobacco products, but also from the sales of the non-tobacco items--such as gas, coffee or food items--that usually accompany these purchases. Cigarette tax increases could benefit illegal and counterfeit cigarette sellers while harming law-abiding retailers. … Our leaders in Washington, D.C., should be careful to consider the consequences their decisions could have on small businesses and job creation.",349,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00253-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.959645390510559
29d95097-6ab6-4b7d-8638-84b5a33791ac,2020-10-31T10:27:13+00:00,2020-09-04,1,https://www.tellerreport.com/life/2020-09-04-britney-spears-asks-justice-to-get-rid-of-guardianship.rkxQo9qJEv.html,"Britney Spears Singer -
Face to Face / Starface
Britney Spears has heard the support of her fans and she approves of the #FreeBritney movement.
The singer, who is currently grappling with her own father facing justice in California to recover her financial autonomy, has filed new documents via her lawyers in which she opposes Jamie Spears' decision to seal the case.
The popstar would like everyone to be up to date on what is going on behind the scenes in regards to the Guardianship.
According to the documents, cited by
, Britney Spears believes that there are no longer any medical imperatives or sensitive issues related to her children that would require the case to be kept secret.
View this post on Instagram
Just shot this one today !!!
No, this is not apart of the rose project 🌹 .... but yes I had another great hair day 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️😂😂😂 !!!!
A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears) on Sep 3, 2020 at 2:54 pm PDT
""Britney herself is vehemently opposed to her father's efforts to have their legal struggle hidden in a closet as a family secret,"" wrote the star's lawyer, quoted by the publication.
Samuel D. Ingham III is also directly attacking the efforts of Jamie Spears to discredit the movements in support of his daughter.
""Far from being a conspiracy theory or a joke as Jamie Spears tells the media, this suspicion surrounding his actions is understandable and is only the foreseeable consequence of his efforts to minimize the amount of information on the case. accessible to the public, ”says the lawyer.
For the first time, Britney Spears quotes the #FreeBritney movement, which campaigns for the interpreter of
get rid of her father's tutelage, and according to her lawyers, she ""welcomes with open arms and appreciates the support of her many fans ”.
Britney Spears' little sister has been appointed trustee of a star trust",435,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107917390.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031092246-20201031122246-00345.warc.gz,0.960748732089996
738c2027-868c-421d-ab77-5c0989a6d880,2013-05-21T10:00:05+00:00,2008-01-01,1,http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/january/12.25.html,"Jesus in Turkey
For the first time in 550 years, Christianity inside Turkey is growing in numbers and influence. But its recent growth comes at a high price: since February 2006, radicalized Muslims have killed five Christiansthe kind of cold-blooded martyrdom not seen in decades.
Modern-day Turkey's 73 million citizens, 98 percent of whom are Muslims, are experiencing social and political upheaval. The country is attempting to improve its economic and human-rights record in order to join the European Union. Turkey's relations with the United States are strained as an ally in the war in Iraq, and because of Congress's aborted effort to pass the Armenian genocide resolution. Also, Turkey's border disputes with Greece over land around the Aegean Sea, as well as violent skirmishes with Kurdish rebels on its southern border, keep this nation's formidable military on highest alert.
This is the context in which a handful of Islamic radicals targeted Christians as ""enemies of the state"" because of their association with Western groups and their alleged support of Kurdish rebels. The five killed within the last two years were:
Andrea Santoro, a Catholic priest killed in February 2006. A 16-year-old youth shot Santoro as he was praying in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon, Turkey.
Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor. In January 2007, a teenager gunned down Dink, who had been convicted of ""insulting Turkishness"" two years prior.
The three Malatya martyrs: Necati Aydin, a Turkish pastor; Tilmann Geske, a missions worker from Germany; and Ugur Yuksel, a new Christian convert from Islam. In April 2007, young radicals feigning curiosity about Christianity killed the three men by slitting their throats at a Christian publishing house in southeastern Turkey. Their survivors include five children, two widows, and a fiancée.
In November, a Turkish court set a trial date for the five suspects involved in the Malatya killings for early January. Police are calling for life imprisonment and said all five suspects have confessed to the murders. The suspects accused the Christians of ""forcing local girls into prostitution"" and of praising the violence of rebel Kurds. (About 30,000 people have died since the 1980s in rebel-related violence.) Meanwhile, the Alliance of Protestant Churches in Turkey is calling Turkish congregations to pray and fast every Thursday for the next several weeks in preparation for the trial.
Isa Karatas of the Alliance of Protestant Churches in Turkey told Compass Direct News, ""It is clear from these statements of the suspects that there is some group of powerful influence behind them. These people want to portray Turkey's Protestants as enemies of the nation.""
""At the same time,"" he added, ""because honor is such an important concept in our culture, they are trying to accuse us of having weak morals, so that they can find a justification for their murders.""
Few nations have as rich a Christian history as Turkey. This is where Paul founded some of the earliest churches, including the church at Ephesus. Seven churches in this region were addressed in the Book of Revelation. Those in the early monastic movement found the caves of Cappadocia a near-perfect place to live out lives of prayer. Constantinople, now the city of Istanbul, became the capital of the Roman Empire just as it was being Christianized, and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has been the leader of worldwide Orthodoxy for centuries.
But Christianity came under Islamic rule in Turkey in 1453 and steadily declined for centuries; the last 100 years have been the worst. In 1900, the Christian population was 22 percent. Now most experts estimate that there are fewer than 200,000 Christians nationwide, comprising less than 0.3 percent of the population.",780,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.967067301273346
7a3913f0-e945-4c49-b578-89ca7a3aa4fa,2015-03-28T00:44:40+00:00,2015-03-28,0,http://nyhistory.org/exhibit/award-medal-female-figure-holding-world-globe,"Award medal: Female figure holding world globe
diameter: 1 15/16 in. ( 5 cm )
Bronze struck medal with obverse showing seated female figure facing right holding world globe, with landscapes on either side. Reverse bears blank space at center for engraving surrounded by open oak and laurel wreath.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.",82,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297146.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00059-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.858449280261993
c4ae455b-5e14-441f-a428-b54ccfa9c76b,2017-08-17T01:42:07+00:00,2012-09-17,0,http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=533350976,"Discovering new trends in HR technology doesn't take rocket science, just a long-term time commitment. The companies selected for this year's ""Awesome"" session at the conference, along with the runners-up, speak volumes about what entrepreneurs are doing and what they think HR needs.
One way to discover trends in HR technology is to spend nearly two months viewing about 120 online demos from 40 smaller companies around the world for the ""Awesome New Technologies for HR"" session at the HR Technology® Conference in Chicago on Oct. 9.
I'm always amazed to find companies continents apart working on the exact same thing! Even more amazing when one has no knowledge of the other, rare in these days of hyper-communication. But either way, it's exactly how you define a ""trend"" in the software world.
I found several trends during those two months of crossed eyeballs and a throbbing head and obviously not just among the winners, since I wouldn't pick two doing the same thing.
My favorite pair was two Valley companies, Gild and Talent Bin, that do know each other. Both their products read and analyze the ""social exhaust"" of candidates -- the things they write and ""like"" on social networks -- to create profiles of them and match them to customers' open jobs. Are you looking for a ""Big Data"" problem in HR? Here it is.
Being Valley companies, the first target of their search is, of course, software engineers, the most precious resource in that neighborhood. I have been seeing demos of applicant-tracking systems and other recruiting products for 23 years. And every single one -- without exception -- has used some variant of a ""Java programmer"" as their example open job and candidate search! Now it would be a ""Ruby on Rails"" programmer.
The Gild CEO made the point that the best programmers keep their LinkedIn profiles deliberately vague to avoid being bothered by recruiters. Both companies produce detailed profiles, but Gild includes rating the quality of the code candidates have contributed to Open Source sites.
Since only two industry verticals -- software and financial-services companies -- are that eager for the very best programming talent, Talent Bin was selected because it already had plans to broaden its application to include other job categories -- in some very clever ways.
Recruiting always represents more than half the innovation I see in HR software every year -- for the past 15 years at least. I once asked the last CEO of the independent BrassRing, Deb Besemer, why she thought that was so. Is it because recruiting has so many moving parts?
""No,"" she replied. ""It's because we just haven't gotten it right yet.""
Following the lead of Jobvite, several companies are trying to super-charge referral programs, long the best source of company hires. Gerry Crispin has documented it in his annual ""Source of Hire"" report, and it makes so much sense. Who is a better recruiter than an employee who knows the company and knows the candidate? Your own recruiters only know the company.
What these companies are doing -- Reppify stands out from the crowd -- is all the work for employees. Not just sending them job reqs and urging them to refer them to friends. Instead, with permission, these systems search all an employee's social connections -- especially on LinkedIn and Facebook -- find likely candidates, match them to available jobs and then ask the employee to refer a specific person to a specific job!
Now that's my idea of social recruiting, not creating a company page on Facebook. I can't tell you why none of those companies is in Awesome New. Perhaps because I saw so many companies doing the same thing and couldn't choose between them. (Just got an email from another one today.)
Another pair of companies is attacking the employee-survey business, which they say hasn't had much innovation in the last decade or two. For large companies, this function has been dominated for years by Gallup, Kenexa (soon to be IBM) and Sirota with their armies of organization development professionals writing custom tests and pouring over the results for months.
The two say it doesn't need to be so hard and can offer analysis of survey results when it is finished, instead of two months later. One of them, Culture Amp from Australia, will be in Awesome New showing its product, Murmur. The other, Happiily, just disappeared from the competition.
The reason I saw so many demos was that likely candidates showed me their 10-minute demo and then I'd ask for one or two sets of changes.
People are even innovating in hardware, which should be no surprise given the proliferation of new devices. EmployTouch has ruggedized an Android tablet to be used as a time clock (wait 'til you see the clever use of the camera!) and a hand-held kiosk replacement for employee and manager self-service in computer-unfriendly work environments. Definitely an Awesome New.
Not in the session is Proven, an incredibly clever phone app designed just to make Craigslist more user friendly. I didn't know Craigslist has 100,000,000 job postings a year; mostly lower-level hourly positions, but millions of people would be happy with those right now. The candidate app makes searching, applying and managing your targets a snap, and the employer app does just about as well for the company.
Standing alone in the session is Knack.it. [Full disclosure: I am an angel investor.] Knack.it uses a real game, like last year's Marriott Hotel Game, and not the scavenger hunts or internal competitions for virtual badges. With a real computer game, Knack.it extracts valid behavioral assessments of candidates and employees from how they played the game! It seems like magic to me, but the OD people say it's real. And prospective partners and customers are very taken by the fact that you can't game a game, unlike a written assessment.
Many of you probably know Visier, the workforce-analytics company founded in Canada by many of the former senior executives from Business Objects, following its acquisition by SAP. Visier should have been in Awesome New last year, but popped up too late for consideration. You decide how it compares to the other analytics companies.
Finally, and I didn't realize it was its third year in a row, Peoplefluent. I guess it has a preternatural ability to turn out stunning demos that appeal to my shallow Hollywood values for this session. This year it's a wonderful example of ""Social in the Enterprise,"" our new track, using technology from its newly acquired company, SocialText. Not all of it is quite generally available, but much of it is.
So those are the winners and some close runners-up. Following are companies I saw that I liked a lot. If they happen to be exhibiting, I'd recommend checking them out after those:
App Learn, Brave New Talent, Careerify, Chequed, Easy Connex, Globoforce and Job Science.
Kapta, iMomentous, RoundPegg, Small Improvements, Texifter, TribeHR, Trust Node, UpMo and Work4Labs.
HR Technology Columnist Bill Kutik is co-chairman of the 15th Annual HR Technology® Conference & Exposition, returning to Chicago in just three weeks, Oct. 8-11, 2012. The program is on the website or the brochure can be downloaded here. Most discounts expire in one week or less on September 24. You can comment on this column at the Conference LinkedIn Group, which does not require prior or future conference attendance to join. He is also host of The Bill Kutik Radio Show®. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.",1593,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102819.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817013033-20170817033033-00704.warc.gz,0.964981138706207
d762ef46-6d5b-4ea8-9d24-e97b80f00e5d,2016-07-26T19:49:02+00:00,2016-07-26,0,http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/daa_home/hshs_home/pharmacy_home/pharmacy_application_forms,"Applicant Review, Interviews, and Admission Decisions
All complete applications received by the deadlines will be afforded full consideration by the Admissions Committee. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
All application materials are utilized to determine which applicants will be offered interviews. Interviews are a required component of the application process and will be held on the UTPA campus. After all interviews have been completed, the Admissions Committee will be convened.
The CPP will communicate offers of admission to high school applicants. High school applicants may be provided with the option of being placed on a wait list. This is not a guarantee of admissions. Students who accept this option will only be contacted if a space within the class becomes available.
Transitional applicants are applying to the UT Austin COP, and as such, the admissions process is identical to students applying through general admissions. Applicants accepted into the CPP transitional pathway will receive a communication from UT Austin COP.",191,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825124.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00293-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.943808138370514
ca278439-31f6-4922-b9ef-0cf9394af98a,2020-10-19T20:48:55+00:00,2017-04,0,https://swling.com/blog/2017/04/gary-debocks-april-2017-kona-hawaii-ultralight-dxpedition/,"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary DeBock, who shares the following notes and recordings from an Ultralight DXpedition in Kona, Hawaii:
April 2017 Kona, Hawaii Ultralight DXpedition
The first long-range test of a “Frequent Flyer” FSL Antenna
By Gary DeBock, Puyallup, WA, USA April 2017
Ever since the U.K.’s Graham Maynard published his innovative article about the “Ferrite Sleeve” antenna in early 2011 an enthusiastic group of DXers and tinkerers has continually refined and upgraded the design, with most of them going in the pursuit of maximum possible gain. Monster FSL models were designed with weights of up to 38 pounds (17 kg), and considering the size, weight and subversive appearance of the typical model, the general assumption was that this new type of antenna was highly unsuitable for air travel, since it would send airport security personnel into a serious panic.
This situation continued for a full 6 years, during which the FSL antenna became a star performer in the related new niche of ocean cliff transoceanic DXing. But was there another possible application for the antenna’s compact performance advantage? What if a very lightweight, high-performing model could be designed which would not only provide a huge boost in DXing gain, but fit inside a hand-carry suitcase, and routinely pass airport security screening inspections around the world? This was a tough design challenge, but well worth the effort if successful!
Since the new antenna would need the maximum possible performance for its small, lightweight size, the use of the Russian surplus 100mm x 20mm x 3mm ferrite bars was mandatory. Every possible effort would be used to make the antenna as compact and lightweight as possible, although the choice of the highest-sensitivity 1162/46 Litz wire was critical for best performance. The PVC frame would be shrunk down to the smallest practical size. Finally, in a major experimental effort here over the winter season, the first of the new 5 inch (127mm) “Frequent Flyer” FSL’s became a reality. The finished antenna had a very non-subversive appearance, and could fit inside a custom-sized plastic tote within a hand-carry suitcase. Most importantly, it could still deliver a serious amount of inductive coupling gain– roughly similar to that provided by a 4 foot (1.22m) air core box loop, but with the advantage of somewhat lower noise reception.
Because the Russian surplus 100mm x 20mm x 3mm ferrite bars are extremely scarce (without any current supply source) only five of these original “Frequent Flyer” models would be made, although alternative models using the commonly available 140mm x 8mm ferrite rods were also designed. These antennas would be somewhat heavier and larger, but these “Baby FSL” ferrite rod models could be easily assembled from parts available on eBay, fit inside the hand-carry suitcases, and still deliver a lot of DXing performance (while routinely passing airport security screening). Finally, an economic model using the commonly available 62mm x 12mm x 4mm Russian surplus ferrite bars was also designed. This lightweight FSL can be constructed for around $65 US, and can still provide a serious DXing gain boost to a stock Ultralight radio. For want of better terms, these three classes of “Frequent Flyer” FSL antennas are called the “first class,” the “business class” and “coach class” models, with FSL sensitivity scores (ferrite length x coil diameter) of 585, 490 and 300 respectively.
From April 9-12 a Mini-DXpedition was conducted on a 6th floor oceanfront room at the Royal Kona Resort Motel in Kona, Hawaii. This was the first of many long-range DXing trips based upon the performance boost provided by the compact new antenna– which was specifically designed to easily pass through airport TSA security checkpoints. A 5 inch (127mm) “Frequent Flyer” FSL antenna was packed inside a matched-size plastic tote within a hand-carry suitcase, and breezed through TSA security screening in both the Seattle and Kona airports (without even a single question ever being asked). This was one of the “first class” Frequent Flyer models described previously, and was used to boost DX station gain on a 7.5″ loopstick C.Crane “Skywave” Ultralight radio. This combination was effective enough to track down many exotic Pacific Island stations (540, 621, 1440, etc.) at S9 levels during transmitter-site sunset skip propagation into Kona, as well as Asian TP-DX of varying strength around local sunrise.
This Kona trip was primarily designed as an anniversary celebration with my wife, so before we took off I had (somewhat reluctantly) agreed that DXing would have a secondary priority to sightseeing over the four days. Because of this there were many frequencies that could not be investigated in Kona, but I knew very well which Pacific island stations were tough challenges in both North America and Japan, and I was determined to go after them with a vengeance. 540, 621 and 1440 would all receive serious attention in Kona– not because they were great challenges in Hawaii, but because most DXers in both North America and Japan needed all possible information about them if they were to have any chance of reception at all. Besides this I was eager to try my long-range luck chasing exotic Asians around local sunrise with the innovative FSL antenna, but I knew that east-west propagation was almost totally dependent upon solar activity– and as it turned out both the A and K indexes shot up after our arrival.
Overall the Kona MW propagation to the Pacific islands was exceptional around local midnight (as expected), but the sunrise propagation was somewhat challenging for long range Asians. Perhaps the biggest success of this entire trip was the interest and excitement that the “Frequent Flyer” FSL antenna series (the major experimental project here this past winter) has inspired among DXers who routinely travel to foreign countries and other faraway venues. As I write this Craig Barnes of Wheat Ridge, Colorado is conducting his own 5 inch “Frequent Flyer” FSL- based DXpedition to Hawaii. Good luck, Craig!
[Note: a selection of audio files have been embedded in the post below, but all audio is available to download and stream via the links provided.]
531 6DL? Dalwallinu, Australia Presumably the one with the same-sounding announcer and program as the one on 630-4QN at the time (at 1547 on 4-9; see MP3 for 630-4QN), but it didn’t seem to be exactly parallel (maybe a time zone delay?)
540 2AP Apia, Western Samoa This station features a lot of Samoan music (with both male and female announcers), and dominates the frequency in Kona at night as long as it transmits. Unfortunately it doesn’t follow the listed PAL sign off time of 1000, but runs past this time routinely, which made it tough to track down an exact sign off time during my limited sessions. My guess is that it signs off sometime between 1030 and 1100. The following MP3 is of S9+ level Samoan Christian worship music at 0931 on 4-9. This overwhelming signal was one of the most awesome recorded during the entire DXpedition:
Energetic Samoan music at 0956 on 4-12. This is typical of the station’s music format
More typical Samoan choral music at 0835 on 4-11 — a staple of programming in the station’s format
Relaxing Samoan choral music at 1013 on 4-12
The usual male announcer in Samoan at 1028 on 4-12
The usual female announcer in Samoan at 0856 on 4-11
558 Radio Fiji One Suva, Fiji Somewhat of an underperformer considering its South Pacific location and (nominal) 10 kW power level. My guess is that the station has some transmitter and/ or antenna issues. Here is some fair level male speech with island music at 1001 on 4-9, which was the strongest signal it managed during the entire trip
558 UnID-TP Once again, this weak signal sounded a lot like the 630-4QN program at the time (1548 on 4-11), so my guess is that 6WA in Wagin, Australia is the most likely possibility
603 HLSA Namyang, S. Korea One of the common Asians which ran the gauntlet of dicey solar activity. It was fairly good at 1521 on 4-12, but was MIA during a couple of days
621 3RN Melbourne, Australia This LR network station would start to fade in just when Radio Tuvalu was about to sign off (around 1000), although it never provided any serious competition for the exotic station. This MP3 was made just after Tuvalu’s sign off at 1006 on 4-9
621 Radio Tuvalu Funafuti, Tuvalu A very tough station to track down on the mainland, but certainly a “piece of cake” in Kona. Routinely has sign off at 1003 UTC, preceded by island choral music and the national anthem (sung by the same choral group). Around 0950 a female announcer begins the routine by giving a monolog news broadcast about 5 minutes long, typically followed by an island music song right before the fixed 5-minute sign off routine. The latter two features are included in the following 8 minute recording (at near S9 strength) made at 0955 on April 10
The usual female announcer with her 5 minute news broadcast at near S9 strength at 0955 prior to the sign off routine on April 11. The lady giving the correct pronunciation for “Tuvalu” is at the 11 second point
Around five minutes of typical Island choral music at good-level strength at 0921 on 4-9
Here is a different recording of the female-announced news broadcast just prior to the sign off routine at 0956 on 4-9 (at very good strength)
630 4QN Townsville, Australia This 50 kW station was far and away the strongest Australian signal heard throughout the trip. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the same time zone as fellow LR network stations on 531 and 558 in Western Australia, making parallel checks seem dubious. Here is a typical signal at 1543 on 4-9
657 Pyongyang BS Pyongyang, N. Korea This bizarre station was far and away the strongest Asian heard during the trip– almost like it was a South Pacific semi-local. When solar activity cooled off it could blast in with serious power, such as at 1555 on 4-9
For those who really don’t mind wacky-sounding music (this is your final warning), the 3 minute long version of this signal is posted at
693 UnID-TP This mystery signal showed up at 1604 on 4-9, after NHK2 (JOAB) sign off. Obviously there is male speech and some kind of backup music at various times, but I’m totally unfamiliar with stations on this frequency (except for JOAB). Any hints or suggestions? This station only showed up on 4-9; rising solar activity brought in only 690-Honolulu splatter on the other three days
774 JOUB Akita, Japan Solar activity limited the usual potent signals from this NHK big gun, but it did manage fair strength at 1505 on 4-11
972 HLCA Dangjin, S. Korea Another Asian big gun taking somewhat of a hit from unfavorable solar activity at 1517 on 4-12
1017 A3Z Nuku’alofa, Tonga Island music at very good strength at 0944 on 4-9; this station was strong every evening at this same time
Live play-by-play of a sports competition at 1015 on 4-12, with a “goal” at the 10 second point in the recording
The usual male announcer in the Tongan language at very good strength at 0835 on 4-11
The same Tongan male announcer at good level at 0953 on 4-11, obviously on “island time,” with very long pauses in his speech pattern
1035 Newstalk ZB Wellington, NZ Received late in sunrise enhancement at 1611 on 4-12, this was a rather modest signal from the Kiwi big gun, which never seemed to get anywhere close to its Oregon cliff strength during the entire trip
1098 V7AB Radio Marshalls Majuro, Marshall Islands One of the regular Pacific island stations received in Kona, and one of the best bets for Mainland reception. The frequency has very little QRM, although Newstalk ZB could be weakly received in between the island music songs after around 0900.
Strong island music at 0955 on 4-9 (its best performance during the trip)
More energetic island music at 0958 on 4-9
Typical island music on the same night at 0948 (4-9)
1098 Newstalk ZB Christchurch, NZ Heard only once in between island songs on V7AB (at 0957 on 4-9); and never really strong enough to compete for the frequency with Radio Marshalls
1440 Radio Kiribati Bairiki, Kiribati Because of its domestic frequency this obscure station is another of the toughest Pacific island stations (and countries) to receive on the Mainland, but some very helpful identity clues were discovered in Kona (where the station is a breeze to hear). The station routinely signs off at 0936 UTC each evening, with a very loud 1000 Hz audio tone right before it cuts power. The sign off routine includes station ID’s in both the local language and English around 0932 prior to the choral music national anthem, although because of her heavy accent the fact that the female announcer is talking in English might well go unnoticed. The full sign off routine is included in the following MP3, preceded by an Island music number (during which a 1440 Spanish pest attempts a run on the frequency, only to be immediately drowned out)
The station uses a distinctive 4-bong time signal on the half hour, as in this recording made at 0929 UTC (at the 35 second point).
The American country music format can be heard prior to the 4-bong time signal.
Prior to the sign off routine this station also uses its female announcer to give a final news update (like 621-Tuvalu). This recording is of such a news update at 0925 on 4-11, with several mentions made of the American president
This station plays a lot of American country music (of all formats). Here is typical programming at 0912 on 4-11
1566 HLAZ Jeju, S. Korea Fairly regular with its Chinese Christian service around 1530 each morning in Kona, but never at very great strength (possibly due to unfavorable solar activity). Here at 1609 on 4-9 it is the music station playing the Chinese version of “I Would Rather Have Jesus,” in a mix with the (presumed) Mainland Chinese Yanbian Jammer
1566 Yanbian, China (Presumed location, Jammer) Because of Chinese inflection this is the apparent co-channel of HLAZ in the same recording at 1609 on 4-9; it was also received at 1600 on 4-10 with Chinese 5+1 time pips (thanks to Chris Kadlec for his assessment)
1593 CNR1 Changzhou, China Good strength at 1525 on 4-12, with co-channel NHK2 quite a bit weaker underneath
1593 NHK2 Matsue/ Niigata, Japan In a mix with CNR1 at about an equal level around 1520 on 4-12
Many thanks, Gary, for sharing your Kona DXpedition report and audio with us! It sounds like you had a great vacation and some excellent DX to boot!",3396,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107866404.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019203523-20201019233523-00575.warc.gz,0.962558209896088
125756dc-973e-4da6-a7a9-2409fc2f85e9,2022-05-21T21:36:11+00:00,2022-05-21,0,https://lykkashop.com/en-au/pages/product-quality-short,"Our Original Lykka bottle (630ml/21oz) and Lykka Kvarting (400ml/14oz) are both made of highest quality food grade stainless steel.
This type of steel is highly resistant against rust and is easy to clean, so there is no need for any liners. All seals are BPA free.
All Lykka products meet the highest standard of food safety in both US and EU..
- Insulated Water Bottle: Made from food-grade stainless steel, our BPA-free water bottle has a double wall design to keep drinks cold plus vacuum insulation & coating to keep it sweat-free & easy to grip. 14 Ounce
- Leakproof & Secure: This reusable water bottle features a spout lid that allows for one-handed drinking & securely twists closed for leakproof security.
- Anti-slip base: The Lykka Kvarting is designed to be anti slip to prevent our lovely bottles from slipping
- Keep your drinks cool: Your reusable Lykka bottle is a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to single use products Lykka uses only food grade, BPA-free, recyclable materials for our insulated water bottles",256,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662541747.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521205757-20220521235757-00428.warc.gz,0.922800481319428
61e358c4-602b-4a46-a401-a16539ca8be2,2018-08-20T21:34:05+00:00,2016-07-20,1,https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/business/dealbook/anheuser-busch-miller-merger-wins-us-antitrust-approval.html,"The biggest beer merger in history has taken a major step toward completion.
Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Wednesday that the United States Justice Department had cleared its $106 billion proposed takeover of SABMiller, provided some conditions were met, all but clearing the way for the two biggest brewers in the world to merge.
That would combine the maker of the Budweiser and Miller beers into one company, with an estimated global market share of about 28 percent, according to Euromonitor International.
Under the terms of Anheuser’s agreement with the Justice Department, the combined company would not buy a distributor if that would push more than 10 percent of its overall sales volume in the country through wholly owned distributors.
Anheuser also agreed not to cut any ties with wholesalers as part of the transaction. And the company, which makes Bud Light, agreed not to make moves that would encourage distributors to favor Anheuser or SABMiller brands over competing ones.
The conditions dovetail with some existing pledges made by the beer giant, including selling the combined company’s majority stake in the MillerCoors joint venture to Molson Coors. That $12 billion sale would mean that Anheuser’s overall market share in the United States — 45 percent — would not change if the SABMiller merger went through.
Anheuser also agreed to sell brands like Grolsch, Peroni and Meantime to Asahi Group Holdings of Japan for about $2.9 billion.
And Anheuser agreed this year to sell SABMiller’s 49 percent stake in Snow, the most popular beer in China, to a state-owned brewer, China Resources Beer Holdings.
“With today’s agreement, we have taken a significant step forward on the transaction, which will create the world’s first truly global brewer,” Carlos Brito, Anheuser’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Our combination with SABMiller will bring more choice to more beer drinkers — and extend the global reach of our iconic American brands, such as Budweiser — in markets outside of the U.S.”
The planned merger is meant to help propel Anheuser’s growth at a time when beer sales have been falling in major markets like the United States. Even after divesting itself of the stakes in MillerCoors and Snow, SABMiller still provides a significant presence in the African beer market, which continues to grow.
The SABMiller deal so far has won regulatory approval in 21 jurisdictions, including Europe, South Korea and South Africa.
One country that has not yet blessed the proposed transaction is China, though its regulators are expected to approve the deal.
The proposed union is also subject to shareholder approval.",580,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217006.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820195652-20180820215652-00174.warc.gz,0.953505098819733
7866eea7-eed4-4787-a10b-2f61ceb8ac67,2016-07-25T02:56:56+00:00,2011-09-01,0,http://www.mcall.com/zap-amanda-peet-story-story.html,"So many actors say they knew from an early age that they belonged onstage. But Amanda Peet actually hurled herself onto one -- while a production was in progress -- when she was 3.
In the sitcom, Peet plays Alex, a recently divorced mom whose ex is imprisoned for securities fraud. She's renovating a house and hires Pete (David Walton) as her contractor. He's a surfer dude who likes recreational drugs and casual flings. Women find him irresistible.
Peet understands why.
""He should be a movie star,"" Peet says. ""That he is not is astounding to me. I don't think there is anyone like him. He is George Clooney mixed with Matt Dillon. He is stone-y, quick-witted. He's weird, he's not like anyone else.""
She also relates to Alex as a mom, as she reassures a child on her cellphone.
It's clear from the pilot that Pete and Alex will fall for each other despite themselves.
""It's an animal attraction,"" Peet says. ""I think she is going to fight it tooth and nail.""
This sitcom marks Peet's return as a series regular, five years after her role on NBC's ""Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.""
""I worship Aaron Sorkin. If he called and said,"" her voice trails off, as she considers the talents of the writer/producer. ""I would do anything for him.""
Peet has matured on television and is the first to say so, reflecting on her days on ""Jack & Jill.""
""I was fairly badly behaved on that show,"" she says of the 1999-2001 WB sitcom. ""I was terrified and felt really trapped. Some really wonderful writers were passing me the ball. Instead, I whined about wanting to be a movie star. I learned my lesson real quick.""
Family: Married to screenwriter David Benioff (""Game of Thrones""). ""It is so, so funny because I make him let me watch the rough cuts, then I scream at him and hit him when I see something I didn't want to see,"" she says. ""He has a sore shoulder. I'm his wife. I want to know.""
Describe your character: ""She's a Type A personality who is recovering from having made a very bad decision with her ex,"" she says.
Education: degree in American history from Columbia University
Favorite movies: ""Tootsie,"" ""Broadcast News""",512,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824201.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00154-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.989410400390625
2e926ba3-005f-4336-ad89-9b316f09f878,2015-03-27T00:31:12+00:00,2010-08-19,1,http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3554726,"Thursday, August 19, 2010
Court Blocks Future Crops of Monsanto's Genetically Engineered ""RoundUp Ready"" Sugar Beets...
...Unless the USDA Completes an Environmental Impact Statement and Decides Again to Deregulate
The Center for Food Safety has won an important legal victory in the fight to stop the spread of untested and hazardous genetically engineered crops. After ruling that the USDA (under president George W. Bush) shouldn't have approved genetically engineered sugar beets without assessing the Frankencrop's potential to contaminate conventional and organic varieties, a federal judge has blocked future crops of Monsanto's genetically engineered RoundUp Ready sugar beets. Monsanto's GE sugar beets now comprise 95% of the nation's sugar beet harvest.
The ball is in the USDA's court. The pro-biotech sugar industry is urging the USDA to rush through an Environmental Impact Statement so they can plant a new crop of Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beets next year.
The only thing that can stop Monsanto's sugar beets is a massive public outcry. The Center for Food Safety's legal work has given the USDA, under President Obama, the opportunity to do the right thing.
Now's our chance to press Obama's USDA to protect biodiversity and human health from contamination with FrankenGenes that never should have been released into nature or the food system!
To take action:",281,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131293283.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172133-00137-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.893994450569153
06090d7d-adaf-4db5-bc51-eac8f59d28b8,2013-06-19T14:29:01+00:00,2007-05-14,0,http://amarillo.com/stories/051407/opi_7522578.shtml,"The good ...
Defending Amarillo: It isn't often we can pat the federal government on the back for the way it spends taxpayer money, but on the rare occasion Uncle Sam gets it right, recognition is warranted. The U.S. House Armed Services Committee beefed up federal spending for Bell Helicopter and Pantex last week, approving $2.8 billion for the V-22 Osprey program and $553.4 million for Pantex. Granted, the Panhandle has a vested interest in these two entities, but few can deny their importance to national defense and security - especially right now. U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, deserves credit for making sure his colleagues are aware of how vital Bell and Pantex are to the country, and for making sure the money is there to meet their needs.
the bad ...
Run for the border: New Mexico can't have it both ways as far as illegal immigration. Bernalillo County commissioners approved a resolution by a 4-1 vote last week stating, in effect, that local law enforcement should not participate in enforcing illegal immigration laws. Also last week, the state's two U.S. senators - Republican Pete Domenici and Democrat Jeff Bingaman - prodded the federal government to step up its efforts against drug-related violence near the town of Columbus, which is near the Mexican border. The sentiment that the enforcement of illegal immigration laws is solely a federal responsibility detracts from the issue. The federal government cannot be the only realm of law enforcement that recognizes illegal immigration laws, otherwise the disturbing situation in Columbus will be the result. Thank goodness for society that other laws are not treated similarly.
and the ugly.
Speak easy: Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives continued their monotonous and meaningless quest to tar and feather U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last week. Here's a question asked by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., in a hearing relating to the controversy over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, including former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico: ""Mr. Attorney General, you won't tell the American people who put Mr. Iglesias on the list to be fired. It's a national secret, isn't it?"" There is no need for Gonzales to respond to the American people, because the majority of the American people are not the least bit interested in this inconsequential investigation. Democrats, however, continue to act as if they have stumbled on another Watergate. With regard to this much-ado-about-nothing dustup, partisan members of Congress should not presume to speak for the American people. By the way, who is speaking for the 93 U.S. attorneys fired by President Clinton when he took office in 1993?
Amarillo Globe-News ©2013. All Rights Reserved.",601,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.960481464862824
0e348896-ca21-49d5-8754-fe5d278cebd2,2022-05-26T06:06:39+00:00,1994-03-03,0,http://www.naturamalta.com/Felimare_villafranca.html,"Felimare villafranca is a medium sized chromodorid
nudibranch present in the Mediterranean and Eastern
Atlantic ocean. It is usually found roaming on the grey
sponge Dysidea fragilis. This species is uncommon and
can also be found roaming on Posidonia oceanica. It is
sufficiently distinct to be identified in the field.
Oral tentacles: 2 in number, very short. Rhinophores: Deep blue in colour with a yellow line along
the midrib, finely lamellate and retractable. Cerata: Absent. Gills: Retractable, unipinnate, blue in colour with an
external central white to yellow line in the middle. Body: Blue to dark blue; a yellow changing to white
(anteriorly) submarginal edge is present. Yellow line often
forming a network are present on the notum. A similar
network is visible laterally. A specific character is the
broken azure lines between the submarginal bands and
the yellow central lines. Foot: Blue with a lateral white to yellow network of lines.
The white lines extend to the posterior part of the foot.
Size range: 15-20mm. Uncommon.
Specific characteristics: This species is easy to
distinguish from related species by azure broken lines on
the notum. See also Felimare fontandraui.
14mm Dahlet ix-Xmajjar 16m depth 3/03/94 Leg. J. Borg",319,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662601401.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526035036-20220526065036-00014.warc.gz,0.815628588199615
6eb31be5-da74-4286-b6b0-a0f660775cc4,2015-03-30T06:57:12+00:00,2013-12-31,1,http://www.prlog.org/12314127-molecular-spectroscopy-market-worth-59-billion-by-2018.html,"Browse 90 market data tables, 17 figures spread through 295 pages and in-depth TOC on “Molecular Spectroscopy Market”
This report studies the global molecular spectroscopy market over the forecast period of 2013 to 2018. This market was valued at $4.3 billion in 2013 and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2013 to 2018, to reach $5.9 Billion by 2018.
Download Free PDF Brochure:
The global molecular spectroscopy market is segmented on the basis of products, applications, and geography. Based on products, the market comprises NMR Spectroscopy, Ultraviolet-
Inquiry Before Buying:
Based on applications, the molecular spectroscopy market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, biotechnology & biopharmaceuticals, food & beverage testing, environmental testing, academic research institutes, and others. Based on geography, the market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of World (RoW). North America is the largest market for molecular spectroscopy, followed by Europe and Asia. However, the Asian market is slated to grow at the highest rate over the next five years.
In the coming years, the demand for molecular spectroscopy is likely to increase owing to a number of factors such as the stringent quality requirements for drugs and excipients, growing concerns for food safety, extensive usage of molecular spectroscopy technologies by the pharmaceutical industry for the development and quality control of drugs, technological advancements, and increasing life sciences R&D spending. These factors are propelling the growth of this market. However, the high cost of the systems and the need for skilled personnel to operate high-end systems are the major factors hindering the growth of this market.
The major players in this market include ABB Bomem, Inc. (U.S.), Agilent Technologies (U.S.), Bruker Corporation (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), FOSS (Denmark), JASCO International Co., Ltd. (Japan), PerkinElmer, Inc. (U.S.), Shimadzu Corporation (Japan), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), and JEOL, Ltd. (Japan).
MarketsandMarkets is a global market research and consulting company based in the U.S. We publish strategically analyzed market research reports and serve as a business intelligence partner to Fortune 500 companies across the world.
MarketsandMarkets also provides multi-client reports, company profiles, databases, and custom research services. M&M covers thirteen industry verticals, including advanced materials, automotives and transportation, banking and financial services, biotechnology, chemicals, consumer goods, energy and power, food and beverages, industrial automation, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor and electronics, and telecommunications and IT.
We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.
North - Dominion Plaza,
17304 Preston Road,
Suite 800, Dallas, TX 75252",646,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00112-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.901598632335663
fc7ae20e-9a71-4218-9a05-1299a076ed76,2020-10-25T04:35:02+00:00,2012-11-19,0,https://variety.com/2012/tv/news/bell-canada-rekindles-astral-buy-out-1118062487/,"Bell and Astral submitted the new deal to federal broadcast regulator the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commssion for approval on Monday.
The CRTC rejected Bell’s original $3.4 billion offer to acquire Astral, one of the biggest media deals in Canadian history, saying it was not in the interest of consumers because it placed too much of the TV market in one company’s hands.
Insiders suggest the new arrangement will involve Bell selling off some, if not all, of Astral’s English-language TV channels and keeping the French-language channels.
Bell wants a greater foothold in the French-Canadian market, where it has little presence right now.
Trading on Astral Media shares halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday after rumors of the rekindled deal surfaced in the press.
The new deal has to be approved by the CRTC and the Competition Bureau.",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107887810.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025041701-20201025071701-00067.warc.gz,0.923882901668549
82765e1a-b79e-4127-b082-2daff5b831bb,2019-08-26T03:24:31+00:00,2017-01-01,0,http://www.modestarts.org/auditions,"The Trojan War
Directed by Neil Truglio
Auditions for The Trojan War will take place at Modest Arts January 20-22, 2017.
If you are interested in auditioning please fill out the form below and you will be emailed to sign up for a slot.
Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue of your choice and be prepared to perform it more than once.",80,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330962.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826022215-20190826044215-00265.warc.gz,0.917080461978912
c7290568-2620-48dc-b852-8c89e818c738,2018-08-22T07:03:42+00:00,2016-03-23,1,https://www.businessinsider.com.au/virgin-america-considering-a-sale-2016-3,"Virgin America is reportedly considering a sale.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, the airline is reaching out to potential buyers about a sale of some or all of the company.
The stock surged by as much as 12% in trading Wednesday after the news.
The company, which is owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, went public less than two years ago. It was valued at about $1.4 billion based on the stock’s closing price of $30.67 on Tuesday.
It flies to destinations in the US and Mexico.
The company has not responded to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Here’s a chart showing the stock’s spike right after the report on Wednesday:
NOW WATCH: Money & Markets videos
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.",180,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219692.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20180822065454-20180822085454-00223.warc.gz,0.955906391143799
70f9fcc3-74d9-4d98-be5a-ce94e947c3ca,2019-08-21T18:47:49+00:00,2019-08-21,0,https://www.treebo.com/service-apartments-in-mundhwa-pune/,"Once under the rule of the glorious Marathas, Pune today is the second largest city in Maharashtra and one of the famous tourist spots in India. Mundhwa is a locality in Pune in the West Maharashtra region. The locality is quite easily accessible from other parts of the city owing to the vicinity to several railway stations and bus stops. Also, Mundhwa has many temples, mosques, cinema theatres, restaurants, hospitals, colleges, schools, supermarket stores, government offices, police stations, and local parks. Many popular tourist attractions are also located near Mundhwa such as Shivaji Statue, Vishrambaug Wada, and Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park. If you are visiting the city and are looking for service apartments near Mundhwa Pune, you must definitely check out some of the Treebo properties around there. You can book a Treebo property easily and conveniently, as they are known for their best-in-class services and affordable stays.If you’re looking for comfortable accommodation in Pune for a few days, you can pick one of the service apartments in Pune near Mundhwa. This accommodation type is perfect for those who don’t bother shelling out some extra bucks and need to stay in the city for longer periods of time. Treebo offers some of the best service apartments in Pune near Mundhwa that are well-furnished and come with several hotel-like amenities/facilities such as air-conditioning, 24/7 room service, a television with DTH/cable connection, free Wifi connectivity, in-house laundry service, complimentary breakfast, branded toiletries, and even a gym or recreation room. Some additional amenities like a swimming pool and even full-fledged kitchen might also be offered. Hadapsar Railway Station and Ghorpuri Railway Station are nearby railway stations, if you are travelling to Mundhwa. However, Pune Junction Railway Station is the major railway station located around 6 km away from Mundhwa. Lonkar School Bus Stop is 500 m away, while P.M.P. Bus Stop is 400 m away from Mundhwa. Pune International Airport is located at a distance of about 8 km from Mundhwa. Some nearby localities to Mundhwa include Shankar Nagar, Raghoba Patil Nagar, Keshav Nagar, Santipur, and Raghoba Patil Nagar.Owing to the tourist influx in the city, finding good service apartments in Pune near Mundhwa is quite easy and convenient. If you’re concerned about tariffs and cannot stretch beyond your budget, you can opt for budget service apartments in Pune near Mundhwa. Now, there are a number of budget service apartments in Pune near Mundhwa with tariff rates ranging from ₹ 1000 - 2000 where you can enjoy comfortable, relaxing stays without any hassle. Major tourist spots near Mundhwa include Mahadji Shinde Chhatri, Butterfly Park, Shivaji Statue, Vishrambaug Wada, and Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park. To eat, visit some of the best nearby restaurants such as Yuviz Family Restaurant, Carnival Restaurant and Bar, and Shisha Jazz Cafe. In case of a medical emergency, visit the nearest hospitals like Columbia Asia Hospital or Noble Hospital.
Be the first one to ask us a question.",693,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316150.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821174152-20190821200152-00140.warc.gz,0.959075927734375
c5f1a9ea-17e3-46fe-94dc-970d490158de,2022-05-20T07:45:55+00:00,2019-05-10,1,https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2835336-matthijs-de-ligt-will-move-to-england-or-spain-in-summer-says-edwin-van-der-sar,"Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar has said he believes Matthijs de Ligt will leave the Dutch side in the summer, and he's likely to end up at a big club in the Premier League or La Liga.
He expressed hope the Ajax captain would go out on a high note, as the side are still battling for the Eredivisie title: ""I think these will be De Ligt's final games with Ajax, but I hope he goes out on a high. He's been here since he was a child and will end up at a big club. I think he'll go to England or Spain.""
Per the report, the defender has been linked with Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Juventus. The Catalan giants are seen as the favourites for his signature and have already secured team-mate Frenkie de Jong.
Ajax missed out on doing the treble with their shock exit at the hands of Spurs on Wednesday, but they can still do the Dutch double. They've already won the KNVB Cup by beating Willem II 4-0 on Sunday, claiming their first trophy since 2014.
De Ligt scored the opening goal on Wednesday as Ajax cruised to a 2-0 lead in the first half. Spurs produced a stunning comeback, though, with a Lucas Moura hat-trick handing them the win and a ticket to the final.
The aggregate score was 3-3, and Spurs held the away-goal tiebreaker (U.S. only):
It was a disappointing end to what has been a sensational European campaign for the 19-year-old. Statman Dave shared some of his key stats:
Along with big goals against Juventus and Spurs, his highlights also include epic battles with Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in back-to-back ties. Both the Real Madrid and Juventus forwards scored in the first leg of their respective ties, but they were bullied by the teenager in the return fixtures.
A product of Ajax's vaunted academy, De Ligt made his international debut at the age of 17, forming a strong partnership with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk. Despite his young age, he's bursting with confidence, per Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News:
A big summer transfer seems likely, especially if Ajax do the Dutch double and win the Eredivisie. With two matches left to play, the Amsterdammers are tied with PSV Eindhoven for the lead.
Ajax's progress to the Champions League semi-finals was something of a Cinderella run, and with star midfielder De Jong departing for Barcelona, they're unlikely to replicate that success next season.",555,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00013.warc.gz,0.966443419456482
2aa77c17-ccba-42f7-976b-0f559f9f4635,2018-08-18T11:57:31+00:00,2018-08-18,1,https://www.mazda.com.au/imagination-drives-us/performance---skyactiv-x/,"The revolutionary SKYACTIV-X engine, due to be released in 2019, will be the world’s first commercial gasoline engine to run on compression ignition. Using innovative technology, Mazda has combined the power of a high-revving gasoline engine and the fuel efficiency of a diesel. The Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI) improves engine efficiency by up to 20-30 percent over the current SKYACTIV-G engines.
These advances in engine technology will play a significant part in Mazda’s ‘Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030’ vision. With the release of SKYACTIV-X, reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 50 percent of 2010 levels by 2030 and 90 percent by 2050 will be an achievable goal.
To learn more about SKYACTIV-X, watch the video or read about the revolutionary technology.",177,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213666.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818114957-20180818134957-00041.warc.gz,0.860989570617676
d931deb0-ac61-4df2-8191-59152090993f,2020-10-23T05:47:30+00:00,2020-10-23,1,https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/nl/activiteiten/experiences/total-solar-eclipse,"A rare eclipse rarely seen right
Though solar eclipses usually occur twice every year and in exceptionally rare cases take place up to five times per year, rarely are they witnessed as total eclipses. The reason for this is that most people don’t see the eclipse along the path of totality, defined as the narrow strip along the Earth from which an observer’s perspective puts the new moon fully across the Sun’s light.
Partial eclipses, annular eclipses, & total solar eclipses
Most solar eclipses are seen as partial eclipses, which are as they sound: The Moon only partially blocks the light reaching Earth from the Sun, regardless of where the eclipse is observed. But it also happens that, even if you’re in the path of totality, the Moon’s elliptical orbit distances it so far from Earth that the Sun’s light is still perfectly visible around the Moon’s curvature.
Further solar eclipse facts
Total solar eclipses occur somewhere on Earth only about every 18 months, recur only every several hundred years at a given location, and last just a few minutes. In those rare years when more eclipses take place, still no more than two total eclipses can happen in any given year. If this sounds like your shade of adventure, check out our total eclipse cruises. Not only will you have the chance to see this astounding celestial event in person, but you’ll see it in one of Earth’s most astounding polar locations: Antarctica.",315,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880656.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023043931-20201023073931-00407.warc.gz,0.933570623397827
6b945983-bc2f-4771-9adf-e4b51b2df536,2019-08-24T11:45:34+00:00,2018-06-23,0,https://buffalonews.com/2018/06/23/sister-rita-kane-100-catholic-elementary-school-teacher-and-principal/,"Dec. 3, 1917 – June 22, 2018
Sister Rita Kane, a Catholic school teacher and principal, died Friday in the Sisters of St. Joseph Residence, Clarence. She was 100.
Born in Buffalo, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in February 1937 and became Sister John Aloysius. She pronounced her final vows in August 1942 after receiving a bachelor’s degree in education from Mount St. Joseph Teachers College, now Medaille College, where she majored in French.
She completed a certificate program at the Visually Handicapped Institute of Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 1955. The following year, she earned a master’s degree from Mount St. Joseph College.
She taught elementary grades for 26 years, was director of postulants for her community from 1963 to 1968 and was part of the Vocation Team for the Diocese of Buffalo. She then served as principal of Cathedral School in Buffalo from 1971 to 1985.
A lifelong advocate for Mount St. Joseph Academy, she was a former alumnae moderator and worked with the alumnae from 1987 until recently.
She moved to the Sisters Residence in Clarence in 2011.
Survivors include many nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Monday, June 25, in the Sisters of St. Joseph Residence, 4975 Strickler Road, Clarence.",299,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027320734.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824105853-20190824131853-00329.warc.gz,0.977421820163727
5dbc7c2e-c6b9-4489-b523-d1107536efde,2018-08-21T04:13:19+00:00,2016-08-24,1,https://blog.fxpro.co.uk/market-snapshots/24082016-sterling-tests-downtrend-resistance-3/,"Sterling broke the major resistances at 1.3200 and 1.3230 this morning as a result of the earlier weakening of the dollar. The price further tested the next resistances at 1.3250 then pulled back as the dollar is turning strong, weighing on GBPUSD. It is currently oscillating around the level at 1.3230.
On the daily chart, GBPUSD is near the downtrend line major resistance level at 1.3250. In addition, the daily time frame KD is above 80, suggesting a retracement.
The Brexit may not be egregious in the long term, yet it will be a painful process in the following year before reaching a new deal with the EU. The uncertainty will also be reflected on the trend of Sterling.
It is better to keep a cautious stance when trading Sterling as the uncertain political and business climate may last for a long term. Whenever Sterling is trading at a high level, it may trigger short positions.
Keep an eye on the US Existing Home Sales figures (MoM) for July, to be released at 15:00 GMT+1 on Wed 24th Aug. With positive readings, GBPUSD will likely test the newly formed support at 1.3230. While lower-than-expected figures, GBPUSD will likely test the resistance at 1.3250.
The Dollar Index (DXY)
The dollar rallied yesterday as helped by a record high level of New Home Sales since Oct 2007.
Earlier today, the dollar index just broke the upside major downtrend line resistance at 94.55 with a long bullish candle. Now it is testing the next resistance level at 94.73.
Be aware that the 4 hourly time frame KD indicator is above 70, suggesting a pullback.
As a result of the strengthening of Sterling. EURGBP broke the uptrend line support at 0.8600. Besides, on the 4 hourly chart, short term moving averages crossed over long term ones from above, indicating the bullish momentum has diminished.
Yet the 4 hourly and daily time frame KD indicators are both below 20, suggesting a rebound prior to a further fall.
The upside resistance is at 0.8580 followed by 0.8600 and 0.8690.
The downside support is at 0.8500, followed by 0.8470 and 0.8430.
Yesterday oil price surged as Iran signals that it may support joint action. It rallied from intra-day low of 46.72 to intra-day high of 48.43, a 3.66% rise.
Yet Iran insisted it may cooperate only after it regains pre-sanctions output level of 4 million barrels per day. Its output level in July was 3.6 million barrels per day.
Saudi and Russia both have reached their highest output in this summer. Before a concrete agreement is reached, any news might boost oil prices momentarily, yet it will likely retrace as long as the oversupply issue still exists.
On the 4 hourly chart, the price is forming a consolidation pattern.
The upside resistance is at 48.00 followed by 48.35 and 49.00.
The downside support is at 47.30, followed by 47.00, 46.80 and 46.40.",673,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217951.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821034002-20180821054002-00286.warc.gz,0.930106103420258
22245fe0-7bc7-42b3-b16b-c9864db99659,2016-07-24T20:21:30+00:00,2013-10-09,1,http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/6708/topless_prophet_local_king_of_strip_to_star_in_reality_tv_show,"Topless Prophet: Local King of Strip to Star in Reality TV Show
October 9th, 2013, 8:50 PM
He's been shot twice, and he once was the target of a murder contract. He wrote an autobiography and bought and sold 11 local topless clubs. He’s a rare Jew in Grosse Pointe. He once used a chimp in an act with predictably strange results.
He's about to become metro Detroit's latest TV ambassador in an HBO/Cinemax reality show called ""Topless Prophet.""
“I’m Alan Markovitz and I’m living the American dream,” he says in a 10-minute trailer, walking amid several dancers wearing very small bikinis.
“Together with my talented staff and my 700 beautiful dancers, I create the most elegant gentlemen’s clubs in the country, built right here in Detroit. Topless Prophet will let you look behind the curtain at the business of strip. Trust me there’s more to it than meets the eye.”
The series, which is slated to run early next year on HBO’s sister station, Cinemax, will feature Markovitz, his three metro Detroit topless clubs, his managers, agents who recruit dancers and the dancers themselves -- on stage, backstage and outside the clubs.
In one episode, Markovitz goes on a blind date at Bacco Ristorante, an upscale eatery on Northwestern Highway in Southfield. In another, he’s talking about the future with his managers.
""I got a new dream,"" he tells them in a meeting featured in the trailer. ""The dream of building the club of all clubs. I'm going to draw on on all 30 years of my experience to make this thing the mothership, the club that finally puts Vegas to shame.""
A Jewish Guy in Grosse Pointe
With a poofy, well-coiffed head of hair and what the younger generation might call “a porn mustache,” Markovitz operates four topless clubs -- three in metro Detroit and one in Philadelphia. He calls them five-star clubs with five-star food.
Markovitz, who doesn’t like to discuss his age but appears to be at least 50, lives in a 8,000-plus square foot home with a historical designation in Grosse Pointe Farms. But not for much longer. He’s moving to a 12,000-square foot home in Orchard Lake.
“All my friends are over there,” Markovitz said. “In all the Grosse Pointes, there’s 50 Jewish families. It’s nothing if you think about it. I’ve been feeling like a fish out of water.”
Ron Lipson, a good friend says, “He’s gotten older and smarter, and he’s a pretty good businessman. He’s very entertaining as a friend. When I go out for dinner, he has a big limousine come and get us. He’s got a beautiful boat with a crew of three people.”
The 11 clubs that Markovitz has owned at various times include Trumps and the Booby Trap, both on 8 Mile Road in Detroit; BT's in Dearborn and Tycoons. He currently owns the Penthouse and Coliseum clubs in Detroit and the Flight Club, in Inkster, near Metro Airport. He also owns a Penthouse topless joint in Philadelphia. His younger brother Paul helps out with the Penthouse club in Detroit.
How The Show Came About
The TV show came about by happenstance.
Rob Cohen, a Los Angeles film director, said he was directing a Tyler Perry movie, “Alex Cross,” that was filming in Detroit. When it was wrapped, some of the local staff involved in the film took Cohen out partying, and they wound up at the Coliseum.
Cohen was blown away by the ""rocking"" atmosphere, at what looked like an intense party in a city that was slowly going bankrupt. He met some people in the business, read Markovitz’s autobiography, “Topless Prophet,” and realized “the strip business is more complicated than I knew.”
Cohen went to Pilgrim Studios, known for its reality shows, and got it to make a sizzle reel, or a 10-minute trailer, to shop around. HBO/Cinemax bit and offered to bankroll a 10-part series. He said Cinemax airs HBO’s more risque material.
As executive producer Cohen is “creatively guiding"" the 10 episodes. The episodes are still being filmed.
“The first three episodes, they’re outrageous, they’re sexy and they’re colorful,"" he said. ""You get a real sense of the city. I’m thrilled about it.”
Without elaborating, Markovitz says he’s getting paid well to do the shows. But he says it is more important that show bolster his business.
TV Was Great for ""Pawn Stars""
“I hope it does that, that’s why I’m doing it. You look at 'Pawn Stars' from Vegas. I hear now that sometimes you go there and there’s a line to get in.”
Markovitz grew up in Oak Park, where he attended high school. He described himself as a “Jewish Greaseball” who drove a motorcycle and worked at a gas station, Sol & Ziggy’s at 10 Mile and Greenfield.
“My parents wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer, the typical young-Jewish-guy-does-well-for-himself success story,” he writes in 'Topless Prophet.'
“Instead, I wanted to ride my Triumph Bonneville down the hallways of my high school -- and I did! What a hoot. Got suspended for a week.”
After high school, he traveled to Israel, wanting to be a pilot in the Israeli military. He took the tests and was accepted in the program. But he was told 90 percent of recruits wash out. He didn’t like the odds, so he returned home to attend Wayne State University.
But he says he “got ants in his pants” and dropped out. Meanwhile, he noticed a neighbor in Oak Park, Sol Milan, who seemed to be living the good life. He owned a strip joint.
Neighbor Inspired Him
“We’re all driving Chevys and he lived kind of kiddy-corner to us and he’s driving a brand new Eldorado Cadillac,” Markovitz says, sitting his Grosse Pointe Farms mansion, in a room adorned with photos of stars like Bogart and Bacall. “They always seemed to have the best of the best.”
So he stopped by Milan’s club, La Chambre, at Telegraph and I-96 in Detroit, and asked for a job. He became a bartender and later helped manage the club. Eventually, he got Milan to partner on a shuttered club on 8 Mile near I-75 that they renamed the Booby Trap. Markovitz wanted it to be a first-rate club that looked more like a TGI Fridays than a dive joint.
“We opened up and it just took off,"" he recalled.
In time, some people thought of Markovitz as a Detroit version of Hugh Hefner, surrounded by beautiful women. He said he had some relationships with dancers, but tried to keep romance outside of business hours.
“Let’s put it this way, in high school and college, I didn’t really have that many girlfriends. I had a couple steadies. I made up for the lost time in a hurry.”
At the Booby Trap, there soon were problems when a motorcycle gang, The Renegades, started showing up.
“We got crushed, the whole biker thing,” he recalled. “Customers were scared.”
Markovitz posted signs that forbade gang colors and motorcycles in the parking lot. The bikers ignored them. The cops came on a couple occasions, guns drawn, and kicked them out.
One day his father, Max Markovitz, who had been helping with the club, marched down to confront the bikers. Max, who spent time at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, told the leader he had survived Holocaust and wasn’t afraid.
“I had dealt with a lot tougher situations in the war,” Max said in his son’s book. “What could they do to me? Kill me? I’m not stupid, but I wasn’t afraid. I went into the clubhouse that day in May and I talked to their leader. People understand when you mean business, and he listened to me. I told him we had a lot of money invested in our new club and we weren’t going to put up with any nonsense. Follow the rules, I told him, and they were welcome in the club like anyone else. I think he liked that, and we sure never had a problem with the Renegades after that.”
The Booby Trap thrived. It didn’t hurt that Tigers Kirk Gibson and Dave Rozema hung out there and eventually married two dancers who happened to be sisters.
“I remember once somebody coming to me about somebody on the phone for Kirk Gibson. I get on the phone and it’s Spark Anderson,” asking for Gibson.”
He said Gibson told Markovitz to tell Sparky he wasn’t there.
“So I go, ‘No, he’s not here. I haven’t seen him.”
Business was good, but it came with plenty headaches.
""Boom, Boom Boom""
One night in 1983, Markovitz fired a dancer on the spot for taking a customer into the bathroom to have sex. Later, she was in the parking lot, claiming someone had stolen her purse. When Markovitz opened the club door to the parking lot, she shot him.
“Boom, boom, boom. She nailed me,” he recalled. “ She hit me once, but she hit me real bad. I remember flying into the wall. That bullet just lifted me off the ground. I got hit here right in the lung in the chest. I was fucked up. She tried to finish me. I remember her over me and I remember having enough strength, I grabbed her hand and then everybody just jumped on her.""
It took him several months to recover, and he lost a lot of weight. The managers and his father helped run the joint.
“It definitely takes your innocence away.” The dancer was convicted in the shooting and served time in prison.
In 1993, several years after Markovitz had bought BT's in Dearborn, his partner, Freddy Giordano, was charged with putting out a murder contract on Markovitz. The suspected hit unraveled after one of the parties involved, Alan Howard of Boston, got cold feet and went to the FBI to cooperate. He ended up overdosing before the trial.
Markovitz says he first learned of the plot while watching the 11 p.m. news. He heard the anchor say that he was the target of a $12,000, murder-for-hire plot involving a man named Dino Tilotti. Giordano was charged later on.
“I was stunned, I didn’t think I heard it right,” Markovitz wrote in his book about hearing about the plot on TV. The case went to trial. Tilotti, who had been cooperating with the prosecution, froze on the stand and decided not to testify that Giordano allegedly put out the hit.
So Giodarno walked. Tilotti ended up getting sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. When the trial was over, an angry Markovitz told Giordano to sell his interest in the club.
On Jan. 9, 1997, an off-duty rookie cop from Inkster left Club 747 near the airport, another club Markovitz owned at the time. (It later became The Flight Club following a trademark battle with Boeing.)
The cop had been drinking, arguing with a dancer and “being a general macho prick,” Markovitz wrote in his book. Markovitz came outside and the officer fired a shot, hitting Markovitz in the face.
A U-M Medical helicopter came and picked him up. He made a complete recovery, and after several reconstructive surgeries, there was no noticeable scar on his face -- though the .40 caliber bullet remains lodged in his neck.
He couldn’t believe he was shot a second time.
“You go, wait a minute, I live in America. People go to war and don’t get shot up a couple times.” The officer ended up with a sentence of probation, according to Markovitz's book. The cop also lost his job on the force.
Despite the gunplay, Markovitz continued to thrive.
He understood marketing. He promoted his topless joints as classy clubs, not dingy joints, though on occasion some were busted for ""lewd"" behavior.
Markovitz wasn’t above a little gimmick. On the one-year anniversary of BT’s, in the late 1980s, he brought in a chimp named Gonzo to do circus acts on stage. But the trainer had different ideas, and the dancers wound up giving the animal a lap dance -- taking turns straddling him while he sat on a chair.
“Gonzo got intoxicated all right -- the hot chicks swarming over him must have kicked in some primal instinct -- he be started to go bananas!” Markovitz wrote in his book.
“In the blink of an eye, Gonzo screeched like a chimp possessed and started grabbing at the unfortunate dancer who was straddling him -- grabbing her by her breasts and throwing his legs around her. The girl began screaming bloody murder as she reared back onto her four-inch danger platforms, trying to stand and back away from the monkey as the monkey did his best to hold on!”
The handler eventually loosened the chimp’s grip and dragged him off stage.
Not the Bada-Bing
Markovitz has a 17-year-old daughter from a previous relationship who lives with him. He was married for two years to a woman he met at a friend's birthday party at an Auburn Hills restaurant. But they recently divorced. He said his wife, a native of Slovakia, was cheating on him with someone he knew. She moved in with the guy two days after moving out of the house.
“He broke the Man Code. He’s a total freakin’ asshole,” Markovitz says. “Real men don’t do that to another guy.”
Markovitz said he made it clear when he met with Cohen, the director, and others on the TV show: “I didn’t want to be portrayed as the stereotypical adult entertainment bar owner/strip-club owner, that it would mostly be about these machines,"" -- the clubs -- ""because that’s what they are. There’s so many moving parts in my business.”
He knows what some people think about topless joints; they think of places like the Bada Bing, Tony Soprano's club in the popular HBO series “The Sopranos.”
“Yes, this is going to be the opposite of that. This is like the anti-Soprano. That was a cheese-ball bar. They were the real mob and that’s a whole different thing. Me, I”m a businessman, I run these clubs.”",3390,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824146.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00128-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.978648841381073
c99efbf5-f440-40c0-a14c-a7959a67f37d,2017-08-17T19:05:54+00:00,2017-08-17,0,http://www.criminalinjuries.info/,"SYDNEY CRIMINAL INJURIES SOLICITORS - NSW COMPENSATION CLAIM ADVICE
If you have been the victim of a violent assault in New South Wales our Sydney criminal injuries solicitors will give advice at no cost and without further obligation. Our personal injury solicitors can help by offering legal advice and representation if you have suffered physical injuries or psychological damage in NSW as a result of:-
- violent assault including armed robbery
- homicide, murder & manslaughter
- sexual assault including rape & buggery
- child abuse and incest
- false imprisonment
- abduction & kidnapping
- threats to kill or inflict serious injury
- domestic violence
Sydney Criminal Injuries Solicitors
Our Sydney criminal injuries solicitors are expert personal injury lawyers who deal with injury compensation claims using the no win no fee scheme. If you have been the victim of a violent crime we may be able to claim compensation on your behalf. Unless we succeed in obtaining compensation for you, we don't get paid out legal fees which concentrates the mind on leaving no stone unturned in our quest for success. Our Sydney criminal injuries solicitors will completely finance your claim and there are no upfront payments, no retainer, no hidden charges and no requirement to pay expenses. If you have suffered injury in a crime of violence in NSW and you need advice at no cost and without further obligation just call the helpline or complete and send the contact form or call the solicitors helpline. A Sydney criminal injuries solicitor will discuss the claim with you and give you advice on your legal rights at no cost.
There are a number of different categories of potential claimant in an NSW criminal injuries compensation claim and you may be able to submit an application if you satisfy the flowing requirements :-
- you are the immediate victim of an act of violence and you suffer physical or psychological injury
- you are a close family member and you suffer psychological disturbance as a result of disclosure of the act of violence on your relative
- you sustain injury as a witness to violent crime
- You are injured whilst attempting to prevent a violent crime or whilst attempting to arrest the perpetrator<.li>
- you are injured whilst rescuing or attempting to rescue the victim of a violent crime
NSW Compensation Awards
The amount of compensation payable in an NSW criminal injury compensation claim depends on the nature and extent of the injury, the recovery period and whether or not there are any long term consequences or disabilities. Awards which are generally capped may include damages for pain and suffering, loss of a particular lifestyle, loss of past and future income together with reasonably incurred medical expenses. The amount of compensation awarded is generally set by an assessor after consideration of the application, the applicants medical history and medical reports.
NSW Appeal Procedure
In the event that an applicant is not satisfied with the outcome of their criminal injury compensation claim there is often a well established appeal procedure and in some jurisdictions the offender also has a right to appeal the decision, generally in regards to the amount of any award. The offender is a stakeholder in the application as the authority has the right to recover the amount of the award from the offender however payment to the applicant will be made in any event, with the applicant not being involved in any enforcement procedures against the offender.
Miscellaneous Solicitors Provisions
There are time limits for criminal injuries compensation claims in New South Wales and you should not delay in either reporting the incident to the police or contacting a Sydney criminal injuries solicitor for advice to preserve your legal right to damages. You may be entitled to make a claim for an interim award before a final determination is made. Injuries of a minor and temporary nature may not qualify for an award. The amount of the award in NSW may be reduced if the applicant is deemed to have contributed to the injuries by reference to unacceptable behaviour before during or immediately after the event. In the case of death arising from a defined criminal injury a close relative may apply for compensation to cover funeral expenses and any dependants of the deceased can apply for limited financial support.",824,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886103910.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817185948-20170817205948-00227.warc.gz,0.934692144393921
28600f6d-595b-4d10-8658-242ea63649fb,2018-08-17T22:45:05+00:00,2014-06-01,0,https://scannain.com/review/how-to-train-your-dragon-2/,"Back in 2011 How to Train Your Dragon was cruelly robbed at the Academy Awards of the animation Oscar by the wonderfully sweet but gimmick-laden Toy Story 3, and Hollywood animation has yet to recover from it. (Actually Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist was better than the both of them, but that’s an argument for another time.) Which sublime character design, rich humour and a character-driven plot most “grown-up” films should be envious of, Dragon become one of 2010’s biggest runaway hits following a rocky opening that generated sensational word-of-mouth.
Jump forward a few years, two seasons of the spin-off TV series and a number of stocking-filler direct-to-DVD shorts and the dragons of Berk return to the big screen for another adventure. Five years after uniting his Viking kindred with their reptilian enemy, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), now a young man, is eager to evade the responsibilities of assuming the title of chieftain from his now doting father Stoic the Vast (Gerard Butler), preferring to explore an expanding world on the back of his jet-black familiar Toothless.
When he and his lady friend Astrid (America Ferrera) encounter a gang of pirates who capture and sell dragons, Hiccup becomes aware of a villain named Drago (Djomon Hounsou), who is amassing an army of enslaved dragons. Rallying his friends to confront this new threat, Hiccup finds an unlikely ally in his long-lost mother, who was thought dead but is found to be a dragon-rider herself. Part Jane Goodall, part Shaka Zulu, Valka is the source of much of How to Train Your Dragon 2’s problems. Awkwardly forced into the story and failing utterly to excuse her absence (living on an island that in movie time appears to be barely an hour’s flight from Berk), Valka is a frustrating character whose story is ripped utterly from The Simpsons episode ‘Mother Simpson’. Star-power helps naught, as Cate Blanchett voices the character with a garbled accent that sounds like Veronica Guerin with a mouth full of Australian haggis.
The rest of the voicecast fare better. Jay Baruchel remains an iconic performer as Hiccup, capturing a wide range of emotions with his stalling nearly-a-man voice. Butler excels also, and continues to find brilliant support in Craig Fergusson as Stoic’s no2 Gobber. Ferrera is sidelined, disappointing after such a strong role in the first film, but the comic love triangle between Vikings Snotlout, Fishlegs and Ruffnut (Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig respectively) makes up for this. Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington joins the cast as a macho pirate, but no one ever claimed the most exciting thing about Jon Snow’s storylines was his voice. Hounsou does his best with an underwritten, underdeveloped and frankly racist villain – the only black man in all of Scandinavia is also the only tyrant.
Dealing with this new threat, the script shows itself to be politically schizophrenic, commending Hiccup’s quest for peace while ultimately championing military dominance. The film concludes with a call to arms that sounds straight out of a post-9/11 docudrama directed by Leni Riefenstahl.
The action, however, is even more thrilling than the first time around, with some brilliantly planned-out aerial stunts. The dragon and human designs are far richer in texture, with the polar leviathan the Bewilderbeast a mighty achievement of the creators’ imaginations. Much of the comedy lands, while Toothless, a veritable reptilian catdog of personality and energy, remains just about the cutest animated character since Fievel.
The greatest highlight of Dragon 1, John Powell’s heart-quickening, triumphant score, is repeated here, although the addition of a dance-pop version of the main theme with echoes of Owl City is frankly sinful; like a punk rock rendition of the Schindler’s List soundtrack. Indeed the film is trying to appeal to a cool audience a little too hard – Hiccup’s latest inventions include a winged glide-suit and a fiery lightsaber, while Toothless develops new powers borrowed from another popular movie lizard. The first film achieved coolness without a pinch of effort.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 shares a lot in common with last year’s disappointing Despicable Me 2; both are sequels to surprisingly affecting movies, both feature slapdash-scripted and ultimately racist villains, and both reinforce conservative family norms that their predecessors had soared high without.
Gorgeous to behold but thematically frustrating and confused, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is worthy entertainment, but little more. The first film was a borderline masterpiece, this one is barely just good.",1050,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213158.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817221817-20180818001817-00103.warc.gz,0.945849180221558
aed552d1-9ff2-499c-bd26-e0ee8fd17fff,2018-08-19T23:25:30+00:00,2018-08-19,0,https://tours.marylandphotoinc.com/public/vtour/info/905223,"Beautiful 2BR, 2BA Brick TH w/ Covered Front Porch & Fresh Paint Thruout! Refinished Hardwood Floors in the Spacious LR & DR. Eat-In Kitchen w/ Table Space & Walk Out to Covered & Fenced-In Rear Patio! Upstairs w/ New Floors, Master BR w/ Sitting Rm & Walk-In Closet & Updated Full Hall Bath w/ Ceramic Tile! LL Finished w/ Rec Room, Newer W/D & Full Bath. Potential for Private Parking Pad in Rear!",117,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215404.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819224020-20180820004020-00102.warc.gz,0.782534241676331
b411ec0b-ad4a-4782-ba9c-5b946267b826,2020-10-22T10:06:43+00:00,2020-05-19,1,https://www.everythinglubbock.com/sports/cas-to-hear-man-citys-appeal-against-2-year-ban-in-june/,"GENEVA (AP) — Manchester City’s appeal against a two-year ban from European soccer will be heard over three days in June, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Tuesday.
CAS set aside June 8-10 for the case. It is unclear if a hearing will be held by video link or in person at the court in Lausanne, Switzerland.
No timetable was set for a verdict but a ruling is needed before English teams enter next season’s Champions League draw. The draw in Monaco is scheduled for Aug. 27 but could be pushed back because of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Man City was banned by UEFA in February for “serious breaches” of financial monitoring rules and failing to cooperate with investigators. The English champions have been accused of deceiving UEFA in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
Announcing its verdict three months ago, UEFA said City was guilty of “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016.”
