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MADISON, Wis. — A new policy is making its way state government — and possibly other places as well — where transgender health care is required. It's called the Fairness for All Wisconsin Act, and the idea is an opportunity for the public to have a say. As a group of community leaders gathered Monday night to discuss the idea at the Capitol, their conversations began with a long history of frustration with the state law that keeps transgender students off the school field. "My hope that we can put on the table why this bill is necessary," said Dan Neidorff, president of the Madison School Board and president-elect of the Madison Teachers' Association. Neidorff said the bill's sponsors hope to include the state's most vulnerable students. The Fairness for All Wisconsin Act, introduced Feb. 1, would require state agencies, schools, non-profits and other bodies to provide the transgender community with equal access to health care. "We have a huge group of people that have no access to transgender healthcare, and it's a pretty big problem. And for those people and their families, you can imagine what's hard," said Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum. The move comes after a statewide study last year that found that transgender students received less than half the health information they get other than what they see on family TV and radio. RELATED: Wisconsin study recommends changes in transgender health care Kremer said he is convinced that a mandate in the bill is needed. "Transgender people have a right to their dignity, be treated with dignity, and our bill does that," Kremer said. He said transgender and gender non-conforming community members can already see doctors in private practices through the Affordable Care Act. That includes the state's public health insurance, and it can also be provided through state Medicaid plans. "That's where they already have access to health care," Kremer said. But when it comes to public institutions, some groups of people have less access. While transgender patients can see doctors through Medicaid, doctors are not required to treat someone if it means the person will lose Medicaid coverage through their job. Kremer said this new policy is not about discrimination, but about creating equality for everyone, not just transgender citizens. "It's not about treating trans people a different way, but treating everyone the same," he said. "That's what this policy is about." Kremer said it is unclear how much of a change it is in policy, but said if everyone is covered, it would be a huge step forward. "When you have people of a certain demographic, they don't have a lot of income, and there are so many people that don't have health insurance in this state and those people would not be able to get the same care as any other person," Kremer said. He said more than 1 million people — about one out of every four Wisconsinites — are uninsured, and that has a direct cost to the state treasury. Neidorff is not sure how soon patients who are currently being treated through Medicaid will be allowed to get more health coverage. The bill may not be perfect. Neidorff's group of stakeholders is working to ensure transgender patients will be given the care they need to succeed, regardless of their income. This post was updated Feb. 11 at 6:55 a.m. to include a link to the Fairness for All Wisconsin Act. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
A Florida man was charged with threatening to execute an ex-girlfriend and her son after she confronted him at their apartment using a gun he had bought for her, police say. Anthony Buford, 25, was charged Thursday in Polk County with three felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. On the night of June 22, Joshua McDaniel called 911 while hiding from Buford, who was trying to break into his house, KGMB-TV reported. Police told the television station that McDaniel, 19, and the ex-girlfriend were in a garage when Buford, 22, came to the door. Buford had been told to get away but he kept coming back, the report said. When McDaniel returned to the door carrying a gun, the report said, the two had a confrontation. Buford allegedly lunged and struck at McDaniel while he tried to get into his house. McDaniel told the television station his ex-girlfriend said he could see the weapon through a window next to him, but a deputy told the station, "In my 18 years, I have never seen something like that, and that guy had it in his hand." Buford was taken in for questioning by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Authorities decided not to arrest Buford until an investigation determined who had threatened the woman. Buford was released after posting a $25,000 bond. John Aguilar contributed to this report Click for more from KGMB-TV. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Its happening. The dead are finally rising from the grave. I stood in the graveyard, and waited, as the zombies burst through the soil. The first one stood up completely. I raised my baseball bat and ran at it, screaming. The zombie looked confused. It grabbed my bat from my hands and threw it away. ``Woah there mate, I don't need to be attacked the moment I wake up. I've been dead for decades, can I go a minute without people trying to give me a heart attack,''. ``Wait, what,'' I said. The zombie chuckled a little. ``Did you think that we would come back wanting to kill youse all? Nah, we like humans. We were humans. Now we're just coming back to life. Give us a bit of a break, huh?''. I stuttered, trying to figure out what to say. I felt a bony hand grab my shoulder. ``He's right, dearie. No need to be afraid of us. I understand your generations obsession with zombies and sparkly vampires. My grandson particularly liked those. Huh, wonder how he is. It's been a while,''. I managed to speak. ``You're not gon na eat me?'' ``No! I'm sorry, but you wouldn't be very filling from the looks of you,''. The zombie laughed. I stared wide-eyed, as around the graveyard, the zombies began rejoicing at their life, that they would be able to see their family and friends again. Several zombies were hugging each other, shouting joyfully and conversing with grins of excitement. ``Huh,'' I said, ``This was, unexp | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
The wood creaks that familiar sound. Bare feet on dry wood feels comforting. The carefully shifting weight of an elderly stride. But this is no leisurely stroll, the she had walked down this dock a thousand times but this would be his last. The procession watched from the shore. It was kind of them to come. It was never easy to let go. Especially alone. Her arms grew tired. She carried two heavy weights. One in her heart and one in her arms. The heft showed on her tearful face. Her grown son's face was calm his body cold. She wished to see his smile once more. She wished she could have said more. Or did she say too much? The weight overtook her and she lost her balance but his body did not touch the dock. A mother's strength is something to behold. She came to his tiny ship. She placed her baby in his final crib. She took from around her neck a tiny compass. Something to show him the way. She tied the little sails and her hand wouldn't let go. How could she? She reached in and kissed him goodbye. The sails took him away quickly on his last adventure on the shore of | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
The United States is poised to expand an air base in Qatar for the first time in nearly 20 months. The Pentagon confirmed that four US C-130 cargo planes loaded with more than 7,000 pounds of ammunition and equipment will arrive at the al Udeid Air Base, which is a key stopover for US warplanes going to or from war in Iraq. The move is part of a broader package of US air operations for the war in Iraq and Syria aimed at bolstering the campaign against the militant group. US forces have already been deploying to the base to provide refueling and airfield maintenance. The aircraft and the supplies will be stored at a depot owned by Qatar — which funds the war in the Middle East. After arriving at the base, the C-130 cargo planes will be flown by US military crews to forward operating locations in both Iraq and Syria. Those bases provide support for US military operations in both countries. "The Qataris have been terrific," said one US defense official. "They've been working with us for three years to build the airfield, and we're in the process of helping that development even more. We've done that using a very secure airport outside Qatar, built with very little outside assistance." The US military has been carrying out operations from the base since November 2014, when US aircraft were deployed for air support and refueling in support of ground operations in Iraq. The Pentagon has now moved more than 3,000 service members from Iraq to Qatar and Syria, where they support the US-led air campaign against the militant group. US officials have said the Pentagon may expand the operation beyond the current operation in Iraq and Syria by taking more American service members to Qatar, and perhaps beyond. "There's no question that, if anything changes in any way, then we would make that determination and we'd make a decision about who would go where," Army Gen. Lloyd Austin III, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last month. The deployment of US and allied forces to Qatar could be a signal that the fight against the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria is expanding to include new operations. There was no immediate answer to a Bloomberg request for comment on the C-130 cargo aircraft arriving at the al Udeid Air Base from the US. Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Richard Kemp said the plane has been delivered. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
"If you are in need of a ride, call 1-800-MY-DARTS or 877-MY-DAIRTS. Our licensed and insured drivers are here to take care of the hassle. We are always there to assist you with your car problems, whether it's oil pressure or brake issues. Just get in touch." "Do not allow a friend to borrow your car to go to a party unless you drive them home." "When renting a car for the first time, make sure you have a good set of keys. It's probably a good idea to give someone else a chance to use it first if you have no one else to do that. If an employee has to be let in to help, it's usually a good idea to let the car park in the employee member's driveway, even though that may require the employee to return the keys to the business's headquarters at least once or twice a day." You know, if anything, the experience of the car industry seems to be making our society a lot friendlier towards drivers-at least in the first world. We're living in a world where cars are treated as objects that drive us out into traffic jams rather than mere transportation systems, and the public's attitudes towards them also seem to be improving. That's great, but it also feels kind of silly to get mad at everyone who gets behind the wheel once in a while-especially when you're going to be paying a huge price in terms of accidents, damage, and damage to your vehicle-regardless of who causes the accident, because it's very likely that the driver was drinking at the time the accident happened.The only problem is that it's not all roses for car hire companies. They are subject to the same sort of laws as you and me, and also subject to the ever-present threat of a penalty fine. Of course, what they aren't subject to is the fact that they may be breaking the law in the most obvious way when they ask you to get out of the car and out of the driving seat. They are. They also may be in violation of some other laws and regulations that apply to car hire companies as well, and which will likely be in violation of you as well, but at least you'll know it when you see it.The fact of the matter, though, is that if you want to ensure that it's in your best interest to hire a car through a car hire company rather than driving your own, you'd probably be best advised to first of all not get behind the wheel alone as long as it's not the night when there's no traffic. Or during the day, for that matter. Don't make yourself a target at all. And be aware that while car hire companies may be working within the law at times, the law is likely to change. It might not be as clearly understood by some of us as it is by the taxi drivers.If what you want is to avoid some sort of accident or damage to your vehicle, it is highly likely that you should use someone to drive it around your area while you are awake. That's because the car hire companies are not, in a general sense, regulated by the authorities. They don't need to have the same stringent background checks as a taxi driver-nor, presumably, do they need insurance. Nor, for most of us, do they have to be licensed. They do, however, require that you have a licence in the country from which you expect to use their car to make such a ride, and require you to ensure you can prove that you are at least 21 years old. So if you are 18, you don't need a driver's licence to use a car. If you are 21, you do.If you're using a car hire company on holiday rather than the highway you're in, you need to make sure that the car you are renting has enough fuel to make it-because the rules don't exactly look kindly on using a car that is far below its recommended running temperature. If your car has less than 20 litres of fuel, and someone with that kind of car is going to be driving it around, they need to have at least at least a tank of fuel available. That may not seem like much, but when you're paying a large price to have your car repaired or replaced, plus paying an additional cost to get the car back, adding more fuel means extra costs as well.It may not be common knowledge to most of us, who have only been told stories of people getting away with driving drunk when they've been drinking, but even when cars are licenced to be driven at least, they still have to meet very strict conditions to be licenced to drive. It could be for instance a driving under the influence of alcohol law, or it could be another more obscure law, and it is those other laws that the company will be held to if it is found that they have been breaking. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Media maven Oprah Winfrey and famed Chicago Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks are among this year's recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom award, the White House announced. President Barack Obama said Thursday that Winfrey and Banks, aka Mr. Cub, are among 16 people to get the award, considered the nation's highest civilian honor. Other recipients include Gloria Steinem, Bill Clinton, Ben Bradlee, Dan Inouye and Loretta Lynn. "This year's honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world," Obama said in a statement. "It will be my honor to present them with a token of our nation's gratitude." Winfrey signed off from her iconic, Chicago-based syndicated talk show in May 2011 after 25 years. She left to dedicate time to her Oprah Winfrey Network, which recently reported a profit. Ernie Banks and Ron Kittle on NBC 5 Morning Show Andy Avalos and Matt Rodewald celebrate the opening of the a new Harry Caray's restaurant at Navy Pier. (Published Monday, March 1, 2010) "Oprah Winfrey is one of the world's most successful broadcast journalists," the White House said. "She is best known for creating The Oprah Winfrey Show, which became the highest rated talk show in America for 25 years. Ms. Winfrey has long been active in philanthropic causes and expanding opportunities for young women." Banks, ranked among baseball's best and one of Chicago's favorites, was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. "Ernie Banks is one of the greatest baseball players of all time," the White House said. "During his 19 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, he played in 11 All-Star Games, hit over 500 home runs, and became the first National League player to win Most Valuable Player honors in back-to-back years." Mr. Cub, Is This the Year? 24/7 Chicago hits it out of the park with everyone's favorite Cub, Mr. Ernie Banks. (Published Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009) A time and date for the presentation of the medals has yet to be announced. Past sports recipients of the award include Joe DiMaggio, Billie Jean King, Arnold Palmer, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Muhammad Ali. In total more than 500 individuals have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
The New Age movement has a new celebrity member, and he's also one of the most famous people from a former age group: Michael Jackson. The late singer and actor endorsed the movement a few years ago, but he's now become a popular guest at New Age retreats around the world. Michael Jackson is the spokesperson for the New Age Movement (NAM), according to a recent article in The Observer, "The man who transformed British life". He is a NAM spokesperson because the movement focuses on "positive thinking and the practice of life skills to overcome adversity and cultivate optimism", The Observer reports. According to NAMI, Jackson is the "most famous NAMI spokesperson". NAMI describes the founder of NAM as the "world's first modern teacher in NAMI, the New Age Meditation and Enlightenment Movement. Mr Michael Jackson is the world's first modern teacher in NAMI, the New Age Meditation and Enlightenment Movement. He is a spiritual teacher, author and humanitarian." NAMI also has a website featuring Jackson's photo and a number of statements made by NAMI. The website is devoted to promoting NAMI's message by telling potential and current members of the NAMI movement about Jackson's message. In an email sent to the NAMI website, Jackson said: "I am a practitioner of NAMI and a member of the NAMI community at this time," Jackson wrote. "We are currently exploring the best ways to combine NAMI and the New Age movement together for the common benefit and development of many. "I am always looking forward to learning more about the various components and philosophies of the NAMI Movement and I wish them each all the best." NAMI members attend various NAMI events and retreats at which Jackson performs, often promoting NAMI's movement. In 2013 the singer announced on Twitter that it was his final day on Twitter before retiring. While NAMI's website states the following about Jackson's role in NAMI: "Michael Jackson is one of the most recognized and respected spiritual spokesmen of our time and one of NAMI's most prominent public faces since the organization's founding in the 1960s." NAMI claims to have an approximately 5,000 member organization, in addition to over 30,000 members in worldwide groups. According to The Observer article, NAMI has "more than $2 billion in assets" and has been around for 60 years. Since its founding in the early 1960s, it claims to have helped "a number of countries, millions of people, and billions of dollars" while promoting self-improvement and positive thinking. Jackson appears to support NAMI, however, it's important to note that Jackson's support may no longer be purely political, considering Michael Jackson appears to support some of NAMI's positions. For examples, NAMI was one of many NAMI affiliated organizations that publicly supported President Barack Obama and endorsed him for president in 2008. In addition to NAMI, the NAMI movement has a large group of other groups, groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the New York Women's Council, and the National Black Feminist Alliance, all of which share similar beliefs and practices. One of the biggest differences between NAMI and its NAMI movement organization is NAMI has its own magazine, The Rainbow Star, published by Rainbow Media Group Inc. This magazine is dedicated to spreading messages about positive thinking, self-esteem, and personal development. The Rainbow Star magazine is published by a private company and doesn't have to disclose its backers and donations and is therefore more independent than official NAMI magazines published by the Movement. According to NAMI's website, the Movement is "an international non-profit organization dedicated to the study and implementation of a broad range of self-improvement and life skills, which can help individuals lead happy, successful, and fulfilling lives." This is the official description of NAMI. So why does Michael Jackson have a link with NAMI? Perhaps his endorsement is being promoted by NAMI to help increase its membership and support. Perhaps NAMI hopes to attract young people, especially the young people who are attracted to Jackson for his artistic talents. Jackson's popularity as a performer has waned, and he would make great publicity for NAMI if he were to endorse NAMI's messages. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
"He's going to do it [going in the cage] for me, but he's going to have two months to get up to speed," Pacquiao said. "Then they'll let me know. I just want him to get stronger and ready to go. If I ask him to go into the cage on my behalf and do it myself. I don't want his strength to be wasted. "He's the youngest fighter in the world, so we want him to be in better shape, but at the same time if his heart and spirit doesn't want to be there, I don't want him to fight." Pacquiao, the WBO and WBA welterweight champion, and Mayweather Jr., the WBC and IBF welterweight champion, have been at loggerheads for the last four years, with both boxers having repeatedly claimed they were the best fighter in the world. Pacquiao has not won a fight at welterweight in a long time, however. He is 32-1-1, while Mayweather has 24-2, his last win was June 2011, and this year's fight will be his first since losing to Oscar De La Hoya, which is why he is in a more defensive stance regarding who wins this fight. Pacquiao will face Mayweather later this year in a 12-round bout. As for Alvarez, whom Pacquiao says "had no business" going in the cage against Mayweather, the Mexican has been training at T-Mobile Arena and it is his understanding that he's ready to begin a training camp. He added that "it doesn't matter who wins this fight" which he thinks will be "a bigger fight than the world championship fight." | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