UEFA also fined Man City 30 million euros ($33 million) after an investigation that was sparked by leaks of internal club correspondence published in November 2018 by German magazine Der Spiegel.
The emails and documents, likely obtained by hacking, appeared to show that City overstated sponsorship revenue and masked the source of revenue from deals to tied to the club’s owners in the Abu Dhabi royal family.
The club has denied wrongdoing.
’They are simply not true,″ City CEO Ferran Soriano said of the allegations in February in an in-house interview. ″We have to be respectful as we have been of this process.″
City failed with a previous appeal at CAS which tried to block UEFA-apppointed judges from taking on the case presented by club finance investigators. Three CAS judges ruled that appeal was not valid last November.
During the UEFA investigation, City won its fourth Premier League title in eight seasons.
City continued to play in this season’s Champions League after the ban for two future seasons was announced.
In the round of 16, City beat Real Madrid in the first leg in Spain. The return game has been postponed since March and is not due to be played until August. UEFA is hoping to complete the competition by the end of August.
City is in second place behind runaway leader Liverpool in the Premier League. If a ban by UEFA is upheld, the fifth-place team is likely to take City’s place in the next Champions League.
A subsequent appeal is also possible at Switzerland’s supreme court in Lausanne, but likely only on narrow procedural grounds.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports",578,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107879362.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022082653-20201022112653-00451.warc.gz,0.973269701004028
83f40aa1-c273-47c4-96df-3d091175aa3b,2022-05-29T02:53:59+00:00,2022-05-29,0,https://mucknbrass.com/en-us/collections/furniture,"Delighted with this print - the quality of the paper (card?), quality of printing and brightness of colour all spot on. Thank you :)
Everything Zoe makes is STUNNING and this tutorial was no different. Informative and fun!
Lovely, quirky print … if my dog could talk .. ! :-)
I am obsessed with gilding EVERYTHING now!
Really lovely and so pink. Lovely quality and a lovely addition to anyone's home",93,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663035797.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529011010-20220529041010-00402.warc.gz,0.932921707630158
262e0138-4105-4411-98a7-bbd655824a39,2019-08-24T16:55:55+00:00,2016-01-01,0,https://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/american-college-of-pediatricians-latest-to-warn-of-gardasil-hpv-vaccine-dangers/,"American College Of Pediatricians Latest To Warn Of Gardasil HPV Vaccine Dangers
Source: Vaccine Impact
The once held theory that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Gardasil vaccine was safe has officially been proven false. The public has had a front row seat over the years to witness continuous, contradictory “settled science” around the HPV shot become very unsettling. Research fraud has been exposed, and alarm bells sounded as the dominos of perceived safety are falling rapidly now in succession.
The gravity and severity of the damning information exposing the dangers of the HPV vaccine is now in focus. As parents began to report serve adverse reactions to their daughters directly after the HPV shot was administered, those in positions to act did nothing. In a medical and political system that believes in the false idea of herd immunity, severe adverse vaccine reactions are simply not calculated into the big picture.
The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 was enacted to protect pharmaceutical companies from any damage their vaccines caused. The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was also created at the same time in as a way to sweep the growing number of vaccine injuries under the rug.
How helpful has the VICP been? A 2014 oversight report from the United States Government Accountability Office states “most claims took multiple years and many were settled through negotiation.” The program has awarded over $3 billion to victims of vaccine injury to date.
No U.S. Government Warnings Listed for Dangerous HPV Gardasil Vaccine
VICP provides a vaccine injury table to outline officially recognized injuries that manifest after immunization. The table is used for the purpose of receiving compensation under the program as well as to educated parents and healthcare providers on what to watch for.
The HPV vaccine table currently lists “no condition specified” under what illness, symptoms and/or injuries to alert the parents, child and health professional what to look for after vaccination.
In addition, the table lists “not specified” under the time period for first symptom or manifestation.
Furthermore, mainstream health professionals around the world are receiving little to no training on what to look for after the HPV shot is administered. The result of the lack of training leads to extremely inaccurate and low numbers of severe adverse HPV vaccine reactions being reported.
Parents of the children injured by the shot are left to wade through an uneducated medical establishment giving false diagnosis’s, improper therapies and drugs in a frustrating search to recover their child’s health.
Read the full article here: http://vaccineimpact.com/2016/american-college-of-pediatricians-latest-to-warn-of-hpv-vaccine-dangers/",564,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00208.warc.gz,0.95840585231781
153a2a2a-0a98-4f5f-a8c7-352f0a25d45f,2022-05-24T09:24:11+00:00,2019-10-17,1,https://www.dailysabah.com/real-estate/2019/10/17/prompted-by-rate-cuts-increasing-house-sales-help-lift-expectations,"The real estate industry in Turkey is back on track and is enjoying its most buoyant period ever since the central bank kicked off an easing cycle in its monetary policy, which led public lenders and later private banks to slash rates on mortgages.
These cuts have led to a boom in mortgage house sales, which have hit a five-year high last month, reaching 57,811 units, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data, bringing along new and higher expectations in the eyes of the industry.
The decline in interest rates brought major dynamism to the construction sector, which was reflected in the overall housing sales in the country.
Data revealed by TurkStat on Wednesday revealed that residential property sales increased by 15.4% year-on-year in September, reaching a total of 146,903 units, with the highest increase being recorded in sales home sales with mortgages.
Housing sales with mortgages stood at 13,064 units in July when the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) cut its key repo rate by 425 basis points - which was more than the expected rate. In the aftermath, banks in Turkey, particularly the public ones, went on to lower rates on housing loans at the beginning of August.
The impact was reflected in housing sales in the month as they increased by 5.1% year-on-year after seven consecutive months of decline, according to TurkStat data. Some 110,538 houses changed hands in August.
Mortgage house sales in August jumped by 168% year-on-year and totaled some 34,148 units, constituting more than 30% of total sales in the sector.
Last month, mortgage house sales skyrocketed by 410.2% year-on-year and made up almost 39.5% of all house sales in Turkey. Mortgage house sales in the same month last year stood at only 11,330.
All Real Estate Agents Federation President Hacı Ali Taylan was cited by Anadolu Agency (AA) Thursday as saying that they expect the increase in house sales to continue.
“The acceleration that started at the end of July also goes on... Contractors and the housing market have breathed a sigh of relief with the increased sales,” Taylan noted, adding that relief has also revived multiple other industries that were affected by the real estate sector.
Please click to read our informative text prepared pursuant to the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 and to get information about the cookies used on our website in accordance with the relevant legislation.
6698 sayılı Kişisel Verilerin Korunması Kanunu uyarınca hazırlanmış aydınlatma metnimizi okumak ve sitemizde ilgili mevzuata uygun olarak kullanılan çerezlerle ilgili bilgi almak için lütfen tıklayınız.",626,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662570051.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524075341-20220524105341-00211.warc.gz,0.965502262115478
feb525ef-3d77-415e-8628-b4d1cd61cb06,2013-05-19T02:32:26+00:00,2010-03-04,1,http://www.vg247.com/2010/03/04/funcom-talks-locations-monsters-in-the-secret-world/?wpfpaction=add&postid=83634,"Thu, Mar 04, 2010 | 16:44 GMT
Funcom talks locations, monsters in The Secret World
Funcom has been chatting a bit about its upcoming MMO, The Secret World, which will be on-hand for the first time at GDC next week.
Apparently, not only are most of the game’s locations based on real ones, but when it comes to enemies, you will be up against not just vampires and zombies – but Big Foot too.
Speaking with IGN, Ragnar Tornquist who is both director and producer of the game, said that it was important for Funcom to not only create a unique and exciting world, but to provide a reason why there’s all these creatures from folklore and different myths running about.
“Most of the game takes place in [real-world] locations that while they’re not necessarily real places, should feel genuine – places that could exist in the real world, like Kingsmouth, Maine, which is inspired by several New England coastal towns,” he said. “Our hub cities are modeled on the real thing, though the specific neighborhoods we’ve built are, obviously, fictional.
“As for other areas in the game, they’re all placed in recognizable locations – like Egypt – and we’ve done a ton of research – including sending people from the team to take pictures and speak with locals – to ensure that they feel as genuine as possible.
“Of course, at the end of the day it’s more important for us to create an interesting and exciting world, and to support the gameplay mechanics and the story, rather than be one hundred percent accurate. We’re not a world simulator: we’re an action-packed contemporary fantasy game.
“The Secret World certainly has horror elements in it, particularly in terms of the monsters – but that’s not all. There’s contemporary fantasy, globe-trotting adventure, ancient myths and urban legends. And our monsters vary from typical horror movie mainstays – your zombies and vampires and chainsaw-wielding brutes – to the more mythical – Wendigo, Sasquatch. But there’s certainly a common thread that ensures it doesn’t feel like several different games in one: all of our creatures and monsters have a role in the story, and there’s a reason behind their re-emergence into the world when the game starts. Dark days are coming.
“I think our setting sets us apart from every other MMO out there, and that carries through to every part of the game – it’s something we continuously strive for and works towards, to create a unique world that players have never seen before, and one that is exciting to explore and experience.
“Our choice of locations has greatly affected both the story, the monsters, the characters, the missions and the gameplay. The content is specifically tailored to each location in the game, but it all ties together into a very consistent universe with a deep history that goes back millions of years.
“We’ve actually planned out several years’ worth of post-launch content – including exciting new locations. You should see our design Wiki. It’s enormous. It’ll take us years and years to reveal everything about our game world – which is a good thing, because it’s an MMO.
“We expect this game to be around for a very, very long time”.
Good to hear, as it sounds very interesting, and Funcom has promised it will not be a grindfest – which is a particular trapping for most MMOs.
A couple new environmental screens were released last month, and you should check ‘em out.",783,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952178120613098
5f1799d4-40a7-49c6-871e-b5a72176bb44,2022-05-25T17:09:33+00:00,2022-05-25,1,https://www.deeside.com/welsh-government-investing-50m-to-encourage-cycle-use-and-help-wales-meet-net-zero/,"Welsh Government investing £50m to encourage cycle use and help Wales meet net zero
Getting people out of cars and on to bikes is the aim of a £50m investment announced by Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters today.
As part of the investment, all local authorities including Flintshire Council will receive a minimum of £500k with the opportunity to bid for more cash in a competitive application process.
Deputy Minister for Climate Change, with a responsibility for Transport, Lee Waters said:
“This is a substantial investment and part of our commitment to making cycling easier so people cut the amount of journeys they take by car and travel in a way that is better for our planet.
“Getting people out of cars for short journeys and encouraging them to walk or cycle instead is a huge challenge for us, but one that has to be met if we are to reach our net zero carbon emission target by 2050.
“We need to make sure that we have the right infrastructure and routes in place so that people have the choice of cycling for their everyday journeys – we need to make the right thing to do, the easy thing to do.”
One organisation that is benefiting from this investment is Pedal Power in South Wales.
As part of a series of Welsh Government e-bike pilot schemes, the cycling charity received £0.21m for its ‘See Cycling Differently’ project which is aimed at increasing the inclusivity of cycling by offering a range of e-cycles.
Thanks to the money received the charity has expanded its e-cycle fleet and is encouraging its users to cycle more.
Director of Pedal Power, Cardiff, Sian Donovan said:
“Cycling is a fantastic way for everyone – all ages and abilities – to have fun, gain more independence and enjoy a sense of freedom which we know has provided a lifeline to many during the pandemic.
“We were delighted to receive funding from the Welsh Government to help us to continue to remove barriers to cycling so that it can be truly accessible and inclusive for all.”
The Welsh Government’s e-bike pilot scheme is designed to explore affordable ways to improve people’s mobility, increase access to sustainable and healthy ways of travelling and encourage people to reduce their car use and travel more sustainably.
Pilots are currently being run in locations across Wales, including Swansea, Rhyl, Aber, Newtown, Barry and Cardiff.
Spotted something? Got a story? Send a Facebook Message | A direct message on Twitter | Email: firstname.lastname@example.org",533,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00218.warc.gz,0.958453476428986
306c88db-5b99-4f70-863d-309cbdf1c701,2019-08-22T01:52:20+00:00,2017-03-26,1,https://in.reuters.com/article/bulgaria-election-idINKBN16X026?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FINworldNews+%28News+%2F+IN+%2F+World+News%29,"SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria’s centre-right GERB party narrowly won a parliamentary election on Sunday, giving it a chance to form another government after leader Boiko Borisov resigned as prime minister in November, triggering the snap poll.
The GERB party won 33 percent of the vote, the Balkan country’s third in just 4 years, with the leftist Socialists trailing on 27.2 percent, partial official results with 26 percent of the ballots counted showed.
“The result of the vote shows that GERB is obliged to form a government,” said Borisov.
The election had been seen as a test of Bulgaria’s loyalties to the European Union, which it joined in 2007, and to Russia, with which it has historic political and cultural links.
The Socialists, who had pledged to improve ties with Russia even if it meant upsetting EU partners, doubled their share of the vote compared to the last election in 2014 but failed to overtake the strongly pro-EU GERB.
If Borisov, 57, succeeds in forming a new coalition, it is likely to maintain the tight fiscal policies that underpin the lev currency’s peg to the euro.
GERB is expected to court the United Patriots nationalist alliance, which came third with 9.6 percent of the vote, followed by ethnic Turkish party MRF with 7 percent, according to partial official results. The Populist Will party will also enter the next parliament.
Political analysts are sceptical the results can lead to a government able to uproot widespread corruption in the EU’s poorest member state.
“I am not optimistic that these results will lead to the formation of a stable majority that can pursue strong policies,” said Ognyan Minchev, a political analyst with the Sofia-based Institute for Regional and International Studies.
“It is likely to be fragile and unstable,” he said.
The United Patriots has built its popularity on anger about the flow of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia trying to reach Western Europe via the Balkans.
On Friday, supporters of the alliance blocked Bulgaria’s border crossings with Turkey in an effort to stop buses bringing Bulgarian ethnic Turks to vote in Sunday’s election. [L5N1H12F9]
Ahead of the election, Borisov signalled he hoped to include the Reformist Bloc in a GERB-led coalition government, but exit polls suggested the right-wing group had failed to secure enough votes to make it into parliament. That will likely complicate coalition talks.
Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova, 48, conceded defeat in the election but said she would look at options for forming a government in case GERB cannot do so.
The Socialists had pledged during campaigning to raise wages and pensions as well as oppose continuing EU sanctions against former Soviet-era overlord Russia.
That would complicate relations with Bulgaria’s EU peers — already grappling with Britain’s move to leave and the rise of anti-establishment parties across the bloc — as it gets ready to take over the EU’s six-month rotating presidency in January.
Borisov resigned after a GERB candidate lost a presidential election in November to Rumen Radev, a Russia-friendly ally of the Socialists, and Bulgaria is currently being run by a caretaker administration.
Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Catherine Evans and Andrew Hay",724,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027316555.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822000659-20190822022659-00466.warc.gz,0.963578402996063
c839cc0b-6143-49aa-b01f-c785079788df,2022-05-25T06:59:16+00:00,2020-05-05,1,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/05/republicans-move-block-48-us-fighter-jets-deployed-britain-huawei/,"Republican senators are attempting to block by law the deployment of 48 next generation US fighter jets to Britain because of Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G network, The Telegraph can reveal.
An amendment to the annual piece of legislation determining how defence money is spent proposes to ban such deployments to countries where “at-risk” companies like the Chinese firm have access.
The summary at the top of the amendment, seen by this newspaper, reads: “To prohibit the stationing of new aircraft at bases in host countries with at-risk vendors in their 5G or 6G networks.”
If it becomes law the change would effectively block two US squadrons of F-35A Lightning II aircraft from being permanently stationed in Britain from next year as planned.
The deployment is half a decade in the making. More than $200 million has already been spent preparing RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, where the aircraft will be based along with 1,200 US airmen.
Collapse of a project previously hailed by both sides as proof of the strength of UK-US military ties at this late stage would be an embarrassment for the UK government.
Plans to send Britain’s new aircraft carrier the HMS Queen Elizabeth to the Pacific carrying US F-35 jets - seen as another symbol of UK-US cooperation - could also be complicated.
The amendment has been proposed by Tom Cotton, the Republican senator Arkansas who sits on the committee handling the legislation. Other Republicans signatories are expected.
Mr Cotton told The Telegraph: “While the United States will do all we can to maintain and strengthen the special relationship, protecting US airmen and our national security assets must come first.”
The move on Capitol Hill is the latest example of the escalating row between Washington and London over Boris Johnson’s decision to let Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, help build the UK’s 5G wireless network.
On Monday this newspaper reported that the White House has launched a major review into the decision’s impact, assessing every US military and intelligence asset in Britain. It could see spy planes and agents pulled from the UK.
Tom Tugendhat, the Tory MP who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, was among conservative political figures who reacted by calling for a reversal from the UK government.
“This is serious. We need to rethink the Huawei decision,” Mr Tugendhat tweeted, further explaining his thinking in a piece for The Telegraph.
With the decision yet to become law in Britain, a reversal remains possible - though Downing Street is holding firm.
The UK Government argues that barring Huawei from building “core” parts of the 5G network and capping its non-core market share to 35 per cent means it is not compromised.
However the Trump administration does not share that confidence, viewing any involvement of Huawei as effectively giving the Chinese government access to the network.
That stance is shared by Republican congressmen who have already threatened to make a UK-US free trade deal conditional on Britain dropping its use of Huawei.
Mr Cotton, known as a fierce China critic and a Trump loyalist, has already successfully passed anti-Huawei moves into law, meaning his amendment carries weight.
Changes he has pushed have seen the US government barred from using Huawei equipment and US intelligence chiefs made to consider a country’s telecommunications providers before entering pacts to share classified information.
The amendment is being proposed for the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the latest version of an annual law that determines defence spending levels and restrictions.
Mr Cotton sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which drafts the legislation. It is understood he hopes two or three other Republicans on the committee will sign the amendment.
To become law, it would need to be included in the version of the legislation passed by both the Senate and the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and then signed into law by Donald Trump.
The Pentagon, which has been backing the F-35 deployment to Britain, could oppose the move and lobby congressmen to drop it, but ultimately Congress itself will decide.
It is possible some Democrats could support the move - or at least not object to its inclusion in the legislation - given there are signs of concern over Huawei on both sides of the aisle.
The amendment applies to long-term stationing of such aircraft and not “short-term” deployment “in connection with contingency operations or major combat operations”.
F-35s are among the most advanced fighter jets ever created and include intelligence and surveillance capabilities - hence the US concern over Huawei’s 5G involvement.
A well-placed UK defence source dismissed fears, saying the jets would not use networks built by Huawei and calling the move from senators “tokenism” and “symbolism”.
When the F-35 deployment plan was announced in January 2015 it was hailed as proof of the strength of the US-UK relationship, meaning its collapse would be taken as a sign of its erosion.
“This decision is just the latest example of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” Derek Chollet, then US assistant secretary of defence for international affairs, said at the time.
Last year it was also announced that the HMS Queen Elizabeth would carry US Marine Corps F-35s for a mission in the Pacific in 2021.
That too could be complicated if the amendment passed, though it is understood those pushing the change would be open to an exception being made for the mission.
The UK Government has always insisted its 5G network will not be compromised by Huawei’s limited involvement.
Huawei figures have in the past stressed their independence from the Chinese government.",1176,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00610.warc.gz,0.96391087770462
f2ae9dbf-065c-44a9-83e5-25d2ce0d3569,2016-07-27T15:27:22+00:00,2014-05-28,1,http://www.eastbaytimes.com/news/ci_25761402/plastic-bag-ban-survives-key-committee-vote-sacramento?source=rss,"SACRAMENTO -- California legislators have recycled a bill aimed at making the state the first in the nation to ban plastic grocery bags -- and the new effort gained momentum Wednesday despite fierce industry opposition and passionate appeals from workers who say the measure threatens their livelihoods.
Unlike last year's failed proposal, the new bill takes the unusual approach of trying to reinvent the plastic bag industry by paying companies to shift from making throw-away bags to reusable ones.
The new incentive has already won the support of two California bag manufacturers and could reshape an epic environmental battle similar to the fight over California's ""bottle bill"" in the 1980s. The stakes are high this year because the clout of environmental groups is on the line after a series of embarrassing legislative defeats last year.
Supporters of the bag ban -- which cleared a key Assembly committee Wednesday -- call it a vital tool to reduce litter as well as plastics pollution in the Pacific Ocean, where many of the bags end up. But opponents have labeled the bill a job killer in television and radio advertisements that started airing in the Sacramento area earlier this week.
""After seven years of going back and forth, this is clearly going to be the year that California votes to ban single-use plastic bags,"" said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste. ""When we do, we're going to see multiple states on two coasts follow.""
San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland and many other Bay Area communities have already banned single-use bags through local ordinances. But last year, a bill sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, fell three votes short of the 21 votes needed to get off the Senate floor.
In January, Padilla, who is also carrying this year's bill, announced a breakthrough compromise with some of the legislation's opponents. He agreed to make $2 million from the state's bottle-and-can recycling fund available to California businesses that want to retool their operations and instead manufacture reusable plastic bags that meet the bill's rigorous standards. Those businesses must also retain and retrain their employees to get the grants.
That was enough to convince one major Southern California plastic bag manufacturer to change his mind about the legislation, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, and Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens.
Pete Grande, CEO of Vernon-based Command Packaging, said he dropped his opposition to the bill after de Leon visited his factory and spoke with him about the proposal's merits. His company is now manufacturing reusable plastic bags and hopes to obtain one of the grants available to businesses if the bill is signed into law.
""I have been on the opposition side for the last several years, but I've come to the conclusion that our industry has the ability to change,"" Grande said. ""And as a leader in the industry, we are making that change.""
Grande's company is one of three in the state that manufactures plastic bags. Fewer than half a dozen other manufacturers produce the plastic film used to make single-use bags.
A plastic bag manufacturer near Chico also supports the bill, as do retailers Rite Aid and Target.
If passed, the legislation would ban grocery stores and pharmacies from offering customers single-use plastic bags beginning July 1, 2015. And a year later, the rule would apply to convenience stores and liquor stores, too. It would also impose a 10-cent fee on any paper or reusable plastic bags sold to customers who forget to bring their own bags when they shop and sets strict standards for what types of bags count as reusable.
Studies show that communities with ordinances banning plastic bags have less plastic bag pollution, and they spend far less cleaning up the ones that do litter local rivers and forests, Padilla said Wednesday while testifying before the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, which approved the bill on a 5-3 vote. Currently, California consumers use 14 billion plastic bags each year, and environmentalists note that only 3 percent get recycled.
None of Padilla's arguments has swayed Gary Halvorsen, regional sales manager for Crown Poly, a plastic bag manufacturer based in Huntington Park. He said the company has already lost substantial business because of local bag bans -- and that it would go under if a statewide ban is signed into law.
""This job is how I pay my mortgage, how I provide for my family, how I put groceries on the table,"" Halverson told the committee. ""If this bill becomes law, our industry will come to a halt, and I'll lose my job.""
Halverson's concerns are echoed in TV advertisements appearing in the Capitol region. Paid for by a group called the American Progressive Bag Alliance, the one-minute ad accuses Sacramento politicians like Padilla of ""putting powerful special interests before working families.""
Padilla, however, accused the out-of-state plastic bag manufacturers who belong to the alliance of using ""scare tactics"" to dissuade lawmakers from supporting his bill. North Carolina company Hilex Poly leads the alliance and is the largest producer of single-use plastic bags in North America.
Yes, he said, the bill will be a turning point for the industry and could result in some job losses. But that doesn't mean its goals are not worthwhile, he said.
""As much as we care about jobs and workers, to suggest that years ago we shouldn't have cracked down on smoking in public places because it would harm the tobacco industry is outrageous,"" Padilla said. ""Our ultimate goal is a reduction of waste in our oceans and streams. This policy is effective and will be successful.""
Starting July 1, 2015, grocery stores and pharmacies would be barred from making single-use plastic bags available to customers, and by the following July, convenience stores and liquor stores would be subject to the new rules, too.
Customers would be encouraged to bring their own reusable bags when they shop, but customers who forget would be charged a 10-cent fee for recycled paper or reusable plastic bags that meet standards for durability.
The bill would offer competitive loans and grants to plastic bag manufacturers that retool their operations and make reusable plastic bags instead. To qualify for these benefits, companies would need to retain and retrain their workers.",1272,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00018-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96895158290863
fb5dd7ef-3cd3-4cc6-8e2f-ba362f386bd2,2015-03-28T23:48:58+00:00,2015-03-28,0,http://bullguard.com/marketingfiles/ext/application/mobilesecurity_10/mo10_help/blackberry/en/parental.html,"SMS: shows the SMS monitor status.
Voice: shows whether BullGuard will log the incoming or outgoing voice calls.
E-mail: shows whether BullGuard will log the e-mail communication to and from the device.
Picture: shows whether BullGuard logs the images accessed through the device.
Log File Size: shows the maximum log size before the logs is posted.
Event Counts: you can set a “lowest amount” on the number of events you wish the phone to register and compile, before it reports the data to the online dashboard. This way, you avoid that the phone roams for internet connections every single time an
event has occurred – i.e. a phone call/text message, etc. has been received or sent.
Last Posted Date: shows the last date when the log file was posted.",175,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00259-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.904169797897339
a984894c-b17c-4580-82d7-26dba0939ada,2020-10-29T20:31:23+00:00,2020-10-29,0,https://vironevaeh.com/tag/composite-photos/,"With my new learning, I’ve been able to breathe new life into old photos. Over the past several years, I took numerous sets of photos that I intended to turn into panoramas and HDRs, but then I could never get them to look right. With newfound skills come newfound confidence. Check out these beautiful images!
American Southwest near Moab, Utah at sunset. Assembled from 40 24-megapixel images captured with a Sony Alpha 100. When it was assembling, it tied up over 100 gigs of space. This version is 1500×557 pixels; the full size is 19,000 x 7,000!
Detail from above photo, center-left at horizon.
Mount Saint Helen’s in Washington state. Assembled from 6 24-megapixel images from a Sony Alpha 100.
Detail from above photo, center left.
Waterfall in Central Virginia along the Blue Ridge Parkway. High dynamic range image assembled from five slow-exposures. Smart sharpen and high pass filters to add sharpness and clarity.
Rainforest in Olympic National Park. Before assembly, I reduced noise and applied lens corrections. High dynamic range image assembled from five exposures. Smart sharpen and high pass filters to add sharpness and clarity.",261,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107905777.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029184716-20201029214716-00684.warc.gz,0.93065744638443
284a91db-cc50-465c-a775-b1fbeec6168b,2017-08-16T23:50:14+00:00,2012-04,1,http://www.warpzoned.com/2012/04/this-is-reason-20xx-why-capcom-should-make-a-mega-man-movie/,"Fans have been clamoring for Capcom to officially sanction a Mega Man movie for years. In that time, we’ve seen a bevy of fan films and even one Hong Kong action film that unofficially took its inspiration from the Blue Bomber. Olan Rogers’ new mini-movie, “Mega Man X,” blows away everything in the former list and its effects even look better than the latter.
The beginning part of the video is a message Dr.Light records over 100 years ago, his lab is now abandoned. As the camera moves into the capsule you see a still running testing parameter where Mega Man X fights a hologram or drone in the form of Proto Man.
The most amazing thing is that this fan film was made for only $700. That’s just unbelievable! Capcom will make a Mega Man movie someday, but if they were smart, they’d hire Olan Rogers to direct it.",193,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102757.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816231829-20170817011829-00412.warc.gz,0.95349532365799
66a3faba-1112-45af-8014-748ce1e4aef5,2020-10-25T04:32:31+00:00,2020-10-25,0,https://www.rushlane.com/new-yamaha-r1-price-india-12150214.html,"Yamaha YZF-R1, popularly known as the R1, is Yamaha’s flagship sportsbike. Today, Yamaha India has launched the new R1. New Yamaha R1 price in India starts from Rs 20.73 lakhs, ex-showroom, New Delhi. Built on a new aluminium frame, which Yamaha refers to as ‘Deltabox’, Yamaha’s come with a completely new 998 cc liquid cooled 4 cylinder engine, and mated to a new 6 speed slipper clutch transmission, which delivers 200 PS @ 13,500 rpm and 112.4 Nm torque at 11,500 rpm.
The YZF-R1 is powered by a 998 cc, cross plane, 4-cylinder, 4-valve engine that develops 200 hp – without ram air pressurization. Compared to the outgoing R1, this one comes with two new features – Quick Shift System (QSS) and Lift Control System (LIF).
It is 2055 mm long, 690 mm wide, 1150 mm tall, and has a wheelbase of 1405 mm. It has a wet weight of just 199 kg. Speaking about brakes, front tyre gets 320 mm dual discs, while rear gets 220 mm single disc. ABS comes as standard. Front tyre size is 120/70/17, rear tyre is 190/55/17.
Electronic features include – banking sensitive traction control, slide control, quickshifter, launch control, anti-wheelie control, unified braking system, lift control system, chip controlled throttle, and power delivery mode.
Mr. Roy Kurian, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. said “The new YZF-R1 model will strengthen Yamaha in its superbike segment in Indian market. It inherits its technology from Yamaha’s racing machine YZR-M1. This model also highlights Yamaha’s improved aerodynamics which posts it closer to the MotoGP attributes, and which is a rare potential available in today’s market. Yamaha plans to increase its market share in supersports segment as the new YZF-R1 is expected to attract the younger racing enthusiasts.”",467,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107887810.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025041701-20201025071701-00065.warc.gz,0.916010618209839
3d3ef5ea-5060-421b-8c49-b78444709949,2020-10-20T14:36:59+00:00,2019-05-25,1,https://www.poconorecord.com/news/20190525/trump-downplays-north-korean-missile-threat,"TOKYO (AP) — In an apparent contradiction of his national security adviser, President Donald Trump on Sunday downplayed recent North Korean missile tests, tweeting from Tokyo that they're not a concern for him — even though they are for Japan.
Trump also said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's attacks on one of his Democratic rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden, had made him smile.
The remarks were the latest example of Trump's willingness to publicly undermine senior advisers, flout Democratic norms and side with totalitarian leaders, even on the world stage. He did so this time during a four-day state visit to Japan where he'll become the first leader to meet with the country's new emperor.
""North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me,"" Trump tweeted in one of a flurry of early morning messages that suggested he'd spent little time sleeping after the lengthy flight to Asia.
""Some"" of his ""people"" appear to include national security adviser John Bolton, who told reporters at a briefing Saturday ahead of Trump's arrival that a series of short-range missile tests by North Korea earlier this month were a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
""In terms of violating U.N. Security Council resolutions, there is no doubt about that,"" said Bolton, responding to the May 4 and 9 tests that ended a pause in launches that began in late 2017. Trump ignored a shouted question Sunday about whether he agreed with Bolton's assessment.
Trump and other administration officials have sought to downplay the significance of the tests, insisting they do not violate an agreement Trump reached with Kim for a moratorium on launches.
""The moratorium was focused, very focused, on intercontinental missile systems, the ones that threaten the United States,"" Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a recent television interview. That raised alarm bells in Japan, where short-range missiles pose a serious threat because of the country's proximity to North Korea.
Trump in his tweet said he had ""confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me,"" while at the same time embracing Kim's recent attacks on Biden, whose name he misspelled.
Trump said he ""smiled"" when Kim ""called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse.""
""Perhaps that's sending me a signal?"" Trump asked.
North Korea this week labeled Biden a ""fool of low IQ"" and an ""imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being"" after the U.S. presidential hopeful accused Trump of cozying up to ""dictators and tyrants"" like Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin during his campaign launch speech.
Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday, but a spokesman for his campaign, Andrew Bates said Wednesday that, ""Given Vice President Biden's record of standing up for American values and interests, it's no surprise that North Korea would prefer that Donald Trump remain in the White House.""
The tweet came early Sunday before Trump left his hotel for a round of golf with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He'll also be attending a sumo wrestling match and handing out a ""President's Cup"" to the winner as part of a visit meant to showcase the close ties between the nations.
Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.",693,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107872746.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020134010-20201020164010-00242.warc.gz,0.971110641956329
f1e07dab-a1f5-43fe-8651-a7f8c88f4df4,2016-07-27T15:34:28+00:00,1913-02-18,0,http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92053934/1913-02-18/ed-1/seq-1/,"Newspaper Page Text
ROCK ISLAND ARGUS. S1I
SIXTY-SECOND YEAIL NO. 104.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1913. TEN PAGES.
PRICE TWO CENTS.
REBELS FORCE 1
Army Weakening, He Con
sents to a President
NUMBER OF MEN KILLED
Troops Becoming Demoralized,
One Detachment Quitting
Capital Under Fire.
Mexico City, Feb. 18. While desul
tory firing of cannon still wm In prog,
resa t noon, the belief wai gaining
ground that a settlement of some kind
would be reached before nightfall.
Washington, Feb. 18. Many feder
als were killed in heavy fighting In the
vicinity of the American embassy In
Mexico City. Many bullets entered
the embassy, but caused only slight i
Washington, Feb. 18. Diaz and the
rebels may soon be in full control of
the residential section of Mexico City,
according to a despatch from Ambas
Mexico City, Feb. 18. President
Madero agreed today in principle to
the appointment of a president ad In
terim. The announcement that Madero
liad agreed to the appointment of a
provisional president was made on the
authority of Mexican Foreign Minister
I.asouraln. The news of Madoro's de
piston became known early In the fore
neon. At that hour the position of
'he government was weakening; and
the federal troops apparently were be
Tli"" situation of the federals became
bo rriticu"". that one strong detachment
f troop retired from the capital be-I
ford no.-in una was marching In tne
d'rertlnn of Cuernavaca, 40 m'.les
Klrlnc went on practically the
wliole f.Uht from both federal
pi;-! rebel positions. In the total
iliirk'i'-KH it w& Impossible to
uncertain whether any advantage
was Rained by either side. At 5:15 the
artillery duel ceased. No reason for
lb,' cessation of hostilities la known.
to ram dyamitb shells.
It was thought the break la the bat
il meant merely a change of tactics.
The federal ommander s'ated authori
tatively that no truce had been ar
ranged. Th government. It la said,
Intends to throw dynamite shells.
The federals today obtained posses
sion of the T. M. C. A. building, held
by rebels since the cond day of
flirlit'nir. A rebel battery ha been
. ed In position within one block of
t . rnlt-d States embassy.
:), S:li fipbting was not renew
lOUi day of the civil war
found virtually no change In the po
sitions of the antagonists, hut it Is un
derstood tb federals have received re
inforcements. GrW Tl'RJfED OJI POI.1CB.
At 10 o'olock the big guns of the
rebels at the arsenal were brought
Into play on tho national palace with
fierce fire. Federal troops are con-
cantraMa in mo ?iuuii ui
ace. The palace u threatened by
bodie of rebel, who mad a sortie.
Silas Gtlmore, an elderly American,
manager of an Important mechanical
works here, rwolved three bullets In
the right forearm while walking along
Collr.a KreeC He ran Into the middle
of a skirmish.
taft rsusacDir. sat kadbro.
Mexico CUT. Feb. 18. President
Madero yesterday received the roply
o President Taft to his telegram pro
testing against posN Intervention.
In which PeMnt Taft asuurwd Mm
that the reports of the Intention of
the United State to land troops were
""1 dw expected any lees than
this."" bommected Madero on Tart's
mesaa. ""I regard tt aa satisfactory
The flgntln continued throughout
the day, but tha federal guns were
quite aa lnoffeotlvo aa over In dis
lodging the rebels from their en
trenched ana fortified positions. Fur
thermore, tho federals did not sh&w
the earn aggressiveness which char
acterize their action in tha early
days of the battle. Thla la believed
to be due to the fact that they real
Ire that for the preeent the govern
ment force ara not of sufficient
strength to defeat the rebels.
BOMBS AT SHORT B.AMGE.
General Huerta announced.
ever, that he expected soon to begin
rn encircling movement in which
bombs would be used at short range,
General Blanquet is loyal to the gov-
ernment sod will be placed In com-
r:rnd of the reserves at the national ,
pr.lare. Both Sunday and yesterday
Madero appeared sanguine of the ul-
tlmate success of the federal army,
He declared that the outlook was op -
MISS EMERSON IS
JAILED IN LONDON
London, Feb. 18. Miss Zelie Emer
son, a militant sufTraget of Jackson,
Mich., was arrested today and sen
tenced to two months at hard labor.
Miss Emerson, and her companions
broke all the windows of the Liberal
association's building at Bow last
night. Mlaa Sylvia Pankhurst was alEO
given two months at hard labor.
tlmlsUo and that he bad been offered
support of all kinds.
la his opinion. Zapata, the guer
rilla, is not in favor of Diaz. Nearly
all the non-combatants have moved
out of the danger sone. Dread and
cornmeal are abundant In the capital
and are being distributed among the
WO KITES VIOLATED.
Washington, Feb. 18. Secretary
Knox told President Taft and the cab
inet today that notwithstanding all
the fierce fighting in the city of Mexico
the last eight days, there had been no
Infraction of the ruleB of civilized war
fare or the principles of international
law to warrant any interference by
tb United States.
The responsiveness of Madero and
Diaz, he said, to the suggestions of Am
bassador Wilson had been so com
plete and satisfactory as to Justify of
ficials in their opinion for a strictly
neutral attitude to be observed by the
United States. During the past week !
Knox talked to several European am
bassadors. 0 CRITICISM HEARD!
In no instance had there been a dis
position to crlttclzj the administration
for not intervening. He declared to
day that the steady progress of move-1
, mnnts in concentration of ships, sol-
aims and marines was not designed to
raoet existing condition, but only to 1 The resolution provides for an amend
guard against unexpected and graver j ment to the constitution.
of foreigners in Mexico beyond tie
ability of the defacto government of
the country to insure.
IS SHIP'S AT GCAXTAAMO.
Four battleships under repair at At
lantic coast navy yards are expected
to follow the Connecticut, which sail
ed thla morning from New Tork for
Gnantanamo. and which will give Rear
Admiral Badger 15 battleships at that
M1UOV ESTABLISHES KEXJEP.
With, sickness and famine con front
lag the ptople of Mexico City, Am
bassador Wilson has established an
embassy relief organization. WUaon
reports many killed In yesterday's
fighting. Hundreds of Americans and
other foreigners are prevented from
leaving becanae firing makes it impos
sible for them to make necessary prep
aration. XAcnrvE era stolen.
13 Paso. Feb. IS. A machine gun
of the Thirteenth cavalry at HachiTa,
X. M disappeared Sunday night. It
la believed rebels came across the
border and stole the piece.
LECISLATOtt TSGES ACTIO.
Lansing. Mica, Feb. IS. A reeohj
tion was Introduced in the Michigan
legislature by Dr. PJon Wheeian of
Hallsdale urging President Taft and
Wood row Wilson to take action to re-
store peace and protect American Uvea
1q Mexico. Wheelan's Bon Arthur is
employed la Mexico City. He baa not
teen heard from in two weeks.
Receivers tor Rubber Firm.
Boston, Feb. 18. Receivers were ap-
pomtM today ror the crude robber
j firm of George A. Alden company, one
i of the oldest rubber houses in the
THE SPIRIT OF 1913
Fcrecast Till 7 p. m. Tomorrow fer
Rock Island, Davenport. Molina,
Unsettled weather, with snow or rain
late tonight or Wednesday; colder to
night, with lowest temperature slightly
below the freezing point.
Temperature at 7 a. m., 39. Higliest
yesterday. 49; lowest last night, 38.
Velocity of wind at 7 a. m., 5 miles
Relative humidity at 7 p. m., 60, at
7 a. m.TTff'. '
J. M. SHERIER. Local Forecaster.
(From nodu today to noon tomorrow.)
Sun sets rises C:""0. Evening star:
Venus. Morning Ntars: Jupiter. Murs.
Charleston, W. Va.. Feb. IS. Charg
es that William Seymour Edwards, one
of the republican candidates for Unit
ed States senator, tried to buy the
votes of members of the legislature,
were dismissed today by Justice Gil
christ. WOULD END BOOZE
MAKING IN IOWA
Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 18. Repre
sentative, Dawson introduced a Joint
resolution asking prohibition of the
manufacture or sale of liquor in lowa.
WITH SIMPLE CEREMONY
Paris. Feb. 18. The inauguration of
President Potacare took place today
with very simple ceremonies. , There
was great display of popular enthus
iasm as the chief proceeded to the
palace to take offlcs. Premier Brian d
at 2 o'clock tbis afternoon called at
the private residence of tb president
elect. The two proceeded in a four
horse open carriage, with an escort,
to the palace. In spite of aero weather
the streets were lined with people.
M'KEEN, FORMER HEAD OF
VANDALJA RAILWAY, DEAD!
Terra Haute, Ind, Pen. 18. W. R. I
McKeen, former president of the Tan- j
dalla railroad, and one of the beat j
known fimmderB In the state, died j
today following a loopy ears' Illness. I
He had been a delegate ta all repub
lican ooffvantlone from 1872 to 1904.
He was the only civilian in the state
to be made a member of the Legion
NEW YORK LEGISLATURE ""?Vatlngcm, FU It. The yerwport
ORDERS PDUCE IWQUlRYlfiSBSr
Albany, -K. m. OB. Tb leglala-
ture adopted. mwnrtTTmutfy a reeolu-
tkm providing tor m seaxnhmg lnveti-
gatkm of ton Kew Yurfa pottos situa
tion by a Joint wimmUWB of senators
vviiaon mcvpra rwmier rreotoency.
Trenton, N. J., Feb. 18. Governor
Wilson has accepted the honorary
presidency of the national peace con-
WILSON'S 7 BILLS
PASS THE HOUSE
Trenton. N. J., Feb. 18. Objections
to seveu anti-trust bills fathered by
Governor Wilson came to him from
an unlooked for quarter today, when
a group of state labor leaders suggest
ed a possibility that the bills might be
construed as affecting labor unions.
They called the governor's attention to
a provision which would prohibit ""any
pnmhtjifttjnii o. agreement between
two of more corporations, firms or per
sons to create restrictions in trade,
'.imlt production or increase prices.""
The governor pointed out that the
act restricts ""persons dealing in com
modities.'' and said the courts of New
Jersey had consistently held labor was
not a commodity, so there could be no
application to the labor question.
Wilson's seven anti-trust bills pass
ed the house this afternoon exactly in
the same form as they passed tha sen
ate last week.
Hilles Gets New Job.
Albany, N. Y.. Feb. 18. Charles
D. Hilles of Dobbs Ferry, secretary
to President Taft, and chairman of
the republican national committee,
was appointed last night by Governor
Sulzer as a member of the board of
managers of the New York training
school for girls at Hudson. When the
nomination was received In the sen
ate the democratic leader; Wagon,
moved immediate consideration. ""In
view, not only of the distinction Mr.
Hilles has gained as one of the citi
zens of the state,"" said Senator Wagon,
""but also because of the very valued
and valiant service he rendered the
democratic party In the laat cam
paign, I move his immediate confirma
tion."" The nomination was con
firmed. Many Escape Bomb.
Chicago, Feb. 18. A bomb, believed
to have- contained dynamite, was ex
ploded last night in front of a saloon
owned by Emanuel Abrahams. No one
was injured, but the windows in the
front of the building were shattered.
Abrahams, who has been active in lo
cal politics, told the police he believed
a political enemy was responsible for
Pana Rejects Commlaalon Rule.
Pana, 111., Fib. It. The commission
form of government lost by a vote ot
226 to 634 in a special election yes
terday. Of 150 voters la one ward
only 12 votes were registered for it
All five wards went against the pro
Janvtus Under Knife.
St. Lou la. Pen. 18. Tony Jann-us,
the aviator, la 111 of appendicitis and
will be operated on.
' nought Peansrlvmnia, with Curtias tor
bine engine, was the lvwvst of all pro
ponds opened at lbs aavy department
It tO Ve not a&r de ""biggest anlp
in the American xtsrr, bat as far as
known -wm exceed in size any
Uhip bo far laid down by a xorelsn
! power. The tonnage wffl be 15,000, al-
i most three times timt at the old fa-
mons Oregon. The ccrst complete will
87 TO LEWIS
ON 4TH VOTE
Deadlock in the Illinois
Assembly is Tight
STILL TALKING DEALS
Judge Sherman Serves Notice
That He Will Not Accept
the Short Term.
Springfield, HI, Feb. 18. The fourth
joint ballot today for the long term
Lewis, democrat, 87.
Sherman, republican, 76.
Funk, progressive, 19.
Berlyn, socialist, 4.
Raymond Robins, progressive, 1.
Not voting, 3.
The fourth Joint ballot for the short
term senatorship resulted in no choice.
The vote was scattered among a score
of candidates. Boeschenstetn, demo
crat, and Sherman, republican, led,
LO!0 TERM IS BARRIER.
Lawrence Y. Sherman, republican
senatorial primary nominee, told the
managers of James Hamilton Lewis,
democratic primary nominee, today
that he would not consent to a pro
posed combination involving his elec
tion as the short term senator. The
Lewis managers informed Mr. Sher
man and his friends with equal em
phasis that they would not agree to
the proposal that the republican nom
inee get the long term.
Both sides are standing firm. If one
or the other gives in and is willing
to take the short term a republican-
democratic combination for the elec
tion of the two primary nominees ap
pears a certainty.
LEWIS MEN FAVOR DEAL.
Governor Dunne still stands for two
democratic senators, but his friends,
who are looking out for the interests
of Colonel Lewis, are out in the open
for the Sherman-Lewis deal. The
Lewis managers would like the assur
ance of Presldent-elct Woodrow Wil
son that under the circumstances the
election of one republican senator will
be justifiable. Democrats who profess
to have a line on Governor Wilson's
opinions believe he would never con
sent to giving up the long term. j
WHIP HAND TO REPI BI.ICAXS.
The republicans insist upon having
the long term because they believe
they can force the democrats to take
the short term or nothing. Less than
half a dozen republicans have balked
on the proposed election of Sherman
and Frank H. Funk, progressive. They
have taken the stand that any combi
nation should involve the election of
the two primary nominees, ITSt if it
proves impossible to put through the
Lewis-Sherman combination they will
abandon their opposition. The pro
gressives ask only for the short term.
Representative Joseph Carter and
two other progressives were in con
ference last night with Governor
Dunne. The progressives have sug
gested that they might be willing to
vote for two democrats if, in addition
to getting all the minority patronage.
they were permitted to name the sec
ond democrat It Is understood Gov
ernor Dunne would not consent to
their naming the second democrat.
Furthermore, it is believed he would
prefer to make a bargain with fne re
publicans, as he then would be more
certain of sufficient votes for the con
firmation of his appointments.
ASK BOEJCHEJTEIS TO O.C1T.
A committee of democrats compos
ed of Representatives W. A. Hubbard
and Charles A. Karon and Senators W.
A. Compton and W. D. Piercy is seek
ing to convince Charles Boeschenstein,
democratic caucus nominee for tire
short term, that he should withdraw
Mr. Boeschenstein's managers, how
ever, declare their Intention to pull
votes away from Lewis Ju?t as long
as the Lewis managers seek to elect
the colonel without giving any con
sideration to the caucus nominee
n.OOD OF RILLS.
A flood of bills, the first to be intro
duced In the house since the conven
ing of the legislature six weeks ago,
today swamped the reading clerk of
the house, when, by the adoption of
a oet of temporary rules, the members
made the introduction of bills legally
possible. Nearly a hundred bills were
Raid Chicago ""Fences.""
Chicago, Feb. 18. Raids on ""fences'
and arrests of a number of business
men aald to have profited more by
raids of auto bandits than the bandits
themselves, were planned today by the
police. Names and addresses were, ob
tained from Robert Webb, confessed
slayer of Detective Hart.
Upper Berth Law Upheld.
Madison, Win., Feb. 18. The su
tireme court upheld the constitution
ality of the ""upper berth law."" It pro
vides the upper berth shall be closed
when not occupied.
EXPECT TO PASS
BILL OVB VETO
Washington. Feb. 18. Friends of
the Burnett-DllUngham 'literacy test""
immigration bill claimed to have
enough votes to repass the measure
over Taft's veto when the senate re
convened today. A vote on the meas
ure was scheduled for 3 o'clock.
Stone, in a speech, said literacy was
not a good test of citizenship. The
blackhand and similar organizations
were composed largely of people who
could stand a literacy test.
""Who murdered Garfield? Who as
sassinated McKlnley? Who commit
ted these frightful crimes?"" demanded
Stone. ""Every one of them could take
this test and enter the country.""
The senate passed the immigration
bill over Taft's veto, 72 to 18. An at
tempt will be made to repass the bill
in the house.
The senate committee agreed to fa
vorably report the bill prescribing
eight hours as the maximum time oi
a day's work for women In the District
Senator Kenyon will introduce a bill
restricting employment of women
throughout the country to eight hours
by prohibiting their employment be
yond that time in any industrial con
cern engaged in Interstate commerce.
200 HOMES BURN
IN TURK CAPITAL
London, Feb. 18. A conflagration
which threatened to wipe out most of
Constantinople was under control at
an early hour today. More than 200
houses and shops surrounding the
great mosque of St. Sophia were de
stroyed. The mosque appears to have
suffered no serious damage.
News of the Balkan war is becoming
extremely scarce. Meagre dispatches
from Constantinople are subjected to
long delays and strict censorship.
Enver Bey, the young Turk leader,
reported yesterday as severly wound
ed, telegraphed friends today denying
$640 MORE FINES
FOR AL TEARNEY
Chicago, Feb. 18. Alderman Al
Tearney, president of the Three-Eye
league, today was fined 8640 on 82
charges of violating the 1 o'clock clos
ing law at bis saloon.
FATHER AND SON
Do Not Speak for 19 Years Be
cause of Beating Adminis
tered to Boy in 1893.
Harboring In his mind the memory
of a trouncing administered him by
his father 19 years ago, Richard Hlnk
ley, who left hia home at the age of
five, yesterday broke the long silence
for the first time. Hot words were
exchanged between father and son
which resulted in the former's arrest
on a disorderly conduct charge, the
warrant being sworn out by the boy.
This morning in police court the
charges against the prisoner, Albert
Hinkley, were dismissed.
It appears that when Richard was
five years of age he ran away from
home and was lost over night. When
be returned to his home, the father
beat the lad until his body was cov
ered with great welts. This happened
In Chicago. The authorities removed
the lad from his home and placed him
in an orphan's home, contending that
the father was an improper guardian.
Some time afterward Richard was tak
en from the Institution and since has
been making hia home with relatives.
Father and son have met each oth
er frequently, but during all this
time, the memory of that beating years
ago has rankled in the son's mind and
he has steadfastly refused to recog
nise his father.
This morning the Judge asked the
young man If he would not return to
reply his ratners home. ""ro, was
the reply, ""I will never go back to
him or speak to him. I can never
forget the way he treated me when
was a boy.""
The father, who ! an aged man,
upon hearing his son's words, bowed
his gray head and breaking down
completely, wept. The court dismiss
ed the charges.
Herbert Laneton Dead.
Washington, Feb. 18. Herbert
Lanston, Inventor of a typesetting ma
chine which bore his name, is dead.
Popuar Eleotion Approved.
Madison, Wis., Feb. 18. A Joint res
olution providing for the popular elec
tion of United State senators passed
the assembly. It already had passed
Kansas City Further testimony
tending to show the use of cyanide of
potassium la tne Swope home by Dr.
B. Clarke Hyde, accused of murder,
was given by Miss Lou E. Van Nuys,
who waa a nurse In. tho Swop horn
during the illness of Margaret Swope.
Big Eastern Strike is
Prevented by Commit
MADE UNDER PROTEST
Requested Also That All of the
Hearings Be Open to the
New York. Feb. IS. Eastern rail
roads agreed today to arbitrate the
demands of the Brotherhood of Loco
motive Firemen and Englnemen under
the Erdman act. This breaks the
deadlock. The decision of the roads
was announced in an official state
ment issued by Chairman Lee of the
conference committee of managers.
""The managers feel."" says the state
ment, ""that the public will not tol
erate a strike.""
Lee's communication was addressed
to Judge Knapp of the commerce court
and O. W. Hangar, acting United
States commissioner of labor, who
have been acting as mediators In tho
In part .it said:
""At the urgent request of you, as
representatives of the government,
and under the strongest protest we
are able to voice, the managers' com
mittee agrees to arbitrate the fire
men'B controversy under the Erdman
act. The managers shall earnestly
request that the hearings be open to
""The managers feel the public will
not tolerate a strike. Realizing tha
three-fold responsibility to the public,
their men and their shareholders, they
only agreed to arbitrate under the
Erdman act when It seemed the only
way to avoid the calamity cf a strike.
The question tho public should serious
ly consider 1b whether. In compelling
the railroads to arbitrate under a
curing temporary convenience and ao
curing temporary convenience and ac
commodation, they are not sacrificing
their permanent welfare.
1VAIIXS OF OTHER DEMANDS.
""The manage ra"" committee wishes to
warn the public at this time of another
and similar ' demand for Increased
wages made by conductors and train
men. We desire to put the publlo
on notice as to the crisis that will con
front them when these demands are
considered by the railroads.""
WAGES MAIN aiKSTlOW.
The question to come before the ar
bitrators is principally ono of wages.
The railroads have already expressed
a willingness to raise wages, but not
to the maximum demanded. To grant
this, they assert, would cost $12,000,-
000 a year. The firemen themselves
admit the defects of the Erdman act.
and while the present dispute will bo
settled under the existing law after
wards. President Carter of tho Broth
erhood will meet with the heads of
other railway and labor organizations
and representatives of railroads and
request congress to amend the law in
CARMEN STRIKE R.XDR.
Kansas City, Feb. 18. A strike call
ed In September, 1911, Involving 11,000
carmen throughout the Missouri, Kan
sas ft Texas railroad system, ceased
at noon today. The strike followed
the refusal of the company to honor
the contract with the carmen as laid
down by a committee of the union as
a whole. President Ryan of the In
ternational Brotherhood of Railway
Carmen said the company had now,
agreed to recognize the actions of the
committee as a whole as binding over
the entire system. The principal shops
affected by the strike were Sedalla,
Mo., Fort Worth and Denison, Texas,
and Parsons, Kan.
Qulncy Has $500,000 Fire.
Quincy, 111., Feb. 18. The Daytoi
tablet factory was destroyed by Are
last night. The plant covered an en
tire block 'and the fire threatened to
spread. The loss to the tablet factory
Is estimated at $500,000.
8uffrageto Leave Cheater.
Chester, Pa., Feb. 18. With their
ranas unnroxen tne iitue Dana or sur
fragets walking to Washington started
southward at 10 o'clock this morning.
Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 18. J. P. Morgan
continued to improve in health today,
according to a cablegram to his son.
3 ASSASSINS ARE
SLAIN IN PUBLIC
San Salvador, Feb. 18. Three of the
assassins of the late President Araa-,
Jo were shot by a platoon of soldiers
thla morning in tho preaano et a
large concourse of people",6462,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00002-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.910925805568695
debe4ca6-76eb-47fa-afc2-774a60379230,2015-04-01T05:49:46+00:00,2015-03-31,1,http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/4K_Blu-ray/Blu-ray_Disc_Association/Blu-ray_Disc_Association_Ponders_4K_Blu-rays/11034,"Though packing 4K content onto a Blu-ray disc should be possible, there's a lot to think about before going forward.
At this point, the 4K revolution seems inevitable. The industry is pushing for it hard and if pricing can get lower, there's no doubt that people will start to make the switch. After all, this isn't something you need to wear glasses for or even buy extra speakers for – it's a better looking picture.
Content delivery is a problem though, and it's one the Blu-ray Disc Association has been pondering. The format has had a good run thusfar, and the BDA would like to keep that going once UHDTVs really start to penetrate the market. There are three things they're looking at in regards to 4K Blu-rays: technical hurdles, demand and the effect that 4K discs would have on current Blu-ray fans.
Creating 4K Blu-rays would also segment the market if the discs aren't compatible with old hardware. Folks who want to watch a UHD movie would have to ensure they had a 4K compatible player and disc. It's not hard to imagine the confusion of the general consumer. That's something that could be solved with backwards compatibility, or simply by bundling a traditional Blu-ray with a 4K Blu-ray.
What happens with the initial rush of UHD hardware will be telling, and will have a big influence on the Blu-ray format moving forward.
Source: Big Picture Big Sound",309,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303502.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00079-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96886283159256
92090a47-31fc-44d9-b842-4d381f69829f,2017-08-20T10:29:40+00:00,2016-04-15,0,http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3538653/Woman-pulls-gun-motorcycle-riders-attacking-friend.html,"Woman pulls a gun on motorcycle riders who attack her friend
- Group of riders were filmed tussling with a motorist in road rage incident
- Row began after car almost swerved into one of the motorcycle riders
- When car stopped motorcyclists confronted the driver before attacking him
- A female passenger then got out of the car and pulled a gun on the group
This is the shocking moment a woman pulled a gun on a group of motorcyclists who are attacking her friend.
The footage, filmed by one of the riders, opens with the motorcyclists riding along an unnamed highway in Florida.
The road rage incident began after the driver of a red BMW appeared to swerve in the road - nearly taking out one of the riders.
After the car pulled up at a traffic stop, the group of three motorcyclists were seen tussling with the motorist who attempted to stand in front of the bikes to prevent them riding away.
The row quickly escalated until the men were filmed punching the driver to the floor.
They seemed to be about to get back on their bikes to ride away, when a female passenger got out of the car and pulled a gun on the group who swiftly fled.
The video, which was recency posted by Dankwheelie, has already been viewed almost 500,000 times.
This is the shocking moment a woman pulls a gun on a group of motorcyclists who are attacking her friend
After the car pulls up at a traffic stop, the group of three motorcyclists are seen tussling with the motorist who attempts to stand in front of the bikes to prevent them riding away
The row quickly escalates until the men are filmed punching the driver who falls to the floor
They seem to be about to get back on their bikes to ride away, when a female passengers gets out of the car and pulls a gun on the group who swiftly flee
Most watched News videos
- Horror as three young girls are found dead inside Maryland home
- Architects frontman applauded for calling out groper
- Moment knifeman flees the scene after stabbing man in Surgut
- Moment the Prince's walk behind Diana's coffin at her funeral
- Trump fires controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon
- Spanish royals visit young victims of Barcelona attacks
- Remembrance: Vigil held to pay tribute to Barcelona victims
- Boston police keep the peace during free speech rally
- Julie Bishop updates on Australians involved in Barcelona attacks
- This adorable fish thinks it's a dog between owner's fingers
- 'Suspect' arrested after shocking stabbing spree in Finland
- Research expedition finds wreckage from the USS Indianapolis",543,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106367.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820092918-20170820112918-00449.warc.gz,0.964104950428009
454f7497-388d-4298-aeea-80131f7a07a0,2020-10-20T08:54:12+00:00,2020-08-26,1,https://www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com/news/charges-upgraded-to-murder-for-july-5th-shooting-after-victim-dies-bolo-issued-for-armed/article_392d71f8-ebd4-11ea-b8ab-07403ea3e65e.html,"The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office has issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) for Deanston Junior Elvis Wright, aka ""Chip-Chip,"" for the shooting death of Omeish Stewart. Wright, 20, is wanted for murder and is considered armed and dangerous.
On July 4-5, during a 4th of July celebration being held at 2410 Kinmor Industrial Parkway in Conyers, an argument erupted into gunfire, wounding Stewart and two females.
Warrants had already been taken out for Wright's arrest, but on Aug. 26, the Sheriff's Office received information that Stewart had succumbed to his wounds, and an additional warrant was taken out for murder.
According to Dep. Lee Thomas, Stewart was the father of four children, and his family and community are asking for any assistance with the whereabouts of Wright.
Investigators believe Wright may have left Georgia, but is likely still in the United States. He has ties to Jamaica, east metro Atlanta, New Jersey, New York, and Florida.
Investigators also believe Wright may have shaved off all of his hair in an effort to change his overall appearance.
Anyone with information about Wright and/or his current location is asked to contact Investigator Dwayne Smith at 770-278-8161, 404-615-0124, or by email at Dwayne.Smith@RockdaleCountyGA.gov.",284,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107871231.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020080044-20201020110044-00700.warc.gz,0.98308140039444
35b3b639-1014-49b2-a826-d4fbe4fc5f4f,2013-06-19T19:14:47+00:00,2013-06-19,0,http://xhamster.com/view_post_print.php?id=124473&u=morig,"This is a print version of story His big sister part 3 by morig from xHamster.com
His big sister part 3
Kate decided that she was not going to let Bett's pussy been on show put her off so she just carried on chatting to Bett like everything was normal.
Bett let one leg slip out form under her onto the floor. Now when Kate looked down she could see tha this little slut was very turned on. Her pussy hair was soaked with her juice, and Kate could smell the heady aroma aroused pussy wafting up to her nose. Bett let a hand slip between her legs and began to tease her clit, purring like a kitten. Kate blushed bright red, but she seemed to be in a trance she locked her eyes on Bett's pussy amazed by how it was juicing freely forming a little pool on her dress. Kate's was getting really turned on watching this little show, her nipples were rock hard and her pussy too was starting let down it's juice. She could feel her panties growing damp. Kate had never dreamed of been with another woman untill now. She was ashamed to admit to herself that she wanted to taste Bett's juice, to feel her tongue between her wet glistening lips, playing with that hard clit, flicking at it making Bett squrim and wriggle. She so wanted to lick Bett till she came in her mouth and drink freely on her juice. Bett placed two fingers between her lips and split them open she looked into Kate's eyes and asked
""Would you like to taste me Kate?"".
Kate croked ""Oh yes please"".
""Would you like me to taste you too Kate?"".
Kate dropped her head and nodded a yes.
Bett sat up and pulled her dress down, she came close to Kate's ear and whispered. ""I think we're going to enjoy eachother later"".
Her soft voice and her hot breath in Kate's ear nearly made her orgasm on the spot. Kate was so confused her head was filled with all these new thoughts, was she a lesbian, or just excited by something new and weird to her. She didn't know, but she did now she was so fucking horny.
She was dragged from her thoughts by the sound of the door opening and Mary coming back from the kitchen, she asked, ""How are you two getting on?"".
Bett linked her arm in Kate's and said ""Oh we're going to be really good friends and I mean really good friends, aren't we Kate?"".
Kate just ""Yes, I think we will"".
Kate excused herself saying she needed to use the bathroom. She dashed off to the bathroom locked the door and sat on the toilet trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. Her pussy was buzzing in her pants she hadn't felt so turned ever before. She was thinking how could I not know that I would be this attracted to another woman, she opened her jeans and slipped down around her ankles, pushing her panties to her knees. She sat back opened her legs and her hand found it's way between her legs. She slipped a finger into herself and toyed and then raised her fingers to her lips and licked and sucked them, dreaming about how Bett's pussy would taste. She played a bit more and then was about to wash her hands, but decided not to. A wicket idea popped into her head. She opened the bathroom door and called out to Bett to come here please. Bett came into the bathroom. Kate closed the door and pressed Bett against the sink and brought her hand shining with her pussy juice to Bett's mouth. Bett parted her lips and licked Kate's fingers. Kate asked ""Do you like the way my pussy tastes Bett?"". Bett held Kate's hand in both of her's and sucked and licked her fingers clean, saying ""Oh Kate you taste so good, I want more"".
Kate pulled her hand away and said,,,""Well maybe if you're a good girl I let you drink from the sorce later"". Kate walked out of the bathroom, thinking to herself,,""See you little slut I can play you at you're own game"".
Bett closed the door and pulled up her dress and drove her fingers deep into her wet hot pussy she finger fucked herself till she came, her legs going weak and she grabed the sink to steady herself as her body jerked as the orgasm washed over her. Her breathing slowed and she looked in the mirror and said, ""Oh yes Kate I will feast on you your wonderful tasting pussy,,,but not only me!!"".
In a few minutes everybody ended up in the sittingroom where Mary said the food will be here soon. We have table set in the kitchen so lets move in there and have a drink to get the evening going. Kate and Bett looked at eachother, both thinking well we're well on the way by now.
Kate said that she just wanted a few minutes to change out of her traveling clothes and freshen up before they ate. She took her bag and went to the bedroom, striped naked and pulled on a light dress, without anything underneath. She came back without shoes, saying ""I hope you guys don't mind my bare feet, they're a bit swollen from the journey"". She took the only vacant seat across from Bett. Pete opened a beer and filled glasses of red for the girls. They drank and chatted some more. Pete noticed that Kate's glass didn't seem big enough, she drank it in two quick gulps and he refilled it and went to open another bottle. When he got back Kate's glass was only half full, he refilled it and this time Kate slowed and sipped on it, remarking, ""This is a really nice wine b*o, do you buy it often"".
""No s*s, I just liked the name, never had it before"".
""Oh no little b*o, you're surpossed to say we drink this all the time"".
Kate giggled, and Pete thought it seems to be going to your head qiuckly s*s.
He put it down to traveling and the lack of food.
Kate gave a little jump as she felt Bett begin to play footsie with her under the table. Then she leaned back on the chair pushing her ass forward letting her legs fall open as Bett's foot found her wet pussy. Kate really wanted to let go and dive across the table and lock lips with Bett. She plucked up the glass and emptied it in one quick gulp. The door rang and Pete went to pay for the food, Mary got up to get out the warm plates. Bett looked over at Kate and mouthed, ""You're hairy too"". Kate nodded and raised her leg to find Betts pussy. They both massaging eachother when Mary turned and saw something funny, both pushed forward on their chairs giggling like school girls. She asked, ""What are you two upto"".
Kate slured ""Cant you see we're foot fucking eachother!"".
Mary just said,""Ok"", and went back to getting things out for eating.
Bett wispered, ""I want to go under the table right now and eat you"".
Kate pushed back her chair and spread her legs wide and said ""I'm all yours, it's an all you can eat night"".
On hearing this Mary dropped the plated and ran into the sitting room to Pete to tell him what was going on.
""Pete Pete,,, Bett's on her knees between Kate's legs eating her pussy"".
"" Fuck how did that start"".
""How the fuck am I suppose to know, she's your s****r"".
"" Yeah well Bett's your coussin"".
They were pulled from there talk by wild sounds coming from the kitchen, they both went to the door and pushed it open to see Bett head buried between Kate's legs. Kate has her by the hair girnding her pussy into her face saying ""Oh fuck that feels so fucking good, don't stop till I cum"".
Mary looks down and sees Pete reaching for his now rock hard cock begining to run it through his pants. Mary drops to her knees in front of him, unzips him pulling out his rock cock and takes it in her mouth.
Story URL: http://xhamster.com/user/morig/posts/124473.html",1734,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.98441618680954
820b337f-95a7-44c8-84fd-5adc21f3c2ec,2015-03-29T17:41:26+00:00,2014-03-12,1,http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/596e17d7cac720848525781f0043629e/6244f181c13467aa85257c99005515c8!OpenDocument,"2014 News Releases
U.S. EPA Seeks Public Comment on Mahomet Aquifer Designation
Release Date: 03/12/2014
Contact Information: Peter Cassell, 312-886-6234, email@example.com
CHICAGO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed approval of a petition to designate a portion of the Mahomet Aquifer system in east-central Illinois as a sole source aquifer. EPA’s public comment period on the proposed designation begins March 13 and closes June 12, 2014.
The Safe Drinking Water Act gives EPA authority to designate an aquifer as a sole or principal source of drinking water for a specified area. That designation allows EPA to review all federally funded projects within the designated area to ensure they will not contaminate the aquifer.
The Mahomet Aquifer system is an underground layer of water-bearing sand and gravel that fills a wide bedrock valley in all or parts of 14 east-central Illinois counties. The aquifer system is the source of approximately 53 million gallons of water every year for 120 public water systems and thousands of rural wells that serve about a half million people. More than half of the population in east-central Illinois relies on the Mahomet Aquifer system as a source of the drinking water.
EPA will hold two public hearings on May 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1501 S. Neil St., Champaign; and on May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Best Western Ashland House, 201 E. Ashland St., Morton. Oral and written comments will be accepted at both hearings. Informational sessions in advance of the public hearings will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on both evenings.
Draft documents and information about the public hearings are available on EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/gwdw/mahomet/index.htm. Documents are also available at:
- · Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green St., Champaign.
· Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St., Bloomington.
· Pekin Public Library, 301 S. Fourth St., Pekin.
· Havana Public Library, 201 W. Adams St., Havana.
· Watseka Public Library, 201 S. 4th St., Watseka.
· U.S. EPA’s Region 5 Office, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago.
Comments should be addressed to William Spaulding, U.S. EPA (WG-15J), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-3590 or firstname.lastname@example.org. For questions or additional information contact William Spaulding at 312-886-9262, or EPA’s toll-free line at 800-621-8431, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (weekdays).",634,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298660.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00034-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.865921378135681
6b345563-c61f-4246-b8de-88359d547474,2017-08-16T18:12:59+00:00,2017-08-16,0,https://gr.pinterest.com/oiamansion/santorini-where-to-swim-greece/,"Santorini • Where to Swim! • Greece
Oia Mansion, this truly unique Luxurious Boutique Sea Captain's Villa In Oia, Santorini, is your hideaway to explore the wide variety and beauty of the exceptional beaches of the island. Discover the longest black beach in the world from Vlihada to Perissa beach, the charming islet of St Nicolas with the crystal clear waters, the exclusive Red beach, the family beach Monolithos, Kamari beach, Perissa beach, Baxedes and Couloumbos beach close to Oia and the undiscovered beauty of Thirassia.
238 Pin176 Ακόλουθοι",146,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102309.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816170516-20170816190516-00583.warc.gz,0.741293966770172
60a5156d-1fa5-40c9-b9e3-c74890388e93,2017-08-18T10:43:27+00:00,2016-11-30,1,http://www.mcfcwatch.com/2016/11/30/in-focus-the-right-back-targets-manchester-city-could-sign-to-replace-zabaleta-and-sagna/,"As the nights draw in, the winter Premier League ball appears and the fixtures begin to pile up it isn’t long before the attention changes from what is happening on the pitch to that off the pitch, more specifically the winter transfer window. With half the season played heading into the New Year, clubs throughout the Premier League should surely know their strongest squad, their weaknesses and both the areas and positions in which they need to improve. Whether or not that means such a move therefore happens in January with a player joining that completely ticks all the boxes remains to be seen. Do not be surprised however if you happen to see managers such as Pep Guardiola attempting to beat the summer rush and inflated prices with attempts at least, to improve Manchester City’s playing squad.
Despite being terrific performers when at their best, undeniably there are question marks surrounding the long-term fitness and future of right-backs Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna. Whilst it is unlikely Pep will move for two defenders straight away, the right side of defence is evidently a cause for future concern.
With this in mind, we take a look at three players who the club could realistically sign in either transfer window during 2017.
1) Mario Gaspar (Villarreal)
Fresh from his 2016 Puskas Award nomination for his scorpion-kick goal scored during Spain’s November 2015 friendly against England, Mario Gaspar could be the answer to Manchester City’s defensive problems. In a fine run of form both for club side Villarreal, Mario Gaspar’s high calibre performances have certainly not gone unnoticed this season with some of the biggest clubs across Europe, including Manchester City, heavily rumoured to be tracking the 26 year-old Spanish defender. Gaspar, having spent his entire footballing career at Villarreal making his way up through the youth ranks before progressing through his senior career into the first-team in 2009, may well be at an age where he is playing at the peak of his abilities, especially after breaking into the Spanish national team late last year.
Yet in order to fully cement his position as a potential future right-back for a Spanish national team undergoing serious redevelopment following Euro 2016, as well as the personal challenge of testing himself at the very highest level elsewhere in Europe, it seems plausible that Villarreal may well find themselves tempted to sell Gaspar whilst his stock is at its highest. Not only could it be in the best interests of the player but the club too should a big money offer from the likes of Manchester City come their way. Contracted until 2019, whilst it is difficult to put a price on an individual in the current climate, reports would suggest that Gaspar is valued at around £15-20m and at such a price, could prove to be an absolute steal.",572,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104634.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818102246-20170818122246-00460.warc.gz,0.97777384519577
0837a062-360f-499f-b10c-92eaadbe29f6,2018-08-18T20:30:15+00:00,2017-12-14,1,https://www.clearwatertimes.com/business/debt-to-household-income-ratio-rises-in-third-quarter-household-net-worth/,"Sky-high debt loads are one of the central bank governor’s top concerns after the amount Canadians owe relative to their income hit a new high in the third quarter, newly released data shows.
Statistics Canada reported that household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income increased to 171.1 per cent, up from 170.1 per cent in the second quarter. That means there was $1.71 in credit market debt, which includes consumer credit and mortgage and non-mortgage loans, for every dollar of household disposable income.
Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz said in a speech in Toronto that high debt levels are one of the things that keeps him awake at night because they make the economy as a whole more sensitive to higher interest rates than in the past.
“These vulnerabilities are elevated, and are likely to remain so for a long time,” he said.
“Remember, it took years for these vulnerabilities to build up in the first place.”
The central bank has raised interest rates twice this year due to the strong economy. Since the second increase in September, it has held the rate steady signalling it will proceed with caution.
Benjamin Reitzes, Canadian rates and macro strategist at the Bank of Montreal, said the upward trend in household debt continues unabated.
“And, with homebuyers rushing to get into the market ahead of the new OSFI rule change that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2018, we could see a further increase in Q4,” Reitzes wrote in a report.
“However, that suggests we could see some flattening out of the ratio in 2018 — though don’t bet on it as housing has been persistently resilient.”
Household debt is often cited as a key risk to the Canadian economy by the Bank of Canada and others.
In a report last month, the OECD said high house prices and associated debt levels remain a substantial financial vulnerability in Canada.
“A disorderly correction would adversely impact growth and could threaten financial stability,” the organization said.
Statistics Canada said the household debt service ratio, measured as total obligated payments of principal and interest as a proportion of household disposable income, was relatively flat at 13.9 per cent, while the interest-only debt service ratio was 6.3 per cent, down from 6.4 per cent in the previous quarter.
The Bank of Canada has raised its key interest rate target twice this year, moves that have led to increases in the prime rates at the country’s big banks used to set loans like variable-rate mortgages.
Royal Bank economist Josh Nye noted the debt service ratio will increase as the Bank of Canada continues to gradually raise interest rates.
“However, the prevalence of fixed rate mortgage debt means households won’t feel the increase all at once,” Nye wrote.
“Rather, as today’s data showed, the debt service ratio is likely to rise only gradually.”
Total household credit market debt grew to $2.11 trillion in the third quarter, up 1.4 per cent from the previous quarter. The increase came as mortgage debt increased 1.5 per cent to $1.38 trillion, while consumer credit rose 1.2 per cent to $620.7 billion.
Meanwhile, the total net worth of the household sector edged down 0.1 per cent to $10.61 trillion in the third quarter.
The move lower was due to a drop in home values as housing resale prices weakened. The value of household financial assets edged up 0.1 per cent.
Craig Wong, The Canadian Press",754,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213737.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818193409-20180818213409-00179.warc.gz,0.966359615325928
b6e5ac6e-864e-4b92-aef5-aee8579a189b,2019-08-24T07:22:10+00:00,2018-09-24,1,https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/technology/single-view/view/seeing-machines-to-be-tested-on-emd-locomotives.html,"Seeing Machines to be tested on EMD locomotives
INNOTRANS: Seeing Machines announced an agreement for its driver fatigue and distraction monitoring technology to be tested on Electro-Motive Diesel locomotives on September 24. This is designed to intervene in the event of a driver experiencing ‘microsleep’ or being distracted.
The technology is used on large mining vehicles supplied by EMD parent company Caterpillar. It uses a dashboard-mounted infra-red camera to monitor the head movements of the driver, in particular the eyes. If the camera detects that head movements and blinking has ceased, or the driver is distracted and looking in an unexpected direction, then an electronic alarm is sounded. Alerts can also be sent to the control room, enabling staff to check up on the driver according to their railway’s procedures.",170,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319915.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824063359-20190824085359-00453.warc.gz,0.952270686626434
06bf6b6b-14e6-486d-839d-a057cffc824c,2019-08-17T11:36:05+00:00,2013-08-17,0,https://www.monicahouston.com/?category=technology,"I watched as a coil of white plastic was pulled off of a spool into the plywood frame, forced into a metal head, and squeezed out, partially melted, onto a the smooth metal surface that moved in precise circles. Layer after layer of thin melted plastic slowly gave shape to a round object. When it was finished, the Makerbot Vulcan pushed the round object out onto the table, where it landed with a soft bounce. I picked it up and slid it on. It stretched over my hand and slipped on like a bracelet, my first piece of 3D printed jewelry.
I was at the 3D printer Survey hosted by StudentRND. I’d sent a link to my coworker Scott the week before about how 3D printing is changing our economy. Scott, who hadn’t realized how far 3D technology has progressed in the past year, immediately caught the bug. We started talking about chipping in to buy a 3D printer together. The 3D Printer Survey looked like the perfect chance to experience consumer level 3D printers and possibly make a decision on which 3D printer we wanted to buy.
At the survey, Craig Zupke presented a useful prezi titled ‘Your Path To a 3D printer.’ He talked about the inverse relationship of price to maintenance. Basically, you can get a 3D printer for $500 if you’re willing to build it from scratch and maintain it yourself. Otherwise, plan on shelling out $12-$15K. One of the things that makes these printers more affordable is that they are self-replicating. Once you have one, you can print out up to 80% of the parts for another one.
Reprap.org is the main site for self-replicating 3D printers. The first self-replicating 3D printer came out in 2008, and since then growth has been exponential, as makers modify and improve on the open-source designs.
Currently, there are only a handful of 3D printers available at consumer price-points. The Makerbot printer is probably the most famous. Emmett, creator of the famous ‘gear-heart’ design, showed us his two printers, the Vulcan and the Venus. The Vulcan was one of the very first 3D printers, and it prints its own upgrades. The automated build platform was one of the upgrades, and it makes it easy to mass-print 3D parts. Emmett was mass-printing bracelets as we watched.
The Venus is a newer printer, and Emmett showed us how it could print 2 different colors of plastic at once, making multicolored objects. The precision and level of detail was impressive.
Another person had brought his Makerbot replicator. It’s similar to the Venus, and he praised the easy setup and ease of calibration. He also gave us a pro-tip: don’t use ALS plastic, use PLA. The plastic used in DIY 3D printers comes in a spool of thin tubing. ALS is the smelly, non-natural plastic that is used frequently in toy-making. PLA is a biodegradable, odorless plastic that needs less heat and does less wear and tear on the 3D printer.
Craig’s printer was a MendelMax and Craig had built it himself. He showed us some cool 3D models that he had created by scanning himself and his daughter using a sensor bar hooked up to his Nintendo (I think? I know you can also do this by using a Wiimote with Autodesk.)
Another woman showed off her Ultimaker printer. The objects that she showed us had an incredible level of detail, much finer than any of the other objects we’d seen printed on the other printers. Unfortunately, she told us, she couldn’t recommend Ultimaker as a company. Some of her parts didn’t work when the printer was first shipped, and they hadn’t given her a free replacement. Also, they are based in the Netherlands and are slightly pricier than most US based DIY printers.
Finally, Johann showed off his Rostock Printer. It literally is DIY – Johann designed and built it himself. He offers the plans for free at thingiverse.com/thing:17175 or reprap.org/wiki/Rostock.
He explained to us that the Rostock is named after the town he grew up in in Northern Germany. Johann was printing out parts for the second generation Rostock printer as we talked to him. He held up what he had built so far on the second version, a light-weight frame made of openbeam and printed plastic parts.
The first-generation Rostock was fast and worked beautifully. It can print objects as large as 12x14 inches and is incredibly sturdy and accurate. Unlike most of the other 3D printers that we’d seen, the engines, wiring, and arduino that power the whole thing are aesthetically tucked out of sight below the printer. All the parts, Johann told us, could be bought for $500. Scott and I were both impressed. We’re not buying a 3D printer yet, but I know that I’ll definitely be attending the next 3D printer Survey.",1086,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312128.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817102624-20190817124624-00460.warc.gz,0.97514545917511
4dd9e857-65f7-4f63-bf40-23e4a66592ec,2015-03-29T18:27:47+00:00,2013-02-22,0,http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1156183/fake-wellcome-coupon-trader-jailed-money-laundering,"Fake Wellcome coupon trader jailed for money laundering
A pier worker who used fake supermarket coupons to launder HK$1.2 million was jailed for 21 months on Friday.
Using the phoney coupons, Chung Chun-kit, 31, bought goods from Wellcome supermarkets and stashed them in a storage space he rented. He would later give the purchases to his employer for shipment over the border, for resale on the mainland, the court heard.
Police found goods in the storage space including 331 bottles of wine and brandy and 295 tins of infant formula, together valued at HK$180,000, the District Court heard earlier. They also found 3,537 fake coupons there.
The court earlier heard the goods Chung had purchased were worth HK$1 million. He also made HK$200,000 from selling fake coupons online.
Judge Johnny Chan Jong-herng said Chung had reason to believe the goods he bought with the fake coupons – and the money he obtained from selling them – were the proceeds of an indictable offence.
Chung should have become suspicious when Wellcome and Citibank – which issued the genuine coupons – set a five-coupon-per-purchase limit and asked users to show their credit cards.
These circumstantial factors would have led a reasonable man to doubt the authenticity of the coupons, the judge said. Chung made his purchases from early January to February 16 last year.
According to a background report, Chung showed no remorse for the two money laundering charges, insisting he was a victim in the case, the court heard.
The judge earlier acquitted Chung of four charges relating to the use of false instruments. He said the prosecution had failed to establish beyond doubt that he knew the coupons were bogus when he used and held them.
Outside court, the police said they were still probing the syndicate behind the scam, which hired people to use the fake coupons.
About 15 people, including Chung, had been arrested so far, but the others would not be charged because they had used so few coupons, police said.",424,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298660.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00056-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.98487788438797
bebf9c04-9ce1-47e3-b594-4c6d7f456424,2018-08-20T14:24:13+00:00,2017-01-01,1,https://www.ratehub.ca/mortgage-rates-toronto,"Current Mortgage Rates in Toronto
Browse our aggregated Toronto mortgage rates to find the lowest rates possible. Click “See all” to compare.
|1-yr||2.79% CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates|
|2-yr||3.14% CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates|
|3-yr||2.99% Butler Mortgage Lic. 12118 Compare all rates|
|4-yr||3.44% CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates|
|5-yr||3.19% CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates|
|6-yr||3.67% CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates|
|7-yr||3.49% CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates|
|10-yr||3.94% CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates|
Prime - 0.15CanWise Financial A Ratehub Company Lic. 12530 Compare all rates
Prime - 1.26Butler Mortgage Lic. 12118 Compare all rates
Current Toronto Mortgage Rate News
Best Toronto Mortgage Rates
With mortgage rates in Toronto still at historical lows, now is the perfect time to find houses for sale in Toronto. Recent predictions from economists and analysts suggest that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates in 2017. Toronto mortgage rates will likely rise, as a result.
Toronto, Canada’s largest city, has a population of over 2.6 million people and is the fifth most populous city in North America. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) supports more than 6 million citizens. Toronto is regarded as one of the most diverse cities in the world, with half its population born outside of Canada. The Cities of Opportunity report by PricewaterhouseCoopers ranked Toronto as the second-best city for business, life and innovation.  According to Statistics Canada, the median total income in Toronto is $66,790. The Toronto Disctrict School Board (TDSB) is the largest board in Canada with nearly 600 schools and over 250,000 students. Some of the best schools in Toronto include Deer Park Junior and Senior Public School and Hillmount Public School.
The Toronto Housing Market
The heated Toronto real estate market has been the subject of much debate, as some industry insiders feel that Toronto housing prices are due for a correction while others feel the market will continue to plug away. Thus far, sales and home prices in 2012 have exceeded their 2011 levels (year-over-year). This is a notable trend because in 2011 Toronto had the second best year of sales on record. Roughly 5.3% of homes sold in Toronto in 2011 were above the million dollar mark, setting a new record. We’ve seen the mortgage rates in Toronto reach record low levels over the past few months; which has been a major contributor to the city’s housing boom.
Toronto is a hotbed for condos. There are currently more Toronto condos under development than anywhere else in North America, including New York City. Housing starts have already started to moderate, but vacancy rates in the city should continue to remain low (under 2%). The number of Toronto townhouses for sale have also increased as home developers focus on building communities with higher density.
Toronto Mortgage Brokers
Locating a mortgage broker in Toronto who understands the local housing and mortgage market can be beneficial if you’re looking to purchase a property in the GTA. They can handle the rate negotiations for you to ensure you receive the lowest mortgage rates in Toronto.
Toronto Home Inspectors
It's a good idea to find a home inspector in Toronto before you even make an offer on a home. Since it's not uncommon to see bidding wars in Toronto, having a home inspector's name and phone number ready means you can remove your successful home inspection condition that much sooner.
Toronto Real Estate Lawyers
Buying a home is not only a large financial transaction, there are a lot of legalities involved. A Toronto real estate lawyer will review all of your documents, do a search on the title of your home, register the title in your name and make sure all of your Toronto closing costs are paid.",904,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216475.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820140847-20180820160847-00343.warc.gz,0.933451771736145
e06ea4b3-1766-41d2-b086-c9c94ddfdb39,2017-08-19T11:17:24+00:00,2017-08-18,1,http://whdh.com/news/daily-fantasy-sports-rivals-draftkings-and-fanduel-to-merge/,"BOSTON (AP) — Daily fantasy sports rivals DraftKings and FanDuel have agreed to merge after months of speculation and increasing regulatory scrutiny.
The two companies made the announcement Friday but didn’t release financial terms. The deal isn’t expected to be finalized until later in 2017 and still requires federal approval.
Industry experts say the merger will likely raise anti-trust concerns with regulators since the companies control nearly 90 percent of the market.
Company officials say the merger will help cut costs as the two fight to remain legal in states across the country.
Daily fantasy sports competitions are online games in which players pick teams of real life athletes and vie for prizes based on how those athletes perform in actual games.
But state regulators have questioned whether the competitions amount to illegal sports betting.
(Copyright (c) 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)",192,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105341.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819105009-20170819125009-00102.warc.gz,0.937435448169708
048c3cff-5108-4e02-92d4-8e5c70179256,2013-05-23T05:02:44+00:00,2013-05-23,0,http://activities.wildernet.com/pages/activity.cfm?actid=02120903468cg&areaname=Pikes%20Peak%20Ranger%20District&rectype=Camping&fromPage=rectype&startrecord=1&CU_ID=171,"Colorado Campground is located in the Manitou Park Recreation Area which is 5.2 miles north of Woodland Park along Colorado Highway 67. It has 81 camp sites to accommodate trailers and RVs at least 30 feet long. The elevation is 7,800 feet and the camping season begins in May and continues into September. The user fee is $12.00 per night per site.
This campground has paved roads and pads. Limited sites are reservable by calling National 1.877.444.6777. Reservations can be made 240 days prior to your arrival. There is a two-night minimum if your reservations are for either Friday or Saturday night. This will not apply to sites not on the reservation system.
Many of the users in these campgrounds use them as a base from which they visit the many attractions in the area which range from Pikes Peak to the Air Force Academy to the Garden of the Gods. Manitou Lake is a 34-acre reservoir where the entire family can enjoy fishing and hiking
trail #670 around the lake. Motorboats and swimming are not permitted, because of the easy access to this area and its popularity. Fishing occurs
year-round in the reservoir along with Trout Creek for those who prefer
stream fishing. An asphalt-surfaced bicycle trail #699, approximately
4.2 miles long connects all of the campgrounds and the picnic ground; an
enjoyable event for kids of all ages. An RV dump station is located at Pike Community Group Area, which has both potable and non-potable water. You may find this area closed after Labor Day.
Directions from Colorado Springs: Drive west on Highway 24 for 18 miles to Highway 67in Woodland Park. Travel north 7 miles to campground on the right side of the road.
Normal Services Available:
May through September
(NOTE: Colorado Campground will close by the end of September. South Meadows and Manitou Lake are open year-round. This site is used heavily during Spring, Summer, and Fall and lightly during Winter.)",421,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963446021080017
3144ed8c-b48d-4704-80d3-f7508c561422,2020-10-30T12:52:51+00:00,2020-10-30,0,http://byteactive.com/lesbian-flirting-secrets/,"One might define flirting as being the obtained skill of showing a person you have an interest in them but doing so in a subtle way. Barnes escorts tells that among our flirting ideas for lesbians would consist of utilizing relentless eye contact as well as downplayed touching. Most likely the most challenging aspect of flirting for lesbians is them understanding right off the bat if the person they are interested in is of the exact same sexual persuasion. As such, the objective ought to be to keep the flirting on the suppressed side and be spirited in your manner and in that will assist you stay away from circumstances that have the possibility of becoming uncomfortable; however serve your function in making your interest known.
Sustained eye contact will most definitely make the lady understand that there is an interest on your part. My flirting pointer for lesbians in this case is that if it is that you have actually currently made a connection and are now striking up a discussion, then it is essential that you preserve the eye contact, and this is how she will understand that you are immersed in what she has to say as well as who she is as an individual. In addition, if you ever find yourselves in crowded social setting, search her out and permit your eyes to linger from time to time; so she will know that even in a crowd you still have eyes just for her. You will need to be mindful of doing it too often though, and take note of her response; if you find that she is not reciprocating, then desist. Other tip for flirting is that if you are out and you see someone you are interested in, that you attempt to close the range between you two. You are permitted to attack her personal space by sitting slightly too near. This should be done so you can assess her reaction. Barnes escorts would like you to allow your thigh to discreetly touch hers. If she retreats from you, then that is an indicator that she might not be interested. Nevertheless, if she moves nearer to you, then you understand that it’s on. Yet another pointer to flirt for lesbians would be for you to stack on the compliments. When you say nice things to her about herself, this will endear you to her. Specifically, single out something good about her clothing and she will be cognizant of that you appreciate of the time she spent in getting dressed up. Compliment her on her appearances.
If you can make her laugh then you will be able to hold her attention. If you are naturally funny then more power to you. However, if you discover that you are bad with the jokes, ensure you notice her humor and make fun of her jokes. Barnes escorts want you to visit their site to find out the best tips for you, become a master in flirting and seduction. Do something about it and flirt today a bit more than the other day.",584,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107910815.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030122851-20201030152851-00368.warc.gz,0.979214429855347
a4755dcf-31cb-4325-980b-7bfe31784738,2020-10-21T19:12:06+00:00,2019-12-31,1,http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=women_boards,"It is a surprising statistic, but currently only 22.5% of Fortune 500 board members are women. Inspired to address this inequity and its impact on the business landscape, Forté partners with sponsoring business schools and companies across the globe to identify women who are interested in advancing their careers in business and ultimately becoming eligible to serve on a corporate board. To support this effort, Forté member schools collectively are identifying and recommending their alumnae for this board-ready initiative.
Forté’s official database and list of Global Board Ready Women, offers headhunters, Chairs and boards a central place to locate women who are qualified to sit on a board when they are looking for new board members.
The following criteria are used to determine Board Readiness:
All women on the list should have at least five years’ experience in one or a combination of the following roles:
- Chair and/or non-executive director of listed or private corporations
- Chief Executive Officer, COO, CFO and other C-suite executive or director level appointments in listed or private corporations
- Family member and controlling shareholder of boards of large family companies
- Director of government agencies
- Director of non-profit organizations
- Institutional investment community senior professional
- Professional firms senior partner serving boards and their committees as clients
The women on the list should be able to demonstrate that they are financially literate. Profit & Loss experience is advantageous, given that some large companies have this as a pre-requisite for board roles.
In addition, the Task Force believes that candidates on the list should be practitioners of excellence in corporate governance. This suggests the following qualities:
- Articulate communicator and good listener
- High level of emotional Intelligence ability to understand the dynamics of the boardroom, how to deal with conflict when it arises
- Ability to self-assess
- Can enhance contribution through feedback
- Can lead when appropriate, but aware of collective responsibility and engagement
- Can challenge constructively and be supportive when necessary
- Sharp mind and good judgement
- Self-confident without being dogmatic
- Understand the importance of independence
- Courage to stand up for that which is in the best interests of the company
- Understand how to add value to a board
- Team player
Women on the list will also be expected to have made a conscious commitment to assume the role and responsibility of corporate governance in a publicly quoted company.
How to Apply
After reviewing the above quantitative and qualitative criteria, and finding that your background matches the requested criteria, you may be formally considered for the Global Board Ready Women List. Simply send an email with your LinkedIn profile URL and a resume or CV attached as a PDF or Word file. The nominating committee will review your submission and contact you with next steps.
All board ready women are welcome.
Build Your Board Potential
If you want to begin your journey to be Board Ready, many business schools offer board member training and certification, like this annual 3-day program at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health is offering a program for women interested in health care and related industry boards.
For women in Europe, the European Professional Women’s Network offers helpful tips on readying yourself for a board position, from a European perspective.
Board Ready Resources
Relevant Research and Articles
- The Committee for Economic Development (CED)’s Every Other One: More Women on Corporate Boards
- 2020 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index: 2019 Gender Diversity Index Key Findings
- Women on Corporate Boards: The Role of Business Schools for Fundamental Change
- Thirty Percent Coalition News
- Women on Corporate Boards Globally
- Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective
- EY Center for Board Governance
- Higher Return with Women in Decision-Making Positions
- Gender Diversity and Corporate Performance
- Journal of Financial Economics, Women in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Financial Performance
- GMI Ratings’ 2017 Women on Boards Survey
- Thirty Percent Coalition
- Women on Boards 2020
- 30% Club
- National Association of Corporate Directors",855,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107877420.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021180646-20201021210646-00040.warc.gz,0.930439889431
70475a6a-1eb6-4c69-88d6-04a4675c7456,2019-08-24T23:08:00+00:00,2019-08-01,1,https://phys.org/news/2019-08-fake-news-diminishing-media-role.html,"'Fake news,' diminishing media trust and the role of social media
The term ""fake news"" has been popularized by President Donald Trump in recent years, and while its meaning has been hotly debated, the spreading of false information to fulfill a political agenda is far from a new concept around the world. Exploring the perception of the ""fake news"" phenomenon is critical to combating the ongoing global erosion of trust in the media according to a study co-authored by a University of Houston researcher.
Dani Madrid-Morales, assistant professor of journalism at the UH Jack J. Valenti School of Communication and Herman Wasserman at the University of Cape Town, found that in sub-Saharan Africa—where disinformation campaigns have been used recently to influence electoral campaigns—perceived exposure to disinformation is high and trust in national media and social media is low.
The researchers polled nearly 1,900 people in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa who are highly educated, live in urban, middle class areas and have access to social media.
As many as 90% of Kenyans, 93% of Nigerians and 76% of South Africans believe they are exposed to false news about politics on a fairly regular basis. In a 2016 Pew Research Center study which sampled just over 1,000 Americans, 71% of respondents say they often or sometimes see fake political news.
""We found that people in sub-Saharan Africa particularly distrust information on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp because that's where they find 'fake news' most often,"" Madrid-Morales said about the findings published in this month's African Journalism Studies. ""Governments are already using this as an excuse to put restrictions on the media by saying that too much freedom of speech on these American platforms poses a 'danger' to national security.""
When it comes to sharing a political story that study participants knew at the time was made up, 29% of Kenyans, 18% of Nigerians and 25% of South Africans answered ""yes."" These numbers are higher than the U.S. where 14% of participants answered ""yes"" in the Pew study.
When disinformation campaigns challenge access to reliable information, citizens are left to make uninformed choices. So-called ""social media entrepreneurs"" were paid by politicians to spread false information about opponents in the 2019 Nigerian election. In 2016, supporters of former South African president Jacob Zuma hired a public relations firm to create bogus Twitter accounts, bots and hate-filled websites to set off racial tensions.
""We have thought of these platforms as tools to empower people's speech, but we're finding that in certain instances, they are not empowering people,"" said Madrid-Morales. ""They are decreasing our ability to make good judgements.""
Another revealing finding is that, while 19% of U.S. respondents say they have hardly or never encountered inaccurate political news, the percentages in all three African countries are significantly smaller (Kenya, 3%; Nigeria, 2%; South Africa, 8%). The study concluded that the more people feel they are exposed to fake news regularly, the more they are likely to say they do not trust the media in general.",642,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321786.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824214845-20190825000845-00537.warc.gz,0.961835145950317
ff9138b7-b262-4522-8060-f73fe23b86d2,2017-08-22T16:54:14+00:00,2017-03-01,0,http://www.additudemag-digital.com/additudemag/spring_2017?pg=64,"LEARNING MADE EASY
I’VE SPENT M Y CAREER AS A SPECIALIST and coach working with teens and young adults diagnosed with ADHD.
TIP 1:; ADHD is a real
A lot of my time is focused on helping
teens accept and successfully manage
ADHD medication. Why am I not writing
this article for parents? If a teen is the
one who has been prescribed medica-
tion, my goal is to help him fully under-
stand and own his treatment plan. Even
if he is still in high school, no one, in-
cluding his parents or doctors, can force
him to take medication if he doesn’t
want to. If he’s out of high school, he’s
already learned that taking ADHD meds
is up to him. Here are some pointers I
pass along to students I work with:
medical condition, and
medication is an important
part of managing it.
Many teens and young adults have a
hard time believing that they need medication. They feel they should be able to
manage without it. Some teens I meet
organize their lives successfully without
medication, and others wish they could
but can’t. What stops many teens from
taking medication is the feeling that
ADHD isn’t a real medical problem.
If this sounds like you, think about
this: If you wear glasses (or contacts) and
were asked to take them off (or out) and
try harder to see, what would your reaction be? You wouldn’t do it and you
would think it was a crazy idea. Given all
the research done on the biological basis
of ADHD, functioning without medication is similar to trying to see without
glasses. Without glasses you might have
fuzzy vision, take longer to do something, bump into things, and be fatigued
by trying to see.
When you are a student, attention is
key to learning and succeeding. Agreeing
to use medication now doesn’t mean
you’ll take it forever. Some students I’ve
MAKE THE GRADES
Listen Up, Teens:
5 Tips for Minding Your Meds
Heading off to college soon, or already on campus?
These medication to-dos will make your college time a
grade-A experience. BY THERESA E. LAURIE MAITLAND, PH.D.
An “ADHD club” would allow my child to
develop friendships with kids dealing with
the same challenges. —YOUR TURN, PAGE 61
61 TEACHERS WE LOVE 61 YOUR TURN
Parker talk about
how you know if
ADHD meds are
working for you in
the digital issue.",599,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00565.warc.gz,0.917104542255402
c9dbd853-4b7a-4932-8c61-e659ac6002c0,2018-08-15T08:37:12+00:00,2018-04-24,1,http://commonnewsupdate.com/chinese-uber-competitor-didi-chuxing-reportedly-in-talks-to-launch-80-billion-ipo/,"Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is holding talks about an initial public offering (IPO), according to a report.
raising $ 4 billion from investors including Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. It now wants to reach a valuation of between $ 70 and $ 80 billion through an IPO, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.
The company could go public as early as the second half of 2018, sources told the WSJ, but as talks are in the early stages a set date for the listing is not entirely clear.
Didi Chuxing declined to comment on the report when contacted by CNBC.
Didi said Tuesday that it was expanding its service to Mexico, a move that pits the company directly against Uber. Didi has also said it wants to enter Taiwan.
The company has previously partnered with international rivals to expand its reach to markets beyond China. But its move into Mexico marks the first instance of a direct expansion outside of its home market.
Didi Chuxing bought Uber’s business in China in 2016. Uber has been planning its own IPO, but CEO Dara Khosrowshani has said this will likely not take place until 2019.
Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.",254,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210040.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815083101-20180815103101-00123.warc.gz,0.973281621932983
da46411f-c1b6-4cd9-9931-8c66c7741c9d,2013-05-18T17:26:50+00:00,2013-01-01,1,http://www.covingtonleader.com/pages/ara/push?class=&x_page=4&per_page=12&rel=&instance=business,"Business & Careers
Small-business owners show cautious optimism about 2013
(BPT) - There’s no doubt that small businesses are a driving force in the American economy. And because they feel the shifts in the economy so acutely, the insight of small business owners can provide a real-time picture of what’s going well and where potential problems lie. The semi-annual Bank of America Small Busines...
Three-year degree programs shorten the path to rewarding careers
(BPT) - Three-year bachelor’s degree programs are gaining popularity as many students look for ways to enter the workforce faster. Though these programs are common in Europe and Canada, condensed programs are now attracting greater interest in the United States as students and education providers realize the unique bene...
Seven big trends for small businesses in 2013
(BPT) - Today, if you tell someone you’ll be in touch, he or she may not only ask when, but how. Modern technology has dramatically changed the way we communicate, providing multiple ways to stay connected at any time. For small and medium-sized businesses, this means big opportunities to stay competitive, provided that...
Top communities providing support for returning veterans
(BPT) - When veterans return home from serving overseas, the support found in family, friends and the community can make a huge difference for a smooth transition. Pittsburgh ranks as the top place in the nation for veterans to transition from combat boots to civilian shoes, according to a study commissioned by USAA and Military.com. The “ Best Places for Veterans” list identifies U.S. metro areas that offer America's most recent veterans more opportunities to find a job or go to college ...
Christmas gift ideas for corporate sponsors
Share in the holiday spirit and show your appreciation to corporate sponsors with meat and cheese gift baskets , personalized gifts and more to say thank you for their hard work and dedication. With simple tips and proven crowd-pleasers, it is easy to show your gratitude to corporate sponsors that help your organization accomplish all of its goals. Fruit and nut gift baskets No matter the number of corporate sponsors you would like to give gifts to this year, you can find the perfect f...
Three tips for mastering new media and multimedia
New technology and digital media like Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Twitter are changing the way people communicate both at home and in the workplace. They're also contributing to a generation gap. For example, users under age 30 are significantly more likely to use social-networking sites when compared to other adult age groups, according to research from the Pew Internet Project.
Veterans growing as entrepreneurs
Veterans returning home face many challenges that weren't present when they were serving in the armed forces. Between adapting to civilian life, reacquainting with family and friends, and finding employment, the adjustment can be a difficult process.",587,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.938686668872833
a519a1ea-1a08-4538-a8e3-0b6bdc41b419,2015-03-27T05:29:52+00:00,2015-03-27,0,https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/PT-109_(movie),"PT 109 (film)
PT 109 is a 1963 biographical which depicts the actions of John F. Kennedy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 as an officer of the United States Navy during World War II. The movie was adapted by Vincent Flaherty and Howard Sheehan from the book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by Robert J. Donovan. Cliff Robertson stars as Kennedy.
|This film article is a stub. You can help Wikiquote by expanding it.|
- How would you like that coastwatcher job?
- Some people fight a war behind a desk, others behind 15 inch gun. He's up there by himself. If the enemy finds him, that's the way he's going to die, alone.",159,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00252-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965220332145691
8fa911f9-fc28-4104-8453-c9311970229d,2013-05-18T17:21:03+00:00,2013-02-08,1,"http://www.ktuu.com/news/hm-rockefeller-meeting-puts-face-on-domestic-violence-issue-20130208,0,3745622.story","She never witnessed a domestic violence in her life. Her parents had been married for 52 years, and she and her four siblings all were college educated.
“I always thought that those people who didn’t have as much education, who didn’t live in good neighborhoods were those who dealt with domestic violence,” Greenlee told Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and more than 30 others gathered Friday near Martinsburg for a discussion on the issue and the Violence Against Women Act now pending in Congress.
Greenlee, who resides in Jefferson County (W.Va.), recounted almost daily emotional abuse in her 10-year marriage to a minister.
After they divorced, Greenlee said he returned to where she was residing in 2009 and he would have killed her had she been alone.
Instead, he attacked her then-friend from church who was with her and whom she later married.
Joseph Greenlee told Rockefeller on Friday that he needed 21 stitches in his chin as a result of the altercation with his wife’s ex-husband, who wielded a butcher knife.
Patricia Greenlee said her ex-husband ultimately served four months in jail and recounted not knowing when he was released from jail until he walked past her with smirk on his face in Walmart.
Patricia Greenlee, who joined other survivors, law enforcement and others working on the front lines of domestic violence services on a 10-member panel, said she was determined to attend the discussion to put a face on the issue.
Rockefeller said the meeting was “not a cure” but part of a process that helps deepen his understanding of the domestic violence issue and possibly be able to do something about it.
“I don’t think there is anybody in this room who hasn’t been moved in one way or another,” Rockefeller said.
Rockefeller told members of the panel that he has a “small streak of optimism” that the 1994 Violence Against Women Act would be re-authorized by Congress this year. It expired in 2011.
The Senate is slated to vote on the legislation Tuesday, Rockefeller said. Last year, West Virginia received $3.9 million for use by local law enforcement agencies and victims’ service organizations, and Ann Smith of Shenandoah Women’s Center told Rockefeller that the funding the agency receives amounts to about $100,000 or one-sixth of their budget.
Some Republicans have objected to new provisions that they say go too far when it extends new protections for gays, lesbians, immigrants and Native American women, according to The Associated Press.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s amendment concerning the provisions was defeated Thursday by a 65-34 vote, according to The Associated Press. Rockefeller and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., both voted against Grassley’s amendment, according to the U.S. Senate’s website.",605,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.984541594982147
72598829-50a5-4f7d-9e8c-980468e44475,2022-05-27T12:39:17+00:00,2019-05,1,https://www.tvcnews.tv/2019/05/police-arrest-boutefilkas-brother-intelligence-chiefs/,"Algerian Police have arrested former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s youngest brother alongside two former intelligence chiefs.
According to local media, Said Bouteflika and Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene were taken into custody.
The younger Bouteflika, who served as advisor to the president for more than a decade, is seen by many as having taken de facto control of the North African state, after his brother suffered a crippling stroke in 2013.
Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2nd, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked to the former administration.
Abdelkader Bensalah, the former head of the Senate, is currently serving as interim president until an election scheduled for July the 4th.",175,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662647086.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527112418-20220527142418-00006.warc.gz,0.979047179222107
854ec9fb-f5d5-48ae-af80-86a721089856,2013-05-25T13:09:40+00:00,2013-05-16,1,http://globalpolicyforum.tumblr.com/,"(Picture Credit: sphericalmodel.blogspot.com)
In mid-May, the “Small Five,” Jordan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Guatemala, and Singapore) called for the reform of the SC working methods. On May 16, Patricia O’Brien, the top lawyer for the UN Secretary General, “effectively killed” the resolution by recommending that the resolution have the support of 2/3 of the UN membership instead of the usual simple majority. Ambassador Seger of Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the group, withdrew the resolution, stating that “with all due respect, [this recommendation is] utterly wrong and biased.”
Click here to read more.
The US finds itself preoccupied with how best to exploit China’s labor market, while pretending to care for the well-being of its people. Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese activist, has received international media attention for his escape from house arrest, and his sanctioning in the US embassy. While Chen’s work to promote women’s rights is certainly admirable, his situation has complicated diplomatic relations between China and the US. Politicians in the US, like Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, support Chen’s rights with great rhetoric in acts of political theater. Meanwhile, US corporations abuse Chinese factory workers, who work in inhumane conditions to keep the US consumer industry afloat.
Click here to read more.
Watch Christopher Hayes on the subject:
“What we talk about when we talk about China . This week, in China , a tense and awkward bit of sublimated confrontation between the American and Chinese governments after blind Chinese lawyer and dissident Chen Guangcheng escaped from house arrest, fled to Beijing and enter the U.S. embassy , seeking refuge. This unfolded on the eve of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ‘s trip to China , making the situation all more fraught. And, first, it appeared as if the U.S. and China had cut a deal to release Chen , with assurances that he would not be in prison or harassed. But that deal fell apart. Chen ‘s friends and allies took to Twitter to express concern that he would be double-crossed. And now, it looks like China will grant Chen a visit to come study law in the U.S. But the basic contours of the story have triggered a predictable round of campaign recrimination. It’s hard not to view the tale in deeply moral terms. Here’s a lawyer taking on the powerful Chinese state for its forced abortions and sterilizations, who is so desperate for freedoms, he climbs a wall, even though he’s blind, badly injures his foot and limps his way to the U.S. embassy , hoping against hope to be welcomed into the free world, only to find himself caught up in the delicate, torturous calculation of interest that characterizes the two countries’ relationship. And so, it’s more or less a lay-up for Mitt Romney to take to the microphones and stay stuff like this.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some of the press reports coming from China suggest that we may not have been as effective in protecting his freedom as we should have been. And if those reports are true, that would be a dark day for freedom .
HAYES: The stories we tell ourselves about China tend to be closely bound up in our own myths about American exceptionalism and fears of American decline. Which means that in American politics , the nation of China with its 1.3 billion people serves as a kind of funhouse mirror, in which we see our own fears and neurosis about what we see reflected back at us. Both sides of the political spectrum see in China a grim, dystopic vision of where the United States is headed and what it might be one day become. For those on the right, particularly the religious right, China is the natural endpoint of America ‘s slide towards a godless nanny state , a tyrannical, authoritarian, communist regime that suppresses religious expression and forces women to have only one child. For the left, China is the corporatist neoliberal nightmare that we’re in the process of becoming — a place where the force of the state is used to suppress dissent and aid the oligarchs who run sweat shops where millions of poor workers with rights working in grinding misery to produce goods for us to consume. For establishment elites like Tom Friedman , China offers a model to be feared and emulated, an efficient technocratic burg that can win the future without dealing with the frustrating roadblocks of democracy and progress. When China needed to relocate 1.4 million people to build the Three Gorges Dam , they just did it. Because China confound our domestic ideological assumptions and divisions, the only reliable rule of our domestic politics is that the party out of power will happily condemn Chinese abuses and taunt the party in power for its cowardly appeasement. Here’s Bill Clinton during the 1992 campaign.
BILL CLINTON, THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would be firm, I would say if you want to continue most- favored nations status for your government -owned industries as well as your private ones, observe human rights in the future. Open your society.
HAYES: Less than two years later, President Clinton renewed China ‘s most favored nations training status over strenuous congressional objections. Then in 2000 , George W. Bush had to say.
GEORGE W. BUSH, THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The current president has called the relationship with China a strategic partnership. I believe our relationship needs to be redefined as one as competitor. Competitors can find areas of agreement. But we must make it clear to the Chinese that we don’t appreciate any attempt to spread weapons of mass destruction around the world.
HAYES: Of course, during Bush ‘s tenure, the trade deficit with China hit a new record, his administration tried to tamp down Taiwan ‘s anti- Beijing rhetoric and even attended the 2008 Olympics there with Mitt Romney , who even before the Chen Guangcheng episode also made getting tough on China a recurring campaign theme.
ROMNEY: I will China as a currency manipulator. We’ve got to clamp down on nations like China that are cheating, stealing our intellectual property. The time has come for a president that will stand up to China .
HAYES: And we can expect that were he to be re-elected or elected, Romney would go inevitably the way of Clinton and George W. Bush , in the careful and diplomatic Obama administration. Because as much as we’re convinced of our own might and influence, we need to recognize head on that the United States government will not be the ones to change China , not be the ones to bring democracy or protection of rights or accountability to its people. The Chinese people will do that. And if there’s a hopeful sign, it’s that all over the country, Chinese people are pushing back against their government and demanding accountability from their leaders. From the estimated 500 protests there every day, to the new Internet -savvy dissidents who have found increasingly ingenious ways to evade censors and the great firewall like these Chinese activists who posted pictures of themselves wearing sunglasses on Twitter in solidarity with Chen . They’re going to be the ones to make the new China . Not Barack Obama , not Mitt Romney.”
Photo Credit: europe.cnn.com
Photo Credit: telegraph.co.uk
Noam Chomsky on the History of the US Economy and its Decline
“The Occupy movement has been an extremely exciting development. Unprecedented, in fact. There’s never been anything like it that I can think of. If the bonds and associations it has established can be sustained through a long, dark period ahead — because victory won’t come quickly — it could prove a significant moment in American history.
The fact that the Occupy movement is unprecedented is quite appropriate. After all, it’s an unprecedented era and has been so since the 1970s, which marked a major turning point in American history. For centuries, since the country began, it had been a developing society, and not always in very pretty ways. That’s another story, but the general progress was toward wealth, industrialization, development, and hope. There was a pretty constant expectation that it was going to go on like this. That was true even in very dark times.”
Click here to read the full story from TomDispatch.
In this talk, Glenn Greenwald argues that “humanitarian intervention” has been used historically to justify war, and that proponents are naïve to think military intervention could control and resolve complex conflicts. Humanitarianism has justified the US invasion of Iraq to “free” oppressed Iraqis, Gaddafi’s support of violent militias, and Hitler’s campaigns to “liberate” Germans from oppressive rule in Lithuania and Ukraine. While people under oppressive regimes may benefit from outside intervention, the ripple effects of a “humanitarian” war, such as in Libya and Iraq, show that no foreign military intervention is authentically humanitarian.
Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye discovered remnants of Tomahawk cruise missiles in the village of al Majala bearing the label “Made in the USA.” The missiles were said to be part of Yemeni strikes targeting “al Qaeda insurgents.” But many civilians were killed from those strikes, including 21 children. Shaye determined that the strikes were from the US, and WikiLeaks corroborated his assessment. Shaye was reporting facts that both Yemeni and US governments wanted to suppress. He continues to be confined in a Yemeni prison under the request of President Obama.
Click here to read more.
Shahzad Akbar has been campaigning for years on behalf of noncombatant civilians who have been killed by the CIA’s covert drone warfare program in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistanis in Khyber Pakhtonkhwa have very little means of raising international awareness of their situation, let alone obtaining justice for the harm done to them. Akbar, a Pakistani lawyer and founder of Foundation for Fundamental Rights, is suing the CIA for their actions.
Drones have become the signature weapons of the US covert air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and three other sovereign states. But the use of drones in undeclared wars violates both the US Constitution and international law. Drone strikes are carried out without due process, and do not discriminate between intended targets and bystanders. Those responsible for drone strikes are miles away and receive impunity for their attacks. Legal campaigns against drones, like Akbar’s, bring attention to those killed by the CIA, and provide some legal protection to targeted civilians.
“I wanted to tell the American people about the human stories behind these strikes,” says Akbar, who is trying to expose the false narrative that drones provide “precision strikes” against “high-value targets.” “They think the American war on terror is making America safe, but it is not making America safe. It is creating enemies.”
Akbar explains that terrorist organizations reach out to the families of innocent civilians killed by US drones, since these civilians are more likely to sympathize with terrorist causes. In this way, the US drone operation is creating more terrorists and justifying more strikes in a vicious and violent cycle.
The London based Bureau of Investigative Journalism has documented over 160 cases of children out of 800 unarmed civilians who were killed by CIA operated drone strikes. Pakistanis who live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cannot afford to relocate their families away from US-targeted areas, and most feel helpless because of it.
The CIA and the US government have been trying to silence Akbar’s campaign, even though Akbar has worked with the US government and the FBI in the past to investigate terrorism in Pakistan. The US initially refused to grant him visas to speak at both the Columbia University Law School and the International Drone Summit in Washington DC. The US government barred him from entering the US specifically to prevent him from sharing his work with the US public.
Codepink and other organizers of the Drone Summit put pressure on the US government and Consul General Steve Maloney to grant Shahzad Akbar a visa, and they succeeded. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Codepink and author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, will be in dialogue with Shahzad Akbar in a public event hosted by Global Policy Forum at the UN Church Center on May 2nd.
Click here for more details.
Photo Credit: a-w-i-p.com
GPF will be hosting Medea Benjamin and Shahzad Akbar in a public event at the United Nations. Click here for more information.
G4S is a private military and security company (PMSC) that employs senior politicians and diplomats to lobby for contracts with the UK government. The UK outsources 1 billion dollars a year to G4S for work in the public sphere, such as guarding prisons, escorting refugees, and general policing. G4S’ most recent partnership with the UK Border Agency to manage asylum-seeker housing has been met with public outrage. Demonstrations and marches in Sheffield drew attention to G4S’ abuses, including charges of corporate manslaughter. Why is the UK spending taxpayer money to fund PMSCs with questionable human rights records?
Photo Credit: ecodesk.com
Photo Credit: mcdonalds.com
“The United States is a bit like a 375-pound, middle-aged man with a heart condition walking down a city street at night eating a Big Mac. He’s sweating profusely because he’s afraid he might get mugged. But the thing that’s going to kill him is the burger.
Since the end of the Cold War, America has been on a relentless search for enemies. I don’t mean a search in the sense of ferreting them out and defeating them. I mean that America seems to have a visceral need for them.
Many in the United States have a rampant, untreated case of enemy dependency. Politicians love enemies because bashing them helps stir up public sentiment and distract attention from problems at home. The defense industry loves enemies because enemies help them make money. Pundits and their publications love enemies because enemies sell papers and lead eyeballs to cable-news food fights…”
Click here to read more by David Rothkopf on foreignpolicy.com.
On April 23-25, hundreds of institutional investors will gather at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City for a conference on “Global AgInvesting 2012.” For a fee of $3,000, participants - including university endowment funds, public sector pension funds and charitable foundations - will hear about lucrative new investments in agricultural land and commodities.
This conference promotes the large scale acquisition of land by foreign investors, a dangerous practice known as “land grabbing” that is leading to record levels of hunger, skyrocketing food prices and environmental degradation.
The organizers, HighQuest Partners, are advertising agricultural “assets” in Africa, Asia, South America and Eastern Europe as a route to high returns. But wherever land grabs have taken place they have led to displacement, loss of livelihood and often death in the communities affected.
GPF has been working on land grabbing since 2008. We regularly feature the issue on our website and have put it at the center of our advocacy efforts at the UN. Time and again, we have exposed the dangers. Proponents claim that investments will help feed a growing world population and promote development. In fact, these schemes do not contribute to rural well-being. Far from increasing food production for local consumption, land grabbing usually results in export crops, including biofuel feedstocks and cut flowers. Land grabbing has already caused the violent displacement of tens of millions of small producers, worsening poverty and hunger and driving waves of migration. Women farmers, the majority of smallholders, suffered especially.
One billion people - one human being in seven - are hungry and millions more have been pushed into poverty by rising food prices. Well-heeled investors hope to take advantage of still further price increases.
GPF is opposing these destructive trends. We have sent an open letter to the Presidents of Harvard, Princeton and Yale - three of several universities participating in the conference - urging them to reconsider irresponsible land grabbing investments. And on Tuesday, April 24th, we will be protesting outside of the Waldorf Astoria with many others, including Occupy Wall Street.
GPF needs your support to continue this important work. As an independent organization, GPF does not take money from corporations or agro-industry foundations. Your contribution makes our work possible. With your help, we will continue this campaign through our website, media interviews, public events and joint efforts with many partners.
Please make a tax-deductible online donation to GPF now. Every dollar will go a long way!
And for those of you based in New York, join us at 10.30am on Tuesday April 24th in front of the Waldorf Astoria to say “No!” to land grabbing
There is a fine line between raising awareness and promoting propaganda, especially if “awareness” is not paired with critical reflection. While we can all agree that Joseph Kony and the LRA should be brought to justice, it is important not to go berserk about it, and consider the best possible strategies.
In 2011, Invisible Children, the non-profit organization behind Kony 2012, encouraged President Obama to deploy 100 military advisers into Uganda. But to find Joseph Kony, advisers may have to cross the Democratic of Congo or South Sudan, completely disregarding international law. Invisible Children’s and Obama’s intentions were unclear to the public: did the US want to kill Kony, or capture him for trial in the International Criminal Court whose mandate the US does not recognize? GPF criticized part 1 of Kony 2012 for failing to consider the human, legal, and geopolitical consequences of sending military troops into sovereign states.
Then part 2 came out, where Invisible Children (with more media savy, sans Jason Russell) relentlessly argued that “awareness” and vandalism by legal minors in US suburbia would translate into an effective military regime in Sub-Saharan Africa.
When Ugandans were shown part 1, they were offended by Invisible Children’s video, so much so that they threw rocks at the screen and turned the viewing into a riot.
Imagine how they would react if shown Invisible Children’s original 2006 campaign:
Small-scale farmers and their supporters are celebrating the international day for peasant’s struggle. La Via Campesina, a coalition of 148 organizations, is holding over 250 events around the world, ranging from university lectures to grassroots protests against corporate agribusinesses. Click here for more information on how you can participate.",3968,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.950531780719757
30f2ba94-2e2e-400e-9bce-8c100fb1b7eb,2022-05-28T23:18:23+00:00,2022-05-28,0,https://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog/3-smart-steps-to-build-your-self-esteem-and-a-positive-outlook,"Human beings are fragile creatures. Despite the outward appearances some might project, we are all susceptible to the slings and arrows of insults, belittlement, and just plain cruelty. As children, we are especially vulnerable to negative attitudes and the psychological damage that can be easily done when others point out our real or perceived shortcomings, our inadequacies, and the quirks that make us, us. The result can be low self-esteem and the damage can be long-lasting unless we do something about it.
In order to talk about self-esteem, it’s important to understand what it is. Simply put, self-esteem is the way we feel about ourselves and it’s a critical aspect of our emotional well-being. Individuals with high self-esteem generally feel pretty good about themselves and confident in the things they do and the decisions they make. Of course, people with too much self-esteem can have too high an opinion of themselves and their abilities which others can find downright insufferable.
What we’re concerned about in this post are individuals with low self-esteem. They’re the ones who don’t have a very good opinion of themselves, who feel they don’t look right, act right, make the right decisions. A clinical definition of someone with low self-esteem describes it as having “deep-seated, basic, negative beliefs about themselves and the kind of person they are. These beliefs are often taken as facts or truths about their identity.”
Untreated, low self-esteem can often lead to lifelong problems, such as being the victim of abusive relationships, feeling constantly self-conscious, and being so afraid of failure that one doesn’t even try to set goals. Fortunately, low self-esteem does not have to be a lifelong affliction. Recognized for what it is, it can be treated and defeated. So if you suspect that low self-esteem is at the root of what’s keeping you down in the dumps.
Here are three tips that can help you take charge of your emotional wellbeing and see yourself as the valuable – and valued – human being that you really are:
1. Evaluate your self-esteem
Knowing that you have low self-esteem is the first step to improving and overcoming that mental habit. Start by doing an assessment to see what kind of relationship you have with yourself, how you treat yourself, and the words you choose to use when describing yourself and your activities – are they positive or negative?.
If your assessment points toward negativity, chances are good you may have low self-esteem. These thoughts can revolve around one specific trait, such as your weight or body image, or it can encompass many areas of your life, career, and relationships.
Use journaling to take a closer look at yourself. Write at the top of a page “Who I am Today” and describe yourself and your thoughts on a regular basis to develop a comprehensive internal picture of how you see yourself.
2. Challenge negative or inaccurate thinking
Based on your journaling, you might discover that your initial thoughts might not be the only way to view a situation — so test their accuracy. Ask yourself whether your view is consistent with facts and logic or whether other explanations for the situation might be plausible. Be aware that it can be hard to recognize inaccuracies in your thinking. If you’ve been exposed to negative input and have created your own negative environment, long-held negative beliefs can feel normal and factual, even though many are just inaccurate opinions or perceptions.
Use journaling to analyze your thought patterns to see how they might contribute to low self-esteem:
- All-or-nothing thinking: Do you see things as either all good or all bad? For example, ""If I don't succeed at this task, I'm a total failure.""
- Mental filtering: Do you see only negatives and dwell upon them, distorting your view of yourself, another person, or a situation? For example, ""I made a mistake on that report and now everyone will realize I'm not fit for this job.""
- Converting positives into negatives: Do you reject your achievements and other positive experiences by insisting that they don't count? For example, ""I only did well on that test because it was so easy.""
- Jumping to negative conclusions: Do you reach a negative conclusion when little or no evidence supports it? For example, ""My friend hasn't replied to my email, so I must have done something to make her angry.""
- Mistaking feelings for facts: Do you confuse feelings or beliefs with facts? For example, ""I feel like a failure, so I must be a failure.""
- Negative self-talk: Do you consistently undervalue yourself, put yourself down, or use self-deprecating humor? For example, ""This is fine -- I don't deserve anything better.""
Writing down these different aspects of your negativity can serve as the jumping-off point for closer examination of how and why you put yourself down; to help you discover the origins of your low self-esteem and begin to build a new, more positive you.
3. Set a goal to improve your self-esteem
The key to developing self-esteem is to turn your inner voice from a negative, critical voice to a positive, encouraging one. Ultimately, you will have to decide to work at re-calibrating the way you think about yourself. Setting an initial goal to be more positive about yourself will put you on the path to greater self-confidence and establishing a healthier, more compassionate relationship with yourself.
If you want to learn more smart steps to build your self-esteem and a positive outlook in life, please download the free eBook titled Avoiding the 24/7 Motherhood Struggle Through Journaling.",1197,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663021405.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528220030-20220529010030-00209.warc.gz,0.954761981964111
be517343-3e6f-4367-bdad-25994bb6bec2,2016-07-25T08:03:48+00:00,2016-07-25,0,http://www.hamiltoncaster.com/Wheels/Polyurethane-Wheels/3-8-Thick-Treads/Duralast-Wheels,"Duralast ® - the protective wheel that wears like steel - is liquid cast to a thickness of approximately 1/2"" and chemically bonded onto heavy-duty iron wheel centers. The distinctive green treads are chemically inert, non-sparking, non-conductive, impervious to ozone, grease and most oils & solvents, and will not mark floors. Duralast® Wheels are also guaranteed against tread separation for one year in ordinary free-wheeling applications (contact factory for excepted applications).
They are available without bearings, with straight roller bearings, precision ball bearings, or with precision tapered bearings as listed below. All wheel sizes with straight and tapered roller bearings over 5"" diameter include ball-check lubrication fittings in the hub.",157,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00162-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9199458360672
c1776b2c-428e-4fc5-b4ac-0ebb7f824864,2013-06-19T14:39:24+00:00,2012-09-29,1,http://www.yorkdispatch.com/letters/ci_21671376/letter-medicare-cuts-will-hurt-cancer-patients,"I treat cancer patients daily in our community. As a radiation oncologist, I am deeply troubled by the proposed Medicare cuts that could take effect on Jan. 1, 2013.
These payment cuts would drastically reduce the amount Medicare pays for certain cancer treatments by up to 40 percent.
My patients depend on these vital treatments, and these cuts would be devastating tomy practice and my patients.
As our population ages, the number of people relying on Medicare is rapidly growing. Radiation therapy helps patients fight cancer every day. The proposed cuts to reimbursement for cancer care jeopardize our progress in battling cancer.
Policymakers must realize how cuts of this magnitude ultimately hurt patients and affect the care that I can provide.
If these cuts go through, it will have a negative impact on my patients and my practice.
A doctor and patient should be able to choose among all possible options for lifesaving cancer treatments and should not have to worry about Medicare cuts limiting those choices. This is not what cancer patients in our community, or across the country, deserve.
Our members of Congress can help stop these Medicare cuts to radiation therapy. We need our voices heard to protect access to community cancer care.",242,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.929758191108704
b531e574-cb4d-4085-92fd-59d9fcbc7081,2022-05-27T17:53:44+00:00,2022-05-27,1,https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/indonesia-to-let-boeing-737-max-fly-again-after-2018-crash-1234915.html,"Indonesia has said it is lifting its ban on Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, three years after one crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off killing all 189 people on board.
The Transportation Ministry said in a statement that the aircraft will be permitted to fly in Indonesia, but only after airlines carry out airworthiness directives.
The ministry will also conduct inspections before the aircraft are allowed to operate in the country, said Novie Riyanto, the ministry’s director general of civil aviation.
“Several flight operators have stated that they have carried out airworthiness orders for 737 Max aircraft, in accordance with FAA provisions, and will prepare training and simulators at the nearest facility, in Singapore,” Riyanto said.
Governments grounded the Boeing 737 Max after a total of 346 people were killed in the crashes of the Lion Air flight in Indonesia on October 29 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 10 2019.
Investigators blamed a computer system that pushed the plane’s nose downward in flight and could not be overridden by pilots.
Boeing has carried out technical upgrades to fix such problems.
Earlier this month, China became the last major market to approve the Boeing 737 Max after the United States allowed flights to resume in December 2020.
European Union regulators gave permission in January.
Brazil and Canada have also given approval.
Anton Sahadi, whose 24-year-old cousins Muhammad Rafi Ardian and Rian Ariandi died in the 2018 crash, said he regrets the government decision to let the 737 Max fly again.
“The government has to ensure that the aircraft meets safety standards so that similar incidents don’t happen again,” Mr Sahadi said.
“I do not see the urgency yet for Boeing’s 737 Max aircrafts to fly again in Indonesia. Families of victims still have not finished the process of resolving problems with Boeing,” he said.
Mr Sahadi was referring to complaints by some families of crash victims that a 2.5 billion dollar (£1.86 billion) settlement between Boeing and the US Department of Justice excluded them from involvement in negotiating their compensation.",444,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00402.warc.gz,0.960236370563507
72916061-90e3-4be1-9023-15f0b1677567,2013-05-22T21:32:45+00:00,2012-10-05,1,http://collectspace.com/news/news-100512a.html,"October 5, 2012
— An American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut will spend a year together in space to advance the day when humans venture out into the solar system.
NASA, together with its international partners, announced on Friday that the standard six-month stays on board the International Space Station (ISS) will be extended to one year for two crew members beginning in spring 2015. The longer duration mission is aimed at gathering the scientific data needed to send humans to destinations father away from Earth, such as Mars.
""In order for us to eventually move beyond low Earth orbit
, we need to better understand how humans adapt to long- term spaceflight,"" Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager, said in a statement. ""The space station serves as a vital scientific resource for teaching us those lessons, and this yearlong expedition aboard the complex will help us move closer to those journeys.""
The two crew members, one representing NASA and the other Roscosmos, Russia's federal space agency, will fly on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. They will launch in spring 2015, and their yearlong stay will span the space station's 43rd through 46th expeditions.
The station, which serves as a laboratory for technological demonstrations and scientific research, includes medical experiments to improve our understanding about how the human body reacts and adapts to extended exposure to microgravity. Data from the yearlong expedition will also help inform existing assumptions about crew performance and health, and will help reduce the risks associated with future exploration, according to NASA.
""It is the perfect time to test a one-year expedition aboard the orbital laboratory,"" said Julie Robinson, NASA's ISS program scientist. ""What we will gain from this expedition will influence the way we structure our human research plans in the future.""
Cosmonaut Valery Polkayov looks out the Russian space station Mir's window during his record setting 438 day mission. (NASA)
Over the course of almost 12 years of permanent human presence
aboard the station, scientists and researchers have gained valuable, and often surprising, data on the effects of weightlessness on bone density, muscle mass, strength, vision and other aspects of human physiology. This yearlong stay will allow for greater analysis of these effects and trends.
The extended expedition will also serve as a testbed for future exploration technologies, NASA says, though what those are is still to be revealed.
Also still to be announced are who the crew members will be, on what specific Soyuz flight they will launch and land, and how their stay will effect the schedules for the space station's other four six-month stay crew members. Since stepping down as NASA's chief astronaut
in July, Peggy Whitson has been rumored as a potential candidate for the U.S. assignment.
The logistics involved in staging the yearlong mission are expected to open as many as two additional seats to fly to the orbiting complex, which Russia may sell to spaceflight participants, or so-called ""space tourists.""
Space Adventures, the U.S. company that has facilitated the flights for all seven individuals who self-funded visits to the space station between 2001 and 2009, has a press conference scheduled for Oct. 10 in Moscow to announce a ""groundbreaking"" spaceflight development with recording artist Sarah Brightman.
While this will be the first yearlong expedition aboard the International Space Station, the two crew members will not be the first space travelers to spend a year orbiting the Earth. In December 1988, cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov became the first to log 365 consecutive days in space during their stay on the Russian Mir station.
Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov broke their record living on board the Mir from January 1994 until March 1995 for 438 days off the planet. Three years later, cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev lived on Mir for 380 days, between August 1998 and August 1999.",798,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951335608959198
9a844cce-a0e8-4c62-bf3b-bef235161d71,2015-03-31T21:05:45+00:00,2013-04-15,0,http://www.visitmonaco.com/en/AllNews/A-Special-Concert-at-Monaco-s-Oceanographic-Museum-on-21-April-2013,"Monaco Government Tourist and Convention Office
7 Upper Grosvenor Street
London W1K 2LX
Tel : +44 (0)207 491 4264
Fax : +44 (0)207 408 2487
Set sail with this concert by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra
To open this special concert on 21 April, the Philharmonic Orchestra will transport the audience to the Thames in London, where they will follow the river procession of King George 1st of England, lulled by Georg Frideric Handel's ceremonial Water Music.
Then it will be time for a storm, with Vivaldi's ""La Tempesta di mare."" This combines the fiery energy that characterises the composer's works with the unpredictability of the raging waters.
Finally, Jacques Ibert will take us to the edge of the abyss with a Marine Symphony composed for the short film ""S.O.S Foch,"" from film director Jean Arroy – a dramatic documentary on the rescue of a cargo ship in distress on a wild sea.
A delightful programme in which the silence of the water is expressed in music.
Number of views : 217",241,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00104-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.818096458911896
d2a74fd6-aa03-4ac7-a227-79f7f6bda801,2020-10-21T10:15:14+00:00,2019-03-15,1,https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/03/usaf-shouldnt-narrow-competition-its-satellite-launches/155625/,"The service’s plan to reduce launch-contract eligibility from three providers to two would reduce incentives to innovate and keep costs down.
Reusable rockets are the disruptive technology that will keep U.S. military capabilities ahead of China and Russia — if the Pentagon can tap the breakneck pace of innovation in the commercial space launch market. But instead, the U.S. Air Force may restrict future contracts to two companies, mimicking today’s launch duopoly of United Launch Alliance and SpaceX. This would sap military space efforts of competition that would lower prices, galvanize technological advances, and help maintain American dominance in space.
The Air Force’s space launches are handled by the National Security Space Launch program, the effort that used to be called the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. Congress renamed it, as of March 1, to underscore the importance of “non-expendable” rockets — that is, the reusable ones being developed by various private-sector companies. That name change was ordered by the 2019 defense authorization act, which also instructs DOD to keep developing a process to evaluate and certify launch vehicles using previously flown components or systems.
Just last October, the Air Force kick-started this process by awarding partial funding to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and United Launch Alliance to certify new launch systems that meet national security requirements, including conducting prototype flights.
But if the Air Force follows through on its stated plan to award exclusive five- to eight-year contracts to just two of these companies, it would dangerously limit competition and undermine the opportunity to access the full range of extraordinary technological breakthroughs taking place in an incredibly fast-moving commercial space launch market.
The U.S. government’s ongoing support for new entrants into the domestic launch market has already enabled the development of reusable launch vehicles and has the promise of transforming the economics of spaceflight. The ability to fly the same rocket multiple times with different payload configurations offers greater mission flexibility while saving taxpayers money. Just as it does with active aircraft, the Air Force can build up flight history with reusable vehicles, and the consistent use of the same launch vehicle will increase mission assurance.
And this is just the beginning. The evolution of the commercial space launch industry will spur innovation in additive manufacturing, engine efficiencies, materials technology, avionics, machine learning, and operations—resulting in even greater improvements in vehicle performance, reliability, and availability.
According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, China and Russia are rapidly growing their space capabilities by embracing new ideas such as modular space launch vehicles, which can be tailored to specific customer payloads. Russia is in the process of developing its own super heavy-lift launch vehicle to support manned missions to the moon and Mars exploration, and China is developing a “quick response” launch vehicle with dual commercial and military capabilities. Earlier this year, China became the first country to successfully land on the far side of the moon, heightening concerns that China may seek to militarize the moon much the same way it did the South China Sea. We now chance falling behind and jeopardizing not only our assured access to space, but even more importantly, our national security.
A decision to select just two launch service providers for such an extended period would perpetuate the current market duopoly for national security space launches and eliminate incentives for either provider to compete on price or build a better rocket. The NSSL was not intended to maintain the status quo. We must win the future.
NEXT STORY: The US and North Korea Are Back to Talking Tough",727,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876307.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021093214-20201021123214-00225.warc.gz,0.939931154251099
25c4dbb5-66e2-4d79-b482-c02db71fed85,2015-03-28T18:54:54+00:00,2015-03-28,1,http://www.ghanamma.com/group-roots-for-nana-bawumia/,"Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Sympathizers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who are domiciled in the US are rallying support for aspiring flagbearer of the party, Nana Akufo-Addo and his counterpart Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to lead the party in the 2016 general elections.
Akwasi Acheampong, Alexander Yaw Adusei, Agnes Adu, and Amponsah Stonash have formed the latest group known as Coalition to Elect Nana Addo and Bawumia (CENAB) to pursue that agenda.
The four, in a statement copied to DAILY GUIDE, stated that ‘Nana Addo and Dr. Bawumia have exhibited unquestionable brilliance in political leadership and economic management respectively and have the needed qualities to run a successful government.’
The group indicated that Nana and Bawumia could grow the country’s economy and lead the party to victory in 2016 elections.
‘Considering the economic mismanagement, which has been caused by the inexperienced, incompetent and the corrupt NDC, the seasoned Nana-Bawumia ticket offers the best chance for restoring hope among Ghanaians and ending the untoward hardship in our nation,’ it said.
CENEB said the experience the two in governance makes them the safest pair of hands to transform Ghana’s economy.
‘With Nana and Bawumia managing the affairs of our nation, we will be able to go to sleep knowing very well that our nation’s kitty is well protected for its development.
‘They are men of integrity with the vast experience and intellect to deliver Ghanaians from their economic woes. CENAB is poised for action. We want to see Ghana in the hands of mature, incorruptible and stable leadership and in Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia, we can undoubtedly see such qualities,’ they added.
By ernest nutsugah ([email protected])
This article has 0 comment, leave your comment.",456,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297689.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00126-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944099724292755
ff6af8c5-5ba8-4e33-8fc2-1023523a5c61,2016-07-29T17:56:48+00:00,2013-04-30,0,http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1950859.html,"The American Medical Association has written a letter to the Pentagon stating that “force feeding of detainees violates core ethical values of the medical profession.”
The Miami Herald on Tuesday obtained a copy of the April 25 letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel from Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, the AMA president. The Pentagon had no immediate response on whether Hagel had read it, or had a deputy reply.
In the letter Lazarus advised Hagel that the AMA opposes force-feeding a detainee who is competent to decide for himself whether he wants to eat.
“Every competent patient has the right to refuse medical intervention, including life-sustaining interventions,” Lazarus said, adding that the AMA took the same position on force-feeding Guantánamo prisoners in 2009 and 2005.
“The AMA has long endorsed the World Medical Association Declaration of Tokyo, which is unequivocal on the point: ‘Where a prisoner refuses nourishment and is considered by the physician as capable of forming an unimpaired and rational judgment concerning the consequences of such a voluntary refusal of nourishment, he or she shall not be fed artificially.’ ”
At Guantánamo, Army Lt. Col. Samuel House reported no change overnight in the military’s hunger strike count:
Five of the 100 hunger strikers were hospitalized, none in critical condition, all among the 21 captives being force-fed nutritional supplements.
The Pentagon has 166 prisoners at Guantánamo, ages 27 or 28 to 65.
According to Guantánamo media briefings, the feedings are generally carried out by enlisted sailors who are specialized medical assistants, called corpsmen — after an Army guard has taken a captive from his cell and shackled him into a restraint chair.
Doctors and nurses supervise the corpsmen, who have no role in deciding which captive should have a tube snaked up his nose and into his stomach before pumping can of Ensure into the shackled prisoner.
On Monday, a Guantánamo spokesman said military medical staff at the prison had reached nearly 140 — or a 1-to-1 prisoner-to-health provider ratio. The Virginia Pilot newspaper in Norfolk reported Tuesday that the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center had sent four Navy nurses and 14 corpsmen over the weekend.
“We will not allow a detainee to starve themselves to death and we will continue to treat each person humanely,” House said.
“Detainees are given a choice: eat the hot meal, drink the supplement, or be enteral fed,” he added, using the medical term for nasogastric tube feedings.",537,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00222-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.949625074863434
1d0ed1bb-27f7-401c-9ac0-db728765b5ae,2017-08-22T01:55:05+00:00,2017-08-22,0,https://www.shoppingblitz.com/products/seventeen-5-sydney-shirt-9147224140,"More than a shirt an experience defined by feel-it-to-believe-it softness. One wear is all it takes before you're hooked. Crafted in exclusive Seventeeen.5 New Zealand Merino wool. Seamed detailing at the shoulders and hips, and button plackets at the wrists, lend subtle tailored flair. Long sleeves. Relaxed fit. Wide scoop neck. Weight: 6.68. Sewn in USA. Washable.",94,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109803.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822011838-20170822031838-00321.warc.gz,0.892519891262054
8c0d656d-7a70-41fd-a64c-f9faca74b675,2015-03-28T23:52:49+00:00,2013-06-05,0,https://georgiatech.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?script=%2Fcontent%2Easp&cid=1512315,"June 5, 2013
VIDEO: Ulmer breaks down offseason, Terps
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It's been a month since St. John's quarterback William Ulmer committed to Maryland. On June 4, he broke down his offseason, his thoughts on Maryland and what he's doing this summer.
...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now!",82,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298015.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00262-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964376211166382
a65a2be0-8d47-4444-aed5-ac575d9412e8,2013-05-19T02:01:02+00:00,2009-08-01,0,http://www.animalfactguide.com/2009/08/canadian-helps-afghanistan-open-first-preserve/,"The perennial fighting in Afghanistan has led to the decline of many animals and fish native to the country. In the midst of the war torn country lies something new, a wildlife preserve.
The preserve, called Band-e-Amir, was established in April of last year with the help of Canadian wildlife biologist Chris Shank. The preserve is the home to nearly 5,000 people who graze animals, farm, and fish on the land.
It is hoped that the preserve will help protect against habitat destruction for wild goats, sheep, wolves, foxes, birds, and fish, all of which have been depleted though illegal hunting, trade, and poaching. In some instances, fisherman use explosives which kill all aquatic creatures in the vicinity. Other animals, like the snow leopard, have been completely wiped from the area.
Plant life has not fared much better than animal life. Overgrazing and overfarming have ruined some tracts of land, as has deforestation and illegal harvests.
The overall goal is to conserve the land and animals for the betterment of the people who live there.",225,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.969236433506012
deb63f32-7704-4f8b-9da3-a25e57239628,2019-08-25T02:48:15+00:00,2017-12,1,https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/local-news/2017/12/saranac-lake-village-board-now-supports-rail-trail/,"Saranac Lake village board now supports rail trail
SARANAC LAKE — Despite having voted down a similar resolution two months ago, the trustees of the village of Saranac Lake passed a resolution Monday night supporting the Lake Placid-Remsen Corridor rail trail.
Passionate supporters of the rail trail and of another option, keeping the train track and placing a pedestrian trail next to it, packed the meeting room to air their opinions during the public comment period.
Mayor Clyde Rabideau was absent Monday night and Trustee Paul Van Cott recused himself, as he is an employee of one party involved in court action about the rail trail — the Adirondack Park Agency.
Trustee Tom Catillaz, who was acting as mayor in Rabideau’s absence, and Trustees Allie Pelletieri and Richard Shapiro voted in favor of the resolution, which states:
“The Village of Saranac Lake hereby reaffirms its support of the Remsen-Lake Placid development plan as put forth by the State in 2016 Unit Management Plan. We recognize the important economic development, tourism, and health benefits that construction of the Adirondack Rail Trail will bring to our constituents. We urge the State to take every step necessary to expedite the appropriate procedural actions to allow construction of the corridor to continue including the appeal of Judge Main’s rail corridor decision. We further urge Governor Cuomo to take any necessary action or authority to designate the Lake Placid to Tupper Lake rail corridor as a NYS Recreation Corridor.”
In October, Judge Robert Main threw out the 2016 UMP, saying the state had failed to provide proof of ownership of several parcels along the corridor, and failed to prove its plan for the rail trail would economically benefit the region.
Several of those who commented during the public hearing decried the “divisive” effect of the issue on the village.
“This resolution is not common ground, it’s a battleground,” said Sunita Halasz. Halasz supports a compromise plan with both the rail and the pedestrian trail.
Others said the DEC is at fault for not implementing the original 1996 Unit Management Plan that allowed for the development of the corridor.
Phil Gallos said, “Option 6 of the UMP said the DEC would pursue development options in recreation and rail; the village should press New York State to develop fully Option 6.”
Steve Irwin said the resolution “lets the state off the hook.”
Irwin also said the state should be pressed to develop a pedestrian trail without removing the train tracks. Others said that once the tracks are removed, the state will lose the legal right to develop the corridor.
Emily Warner said the tracks go past her back yard, and she counts the passengers when there is a train. “Sometimes there are 40 or 50. Sometimes, zero.”
Warner said the ties are rotted, and further, “I know the tracks of people who walk there now. The trail is being used.”
Still others said a rail plus trail option is better for people with disabilities.
A group of people came from Tupper Lake, including Pete Edwards, Patti Littlefield and Neil Pickering.
“It was us three who asked you to bring this up again,” Edwards said. “I speak for the business community in Tupper. I went door to door to every business, and there were only three that were against the rail trail; all the others were in favor. During the winter, there’s no tourists. A trail is the way to go.”
John Brockway, owner of Charlie’s Inn in Lake Clear Junction, said, “I am for the trail. With those tracks in place, we need at least two feet of snow [to make the trail usable for snowmobiles]. We need to connect Tupper Lake to Lake Placid. I have a historic train station, and passenger trains haven’t run on those tracks since the 1960s.”
Hope Frenette of Tupper Lake cited a survey that found 70 percent of respondents favored the pedestrian trail, 30 percent the railroad, and 20 percent a rail plus trail option.