I was born and raised in Southern California. A short distance from the ocean and surrounded by the most amazing mountains in the world, I was fortunate enough to grow up in a very religious household. As a child I would often spend time at the church on Saturday mornings and listen to the pastor preach. As a young adult I came to terms with my sexuality but still felt that I was a lesbian. After a number of years of feeling unsatisfied with my relationship I began to seek a real relationship. I was out to all my friends and family and was open about my new found sexuality. I was happy in my new relationship, but it never felt right. I knew that I wasn't attracted to females and my mind kept coming up with all kinds of excuses: I was born that way, I don't feel attraction to females and a myriad of other excuses. This continued until one day all of my excuses finally fell apart and I had to face the truth; I don't feel attraction to men. I have always had a hard time trusting the feelings I have for females, but this was quite a revelation to me. I began to look at my sexual history and realize the real reason why I had been unhappy: I was not attracted to males. I felt this to be very clear so I began to pursue a serious relationship with a male. I was thrilled when he asked me out and for a while things were good but within a short time things started to change. He began to talk about how his parents were divorced, how his mother had remarried someone whom he didn't like, which made no sense since he never talked about his dad ever. That is when I first discovered what it really meant to be a homosexual when a man is involved in a same sex relationship with a woman. He was constantly trying to use this relationship as a justification and I could tell that he was trying to make it a female oriented relationship. My suspicions were confirmed when he started introducing me to women that he had met online, all of whom had no interest in me. The more I learned about what happened to me growing up and the more I came to understand that the only way to change was to start dating men. My sexual experiences from high school to college were dominated by heterosexual males. Now as an adult I see what an incredible opportunity that was for me; to have such a fulfilling relationship with a man. I have made a great amount of progress but still have a long way to go. I still have a hard time explaining to people that I am homosexual. I am quite confident that they will think that I am straight but I still struggle. Every conversation I have and every time I talk about my new sexuality is met with a lot of surprise, disbelief and a little bit of pity. If only I could make it to middle school I would have learned that sexuality is not something a person chooses, it's just how they are born. I know that this is true because when I was young I was a very athletic teen and was constantly making statements that caused me to be teased by the boys. This went on for so long that it ended up creating a self-harming self loathing that has never left me. I am also very insecure in a heterosexual male relationship because it is far more risky for me. For instance if a guy gets caught sleeping with me he may end up losing respect for me, he is likely to not pursue a relationship in the future because he might not be as interested in me as he once was. The same scenario applies to a lesbian relationship. There were a few situations where I was physically assaulted by a female friend of mine. I was never afraid of a woman because I knew that whatever I did to her was her fault. As the relationships I have experienced with both male and female partners prove, I am extremely susceptible to all sorts of emotional blackmail when it comes to relationships. That is why I was very pleased to learn that the first company that I was working for at the time was a company that is run by an openly gay man. I was very happy to know that they were comfortable enough to be openly gay and also to open up about their sexual encounters. I was extremely happy that his job with the company was the first in the world that had an openly gay male CEO. This also helped me realize that I could get the job if i wanted but that I probably should make my intentions known so that I have a plan of action. The problem was that the company was being run by a guy who was quite gay himself and had several gay employees. It would never be possible for me to work for him. I tried reaching out to him several times over the course of a few months but I was always told to not bother him because he was too busy, which was not the case; he had a lot of things happening with the new company and I felt I was the last person on the company that he wanted to talk to. I was also told that if i wasn't willing to leave right away he would be calling me. The only person who | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
By: WCTV Eyewitness News July 26, 2014 TACOMA, Wash. -- An angry driver on Route 9 in Lakewood crashed several times late Sunday night while angry about an accident on the other side of the road. The car was traveling eastbound between Lakewood Boulevard and Lakewood Way S when a woman was struck. Police say several vehicles were following her to try to find her, when she swerved to avoid colliding with another car, and a truck driver swerved too. The truck driver swerved in front of the car and collided with a guardrail, but the car continued into oncoming traffic. The car hit a guardrail again, then hit another guardrail, and the driver attempted to steer into an open field. The driver was yelling and screaming as he fought on the driver's side of the vehicle. The passenger was trying to keep control of the vehicle. But eventually she lost control of the vehicle, and the driver's side struck a telephone pole and stopped. Police were called to the scene. A passenger in the car was taken to the hospital for evaluation after being taken to Harborview Medical Center by ambulance. The driver was taken to Harborview for evaluation. We will update this story as more information is available. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
By Rafi Letzter The US government now claims that one of their agents killed six Americans in Libya in a well disguised US military operation. An article by the Wall Street Journal on April 26th reports that an official investigation into the matter concluded that "the Americans who died had been under fire from militia members. The investigation does not implicate the White House." This conclusion seems to have been reached by government scientists who determined that the blast that was felt by the survivors was caused by a rocket propelled grenade launcher (RPG). The article also claims that the initial autopsy of the Americans showed no sign of any explosive device in their bodies, or on their clothes. A rocket propelled grenade launcher (RPG) is an anti-personnel weapon. By design, the weapon resembles a Kalashnikov, a sub machine gun that typically fires a small projectile consisting of hundreds of highly explosive individual fragments at rates of up to 600 rounds per minute. The explosion of these munitions produces a vast cloud of shrapnel, which in the vicinity of the explosion can cause fatal internal injuries. Although many rocket propelled grenades can be shot down in flight, the majority are designed to be launched from vehicles and are therefore very difficult to neutralize. The only way a tank can kill its enemy is to drive over it. The RPG is an accurate weapon, but this inaccuracy causes serious problems for anyone engaged in a firefight in the vicinity of the target for the purpose of destroying the target's vehicle. The rocket propelled grenade launcher is not a weapon that is designed to kill in a single shot. In fact, it usually takes multiple weapons to take down a vehicle due to all of the shrapnel and explosive fragments which are released on impact. To make matters worse, a truck's engine can easily be immobilized as a result of blast and fragmentation from the RPG. The military has previously used rocket propelled grenade launchers to target personnel and vehicles on Iraqi targets. The military claims that since it has deployed this type of weapon against insurgent targets in Iraq it has only "occasionally" been fired at "friendly forces" under circumstances which make the weapon's deadly effects more lethal. The official conclusion appears to support the testimony of the witnesses who were present when the RPG was launched at the truck near the American consulate. The Department of Defense is the sole sponsor of combat operations in Libya, with a small contingent of US special operations and commandos under the command of Admiral William McRaven. While it is true that some American special operations forces, Navy SEAL Team Six and Delta Force, played a part in the Benghazi operation, the fact is that many other special operations forces and CIA operatives were either assisting the Libyan insurgents on the ground or were fighting alongside the militias themselves. The Benghazi operation involved the entire US Navy SEALS and Delta Force, all of whom were well trained in unconventional warfare. They were operating from the CIA annex. The attack on the consulate and the killings of the four Americans were a CIA operation in collaboration with the Libyan National Army (LNA). It is possible that this report came about due to a miscommunication by a DOD official after their initial report which claimed that they found no evidence that the RPG had been fired at the embassy. The fact of the matter is that the rocket propelled grenade launcher was fired by the US military against the truck. The only people who would have known about this event at the time are: (1) The men who carried the RPG out and hit the consulate, and (2) the man who fired the RPG at the truck. The fact is that anyone in the chain of command of the American military who knew what had happened would have immediately reported that the RPG had been fired. The fact that no one in the chain of command reported that a US military personnel had been attacked by a rocket propelled grenade is indicative of the complete lack of concern for the safety of American military personnel in Libya. The US military, as with so many other areas of their life and existence is run so that they can get away with whatever they want to get away with and the fact that they have decided to go in and take down a military installation on a small outpost in Libya shows the extent to which they have fallen behind their NATO allies in many areas of military activity. Just last month it was reported that NATO was conducting a large scale training exercise in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Bulgaria. The US government has already admitted that at least one of their ships in the Mediterranean Sea was being used to run gunships and other heavy weapons to the Libyan rebels. In addition, numerous videos have been released of heavily armed US special forces training with the Libyan rebels which will make the people of Libya more willing to welcome US military forces into their country. After the last US Special Forces commander in Afghanistan, and numerous other US military commanders in the Middle East have been exposed for having violated the Posse Comitatus Act by supporting the Mujahideen in their | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
This article is about the planet. You may be looking for the comic-book series. This article is about. You may be looking for "I didn't know it could be this bad." ―Satele Shan [src] Aya came into existence shortly before 22 BBY, a world in the Outer Rim Territories located at the end of the Rimma Trade Route by the star Calrissian, the home system of one of the most powerful smugglers in history. Although it had few resources, Aya was home to an advanced ecosystem. One of its species of insects was native to the planet, which bred in a habitat made of the shells of dead snails. Due to the fact that Aya's crust was covered by an insectoid fungus, however, the ecosystem was able to survive and thrive in the harsh conditions. The planet was populated by an array of diverse species, including numerous different species of insects. This diversity made Aya a veritable home for the native Aya insects, an ecosystem that had developed, as part of its own history. Over the years, Aya became home to a multitude of smugglers. Though it was not particularly rich in resources, Aya's natural resource abundance afforded it plenty of opportunities. Aya's economy grew through the smuggling of snails, which had grown into a thriving trade. In the years before the Battle of Yavin, Aya flourished under the Galactic Empire, under the reign of the Galactic Empire Aya itself became a favored target for Imperial raiders. During the Battle of Yavin, the planet became one of the first planets where the Rebel Alliance launched an assault on the Imperial battle station over Yavin 4. Contents show] Description Edit "The food and supplies coming to Aya today are all the sweeter because they have come through some of the harsher corners of the galaxy to come here." ―Aya smuggler [src] Aya was a temperate and low-lying world located roughly halfway between the Core Worlds and the Outer Rim Territories. The atmosphere was warm, with relatively little volcanic activity. With only a small population of non-humans, Aya was a peaceful world to all its life.[1] Although relatively low on the food and material sources, Aya boasted a thriving and thriving ecosystem of Aya inhabitants and their snails. Aya's native flora and fauna included a number of different species: among these, the native Aya insects were responsible for its vibrant biodiversity.[1] The planet also boasted an asteroid field that provided the Aya with some of its most precious natural resources, including Aya sand.[1] Aya was located at the end of the famed Rimma Trade Route, a highway which carried trade materials from the Core Worlds to the remote rim worlds. Most of the planet's species, including those living in the planet's deserts, relied heavily on the Rimma Trade Route for their livelihoods.[1] History Edit Aya was home to a multitude of smugglers, who made their living by bringing in valuable, scarce and expensive natural resources. Among Aya's more infamous inhabitants were Jorak Uln and his wife Rhea, who were well known by the Alliance to Restore the Republic and by the Resistance as the "Sneeches", since their trade brought in valuable food and other resources.[3] Following the end of the Clone Wars, Aya became an outpost for smugglers, some of whom went on to form the Alliance to Restore the Republic.[2] During the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Aya was captured and occupied by Imperial Forces under Captain Etain Tur-Mukan. While there, Aya became a frequent target for Imperial forces, and the Galactic Empire used Aya as a staging point for raids against Alliance-controlled worlds. While Aya survived long enough to be rebuilt after the Battle of Endor, it was eventually destroyed due to sabotage by the Spectres of Javin 4, who bombed the planet. The Imperials did not know that Aya was a surviving Ayla system due to the fact that one of Aya's inhabitants, an Imperial agent, had been able to smuggle the information out of Aya after the Battle of Endor.[1] Behind the scenes Edit "How does Aya actually come to be named Aya? I'm not sure, but it came about from some kind of Ayla/Jorak debate." ―Sean Kenney, author of the Star Wars sourcebook Galaxy Guide to the Unknown III Aya was first named in the Star Wars Sourcebook, in which it was first portrayed as Aioli in the Ayla system. It was also named as Aioli in the 2008 reference guide to Star Wars Rebels from Pocket Books. It was first referred to as Ayla in a page of Star Wars Legends created by Paul Bateman, | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Major Trends in the Paradigm of Family Life Essay Sociology of Family One of the main characteristics of contemporary living in the fact that, as time goes on, more and more formerly legitimate socio-cultural conventions grow increasingly outdated – including the convention of how married couples are supposed to address their family-related/parental obligations (Parrenas 2010). In this paper, I will point out what can be considered the main trends/challenges, within the context of the paradigm of a family-living becoming increasingly adjusted with the discourse of post-modernity. The concerned trends/challenges can be outlined as follows: The increased rate of divorce in Western countries Even though the majority of married people in the West continues to subscribe to the classical provisions of what it means pursuing a marital relationship, this does not seem to have any effect on the phenomenon of the divorce rate in Western countries attaining an alarmingly rapid momentum (Stevenson and Wolfers 2007). The validity of this statement is best illustrated, in regards to the divorce-dynamics in the families, where both parents happened to be the representatives of racial minorities. For example, by the end of the 20 th century, the rate of divorce among African-Americans has grown to as high, as 48% (Kposowa 1998). The reasons behind the above-mentioned phenomenon have been discussed from a variety of different perspectives, with the majority of sociologists believing that the legacy of racism in the U.S. is the main culprit, in this respect. Nevertheless, there is also an alternative explanation to the phenomenon in question – the reason why married African-Americans are much more likely to file for divorce, as compared to what it happened to be the case with Whites or Asian-Americans, for example, is that the factor of a gender-differentiation in Black families is not strongly defined. The legalization of lesbigay marriages Nowadays, it became a commonplace trend among legislators in Western countries to choose in favor of legalizing lesbigay marriages. Nevertheless, there is a good reason to think that, far from how the advocates of political correctness would like it to be, the legalization of this type of marriage can hardly prove beneficial to society’s overall well-being. After all, it is not only the same-sex couples cannot conceive children, by definition, but there is a certain rationale in believing that homosexuals and lesbians will not be able to act as thoroughly responsible foster-parents, as well. The reason behind this suggestion is quite apparent – while being raised by their lesbigay foster-parents, the adopted kids will be less likely to learn what accounts for the biologically predetermined social duties, on the part of the representatives of both sexes. As Stacey and Biblarz noted, “Children of gay parents are more apt to suffer confusion over their gender and sexual identities” (2010: 415). Given the fact that, as it was implied earlier, people’s unawareness of what will account for their gender-related duties, as husbands and wives, is capable of reducing their chances to enjoy marital happiness, the suggestion that gays and lesbians should not be allowed to adopt children, does make a certain sense. Nevertheless, this suggestion cannot be thought of, as such that represents an undisputed truth-value. After all, along with the detrimental effects of the legalization of lesbigay marriages, within the context of how it may influence the affected children, there are also a number of those that can be considered generally positive. For example, it is commonly believed that, while exposed to lesbigay parenting, children will be more likely to grow into perceptually and cognitively tolerant adults (Downs and James 2006). The fact that the very technological intensity of contemporary living creates objective preconditions for people to grow progressively less enthusiastic about the prospect of getting married One of the main reasons why recent decades saw a sharp decline in the ratio of marriages in the West, is that nowadays, for just about anyone to have a chance of social advancement, he or she may never cease increasing the measure of its professional adequacy. In its turn, this situation has been predetermined by the fact that, due to the recently occurred breakthroughs in the field of informational technologies, it is specifically the technologically advanced professionals that can secure well-paid jobs for themselves. It is needless to mention, of course, that this results in more and more people with university diplomas choosing in favor of a career-advancement, as such that represents the foremost priority in their lives. Unfortunately, people’s commitment to addressing the concerned professional duties negatively relates to the measure of their willingness to start up a family. This explains why, as of today, it became a commonplace tendency, on the part of many highly paid professionals (who are predominantly White) in Western countries, to choose in favor of remaining single for the rest of their lives. There is also another alarming trend, which appears to negatively affect people’s ability to pursue marital relationships. This trend is concerned with the fact that, as of now, many adults in Western countries become increasingly addicted to playing computer games/spending time on the Internet (Kendall 2011). Although in the formal sense of this word, the above-mentioned tendency, on the part of contemporary Westerners, does not have anything to do with their ability to lead a socially productive lifestyle, this is far from being the actual case. The reason for this is apparent – while spending the increased amounts of time in virtual reality, people grow emotionally detached from the surrounding physical reality, which in turn reduces the acuteness of their self-preservation instinct, in the evolutionary sense of this word. This, of course, results in these people beginning to perceive the very concept of marriage increasingly less appealing. The earlier suggestion is consistent with one of the main ideas, promoted by Casper and Bianchi (2010) in their article, according to which, it is not only that the financial influence of grandparents on their children has grown dramatically in recent decades, but that the expansion of this influence will continue gaining an additional momentum in the future. This phenomenon has been interpreted from a variety of different perspectives. One of the theories, which explain why middle-aged people seem to become increasingly dependent on their grandparents, is that the representatives of every consequential generation end up being progressively more infantile, in the discursive sense of this word. In regards to the representatives of Generation X, for example, it will be safe to suggest that their ability to address even the most basic challenges of life is severely undermined (Kim 2011). Therefore, there is indeed nothing odd about the current trend, among the adult citizens, to adopt a rather light attitude towards their physiologically predetermined duty of marriage. This, of course, allows us to come up with a speculative suggestion that the factor of an evolutionary degeneration can be defined in terms of a metaphysical ground, out of which people’s current tendency to indulge in the different forms of a ‘marital escapism’ actually derives (Carrington 2010). The decline of morality, within the context of how people take care of their parental responsibilities As of now, many childless couples in Western countries enjoy the opportunity to be able to travel to just about any country in the Second or Third World, to be able to adopt a child there. Nevertheless, when analyzed closely, their desire to experience parenthood is not concerned with these people’s genuine willingness to make a difference in the world. Rather, it has to do with their unconscious anxiety to attain the state of being fully integrated with the currently predominant socio-cultural discourse. In other words, when in the process of adopting a child from abroad, many Westerners do it for the sake of considerations of fashion, on their part. This explains why it is predominantly the ‘Aryan’- looking parentless babies, who attract the mentioned childless couples from the West the most (Kim 2010). What the latter suggestion means, is that the time-period of remaining in the state of perpetual immaturity, on the part of the concerned foster parents, overextends the point when they ended up married initially. This, of course, fully correlates with the earlier mentioned idea that there are indeed several good reasons to think that the current situation with how people think of the concept of marriage, in general, and of their marriage-related obligations, in particular, does reflect the much-anticipated decline of the West. The above-provided line of argumentation, as to what are the most visible indications of the concept of marriage/parenting being in the state of a qualitative transformation, helps us to formulate the subjects of a family-related sociological inquiry in the future. In their turn, these subjects can be represented in the form of the following questions: 1. What may be considered the socio-evolutionary significance of the process of more and more people deciding in favor of entering into same-sex marriages? 