However, several residents of the village urged the trustees to represent village residents’ interests and not those of “outsiders.”",912,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027322170.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825021120-20190825043120-00404.warc.gz,0.96138072013855
ef5ca506-4c22-4325-9917-0d11e6c7395a,2015-03-26T23:43:39+00:00,2015-03-19,0,http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/i-bought-a-tie/,"I bought a tie
29 Comments- Get free updates of new posts here
It was my birthday last week and my friends bought me a gift certificate to Thomas Pink. Then they took me shopping there and I bought a tie. I almost had a heart attack–it is the most expensive tie I have ever bought. Also, the third one. Now all I want to do is walk around with bodyguards and people holding those soft packing peanuts all around me.
More to come later.
Tonight, I’m giving a live presentation on finding your Dream Job. I noticed you haven’t signed up yet, ...Read More",130,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131293283.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172133-00137-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968275487422943
81914cd6-889c-456c-9b99-ea7c65504742,2020-10-24T20:38:33+00:00,2012-03-01,0,https://steelersdepot.com/2012/03/no-surprise-mike-wallace-will-get-1st-round-tender-if-not-signed-by-march-5th/,"Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Thursday morning that the Pittsburgh Steelers will not use the franchise tag on restricted free agent Mike Wallace should they not get him signed to a new contract in the next few days. The news comes as no surprise as the Steelers do not have the cap room to accommodate a projected $9.4 plus million franchise tag amount.
The Steelers have been in talks with Wallace about trying to get a new deal done before the start of free agency and team president Art Rooney II said after the 2011 season ended that Wallace would be a priority to get resigned. It was announced on Wednesday that the contract of 14 year veteran Hines Ward would be terminated prior to March 5th and that move would mean that the Steelers have trimmed over $32 million off of their 2012 cap number since the 2011 season ended. Ralph Cindrich, the agent for linebacker James Farrior, reiterated again on Thursday that he did not like the chances of the Steelers retaining his client as well. Should Farrior indeed have his contract terminated, it would save another $2.825 million in cap money.
Should the Steelers not work out a deal with Wallace over the course of the next few days, the first round tender that they will place on Wallace will be roughly $2.742 million. Wallace would then be allowed to accept offer sheets from other teams once the free agency signing period begins and the Steelers will have the right of first refusal to match any offer made to Wallace or receive a first round draft as compensation from the team that signs him away. It should be reiterated that there is time to get a deal done with Wallace before having to use the first round tender.",333,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107884755.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024194049-20201024224049-00206.warc.gz,0.973898887634277
7d95647c-cdf0-4927-bfa4-1a0e6d62f120,2022-05-16T15:27:23+00:00,2017-11-30,1,https://minorityrights.org/minorities/uyghurs/,"Minority Rights Group International (MRG) Deputy Director, Claire Thomas, writes this opinion piece for the Thomson Reuters News Foundation.+ LEARN MORE
Uyghurs speak a south-eastern Turkic language and are thought to currently number around 10.1 million, though some groups assert that their numbers are much higher. They tend to be mainly concentrated in the north-western corner of China and, until recently, a substantial majority in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The XUAR is China’s largest province, comprising roughly one sixth of its total landmass, is rich in natural resources, and strategically located, sharing borders with eight other countries. Most Uyghurs are Sunni Muslims. The Uyghurs are a majority in western XUAR and in the Turpan prefecture, while Han Chinese are the majority in most major cities and in the east and north. There are also Uyghurs found in Hunan province in south-central China.
China’s Uyghur minority are a remnant of the vast Uyghur Empire which stretched from the Caspian Sea to Manchuria in the eighth century, eventually to be overrun by other tribes in much of Central Asia. During many centuries, various Uyghur, Mongol and Chinese regimes ruled the region.
The name, Xinjiang, means ‘new frontier’ in Mandarin, which many Uyghur rights advocates point out actually counters China’s claims of an ancient unbroken domination. For Uyghurs free to express discursive resistance to Chinese occupation, the preferred name is East Turkestan. Much of what is today Xinjiang was ruled by or owed allegiance to the Mongols from the thirteenth century. Various Uyghur and Mongol khanates exerted authority over different parts of the region, with the Manchu Qing Empire entering the area and controlling all of it by about the mid-eighteenth century. For a brief period after 1864, Xinjiang was to break away from the Qing Empire while China was weakened by other conflicts and unable to maintain its garrisons in the distant province. Chinese control was reasserted in 1877.
The end of the Qing Dynasty and the creation of the Republic of China in 1912 were followed by a period of weak central government control over Xinjiang. A rebellion in the 1930s (in reaction to a large degree to heavy taxes on Uyghurs to finance Han migration and settlement on some of the province’s best agricultural land) resulted in the establishment of the first modern Uyghur state in 1933. The East Turkestan Republic was centred mainly in the southern region of Kashgar and Khotan. It survived only one year and returned to the control of the Han Chinese under warlord Sheng Shicai. Parts of northern Xinjiang were to form the second East Turkestan Republic between 1944 and 1949 under Ahmetjan Qasimi, Isa Yusuf Alptekin and others. The Uyghurs’ taste of independence was brought to an end in 1949. In August, Ahmetjan Qasimi and other Uyghur leaders were invited to speak with Mao in Beijing about Uyghur independence, which had been tentatively promised in exchange for Uyghurs supporting the Communists in their civil war with the Kuomingtang. However, the plane mysteriously crashed on its way to Beijing. The death of so many Uyghur leaders was kept a secret for months, until the PLA had fully occupied the region.
One notable Uyghur leader who was not on the plane, Isa Yusuf Alptekin, recognizing the encroaching PLA forces for what they represented, led a major diaspora of Uyghurs from Xinjiang. By 1952, owing to Alptekin’s efforts, pressure from the US and the newly established UN refugee agency, UNHCR, Turkey accepted some 2,000 Uyghur refugees for resettlement. Turkey remains a supportive cultural and political host country for Uyghur refugees today.
The region took its current shape as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on 1 October 1955. Tensions and resentment, despite some early idealistic moves that were receptive to the rights of nationalities, quickly increased when Chinese Communist authorities began to clearly favour Han Chinese. There were initial statements by the Communists criticizing past Han nationalism and promising that Xinjiang would remain in control of its nationalities, since they had a right of self-determination, but real power in the post-1955 XUAR appeared to be held in practice by the Han Chinese cadres.
While no segment of Chinese society escaped the effects of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward, most accounts agree that the Uyghurs in Xinjiang appeared to be particularly targeted, with between 60,000 and 100,000 Uyghurs and Kazakhs fleeing the country after 1962 to avoid repression and famine.
Resentment of and resistance to government-supported migration or support of Han Chinese to the detriment of Uyghurs, restrictions on their religious and cultural practices, and loss of land have periodically caused eruptions of violence in the region. There were student demonstrations and riots in the 1980s linked to opposition to an announced expansion of Han migration and the Baren Township riot in 1990, where at least 50 people were killed (some reports claim there were hundreds) following a government decision to close down a local mosque. This subsequently led to a series of riots in other parts of Xinjiang.
Numerous bombing incidents in Xinjiang and Beijing itself – blamed on Uyghur extremists – occurred in 1997, as well as attacks against Chinese soldiers and officials. Widespread demonstrations and street fighting followed the arrest of suspected separatists during Ramadan.
The overall effect of the Communist Party of China’s policies in the last six decades, one of the main sources of the tensions and resentment in the region, is unmistakable and stunning: The Han population in the region increased at an average rate of 8.1 per cent yearly, from 5 per cent in 1947 to around 40 per cent in 2000. Officially the 2010 Census puts the Xinjiang population at 45.8 per cent Uyghur and 40.5 per cent Han, with Kazakh, Hui, and other ethnicities making up the rest. However, these figures fail to capture the high numbers of long term resident Han migrant workers and thousands of security personnel in Xinjiang.
The capital of the province itself went from being a city where the Uyghurs were the clear majority (their proportion being about 80 per cent) to one where the Uyghurs have been almost completely displaced, and where it is now the Han Chinese who constitute about 80 per cent of the total population. In Kashgar, an urban redesign project aims to demolish some 65,000 homes and resettle over 200,000 Uyghur residents, 85 per cent of Kashgar’s old city. Anthropologist Jay Dautcher argues that Uyghur residential neighborhoods, or mehelle, have been critical components in the production of Uyghur culture for hundreds of years. Traditional architecture and how residents socialize within the physical space is especially formative in the construction of gender identity. While some Uyghurs embraced the opportunity to move to more modern housing, many feel the forced relocation from traditional homes in the ancient center to high-rise apartments on the outskirts is more of an assault on culture than a sign of modernity.
As the demographic weight of the Uyghurs is thus reduced, use of their language and the practice of other cultural and religious activities closely linked to Uyghur identity are being increasingly restricted by Chinese authorities who more and more openly espouse a pro-Han chauvinism. Schools and universities are increasingly being required to teach in Mandarin rather than Uyghur.
The strategic position of Xinjiang and the potential for ethnic unrest translates into a high degree of control of the region and of the affairs of the Uyghur minority by central authorities. Decision-making is concentrated in the centrally appointed Party structure and in Beijing, thereby excluding ethnic Uyghurs. Two additional factors contribute to this configuration: the role of the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, directly under the State Council and virtually independent of the government; and the extremely limited power granted to national minorities, in particular Uyghurs, in the government and the Party – even compared to other national minority areas of China.
Until recently, the large number of Uyghurs constituted a substantial majority in Xinjiang. Legislation and regulations are supposed to guarantee them minority and language rights as well as prohibit discrimination. However, the control and role which one would expect the Uyghurs to be able to exercise over the operations of administrative units has been nearly eliminated over the years, along with the language requirements for job opportunities within government offices, and an expansion of laws criminalizing almost every facet of Uyghur culture and identity, have resulted in ever increasing marginalization in their own land.
Since the mid-1990s, the gradual exclusion of Uyghurs from state-based employment – and the rising number of private jobs is stunning and statistically verifiable from a variety of sources. While Han Chinese have been able to secure employment, ethnic Uyghurs have been kept out of construction jobs, road-building projects and oil and gas pipelines. Even for Uyghurs with graduate degrees they are only employed at an estimated 15 per cent and according to a 2013 study Uyghurs earn an average of 59 per cent of what their Han counterparts earn.
As with the Mongolian and Tibetan minorities, access to employment is increasingly a contentious issue for the Uyghur minority, a function of discriminatory Han-only hiring practices and privileging of Mandarin speakers. State authorities in the region refuse to recognize any concrete entitlement to Uyghur beyond education. The reduction of bilingual services provided by state authorities has resulted in the removing of bilingual employment opportunities, which would have meant the employment of more Uyghurs, whereas increased monolingual state operations have led to a much higher proportion of Han Chinese being preferred in almost all fields of employment. For example, in 2013, 72 per cent of all open civil service positions were open only to Han Chinese. The massive Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps employs 86 per cent Han. Additional sectors that advertise ‘Han only’ recruitment run the full spectrum of the economy, from firefighters, bank employees, accountants, and broadcasters to construction workers, chefs, and farmers. When it comes to employment, Uyghur women were identified in 2012 as the most disadvantaged demographic in China.
Even the few areas where use of Uyghur was associated with job opportunities – such as in education -have seen a rapid reduction since 2000. From the late 1980s, Chinese-language instruction became more prominent, whereas instruction in Uyghur began to be curtailed, sometimes through the process of merging Chinese and Uyghur schools with the foreseeable result that these schools would teach almost exclusively in Mandarin. Xinjiang University, initially established in 1949 as a bilingual (Uyghur/Mandarin) university, has all but cast away instruction in Uyghur since 2002. The same throughout all levels of education, Uyghur language instruction is almost exclusively limited to literature, while all other classes are taught in Mandarin. Curriculum focuses on ‘patriotic education’ that leaves a marginal role for Uyghur culture and history. Uyghur teachers are also discriminated against in such a system. Most Han teachers only speak Mandarin, despite requirements in the Ethnic Autonomy Law, while Uyghur teachers are required to speak both Uyghur and Mandarin and are often fired in preference for Han teachers with better Mandarin. Uyghurs who have attempted to open private language centers have also suffered under discriminatory policies, such as Abduweli Ayup who in 2013 was sentenced to 18 months for ‘illegal fund-raising’ for his efforts to found a Uyghur language kindergarten.
In a shocking turn of events, Uyghur economist and rights defender, Ilham Tohti, was tried in a closed-door trial in September 2014 and sentenced to life in prison on baseless separatism charges. He lost his appeal. In an essay published after his imprisonment, Tohti wrote that, ‘In recent years, Uyghur fears of cultural and linguistic annihilation have been greatly exacerbated by a sharp contraction in Xinjiang’s local-language publishing and cultural industries.’ In October 2016, Tohti was awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
A continuing issue for the Uyghur minority is the role and dominating impact of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps – a body which is probably best described as an economic and semi-military quasi-state organization. Operating almost completely outside the control of the XUAR authorities since 1981, it has de facto administrative authority over a number of cities, settlements and farms all across Xinjiang. It has coordinated the settlement and employment of millions of Han Chinese in the area and continues to fulfil administrative functions such as health care, printed and electronic media and education for areas under its jurisdiction. This includes primary, secondary and tertiary education (with two universities, Shihezi University and Tarim University). It has control over 16 million mu (over 2.5 million acres) of farmland, representing about a third of the Xinjiang’s arable land. Its operations are essentially exclusively in Mandarin, thus acting as an important agent in the sinicization of the XUAR, and of the growing exclusion and disempowerment of the Uyghur minority. This is part of an overt government policy of supporting massive Han migration into the region in order to weaken the demographic and political weight of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang – which is a dangerous source of frustration and resentment.
Another issue that has emerged is the right of members of a minority to their name in their own language, which is protected under international law under the right to private and family life. A policy adopted in 2002 required that Uyghur names be changed into Chinese pinyin. In 2015, Hotan initiated a ban on Uyghur parents giving their children Islamic names which have been used by Uyghur parents for generations and are an integral part of Uyghur identity. In April 2017, the policy was extended to the whole of the XUAR. Children named in violation of this policy may be barred from household-registration, denying free access to health and education.
Another contentious issue involves the freedom of religion of Uyghurs and the crackdown by authorities in the name of security and the fight against terrorism and separatism. The religious activities of Muslims in Xinjiang are subjected to extensive controls and restrictions which are not applied to any other part of China: a special regulation of the XUAR bans minors from participating in religious activities, resulting in authorities prohibiting teaching of Islam to school-age children, and imposing hefty punishments on parents found in violation. Since 2015, increasingly repressive measures have been passed such as banning face veils in public, criminalizing men with beards, and forbidding Uyghur students from observing fast during Ramadan, and thousands of mosques have been demolished. Any type of unsanctioned religious activity in Xinjiang risks much more serious consequences than in other parts of China, with the result that Uyghurs are likely to be arrested and detained for extremely long periods in the name of fighting extremism, even for innocuous activities.
On 5 July 2009, a planned nonviolent demonstration by Uyghurs frustrated by the failure of Chinese authorities to investigate the murder of a Uyghur migrant worker in Southern China the previous month turned violent. An estimated 200 people were killed, most of them Han, and another some 1,700 were injured. Over the ensuing days, Han vigilantes assaulted Uyghur bystanders as the government shut down internet access to the entire province of 21.8 million people, imposing significant obstacles to independent investigations. The internet lockdown lasted for 10 months. During this time, Chinese authorities detained hundreds, if not thousands, of Uyghurs, many who were disappeared and never released or tried. Since 2009, episodes of violent resistance have occurred by Uyghurs who have been systematically denied nonviolent avenues for redress. While violent crimes require a measured law enforcement response, human rights groups have argued that the repressive militarization of Xinjiang and indiscriminate policing only exacerbate the problem and have led to a spiral of violence. In March 2014, more than 30 people were killed outside of a train station in Kunming, Yunnan province by a group subsequently reported to be Xinjiang separatists. In May 2014, two cars loaded with explosives ploughed through a busy shopping street in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, killing around 30 people. Following the Urumqi bombing, China announced a year-long anti-terrorism crackdown with the Xinjiang party chief, Zhang Chunxian, acknowledging the necessity for ‘unconventional measures’ in the ‘people’s war’ against terrorism. Mosques and private residences were searched, residents harassed and intimidated with impunity by the police and arbitrary arrests and disappearances increased. In 2015, the Uyghur Human Rights Project reported that as many as 700 people had died in Xinjiang during 2013 and 2014. In the subsequent years, regional and national security laws have only become increasingly repressive.
Beginning in 2016, previously prefecture-level travel regulations were imposed across all of Xinjiang, in violation of the freedom of movement and impacting Uyghur’s ability to participate in religion pilgrimage or seek employment opportunities. In 2016, the Xinjiang government announced a blanket recall of all passports, a measure already implemented under Chen Quanguo in Tibet. Throughout 2016 and into 2017, the government in Xinjiang implemented mandatory health examinations and forced collection of DNA. The apparent profiling of Uyghurs, collection of DNA not part of an active criminal investigation, and the lack of privacy controls or other legal protections raises series concerns over the scope and purpose of the policy.
Updated November 2017",3776,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510138.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516140911-20220516170911-00605.warc.gz,0.959733426570892
0dc1e535-9331-47de-b1aa-b1984c258a3a,2018-08-21T01:58:38+00:00,2018-05-01,0,https://jobs.theguardian.com/job/6715287/commercial-client-asset-manager/?LinkSource=PremiumListing,"Commercial Client Asset Manager
Not only is Norwich the preeminent economic centre for Norfolk and Suffolk, but it is also one of the fastest growing cities in the U.K. With a strong economy and exceptional quality of life, the council is determined to develop these assets for the benefit of the community, whilst at the same time sustaining its financial security.
You will be at the centre of the council’s work in these areas; developing and implementing the council’s property and parking services to support the local economy and taking steps to sustain and grow net income returns.
You should have experience of property or parking management and, above all, be experienced in working in a business environment and acting commercially. It is essential that you take initiative, work strategically and communicate at a senior level in order to seize opportunities and secure innovative solutions.
You will need to build and maintain strong relationships, both internally and with external parties. You will oversee the council’s contract with NPS Norwich Ltd to provide professional property services.
You will be well organised and able to provide positive outcomes in a fast paced working environment. Comfortable with change, you should have exceptional communication skills, well developed numeracy and proven analytical and problem solving skills.
For more information regarding the role please contact Andy Watt, Head of City Development Services on 01603 212691.
To apply, please visit our website.
Closing date: 16 May 2018.
Interviews: 22 May 2018.",300,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217909.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821014427-20180821034427-00027.warc.gz,0.93004709482193
a5e3285e-4d24-488e-bdd1-5b1930841f40,2017-08-17T05:58:23+00:00,2016-02-22,0,https://hofstrapsychadvising.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/summer-program-for-undergraduate-research/,"We are delighted to announce that applications are now being considered for the 2016 SPSP Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR).
SPUR is a full-time, 8-week summer internship program that allows talented, graduate-school-bound undergraduates and recent graduates from under-represented ethnic groups to gain hands-on research experience working closely with a social-personality psychology faculty mentor at the mentor’s university. Applicants ideally should be intending to apply to graduate school in social or personality psychology within one or two years.
Interested applicants should complete the application materials located on the application website. As part of the application process, applicants will be asked to identify up to five potential faculty mentors from the list of participating faculty. The list contains a brief description of potential mentors’ research programs to facilitate applicants’ identification of potential mentors.
Applicants who are selected for the internship will receive up to $500 to support travel to and from the mentor’s location, and a summer stipend of $5,000 to support housing and living expenses.
Application materials are due by 3/11/2016.
If you have questions concerning the application process, please email@example.com",248,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102967.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170817053725-20170817073725-00253.warc.gz,0.937975466251373
b93dc2ca-a83b-4bcb-81a1-e1b8def967d9,2018-08-16T02:45:55+00:00,2015-01-13,1,https://www.theepochtimes.com/european-parliament-approves-eu-countries-right-to-ban-gmo-crops_1197233.html,"European Parliament Approves EU Countries’ Right to Ban GMO Crops
The European Parliament passed legislation Tuesday that allows European countries to restrict or ban the cultivation of crops that have been genetically modified (GM).
“This directive is in response to Europeans’ growing concerns about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms),” said Frédérique Ries, a member of the European Parliament from Belgium and the one pushing the legislation through the European Parliament.
“This agreement will ensure more flexibility for member states, who wish to restrict the cultivation of the GMOs in their territory.”
The new law will allow countries to ban GMO crops, but they will still have to go through a risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) before they can be put on the European Union market.
MON810 maize, a kind of corn, is currently the only genetically modified crop cultivated in the European Union, and it is only grown in five countries.
Nine countries had GMO bans, but their bans were superseded by the European Union-level approval of GMO crops. This means that, until this legislation, countries that wanted to ban GMOs, could not, and faced legal cases if they tried.
Creating an EU-level policy on the cultivation of GM crops started in 2009. The issue has polarized the EU—on one side are countries who say GMOs threaten European’s health, the environment, and the high quality of EU food, while on the other side countries argue if the GM crops are approved at the EU level, they should be safe enough to be grown anywhere in the EU, and failing to do so threatens the EU unified market.
European countries would not be able to ban the cultivation of GMOs for environmental or health reasons if the crops were approved by the EFSA, according to the new law.
However, they could ban GM crops for other reasons, such as town and country planning requirements, their socio-economic impact, avoiding the unintended presence of GMOs in other products, and national farming rules.
On this first point, Greenpeace expressed concern because “the new law will not provide countries with a legally solid right to ban GM crops.” It warned that excluding environmental concerns from the list of reasons to ban GM crops could have “serious consequences.”
The new law states countries should ensure that GMO crops do not contaminate other products, especially to prevent cross-border contamination with neighboring countries. However there is no funding to compensate farmers if their crops are contaminated.
“I hope that when the legislation is updated, there will be an obligation to compensate farmers who are affected by this,” Reis said.
The new rules only cover cultivation of GMOs, not transportation, sale, or research. Large quantities of animal feed containing GMOs are still imported into the EU.
The new legislation will still need to be approved by the European Council, and if it does, is expected to enter into effect in the spring of 2015.
Countries that Formerly Banned GM Crops:
Countries that Grow GM crops:
- The Czech Republic",634,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210408.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816015316-20180816035316-00658.warc.gz,0.946853637695312
e68d913c-b0ca-4c07-8f95-9438cd55ff44,2022-05-16T09:01:51+00:00,2016-12-31,0,https://www.wheelarchflares.com/sale-9693013-auto-body-parts-car-hood-scoop-bonnet-car-air-vent-cover-for-toyota-hilux-revo-trucks.html,"|Place of Origin:||Guangzhou,China|
Payment & Shipping Terms:
|Minimum Order Quantity:||5 sets|
|Packaging Details:||Neutral Packing|
|Delivery Time:||3-5 Days|
|Payment Terms:||T/T, Western Union,Paypal|
|Supply Ability:||1000 sets per month|
|Function:||Protector||Type:||4x4 Auto Body Parts|
bolt on hood scoops,
functional hood scoop
Auto Body Parts Hood Scoop Bonnet Car Air Vent Cover For Toyota Hilux Revo Trucks
|Car Make||For Toyota Hilux Revo 2015 2016 Model|
|Material||ABS Plastic Free logo 4x4 auto parts for toyota abs fender flares for toyota land cruiser 80|
|Installation||Easy to install, with all fittings|
|Surface Finish||Matte / Gloss|
|Packaging||Normal Export Carton|
|Free logo printed||Available|
1.High quality,EPDM, silicone as you request, UP holder
2.Support small order and mix order
3.Instock service, we offen keep many kinds instock.
1. Drilling is unrequired.
2. Rubber edging to give nice finish.
3. There are holes for the mudflaps to fit.
4. Very hard wearing. Will protect the bodywork.
5. Contoured to the shape of the fender.
6. Fantastic value for your Hilux Revo model, giving an excellent finishing touch
Item name:Hood Scoop Cover
Car model: For Toyota Hilux Revo 2015 2016 (check carefully with the car model)
car style: new Pickup 4x4WD
Condition:100% all new
Special features: Decaration & protection
Tips: we are professional manufacturer of car accessories, all accessories has tested with car model, all fit for car model very well.
Q1. What is your terms of packing?
A: Generally, we pack our goods in neutral white boxes and brown cartons. If you have legally registered patent,
we can pack the goods in your branded boxes after getting your authorization letters.
Q2. What is your terms of payment?
A: T/T 30% as deposit, and 70% before delivery. We'll show you the photos of the products and packages
before you pay the balance.
Q3. What is your terms of delivery?
A: EXW, FOB
Q4. How about your delivery time?
A: Generally, it will take about 2-5days for sample order,15-25 days after receiving your advance payment for bulk order. The specific delivery time depends on the items and the quantity of your order.
Q5. Can you produce according to the samples?
A: Yes, we can produce by your samples or technical drawings. We can build the molds and fixtures.
Q6. What is your sample policy?
A: We can supply the sample if we have ready parts in stock, but the customers have to pay the sample cost and
the courier cost.
Q7. Do you test all your goods before delivery?
A: Yes, we have 100% test before delivery
Q8: How do you make our business long-term and good relationship?
A:1. We keep good quality and competitive price to ensure our customers benefit ;
2. We respect every customer as our friend and we sincerely do business and make friends with them,
no matter where they come from.",889,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510097.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516073101-20220516103101-00205.warc.gz,0.816104292869568
b4ecf9a9-76e9-4acf-aa28-82d71bc0ee6e,2022-05-26T13:25:28+00:00,2022-05-26,1,https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgDecisionDetails.aspx?IId=26989&Opt=1,"As Cabinet Member for Economic Development I have agreed that Kent County Council:
a) Draw down capital funds of up to £4.6 million from the Growing Places Fund;
b) Make available loan finance of up to £4.6 million to one or more third party organisations to support the development of Discovery Park Enterprise Zone.
This shall be subject to:
a) The conclusion of a satisfactory loan agreement from Essex County Council, as the Accountable Body for Growing Places Fund; and
b) The receipt of a satisfactory application for loan finance from one or more third party organisations.",120,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662606992.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526131456-20220526161456-00607.warc.gz,0.918101131916046
75c56e0b-33b4-4269-bc1f-fbc4ef9050e3,2022-05-17T14:03:43+00:00,2022-05-17,0,https://www.keanihawaii.com/products/hapa-clutch,"100% Leather Exterior, Tropical frond print fabric interior with zipper pocket, fold-over style with magnetic clasp, custom Keani Jewelry zipper pull.
Hand-sewn and made in the USA.
Please pull from the base of the zipper.
** If you would like to order our asymmetrical option, please email us at email@example.com. We have limited quantities of this type of cut! **",104,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517485.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517130706-20220517160706-00003.warc.gz,0.863485634326935
31a22e99-797f-49dc-8335-3a0d036f67fd,2018-08-15T12:03:49+00:00,2018-08-15,0,https://www.dictionary.com/browse/chain-gear,"- a gear assembly in which motion is transmitted by means of a chain.
Origin of chain gear
First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for chain gear
We tried a belt first, said Lance; but the blamed thing slipped so that old Chet evolved the chain-gear idea.The Girls of Central High on the Stage
Gertrude W. Morrison",106,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210058.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815102653-20180815122653-00417.warc.gz,0.891926944255829
a6938142-70e5-4d5b-80ad-9ec64c1063c0,2020-10-26T15:26:23+00:00,2020-10-26,1,https://www.defenceandsecurity.ca/events/details&evtID=421,"DSEI UK 2021
DSEI Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) is the world leading event that brings together the global defence and security sector to innovate and share knowledge. DSEI represents the entire supply chain on an unrivalled scale. DSEI 2019 will have five key sector-focused Zones: Air, Land, Naval, Security & Joint, all showcasing the latest equipment and systems.
Attend DSEI 2021 to develop relationships with an audience of over 34,000 including Defence Ministers, International Military and Armed Forces, key industry players and private sector companies. The DSEI Strategic Conferences take place on 13 September (Day Zero) with the main exhibition and free seminar programme running for four days from 14-17 September 2021, at the ExCeL Centre in London.
- International: DSEI brings together worldwide exhibitors, visitors and journalists
- Business: DSEI offers to exhibitors, and also visitors, various services in order to help them to develop their commercial opportunities
- Technologic showcase: DSEI presents in life-size numerous equipment and systems
- A forum for ideas: DSEI supports exchanges of views about the evolution of Defence and Security between all the players of the domains. Many conferences are organised all along the exhibition.",267,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891428.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026145305-20201026175305-00411.warc.gz,0.924213647842407
c90e7dd6-c20a-4541-9307-e6ffacd2920c,2016-07-28T14:26:52+00:00,2012-05-17,1,http://t-j.org.il/LatestDevelopments/tabid/1370/currentpage/1/articleID/537/Default.aspx,"According to very reliable sources, Town Plan 7659, for approximately 220 units in the new settlement of Kidmat Tzion, will be brought to the Jerusalem Municipal Planning in the run-up to “Jerusalem Day” which falls on May 20 (the likely date for the Municipal Planning Committee hearings is May 17, but no final determination has been made). A map showing the location of the planned construction can be viewed/downloaded here.
As reported previously, this is a plan for a brand new settlement of more than 1000 residents to be located on the boundary between East Jerusalem and Abu Dis, in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood. Implementation of this plan would have significant deleterious implications for the two-state solution, both in terms of political impact and impact on the ground. Given the nature of the land involved (which falls under the authority of the Custodian General, who is part of the Ministry of Justice), ultimate responsibility for the Kidmat Tzion project lies with the government of Israel project, not the Municipality. This means that if this project moves forward, it will disclose a decision of the Netanyahu government to establish a new settlement in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
Also as we reported previously, Jerusalem Mayor Barkat reportedly plans to inaugurate the scheme around “Jerusalem Day” events (on May 20), and has reportedly informed the Prime Minister of his intentions. Approval of Town Plan 7659 in the Municipal Planning Committee will likely be linked to approval of – or efforts to approve – minor planning for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, allowing the mayor and planning committee to divert attention from the approval of a new settlement in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood by focusing attention on the exceedingly rare approval of construction for Palestinians.
Note: Kidmat Zion plan has been reported in the media as another Irving Moskowitz project. This appears to be inaccurate. Moskowitz own less than 4% of the site, and is not, according to our sources, behind the revival of the plan. The site is controlled overwhelmingly by the Custodian General of abandoned properties, indicating that the energy behind this project comes from the Government of Israel, not private developers.",446,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828283.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00093-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95559298992157
80f6b77e-2007-402d-86ad-1a28a8ec9f6e,2022-05-20T16:51:24+00:00,2021-07-21,1,https://www.wvpe.org/indiana-news/2021-07-21/after-reaching-pandemic-lows-indiana-covid-19-cases-pick-back-up,"After Reaching Pandemic Lows, Indiana COVID-19 Cases Pick Back Up
After hitting pandemic lows for new COVID-19 cases, Indiana is seeing new spikes in infections. Wednesday was the second day in a row with more than 700 new cases reported – the highest since May 21.
June’s daily cases reached a pandemic-low average – just 284 cases per day. But cases have begun to climb again. July’s average so far is more than 400 cases per day – a more than 40 percent increase in three weeks.
Taking into account population, Benton and Fountain counties lead the increases with more than 100 new cases per 10,000 residents.
Since Indiana’s pandemic low on July 3, hospitalizations have grown by 50 percent.
The Indiana Department of Health reports more than 70 percent of sampled COVID-19 cases in July are the more infectious delta variant – an increase of nearly 40 percent from June.
Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text ""Indiana"" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on COVID-19 and other statewide issues.
Deaths remain low. In the last two months, only eight counties have reported more than 10 deaths: Marion, Lake, Elkhart, Hamilton, Howard, Allen, St. Joseph and Tippecanoe counties. And statewide, the state has added a little more than 400 new confirmed deaths to its total.",314,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662533972.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520160139-20220520190139-00609.warc.gz,0.943414509296417
e09f4cca-822d-466c-ab41-5c1e9b5eac57,2018-08-21T04:11:45+00:00,2018-08-10,1,http://newstwentyfive.review/2018/08/10/559-children-separated-at-the-border-have-still-not-been-reunited-with-their-parents/,"There are 559 migrant children who have not been reunited with their parents after they were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this year, according to a new court filing from the Trump Administration.
Of the 2,511 separated children, 1,569 were reunited with their parents who are in the custody of U.S. Immigration of Customs Enforcement. The Trump Administration said 386 children had not been reunited because their parents were “outside the U.S.” There have been previous instances of parents being deported without their children.
For 163 children, parents said they did not want to be reunited, though government attorneys note that a “significant number” of those parents are outside the country.
The documents were filed as part of an order by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw, who gave the Trump Administration a deadline a 30-day deadline to reunite families. That deadline expired on July 26. MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff first obtained the documents and posted them on Twitter Thursday night.
These are the remaining children separated from their families at the border as a result of the Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. The policy sparked a major uproar and resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the order.",260,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217951.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821034002-20180821054002-00308.warc.gz,0.981041073799133
4e12dd30-9c16-4f7c-b692-322088ff5b77,2019-08-25T11:21:43+00:00,2019-06-21,1,https://europeantransculturalnurses.eu/news/,"It is our great pleasure to announce that 7th International ETNA Conference 2020 will be held in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain on the 25th - 28th June 2020! The pre conference programme will commence on the 25th June, followed by the scientific programme on 26th and 27th June, and a social programme (optional) on the 28th June.
Please save the dates! More details on how to submit an abstract and register for the conference will follow soon!
Make sure that you join ETNA and follow us on twitter for the latest news! Tweet using the hashtag #ETNAConf20.
The final programme for the 6th International ETNA Conference 2019 in České Budějovice, Czech Republic on June 19th–21st 2019 is now available for you to download.
There is still time to register and attend the conference, and if you cannot make it you can follow us on twitter for the live tweets using #ETNAConf19.
Visit https://www.etna2019.cz/ to register now!
Good news! If you wish to submit an abstract to present at the next ETNA Conference, which will take place on June 19th - 21st 2019, in České Budějovice, Czech Republic, there is time until the 31st December 2018 to do so!
Visit https://www.etna2019.cz for more information!
It is my great pleasure to invite you to the 6th ETNA conference entitled,
""THE NURSING CURRICULUM NEEDS A CULTURAL REVOLUTION: THE WHY, THE HOW, THE WHAT AND THE WHEN OF A GLOBAL CULTURALLY COMPETENT CURRICULUM“
The conference will take place on the 19th to 21st June 2019 at the University of South Bohemia, in the beautiful city of České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
I invite you to visit the conference website for more information and for submitting your abstracts at https://www.etna2019.cz/
I look forward to an exciting conference. Our motto for all our conferences has always been to have fun whilst learning. The ETNA standards have always been very high. Come and join us as we chase the innovative, the provocative, the critical, the challenging, the political, the cultural, the diverse aspects of transcultural healthcare and cultural competence.
I promise you YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!
Enjoy your summer 2018 and consider submitting an abstract and registering to attend the ETNA conference.
Rena Papadopoulos, President of ETNA (European Transcultural Nurses Association (increasing global and multidisciplinary)
*SAVE THE DATE* 6th International ETNA Conference 2019
The 6th International ETNA Conference will be held in The Czech Republic at the University of South Bohemia on the 19th – 21st June 2019.
More details to follow soon!
We are pleased to announce that we have updated our systems and we are officially launching our online community where you can create your own ETNA account and engage with other members across the world.
If you haven't already done so, please click here to create your ETNA account. This will renew your free subscription and give you a membership number.
You can also cancel your subscription at any time following the instructions in your online account. Similarly, you can unsubscribe from the bi-annual newsletter by clicking link at the bottom of the email.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at email@example.com.
The 5th International ETNA Conference featured in the Danish media with an article prepared by the journalist Helene Dambo who attended the wonderful ETNA conference in June 2017. Some of you also attended the conference. Hopefully it will remind you of the good time we all had and the work we promised to do on the two main themes of the conference: Migration and Healthcare technologies.
Click here for the full article
Whether you missed the 5th International ETNA Conference in Denmark, or whether you wish to re-live all the moments from the conference, check out the live tweets during the conference in this story!
ETNA would like to raise £2000 to help those who wish to attend the ETNA conference in June 19-20 in Odense, Denmark, but have financial difficulties.
Please click on the link below now and make a small donation. If you do not have a PayPal account you can create one, it is very easy.
Your small donation will go a long way in helping us achieve our goal.
We are grateful to all those who have already donated, but more donations are needed to reach the target.
Share a little love today. MAKE A DONATION!
This MOOC examines three key areas of learning:
a) intercultural communication
b) multicultural/multidisciplinary teams
c) patient safety
More specifically this MOOC will address the following:
- What is intercultural communication?
- What are the characteristics of effective intercultural communication and how can we achieve them?
- What do we mean by Multicultural/Multidisciplinary Healthcare Teams (MMHT)?
- Why is effective intercultural communication essential to MMHT?
- What challenges do MMHTs face in learning to communicate through the cultural boundaries of each other’s cultures?
- What is patient safety?
- Why do we need to be concerned about it?
- Why effective intercultural communication within MMHT is the key to patient safety?
If you are a health professional I hope that this short course will help you to reflect deeply on your practice and that of your colleagues; if you are or have been a patient, I believe that as a human being you will also benefit by reading and discussing some of the content in this course with others who are following it.
Language taught in: English (United Kingdom) with some content and discussion in Greek, Italian, Danish, Romanian.
The MOOC will start on 16th January 2017 and will last 6 weeks.",1276,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323328.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825105643-20190825131643-00186.warc.gz,0.929893314838409
99ad3105-147a-4bfd-9c66-0e3aa61c0096,2020-10-29T04:49:18+00:00,2020-01-16,1,https://www.ktsm.com/news/international/rights-group-demands-israel-rein-in-murky-spyware-company/,"TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli court heard a case Thursday calling for restrictions to be slapped on NSO Group, an Israeli company that makes surveillance software that is said to have been used to target journalists and dissidents around the world.
The case, brought by Amnesty International, calls for Israel to revoke the spyware firm’s export license, preventing it from selling its contentious product abroad, particularly to regimes that could use it for malicious purposes.
“They are the most dangerous cyber weapon that we know of and they’re not being properly overseen,” said Gil Naveh, spokesman for Amnesty International Israel. “That is the reason why we think that their license should be revoked.”
NSO is implicated in a series of digital break-in attempts and the court case is the latest pushback against the company and its product. Last year, Facebook sued the hacker-for-hire company in U.S. federal court for allegedly targeting some 1,400 users of its encrypted messaging service WhatsApp with highly sophisticated spyware.
In 2018, Amnesty said one of its employees had been targeted with the malware, saying a hacker tried to break into the staff member’s smartphone, using a WhatsApp message about a protest in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington as bait.
The spyware has also been implicated in the gruesome killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. It is also said to be behind a campaign to compromise proponents of a soda tax in Mexico and an effort to hack into the phone of an Arab dissident that prompted an update to Apple’s operating system.
An Associated Press investigation last year found that critics of NSO were targeted in elaborate undercover operations in which operatives tried to discredit them. NSO has denied involvement.
NSO Group’s flagship malware, called Pegasus, allows spies to effectively take control of a phone, surreptitiously controlling its cameras and microphones from remote servers and vacuuming up personal data and geolocations.
NSO does not disclose the identities of its clients, but they are believed to include Middle Eastern and Latin American states. The company says it sells its technology to Israeli-approved governments to help them stop militants and criminals. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but last year it announced that it had adopted “a new human rights policy” to ensure its software is not misused.
The Israeli Defense Ministry, which issues export licenses to Israeli defense and security companies, declined to comment.
Reflecting the interest in the case’s outcome, the Tel Aviv courtroom on Thursday was packed, with many attendees forced to stand until the hearing was moved to a larger space. As with previous cases involving defense exports, judge Rachel Barkai ruled that the legal proceedings would be closed to media and she imposed a gag order on the case.
“There is a tangible concern that if the hearing is open it will cause harm to the state’s security and to its foreign relations,” she said, before journalists were ushered out of the courtroom.
Thursday’s hearing is expected to be the only one in the case, Naveh said, and a decision is set to be handed down in the coming days.",686,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107902745.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20201029040021-20201029070021-00301.warc.gz,0.966444075107574
92fc01a7-12e0-464a-8389-63c935a46543,2022-05-16T14:13:55+00:00,2022-05-16,0,https://www.judithherbertcounselling.com/background-in-classical-music-helping-performance-anxiety/,"Helping performance anxiety
Are you in the performing arts?
Do you suffer with nerves or stage fright? Perhaps you are one of the many performers for whom beta-blockers are a way of life?
I can help you to understand what lies behind these debilitating feelings and regain control.
Above all as a performing artist there needs to be enjoyment in the performance, but for many of us this is a dim and distant memory and fear is what dominates our mindset now.
I have had many years experience as a musician performing in many high-pressure situations and know very well the difficulties and negative feelings that can take over under this pressure.
As a counsellor I will explore with you what is happening for you, and together we will look at what the causes are and how to turn crippling nerves into enabling adrenaline, and thus to an engaging and exciting performance.",176,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510138.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516140911-20220516170911-00621.warc.gz,0.978668749332428
ca6c6abb-d4d4-425e-bce4-53516c64cb1f,2015-03-29T22:32:57+00:00,2014-06-26,1,http://www.drugs.com/clinical_trials/aurinia-pharmaceuticals-initiates-phase-2b-clinical-trial-voclosporin-lupus-nephritis-16563.html,"Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase 2b Clinical Trial of Voclosporin to Treat Lupus Nephritis
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA–June 26, 2014– Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (TSX: AUP) today announced enrollment of the first patient in its planned Phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of voclosporin as a treatment for lupus nephritis (LN). LN is an inflammation of the kidneys, that if inadequately treated can lead to end-stage renal disease, making LN a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. The Lupus Foundation of America believes there are as many as 1.5 million people in the U.S. with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), approximately 40 to 70 percent of whom will develop LN.
The Phase 2b trial, called AURA–LV (Aurinia Urine protein Reduction in Active Lupus with voclosporin) or AURA, is planned to be conducted in approximately 20 countries and is a randomized, controlled, double-blind study comparing the efficacy of voclosporin against placebo in achieving remission in patients with active LN. The AURA study is designed to demonstrate that voclosporin can induce a rapid and sustained reduction of proteinuria in the presence of extremely low steroid exposure and to fulfill specific regulatory requests. It will compare two dosage groups of voclosporin (23.7mg and 39.5mg) administered with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) vs. MMF alone. All patients will also receive oral corticosteroids as background therapy. There will be a primary analysis to determine complete remission at week 24 and various secondary analyses at week 48 which include biomarkers and markers of non-renal SLE. The Company expects patient recruitment to be completed within approximately 12 months.
“We aim to advance our development of voclosporin to treat lupus nephritis given the significant unmet need, lack of approved therapies and market opportunity,” said Stephen Zaruby, President and CEO of Aurinia. “ The immunology of LN, along with significant published data, support the use of a multi-targeted treatment approach for this debilitating and heterogeneous disease.”
Voclosporin is a novel calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) with extensive clinical data in over 2,600 patients in other indications. Voclosporin is made by a modification of a single amino acid of the cyclosporine molecule (a CNI approved for use in transplant patients since 1983). This modification results in a more predictable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationship, an increase in potency vs. cyclosporine, an altered metabolic profile, and potential for flat dosing. These attributes have the potential to position voclosporin as a best in class CNI inhibitor.
Aurinia is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the global nephrology market. Its lead drug, voclosporin, is a novel CNI. Aurinia holds global rights to all indications for voclosporin and has development and commercialization partners in Canada, Israel, South Africa and Greater China. Visit www.auriniapharma.com for more information.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding number of countries in which AURA will be conducted, the timeline for completion of potential recruitment for AURA, and voclosporin being a best in class CNI inhibitor. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the ability of the Company to protect its intellectual property rights, delays in the recruitment process, not identifying and enrolling sufficient patients, the potential of its products, the success and timely completion of clinical studies and trials, the Company's and its partners' ability to successfully obtain and maintain regulatory approvals and commercialize voclosporin on a timely basis. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. For additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements, investors should consult the Company's annual reports and its most recent Annual Information Form and other filings foundon SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Source: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals
Posted: June 2014",947,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298755.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00159-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.927014887332916
4e6672f9-bce0-420f-b78c-310f554a2723,2020-10-21T05:50:16+00:00,2014-09-09,1,https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2014/0909/A-billion-Africans-under-18-by-mid-century-More-jobs-or-more-angry-youth,"A version of this post appeared on Africa in Transition. The view's expressed are the author's own.
A recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) forecasts that if current trends persist, one in every four people on the planet will be African by the year 2100.
Even accounting for a decline in fertility brought on by greater prosperity, UNICEF predicts that by 2050 alone, the number of Africans under the age of eighteen may swell to around one billion.
The report concludes that more emphasis must be placed on access to reproductive health services, girls’ education, and vital statistics systems.
Such numbers should inform development strategies and common perceptions on the African continent.
The notion of a “demographic dividend” in Africa seems largely misguided, and should not be passively viewed as inevitable. The dividend arises when fertility rates fall due to better health outcomes, but this process has been slow to arrive in Africa.
Some claim that a large pool of labor can provide an engine of growth through expanded light manufacturing, but the fact is that African labor markets are currently unable to absorb a vast and growing supply of workers.
With some notable exceptions, low-wage manufacturing jobs have remained in Asia and the steady growth in labor saving technology also bodes poorly for a manufacturing revolution in Africa, all while service-led growth has severe limitations.
Education must be made a key priority for donors and governments across the continent. Although school enrollment for children in Africa has improved significantly in absolute numbers over the last two decades, these gains have been undermined by the steadily increasing population.
Evidence abounds that investments in education, especially when targeted towards girls and women, help develop a productive and resilient workforce. Recent studies from the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC, reinforced by Nobel laureate Erik Maskin of Harvard University, show that investing in quality education can boost skills development and reduce in-country inequality.
No country exemplifies the challenges and ambiguities of demographic and economic growth like Nigeria. News of Nigeria overtaking South Africa as the largest economy on the continent was met with much excitement.
However, with a rapidly growing population of almost 180 million and an adjusted GDP per capita less than one fifth of South Africa’s, Nigeria is desperately poor by any measure. Its economy remains dependent on oil exports and much of the new foreign investment ventures are directed at tapping the growing market for fast-moving consumer goods, rather than expanding labor absorbing industries.
With little economic diversification and a weak education system the chances that Nigeria’s youth of today or tomorrow will find productive employment and sustainable livelihoods are reduced.
A population that is both underemployed and undereducated breeds an environment of discontent that can provide a large recruitment base for extremist groups like Boko Haram.
The Ebola crisis has shown that problems of poverty are not beholden to national boundaries. If African governments, their donors, and their private sector partners do not adapt strategies to mitigate the dangers of demographic explosion, future generations of Africans and non-Africans will be much worse for it.
Explore the data for Generation 2030 | Africa here: data.unicef.org/gen2030/
Diptesh Soni is a consultant in UNICEF’s public advocacy section and a recent graduate of the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). The views expressed do not reflect those of his employer. You can follow him on twitter at @dipteshpsoni.",717,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107875980.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021035155-20201021065155-00649.warc.gz,0.944338619709015
d808894e-fbce-4807-a883-e0085310c111,2019-08-18T17:42:57+00:00,2014-01-28,0,https://www.completeimage.org/2014/01/28/complete-image-featured-mimi-vanderhaven/,"Complete Image Hair Design was recently featured on local business community site MimiVanderhaven.com in an article investigating the best options for female hair replacement in Northeast Ohio. The article described the variety of factors causing female hair loss, ranging from menopause to genetic predispositions to illness. In examining the different remedies for hair loss, the article noted that although the upfront investment in hair replacement may be higher, other hair loss solutions such as laser therapy and topical treatments are often time-consuming and can fail to produce real results.
Mimi Vanderhaven interviewed Complete Image Hair Design owner Renae Miller, who emphasized the customization that Complete Image hair replacement provides, as well as the freedom of hair replacement as a treatment for hair loss. “Once we complete your hair replacement, you can go back to working with a stylist you’re already familiar with,” Miller explained.
The article also stated that with a prescription, most insurance companies will typically cover some or all of the cost associated with hair replacement. It concluded that hair replacement can be a painless solution for all types of hair loss and can deliver up to a decade of enhancement, provided annual follow-up appointments and daily maintenance are completed.
MimiVanderhaven.com is a new online community committed to protecting the diversity of businesses in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio by helping members discover high-quality, locally owned businesses in the area. Participation is free, and in addition to highlighting various local businesses, members are also able to post events on a central calendar, place classified ads, review businesses, and more.",321,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313987.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818165510-20190818191510-00184.warc.gz,0.958126604557037
5f580da4-082d-4613-a394-32721115137b,2015-03-30T06:23:44+00:00,2014-05-20,1,http://www.loganbanner.com/news/home_top-news/3708918/Big-Harts-Phase-II-Water-Extension-approved,"The Logan County Commission, along with Zach Browning from the Logan County Public Service District, held another public meeting on Tues., May 20 for the Big Harts Phase II Water Extension Project. Phase II has been approved, and the application for a $1.5 million small city block grant will be sent in today.
The finished project (which is marked in the map above) will connect to an 8-inch main located along County Route 19 in Lincoln County and generally follow County Route 19/3 and Delta Route 3 (in Lincoln County) and County Routes 3, 5, 3/16, 5/1, 5/8, 702/32, 5/7 and 5/3 in a southerly direction in Logan County.
“This will be real beneficial for the people,” Commission President Danny Godby said. “That’s an area that really needs water.” After the completion of this project, it is estimated that 98 percent of Logan County will have access to public water.",210,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00124-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.956810355186462
fae87688-690b-4e56-babc-4457baedf37b,2019-08-19T13:22:11+00:00,2019-08-12,0,https://www.ampkids.com/blog/comics-101-whats-the-difference/,"When we say “comics,” you might think of two things: 1) a splash of humor in an otherwise depressing morning newspaper or 2) “nerds” at Comic-Con. While we happen to think both of those things are FANTASTIC, that’s like saying “dessert” can only refer to cake or pie. It’s just not true! And life would be sadder and less fun if it were. Just as there are an infinite number of sugary sweets, comics can come in all shapes and sizes.
What are “comics” anyway? It’s become a catch-all term for what Will Eisner (literally the #1 Comics Hall of Famer) dubbed “sequential art,” which basically describes a series of images arranged one after another to convey… something, usually a story or joke, sometimes just an idea. Pretty vague, right? That’s on purpose. Comics’ open-ended definition leaves room for a huge variety of storytelling techniques, dating all the way back to hieroglyphics and cave drawings. In the thousands of years since then, people have started asking for more specific categories. Here’s a crash course on the most common varieties:
Short-form sequential art, often humorous and typically found in newspapers or as online “web comics.” Some strips feature story arcs that stretch over a period of several days, but many are single-serving stories fit into four or five panels and a handful of punchy speech bubbles. One of the big draws is that, while serialized, most comic strips don’t worry about continuity. Every day is a new adventure, but with the same beloved characters.
Sequential art in pamphlet or magazine format. Superheroes used to be the name of the game here, but if you like your plot with less “POW!” and your protagonists with fewer brooding backstories, don’t worry. There’s a lot to choose from. Archie was a trailblazer here long before he and his friends got their Riverdale makeovers, but more recent serialized comic books like Lumberjanes and Tiny Titans have kept readers flocking to the comic book store on the regular for new issues. And those are just American examples! Manga—Japan’s distinctive style of comic book—made a transpacific splash around the world.
Long-form sequential art akin to a novel in length and narrative complexity. Unlike comic books, a graphic novel’s story usually isn’t serialized; its whole narrative is contained in one nice, portable package. Once upon a time, graphic novels had to be dark and gritty to be taken seriously, but fantastically colorful works like Raina Telgemeier’s Smile and Gene Luen Yang’s American-Born Chinese have proven that a compelling story can use more colors than just black and very, very dark gray. And in recent years, graphic novels have become an increasingly popular gateway to classics, reimagining old favorites like Anne of Green Gables with a fresh, accessible format.
A hybrid of sequential art and prose, but without panels. Kind of like a picture book that grew up to become a novel. These come in all forms, some of which even incorporating comic-strip sequences, but one illustrated novel mainstay is that the images and text are interdependent. Could Diary of a Wimpy Kid explain playground politics without both a visual and written description of the dreaded cheese touch? Could Captain Underpants “tra-la-laaa” fear into the hearts of evildoers without the bright starch of his tighty-whities leading the way? Maybe. But it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.
Now you get the idea, but these categories are far from concrete. Comics creators are always coming up with exciting new ways to tell stories, and we’ll always be excited to dive right into them. Stick around next week for more Comics 101!",839,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00147.warc.gz,0.946604073047638
193921cb-e481-4997-b6cf-ec37ff4903b0,2019-08-25T22:02:38+00:00,2017-03-28,1,https://aidtochurch.org/acn-news/156-iraq-plains-of-nineveh-christian-churches-unite-to-rebuild,"The Syriac Catholic Bishop, the Chaldean Catholic Bishop and two Syriac Orthodox bishops signed an agreement in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, to help Christians rebuild their homes, destroyed by ISIS in 2014.
By Daniele Piccini
Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan): The idea can no longer be shrugged off as a mere pipe dream – the hope of the thousands of Iraqi Christians who were evicted from their villages three years ago by the criminal incursions of Islamic State (ISIS) – that they might one day be able to return to their homes on the Plains of Nineveh. With the March 27th signing ceremony in the offices of the archdiocese of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Erbil, an agreement was reached between three Christian churches in Iraq – the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church - formally establishing the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee (NRC) tasked with planning and supervising a programme of rebuilding the Christians houses. The Committee is composed of six members chosen from the above three churches (two representatives each) and of three external experts suggested by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), which will concern itself with advocacy and fundraising.
A professional assessment completed by ACN has calculated that more than 12,000 homes need to be rebuilt – those that were burnt, destroyed or partially damaged by ISIS – and that the cost of this operation will be in excess of 200 million Euros. The funds gathered will be allocated to each Church in proportion to the number of damaged houses within their own faith community as calculated by the assessment.
After the signing ceremony, Monsignor Timothaeus Mosa Alshamany, Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and prior of the Monastery of Saint Matthew, underlined the initiative’s double historical importance – on the one hand the ecumenical spirit that made this possible and on the other the real possibility for thousands of Christians to return to their ancestral roots and to a life in dignity. “Today”, he said, “we are truly a united Church – Syriac Orthodox, Chaldean and Syriac Catholic – united in the work of rebuilding these houses on the Nineveh Plains and in restoring hope to the hearts of the inhabitants of these villages and inviting those who have left them to return.” The archbishop then went on to thank for the important role of ACN in developing this initiative: “We would like to thank ACN, which has helped us so much in the past, by providing help and food. Now this charity is playing a crucial role in the rebuilding of our houses.”
The fact that this principle of unity and of speaking with “one voice” has prevailed is a source of great satisfaction for Fr Andrzej Halemba, responsible for the charity’s Middle East section. ACN will closely follow the committee’s work, though solely in the start-up phase. In subsequent phases ACN will limit itself to seeking the possible sources of funding, above all from among major international benefactors. “What we have done to support this initiative”, said Fr Halemba, visibly gratified at the signing of the accord, “we have not done for money. We have done it to ensure that the Christians can remain in Iraq. We are working for God.”
(Fr Halemba holds the finalised contract for the reconstruction of 12,000 homes in Iraq signed by the representatives of the three Christian churches in Iraq (From the left: Archbishop Timothaeus Mosa Alshamany, Archbishop Yohanna Petros Mouche, Father Andrew Halemba, Metropolitan Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf, and Bishop Mikha Pola Maqdassi © Aid to the Church in Need)
Speaking about unity between the Christian churches, Syriac Catholic Archbishop Yohanna Petros Mouche of Mosul also emphasised: “I would like to invite the Christians of the Nineveh Plains to return to their homes and resume living in their villages, in order to bear witness to Christianity. Today we join together to demonstrate that we are united in our wish to accelerate this operation as rapidly as possible, and that it must start as soon as possible.”
The courage of the three Christian churches in taking this step responds to the courage of the Christians who have decided to stay on in Iraq. This was expressed by Chaldean Catholic Bishop Mikha Pola Maqdassi of Alqosh who stated: “Today we have given our agreement to the rebuilding of the houses in our ruined villages. This is a brave step forward which gives us great joy and encourages the Christians to remain in their villages and in their own country”.
Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf of Mosul, Kirkuk and Kurdistan addressed an appeal to all international benefactors: “We are the roots of Christianity. We must remain in our country. We must remain as witnesses to Jesus Christ in this country, in Iraq and especially in the Plains of Nineveh. This task of rebuilding all the houses in those villages where ISIS has destroyed everything is truly an enormous challenge. Thank you in advance to all those who will help us.”
Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God Speaks to his Children has been translated into 172 languages and 50 million copies have been distributed all over the world.
While ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the material.
For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: email@example.com or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 7246 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153.
On Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org",1350,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00376.warc.gz,0.957162082195282
224977e0-eb2c-4d14-9ee9-1a1dfca841e9,2019-08-22T20:56:09+00:00,2016-09-01,0,http://petitepassport.com/2016/09/hague-beach-houses/,"THE HAGUE BEACH HOUSES
When I was a kid we always went to Ouddorp in The Netherlands to go camping apart from our annual trip to Cornwall. Those were the best holidays because we were out in nature, went to the beach whenever the sun was out and had a lot of friends to play with. The beaches in The Netherlands are beautiful; the only thing we don’t have is a Summer full of sun like in the Mediterranean. This week it sort of felt like I went back to that time as a kid. Walking through the beautiful dunes to a long and wide beach excited to spend some days there. And the best thing is: I could actually stay directly on the beach in the The Hague Beach Houses and the weather was the best!
Since this year you can actually stay direct on the beach of Kijkduin (close to The Hague) in one of the twenty Beach Houses. They are available to rent from April until October. ‘They look quite small from the outside’, is what people say when they pass by, but apart from the fact that this is a holiday house and I’m a big lover of tiny houses, you can sleep here with 4 people. You have two rooms, one with a cozy double bed, the other with a bunk bed. There’s a bathroom with a shower and a toilet. There’s a kitchen, a living room with a long dining table and a couch you can actually turn into a lounge bed or take all the pillows outside to create a lounge bed on your porch. And that’s the space you will be most often: to enjoy the beautiful view of the beach, the sea and the impressive skies during sunset and sunrise.
I would recommend it for couples (there are a lot of candles in the house you can lit on your porch for an extra romantic effect), couples with small children, mothers and daughters, friends. When I was there there was no wind at all, but this seemed to be a perfect place for kite-surfers as well. There’s a beach bar on the end of the strip with the Beach Houses if you don’t like to cook. And apparently Kijkduin is Pokemon Go Capital of The Netherlands, so don’t be shocked when you see some kids (and some adults as well) looking at their phone running from one place to another to catch one. If the weather isn’t so sunny, you can visit The Hague to have dinner at Mama Kelly and go shopping at The Fine Store. Enjoy!
Check out: www.haagsestrandhuisjes.nl",548,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317359.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822194105-20190822220105-00411.warc.gz,0.960575222969055
4a20420b-3761-4425-b3e8-5ce6f594faa7,2018-08-18T14:47:45+00:00,2018-08-17,1,https://www.alistaircarmichael.co.uk/hial_plans_challenged_with_caa,"Northern Isles representatives Alistair Carmichael MP, Liam McArthur MSP, and Tavish Scott MSP today held talks with the CCA to discuss concerns surrounding plans by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) for the future of air traffic provision in the region.
The talks followed representations they made earlier in the week to HIAL's Managing Director, Inglis Lyon, concerning the cost and deliverability of the technology proposed in HIAL’s plans to move to remote air traffic control.
In attendance for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was Rob Lewis, Manager for Air Traffic Management, and Will Nathan, Parliamentary Liaison Officer.
In a joint statement following the meeting, the Northern Isles representatives said:
“We are grateful to the CAA for their time and found the discussion extremely helpful.
“The CAA were able to confirm that HIAL’s plans to move to a more centralised system of remote towards across the Highlands & Islands could only proceed with CAA approval. This will only happen if HIAL manage to satisfy the CAA’s safety requirements.
“On the basis of the proposals published last week, we remain of the view that HIAL have their work cut out. The board has chosen the most costly and risky option and has some way to go in demonstrating that the resilience of communications needed between local airports and the remote centre can be achieved or achieved cost-effectively.
“Meantime, the risk is that issues HIAL says it has with recruitment and retention of locally based air traffic control staff become more difficult. This is something HIAL must look to address.”",342,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213689.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818134554-20180818154554-00320.warc.gz,0.953953087329864
ff39dbe1-7ff0-473b-aed6-6b23e287b31f,2013-05-20T22:05:05+00:00,2013-05-20,0,http://www.imperialtobaccocanada.com/groupca/sites/IMP_7VSH6J.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO7VXKBU?opendocument&SKN=1,"We welcome your questions or feedback on any aspect of our business. We are also keen to listen to what you think about this website and how it might be developed.
Consumer enquiries (1-800-932-9326)
Our Consumer Relations department is available to respond to any requests or contacts from adult consumers.
It aims to:
Provide an immediate response to adult consumers contacting our company
Use consumer feedback to improve the quality of our products
You can contact us via the online form and one of our coordinators will reply to you as soon as possible.
Alternatively you can speak to one of our coordinators about any of our products by calling our Consumer Response line on 1–800–932–9326 between 8:15am and 7pm, Eastern Standard Time, Monday to Friday.
Corporate Affairs enquiries
Imperial Tobacco Canada
3711 Saint-Antoine Street
(514) 932-6161, ext. 0",199,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.880241572856903
1d50332a-9e82-4e26-8a95-869808d9d0ff,2016-07-26T19:58:05+00:00,2013-07-25,0,http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/07/death_toll_in_spain_train_cras.html,"SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain — A Spanish train that hurtled off the rails and smashed into a security wall as it rounded a bend was going so fast that carriages tumbled off the tracks like dominos, killing 80 people, according to eyewitness accounts and video footage obtained Thursday.
An Associated Press analysis of video images suggests that the train may have been traveling at twice the speed limit for that stretch of track.
Spain's government said two probes have been launched into the cause of Wednesday night's crash near this Christian festival city in northwest Spain. The Interior Ministry raised the death toll to 80 in what was Spain's deadliest train wreck in four decades, while 95 remained hospitalized, 36 in critical condition, among them four children.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, a native of Santiago de Compostela, toured the crash scene alongside rescue workers and went to a nearby hospital to visit those wounded and their families.
""For a native of Santiago, like me, this is the saddest day,"" said Rajoy, who declared Spain would observe a three-day period of mourning. He said judicial authorities and the Public Works Ministry had launched parallel investigations into what caused the crash.
Eyewitness accounts backed by security-camera footage of the moment of disaster suggested that the eight-carriage train was going too fast as it tried to turn left underneath a road bridge. The train company Renfe said 218 passengers and five crew members were on board. Spanish officials said the speed limit on that section of track is 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour.
An Associated Press estimate of the train's speed at the moment of impact using the frame rate of the video and the estimated distance between two pylons gives a range of 144-192 kph (89-119 mph). Another estimate calculated on the basis of the typical distance between railroad ties gives a range of 156-182 kph (96-112 mph).
The video footage, which the Spanish railway authority Adif said probably came from one of its cameras, shows the train carriages start to buckle soon into the turn.
Murray Hughes, consultant editor of Railway Gazette International, said it appeared that a diesel-powered unit behind the lead locomotive was the first to derail. The front engine itself quickly followed, violently tipping on to its right side as it crashes into a concrete security wall and bulldozes along the ground.
In the background, all the rear carriages can be seen starting to decouple and come off the tracks. The picture goes blank as the engine appears to crash directly into the camera.
After impact, witnesses said a fire which engulfed passengers trapped in at least one carriage most likely from the diesel fuel carried in the locomotive units.
""I saw the train coming out of the bend at great speed and then there was a big noise,"" one eyewitness who lives beside the train line, Consuelo Domingues, told The Associated Press. ""... Then everybody tried to get out of the train.""
Santiago officials had been preparing for the city's internationally celebrated Catholic festival Thursday but canceled it and took control of the city's main indoor sports arena to use as a makeshift morgue. There, relatives of the dead could be seen sobbing and embracing each other.
The U.S. State Department said five American citizens were among the injured.",681,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825124.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00280-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.96683531999588
84376370-b617-4a82-a990-a369fa800a58,2018-08-19T11:53:07+00:00,2018-11-12,0,http://www.yourstephenvilletx.com/news/article_f35daf72-a02c-5872-99cf-5f78c1990728.html,"Dr. Don Newbury
It was a statistic that my eyes locked on a few years back. Had my gaze been a drill bit, a hole would have burned through the headline.
Subsequently, the stat has grown, its contemplation causing misty eyes. Thoughts scrambled, there is a yearning for “time out” to “sort out” significance in a wobbling world.
On Veterans Day eve, the mournful stat saddened again: On average, 1,800 US military veterans die each day. The figure, at the top of my mind’s numbers, won’t go away….
Most of them, understandably, are WWII veterans, from the era of George Beverly Shea. Maybe you heard the comment on his 100th birthday. America’s beloved gospel singer said he’s been “long on the ladder.”
Veterans commonly request to have “Taps” played at their memorial services.
This seems ever so “doable,” doesn’t it? The tune’s span is seconds—not minutes—requiring just 24 notes. Now, this shocker: There aren’t enough bugler volunteers to provide live renditions. For more than 70% of the services last year at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, electronic recordings sufficed….
Thoughts closest to my soul suggest the need to extend national calls for buglers—and potential buglers. The piercing imperatives should be pleas to institutions, organizations and individuals. Surely, in a country known for its volunteerism, this can come to pass.
In the process, the lives of American servicemen and women will be honored in the most dignified manner possible.
There’s already a national organization dedicated to the project: Bugles Across America (buglesacrossamerica.org) The cause is a cockle-warmer….
Most passive among us will quickly sound negative warnings.
They will point to the difficulty of hitting every note, and that there are no “do-overs.”
Prevailing, though, can be encouragers who believe that volunteers will emerge, benefitting both those who blow the horns and those who hear them…
It is more a matter of the heart than of the horn.
Like the lives being honored, horn-blowers must be committed to giving their best effort.
If there are sometimes mangled notes, let them but remind that we all fall short…
“Taps” dates back to the Civil War.
Though we rarely hear the words, they are worth considering. The five verses are attributed to anonymity, and here’s the first one:
Day is done, gone the sun, from the lakes, from the hills, from the sky. All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.
True then, true now….
A memory of some 40 years remains vivid. A graveside service for a military veteran had just ended. The day was cold and gray; sleet was pounding the canopy. At the final “amen,” two young members of the armed services removed the US flag from the coffin, then proceeded to fold it.
And re-fold. And re-fold. It never came out right, this rumpled mess that they finally plopped into the widow’s lap. Their faces were crimson with embarrassment.
At first, anger sprang up. Why were they sent? Why weren’t they able to fold it correctly? More “whys” had to get in line….
As I drove away, I noticed the two failed flag-folders huddling near the grave, perhaps wishing for “do-overs.” They were crying, their tears becoming ice flakes on their way earthward.
Their contrition framed an immediate backdrop for nobler thoughts. Maybe their hands were simply too cold, or the fabric too frozen, or their nerves too frayed.
My thoughts turned inward. Did I have knowledge of flag etiquette? Did I honor it properly at every opportunity? Did I have new resolve, as I know these youngsters did, growing from the experience?….
Then, like now, I recall the little poem oft-repeated by the late Dr. Guy D. Newman, a wonderful preacher/patriot/president during my college days.
No one escapes when freedom fails. The best folks rot in filthy jails. And those who scream ‘appease, appease,’ are hanged by those they tried to please….
Dr. Newbury is a speaker and author in the Metroplex. Send inquiries/comments to: firstname.lastname@example.org. Phone: 817-447-3872. Web site: www.speakerdoc.com",997,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215077.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819110157-20180819130157-00416.warc.gz,0.958091855049133
7cde4ef8-7dd8-4fdd-8aaa-4907c130a92f,2013-05-19T18:27:23+00:00,2012-09-25,1,http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/09/25/ec_could_be_looking_for_gas_discounts_russia_to_protect_interests_-_18522.html,"Gazprom relates European Commission's complaints against the company to attempts to receive gas discounts
Gazprom thinks the European Commission's complaints against the company could be connected with its desire to receive discounts for gas supplied under long-term contracts, but Gazprom is prepared to protect its interests, Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said at the Sakhalin Oil & Gas 2012 conference.
""So far we are seeing attacks on the oil coupling mechanism in long-term contracts used by Gazprom and other suppliers, Statoil and Sonatrach. Grounds are arising to suspect that the European Union's authorities, aided by games behind the scenes, are trying to force discounts for themselves,"" Medvedev said.
""If Brussels wants to regulate gas prices administratively, it ought to say so openly and explain at the same time how this complies with its calls to observe free market principles,"" he said.
""We're getting the impression that the European Commission is trying to make the European Union the least attractive for investment in natural gas trading, which is prompting us to look more actively for new markets,"" he said.
Russia will be protecting its own interests in Europe, Medvedev said. ""Of course we've always worked according to the rules established by the laws of the countries, but we are full of resolve to protect our interests. We're hoping the European Commission will work on the basis of facts and understanding of the reality of the gas market,"" he said.
The EC said at the beginning of September that it was launching an anti-trust probe against Gazprom, saying the Russian company may have divided gas markets by hindering the free flow of gas across member states, that it may have prevented the diversification of supply of gas and that is may have imposed unfair prices on its customers by linking the price of gas to oil prices.",375,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.976020514965057
5f69de2d-5823-4cab-96ad-29bf59d84d93,2019-08-23T00:14:57+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://afforum.org/msc-tropical-forestry-distance-learning-10-scholarships-available-for-september-2019-entry/,"The first-ever global assessment of forest biodiversity, Below the Canopy, shows that monitored forest-dwelling wildlife populations have shrunk on average by […]
Welcome to the African Forest Forum
AFF voices the concerns of African forestry stakeholders, and to use science, indigenous knowledge, and experience to advocate for increasing relevance of forests and trees outside forests to peoples’ livelihoods, national economies and the stability of the environment.
Deforestation of Cherangani hills, Kenya. Photo via Wikimedia Commons According to the World Bank data, in 2015 Kenya’s forest area […]",117,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317688.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822235908-20190823021908-00286.warc.gz,0.874144315719604
74e96157-6d81-4772-a4c3-59315bd78748,2022-05-25T13:47:30+00:00,2019-10-17,1,https://www.kbzk.com/news/world/son-of-drug-lord-el-chapo-guzman-at-center-of-gunfight-in-mexico,"An intense gunfight with heavy weapons raged in the Mexican city of Culiacán on Thursday, after security forces located one of Joaquín ""El Chapo"" Guzmán's sons who is wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
Mexican Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo said 30 members of the National Guard and army were patrolling in the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state when they were fired on from a house.
They repelled the attack and found Ovidio Guzmán López inside the house.
Durazo said the house was then surrounded by heavily armed gunmen who had ""a greater force"" and authorities decided to suspend the operation.
He did not say if Ovidio Guzmán was arrested or went free after being located.
Ovidio is not one of the jailed Mexican drug lord's best-known sons - Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán who are known as ""los Chapitos,"" or ""the little Chapos.""
They are believed to be currently running their father's Sinaloa Cartel together with Ismael ""El Mayo"" Zambada.
Ovidio Guzmán was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, along with a fourth brother, in 2018 for the alleged trafficking of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.
Following Thursday's localisation of Ovidio, local media reported that armed civilians in trucks roared through Culiacán's centre shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and machine guns.
There was a heavy deployment of Mexican security forces.",331,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00023.warc.gz,0.974290728569031
18a130eb-a6a5-4f4d-9494-2be3f38d8330,2016-07-24T14:44:32+00:00,2016-07-24,0,http://www.ezpassin.com/,"The Indiana Toll Road has many road improvement projects scheduled for 2016-17.These projects are all designed to improve the quality of driving on the Indiana Toll Road. Please click above to learn of traffic restrictions you may encounter during your travels.
Want to know how much you may pay in tolls on the Indiana Toll Road? The toll rate trip calculator allows customers to select entry and exit points on the ITR and calculates your tolls based on your number of vehicle axles.
Remember, 2-axle E-ZPass users pay discounted tolls and may save up to 75% by driving electronically!
Did you accidentally drive through a toll plaza without paying, or pay the incorrect amount? Be sure to make note of the date/time, and your location by identifying the toll plaza name or number of the nearest milepost.
Please click this box to make a missed payment online. If you experience problems in processing an online payment, you also have the option of mailing your payment.",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824109.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00099-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.932744443416596
629db8d8-e69b-4fcb-a70c-a453ab839c5d,2017-08-19T00:02:41+00:00,2017-08-19,1,http://screenrant.com/green-lantern-movie-john-stewart-justice-league/,"We may be living in a golden age of wish fulfilment and dreams come true for comic book fans, but as good as the present may be, the die-hard enthusiasts (and corporate entities profiting off of them) can’t help but look to the future. In a similar sense, the wealth of superheroes and properties on their way to the big and small screens can’t help but single out those who aren’t: Green Lantern chief among them.