2. What accounts for the full scope of the marriage-related effects, within the context of the newly emerged tendency, on the part of many Westerners, to become increasingly attracted to the virtual reality of the Internet? 3. What will account for the societal consequences of the currently ongoing process of Western men growing increasingly effeminate, negatively reflected by the simultaneous process of Western women growing increasingly masculine? 4. Is there a dialectical link between the particulars of one’s racial affiliation, on the one hand, and the concerned person’s likelihood to adopt a particular attitude, in regards to the notion of parenting, on the other? If such a link indeed exists, what kind of environmental and genetic factors may be at play, in this respect? Annotated Bibliography Carrington, Christopher. 2010. “No Place like Home: The Division of Labor in Lesbigay Families.” Pp. 679-692 in Shifting the Center: Understanding Contemporary Families. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. The main thesis, promoted throughout the entirety of Carrington’s article, is that how lesbigay couples address the challenges of shared domestic living, remain mystified to an extent. Among the foremost myths, concerned with lesbigay families, the author mentions the assumption that these families are egalitarian. Carrington explains the reasons why it could not possibly be the case. Casper, Lynne, and Suzanne Bianchi. 2010. “Grandparenting.” Pp. 458-468 in Shifting the Center: Understanding Contemporary Families. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. In their article, Lynne and Bianchi advance the idea that the very process of the classical conventions of parenthood growing increasingly outdated, presupposes the eventual transformation of the notion of grandparenting, as well. While striving to substantiate the validity of their line of argumentation, in this respect, the authors point out the fact that, as compared to what it used to be the case in the past, today’s grandparents can spend much more time with their grandchildren and provide their adult children with the much-appreciated financial assistance. Downs, Chris, and Steven James. 2006. “Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Foster Parents: Strengths and Challenges for the Child Welfare System.” Child Welfare 85 (2): 281-298. This particular study by Downs and James is concerned with identifying the main qualitative aspects of how gay, lesbian, and bisexual foster parents go about raising their adopted children. After having been exposed to the study in question, readers get to learn that, contrary to what it is being commonly assumed, the attitudes of LGBT foster parents, in regards to what accounts for the essence of just about any person’s parental duties, do not differ much from the attitudes of their sexually conventional counterparts. Kendall, Todd D. 2011. “The Relationship between Internet Access and Divorce Rate.” Journal of Family and Economic Issues 32 (3): 449-460. In his study, Todd substantiates the validity of the idea that there is a positive correlation between the divorce rate in a particular country, on the one hand, and the measure of the concerned citizens’ addiction to the Internet, on the other. Kim, Hyun S. 2011. “Consequences of Parental Divorce for Child Development.” American Sociological Review 76 (3): 487-511. According to the author of this study, there are several detrimental effects on children’s normal development, as a result of their parents’ decision to file for divorce. The main of these effects, Kim mentions the fact that, as opposed to what it is being the case with their peers from two-parent families, those children that have had the experience of seeing their parents divorced, are much more likely to drop out of school. Kim, Katherine F. 2010. “Out of Sorts: Adoption and (Un) Desirable Children.” Pp. 400-411 in Shifting the Center: Understanding Contemporary Families. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. In her article, Kim discusses the main trends, within the context of how people go adopting children. According to the author, the foremost trend, in this respect, is that when it comes to adoption, the majority of potential forest parents pay close attention to what happened the particulars of would-be-adopted children’s racial affiliation, while preferring to choose in favor of specifically blond and blue-eyed kids. Kposowa, Augustine J. 1998. “The Impact of Race on Divorce in the United States.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 29 (3): 529-548. In her study, Kposowa strives to explain the phenomenon of the divorce rate, associated with the African-American married couples, remaining disproportionally high. According to the author, the mentioned phenomenon is best explained by the legacy of racism in the U.S. and by the socially disadvantaged status of many African-Americans. Parrenas, Rhacel S. 2010. “Mothering From a Distance: Emotions, Gender, and Intergenerational Relations in Filipino Transnational Families.” Pp. 291 – 301 in Shifting the Center: Understanding Contemporary Families. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. This article tackles the issue of many Philippian women, who live in the U.S. illegally, having no other choice but to try raising their Philippines-based children ‘remotely’, while spared of the opportunity to maintain close and personal contact with them. According to the author, the practice in question cannot be considered beneficial to the affected children’s well-being. Stacey, Judith, and Timothy Biblarz. 2010. “(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter?” Pp. 412-430 in Shifting the Center: Understanding Contemporary Families. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. In their article, Stacey and Biblarz discuss the controversial aspects of how the sexual orientation of parents affects their children’s chances to advance in life. According to the authors, children who grow up in lesbigay families are likely to experience the sensation of confusion, while trying to form their gender-based identities. However, as compared to their conventionally brought up peers, these children are more like to embrace the virtue of tolerance. Stevenson, Betsey, and Justin Wolfers. 2007. “Marriage and Divorce: Changes and their Driving Forces.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 21 (2): 27-52. In her article, Stevenson promotes the idea that the very realities of post-industrial living predetermine the situation when, as of today, the concept of family undergoes a qualitative transformation. The author discusses what can be considered this transformation’s negative and positive effects. | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Taipei, June 2 (CNA) Cher Wang (王雪紅), chairwoman of Taiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp. (宏達電), apologized to shareholders for a massive net loss incurred last year amid escalating competition in the global smartphone market. In an annual report released Thursday, Wang acknowledged that the financial results for 2015 disappointed HTC shareholders, so she offered an apology for the loss, but vowed to restructure the company's operations to achieve a turnaround. Wang also expressed her sincere gratitude to HTC shareholders for their support during the challenges of 2015. HTC has scheduled an annual general meeting for June 24. In 2015, HTC posted NT$15.5 billion (US$475.46 million) in net loss, or NT$18.79 in loss per share, compared with NT$1.80 in earnings per share recorded a year earlier. In the first quarter of this year, HTC incurred another loss per share of NT$3.16. In the annual report, Wang said that 2015 was a year full of challenges for HTC, since a saturated global smartphone market led to an escalation of competition and posed a threat to the company's bottom line. However, Wang said she remains confident in HTC, as the company has been gearing up to improve its restructuring and boost efficiency, in a bid to seize on every opportunity for growth. In August 2015, Wang said, HTC set a goal of cutting its operating costs by 35 percent. To reach the target, the company reduced its workforce by about 15 percent, or 2,250 employees worldwide, including 1,300 in Taiwan. Wang said that the efforts to restructure HTC's operations will continue by exploring new businesses, such as virtual reality and smartwatches, which will become part of the booming smart life arena and interconnected with smartphone development. Wang said the restructuring work is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. She added that these efforts will pay off, allowing shareholders to see HTC's rising visibility in the global market. She added that the new products are likely to make a significant contribution to the company's bottom line in 2016. Among the new products developed by HTC, the market has paid close attention to its first VR headset -- the HTC Vive -- which was unveiled in March 2015 and has gone on sale in the global market. The HTC Vive has won many international awards, including the latest two -- Product of the Year 2016 and Best VR Product -- from the European Hardware Awards. As for HTC's core smartphone business, Wang said she is glad that the HTC Desire series received a warm reception in some markets in 2015, in particular the Middle East and India, where the Taiwanese brand has enjoyed an increase in sales. Looking ahead, Wang said that HTC already has a specific strategy to connect smartphones with smart life development in an attempt to push its products in the global market at a faster pace. Wang said that HTC unveiled its latest flagship model -- the HTC 10 -- in April. She added that HTC has faith in its smartphone business. (By Esme Jiang and Frances Huang) ENDITEM/J | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Here are some of the first pictures of Lian Li PC-V3000, the company's upcoming flagship chassis. Characterized by Lian Li's favorite material, aluminium, the case features the company's signature design language, with dark, brushed-aluminium exteriors, and silvery aluminium interiors. The company released pictures of a prototype case, with a final release out later this year. Keeping up with the times (i.e. horizontal partition), the PC-V3000 features a vast twin-compartment layout, only that the motherboard layout is inverted (opens out at the right side, with the motherboard being positioned BTX-style).The Lian Li PC-V3000 has room for ATX and E-ATX motherboards, with room for graphics cards with lengths in the neighborhood of 40 cm, and coolers with heights around 20 cm. The bottom compartment is further partitioned vertically, with the left-side compartment housing the PSU bay and a 3x 3.5-inch drive-cage; while the right-side compartment either serves up room for your liquid cooling gear (such as a 420 mm x 140 mm radiator), or additional 2.5-inch drives. The motherboard tray has three drive mounts on its reverse side. Cooling includes 3x 140 mm side intake, 120 mm rear exhaust, and 3x 120 mm top exhausts. 16 Comments on Lian Li PC-V3000 Prototype Chassis Pictured #1 ZoneDymo very nice, I would not mind having it but I will say that last sideways pic is bit sneaky leaving out the big metal nothing that is next to the motherboard. They should really make the inside mat black Posted on Oct 17th 2016, 0:21 Reply #2 wolar "ZoneDymo said: very nice, I would not mind having it but I will say that last sideways pic is bit sneaky leaving out the big metal nothing that is next to the motherboard. They should really make the inside mat black it seems to be a reservoir spot it seems to be a reservoir spot Posted on Oct 17th 2016, 1:15 Reply #3 MadsMagnus "ZoneDymo said: very nice, I would not mind having it but I will say that last sideways pic is bit sneaky leaving out the big metal nothing that is next to the motherboard. They should really make the inside mat black As much as I like color, I feel that raw metal has a nice feeling about it. Also, no chemical bath to achieve looks.. As much as I like color, I feel that raw metal has a nice feeling about it. Also, no chemical bath to achieve looks.. Posted on Oct 17th 2016, 2:43 Reply #4 ironwolf the motherboard being positioned BTX-style Wow, didn't think I would see BTX mentioned in 2016. I believe it is more appropriately called (in 2016 at least) "inverted ATX." Kids these days probably don't even know that BTX was anyways.:laugh: Wow, didn't think I would see BTX mentioned in 2016. I believe it is more appropriately called (in 2016 at least) "inverted ATX." Kids these days probably don't even know that BTX was anyways.:laugh: Posted on Oct 17th 2016, 6:47 Reply #5 ZoneDymo "MadsMagnus said: As much as I like color, I feel that raw metal has a nice feeling about it. Also, no chemical bath to achieve looks.. I agree with metal being a nice to look at but idk on the inside of the case if you have a window its too reflective, imo it should be about the parts inside not the metal they sit on:P I agree with metal being a nice to look at but idk on the inside of the case if you have a window its too reflective, imo it should be about the parts inside not the metal they sit on:P Posted on Oct 17th 2016, 8:47 Reply #6 thesmokingman The V2000 could fit 12 drives stock and 20 drives with two optional cages. This one looks to throw that capacity out the window. Posted on Oct 17th 2016, 8:59 Reply #7 Caring1 "ZoneDymo said: I agree with metal being a nice to look at but idk on the inside of the case if you have a window its too reflective, imo it should be about the parts inside not the metal they sit on:p Imagine the glare with a couple of LED's in the case.:cool: Imagine the glare with a couple of LED's in the case.:cool: Posted on Oct 17th 2016, 20:55 Reply #8 thesmokingman ^^It's ironic that they clear anodize the bits but don't bother to add any | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Rome (CNN) Pope Francis on Sunday denounced the use of religion and God's call to love in the name of money and gain, as well as the "inhumanity" of war. "God does not ask for money in order to destroy us, but in order that we may live in harmony with him and with all creation," Francis said in a sermon at the Vatican's St. Martha guesthouse following morning Mass, which he conducted in the presence of the German, Russian, and Latvian foreign ministers. This sentiment is part of the pope's broader mission for the world, and has been a constant theme in his two-year-old papacy. "War is not only a sin that God condemns, but a crime which God himself condemns," the Argentine pontiff said. "In his book of Genesis, God does not ask us to 'wage war in order to conquer one another' but 'to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it.'" JUST WATCHED Inside the Vatican: Pope Francis is not a robot Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Inside the Vatican: Pope Francis is not a robot 00:20 Francis was making an extended plea for peace, and expressed admiration for Pope John Paul II's 1981 visit to the Vietnam War-era battlefield of My Lai in South Vietnam. "I was there as John Paul II, the son of a farmer, to witness the terrible devastation of a war made possible, and ultimately ordered, by God," he said. "He did not wish to forget the victims nor their pain, and did not seek to justify or excuse his sin against humanity." "And so too, I do not wish it for the people of the world, the poor, the migrants, the dispossessed, which God calls himself merciful and compassionate," Francis said. "But I believe at least that he is the God of peace." During his address, the pontiff praised John Paul II and the courage he showed in speaking about his own sins on that trip, saying that if he hadn't done so, those people would not have a voice today. "If he hadn't done so, if he had not condemned war, if he had not called for reconciliation, and if he had not sought justice, today those people would not have a voice," he said, adding that "God is not merciful," and that "God is the one who must make a choice." Pope Francis then spoke directly to those who have waged wars, and who claim to be fighting for peace. "How many sons, brothers and fathers do we know who have been called to the cause of fighting others to the death? Who have been wounded in blood with weapons? Who who has had to be rescued from the slaughter of war? These are men whom God forgives. God wants those called to the battle, but not at any cost," he said. JUST WATCHED Could the pope become the most controversial pope of all? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Could the pope become the most controversial pope of all? 01:29 "I believe that God wants all people, whether Catholics or not, to have the best of all possible worlds in this world. But he also wants these people to find the beauty in life, and to have peace. God does not ask for money in order to destroy us, but in order that we may live in harmony with him and with all creation," he said. The Argentine pontiff did not offer a clear message for those who oppose him and his stances on abortion or homosexuality, which are strongly opposed by many in the Roman Catholic Church. But Francis did note how he has become the object of much criticism for his positions on issues with significant cultural and religious significance, particularly as a young man: a Jesuit, and as the son of poor Italians as a teenager. JUST WATCHED The power of popes Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH The power of popes 00:53 "In those days I was told that I should be a man who always had great courage, who never lost courage," he recalled. "Now I realize how foolish I was in thinking I would live up to that reputation. I did not have the confidence that I would always do what was right." "My faith has strengthened me at every turn. It has given me a firm foundation, and has given me a strength that now I need when facing difficult situations." | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
He had seen better days: in fact, he had seen everything. He surveyed his dominion and grew saddened. This was once a place of bustle, character, adventure! The people had all seemed so *lively* back then: always dashing to this-place or that, laughing, promising that they ’ d catch up soon. Now it was a death march: hunched zombies with no purpose, no direction; never learning the names of the people they saw every day. It could well be his advancing years, but even the weather seemed to have changed: why, back then you could easily define the seasons... a blanketing of leaves in autumn, thick coats in winter, shorts and ice cream in summer... now it all smudged into one indeterminate slodge, cloudy with a chance of utter boredom. And the street itself! Once, each shop had a name, history, a warm mix of personalities; you ’ d go in to socialize as much as shop. Now half of the street was boarded up, abandoned, while the other half was as blandly anonymous as an airport... plastic corporate logos encroached onto the handful of remaining buildings. He knew that he was being eaten away, too. His arm had eroded to the bone. Moss crept up the plinth. He would be the last thing to go: he was the last piece of history to be paved over and fo | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Greetings from the office. Welcome to the team. I'm very thrilled to announce that the next issue of our monthly newspaper is now available for your viewing pleasure. We have a couple of nice articles to give you as well as a couple of features for you to check out. This issue will cover: The start of our current season. The new team name. The club's newest member. A couple of great pieces written on the club at large. The full team has been posting some beautiful pictures on our various social media channels. We hope you enjoy those as much as I did putting them together. Here's my introduction. Welcome to the new G&MC team! To kick off the season, I wanted to take a moment to give a bit of background on the club. Guild History The G&MC Club has been here for the past 5 years — our first year was in 2010. And with our first year having a few members with some experience in many different Magic-related games, the next few years have been quite successful, with an incredibly high turn out in every annual game that we played. So it is with very heavy hearts that I'm announcing the club's closure this year, with an exciting announcement of when its next official home will be. The reason is rather complex. There are a number of factors: The current group has been playing together for the last 5 years in one capacity or another. The fact that most of the games are run on Magic Online (which we use primarily for sanctioned play) means that we can't really go somewhere else to play. Although some players have expressed interest in playing the game over on other platforms (like mobile MTGO), those are only available to a few people in our group. At the moment, we are really limited in what we can bring to the table. Some people like the competitive aspects of Magic (although many consider it "scrubbish"), the social aspects of gaming (although a number of us use social gaming a lot), or the social aspects of Magic (more on this below). Some people want to be together as a group for longer than just a couple of hours at a time, or if they want more interaction with each other. But the most important reason is the main reason. The current group is too small to offer much, so we are looking to expand by adding more players or some other means. Current Player Base In our current group, we have a mix of players; casual, semi-casual, and competitive. I will note the general categories below as well, as it is necessary for us to figure out what kind of expansion we should undertake at this point. Solo or small group of players (5+, usually 2-4) Solo or small group of players (5+, usually 2-4) Competitive group (3-5) Competitive group (3-5) Competitive group with competitive players (2+) Competitive group with competitive players (2+) Competitive group with non-competitive players (2+) We have a group of 6 in the current group that primarily play on the MTGO server, although we don't officially have the maximum of 10 players for that server; so the limit for MTGO matches will not necessarily be 9 players. It is important to note that we could be playing on other servers instead of MTGO, which would allow us to add more players, or increase the size of our group (which wouldn't be ideal, but in some cases would be fine as long as the number of people that wanted to play was sufficient). The group is comprised of players at all levels: 1st round is usually over before most people even realize that our last round is over. We do a lot of casuals on MTGO (including casuals of which it is not very important that you win), and a good portion of competitives as well. The amount of people we have available to play with is actually quite good for the amount of game time we spend, given that we try to stay with three rounds. So even though the Magic is not our main focus, we have all of the requirements to make a successful, competitive team. New Member Spotlight We are currently trying out some new members to join the club. We will have a little competition between each new player in the new team to see who can get to our minimum requirements in 2 rounds. There will be a "win" on both sides to get into the team as the other players get the lowest rank on the leaderboard, for example. So if you think you are good enough, and you feel you can handle losing a round or two every couple days, please join and we will see how you do. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