With the first series turning out to be a false start, some problem solving for Warner Bros. and DC Comics was unavoidable. But few would have predicted just how un-eager the studio was to re-imagine, re-cast, and reboot the series in 2020 – years after the Justice League‘s big screen debut. Now an unlikely source has hinted that the studio may be putting a plan together already – potentially turning to John Stewart as their next live-action Lantern.
After years of fans trying to forget the film series that could have been, and relying only on animated versions of the hero, Green Lantern has recently returned to the headlines. First it was Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious 7) kicking off his own campaign to play the hero, followed soon after by Arrow‘s David Ramsey confirming that his ‘John Diggle’ character was being discussed as a potential John Stewart in the making (as one fan theory has long suggested).
Unfortunately for those who hoped to see Diggle adopt an emerald ring, Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim told MTV News that a Green Lantern reveal was certainly not the plan going forward:
“It’s funny, I’ve spoken to David quite a bit about this issue, I know it keeps coming up… I spoke to Geoff Johns at DC after that interview went viral. Basically, John Diggle is now a character in the comics… John Diggle is John Diggle. We’re not being coy and saying John Diggle is someone else, i.e. John Stewart.
“DC has other plans for that character. We love David, and we love the character of John Diggle that he’s created. We have really cool plans for him… they involve a wedding ring, but they don’t involve a power ring.”
Guggenheim’s clarification will no doubt disappoint those who feel that Ramsey’s military-man turned crimefighter deserves a spotlight of his own, but being immortalized in the “Green Arrow” comic universe is no small consolation. However, the reasons – or, reason – given by Guggenheim for the lack of a power ring in Diggle’s future could prove extremely telling.
John Stewart is Already a Star
John Stewart may have been seen by many as a supporting character to Hal Jordan in DC’s published comics, but that’s far from the case in the animated universe. Ask any DC fan under the age of 25, and it’s Stewart they’ll first connect to the ‘Green Lantern’ moniker thanks to Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. It’s for that exact reason that John Stewart was a central figure in director George Miller’s eventually-cancelled Justice League Mortal (to be played by Common).
Hal Jordan has since returned to the spotlight in DC’s shared animated universe (influenced by, and expected to drive sales of DC’s New 52 catalogue), Ryan Reynolds has already taken a failed crack at the character on the big screen, and now one of the minds behind DC’s TV universe claims that a new “plan” for John Stewart is in the works – and it’s not difficult to make some predictions.
We would remind skeptics that a similar situation arose when Arrow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg shot down hopes of seeing Harley Quinn on the show’s own version of the Suicide Squad., stating that it had been discussed with DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, but ruled out since DC Comics “had other plans for her.” We speculated that those words implied a Suicide Squad film moving forward, and we know how that story ended.
Now, another producer cites mysterious (but apparently even more concrete) plans for John Stewart that rule him out for any incarnation on TV. Yet that implication isn’t much of a surprise, as many fans (ourselves included) have seen the introduction of Stewart as a means to cast aside the issues with Green Lantern (2011), while adding further diversity to an already varied Justice League roster.
And, if we’re honest, introducing a Green Lantern that could prove a far more compelling ensemble cast member than Hal Jordan’s fearless fighter pilot.
Why John Stewart Could Be An Improvement
Even if Ryan Reynolds was on board with returning to the role (which he isn’t), there’s no denying that his origin story is one moviegoers are all too familiar with. Ordinary man with great potential is inducted into a war far beyond his understanding, and rises to become one of its more accomplished soldiers. If that wasn’t already a well-established tale in comic book/science fiction/fantasy filmmaking, Marvel’s parade of superhero origin stories has seen to it by now.
Though a John Stewart-led Green Lantern film would likely keep many of those elements intact, the character comes with qualities and history that give the right writer/director team much more to work with. With the character’s 1971 introduction set against the backdrop of racial tension in America – Stewart an engineer from Detroit, Michigan – the intervening years haven’t shied away from that subject matter, though John’s origin was changed from an engineer to a former United States Marine.
Whether an academic or a serviceman, Hal Jordan has conceded that John was shaped by forces and events he never had to face, resulting in a man – and Green Lantern – whose sheer force of will has proven too much for even his ring to handle.
Beyond that, there’s something to be said for adding a level-headed, morally upstanding military man to the Justice League (as opposed to a fast-talking quipper). With Superman an alien farmboy, Wonder Woman a godlike princess, Aquaman an exiled(?) king, Cyborg a traumatized youth, and Batman a good old-fashioned vigilante, who wouldn’t want to see what a battle-hardened military veteran would have to say about the purpose and methods of a potential ‘Justice League’?
Next Page: The Evidence Thus Far
- Ad Free Browsing
- Over 10,000 Videos!
- All in 1 Access
- Join For Free!",1401,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105195.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818233221-20170819013221-00427.warc.gz,0.961126983165741
4ea06aac-a9aa-4cf9-a2be-31fb86ea00c3,2017-08-16T21:49:30+00:00,2013-03-14,1,http://www.irinnews.org/report/97585/returns-challenge-mali,"Nearly 3,000 Malians who fled towns and villages in the north when armed men occupied their homeland have headed home, but the vast majority are staying put in the south or in neighbouring countries, for fear of insecurity, reprisal killings, and in the knowledge that basic services are still sorely lacking.
“Recent attacks and fighting, unexploded ordnance, the fear of reprisals, and the lack of basic services, are all elements dissuading people from returning,” said Helene Caux, spokesperson with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Most of the 170,300 registered refugees in Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Algeria, are ethnic Tuaregs or Arabs, and many of them fear reprisal attacks, being targeted by the Malian army, criminality and the presence of jihadists in some communities.
Timbuktu school director Amhedo Ag Hamama, a Tuareg now volunteering as a teacher in Mbéra refugee camp in eastern Mauritania, told IRIN: “No one [in Mbéra] is ready to go back… Living conditions are very difficult here, there is not enough food, teachers are working for no pay, but we will not return until there is sustainable peace.”
Many refugees IRIN spoke to talked of the 1990-91 Tuareg rebellion in the north that caused them to flee. “We will only return if there is a viable solution,” Hamama continued, “not if in one, two, three years, we will have to flee again… We are scared of reprisal killings. We are scared of attacks from Malian soldiers. No one dares return.”
UNHCR stresses the need for reconciliation efforts, together with efforts to combat impunity, to encourage peaceful coexistence between communities and help long-term stabilization, according to a 1 March briefing.
Hamama has a paid job to return to in Timbuktu, but “even the money won’t draw me back,” he said. “Who can assure our safety, our security? No one. I do not have confidence in anyone.”
Some want to flee but cannot. Arab shopkeeper Najim Ould Abadallah told IRIN he wants to go to Burkina Faso but is afraid of being harassed or detained at the military checkpoints en route.
After hiding in his house for three weeks, he fled to a neighbour’s house and upon returning found his house looted - by Malian soldiers, a neighbour told him.
Some Tuareg families from rural villages in Gao Region have fled to Gao town, as they feel they are safer there. Ahmed Haïdara, a Tuareg from Djebok, 40km east of Gao, took refuge with his family in a sandy courtyard belonging to house on the outskirts of Gao. ""We are safe here. I trust Mali's army to protect us,” he told IRIN. “In Djebok there is nothing - no soldiers, no policemen. The Islamists can come back any time,"" he told IRIN.
Many cattle-herders sold their animals to pay for transport to flee and cannot afford to return, according to IOM spokesperson, Judy Dacruz. “Likewise many farmers were unable to plant because of displacement and thus have no way of supporting themselves through the rest of the year,” she said.
UNHCR and IOM are not encouraging or facilitating returns because of the security situation, but Caux pointed out: “We cannot prevent people going back spontaneously.”
Some families are travelling up to Mopti in central Mali, and taking a boat onto Timbuktu.
Most of the people IOM talked to said they wanted to return as soon as possible, with almost all wishing to go back this year, while a small group said they would wait longer for the situation to stabilize.
Alongside NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services, IOM provides food packages and emergency kits for displaced families at major transit points such as Mopti in central Mali.
Governance and basic services
As well as security, many say they are waiting for a return of basic services and governance structures - particularly mayors and a judicial structure - to be in place before returning. In an IOM survey displaced Malians also stressed the need for livelihood opportunities to be in place.
While some government officials have returned to Gao town, which was occupied by separatist Tuareg rebels and militant Islamists last spring, government officials have yet to take up office.
Social services are still largely provided by humanitarian organizations; shops remain closed and the same is true for banks, some food markets and pharmacies. Very few Tuaregs or Arabs remain.
Schools are only now reopening, having closed in early January following the French-led intervention. In Timbuktu, schools have reopened but are all empty, said Hamama, as most of the students and teachers are living in Mbéra refugee camp.
Families who have registered their children in schools in the south want to wait out the school year before re-enrolling elsewhere, said UNHCR’s Caux.
If people do start to return in large numbers, huge pressure could be put on infrastructure in transit points such as Mopti and Ségou, where stocks of food, water and medical supplies are running low, said Dacruz. “Government and humanitarian agencies need to start planning for receiving the IDPs [internally displaced persons].”
Meanwhile, ongoing conflict in the mountainous area north of Kidal, as well as recent fighting in Gao town, continue to cause fresh displacement.
IOM monitors have counted an additional 18,702 people fleeing areas of conflict since the French invasion on 11 January 2013.
Some 260,665 Malians were registered as being displaced within the country as of the end of February 2013 - up from 227,207 in December 2012.
In Tinzawatene, in Kidal Region in the far north of Mali, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is trying to support people fleeing fighting. The supply of food and other items here and in Kidal and Tessalit has been seriously affected by the conflict and the closure of the border with Algeria, said UNHCR in a communiqué.
“They have come from Kidal, Gao and even from as far as Ménaka, some 600km away. We are currently helping 1,100 families, a figure that might rise as fighting continues,” said Valery Mbaoh Nana with ICRC in Gao.",1377,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886102663.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816212248-20170816232248-00139.warc.gz,0.972241878509522
776d7f79-0472-4717-ab40-1f913b694283,2016-07-26T15:32:00+00:00,2013-06-18,1,http://www.buffalonews.com/20130618/NFTA_given_speedup_for_study_of_Buffalo_Amherst_rail_link.html,"WASHINGTON – The U.S. government has agreed to change the terms of a $1.2 million federal grant to allow the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to speed up its study of building a mass transit link between downtown Buffalo and Amherst.
The Federal Transit Administration agreed to the change at the request of Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who announced the move on Tuesday.
“This simple rule change will save an estimated $1 million and one year in the project’s development,” Schumer said. “That’s a year closer to a sensible system that ties the Medical Campus and downtown Buffalo with UB’s Amherst campus.”
Schumer won the $1.2 million grant for the study in October 2011, and at the time, federal law required that the money be spent on both an “alternatives analysis” and an “environmental review.”
Congress consolidated these two processes into one in highway legislation it passed last year – but not for projects that were funded under an earlier highway bill, which included the Buffalo transit study.
Such projects needed special approval for such a consolidation. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that approval in a letter to Schumer.
“I can assure you that FTA staff at headquarters and at the New York City Regional Office has been working with NFTA to amend the grant application, which should be completed in the near future,” LaHood wrote. “I also appreciate the need for transportation and other services over the wide-ranging area of Amherst, Buffalo and Niagara, and how much your constituents will benefit from the improvements.”
With the expansion of the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus and nearby parking in short supply, the NFTA has dusted off the decades-old idea of extending Metro Rail to Amherst and other northern suburbs.
The original plans four decades ago called for an eventual light rail link to the north, but the pending study will take a look both at that option and also much cheaper alternatives, such as dedicated bus lanes.
Under the study that will now go forward, the NFTA will consider these alternatives while also studying the environmental impact of each prospective plan.
While it is far too early to know exactly how a northern transit link would be constructed – or how it would be funded – NFTA officials envision a “coatless” transit system where a doctor could board public transit near his or her home in Amherst and travel to the Medical Campus without ever going outdoors.
Kim Minkel, the NFTA’s executive director, thanked Schumer for pressing the Federal Transit Administration to change the terms of the grant to allow the studies to be combined.
“Going forward, this will provide for a faster and less expensive process,” she said.",586,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00274-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.948227822780609
49d71f38-caa2-41fa-848b-f6c201a2661d,2018-08-14T22:06:58+00:00,2016-10-13,1,https://blog.ethereum.org/2016/10/13/announcement-imminent-hard-fork-eip150-gas-cost-changes/,"During the last couple of weeks, the Ethereum network has been the target of a sustained attack. The attacker(s) have been very crafty in locating vulnerabilities in the client implementations as well as the protocol specification.
While the recent patches have led to an overall increased resiliency in the client implementations, the attacks have also demonstrated that a lower-level change to the EVM pricing model is needed.
For many users, the most visible consequence is probably that they are having difficulties getting transactions included in blocks, and full nodes are facing memory limitations in managing the bloated state.
This is our strategy to address these issues:
- As a temporary measure to minimize the effects of the most recent attack, we recommend all miners to lower the gaslimit to 500K gas.
- A hard-fork based on EIP 150 version 1c will be put into effect at block
2457000[see below]. This will reprice certain operations to correspond better to the underlying computational complexity.
- A second hard-fork will follow shortly after, aimed at reverting the current ""state-bloat"" introduced by the attacks. This second fork will serve to remove accounts which are empty; lacking code, balance, storage and nonce == 0.
We have implemented the changes required in the clients and are currently extending and adding tests in an effort to prevent the introduction of consensus-breaking vulnerabilities.
And as a reminder, the Ethereum Bug Bounty is open and includes the new hardfork-implementations.
EDIT: Fork block has been moved to 2463000 in order to accommodate even more testing.",327,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209585.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814205439-20180814225439-00465.warc.gz,0.952660202980042
3827a47c-442b-42a0-85ce-2f72f5584d25,2015-04-01T11:27:28+00:00,2015-04-01,0,http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8689170&ticker=CS:FP&previousCapId=405739&previousTitle=CREDIT%2520SUISSE%2520GROUP-SPON%2520ADR,"axa sa (CS:EN Paris)
John R. Dacey B.A., M.P.P., MBA
Former Group Vice-Chairman for Asia Pacific, AXA Group
|Age||Total Calculated Compensation||This person is connected to 3 board members in 1 different organizations across 8 different industries.|
See Board Relationships
Mr. John R. Dacey, B.A., M.P.P., MBA serves as the Group Chief Strategy Officer of Swiss Re Ltd and has been its Member of the Group Executive Committee since November 1, 2012. He served as Head of Strategy of AXA Versicherungen AG (Winterthur Group a business unit of Credit Suisse Group) since September 1, 2004. He served as Group Regional Chief Executive Officer of Japan Asia Pacific at AXA Japan Holding Co., Ltd. He served as the Head of Strategy at AXA Leben AG since ...
25 avenue MatignonPhone: 33 1 40 75 57 00
Paris, Ile-de-France 75008
Board Members Memberships*
Former Non-Executive Director, Member of Audit & Compliance Committee, Member of Nominations Committee, Member of Remuneration Committee and Member of Investment Committee
BA1978 - 1982
Washington University, St. Louis
Master's Degree1984 - 1986
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Annual Compensation*There is no Annual Compensation data available.
Stock Options*There is no Stock Options data available.
Total Compensation*There is no Total Compensation data available.
|Alexander Rijn Wynaendts||Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer|
|Tsuyoshi Nagano||Chief Executive Officer, President, Representative Director, Member of Nomination Committee, Member of Compensation Committee and President of The Property & Casualty Insurance Group|
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc.
|Julian Victor Frow Roberts B.A., F.C.A., M.C.T.||Group Chief Executive, Executive Director, Member of Approvals Committee and Member of Group Capital Management Committee|
Old Mutual plc
|Nigel D. Wilson||Group Chief Executive, Executive Director, Member of Group Insurance Risk Committee, Member of Group Counterparty Credit Committee, Member of Group Investment & Market Risk Committee and Member of Group Shareholders Funds Investment Committee|
Legal & General Group Plc
|Frederic Lavenir||Chief Executive Officer, Member of Executive Board and Director|
CNP Assurances Société anonyme
|€448.5K||Compensation as of Fiscal Year 2014.|",536,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131304444.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172144-00191-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.859111130237579
ec11b80b-1ae3-4862-85b6-dd7a040d9a34,2015-03-29T06:26:41+00:00,2014-03-18,1,http://www.cio.com/article/2377812/internet/jesse-jackson-says-blacks-inadequately-represented-in-tech-companies.html,"U.S. civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson is to lead a delegation to Hewlett-Packard's annual meeting of shareholders on Wednesday to highlight underrepresentation of African-Americans in Silicon Valley companies.
""Technology is supposed to be about inclusion, but sadly, patterns of exclusion remains the order of the day,"" Jackson has written in letters to top Silicon Valley technology companies, including Apple, Twitter, Facebook, HP and Google, according to a statement this week by rights group Rainbow Push Coalition.
HP said it looked forward to seeing Jackson at its shareholder meeting.
""While we certainly agree that diversity is an important issue in corporate America, we're puzzled by Rev. Jackson's sudden interest in HP,"" the company said, citing its track record in promoting minority interests.
African-Americans are inadequately represented in tech boards and senior executive positions while minority companies have also got a very small share of initial public offerings and other financial transactions, and advertising and professional services to tech companies, Rainbow Push said. Media focused on black audiences get only a fraction of the money spent on television, magazine, Internet and radio advertising, according to the coalition of which Jackson is the founder and president.
In contrast, African-Americans are large users of technology as smartphone ownership among blacks takes off. Google's Search, for example, is the number one search engine among African-Americans, according to the coalition.
""Today, HP is the largest company in the world with both a female CEO and CFO and nearly half of our leadership team and Board of Directors are women and minorities,"" HP said in a statement emailed Tuesday.
HP said nearly 50 years ago it established the first minority business program in the U.S. and in 2013 it spent nearly US$1 billion with almost 500 minority business enterprises in the U.S. and an additional $500 million with women business enterprises.
The other tech companies cited by Rainbow Push were not immediately available for comment.
A number of persons of minority origins have risen to key positions in tech companies in the U.S. including Satya Nadella, the Indian-born CEO of Microsoft. John W. Thompson, the software company's new chairman of the board, who took over from Bill Gates in February, is an African-American. A number of women have also risen to the top position at companies like Yahoo and IBM.
Rainbow Push Coalition wants more to be done. ""The ""all-white"" (and mostly male) syndrome should become a thing of the past, and the HP's, Facebook and other captains of industry must take the lead in putting it to rest,"" it said.
This story, ""Jesse Jackson Says Blacks Inadequately Represented in Tech Companies"" was originally published by IDG News Service Bangalore Bureau.",568,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298228.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00086-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.970219731330872
adc1f838-c484-4df5-b54f-0e0db0c7781e,2020-10-24T12:18:54+00:00,2020-05-18,1,https://kowb1290.com/2020-watch-battleground-map-taking-shape-for-biden-trump/,"2020 Watch: Battleground Map Taking Shape for Biden, Trump
ATLANTA (AP) — As states are relaxing shutdown and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump is traveling more.
Trump is determined to model the confidence he believes the nation needs to return to normal.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden continues a virtual campaign from his Delaware residence.
Biden is determined to heed public health recommendations he says are the first steps toward a national recovery.
Meanwhile, the U.S. coronavirus death toll now exceeds 89,000.
And there are more unemployed working-age Americans than at any other point in history.",142,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107882581.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024110118-20201024140118-00368.warc.gz,0.92337042093277
f57520b9-82f7-4661-9bc0-469bd3ba9b0e,2022-05-18T23:28:33+00:00,2022-05-18,1,https://www.carverknowles.co.uk/biodiversity-net-gain-where-are-we-now/,"Biodiversity Net Gain is a new concept introduced by the Environment Bill which will require all developers to deliver a 10% increase in biodiversity in respect of any new development. Our previous blog introduced the concept here. Since our previous blog Natural England has produced The Biodiversity Metric 3.0 to be able to score existing sites and calculate the 10% gain required.
The Metric has been carefully derived to enable a score of the habitat (in units) of the developed area and as implied by the name it is currently on the 3rd version. This is based on the type and quality of the habitat as well as its strategic significance and distinctiveness. At the moment scrubland is valued higher under the Metric than newly planted native woodland and therefore we may yet see further revisions. Once a site has been scored and the number of habitat units determined, the developer will then need to be able to create or secure a site which achieves a habitat with a score of at least 10% more than the area being developed. This offset site must be secured for 30 years and be able to deliver the environmental benefits for the entire time.
Opportunities for farmers
It appears that all developers will likely need additional land to secure the environmental benefits required by the Environment Bill and therefore this is an opportunity for landowners to enter agreements to meet these requirements. It may also be possible to layer this private finance with options from the new Environmental Land Management Scheme to get paid twice for delivering the same natural habitat. This may provide a cost effective diversification opportunity or present a potential retirement option.
However, given the long term nature of the required term of any agreement it is essential that the right advice is taken in good time. This type of agreement may be considered as a “disposal” of land and the tax treatment of this will need to be carefully considered. Any agreement is also likely to push the burden of the physical land management onto the landowner and therefore the ongoing maintenance and delivery of the habitat score will become their responsibility. Finally, if the delivery of the habitat requires taking some of the land out of agricultural production this may also have further planning and tax consequences.
There may be opportunities but the devil will be in the detail with the terms of any agreement. The long term nature of an agreement means that serious consideration needs to be undertaken of all the potential impacts ahead of sign up.
Risks for developers
This policy will also add additional burden and red tape for all of those submitting planning applications. Any potential exemptions are not yet confirmed but it is considered permitted development and householder applications may fall outside of the scope of the process. Outside of these types of application it is likely that all other applications will need to go through the process of scoring the habitat and identifying a suitable area for enhancement. At the moment it is understood that it will be preferable for this to be on or as close to the development site as possible. However, there may be further progress to allow designated areas within the county to be targeted as enhancement areas which will attract higher scoring values. We are starting to see that the requirement for biodiversity enhancement is starting to be added as a pre-commencement condition to a planning approval, however going forward it may be prioritised and be required as a submission document.
If you are considering a development, it is worth understanding the potential implications of the Biodiversity Net Gain requirements as soon as possible to plan and budget accurately. It may mean the design of your project is altered to leave space for a new habitat or you may start to work with neighbouring landowners to target higher scoring areas. The balance between the area of land required for the development and the quality of the habitat ultimately enhanced and protected will be key to ensuring the best value for both the developer and landowner. If the new habitat cannot be created on site then the agreement between the developer and landowner will need to be carefully scrutinised to ensure both parties are fully aware of their responsibilities and the wider impacts this type of land management has on both parties.
If you have any questions about Biodiversity Net Gain and its impacts on your future projects please call the Carver Knowles team.",846,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00011.warc.gz,0.956381559371948
1f114933-2412-4cc3-b585-3139d2bddbab,2017-08-19T19:13:08+00:00,2015-08-19,0,http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Digestive-Disorders---Gastroenterology/Burning-Sensation-in-Stomach/show/235475,"I am a 26 year old male. I have had very good health. Two year ago out of nowhere I started getting a burning sensation across my stomach. It felt like a warm burning sensation much like after you take a shot of alchool. It started off minor then everyday it got worse. I saw a doctor and he put me on aciphex. The aciphex helped with the burning sensation. I noticed when I bealched it wasn't the same it was very low and had a hollow sound. It just wasn't right. After 8 months of aciphex I felt good enough to cut back on the dose untill I was completly off and feeling fine. It has been almost a year and out of the blue one week ago I started to get the burning sensation back in my stomach. It is bothering me because I really thought it was gone. The sensation doesn't go up like heart burn it just stays going across my belly. My doctor last time really couldn't say what it was.I was wondering if it sounded farmilar to you. It comes and goes throughout the day sometimes dull other times sever. Alchool and gatorade make it the burning 10 times worse. Any suggestions.
Many causes can lead to a burning sensation in the stomach. This can include GERD, an ulcer, inflammation of the upper digestive tract, or gallbladder disease.
Alcohol can certainly worsen an ulcer or inflammation of the digestive tract.
You can consider an upper endoscopy or upper GI series to evaluate for some of these causes. I would also check an H Pylori test - since this bacteria is associated with ulcers or inflammation.
These options can be discussed with your personal physician.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
I started having burning in my stomach when I was about 4 years old. I didn't understand the cause so I used to say that my spit was hot. In my understanding I guess I thought my spit was hot and then I would swallow it and it would make my stomach burn. The burning has continued through the years and gets worse with age, I'm now 24. The burning can happen almost anytime but mostly when I'm hot. Either under a blanket or on a hot day. I can get temporary relief by either lifting up my shirt and standing in front of a fan or drinking really cold water. When I drink the cold water I can feel it going all the way down to my stomach and then it feels as if a fire is being put out. Also, once my stomach starts to cool down I can hear this sound coming from my mouth almost like the sound of water running down a drain. Its loud enough at times that people around have even heard it. I've heard from friends that it could be acid reflux. Do these descriptions sound like acid reflux and is that something you can start having at the early age of 4?
There are babies that suffer from reflux. Birth is the hardest thing a person goes through and can cause many spinal misalignments also known as a subluxation. Thoracic vertebrae 3-8 control the nerves that lead to your digestive system. If your nerve is pinched, then you may be having symptoms from a subluxation. I suggest going to a referred and reputable chiropractor to get an evaluation and treatment to see if that helps.
I to have a burning sensation in my stomach. I also wake up in the middle of the night with alot of spetum with blood in it. I went to the doctor last year and they checked and did several test and they did not find anything and stopped for several months and recently started all over again.This time I i get a little light headed from time to time
Can you please tell me what it could be?
Copyright 1994-2017MedHelp International.All rights reserved. MedHelp is a division of Aptus Health.
The Content on this Site is presented in a summary fashion, and is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. Med Help International, Inc. is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this Site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties. By using this Site you agree to the following Terms and Conditions. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.",1055,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105712.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819182059-20170819202059-00209.warc.gz,0.968550503253937
765876b3-b8d3-4db8-9f60-11e639fee553,2022-05-18T09:48:23+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://www.beyond2015.org/olymp-trade/market-and-platform-extensions/,"How to Deposit Money in Olymp Trade? (Complete Guide!)
Olymp Trade is a powerful platform for amateur and expert investors looking to earn money from the forex trading market.
The platform is highly convenient and works as your one-stop broker for indices, stocks, metals, commodities, currencies, EFTs, and even crypto investments.
From extensions that can make trading analysis a walk in the park to those that boost the aesthetic value of the site, Olymp Trade has it all to make your trading experience one to remember.
Additionally, Olymp Trade sets itself up to be beginner friendly. With many extensions providing valuable and trustworthy advice, novices can learn on the fly. If you're looking to begin earning a side income through profits generated on Olymp Trade, keep reading to make the most of its benefits.
What is the Olymp Trade Market?
The Olymp Trade Market is an online shop on the platform where customers can buy various extensions, themes, real time trading insights, expert advice, live news of the trading world, etc., and also view the ones they already have.
Olymp Trade is only getting more widespread with Indian investors because of its intuitive and instructive user interface. The flexibility options are numerous, allowing you to personalise the usability aspects to suit your trading style.
The platform provides users access to more than 100 financial instruments on its forum, making it easy for people to train, analyse and trade in the market.
From live news to analytic strategies, the extensions available on Olymp Trade are sure to help you earn profits that investors are looking to bag home.
What are Olymp Trade Extensions?
Olymp Trade provides beneficial extensions for its users. These extensions are tools or functions that don't come with a basic account.
Extensions can vary from helping you with trading strategies, getting help from industry experts, or changing the platform's aesthetic traits, be it for graphs, charts, or statistical reference models.
Let us first go through the type of extensions you can get for your Olymp Trade account:
The first few types of extensions are used for trading with minimum effort, without having to study the charts yourself extensively. Expert advice will give you insight into the charts and their movements, preparing you to spot favourable changes in the market conditions and leverage the awareness of such information.
Real-time trade recommendations will give you no-nonsense, direct advice on which stock to buy and at what price to sell. This is a top-rated tool for those just starting their forex trading journey. But it is important to note that there is always risk involved, like in any trade. The advice given may not always work out, and this demands calculated opinions that rely on critical and analytical thinking abilities.
Any experienced trader will tell you how important keeping a lookout for news while trading is. Live news may affect the market directly, for example, via government policies, regulatory changes, mergers, and a hoard of other market fluctuations. On the other hand, news also affects the charts indirectly, for instance, through the people's fear and greed in response to the happenings around them.
Expert and advanced strategy indicators are perfect for those who already have the knowledge of charts and some experience on hand. These strategies need some getting used to. Make sure you read about them thoroughly to understand what the charts indicate.
Finally, there are themes such as Purple Haze and Inspire that do a tremendous task at giving your screen a modern, relevant, and focus-based look and feel. They are specifically designed to be soothing and aesthetically pleasing to keep your mind calm and collected. Moreover, not only are they easy on the eyes, but the themes also assist you by highlighting the essential bits of the charts naturally. Such a feature saves you from the risk of missing out on evident indicators while studying charts in a hurry.
With this assortment of worthwhile extensions, you're guaranteed to find many to your liking which transform your forex trading goals into reality. But with so many incredible options, it becomes difficult to choose the one that extensions are compatible with your trading style and investment choices.
To cut down on your choices, you can see an extension's price, rating, and minimum duration of the subscription through the extensions store. These are the significant parameters you need to consider before investing in an extension.
Further, ensure that the extension you buy works well for you and your trading ideology
How to Subscribe to Olymp Trade Extensions?
Subscribing to Olymp Trade Extensions is a simple process. A detailed list of steps is provided below:
- From the 'Platform' page, click on the 'Market' option. It is the second option available in the menu on the left-hand side.
- The store that opens will show a list of extensions available with their price, ratings, and minimum duration.
- Browse and click on the extension you like. You'll find a detailed explanation of the extension accentuating its benefits. It will also reveal more attributes, such as operating system compatibility (Web, Android, iOS) and compatible modes (FTT, FX).
- If you find the extension agreeable, press the blue button with the cost.
- Choose the subscription duration from the options of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. (Unless the extension is a one-time purchase.)
Olymp Trade will then use the required funds for the extension. If you don't have the needed amount, you will be asked to deposit money in your Olymp Trade account.
In India, you can deposit funds using Visa or Mastercard bank cards. Alternatively, you can create a virtual card in the AstroPay system or use foreign e-wallets like Neteller, WebMoney, GlobePay, and Skrill.
Can Bonuses Be Used to Pay for Extensions?
No, you aren't able to use bonuses to avail extensions on Olymp Trade.
A bonus is the extra capital that Olymp Trade gives you whenever a deposit is made to your account. The amount of compensation depends on the amount of money you deposit.
But in the end, bonus money is merely virtual money that only becomes real when certain conditions are met. As such, bonuses are unfit to be used to buy extensions. Not to forget, they are meant exclusively for trading and increasing your investments while displaying varying risk appetites.
On the other hand, profits and deposits can be utilised readily to buy a subscription.
Can I Get Olymp Trade Extensions for Free?
Yes, it is possible to get Olymp Trade extensions for free. Nonetheless, note that these extensions are not the same as those available in the store. In any case, you can rest assured that they are just as beneficial and will have a positive role to play in your investment decisions.
You need to rake up experience points on Trader's Way to get these extensions.
Trader's Way is essentially a customer loyalty program for the traders using the Olymp Trade platform for the long term. It consists of levels that correspond to rewards and higher Olymp trade account statuses.
To level up, you need to earn XP. XP can be acquired by trading in a live account. The more considerable your investment amount, the more experience points you gain. So even if you're making a loss, the silver lining is getting XP points for it.
You can also earn XP by doing daily tasks assigned by Olymp Trade. The tasks often require you to make particular trades. For instance, ""Make 3 trades on EUR/USD in Forex mode"". These daily tasks can be a great way to start for forex trading rookies as it gives them direction.
As you gain points, you reach higher levels. At 19,800 XP, your account receives the Advanced status. By the time you climb this ladder, you will have obtained a new indicator, consultation with an analyst, and increased profitability options. Such are the facilities Olymp Trade intends to offer to maintain continuous user satisfaction.
In other words, as your account level goes up, the platform will unlock benefits for you, including advisors and indicators that can shoot up your profit numbers monumentally.
Your current Trader's Way level will show the last perk you received, while you can view upcoming rewards in the profile sidebar. Keep in mind, these features are sure to motivate you to earn more points.
To reach the highest status, Expert, you need a minimum of 99,000 XP. Moreover, you need 160,000 XP to maintain your standing.
If the effort required doesn't seem feasible, you can always deposit money to your account to jump directly to the loftier levels.
Remember, the greater the amount of money you deposit, the higher the status your account gains.
Where to Find Your Purchased Extensions?
You can find the extensions you purchase in your inventory. To go there, follow these steps:
By default, all extensions are set up to auto-renew, basically indicating the extensions will renew the duration by directly taking funds from your account without asking.
While this is convenient if you appreciate the extension, it can be concerning if it is not to your preference. Since many traders prefer to be extra protective of every little penny in their forex trading accounts, they may choose to cancel the auto-renew option.
In this case, you have to cancel the subscription manually.
How to Cancel Subscription to an Extension?
To cancel your subscription to an extension:
Note: If you're trying to avoid renewal, subscriptions must be cancelled two days before the subscription period ends.
How Much Refund Will I Get?
If the extension you've subscribed to is for 30-days, there will be no refund no matter how quickly you unsubscribe.
In this case, it is most reasonable to continue using it for the rest of the subscription period.
On the other hand, if the subscription is for 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year, you can apply for a refund.
The amount refunded will depend on your subscription period. Olymp Trade refund policies state that the period is divided into 30-day blocks. That is to say, you'll be refunded for the remaining 30-day blocks. The 30-day time period that has already passed and the one you are currently in are not eligible to be reimbursed.
To illustrate, imagine you had purchased a subscription for 3 months for ₹3000. Regardless, you cancelled in the first month itself. This means you are eligible for the repayment of the 2nd and 3rd 30-day blocks, amounting to a total of ₹2000.
However, if you cancel even 2 days into the second month, you are only eligible for the 3rd month's ₹1000.
How To Apply for a Refund on an Extension?
To apply for a refund, you'll have to connect with the Olymp Trade customer service. Since the platform functions for users across the globe, forex traders don't have to worry about time zones as assistance is available 24/7.
Once you've established contact with the customer service, the process is smooth sailing on your end. The company will process your request and add the reimbursed amount back to your account swiftly - without you having to follow up.
In case you're wondering, traders can contact customer service via phone, email, or chat.
If your funds are stuck and your issue is time-sensitive, phone and chat will be quicker solutions, while emails take a business day to get a response.
Extensions on Olymp Trade definitely present value for money. Each extension provides an improved trading experience and helps you be in the run for maximised profits.
Whether it presents forecasts, advice, analysis tools, or themes, each extension undoubtedly guides you in your venture into trading. As a result, the money you invest in buying these extensions will always bring you sumptuous returns.
If you don't like the extension, cancellation is an uncomplicated process. And on the flip side, if you click with an extension, renewal is effortless since the procedure is automatic.
In conclusion, Olymp Trade is an incredible platform that provides ways for laymen to grasp the specifics of trading and gives you the prospect to make money on your own terms.
Fact: The platform even provides a demo account to practice for those afraid of diving straight into it.
Worry not, they've also created numerous training videos to assist aspiring traders in their quest to become expert forex investors.
What are you waiting for? Go and grab the opportunity to build your portfolio today!
Articles Related to Olymp Trade",2572,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521883.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518083841-20220518113841-00206.warc.gz,0.932855904102325
a75fe014-34c3-48bd-9844-d0f7a8775754,2022-05-25T13:43:52+00:00,2014-01-01,0,https://www.inekeknot.nl/en/2014/work-ethics-and-tropical-farmers/,"6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
Proverbs 6:6-8, NIV
Ants and their sophisticated habits have intrigued people for ages. The above noted passage in the Bible proves that: the book of Proverbs was written in the 2nd century before Christ. Here in the tropics I’m also confronted with the never-ending motivation of ants. While I’m continuing my path up a hill, sighing and groaning, I see leafcutter ants carrying their load with indefatigable strength. A continuous line of moving green leaves shows me the way to the top, while the setting sun frames the rocking leaves and their carriers.
These ants definitely fit the category described in Proverbs. Ants, along with bees and wasps, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Many of these insects are eusocial or live highly organized in castes. Every member of the colony is related to the other members, making them work in the interest of the bigger picture – the colony. This social strategy is extremely successful: Hymenoptera make up two percent of the world’s millions of insect species, but they represent eighty percent of its insect biomass.
In the neotropics, Atta colonies are a phenomenon: a colony contains up to several million ants, all of them female (except for the brief period in which they reproduce), all of them offspring of one fat, egg-laying queen. The rank and file are organized into castes that perform the chores that keep a colony alive and growing. Large workers clip fragments from leaves, then pass them off to medium-sized ants inside the nest. This caste chews the leaves into a pulp, but before they lay it on the fungus bed, they squirt the fungus with a drop of faecal liquid. It contains all twenty-one amino acids, essential for the fungus’s survival. The fungus, one of the Basidiomycetes group, digests the leaves’ cellulose, a feat the ants cannot perform themselves. And then the colony eats the fungus. The smallest caste of workers, called minims, nurse eggs or tend the fungus garden, cleaning and weeding it of any alien growth and keeping the culture pure. These remarkable leaf cutters not only invented agriculture far before people did, but they also figured out a way to exploit the abundance of energy in leaves by getting fungi to break down the terpenoids, alkaloids, and other sickening chemicals that tropical leaves use for protection against herbivores.*
Every day you’ll encounter these animals here. And every day these ants remind you to work hard yourself. I’m not the only one here in Gamboa who sometimes feels lazy compared to these ants, earlier one of my colleagues sighed that too. The well-known Facebook façade causes people to ask me: “Do you even work there? Or do you only do fun stuff?” Time to investigate my own work ethic!
While the bats flitter around my head, I look at the screen of my video camera. The pixels show a frog: he moves a little, searches for the right angle and decides he feels comfortable. He hears another male calling, but doesn’t respond quite yet. Another call, and another. He can’t let this happen, if he won’t start calling the female will chose his rival over him. He sounds a hoarse call, clears his throat and fills his abdomen with air. ‘Tuuuuun—tuuuuun—tuuun’, it sounds. The frogs respond to each other and are involved in an acoustic battle. “Tuuuuuun-gara”, the other frog calls. Things are getting serious: the ladies love a complicated call, and that gara addition in the call is irresistible.
That is a typical description of my current experiment. Whenever the weather allows it, I go out to observe frogs. This is the first part of my experiment: observe the natural behaviour of frogs. When I have collected this data, the second part of my experiment will focus on the interaction between bats, frogs and blood-sucking flies.
Trial and error
A couple of weeks ago I started my experiments in good spirits. The first month in Panama I spent discussing, adapting and optimizing my experimental design with my supervisors. I gave a presentation to receive feedback and afterwards incorporated the feedback. At that point one thinks: nothing will get me down. Unfortunately I’m doing field work. The first two weeks I had literally zero (o) data points. That wasn’t because of too little work days (as was rumoured by some), but because of the fact the frogs weren’t behaving as we thought they would. Back to the drawing board! I designed new, simpler experiments with my supervisors. The past weeks I’ve been working with this design and I’ve actually been getting some data: we’re making progress!
With these experiments I’m trying to assess how the frogs behave in their natural environment. More specifically, I’m curious to see whether the frogs behave differently in vegetation or in open water. Currently I’m filming the frogs when they’re calling: this allows me to analyse their calls to see whether they adapt their calling behaviour to their environment. Aside from that, these video recordings also provide me with the opportunity to score the number of blood-sucking flies that harass the frogs. The hypothesis is that more of these annoying frogs can be found in the vegetation than in open water. Unfortunately I know exactly how the frog feels: while he is being harassed by the blood-sucking flies, the blood-sucking mosquito’s easily know how to find me (I counted 122 bug bites the other day). Resignedly we beat the flies off in the same rhythm.
Threat in the leaves
At least field work in the tropics is never boring. The other day I was calmly observing my frogs, when something moved to the left of me. The tropical rainforest is never quiet and always in motion, so I didn’t expect a lot. While my experiment kept running, I pinched my eyes to see a shape in the red light of my headlamp. I saw something crawling, gliding almost. A fluid movement, writhing from left to right, showed the presence of a snake. A snake is one thing, the species of snake another. In the dim light the snake looked like a coral snake: together with the fer-de-lance I saw earlier the most venomous snakes here in Panama. Even though there are more than ten species of venomous coral snakes and just as many non-venomous fake coral snakes, I decided it’s better to be safe than sorry. While I kept half an eye out on the pile of leaves on less than a meter distance, I packed my stuff and went home. My colleague Michael afterwards confirmed that it was a good choice: he’s 90% sure it was a many-banded coral snake (Micrurus multifasciatus). The threat had made me return home earlier to a farewell party that was going on. Luckily, the encounter with the snake brought me something good: a nice wine in good company!
* The Tapirs Morning Bath, Elizabeth Royte (2001), p. 194-195",1588,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662587158.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525120449-20220525150449-00027.warc.gz,0.948945581912994
a60aebd1-ad32-4d89-8600-96a6b3c6fece,2015-04-01T17:48:08+00:00,2009-03-01,0,http://www.soulinstereo.com/2009/03/dora-fashionista.html,"Not sure if you all heard about this or not, but Dora the Explorer is getting a makeover.
Nickelodeon and Mattel recently released a teaser silhouette to get folks excited about the new Dora, but instead the announcement just pissed off a lot of parents. Mattel says the makeover lets Dora grow up with her fans, many of whom are tweens now. But outraged parents argued her long hair, long legs and short skirt were too hot to handle. There are even online petitions circulating pressuring the companies to reconsider.
And you may remember a similar uproar when an updated look for Strawberry Shortcake was announced.
So what do you think? Should characters like Dora the Explorer mature with the girls who love them or do these makeovers make girls want to grow up too fast?",165,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00013-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.952759325504303
3e2dc4c4-9919-4349-af81-9721bcb21d05,2017-08-22T01:47:19+00:00,2016-03-30,1,http://www.businessinsider.com/metlife-isnt-too-big-to-fail-anymore-2016-3?r=UK&IR=T,"U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer on Wednesday struck down the designation made by the heads of the country's financial regulatory agencies that major insurer Metlife Inc. is systemically important to the U.S. financial system.
MetLife had argued in court that the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) used a secretive and flawed process when, in 2014, it determined that a collapse of the insurer could devastate the U.S. financial system just as much as failure of a major bank such as Citigroup.
Collyer's opinion is currently sealed, but parts may be made public next month, according to the order.
(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Copyright 2016. Follow Reuters on Twitter.",152,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109803.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822011838-20170822031838-00328.warc.gz,0.951664566993713
97b18221-770d-41bd-affc-aa66147d1803,2022-05-19T19:15:06+00:00,2022-05-19,0,https://scdpainting.ca/benefits-of-refinishing-your-hardwood-floors/,"Hardwood floors are a common choice of flooring among many homeowners. They typically consist of a natural, durable material that can transform a space into a classic, elegant setting. After all it’s all about lamination!
Over time, those who have hardwood floors installed in their homes may notice some scratches or scuffs and be concerned that it’s time to replace them. Fortunately, a simple refinishing job is often all you need to restore your flooring to its original state.
Home value increases
If you intend to place your property on the market, having high-quality hardwood floors can increase its value. The floors are often visually the first thing potential buyers are likely to notice. Newly refinished hardwood floors can significantly affect the value and appeal of a home when looking to sell.
Less time consuming
Having floors replaced is not only more expensive but also takes longer. On average, it can take anywhere between 3 to 5 days to do a complete replacement successfully. It may be difficult for homeowners to navigate their way through the house during that time due to the work and materials. On the other hand, refinishing can be done in as quickly as two days and is far more adaptable.
While it physically appears terrible, a damaged floor can also be hazardous, especially if small children and pets are in the household. By professionally refinishing the floors, it eliminates any potential dangers associated with damage, such as splintering.",299,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662529658.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519172853-20220519202853-00204.warc.gz,0.96606034040451
b1ace33f-adef-4b6e-be44-cc1bc83a3913,2018-08-16T02:25:06+00:00,2018-07-20,1,http://tobagotoday.co.tt/news/2018-07-20/gunshots-fired-at-rig-workers%E2%80%94roget,"A little over two days after he was abducted from his home by a group of men posing as police officers, a 46-year-old fisherman from La Brea was rescued by police yesterday.
You are here
Gunshots fired at rig workers—Roget
Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) leader Ancel Roget is calling for the borders to be locked down as he claimed offshore workers at Petrotrin platforms are being shot at while at work.
Roget also criticised the recently unveiled National Crime Preventative Programme (NCPP) as a sham, claiming that it will have no impact on crime and criminal activity in the country. Roget was speaking to reporters at Library Corner, San Fernando yesterday to drum up support for JTUM’s September 7 Rest and Reflection campaign.
He said, “We have our workers who work offshore, they witness on a daily and nightly basis transactions going on at our nation’s borders in the offshore environment, where drugs come in, where guns come in, and when you report these things nothing is done. We are saying that the lives of those workers, our members, are at risk because they are being shot at while at work on the platforms offshore because the borders are not locked down,” he said. Southwestern Division police said they were unaware of such reports.
Roget said the Government criticised the last administration for the cancellation of the Offshore Patrol Vessels but they have done absolutely nothing to secure the borders. He also called on Petrotrin to beef up security at the platforms, but he claimed the company had reduced the level of security in the off-shore fields and then declared a profit.
Saying that the Government has failed to deliver its campaign commitment to deal with crime, Roget said, “We are sitting ducks in this country waiting to be the next murder victim.”
He also called for active and aggressive prison reform, saying criminals were calling shots from inside the prison. He said the Government must commit the same resources they used to find the cellphone of the son of Finance Minister Colm Imbert to find missing people and bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.
“That sham crime plan that they are attempting to put into place is just to hoodwink the public for yet another time or to appease the population not to get involved in rest and reflection on 7th of September. That will do precious little or nothing to protect the lives of citizens when sophisticated gun-toting bandits come to your door any hour of day or night.”
“We want the government to ensure that you have crime-fighting apparatus, DNA technology to detect crime and criminal activity and so on and of course to deal with the justice system which has collapsed and to treat with aggressive prison reform.”
Calling on businesses people in San Fernando and the public to support the union’s day of rest and reflection, Roget said so far they have had enormous support from people and businesses in Arima and Chaguanas.
User comments posted on this website are the sole views and opinions of the comment writer and are not representative of Guardian Media Limited or its staff.
Guardian Media Limited accepts no liability and will not be held accountable for user comments.
Guardian Media Limited reserves the right to remove, to edit or to censor any comments.
Any content which is considered unsuitable, unlawful or offensive, includes personal details, advertises or promotes products, services or websites or repeats previous comments will be removed.
User profiles registered through fake social media accounts may be deleted without notice.",736,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210408.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816015316-20180816035316-00657.warc.gz,0.969599545001984
08dc9f0e-e2db-4112-8a83-3cceb718d140,2020-10-24T00:25:01+00:00,2020-01-20,1,https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/eu-to-use-revamped-operation-sophia-to-enforce-libyan-arms-embargo/,"EU foreign minister decided on Monday (20 January) to revive a maritime surveillance mission in the Mediterranean to enforce a potential cease-fire in Libya and a UN arms embargo against the country’s warring parties. Meanwhile, the bloc is scrambling to avoid being drawn into a conflict that threatens to destabilise the whole of the Mediterranean.
The decision comes a day after world powers pledged to end military support for the parties in Libya’s civil war and uphold the existing UN arms embargo at the Berlin Conference on the Libya crisis on Sunday.
So far, there has been no legally binding ceasefire agreement between rebel commander Khalifa Haftar and Libya’s internationally recognised government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj. Meanwhile, external actors like Turkey, Russia, Egypt and France have pledged to stop their interference into the Libyan conflict, which has turned into a proxy war.
Before the EU foreign affairs ministers meeting, there had been talk of setting up a European military mission to monitor any ceasefire, but ministers arriving in Brussels did not explain what such a mission would mean in practice.
The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell had raised eyebrows on Friday (17 January) with calls for the EU to consider sending troops to Libya to enforce a potential ceasefire on the ground.
“It’s clear that the arms embargo requires high-level control and if you want to keep the ceasefire alive someone has to monitor it,” Borrell reiterated upon arrival at the meeting in Brussels.
Asked about the next steps following the Berlin Conference on Libya, he stressed that “it is clear that the arms embargo requires a level of control and if you want to keep the ceasefire alive, someone has to monitor it. United Nations, African Union, or the European Union, someone has to do it.”
“We cannot let the ceasefire work by itself,” Borrell added.
According to the EU treaties, it is up to EU foreign ministers to decide on the deployment of EU military missions. But so far, the EU28 had been cautious about considering having any troops in Libya.
Recycled Operation Sophia
Until there is a tangible ceasefire to monitor, EU foreign ministers discussed plans for an EU force to monitor the sea and air arms embargo off the coast of Libya, seeking a way to revive the Rome-based Operation Sophia (EUNAVFOR).
Operation Sophia was set up in 2015 to combat people smugglers operating from the Libyan coast and to also enforce a UN arms embargo on the warring parties. It was suspended as a naval mission in March 2019, after Italy objected to recused migrants being landed in its ports, and is now limited to aerial surveillance.
The name and objectives of the new operation are subject to change, something to which Italy has not raised any objection to, diplomatic sources told EURACTIV.
“The mandate of Operation Sophia will be to refocus especially on the issue of the embargo, not only by sea, (…) but to control the embargo it will require satellite and air tools, which at the time being are not included in the old Operation Sophia,” Borrell told reporters after the meeting.
But he declined to say if the vessels in the future framework will save migrants as is required by international law.
Maritime zones disputes
Meanwhile, Turkey has been flexing its muscle across the Mediterranean Sea, from Libya to Syria, where Ankara has taken on diplomatic and military roles.
Furthermore, Turkey recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Libya to demarcate maritime zones in the region, which triggered strong reactions in Athens, Nicosia and Cairo as the Turkish-Libyan deal ignores the island of Crete and Greece says Turkey wants to set a legal precedent with an “illegal” MoU under international law.
Athens, which was not invited to take part in the Libya conference, was disturbed by the fact that the Berlin summit’s 55-point concluding paper included no reference to the Turkey-Libya MoU on maritime zones, diplomatic sources told EURACTIV.
Highlighting the complexity of the EU’s objective to find a way forward, the Greek government had announced in the previous days it is not willing to accept any political deal for Libya that doesn’t annul the agreement the Libyan government struck with Turkey on maritime borders.
However, EU foreign ministers reiterated their opposition to the MoU during their meeting in Brussels on Monday, while sources admitted that Germany is making efforts to manage Greece’s disappointment for not having been invited to Berlin.
Tensions with Turkey have also been growing over its activities in the region, with Ankara expanding its claims over a large gas-rich sea area which Cyprus says includes its territorial waters.
According to Borrell, the Cypriot foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides updated his colleagues on the current state-of-play in the drilling spat, especially after Turkey’s decision to move on with drillship Yavuz off Cyprus.
Christodoulides also asked his colleagues “for a list of persons and entities involved into the illegal activities to take decisions about potential sanctions”, Borrell added.
According to EU diplomats, the Scandinavians asked to discuss the sanctions matter at the next Foreign Affairs Council in February as they expressed concerns about some procedural issues to deal with in their respective parliaments.
Asked if there are suspicions for an EU country to oppose sanctions against Turkey, sources named Hungary as potential objector.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]",1137,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00243.warc.gz,0.960300266742706
17e5ea2b-57df-4444-8213-614ff6764f57,2019-08-23T10:23:45+00:00,2019-08-23,0,http://celebtubesnews.ml/capon/peplum-leather-top-180.php,"Gold Plus Supplier The supplier supports Trade Assurance — A free service that protects your orders from payment to delivery.
Items in search results
Stunning top gives you a cleavage with the correct bra. Was too small for me hence never worn. Brand new with tags Missguided black faux leather peplum top with bardot neckline. Arms are quite small fitting. UK size 8 I'm a fashion blogger having a much needed! Looks good when paired with trousers or pencil skirt. Under arm to under arm: Leather sleeves are a nice contrast We have for sale a gorgeous Raoul brown green suede peplum top.
Worn once, excellent condition! This page was last updated: Number of bids and bid amounts may be slightly out of date. And then of a twentysomething daughter and fortysomething mum I saw at the Royal Academy together both wearing peplums: The same happened with capes a few years ago. A trend that seemed destined for a limited release became a long-running-at-Topshop blockbuster.
I find it very cheering when fashion goes off-piste, refusing to fall into step with either the magpie instinct for sparkle and surface decoration, or survival of the fittest in the top-deck-of-the-bus sense of the word. There is a street-style gallery on the New York Times website which collates readers' photos of chic peplum wearers from Seoul and Nigeria, but it has gained more traction in London than it has in, say, Paris.
In Paris, where fashion is about finding a look that suits you and sticking with it for four decades, the peplum was never going to get much of a look in beyond a cameo appearance on American and Italian fashion editors attending Paris fashion week. And they are most certainly not a look that only string beans can wear.
Beyoncé looks brilliant in a peplum, and so does Liv Tyler. On the other hand, look at the very beautiful Michelle Williams, in peplummed Louis Vuitton on the Oscar red carpet. There you have a pretty dress that would have worked better on a bigger bottom, and it's not often that I get to write that sentence. The whole point of a peplum is that it celebrates a waist-to-hip curve, so it looks a bit odd when worn without one.
Of course, some peplums are hideous. As a rule of thumb: Something a little sleeker and more sculptural is more up our street. And still, there are still hazards to be negotiated. Model's height 5' 9"", bust 32"", waist 24"", hips 34"". Whether you have a fashion emergency or just need a little style advice, we're here to help anytime. Email our stylists at stylist shoptiques. Made with love in NYC. Made with in NYC.
Skinny Jeans The Fall Five: Blazers The Fall Five: Ankle Boots Cozy Knits More Biggest Discount Newest Price: Faux Leather Peplum Top. Color Black please choose a color.
Shop by category
Find great deals on eBay for peplum leather top. Shop with confidence. Black Faux Leather Peplum Top. by PacificPlex. $ $ 14 FREE Shipping on eligible orders. 4 out of 5 stars 1. Product Description Sexy soft stretch faux leather tube top with elasticized padded bust, pull-on. - Plus Size Sexy PVC Mesh Peplum Cocktail Club Dress Black. by Red Dot Boutique. Find great deals on eBay for leather peplum top. Shop with confidence.",738,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318243.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823083811-20190823105811-00047.warc.gz,0.923702597618103
b2197b93-1e8a-47a8-8794-1d8f1968974f,2019-08-25T12:08:40+00:00,2018-10-06,0,https://www.spectacularspaces.com/blog/home-renovation-survival-tips,"Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • October 6, 2018
My dream was to find the perfect home that needed just a tiny bit of cosmetic work to make it mine. I had done major renovations in the past and did not want to go down that road again.
Keep it simple and easy. That was my mantra. And gorgeous. With everything perfect. After all, I am a Southwest Florida interior decorator and I know how to make anything pretty. Really pretty. And functional. Plus, I have all the tools at my fingertips so this should be a snap.
Remember “Under the Tuscan Sun?”
Although it was a romantic comedy, it could be a home renovation documentary. It’s about a writer who says goodbye to her past and buys a 300-year-old villa in Tuscany. It’s also about her hot new love interest and is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Tuscan countryside. We have all had a similar dream, right?
But it (the movie) is really about the house.
Like “Under the Tuscan Sun,” whether you’re remodeling your bedroom or a bath, knocking out a few walls, creating a new kitchen from start to finish or renovating the entire home, it’s a fairly miserable experience. There is just no way to sugarcoat it.
It’s dirty, stressful and expensive. You have very little control. You are at the mercy of your contractor and the subs that may or may not show up for work. Unexpected problems arise that delay the project and cost. It turns your home and your life upside down. Until the project is finished.
The bottom line: you just have to live through it and hope for the best.
And having just gone through the experience myself, I have a few do’s, don’ts and survival tips that can help.
Don’t cry or panic. It will get better.
Don’t believe the home shows. As fun as they are, they just don’t present the reality of the cost and experience of a home renovation. You know that.
Don’t stay in the house if it’s a major renovation. This is not always possible but moving out for the duration can save your sanity.
Don’t try to do it yourself. Call in the professionals.
Don’t take on a renovation or major remodel if you just aren’t up to it. Make a few cosmetic changes to the room that will enable you to live with it. New paint. New window treatments. A new rug. Maybe new kitchen countertops. Pick what bothers you most and let that be your focus. You might be surprised at the big difference a few small changes make.
Be patient. This won’t last forever.
Come up with a plan before your first meeting with a contractor. They can’t read your mind and you need to be able to tell them exactly what you need/want. Think about the little things that matter: light switches in the right place, fans, chandeliers, electrical outlets. This is your chance to get it just right.
Consider your lifestyle if you are redoing a floorplan. Traffic flow. Feeling of the home. Color. Is your taste traditional, contemporary, casual, coastal, transitional?
Start from the ground and work your way up with your plan: flooring, walls, furniture, lighting.
Establish a budget before the first meeting. And know that there will always be a few unexpected surprises that will add dollars so plan on it.
Hire an interior decorator or designer to get you started on the right path. They can look at the project and tell you what is doable, practical and the best use of your money for resale. They will also help you to make your vision for your home a reality.
Interview several contractors. Visit homes they have done and talk to the owners. Select the one that you feel will be the best fit for this short or long term relationship.
Be flexible. And be willing to make compromises. That’s just the reality of a renovation. Sure, you wanted that beautiful, free standing bath tub sitting in the middle of your new master bathroom. But the plumber said it would cost a fortune. So, against the wall will be just fine.
If you are living in the home during a remodel or renovation, set aside one area that is your sanctuary from the noise and dust. Like a master bedroom where you can close the door and think.
Most important: be patient. It’s worth the wait and the disruption to get the home that you want.
Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and certified gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She has helped homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and to solve decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail email@example.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog",1112,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323328.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825105643-20190825131643-00161.warc.gz,0.941197097301483
ea91edcd-e02a-474e-b521-07b9716bffdc,2022-05-28T20:56:43+00:00,2022-05-28,0,https://shop4.com.au/product/screw-fit-bioflex-labret-with-emerald/,"18ct Gold Screw-on BioFlex Labret with Real EMERALD
New ! claw set gemstone for either an ear cartilage or lobe, a labret piercing, a tragus or a Madona or Monroe piercing ! This beautifully crafted stud has a Real Emerald issecurely set into 18 carat Nickel Free Gold stud that will “screw” into a BioFlex Labret.
Small ! The size of the gem is 2.2mm average and is set on 3 claws.
You can choose here the size of the disc, the thickness of the guage, and the length you need using the drop down menus.
For bottom lip and ear piericngs, 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm discs are comonly used, although the 3mm disc is better for top ear piercings or tragus.
For Madona or Monroe piercings (top lip), 5mm or at least 4mm disc is advised.
The length should be chosen carefully as you want the jewel to sit right on your skin, so not too long, not too short for the length. Ask your local piercer to measure it for you if needed, and to confirm the gauge.",258,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663019783.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528185151-20220528215151-00008.warc.gz,0.856169283390045
51c9fade-9401-4310-8d5a-4bf14a771259,2019-08-24T22:46:04+00:00,2019-08-24,0,https://analyticaledupoint.com/access/,"Access Training Course Outline:
This course is an introduction to databases through Microsoft Access. It is designed for people who are used to managing data in spreadsheets but wish to understand why and how a database will provide a better solution. The course covers the difference between spreadsheets and databases and takes students through the process of creating a database, from design through to data population. In the second part of the course, students learn the fundamentals of the SQL query language and gain a full understanding of how to write queries in Access for retrieving and updating data.",110,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321786.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824214845-20190825000845-00545.warc.gz,0.934277355670929
439d7c45-78e8-4bb2-b877-3fbff10ceba6,2015-03-28T00:33:05+00:00,2004-02-29,0,http://johnquiggin.com/2004/02/,"Valdis Krebs presents this map of purchasing habits for political books, using the techniques of cluster analysis. Krebs’ main point is that the books divide readers into two sharply separate clusters, color-coded on the assumption that one group of readers are Democrats and the other are Republicans. The diagram also coincides with the standard left-right coding.
I have a couple of observations on this. The first is the trivial one that this color-coding is the exact opposite of the one that would naturally be used in Australia or the UK (back in my days as a folksinger, one of my more successful pieces (this is a highly relative term( was about a Labour leader who “went in [to office] Red and came out Blue”. Without wanting to load too much on to arbitrary signifiers, this does seem to me to support my view that there’s a bigger gulf between liberals and the radical left in the US than elsewhere. Even if the mainstream left party in other countries does not adopt the red banner of Marxism there’s sufficient continuity along the political spectrum to make it’s adoption by the right unlikely.
The second thing that’s striking is that, on the left-right orientation, I come out as a moderate. I’ve read nearly all the blue books that are within one or two links of the red zone, and none of those on the far left of the diagram. On the right, I’ve read only Letters to a Young Conservative .
Looking again at the titles of the books I’ve read, while there’s a vaguely leftish slant to them, one could scarcely call either Clash of Civilisations or Elusive Quest for Growth supportive of the left. The striking thing is that these are mostly the serious books, while those on either side are mostly lightweight polemics (I’m inferring this from the reviews I’ve read of some of them and the titles of the others). But it would appear from the cluster analysis that those who read leftwing partisan diatribes also tend to read serious books (and vice versa) while those who read rightwing partisan diatribes don’t read anything else.
In terms of the debate that’s been going on for some time about the relative intellectual capacity of the left and the right, the cluster analysis seems to imply that the left is doing a lot more to enhance its intellectual capacity than is the right.
(Hat tip to Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution)",524,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297146.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00054-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.940247356891632
146c1d3d-6f24-4fb7-86bd-afe5a49c9ccb,2019-08-23T00:28:01+00:00,2019-03-09,1,https://macro.economicblogs.org/lance-roberts/2019/03/roberts-do-central-bankers-03-09-18/,"What Do Central Banks Know? Sector & Market Analysis 401k Plan Manager Follow Us On: Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Sound Cloud, Seeking Alpha In last week’s missive, we discussed a critical point concerning the bull run so far. “Despite the underlying economic and fundamental data, the markets have surged back to extremely overbought, extended, and deviated levels. The chart table below is published weekly for our RIA PRO subscribers (use code PRO30 for a 30-day free trial) You will note that with the exception of bond prices, every market and sector is more than 5% above its 50-day moving average and year-to-date performance is pushing more historic extremes both in price and in extreme overbought conditions. On virtually every measure, markets are suggesting the fuel for an
Lance Roberts considers the following as important: 401-k Plan Manager, advice, Economics, Economy, Investing, investment, Lance Roberts, markets, newsletter, real investment report, RIA Weekly, Stock Market, Technical analysis, Technicals, X-factor Report
This could be interesting, too:
[email protected] (TrueEconomics) writes 22/8/19: Irish Economy is Now Fully Captured by the Multinationals
Lance Roberts writes Investors Dilemma: Pavlov’s Dogs & The Ringing Of The Bell
Michael Kahn writes Inverted Yield Curve Is Actually Bullish
Mike Shedlock writes Making Sense Of 100-Year Bonds At 0% & 30-Year Bonds At Negative Yields
- What Do Central Banks Know?
- Sector & Market Analysis
- 401k Plan Manager
In last week’s missive, we discussed a critical point concerning the bull run so far.
“Despite the underlying economic and fundamental data, the markets have surged back to extremely overbought, extended, and deviated levels. The chart table below is published weekly for our RIA PRO subscribers (use code PRO30 for a 30-day free trial)
You will note that with the exception of bond prices, every market and sector is more than 5% above its 50-day moving average and year-to-date performance is pushing more historic extremes both in price and in extreme overbought conditions.
On virtually every measure, markets are suggesting the fuel for an additional leg higher in assets prices is extremely limited.”
The chart below compares last weeks analysis to this week. You can see the sharp difference between the two periods as much of the overextension last week has now been reversed.
The chart below also shows the short-term reversal of the market as well as the test of minor support at the initial October lows.
This short-term oversold condition, and holding of minor support, does set the market up for a bounce next week which could get the market back above the 200-dma. The challenge, at least in the short-term remains the resistance level building at 2800.
However, the next two charts suggest there is a decent probability any bounce will fail in the short-term and should be used for rebalancing risk.
- The market has not reversed to levels which normally signals short-term bottoms. The red lines in the bottom four panels denote periods where taking profits, and reducing risk, has been ideal. The green lines have been prime opportunities to increase exposure. As you will note, these indicators tend to swing from extremes and once a correction process has started it is usually not completed until the lower bound is reached.
Important Note: This does not mean the market will decline sharply in price. The current overbought conditions can also be resolved by continued consolidation within a range as we have seen over the last two weeks.
2) There is historically a very high correlation between what happens in the transportation sector (a view on the economy) and the market as a whole. Watch for a rally in the transportation sector to signal an all-clear for the markets.
The current set up suggests that the correction that started last week is not yet complete and any bounce will likely be a good opportunity to reposition portfolios in the short-term until a better entry point to increase exposure is achieved.
The problem with statements like these is that those of the “permanently bullish” mindset tend to extrapolate the analysis into the onset of the next major “bear market.” Such is certainly not the intent, nor is it a suggestion to sell everything and hide in cash.
What should be readily apparent is that paying attention to price can help alleviate our natural tendency to “buy high” and “sell low.” Managing a portfolio of investments is simply measuring risk and reward and placing bets when reward outweighs the potential risk. Tweaking exposure to “risk” overtime can pay big dividends over the long-term which is our goal of investing to begin with.
- Always insist on a margin of safety
- This time is never different
- Be patient and wait for the fat pitch
- Be contrarian
- Risk is the permanent loss of capital, never a number
- Be leery of leverage
- Never invest in something you don’t understand
If these rules sound logical to you, and you are nodding your head in agreement, then how does a pitch to “buy and hold” and “ride out the market” make any sense?
During a bull market cycle, buying and holding good investments which pay a dividend is absolutely the right thing to do. However, at the end of market cycle, not so much.
What Do Central Banks Know That You Don’t
As we noted in Thursday’s missive on why QE may not work this time, Central Bankers globally have jumped back into the “emergency measure” pool.
- The Fed
- Has announced it will be “patient” with future rate hikes.
- The pace of QT, or balance sheet reduction, will not be on “autopilot” but instead driven by the current economic situation and tone of the financial markets.
- It is expected the Fed will announce in March that QT will end and the balance sheet will stabilize at a much higher level, and;
- QE is a tool that WILL BE employed when rate reductions are not enough to stimulate growth and calm jittery financial markets.
- China has launched its version of “Quantitative Easing” to help prop up its economy which grew at the slowest pace in nearly 30-years.
- China has taken fiscal and monetary policy measures such as fast-tracking infrastructure projects
- Additional monetary support for the economy
- A cut in taxes, and;
- A Reduction banks’ reserve requirements
The ECB, after downgrading Eurozone growth, announced
They will not raise rates in 2019, and;
They will extended the TLTRO program, which is the Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations scheme which gives cheap loans to struggling Eurozone banks, into 2021. (Currently, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal all borrow more than they deposit and more tha $800 billion from the previous TLTRO is set to mature over the next two years. Without the extension of the program, defaults could rise sharply.)
But there is nothing to worry about, right?
Maybe, but if there is nothing to worry about, then why the sudden pivot by Central Banks? What are they seeing that you don’t?
As we discussed in our analysis, the macro-environment in the U.S. is markedly different than it was in 2009. The Fed’s starting point to battle the next recessionary environment is far weaker than it was then when the Fed funds rate was twice as high and the balance sheet four-times smaller.
Grab a cup of coffee and start your trading/investing day with me.
Streaming Live On The Web
Here is the important point. We, as investors, have been trained over the last decade to “buy” whenever Central Banks are engaged in monetary interventions. So far it has worked in lifting asset prices higher. But therein lies the risk of complacency.
In 2009, most of the risk in the financial and credit markets had been wrung out from the decline. Today, the markets are more exposed than ever to leverage and credit risk throughout the global ecosystem.
My friend Doug Kass had a great note Friday related to this risk.
“Astonishingly I heard a ‘talking head’ on one of the business media platforms earlier this week who said that none of the excesses that existed in past recessionary periods are in place today.
To say excesses, systemic issues, and possible instability, don’t exist is borderline irresponsible.
As I see it, there are several measurable excesses and associated risks that represent this cycle’s new challenges that may be summarized into these five categories:
- An untenable level of global (private and public sector) debt
- Structural instability and growth threats in the form of rising deficits and demographic trends (i.e., slowing population growth)
- Lack of (sovereign) cooperation
- Unparalleled political instability and rising policy risks
- A dangerous shift in market structure
Debt that is not self-funding is future consumption brought forward.
Through years of unprecedented monetary ease, we have enjoyed unsustainable consumption and growth which cannot continue at its current pace in the future. Debt, then, is a drag on future growth, and the amount of debt the world now has will be a monster drag on that growth.
The fact is that the global economies are over levered with debt in our private and public sectors that are excessive. As I chronicled in “Why Interest Rates Are the Bull Market’s Most Serious Threat,” in the fullness of time, the weight of debt will act as a governor to economic growth – it saps capital. To think otherwise is foolhardy.
Deficits and Demographic Threats
Under the weight of rising and uncontrolled deficits (supported by both parties) and slowing population growth, intermediate to longer-term economic and profit growth prospects are diminishing. Near term, domestic economic growth is already weakening (as supply side economics is being further discredited). At the same time Chinese growth is failing to stabilize and it appears that Europe is entering a deepening recession – underscoring the fragility of the global economic system that is still being propped up by low or negative interest rates.
It is my core expectation that U.S. and China will fail to agree on trade. (My baseline expectation is that investors will view a likely, superficial agreement as no agreement at all). We will find out shortly whether my view is accurate and that there will be no big deliverables with regard to IP theft and/or technology exchange. The consequences for the global economy are obvious – China accounts for only about 14% of world GDP but accounts for about one third of the delta in global economic growth.
Earnings & Risk
Most importantly, for investors, the consensus expectations for corporate profits, and economic growth expectations, remain far too optimistic.”
I will steal his last line as I agree that risks currently remain to the downside which explains our cautious outlook for 2019-2020.
If the message that Central Banks are sending comes to fruition, it will likely be a challenging backdrop for equities in the months ahead.
Currently, it certainly seems these concerns are outlandish and far fetched but the data is all too present and real. After a scorching run in the first two months of the year, it is hard to see anything as being bearish, but therein lies the risk.
As an investor, our job should be an honest evaluation of our portfolio allocations and our investment strategy with relation to the relevant market risks.
In other words, ask yourself this one simple question:
“What will happen to my money if something goes wrong?”
If that question raises no concerns for you, do nothing? But if you didn’t like the plunge last November and December, it may be time to re-evaluate things.
See you next week.
- Market & Sector Analysis
- Portfolio Allocations
- Client Portfolio Changes & Updates
Use Code “PRO30” For A 30-Day Free Trial
A Conservative Strategy For Long-Term Investors
There are 4-steps to allocation changes based on 25% reduction increments. As noted in the chart above a 100% allocation level is equal to 60% stocks. I never advocate being 100% out of the market as it is far too difficult to reverse course when the market changes from a negative to a positive trend. Emotions keep us from taking the correct action.
Facts Chart, Ma’am
As I noted wrote two weeks ago:
“As shown in the 401k chart above, the short-term weekly ‘buy’ signal was triggered last week. This is bullish but requires the lower signal to “confirm” the upper before we increase the portfolio model back to 100% target levels.
Importantly, by the time weekly signals are triggered the market is ALWAYS very overbought or oversold. Therefore, when signals are registered we don’t immediately take action. Instead, like now with markets are extremely overbought on a short-term basis, we want to wait for some type of pullback to add exposure.”
As we have been discussing over the last several weeks, the sharp rally in stocks has gone too far, too quickly, so just be patient here and wait for a correction/consolidation to increase exposure.
Take a look at the chart above. Beginning in 2016, I drew a bull trend channel for the market in the chart above (the dashed 45-degree black lines) which have contained the bull market rally since the 2009 lows.
In January 2018, the market made, as we stated then, and unsustainable break above that upper trend line. I add the horizontal black dashed line at that point and said that ultimately we would see a correction back the long-term bull trend line.
Since then, exactly that has happened and rather than the market retesting the lower bullish trend line and then beginning a more normal advance, the market rocketed higher in 2-months to hit AND FAIL at the upper bullish trend line.
If the last decade provides any clues, it is likely the market is going to remain range bound within this rising trend for now, which suggests that waiting for a better entry point to increase exposure will be rewarded.