When you're a woman who has had to fight for equality, you're going to get flack for your beliefs. Women who say they are pro-life, for example, aren't automatically loved every time they speak out in support of abortion rights. For the same reason, though, they might have received flak for saying they are anti-abortion. This is especially true given the fact that the majority of Americans have been brought up with the idea that being pro-life is an absolute necessity. It's something we say to babies, or at least we should have that ability to say it to babies. These people, I'm afraid, aren't going to change the world; they just want people to stop asking questions. Why do they ask questions? Why do they want to see others questioned? Most Americans think they know exactly what the pro-choice movement is, how it works, and what its objectives are, yet they have no idea what it's like to hold a pro-life attitude for a whole day. I was surprised by this and I'm sure you will be, too. This blog was inspired by my own experience as a woman, raised as a Christian in the Bible Belt, who's been called a witch for my views on abortion. I'd read books, read the press, and listened to radio and talked with friends on the subject, and I had seen the videos and seen that it was nothing like the caricature we've seen so far. However, that didn't stop me from being called a witch. One of the biggest criticisms of the movement is that it's not "real" feminism. What about what is real to you? What about "true women's rights"? Do we need to hear about our problems in the women's movement? How would you like to be called a witch? Not only has that response been received poorly, but it's also been a way of trying to silence women of color and poor and rural areas, which don't tend to have access to the media centers of the United States. This is why I think talking about sexism and racism, what it's like to be poor and rural America and a woman, that's the topic that really changes the world for most women in the United States. I'm sorry, why is it "real?" People need to understand that women who are actually pro-life aren't just "for it" every day; they go out of their way to defend abortion against their colleagues, their family, their friends, their doctors, the media and anyone else who will listen to them. These women are brave too. When I was in law school, a male-dominated "feminist" group had no problem questioning me about my beliefs. They accused me of "being all about yourself" and "not being a real feminist." It wasn't right, but I knew I had to get to the heart of what I actually believed. I was a feminist then, the kind that cares about everyone, and is willing to stand up for what she believes is right. The problem is no one really knows who's "real" anymore, since feminism itself hasn't changed from that time. I know that women who support abortion rights can be called "anti-women," whether they really are or not. That's one of the reasons I'm writing this blog. We need to speak out with facts, with hard facts, because we have been taught so many lies about what kind of feminism we need to hold on to. I want women to know that feminists aren't about women having whatever opinion they want about abortion. They were created by a woman to fight for the rights of all women. That's why the definition of feminism should include support for abortion. They wanted equality for women before the law, before birth, and before the time of reproductive systems. Not only to have their right to choose, but to also be able to defend that choice. They don't care about making us feel nice, and they don't think you need to be on "our team" to be a woman. The feminist movement is for the all of us. The first thing I'd like to do when someone is called a witch is to say, "Who the heck do you think I am? Did you see 'House of Usher'?" The first thing I'd like to do after someone is called a witch is to say, "You people are crazy; you'll find out soon enough what reality is when you stop listening to the crazy people. You'll see it for yourself when you look around at what's real and not real." Now, this post isn't about telling you who to hate, who to love, what's real, who to be, what to believe, or even who to think. That's a post for a different time. This post is about asking you to stop asking questions. Ask questions, but start by asking them of yourself. Ask yourself first, which is often where | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
The New Words and Ideas We Need The team behind the Oxford English Dictionary recently announced a list of new words to be included in 2005, but commentator Bill Langworthy believes the words we get aren't always the words we need. MELISSA BLOCK, host: Earlier this month the Oxford English Dictionary announced its annual list of new entries to be added to the catalog of words used all over the English-speaking world. The OED's mission is to define and provide the history of words used in countries from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean. That's a huge range of countries and cultures with people who express themselves in English. Commentator Bill Langworthy says that as rich and varied as English may be, there are still some things for which there are no words in the OED. BILL LANGWORTHY: Each year the Oxford English Dictionary opens its doors and accepts a handful of new words for membership. Each year I'm disappointed. Recent dictionary entries seem to fall into two major categories: words associated with vanity--ego-surfing, personal trainer, bad hair day--and words associated with societal ills--carjack, dirty bomb, boy band. While it would seem that a language that included `Eeyore-ish'(ph) in its dictionary has too many words, a look at some of the wonderful words belonging to other cultures reminds us how incomplete our dictionary really is. The French have a great phrase: l'esprit de l'escalier; literally the spirit of the staircase. It means coming up with the perfect intelligent, witty thing to say on your way out of the party. I mention this one first because I'm afraid I'll forget it. You know the feeling when you see a baby who is so adorable that it physically hurts you? The Indonesians have a word for it: gamas(ph). Only you have to say it gamas, the way you would if you were pinching a baby's cheek. Use it once and you're hooked. My neighbor's baby is cute, but my nephew is gamas. The Germans have Schadenfreude, taking pleasure in the embarrassment and misfortune of others. I told my German friend how odd it was that Americans don't have a term for this. `You do,' she said. `You call it reality TV.' The best way to describe the Danish word hygge is to illustrate it. Eating a delicious meal with family is hygge. New romances are hygge. Walk into a party with an old friend and the prospect of several bottles of wine is very hygge. If you had to translate you might use words like cozy and familiar, but you'd risk angering the Danes. They consider hygge the essence of their soul, not a word with narrow definitions. They have entire Web sites devoted to it and some go so far as to tattoo it on their bodies. The art of trying to fix something only to make it far worse is described by the Yiddish word farpotshket. Can you think of a word that sounds more complicated, muddled and frustrated than farpotshket? It's like a Frankenstein of obscenity, created from different parts of a dozen swears. The next time you reach to brush a piece of lint off your date's shirt, then spill the bottle of wine on their pants, try screaming, `Farpotshket!' It's far more satisfying than a hundred curse words. Not all these words are useful. New Guinea's word mulkeeta(ph) refers to something that everyone knows but no one mentions. There's an impractical word. How do you talk about something that nobody talks about? The second you say mulkeeta, it ceases to be mulkeeta. The old Oxford Dictionary remains an exclusive club, but one whose walls a few rogue words always manage to scale. And so sidad(ph), Portuguese for staring into the middle distance with wistful longing, is destined to remain wistfully longing outside its gates while bada-bing and bootylicious are inside enjoying daiquiris by the pool. BLOCK: Commentator Bill Langworthy is a writer in Los Angeles. Copyright © 2005 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record. | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
1st March 2017 It has been almost ten years since Chris Kitching and Steve Staunton first set out to explore the mysterious world of deep-sea life using an undersea robot called the Nautilus. They named the sub "Deep Sea Odyssey," and the Nautilus became a global icon. Kitching and Staunton's work remains an ongoing exploration of this remote part of our world and the questions that remain. In this interview, they describe their research efforts, discuss the lessons they've learned, and share the insights they've gained over the past ten years. Kitching: We are very pleased to welcome Steve Staunton back to Science Friday. Steve was one of my heroes. He was a pioneer in underwater robotics, using a robotic submersible that could conduct science across the world's oceans. I got to know Steve a few years ago and it was really his passion for this life-saving technology that drove him to work to develop new tools to help save the lives and health of people who live near the ocean's edge. Steve: Well, I love to work on the Nautilus, in part because I get to explore the depths of the ocean and look for life and new forms of life. It's an incredibly important task. Of course, it's not just for humans. There are a few other ways of discovering what has been lurking at the bottom of the ocean, and what it might be about. I guess because it seems like it should be a simple pursuit, we don't take the time to think about what it would be like to come across such a bizarre animal. It's fascinating what a few hundred million years of evolution can bring to a creature. Kitching: Steve, our audience will recognize you from your TED talk: How can we save our world in 1000 words or less? Can you give a hint of where you are working? Staunton: So we are trying to determine what's happening deep in the ocean. We have an area of research that's the largest deep-sea ocean exploration program in history. This program is doing deep-sea science, doing oceanographic and biological studies and also working to conserve the oceans for future generations. My research group is looking at deep-sea life that don't have much sunlight, and some deep ocean animals that don't have much oxygen. It's not just the biodiversity for the life-support systems of these animals, but also biodiversity of the ocean life that might actually have the potential to eat the life that we find. One of the things we have a lot of data on is the life that has been living in the deep trenches. They can be thousands of meters deep. It's interesting to try and figure out what is the life in these trenches that we are trying to protect. Kitching: I'm going to turn it over to Steve, because we're getting into his research and his team. Steve, tell us your current research project and your past career. Staunton: My research is mostly on deep-sea animals that don't get that much light exposure, but we've been looking at those fishes that live in the abyss. In the last year, we have discovered all sorts of interesting things: new species of fish, new species of amphipods, all different kinds of marine life. We've also been looking at these strange new animals, like the new species of marine worms or mollusks. We've found them in the deep seas that don't have sunlight, not even sunlight for light-producing organs. They use the lights down below as a resource. We've also been working on the question of deep-sea bacteria as a carbon fixation source. They live in these strange environments, and we need new ways of recycling CO 2 as a carbon dioxide sink, and we need better ways of making that happen. And I've been studying the impact of the deep seas on the biodiversity of some very deep, cold, cold places, in the ocean ridges of the western North Atlantic. Because the Atlantic is so large, it can be a tough place to study a lot of biodiversity. Kitching: If you're listening this far in, Steve, we're going to be asking you to just tell us one specific moment as the excitement for the Nautilus has grown. Staunton: I'm glad you said that, because it's been a long, long time. I was so excited about diving in the Nautilus when I first saw it. We'd been talking about it for ten years. It was so exciting to do. But then it became so routine for us. The Nautilus is not the most exciting thing to me because it's so very ordinary, but even I kind of missed it for a while. I started looking at research that was going on and really got bored. Recently there were a few really exciting discoveries. People were working on understanding the | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
How to use Open the app. Create a new token to store in your app on our web platform: https://your.devon.it/app. When signing up for our web platform you will be asked to authorize our app with your token. When signing up for our web platform you will be asked to authorize our app with your token. Login to your existing account. Create a new token to store in your app on our web platform: https://your.devon.it/app. Sign in with your existing account. You will be prompted for a confirmation code. If you don't have one don't worry, as soon as you have signed in, you will be given one. If you don't have one don't worry, as soon as you have signed in, you will be given one. Save your app in development mode: on the next step. Copy the authentication token (your token from step 1) from the 'token' tab on your dashboard. Open your web browser and navigate to https://your.devon.it/web/app. If you are already signed in you will automatically be redirected to the dashboard. For your first visit: Click on 'add new token' on the left, and specify your email address and password that you used to sign in to your account. Your token will be sent to your email, and you will be able to access the app and use it for free. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
The state of New Hampshire is the only U.S. state that does not have an automated criminal history record checking system for employers, according to a report by a national nonprofit, which cites the state's refusal to make the system widely available due to concerns over privacy rights. New Hampshire is joining a number of other states in not adopting an online criminal history record check form, The New Hampshire Union Leader reports — and its refusal is at odds with the growing trend. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recently ordered criminal background checks at every state Department of Correction facility. The organization said in its report Wednesday that it has documented 26 states and the District of Columbia that have implemented their own automated check system for employers. A spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Attorney General, Mary Kellett, told the Manchester Concord Monitor that the state's refusal to use a nationwide online system for criminal background checks is because of concerns over privacy. "While we recognize that people have privacy concerns when it comes to their personal information (and) it is our responsibility to protect that information, we do not have the ability to store those personal information outside of New Hampshire," she said. "Thus, there is no federal or state law that would provide a path to a statewide system of personal information storage." The union report said that Kellett's office is conducting interviews with New Hampshire's top law enforcement officials and potential applicants. The interview process starts before any hiring decisions are made, when applicants are offered the chance to submit to a criminal records check, the report said. Cheryl Kellett is New Jersey's third attorney general, succeeding Jon S. Corzine. She has used her position to advocate for criminal background check policies throughout the country. She argued in November that New Jersey should have to comply with the national database system, a view that became law last week. The Union Leader report suggests that Kellett will be able to convince the attorney general to make the criminal background check system available to all applicants for jobs at state facilities, state agencies and colleges. The national organization, which is led by the Partnership for Public Service, has been pushing for the system for decades. In 2004, it launched this petition for state governments: "Require that all individuals who apply for employment with state and local government agencies and organizations for which a background check is conducted receive a free online background check by the federal background check provider." The group has also urged the federal government to institute a national system of record keeping — a proposal that came up in October 2012 after President Obama pledged to make a national database of people with criminal records available to the public. But the president later changed his tune; he called such a system "not in my budget." The group has since launched "Fix the Data," aimed at helping the country's states move toward nationwide systems over at FixTheData.org. The Union Leader report cites an Oct. 10 poll that has the public at the edge of its seats over the issue. A total of 47 percent of respondents support making access to federal criminal history data accessible to employers, while 38 percent oppose the policy, according to a poll conducted by the Partnership for Public Service and the American Cancer Society for the American Association of Retired Persons. The state's Department of Health said Wednesday in a statement that it is "working with others in the state to make changes to meet their needs. This includes the creation of a system to automatically verify the eligibility of those who apply for jobs at NHVHC." | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
I've always had a knack. Not for brains, nor for sports in particular. Just a knack. I first noticed it when i was about 9, my friend told me about this cool toy he'd heard about. I always remember this moment as when it began, you'd think i'd be able to remember that darn toy, but no. I knew i would remember it then either, so i decided to write it down. I had my bag with me, as always, and I knew i hadn't brought a pen, but i reached in anyway and pulled one out. It wasn't until a couple minutes later until I realized why something didn't feel right. That was my Dad's work pen, the one he always keeps in his locked study. If dad found out I took it, he'd be pissed. I raced home hoping to put it back before he found out, I looked in his office, but there it was, right were it always was. I looked in my bag. No pen. I started to notice some odd things after that. Every now and then I'd catch a glimpse of a soft green/blue/purple mist floating by. At 12, I reached in my pocket and found the key to my bike lock I had left on my dresser. At 13, I made At 15, my ex's new boyfriend tripped on a crack that wasn't even there, spilling ink over his favorite shirt. At 17, I can't tell you how many times I found a $ 20 in my wallet when i knew I was broke. Every time, that mist seeped in from nowhere and filled the room. I learned that I could manipulate this mist, make do things. I could surround people with the green to give them luck, or cast a thing in blue and it would appear. I could throw red in someone's eyes to know their soul. I took to keeping ear buds in my head all the time, so i could disguise my mist weaving as conducting whatever band i might wish. I made poor men rich, made rich men fail, I'm sure I probably led to at least one death over the years. I never realized how much that would come back to bite me in the end. But I've always had a knack. A knack fo | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
The New York Yankees have traded designated hitter Mark Teixeira and left-handed reliever Andrew Miller to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for infielder Gleyber Torres and minor league right-hander Matt Bowman, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link). Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos announced Monday that he has traded the 28-year-old Teixeira and 33-year-old Miller to the Yankees. Both players signed lucrative free agent contracts after the 2014 season. Jenifer Langosch of ESPN New York reports that Teixeira will earn $3.4MM this season in the final year of a six-year contract valued at $50MM. Teixeira, who will turn 33 next month, has been one of New York's better hitters of late. The former Gold Glove winner has racked up 22 homers over 115 games this season, which is more than double the 13 he hit in 2013. Teixeira's.277/.356/.489 line with 11 homers in 154 plate appearances is still well below his career average. Still, Teixeira's recent performance should have given Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos more confidence in paying the designated hitter more than the $14.5MM he made this year. In addition to giving the Blue Jays a right-handed bat to lead off the lineup, Torres is a left-handed hitting infielder who spent the entirety of last season in AAA. The Yankees acquired Torres from the Marlins in exchange for minor league second baseman Jesus Sucre on June 27, 2013. Torres was acquired from Miami for pitcher Alex Torres and minor league outfielder Jose Rondon prior to 2013. After missing most of last season with right shoulder issues, Bowman is a veteran left-handed reliever who spent most of the year in the bullpen. Bowman, 30 in February, made two postseason appearances as a member of the Oakland Athletics in 2012. His career minor league record stands at 7-2 with an earned run average of 2.82 and 41 saves in 72 chances. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
**NSFW** **NSFW** **NOT SAFE FOR WORK** NOTE: The following post contains sexually explicit images and links. If you do NOT want to see this, do NOT continue reading or scrolling...... A peek in the SF Armory of porn site's Kink BDSM Porn Studio Tour aka Kink.com Of course. San Francisco (being the city of extremes) will have a tour of a BDSM porn production studio for us to visit. Kink.com (NSFW) offers a tour of their production studio located at the Armory Studios (SFW) – formerly known as the San Francisco National Guard Armory and Arsenal located at the corner of 14th and Mission Street. Some history for you history buffs: The building is a 200,000 square foot reproduction Moorish Castle. It was completed in 1914 and was used as a National Guard facility until 1976. It retains original period details including wainscoting, stone staircases, sweeping corridors, cavernous access to Mission Creek,and a gigantic drill court spanning almost an acre. The building served as both a barricade and safety point for officers during rioting in San Francisco in 1934. Armory Studios, LLC bought the space in 2007 and here it is, now a Kink BDSM porn studio production tour! They offer group tours almost every day and you can get tickets here. The beginning of the Kink BDSM porn studio tour starts with a little introduction from our tour guide. The usual: do not touch anything unless the tour guide explicitly says you can (and why would you?!) and do not wander off alone or get lost. For you vanilla folks (or any chick who hasn't read the craptastic 50 shades of grey or isn't into it), the term BDSM formed by joining the term B&D (bondage and discipline) with S&M(sadomasochism, or sadism and masochism). It's a catch-all phrase for anybody that wants to involve themselves with bondage, dominance, submissive, role-playing, and other various non-normative activities like cross-dressing, latex & rubber play, etc. If you're interested in this type of thing – be sure to practice SAFE and INFORMATIVE (consensual) sex! Otherwise….feel free to get your FREAK ON. The different sets The first room – I was able to sit in a large…bird cage and got locked up with some of the people in our group! Jeremy was actually able to fit in this cage too – all 6'3 of him but it was a much tighter squeeze and not at all comfortable. This was a nice little segue into the sets. The rooms (sets) are much bigger than anticipated with lots of open and empty space – we figured this is for all the equipment needed during filming and the rest of the crew to sit and stand. Another set reminded me of the Saw movie with how…creepy and "dirty" it was to get your freak on. We also toured a regular looking "apartment" as well as an interrogation room with a one-way mirror and a padded room for the psycho in you! There was the typical classroom with desks and chairs for people trying to seduce their teachers or pupils. Along the hallways, there were HUGE tubs of lube….the kind you could find on Amazon during their prime day sale. haha. Ultimate Surrender Another room we were able to explore was the wrestling room. Also known as Ultimate Surrender (NSFW). Two people of the same sex wrestle each other (same height, weight, etc.) and you earn points by being the more dominant (dom) person while the other person is considered the sub (submissive). The director is the referee and you get points by grabbing their ass, grabbing a boob, sitting on their face, "accidentally" slipping in two fingers, making them orgasm, and what not. They used to allow real guests/visitors sit on the sidelines and cheer but I think it got a little too rowdy so they've put a hold on visitors for now. The Artwork One of the coolest things that stood out on the tour was the works of art all neatly lined up on the walls. Not something most people would have in the hallway of their home but maybe in your own sexual playroom or dungeon. This isn't for the faint of heart or sexually conservative but the paintings are really awesome in that sublime way. Anybody who participates in Kink.com is considered a model and everything is consensual. They are a condom-optional studio and models get tested every two weeks for any STDs. Rates for female models range from $500-1300 per shoot. Men | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Expand Downtown area of Benghazi, Libya where forces loyal to the Libyan Army are fighting Islamist militias, April 2015. © 2015 Hanan Salah/Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – The parties to the conflict in Libya should allow civilians safe passage out of neighborhoods in the eastern city of Benghazi and other areas caught up in the hostilities and permit access to deliver food and medical supplies. Residents of Benghazi whom Human Rights Watch met on April 17, 2015, and interviewed by phone on May 21 said that Libyan families and foreign civilians were trapped in downtown Benghazi affected by fighting, including areas of El-Blad, Sidi Khreibish, and El-Sabri. They said the militants controlling these areas were not allowing civilians to leave, and conditions were increasingly dire, due to food shortages and lack of medical care and because electricity to most areas had been cut. One Sidi Khreibish resident who managed to leave said that the Libyan army would no longer allow people to leave unless through a coordinated safe passage by the Libyan Red Crescent, and that militants were barring people from leaving the areas under their control. Another Benghazi resident who had managed to leave militia-controlled areas said at least four civilians had died since March, one from gunfire and three from untreated injuries. "As fighting in Benghazi intensifies, all the forces involved need to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian property," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director. "It's vitally important for the Libyan Army and militias in Benghazi to allow civilians safe passage and to facilitate access to take badly needed aid to the people inside." The number of people killed and injured in Benghazi has continued to rise since Human Rights Watch visited the city in April. On May 12, a shell fired into the Ard Baloun neighborhood killed three children and injured two others from the same family, according to a local news report. Militants affiliated with the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Two days later, one man and seven children died when a shell hit the Hay Al-Salam neighborhood, according to the website of Al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi. The Benghazi residents told Human Rights Watch that the Libyan Red Crescent Society had coordinated arrangements with forces loyal to the Libyan Army and the opposing militants to allow civilians safe passage out of the city's neighborhoods until November 4, 2014. Since then, all further attempts by the Red Crescent to facilitate the evacuation of civilians had failed, including three attempts in February and March 2015, because either the militants disagreed or forces loyal to the army refused to agree, claiming that it would put the civilians' lives at risk. After such a failed attempt in March, an injured resident died after the Army refused to allow passage for a car carrying him insisting that residents could only leave the area by foot. Abdelrazeq al-Nadhouri, the Libyan Army's chief of staff, met with Human Rights Watch on April 18 at his headquarters in Al-Marj, 100 kilometers east of Benghazi. He contended that families who remained in the areas affected by fighting "wanted to stay there and refused to leave," but said that the army would allow any who wished to do so to leave. The same day, Zakaria Beltamer, the head of the Benghazi Crisis Committee, a body created by the Prime Ministry with several local council members and the Libyan Red Crescent, told Human Rights Watch in a separate meeting that the Red Crescent had made several calls for the evacuation of civilians, that all families had been evacuated from the affected parts of Benghazi neighborhoods, and that "whoever is still inside is with them," meaning members of Ansar Al-Sharia or Islamist militants. But Benghazi residents who spoke with Human Rights Watch, including a Red Crescent volunteer who helped coordinate evacuations, contradicted his assessment. The volunteer said that the Red Crescent had registered 58 people by phone in militia-controlled areas who wanted to leave but were unable to for fear of being attacked by the militias if they tried. Beltamer said there has been widespread displacement of families from Benghazi since the outbreak of the violence in May 2014. He said that 15,000 families were registered with the Crisis Committee as internally displaced persons but acknowledged that many others had found shelter with relatives or had left the city altogether and had not registered. Benghazi, Libya's second largest city – after the capital, Tripoli – had a population of 650,000 prior to the start of the conflict out of Libya's total population of 6.4 million. Under international humanitarian law – the laws of war – all forces engaged in armed conflict must allow civilians to safely evacuate from areas affected by fighting and give civilians "effective advance warning" of attacks that could put them at risk whenever circumstances permit. Even after armed forces have warned civilians of impending attacks, they must still take all feasible precautions to avoid causing loss of civilian life. This includes canceling an attack when it becomes | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
"This is exactly what the Founders want; Klingon against Cardassian, Federation against Klingon." The Klingon-Cardassian War was a major interstellar conflict resulting from the Klingon Empire invading the Cardassian Union, lasting from early 2372 to mid-2373. The war devastated the Cardassian state and greatly contributed to its eventual absorption into the Dominion, thus achieving what the Klingon invasion had claimed to prevent. The manipulation of the Klingons into launching an unprovoked attack on the Cardassians would prove to be one of the greatest coups of Changeling infiltration in the Alpha Quadrant. Contents show] Revolution and paranoia Edit In 2372, reports emerged through the sealed borders of the Cardassian Union that the Cardassian Central Command had been overthrown by a popular uprising, restoring power to the civilian Detapa Council. The growing strength of the Cardassian dissident movement, coupled with the loss of security due to the collapse of the Obsidian Order following the disastrous Battle of the Omarion Nebula, had at last been able to remove one of the most oppressive regimes in the Alpha Quadrant. On Qo'noS, the news was received in a different light. Chancellor Gowron and the Klingon High Council became convinced that the revolt on Cardassia Prime was instigated by the Dominion and that the Detapa Council had been replaced by Founders. One of the most influential officers in the Klingon Defense Forces, General Martok, called for a massive invasion of Cardassian space to end the "Changeling threat". Many Klingons, who had grown restless after decades of peace, rallied around him. They were unaware that Martok himself had been replaced by a Changeling, whose mission to weaken the Dominion's enemies was proceeding perfectly. Emperor Kahless condemned the invasion, to no effect. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "The Sword of Kahless", "Apocalypse Rising") The invasion involved a third of the Klingon Empire's standing forces, with over a hundred ships in the first wave alone. The plan was to mount a lightning thrust into the heart of Cardassian territory and conquer the Cardassian homeworld. After a victory, traditional Klingon practice would call for the execution of all government officials, and the installation of an Imperial Overseer to put down any further resistance. The advance task force of over fifty warships, led by Martok aboard the IKS Negh'Var, was dispatched to Federation starbase Deep Space 9 under the guise of defending the station against a Dominion incursion. Preemptive invasion Edit Captain Benjamin Sisko, commander of Deep Space 9, was suspicious of the Klingons' motives as there had been no significant Dominion activity near the Bajoran wormhole for months. Thus, he ordered Lieutenant Commander Worf to uncover the Klingons' true intentions. Once appraised of the planned invasion, Sisko urged Martok to call off the attack and informed him that the Federation would not support an unprovoked attack. Martok paid his warning no heed, and shortly after commenced the invasion. The Federation Council quickly condemned the invasion, and in response an enraged Gowron withdrew from the Khitomer Accords, ending the alliance between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. With Starfleet ordered not to interfere until the Federation Council could re-establish a dialog with Gowron, the Klingons were free to cross into Cardassian space. However, Elim Garak, aboard Deep Space 9, was able to send warning to Legate Dukat, chief military advisor to the Detapa Council. Although the outlying Cardassian colonies were overwhelmed almost immediately, the Cardassian fleet did mobilize in time to offer greater resistance as the Klingons pressed closer to Cardassia Prime. Nevertheless, the Klingons still broke through the Cardassian lines after a pitched battle, leaving them only 52 hours from Cardassia Prime. Realizing the planet could not hold, Sisko offered to shelter the Detapa Council aboard Deep Space 9. Dukat evacuated the council members aboard the cruiser Prakesh, though they were intercepted by several Klingon warships. With a timely rescue from the USS Defiant, the Council members reached Deep Space 9. With this development, the Klingon fleet turned away from Cardassia and attempted to take the council members from Deep Space 9 by force. Fortunately, the weapons of the station had been heavily augmented in anticipation of a Dominion invasion, and it was able to withstand the siege long enough for Starfleet reinforcements to arrive. Stalemate Edit Following their defeat at Deep Space 9, the momentum of the Klingon invasion was blunted and Cardassia Prime was out of danger. Gowron, fearing assassination from his failure to conquer the Cardassians, simply declared victory and halted the advance of his forces. Meanwhile, the Klingons, refusing to relinquish the colonies they had conquered, began fortifying their positions and deploying orbital defense systems in preparation for a longer war of attrition. (DS | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
I'm on my way back to Disney Springs, folks. I really am. Having said that, welcome to Disney's Old Key West Resort! A great place, it's home to one of our favorite spots – the Gurgling Suitcase! The suitcase is a great indoor (while you feel like you're outdoors) watering hole. Take a look here! But, today isn't about Disney bars. It's about delicious breakfasts! It's also about a little-known and under-appreciated restaurant. My friends, meet Olivia's! After a morning walk through Disney Springs, Mrs. All in WDW and I found ourselves hungry for breakfast. Desiring a relaxing sit-down experience, we found ourselves visiting Olivia. Olivia's is a very welcoming locale with great nautical decor! Headlined by a phenomenal Loaded Key West Bloody Mary, their menu is loaded with options! Mrs. All in WDW enjoyed her choice. One of Olivia's delicious omelets. Basically, it was the Monroe Egg White Omelet but with whole eggs and without cheese. I was enticed by, what I felt was, a much more unique dish … Crab Cake Eggs Benedict. Mmmm. Did someone say "crab cake"? I don't think it was the best breakfast I've ever had – Trattoria al Forno still owns that honor – but it was very good. Definitely not your 'run of the mill' preparation, it's worth having at least once. My friends, Olivia's is, pretty much, a well-kept secret. But, then, Disney's Old Key West Resort is under-appreciated as well. If you find yourself out and about and in need of a meal, pay a visit to Olivia. She does a great job! We should keep her in mind! | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
We're a month early, but that doesn't mean we're letting the hype die. Check out the video and then see for yourself. There's always this "before" that we see in videos that give me the feeling that it will be a short film. It almost always ends with a clip of the actors in character, so that when we watch the whole thing, if it's supposed to be an epic fantasy, you expect to see epic scenery and epic characters. So I'm very excited for this film. It's not a traditional movie, but it still has this epic feeling that you could call epic. Or epic fantasy. But there's more to it than that. I'm doing the art direction, and even though it's fantasy and doesn't have to conform to any kind of canon, it's based on actual history, so I'm still doing the same things I do for my other projects. You really don't have to know much about history to enjoy the film. It's not a classic story about a hero, or a villain. There's no great evil, no great good or hero. It's the beginning of all this. It's a story about three friends. An ordinary boy named Jake, a young lady named Sarah, and a young dragon named Ondolemar. They have never met before, and they're in this weird new place called Earth. It's a magical place, and they have to figure out how to survive. And in a way, every magical place is like New York, except everything is magical. This one is different from just about every other story we ever did. It has the same basic structure as those other stories, but also goes a bit farther than just a fairytale. I hope you're enjoying the video and I hope you're checking it out because I hope I can get some feedback from the fans! -Ben Advertisements | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
For my first post I wanted to try and get a first impression off the bat. I'm a relatively new user here, and I've just tried this for only half this week, but so far there seems to be a lot of positive comments and a lot of questions about the program and the issues in the comments. So, I'll just go in depth my review and share my findings... First the good... I have never used an automatic carwash. I've never even had it on my own. And that's not a mistake. I had no prior knowledge of such things. But it is such a nice, simple, practical cleaning app. In fact I'm going to say it's a great place to start with cleaning. You do have to know the basics, like which tools you have at hand, how much water you need, what kind of wash you're doing (soapy, oil, gas, etc.), and the proper time of day and season for the car. But that's not so hard to figure out. And that's really the whole point. The program's whole reason for being is that it's extremely quick and affordable. And the fact that it works so well is pretty damn impressive. I haven't had any issues in cleaning my cars. I usually don't follow the manufacturer's recommendations (although I'd never say that was bad), but since I bought this this morning I've done 5 cycles, and so far I've gotten absolutely no issues (I'm a little worried that I might get an issue or two the first few times though...) It's certainly worth a try if you have no prior experience, or don't feel like messing around with the whole program setup process! I've only had it for a few hours, so it's certainly not a quick fix, but it could be a very good fix too. The other big issue I've experienced is the lack of consistency of the cleaning results. It may sound crazy, but I think it might be because of my initial review. I got a lot of mixed reviews about how good it was. A lot of people said that it was okay, but didn't really get to the point that they wanted it. That wasn't entirely true though. Some people said their car was completely clean immediately. They also say the results weren't nearly up to par, but the second time the car was cleaned the car would appear spotless. My car, however, just washed itself and was dirty the next morning. Then I looked at my results and it appears very muddy and not spotless the second time. The program seems like a great program, but the results are only good for about 2 minutes before they're a wash away. I don't know how anyone can get results that high in less than a half hour. So... if you're looking for a quick, cheap and easy car wash, I think this is the program for you. But my advice would be to take notes in order to help you be successful with the program. It's worth it. (Plus, you can even see a list of all the tools and tools to be used at your finger tips!) | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
We watched when the sun became red and the moon disappeared and everything started to unravel. It became cold and the weather turned strangely damp. A creeping, black mold started to appear in many places. Sickness and disease began to spread. At first, people lived on synthetically produced light, and discovered alternatives to normal food, such as insects and some of the moss. The cost of old canned food skyrocketed. At first everyone was impressively resilient and adaptive. This wasn't to last long. Soon rat meat was sold openly, spreading more disease. A criminal class rose, producing chemically simulated near-foods. There were jell filled rubber sea foods, bogus milk products packed with wet ground paper, resin filled eggs and plastic lettuce. Those who ate them often died or became deranged. People began to develop severe allergies to their other main food source, the insects, which by now were overrunning many areas. Wars broke out as people began fighting over the few resources that were left. Aggression, anxiety, and a sort of bestial mentality took over the minds of many. Water contamination was at new levels thanks in part to with pharmaceutical and other drugs. The mold also began growing on PVC piping, which was adapting to spread everywhere. The last of the vegetation began to die and the air became putrid. Falling trees were a problem. Those roads that weren't already degrading became impassable. Buildings began to crumble and fall. Decay was everywhere. The dead were no longer buried. Enough were gone that we could finally move in. It was important to harvest as much of the mold as we could before it had nothing left to devour. It was an exciting time. Such a precious resource, and to have so much of it was incredible. It was a rare planet that could grow it, and this had gone marvelously. There would feed our young for years to come. Such a plentiful bounty called for celebration. Deterioration was a beautiful thi | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
This was the last moment of my life. “ You are too late, ” the Collector announced as he pressed the blistered tip of his thumb against my forehead. I let out a horrible shriek as the flesh under his thumb tip started bubbling. “ Get away from me, ” I growled as my back hit a wall. “ Your time is over, ” he whispered as he raised his hand again with a single thumb extended. “ The time of collection has begun. ” “ You can ’ t just come in here and tell me what to do, ” I yelled as I slapped his hand away. “ This is my home. ” “ You ’ re just making this all worse for yourself, ” he threatened as he pointed a bony finger directly at my face. “ Just let it happen. ” I considered grabbing a kitchen knife, but his hand wrapped around my wrist before it had barely left my side. The loose meat of his face wiggled back and forth disapprovingly. I wrestled my arm free and retreated further from him. “ I don ’ t see what the problem is, ” he said calmly | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
WAILUKU, Hawaii -- A judge on the Hawaiian island of Maui has handed down an unorthodox sentence to a man who pleaded no contest to violating a protection order preventing him from contacting his ex-girlfriend. Judge Rhonda Loo ordered Daren Young on Friday to write 144 compliments about his ex-girlfriend, in response to the 144 "nasty" text messages and calls that he is accused of sending her. "For every nasty thing you said about her, you're going to say a nice thing," Loo told Young. "No repeating words." Young, 30, received time served for spending 157 days in jail before being sentenced, the Maui News reported. Besides being told to pay the compliments, he also received two years of probation, $2,400 in fines and 200 hours of community service. "It's so childish to think a grown man can be so thumb-happy," Loo said. Young told Loo he will not reach out to the ex-girlfriend again and is moving forward with his life. She sought the protection order, which was issued on Feb. 22. He was ordered not to contact her, including by phone. But two months later, Young called and texted her 144 times within a three-hour period, police said. "I don't know whether I should cut off your fingers or take away your phone to get you to stop texting," Loo told Young. "You probably shouldn't get a phone, period. I hope she changed her number." | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