As we noted last week:
“While it may seem like ‘a correction will never come,’ such is always the case in a bull rally. Bull rallies do their best to suck investors into taking on risk at the wrong time. Patience always provides a better opportunity over the longer-term time frames.”
Let’s be patient and see if the market can rally next week. Continue to follow the model strategy for the time being.
- If you are overweight equities – take some profits and reduce portfolio risk on the equity side of the allocation. This will provide an opportunity to use cash to add exposure post the pending correction/consolidation.
- If you are underweight equities or at target – hold positions for now and wait for a better opportunity to increase allocations. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything.
If you need help after reading the alert; don’t hesitate to contact me.
Current 401-k Allocation Model
The 401k plan allocation plan below follows the K.I.S.S. principle. By keeping the allocation extremely simplified it allows for better control of the allocation and a closer tracking to the benchmark objective over time. (If you want to make it more complicated you can, however, statistics show that simply adding more funds does not increase performance to any great degree.)
401k Choice Matching List
The list below shows sample 401k plan funds for each major category. In reality, the majority of funds all track their indices fairly closely. Therefore, if you don’t see your exact fund listed, look for a fund that is similar in nature.
Post Views: 0",3379,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317688.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822235908-20190823021908-00303.warc.gz,0.941804349422455
39c4da3d-2a81-4363-b588-1bb8b53911e7,2016-07-30T22:38:16+00:00,2012-05-25,1,http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/05/the-morning-wrap-8.html,"Hero or Traitor: The doctor who helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden was sentenced to 33 years in prison for treason, Pakistani officials told Reuters. Shakil Afridi was also accused of running a fake vaccine campaign to collect DNA samples. He is the first person to be sentenced in the bin Laden case.
Ruled: A jury rejected all claims of patent infringement, siding with Google in its dispute with Oracle, our sister publication, The Recorder, reports.
Solved?: A man has admitted involvment in the case of Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy from SOHO who mysteriously vanished 33 years ago. The New York Times reports that NYPD have taken Pedro Hernandez into custody and plan to release more details later today.
Drug War: Two Mexican drug cartels, the Sinaloa cartel and Los Zetas, are engaging in all-out warfare, unfolding in view of the public, The Washington Post reports. These public massacres often include the dumping of headless bodies as part of the cartels' intimidation tactics.",217,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258943369.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072903-00295-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95281046628952
c1c19580-9fff-4e4e-9d0d-6f288c8105a0,2015-04-02T03:10:47+00:00,2013-03-25,0,http://www.u.tv/News/NI-may-be-hardest-hit-by-granny-tax/105965a6-e44f-4da3-8f62-28a4099288c9,"The Government will be urged to consider the potential impact of the so-called ""granny tax"", which sees the removal of extra personal tax allowances for those turning 65 after 5 April.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) claimed pensioners in Northern Ireland will feel the brunt of the changes because their discretionary income is 53% lower than the rest of the UK.
ACCA Ulster Network's Brian McGuire said it was unfair to dictate how much tax an individual pays based on when they turn 65.
""Anyone turning 65 after April 5 2013 has to pay £259 a year more than those who turned 65 before that cut-off date,"" Mr McGuire said.
""Available means to pay doesn't seem to come into play.""
He said discretionary household income in Northern Ireland is £77 a week, compared with the UK average of £146.
Mr McGuire, who based his figures on the latest Asda Income Tracker, warned the realisation of the Government policy would have a varying impact on a regional basis.
""People spend most of their lives planning finances for retirement. Taking away the allowance for new and future pensioners is like pulling the rug from under their feet,"" Mr McGuire added.
According to the ACCA, the tax allowance freeze will cost pensioners £500 a year, or £10,000 over their retired lifetime.
The debate on the issue, which takes place in Parliament later on Monday, was prompted after pressure groups secured 114,464 signatures in a petition.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced plans in the budget to axe the special tax break that gave pensioners a higher tax allowance.
This enabled them to earn an extra £3,000 before paying income tax.
Now, anyone who reaches their 65th birthday after 5 April 2013 will no longer qualify for the higher tax allowance.
This means people approaching retirement will have the same tax allowance they had when they were in work and earning more money.
Mr Osborne said the measures were introduced to raise an extra £3.5bn over the next five years.
But pensioners and pressure groups have called for a u-turn.",444,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131310006.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172150-00263-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.975998997688294
d9c11876-0562-4a73-8839-53580418a3d0,2019-08-25T22:49:15+00:00,2019-08-25,1,https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/cndn-xtrmst-trvllrs/index-en.aspx,"Mitigating the Threat Posed By Canadian Extremist Travellers
Canadian Extremist Travellers (CETs), are individuals suspected of travelling abroad to engage in extremist activity. Extremist activity is defined as any activity undertaken on behalf of, or in support of, a terrorist entity. It can include, but is not limited to: participation in armed combat, financing, radicalizing, recruiting, media production, and other activity.
Offences specifically related to leaving or attempting to leave Canada for the purposes of committing certain terrorism offences are enacted in the Criminal Code.
The threat of extremist travellers is significant and presents difficult challenges to both Canada and our allies. However, the Government of Canada has taken many steps to ensure we are ready to address and mitigate this threat and protect Canadians.
How are Canadians protected from CETs who return to Canada?
Criminal prosecution is a top priority and the preferred course of action in Canada's approach to dealing with returning extremist travelers.
The first objective in dealing with returning extremist travellers is arrest and prosecution to the full extent of the law. If there is sufficient evidence, the Government of Canada will pursue charges. If there is insufficient evidence for a charge, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and its law enforcement, security and intelligence partners will continue their investigation, while other tools are leveraged to manage and mitigate the threat.
These tools include:
- using a terrorism peace bond to have the court place conditions on the individual (including electronic monitoring); active physical surveillance;
- using the Secure Air Travel Act to prevent travel to commit terrorism offences and threats to transportation security; and/or cancelling, refusing or revoking passports.
- In certain circumstances, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) may also employ threat reduction measures to reduce the threat posed by an individual.
Canada's law enforcement, security and intelligence, and defence departments and agencies continue to monitor and respond to the threat of Canadian extremist travellers through a coordinated, whole-of-government approach.
When the Government learns that a CET is seeking to return, federal departments and agencies come together to tailor an approach to address the threat he/she may pose. Key departments and agencies work together to assess risks, develop options and manage the return of CETs.
These agencies are:
- Public Safety Canada,
- Global Affairs Canada (GAC),
- the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP),
- the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS),
- the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC),
- the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF),
- Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA),
- Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC),
- Transport Canada (TC),
- the Privy Council Office (PCO).
The whole-of-government approach enables the collective identification of measures needed to manage the threat posed by these individuals.
The Government's Operational Response
The RCMP leads a National Security Joint Operations Centre (NSJOC), which includes several federal departments and agencies to enhance the Government's operational response to individuals seeking to travel abroad for terrorism purposes.
The NSJOC facilitates timely information sharing and provides direct support to national security criminal investigations by the RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs).
In addition to the contribution to the NSJOC, CSIS investigates threat activities of CETs and their potential for return to Canada. CSIS uses all available resources under its mandate, working with partner agencies, including disclosing information to law enforcement organizations in their investigations or prosecutions of CETs and using measures to reduce the threat, when reasonable and proportionate to the nature of the threat.
Another mechanism to address and mitigate the threat of CETs is to prevent individuals from radicalization to violence in the first place. To that end, Public Safety Canada has established the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and the Prevention of Violence (the Canada Centre), which is mandated to lead, support, and coordinate Canada's prevention efforts.
These efforts include local-level programming aimed at countering radicalization to violence. The Canada Centre also funds innovative research, such as the project led by the University of Waterloo to better understand why Canadians travelled to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist groups.
The RCMP has long standing efforts to counter radicalization to violence which encompass all forms of violent ideologies. For instance, the RCMP's First Responder Terrorism Awareness Program provides training for first responders and key partners to promote awareness about a range of criminal threats. The training helps partners identify the early signs of radicalization to violence and outlines possible responses.
Some returning CETs may also be suitable for programs which are designed to help them to disengage from violent extremism. These programs do not replace or prevent our security and law enforcement agencies from doing their work. Rather, these programs complement the work of these agencies by helping to reduce the threat posed by returning extremists travellers, while also addressing the health and social problems of associated travellers, including family members and children, returning from a conflict zone.
These programs are not limited to returning extremist travellers but may also be used forindividuals in Canada who are radicalizing to violence, including right-wing extremists.
Canada's security intelligence agencies work in close cooperation with international partners, including the Five Eyes, the G7, the European Union, Interpol and the United Nations to enhance information sharing and share best practices, while ensuring that information is not disclosed to, or requested from, foreign entities if there is a substantial risk that it could result in mistreatment.
How is the Government made aware when a Canadian extremist traveller is planning a return?
The Government can be made aware of an extremist traveller attempting to return to Canada in many ways, including through Canada's intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, as well as key international partners such as the Five Eyes and INTERPOL.
Do Canadian extremist travellers have a right to return?
Under section 6 of the Charter, every citizen has the right to ""enter"" Canada. This is a right of entry if a citizen of Canada presents themselves at a Canadian port of entry. The section 6 right to enter Canada does not obligate the government to intervene to assist Canadians abroad in their efforts to leave a foreign country and return to Canada, except where a citizen needs an emergency passport or other travel document to allow them to return.
Some CETs have admitted, on social media, leaving Canada to join a terrorist organization. Why can’t we prosecute them under the Anti-terrorism Act?
Criminal prosecution is a top priority and the preferred course of action.
National security investigations pose unique and highly complex challenges to law enforcement agencies. These challenges include the need to gather information on an individual's alleged activities in a hostile environment to a standard that can be expected to withstand the rigours of the Canadian justice system.
In instances where charges cannot be laid, all other options to address extremist travellers may be pursued, including: using the Secure Air Travel Act; the cancellation, refusal and revocation of passports; threat reduction measures; and terrorism peace bonds.
- Date modified:",1448,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00377.warc.gz,0.927242517471314
24664800-9633-49bf-97f7-c97c37837225,2016-07-25T14:08:04+00:00,2013-01-16,1,http://www.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/mcclellan-kiboshes-confidentiality-clauses-20130116-2ctgm.html,"The head of the royal commission into child sex abuse says he will not hesitate to investigate alleged assaults that are the subject of confidentiality agreements.
Fronting the media with his five co-commissioners for the first time since they were appointed last week, Justice Peter McClellan said non-disclosure agreements would not stop the commission inquiring into institutional responses to child sex assault.
He indicated the likelihood of a lengthy wait for victims and their families anticipating the start of public hearings, saying the evidence gathering process would take months.
""Our task is complex and it will take significant time,"" Justice McClellan said.
""It may be some months before the progress of the commission is apparent to the public.""
But Justice McClellan immediately moved to allay the concerns over the commission's handling of confidentiality agreements.
""The commission is aware that there has been considerable public discussion about the powers the commission has to inquire into matters which are the subject of confidential agreements,"" he said.
""We wish to emphasise that under the Royal Commission Act, the commission has powers to compel the production of evidence, including documents.
""We will not hesitate in an appropriate case to exercise those powers.""
He said the commission would be based in Sydney but that the six commissioners would sit in different parts of the country.
Assisting Justice McClellan are former Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson, former Victorian president of the Children's Court Justice Jennifer Coate, Productivity Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald, consultant psychiatrist Professor Helen Milroy and former West Australian senator Andrew Murray.
Justice McClellan said the public should be reminded the commission was not a prosecuting body, nor was it able to award compensation to victims.
Given the sensitivity of the issues involved, there could at times be ""constraints"" on the inquiry, he said.
""Our investigative processes will be utilised to receive and consider what we expect to be accounts by individuals that tell of their experience,"" he said.
""This may mean that proceedings will take place in private, and real names may not be used.""
He said where possible, the commission would proceed in public.
The commission has set up a phone hotline for victims of sex abuse to call and leave their personal details.",457,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00175-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.963870346546173
359d27e0-b9c8-4513-a2ee-bac988b2f327,2022-05-24T10:05:42+00:00,2022-05-24,0,https://hennessyhammock.co.uk/pages/how-to-choose-a-hammock,"How to Choose a Hammock
There are three main things to consider when choosing a camping hammock: the entry system you will use, how and where you will be using the hammock, and the weight range you need the hammock to support.
On our hammock collection page we have a filter that will help you narrow down your selection.
For entry system, you have the choice of our classic bottom entry or the side entry zippered models. The ""collections"" allow you to filter for the way you will be using your hammock: ultralight when every gram counts, two-layer bottom for extra insulation or bug protection, or our all-around great standard hammocks. The size filters can be used to show hammocks that are ideal for your weight range. You can also get a bigger hammock if you don’t mind a little extra weight.
You can get a better idea of your needs by reading about the design features of our hammocks, especially our unique entry system choices, or take a deep dive by going right to the hammock comparison chart. Our FAQ page will probably be helpful, and if you're curious you can read about how other people use their Hennessy Hammocks.
As always, call us if you need help deciding the best hammock model for you. We're here between 8 and 4 Pacific Standard Time Monday - Friday at +1 888-539-2930.",296,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662570051.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524075341-20220524105341-00222.warc.gz,0.907038390636444
632c3145-1d82-4226-b3ba-0d1df45e58c4,2016-07-25T08:12:20+00:00,2012-07-01,0,http://www.usaca.org/rsrc/rsrc/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=230,"|Associate / Affiliate Ranking||16|
USA Cricket Association (USACA) is governed by an elected Board composed of national officers and regional representatives. USACA is a 501(c)3 registered charity.
USACA's primary objective is to promote, encourage, foster and develop interest and participation in the game of cricket throughout the United States of America.
Domestically, USACA has a pyramidal system of competitions and tournaments to encourage the growth of cricket throughout the country and to identify talented young players.
Volunteers are critical to the success of the game in the USA. Volunteers form the base of cricket's pyramid and are the foundation of USA cricket. These people are involved in member clubs and leagues that are part of the eight regions across the country.
The USACA regions organize inter-league tournaments, which are used to identify players for selection to represent their respective regions. Regional teams then participate in national tournaments. These national tournaments are at the top of the pyramid and are used by the National Selection Committee to select USA teams.
USACA are also aiming to increase junior and youth participation in cricket through working closely with schools and clubs across the country. The hope is to have a strong playing pathway from entry-level, grassroots participation right through to senior and national representation for men and women.
""Volunteer financing"" is a challenge that faces many sports organizations. Funding is necessary to run the national, regional, league, and club organizations as well as grow junior, youth and women's participation in the game.
Recognizing this, USACA began seeking strategic partners to help develop the commercial aspects of USA cricket so as to create additional income streams to ensure financial sustainability of its development program.
Through an RFQ process and detailed discussions, the USACA Board recently settled on a robust international solution with the formation of Cricket Holdings America, LLC (CHALLC) in partnership with New Zealand Cricket, an ICC full member, and other successful international investment and marketing entities. CHALLC can help transform governance of USACA to more predictable management with larger cash flows for all the stakeholders, offering additional development options for USA cricket.
The immediate impact of this partnership was the official ICC match between Full Members New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2010. Branded the ""Pearl's Cup"" the event was held at the Lauderhill Stadium and was a huge success.
However, American cricket fans are extremely eager to see Full members playing ICC official matches on its shores. Imagine India playing England in New York City or Pakistan playing Sri Lanka in Chicago or Ireland playing Scotland in Boston.
The sell out crowds at the 2012 T20 matches between the West Indies and New Zealand at Lauderhill Stadium are evidence of the appetite for cricket in the USA. USACA is working towards a long-term engagement with the West Indies Cricket Board to host Full members in Florida as the opening act of tours to the Caribbean.",593,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824217.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00155-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951556742191315
be7c4d1c-e070-4530-909e-d4869677f819,2022-05-20T07:00:49+00:00,2018-09-23,0,http://firstbaptistconway.com/sermon/2018/09/23/cobb.html,"1 Corinthians 3
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.",606,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662531762.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520061824-20220520091824-00023.warc.gz,0.981197535991669
45f0dd88-9f1a-4de6-a904-0f720f4174e4,2019-08-17T21:47:54+00:00,2019-08-17,0,https://www.cefor.no/clauses/comparison/itch-vs-nordic-plan/clause-6-perils/,"Clause 6: Perils
6.1 This insurance covers loss of or damage to the subject-matter insured caused by
6.1.1 perils of the seas rivers lakes or other navigable waters
6.1.2 fire, explosion
6.1.3 violent theft by persons from outside the vessel
6.1.6 breakdown of or accident to nuclear installations or reactors
6.1.7 contact with aircraft or similar objects, or objects falling therefrom, land conveyance, dock or harbour equipment or installation
6.1.8 earthquake volcanic eruption or lightning.
6.2 This insurance covers loss of or damage to the subject-matter insured caused by
6.2.1 accidents in loading discharging or shifting cargo or fuel
6.2.2 bursting of boilers breakage of shafts or any latent defect in the machinery or hull
6.2.3 negligence of Master Officers Crew or Pilots
6.2.4 negligence of repairers or charterers provided such repairers or charterers are not an Assured hereunder
6.2.5 barratry of Master Officers or Crew,
provided such loss or damage has not resulted from want of due diligence by the Assured, Owners or Managers.
6.3 Master Officers Crew or Pilots not to be considered Owners within the meaning of this Clause 6 should they hold shares in the vessel.
INSTITUTE ADDITIONAL PERILS CLAUSES - HULLS
1 In consideration of an additional premium this insurance is extended to cover
1.1 the cost of repairing or replacing
1.1.1 any boiler which bursts or shaft which breaks
1.1.2 any defective part which has caused loss or damage to the Vessel covered by Clause 6.2.2 of the Institute Time Clauses - Hulls 1/10/83,
1.2 loss of or damage to the Vessel caused by any accident or by negligence, incompetence or error of judgement of any person whatsoever.
2 Except as provided in 1.1.1 and 1.1.2, nothing in these Additional Perils Clauses shall allow any claim for the cost of repairing or replacing any part found to be defective as a result of a fault or error in design or construction and which has not caused loss of or damage to the Vessel.
3 The cover provided in Clause 1 is subject to all other terms, conditions and exclusions contained in this insurance and subject to the proviso that the loss or damage has not resulted from want of due diligence by the Assured, Owners or Managers. Master Officers Crew or Pilots not to be considered Owners within the meaning of this Clause should they hold shares in the Vessel.Compare
Comments to ITCH
ITCH covers named perils only as listed in Clause 6 (and 7). Piracy is included as a marine peril under Clause 6 but is normally excluded from the marine policy and included on the war risk policy, see note below to ITCH Cl. 23. Under ITCH the assured has the burden of proving that a loss is caused by an insured peril. Although ITCH is based on a named perils approach there are specific exclusions. War and related perils are excluded by ITCH Cls. 23 – 26 and MIA Section 55 contains exclusions for wear and tear and inherent vice.
ITCH Cl. 6 Covers Loss caused by latent defects that is consequential damage but not the original part itself.
The Additional Perils Clause, as quoted above, covering any accident and negligence of any person etc., is included in most Hull & Machinery policies. To a certain extent this Clause also provides cover for the cost of repairing a latent defect; ITCH + AP Clause cover damage to the defective part when it causes damage to other parts.
Under the Nordic plan marine insured perils are dealt with in Cl. 2-8 and war perils in Cl. 2-9. Piracy is included in Cl. 2-9. The Plan’s hull conditions are based on the all risks principle. The excluded perils are stated in Cl. 2-8 and in Chapter 12. This means that it is the insurer who has the burden of proving that a loss is caused by an excluded peril, Cl. 2-12. However, the same Clause states that the assured has the burden of proof that the loss is of a kind covered by the insurance, eg. physical damage in the case of H&M insurance, and the extent of the economic loss that the assured has suffered.
Clause 12-3 contains an exclusion similar to MIA Section 55 excluding liability for wear and tear and similar causes. Cl. 12-4 states that damage caused by error in design or faulty material is covered if the damaged part has been approved by class. Because cover is based on the all risks principle any damage that is not regulated by either Cl. 12-3 or Cl. 12-4 will remain covered.",1017,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00027.warc.gz,0.937112271785736
9b7d0403-3efd-4b33-8c78-eaa4e231c493,2016-07-29T18:00:04+00:00,2014-07-06,1,http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2014/07/06/northwoods-still-suffering-despite-rise-tree-harvests/12264501/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=,"More hardwood was thinned from Wisconsin's 1.5 million acre national forest last year than in recent memory, but advocates say more could be done to manage the timber and help Wisconsin's struggling northern economy.
The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest had 63.2 million board feet of wood cut in 2013, worth about $5.1 million; that's up from 59.7 million board feet cut in 2012. Wisconsin's forest products industry feeds jobs in all corners of the state, from mills in Marshfield to paper producers in the Fox Valley and export shippers in the port of Green Bay.
Last year's uptick in timber harvesting has brought more business to the Forest Sawmill in Wabeno, where owner Edward Piontek said he now has enough work to keep his four employees busy. But the timber harvest increase hasn't been enough to allow Piontek to hire additional workers for the sawmill, which once employed more than 30 people.
In Laona, the effects of the lagging timber industry include a higher tax burden on local residents and a dramatic shift in student enrollment, said Laona School District Administrator Laurie Asher. She estimates her district is losing students at a rate of between five and 10 each year as more families are forced to relocate because of work. The high school's class of 2014 had 24 graduates; next year's incoming kindergarten class is expected to top out at around 12 students.
""There just aren't any jobs,"" Asher said. ""And when timber isn't being harvested at the rate it should be, it's a double whammy for us, because that means less revenue for the school district and higher taxes for everyone.""
Read more: Younger generations not interested in timber
Forestry officials in northern Wisconsin expect the uptick in timber harvests will continue this year. But they also point out that the harvesting of hardwood from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is often a three-year process.
""The amount of timber harvested each year is dependent on the timber sale contract awardees harvesting the timber that was sold to them,"" wrote Paul Strong, the forest's supervisor in Rhinelander in an email. ""Timber sales typically sell in year one and are harvested in year two or three depending on when the contract awardee decides to harvest the timber.""
Strong says more loggers are waiting the full three years to harvest the wood and that 159 million board feet are under contract waiting to be cut.
Strong expected the forest to cut more trees this year and said the forest is already taking advantage of a program known as stewardship contracting that gives local contractors and vendors preferential awards that keep money in the region.
The 2014 Farm Bill passed by Congress granted permanent authority for the program. This year, the forest will sell 14.7 million board feet of timber through stewardship, or about 19 percent of the total volume.
But not everyone is upbeat.
So far, the projected harvesting increases have failed to give Piontek, who grew up in a logging family, hope for the industry to bounce back in a meaningful way.
Piontek's father and uncle owned the Wabeno mill before Piontek took control of operations, a legacy that won't be passed on to his children. Piontek's two sons, ages 23 and 26, have chosen careers outside the logging industry and have both moved to different areas of the state.
""This is the end of the line for logging in our family,"" Piontek said. ""There's no future in it anymore.""
Ecologists and timber companies are in a heated feud over management of northern Wisconsin timber, with residents and the U.S. Forest Service caught in the middle of a complicated conflict over the region’s future. (October 2013) Wm. Glasheen
Push for state assistance
Another provision in the sweeping Farm Bill was a program called the ""Good Neighbor Authority"" that allows state resources to flow to the federal land management that's strapped for cash.
U.S. Forest officials are still drafting guidance on how they would use the program nationwide that has only been installed in Colorado and Utah.
Paul DeLong, chief state forester with the state Department of Natural Resources, said the provision could allow state workers to kick in help on road work, habitat restoration and stream rehabilitation.
""The challenge remains to see the Forest Service implement their management plan fully and do more work and that won't be going away until there are more resources,"" DeLong said. ""The tone from Congress certainly suggests there's a bipartisan group trying to figure out ways to improve the situation.""
DeLong said both the Good Neighbor Authority and stewardship contracts are steps in the right direction.
U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wausau, introduced a bill in May that mandates that the Forest Service hit its annual allowable sale quantity or forfeit management resources to state agencies like the DNR.
""The state and counties have the resources and know-how to sustainably manage forest lands — management that is not currently taking place on federal forest lands,"" Duffy said at the bill's introduction. ""States should be given the opportunity to assist where the U.S. Forest Service is coming up short.""
Another bill, passed by the House last year pushed by U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, also calls for a mandated harvest level.
Both measures by Duffy and Ribble face opposition from environmental lobbies concerned about too much harvest on the pristine lands.
Johnson calls for less regulation
This spring, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson hosted a forestry roundtable in Antigo to discuss the timber industry and the CNNF. He told Gannett Wisconsin Media that the harvesting process needs streamlining.
""A lot of the problems seem to connect to the (National Environmental Protection Act) process,"" Johnson said. ""We have to see if we can't modify it and bring in more local and state control.""
Wabeno's Piontek said the challenges in the Northwoods timber industry go far beyond legislation and regulation, as the cost of materials continues to rise and manufacturing struggles to regain footing in the state.
Ten years ago, Piontek's raw materials represented about 30 percent of his total cost; now, they eat up more than 70 percent.
""What's going to help? Bring manufaturing back to Wisconsin,"" Piontek said. ""That's the bottom line.""
— Nick Penzenstadler: 920-996-7226, or firstname.lastname@example.org; on Twitter @npenzenstadler
About Timber Trouble
In a special report last October, the Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team documented problems facing the national forest in northern Wisconsin, the state's rich logging history and fallout from a debate between loggers and ecologists. Public records show the U.S. Forest Service could have sold and cut 1.3 billion board feet of wood in the past decade under its mandated forest management plan — representing roughly $110 million in revenue. In reality, loggers cut just 755 million board feet, or a little more than half the allowed quantity, producing half the value.
National forest officials say a lack of federal money has limited their ability to harvest more timber in the Northwoods.
Wildfire spending on Baldwin's list
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin remains focused on the wildfire spending issue as it relates to timber management.
She backs the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, which would end ""fire borrowing"" where funds used in Wisconsin's and other forests are shipped west to cover budget shortfalls fighting wildfires. President Barack Obama supports the idea and included it in his 2015 budget proposal.
In a June letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Baldwin called for an end to the ""dysfunctional and destructive"" practice of raiding restoration and prevention programs to pay for suppressing wildfires.
Since 2002, more than $3 billion has been cannibalized from federal recreation and management budgets to squelch the fires that demand expensive hand crews, airtankers and hundreds of firefighters.
The change would treat wildfires as natural disasters, like tornadoes or floods, allowing for a new revenue stream. That approach faces opposition from House Budget Committee Chairman and Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan.
Ryan told Gannett Wisconsin Media in March that President Obama should budget more for fighting wildfires instead of trying to sidestep discretionary spending caps.",1745,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257831770.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071031-00218-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957006573677063
a45a0acc-f2e8-4a57-93e7-9a94f72e2214,2013-06-18T22:32:20+00:00,2013-06-18,0,http://www.ghr.nlm.nih.gov/glossary=palsy,"- A general term most often used to describe severe or complete loss of muscle strength due to motor system disease from the level of the cerebral cortex to the muscle fiber. This term may also occasionally refer to a loss of sensory function. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p45)
Definition from: MeSH via Unified Medical Language System at the National Library of Medicine
- 1: Paralysis--used chiefly in combination (oculomotor palsy.
2: A condition that is characterized by uncontrollable tremor or quivering of the body or one or more of its parts--not used technically.
Definition from: Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary by Merriam-Webster Inc.
See also Understanding Medical Terminology.",161,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.901082336902618
17c8d730-23e2-4785-82bc-f8300b641a67,2016-07-29T06:39:51+00:00,2008-11-21,1,https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/nov/21/robert-carlyle-leonard-rossiter,"So, Robert Carlyle might play Leonard Rossiter on the big screen. ""He's a fucking genius,"" he tells the Guardian. ""I would love to play him. And, would you believe, I get an email from a guy in London saying they were starting to make a biopic of Leonard Rossiter, so I'm going to see the treatment.""
As a fellow Rossiter fan, it's news to fill you with equal parts dread and pleasure. The first because, if you squint hard enough, you can sort of see it already: the big tics, the prosthetic nose, the potential casting of Liz Hurley as Joan Collins.
But it also feels like a vindication. Do a little digging about Rossiter's life story (and consider just how great a talent he was) and he seems ripe for a biopic. Yet there isn't even a proper biography of him - just one photo tribute that came out shortly after his death in 1984. The recently published biography of his Rising Damp castmate, Richard Beckinsale, drives home the impulse.
The last time someone suggested a worthy real-life topic for a film on this blog, he got in a whole heap of trouble. But anyway, that's what I'm asking you for now. Which unclaimed genius, forgotten hero or obscure oddity is just begging for the biopic treatment? And - in case some minted studio bigwig happens to come across this - who'd be perfect casting?",304,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257829972.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071029-00173-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968143045902252
ae803990-23ed-478f-a3f9-1925895d07a5,2022-05-26T11:39:20+00:00,2014-10-22,1,https://techcrunch.com/2014/10/22/glamsquad-raises-7-million-for-on-demand-hair-styling-and-beauty-services/?ncid=rss,"New York-based Glamsquad, an on-demand beauty business now headed by Gilt Groupe co-founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson who joined earlier this year as co-founder and CEO, has now raised $7 million in Series A funding in a round led by SoftBank Capital. The company launched in January of this year in New York, and is now one of several services that bring professional hair stylists and makeup artists to wherever the customer is – at home, at work, at your hotel, or elsewhere.
It exists in the so-called “Uber for X” category which involves on-demand services that you can order spontaneously at the push of a button on your on mobile phone. Arguably, this is a better model for meeting consumer demand when it comes to services that involve transportation, like Uber or Lyft, as advanced technology on the backend can more efficiently route drivers to where clients are located.
However, it’s still early days in proving that a similar model can profit at scale for more “luxurious” services like professional hair styling – especially because you’re not necessarily receiving an instant result as you are when ordering a taxi or black car – you’re still “appointment setting,” but now the business comes to you.
The advantage, of course, is that the business no longer has to deal with the overhead of running a brick-and-mortar storefront – in Glamsquad’s case, a salon.
Others participating in the new round include Lerer Ventures, AOL’s BBG Ventures fund (disclosure: AOL owns TechCrunch) and Montage Ventures. Glamsquad had previously raised $2 million in seed funding, according to Crunchbase.
The additional capital comes at a time when the company, currently operating in New York and L.A., is expanding nationwide with plans to launch in other cities in the near future, starting with Miami. The launch there is being timed with the Art Basel event in December, the company notes.
To date, Glamsquad has completed over 10,000 services and events, and is now working to grow its core team and add more beauty services to its menu. The company’s pricing is actually pretty competitive, given what styling at the salon costs, with hair services that range from $50, and makeup applications at $75.
Glamsquad is now serving thousands of customers per month in its New York market and has seen 100% quarter-over-quarter growth in appointment bookings since its debut, the company tells TechCrunch.
SoftBank’s Marissa Campise speaks to Glamsquad’s potential to grow beyond affordable, on-demand services in the long-term, however, when speaking of the firm’s investment. “…the team has a clear strategic vision on how to use their platform to continue to make their clients’ lives easier by offering them great products, lifestyle content and new verticals,” she says in a statement.
Image credits, Glamsquad; salon photo: Kelly Stuart, photographer; photo of Micaela English, Web Editor at Town & Country",664,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604794.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526100301-20220526130301-00401.warc.gz,0.965796172618866
b590a742-c76a-434a-88db-3530a4832a18,2020-10-22T01:32:33+00:00,2018-12-28,0,https://dronedj.com/2018/12/28/dji-phantom-drone/,"The DJI Phantom drone is the unmanned aircraft that catapulted DJI to become the dominant drone manufacturer. Frank Wang who was still a student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology when he co-founded DJI in 2006. Even now when we are in the later stages of the Phantom 4 lifecycle, the Phantom is still the drone that does it all for a very reasonable price.
DJI Phantom drone
Brian Santo writes for IEEE Spectrum:
“Dozens of companies vied to build the first commercially successful recreational drone; the competition was won by a Chinese engineer barely out of adolescence.
DJI’s original Phantom drone was a remarkable piece of engineering, but if the little flier’s engineering and marketing hadn’t reinforced each other, DJI never would have soared to the top of the commercial drone market.
The company needed to identify markets, and in doing so it took a brilliant tack: It began to catalog the uses not for drones but for flight in general. The list included cinematography, agriculture, energy-sector inspection, infrastructure and construction, and emergency response. Then DJI developed a marketing plan for each of those applications.
GPS would enable the drone to remain stationary when aloft, and GPS was also the basis for a feature that would let the drone return to its original launch site should it lose a signal from the remote control. More than a few drones were lost that way before DJI made the use of GPS standard on hobbyist drones.
Priced at $629, the Phantom was DJI’s first fully assembled model and among the first drones designed explicitly for consumers.”
You can read the entire article here.
STAY IN TOUCH!
If you’d like to stay up to date with all the latest drone news, scoops, rumors and reviews, then follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or sign up for our email newsletter DroneRise, that goes out every weekday morning at 6 am.
Buy your next drone through directly from manufacturers, such as DJI, Parrot, Yuneec or retailers like Amazon, B&H, BestBuy or eBay. By using our links, we will make a small commission, but it will not cost you anything extra. Thank you for helping DroneDJ grow!",480,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878662.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021235030-20201022025030-00600.warc.gz,0.948152661323547
b7ce856e-78c5-40ff-9a5a-86912aa312ba,2022-05-25T16:02:16+00:00,2022-03-03,1,https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2022/03/03/nfl-suspends-all-covid-protocols-cites-encouraging-trends/,"The NFL has suspended all aspects of its COVID-19 protocols, citing recent trends showing that the spread of the coronavirus is declining.
In an agreement with the players' association, the league sent a memo to the 32 teams Thursday in which it mentioned “encouraging trends regarding the prevalence and severity of COVID-19, the evolving guidance from the CDC, changes to state law and the counsel of our respective experts” as reasons for the move.
Should the NFL find reasons to reimpose any aspects of the protocols, it will do so in conjunction with the NFL Players Association.
Teams are required to remain in compliance with state and local laws and may continue “reasonable measures to protect their staff and players,” said the memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Regardless of vaccination status, players and staff no longer must wear face coverings at team facilities, though each club can require it individually. Social distancing signs no longer are required as well.
The league eliminated mandatory testing of players and staff, regardless of vaccination status. Testing will occur only when clinically indicated or at the direction of a team physician.
But each team must have a facility to accommodate anyone who reports symptoms that require testing.
Weight room restrictions, including capacity limits, have been dropped, though each team can impose its own rules for weight room usage.
Contact tracing devices have not been required since Jan. 3, and the service is being discontinued.
The league is encouraging everyone to continue monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19 on a daily basis before entering the team facility. Any individual who tests positive must isolate for five days after the positive test.
No NFL games were canceled during the past two seasons because of the pandemic, though many were moved during the 2020 schedule. About 95% of the players and nearly 100% of team personnel were vaccinated, the league reported.
The NHL previously dropped virus testing for individuals without symptoms and other distancing protocols. MLB has not made any moves due to the lockout of players and no new collective bargaining agreement. The NBA hasn't altered protocols; Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash and Phoenix Suns All-Star player Devin Booker both were placed in health and safety protocols this week.
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno, AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum and AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL",508,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00223.warc.gz,0.962743699550629
ff4a438e-b90f-4ad9-8155-cf8ac4da3d33,2019-08-19T08:06:31+00:00,2019-08-01,1,https://www.baybuzz.co.nz/2019/08/01/electronic-wasteland/,"Last week saw the official establishment of the Hawke’s Bay Future Farming Trust. Here is the mission given to the…
Electronic waste (e-waste) is becoming one of the fastest growing categories of hazardous waste in the world, propelled by constant changes in technology, low initial cost and planned obsolescence.
Like plastics, which are going to the landfill at a greater rate than ever since street collection was limited to type 1 or 2, e-waste is increasingly being bulldozed into our landfills.
Most items contain steel, aluminium, brominated flame retardant (BFR) plastics and recoverable metals such as copper, tiny amounts of gold, and toxic materials like lead, phosphorus, mercury and cadmium which can leach into the soil and water.
The Napier-Hastings Joint Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2018-2024 aims to remove about 50% of items going to landfills, including TVs, batteries, ‘end of life appliances’ and other electronic waste (anything with a cable or that holds data).
While it says these items “could easily be diverted elsewhere in the region”, recommending user-pays drop-off and recycling services “at transfer stations to cover shipping and dismantling costs”, this is mostly not happening.
Worst at e-waste
A little over 18 months ago the United Nations Global E-waste Monitor 2017 report identified New Zealand as one of the world’s largest generators of electronic waste; the only OECD country without national regulations, collections and recycling schemes.
The Ministry for the Environment claims we each produce 19kg of e-waste a year — around 89 million kg for the country, expected to rise to 26.9kg per person by 2030.
Back in October and November 2012, Hastings District Council (HDC) used Ministry for the Environment funding to collect over 10,500 TVs.
Later it allocated $40,000 to collect TVs set aside by residents at the Henderson Rd Refuse Transfer Station. It cost $5,000 per container to ship them to Auckland for dismantling; when the budget ran out the TVs mostly ended up in the landfill.
Recently HDC has been referring ratepayers to the volunteer-operated Environment Centre Hawke’s Bay in Hastings. It charges $14-$19 for computer monitors, $5 for PCs and laptops, $13-$18 for printers and $12 for microwaves, stereos and vacuum cleaners. Batteries and old phones are free.
From April, HDC renewed its subsidy, so rather than paying $25-$35 to take old TVs, ratepayers could drop off up to three TVs for $5 each. In September or when the $30,000 budget is used up it’ll decide whether to carry on or channel that money into other waste streams.
When BayBuzz called, Environment Centre manager Marielle Haringa had a steady stream of ‘customers’ — “in the last six hours we’ve done a month’s worth of televisions”.
The previous day the centre had shipped out eight pallets to specialist recycler The Abilities Group in Auckland, which employs about 127 special needs people to dissemble flat screen and old pre-digital cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs.
Disposal costs high
Haringa says the only way the centre can make ends meet is to recover the charge per item and freight costs for each pallet that it has to pay.
A range of e-waste items are dismantled at the centre. Motherboards, hard drives, speakers, transformers, electric fans, steel, aluminium and extrusions are separated into various bins and sent to local businesses for recycling, although a percentage still goes offshore.
“We’re bursting at the seams. While our volunteers can do a lot locally, some of it’s too technical or has mercury or lead in it,” says Haringa.
HB Regional Council and Napier City refer people to the centre to dispose of their e-waste, although those drop offs aren’t subsidised. Napier hasn’t subsidised e-waste disposal since eDay drop off events stopped in 2010.
In 2016, according to the eDay New Zealand Trust, we purchased 750,000 new computers, 300,000 new TVs and 1.8 million smartphones. Despite their 6-7-years’ lifespan, the stats suggest TVs and computers are typically replaced every 4-5 years.
In fact, eDay Trust chairman Laurence Zwimpfer says “volumes of new electronic equipment are expanding at 10 times the rate of current recycling efforts.”
Deaf to lobbying efforts
Zwimpfer has been involved in the IT and telecommunications industry for much of his life and remains frustrated that despite 15 years of lobbying for sustainable disposal of e-waste little progress has been made.
He was an initiator of the nationwide eDay collection in 2006 with support from the Computer Access New Zealand Trust (CANZ) to help reduce the potentially toxic effect on the environment when e-waste ends up in landfills.
By 2010 collection points had been established across the country so households, schools, small businesses and community organisations could drop off their old computer and communications equipment, including mobile phones, which were then recycled in an environmentally sound manner.
Zwimpfer claims over 3,300 tonnes of e-waste were diverted from landfills during that period. In 2010 alone 18,274 cars dropped off 869 tonnes at over 60 locations including in the Cook Islands.
The government pulled the funding plug in 2011 citing a preference for ‘everyday’ collection facilities rather than a one-day annual event.
While the eDay collections, the RCN e-Cycle scheme and the TV Takeback programme removed 800,000 electronic devices from landfills at a cost of $20 million ($25 per device), 10 million new computers and TVs were sold in New Zealand over the same period.
While local authorities and industry groups were supportive and wanted compulsory stewardship, the biggest obstacle was the failure of central government to follow through with a long-term plan or legislative support, says Zwimpfer.
He warns the problem will continue to escalate because collecting most e-waste doesn’t stack up as a business case. Printers, for example have little resale value, and the cost of dismantling e-appliances is so high the bulk still ends up in the landfill.
“It’s like tyres, batteries and chemical containers … if there was a good business model the problem, would go away.”
Smart phone scheme
The only e-cycling scheme that has proven profitable is the Telecommunications Forum’s Re:Mobile alliance with Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees refurbishing old 2G and 3G type phones for reselling offshore. It’s so successful the profits go to Sustainable Coastlines.
While some councils put a portion of the Government’s Waste Levy Scheme into e-waste, Napier uses that to help with kerbside recycling; collecting waste paint and oil, batteries and whiteware at transfer stations, and for degassing fridges.
Napier waste minimisation manager, Rhett van Veldhuizen hopes the levy – now compensating for dramatically increased costs since China’s ban on plastics, paper and cardboard – will eventually be freed up for new initiatives, including e-waste.
HDC asset management group manager Craig Thew says his council is involved in most groups looking at alternative waste minimisation solutions and supports product stewardship schemes.
However, he says, there’s no point in ‘wish-cycling’ if no organisation or business is willing to take products.
Based on joint council three-yearly kerbside rubbish analysis, Thew reckons e-waste is not such a big deal.
During the first part of the Solid Waste Analysis Protocol (SWAP) sample, “two phones, a toastie pie maker and fewer than 100 batteries from 210 bins and bags” were collected.
He estimates e-waste makes up less than one percent of kerbside rubbish, but might change his tune when the transfer station analysis is completed. Printers, old radios and larger items aren’t generally put in our orange bags.
Although e-waste is only a part of the overall recycling mandate of the Environment Centre Hawke’s Bay, Marielle Haringa is passionate about capturing as much of our electronic detritus as possible before it reaches the landfill.
In September last year the Centre moved from a house and small shed to new premises at 1004 Karamu Rd Hastings with “a huge shed” and eight workstations so it can operate 20 hours a week. Already “the place is full”, she says.
The Centre also runs workshops where they recycle a range of products including batteries, printer cartridges, phones and some plastics at no charge. A new service is planned to refurbish and certify electronic goods fit for resale.
“This is bottom of the cliff stuff. We really need to start talking about product stewardship and lifecycles,” says Haringa, who also chairs Environment Hubs Aotearoa.
She believes product lifecycles are way too short and we need a “behaviour change” from our consumer mentality so we stop being a ready market for cheap products.
End of life strategy
In addition, e-waste managers are discussing whether importers of electronic goods should have to prove there is an end of life strategy before they are allowed to sell products here.
The eDay New Zealand Trust, formed by CANZ members in 2010, continues to lobby for product stewardship, recycling best-practice, and sustainable and responsible e-waste collection.
The Trust in its 2017 manifesto lists eight surveys and reports since 2006 in which “successive governments have appeared reluctant to act”.
Ideally it wants e-waste banned from landfills. Some local authorities are already considering this, largely because most people would rather pay less than $2 for old TVs and computers over the weighbridge than fork out $20 to drop them off for recycling.
eDay Trust’s Zwimpfer says local and international research proves user-pays doesn’t divert e-waste from landfills.
He believes $30 per item purchased should be embedded upfront and passed on to recyclers as part of a national e-waste stewardship framework with a robust regulatory environment to ensure everyone participates.
Where does buck stop?
Napier waste manager Rhett van Veldhuizen agrees a disposal levy would go a long way to solving the problem and placing responsibility back on consumers.
He is adamant councils shouldn’t have to make waste management decisions on their own and the government should prioritise e-waste and enforce stewardship “to take the weight off the shoulders of local government”.
Rigid regulations might also prevent a re-run of past efforts that saw ‘disposal’ contractors taking the money, collecting old TVs and computers, extracting the valuable bits and dumping the rest or going broke and leaving behind an e-waste mountain.
While New Zealand has a standard for refurbishing e-waste, it’s expensive to comply with and audit, and it isn’t enforced. Zwimpfer knows of only one company that’s completed the process.
Obstacles include strict rules from pick-up to disposal, health and safety issues, the need for substantial facilities and the fact Sheltered Workshops, which used to dismantle electronic items for recycling, now mostly have to pay minimum wages.
Zwimpfer says the WasteMINZ industry advisory group he serves on is looking to pick up a 2008 draft scheme for mandatory e-waste stewardship.
“Hewlett Packard, IBM and others do this in other countries and were happy to do it in New Zealand if they were required to and parallel importers contributed to the cost of disposal.”
While associate environment minister Eugenie Sage has been talking about mandatory stewardship schemes for over 18 months, Zwimpfer is concerned she won’t be given the resources to follow through and e-waste will remain low priority.
He says the Government can no longer afford to leave the matter in the hands of local authorities, industry associations and “enthusiastic flag wavers” like himself. More “institutional energy” is needed to curb what he claims has been a crisis situation since 2006.
“What sort of heritage are we leaving for future generations, burying all this toxic material that is leaching into the land like little time bombs.”
Embed the price in the cost of purchase; make it the same for everyone “and the problem will go away.”
What’s needed, says Environment Centre HB manager Marielle Haringa, is a collective change of thinking, for more people to take responsibility for the impact of their behaviour on the wider environment. She quotes from a poster on the wall of her office: “‘It’s only one straw’ said billions of people”.
One Year Of E-Waste Hastings Environment Centre 2018
2,764 visitor inquiries (up 138% on 2017)
3,349 “e-waste units” weighing in at 8,379kgs
142 CRT TVs
92 LCD and Plasma TVs
601 small appliances (up 69%)
837 computers (up 51%)
319 mobile phones
127 computer CRT screens + 313 LCD or plasma screens
165 photo copiers (up 51%)
1,426kg of various batteries (up 41%)",2917,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314696.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819073232-20190819095232-00244.warc.gz,0.930990397930145
435541dd-0647-46b3-a9ef-13c35b2a17f3,2018-08-18T22:39:38+00:00,2018-07,1,http://www.finsmes.com/2018/07/arbe-robotics-raises-10m-in-additional-funding.html,"Arbe Robotics, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based company advancing 4D high-resolution imaging radar, raised $10m in additional funding.
The round, which brought total funding to date to $23m, was led by 360 Capital Partners, with participation from existing shareholders Canaan Partners Israel, iAngels, Manic Mobility, OurCrowd, O.G. Tech Ventures, and Taya Ventures.
The company intends to use the funds to expedite the development of its imaging radar for the autonomous vehicle industry, the expansion of its customer-facing US operations, and its presence in the Chinese automotive market.
Founded in 2015 by Kobi Marenko, CEO, Arbe Robotics is building the future car’s eyes and brain using a ultra high-resolution 4D imaging radar, enabling cars to “see” the environment in any weather and any lighting condition, to long, mid and short ranges. Its radar detects cars, motorcycles, bikes, and most importantly humans.
Arbe’s radar, based on proprietary chipsets, is a next generation of safety products for ADAS and autonomous driving.
The company has business development and customer service locations in China and the United States.",250,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213794.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818213032-20180818233032-00443.warc.gz,0.925097405910492
db7667dc-6683-42a9-b1f6-2661bc199ceb,2022-05-18T13:44:44+00:00,2022-04-11,1,https://witness.co.ug/six-people-fight-for-late-oulanyahs-seat-in-parliament/,"Six people have expressed interest in vying for the Omoro County Parliamentary seat in Omoro district.
The seat fell vacant following the death of former legislator and Speaker of Parliament, Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah on March 20, 2022, in Seattle in the United States of America.
Last week, the Electoral Commission set May 26, 2022, as the date for the Omoro County by-elections. The voters’ register update exercise will run from April 14-19th, 2022.
Francis Mawa, the Prime Minister of Puranga Clan where the late Oulanyah hailed from told Uganda Radio Network that six people from the clan have shown interest in running for the vacant seat.
They include Omoro District LC V Chairperson, Douglas Peter Okello, Omoro District Council Speaker, Richard Bongowat Luganya, Andrew Olal and Francis Rwotlonyo, all members of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
Others are Engineer Terrence Odonga from Forum for Democratic Party-FDC and Patrick Okot, a lecturer in the Faculty of Science at Gulu University.
According to Mawa, Oulanyah’s family members had earlier fronted the deceased’s son, Andrew Ojok to contest as a replacement for his father.
He notes that as members of Puranga clan, they have scheduled a meeting with all aspirants on Friday this week to come out with a common position.
“The Friday meeting will come out with a good report because this is an abnormal contest that came after the death of one of our own. We have called family members, relatives, political leaders, and cultural heads of the clan to iron out some issues,” he said.
Omoro district LC V chairperson, Douglas Peter Okello didn’t answer our repeated phone calls on his cellphones.
Rwotlonyo confirmed his interest in the parliamentary seat, saying that Omoro needs a person who can work for them and listen to them.
He called on the NRM party leadership to exercise neutrality and give a fairground to all aspirants to contest without dictating on a single candidate of their interest.
On Friday last week, Francis Emuna, the brother to Oulanyah asked others interested in vying for the parliamentary seat to consider the deceased’s son owing to the legacy of his father.
“We want Ojok to stand come by-election for Omoro, we want your full support, please stand with the family and we take this man through, this is my special request. I know there are people who want to come through but let’s consider the family and all Jacob has done and left us with,” said Emuna.
Ojok works with National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U) as a Senior Information Technology Specialist. Caesar Lubangakene, the National Unity Platform-NUP party Northern Regional spokesperson told URN in an interview that they had not yet decided on a candidate for the Omoro County MP seat.
“We are going to sit down and have a strategy meeting very soon, we are going to definitely show force whether we support our candidate or back one of the candidates,” he said. Oulanyah, who was buried on Friday last week at his ancestral home in Lalogi Sub-county, was serving his fourth Term as Omoro County member of parliament. He first joined parliament on the Uganda People’s Congress-UPC party ticket in 2001.
He lost his re-election bid in 2006 before joining the NRM Party and won in the 2011 parliamentary election, 2016, and subsequently the 2021 Parliamentary election.
According to the Electoral Commission road map, the nomination of candidates will take place from May 12th to May 13 at Omoro District Council Hall. The candidate’s campaign will take place from May 16th- 24th, 2022.",836,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522270.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518115411-20220518145411-00404.warc.gz,0.966227769851685
ee36043e-4420-423c-83aa-0dba150c2222,2017-08-24T01:07:09+00:00,2015-11-30,1,http://www.apwu.org/blog/archive/2015-11,"Beyond Distrust: How Americans View Their Government
Fully 84% have a favorable view of the U.S. Postal Service – the highest rating among 17 agencies and departments tested.
Beyond Distrust: How Americans View Their Government
Poll: Only 1 in 5 Americans Say They Trust the Government
But more than 80 percent of respondents were positive about the performance of the U.S. Postal Service.
Voters Distrust Government in General, But Like Many Specifics, Poll Finds
Large majorities gave positive marks to a long list of government agencies, starting with the Postal Service, which, despite being a butt of many jokes in popular culture, gets a positive rating from 84% of Americans.
Turn Your Post Office into a Bank? The Idea is on the Table
From check cashing to small loans, Pavoggi said postal banking would also add revenue and not cost taxpayers money.
Nearly 900 Absentee Ballots in Summit County Thrown Out for Lack of Postmark; Elections Board to Hold Hearing to Question Postal Officials About Issue
County Elections Board members think the increase in late ballots without postmarks was caused by the closure of Akron’s mail processing center earlier this year, which resulted in mail sent locally going to Cleveland before coming back to Akron.
Postal Banking Would Defeat Predatory Lending for Good
With predatory lenders victimizing millions of paycheck-to-paycheck families nationwide, New Jersey urgently needs a common-sense solution: postal banking for affordable small loans and check cashing.
Rand Paul Suggests Doing Away with the Postal Service
In a radio interview yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul said that if he were to become president, he would pare down the federal government so much that he might even do away with the U.S. Postal Service.
Will ‘Postal Banking’ Keep More Post Offices Open?
Could local post offices diversify from mail delivery into banking services for Americans not served by conventional banks?
Ralph Nader: For America’s Unbanked: Re-Establishing The Postal Savings Bank – OpEd
The time is ripe to implement postal banking. What is needed is a rising rumble from the people focused on Postmaster General Megan Brennan―who has the authority to act now on implementing surcharge free ATMS, payroll check cashing, bill-paying services and electronic money transfers ―and on Congress to allow loans and other new services.
Bernie Sanders Has a Plan to Reinvent the Post Office. Hillary Clinton Should Steal It.
Up until now, this idea has been advocated mostly by liberals like Sanders (Elizabeth Warren is a big booster), but there's no reason why it couldn't have broad political appeal. If Hillary Clinton wants ideas to help expand economic opportunity for people who are struggling, the fact that tens of millions of Americans can't access banking services is a pretty good place to start.
Postal union endorses Sanders, citing efforts to save USPS
The largest union for government postal workers in the United States has endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, giving a boost to the Democratic candidate’s slim labor endorsement list.
Postal Workers Endorse Austerity-Foe Bernie Sanders
The APWU endorsement recalls the historic “reward our friends” calculus, as Sanders has for years been an ardent congressional advocate for postal workers and the United States Postal Service. Long before he considered presidential politics, the senator from Vermont was arguing against the austerity economics that seeks to balance the books by cutting public services. An ardent foe of privatization, he as well has championed the expansion of its mission, backing innovative initiatives such as postal banking.
The Postal Service’s ‘Retail Channel Strategy:’ A Blueprint for Privatizing the Post Office
It’s been clear for a long time that the Postal Service is in the process of privatizing itself by shifting processing operations to companies like Pitney Bowes
Staples-Office Depot merger review could be delayed until March
Staples' and Office Depot's plan to merge will be put on hold until March as the European Union says it won't complete its antitrust review until then.
Too Many Giant Mergers
“The trend toward bigger mergers can and should be stopped,” APWU President Mark Dimondstein writes in a letter to the New York Times. “Blocking the Staples/Office Depot deal is the right place to start.”
It’s Expensive to Be Poor
Senator Elizabeth Warren [and others], have recommended bringing the US Postal Service — an institution with a presence in every zip code — back into basic banking, something it did until 1967.
Youngstown Mail-Processing Center Still Processing
American Postal Workers Union Local 443 President Jim Varner remains optimistic about the Youngstown mail-processing center operations.
A new line of business for the post office: Banking?
The nation’s largest postal union is pushing the USPS to provide financial services to tens of millions of Americans who aren't served by the nation's conventional banking system.
Bernie Sanders’s Passion for the Prosaic – or Why the Postal Office is Part of What Makes America Great
In a race where many candidates for president are pressing flashy, headline-grabbing issues like immigration, the fight against terrorism, abortion rights and education, Bernie Sanders is offering a passionate defense of the prosaic.
Postal worker union says prices will rise if Staples acquires Office Depot
In a report released Thursday, the American Postal Worker Union argued that Staples' planned $6.3 billion acquisition of Boca Raton-headquartered Office Depot would hurt American businesses if regulators allow it to proceed.
Since the financial crisis, more than 4,800 bank branches have disappeared from the American retail landscape.
Lucas County Absentee Voters Miss Mark: Why the Mail May Be to Blame
Scott says part of the problem is that mail is being rerouted and processed in Detroit, MI.
Brookings Paper on the Postal Service Gets the Facts Wrong
Elaine Kamarck’s essay, “Delaying the Inevitable: Political Stalemate and the U.S. Postal Service,” grossly misstates the facts about the central cause of the Postal Service’s financial crisis… Unfortunately, that’s not all she got wrong.
How Bernie Sanders Plans to Transform the Postal Service and Help Millions in Poverty
Senator Bernie Sanders advocates that the postal service provide financial services in low-income and rural areas that may not have banking institutions, or where residents are forced to use costly alternative financial services.
The Rushcard Fiasco Can Point Us to Good Policy for Serving the Unbanked and Underbanked, and Formerly Incarcerated
Public banking can work alongside the traditional banking system, similar to how Social Security exists alongside private retirement options.
Long Island Postal Workers Rally Against Cuts to Benefits, Wages
Union postal workers on Long Island are trying to stop the push for cuts to benefits, service and starting wages.
Postal Workers Decry Cuts in Service, Wages at Melville Rally
More than 150 postal workers at a demonstration Sunday in Melville demanded a new contract, criticized a plan to lower wages for new hires and called for the restoration of service cuts.
Voting by Mail Has Advantages
Voting by mail has several advantages over traditional polling such as being cost effective, increased participation among voters and it is easier for election officials to conduct.
NALC: Study: Millions Depend on Trillion-Dollar Postal Industry
The study found that the U.S. Postal Service remains at the center of $1.4 trillion industry that provides 7.5 million jobs—6 percent of all jobs in the United States.",1595,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886126017.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824004740-20170824024740-00325.warc.gz,0.923765301704407
628afa39-1699-4dd3-9f3f-1152f258c6fc,2020-10-28T19:57:27+00:00,2020-10-28,1,http://worldwww.consumerelectronicsnet.com/united-states-private-lte-5g-network-market-size-share-trends-analysis-report-2020-2027-researchandmarkets-com/,"DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “U.S. Private LTE & 5G Network Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Component (Hardware, Software, Services), by Frequency, by Spectrum, by Vertical, and Segment Forecasts, 2020 – 2027” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
The U.S. private LTE & 5G network market size is anticipated to reach USD 5.68 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 17.0% from 2020 to 2027.
This report focuses on the private 5G use cases, the LTE and 5G industry’s regulatory scenario, upcoming trends in various spectrums, and private 5G network providers. Furthermore, the report provides in-depth analysis, market estimations, private network use cases, and potential customers on the key verticals such as manufacturing, automotive, electrical and electronics, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, heavy machinery, clothing and accessories, energy and utilities, transportation and logistics, defense, public safety, enterprises and campus, public venues, mining, healthcare/hospitals, oil and gas, retail, agriculture, and smart cities.
The rising adoption of a private network for the Internet of Things (IoT) applications, industrial use cases, and the Industry 4.0 revolution are some of the critical factors responsible for the market growth in the U.S. The companies are moving towards Industry 4.0 by modernizing and automating industrial operations using modern and smart technologies. Some of these include the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 5G, smart factory, and interoperability.
Industry 4.0 makes use of highly intelligent, automated, and collaborative cyber-physical systems that require robust wireless connections with low latencies. As a result, numerous organizations and factories from energy, logistics, automotive, mining, and power sectors adopt private 5G & LTE networks. Further, the deployment of plenty of Industrial IoT (IIoT) and other sensor-based applications in the manufacturing industry vertical is expected to boost the demand for private 5G network adoption over the forecast period.
The companies are extensively preferring the private networks over public networks on account of various benefits such as low latencies, ultra-high-speed, enhanced security, network reliability, and the ability to customize and upgrade the network effectively. The end-users already having legacy private network infrastructure at their premises can directly procure 5G software stacks from software vendors or system integrators and install them into their current servers. This helps clients completely transform their present network into the next generation private 5G network at reduced costs.
The new private 5G network installations and network infrastructure upgrades are the crucial factors that will drive the market over the forecast period. However, the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and staggering 5G deployment is expected to hinder the overall market growth over a short period. Further, the small and medium companies in the low-income markets and outskirts areas of the U.S. cannot meet the massive capital investments required to build a reliable private connectivity infrastructure. Therefore, the lack of positive response from such firms is anticipated to hinder the market’s steady growth.
The market players gain competitive advantage by making large investments towards 5G deployment and acquiring new private 5G installations from various industries such as healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and others. The network operators, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, have influential positions in the LTE connectivity space in the U.S..
The primary network providers such as Ericsson and Nokia have already invested considerably towards the 5G and LTE technologies and infrastructure, thereby gaining a stronghold on the market for private LTE and 5G network.
U.S. Private LTE & 5G Network Market Report Highlights
- Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry is suffering from inadequate healthcare personnel to care for patients. As a result, the hospitals and healthcare facilities are upgrading to private LTE and 5G networks to enhance their telemedicine and remote patient monitoring abilities
- The private LTE and 5G networks are expected to improve the operating excellence in the industrial facilities by enabling the integration of IIoT in various devices and equipment
- The U.S. government has banned Huawei Technologies, Co, Ltd, a China-based 5G equipment provider, and system integrator, to deploy its 5G equipment across the country. As a result, the 5G companies and telecom operators face challenges in private 5G network deployment through partnerships and collaborations
- Customers are highly focused on implementing private 5G networks with ultra-low latency and fast data transfer speeds, thereby enabling smart factories that utilize Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and advanced robotics for operations
- The manufacturing segment has accounted for around 20% of the market revenue share in 2019, and it is anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR from 2020 to 2027. Numerous manufacturing companies are expected to move towards automation and adopt technologies such as the IIoT, robot assistance, and digital twins by installing private 5G networks
- The transportation and logistics segment is also anticipated to exhibit a high CAGR from 2020 to 2027 due to the significant increase in the number of warehouses in the U.S. and the surging adoption of autonomous robots in the warehousing facilities
Market Variables, Trends & Scope
The U.S. Private LTE and 5G Network Market – Value Chain Analysis
The U.S. Private LTE and 5G Network Market Dynamics
Market Driver Analysis
- Increased adoption of private LTE and 5G network for IoT applications
- Rising implementation of highly secured Private 5G network infrastructure across several enterprise and industrial use cases
Market Restraint Analysis
- Lack of adoption of Private 5G & LTE from Small and Medium Companies in the low-income markets
Market opportunity Analysis
- Private LTE & 5G network for long term growth of industry 4.0
The U.S. Private LTE and 5G Network Penetration & Growth Prospects Mapping
Covid-19 Impact Analysis
Key Use Case Analysis
- Automated Guided vehicles (AGV)
- Collaborative Robots/Cloud-Robots
- Industrial sensors and Heavy Machinery Automations
- Predictive Maintenance and Analytics
- Remote Patient Monitoring & Diagnosis
- Public Safety and Emergency Services
5G Current and Upcoming Spectrum Scenario
5G Regulations & Policies
- AT&T Inc.
- Broadcom Inc.
- Cisco Systems, Inc.
- HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
- Nokia Corporation
- QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
- T-Systems International GmbH
- Verizon Communications
- Vodafone Group Plc
- ZTE Corporation
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/g2tx77.
Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager
For E.S.T. Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630
For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900",1508,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107900860.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028191655-20201028221655-00440.warc.gz,0.907185316085815
4f3611ee-a5b1-42a2-85d2-a867f9eb8f08,2019-08-23T09:47:38+00:00,2019-08-23,0,https://tekrecipes.com/category/lenovo/,"Disabling Track Pad Zoom on Lenovo G Series Laptops
Though meant to be a good feature; it turns out to be more annoying than useful to most users. Below steps can help you turn this feature off
- Control Panel – Mouse – Device Settings – Settings
- Uncheck ‘Enable Zooming’ checkbox
- Click ok and you are done
I had looked for an answer to this question in many blogs and forums but all of them gave very generic answers. It was only very late that an idea struck me. Why not check the manual? Voila! I got the answer.
Before we start to do anything, make sure that the laptop is turned off. Press the Novo button (the button right next to the AC power adapter jack) and the laptop turns on with a few options out of which BIOS Setup is one.
If you still have not figured out where this button is, here is the link to the manual.
Recently I had decided to upgrade the RAM on my Lenovo Z400 from 6 GB to 16 GB. But after going through many videos and the Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) of this model, I figured out that this is one of the most trickiest laptops I have worked on. If any of you have a similar model or a Z500 for that matter, you may follow the instructions given on the HMM and also the steps below. The number of screws and the way to remove the base cover looked all very funny to me, honestly. So here are the steps.
1. Remove the AC adapter
2. Remove the keyboard (see page 33 of the HMM)
Please be very careful when removing the keyboard as the underlying cables are locked tight into the connectors. Make sure that you lift the lock and then remove both the cables.
3. Remove the Optical Drive (see page 36 of the HMM)
4. Remove the base Cover (see page 39 of the HMM)
When removing the base cover, please note that the base cover is locked to the laptop apart from having screws. One needs to be very careful while removing the base cover from one end so that he/she does not end up applying brute force and hence break the base cover. Be patient!
5. Remove the Battery Pack (see page 44 of the HMM)
Please download the HMM from the link below.
Hardware Maintenance Manual for Ideapad Z & P series
The manual has clear illustrations on how to remove each part and specifically for each model. By following the steps you will also be able to upgrade or change the Hard Disk on the laptop too!
Please note that for both Z400 and Z400 Touch the methods are different. Please read through the manaul carefully
You can remove McAfee from the control panel – Add or remove programs – Right click on McAfee – uninstall.
Else you can run MCPR ( McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool ) and then restart the computer.
MCPR : http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe",638,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318243.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823083811-20190823105811-00060.warc.gz,0.931219577789307
78691b7b-03a3-42b4-9f6d-b3264554195e,2022-05-27T22:22:39+00:00,2020-07-11,1,https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/us-student-accused-of-killing-rome-policeman-says-he-was-beaten-in-custody.html,"""They beat me pretty bad"" said Finnegan Lee Elder.
An American student on trial in Italy for the murder of a Rome policeman claims he was kicked, punched and spat on in custody, according to a leaked official transcript from last summer, reports AFP.
Finnegan Lee Elder and fellow Californian student Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth could be handed life sentences if convicted of murdering Mario Cerciello Rega, a 35-year-old carabiniere who was stabbed 11 times in Rome last July.
Cerciello Rega and his colleague Andrea Varriale, both dressed in plain-clothes, had gone to investigate a drug deal gone wrong in the capital's upmarket Prati district in the early hours of 26 July 2019.
While in Rome's Regina Coeli prison on 2 August, Elder was recorded secretly during a private conversation with his father and American lawyer. ""They beat me pretty bad ... in the [police] station,"" Elder said in a transcript of the conversation requested by the court, reports AFP.
""They threw me to the ground, kicked me, punched me, stood on me, spit on me"" - he said - ""They said they would give me 40 years if I didn't give them my phone password.""
Elder's claims of police brutality follow the leaking of photographs of Hjorth blindfolded and handcuffed at a police station in Rome.
""The awful truth of what Finnegan was subjected to and endured as a terrified 19-year-old is now being revealed to the world,"" - Elder's father Ethan told AFP - ""Our hearts break every minute of every hour of every day.""
Elder, now 20, has admitted to stabbing Cerciello Rega with an 18-cm serrated-edge combat knife but has insisted to investigators that he thought he and his friend were being attacked by drug dealers.
What happened prior to attack
A few hours earlier Elder and Natale-Hjorth had been trying to buy cocaine in the popular night-life area of Trastevere.
A man described as an ""intermediary"" and identified as Sergio Brugiatelli helped them find a dealer who allegedly sold them crushed aspirin instead of drugs.
In retaliation the students stole Brugiatelli's rucksack, demanding the return of their money plus a gram of cocaine in exchange. However Brugiatelli informed the police of the situation, with undercover officers Cerciello Rega and Varriale going to the designated meeting place in Prati instead of Brugiatelli.
Elder claims that they were jumped from behind by the officers who they believed were criminal associates of Brugiatelli. Varriale has said that he and Cerciello Rega, both unarmed, told the young men they were police, but that Elder pulled out a knife and attacked Cerciello Rega, while Natale-Hjorth wrestled with Varriale.
In the ensuing 32-second brawl Cerciello Rega was stabbed 11 times, later dying from his wounds in nearby S. Spirito hospital.
Elder and Natale-Hjorth fled the scene but were tracked down the next day to a hotel, in the same area as the attack, where police found the military knife hidden behind a ceiling panel.
Contradictory version of events
Varriale initially said that he and Cerciello Rega had been attacked by men of north African descent, as well as claiming that he had been armed. However it later transpired that both officers were unarmed and that they acted without backup, in violation of police procedure.
Shortly after the teens' arrest, a photo showing Natale-Hjorth blindfolded and restrained at a police station was leaked to the Italian media, attracting further controversy to the case.
Separately, defence lawyers for the US students say that transcripts of talks between Elder and his lawyer which were published in Italian media and suggested that he had confessed, were translated badly and appeared to omit parts of their conversation.
Outpouring of public sympathy
Cerciello Rega's murder received widespread attention in Italy where he was portrayed as a hero. He had only just returned to duty from his honeymoon, and massive crowds turned out for his funeral at the same church where he had been married just 43 days before.",908,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663006341.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527205437-20220527235437-00603.warc.gz,0.985203921794891
290afe59-1fdb-4315-a848-7d4d0dcae4c7,2016-07-28T08:35:17+00:00,2012-05-22,1,http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine/foreign-ministry-ukrainians-still-facing-difficulties-in-obtaining-canadian-visas-312490.html,"Foreign Ministry: Ukrainians still facing difficulties in obtaining Canadian visas
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said that the Canadian authorities have not simplified the visa regime for Ukrainians since 2005.
""Over this period, Canada has not introduced any steps for Ukraine in the simplification of the visa regime. It's still difficult for Ukrainians to obtain visas,"" the director of the ministry's information policy department, Oleh Voloshyn, said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday,
He said that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was surprised that the Canadian side had done nothing to simplify the procedure for obtaining visas by Ukrainians, extend the period of validity of visas, and reduce the list of the required documents.
As reported, in 2005, the citizens of the EU member states got the right to visit Ukraine without visas. However, visas for Ukrainians were not canceled. However, since January 1, 2008 Ukrainian citizens have enjoyed an agreement on the simplification of the visa regime with EU member states.
The Kyiv Post is hosting comments to foster lively public debate through the Disqus system. Criticism is fine, but stick to the issues. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks will be removed from the site. The Kyiv Post will ban flagrant violators. If you think that a comment or commentator should be banned, please flag the offending material.comments powered by Disqus",273,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257828010.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071028-00057-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964043974876404
7cdab9ee-0bda-429f-ad60-11e539d1f4d2,2019-08-24T17:03:25+00:00,2018-12-31,1,https://lineapiu.gr/en/diary/2018/12/,"Gabrielle Chanel was the first one to boldly infuse elements from the men’s wardrobe into the world of female clothing and styling. Her strong belief in a woman’s right to feel free and take full advantage of all aspects of her body, led her to introduce items like pants and her boxy tweed jacket to women during a period when conservative looks were preferred. The critically acclaimed Boy.Friend watch “walked down” the same path, inspiration and design-wise.
Having won top honor in Geneva at this year’s GPHG awards, the Boy.Friend watch reaffirms the timeless CHANEL fashion statement that items masculine by design tend to look good on women too. Its geometric design with a rectangular case and angular lines evokes a powerful feeling, while the blackened openworked movement, the matching strap and the decorative diamonds add an elegantly sensual touch to the multi-thousand dollar worth, luxury creation.
Gender fluidity is one of the most relevant social issues of our time and it is no wonder that a visionary like Coco Chanel saw it coming decades before it finally erupted both as a political demand and as a lifestyle preference. The Boy.Friend watch is the perfect means to bridge the gap between traditional masculinity and what is commonly perceived as feminine style.
Pharrell Williams is no stranger to CHANEL, having starred in a number of the house’s campaigns, such as the 2014 Pre-Fall ad campaign, alongside Cara Delevingne. It was only last year that the famous rapper and songwriter collaborated with CHANEL’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld and Adidas Originals to launch a luxurious sneakers line. It would be safe to say that Pharrell is the kind of modern style icon that encompasses all the classic elements of elegance CHANEL is about.
While attending the CHANEL Cruise 2018 Show in Bangkok, Pharrell announced a new collaboration with CHANEL, teasing his fans that it is coming soon. Although details about the upcoming project have not surfaced yet, it is said that it will be a capsule collection designed by Pharrell himself, reflecting his personal style sprinkled with CHANEL’s trademark class. The yellow CHANEL hoodie worn by the artist during his appearance at the Cruise Show might be a sign of what we are about to see in a few months from now.
The collection is expected to hit the company’s Seoul flagship store along with other retail stores worldwide during the first quarter of 2019.",518,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027321160.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824152236-20190824174236-00225.warc.gz,0.96087658405304
6c94aa89-ab14-4ddf-a127-0fdeaa0062f0,2020-10-23T22:44:29+00:00,2008-06-13,1,https://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/13war.htm,"|Rediff India Abroad Home | All the sections|
India plans to strengthen mountain warfare machinery
N C Bipindra in New Delhi | June 13, 2008 13:52 IST
In a move that could raise the hackles of neighbouring Pakistan and China, India will soon raise two new division-sized army formations to give more teeth to its mountain warfare machinery.
The Defence Ministry's proposal for raising of the two mountain divisions was approved recently by the Cabinet Committee on Security, ministry sources said.
The proposed mountain divisions will further enhance the tactical strength of the Indian army in its strategically important areas along the borders facing its traditional rivals -- Pakistan and China.
Each division - with a personnel strength of 10,000 to 13,000 troops - has a minimum of three brigades with a personnel strength of about 3,000 to 4,500 men each.
With options open to deploy on the mountainous terrains anywhere along the borders with the two neighbouring countries, the two new divisions could be raised in states from Jammu and Kashmir [Images] to Arunachal Pradesh, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim.