The Incident of the Distributed Denial of Service Attack Report Following the Distributed Denial of Service attack on the website of the iPremier Company, the company’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) requested an evaluation report on the incident. The present paper analyzes and reports the incident along with the provided response. The IT management of iPremier has managed fairly well against the attack that occurred on the webserver of the company. The IT HR of the company was utilized, and at the same time, the main response to the attack was not left to QData to handle. The attack was responded to in a timely manner, utilizing the fact that it was nighttime, and thus, the issue could be solved prior to customers’ awakening, without substantial interruption to the service. The identification of what information was at stake, and at the same time evaluating several solutions was a good managerial decision. In that regard, Turley had the option of pulling the plug, but nevertheless, he evaluated such a decision between the risks at stake and the identification of the type and the source of the attack, favoring the latter. Accordingly, Turley played his role as the CIO of the company, namely “planning and implementing strategies to limit the impact of natural and human-made disasters on information technology and, consequently, the conduct of business” (Pearlson & Saunders, 2010, p. 221). If taking the role of Turley, one difference can be seen through is forming a team right away that would handle the situation in this case. Accordingly, critical services should be determined right away, with priorities being put on what actions should follow once the threat is identified (Vries, 2004). Additionally, immediate direct communication should have occurred with the service provider, in which the scale of the threat should have been communicated, and accordingly, no delays in access would have occurred. When evaluating the decision of pulling the plug, shutting down the power might have been optimal, considering the benefit for all stakeholders involved in this case. The steps that should be followed after the attack can be seen through three dimensions, assessing the impact, mitigating the impact, and performing all the necessary steps that shall minimize the possibility of such threat occurring in the future. In terms of assessment, the main aspect that should be focused on is customers’ confidential data stored on the company’s servers. The issue whether it was a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack or it was an intrusion. The response that should follow will depend on the nature of the attack that occurred. If there was an intrusion as well, the company will be ethically obliged to inform the customers of such an incident. The attack should be evaluated, in order to identify the weaknesses in the company’s infrastructure, in addition, t those weaknesses that were known and/or identified before and during the attack. Considering the weaknesses identified, the most appropriate steps, including those identified in the case would involve the following aspects: *Purchasing additional hard disks massive for leading detailed logging.* Changing the Internet Service Provider (ISP) provider, following the theory of benefitting the stakeholders involved when choosing an ISP, rather than moral obligation. *Providing sufficient focus to security issues, including such aspects as firewalls, which are capable of identifying such types of attacks, and distinguishing between normal and unwanted artificial responses, both at the gateway and with traffic going through the service provider.* Developing strict procedures for response in such cases, identifying the roles and assigning responsibilities to those who should be responsible. CIO should not manage regular tasks and day-by-day responsibilities. CIO should be concerned with long-term strategies instead. Accordingly, an audit might be recommended to be conducted in the company, in which the CIO of the company should work with the auditors to assess the internal controls in the company. In that regard, an assessment framework might be needed to be established in order to assess the impact of such incidents in the future. The translation of the company’s architecture mentioned in the case, into infrastructure can be conducted as follows: Component Goals Architecture Infrastructure Hardware Receiving benefits through selling good son the internet. Providing access to internet Router Being available for purchase 24 hours a day. Providing access to the company’s webpage. Web servers Are capable of sharing knowledge internally and externally, between customers, employees, and suppliers. Connecting the internal network of the company Switches Providing appropriate means to monitor the infrastructure of the company. Storing log data in the network Hard disk clusters providing storage. Software Managing the confidentiality and the privacy of the customers’ data. Maintaining the reputation as a reliable company. Protecting the company’s network from intrusion Hardware and software firewall Data Holding accountability of the customers’ confidentiality. Storage of customers’ information Database It can be concluded that despite the timely response of the company to the attack, there are many aspects that should be managed and many steps that should be taken afterward. References Pearlson, K., & Saunders, C. S. (2010). Managing and using information systems: a strategic approach (4th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Vries, S. D. (2004). Surviving Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks. Corsair Limited. Web. | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Target Corporation Company Situation Analysis Essay Introduction The Target Corporation is a retailing company based in the United States of America. However, it is currently facing a financial crisis due to the losses it has been incurring over the last few years. To alleviate the situation, the company recently introduced a new chief executive officer, Brian Cornell, to guide the company towards reinvention. This essay provides a situation analysis for the Target Corporation by examining both the internal and external business environment trends. Situation Analysis The Target Corp operates in the retail discount industry through the provision of superior merchandise at competitive prices. External Situation Economic Situation The US recession significantly affected the retailing company. During this period, customers were not willing to do impulse spending on non-essential goods. The case study reveals that the most indispensable commodities, such as foodstuffs, usually register big sales. Consumer Trends Customers visit the discount retailer store with the aim of purchasing goods according to their budgets. However, motivated customers surpass such budgets to make more purchases due to favorable discounts that are offered on the commodities. Internal Situation Financial situation The corporation has been enjoying financial prowess before the recession. However, it has experienced enormous losses in the past few years. As a result, it altered its cheap chic marketing strategy that defined its uniqueness. However, this decision has resulted in a negative impact on its profitability. Other competitors, such as Wal-Mart, have outshone the company and seized a great proportion of the market. Sometimes, the company runs out of stock. This situation has also affected its profits significantly. Adverse operating economic conditions, together with various management issues in the company, have led to a significant decline in its productivity. Management and Culture According to the case study, the company has always strived to maintain well-structured management and reputable culture that have been key drivers to its prowess. However, after encountering a recession, it was hardly possible to maintain the bureaucratic leadership style. However, the company does not take matters that pertain to management for granted. Failure to perform can result in the dismissal of an employee. In addition, the company has developed a risk-averse management culture that focuses on its overall success. The company has also replaced its CEOs severally in an attempt to restore the company’s position in the retail industry. Target Market and Customers From the analysis, it is clear that Target Corp has lost its uniqueness after the recession that led to the abandonment of its unique cheap chic marketing strategy. Earlier, the approach had differentiated the company from other players in the industry. Nowadays, customers do not experience any exclusivity while shopping at the organization. The company has lost a greater part of its market share to other competitors such as Wal-Mart. In addition, some of the loopholes in its marketing strategies, such as delayed delivery and cancellation of orders has shifted the focus of many customers to the competitor companies. Product The company’s sales fell significantly during the recession. This situation resulted from reduced purchases of nonessential merchandise. This situation compelled the company to concentrate on essential commodities. At this period, the company realized a remarkable increase in the sale of foodstuffs and pet supplies. Nonetheless, some of its bestselling commodities, such as apparel and housewares, experienced decreased sales. Nonetheless, its food strategy worked well. Price The company’s pricing decisions were made in accordance with its competitor’s prices. As a result, it lowered its online prices to increase its competitive advantage. Earlier, Target Corp was known for its cheap chic pricing strategy that attracted many shoppers. Furthermore, discounting techniques played a vital role in marketing. Promotion The Target Corp has been using several methods such as advertising to promote its products. However, advertising only leads to increased expenditure since it does not boost sales significantly. The company also promotes its products through discounting. This strategy sways the attention of most consumers to purchase its products. The introduction of credit cards has also boosted the sales of the company further since shoppers are awarded special discounts. Distribution The Target Corp has adopted various distribution techniques such as e-commerce. It has been making online sales through its website. Formerly, it used the Amazon.com platform to sell its products. However, the company pulled out from the platform after developing its own website. Nonetheless, its online selling strategy has encountered some major drawbacks. Firstly, online sales are too low as compared to the transactions at physical stores. In addition, the company website recently crashed. This situation has led to delays and cancellation of customer orders, causing frustration and inconvenience. Lastly, a recent invasion of the company’s website by hackers has led to enormous losses. SWOT Analysis Table 1: SWOT Analysis Strengths Wide product portfolio Structured management Poor marketing strategies Weaknesses Financial strain Image problems Opportunities New markets Change of consumer habits and preferences Strong competitors Threats Harsh economic conditions New technologies (infringement of systems) Recommendations The Target Corp should employ mechanisms that match with modern marketplaces to attract more shoppers. Its former cheap chic strategy should be adopted to restore and maintain uniqueness in the industry. The company should also execute good promotion strategies to boost its sales. | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
It appears that the federal government is still trying to figure out how to handle the Zika virus. While the virus does not currently appear to be transmittable via mosquitoes, the CDC is working to find alternative ways of ensuring that pregnant women in areas where Zika is prevalent do not get infected. Currently, there is only one licensed vaccine available to help prevent the spread of Zika—known as Zika Zoster—but there are plans to issue an additional three vaccines by 2020. The first of these vaccines would prevent the virus from causing serious birth defects. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes a vaccine approved for use by pregnant women would only make up 5% of the vaccines issued in the next three years. With the new guidance for the Zika virus in hand—specifically, the recommendations from the CDC that pregnant women in a high risk area postpone travel to the area of active Zika transmission to avoid contracting the virus—regulations to help ensure that no vaccine is released by 2020, and that a "preferred" vaccine does not replace the Zoster vaccine, are not set to be finalized until the end of 2016. There are currently no alternatives to the Zoster vaccine that would be approved for use in pregnancy at this time. So while researchers at Oregon Health & Science University—who recently demonstrated that it is possible to develop a vaccine to be safer for pregnant women—are working on this vaccine, it is probably not going to be approved until the middle of the next decade. This, of course, would also mean that pregnant women in areas where Zika has already spread (i.e., the vast majority of the US) will never be able to purchase a vaccine against the virus. Still, the timing of FDA's decision on the Zika vaccine was an odd one. This was also just a week after the Centers for Prevention and Control (CDC) in Atlanta announced that there were currently no plans to issue any additional vaccines in their current form until it was deemed safe for pregnant women to use them. So the CDC is saying that at least in their opinion, no more vaccines for use in pregnant women are likely to be released until after 2020—even though they do plan on developing a replacement vaccine for the Zoster vaccine. This is a pretty weird way to approach an ongoing public health crisis. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
I am happy to announce I've been contracted to play for the new US men's national team! I am excited to play for the boys in blue and hopefully to start making our mark on that team in the coming years. I was in South Korea for the Asian Cup in February and spent time with the team in training and trying to integrate myself with the players. I really enjoyed my time with the team and felt really comfortable in a team environment and with all the players. I had a great experience with the coaching staff and enjoyed getting to know all of these players. Once I found out the Americans were on their way, it made it even more exciting to be playing for my country, and I'm not sure how it will work going into the World Cup. I'm ready to learn as much as I can from players like Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, who are the true leaders for the team. I've also been told that they have a very talented and versatile midfielder that could play in several areas to help us compete as a team. I'm also really excited about the upcoming NASL season in Orlando. The team is in really good shape after getting off to a great start and are very competitive. My coaches have set me up good and now it's going to look to see how hard I can fight until my retirement. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
I've worked with an amazing agency here in San Francisco who is doing some really cool work for a variety of organizations. While we still don't get all the details about how these projects are working so far (we'll know more once the work is complete), the results have been amazing. Here's one project that's worked out really well and will be helping a client right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. First and foremost, our client is a tech startup called Aetna. They have several different programs in different industries designed to help them attract and retain great talent. One such program is the Networking & Career Services for Mid-Career Adults program for adults between the ages of 18 and 30. The program started this summer and has been running since then. The Aetna organization has done some amazing work in helping their client set up their training to take place here in San Francisco. They have designed the training for people who want to receive career coaching and workshops as opposed to learning by reading some book about their field. There are quite a few different parts of what the program consists of (see figure, top) so let's break it down! The first thing you will want to do is sign up for Aetna's e-mail newsletter and set up your profiles on various social networking sites. You'll also want to add all of the social media profiles you have in your own name (you can get a list of all of your social networks here). When you enter your e-mail address into Aetna's site, you will be taken to the "Employee Profile" page which will give you a list of your social networks which you can use to identify the people you connect with on an ongoing basis to see how much they connect with you. At the time of writing this, Aetna has more than 700 people on the list. When connecting with your network, it is important to focus on the groups you know a lot about. The first two steps are for you to go through the list of people and add them into a personal list of contacts. The next step is also easy. Click on the "Invite" button in the left hand navigation bar. From here, you will be taken to a page where you can type in the names of people you would like to add to contact lists. You also need to have a username for this list in order for it to be easily searchable and accessible. For this program, the username will need to be something like "careercoaching@aetna.com" and the password will have to be something like your Aetna email address. As long as you are using a secure password that is not publicly displayed to the public, you should be safe from snoopers without giving your username out. We are pretty flexible on how you set up and update this list. For us, we choose to automatically update the list at least once every 4 weeks. (Aetna will email you a link where you can get updates on where your lists have changed.) Now that we have your list updated, we need to go through and help Aetna identify who you really are. We suggest the following steps which will help Aetna to identify you even quicker: Go through your network list. Now go to the Aetna organization website and go to "My Account" and then "My Activities" and then "Other Links". The "Other Links" area will have a list of your social networks available, and also will have links to your personal profile where you can change your profile picture as you like. It's important that you go through this first in order to find people who have good things to say about you. Go to your personal profile and click on your "About Me" link, in the "About Me" section. It is not always necessary to change your profile photo on Facebook or LinkedIn, but it's best to get rid of the photo you use on your profile. In this case, your current photo should have "About me" at the top. This photo and the "About me" section will help us see how much people are talking about you and the type of information they are saying about you. Once you fill in this section, click on "Apply for this opportunity" in the page that pops up. Now you'll need to fill in the information related to your employer and your job title. You can do this on either the Aetna website or if you go to the job posting, you should already have all of this information. There will be two questions you have to answer. First, what are you looking for? What will you get out of the event? If you answer "This is me," then they will add you onto the event. If you answer "I'm not sure what this event is," then they can add you with a note about what kind of experience | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