The Army already has 10 Divisions dedicated to mountain warfare and another infantry division earmarked for high altitude operations.
""The two new formations will be raised in a two-phased plan in about five years,"" the sources said.
Under the first phase, which will be implemented in two years, the two new divisions headquarters along with a brigade each, would come up, including the headquarters' support elements such as signals, provost, and intelligence units.
Implementation of the second phase would take another two to three years and during that period the complete division would be ready for operation.
At the end of the five years for raising the new formations, the two divisions would also have its air elements functional.
The air assets would include helicopter gunships and attack helicopters to provide the two divisions capabilities to carry out manoeuvres for countering the terrain impediments.
""The gunships and attack choppers will be necessary for providing the two formations fire power in a mountain terrain, as the army will not be in a position to deploy tanks and armoured vehicles,"" sources said.
The fire power in the third dimension (air) was required due to difficulties the army would face in using artillery guns also in an operation on a mountainous terrain.
""The air assets are an integral part of any mountain division to provide the fighting ground troops logistics and fire support,"" the sources said.",516,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107865665.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023204939-20201023234939-00307.warc.gz,0.960974514484406
9d6e79dd-0957-411a-b244-45f4b8ee9d70,2016-07-23T21:10:45+00:00,2014-03-01,0,http://www.ilkleygazette.co.uk/news/news_local/11084154.Housing_Minister_Kris_Hopkins_says_investing_in_new_homes_is_paying_off/?ref=var_0,"House-building lies at the heart of the Government’s long-term economic plan, according to housing minister and Ilkley MP Kris Hopkins.
Writing in Inside Housing magazine, Mr Hopkins said government investment was enabling the homes this country needs to be built and creating opportunities for hard-working people to get on, “whether that’s to own their own home or to start a new job.”
He added: “These opportunities were taken away by the end of the unsustainable housing boom in 2008. It left builders unable to build and aspiring homeowners unable to buy. But it also meant the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the construction industry.”
However, Mr Hopkins said the Government’s efforts to turn this around were paying dividends.
“Since 2010, we’ve delivered 420,000 new homes across the country, including 99,000 affordable homes,” he said.
“We’re well on track to deliver 170,000 affordable homes by 2015, with plans to deliver a further 165,000 by 2018.
""And through schemes like Help to Buy and Right to Buy, we’re offering a valuable alternative to the ‘bank of mum and dad’ and have since 2010 been helping more than 110,000 people get on the property ladder.”
The MP said employment prospects were emerging for people new and returning to the industry thanks to the recovery in housing.
He also encouraged developers and social housing providers to sign up to Inside Housing’s Homes Work campaign, encouraging residential developers and social landlords to shout about the numbers of apprenticeships and training opportunities they are offering.",343,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823670.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00054-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.964432716369629
a3a66595-7647-4bf0-b6de-071cc7d6249d,2020-10-28T04:50:31+00:00,2020-10-28,0,http://www.777free-slots.com/big-break-free-online-slot/,"This special free slot machine is based on a very interesting theme; surfing. This is actually a video slot game with 5 great reels and 15 pay lines. This free slot game is actually highly adventures. It allows players to have a once a life time surfing experience with surfing apes. Other than that this game also let players to find big prizes among enormous surfing waves. The coin value per pay line in this game is about 10.
Big Break Free Online Slot
With magnificent bonus features such as wilds, free spins and more, wining big is no surprise at all. Apart from these this game is also equipped with an amazing bonus game. The free spin round for this game is triggered by the Munky Wax Scatter symbol. The number of free spins is decided on how many scatter symbols you got on the reel. The maximum free spins are limited to 15 per each round. The free spin round can also be retriggered while playing the game.",194,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107896778.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028044037-20201028074037-00068.warc.gz,0.95287948846817
4b0a1b87-7a7c-423b-8494-7ff2d0f7858a,2013-05-26T03:05:39+00:00,2006-12-01,0,http://www.biggamehunt.net/news/oklahoma-deer-hunters-hit-record-harvest,"Oklahoma Deer Hunters Hit Record Harvest
Oklahoma deer hunters have already achieved a record harvest for the state in 2006 — 104,000 and counting — but their opportunities to take deer are far from being over. The state's special antlerless deer season is just around the corner. Scheduled for Dec. 22-24 and Dec. 29-31, these opportunities allow hunters to harvest does outside their combined season limit.
According to Mike Shaw, wildlife research supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, hunters across the state have already harvested 104,346 deer in 2006, surpassing the previous record of 102,100 deer taken in 2000. That total stands to increase with the remainder of archery and special antlerless seasons still to go. Shaw said other factors will raise the numbers as well, such as final counts from controlled hunts and Deer Management Assistance Program cooperators.
Shaw said a number of circumstances have led to the record harvest, such as the good hunting weather and peak rutting times that fell right in line with this year's rifle season.
But even with the record numbers, Shaw encourages hunters to participate in the special three-day antlerless hunts.
""We need to really focus on increasing the number of antlerless deer harvested, especially in areas that have less desirable buck-to-doe ratios,"" Shaw said. ""And participating in the special antlerless deer season would be an excellent way to do that.""
The first three-day period of the special antlerless season will be limited to the northcentral and northwestern portions of the state, excluding most of the panhandle. The second three-day period will be open for hunting in the same areas as the first part of the season, but also in most of the remainder of the state. The panhandle will again be excluded, as will the far southeastern counties. For a map of Oklahoma's antlerless deer hunt zones and to see which counties will be open for the special season, hunters should refer to page 14 of the ""2006-07 Oklahoma Hunting Guide.""
To participate in the special antlerless deer season, hunters must possess a special antlerless deer gun license as well as an annual hunting license and a fishing and hunting legacy permit. Resident lifetime hunting or combination license holders are exempt from purchasing these licenses.
In addition, hunters participating in the special antlerless deer season must comply with the hunter orange requirements set forth for the regular deer gun season. Archery hunters and those hunting most other species in open special antlerless zones must wear either a hunter orange hat or upper garment while hunting.
To learn more about this year's special antlerless deer season, refer to the ""2006-07 Oklahoma Hunting Guide"" or log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com.",572,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.944678246974945
bbf0c463-28d8-4d5a-9a00-a19f99cd94e6,2017-08-20T07:52:25+00:00,2017-08-20,0,http://bayshoreplasticsurgery.com/arm-lift-recovery-tampa.php,"The arm lift recovery that a patient experiences can vary based on the surgical technique used, as well as other factors that are unique to the patient. Additionally, some patients choose to have arm lift surgery performed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that not only addresses flabby arms, but also includes one or more other procedures, such as a face lift, breast enhancement, or tummy tuck. If you’re considering an arm lift on its own or in conjunction with another cosmetic procedure, you can get the information and answers you need from Dr. Daniel Greenwald, a Board-certified plastic surgeon at Bayshore Plastic Surgery in Tampa, FL. Dr. Greenwald can provide personalized advice and guidance to ensure the best possible surgical experience, arm lift recovery, and outcome for you.
You’ll feel comfortable entrusting your care to Dr. Greenwald, who is recognized as one of the Best Doctors in America by the Consumers’ Research Council of America. A highly experienced plastic surgeon who emphasizes a personalized patient experience, Dr. Greenwald has performed thousands of successful arm lifts and other cosmetic procedures for patients throughout the Tampa, FL, area.
With regard to postsurgical recovery, it’s important to note that every patient heals at a different rate. When you meet with Dr. Greenwald for an initial consultation, he will review your medical history, discuss your aesthetic goals, and create your personal treatment plan. He will also explain in detail what you might expect during your arm lift recovery period, and provide specific instructions on how to properly care for your surgical sites. In general, many patients find it helpful to:
- Take approximately one week off from work and other obligations to rest and recover
- Wear a specially designed compression garment to minimize swelling and provide support for healing tissues
- Keep their arms elevated with pillows to reduce swelling
- Avoid lifting and other strenuous activities for several weeks to minimize the risk of post-operative complications, such as bleeding and bruising
- Take short walks frequently to increase blood circulation throughout the body, which can promote healing
Of course, the pain one might experience after the procedure is very subjective, and every individual has a different tolerance level. During arm lift recovery, most patients are able to manage their discomfort with over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers. Oftentimes, the discomfort resolves within seven to ten days following surgery.
Patients in the Tampa, Florida, area who are interested in learning more about arm lift surgery and recovery can call Bayshore Plastic Surgery at 1-888-840-3199.",524,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106358.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820073631-20170820093631-00161.warc.gz,0.949972987174988
dd528279-b70d-4896-9c3b-4c1b62025259,2015-03-27T05:14:46+00:00,2012-01-20,1,http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?g=environment&id=6468-en,"Honda Begins Deliveries of 2013 Fit EV
1/20/2012 10:30:00 PM
Honda delivered a 2013 Fit EV battery-electric vehicle to the city of Torrance today as one of the first major steps in the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, a prelude to the retail market launch of the Fit EV with customers in California and Oregon this summer.
The delivery was marked by a ceremony at the Torrance City Hall, at which a key to the Fit EV was presented to Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto by Steve Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda.
""This is an exciting day as we take another important step toward Honda's comprehensive vision for reducing CO2 emissions while at the same time advancing our relationship with the city of Torrance,"" said Steve Center. ""Honda has a long history with electric vehicles starting with the introduction of our first battery-electric car, the EV Plus, nearly 15 years ago. With Honda's extensive experience and the real-world feedback from the city of Torrance, we will be even more prepared for the further customer adoption of electric vehicles.""
Over the past year, Honda and the city of Torrance have worked together to gather input from Torrance residents about potential recharging station locations and jointly participated in numerous public awareness events with a Fit EV test vehicle. Honda and the city will continue to further these initiatives while also studying local government fleet usage of an electrified vehicle. The city of Torrance will also receive a Honda plug-in hybrid for additional testing at a later date.
""Today, in our partnership with Honda and their continuing efforts in renewable technologies, we will be driving into a more sustainable future,"" said city of Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto.
Honda unveiled the 2013 Fit EV at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show and announced plans to begin leasing the 123 city-mile per charge (76 mile range combined adjusted city/highway)1 battery-electric commuter vehicle to its U.S. customers in the summer of 2012. Equipped with a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery and 92 kW coaxial electric motor, the Fit EV battery can be fully recharged in as little as 3 hours when connected to a 240-volt circuit.
Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program
As part of the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, Honda will test the Fit EV with Google Inc. and Stanford University, in addition to the City of Torrance, California. Each program participant will provide Honda with real-world feedback on the Fit EV. Individually, each participant will use the Fit EV to further initiatives such as research into human behavior and various usages like personal, fleet and car-sharing.
Honda Environmental Leadership
In addition to the Fit EV, Honda is a leader in the development of leading-edge technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Honda has led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and a Honda vehicle has topped the list of America's greenest vehicles, from the America Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), for eleven consecutive years.
In 2006, Honda became the first automaker to announce voluntary CO2 emissions reduction targets for its global fleet of automobile, powersports and power equipment products and its global network of manufacturing plants. Today, the company is striving for even greater reductions in CO2 emissions that contribute to global climate change, while also working to minimize waste, water use and the total environmental footprint of its operations worldwide.
Connect to Honda:
Honda News & Views: http://www.honda.com/news
Honda Multimedia Newsroom (for media only): http://www.hondanews.com
Fit EV for consumers: http://www.FitEV.honda.com
Honda on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/honda
Honda on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Honda
Honda on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/honda
Honda on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/hondanews
Honda Web Site: http://www.honda.com
1 123 city/95 highway mile range (unadjusted); 76 combined mile range (adjusted). Preliminary estimates determined by Honda using EPA methods. Your range will vary. For additional information about EPA test methods, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/label/learn-more-electric-label.shtml",934,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295084.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00265-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.91486382484436
309d4b55-5ea4-47b3-8e9c-b2be3b2a0022,2017-08-22T03:38:03+00:00,2011-10-00,0,http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2011/10/do-you-take-yourself-seriously.html,"At McLellan Marketing Group, we live by our core beliefs. One of them is:
We take our work seriously. Ourselves… not so much.
Let’s be honest here. None of us save lives every day. (Okay, if you actually do… you have my permission to skip this post) Sometimes, I think we need to just get over how important our work is and lighten up. In front of our clients. Let them see we have a sense of humor about ourselves.
Why? Because they’ll actually enjoy working with you more.
Check out these planes from Kulula Airlines. No doubt their work is serious. They propel humans 30,000 feet into the sky and have to get them back down safely. But that doesn’t mean they have to be uptight about everything. Southwest Airlines has nothing on them!
What do you suppose the flying experience is like? I’d sure want to try it!
That’s delivering the brand and some word of mouth worthiness at the same time!
Check out these photos… and enjoy your Friday. Be sure you read the labels. Some of them are hysterical. (Email subscribers — if you can’t see the pictures, click here to view them.)
Kulula Airlines #2
Kulula Airlines #3
Kulula Airlines #4
My thanks to blog reader Amy Roppe for sharing these with me!",300,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109893.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822031111-20170822051111-00612.warc.gz,0.944351553916931
fa237d6c-5605-48a0-a916-92ae6a845554,2015-03-27T17:19:50+00:00,2015-03-27,0,http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/monicos-taqueria-kapaa-hi-96746_16hi100905.html,"* Click here for rating key
Monico's Taqueria Restaurant Review: Owner Monico Hernandez Martinez makes all his sauces from scratch in this busy, friendly restaurant staffed mostly by family members. The menu reflects his home region of Central Mexico, and he uses fresh, quality ingredients, many of them local. The seafood burrito, fish or chicken tacos, chicken mole and fajitas are notable choices, and the seafood nachos are memorable. Portions are hearty, with pinto beans, rice and chunky guacamole, and prices are fair. Dine in or outside at covered picnic tables. It’s popular with locals and visitors, so expect a wait.",140,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00209-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.94210696220398
e606abc1-5f56-4df5-a5d8-3b3a67518141,2020-10-28T10:35:09+00:00,2020-10-28,0,http://pines-beach-resort.com/en/kartinka_1/,"It is easy to breathe
The complex consists of six five-story buildings, each of which comprises from 11 to 13 spacious suites with breathtaking views of the sea, accessible even from the first floor.
The complex has 24/7 and year-round security.
An area of over 7,200 sq.m. with a huge variety of trees, shrubs and flowers.
Amenities available on the territory:
- A regular-shaped-20-meter pool (depth up to 2 meters)
- Children's pool
- A Bar
- A large playground
- A Volleyball court
- Seating area with barbecue
- Table tennis facilities
- Water polo
- Parking for 22 parking spaces",149,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107898499.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028103215-20201028133215-00602.warc.gz,0.932564198970795
877185d0-4b92-4f07-8150-795403aeb47e,2019-08-19T16:02:15+00:00,2018-10-19,1,https://www.jll.co.uk/en/trends-and-insights/investor/high-speed-rail-propels-hong-kong-hotels,"High-speed rail propels Hong Kong hotels
New bullet trains between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are set to boost domestic visitor numbers – and Hong Kong’s hotels could benefit as a result
Eight years in the making, Hong Kong’s high-speed rail officially opened last month. The $11 billion project created the longest high-speed network in the world, connecting 44 cities in China to Hong Kong.
It’s forecast to ferry 80,000 passengers a day — including business travelers and tourists — in and out of Hong Kong.
An immediate impact for travelers to Hong Kong — a steep drop in costs. A ticket on the bullet-train saves upwards of 70 percent compared to the price of an airplane ticket, while travel time remains relatively unchanged, according to an analysis by Bloomberg.
The sudden discount for passengers from central Chinese cities like Changsha, Wuhan and Zhengzhou could result in a heavy influx of tourists, along with millions of dollars in additional revenue, says David Marriott, Senior Vice President of Strategic Advisory for JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group.
“While the bullet train has made it easier and more accessible to enter Hong Kong, finding a place to stay at a decent rate might get tougher,” adds Marriott.
A growing market
Hotel rooms in Hong Kong were already in high demand. Overnight visitor arrivals from China to Hong Kong grew by over 6 percent in the first half of 2018 when compared to a year earlier, according to Hong Kong Tourism Board statistics.
Hong Kong has nearly 80,000 guest rooms. This may sound like a lot, but New York has 115,000, and is expected to build another 30,000 rooms by 2019.
And steadily-increasing visitor arrivals in Hong Kong have pushed hotel occupancy rates to all-time highs, with average daily rates following suit.
“Hong Kong’s hotels already have occupancy rates in the high-80s,” says Corey Hamabata, Senior Vice President of Investment Sales for JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group. “With the supply pipeline decreasing post 2019 together with several hotels also being proposed for conversion to offices in the next few years, hotels are only expected to get busier and more expensive.”
JLL predicts that Hong Kong’s revenue per available room (RevPAR) — a common term used to measure hotel performance — will grow by more than 12 percent this year, having already grown by a staggering 13 percent in the first half of the year, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Growth will initially be higher in the budget and mid-level hotels versus the luxury properties. “Hotel owners looking to capitalize on this growth should be focused on active revenue and channel management, and ensuring their properties are well-maintained,” suggests Hamabata.",590,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00028.warc.gz,0.943249046802521
daa4aa7c-978b-4e93-a7d8-b52527b43464,2017-08-21T19:39:54+00:00,2016-12-31,0,http://www.friendsofdanmusicpodcast.com/tag/peter-frampton/,"Posts Tagged ‘Peter Frampton’
The acclaimed scholar discusses the role of critics, the plight of Sisyphus and haunted Spanish pianos.
Listeners submit cover versions of songs they think surpass the original.
The iconic vocalist talks about his life before, during and after Foreigner.
Tony Peters of the Icon Fetch Podcast joins Dan to pay tribute to many of the musicians we lost in 2016.
Author Kevin Courtright discusses what his fandom of Led Zeppelin has taught him about all music.",109,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00494.warc.gz,0.93716025352478
044ba255-d418-44e5-a1e0-245df1559830,2015-04-01T18:26:54+00:00,2014-02-07,1,http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/02/07/Waxman-speaks-in-support-of-proposed-carbon-emissions-rule/8561391723025/?spt=rln&or=5,"The California lawmaker and top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee spoke in support of the rule to set emissions limits on coal-fired plants outside the EPA headquarters as the agency heard public comments inside the building.
The rule, which is part of President Barack Obama’s climate change agenda, would impose restrictions on the amount of carbon pollution released from coal-fired power plants. It would be the first rule targeted at limiting greenhouse gas emissions from such plants. It would limit emissions to 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour, which would cut emission by about 40 percent, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Under the rule, new coal-burning plants would have to install carbon-controlling technology to prevent some emissions from being released into the air.
Plants that burn fossil fuels like coal are the largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S. Opponents complain the rule could force many power plants to shut down.
Waxman called the rule “reasonable as well as necessary.”
“It’s very simple,” Waxman said. “If we’re going to avoid the climate disasters that we’re now experiencing … we must regulate the cause of climate change which are carbon pollution and greenhouse gases.”
Waxman, who has said he will retire when his term ends this year, is a well-known environmental activist in the House. In 2013 he formed the Safe Climate Caucus with 34 other representatives to address climate change issues.
Earlier Thursday, Waxman announced the caucus will increase its online presence through articles in The Huffington Post and videos on YouTube.
Waxman was joined on Thursday by Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association, who spoke about the public health dangers of climate change.
Minority and low-income communities are disproportionately hurt by these health risks, Rios said.
Nick Mullins, a former fourth-generation coal miner who moved away from his hometown in southwestern Virginia because of the effects of the coal industry in the area, said the industry is exploiting the Appalachian region both economically and environmentally.
“No one in this great nation should have to make the choice between living in the place they called home for generations, or risking their children’s health by staying there,” Mullins said.
The EPA will accept public comments on the proposed rule through March 10 before making a decision.",499,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00019-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.968178927898407
60f45659-6da7-4390-acf3-2e6c5a0d12f2,2016-07-26T14:09:30+00:00,2014-07-23,1,http://swtimes.com/news/state-news/proposal-raise-minimum-wage-clears-initial-hurdle,"LITTLE ROCK — A ballot proposal to raise the minimum wage in Arkansas has met the initial signature requirement, Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office said Wednesday.
Martin’s office said the group Give Arkansas a Raise Now turned in more than 64,000 signatures in support of the proposed initiated act, which needed 62,507 signatures to win a spot on the November general election ballot.
The secretary of state’s office now moves on to verifying the signatures, which were submitted July 7. Meeting the initial count requirement qualifies the group for an additional 30 days to collect signatures to compensate for any that may not qualify during the verification process.
If placed on the ballot and approved by voters, the proposal would raise Arkansas’ minimum wage gradually from $6.25 an hour to $8.50 an hour by 2017.
Steve Copley, chairman of Give Arkansas a Raise Now, said Wednesday he was “excited that we got that hurdle cleared.”
Copley said polls have shown strong support for the proposal.
“I feel pretty confident when we get it on the ballot it’ll pass,” he said.
Martin’s office said last week the group Let Arkansas Decide had submitted more than the 78,133 signatures needed to place a proposed constitutional amendment to allow statewide alcohol sales on the ballot.
The two groups were the only ones to submit citizen-initiated ballot proposals to the secretary of state’s office by the July 7 deadline. Petition drives in support of measures to legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana fell short.",328,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824994.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00248-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957302331924438
f04b06c7-a4e1-4d60-842a-f66c8a320f53,2020-10-22T07:11:05+00:00,2019-12-15,1,https://cointelegraph.com/news/tech-development-investments-and-nft-to-drive-crypto-adoption-in-2020,"As the end of the year draws closer, discussing what the future holds for the crypto industry becomes increasingly relevant. In particular, how global financial and technological trends will affect the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the coming year.
Despite the critics, the number of industry experts and crypto enthusiasts who foresee a promising future for cryptocurrencies has been on the rise. Institutional investors are now paying more attention to crypto-related projects and products, and universities have even started to offer courses on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Now, talks of how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things can influence crypto have emerged, with possibilities for new applications coming to the fore. Furthermore, a global trend toward a cashless society is set to have a real impact on how privacy and freedom are perceived. Could cryptocurrencies provide a much-needed solution as early as 2020?
Increased use of AI and the IoT
No matter the industry, experts are more than willing to proclaim that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in their industry. The ubiquity of datasets, not to mention machine learning and high-performance scalable computing, are truly propelling the world into an age of AI. Many even consider the technology to be a sure sign of the incoming fourth Industrial Revolution.
However, despite the fast rise of AI technology, few practical applications are being discovered at present. A report called “The State of AI 2019” shows that projects associating themselves with the AI buzzword receive up to 50% more funding. This overwhelming hype around AI has led to a scenario where real applications are outnumbered by projects that only claim to be AI-related.
The good news is that the crypto industry has various applications where AI can be used to make cryptocurrencies attractive to the mainstream public. For instance, efficiently optimizing energy consumption during the mining process. For the most part, the energy it takes to mine Bitcoin has been a concern, and certain programs can reduce the energy costs. This provides increased profit margins to miners, who reduce transaction fees as a result.
Once implemented, AI can potentially compute the probability of a particular node’s performance and recommend methods that can be used to enable faster and cheaper transactions on the blockchain. Furthermore, when combined with IoT tech, different nodes will be able to communicate autonomously, achieving an increase in efficiency in terms of consensus protocols on the blockchain.
Al, IoT and blockchain can be used to make electronic devices completely autonomous, so that instead of using credit cards, these devices can be programmed to use cryptocurrencies to transact with one another.
On the subject, Cointelegraph reached out to Dominik Shiener, the founder of Iota — a cryptocurrency project that seeks to integrate cryptocurrencies to IoT. Shiener said that he believes autonomy should be the ultimate technological goal:
“The ultimate vision of all these technological advances is it to move from automation towards autonomy, and turn machines into autonomous economic agents. By simply giving a machine a wallet and way to verify, receive and send payments, we are creating an entire new Machine Economy where machines provide services and data to each other.”
Shiener also added that by combining IoT, AI and DLT, new and groundbreaking applications will become available, and as such, “we move away from today’s centralized networks with single points of failure, towards ‘Smart Decentralization’ where our networks are decentralized, resilient, secure, and smart.”
Institutional investors’ increased interest in crypto
Another trend that will likely take cryptocurrencies to the mainstream in 2020 is the increased interest in crypto-related projects from institutional investors.
A survey by Fidelity investment reveals that out of 441 United States-based institutional investors, 47% “appreciate that digital assets are an innovative technology play.”
The survey also showed that more than 70% of respondents view digital assets favorably, and four in 10 respondents said that they are open to future investments in digital assets.
What’s even more interesting is the fact that 22% of institutional investors already own digital assets. Basically, interest in cryptocurrencies or digital assets has matured from a reserve group of early adopters to financial advisors, traditional hedge funds, and family offices taking a keen interest in the industry.
For instance, JP Morgan issued its customers the JPM Coin as a newly released cryptocurrency aimed at facilitating international money transfers among its institutional clients.
Furthermore, Morgan Creek Digital Assets (an asset management firm) partnered with two pension funds that have a combined $5.1 billion in assets under management. Through the partnership, Morgan Creek Digital Assets reportedly raised $40 million that will go into a venture fund that invests in Bitcoin and other blockchain-related companies.
The report further showed that only 7% of the endowments “anticipate a decrease in their allocation in the next 12 months” and that the rest were optimistic about increasing their allocation. What’s most fascinating is that despite the heavy regulatory pressure and volatility that the cryptocurrency industry has been facing, these institutional investors and endowment fund managers are hardly showing any signs of stepping away.
Because a crypto-asset fund needs to exhibit sufficient capital flow, not to mention liquidity, the increased interest from financial endowments is a clear indicator that the crypto industry is growing. The University of Michigan, for instance, has planned this year to increase its stake in the crypto fund managed by Andreessen Horowitz.
Other top-ranking universities whose endowments have shown interest in cryptocurrencies include Havard and Yale. In 2019, Harvard, together with two pension plans in Virginia have bought about 95.8 million tokens of Blockstack, a digital rights protection platform, valued at about $11.5 million at the time. Furthermore, Blockstack’s token sale managed to make history by being the first token sale to get qualified by the SEC.
For Yale, in particular, the move to invest in crypto seems to have been inspired by a study conducted by Yale economists (Aleh Tsyvinski and Yukun Liu). In their study, the Yale economists reported that although cryptocurrencies demonstrate a lot of volatility, they also show a return that is higher than the risk implied by volatility.
Increased microchipping and use of cashless systems globally
All over the world, the movement toward a global cashless society is picking up speed. From Africa to Europe to Asia and America, there is no shortage of countries that are replacing banknotes for the convenience of electronic or plastic money.
In places such as Sweden, the move toward a cashless society has been so efficient that cash in circulation in the country has dropped to just 1% of GDP. Furthermore, Swedish legislation has made it possible for various retailers to refuse cash payments altogether.
To keep up with the changes, the Swedish central bank has set up plans to issue a digital version of its national fiat currency dubbed ‘e-krona.’ Add that to the increased popularity for microchipping among the Swedes and, in a few years, experts predict that the country could be among the first in the world to go completely cashless, bringing about several major advantages.
Swedes who make cashless payments with microchip implants report that they can pay for train tickets, eat at restaurants, and even open office doors without the inconvenience of pulling out their wallets, phones or keys. However, the price for this level of convenience is the threat of surveillance and safety of personal information.
Although electronic payment methods might offer convenience, a detailed record of the user’s purchases, location and time are recorded. This data can be sold and marketed by a user’s payment provider, retailers, and payment processors.
In China, the ubiquity of digital payments has become so instrumental that the country’s social credit system has been built around it. So far, cash payments in China have been reduced from 96% in 2012 to 15% as of 2019.
As countries further embrace the cashless movement, people will gradually lose the ability to transact value without the involvement of third parties or government entities. A cashless society might enable governments to better protect their people from crime, but it comes at the cost of each citizen’s data privacy and autonomy. On the subject, Cointelegraph spoke with Ray Wang, founder, chairman and analyst at Constellation Research, who said:
“This is the paradox. The companies contending to win our trust to manage our digital identities all seem to have complementary (or competing) business models that breach that trust by selling our data.”
Furthermore, with increased global economic uncertainty (keeping in mind that fiat currencies are affected by government policies), cryptocurrencies will likely provide a hedge against negative interest rates.
2020 and ahead
Even though global trends can highlight significant changes that are yet to come, the future remains highly unpredictable, and what happens in 2020 and beyond is anyone’s guess.
The rise of key Industry 4.0 technologies like AI, IoT and blockchain can shift the scales of power quickly and in directions previously unexpected. As much as the increased interest in blockchain technology is worth considering as a telltale sign of what the future has to offer, one still has to take multiple other factors into account before concluding with a definitive answer on whether crypto will go mainstream.
Hopefully, with the increasing flow of institutional capital, not to mention the influence of the trends mentioned above, the industry will be legitimized in the eyes of the mainstream public.",1927,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107878921.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20201022053410-20201022083410-00176.warc.gz,0.948439836502075
85be3107-568e-4bc9-8297-0ee79cfce4a3,2013-05-22T21:51:28+00:00,2009-12-15,0,http://researchblogging.org/post-search/list/tag_id/5?offset=4640,"Three fast track articles were recently published on CyberPsychology and Behavior about the treatment of PTSD with virtual reality exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is the most evidence based treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). More than 18 studies have been published on the use of virtual reality exposure treatment for PTSD.
One of [...]
Related posts:Virtual Reality Becomes Real The latest multi-core processors and some smart software allow...
Augmented reality made eas........ Read more »
McLay, R., McBrien, C., Wiederhold, M., & Wiederhold, B. (2009) Exposure Therapy with and without Virtual Reality to Treat PTSD while in the Combat Theater: A Parallel Case Series. CyberPsychology , 2147483647. DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2009.0346
Gamito, P., Oliveira, J., Rosa, P., Morais, D., Duarte, N., Oliveira, S., & Saraiva, T. (2009) PTSD Elderly War Veterans: A Clinical Controlled Pilot Study. CyberPsychology , 2147483647. DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2009.0237
Botella, C., García-Palacios, A., Guillen, V., Baños, R., Quero, S., & Alcaniz, M. (2009) An Adaptive Display for the Treatment of Diverse Trauma PTSD Victims. CyberPsychology , 2147483647. DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2009.0353
Some of you may know that I’ve just had surgery, and I’m gently recovering from the comfort of my own home over the next few weeks. Posts on here will be intermittent but I find myself considering aspects of pain management from a ‘patient’s’ perspective today as it’s about 5 days since surgery and my [...]... Read more »
Leegaard, M., Nåden, D., & Fagermoen, M. (2008) Postoperative pain and self-management: women’s experiences after cardiac surgery. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 63(5), 476-485. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04727.x
Two papers and an editorial in the latest issue of Archives of Internal Medicine examine the cancer risks associated with the use of computed tomography (CT) examinations.... Read more »
Smith-Bindman, R., Lipson, J., Marcus, R., Kim, K., Mahesh, M., Gould, R., Berrington de Gonzalez, A., & Miglioretti, D. (2009) Radiation Dose Associated With Common Computed Tomography Examinations and the Associated Lifetime Attributable Risk of Cancer. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(22), 2078-2086. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.427
Berrington de Gonzalez, A., Mahesh, M., Kim, K., Bhargavan, M., Lewis, R., Mettler, F., & Land, C. (2009) Projected Cancer Risks From Computed Tomographic Scans Performed in the United States in 2007. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(22), 2071-2077. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.440
Redberg, R. (2009) Cancer Risks and Radiation Exposure From Computed Tomographic Scans: How Can We Be Sure That the Benefits Outweigh the Risks?. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(22), 2049-2050. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.453
This week’s Lancet features an article entitled, “Variant CJD in an individual heterozygous for PRNP codon 129” by Kaski and colleagues. The authors report the first case of probable variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in an individual who is heterozygous at codon 129 of the prion protein gene (PRNP). To date, all symptomatic cases have occurred in individuals who are homozygous for methionine at codon 129. As we know from other studies (Brown P, 1994), the incubatio........ Read more »
Kaski, D., Mead, S., Hyare, H., Cooper, S., Jampana, R., Overell, J., Knight, R., Collinge, J., & Rudge, P. (2010) Variant CJD in an individual heterozygous for PRNP codon 129. The Lancet, 374(9707), 2128-2128. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61568-3
According to a study just out in the American Journal of Psychiatry, starting depressed people on two antidepressants leads to much better results than starting them on just one - Combination of Antidepressant Medications From Treatment Initiation for Major Depressive Disorder. But how reliable is it?Currently accepted practice is to prescribe one antidepressant to begin with, and if the patient doesn't feel better after about 6 weeks, to either change to a different antidepressant (switching) o........ Read more »
Blier, P., Ward, H., Tremblay, P., Laberge, L., Hebert, C., & Bergeron, R. (2009) Combination of Antidepressant Medications From Treatment Initiation for Major Depressive Disorder: A Double-Blind Randomized Study. American Journal of Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09020186
Physicians are under mounting pressure to increase efficiency in the provision of medical care. That is, see more patients in less time for less money. But, since speed and accuracy do not always go hand-in-hand, does this increased physician efficiency lead to quality medical care? A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine [...]... Read more »
Olfson, M., Cherry, D., & Lewis-Fernandez, R. (2009) Racial Differences in Visit Duration of Outpatient Psychiatric Visits. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(2), 214-221. DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2008.523
Chen, L., Farwell, W., & Jha, A. (2009) Primary Care Visit Duration and Quality: Does Good Care Take Longer?. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(20), 1866-1872. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.341
Linder, J. (2003) Association between antibiotic prescribing and visit duration in adults with upper respiratory tract infections. Clinical Therapeutics, 25(9), 2419-2430. DOI: 10.1016/S0149-2918(03)80284-9
Lo, A., Ryder, K., & Shorr, R. (2005) Relationship Between Patient Age and Duration of Physician Visit in Ambulatory Setting: Does One Size Fit All?. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53(7), 1162-1167. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53367.x
Despite their heavyweight name, SUMO proteins are a family of small proteins found in our cells, which, by sticking to other proteins, can regulate all sorts of cellular goings-on.
For example, sticking a SUMO protein onto another protein can shuttle it to a different location in the cell, or alter how it works.
And there’s tantalising evidence [...]... Read more »
Morris, J., Boutell, C., Keppler, M., Densham, R., Weekes, D., Alamshah, A., Butler, L., Galanty, Y., Pangon, L., Kiuchi, T.... (2009) The SUMO modification pathway is involved in the BRCA1 response to genotoxic stress. Nature, 462(7275), 886-890. DOI: 10.1038/nature08593
Galanty, Y., Belotserkovskaya, R., Coates, J., Polo, S., Miller, K., & Jackson, S. (2009) Mammalian SUMO E3-ligases PIAS1 and PIAS4 promote responses to DNA double-strand breaks. Nature, 462(7275), 935-939. DOI: 10.1038/nature08657
It’s been a bumper week for cancer research. As we report elsewhere, scientists have been delving deep into our cells’ DNA repair mechanisms, and finding out how they tick.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, two more papers published in Nature today look at what happens when DNA repair goes wrong, by mapping DNA damage [...]... Read more »
Pleasance, E., Cheetham, R., Stephens, P., McBride, D., Humphray, S., Greenman, C., Varela, I., Lin, M., Ordóñez, G., Bignell, G.... (2009) A comprehensive catalogue of somatic mutations from a human cancer genome. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature08658
Pleasance, E., Stephens, P., O’Meara, S., McBride, D., Meynert, A., Jones, D., Lin, M., Beare, D., Lau, K., Greenman, C.... (2009) A small-cell lung cancer genome with complex signatures of tobacco exposure. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature08629
Shah, S., Morin, R., Khattra, J., Prentice, L., Pugh, T., Burleigh, A., Delaney, A., Gelmon, K., Guliany, R., Senz, J.... (2009) Mutational evolution in a lobular breast tumour profiled at single nucleotide resolution. Nature, 461(7265), 809-813. DOI: 10.1038/nature08489
One of my personal interests is the relationship between sedentary time (e.g. the amount of time that we spend sitting) and chronic disease risk. Several interesting papers have come out in the past few years suggesting that spending too much time sitting down is a risk factor for obesity, chronic disease, and even death, independent of physical activity levels. In other words, no matter how physically active you are, the more time you spend sitting, the greater your risk of death and disease......... Read more »
Dunton, G., Berrigan, D., Ballard-Barbash, R., Graubard, B., & Atienza, A. (2009) Joint associations of physical activity and sedentary behaviors with body mass index: results from a time use survey of US adults. International Journal of Obesity, 33(12), 1427-1436. DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2009.174
The relationship between personality and political preferences is not the simple relation between conservatism and negative personality traits on the one hand and liberalism and positive personality traits on the other hand. Personality is understood as the combination of innate dispositions and personal experiences that guides behavior in a stable and predictive manner. Behavior is [...]
Related posts:Maturation of Personality in Adolescence Haven’t written about adolescence for some ........ Read more »
Verhulst, B., Hatemi, P., & Martin, N. (2009) The nature of the relationship between personality traits and political attitudes. Personality and Individual Differences. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2009.11.013
Is the research community doing as much as it might to extract value from the diversity in life span amongst mammals? Certainly there are those scientist who would like to be engaged in a great deal more sequencing and biochemical deciphering of long-lived animals. But on the whole, I think that less is taking place in this area of study than might be. See this paper from a noted gerontologist, for example: As impressive as the accomplishments of modern molecular biologists have been in finding ........ Read more »
Austad SN. (2009) Methusaleh's Zoo: How Nature provides us with Clues for Extending Human Health Span. Journal of comparative pathology. PMID: 19962715_id
Previously we discussed the neurobiology of falling in love. But this is only the beginning, the process of attraction followed by the attachment process. This process can develop and last for a while or in some cases for ever. Biologically is falling in love the first step in pair formation.
Falling in love is more accompanied [...]
Related posts:The Neurobiology of Falling in Love Falling in love is the most overwhelming of all...Love is Great for Creativity, Sex for Analytical Thinking M........ Read more »
Sci saw this post recently at Dr. Pal's place, and it rang some major bells in her head. So, I figure, I've got to cover it myself, now don't I.
Lim et al. ""Zican-induced damage to mouse and human nasal tissue"" PLoS ONE, 2009.
So let's start with a couple of things:
1) What is Zicam?
2) Why was it recalled?
3) What are the possible effects of zinc on the common cold? Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Lim JH, Davis GE, Wang Z, Li V, Wu Y, Rue TC, & Storm DR. (2009) Zicam-induced damage to mouse and human nasal tissue. PloS one, 4(10). PMID: 19876403
by David Gorski in Science-Based Medicine
It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve written about this topic; so I thought I’d better update the disclaimer that I wrote at the beginning:
Before I start into the meat of this post, I feel the need to emphasize, as strongly as I can, four things:
I do not receive any funding from [...]... Read more »
Myung, S., Ju, W., McDonnell, D., Lee, Y., Kazinets, G., Cheng, C., & Moskowitz, J. (2009) Mobile Phone Use and Risk of Tumors: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 27(33), 5565-5572. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.21.6366
Deltour, I., Johansen, C., Auvinen, A., Feychting, M., Klaeboe, L., & Schuz, J. (2009) Time Trends in Brain Tumor Incidence Rates in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, 1974-2003. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djp415
The statistics are everywhere: most of the adults in the United States are overweight or obese. These conditions are, of course, responsible for increased health care costs owing to chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. The patient may pick up some of these excess expenses, but society incurs [...]... Read more »
Anderson, L., Quinn, T., Glanz, K., Ramirez, G., Kahwati, L., Johnson, D., Buchanan, L., Archer, W., Chattopadhyay, S., & Kalra, G. (2009) The Effectiveness of Worksite Nutrition and Physical Activity Interventions for Controlling Employee Overweight and ObesityA Systematic Review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 37(4), 340-357. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.07.003
Lightwood, J., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Coxson, P., Wang, Y., Williams, L., & Goldman, L. (2009) Forecasting the Future Economic Burden of Current Adolescent Overweight: An Estimate of the Coronary Heart Disease Policy Model. American Journal of Public Health, 99(12), 2230-2237. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.152595
Clarke, P., O'Malley, P., Johnston, L., & Schulenberg, J. (2008) Social disparities in BMI trajectories across adulthood by gender, race/ethnicity and lifetime socio-economic position: 1986-2004. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38(2), 499-509. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyn214
Heraclides, A., & Brunner, E. (2009) Social mobility and social accumulation across the life-course in relation to adult overweight and obesity: The Whitehall II study. Journal of Epidemiology . DOI: 10.1136/jech.2009.087692
I’ve had two children – now 19 and 16, and wonderful. At the time of their delivery I can remember both times thinking ‘as long as they’re healthy’ and being not at all worried about having medical intervention if it was needed. My eldest was born with epidural anaesthesia, and my youngest was [...]... Read more »
Lavand’homme, P. (2009) Chronic pain after vaginal and cesarean delivery: a reality questioning our daily practice of obstetric anesthesia. International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijoa.2009.09.003
Some nagging uncertainties remain on progress in stem cell medicine - and especially progress in reprogramming easily obtained somatic cells into patient-specific pluripotent stem cells. These uncertainties will be answered and addressed in the years ahead, but this one springs to mind today: it is possible that cells from older people may be altered or damaged in ways that prevent their effective use as-is in the sort of autologous stem cell therapies presently envisaged. That would be a setbac........ Read more »
Suhr, S., Chang, E., Rodriguez, R., Wang, K., Ross, P., Beyhan, Z., Murthy, S., & Cibelli, J. (2009) Telomere Dynamics in Human Cells Reprogrammed to Pluripotency. PLoS ONE, 4(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008124
Very recently, an interesting study was published looking at the risk of early mortality among metabolically-healthy obese individuals – a topic we’ve covered on a number of occasions on Obesity Panacea. The authors of this landmark study published in the journal Diabetes Care are actually close friends of ours (Dr. Jennifer Kuk and Dr. Christopher Ardern), and both are alumni of Queen’s university. Now that the media frenzy surrounding their recent study has subsided, Dr. Kuk ........ Read more »
Kuk, J., & Ardern, C. (2009) Are Metabolically Normal but Obese Individuals at Lower Risk for All-Cause Mortality?. Diabetes Care, 32(12), 2297-2299. DOI: 10.2337/dc09-0574
For Sci, the weird science tends to come in spurts (heh heh...heh). There will be times when I am literally digging through Pubmed trying to find ANYTHING ODD AT ALL, and then there are times, like now, when people are tweeting and emailing and g-chatting and all but screaming in my ear with the weird. Got enough crazy sexual crap around here to last for WEEKS.
And a good thing, too, cause it's all about premature ejaculation, and don't we all wish we could last for weeks...
So we........ Read more »
Waldinger, M., Quinn, P., Dilleen, M., Mundayat, R., Schweitzer, D., & Boolell, M. (2005) A Multinational Population Survey of Intravaginal Ejaculation Latency Time. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2(4), 492-497. DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.00070.x
Arguably, the genesis of the most recent iteration of the anti-vaccine movement dates back to 1998, when a remarkably incompetent researcher named Andrew Wakefield published a trial lawyer-funded ""study"" in the Lancet that purported to find a link between ""autistic enterocolitis"" and measles vaccination with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) trivalent vaccine. In the wake of that publication was born a scare over the MMR that persists to this day, 11 years later. Although peer reviewers forced the........ Read more »
Mrożek-Budzyn D, Kiełtyka A, & Majewska R. (2009) Lack of Association Between Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination and Autism in Children: A Case-Control Study. The Pediatric infectious disease journal. PMID: 19952979
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
Research Blogging is powered by SMG Technology.
To learn more, visit seedmediagroup.com.",4536,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.822807967662811
5d7d8f1e-8130-418c-bb53-b41c31db2c75,2013-05-18T08:12:15+00:00,2013-02-08,1,http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/02/08/US-announces-offshore-oil-gas-auction/UPI-19131360323937/?spt=hts&or=1,"WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- All unleased areas in the U.S. waters of the central Gulf of Mexico go on the auction block for energy companies next month, the U.S. Interior Department said.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the government was putting 38.6 million acres offshore Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi on the auction block March 20.
""Exploration and development of the Gulf of Mexico's vital energy resources will continue to help power our nation and drive our economy,"" he said in a statement.
The government estimates the acreage could lead to the production of as much as 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
U.S. President Barack Obama last year unveiled a five-year lease program for the outer continental shelf. The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management generated $233 million through the sale of 1,707 parcels totaling 1.4 million acres in onshore oil and gas leases last year.
The March 20 auction, scheduled for New Orleans, is the second under the five-year plan. The Interior Department said it covers all of the unleased acreage in U.S. territorial waters of the central Gulf of Mexico.
|Additional Energy Resources Stories|
TEL AVIV, Israel, May 17 (UPI) --Nobel Energy of Houston, which discovered Israel's big gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, is pressing the government to decide soon on an energy export policy as the prospect of an undersea pipeline to Turkey gains credibility.",312,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.931780338287354
683eca89-b7c0-445b-b051-f816ef573e30,2020-10-30T10:56:58+00:00,2017-08-29,1,https://forwardobserver.com/early-warning-for-29-august/,"Here’s what you need to know for Tuesday morning.
Yesterday the Japanese government detected a ballistic missile launch from North Korea, and warned its citizens to prepare for a possible attack as the missile flew over northern Japan and landed in the Pacific. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff warned of retaliation against additional provocations. And less than two weeks after the South Korean president predicted that there would be no war on the Korean Peninsula, he urged his military leaders to “meet the requirements of modern warfare so that [the military] can quickly switch to an offensive posture in case North Korea stages a provocation.” The U.S. military detected three missile launches; one of which exploded early in the launch phase. The Chinese government described Monday’s missile tests as a “tipping point” for the region. This is the most serious provocation yet and the fact that the South Korean president has changed his tune regarding war on the Peninsula is significant. [source]
The Trump administration introduced additional sanctions against the Venezuelan government in a bid to punish the Maduro regime. Immediately, the Russian government accused the US of setting the stage for military intervention, which is not an unfounded accusation: just two weeks ago a spokesman for the Pentagon claimed that the U.S. military has “a range of options” for Venezuela should the Trump administration decide to act. That was just after President Trump said he would not rule out military options for the country. A Russian statement condemned the U.S. over the additional sanctions, saying: “[T]he administration is exploring options for further tightening its policy, including the potential use of force against Venezuela only ‘in case of deterioration of the situation’… [W]hat are the current US sanctions designed to achieve? … Clearly, the very logic of sanctions implies further increasing tensions.” [source]",379,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107910204.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030093118-20201030123118-00086.warc.gz,0.959842205047607
5451146c-a268-4639-8aa0-f85568713740,2017-08-16T13:22:36+00:00,2010-10-14,0,https://straphanger.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/mtc-chennai-rti-lack-of-transparency/,"We filed an appeal on August 25, 2010 with the Appellate Authority of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai, on the refusal of information by the Public Information Officer. The appeal is reproduced below, since it contains many citations that might be usefully discussed by the RTI community.
Such efforts can only be strengthened if the large community of commuters in Chennai get together and demand transparency in the working of the MTC.
The Managing Director
Metropolitan Transport Corporation
Pallavan House, Chennai 600002
Appeal filed under Right to Information Act, 2005, Please look at your reply to my application, your ref No. 37203/RTI/MTC/2010 Dated 10-08-2010
With reference to above reply, I would like to inform you that the Public Information Officer of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has seriously erred in interpreting the Right to Information Act provisions and wrongly denied my request for specific information. I hereby appeal that you review and reverse the decision of the PIO for reasons that follow, and provide me full information as sought.
The PIO has refused to provide information for three questions, detailed below and contained in my petition, citing exemption under Section 8 (1) (d). He has not provided a proper answer to question No. 5 of my petition, and has written something unintelligible.
I had asked for a copy (including electronic copy, as an alternative), of the Detailed Project Report of the MTC, submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development for grant assistance under JNNURM funding.
I reproduce the questions for your ready reference:
1. Provide a copy of the Detailed Project Report submitted by MTC to the Ministry of Urban Development or other authority, for assistance to acquire and operate buses under the JNNURM scheme (as required under Ministry of Urban Development regulations). You can also send the DPR copy electronically as a PDF document by email.
(Question 2 answered)
3. How many buses are under JNNURM grant, and what is the value of the grant in financial terms?
4. Do the JNNURM grant conditions stipulate that the buses should only be operated in the city covered by DPR, and not diverted for other use?
5. Has MTC attended any meeting of a newly formed Transport Regulatory Authority in Chennai during 2008-10? If yes, what was the decision taken on integrating rail and bus service in Chennai, as required under Ministry of Urban Development’s Total Mobility Plan covering JNNURM assistance? (No answer received, only unintelligible response)
I have to contend that your PIO’s resort to the exemption under S. 8 (1) (d) to deny answers to Questions 1, 3 and 4 is erroneous, for the following reasons.
The MTC is a monopoly public entity owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu, with no scope for competitive commercial activity within the city of Chennai. It is accountable to the legislature of the State, has no commercial secrets that the public should not know. It is not engaged in creation of intellectual property which is sought to be deployed for profit within the meaning of the Right to Information Act.
Your mandate is to provide people-friendly bus service to the city of Chennai in the public interest, for which you derive funds from the Government of Tamil Nadu and fare income from passengers. The MTC is therefore funded by the public. These sources form the dominant part of your operational funding, and as a monopoly, you have no commercial disadvantage of any kind (as defined in the RTI for a Third Party) in highlighting your operational information and plans for public service. If anything, such information will aid the public to strengthen the plans of the government and create goodwill for enhanced funding of bus service, fulfilling the scope of JNNURM and National Urban Transport Policy and also the aims of the State government.
MTC also has no fiduciary relationship with any profit-seeking entity, as it is a wholly government-owned undertaking.
Please note that your PIO has not explained the reasons for denial of information, or how the disclosure of the requested information would affect the commercial interests of MTC. Such explanation is called for by law. You are requested to peruse the order of the Central Information Commission in R. Venkataraman v. IOCL, decision dated 24-06-2009 in this regard. The CIC has in that case directed the disclosure of information and pulled up the PIO for not offering reasons for denial.
Also, your DPR has already been submitted to the funding agency, and disclosure of the information will in no way affect its commercial scope, if any. You have no patents on any of the designs involved, or other exclusive intellectual property that is protected by law.
In Qayyum Mohammad, Sidhi v. NTPC Limited, the Central Information Commission (Appeal No. CIC / MA / A / 2007 / 00625 dated 3-12-2007) has specifically quashed the denial of request for copy of a Project Report under Section 8 (1) (d), holding that there is no justification for not putting such study reports in public domain, especially when a large number of people are likely to be affected due to execution of the relevant projects. I contend that the same principle be applied to MTC DPR, since it is being paid for by the citizens of India, and envisages expansion of bus service affecting a large number of citizens in Chennai and suburbs. It is fully in the public interest.
As you are well aware, the Right to Information Act was enacted by the Government of India with the goal of increasing transparency in the administration at all levels, reducing corruption and making public services accountable and accessible to the citizens.
The scope of section 8 (1) (d) is only to protect intellectual property that has commercial implications for any entity, including a public sector entity, in terms of its anticipated revenue performance, garnering of profits, sale of IP rights and so on.
In the case of the Detailed Project Report for special JNNURM grant, as envisaged by the Union Urban Development Ministry and publicised on its website, the scope of the document is to assess the present performance of the service provider, and outline the future scope of service provision while making an application for grant funding. This is a perspective plan, and contains no exclusive commercial information that is likely to affect your earnings or give someone a competitive advantage over you, more so since you are a monopoly. What is more, the grant is to be funded by the taxpayer, who has every right to be kept informed about how his tax funds remitted to government are being spent.
In fact, it is contended that MTC, as a tax-funded entity, should have put up this document suo motu, under Section 4 (1) (b), (c) and (d). You may note the relevant provision of the law: publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public; and It shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of clause (b) of sub-section (1) to provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information.
It is to be noted that the MTC PIO has totally misread or misunderstood the provision of Sec 8 (1) (d) because other transport corporations, including commercial undertakings such as Indore City Transport Services Limited are available on the Internet, freely accessible to the general public.
See Indore City Bus DPR here http://www.citybusindore.com/pdf/Draft-DPR.pdf
Ahmedabad DPR on Bus Rapid Transit system here (link since removed) and now available here
Pune BRT DPR here http://www.pcmcindia.in/ESMF%20Report/Executive%20Summary.pdf
I would like to point out that MTC has not even complied with the basic requirement of the law since it came into force, which is to publish information on the corporation website under Section 4 (1) as mandated under pro-active disclosure clauses. Only a search on the Internet reveals the presence of a Section 4 document under RTI for the MTC, and it is not displayed to the public on your website. It is also not clear whether it has been updated to be current. You are requested to comply with this section of the Act without delay.
Your attention is also drawn to the Union Ministry publishing key aspects to be covered by the DPR, such as features of buses to be purchased under JNNURM grant, and the model of service provision, maintenance of buses and compliance with the Centre’s Urban Transport Policy. This document is in the public domain on the website of the Union Urban Development Ministry at this location: http://jnnurm.nic.in/nurmudweb/FOB/buses_funding.pdf
The Government of India has repeatedly affirmed that it is committed to transparent functioning and accountability in use of public funds, as envisaged in the Constitution, and in the Right to Information Act. JNNURM funding falls totally under the ambit of public projects, as it is used in a public service, and is entirely in the public interest. You are required to disclose information under Section 8 (1) (d) under the public interest provision, even if it is otherwise covered by the Third Party commercial clause.
Without prejudice to my above claim in the public interest, I would like to state that your PIO has violated the provisions of the RTI Act by denying the DPR in toto, when there are precedents to show that even where commercial interests are involved, other parts of a document are not covered by the exemption granted by Sec 8 (1) (d). I am citing this merely to reinforce the point that your PIO has not considered my application with an open mind, and in the public interest, but rejected my request arbitrarily.
In Navroz Mody v. Mumbai Port Trust, the Central Information Commission held that even where there is a confidentiality clause in an agreement, such agreement could not be withheld wholesale, without making a determination whether there are parts which are confidential and others that are not. (Appeal No. CIC / AT / A / 2009 / 009964).
I contend that since your PIO has not assigned any reason and denied all information pertaining to the DPR, he has considered my application with the pre-determined conclusion not to disclose any information at all. This is clearly unacceptable and violative of my citizen’s rights under the RTI Act. It also violates the principle of public interest and natural justice for citizens.
Now therefore, you are requested to reverse the decision of the PIO and provide a copy of the Detailed Project Report for funding of buses under JNNURM either as paper copy or as an electronic file in Portable Document Format.
As the information sought has not been provided within the stipulated time of 30 days based on a wrong reading of the provisions, no further charges are payable to you to get a copy of it.
You are also requested to provide information relating to question number 5 in the original petition, as the PIO has failed to do so.",2343,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886101966.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170816125013-20170816145013-00025.warc.gz,0.950102686882019
b84e075e-0a80-4b2b-a1e2-9ef0425490a6,2020-10-26T07:15:16+00:00,2020-06-22,0,http://www.hudsonhospital.org/make-a-gift/about-the-foundation/emergency-center-expansion/,"Emergency Center Expansion
Thank you, donors, for supporting our successful Emergency Center campaign!
The first patient to be seen in the fully-open and renovated Hudson Hospital & Clinic Emergency Center expansion was treated on Monday, June 22.
The construction project, led by Kraus-Anderson, almost doubled the square footage of the Emergency Center and increased the number of patient care rooms to 12.
“What makes this project all the more extraordinary is that it happened in the middle of a global pandemic,” said Tom Borowski, President, Hudson Hospital & Clinic. “Rising above any pandemic is the gratitude and appreciation we feel for our community, who pledged their support to our hospital throughout this project.”
About $1 million of the $5 million cost of the construction project came from community donations or grants. Linda Robertson and Warren Schneider, long-time Hudson residents who have used the hospital and Emergency Center for care, supported the fundraising campaign.
“We’ve witnessed the many ways that Hudson Hospital & Clinic has contributed to this community and the new Emergency Center is another commitment for the good of the community,” said Linda. “We supported the expansion not just for us, but for the health and well-being of the whole community.”
• Improved security and access to the Emergency Center and enhanced the healing environment for patients, family members and visitors.
• Added patient care rooms – greatly needed because of the significant increase in Emergency Center patients since the hospital was built in 2003.
• Increased the size of the rooms, creating better work spaces for the interdisciplinary care teams who treat patients, and for the portable modern equipment.
Martin Richards, MD, Chief of Emergency Medicine for HealthPartners in the St. Croix Valley, said: “Even when I started here in 2009, we were seeing about 11,000 patients a year – the Emergency Center was built for about 8,000 patients.” He added: “For the complexity of the patients that we see in the ED, we were just finding that we needed more time and space for each patient. Now the expansion is finished, we are already noticing the difference and we know patients and their families appreciate it, too.”
If you’d like to support the ongoing work of our Foundation, find out more.
Community support helps Hudson Hospital Emergency Center expansion rise above pandemic",494,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107890586.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026061044-20201026091044-00588.warc.gz,0.947390854358673
0c242667-e5be-4ac6-8719-673558984f2b,2020-10-27T12:39:24+00:00,2020-10-22,1,https://www.diabetestracker.org/u-s-covid-testing-plan-aims-to-open-new-york-london-travel-by-holidays.html,"U.S. officers are aiming to open journey involving New York Town and London with shortened traveler quarantine durations as quickly as the vacations, in accordance to folks common with the subject.
The growing availability of Covid-19 assessments in the U.S. has prompted officers at the Transportation Section, Section of Homeland Protection and other agencies to revive efforts to establish risk-free journey corridors involving the U.S. and global destinations, the folks mentioned. Setting up all those routes would demand vacationers to be analyzed for Covid-19 right before their flight and again on arrival, allowing for them to stay away from prolonged quarantines at their destinations.
Essential details will have to be worked out right before the Trump administration and foreign governments agree to the prepare. Transportation officers and an airline trade team help restricting quarantines to 24 hours, although other federal officers would choose arriving passengers isolate for four to 7 times, folks common with the subject mentioned. Longer quarantines could be far more suitable to companion countries, just one of these folks mentioned. First assessments might not detect a passenger’s sickness.
Federal officers have recently concentrated their talks about an first corridor with their U.K. counterparts, and discussions have also included German officers, folks common with the subject mentioned. A Homeland Protection formal mentioned the agency’s operate to “safely inspire trans-Atlantic journey although mitigating general public-well being risks” was in its early phases.
Restricted availability of tests in the U.S. earlier this year and prolonged wait situations for test final results stalled former efforts to open global journey.
At present, American citizens traveling to the U.K. will have to quarantine for 14 times and for the most element simply cannot journey to the European Union. The U.S. bars entry to vacationers from the U.K. and Europe until they are U.S. citizens or long-lasting citizens.
Soon after coming to a halt in the early months of the pandemic, air journey has remained slow thanks to travelers’ fears of contracting the coronavirus and shut borders or mandatory quarantine durations for incoming vacationers. International journey has been particularly tough-strike, and the shortage of fliers has place some world airlines out of enterprise and wiped out billions of pounds in earnings.
SHARE YOUR Feelings
Would you really feel snug traveling this slide? Why, or why not? Join the dialogue down below.
U.S. federal government and aviation-business officers included in the setting up talks cited just one large impediment in negotiations with foreign leaders in excess of easing journey restrictions, even with tests: America’s persistently high Covid-19 infection rates. The U.S. and the U.K. have both of those seasoned recent upticks in infections, and the U.S. experienced far more than fifty six,000 new circumstances of Covid-19 on Thursday, in accordance to Johns Hopkins University information.
The White House’s Nationwide Protection Council accredited the corridor prepare to transfer ahead in recent months, folks common with the subject mentioned. A spokesman for the security council declined to remark.
A Transportation Section spokesman mentioned the company was all set to help the exertion and noted officials’ talks with global and business counterparts have been continuing. Easing quarantine demands has been debated in the U.K., and Transportation Minister Grant Shapps mentioned previous 7 days that a activity force there would review the prospective purpose of airport tests.
Reviving well-known holiday and enterprise routes has been a priority for airlines and governments whose economies rely on journey. Some carriers have currently worked with governments in states like Hawaii and destinations like Costa Rica and Jamaica on tests designs that shorten travelers’ mandatory quarantine durations.
Continue to be Informed
Get a coronavirus briefing six times a 7 days, and a weekly Overall health e-newsletter when the disaster abates: Indicator up in this article.
Like a ton of virus-linked journey steps, these early efforts are a patchwork, with distinct tests selections depending on the airline, from speedy-tests at the airport to at-property test kits. Tourists pay back for the assessments, most of which value $a hundred or far more.
Beneath these pointers, assessments aren’t mandatory for every flier as they would be in the designs federal officers are contemplating.
“We want to ease into this,” mentioned Julie Rath, vice president of purchaser knowledge and reservations at
American Airways Team Inc.
Several airline executives say it will choose a verified and greatly accessible vaccine to make fliers snug and return traveling to 2019 amounts. Airways at present mandate that passengers use masks and have ramped up cabin cleansing.
Sooner or later, “proof of a vaccination will exchange evidence of a unfavorable test result” as a journey-will have to, mentioned Aaron McMillan,
managing director of operations coverage and help.
Nations’ and carriers’ makes an attempt to reopen planet journey have been uneven. In addition to U.S. and EU traveler bans, some countries, like Argentina, have remained mainly shut. Others are open, but subject matter vacationers to an array of regulations and restrictions pertaining to the lengths of quarantines and types of assessments vacationers want to choose.
Such restrictions, together with fears of infection on lengthier flights, have remaining global journey even far more depressed than domestic traveling, in accordance to the International Air Transportation Association, a trade team. Global global air visitors was down 88% in August from the former year, in accordance to IATA.
Airline executives on both of those sides of the Atlantic have been pushing because July for governments to use tests in lieu of quarantines and other global restrictions. Airports in North The us, Europe and Asia have also been working to create a common tests framework.
For now, tests bottlenecks have eased and the U.S. has far more tests capability than it is using. The 7-day regular of new day by day assessments done in the U.S. is about 961,000 or just less than thirty million assessments a thirty day period, although the Section of Overall health and Human Expert services mentioned about 90 million assessments have been accessible in September.
Swift assessments are anticipated to be a major resource to preserve Covid-no cost corridors, the folks briefed on the subject mentioned. Swift assessments ordinarily trade some precision for velocity, so it wasn’t quickly very clear no matter if other tests—such as polymerase chain reaction assessments run in labs—and shorter durations of self-isolation might be needed.
—Sarah Krouse contributed to this report.
Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Firm, Inc. All Legal rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8",1414,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107894175.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027111346-20201027141346-00377.warc.gz,0.942394554615021
3ee9b557-7c6d-49bd-a72e-cb8ec728cd29,2018-08-21T06:59:18+00:00,2013-12-16,0,https://www.nfldraftdiamonds.com/2013/12/russell-wilson-is-breaking-records-in-seattle-every-week/,"Russell Wilson is breaking records in Seattle every week
After an amazing shut-out victory over the New York Giants yesterday, Russell Wilson continued to break records as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Russell Wilson now is the only quarterback in NFL history to win 23 games in his first two NFL season. He also joined Dan Marino and Peyton Manning as he only quarterbacks ever to throw at least 50 touchdowns passes in their first two seasons.
“He’s so special,” Carroll said of Wilson. “He’s just a tremendous competitor and such a unique individual in that’s he able to do the kind of stuff with the names on this kind of list. And we still have game left [this season], so he’s going to keep going. There are markers this guy is going to continue to knock off.”
Wilson needs just three touchdown passes the rest of the way this season to move to No. 2 on the TDs list, passing Manning’s total of 52 his first two season at Indianapolis. Marino’s total of 68 TDs probably is out of reach.
If Wilson can win the next two home games he can pass the record of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White of 16 consecutive home victories to start his NFL career. Wilson has 14 now, but he can top White’s mark this season if the Seahawks win their final two home games and continue to win at home in the playoffs.
Wilson’s .767 winning percentage (23-7) is second among all active quarterbacks with at least 15 starts. Tom Brady is No. 1 with a .772 percentage.
I am sorry but how did this guy get passed on by all 32 teams for more than 2 rounds?",356,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217970.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821053629-20180821073629-00576.warc.gz,0.96950489282608
6f148319-fdee-4f4f-920f-c9b94dcdbba5,2015-03-27T17:26:46+00:00,2015-03-27,1,http://www.itworld.com/news/?page=1%2C2976,"- No, it’s not always quicker to do things in memory
- Is Amazon's $60 deal for unlimited cloud storage really worth it?
- The future of Microsoft Surface: What to expect from Surface 3 and Surface Pro 4
- RadioShack puts customer's personal data up for sale in bankruptcy auction
- Gnome 3.16 sneak peek: A preview from the eyes of a KDE Plasma user
- ITworld cartoons 2015: The year in geek humor (so far)",102,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296587.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00229-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.818006753921509
94885e64-7217-4e5c-a878-2581ffc93626,2020-10-25T10:31:35+00:00,2020-10-25,0,https://www.bierensgroup.com/en-gb/international-debt-collection/european-order-for-payment-procedure/,"European Order for Payment Procedure
Do you have foreign debtors who are not paying your invoice? The European Payment Order procedure may be able to help. This is a relatively simple, standard procedure that can be used in all EU Member States (except Denmark). With the European Order for Payment Procedure you can collect your international claims in a simple, fast and inexpensive way.
European order for payment procedure
The European Order for Payment Procedure is an effective judicial procedure for international claims. It is a relatively simple procedure that works the same way in all countries. As a creditor you have to fill in Form A of Annex I of the EEW Regulation and send it to the court together with the supporting documents. The court will decide upon the case in writing.
The processing times for this procedure are very short, so you can quickly obtain clarity about your debt collection case. Importantly, there are few costs associated with this procedure. However, the European Order for Payment Procedure is only suitable for undisputed claims. Are you in dispute with your debtor over the outstanding invoice? If so, the procedure cannot be continued, and a different legal procedure will have to be initiated in order to find a solution to your payment dispute.
Which court deals with the debt collection case?
The form must be sent to the competent court, which will then process the claim. Agreements regarding competent court should have been made during contract negotiations or should be included within your terms and conditions. Has nothing been agreed? In this case, the court in the other party's country is usually competent to deal with the debt collection case. However, this is not always the case. Therefore, always seek the advice of a specialist lawyer to prevent your claim from being sent to a court that is not competent to rule on your payment dispute.
If you file your case with the wrong court, you will incur unnecessary delays. First, you will have to wait for the court to pick up your case before they then write to you informing that they cannot judge your collection case. After which, you then need to start the whole process again with the right court. When it comes to debt collection, timing is everything: if you want your money, you need to act immediately for a better chance of successful collection.
European Order for Payment procedure
- To start a European order for payment procedure, you must fill in the standard form. This form is available in all official languages of the European Union.
- The completed form must then be sent to the court with the supporting documents.
- The court will send the form to the debtor. The debtor is given 30 days to respond if they disagree with the claim.
- Has the debtor disputed the claim? Then the European Payment Order procedure will stop, and another legal procedure will have to be started.
- Is the debtor not responding in time? Then the order for payment becomes final. The order for payment is a valid judgment that can be enforced in any EU Member State (except Denmark).
- If your debtor fails to comply with the judgment of the court, then a bailiff in your debtor's country must be called in to enforce the court's judgment.
“Bierens and its team of international lawyers understand the needs of companies and can adapt to any situation.”
Lea Macedoni / Alessi
Do you need a lawyer for the European Order for Payment?
Our lawyers can help you to start the European Payment Order procedure. Although this is a relatively simple procedure, it is important that the form is filled in correctly. If mistakes are made, this may result in your claim not being granted. And of course, you want to avoid that! Therefore, you should always ask the advice from a specialist lawyer.
The advantages of a Bierens Debt Recovery Lawyer
- Succesfully recovering debt since 1952
- Always honest and clear advice
- Specialist laywers in international debt recovery
- Every year we collect thousands of outstanding invoices
Translate the form
Are there several countries involved in your collection case? Then the forms need to be translated. This is because the form must be drawn up in the language of the court in which you file the claim. The costs of this are lower than if you had to translate a summons. Make sure, however, that the translation is done by a specialist. If the form is not translated properly, it could have a negative impact on the judge's decision.
When should you issue a European Payment Order?
- In case of international conflicts
- Both parties are based in a European Member State (except Denmark)
- In civil or commercial matters
- For undisputed claims
Send us your case before 16:00pm and we'll get to work immediately!
Receivables less than €5,000?
Is your claim lower than €5,000? If so, the Small Claims Procedure can also be used. This is an efficient and fast procedure for small claims. This procedure is reasonably similar to the European Payment Order procedure. Of course, there are also other legal proceedings that we can take against your foreign debtor. Our international lawyers will be happy to tell you more about the possibilities.
“Bierens are specialists in the field of business-to-business debt recovery. Their approach stands for quality, decisiveness, and results, which is exactly what KLM is looking for.”
Ben Blad / KLM
Specialists in International Debt Collection
Our 35 international lawyers are specialists in debt collection across Europe. From the moment that you hand your case over to us, we will do our utmost to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Whether this concerns a straightforward debt recovery matter or a complicated legal conflict, we will unburden you.
More information about the European order for payment procedure
Would you like more information about this legal procedure? Or do you have other questions about debt collection abroad? Please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help you.
Other business conflicts
We work for SMEs and Large Corporations.",1238,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107888931.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025100059-20201025130059-00610.warc.gz,0.947417378425598
fbd0329e-5746-4792-be28-c2bb627a24fb,2016-07-27T15:38:47+00:00,2009-09-23,1,http://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/barbie-s-a-living-doll-at-universal-1118009027/,"He-Man heads to Sony in new Mattel pic deal
Mattel is setting up more playdates for its toy properties.
Universal Pictures has added Barbie to its star stable, while He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has found a new home at Sony.
U has made a deal with Mattel to build a live-action film around its signature Barbie toy line. With studios racing to build films around well-known concepts, Universal brass feels it has landed the queen of globally branded toy figures.
Laurence Mark will produce.
According to Mattel, the 50-year-old Barbie has 99% worldwide brand awareness, and it’s the No. 1 girls property in the toy industry, the top doll property in the U.S., and the No. 1 worldwide property in the traditional toy industry.
“Barbie is the most famous doll in history, a unique cultural icon in the world of brands,” said Universal Pictures chairman Marc Shmuger. “So many representations of Barbie frequent pop culture. We’re grateful to Mattel for entrusting us with this extraordinary opportunity.”
Mark said the next step will be to canvass writers and decide on a creative take for a family-friendly movie. Mark, who just produced “Julie and Julia” and is in production on the untitled James L. Brooks-directed comedy that stars Reese Witherspoon and Jack Nicholson, was one of several A-list producers who met with Mattel and U execs. “Barbie may be the most popular girl in the world, and has always been a wonderfully aspirational figure, so we must do her proud,” Mark said, noting that there’s no shortage of plot possibilities since Barbie has held more than 120 jobs over the years.
The executive producers are Barbie general manager and Mattel senior veep Richard Dickson and Rob Hudnut, who is VP of entertainment for Barbie. The brand managers will clearly be hands-on in determining how Mattel’s star asset translates to the screen.
Asked why there had never before been a live-action feature (there have been 16 direct-to-video animated titles, selling 75 million units worldwide, according to Mattel), Dickson called the U deal the logical next step in expanding the brand’s reach. In the past several years, Barbie has expanded into fashion shows, merchandise and online ventures that include Twitter, Facebook and even Barbie’s own YouTube channel.
“The brand wasn’t ready for a movie,” Dickson said. “In the last 10 years, Barbie has evolved from a toy into an intellectual property. Barbie has a proven track record in home entertainment, there have been live stage shows, live symphonies and other nontraditional forms of entertainment. There is a flagship store in Shanghai.”
While Universal and Mark will want to move ahead aggressively, Dickson said no timetable has been set for Barbie’s bigscreen debut.
He-Man has a plan
As for He-Man, Sony is finalizing a deal to produce a bigscreen adaptation of Mattel’s popular action figure line, with Escape Artists shepherding the project.
The property, which originated in 1983 as an animated series and toy line, had previously been set up at Warner Bros., where Joel Silver had been developing a pic since 2007. Mattel wound up taking back the rights and leaving the lot after Mattel, the studio and Silver couldn’t agree on the creative direction of the film (Daily Variety, Sept. 9).
Sony and Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch will now start developing the project from scratch for Columbia Pictures, sources close to the negotiations said.
Shingle recently produced Columbia’s remake of “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” and “Knowing” at Summit. It previously produced the Will Smith dramas “Seven Pounds” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
The fantasy actioner will revolve around a prince who becomes the warrior He-Man and battles the evil Skeletor for control of his magical homeland, Eternia.
John Stevenson (“Kung Fu Panda”) had previously been attached to direct, with Justin Marks and Evan Daugherty having penned versions of the script. Rights to those scripts now belong to WB, meaning a new writer will likely be hired.
The Barbie deal was made by CAA, which previously placed Mattel’s “Major Matt Mason,” a potential star vehicle for Tom Hanks, at Universal and Playtone.
Mattel also has “Hot Wheels” at Warner Bros., with Silver Pictures producing, and “Max Steel” at Paramount; and there’s a live-action musical to be based on a new toy line built around a monster that’s also set up at U with “Hairspray” producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron plus Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with Shaiman and Wittman to write the original score.",1073,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00016-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.939939498901367
eb81e8f1-dba5-42a5-9faf-45314b9baef5,2020-10-27T04:31:51+00:00,2018-05-07,1,https://bangordailynews.com/2018/05/07/news/heres-an-early-look-at-what-a-giant-belfast-salmon-farm-could-look-like/?shared=email&msg=fail,"BELFAST, Maine — The Norwegian aquaculture firm planning one of the world’s largest salmon farms in Belfast unveiled the first peek at what the facility might look like in advance of an update meeting planned for Wednesday.
Nordic Aquafarms will host an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast.
The first artist’s rendering of the $150 million land-based farm was released as part of the company’s announcement of the meeting. Nordic expects to release more details about the site’s design and how it will operate.
“Since we are building our brand on sustainability, this is a high priority for our company,” Nordic CEO Eric Heim said in an April 28 newsletter. “We have needed to obtain facts before we could go public with details.”
Nordic’s update comes on the heels of a heated April meeting during which residents opposed to the project pleaded with city councilors to slow the process by denying a zoning change that would allow Nordic to start applying for permits.
The council voted unanimously in favor of the zoning change, arguing that the public’s questions and concerns would all be answered during the permitting and approvals process. Town officials said denying the zoning change would have caused a delay that could have killed the project.
Nordic is planning a farm that would produce 33,000 tons of Atlantic salmon per year. The company is buying about 40 acres off Route 1 near the Northport town line from the city’s water district and a private owner.
Several residents who spoke at the zoning meeting said they felt the farm would destroy “pristine” wooded area around the reservoir. Many said they were frustrated about unanswered questions related to water usage, waste discharge, building size and more.
Nordic said it needed zoning approval before it could proceed to the permitting process, where all of these questions would be answered.
In the three months since announcing plans to purchase the site, Nordic has been digging test wells and studying the topography of the area to decide how to lay out its buildings and determine whether there was enough water under the site to fuel the project.
Heim said that test wells indicate the company could sustainably draw about 1,200 gallons of water per hour from the aquifer, an amount he said was consistent with many other industrial uses along the Maine coast.
Nordic’s tanks will be filled with a mixture of saltwater from the bay and fresh groundwater, which will be constantly recirculated and filtered. The city’s water district has agreed to provide up to 260 million gallons per year from its supplies, which is less than it provided for the chicken farm industry in the past, according to water district officials.
Nordic has said the water that it discharges will contain fewer nutrients than the water discharged by the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
“The net discharge, after water treatment, will be significantly lower than the region’s agricultural run-off, and it will be lower than other discharge permits that have been previously granted in the area,” Hiem said.
Heim said the building has been “designed to minimize visual impact,” and will stand about 10-15 feet shorter than surrounding trees. The building’s white walls and tall windows would be designed to reflect the surrounding trees.
Nordic is in the midst of getting together permit applications from multiple state, federal and local entities, and that process will include multiple public hearings and public comment requirements. That process will last through the rest of the year.
Construction on the first phase of the project, a hatchery, is expected to start sometime in 2019 if Nordic gets all its needed approvals.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.
Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news.",808,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107893011.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20201027023251-20201027053251-00547.warc.gz,0.963250935077667
8739e81d-49fe-4f8e-908e-8ae25cd85b1c,2013-05-20T22:12:33+00:00,2012-06-12,1,http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2012/06/12/report-from-greece-limited-capital-controls-implemented/,"by John Galt
June 12, 2012 17:50 ET
The reports of capital controls being implemented should Greece leave the Eurozone have been flying throughout the internet over the last twenty-four hours, leaving many to wonder if the European Union is about to descend into the status of a large latte sipping banana republic. Switzerland’s central bank (SCB) is already rumored to have a plan in place to freeze all incoming funds at their borders and penalize anyone attempting to convert deteriorating Euros into Swiss Francs along with currency exchange controls (See ZeroHedge, Bruce Krasting’s May 28th article – Capital Controls Coming to Greece and Switzerland). The problem with this approach is the large underground economy which it creates and unfortunately for the nation of Greece, that has already begun.
The concerns of the ongoing bank run by depositors in Greek banks have created the basis for a second leg of the domestic financial crisis which will collapse the system if the elections result in a conflict with the Troika and ECB regarding aid to the Greek financial system and potential default. On Bloomberg this morning the pace of withdrawals has accelerated as the article at the link below indicates:
From the story above:
Greek deposit outflows have accelerated before this weekend’s elections, two bankers familiar with the situation said, on concern the nation may move closer to abandoning the euro.
Daily withdrawals have increased to the upper end of a 100 million-euro ($125 million) to 500 million-euro range this month, one banker said, asking not to be identified because the figures aren’t public. A second banking executive said the drawdown may have exceeded 700 million euros today. An official for the Bank of Greece (TELL), the Athens-based central bank, declined to comment.
The problem that faces the Greek nation is that the corrupt government and insanely criminal taxation authority have been dipping into accounts and seizing funds from “suspected” tax cheats thus causing innocent citizens to conclude they are next, thus the bank runs. Add in the fact that those funds are not being reinvested into the Greek economy but being used to purchase German short term Bunds or being stuffed into the mattress and the formula for the perceived necessity of capital controls already exists.
The newspaper Ekathimerini dropped a bombshell of a story the Western press ignored but is causing panic inside the massive bureaucracy in Athens:
These excerpts from the story highlight why this problem exists and how companies are evading the oppressive taxes inside of Greece:
Thousands of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are looking for the road to financial recovery in Bulgaria. Even though the trend of Greek businesses relocating to the neighboring country had already begun before the crisis, in the past few months there has been a fresh spurt of interest, taking the total number that have moved there to 6,000.
“The first wave of Greek companies moving their headquarters to Bulgaria came in 2006, when it became a member of the European Union, and they were mostly large construction and textile firms,” Alexandros Adamidis, a lawyer who heads a company that specializes in such transfers, told Kathimerini.
In contrast to the widespread belief that those first businesses moved in order to reduce operating costs, Adamidis said their motives were more about increasing profits, with Greek construction firms today leading the market for big infrastructure projects in Bulgaria.
Translation from the story is not necessary as this is the English version and the meaning of this course of action is spelled out in the following sentence as the harsh reality of socialism gone wild continues within a collapsing system:
“These are not companies that have gone bankrupt,” he explained. “But the red tape and especially the unclear tax system have put businesses in flight mode.”
The justification for these corporate relocation programs to neighboring Bulgaria sound vaguely familiar, like the information executives gave during hearings in the United States Congress years ago when they were grilled about moving their headquarters to the Bahamas.
This now begs the question; what capital controls have been introduced? The newspaper Protothema highlighted the crisis in this story today:
Sounds like capital controls are in force based on the headline alone, right? The article highlights a circular being distributed by the Greek Treasury to enforce the restrictions on large flows of capital out of the country. This portion of the story spells out the regulations that have been implemented to stop capital flight:
With a circular already sent to tax offices, the Treasury is instructing its agents on barriers to be raised against anyone who seeks to transfer their tax base abroad.
More specifically, the circular states the following:
- those submitting a transfer statement of their tax base to the 47 “uncooperative” tax countries (Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Uruguay, etc.) remain mandatory tax residents of Greece, which means they will be taxed on their worldwide income in Greece
- those who submit a declaration of tax residence transfer to countries where there is no tax on income must meet a series of conditions for the Greek tax authorities to accept the request. For example, if a taxpayer acquires at least 30% of his income in Greece, he should be taxed in our country too. The same will apply if the total income derived in Greece exceeds 50,000 euros per year
- if a taxpayer declares that he will move to a country with which there is a contract for the avoidance of double taxation of income (i.e. not getting taxed on the same income twice but only in one of the two countries), then the tax office should raise the issue of the double residence. Here the Treasury will contact the foreign tax authority to decide who will tax the taxpayer
The directive of the ministry now is that a mere disclosure of the taxpayer’s intent to make a change of residence “should not automatically imply a change of residence.”
Treasury Secretary George Zanias appears to have engaged in the implementation of these capital controls during the void in leadership due to the upcoming elections. As this process continues and expands to lower and lower amounts of Euros the average citizen or businessman is allowed to transfer out of the nation, the economy will come to a screeching halt. It is my hope every American watches this process as de facto capital controls are already in effect in the United States effective January 1, 2013. Prepare to witness an economic carnage unseen by the majority of us in our lifetimes and much worse than the 1930′s Great Depression.",1316,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.956893384456634
e2a050ee-3784-4f3b-93f4-7bbab3eee98d,2022-05-21T10:29:36+00:00,2021-08-24,1,https://www.express.co.uk:443/news/science/1481439/uk-towns-cities-underwater-2100-climate-change-maps-evg,"Ian Collins clashes with XR member over China's role in climate change
The latest Sea Projection maps show that huge swathes of UK’s coastline could be underwater permanently due to climate change in less than 90 years time. If the projections are accurate, vital roads, services and holiday destinations will be impacted.
Naturally the most susceptible to the effects of climate change are coastal and low-lying areas, as well as those on major rivers and waterways.
According to the map, the east of England looks to be the worst affected area.
The map predicts that by 2100, Skegness, King’s Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Boston and Peterborough could all be underwater.
Further north, parts of Doncaster and Lincoln could be facing the most serious repercussions, whereas Grimsby, Hull and Barton-upon-Humber could all be unrecognisable.
The 13 major UK towns and cities that could be underwater by 2100 - MAPPED
On the other side of the map, huge areas of Cardiff and Swansea in Wales would be left underwater.
Even parts of the capital are at risk, particularly those closest to the River Thames.
Since 1993, sea level growth has been accelerating to an average of 0.12 to 0.14 inches a year, roughly twice as fast as the long-term trend.
The modelling from Climate Central is based on the projection that his rapid growth in the rate of sea-level rises will continue.
According to the organisation, coastal areas are expected to regularly fall below sea level over the next 30 years.
In 2019, a study projected that sea levels will rise between 30cm and 34 cm by 2050.
However so far, sea level rises have been much smaller - but this doesn't mean places aren't at risk.
Scientists baffled by people who 'turn streetlights off' by walking by [REPORT]
Alpaca Geronimo getting saved for science? Vets hope so [INSIGHT]
Jeremy Vine panel erupts as Carole Malone clashes with XR protestor [REPORT]
Why are sea levels rising?
Sea levels began rising throughout the 20th century, almost all of which can be attributed to human activity’s devastating effect on the climate.
Hotter temperatures are created by greenhouse gas emissions, which are caused by burning fossil fuels - coal, gas, and oil.
This causes the climate to get warmer, which in turn leads to the expansion of water volume and melting of polar ice, glaciers and sheets.
Environmental catastrophe is on the doorstep of billions across the world, as highlighted by the damning IPCC report earlier this year.
The report warned that extreme heat, droughts, flooding, and rising sea levels will all be problems within the coming years if humanity doesn’t act immediately.
Dr Scott Kulp, a senior scientist at Climate Central and lead author of the study, said: “These assessments show the potential of climate change to reshape cities, economies, coastlines, and entire global regions within our lifetimes.
“As the tideline rises higher than the ground people call home, nations will increasingly confront questions about whether, how much, and how long coastal defences can protect them.”",670,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539049.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521080921-20220521110921-00607.warc.gz,0.944639682769775
3eafbce9-1d51-4f83-b6f1-222ab4d9d25b,2019-08-21T02:43:54+00:00,2019-05-29,0,https://himalayantrust.org/about-us/helen-clark-treks-in-sir-eds-footsteps/,"The Right Honourable Helen Clark is in the Everest region of Nepal this week, trekking the steep, winding tracks through the Himalayas up to Thyangboche (3870m), to visit the current and historic work of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust.
The trek is part of the celebrations taking place this year to mark 100 years since Hillary’s birth.
Today, May 29, also marks 66 years since New Zealander Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mt Everest in Nepal, the highest peak in the world.
“Trekking through this area is very special. As we pass villages clinging to hillsides, the yak and mule trains, and the tea houses, we have enjoyed the warm and generous welcome extended to all New Zealand visitors,” said Helen.
“All along the trekking route, I’ve met people who have been educated in the schools established by Sir Edmund Hillary and the Himalayan Trust. Many have gone on to become teachers, health workers, doctors, community leaders and to work in trekking and tourism. Education is always a catalyst for human development and I’ve been reminded of that every day here in Nepal.”
Helen visited Khumjung school, the first school built by Hillary in 1961, where she spent time reading a book on Sir Ed to young students and meeting with senior students. She also visited Kunde Hospital, built by Hillary in 1966, taking time to speak with the Doctor-in-Charge, Dr Kami, who began his education at a school built by Hillary in the remote village of Thame.
As well as experiencing the historical legacy, Clark has been seeing some of the earthquake-strengthened classrooms built to replace those damaged in the 2015 earthquakes and will also visit a new safe water system in the village of Musey. Generous donations from New Zealanders have made all these works possible.
Helen added: “Sir Ed worked tirelessly to raise funds to provide education and health care for people and for reforestation in this region of Nepal. Much of the money he raised was donated by the New Zealand public. It’s a privilege to be here in Nepal and see this legacy first-hand.
“Sir Ed was an inspiration for New Zealanders and for the Sherpa communities with which he worked. We can all be proud of his legacy.”",504,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315750.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821022901-20190821044901-00053.warc.gz,0.971643686294556
a7da6436-aa2f-4130-ba2e-58487a1f8bf8,2022-05-26T20:14:36+00:00,2022-05-26,1,https://www.turnto23.com/news/national/indoor-vertical-farming-provides-potential-solutions-to-food-supply-problems,"From lettuce to basil, where some of your food comes from could be changing. Indoor vertical farming is gaining traction in the food industry.
“Today we’re at our research and development facility,” Henry Sztul, the chief science officer at Bowery Farming, said.
From seed… ""we’re constantly experimenting with different types of seeds,” he said. To germination flats put in a chamber for a few days, to their final home for growing. “What we look for are the leaves starting to be more fully developed.”
The process takes about a month.
“It’s a 25, 30-day grow cycle for the plant, from seed to shelf,” Katie Seawell, the chief commercial officer at Bowery Farming, said.
It’s an efficient process and this facility only shows a small portion of what they are growing
“We are building local indoor smart farms close to the cities that we operate,” Seawell said. She said they are re-imagining agriculture, and controlling every aspect of the growing process.
“We are not susceptible to some of the external variables or factors that can disrupt the supply chain or the growing process for crops,” she explained. “The ability for the current food system to pivot with agility to meet market demand based on market disruption is very, very limited.”
It’s a problem we saw during the pandemic. Disruptions in the food supply chain and transportation, leasing to rotting piles of unsold produce in some states and food shortages in others.
“What kind of opportunities did the pandemic present, I think one of those is food security,” Joshua Craver, an assistant professor of controlled environment horticulture at Colorado State University, said.
However, Craver said this indoor vertical farming isn’t an ideal solution for every crop.
“There are some crops that just don't make a lot of sense in a controlled environment setting...those range from grain crops or orchard crops,” he said.
Another downfall is the lighting needed. “We typically use a lot more energy to grow our crops in vertical farms that we do compared to fields, or even greenhouse production,” AJ Both, a professor at Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, said. Both does research in plant lighting.
“I think that's an area where we still need to do a lot of work, to try to help the vertical farming industry become even more efficient,” he said.
However, control of lighting does have benefits as well, as it gives growers more control over crop growth, all while taking up less space.
“The benefits of that, of course, are that you can grow a lot more plants on the same footprint,” Both said.
“We are taking non-arable land and transforming it into highly productive farms,” Seawell said.
While it may not be the ideal solution for every crop right now, Craver said it’s a valuable addition to the food industry.
“A lot of the ways I like to describe controlled environments and vertical farming is being another tool in our toolbox,” he said.
Back at Bowery, they are continuing to experiment with new crops and provide fresh food for those at a cost comparable to organic foods.
“As we scale…we will want to compete not only at a premium price point but against traditional agriculture prices as well,” Seawell said.
They currently have 13 products in the marketplace, and the capability to grow 365 days a year.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be in this space and I think there's real recognition that we have to think differently about how we build resilience and strengthen our local and regional food supply systems. We don't believe we’re the only answer to that, but we believe we are a part, a critical part of that answer.”",848,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662625600.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526193923-20220526223923-00019.warc.gz,0.963662505149841
3b7ed9ef-b3e9-41ba-88f2-b7412898f5fe,2017-08-23T11:59:49+00:00,2016-07-12,0,https://bbablog.spjain.org/2016/07/12/new-jag-lakshay-india/,"Everything you need to know before joining
Name: Lakshay Mutha
Hometown: Chennai, India
Hey sapiens, I’m Lakshay from Chennai,India. I’ve been a district level cricket player.
I’ve always been into Sparta and was the school sports captain for 2 years. Apart from that I’ve always been engaged with cultural activities.
I love to travel and meet new people.
Feel free to add me on Facebook,
Hope SP Jain helps support my dreams to experience other cultures.
Meet you soon!",121,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886120194.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823113414-20170823133414-00361.warc.gz,0.929275810718536
0db7191e-5d49-4169-a2bd-bfcf44bb1ea7,2017-08-19T19:29:32+00:00,2016-01-01,1,http://arynews.tv/en/population-census-to-be-held-in-march-2016/,"The meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, also decided to hold house count in parallel to population census in March 2016. Minister Finance Ishaq Dar informed the meeting that the census would cost Rs 13 billion rupees.
It was also agreed in a meeting that assistance of armed forces will also be sought for the census exercise.
Pakistan has not conducted a population survey since the last census was carried out in 1998. Many believe that census conducted in 1998 is only disputed but stands outdated after 15 years because the population has increased at a rate of 2.3 per cent per annum.
The meeting also approved amendment in Power Policies of 2009 and 2012 and raised objection on power generation 2015.
The meeting was informed that proceedings on Pakistan Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation Bill 2014 have been completed and soon it would be presented in parliament.",170,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105712.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819182059-20170819202059-00213.warc.gz,0.978099346160889
1f562b7d-ef3b-4064-9db4-a552d06c0f05,2016-07-26T02:44:59+00:00,2014-08-08,1,http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Plan-to-Reduce-Poway-Unified-Debt-Gets-Mixed-Reactions-271005051.html,"A plan just pitched to Poway Unified School District that promises to reduce its impending $1 billion debt was met with lukewarm reaction.
San Francisco financial consultant Dale Scott thinks he can save future homeowners in San Diego 25 percent of that debt, but it will cost existing district residents a property tax increase now.
Poway Unified made renovations and repairs to its 24 aging schools, starting in 2001 under Proposition U.
To finish the job, Poway taxpayers passed Proposition C in 2008, and in 2011, as part of that bond, the district borrowed $105 million.
It won’t begin paying it back until 20 years from now.
That decision received national attention and criticism.
The latest financial consultant plan estimates a 25 percent reduction in that future debt. How it would work would be that the district would have to buy back the capital appreciation bonds and purchase current interest bonds.
The transaction would increase property taxes right away.
“The key question now: What does our community want to do? Do they want to pay taxes now? Increase taxes or do they want to defer those taxes to a future point in time? We need to hear from them,” Board President Todd Gutschow said.
Scott will return to Poway's regular school board meeting Aug.19 to go over the plan a second time.
The public is encouraged to attend to ask questions and give their input.",288,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824570.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00225-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.957552373409271
00db36aa-a7dd-427f-95bc-f3697b3aae56,2022-05-27T18:36:15+00:00,2022-02-17,0,https://www.hsccvt.org/Post/She-Has-Certainly-Made-Herself-at-HomeI,"She Has Certainly Made Herself at Home!
January 26, 2021
I’m very happy to provide a pupdate for my sweet Lucy- she has certainly made herself at home! She has been enjoying hikes, plenty of playing with her many tennis balls & toys, and has gotten quite used to work-from-home couch cuddles. I’m so happy that we both found our new best friends, and I think she would agree!
Categories: Happy Tails | Tags: | Posted by: admin
Adoption Center Hours:
**New temporary hours effective 4/25/22**
Tuesday - Friday: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sunday & Monday: CLOSED
Visit the Pet Adoption page for more details on our latest adoption process updates.
February 17, 2022",185,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662675072.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220527174336-20220527204336-00416.warc.gz,0.942548632621765
a549340e-93da-4e5e-9698-0067cc7ebe5b,2017-08-22T16:47:26+00:00,2017-08-22,1,http://www.lieuwedevries.com/?cat=16,"Even if you’re not following the aviation news, it’s hard not to know that ‘drone’ is the buzzword nowadays. It’s not a secret the United States is a big proponent of the unmanned aerial vehicles, letting the drones perform countless surveillance and tactical missions in the Middle East. On the other side, China is also putting some serious effort in developing their own drones, even if they are mostly clones of their American counterparts. But what about Europe, the Old Country? How are they currently faring in the drone arms race?",117,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00566.warc.gz,0.94315379858017
2ebcfbd3-83f8-4405-9d6d-1a92459112f7,2013-05-18T17:48:34+00:00,2012-11-20,1,http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=461&tid=91284,"Statement by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mshabane, on international developments, with specific focus on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Imbizo Media Centre, Parliament, Cape Town
20 Nov 2012
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the media,
In our briefing today, we will focus on (1) the escalating violence in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, with emphasis on the conflict in Gaza, (2) South Africa’s hosting of the 5th BRICS Summit in March 2013 and, lastly, (3) the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar.
1. Conflict between Israel and Palestine
The South African Government is gravely concerned at the escalating conflict between Israel and Gaza. We strongly condemn the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli government, which has resulted in a significant number of deaths and injuries on both sides, particularly among Palestinian civilians, including children.
The South African Government calls on both sides to immediately halt all cross border attacks and agree to a ceasefire. Israeli air and naval forces must cease their air strikes and shelling into the Gaza enclave, which has already caused considerable material destruction in one of the most densely inhabited places on earth. We also call upon Palestinian militants in Gaza to immediately suspend the firing of rockets into Israeli territory.
An ominous development is the decision by the Israeli Government to call up 75 000 military reservists to active service, which would seem to imply that a large- scale ground assault by the Israeli army into Gaza is being seriously contemplated. The South African Government accordingly appeals to the Government of Israel to refrain from such a fatal step, which will not only result in the inevitable loss of a large number of both Palestinian and Israelis lives - but also further inflame sentiments in an already volatile region.
At the heart of the conflict lies Israel’s continued illegal occupation of Palestinian land, especially the continuing blockade of Gaza. The South African Government therefore urges the Israeli Government to halt these policies as they are an obstacle to negotiations for peace and contrary to international law.
The South African Government further calls on the international community to put pressure on both Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza to halt this escalation of violence, given that as close neighbours, they have no choice but to accept each other’s permanent presence and eventually reach agreement on peaceful co-existence through a process of negotiations, rather than through continuous conflict.
2. SAs hosting of the 5th BRICS Summit
As some of you may already be aware, South Africa will host the 5th Summit of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Leaders’ Forum in March 2013 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province.
BRICS is a platform for dialogue and cooperation amongst countries that represent 43% of the world's population. The platform strives to promote peace, security and development in a world that is multi-polar, inter-dependent, increasingly complex and globalizing. The BRICS formation is transcontinental, covering Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.
Our combined nominal gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at US$13,7 trillion and between 20% and 25% of global GDP, as well as combined foreign reserves estimated at US$4 trillion. BRICS accounted for approximately 11% of global annual foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in 2012 (US$465 billion) and 17% of world trade.
South Africa’s participation in the BRICS is designed to help us achieve inclusive growth, sustainable development and prosperity.
As you may know, the proposed theme of the 5th BRICS Summit is “BRICS and Africa –Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialisation.”
In choosing this theme, South Africa looks forward to sharing this event with the continent as the BRICS Forum provides enormous opportunities for economic growth and development in Africa.
South Africa and its fellow BRICS partners share a common vision. Like South Africa, our fellow BRICS nations are striving to enhance inclusive economic growth that will lead to an increase in the creation of decent and sustainable jobs, advance the fight against poverty and accelerate the economic transformation of our countries. We also work towards a more equitable global political and economic system.
3. COP18/CMP8 Conference
In my capacity as President of the 17th Session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP17/CMP7), I will, in the next couple of days, lead a delegation to Doha, Qatar, for the COP18/CMP8 Conference. The Conference is scheduled to take place from 26 November to 7 December 2012.
Other members of the delegation include the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Edna Molewa, and the Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi.
As we hand over to Qatar, it is important that we remind ourselves of the achievements that were recorded in Durban, which are comprehensively documented in the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.
The decisions taken in Durban are truly historical and include the following:
(i) The amendment of the Kyoto Protocol;
(ii) Decisions of the Long-Term Cooperative Action (LCA);
(iii) The Green Climate Fund;
(iv) The future of the Climate Change Regime.
It is important that the Conference in Doha moves the negotiations forward, while ensuring that environmental integrity and credibility of the process can be maintained and that the outcomes of COP17/CMP7 are implemented.
The first is the closure of the Ad hoc Working Group –Long term Cooperative Action, as agreed to in Durban. This should entail the adequate treatment of unresolved political issues, as well as comparability of effort by those countries who are not party to the Kyoto Protocol.
In the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Kyoto Protocol, South Africa will be working towards the adoption of the amendment to Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol, which will establish the second commitment period. In the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, South Africa will pursue the adoption of a plan of work to enhance ambition, not only in mitigation but also in adaptation and in the means of implementation as well.
Though at different stages of maturity, it is vital that progress is made in all three ad hoc working groups to ensure that the outcome in Doha is balanced and successful.
Issued by: Department of International Relations and Cooperation
20 Nov 2012
[ Top ]",1359,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.9438236951828
7d567365-88ec-4e10-bbd7-c052e33e6ba2,2015-04-01T17:48:16+00:00,2006-04-20,0,http://mlton.org/pipermail/mlton/2006-April/028624.html,"[MLton] share weirdness
Thu, 20 Apr 2006 15:42:21 -0700
> Could it be that the sharing code is looking at some unused
> bytes in an object
That certainly can happen. The hash-consing code (see tableInsert()
and hashCons() in gc.c) looks at all the bytes in the object,
regardless of how they are used by the mutator.
> Even this `explanation' would require some statement as to how the
> background bytes got to be different.
When allocating a heap object, the mutator doesn't zero out unused
bytes (and maybe even bits within partially used bytes). So,
depending on what was at the heap frontier, different stuff may appear
in the unused portion.",167,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131305143.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172145-00038-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.91698145866394
60f845d8-1e8e-4768-bcc4-f84aae130b18,2022-05-23T21:17:48+00:00,2022-05-23,0,http://atcivni.com/top-10-eucalyptus-plant-live-home-kitchen-features-2/,"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
1. The Three Company #ad
Eucalyptus 4 Per Pack, Natural Air Purifier, 10"" Tall by 3"" Wide, Live Aromatic and Healthy Herb #adThe Three Company #ad
- Care: transplant into the garden in the spring after the danger of frost has passed. Product: all our plants are shipped fresh directly from our greenhouse to you! Giving back: giving back is important to us, so 25% of all profits go to supporting various 501c3 organizations! Growth: this evergreen tree can grow to 60 feet high or more in its natural Australian environment, it usually remains small, but in home gardens, at around 6–10 feet high.
Choose a planting site that gets lots of sun and has soil with sharp drainage. Fun fact: the oil that comes from the eucalyptus tree is used as an antiseptic, a perfume, in dental preparations, as an ingredient in cosmetics, as a flavoring, and in industrial solvents. Healthy plants: healthiest live eucalyptus on the market! These plants will add texture to your home indoors and out.
2. June Fox #ad
June Fox Dried Eucalyptus Branches Real 12 Pcs 100% Natural Eucalyptus Stems Real for Shower Live Eucalyptus Plant Indoor Wedding DIY Restaurant Hotel Office Home Decoration, Green #adJune Fox #ad
- The 17inches length dried eucalyptus leaves will not be pressed, and you will receive the eucalyptus leaves in perfect condition with natural fragrance. You can also use a eucalyptus bundle to arrange flowers and make DIY creations.
Eucalyptus value-- dried eucalyptus leaves have calming and hypnotic effects, fresh air, and also eucalyptus for shower can help you relax and release stress. Original aroma-- the fresh eucalyptus branches with no additives, retain the original floral fragrance of eucalyptus, smell very comfortable, can calm the mood.
Sturdy packaging-- use a strong carton package and keep it sealed. Beautiful decor-- great for home decoration, gift box decoration, shop decoration, as well as photo props. 100% natural-- pure natural real eucalyptus stems, hand-picked by farmers, naturally dried, retaining the original beauty of the eucalyptus.
|Brand||June Fox #ad|
|Manufacturer||June Fox #ad|
3. Saipro #ad
100% Natural Eucalyptus Leaves, Home, Dried Greenery for Arrangement Wedding, Hotel, Party, 17"" Real Eucalyptus Branches, Office Decor, 15 Pcs Dried Eucalyptus Plant Stems, Indoor air Purification. #adSaipro #ad
- Eucalyptus branches make a perfect gift for any occasion and are an inexpensive way to dress up a room for the holidays and add some atmosphere. From nature: 100% natural eucalyptus leaves are dried, and the leaves are curled, making it common for some leaves to have some imperfections.
The environment is humid and the smell is stronger, retains the original floral fragrance of eucalyptus but it will be less flavor than fresh eucalyptus leaves. Each stem varies in fullness. These are natural items harvested from nature, etc. Eucalyptus leaves and branches are perfect greenery for any floral or craft project.
If there is a possibility of liquid exudation in a humid environment, don't worry, keep it dry in the sun It will recover in a while. Stems measure around 16-17"" in length. Dry eucalyptus branches: these are dried eucalyptus branches, it is made by sun-drying and can be stored forever without worrying about its decay and Wither.
Eucalyptus makes beautiful arrangements that are majestic and great smelling too. Fresh eucalyptus flavor: the dried eucalyptus leaves no additives, can calm the mood. Perfect supporting role: if you have not tried putting eucalyptus together with a dried or fresh flower arrangement then you really should try it. We try to include the fullest leaves when making our bunches.
4. Timoo #ad
Timoo Dried Eucalyptus Branches Real 12 Pcs 100% Natural Eucalyptus Stems Real Eucalyptus Plant Live Indoor for Shower Wedding Home DIY Party Restaurant Hotel Office Decoration Green #adTimoo #ad
- Sturdy packaging-- use a strong carton package and keep it sealed. 100% natural-- pure natural eucalyptus leaves, hand-picked by farmers, naturally dried, retaining the original beauty of the eucalyptus.
Beautiful decor-- great for home decoration, gift box decoration, shop decoration, as well as photo props. Original aroma-- the fresh eucalyptus no additives, retaining the original floral fragrance of eucalyptus, smells very comfortable, can calm the mood.
The 17inches length dried eucalyptus leaves will not be pressed, and you will receive the eucalyptus leaves in perfect condition with natural fragrance. You can also use a eucalyptus bundle to arrange flowers and make DIY creations. Eucalyptus value-- dried eucalyptus leaves have calming and hypnotic effects, fresh air, and a nice smell to relax you and release stress.
5. Generic #ad
Eucalyptus Stems Eucalyptus Plant Indoor for Shower Home DIY Hotel Office, Dried Eucalyptus Branches Real #adGeneric #ad
- Flexible and Easy to Shape. Versatile use. Great smell. If you have any questions about the product, please contact us and you will get a satisfactory solution. Selected high-quality fresh eucalyptus are taken from nature, stems are durable, cannot break easily.
6. YSDFLO #ad
12 Stems Dried Eucalyptus Branches Greenery Stems,17 inch 100% Real Natural Live Eucalyptus Leaves Plant Greenery Decor for Shower Aromatherapy Flower Arrangements Wedding Home #adYSDFLO #ad
- Because it is natural dried plant. A little shedding is normal. Material selected high-quality eucalyptus are taken from nature, cannot break easily. It is made by sun-drying and can be stored forever without worrying about its decay and Wither. Through our exquisite and careful processing technology, stems are durable, all eucalyptus can maintain the most original appearance and natural beauty.
Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, great for home or venue decoration like Boho weddings bouquets, restaurant, gardens, add oomph to your tablescape, add an effortless touch of texture and decor to your space, creating a luxury modern display that lasts.
It has calming and hypnotic effects and makes you easier to breath and relax. If you mind, please read carefully before buying. Warm note: this dried eucalyptus bundle are naturally dry plants, eucalyptus may be compressed after long journey to you. Fresh eucalyptus smellthe dried eucalyptus leaves no additives, retains the original floral fragrance of eucalyptus, infuses the air with its unique and refreshing aroma to smells very comfortable, and calm you mood.
Length & colorcarefully selected 12 pack natural dried eucalyptus branches decor, please allow a slight difference in size. Each stem varies in fullness, total length is approximately 43 to 45cmPls note: due to manual measurement, you can cut the length of the dried flowers to any size you want to create your own arrangement. Multi-functional decorationthese dried eucalyptus plants stalks showing off a charm and style, turn your room into a retreat, cafes, office and DIY a Christmas and door wreath etc.
7. FLOKAY #ad
Green, FLOKAY Dried Eucalyptus Branches 12 Pcs 100% Natural Eucalyptus Stems Real Leaves with Vase, Live Eucalyptus Plant for Shower Wedding DIY Restaurant Hotel Office Home Decoration #adFLOKAY #ad
- 180 days warranty -- we are committed to provide a good shopping experience to customers, please let us know if there is any quality problem occurs. Naturally dried, retaining the original beauty of the eucalyptus.
What's in the box-- you will received 15 pcs dried eucalyptus branches and a wall flower vase tube. By using a sturdy carton package, the 17 inch 45cm length eucalyptus leaves will not be pressed. 100% natural eucalyptus-- real eucalyptus stems, hand-picked by farmers， which making it common for some leaves to have some imperfections.
Dried eucalyptus bundle-- the dried eucalyptus leaves without any additives and special treatment, retains the original floral aroma of eucalyptus, smells very comfortable, fresh the air and can relax you and release stress.
Versatile use-- these fresh eucalyptus branches make the ideal addition to the décor of weddings, office, party, house, balcony, restaurant, garden and you can also use a eucalyptus bundle to arrange flowers and make DIY creations. We will assist you within 24 hrs.
|Model||Real Eucalyptus Branches|
8. WOODWORD #ad
Set of 2, Fake Hanging Plant, Artificial Eucalyptus Faux Greenery Vine Plant for Home Decor, 23"" Fake Plants for Bathroom #adWOODWORD #ad
- Perfect for: this artificial plant that remains looking fresh year after year, perfect if you can not have a live plant but still want to enjoy the beauty of nature.
30 days money back guarantee: you have no any risk when you purchase our potted fake eucalyptus greenery, we provide 30 days guarantee. Lifelike but easy caring: this eucalyptus wall hanging is made of premium PVC plastic, require NO WATER and sunlight, and its color is long lasting.
Size: this hanging fake plants 23"" length in total, planted in black pots, the pot is 3. 15in in height and 2. 56in in width, set of 2. Wide range of uses: hanging plants can be placed in the living room, corridors, stairs, cafes, etc. Porches, to be used as wall decoration.
9. Beau Jour #ad
Natural Eucalyptus Leaves for Arrangement Wedding Home Decor, Beau Jour Dried Real Eucalyptus Branches 12 Stems #adBeau Jour #ad
- There are 12 stems in the package, and measure about 45cm. Infuses the air with its unique and refreshing aroma to not only make your home smell better but also freshens the air. It's the perfect choice for anyone that wants to create a calming atmosphere into their home to stay relaxed.
Use real eucalyptus Stems which we dry to ensure they maintain their natural look for longer. These fresh eucalyptus branches make the ideal addition to the décor of weddings, house, office, party, restaurant, balcony, garden and anywhere else you want to add a touch of nature.
10. Belle Fleur #ad
Preserved Fresh Eucalyptus Branches 10Pcs, Dried Eucalyptus Stems for Flower Arrangements Wedding Home Decor Preserved #adBelle Fleur #ad
- The eucalyptus stems are real and preserved for an extremely long time. It makes a fine birthday gift, or anniversary gift for the flower lover in your life. There are 10 branches in the package.
Great smell: freshen the air and make the place smell good, it makes it easier to breath and make you relax. Color: green. Size:measure 20""-24"" tall. Great for: general home and business decor, holiday present, wedding receptions and bridal bouquet.",2807,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00422.warc.gz,0.853829205036163
90d73f1e-1982-4274-959c-0306a05fe75f,2016-07-28T04:04:46+00:00,2013-08-06,1,http://www.orlandosentinel.com/la-me-ln-school-bond-rules-20130806-story.html,"Financial underwriters who want to do business with the County of Los Angeles must agree not to give political donations to school bond campaigns under new rules adopted this month by government finance officials.
Because Los Angeles County is by far the largest municipal bond issuer in California, the move is likely to have statewide implications.
Mark J. Saladino, the Los Angeles County treasurer-tax collector, said Tuesday that his office set the policy to prevent campaign donations from influencing the hiring of securities brokers by school districts and to increase competition among dealers, who often charge millions of dollars in fees.
Saladino has been concerned that some firms try to recover their donations in their underwriting fees -- contrary to a state law that prohibits schools from using tax revenues to finance bond campaigns. Bonds are typically repaid from tax revenues over a period of years.
Under the policy, underwriters must not donate to school bond measures if they want to qualify for the treasurer's list of investment banks and securities dealers eligible to sell county bonds.
The county's list of financial firms -- currently 40 dealers that include some of the nation's largest banks and brokerages -- is reviewed and revised every five years. Saladino said the next evaluation is in 2016.
""If they are giving to school bond campaigns, we won't do business with them,"" Saladino said.
According to the treasurer's office, most, if not all, of the current participants already have agreed to the restriction.
Saladino said he has informed other county treasurers about the new policy and plans to notify state Treasurer Bill Lockyer to encourage him to adopt the same restrictions.
The policy stems from a nationwide effort by major investment banks to prevent underwriters from donating money and campaign services to bond ballot measures.
In July, 12 firms pledged not to make political contributions to bond measures and notified the federal Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board of their action. The brokers include Morgan Stanley & Co. Wells Fargo Securities, JP Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Barclay's Capital and Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.
The securities rulemaking board, which regulates the government bond market, has been considering whether to prohibit all underwriters from contributing to political campaigns for bond measures.
Such a restriction would expand on a current board rule that bans underwriters for two years from doing business with a government entity if they give campaign donations to elected officials of that entity.
Lockyer, county treasurers across California and many investment banks have become concerned that campaign donations can create an uneven playing field for bond business at the expense of taxpayers.
In statewide surveys by The Times and other publications, virtually every securities broker hired by a school district contributed to the district's bond campaign and was retained without competitive bidding.
According to numerous studies, competition among underwriters often produces lower interest rates and fees, which can save governments and taxpayers million of dollars in debt payments for large bond issues.
In addition, a recent study focused on California school bond issues performed by New York University and the University of Colorado found that post-election fees paid to underwriters that made donations were on average $27,576 higher than those paid to brokers that did not contribute.
Researchers said the finding raises serious questions about the circumvention of state and local regulations restricting the use of public resources in election campaigns.",670,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257827782.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071027-00052-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.961680114269257
76d67f3a-2619-41c0-b322-16299ab16b49,2019-08-24T04:26:08+00:00,2019-08-24,1,https://pixr8.com/funding/wework-enters-into-food-business-invests-32-million-in-larid-superfood/?share=reddit,"“We are incredibly grateful to our investors and the community for their continued support. Our expansion will enable us to grow our product offerings, make room for even greater innovation and double down on our presence in the industry. This growth will add a great number of jobs in Sisters and the surrounding communities, across a variety of departments, and allow us to continue to stimulate our local economy,” said Paul Hodge, CEO
In conjunction with the investment from WeWork, Arik Benzino, WeWork’s Chief We Officer for the U.S., Canada & Israel, will join the Laird Superfood board of directors. Laird Superfood and WeWork will also launch a partnership to make Laird’s offerings available to WeWork members and employees in select locations in the U.S.
“I thank WeWork for their investment in Laird Superfood’s expansion and pursuit of our mission to become the leading superfood company in the natural foods space. At Laird Superfood, we think of our clean-ingredient products as fuel. With the right fuel, you can accomplish anything, and it’s in this way that our offerings perfectly complement the ambitious and entrepreneurial spirit of the WeWork community,” said Laird Hamilton, co-founder of Laird Superfood.
“Laird Superfood products give you the fuel you need for a productive life. Their holistic approach to life balance is aligned with our mission and vision here at WeWork. We could not be more excited to support this amazing company’s growth and at the same time make their incredible products available to our WeWork members and employees.” — Arik Benzino, WeWork Chief We Officer for the U.S., Canada & Israel and Laird Superfood Board Member.
Laird Superfood was co-founded in 2015 by the world’s most prolific big-wave surfer, Laird Hamilton. His passion project to perfect his personal regimen grew into a dynamic, innovative brand with a mission to bring clean, simple, and thoughtfully formulated superfoods to the masses. As one of the fastest growing companies in the natural foods space, Laird Superfood’s offerings are environmentally sustainable, responsibly tested, and made with whole-food ingredients that everyone can feel good about.",477,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027319724.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824041053-20190824063053-00026.warc.gz,0.950625658035278
3004611e-017f-4163-9fe0-1e76482e8335,2018-08-19T11:25:27+00:00,2006-01-01,0,https://www.scientific.net/KEM.326-328.1063,"An Experimental Study on the Pre-Strain Effect of API 5L X65 Pipeline for Natural Gas Transmission
Pipelines for natural gas transmission may be subjected to plastic deformation by the outside force such as ground subsidence, ground liquefaction, cold bending and mechanical damage. Plastic deformation affects the tensile properties and fracture toughness. Tensile test, Crack tip opening displacement test and Charpy impact test were conducted on an API 5L X65 pipe to investigate the mechanical properties of pipeline subjected to plastic deformation. Axial tensile pre-strain up to approximately 10% was applied to plate-type tensile specimens cut from the API 5L X65 pipe prior to mechanical testing. Tensile test revealed that the yield strength and the tensile strength increased with increasing tensile pre-strain. However, the CTOD and Charpy impact energy values for crack initiation decreased with increasing tensile pre-strain.
Soon-Bok Lee and Yun-Jae Kim
J. H. Baek et al., ""An Experimental Study on the Pre-Strain Effect of API 5L X65 Pipeline for Natural Gas Transmission"", Key Engineering Materials, Vols. 326-328, pp. 1063-1066, 2006",254,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215077.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819110157-20180819130157-00418.warc.gz,0.837152540683746
c0c169d5-d03f-408d-8ac4-6e29a714eb4e,2015-03-30T05:59:09+00:00,2007-06-01,0,http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/rock-xtreme-sl-pro-22553/reevoo,"Rock is an established gaming manufacturer, and its Xtreme SL Pro (£2,499 inc. VAT) is one of only a few 20-inch laptops currently available. Although portability is restricted by the large size and 7.3kg weight, we found it to be an excellent gaming machine with large and comfortable controls.
The 20-inch display is little short of stunning. With a flawless glossy Super-TFT coating, colours are great and images appear large and clear. We found it perfect for gaming, although to get the true benefit it's better to use an external keyboard and sit slightly further back.
Offering the fastest graphics solution currently available, you'll find two Nvidia GeForce Go 7950GTX cards in place. This is the same setup found in the Alienware, and offers excellent performance. Games ran smoothly, and even S.T.A.L.K.E.R. caused few problems. However, the 7950GTX is not a DirectX 10 solution, so you won't be able to take full advantage of the next-generation DX10 games.
The 20-inch display gives the Rock a large footprint, and there's more than enough space on the chassis for the generous-sized keyboard, palm rests and stereo speakers. The keyboard is comfortable to use, and has a dedicated numeric keypad.
The keys are firmly attached, but it's not the quietest of boards. We found the touchpad large and comfortable and it didn't get in the way when typing. However, the two graphics cards are cooled less efficiently than they are in rival laptops, and the palm rests heated up more on both sides during use.
Despite the large size and weight, Rock has provided a carrying backpack, in case you occasionally want to take it to a friend's house or to LAN parties.
The Rock is unusual in that it uses AMD processor - a 2GHz dual-core Turion 64 X2 TL60 chip. This is an older solution than the Core 2 Duo processors of its rivals and, despite having the same amount of memory, the SL Pro simply wasn't as quick in day-to-day use.
Applications took a little longer to load, and there was slightly more lag when running multiple programs. However, this is still a rapid machine, capable of running multiple tasks with ease. You'll find two hard drives set up in a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) configuration, although at 200GB there could be storage on offer, but still enough to house all of the media you'll ever need.
The Rock is a compelling machine, offering an excellent screen and impressive 3D performance. However, it comes at a high price.",553,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131299114.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172139-00133-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.965161621570587
4a3e4191-7549-4808-b923-37f9d30c5082,2013-05-22T21:26:53+00:00,2013-01-23,1,http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/technical-research-on-facebook-and-zynga-aiming-to-boost-their-image-188025511.html,"Technical Research on Facebook and Zynga: Aiming to Boost Their Image
LONDON, January 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) taught an oft-repeated lesson to stock market players last year. However, the wisdom of not buying into the hype is easily forgotten in the stock market. Nothing else can explain the hoopla that surrounded Facebook IPO last year, especially after the IPO debacle of its conjoined twin Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA). While other internet stocks like Groupon are still struggling to live up to the lofty valuations, Facebook and Zynga are now looking to break some new ground to salvage their position. StockCall in-depth analysis on Facebook and Zynga are available upon registration on
Facebook Makes Foray into Social Search
Facebook also recently tried to arouse interest by making cryptic announcements about its future plans. While the sector analysts were making bizarre assumptions about the introduction of new Facebook phone, the real deal turned out to be much tamer offering of social media search function. While many market pundits went gung ho claiming Facebook to be the new Google, the reality is much more prosaic. While the new function is not going to be a considerable threat to Google, but it can certainly help Facebook in gaining lead over its peers like Yelp and LinkedIn. However, since the stock declined soon after the announcement, it is clear that the market is taking Facebook's plans with a pinch of salt. The concept of social search is already used by companies like Netflix, LinkedIn and Yelp. So, the investors will have to wait to see if Facebook will be able to give it a new spin.
Given the fact that Facebook has not made any fundamental change to its business, the rollercoaster ride of its stock can be attributed to idiosyncrasies of stock market. However, lately, the stock has been attracting Hedge Fund and institutional investors, retail investors can ride the tide while it lasts.
Zynga Moves from Internet Money to Real Money Gambling
Zynga Inc. [Free Research Report on ZNGA](1), on the other hand, received a major setback when Facebook announced its independent foray into social gaming. Zynga receives a major chunk of its revenue from its collaboration with Facebook, so its bottom-line is going to feel the heat in coming quarters. However, at the same time, Zynga is moving away from its internet legacy. In order to better monetize its offerings, the company now offers online casino games in the UK. On the similar lines, its application for offering real money casino games in Nevada is also under review. It is still not going to be an easy road for Zynga as online gambling is one hot spot fraught with complicated legal implications.
Zynga is also struggling to retain its talent as it has seen massive exodus of its management and creative talent in past couple of months. The problem is only set to get more compounded as the social gaming company also plans to lay-off as many as 150 employees to cut its costs. On the plus side, the company has rather robust balance sheet with healthy cash reserves which it may use to buy back its shares and provide value to its investors. So, while the stock is not likely to show upward move like Facebook, it may stabilize in the medium-term.
- Zynga Inc. Technical Analysis [ http://www.StockCall.com/ZyngaInc012313.pdf ]
StockCall.com is a financial website where investors can have easy, precise and comprehensive research and opinions on stocks making the headlines. Sign up today to talk to our financial analyst at
More by this Source
Morning Research on Standard Pacific, Toll Brothers, Gafisa, Ryland, and MDC Holdings
Apr 23, 2013, 08:27 ET
Before the Bell Scans of Radian Group, MBIA Inc., Progressive, Allstate, and PartnerRe
Apr 23, 2013, 08:20 ET
Browse our custom packages or build your own to meet your unique communications needs.
Learn about PR Newswire services
Request more information about PR Newswire products and services or call us at (888) 776-0942.",875,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951947093009949
ecccc2b2-f3c2-44ba-a79c-280ab9dcff88,2017-08-18T18:31:13+00:00,2011-01-24,0,http://www.southernsavers.com/groupon-the-birmingham-news-subscription/,"See I told you, this would help!
- SC = Store Coupon
- MC = Manufacturer Coupon
- SS = Smart Source
- RP = Red Plum
- PG = Proctor and Gamble
- WYB = When You Buy
- B1G1 = Buy One Get One Free
- .75/1 = 75 cents off one item
- .75/3 = 75 cents off three items
- EXP = Expiration Date
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
Here is a great Groupon deal for anyone who lives in Birmingham.
You can get a one-year Sunday only subscription to The Birmingham News for only $39. This makes it 75 cents a paper!!
You must activate by 1/25/11 and the subscription expires 1 yr from activation. This is available to new subscribers only and the subscription address must be in this list of zip codes.
(thanks Coupon Kat!)
- Latest Articles",201,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105086.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818175604-20170818195604-00564.warc.gz,0.890675365924835
6b07d2bb-2448-426a-883b-fb7be2ec6a3b,2020-10-24T23:44:56+00:00,2015-05-28,1,https://isnblog.ethz.ch/tag/navy/page/2,"Hans Christian Andersen crafted the parable of the emperor’s new clothes to teach children how pomposity and collective denial can produce stupidity and how childlike honesty can cut through it all. The tale centers on a credulous emperor and a circle of courtiers and subjects who were willing to play along with the delusion – a situation now mirrored not only in the Pentagon, but also in the White House and Congress. And the U.S. Navy is caught in in this web of pomposity and collective denial on two fronts. The first involves the Navy’s Fleet Response Program (FRP) and the second is the inconsistency between the Unified Command Plan (UCP) and the Navy’s operating environment – the world’s oceans. These issues might not sound sexy, but they are crucial to understand. Both are related and the net result is an over-extended Navy, bereft of a command-and-control apparatus congruent with its operating environment.
In November 2013, much to the surprise and alarm of the international community, China announced the creation of its “first” Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea. There is growing concern that China will implement a second in the South China Sea, an unstable area riddled with maritime and territorial disputes. The November announcement prompted journalists, policy makers, and scholars to understand and explain the political and security implications of China’s ADIZ. A common concern was that China appeared to be using its ADIZ as a means of asserting sovereignty over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. Much of the subsequent analysis and commentary misrepresented the actual global state of play with respect to ADIZs, as well as their purposes and functions. The result was a great deal of unnecessary criticism and tension. A better understanding of ADIZs is required to prevent similar disputes in the future. But even better than an improved understanding would be a uniform global regime with consistent and transparent practices so that aviation safety and maritime or territorial disputes do not compromise each other in the future.
This book review was originally published by the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) on 28 May, 2015.
Andrew Cockburn. Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins. Henry Holt Publishers. 307pp. $28.00.
It’s not often that a book review coincides with current events. Books, particularly nonfiction, are usually written and published months, if not years after an event has occurred. That’s because good nonfiction is written in retrospect: writers have spent some time absorbing their subject, researching and analyzing the facts; authors are hesitant to be rash in judgment or thought.
However, there are exceptions. Some pieces of nonfiction, particularly journalists’ works, are appropriate now — not later. Andrew Cockburn’s new book, Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins, is one of them. Cockburn’s book is timely. In just the past few weeks there has been a flood of reporting from media outlets stating that a drone strike killed an American and an Italian hostage when targeting a group of Al-Qaeda members operating near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
This article was originally published by the Center for International Maritime Studies (CIMSEC) on 22 May 2015.
With a coup d’état in May 2014 and the appointment of General Prayut Chan-o-cha as Prime Minister, 2014 proved to be a tumultuous year in Thai politics. Still faced with a deeply divided society, it is difficult for the Thai authorities to articulate foreign policy priorities or a grand strategy for the country. Even so, the Royal Thai Navy may soon have important tools available with which Thailand can make its presence felt internationally.
Although often overlooked by most reports in favor of the contributions made by the Chinese and the Russians in years since, Thailand was an important player in counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. In response to an increase in Somali-based piracy, Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 was established in January 2009 to secure freedom of navigation along international shipping routes in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Although comprised largely of vessels and crews from NATO member states, Thailand deployed a Pattani-class off-shore patrol vessel and a supply ship to join the force in 2010-2011.
Is China increasing production of nuclear ballistic missile submarines?
Over the past few months, several US defense and intelligence officials have stated for the record that China is planning to build significantly more nuclear-powered missile submarines than previously assumed.
This would potentially put a bigger portion of China’s nuclear arsenal out to sea, a risky proposition, and further deepen China’s unfortunate status as the only nuclear-armed state party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation that is increasing it nuclear arsenal.",996,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107885059.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024223210-20201025013210-00481.warc.gz,0.953033685684204
e5249512-10e7-45c4-8813-16225d168ecb,2013-05-23T04:34:50+00:00,2010-12-20,0,http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1728705,"Do Speculators Drive Crude Oil Futures Prices?
Bank of Canada
Jeffrey H. Harris
December 20, 2010
The Energy Journal, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 167-202, 2011
The coincident rise in crude oil prices and increased number of financial participants in the crude oil futures market from 2000-2008 has led to allegations that “speculators” drive crude oil prices. As crude oil futures peaked at $147/bbl in July 2008, the role of speculators came under heated debate. In this paper, we employ unique data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to test the relation between crude oil prices and the trading positions of various types of traders in the crude oil futures market. We employ Granger Causality tests to analyze lead and lag relations between price and position data at daily and multiple day intervals. We find little evidence that hedge funds and other non-commercial (speculator) position changes Granger-cause price changes; the results instead suggest that price changes precede their position changes.
Accepted Paper Series
Date posted: December 20, 2010
© 2013 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This page was processed by apollo4 in 0.640 seconds",267,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.897639274597168
e93aa4b7-19c8-4bfb-b2db-151dc1404f1d,2019-08-25T08:15:04+00:00,2019-08-25,1,https://oats.co.uk/taxonomy/term/bio-fuels,"Larvae feeding on human waste, and old tyres and plastics are creating the latest biolubes and fuels in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tag: bio fuels
Global Bioenergies has revealed a breakthrough in biofuel development that could overcome ""blend wall"" limits.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Renewable Fuel Standard is proposing ambitious increases in fuel production.
New scientific research has shown that biofuel-to-hydrocarbon conversion is possible without turning ethanol to ethylene.
ArcelorMittal SA plans to use waste gases from its steel operations to produce low-carbon fuel for vehicles.
Research has revealed the three-dimensional structure and mechanism of action of a key enzyme used in bio-fuel production.
DB Export in New Zealand has created a biofuel from leftover yeast from brewing beer.
Biofuels and lube producers are set to benefit from two new discoveries
Research shows biodiesel handling should be different from petroleum-based diesel.
The global synthetic and bio-based lubricant market is set to grow at a moderate CAGR, over the next three to four years, according to Transparency Market Research.",240,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027323221.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825062944-20190825084944-00303.warc.gz,0.9228276014328
f2a0b6e5-1343-4412-86f8-551bd9a3209d,2018-08-16T02:20:58+00:00,2017-01-31,0,http://www.themission.co.uk/news/b2b-marketing-league-results/,"themission AGENCIES SHINE IN B2B MARKETING LEAGUE
The league, produced by B2B Marketing, aims to provide a run-down of the industry’s leading B2B marcomms Agencies, in the UK and globally alongside the top B2B PR Agencies.
Bray Leino came an impressive 3rd place in the B2B UK Marcomms Agencies league table and 4th in the Global Marcomms league. This marks the fifth year in a row that Bray Leino has been placed as one of the top 3 Agencies.
Kate Cox, Bray Leino CEO said, “The last year was immense for our B2B team, we're very proud of our performance and the work we've done for our Clients. We've posted significant Agency growth by securing a number of world-renowned new Clients and extending our remit with existing ones. The industry is thriving and we're excited about the challenges and opportunities that 2017 will bring.”
April Six, one of B2B Marketing’s Agencies of the Year, was placed 16th in the UK after year on year growth of nearly 40%, and was rewarded for its successful international expansion, rising to 14th in the Global Marcomms league.
For April Six’s CEO Fiona Shepherd, the standings are recognition for the Agency’s rapid and effective delivery against its bold plans for global expansion. “We set out to become one of the leading technology marketing Agencies in the world. We’ve quickly achieved that goal and our US and Singapore offices are established, thriving, and working with some of the world’s biggest tech brands. Combined with another fantastic year of growth from our UK HQ office, the Agency is in an incredibly strong position to expand again in 2017.”
Speed ranked at No. 4 in the B2B PR Agency league table, an impressive jump of five places from the previous year’s report.
“To go from a top 10 B2B PR Agency to a top 5 Agency in a year is quite simply brilliant,” said Kelly Pepworth, Managing Director at Speed. “Without a shadow of a doubt, it is down to the hard work and commitment of the entire team in securing great business and delivering brilliant campaigns that Clients want to invest in.”",495,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221210408.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816015316-20180816035316-00651.warc.gz,0.947961449623108
d919b1e1-a34c-4278-94a3-1d3e08341517,2019-08-18T13:04:28+00:00,2018-06-01,0,https://www.todaystrucking.com/tag/transport-bourassa/,"TORONTO, Ont. – More than 15 companies in the trucking industry have been named to Deloitte’s 2018 Best Managed Companies list.
The accounting firm names companies annually to the list in four tiers: companies that are new to the list, those that have been on the list for two or more years, Gold members that have been on the list for three consecutive years, and Platinum members who have been on the list for seven or more years.
Now in its 25th year, Canada’s Best Managed Companies is one of the country’s leading business awards programs recognizing Canadian-owned and managed companies for innovative, world-class business practices. Every year, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the caliber of their management abilities and practices.
TORONTO, Ont. – The Today’s Trucking Top 100 has become the definitive ranking of for-hire fleet sizes in Canada, offering insights into those who are adding or retracting available capacity. And the 2018 edition has been released. Rankings are based on a sum of supplied truck, tractor, and trailer counts (shown at the bottom of each listing)",244,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313889.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818124516-20190818150516-00300.warc.gz,0.96647310256958
dbebbdf7-9584-4bad-b114-3df46e60cf40,2013-05-25T05:51:47+00:00,2012-01-13,0,http://www.cjournal.info/2012/01/13/terror-attacks-u-s-israeli-war-games-raise-the-prospects-for-war/,"by Tom Burghardt
Amid rising tensions over bogus Western claims that Iran plans to build nuclear weapons, upcoming American war games with Israel have the potential of escalating into a deadly confrontation.
A miscalculation, or deliberate provocation by the West designed to maneuver the Iranians into “firing the first shot,” could have disastrous consequences far beyond the confines of the Persian Gulf.
That provocation wasn’t long in coming.
Despite an agreement reached by Iran with the P 5+1 group of nations (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany), to restart talks in Turkey over the nuclear issue, the CIA-Mossad-MEK terror campaign took a dark turn this week; a sign that the imperialist powers, spearheaded by the United States, aim to scupper negotiations even before they start.
On Tuesday, an Iranian university professor, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was murdered after two assailants on a motorcycle attached magnetic bombs to his car.
Analyst Richard Silverstein wrote on the Tikun Olam web site Wednesday that “my own confidential Israeli source confirms today’s murder was the work of the Mossad and MEK, as have been a number of previous operations I’ve reported here.”
Silverstein averred that “the method recalls another series of assassinations that occurred of Fereidoun Abbassi Davani (who was seriously wounded) and his colleague Majid Shahriari (who was killed). Today’s killing occurred two years to the day after the assassination of another scientist, Masoud Ali Mohammadi.”
According to Fars News Agency, the blasts which killed Roshan “also wounded two other Iranian nationals in Seyed Khandan neighborhood in Northern Tehran.”
The scientist”s driver, Reza Qashqavi, who was severely injured in the blast, “died of his wounds in Resalat Hospital a few hours later,” Fars reported.
What makes Roshan’s murder especially troubling is that according to political analyst Seyyed Mohamed Marandi, the “IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] officials had met him [Ahmadi Roshan] earlier.”
Marandi charged that all of the Iranian scientists who had been targeted and then subsequently murdered in terrorist attacks “have had their names given by the IAEA to third parties,” Press TV reported.
“It is obvious that Western intelligence agencies are carrying out these attacks, or if the Israelis are carrying them out, it is with the knowledge of the Europeans and Americans. Because these agencies are very closely aligned to one another, they cooperate extensively, they exchange information,” Marandi said.
While no one has claimed authorship of the terrorist outrage, the Associated Press reported that IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz testified in closed session to the Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that America’s proxy, Israel, was engaged in sabotaging Iran’s nuclear program through a series of “unnatural acts.”
“2012 is expected to be a critical year for Iran,” Gantz told the committee, citing “the confluence of efforts to advance the nuclear program, internal leadership changes, continued international pressure and things that happen to it unnaturally.”
Roshan was the fourth scientist killed in a series of assassinations since January 2010 and follows a series of attacks on defense and nuclear facilities.
In early November, a massive bomb blast at the sprawling Bid Ganeh missile base 25 miles west of Tehran killed upwards of 30 members of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including Major General Hassan Moqqadam, a senior leader of Iran’s missile program.
Later that month, a huge explosion was reported at Iran’s uranium conversion facility in Isfahan. Though Iranian officials denied an attack took place, The Times reported that “satellite imagery … clearly showed billowing smoke and destruction.”
U.S. officials, as is their wont, responded in typical fashion–they blamed the victims.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said she had “no information one way or the other” about the scientist’s murder, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced Iran for their “provocative rhetoric” and issued a categorical denial that the U.S. was organizing terrorism inside the Islamic Republic.
However, in an interview with the Hebrew-language Ma’ariv daily, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said that “Washington is preparing to undertake any measure to thwart Iran’s nuclear program,” Xinhua reported.
“We’ve said and I say again that all options are open … President (Barack) Obama clearly and consistently says that he will do everything and resort to all necessary means to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, and he means every word,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro’s statement, if not quite an open admission, is a sign of Washington’s boundless hypocrisy as it supposedly wages a so-called “War on Terror” while organizing terrorist attacks on governments it has targeted for regime change.
Iran, and China, Strike a Defiant Note
With a new round of economic sanctions targeting Iran’s ability to sell its oil on international markets signed into law by President Obama last week, and with the European Union threatening to do the same, it was unlikely that the Iranian government, or their principle trading partner, would sit idly by and allow the West to damage their respective economies.
Although The Washington Post reported Tuesday that “a senior U.S. intelligence official” said that “the goal of U.S. and other sanctions against Iran is regime collapse,” the quote was quickly yanked from their web site.
The Post claimed the earlier account was “incorrectly reported” and that “an updated version clarifies the official’s remarks,” a fallacious climb-down that revealed far more than Washington intended to say the least!
The European Union announced that a meeting of foreign ministers would be held January 23, a week earlier than originally planned, to finalize an agreement on a comprehensive oil embargo.
While the EU and some Asian oil-buying nations are caving-in to Washington’s demands, America’s geopolitical rival and largest creditor, China, has rejected calls to put the squeeze on Tehran.
With U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Beijing this week, The Washington Post reported that the former Kissinger Associates henchman in Obama’s cabinet “is expected to press China’s leaders to reduce the country’s oil imports from Iran.”
He is unlikely to find a receptive ear, however.
China’s vice foreign minister responsible for U.S. relations, Cui Tiankai, said on Monday that “the normal trade relations and energy cooperation between China and Iran have nothing to do with the nuclear issue. We should not mix issues of different natures, and China’s legitimate concerns and demands should be respected.”
Having blasted the new sanctions regime imposed last week, China, the third largest buyer of Iranian crude, said new restrictions would not affect business in the least.
The Associated Press reported that “about 11 percent of China’s oil imports in 2011 came from Iran, or about 560,000 barrels per day, a flow that increased in the latter half of the year, according to oil industry analysts Argus Media.”
“The daily average for November was 617,000 barrels,” AP reported, “close to a third of Iran’s total oil exports of 2.2 million barrels a day, Argus said,” a sign that China is hardly intimidated by U.S. threats.
Rejecting U.S. and European claims that normal business relations with the Islamic Republic provided financial support for its nuclear program, Cui declared that “argument does not hold water.”
“According to this logic,” the vice minister said, “if the Iranians have enough money to feed their population, then they have the ability to develop nuclear programs,” Cui told reporters. “If that is the case, should we also deny Iran the opportunity to feed its population?”
Cui’s pointed remark was an obvious jab at the U.S. sanctions regime which targeted Iraq for more than a decade prior to the 2003 invasion. Sanctions, which former UN official Dennis Halliday called “genocide” back in 1999, were estimated to have caused the death of upwards of 1.7. million people, including some 500,000 children, a “price” which former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said was “worth it.”
Undeterred by American threats, Press TV disclosed Sunday that “a senior Iranian lawmaker says the aim of the upcoming naval drills by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) is to prepare for the potential closure of the strategic Hormuz Strait.”
Iranian naval officials announced January 5 that they “would be holding a major military maneuver in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in February.”
“IRGC’s Naval Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said the drills, the seventh in a series of military exercises dubbed the Great Prophet, will be different compared to previous naval maneuvers held by the IRGC,” Press TV reported.
Pointedly, the deputy head of the parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Esmail Kowsari, said that “the military maneuver has been designed to prepare the armed forces for receiving the order to shut down the strait within the shortest time possible.”
The semiofficial Iranian news outlet also reported Sunday that the “Commander of Iran’s Ground Forces Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan announces plans to hold a massive military maneuver in the near future.”
“In line with the global developments and their own interests,” Pourdastan told Press TV, “Western countries are, today, using soft war [tactics] as the core of their strategy and it is [only] natural for us to have a defense [tactic] when the enemy starts a war.”
On Monday, Fars News Agency reported that IRGC Commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, reiterated his earlier warning that “any enemy move, even the slightest aggressions, against the Islamic Republic would be reciprocated with a destructive response and will endanger the interests of the aggressor all around the world.”
Mounting U.S.-NATO Threats
Iran’s announcement that they will hold new naval exercises, followed a report by The Daily Telegraph that the UK will deploy “the HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer,” and this “will send a significant message to the Iranians because of the firepower and world-beating technology carried by the warship.”
In November, The Guardian disclosed that “Britain’s armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran.”
In a controlled leak, Ministry of Defence officials told The Guardian that “military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.”
During the 2003 U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, Diego Garcia was used by the the U.S. Air Force as a launch pad for B-2 stealth bombers during the initial phase of Washington’s “shock and awe” campaign over Baghdad.
It now appears those contingency plans have moved off the drawing board with the deployment of the HMS Daring towards the Persian Gulf.
The Telegraph disclosed that the ship “has been fitted with new technology that will give it the ability to shoot down any missile in Iran’s armoury. The £1 billion destroyer, which will leave Portsmouth next Wednesday, also carries the world’s most sophisticated naval radar, capable of tracking multiple incoming threats from missiles to fighter jets.”
Defense Secretary Philip Hammond warned Iran that “any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be ‘illegal and unsuccessful’.”
According to the Telegraph, naval sources have said that “more British ships could be sent to the Gulf if required. The second Type 45, HMS Dauntless, will also be available to sail at short notice.”
As Global Research reported in December, the United States has significantly increased military aid to Israel in preparation for an all-out war with Iran and that “the Pentagon dispatched some 100 military personnel to Israel from US European Command (EUCOM) to assist Israel in setting up a new sophisticated X-band early warning radar system as part of a new and integrated air defense system.”
Although “casually heralded as ‘military aid,’” Michel Chossudovsky wrote, “the project consisted in strengthening the integration of Israel’s air defense system into that of the US, with the Pentagon rather than Israel calling the shots.”
In a new development, Russia Today reported last week that “thousands of American troops are being deployed to Israel, and Iranian officials believe that this is the latest and most blatant warning that the US will soon be attacking Tehran.”
“Under the Austere Challenge 12 drill scheduled for an undisclosed time during the next few weeks,” RT disclosed, “the Israeli military will together with America host the largest-ever joint missile drill by the two countries.”
An anonymous Israeli official told the Associated Press “the drill would test multiple Israeli and U.S. air defense systems against incoming missiles and rockets. Israel has deployed the ‘Arrow’ system, jointly developed and funded with the U.S., designed to intercept Iranian missiles in the stratosphere, far from Israel.”
While U.S. and Israeli officials have called the drills “routine,” RT reported that “following the installation of American troops near Iran’s neighboring Strait of Hormuz and the reinforcing of nearby nations with US weapons, Tehran authorities are considering this not a test but the start of something much bigger.”
Iranian fears are fully justified.
With the United States and NATO ringing Iran with military bases and with the U.S. beefing-up arm sales to its regional allies, including recently announced plans to sell some $30 billion of advanced F-15SA war planes to Saudi Arabia and “bunker buster” bombs to the UAE, the stage is set for a confrontation.
In this context, the murder of an Iranian scientist just as a new round of talks were announced, is a clear sign that Washington is hell-bent on imposing its control over the Persian Gulf–through aggressive war–as part of long-standing plans to ensure imperial hegemony over the energy-rich regions of of Central Asia and the Middle East.
Tom Burghardt is a researcher and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to publishing in Covert Action Quarterly and Global Research, an independent research and media group of writers, scholars, journalists and activists based in Montreal, he is a Contributing Editor with Cyrano’s Journal Today. His articles can be read on Dissident Voice, Pacific Free Press, Uncommon Thought Journal, and the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. He is the editor of Police State America: U.S. Military “Civil Disturbance” Planning, distributed by AK Press and has contributed to the new book from Global Research, The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century.",3349,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.95696622133255
229f53f7-8803-4985-9fd6-e2029696e88e,2022-05-18T06:23:17+00:00,2022-05-18,0,https://www.crackedbulbdesign.com.au/portfolio/pump-corp-concrete-pumping-presentation-folder-design/,"Pump Corp is a leading concrete pumping service provider in the Brisbane area. Pump Corp provides concrete distribution and pumping services for a variety of customers including national and local builders, concrete contractors and other companies and individuals. Pump Corp (Australia) Pty Ltd provides concrete pumping services to major projects that are governed by industry enterprise bargaining agreements. Pump Corp (Queensland) Pty Ltd provides concrete pumping services to private and domestic projects that are not governed by enterprise bargaining agreements
A big thanks to Pump Corp for giving Cracked Bulb Design the opportunity to design their Presentation Folders.",117,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00008.warc.gz,0.947963535785675
0b739deb-2b5d-49e9-946c-664cea100b37,2016-07-26T19:50:46+00:00,2011-10-18,1,http://www.unhcr.org/print/4e9d33cc9.html,"Asylum applications in industrialized countries rise in first six months in 2011
By continent, Europe registered the highest number of claims with 73 per cent of all asylum applications in industrialized countries.
GENEVA, October 18 (UNHCR) - Industrialized countries saw a 17 per cent increase in asylum applications in the first half of this year, with most claimants coming from countries with long-standing displacement situations.
UNHCR's ""Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, First Half 2011"" report, released today, also shows that 198,300 asylum applications were lodged in the period between January 1 and June 30, compared to 169,300 in the same period in 2010.
As application rates normally peak during the second half of the year, UNHCR projects that 2011 may see 420,000 applications by year's end - the highest total in eight years.
So far this year there have been major forced displacement crises in West, North and East Africa. The report finds related increases in asylum claims among Tunisians, Ivorians and Libyans (4,600, 3,300 and 2,000 claims respectively), but overall the impact of these events on application rates in industrialized countries has been limited.
Taking the 44 countries surveyed in the report as a whole, the main countries of origin of asylum-seekers remained largely unchanged from previous surveys: Afghanistan (15,300 claims), China (11,700 claims), Serbia [and Kosovo: Security Council Resolution 1244] (10,300 claims), Iraq (10,100 claims) and Iran (7,600 claims).
""2011 has been a year of displacement crises unlike any other I have seen in my time as High Commissioner,"" said UNHCR chief António Guterres. ""Their impact on asylum claims in industrialized countries seems to have been lower so far than might have been expected, as most of those who fled went to neighbouring countries. Nonetheless we are grateful that the industrialized states have continued to respect the right of people to have their claims to asylum heard.""
By continent, Europe registered the highest number of claims with 73 per cent of all asylum applications in industrialized countries. Only Australasia saw a significant decline in applicants: 5,100 claims compared with 6,300 a year earlier.
By country, the United States had more claims (36,400) than any other industrialized nation, followed by France with (26,100), Germany (20,100), Sweden (12,600) and the United Kingdom (12,200). The Nordic region was the only part of Europe to see a fall in asylum applications. Meanwhile, in north-east Asia applications more than doubled - 1,300 claims were lodged in Japan and South Korea compared to 600 in the first half of 2010.
The ""Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, First Half 2011"" report complements UNHCR's annual Global Trends Report, issued in June each year, and which this year found that 80 per cent of refugees are being hosted in developing countries.",605,s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825124.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00266-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz,0.951984286308289