``These are my family I'm not going to leave them... I'm sorry''. Mark had never seen a big man blubber before. The emotional car crash in front of him was a sorry sight to see. Perhaps even disgraceful. Yet he felt pity for the man. ``Listen you can't stay out here'', Mark began to explain, trying to get this unravelling yarn ball of emotions to move, ``you're gon na freeze''. The man did not turn. He said nothing, only cried, harder and harder. Mark's false concern fell upon the man like raindrops upon a raincoat. ``Look your trespassing on private property and you need to leave'', Mark started to grow impatient. Like a mother with a disobedient child. Yet the man still refused to move. Mark debated his next action with care. He didn't want to move the man by force for not only did he not want to make his distress worse, the man with burst pipes in his eyes was a good foot taller than him and was built like a house. Should he call the police? His manager? It was clear the man would not listen to him, and he could not leave him there for it would put his own job at risk. Would the police just make it worse? Yet Mark knew it was inevitable. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. Mark felt immeasurably guilt looking at the man. The man. The poor soul kneeling before the gravestones. The man who had lost so much and had obviously not come to terms with reality. It was moments like these that reminded Mark why he hated working in the child's c | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Negotiation Strategies: Investor-Government Conflicts Case Study A case of Trans-Pacific Partnership Member countries of the proposed trade agreement are engaged in negotiation to prevent legal tussles that arise from business malpractices, such as issues touching on intellectual property, and investor-government conflicts. At least twelve countries are engaged in the negotiation, but two parties are involved, with the US leading countries from the North American region whereas Japan is the chosen leader of the Asian states including Australia, Brunel Darussalam, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam. The American states involved in the discussion are Canada, the United States, Chile, Peru, and Mexico. The parties started negotiating in 2005 with the major goal of solving problems arising from intellectual property, service delivery, and agriculture. The Obama administration is fully focused on implementing the agreed policies under the accord, as it believes it will strengthen trade. Nine partners announced in 2011 that they intended to enhance trade and investment among member countries through promotion of innovation, financial growth, and expansion, and facilitate employment. Civil rights groups are concerned with ongoing negotiations because of the secret provisions contained in the document. The member countries are concerned with the current state of affairs where businesses are heavily affected by the trade rules, such as rules of origin, trade remedies, hygienic measures, industrial obstacles, intellectual property, government procurement, and competition policies. One of the proposals was to reduce tariffs by ninety percent before 2015. The member states adopted Obama’s trade proposal in 2010 when the APEC summit was held. The negotiation was postponed upon the inauguration of Obama as the president, but the country’s executive made an effort of reaffirming his commitment to the TPP agreement. Subsequently, the president appointed a representative in 2009 with specific instructions to ensure the country attains its economic and social interests. In this paper, the negotiation strategies that the two warring parties, the United State and Japan, employ will be explored before suggesting an alternative strategy that entails an understanding of cultural differences. In the first section, the position of both parties will be evaluated since the states have not expressed their interests openly preferring instead to champion them through the TPP treaty. In the second section, the negation strategies are given whereby the ideas of scholars are assessed, especially the strategies they suggest before giving the exact tactics that the two countries employ. In the final section, a comprehensive alternative is given in solving the conflict. An understanding of culture is the first step towards solving the trade problems that face the two countries. Positions of Stakeholders United States and Japan The members of Trans-Pacific Partnership are twelve, but the major actors are two who represent the views and interests of others. The United States and Japan are the main antagonists whenever the conference is held to deliberate on the issues facing treaty implementation. Recently, the US president visited Japan to extend negotiations whereby the two countries identified the ways through which bilateral trade could be enhanced under the auspices of TPP. However, the Japanese minister charged with the responsibility of implementing TPP agreements admitted that the two countries failed to reach at a consensus since contentious issues were not resolved given the fact the two countries have varying interests. The United States wants Japanese agricultural tariffs eliminated, as this will play a role in enhancing its market share in the Asian region. In particular, the Japanese five priority items worries the American policy makers because the state is reluctant to do away with tariffs on rice, wheat, and sugar. In fact, it is suggested that import quota should be expanded to include the American rice and wheat, but no elimination of the tariffs. While Japan accepted to waiver the tariff rates on beef, pork, and other dairy products, the reduction size was not specified, which makes the situation complex. American sugar is no as competitive as the Japanese sugar and allowing free market principles to prevail is disastrous for American goods in the Asian region. The American negotiators are aware of this fact and they intend to force their Japanese counterparts to reduce tariffs on rice, even though this will be unattainable since rice is politically significant in the country. The United States has an additional concern because Japan imported twenty percent of wheat from Canada and Australia. Although the US supplied sixty percent, it will have to face competition from these states even if tariffs are reduced, something that is likely to damage the country’s exports. Therefore, the US prefers a different system that maintains the import duty on wheat while at the same time expanding the quota. For Japan to realize its political ambitions, it has to maintain the tariffs, which is beneficial to the US, as it will facilitate profit generation. The United States is in need of significant reduction of tariffs on beef and pork because this will not interfere with the Japanese for the same products. In early 1990s, the tariffs rates charged on beef and pork were too high before they were reduced from seventy percent to thirty eight. Unfortunately, the US has been unlucky because production of beef in the country has been in the increase. On the other hand, the Japanese currency has depreciated greatly since 2012. While one kilogram of beef was priced at one-hundred yen in 2012 before taxation, it currently goes for one-hundred and thirty. The current position of Japan is unfavorable to the American businesses and things must change of the two countries are to benefit. Therefore, negotiations should focus on this aspect and ensure mutual cooperation is achieved. Japanese policy makers are focused on realizing the state interests in the negotiations whereby the products will not face problems penetrating the market. The US negotiators, on the other hand, are keen on expanding exports in order to boost domestic industries. The interests of Japan cannot be said to be preservation of the agricultural industry because it has various options of ensuring foreign products do not affect its domestic factories. In fact, allowing foreign goods to compete with local products without tariffs is beneficial to the consumer. In this regard, the Japanese government is trying to control prices of products to prevent an increase in the prices of food products. TPP agreements seek to tackle the problems that member states face regarding market access through elimination of tariffs, as well as other trade barriers that have always made it hard for goods and services to flow freely. For instance, movement of people and goods form one region to the other has not been easy, something that affects production and development. When foreign goods are allowed into the economy, chances are high that employment opportunities will be created and consumers will definitely benefit from high quality products and reduced prices. Enhanced markets play a critical role of job creation, improvement of standards of living and welfare, and enhancement of preferable development within member countries. The trade issues that the treaty seeks to resolve include regulatory coherence, competition, incorporation of small and medium scale enterprises, and development. Through regulatory coherence, the treaty will likely promote trade, as policies, regulations, and rules are standardized to facilitate efficiency. The commitments facilitate competitiveness, as well as business enhancement both regionally and domestically, which promotes economic integration and employment among member states. Member states face serious challenges regarding empowerment of small and medium sized enterprises in their economies, but the treaty is expected to address these issues by encouraging them to engage in international trade. In many countries, small and medium size companies complain because they have little understanding on the functionality of the agreements. Finally, the treaty will serve to spur economic and social development, as it seeks to liberalize the markets, instilling discipline to improve investments, and strengthening institutions. The United States is advancing the policy that promotes digital economy and application of green technologies in production and distribution of goods and services, something that will promote innovation. SWOT analysis refers to a structural planning technique that is employed in assessing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In this paper, the technique will be used in understanding the bargaining power of the two countries, the United States and Japan as far as TPP treaty is concerned. The analysis entails a process in which objectives of the two countries are specified, as well as classifying internal and external factors, which might be either beneficial or inauspicious. Establishing the strengths helps in understanding the special features of the two countries that are likely to give one of them an advantage over the other. Looking at the weaknesses is equally important in the sense that it plays a role in understanding the existing shortfalls. Opportunities are elements that the two countries are likely to utilize to achieve competitive advantage. Threats are the factors that would probably lead to problems. Negotiation Strategies Salacuse identified various constraints that governments face whenever they engage in negotiations. The negotiators from the United States and Japan find themselves in difficult situations as they try to strike the best deals for their governments. According to this scholar, the government has the monopoly over legitimate use of force given the fact it enjoys various privileges and immunities. Unfortunately, the parties in the conflict are both governments and they cannot exercise their legitimate over. While the Japanese officials have the support of the legislature, their American counterparts have to act according to the provisions of the law. In this regard, the assertion by Salacuse that negotiation rules is one of the constraints is valid, especially for the American negotiators who have to consult the congress and the senate before engaging in any talks with members of the TPP. Based on this, the rules play two important roles of regulating the negotiation process, as well as controlling the entire process. While the two governments would be willing to compromise to arrive at win-win solution, the interests of their respective constituents do not permit them to do so. Salacuse claims that governments depend on their constituents for resources and support hence they have to make decisions that are consistent with their expectations and desires. In this conflict, American and Japanese political parties, labour unions, the military, the media, and various civil societies are affected, which means they influence the outcome of the decisions. Salacuse went ahead to discuss the seven critical rules that influence the government to make certain decisions in negotiations. As the United States and Japan continue to engage in talks to solve the problems they face as regards to the supply and distribution of agricultural products in the Asian subcontinent, the rules play out differently. The first rule, according to the Salacuse, is recognizing identifying the powers of the opponent and evaluating the ways in which such powers and authorities affect the strategies and tactics to be made. The Japanese negotiators are considered hardliners because they are reluctant to adjust their demands mainly because they are aware of the American influence and power in the global system. The second secret entails understanding the sources of powers of the opponent since some are legal while others are political. Japan knows that the United States commands enormous powers globally because of its advanced political institutions, economic strategies, technological advancement, and cultural superiority. Therefore, the US is likely to invoke its powers in the negotiation table, something that forces the Japanese diplomats to employ alternative strategies, such as engaging other parties in trade negotiations to cajole the US. The third secret that any public official has to consider are the likely constraints that negotiation partners face and these include legal and political limitations. Unfortunately, the United States is the only partner that faces some political and legal challenges domestically in trying to apply TPP agreements, something that gives Japan undue advantage. The fourth rule is identifying the interests of the partners. The Americans are concerned with expanding the markets for the agricultural products whereas their Japanese counterparts in need of safeguarding national interests and territorial integrity. The fifth secret is all about learning the rules governing the negotiation process, as well as the protocols. This explains why the leadership of president Obama made an effort of setting up an entire department to engage in negotiations while the Japanese government set up an entire ministry to drive the negotiations. The sixth secret suggests that, as negotiations go on, participants have to identify the privileges and immunities of the opponents. Finally, the negotiators must consider their interests, as well as those of the organizations they represent. In an article title extreme negotiation, Pearsall Stacy notes that various strategies must be employed in engaging in talks with other stakeholders, one of them being getting the bigger picture of the problem, which entails an understanding of the other person’s point of view. The American negotiators seem to employ this strategy because it calls on the negotiators to act fast in order to reduce resistance. The second strategy entails uncovering the problem by conducting further research and collaborating with other stakeholders. This involves evaluation of other party’s motivations and concerns. The problem has to be deal with in various ways instead of proposing a fixed solution. Pearsall notes further that eliciting genuine buy-in whereby the negotiators use facts and fairness to handle issues is highly encouraged. In the fourth strategy, trust building is proposed, as this will facilitate strengthening of relationships. Unfortunately, none of the partners is willing to build trust because the countries are perennial enemies. The final strategy is about focusing on the process by taking the steps to strengthen the negotiation. The current international system is compared to the Hobbestian state of nature since it is anarchic whereby people play zero-sum games meaning one’s loss is another’s gain. The actors in the global system are unable to agree over important issues implying the system does not have a leviathan or a national police. Since the system does not have a government, a vacuum exists and powerful states fill it. Similarly, the United States and Japan dictate issues in the TPP treaty because they are the most powerful in their regions. In fact, this aspect gives the two countries an opportunity to realize their interests. The two states must agree over an issue because an agreement is signed and whenever they fail to strike a deal, talks are said to have stalled. The two states apply various negotiation strategies in trying to force the other to accept its policy. Negotiation is one of the conflict resolution strategies that are often employed in the initial stages. However, powerful states prefer intervening militarily when the softer strategies fail. The aim of negotiation is to facilitate understanding, attain an advantage over others, and design resolutions that satisfy the interests of the concerned parties. Negotiation is a special skill in conflict resolution that is often employed in businesses, non-profit organizations, and government institutions. While a negotiator might be untrained, a number of government officials engaged in drafting trade policies are experts with specialized skills to represent their organizations effectively. One of the negotiation strategies is distributive, which entails hard bargaining and is based on a model that tends to bargain for the best in the market. The parties take extreme positions even though they might be aware that such positions will not be allowed. The negotiators will then utilize a number of tactics, such as slyness, pretending, and brinkmanship with an aim of ceding as little as possible before compromising. Under this strategy, the representative envisages the entire procedure as a process of allocating a fixed amount of value. Policy makers in government choose this strategy after realizing that the thing being requested is available and can be achieved, but the only problem is that many people want it. Unfortunately, the strategy does not aim at arriving at a win-win situation because one party must lose something that gives the strategy a new name, win lose tactic. Japan is aware of the advances of the United States in the Asian continent, as it knows that the superpower is in need of the new markets for its finished products. If it lowers the tariffs, it will lose nothing because it does not face direct competition from the American products. However, its concern is the prices of products given the fact it does not want the foreign products to infiltrate the market. In trying to resolve this issue, Shell suggested a strategy that focuses on information sharing (Shell 38). Analysts observe that Japan stands to benefit if it lowers the tariffs, but many people will wonder why the government is reluctant to give in to the American demands. Distributive negotiation takes place when people who have never met for the first time engage in discussions. An example of distributive negotiation is an individual buying a car or a house. Many would be surprised why the Japanese and American policy makers employ this strategy. According to Machiavelli, those charged with the role of making policies should use all available options to achieve greatness. This explains why many negotiators employ this form of strategy since its results are positive. The second strategy is integrative negotiation and its main objective is to improve the quality of an already existing treaty or agreement. It supplements distributive strategy, as it does not encourage parties to go for the piece, but instead they should explore the available options to expand it. In other words, this strategy aims at arriving at a win-win situation whereby the interests of each party are provided. One of the objectives of the TPP treaty is to enhance standardization of goods and services hence objectivity and observance of principled criteria is encouraged. Through the strategy, the parties are likely to develop trust and build strong relationships. Therefore, the idea of creative problem solving is highly encouraged among members, as this will facilitate cooperation where each party benefits from the treaty. The parties to this treaty have failed to strike a substantial deal because the two powerful states, the United States and Japan, are yet to reach at basic trade agreements. The United States wants Japan to make some concessions in the agricultural sector to allow its products to penetrate the market, but Japan has some reservations regarding reduction of tariffs. The treaty was meant to facilitate multilateral agreements where the members consisting of twelve countries are beneficiaries, but it has turned out to be a tussle between the two powerful countries. Application of integrative strategy would have solved the issues that various members face in overcoming trade barriers. While members have been trying to achieve collective objectives and goals, the United States and Japan prefer dealing with the issues through bilateral discussions under the umbrella of TPP. The leader of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party was clarified that the country was focused on instituting exceptional polices on the manufacture and distribution of wheat, sugar, and rice before embarking on the program to boost the country’s markets on beef, pork, and dairy products. The leader went ahead to claim that the country was only prepared to accept numbers that will permit the government to fill people’s wishes and expectations. This means that Japanese government is focused on applying the first strategy, as it is not prepared to make any compromise. The United States has always put pressure on Japan to accept some unfavorable trade policies. The US applies bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations to coax Japan, but the current strategy being applied is different and many people doubt whether it will achieve the desired results. Japan has a strong foreign economic policy towards the United States that will always guide any form of negotiation. The United States fails to differentiate Japan with its industries and any form of trade conflict has always been referred to the special units of the WTO, such as enhanced dispute settlement mechanism. Even though American foreign policy makers do not consider Japan a direct rival in trade, but securing its market is critical in realizing the objectives of the treaty. The United States was reluctant in approving Japanese membership in TPP, as it was given the condition of including rice in the negotiating table. The two states have special interests related to fulfillment of trade goals as they participate in the negotiations setting up TPP policies and this is a weakness to both of them because they do not make genuine decisions. In fact, Japan went ahead to set up an entire ministry to deal with issues touching on TPP. Recently, the TPP ministry claimed that the treaty is baseless and meaningless without Japanese participation. Since Japan is major player in the TPP treaty, the United States is attracted because member countries will have economic, political, and social power to compete with another regional bloc (Comprehensive Economic Partnership) that brings together China and other East Asia states. The US does not have an advantage as it engages in the discussions because the congress has to approve all polices before they are presented to the member states. Again, the US is apprehensive of the situation because other global actors, especially Japan, will interpret its actions to mean a strategy to rebalance Asia if Japan is not represented in the treaty (Medoff 89). In this regard, the United States does not have the guts to expel Japan from the treaty. While the US applies the negotiation strategies cautiously, Japan is considered a hard negotiator because it understands its role perfectly and threats do not bother its representatives. Consequently, this serves as strength on the side of Japanese negotiators while it is a threat to the Americans. Japan has been engaging other TPP partners in talks over agricultural cooperation with the aim of forcing the United States to accept its policies. Analysts consider this as one of the strategies to force the partners to cooperate. Recently, the Japanese government entered into an agreement with Australia referred to as JAEPA, which is meant to boost the country’s trade strategy. Some analysts observe that the idea of inviting Australia to form an economic treaty was part of the government’s development strategy, but the reality is that the prime minister was trying to force the US to accept the TPP treaty as it is meaning no changes should be made. The United States consider this an ulterior motive because Japanese officials were scheduled to meet with their American counterparts. The aim was to test Australian commitment to the agricultural policies. The treaty between Japan and Australia is specific in dealing with the contentious products, including rice, wheat, sugar, pork, beef, and dairy products, as it does not suggest reduction of tariffs. Since Australia is willing to abide by the new trade rules that favor tariffs, the US has no option even though it has always demanded for zero tariffs. Japan insists that it permits small and quantitative increases in imports. Although negotiations are ongoing, the Japanese government is pressuring the United States to follow a strict agricultural model by lowering tariffs on beef only without removing them (Salacuse 78). Alternative Sources of Action Japanese shareholders consider contracts very important because they provide avenues that facilitate creation of contracts, but Americans employ them to prevent others from intruding into their space. The Japanese put much value on the memoranda of understanding believing that they are formal documents signifying a strong relationship. Americans view such documents as goodwill hence they are simply ceremonial. A Japanese company rarely obeys a binding contract because they are used to memoranda. This has always raised issues concerning honesty among business executives from the two countries, which affect the performance of companies in the United States. One of the cultural aspects that are highly contestable between the two cultures is hierarchy. The Japanese apply the teachings of traditional religion of Confucianism established several centuries ago. In this regard, religion is pointed out one of the cultural aspects that affect business in the United States because Japanese executives fail to honor business transactions that are inconsistent to their religious teachings. For instance, business managers believe that each person has a proper position in society whereby morality is a valued aspect. This means business organizations, as well as top executives should have high standards of morality (Zhao 78). Regarding social relationships, people should interact without considering race, social ranking, and ethnicity implying that justice and sincerity should prevail over other aspects. In any Japanese company, hierarchy is very important and workers should respect the positions and the roles of each other. In of the cases showing the influence of culture on the development of Japanese-owned business in the US, the Japanese firm refused to seize the opportunity to expand its business operations because the chief executive was not present to pose for photographs (Zhao 113). This shows that culture has a powerful influence on the business as far as Japanese managers are concerned. The American managers were surprised because his assistant should have filled the gap. Ownership of businesses is usually concentrated in the hands of few individuals who are expected to make decisions. Unfortunately, junior officers are supposed to represent the organization in major conferences and discussions. The senior management is likely to overrule any decision made, which is an obstacle to business operations in the country. Japanese companies operating in the United are forced to adjust the culture apart from setting up powerful business networks and hiring competent workers. The senior managers should be ready to be addressed by their first names because hierarchy is no longer a valued business practice in the US. Another cultural difference between the cultures of the two countries pertains to gender equality and the positions of women in the business world. Americans are never comfortable hiring Japanese women for the higher positions because men will overlook them in the negotiating tables. Confucius teachings instruct women to obey their husbands implying that female managers are unlikely to make independent decisions. The Japanese constitution protects the rights and freedoms of women, something that has helped a good number of them who are in the management positions. However, the native Japanese still hold the traditional view that women are naturally naive, inferior, and less intelligent. Best performing American firms operating in Japan are also reluctant to hire women into senior managerial positions because it will affect their businesses. Viewing of women as being inferior to men changed after the Communist takeover in Japan, as the constitution allowed them to participate fully in economic matters. A woman was permitted to take a course of her choice at the university and take part in any profession, including serving the company as lawyer. In the United States, women have been successful in pushing for their rights, as the government has been forced to institute stricter laws to protect them. However, the case of Japan is different because of the strong believe in religious teachings. A number of Japanese owned companies in the US do not employ women into senior positions, something that affect their performance because it is interpreted to mean gender discrimination (Penny 17). It is noted in this part that cultural views on gender is problem to the development of business sin the country. Culturally, the Japanese believe in collectivist approach where the welfare of the group is important as opposed to the interests of an individual. The group plays a major role in the Japanese community because it is responsible for individual wellbeing. In the business world, the individual employee has to be loyal to the group because it awards him or her status and social position. Many Japanese employees in the United States would jump into the opportunity to work for the best company with claims that it helps in developing talent. This has led to job-hopping, which is a break from the socialist value of devotion. In the United States, Japanese companies struggle to do business because they have to be wary of the strict laws related to copyright and patents. In Japan, the community is entitled to share information, knowledge, and technology freely. The collective mindset of many Japanese executives operating in the country and other places with strict laws makes it difficult for them to conceptualize the regulations leading to serious fines through litigation. Works Cited Medoff, Rafael. Baksheesh Diplomacy: Secret Negotiations between American Jewish Leaders and Arab Officials on the Eve of World War II. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2000. Print. Pearsall, Stacy. “Extreme Negotiation”. Harvard Business Review 3.9 (2007): 67-75. Print. Salacuse, Jeswald. Seven Secrets for Negotiating with Government: How to Deal with Local, State, National, or Foreign Governments-and Come Out Ahead. New York: AMACOM, 2008. Print. Shell, Richard. Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. Print. | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
In the wake of an announcement from a national coalition of Jewish and pro-Israel women's organizations that it would no longer provide legal advocacy to pro-Likud organizations like the Israel Project, pro-Likud pro-Israel activist and author of "When It Falls From the Sky" and "The Truth Behind the Myth of Palestinian Victimhood," Dov Lior, recently posted a lengthy article in the New York Post attacking both Likud-oriented pro-Israel women's groups for abandoning their role in advancing the cause of pro-Israel causes and defending Israel from allegations of discrimination. The post is being widely reported in the American pro-Israel community. Among the many criticisms leveled at both organizations by LIOR are, among other things: *The Israeli-American Council was established to educate and inform Americans about Israel's foreign policy and to defend Israeli interests in the United States while also advocating for the rights of the Jewish state in the US, and for the welfare of the Palestinians living under occupation. It does not advocate for a political agenda, including the advocacy of legislation that is perceived to harm the state of Israel.* The Israel Advocacy Project was founded to provide pro-Israeli advocates in the US with a direct line to members of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). It does not provide lobbying or PR to Israeli interests, nor did it sponsor events at which representatives from AIPAC were a featured speaker. There is no connection between the Israel Advocacy Project and AIPAC. The Israel Advocacy Project is a non-profit organization and its sole purpose is to provide an avenue for pro-Israel advocacy through a dedicated staff with an annual budget of about $500,000. * The Jewish Women International League, which was established in 1979 "to assist the Israeli Jewish community in providing public relations and fundraising services," provides legal services to organizations involved in public issues, and also advocates for the welfare of the Jewish People in the United States. This does not necessarily equate with advocacy — though there are certainly some who would agree that organizations who represent the interest of the Jewish people in the US should have a distinct legal/social policy advocacy, which is not always the case. This is a long-standing pro-Israel policy established in the early 1970s by the JIL and was supported by the State of Israel, at the urging of a majority of Israeli governments over the ensuing 35 years. This policy was implemented in the United States with the establishment of the American Jewish Committee, as a counterpart to the Jewish Agency, and was then strengthened over the years by the establishment of organizations representing the Jewish community like the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, a group that has played an integral role in the Jewish community's response to the Nazi Holocaust. Many pro-Israeli women's groups, notably the ones mentioned earlier, have chosen to take a different path. Some, like JIL and Women of the Wall, have been part of a broader public policy advocacy advocacy effort centered on Israel. They have also been actively involved in the movement against BDS, which means that there is a substantial effort to take a much more active public policy position regarding the Palestinians. Some pro-Likud women's groups have chosen to take the opposite approach. For example one organization that has not decided yet its position on issues related to the BDS movement and the settlements, the National Women's Zionist Organization, which was founded in 1990 to bring pro-Israel women to the public policy decision-making process, has endorsed the effort which is known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), the movement to isolate, sanction and divest from Israeli entities that do business with the Palestinian territories. In the early years of its existence the group has supported BDS and expressed support for the anti-semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement; however, the group has since taken a much more public and confrontational stance. The NZYP has stated publicly in its position that a two state solution is not viable, that Israel is an apartheid state that is a military aggressor, and that the settlements are not legitimate and that Israel is a "racist state." This stands directly opposed to positions that have been taken by most pro-Israel organizations, and it appears that the pro-Likud groups have followed in the footsteps of the NZYP in their position. This controversy is a classic conflict of perspectives. It should be noted that a majority of the American public believes that Israel's treatment of the Palestinians is a significant problem, particularly given the conflict that started in 1947 and continues to this day. A June 2015 poll conducted by the American Jewish Committee and J Street found that 58 percent of those asked believe that the United States has a responsibility to act against human rights violations by Israel. A September 23, 2013 poll released by Gallup found that 61 percent of American Jews believe Israel has carried out "systematic violations of international humanitarian law." Despite that, there is no doubt that the public opinion gap between | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Robert Frost’s “Out, Out”: Themes, Characters, and Tone Essay The overall tone of Robert Frost’s poem titled “Out, out” can be described as exceptionally dramatic. The author is rather emotional about what happens to the main character and the reactions that beholders display. This genuine feeling of empathy is what moves the narrative forward and makes the audience feel remorse as well. The poor fortune that a young boy had to meet when doing a grown man’s job seems to surprise Frost, as he is in deep sorrow and does not believe that child labor is still a problem in contemporary society. Knowing that none of the adults intervened to prevent the kid’s death, the phrase “I wish they might have said” perfectly outlines how the witnesses were responsible for the boy losing his life to a saw (“‘Out, Out—’ by Robert Frost,” n.d.). The tone of hopelessness takes over the poem and points out how unpredictable human life is in general. Even though people seem to forget the boy rather quickly, the tone of the second half of the poem makes it safe to say that Frost wanted to highlight how no child should be forced to do something that could only be assigned to an adult. The theme of child labor is the red thread that runs through the white cloth of Frost’s narration, causing the audience to become as horrified as the boy when he loses his hand. The main character of the poem reflects the idea of frustrations when he realizes that his manhood is going to be flawed with one of the hands being cut off. Closer to the end of the poem, the tone of narration changes one last time as soon as the severity of the wound becomes clear and the boy dies. The adult beholders were not interested since they “turned to their affairs” and went on with the errands (“‘Out, Out—’ by Robert Frost,” n.d.). Robert Frost made the audience read between the lines with this poem due to quite a few ideas being heavily concealed. Reference ‘ Out, out—’ by Robert Frost. Poetry Foundation. (n.d.). | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Jaime Suchlicki, is the Emilio Bacardi Moreau distinguished professor of history, editor of the Cuban Affairs Journal and director of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami. He is the author of several books including "Mexico: From Montezuma to the Rise of the PAN" and "Cuba From Columbus to Castro." In his Nov. 18 speech at the Organization of American States, Secretary John Kerry failed to make a compelling case for keeping U.S. sanctions on Cuba. While correctly pointing out that the Monroe Doctrine is no longer valid, Kerry insisted that "people to people" travel, the visits by Americans under U.S. license to Cuba, is having an impact in penetrating the Communist system. If the travel ban and the embargo are ended unilaterally now by the U.S., what negotiating tool to encourage change in Cuba will the U.S. government have with a future regime? His assumptions are incorrect. First, the Castro brothers and their allies aren't naïve; U.S. tourists have no chance of subverting their regime and influencing internal developments. Second, American tourists won't bring democracy to Cuba. Over the past decades several million tourists from Europe, Canada and Latin America have visited the island, and nothing has changed. If anything, Cuba is more repressive, with the state apparatus strengthened by the influx of tourist dollars. Third, tourism and trade don't lead to economic and political change. No study I know of has found that tourism, trade or investments had anything to do with the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. A disastrous economic system, competition with the West, successive leadership changes with no legitimacy, a corrupt and weak Communist Party, anti-Soviet feeling in Eastern Europe and the failed Soviet war in Afghanistan were among the reasons for change. Fourth, engagement with a totalitarian state won't bring about its demise. Only academic ideologues and some members of Congress interested in catering to the economic needs of their state's constituencies cling to this notion. Their calls for ending the embargo have little to do with democracy in Cuba or the welfare of the Cuban people. Repeated claims that the embargo is the cause of Cuba's economic problems are hollow. The reasons for the economic misery of the Cubans are a failed political and economic system. Like the communist systems of Eastern Europe, Cuba's system does not function, stifles initiative and productivity and destroys human freedom and dignity. What's more, ending U.S. sanctions without major concessions from Cuba would send the wrong message to the Castro regime and to the rest of Latin America. Supporting regimes and dictators that violate human rights and abuse their population is an ill-adviced policy that rewards and encourages further abuses. If the travel ban and the embargo are ended unilaterally now by the U.S., what negotiating tool to encourage change in Cuba will the U.S. government have with a future regime? Countries don't change their policies without a quid pro quo from the other side. Unilateral concessions are pocketed by our adversaries without providing meaningful changes. Sanctions should be ended as a result of negotiations between the U.S. and a Cuban government willing to provide meaningful and irreversible political and economic concessions, not only to the U.S. but, more important, to the Cuban people. Join Opinion on Facebook and follow updates on twitter.com/roomfordebate. | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
After the first round of negotiations, Israel has agreed to a Palestinian demand of freezing Israeli settlement building, in order to begin long-awaited negotiations on a final-status solution to the refugee issue. The terms of the agreement, which was put on hold after the collapse of U.S.-brokered talks in April, should make it a one-day deadline for completing negotiations. "This agreement is based on two fundamental conditions," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said as he welcomed the document, according to a statement from his office. "First, the cessation of all settlement construction from the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the occupied Palestinian territories to the pre-1967 borders." Abbas will then "exert pressure on Israel through diplomatic or other means not to resume those settlements and to cease all its illegal activities in the occupied Palestinian territories until Israel fulfills the commitments and undertakings contained in this document." A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the terms "unprecedented." He said that they do not include an Israeli commitment to dismantle the settlements, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will still have the ability to unilaterally extend some settlements for another three years. In a statement delivered after the deal was announced, Netanyahu made no reference to settlements by name, but said that "under the terms of this agreement, all final status issues including the refugees, will be addressed with the goal of reaching a comprehensive and lasting peace." Israel has been on the outs with the Palestinians for far too long, and the two sides seem to have little room for improvement in the near future. Abbas is now seeking help from the international community to salvage the peace process and bring it back into focus – and for that aid to be provided in substantial amounts. Israel has already agreed to some of the following conditions set by the Palestinians, but so far it has been refusing any serious talk on a lasting peace, particularly in light of the recent deadly attacks. These include stopping all settlement building and confiscation of Arab lands and all building that would be contrary to Israeli law, and an end to Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied territories. As The Intercept reported, Israel also made clear that Israeli settlement activity would not be allowed in areas that have not been used by Jews for decades. Israel also refused to accept a Palestinian commitment that Jerusalem would be the capital of a future Palestinian state. Despite the agreement, a Palestinian representative said that it is not enough. As reported by The Times of Israel, the Palestinian negotiator said that the final document also needs to include a formal recognition of "statehood on the basis of 1967 lines," the 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem, and the establishment of a Palestinian national service (the Palestinian civil service). The Palestinian envoy also reportedly demanded that Israel recognize Palestine by the end of the year. The announcement is a major victory for Abbas, despite the fact that the U.S. pulled out of the mediation process between the two sides because of Netanyahu's recent move to approve construction of 3,000 new homes in the Israeli settlement of Beit El. Israel immediately denied the reports, and the Israeli leader has said that this move does not change anything. | 1 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
Noodle is the best way to find the right school, college, tutor, or other educational resource. There is no one-size-fits-all solution in education; what matters is finding the right path for you, based on your interests, strengths and needs. Noodle seeks to empower you with the information and tools you need to find that path—whether that's the right preschool, college, tutor, or learning resource. Noodle is an alternative to pointless rankings, and to lead-generation sites that simply drive students to the highest bidder. By holding our content to the highest standards, we strive to bring you the personalized, authentic, and honest information you deserve. Whether you are just starting your research, want to narrow down your options, or have a specific question, Noodle can help. Read advice and ask the experts Get free help and advice from a community of experts and friends about every aspect of your education. Search and compare providers Search detailed, unbiased information on more than 700,000 education providers and resources. Noodle aggregates data from the most trusted sources so you can spend less time digging through websites and more time focusing on your future. Organize your search, create lists, share them, and get feedback from the people who matter most to you. Job Description Noodle is an education website helping parents and students make better decisions about learning. Using our interactive search tools, families can find the right preschool, college, tutor, or any other learning resource. In addition, they can read expert-authored articles, ask questions and get answers from some of the leading minds in education, and connect with others in their communities. Responsibilities As part of this hyper-growth, highly dynamic, super motivated and competitive sales team, Inside Sales Specialists focus on a high volume of outbound calls with intent to set appointments and pitch Noodle advertising solutions with education providers across the country. In this exciting role, you will communicate the value of various product lines by analyzing customers' needs, re-engaging with customers, and meeting sales quotas on a monthly basis. The ideal candidate is competitive by nature and thrives in sales environments that can promise unlimited earnings to rock-star sales people. You will feel right at home in a fast-paced high-energy environment, and get energized in a highly leveraged commission based sales environment. If this sounds like you, contact us now about your career at Noodle. Requirements Quota driven performer with 1-3 years of digital media sales experience Must have an understanding with digital media Strong and confident phone presence A strong work ethic and highly self-motivated Excellent Written/Verbal communication skills Team Player High Energy & Integrity Positive can-do attitude with the motivation to achieve sales goals Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and manage time effectively Proficient use of the Internet Experience using a CRM tool (preferably Salesforce) Bachelor's Degree preferred Compensation Base Salary: $50,000-$60,000 $50,000-$60,000 On Target Earnings: $70,000-$85,000 (Uncapped) Benefits Competitive salary and 401K Flexible schedule Health (including FSA), dental, and vision plans Discounted gym membership at The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers Choice of technology (Apple, PC, etc.) Kitchen full of food, snacks, Push Cart coffee, seltzer and soda Continuing education reimbursement Team outings / events Summer Fridays | 0 | artem9k/ai-text-detection-pile |
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